儿童英语读物 迈克的谜案 Mike's Mystery Chapter 6 迈克妈妈的小店

CHAPTER 6

Mike’s Mother’s Place



Benny began to talk the minute he got into the car. Mike began to talk too.



“Wait, boys,” said Mr. Carter 1. “One at a time! I can’t hear a word you say.”



“I’ll talk first,” said Mike.



“Well, you can this time,” agreed Benny. “It’s about your own mother, after all.”



“That’s right, Ben,” said Mike. “Thank you. Mr. Carter, my mother works 2 hard at her washing, but she don’t—doesn’t like it.”



“Yes, Mike,” said Mr. Carter. “But what do you want me to do about it?”



“We’ve thought of a good job for her,” said Mike. “She loves to make pies. So why not make pies and sell them? She gives away millions of pies.”



“Now, Mike,” said Benny. “Mr. Carter won’t believe you, if you say millions.”



“Well, dozens, then,” said Mike.



“Good for you, Mike,” said Mr. Carter laughing. “I do believe you, for I have eaten many of those pies myself.”



“Well, there you are,” said Mike. “Everyone likes Ma’s pies and everyone will buy them.”



Then Mr. Carter said, “I think you are wasting time telling me about this plan. Why don’t we go ask your mother? She is the one to decide.”



Mrs. Wood was surprised when they all came back to Mrs. Smith’s blue house.



Henry said, “Hello, Mrs. Wood. We want you to come up to the office at the uranium mine for a few minutes.”



“All right,” said Mrs. Wood. “I’d like to go. I know the night watchman up there, and I’d like to take him a cherry pie.”



“You mean you’ve made another pie already?” asked Violet 3.



“I made four more,” said Mrs. Wood. “They are for the kind people who helped me get out of my burning house. One is for your Aunt Jane, Benny. My neighbor gave me the shortening 4 and filling for the pies, and I will pay her back in washing.”



Mike winked 5 at Benny. “Maybe, yes,” he said. “And maybe, no.”



The children talked and laughed all the way to the mine. They could hardly wait to show the room to Mike’s mother. At last they all stood in the big empty room.



“See this room going to waste!” cried Benny. “Now if you had a nice stove—”



Mrs. Wood put her arm around Benny. “What a kind little boy you are, Benny!” she said in a low voice. “I begin to see now what you are all planning for me.”



“You mean you like the idea of making pies for a living?” asked Jessie. “Wouldn’t you get tired of making pies?”



“I’d never be tired of making pies, my dear!” cried Mrs. Wood. “I love to mix them up, and roll them out, and fill them with cherries, apples, peaches, or blueberries. And best of all I like to see people eat them.”



A man behind them said, “I’d rather eat them than watch other people eat them.” Everyone turned around.



“The night watchman!” cried Mike. “Hello, Mr. McCarthy!”



“Hello yourself, Mike,” said the man.



“Oh, Mr. McCarthy,” said Mrs. Wood. “Here’s a cherry pie I made for you. I hope you will like it.” She gave him the cherry pie.



“Is there anyone in the whole world that doesn’t like your pies?” asked Mr. McCarthy. He looked at the children. “What’s this I hear about selling pies?”



Mike began to jump around. “See this room!” he shouted. “Ma can have a stove in that corner. She can bake her pies in it. She can sell them at that big window and we will all help her.”



“Well, well,” cried Mr. McCarthy. “And which of you thought of this?”



“My sister Jessie was the first to think of it,” said Benny. “But I was next to the first, wasn’t I, Henry?”



“Yes, you were,” said Henry. “We have to buy a sink and a refrigerator, Mr. McCarthy. And we have to ask Mr. Gardner, the boss, for the use of the room.”



“We can ask Grandfather to let us buy the sink and things,” said Violet.



“Suppose this grandfather of yours won’t let you buy all that?” said Mr. McCarthy. “After all, it will cost a lot of money. Not many men would trust children with this plan.”



“My grandfather will,” said Benny. “We were all alone in the Boxcar. We didn’t know Grandfather then. And we did all right.”



Mr. Carter nodded at the night watchman. He said, “Mr. Alden trusts these children. He always tries to help them with their ideas.”



The night watchman looked at Jessie with a funny little smile. “I can’t understand why you children want to work at all. Don’t you own the mine? Your grandfather ought not to let you work.”



Jessie shook her head. She said, “That’s not the way Grandfather thinks. He has lots of money already. But he says everyone ought to work. Nobody can be happy unless he has some work to do. We know he is right, for we were very, very happy when we didn’t have any money at all. Only $4! When we get through school, Grandfather wants us all to go to work for a living.”



“There are not many grandfathers like that,” said Mr. McCarthy, shaking his head. “And I know well that Mr. Alden works very hard himself.”



“What do you think of this pie business, Mr. McCarthy?” asked Jessie.



“I? Hm-m, I think the men will want so many pies, that one woman can’t make enough.”



“Maybe you’ll tell the men about the pies?” said Henry.



“Tell them? I won’t need to. The minute they see a sign here saying PIES they will all come over.”



“Sign?” cried Benny. “Did you say a sign? I’ll tell you a good sign. Mike’s Mother’s Place!”



“Oh, I’ll paint the sign!” cried Violet.



“Wonderful!” said Jessie. “And what a wonderful name for this place!”



Mrs. Wood smiled and smiled, but she had tears in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, “the men all know Mike, and they will soon know his mother.”



“We can take pictures of this place when it is all set to go,” said Henry. “They will put them in the paper, maybe.”



Mr. McCarthy went over to the big window. “Yes,” he said, “this big window will be good for selling pies.”



Mike went over to Mr. McCarthy. He said softly 6, “Did you see my fire?”



“No,” said the watchman, “I missed it.”



“It was a terrible fire,” said Mike. “Everybody went to see it. Why didn’t you go? Aren’t you interested in fires?”



Mr. McCarthy looked at Mike. He said, “Well, son, I was certainly interested. In fact I started to go. But you see my duty was here. I’m a watchman.”



“Too bad,” said Mike. “It was a sight.”



“I know,” said Mr. McCarthy. “But I thought I saw somebody near the mine. So I stayed right here. I looked all around but I couldn’t find anybody.”



“Come on, Mike!” called Benny. “What are you talking about?”



Then Mike surprised everyone. He began to jump up and down and yell 7, “The blue hat! The blue hat!”



“What in the world is the matter with you, Mike?” asked Henry.



Mike answered, “I think I know how to find out who wore the blue hat,” he yelled 8.



Mr. Carter stared at the little boy. “Do you indeed!” he said. “You ought to join the FBI.”