儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 9 Grandfather Is Missing

Jessie felt something on her arm. Half asleep, she brushed it away. She felt it again. She opened her eyes. Watch sat beside her, pawing her gently.



She sat up. “What is it, Watch? What’s the matter?” she whispered.



The dog crept to the tent door where he stood with his head cocked, listening.



Jessie crawled out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed over to him. She lifted the tent flap and went outside, Watch at her side.



Henry came outside. “What’s the matter?”



“Watch woke me up,” Jessie answered. “I thought someone might be out here, I was hoping it was Grandfather.”



“Grandfather would wait until daylight to come back,” Henry said. “Watch probably heard the water dripping from the trees.”



“Probably,” Jessie agreed. Just as she turned to go back inside, she saw something move. “Did you see that?” she whispered.



“What?” Henry said.



She pointed 1 to the edge of their camp. “Something moved over there in the trees.”



Henry held up his flashlight. “I don’t see anything,” he said.



Benny came to the door of the tent rubbing his eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked.



“Jessie thought she saw something,” Henry told him.



Benny yawned. “It’s too dark to see anything,” he said and went back inside.



“He’s right,” Jessie said. “It was probably my imagination.”



Henry and Jessie had no sooner gone back to sleep than Benny woke them. “I think we should go find Grandfather,” he said.



“Let’s have breakfast first,” Jessie suggested. “Maybe he’ll be here by the time we’ve finished.”



They ate fruit and bread and jelly. They used paper napkins as plates so they wouldn’t have to spend time washing dishes.



Afterwards, Henry looked at the map. “The path along the stream is a short cut,” he said.



“If we go that way, we might miss Grandfather,” Violet objected.



“But Grandfather might still be at Doris’s,” Jessie said. “It’s early. If we take the short cut, we’ll be there sooner.”



Henry spread out the map. “The shortcut 2 meets the main trail here,” he said. “Even if Grandfather starts back, chances are we’ll meet up with him.”



“What if he comes back and we’re not here?” Benny asked. “He’ll look for us. We could keep missing one another all day.”



“Let’s leave a note,” Violet suggested. She took a piece of paper and a pencil from their supplies, and wrote: Went hiking. Back soon. “How’s that?” she asked.



Everyone agreed that was fine. They left the note in the middle of the table. Henry put a rock on it so it wouldn’t blow away. Then they all started out of camp.



Benny and Watch ran on ahead. Suddenly, they stopped. The others caught up to them.



“What’s the matter?” Henry asked.



Benny put a finger to his lips. He pointed across the stream. There, in the woods, something small and white flicked 3 back and forth 4 through the trees.



“It’s a deer!” Violet whispered.



The animal bolted out of sight.



Hoping to see more deer, they kept an eye on the woods as they moved along the trail. Where the stream trail and the main trail met, they saw something else: a cabin.



“I didn’t notice that cabin when we hiked to our campsite,” Henry said.



Set far back in the thick clump 5 of trees, the log house was easy to miss.



“It’s hard to see,” Violet said. “It blends into the woods so well.”



“It needs a white tail,” Benny joked.



Henry started toward it. “Maybe whoever lives there saw Grandfather. Let’s ask.”



Jessie hesitated. “That says ‘No Trespassing 6.’ ” She pointed to an old wooden sign.



Just then a woman came out of the cabin door. She was tall and thin and she was frowning.



“She doesn’t look very friendly,” Benny whispered.



Moving still closer, Henry called out, “Hello!”



The woman put her hands on her hips 7 and glowered 8 at the children.



“We’re looking for our grandfather,” Henry told her. “We thought you might have seen him pass by.”



“Can you read?” the woman asked.



“Why—uh— yes,” Henry said.



“Then why don’t you?” she snapped. “ ‘No trespassing’ means no trespassing.”



“Oh, we didn’t mean to break any rules,” Jessie explained. “We just thought—”



The woman turned on her heel and went back inside the cabin.



“She certainly is unfriendly,” Henry said.



“You were right about that, Benny.”



“Could that be Doris’s sister?” Violet wondered aloud.



The others thought about that possibility.



“Grandfather did say she lived in a cabin,’ Violet reminded them. “And she liked going off by herself.”



The main path was full of puddles 9 from the night’s rain. Along the sides, earth had been washed down into the gullies. The children picked their way along trying to avoid the mud and deep holes.



The trail headed up the hill. Near the top, Watch pricked 10 up his ears. He sniffed 11 the air. For several seconds, he stood stone still. Suddenly, he broke into a run and disappeared over the crest 12 of the hill.



“What do you suppose he heard?” Violet wondered.



“Whatever it is, he’s sure excited about it,” Henry said.



“He’s probably chasing an animal,” Benny offered.



That worried Jessie. Watch was a brave dog, but he was no match for a cornered raccoon or some other wild animal. “Watch!” she called. “Come back!”



Watch came running toward the children. He circled them, yapping excitedly. He took off again. Then he came galloping 13 back to be sure they were following him.



In the lead, Henry picked up his pace. “Come on,” he said. “Watch is trying to tell us something.”



Forgetting the puddles and the mud, they all raced along the path. At the top of the hill, they looked for Watch. He seemed to have disappeared. But they could hear him barking.



“Watch! Where are you?” Jessie called.



Benny saw something move in the ravine below. He stepped to the edge of the path and looked down. “There he is!” he shouted. “And Grandfather is with him!”