儿童英语读物 The Poison Frog Mystery CHAPTER 4 The Jammed Window

Jessie and Henry were at home fixing breakfast for everyone when the phone rang. Henry was trying to balance four plates of bacon and eggs at the same time, so Jessie answered it after wiping her hands on her apron 1.



“Hello?”



“Jessie?” It was Lindsey, and she sounded frantic 2.



“Lindsey? What’s wrong?”



“The California condors 3 are missing!”



“Missing? You mean they’ve—”



“Yes, I’d appreciate it if you could all come down as soon as you can!” Lindsey said.



Then the line went dead.



The Alden children gobbled up their breakfast and rushed down to the zoo on their bicycles.



They found Lindsey in one of the back rooms of the Bird Barn. It looked similar to the back room in the mammal house, except for a huge enclosure at one end that had been made by closing off part of the room with long strips of wood and lots of chicken wire.



“That was where they were,” Lindsey said. “Up until last night.”



The floor of the cage was bedded with sand, wood chips, and huge rocks. In the center was a small tree. There were no leaves on it, just bare branches. It sort of looked like a giant hand reaching for the ceiling.



“The same person did it?” Jessie asked.



Lindsey nodded. She looked as though she were trying to fight back tears.



“I’m sure,” she said. “We found the lock on the floor, all broken up. It’s on that table over there if you want to look at it. The door to the cage was wide open when the birdkeeper came in. And that window back there ...” she said, pointing toward the other end of the room, “that’s where the thief came and went. The latch 5 is broken. And another bag of food is missing. The right kind this time. I checked.”



Benny picked up the broken lock and began examining it. It looked pretty much the same as the last one—mangled and beaten. There was some chalky dust on the corners, which he wiped away. This dust made him think of the special dust detectives use to find fingerprints 6. He wished he had some of that right now.



Henry went over to the window and pushed it open. The latch, just like Lindsey said, had been broken. Whoever broke it must have been very strong or used a very forceful tool, he thought, because it was made of steel.



He noticed that the window could be opened, but not by much. Only about eight or nine inches, in fact. Then it sort of got stuck.



“Lindsey, the thief really came and left through this window? Are you sure?”



“Positive,” she said. “The lock wasn’t broken yesterday. In fact, Jordan and Mr. Colby issued a strict order after the black-footed ferrets were stolen for everyone to make sure the windows were locked tight before they went home. The head birdkeeper swears he locked that window. If it hadn’t been locked, why would the thief break the latch?”



Henry frowned. “That’s not what puzzles me. It’s the size of the opening.”



“What do you mean?”



Henry pushed the window up as far as it would go. Then he put his hand through the opening.



“Look at how little room there is here. This window seems to be jammed.” Henry tried opening it all the way, but it wouldn’t budge 7. “Wouldn’t the person who slipped through it have to be incredibly thin?”



“Yes, of course. That’s a good point!” Lindsey said. “Some of these windows tend to jam up like that.”



Benny, still playing with the broken lock, said, “I’m only six years old, and I don’t think I could fit through there!”



“But someone must have,” Violet added. “Unless ... the thief broke in somewhere else.”



Lindsey shook her head. “No, we’ve looked. No other signs of forced entry anywhere.”



Violet also thought maybe the thief had a key, but that couldn’t be possible, could it? Would someone who worked here actually do something like that? Wouldn’t it be too obvious? She tucked the idea in the back of her mind for the time being.



“What does ‘forced entry’ mean?” Benny asked.



“This,” Henry answered, pointing to the broken latch, “is forced entry. And so is that,” he continued, pointing to the broken lock in Benny’s hand. “When you have to force your way in, that’s forced entry.”



“Oh,” Benny nodded. “I get it.”



“And,” Henry said, turning back to the window and putting his hands on his hips 4, “how could anyone fit two California condors through an opening that size? Aren’t they big birds?”



“Yes, they are, but it can be done. Birds are, unfortunately, very ‘squeezable.’ That’s why magicians use doves in their magic tricks—they can be squished into tiny places.”



“That doesn’t sound very nice,” Violet said.



“If it’s done gently it doesn’t really hurt them,” Lindsey quickly pointed 8 out, “but I’m sure the birds aren’t too happy. If the thief did that with the condors, I’ll bet he or she had to fight with them. Condors are mean, tough birds. The thief probably got a fair share of bites and scratches.”



They walked back over to the empty enclosure. “What about these little dents 9 on the floor?” Jessie asked, pointing. There were maybe a dozen of them, all small and close together, a few feet from the cage door. “Same as last time?”



Lindsey nodded. “Exactly the same. And still just as puzzling.”



Jessie knelt down and gently ran her hand over them.



“Just like in the mammal house,” she said softly.



“Right,” Lindsey said, “and they weren’t here before the theft. I asked the head birdkeeper, just to be sure.”



Henry said, “I wonder if they were caused by the thief’s shoes. Maybe the thief was wearing cleats, or those shoes that mountain climbers use. They have spikes 10 on the bottom.”



“I doubt it,” Lindsey replied. “If that were the case, why wouldn’t the marks be all over the floor? Why only in one spot?”



Henry nodded. “That’s true. I can’t really think of anything else, though.”



“Me neither,” Lindsey said.



Jordan Patterson walked in at that moment, hands deep in the pockets of his jeans.



“Any good news, Jordan?”



He shook his head. “No news at all. Same as last time. I have to admit, whoever the thief is, he or she is very good; left no clues, no trail, nothing.” He turned to the Aldens. “How are you kids coming along with your own investigation 11? Anything turn up?”



Henry told Jordan about his thoughts on the open window.



“That makes a lot of sense,” Jordan said. “I’ll mention that if and when the police get involved. Good point.”



“Thanks,” Henry said. “Does Mr. Colby know yet?”



Jordan frowned. “Yeah, I just finished talking to him.”



“I assume he didn’t take it too well?” Lindsey asked.



Jordan smiled at her, but there was no happiness in it. “No, he didn’t. In fact, he was downright furious. He said he was going to hire a night guard. He has a friend whose son has guard experience. He’s pretty good, from what I’ve heard.”



“Well, that should help,” Jessie said.



“I guess,” Jordan replied. “It’s a shame we have to go this far. Having a guard ...” He shook his head. “This is a zoo, not a prison.”



“But these thefts won’t make us look very good to the public,” Lindsey told the Aldens. “They’ll make us look irresponsible and careless.”



“Darren must think the same thing,” Jordan said to Lindsey, “because he said something else, too.”



“Oh?”



“He said he was going to shut down the breeding program if one more animal was taken.” Jordan put up a finger. “Just one.”



Lindsey’s face paled. “You’re kidding.”



“No, I’m not. And I’m not surprised, either. He’s been very worried about the possible response from the newspapers.”



“But what about the endangered animals?” Violet asked.



Jordan shook his head. “I guess another zoo will have to take them.”



“Oh, no!”



Jordan shrugged 12. “What else can we do? We can’t risk losing any more of them.”



He turned back toward the door. “Okay, I have to go back and talk to him again. Keep up the good work, kids.”



“Thanks,” Henry said.



“I hope they catch the thief soon,” Lindsey said sadly after Jordan had gone. “Or we do, or someone does. Shutting down the program is going to be a huge blow to this zoo.”



“Well, let’s keep looking around for more clues,” Henry said. “Who knows? The key piece to the whole puzzle might be right in this room.”



“Maybe,” Lindsey said, but she didn’t sound as enthusiastic as Henry.



Henry went back to the window, Benny investigated the supply shelves, and Violet searched around inside the condors’ empty cage.



Jessie, on the other hand, knelt down beside the dents in the floor again. There was something about them that seemed important to her—something way in the back of her mind. She could feel that they fit into the picture, but she couldn’t quite figure out how.



She would, though, very soon.



It was early afternoon, and Violet and Benny were standing 13 in Amphibian 14 Hall. After the Aldens finished examining the room where the condors had been stolen, they had lunch, then decided 15 to see the rest of the zoo before returning home. Benny insisted that Violet see the frog display.



Inside a huge glass-fronted enclosure were some of the most beautiful tropical plants Violet had ever seen, with huge green leaves attached to thick vines and branches. A little pipe that ran across the ceiling sprayed a fine mist of water. There were rocks and bubbling water pools, and even a tiny waterfall. It was perfect, Violet thought, even without the animals.



But the animals were what Benny had insisted she must see—and Violet was happy he had. They were frogs, but not like any other she’d ever seen. Most of them were so small they looked more like large bugs 16. One was blue and black, another was red and blue. A third was black and orange. One was a very bright yellow, and a few were a pure royal blue. These were the ones that took Violet’s breath away.



“Benny, they’re unbelievable!”



Her little brother smiled proudly. “I thought you’d like them.”



“I certainly do.”



She read the information plaque 17 on the wall. It said that these amphibians 18 were called poison-arrow frogs, named because natives of South America used to coat the tips of their arrows with the poison that covered the frogs’ skin. In spite of the frogs’ small size, the poison was strong enough to cause severe rashes and other painful skin irritations 19 in humans.



“Wow,” Violet whispered. She was amazed at how animals so beautiful could be so dangerous at the same time.



Benny and Violet decided to get a snack after seeing the rest of Amphibian Hall. They walked to the outdoor food court and chose a table in a patch of shade to sit and share an order of french fries. Benny was happily munching 20 away when someone familiar caught his eye. A strongly built young man wearing sunglasses and a brightly colored flowered shirt had made his way off the paved walkway that wound between the exhibit houses. He was standing on tiptoe behind some bushes, peering into back rooms of the Bird Barn.



“Violet,” said Benny, “look at that guy over there peeking 21 into the Bird Barn. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him at the zoo before ... Wouldn’t it be much easier for him to see the birds if he just went inside to the exhibit?”



“You’re right, Benny, but I don’t think he is an ordinary zoo visitor. Look, he’s taking notes.”



The young man had flipped 22 open a notebook and was writing in it. Then he seemed to be startled by a noise coming from the other side of the Bird Barn window. He looked around quickly, flipped his notebook closed, and hurried away.



Benny looked thoughtfully down at his french fries. “Now I remember,” he said excitedly. “I did see him here before. When we ate lunch with Lindsey and she explained to us all about the California condors. He seemed to be listening to Lindsey and he was taking notes then, too!”



Violet and Benny looked at each other.



“Do you think we found another suspect?” asked Benny.



“I think so,” answered Violet, “but who is he?”