儿童英语读物 The Ghost of the Chattering Bones CHAPTER 9 Thief!

As they stepped outside, Henry was about to say something when Benny grabbed his arm. “What’s that?”



Everyone turned to see where Benny was pointing. At the top of the bridge, a light flickered 1 and vanished. There wasn’t time to decide what to do. On the spur of the moment, Henry clicked off the flashlight and they made a dash for the nearby bushes.



The children crouched 2 in the long grass, their eyes fixed 3 on the shadowy figures standing 4 in the middle of the bridge.



The muffled 5 sounds of conversation reached their ears, but they were too far away to make out what was being said.



Benny whispered, “Maybe it’s Annette and Spence! They might be looking for the secret hiding place.”



Before anyone had a chance to comment, they heard a noise—it sounded as if someone were hacking 6 away at the bridge!



“Oh, no!” Violet’s eyes were huge.



Benny jumped up to peer over the bushes, but Jessie stopped him in time. “Stay down, Benny.”



“But … somebody’s tearing the bridge apart!” he cried, almost shouting. “What should we do?”



Henry said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think it’s time to find out.”



“Let’s get closer,” Jessie suggested. “Maybe we can hear what they’re saying.”



Keeping down, they crept cautiously forward. Then in a sudden burst of speed, they raced for another cluster of shrubs 7.



“Can’t you work faster?” someone was saying. It was Annette!



“Give me a break!” came a grumbling 8 male voice. It was clear the man was jabbing at the mortar 9 that held the stones together. “I’m doing the best I can.”



“The mortar’s old and crumbling,” Annette was saying. “Should be easy enough to get that stone out.”



The Aldens looked at each other in alarm.



“I’m counting on your hunch 10 being right,” the man said. “Everything depends on it.”



“I’m telling you, that plaque 11’s the final clue,” said Annette. “The hiding place is right behind that stone.”



Jessie looked at Henry. It hadn’t occurred to them before, but it made sense. After all, didn’t the clues lead to Jon’s Blunder? Wasn’t that the name on the bronze plaque bolted to one of the stones?



All of a sudden, the battering 12 noise stopped. “I think the stone’s ready to come out,” the man said. “Keep your fingers crossed.”



“Thief!” Benny shouted. In a flash, he had scooted out from behind the shrubbery. There was no stopping him.



The time for action had come. Henry and Benny raced onto the bridge from one side, Violet and Jessie from the other. Annette whirled around so suddenly, she dropped her flashlight. It rolled along the bridge.



“Who’s there?” she shouted, blinded by Henry’s flashlight.



“The Aldens,” Jessie answered.



“I should’ve known!” Annette said. “This has nothing to do with you.” She made a shooing motion with her hand.



Henry looked her straight in the eye. “We’re not going anywhere.” Then he shone the flashlight’s beam on the man nearby.



The Aldens could hardly believe their eyes! It wasn’t Spence Morton. It was Bob Ferber!



“You’re the man from the potluck dinner,” Violet said in surprise.



But Bob Ferber paid no attention to the Aldens. Instead, he plunged 13 his hand into the dark space where the stone had been.



“Nothing!” He turned around, empty-handed. “Absolutely nothing.”



Annette’s jaw 14 dropped. “How can that be?”



“You tell me!” Bob shot back. “You always seem to know so much.”



“This is all your fault!” Now Annette was almost shouting. “You and your crazy ideas.”



Just then, the bare bulb over the back door flicked 15 on. Norah and Mrs. McGregor rushed out, pulling their robes around them. Half-walking and half-running, they hurried over to the bridge.



“Well, what’s all the fuss … oh, my …” Norah stopped and stared at the gaping 16 hole where the stone had been.



“What in heaven’s name is going on?” Mrs. McGregor demanded.



“They’re trying to steal Meg’s brooch!” Benny said accusingly.



Norah looked from Annette to Bob and back again. “You two know each other?”



Bob struggled to find something to say. “Uh, well … I, er …” Suddenly, he stopped talking. His shoulders slumped 17 and he leaned against the bridge, looking defeated. “Annette Tanning is my cousin.” He could hardly look at Norah.



“What …?” Norah was too shocked to speak.



For a moment, Norah and her assistant just looked at each other. Then Annette suddenly wheeled around to face Bob. “The whole thing was his idea,” she shrieked 18, pointing a finger of blame.



Norah threw a sharp glance at Bob Ferber. “What do you have to say for yourself, Bob?”



Bob opened his mouth several times as if about to speak, then closed it again. Finally he let out a sigh and said, “All right, it’s true. I was after your great-great-grandmother’s brooch.”



Norah stared at him, open-mouthed.



“The truth is, I happened to come across an old letter,” Bob confessed, “when I was working on your house, Norah. I guess it slipped through a crack in the floorboards a long time ago.”



“Oh?” Norah raised an eyebrow 19.



“It was a letter from Meg Eton’s grandmother.” Bob hesitated a moment, then plunged in. “The letter made it clear that Meg was planning to find a safe hiding place for her family heirloom—a brooch made from valuable gems 20.”



“No wonder you knew it was an old mystery,” said Jessie, nodding.



Bob gave a little half-hearted smile. “I guess I gave myself away, didn’t I?” Then he continued with his story. “I figured it was just the answer I was looking for. I knew, somehow or other, I had to get my hands on that brooch. The only problem was—” He stopped talking.



“You couldn’t pull it off alone, right?” Henry said, urging him on.



“Right,” said Bob.



Jessie guessed what was coming next. “You saw Norah’s ad in the paper for a research assistant, didn’t you?”



Bob didn’t deny it. “It started me thinking,” he said. “Annette was in the history program at college. If she got a job here, I’d have someone working on the inside. It all seemed simple enough.”



“I’m shocked at you, Bob.” Norah looked grim. “How could you think of stealing from me?”



“I never meant to hurt you, Norah.” He let out a weary sigh. “I was desperate. I ran out of money and I had bills piling up. My plan was to sell the brooch and make some quick cash. What could I do? My business was about to fold.”



“That doesn’t make it okay to steal,” Mrs. McGregor said sternly.



“I know it was wrong, but I really couldn’t see the harm.” Bob shrugged 21 a little, trying to make light of it. “After all, folks seemed to think the brooch had been stolen anyway. I figured nobody would be the wiser if I—”



“Really did steal it,” finished Violet.



Bob nodded. “Turns out the joke’s on me,” he said with a hard laugh. “It seems the brooch was stolen—probably before Meg had a chance to hide it.”



Norah shook her head sadly. “You’re a bright young man, Bob,” she said in a quiet voice. “Why steal? That’s never the answer.”



Bob didn’t have a reply to that. He just walked away, his arms hanging limp at his sides.



Norah turned to her assistant. “You were really a part of this? I thought you were someone I could trust.” She sounded more hurt than angry. “You tried to convince me the brooch was long gone. And all the time you wanted it for yourself.”



Annette looked around. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on her. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not very proud of,” she said, swallowing hard. “I actually wanted nothing to do with Bob’s plan at first.”



“But then you changed your mind,” put in Jessie.



“I needed the cash. Besides, the research job sounded perfect. I figured I might as well try to find the brooch, too. Bob was going to split the money with me.”



“That’s why you were pumping us for information, wasn’t it?” said Violet.



Annette nodded. “I had a hunch you might have figured out a clue.”



“What about the photograph of Stone Pool?” asked Henry. “Did you take that?”



Annette nodded again. “I was standing out in the hall and I heard you talking about the photo. I couldn’t believe you’d pieced together so much. You’re smarter than I thought,” she added, looking around at them. “I was afraid you’d beat me to the hiding place.”



“What you don’t know,” said Jessie, “is that Norah had already made copies of the photograph.”



Annette looked surprised. “Well, I guess our plan wasn’t really—”



Violet jumped in. “Foolproof?”



“Oh, you heard me on the phone, did you?” Annette sighed.



“Your plan almost worked,” said Benny.



“Yes,” said Annette. “Things were going nicely until you kids arrived. You don’t give up, do you?”



“No,” said Henry. “Not until we fit all the pieces of the puzzle together.”



Jessie had a question. “There’s one part of this mystery I still don’t get,” she said. “How did you make it sound like the Chattering 22 Bones was flowing under the bridge?”



Annette stared at Jessie, a blank look on her face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”



Norah had heard enough. “I won’t be needing your services anymore, Annette,” she told her. “Please pack your bags.”



“I’m sorry I betrayed your trust, Norah,” Annette said quietly. Then she hung her head and walked away.