儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Lost Mine CHAPTER 6 Lights Out!

Benny sat up in bed. He listened carefully for the familiar sounds of the humming refrigerator and air conditioner. He heard only Grandfather’s faint snoring.



A darting 1 shape outside the window caught his attention. A tall, dark figure flitted between the Garcias’ RV and Mr. Tobias’s trailer.



“Henry!” Benny reached across and shook his brother.



Henry was awake in an instant. “What?”



“The air conditioner’s not running,” Benny said. “And I just saw somebody outside. Maybe it’s the prowler Jessie saw the other night.”



The air inside the RV was getting stuffy 2. Henry climbed out of his bunk 3 and flicked 4 on the light switch. The lights didn’t turn on, either.



“The power’s off,” Henry reported. He climbed up to Grandfather’s bed. “Grandfather, wake up. Something’s happened to the power.”



James Alden was up quickly. He began pulling his clothes on. The boys dressed hurriedly in the dark. By now the girls were awake, too.



“What is it?” Jessie called from the other end of the trailer. “How come the lights won’t come on?”



“Something’s wrong with the power,” Grandfather said, grabbing his flashlight. “Henry and I will check it out.”



“Me, too!” Benny scrambled 5 after them.



Outside, all the RVs in the D Block were shrouded 6 in darkness. Only small, overhead street lamps cast weak pools of light.



The door to the Garcias’ trailer opened. Mr. Garcia and Luis stumbled down the steps. Mrs. Garcia followed them.



“Our power is out,” said Mr. Garcia to Grandfather.



“Ours, too. Maybe a fuse in the main building blew,” guessed James Alden.



“I’ll go check with the management.” Mr. Garcia headed toward the office. Mrs. Garcia went with him.



Luis came over to the Aldens’ trailer. “I wonder what’s wrong?” he asked.



Henry shone his flashlight around the hookup area. “Here’s the problem,” he said. “The cable’s been disconnected.” He held up the loose end of the plug.



Grandfather reconnected the cable. “That’s strange.”



Luis ran over to his RVs hookup. “Our plug has also been pulled! Yet the sewer 7 and water pipes are still connected.”



Inside the Aldens’ RV, Violet tugged 8 at Jessie’s sleeve. “Look,” she said. “There are two people hanging around Mr. Tobias’s trailer. Do you think we should warn him?”



“It’s Mr. and Mrs. Clark,” Jessie said, as the couple approached. She and Violet went outside. It was creepy inside the dark RV.



“Our electricity has been disconnected!” Mrs. Clark complained to Grandfather. “Yours, too? And the Garcias’?”



Mr. Clark was angry. “If this is somebody’s idea of a prank 9, it’s not funny. These trailers can get very hot.”



“Fortunately, it’s nighttime,” said Grandfather. “The desert always cools down after dark.”



Benny shivered and wondered if the prowler was watching them.



Henry and Luis refastened the cables to the Garciases’ RV. Then they helped Mr. Clark fix his hookup.



Violet pointed 10 to Mr. Tobias’s RV. “What about Mr. Tobias? Should we check his hookup, too?”



Benny ran over. “It’s okay,” he called.



“That’s funny,” Jessie mused 11. “Everyone’s electricity was disconnected, except Mr. Tobias’s.”



“And he never even came out to see what was wrong.” Henry stared at the metallic-colored trailer.



“Unless,” Benny added, “he was the guy I saw running between the trailers.”



This time Jessie shivered. “I sure hope we catch this prowler.”



“Excitement’s over,” Grandfather said, herding 12 them toward the RV. “Back to bed. We’ll solve the mystery in the morning.”



And if they didn’t, thought Jessie, what would happen next?



Early the next morning, Gerald McCrae came by to pick up Grandfather. The Alden children rose early, too.



Jessie and Henry packed breakfast and lunch while Violet and Benny tidied the RV.



Luis knocked on the door.



“We’re almost ready,” Jessie told him. “Henry’s filling the canteens now.”



Luis looked pale in the faint morning light. “Someone got into our RV last night. The photographs of the stone maps were stolen!”



Henry turned from the sink. “Are you sure?”



“Yes. I knew we’d need them today. But when I opened the drawer, the folder 13 was gone.”



“Maybe your mother put it someplace else,” Violet suggested.



Luis shook his head. “No. I’m certain the photographs were in the drawer last night.”



“It must have happened when we were all outside!” Benny exclaimed.



“Benny could be right,” said Henry. “The prowler could have sneaked 14 into your trailer while everyone was fixing their electrical cables.”



“We were all there,” said Jessie. “Everyone except Mr. Tobias.”



“What would Mr. Tobias do with my photographs?” Luis asked. “He hardly ever comes out of his trailer. We need those maps to find the exact location of Weaver’s Needle.”



“Wait!” Violet flipped 15 open her drawing tablet. “I made some drawings of the stone maps. They aren’t perfect, but I have a pretty good memory.”



Luis inspected her sketches 16. “Not bad. These seem fairly accurate. Nice work, Violet.”



Pleased, Violet stashed 17 her drawings into the backpack containing their food.



Henry strapped 18 on the backpack and passed out the canteens. “If we hurry, we’ll be at the stables by six.”



Rex was waiting for them. Their horses had been saddled and fed. Each horse carried extra water rations 19.



“Have a good ride,” Rex said, waving them off.



After a while they passed a sign that said “Peralta Canyon 20 Trail.”



“We’re on the right track,” Luis commented.



Once more they rode single file with Luis in the lead and Henry at the rear. They stopped once to eat their breakfast and again to drink and check their bearings.



“Are we almost there?” asked Benny.



Violet got out her maps. “I see Weaver’s Needle,” she said, pointing to the heart-shaped formation in the distance.



Luis nodded. “Soon we’ll have to leave our horses and hike in.”



After a while the trail ended, narrowing to a path that vanished in the brush. They tied the horses to the trees, and began climbing on foot.



“I keep thinking about old Jake out here. He must be really tough,” Henry said.



“I hope he’s all right,” said Jessie.



Benny slowed his pace. “I don’t see Weaver’s Needle anymore,” he said to Luis.



“That’s because we’re getting closer,” Luis said.



Violet couldn’t believe how quiet it was up here. Earlier the mountains echoed with birdcalls. Now the hills were completely silent.



Luis explained, “It’s the heat. Animals and birds go under cover during the day. They come out to feed after sundown or in the early morning.”



“I wish I could find some cover.” Benny slumped 21 down on a stone. His cheeks were pink.



“Watch out!” Luis cried. He checked the boulder 22 Benny sat on. “Always look before you sit down. A rattler could be sunning itself.”



Benny jumped. “I sure don’t want to sit on a snake!”



Henry had climbed over the next rise. “Hey, look what I found!”



The others hurried over the hill at the urgency in Henry’s voice.



Henry stood in the middle of a small campsite. Charred 23 sticks smoked from a recent fire. Paper cups and trash littered the area.



Violet picked up a coffee cup. “Is this Jake’s camp? The fire is still warm. He’s probably nearby.”



Luis kicked at the smoldering 24 ashes. “Jake is too smart to leave a mess like this. Anyone with wilderness 25 experience would smother 26 the fire with sand. And Jake would never leave trash.”



“Then whose camp is it?” Benny asked.



“Somebody who obviously doesn’t care.” Henry was disgusted by all the trash lying around.



Jessie felt eyes boring into her. Looking up, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure in the rocks high above.



“Maybe it’s his camp!”



Luis cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, up there!”



“Halloo!” Henry yelled. His voice bounced around the canyon.



But the figure disappeared into the rocks.



“Whoever it was,” Benny said, “he didn’t want to be found.”



“We might as well eat,” Jessie said. Henry shrugged 27 off the backpack and Jessie began taking out rolls and cheese.



No one was very hungry. They were all disappointed they hadn’t found Jake or his camp.



Violet couldn’t stop thinking about the figure on the rocks. “That person we saw wasn’t Jake,” she said firmly.



“How do you know?” Henry asked, chewing a cookie.



“Because Jake isn’t tall. And that person was tall.”



“Like Tom,” Jessie said thoughtfully.



“Or Mr. Clark,” Luis added.



“Or,” Henry said, “Mr. Tobias.”



“Why would Mr. Tobias be out in these hills?” asked Violet. “He’s always in his trailer.”



Henry began picking up trash to stuff in his backpack. “Maybe he’s not always in his trailer. Maybe he just wants us to think he is.”



A pebble 28 rolled down the rock wall. Henry froze. “He’s still up there.”



“What is he doing?” Jessie asked fearfully. “Why won’t he answer us?”



“He’s trying to scare us,” Benny said.



“Well, it’s working.” Violet put her camera back in its case. She didn’t feel like taking pictures.



“Violet’s right,” said Luis. “I think we should head back to camp.”



“But we didn’t find the mine,” Benny cried.



“Or Jake,” Violet said sadly.