儿童英语读物 The Mystery on the Train CHAPTER 5 A Midnight Call for Help

The Aldens and Aunt Jane got back to the train station in plenty of time before the train had to leave. As they walked out onto their track, Jessie pointed 1 and said, “Look, that’s Annie over there.”



She was still sitting on her suitcase and holding the portfolio 2 tight.



“She looks as if she thinks the portfolio will run away from her,” Benny said.



“She is really nervous about it,” Henry said. “I wonder what could be in it?”



“Violet asked her,” Jessie reminded them. “She said it was her drawings. But she acts as if it were something a lot more valuable than student drawings.”



Henry said, “Violet could be right. Maybe Annie is in some kind of trouble.”



“Maybe we should keep an eye on her,” Benny suggested.



“If she has a room next to ours like she did last time, it will be easy to keep an eye on her,” Jessie said.



“But this is a much bigger train,” Henry said. “All the cars are double-deckers. She may not be right next door to us again.”



“Wherever she is, I think we should try and stick close,” Violet said. “She’s my friend and I want to help.”



They boarded the California Zephyr 3 train and quickly discovered that Annie was not in their sleeping car. Their new compartments 5 were on the bottom floor and there were only six rooms. The Aldens and Aunt Jane took three of them. There was a family of four in the bigger family bedroom at the end of the hall and a woman in a wheelchair at the other end. The one remaining compartment 4 was occupied by an older couple.



“Let’s check and see if we can find Annie,” Benny said.



“There are several sleeping compartments,” Jessie reminded them. “Some are upstairs and some downstairs, so it will be a lot harder to find Annie.”



“We’ll find her,” Violet said. They immediately began to walk up and down the cars looking for Annie, but after about an hour’s search, they had to admit that Annie was nowhere around.



“Maybe we will see her at dinner,” Henry said. “Or later in the observation lounge 6.”



“Or maybe we can ask Vincent where she is,” Benny said.



Dinner that evening was in a much bigger, fancier dining room. The tablecloths 7 were white linen 8 and there were small silver vases with fresh flowers on each table.



“This train trip is really wonderful,” Jessie said. “Thank you for inviting 9 us, Aunt Jane.”



“I’m glad you like it,” Aunt Jane said. “I want this to be a very special experience for you.”



“It is. We like everything,” Benny added. “We like our rooms and our beds and the way the train rattles 10 and shakes. This is a great surprise present.”



Aunt Jane and Violet sat with another young couple. Henry, Jessie, and Benny sat at a table with a small man who was wearing a dark gray pinstriped suit. He was about the same age as Grandfather and seemed very glad to share a table with the children.



When they sat down, the man stood up and shook everyone’s hand and said, “Allow me to introduce myself. Reeves is the name, Herbert Reeves.”



The children introduced themselves and then they wrote down their orders for dinner. Henry and Jessie chose the broiled 11 salmon 12. Benny decided 13 he would order chicken.



As they waited for their dinners, Benny said, “We’re going all the way to San Francisco.”



“Quite a coincidence,” said Mr. Reeves. “Quite a coincidence. I am on my way to San Francisco as well. Going to an auction 14. Going to seek out some very special collector’s items. I have some private information that there will be some very exciting valuable things.”



“What do you collect?” Henry asked.



“I collect movie memorabilia,” Mr. Reeves said. He bit into a dinner roll and chewed and waved his hands as he talked. “Yes, indeed. I collect movie memorabilia.”



“What exactly is movie memorabilia?” Jessie asked.



“Memorabilia, my dear young lady? Why memorabilia is a catchall phrase for all sorts of items which pertain 15 to the movies. Early movies, mostly. Some collectors like to pick up items from modern movies and hold them indefinitely. I specialize in memorabilia from silent pictures.”



“Silent pictures?” Benny asked. “What are they?”



“What were they,” Mr. Reeves corrected. “Silent pictures were the greatest art form ever invented. Ah, yes, the silver screen has never been the same.”



When Benny still looked confused, Henry explained, “Mr. Reeves is talking about the early days in the movies. At first they were just pictures on a screen and there was no sound.”



“There was sound,” Mr. Reeves corrected. “Music, that is. There was a piano player in the theater to add atmosphere to the movies. Have you ever even seen a silent movie on a large screen with a piano player keeping step with the action?”



When the Alden children admitted they had never seen a silent movie, Mr. Reeves shook his head sadly. “Shame. Pity, really. Too bad.”



“What exactly do you collect?” Jessie asked.



“Memorabilia,” Mr. Reeves said again, then he realized that he wasn’t being clear. “I collect old movie magazines, costumes, photographs of stars, and most of all—posters. I’m on my way to San Francisco because a little bird told me there were some one-of-a-kind old movie posters coming in. Signed Pickfords . . . that’s Mary Pickford the silent movie star, and posters of movies starring Charlie Chaplin which he has autographed.”



“Do they cost a lot?” Benny asked.



“The idea is to buy them from people who don’t know the true value. Some autographed posters are sold for as much as fifty thousand dollars. Others go for as little as two hundred fifty dollars. Of course, autographed Pickfords and Chaplins in good condition are worth a good deal. Good night. Pleasant chatting with you.” Mr. Reeves stood up abruptly 16 and left the dining room.



“Wasn’t he an unusual man?” Jessie asked.



“I liked him,” Henry said.



“I really didn’t understand much that he said,” Benny admitted. “But I’ll tell you one thing. I’d never pay fifty thousand dollars for some old poster.”



“No, you wouldn’t,” Henry agreed, “but according to Mr. Reeves, someone would.”



The children soon began to talk of other things. When they finished their dinner, Aunt Jane went to read, and the others told Violet all about their dinner with Mr. Reeves. Then, they walked the entire length of the train again. As they walked, Violet said, “I wish we would run into Annie. I want to make sure she’s okay.”



“We could take another look in the observation lounge,” Jessie offered. “That’s where you talked with her last night on the other train. She may be there sketching 17.”



They went up the stairs to the lounge and sat for a while, listening to a piano player and looking out at the stars. The sky from the observation lounge was beautiful, but they didn’t see Annie. At about eight o’clock, Jessie began to yawn. She said, “I think traveling by train makes me sleepy.”



Violet nodded. “It’s the movement and the noise. It’s a lot like being rocked in a crib and hearing someone sing a lullaby.”



Benny yawned and said, “If makes me sleepy, too.”



“Maybe we should go to our compartments,” Violet said.



“Good idea,” Benny said. “I want to see the porter make up our beds again.”



“Maybe Vincent will make up the beds and we can ask him if he’s seen Annie,” Violet said.



But the porter who made up their beds that night was called Tim and he didn’t even know Vincent. He hadn’t seen any red-haired girls named Annie, either.



That night it was Henry’s turn to sleep in the top bunk 18. As they climbed into their beds, Henry said, “We had a big day. We saw Chicago and went to a German restaurant. We learned all about movie posters and when we wake up in the morning we’ll be in Colorado.”



“We will sleep all the way through Nebraska,” Benny said sadly. “I wonder what Nebraska looks like?”



“Flat,” Henry promised him. “That’s why we can travel so far so fast. But tomorrow we’ll be in the Rocky Mountains. Aunt Jane says it’s some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.”



“Where will we be when we wake up?” Benny asked.



“Outside of Denver. We’ll have breakfast in Denver.”



“But I like eating in the dining car,” Benny said.



Henry laughed softly and explained. “I meant the train will be in Denver. You’ll eat in the dining car.”



They fell asleep very quickly. Henry was dreaming of his dog Watch when he heard a sharp knocking on the door. He called out, “Who is it?”



“It’s Annie,” a voice called. “Oh, please, I need your help. Please wake up!”