儿童英语读物 The Outer Space Mystery CHAPTER 7 A Thief in the Night

Violet leaned back with a contented 1 sigh. Stars lay scattered 2 against the velvety 3 black like diamonds. She felt like she was part of the soft summer night.



Benny sat up. “I don’t see anything,” he said. “Except outer space.”



“You will,” Randy promised. “Keep your eye on the sky!” Then he added, “By the way, I have the scoop 4 on a terrific story.”



Now Jessie sat up, interested. “What’s it about?”



But Randy merely put his forefinger 5 to his lips. Then he left to join some other faculty 6 members.



“Everybody’s got a secret around here! I wonder what kind of a story he’s writing,” Jessie asked Henry.



“Maybe it has something to do with Eugene’s and Mark’s discoveries,” Henry answered.



“But those are secret,” Jessie said. “Mark and Eugene won’t tell anyone about their discoveries until tomorrow.” The next day was the last day of the conference. The young astronomers 7 would present their papers to the scientists.



Benny scooted to the end of his lawn chair. For once he wasn’t interested in the mystery. He wanted to see a meteor! “I haven’t seen one single falling star,” he complained.



“Where are they, anyway?”



“Be patient,” Henry told him. He was wondering if Mark Jacobs would make it tonight after all. He spied Eugene Scott sitting at the end of the front row with some other students.



Just then Mark rushed into the observatory 8. He carried a folder 9, which he placed on Randy’s desk.



“Ah!” said Dr. Porter. “Our narrator has arrived.”



“Sorry I’m late,” Mark said, clipping a small microphone to his shirt collar. When he spoke 10 again, his voice was amplified 11 so everyone could hear him. “Welcome to my Perseid meteor shower. Actually, this show appears every year about this time. I can’t really take credit for it.”



The audience laughed.



“While I’m talking,” Mark said, “please direct your attention to the east-southeast portion of the sky.”



“That way,” Henry whispered, pointing for Benny.



Mark continued his speech. “As you know, meteors are sometimes called shooting stars or falling stars. They aren’t really stars, but particles of rock or metal. We see them as a bright streak 12 when these particles enter our atmosphere and burn up.”



“But they don’t always burn up,” Eugene put in.



“Right,” said Mark. “Sometimes a fragment can strike the earth. These are called meteorites 14. Meteorites are usually small, like pebbles 15, but they can be large. Once, a meteorite 13 hit a house in Illinois. It went through the roof of the garage, the roof of the car, and was found embedded 16 in the front seat.”



Benny had been staring at the sky so hard that his eyes were watering. Suddenly he saw a greenish flash.



“I saw one!” he cried, leaping from his seat.



“The first sighting of the evening goes to Benny Alden,” Mark said in an announcer tone. “Congratulations!”



Benny was pleased. He bounced excitedly in his chair.



“There’s one!” exclaimed Violet. “And another!”



“There’s a whole bunch over there!” Henry cried.



At once, the sky was filled with streaks 17 racing 18 across the sky in shades of orange, yellow, and emerald green.



“I never knew there’d be so many colors!” said Jessie.



“The Perseid meteors appear to come from the constellation 19 Perseus,” Mark explained. “That’s how they were named. They are dust fragments from the tail of a comet. Of all the meteor showers throughout the year, the Perseids are the most spectacular.”



Jessie had to agree. The graceful 20 streaks swooping 21 across the sky were prettier than fireworks.



“How far away are they?” Henry asked Mark.



“Closer than you think,” Mark replied. “Some are only sixty miles overhead.”



“That’s not so far!” Benny said. “When the next one falls, I’m going to go out and get it!”



Grandfather laughed. “Sixty miles is a long way to walk, Benny. And remember, Mark said most meteors don’t make it to Earth.”



But Benny wasn’t discouraged. A meteorite would be a terrific souvenir to go with his snakeskin.



The show continued for another hour. The children tried to guess which falling star would disappear below the horizon first.



Violet found herself nodding off. It was so comfortable in the lawn chair. . . . Suddenly someone bumped the back of her seat. Whoever it was didn’t apologize for jostling her chair. And it was dark in the observatory. Anyone moving around could easily stumble.



She settled back once more. Through half-closed eyes, she was aware that someone was near the desk. Then the figure melted into the shadows.



When she felt a hand on her arm, she jumped again.



“Sorry to startle you,” Grandfather said soothingly 22. “But it’s very late. You children should go to bed before you fall asleep right here.”



“I think I was snoozing,” she confessed, climbing out of the low chair.



Several people were getting to their feet. The meteor shower was nearly over. But a few were staying to look through the telescope.



In the lit hallway, the Aldens waited for Grandfather, who was discussing business with Dr. Porter.



Mark came down the hall, his folder under his arm. “Well, kids, how did you like it?”



“It was great!” Henry said.



“Tomorrow I’m going to go look for one of those meteor-things,” Benny said, yawning hugely. “A whole bunch fell tonight. I ought to be able to find at least one.”



“You just might,” said Mark.



“Did you finish your paper?” Jessie asked.



He tapped his folder. “In the nick of time.”



As Eugene Scott walked toward them, Mark smiled at him. “Well, tomorrow is our big day. Good luck, Eugene.” He stuck out his hand.



Eugene stared at Mark’s outstretched hand. Reluctantly, he shook it. “Same to you,” he said brusquely. He left without saying good night.



“He certainly isn’t very nice,” Jessie remarked.



Mark merely shrugged 23. “Some guys are like that. They’re afraid somebody will steal their work or make a bigger discovery. I believe we should all work together for the good of science.”



Henry admired Mark’s attitude. “I think I’d like to be an astronomer,” he said. “When you look through the telescope, you could see something nobody’s ever seen before!”



“That’s right,” Mark agreed. “The possibilities are endless. You’d be good at astronomy, Henry, but it takes a lot of patience.”



“What about me?” asked Benny. “Would I be good at it, too?”



Mark said with a laugh, “You’d be good at anything you set your mind to, Benny Alden!”



Benny puffed 24 his chest proudly. “You hear that? I’d be good at anything!”



“Except going to bed,” Grandfather said as he came up behind them, smiling. “I’ve been delayed, so you children go ahead to your rooms.”



“I’ll walk them down the mountain,” Mark offered.



“I’d appreciate it,” said Grandfather. “I’ll see you all in the morning. Bright and early — it’s the last day of the conference. And you all have a job!”



By now the rest of the spectators had left the observatory.



Mark led the way out the door. As he opened it, he dropped his folder. Papers scattered across the floor.



The children bent 25 to help pick them up.



“Thanks,” Mark said, stuffing the papers back into the folder. “I’ll sort them out when I’m in my room.”



Henry gave him the last sheet. “This one’s blank,” he said. “I guess it’s an extra piece of paper.”



Mark held the paper into the light, frowning. “I don’t think I put any extra paper in here — just my document.”



Quickly he spread the other sheets on the floor.



“They’re all blank.” Violet gasped 26. “What happened to your paper?”



Mark looked thunderstruck. He was speechless.



“Maybe you picked up the wrong folder,” Jessie suggested. “Randy probably has a lot of folders 27 on his desk. Let’s go back and look.”



They dashed back into the empty observatory. Mark flicked 28 on the light switch.



But Randy’s desk was neat. Only the sign-in logbook was centered on the blotter.



Henry checked around the desk, in case Mark’s folder had slipped behind. He found nothing.



Mark moaned. “My work!”



“Maybe it was an accident,” Violet offered. “There were a lot of people here tonight — someone could have put another folder on the desk and picked up yours by mistake.”



But even as she said the words, she didn’t believe it.



“Somebody must have stolen your paper,” Benny said direly 29.



Mark nodded, like someone in a trance. “I’m afraid you’re right, Benny. Someone stole my paper.”



“But why?” asked Jessie. “Who could have done such an awful thing?”



“It could have been anyone,” said Henry. “People were walking in and out all evening.”



“The invitation wasn’t just for the college,” Mark said. “People from the town were here, too.”



Jessie examined the stack of blank sheets in Mark’s folder. “One thing is for sure,” she said. “The crime was planned ahead of time.”



Henry nodded in agreement. “The person was smart enough to bring blank paper to the observatory tonight. So he — or she — could leave it in Mark’s folder as a substitute.”



Mark’s face crumpled 30 with despair. “My notes were in that folder, too. My whole discovery is lost!”