儿童英语读物 The Sword of the Silver Knight CHAPTER 8 Benny Delivers a Message

That evening, the Aldens went to the park as usual. Hannah greeted them as they came to change into their costumes. “Do you realize we have only two more nights here in Greenfield?” she asked.



“Really?” said Henry. The week had gone by so quickly



“Tomorrow night is our last show here. Then we’re moving on to Silver City,” Hannah said.



The children dressed quickly and headed off to their various jobs. But before they separated, Jessie turned to the others. “We’ve got to solve this mystery before the fair leaves Greenfield. We’ve got to find that sword!”



The others nodded solemnly.



Benny went to his usual job of helping 1 Jonathan prepare for the show. Jonathan was cheerful as always, whistling and joking with Benny. He seemed to love looking at himself in the mirror, especially when he was all dressed up in his armor.



“My, uh, friend is coming to see the show tonight,” he told Benny.



“That’s neat,” said Benny. “I’m sure he’ll like it.”



“Yes, I think he will,” Jonathan said.



When Jonathan was finished dressing 2, he poked 3 his head out of the tent. Crowds of people were lining 4 up to enter the main tent.



Jonathan called, “Hey, Benny, come here for a minute.”



Benny joined Jonathan in the doorway 5.



“Do you see that man with the beard and the dark sunglasses? He’s my—” Jonathan hesitated. “My friend.”



Benny noticed that Jonathan had started to call the man by a different word but had stopped himself. He wondered why. Benny studied the crowd. “Yes, I see him.”



“I want you to do me a favor,” Jonathan said. “Will you give him a message from me?”



“Sure,” Benny said, always eager to be useful.



Jonathan leaned his head close to Benny’s and spoke 6 in a low voice. “Tell him ‘Our plan is working. We’re going to be rich!’”



Benny’s eyes opened wide when he heard the message.



“Got it?” Jonathan asked.



Benny nodded and swallowed hard. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell him.”



As Benny hurried out of the tent, his mind was racing 7. What did Jonathan mean? Was he talking about stealing the sword? Was this man Jonathan’s partner in crime? Benny hated to think of Jonathan that way, but he couldn’t help wondering.



Even though he was worried, Benny did as Jonathan had asked. He ran over to the bearded man. “Excuse me, sir,” Benny said.



“Yes?” the man replied. He looked surprised.



“I have a message for you from Jonathan Fairbanks,” Benny said.



Now the bearded man nodded. “Ah, yes, Jonathan.”



“He told me to tell you, ‘Our plan is working. We’re going to be rich,’” Benny said.



The bearded man smiled broadly. “I’m glad to hear it. And I’m looking forward to seeing the show.”



“It’s a great show,” Benny said. “Goodbye.” He went back to Jonathan’s tent. What were Jonathan and that man up to, he wondered.



Meanwhile, Violet and Jessie had gone to help in Annie’s tent. When they arrived they found her sitting in a chair, gazing blankly into the distance.



“Annie?” said Violet. “Are you okay?” Annie seemed startled 8. “Oh, um, hello.” She smiled at the girls. “I was just, um, thinking about something …”



Jessie noticed a crumpled 9 piece of paper and an envelope in Annie’s hand.



“Did you just get some bad news?” Jessie asked gently.



Annie sighed. “Oh, it’s just a letter from the bank. I got it a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get a loan so I can finish college. The bank said no.”



“I’m sorry,” Violet said.



Annie smiled briefly 10. “Oh, well, I’ll just have to figure out something else.”



“Sorry to bother you,” Jessie said. “But it’s time to get ready for the show.”



“I didn’t realize it was that late,” Annie said, glancing at the small clock next to her mirror. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”



“Shall we do your hair first?” Violet asked.



“That sounds good,” said Annie.



Violet got the brush and began brushing Annie’s long brown hair. When she was finished brushing, Violet made a tiny braid on each side, carefully weaving tiny white ribbons into the braids. Then she fastened the braids at the back of Annie’s head with a sparkly 11 barrette.



Meanwhile Jessie had been getting Annie’s clothes. When Annie’s hair was done, Jessie helped Annie into her petticoat and long white dress. It was made of soft velvet 12, with sleeves that puffed 13 slightly at the shoulders and then narrowed to points over her wrists.



“This is such a beautiful dress,” Jessie said. “I love the beading and the silver threads.”



“It is a wonderful dress, isn’t it?” Annie said. “And certainly more comfortable than wearing armor! I feel so sorry for the men.”



“I agree,” said Violet. “Armor does not look comfortable at all.” She picked up a rhinestone 14 necklace and fastened it around Annie’s neck.



Annie laughed. “Trust me, I know. It isn’t comfortable. And it’s hard to walk in.”



“How do you know?” Jessie asked. “Have you ever worn it?”



Annie’s face suddenly went pale. “Me?” she asked. “Worn armor? Why would I have worn armor? I just mean, I can tell by looking at it.”



Jessie and Violet looked at one another. Why did Annie suddenly seem so embarrassed, as if she’d said something wrong?



“Oh,” Jessie said. “That’s what I thought.”



“I’d better be getting over to the main tent,” Annie said, stepping into her white silk slippers 15. She hurried out, leaving Jessie and Violet behind.



When the children arrived home that night, Grandfather was out at a business dinner.



The children sat down in the kitchen, talking about how much fun they’d been having at the show.



“Don’t stay up too late,” Mrs. McGregor said, going to her room.



“We won’t,” called the children.



“This medieval 16 fair has been so great,” said Violet. “I wish tomorrow weren’t the last day.”



“Me, too,” said Henry. “Especially since we haven’t found that sword yet.”



“I know we can solve this mystery,” said Jessie. “We’ve never failed before.”



“I could think better if I had a snack,” Benny said.



“I had a feeling you might say that,” Jessie said, smiling at her brother. “How about some ice cream?”



Benny’s face lit up. Jessie went to the freezer and got out a container of mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, while Henry and Violet got the bowls, spoons, and napkins. Benny got the ice-cream scooper 17.



Soon they were all settled at the table with bowls of ice cream in front of them. Benny stirred his ice cream around and around until it was soft and melted. Violet thoughtfully licked 18 her spoon.



Benny told the others about Jonathan’s message that night for the bearded man. “What do you think he was talking about?” Benny asked.



Jessie looked concerned. “I don’t know, but it sounds as if he’s working with that man, and they stole the sword together. It sounds as if they plan to sell it and get rich.”



“Jonathan was the last one seen with the sword,” said Henry. “We have only his word that he left it in Mr. Worthington’s tent.”



“And we saw him wandering around that night,” Violet recalled. “Who knows where he was going, or what he was up to. Maybe he took the sword and hid it.”



“I don’t think it was Jonathan!” Benny said. “I think he’s telling the truth—that he left the sword in Mr. Worthington’s tent. I think Mr. Worthington hid it somewhere to get Jonathan in trouble.”



“That’s possible, too,” Henry said, eating another spoonful of ice cream.



Jessie pulled out her notebook and looked at the notes they’d made over the past few days. “There’s another possibility. They could both be telling the truth. Jonathan said he left the sword at about ten o’clock, right after the show ended. Mr. Worthington was still out signing autographs and thinks he came back to the tent at around ten-fifteen. In those fifteen minutes, someone else could have come in and stolen the sword.”



“But who?” Violet asked.



“What about Hannah?” asked Benny.



“Why would she steal her own sword?” Henry asked.



“Yeah, that doesn’t make any sense,” Benny agreed. Violet handed him a napkin to wipe off the ice cream that had dripped on his chin.



“What about Annie?” suggested Jessie. “She keeps talking about needing money for college. She might have stolen the sword for the money.”



“She seemed to be covering up something today,” Violet recalled. “We started talking about the costumes, and then she suddenly got up and left.”



“What do you think she’s covering up?” Jessie asked.



Violet shook her head. “I don’t know.”



“I just have a feeling the sword is hidden somewhere at the park,” Henry said. “Maybe the thief didn’t have time to take it somewhere else that night.”



“Whoever stole it might have buried it,” Benny said. “That’s what you do with treasure.”



Jessie and Violet nodded. But Henry looked unconvinced. “I don’t know,” he said. “If they buried it underground, we’d see a spot that looked freshly dug up. I haven’t noticed any spot like that.”



“We haven’t been everywhere around the park,” Benny pointed 19 out.



“We’ll just have to search the whole place tomorrow,” Jessie said. “It’s our last chance.”



“That park is huge,” said Benny. “How will we ever find it?”



“It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Violet said.



The Aldens sat quietly for a moment, thinking. Then Jessie stood up and carried her bowl to the sink. “We’d better get some sleep. We’ll work on this tomorrow.”



The children went off to bed. But Henry couldn’t fall asleep. Something about what Violet had said kept going through his mind. “A needle in a haystack …” he mumbled 20 as he drifted off to bed.



In the morning, Henry sat up in bed. He had an idea.