儿童英语读物 The Vanishing Passenger CHAPTER 7 An Old Friend

The Aldens’ minivan pulled up to the train station. “Are you sure you kids don’t want a ride to Allerton?” said Grandfather.



“That’s okay, Grandfather,” said Jessie. “We’re looking for clues around the train station. Why not take the train?” The other three children nodded.



“And it’s fun!” Benny chimed in.



“Indeed it is,” said Grandfather. He knew his grandchildren well. “Call me if you need anything,” he said as the children climbed out of the van.



“Thank you,” they replied together.



By the time the children had bought their tickets, the train was waiting at the station.



“Here we go,” said Jessie, as they climbed aboard.



When the Aldens got off the train at Allerton, they noticed signs of the thunderstorm from the day before. Wet leaves and branches were lying everywhere, and huge puddles 1 had formed in the parking lot.



“Wow,” Violet said. “That must’ve been quite a storm!”



“So, if Max jumped off the train, where would he go?” Henry wondered. He took a good look around. Then he spotted 2 the parking lot. “How about over there?”



Jessie said, “If I was a small dog caught in a thunderstorm and scared, I’d look for the first place where I could get away from it, just like the Taylors said he would. Under a car would be easy enough.”



“Let’s check it out,” Henry said.



They searched from car to car, and after awhile it didn’t look as though they would find any clues. They figured Max would have gone to a car close to the tracks. But there didn’t appear to be any sign of this.



Then Violet looked under an old red truck that was parked near the back of the lot.



“Hey!” she called out, “I think I found a clue!”



As the others hurried over, Violet stood up with something in her hand—another granola-bar wrapper.



“That’s the same kind as the one we found in the fourth car yesterday!” Jessie said.



“Except this one is all chewed up,” Violet pointed 3 out, holding it up so they could see the little dent 4 marks all over it. “Also, it still has some granola bar inside. Yuck!”



Henry said, “You know what? I’ll bet Mr. Finch 5 used it to lure 6 Max from under this truck. He was probably too scared to move otherwise.”



The others nodded. “That would explain the way this is all torn up,” Violet said. Then she tossed it into a nearby garbage can.



“But it doesn’t explain where they are now,” Jessie added. “What do you think?”



“Don’t forget, Mr. Finch said something in his message about going to see someone named Mr. Bean,” said Benny.



Henry smiled. “That’s right, Benny—good job.” He pointed to a phone booth across the street. “There’s a phone book in there. Let’s see if anyone in Allerton has the last name Bean.”



The children looked through the phone book and found two people with the last name Bean. The Aldens decided 7 they would call them both.



Violet picked up the phone. “There’s no dial tone,” she said.



“The phones must still be out from the storm,” said Jessie. “Let’s see if any of the shops down the street have a phone that is working.”



Then, suddenly, Violet started to giggle 8.



“What, Violet?” Jessie asked. “What’s so funny?”



Violet said, “Maybe the people in that shop will be able to help us.”



“Really? Which one?” asked Henry.



She pointed down the street.



“That one,” she said.



And there, standing 9 on the corner, was a store with a big sign that read, “Mr. Bean’s Coffee Shop.”



All four children were still giggling 10 when they went inside. It was a charming little place, filled with the aroma 11 of coffee and delicious baked goods like warm corn muffins and soft chocolate-chip cookies.



The Aldens found four empty stools at the counter and sat down. A young waitress with blond hair spotted them and came over.



“Hi, kids, what can I get for you?” The nameplate on her uniform read, ‘Jenna.’



They each ordered milk and a small desert. Henry had a bear claw. Jessie asked for a cherry turnover 12. Violet got a black-and-white cookie.



And Benny, hungry as ever, ordered two cookies.



After Jenna set their plates down, she asked, “Would you like anything else right now?”



“Well, we have kind of a strange question to ask,” Jessie began.



“Oh? What’s that?”



“Yesterday, some time in the afternoon, did a man come in here with a little dog?”



Jenna laughed. “Sure did. It was that Gilbert Finch character!”



The Aldens were stunned 13. “You know him?” Jessie asked.



“Of course. We all do. Hey George!”



The door to the kitchen opened, and a man wearing a white apron 14 came out.



“Yes?”



“These kids are asking about Gilbert, when he came in yesterday with that dog.”



George gave a little laugh, too. “Oh, it’s always interesting when Gil comes in here,” George said. “We gave him a towel so he could dry off the dog, who was so scared he was shaking. Then Gil got him a little bowl of milk. They both sat in here until the storm died down.”



“Did he try to call anyone?” Violet asked.



“Couldn’t,” George said. “The phones haven’t been working since the storm. One of the main lines must’ve been knocked out.”



Then George pointed to a large photograph in a frame that was hanging on the wall.



“See? He’s been coming in here for ages.”



It was another picture of Mr. Finch. At the bottom he’d written, To George and Jenna, who make the best coffee in the whole Northeast. Your friend, Gilbert Finch. Right next to it, the Aldens couldn’t help but notice, was the signed photograph of another famous local author—Daniel Van Buren.



And the inscription 15 he wrote was, I agree with everything Gil said.