儿童英语读物 The Spy Game CHAPTER 7 Pandora’s Box

As they sat on the living-room couch, the Aldens turned the pages of the Penner family album. They found a photograph of Brandon Penner standing 1 on the front porch. He had a mustache, and his dark hair was parted in the middle. But they didn’t find any photos of Dora.



“That’s funny,” Violet said, pointing to an empty space where a photograph used to be. “A picture’s missing.”



Benny’s eyes widened in alarm. “I wonder if Steve stole it. I bet he did!”



“Oh, Benny!” Jessie exclaimed. “Why would Steve steal one of Amanda’s photos?”



“Maybe it was a picture of Dora,” Benny guessed, “on her birthday number four.”



The others had to admit this was possible. After all, they hadn’t found any other photos of Dora.



“We can’t be sure it’s Dora’s picture that’s missing,” Violet said, as she put the album away. “I think we should look in her hope chest.”



With that, the four children made their way up the carpeted stairs. At the end of the hall, they found a second flight of stairs. They soon found themselves in a dusty attic 2 with a sloping ceiling. It was full of boxes, old furniture, stacks of magazines, and broken toys.



“Dora’s hope chest must be up here somewhere,” Violet said, glancing around.



Benny was the first to spot a wooden chest tucked away behind a rocking horse. Taped to the chest was a tag that read: Dora’s Hope Chest.



“This is definitely it,” Henry said. As he lifted the lid, the smell of mothballs filled the air.



The children set to work searching the chest. They found clothes yellowed with age, packets of letters tied with ribbons, and an old game of checkers. But not a single photo.



“Well, that didn’t pan out,” Jessie said as they headed downstairs again.



“You mean, it didn’t Pandora out,” Henry joked. They all laughed.



Once again, the children stopped in the hallway to look at Dora’s picture. “There must be another photograph of her around here somewhere,” said Jessie.



Benny shook his head. “Steve stole it, remember?” He was sure of it.



“Benny!” Violet exclaimed. “We shouldn’t suspect people until we’re certain it was actually stolen.”



“Dora’s wearing a gown of white in this photo,” Henry said thoughtfully, “but—”



“It isn’t her birthday number four,” finished Benny.



Jessie was staring hard at the photograph on the wall.



“Thinking about something, Jessie?” Violet asked.



Jessie nodded her head slowly. “I knew there was something odd about this,” she said. “I just didn’t realize what it was—until now.”



“What are you saying, Jessie?” Henry asked her.



“Somebody made a mistake,” Jessie said. “Did you notice?”



“What kind of mistake?” Benny said, his eyebrows 3 furrowed 4.



“Listen to this.” Jessie read the words on the bottom of the photo aloud. “‘Pandora on her wedding day, February 29, 1904.’”



What’s wrong with that, Jessie?” Violet wondered. “It’s just the date of Pandora’s wedding.”



“February 29,” Jessie repeated. “Doesn’t that seem a bit odd to you?”



Henry looked puzzled, but only for a moment. “Oh, now that you mention it …”



“The date’s wrong!” Violet cried at the same time. “February only has twenty-eight days. Not twenty-nine. I guess somebody goofed 5.”



“Not if 1904 was a leap year,” said Henry.



“A leap year?” Benny asked.



“Every four years, February has twenty-nine days in it,” Henry explained. “It’s called a leap year when that happens.”



“Then … 1904 was a leap year?” Violet asked.



Henry nodded. “I think it’s possible. We can look it up.”



“Well, that’s one mystery solved,” said Violet. Then she let out a sigh. “Too bad the spy game wasn’t as easy to figure out.”



Benny looked at his brother and sisters. “What do we do now?”



“Chores,” answered Henry. “We promised Mrs. McGregor, remember?”



The four Aldens were eager to work on the mystery, but they didn’t want to break a promise. As they rode their bikes home, Benny looked over at Jessie.



“We will find the gold,” he said. “Won’t we?”



“Yes, I’m sure we will.” Jessie sounded positive. Inside, though, she wasn’t sure they’d ever figure out the spy game.



“Dora wasn’t very lucky,” Benny said as they pulled weeds from their vegetable garden.



Henry, who was turning over the dirt with a hoe, looked up. “What makes you say that, Benny?”



“Well, she kind of got robbed,” Benny said.



“I think I know what Benny means,” Violet added. “Dora only had a birthday once every four years, so—”



“She lost out on birthday presents!” Benny broke in, making everyone laugh.



“Wait a minute,” said Jessie. “If a leap year only comes once every four years, then how many birthdays did she have by the time she was sixteen?”



Violet began to figure it out. “Well, Dora had a birthday when she turned four … a birthday when she turned eight, a birthday when she turned twelve, and a birthday when she turned sixteen.” She held up four fingers.



“That means,” Henry said, “when Dora got married, it was only her birthday number four!”



Violet could hardly believe it. “So the photograph we were looking for was—”



“Hanging in Amanda’s front hall,” Henry finished.



“And Dora is wearing a gown of white in the picture—” Benny said.



“Then the next clue must be somewhere in the photograph,” Henry concluded.



“But where?” Jessie was having second thoughts. “It’s just a picture of Dora in her wedding dress.”



“There must be something special about it,” argued Violet.



“There is something,” said Henry. “It’s the only place where Dora’s name is written in full—Pandora.”



Jessie nodded. “I’d forgotten about that.”



“You think ‘Pandora’ is a clue?” Benny wanted to know.



“I’m not sure,” said Jessie. “But I remember reading a story once about a Pandora. It was called ‘Pandora’s Box.’”



“What kind of story?” Violet asked.



“Well, Pandora gets a box on her wedding day,” Jessie began, “that she isn’t supposed to open. Only, her curiosity gets the better of her.”



Benny’s eyes were big. “And she opens the box?”



Jessie was thinking hard. “She does open it, but … I can’t remember what happens next.”



“Maybe we should find out what happens next,” Violet suggested. “It might be a clue. We can go to the library in the morning.”



“That’s a great idea,” said Henry.



“I just hope we’re on the right track this time,” Benny said with a sigh.



“We all hope that, Benny,” said Jessie.