时间:2018-12-06 作者:英语课 分类:7 小木屋之谜 The Woodshed Mystery


英语课

CHAPTER 12

Too Much Excitement



Oh, tell us what you see!” begged Jessie. “Can’t we come down, too?”



“I wouldn’t, Jessie,” said Henry looking up. “It’s so dirty. We’ll look very carefully and tell you everything.”



Benny had crawled 1 through the little door with the light. “The very same things!” he shouted. “A milking stool 2 and an old candlestick and some more iron 3 boxes! We’ll bring them all up.”



“How big is the hole?” called Violet 4.



“Just big enough for two people to sit down. You can’t stand up,” Benny called back. “Oh, boy! Here is an old plate! And here’s an old cup! All broken!”



His voice sounded strange and far away, but they could tell how excited Benny was.



“Hand them to me, old fellow,” said Henry. “And you let me have a turn in there.”



Benny crawled out and Henry crawled in.



“Find anything, Henry?” called Jessie.



“Well, yes! This seems to be a spoon. An awfully 5 old spoon. Somebody ate in here all right.”



But that was all. Henry handed the things up to the girls. Jessie gave him a box to step on and the boys jumped out of the hole.



Henry took some things and started for the kitchen. There was Sam, sitting on the cellar 6 stairs.



“Well, Sam,” said Henry. “How long have you been here?”



“Ever since you came down,” said Sam. “Your aunt told me to.”



“But we weren’t in any danger in our own cellar,” said Henry. “Sometimes Aunt Jane treats us like little children.”



Sam grinned a bit and said, “To tell the truth, I guess I want to know what’s going on. I’ll help you carry that stuff 7 outdoors.”



Soon everything was spread out on the grass in front of Aunt Jane.



The boxes held gunpowder 8 and bullets 9. There were no guns this time. Aunt Jane looked at everything. She said, “Now, we know a little bit more. This plate is over two hundred years old. And we know there were two hiding places.”



“Why should people want to hide?” asked Benny. “They just wanted to hide their ammunition 10.”



“Yes, Benny,” Violet said. “But you see the Redcoats wanted to catch the men, too. I’m sure someone hid in both these caves. Someone sat on that milking stool and ate from that plate.”



“Good for you, Violet,” said Henry, smiling. “I’m sure you are right.”



Then he said to Aunt Jane, “Let me tell you about that door in the potato pit 11. I would never have dreamed there was a door if I hadn’t been looking for one. A very clever man made that door. First it was made of wood, but the edges 12 were not straight. They were curved 13 to look like stones. Then the plaster 14 was put on to look like stones, too. It took a long time to make that door.”



“Yes, Henry,” said Aunt Jane. “Think of all those years when your grandfather and I lived here as children. Nobody ever found that door. And we used to play hide and seek in that hole. We poured potatoes into it and hid in the potatoes.”



“I wonder if Grandfather would have any ideas,” said Jessie slowly. “I know he had to go back to work. But he might remember something.”



Everyone looked thoughtful 15 for a moment.



“Oh, I’m all tired out thinking!” cried Aunt Jane suddenly. “It must be suppertime.” She looked tired and almost as if she were going to cry.



“Dear Aunt Jane!” cried Violet. “This is too exciting for you. I’ll tell Maggie to get supper right away. I’ll help her.”



“So will I,” said Jessie quietly. “We’ll get supper in two shakes.”



The three worked as fast as they could to get supper on the table. In no time, Maggie went to get Aunt Jane.



“We have your favorite things, Miss Jane,” she said. “Chicken salad and hot rolls and early asparagus.”



“And a cup of good strong tea, I hope,” said Aunt Jane.



“Yes, sure enough, a cup of good strong tea,” said Maggie. She helped Aunt Jane into her chair at the table. Maggie was a bit worried. She said so to Jessie when they were getting supper. “Your Aunt Jane must be getting too tired. She doesn’t ever speak quickly like that any more.”



“We’ll be more careful of her,” said Jessie. “We mustn’t upset Aunt Jane.”



“Maybe all this talk is too much for her,” said Violet. “You must remember that once upon a time she really loved Andy Bean.”



“I suppose she did,” said Maggie. “But that was a long time ago.”



“But this brings it back,” said Violet quietly.



Aunt Jane ate her supper well and drank her tea. As the family finished eating, they heard a voice talking to Maggie in the kitchen.



“It’s only Willie,” Henry said. “He must be selling Maggie some more asparagus.”



“Good,” said Benny. “I hope she will buy it.”



Benny had not heard the talk about Aunt Jane. He went on now with his own ideas. “But to go back to Andy Bean. Mr. Cole said there was a written story somewhere. Where do you suppose that story ever went? And what did it say? And where did Andy get it?”



Suddenly Aunt Jane’s cheeks looked bright pink. She spoke 16 quickly and, for her, quite loudly. It was hard for the children to tell whether she was angry or just tired.



“Andy Bean!” she exclaimed 17. “All the trouble he’s made! Running away and all. I’d like to shoot Andy Bean!”



Everyone turned in surprise toward 18 Aunt Jane. She had not sounded like this for a long, long time.



Henry was by her side in a second. “Don’t you worry any more, Aunt Jane!” he said in a loving voice. “Come on, I’ll carry you to bed!”



“No, Henry! Really, I’m all right.”



But Jessie and Violet and Maggie rushed over to her. Henry lifted his tiny aunt very easily and carried her to bed. By that time she was laughing.



“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I just got to thinking how nice it would have been if Andy hadn’t run away!”



“It’s all right, Miss Jane,” said Maggie. “Put on your very best lacy nightdress and you’ll go to sleep early.”



Maggie sat by Aunt Jane until she fell asleep.



Benny and Henry bought the asparagus and paid Willie.



“Did you work for Andy Bean’s father?” asked Benny.



“Yep.”



“Don’t bother Willie. He couldn’t have been more than a boy then,” Henry said to his brother. “Just put the asparagus in the refrigerator. Then we’ll go outdoors and talk all we want. I hope tomorrow Aunt Jane will be herself again.”



1 crawled
v.爬( crawl的过去式和过去分词 );(昆虫)爬行;缓慢行进;巴结
  • They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
  • She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸,躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 stool
n.凳子;粪便;根株;v.长出新枝,排便
  • The stool is steady enough.这个凳子很稳。
  • The boy was straining at stool.那个男孩在用力大便。
3 iron
n.铁,熨斗,坚强,烙铁,镣铐;vt.烫平,熨,用铁包;vi. 烫衣服
  • The iron has lost its magnetic force.这块铁已失去了磁力。
  • We need an electrician to mend the iron.我们要请电工修理熨斗。
4 violet
adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
5 awfully
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
6 cellar
n.地窖,地下室,酒窖
  • He took a bottle of wine from the cellar.他从酒窖里拿出一瓶酒。
  • The little girl hid away in the cellar.小姑娘藏在地下室里。
7 stuff
n.原料,材料,东西;vt.填满;吃饱
  • We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
  • He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。
8 gunpowder
n.火药
  • Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶,火药传入欧洲。
  • This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。
9 bullets
n.弹药;军火
  • The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
  • The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。
10 ammunition
n.军火,弹药
  • A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
  • They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。
11 pit
n.深坑,核,矿井,陷阱,英国剧场正厅后排,凹陷疤痕;vt.使...有伤痕,去...的核,与...较量
  • A sheep fell into a pit,and I helped it out.一只羊掉进坑里,我把它弄了出来。
  • They dug a pit to bury the rubbish.他们挖了一个坑把垃圾埋掉。
12 edges
n.边( edge的名词复数 );优势;(悬崖、峭壁的)边缘;锋利
  • Blood began to coagulate around the edges of the wound. 血液开始在伤口的边缘凝固。
  • a surface with rounded edges 带圆边的面
13 curved
a.弯曲的
  • His lips curved in a barely perceptible smile. 他的嘴角弯了弯,露出一丝几乎察觉不到的笑容。
  • The missile curved gracefully towards its target. 导弹呈优美的曲线状飞向目标。
14 plaster
n.石膏,灰泥,膏药;v.涂以灰泥,敷以膏药,使...平
  • He mixed up some plaster to repair the wall.他和了一些灰泥去补墙。
  • She applied the plaster on his shoulder.她将膏药贴在他的膀子上。
15 thoughtful
adj.思考的,沉思的,体贴的,关心的
  • She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
  • This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。
16 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
17 exclaimed
vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊,惊叫,大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )
  • "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
18 toward
prep.对于,关于,接近,将近,向,朝
  • Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
  • Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。