儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Wild Ponies CHAPTER 9 SOS

Shad walked the Aldens to his place. It seemed to take a long time and the sky grew darker all the while. He lived in an old house with several outbuildings near the shore.



“Come see this first,” said Shad, leading them to a shack 1 half buried in a thicket 2 of wild grapevines.



Rusty 3 crab 4 pots and ripped fishing nets hung from plank 5 walls. In the middle of the floor was a narrow, low platform covered with a bright green beach towel. Nearby was a fish-market bucket half filled with apples. The only other furniture was a blue canvas beach chair.



“That looks like our bucket,” Jessie said. “And those must be Winifred Gorman’s apples. And her beach towel. I wonder why she said she found it.”



“I bet that chair belongs to the Seagull Resort,” Violet added. “It has the same seagull design on it.”



Henry looked at Shad. “Is this Austin’s hideout?”



Shad nodded ruefully. “I didn’t know he was here until a few days ago. He told me his folks dropped him off, which I thought was strange. All he had was his backpack. This morning when I was doing chores, I found this shack had been fixed 6 up. He’s been here longer than I thought.”



“You didn’t know Austin had run away?” said Benny.



Shad shook his head. “Something seemed funny, the way he just showed up. But his parents are always traveling, so it seemed possible they would leave him with me for a while. He’s always welcome here. I supposed they could have been in a big hurry and didn’t have time to talk to me. But, like I said, it’s strange.”



“His parents called the police,” Henry said.



“When you told me the police were looking for him, I figured Austin was in trouble,” said Shad. “He hid out in this old fishing shack until he got too hungry. Then he came to me. Told me that story about his parents dropping him off. I think he’s scared, too.”



“We can help him,” said Jessie. “Where is he?”



“Up at my place.” Shad pointed 7 toward a rambling 8 wooden house at the end of a sandy driveway.



As they walked to Shad’s house, Henry noticed an old Cadillac convertible 9 parked in the yard.



“Cool car,” he said.



“Hasn’t run in years,” Shad informed him. “But I get by without one. I walk anyplace I need to go.”



Violet glanced back at the threatening sky. “We’d better hurry inside.”



They thudded up on the porch. Shad opened the front door, which was unlocked.



His house was plainly furnished with an old sofa, scuffed 10 coffee table, and a well-used rocking chair. In the kitchen was an oak dining table with four matching chairs. A carved duck decoy stood on the fireplace mantel.



There was no sign of Austin Derrick other than a burgundy backpack lying in the corner.



“Austin!” Shad called into the two small bedrooms and single bathroom. “Where are you, boy?”



Henry watched gray storm clouds gather outside. Wind whipped the trees as thunder rumbled 11 over the sea.



Shad came back, his face creased 12 with worry. “He’s not here!”



“Where could he be?” Violet asked.



“I don’t know,” said Shad. “Unless …”



“Unless what?” Henry demanded. “You have to tell us everything or we can’t help.”



At that moment, a clap of thunder rattled 13 the windowpanes. Shad switched on the lights.



Violet ran to look out. “It’s starting to rain. If Austin isn’t under cover, he’ll get soaked.”



Before she finished speaking, rain fell from the sky in sheets. It was impossible to see out the windows. Seconds later, the refrigerator in the kitchen quit humming and the lights blinked off.



“Power’s out,” Shad declared. “Happens a lot on the Banks. Wait just a minute.”



He fumbled 14 in a side table drawer, pulling out candles and a box of matches. He also drew out a large flashlight, which he clicked on briefly 15 to test the batteries.



“Should have bought batteries this week,” he muttered.



Jessie helped him light the candles. The flickering 16 flames made the old house seem spooky, especially with the trees lashing 17 outside.



“I hear something!” said Benny. “It sounds like … a horse. I bet it’s Magic!”



Shad looked at him. “Do you really hear a horse? Your ears are sharper than mine.”



Henry heard the noise, too. “It’s not an animal. It’s a person!”



Heavy footsteps clumped 18 on the porch. Then the front door burst open.



A very wet blond boy stood in the doorway 19.



Shad ran over to him. “Where have you been?”



“I’ve been checking on—” Just then Austin saw the Aldens and broke off. He looked as if he might run outside again. “Who are they?” he asked, instantly suspicious.



“They’re okay,” Shad reassured 20 him.



Violet found Shad’s bathroom and brought Austin a towel.



“The police are looking for you,” Shad told Austin.



“Your parents are very worried,” added Henry. “They thought you might be here, but no one could find Shad.”



“I don’t have a phone,” Shad said. “And I’m out all day.”



“I knew this was a mistake,” Austin moaned.



“Why did you run away?” asked Benny.



Austin looked miserable 21, dripping on the bare floor. “I didn’t want to go to camp,” he replied. “My folks are always gone. I wanted them to stay home with me. They said they couldn’t, so I asked if I could visit Shad.”



“And they wouldn’t let you?” asked Violet.



Austin shook his head. “They’d already signed me up for camp. Camp was okay but I wanted to be with Shad. So I called my folks at their hotel and told them I was staying with a kid I know. Then I left.”



“How did you get here?” Henry asked.



“The camp is over on the mainland,” Austin replied. “Just over the bridge. I got a ride with the guy who delivers bread to the camp. He lives over here. I told him I was spending the weekend with another kid in Southern Shores. He let me out there and I walked the rest of the way.”



Benny was amazed. “You sure like to make up stuff!”



Austin looked sheepish. “I guess I do. My mom says I let my imagination run away with me.”



“That’s not all that ran away,” Shad said sternly. “You shouldn’t have left that camp without your folks’ permission.”



“I knew you’d say that,” Austin told Shad. “That’s why I hid in your fishing shack the first few days.”



“I can’t believe I never even knew you were there,” said Shad.



Jessie remembered the scene at the restaurant. “Did you try to get a job as a busboy at the Seagull Resort?”



Austin nodded. “How did you know?”



“We were there the night the waiter got mad because you dropped the tray,” she replied.



“I needed money for food,” said Austin. “I was willing to work for it, but nobody would give me a job. So I had to—” Once more, he broke off and flushed with embarrassment 22.



“Steal,” Violet finished for him. “You took Benny’s sandwich from our deck.”



“Was that your sandwich?” Austin asked Benny. “Sorry.”



“I’m sorry you were hungry,” said Benny.



At that moment, thunder crashed and the door was flung open. Winifred Gorman clung to the door frame, drenched 23.



Austin ran over to her. “Did you find him?” he asked.



“Yes,” she reported, taking off her wet hat. “He’s on the other side of the ravine. I can’t get him out. We need help.”



Shad’s jaw 24 tightened 25. “Austin, if anything happens to him …”



Jessie was confused. “Do you all know one another?” she asked Austin.



“Winnie and I just met a couple of days ago,” he replied. “And Shad met Winnie today.”



Winnie! Jessie couldn’t believe her ears. Their grumpy neighbor was friends with a runaway 26 boy!



“What are you kids doing here?” asked Winifred as Violet handed her a towel.



“We came to help Austin,” Henry answered. “It sounds like someone else needs help, too. And I bet I know who—or should I say what?—it is.”



Violet caught on instantly. “Midnight! You have Midnight!”



“You’re the horsenapper!” Benny accused Austin.



“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to tell it now,” said Austin. “Midnight is in danger. The storm must be making him wild with fear.”



Shad turned to the Aldens. “Remember when I told you about the ravine?” he said. “Years ago a big storm cut a channel through my land. When we have a lot of rain, the ravine fills with water.”



“Midnight is stranded 27 on a small rise between the water-filled ravine and the sea,” said Winifred. “He might be a good swimmer, but the storm frightened him. Also, his leg isn’t that strong. If he is panicked by the lightning and tries to swim, he may drown.”



“Midnight is hurt?” queried 28 Benny.



Austin nodded. “He can walk and run, but I don’t think he can jump over the ravine. He might fall in. We’ve got to calm him down and walk him the long way around. I can’t manage it alone.”



Jessie looked at Henry. “We’re wasting time talking,” she said. “We need to get help, fast.”



“No phone,” Shad reminded her. “Car doesn’t run and we’re way off the road. How are we going to get help in a hurry?”



Jessie remembered that night at the restaurant. Seeing Shad waving his flashlight gave her an idea.



“Your flashlight! We can use it to signal SOS.” Then she bit her lip. “Only I don’t know what the signal is!”



“I do,” said Henry, taking the flashlight. “It’s Morse code. You can use the same code with light.”



Everyone rushed outside. Winifred stayed on the porch and the rest ran to a clearing well away from trees.



“Which way is the road?” Henry yelled above the thrashing storm.



Shad pointed. “Over there. Will the beam be strong enough to shine through this rain?”



“All we can do is try. The storm clouds have darkened the sky so much, it’s almost like night.” Henry aimed the flashlight and pressed the button. He sent three short flashes of light, followed by three long flashes, then three more short flashes.



“Do it again,” instructed Jessie. “We’ll probably have to signal several times to get anyone’s attention.”



Henry flashed the light over and over, three shorts, three longs, three shorts.



“Uh-oh,” he said, shaking the flashlight. “The battery must be getting weak.”



The beam was growing dimmer. How long before the flashlight would be dead? Henry wondered.



Just then, a bolt of lightning cut the sky.



Benny gulped 29. The white-hot lightning was in the shape of a horse’s head!



Was it Magic come back to help them?



Seconds later, a car horn blared. Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!



Then a figure swathed in rain gear strode into the clearing.