儿童英语读物 The Mystery at Skeleton Point CHAPTER 3 Skullduggery

By the time the Alden children tucked themselves into bed in the greenhouse, a steady breeze was blowing in from Shady Lake. The children gazed up through the glass ceiling and walls. Branches on Charlotte’s willow 1 tree gently swayed back and forth 2, back and forth. Soon all four children were sound asleep.



But they did not sleep through the night. At four in the morning, a crack of thunder shook the greenhouse. Seconds later, streaks 3 of lightning lit it up.



Jessie sat up first, after she heard some barking. “Watch!” she said, when she thought she saw a dog outside the greenhouse. She rubbed her eyes. “Oh, we’re at Charlotte’s, not at home.”



Soon loud plops of rain pelted 4 the greenhouse.



Henry pulled his pillow around his ears. “What a racket!”



Benny scrunched 5 himself way down into his sleeping bag. “Make the noise go away.”



Violet leaned over from her cot and patted Benny. “They’re only raindrops. Oh, no, what’s that?” Violet asked when she saw something move outside the greenhouse.



By the time Jessie looked out, the lightning was over and everything was completely dark again. “I think the lightning played tricks on our eyes. We’d better go back to sleep.”



The noisy raindrops gave way to a gentle rain, and everyone fell asleep again. An hour and a half later, the greenhouse filled with light.



“It’s only five-thirty,” Henry said when he checked his watch. “It’s so bright in here.”



Jessie yawned and stretched. “I dreamed Violet saw somebody with a dog outside during the storm. I thought Watch had followed us to Shady Lake.”



The Aldens quickly dressed and rolled up their sleeping bags. They had a big day ahead.



Charlotte was enjoying a cup of coffee with Grandfather when the children entered the kitchen. “Good morning,” Charlotte said, passing around a basket of blueberry muffins. “Take as many as you like,” she told the children. “Cousin James said you brought your bikes with you and want to bike out to Skeleton Point today instead of having us drive you there. It’s several miles each way on the bike path. You’re welcome to take out my rowboat, too. It’s the yellow one tied to the dock below Skeleton Point. You’re going to need a lot of energy for all your activities, so eat up.”



“We will,” Henry said as he buttered his muffin. “Are you and Grandfather going to come with us?”



“Not today, children,” Grandfather answered. “Charlotte and I have another cousin who lives upstate. She’s been feeling poorly, so we’re leaving for a few days, after Charlotte stops off at Skeleton Point.”



Charlotte put down her cup. “I’m going to meet with William and Hilda on the way. I’ll tell them I want you children to photograph and sketch 6 the gardens and the house inside and out.”



After the children made their lunches, they went to get their bikes in Charlotte’s toolshed. That’s when they got an awful shock.



“What’s this?” Henry asked when he pulled his helmet from his bike bag. “Did you guys play a trick on me?” Inside Henry’s helmet, a plastic Halloween skull 7 grinned back at him.



“Hey! There’s a skull in my bike helmet, too! And in yours and yours,” Benny said, pointing to the grinning plastic skulls 8 inside his sisters’ helmets. “Somebody played a joke, but it wasn’t me.”



When Charlotte came out, she didn’t find the joke quite as funny, though she tried to laugh about it. “Goodness. I guess I can always use them at Halloween for my trick-or-treaters.”



Benny turned one of the skulls upside down to see if anything was inside. “We got the trick but not the treat.”



Charlotte laughed. “Well, if you children need more treats than what I left out for your lunches, stop at the general store. The bike path runs right behind it. You’ll see a sign for it.”



“Goody,” Benny said. “I saw lots of snacks there yesterday.”



The children put on their helmets and set off for the bike path. Since it was still early, they had it to themselves for a while.



Jessie checked the small bike mirror on her handlebars and saw a jogger in the distance. “I guess runners use this path, too,” she told the others. “There’s somebody behind us.”



When Henry turned around to take a look, the jogger took off into the woods. “Whoever it was is gone.”



The children rolled along, making good time on the smooth, empty path.



“There’s the sign for the general store. Should we stop?” Jessie teased, even though she already knew the answer.



“I saw gorp fixings in the store — nuts, raisins 9, and chocolate chips,” Henry said.



“Good, gorp,” Benny said about the delicious, healthy snack they often brought on their outings.



The general store was already busy with people buying fishing tackle, getting mail, drinking coffee, and picking up groceries and the morning newspaper.



Jessie led the way to the camping section. “Here are the nuts and raisins. Benny, you and Violet go over to the baking aisle 10 for the chips. I brought along some zip bags so we can mix up some gorp for each of us.”



When Benny and Violet came to the next aisle, a young woman was blocking the way. She and one of the cardplayers the children had seen the day before were so busy talking, they didn’t see the children standing 11 there.



“Have you lived here a very long time?” the young woman asked the man, who was wearing a fishing vest today. “I’m trying to get information about those statues out at Skeleton Point. Nobody seems to know how old they are or where they came from.”



“Or where some parts of the statues are going,” the man told the young woman. “Lots of fool stories are going around about somebody — or something — damaging the statues. Stay away from them, I say. Those old statues have been out there forever — before I was born, anyway. Leave ’em be. Why do you want to know?”



The young woman hesitated, then stopped to read the label on a jar of honey. “Um ... just curious.”



With that, the young woman left the store without buying anything.



“Newcomers!” the man told Benny and Violet when he saw them standing there. “Always asking questions. You’d think from that young lady that Shady Lake was nothing but old statues covered with moss 12. What about our fishing? Why, our trout 13 are practically jumping out of the lake.”



“They are?” Benny asked, hoping to find out where he could see some of these jumping trout.



The man left without answering Benny.



“All set?” Jessie said when she and Henry joined the younger children. “Let’s go pay for everything.”



While the children stood in line, they heard a grinding sound nearby. One of the clerks was making keys for a customer. “Here’s the extra key you wanted, Greeny.” The worker handed over a new key and a brown bag. “Bring it back if it doesn’t fit this lock you just bought.”



“That must be Greeny Owen!” Henry whispered to his brother and sisters.



“I guess even on the island you have to be careful to keep your cabin locked up, huh?” the clerk asked.



“Um... right.” Greeny pocketed the key and put the bag in the small backpack he wore over his T-shirt and jogging shorts. He stepped away from the counter and left.



“I think Greeny was the jogger I saw in my bike mirror,” Jessie said quietly.



Henry agreed. “I bet you’re right. I wonder why he ran into the woods when I turned around. It was almost like he was following us but didn’t want us to see him.”



After the children made up their gorp bags, they returned to the parking lot.



Benny poked 14 Henry then Jessie. “See that lady getting in the red car? She was being nosy 15 about the statues when she was talking to that fisherman,” Benny said.



Henry watched the woman back out her red car and head down the road. “There sure are a lot of people besides Charlotte interested in those statues.”