儿童英语读物 The Mystery Horse CHAPTER 10 The Mystery’s Over!

“What’s going on?” Mrs. Morgan looked anxious when the Aldens appeared at the main house. She was standing 1 on the front porch with Danny, Sarah, and Ms. Jefferies. “I thought I heard a siren, and Danny said he saw flashing lights over by the pond.”



“It was a patrol car,” Ms. Jefferies insisted. “The police were here, right?”



“Yes, but there’s nothing to worry about,” Mr. Morgan said reassuringly 2. Ms. Jefferies edged closer to Henry. “What really happened out there?” she asked. “It was something to do with that horse, wasn’t it?”



Henry hesitated and looked at Mr. Morgan who said quickly, “If you want to hear the whole story, let’s go inside.” Everyone trooped into the kitchen and gathered around the big oak table. Danny heated milk for hot chocolate in an iron kettle and then scooted over to the window bench. He didn’t want to miss a single word!



Ms. Jefferies remained standing, her arms folded across her chest as she looked over the group. “Before you say anything, I have a confession 3 to make,” she said.



Jessie and Violet exchanged a puzzled look. A confession? Was Ms. Jefferies involved in the plot to kidnap Wind Dancer after all?



“I came here under false pretenses,” she said. “I’m not really here on vacation. I’m doing research for an article.”



“An article?” Mrs. Morgan said. “Are you a writer?”



“A reporter.” Ms. Jefferies perched on the arm of Jessie’s chair.



“I don’t understand,” Henry said slowly. “What are you writing? And how come you kept it a secret?”



Ms. Jefferies shrugged 4. “It started out as an article on farm vacations, but all that changed when I spotted 5 Wind Dancer.”



“So you do know about him!” Benny blurted 6 out. “That’s why you were taking pictures that night. I was hiding behind a bale of hay outside the stable.”



“Was that you?” Ms. Jefferies said in surprise. “I had the feeling someone was watching me. That’s why I left in a hurry.”



“But how did you get the pictures of Wind Dancer I saw on your dresser? I spotted them when I brought your towels,” Jessie said.



“Oh, I didn’t take those pictures,” Ms. Jefferies said. “Those were file photos that my editor sent me from New York.” She turned to Mr. Morgan. “I thought I recognized Wind Dancer one night when you were taking him out of the stable, but I couldn’t be sure. I wanted to get to the bottom of it, so I asked ASF to send me some close-up shots of him. Once I saw the white star on his forehead, I knew it was the same horse.”



“ASF?” Jessie exclaimed. “Those are the initials on your briefcase 7.”



“Associated Feature Service,” Ms. Jefferies said. “That’s who I work for. I went to town to pick up the pictures because I didn’t want anyone to get suspicious.”



“So that’s why you acted so nervous in the post office,” Violet spoke 8 up.



Ms. Jefferies nodded. “I didn’t want you to see the return address. I couldn’t let anyone know I was a reporter.”



“Well, that clears up one mystery,” Jessie said.



“But the big story is still Wind Dancer,” Ms. Jefferies persisted. “What’s he doing here? And what happened tonight?”



“Some horse thieves were trying to steal him!” Benny exclaimed. “But we stopped them, didn’t we?” He looked very pleased with himself.



“You sure did,” Mr. Morgan said. “Wind Dancer is safe, thanks to you, and the thieves are in custody 9.” He spread his hands on the checkered 10 tablecloth 11 and looked right at Jed Owens. “But there’s still a lot of the story that I don’t understand. How do you figure in all this?”



“I was hired to protect Wind Dancer,” Jed Owens admitted. “The owners asked me to stay undercover, so I pretended to be a farmhand looking for work.”



“At first, we thought you were one of the thieves!” Violet exclaimed.



“Why did you think that?” Jed asked.



“You lied to us,” Violet explained. “You said you were in your room the night of the cookout, but you had pine needles stuck all over your sweater. So that meant you must have been in the woods with us.”



“Pine needles?” Jed said slowly. “You’d make quite a detective, Violet. I never thought a little thing like that would give me away.”



“Were you really in the woods that night?” Benny asked.



“Did you set that fire in the trash can?” Henry said at the same time.



“Yes, to both questions.” Jed turned to Benny. “I saw you and your sister wandering through the forest, and I was afraid you might run into the horse thieves. I heard some suspicious noises earlier in the evening, and I had the feeling they might be prowling around the woods.”



“We saw some tire tracks,” Benny piped up. “That’s what got us so interested.”



“I know, and I couldn’t take any chances. I had to do something fast to get your attention away from the old pond.”



“So you started a fire back at the farm,” Mrs. Morgan said.



“A small one,” Jed told her. “I made sure it wouldn’t do any real damage, but it would make everyone come running.”



“There’s something I still don’t understand,” Henry said. “What were you doing at the old pond this evening?”



“I knew there might me another attempt to steal Wind Dancer tonight.” His expression was grim. “I wanted to warn you in time,” he said to Mr. Morgan, “but by the time I got there, it was too late.” He paused. “The thieves would have made off with him, if these young people hadn’t stopped them.”



“A plot to kidnap a racehorse. This will make quite a story,” Ms. Jefferies said thoughtfully.



“Wind Dancer’s owners will be here in the morning,” Mr. Morgan said. “So if you kids want to say good-bye to him, you’d best be up bright and early.”



“We will be,” Benny said and immediately yawned.



A bubbling sound made Danny scramble 12 off the window seat. “The milk for the hot chocolate!” Danny said, dashing to the stove.



Moments later, Mr. Morgan passed around steaming mugs to everyone. “To the Aldens,” he said, raising his mug in a toast.



“To Wind Dancer,” Henry spoke up.



“The best racehorse in the whole world,” Violet added.



It was barely dawn the next morning when a large silver horse trailer rumbled 13 down the road to Sunny Oaks.



Benny and Daisy dashed to the stables, followed by Violet, Henry, and Jessie.



Mr. Morgan had just finished adjusting Wind Dancer’s blanket when the trailer pulled up to the stable door. A man and woman in their late thirties got out and smiled hesitantly at the Aldens. Mr. Morgan led Wind Dancer outside just then, and the stallion whinnied softly when he recognized his owners.



“Oh, thank goodness you’re safe,” the woman said, rubbing Wind Dancer’s nose.



“Mr. and Mrs. Travis, these are the Aldens,” Mr. Morgan said. “And their friend Daisy.”



“You’re the children who saved Wind Dancer,” Mr. Travis said. “Jed Owens called us last night and told us all about it.”



“How can we ever thank you?” Mrs. Travis asked.



“We’re just happy that Wind Dancer is all right,” Jessie said.



Violet patted the prize horse gently on the neck and he nuzzled her hand. “We’re going to miss you,” she said softly.



“Don’t worry, Violet. We’ll still get to see him.” Benny fed Wind Dancer an apple slice he had carefully wrapped in a napkin. “We’ll watch every single race he’s in.”



“And next time he wins, we’ll send you a picture of him at the finish line,” Mrs. Travis promised. “C’mon, boy,” she said, patting Wind Dancer gently on the flank, “it’s time to go home.”



The Aldens waved good-bye as Mr. and Mrs. Travis loaded Wind Dancer into the horse trailer and sped away from Sunny Oaks.



“Don’t look so sad, Violet,” Henry said. “Grandfather will be here in a few minutes to pick us up. Think of how much fun it will be to see him again.”



“We have so much to tell him,” Jessie agreed.



“My parents are here!” Daisy shouted. She pointed 14 to a jeep lumbering 15 up the main drive to the farmhouse 16. She raced over to greet her family and then waved to the Aldens to join them.



“These are my friends,” she said, introducing each of them.



“You forgot someone,” a voice piped up. Daisy turned in surprise to see Danny and Sarah leading Oliver toward them. “Don’t you want to show your parents what you’ve learned?” Danny asked.



Daisy giggled 17. “Watch this, Mom and Dad!” She got up on a mounting block and put her left foot in the stirrup. Then she swung herself into the saddle.



“Are you ready?” Sarah asked.



“All set,” Daisy answered. Sarah handed her the reins 18 and Daisy rode Oliver in a wide circle around the group.



Her parents looked amazed. “I can’t believe it,” her father said. “We’re so proud of you, honey.”



“I never thought I’d see you riding a horse all by yourself.” Her mother was beaming.



Half an hour later, the Aldens had said good-bye to Daisy and were waiting for Grandfather to arrive. They had already thanked the Morgans, and were sitting on their suitcases outside the main house, in the early morning sunlight.



“I’m going to miss everything about Sunny Oaks,” Violet said. “Especially the animals.”



“I’ll miss Mrs. Morgan’s biscuits,” Benny said.



“Grandfather’s here!” Jessie jumped to her feet as a familiar station wagon 19 pulled up in the circular driveway. “And look—Watch has his head out the window!”



“Grandfather, we missed you!” Benny tumbled into Grandfather’s arms as soon as the car door opened. Watch hopped 20 out of the backseat and ran in circles around the children barking happily.



“We missed you, too,” Grandfather said.



“We had a lot of adventures,” Henry said. He hugged his grandfather and then began storing the luggage in the car.



“It will take forever to tell you about them.” Violet jumped into the backseat and pulled Watch in with her.



“We even solved a mystery,” Jessie said.



“Let me tell, let me tell!” Benny pleaded.



“All right,” Jessie said with a laugh. “You tell Grandfather what happened.”



“Well,” Benny said, “it all started with this racehorse with a star on his forehead. . . .”