儿童英语读物 The Mystery in the Snow CHAPTER 11 A Fresh Start

The Aldens trudged 1 back to the cabin silently. Each was deep in thought. Finding the glove in the snow near the smashed sculpture was a shock. It belonged to Freddy; that much, they knew. But they weren’t sure what it meant.



In the cabin, Jessie put Freddy’s glove on the table. Henry made a fire. Violet and Benny changed into their flannel 2 pajamas 3. Then, they all settled close to the fireplace.



Finally, Benny spoke 4. “Now, we have two clues.”



“Pointing in different directions,” Henry said.



“Pete could have put Freddy’s glove in the snow to make it look like she did it,” Violet said.



“If he did that, wouldn’t he remember to cover his tracks?” Henry said. He shook his head. “I don’t think he did it. His prints don’t mean any more than Watch’s do.”



“Do you think Freddy did it?” Benny asked.



Henry shrugged 5. “I don’t know.”



“She wants to win, that’s for sure,” Violet said.



They had all heard Freddy’s conversation with Jimmy. She thought Jimmy’s team was better. “Something has to be done to even things out,” they remembered her saying. Perhaps ruining the snowpeople was her way of doing just that.



“She came in late to supper,” Jessie remembered.



“And she was looking for her glove,” Benny added. “She could have smashed the snowpeople while we were eating.”



“If I had just done that, and my glove was missing, I’d go back to look for it,” Henry reasoned. “I wouldn’t tell everyone I’d lost it.”



Benny yawned. “We’ll never figure this one out,” he said.



“What we need’s a good night’s sleep,” Jessie said.



“Yes,” Violet said. “Tomorrow they’re judging the snow sculptures, and then come the ski races.”



“We’ll make a fresh start in the morning,” Henry said.



Benny awoke at dawn. He dressed quickly and quietly, then slipped four apples into his pockets and started out. Watch followed him.



“All right, boy,” Benny whispered. “You can come with me.”



Outside, Watch took off on the run, his short tail wagging.



“Wait up!” Benny called. He hurried along the path behind foggy bursts of his breath.



Alan, Debbie, and Jason were already hard at work. They had repaired one snowperson and were working on another.



“What should I do?” Benny asked.



“You can patch Debbie’s arms,” Alan answered.



Benny grinned. “Her arms look fine to me,” he joked.



They all laughed.



They worked well together, much faster and better than they had the day before.



When they were half finished, Benny remembered how hungry he was. “Who wants an apple?” he asked.



Everyone did. They stood back to admire their work, and munched 7 the crisp, tart 6 apples.



“What will we do at breakfast time?” Jason asked. “We can’t leave our snow sculpture alone.”



Alan nodded. “That’s right. Someone might come along and wreck 8 everything again.”



“We can take turns guarding,” Debbie suggested.



Benny broke off a piece of apple and gave it to Watch. “I have a better idea,” he said. “We can leave Watch here. He’s a good guard dog.”



That decided 9, they got back to work.



At breakfast, Benny asked Violet, “What did you do with Freddy’s glove?”



“We brought it with us,” Violet answered. “Jessie has it.”



“We’re going to give it back to her,” Henry said.



“We won’t have any evidence then,” Benny objected.



“The glove doesn’t really prove anything, Benny,” Jessie said. “And we might be able to tell something from the way Freddy reacts when we give it back to her.”



They were on their way out the lodge 10 door when Freddy came in with members of her team. Her smile melted when she saw the Aldens.



“Oh, Benny,” she said, “I just heard about what happened yesterday. I’m really sorry.”



Benny didn’t respond. He didn’t think she was at all sorry.



Jessie pulled the glove out of her pocket. “Freddy, we found this. I think it belongs to you.”



Freddy took the outstretched glove. “Great!” she said. “Thanks.”



“Don’t you want to know where we found it?” Benny asked.



Freddy shrugged. “If you want to tell me,” she answered.



Benny opened his mouth to speak, but Henry spoke first. “It was in the snow,” he said.



Freddy nodded. “It wasn’t in here,” she said. “It had to be outside somewhere.”



Violet said, “We found it near — ”



“I’m sorry — I’ve got to go,” Freddy interrupted. “I just remembered we have some planning to do.” She added, “Victory speeches,” and then she hurried away.