儿童英语读物 The Amusement Park Mystery CHAPTER 8 A Frightening Phone Call

After their trip to the amusement park, the children hiked home.



After opening the door, Benny ran in and threw himself on the sofa. “I feel bad,” he said.



“Do you have a cold?” Henry asked.



“No.” Benny’s voice was muffled 1 as he pulled the pillow over his head. “I feel bad for Joshua and his horses.”



“I know,” Henry said soothingly 2. “It’s a shame we can’t find out who’s hurting the horses.”



Just then the phone rang.



“I’ll get it,” Jessie said, jumping up from her chair.



“Hello,” she answered.



For a moment she only listened. Then she said angrily, “Who is this?”



Benny sat up. Henry looked at Jessie inquiringly. Violet hurried in from the kitchen, halting when she saw Jessie talking on the phone.



Suddenly Jessie slammed down the telephone.



Wide-eyed, Benny asked, “Who was it?”



Quietly, Jessie sat down, stunned 3. Then she spoke 4. “It was this awful deep voice warning us to keep away from the amusement park.”



“What?” Henry said.



Jessie’s face was white as she repeated the caller’s words. “He said, ‘Don’t come back to the amusement park.’ ”



“The nerve!” Violet said, her dark eyes blazing with anger.



Benny leapt to his feet, his hands on his hips 5. “This is a free country! We’ll go to the amusement park anytime we want to.”



“Right, Benny!” Jessie said, her chin jutting 6 out with determination.



“We won’t be scared off!” Violet said firmly.



“Who do you suppose doesn’t want us near the park?” Henry asked. “And why?”



The children spent the afternoon playing Monopoly, but their minds were on the phone call. Every once in a while Jessie glanced anxiously at the phone as if afraid it would ring again.



Just after Violet won the game, someone knocked on the door.



Benny rushed to answer. He flung open the door. His eyes were wide. “Hi, Joe,” he said. “Hi, Alice.”



“Come in,” Violet said.



“Oh, we’re so happy to see you,” Jessie said. Then she told them about the terrible phone call, her words tumbling over one another.



“And,” Benny added, “today we saw a merry-go-round horse whose stomach wasn’t painted.”



Joe’s eyebrows 7 rose. “What’s happening at the old amusement park?” he questioned with a worried frown darkening his face.



“Maybe you should stay away from the park for a while,” Alice said nervously 8. “I don’t like the sound of what’s going on over there.”



“I agree,” Joe said soberly. “We have to think about this.” Seeing the worried look on the children’s faces, he added, “But we’ve got to eat. Let’s go to Mike’s Spaghetti House for supper, go to a movie, and on the way home we’ll stop for ice cream.”



“Oh, boy,” Benny said, clapping his hands. “Could we?”



“Of course, we can,” Joe said.



Violet laughed. “That’s a wonderful idea. We’ll forget all about phone calls and carousel 9 horses.”



“I’d love to spend an evening like that,” Jessie said gratefully.



Alice managed a smile. “You’re right, Joe. We need to forget about the park tonight.”



“Then it’s settled,” Joe said. “Mike makes the best spaghetti sauce in town, and at the Pine Grove 10 theater there’s a new movie called, The Robot Who Had a Heart. ”



“Perfect,” Henry said with a grin.



“We’ll leave in thirty minutes,” Alice said. “Will you be ready?”



“I’ll be ready in five,” Benny said quickly.



Jessie laughed. “Thirty minutes will be fine.”



And in half an hour the children had washed and dressed. Violet’s lavender ribbons in her hair matched her T-shirt. Jessie wore a green top and jeans. Her long hair was pulled back with a green ribbon. Henry, all in white from his T-shirt to his sneakers, had on a red sweatshirt. And Benny, in red jeans and a blue-and-white T-shirt, looked very patriotic 11.



“I’m ready!” Benny said.



And so were Violet, Jessie, and Henry.



Their dinner at Mike’s was just as good as Joe had promised, and the movie had lots of exciting scenes. Afterward 12 they stopped at an ice-cream parlor 13 and ate scrumptious butterscotch sundaes, piled high with whipped cream and nuts.



On the way home Jessie sank into the back seat of the station wagon 14 and said, “What a wonderful evening. I didn’t think of that awful phone call one time!” She smiled contentedly 15. “Thank you, Joe and Alice.”



“Yes, thanks,” Benny echoed. “Wasn’t it exciting when the robot caught the mean guy and twirled him around?”



“Yes,” Alice said, her eyes twinkling. “I’m glad we went. Joe and I have been working hard at the museum, too, and a night out did us all good.” She glanced at her watch. “Do you know it’s past midnight?”



As they drove past the dark amusement park, closed for the night, Joe suddenly slowed down. “Look,” he said, pointing in the direction of the park.



Flashes of light brightened a corner of the park. “How weird,” Violet said. “What is it?”



The bright light continued to go on and off.



“I don’t know,” Benny said. “Maybe it’s a spaceship.”



Alice laughed. “I don’t think so, Benny. But I can’t figure it out either.”



“Could it be a flash camera?” Henry asked.



“Why would someone be taking pictures at night?” Jessie asked in a puzzled voice.



“You know, Henry, I think you’re right,” Joe said. “The light seems like the light from a flash camera.”



“I still don’t know why anyone would be taking pictures this late,” Jessie said.



Joe nodded. “It is odd! I wonder why,” he said.



“Maybe,” Henry said thoughtfully, “this person doesn’t want to be noticed taking pictures in daylight.”



“I don’t like it,” Joe said.



“Remember when we first got here?” Jessie said. “We saw that truck that had broken down. It had lots of camera equipment in it.”



“Right,” Violet said. “And that man said he was delivering the equipment to someone.”



“But to who?” Benny asked.



Joe interrupted. “Wait a minute. That truck may have had nothing to do with what we’re seeing now.”



“Maybe we should tell Joshua,” Jessie said.



The flashes of light stopped and all was quiet.



“Not tonight,” Joe said. “Let him get a good night’s sleep. Anyway, whoever’s in the park will just disappear if we go in.”



“We’ll go to the park first thing tomorrow and tell Joshua,” Jessie promised.



When they returned home, the children went directly to their little guest house. The strange lights were still on everyone’s mind.



“I wish we knew what was going on,” Henry said, dropping into a chair.



“Do you think it has something to do with the horses?” Benny asked in a trembling voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to my beautiful horses.”



“None of us do,” Jessie said, agreeing with Benny. She sat cross-legged in front of the chair. “But look at all the strange things that have happened around the merry-go-round.”



“Even Sheila,” Violet said, “seemed upset when she heard one of the horses wouldn’t go up and down.”



“And now it turns out three of the horses are damaged,” Henry said, frowning in thought.



“And someone’s sneaking 16 in the park at night to take pictures and to hurt the horses,” Benny said, his chin in his hands. “This is getting weirder 17 and weirder.”



“Yes, it is,” Violet said.



“So weird,” Jessie said, “that I think we’d better go to bed and sleep on it.”



“I won’t sleep!” Benny announced.



Henry stood up and stretched. “Oh, I think you will, Benny. Come on, let’s get in our pajamas 18.”



“And we’ll go to the park tomorrow,” Jessie promised. “Joshua might be able to shed some light on what’s going on.”



Maybe, Violet thought. But she doubted it. Joshua seemed as confused as they were.