儿童英语读物 The Disappearing Friend Mystery CHAPTER 11 One Last Chance

The next morning the Aldens were out in the yard by their boxcar. Benny was throwing a stick for Watch to chase. Violet was sitting on the stump 1 step, and Jessie and Henry were sitting just behind her, on the edge of the boxcar. No one was talking much. They were waiting for Beth.



At last they saw her walking across the backyard. She was wearing green shorts and a white shirt with matching green trim.



“Hi,” she called. “What’s going on?”



“Hello, Beth,” said Jessie seriously.



Violet looked at Jessie, then back at Beth. She gave Beth a friendly smile. “Hi, Beth,” she said. “Do you want to sit down?”



Beth looked uneasy. “Is something wrong?” she asked.



The Aldens exchanged glances. Then Jessie said, “Beth, you remember when someone took our art supplies and ruined the posters we’d left in the boxcar.”



Beth nodded.



“Someone also tore down one of our posters,” said Henry. “The day you said you were at the dentist.” He paused, but Beth didn’t say anything.



“And someone ruined the Millers’ garden so we had to do it over,” Violet pointed 2 out.



And don’t forget when we couldn’t find the key to get into Ms. Singh’s house to feed the cats,” said Jessie.



Beth still didn’t say anything.



Jessie took a deep breath. “At first we thought someone didn’t want us to help the hospital. We thought maybe it was Dr. Jackson, because she was against the new wing being built and thought that a new hospital should be constructed in Silver City.”



Violet said, “But now we don’t think it is Dr. Jackson. You and I went to baby-sit for her, remember? And she doesn’t seem like the one who would be doing all these things.”



Beth frowned.



Jessie went on, “For a while we thought it could be Charlie the Fix-it Man. We thought we might be taking business he might have gotten. But then Charlie came to our car wash. And he told us he recommended us for some jobs. So it doesn’t seem like he could be the one.”



Violet said softly, “Sometimes, Beth, you don’t seem like the same person. For instance, that day you were supposed to be at the dentist, we saw you on your bicycle in town. We called you and you wouldn’t stop or answer us,” said Violet.



Everyone waited. But just as Beth seemed about to say something, Benny shouted, “Look, look!”



Another Beth was coming across the backyard!



This Beth was wearing blue shorts and a blue striped shirt. She stopped in front of the first Beth and put her hands on her hips 3.



Benny looked from one to the other with his mouth open. Watch began to bark excitedly.



“Beth?” said Violet uncertainly, looking from one to the other.



But neither Beth seemed to have heard her. They glared at each other. Then the second Beth said, “You’re doing it again!”



“Well, so are you!” cried the first Beth. “How did you know I was here, anyway?”



“I guessed that phone call last night was for me,” said the second Beth. “I followed you this morning. And I was right!”



“You followed me?” said the first Beth.



“Why not? You’ve been following me all week,” said the second Beth.



The Aldens stared in amazement 4. There were two Beths. And they looked exactly alike.



“What is going on?” demanded Jessie.



But she still didn’t get an answer. Instead the first Beth burst into tears. “I just w-wanted to have some friends. Like you, Beth,” she cried.



“Oh, don’t cry. Don’t cry,” said Violet, jumping up. “It’s okay . . . Beth?”



“I’m not Beth,” sobbed 5 the first Beth. “I’m Heather!”



“You’re twins,” said Jessie suddenly.



Beth nodded. “Yes. Heather and I are twins.” She didn’t look happy about it.



“Do you take turns being each other?” asked Benny.



“No!” said Beth. “She has been following me around ever since we moved to Greenfield. Pretending she’s me. And causing trouble.”



“I know what I did was wrong. I guess I was just jealous,” said Heather, who had stopped crying. She rubbed the tears off her cheek on the sleeve of her shirt. “You always have friends. Every time we move you meet new people. I never do.”



“Well that’s not my fault, is it?” asked Beth. She turned to face the Aldens.



They listened in amazement as Beth told them how, every time they moved, Heather grew jealous of Beth’s new friends and tried to ruin their fun, sometimes even pretending to be Beth. It had been Heather, not Beth, who was responsible for all the nasty tricks over the past week.



“You mean you took our art supplies and ruined Benny’s bicycle tires?” gasped 6 Violet.



Heather nodded shamefacedly.



“And ruined our posters and our garden?” asked Henry.



“Yes,” said Heather softly.



“I wasn’t sure at first,” said Beth. “Then I saw Heather in town when we went to get new art supplies. I went after her. But she was too quick for me, and she disappeared. And, of course, by the time we got back outside, she’d let the air out of Benny’s tires.”



“That’s why you were so jumpy,” said Jessie. “And those times you acted so strange—like in the ice cream parlor 7 that night.”



“That wasn’t me, that was Heather,” explained Beth. “That’s how she found out about all of you in the first place.”



“And that day we saw you in town, when you said you had to go to the dentist?” asked Violet.



Beth looked startled. “I did go to the dentist.”



“You’re right. That was me,” said Heather. “And that was me, baby-sitting, too. I got the phone call and pretended to be Beth.”



“But Beth,” said Jessie. “Why didn’t you just tell us you had a twin?’



“Because she always ruins everything. I can’t trust her!” cried Beth.



Violet looked at Heather. “Heather? You’ve done some really mean things. Why couldn’t you just be friendly, like Beth?”



Heather looked ashamed. “I was afraid you wouldn’t like me. Everyone always likes Beth, not me.”



“Maybe that’s because you don’t give people a chance,” Henry said.



Beth was looking at her twin sister. “I never understood why you did all those mean things before. I guess I never realized how you felt, Heather,” she said.



“I’m sure you all must hate me for what I did,” Heather said. “But I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. Will you give me another chance?”



Just then Mrs. McGregor opened the back door of the house. “Phone call for the helper service,” she called.



“Come on,” said Jessie.



“What about me?” asked Beth. “Do you still want me to come along?”



“Of course we do,” said Violet. She looked from Beth to Heather. “Let’s all go help out.”



“Even me?” Heather asked.



“Yes, you, too,” Jessie said. “If you want to.”



“I would like to,” said Heather.



“Then let’s go!” said Benny.



“A twin can make twice as much trouble,” Benny said. “But you know what? Maybe having a twin can be twice as much fun, too.”