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儿童英语读物 The Animal Shelter Mystery CHAPTER 5 Boxcar Days

时间:2017-07-07 05:27来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The Aldens spent all their time getting the boxcar ready for business. Jessie and Violet made good use of the leftover2 boards Henry brought back from Seed’s Hardware Store. In no time, they had added four new shelves to the boxcar to store the food, dishes, blankets, and old towels they needed to feed their orphaned3 animals and keep them warm. On opening day, the needy4 orphans5 included four cats, three fat white rabbits, one crow, and three dogs.

Benny’s job was to sort and clean the dishes they had used in the old boxcar days. “There are just enough dishes so that each animal gets one water dish and one food dish,” he told Violet and Jessie.

Out back, Henry finished framing the last few yards of chicken wire with old fence posts. “Come on, Lad. Here you go, fellas,” he said when he led all the dogs into the spacious6 dog run.

When everything was ready, Benny ran inside and brought out Mr. Alden to take a look at what they had all built.

“Well, Grandfather, what do you think of our shelter?” Jessie asked Mr. Alden.

Mr. Alden took a step up the tree stump7 that led into the boxcar. “Why, this looks more like a fine hotel than a shelter for strays,” Mr. Alden told Jessie when he looked around.

“This side is just for cats,” Jessie explained. She pointed8 to the roomy chicken-wire cages on one side of the boxcar.

Benny pointed to the shelves Violet and Jessie had put up. “That’s where we keep the old dishes we had in the boxcar,” Benny announced. “I have to fill each one with water and food twice a day and put them out for each animal. That black cat only likes dry food, and Patches only likes tuna fish.”

“Look at what we built out here, Grandfather,” Violet said when everyone came outside again.

“What a fine dog run,” Mr. Alden said. “Lad and those pups have plenty of room to chase each other, don’t they? They certainly don’t look like the sad orphans Dr. Scott dropped off last night. They’re right at home. Good job.”

“Thank you, Grandfather,” Henry said.

“I guess I’ll go back inside and see what I can do for Watch,” Mr. Alden said. “Listen to that sad whining9. He really doesn’t like the whole family out here with all these new animals.”

After Mr. Alden left, Jessie checked her clipboard of things to do. “Now that the animals are all settled, we need to fix up an office in the garage. There are cases of pet food to order, prescriptions10 to get filled, and notes to take for Dr. Scott. She’ll want to know everything when she comes by this afternoon.”

Benny Alden wasn’t too interested in office work. Not when there were so many animals to play with. “Can I stay outside and play with the puppies11, Henry?”

Henry was already up on a ladder in Mr. Alden’s garage and putting in long shelves for bandages, animal-care books, and the curious black notebooks no one had had time to look at again. “Go ahead, Benny,” Henry called down from the ladder. “What good’s having an animal shelter in your own backyard if you can’t run around like a puppy12?”

When Benny came back an hour later, the garage looked almost like Dr. Scott’s office at the Greenfield Animal Shelter. Henry and Violet finished putting away the medical supplies, while Jessie wrote careful reports on each of the animals in their care.

“I think I might use these old farmer’s notebooks to keep everything organized,” Jessie told Henry and Violet. “One of them could be for ordering food, another for our reports to Dr. Scott, and the third one for anything else we need to write down.”

Violet began reading over the wrinkled13, torn pages of one of the notebooks. “I’m glad we’re only taking care of pet animals, not real farm animals,” she said. “Mr. Kisco’s cows needed forty-seven bales of hay over one long winter.”

“It’s hard to believe there was so much farmland right here in Greenfield,” Jessie said. “There aren’t many farms nearby nowadays.”

Henry looked over Violet’s shoulder. “Mr. Seed said the farms started two roads over from Main Street back then, from Fox Den1 Road all the way to Burrville,” Henry said. “Now, of course, all the land near town is worth too much to keep as farmland. That must be why someone wants the animal shelter.”

“Hey, Jessie, something just fell out,” Benny said when he came into the garage. He bent14 down to pick up a long yellow envelope that had fallen out of the notebook Jessie was holding. “It says ‘D-E-E-D’ on the envelope. Is that like what Grandfather says people should do—a good deed?”

“This is another kind of deed, Benny,” Jessie said. She carefully unfolded the thick sheet of paper. “This is a legal paper that says who owns certain land. There’s an old map attached. See?”

“Let me see it, too, Jessie,” Henry said to his sister. “Maybe it’s something important that belongs to the Greenfield Animal Shelter.”

Henry studied the old document. “Jacob Kisco deeds fifty acres of land to Silas Newcombe,” he read. Henry shook his head. “Didn’t Grandfather say that when he was a little boy, Miss Newcombe’s father, Silas, gave the schools free milk and ice cream that came from his farm?”

Jessie looked thoughtful. “That’s right. But if the deed has her father’s name on it, why was it hidden away in this old book in that broken-down toolshed? Why shouldn’t Miss Newcombe have it in a safe place?”

Violet had a worried look on her face. “I just know something must be wrong with Miss Newcombe. I have a feeling.”

“Dr. Scott will be here soon to check on the animals,” Jessie said. “Maybe she can figure out what this deed is all about.”

The Aldens were still talking about Miss Newcombe when they heard Dr. Scott’s station wagon15 pull into their grandfathers driveway.

But there was no time to tell Dr. Scott anything. She arrived, out of breath and in a hurry. She apologized to everyone. “I’m sorry to be in such a rush, but trying to clear out the shelter in such a short time has cut into my medical work.”

The Aldens could see this was no time to bring up the land deed. Dr. Scott was already out back with her medical bag. As she visited the animals one by one, the children reported on each of them.

Henry let Dr. Scott into the dog run where Lad and the two puppies were sound asleep in a heap on top of each other. “The two pups started regular food this morning,” Jessie told the doctor. “They didn’t whine16 at all during the night.”

“Maybe they just needed more food,” Dr. Scott said. “And having this safe new home helps them sleep through the night, too.”

Benny took hold of Dr. Scott’s hand. “Come see the crow,” he told her when they stopped in front of the tall, airy birdcage. The crow was sitting on a tree branch Benny had put in the cage. “This crow ate two handfuls of blueberries from Grandfather’s blueberry bushes last night, but no ice cream.”

“I see he trusts you, Benny,” Dr. Scott said. She reached into the cage and wrapped both her hands around the bird to check his wing. “He’s well fed, now, and this wing is mending beautifully. In another few days, leave the cage door open. He may be able to make a short flight to those blueberry bushes himself and come back to the safety of this cage until his wing is completely healed. Now how are those rabbits doing?”

“They’re right here,” Benny said. He led Dr. Scott to the rabbit hutch. “I let them out to play, and they ate two heads of Grandfather’s lettuce17 from the garden! I think I should bring them their dinner inside the cage from now on.”

“I think so, too, or we won’t have any salad for the rest of the summer,” Henry laughed.

Dr. Scott finished her checkups. “Well, I see these animals don’t need me! Is there anything else we should talk about?”

“Yes, there is something,” Jessie answered. “It’s not about the animals, though, but it might have something to do with Miss Newcombe.”

“Ah, yes, Miss Newcombe.” Dr. Scott sighed. “I haven’t forgotten her, you know. After many calls, I finally reached the new caretaker who is looking after her house. He says she’s away visiting relatives. I’ve only had one short conversation with this man, but something bothers me. With everything that’s going on at the shelter lately, I just haven’t had time to figure out what it is.”

“Didn’t Mr. Clover tell us she didn’t have family left?” Henry asked everyone.

Jessie’s eyes opened wide. “He did! Then how could Miss Newcombe be visiting relatives?”

Dr. Scott’s face lit up. “Of course! That’s what was bothering me. I knew Clara Newcombe didn’t have any relatives, but I had so much on my mind I forgot all about that.” Dr. Scott patted Jessie’s shoulder. “Good thinking.”

“Maybe you can help with something now,” Jessie said. She opened up the farmer’s black notebook.

Benny started first. “We found a deed in this old book. A deed is a piece of paper about land.”

Dr. Scott took out a pair of reading glasses from the pocket of her white jacket. She read over the old piece of paper Jessie had given her. “Hmm. If I’m not mistaken, this seems to be a deed for the land the Greenfield Shelter is on. One thing puzzles me, though. This deed includes Miss Newcombe’s property as well.”

Violet took another look at the paper. “Maybe when the deed was written, both pieces of property were part of the same land.”

Dr. Scott wiped her glasses with her handkerchief. “You’ve all discovered a very interesting document here. Of course, this deed is fifty years old, so it may not be legal anymore. The only way to find out is to visit the Land Records Office at the state capital.”

Henry took another look at the piece of paper. “I’m going to ask Grandfather about this. His old friend, Elizabeth Thompson, is a lawyer who works at the state capital. Maybe we can take a trip up there and see if there’s a record of this deed on file.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Henry,” Dr. Scott said, “so I’ll leave the deed with you. Meanwhile, I’ll keep up my own investigation18 here in Greenfield about the shelter property,” she said before getting into her station wagon.

As the Aldens waved to the animal doctor, they heard the telephone ringing inside the house.

“Mrs. McGregor and Grandfather said we should answer the phone for the rest of the day. They said every time they answer, someone hangs up,” Jessie said as she ran up the porch19 stairs behind Violet.

Violet got to the phone first. “Maybe it’s someone who saw my flyer for the two Ger man shepherd puppies,” she gasped20. “Boxcar Animal Shelter, Violet Alden speaking.”

No one spoke21 at the other end, but Violet could tell someone was there.

“This is the Boxcar Animal—” she began to say before she was cut off by a rough voice.

“You’re gonna need a lot more than a boxcar for your animal shelter, little girl,” the voice said. “You’re gonna need a freight22 train a mile long for all the animals that’ll be leaving the real shelter any day now.”

Violet couldn’t find her voice to answer back. Jessie took the phone receiver from her hand. “Who is this, and what do you want?”

“Glad you asked, miss,” the voice said back. “I want you to stop looking for the old lady and stop asking a lot of nosy23 questions. That’s what I want, you hear?”

Jessie was still holding the phone when the person hung up without another word.

“He hung up,” she said quietly.

By this time, Mr. Alden and Mrs. McGregor had gathered near the phone to find out about the mystery caller.

Mrs. McGregor was very upset when she saw Jessie’s and Violet’s frightened faces. She shook her rolling pin at the phone. “You know, that’s the third or fourth time someone has called here today. Only whenever your grandfather or I answered, they hung up.”

Mr. Alden put his arm around Violet. “What did the caller want? Did the voice sound at all familiar?”

“The man said we’d need a freight train, not a boxcar, for all the animals that will have to leave the shelter soon,” Violet told her grandfather.

Jessie picked up the receiver in case the person was still there, but all she heard was the dial tone24. “He said to stop looking for Miss Newcombe and to stop asking nosy questions.”

“Well, he said the wrong thing to this family,” Henry said when he joined the group around the phone. “We’re just going to make sure we look even harder for Miss Newcombe and ask even more nosy questions!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 den 5w9xk     
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室
参考例句:
  • There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
  • The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。
2 leftover V97zC     
n.剩货,残留物,剩饭;adj.残余的
参考例句:
  • These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
  • Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。
3 orphaned ac11e48c532f244a7f6abad4cdedea5a     
[计][修]孤立
参考例句:
  • Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
  • He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。
4 needy wG7xh     
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的
参考例句:
  • Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷,但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
  • They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。
5 orphans edf841312acedba480123c467e505b2a     
孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
  • Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。
6 spacious YwQwW     
adj.广阔的,宽敞的
参考例句:
  • Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞,足够建一座游泳池。
  • The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。
7 stump hGbzY     
n.残株,烟蒂,讲演台;v.砍断,蹒跚而走
参考例句:
  • He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
  • He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。
8 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
9 whining whining     
n. 抱怨,牢骚 v. 哭诉,发牢骚
参考例句:
  • That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
  • The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着(要进来)。
10 prescriptions f0b231c0bb45f8e500f32e91ec1ae602     
药( prescription的名词复数 ); 处方; 开处方; 计划
参考例句:
  • The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
  • Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。
11 puppies 679f34ba1ec7d7ee1f1718acc24f53d7     
n.(常指不满一岁的)小狗(puppy的复数);小狗,幼犬( puppy的名词复数 );浅薄自负的年轻男子
参考例句:
  • a litter of puppies 一窝小狗
  • The bitch bore six puppies. 母狗生了六只小狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 puppy ECZyv     
n.小狗,幼犬
参考例句:
  • You must school your puppy to obey you.你要训练你的小狗服从你。
  • Their lively puppy frisks all over the house.他们的小狗在屋里到处欢快地蹦跳。
13 wrinkled qeQzK4     
adj.有皱纹的v.使起皱纹( wrinkle的过去式和过去分词 );(尤指皮肤)起皱纹
参考例句:
  • She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth. 她把起皱的桌布熨平了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • A wrinkled purse,a wrinkled face. 手中无钱,愁容满面。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
15 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
16 whine VMNzc     
v.哀号,号哭;n.哀鸣
参考例句:
  • You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
  • The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上,一声尖厉的呼啸,跳飞开去。
17 lettuce C9GzQ     
n.莴苣;生菜
参考例句:
  • Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿,我好做色拉。
  • The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。
18 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
19 porch ju9yM     
n.门廊,入口处,走廊,游廊
参考例句:
  • There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
  • The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。
20 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
21 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
22 freight hiJxQ     
n.货物,货运;vt.运送(货物)看,装货于
参考例句:
  • Tons of freight were flown into this airport every day.每天有许多吨货物被空运到这个机场。
  • There is ten yuan in the bill for freight.发票中包括运费十元。
23 nosy wR0zK     
adj.鼻子大的,好管闲事的,爱追问的;n.大鼻者
参考例句:
  • Our nosy neighbours are always looking in through our windows.好管闲事的邻居总是从我们的窗口望进来。
  • My landlord is so nosy.He comes by twice a month to inspect my apartment.我的房东很烦人,他每个月都要到我公寓视察两次。
24 tone bqFyP     
n.语气,音调,气度,色调;vt.(up)增强
参考例句:
  • There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
  • Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。
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