儿童英语读物 The Camp-Out Mystery CHAPTER 14 Hildy Disappears

At the store, Doris was pacing the floor. “You didn’t see Hildy anywhere along the way, did you?” she asked Violet and Henry when they arrived.

“No, we didn’t,” Henry said. “Were you expecting her?”

“This is her shopping day,” Doris answered. “She always comes in early so she won’t run into any other customers. There’s been no sign of her. I’m getting worried.”

“And she doesn’t have a phone,” Violet commented.

“No, and I can’t leave the store—it’s delivery day,” Doris said.

“We could stop to check on her,” Henry offered.

“Oh, would you?” Doris sounded relieved.

“Sure,” Violet said. “But she probably won’t want to see us.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do it,” Doris said, “it’s just that … well, I’m worried.”

With her help, the children gathered the things on Jessie’s list. Then, promising¹ to be careful, they hurried off.

Henry and Violet raced into camp.

Breathing hard, Henry announced, “Something’s happened to Hildy!”

“Whoa! Slow down,” Mr. Alden said to them. “You look as though you’re being chased.”

Jessie and Benny took the grocery bags from their brother and sister and set them on the table.

“Sit down,” Jessie said. “Catch your breath.”

They sank to the picnic bench. Benny sat between them.

Grandfather hobbled over and sat down, too. He gave the children time to calm down before saying, “Now, tell us what happened.”

Violet started at the beginning. “We met the Changs in the parking lot,” she said. “They were leaving because they couldn’t stand the music and the other things that have been happening.”

Henry picked up the story. “And then we went to the store. Doris was upset because Hildy hadn’t come in for her groceries.”

“Maybe she’ll be in later,” Grandfather said.

Violet shook her head. “Doris said today is her shopping day, and she always comes in first thing.”

“We said we’d check her cabin,” Henry told them. “But we wanted to bring the groceries back first.”

“And get you two and Watch,” Violet said to Jessie and Benny.

“That was smart,” Grandfather said. “There’s safety in numbers. I only wish I could go with you.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Grandfather,” Henry said. “We’ll be all right.”

Benny shot to his feet. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

The four children hurried along the stream path. Watch yapped at their heels.

Hildy’s cabin looked deserted². The children approached it slowly. At the door, Henry knocked.

No response.

He knocked again. “Hildy!” he called. “It’s the Aldens. We have a message from Doris.”

Still no answer.

“Try the door,” Jessie suggested.

Henry turned the knob³. The door was unlocked⁴.

Slowly, cautiously⁵, Henry pushed the door. It creaked as it swung open.

A few bars of light from the window fell across the cabin floor. Otherwise, the cabin was dark.

“Hildy?” Henry called softly.

He stepped inside the cabin. The others followed. Watch ran around sniffing⁶.

Pointing to a small table under the window, Benny said, “Look! Our missing lantern!”

A battery-powered lantern stood in the center of the table.

Henry took a few steps forward. “It looks like our lantern all right,” he said.

“There are lots of lanterns like that,” Violet said.

“But Hildy had a kerosene⁷ lantern,” Benny reminded them.

“And it was broken,” Jessie remembered. She went to the table and picked up the lantern. She turned it over. “It’s our lantern, all right,” she said. She showed the others the name Alden scratched on the bottom.

“Hildy took it!” Benny concluded. “She is the one behind everything!”

Henry wasn’t convinced. “But our lantern was missing before we saw Hildy with her broken one.”

“Maybe she already had our lantern here in her cabin,” Violet suggested.

“But if she had our lantern, why would she be so upset about hers being broken?” Jessie asked.

“We don’t have time to think about it now,” Henry said. “We promised Doris we’d find Hildy.”

They went back outside. Benny and Watch ran around the outside of the cabin looking for some sign of Hildy, but they found nothing.

“Maybe she’s on her way to the store right now,” Violet suggested. “Or already there.”

“In that case, we’re wasting our time,” Jessie said. “Let’s go back to camp.”

“Not yet,” Henry said. “I think we should look around a little more.”

“Let’s go to Andy’s,” Benny suggested. “He might know where Hildy is.”

They ran over the hill, Watch in the lead.

Andy’s place was closed up tight. Even the windows were shuttered.

When the children knocked, there was no answer.

“They’re both missing!” Benny said.
 

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 knob   

n.球形把手，球形柄，旋钮，小块

参考例句：

• There is a knob of butter on the table.桌子上有一小块黄油。
• This knob is only held on by sellotape.这个旋钮只是用透明胶带固定住的。

4 unlocked   

v.开锁( unlock的过去式和过去分词 )；开启；揭开；开着，解开

参考例句：

• Don't leave your desk unlocked. 请不要忘记锁好办公桌。
• On no account should you leave the door unlocked. 你无论如何也不应该不锁门。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cautiously   

adv.小心地，谨慎地；小心翼翼；翼翼

参考例句：

• She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door. 她小心翼翼地沿着车道向门口走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 sniffing   

n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了，一个劲地抽鼻子，打喷嚏。
• They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了，呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。