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儿童英语读物 The Canoe Trip Mystery CHAPTER 4 More Warnings

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The next morning, the Aldens all slept until the sun was high in the sky. “It must be nearly nine o’clock,” Henry said sleepily at breakfast.

“It took me a long time to fall back to sleep after hearing that wolf,” Benny said.

Henry told the others about the sound they’d heard.

“It might have been a big dog,” Violet said. “Wolves sound a bit like dogs,” Violet loved animals and was always reading about them.

“Well, maybe it was a dog,” Benny said. But he still looked worried.

“Well, at least your appetite didn’t suffer, Benny.” Aunt Jane smiled at her younger nephew.

Benny sat on the picnic blanket eating dried fruit and two large slices of Mrs. McGregor’s homemade wheat bread.

“We’ll probably finish all the homemade bread by tomorrow,” Jessie said. “After that, we’ll be having oatmeal for breakfast.”

“I love oatmeal,” Benny said. Suddenly he heard a rustling1 sound behind him.

“Did you hear that?” He tapped Henry on the arm.

A tall man with blue eyes and a black beard walked out of the woods toward them.

Aunt Jane stood up. “I’m Jane Bean,” she said to the man, and introduced him to her nieces and nephews.

“I’m Lorenzo Espinosa.” The man spoke2 softly. “Are those your canoes over there on the shore?”

“Yes,” Henry answered. “We’re taking a trip across Timberwolf Lake.”

“How long have you been camping here?”

“Since last night,” Jessie answered.

“How has your trip been so far?” Lorenzo looked at them closely. Violet thought he seemed suspicious about something.

“Fine, except for the wolf,” Benny told him.

Lorenzo looked more worried than surprised. “I’m a scientist,” he explained to Benny. “I study the plants and animals in these woods. There are no wolves around here.”

“See, Benny, what did we tell you?” Henry said. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“But, if I were you, I would worry,” Lorenzo said, raising his voice, “not about wolves, but about...” He paused. “Some very strange things have been going on near Timberwolf Lake,” he finally continued.

“What kinds of things?” Aunt Jane asked.

“Well, I also heard your so-called wolf last night,” Lorenzo said.

Benny sat up straighter and stopped eating.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it wasn’t really a wolf,” Lorenzo told Benny. “But I’ve heard this animal for the past week or so, on and off. I’ve also seen campfires burning at all hours.”

“Don’t campers usually make fires?” Aunt Jane asked.

“Yes, but you’re the only campers I’ve seen all season, and you’ve only just arrived,” Lorenzo said.

“Maybe someone is camping here in secret?” Henry suggested. “Maybe someone is trying to keep people off this lake on purpose,” he continued.

“I don’t know what to think!” Lorenzo exclaimed. “I’ve been coming up here every spring for the past fifteen years, and nothing like this has ever happened before.”

For a few moments, Lorenzo did nothing but stare at the ground and scuff3 dirt over a little pile of pine needles. The Aldens just stared at him and didn’t say a word.

“If I were you,” Lorenzo continued, “I would go back. Don’t try to get to the end of Timberwolf Lake. It’s not safe. Too manystrange things are happening.”

The children looked at one another. Why was everyone trying to warn them away from the lake?

“We don’t want to go home yet,” Benny said. “We have to solve the riddle4 first.”

“Do you know about the riddle written on the boulder5?” Violet asked Lorenzo.

Lorenzo took a long time to answer. The children thought he seemed upset.

“I have more important things to worry about up here than a riddle,” he said abruptly6. “And so do you. You have to worry about storms this time of year, not to mention all this funny business.”

Henry and Jessie exchanged glances. “We’ll be very careful,” Henry said.

“We really can’t turn back now,” Jessie told Lorenzo firmly. “Our grandfather is waiting to meet us at the end of the trail in White Pine.”

“Well, you must do what you have to do,” Lorenzo said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“We’ll be careful,” Violet told him. Againthere was a long pause before Lorenzo responded.

“You must excuse me,” he finally said. “I have to go back to my cabin to check on my oak specimens7.” He suddenly seemed eager to get away from the Aldens.

“He wasn’t very friendly,” Jessie said a few minutes after Lorenzo had left.

“He might just be shy,” Violet answered as she gathered up the dishes.

“He seemed kind of nervous when we asked him about the riddle,” Henry said. He was helping8 Aunt Jane and Jessie take down the tents.

“I don’t know what to think.” Jessie shook her head. “Maybe he does know more than he wants to tell us.”

“It’s hard to know who we can trust on this trip so far,” Henry remarked. “Maybe there is something strange on this lake. We could go another way and still meet Grandfather in White Pine.”

“I don’t think we need to change our plans yet,” Aunt Jane said.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t tell anyone else about the riddle until we find out more about it,” Jessie suggested.

“We might find more clues when we get back on the lake,” Violet said hopefully. “We shouldn’t let those people talk us out of our canoe trip.”

“Don’t worry, Violet. We’re going ahead.” Henry smiled at his usually quiet sister.

An hour later Aunt Jane and the Aldens were canoeing toward one of the rocky islands in the middle of Timberwolf Lake. Puffy white clouds dotted the blue sky.

“I don’t know why everyone is warning us about the weather,” Henry said. “No sign of rain or storms today.”

“Could we picnic on that rock island?” Benny asked. Today he sat in Henry’s canoe with Violet.

“I don’t see why not,” Henry answered. “By the time we get there, it should be lunchtime.”

When the Aldens paddled closer to the island, they saw it was just a very large grayboulder. Small pine trees and vines grew from its cracks.

Henry and Aunt Jane tied the canoes around a tree trunk and clambered up the boulder in their sneakers. Jessie put bread, dried fruit, and cheddar cheese in a small backpack to take with them. Violet took her sketch9 pad, and Benny grabbed his softball.

“Look, we’re scaring away the geese and loons,” Benny said, as he ran to where Henry and Aunt Jane were standing10.

“Yes, they’ll have to find a new place to sun themselves for now,” Aunt Jane said.

“I’m sure they’ll be back when we start eating,” Henry said.

Benny ran all around the rock island before coming back to see what was in Jessie’s pack for lunch.

Violet explored more slowly. She touched the pine trees and tall rushes that grew in the nooks and crannies of the rocks. For a long time, she stared out in the distance at a pair of jagged rocks further down the lake.

“I’m looking for a good scene to draw,”Violet announced at lunch.

“Can’t you draw us eating?” Benny asked after taking a big bite of his cheese sandwich.

“Well, I could,” Violet said. “But I thought I would draw those jagged rocks over there.” She pointed11 across the lake. “You know, it looks as though there might be something written on them.”

“Goodness, you’re right,” Aunt Jane said, shading her eyes to see better.

Jessie, Henry, and Benny looked too. They saw some faint reddish brown letters painted on the rocks.

“We’re too far away to read what those letters say. Maybe we could canoe closer to the rocks right after lunch,” Jessie said.

“I don’t think we should try to push ourselves too hard today,” Aunt Jane said. “We had a long day yesterday.”

“I agree,” Henry said. “Let’s just relax on our own private island. We can go see those rocks later this afternoon. They’re on the way to our next campsite.”

The Aldens and Aunt Jane finished the last of their picnic lunch. After they had cleaned up, Violet got her sketch pad and drew. Henry read his book of Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. Jessie and Benny tossed the ball back and forth12 with Aunt Jane.

It was mid-afternoon when Aunt Jane and the Aldens got back in their canoes. They soon reached the jagged rocks.

“Hold the canoe steady,” Henry said to Violet, who sat behind him paddling. She stopped and planted her paddle in the water.

Henry adjusted his binoculars13 and looked through them for a long time. Or at least it seemed long to the others.

“Can you read it?” Jessie finally asked from the other canoe. She had pulled her boat very close to Henry’s.

“I think it says KEEP OUT,” Henry answered, still looking through the binoculars. “Someone wrote that sign with red spray paint.”

“May I take a look?” Violet asked.

Henry handed her the binoculars.

“Yes, it definitely says, KEEP OUT,” Violet said. “There’s also a drawing of a skull14 and crossbones near the sign.”

“Do you think it means keep off the rocks, or off the lake?” Benny asked.

“It could mean the rocks,” Henry said. “But I have a feeling, it means stay off the lake.”

“Well, that’s our third warning since we left,” Aunt Jane said grimly. No one could argue.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
2 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。
3 scuff VZQx3     
v. 拖着脚走;磨损
参考例句:
  • Polly,bewildered and embarrassed,dropped her head and scuffed her feet.波莉既困惑又尴尬,低下头拖着脚走开了。
  • Constant wheelchair use will scuff almost any floor surface.任何地板上经常有轮椅走动几乎都会有所磨损。
4 riddle WCfzw     
n.谜,谜语,粗筛;vt.解谜,给…出谜,筛,检查,鉴定,非难,充满于;vi.出谜
参考例句:
  • The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
  • Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。
5 boulder BNbzS     
n.巨砾;卵石,圆石
参考例句:
  • We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲,把大石头搬开了。
  • He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。
6 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
7 specimens 91fc365099a256001af897127174fcce     
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
参考例句:
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
9 sketch UEyyG     
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述
参考例句:
  • My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
  • I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。
10 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
11 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。
12 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
13 binoculars IybzWh     
n.双筒望远镜
参考例句:
  • He watched the play through his binoculars.他用双筒望远镜看戏。
  • If I had binoculars,I could see that comet clearly.如果我有望远镜,我就可以清楚地看见那颗彗星。
14 skull CETyO     
n.头骨;颅骨
参考例句:
  • The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
  • He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去,跌裂了颅骨。
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