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儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Stolen Boxcar CHAPTER 3 Mr. Chessy’s House

时间:2017-08-17 07:05来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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The next day, as soon as they had finished breakfast, the four Aldens helped Mrs. McGregor pack lunches for them. Then they got on their bicycles for a ride into Greenfield.

Watch wanted to come, but he couldn’t. “We are going to the post office and then to the library, Watch,” Benny explained. “We might be in the library for a long time. And dogs aren’t allowed in the post office or the library.”

Watch tilted1 his head. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to go.

“I know, Watch,” said Benny. “I think they should change those rules, too. But you can stay here with Mrs. McGregor until we get back.”

Mrs. McGregor, who was standing2 by the back door, opened it and said, “I think I might have a nice dog biscuit in the kitchen for Watch.”

At the word “biscuit” Watch got up and trotted3 happily into the house.

The Aldens set off for the post office. On the way, they stopped by to pick up their cousin, Soo Lee. Soo Lee lived with their cousins, Joe and Alice, in an old gray-shingled house nearby. The Boxcar Children had helped their cousins fix up the house when they moved there.

Soo Lee was waiting for them. She got on her bicycle as soon as her four cousins came into sight, and coasted down the driveway to join them.

The five children went to the post office first, to mail the parade entry form to the Greenfield Parade Committee. Then they went to the library to research their costumes for the parade.

They found lots of books about trains and costumes in the old days. But the long dresses with their high necks and tight sleeves didn’t look like much fun to Jessie or to Violet4.

“These are pretty dresses,” said Jessie. “But you can’t run or play or even ride bicycles in them.”

Violet agreed. “They don’t look very comfortable, either. And I think it would be hard to make costumes to look like that.”

“Listen to this,” said Henry. “This book says that a train engineer usually wore a gray-striped cap and a red bandanna5 around the neck. And here’s an old picture of an engineer on an early locomotive6. He’s wearing overalls7, too.”

The four children crowded around Henry to look at the picture.

“We all have overalls,” said Jessie. “We could get caps and bandannas8 and all dress like engineers. They sell all kinds of caps and bandannas at the department store in town, and they aren’t too expensive. We can buy our costumes there and then we will have plenty of money left over for our other supplies.”

“Look at this.” Soo Lee pointed9 to another picture in the book. “We can learn some of the train signals, too. The signal for the train to stop is two arms up.”

After doing a little more research on the history of Greenfield — and on railroads11 in particular — the children decided12 it was time for lunch.

“Let’s take our lunches to the old railroad10 station,” said Violet as they came out of the library.

When they got to the train station, the windows were all boarded up, the paint was chipped and peeling, and there was a big lock on the door.

“It looks like it could use some fixing up,” said Henry. “But it would take a lot more than just paint!”

The five children took out their lunches and sat on stone steps that led up to the station. “I bet13 this was a really busy place a long time ago,” Soo Lee said, as she took a big bite of her sandwich.

Just then, a voice said, “So! I was right. You changed your minds!”

The Aldens all looked up. It was Mr. Chessy!

“What are you doing here?” exclaimed14 Henry in surprise.

“This is where I’m staying.” Mr. Chessy swung around and motioned15 with his hand. Then the Aldens saw an old-fashioned16 railroad car pulled off onto a side track near the back of the train station. “That’s my traveling home,” the man said. “It’s an old caboose.”

“It looks a little like our boxcar,” said Henry.

“The first cabooses were just the last boxcars on the trains, you know.” Mr. Chessy sounded almost friendly.

Benny cried, “I’d like to see what your boxcar looks like!”

Mr. Chessy looked surprised — and pleased. “Would you?” he asked. “Come along and I’ll show you the inside.”

The children all looked at one another. “Thank you!” said Henry.

The children had finished lunch. They quickly cleaned up and followed Mr. Chessy to his railroad car.

“Come in, come in,” said Mr. Chessy. He stepped back and motioned for them to come into his caboose.

The Aldens couldn’t help thinking of how they’d made their boxcar a home when they’d first lived in it. Their boxcar had an old table they’d found, with a blue tablecloth17 on it. They’d made beds at one end out of pine needles. They didn’t have any light, except when they built a fire outside to cook.

But this caboose had a lamp that looked like an old-fashioned lantern. It had a stove and a refrigerator and even a sink with a little window above it.

Mr. Chessy proudly showed them around his caboose, explaining how he had designed and built everything himself.

Then he opened a narrow door. He stepped inside — and disappeared!

“Come on up!” his voice said above them.

A short ladder was inside the door. The children climbed up it, and found themselves in a small square room with windows all around and benches around all the walls.

“This is the cupola, or crow’s nest,” said Mr. Chessy. “Conductors and trainmen sat here to watch the train — and the scenery! I’m glad you came to see my little home. I’d take just as good care of your boxcar, if you should ever decide to sell it, you know. I’ll be leaving soon, but you have my card — if you change your minds.”

“Thank you,” said Henry, without saying anything about selling the boxcar. The others thanked him, too.

Mr. Chessy was smiling as they left. When Jessie looked over her shoulder, however, she saw Mr. Chessy wasn’t smiling anymore. He had his arms folded and his eyes were narrowed.

Was Mr. Chessy just pretending to be nice because he wanted their boxcar? she wondered.

But Jessie didn’t say anything. She just listened as her brothers and sister told Soo Lee all about Mr. Chessy and his offer the day before to buy the boxcar. They didn’t have to tell her that they’d never, ever sell it. Soo Lee knew that already!

They decided to go to the hardware18 store next to get supplies for fixing up the boxcar, and then to the department store.

When they got to the hardware store, the owner remembered the Aldens from their last visit. “Did you enter the parade?” she asked.

“We sure did,” said Benny. “We’re going to be engineers in our boxcar.”

The owner of the hardware store, like many people in Greenfield, knew the story of the Boxcar Children. She nodded approvingly. “That’s a neat idea.”

Henry explained that they were going to paint the boxcar for the parade and soon the Aldens had almost more supplies than they could carry.

After that, they went to the department store and bought red bandannas and engineer’s caps. They even bought an extra bandanna for Watch to wear.

It was getting late. They quickly loaded the supplies on their bicycles, and headed for home.

“I don’t think we’re going to have time to start fixing the boxcar today,” said Henry.

“I’ve got to go home,” said Soo Lee. “Tomorrow I can’t help you. But I’ll come over as soon as I can the day after.” They rode with Soo Lee back to her house. As she went inside, she waved her new engineer’s cap at her cousins. “See you day after tomorrow!” she called.

That evening at dinner, the children told Grandfather all about their busy day. They also told him about visiting Mr. Chessy’s railroad car.

“Mr. Chessy, Hmmm. I was thinking about what you told me and remembered I’d read an article about him in a magazine recently. I imagine he could tell you all about the history of your boxcar.”

“I don’t think he will want to talk to us about anything except selling our boxcar,” said Jessie.

Grandfather laughed. “Collectors like to talk about the things they collect. He might be willing to talk to you.”

“Then maybe we can call him tomorrow.” Henry yawned19. “But not tonight. Tonight I am too tired.”

Everyone agreed that it had been a long day, but a good one, and that they could hardly wait for tomorrow.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tilted 3gtzE5     
v. 倾斜的
参考例句:
  • Suddenly the boat tilted to one side. 小船突然倾向一侧。
  • She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。
2 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。
3 trotted 6df8e0ef20c10ef975433b4a0456e6e1     
小跑,急走( trot的过去分词 ); 匆匆忙忙地走
参考例句:
  • She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
  • Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。
4 violet 8h3wm     
adj.紫色的;n.紫罗兰
参考例句:
  • She likes to wear violet dresses.他喜欢穿紫色的衣服。
  • Violet is the color of wisdom,peace and strength.紫色是智慧的,和平的和力量的颜色。
5 bandanna BPQyF     
n.大手帕
参考例句:
  • He knotted the bandanna around his neck.他在脖子上系了一条印花大围巾。
  • He wiped his forehead with a blue bandanna and smiled again.他用一条蓝色的大手帕擦擦前额,又笑了笑。
6 locomotive s8Xzl     
adj.运动的,机动
参考例句:
  • The wheels were set further back on the original locomotive.车轮安装得比原来机车的更靠后些。
  • A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive.一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。
7 overalls 2mCz6w     
n.(复)工装裤;长罩衣
参考例句:
  • He is in overalls today.他今天穿的是工作裤。
  • He changed his overalls for a suit.他脱下工装裤,换上了一套西服。
8 bandannas 2fb774e042b6d738a3bc98c25a3e71c4     
n.印花大手帕( bandanna的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Long hair, overalls, bandannas, a Jesus beard on Dad. 长发,工作裤,大手帕,还有父亲的耶稣式胡子。 来自互联网
  • They had standard-issue bandannas over their faces. 脸上蒙普通的大花巾。 来自互联网
9 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。
10 railroad ATIxl     
n.铁路;vi.由铁路运输
参考例句:
  • The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市,即纽约与芝加哥。
  • My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。
11 railroads 343fb39945794562877811ef2c6adf75     
n.铁路,铁道( railroad的名词复数 );铁路系统v.铁路,铁道( railroad的第三人称单数 );铁路系统
参考例句:
  • Water transportation was outmoded by railroads and good pikes. 水上运输已因铁路和良好的税道而变得过时了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • A severe snowstorm blocked up railroads. 一场暴风雪使铁路中断。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 bet ddZy8     
v.打赌,以(与)...打赌;n.赌注,赌金;打赌
参考例句:
  • I bet you can't do this puzzle.我敢说,你解决不了这个难题。
  • I offered to bet with him.我提出与他打赌。
14 exclaimed 68e477dcdab3965d2189fb7276ee5041     
vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊,惊叫,大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 motioned fc6cd66a5526f19cd714c2bcd23563a0     
vt.打手势(motion的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • When the doorman motioned them away, they took no notice. 当门卫示意让他们离开时,他们没注意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He motioned me to a seat. 他示意我坐下。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 old-fashioned FmIzps     
adj.旧式的,保守的,挑剔的
参考例句:
  • Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服?
  • Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。
17 tablecloth lqSwh     
n.桌布,台布
参考例句:
  • He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思,轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
  • She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。
18 hardware oe9xM     
n.重型武器;五金器具;硬件
参考例句:
  • He bought a pot and other hardware at the store. 他从商店买了一个壶和其他金属制品。
  • That family has carried on a hardware business for five generations.那家已经经营五金生意五代了。
19 yawned 484eb41347aa5de2bc43028f961cc1be     
v.打呵欠( yawn的过去式和过去分词 );张开,裂开
参考例句:
  • She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠,又刻意地看了看手表。
  • John yawned and scratched his chin. 约翰打个哈欠,挠挠下巴。
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