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儿童英语读物 The Panther Mystery CHAPTER 8 A Visitor Brings a Clue

时间:2017-09-12 08:13来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Is your father here?” asked Henry.

Irene nodded, her ponytail bouncing.

“Can we talk to him?” Henry asked.

“He’s fixing a friend’s airboat,” she said. “I’ll take you over to him.”

The ramp1 had two airboats docked. Jessie figured one belonged to Irene’s father.

“Daddy,” said Irene, “these are the people I told you about. The ones trying to find Ranger2 Beldon?”

A big man wiped his hands on a rag and came over. He shook hands with Grandfather.

“Billy Osceola,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

“James Alden,” said Grandfather in return. “Glad to meet you, Mr. Osceola. These are my grandchildren, Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny.”

“Irene said you saw a man in the Glades3 last night,” Henry said. “Do you know who he was?”

Mr. Osceola shook his head. “He looked like Andrew Beldon. But when I called out to him, he ran away.”

Violet looked up at Mr. Osceola. “Why would he have run away?”

“I don’t know. I just hope he’s okay.” Irene’s father was grave. “It’s easy to become lost in the backwaters of the Glades.”

“Do you think Andrew is lost?” asked Jessie. All along, she was afraid this might be true.

Mr. Osceola shrugged4. “I doubt it. Andrew Beldon knows many secret places of the Glades. That’s probably why no one has found him. He can be as quiet as the panther he likes so much.”

“Can you take us to where you saw this man?” Grandfather asked Mr. Osceola.

“Yes,” Irene’s father replied. “But it’s not a short trip. I think you should count on spending the night.”

“How can I do that?” asked Grandfather.

“The park has a chickee built nearby,” said Mr. Osceola. “They have several around the park for people who want to camp out overnight. But they are primitive5. Bring everything you need with you. Irene and I will come, too. And you’ll need to get a permit from the ranger station.”

“I can do that now,” said Grandfather. “The station is just down the road.”

“Are we going to take canoes?” Henry asked. If the place was as far as Mr. Osceola said, poling a canoe would take them forever.

“I’ll take you in my airboat,” Irene’s father replied. “I can drop you off in the morning and come back later.”

“We’re going to ride in one of those?” Benny cried, jumping up and down on the dock. “Yippee!”

Mr. Osceola smiled. “Yes, airboats are fun to ride in. They are very fast.”

“I like to go fast!” Benny said. “Almost as much as I like to eat.”

Everyone laughed.

“Okay, Benny,” said Violet. “Let’s go to the snack bar for some pumpkin6 bread.”

“I’ll join you later,” said Grandfather. “I want to discuss the details with Mr. Osceola and then drive to the ranger station for our camping permit.”

The snack bar wasn’t crowded. The children purchased thick slices of pumpkin bread and cold drinks. They all sat at an empty table.

“You are in for a real experience,” Irene told them. “Not many people go where you are going tomorrow.”

“I’m glad you’ll be with us,” said Violet. “I’m a little nervous.”

“Don’t be,” Irene reassured7 her. “A chickee is very safe. You can bring sleeping bags if you want. I’ll bring along hammocks, too.”

“I want to sleep in a hammock,” Benny declared. He couldn’t wait to start this adventure.

A tour bus stopped out front. Irene had to leave the Aldens to wait on customers.

Henry picked up his trash. “I think we should go. Grandfather is probably waiting for us outside.”

He pushed his chair back. As he did, a man just behind him poured his drink down Henry’s back!

Instead of apologizing, the man muttered, “Why don’t you look where you’re going!” Then he hustled8 away.

Jessie grabbed a handful of napkins and dabbed9 at Henry’s shirt.

“It’s okay,” Henry said. “One minute in the sun and I’ll be dry.”

Violet stared at the rude man’s bushy hair. “I know that man! He was on top of the observation tower. He made me mess up my picture.”

“I’ve seen him, too,” Benny said. “Today, when I was looking at postcards.”

“And he was at the house at the end of our street,” Jessie added. “The first evening when we took a walk. Remember?”

Henry frowned. “Why would the same man always be in the same places we are?”

“Coincidence, maybe?” Jessie suggested.

“I don’t think so.” But before Henry could say more, Grandfather came in.

“We should leave,” he told them. “We have a lot of supplies to buy for our camp-out.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent buying sleeping bags, more insect repellent, cookware, food, a lantern, mosquito netting, and utensils10.

“We have a lot of this stuff at home,” Jessie remarked as they loaded the bulky sacks into the trunk of their car.

“Yes, but our old sleeping bags are getting a little worn out,” Grandfather said.

“Can we keep the old ones in our boxcar?” Benny asked. “For sleepovers?”

“Good idea.” Grandfather rumpled11 Benny’s hair. “Although after tomorrow night, you might not want to camp out again for a while.”

“Why? What’s going to happen tomorrow?” Jessie asked. “Irene told us the Glades are noisy at night.”

“Mr. Osceola told me the same thing,” Grandfather said. “I just think none of us will get much sleep, that’s all. There’s nothing to be afraid of or we wouldn’t go. According to Irene’s father, the place where he saw the man who looked like Andy is deep in the Glades.”

“And we’ll have to search for him,” Henry added. “So we can’t make this trip all in one day.”

“Exactly.” Grandfather got behind the wheel. “Let’s go back to the hotel and think about where we want to eat dinner.”

But the children were too excited to eat when they reached the pink hotel. This time tomorrow they would be deep in the Everglades. Anything could happen!

They sat out on the porch and signed Benny’s postcard.

To their surprise, an old man came up the walk. It was Gus Hummer.

“Mr. Hummer!” Jessie said, getting up to give him her seat on the glider12. “Did you come to see us?”

“I did indeed. Just let me catch my breath.” The old man sat down and took a few shaky breaths. “It’s farther over here than I thought!”

“You should have called us,” said Violet. “You could have left a message with Mrs. Johnson. We would have come over to your house. Can I get you a drink?”

“Water would be fine,” said Gus.

Violet came back moments later with a pitcher13 of ice water on a tray and several glasses. Gus drank an entire glass, set it on the tray, and wiped his mouth with his handkerchief.

“I had to come over here,” he told the Aldens. “I can’t talk freely at my boardinghouse.”

“Why not?” asked Benny.

“Because Old Lady Applegate eavesdrops14. That woman is always listening at doors. She hears everything!” Gus remarked.

Henry poured their guest a second glass of cold water. “What do you want to tell us? Does it have to do with Andrew?”

Gus nodded. “Old Lady Applegate was snooping in Andrew’s room. He hasn’t been back in days, you know.”

“Yes, we know,” put in Jessie. “Do you think the landlady15 took something from Andrew’s room?”

Gus waved a hand. “She takes things from all our rooms. Little things, like pocket change, knickknacks. She once took a picture of my late wife. I think she sold the frame. I wouldn’t have minded so much if she’d left the picture.”

“That’s terrible!” Violet cried. “Did you tell the police?”

“I didn’t have any proof. It would be her word against the word of an old man,” Gus said. “Anyway, she does it to all her boarders, not just me.”

“But you all should do something!” Jessie exclaimed.

Gus shook his head. “The rent is cheap. Where else would I go that I could afford?” He tugged16 an envelope from his pocket. “That’s not why I came. Andrew gave me this the day before he disappeared. I think it’s important. Maybe you kids can figure it out. I can’t make heads or tails of it.”

Henry took the envelope as Gus rose to leave.

“Won’t you stay longer?” Violet asked, concerned about the man. “You could go to dinner with us.”

“Thanks, but no,” said Gus. He walked slowly down the block.

“Poor guy,” said Jessie. “It must be awful to live there.”

Henry was opening the envelope. He held up a piece of paper. On the paper were two sets of numbers.

Benny frowned. “What is that? Math?”

Violet stared at the paper. One column had single numbers in order — one, two, three, four, and so forth17. The second column had rows of numbers all jumbled18 up.

“What does this mean?” she asked, perplexed19.

“There’s something about these numbers,” Jessie said slowly. “But I can’t think what.”

“I know!” Henry cried. “The cat collars!” He pointed20 to the first row of numbers. “These are the numbers assigned to the cats.”

“That makes sense,” said Violet. “Nelda Pearson said the cats were numbered one, two, three, like that. But what is the second set of numbers?”

“The frequency of each cat’s radio collar,” Henry said. “When they want to tune21 in to a certain cat, the rangers22 use the numbers across from the cat’s number.”

Jessie tapped the bottom of the page. “Number Twenty-seven is circled in red. Something must be wrong with Cat Number Twenty-seven.”

They all looked at one another.

“Andrew is on the trail of Cat Number Twenty-seven,” said Violet.

“And tomorrow, we’ll be on his trail,” added Jessie.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 ramp QTgxf     
n.暴怒,斜坡,坡道;vi.作恐吓姿势,暴怒,加速;vt.加速
参考例句:
  • That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
  • The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。
2 ranger RTvxb     
n.国家公园管理员,护林员;骑兵巡逻队员
参考例句:
  • He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
  • He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。
3 glades 7d2e2c7f386182f71c8d4c993b22846c     
n.林中空地( glade的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Maggie and Philip had been meeting secretly in the glades near the mill. 玛吉和菲利曾经常在磨坊附近的林中空地幽会。 来自辞典例句
  • Still the outlaw band throve in Sherwood, and hunted the deer in its glades. 当他在沉思中变老了,世界还是照样走它的路,亡命之徒仍然在修武德日渐壮大,在空地里猎鹿。 来自互联网
4 shrugged 497904474a48f991a3d1961b0476ebce     
vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀,什么也没说。
  • She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩,装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 primitive vSwz0     
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物
参考例句:
  • It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
  • His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
6 pumpkin NtKy8     
n.南瓜
参考例句:
  • They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
  • It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你!
7 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 hustled 463e6eb3bbb1480ba4bfbe23c0484460     
催促(hustle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • He grabbed her arm and hustled her out of the room. 他抓住她的胳膊把她推出房间。
  • The secret service agents hustled the speaker out of the amphitheater. 特务机关的代理人把演讲者驱逐出竞技场。
9 dabbed c669891a6c15c8a38e0e41e9d8a2804d     
(用某物)轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 ); 轻而快地擦掉(或抹掉); 快速擦拭; (用某物)轻而快地涂上(或点上)…
参考例句:
  • She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. 她轻轻擦了几下眼睛,擤了擤鼻涕。
  • He dabbed at the spot on his tie with a napkin. 他用餐巾快速擦去领带上的污点。
10 utensils 69f125dfb1fef9b418c96d1986e7b484     
器具,用具,器皿( utensil的名词复数 ); 器物
参考例句:
  • Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
  • Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。
11 rumpled 86d497fd85370afd8a55db59ea16ef4a     
v.弄皱,使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
  • The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪,散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句
12 glider wgNxU     
n.滑翔机;滑翔导弹
参考例句:
  • The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
  • The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。
13 pitcher S2Gz7     
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手
参考例句:
  • He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
  • Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
14 eavesdrops 498e34283a484040a987955ec96c0d2c     
偷听(别人的谈话)( eavesdrop的名词复数 )
参考例句:
15 landlady t2ZxE     
n.女房东,女地主
参考例句:
  • I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
  • The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
16 tugged 8a37eb349f3c6615c56706726966d38e     
v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
  • A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 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。
18 jumbled rpSzs2     
adj.混乱的;杂乱的
参考例句:
  • Books, shoes and clothes were jumbled together on the floor. 书、鞋子和衣服胡乱堆放在地板上。
  • The details of the accident were all jumbled together in his mind. 他把事故细节记得颠三倒四。
19 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
20 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。
21 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
22 rangers f306109e6f069bca5191deb9b03359e2     
护林者( ranger的名词复数 ); 突击队员
参考例句:
  • Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗? 来自超越目标英语 第3册
  • Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者,所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
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