儿童英语读物 The Haunted Clock Tower Mystery CHAPTER 10 A Reward for the Children

“You were the one?” Joel asked in disbelief.

“Yes, I was the one who found the letter—and then left it up here,” Don said.

“Where did you find it?” Benny wanted to know.

“It was tucked inside that antique book my father gave me,” Don said.

“So that’s why you didn’t want us looking at the book,” Jessie said.

“That’s right—I kept the letter in the book,” he said. “Until I brought it up here. I didn’t want you looking in the book because I was afraid you might see it.”

“That day we saw you on the Quad¹ and you started to ask us about the book—” Jessie recalled.

“By then I’d realized I’d lost the letter,” Don said. “I was going to ask if you had seen it. But then I decided² I’d better not mention it, or I’d have a lot of explaining to do.”

Then Joel spoke³ up. “So that’s why you were so eager to come up here to visit. You wanted to find the treasure.”

“Yes,” Don said. “I went up into the tower in the middle of the night to search. I only had a flashlight on, so I didn’t think anyone would see me.”

Suddenly Violet remembered something. “It was your muddy footprint we saw, wasn’t it?” she said, looking down at the sneakers Don was wearing.

“I suppose it must have been,” Don agreed. “When I was searching around up here, I tried to look inside and behind the carillon—I’m afraid I may have broken some of the wires by accident when I leaned on them. I even went up to look at the bells and unscrewed some of the parts to see if somehow a treasure could be hidden inside.”

“That was a terrible thing you did,” Ezra said angrily. “It took me a long time to fix the carillon.”

Don’s face turned red, and he looked at the floor. “I’m so sorry,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t thinking. I’d come so far, and I didn’t want to leave empty-handed. I’ll repay you for the time you spent repairing them.”

“What I don’t understand is: Why were you being so secretive? Why not tell the university what you’d found?” Professor Meyer asked.

“I know what I did wasn’t right. But I never intended to keep the money. I just wanted to find the treasure.” Don looked at his father.

“Still playing detective?” Joel asked.

“I guess so,” Don said sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m glad all the mysteries have been solved,” the professor said. “Thanks to the Aldens.” She smiled at the children, who smiled back proudly.

“What’s going to happen to the treasure?” Benny asked.

“We’ll have to notify the Chambers⁴ family,” Professor Meyer said. “For now, perhaps, we should bring the treasure to the president’s office for safekeeping.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Jessie.

The next day, the Aldens were getting ready to leave Goldwin and return home. Their suitcases were packed and ready. The family was just finishing up lunch in the dining hall.

“I’ve enjoyed being here again after all these years, but it will be good to get back to Greenfield,” Grandfather said.

“I agree,” said Jessie.

“I miss Mrs. McGregor’s cooking,” Benny said.

“Look, there’s Professor Meyer,” Violet called out as they stood up to leave.

Grandfather waved to her and she came right over. “I’m glad I found you before you left,” she said. “I spoke with Laurence Chambers last night. He was overjoyed to hear that you had found the family valuables—he couldn’t believe it. In fact, he took the first flight here and arrived this morning.”

“Really?” Henry said. “Has he seen the treasure yet?”

“Yes, and it was more wonderful than he’d imagined,” the professor said. “He’d like to meet you and thank you in person.”

The children looked at one another, their eyes glowing.

“We’d love to,” said Jessie.

The Aldens went with the professor up to the top of the tower one last time. When they reached the top, a tall dark-haired man was standing⁵ looking out the window. As he turned to face them, Violet said, “You look like your great-great-granduncle.”

“Do I?” Mr. Chambers asked.

“Yes,” Henry agreed. “We saw a picture of him in a book.”

“And you must be the Aldens,” Mr. Chambers said. “I can’t thank you enough for finding my family heirlooms.”

“It was our pleasure,” Jessie assured him.

“I’d like to give each of you a small piece of the treasure,” Mr. Chambers went on. He held out his hand and showed the children four old gold coins. “Will you accept these as your reward?”

The children were too stunned⁶ to speak. As he handed each of them a coin, Grandfather said, “They’re speechless. I think that means they accept your offer.”

At last the children remembered their manners. “Thank you!” they each said.

“As I was saying, it is the sentimental⁷ value, not the money, that matters to me,” Mr. Chambers said. “Last night I discussed with my family what to do with this treasure.

“As you know, my family has always been very devoted⁸ to this university. We will keep a few pieces, but the rest we are going to donate to Goldwin. We’ll be putting some of the antiques, like the goblets⁹, on display.”

“What about the gold and silver?” asked Henry.

“My cousins and I discussed what to do with it,” Mr. Chambers said. “My great-great-granduncle was quite fond of music, especially the carillon. You may have figured that out from his letters.”

“Yes, it sounded that way,” said Jessie.

“My family would like to use this money to add some new bells,” said Mr. Chambers.

“What a wonderful idea,” Ezra said. “Thank you so very much.”

“Our music will sound even more beautiful,” Andi said excitedly.

“Your great-great-granduncle would have been proud,” Ezra said.

“Thank you for calling me,” Mr. Chambers said to Professor Meyer. Then he turned to the Aldens. “And thank you again, for finding my family’s treasure.”

“You’re welcome,” said Henry.

“Anytime you need a treasure found, just call us!” said Benny with a smile. “We’re always ready for a treasure hunt.”

1 quad   

n.四方院；四胞胎之一；v.在…填补空铅

参考例句：

• His rooms were on the left-hand side of the quad.他的房间位于四方院的左侧。
• She is a 34-year-old mother of quads.她是个生了四胞胎的34岁的母亲。

2 decided   

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。

3 spoke   

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。

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 standing   

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。

6 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

7 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 goblets   

n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Oh the goblets of the breast! Oh the eyes of absence! 噢，乳房的杯盏！噢，失神的双眼！ 来自互联网
• Divide the digestive biscuit crumbs mixture between 6 goblets. 消化？底分成6双玻璃杯中。 来自互联网