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儿童英语读物 The Ice Cream Mystery CHAPTER 8 Who Did It?

时间:2017-11-02 05:10来源:互联网 提供网友:qing   字体: [ ]
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“Hold on, Benny. Just because you think Mr. Bush did it doesn’t mean we can go arrest him. We have to have proof,” Violet said.

“If we got Butterscotch, wouldn’t that be proof?” asked Benny

“It would. But I don’t think Mr. Bush is keeping Butterscotch in his backyard. It would be very hard to hide a horse in our neighborhood, at least for very long.”

“So he has Butterscotch at a farm or a stable,” said Benny. “Maybe he owns a farm,” he added.

“Maybe.” Jessie thought hard for a moment. “There is only one stable nearby just outside Silver City.”

“But there are lots of farms,” said Violet, feeling discouraged.

“If Butterscotch is at a farm—or the stables—she’d have to get there in a truck or van,” Jessie said. “It’s too far to ride her or lead her.”

“Marcos has a van for deliveries,” Violet said.

“Maybe Mr. Bush has a van or truck, too,” said Henry. “We need to check that out.”

“And we need to check on the stables, to see if Butterscotch is there,” said Benny.

“Let’s see when Katy expects Marcos again,” suggested Violet.

Nodding, Jessie said, “And after that, let’s make a few phone calls.”

Henry hung up the pay phone. “Nope, no new horses at the Silver City Stables,” he reported.

“I didn’t think there would be,” Jessie said. “It would be one of the first places the police would look, just like we did.”

“Let’s go get Mr. Bush,” Benny urged.

“Let’s go talk to Mr. Bush, you mean,” said Violet.

“Okay. Let’s go,” said Benny. He tugged1 on Violet’s sleeve.

“Not right now,” Henry said. “We have to get home. It’s almost time for dinner.”

“We’ll talk to Mr. Bush first thing tomorrow,” Jessie told Benny.

The Aldens rode their bicycles slowly home. They were tired and sad. Benny kept remembering how awful he had felt once when Watch had disappeared.

Watch came bounding up to greet them when they got home. That made them all feel a little better as they wheeled their bikes into the garage.

Then, suddenly, Watch ran toward the street. He ran up to a bicyclist who was pedaling by on the sidewalk. He barked.

“Watch, no!” said Benny, hurrying after him.

The bicyclist stopped. Watch stopped.

“Sit, Watch!” Jessie called. Watch sat.

“You know you’re not supposed to chase bicycles,” Benny scolded. Then he looked up at the bicyclist. “Oh!” he said in surprise.

The others had reached the sidewalk by then and had seen who the bicyclist was, too.

“Hello, Mr. Bush,” said Violet politely.

“Uh-oh,” Jessie said very softly to Henry. She was sure Mr. Bush was going to be very angry about Watch barking at him.

But Mr. Bush surprised them all. “Well,” he said to Watch. “At least you’re a dog who knows how to mind his manners when he is told.”

“Watch is very smart,” Benny said.

Mr. Bush looked up. “Smart enough,” he said. He bent2 and gave Watch one quick pat on the head.

“Do you like to ride bicycles?” Jessie asked.

“I wouldn’t be riding one if I didn’t,” Mr. Bush said. “I think it makes more sense than driving. Besides, I don’t have a driver’s license3. Don’t want one. If I can’t get someplace by bike, a bus is good enough for me.” He stopped, as if he was surprised at how much he’d said.

“I like riding in the ice-cream wagon4,” Jessie said boldly. “A horse is a good way to travel, too.”

Mr. Bush gave Jessie a sharp look. Then he said, “Well, a horse might be better than a car. But I don’t like horses. Never have. One stepped on my foot when I was ten years old. Broke two toes.” He winced5 as if he could still feel the broken toes.

“I’m sorry,” said Violet.

“What for? It was a long time ago,” said Mr. Bush. With that, he got on his bicycle and pedaled away.

The Aldens stood for a moment in amazed silence.

“Mr. Bush didn’t do it,” Benny said at last.

“I guess not,” said Violet. “It doesn’t sound like he’d get close enough to Butterscotch to steal her. And if he did, he wouldn’t be able to drive her away.”

“That leaves Marcos, then.” Henry looked at his wristwatch. “We should go back to the Ice Cream Barn tomorrow at lunchtime. Katy said he’d be by then for next week’s orders.”

“I can’t believe it’s Marcos,” said Violet. “I hope it isn’t.”

“If it’s not,” said Benny, “then who is it?”

The next day, Marcos was just getting out of his familiar white truck with the blue stripe when the Aldens pedaled up to the front of the Ice Cream Barn.

“Let’s help him unload,” whispered Jessie. “Then we can check out the back of the truck and look for clues. Maybe there will be pieces of hay or a few horse hairs inside.”

They hurried over to meet Marcos just as he swung open the double back doors of the truck. They stopped and stared.

The truck was lined with shelves. There was no room for a horse the size of Butterscotch. Not only that, but it was refrigerated and very cold.

“Hey, there,” said Marcos. “Cold enough for you?” He laughed heartily6 at his bad joke. Then he said, “It’s a traveling freezer, you see? No melted ice cream for me.”

Jessie couldn’t give up. “Have you talked to Katy yet?” she asked. “Or Brianna?”

“No. What’s wrong?” Marcos suddenly looked worried. “Is Brianna okay?”

“They’re both fine,” said Violet. “It’s Butterscotch.”

Marcos looked puzzled.

“The horse who pulls the ice-cream wagon,” Benny said. “She’s been stolen!”

“Stolen! When? What happened?” Marcos said.

“Someone took her out of the barn last night,” Violet told him. “We don’t know who.”

“That’s terrible,” said Marcos. “Just terrible!” Shaking his head he took a small box out of the back of the truck and closed the doors. “Samples of new ice-cream products,” he explained. “I thought Katy and Brianna might like to try them before they place their next order. Maybe it will cheer them up a little, too. I know how they liked that horse.”

The Aldens walked with him into the store. Brianna was at the ice-cream counter serving customers.

She smiled when she saw them, but it wasn’t much of a smile. “I’ll get Katy,” she told Marcos.

A moment later, Katy came into the store.

“I heard about your horse,” said Marcos. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you will find her.”

“I’m sure we will, too,” said Katy, but she didn’t sound sure.

Marcos handed her the small box of frozen treats. “New treats from my company for you to try,” he said.

“Thank you,” said Katy. She looked down at the box as if she didn’t know what to do with it.

“Thanks, Marcos,” Brianna said. “Give it to me, Granna. I’ll put it in the freezer behind the counter for now.”

Katy handed the box over, then sat down at one of the tables.

“How is business?” Marcos asked.

“Business is good,” Brianna said, then turned to wait on a family that had come in for ice cream.

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Marcos. “Because I have an idea for the Ice Cream Barn. I was describing your ice cream to a friend who is the chef of a small restaurant and he is very interested in it.”

“Interested?” repeated Katy.

“Yes. He’d like to order some of your special flavors for his dessert menu. I told him you were a small company and I didn’t know how much extra you could make, but I think you could handle this.”

“Sure we could,” said Brianna, who somehow could serve the customers and listen to Marcos and Katy at the same time. “If I’m not going to be driving the ice-cream wagon...” She paused, then went on, “I could make the extra batches7 of ice cream.”

“Or when you get your horse back, you could hire extra help,” Marcos said.

“Yes,” said Brianna. But she sounded no more convinced than Katy about Butterscotch’s return.

Benny had wandered over to stare at the ice cream in the freezer, but Violet, Henry, and Jessie had settled at a table near Katy and Marcos. Now they looked at one another. Marcos didn’t sound like a man who had stolen a horse—or one who wanted the Ice Cream Barn to go out of business.

“I like that idea, Marcos,” said Katy. “It’s nice of you to think of us.”

Marcos grinned. “You’d need to order more supplies from me to make the extra ice cream,” he added. “So it would be good for my business, too. And, of course, I’d want to be the one who delivers the ice cream to the restaurant.”

Brianna grinned.

“It would take some planning,” said Katy. She paused. “Let me give you our order for next week, then we’ll talk this over more.”

The shop bell jingled8 as a customer walked in.

Katy looked up for a second and frowned slightly.

“May I help you?” Brianna asked.

“It’s her,” Violet said in her quiet voice.

“Who?” asked Benny. He looked, then said, “Oh! She’s the customer who never eats her ice cream.”

“I’d like to try your Haystack Sundae,” the woman said, reading from the menu board behind the counter.

“Coming right up,” said Brianna.

“Mmm,” said Benny as the customer walked out of the shop a few minutes later with a scoop9 of butter pecan ice cream drizzled10 with caramel and smothered11 with slivered12 almonds.

Benny kept watching as the woman stopped at the curb13 to taste the sundae. She slid into her car and took another bite and then another. Then she rolled down her window and dumped the rest of the sundae into the trash can.

Benny gasped14. “Look,” he said to Violet. “She threw away her Haystack!”

Jessie and Henry looked, too. As the woman’s white car pulled away from the curb, Jessie leaned forward to get an even better look.

Then she ran toward the door.

“Jessie, where are you going?” Henry asked.

Jessie didn’t slow down. “Come on, grab your bikes,” she said. “We have to follow that car!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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》
2 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
3 license B9TzU     
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许
参考例句:
  • The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
  • The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。
4 wagon XhUwP     
n.四轮马车,手推车,面包车;无盖运货列车
参考例句:
  • We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
  • The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。
5 winced 7be9a27cb0995f7f6019956af354c6e4     
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子,疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
  • He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。
6 heartily Ld3xp     
adv.衷心地,诚恳地,十分,很
参考例句:
  • He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿,就出去找他的马。
  • The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手,热情地和我握手。
7 batches f8c77c3bee0bd5d27b9ca0e20c216d1a     
一批( batch的名词复数 ); 一炉; (食物、药物等的)一批生产的量; 成批作业
参考例句:
  • The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
  • The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。
8 jingled 1ab15437500a7437cb07e32cfc02d932     
喝醉的
参考例句:
  • The bells jingled all the way. 一路上铃儿叮当响。
  • Coins in his pocket jingled as he walked. 走路时,他衣袋里的钱币丁当作响。
9 scoop QD1zn     
n.铲子,舀取,独家新闻;v.汲取,舀取,抢先登出
参考例句:
  • In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
  • Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。
10 drizzled e32505130b809b8c4ea6115830bb2112     
下蒙蒙细雨,下毛毛雨( drizzle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The dew on the branches drizzled our hair and shoulders. 枝头上的露珠润湿了我们的头发和双肩。
  • It drizzled throughout the night. 毛毛雨下了一夜。
11 smothered b9bebf478c8f7045d977e80734a8ed1d     
(使)窒息, (使)透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 ); 覆盖; 忍住; 抑制
参考例句:
  • He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
  • The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。
12 slivered bcf2e44d970cbc5e6911ebdc118e7d6e     
使成薄片(sliver的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The glass slivered when it fell. 玻璃杯掉在地上摔碎了。
  • When ready to serve, remove the sides from the pan and garnish with toasted slivered almonds. 等可以拿上桌子的时候,将蛋糕盘的边拿走,用烘烤过的切片杏仁装饰。
13 curb LmRyy     
n.场外证券市场,场外交易;vt.制止,抑制
参考例句:
  • I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
  • You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。
14 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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