儿童英语读物 The Deserted Library Mystery CHAPTER 4 The Missing Food

“It’s almost time for lunch, Benny,” Henry announced. He wanted to take Benny’s mind off the strange noise. Food usually did the trick.

“Is it time to eat?” Benny looked at Henry. “I forgot.”

“You forgot lunch?” Jessie teased. “That’s hard to believe.”

Benny was wiping one last shelf. But all at once his rag snagged on a dark object in back. “What’s this?” he said, holding up a strange piece of metal. “Look, everybody!”

They gathered around Benny, and Henry carefully examined what he had found.

“This is the hilt of a sword,” Jessie said. “Whew! It must be covered with six coats of grime! But where’s the rest of it?” she wondered.

Violet reached for a crumpled¹ piece of yellow paper that dangled² from the hilt by a worn ribbon. Carefully she unfolded the square sheet and began to read:

This sword is presented to Captain Charles Howard for his bravery at the Battle of Gettysburg. Your strength and courage in leading the Union soldiers against General Robert E. Lee’s forces was a major factor in winning this vital battle.

Signed,

General G.G. Meade

Union Commander

July 5, 1863

The children gasped³.

Henry sat down in a chair and turned the hilt every which way.

“What’s Gettysburg?” Benny asked.

Henry leaned back. “Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was where one of the most important battles of the Civil War was fought.”

“Wasn’t General Lee the Confederate leader who led his army on an attack against the North?” Violet asked.

“That’s right,” Jessie said. “If he had won, the whole outcome of the war might have been different. Our country would have been split in two. Today the North would have their own flag, and the South would have theirs.”

“Wow,” Benny whispered. “Then this is valuable, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” Henry said. “It would be even more valuable if we could find the blade.”

Jessie took the sword hilt and wrapped it in a towel. “We’ll keep the hilt under the desk. I’m certain we’ll find the rest of the sword.” She smiled. “In the meantime, we’ll have lunch. We’ll fix our own sandwiches. I brought a jar of strawberry jam and a jar of peanut butter.”

“And I brought the bread,” Violet said.

“And I brought the milk,” Henry added.

“And I brought the appetite!” Benny yelled. He glanced around. “Good-bye, squirrel, and don’t come back!”

After they had eaten, Jessie looked into her backpack. “You know what? We still each have an apple to eat.”

Benny said, “Not for me. I ate two sandwiches.”

“Then I’ll leave them here for our snack tomorrow.” Jessie put the sack on top of the circulation desk.

They continued to work until late afternoon. Then Henry said, “Enough. We’ll finish tomorrow.”

They were all tired and dirty and glad to return to their cozy⁴ house. The bunk⁵ beds were made, the stove shone, and the old pump in the back gave them fresh water to wash in.

After dinner and a good night’s sleep, the children awoke refreshed and hurried back to the library. Jessie put their lunch basket on the desk next to the apples. She checked the sack and was astonished to see only three apples. “That’s funny!” she said. “I know there were four apples here yesterday.”

Benny laughed. “Jessie made a mistake,” he sang out.

Jessie laughed, too. But she was uneasy. She knew she had left four apples. One was missing, and she didn’t think a squirrel had carried away a big apple!

Jessie, however, began to work just as if nothing was wrong, She put an old copy of Alice in Wonderland in a box of what she thought might be more valuable books. The box was getting full.

“I’m tired!” Benny said after a while, sitting down on the floor and folding his arms. “I’m taking a rest!”

Violet sat in a chair. “That’s a good idea.” She took a deep breath. “I’m tired of books!”

“I think we all need a break,” Henry said. “Let’s bike down to the seashore.

“Perfect!” Jessie said. “First, though, let’s set out our lunch. When we return we’ll be starving.”

Violet set one wrapped sandwich at each place, and Henry put three glasses and Benny’s pink cup around the thermos⁶ in the middle of the big desk. Jessie put out napkins and the three apples. She didn’t leave an apple at her place.

Happily they biked down to the coast. It was a two-mile ride, but they enjoyed it. The day was crisp, and the air salty.

Once at the shore, they all took off their shoes and ran along the sand. Then they waded⁷ in the cold water, laughing and splashing each other. White sea gulls⁸ dipped and soared above them. Benny found a crab⁹, and Violet picked up three lovely shells. Two, of course, had a lavender tint¹⁰. Henry and Jessie searched for interesting pieces of driftwood.

Everyone soaked up the sunshine for over an hour. Then, feeling refreshed, they headed back to the library.

Once inside, they eagerly sat down to eat.

Violet stared at her plate. It was empty. Finally she said in a low voice, “Someone has stolen my sandwich.”

Benny, Jessie, and Henry looked at Violet’s plate. Sure enough, the sandwich had disappeared.

Henry said nothing, but he glanced around him. Benny was right, he thought. There was a mysterious stranger in this library!

Violet moved closer to Jessie. “I don’t like this one bit,” she whispered, a worried frown on her face.

Jessie nodded her head. “Neither do I,” she said. “The door was locked, yet someone was in here.”

“Well,” Henry said, breaking the silence. “There’s only one thing to do. We’ll need to search the upstairs.”

Benny hung back. “Not me! I’m not going up there again!”

“Henry’s right,” Jessie said. “We have to find out who’s up there.”

Violet said weakly, “Yes, I guess you’re right.” But clearly she didn’t want to.

1 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

2 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

3 gasped   

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》

4 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

5 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

6 thermos   

n.保湿瓶，热水瓶

参考例句：

• Can I borrow your thermos?我可以借用你的暖水瓶吗？
• It's handy to have the thermos here.暖瓶放在这儿好拿。

7 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

8 gulls   

n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

9 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

10 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。