儿童英语读物 The Deserted Library Mystery CHAPTER 3 The Squirrel That Wasn’t There

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The next morning, before anyone awakened¹, Henry quietly went outside and mounted his bicycle. He pedaled down the winding² path and rode the two miles to Pete’s Café. He must phone Grandfather and tell him they’d arrived safely.

The air smelled salty, and the sunny day warmed him. He felt good. They were off on another adventure.

Entering the café, Henry smiled at a plump man with a white beard behind the counter. He knew he must be Pete. “Hi, I’m Henry Alden. James Alden is my grandfather. My sisters and brother and I are living in your house for a few days,” Henry said.

“Hi, Henry,” the plump man said. “Good to meet you. How do you like my house?”

“Fine,” Henry answered. He didn’t want to tell him how much cleaning they’d had to do.

Pete chuckled³. “I imagine the cobwebs and dust were pretty thick after my house had been sitting there for all these months. I guess you and your sisters and brother took care of things.”

“We did a little cleaning,” Henry said with a smile.

“Did you find the extra pillows in the closet by the back door?”

“Yes, we’ve found everything we need,” Henry assured him.

“And the pump worked okay?”

“Yes, and so did the stove and refrigerator,” Henry said. “I need to use the phone to tell Grandfather we’re all right.”

“Go right ahead,” Pete said. “And tell him hello for me.”

As Henry dialed, he overheard two men who were sitting at a nearby table.

The first man leaned forward. “Did you hear Mrs. Tate was robbed of her diamond ring last week?”

“You’re kidding!” the second man said in surprise. “That’s the third robbery in two months. Some antique maps were taken from Tom Davis’s map and coin shop, and Mike Johnson’s jewelry⁴ store was robbed, too. Who do you suppose is doing it?”

“Beats me,” the first man said. “But we’d all better keep things under lock and key.”

Henry promised himself that they’d better be careful and lock Pete’s door.

After talking to Grandfather, Henry said good-bye to Pete and biked back to the house.

He arrived just in time for breakfast, and then they all biked to the library, which was about a quarter of a mile away. Because the narrow winding lane was steep, Benny had to stop several times.

When they reached the library, they stopped to stare at the gray shingled⁵ building. It tilted⁶ to one side, and the ground floor windows were boarded up. The front concrete steps were chipped and broken, and the roof had lost half its shingles⁷.

The second floor had a large window looking to the sea. Because no one had boarded it up, a few glass panes⁸ were missing. It was as if the library had one big eye watching the water. Watching and waiting. What was it that Violet had said? Jessie thought. The library looked sad and lonely.

“Wow!” Benny uttered, a light breeze rumpling⁹ his dark shiny hair. “It’s scary!”

Jessie pushed her strange thoughts away. “Let’s see for ourselves,” she said brightly. She moved to the first step.

“Okay,” Benny said. “I’m right behind you.”

Henry laughed, taking Violet’s hand. “This is going to be fun.”

Jessie unlocked the door.

After they entered the dark and silent library, they halted. Surprise was written on their faces. Shelves of books lined the room, but many more books were scattered¹⁰ on the floor, some face down. Others were thrown in a corner. In the center of the room was a large desk that had been the circulation desk.

They walked further into the room. Henry bravely went upstairs. “Come on,” he urged. His brother and sisters followed. They went into a room that also had books, but there was a large reading area by the big window. Under the window was a long seat covered in faded and worn material.

“This velvet¹¹ seat was once red,” Jessie said, brushing her fingertips over the cushion.

“It looks pink to me!” Benny said. His voice echoed through the whole room.

“All right,” Henry said, “before we go through the books, I’ll remove the boards from the downstairs windows.” He was dressed for work, too, in his jeans, and a shirt with a red stripe and short sleeves. “If we make the library look good, it may be given the landmark¹² status Grandfather wants so much.”

“It would be wonderful to be able to do that for him,” Violet said.

“I’ll help you, Henry,” Benny said, running downstairs.

“Careful,” Jessie cautioned. “Some of those wooden steps might be broken.”

“I’m okay,” Benny said. “See?” He stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up. His hands were behind his back, and he wore a big grin.

“Good, Benny,” Henry said. “Here we come.” They hurried down after Benny.

They all pitched in. The boards were removed from the windows, letting the sunlight stream in. They dusted and cleaned until Benny said, “Isn’t it time for lunch yet?”

Violet halted, wiping her forehead. “Yes, I’m ready for a sandwich, too.” She sat down, straightening the collar on her violet T-shirt. Violet was her favorite color. She even had wallpaper in her room at home with violets on it.

“Lunch will be later,” Jessie said. “It’s only eleven o’clock.”

Willingly, they straightened more books.

“Look,” Benny said, holding up a volume of fairy tales. It was an old book with no cover, but the pages were still in good condition. “Read me this story, Jessie,” he said, pointing to one.

Jessie, who was on her knees, stood up and took a deep breath. “I’m ready for a break. We’ll sit over here by the circulation desk, Benny. Ah, you’ve chosen Rumpelstiltskin.” She began to read about the maiden¹³ who was forced to weave all day, and the threads she wove that turned to gold.

When Jessie finished the story, Benny stood up. “Wow!” he exclaimed, “Rumpelstiltskin was a mean man. I’d like to spin gold!”

“And what would you do with it, Benny?” Jessie asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

“I’d fix up this old library for Grandfather,” he said promptly¹⁴.

“That’s a great idea,” Henry said, joining them. “Right now, though, rest time is over.”

“Is it lunchtime?” Benny asked.

“Not yet,” Henry chuckled, lightly touching¹⁵ Benny’s chin with his fist. “We’ve got hundreds of books to straighten.”

“Okay,” Benny said cheerfully. “But I’m going upstairs.”

“Will you place the books neatly¹⁶ on the shelves?” Violet asked.

“I sure will!”

And before anyone could say another word, Benny raced upstairs.

Jessie smiled. “I hope he’s this eager to help by late afternoon.”

“Look at this old speller I found,” Violet said, handing a thin book to Jessie.

Jessie wrinkled her small nose. “It smells musty.” She handed the book back. “We’d better finish these shelves.” She pulled out a book and flipped¹⁷ through its pages. All at once she gasped¹⁸. “A moth¹⁹! It flew right in my face.”

Violet glimpsed a winged insect flying out the window. “What next?” she asked, with a sigh.

Suddenly Benny rushed downstairs. His round face was pale, and his lower lip trembled.

“Benny! What happened?” Jessie asked in a concerned tone. “You’re as white as a sheet.”

“I-I heard a noise,” he said in a quavering voice. “Someone is up there.”

Jessie glanced at Violet and Henry, then turned back to Benny. “Just what did you hear, Benny?”

“It was kind of a little sound, and then I saw a big black shadow!”

“We’ll all go upstairs and look around,” Violet said. She put her arm around Benny’s shoulders. “Maybe it was a squirrel hiding a nut.”

Benny shook his head. “No. Someone was there! I know it!”

They went upstairs and searched every row of books and every corner. “No one’s here, Benny,” Jessie said, tousling her brother’s hair. “Maybe the squirrel went out through the broken windowpane.”

“M-maybe,” he stammered²⁰. But Benny glanced at the stairs. Not for a minute did he believe it was a squirrel. Violet, too, had a nervous look on her face.