儿童英语读物 The Castle Mystery CHAPTER 1 A Bumpy Ride

（单词翻译）

A big black car drove through the dark green woods. James Alden turned on the headlights.

“Hmm, I can’t see much better,” Mr. Alden told Jessie and Henry, his two older grandchildren, who were sitting up front with him. “Guess I’ll have to go slower.”

“That’s okay, Grandfather,” said twelve-year-old Jessie.

Wet black branches scraped against the side of the car.

In the backseat, ten-year-old Violet shivered. “I hope it’s not too much longer, is it, Grandfather?” she asked.

“No, we’re almost there,” Grandfather said.

Whenever the road dipped down, a thick fog settled around them. Finally, the car reached a clear stretch of road.

“Look across the lake,” Mr. Alden said. “It’s awfully² misty³, but I bet you can spot Drummond Castle.”

Six-year-old Benny pressed his nose against the window. “I see something big and gray. I can’t tell if it’s a rock or a castle.”

Fourteen-year-old Henry turned to Benny. “It’s a rock and a castle. I read in Grandfather’s magazine on antiques that Drummond Castle is a smaller copy of a real castle in Germany. Only this one is built on a cliff with a cave underneath⁴!”

“Sounds like a good place for a mystery!” Benny said.

The last Drummond, William Drummond III, had died, and Grandfather’s friend, Carrie Bell, had been hired by the Drummond Foundation to turn his magnificent home into a museum. Knowing how much the Aldens would enjoy visiting a castle, Carrie had invited them to help out.

For some time now, the children had been living with Mr. Alden. He had found his grandchildren staying in a boxcar out in the woods. Now the boxcar was just a cheery playhouse in Mr. Alden’s backyard. Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny lived in a real house with a proper kitchen and real bedrooms.

The children tried to make out the castle in the distance. They liked staying in new places, especially if they were old places!

For a second, Mr. Alden took his eyes off the road to look at the castle. Just as he was turning back, Henry yelled: “Watch out, Grandfather. There’s a car coming! Pull over! Pull over!”

Two bright headlights cut through the fog and raced straight toward the Aldens’ car.

“There’s no room for it to get by!” Jessie cried out.

Mr. Alden leaned on his horn. He flashed his headlights on and off. The car kept on coming. Finally Grandfather pulled the car into a clearing. The red Jeep raced by as if it were on a two-lane highway, not a narrow, twisty road. The woman at the wheel didn’t seem to have any idea that she had almost caused an accident.

Benny and Violet sank back into their seats. They were a little scared, a little tired, and very hungry. It had been a long day.

Their dog, Watch, who was sitting in the backseat, too, let out a sad, hungry cry. Poor Watch had been so good on the long drive. Still, this delay was too much even for a well-behaved dog.

“There, there,” Violet crooned. She reached into a bag and gave Watch a dog biscuit.

The treat helped, but the children could see that Watch needed more than a biscuit. He needed a short walk to stretch his legs.

Mr. Alden turned off the engine. “That was a close call. Let’s all get a breath of air.”

The children opened the car doors. They were glad to sniff⁵ the fresh piney breezes. So was Watch, who pulled Violet to this tree and that.

Grandfather handed Jessie his binoculars⁶. “See if you can get these focused for Benny.” He pointed⁷ across the lake. “Drummond Castle is just past that island. I’m sure Benny would like a better look at the place we’ll be staying in, wouldn’t you now, Ben?”

“You know I would,” Benny answered with a big smile.

Mr. Alden always knew what his youngest grandson liked — castles and caves, mysteries and adventures. When Jessie showed her little brother where to point the binoculars, Benny had a feeling a big adventure was coming up. Through the glasses he could see a tall, gray stone castle with two towers that faced each other.

“Look, look, Henry,” Benny handed his older brother the binoculars. “There’s even a light shining in one of the towers! Maybe it’s a ghost.”

“You mean the Drummond family ghost?” Henry joked. “Woooo. Wooo.”

Mr. Alden patted Benny’s head. “I hate to disappoint you, Benny,” he said, “but it’s more likely to be Caroline getting your sleeping quarters ready. She said that one of the towers was just the place for four lively children.”

“Well, let’s get going!” Benny cried. He opened the car door, then whistled for Watch to hop¹ in.

The Aldens didn’t mind the rest of the ride around the lake now that the castle was in sight.

Mr. Alden’s car climbed and climbed.

“It’s like a castle in the air,” Jessie said when she looked down at the steep drop off the road.

“Don’t look down, whatever you do!” Henry told Benny with a laugh.

Benny, of course, did just that. “Oooo. We’re so high up!” he said happily. “Come on, Violet. Open your eyes. It’s steep, but it’s really pretty. Take a look.”

“I … I don’t think so.” Violet kept her eyes shut tight. “Tell me when we’re there.”

“We’re there!” Henry yelled a few minutes later. “You can look now, Violet!”

When Violet’s blue eyes fluttered open, she gasped⁸.

Drummond Castle was not at all what she’d expected. Black branches of overgrown vines twisted through the arches of a stone porch. In some places the branches climbed so high, they seemed to strangle the castle. Many of the famous stained glass windows the children had seen in old pictures were boarded up to protect them from damage. The two castle towers disappeared into the fog. The whole place was covered in gloom.

Jessie saw Violet’s disappointment. She took her younger sister’s hand. “Come on. Let’s find Carrie Bell. Grandfather told me she couldn’t wait for us to help her fix up this place. It will look much prettier when the fog lifts.”

“I guess so,” Violet said in a quiet voice. “I do so want to see what a castle looks like, even though it’s not a real one. I just wish it looked more like it belonged in a fairy tale instead of a … .”

“Scary story!” Benny finished.