儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Missing Cat CHAPTER 9 Looking for Mr. Jones

（单词翻译）

As they turned down the street where they lived, Jessie suddenly exclaimed¹, “I have an idea! And I know it’s going to help us solve this mystery!”

“What is it?” asked Violet².

“Yes, tell us,” urged Henry.

“Remember that man who called you, Violet?” Jessie asked her sister.

“Mr. Jones.” Violet nodded. “I remember.”

“He gave you a post office box to write to. Why don’t we write him a letter and tell him we have a lost cat.”

“But won’t that be a lie?” said Violet.

“No!” crowed Benny. “Because we do have a lost cat. The cat Professor Madison gave us.”

Jessie said, “That’s right. And when Mr. Jones gets our letter, he’ll call and we’ll tell him to come over and we can see who he is and ask him a few questions.”

“That’s a terrific³ idea,” said Henry.

“Thanks, Henry,” said Jessie. “We’ll write the letter this afternoon. If we take it to the post office, he might even get it tomorrow.”

“We could have another clue by tomorrow!” cried Benny. “Hooray, hooray!”

“Don’t say hooray yet,” Jessie warned. “Let’s see if this works⁴.”

That afternoon, right after lunch, the Aldens sat down at the kitchen table to write the letter. Henry did the writing, since he was the oldest, but everyone helped compose the letter. It read:

Dear Mr. Jones,

We have a lost cat like the one you were looking for. Please call us and you can come and see if she is yours.

Sincerely,

Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny Alden

Then Henry folded up the letter and carefully put their address on it. Grandfather Alden gave them a stamp and they walked down to the mailbox on the corner to mail it.

“We got here just in time,” said Jessie, reading the sign on the mailbox. “The last time they pick up here is in fifteen minutes.”

“Hurry, let’s mail the letter!” Benny cried.

“Here, Jessie,” said Henry. “You can mail it.” He gave the letter to Jessie. Henry held the mailbox open and Jessie carefully pushed the letter in.

“Will Mr. Jones get the letter tomorrow?” asked Benny.

“I hope so,” said Henry.

Benny looked at Henry seriously. “Spotzie has been away from home a long time. I’ll bet⁵ she’s homesick.”

But no one called about Spotzie the next morning, although the Aldens all stayed home.

At lunch, Grandfather Alden looked around. “Why is everyone so quiet?” he asked.

“We still haven’t found Spotzie,” said Jessie.

“And we don’t have any more clues,” added Violet.

“You mustn’t give up,” said Grandfather.

“We won’t,” said Jessie. “But it’s hard not to sometimes.”

“Stick to it,” said Grandfather. “That’s the important thing.”

Everyone nodded. They knew their grandfather was right. But it was hard not to worry.

Then, after everyone was finished with lunch, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it!” cried Violet. She picked up the phone. “Hello?” She smiled. “Oh, hello Mr. Jones. You got our letter? Do you . . .” Violet’s voice trailed off. The smile left her face. “Oh. Oh, I see. Are you sure? What kind of cat is yours? Mr. Jones? Hello? Mr. Jones?”

Slowly Violet hung up the phone.

“What is it?” demanded Jessie. “What did he say?”

Violet looked puzzled. “He said he’d found his cat. That we should keep the cat we have. She’s probably a very nice cat. But when I tried to ask him about his cat, he hung up on me!”

“This is very strange,” said Henry.

“What are we going to do now?” sighed Violet.

The Aldens went outside and sat down beneath the shade of an old oak⁶ tree by the old boxcar that had once been their home.

“What are we going to do now?” Violet repeated.

“Maybe we should talk to Professor Madison again,” said Henry.

Jessie said, “It’s true, she’s acted pretty strangely. But if that man really was trying to break into her house and steal the cat, that would explain it.”

“If she’s telling the truth,” said Henry.

“But why would Professor Madison steal a cat when she already has so many?” asked Violet.

“That’s true,” said Henry.

Suddenly Jessie said, “Whitney!”

Henry, Violet, and Benny looked at her in surprise. “What about Whitney?” asked Henry. “She couldn’t have had anything to do with Spotzie’s disappearance⁷. Spotzie disappeared before Whitney ever arrived.”

“But what if Whitney is the one making the mysterious phone calls? What if there is no Mr. Jones at all?” asked Jessie.

“Why would Whitney do that?” Benny wanted to know.

Jessie furrowed⁸ her brow⁹. “Because … because she thinks we’re just children and we can’t solve this case. Maybe it’s a practical joke?”

Benny shook his head. “It would be a mean joke!” he declared.

“I wonder if Whitney would do something like that?” said Violet. “I don’t think she would.”

After a moment, Jessie nodded her head in agreement with Violet. “You’re right, Violet. I guess I don’t think she would, either.”

“Well, what about Mr. Allen?” suggested Henry. “Did you notice he seemed surprised when he saw Spotzie’s photograph — almost as if he recognized her.”

“That’s true,” Jessie said.

“Yes, he did act surprised,” said Violet. “But why would he lie about ever having seen Spotzie?”

“Maybe he has Spotzie!” cried Benny.

“But why, Benny,” said Jessie. “Why would he want Spotzie when he has so many other beautiful cats?”

“Mr. Jones, whoever he is, is the most likely ‘cat burglar¹⁰.’ We have to find him to solve the mystery and find Spotzie.”

“But how?” said Jessie. “How are we going to find Mr. Jones?”

Henry said, “Wait a minute. I’ve thought of a way we could find Mr. Jones.”

“How?” cried Jessie excitedly.

“We wrote to him at a post office box,” said Henry. “Box number ninety-three. All we have to do is watch the post office and see who comes to get the mail out of that box.”

“Oh, Henry, that’s a wonderful idea!” exclaimed Violet.

“We’ll be like spies,” said Benny. “Will we need disguises¹¹?”

Everyone smiled at that. “No, Benny,” said Henry. “But we will be like spies, sort of, watching for Mr. Jones to see who he really is.”

Benny nodded. “We can take Watch to watch for Mr. Jones.”

“We’ll do that,” said Henry. “We can take turns, Benny. You and Watch and Jessie can watch tomorrow morning. Then Violet and I will come up to watch for a while.”

“Can Soo Lee come, too?” asked Violet.

“Yes, of course,” said Henry. “The more people we have helping¹² us, the better!”