儿童英语读物 The Giant Yo-Yo Mystery CHAPTER 10 The Launch

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The next day, Karl’s Lumber¹ delivered another of load of boards. The Aldens helped Jeff and Gary with the yo-yo every day. They cut and measured each piece of wood, then pounded them all together. When they finished, they had two yo-yo halves. They coated each half with a drywall compound, then it was time to paint.

“Hmm. I don’t know what color we should paint the yo-yo,” Jeff said.

“How about purple?” Violet suggested. Purple was her favorite color.

“Purple is a great color for a yo-yo,” Gary said.

So they painted each half purple.

Then, all they needed to do was attach the two sides of the yo-yo to the axle and wind the rope. They brought Gary’s truck into the shop to help lift the pieces up on to their sides so they could be put together.

“Are you sure this cable is going to be strong enough?” Benny asked when Jeff attached the rope to the axle.

“It should be,” Gary said. “Come and look how thick it is.”

Benny could hardly stretch his hand around the rope. “Wow! That’s thick!” Benny said.

The Aldens watched as Jeff and Gary cranked the rope to the yo-yo. When they finished, they all stepped back to admire their work.

“It looks just like a real yo-yo!” Violet said. “Now all we have to do is see if it works like a-real yo-yo,” Gary said.

They called the A-l Wrecking² Company to come and pick up the yo-yo and take it to North Ridge³ Park, which was where the launch was scheduled to occur.

“How are we going to get the yo-yo outside?” Jessie asked.

“Well have to roll it,” Jeff said. He opened the big garage door at the front of the shop.

“Will it go through the door?” Violet wondered.

“It should,” Jeff replied. “The yo-yo is twelve feet tall and the door is twelve and a half feet tall.”

By the time they rolled the yo-yo all the way outside, the truck from A-l Wrecking had arrived. A man hopped⁴ down from the cab of the truck to help.

“Hey, that’s some yo-yo,” the man said, glancing at the yo-yo in fascination⁵. “Will it really work?”

“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Gary said.

The man from A-l put a ramp⁶ up against the back of the truck. Then he attached the rope from the yo-yo to the crane and slowly pulled the yo-yo up onto the truck.

Across the street, both Mrs. Thorton and her son Erik stood under the tall maple⁷ tree in their front yard and watched. The Aldens walked across the street.

“We haven’t actually met,” Henry said to Erik. “But we’re the Aldens. We’re friends of Jeff Naylor’s.”

“You’re the kids who have been helping⁸ Jeff with his yo-yo,” Erik said as he shook hands with the children.

“Yes,” Jessie said. “We read all about the yo-yo you built a few years ago. We’re sorry it didn’t work.”

“So am I,” Erik said. “But maybe this one will work. I’m sure you all have worked very hard.”

“We have,” Benny said.

“Are you going to come to the launch tomorrow?” Violet asked.

“I’m planning on it,” Erik said.

“I’ll be there, too,” Mrs. Thorton said. “But I’ll be standing⁹ in the back, just in case there’s any trouble.”

“That’s fine,” Jessie said. “I’m just glad you’ll be there.”

The Aldens couldn’t have asked for a more perfect Saturday morning. It was sunny and warm. Not a cloud could be seen across the bright blue sky.

It was only eight o’clock, but already people had started to gather in North Ridge Park. The yo-yo hung from the top of a two hundred-foot crane in the middle of the park. A wide area around the yo-yo had been roped off for safety reasons. And the paramedics were on hand, just in case they were needed.

The launch was scheduled for nine o’clock.

“Are you nervous?” Grandfather asked Jeff as the Aldens stood around with Jeff and Gary.

“A little,” Jeff admitted. “Mostly I’m just excited. This project has been in the works for a long time.”

Finally, at nine A.M., the mayor stepped forward with a microphone and welcomed everyone to this historic event. Then he turned the microphone over to Jeff. Henry recorded everything with Jeff’s digital video camera. Jeff introduced himself and Gary, then told a little about the yo-yo and how they’d come to build it.

“Does it really work?” somebody in the crowd called out.

“Let’s find out,” Jeff said. He turned to the man from A-l Wrecking, who was operating the crane, to see if he was ready. When he nodded that he was, Jeff began a countdown.

“Ten … nine … eight … seven, six, five, four, three, two, one—”

All eyes were fixed¹⁰ on the yo-yo. There wasn’t a sound in North Ridge Park.

Then the yo-yo was released. There was a collective gasp¹¹ from the crowd as the yo-yo started down the cable. What would happen when it reached the bottom? Would it fall from the crane and crash to the ground? Would it just stay there at the bottom? Or would it start back up again?

The Aldens hardly dared to breathe as the yo-yo got closer to the bottom of the rope. When it reached the bottom, it started back up again.

The crowd cheered. Jeff and Gary hugged. Erik Thorton and his mother smiled. The Aldens jumped up and down.

The yo-yo yo-ed eight times before coming to a rest at the bottom of the cable. It had worked! Jeff, Gary, and the Aldens had indeed built the world’s largest yo-yo.

A couple weeks later, the Aldens were visiting Jeff and Gary in their shop.

“Look at this, everyone,” Jeff said, waving a letter in the air. “Our yo-yo is going to be in next year’s record book. “Hooray!” Everyone cheered.

“I just want to thank you kids for being part of this,” Jeff said. “And thank you for bringing Gary and me together again.”

The Aldens smiled. “Thank you for letting us be part of it,” Henry said.

“We’re glad you and Gary are friends again,” Benny said as he took out his yo-yo and tried to throw a sleeper¹². This time, when the yo-yo reached the bottom of the string, it kept spinning.

Benny stared wide-eyed at the yo-yo. “Hey!” he said. “Look at that! I’m doing it! I’m really doing it!”

“You certainly are,” Gary said.

“Now see if you can pull it back up,” Jeff said.

Benny raised his hand and the yo-yo climbed back up the string to his hand.

“I can’t believe it!” Benny said. He immediately tossed the yo-yo down again. And once again, the yo-yo spun¹³ a perfect sleeper.

Benny lowered the yo-yo to the ground and let it walk-the-dog for a couple of feet, then pulled it back up.

“I knew you’d get it, Benny,” Violet said.

“So now I can do a sleeper, walk-the-dog, and monkey-on-a-string. I wonder what other tricks I can do,” Benny said.

“I have a feeling you can do anything you set your mind to, Benny,” Jeff said.

Benny grinned. “All it takes is a little practice.”