儿童英语读物 The Mystery of the Hot Air Balloon CHAPTER 6 A Suspect

Pointing at Pete Moran, Brad Golder said, “You!”



Pete’s mouth dropped open. “I — I — don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sputtered 1.



Matt stepped forward. “Wait a minute, Brad,” he said. “What makes you think Pete launched your balloon?”



Brad pointed 2 his finger. “His back pocket,” he answered.



Looking puzzled, Pete reached behind him and pulled a red-and-white bandanna 3 from his pocket.



“That’s my bandanna!” Brad said.



Sky took the scarf from Pete. “It’s just a red bandanna,” she said. “It could be anybody’s.”



“Look in the corner,” Brad directed. “You’ll see my initials.”



Sky did as he directed. Sure enough, the letters B. G. were written in black ink.



“I always tie two bandannas 4 to my balloon basket: a red one and a blue one. For luck,” Brad explained.



“I didn’t launch your balloon,” Pete told him. “I found that bandanna this morning on my way back from the farmers’ market. I was buying fruit and vegetables for the inn. I stopped at the spring on Mill Road for a cool drink. The bandanna was lying on the ground.”



“That’s true,” Mary England said. “I saw Pete on Mill Road early this morning.”



After that, no one said anything for what seemed like a long time. Finally, Brad mumbled 5 something and walked off.



Pete looked after him. Then, he turned to the waiting group. He forced a smile and said, “Let’s eat.”



“Good idea,” Benny said.



The Aldens took their plates to a tree at the edge of the field.



“If I’d known we would have a picnic, I would have brought our blue cloth,” Jessie said. The blue tablecloth 6 was a reminder 7 of their days in the boxcar.



“And I would have brought my old pink cup,” Benny put in.



“We’ll do fine without those things,” Henry said.



They sat in a circle in the shade of the oak.



Mopping his forehead with a large white handkerchief, Hollis McKnight came up to them. “More trouble?” he asked as he adjusted his glasses.



“No, sir,” Henry answered.



“Then what was all that commotion 8 by Pete’s station wagon 9?”



Henry nodded. “Oh, that,” he said. “Brad Golder thought Pete Moran launched his balloon.”



“Now why would he think that?” Mr. McKnight asked.



Jessie told him about the bandanna.



“Pete’s telling the truth,” he said. “I saw him out by the spring this morning.”



“Mary England saw him, too,” Benny told him.



Mr. McKnight glanced down at Benny. His eyes looked very big behind his glasses. “Mary? She told you that? Well, that proves Pete wasn’t anywhere near the port.” Then he said, “Enjoy your lunch,” and hurried away.



“That was strange,” Violet said.



“I thought so, too,” Jessie agreed.



“Why?” Benny asked.



“I don’t think he came over to see what was going on between Brad and Pete,” Jessie explained.



“Instead, he waited to ask us about it,” Violet added.



“A good newspaper person likes to get the information firsthand,” Henry said.



“Maybe he’s not a good newspaper person,” Benny said.



“He seemed to know all about the runaway 10 balloon,” Soo Lee commented.



“Everybody knows about that,” Benny said.



Henry understood what Soo Lee meant. “That’s right,” he said. “Don Fister tried to tell him about it, but Mr. McKnight wouldn’t listen.”



“Someone else probably told him,” Jessie said.



“Mary might have told him,” Violet suggested.



They ate silently, thinking about this morning’s events.



“Do you think Pete launched the balloon?” Benny asked after a while.



“Oh, I don’t think he would do such a thing,” Jessie answered.



“He couldn’t have done it alone,” Henry said.



Remembering this morning’s argument at the inn, Violet said, “ ‘Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do.’ ”



“What does that mean?” Henry asked.



“It’s what Barbara said to Mary this morning at the inn,” Jessie answered. “When they were arguing.”



“Maybe Barbara and Pete launched the balloon,” Benny said.



“Barbara was at the inn with us this morning,” Soo Lee reminded them.



“But Pete wasn’t,” Benny said. “Barbara told us he was running errands.”



“He just told us he was at the farmers’ market,” Jessie said.



“He could have been fibbing,” Soo Lee said.



“Right,” Benny agreed. “Maybe Barbara was nervous because she knew he was launching the balloon, and she was afraid he’d get caught.”



Violet shook her head. “Pete didn’t do it,” she said firmly. “He’s too nice.”



“And why would he?” Benny said.