"BC012 - Houseboat Mystery - Warner, Gertrude Chandler" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warner Gertrude)

Mrs. Young was trying to smile now as she said, "I'm glad you like my store. People come here from miles around."
"Do you make your own candy?" asked Mr. Alden.
"Well, my sister is really the candymaker," answered Mrs. Young. "But I help."
Benny looked at Mrs. Young with a bright smile. He said, "I've always wanted to know how they made those curly things on the top of the chocolates. Do you know?"
"I do, indeed," she replied. "Would you like to see it done? My sister is putting on those curly tails right now."
"What luck!" said Benny. "I certainly would."
Henry whispered to Jessie, "That Ben can get away with anything!"
Mrs. Young pushed back a curtain and led them all into the candy kitchen.
Mrs. Young's sister was standing over a pan of chocolate. She had gray hair and was older than Mrs. Young, but she had a tired and worried look, just like her sister.
The Aldens watched her as she worked. She took a pink center on a fork, dipped it into the melted chocolate, and set the piece of candy on some waxed paper. Then with a flip of her fork she laid the curly tail across the top.
"Oh, Violet!" said Jessie. "Wouldn't that be fun? Let's try it sometime. I never knew how it was done."
The centers were pink, white, yellow, pale green, and lavender. The sister smiled at Violet and said, "Your name is Violet? Here is a good one for you." She picked up a lavender center, covered it with chocolate, and put on the tail. "You will have to wait fork to cool before you eat it," the lady said.
"Oh, thank you," said Violet.
"How about a milk shake while we wait?" asked Mr. Alden.
Mrs. Young smiled again. "You'll like our milk shakes. We make our own syrup."
Jessie led the way back to the tables. She said, "This is a good idea. We can take our dessert home inside us this time."
The milk shakes were delicious.
Mr. Alden said, "Mine tastes exactly like fresh strawberries."
"It ought to," said Mrs. Young. "The strawberries grow in our backyard."
The Aldens did buy some candy, but it was not chocolate. It was too hot on the boat for chocolate. But Mrs. Young gave Violet hers, and one for each of the rest.
As the Aldens were leaving, Benny turned to Mrs. Young and said, "When we came down the street, we saw an enormous black car going very fast. Do you happen to know who owns it?"
To his surprise, Mrs. Young turned very red and looked more worried than ever. Indeed she turned away, saying, "I'm sure it doesn't belong in this town."
"Oh, I'm awfully sorry," said Benny. "It's none of my business."
"It's all right," said Mrs. Young. "Come again." Then nobody heard what she said, because she almost whispered the words. Jessie heard the word "worried" but that was all.
When the Aldens were halfway down the street, Benny said, "I didn't mean to upset her. I just thought she might know who was driving that car."
Violet said softly, "I think she does."
That night Benny was just floating off to sleep. He was almost dreaming. But suddenly he heard Mrs. Young's words very plainly, "I'm just worried about my boy."
Boy? What boy? Then Benny was asleep.


CHAPTER 4
The Auction

The next morning Benny climbed up to the roof of the houseboat. He called down to Jessie, "Look here and see if I have the new name right."
"Oh, this is my day!" Jessie said, as she read The Jessie Alden. "I like having a houseboat named for me."
Henry asked, "Do you need to buy food today? Benny and I can watch for a place to land."
"No," said Jessie, shaking her head. "I have plenty of food for another day. We can just enjoy house-boating." She looked up at the trees. "See, the branches almost meet over our heads. Isn't it beautiful?"
The Aldens sat in chairs on the deck and watched the river grow wider and then narrower. Suddenly Jessie said, "Look, Grandfather! See that sign on the bank of the river? It says there's an auction!"
The sign did indeed say:
AUCTION, EVERY SATURDAY AT 10 A.M.
"Oh, you love auctions, Grandfather!" said Violet. "Let's stop."
Grandfather said, "You're right, Violet. I do love auctions. But do you all want to go?"
Benny looked at his grandfather and said, "I never went to an auction in my whole life!"
"Neither did I," said Violet.
Mr. Alden said, "I can't believe it! I know it is so, but I can't understand why I never took you to an auction."
"You took me once," said Henry. "And Jessie went, too. But that was years ago. Benny and Violet would love it, that's for sure. It's exciting, Ben."
Jessie said, "Some auctions are better, than others. This auction must have some good things, if they have one every week."
Henry went on, "The auctioneer is very funny sometimes. He tries to keep everybody good-natured. You see, Ben, people call out what they will pay for a clock or a rug. The one who pays the most gets it."
"That would be fun," said Benny. "Let's go."
"We're always saying 'Let's go!'" said Jessie, laughing.