VII Marjorie’s Mystery

Upon Marjorie’s list of good resolutions, not-to-be-too-curious was a failing hard to remember and conquer. In the first place, Marjorie was very wide awake. She always saw everything that was happening. In the second place and in the third place as well as the tenth and thirteenth place, Marjorie couldn’t bear not to know everything that she wanted to know. Sometimes, she went quite too far in her attempts to find out. At any rate, Daddy and Mother and Mark and Dotty made fun of the failing and Marjorie, when she stopped to think twice—which wasn’t so very often—tried hard to overcome unnecessary curiosity. Sometimes it is a fine thing to be curious and again, it’s bad. But upon a very memorable¹ day in May, once upon a time, something mysterious came to pass at Marjorie’s home and this is[Pg 92] to be the story of The Great Mystery of Curiosity, Unanswered.

It happened this way: Daddy was away; Mark had gone off since Friday to make a visit at a boy friend’s just out of town a little way; Dotty had also gone away. She spent the night with the little girl next door and had not yet come home. It was a Monday morning and May Day.

Marjorie had prepared a May Day basket for her special friend, Mabel. She had been out in the woods on Sunday afternoon and as soon as she was through breakfast, the bowl of May Day flowers came out—and in arranging them they scattered² all over the floor as Marjorie selected the unwilted ones to put into Mabel’s basket.

“Look out,” warned Mother. “Somebody came last night when you were abed. Somebody may be down to breakfast by and by—better pick up, Marjorie! We don’t want a disorderly floor.”

“Oh, did Daddy come home?” questioned Marjorie.

“No, not Daddy.”

“Who?”

[Pg 93]“Oh, just somebody who wants to keep quiet this morning and rest.”

Wasn’t that enough to make a person curious! Of course it was! Who? Who could it be? “Is it uncle or aunt?” she insisted. “Who’s ‘company’?”

But Mother only smiled. “You’ll find out sometime,” she said. “Not now. If I told you, you’d run right up to Mark’s room and the person who came last night felt sick and mustn’t be disturbed.”

Hump! The flowers were pushed into the paper May basket and she began to pick up the leaves and buds³ that had fallen on the floor. “I think you might tell me,” she begged. “I want to know who came.”

But Marjorie got no answer. She knew it wasn’t much use to continue to tease⁴, but she resolved to find out who it was.

At school the question still pursued Marjorie. Would Mark come home and want his room and, if he did, would he know who was there? After school she dashed home and burst through the back door and up the back stairs. Mark’s door was closed. There was a paper pinned upon it. It was[Pg 94] Mother’s writing and it said, “Please don’t disturb.”

So Marjorie passed by the door. She went into Mother’s room and found Mother sewing. “Isn’t company ever going to wake up?” she asked. “Am I never to know who is there?”

But she received no answer only a smile.

Dotty was home now. Dotty didn’t know who was in Mark’s room, but she wasn’t curious about things. She was occupied in cutting out paper dolls, sitting on the floor in the sun beside the window.

“What happened at luncheon⁵?” asked Marjorie of Dotty who went to kindergarten and came home at noon. “Did anybody talk in Mark’s room when Mother took up the tray? Did you hear anything?”

Dotty shook her head.

Deary me! Oh, dear! And the door was closed! Marjorie decided⁶ to walk by it again. She waited and she listened. She heard nothing at all—no, not a sound, not a sound! Then the telephone bell rang and she ran down to answer it. The telephone call was from Mabel. Mabel had been at school and[Pg 95] she wanted to know if Marjorie had solved the mystery.

“Who came? Who is it?” she asked.

But Marjorie did not know. Mabel suggested that it must be Marjorie’s aunt who came from the West. “Probably that’s it,” she said. “Why don’t you make a May basket and go tie it on the door and—and say something. You could tell from the voice, if it answered you, whether it was your aunt or not.” That was a good thought. Marjorie set about making a paper May basket. She heard Mother go up the front stairs and cross to the back where Mark’s door was. Then, having made the basket, she decided to try Mabel’s suggestion. Mother went into Mark’s room, came out and went downstairs again. Marjorie waited.

Then she went upstairs softly. Mother was in the living-room with Dotty now, playing and helping⁷ her cut the dolls out of a big magazine sheet. They seemed occupied.

May basket in hand, Marjorie tiptoed toward Mark’s door and saw that the paper had been taken off it. She hung the May[Pg 96] basket on the knob⁸ and knocked. There was no answer. “May I come and bring you a May Day gift?” she softly suggested to the closed door.

But right here, who should appear but Mother! “I’ll take the basket in for you, dear,” she smiled. Marjorie was quite aware of the wicked twinkle in her eye. “Dotty wants you to help her downstairs,” she said.

So downstairs went Marjorie. She stopped half way as Mother opened the mysterious door and passed in with the May basket. She saw nothing. She heard nothing. Now, wasn’t that just dreadful⁹! Marjorie’s curiosity was much bigger than ever but she went down to help darling little sister, Dotty, cut paper dolls out of the fashion sheet.

But while she cut for Dotty, she kept wondering and wondering and wondering. She decided that she’d write a note upon some paper and slip it under the door and say on the paper:

    Who are you, mysterious stranger? Please answer? Are you Auntie? If you are Auntie, let me know, please. I want to see you. If you are Mother’s friend, Miss Phelps, please[Pg 97] tell me? Mother says you want to be quiet, so I can’t come in, but I want to know who you are—please, please put an answer under your door for me.

    Marjorie.

That was what she did do as soon as the last doll had been cut out. At the time, Mother was busy in the kitchen, getting tea. Dotty was still playing with the dolls. Marjorie slipped upstairs and tucked¹⁰ the paper beneath the crack. As she came to the end of the paper, she gave it a wiggle to attract attention. She hadn’t dared to speak again as Mother said the mysterious person must not be troubled.

As the paper disappeared under the door Mother appeared! She came bringing a napkin and tray with something hot upon it. She was going to take this into Mark’s room.

“Marjorie,” she reproved. “Are you still so curious? Well, run away now.”

Marjorie waited in the hall and heard Mother speaking—but nothing else! She was almost ashamed to pursue the mystery so openly but when Mother at last came out bringing the tray and the empty dishes, she laughingly handed Marjorie an answer to the[Pg 98] letter. It said in strange scrawls¹¹ that betrayed¹² nothing of who had written them:

    Please, I feel sick. You’ll see me sometime when I am better. I just want to sleep now.

    The Mysterious Mystery.

Marjorie laughed and then she frowned. Now, why couldn’t that person-whoever-it-was have signed a name! Why not!

“How long before the person in Mark’s room will be well?” she asked.

“Oh, soon,” replied Mother. “I hope very soon.”

“What time? Will I know who it is by tea-time?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, deary me!” Marjorie sighed. “Well, I’ve tried every way I can to find out,” she said. “Perhaps I’d better forget about it. I’m going to do my home-work for school so I can forget about it.” And she sat down at the library table with pencil, paper and books. But still, nothing happened!

Then it grew twilight¹³ and the light was lit in the dining-room. Marjorie rose and set the supper-table as usual. “How many places shall I set, Mother?” she inquired. “I don’t[Pg 99] really mean to be curious any more—but you see, I must know. Mark will be home tonight and there will be Daddy—he’ll be here—and there’s you and there’s me and, I suppose The Mystery will be down, will it?”

“The Mystery will be down,” answered Mother, “but we’ll only need four places.”

But right here into the room came Mark. “Hello,” he greeted Marjorie. “Say, that’s one on you for curiosity, Marj! But the May basket was a peach! I’d have called to you only Mother said I mustn’t else you’d be in and talk to me and I felt pretty sick, I tell you! I got sick at Jimmie’s house and they telephoned home here the night I went away after you were asleep. Mother thought I’d better come right home, if I was going to be sick, so they sent me home late at night in their car—it’s a joke on you, Marjorie. How about a Mysterious Stranger?”

Mother laughed. And so, too, did Marjorie.

The Two Little Bates Girls

THE JUNE SURPRISE

The four-leaf clover that came in June’s first pocket was a pressed four-leaf clover marked, “To help in examination time.” The story that came in the other June pocket was “The Two Little Bates Girls” and it was labelled:

    “Read and open after your arithmetic examination is over.”

1 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 buds   

芽( bud的名词复数 )； 苞； 半开的花； 未长大的叶

参考例句：

• the first buds appearing in spring 春天的初芽
• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring. 柳枝绽青报春来。

4 tease   

vt.戏弄，取笑，挑逗，撩拨；n.戏弄人者

参考例句：

• The other boys tease him because he is fat.因为他很胖，所以其他男生都取笑他。
• His friends used to tease him about his tatty clothes.他的朋友过去常常笑话他破旧的衣服。

5 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 knob   

n.球形把手，球形柄，旋钮，小块

参考例句：

• There is a knob of butter on the table.桌子上有一小块黄油。
• This knob is only held on by sellotape.这个旋钮只是用透明胶带固定住的。

9 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

10 tucked   

塞进( tuck的过去式和过去分词 )； 翻折； 盖住； 卷起

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. 她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。

11 scrawls   

潦草的笔迹( scrawl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He scrawls, and no one can recognize what he writes. 他写字像鬼画符，没人能认出来。

12 betrayed   

对…不忠( betray的过去式和过去分词 )； 背叛； 出卖； 泄露

参考例句：

• The shakes of the speaker's hands betrayed his nervousness. 发言者双手颤抖，可见他很紧张。
• He betrayed all his friends on his own account. 他为自己的利益出卖了所有的朋友。

13 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。