Chapter 7 Chapter 6 Jonah Borrows a Bicycle

Aunt Annie put delicious food on the table for Jonah: a round piece of ham, potato salad with attractive aroma, and a bottle of fresh milk.These were exactly what Jonah wanted to eat.He also asked his aunt to make ginger cake for him.He was really hungry. As soon as the hot cake came out of the pan, Jonah swallowed it together with the second cup of frothed fresh milk, leaving no crumbs.However, he is not as talkative as usual today, and he is surprisingly silent.Except for answering Aunt Ani's questions, she always kept silent. Aunt Ani saw that Jonah was thinking about something, so she was not interested in continuing to sing a one-man show.She cleared away the empty plates in front of Jonah, without getting Jonah's attention at all.Aunt Ani shook her head silently, as if to say: "Oh, I really can't do anything with this child."

Qiang Pu woke up from his afternoon nap under the lilac tree in front of the gate, and walked around to the kitchen door to grab the door.Only then did Jonah jump up suddenly, cheering up again. "A mile a minute!" Jonah muttered to himself. "Ouch," Aunt Ani was startled, "are you asleep? What were you talking about just now?" Jonah smiled nervously. "No, it's nothing." He stammered, "I'm just thinking about something. Auntie, can I go to Tommy's house for a while?" "If you want to go, what can you do?" Aunt Ani sighed, "You'd better take a rest."

"I'm not tired at all," Jonah said. "I'm just going for a while. I want to ask him something." "Then you can go." Aunt Annie agreed, "However, if it were me, I would have to take a nap this afternoon." Jonah and Qiang rushed out. My aunt looked at their backs and shook her head, as if saying, "It's really confusing." Jonah still walked step by step with his head bowed in thought.The little black dog also bowed its head and followed behind with small steps.Seeing their appearance, Aunt Ani laughed softly.She said to herself, "I don't know what it is? Maybe there is something I want to discuss and solve together."

Jonah came to Tommy William's house, but there was no movement inside.He yelled twice, but no one answered.He had no choice but to knock on the door.Tommy's mother came out. "Is Tommy home?" Jonah asked. "At home," replied Mrs. William, "just can't see you. I put him to bed, he doesn't feel well." "Really?" Jonah exclaimed, startled. "What's the matter with him?" "I guess it doesn't matter," said Mrs. William, smiling. "It must have been a shock from the morning incident, and too much sweets. I was taken aback, Jonah. How terrible, if Something happened to you two..." Tommy's mother stopped talking suddenly, she almost cried.

"I'm so sorry, Auntie," Jonah stammered. "That's really unavoidable. We just met by chance." "I know," said Mrs. William, wiping her eyes, "but you're both lucky to be back safe and sound. I'll go and tell Tommy you're coming, shall I?" Jonah hesitated for a moment: "Listen to me, auntie, I want to borrow Tommy's bicycle." Jonah tentatively asked, "If Tommy doesn't ride now." "He won't be able to ride for a day or two," said Mrs. William. "He's not very well, and I can't let him go out. Well, please use it. But it's a poor bicycle." .”

"Ah, I know. I'll fix it." Jonah fought. "Ask Tommy, please." Mrs. William came back and told Tommy: "Tommy said, if you can fix it, I can lend you a ride. The bicycle is in that woodshed." Mrs. William said, "Tommy said the brakes are not working." "Thanks." Jonah was very happy. "Brake, I'll fix it. I know how to fix it." Jonah hurried to the wood house to look at the bicycle.He screamed.Not only the brakes were broken, but the car chain also fell off.Jonah pushed the car home and checked to see if there were all the tools in the toolbox.

"Oh, how fast you came back." Aunt Annie said when she saw Jonah. "Isn't Tommy home?" "Tommy's sick," Jonah said. "I'm going to fix Tommy's bike now." "Oh, it's poor." Aunt Annie said, "What's wrong with him?" "It seems to be just a little stomachache." Jonah said, "Aunt Annie, can I have some kerosene?" "What did you say?" Aunt Annie asked in surprise, "What do you want it for?" "Use it to scrub the bike," Jonah explained, "because it's rusted so badly."

"Really, let's put it in the yard. Don't mess with it for a long time, it can't be repaired by others. If you need rags, there are them in that bag." Jonah put the kerosene and rags out on the sunny lawn and started working on the car.At this time Qiang rushed over and sniffed the tin can of kerosene for a while, probably feeling that the smell was unpleasant, so he went to his favorite place.Jonah worked silently. After a while, Jonah felt someone walking on the gravel road.Looking up, he saw Clarabell Smith hurrying towards him. "Jonah!" cried Clarabell happily, "do you know there's a robber?"

"Of course I know. I saw it with my own eyes." Jonah said without stopping. "Is it true?" Clarabell's eyes widened, "Did you really see it?" "You don't need to talk about it," Jonah replied. "Tommy saw it too. Didn't I tell you about it when I came back from Clinton, but you didn't want to hear it. Who did you hear it from?" "Uncle Willis told me. But my uncle only told me about the robber. Did you really see it? It's terrible, isn't it? Are you not afraid?" "Of course I'm afraid. Anyone can be. If you were there, you'd be scared to death."

"What was the situation at that time?" Clarabell asked curiously, "What did those robbers do?" So, Jonah began to introduce the whole incident.At first, Clarabell's eyes widened.Jonah almost cried when she talked about the good old dog being beaten to death.Jonah told how Qiang Pu chased the villain's car and was so close to being shot that Clarabell couldn't even breathe. "How scary!" she cried. "How scary, then you were in danger too, Jonah!" "Well, probably." Jonah nodded, "But I didn't think about it. I'm just afraid that Qiang Pu will get hurt, so I don't have time to think about it."

"That's wonderful, you're very good!" said Clarabell with great admiration. "I think you've shown great courage." "Nothing." Jonah denied, "I was also scared at the time." "Why haven't the robbers been caught?" asked Clarabell with great interest. "Isn't there anyone chasing them?" Jonah disassembled the bicycle piece by piece and placed it on the lawn to check one by one. He didn't immediately answer Clarabell's question. "Didn't you follow and chase?" Clarabell asked again impatiently. "What did you say?" Jonah raised his head. "Ah, yes, we chased him right away. Mr. Clarke—this man is the Clinton police chief. Mr. Clarke immediately sent two patrolmen on motorcycles to follow up. Then he called the Grandville Police Department, so Grandville also dispatched the police to ambush the prisoner." After speaking, Jonah continued to check the disassembled bicycle parts. "A part is missing," he muttered half to himself, "what's the matter, a washer is missing?" "But the robbers have all escaped," cried Clarabell. "Uncle Willis says they have all escaped." "Then I know." Jonah said as he crawled on the lawn looking around, "Yeah, I found it. Why did you walk carelessly, Clarabell! Didn't you step on it?" "I didn't step on it." Clarabell said, "How did they get away?" She frowned and asked, "If the police really chased them in two ways, why didn't they catch them halfway? where?" Jonah soaked the gasket in a kerosene dish: "Probably the prisoner escaped quickly and got there first. So no one noticed." "Where do you mean 'there'?" Clarabell asked anxiously, puzzled. "There's a fork in the road," Jonah explained. "There's a fork in the road halfway to Grandville. If the robber gets there first, he can escape to Canada that way. Can go to Canada without going through Grandville. That's how those guys get away." "Oh, it's too bad. It means that those people will never be caught again!" "Probably not. Because the police have called towns and cities on all the roads leading into Canada. So maybe the police can get ahead of them. Also, stop all passing cars for inspection." "You said that all passing cars have to be inspected?" Clara Bell asked with wide eyes, "Why?" "That's because the robbers might take another car," Jonah explained to her. "The gang might catch a guy, threaten him, and take his car, if it's a nice car. Even if it’s not a pretty car, if they’re thinking about the cops going after the car they used in Clinton, they’re going to get another one. I think they’re going to want to get another one anyway.” Clarabell shivered for a moment: "Ah, it's great that the prisoner isn't around us, Jonah, is this your bicycle? I didn't know you still had a bicycle." "It's not mine, it's Tommy's. I just fix it for him." Clarabell looked sullen, nose turned forward, and asked, "Why doesn't Tommy fix it himself? Can't he do it himself?" "That's not the case. If he wants to fix it, he will fix it. But, because I want to ride this bike tomorrow, I'm going to fix it." "Where are you going?" asked Clarabell enthusiastically. "No exact place." Jonah replied bluntly, "I just want to ride around here for fun." Clarabell stared at Jonah suspiciously, and said, "I know what you want to do. You must be looking for those robbers." Jonah shook his head angrily and said, "No, I don't intend to do that kind of thing. I don't want to get involved with those bad guys. I never do that kind of thing, understand?" "So what are you going to do?" Clarabell asked. "Well, it's nothing." Jonah replied, "I'm just looking for something. That's all." Jonah said, continuing to assemble the bicycle parts, and whistled softly. Clarabell was furious and shouted, "Are you trying to hide it from me? You must tell me, what the hell are you looking for?!" Jonah smiled a little mockingly: "Didn't I say that I want to find it? I haven't found it yet. What do you want me to tell you? Even I don't know what it is. Wait until I know what it is." I'll tell you. I promise, I will keep my word." "I think you are too mean." Clarabell pouted.She walked up to the bicycle on the lawn and spun the front wheel carelessly.Every time she turned around, there was a "click, click" scratching sound, "This sound is strange, what's going on?" She asked curiously, "Is there something wrong here? You repaired it." This is it?" Jonah put down what he was doing, raised his head and smiled, "No, that's it. You see, there is a small box on the fork, which is the odometer. In addition, you can see a small pin on the wheel. It's the thing that rattles when you turn the wheel." "I see," said Clarabell, turning the wheel again, "but why put such a thing in it?" "Because with it, you can know how much you have run." Jonah told her, "The small box has numbers, and you can know the distance you have run by looking there." "I see," Clarabell said again. "It's like the thing on Uncle Willis's car. Except, it's a speedometer. Uncle Willis looks at the speed when he drives. This machine can read Speed ​​up?" "I can't tell," Jonah said, "because it wasn't put on for the speed test." "However, you still want to know how fast you are when you ride a bicycle?" Clarabell wanted to ask the question to the end. "You can really pester me." Jonah couldn't help it anymore. "You keep asking me, when will I be able to install the car? You'd better go do something else." Clarabell chuckled: "Are you angry? I like to see you angry. Because your expression is exactly the same as that of Uncle Willis when you are angry." "Hmph, is it?" Jonah said to himself.He didn't say anything for a long time, and kept working hard.So Clarabell decided it would be better not to be angry with him. "Let me tell you, can I go with you tomorrow?" She asked in a tone that tried to persuade him. Jonah shook his head and objected: "I want to go alone. Besides, you don't have a bicycle." "Isn't it enough to change the ride? This can be done, right?" Clarabell refused to give up, "If it doesn't work, let me sit behind the handlebars, and you take me with you, okay?" "Don't bother people, Clarabell. There's a lot to think about tomorrow." Jonah didn't budge. "How can I come up with a good idea if I put you behind the handlebars? Forgive me, but I can’t say anything to grant your request. I have to go alone!” "Well, then, go alone," said Clarabell. "I don't want to go anyway. I have a lot of business to-morrow. Well, go home!" Clarabell stood up and walked away pretending to be nonchalant.Jonah continued to work.After Clarabell walked for a while, Jonah suddenly remembered something. "Handlebars!" Jonah yelled. "Why didn't I think of it before?" Putting down the things in his hand, Jonah ran back to the house and entered the small warehouse in the basement.He remembered that there were some old wooden boxes there for kindling fire and chopping wood.One of them just came in handy.He carried it out into the yard, then stood the bike up and tried again with the wooden box between the handlebar handles.Sure enough, as expected, it was just right there. Jonah cheered happily: "It's great! With this, it's no problem to bring Qiangpu. Qiangpu, you just sit here!" All afternoon, Jonah was busy with work.The rust was polished up, the chain was put back in place, and the sprockets were adjusted so that the chain snapped into place.After the car was all repaired, Jonah borrowed a clothesline from Aunt Annie and fixed the box firmly on the handlebar.At this time, Aunt Annie came to the kitchen door to greet him: "Dinner, Jonah. Is it fixed?" "Look, Aunt Ani." Jonah pushed the car to the kitchen and said, "Look, this is the special seat for Qiang Pu!" "Oh, that's exciting!" Aunt Annie shouted, "You really have a way!" "It's Clarabell's invention," Jonah replied. "It wasn't Clarabell's idea to put the box in. She said she'd sit behind the handlebars, and that made me think of it." "You mean to let Clarabell sit in that narrow place?" asked the aunt in disbelief. "No, Aunt Ani." Jonah laughed, "This is for Qiang Pu. I wanted to keep Qiang Pu at home because I thought Qiang Pu couldn't go that far. But this way Come on, Qiang Pu won't be tired at all." "How far, how far?" Aunt Ani asked anxiously, "Where are you going?" "Oh, didn't I tell you? I want to go out for a ride tomorrow. Because it's the only good chance. Tommy should be using this bike soon. His mother said he wasn't going out tomorrow. " "Really?" Aunt Annie asked worriedly, "Is that okay? Don't go too far alone. I thought you were going to Mr. Boots to clean Qiangpu's cabin! Or go to Boots Good sir." "Well, if Uncle is at home, I'll go to brush the oil." Jonah replied, "But Uncle went to Riwandun this afternoon, and said to see if there is any work in the barracks. I'll ask after dinner." At this time, Qiang Pu took small steps, turned the corner of the room, and walked towards this side. "You're very well-balanced," cried Jonah. "I made a nice thing just for you." Jonah put Qiangpu into the box on the handlebar and circled the yard a few times.Qiang Pu probably thought this move was very clever, but when Jonah carried it down and put it on the ground, he cried out with joy. "Okay, okay. I'll let you sit again tomorrow." Jonah promised Qiangpu. "Okay, let's feed Qiang Pu, wash your hands, and sit at the table." Aunt Ani said with a smile, "Hurry up, the food is cold." After dinner, Jonah hurried to Old Man Boots' workshop.But the door was still closed.So he walked home slowly.He felt weak all over, and read for a while, but the more he read, the more sleepy he became. "Sleep." Jonah said to himself, "Aunt Ani, I'm so sleepy that I can't keep my eyes open. Could you please tie Qiangpu up for me?" "Of course you can. Go to sleep quickly." Aunt Annie replied, "I have to read for a while." Jonah lazily went upstairs to his room and fell asleep as soon as he got into bed.After what seemed like a long time, Jonah vaguely heard Qiang Pu's cry.Then it seemed that Aunt Ani was talking to someone.But before he knew whether he was dreaming, he fell asleep again.It was early morning when Jonah woke up fully.