帽子之谜
2018-01-04ByBonnieKatz
By+Bonnie+Katz
“What are you staring at, pipsqueak?”Tanner yelled from across the classroom, crammed into a desk too small for his large frame. I hadnt really staring at Tanner. I was just looking at his hat—the same hat hed worn every day since he moved here three weeks ago. It reminded me of Sherlock Holmess detective cap.
After school, Tanner was waiting for me in the hallway.“I asked what you were looking at, runt,”he said gruffly, staring downatme.
“Well, I was looking at your hat,”I said. I pointed at the checkered hat with front and back brims and side flaps tied to the top.“ItsaSherlockHolmeshat,”Isaid.
“A what?”Tanner demanded, pushing me up. I gulped.“Sherlock Holmes, the great detective. He wears a hat just like that. Have you ever read any Sherlock Holmes mysteries?”Tannerletgoofmyshoulders.Justthenthebellrang.
Later that day, I was at home making a peanut butter sandwich when the phone rang.“Sanchez residence, Josh speaking,”Isaid.
“Hey,shrimp,”agruffvoiceresponded.
“Uh, hi, Tanner,”I stammered, my heart racing. There was a long pause. Then finally he said,“Tell me more about that detective.”
“Uh, sure,”I said.“Well, Sherlock Holmes solves mysteries that no one else can solve by using his intellectual abilities and astuteskillsofobservation.”“Huh?”wasTannersreply.
“I mean, hes smart, and he can tell things about people just by looking at them,”I added. I took a deep breath.“So, uh, where did you get that hat?”“None of your business!”he roared, and hunguponme.
I couldnt sleep that night. Was Tanner going to pick on me tomorrow?Whydidhewearthathateveryday?
“Why do you think some kids act tough at school?”I asked mymomthenextmorningatbreakfast.
“Well, maybe they feel awkward and insecure about something, so they try to act tough to make up for it.”she said as sheslidtwofriedeggsontomyplate.
“Like being the biggest kid in class?”“Possibly,”she said, sippinghercoffee.“Beingdifferentcanbehardforpeople.”
That morning, Tanner was waiting for me outside the classroom with his arms crossed, wearing his hat.“Give me your lunch money,”he hissed, and held out his hand. I spotted his openbackpackonthefloor.
“Why do you need lunch money when you brought a tuna sandwichforlunch?”Iasked,thensteppedbackandlooked up at Tanner nervously.“Hey, how did you know that?”He demanded.“Well, I can smell the tuna, so I deduced that you have a tuna sandwich in your backpack.”
Tanner scowled.“Big deal, you can smell. Now give me your money, runt.”Heleanedovermemenacingly.
“Uh... I can also tell that you had powdered doughnuts for breakfast, and that you took the shortcut to school this morning,”I stammered.“How could you know all that?”he asked in disbelief.“Well, for starters, you have white powder on your lips.”Tanner wiped his face with the back ofhishand.
“Theres redclayonyour shoes,”I explained.“The only place around here with red clay is the path that cuts through the park.”I thought back to what my mom had said at breakfast.“You know, Sherlock Holmes was over six feet tall,”I said.“He was?”Tanner replied, standing up straight.“Yeah.”I paused.“So,Ireallylikeyourhat.”
He took it off.“It was my grandfathers,”he said.“When he died I got to pick out something to remember him by. He used to wearthishatallthetime.”
Inodded.Ididntknowwhattosay.
Tanner put his grandfathers hat on my head. He smiled for thefirsttimesinceIdmethim.“You can borrow thehat, ifI can borrowoneofyourdetectivebooks,”Tannersaid.
“Deal,”Irepliedwithagrin.
“你在盯着看什么,小东西?”坦纳从教室那头冲我大喊,然后挤进了座位,那座位对他这大块头来说太小了。我并没有真的在盯着坦纳看。我只是在看他的帽子———自从三周前他转学到这儿,他每天都戴着这顶帽子。它讓我想起夏洛克·福尔摩斯的那顶侦探帽。
放学后,坦纳在走廊里等着我。“我刚才问你在看什么呢,小矮子。”他粗声说道,低头瞪着我。
“呃,我当时在看你的帽子。”我说。我指着坦纳那顶前后都有帽檐、两侧的护耳系在帽顶的方格帽子说:“那是一顶夏洛克·福尔摩斯式的帽子。”
“一顶什么?”坦纳逼问道,边问还边上前推搡我。我喘不过气来。“夏洛克·福尔摩斯,那个大侦探。他就戴着一顶那样的帽子。你读过任何关于夏洛克·福尔摩斯的探案故事吗?”坦纳松开了我的肩膀。就在这时,铃声响了。
那天晚些时候,我正在家做花生酱三明治,电话铃响了。“这是桑切斯家,我是乔希。”我说道。
“嗨,小东西。”一个粗哑的嗓音回答道。
“啊,嗨,坦纳。”我结结巴巴地说,心狂跳不已。很长时间的停顿之后,他说道:“多跟我说说那个侦探的事儿吧。”
“嗯,当然,”我说道,“呃,夏洛克·福尔摩斯能破解其他人无法解开的谜团,他用的是他的聪明才智和敏锐的观察力。”“啊哈?”坦纳这样回答。
“我是说,他很聪明,仅仅通过观察别人,就能知道跟他们有关的事情。”我深深地吸了一口气,“那么,嗯,你是从哪儿得到那顶帽子的呢?”“关你什么事!”他大吼一声就挂了我的电话。
那天晚上我睡不着。坦纳明天会找我的碴儿吗?他为什么每天都戴着那顶帽子?
“你觉得为什么有些孩子在学校会举止粗暴呢?”第二天吃早饭时我问妈妈。
她一边把两个煎鸡蛋放进我的盘子里,一边说道:“可能是他们对什么事情感到尴尬或者缺乏安全感,因此想表现得粗暴一点来弥补。”
“比如成了班里块头最大的人?”“有可能,”她呷着咖啡,继续说道,“一个人跟别人不一样会很艰难。”
那天早上,坦纳戴着帽子在教室外等着我,双臂抱在胸前。“把你的午饭钱给我。”他尖声说道,并把手伸了过来。我发现他的背包打开着放在地上。
“你午饭带了金枪鱼肉三明治,为什么还需要午饭钱?”我问道,然后退后,抬头紧张地看着坦纳。“嘿,你是怎么知道的?”他逼问我。“哦,我闻到了金枪鱼肉味,所以我推断你的背包里有一个金枪鱼肉三明治。”
坦纳沉下脸:“了不得啊,你还能闻出来呢。现在把你的钱给我,小矮子。”他恶狠狠地向我压过来。
“嗯……我还知道,你早饭吃了撒了糖粉的甜甜圈,而且你早上来学校抄了近道。”我结结巴巴地说。“你是怎么知道这些的?”他怀疑地问道。“哦,首先,你的嘴唇上有白色糖粉。”坦纳用手背擦了一下脸。
“你的鞋子上有红色泥巴,”我解释说,“这附近唯一有红色泥巴的地方就是横穿公园的那条路。”我回想起早饭时妈妈说的话。“你知道,夏洛克·福尔摩斯身高超过一米八二了。”我说。“是吗?”坦纳站直了身体问道。“是的,”我停顿了一下,“所以,我是真的喜欢你的帽子。”
他摘下帽子。“这是我爷爷的,”他说,“他去世时,我得选个什么东西来纪念他。他过去整天戴着这顶帽子。”
我点点头,不知道说什么好。
坦纳把帽子扣在了我头上。我见到他以来,他第一次露出了笑容。“你可以借用这顶帽子,如果我可以借一本你的侦探书的话。”坦纳说。
“成交。”我咧嘴一笑,回答道。