Becky slid（滑动）open the massive（粗重的）barn（杂物仓）door and searched in the darkness for the light switch．She could hear her horse，Joco，pacing（来回踱步）in his stall．“Hold on，Joco，I'm coming，”she called．Joco leaned over the stall door and answered with an impatient whinny（马嘶声）．
“Sorry I'm late，boy，”Becky said， giving the horse's nose a pat（抚摩）．“Play practice took longer than I thought． Jon promised to feed you．But brothers can be real jerks（笨拙的人）sometimes．”
She pulled the horse to the horse's stall，slid it between the boards，and filled the bucket（水桶）．Joco took a long drink and then nickered（马嘶）softly．Becky dumped a scoop（勺）of sweet-smelling grain into his trough（食槽）．
Becky sensed an eerie（阴森森的）quiet in the huge，old barn．Dad and Jon had finished the milking hours ago．In theshadows，the farm machinery stood idle． Only Joco's soft munching（出声咀嚼） broke the silence．
“Now for your hay，”Becky said．She started to climb the ladder to the hayloft（储藏草料的顶棚）．Last fall，the loft had been filled with hay．But now that winter was over，the few remaining bales（捆，包） were stacked（堆）in the farthest corner．
“That light up there looks kind of dim，Joco，”Becky said as she climbed．“I hope I can see to find you some hay．”
In the loft，the faint light cast（投） shadowy figures on the dusty floor and high walls．
“Kitty，Kitty，Kitty，”Becky called， hoping Patches would come and chase away（赶走）the uneasiness（焦虑不安） she felt．She tugged（曳）a chunk of hay from an open bale and then called again． But the familiar meow（猫叫声）did not come．
Instead，a long，evil hisssSSSS（嘶嘶声）filled the air．Becky stopped．Then she heard another，even longer and louder， hissssSSSS．
Becky clutched（抓住）the hay and raced for the ladder．The awfulhissssSSSS followed，seeming to reach out for her andnip（咬住）atthe tailof her sweatshirt．She tossed（投）the hay to the floor below and scrambled（爬）down the ladder．
When she was safely down，Becky listened again．She heard only the pound- ing（砰砰地跳）of her heart and Joco's peaceful munching．Becky wrapped her arms tight around Joco's neck，searching for warmth and comfort in his silky mane（鬃毛）．
“Maybe it was only the wind，”she whispered，trying to comfort herself．
Becky looked out the barn door．The night was quiet and still．The moon and stars sparkled（闪耀）in the sky．Up at the house，a faint light glowing in the kitchen window reassured Becky and helped to calm her fears．
“Good night，Joco，”she called．“See you tomorrow．”
Becky tugged on the big barn door，and it rumbled closed with an unusually loud bang．Sudden- ly，from outof nowhere，a chorus（合唱）of unearthly（神秘的） screams ripped（撕开）through the darkness．With the echo（回声）of the dreadfulscreams ringing in her ears，Becky ran to the house．
“Mom！Dad！”Becky yelled（喊）as she threw open the kitchen door．
“They went over to the Martins'，”Jon called from the den（小室）．“Do you have to make so much noise？I'm trying to watch a movie．”
“But，Jon，there's something terrible going on in the barn．”
“What kind of terrible？”Jon mumbled，his eyes never leaving the TV．
“An awful hissing noise，”Becky cried，“and then a loud scream—like someone is being murdered！”
“Sure，Becky，”Jon mocked（嘲弄）．“You get a little part in the sixth-grade play，and now you think you're the world's GREatest actress．”
“I'm serious，Jon！”Becky pleaded（辩解），but he just ignored（不理）her．“Oh， forget it！”she shouted．
Becky ran into her room and fell across her bed．Hot tears of frustration（失望）welled（涌出）up in her eyes．She pulled the covers over her head and sobbed quietly in the dark．
