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But I was OK with it. As long as those guys aren't causing trouble on OUR street, they can have the whole GOLF COURSE for all I care. The bus ride with the Whirley Street kids wasn't a lot of fun, but me and Rowley just tried to keep a low profile so no one would notice us. We were almost to Whirley Street when one of the kids in the back did something really DUMB. Some fool actually threw a snowball ON THE BUS.

不过我无所谓啦 只要这帮家伙不在我们街上捣乱，整个高尔夫球场给他们我都不介意 和威利街的孩子们一起坐大巴一点都不好玩，我和罗利只能尽量低调，不让别人注意到我们 我们快到威利街了，后排有个孩子干了件超级蠢的事 哪个傻大胆居然在公交车上扔雪球

The second it happened, the driver pulled over. She said she wasn't moving until the person who threw the snowball turned themself in. Like I said before, there's a "no snitching" rule in middle school, so no one from the back of the bus made a PEEP. I wish I knew who did it, because I would've given them up in a HEARTBEAT. I was pretty sure the bus driver was just BLUFFING about not moving, and that we'd be on our way within a few minutes. But then she broke out a BOOK, and started on page ONE. So we just sat there and waited for an HOUR while she read.

事情刚发生，司机就把车停到了路边 她说扔雪球的人不主动承认，她就不开车 就像我之前说的，中学有个“不许告密”的规矩，所以后排没人敢出一声 我真希望我知道是谁干的，我肯定立马就把他供出来 我当时很确定司机说不走就是吓唬人，我们再过几分钟就能出发了 结果她掏出一本书，从第一页开始读了起来 所以我们就坐在那儿，等了她整整一个小时

The worst part about the whole thing was that the bus driver turned off the ENGINE, so there was no HEAT. There was some conversation going on in the back of the bus, and I think a few kids were trying to get the one who threw the snowball to give himself up. But I really wish I hadn't turned around to look, because when I DID, some eighth grader realized I wasn't from Whirley Street.

整件事最糟糕的是，司机关了引擎，车里一点暖气都没有 公交车后排一直在讨论，我猜有几个孩子在劝扔雪球的人主动站出来 可我真后悔转头去看，因为我一转过去，就有个八年级的学生发现我不是威利街的人

That was all it took. These guys needed someone to take the BLAME for the snowball, and since I was an OUTSIDER, it was a no-brainer for them. The bus driver said I needed to get off the bus IMMEDIATELY. That was fine with ME, because now that my cover was blown, I didn't wanna stick around any longer than I HAD to. So I got off the bus, and Rowley was two steps behind me.

就这一下，麻烦就来了 这帮人正需要个人给扔雪球背锅，我又是个外人，对他们来说我简直是不二人选 公交车司机让我立刻下车 我也无所谓，反正我的身份已经暴露了，我也不想多待在这儿 于是我下了车，罗利紧跟着也下来了

I was pretty sure we were about a mile from Surrey Street. The road we were on didn't have sidewalks, but there weren't any Safety Patrols this far out, so we walked on the street. Five minutes later, we heard angry voices. It was a bunch of Whirley Street kids, and they were coming straight FOR us. First, those idiots LIED about me throwing the snowball on the bus. Then they BELIEVED their lie, and now they were MAD. Me and Rowley had to make a choice. We could either deal with the mob, or RUN. We decided to run, and the only place to go was into the WOODS.

我当时很清楚，我们离萨里街大概有一英里 我们走的这条路没有人行道，不过这么远的地方没有安全员，所以我们就走在马路上 五分钟后，我们听到了愤怒的叫喊声 就是那帮威利街的孩子，他们正朝我们冲过来 先是这帮笨蛋造谣说雪球是我在公交车上扔的 然后他们居然自己都信了，现在还生着气呢 我和罗利必须做个选择 要么留下来对付这帮人，要么逃跑 我们决定逃跑，唯一能躲的地方就是树林里

Believe me, that was the LAST thing I wanted to do. Everyone knows the woods along that road are where the GOAT MAN lives, which is why nobody ever goes in there. Rodrick was the first one to tell me about the Goat Man, who he said was a half man, half goat. I wasn't sure if he meant the top half was a GOAT and the bottom part was a MAN, or if it was the other way around. But either way, the Goat Man seemed pretty scary to ME. Me and Rowley have argued for YEARS over which version is right. Rowley thinks the Goat Man is split down the MIDDLE.

相信我，那是我最不想做的事 所有人都知道，那条路边的树林里住着山羊人，所以没人敢进去 是罗德里克最先告诉我的，说山羊人半人半羊 我那时候搞不清，他说的是上半身羊下半身人，还是反过来 不过不管怎么样，山羊人对我来说都太吓人了 我和罗利争了好多年，哪个说法才对 罗利认为山羊人是从身体正中间对半分，一半是人一半是羊