Ch8-Master of Escape

CHAPTER EIGHT Master of Escape "You… you?" breathed Annie. "You're the Great Houdini?" said Jack. He couldn't believe it! "Just give us a moment to set up our show!" Houdini shouted to the audience. "Sit tight, and we'll be back quick as a wink! In the meantime,

“你……你？”安妮轻声问。 “你是伟大的胡迪尼？”杰克说。 他简直不敢相信！“给我们一点时间准备我们的节目！”胡迪尼向观众喊道。 “坐好了，我们一会儿就回来！”与此同时，

how about a nice hand for these funny little magicians?" Music played, Jack and Annie bowed, the crowd roared enthusiastically, and the red curtain came down. Bess rushed over to Jack and Annie. "Thanks for helping us out!" she said. "We had no idea you had a comedy act," Harry said. "We had no idea you were the Great Houdini!" said Annie. "That's what we figured," said Bess. "Forgive us for having a little fun with you two." "Harry! Hurry!" Mr. Dewey said. The theater owner led Houdini back to his dressing room. "Thanks again, you crazy kids, for covering for us!" said Bess, hugging Jack and Annie. "Everyone, please clear the stage!" Mr. Wilson said. "We have to reset!" "Stick around and watch us!" Bess said to Jack and Annie. She guided them to a couple of chairs just offstage. "Sit here! I have to help Harry." She hurried back to the dressing room. As crowd noises filled the theater, Annie turned to Jack. "Can you believe it?" she said.

给这些有趣的小魔术师来一手好牌怎么样？”音乐响起，杰克和安妮鞠躬，人群热烈地欢呼，红色的幕布落下了。 贝丝冲向杰克和安妮。 “谢谢你帮助我们！”她说。 “我们不知道你有喜剧表演。”哈利说。 “我们不知道你是伟大的胡迪尼！”安妮说。 “我们也是这么想的，”贝丝说。 “原谅我们和你们俩开了点玩笑” “哈利!快点!”杜威先生说。 剧院老板把胡迪尼带回到他的化妆间。 “再次感谢你们这些疯狂的孩子，你们帮我们打掩护！”贝丝拥抱着杰克和安妮说。 “大家请让开！”威尔逊说。 “我们必须重新开始！”“留下来看着我们吧！”贝丝对杰克和安妮说。 她把他们领到舞台后面的几把椅子上。 “坐在这里!我必须帮助哈利。” 她急忙回到更衣室。 剧院里充满了人群的嘈杂声，安妮转向杰克。 “你能相信吗？”她说。

"No… I can't—I can't believe it…," said Jack. He was in a daze. "Maybe we'll learn the secret of greatness from him now," said Annie hopefully. "Oh, right," said Jack. He pulled off his gloves and looked at the Ring of Truth on his finger. He hoped it would soon start to glow. While the Houdinis prepared for the show, the stagehands found all the rabbits and doves and put them back in their cages. They picked up the cards and rings and hauled the table away. "Set Harry's cabinet center stage!" Mr. Wilson called. Hank and Butch carried a wooden cabinet onto the stage. Black fabric covered three sides of it, and a black curtain hung in front. Just as the audience began to stamp their feet, Mr. Dewey led the Houdinis out of their dressing room. Bess was wearing white tights and a short pleated dress. Her delicate face was framed by a ring of dark curls. Harry was dressed in an elegant black suit, his hair combed back neatly. The curtain rose, and the orchestra played a rousing tune.

“不……我不能——我不能相信……”杰克说。 他发呆了。“也许我们现在能从他身上学到伟大的秘诀，”安妮满怀希望地说。 “哦，对了，”杰克说。他脱下手套，看着手指上的真理之戒。 他希望它很快就会开始发光。 当胡迪尼夫妇准备演出时，舞台管理人员找到了所有的兔子和鸽子，并把它们放回笼子里。 他们捡起卡片和戒指，把桌子拖走了。 “把哈利的柜子放在舞台中央！”威尔逊先生打来电话。 汉克和布奇把一个木柜搬上了舞台。 它的三面都是黑色的布，前面挂着黑色的窗帘。 就在观众开始跺脚的时候，杜威先生领着胡迪尼兄弟走出了更衣室。 贝丝穿着白色紧身衣和一件打褶的短连衣裙。 她那精致的脸被一圈黑色的卷发衬托着。 哈利穿着一套优雅的黑色西装，头发梳得整整齐齐。 幕布拉开，管弦乐队演奏了振奋人心的乐曲。

Bess stood beside the cabinet while Harry stepped into a spotlight. For a long moment, he gazed intensely at the audience. When the noisy crowd grew quiet, he spoke in a voice that carried all the way to the back of the theater.

贝丝站在柜子旁边，哈利走到聚光灯下。 他目不转睛地盯着观众看了好长时间。 当喧闹的人群安静下来时，他说话的声音传到了剧院的后面。

"Ladies and gentlemen, I, Harry Houdini, would like to make a bet with you! I'll bet a thousand dollars there is no lock that can hold me captive tonight! They don't call me the Master of Escape for nothing!" From that moment on, Harry Houdini was the Master of Escape. As the orchestra played, he performed easily, with humor and confidence. Several times during his act, he invited volunteers onstage to make sure all his locks were securely locked and all his knots were tightly tied. During his first trick, Houdini asked the audience volunteers to check three pairs of handcuffs that Bess had locked around his wrists. Then he stepped inside his cabinet. Bess closed the black curtain. "Let's count to ten together!" she called to the crowd. Everyone counted: "One! Two! Three!…" On the count of ten, Houdini threw open the curtain—his handcuffs dangling from his hand! Jack and Annie gasped. "How did he do that?" Jack said. Harry did the trick again with a new level of difficulty. This time, Bess not only locked

“女士们先生们，我，哈利·胡迪尼，想和你们打个赌！我赌一千美元，今晚没有锁能锁住我！他们叫我逃亡大师可不是平白无故的！”从那一刻起，哈利·胡迪尼就成了逃脱大师。 在管弦乐队演奏时，他表现得轻松自如，充满幽默和自信。 在他的表演中，他多次邀请志愿者上台，以确保他所有的头发都锁好了，所有的结都打得很紧。 在他的第一个魔术中，胡迪尼要求观众志愿者检查贝斯锁在他手腕上的三副手铐。 然后他走进了自己的内阁。 贝丝拉上了黑色的窗帘。 “让我们一起数到十吧！”她对人群喊道。 每个人都数着：“一！两个!三!数到十，胡迪尼拉开窗帘——他的手铐在手上晃来晃去！杰克和安妮倒吸了一口冷气。 “他是怎么做到的？”杰克说。 哈利又用了一次难度更高的把戏。 这一次，贝丝不仅上锁了

handcuffs around Houdini's wrists, she also wrapped chains around his ankles and secured them with padlocks. Again, excited volunteers made certain that all the locks were truly locked. When the black curtain closed, Bess asked everyone to count again. On the count of ten, Harry threw open the curtain—freed from his shackles and handcuffs. The crowd clapped and cheered. "And now," he said, "the Master of Escape will share with you his most thrilling and dangerous escape to date!" Houdini dashed offstage. The orchestra played scary-sounding music as Hank and Butch brought out a huge milk can and placed it inside the cabinet. Audience members whispered to each other as the stagehands filled the giant can with buckets of water. Harry then reappeared dressed in an oldfashioned black bathing suit. Bess put the three pairs of handcuffs around his wrists again. After volunteers checked the locks, Houdini climbed inside the milk can. Jack and Annie stood up to watch.

她在胡迪尼的手腕上戴上手铐，还在他的脚踝上缠上链条，并用挂锁锁住。 兴奋的志愿者们再次确认所有的锁都真的锁上了。 黑幕拉上后，贝丝让大家再数一遍。 数到十，哈利拉开了窗帘，摆脱了脚镣和手铐。 人群鼓掌欢呼。 “现在，”他说，“逃生大师将和你们分享他迄今为止最惊险、最危险的逃生经历！”胡迪尼冲下了舞台。 乐队演奏着可怕的音乐，汉克和布奇拿出一个巨大的牛奶罐，把它放在橱柜里。 当舞台工作人员在巨大的罐子里装满一桶桶水时，观众们互相窃窃私语。 然后，哈利又穿着一件老式的黑色泳衣出现了。 贝丝又给他戴上了三副手铐。 志愿者检查完锁后，胡迪尼爬进了牛奶罐。 杰克和安妮站起来观看。