Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Dink raced into the Book Nook. Josh and Ruth Rose were right behind him. They found three seats behind Tommy Tomko and Eddie Carini. Dink plopped his pack on the floor. The clock over the cash register said three minutes after eleven. "Where is he?" Dink whispered to Tommy Tomko.

第二章丁克冲进书角。 乔什和露丝·罗斯就在他后面。 他们在汤米·托姆科和埃迪·卡里尼后面找了三个座位。 丁克把背包扑通一声扔在地板上。 收银机上的时钟显示十一点三分。 “他在哪儿?”丁克低声对汤米·托姆科说。

Tommy turned around. "Beats me. He's not here yet, and Mr. Paskey looks worried." "What's going on?" Ruth Rose said. Dink told her and Josh what Tommy had said. "Paskey does look pretty nervous," Josh whispered. "Mr. Paskey always looks nervous," Dink whispered back, looking around the room. He saw about thirty kids he knew. Mrs. Davis, Dink's neighbor, was looking at gardening books. Dink checked out the other grownups in the store. None of them looked like a famous mystery writer. Mr. Paskey stood up. "Boys and girls, welcome to the Book Nook! Wallis Wallace should be here any second. How many of you have books to be autographed?" Everyone waved a book in the air. "Wonderful! I'm sure Wallis Wallace will be happy to know that Green Lawn is a reading town!" The kids clapped and cheered. Dink glanced at the clock. Five past eleven. He swallowed, trying to stay calm. Wallis Wallace was late, but it was only by five minutes.

汤米转过身来。“难倒我了。 他还没来，帕斯基先生看起来很担心。” “发生什么事了?”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克把汤米的话告诉了她和乔希。 “帕斯基看起来确实很紧张。”乔希小声说。 “帕斯基先生总是看起来很紧张，”丁克环顾房间，小声回答。 他看到了大约30个他认识的孩子。 丁克的邻居戴维斯夫人正在看园艺书籍。 丁克检查了店里其他的成年人。 他们都不像著名的推理小说作家。 帕斯基先生站了起来。“孩子们，欢迎来到读书角!”沃利斯·华莱士随时会到。 你们中有多少人有需要签名的书?”每个人都在空中挥舞着一本书。 “太好了!我相信沃利斯·华莱士会很高兴知道绿草坪是一个读书的小镇!”孩子们鼓掌欢呼。 丁克看了一眼钟。 十一点过五分。他咽了口唾沫，努力保持镇静。 沃利斯·华莱士迟到了，但只晚了五分钟。

Slowly five more minutes passed. Dink felt his palms getting damp. Where is Wallis Wallace? he wondered. Some of the kids started getting restless. Dink heard one kid say "Whenever I'm late, I get grounded!" "So where is he?" Josh asked. Ruth Rose looked at her watch. "It's only ten after," she said. "Famous people are always late." Now Dink stared at the clock. The big hand jerked forward, paused, then wobbled forward again. At 11:15, Mr. Paskey stood up again. "I don't understand why Wallis Wallace is late," he said. Dink noticed that his bald head was shiny with sweat. His bow tie was getting a workout.

又过了五分钟。 丁克感到他的手掌变湿了。 沃利斯·华莱士在哪里?他想知道。 有些孩子开始变得焦躁不安。 丁克听到一个孩子说:“每当我迟到，我就被禁足!”“那他在哪儿?”杰克问。 露丝·罗斯看了看表。 “现在才过十点，”她说。 “名人总是迟到。” 现在丁克盯着时钟。 那只大手猛地向前拉了一下，停了一下，然后又摇晃着向前拉了一下。 11点15分，帕斯基先生又站了起来。 “我不明白华莱士为什么迟到了，”他说。 丁克注意到他光秃秃的脑袋因汗水而发亮。 他的领结有点磨损了。

Mr. Paskey smiled bravely, but his eyes were blinking like crazy through his thick glasses. "Shall we give him a few more minutes?" The crowd grumbled, but nobody wanted to go anywhere. Ruth Rose started to read her book. Josh opened his sketch pad and began drawing Mr. Paskey. Dink turned and stared at the door. He mentally ordered Wallis Wallace to walk through it. You have to come! thought Dink. Ever since he had received Wallis Wallace's letter, he'd thought about only one thing: meeting him today. Suddenly Dink felt his heart skip a beat. THE LETTER! Short of being kidnapped, the letter said, nothing will stop me from, coming. Kidnapped! Dink shook himself. Of course Wallis Wallace hadn't been kidnapped! Mr. Paskey stood again, but this time he wasn't smiling. "I'm sorry, kids," he said. "But Wallis Wallace doesn't seem to be coming after all." The kids groaned. They got up, scraping chairs and bumping knees. Mr. Paskey apologized to them as they crowded past, heading for the door.

帕斯基先生勇敢地笑了笑，但他的眼睛透过厚厚的眼镜疯狂地眨着。 “我们再给他几分钟时间好吗?”人群嘟囔着，但没有人想去任何地方。 露丝·罗斯开始读她的书。 乔希打开速写本，开始画帕斯基先生。 丁克转过身，盯着门。 他在精神上命令沃利斯·华莱士穿过它。 你一定要来!认为丁克。 自从收到沃利斯·华莱士的信，他就一心想着一件事:今天和他见面。 突然，丁克觉得自己的心跳加快了。 这封信!信中说，除了被绑架，没有什么能阻止我来。 绑架了!丁克抖了抖身子。 沃利斯·华莱士当然没有被绑架!帕斯基先生又站了起来，但这次他没有笑了。 “对不起，孩子们，”他说。 “可是沃利斯·华莱士好像根本不来了。” 孩子们呻吟着。他们站了起来，刮着椅子，撞着膝盖。 当他们挤过去朝门口走去时，帕斯基向他们道了歉。

"I've read every single one of his books," Dink heard Amy Flower tell another girl. "Now I'll probably never meet anyone famous!" "I can't believe we gave up a soccer game for this!" Tommy Tomko muttered to Eddie Carini on their way out. Ruth Rose and Josh went next, but Dink remained in his seat. He was too stunned to move. He felt the letter through his jeans. Short of being kidnapped… Finally Dink got up and walked out. Josh and Ruth Rose were waiting for him. "What's the matter?" Ruth Rose said. "You look sick!" "I am sick," Dink mumbled. "I invited him here. It's all my fault." "What's all your fault?" Josh asked. "This!" he said, thrusting the letter into Josh's hands. "Wallis Wallace has been kidnapped!"

“我读过他的每一本书，”丁克听到艾米·弗劳尔对另一个女孩说。 “现在我可能再也见不到名人了!”“我不敢相信我们为了这个放弃了一场足球比赛!”汤米·汤姆科在出去的路上对埃迪·卡里尼嘀咕着。 露丝·罗斯和乔希接着走了，但丁克仍然坐在他的座位上。 他吓得动弹不得。 他隔着牛仔裤摸那封信。 最后，丁克站起来走了出去。 乔希和露丝·罗斯在等他。 “怎么啦?”露丝·罗斯说。 “你看起来病了!”“我病了，”丁克咕哝着。 “是我邀请他来的。都是我的错。” “都是你的错吗?”杰克问。 “这个!”他说着，把信塞到乔希手里。 “沃利斯·华莱士被绑架了!”