Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Back on Main Street, Dink adjusted his backpack and led the way to the Shangri-la Hotel. "Maureen Higgins said she dropped him off at the hotel last night," he told the others, "so that's our next stop." "What if she didn't?" Josh said, catching up to Dink. "What do you mean?"

回到主街，丁克整理好背包，带路来到香格里拉饭店。 “莫林·希金斯说她昨晚把他送到旅馆了，”他告诉其他人，“所以那是我们的下一站。” “如果她没有呢?”乔希追上丁克说。 “你是什么意思?”

"I mean maybe Maureen Higgins wasn't telling the truth. Maybe she kidnapped him!" "And she's hiding him in her lunch-box!" Ruth Rose said. "Very funny, Ruth Rose," Josh said. "Maureen Higgins said she drove Wallis Wallace to the hotel. But what if she drove him somewhere else?" "You could be right," Dink said. "That's why we're going to the hotel." With Dink in the lead, the four approached the check-in counter in the hotel lobby. "Excuse me," Dink said to the man behind the counter. "May we help you?" He was the saddestlooking man Dink had ever seen. He had thin black hair and droopy eyebrows. His skinny mustache looked like a sleeping centipede. A name tag on his suit coat said MR. LINKLETTER. "We're looking for someone." Mr. Linkletter stared at Dink. "He's supposed to be staying in this hotel," Josh said. The man twitched his mustache at Josh. "His name is Wallis Wallace," Dink explained. "Can you tell us if he checked in last night?"

“我的意思是，也许莫林·希金斯说的不是实话。 也许她绑架了他!”“她把他藏在她的午餐盒里!”露丝·罗斯说。 “很有趣，露丝·罗斯，”乔希说。 莫林·希金斯说她开车送沃利斯·华莱士去了酒店。 但如果她开车送他去别的地方呢?”“你可能是对的，”丁克说。 “所以我们才要去酒店。” 在丁克的带领下，四个人走向酒店大堂的登记柜台。 “对不起，”丁克对柜台后面的人说。 “我们能为您效劳吗?”他是丁克见过的最悲伤的人。 他留着稀疏的黑发和下垂的眉毛。 他那瘦削的小胡子看起来像一只熟睡的蜈蚣。 他西装外套上的名牌上写着。 总是飞来。“我们在找人。” 林克莱特先生盯着丁克。 “他应该住在这家酒店的，”乔希说。 那人朝乔什扯了扯胡子。 “他叫沃利斯·华莱士，”丁克解释道。 “你能告诉我们他昨晚是否入住吗?”

Mr. Linkletter patted his mustache. "Young sir, if we had such a guest, we wouldn't give out any information. We have rules at the Shangri-la," he added in a deep, sad voice. "But he's missing!" Ruth Rose said. "He was supposed to be at the Book Nook this morning and he never showed up!" Dink pulled out the itinerary. "See, he was coming here from the airport. The taxi driver said she saw him walk into this lobby." "And he's famous!" Ruth Rose said. She placed her book on the counter in front of Mr. Linkletter. "He wrote this!" Sighing, Mr. Linkletter looked down at Ruth Rose. "We are quite aware of who Mr. Wallace is, young miss." Mr. Linkletter turned his sad eyes back on Dink. He flipped through the hotel register, glanced at it, then quickly shut the book. "Yes, Mr. Wallace checked in," he said. "He arrived at 8:05." "He did? What happened after that?" Dink asked. Mr. Linkletter pointed toward a bank of elevators. "He went to his room. We offered to

林克莱特拍了拍自己的胡子。 “年轻的先生，如果我们有这样一位客人，我们是不会透露任何消息的。 我们在香格里拉是有规矩的，”他用深沉而悲伤的声音补充道。 “可是他不见了!”露丝·罗斯说。 “他今天早上应该在Nook书店的，可是他一直没出现!”丁克拿出了行程表。 “你看，他刚从机场过来。 出租车司机说她看见他走进大厅。” “而且他很有名!”露丝·罗斯说。 她把书放在林克莱特先生面前的柜台上。 “这是他写的!”林克莱特先生叹了口气，低头看着露丝·罗斯。 “我们很清楚华莱士先生是谁，小姐。” 林克莱特先生悲伤的目光又转向丁克。 他翻了翻旅馆的登记簿，扫了一眼，然后迅速合上了书。 “是的，华莱士先生登记了，”他说。 “他8:05到的。”“他? 之后发生了什么?”丁克问道。 林克莱特指着一排电梯。 他回到了自己的房间。我们提出

have his suitcase carried, but he preferred to do it himself." "Have you seen Mr. Wallace yet today?" Mavis asked. "No, madam, I haven't seen him. Mr. Wallace is still in his room." Still in his room! Suddenly Dink felt relieved. He felt a little foolish, too. Wallis Wallace hadn't been kidnapped after all. He was probably in his room right now! "Can you call him?" Dink asked. Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on the closed hotel register. He patted his mustache and squinted his eyes at Dink. "Please?" Dink said. "We just want to make sure he's okay." Finally Mr. Linkletter turned around. He stepped a few feet away and picked up a red telephone. As soon as his back was turned, Josh grabbed the hotel register. He quickly found yesterday's page. Dink and the others crowded around Josh for a peek. Dink immediately recognized Wallis Wallace's signature, scrawled in big loopy letters. He had

让人帮他提箱子，但他更喜欢自己提。” “你今天见过华莱士先生吗?”画眉鸟类问道。 “没有，夫人，我没有看见他。 华莱士先生还在他的房间里。” 还在他的房间里!丁克突然松了一口气。 他也觉得自己有点傻。 沃利斯·华莱士并没有被绑架。 他现在可能在他的房间里!“你能给他打电话吗?”丁克问道。 林克莱特先生用手指敲了敲关闭的旅馆登记簿。 他拍拍胡子，眯起眼睛看着丁克。 “好吗?”丁克说。“我们只是想确保他没事。” 最后，林克莱特先生转过身来。 他走到几英尺远的地方，拿起一部红色的电话。 乔希一转身，就拿起了酒店的登记簿。 他很快找到了昨天的那一页。 丁克和其他人围着乔希，想看一眼。 丁克立刻认出了沃利斯·华莱士的签名，那是潦草的大字。 他有

checked in to Room 303 at five after eight last night. Dink pulled out his letter from Wallis Wallace and compared the two signatures. They were exactly the same. Josh dug his elbow into Dink's side. "Look!" he whispered. Josh was pointing at the next line in the register, room 302 had been printed there. Check-in time was 8:15.

我昨晚八点过五分在303房间登记入住。 丁克从沃利斯·华莱士那里拿出他的信，比较了一下两个签名。 它们完全一样。 乔希用胳膊肘顶着丁克的侧身。 “看!”他低声说。乔希指着登记簿上的下一行，302房间被印在那里。 办理登机手续的时间是8:15。

"Someone else checked in right after Wallis Wallace!" Ruth Rose whispered. "But the signature is all smudged," Dink said. "I can't read the name." When Mr. Linkletter hung up the phone, Josh shoved the register away. As Mr. Linkletter turned back around, Dink shut the register. He looked up innocently. "Is he in his room?" Dink asked. "I don't know." Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on his mustache. "There was no answer." Dink's stomach dropped. His mind raced. If Wallis Wallace had checked into his room last night, why hadn't he shown up at the Book Nook today? And why wasn't he answering his phone? Maybe Wallis Wallace had been kidnapped after all!

“在沃利斯·华莱士之后，又有人入住了!”露丝·罗斯低声说。 “但是签名都被弄脏了，”丁克说。 “我看不懂这个名字。”林克莱特先生挂了电话，乔希把收银机推到一边。 当林克莱特先生转过身来时，丁克关上了收银机。 他天真地抬起头来。“他在他的房间里吗?”丁克问道。 “我不知道。”林克莱特先生用手指敲了敲胡子。 “没有人回答。”丁克的胃一沉。 他的脑子飞快地转着。如果沃利斯·华莱士昨晚住进了他的房间，为什么他今天没有出现在Nook书店? 他为什么不接电话? 也许沃利斯·华莱士被绑架了!