Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Dink's jeans were nearly dry by the time they reached the hotel. Mavis was waiting out front. "How was your lunch?" she asked timidly. "Fine, thanks," Dink said. "We talked it over, and we think there's something fishy going on on the third floor of this hotel." Suddenly Mavis began coughing. She held up her scarf in front of her mouth.

当他们到达旅馆时，丁克的牛仔裤几乎都干了。 梅维斯在门口等着。 “午饭吃得怎么样?”她胆怯地问。 “很好，谢谢。”丁克说。 “我们讨论过了，我们认为这家旅馆的三楼发生了一些可疑的事情。” 突然，梅维斯开始咳嗽。 她把围巾举到嘴边。

Dink noticed that the letters on the scarf were tiny M's. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Should I run in and get you some water?" asked Josh. Mavis took off her glasses and shook her head. "No, I'm fine, thank you. Dear me, I don't know what happened! Now, what were you saying about the third floor?" "We think Wallis Wallace may be up there," Ruth Rose said. She reminded Mavis about the smudged signature for Room 302 and the Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Mavis replaced her eyeglasses. "Mercy! What do you think we should do?" "Follow me!" Dink said. For the second time, they all trooped into the hotel lobby. Mr. Linkletter watched them from behind the counter. "Hi," Dink said. "Remember us?" "Vividly," Mr. Linkletter said. "Wallis Wallace checked into Room 303, right?" "That is correct," said Mr. Linkletter. "Well, we talked to the maid who cleaned that room," Dink went on. "She told us no one slept in

丁克注意到围巾上的字母是小M。 “你没事吧?”他问。“要我跑进去给你倒点水吗?”乔希问。 梅维斯摘下眼镜，摇了摇头。 “不，我很好，谢谢你。天哪，我不知道发生了什么事!你刚才说三楼是怎么回事?”“我们认为沃利斯·华莱士可能在那里，”露丝·罗斯说。 她提醒梅维斯302房间的污迹签名和门上的“请勿打扰”标志。 梅维斯换掉了她的眼镜。 “仁慈!你觉得我们该怎么办?”“跟我来!”丁克说。 这是他们第二次成群结队地走进酒店大堂。 林克莱特先生从柜台后面看着他们。 “嗨，”丁克说。“还记得我们吗?”“栩栩如生，”林克莱特说。 “沃利斯·华莱士住在303房间，对吗?”“没错，”林克莱特说。 “嗯，我们和打扫房间的女佣谈过了，”丁克接着说。 “她告诉我们没有人睡过头

it." "You spoke to Olivia Nugent? When? How?" "We have our ways," Josh said. "So," Dink went on, "we think Wallis Wallace disappeared right here in this hotel." "And Wallis Wallace is a very famous writer," Ruth Rose reminded Mr. Linkletter. "Millions of kids are waiting to read his next book," she added sweetly. Mr. Linkletter's sad eyes grew large. He swallowed and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache. Then Dink told Mr. Linkletter about Room 302. "Miss Nugent said there was a Do Not Disturb sign on the door." Ruth Rose pointed to the register. "See? The signature is all smudged!" "We think the kidnappers are hiding Wallis Wallace in that room!" Josh said. At the word "kidnappers," Mr. Linkletter closed his eyes. He opened a drawer, took out a bottle of headache pills, and put one on his tongue. "Just to be on the safe side, perhaps we should check both rooms, Mr. Linkletter," Mavis said

它。”“你和奥利维亚·纽金特谈过了?” 什么时候?如何?”“我们有自己的方法，”乔希说。 “那么，”丁克接着说，“我们认为沃利斯·华莱士就在这家旅馆里失踪了。” “沃利斯·华莱士是一位非常著名的作家，”露丝·罗斯提醒林克莱特。 “数百万的孩子都在等着读他的下一本书，”她甜蜜地补充道。 林克莱特先生悲伤的眼睛睁大了。 他咽了一口，喉结上下摆动。 他揉了揉额头，好像头痛似的。 然后丁克把302房间的事告诉了林克莱特先生。 “纽金特小姐说门上有一个请勿打扰的牌子。” 露丝·罗斯指着收银台。 “看到了吗?签名全被弄脏了!”“我们认为绑匪把沃利斯·华莱士藏在那个房间里!”杰克说。 听到“绑架者”这个词，林克莱特先生闭上了眼睛。 他打开抽屉，拿出一瓶头痛药，放在舌头上。 “为了保险起见，也许我们应该检查两个房间，林克莱特先生，”梅维斯说

quietly. "It'll just take a minute," Dink said. Mr. Linkletter let out a big sigh. "Very well, but this is most unusual. Things run very smoothly at the Shangrila." They all got into the elevator. No one spoke. Dink watched Mr. Linkletter jiggling his bunch of keys. Mr. Linkletter kept his eyes on the little arrow telling them which floor they were on. The elevator door opened on the third floor. Mr. Linkletter unlocked Room 303. "Most unusual," he muttered. The room was empty and spotlessly clean. "Strange, very strange," Mr. Linkletter said. They moved to Room 302, where a Do Not Disturb sign still hung on the doorknob.

安静的。“只需要一分钟，”丁克说。 林克莱特先生长叹一声。 “很好，但这是最不寻常的。 香格里拉酒店的一切都很顺利。” 他们都进了电梯。 没有人说话。丁克看着林克莱特先生摇晃着他的一串钥匙。 林克莱特先生目不转睛地盯着那个告诉他们所在楼层的小箭头。 电梯门在三楼开了。 林克莱特先生打开了303房间的锁。 “太不寻常了。”他喃喃地说。 房间里空无一人，一尘不染。 “奇怪，非常奇怪，”林克莱特说。 他们搬到了302房间，门把手上还挂着“请勿打扰”的牌子。

Mr. Linkletter knocked. They all leaned toward the door. "Listen, I hear a voice!" Josh said. "What's it saying?" Ruth Rose asked. Then they all heard it. The voice was muffled, but it was definitely yelling, "HELP!"

林克莱特先生敲了敲门。他们都靠向门。 “听，我听到一个声音!”杰克说。 “它在说什么?”露丝·罗斯问。 然后他们都听到了。那声音很低沉，但肯定是在喊:“救命!”