Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The kids followed Uncle Warren through the green door. They climbed carpeted stairs to a door with a frosted-glass window. Uncle Warren unlocked it, and they walked into a spacious, dimly lit office. A wooden crate nearly as tall as Dink sat on the floor.

孩子们跟着沃伦叔叔穿过了那扇绿色的门。 他们爬上铺着地毯的楼梯，来到一扇有磨砂玻璃窗的门前。 沃伦叔叔打开了门，他们走进了一间宽敞、灯光昏暗的办公室。 地板上放着一个几乎和丁克一样高的木箱。

Dink looked around the room. A desk and some chairs were arranged on an Oriental rug. A fish tank bubbled quietly near the desk. Against one wall stood a bookcase. Dink peeked through another door and saw a computer on a desk, a file cabinet, and some bookshelves. "My assistant works in there," Uncle Warren said. "He took the afternoon off. It's his daughter's birthday, and they've gone to the zoo." "You have a zoo?" Josh asked. "Yes, right here in Manhattan we have the Central Park Zoo," Uncle Warren said. "It's pretty small, but there's also the Bronx Zoo, which is enormous!" Uncle Warren flipped up three switches on the wall. Suddenly, a ceiling fan began whirring around. Music came from hidden speakers. Overhead lights beamed down on them. "This is a cool office!" Dink said. "Thank you," his uncle said. He pointed to the fish tank. "Who'd like to eed my little friends?" "I would!" Ruth Rose said. Uncle Warren handed her a container of fish food and showed her how much food to sprinkle

丁克环顾了一下房间。 一张桌子和几把椅子放在一张东方地毯上。 桌子旁边的一个鱼缸静静地冒着泡泡。 靠墙放着一个书柜。 丁克从另一扇门里偷看了一眼，看到桌子上有一台电脑，一个文件柜和一些书架。 “我的助手在那里工作，”沃伦叔叔说。 他下午请了假。 今天是他女儿的生日，他们去动物园了。” “你有个动物园?”杰克问。 “是的，就在曼哈顿这里，我们有中央公园动物园，”沃伦叔叔说。 “它很小，但还有布朗克斯动物园，它是巨大的!”沃伦叔叔打开了墙上的三个开关。 突然，吊扇开始旋转。 音乐是从隐藏的扬声器传来的。 头顶的灯光照在他们身上。 “这是一个很酷的办公室!”丁克说。 “谢谢你，”他叔叔说。 他指着鱼缸。 “谁想要我的小朋友们?”“我会!”露丝·罗斯说。 沃伦叔叔递给她一盒鱼食，告诉她该撒多少

on the water. "Look at this!" Josh said, lifting a shiny silver dagger off the desk. The blade was curved, and the handle was shaped like a soaring hawk. "Careful," Uncle Warren said. "It's sharp! I use it as a letter opener." "Is it real silver?" Josh asked. Uncle Warren nodded. "It was made in Spain more than three hundred years ago." "I can see my reflection in it!" Josh said. Uncle Warren laughed. "That's because my assistant polishes it every morning." Josh wiped the letter opener on his T-shirt and placed it back on the desk. "Now, let's see what we have here," Uncle Warren said. He draped his suit jacket over a chair, then dragged a toolbox from a closet. He selected a small crowbar from among the tools. Fitting the sharp end of the bar under the crate's lid, he pried the top off. Inside were mounds of white packing "peanuts." Uncle Warren reached through the peanuts and pulled out a small package wrapped in brown paper.

在水上。“看这个!”乔希说着，从桌上拿起一把闪亮的银色匕首。 刀刃是弯曲的，柄的形状像一只翱翔的鹰。 “小心，”沃伦叔叔说。 “这是锋利!我用它来开信。” “这是真的银子吗?”杰克问。 沃伦叔叔点点头。“它是三百多年前在西班牙制造的。” “我能在里面看到自己的倒影!”杰克说。 沃伦叔叔笑了。“那是因为我的助手每天早上都把它擦干净。” 乔希擦了擦t恤上的开信刀，把它放回桌子上。 “现在，让我们看看这里有什么，”沃伦叔叔说。 他把西装外套搭在椅子上，然后从壁橱里拖出一个工具箱。 他从工具中挑选了一根小撬棍。 他把铁条的尖头塞进板条箱的盖子，撬开盖子。 里面是成堆的白色包装“花生”。 沃伦叔叔把手伸进花生堆里，拿出一个用牛皮纸包着的小包裹。

He stripped away the paper to reveal a layer of plastic bubble wrap. He carefully removed the plastic and held up a gold cup. "Cool!" said Josh. Uncle Warren grinned at the kids. "Lovely, isn't it?" he said. "This is a drinking cup made by the Incan people in the fifteen hundreds. Imagine, almost five hundred years ago! Have you studied the Incas in school?" The kids shook their heads. "Well, the Incas lived in Peru, in South America. The Porter Museum is going to display some of their pottery and gold sculpture." Leaning over the side of the crate, Uncle Warren dug deeper into the peanuts. "Aha, I think this is the jaguar!"

他剥开包装纸，露出一层塑料气泡膜。 他小心地取下塑料，举起一只金杯。 “酷!”乔希说。沃伦叔叔对孩子们咧嘴一笑。 “很可爱，不是吗?”他说。 “这是15世纪印加人制作的杯子。 想象一下，差不多五百年前!你在学校里学过印加人吗?”孩子们摇了摇头。 “嗯，印加人生活在南美洲的秘鲁。 波特博物馆将展出他们的一些陶器和金雕。” 沃伦叔叔从板条箱的侧面探出身子，往花生里挖得更深。 “啊哈，我想这是美洲虎!”

Grunting, he lifted out a much bigger package. It was as long as Dink's arm and nearly as big around as his waist. The heavy package made a solid thud as Uncle Warren set it on his desk. "Why's it so heavy?" Josh asked. "Gold is a heavy metal," Uncle Warren explained. "The Incas admired jaguars for their strength and cunning. This one is made of solid gold. It holds a fabulous emerald in its front paws." "Can we see it?" asked Ruth Rose. "Yes, but not until tomorrow," he said. "A Dr. Pitts will be here at nine o'clock. He works for the Society of Incan Treasures. Dr. Pitts will inspect every piece as it comes out of its wrapping." "Why?" Josh asked. "To make sure everything has arrived safely," Uncle Warren said. "These pieces are priceless treasures!" Uncle Warren put the jaguar back in the crate. "Sleep well!" he said. Then he reached into the toolbox and handed Josh a hammer. "Let's re-wrap the cup and put it back, then nail the crate shut again till tomorrow."

他哼了一声，拿出一个大得多的包裹。 它和丁克的胳膊一样长，几乎和他的腰一样大。 当沃伦叔叔把沉重的包裹放在桌子上时，砰的一声。 “为什么这么重?”杰克问。 “黄金是一种重金属，”沃伦叔叔解释说。 “印加人钦佩美洲虎的力量和狡猾。 这个是纯金做的。 它的前爪衔着一颗神奇的绿宝石。” “我们能看看吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 “是的，但要等到明天，”他说。 “一位皮茨医生将在九点钟到这里来。 他在印加珍宝协会工作。 皮茨医生会检查每一块从包装里取出来的东西。” “为什么?”杰克问。“为了确保所有东西都安全到达，”沃伦叔叔说。 “这些都是无价之宝!”沃伦叔叔把美洲虎放回箱子里。 “睡个好觉!”然后他把手伸进工具箱，递给乔希一把锤子。 “我们把杯子重新包起来放回去，然后再把板条箱钉上，直到明天。”

After they'd finished, Uncle Warren said, "Now let's lock up and walk to my apartment. We'll leave your backpacks with Roger, then I'll treat you to a New York dinner!" "Who's Roger?" Ruth Rose asked. "He's the doorman at my apartment building," Uncle Warren said. "He opens the door for tenants and whistles for taxis." "Can we eat at your friends' restaurant?" Josh asked. "Yes, but not tonight," Uncle Warren said. "I'm saving that for your last night in the city. What kind of food do you like?" "Pizza and ice cream!" Josh said. Dink laughed. "Josh will eat anything," he said. "I mean, do you want Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Indian, or Mexican food?" Dink's uncle asked. "Why don't you pick?" Dink said. "We love surprises!" Uncle Warren flipped down the wall switches. The lights, music, and ceiling fan all went off. The kids followed him out of the office. "Then a surprise you shall have!" he said, and pulled the door shut behind them.

吃完后，沃伦叔叔说:“现在我们锁好门，走到我的公寓去吧。” 我们把你们的背包交给罗杰，然后我请你们去纽约吃饭!”“罗杰是谁?”露丝·罗斯问。 “他是我公寓大楼的门卫，”沃伦叔叔说。 “他为租户开门，为出租车吹口哨。” “我们能去你朋友的餐厅吃饭吗?”杰克问。 “是的，但不是今晚，”沃伦叔叔说。 “我把这句话留到你在城里的最后一晚再说。 你喜欢吃什么?”“披萨和冰淇淋!”杰克说。 丁克笑了。“乔希什么都吃，”他说。 “我的意思是，你想吃日本菜、中国菜、意大利菜、希腊菜、印度菜还是墨西哥菜?”丁克的叔叔问。 “你为什么不挑呢?”丁克说。 “我们喜欢惊喜!”沃伦叔叔把墙上的开关按下。 灯、音乐和吊扇都灭了。 孩子们跟着他走出了办公室。 “那你们会大吃一惊的!”他说着随手把门关上了。