Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Dink read the sign sticking out of the snowbank: WELCOME TO BLUE HILLS. The kids stopped and leaned on their ski poles. The sun shone on the spruce trees, turning their snowy branches to gold. "The town can't be far now," Dink said. He looked at his watch. "It's almost eight." "Can we rest for a while?" Josh asked. "I feel like lying right down in the snow." "We could," Dink said, "but what if Dot cashes in the ticket while we're resting?" "She's probably still in bed," Josh grumbled, "where we should be."

丁克读着伸出雪堆的牌子:欢迎来到蓝山。 孩子们停下来，靠在滑雪杖上。 阳光照在云杉树上，把它们雪白的树枝染成了金色。 “镇子现在应该不远了，”丁克说。 他看了看表。“快八点了。” “我们能休息一会儿吗?”杰克问。 “我想躺在雪地里。” “可以，”丁克说，“但如果多特趁我们休息的时候把票兑现了怎么办?”“她可能还躺在床上，”乔希抱怨道，“我们应该躺在床上。”

Ruth Rose laughed. "Josh, would you still be in bed if you had a winning lottery ticket? Come on, I'll race you!" Dink and Josh skied after Ruth Rose, and a few minutes later they were on Main Street in Blue Hills. "Let's ask where the lottery place is," Ruth Rose said, pointing to a gas station. The kids skied up to the office and peeked in the window. Dink saw a man reading a newspaper and sipping from a coffee mug. Dink tapped on the window, and the man got up and opened the door. "Skis," the man said. "Why didn't I think of that? My poor old truck nearly skidded into Indian River this morning!" He knelt and patted Pal. "Bet this fella wishes he had some skis, too." "Can you tell us how to get to the lottery place?" Dink asked. "Sure can," the man said. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. "See that flashing light? That's Middle Street. Hang a right there, and about a half mile up, you'll see the sign. Redbrick building." He glanced at the kids. "One of you a winner?"

露丝·罗斯笑了。“乔希，如果你中了彩票，你还会躺在床上吗?” 来吧，我和你比赛!”丁克和乔希跟在露丝·罗斯后面滑雪，几分钟后，他们来到了蓝山的大街上。 “我们问问开奖的地方在哪里，”露丝·罗斯指着一个加油站说。 孩子们滑到办公室，从窗户往里偷看。 丁克看见一个人在看报纸，喝着咖啡杯。 丁克敲了敲窗户，那人站了起来，打开了门。 “滑雪板，”那人说。“我怎么没想到呢?” 今天早上我那可怜的旧卡车差点滑进印第安河!”他跪下来拍了拍帕尔。 “我打赌这家伙也希望有滑雪板。” “你能告诉我们怎么去买彩票吗?”丁克问道。 “当然可以，”那人说。他走到外面，随手关上了门。 “看到那个闪光了吗?”那是中街。 在那里右转，再往前走大约半英里，你就会看到那个标志。 的红砖建筑。”他瞥了孩子们一眼。 “你们中有一个是赢家吗?”

"No, but a friend of ours is!" Ruth Rose said. The man looked at his watch. "Place must be just opening," he said. "Thanks a lot, mister," Dink said, and they skied up the quiet white street. There were two cars in the parking lot in front of lottery headquarters. One of the cars had pulled in next to a sign that said EMPLOYEE PARKING. The other car was right in front of the entrance. Josh peeked through the windows. "Guys, take a look," he whispered. Dink and Ruth Rose skied over and looked into the car. Gum wrappers twisted into silver bow ties littered the floor and seats. "Dot must be inside!" Ruth Rose said. "Hurry up, let's get in there!" The kids took off their skis and left them and their poles outside the door. Josh told Pal to stay. Dink opened the door, and the kids stepped inside. The room had a few chairs, a counter, and a row of filing cabinets. A Christmas song was coming from a radio on a shelf. On the same shelf was perched a video camera. The lens was aimed at the counter. A

“不，但我们的一个朋友是!”露丝·罗斯说。 那人看了看表。 “这地方肯定刚开张，”他说。 “非常感谢，先生。”丁克说，他们滑上了安静的白色街道。 彩票总部前的停车场停着两辆车。 其中一辆车停在一个写着“员工停车”的牌子旁边。 另一辆车就在入口的正前方。 乔希从窗户往外偷看。 “伙计们，看一看，”他低声说。 丁克和露丝·罗斯滑了过来，朝车里看了看。 口香糖包装纸扭成了银色领结，散落在地板和座位上。 “多特一定在里面!”露丝·罗斯说。 “快点，我们进去吧!”孩子们脱下滑雪板，把滑雪板和滑雪杖放在门外。 乔希让帕尔留下。丁克打开门，孩子们走了进去。 房间里有几把椅子，一个柜台和一排文件柜。 架子上的收音机里传出了一首圣诞歌曲。 在同一个架子上还放着一台摄像机。 镜头对准了柜台。 一个

small sign read: ALL LOTTERY TRANSACTIONS ARE TAPED FOR YOUR SAFETY. A man was standing at the counter with his back to the kids. He was wearing a puffy down coat. A ski hat was pulled down over dark hair, and Dink could just see one end of a mustache. "That guy looks like my picture of Joe!" Josh hissed in Dink's ear. The man reached a hand into his pocket. When he pulled his hand out, something dropped to the floor. It was another silver bow tie! Just then a clerk approached the counter. She smiled at the kids and said, "Good morning. I'll be right with you." The man turned around, and Dink gasped. It wasn't a man at all. It was Dot Calm wearing a wig and fake mustache!

一个小牌子上写着:为了您的安全，所有的彩票交易都被贴上了胶带。 一个男人背对着孩子站在柜台前。 他穿着一件蓬松的羽绒服。 他戴着一顶滑雪帽，遮住了一头黑发，丁克只能看到胡子的一端。 “那家伙看起来像我画的乔!”乔希在丁克耳边嘶嘶地说。 那人把手伸进口袋。 当他把手抽出来时，有什么东西掉到了地上。 又是一个银色领结!就在这时，一位职员走近柜台。 她微笑着对孩子们说:“早上好。 我马上就来。”那人转过身来，丁克倒吸了一口气。 那根本不是一个人。那是戴假发和假胡子的Dot Calm !

Dot Calm recognized the kids. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then she turned quickly back to the clerk. "Here's the ticket," she said. "Now I'll take my check for seven million, please." The clerk nodded and slid a paper across the counter. "If you'll just sign this…"

Dot Calm认出了孩子们。 她惊讶地睁大了眼睛，然后迅速转向店员。 “这是票，”她说。 “现在请给我700万美元的支票。” 店员点了点头，把一张纸滑过柜台。 “如果你签了这个……”

"Stop!" Dink yelled. "She's a crook, and she stole that lottery ticket!" The clerk's mouth dropped open. "What do you mean? Who are you?" "We're friends of the ticket's real owner," Ruth Rose said. "Yeah, and we can prove it's stolen!" Josh threw in. Dot Calm sneered at the kids. "I bought this ticket Friday, and nobody can prove I didn't." "Yeah?" Dink retorted. "Then why are my friend's fingerprints on it?" "Baloney," Dot Calm said through her fake mustache. "And your fingerprints are on the mantel where you stole the Christmas card!" Ruth Rose said, pointing at Dot Calm. Dot Calm laughed. "You're crazy, kid. I was wearing glov…" The clerk picked up the telephone. "I'm calling the police," she said. Suddenly, Dot Calm charged toward the door. She flung it open and hurtled out into the snow. Josh ran after her, screaming, "Attack, Pal!"

“住手!”丁克喊道。“她是个骗子，她偷了那张彩票!”店员张大了嘴。 “你是什么意思?”你是谁?”“我们是彩票真正主人的朋友，”露丝·罗斯说。 “是的，我们可以证明它是偷来的!”乔希插嘴说。 Dot Calm嘲笑孩子们。 “这张票是我星期五买的，没人能证明我不是。” “是吗?”丁克反驳道。“那为什么上面有我朋友的指纹?”“胡扯。”多点冷静透过她的假胡子说。 “而且你偷圣诞贺卡的壁炉架上还有你的指纹!”露丝·罗斯指着小镇定说。 Dot Calm笑了。“你疯了，孩子。 我戴着手套……”店员拿起电话。 “我要报警了，”她说。 突然，冷静点朝门口冲去。 她猛地打开门，冲进雪地里。 乔希跟在她后面，尖叫着:“攻击，伙计!”