Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Josh glanced around at the old folks. "Could one of them be the thief?" he whispered. Hector nodded, then put his finger to his lips. "See that woman knitting?" He dipped his chin toward a white-haired woman sitting on a sofa. "That's Zelda Zoot," he whispered. "She's a real snoop! Has to know everyone's business around here. I know for a fact that she snitches cookies off the snack cart!" The kids followed Hector's gaze. Zelda Zoot was a grandmotherly woman with a lap full of pink yarn and flashing knitting needles.

约什扫视了一下周围的老人们。 “他们当中会有小偷吗?”他低声说。 赫克托点点头，然后把手指放在嘴唇上。 “看到那个织毛衣的女人了吗?”他朝一个坐在沙发上的白发女人垂下下巴。 “那是塞尔达·祖特。”他低声说。 “她真是个爱窥探的人!”他得了解这里每个人的情况。 我知道她从零食车上偷了饼干!”孩子们跟着赫克托耳的目光望去。 泽尔达·祖特是一位祖母般的女人，她的膝盖上满是粉红色的纱线和闪烁的编织针。

"Zelda hates me," he went on, "'cause I told the chef about the cookies. If anyone in this place wants to get even with me, it's Zelda." Dink tried to picture this elderly woman tromping through the snow to burglarize Lucky's house. He couldn't do it. "I'll keep an eye on her," Hector whispered. "If she starts acting rich, I'll let you know!" Blue Boy suddenly flew to the top of Ruth Rose's head. He began pecking gently at her red

“塞尔达讨厌我，”他继续说，“因为我把饼干的事告诉了厨师。 如果这个地方有人想报复我，那就是塞尔达。” 丁克试着想象这个老妇人在雪地里偷拉奇家的东西。 他做不到。“我会看着她的，”赫克托耳语道。 “如果她开始表现得很有钱，我会告诉你的!”蓝男孩突然飞到露丝·罗斯的头顶上。 他开始轻轻地啄她的红色

headband. "He likes bright colors," Hector explained. Josh pulled a pencil out of his pocket. "Do you have some paper I could borrow?" he asked. "I have to draw a picture of Ruth Rose with a bird on her head!" Hector chuckled and got up to get some paper. "Don't move, Ruth Rose," Josh whispered. "What's it doing up there?" Ruth Rose asked. "I think he's making a nest," Dink said, grinning. Hector came back with a sheet of paper. Josh began drawing while Ruth Rose sat like a statue. While Josh was busy sketching, Dink thought about what Hector had told them. Any one of the Atrium's residents could be the thief, but Dink didn't think so. "Mr. O'Leary, can you tell us where you bought the lottery tickets?" Dink asked. "Sure," Hector said, dragging his chair closer to Dink. "I got 'em at the supermarket Friday morning." "Were there any other customers around?" Hector closed his eyes, then snapped them open again. "Yep, I remember now. A bunch of people

头巾。“他喜欢鲜艳的颜色，”赫克托解释说。 乔希从口袋里掏出一支铅笔。 “你有纸可以借我吗?”他问。 “我得画一幅露丝·罗斯头上有只鸟的画!”赫克托耳咯咯地笑着，起身去拿纸。 “别动，露丝·罗斯。”乔希小声说。 “它在上面干什么?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我想他在筑巢，”丁克笑着说。 赫克托尔拿着一张纸回来了。 乔希开始画画，露丝·罗斯像雕像一样坐着。 乔希忙着画草图时，丁克在想赫克托耳告诉他们的话。 中庭的任何一个居民都可能是小偷，但丁克不这么认为。 “奥利里先生，你能告诉我们你在哪里买的彩票吗?”丁克问道。 “当然，”赫克托耳说着，把椅子拖近丁克。 “我星期五早上在超市买的。” “附近还有其他顾客吗?”赫克托耳闭上眼睛，然后又猛地睁开。 “是的，我现在想起来了。一群人

were standing around gabbing about the snow. Buying candy and gum. Some were behind me in line to buy lottery tickets." "Could one of them have seen the numbers you picked?" "I suppose it's possible," Hector said. "I wrote all my grandkids' birthdays down and handed the slip to the clerk. Then she typed the numbers into the lottery machine, and out popped the seven tickets. Anyone could have seen the numbers as I wrote them down." Dink thought for a minute. "And did you mention that you were going to send them to your grandkids?" Suddenly, Hector's face turned white. "I guess maybe I did," he said, "while I was addressing the envelope and putting the tickets inside. Never thought it would do any harm 'cause I never expected them to win." Hector sighed and shook his head. "Me and my big mouth! I just can't help bragging about 'em. How I eat supper at their house, how Lucky's doin' in college, stuff like that." Blue Boy left Ruth Rose's head and zipped across the room. He landed on one of the hanging

我们站在那里闲聊雪的事。 买糖果和口香糖。有些人排在我后面买彩票。” “会不会有人看到了你选的号码?”“我想这是可能的，”赫克托说。 “我把所有孙子孙女的生日都写下来，然后递给店员。 然后，她把号码输入彩票机，七张彩票蹦了出来。 任何人都可以看到我写下的数字。” 丁克想了一会儿。 “你有没有提到你要把它们送给你的孙子们?”突然，赫克托耳的脸变白了。 “我想也许是吧，”他说，“当我在信封上写地址并把票放进去的时候。 我从没想过这会有什么害处，因为我从没想过他们会赢。” 赫克托耳叹了口气，摇了摇头。 “我和我的大嘴巴!”我就是忍不住要炫耀一下。 我在他们家吃晚饭，幸运仔在大学里过得怎么样，诸如此类。” 蓝男孩离开露丝·罗斯的头，飞快地穿过房间。 他落在其中一个吊架上

pots. "Rats," Josh muttered. "I hardly got started." "Let me see," Ruth Rose said, reaching for the paper. Josh grinned and folded the drawing in half, then slipped it into his pocket. "Nope. Not till it's done." Dink stood up. "Thanks a lot, Mr. O'Leary," he said. "I think we'll go talk to the lottery clerk. Do you know her name?" "Sure do," Hector said. "It's Dorothy. She's new, but she'll remember me. And if you catch the snake who stole those tickets, there'll be something extra in your Christmas stockings this year!" "Great," Josh said. "I usually just get boring underwear!" The kids said good-bye and left the atrium. Pal was sleeping under a potted palm tree with his leash on his paws. Josh woke him up, and the kids got back into their hats and coats. Outside on Main Street, the wind blew snow into the kids' faces. "Do you guys think Zelda Zoot is the thief?" Josh asked. "She looks like my grandmother!"

锅。“老鼠。”乔希喃喃地说。 “我还没开始呢。”“让我看看，”露丝·罗斯说，伸手去拿报纸。 乔希咧嘴一笑，把画对折，然后把它塞进口袋里。 “不。等事情办完再说。” 丁克站了起来。“非常感谢，奥利里先生，”他说。 “我想我们应该去和彩票工作人员谈谈。 你知道她的名字吗?”“当然，”赫克托耳说。 “这是多萝西。她是新来的，但她会记得我的。 如果你抓住了偷票的蛇，今年你的圣诞袜里就会有额外的东西!”“太好了，”乔希说。 “我通常只买无聊的内裤!”孩子们说了再见，离开了中庭。 帕尔在一棵盆栽棕榈树下睡觉，爪子上系着皮带。 乔希把他叫醒，孩子们又穿上了帽子和外套。 外面的大街上，风把雪吹到孩子们的脸上。 “你们觉得泽尔达·祖特是小偷吗?”杰克问。 “她长得像我奶奶!”

"If the old folks at the Atrium know that Hector sends lottery tickets to his grandkids every Christmas," Ruth Rose said, "they're all suspects!" "Guys," Dink said, "you heard what Hector said. He likes to talk about his grandkids. Anyone in Green Lawn could be the thief!" The kids trudged up Main Street. Two minutes later, they bustled into the supermarket and headed toward the lottery counter. "Heel," Josh told Pal, who waddled along next to him. "I wonder if that's Dorothy," Ruth Rose said. She pointed at a young blond woman behind the counter. On the wall above her head hung a small security camera. Dink approached the counter. "Excuse me," he said. "Are you Dorothy?" The woman looked up, chomping on a wad of gum. "That's me," she said, pointing to her name tag. It said DOROTHY CALM.

“如果中庭的老人们知道赫克托尔每年圣诞节都会给他的孙子们寄彩票，”露丝·罗斯说，“他们都是嫌疑犯!”“伙计们，”丁克说，“你们听到赫克托说的话了。 他喜欢谈论他的孙子。 绿草坪的任何人都可能是小偷!”孩子们在主街上步履蹒跚。 两分钟后，他们匆匆走进超市，朝彩票柜台走去。 “跟我来，”乔希告诉帕尔，帕尔摇摇晃晃地走在他旁边。 “我不知道那是不是多萝西，”露丝·罗斯说。 她指着柜台后面一个年轻的金发女子。 在她头顶的墙上挂着一个小型的安全摄像头。 丁克走近柜台。 “对不起，”他说。“你是多萝茜吗?”那女人抬起头来，嘴里嚼着一团口香糖。 “那是我，”她指着自己的名牌说。 上面写着多萝西。