Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Dink invited Josh and Ruth Rose to spend the night. They unrolled their sleeping bags in front of Dink's Christmas tree. Pal crawled inside Josh's bag and started snoring. While it snowed outside, the kids tried to figure out how to prove that Dot Calm had stolen Lucky's lottery ticket. "If only we had a witness," Ruth Rose said from her sleeping bag. "Too bad she didn't drop something with her name on it," Josh offered, warming his feet on Pal's body. "That would be too easy," Dink mumbled. He crawled into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

丁克邀请乔希和露丝·罗斯来过夜。 他们在丁克的圣诞树前展开睡袋。 帕尔爬进乔什的包里，开始打鼾。 外面下雪的时候，孩子们想办法证明Dot Calm偷了Lucky的彩票。 “要是我们有证人就好了，”露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)从睡袋里说。 “太糟糕了，她没有丢一些写着她名字的东西。”乔什说着，在帕尔的身上暖了暖脚。 “那太容易了，”丁克咕哝着说。 他爬进睡袋，闭上眼睛。

Then Dink was dreaming. But it wasn't a happy, the-night-before-Christmas-Eve kind of dream. This was a nightmare. Dink was outside somewhere, floundering in the snow. He was barefoot, without gloves, and freezing. His tracks crisscrossed each other as he tried to find his way home. Dink yelled and sat up. From inside Josh's sleeping bag, Pal whimpered. "It's okay," Dink whispered. He sat and thought for a minute, then crawled out of his bag. He tiptoed up the stairs and came down with his alarm clock. In the hall, Dink made a phone call, left a quiet message, and returned to the living room. He set the alarm for six o'clock and put the clock in the foot of his sleeping bag. Then Dink climbed back in and went to sleep. When the alarm buzzed, Dink pressed the off button with his toes. He slipped out of his bag and shook Josh and Ruth Rose. "Wake up," he whispered. "And be quiet!"

这时丁克在做梦。但这不是一个快乐的，圣诞前夜的那种梦。 这是一场噩梦。丁克在外面什么地方，在雪地里挣扎着。 他光着脚，没有戴手套，浑身冰凉。 当他试图找到回家的路时，他的足迹相互交错。 丁克大叫着坐了起来。在乔希的睡袋里，帕尔呜咽着。 “没关系，”丁克低声说。 他坐着想了一会儿，然后从包里爬了出来。 他踮着脚尖上楼，拿着闹钟走了下来。 在大厅里，丁克打了个电话，轻轻地留了言，然后回到客厅。 他把闹钟定在6点钟，并把闹钟放在睡袋底部。 然后丁克爬回屋里睡着了。 当闹钟嗡嗡作响时，丁克用脚趾按下了关闭按钮。 他从包里溜出来，摇了摇乔希和露丝·罗斯。 “醒醒，”他低声说。“安静点!”

Josh yawned and Ruth Rose blinked her eyes. Silently, they watched Dink pull on his boots. Dink grinned. "Come on, you guys," he said. "Meet me in the kitchen." "There better be breakfast," Josh mumbled. Within minutes, the three kids were drinking orange juice and eating toast. Josh shared his bread with Pal, who then went back to Josh's warm sleeping bag. Dink told Josh and Ruth Rose about his nightmare. "All I could see was my footprints in the snow," he said. "When I woke up, I thought about what Josh said about wishing Dot had left something with her name on it." He grinned. "I know how we can prove Lucky's grandfather really did buy that ticket." "How?" Josh said. "And why'd you have to tell us this in the middle of the night?" "Fingerprints," Dink said. "Whose fingerprints would be on that stolen ticket?" "Dot's would be, if she stole it," Ruth Rose said. "But her prints would be on the ticket anyway, since she sold it to Lucky's grandfather," Josh said. "So what does that prove?"

乔希打了个哈欠，露丝·罗斯眨了眨眼睛。 他们默默地看着丁克穿上靴子。 丁克咧嘴一笑。“来吧，伙计们，”他说。 “在厨房等我。”“最好有早餐。”乔什咕哝着。 几分钟后，三个孩子喝着橙汁，吃着烤面包。 乔什和帕尔分享了他的面包，然后帕尔回到了乔什温暖的睡袋里。 丁克把他的噩梦告诉了乔希和露丝·罗斯。 “我只能看到自己在雪地上的脚印，”他说。 “当我醒来的时候，我想起了乔希说过的话，他希望多特能留下一些写着她名字的东西。” 他咧嘴一笑。“我知道怎么证明幸运儿的祖父确实买了那张票。” “如何?”杰克说。“你为什么要在大半夜告诉我们这些?”“指纹，”丁克说。 “那张偷来的票上是谁的指纹?”“如果是多特偷的，她就会死，”露丝·罗斯说。 “但她的指纹无论如何都会出现在彩票上，因为她把它卖给了Lucky的祖父，”Josh说。 “那这能证明什么呢?”

"Nothing," Dink said. "But Dot's fingerprints aren't the only ones on that ticket…" Josh and Ruth Rose stared at him. "You're right!" Ruth Rose said. "Hector's fingerprints are on the ticket, too!" "Um, can they get prints off lottery tickets?" Josh asked. Dink nodded. "I think so. I saw a program about fingerprints on TV," he said. "Fingers are oily, and the oil stains paper when we touch it." "We should tell Officer Fallon," Ruth Rose said. Dink nodded. "I left a message on his voice mail asking him to meet us at the lottery headquarters in Blue Hills." "But that's two miles from here!" Josh said. He glanced out the window. "And it's still dark out." "We can get there fast on skis," Dink said. "And by that time, the sun will be up." "Are they even open?" Ruth Rose asked. "I bet a lot of places are closed today because of the snow." "I thought of that," Dink said, setting the glasses in the sink. "If the place is closed, Dot

“没什么，”丁克说。“但那张票上不止多特的指纹……”乔什和露丝·罗斯盯着他。 “你是对的!”露丝·罗斯说。 “门票上也有赫克托的指纹!”“他们能从彩票上提取指纹吗?”杰克问。 丁克点点头。“我想是的。我在电视上看过一个关于指纹的节目。” “手指是油的，我们一碰就会弄脏纸。” “我们应该告诉法伦警官，”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克点点头。“我在他的语音信箱里留言，让他在蓝山的彩票总部和我们见面。” “可是那儿离这儿有两英里呢!”杰克说。 他朝窗外看了一眼。 “外面还很黑。” “我们可以用滑雪板很快到达那里，”丁克说。 “到那时，太阳已经出来了。” “它们开着吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我敢打赌，因为下雪，今天很多地方都关门了。” “我早就想到了，”丁克说着，把杯子放在水池里。 “如果这地方关门了，多特

Calm won't be able to cash in the ticket. But if it's open, we'll catch her in the act!" "Then Lucky will be a millionaire!" Josh said. "Times seven!" "Let's get going," Dink said. "We can get to Blue Hills fastest if we ski along the river." Dink scribbled a note to his parents, and then the kids went back to the living room and finished dressing. Suddenly, Josh's sleeping bag moved. A big bump wriggled toward the opening, and Pal poked his nose out. He looked at Josh and woofed. "He wants to come with us," Josh whispered, rubbing Pal's silky ears. The kids grabbed their skis and poles and stepped outside. A full moon hung over Green Lawn, turning the snow to silver. The kids saw their breath as they skied out of Dink's yard and past Ruth Rose's house. They followed River Road south toward Blue Hills.

冷静是无法兑现这张票的。 但如果门是开着的，我们就能当场抓住她!”“那么Lucky就会成为百万富翁了!”杰克说。 “乘七!”“我们走吧，”丁克说。 “如果我们沿着河滑雪，最快就能到蓝山。” 丁克潦草地写了一张纸条给他的父母，然后孩子们回到客厅，穿好衣服。 突然，乔希的睡袋动了。 一个大肿块向洞口蠕动着，帕尔把鼻子探了出来。 他看着乔希，发出了好奇的声音。 “他想和我们一起去。”乔希低声说，揉着帕尔姆光滑的耳朵。 孩子们抓起滑雪板和滑雪杖走了出去。 一轮满月挂在绿草坪上，把雪染成了银色。 孩子们滑出丁克家的院子，经过露丝·罗斯家的时候，看到了自己的呼吸。 他们沿着河路向南向蓝山走去。

Once they found their rhythm, the kids zipped along. Over the river, the sun slowly appeared. Silver became gold as night turned to day. Pal trotted happily along, his breath making small clouds.

孩子们一旦找到了节奏，就会飞快地前进。 在河上，太阳慢慢地出现了。 黑夜转为白昼，银变成了金。 帕尔高兴地小跑着，他的呼吸使小云。