Chapter 11

Chapter 11 "Something's weird," Josh said. He tiptoed down off the porch and scooted over to the side of Ed's cabin. Dink and Ruth Rose followed him, and the three crouched under the window. They slowly raised their heads till they could see inside. The gym bag and duffel bag were zipped and standing next to the door. The crutches were lying on the floor. Ed was sitting on the bed, unwrapping his bandage. When the bandage was in a pile on the

“有点奇怪。”乔希说。 他蹑手蹑脚地走下门廊，快步跑到爱德的小屋旁边。 丁克和露丝·罗斯跟着他，三个人蹲在窗下。 他们慢慢抬起头，直到能看到里面。 运动包和行李袋都拉上了拉链，放在门边。 拐杖躺在地板上。 艾德坐在床上，解开绷带。 当绷带堆在

rug, Ed pulled off his sock. He tipped it upside down, and out tumbled Josh's nugget. "That rat!" Josh whispered. Ed quickly jammed the nugget into his pocket. Then he walked toward the door. He wasn't limping at all! "He's leaving," Dink whispered. "What should we do?" "I'll go ring the bell," Ruth Rose said. "You guys stop him!" Ruth Rose dashed toward the house. "I've got an idea," Josh said, and ran behind Ed's cabin. The cabin light went off, and Dink heard the front door open. He ducked down as Ed stepped onto the porch with his gym bag. Ed looked around, then reached back through the doorway for the duffel bag. Carrying one bag in each hand, he stepped off the porch. Suddenly, the dinner bell began to clang. Ed Getz stopped in his tracks. At that moment, a rope loop fell over his shoulders. The rope tightened. Ed stumbled, then fell to the ground with a thud.

在地毯上，艾德脱下袜子。 他把它倒了过来，乔希的金块掉了出来。 “那只老鼠!”杰克小声说。 艾德赶紧把那块金块塞进口袋。 然后他朝门口走去。 他根本没有跛行!“他要走了。”丁克低声说。 “我们该怎么办?”“我去按门铃，”露丝·罗斯说。 “你们去阻止他!”露丝·罗斯向房子冲去。 “我有个主意。”乔希说着跑到艾德的小屋后面。 船舱的灯熄灭了，丁克听到前门开了。 当艾德拿着健身包走上门廊时，他弯下腰。 艾德环顾四周，然后从门口伸手去拿行李袋。 他一手拎着一个袋子，走下门廊。 突然，开饭的钟开始响了起来。 埃德·盖兹停了下来。 就在这时，一个绳圈落在了他的肩上。 绳子拉紧了。艾德绊了一下，砰的一声倒在地上。

"Gotcha!" Josh yelled down from the cabin roof. He wrapped the other end of the rope around the chimney. "What's goin' on out here?" It was Pa and Jud, running down the path. "I caught the crook!" Josh yelled from the roof. "My gold is in his pocket!" The next morning, there was one empty seat at breakfast. Ed Getz had been taken to the Bozeman jailhouse, and Josh had his gold back.

“明白了!”乔什在小屋顶上喊道。 他把绳子的另一端缠在烟囱上。 “外面出什么事了?”是爸爸和裘德在小路上跑。 “我抓住了那个骗子!”乔希在屋顶上喊道。 “我的金子在他口袋里!”第二天早上，吃早饭的时候有一个空座位。 埃德·盖兹被关进了波兹曼监狱，乔什拿回了他的金子。

"That sprained ankle was faked," Jud said. "After he knew the gold was in the safe, he pretended to be hurt so he could stay back at the ranch. I have a feeling he stole money out of my wallet, too." "He must've gagged and handcuffed himself after he tied up Lulu and Fiona," Josh said. "I'll bet he used that stethoscope to listen to the safe's lock and figure out the combination," Dink said. "Seems that way," said Pa. He picked up a fax off the table. 'This came in from the sheriff a while ago. Seems our Mr. Getz got himself into trouble in New York, too. He was a safecracker and a pickpocket," "Hadn't been for these three kids," Jud said, "he'd have been long gone. There's a train out of Bozeman at midnight." Thumbs looked down the long table at Josh. "You thought it was me, didn't you, sonny?" Josh turned the color of the strawberries lying on top of his cereal. "I … we … how did you know?" "I heard you three kids makin' your plans last night," Thumbs said. "I made myself scarce so's

“扭伤的脚踝是假的，”贾德说。 “当他知道金子在保险柜里后，他假装受伤，这样他就可以留在牧场了。 我觉得他也从我钱包里偷了钱。” “他一定是把露露和菲奥娜绑起来后，把自己的嘴塞住了，还给自己戴上了手铐，”乔希说。 丁克说:“我敢打赌，他用那个听诊器来听保险箱的锁，并找出了密码。” “好像是这样，”爸爸说。 他从桌上拿起一份传真。 “这是警长不久前送来的。 看来我们的盖兹先生在纽约也惹上麻烦了。 “要不是因为这三个孩子，”贾德说，“他早就走了。” 午夜有一班火车从波兹曼开出。” 大拇指看着长桌子下面的乔希。 “你以为是我，是不是，孩子?”乔希把放在他麦片粥上的草莓变成了颜色。 “我……我们……你怎么知道的?”“我昨晚听到你们三个孩子在制定计划，”拇指说。 “我躲得远远的

you could search my cabin. Then I just sat and waited to see what you'd find." Just then they all heard a loud roar from the kitchen. Before anyone could stand up, a furcovered shape came running into the dining room, growling. "What have you done with my baby bear?" it cried. "Lulu, you'll scare these kids half to death!" Ma said. Lulu stuck her head out from under the cowhide and grinned. "Hope I didn't frighten you too much the other night," she said. "It was you!" Dink said. "Yeah," she said, "but Thumbs put me up to it." Thumbs winked. "Couldn't resist," he said. Josh's huge nugget sat next to his cereal bowl, gleaming against the white tablecloth. "That should bring in a tidy sum," Jud said, grinning at Josh. "I'll take you to town to sell it after breakfast." "No thanks," Josh said. "I've decided to leave the gold here. I want you to sell it and use the money to save the ranch."

你可以搜查我的小屋。 然后我就坐在那里等着看你会发现什么。” 就在这时，他们都听到厨房里传来一声巨响。 大家还没来得及站起来，一个披着毛皮的东西就咆哮着跑进了餐厅。 “你对我的熊宝宝做了什么?” “露露，你会把这些孩子吓个半死的!”马说。 露露从牛皮下探出头来，咧嘴一笑。 “希望那天晚上我没有吓到你，”她说。 “是你!”丁克说。“是的，”她说，“但是大拇指让我这么做的。” 拇指眨了眨眼。“无法抗拒，”他说。 乔希的大金块放在他的麦片碗旁边，在白色桌布的衬托下闪闪发光。 “那应该会带来一笔可观的收入。”裘德对乔什咧嘴笑着说。 “早饭后我带你去城里卖。” “不用了，谢谢。”乔希说。“我决定把金子留在这里。 我要你把它卖掉，用这笔钱来拯救牧场。”

The table became so quiet all Dink could hear was his own heartbeat. "Josh, are you sure?" Jud asked. "What about your new car?" "Guess I'll just have to find another nugget," Josh said. He looked at Thumbs. "I'll show you my method." Thumbs laughed. "I'm eager to learn, sonny." "How can we ever repay you?" Ma asked Josh. Josh just blushed. "I know how," Ruth Rose said, giving Dink a little kick under the table. "Josh loves to be kissed!" Ma stood up. "Well, that's easy," she said, heading down the table toward Josh. "Me too!" Lulu said, puckering up her lips. She came at Josh from the other side of the table. Josh charged out of the dining room, screaming as if a bear were after him.

桌子变得如此安静，丁克只能听到自己的心跳。 “乔希，你确定吗?”Jud问道。 “那你的新车呢?”“我想我只能再找块金块了，”乔希说。 他看着大拇指。“我告诉你我的方法。” 拇指笑了。“我渴望学习，孩子。” “我们怎样才能报答你呢?”妈妈问乔希。 乔希脸红了。“我知道怎么做，”露丝·罗斯说着，在桌子底下踢了丁克一脚。 “乔希喜欢被亲吻!”妈妈站了起来。 “嗯，这很简单。”她说着，朝桌子那头的乔希走去。 “我也是!”露露噘起嘴唇说。 她从桌子的另一边朝乔希走来。 乔希冲出餐厅，尖叫着，好像有只熊在追他。