Chapter 5

Chapter 5 "Way to go, Josh!" Dink cried. He and Ruth Rose gave him a double high five while everyone else crowded around. "That's the biggest nugget I've ever seen," Jud marveled. The nugget was as large as Josh's hand and almost as flat. Particles of rock and dirt were embedded in the lump, but the rest was pure gold. "Okay, folks," Thumbs said from behind the group. "It's time to get a move on."

第五章“干得好，乔希!”丁克哭了。 他和露丝·罗斯给了他两个击掌，而其他人都围了过来。 “这是我见过的最大的金块，”贾德惊叹道。 那块金块和乔希的手一样大，几乎和他的手一样平。 岩石和泥土的颗粒嵌在块中，但其余的是纯金。 “好了，伙计们。”大拇指从人群后面说。 “是时候行动起来了。”

Still congratulating Josh, the group trekked back to the ranch. Josh's wet sneakers squished as he walked. Everyone headed to the main house for lunch. Josh plunked his huge nugget on the table next to his plate. "I bet I can make that disappear," said, grinning. "No thanks!" Josh said. "You're a lucky boy," Pa told Josh. "But I wouldn't carry that around with you. You don't want to lose it!" "Why don't you put it in our safe?" Jud asked. "Tomorrow we can take it to town and get it appraised." "What's 'appraised' mean?" Josh asked. "That's when an expert examines the gold and tells you its value," Jud explained. "Then you can sell it if you want." "Okay that'd be great," Josh said. After lunch, the kids followed Jud to the office. The ranch office was small and dusty. Most of the floor space was taken up by a giant oak desk. A brown cowhide hung on one wall. Plants with tiny yellow blossoms were lined up on the windowsill.

他们一边向乔希祝贺，一边跋涉着返回牧场。 乔希走着走着，他的湿球鞋吱吱作响。 大家都去主屋吃午饭。 乔希把他那块巨大的金块扔在盘子旁边的桌子上。 “我打赌我能让它消失，”咧嘴笑着说。 “不,谢谢!”杰克说。“你是个幸运的孩子，”爸爸对乔希说。 “但我不会带着它到处走。 你不会想失去它的!”“你为什么不把它放在我们的保险箱里呢?”Jud问道。 “明天我们可以把它拿到城里去鉴定一下。” “‘评估’是什么意思?”杰克问。 “这时专家会检查黄金并告诉你它的价值，”贾德解释说。 “然后，如果你愿意，你可以卖掉它。” “好吧，那太好了，”乔希说。 午饭后，孩子们跟着朱迪去了办公室。 农场的办公室又小又满是灰尘。 一张巨大的橡木桌子占据了大部分的地板空间。 一面墙上挂着一张棕色的牛皮。 窗台上排列着开着黄色小花的植物。

Next to the desk stood an old black safe with a vase of dried flowers on top. As the kids watched, Jud hunkered down in front of the safe. He spun the combination lock back and forth a few times, then pulled the safe door open. 'There you go, Josh. Your gold will be safe in our safe," Jud said, grinning. He moved some papers and a green accounts book to make room. Josh stepped forward and placed his nugget on top of the book. Then Jud slammed the door shut and twirled the lock. "You all ready for that trail ride?" came a voice over Josh's shoulder. He turned to find Thumbs standing there with a toothpick sticking out one side of his mouth. "Sure thing," Jud said. "Ready, kids?" "I saddled the horses," Thumbs said as he left the office. Fiona, Ed, and the Clydes followed Jud, Thumbs, and the kids to the barn. Nine horses were saddled and tied to a corral rail. Each horse's name was stitched into its saddle blanket. Pa and Ma pulled up in an old green truck. "Have a good ride!" Ma called. "We're going into

桌子旁边放着一个旧的黑色保险箱，上面放着一瓶干花。 在孩子们的注视下，裘德蹲在保险柜前。 他前后转动了几下密码锁，然后拉开了保险门。 “给你，乔希。你的金子在我们的保险柜里会很安全的。” 他移走了一些文件和一本绿色的账本，腾出地方来。 乔希走上前，把他的金块放在书上。 然后，裘德砰地关上了门，转动了锁。 “准备好徒步旅行了吗?”乔希身后传来一个声音。 他转过身来，发现大拇指站在那里，嘴里伸出一根牙签。 “当然，”裘德说。“准备好了,孩子?”“我给马装上了马鞍，”大拇指离开办公室时说。 菲奥娜、爱德和克莱德夫妇跟着朱迪、大拇指和孩子们来到谷仓。 九匹马装上马鞍，拴在围栏上。 每匹马的名字都缝在鞍毯上。 爸爸和妈妈开着一辆旧的绿色卡车停了下来。 “祝你一路顺风!”马。 “我们要进入

town." Everyone waved, and the truck raised dust as it pulled away. "Can I have a nice gentle horse?" Dink asked. Jud smiled. "All our horses are gentle," he said. "You can ride Trigger here. He really likes kids." Trigger was pale gold with a white mane. He looked at the crowd with mild brown eyes. "Do you have any small horses?" Josh asked. "I'm afraid of animals that look down at me!" "Barney is our smallest horse," Jud said. "He's a good ride, but he likes to stop and eat the wildflowers." "Perfect for Josh!" Ruth Rose said. Josh patted Barney's soft nose. "Be a good horse and I'll sneak you some dessert later," he said. "Do you have any girl horses?" Ruth Rose asked Jud. "Sure do," he said. "You can take Snowball. She's a real sweetie and has the softest gait in the bunch." Snowball was fat and white with long eyelashes. She nickered when Ruth Rose rubbed her side.

镇。”每个人都挥了挥手，卡车开走时扬起了灰尘。 “我能有一匹温顺的好马吗?”丁克问道。 Jud笑了。“我们所有的马都很温顺，”他说。 “你可以在这里骑‘扳机’。 他真的很喜欢孩子。”触发器是淡金色的，有白色的鬃毛。 他用温和的棕色眼睛看着人群。 “你们有小马吗?”杰克问。 “我害怕那些低头看着我的动物!”“巴尼是我们最小的马，”贾德说。 “他是个好骑手，但他喜欢停下来吃野花。” “太适合乔什了!”露丝·罗斯说。 乔希拍了拍巴尼柔软的鼻子。 “做一匹好马，我一会儿给你偷偷带点甜点，”他说。 “你们有母马吗?”露丝·罗斯问朱迪。 “当然，”他说。“你可以带上斯诺鲍。 她真的很可爱，走路也很温柔。” 斯诺鲍又胖又白，长着长长的睫毛。 露丝·罗斯抚摸她的侧身时，她咯咯地笑。

Jud soon matched horses with Ed, Fiona, and the Clydes. "Okay, everyone, time to saddle up," he said, standing next to Bullet, a tall silvercolored horse. "Watch how I do it." Holding the saddle horn with his left hand, Jud slid his left boot toe into Bullet's stirrup. Then he hoisted himself up and swung his right leg over the saddle. "Okay? Anyone need help?" "I do!" Dink said. Thumbs helped all three kids into their saddles and showed them how to hold the reins. He adjusted the stirrup straps to the length of their legs. Just then Ed yelled, "Ouch!" He was half in and half out of his saddle. His right foot was hanging out of the stirrup in an awkward position. Jud jumped off Bullet and ran over to help Ed get his foot untangled. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I don't know," Ed said. He took a step, then winced. His face was white with pain. "That really hurts! I think I sprained something." "You'd better get off that ankle," Fiona suggested. "Come on, I'll help you back to your cabin."

裘德很快就给艾德、菲奥娜和克莱德夫妇配了马。 “好了，各位，该上马鞍了。”他站在一匹高大的银色骏马“子弹”旁边说。 “看我是怎么做的。”裘德左手拿着鞍角，把左靴尖塞进子弹的马镫里。 然后他爬起来，把右腿甩到马鞍上。 “好了吗?有人需要帮助吗?”“我做的!”丁克说。 拇指帮三个孩子都上了马鞍，并教他们如何握缰绳。 他把马镫带调整到他们腿的长度。 就在这时，艾德喊道:“哎哟!”他一半在马鞍上，一半在外面。 他的右脚悬在马镫外，姿势很别扭。 裘德跳下子弹，跑过去帮埃德把脚解开。 “你没事吧?”他问。 “我不知道，”艾德说。他走了一步，然后畏缩了一下。 他的脸痛得发白。 “真疼!”我想我扭伤了什么。” “你最好把脚踝弄掉，”菲奥娜建议。 “来吧，我帮你回你的小屋。”

"No, you go ahead, Fiona," Ed said. "I'll be fine." "Nonsense. I didn't really want to ride anyway," Fiona said. "I'll get some ice from Lulu." With Ed limping beside her, Fiona walked slowly toward the cabins. "Thumbs, would you mind staying behind to unsaddle Ed's and Fiona's horses?" Jud asked. "Then you can join us in the meadow." Thumbs nodded and began unsaddling Fiona's horse. "We'll ride in a line," Jud told the others. "Your horse will follow the one in front of him." "Who goes first?" Josh asked. "You do," Jud said. "Barney loves to lead the pack. Just touch his sides with your heels and he'll move." Josh gently poked his heels into Barney's sides. "Okay, nice horsey" he said. "Giddyup!" Barney shook his mane and turned his head to look at Josh. His ears twitched, but he didn't take a single step. "Please?" Josh said. Barney snorted, then started to walk briskly away from the barn.

“不，你去吧，菲奥娜。”艾德说。 “我会没事的。”“胡说。 反正我也不想骑，”菲奥娜说。 “我去找露露拿点冰。” 在艾德一瘸一拐的陪伴下，菲奥娜慢慢地向小屋走去。 “大拇指，你介意留下来给埃德和菲奥娜的马卸下马鞍吗?”Jud问道。 “那么你可以和我们一起去草地。” 拇指点点头，开始给菲奥娜的马卸下马鞍。 “我们排成一行。”裘德对其他人说。 “你的马会跟着前面那匹马。” “谁先走?”杰克问。 “你知道，”裘德说。“巴尼喜欢领头。 用你的脚后跟碰一下他的两侧，他就会动了。” 乔希轻轻地用脚跟戳了戳巴尼的身体两侧。 “好吧，好马。”他说。 “Giddyup !”巴尼摇了摇鬃毛，转过头看着乔希。 他的耳朵抽搐了一下，但他没有迈出一步。 “好吗?”杰克说。巴尼哼了一声，然后开始快步离开谷仓。