Chapter 6

Chapter 6 The horses clip-clopped along in single file. Barney seemed to know where he was going, and the others followed. Jud, riding Bullet, was last in line. Soon the riders entered a meadow. A blue pond nestled among the wildflowers. Josh's horse

马排成一列，啪嗒啪嗒地走着。 巴尼似乎知道他要去哪里，其他人也跟着去了。 裘德骑着子弹，排在最后。 不久，骑手们进入了一片草地。 一个蓝色的池塘依偎在野花之间。 杰克的马

stopped under a pine tree and began nibbling a patch of weeds. "We can let 'em graze here," Jud said. He helped the kids dismount, and the riders tied their horses where they could reach grass and shade. "This is awesome," Josh said. "Folks around here call it Paradise Meadow," Jud said. "There's fat trout in the pond if you'd like to feed them." From his saddlebag pocket, he pulled a bag of bread crumbs from lunch. "Just sprinkle it on the surface and they'll come." "Will you teach me to throw a lasso?" Josh asked Jud. "Ask Thumbs when he gets here," Jud said. "He's the rope expert." Jud tipped his head back and looked at the sky. A few dark clouds were mixed with white ones. "There's rain coming," he said. "You'll find ponchos in your saddlebags, just in case. Storms come up pretty fast in these foothills." "Can you identify any of these flowers?" Bonnie asked. Jud grinned. "All of 'em. Tell you what, I'll take whoever wants to on a little nature hike."

停在一棵松树下，开始啃一小片杂草。 “我们可以让它们在这里吃草，”贾德说。 他帮助孩子们下马，骑手们把马拴在能到草地和阴凉处的地方。 “这太棒了，”乔希说。 “这里的人管它叫天堂草地，”贾德说。 “池塘里有肥鳟鱼，如果你愿意喂它们的话。” 他从马鞍袋口袋里掏出一袋午饭时的面包屑。 “只要把它撒在表面上，它们就会来。” “你能教我扔套索吗?”乔希问贾德。 “等大拇指来的时候问问他。” “他是绳子专家。”裘德仰起头，望着天空。 几朵乌云中夹杂着白云。 “要下雨了，”他说。 “你可以在鞍囊里找到雨披，以防万一。 在这些山麓上，暴风雨来得很快。” “你能认出这些花吗?”邦妮问道。 Jud咧嘴一笑。“所有人。这样吧，谁想去远足，我就带谁去。”

"We'd enjoy that," said Bonnie. Jud looked at the kids. "You want to come along or wait here for Thumbs?" "I want to feed the fish," Ruth Rose said. "Me too," said Dink, reaching for the bag. "Can I borrow your rope?" Josh asked. "Maybe I'll lasso a fish!" Jud handed Josh his rope. "Thumbs'll make you a rodeo star in no time," he said. "We won't be far off." Jud, Seth, and Bonnie hiked toward the other end of the meadow. The kids walked to the edge of the pond. Dink yanked off his sneakers and waded in the water while Ruth Rose tossed crumbs. Almost immediately, trout gathered and gobbled them up. "Watch this!" Josh said. He made a loop in Jud's lasso and tossed it at a tree stump. The loop crumpled in midair and flopped to the ground. "How do the cowboys do it?" Josh muttered, gathering in the rope to try again. Just then hoofbeats sounded behind the kids. They turned to see Thumbs riding into the meadow on a big black horse.

“我们会喜欢的，"邦妮说。 裘德看着孩子们。“你想一起去还是在这里等拇指?”“我想喂鱼，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我也是。”丁克说着伸手去拿袋子。 “我能借用一下你的绳子吗?”杰克问。 “也许我会套上一条鱼!”裘德把绳子递给乔希。 “大拇指很快就能让你成为竞技明星，”他说。 “我们不会太远的。”朱迪、赛斯和邦妮向草地的另一端走去。 孩子们走到池塘边。 丁克猛地脱下球鞋，在水里涉水，露丝·罗斯在一旁扔面包屑。 几乎立刻，鳟鱼聚集起来，把它们吃掉了。 “看这个!”杰克说。他在朱迪的套索上绕了一个圈，扔在一个树桩上。 环在半空中皱了起来，扑通一声落在地上。 “牛仔们是怎么做的?”乔希咕哝着，把绳子收起来再试一次。 就在这时，孩子们身后响起了马蹄声。 他们转过身来，看到大拇指骑着一匹大黑马走进了草地。

"Hi, Thumbs," Dink and Ruth Rose said together. Thumbs nodded but didn't answer. He dismounted and tied his horse near the others. "Are you going to ask him to show you how to use that lasso?" Ruth Rose asked Josh. "I don't know," he whispered. "There's something creepy about him." "Don't be silly," Ruth Rose said. She walked over to Thumbs and said, "Josh wants you to show him how to throw a lasso." Thumbs glanced behind her, where Josh was trying to coil the rope. "I suspect maybe I can," Thumbs answered. His dark eyes swept the meadow. "Where's everyone at?" "Jud took Mr. and Mrs. Clyde on a nature hike," Dink said. Thumbs grunted. Then he walked over to Josh, took the rope, and quickly formed a large circle. He swung the loop over his head three times, then let it fly. The lasso whistled through the air and landed around the stump. "How'd you do that?" Josh asked.

“你好，大拇指，”丁克和露丝·罗斯一起说。 拇指点点头，但没有回答。 他下马，把他的马拴在其他的马旁边。 “你要不要让他教你怎么用那个套索?”露丝·罗斯问乔希。 “我不知道，”他低声说。 “他有点令人毛骨悚然。” “别傻了，”露丝·罗斯说。 她走到大拇指跟前说:“乔希想让你教他怎么扔套索。” 大拇指瞥了一眼她身后，乔希正试图把绳子卷起来。 “我想也许可以。”拇指回答。 他的黑眼睛扫视着草地。 “大家都到哪儿去了?”“贾德带克莱德夫妇去大自然远足，”丁克说。 拇指哼了一声。然后他走到乔希身边，拿起绳子，迅速围成一个大圈。 他在头上甩了三圈，然后让它飞了起来。 套索在空中呼啸而过，落在树桩周围。 “你是怎么做到的?”杰克问。

"It's all fingers and wrist," Thumbs said. He showed Josh how to hold the rope just as Jud and the Clydes appeared. "Storm's moving in faster than I thought it would," Jud said. "We'd better head back to the ranch. Sorry to cut this short, folks." Overhead, the few dark clouds had formed a wall of thunderheads. They were blowing out of the north, casting moving shadows over the meadow. Within minutes they were all saddled up, wearing yellow hooded ponchos. Thumbs led this time, with Jud at the back of the line. The sunny day had turned windy and cool. Sudden rain splattered through the trees. Dink felt and heard the drops as they splashed on his head and shoulders. Thirty minutes later, seven wet horses carried their riders into the barn. "I'll unsaddle Blackie for you," Jud told Thumbs. "Why don't you let Lulu know we're back so she can rustle us up some hot chocolate and cookies." Thumbs jumped to the ground, handed Blackie's reins to Jud, and jogged toward the main

拇指说:“全靠手指和手腕。” 他教乔希怎么抓绳子，这时朱迪和克莱德兄弟出现了。 “风暴来得比我想象的要快，”贾德说。 “我们最好回牧场去。 抱歉打断一下，伙计们。” 头顶上的几片乌云形成了一道雷雨云墙。 它们从北方吹来，在草地上投下移动的影子。 几分钟之内，他们都套上了马鞍，穿上了黄色的连帽雨披。 这次是拇指在前面，裘德排在队伍的最后。 阳光明媚的日子变得凉爽多风了。 突然下起雨来，哗啦哗啦地穿过树林。 丁克感觉到了，也听到了水滴溅在他头上和肩膀上的声音。 三十分钟后，七匹湿马把骑手驮进了谷仓。 “我帮你把小黑子卸下来。”裘德对拇指说。 “你为什么不告诉露露我们回来了，这样她就能给我们弄点热巧克力和饼干来。” 大拇指跳到地上，把布莱基的缰绳递给裘德，然后小跑着向主跑去

house. The rain had almost stopped and a stiff wind was blowing the clouds past. Everyone dismounted and led the horses into the barn. Suddenly, the dinner bell began to peal. "Why's Lulu ringing now?" Jud said. "It's nowhere near suppertime." When the clanging didn't stop, Jud ran toward the barn door.

的房子。雨几乎停了，一阵强风把云吹过。 每个人都下了马，把马牵进了谷仓。 突然，开饭的铃声响起。 “为什么露露现在在打电话?”Jud说。 “还没到晚饭时间呢。” 当叮当声没有停止时，贾德向谷仓门跑去。