Chapter 7

Chapter 7 The Clydes and the three kids hurried after Jud. As they ran across the yard, the ranch truck pulled into the driveway. Ma and Pa hopped out carrying bags of groceries. "What's going on?" Pa asked Jud. "Someone rang the bell," Jud answered, leaping up the porch steps. There was no one on the porch, but the bell was still swinging. "Jud! Get in here!" Thumbs yelled from inside the house. "I'm in the office."

克莱德夫妇和三个孩子急忙跟在犹大后面。 当他们跑过院子时，农场的卡车开进了车道。 妈妈和爸爸拎着一袋袋杂货跳了出来。 “发生什么事了?”爸爸问朱迪。 “有人按了门铃。”裘德一边回答，一边跳上门廊的台阶。 门廊上一个人也没有，但钟还在摇摆。 “Jud !快进来!”大拇指在屋子里大叫。 “我在办公室。”

Jud sprinted through the screen door, with everyone else following. Nine people crowded into the small office. Thumbs was kneeling on the floor in front of Lulu, who was gagged and tied to a chair. While Thumbs untied the knots, Ma removed the gag. Pa was already on the phone, calling the sheriff. "What happened to you?" Ma asked. "The safe!" Lulu cried, pointing. The safe door was wide open, revealing a stack of papers and one green accounts book. The only thing missing was Josh's nugget. "They got my gold!" Josh yelled. "Can I have some water?" Lulu asked. She rubbed her wrists, which had red marks on them from the rope. Bonnie ran to get water while Lulu told her story. "I was in here watering the plants," she said, "when someone grabbed me and shoved me into this chair. I started to yell, so he gagged me, then tied me up." "Who was it?" Pa asked. "Did you recognize him?"

裘德冲进纱门，其他人跟在后面。 九个人挤进了那间小办公室。 拇指跪在露露面前的地板上，露露被堵住了嘴，绑在椅子上。 大拇指解开绳结的时候，妈妈把插嘴拿掉了。 爸爸已经在打电话给警长了。 “你怎么了?”妈妈问。 “安全!”露露指着说。 保险柜的门大开着，露出一叠文件和一本绿色的账本。 就差乔什的金块了。 “他们拿走了我的金子!”杰克喊道。 “我能喝点水吗?”露露问。 她揉了揉手腕，手腕上有绳子留下的红痕。 邦妮跑去拿水，露露则讲她的故事。 “我在这里给植物浇水，”她说，“突然有人抓住我，把我推到这把椅子上。 我开始大喊大叫，所以他堵住了我的嘴，然后把我绑了起来。” “是谁?”爸爸问。“你认出他来了吗?”

Lulu shook her head. "He was dressed all in black, with a black hood over his face. Never said a word to me." "Say, where are Fiona and Ed?" Jud asked. "They should've heard the bell like everyone else." "Fiona made Ed lie down," Lulu said. "She wrapped his ankle, and I got him a pair of crutches. I offered to call a doc, but he said he'd take aspirin and be fine." Jud ran out the door, and the kids followed. "Which cabin is Fiona's?" he asked over his shoulder. "That one," Dink said, pointing to the cabin closest to the main house. Jud thundered up the steps and banged on the door. "Fiona? It's Jud Wheat. Are you all right?" When he heard no answer, Jud opened the door and stepped inside. "Oh my … someone go get Ma, quick!" Jud yelled over his shoulder. Ruth Rose barreled off the porch and raced toward the main house. Dink peeked past Jud. Fiona was tied in a chair with a gag tied over her mouth, just like Lulu.

露露摇了摇头。“他一身黑衣，脸上蒙着黑色的兜帽。 从来没有对我说过一句话。”“喂，菲奥娜和艾德在哪儿?”Jud问道。 “他们应该像其他人一样听到铃声。” “菲奥娜让埃德躺下，”露露说。 她包扎了他的脚踝，我给他拿了一副拐杖。 我提出叫医生，但他说他吃阿司匹林就没事了。” 裘德跑出了门，孩子们也跟着跑了出去。 “哪个小屋是菲奥娜的?”他回过头问。 “那间。”丁克指着离主屋最近的小屋说。 裘德轰隆隆地走上台阶，砰地一声敲门。 “霏欧纳?我是贾德·麦特。你没事吧?”没听到回答，裘德打开门走了进去。 “哦，天哪……快去叫妈妈来!”裘德扭头喊道。 露丝·罗斯飞快地离开门廊，奔向主屋。 丁克从朱迪身边偷看过去。菲奥娜被绑在椅子上，嘴巴被塞住，就像露露一样。

Dink grabbed Josh's arm. "Let's go check Ed!" he cried. Dink and Josh ran to Ed's cabin. "Mr. Getz?" Dink called. "Are you okay?" When no answer came, Dink opened the door. Ed Getz was lying on his bed. A scarf was covering his mouth. His hands were behind his back. Dink untied the scarf and pulled it away. "Thanks!" Ed said. "I thought I'd be here all day!" He nodded toward his closet. "There's a gym bag in there. Look for a small box. Inside is a key. The guy used my own handcuffs on me!" Josh found the key. When Ed sat up, Dink and Josh saw that his hands had been cuffed to the iron bed board. Josh used the key, and the handcuffs popped open. "What happened?' Dink said. "They tied up Fiona and Lulu, too!' "Yeah, and the rat stole my gold nugget!" Josh said. Dink noticed that Ed's foot was tightly wrapped in a bandage. A pair of crutches was leaning against the bed.

丁克抓住乔希的胳膊。“我们去看看爱德吧!”他喊道。 丁克和乔希跑到艾德的小屋。 “斯坦利先生吗?”丁克。“你还好吗?”没有回答，丁克打开了门。 埃德·盖兹躺在床上。 一条围巾遮住了他的嘴。 他的手放在背后。 丁克解开围巾，把它拉开。 “谢谢!”艾德说。“我还以为我要在这儿待一整天呢!”他朝自己的衣柜点了点头。 “里面有一个健身包。 找一个小盒子。里面有一把钥匙。 那家伙用我自己的手铐铐了我!”乔希找到了钥匙。 当艾德坐起来时，丁克和乔希看到他的手被铐在了铁床板上。 乔希用钥匙打开了手铐。 “发生什么事了?”丁克说。 “他们还把菲奥娜和露露绑了起来!”“是的，老鼠偷走了我的金块!”杰克说。 丁克注意到艾德的脚紧紧地裹着绷带。 一副拐杖靠在床上。

"I was fooling around with my handcuffs, preparing to show you guys some tricks at dinner," Ed said. "All of a sudden, someone dressed in black burst in here. Before I could move, he cuffed me to the bed and tied this scarf around my face." Ed shook his hands and rubbed his wrists. 'Boy, those things were tight!" "Can you walk?" Dink asked. "Pa called the sheriff. We should probably all meet in the office." Ed propped himself up and stood on his good foot. Josh handed Ed the crutches, which he slid under his arms. Holding his bandaged foot off the floor, he took a hop, then another. "Let's go," Ed said. "Don't walk too close to me. If I fall, I don't want to land on you." With Dink and Josh leading, the three of them moved down the path toward the main house. Up ahead, Ruth Rose, Ma Wheat, and Fiona were standing with a man on the porch. In the driveway, a few chickens were pecking the tires on a green-and-white car. The word SHERIFF was printed on the door.

“我一直在摆弄手铐，准备在晚餐时给你们表演一些把戏，”艾德说。 “突然，一个穿黑衣的人冲了进来。 我还没来得及动，他就把我铐在床上，把围巾绑在我脸上。” 艾德握了握他的手，揉了揉手腕。 “天哪，那些东西太紧了!”“你能走路吗?”丁克问道。 爸爸叫来了警长。我们也许应该在办公室见面。” 埃德用他那只完好的脚撑起身子。 乔希把拐杖递给艾德，他把拐杖夹在腋下。 他把缠着绷带的脚从地上抬起来，跳了一跳，又跳了一跳。 “我们走吧，”艾德说。“别走得离我太近。 如果我掉下去，我可不想落在你身上。” 在丁克和乔希的带领下，他们三人沿着小路向主屋走去。 在前面，露丝·罗斯、玛·麦特和菲奥娜正和一个男人站在门廊上。 车道上，几只鸡正在啄一辆绿白相间的汽车的轮胎。 “警长”一词印在门上。