Chapter 9

Chapter 9 The kids sat and thought about Thumbs as the thief. "I know you don't like Thumbs," Dink said to Josh, "but I can't believe he'd rob the Wheats. Besides, he didn't know the combination, remember?" "Who says?" Josh asked. "If he worked here for years, he could've learned it without the Wheats knowing." Dink picked up some pebbles and tossed them into the path. "Maybe it was some stranger," he

孩子们坐在那里，把拇指想象成小偷。 “我知道你不喜欢拇指，”丁克对乔希说，“但我不敢相信他会抢劫小麦。 再说，他也不知道密码，记得吗?”“谁说的?”杰克问。 “如果他在这里工作多年，他就能在韦茨一家不知道的情况下学会。” 丁克捡起一些鹅卵石，扔到小路上。 “也许是某个陌生人，”他说

said, "like Ma suggested." "I keep thinking about them being tied up and gagged," Ruth Rose said. "Whoever did it was taking a real chance. What if we all came back from riding in the middle of it all?" "That's another reason I think it was Thumbs," Josh said. "He knew we wouldn't be back for a while. And he knew Ma and Pa would be gone at least an hour. Have you guys noticed how he's always sneaking up behind people?" "Guys," Dink said after a moment, "I wonder why the robber used ropes on Fiona and Lulu but he handcuffed Ed." "Ed told us," Ruth Rose said. "He had the handcuffs out to practice some tricks. The robber saw the handcuffs and decided to use them." "Maybe," Dink said. "What, do you think Ed was the robber?" Josh asked, grinning. "I can just see him hobbling around, tying up people and cracking safes on crutches." "Unless he was faking," Ruth Rose said. "Faking what?" Josh asked. Ruth Rose turned and stared at Dink and Josh. "What if Ed didn't really hurt his ankle? What if

“就像马建议的那样。” “我一直在想他们被绑起来，被堵住了嘴，”露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)说。 “不管是谁干的，都是在冒险。 如果我们都从中间骑回来呢?”“这是我认为是大拇指的另一个原因，”乔希说。 “他知道我们一时半会儿不会回来。 他知道爸爸妈妈至少要离开一个小时。 你们有没有注意到他总是溜到人们后面?”“伙计们，”丁克过了一会儿说，“我想知道为什么强盗用绳子绑住菲奥娜和露露，却给埃德戴上了手铐。” “艾德告诉我们的，”露丝·罗斯说。 “他把手铐拿出来练习一些把戏。 抢劫犯看到手铐，决定使用它们。” “也许吧，”丁克说。“怎么，你认为艾德是强盗吗?”乔希咧嘴笑着问。 “我能看到他一瘸一拐地走来走去，把人绑起来，拄着拐杖打开保险箱。” “除非他是装的，”露丝·罗斯说。 “装什么?”杰克问。 露丝·罗斯转过身，盯着丁克和乔希。 “如果艾德的脚踝没有受伤呢?” 如果

he pretended so he could stay here to rob the safe?" "Ruth Rose, Ed was handcuffed and gagged," Josh commented. "He couldn't do that to himself, could he?" "Well, he is a magician, isn't he?" "Plus," Josh went on, "Fiona stayed with him. Unless you think she and Ed are partners in crime." "Well, it's possible, isn't it?" Ruth Rose asked. "I guess it could be any of them," Dink said. "But how do we prove it?" "I still say it was Thumbs," Josh said after a minute. "He knows a lot about ropes, and I bet he wore gloves so no one would see his missing thumb." "Josh, a lot of people know how to tie knots," Dink said, "and anyone planning to rob a safe would wear gloves so he wouldn't leave fingerprints." "Officer Fallon would say, 'Find the proof,'" Ruth Rose said. "So why don't we look in their cabins?" "For what?" Dink asked.

他假装这样他就可以留在这里抢劫保险箱?”“露丝·罗斯，艾德被戴上手铐，堵住了嘴，”乔希评论道。 “他不能这样对自己，对吧?”“嗯，他是个魔术师，不是吗?”“而且，”乔希接着说，“菲奥娜一直陪着他。 除非你认为她和艾德是同谋。” “嗯，这是可能的，不是吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 丁克说:“我想可能是他们中的任何一个。” “但是我们怎么证明呢?”“我还是说那是拇指。”乔希过了一分钟说。 “他对绳子很了解，我敢打赌他戴着手套，这样就没人会看到他丢失的拇指了。” “乔希，很多人都知道怎么打结，”丁克说，“任何打算抢劫保险箱的人都会戴上手套，这样就不会留下指纹了。” “法伦警官会说，‘找到证据，’”露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)说。 “那我们为什么不去看看他们的船舱呢?”“为了什么?”丁克问道。

"Clues," Ruth Rose said. "Like the black clothing this guy was wearing." "And my gold!" Josh said. "Whoever took the nugget might've hidden it in his room." "Wouldn't that be breaking and entering?" Dink asked. "Just entering," Ruth Rose said. "All the doors are unlocked, so we wouldn't be breaking in." Just then the dinner bell clanged. Josh dropped his rope and stood up. "Let's go eat. My brain can't think when my stomach is empty." They hurried to the dining room. While the adults talked about the robbery, the kids ate, kept quiet, and listened. Dink looked around the table at the guests and staff. It seemed unbelievable that one of these people was probably guilty. How could that person sit here and pretend? It can't be any of the Wheats or the Clydes, Dink reminded himself. That leaves Ed, Fiona, Thumbs, and Lulu. Dink glanced at Ed, sitting on the other side of the table. His crutches were leaning against the

“线索，”露丝·罗斯说。“比如这家伙穿的黑色衣服。” “还有我的金子!”杰克说。“拿金块的人可能把它藏在他的房间里了。” “那不是非法闯入吗?”丁克问道。 “我正要进去，”露丝·罗斯说。 “所有的门都没锁，所以我们不会破门而入。” 就在这时，开饭铃响了。 乔希放下绳子站了起来。 “我们去吃饭吧。当我肚子空空的时候，我的大脑无法思考。” 他们匆匆赶到餐厅。 大人们谈论抢劫案时，孩子们一边吃着，一边安静地听着。 丁克看了看桌子周围的客人和工作人员。 这些人中有一个可能是有罪的，这似乎令人难以置信。 那个人怎么能坐在这里假装? 不可能是惠特家或克莱德家的人，丁克提醒自己。 剩下艾德，菲奥娜，拇指和露露。 丁克瞥了一眼坐在桌子另一边的艾德。 他的拐杖靠在墙上

wall. Ed was showing Fiona and Jud a trick using a piece of string. Fiona was wearing a black turtleneck shirt over black jeans. Dink could see the red rope marks on her wrists. Was she the thief in black? Lulu was bustling back and forth between the kitchen and dining room. Somehow, Dink couldn't picture her tying people up and cracking safes. But, like Thumbs, she might have learned the combination. Dink looked down the table toward the seat Thumbs usually occupied. His chair was empty! Suddenly, Dink felt someone's foot kicking him under the table. It was Josh. When Dink glared at him, Josh nodded toward the empty chair. Josh held up his thumb and wiggled his eyebrows. "I know he's not here!" Dink whispered. "Cool it." "What's going on?" Ruth Rose said. Before Dink could answer, Josh asked Ma Wheat where Thumbs was. "He … he promised to teach me a rope trick after supper."

墙。艾德正在用一根绳子给菲奥娜和朱迪表演一个把戏。 菲奥娜在黑色牛仔裤外面穿了一件黑色高领衬衫。 丁克可以看到她手腕上的红色绳痕。 她是那个穿黑衣服的小偷吗? 露露在厨房和餐厅之间忙来忙去。 不知为什么，丁克无法想象她把人绑起来，打开保险箱。 但是，像大拇指一样，她可能已经学会了这个组合。 丁克看了看桌子那头大拇指通常坐着的座位。 他的椅子是空的!突然，丁克感到有人在桌子底下踢他。 是乔希。当丁克怒视他时，乔希朝空椅子点了点头。 乔希竖起大拇指，扭动着眉毛。 “我知道他不在这儿!”丁克低声说。 “酷”。“发生什么事了?”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克还没来得及回答，乔希就问麦妈妈拇指在哪里。 “他……他答应晚饭后教我一个绳索魔术。”

"Why, I don't know, Josh," Ma said. "Perhaps he's gone to town." Pa tapped his spoon against his water glass. "It's been a bad day at the ranch," he said. "Why don't we all stay here after supper and play some cards? Ed, you can show us more of your magician tricks." The adults at the table seemed to think Pa's idea was great. Josh pulled Dink and Ruth Rose aside. "This is great!" he whispered. "We can check out the cabins while they're all here." "But won't it seem weird if we just leave?" Ruth Rose asked. Josh just winked, then walked off to talk to Ma Wheat. He came back a minute later. "It's all set," he said. "We're outta here." "What did you tell her?" Dink asked. "Just a little lie," Josh said, heading for the door. Dink and Ruth Rose followed. "What kind of lie?" Ruth Rose asked on the front porch. Josh headed down the path toward the cabins. "I told her we had a summer project we had to work on for school."

“为什么，我不知道，乔希，”马说。 “也许他进城去了。” 爸爸用勺子轻敲水杯。 “这是农场里糟糕的一天，”他说。 “晚饭后我们何不都留在这儿玩牌呢?” 艾德，你可以再给我们表演一些你的魔术。” 餐桌上的大人们似乎都觉得爸爸的主意很棒。 乔希把丁克和露丝·罗斯拉到一边。 “太棒了!”他低声说。 “他们都在的时候，我们可以去看看小木屋。” “但如果我们就这样离开，不会很奇怪吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 乔希只是眨了眨眼，然后走开和玛·麦说话。 一分钟后他回来了。 “一切都准备好了，”他说。“我们走了。” “你对她说了什么?”丁克问道。 “只是个小谎。”乔希说着朝门口走去。 丁克和露丝·罗斯紧随其后。 “什么样的谎言?”露丝·罗斯在前廊问。 乔希沿着小路朝小屋走去。 “我告诉她我们有一个暑期作业要做。”