Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 Dink looked past his uncle into the study. The painting was gone. "I've got to call the police," Uncle Warren said. He hurried toward the kitchen, leaving the kids standing in the hallway. "Who could have taken it?" Ruth Rose asked. "And how?" wondered Josh. "The door was locked." "Kids, come quickly!" Dink's uncle yelled from the other end of the apartment.

第三章丁克越过他的叔叔，走进书房。 那幅画不见了。“我得叫警察，”沃伦叔叔说。 他匆匆向厨房走去，留下孩子们站在走廊里。 “谁会拿走它呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “怎么会呢?”“门是锁着的。” “孩子们，快来!”丁克的叔叔在公寓的另一头喊道。

They ran back down the hallway and into the kitchen. "Look at that!" Uncle Warren said, pointing at the kitchen table. The tabletop was littered with orange juice and peels. The fruit bowl was overturned. More peels and dribbles of juice covered the floor. "Yuck, it's all sticky!" Josh said, backing away from a small puddle. "This is terrible!" Uncle Warren said as he called the police. "Guys, look!" Ruth Rose was pointing to an orange peel near the balcony. The kids walked over, and Ruth Rose opened the balcony door. "There's juice on the door handle, too," she said, wiping her hand on her jeans. They found more orange peels on the balcony. "Guy must've been hungry," Josh observed. Dink looked down over the balcony railing. "Could this be how the thief got into the apartment?" he asked. "How?" Josh asked. "On a hang glider? Dink, we're ten stories up, remember?"

他们跑回走廊，进了厨房。 “看那个!”沃伦叔叔指着厨房的桌子说。 桌上撒满了橙汁和橘子皮。 果盘被打翻了。 更多的果皮和果汁滴满了地板。 “哎呀，都黏糊糊的!”乔希说着，从一个小水坑边退了回来。 “这太可怕了!”沃伦叔叔边说边报了警。 “伙计们,看!”露丝·罗斯指着阳台附近的一个橘子皮。 孩子们走了过来，露丝·罗斯打开了阳台的门。 “门把手上也有果汁，”她边说边在牛仔裤上擦手。 他们在阳台上发现了更多的橘子皮。 “那家伙一定是饿了。”乔希说。 丁克从阳台栏杆上往下看。 “难道小偷就是这样进入公寓的吗?”他问。 “如何?”杰克问。“在悬挂式滑翔机上?” 丁克，我们在十层楼上，记得吗?”

Uncle Warren joined them. "A detective will be here soon," he said. Then he noticed the orange peels all over the balcony. "Goodness!" The kids started to pick up the orange peels. "Leave them," Uncle Warren said. "The police said not to touch anything." They walked into the living room and sat down to wait. "Forest will be devastated," Uncle Warren said. "Thank goodness he had the painting insured! At least he'll get his money back." Suddenly Roger's voice came over the small speaker next to the door. "Mr. Duncan, there's a detective here to see you. Shall I send him up?" Uncle Warren jumped up and ran to the door. Pressing the TALK button on the speaker, he said, "Thank you, Roger." Then he opened the door and walked into the hall.

沃伦叔叔也加入了他们。“一名侦探马上就到，”他说。 然后他注意到阳台上到处都是橘子皮。 “天哪!”孩子们开始捡起橘子皮。 “别管他们，”沃伦叔叔说。 “警察说不要碰任何东西。” 他们走进客厅，坐下来等着。 “森林将被摧毁，”沃伦叔叔说。 “谢天谢地，他给那幅画投保了!”至少他会拿回他的钱。” 突然，门边的小喇叭里传来了罗杰的声音。 “邓肯先生，有位侦探要见你。 要我把他送上去吗?”沃伦叔叔跳起来，跑到门口。 他按下扬声器上的“谈话”键，说:“谢谢你，罗杰。” 然后他打开门，走进大厅。

The kids sat on the sofa staring at the front door. After a few moments, they heard the elevator door open. Dink's uncle said, "Yes, this is the place. I'm Warren Duncan." Uncle Warren walked back in, followed by a tall man wearing a dark suit and tie. "Kids, this is Detective Frank Costello," Dink's uncle said. The man nodded at the kids, then looked around the room. He had black eyes, dark, swept-back hair, and a nose that looked as if it had been broken. "Where was the painting?" Detective Costello asked. "Back here," Uncle Warren said, leading him down the hall toward the study.

孩子们坐在沙发上盯着前门。 过了一会儿，他们听到电梯门开了。 丁克的叔叔说:“是的，就是这里。 我是沃伦·邓肯。”沃伦叔叔走了回来，后面跟着一个穿深色西装打领带的高个子男人。 “孩子们，这是弗兰克·科斯特洛警探，”丁克的叔叔说。 那人朝孩子们点了点头，然后环视了一下房间。 他长着一双黑眼睛，一头乌黑的后梳头发，鼻子看起来像断了一样。 “那幅画在哪儿?”科斯特洛警探问。 “在这儿后面。”沃伦叔叔说着，领着他穿过大厅，朝书房走去。

"Let's go talk to Roger," Ruth Rose said. "Why?" asked Josh.

“我们去和罗杰谈谈，”露丝·罗斯说。 “为什么?”乔希问。

"Maybe he saw someone sneaking around," she answered. "Good idea," Dink said. He grabbed a pad and scribbled a note to his uncle. "Okay, let's go." He and Josh followed Ruth Rose to the elevator. In the lobby, they found Roger at his desk near the front door. Through the glass, Dink could see that the block party was winding down. "Going out again?" Roger asked the kids. Dink shook his head. "Someone stole a valuable painting from my uncle's apartment!" he said. Roger jumped from his seat. "A theft in our building? I can't believe it!" "It happened while we were at the block party," Josh said. "The creep ate all the oranges, too!" "We were wondering if you noticed anyone strange," Ruth Rose put in. Roger shook his head. "I was here the entire time and saw only people who live here," he said. "Absolutely no one else. …" Roger closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. "I just remembered. Mrs. Cornelius on the ninth floor called down about an hour ago. She

“也许他看到有人鬼鬼祟祟的，”她回答。 “好主意，”丁克说。他抓起一本便笺簿，潦草地给他叔叔写了一张便条。 “好吧，我们走吧。”他和乔希跟着露丝·罗斯走向电梯。 在大厅里，他们发现罗杰坐在靠近前门的桌子旁。 透过玻璃，丁克可以看到街区聚会渐渐结束了。 “又要出去?”罗杰问孩子们。 丁克摇了摇头。“有人从我叔叔的公寓偷走了一幅珍贵的画!”他说。 罗杰从座位上跳了起来。 “我们楼里有人偷东西?”我简直不敢相信!”“这件事发生在我们参加街区派对的时候，”乔希说。 “那个讨厌鬼也把橙子都吃了!”“我们想知道你有没有注意到什么奇怪的人，”露丝·罗斯插嘴说。 罗杰摇了摇头。“我一直在这里，只看到住在这里的人，”他说。 “绝对没有其他人。罗杰闭上眼睛，然后慢慢睁开。 “我刚想起来。九楼的科尼利厄斯夫人一小时前打电话过来。 她