Chapter 4

Chapter 4 "I can't believe it!" the man said. "That bank was here last night. I know because I put money in it!" "Would anyone have moved it to a different spot in the firehouse?" Officer Fallon asked. The man shook his head. "We kept it here in the TV lounge so everyone would be reminded to drop coins in. Plus, the thing weighs a ton!" Officer Fallon handed Josh his jar of coins and took out a notebook. "Did you put out that meadow fire last night?" he asked.

“我真不敢相信!”男人说。 “那家银行昨晚还在这儿。 我知道，因为我把钱放进去了!”“会有人把它移到消防站的其他地方吗?”法伦警官问。 那人摇了摇头。“我们把它放在电视休息室里，这样大家就会被提醒往里面扔硬币。 另外，这东西有一吨重!”法伦警官把他那罐硬币递给乔希，然后拿出一本笔记本。 “你昨晚把草地上的火扑灭了吗?”他问。

The man shook his head. "Nope, that would've been Jake and Lenny." Officer Fallon wrote in his notebook. "Where would I find them?" The firefighter smiled. "Still snoozing in the other room," he said. "They should be getting up any time now." "Have them give me a call after they're awake," Officer Fallon said, slipping his notebook into a pocket. "No problem," the man answered. Officer Fallon and the kids walked outside. Pal lay next to the cruiser with his head on his big front paws. "I just thought of something," Dink said. "Maybe whoever lit that fire last night did it to get the men out of the firehouse." "I had the same thought," Officer Fallon said. "The fire could have been a diversion." "Yeah!" Josh said. "So they could sneak in here when no one was around and steal the bank!" "Who would do such a lousy thing?" Ruth Rose said. "Someone who loves money and hates ducks!" Josh said.

那人摇了摇头。“不，应该是杰克和莱尼。” 法伦警官在他的笔记本上写道。 “我到哪里去找呢?”消防员笑了。 “还在另一个房间打盹呢，”他说。 “他们现在随时都应该起床了。” “让他们醒来后给我打个电话，”法伦说着，把笔记本塞进了口袋。 “没问题，”那人回答。 法伦警官和孩子们走了出去。 帕尔躺在巡洋舰旁边，头靠在大前爪上。 “我刚想到一件事，”丁克说。 “也许昨晚放火的人是为了把消防员赶出消防站。” “我也有同样的想法，”法伦说。 “火灾可能是为了转移注意力。” “是啊!”杰克说。“这样他们就可以趁周围没人的时候溜进来，把银行偷走了!”“谁会做这种坏事?”露丝·罗斯说。 “一个爱钱恨鸭子的人!”杰克说。

"Could it have been the car I saw last night?" Dink said. "I saw those headlights right before the fire." "Very possibly" Officer Fallon said. An elderly man walked past with a dog on a leash. The man was tall and thin. The dog was short and round. They both had white hair. Pal whined and wagged his tail back and forth. The man let his little dog waddle over to Pal. "Hello," the man said. "This is Randolph. Is your basset friendly?" Josh nodded. "Pal likes everyone!" Pal sniffed the little dog, then licked his face. Randolph rolled over and wiggled his whole body. "Any trouble here?" the man asked, looking curiously at Officer Fallon. "Just investigating a possible theft," Officer Fallon said. The man raised his bushy white eyebrows. "Would it have anything to do with that crazy driver I saw last night?" he asked. Officer Fallon took out his notebook again and flipped it open. "Please tell me what you saw," he said.

“会不会是我昨晚看到的那辆车?”丁克说。 “我在火灾前看到了那些车灯。” “很有可能，”法伦说。 一位老人牵着一条拴着皮带的狗走过。 那个男人又高又瘦。 这只狗又矮又圆。 他们都有白发。帕尔哀鸣着，前后摇着尾巴。 那人让他的小狗摇摇摆摆地走到帕尔跟前。 “你好，”那人说。“这是伦道夫。 你的巴塞特友好吗?”杰克点了点头。 “伙计谁都喜欢!”帕尔嗅了嗅小狗，然后舔了舔它的脸。 伦道夫翻了个身，扭动了整个身体。 “这里有麻烦吗?”那人好奇地看着法伦警官问道。 “只是在调查一起可能的盗窃案，”法伦说。 那人扬起了浓密的白眉毛。 “这和我昨晚看到的那个疯狂的司机有关系吗?”他问。 法伦警官又拿出他的笔记本，把它翻开。 “请告诉我你看到了什么，”他说。

"A fire engine woke me some time after one o'clock," the man said. "So I took Randolph outside for some fresh air. We were at the corner of Indian Way Road when a jeep came tearing past us up Main Street!" The man held his hands a foot apart. "Missed Randolph by that much!" Officer Fallon began writing in his notebook. "You are Mr….?" "Thaddeus Pocket," the man said. "Number 10 Indian Way Road." "Were you able to read the jeep's license plate, Mr. Pocket?" "Mercy, no!" the man said. "It was speeding much too fast." "Did you happen to notice the driver?" Officer Fallon asked. Mr. Pocket shook his head. "I'm sorry, my eyesight isn't wonderful anymore. There were two men in the jeep, but I don't remember the driver." Officer Fallon closed his notebook and began to put it away. "Thanks anyway, Mr. Pocket. You've been very helpful—" "But I do remember the man sitting beside the driver," Mr. Pocket went on.

“1点多一点，一辆消防车把我叫醒了，”那人说。 于是我带伦道夫出去呼吸新鲜空气。 我们在印第安路的拐角处时，一辆吉普车从我们身边疾驰而过，沿着主街开了过来!”那人双手分开一英尺。 “离伦道夫差那么远!”法伦警官开始在笔记本上写东西。 “你是....先生?”“塞笛厄斯·朴凯特，”那人说。 “印度路10号。” “你能看清吉普车的车牌吗，普凯特先生?”“天哪，不!”那人说。 “它的速度太快了。” “你注意到那个司机了吗?”法伦警官问。 朴凯特先生摇了摇头。 “对不起，我的视力不再好了。 吉普车里有两个人，但我不记得司机是谁了。” 法伦警官合上笔记本，开始把它收起来。 “不管怎样，谢谢你，朴凯特先生。 你帮了我很大的忙——”“但我确实记得坐在司机旁边的那个人，”朴凯特先生接着说。

"You do?" Officer Fallon opened his notebook again. Mr. Pocket grinned. "Yes, but only because he was so odd-looking. The man in the passenger seat looked just like a giant duck!"

“你做什么?”法伦警官又打开了他的笔记本。 普凯特先生咧嘴一笑。“是的，但那只是因为他长得很怪。 坐在副驾驶座位上的男人看起来就像一只大鸭子!”