Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose exchanged glances. Officer Fallon was still looking at Mr. Pocket. "The man looked like a duck? Can you explain, Mr. Pocket?" Mr. Pocket smiled. "I noticed a shiny head and a duck's beak. Now I realize the man must have had a shaved head and a large nose." Officer Fallon thanked Mr. Pocket and wrote down his phone number. The man and his dog continued their walk. "That guy driving the jeep must have been the thief!" Josh blurted out. "The duck bank was in

丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯交换了一下眼色。 法伦警官仍然看着普凯特先生。 “那个人看起来像只鸭子?” 你能解释一下吗，朴凯特先生?”朴凯特先生笑了。 “我注意到一个闪亮的头和一个鸭嘴。 现在我意识到那个人一定是光头大鼻子。” 法伦警官感谢了普凯特先生，并写下了他的电话号码。 男人和他的狗继续散步。 “开吉普车的那个人一定是小偷!”乔希脱口而出。 “鸭子银行在里面

the passenger seat!" "When Mr. Pocket saw the jeep, the driver had probably just stolen the bank and was making his getaway!" Ruth Rose added. Officer Fallon walked over to his cruiser. "I'll get word out to watch for a jeep carrying a duck," he said. "Would you mind holding on to our money?" Dink asked. He stepped over to the cruiser and handed Officer Fallon the cookie tin. "And here's yours back." Josh returned Officer Fallon's jar. "Will do," Officer Fallon said, setting both containers on the seat. "Don't worry, we'll get our duck bridge built yet." He climbed into the car and pulled away down Main Street. "That crook could be anywhere by now," Dink said. He started walking toward the corner of Main and River Road. "It makes me so mad!" Ruth Rose said. "The town has been saving up for a year, and now we have to start all over again!" The kids crossed River Road and sat in the grass above the riverbank. Pal woofed at a family

乘客座位!”“当口袋先生看到吉普车时，司机可能刚刚偷了银行，正在逃跑!”露丝·罗斯补充道。 法伦警官走向他的巡逻车。 他说:“我会派人去找一辆载着鸭子的吉普车。” “你介意保管我们的钱吗?”丁克问道。 他走到巡逻车旁，把饼干罐头递给了法伦警官。 “这是你的回报。”乔希把法伦警官的罐子还给了他。 “会的，”法伦说着，把两个集装箱放在座位上。 “别担心，我们会把鸭子桥修好的。” 他爬上汽车，沿着主街开走了。 “那个骗子现在可能在任何地方，”丁克说。 他开始朝缅因河路的拐角处走去。 “这让我很生气!”露丝·罗斯说。 “镇上攒了一年的钱，现在我们又得从头再来!”孩子们穿过河路，坐在河岸上的草地上。 朋友在一个家庭里叫唤

of ducks feeding in the weeds. The ducks paddled quickly away toward the other side. "Maybe Officer Fallon will find him," Dink said. "I don't know how," Josh said. "That jeep could be hundreds of miles away by now." "Well, we still have this," Ruth Rose said, holding up the chunk of wood stamped with ET CO. "These letters must mean something!" Josh picked up a stone and tossed it into the river. The kids watched the stone sink to the sandy bottom. "Any ideas?" Dink asked. "Yeah, let's go to Ellie's," Josh said. "A milkshake always helps me think better." "Josh, we have to focus on finding that money," Ruth Rose said. "Think of those baby ducks!" "Okay, but we don't have a plan," Josh said. Dink checked his watch. "Why don't we see if the firemen who were on duty last night are up yet?" he suggested. "Good idea," Ruth Rose said. "Maybe they saw the jeep when they were coming back from the fire."

鸭子在草丛中觅食。 鸭子们迅速地向对岸划去。 “也许法伦警官会找到他，”丁克说。 “我不知道怎么做，”乔希说。 “那辆吉普车现在可能已经在几百英里之外了。” “嗯，我们还有这个，”露丝·罗斯说，举起那块印有ET CO的木头。 “这些字母一定有什么含义!”乔希捡起一块石头扔进河里。 孩子们看着石头沉到沙底。 “什么想法?”丁克问道。“是啊，我们去艾丽家吧，”乔希说。 “一杯奶昔总能帮助我更好地思考。” “乔希，我们必须集中精力找到那笔钱，”露丝·罗斯说。 “想想那些小鸭子!”“好吧，但我们没有计划，”乔希说。 丁克看了看表。“我们为什么不看看昨晚值班的消防队员还没起床呢?”他建议道。 “好主意，”露丝·罗斯说。 “也许他们从火场回来的时候看到了吉普车。”

With Pal leading, the kids walked back into the fire station. A tall man was wiping the rescue truck with a cloth. A mug of coffee rested on the truck's hood. "'Morning," he said, yawning. "Good morning," Dink said. "Are you one of the night firemen?"

在帕尔的带领下，孩子们走回了消防站。 一个高个子男人正在用一块布擦拭救援卡车。 一杯咖啡落在卡车的引擎盖上。 “早上好，”他打着哈欠说。 “早上好，”丁克说。 “你是夜班消防员吗?”

"Did you hear about the robbery?" Josh asked before the man could answer Dink's question. The man nodded. "My name's Jake," he said. "I'm really bummed that someone stole that duck money." He picked up his coffee and sat on the truck's front bumper. "Lenny and I were gone, putting out a fire in the meadow. It turned out to be small, probably left burning by some campers." "Officer Fallon thinks the crooks set it," Josh said. "We figure they did it to get you to leave the firehouse," Dink said. "I saw some headlights near where the fire was set last night." "And a man walking his dog saw a jeep speeding up Main Street," Ruth Rose added. "He saw the duck bank in the jeep!" Jake's mouth fell open. "Really?" "By any chance, did you pass a jeep on River Road?" Josh asked. Jake shook his head. "Didn't see any vehicles, going or coming back." "Did you see anyone hanging around here?" Ruth Rose asked.

“你听说抢劫的事了吗?”在那人回答丁克的问题之前，乔希问道。 那人点点头。“我叫杰克，”他说。 “有人偷了那笔钱，我真的很生气。” 他端起咖啡，坐在卡车的前保险杠上。 “伦尼和我去草地上灭火了。 结果发现它很小，可能是一些露营者留下的。” “法伦警官认为是骗子放的，”乔希说。 “我们认为他们这么做是为了让你离开消防站，”丁克说。 “我昨晚在着火的地方附近看到了一些车灯。” “一个遛狗的人看到一辆吉普车在主街上加速行驶，”露丝·罗斯补充说。 “他看见鸭子在吉普车里趴着!”杰克张大了嘴。 “真的吗?”“你有没有碰巧在河路上经过一辆吉普车?”杰克问。 杰克摇了摇头。“没有看到任何车辆来往。” “你看到有人在附近闲逛吗?”露丝·罗斯问。

Jake leaned down and gave Pal's ears a gentle rub. "Not last night, but a few days ago some guy was poking around in here. He used our bathroom, then left." "Did he see the duck bank?" Dink asked. "Probably. The thing's pretty hard to miss," Jake said. "Do you remember what he looked like?" Josh asked. Jake shrugged. "Big guy, as tall as me but heavier," he said. "Oh, and his ears really stuck out. Looked like he had two overgrown mushrooms glued to his head."

杰克俯下身，轻轻地揉了揉帕尔的耳朵。 “不是昨晚，但几天前有人在这里闲逛。 他用了我们的浴室，然后就走了。” “他看到鸭滩了吗?”丁克问道。 “可能。这件事很难被忽视，”杰克说。 “你还记得他长什么样吗?”杰克问。 杰克耸耸肩。“大个子，和我一样高，但更重，”他说。 “哦，他的耳朵真的很突出。 看起来他的头上粘了两个杂草丛生的蘑菇。”