Chapter 7

Chapter 7 After the kids had finished their milkshakes, they left Ellie's and walked back up Main Street to Green Lawn's supermarket. Josh tied Pal's leash to a bike rack. "We'll be right back," he told his dog. Inside, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose walked through the fruit and vegetable section. Tall pyramids of oranges and apples gleamed under the lights. They stood next to a mountain of watermelons and glanced around the store. A lot of people were shopping, and a lot of workers were scurrying

孩子们喝完奶昔后，他们离开了埃莉家，沿着大街走回绿草坪超市。 乔什把帕尔的皮带绑在自行车架上。 “我们马上回来，”他对他的狗说。 里面，丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯走过水果和蔬菜区。 金字塔形的橘子和苹果在灯光下闪闪发光。 他们站在成堆的西瓜旁边，环视了一下商店。 许多人在购物，许多工人在匆忙赶路

about. All the store employees wore dark pants, green aprons, and white shirts. Dink walked over to a woman with curly brown hair. She was arranging bags of grapes into a display. A name tag pinned to her apron said HI! I'M JUDY. Dink asked her where the manager's office was. "Go to the rear of the store," Judy said, pointing. "It's the red door just left of the meat department." The kids followed her directions, and Dink knocked on the door. "Come in!" a voice boomed. Ruth Rose opened the door and the kids walked in. The office was cluttered with filing cabinets, boxes of damaged canned goods, and a wooden desk covered with papers. Behind the desk sat a smiling man in a shirt and tie. DEREK ROBB was printed on a nameplate on his desk.

有关。所有的店员都穿着深色裤子、绿色围裙和白衬衫。 丁克走向一个棕色卷发的女人。 她正在把一袋袋的葡萄摆好陈列。 她的围裙上别着一个名牌，上面写着“你好!”我是朱迪。 丁克问她经理办公室在哪里。 “去商店的后面，”朱迪指着说。 “在肉类部左边的那扇红门。” 孩子们听从了她的指示，丁克敲了敲门。 “进来!”一个声音低沉地说。 露丝·罗斯打开门，孩子们走了进来。 办公室里堆满了文件柜、一箱箱破损的罐头食品，还有一张铺满纸张的木桌。 桌子后面坐着一个面带微笑的男人，穿着衬衫，打着领带。 “德里克·罗伯”的名字印在他桌子上的铭牌上。

"Hi there," the man said. "How can I help you kids?" "Someone set a fire in the meadow behind my barn last night," Josh said. "We think whoever set it used pallets from this store." Ruth Rose showed Mr. Robb the chunk of burned wood. Mr. Robb examined the letters ET CO. "Yep, looks the same," he said. "A lot of our merchandise comes stacked on these things." "Did you give any pallets to a tall man a couple of days ago?" Dink asked. Mr. Robb smiled. "People who want pallets usually just take them," he said. "Come on, I'll

“你好，”那人说。“孩子们，我能为你们做些什么?”“昨晚有人在我谷仓后面的草地上放了火，”乔希说。 “我们认为放置它的人使用了这家商店的托盘。” 露丝·罗斯把那块烧焦的木头拿给罗柏先生看。 罗柏先生检查了ET CO这几个字母。 “是的，看起来一样，”他说。 “我们的很多商品都是堆放在这些东西上的。” “几天前，你有没有把货盘给一个高个子?”丁克问道。 罗柏先生笑了。他说:“想要托盘的人通常只拿托盘。” “来吧，我来。

show you." Mr. Robb led the kids out of his office. They passed a long wall covered with framed photographs of employees. Dink recognized Judy, the woman who'd given him directions. "Right through here," Mr. Robb said, pushing through a wide pair of swinging doors. "Watch out for the forklifts!" The kids found themselves in a giant room filled with workers, boxes, and noise. Men and women were unpacking crates and loading stuff on carts. "Look," Josh said. A yellow forklift stopped near a bunch of boxes stacked on a pallet. The driver pulled a lever, and the forklift's two arms lowered. The truck moved forward, and the arms slid under the pallet. The driver moved the lever again, and the arms raised the pallet of boxes off the floor. Suddenly the forklift began to back up, beeping. The kids and Mr. Robb stepped back as the forklift carried the pallet to the other end of the room. "Cool!" Josh said. "I wish I had one of those things."

给你看。”罗柏先生领着孩子们走出了办公室。 他们经过一面长长的墙上，墙上挂着员工的照片。 丁克认出了朱迪，就是那个给他指路的女人。 “就在这里，”罗布说着，推开了两扇宽大的旋转门。 “小心叉车!”孩子们发现自己置身于一个巨大的房间里，房间里到处都是工人、箱子和噪音。 男男女女正在打开板条箱，把东西装上手推车。 “看，”乔希说。一辆黄色的叉车停在一堆堆放在托盘上的箱子旁边。 司机拉了一下操纵杆，铲车的两个臂放下来。 卡车向前移动，扶手滑到托盘下面。 司机又动了一下操纵杆，机械臂把一堆箱子从地上抬起来。 突然，叉车开始倒车，发出哔哔声。 当铲车把托盘抬到房间的另一端时，孩子们和罗布先生后退了一步。 “酷!”杰克说。“我希望我也能拥有那样的东西。”

Mr. Robb chuckled. "They're pretty expensive, kiddo. Now follow me." He led the kids to a tall, wide opening like a garage door. "If you go down those steps," Mr. Robb said, pointing, "you'll see a stack of pallets on the ground. Folks stop by and take them all the time. They break 'em up for firewood, whatever." "So anyone could just come and take one," Dink said, "at any time?" "That's right," said Mr. Robb. "Even in the middle of the night."

罗柏轻声笑了。“它们很贵，孩子。 现在跟我来。”他把孩子们领到一个又高又大的开口，像车库的门。 “如果你走下那些台阶，”罗伯指着说，“你会看到地上有一堆托盘。 经常会有人过来接他们。 他们把他们劈开当柴火什么的。” “所以任何人都可以随时来拿一个，”丁克说，“是吗?”“没错，”罗柏先生说。 “即使是在半夜。”