Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "That was the thief!" Ruth Rose said. "But what was he looking for?" Dink asked. "Maybe the bank fell out of the jeep when it was crossing," Ruth Rose suggested. "That duck is pretty big," Josh said. "Wouldn't he be able to see it just lying in the water?" "Well, he found something," Ruth Rose said. "And I'm going to find out what," Josh said. He looped Pal's leash around a tree, pulled off his sneakers, and started wading into the river. "Wait for me!" Dink said, yanking off his own sneakers.

第9章“那是小偷!”露丝·罗斯说。 “但是他在找什么呢?”丁克问道。 “也许是吉普车过马路的时候，银行从吉普车上掉下来了，”露丝·罗斯说。 “那只鸭子挺大的，”乔希说。 “它躺在水里难道看不见吗?”“嗯，他找到了一些东西，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我要找出原因，”乔希说。 他把帕尔的皮带绕在一棵树上，脱下他的运动鞋，开始涉水到河里。 “等等我!”丁克说着，扯掉了自己的运动鞋。

"I'm coming, too!" said Ruth Rose, kicking off her sandals. They pushed their feet through the warm, shallow water. Dink could feel the fine sand between his toes. The water was so clear he could see the tiny pebbles on the bottom. "It's getting kind of muddy," Josh said, a few yards ahead of Dink. Suddenly Josh stopped. He turned around with panic on his face. "I'm stuck!" he cried. As Dink watched, Josh started to sink. The water was up to his knees! "I can't pull my feet out!" Josh yelled. "I think it's quicksand!" "Wait a minute!" Dink said. He lunged ahead and grabbed Josh's arm. Then Dink felt the sand closing over his own feet and his ankles, climbing steadily to his knees. He was stuck, too! "Ruth Rose!" Dink shouted. "Don't come any closer!" "I'll run for help!" Ruth Rose yelled. She turned and splashed back to shore. Dink watched her climb the bank and race across River Road in her bare feet. Pal was

“我也来!”露丝·罗斯说着，踢掉了她的凉鞋。 他们把脚伸进温暖的浅水里。 丁克能感觉到脚趾间的细沙。 水是如此清澈，他可以看到底部的小鹅卵石。 “有点泥泞了。”乔希在丁克前面几码的地方说。 突然，乔希停了下来。他一脸惊恐地转过身来。 “我被卡住了!”在丁克的注视下，乔希开始下沉。 水没过他的膝盖!“我的脚拔不出来了!”杰克喊道。 “我想是流沙!”“等一下!”丁克说。 他冲上前去，抓住了乔希的胳膊。 接着，丁克感到沙子正在向他的脚和脚踝靠近，慢慢地向他的膝盖爬去。 他也被困住了!“露丝玫瑰!”丁克喊道。 “别再靠近了!”“我要跑去求救!”露丝·罗斯喊道。 她转身扑通一声回到岸边。 丁克看着她爬上河岸，光着脚跑过河路。 朋友是

straining on his leash and barking. Josh pulled out of Dink's grasp, struggling to walk back toward the edge. But the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. "Don't move!" Dink yelled. "Get on your back." To demonstrate, Dink fell backward into the water. He floated on his back, facing up. His legs were still stuck, but at least he wasn't sinking. "Do it—it works!" he called to Josh. Dink heard a splash as Josh fell over into the water. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears. Trying to calm himself, he closed his eyes and let his body float. Suddenly Pal began to bark even more wildly Turning his head, Dink saw Jake and another man running toward the river carrying a ladder. Ruth Rose was right behind them. At the river's edge, the men flopped the ladder into the water. "Don't move!" Jake yelled out to Dink and Josh. "Just stay the way you are. Lenny and I will have you out in a jiffy." The firefighters shoved the ladder out into the water toward Dink. When it was near enough, he

拉紧皮带，狂吠。 乔希挣脱了丁克的手，挣扎着向悬崖边缘走去。 但他越挣扎，就陷得越深。 “不要动!”丁克喊道。 “趴下来。”为了演示，丁克向后摔进水里。 他仰面朝天地浮在水面上。 他的腿还被卡住了，但至少他没有下沉。 “来吧，管用!”他对乔希喊道。 丁克听到乔希扑通一声跌入水中。 他能听到自己的心在耳朵里狂跳。 为了让自己平静下来，他闭上眼睛，让自己的身体漂浮起来。 突然，帕尔开始更疯狂地吠叫起来。丁克转过头，看见杰克和另一个人提着梯子朝河边跑去。 露丝·罗斯就在他们后面。 在河边，人们把梯子扑通一声扔进水里。 “不要动!”杰克对丁克和乔希喊道。 “保持原样就好。 莱尼和我马上就把你弄出去。” 消防队员把梯子推到水里，朝着丁克走去。 当它足够靠近时，他

grabbed the last rung. "Hold on, kid!" Jake yelled. The men pulled the ladder. Dink could feel suction on his legs, as if the quicksand didn't want to let him go. But Jake and Lenny were stronger than the quicksand. Suddenly Dink's legs oozed free of the muck. When Dink's feet touched solid river bottom, he splashed ashore. Immediately the men thrust the ladder back out over the river. Jake waded in and pushed the ladder until Josh could grab a rung. Pulling the ladder hand over hand, he and Lenny hauled Josh out of the river like a fish. Dink and Josh sat side by side, catching their breath. They were both sopping wet and red-faced. Pal lapped Josh's face and jumped all over his muddy legs. "Don't ever do that again!" Ruth Rose said.

抓住了最后一个梯级。“坚持住，孩子!”杰克喊道。 男人们拉梯子。 丁克可以感觉到他的腿被吸住了，好像流沙不想让他走。 但杰克和莱尼比流沙更坚强。 突然丁克的腿从淤泥中渗出来。 当丁克的脚触到坚实的河底时，他溅起了水花。 工人们立即把梯子推到河上。 杰克冲了进去，推着梯子，直到乔希能抓住一个横档。 他和莱尼手拉手拉着梯子，把乔希像条鱼一样从河里拖了上来。 丁克和乔希并排坐着，喘着气。 他们俩都湿透了，满脸通红。 帕尔拍了拍乔希的脸，在他沾满泥的腿上跳来跳去。 “别再这么做了!”露丝·罗斯说。

"Don't worry," Josh said. "I'm never even taking a bath again!" Everyone burst out laughing. "By the way," Jake said, slapping the other man on the back, "this is Lenny." Lenny smiled at the kids. "Glad to meet you," he said. "Not as glad as we are," Dink said, standing up to shake Lenny's hand. "What were you kids doing out there?" Lenny asked. "That's where the jeep is!" Josh said.

“别担心，”乔希说。“我再也不洗澡了!”大家都大笑起来。 “顺便说一下，”杰克拍拍另一个人的背说，“这是莱尼。” 莱尼对孩子们笑了笑。“很高兴见到你，”他说。 “没有我们高兴，”丁克说着，站起来和伦尼握手。 “你们这些孩子在外面干什么?”莱尼问道。 “吉普车就在那儿!”杰克说。

"It is?" Dink asked. "Josh, we don't know—" "It's there," Josh said, pulling on his sneakers. "When I was lying in the water, something sharp stuck me in the leg. I reached down and felt the jeep's antenna! That must be what that guy in the boat found!" "We have to go get Officer Fallon," Ruth Rose said. "No need to," Jake said, holding a hand in the air. "I called him from the station. Listen." They heard a siren coming closer. Twenty seconds later, a cruiser roared up to the river and stopped. Officer Fallon jumped out and practically slid into the river in his haste. "You kids all right?" he said, looking from one face to the other. "We're fine," Dink said. "And Josh found the crook's jeep!" "You did? Where?" Josh pointed out into the water. "Out there, buried in quicksand." "I never even knew there was quicksand in Connecticut," Ruth Rose said. "Quicksand can be anywhere there's water and sand," Lenny said. "I was a Navy SEAL, and I

“这是什么?”丁克问道。“乔什，我们不知道——”“就在那儿。”乔什边说边穿上他的运动鞋。 “当我躺在水里的时候，一个锋利的东西刺进了我的腿。 我伸手摸了摸吉普车的天线!那一定是船上那个人发现的东西!”“我们得去找法伦警官，”露丝·罗斯说。 “没必要，”杰克说，一只手举在空中。 我从车站打电话给他。 听。”他们听到警笛越来越近。 20秒后，一艘巡洋舰呼啸着来到河边，停了下来。 法伦警官跳了出来，在匆忙中几乎滑进了河里。 “你们这些孩子还好吧?”他问，看看这张脸，又看看那张脸。 “我们很好，”丁克说。“乔希找到了那个骗子的吉普车!”“你做的? 在哪里?”乔希指着水里。 “在外面，埋在流沙里。” “我从来都不知道康涅狄格有流沙，”露丝·罗斯说。 “流沙可以出现在任何有水和沙子的地方，”莱尼说。 “我是海豹突击队队员，我