Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 "Well, he tried," Uncle Warren said, laying his hand on Forest's shoulder. "I know I can't expect Whirlaway to win every race," Forest agreed. "But he's never run this poorly!" "Can we go see him?" Dink asked. "Sure," Forest said, checking his watch. "Meet us back here in about fifteen minutes, okay?" The kids clambered down the grandstand steps and ran toward the barns. They entered barn E and walked past curious horses peering from stalls.

“嗯，他试过了，”沃伦叔叔把手放在福雷斯特的肩膀上说。 “我知道我不能指望Whirlaway赢得每一场比赛，”Forest表示赞同。 “但他从来没有跑得这么差过!”“我们能去看看他吗?”丁克问道。 “当然，”福雷斯特说着，看了看手表。 “十五分钟后在这里见，好吗?”孩子们爬下看台上的台阶，向谷仓跑去。 他们走进E号谷仓，走过好奇地在马厩里张望的马儿。

"There's Whirlaway," Josh said, pointing. The horse, slick with sweat, was tied outside stall 21. Sunny was wiping him down with towels. Sunny looked up and nodded at the kids. "I'm sorry you didn't win," Ruth Rose said. "Not as sorry as I am," Sunny muttered. Her outfit was filthy. She had removed her helmet, and her hair hung down, damp and straggly. Where her goggles had been, her face was clean. The rest was smeared with sweat and track grime. Her once shiny black boots were now brown with dust. Sunny knelt down and began unwinding the tape from Whirlaway's legs. The tape was grimy. Sunny shook her head as she worked. "Whirlaway was running like a different horse," she said. She walked away to find a trash can for the soiled tapes, leaving Whirlaway tied to his stall. "Maybe Whirlaway was just tired," Dink said. "Maybe," Ruth Rose agreed. "But jockeys can make horses go slower."

“那是旋风。”乔希指着说。 那匹被汗水淋湿的马被拴在马厩外面。 桑妮正在用毛巾给他擦身。 桑妮抬起头，朝孩子们点了点头。 “很遗憾你没赢，”露丝·罗斯说。 “不像我这么难过，”桑妮喃喃地说。 她的衣服很脏。她摘下了头盔，头发垂下来，湿漉漉的，凌乱不堪。 她的护目镜在哪里，她的脸是干净的。 其余的都是汗渍和轨道污垢。 她那双曾经锃亮的黑色靴子现在已经被灰尘染成了棕色。 桑妮跪下来，开始解开韦斯莱腿上的带子。 磁带很脏。桑妮一边干一边摇着头。 “Whirlaway跑起来就像一匹不同的马，”她说。 她走开了，去找一个垃圾桶放脏了的磁带，留下旋风被绑在他的摊位上。 “也许Whirlaway只是累了，”丁克说。 “也许吧，”露丝·罗斯同意了。 “但是骑师可以让马跑得慢一些。”

Josh looked at Ruth Rose. "You think Sunny made Whirlaway lose the race?" Ruth Rose shrugged. "I don't know." Sunny came back and untied Whirlaway. She had to tug him up the ramp. He rolled his eyes as she walked him into the trailer. Sunny closed and latched the trailer door. Without saying a word, she climbed into the cab and drove away. "Something weird is definitely going on between Whirlaway and Sunny," Ruth Rose said. "Whirlaway might just be having a bad day," Dink said. Ruth Rose looked at her watch. "We'd better get back," she said. They started walking toward the viewing stands. Dink noticed a small group of people gathered around a dark horse and its rider. "There's the winner," he said. "Yeah, Dancer," said Josh. "I want to get a picture," Ruth Rose said. The kids walked to the winner's circle. They wiggled

乔希看着露丝·罗斯。“你认为是桑尼让旋风输掉了比赛?”露丝·罗斯耸了耸肩。 “我不知道。”桑妮回来给旋风松绑。 她不得不把他拉上斜坡。 当她带他走进拖车时，他翻了个白眼。 桑妮关上拖车的门，锁上了门栓。 她二话没说，上了车，开走了。 露丝·罗斯说:“Whirlaway和Sunny之间肯定发生了一些奇怪的事情。 丁克说:“旋风可能只是今天心情不好。” 露丝·罗斯看了看表。 “我们最好回去，”她说。 他们开始朝看台走去。 丁克注意到有一小群人围着一匹黑马和它的骑手。 “这就是赢家，”他说。 “是的，丹瑟。”乔希说。 “我想拍张照片，”露丝·罗斯说。 孩子们走向获胜者的圈子。 他们扭动着

through the crowd until they were standing next to Dancer. Dancer's chest and legs were sweaty. The white tape that covered his ankles was dirty. The jockey was dirty, too. He smiled as people took pictures. A man wearing a cowboy hat and dark glasses reached up and shook the jockey's hand. "Well done, Andy," he said. "Piece of cake, Mr. Bee," the jockey answered. "Guys, move closer," Ruth Rose said. "I want to get a picture of you and Dancer." Dink and Josh stepped over and stood in front of Dancer. Josh giggled when the horse butted him gently in the back. The jockey flicked the reins, and Dancer put his head between Dink's and Josh's shoulders.

穿过人群，一直走到丹瑟身边。 舞者的胸部和腿部都出汗了。 他脚踝上的白色胶带很脏。 骑师也很脏。 当人们拍照时，他微笑着。 一个戴着牛仔帽和墨镜的人伸出手和骑师握了握手。 “干得好，安迪，”他说。 “小菜一碟，蜜蜂先生，”骑师回答。 “伙计们，靠近点，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我想拍一张你和丹瑟的合照。” 丁克和乔希走过去，站在丹瑟面前。 当马轻轻地撞在他的背上时，乔希咯咯地笑了起来。 骑师挥动缰绳，丹瑟把他的头放在丁克和乔希的肩膀之间。

Ruth Rose snapped the picture. Her camera made a whirring noise, letting her know that the roll of film had run out. Dink looked at his watch. "Come on, guys. They're waiting for us." They hurried away and found Forest and Uncle Warren in the viewing box. "How does Whirlaway look?" Forest asked. "Tired," Josh said. "Sunny loaded him and they took off."

露丝·罗斯拍下了这张照片。 她的照相机发出一声呼呼的声音，让她知道胶卷用完了。 丁克看了看表。“来吧，伙计们。 他们在等我们。”他们匆匆离去，发现福雷斯特和沃伦叔叔坐在观礼席上。 “旋风怎么样?”森林问道。 “累了，”乔希说。“桑尼给他装了货，他们就走了。”

"I guess we'd better leave, too," Forest said. They headed for the parking lot. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose walked behind Forest and Uncle Warren. Ruth Rose held up her camera. "I can't wait to get my film developed," she whispered. "I think that last picture is a big clue!"

“我想我们最好也离开。” 他们朝停车场走去。 丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯走在福里斯特和沃伦叔叔后面。 露丝·罗斯举起她的照相机。 “我等不及要冲洗我的胶卷了，”她低声说。 “我认为最后一张照片是一个很大的线索!”