Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 "What did you call your story?" Josh asked Dink at their lockers. It was three o'clock, and everyone was going home. Dink grinned as he put on his jacket. "It's called 'Josh Stole the School Skeleton and Should Go to

第三章“你把你的故事叫做什么?”乔希问丁克他们的储物柜。 当时是三点，每个人都在回家。 丁克穿上夹克，咧嘴一笑。 “它的名字叫《乔希偷了学校的骷髅，应该去看》

Jail Forever,'" Dink said. "Ha-ha," Josh said. "Mine's called 'The Skeleton's Curse,'" Ruth Rose said. "Mr. Bones puts a curse on all boys with red hair." "You guys are a riot," Josh said as the kids walked toward the exit. Miss Shotsky poked her head out of her office and called to Dink, "How's that finger?" "Fine, thanks," Dink said, wiggling it at her. "Well, come on in and let me give you a couple of Band-Aids to take home." "What a baby," Josh whispered as the three kids piled into Miss Shotsky's office. "He's just jealous of your Batman Band-Aid," Ruth Rose said. "Yeah, right," Josh said. "Batman is out. Spider- Man rules the school!" The kids followed Miss Shotsky into the back room. While Dink got more Band-Aids, Josh and Ruth Rose examined the corner where Mr. Bones usually hung. "Look, there's a footprint in the dust!" Ruth Rose said.

永远的监狱，’”丁克说。 “哈哈，”乔希说。“我的名字叫《骷髅的诅咒》，”露丝·罗斯说。 “博恩斯先生诅咒所有红头发的男孩。” “你们这些家伙真是闹哄哄的。”孩子们走向出口时，乔希说。 肖特斯基小姐从办公室里探出头来，问丁克:“你的手指怎么样了?”“很好，谢谢。”丁克说着，朝她晃了晃。 “好吧，进来吧，让我给你几个创可贴带回家。” “真是个孩子。”三个孩子挤进肖特斯基小姐的办公室时，乔希小声说。 “他只是嫉妒你的蝙蝠侠创可贴，”露丝·罗斯说。 “是啊，没错，”乔希说。“蝙蝠侠出局了。 蜘蛛侠统治着学校!”孩子们跟着肖特斯基小姐进了里屋。 丁克拿了更多的创可贴，乔希和露丝·罗斯检查了博恩斯先生常挂的那个角落。 “看，尘土里有一个脚印!”露丝·罗斯说。

Miss Shotsky and Dink walked over to look. "It looks like a sneaker," Dink said. "See the zigzag tread?" "It's the left foot," Josh pointed out. "An adult's size," Ruth Rose said. "Maybe the thief made this footprint when he lifted Mr. Bones off the hook," Dink said.

肖特斯基小姐和丁克走过去看。 “它看起来像运动鞋，”丁克说。 “看到那锯齿形的花纹了吗?”“是左脚。”乔希指出。 “一个成年人的大小，”露丝·罗斯说。 “也许这个脚印是小偷把骨头先生从钩子上抬下来时留下的，”丁克说。

"Could be—it sure isn't my footprint," Miss Shotsky said, holding her left foot up. Her white nurse's shoe was shorter, and the tread on the bottom was different. "Were any teachers in here this morning?" Ruth Rose asked Miss Shotsky. "Not that I know of," the nurse answered. "After I got here, I went to the teachers' lounge to make coffee. I came back at eight o'clock, but I didn't even look at Mr. Bones." "So whoever took Mr. Bones had to do it between seven-thirty and eight, right?" asked Josh. Miss Shotsky shook her head. "Nope. I was in and out of here all morning, visiting the first- and second-grade rooms. Anyone could have taken Mr. Bones any time before ten o'clock, when Dink came in with his paper cut." Just then there was a soft knock on the examining room door. "Excuse me, but could I sweep this room now?" someone said.

“可能——那肯定不是我的脚印，”肖特斯基小姐举起左脚说。 她的白色护士鞋比较短，鞋底的花纹也不一样。 “今天上午有老师来过吗?”露丝·罗斯问肖特斯基小姐。 “据我所知没有，”护士回答。 “我到这里后，就去教师休息室煮咖啡。 我八点钟回来的，可我连看都没看博恩斯先生一眼。” “所以绑架骨头先生的人必须在七点半到八点之间下手，对吗?”乔什问。 肖特斯基小姐摇了摇头。 “不。我整个上午都在这儿进进出出，参观一、二年级的房间。 在十点钟之前，任何人都可以把博恩斯先生带走，那时丁克被纸划伤了。” 就在这时，有人轻轻地敲了敲检查室的门。 “对不起，我现在可以打扫这个房间吗?”有人说。

It was Mr. Neater with his broom. "Hi, Tom, come on in," Miss Shotsky said. "Could I make a drawing of this footprint before you sweep?" Josh asked Mr. Neater. "Sure, I'll start in the front office," Mr. Neater said. "And we should measure it," Ruth Rose said. Miss Shotsky gave Josh a paper and pencil. She handed Ruth Rose a ruler. Josh made a quick sketch of the print. "Be sure to get that zigzag pattern," Dink said, peering over Josh's shoulder. Ruth Rose measured the footprint. "It's exactly eleven inches long," she said. Josh wrote ELEVEN INCHES next to the drawing. "So all we have to do is find out who wears this kind of shoe," Josh said, "and we find Mr. Bones and win the tickets to the aquarium." "But a lot of the teachers wear sneakers," Ruth Rose said. "How do we find the right one?" "I know who we can ask," Dink said. "Mrs. Waters. All the teachers walk past her desk to get their mail. Maybe she notices the shoes they wear."

是尼特先生和他的扫帚。 “嗨，汤姆，请进，”肖特斯基小姐说。 “在你打扫之前，我能把这个脚印画下来吗?”乔希问尼特先生。 “当然，我会从前台开始，”尼特说。 “我们应该测量它，”露丝·罗斯说。 肖特斯基小姐给了乔希一张纸和一支笔。 她递给露丝·罗斯一把尺子。 乔希快速地画了一张指纹的草图。 “一定要画出锯齿形图案。”丁克说着，从乔希的肩膀上看过去。 露丝·罗斯测量了脚印。 “正好十一英寸长，”她说。 乔希在画旁边写了11英寸。 “所以我们要做的就是找出谁穿这种鞋，”乔希说，“然后我们就能找到骨头先生，赢得去水族馆的门票。” “但是很多老师都穿运动鞋，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我们怎么才能找到合适的人?”“我知道我们可以问谁，”丁克说。 “夫人水域。所有的老师都经过她的办公桌去取邮件。 也许她注意到了他们穿的鞋子。”

"Let's hurry before she goes home," Ruth Rose said. Miss Shotsky opened a small door next to her filing cabinet. "Here's a shortcut to the principal's office," she said. Sure enough, when the kids walked through the door, there was Mrs. Waters at her desk. She was staring into her open purse. "Hi, kids," she said, closing her purse and putting it in a drawer. "Still here?" "We're trying to find the skeleton," Ruth Rose said. "We found a footprint on the floor where Mr. Bones hangs," Dink said. "It's a sneaker." "We think the guy who stole the skeleton made the print," Josh said. "If we find him, our room wins the tickets!" "Just one footprint? Maybe you should be looking for a one-legged thief," Mrs. Waters said with a twinkle in her eye.

“在她回家之前，我们快点吧，”露丝·罗斯说。 肖特斯基小姐打开了档案柜旁边的一扇小门。 “这是去校长办公室的近路，”她说。 果然，当孩子们进门时，沃特斯太太正坐在她的办公桌前。 她盯着打开的钱包。 “嗨，孩子们，”她说，合上钱包放进抽屉里。 “还在这里?”“我们正在努力寻找骨架，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我们在骨头先生被吊死的地方发现了一个脚印，”丁克说。 “这是运动鞋。”“我们认为是偷骨架的人留下了指纹，”乔希说。 “如果我们找到他，我们的房间就能赢得彩票!”“就一个脚印?” 也许你应该去找一个只有一条腿的小偷，”沃特斯太太说，眼睛里闪烁着光芒。