Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 "I think he's trying to tell us that this key unlocks wherever Mr. Bones is hidden," Ruth Rose continued. "But where?" Josh asked. "The key could go to a lock in California."

“我想他是想告诉我们，这把钥匙能打开藏着骨头先生的地方，”露丝·罗斯继续说。 “但在哪里?”杰克问。“钥匙可以打开加州的一把锁。”

"The skeleton is probably still in the school," Dink said. "How could anyone carry it out of the building in broad daylight?" "But how could anyone hide it inside the school in broad daylight, either?" Ruth Rose asked. "Somebody would have been bound to notice." "Unless Miss Shotsky did it," Josh said. "She carries Mr. Bones to classes all the time." Dink shook his head. "Trust me, she was surprised when she saw the skeleton was missing." "And that wasn't her footprint," Ruth Rose said. The kids stared at the drawing and the key. "Why give us the key?" asked Josh. He had a chocolate mustache. "Does this guy want to get caught?" "It's almost like he wants us to find Mr. Bones," Ruth Rose said. "Well, at least no other kid has found the skeleton yet," Dink said. "We can still win aquarium tickets for our class." Ruth Rose picked up the key and held it close to her eyes. "That's strange. This key looks brandnew," she said.

丁克说:“这具骨架可能还在学校里。” “怎么会有人在光天化日之下把它带出大楼?”“可是谁也不能光天化日之下把它藏在学校里呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “肯定会有人注意到的。” “除非是肖特斯基小姐干的。”乔希说。 “她总是背骨头先生去上课。” 丁克摇了摇头。“相信我，当她看到骨架不见了的时候，她很惊讶。” “那不是她的脚印，”露丝·罗斯说。 孩子们盯着画和钥匙。 “为什么把钥匙给我们?”乔希问。 他留着巧克力色的小胡子。 “这家伙想被抓吗?”“就好像他想让我们找到骨头先生，”露丝·罗斯说。 “好吧，至少还没有别的孩子发现过这具骨架，”丁克说。 “我们仍然可以为我们班赢得水族馆门票。” 露丝·罗斯拿起钥匙，凑近眼睛。 “这是奇怪的。这把钥匙看起来是全新的，”她说。

"How can you tell?" Dink asked. "There are no scratches on it," Ruth Rose said. "And it's very shiny." She dug her house key out of her pocket. "See, my key has a lot of tiny marks from where it rubs against the inside of the door lock. But Josh's key looks like it was just made."

“你怎么知道?”丁克问道。 “上面没有划痕，”露丝·罗斯说。 “而且非常闪亮。”她从口袋里掏出房门钥匙。 “你看，我的钥匙在门锁内侧摩擦时留下了许多细小的痕迹。 但乔什的钥匙看起来像是刚做的。”

"So how do we find out what it opens?" Josh asked, slurping the last of his hot chocolate. "We could ask Mr. Neater," Dink suggested. "He has keys to everything in the building." "Wait, could he have put the key in Josh's locker?" Ruth Rose asked. "That would mean he took the skeleton," Dink said. "But his shoes are way too big, remember?" "Unless he faked the footprints," Josh said, "like those kids who made the bear tracks." Dink wrapped the key in the skeleton drawing and handed it to Josh. "Let's show him this tomorrow," he said. "And don't lose it. The key is our best clue!" A few snowflakes fell as Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose hurried into the school building the next morning. "Whoever heard of snow on the first of April," Josh muttered. He was wearing a green hat pulled

“那我们怎么知道它打开了什么?”乔希问，啜着最后一杯热巧克力。 “我们可以问问尼特先生，”丁克建议道。 “他有这栋楼里所有东西的钥匙。” “等等，他会不会把钥匙放在乔什的储物柜里了?”露丝·罗斯问。 丁克说:“这意味着他拿走了骨架。” “但是他的鞋太大了，记得吗?”“除非他伪造了脚印，”乔希说，“就像那些留下熊脚印的孩子一样。” 丁克把钥匙包在骷髅图里，递给乔希。 “我们明天给他看这个，”他说。 “不要失去它。钥匙是我们最好的线索!”第二天早上，丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯匆匆走进学校大楼，外面飘着几朵雪花。 “谁听说四月一日会下雪?”乔希喃喃地说。 他戴着一顶绿色的帽子

down over his ears. Mr. Neater had a small office in the school basement. The kids found him there, sitting on a stool in front of a workbench. He was trying to unjam a stapler. "Good morning, Mr. Neater," Dink said. The white-haired man turned and smiled. "Hey, kids. What brings you down here? Playing hooky?" Josh pulled the wrapped key from his pocket. He removed the drawing and showed the key to Mr. Neater. "Have you ever seen a key like this?" he asked. Mr. Neater held the key under the light over his workbench. He examined both sides before he shook his head. "Nope, don't think so. But I can tell you it's a copy. This key was made from another, probably in some hardware store."

在他的耳朵上。尼特先生在学校的地下室有一间小办公室。 孩子们发现他在那里，坐在工作台前的凳子上。 他在试图拆开订书机。 “早上好，尼特先生，”丁克说。 白发老人转过身来，微笑着。 “嘿,孩子。什么风把你吹来了? 旷课吗?”乔希从口袋里掏出包好的钥匙。 他把画取下来，把钥匙给尼特先生看。 “你见过这样的钥匙吗?”他问。 尼特先生在工作台上的灯光下拿着钥匙。 他检查了两边，然后摇了摇头。 “不，我不这么认为。但我可以告诉你这是赝品。 这把钥匙是另一把的，可能是在某个五金店买的。”

"You were right!" Josh marveled. "How come you're so smart, Ruth Rose?" Ruth Rose just smiled. Mr. Neater unclipped the key ring from his belt and plunked it down on the workbench. He fanned the keys and compared a few with the one Josh had given him. "See, an original key has the name of the company that makes it. Like this one is a Yale key." He tapped Josh's key. "But yours has no name —it was copied from another key. Where'd you get it?" he asked, handing the key back to Josh. "It was in my locker with …" Just then a fifth grader came clomping down the basement stairs. He was taller than Dink and had

“你说得对!”Josh希奇。 “你怎么这么聪明，露丝·罗斯?”露丝·罗斯只是笑了笑。 尼特先生从腰带上取下钥匙圈，砰地一声落在工作台上。 他扇了扇钥匙，把其中几把和乔希给他的那把进行了比较。 “你看，一把原始钥匙上有制造它的公司的名字。 就像这把是耶鲁的钥匙。” 他敲了敲乔希的钥匙。“但是你的钥匙没有名字——是从另一把钥匙上抄下来的。 你从哪儿弄来的?”他问，把钥匙还给了乔希。 “在我的储物柜里，和……”就在这时，一个五年级的学生从地下室的楼梯上蹦蹦跳跳地走了下来。 他比丁克高，而且