Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Green Lawn Elementary didn't have a cafeteria. All the kids brought their lunches from home. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose took their bags outside and sat on the swings in the sun. A lot of

绿草坪小学没有自助餐厅。 所有的孩子都从家里带了午餐。 丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯把书包拿出来，坐在秋千上晒太阳。 很多

other kids came out to eat, too. "Tuna fish," Josh said, smelling his sandwich. "What've you guys got?" Ruth Rose peeked inside her plastic bag. "Baloney and cheese," she said. Dink's sandwich turned out to be egg salad. "Who wants to trade?" he asked. "I'll take the egg," Ruth Rose said. "I want the baloney and cheese," Josh said. "Good," Dink said. "I wanted the tuna." The kids swapped sandwiches and began eating. "A kid from each class in the school found a key and a drawing," Dink said after he'd swallowed his first bite. "So there are six keys and six drawings and six footprints," Josh said around a mouthful of sandwich. Ruth Rose shook her head. "Now every class is trying to find Miss Shotsky's skeleton before anyone else does." She sighed. "That's about a hundred kids!" Two small boys walked past, looking for a place to eat their lunches. One of the boys carried a drawing of a skeleton.

其他孩子也出来吃东西。 “金枪鱼，”乔希说，闻着他的三明治。 “你们有什么?”露丝·罗斯偷看了她的塑料袋。 “香肠和奶酪，”她说。 丁克的三明治原来是鸡蛋沙拉。 “谁想交易?”他问。 “我要鸡蛋，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我要熏肠和奶酪，”乔希说。 “很好，”丁克说。“我想要金枪鱼。” 孩子们交换了三明治，开始吃起来。 “学校里每个班都有一个孩子找到了一把钥匙和一幅画，”丁克在吞下第一口后说。 “所以这里有六把钥匙、六幅画和六个脚印。”乔希边说边吃着一口三明治。 露丝·罗斯摇了摇头。“现在每个班都想抢在别人之前找到肖特斯基小姐的尸骨。” 她叹了口气。“那大概是一百个孩子!”两个小男孩走过，想找个地方吃午饭。 其中一个男孩拿着一幅骷髅图。

"Even the little kindergartners!" Josh wailed, kicking some sand. "It's not fair." "I just thought of something," Ruth Rose said. "There's a door that connects Mr. Dillon's office to the nurse's office. He could have snuck in when Miss Shotsky wasn't there and taken the skeleton." "It would take him only a couple of minutes," Josh said. "Guys, I thought we already decided the snatcher couldn't be Mr. Dillon," Dink said. "He wasn't wearing sneakers." "But he could easily have taken Mrs. Waters's powder," Ruth Rose reminded him. "The powder, the door to the nurse's office … everything else points to Mr. Dillon." "But why would the school principal steal the school skeleton?" Dink asked. "He's the one offering the reward for finding Mr. Bones!" Josh balled up his lunch bag. "Let's go see Mrs. Waters again. Maybe she's remembered where she saw that zigzag sneaker sole."

“连幼儿园的小朋友也不例外!”乔希哭着，踢了一些沙子。 “这不公平。”“我刚想到一件事，”露丝·罗斯说。 “狄龙先生的办公室和护士的办公室之间有一扇门。 他可能趁肖特斯基小姐不在的时候溜进来，把那具骷髅拿走了。” “他只需要几分钟，”乔希说。 “伙计们，我想我们已经决定了劫持者不可能是狄龙先生，”丁克说。 “他没有穿运动鞋。” “但他很可能吃了沃特斯太太的爽身粉，”露丝·罗斯提醒他。 “火药，护士办公室的门……其他一切都指向狄龙先生。” “可是校长为什么要偷学校的骨架呢?”丁克问道。 “就是他悬赏找博恩斯先生的!”乔希把午餐袋揉成一团。 “我们再去看看沃特斯太太吧。 也许她还记得在哪里看到过那个之字形的运动鞋鞋底。”

The kids hurried into the school and headed for the principal's office. "Let's leave our lunch stuff," Dink said, stopping at his locker. They opened their locker doors and put their lunch bags inside. They found Mrs. Waters sitting at her desk with a cup of tea in front of her. She looked up when the kids walked in. "This school has gone wacky," she said. "First Miss Shotsky's skeleton disappears. Then I start losing things. I've been searching for my closet key for two days! Whatever will be next!" "You're missing a key?" Josh asked, already digging in his pocket. "Yes. I haven't been able to put my purse and coat in the closet," Mrs. Waters said. Josh found the skeleton drawing wrapped around the key. He removed the paper and put the key on Mrs. Waters's desk. "Is this it?" Mrs. Waters picked up the key and examined it. "No, this isn't the one I lost."

孩子们匆匆走进学校，向校长办公室走去。 “我们把午饭的东西留下吧。”丁克说着，停在他的储物柜前。 他们打开储物柜的门，把午餐袋放了进去。 他们发现沃特斯太太坐在办公桌前，面前放着一杯茶。 孩子们走进来时，她抬起头来。 “这所学校变得古怪了，”她说。 “首先肖特斯基小姐的骨架不见了。 然后我开始失去东西。 我找壁橱的钥匙找了两天了!不管接下来会发生什么!”“你丢了一把钥匙?”乔希问，已经在口袋里掏了掏。 “是的。我没能把钱包和外套放进壁橱里，”沃特斯太太说。 乔什发现那张骷髅图缠在钥匙上。 他摘下那张纸，把钥匙放在沃特斯太太的桌子上。 “是这个吗?”沃特斯太太拿起钥匙仔细检查。 “不，这不是我丢的那张。”

"Could it be a copy of your key?" Dink asked. "I suppose." Mrs. Waters looked at Dink. "Why would anyone take my key and make a copy? Where did you find it, Josh?" "In my locker," he said. "Along with this." He showed Mrs. Waters the picture of the skeleton. "A key and a skeleton?" she said. "What does it mean?" "We think the key leads to the skeleton," Ruth Rose said. "So it might be in your closet!" "My closet! Who would do such a thing?" Mrs. Waters stood up and marched over to her coat closet. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose followed her. Mrs. Waters inserted the key into the lock and turned it. The door slowly swung open. Hanging from Mrs. Waters's coat hook was the school skeleton. Mr. Bones had a big grin on his face. "IT'S MR. BONES!" Ruth Rose screamed.

“会不会是你钥匙的复制品?”丁克问道。 “我想”。沃特斯太太看着丁克。 “为什么会有人拿了我的钥匙并复印?” 你在哪儿找到的，乔希?”“在我的储物柜里，”他说。 “还有这个。”他把骷髅的照片拿给沃特斯太太看。 “一把钥匙和一具骷髅?”她说。 “这是什么意思?”鲁斯·罗斯说:“我们认为这把钥匙通向骨架。” “所以它可能在你的衣橱里!”“我的衣橱!谁会做这种事?”沃特斯太太站起来，大步走向她的衣帽间。 丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯跟着她。 沃特斯太太把钥匙插进锁里，转动了一下。 门慢慢地打开了。 挂在沃特斯太太大衣挂钩上的是学校的骷髅。 博恩斯先生脸上露出灿烂的笑容。 “是骨头先生!”露丝·罗斯尖叫起来。