Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Officer Fallon left his position on the field and walked over to the kids. "What's going on?" he said. "Where's our umpire?" "We don't know," Josh said. "But Mr. Pocket's baseball collection is missing!" Officer Fallon blinked. "What do you mean, 'missing'?" he asked. Josh told Officer Fallon what he'd discovered. "Did you see anyone else inside the clubhouse?" the police chief asked.

法伦警官离开了他在球场上的位置，走向孩子们。 “怎么回事?”他说。 “我们的裁判在哪里?”“我们不知道，”乔希说。 “但是口袋先生的棒球收藏不见了!”法伦警官眨了眨眼。 “你说‘失踪’是什么意思?”他问。 乔什把他的发现告诉了法伦警官。 “你在俱乐部里看到其他人了吗?”警察局长问。

Josh shook his head. "I was the only one there," he said. Officer Fallon looked toward the clubhouse. "Pete went inside just before you did, Josh," Officer Fallon said. "Are you telling me he wasn't in there?" Josh shook his head. "I didn't see anyone. After I noticed the baseballs were gone, I got the heck out of there!" he said. Mr. Pocket stormed up to them. His face was as white as his hair. "They are gone!" he said. "Thaddeus, just how much are those balls worth?" Officer Fallon asked. "A great deal," Mr. Pocket said. "But I don't care about the money. My father gave me those baseballs." "I'll do my best to get them back for you," Officer Fallon said. He ran toward the parking lot, where he'd parked his cruiser. Mr. Pocket sighed. "Well, I guess the game is over," he said. He walked away. A minute later, the kids heard his voice over the public-address system. "LADIES AND GENTS, I'M SORRY TO REPORT THAT THE GAME HAS BEEN CALLED OFF."

乔希摇了摇头。“只有我一个人在那里，”他说。 法伦警官朝会所望去。 “皮特在你进去之前进去了，乔什，”法伦警官说。 “你是说他不在里面吗?”乔希摇了摇头。 “我没看见任何人。当我发现棒球不见了，我赶紧离开了那里。”他说。 朴凯特先生怒气冲冲地向他们走来。 他的脸和他的头发一样白。 “他们走了!”他说。“塞笛厄斯，这些球值多少钱?”法伦警官问。 “很多，”朴凯特说。 “但我不在乎钱。 那些棒球是我父亲给我的。” “我会尽我所能帮你把它们找回来，”法伦警官说。 他跑向停车场，他把巡逻车停在那里。 朴凯特先生叹了口气。“好吧，我想游戏结束了，”他说。 他走开了。一分钟后，孩子们从广播里听到了他的声音。 “女士们，先生们，我很抱歉地通知大家，比赛取消了。”

There was a pause. Then he continued: "WE HOPE THE GAME WILL BE CONTINUED IN A FEW DAYS. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW AS SOON AS WE KNOW MORE. THANK YOU." The kids watched Mr. Pocket walk toward Main Street. The people in the bleachers began leaving. Dink could hear their disappointed voices as they passed. The men straggled off the field, looking confused. Ellie walked over to the kids. "What's that all about?" she asked. "And what's with Mr. Pocket? After he talked with you kids, he looked like he swallowed some nails!" Josh explained. "And Pete disappeared the same time the baseballs did!" Ruth Rose added. "You're kidding, right?" Ellie said. "Nope. Officer Fallon just took off," Josh said. "I think he's going to try to find Pete." Ellie looked sad. "Gee, he seemed like such a nice guy," she said. "I thought so, too," Dink said. "Do you know where he came from?" Ruth Rose asked Ellie. "I mean, we don't really know

一阵沉默。然后他继续说道:“我们希望比赛能在几天后继续进行。 我们一有消息就会通知你。 谢谢你。”孩子们看着口袋先生向主街走去。 看台上的人们开始离开。 丁克能听到他们走过时失望的声音。 男人们散乱地离开了场地，看起来很困惑。 艾莉走向孩子们。 “这是怎么回事?”她问。 “口袋先生怎么啦?” 在他和你们这些孩子交谈之后，他看起来就像吞了一些钉子一样!”杰克解释说。 “皮特在棒球消失的同时也消失了!”露丝·罗斯补充道。 “你在开玩笑吧?”艾莉说。 “不。法伦警官走了，”乔希说。 “我想他会去找皮特的。” 艾莉看起来很伤心。“哇，他看起来真是个好人，”她说。 “我也这么认为，”丁克说。 “你知道他是从哪儿来的吗?”露丝·罗斯问艾丽。 “我的意思是，我们真的不知道

anything about him." "All I know is what he told me a couple days ago," said Ellie. "He came into the diner for a coffee and we chatted. He said he was heading down south, but he stopped to earn some more money. He's got a trailer parked at the river campground." "But where did he come from?" asked Dink. Ellie shrugged. "Didn't say. But I find it hard to believe that he's a thief." "You know what's weird?" Josh said. "If Pete planned to steal the balls, why'd he do it during the game?" "Maybe he figured no one would be in the clubhouse," Ruth Rose said. "I guess he was right!" "It seems awfully strange," Ellie said. "Well, if the game is off, I'd better get back to my diner." Ellie hurried away, and the kids walked slowly toward Main Street. A lot of people stopped them to ask what was going on. The kids explained, and the people went away shaking their heads. Just as the kids reached Main Street, Officer Fallon's cruiser appeared.

关于他的任何事情。”“我只知道他几天前告诉我的，”埃莉说。 “他走进餐厅喝咖啡，我们聊了聊。 他说他要到南方去，但他停下来多挣些钱。 他有一辆拖车停在河边的露营地。” “但是他是从哪里来的呢?”丁克问道。 艾莉耸耸肩。“没说。 但我很难相信他是个小偷。” “你知道奇怪的是什么吗?”杰克说。 “如果皮特打算偷球，他为什么要在比赛的时候偷呢?”“也许他认为没有人会在俱乐部里，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我想他是对的!”“这似乎很奇怪，”艾莉说。 “好吧，如果比赛结束了，我最好还是回去吃饭吧。” 埃莉匆匆离去，孩子们慢慢地朝主街走去。 很多人拦住他们，问发生了什么事。 孩子们解释了一番，人们摇着头走开了。 就在孩子们到达主街时，法伦警官的巡逻车出现了。

In the backseat, staring straight ahead, sat Pete Unkenholz.

皮特·昂肯霍尔兹坐在后座上，直直地盯着前方。