Chapter 7

Chapter 7 "But why not?" Josh asked. Officer Fallon shook his head. "I wish I knew," he said. "If anyone ever needed a good lawyer, Pete does." "Could we visit Pete?" Dink asked. "We could try to convince him to talk to the lawyer." Officer Fallon gazed at Dink across his desk. "We have nothing to lose," he said finally. "I'll take you three to his cell for a few minutes. Explain to Pete that he needs a lawyer!"

第七章“为什么不呢?”杰克问。 法伦警官摇了摇头。 “我希望我知道，”他说。“如果有人需要一个好律师，那就是皮特。” “我们能去拜访皮特吗?”丁克问道。 “我们可以试着说服他和律师谈谈。” 法伦警官隔着桌子盯着丁克。 “我们没有什么可失去的，”他最后说。 “我带你们三个去他的牢房呆几分钟。 跟皮特解释一下，他需要一个律师!”

The kids followed Officer Fallon out of his office, along a hallway, and down a set of stairs. At the bottom, Officer Fallon opened a steel door. Behind the door was a large, window-less room. In one corner, iron bars formed a small cell. Inside the cell, Pete Unkenholz sat on a chair, staring at his feet. "I brought you some company," Officer Fallon said. He nodded at the kids and left the room. Pete looked up. He licked his lips but didn't say anything. His eyes looked scared. "How are you?" Ruth Rose asked. Pete shrugged. "Fine," he said in a soft voice. "Do you have your allergy medication?" Dink asked. Pete nodded his head toward a box of Aller- Green that stood on a small table.

孩子们跟着法伦警官走出办公室，穿过走廊，走下楼梯。 在底部，法伦警官打开了一扇铁门。 门后是一间没有窗户的大房间。 在一个角落里，铁条组成了一个小牢房。 在牢房里，皮特·昂肯霍尔兹坐在椅子上，盯着自己的脚。 “我给你带来了一些同伴，”法伦警官说。 他向孩子们点了点头，然后离开了房间。 皮特抬起头来。他舔了舔嘴唇，什么也没说。 他的眼睛看起来很害怕。“你好吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 皮特耸耸肩。“很好，”他轻声说。 “你有抗过敏药吗?”丁克问道。 皮特朝小桌子上放着的一盒阿勒格林啤酒点了点头。

"Officer Fallon really wants to help you," Josh said. "He found you a good lawyer. Will you talk to her?" Pete licked his lips again. "Look, I appreciate your coming, but I already told them I took the balls," he said. "But you need a lawyer!" Ruth Rose said. "And we don't think you took those baseballs, even if you said you did!" Pete's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. "When you went to the clubhouse for your medicine, did you see anyone else there?" Josh asked. Pete shook his head. "I stole the baseballs," he muttered. "But why won't you tell Officer Fallon where they are?" Dink asked. "And why won't you talk to the lawyer?" Pete twisted in his chair so his back was to the kids. "Please just go away," he said over his shoulder. After a few seconds, the kids left. They walked back to Officer Fallon's office. "Any luck?" the police chief asked. "He told us to go away," said Josh.

“法伦警官真的很想帮你，”乔希说。 “他给你找了个好律师。 你能跟她谈谈吗?”皮特又舔了舔嘴唇。 “听着，我很感谢你的到来，但我已经告诉他们我拿走了蛋蛋，”他说。 “但是你需要一个律师!”露丝·罗斯说。 “我们也不认为是你拿了那些棒球，即使你说是你拿的!”皮特睁大了眼睛，但他什么也没说。 “你去俱乐部吃药的时候，在那里看到别人了吗?”杰克问。 皮特摇了摇头。“我偷了棒球，”他喃喃地说。 “但你为什么不告诉法伦警官他们在哪里?”丁克问道。 “你为什么不和律师谈谈?”皮特在椅子上扭了扭身子，背对着孩子们。 “请你走开吧，”他回过头说。 几秒钟后，孩子们离开了。 他们走回法伦警官的办公室。 “运气好吗?”警察局长问。 “他叫我们走开，”乔希说。

"Thanks for trying," Officer Fallon said. "Maybe Pete just needs more time to think." The kids left the police station and headed toward Main Street. "Now I'm really confused," Ruth Rose said. "It's almost like Pete wants to stay in jail." "Something else has been bugging me," Josh said. "If Pete did steal the balls, why didn't he just hide them, then come back to the game? By leaving the way he did, he practically pointed a finger at himself." Ruth Rose rubbed her temples. "My brain is tired," she said. "Your brain needs peanut butter," Josh said. "It's a scientific fact that when your brain is stuck, you need something even stickier to get it unstuck! Peanut butter!" Dink and Ruth Rose both shoved Josh. But they were hungry, so they followed him to his house on Farm Lane. Josh's mother was in the kitchen, still dressed in shorts and sneakers. She was looking through the window at Josh's younger brothers in the backyard.

“谢谢你的努力，”法伦警官说。 “也许皮特只是需要更多的时间来思考。” 孩子们离开警察局，朝主街走去。 “现在我真的很困惑，”露丝·罗斯说。 “就好像皮特想待在监狱里一样。” “还有一件事一直困扰着我，”乔希说。 “如果皮特真的偷了球，他为什么不把球藏起来，然后再回来比赛呢?” 他那样离开，实际上是在指责自己。” 露丝·罗斯揉了揉太阳穴。 “我的大脑很累，”她说。 “你的大脑需要花生酱，”乔希说。 “这是一个科学事实，当你的大脑被卡住时，你需要更粘的东西来解开它!”花生酱!”丁克和露丝·罗斯都推了乔希。 但是他们很饿，所以他们跟着他来到了他在农场巷的家。 乔希的妈妈在厨房里，仍然穿着短裤和运动鞋。 她透过窗户看着乔希的弟弟们在后院。

"You made a great catch today, Mrs. Pinto!" Ruth Rose said. Josh's mother smiled at the kids. "It was just luck," she said. "The ball came right to me. Any news about Mr. Pocket's baseballs?" The kids quickly told her what they'd learned about Pete. "Goodness!" Josh's mother said. "Pete Unkenholz seems like the most honest person in the world!" She headed out of the room. "Will you watch the boys while I shower?" she asked Josh. "Sure, and we're gonna make sandwiches, okay?" Josh asked. "Okay, and send your brothers in for their lunch in a few minutes," his mother said as she climbed the stairs. Josh made thick peanut butter sandwiches while Dink and Ruth Rose found the milk and three glasses. They ate outside at the picnic table. Josh's twin brothers were playing with his dog, Pal, on the lawn. The two four-year-olds were tugging on one end of an old T-shirt. The other end was in Pal's

“你今天钓了个好鱼，平托太太!”露丝·罗斯说。 乔希的妈妈对孩子们笑了笑。 “这只是运气，”她说。 “球直接向我飞来。 普凯特先生的棒球有什么消息吗?”孩子们很快告诉了她他们对皮特的了解。 “天哪!”乔希的妈妈说。 “皮特·昂肯霍尔兹似乎是世界上最诚实的人!”她走出了房间。 “我洗澡的时候，你能照看孩子们吗?”她问乔希。 “当然，我们要做三明治，好吗?”杰克问。 “好吧，几分钟后让你的兄弟们进来吃午饭。”他妈妈边说边爬上楼梯。 乔希做了厚厚的花生酱三明治，丁克和露丝·罗斯去找牛奶和三个杯子。 他们在外面的野餐桌上吃饭。 乔希的双胞胎兄弟和他的狗狗在草坪上玩耍。 两个四岁的孩子拽着一件旧t恤的一头。 另一端在帕尔家

mouth. The boys laughed and yelled. Pal growled and tossed his head back and forth. All three were covered with dirt. "Mom's gonna flip out when she sees what you're doing to your shirt!" Josh yelled. "It isn't our shirt!" Brian yelled back. "It's yours!" Bradley chimed in. Both boys burst into giggles and went running after Pal. Dink and Ruth Rose laughed. "Bye-bye, shirt," Dink said. "Probably one of my favorites, too," Josh muttered. Then he jumped up and nearly spilled his milk. "Guys, there was a shirt at Pete's trailer," he said. "Outside on that chair."

的嘴。男孩们又笑又叫。 帕尔咆哮着，前后晃动着他的头。 三个人身上都沾满了泥土。 “妈妈看到你把衬衫弄成这样会大发雷霆的!”杰克喊道。 “这不是我们的衬衫!”布莱恩喊道。 “这是你的!”布拉德利插话了。 两个男孩都咯咯地笑了起来，跑去追帕尔。 丁克和露丝·罗斯笑了。 “再见，衬衫，”丁克说。 “可能也是我最喜欢的。”乔希喃喃地说。 然后他跳起来，差点洒了他的牛奶。 “伙计们，皮特的拖车里有件衬衫，”他说。 “在外面那把椅子上。”