Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 "Careful going over the curb, or you'll spill the whole pile," Dink cautioned his friend Josh. "You and Ruth Rose are supposed to be holding on to it!" Josh answered.

丁克告诫他的朋友乔希:“过马路时要小心，否则你会把整堆东西都洒出来的。” “你和露丝·罗斯应该抓住它的!”杰克回答。

"We are holding, Josh," Ruth Rose said. "But you're pulling the wagon too fast!" An hour before, Dink and Josh had helped Ruth Rose clean some old news-papers out of her basement. Now they were hauling the papers to the recycling bin at the supermarket. For the job, Ruth Rose borrowed her little brother Nate's wagon. It was early August and the sky was filled with cotton candy clouds. The kids wore shorts and Tshirts. Ruth Rose liked to dress all in one color. Her shorts and shirt were sky blue. They matched her eyes, headband, and sneakers. The kids crossed Main Street in front of the supermarket. "Almost there," Dink said, struggling to keep the tower of papers from toppling. A drop of sweat fell from the tip of his nose. Dink's real name was Donald David Duncan. Most people called him Dink, except his mother when she was annoyed with him. The kids tugged the wagon to a row of tall wooden bins at the side of the supermarket. Each bin was labeled according to what was being recycled, and one was for newspapers.

“我们坚持住了，乔希，”露丝·罗斯说。 “但是你把马车拉得太快了!”一小时前，丁克和乔希帮露丝·罗斯清理了地下室里的一些旧报纸。 现在他们正把报纸拖到超市的回收箱里。 为了这项工作，露丝·罗斯借用了她弟弟内特的马车。 那是八月初，天空飘满了棉花糖般的云朵。 孩子们穿着短裤和t恤。 露丝·罗斯喜欢穿一种颜色的衣服。 她的短裤和衬衫是天蓝色的。 它们与她的眼睛、发带和运动鞋相配。 孩子们在超市前穿过主街。 “就快到了，”丁克说着，挣扎着不让那堆文件倒塌。 一滴汗从他的鼻尖上滴下来。 丁克的真名是唐纳德·大卫·邓肯。 大多数人都叫他丁克，除了他妈妈生他气的时候。 孩子们把马车拖到超市边上一排高高的木箱子前。 每个垃圾桶都根据要回收的东西贴上了标签，其中一个是放报纸的。

Dink pulled open the door, and the kids began tossing bundles of papers inside. "Boy, was that hard work," Josh announced when they were finished. He grabbed the wagon handle. "Let's go inside and get something to drink!" Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh into the supermarket. The automatic door swooshed open, and they were immediately bathed in cool air. They found a machine in the frozen-foods section and each bought a cold soda. "Guys, look!" Josh whispered. He tipped his soda can toward the meat counter. A few customers waited while a butcher sliced steaks. "Why are we looking at steaks?" Dink asked. "You're always thinking of your next meal, Josh," said Ruth Rose. "No, I mean the guy standing there," Josh said. He pointed at a man dressed completely in black. His slicked-back hair was also black. His skin was ghostly pale. Dark sunglasses were perched above his long nose.

丁克拉开门，孩子们开始往里面扔成捆的文件。 “天哪，这工作真辛苦。”他们完成后，乔希宣布。 他抓住马车的把手。 “我们进去喝点东西吧!”丁克和露丝·罗斯跟着乔希进了超市。 自动门嗖地一声开了，他们立刻沐浴在凉爽的空气中。 他们在冷冻食品区找到了一台机器，每人买了一杯冰苏打水。 “伙计们,看!”杰克小声说。 他把汽水罐朝卖肉的柜台倾斜。 几个顾客在屠夫切牛排的时候等着。 “我们为什么要看牛排?”丁克问道。 “你总是想着下一顿饭，乔希，”露丝·罗斯说。 “不，我是说站在那里的那个人，”乔希说。 他指着一个全身黑衣的人。 他的后梳头发也是黑色的。 他的皮肤苍白得吓人。 他的长鼻子上戴着一副黑色的太阳镜。

"I wonder who he is," Josh said. "I've never seen him in Green Lawn before." "I haven't, either," Dink said. "But so what? I don't know everybody in town." Ruth Rose peeked over a display of frozen chickens to get a better look. "Something about him looks familiar," she said. "Do you know what he looks like to me?" Josh asked. "A man buying meat?" Dink said. Josh shook his head. "No. He looks like a vampire!" Dink grinned at Josh. "Have you ever seen a vampire, Josh?" he asked. "No, but I know what they look like." Josh pointed toward the man. "Vampires have skinny lips and really pale skin, like him!"

“我想知道他是谁，”乔希说。 “我以前从没在绿草坪见过他。” “我也没有，”丁克说。 “那又怎样?”我不认识镇上的每个人。” 露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)从展示的冷冻鸡肉上偷看了一下，以便看得更清楚。 “他身上有些眼熟，”她说。 “你知道他在我眼里是什么样子吗?”杰克问。 “一个买肉的人?”丁克说。 乔希摇了摇头。“没有。他看起来像个吸血鬼!”丁克朝乔希咧嘴一笑。 “你见过吸血鬼吗，乔希?”他问。 “不知道，但我知道他们长什么样。” 乔希指着那个人。 “吸血鬼的嘴唇很薄，皮肤很白，就像他一样!”

Ruth Rose laughed. "Your skin is pale. Are you a vampire?" she asked. "I am not pale," Josh said. "I have freckles." The man strolled away from the meat counter. "Let's follow him!" Josh said. "Why?" Dink asked. "Because he's weird!" Josh said. "Who wears sunglasses inside a store?" "Lots of people do, Josh," Dink said. "Guys, we have to go home for more newspapers," Ruth Rose said. "My mom is paying us, remember?" "We can do that later," Josh said, finishing his drink. "Come on, the guy's leaving!" Shaking their heads, Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh, who took off after the man in black. Suddenly the man stopped in the doorway. He turned and seemed to stare right at the three kids. The store lights reflected off his glasses like tiny lightning bolts. The man smiled and nodded at the kids.

露丝·罗斯笑了。“你的皮肤很苍白。 你是吸血鬼吗?”她问。 “我不苍白，”乔希说。 “我有雀斑。”那人从卖肉的柜台溜达而去。 “我们跟着他吧!”杰克说。 “为什么?”丁克问道。“因为他很奇怪!”杰克说。 “谁会在商店里戴墨镜?”“很多人都喜欢，乔希，”丁克说。 “伙计们，我们得回家再买些报纸，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我妈妈在付我们钱，记得吗?”“我们以后再谈吧。”乔希喝完酒说。 “快点，那家伙要走了!”丁克和露丝·罗斯摇着头跟在约什后面，约什跟着那个黑衣人跑了。 突然，那人在门口停了下来。 他转过身来，似乎正盯着那三个孩子。 商店的灯光在他的眼镜上反射出来，像一道小小的闪电。 那人微笑着向孩子们点了点头。