Chapter 7

Chapter 7 "How about if I flip a coin?" Dink asked. He pulled a quarter from his pocket. "Winner gets to choose who rides in front." "I'll take heads," Brian said. "So you can have tails," Dink told Bradley. He flipped the coin in the air and caught it. "It's tails."

第七章"我来抛硬币怎么样?"丁克问道。 他从口袋里掏出一枚25美分的硬币。 “赢家可以选择谁骑在前面。” “我选正面，”布莱恩说。 “所以你可以有尾巴，”丁克告诉布拉德利。 他把硬币抛向空中，接住了。 “这是尾巴。”

"Good, I ride in front!" Bradley said. "I get to steer!" "Riding in back is good, too," Dink said to Brian. "You get to enjoy the ride but don't have to do any work!" "Thanks, Dink," Josh said. He led Polly to an upside-down wooden box. Bradley climbed on the box, then Josh boosted him onto Polly's bare back. Dink helped Brian up behind his twin brother. "Hold on to Bradley," Dink said. "Let's run fast!" Bradley yelled. "We're not running," Josh said. "We'll take a nice walk down to the river and back. Don't fall off, you monkeys!" "We're not monkeys!" yelled Brian. "We're cowboys!" Holding Polly's lead, Josh walked her into the meadow behind the barn. Dink walked next to the pony, making sure the boys didn't lose their seats. Polly clopped along, dipping her head to munch the tops of weeds. Soon they crossed River Road and stopped on a grassy bank of the Indian River.

“好，我骑在前面!”布拉德利说。 “我来掌舵!”“骑在后面也很好，”丁克对布莱恩说。 “你可以享受这个过程，但不需要做任何工作!”“谢谢你，丁克。”乔希说。 他把波莉领到一个倒置的木箱前。 布拉德利爬到箱子上，然后乔希把他推到波莉光秃秃的背上。 丁克把布赖恩扶到他的孪生兄弟后面。 “抓住布拉德利，”丁克说。 “我们快跑吧!”布拉德利喊道。 “我们不是在跑步，”乔希说。 “我们去河边散步，然后回来。 不要掉下来，你们这些猴子!”“我们不是猴子!”布赖恩喊道。 “我们牛仔!”乔希牵着波莉的头，带她走进谷仓后面的草地。 丁克走在小马旁边，确保男孩们没有失去座位。 波莉啪嗒啪嗒地走着，低下头啃着杂草的顶端。 不久，他们穿过河路，停在印第安河的一个长满草的河岸上。

"Can we go swimming?" Bradley asked as Polly dipped her muzzle into the water. "No, we're going back home as soon as Polly gets her drink," Josh said. He and Dink sat on the grass and watched Polly drink. "I wonder if Officer Fallon found out anything about Dr. Cula," Josh said, keeping his voice low so the twins wouldn't hear. The boys sat and thought about the strange man in black. "I've been thinking about those Band- Aids," Dink said. "What about them?" Josh asked. "They were all the same," Dink replied. "Why would three different people all have the exact same kind of round Band-Aid on their neck?" "That is weird," Josh said after a minute. "You'd think one person might choose a round one but someone else would choose a regular strip, right?" "Right," Dink said.

“我们能去游泳吗?”波莉把嘴伸进水里时，布拉德利问。 “不，波莉一喝到酒，我们就回家。”乔希说。 他和丁克坐在草地上，看着波莉喝水。 “我想知道法伦警官是否发现了有关布朗博士的任何事情。 “Cula。”乔希压低声音说，以免双胞胎听到。 孩子们坐着，想着那个穿黑衣服的陌生人。 “我一直在想那些创可贴，”丁克说。 “他们怎么了?”杰克问。 “他们都是一样的，”丁克回答。 “为什么三个不同的人脖子上都贴着一模一样的圆形创可贴?”“这太奇怪了。”乔希过了一分钟说。 “你会认为一个人可能会选择圆形的，但另一个人会选择普通的，对吧?”“好的，”丁克说。

"We're thirsty!" Bradley yelled from Polly's back. Josh stood up and gently pulled Polly's head away from the water. "Let's go home, girl," he said.

“我们口渴!”布拉德利在波莉的背后喊道。 乔希站起来，轻轻地把波莉的头从水里拉开。 “我们回家吧，姑娘，”他说。

Soon they were back at the barn. Dink helped Brian and Bradley off Polly's back, and the twins raced toward the house. "Let's go call Ruth Rose and see if she heard from Officer Fallon," Josh said as he let Polly into the corral. Dink and Josh walked across the yard to the kitchen door. The twins were standing in front of the open refrigerator fighting over a carton of apple juice. "Freeze!" Josh yelled. The boys turned to look at him. "Okay, now please hand me the juice, wash your hands, and sit," Josh said. The twins did as they were told, and Josh poured four glasses of juice. He got a box of cookies from a shelf and gave each boy one. Josh and Dink took their snacks over to the telephone on the hall table. The light on the answering machine was blinking. "Maybe it's a message from Officer Fallon," Josh said. He hit the PLAY button. But instead of the police chief's voice, they heard Ruth Rose.

很快他们就回到了谷仓。 丁克把布莱恩和布拉德利从波莉的背上扶下来，这对双胞胎跑向房子。 “我们去给露丝·罗斯打个电话，看看她有没有法伦警官的消息。”乔希边说边把波莉放进畜栏。 丁克和乔希穿过院子走到厨房门口。 那对双胞胎站在打开的冰箱前争着要一盒苹果汁。 “冻结!”杰克喊道。男孩们转过身来看着他。 “好了，现在请把果汁递给我，洗手，坐下。”乔希说。 双胞胎照他说的做了，乔希倒了四杯果汁。 他从架子上拿了一盒饼干，给了每个男孩一块。 乔希和丁克把零食拿到大厅桌子上的电话旁。 答录机上的灯在闪烁。 “也许这是法伦警官的消息，”乔希说。 他按下播放键。但他们听到的不是警察局长的声音，而是露丝·罗斯的声音。

She said, "Guys, I figured it out! Meet me at the Shangri-la!" Josh looked at Dink. "Figured out what?" he asked. "Maybe she figured out who your mystery man is," Dink said. "Remember, she thought he looked familiar." "So why did she go to the hotel without us?" Josh asked. "She didn't know we'd be going to the river," Dink said. "Well, let's go meet her," Josh said, heading for the kitchen. "Before the vampire gets her!" Dink shook his head. "We can't leave your brothers alone," he said. The twins had finished their juice and cookies. Josh looked out the window over the sink. "Come on, Mom," he said. "Can we go out and play?" Bradley asked. "After you put your glasses in the sink," Josh told the twins. Just then Josh's mom pulled into the backyard and parked the car. Josh waved to

她说:“伙计们，我想明白了!我们在香格里拉见面!”乔希看着丁克。 “发现了什么?”他问。 “也许她知道你的神秘男人是谁了，”丁克说。 “记住，她觉得他看起来很眼熟。” “那她为什么不带我们去旅馆呢?”杰克问。 “她不知道我们要去河边，”丁克说。 “好吧，我们去见见她吧。”乔希说着朝厨房走去。 “在吸血鬼抓住她之前!”丁克摇了摇头。 “我们不能丢下你的兄弟们不管，”他说。 这对双胞胎已经吃完了他们的果汁和饼干。 乔希望着窗外的水槽。 “来吧，妈妈，”他说。“我们能出去玩吗?”布拉德利问。 “先把眼镜放进水槽里，”乔什对双胞胎说。 就在这时，乔希的妈妈把车停在后院。 乔希向他挥手