Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "Jellybeans? What are you talking about?" Josh asked. "I think Ruth Rose wrote this list," Dink said. "And she used Nate's Party Purple crayon." "Oh, yeah, now I remember," Josh said. "But why would she make the list?"

第九章“软糖?”你在说什么?”杰克问。 丁克说:“我认为鲁斯·罗斯写了这份清单。 “她用的是内特的派对紫色蜡笔。” “哦，是的，现在我想起来了，”乔希说。 “但她为什么要上榜呢?”

"I don't know," Dink said. "And why did Mr. Linkletter let us come up here without giving us a hard time? Why was the door left partly open?" "Unless Mr. Linkletter and this vam-pire guy are trying to pull something," Josh said. Suddenly Josh grabbed Dink's arm. "Maybe Dr. Cula captured Ruth Rose and forced her to write this list!" "I suppose that could have happened," Dink said. He picked up the Band-Aid box and emptied it onto the table. Each Band-Aid was wrapped in thin paper, but Dink could see the round shapes through the paper. "You know what I think?" Dink asked. Josh shook his head. "I can't think at all," he said. "My brain feels fried." "I think these Band-Aids belong to Dr. Cula," Dink said. "And I think he gave one to Ellie. Then he gave Mr. Paskey and Mr. Linkletter theirs, too." "After he bit their necks?" asked Josh. "I don't think he bit anybody," Dink said. "Then why would he give them Band-Aids?"

“我不知道，”丁克说。 “为什么林克莱特先生让我们到这里来而不为难我们呢?” 为什么门半开着?”“除非Linkletter先生和那个吸血鬼想搞点什么，”Josh说。 突然，乔希抓住丁克的胳膊。 “也许库拉医生抓住了露丝·罗斯，强迫她写下了这张单子!”“我想那是可能发生的，”丁克说。 他拿起创可贴盒，把它倒在桌子上。 每个创可贴都用薄纸包裹着，但丁克可以透过纸看到圆形的创可贴。 “你知道我在想什么吗?”丁克问道。 乔希摇了摇头。“我根本不能思考，”他说。 “我的脑子好像炸了。”“我想这些创可贴是属于布朗博士的。 库拉，”丁克说。“我想他给了艾莉一个。 然后他把他们的也给了帕斯基先生和林克莱特先生。” “在他咬了他们的脖子之后?”乔希问。 “我不认为它咬了任何人，”丁克说。 “那他为什么要给他们贴创可贴?”

"Good question," Dink said. He set the box on top of the purple list. "And I think we'll get the answer when we find Ruth Rose." Josh scratched his head. "But … that doesn't make any sense," he said. "How could Ruth Rose know anything? She's just as confused as we are about what's going on." Dink shook his head. "No, her phone message said she'd figured it out," he said. "So where is she?" Josh asked. "And where's the guy who checked into this room, whoever he is?" "Well, they're not here," Dink said, glancing around the room. "Let's see if we can get any more information from Mr. Linkletter." Just as the boys stepped through the door, they heard the ping of the elevator. Dink yanked Josh back into the room. He shut the door, and they bolted toward the closet. The two boys jumped into the closet and pulled the door closed.

“问得好，”丁克说。 他把箱子放在紫色单子的最上面。 “我想当我们找到露丝·罗斯时，我们就会得到答案。” 乔希挠了挠头。“但是……这没有任何意义，”他说。 “露丝·罗斯怎么会知道?” 她和我们一样对发生的事情感到困惑。” 丁克摇了摇头。“不，她的电话留言说她已经想明白了，”他说。 “那她在哪儿?”杰克问。 “入住这个房间的那个人在哪里，不管他是谁?”“嗯，他们不在这儿。”丁克说着扫视了一下房间。 “让我们看看能不能从林克莱特先生那里得到更多的信息。” 男孩们刚进门，就听到了电梯的“砰”的一声。 丁克猛地把乔希拉回房间。 他关上门，他们奔向壁橱。 两个男孩跳进壁橱，把门关上。

Inside the dark closet, Dink hid behind the cape, tugging Josh with him. With their backs to the wall, they listened. Next to him, Dink felt Josh shaking. Dink could hardly hear anything other than his own racing heartbeat. Then he heard a door open and close. Feet whispered across carpet. Something creaked, a chair or the bed. Then only silence. "They're not here," Dink heard a voice whisper. "Unless they're hiding in the closet," a different voice responded. Dink tried to push through the wall behind him. He tried to shrink. He closed his eyes and willed himself to become invisible. Nothing worked. Suddenly the door was yanked open. "Come on out, you two," said a familiar voice. Dink opened his eyes and peeked from behind the vampire's cape. Ruth Rose was standing in the open closet doorway with a big grin on her face.

在黑暗的壁橱里，丁克躲在斗篷后面，拉着乔什。 他们背对着墙听着。 在他旁边，丁克感觉到乔希在颤抖。 丁克几乎什么也听不见，除了他自己的心跳。 然后他听到一扇门开了又关上。 脚步声轻轻地穿过地毯。 有什么东西吱吱作响，椅子或床。 然后只有沉默。“他们不在这里。”丁克听到一个声音低语。 “除非他们躲在壁橱里。”另一个声音回答。 丁克试图穿过他身后的墙。 他试图退缩。他闭上眼睛，想让自己隐形。 毫无效果。突然，门被猛地拉开了。 “出来吧，你们两个。”一个熟悉的声音说。 丁克睁开眼睛，从吸血鬼的斗篷后面偷看。 露丝·罗斯站在敞开的壁橱门口，脸上挂着灿烂的笑容。