Chapter 5

Chapter 5 The kids left the deck, passed Wallis's van and the flagpole, and walked into the trees. They turned and waved to Abbi, who waved back. "This looks like a trail," Dink said, looking down. The kids kept their eyes on the ground as they moved deeper into the trees. Soon Abbi and the cabin were out of sight. The land was level for the first few minutes, then it angled sharply upward. The kids hiked in single file, with Josh leading and Dink last in line.

孩子们离开甲板，经过沃利斯的货车和旗杆，走进树林。 他们转身向阿比挥手，阿比也向他们挥手。 “这看起来像一条小径，”丁克低头说。 孩子们向树林深处走去，眼睛一直盯着地面。 不久，阿比和小屋就看不见了。 刚开始的几分钟，地面是平的，然后陡然向上倾斜。 孩子们排成一列纵队徒步，乔希领头，丁克排在最后。

Fallen trees, roots poking out of the ground, and jagged rocks made walking difficult. "I don't see any trail at all!" Josh wailed when they stopped to look around. High above their heads, tall trees blocked out the sky. "I think we should just keep going up," Ruth Rose said. "If we get out of these trees, we might be able to see that dead one Abbi showed us." They kept climbing. Dink could hear Josh and Ruth Rose taking deep breaths. He was sweating and swatting at mosquitoes. After about twenty minutes, Josh stopped. "It better not be much farther," he panted. "It's not. Look!" Ruth Rose said. She pointed uphill behind Josh. "It's the dead tree!" Dink said. "We're almost there!"

倒下的树木、露出地面的树根和参差不齐的岩石使行走变得困难。 “我根本没看见任何痕迹!”当他们停下来环顾四周时，乔希哭了起来。 在他们头顶的高处，高大的树木遮住了天空。 “我认为我们应该继续上升，”露丝·罗斯说。 “如果我们走出树林，也许就能看到阿比指给我们看的那具尸体。” 他们继续往上爬。丁克能听到乔希和露丝·罗斯在深呼吸。 他在大汗淋漓地拍蚊子。 大约二十分钟后，乔希停了下来。 “最好别太远了。”他喘着气说。 “这不是。看!”露丝·罗斯说。 她指着乔希身后的山坡。 “是那棵枯树!”丁克说。 “快到了!”

It took them ten more minutes of climbing before they were standing at the base of the tree. Josh turned and waved his arms high in the air in case Abbi was watching. Near the dead tree stood a pile of giant boulders. Behind the tree, the land sloped downward toward a cliff. "It's beautiful up here," Dink said. "You can see for miles!" Ruth Rose said. "Look how blue the water is." "And look how dark those clouds are," Josh said nervously. "I sure don't want to be up here in a thunderstorm."

他们又爬了十多分钟才站在树底下。 乔希转过身，在空中高高挥舞着双臂，以防阿比在看着他。 在那棵枯树旁边立着一堆巨石。 在那棵树后面，地势向下倾斜，通向一座悬崖。 “这里很美，”丁克说。 “你可以看到很远的地方!”露丝·罗斯说。 “看这水多蓝啊。” “看那些云多黑。”乔希紧张地说。 “我可不想在雷雨天到这儿来。”

The kids split up and walked among the rocks and boulders. It took only a few seconds for Dink to find animal tracks in the sand. "Guys, over here!" he called. Josh and Ruth Rose found him on his knees. "Look, are these wolf tracks?" Josh and Ruth Rose knelt next to Dink. "They do look like pawprints," Ruth Rose said, studying the sandy ground. Josh put his own hand next to a pawprint. "Look how big these tracks are!" he said. Ruth Rose pointed to some shoe-prints. "Do you think these are the kidnappers' prints?" she asked.

孩子们分头走在岩石和巨石之间。 丁克只花了几秒钟就在沙滩上找到了动物的足迹。 “伙计们，过来!”他喊道。 乔什和露丝·罗斯发现他跪在地上。 “看，这些是狼的脚印吗?”乔希和露丝·罗斯跪在丁克旁边。 “它们看起来确实像爪印，”露丝·罗斯一边打量着沙地，一边说。 乔什把自己的手放在一个爪印旁边。 “看看这些脚印有多大!”他说。 露丝·罗斯指着一些鞋印。 “你认为这些是绑架者的指纹吗?”她问。

"Maybe," Dink said. "But other people must come up here, too." The kids prowled among the rocks. They found animal tracks, but no more from humans. Josh stopped in front of two rock slabs leaning against each other. Beneath the rocks, a burrow had been dug, leaving a mound of loose dirt. "Guys, I think I found the den!" Josh whispered. The kids knelt and peered down into the dark lair. "What if the mother wolf is down there right now?" Josh asked. Suddenly they heard a wolf howl. All three kids jumped back. "Run!" yelled Josh. "She's not down there," Ruth Rose said. "Look!" The mother wolf was standing on top of a pile of boulders about one hundred yards away. She was watching the kids with her ears standing straight up. While the kids looked at her, she let out another howl, then leaped off the rocks and disappeared.

“也许吧，”丁克说。“但是其他人也必须到这里来。” 孩子们在岩石间徘徊。 他们发现了动物的足迹，但没有发现人类的足迹。 乔希在两块互相靠着的石板前停了下来。 在岩石下面，挖了一个洞，留下一堆松散的泥土。 “伙计们，我想我找到洞穴了!”杰克小声说。 孩子们跪下来，向黑暗的巢穴里窥视。 “如果母狼现在就在下面呢?”杰克问。 突然，他们听到一声狼嚎。 三个孩子都跳了回去。 “快跑!”“她不在下面，”露丝·罗斯说。 “看!”母狼站在一百码外的一堆巨石上。 她正竖起耳朵看着孩子们。 当孩子们看着她的时候，她又发出了一声嚎叫，然后从岩石上跳下来消失了。