Chapter 9

Chapter 9 All three kids were on their knees studying the stain. "You're right," Josh said. "And it looks like it came off someone's shoe." He traced a finger around the smudge. "See, this round edge looks like part of a heelprint." Josh looked at Dink and Ruth Rose. "Guys, someone stepped in those blueberries we saw yesterday," he said. "This could have been made by the same person!" "Right, the people who carried the cage down to the boat!" Ruth Rose said.

三个孩子都跪在地上研究那个污点。 “你说得对，”乔希说。 “而且看起来像是从谁的鞋子上掉下来的。” 他用手指在污迹上描了描。 “看，这个圆边看起来像是鞋跟印的一部分。” 乔希看着丁克和露丝·罗斯。 “伙计们，有人踩到了我们昨天看到的蓝莓，”他说。 “这可能是同一个人做的!”“对，就是那些把笼子搬到船上的人!”露丝·罗斯说。

Dink glanced up. "And the awning kept last night's rain from washing it away." "Hey! What are you kids doing?" someone shouted. Startled, the kids looked up. A tall man and woman in shorts and T-shirts were hurrying down the dock toward them. The woman's blond ponytail flopped over one shoulder. "We … we wondered if we could have a picnic here," Ruth Rose said. Josh held up his pack.

丁克抬起头来。“遮阳篷防止了昨晚的雨把它冲走。” “嘿!你们这些孩子在干什么?”有人喊道。 孩子们吓了一跳，抬起头来。 一个高个子男人和一个穿着短裤和t恤的女人从码头上向他们匆匆走来。 那个女人的金色马尾辫耷拉在一边肩上。 “我们……我们想知道我们是否可以在这里野餐，”露丝·罗斯说。 乔希举起他的背包。

"Do you know you're on private property?" the woman asked. "How did you get here, anyway? I don't see another boat." "The mailman dropped us off," Ruth Rose said. "He'll be back to get us in a half hour." Dink held out the mail. "Morris asked me to put this inside your gate," he said. "Thanks." The man took the mail and opened the magazine. "Okay, the boss is away, so I guess you can have your picnic," the woman said. She pointed toward the sandy beach. "Up there, please." The man and woman turned and strode back up the dock. The kids scrambled after them. When they reached the sand, the man walked through the gate, still reading his magazine. "Please don't leave any litter behind," the woman said. Then she stepped inside the gate, slammed it shut, and walked through the shrubbery. "They could be the wolf-nappers!" Ruth Rose said. "That woman had a blond ponytail!" "When we get back, we can call the game warden!" Dink said.

“你知道你在私有财产上吗?”女人问。 “你到底是怎么到这儿来的?” 我没看见别的船。” “邮递员让我们下车，”露丝·罗斯说。 “半小时后他会回来接我们。” 丁克递过信。“莫里斯让我把这个放在你的大门里，”他说。 “谢谢。”那人接过信，打开杂志。 “好吧，老板不在，所以我想你可以去野餐了，”女人说。 她指着沙滩。 “请到那边去。”男人和女人转身大步走回码头。 孩子们争先恐后地跟在他们后面。 当他们到达沙滩时，那个人走了进来，还在看他的杂志。 “请不要乱扔垃圾，”那位女士说。 然后她走进大门，砰地关上，穿过灌木丛。 “他们可能是捕狼人!”露丝·罗斯说。 “那个女人梳着金色的马尾辫!”“等我们回来，我们可以打电话给狩猎管理员!”丁克说。

"Guys, we only have a half hour," Josh declared. "Let's eat!" He sat in the sand and opened his pack. Dink and Ruth Rose knelt as Josh brought out three juice cartons, a bag of cookies, and some grapes. High over their heads, a few gulls soared. "Look at all those seagulls," Ruth Rose said. "Watch out, Josh, they might zoom down and grab your cookie." "They'd better not," Josh said, glancing at the sky. "Why don't you turn on Abbi's tape recorder?" Dink said. "If they come closer, we can get some gull noises for her collection." "Good idea." Ruth Rose took the tape recorder out and set it on her flattened pack. She pushed the RECORD button. The kids began to eat. The only sounds were their munching and a few gull cries. "Guys, what are we going to do?" Ruth Rose asked. "If those are the people Abbi saw, the wolf pups could be here on this island!" Dink turned and looked through the fence into the thick shrubbery. "But we can't get in," he said.

“伙计们，我们只有半个小时的时间。” “吃吧!”他坐在沙滩上，打开背包。 丁克和露丝·罗斯跪了下来，乔希拿出三盒果汁、一袋饼干和一些葡萄。 几只海鸥在他们头顶的高处飞翔。 “看看那些海鸥，”露丝·罗斯说。 “小心，乔什，他们可能会放大，抢走你的饼干。” “他们最好不要。”乔希说，瞥了一眼天空。 “你为什么不打开阿比的录音机呢?”丁克说。 “如果它们靠近我们，我们就能收集到一些海鸥的声音。” “好主意。”露丝·罗斯拿出录音机，放在她扁平的背包上。 她按下录音按钮。 孩子们开始吃东西。唯一的声音是它们的咀嚼声和几声海鸥的叫声。 “伙计们，我们该怎么办?”露丝·罗斯问。 “如果阿比看到的是这些人，狼崽可能就在这个岛上!”丁克转过身，透过栅栏向茂密的灌木丛望去。 “但我们进不去，”他说。

Ruth Rose shook her head. "Why would anyone want baby wolves?" she asked. "I just don't get it." "The rich guy who owns this place must be their boss," Josh said. "He might have told them to steal the babies." "But why?" Ruth Rose asked. "For pets," Josh said. "I read about a movie star who had a leopard." "But that's cruel!" Ruth Rose said. "Wild animals should be left in the wild. And those babies should be with their mother. We have to rescue them!" "How, Ruth Rose?" Dink stood up and walked over to the gate. He tried to open it. "Locked," he muttered. Suddenly a bunch of gulls swooped down and landed on the sand. "Shoo!" Josh yelled, making the gulls take off again. Just then, they heard a toot. "There's Morris," Josh said. The mail boat was still a ways off, chugging toward the island. The kids packed their stuff and hurried onto the dock.

露丝·罗斯摇了摇头。“为什么有人想要小狼呢?”她问。 “我就是不明白。”“开这家店的有钱人一定是他们的老板，”乔希说。 “他可能让他们把孩子偷走了。” “但为什么?”露丝·罗斯问。 “给宠物的，”乔希说。“我读到一个电影明星养了一只豹子。” “可那太残忍了!”露丝·罗斯说。 “野生动物应该留在野外。 那些孩子应该和他们的妈妈在一起。 我们必须去救他们!”“怎么了，露丝·罗斯?”丁克站起来，向大门走去。 他试图打开它。“锁上了。”他喃喃地说。 突然，一群海鸥俯冲下来，落在沙滩上。 “嘘!”乔希喊道，让海鸥们再次起飞。 就在这时，他们听到了一声嘟嘟声。 “莫里斯在那儿，”乔希说。 邮船还在很远的地方，向小岛隆隆驶去。 孩子们收拾好东西，匆匆上了码头。

They stood waiting next to the blue motorboat. Josh glanced down. Suddenly he lay flat on his belly and leaned over the boat. "What are you doing?" Dink asked. "Looking for clues," Josh said. "If the baby wolves were in this boat, there might be some hairs." He peered beneath a seat. "Aha!" Josh reached under the seat, then yelled. He jumped to his feet, shaking his hands in disgust. "What did you see?" Ruth Rose asked. "A mouse!" Josh said. "Really?" Ruth Rose said. "We should catch it and set it free on land!" "Too late," Josh said. "It's all wet and slimy and dead."

他们站在蓝色的摩托艇旁边等着。 乔希向下瞥了一眼。突然，他俯身趴在船上。 “你在干什么?”丁克问道。 “寻找线索，”乔希说。 “如果小狼在这艘船上，可能会有一些毛发。” 他往座位下面看了看。“啊哈!”乔希把手伸到座位下面，大叫起来。 他跳了起来，厌恶地摇着双手。 “你看到了什么?”露丝·罗斯问。 “老鼠!”杰克说。“真的吗?”露丝·罗斯说。 “我们应该抓住它，把它放上岸!”“太晚了。”乔希说。 “全是湿的，黏糊糊的，死了。”