Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Dink gulped, then bowed to the king. "And I am Queen Grace," said a woman who stepped out from behind the king. The queen wore a long white gown. The tips of blue shoes showed under the gown's hem. Around her neck she wore a gold chain suspending a large ruby. All three kids murmured "Hello" and bowed. "These are my parents," Sammi said proudly. "Welcome to our home," Queen Grace said. "Sammi, why don't you show your friends their rooms now?" The king and queen walked to a door, where a servant waited to open it. They disappeared down some stairs.

丁克咽了口气，然后向国王鞠了一躬。 “我是格蕾丝女王，”一个女人从国王身后走出来说。 女王穿着一件白色长袍。 蓝鞋的尖从长袍的下摆露出来。 她脖子上戴着一条金链子，上面挂着一颗大红宝石。 三个孩子都低声说了声“你好”，鞠了个躬。 “这是我的父母，”萨米自豪地说。 “欢迎来到我们家，”格蕾丝王后说。 “萨米，你为什么现在不带你的朋友们看看他们的房间呢?”国王和王后走到一扇门前，一个仆人等着开门。 他们从楼梯上消失了。

"This is so awesome," Josh said, gazing from the rooftop. The castle stood at the edge of a small town surrounded on three sides by an ancient wall. The fourth side was the ocean. Beyond the wall were fields and woods. Dink saw a wide gate in the wall. A winding road snaked through the fields and disappeared into the mountains. "Is that your father's boat?" Ruth Rose asked. She was pointing to a long yellow sailboat in the harbor. The yacht had a tall mast and neatly stowed sails. "No, we only have a small fishing boat," Sammi said. He shielded his eyes and peered at the yacht. "I don't know who owns that one." The kids followed Sammi down stone stairs to a carpeted hallway. A man stepped into their path. His eyes were fierce under thick black eyebrows. He wore a white turban, a black tunic, and red trousers. The man smiled and nodded to Sammi. "May I help, young prince?" "No, thanks, I'm just showing my friends their rooms," Sammi said. "Guys, this is Fin, my servant."

“这太棒了，”乔希说，从屋顶上凝视着。 这座城堡坐落在一个小镇的边缘，三面被古城墙包围。 第四个面是海洋。 墙外是田野和树林。 丁克看见墙上有一扇宽大的门。 一条弯弯曲曲的路蜿蜒穿过田野，消失在群山之中。 “那是你父亲的船吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 她指着停泊在港口里的一艘长长的黄色帆船。 那艘游艇有一根高高的桅杆，帆装得整整齐齐。 “没有，我们只有一艘小渔船，”萨米说。 他遮住眼睛，凝视着那艘游艇。 “我不知道那是谁的。” 孩子们跟着萨米走下石阶，来到铺着地毯的走廊。 一个男人挡住了他们的去路。 他的眼睛在浓黑的眉毛下显得凶狠。 他戴着白色的头巾，穿着黑色的束腰外衣和红色的裤子。 那人微笑着向萨米点了点头。 “我能为您效劳吗，年轻的王子?”“不，谢谢，我只是带我的朋友们看看他们的房间，”萨米说。 “伙计们，这是芬，我的仆人。”

Fin glanced at the kids, then backed away. "As you wish, young prince." "He's scary!" Josh whispered. Sammi grinned. "Fin is cool," he said. "He practices looking scary to keep kidnappers away. All the bedrooms are here." He pointed to a double set of doors at the end of the hall. "My parents sleep there, and our rooms are this way." Sammi led them around a corner and stopped at the first door on the right. "This is my room. You guys can pick yours." Dink counted eight closed doors. "These are all bedrooms?" he asked. Sammi nodded. "Sometimes we have a lot of guests," he said. Dink looked at Josh. "You want to share?" he asked. "Sure. I know you're afraid of the dark," Josh teased. He opened the door of the room next to Sammi's and stepped inside. "I'll take the one across the hall from you guys," Ruth Rose said. "Okay I'll see you in about ten minutes," Sammi said before he went into his room.

芬看了孩子们一眼，然后退了回去。 “如您所愿，年轻的王子。” “他是可怕的!”杰克小声说。 三美咧嘴一笑。“Fin很酷，”他说。 “为了让绑匪远离他，他练习让自己看起来很吓人。 所有的卧室都在这里。” 他指着大厅尽头的两扇门。 “我父母睡在那里，我们的房间在这边。” 萨米领着他们拐了个弯，在右边第一扇门前停了下来。 “这是我的房间。你们可以选择你们的。” 丁克数了数，关上了八扇门。 “这些都是卧室吗?”他问。 三美点了点头。“有时我们有很多客人，”他说。 丁克看着乔希。“你想分享吗?”他问。 “当然。我知道你怕黑，”乔希揶揄道。 他打开萨米隔壁房间的门，走了进去。 “我要你们对门的那间，”露丝·罗斯说。 “好吧，十分钟后见。”萨米说着走进自己的房间。

"Knock after you unpack," Ruth Rose told Dink. She went into her room and closed the door. Before Dink had a chance to follow Josh, he heard a door open. A face peeked out of a room a few yards away. Dark eyes stared at Dink before the face disappeared and the door slammed shut. Dink shrugged, wondering who else was staying in the castle. Ten minutes later, Sammi led the kids into the town of Nere. They trekked along a cobblestone road under tall shade trees. Most of the old buildings were made of stone. Everybody they passed smiled and greeted Sammi.

“打开行李后敲门，”露丝·罗斯对丁克说。 她走进自己的房间，关上了门。 丁克还没来得及跟着乔希，就听到门开了。 几码外的一个房间里露出一张脸。 黑眼睛盯着丁克，然后那张脸消失了，门砰地关上了。 丁克耸了耸肩，不知道还有谁住在城堡里。 十分钟后，萨米带着孩子们进入了奈雷镇。 他们在高大的树荫下沿着一条鹅卵石路跋涉。 大多数老建筑都是用石头建造的。 他们经过的每个人都微笑着向萨米打招呼。

At the harbor, they walked along a stone pier that led to a wide aluminum dock. The water was calm, and several boats and yachts were under sail or motor. The yellow yacht seemed even bigger now that they were close. Dink noticed that it was not all yellow. There was a green stripe just above the waterline. The name Sundown was painted on the side. "Maybe it belongs to a movie star!" Josh said. As they gazed across the water, two men in scuba-diving gear appeared on Sundown's deck. They splashed over the side and disappeared. "What're they doing?" Josh asked. Sammi shrugged. "Maybe my dad knows," he said. "I'll ask him later." Sammi led the kids farther along the harbor, then stopped where a huge, square hole had been carved out of the earth. Crisscrossing the bare earth was a maze of pipes and cables. A row of boulders lined one wall of the hole. A green backhoe stood off to one side, like a sleeping dinosaur. Two men stood together talking. One wore jeans and a T-shirt, with a red bandanna tied

在港口，他们沿着一个石头码头走，通往一个宽阔的铝制码头。 水面风平浪静，有几艘船和游艇在航行或开动。 现在他们离得更近了，那艘黄色游艇似乎更大了。 丁克注意到它并不全是黄色的。 在水线上方有一条绿色的条纹。 车的侧面写着“日落”的名字。 “也许它是一个电影明星的!”杰克说。 当他们凝视着水面时，两个穿着水肺潜水装备的人出现在日落号的甲板上。 他们哗啦哗啦地从船边掉下去，消失了。 “他们在干什么?”杰克问。 三美耸耸肩。“也许我爸爸知道，”他说。 “我一会儿再问他。”萨米带着孩子们沿着港口往前走，然后在一个巨大的方形洞被挖出来的地方停了下来。 在光秃秃的地面上纵横交错的是错综复杂的管道和电缆。 一排巨石排列在洞的一面墙上。 一台绿色的挖土机站在一边，像一只熟睡的恐龙。 两个人站在一起谈话。 一个人穿着牛仔裤和t恤，系着一条红色的大手帕

around his black hair. The other man was older with gray hair. He wore white pants and a blue shirt. The man in the red bandanna waved at Sammi. "That's Riko. He's the job foreman," Sammi said, with a wave back. "What is this place, anyway?" Ruth Rose asked. Sammi spread his arms. "It's going to be an aquarium!" he said. He pointed to the empty space behind the hole. "Up there will be a school for kids who want to learn about the ocean." Sammi grinned at his guests. "Pretty soon, this will be filled with ocean water and plants and fish!" he said. "What's that for?" Josh asked. He pointed to a long, wide pipe, half in the water and half out. A machine was attached to the end that was on dry land. "A motor will pump ocean water up through that pipe," Sammi explained. "Other pipes will take the water out again, so it's always clean." Dink pictured the finished aquarium with fish and other sea creatures swimming among those boulders.

绕着他的黑发。另一个人年纪大了，头发灰白。 他穿着白裤子和蓝衬衫。 那个戴红色大手帕的人向萨米挥手。 “这是Riko。他是工头，”萨米说，也挥了挥手。 “这到底是什么地方?”露丝·罗斯问。 萨米张开双臂。“这将是一个水族馆!”他说。 他指着洞口后面的空地。 “上面会有一所学校，专门为那些想要了解海洋的孩子们开设。” 萨米对客人们咧嘴一笑。 “很快，这里就会充满海水、植物和鱼!”他说。 “那是干什么用的?”杰克问。 他指着一根又长又宽的管子，管子一半在水里，一半在外面。 在陆地上的一端安装了一台机器。 “一个马达将把海水从管道抽上来，”萨米解释说。 “其他管道会把水再抽出来，所以水总是干净的。” 丁克描绘了完工的水族馆，鱼和其他海洋生物在这些巨石之间游泳。