Chapter 5

Chapter 5 "We have to show this note to your father!" Ruth Rose said. "Yes," Sammi said. He took the note and slipped it into his pocket. "Pop's going to be really upset. Mr. Baz is one of his closest friends." The kids crawled out of the tunnel. They brushed dirt from their hands and knees, then stood looking at the backhoe. "When do you think they stole the gold?" Dink asked the others. "Probably over the weekend, when the bank was closed," Sammi said.

第五章“我们得把这张纸条给你父亲看!”露丝·罗斯说。 “是的，”萨米说。他接过纸条，塞进口袋。 “爸爸会很生气的。 巴兹先生是他最亲密的朋友之一。” 孩子们爬出了隧道。 他们掸去手上和膝盖上的泥土，然后站在那里看着挖土机。 “你认为他们什么时候偷走了金子?”丁克问其他人。 “可能是在周末银行关门的时候，”萨米说。

"But if they planned the theft together, why would Riko need to dig a tunnel?" Dink asked. "Mr. Baz could just open the vault and take the gold." "Digging a tunnel into the vault would make it look like Mr. Baz wasn't involved," Ruth Rose said. "But why would he use paper that had his own e-mail address at the bottom?" Dink went on. "Maybe he meant to rip that part off and forgot," Sammi suggested. "Maybe," Dink said. "But if I was robbing a bank, I'd destroy the note." "How would they carry all that gold to the wall?" Ruth Rose asked. "I'd use the backhoe," Josh said, heading toward the huge piece of equipment. The scoop bucket was in the down position, resting on the ground. Josh stepped into the bucket and examined the metal edges.

“但如果他们一起策划了这次盗窃，力科为什么还要挖隧道呢?”丁克问道。 “巴兹先生可以打开金库，拿走金子。” 露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)说，“挖一条通往金库的隧道会让人觉得巴兹先生与此事无关。” “但他为什么要使用底部有自己电子邮件地址的纸张呢?”丁克接着说。 “也许他打算把那部分撕掉，却忘了。”萨米建议道。 “也许吧，”丁克说。“但如果我是在抢银行，我会把这张钞票毁掉的。” “他们怎么把那么多金子运到城墙上去呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我会用挖土机，”乔希说着，朝那件巨大的设备走去。 铲斗处于向下的位置，搁在地上。 乔希走进桶里，检查着桶的金属边缘。

"Take a look at this," he said. He had his finger on a shiny mark on the metal. The others studied the mark. "It looks like gold scrapings," Sammi said. "You were right," Dink said. "They did use the backhoe to move the gold!" Sammi pulled the note from his pocket and read it again. "This says Riko should bring the gold to the west wall, near the tree. Let's go check it out," he said. The kids climbed out of the pit and headed for the west wall. They had to pass the castle in order to get to the gate.

“看看这个，”他说。 他的手指放在金属上的一个闪亮的印记上。 其他人研究了这个标记。 “看起来像是金屑，”萨米说。 “你是对的，”丁克说。 “他们确实用挖土机搬了金子!”萨米从口袋里掏出纸条，又读了一遍。 “上面说里科应该把金子带到西墙，靠近树的地方。 我们去看看吧，”他说。 孩子们从坑里爬出来，向西墙走去。 他们必须经过城堡才能到达城门。

"Shouldn't we tell your father about the note right away?" asked Dink. "He's probably still in the bank," Sammi said. "Besides, this will only take a few minutes." There was a tall tree near the west wall. The kids walked the ground beneath the tree, searching for clues. Ruth Rose had stepped a few yards away from the tree. She called the other three kids over. "Look, fat tire marks," she said. The marks were only a few feet from the wall. Dink could easily picture what must have happened. The crook—was it Riko?—had driven the backhoe to this point, the bucket loaded with gold. Then he had raised the backhoe's scoop and dumped the gold bars over the wall. Someone in a car or truck must have been waiting on the other side. "Give me a boost, someone," Ruth Rose said. She had one arm wrapped around the tree as the other reached for the lowest branch. "Where are you going?" Josh asked. "If the crooks dumped a bunch of gold bars over this wall, there should be marks on the

“我们不应该马上把纸条的事告诉你父亲吗?”丁克问。 “他可能还在银行里，”萨米说。 “再说，这只需要几分钟。” 西墙附近有一棵大树。 孩子们在树下走来走去，寻找线索。 露丝·罗斯站在离那棵树几码远的地方。 她把其他三个孩子叫过来。 “看，肥大的轮胎印，”她说。 这些痕迹离墙只有几英尺远。 丁克很容易就能想象出发生了什么事。 那个骗子——是里科吗?——他把挖掘机开到了这里，铲斗里装满了金子。 然后，他举起锄头，把金条扔过了墙。 肯定有人在车里或卡车里等在另一边。 “谁来帮我一把，”露丝·罗斯说。 她一只手挽着树，另一只手伸向最低的树枝。 “你要去哪儿?”杰克问。 “如果骗子把一堆金条扔过这堵墙，墙上应该会有记号。

ground on the other side," Ruth Rose said. "Boost me up so I can see!" The boys made footholds with their hands, and Ruth Rose scampered into the branches. Two minutes later, she was perched on the top of the wall. "See anything?" Dink called up. Ruth Rose looked down at the boys. "The bushes and weeds are all crushed," she said. "Like something very heavy dropped on them." "Okay, I'm telling my father," Sammi said. "Come on down, Ruth Rose."

另一边的地面，”露丝·罗斯说。 “把我扶起来，让我能看见!”孩子们用手踩了个脚，露丝·罗斯跑进树枝里。 两分钟后，她登上了墙顶。 “看见什么?”丁克打电话来。 露丝·罗斯低头看着孩子们。 “灌木和杂草都被压碎了，”她说。 “就像有很重的东西落在他们身上。” “好吧，我要告诉我爸爸，”萨米说。 “下来吧，露丝·罗斯。”

Ten minutes later, the four kids were sitting in the king's study. Sammi's father sat at his wooden desk, reading the note. The king looked up. His normally cheerful eyes looked sad. "And you found this in the tunnel?" he

十分钟后，四个孩子坐在国王的书房里。 萨米的父亲坐在他的木桌前，读着那张纸条。 国王抬起头来。他平时欢快的眼睛看起来很悲伤。 “你在隧道里发现了这个?