Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Jack stood up, brushing red clay from his knees. "This isn't a good time for us to be here," he said quietly to the kids. "Let's walk down to the water." He led them down a narrow trail. It ended in a sandy clearing at the edge of a bay. "I heard that man say zombies robbed those graves," Josh said. "But I thought zombies weren't real!" "I don't believe in them," Jack said. "There must be another explanation."

杰克站了起来，掸去膝盖上的红土。 “现在不是我们待在这里的好时机，”他平静地对孩子们说。 “我们走到水边去吧。” 他领着他们沿着一条狭窄的小路走下去。 它的尽头是海湾边上的一片沙地。 “我听那个人说僵尸抢了那些坟墓，”乔希说。 “但我以为僵尸是不存在的!”“我不相信他们，”杰克说。 “一定有别的解释。”

"But who could have dug up the graves?" asked Ruth Rose. "I don't know," Jack said. "Maybe the grave robber is the same person who put up that sign we saw," Dink said. Jack nodded. "Maybe," he said. He waved an arm toward the water. "Nice view, huh?" The water was blue and still. Across the bay, they could see tall buildings on what looked like islands. "Who owns those boats?" Josh asked Jack. A few yards away, several wooden boats had been left on the beach. "The villagers," Jack said. "They fish and catch crabs out here." "Is this the Atlantic Ocean?" Dink asked. "No, it's part of the Gulf of Mexico," Jack said. He pointed out toward some of the islands. "The Gulf joins the Atlantic way past there, at the tip of Florida." Jack took the kids on a hike along the water's edge. They saw long-legged blue herons wading in the shallow water. Small fish darted away from the herons' shadows. Jack pointed to a deer lying in the shade.

“可是谁会挖那些坟墓呢?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我不知道，”杰克说。 丁克说:“也许那个盗墓贼就是那个贴标语的人。” 杰克点了点头。“也许吧，”他说。 他朝水挥了挥手。 “风景不错，是吧?”海水湛蓝而平静。 在海湾的另一边，他们可以看到岛上的高楼大厦。 “那些船是谁的?”乔希问杰克。 几码远的地方，沙滩上留下了几艘木船。 “村民们，”杰克说。 “他们在这里捕鱼和抓螃蟹。” “这是大西洋吗?”丁克问道。 “不，那是墨西哥湾的一部分。”杰克说。 他指了指一些岛屿。 “海湾从那里经过，在佛罗里达的尖端，与大西洋汇合。” 杰克带着孩子们沿着水边徒步旅行。 他们看见长腿的蓝鹭在浅水里涉水。 小鱼从苍鹭的影子里窜了出来。 杰克指着树荫下躺着的一只鹿。

"It's so beautiful here," Ruth Rose said. "And so quiet!" "I agree," Jack said. "I'd love to buy a piece of this land and build a house here." He opened his pack and pulled out four small bottles of water. They all sat on a log and sipped, watching the herons search for fish. Across the water, the sun flashed gold against the distant buildings. "How'd you like to camp out here tonight?" Jack asked. "We can cook our supper over a campfire."

“这里太美了，”露丝·罗斯说。 “那么安静!”“我同意，”杰克说。 “我想买一块地，在这里盖一栋房子。” 他打开背包，拿出四小瓶水。 他们都坐在一根圆木上啜饮着，看着苍鹭寻找鱼。 隔着水面，太阳在远处的建筑物上闪烁着金色的光芒。 “你今晚想在这里露营吗?”杰克问。 “我们可以在篝火上做晚饭。”

"Excellent!" Josh said. "I'll ask my grandmother at lunch," Ruth Rose said. "But I know she'll say-yes!" "Great! After I drop you off, I'll do some grocery shopping," Jack said.

“太好了!”杰克说。“我会在午餐时问我奶奶，”露丝·罗斯说。 “可是我知道她会说——是的!”“太好了!“我送你回家后，我会去买些东西，”杰克说。

After their water break, Jack showed the kids how to identify different birds' nests. He taught them how to spot poison ivy. He explained how to make tea and medicines from some plants. Jack looked at his watch. "You guys must be getting hungry," he said. "It's time to go back to town." "I'm starving!" Josh said. "I don't know if I can last till we get back to the hotel!" Dink laughed. "Well, you could always grab a raw fish like that heron," he said. A half hour later, the kids met up with Ruth Rose's grandmother in the hotel's outside restaurant. She was sitting under an umbrella on the balcony that overlooked the street. "Gram, can we go camping with Jack tonight?" Ruth Rose asked her. "Of course," her grandmother said just as the waiter appeared at their table. Everyone ordered cheeseburgers and lemonade. While they waited for their food, the kids told Ruth Rose's grandmother about the zombie sign and the grave robber.

饮水休息后，杰克向孩子们展示了如何识别不同的鸟巢。 他教他们如何辨认毒葛。 他解释了如何用一些植物制茶和制药。 杰克看了看手表。“你们一定饿了，”他说。 “是时候回城里了。” “我饿死了!”杰克说。 “我不知道我是否能坚持到我们回到旅馆!”丁克笑了。 “嗯，你可以随时抓一条像苍鹭一样的生鱼，”他说。 半小时后，孩子们在酒店外面的餐厅见到了露丝·罗斯的祖母。 她坐在俯瞰街道的阳台上的一把伞下。 “奶奶，我们今晚能和杰克一起去露营吗?”露丝·罗斯问她。 “当然，”她的祖母说，这时服务员出现在他们的桌旁。 每个人都点了芝士汉堡和柠檬水。 等着吃东西的时候，孩子们告诉露丝·罗斯的祖母关于僵尸标志和盗墓贼的事。

"Who would steal dead bodies?" Ruth Rose asked. "People have been robbing graves for different reasons all through history," her grandmother explained. "Sometimes robbers were searching for valuables that were buried with the bodies. Hundreds of years ago, a famous painter stole bodies so he could study the muscles and bones. He wanted his paintings of people to look as real as possible." "Gross!" Josh said.

“谁会偷尸体?”露丝·罗斯问。 她的祖母解释说:“历史上，人们一直因为不同的原因盗墓。” “有时强盗们在寻找和尸体一起埋葬的贵重物品。 几百年前，一位著名的画家偷了尸体，以便研究肌肉和骨骼。 他希望他的人物画看起来尽可能真实。” “恶心!”杰克说。