Chapter 4

Chapter 4 At four o'clock the kids were waiting in front of the hotel. Jack's van showed up a few minutes later. Jack opened the rear doors. "I brought a tent big enough for all three of you," he told them. "Where will you sleep?" Ruth Rose asked. "In this." Jack showed them a rolled-up string hammock. They all climbed in and buckled up. Jack joined the late-afternoon traffic. "Where are we going to camp?" Dink asked. He was sitting in the back with Josh, and Ruth Rose

4点钟，孩子们在旅馆门口等着。 几分钟后，杰克的货车出现了。 杰克打开了后门。 “我带了一个足够你们三个人住的帐篷，”他告诉他们。 “你睡在哪里?”露丝·罗斯问。 “在这。”杰克给他们看了一张卷起来的吊床。 他们都爬上车，系好安全带。 杰克加入了傍晚的车流。 “我们去哪里露营?”丁克问道。 他和乔什还有露丝·罗斯坐在后排

was up front with Jack. "How about near the water?" Jack asked. "Tomorrow morning, I'll take you to see an alligator nest." "They make nests?" Josh said. "Like birds?" "Not like birds. Mother alligators lay their eggs on the ground and cover them with vegetation," Jack explained. Jack parked his van at the head of the trail. Between the four of them, they managed to carry the tent, Jack's hammock, and two small food coolers. They took a different trail to the bay this time, and soon came to the clearing at the water's edge. "Just dump everything near the boats," Jack said. "We'll get your tent set up before it gets dark." Josh peeked under one of the upside-down boats. "There are no alligators here, right, Jack?" he asked. "No, it's too open," he said. "But they often hunt at night. When it gets darker, look for two yellow spots in the water. Alligator eyes reflect light, so our campfire will help us see them."

我和杰克在一起。“在水边怎么样?”杰克问。 “明天早上，我带你去看鳄鱼窝。” “它们筑巢?”杰克说。 “喜欢鸟吗?”“不像鸟。 短吻鳄妈妈把它们的蛋产在地上，然后用植物盖住它们，”杰克解释说。 杰克把他的货车停在小路的尽头。 他们四个人合力搬了帐篷、杰克的吊床和两个小食品冷却器。 这次他们走了一条不同的小路去海湾，很快就来到了水边的空地上。 “把所有的东西都倒在船附近，”杰克说。 “我们会在天黑前把你的帐篷支好。” 乔希从一艘翻了个底朝天的船底下偷看了一眼。 “这里没有鳄鱼，对吧，杰克?”他问。 “不行，太开放了，”他说。 “但它们经常在晚上捕猎。 天黑后，在水中寻找两个黄色的斑点。 鳄鱼的眼睛会反光，所以我们的篝火可以帮助我们看到它们。”

As Jack and the kids set up camp, their shadows grew longer. Soon the sun was behind the trees. After the tent was up, Jack hung his hammock between two trees. He gave the kids some containers. "Fill these with water," he said. "We have to drink salt water?" Josh asked. "Yucko!" "No, we'll need it to put out our campfire later tonight," Jack explained. "I brought bottled water for drinking." The kids walked to the water, which was only about twenty feet from their tent. As Josh stooped to fill his jug, Dink dropped his hand on Josh's shoulder. "Is that an alligator?" he whispered. "I see two eyes!" "Duh," Josh said. "I guess I can tell a floating branch from a reptile!" Ruth Rose joined in. "But … but that branch is swimming toward you!" "Very funny" Josh said. He lugged his container back to Jack. "Just set the water by that tree," Jack said as he scooped a depression in the sand. He made a wall around it with rocks and damp sand.

杰克和孩子们扎营的时候，他们的影子越来越长。 不久，太阳就落在树后了。 帐篷搭好后，杰克把吊床挂在两棵树之间。 他给了孩子们一些容器。 “把这些装满水，”他说。 “我们必须喝盐水吗?”杰克问。 “Yucko !”“不，我们今晚要用它来灭营火，”杰克解释说。 “我带了瓶装水喝。” 孩子们走到离他们帐篷只有20英尺的水边。 当乔希弯腰往罐子里倒水时，丁克把手放在了乔希的肩膀上。 “那是鳄鱼吗?”他低声说。 “我看见两只眼睛!”“废话，”乔希说。 “我想我能分辨出漂浮的树枝和爬行动物!”露丝·罗斯也加入了进来。 “可是……可是那根树枝向你游来了!”“很有趣。”乔希说。 他把箱子拖回给杰克。 “把水放在那棵树旁边，”杰克一边说，一边在沙子上挖了一个洼地。 他用石头和湿沙围了一道墙。

Then the kids helped him find dead twigs and branches. Soon they were sitting around a cheery blaze. The dancing flames made all their faces look ghostly. Dink thought of zombies and alligators. He scooted a little closer to the fire. "Okay who wants hot dogs, lemonade, and marshmallows?" Jack asked. "We do!" Josh yelled.

然后孩子们帮他找枯枝和树枝。 很快，他们就围坐在一堆欢快的篝火旁。 舞动的火焰使他们的脸看起来像鬼一样。 丁克想到了僵尸和鳄鱼。 他向火堆靠近了一点。 “好吧，谁想要热狗、柠檬水和棉花糖?”杰克问。 “我们做的!”杰克喊道。

Jack opened the coolers and began pulling out tons of food. The kids roasted their dogs and ate them by the fire. By the time they had finished their marshmallows, stars were visible. The moon was

杰克打开冰箱，开始取出成吨的食物。 孩子们把狗烤了，放在火旁吃了。 当他们吃完棉花糖的时候，星星已经可见了。 月亮是

full and partly hidden by clouds. A few lights flickered way out in the Gulf. Dink was the first one to yawn. Then everyone else started yawning. They covered the fire embers with sand, and Jack doused the pit with water from the bay. "Sleep tight," he said as the kids crawled into the tent. "You guys can sleep near the opening," Josh said. He crawled to the farthest end of the roomy tent. "Why?" Dink asked. "You usually like to sleep by the door." Josh pulled off his shirt and used it for a pillow. "Yeah, but this way if an alligator crawls in here," he said, "he'll eat you and Ruth Rose first!" Later, Dink suddenly sat up in the tent. A noise had wakened him. He listened, then peered out through the zippered opening. Moonlight through the trees cast shadows on their campsite. Then Dink saw a tiny light moving in the woods. Dink's first thought was that he was seeing

满的，部分被云遮住的。 海湾远处有几盏灯在闪烁。 丁克是第一个打哈欠的。 然后其他人开始打哈欠。 他们用沙子盖住了火的余烬，杰克用海湾里的水浇了坑。 “睡个好觉，”孩子们爬进帐篷时，他说。 “你们可以睡在洞口附近，”乔希说。 他爬到宽敞帐篷的尽头。 “为什么?”丁克问道。“你通常喜欢睡在门边。” 乔希脱下衬衫当枕头用。 “是啊，但是如果鳄鱼爬进来的话，”他说，“它会先吃掉你和露丝·罗斯的!”后来，丁克突然在帐篷里坐了起来。 一阵喧闹声把他吵醒了。他听着，然后从拉链口往外看。 月光透过树木在他们的营地投下阴影。 接着丁克看到树林里有一束微弱的光在移动。 丁克的第一反应是他看见了