Chapter 10

Chapter 10 "Where?" Ruth Rose asked. "We can go back to the cave and swim out through the tunnel," Dink explained. "But there are bats in there!" "It's our only way out," Josh said. The kids lugged the two cages back through the tunnel. The parrots screeched and beat their wings. In the cave, the water was almost up to their knees, and rising. "We better get out of here fast," Josh said. Ruth Rose peered into the other tunnel. "I wonder how far it is to the beach," she said.

第十章“在哪里?”露丝·罗斯问。 “我们可以回到洞里，从隧道游出去，”丁克解释说。 “可是那里有蝙蝠啊!”“这是我们唯一的出路，”乔希说。 孩子们拖着两个笼子穿过隧道。 鹦鹉尖叫着拍打着翅膀。 山洞里的水几乎没过他们的膝盖，而且还在上涨。 “我们最好快点离开这里。”乔希说。 露丝·罗斯凝视着另一条隧道。 “我想知道到海滩有多远，”她说。

"It can't be that far," Dink said. "We're probably right under the castle." "How are we gonna swim and carry these cages at the same time?" Josh asked. He glanced around the dark cave. "We need a raft or something." "If the water's not too deep, we can walk out," Dink said. He handed his cage to Ruth Rose, then stepped into the deeper water. It came up to his waist. "It's kind of cold," he said, shivering, "but it's not very deep. We can carry the cages out." "But what if it gets deeper?" Josh asked. "We can't carry the cages on our heads!" "I have an idea," Ruth Rose said. "I read it in a Girl Scout magazine. It showed how to use your jeans as floats. You can make water wings by tying knots in the ankles and legs." "You mean get undressed?" Josh said. "No way!" "That's a great idea," Dink said. He climbed back out of the deep water, then kicked out of his sneakers and wet jeans. He tied knots in his jeans and put his sneakers back on. Dink looked at Josh. "Come on," he said. "The water's getting deeper."

“不可能那么远，”丁克说。 “我们可能就在城堡下面。” “我们怎么能一边游泳一边拿着这些笼子呢?”杰克问。 他环视了一下黑暗的山洞。 “我们需要一个木筏之类的东西。” “如果水不太深，我们可以走出去，”丁克说。 他把笼子递给露丝·罗斯，然后走进更深的水里。 它长到他的腰。“有点冷，”他颤抖着说，“但水不是很深。 我们可以把笼子搬出去。” “但如果更深呢?”杰克问。 “我们不能把笼子顶在头上!”“我有个主意，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我是在一本女童子军杂志上读到的。 它展示了如何使用你的牛仔裤作为漂浮物。 你可以在脚踝和腿上打结，做成水翅膀。” “你是说脱衣服?”杰克说。 “不可能!”“这是个好主意，”丁克说。 他从深水中爬了出来，然后踢掉了他的运动鞋和湿牛仔裤。 他在牛仔裤上打了个结，又穿上了运动鞋。 丁克看着乔希。“来吧，”他说。 “水越来越深了。”

"Okay, but I feel weird," Josh muttered, pulling off his sneakers and jeans. The water reached just below his boxer shorts. Dink tied knots in Josh's jeans, then dropped both pairs into the water. The air-filled jeans floated! "Ready?" Dink said. They stepped into the water and balanced the two cages on top of the floating jeans. "It works!" said Ruth Rose. "This water's cold and yucky," Josh said. "At least we can touch bottom," Dink said. "Okay, let's go." The tunnel grew darker as they waded away from the cave. The water reached their chests, but got no higher. The parrots were quiet, as if they knew they were being rescued. "Do you think there are sharks in here?" Josh said. His voice echoed. "No," Dink said. "Just a few man-eating lobsters." Suddenly they heard a whispery sound in the darkness around them. "What's that?" Ruth Rose asked.

“好吧，但我感觉怪怪的，”乔希咕哝着，脱下他的运动鞋和牛仔裤。 水没过他的四角短裤。 丁克在乔希的牛仔裤上打了个结，然后把两条牛仔裤都扔进水里。 充气牛仔裤浮起来了!“准备好了吗?”丁克说。 他们走进水里，把两个笼子放在漂浮的牛仔裤上保持平衡。 “管用!”露丝·罗斯说。 “这水又冷又恶心，”乔希说。 “至少我们可以触底，”丁克说。 “好吧，我们走吧。”他们蹚着水离开洞穴时，隧道里越来越暗了。 水没到他们的胸口，但没有上升。 鹦鹉很安静，好像他们知道他们被拯救了。 “你觉得这里有鲨鱼吗?”杰克说。 他的声音回响着。“不，”丁克说。 “只有几只吃人的龙虾。” 突然，他们听到周围黑暗中有窃窃私语的声音。 “那是什么?”露丝·罗斯问。

"Calm down," Josh said, giggling. "It's just bats. We must've scared them." "Are they friendly?" asked Ruth Rose. "Not if you're an insect," Josh said. Finally they saw daylight. Ahead was the ocean end of the tunnel. "We did it, guys!" Dink said. They dragged the cages and soggy jeans to the beach near where they'd eaten their picnic. "Boy, does the sun feel good!" Josh said, flopping down on the sand.

“冷静点，”乔希咯咯笑着说。 “只是蝙蝠。我们一定把他们吓坏了。” “他们友好吗?”露丝·罗斯问。 “如果你是昆虫就不会。”乔希说。 他们终于看到了曙光。 前方是隧道的海洋尽头。 “我们成功了，伙计们!”丁克说。 他们把笼子和湿透的牛仔裤拖到他们吃野餐的地方附近的海滩上。 “天哪，太阳真好!”乔希说着，扑通一声坐在沙滩上。

The kids rested and caught their breath. Dink and Josh took the knots out of their jeans and spread them out to dry. "I was thinking about these parrots," Josh said. "I have a book about endangered birds, and I think these guys are in it." "Why would anyone hide endangered parrots in a cave?" Ruth Rose asked. "Poachers," Josh said, pulling off his soaked sneakers. "Poachers catch rare animals and sell them for a lot of money." "But who?" Josh shrugged. "Someone who knows about the tunnel." "I think I know who it is," Dink said. Josh and Ruth Rose looked at him. "Who?" Josh asked. Dink looked sad. "Walker Wallace."

孩子们休息了一下，喘了口气。 丁克和乔希把牛仔裤上的打结拿出来，摊开晾干。 “我在想这些鹦鹉，”乔希说。 “我有一本关于濒危鸟类的书，我想这些家伙就在里面。” “为什么有人会把濒危的鹦鹉藏在山洞里?”露丝·罗斯问。 “偷猎者，”乔希一边说，一边脱下湿透的运动鞋。 “偷猎者捕捉珍稀动物，然后卖很多钱。” “但谁?”杰克耸耸肩。“一个知道隧道的人。” “我想我知道是谁了，”丁克说。 乔希和露丝·罗斯看着他。 “谁?”杰克问。丁克看起来很伤心。 “沃克华莱士。”