Chapter 8

Chapter 8 Dink snatched up the feather. Ruth Rose raised her eyebrows. Dink shrugged and stuck the feather in his pocket. "Ready to head in?" Walker asked. "I promised Sis I'd get you back before lunch." He started up the engine, and they chugged toward land. Back at Walker's dock, the kids helped him hose fish goo and seaweed off the deck of his boat. Then he drove them to the castle. "Sis's car is gone," Walker said. "She must be out doing errands. Will you kids be okay for a

丁克抓起羽毛。 露丝·罗斯扬起了眉毛。 丁克耸耸肩，把羽毛塞进口袋。 “准备好进去了吗?”沃克问道。 “我答应姐姐午饭前送你回来。” 他发动了引擎，他们嘎吱嘎吱地向陆地驶去。 回到沃克的码头，孩子们帮他把船甲板上的鱼胶和海藻冲洗掉。 然后他把他们赶到了城堡。 “姐姐的车不见了，”沃克说。 “她一定是出去办事了。 孩子们，你们还好吗

while?" "I'm a little hungry," Josh said, grinning. "Here, finish this." Walker handed Josh the bread, peanut butter, and knife. He waved and drove away. "Where should we eat?" Josh asked. "How about the playhouse?" Ruth Rose said. "I can wash those little dishes." She found a watering can next to the mud room door and filled it from the spigot. On the way to the playhouse, Dink pulled the feathers out of his pocket. He told Josh how he'd found the third one on Walker's boat. The kids studied the feathers, holding them up to the sunlight. "They're exactly alike," Josh said. "Another parrot feather?" Ruth Rose asked. "Where could they be coming from?" Josh grinned. "From a parrot?" "Very funny, Joshua!" Dink suddenly remembered his dream. Screaming bats with green feathers… Ruth Rose opened the playhouse door and they walked in. "It's too cold in here," Josh said. "Why don't we eat out in the sun?"

当?”“我有点饿了，”乔希咧嘴笑着说。 “来，把这个吃完。”沃克把面包、花生酱和小刀递给乔希。 他挥了挥手，开车离开了。“我们在哪里吃饭?”杰克问。 “去剧场怎么样?”露丝·罗斯说。 “我可以洗那些小盘子。” 她在泥房的门旁找到了一个喷壶，从水龙头里灌满了水。 在去剧场的路上，丁克从口袋里掏出了羽毛。 他告诉乔什他是怎么在沃克的船上找到第三个的。 孩子们研究羽毛，把它们举到阳光下。 “他们长得一模一样，”乔希说。 “另一根鹦鹉羽毛?”露丝·罗斯问。 “他们会从哪里来呢?”杰克笑了。 “从鹦鹉那儿?”“太有趣了，约书亚!”丁克突然想起了他的梦。 露丝·罗斯打开游戏室的门，他们走了进去。 “这里太冷了，”乔希说。 “我们为什么不在外面晒太阳呢?”

Dink helped Josh carry the table out. Ruth Rose brought out the dishes and set them in the grass. "The rug looks pretty dusty," Dink said. "We should drag it outside and sweep it." Josh was spreading peanut butter on bread at the table. "Can we eat first, then work? My stomach is talking to me." On his knees, Dink began rolling up the rug. "Your stomach is—hey, guys, look!" "Not another green feather, I hope," Josh muttered. He strolled over to see. Dink pointed to a trapdoor in the floor. "Yes!" Josh yelled. "I told you! The secret door to the secret dungeon!" Ruth Rose ran over. "Let's open it!" she said. The handle had a spring lock. Ruth Rose squeezed the spring, and the lock popped open. With all three of them pulling, they were able to raise the trapdoor. They heard a creepy whoosh, then cold, damp air escaped. "Yuck, what a smell!" Josh said. The kids stared into the musty-smelling hole. Stone steps led down to darkness. Even in the dim light, they saw footprints on the steps.

丁克帮乔希把桌子搬了出去。 露丝·罗斯端出盘子，放在草地上。 “地毯看起来满是灰尘，”丁克说。 “我们应该把它拖到外面扫一扫。” 乔希在桌上给面包涂花生酱。 “我们能不能先吃饭，再工作?” 我的胃在跟我说话。” 丁克跪在地上，开始卷地毯。 “你的胃——嘿，伙计们，看!”“我希望不是另一根绿羽毛。” 他溜达过去看看。丁克指着地板上的一扇活板门。 “是的!”杰克喊道。“我告诉过你!”通往秘密地牢的秘密之门!”露丝·罗斯跑了过来。 “我们打开吧!”她说。 手柄上有弹簧锁。 露丝·罗斯拧了一下弹簧，锁砰地一声打开了。 在他们三个人的共同努力下，他们把活板门掀起来了。 他们听到一声令人毛骨悚然的嗖嗖声，然后又冷又湿的空气散了出来。 “恶心，好难闻的味道!”杰克说。 孩子们盯着臭气熏天的洞。 石阶通向黑暗。 即使在昏暗的灯光下，他们也能看到台阶上的脚印。

"Just like the prints we saw on the rug," Dink said. They all jumped back as a hollow scream echoed out of the dark hole.

“就像我们在地毯上看到的指纹一样，”丁克说。 当一声空洞的尖叫从黑洞里回响出来时，他们全都跳了回去。