Chapter 1

The Empty Envelope

空信封

Chapter 1 "I got it! I got it!" Josh yelled as he raced across Dink's backyard. He leaped into the air, missed the volleyball, and fell in a heap. Dink laughed. "You got it, all right!" "Way to go, Natie!" Ruth Rose cried. She gave her four-year-old brother, Nate, a high five. "You just scored us another point!" Nate blushed and smiled shyly at his big sister. Josh got up and grinned. "Okay, I'm through foolin' around! From now on, Josh and Dink will

第一章“我明白了!我知道了!”乔希一边跑过丁克家的后院，一边大喊。 他一跃而起，没打中排球，摔倒在地。 丁克笑了。“你明白了，好吧!”“干得好，本地人!”露丝·罗斯哭了。 她和四岁的弟弟内特击掌。 “你刚刚又给我们得了一分!”内特脸红了，害羞地对姐姐笑了笑。 乔希站起来，咧嘴一笑。“好了，我不想再胡闹了!”从现在开始，乔什和丁克会

rule!" Just then they heard a beep. "It's Ruby with the mail," Ruth Rose said. Josh dropped the volleyball. "I wonder if you'll get another blue envelope," he said to Dink. "I can't wait to read what Mother has to say today!" Dink ran to the front just as Ruby waved from her truck and drove away. He opened the mailbox and reached in. He pulled out two bills for his parents and a letter in a blue envelope for him. In the past week, Dink had received four other letters in blue envelopes. This was the fifth. Each envelope was addressed to D. Duncan, Green Lawn, CO 06040. But the notes inside were to someone named Doris—from her mother! Dink returned to his backyard. He held the letter up. 'Another one," he said. "Well, open it," Josh said. Dink ripped open the envelope and felt inside for the note. "There's nothing in here," he said. "It's empty." Ruth Rose peered into the envelope. "Why would Mother send an empty envelope?" she asked.

规则!”就在这时，他们听到了哔的一声。 “我是送信的露比，”露丝·罗斯说。 乔希把排球掉了。 他对丁克说:“不知道你能不能再拿到一个蓝色信封。” “我等不及要读妈妈今天要说的话了!”丁克跑到前面，鲁比从她的卡车里挥了挥手，开走了。 他打开邮箱，把手伸进去。 他掏出两张给父母的账单和一封装在蓝色信封里给自己的信。 在过去的一周里，丁克收到了另外四封装在蓝色信封里的信。 这是第五次了。每个信封的收信人都是D。 邓肯，格林草坪，科罗拉多州06040。 但里面的纸条是给一个叫多丽丝的人的——她妈妈写的!丁克回到他的后院。 他把信举起来。“再来一个，”他说。 “好吧，打开它。”乔希说。 丁克撕开信封，在里面摸索着找那张纸条。 “这里什么也没有，”他说。 “这是空的。”露丝·罗斯凝视着信封。 “妈妈为什么要寄一个空信封?”她问。

Dink shrugged. "Let's go in the house. I want to check out the other letters again." The kids trooped into Dink's kitchen. A covered plate sat on the counter. "My mom made us some sandwiches," Dink said. Nate reached for the plate, but his sister stopped him. "Look at those hands! Let's wash up at the sink, Nate." Dink pulled the other four envelopes from a drawer and laid them on the table side by side. They all looked the same. "Can I get some juice?" Josh opened the fridge before Dink could answer. Dink just nodded as he sat and stared at the envelopes. The return address on each was O. Bird, 10 Carroll St., Brooklyn, NY 11234. "I don't know anyone in Brooklyn," he said, "let alone someone named O. Bird." Dink dropped his eyes to the middle of one of the envelopes. "Hey, look at this!" he said suddenly. He pointed to the CO in his address. "Isn't CO the abbreviation for Colorado?"

丁克耸耸肩。“我们进屋去吧。 我想再看看其他的信。” 孩子们成群结队地走进丁克的厨房。 柜台上放着一个盖着盖子的盘子。 “我妈妈给我们做了一些三明治，”丁克说。 内特伸手去拿盘子，但他妹妹阻止了他。 “看那双手!”我们去水池里洗碗吧，内特。” 丁克从抽屉里拿出另外四个信封，并排放在桌子上。 他们看起来都一样。“我能喝点果汁吗?”在丁克回答之前，乔希打开了冰箱。 丁克只是点了点头，坐在那里盯着信封。 每封信的回信地址都是O。 伯德，纽约布鲁克林卡罗尔街10号，邮编11234 “我在布鲁克林谁也不认识，”他说，“更不用说一个叫O的人了。 鸟。”丁克垂下眼睛望着其中一个信封的中间。 “嘿，看看这个!”他突然说。 他指着地址里的指挥官。 “CO不是科罗拉多的缩写吗?”

Josh and Ruth Rose each grabbed an envelope. "Yeah, you're right," Josh said. "Connecticut is CT, not CO." Dink looked at his friends. "The zip code is right, but the state is wrong!" "Or maybe it's the state that's right and the zip code that's wrong," Ruth Rose suggested. "What do you mean?" Josh asked. "Maybe these letters were supposed to go to some D. Duncan in Green Lawn, Colorado," Ruth Rose said. "Whoever O. Bird is just wrote down the wrong zip code." "I know how to find out," Dink said. He walked over to the phone and dialed information. He asked the long-distance operator for O. Bird's number. "There isn't?" he said. "Okay, thanks anyway." Dink hung up. "There's no O. Bird listed in

乔希和露丝·罗斯各自抓了一个信封。 “是啊，你说得对。”乔希说。 “康涅狄格州是康涅狄格州，不是康涅狄格州。” 丁克看着他的朋友们。 “邮政编码是对的，但州是错的!”“也许是州对了，邮政编码错了，”露丝·罗斯说。 “你是什么意思?”杰克问。 “也许这些信应该寄给某个D。 邓肯在科罗拉多州的格林草坪，”露丝·罗斯说。 “不管o·伯德是谁，他只是写错了邮政编码。” “我知道怎么找到答案，”丁克说。 他走到电话旁，拨通了问讯处。 他向长途接线员要0。 鸟的数量。“没有吗?”他说。 “好吧，还是谢谢你。”丁克挂了电话。 “没有o·伯德这个名字

Brooklyn." "Well," Josh said, grabbing a sandwich, "you're the only D. Duncan in Green Lawn." "In Green Lawn, Connecticut," Dink said. Josh sighed. "Anyway, let's eat." They wolfed down the peanut butter and grape jam sandwiches. "Read the notes again, Dink," Ruth Rose said after a few minutes. "Maybe there's a clue about who they're really meant for." Dink opened the envelopes, pulled out the four notes, and laid them side by side. Josh picked up the fifth envelope. He turned it upside down and shook it. "Maybe someone stole the last letter," he whispered. He made mysterious eyes at Dink.

布鲁克林。”“好吧，”乔希说着抓了一块三明治，“你是唯一的D。 邓肯在绿草坪。”“在康涅狄格州的绿草坪，”丁克说。 Josh叹了口气。“不管怎样，我们吃吧。” 他们狼吞虎咽地吃下花生酱和葡萄果酱三明治。 “把笔记再读一遍，丁克，”几分钟后露丝·罗斯说。 “也许我们能从中找到线索，了解它们的真正用途。” 丁克打开信封，拿出四张纸条，并排放在一起。 乔希拿起第五个信封。 他把它倒过来摇了摇。 “也许有人偷了最后一封信。”他低声说。 他向丁克投以神秘的目光。