Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Dink answered the phone. "Is this D. Duncan?" a woman's voice asked. "I'm Donald Duncan," Dink said. "But my friends call me Dink." "Well, Dink," the voice said, "I'm Doris Duncan from Colorado. I think you may have some letters that belong to me." Dink covered the phone and turned to Josh and Ruth Rose. "It's some woman from Colorado asking for the letters!" he whispered excitedly. "Hello? Are you still there?" the woman asked. "Don't hang up!"

丁克接了电话。 “是邓肯吗?”一个女人的声音问道。 “我是唐纳德·邓肯，”丁克说。 “但是我的朋友们都叫我丁克。” “嗯，丁克，”那个声音说，“我是多丽丝·邓肯，来自科罗拉多州。 我想你可能有一些我的信。” 丁克盖上电话，转向乔希和露丝·罗斯。 “有个科罗拉多来的女人要信!”他兴奋地小声说。 “喂?你还在吗?”女人问。 “别挂电话!”

Dink spoke into the phone again. "Um…I got five blue envelopes this week." "Well, those letters are mine. They're very important," Doris Duncan said. "When can I get them back?" Dink glanced across the kitchen. "They're right here on the table," he told Doris Duncan. "Do you want me to send them to you?" "No!" the woman snapped. "Don't send them anywhere! I'm at the Shangri-la Hotel right now. How do I find you?" "Well, I guess you could come to my house," Dink said. He gave her directions to 22 Woody Street and hung up. "What was that all about?" Ruth Rose asked. Dink sat at the table again. "That was Doris Duncan. The letters are hers, and she's coming right over to get them." "From Colorado?" Josh said. "No, she's at the Shangri-la. She should be here in a few minutes." "She's in Connecticut?" Ruth Rose said. "That's weird." Dink nodded. "Yeah, and another thing. She sounded mad, like I took the letters on purpose."

丁克又对着电话说话了。 “嗯……这周我收到了五个蓝色信封。” “好吧，这些信是我的。 他们非常重要，”多丽丝·邓肯说。 “我什么时候能拿回来?”丁克扫了一眼厨房。 “它们就在桌子上，”他告诉多丽丝·邓肯。 “你想让我寄给你吗?”“不!”女人厉声说。 “不要把他们送到任何地方!”我现在在香格里拉酒店。 我怎样才能找到你?”“好吧，我想你可以到我家来，”丁克说。 他告诉她伍迪街22号的路线，然后挂断了电话。 “这是怎么回事?”露丝·罗斯问。 丁克又坐在桌旁。 那是多丽丝·邓肯。信是她的，她马上就来取。” “从科罗拉多吗?”杰克说。 “不，她在香格里拉。 她几分钟后就到。” “她在康涅狄格?”露丝·罗斯说。 “奇怪。”丁克点点头。 “是的，还有一件事。她听起来很生气，好像我是故意拿走那些信的。”

"This is so lame," Josh said, yawning. "You got the letters by mistake, and some woman is coming over to get them." He stood up and stretched. "Let's go finish the game." Dink slipped the notes back inside their envelopes, then stood them between the salt and pepper shakers. Ruth Rose poked the envelopes. "Don't you guys think it's weird that she came all the way to Connecticut just for some notes from her mom?" "Maybe Dink can ask her when she gets here," Josh said. "Now can we please play volleyball?" Ruth Rose stood up. "What could be so important about these letters?" she wondered out loud. Ten minutes later, Dink heard someone calling, "You there, young man!" Dink ran to the side yard and saw a tall woman walking up his sidewalk. He jogged out front to meet her. "Hi. Are you Mrs. Duncan?" The woman towered over Dink. "I'm Ms. Duncan. Are you Dink?"

“这太差劲了，”乔希打着哈欠说。 “你拿错了信，有个女人过来拿。” 他站起来伸了个懒腰。 “让我们结束这场比赛吧。” 丁克把纸条塞回信封里，然后把它们放在盐瓶和胡椒瓶之间。 露丝·罗斯戳了戳信封。 “你们不觉得很奇怪吗?她大老远跑到康涅狄格来，就为了她妈妈的几张纸条?”“也许丁克可以在她来的时候问她，”乔希说。 “现在我们可以打排球了吗?”露丝·罗斯站了起来。 “这些信有什么重要的?”她大声地想。 十分钟后，丁克听到有人喊道:“你在那儿，年轻人!”丁克跑到旁边的院子里，看见一个高个子女人沿着他的人行道走着。 他小跑着走出前门迎接她。 “嗨。你是邓肯太太吗?”那女人比丁克高大。 “我是邓肯女士。你是丁克吗?”

Dink had to bend his head backward to see the tall woman's face. She had black hair and dark, squinty eyes. She was clutching a purse in her large, strong-looking hand. "Well, are you the boy I talked to or not?" the woman demanded.

丁克不得不低下头去看那个高个女人的脸。 她有一头黑发，一双黑色的斜视眼睛。 她那粗壮的大手抓着一个钱包。 “那么，你到底是不是和我说话的那个男孩?”女人问道。

Dink gulped. "Yes, ma'am. I'll get the letters," he said. "Thank you," the woman said. Suddenly she sounded almost nice. "They're from my mother, Bessie Duncan. She died last month. These were her last letters to me." Dink went inside to the kitchen. He walked over to the table to get the letters. But they were gone! Dink looked around the kitchen. The letters weren't on the counter, the fridge, or the stove. Dink looked on the floor under the table. He saw a few crumbs from lunch, but no blue envelopes. "What's the matter?" Ruth Rose said. She and Josh were peering through the back screen door. "I can't find the letters!" Dink told his friends. "Didn't I leave them on the table after we ate lunch?" Ruth Rose pushed open the door and came in. "I think so." She looked behind the toaster, the coffee maker, and the microwave. "Help us look, Josh," Dink said. "That lady is waiting! The letters are from her mom, and she died last month!"

丁克一饮而尽。“是的,女士。我去拿信，”他说。 “谢谢你，”女人说。 突然，她的声音听起来近乎和善了。 “是我母亲贝西·邓肯送的。 她上个月去世了。这是她写给我的最后几封信。” 丁克走进厨房。 他走到桌子那边去拿信。 但是他们已经走了!丁克环顾了一下厨房。 那些信既不在柜台上，也不在冰箱上，也不在炉子上。 丁克看了看桌子下面的地板。 他看到了一些午餐的碎屑，但没有看到蓝色信封。 “怎么啦?”露丝·罗斯说。 她和乔希正从后面的纱门往外看。 “我找不到信了!”丁克告诉他的朋友们。 “我们吃完午饭后，我不是把它们放在桌子上了吗?”露丝·罗斯推开门走了进来。 “我想是的。”她看了看烤面包机、咖啡机和微波炉的后面。 “帮我们找找，乔希，”丁克说。 “那位女士在等着呢!”这些信是她妈妈写的，她上个月去世了!”

Josh stepped inside, and the kids searched the kitchen. The letters had vanished. "Guess I'd better go tell her," Dink muttered, shaking his head. "I know I left them on the table!" He walked through the living room and opened the front door. Doris Duncan was standing where he'd left her. Dink swallowed. "I…um, I'm real sorry, but I can't find the letters." The woman glared down at him. "What do you mean?" she said. "When I called, you said you had them. Where are they?" Dink felt his face turn red. "I don't know," he mumbled. "They were on the kitchen table, and now they're not. My friends even helped me look." The woman stared over Dink's shoulder. She looked as if she wanted to barge past him and search the house herself. "I'll ask my mom to help when she gets home," Dink said. "Can you come back later?" Doris Duncan tapped her fingers on her purse. "I'll be back at six o'clock sharp," she said. "I'll expect my letters then, young man!"

乔希走了进去，孩子们搜查了厨房。 那些信不见了。“我想我最好去告诉她，”丁克喃喃自语，摇着头。 “我知道我把它们落在桌子上了!”他穿过客厅，打开前门。 多丽丝·邓肯站在他离开的地方。 丁克吞下。“我……嗯，我真的很抱歉，我找不到那些信了。” 那女人低头怒视着他。 “你是什么意思?”她说。 “我打电话的时候，你说你拿到了。 他们在哪里?”丁克觉得自己的脸变红了。 “我不知道，”他咕哝着。 “它们本来在厨房的桌子上，现在不见了。 我的朋友甚至帮我找过了。” 那女人越过丁克的肩膀盯着他。 她看起来好像想从他身边冲过去，亲自搜查房子。 丁克说:“妈妈回家后，我会让她帮忙的。” “你能过会儿再来吗?”多丽丝·邓肯用手指敲了敲钱包。 “我六点整回来，”她说。 “那我就等着我的信吧，年轻人!”