Chapter 7

Chapter 7 "What're we gonna do?" Ruth Rose asked. "That guy looks mean!" "Maybe we should just give them the letters," Josh said. "We can't!" Dink said. "The three sunflower stamps are still in Ruth Rose's house. They'll know we found the stolen stamp!" "And we can't go home," Ruth Rose said. "They might grab us. Then they'd search us, and they'd find the stamp on Dink." "Let's cut through the backyards to my house," Josh said. "We can call Officer Fallon and tell him we're being followed!"

第七章“我们该怎么办?”露丝·罗斯问。 “那家伙看起来很卑鄙!”“也许我们应该把信给他们，”乔希说。 “我们不能!”丁克说。这三张向日葵邮票还在露丝·罗斯的家里。 他们会知道我们找到了被偷的邮票!”“我们不能回家，”露丝·罗斯说。 “他们可能会抓住我们。然后他们会搜查我们，在丁克身上找到印章。” “我们从后院抄近路到我家吧。”乔希说。 “我们可以打电话给法伦警官，告诉他有人跟踪我们!”

"Okay" Dink said. "We can't just stay here." The kids crawled across Miss Alubicky's lawn on their hands and knees. Suddenly her dog started barking at them. Dink glanced back at the car. The driver's door flew open. The man in the green suit climbed out of the car and hollered at the kids. "Let's go!" Josh yelled. They jumped up and raced through Miss Alubicky's backyard. The man shot after them, crashing through Miss Alubicky's hedge. "He's coming after us!" Dink cried. "Faster!" The kids tore across Eagle Lane and cut into the woods. They hid in some thick bushes to catch their breath. The man stopped at the edge of the woods. The kids watched as he bent over, catching his breath. "Come on!" Josh whispered. The minute they started running again, the man plunged into the trees after them. They were faster than the man. A minute later, they raced through Josh's yard.

“好吧，”丁克说。“我们不能就呆在这里。” 孩子们用手和膝盖爬过阿鲁比奇小姐家的草坪。 突然，她的狗开始朝他们狂吠。 丁克回头看了看汽车。 司机的车门猛地打开了。 穿绿衣服的人从车里爬出来，对孩子们大喊大叫。 “我们走吧!”杰克喊道。他们跳起来，跑过阿鲁比奇小姐的后院。 那人在他们后面开枪，冲过了阿鲁比奇小姐的树篱。 “他在追我们!”丁克哭了。 “快!”孩子们冲过鹰巷，冲进了树林。 他们躲在茂密的灌木丛中喘口气。 那人在树林边停了下来。 孩子们看着他弯下腰，喘着气。 “来吧!”杰克小声说。 他们刚开始跑，那人就跳进树林里追赶他们。 他们比那个人跑得快。 一分钟后，他们跑过了乔希的院子。

"Run into the barn and climb up to the loft!" Josh yelled. "But we'll be trapped up there!" Dink said. "Just do it!" Josh said. "I have an idea!" The three kids sprinted into the barn. Dink and Ruth Rose scrambled up Josh's rope ladder into the loft. Below him, Dink watched Josh shove open the rear door of the barn. But instead of running outside, Josh dove into a pile of hay. Dink couldn't believe his eyes! "He's staying down there!" he said to Ruth Rose. "Quick! Get the ladder!" Ruth Rose whispered.

“跑进谷仓，爬上阁楼!”杰克喊道。 “但是我们会被困在上面的!”丁克说。 “照做吧!”杰克说。“我有个主意!”三个孩子冲进谷仓。 丁克和露丝·罗斯爬上乔希的绳梯进入阁楼。 在他下面，丁克看着乔希推开谷仓的后门。 但乔希没有跑出去，而是钻进了一堆干草里。 丁克简直不敢相信自己的眼睛!“他就呆在下面!”他对露丝·罗斯说。 “快!把梯子拿来!”露丝·罗斯低声说。

Dink grabbed the ladder and pulled it into the loft. Seconds later, the man in the green suit barreled through the barn door. Up in the loft, Dink could hear him gasping. The man looked around the dim barn, then raced out the open rear door. Dink almost laughed with relief. He started to get up. Suddenly Ruth Rose yanked him back down. The man ran back into the barn. He stood in the middle and swiveled his head around like a snake. Dink and Ruth Rose froze and carefully peered over the edge of the loft. After a minute, the man kicked a pail across the floor and stomped out of the barn.

丁克抓住梯子，把它拖进了阁楼。 几秒钟后，穿绿衣服的人飞快地穿过谷仓的门。 在阁楼上，丁克能听到他在喘气。 那人环顾了一下昏暗的谷仓，然后从开着的后门跑了出去。 丁克几乎松了口气，笑了起来。 他开始站起来。突然，露丝·罗斯把他拉了下来。 那人跑回谷仓。 他站在中间，像蛇一样转动着他的头。 丁克和露丝·罗斯僵住了，从阁楼的边缘仔细地往外看。 过了一会儿，那人把一只桶踢过地板，跺着脚走出了谷仓。

Dink swallowed and let himself breathe again. He closed his eyes until he heard Josh whisper, "He's gone," from the hay pile. Dink looked down and saw Josh's head pop up. With hay stuck in his red hair, he looked like a scarecrow. Dink lowered the rope ladder. He and Ruth Rose climbed down. His legs felt like rubber. They flopped down in the hay next to Josh. "What should we do?" Dink asked. "That jerk will just go back and sit outside my house." The kids sat in the cool barn and thought. Then Ruth Rose sat up straight. "I think I know how we can prove Doris Duncan and O. Bird stole the stamp," she said. "If I'm right, Officer Fallon will arrest them at the same time!" "How?" Dink and Josh both said. "I need a telephone," she said. "Can we go in your house, Josh?" Josh crawled out of the hay and peeked out the barn door. "I don't see anyone," he said. He quietly opened the door. The kids raced across his backyard and into the kitchen. "What's your plan?" Dink asked Ruth Rose.

丁克咽了口气，让自己重新呼吸。 他闭上眼睛，直到听到乔希在干草堆旁小声说:“他走了。” 丁克低下头，看见乔希的头突然冒了出来。 他的红头发里插着干草，看起来像个稻草人。 丁克放下绳梯。 他和露丝·罗斯爬了下来。 他的腿摸起来像橡胶。 他们扑通一声躺在乔希旁边的干草上。 “我们该怎么办?”丁克问道。 “那个混蛋会回去坐在我的房子外面。” 孩子们坐在凉爽的谷仓里思考。 露丝·罗斯坐直了身子。 “我想我知道如何证明多丽丝·邓肯和O。 鸟偷了邮票，”她说。 “如果我是对的，法伦警官会同时逮捕他们!”“如何?”丁克和乔希都说。 “我需要一部电话，”她说。 “我们能去你家吗，乔希?”乔希从干草中爬出来，从谷仓门往外偷看。 “我没看见任何人，”他说。 他悄悄地打开门。 孩子们跑过他家后院，进了厨房。 “你的计划是什么?”丁克问露丝·罗斯。

She told him. Josh threw his arms into the air. "That is so excellent!" he cried. Dink's eyes got big, then he grinned. "It's perfect! If it works, the stamp goes back where it belongs and those two crooks go to jail!" Ruth Rose's first call was to Officer Fallon. The boys listened as she explained about the letters, the stolen stamp, and her plan. Ruth Rose listened, then started nodding. "Uhhuh. Got it. Right. Okay, bye!" "What'd he say?" Dink asked. Ruth Rose gave Dink a thumbs-up. Then she called information and got the number for the Shangri-la Hotel. She dialed, then asked, "Is Doris Duncan there, please?" Ruth Rose grinned at Dink and Josh. She mouthed the words "They just walked in!" When Ruth Rose started talking, she used a tough-guy voice. Dink and Josh listened with their mouths open. "Hello, Ms. Duncan? My name is Ruth Rose. I'm a friend of Dink's, and I got those letters you want!"

她告诉了他。乔希把双臂举到空中。 “太棒了!”他叫道。 丁克瞪大了眼睛，然后咧嘴笑了。 “这是完美!如果成功了，邮票就会回到原来的地方，那两个骗子就会进监狱!”露丝·罗斯的第一个电话是打给法伦警官的。 孩子们听着她解释那些信、被偷的邮票和她的计划。 露丝·罗斯听着，然后开始点头。 “Uhhuh。明白了。正确的。好的,再见!”“他说什么?”丁克问道。 露丝·罗斯朝丁克竖起大拇指。 然后她打了问讯处，得到了香格里拉饭店的电话号码。 她拨了电话，然后问:“请问多丽丝·邓肯在吗?”露丝·罗斯朝丁克和乔希咧嘴一笑。 她用口型说:“他们刚刚进来了!”当露丝·罗斯开始说话时，她用了一种硬汉的声音。 丁克和乔希张着嘴听着。 “你好，邓肯女士?”我叫露丝·罗斯。 我是丁克的朋友，我拿到了你要的那些信!”