Chapter 1

The Goose's Gold

鹅的金子

Chapter 1 "Hi, Mom, I'm in Florida!" Dink said into the phone. He glanced out the airport's large windows. "I can see palm trees! And it's about 80 degrees!"

第一章“嗨，妈妈，我在佛罗里达!”丁克对着电话说。 他向机场的大窗户外望去。 “我能看到棕榈树!”现在大概是80度!”

Donald David Duncan, known as Dink to his friends, was on winter vacation from school. He, Josh, and Ruth Rose were visiting Ruth Rose's grandmother. She lived on an island called Key West. Dink's mother told him to have a wonderful time. "And remember your manners!" Dink grinned into the phone. "What manners? Just joking, Mom! See you in a few days." Dink hung up the phone. As he bent over to pick up his backpack, he saw a pair of feet in the next booth. They were tan and in sandals. One hairy ankle had a tattoo of an eagle's head. Dink heard the man's voice. He was whispering, "…then we take the dough and split. They'll never find us!" Take the dough and split? Was this guy planning a robbery? Dink wondered. He leaned toward the other booth so he could hear better. "Those old cookies are loaded," the man whispered. "We get in and out, then we drown the goose and disappear!" Dink blinked. Loaded cookies? Drown the goose? What was going on here?

唐纳德·大卫·邓肯，被朋友们称为丁克，正在放寒假。 他、乔希和露丝·罗斯去看望露丝·罗斯的祖母。 她住在一个叫基韦斯特的岛上。 丁克的妈妈告诉他要玩得开心。 “记住你的礼貌!”丁克对着电话咧嘴一笑。 “什么礼仪吗?开个玩笑，妈妈!几天后见。” 丁克挂了电话。当他弯腰拿起背包时，他看到旁边的摊位上有一双脚。 他们皮肤黝黑，穿着凉鞋。 一个毛茸茸的脚踝上有一个鹰头的纹身。 丁克听到了那人的声音。 他低声说:“……然后我们把面团分开。” 他们永远找不到我们!”拿着面团分开? 这家伙是在策划抢劫吗? 丁克很好奇。他靠向另一个隔间，以便听得更清楚。 “那些旧饼干装得满满的，”那人低声说。 “我们进去出来，然后把鹅淹死，然后消失!”丁克眨了眨眼睛。 加载饼干?淹死鹅? 这里发生了什么?

Suddenly, Josh snapped his fingers in front of Dink's face. "Earth to Dink," he said. "Come on, we have to go find my grandmother," said Ruth Rose. Dink stepped away from the phone. He peeked into the next booth, but it was empty. Dink hurried after Josh and Ruth Rose. "You guys aren't gonna believe what I just heard!" he said. "I think some guy is planning a robbery!" Josh and Ruth Rose looked at Dink. "Are you kidding?" Ruth Rose asked. "No, honest!" Dink said. Dink tried to imitate the way the man had whispered. "He said, 'take the dough and drown the goose!'" Josh looked at his friend. "That's it?" Dink nodded. "Well, he also said something about loaded cookies." "Maybe he said 'bake the dough and brown the goose,'" Ruth Rose said. "Sounds like he was a chef, not a robber." Suddenly, they heard someone call, "Yoo-hoo, kids. Over here!"

突然，乔希在丁克面前打了个响指。 “从地球到丁克，”他说。“走吧，我们得去找我奶奶，”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克从电话旁走开了。 他朝下一个摊位偷看了一眼，但那是空的。 丁克紧跟着约什和露丝·罗斯。 “你们肯定不会相信我刚刚听到的!”他说。 “我觉得有人在策划抢劫!”乔希和露丝·罗斯看着丁克。 “你在开玩笑吧?”露丝·罗斯问。 “不,诚实的!”丁克说。丁克试着模仿那人低声说话的样子。 “他说，‘拿着面团把鹅淹死!’”乔希看着他的朋友。 “就这样?”丁克点点头。“嗯，他还说了一些关于装载饼干的事情。” “也许他说的是‘烤面团，烤鹅’，”露丝·罗斯(Ruth Rose)说。 “听起来他是个厨师，而不是强盗。” 突然，他们听到有人叫，“嗬嗬，孩子们。 在这里!”

"There she is," Ruth Rose said excitedly. "HI, GRAM!" The kids hurried over to a smiling woman with white hair. "Honey, how you've grown!" Ruth Rose's grandmother said. She gave Ruth Rose a hug. "Merry Christmas!" Ruth Rose blushed. "Thanks, Gram. These are my best friends, Dink and Josh. Guys, this is Gram Hathaway!" Gram Hathaway was short and tanned. She wore shorts, a purple T-shirt, and a baseball cap— backward! Gram shook hands with the boys. "I've heard a lot about you two." she said. "Got your bags? Let's go home and have a nice supper." Ruth Rose's grandmother led them through the exit doors. The evening was hot and humid. Everyone wore shorts and sandals. "Boy back home we had a foot of snow!" Josh said. "I can't wait to see the ocean!" "There's a lovely beach not far from my house," Ruth Rose's gram said. "I think you'll find the water pretty warm for December."

“她来了，”露丝·罗斯兴奋地说。 “嗨,克!”孩子们匆匆走到一位面带微笑的白发妇女面前。 “亲爱的，你长这么大了!”露丝·罗斯的祖母说。 她给了露丝·罗斯一个拥抱。“圣诞快乐!”露丝·罗斯脸红了。 “谢谢,克。这是我最好的朋友，丁克和乔希。 伙计们，这是格兰·海瑟薇!”格拉姆·海瑟薇身材矮小，皮肤晒得黝黑。 她穿着短裤，一件紫色t恤，戴着一顶棒球帽——反着戴!奶奶和孩子们握了手。 “我听说过很多关于你们俩的事。” 她说。“你的包拿好了吗?”我们回家吃顿丰盛的晚餐吧。” 露丝·罗斯的祖母领着他们走出了出口。 晚上又热又潮湿。 每个人都穿着短裤和凉鞋。 “孩子，我们家有一英尺厚的雪!”杰克说。 “我等不及要看大海了!”“我家附近有个美丽的海滩，”露丝·罗斯的祖母说。 “我想你会发现十二月的水很温暖。”

They piled into her small white car. "Buckle up, everyone," she said. Dink and Josh climbed in the back. Dink almost sat on a pair of in-line skates. "Just dump those on the floor," Gram said. Josh snuck Dink a look. "Do you skate?" he asked Ruth Rose's grandmother. She winked at Josh in the rearview mirror. "Only on Tuesdays and Fridays. The rest of the week I jog or swim!" A few minutes later, they were zooming along a busy street. Dink watched the tall palm trees as the car whizzed past them. Through rows of neat houses, he caught glimpses of blue sea and nearly white sand.

他们挤进她的白色小汽车。 “大家系好安全带，”她说。 丁克和乔希爬到后面。 丁克差点坐在一双直排冰鞋上。 “把它们倒在地上就行了，”奶奶说。 乔希偷偷地看了丁克一眼。“你会滑冰吗?”他问露丝·罗斯的祖母。 她对着后视镜里的乔希眨了眨眼。 “只在星期二和星期五。 一周剩下的时间我慢跑或游泳!”几分钟后，他们沿着一条繁忙的街道疾驰而过。 丁克看着高大的棕榈树，汽车呼啸而过。 穿过一排排整齐的房子，他瞥见了蓝色的大海和近乎白色的沙滩。