Chapter 9

Chapter 9 The kids found themselves crammed in the boat's tiny bathroom. There was no room to sit or turn around. The kids just stood and stared at each other.

孩子们发现自己挤在船上的小浴室里。 没有地方坐下或转身。 孩子们只是站在那里面面相觑。

Suddenly, they heard heavy feet thunder down the cabin stairs. They held their breath. They heard a small thump, then a bigger one. Then the feet were walking again, this time going up the stairs. The small room got hot fast. Sweat ran into Dink's eyes. He could barely breathe. They waited, but heard no more noises. "I smell scrambled eggs!" Josh whispered into Dink's ear. Dink rolled his eyes. "Well, I do!" said Josh. Dink waited a few more minutes, then opened the door a crack. Cool air rushed into the bathroom. Dink quickly looked around the cabin. He could hear the men talking up above. He gently pulled the door shut. "They're up on deck," he said. "We can't stay in this bathroom. If one of them wants to use it, we're sunk!" "Why don't we just leave?" Josh asked. "How do we explain why we're hiding in their boat?" Ruth Rose said. "It's too late!"

突然，他们听到沉重的脚步声隆隆地从小屋楼梯上走下来。 他们屏住了呼吸。他们听到一声小小的撞击声，然后是一声更大的撞击声。 然后脚又走起来了，这次是上了楼梯。 小房间热得很快。 汗水流进了丁克的眼睛。 他几乎无法呼吸。他们等待着，但再也没有听到任何声音。 “我闻到了炒鸡蛋的味道!”乔希在丁克耳边小声说。 丁克翻了个白眼。“嗯，我喜欢!”乔希说。 丁克又等了几分钟，然后把门打开一条缝。 凉风冲进了浴室。 丁克迅速环顾了一下小屋。 他能听到人们在上面谈话。 他轻轻地把门关上。 “他们在甲板上，”他说。 “我们不能呆在这个浴室里。 如果有谁想用它，我们就沉了!”“我们为什么不离开呢?”杰克问。 “我们怎么解释我们为什么躲在他们的船上?”露丝·罗斯说。 “太迟了!”

Dink slipped out of the bathroom and saw a trapdoor in the floor. Kneeling, Dink pulled the trapdoor open. Josh and Ruth Rose tiptoed out of the bathroom. Suddenly the kids heard a roar. Then Dink felt the boat begin to move—backward! "They're taking the boat out!" he whispered. "Come on, down here!" The kids scampered down into the boat's hold. Dink lowered the door over their heads. Except for a crack of light around the trapdoor, they were in darkness. "This place stinks like rotten fish!" Josh said. "Now what?" Ruth Rose said. "I don't know," Dink answered. He thought for a minute. "They must be going out to the dive site," he said. "We'll have to hide till they decide to go back to the dock." "But that could be all day!" Josh said. The kids squirmed around, trying to get comfortable. Dink put his eye up to the crack and saw the underside of the table. To the right, he could just make out the bottom stair leading up to the deck.

丁克溜出浴室，看到地板上有个活板门。 丁克跪着拉开活板门。 乔希和露丝·罗斯蹑手蹑脚地走出浴室。 突然，孩子们听到一声吼叫。 然后丁克感到船开始向后移动!“他们要把船划出去!”他低声说。 “快，到这儿来!”孩子们蹦蹦跳跳地跑进船舱。 丁克把门放到他们头上。 除了活板门周围有一线亮光外，他们周围一片黑暗。 “这地方臭得像臭鱼!”杰克说。 “现在什么?”露丝·罗斯说。 “我不知道，”丁克回答。 他想了一会儿。“他们肯定是要去潜水点，”他说。 “我们得躲起来，直到他们决定回码头去。” “但那可能是一整天!”杰克说。 孩子们扭来扭去，想要舒服些。 丁克把眼睛抬到裂缝上，看到了桌子的下面。 在右边，他只能辨认出通往甲板的底层楼梯。

"Ouch!" Josh said suddenly. "I think I sat on an anchor!" "And I scraped my knee on a cinder block!" Ruth Rose said. Dink moved his hands around the sloping wooden floor. His fingers felt hard, scratchy surfaces. More cinder blocks, a bunch of them. Then he touched something squishy. "Guys, I found some life vests," Dink whispered. "Put 'em on!"

“哎哟!”乔希突然说。 “我想我坐到锚上了!”“我的膝盖被煤渣砖刮伤了!”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克在倾斜的木地板上移动着他的手。 他的手指摸到了坚硬、粗糙的表面。 更多煤渣砖，一堆。 然后他摸了摸黏糊糊的东西。 “伙计们，我找到了一些救生衣，”丁克低声说。 “穿上!”

The kids struggled into the vests. Dink kept his eye on the crack. He wanted to know if Spike or Chip came down into the cabin. "Whose idea was it to get on this boat?" Josh said. "I feel like a prisoner!" "You wanted to go out on a dive," Dink said. "You got your wish!" "Yeah," Josh said. "But not trapped in some smelly dungeon!" Dink saw a movement through the crack. A pair of bare feet were backing down the stairs! "Shh!" he said. "They're coming down to the cabin!" They heard footsteps, then voices. Shapes moved back and forth across the trapdoor. "This place is a pigpen," one of the men said. Dink recognized Spike's voice. "Why bother to clean it?" Chip answered. He giggled. "It'll get real clean in a little while." Dink heard something scrape, then a thump right over his head. Through the crack, he saw skinny wooden legs. A stool or chair had been dragged up to the small table. "We got any juice?" Spike asked.

孩子们挣扎着穿上背心。 丁克一直盯着裂缝。 他想知道斯派克或奇普是否进过船舱。 “上这艘船是谁的主意?”杰克说。 “我觉得自己像个囚犯!”“你想去潜水，”丁克说。 “你的愿望实现了!”“是的，”乔希说。 “但不是被困在臭烘烘的地牢里!”丁克看到裂缝里有动静。 一双光着的脚正从楼梯上倒下来!“嘘!”他说。 “他们下来到小屋来了!”他们听到脚步声，然后是说话声。 一些人影在活板门上来回移动。 “这地方是个猪圈，”其中一个人说。 丁克听出了斯派克的声音。 “为什么要费劲去打扫呢?”芯片回答。 他咯咯地笑着说。“过一会儿就会干净了。” 丁克听到有什么东西刮了一下，接着是头顶上砰的一声。 透过裂缝，他看到了瘦骨嶙峋的木腿。 一张凳子或椅子被拖到小桌子旁。 “我们有果汁吗?”斯派克问道。

"I doubt it," Chip answered. "I think there's milk." "They're eating breakfast!" Josh hissed into Dink's ear. "I told you I smelled eggs!" Then somebody sat down at the table. Dink could see one person's leg from the knee down. The leg was hairy and tanned. Suddenly, Dink gasped. Just inches from his eye, he saw a tattoo. It was an eagle's head.

“我对此表示怀疑，”奇普回答。 “我想有牛奶。”“他们在吃早饭!”乔希在丁克耳边嘶嘶地说。 “我告诉过你我闻到了鸡蛋味!”然后有人在桌旁坐下。 丁克可以看到一个人膝盖以下的腿。 腿上毛多，皮肤晒黑了。 突然，丁克倒吸了一口气。就在离眼睛几英寸的地方，他看到了一个纹身。 那是一只鹰的头。