Chapter 1

The Invisible Island

看不见的岛

Chapter 1 Donald David Duncan, known as Dink to his friends, answered the telephone. "Duncan residence, Dink speaking." "Get over here!" Josh Pinto yelled.

唐纳德·大卫·邓肯，朋友们都叫他丁克，接了电话。 “邓肯公馆，我是丁克。” “快过来!”乔什·平托喊道。

Dink jerked the phone away from his ear. "Why?" he asked. "My mom says we can have a picnic on Squaw Island," Josh said. "She made us lunch!" It was a steaming hot July day. Splashing around in the Indian River would feel great, thought Dink. "Okay, let me tell my mom and pick up Ruth Rose. We'll be right over." Dink ran up the stairs to his parents' room. His mother was sitting at her sewing machine, mending a pair of Dink's jeans. "Hey, Mom? Me and Josh and Ruth Rose are going to the river for a picnic, okay?" Dink asked. "Okay but you kids stay together," she said. "Thanks, Mom!" Dink pulled on old shorts and his grubbiest sneakers. Before he left, he fed Loretta, his guinea pig. Dink heard her squeak happily as he ran back down the stairs. Dink hurried over to Ruth Rose's house. Ruth Rose's cat, Tiger, was nursing her

丁克猛地把电话从耳边拿开。 “为什么?”他问。“我妈妈说我们可以在斯阔岛野餐，”乔希说。 “她给我们做了午饭!”那是七月炎热的一天。 丁克想，在印度河里戏水一定很爽。 “好吧，让我告诉我妈妈，然后去接露丝·罗斯。 我们马上过去。”丁克跑上楼梯，来到他父母的房间。 他的母亲正坐在缝纫机前缝补丁克的牛仔裤。 “嗨,妈妈?我和乔希还有露丝·罗斯要去河边野餐，好吗?”丁克问道。 “好吧，但是你们两个孩子待在一起，”她说。 “谢谢你,妈妈!”丁克穿上旧短裤和他最脏的运动鞋。 在他离开之前，他喂了他的小白鼠洛丽塔。 丁克听到她的吱吱声高兴地跑下楼梯。 丁克匆匆赶到露丝·罗斯家。 露丝·罗斯的猫“老虎”在照顾她

kittens on the front step. Dink carefully stepped around them, then rang the bell. The door opened. Ruth Rose's little brother, Nate, stood in the doorway. He had a cookie in each hand and another in his mouth. "Hi, Natie," Dink said. "Is your sister here?" "Shu goofen muppy," Nate said through his cookie. Dink blinked at Nate. "Huh?" Ruth Rose appeared next to Nate. "Hi, Dink, what's going on?" she said. Ruth Rose Hathaway liked to dress all in one color. Today she wore blue shorts, a blue T-shirt, and blue sneakers. Her springy black curls were held in place by a blue headband. "Josh wants to go to Squaw Island for a picnic," Dink said. Ruth Rose grinned. "Great!" She leaned back into the house. "SEE YOU LATER, MOM! I'M GOING ON A PICNIC WITH THE GUYS!" Then she bent down and wiped cookie crumbs from her brother's lips. "Natie, go

小猫在前面的台阶上。 丁克小心翼翼地绕过他们，然后按响了门铃。 门开了。露丝·罗斯的弟弟内特站在门口。 他两手各拿一块饼干，嘴里叼着一块。 “嗨，本地人，”丁克说。“你妹妹在这儿吗?”“舒舒服服。”内特隔着饼干说。 丁克朝内特眨了眨眼睛。“嗯?”露丝·罗斯出现在内特旁边。 “嗨，丁克，怎么了?”她说。 露丝·罗斯·海瑟薇喜欢穿一种颜色的衣服。 今天她穿着蓝色短裤，蓝色t恤和蓝色运动鞋。 她那有弹性的黑色卷发用一条蓝色发带固定住。 “乔希想去斯阔岛野餐，”丁克说。 露丝·罗斯咧嘴一笑。“太好了!”她向后靠在屋里。 “再见，妈妈!”我要和朋友们去野餐!”然后她弯下腰，擦去哥哥嘴唇上的饼干屑。 “临床试验,

stay with Mommy okay? I'll bring you back a magic stone!" Nate grinned and ran back into the house. Ruth Rose pulled the door shut. Then she and Dink cut through her backyard and crossed Eagle Lane. A few minutes later, they were at Josh's house. Josh was in his front yard, holding a garden hose. His little twin brothers, Brian and Bradley were screaming and racing through the water. "Hi," Josh said when he saw Dink and Ruth Rose. He shut off the water. "Gotta go," he told Brian and Bradley. "Be good boys and don't leave the yard!" Josh grabbed his backpack off the porch. "Hope you guys're hungry," he said. "Mom packed a lot of food." "That should last you about three minutes!" Dink said, grinning. The kids hiked through the field behind Josh's house. Then they crossed River Road and walked to the bank of the Indian River. The river flowed slowly, rippling over a few large rocks. In most places, the water

待在妈妈身边好吗?我会给你带回一块魔法石!”内特笑了笑，跑回屋里。 露丝·罗斯把门关上。 然后她和丁克抄近路穿过她家的后院，穿过鹰巷。 几分钟后，他们来到了乔什家。 乔希在他的前院，拿着一根园艺软管。 他的双胞胎弟弟布莱恩和布拉德利在水里尖叫着奔跑。 “嗨，”乔希看到丁克和露丝·罗斯说。 他关掉了水龙头。“我得走了，”他对布莱恩和布拉德利说。 “乖乖的，别离开院子!”乔希从门廊上抓起他的背包。 “希望你们都饿了，”他说。 “妈妈带了很多食物。” “那应该能持续三分钟左右!”丁克笑着说。 孩子们徒步穿过乔希家后面的田地。 然后他们穿过河路，走到印第安河岸。 河水流得很慢，在几块大石头上泛起涟漪。 在大多数地方，水

was shallow enough to wade across. Trees and shrubbery grew along the banks. Birds and squirrels chattered in the greenery. The kids walked along the river, slapping at mosquitoes. They stopped when they saw Squaw Island. The small island sat in the middle of the river. It was mostly sand, shrubs, and rocks. No trees grew there, and no animals made the island their home. But the kids loved the sandy beach and clean, shallow water. They waded in, wearing their sneakers. Soon they were up to their knees. "Boy, this feels good!" Dink said as the cool water climbed his sweaty legs. He kicked water at Josh and Ruth Rose. They splashed him back, and pretty soon all three were soaked. A few minutes later, they flopped down on the island's small beach. Dink took off his sneakers and wiggled his toes in the warm sand. "Let's eat!" Josh said. He opened his backpack and brought out plastic bags

很浅，可以涉水过去。 树木和灌木沿着河岸生长。 鸟儿和松鼠在绿色植物中叽叽喳喳地叫着。 孩子们沿着河边走，拍着蚊子。 他们看到斯阔岛时停了下来。 小岛坐落在河中央。 大部分都是沙子、灌木和岩石。 岛上没有树木生长，也没有动物在岛上安家。 但是孩子们喜欢沙滩和干净的浅水。 他们穿着运动鞋涉水而入。 很快，他们就涨到了膝盖上。 “孩子，这感觉真好!”丁克说，凉水爬上了他汗湿的腿。 他朝乔什和露丝·罗斯踢水。 他们往他身上泼水，很快三个人都湿透了。 几分钟后，他们在岛上的小海滩上躺了下来。 丁克脱下运动鞋，在温暖的沙滩上扭动脚趾。 “吃吧!”杰克说。他打开背包，拿出塑料袋