Chapter 8

Chapter 8 "Well, you were right about one thing," Ruth Rose whispered to Josh. "Mr. Pinkowski does have big feet!" "Yeah, but they still don't look as big as those footprints we saw," Dink whispered back. The kids were hiding behind the bushes near Ron's Bait Shop. Ron was standing in his yard, rubbing a cloth over a small green rowboat. "Look at that boat!" Josh said. "It could be the one we saw out at the island!" "But I don't see any calamine lotion on him," Dink said. "And he's not scratching!"

“嗯，有一件事你说对了。”露丝·罗斯低声对乔希说。 “平考斯基先生确实有一双大脚!”“是啊，但它们看起来还是没有我们看到的那些脚印那么大。”丁克小声回答。 孩子们躲在罗恩鱼饵店附近的灌木丛后面。 罗恩站在院子里，用一块布擦着一条绿色的小船。 “看那艘船!”杰克说。 “它可能是我们在岛上看到的那个!”“但我没看到他身上有炉甘石洗剂，”丁克说。 “他没有抓!”

Just then, a black car pulled into the driveway. Ron waved as a man in a dark suit stepped out of the car. The man waved back, then leaned into the car and pulled out a box. On its side were written four words: HAPPY HEART DOG FOOD! Josh gasped. "Do you see…" "Shhh!" whispered Ruth Rose. The kids watched as the man handed Ron the box. Ron turned and carried it into his shed. When Ron came out, he handed the box back to the stranger. The man put it on the seat of his car, then took out a checkbook. Quickly, he scribbled out a check and handed it to Ron. Finally, he climbed back in his car and drove away. "Check out the license plate!" Ruth Rose said. Dink read the plate, "B, E, N, T. BENT? What's that mean?" he asked.

就在这时，一辆黑色轿车驶入车道。 罗恩挥手示意，这时一个穿深色西装的男人从车里走了出来。 那人也向他挥了挥手，然后探进车里，拿出一个盒子。 在它的侧面写着四个字:HAPPY HEART DOG FOOD!杰克气喘吁吁地说。 “嘘!”露丝·罗斯小声说。 孩子们看着那个男人把盒子递给罗恩。 罗恩转过身，把它拿进了自己的棚屋。 罗恩出来后，把盒子递给了陌生人。 这个人把它放在他的汽车座位上，然后拿出一本支票簿。 他飞快地写了一张支票，递给罗恩。 最后，他爬回车里，开走了。 “看看车牌!”露丝·罗斯说。 丁克读着车牌，“B, E, N, T。 弯曲?这是什么意思?”他问。

"Who cares?" Josh said. "Mr. P just sold that guy a boxful of counterfeit money! Let's go tell Officer Fallon!" "Josh, that box could have been full of dog food," Dink said. "Dinkus, think!" Josh said. "Someone hid fake money in those same dog food boxes on Squaw Island. I say one of those two guys is the counterfeiter!" "Josh could be right," Ruth Rose pointed out. "But before we go see Officer Fallon, maybe we can find out who that other man is." "How?" Dink asked. "Let's ask at the gas station," Ruth Rose said. "Mr. Holly might know who drives a black car with BENT on the license plate." When the kids reached the gas station, Mr. Holly was nowhere in sight. Then Dink heard someone whistling. The tune was coming from under a banged-up red pickup truck. "Mr. Holly?" Dink said. "Is that you?" A round, grease-smudged face popped out from under the truck.

“谁在乎?”杰克说。“先生。 P刚卖给那家伙一箱假币!我们去告诉法伦警官吧!”“乔希，那个盒子里可能装满了狗粮，”丁克说。 “Dinkus,想想!”杰克说。 “有人在斯阔岛的狗粮盒里藏了假币。 我说这两个家伙中有一个是造假币的!”“乔什可能是对的，”露丝·罗斯指出。 “但在我们去见法伦警官之前，也许我们能找出另一个人是谁。” “如何?”丁克问道。“我们去加油站问问吧，”露丝·罗斯说。 “霍利先生可能知道是谁开着一辆车牌上有BENT的黑色汽车。” 孩子们到达加油站时，霍利先生却不见了踪影。 然后丁克听到有人在吹口哨。 曲调是从一辆撞坏的红色小货车下面传来的。 “冬青先生吗?”丁克说。“是你吗?”一张沾满油渍的圆脸从卡车底下探了出来。

"Howdy," Mr. Holly said, grinning at the kids. "You got car trouble?" "Sort of," Ruth Rose said. "Do you know who owns a car with BENT on the license plate?" Mr. Holly stood up and wiped his hands on a rag. "Why, is the car bent?" he said, winking at Dink. Dink laughed. "No, but we need to find the driver," he said. "I found some money," Ruth Rose said. "We think it might be his." "Sounds like those new folks," Mr. Holly said, "Mr. and Mrs. Warden Bent. Few weeks ago, they rented a small house on Fox Lane. I put a set of spark plugs in that snazzy Lincoln of theirs." "Fox Lane!" Dink said, giving Josh a look. "That's over by the river!"

“你们好，”霍利先生笑着对孩子们说。 “你的车出问题了?”“差不多吧，”露丝·罗斯说。 “你知道车牌上有BENT的车是谁的吗?”霍利先生站起来，用一块抹布擦了擦手。 “怎么，车弯了吗?”他问，朝丁克眨了眨眼睛。 丁克笑了。“没有，但我们需要找到司机，”他说。 “我找到了一些钱，”露丝·罗斯说。 “我们认为这可能是他的。” “听起来像那些新来的人，”霍利先生说。 和本特典狱长太太。几个星期前，他们在福克斯巷租了一间小房子。 我给他们那辆时髦的林肯装了一套火花塞。” “福克斯巷!”丁克说，看了乔希一眼。 “那是在河那边!”

"Right-o," Mr. Holly said. "Nice view of the water. Now if you'll excuse me, this old truck needs my help!" The kids thanked Mr. Holly and left the gas station. "We know who the guy is now," Dink said, "but we still can't prove he or Mr. P is a counterfeiter." "But the box—" Josh started to say. "We don't know what was in it," Dink reminded him. "Right," Ruth Rose said. "Why don't we go to Mr. Bent's house and wait for him to come home? Maybe we can get a peek at the box when he goes in his house." "Okay, but let's be careful," Dink said. "I don't want to end up locked in that vault on Squaw Island!"

“好的，”霍利说。 “水景不错。现在请原谅，这辆旧卡车需要我的帮助!”孩子们谢过霍利先生，离开了加油站。 “我们现在知道这家伙是谁了，”丁克说，“但我们仍然无法证明他或P先生是伪造者。” “可是盒子——”乔希开始说。 “我们不知道里面是什么，”丁克提醒他。 “对，”露丝·罗斯说。“我们为什么不去本特先生家等他回来呢?” 也许他回家的时候我们可以偷看一下盒子。” “好吧，不过我们得小心点，”丁克说。 “我可不想最后被关在斯阔岛的保险库里!”