4. Welcome to the Palace!

4 Welcome to the Palace! Back at their hotel, the Lambchops got dressed for the ball. Arthur and Stanley put on the suits that made them look like twins, and Mrs. Lambchop put on a sparkly dress. Mr. Lambchop wore a suit, too, but it had a strange jacket. It looked short in the front and long in the back. "It's called a tailcoat," he told the boys. "Because the back looks like a tail?" Arthur joked.

欢迎来到皇宫!回到酒店后，羔羊排一家穿上了参加舞会的衣服。 阿瑟和斯坦利穿上了看起来像双胞胎的西装，兰普切太太穿上了一件闪闪发光的裙子。 兰切普先生也穿了一套西装，但外套很奇怪。 它看起来前面短，后面长。 “这叫燕尾服，”他告诉孩子们。 “因为它的背看起来像一条尾巴?”亚瑟开玩笑说。

Nobody joked when they met up with Detective Bates. He was wearing a plaid skirt with knee socks! "It's a called a kilt," he told the boys. "My family is from Scotland. Where we come from, this is what men wear for special occasions." Stanley smiled politely, as if he saw detectives in kilts every day. Lucy's auntie would be proud of his manners, he thought.

当他们遇到贝茨警探时，没有人开玩笑。 他穿着格子裙和及膝袜!“这叫苏格兰裙，”他告诉孩子们。 “我的家人来自苏格兰。 在我们那里，这是男人在特殊场合穿的衣服。” 斯坦利礼貌地笑了笑，好像他每天都看到穿着苏格兰方格呢短裙的侦探。 他想，露西的姨妈会为他的举止感到骄傲的。

Detective Bates led them out of the hotel and started walking toward the palace. "I will be right there with you the whole time," he explained. "You can count on me to protect you if anything happens. But I will also be acting like a regular guest at the ball." He put a hand in the pocket of his kilt and drew out a small black tube. "Now, Stonley, this is for you," he said. Stanley turned it over and flicked on a switch. A thin beam of light came out of one end, almost blinding him. "It is disguised as a pen, but this tool has a special purpose," Detective Bates explained. "This ultraviolet light can help you detect imitation gemstones in one glance. Under this light, a real jewel will look clear, but a fake one will have cloudy spots."

贝茨侦探领着他们走出旅馆，开始向宫殿走去。 “我会一直陪在你身边，”他解释道。 “如果发生什么事，你可以指望我来保护你。 但我也会表现得像个舞会上的常客。” 他把手伸进方格呢裙的口袋里，掏出一根黑色的小管子。 “喂，斯通利，这是给你的，”他说。 斯坦利把它翻过来，打开一个开关。 一束细细的光从一头射出来，几乎把他弄瞎了。 “它伪装成一支笔，但这个工具有一个特殊的目的，”贝茨侦探解释说。 “这种紫外光可以帮助你一眼就识别出仿宝石。 在这种光线下，真珠宝看起来很清澈，而假珠宝则会有浑浊的斑点。”

"So I should use this if I find the Windsor Ring?" Stanley asked. "Bright chop!" said Detective Bates. "Yes, you can run a test right there at the ball. The world's best jewelers rely on lights like this one. Maybe Lady Laura has a ring that just happens to look like the Windsor Ring. Or maybe she has stolen the real one from under the queen's nose. Today we will learn the truth!" Just then, they arrived at a massive gate. Behind it was a stone building with several sets of pillars. "Welcome to Buckingham Palace!" announced Detective Bates. "Headquarters of the royal family, and home of the queen!" Stanley gulped. It was an impressive building with hundreds of windows, but it was kind of plain.

“所以如果我找到温莎戒指，我应该用这个吗?”斯坦利问道。 “机灵!”贝茨侦探说。 “是的，你可以在舞会上做个测试。 世界上最好的珠宝商都依赖这样的灯。 也许劳拉夫人有一枚戒指恰好长得像温莎戒指。 或者她从女王的鼻子底下偷走了真品。 今天我们将知道真相!”就在这时，他们来到了一扇巨大的门前。 在它后面是一座有几根柱子的石头建筑。 “欢迎来到白金汉宫!”贝茨侦探宣布。 “王室的总部，女王的家!”斯坦利一饮而尽。 这是一座令人印象深刻的建筑，有数百扇窗户，但它有点普通。

"Where are the towers?" Arthur asked. "Where is the moat?" He said just what Stanley was thinking. This was not the way Stanley had expected a palace to look. Stanley felt nervous as the gate opened to let them in. Now he knew how to use the ultraviolet light, but how was he supposed to find any jewels in the first place? Detective Bates had not told him much about that. He did not know how to be a spy. He did not even know what people did at a ball! Detective Bates was ahead of him now, chatting with Mr. Lambchop. Stanley knew that good manners meant he couldn't interrupt with tons of questions. He took a deep breath and

“塔楼在哪里?”亚瑟问。 “护城河在哪里?”他说的正是斯坦利的想法。 这不是斯坦利所期望的宫殿的样子。 大门打开让他们进去时，斯坦利感到很紧张。 现在他知道如何使用紫外线了，但他一开始怎么能找到珠宝呢? 贝茨探长对他说得不多。 他不知道怎样当间谍。 他甚至不知道人们在舞会上做些什么!贝茨警探走在他前面，正和兰彻先生聊天。 斯坦利知道礼貌意味着他不能用一大堆问题打断别人。 他深吸了一口气，然后