2 The Silver Ship

CHAPTER Two The Silver Ship Eric reached up, grabbed the twisted hatch, and pulled it down over them. "Okay, we're on a flying ship. But whose flying ship? And where is it going?" They looked around. They were in a narrow corridor. The walls were made of the same shiny metal as the outside of the ship. "My bug senses are returning," said Neal. Then he pointed ahead of them. "I hear voices this way. But I can't tell who." "Let's find out," said Julie.

第二章银船埃里克伸手抓住扭曲的舱门，把它拉下来盖住他们。 “好吧，我们在一艘飞艇上。 但是谁的飞船呢？它要去哪里？”他们环顾四周。 他们在一条狭窄的走廊里。 墙是由和船外一样闪亮的金属制成的。 尼尔说：“我的昆虫感官正在恢复。” 然后他指着前方。 “我是这样听到声音的。但我不知道是谁。” “我们来看看，”朱莉说。

Carefully, they crept along the corridor. Neal's bug foot clomped on the floor. Eric followed behind. They rounded a corner in the narrow hall. Julie stopped. "Uh-oh…" Hanging on the wall ahead of them was a row of shiny black armor, glinting in the light. "That's Ninn armor!" Eric said. "There are Ninns on board! Maybe even Lord Sparr!" "We're in enemy territory, folks," Neal added. The ship rumbled noisily around them. It seemed to be changing direction. The three friends quietly inched their way to a large metal door with a wheel on it. "A Ninn-sized hatch," Eric whispered. "Here goes nothing." He turned the wheel and opened the hatch slightly. They peered into a large circular cabin filled with Ninn warriors. The Ninns were working the giant ship's controls. Eric shivered. His friends huddled closer. One Ninn stepped over to a red chair. The kids couldn't see who was in the chair. "King Zello and his daughter are heading for the city of Ro, my lord," the Ninn grunted. "What shall we do?" "Set course for the valley!" snarled a familiar voice. "It's Lord Sparr!" Eric whispered.

他们小心翼翼地沿着走廊爬行。 尼尔的虫脚重重地踩在地板上。 埃里克跟在后面。他们在狭窄的大厅里拐了个弯。 朱莉停了下来。“啊哦……”他们前面的墙上挂着一排闪亮的黑色盔甲，在灯光下闪闪发光。 “那是Ninn的盔甲！”Eric说。 “船上有ninn !”甚至可能是斯帕尔大人！”“伙计们，我们在敌人的地盘上，”尼尔补充说。 船在他们周围隆隆作响。 它似乎正在改变方向。 三个朋友悄悄地慢慢走到一扇有轮子的大铁门前。 “一个九岁大小的舱口。”埃里克小声说。 “这里什么也没有。”他转动方向盘，轻轻地打开舱门。 他们凝视着一个巨大的圆形小屋，里面坐满了忍者战士。 Ninns正在操纵巨轮的控制系统。 埃里克颤抖。他的朋友们挤得更近了。 一个妮妮走到一张红椅子旁。 孩子们看不见谁坐在椅子上。 “大人，泽洛国王和他女儿正往罗城去。”宁人咕哝道。 “我们该怎么办呢？”“向山谷进发！”一个熟悉的声音咆哮道。 “是斯帕尔大人！”Eric低声说。

"Soon we shall have the magic diamonds—millions of them," the Ninn grunted happily. "The diamonds will be useful," Sparr said. "But what I really seek in the city of Ro is a single word…." Eric frowned. A word? What word? The pink clouds thinned as the giant ship began to slip down through them. The cabin windshield showed a world of white mountains. Here and there were slithering silver rivers. A broad, flat valley directly ahead was circled by forests of violet and blue trees. The world of Droon. Pop! Neal's other sneaker began to split. "Oh, man!" Neal moaned loudly. Too loudly. Sparr bolted up from his throne and turned around. His dark eyes flashed when he saw the children. "Spies! Seize them!" Instantly, three large Ninns rushed over and grabbed the children. The red guards' grips were like steel. "Let us go, Sparr!" Julie exclaimed. Sparr laughed. "That's exactly what I intend to do! Ninns, take them to the platform!" The sorcerer's bald head gleamed as if it had been polished. And small dark fins grew behind each ear. "Do you expect us to talk?" Eric asked.

“很快我们就会拥有神奇的钻石——数百万颗。”妮妮高兴地嘟哝着。 “钻石会很有用，”斯帕尔说。 “但我真正在罗市寻找的是一个词....” Eric皱起了眉头。一个字?什么单词? 当巨轮开始从云层中滑下时，粉红色的云变薄了。 从机舱的挡风玻璃上可以看到一片白色的山脉。 到处都是银色的河流。 正前方是一个宽阔平坦的山谷，周围是紫色和蓝色的树林。 德鲁恩的世界。流行!尼尔的另一只运动鞋开始裂开。 “哦,男人!”尼尔大声呻吟着。 太大声。斯帕尔从宝座上一跃而下，转过身来。 当他看到孩子们时，他的黑眼睛闪闪发光。 “间谍!抓住他们!”三个大个子立刻冲过来抓住了孩子们。 红卫兵的手像钢铁。 “我们走吧，斯帕尔！”朱莉喊道。 Sparr笑了。“这正是我想做的！”小鬼们，把他们带到平台上去！”巫师的光头闪着光，好像被擦过似的。 每只耳朵后面都长出了黑色的小鳍。 “你想让我们谈谈吗？”埃里克问。

"No, I expect you to… fly!" Sparr replied. Without another word, the big red warriors hustled them roughly into the corridor. "Where are you taking us?" Neal asked. "You'll find out!" one Ninn laughed. He pressed a button on the corridor wall and—whoosh!—a door in the side of the ship opened. The children found themselves on a small metal plank jutting out from the ship.

“不，我希望你……飞！”Sparr答道。 红衣大兵二话没说，粗暴地把他们推进走廊。 “你要带我们去哪儿？”Neal问道。 “你会知道的！”一个妮妮笑着说。 他按了一下走廊墙上的按钮，“嗖”的一声！船侧的一扇门开了。 孩子们发现自己站在从船上伸出来的一块小金属板上。

The wind howled around them.

风在他们周围呼啸。

"Okay," said Eric, "I'm guessing that this platform is not a good thing." "We call it the tossing platform!" one of the guards said with a grunting sort of laugh. His black eyes seemed like tiny marbles in his puffy red face. "We toss, you fly!" another Ninn said. "And what if we can't fly?" Julie asked. "Splat!" The third Ninn laughed. The kids all looked at one another. "Okay, now I'm worried," Neal said. "And you weren't up till now?" Julie cried. Suddenly—zzzzzz-blam!—the ship rocked. Ka-blam! Boom! The sky lit up with sparkling blue beams. Dozens of plump purple ships swooped out of the clouds. The ships were small and round and very fast. Two wings stuck out on each side of a clear bubble. "The Lumpies!" Julie shouted. The Ninns grunted and ran inside. The iron door closed behind them. The kids were trapped outside the ship. "Now I'm really worried!" Neal said. "We really are going to go splat!" Suddenly, one of the purple planes swept underneath the platform. It pulled up sharply. Its cockpit bubble opened.

“好吧，”埃里克说，“我猜这个平台不是什么好东西。” “我们管它叫抛掷平台！”一个卫兵哼了一声笑着说。 他的黑眼睛在他红肿的脸上就像小珠子。 “我们扔，你飞！”另一个妮妮说。 “如果我们不能飞呢？”朱莉问。 “关门!”第三个妮妮笑了。 孩子们都面面相觑。 “好吧，现在我开始担心了，”尼尔说。 “你到现在才起床？”朱莉哭了。 Suddenly-zzzzzz-blam !-船摇晃了。 Ka-blam !繁荣!天空被闪闪发光的蓝光照亮了。 几十艘饱满的紫色飞船从云层中俯冲而出。 这些船又小又圆，速度很快。 一个透明的气泡两边各伸出两只翅膀。 “块状!”朱莉喊道。 小矮人哼了一声，跑了进去。 铁门在他们身后关上了。 孩子们被困在船外。 “现在我真的很担心！”Neal说。 “我们真的要输了！”突然，一架紫色的飞机从站台下面掠过。 它猛地停住了。驾驶舱的气泡打开了。