12 TICKTOCK

CHAPTER 12 TICKTOCK The mummy locked eyes with Alexander. Then it turned and ran. "It's running!" said Alexander, "I bet it's got the ruby!" "Follow that mummy!" whispered Nikki. "Are you nuts?" said Rip. "Ms. Sargent is super tough! Let her catch the thief."

第十二章滴答声木乃伊与亚历山大对视。 然后它转身就跑。“它在跑！”亚历山大说，“我敢打赌它拿到了红宝石！”“跟着那具木乃伊！”妮基小声说。 “你疯了吗？”瑞普说。”女士。 萨金特超级强硬！让她去抓小偷吧。”

"She can stop regular thieves, but only we can stop monster thieves! We're the S.S.M.P.," said Alexander. "Okay, okay," said Rip. "Hooray for us and stuff." "We'll need to be extra-sneaky," said Nikki. "If that guard sees us, she'll lock us up!" "Come on!" said Alexander. He hurried to the balcony steps. Rip and Nikki followed. "Pj's are great for sneaking around," whispered Nikki. "My slippers are ninja-quiet!" They crept up to the second floor. "No sign of the mummy," said Nikki. "It must be hiding," said Alexander. "Keep looking!"

“她可以阻止普通的小偷，但只有我们才能阻止怪物小偷！”我们是S.S.M.P，”亚历山大说。 “好吧，好吧，”瑞普说。“为我们欢呼吧。” “我们得格外小心，”妮基说。 “如果那个警卫看到我们，她会把我们关起来的！”“来吧！”亚历山大说。 他急忙走到阳台台阶上。 里普和尼基紧随其后。“睡衣很适合偷偷摸摸，”妮基小声说。 “我的拖鞋像忍者一样安静！”他们爬上了二楼。 “没有木乃伊的迹象，”妮基说。 “它一定藏起来了。”亚历山大说。 “继续找!”

They searched a suit of armor, a wigwam, a triceratops skeleton, a fake volcano, and even a stagecoach. "The mummy must've gotten away," said Rip. "But how?!" asked Alexander. "We were—" "Shhh!" said Nikki, "Someone's coming!"

他们搜了一套盔甲、一间棚屋、一具三角龙骨架、一座假火山，甚至一辆公共马车。 “木乃伊一定是逃走了。”瑞普说。 “怎么可能呢？”亚历山大问。 “我们在——”“嘘！”妮基说，“有人来了！”

A beam of light danced through the darkness, throwing long shadows across the floor. "STAY WHERE YOU ARE, THIEF!" shouted a voice. "AND NO FUNNY BUSINESS!" "IT'S Ms Sargent!" whispered Alexander. "Run!" They scrambled to keep out of the light. The three friends ducked down near an odd wooden door shaped like an acorn. "Let's hide in there," said Nikki. She pushed on the door. It wouldn't budge. "I've got this," said Rip. He rolled up his sleeves and leaned into the door. "Grugghhh," he grunted. "It's stuck! And it's making a weird noise."

一束光在黑暗中舞动，在地板上投下长长的影子。 “呆在原地别动，小偷！”一个声音喊道。 “不许干傻事！”“是萨金特女士！”亚历山大小声说。 “快跑!”他们争先恐后地躲避亮光。 三个朋友在一扇形状像橡子的奇怪木门旁蹲下。 “我们躲在那里吧，”妮基说。 她推开了门。它不会动。 “我有办法，”瑞普说。 他卷起袖子，身子探进门里。 “咕噜。”他嘟哝道。“这是困!它发出一种奇怪的声音。”

TICKTOCK, TICKTOCK, TICKTOCK! "I know that sound!" said Alexander. "Rip! Nikki! Duck!" "Huh?" said Rip. "It's not a duck!" said Nikki. "It's a cuckoo!" She jerked Rip away from the door. BONGGGG!!! A spine-shaking chime rang out like a thunderclap. The acorn door popped open. And a giant mechanical bird sprung out! "Grab that cuckoo!" Alexander said. The three of them hugged the cuckoo. It wobbled a bit, and then yanked them through the doorway. A second later, Ms. Sargent's light flashed across the closed acorn door.

嘀嗒，嘀嗒，嘀嗒！“我认得那声音！”亚历山大说。 “把!尼基!鸭子!”“嗯？”瑞普说。 “它不是鸭子！”尼基说。 “是一只布谷鸟！”她猛地把利普从门口拽开。 BONGGGG ! !一声震撼脊背的钟声像雷鸣一样响起。 橡实门砰的一声开了。 一只巨大的机械鸟跳了出来！“抓住那只布谷鸟！”亚历山大说。 他们三个人抱着布谷鸟。 它摇晃了一下，然后把他们拖出了门口。 一秒钟后，萨金特女士的灯光掠过紧闭的橡子门。

Alexander, Nikki, and Rip tumbled into a dark room. They could hear loud gears whirring all around them. "Where are we?" asked Alexander. Nikki, use your see-in-the-dark powers!" said Rip. "Uh, we are inside the world's second-largest cuckoo clock," she whispered. "And we're not alone."

亚历山大、尼基和里普跌进了一间黑屋子。 他们能听到周围隆隆的齿轮声。 “我们在哪儿？”亚历山大问。 尼基，用你的夜视能力吧！”里普说。 “嗯，我们在世界上第二大布谷鸟钟里，”她低声说。 “我们并不孤单。”