Chapter 11

Chapter 11 BARON SWEETCHEEKS IS LOOSE. AND HE'S NOT RETURNING MY CALLS! Morgan grumbled all the way to Ash's house. But a promise was a promise. He would ask her if she wanted to join them for some Minecraft. He'd leave out the super-cool, possibly supernatural details. With any luck, the local Wildling Scouts would be keeping Ash too busy for another after-school activity. He rang the doorbell. He waited only five seconds before deciding no one was home. He turned to walk away. But then the door opened a crack. Ash peered at him from inside.

第十一章甜颊男爵松了。 他也不回我电话！摩根在去艾什家的路上一路抱怨。 但承诺就是承诺。 他会问她是否想和他们一起玩《我的世界》。 他会省略超酷的，可能是超自然的细节。 运气好的话，当地的野人侦察兵会让阿什忙得没空再参加课外活动。 他按了门铃。他只等了五秒钟就认定家里没人。 他转身走开了。这时，门开了一条缝。 艾什从里面窥视着他。

She looked…strange. Her hair was all mussed. She had dust bunnies clinging to her clothing. There was a frantic gleam in her eyes. "Morgan!" she said. "What are you doing here? Who sent you? What do you know?" "Uh. Nothing?" said Morgan. "Are you okay?" Ash didn't answer. Her lower lip quivered. "Ash, what's going on?" "If I tell you," she said, "do you promise not to freak out?" Morgan was very confused. "Why would I freak out?" "Because I've lost him," Ash replied. "Who?" "Baron Sweetcheeks has escaped!" Ash cried. She let out a huge breath, as if just telling someone had lifted a weight off her shoulders. Morgan gasped at the news.

她看起来…奇怪。她的头发乱糟糟的。 她的衣服上粘满了灰尘。 她的眼睛里闪烁着疯狂的光芒。 “摩根！”她说。“你在这儿干什么？” 谁派你来的？你知道些什么？”“嗯。 什么也没有？”摩根说。“你还好吗？”艾什没有回答。 她的下唇颤抖着。“阿什，发生什么事了？”“如果我告诉你，”她说，“你能保证不惊慌吗？”摩根很困惑。 “我为什么要害怕呢？”“因为我失去了他。”阿什回答。 “谁?”“甜颊男爵逃走了！”灰哭了。 她深深地吸了一口气，好像在告诉别人她卸下了肩上的重担。 摩根听到这个消息倒吸了一口冷气。

"I'm so sorry," said Ash. "I know how much Baron Sweetcheeks means to you. I'm going to find him. I'm sure of it." "Let me help," said Morgan. Ash looked at him with suspicion. "Really?" she said at last. "Of course," said Morgan. "Four eyes are better than two." Ash opened the door fully. "But I thought you hated me." Morgan gasped again. Hate was such an ugly word. He had never hated anyone, ever. "Why would you think that?" he asked. Ash shrugged. "I kept trying to show you how much we have in common. Animals. Minecraft. And we both like spending time with Jodi. But you never seem to want me around." Morgan felt awful. He knew he hadn't been very welcoming to her. But he'd never meant to make her feel bad. He felt especially guilty because she'd been

“我很抱歉，”阿什说。“我知道甜颊男爵对你有多重要。 我要去找他。我敢肯定。” “让我来帮你，”摩根说。 艾什怀疑地看着他。 “真的吗？”她终于说。 “当然，”摩根说。“四只眼睛胜过两只眼睛。” 艾什把门完全打开了。 “可是我以为你恨我呢。” 摩根又喘了口气。恨是一个如此丑陋的词。 他从来没有恨过任何人，从来没有。 “你为什么这么想？”他问。 灰耸耸肩。“我一直试图向你展示我们有多少共同点。 动物。我的世界。我们都喜欢和乔迪在一起。 但你似乎从来都不想让我在你身边。” 摩根感觉糟透了。他知道自己对她不太友好。 但他从没想过让她难过。 他感到特别内疚，因为她

trying so hard to make a connection with him. To him it had seemed like she was trying to take his place, to show off, to be better than him at the things he loved. But she'd only wanted to be friends. "Ash, I'm so sorry I made you feel that way," he said. "You're right. We do have a lot in common. And we both want to make sure Baron Sweetcheeks is safe." He held out his hand. "What do you say? Hamster-hunting partners?" Ash smiled. She shook his hand. "Partners," she said. Then the smile disappeared from her face. "But I've looked everywhere. Where could he be?"

很努力地想和他建立联系。 在他看来，她似乎在试图取代他的位置，炫耀自己，在他喜欢的事情上比他做得更好。 但她只想做朋友。 “阿什，我很抱歉让你有那样的感觉，”他说。 “你是对的。我们确实有很多共同点。 我们俩都想确保甜颊男爵的安全。” 他伸出手来。“你说呢？” Hamster-hunting伙伴吗?”灰笑了。 她和他握了握手。“合伙人，”她说。 然后，她脸上的笑容消失了。 “但我到处都找过了。 他会在哪儿呢？”

Putting himself in Ash's shoes had helped Morgan realize he'd been hurtful to her. Maybe a similar trick would work with the baron. "We just have to think like a hamster," he said. "If you were a hamster…where would you want to go if you got loose?" Morgan tapped his chin. "Hamsters love food…." "I checked the kitchen, including all the cupboards," said Ash. "And my parents don't allow

站在艾什的角度想想，摩根意识到他曾经伤害过她。 也许类似的把戏对男爵也管用。 “我们只需要像仓鼠一样思考，”他说。 “如果你是一只仓鼠……如果你挣脱了束缚，你想去哪里？”摩根拍了拍下巴。 “仓鼠喜欢食物....”“我检查了厨房，包括所有的橱柜，”阿什说。 “我父母不允许