3 Poachers!

Chapter Three POACHERS! The Exploration Station could do many amazing things, but one of the most useful was the way it could send the Secret Explorers back to the exact moment they left home to go on their missions. This meant that even if a mission took many hours, the Explorer's families wouldn't get worried that they hadn't come back.

第三章偷猎者！探索站可以做许多令人惊奇的事情，但其中最有用的是它可以把秘密探险家送回他们离开家去执行任务的确切时刻。 这意味着，即使一次任务花费了很多小时，探险者的家人也不会担心他们没有回来。

Just as well, thought Leah, as she looked up at the stars twinkling in the North Carolina sky. At dusk, she and Gustavo had pitched the tent next to a large patch of flytraps and settled in for a long night of watching over them. Now it was the very darkest hour of the night, just before the dawn.

利亚抬头望着北卡罗莱纳州天空中闪烁的星星，心想，这也无妨。 黄昏时分，她和古斯塔沃在一大片捕蝇草旁边搭起了帐篷，在那里度过了一个漫长的夜晚。 这是黑夜中最黑暗的时刻，就在黎明之前。

At least they weren't hungry. The Beagle's cool box had supplied sandwiches and drinks, and they'd munched them outside the tent. Now there was nothing to do but sit, and watch, and wait… Leah felt alert and excited. The forest after dark was full of strange noises as the nocturnal animals went about their lives. As the Biology Explorer, it was a thrill for Leah to be here and listen to them. Gustavo, on the other hand, was clearly a little creeped out.

至少他们不饿。 小猎犬号的冷藏箱里有三明治和饮料，他们在帐篷外大嚼特嚼。 现在除了坐着、看着、等着，没有别的事可做了……莉娅感到警觉和兴奋。 天黑后的森林里充满了夜行动物四处走动的奇怪声音。 作为生物学探索者，莉娅很高兴能来这里听他们的演讲。 另一方面，古斯塔沃显然有点被吓到了。

He froze as something swooped past—a quick blur of shadow even darker than the surrounding forest. "What was that?" he hissed. "It's just a bat," Leah reassured him. "It's out hunting." From somewhere close by came a deep croaking noise, and then another. Gustavo leapt to his feet. "And what are those?! Are they coming this way?" Leah tried not to laugh. "Don't worry, they're just frogs. They're croaking at each other to say, 'this is my territory, stay away!'" Gustavo sat down again, and seemed to relax a bit. "Thanks. I guess the night's less scary when you know about biology." Later on, he even grinned when he heard a distant hooting. "That's an owl, right?"

他僵住了，有什么东西从他身边掠过——一个模糊的影子，比周围的森林还要黑。 “那是什么？”他嘶嘶地问。 “这只是一只蝙蝠，”利亚安慰他说。 “这是打猎。”从附近的什么地方传来低沉的嘎吱声，接着又是一声。 古斯塔沃跳了起来。 “那是什么？”他们往这边来了吗？”利亚强忍着不笑出来。 “别担心，它们只是青蛙。 它们用嘶哑的声音对彼此说：“这是我的地盘，离我远点！”’”古斯塔沃又坐了下来，似乎放松了一点。 “谢谢。我想当你了解了生物学之后，夜晚就不那么可怕了。” 后来，当他听到远处的叫声时，他甚至咧嘴笑了。 “那是一只猫头鹰，对吗？”

"A great horned owl, by the sound of it," said Leah. "Ooh, listen! Two bobcats are fighting!" They sat for a moment and listened to the hoarse, throaty yowls the bobcats made. "This is amazing," Gustavo said happily. "I know," Leah replied. "I wish we could stay here all w—" Cough. They both fell silent instantly. That was no animal, Leah thought. That was a human being! Her arms broke out in goosebumps. The cough came again. It was close. Very close.

“听起来是一只大角猫头鹰。”利亚说。 “哦,听!两只山猫在打架！”他们坐了一会儿，听着山猫发出的嘶哑、嘶哑的叫声。 “这太神奇了，”古斯塔沃高兴地说。 利亚说：“我知道。”“我希望我们能一直呆在这里——”咳嗽。 他们俩立刻沉默了。 那不是动物，莉娅想。 那是一个人！她的手臂起了鸡皮疙瘩。 咳嗽又来了。很接近。 非常接近。

Leah and Gustavo kept very still, listening hard. Leah wanted to climb inside the tent, zip the flap shut and pull the sleeping bag over her head. Nearby, someone was talking. The words were too faint to hear clearly, but Leah knew one thing now for sure. They weren't alone in the dark forest. "Poachers?" Gustavo whispered. "Only one way to find out," Leah whispered back. "Investigate?" "Yeah? We should take something to record them with, just in case." Leah grabbed the tablet with the built-in camera from the tent. She and Gustavo set off through the forest, closing in on the spot where the voices were coming from.

利亚和古斯塔沃静静地听着。 利亚想爬进帐篷，拉上拉链，把睡袋套在头上。 附近有人在说话。 这些话太微弱了，听不清，但莉娅现在确信一件事。 在黑暗的森林里，他们并不孤单。 “偷猎者?”Gustavo低声说。 “只有一个办法能知道，”利亚小声回答。 “调查?”“是吗?我们应该带点东西录下来，以防万一。” 利亚从帐篷里抓起了内置摄像头的平板电脑。 她和古斯塔沃穿过森林，走近声音传来的地方。