6 Calling for help

Chapter Six CALLING FOR HELP "Aha!" said Gustavo. Leah was standing beside him on the bank of the stream. He pointed out some thin branches on the other side of the water. "See where those branches are snapped? Now put the scene together in your mind." Leah tried to picture the poachers moving through the night. "It was dark, so

第六章呼救“啊哈！”古斯塔沃说。 利亚站在他旁边的河岸上。 他指给我看水那边的几根细树枝。 “看到那些树枝被折断的地方了吗？” 现在在你的脑海里把这个场景组合起来。” 利亚试图想象偷猎者在夜间活动的情景。 “天很黑，所以

they wouldn't have been able to see any stepping stones… So they would have had to take a blind leap… So they probably didn't see those branches at all! They just crashed through them and kept going." "Good work!" Gustavo jumped over the stream, just as the poachers would have done. Leah followed, full of the thrill of the chase. She couldn't wait for Gustavo to find the next clue. But it was Leah who saw a faint impression in the mud. "Gustavo, wait up! Isn't that a footprint?" Gustavo looked down at the U-shaped imprint in the ground. "Definitely. Good spot."

它们根本看不到任何垫脚石，所以它们只能盲目地跳过去，所以它们可能根本看不到那些树枝！他们只是冲了过去，继续前进。” “干得好!”古斯塔沃跳过小溪，就像偷猎者会做的那样。 利亚紧随其后，充满了追逐的兴奋。 她等不及古斯塔沃找到下一条线索了。 但莉娅在泥里看到了一个模糊的印痕。 “古斯塔沃，等等！”那不是一个脚印吗？”古斯塔沃低头看着地上u形的印记。 “绝对。好点。”

"It looks a little weird," Leah said. "Like it's only the front half of the foot." "It is," Gustavo explained. "Because when you run, you don't bring your foot down flat, do you? Only the front part comes into contact with the ground." "The poachers were running. It must have been them," Leah said. Gustavo pondered. "Well, it's a good job you spotted this print, because it means they suddenly swerved off this way, through these bushes. I wonder why?" "Bear tracks!" Leah said, pointing at the ground. "I guess the black bear from last night has a mate." Gustavo grinned. "You'd make a brilliant historian!" There was a lot more leaf cover overhead, which meant a lot less sunlight reaching the

“看起来有点奇怪，”利亚说。 “就像它只是脚的前半部分一样。” “是的，”古斯塔沃解释道。 “因为当你跑步的时候，你不会把脚踩平，对吧？” 只有前部与地面接触。” “偷猎者在逃跑。 一定是他们，”利亚说。 Gustavo思考。“嗯，你发现了这个指纹是件好事，因为这意味着它们突然转向这边，穿过这些灌木丛。 我想知道为什么？”“熊追踪!”利亚指着地面说。 “我猜昨晚的黑熊有配偶了。” Gustavo咧嘴一笑。“你会成为一名杰出的历史学家！”头顶上有更多的树叶覆盖，这意味着到达地面的阳光要少得多

forest floor, which meant less bracken and more patches of bare earth. They found the footprint trail with ease. Leah noticed the prints were more regular, meaning the poachers had slowed down. Then Gustavo pointed out something shiny and picked it up. "A chocolate wrapper," he said. "If they had time for a snack, then they weren't in a hurry anymore. So they must have thought they were safe."

森林地面，这意味着更少的蕨菜和更多的光秃秃的土地。 他们很容易就找到了脚印。 莉亚注意到指纹更有规律，这意味着偷猎者放慢了速度。 然后Gustavo指着一个发亮的东西，把它捡了起来。 “巧克力包装纸，”他说。 “如果他们有时间吃点零食，那么他们就不再赶时间了。 所以他们一定认为自己是安全的。”

Leah pocketed it, making a disgusted face. They searched the ground for more footprints, but neither of them could find any. Leah felt frustrated. "What if there aren't any more prints to find?" she muttered. "If the trail's gone cold, then we're out of luck…" "Let's check over there, where the wrapper was," Gustavo suggested. "I've got a hunch that it might have fallen out of something… or been thrown out." Leah pushed through some ferns and gave a shout. "Tire marks! So that's how they got away!" "I knew it!" cried Gustavo. "They ate the chocolate bar in their vehicle and threw the wrapper out the window." Leah scowled. "These poachers are the worst—they're litterbugs, too!"

利亚把它装进口袋，做了一个厌恶的表情。 他们在地上寻找更多的脚印，但谁也没有找到。 利亚感到很沮丧。“要是再也找不到指纹了怎么办？”她喃喃地说。 “如果线索断了，那我们就倒霉了……”“我们去那边看看，包装纸在哪儿。”古斯塔沃建议道。 “我有一种预感，它可能是从什么东西上掉下来的……或者被扔出去了。” 利亚推开一些蕨类植物，叫了一声。 “轮胎痕迹!原来他们就是这样跑掉的！”“我就知道！”古斯塔沃喊道。 “他们在车里吃完巧克力棒，把包装纸扔出了窗外。” 利亚皱起了眉头。“这些偷猎者是最坏的——他们也是垃圾虫！”

Gustavo looked at the tire tracks snaking off through the forest. "They could be anywhere by now." Leah felt new determination fill her. "Then let's get the Beagle and follow them." Moments later, they were racing along through the forest with Leah at the wheel. The engine roared and the Beagle made excited BEEPS as they went.

古斯塔沃看着蜿蜒穿过森林的轮胎印。 “他们现在可能在任何地方。” 利亚感到新的决心充满了她。 “那我们就带上小猎犬号，跟着他们。” 片刻之后，他们在莉娅的驾驶下穿过森林。 发动机轰鸣着，小猎犬号在行进中发出激动的哔哔声。