Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 "I can't believe that security lady had the nerve to accuse Ms. Margery!" Lydia said. Abbi did not say that Patricia never actually accused Ms. Margery. Patricia was just asking questions like any good investigator. Instead, Abbi followed her furious friend toward the pens where the alpacas were last seen: the scene of the maybe-crime. They still didn't even know if the alpacas had been stolen or had only gotten loose. They could be wandering around right this minute, munching on wildflowers and waiting to be found. Abbi hoped that was the case.

“我真不敢相信那个保安小姐竟然有胆量指控。 玛杰里!”利迪娅说。阿比并没有说帕特丽夏从来没有真正指控过奥巴马。 玛杰里。帕特丽夏只是像个好调查员一样问问题。 相反，阿比跟着她愤怒的朋友去了羊驼最后一次出现的围栏：可能是犯罪现场。 他们甚至不知道羊驼是被偷了还是只是逃出来了。 它们此刻可能正在四处游荡，大嚼野花，等着被发现。 阿比希望是这样。

"How long have you guys known her?" Abbi asked. "Forever!" Lydia said over her shoulder. "Our mom's been volunteering at Meadows' Meadows since she was a kid." "We used to go almost every weekend," Daniel said. He walked next to Abbi, both of them happy to let Lydia lead the way. "My favorite time to go was in winter, though." "Why?" Abbi asked. He thought for a moment. "I guess the animals just seemed really cozy, all huddled up in their pens." Abbi remembered what Daniel had said about Meadows' Meadows being a sanctuary.

“你们认识她多久了？”艾比问道。 “永恒!”丽迪雅回过头说。 “我们的妈妈从小就在梅多斯的梅多斯做志愿者。” “我们以前几乎每个周末都去，”丹尼尔说。 他走到阿比旁边，两人都很高兴让莉迪亚带路。 “不过，我最喜欢去的时间是冬天。” “为什么?”艾比问道。他想了一会儿。 “我想动物们看起来真的很舒服，都挤在笼子里。” 阿比记得丹尼尔说过，梅多斯的梅多斯是一个避难所。

"What kind of animals do they rescue?" "All kinds!" Lydia called excitedly. "Mountain lions and wolves. Giant snakes. Even peacocks!" Abbi had never seen any peacocks in real life. Not outside a zoo, where there were too many people and too much noise to get a useful audio recording of them for her collection. As they got closer to the barn, Lydia asked, "Do you think Security will let us in?" Abbi smiled. "I think they're too busy to care." Sure enough, when they arrived at the alpaca barn, there were no staff members to be seen. They must have been called to handle the increasingly rowdy crowds by the pavilion. Even from here, Abbi could hear garbled megaphone sounds from the protest and a mess of overlapping voices. Everyone was worried about the alpacas. Abbi shook her head. If only they weren't too busy yelling at each other

“他们救助什么样的动物？”“所有!”莉迪亚兴奋地叫道。 “山狮和狼。 巨大的蛇。甚至孔雀!”阿比在现实生活中从未见过孔雀。 不是在动物园外面，那里人太多，噪音太大，无法为她的收藏收集有用的录音。 当他们走近谷仓时，莉迪亚问：“你觉得保安会让我们进去吗？”艾比笑了。 “我想他们太忙了，顾不上关心。” 果然，当他们到达羊驼饲养场时，没有看到任何工作人员。 他们一定是被叫来处理亭边越来越吵闹的人群的。 即使在这里，阿比也能听到抗议活动发出的混乱的扩音器声音和混乱的重叠声音。 每个人都担心羊驼。 阿比摇了摇头。要是他们不忙着互相吼就好了

to actually help find them, she thought. "Stay here, Barkley," Abbi said. "Keep a lookout for us, okay?" Barkley whimpered mildly before lying down on the hard-packed dirt. He was more cuddle-bug than guard dog, but he could certainly make a ruckus when needed. If anyone was about to stumble on them, Barkley would let them know before they could get caught. As expected, the pens inside were empty. The silence felt eerie after the noise outside. Abbi's tires crunched loudly over the hay-strewn ground. Whenever she paused to look inside a pen, the electronic click of her motor stopping echoed up to the rafters.

她想，这是为了帮助找到他们。 “呆在这儿，巴克利。”阿比说。 “帮我们留意一下，好吗？”巴克利轻轻地呜咽了一声，然后躺在硬邦邦的泥土上。 与其说它是看门狗，倒不如说它更像一只抱抱虫，但必要的时候，它肯定会发出骚动。 如果有人要撞见他们，巴克利会在他们被抓住之前通知他们。 不出所料，里面的钢笔是空的。 外面的喧闹声过后，这里的寂静让人感到诡异。 阿比的轮胎在满是干草的地上嘎吱作响。 每当她停下来往笔里看时，她的马达停止的电子咔嗒声就会回荡在椽子上。

"Look! There's Alpaca in Wonderland!" Lydia said. She rushed to one of the last pens and cooed as she opened the gate. "Hi, buddy. You okay?" Alpaca in Wonderland looked perfectly happy. He was lying down in a big pile of hay, sleepy-eyed and smiling. He still wore his

“看!仙境里有羊驼！”利迪娅说。 她冲到最后的围栏前，一边打开大门一边咕咕叫着。 “嗨,老兄。你没事吧?”仙境中的羊驼看起来非常开心。 他躺在一大堆干草上，睡眼惺忪，面带微笑。 他还戴着他的

contest-ready costume. Abbi had expected him to be dressed like his namesake, Alice in Wonderland. But instead, he was dressed as the Queen of Hearts. He even had a crown on his head! Abbi approached the royal alpaca cautiously. Her wheelchair sometimes spooked animals who weren't used to it, so she gave him plenty of time to watch her. When she reached him, she took out a handful of the alfalfa sprouts she'd packed. Palm out, she offered the tasty treat to him.

contest-ready服装。阿比希望他穿得像自己的同名小说《爱丽丝梦游仙境》。 但是，他却打扮成红心皇后。 他头上甚至还戴着一顶王冠！阿比小心翼翼地走近皇家羊驼。 她的轮椅有时会吓到不习惯的动物，所以她给了他足够的时间来照看她。 当她走到他身边时，她拿出一把包装好的苜蓿芽。 她伸出手掌，把美味的食物递给他。