3. On the Case

Chapter 3 On the Case At eight-thirty the next morning, Bradley and Brian met their two friends on the corner of Farm Lane and Woody Street. They always walked to school with Nate and Lucy. "Our new neighbors are doing something strange next door!" Brian blurted out. "Like what?" Nate asked. "You know our favorite tree?" Brian asked. "They measured it, then covered it with this blue tarp thing. And they're doing something inside the

第二天早上八点半，布拉德利和布莱恩在农场巷和伍迪街的拐角处遇见了他们的两个朋友。 他们总是和内特和露西一起走路上学。 “我们的新邻居在隔壁做一些奇怪的事情！”布莱恩脱口而出。 “像什么?”内特问道。“你知道我们最喜欢的树吗？”布莱恩问。 “他们量了量，然后用蓝色防水布盖上。 他们在里面做一些事情

tarp, where we can't see them! All we could see was their shadows." "Maybe they're digging for treasure," Lucy said. "They have a giant dog," Bradley said. "About ten times as big as Pal!" He told them about his nightmare. "Yeah, and Bradley screamed so loud I woke up!" Brian added. The kids hurried toward the elementary school. "I wish I was invisible," Brian said. "Then I could climb over the fence and that big old dog wouldn't even see me!" "But he'd still smell you," Nate said. "Then he'd follow his nose and gobble you up!" Bradley grinned. "Maybe if you put on some of Mom's perfume, the dog would think you were a rosebush!" "Very funny," Brian said. They reached their school as the bell was ringing. "We need to investigate," Brian said. "Can you come to our house right after school?" "Sure," Lucy said. "I love solving mysteries!"

防水布，我们看不见他们的地方！我们只能看到他们的影子。” “也许他们在挖宝藏。”露茜说。 “他们有一只巨大的狗，”布拉德利说。 “大约是帕尔的十倍！”他告诉他们他的噩梦。 “是的，布拉德利尖叫得太大声了，我被吵醒了！”布莱恩说。 孩子们匆匆向小学走去。 “我希望我是隐形的，”布莱恩说。 “这样我就可以爬过栅栏，而那只大狗甚至都看不见我！”“但他还是会闻到你的味道，”内特说。 “然后他会顺着鼻子把你吃掉！”布拉德利咧嘴一笑。 “也许你喷点妈妈的香水，狗会以为你是玫瑰花丛！”“很有趣，”布莱恩说。 他们到达学校时，铃声正在响。 “我们需要调查一下，”布莱恩说。 “放学后你能来我家吗？”“当然可以。”露茜说。 “我喜欢解谜！”

"Me too," Nate said. "But I'm not wearing any perfume!" At three o'clock, the four kids ran back to Bradley and Brian's house on Farm Lane. Above the backyard fence, they could see the blue tarp hanging from the tree's branches. "I wonder if they're home," Bradley whispered. Lucy found a knothole in the fence. "Nobody's there," she whispered. "But I can see their green car in the driveway." "Can you see the dog?" Brian asked. Lucy shook her head. "Nope, just a squirrel." They each took a turn peeking through the hole. "Guys, the Sargents are coming out of their house!" Nate said. "They're walking toward the car."

“我也是，”内特说。“但我没有喷香水！”三点钟，四个孩子跑回布拉德利和布莱恩在农场巷的家。 在后院的篱笆上方，他们可以看到那块蓝色的篷布挂在树枝上。 “我想知道他们是否在家。”布拉德利低声说。 露西发现篱笆上有个节孔。 “没人在那儿。”她小声说。 “但我能看到他们的绿色汽车停在车道上。” “你能看见那条狗吗？”布莱恩问。 露茜摇了摇头。“不，只是一只松鼠。” 他们每个人轮流从洞里往外偷看。 “伙计们，中士们从他们的房子里出来了！”内特说。 “他们正朝汽车走去。”

Nate looked at Bradley. "They don't look weird to me." Brian put his eye to the hole. "Shhh, they're talking!" he whispered. "Mrs. Sargent said they're going shopping in town." The other three kids placed their ears against the fence. They all heard car doors slamming. Brian was still looking through the knothole. "And Mrs. Sargent has her clipboard. She was making a list yesterday." "Yeah," Bradley said. "I bet if we follow them, we can find out what they buy. Then we can figure out what they're doing!" "Wait!" Brian said. "After they leave, I can sneak over and get my jar of money!" He had told Nate and Lucy about hiding his allowance in the old tree.

内特看着布拉德利。“它们在我看来并不奇怪。” 布莱恩把眼睛贴在洞上。 “嘘，他们在说话！”他低声说。 “萨金特太太说他们要去城里买东西。” 另外三个孩子把耳朵贴在篱笆上。 他们都听到车门砰的一声关上了。 布莱恩仍在透过节孔往外看。 萨金特太太带着她的写字板。 她昨天还在列清单呢。” “是的，”布拉德利说。“我敢打赌，如果我们跟踪他们，就能知道他们买了什么。 然后我们就能弄清楚他们在做什么了！”“等等!”布莱恩说。 “等他们走了，我就可以溜过去拿我那罐钱！”他告诉内特和露西，他把零用钱藏在那棵老树里。

"And my flashlight," Bradley added. "What about the dog?" Nate asked. Brian peeked through the knothole again. "Rats," he said. "The dog is sleeping under the tree!" "Let's go to Main Street," Bradley said. "If we get there before they do, we can spy on them!" The kids took off running. They raced down Eagle Lane, then cut through the playground at the elementary school. A few minutes later, they were on Main Street, across from the fire station. "Stop! I have a pain in my side from running!" Nate said. He bent over and held his side. "There they are!" Bradley said. The neighbors' green car was at the stop sign on Silver Circle. Then it turned onto Main Street. Bradley could see Mr. Sargent driving. Mrs. Sargent sat next to him. The car pulled into the supermarket parking lot. The kids crossed Main Street and ran to the back of the fire station. Its parking lot was next to the supermarket lot. The kids arrived just in time to see the green car turn into a space and stop. "Are they going grocery shopping?" Nate asked.

“还有我的手电筒，”布拉德利补充道。 “那狗怎么办？”内特问道。 布莱恩又从节孔里偷看了一眼。 “老鼠，”他说。“狗在树下睡觉！”“我们去主街吧，”布拉德利说。 “如果我们比他们先到那里，我们就可以监视他们了！”孩子们跑了起来。 他们沿着鹰巷飞奔，然后穿过小学的操场。 几分钟后，他们来到了主街，就在消防站对面。 “停!我跑得腰疼！”内特说。 他弯下腰，捂着自己的身体。 “他们在那儿！”布拉德利说。 邻居的绿色汽车停在银环街的停车标志处。 然后它转向主街。 布拉德利可以看到萨金特先生在开车。 萨金特太太坐在他旁边。 汽车开进了超市的停车场。 孩子们穿过大街，跑到消防站的后面。 它的停车场紧挨着超市的停车场。 孩子们赶到的时候正好看到那辆绿色的汽车开到一个地方停了下来。 “他们要去杂货店买东西吗？”内特问道。

Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy were hiding behind a row of bushes. They watched Mr. and Mrs. Sargent leave their car and head to the rear of the supermarket. She was carrying the clipboard. "They might be going to that little hardware store inside the supermarket," Brian said. "Should we follow them?" Bradley asked. "They'll spot us if we do," Brian said. "They must have seen us next door." "I can go in," Lucy said. "They don't know me! Come with me, Nate." "Good idea," Bradley said. "Find out what they buy!" He and Brian watched Lucy and Nate scoot between some cars. They slipped into the supermarket's back door two minutes behind Mr. and Mrs. Sargent. "I'll be right back," Bradley told Brian. He ran to the neighbors' car and peeked into the back. He saw an old blanket, a bunch of tools, and a map of Florida. "Bradley! Come on!" Brian called. Bradley ran back to his brother. Mr. and Mrs. Sargent came out carrying bags. They headed right for their car.

布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西躲在一排灌木丛后面。 他们看着萨金特夫妇下了车，朝超市后面走去。 她拿着剪贴板。 “他们可能会去超市里的那个小五金店，”布莱恩说。 “我们应该跟着他们吗？”布拉德利问。 “如果我们这样做，他们会发现我们的，”布莱恩说。 “他们一定看到我们在隔壁了。” “我可以进去。”露茜说。“他们不认识我！”跟我来，内特。” “好主意，”布拉德利说。 “看看他们买什么！”他和布莱恩看着露西和内特在几辆车之间穿梭。 他们比萨金特夫妇晚两分钟溜进了超市的后门。 “我马上回来，”布拉德利告诉布莱恩。 他跑到邻居的车前，往后面偷看。 他看到了一条旧毯子、一堆工具和一张佛罗里达地图。 “布拉德利!来吧!”布莱恩。 布拉德利跑回他哥哥身边。 萨金特夫妇提着包走了出来。 他们直奔汽车而去。