7. Operation Brian

Chapter 7 Operation Brian Bradley woke up to more strange noises. He turned to look at his clock. It was gone. Then he remembered that Brian had it in his bed. Bradley heard car doors slamming. He heard people talking outside. It sounded like more than two people, and they were giggling. Who would be laughing outside in the dark? he wondered. Then Bradley heard a dog barking. It was a big bark from a big dog. What's Killer the dog doing outside in the middle of the night? Bradley

布莱恩·布拉德利在更多奇怪的声音中醒来。 他转身看了看钟。 它不见了。然后他想起布赖恩把它放在他的床上。 布拉德利听到车门关上的声音。 他听到人们在外面说话。 听起来好像不止两个人，他们在咯咯地笑。 谁会在黑暗中在外面笑呢？ 他想知道。然后布拉德利听到狗叫。 那是一只大狗的大吠声。 这只叫“杀手”的狗大半夜在外面干什么？ 布拉德利

wondered. If Killer sleeps outdoors tonight, Brian's plan is doomed! That was Bradley's last thought before he went back to sleep. Suddenly he heard a soft ringing noise. Ten seconds later, something grabbed his arm. He lunged up and yelled, "AHHHH!" "Quiet—you'll wake Mom and Dad!" Brian whispered. "Come on. It's time for OB." "What's OB?" Nate asked from his sleeping bag. "Operation Brian!" Brian whispered. "Get up." "Is it midnight already?" Lucy asked. She crawled out of her sleeping bag. Yawning, she pushed her long blond hair out of her eyes. The kids tugged on their sneakers in the dark. "Brian, I heard their dog barking," Bradley whispered. "I think Killer is outside!" Brian looked at Bradley. "When did you hear him?" he asked. "He's not barking now." "A while ago," Bradley said. "When I was sleeping, but I woke up, I think." Brian grinned. "You were having one of your famous nightmares," he said. "You guys ready?

很好奇。如果杀手今晚睡在户外，布莱恩的计划就完蛋了！这是布拉德利入睡前的最后一个想法。 突然，他听到一阵轻微的铃声。 十秒钟后，什么东西抓住了他的胳膊。 他跳起来大叫：“啊！”“安静——你会吵醒爸爸妈妈的！”布莱恩低声说。 “来吧。该做产科医生了。” “OB是什么?”内特从睡袋里问。 “操作布莱恩!”布莱恩低声说。 “起床了。”“已经半夜了吗？”露西问。 她从睡袋里爬了出来。 她打着哈欠，把金色的长发从眼前拨开。 孩子们在黑暗中使劲地穿运动鞋。 “布莱恩，我听到他们的狗在叫，”布拉德利低声说。 “我想杀手在外面！”布莱恩看着布拉德利。 “你什么时候听到的？”他问。 “他现在不叫了。”“有一段时间了，”布拉德利说。 “当我在睡觉的时候，但我想我醒了。” 布莱恩笑了。“你刚刚做了一个著名的噩梦，”他说。 “你们准备好了吗？

Come on!" With Brian leading, they tiptoed down the hall. They went past Brian and Bradley's parents' room, then the bathroom. They passed Josh's room. Bradley noticed light under his door. Why is Josh still awake? he wondered. They went down the stairs. Through the kitchen, where Brian grabbed another apple. Out the door. Operation Brian was working! The kids crept across the backyard. The moon was nearly full, lighting the way to the fence. Their sneakers made no sounds on the soft grass.

来吧!”在布莱恩的带领下，他们蹑手蹑脚地走过大厅。 他们经过布莱恩和布拉德利父母的房间，然后去了浴室。 他们经过乔希的房间。布拉德利注意到门下有灯光。 乔什怎么还醒着？他想知道。 他们走下楼梯。 穿过厨房，布莱恩又抓了一个苹果。 出去。布莱恩行动成功了！孩子们蹑手蹑脚地穿过后院。 月亮快圆了，照亮了通往栅栏的路。 他们的运动鞋在柔软的草地上发出不了声音。

Bradley put his eye to the knothole. "Nothing moving," he reported. "Can you see Killer?" Brian asked. Bradley looked again. "Nope, just the big blue tarp," he said. "But he could be out there somewhere." "That's why I brought this," Brian said. He tossed the apple over the fence, then put his eye to the knothole. "No noise, no dog. So now you guys can boost me up, like they do in the Boy Scouts." "I'm not a Boy Scout," Lucy said. "I'm not even a Cub Scout," Nate added. "Josh taught me this," Brian said. He told Nate and Lucy to squat down. He showed them how to make a seat by crisscrossing their hands and arms. When they were ready, Brian put one foot on top of their joined hands. He balanced by holding on to Bradley's head. Nate and Lucy stood up, slowly lifting Brian. "You're heavy," Nate grunted. "You're pulling my hair!" Bradley said. Brian grabbed the top of the fence. "A little higher!" he said. Bradley shoved his brother's rear end.

布拉德利把眼睛对准了那个节孔。 “没有动静，”他报告说。 “你看见杀手了吗？”布莱恩问。 布拉德利又看了看。“不，只有蓝色的大防水布，”他说。 “但他可能就在外面的某个地方。” “这就是我带来这个的原因，”布莱恩说。 他把苹果扔过篱笆，然后用眼睛盯着结孔。 “没有噪音，没有狗。现在你们可以鼓励我了，就像他们在童子军里做的那样。” “我不是童子军，”露西说。 “我甚至都不是童子军，”内特补充说。 “这是乔希教我的，”布莱恩说。 他让内特和露西蹲下。 他向他们展示了如何把他们的手和胳膊交叉起来搭个座位。 当他们准备好了，布莱恩把一只脚放在他们的手上面。 他抓住布拉德利的头保持平衡。 内特和露西站起来，慢慢地举起布莱恩。 “你太重了。”内特咕哝道。 “你在扯我的头发！”布拉德利说。 布赖恩抓住篱笆的顶端。 “再高一点！” 布拉德利推了他哥哥的屁股。

"Okay, I'm up!" Brian said. "Go to the gate, and I'll let you in!" "Unless Killer eats you first!" Nate said. Brian grinned in the moonlight. "Killer is in the house dreaming doggy dreams," he said. Then he dropped out of sight into the neighbors' yard. Bradley, Nate, and Lucy raced toward the gate.

“好吧，我起来了！”布莱恩说。 “到门口去，我让你进去！”“除非杀手先吃掉你！”内特说。 布莱恩在月光下笑了。 “凶手在房子里做着狗的梦，”他说。 然后他消失在邻居的院子里。 布拉德利、内特和露西向大门跑去。

When they got there, Brian was shoving it open. "Come on in," he whispered. "And be quiet!" Single file, they followed Brian across the yard. In the moonlight, the tarp was a tall blue ghost. The green car sat in the driveway. Bradley thought it looked like a crouching dragon. Moonlight made the car's headlights gleam like eyes. Suddenly the house lit up. A light went on inside the tarp. The yard was filled with bright light, as if it were noon instead of midnight. Then the neighbors' back door opened. Killer came bounding out, barking like crazy. He charged across the yard, straight toward Bradley.

当他们到达那里时，布莱恩正在推开门。 “进来吧。”他低声说。 “安静点！”他们排成一列纵队，跟着布莱恩穿过院子。 在月光下，篷布是一个高大的蓝色幽灵。 那辆绿色的汽车停在车道上。 布拉德利觉得它看起来像一条蹲着的龙。 月光使汽车的前灯像眼睛一样闪闪发光。 房子突然亮了起来。 油布里面亮了一盏灯。 院子里灯火通明，仿佛现在是中午而不是午夜。 这时，邻居的后门开了。 凶手跳了出来，疯狂地叫着。 他穿过院子，径直朝布拉德利冲去。