7. Clues in the Snow

Chapter 7 Clues in the Snow Bradley grabbed a jacket and tossed Brian his. "Come on. Maybe he went back to Furry Feet!" The twins ran down the stairs. "Where are you guys going?" their father asked. "I thought you wanted to read your new books."

布拉德利抓起一件夹克，把他的扔给布莱恩。 “来吧。也许他回到毛脚那儿去了！”双胞胎跑下楼梯。 “你们要去哪里？”父亲问。 “我以为你想读你的新书呢。”

Bradley grinned. "Um, we need to see about another Christmas present," he said. "A very important one!" The twins put on their boots, mittens, and hats, and raced out the door. Snowflakes got in their eyes as they ran. They went the shortest way, through Center Park. Swan Pond was frozen over. Snow covered the ice and trees, making the whole park look like a Christmas card. Five minutes later, Bradley and Brian were in front of Furry Feet. "Please let him be here," Bradley said, out of breath. But there was only snow in front of the pet shop. They peered through the glass. Inside, the shop was still dark. Only the fish tanks were lit. The hamsters, ferrets, and mice were sleeping. "Where could the puppy be?" Brian said. Bradley looked up and down Main Street. "We have to find him or he'll freeze!" he said. Brian looked at the snow-covered sidewalk. "Do you see any tracks?" he asked. "Only ours," Bradley said. He pointed to their footprints crossing Main Street and Center Park.

布拉德利咧嘴一笑。他说：“嗯，我们需要考虑另一个圣诞礼物。” “非常重要！”双胞胎穿上靴子、连指手套和帽子，跑出了门。 当他们奔跑时，雪花钻进了他们的眼睛。 他们走了最短的路，穿过中央公园。 天鹅池被冻住了。 雪覆盖了冰和树，使整个公园看起来像一张圣诞贺卡。 五分钟后，布拉德利和布莱恩来到了“毛脚”面前。 “请让他来吧，”布拉德利上气不接下气地说。 但是宠物店的前面只有雪。 他们透过玻璃往外看。 店里仍然一片漆黑。 只有鱼缸点着了。 仓鼠、雪貂和老鼠都在睡觉。 “小狗会在哪儿呢？”布莱恩说。 布拉德利在大街上四处张望。 “我们必须找到他，否则他会冻僵的！”他说。 布莱恩看着被雪覆盖的人行道。 “你看到什么痕迹了吗？”他问。 “只有我们的，”布拉德利说。 他指着他们穿过主街和中央公园的脚印。

"No puppy prints at all." "Oh my gosh!" Brian said. "We should have looked for the puppy's tracks outside our house. Maybe we can follow his trail!" The boys raced away, heading back home. They charged across Center Park, following their own trail. A few minutes later, they were in their front yard, searching for puppy tracks. They didn't see any, but they did see a lot of human tracks in the yard and on the porch. The twins stood over the tracks. "Boot prints," Brian said. "But they're not from us. These are bigger." "And we came out the back door," Bradley added. "We didn't even walk here. But Josh was out here. Maybe they're his." Brian shook his head. "These aren't Josh's prints, either," he said. "He came in the back door, too. Mom always makes us come in the back way so we can take off our boots." "So whose tracks are these?" Brian asked. He pointed at two different boot prints, one bigger than the other.

“根本没有小狗的脚印。”“我的天哪！”布莱恩说。 “我们应该在房子外面寻找小狗的踪迹。 也许我们可以跟着他的足迹走！”男孩们跑开了，往家里跑。 他们沿着自己的足迹冲过中央公园。 几分钟后，他们在前院寻找小狗的踪迹。 他们什么也没看到，但他们在院子里和门廊上看到了很多人的足迹。 那对双胞胎站在铁轨上。 “靴印，”布莱恩说。 “但它们不是我们送的。这些更大。” “我们从后门走了出来，”布拉德利补充说。 “我们甚至没有走到这里。 但乔什在这里。也许它们是他的。” 布莱恩摇了摇头。“这些也不是乔什的指纹，”他说。 “他也是从后门进来的。 妈妈总是让我们从后面走，这样我们就可以脱靴子了。” “那么这些脚印是谁的呢？”布莱恩问。 他指着两个不同的鞋印，一个比另一个大。

"Oh my gosh!" Bradley said. "Maybe the puppy didn't run away. Maybe he got kidnapped, and these are the kidnappers' footprints!" "And maybe that's why the puppy barked!" Brian said. "And when we heard the door slam, that was the kidnappers leaving!" Bradley added. "They must have come in the front door and snuck up the stairs while we were opening our presents," Brian said. "The kidnappers walked right past us!" "Maybe they left some clues in our room!" Bradley said.

“我的天哪！”布拉德利说。 “也许小狗没有逃跑。 也许他被绑架了，这些是绑架者的脚印！”“也许这就是小狗叫的原因！”布莱恩说。 “当我们听到关上门的声音时，那是绑匪离开的声音！”布拉德利说。 “他们一定是从前门进来的，趁我们打开礼物的时候偷偷爬上了楼梯，”布莱恩说。 “绑架者从我们身边走过！”“也许他们在我们的房间里留下了一些线索！”布拉德利说。

The boys raced around the house and slammed through the back door. "Boots off, please!" the twins' mother called from the living room. They kicked off their boots, ran through the kitchen, and started up the stairs in their socks. "Did you take care of your very important Christmas present so soon?" their father called.

男孩们绕着房子跑了一圈，砰地一声从后门跑了出去。 “请脱掉靴子！”双胞胎的母亲在客厅里喊道。 他们踢掉靴子，跑过厨房，穿着袜子开始上楼。 “你这么快就把你那份非常重要的圣诞礼物准备好了吗？”父亲喊道。

"Almost!" Bradley said as they shot up the stairs. They ran into their room. It was the same as they'd left it. The puppy's box was on its side, next to the water bowl. The closet door and bedroom door were still open. The boys looked around the room with detectives' eyes. "I don't see any clues," Brian said. "I do," Bradley said. "There's water in the bowl." "Why wouldn't there be?" Brian asked. "We filled it when we put the puppy in the box." "But, Brian, if the puppy had tipped the box over, the water would have spilled onto the floor," Bradley said. "If a kidnapper stole the puppy, they probably wouldn't spill the water out of the bowl." "Look!" Brian said. He was on his knees, pointing to something on the rug near the door. Bradley knelt next to his brother. "It's only snow," he offered. "We just came in from outside." "Dude, we took off our boots downstairs!" Brian said. "But this is a footprint. Check out

“差不多了!”布拉德利说，他们迅速上楼。 他们跑进自己的房间。和他们离开时一样。 小狗的盒子在它旁边，挨着水碗。 壁橱的门和卧室的门还开着。 男孩们用侦探的眼光环视着房间。 “我没看到任何线索，”布莱恩说。 “是的，”布拉德利说。“碗里有水。” “怎么会没有呢？”布莱恩问。 “当我们把小狗放进盒子里的时候，我们把它装满了。” 布拉德利说：“但是，布莱恩，如果小狗把盒子打翻了，水就会洒到地板上。” “如果绑匪偷走了小狗，他们可能不会把碗里的水洒出来。” “看!”布莱恩说。他跪在地上，指着门边地毯上的什么东西。 布拉德利跪在他哥哥旁边。 “这只是雪。”他说。 “我们刚从外面进来。” “老兄，我们在楼下脱了靴子！”布莱恩说。 “但这是一个足迹。看看