9. Nate Knows Something

Chapter 9 Nate Knows Something "Your sister?" Brian said. "Ruth Rose?" "I only have one sister," Nate said. He pointed to a small circle in the middle of one of the squares of snow. "See that? That's a thumbtack in the bottom of her boot. I saw it there this morning."

第九章内特知道了什么“你妹妹？”布莱恩说。 “玫瑰露丝?”“我只有一个妹妹，”内特说。 他指了指雪堆中间的一个小圆圈。 “看到了吗?她的靴子底部有个图钉。 我今天早上在那儿看到的。”

"Are you sure?" Bradley asked. "Positive," Nate said. "If we go home, I'll show you." "Ruth Rose snuck into our room?" Bradley said. Brian slid the paper back into the freezer. "Why would she steal our puppy?" he asked. Nate shrugged. "Maybe she didn't. There's no puppy in my house," he said. "Just one big cat with sharp claws." "I can't believe she'd take the puppy," Bradley said. "She's our friend!" "Bro, we know Ruth Rose was in our room, and the puppy is gone. Who else could have taken it?" asked Brian. "Let's go talk to her," Nate said. "I think she's at Dink's house." Bradley and Brian grabbed their jackets from the hallway. "Going for a walk, Mom!" Bradley yelled into the living room. "Take your dog," their father called. Bradley looked at the other three kids. "Do they know about…?" he whispered.

“你确定吗？”布拉德利问。 “肯定的，”内特说。“如果我们回家，我会带你去的。” “露丝·罗斯溜进了我们的房间？”布拉德利说。 布莱恩把那张纸放回冰箱里。 “她为什么要偷我们的小狗？”他问。 内特耸耸肩。“也许她没有。 我家里没有小狗，”他说。 “就是一只长着锋利爪子的大猫。” 布拉德利说：“我不敢相信她会带走这只小狗。” “她是我们的朋友！”“兄弟，我们知道露丝·罗斯来过我们的房间，小狗不见了。 还有谁会拿走它呢？”布赖恩问。 “我们去和她谈谈，”内特说。 “我想她在丁克家。” 布拉德利和布莱恩从走廊里抓起他们的夹克。 “去散步，妈妈！”布拉德利对着客厅喊道。 “带上你的狗，”他们的父亲喊道。 布拉德利看了看其他三个孩子。 “他们知道……吗？”

"Dad means take Pal," Brian whispered back. He called, "Here, Pal!" Pal came bounding to Brian, and he clipped on the dog's leash. They stepped outside and started walking. Pal sniffed the fresh snow. The houses on Farm Lane looked pretty. The roofs were covered with snow, and the kids could see Christmas trees through some windows. A man was out walking his dog. The dog was a greyhound, and it had a red scarf wrapped around its long neck. The two dogs woofed at each other. At the corner of Farm Lane and Woody Street, they turned right and came to Nate's house. He looked up and pointed. "That's Ruth Rose's room, but her light isn't on. She must be next door." The kids trudged to Dink's house. A lot of lights were on. Lucy opened the door, and they all hung up their jackets and kicked off their boots.

“爸爸的意思是带上帕尔，”布莱恩小声回答。 他喊道：“来，伙计！”帕尔蹦蹦跳跳地跑向布赖恩，他猛地拉住了狗的皮带。 他们走到外面，开始散步。 帕尔嗅了嗅刚下的雪。 农场巷的房子看起来很漂亮。 屋顶被雪覆盖着，孩子们可以透过一些窗户看到圣诞树。 一个男人出去遛狗。 那条狗是一只灰狗，长长的脖子上围着一条红色的围巾。 两只狗互相吠叫。 在农场巷和伍迪街的拐角处，他们向右拐，来到内特的家。 他抬起头，指了指。“那是露丝·罗斯的房间，但她的灯没亮。 她一定在隔壁。”孩子们吃力地走到丁克家。 很多灯都亮着。露茜打开门，他们都把上衣挂起来，踢掉靴子。

Nate picked up a blue boot from the pile under the coatrack. "This is my sister's," he said. He turned the boot over. Stuck in the sole was a thumbtack. "Same little squares," Brian said. "The frozen clue came from this boot!" Dink's mother came out of the kitchen. "Hi, kids," she said. She bent and patted Pal's head. "Merry Christmas, Pal!" "Hi, Mrs. Duncan," the kids said. "Is my sister here?" Nate asked. Mrs. Duncan nodded. "She and Josh are up in Dink's room with the door closed." She smiled. "Some big Christmas secret, they told me. Here, Lucy, take these up with you." She handed a plate of cookies to Lucy. The four kids climbed the stairs, with Pal leading the way. They walked down the hall to Dink's room. The door was closed. They heard music and laughing from inside the room. Lucy knocked. "Dink, it's Lucy," she said. "Your mom sent up some cookies." The door opened, but not all the way. Josh's face peered out. "I'll take them," he said. One of

内特从衣架下的一堆靴子里拿起一只蓝色的靴子。 “这是我妹妹的，”他说。 他把靴子翻过来。鞋底上插着一个图钉。 “同样的小方块，”布莱恩说。 “冻结的线索来自这只靴子！”丁克的妈妈从厨房里走了出来。 “嗨，孩子们，”她说。她弯下腰拍了拍帕尔的头。 “圣诞快乐，朋友！”“嗨，邓肯太太，”孩子们说。 “我妹妹在这儿吗？”内特问道。 邓肯太太点点头。“她和乔希在楼上丁克的房间里，门关着。” 她笑了。“他们告诉我，这是一个重大的圣诞秘密。 喏，露茜，把这些拿上去。” 她把一盘饼干递给露西。 四个孩子在帕尔的带领下爬上楼梯。 他们穿过大厅来到丁克的房间。 门关着。他们听到房间里传来音乐和笑声。 露西了。“丁克，我是露西，”她说。 “你妈妈送来了一些饼干。” 门开了，但不是全部开。 乔希的脸向外窥视。“我买了，”他说。 之一

his arms came through the opening to grab the plate. Before the door could close, a golden-brown puppy with white feet shot through the opening.

他的手臂从开口伸出来抓住盘子。 门还没关上，一只金棕色、白脚的小狗就从门缝里冲了进来。