2. The Limping Man

Chapter 2 The Limping Man The scary face disappeared. The kids ran to the window. They saw two guys running across Dink's yard next door. The runners disappeared behind the house. "Did they have sneaky eyes?" Brian asked Nate.

那张吓人的脸消失了。 孩子们跑到窗前。 他们看到有两个人跑过丁克隔壁的院子。 赛跑者消失在房子后面。 “他们有狡猾的眼睛吗？”布莱恩问内特。

"I couldn't tell," Nate said. "I only saw one face, and it was wearing a ski mask!" "But why were they peeking in here?" Lucy asked. "Maybe this house is their next burglary!" Brian said. "They were checking to see if anyone was home, and Nate's scream chased them away." "Look, there they are again!" Brian said. The kids watched the two strangers creep around the side of Dink's house. One of the men was limping. He wore a cowboy hat, partly covering a long ponytail. The lower half of his face was hidden by a red bandana. A backpack hung from one shoulder. The other stranger wore a ski mask. It had holes for his eyes and mouth. Now the strangers were standing on the Duncans' snowy sidewalk. Then they walked up onto Dink's porch and peered through the window. The one in the ski mask said something to the one in the cowboy hat. The kids could see the men's breath as they talked.

“我看不出来，”内特说。 “我只看到一张脸，而且戴着滑雪面罩！”“可他们为什么要在这里偷看呢？”露西问。 “也许这所房子是他们的下一个盗窃案！”布莱恩说。 “他们正在检查是否有人在家，内特的尖叫声把他们吓跑了。” “看，他们又来了！”布莱恩说。 孩子们看着这两个陌生人蹑手蹑脚地绕过丁克的房子。 其中一个人一瘸一拐的。 他戴着一顶牛仔帽，部分遮住了长长的马尾辫。 他的下半张脸被一条红手帕遮住了。 一个背包挂在肩上。 另一个陌生人戴着滑雪面罩。 他的眼睛和嘴巴都有洞。 现在，这两个陌生人站在邓肯家下雪的人行道上。 然后他们走到丁克家的门廊上，从窗户往里看。 戴滑雪面罩的那个对戴牛仔帽的那个说了些什么。 孩子们可以看到他们说话时的呼吸声。

"We should call your aunt and uncle," Brian said to Lucy. "Those guys are going to rob Dink's house!" "Dink's parents aren't home," Lucy said. "They're at your house with your parents, getting ready for the party tonight. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are there, too." "Burglars always break in while people aren't home," Nate whispered. "Like at Mrs. Wong's house." "Maybe we should tell Officer Fallon," Brian said. "But we don't know if those are the guys who took her laptop," Lucy said. "They could just be tourists who got lost." Nate laughed. "Tourists don't come to Green Lawn," he said. "There's nothing here for them to see! Besides, tourists don't put on masks and peek in people's windows." The strangers started walking away. They left big footprints in the snow. Bradley grabbed all their coats. "Come on. Let's follow them!" he said.

“我们应该打电话给你的叔叔和婶婶，”布赖恩对露西说。 “那些家伙要抢劫丁克的家！”“丁克的父母不在家，”露西说。 “他们和你父母在你家，为今晚的派对做准备。 丁克、乔希和露丝·罗斯也在那里。” “窃贼总是趁人不在家的时候闯进来，”内特低声说。 “就像在黄太太家一样。” “也许我们应该告诉法伦警官，”布莱恩说。 “但我们不知道那些人是不是拿了她笔记本电脑的人，”露西说。 “他们可能只是迷路的游客。” 内特笑了。“游客不会来绿草坪，”他说。 “这里没有什么给他们看的！”此外，游客不会戴上面具，从别人的窗户里偷看。” 陌生人开始走开。 他们在雪地上留下了大大的脚印。 布拉德利抓起他们所有的外套。 “来吧。我们跟着他们吧！”他说。

The four kids hurried out the door. The sun was behind the trees. It would be dark soon. They stayed well behind the strangers. Up ahead, the two men were leaning together, talking. The one with the limp was tall. The other one was short. Their breath made little clouds. They walked down Woody Street, then Silver Circle, then passed Green Lawn Elementary School. "Where do you think they're going?" Lucy whispered. "They're headed down Main Street," Nate said. "Maybe they're planning to rob the bank!" "Or Mrs. Wong's pet shop!" Brian said. "They already robbed her house!" The bank and most of the shops were closed on New Year's Eve. The two strangers passed the fitness center, then stopped in front of Ellie's Diner. Her lights were on, and a big sign in her window said OPEN ON NEW YEAR'S EVE. The four kids hid behind a mailbox and a lamppost.

四个孩子匆匆出门。 太阳在树后。 天很快就要黑了。他们远远地落在陌生人后面。 在前面，两个人正靠在一起聊天。 瘸腿的那个个子很高。 另一个很短。他们的呼吸形成了小云。 他们沿着伍迪街走，然后是银圈，然后经过绿草坪小学。 “你认为他们要去哪里？”露西小声说。 “他们正沿着主街走，”内特说。 “也许他们打算抢劫银行！”“或者黄太太的宠物店！”布莱恩说。 “他们已经抢了她的房子！”银行和大多数商店在新年前夕都关门了。 这两个陌生人经过了健身中心，然后在艾丽餐厅前停了下来。 她的灯是亮着的，窗户上的一个大牌子上写着“新年前夕开门”。 四个孩子躲在一个邮筒和一根灯柱后面。

"They'd better not try to rob her!" Bradley said. "I heard that Ellie knows karate!" "Maybe they're just going in for a hot chocolate," Lucy said. The guy in the ski mask took a small camera from his pocket. He snapped a picture of Ellie's, and they both walked inside. "Uh-oh," Bradley whispered. "Why do they need a picture of Ellie's?" "Crooks like to study a place before they break in," Nate said. "They'll probably come back after she's closed." "I'm going in," Bradley said. "I want to check out these guys up close." "But they probably saw your face when they looked through Nate's window," Brian said. "If

“他们最好不要去抢她！”布拉德利说。 “我听说艾莉会空手道！”“也许他们只是想进去喝杯热巧克力。”露茜说。 戴滑雪面罩的人从口袋里拿出了一个小相机。 他拍了一张艾莉家的照片，然后他们一起走了进去。 “哦哦，”布拉德利低声说。 “他们为什么要埃莉的照片？”“骗子们喜欢在破门而入之前先研究一个地方，”内特说。 “他们可能会在她打烊后回来。” “我要进去了，”布拉德利说。 “我想近距离观察这些家伙。” “但当他们透过内特的窗户看时，他们可能看到了你的脸，”布莱恩说。 “如果