4. Who Are the Grontses

Chapter 4 Who Are the Grontses? "Are you sure?" Bradley said. "Wasn't one of them carrying a backpack?" "I'll bet it's inside that shopping bag," Nate said. "They must have had extra clothes and wigs in there, too." "Neither one is limping," Lucy said.

第4章谁是格朗茨一家？ “你确定吗？”布拉德利说。 “他们中没有一个背着背包吗？”“我敢打赌它在那个购物袋里，”内特说。 “他们肯定也有多余的衣服和假发。” “他们俩都不跛行。”露茜说。

"Ha!" Brian said. "That's one of their tricks. Sometimes they limp, and sometimes they don't!" "Still think they're just innocent tourists?" Nate asked Lucy. "I really don't know what to think," Lucy muttered under her breath. The white-haired couple entered the hotel. "Maybe they're after Mr. Linkletter's computer!" Nate said. "We'd better warn him!" "But we can't let them know we're following them," Lucy said. "We can watch them through the door," Bradley said. "They'll never notice us." The four kids crept up to the thick glass door and peered inside. They saw the old couple talking to Mr. Linkletter at the counter. They were smiling. Then they walked toward the elevators. "Let's go!" Bradley said. He shoved the door open and the kids piled in. Mr. Linkletter's eyes got wide when he saw the kids. His eyebrows went up an inch and his mustache twitched. "Hello, young people," he said. "What brings you out on New Year's Eve? Are you checking in

“哈!”布莱恩说。“这是他们的把戏之一。 他们有时跛行，有时不跛行！”“你还认为他们只是无辜的游客吗？”内特问露西。 “我真不知道该怎么想。”露茜低声嘟囔着。 那对白发夫妇进了旅馆。 “也许他们是冲着Linkletter先生的电脑来的！”内特说。 “我们最好警告他！”“但我们不能让他们知道我们在跟踪他们。”露茜说。 “我们可以隔着门看着他们，”布拉德利说。 “他们永远不会注意到我们的。” 四个孩子蹑手蹑脚地走到厚厚的玻璃门前，向里面窥视。 他们看见那对老夫妇在柜台前和林克莱特先生说话。 他们在微笑。然后他们走向电梯。 “我们走吧!”布拉德利说。他推开门，孩子们挤了进来。 当林克莱特先生看到孩子们时，他睁大了眼睛。 他的眉毛往上一英寸，他的胡子抽搐了一下。 “你好，年轻人，”他说。 “什么风把你吹来了？” 你要办理入住手续吗？

to our most expensive room?"

到我们最贵的房间去？”

Bradley knew Mr. Linkletter was fooling with them. He was always joking around, but you couldn't tell because he almost never smiled. "We're too young to check in to a hotel," Brian said. Bradley looked at the counter. There was the sign that said, C. LINKLETTER, MANAGER. There was the little bell that new guests rang when they came in. And there was the neat pile of green paper with SHANGRI-LA HOTEL printed at the top. Mr. Linkletter nodded. "Indeed," he said. "So how can I help you today?" "That old couple you were talking to," Nate said. "Are they staying here?" Mr. Linkletter crossed his arms. "I never discuss my guests," he said. "Why do you want to know?" "Um, we're playing a game," Nate said. Mr. Linkletter raised one eyebrow. He waited. "You see," Nate went on, "we pick someone we don't know, and we follow them. We pretend they're really important, like a movie star or the president."

布拉德利知道林克莱特先生在耍他们。 他总是开玩笑，但你看不出来，因为他几乎从不笑。 “我们太小了，还不能入住酒店，”布莱恩说。 布拉德利看了看柜台。 牌子上写着，C。 经理总是飞来。有一个小铃铛，新客人进来时就会摇铃。 还有一叠整齐的绿纸，上面印着“香格里拉酒店”。 林克莱特点点头。“的确，”他说。 “今天我能帮你什么忙吗？”“跟你说话的那对老夫妇，”内特说。 “他们住在这里吗？”林克莱特交叉着双臂。 “我从不谈论我的客人，”他说。 “你为什么想知道？”“嗯，我们在玩游戏，”内特说。 林克莱特扬起了一条眉毛。 他等待着。“你看，”内特接着说，“我们选择一个我们不认识的人，然后跟着他们。 我们假装他们真的很重要，就像电影明星或总统一样。”

"Yeah, and we try to guess stuff about them," Brian added. "It's practice," Nate said, beaming his best smile at Mr. Linkletter. "In case we become detectives when we grow up!" Bradley looked at his feet so he wouldn't laugh. "I assure you young, um, detectives," Mr. Linkletter said, "that Mr. and Mrs. Gronts aren't movie stars. And they don't live in the White House, either." He turned the register and put a long finger under a name: MR. A. GRONTS, 1212 TWELFTH STREET, MIAMI, FL. "Great," Bradley said. "That means I win the game! I guessed they were from Florida because of their tans!" "The Grontses are old friends of this hotel," Mr. Linkletter went on. "They come to Green Lawn every Christmas to visit Mr. Gronts's sister, Mabel, who lives in the elderly-housing building." Bradley grabbed his brother's arm and tugged. "Come on," he whispered.

“是的，我们试着猜测他们的一些事情，”布莱恩补充道。 “这是练习，”内特说，对林克莱特先生露出最美好的笑容。 “万一我们长大后成为侦探呢！”布拉德利看着自己的脚，免得笑出声来。 “我向你们年轻的侦探们保证，”林克莱特先生说，“格朗茨夫妇不是电影明星。 而且他们也不住在白宫。” 他翻开登记簿，把一个长长的手指放在一个名字下面：MR。 A.格朗茨，佛罗里达州迈阿密第十二街1212号 “太好了，”布拉德利说。“那意味着我赢了！”我猜他们是从佛罗里达来的，因为他们晒黑了！”“格朗茨夫妇是这家旅馆的老朋友，”林克莱特先生接着说。 “他们每年圣诞节都来绿草坪看望格朗茨的妹妹梅布尔（Mabel），她就住在老房子里。” 布拉德利抓住他哥哥的胳膊使劲拉。 “来吧，”他低声说。