6. A Light in the Barn

Chapter 6 A Light in the Barn "I'll bet Mom and Dad and the others went for a walk," Bradley said. "Grownups love to walk in the dark." "But what about the party? And why didn't they say anything?" Brian asked. "We were busy playing Scrabble," Nate said. He looked at the wall clock. "Six o'clock."

“我敢打赌，爸爸妈妈和其他人去散步了，”布拉德利说。 “大人喜欢在黑暗中行走。” “那晚会怎么办？” 他们为什么什么也没说呢？”布莱恩问。 “我们忙着玩拼字游戏，”内特说。 他看了看挂钟。 “六点”。

"Time for the thieves to come," Brian joked. "Maybe they'll steal Nate instead of a laptop. Maybe they'll—" Lucy stood up and looked out the window. "Guys, there's a light on in your barn," she whispered. "I saw it in one of the windows." The three boys jumped up. They peered out into the dark backyard at the barn. "Nah, it's just a reflection from the lights in the house," Bradley said. Brian ran around and shut off all the lights. The light in the barn was still glowing. "The light is moving!" he said. "Oh my gosh, it is the thieves!" Nate said. "Run for cover!" "We're not running anywhere!" Bradley announced. "This is our house and that's our barn!" They huddled in front of the window, all eyes on the barn. "Why would the crooks be in our barn?" Bradley asked. "There's nothing out there but Polly and a bunch of junk."

“小偷该来了，”布莱恩开玩笑说。 “也许他们会偷走内特，而不是笔记本电脑。 也许他们会——”露茜站起来，望着窗外。 “伙计们，你们的谷仓里亮着灯，”她低声说。 “我在一扇窗户里看到的。” 三个男孩跳了起来。他们凝视着漆黑的后院的谷仓。 “不，这只是房子里灯光的反射，”布拉德利说。 布赖恩跑来跑去，关掉了所有的灯。 谷仓里的灯还在发光。 “光在移动！”他说。 “哦，我的天哪，是小偷！”内特说。 “快找掩护！”“我们哪儿也不跑！”布拉德利宣布。 “这是我们的房子，那是我们的谷仓！”他们挤在窗前，眼睛都盯着谷仓。 “为什么那些骗子会在我们的谷仓里？”布拉德利问。 “外面除了波莉和一堆破烂什么也没有。”

"Polly!" Brian yelped. "Maybe they got bored with stealing laptops, and now they're after ponies!" "The light is moving again!" Nate said. A small glow passed from window to window in the barn. "Someone is walking around out there!" Brian said. "Maybe they are taking Polly!" "Grab your coats!" Bradley yelled, jumping up. "Nobody steals the Pinto pony!" The kids scrambled into their coats and boots. "But what are we supposed to do?" Nate asked. "Those two thieves are big, and we're just little kids!" "We can at least look through the windows," Bradley said. "If we see them in there, we call Officer Fallon. I don't care if it is New Year's Eve!" Bradley opened the back door. "Walk like mice on ice!" he whispered. The four kids tiptoed single file across the backyard. The moon shone down, creating shadows on the snow.

“波利!”布莱恩叫喊起来。“也许他们厌倦了偷笔记本电脑，现在他们盯上了小马！”“光又动了！”内特说。 一道微弱的光从谷仓的一扇窗户传到另一扇窗户。 “有人在外面走来走去！”布莱恩说。 “也许他们要带走波莉！”“拿上你们的外套！”布拉德利大叫着，跳了起来。 “没人能偷走这匹平托小马！”孩子们匆忙穿上外套和靴子。 “但我们该怎么办呢？”内特问道。 “那两个小偷块头很大，而我们只是小孩子！”“我们至少可以透过窗户看到外面，”布拉德利说。 “如果我们看到他们在那里，我们会打电话给法伦警官。 我才不管今天是不是除夕！”布拉德利打开了后门。 “像冰上的老鼠一样走路！”他低声说。 四个孩子踮着脚尖排成纵队穿过后院。 月亮照下来，在雪地上投下阴影。

"Look at these big footprints!" Bradley whispered. "They all lead straight to the barn!" The kids studied the footprints, then crept toward the barn door. "Guys, what's that?" Lucy asked, pointing. A dark lump sat on the snow a few feet from the closed barn door. Bradley peered at the object. "Everything else is covered with snow," he whispered. Lucy took a few steps closer. "Don't touch it!" Nate cried. "It could be a skunk! They come out at night!" "It doesn't have a white stripe, and it's not moving," Lucy said. She walked over and picked up the object. "It's a ski mask," Lucy whispered. "It's the one that woman thief was wearing. She must have dropped it here!" "So that must be them in the barn," Bradley whispered. "Let's go." The kids ran quietly to the side of the barn. Brian and Bradley dragged a bench under one of the windows. All four kids climbed onto the bench and peeked into the barn.

“看这些大脚印！”布拉德利低声说。 “它们都直接通向谷仓！”孩子们仔细研究了脚印，然后蹑手蹑脚地朝谷仓门走去。 “伙计们，那是什么？”露西指着问道。 在离关着的谷仓门几英尺远的地方，雪地上有一个黑色的肿块。 布拉德利盯着那个东西。 “其他地方都被雪覆盖了。”他低声说。 露茜走近了几步。 “别碰它！”内特哭了。 “可能是一只臭鼬！”他们晚上出来！”“它没有白色的条纹，也不动，”露西说。 她走过去捡起了那个东西。 “这是一个滑雪面罩。”露茜小声说。 “就是那个女贼戴的那件。 她一定是把它掉在这里了！”“那么谷仓里的一定是他们了。”布拉德利低声说。 “我们走吧。”孩子们悄悄地跑到谷仓的一边。 布莱恩和布拉德利在一扇窗户下拖了一条长凳。 四个孩子都爬上长凳，向谷仓里偷看。

Their breath fogged the glass, and Bradley wiped it away. "Do you see anyone?" he asked, barely whispering. "Dad's lantern is lit on the workbench," Brian said. "But no thieves." "I see Polly, but she's not in her stall," Lucy said. "She's just standing in the middle of the barn, eating hay." "Josh must have let her out of her stall," Bradley said. "Let's try a different window." They carried the bench to the next window and climbed up for another look. "The same," Nate said. "Nothing." They moved the bench again, this time around the corner to the back of the barn. But when they stood on the bench and peered through the glass, they couldn't see anything. Something tall and pink was blocking their view. "What the heck is that?" Brian asked. "We don't have anything tall and pink." "It's standing right in front of the window," Nate said. "There's a ribbon on it," Lucy said. "Maybe it's a big Christmas present for you guys."

他们的呼吸使玻璃蒙上了一层雾气，布拉德利把它擦掉了。 “你看见什么人了吗？”他问道，几乎是耳语。 “爸爸的灯笼在工作台上亮着，”布赖恩说。 “但是没有小偷。”“我看见波莉了，但她不在隔间里。”露茜说。 “她就站在谷仓中间吃干草。” “肯定是乔希把她从隔间里放出来的，”布拉德利说。 “我们换个窗口试试。” 他们把长凳搬到旁边的窗口，爬上去又看了一眼。 “一样，”内特说。“没什么。” 他们又移动了一下长凳，这次是绕到谷仓后面的拐角处。 但当他们站在长凳上透过玻璃往外看时，什么也看不见。 一个高大的粉红色的东西挡住了他们的视线。 “那是什么鬼东西？”布莱恩问。 “我们没有又高又粉的东西。” “它就站在窗前，”内特说。 “上面有一条缎带。”露茜说。 “也许这是送给你们的一份大圣诞礼物。”