10. Mystery Man

Chapter 10 Mystery Man Bradley tried not to stare at the finger. He thought about the picture in his pocket. Did the scar on Mr. Neater's finger match the one in the photo? Bradley decided that they did match. "We found Douglas," Bradley said. Mr. Neater looked at Bradley. Then he sighed and sat in the chair. "And how is my furry friend?" he asked. "We think he's sick!" Lucy said. "We even took him to the vet!" Brian added. "Dr. Henry told us Douglas needs you, Mr. Neater," Bradley said. "You're the mystery man!" Nate said. "You left him in our classroom closet. You covered the cage with a towel that has a Z on it."

布莱德利尽量不去看那根手指。 他想着口袋里的照片。 尼特先生手指上的伤疤和照片上的相符吗？ 布拉德利认为他们很般配。 “我们找到了道格拉斯，”布拉德利说。 尼特先生看着布拉德利。 然后他叹了口气，坐在椅子上。 “我的毛茸茸的朋友怎么样了？”他问。 “我们认为他病了！”露西说。 “我们甚至带它去看了兽医！”布莱恩说。 “亨利医生告诉我们道格拉斯需要你，尼特先生，”布拉德利说。 “你就是那个神秘人！”内特说。 “你把他忘在教室的壁橱里了。 你用一条毛巾盖住了笼子，上面有个Z。”

"Not a Z, son," Mr. Neater said. "You must have turned it sideways. It's an N, for Neater. How did you find me?" Bradley showed him the three pictures. "We found clues in these," he said. "Ah, yes," Mr. Neater said. "He misses you," Brian said. "He won't eat, and we're afraid he'll die!" "Douglas is at your house?" Mr. Neater asked. "We brought him home for the long weekend," Bradley said. "But he won't eat or drink or play. He just sits there looking sad." "Oh dear, I hadn't counted on that," Mr. Neater said. "Show me where you live." The kids led Mr. Neater back up Bridge Lane and across Main Street. They cut around the elementary school to Eagle Lane. From there they could see Bradley and Brian's house on Farm Lane. The four kids burst through the kitchen door. The twins' mother was sitting at the table. She had

“不是Z，儿子，”尼特说。 “你一定是把它弄歪了。 是N，代表整洁。你是怎么找到我的？”布拉德利给他看了三张照片。 “我们在这些东西里找到了线索，”他说。 “啊，是的，”尼特说。 “他想念你，”布莱恩说。 “他不吃东西，我们担心他会死！”“道格拉斯在你家吗？”尼特先生问。 “我们把他带回家过周末，”布拉德利说。 “但是他不吃不喝也不玩。 他只是坐在那里，看起来很伤心。” “哦，天哪，我没想到这一点，”尼特说。 “告诉我你住在哪里。”孩子们领着尼特先生回到桥巷，穿过主街。 他们绕过小学来到鹰巷。 从那里他们可以看到布拉德利和布莱恩在农场巷的房子。 四个孩子冲进了厨房的门。 双胞胎的母亲正坐在桌旁。 她

Douglas in her lap, trying to feed him water from a baby bottle. "Mom, this is Mr. Neater!" Bradley said. "He works at the school—" "And he's Douglas's owner!" Brian cut in. "We found him!" "Thank goodness!" the twins' mom said. "I've been trying to get Douglas to eat or drink, but he refuses." "May I?" Mr. Neater got down on his knees. He took Douglas from Mrs. Pinto. He held the rabbit and whispered into his ears. Suddenly Douglas opened his eyes. His ears shot straight up. He began rubbing his nose against Mr. Neater's coat. "He recognizes you!" Lucy cried. Mr. Neater smiled. "Of course he does," the man said. "I've had Douglas for nine years, since he was no bigger than a hamster." Bradley's mother handed Mr. Neater the baby bottle. He touched Douglas's nose with the nipple, and the rabbit began to suck water into his mouth. "Awesome!" Nate cried.

道格拉斯坐在她的腿上，试图用奶瓶喂他喝水。 “妈妈，这是尼特先生！”布拉德利说。 “他在学校工作——”“他是道格拉斯的主人！”布莱恩插嘴说。 “我们找到他了！”“谢天谢地！”双胞胎的妈妈说。 “我一直想让道格拉斯吃点或喝点东西，但他拒绝了。” “我可以吗?”尼特先生跪了下来。 他从平托太太手里接过道格拉斯。 他抱着兔子，对着兔子的耳朵低语。 道格拉斯突然睁开了眼睛。 他的耳朵竖起来了。 他开始用鼻子蹭尼特先生的外套。 “他认出你了！”露西哭了。 尼特先生笑了。“他当然知道，”那人说。 “我养道格拉斯已经九年了，那时他还没有一只仓鼠大呢。” 布拉德利的妈妈把奶瓶递给尼特先生。 他用奶嘴碰了碰道格拉斯的鼻子，兔子开始往他嘴里吸水。 “棒极了!”内特哭了。

After Douglas was finished drinking, everyone moved to the living room. The kids sat on the floor with Douglas. They took turns rolling a tennis ball across the rug. Douglas hopped after the ball. Each time he caught up with the ball, he batted it with one of his feet. "He seems to be very happy now," Bradley's mother said. "Why did you leave him at the school?" Bradley asked. "Why not just take him with you when you move?" "When I retire, I'll be living at elderly housing on Main Street," Mr. Neater said. "They don't allow pets, so I had to find him a new home. I saw what good care your class takes of your hamster and turtle, so I brought Douglas there." "Mr. Vooray said our class might be able to keep him," Brian said. "But Douglas needs you!" Mr. Neater looked sad. "It seems that Douglas and I have a problem," he said. "I can't take him, and I can't leave him."

道格拉斯喝完酒后，大家都到客厅去了。 孩子们和道格拉斯一起坐在地板上。 他们轮流在地毯上滚网球。 道格拉斯跳着去追球。 每次他追上球，就用一只脚击球。 “他现在看起来很开心，”布拉德利的母亲说。 “你为什么把他留在学校？”布拉德利问。 “你搬家的时候为什么不带上他呢？”“当我退休的时候，我会住在主街的老年人住宅里，”尼特说。 “他们不允许养宠物，所以我不得不给他找个新家。 我看到你们班对仓鼠和乌龟照顾得很好，所以我把道格拉斯带来了。” “沃莱先生说我们班也许能留住他，”布莱恩说。 “可是道格拉斯需要你呀！”尼特先生看起来很伤心。 “看来道格拉斯和我有问题，”他说。 “我不能带走他，也不能离开他。”