9 The Long Night

The Long Night Bethany stomped out of the attic and slammed the rickety old door behind her. Ebenezer blinked at the door. Then he quickly chased after her. "Get back this instant," barked Mr. Nickle. "That's an order!" "Oh botherkins. Don't gooooo!" cried the beast.

漫漫长夜贝瑟妮跺着脚走出阁楼，砰地关上了身后那扇摇摇欲坠的旧门。 埃比尼泽对着门眨了眨眼。 然后他迅速追赶她。 “马上给我回来，”尼克先生吼道。 “这是命令！”“哦botherkins。 别咕咕！”野兽叫道。

As he left the attic, Ebenezer glanced back and caught a look on the beast's face that had completely taken him by surprise. The beast hadn't looked angry at Bethany's words; it had just looked devastated. Ebenezer reminded himself that it was probably all part of some evil scheme. He sprinted down the many flights of stairs after Bethany, struggling to keep up—and wondering what on earth she had planned. "Have you got something I've missed?" he asked, as he panted down the penultimate staircase. "Because it seems to me that the beast and Mr. Nickle have us pretty much beat." "The beast never has me beat," said Bethany. "I'm never gonna let it win again."

当他离开阁楼时，埃比尼泽回头看了一眼，发现那只野兽脸上的表情完全出乎他的意料。 野兽对宝芬妮的话并没有生气；它只是看起来满目疮痍。 埃比尼泽提醒自己，这可能是某种邪恶计划的一部分。 他跟在宝芬妮后面跑下许多层楼梯，奋力跟上，想知道她到底在计划什么。 “你有什么我错过的吗？”他气喘吁吁地走下倒数第二层楼梯时问道。 “因为在我看来，那只野兽和尼克先生已经把我们打败了。” “这只野兽从来没有打败过我，”宝芬妮说。 “我再也不会让它赢了。”

She took the final staircase by sliding down the banister. When Ebenezer got down there, a puddle was emerging by the front door. A moment later, Mr. Nickle popped out. "What in the name of D.o.R.R.i.S. do you think you're doing?" asked Mr. Nickle. "Didn't you hear what I said upstairs?" "Oh, I heard it all. And I reckon… I don't have to do anything," said Bethany. "Ebenezer's the only one you can throw in jail. And I'd rather be kicked out of this house than help that thing upstairs. Heck—I'll go back to the orphanage, if it means not spending another moment with that creature. So when it comes to making me do things, Nickle—you've got nothing." "But, Bethany, you've got to help," said Ebenezer, laughing nervously. "I don't want to

她顺着栏杆滑下最后一层楼梯。 当埃比尼泽下楼时，前门出现了一个水坑。 过了一会儿，尼克尔先生突然走了出来。 "以d.r.r.i.s.的名义。 你认为你在做什么？”尼克尔先生问。 “你没听见我在楼上说的话吗？”“哦，我都听到了。 我想……我什么也不用做，”宝芬妮说。 “埃比尼泽是你唯一可以扔进监狱的人。 我宁愿被赶出这所房子也不愿帮楼上那东西。 见鬼，我愿意回孤儿院，只要这意味着不再和那个怪物待在一起。 所以，说到让我做事，尼克——你什么都没有。” “但是，宝芬妮，你必须帮忙，”埃比尼泽说，紧张地笑着。 “我不想

go to prison." "I will do it. I'm not bluffing," said Mr. Nickle. "Neither am I," said Bethany, shrugging. "Sozza, gitface, but that's your problem to deal with—not mine." She grabbed her scooter from the hallway and stomped out the front door. She heard Ebenezer desperately calling her name, but she didn't turn back. "Insolent child!" said Mr. Nickle. He started fiddling with the tops of his sticks. "She can't just run away from D.o.R.R.i.S. I'll track her down." "No, don't!" said Ebenezer. "Just let her get it out of her system. Whenever she's angry, she takes to her scooter. She'll be back, I'm sure of it."

去坐牢吧。”“我要这么做。 我不是在虚张声势，”尼克尔先生说。 “我也不是，”宝芬妮耸耸肩说。 “Sozza，笨蛋，但那是你的问题，不是我的。” 她从走廊抓起她的摩托车，跺着脚走出前门。 她听到埃比尼泽拼命叫她的名字，但她没有回头。 “无礼的孩子！”尼克尔先生说。 他开始拨弄树枝的顶端。 “她不能就这么从d.r.r.i.s逃跑。 我会找到她的。”“不，不要！”埃比尼泽说。 “就让她发泄一下吧。 每当她生气的时候，她就骑上她的摩托车。 她会回来的，我敢肯定。”

Ebenezer plugged the phone back in, just in case she called. He walked into the front sitting room and took a window seat, so that he would be able to see her as soon as she came back. He was sure that he wouldn't have to wait for long. "Not sure you're right about that," said Mr. Nickle, as he hobbled into the room. "That look on her face as she stormed out—I've seen it before. It's normally on the faces of rapscallions who decide they are going to try and make a run for it." "Bethany doesn't run away from things," said Ebenezer. He readjusted his armchair so he could see more of the road that led to the fifteen-story house. "And she doesn't abandon people."

埃比尼泽把电话插上，以防她打电话来。 他走进前客厅，找了一个靠窗的座位，以便她一回来就能看到她。 他确信他不会等太久。 “我不确定你说的对不对，”尼克尔先生一瘸一拐地走进房间。 她气冲冲地走出去时脸上的表情我以前见过。 这通常是那些决定要逃跑的流氓脸上的表情。” “宝芬妮不会逃避，”埃比尼泽说。 他重新调整了一下扶手椅，以便能看得更远一些，这条路通向那座十五层楼的房子。 “她从不抛弃别人。”

Mr. Nickle sighed as he slumped into the armchair on the other side of the window. "I hope you know her as well as you think you do. Because she's right—if she doesn't agree to help, then there's nothing I can do to force her," he said. "And, no offense, but I was kind of counting on her to do most of the work. She seems a lot better on this do-gooding side of things." "You know 'no offense' isn't some sort of magical phrase," snapped Ebenezer. "I'm very much offended, thank you very much." "So you think you can help the beast be good?" asked Mr. Nickle. "No, I think the whole idea is a waste of time," said Ebenezer. "But if it was possible to tame the beast, then I'd be just as good at it as

尼克先生叹了口气，跌坐在窗户另一边的扶手椅上。 “我希望你像你以为的那样了解她。 因为她是对的——如果她不同意帮忙，我也没办法强迫她，”他说。 无意冒犯，但我有点指望她来做大部分的工作。 在做好事方面，她似乎好多了。” “你知道‘无意冒犯’不是什么神奇的短语，”埃比尼泽厉声说。 “我很生气，非常感谢。” “所以你认为你可以帮助野兽变好？”尼克尔先生问。 “不，我认为整个想法都是在浪费时间，”埃比尼泽说。 “但如果有可能驯服这头野兽，那么我就会和你一样擅长。