Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 "Ish ish AY!" It was not easy to speak clearly through a gargantuan mouthful of cheeseburger. Dan was trying to say "This is GREAT!" but the words came out filtered through ground sirloin and two slices of cheese. Nellie had organized everything. The resort's doctor was waiting for them at the hotel. She examined Amy and diagnosed a laceration, a contusion, and a possible slight concussion. After redressing the wound, the doctor told Amy to take it easy for the rest of the day. Nellie had called room service, too; there were burgers and shakes ready for them when they got back to the room. Once again, Dan didn't know what to think. If Nellie was trying to help their enemies, she was certainly going about it backwards.

第七章“啊啊啊啊！”嘴里塞满了芝士汉堡，想把话说清楚并不容易。 丹想说：“这太棒了！”但话从里脊肉和两片奶酪中漏了出来。 内莉安排好了一切。 度假村的医生在酒店等着他们。 她给艾米做了检查，诊断出她有撕裂伤、挫伤，可能还有轻微的脑震荡。 包扎好伤口后，医生告诉艾米今天剩下的时间要放松。 内莉也叫了客房服务；当他们回到房间时，已经为他们准备好了汉堡和奶昔。 丹又一次不知道该怎么想。 如果内莉是想帮助他们的敌人，那她肯定是在倒行逆施。

Now a taxi was out front to take them to the airport. The Cahills had decided that it was time to visit Jamaica. After they ate, Dan dragged the luggage and Saladin's carrier to the taxi while Nellie checked out. As the driver opened the trunk, Dan got an eerie feeling in the back of his neck as if someone were watching him. He turned slowly and looked around. At the side of the hotel's big sweeping forecourt, there were bougainvillea bushes in full bloom. Crazy colors— pink and red and sort of orangey. Pretty, if you liked that sort of thing. Dan stared at the bushes. Nobody there. He was just about to turn back when he saw it: a pair of eyes peering at him through the branches at the base of one of the bushes. Green eyes. Green cat eyes. He dropped his backpack and took off running. "Hey!" Amy said. "What are you doing?"

现在外面有一辆出租车要载他们去机场。 卡希尔一家决定是时候去牙买加了。 他们吃完饭后，丹把行李和萨拉丁的行李架拖到出租车上，内莉结账离开。 当司机打开后备箱时，丹的脖子后面有一种诡异的感觉，好像有人在看着他。 他慢慢地转过身，环顾四周。 在酒店宽阔的前院旁边，有盛开的九重葛树丛。 疯狂的颜色——粉色、红色和橙色。 漂亮，如果你喜欢这种东西的话。 丹盯着灌木丛。没有人在那里。 他刚要转身，就看见了：有一双眼睛正透过灌木丛底部的树枝盯着他。 绿色的眼睛。绿猫的眼睛。 他扔下背包，跑了起来。 “嘿!”艾米说。“你在干什么？”

"Cat," he yelled back over his shoulder. "Dan, wait!" No use. Dan was chasing the cat, which had bolted as soon as he made a move toward it. The cat led Dan away from the hotel, down the long driveway to a parade of small shops. He lost sight of it when it darted around to the back. Panting, Dan trotted after it. The buildings were all nice wooden houses, painted in bright tropical colors, with front porches, chairs, windchimes…. Everything at the front was very tourist–tidy. But around the back, there were dumpsters and garbage cans. Cat territory. By the time Dan got back to the hotel twenty minutes later, Amy was frantic and Nellie was furious. In fact, he heard them before he saw them. "You can't go running off like that!" "Where have you been?" "I tried to—"

“猫，”他回头喊道。 “丹,等等!”没有使用。丹在追那只猫，他一走近，猫就跑掉了。 猫领着丹离开旅馆，沿着长长的车道来到一排小商店前。 当它转到后面时，他看不见它了。 丹气喘吁吁地跟着它小跑。 这些建筑都是漂亮的木屋，漆成明亮的热带色彩，有前廊，椅子，风筒.... 前面的一切都像游客一样整洁。 但在后面，有垃圾箱和垃圾桶。 猫的领土。20分钟后丹回到旅馆时，艾米已经疯了，内莉也气坏了。 事实上，他在看到它们之前就听到了它们。 “你不能就这样跑掉！”“你上哪儿去了？”“我试着——”

"What were you doing?" "I was just—" "What were you thinking?" "I thought maybe—" Nellie put two fingers in her mouth and gave a shrill whistle. "Time out!" she yelled. "You can tell us all about it in the car." She hustled them into the backseat and tossed Dan's backpack onto his lap. "OW!" he yelped. He was wearing shorts, and the pack had landed partly on his bare legs. "I now know the true meaning of pain," he said sadly. "Cat scratches on top of sunburn." "But it wasn't just any cat," Dan said. He was trying to explain the reason for his sudden disappearance. "It was a calico cat. I tried to catch it, but it scratched the heck out of me and got away." He rubbed at one of the scratches. "I don't think we should leave here yet," he said. "We still haven't figured out this cat thing, and Hamilton

“你在干什么？”“我只是——”“你在想什么？”“我想也许——”内莉把两根手指放进嘴里，尖声吹了一声口哨。 “暂停！”她喊道。“你可以在车里告诉我们。” 她把他们挤进后座，把丹的背包扔到他的腿上。 “噢！”他叫道。他穿着短裤，背包有一部分落在他光着的腿上。 “我现在知道痛苦的真正含义了，”他悲伤地说。 “猫在晒伤的上面抓伤。” “但它不是一般的猫，”丹说。 他试图解释他突然失踪的原因。 “那是一只印花布猫。我想抓住它，但它把我抓得魂不附体，跑掉了。” 他揉了揉其中的一个划痕。 “我认为我们还不应该离开这里，”他说。 “我们还没弄清楚猫的事，还有汉密尔顿

said—" "Why in the world would— oh." Amy was quiet for a moment. Then she started to laugh. "What's so funny?" Dan demanded. She didn't answer, or rather, she couldn't answer. She was laughing too hard. Dan looked at her for a few moments, first puzzled, then annoyed. "Amy!" he said impatiently. It was no fun watching someone laugh at you. Finally, Amy gasped for breath and wiped her eyes. "Jack Rackham," she said. "The pirate. He did some pirating here, and later Anne Bonny joined up with him, right?" "So what?" "He— his name—" Amy started laughing again, but Dan glared at her so fiercely that she got herself under control more quickly this time. "His nickname"— snort, chortle —"was Calico Jack." "Calico Jack?" Amy's laughing jag released a few final giggles.

说——“ ”究竟为什么会——啊。" 艾米沉默了一会儿。 然后她笑了起来。 “什么事这么好笑？”丹问道。 她没有回答，或者更确切地说，她不能回答。 她笑得太厉害了。 丹看了她一会儿，先是困惑，然后是恼火。 “艾米！”他不耐烦地说。 看着别人嘲笑你一点都不好玩。 最后，艾米喘着气擦了擦眼睛。 “杰克·拉克姆，”她说。“海盗。 他在这里当过海盗，后来安妮·邦尼加入了他的队伍，对吧？”“所以什么?”“他——他的名字——”艾美又笑了起来，但丹狠狠地瞪着她，这一次她更快地控制住了自己。 “他的昵称”——哼了一声，咯咯地笑了起来——“是印花杰克。” “棉布杰克?”艾米的大笑最后发出了几声咯咯的笑声。

"Hamilton must have been saying 'Calico Jack,' but you thought he said 'calico cat.'" "I get it, you don't have to spell it out for me." Dan's face was already pink from sunburn and running in the heat, but he felt it getting even pinker. Time to change the subject. "Nellie, do you have any first–aid cream handy?" As they drove away, none of them noticed the black SUV pulling into traffic behind them. Or, for that matter, the discreet gray sedan following them both. At the Montego Bay airport in Jamaica, Nellie rented a car, then found a hotel. It was only about eight o'clock in the evening, local time, but they were all exhausted. Dan fell asleep in his clothes. After breakfast the next morning, they headed for the car on Amy's instructions. "Kingston," she said. "Huh," Nellie snorted. Her hand was on the key in the ignition slot, but she wasn't starting the engine. "How about something like, 'Nellie, dear,

“汉密尔顿一定说的是‘印花杰克’，但你以为他说的是‘印花猫’。’”“我明白了，你不必给我解释清楚。” 丹的脸已经因为日晒和酷热而变得红扑扑的，但他觉得脸变得更红了。 是时候换个话题了。 “耐莉，你手边有急救药膏吗？”当他们开车离开时，没有人注意到那辆黑色SUV在他们身后驶入车流。 或者说，跟在他们后面的那辆谨慎的灰色轿车。 在牙买加的蒙特哥湾机场，内莉租了一辆车，然后找到了一家酒店。 当时只有当地时间晚上8点左右，但他们都筋疲力尽。 丹穿着衣服睡着了。 第二天早饭后，他们按照艾米的指示朝汽车走去。 “金斯顿，”她说。“嗯，”内莉哼了一声。 她的手抓住了点火槽里的钥匙，但她没有发动引擎。 “这样怎么样，‘耐莉，亲爱的，