2 Over the Cliff

Chapter 2 Over the Cliff West Marin Middle School sits nestled on a ridge high up in the hills in Point Reyes Station, California. The town's about thirty miles north of San Francisco and very close to Mount Wittenberg, which towers 1,407 feet above the Pacific Ocean. On a clear day, you can be in the school playground and see nearly forty miles. The weather is almost always beautiful. And on this particular day, it was so beautiful that the McDonald twins decided to ditch the school bus and walk home to their house down by the beach. It would be a long hike, but it was downhill all the way. "I should call Mom and Dad on my cell and tell them so they won't worry," Pep suggested.

在悬崖之上西马林中学坐落在加利福尼亚州雷耶斯角站高山上的一个山脊上。 该镇位于旧金山以北约30英里处，非常靠近维滕贝格山，这座山高出太平洋1407英尺。 在晴朗的日子里，你可以在学校操场上看到近四十英里。 天气几乎总是很好。 在这个特别的日子里，天气太美了，麦当劳双胞胎决定放弃校车，走回他们在海滩边的家。 这将是一个很长的徒步旅行，但它是下坡一路。 “我应该打电话给爸爸妈妈，告诉他们，这样他们就不会担心了，”佩普建议道。

"We'll be home soon," Coke replied. "Don't bother." The twins talked about their upcoming summer vacation. The whole family would be driving cross-country, all the way to Washington, D.C., where the twins' aunt Judy would be getting married on the Fourth of July. Neither of the twins was particularly excited about the trip. Sitting in a recreational vehicle for two months wasn't anybody's idea of a good time. They'd have to celebrate their birthday— June 25—in an RV. It was probably going to be the worst summer of their lives, Coke guessed. The twins hadn't gone far when Pep turned to her brother anxiously. "Y'know, I have a feeling that somebody's following us," she said quietly. Both twins turned around to look behind them. Nobody was there. "Don't be ridiculous," Coke said. "Why would somebody want to follow us?" "I don't know!" Pep said defensively. "I just

“我们很快就回家了，”可口可乐回答。 “不用麻烦了。”这对双胞胎谈论着即将到来的暑假。 全家人会开车横穿全国，一路开到华盛顿特区，双胞胎的阿姨朱迪将在7月4日在那里结婚。 这对双胞胎对这次旅行都不是特别兴奋。 在一辆休闲车里坐上两个月可不是什么好时光。 他们得在房车里庆祝自己的生日——6月25日。 科克猜测，这可能是他们一生中最糟糕的一个夏天。 这对双胞胎没走多远，佩普就焦急地转向她的哥哥。 “你知道，我觉得有人在跟踪我们。”她平静地说。 这对双胞胎都转过身来回头看。 没有人在那里。“别傻了，”可口可乐说。 “为什么会有人想跟踪我们？”“我不知道！”佩普防守地说。 “我只是

have this feeling." "You and your feelings." Feelings. Like a lot of boys, the whole concept of feelings was lost on Coke. He never understood when people would talk about feelings. What are feelings, anyway? You feel something when you touch it. When you can hold it in your hand. Things exist in the real world, or they don't. Something happens, or it doesn't. According to Coke, there was no such thing as feelings. They had walked a few hundred feet down the road when Pep started to pick up the pace. "Will you slow down?" her brother said, annoyed. "It's not a race. What's the rush?" "There's somebody behind us," Pep told him. "Don't turn around!" "Well, how do you expect me to see if there's somebody behind us if I don't turn around?" he replied. There was indeed somebody behind them, off in the distance. It was a man driving a golf cart.

有这种感觉。”“你和你的感觉。” 感情。像很多男孩一样，在可乐上，感觉的概念完全消失了。 他从来不明白人们什么时候会谈论感情。 感情到底是什么？ 你摸的时候会有感觉。 当你能把它握在手里的时候。 事物在现实世界中存在，或者不存在。 有些事情发生了，或者没有发生。 根据可口可乐的说法，没有感觉这种东西。 他们沿着这条路走了几百英尺，佩普开始加快步伐。 “你能不能慢点？”她哥哥生气地说。 “这不是一场比赛。急什么呢？”“有人在我们后面，”佩普告诉他。 “别回头！”“嗯，如果我不回头，你怎么能指望我看到我们后面是否有人呢？”他回答。 确实有人在他们后面，就在远处。 是一个男人开着高尔夫球车。

He was wearing a black hat and a black suit. "See him?" Pep asked. "So what?" Coke said. "It's a public road. People are allowed on it. He isn't bothering anybody. Maybe he lost a golf ball." "There's no golf course within miles of here!" Pep insisted, walking even faster. "Why is he riding in a golf cart? And why would a golfer wear a suit and tie?" "Maybe he's disabled," Coke replied. "He needs the cart to get around." "And maybe he's a murderer." "Murderers don't drive golf carts!" "I'm worried," Pep whispered. "You're always worried." Which was true. Pep was always worried about something. At the least little thing—a hangnail, a creaking sound, a runny nose—Pep would fuss and fret and always expect the worst. Coke turned his head just enough to conclude that the golf cart was getting closer. He may not have been able to feel feelings himself, but he

他戴着一顶黑帽子，穿着一套黑衣服。 “看到他?”Pep问道。“所以什么?”可口可乐表示。 “这是一条公共道路。人们是可以上的。 他没有打扰任何人。 也许他丢了一个高尔夫球。” “这附近几英里内没有高尔夫球场！”佩普坚持着，走得更快了。 “他为什么坐高尔夫球车？” 高尔夫球手为什么要穿西装打领带呢？”“也许他有残疾，”科克回答。 “他需要手推车来四处走动。” “也许他是个杀人犯。” “杀人犯不会开高尔夫球车的！”“我很担心，”佩普小声说。 “你总是忧心忡忡。”这是真的。 佩普总是担心一些事情。 哪怕是一点点小事——一个钉子，嘎吱作响的声音，流鼻涕的声音——佩普都会大惊小怪，烦躁不安，总是做最坏的打算。 可口可乐转过头，刚好断定高尔夫球车离他越来越近了。 他自己可能没有感觉，但他

knew his sister. She was a worrier, but she wasn't paranoid. Sometimes it seemed as though she had a sixth sense about certain things. Coke broke into a slow jog just to be on the safe side, and Pep did the same. They turned off the road to the left and took the dirt path that went closer to the cliff that lined the road. Common sense said that the guy in the golf cart would stay on the paved road and continue on his merry way. But common sense wasn't in the cards on this day. When the twins turned around to peek behind them again, they saw that the golf cart had veered onto the dirt path. Somebody was on their tail. He was definitely wearing a black suit, and his hat was one of those old-time bowlers.

认识他妹妹。她是个杞人忧天的人，但她不是偏执狂。 有时她似乎对某些事情有第六感。 为了安全起见，可口可乐开始慢慢地慢跑，佩普也这样做了。 他们离开大路向左拐，走上了一条土路，这条土路更靠近路边的悬崖。 常识告诉我们，高尔夫球车里的那个家伙会留在铺好的路上，继续他的快乐之路。 但常识在这一天是不可能出现的。 当这对双胞胎再次转身向身后偷看时，他们看到高尔夫球车已经转向了土路。 有人在跟踪他们。 他肯定穿着一套黑色西装，戴着一顶老式保龄球帽。

"Why is that dude in the bowler hat following us?" Pep asked, a frightened look on her face. "How should I know?" Coke replied. "Come on, run!" Their backpacks bopped up and down as they dashed along the edge of the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The path narrowed, but it was still wide enough for a golf cart to ride on. The twins ran along the cliff walk until they reached a couple of little wooden shacks. The buildings looked like outhouses, but in fact they were used to store equipment for fighting forest fires. "Let's hide here," Coke said, pulling Pep behind one of the buildings. "That bowler dude will pass right by." "And what if he doesn't?" she asked, breathing heavily. "I didn't take five years of karate for nothing," Coke replied, lifting his right foot. "This is a deadly weapon. I can kill a man with it if I have to. And I know exactly how to do it, too."

“为什么那个戴圆顶礼帽的家伙跟着我们？”佩普问，一脸惊恐。 “我怎么知道？”可口可乐答道。 “快跑！”他们沿着俯瞰太平洋的悬崖边缘奔跑，背包上下跳动。 小路变窄了，但仍然足够高尔夫球车行驶。 这对双胞胎沿着悬崖边的小路跑，一直跑到几间小木屋前。 这些建筑看起来像外屋，但实际上它们是用来储存扑灭森林火灾的设备的。 “我们躲在这里吧，”可口可乐说着，把佩普拉到一栋建筑后面。 “那个打保龄球的家伙会经过的。” “如果他没有呢？”她喘着粗气问道。 “我练了五年空手道可不是白练的，”科克抬起右脚回答。 “这是一种致命武器。如果有必要，我可以用它杀人。 我也知道该怎么做。”