23 The House on the Rock

Chapter 23 The House on the Rock There's a birthday tradition in the McDonald household: cupcakes before breakfast! With a candle in each one. It's called Backward Day. Dessert first and then the meal. Mrs. McDonald woke up before the twins so she could bake four cupcakes in the RV's little microwave oven. They may not have been as delicious as last year's, but cupcakes were cupcakes. Presents, it was agreed, would be given out at the end of the day. The McDonalds checked out of the campground and followed Route 23 heading south through the gentle hills and dairy farms of southern Wisconsin. After about an hour, they passed this sign:

在麦当劳家有一个生日传统：早餐前吃纸杯蛋糕！每个盒子里都有一支蜡烛。 它被称为“回溯日”。先吃甜点，再吃正餐。 麦克唐纳太太比双胞胎早起床，这样她就可以在房车的小微波炉里烤四个纸杯蛋糕。 它们可能没有去年那么美味，但纸杯蛋糕就是纸杯蛋糕。 大家商定，礼物将在一天结束时分发。 麦当劳一家离开露营地，沿着23号公路向南行驶，穿过威斯康星州南部平缓的山丘和奶牛场。 大约过了一个小时，他们经过了这个牌子：

the house on the rock AHEAD 5 MILES The twins looked at each other. They had lived together for thirteen years, and by now each knew what the other was thinking. They didn't have to say it out loud. This was it. No more ciphers. No more mysteries. No more secret meetings with odd strangers. Neither of them knew what was going to happen at The House on the Rock; but whatever happened, it would be over. For all they knew, this could very well be their last birthday. Pep hugged her brother, and he hugged her back. Coke played a mental video of everything that had happened to them since the last day of

前面5英里岩石上的房子那对双胞胎对视了一下。 他们在一起生活了十三年，现在彼此都知道对方在想什么。 他们不用大声说出来。 就是这样。没有更多的密码。 没有更多的谜团。再也不用和奇怪的陌生人秘密会面了。 他们谁也不知道在岩石上的房子里会发生什么事；但无论发生什么，一切都会结束。 就他们所知，这很可能是他们最后的生日。 佩普拥抱了她哥哥，他也拥抱了她。 可口可乐在脑海中播放了一段视频，记录了从最后一天起发生在他们身上的一切

school. The guys in golf carts with blow guns. The jump off the cliff. The fire at school. Meeting Bones and learning about The Genius Files. The ciphers. The balls of twine. Doing the dump on Mrs. Higgins. The singing sand dune. The sadistic bowler dudes. The SPAM fiasco. Dad going crazy at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Mom flipping out at the nonexistent Museum of Questionable Medical Devices. The miles and miles of highway they had traveled. The strange places they had visited. It had been quite a trip, and they were only a little more than halfway across the country. From the parking lot, you can barely see the house or the rock. Trees on all sides block the view. The twins grabbed their backpacks and followed their parents down a twisted walkway to the entrance. A group of people were waiting in line to buy tickets. Dr. McDonald paid the admission with his credit card and asked the man behind the desk where the bathrooms were

学校。那些开着高尔夫球车拿着吹枪的家伙。 他们跳下悬崖。学校的火灾。 和骨头见面，了解天才档案。 密码。麻线球。 把希金斯太太甩了。 歌唱的沙丘。那些虐童。 垃圾邮件的惨败。爸爸在博纳维尔盐滩疯了。 妈妈在不存在的可疑医疗器械博物馆里大发雷霆。 他们在公路上走了很远很远的路。 他们去过的奇怪的地方。 这是一次相当长的旅行，他们只走了一半多一点的路程。 从停车场，你几乎看不到房子和岩石。 四周的树木挡住了视线。 这对双胞胎拿起书包，跟着父母沿着弯曲的走道来到入口处。 一群人在排队买票。 麦克唐纳医生用信用卡付了入场费，然后问柜台后面的人洗手间在哪里

located. "How about we meet back here later?" Coke suggested to his parents. "Okay," his mother replied. "You two stay together—and stay out of trouble, you hear? Don't touch anything." "We won't." When the twins were little, they'd held hands with their parents and went everywhere as a foursome. By the time they were ten, whenever they went out as a family, the kids had wanted to run up ahead. Parents walk too slowly. They have to look at every little thing. And it seemed like they always had to stop and use the bathroom. Grown-ups just can't hold it in the way kids can. Near the entrance, there was a plaque on the wall that said a visionary architect named Alex Jordan started building The House on the Rock back in the 1940s, all by himself. It became his life's work and obsession until he died in 1989. Coke and Pep silenced their cell phones and

所在地。“我们过会儿在这里见怎么样？”可口可乐向他的父母建议。 “好吧，”他妈妈回答。 “你们俩待在一起——别惹麻烦，听见了吗？” 不要碰任何东西。”“我们不会的。” 当这对双胞胎还小的时候，他们就和父母手牵着手，四个人一起去任何地方。 到他们十岁的时候，每当他们全家外出时，孩子们都想跑在前面。 父母走得太慢。他们必须关注每一件小事。 而且他们似乎总是要停下来上厕所。 成年人就是不能像孩子那样控制自己。 在入口附近，墙上挂着一块牌匾，上面写着一位名叫亚历克斯·乔丹（Alex Jordan）的富有远见的建筑师，早在20世纪40年代就开始独自建造“岩石上的房子”。 这成为他一生的工作和痴迷，直到他1989年去世。 可口可乐和佩普把手机调成静音

checked the time. It was 12:29 p.m. "Perfect," Coke said. "We have a half an hour to find The Infinity Room. Plenty of time. Let's roll." "Maybe we should ask for directions," his sister suggested. "I don't want to make anyone suspicious," Coke replied. "We'll find it on our own." Pep shook her head and mumbled one word. "Boys." They followed a group of tourists who were lining up outside The Gate House, which was the entryway to the main part of The House on the Rock. Once inside the door, it was hard to see. The room was illuminated mainly by colorful antique stained glass lamps. The floor and walls were lined with carpet except for some floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The ceiling was low, and Coke bumped his head against it. Fortunately, the ceiling was carpeted, too. It gave the room a claustrophobic feel. "This place is creepy," Pep whispered into her

查看时间。当时是中午12点29分。 “太好了，”可口可乐说。“我们有半个小时的时间找到无限屋。 时间充裕。让我们滚。” “也许我们应该问路，”他姐姐建议道。 “我不想让任何人起疑心，”科克回答说。 “我们会自己找到它的。” 佩普摇了摇头，咕哝了一个字。 “男孩”。他们跟在一群游客后面，这些游客在“门楼”外面排队，“门楼”是通往“岩石上的房子”主体部分的入口。 一进门，就很难看清了。 这个房间主要由五颜六色的古色古香的彩色玻璃灯照明。 除了一些从地板到天花板的书架外，地板和墙壁都铺着地毯。 天花板很低，科克的头撞到了天花板上。 幸运的是，天花板上也铺了地毯。 它给房间一种幽闭恐怖的感觉。 “这地方真吓人，”佩普小声对她说

brother's ear. "Just be careful," he replied. "Don't let down your guard." In one corner of The Gate House was a group of odd-looking violins, drums, and other musical instruments. The twins—and everyone else in the room—were startled when this little orchestra spontaneously started playing chamber music for no reason... and with no human help. It appeared to be controlled not electronically, but pneumatically. The music was slightly out of tune. It was an eerie sound, the tune unrecognizable. The place was sort of like a museum, but sort of not like a museum, too. It looked more like a Haunted House on the Rock. "I'm scared, Mommy," a little boy said, clinging to his mother while the strange music played.

哥哥的耳朵。“小心点，”他回答。 “不要放松警惕。” 在门楼的一个角落里，放着一群奇形怪状的小提琴、鼓和其他乐器。 当这个小管弦乐队毫无理由地自发演奏室内乐时，双胞胎和房间里的其他人都吃了一惊。 而且没有人类的帮助。它似乎不是电子控制的，而是气动控制的。 这音乐有点跑调。 这是一种诡异的声音，曲调难以辨认。 这个地方有点像博物馆，但又有点不像博物馆。 它看起来更像是岩石上的鬼屋。 “我很害怕，妈妈，”一个小男孩说，在奇怪的音乐响起时紧紧抓住妈妈。