Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 Just thinking about seeing the mummy made George happy. He went down five flights of stairs to G deck and practically skipped along the long hallway toward the front of the ship. He ducked into doorways a few times to hide from the night stewards. But he had no trouble finding his way, not like Phoebe, who got lost walking from the dining room to the washroom. "Next time I'll leave a trail of bread crumbs, like Hansel and Gretel," she'd said, their first day on board. "How about lemon drops?" George had suggested. Phoebe had giggled.

只要一想到看到木乃伊，乔治就很高兴。 他下了五层楼梯来到G甲板，几乎是蹦蹦跳跳地沿着长长的走廊朝船头走去。 他有几次躲进门口躲避夜班管理员。 但他很容易找到路，不像菲比，从餐厅走到洗手间迷路了。 “下次我要像韩塞尔和格蕾特一样，留下一串面包屑，”他们上船的第一天，她说。 “柠檬汁怎么样?”乔治建议道。 菲比咯咯地笑了起来。

The hold was in the very front of the ship, past the mail sorting room and the cabins where the stokers and firemen stayed. Too bad, George thought, that there wasn't time to sneak in and see the escape ladders. Luckily there were two more days at sea. George walked right through the doors of the first class baggage room and down a steep metal staircase that led to the hold. All around him were crates and trunks and bags neatly stacked on shelves and lined up on the floor. It took him a minute to figure out that everything was arranged in alphabetical order, by the owners' names, and a few minutes to find the Bs. And there it was, a plain wooden crate stamped with the words: MR. DAVID BURROWS NEW YORK CITY CONTENTS FRAGILE George smiled to himself. This was going to be easy.

货舱在船的最前面，经过邮件分拣室和烧柴工和消防队员住的小屋。 太糟糕了，乔治想，没有时间溜进去看看逃生梯。 幸运的是，我们又在海上待了两天。 乔治径直穿过头等舱行李室的门，走下通往货舱的陡峭金属楼梯。 他周围是板条箱、箱子和袋子，整齐地堆放在架子上和地板上。 他花了一分钟才弄明白所有东西都是按字母顺序排列的，按主人的名字排列，又花了几分钟才找到b。 它就在那里，一个普通的木箱上印着“MR。 大卫·巴罗斯纽约的物品易碎的乔治对自己笑了。 这本来很容易的。

He took out his knife and started to pry off the lid. He worked carefully, prying each nail loose so he'd be able to close the crate tight again when he was finished. He'd made it halfway around when he heard a strange sound. The hair on his arms prickled. It was the same feeling he'd had the night of the panther, that someone — or something — was watching him. George stared at the crate, his heart pounding.

他拿出刀，开始撬开盖子。 他小心翼翼地工作着，把每一颗钉子都撬松，这样他就可以在完成后再把板条箱关紧。 他刚走到一半，就听到一个奇怪的声音。 他胳膊上的毛刺痛了。 他有一种和黑豹那晚一样的感觉，觉得有人——或者有什么东西——在看着他。 乔治盯着板条箱，心怦怦直跳。

And before he could even take a breath, something leaped out of the shadows and pushed him to the ground. George looked up, half expecting to see a mummy rising out of the crate, her arms reaching for George's throat. What he saw was almost as horrifying. It was a man with glittering blue eyes and a scar running down the side of his face. He grabbed George's knife out of his hand. The man was small, but very strong. "I'll take this," he said, admiring it. Then he looked George up and down. "So," the man said. "Trying to fill your pockets with some first class loot?" George realized he must be a robber. George had caught him in the act! "Uh, no, I'm The man pointed to George's boots. "Which trunk did you steal those from? Cost more than a third class ticket, I'd say." George shook his head. "I got them in London," he said, and too late realized he'd made a mistake.

他还没来得及喘口气，就有什么东西从阴影里跳出来，把他推倒在地。 乔治抬起头来，还以为会看到一具木乃伊从板条箱里爬出来，双手掐着乔治的喉咙。 他所看到的几乎同样可怕。 那是一个有着闪闪发光的蓝眼睛的男人，脸颊一侧有一道伤疤。 他从乔治手里夺过他的刀。 这个人个子不高，但很强壮。 “我要这个，”他说，欣赏着它。 然后他上下打量着乔治。 “那么，”那人说。“想用一些头等战利品填满你的口袋吗?”乔治意识到他一定是个强盗。 乔治当场抓住了他!“呃，不，我是。”那人指着乔治的靴子。 “你是从哪个箱子里偷的?” 要我说，比三等舱的票贵多了。” 乔治摇了摇头。“我是在伦敦买的，”他说，但意识到自己犯了个错误时已经太晚了。

"Ah, a prince from first class," the man said with a hearty laugh. "Just down here for a little thrill? What's your name?" "George," said George softly. "Prince George," the man said, bowing in a joking way. "A pity those boots wouldn't fit me," he added, standing up. "But you do have something I'd like. Your key. Always wanted to see one of those first class cabins." There was no way George could let this man up to the suite! He'd jump overboard before he let him near Aunt Daisy and Phoebe. "There's a mummy down here!" he blurted out. "It's worth millions! It's in that crate!" The man raised an eyebrow. George kept talking. "I thought I could sneak it off the ship and sell it in New York," George lied. "My father's business is bad. I thought if I could sell it The man looked at the crate. "I like the way you think," he said. He waved the knife at George and told him not to move. And then he quickly worked the knife

“啊，头等舱的王子，”那人笑着说。 “到这儿来找点刺激?” 你叫什么名字?”“乔治，”乔治轻声说。 “乔治王子，”那人说着，开玩笑地鞠了一躬。 “可惜这双靴子不适合我，”他站起来补充说。 “但你确实有我想要的东西。 你的关键。我一直想去头等舱看看。” 乔治不可能让这个人上楼的!他宁愿跳船也不让他靠近黛西姨妈和菲比。 “下面有个木乃伊!”他脱口而出。 “它值几百万呢!”它在那个箱子里!”那人扬起眉毛。 乔治说个不停。“我想我可以偷偷把它下船，在纽约卖掉，”乔治撒谎说。 “我父亲的生意不好。 我想如果我能把它卖掉。”那人看着板条箱。 “我喜欢你的思考方式，”他说。 他向乔治挥了挥刀，叫他别动。 然后他迅速地把刀削了一下

around the lid. Obviously he'd done this many times before. He lifted the lid off the crate. But before either of them could look inside, there was a tremendous rumbling noise, and the entire hold began to shake so hard that George almost fell. The shaking got stronger and stronger, the noise louder and louder, like thunder exploding all around them. A trunk tumbled off a shelf and hit the scar-faced man on the head. The knife clattered to the floor, but George didn't try to get it. Here was his chance to escape. He spun around, ran up the stairs, and darted out the door.

在盖子周围。很明显他以前做过很多次。 他打开板条箱的盖子。 他们还没来得及往里看，就听见一阵巨大的隆隆声，整个货舱开始剧烈摇晃，乔治差点儿摔倒。 震动越来越大，声音越来越大，就像雷声在他们周围爆炸。 一个箱子从架子上滚下来，砸在那个满脸伤疤的人的头上。 刀子哗啦一声落在地板上，但乔治没有去拿。 这是他逃跑的机会。 他转过身，跑上楼梯，冲出房门。