Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 The next day the guys came by the diner, smiling like everything was normal. Chet didn't wave back. He slipped into the kitchen before they sat down at the counter and didn't come out until they were gone. After the breakfast rush was over, Uncle Jerry handed Chet a mug of root beer and told him to have a seat.

第6章第二天，这几个家伙来到餐馆，微笑着，好像一切都很正常。 切特没有挥手回应。在他们坐在柜台前之前，他溜进了厨房，直到他们走了才出来。 早餐高峰结束后，杰瑞叔叔递给切特一杯沙士，让他坐下。

"What's wrong, kiddo?" he asked, sitting on the stool next to Chet's. "I see you've been avoiding your buddies." "They're not my buddies," Chet said. "I hardly know them." Uncle Jerry peered at Chet. "Is this because of that stunt at the creek?" "You heard about that?" Chet said. Uncle Jerry chuckled, but not in a nasty way. "They didn't mean any harm," he said. "You should be flattered." "How's that?" Chet said. "They made me feel like an idiot." "It means they like you, that you're one of them," Uncle Jerry said. "Now they're expecting you to get them back. Didn't you know that's how it works?" How could Chet know? He'd never had any real friends before. He wanted to know more. But before he could ask, Mr. Colton and Dr. Jay came through the door. They were Uncle Jerry's oldest friends. Mr. Colton owned the hardware store. Dr. Jay took care of practically everyone in town. They came in every day for coffee and to chat about baseball with Uncle Jerry.

“怎么了，孩子?”他坐在切特旁边的凳子上问道。 “我看你一直在躲着你的朋友。” “他们不是我的朋友，”切特说。 “我几乎不认识他们。”杰里叔叔盯着切特。 “这是因为在小溪边的那个特技吗?”“你听说了吗?”切特说。 杰里叔叔咯咯地笑了，但笑得并不难听。 “他们没有任何恶意，”他说。 “你应该感到受宠若惊。” “这是怎么回事?”切特说。“他们让我觉得自己像个白痴。” “这意味着他们喜欢你，你是他们中的一员，”杰里叔叔说。 “现在他们指望你把他们找回来。 难道你不知道这是怎么回事吗?”切特怎么会知道? 他以前从未有过真正的朋友。 他想知道更多。但他还没来得及问，科尔顿先生和科尔顿博士就已经开始了。 杰进来了。 他们是杰瑞叔叔的老朋友。 科尔顿先生是五金店的老板。 杰伊医生几乎治疗了镇上所有人。 他们每天都进来喝咖啡，和杰瑞叔叔聊棒球。

But today the men didn't want to talk about Babe Ruth's pitching record. Mr. Colton held up the morning paper so Uncle Jerry and Chet could read the front-page headline. SHARK KILLS SECOND BATHER IN NEW JERSEY JULY 7, 1916 SPRING LAKE, NEW JERSEY A shark attacked Charles Bruder, 28, while he was swimming alone in the ocean yesterday afternoon. Lifeguards rushed to his rescue, but the young man's wounds were so severe that he bled to death before they reached shore. Bruder, a well-liked bell captain at the Essex and Sussex Hotel, was known to be a strong swimmer. But he was no match for the beast, which attacked without mercy. Before he perished, Bruder was able to tell a remarkable story to his rescuers. "He was a big gray fellow, and as rough as sandpaper," Bruder said. "I didn't see him until after he struck me the first time….

但是今天这些人不想谈论贝比·鲁斯的投球记录。 科尔顿先生举起晨报，好让杰瑞叔叔和切特看头版头条。 1916年7月7日昨天下午，28岁的查尔斯·布鲁德独自在海中游泳时，被鲨鱼袭击。 救生员赶紧去救他，但年轻人的伤势太严重，在他们上岸之前就失血过多而死。 布鲁德是埃塞克斯和苏塞克斯酒店一位很受欢迎的领班，以游泳健将而闻名。 但他不是野兽的对手，野兽毫不留情地攻击他。 在他死前，布鲁德向他的救援人员讲述了一个非凡的故事。 “他是一个灰色的大个子，像砂纸一样粗糙，”布鲁德说。 “直到他第一次打我之后我才看到他....

That was when I yelled…. I thought he had gone on, but he only turned and shot back at me [and]… snipped my left leg off…. He yanked me clear under before he let go…. He came back at me… and he shook me like a terrier shakes a rat." Bruder tried to say more, but he became too weak. He died of massive blood loss and shock before lifeguards could get him back to the shore. Officials are warning people not to swim alone. "I still don't believe it," said Uncle Jerry. "Someone is cooking up these stories to sell newspapers." "Could be," Mr. Colton said. "Folks are terrified, though. My wife's cousin lives out there, and she says nobody will go near the ocean. They have fishermen out with rifles shooting at anything that moves." "You know what this reminds me of?" Dr. Jay said. "The Creek Devil." "What's that?" Chet asked.

那时我大喊.... 我以为他已经走了，但他只是转身向我开枪[和]…打断了我的左腿.... 他在放开我之前把我拽到下面.... 他向我扑过来……他摇着我，就像小猎犬摇老鼠一样。” 布鲁德想多说几句，但他变得太虚弱了。 在救生员把他救回岸边之前，他死于大量失血和休克。 官员警告人们不要独自游泳。 “我还是不相信，”杰里叔叔说。 “有人在编造这些故事来卖报纸。” “有可能，”科尔顿说。 “不过，人们很害怕。 我妻子的表姐住在那里，她说没人会靠近大海。 他们让渔民拿着步枪射击任何会动的东西。” “你知道这让我想起了什么吗?”博士。 杰说。“小溪恶魔。” “那是什么?”切特问道。

Mr. Colton and Dr. Jay chuckled. Then Mr. Colton shifted his hefty body forward on the stool. He leaned closer to Chet. "Old-timers say there's a monster that lives down near the creek. He's covered with mud. Eats snakes and bats and makes a terrible hissing sound. Moans, too. Legend is that he comes out every decade and drags a kid back into the mud with him." "People believe that?" Chet said. "Everyone in town knows the legend," Uncle Jerry said, "but nobody really believes it." "Except for Jerry here," Dr. Jay said, slapping Uncle Jerry on the shoulder. "When we were little, he wouldn't go near that creek!" "Bah," Uncle Jerry said, waving his hand at Dr. Jay. "I don't know what you're talking about. Doesn't someone need a wart removed or something?" Was Uncle Jerry blushing? Imagine Uncle Jerry being afraid of a made-up monster! Chet smiled to himself. Maybe there was hope for him yet. Suddenly Chet had an idea for the greatest prank ever. Folks would be talking about it for

科尔顿先生和杰伊医生咯咯地笑起来。 然后科尔顿先生把他魁梧的身体挪到凳子上。 他更靠近切特。“老人们说小溪附近住着一只怪物。 他浑身都是泥。吃蛇和蝙蝠，发出可怕的嘶嘶声。 呻吟。传说他每十年出来一次，拖着一个孩子一起回到泥里。” “人们相信吗?”切特说。 “镇上的每个人都知道这个传说，”杰里叔叔说，“但没有人真正相信它。” “除了杰瑞。” 杰说着拍了拍杰瑞叔叔的肩膀。 “我们小的时候，他不愿靠近那条小溪!”“呸，”杰里叔叔一边说，一边朝杰里医生挥着手。 松鸦。“我不知道你在说什么。 难道有人不需要拔掉疣之类的吗?”杰瑞叔叔脸红了吗? 想象一下杰瑞叔叔害怕一个虚构的怪物!切特暗自笑了。 也许他还有希望。 突然，切特想到了一个有史以来最伟大的恶作剧。 人们会谈论它很久

years. And then he'd be part of the gang for sure. Dewey, Monty, and Sid were going to come face-to-face with the Creek Devil.

年。然后他肯定会成为帮派的一员。 杜威、蒙蒂和希德要和河妖面对面了。