11 AT THE END OF THEIR ROPE

AT THE END OF THEIR ROPE "You didn't get him!" yelled Trevor when Bean came out of her house the next morning. "You fell asleep, didn't you?" said Ruby. "Did you even get up at all?" asked Dino. They crowded together, waiting for her on the sidewalk. "I was up," Bean said. "Ivy and I were both up all night, sitting right on the porch there. In the dark. Without a single light," she added to Trevor. "Well?" said Prairie. She pointed to the rope on Kalia's mailbox. "Well, okay, we didn't see who did it," Bean admitted. "It was very strange and mysterious.

第二天早上，当比恩从她家出来时，特雷弗喊道：“你没抓到他！” “你睡着了，是吗？” “你起床了吗？”迪诺问。 他们挤在一起，在人行道上等她。 “我起床了，”比恩说。“艾薇和我整晚都没睡，就坐在门廊上。 在黑暗中。连一盏灯都没有。”她又对特雷弗说。 “怎么了？”普雷里说。她指着卡丽娅信箱上的绳子。 “嗯，好吧，我们没有看到是谁干的，”比恩承认。 “这非常奇怪和神秘。

One moment it wasn't there, and the next moment it was. We're thinking that maybe it's some kind of white, rubbery creature from another world who comes every night with a piece of rope." "And slithers through the bushes without making any sound," Ivy added, coming up to the group. "And then—" "Cut it out, you guys!" said Sophie S. "Yeah, cut it out!" said Dino. He looked mad. "But it's cool!" Bean said. She tried to explain. "It could be a regular person, but he'd have to be tiny, like a gnome or—" "A gnome?" asked Dino. "Like a little creepy guy? That's not cool!" Sophie S. put her hands on her hips. "Listen, Bean, you said you would catch Mr. Whoever. You said." "Yeah," said Trevor and Ruby and Prairie

前一刻还没有，下一刻就有了。 我们认为它可能是来自另一个世界的某种白色橡胶生物，每天晚上都带着一根绳子来。” “在灌木丛中滑动，不发出任何声音。”艾薇补充道，走到人群面前。 “别吵了，伙计们！” “是啊，别闹了！”迪诺说。 他看上去疯了。“但这很酷！”豆说。 她试图解释。“它可以是一个普通人，但他必须很小，像地精或者——”“地精？”迪诺问。 “就像一个令人毛骨悚然的小家伙？” 这一点都不酷！”索菲娅。 把她的手放在屁股上。 “听着，憨豆，你说过你会抓住那个人的。 你说。”“是啊，”特雷弗、鲁比和普雷里说

together. Bean tried again. "But it could be magic! Right here in our own neighborhood! Isn't that the greatest?" "Zombies are magic," said Dino. "And then they eat your brains."

在一起。比恩又试了一次。 “但这可能是魔法！”就在我们自己的社区！这不是最伟大的吗？”“僵尸很神奇，”迪诺说。 “然后他们吃你的大脑。”

"I think you guys watch too many scary movies," said Bean. "This is real life. It's our very own mystery, and, it might even be magic."

“我觉得你们看了太多恐怖电影了，”比恩说。 “这是真实的生活。这是我们自己的秘密，甚至可能是魔法。”

There was a silence. Then Trevor said, "If we knew for sure it was magic, it would be okay." "But we don't know what it is," said Ruby. "And we don't know why it's happening," said Sophie. "Right!" said Ivy, waving her hands in the air. "That's what makes it a mystery!" She and Bean smiled at the faces around them. Nobody smiled back. "Okay, Bean," said Prairie after a moment. "If you won't solve the Mystery of the Yellow Rope, then we will." Sheesh. They were so serious. "Fine!" said Bean. "I'll solve it, I'll solve it! Meet me in the P. I. office after school."++++++ All day, Bean thought about magic and Al Seven and being a P. I. But most of all, she

一阵沉默。然后特雷弗说：“如果我们确定这是魔法，那就没事了。” “但我们不知道它是什么，”鲁比说。 “我们也不知道为什么会这样。”苏菲说。 “对！”艾薇说着，在空中挥舞着双手。 “这就是为什么它是一个谜！”她和比恩对着周围的面孔微笑。 没有人对他微笑。“好吧，豆子。”过了一会儿，普雷里说。 “如果你不解开黄绳之谜，那我们来解开。” 震惊或印象深刻。他们是那么认真。 “很好！”比恩说。“我要解决它，我要解决它！”在警察局等我。 放学后去办公室。"++++++整整一天，比恩都在想魔法、Al Seven和成为P。 但最重要的是，她

thought about solving the Mystery of the Yellow Rope. She thought about it during rug time. She thought about it during Drop Everything and Read. She thought about it during Mad Minute Math. She even thought about it during recess. By the end of the day, she still hadn't solved a thing. The case was uncracked. After school, Ivy and Bean walked home. They walked very slowly. Then they walked backward. Then they played Straightjacket, where you could only turn when you ran into something. It took a long time to get back to Pancake Court. The closer they got, the slower they walked. "What am I going to do?" asked Bean. "I'm supposed to solve the mystery." "Maybe you could say that a zombie did eat your brains," Ivy suggested. "Nobody can solve a mystery if her brain has been eaten." Dino and Ruby and Trevor and Sophie S. and Prairie were already sitting in the P. I. office on

想到了解开黄绳之谜。 她在休息的时候想过这个问题。 她在“放下一切，阅读”节目中想到了这一点。 她在疯狂一分钟数学课上思考了这个问题。 她甚至在课间休息时也想过这个问题。 到那天结束时，她仍然没有解决任何问题。 这个案子尚未侦破。放学后，艾薇和比恩步行回家。 他们走得很慢。然后他们向后走。 然后他们玩了《紧身衣》，玩家只能在遇到障碍物时转身。 我们花了很长时间才回到煎饼阁。 他们越靠近，走得越慢。 “我该怎么办？”比恩问。 “我应该解开这个谜团。” “也许你可以说僵尸确实吃了你的大脑，”艾薇建议道。 “如果她的大脑被吃掉了，没人能解开一个谜。” 迪诺，鲁比，特雷弗和苏菲。 和普雷里已经坐在P。 I.办公室