8 The Key Of Souls

8. THE KEY OF SOULS Jim decided that Miss Pinky's front room was hotter than cooking belowdecks in the tropics. Two bars on her electric fire glowed bright orange, and he wondered why she needed it on at all in the middle of July. "Ooh, it's a bit nippy out there, isn't it?" said Miss Pinky. "Would you like some lemon cake, dears? It's just finished baking." Jim looked at Matilda. Matilda looked at Jim.

8. 灵魂的钥匙吉姆觉得平奇小姐的前厅比在热带地区的甲板下做饭还要热。 她的电炉上有两根电棒发出明亮的橙色光芒，他不明白她为什么在七月中旬还需要开着电炉。 “哦，外面有点冷，不是吗？”Pinky小姐说。 “亲爱的，你们想来点柠檬蛋糕吗？” 刚刚烤完。” 吉姆看着玛蒂尔达。玛蒂尔达看着吉姆。

"Yes, please!" they chirped in unison. "And what would you like with it? Cup of tea? Or soda?" "Soda, please!" said Matilda. "Grog, if ye please!" said Jim with a cheeky grin. "Soda and grog.... Hmm," said Miss Pinky as she shuffled off to the kitchen.

“是的，请！”他们齐声叫道。 “你想用它做什么？” 来杯茶吗？还是汽水?”“苏打水！”玛蒂尔达说。 “请喝点酒！”吉姆厚脸皮地笑着说。 苏打水和烈酒....嗯，”Pinky小姐说，她拖着脚走向厨房。

After much crashing, gurgling, jingling, and jangling, Miss Pinky reappeared pushing a small cart, on which sat a moist and sticky-looking lemon cake, three plates with three forks, a teapot, one cup, one saucer, a small milk jug, a sugar bowl with a silver teaspoon, two large pitchers, two glasses, and a heavily decorated cookie tin. "I haven't got any grog, dear. I've got

在一阵噼里啪啦、丁丁当当、丁丁当当的响声之后，平奇小姐推着一辆小推车回来了，车上放着一块湿漉漉的、黏糊糊的柠檬蛋糕、三个盘子、三个叉子、一个茶壶、一个杯子、一个茶托、一个小牛奶罐、一个带银茶匙的糖碗、两个大水罐、两个玻璃杯和一个装饰得很华丽的饼干罐头。 “亲爱的，我没有酒了。 我有

soda or homemade lemonade. Or a nice cup of tea. I've got some cookies too. Do you like cookies? I've had them a little while. My brother Stanley liked cookies, but he died in 1981. These were his favorites, and there are still a few left!" Jim and Matilda decided to stick to the cake. "So, Matilda dear, what can I do for you?" Miss Pinky inquired. "Miss Pinky," began Matilda, "we'd like to borrow one of your keys." "One of my keys?" said Miss Pinky, opening the key-cupboard door and looking puzzled. "Which one?"

苏打水或自制柠檬水。 或者一杯好茶。我也有一些饼干。 你喜欢饼干吗？我有一段时间了。 我哥哥斯坦利喜欢饼干，但他在1981年去世了。 这些都是他最喜欢的，现在还剩下一些！”吉姆和玛蒂尔达决定坚持吃蛋糕。 “那么，亲爱的玛蒂尔达，我能为你做些什么？”平基小姐问道。 “平奇小姐，”玛蒂尔达开口说，“我们想借你的一把钥匙。” “我的一把钥匙？”平奇小姐说，打开钥匙柜的门，一脸疑惑。 “哪一个?”

Before Miss Pinky could say anything else, Jim shouted, "It's the Key of Souls! The big one, with the skull— that's the Key of Souls!" "Souls, you say? Well, I never, so that's what it's for...." mumbled Miss Pinky. "What do you mean by 'souls,' Jim dear?" "It unlocks the Chest of Souls, and when the key is turned, it will send those ghosts to Davy Jones's locker!" "The Chest of Souls, eh? Ghosts, you say? Davy Jones's locker? How peculiar. You young people say some funny things.... My brother found this key on the beach, near Parrot Point, I think.

还没等Pinky小姐开口，Jim就喊道：“这是灵魂钥匙！那把大的，带着头盖骨的——那是灵魂钥匙！”“你是说灵魂？” 嗯，我从来没有，所以这就是它的用途....” 平奇小姐喃喃地说。“亲爱的吉姆，你说的‘灵魂’是什么意思？”“它打开了灵魂之箱，当钥匙转动时，它会把那些鬼魂送到戴维·琼斯的储物柜里！”“灵魂之箱，嗯？” 你说鬼？戴维·琼斯的储物柜？ 特有的方式。你们年轻人说一些有趣的事情.... 我哥哥在鹦鹉角附近的海滩上找到了这把钥匙。