13 THE ELECTRONIC SIGNAL

CHAPTER 13 THE ELECTRONIC SIGNAL Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! A message was flashing on Roz's computer. The Drone was reporting that gusty winds had sent it spiraling into the neighbor's bean field. So the robot grabbed the big, heavy toolbox and marched out to clean up the mess. Roz found the flying machine upside down, with its landing gear poking above the rows of leafy plants. It had some scrapes and scratches, but no major damage. She flipped it over, brushed it off, and tightened a few screws. Then she said, "Return to Hilltop Farm." The engines started buzzing and the machine lifted off the ground and flew home. As Roz marched back, she cut through a strip of forest that separated the two farms. There were trees and ferns and rocks and shrubs and small forest animals. It was a little piece of wilderness. And suddenly, the robot was thinking of that wild island

第13章电子信号哔！哔哔!哔哔!哔哔!罗兹的电脑上闪着一条信息。 无人机报告说，阵风把它吹进了邻居的豆田。 于是，机器人抓起又大又重的工具箱，大步走出去收拾残局。 罗兹发现飞行器上下颠倒，起落架戳在一排排的绿叶植物上。 它有一些擦伤和划痕，但没有严重损坏。 她把它翻过来，刷掉，拧紧了几个螺丝。 然后她说：“回到山顶农场。” 发动机开始嗡嗡作响，飞机离开地面飞回了家。 当罗兹走回去的时候，她穿过了分隔两个农场的一片森林。 有树木、蕨类植物、岩石、灌木和小森林动物。 那是一小片荒野。 突然，机器人想起了那个荒岛

she missed so much. Someday, she would try to run away and return to her true home. Was this the moment for her escape? Could it be as easy as sneaking off through these trees? No, it couldn't be that easy. Ahead, on the other side of the trees, Mr. Shareef was sitting in his pickup truck, watching Roz. Because of the robot's electronic signal, he knew she had stepped off the property, and he had raced out there to see what she was up to. Roz marched over to the truck and Mr. Shareef leaned out his window. He had a serious expression on his face. "Don't ever leave the property without my permission, understand?" "I understand," said Roz. She understood, all right. She understood that she was always being watched. She understood that she was trapped on Hilltop Farm.

她错过了太多。总有一天，她会试图逃跑，回到她真正的家。 这是她逃跑的时候吗？ 会不会像从树林里溜出去那么容易？ 不，不可能那么容易。 前方，在树林的另一边，谢里夫坐在他的皮卡车里，看着罗兹。 因为机器人的电子信号，他知道她已经离开了房子，他跑过去看看她在做什么。 罗兹大步走向卡车，谢里夫先生探出车窗。 他脸上带着严肃的表情。 “没有我的允许，永远不要离开这里，明白吗？”“我明白，”罗兹说。 她明白，没错。 她明白她总是被监视着。 她明白自己被困在山顶农场了。