24 The Bunker

24 The Bunker Peanut, Rockwell and Little-Bit followed the woman and Doodle through the hatch and down a steep flight of stairs. They led to a large, circular room illuminated by a roaring fire at the far end and several flaming torches attached to the walls. Peanut felt as if she were standing in an oil painting. Everywhere she looked, she could see brush marks. In the grain of the floorboards, running through the patterns on the cushions, in the flickering light of the fire. The whole place was slightly ramshackle. It felt as though it had been built, or painted, by someone who was making it up as they went along, which gave the room a lived- in, cosy feel. Peanut loved it. "Welcome to the Bunker. Please take a seat and make

24 碉堡 花生、罗克韦尔和小比特跟着那名女子和嘟嘟穿过舱门，走下一段陡峭的楼梯 楼梯通向一间宽敞的圆形房间，房间尽头燃着熊熊炉火，墙上插着几支燃烧的火把，把整间屋照得透亮 花生觉得自己仿佛站在了一幅油画里 她放眼望去，到处都能看见画笔留下的笔触 地板木纹里有，靠垫的花纹里有，炉火闪烁的光影里也有 整个地方略略有些破旧凌乱 这里感觉像是有人想到哪就建到哪、画到哪，反而让房间充满了温馨的生活气息 花生一下子就爱上了这里 “欢迎来到碉堡 请坐下，让各位

yourselves comfortable." Doodle ran over to a small bowl with his name painted on it and started drinking. "Now then, I'm sure you could use a drop of hot chocolate to warm you up. Peanut noticed the lady's eyes flick to the bandolier before she disappeared through a triangular-shaped door. She returned a couple of minutes later holding a tray loaded with steaming mugs. "Oh my goodness, I have totally forgotten my manners, she said as she handed out the drinks. "I should introduce myself. My name is Millicent Markmaker, but that's a bit of a mouthful. You can call me "Mrs M". And it looks like you've already met my dog, Doodle." Ah, so you're one of the Markmakers," said Peanut. "I'm so glad we found you. I'm Peanut Jones, and these two are

舒舒服服的。” 嘟嘟跑向一个画着自己名字的小碗，低头喝起水来 “好了，我猜你们肯定需要一杯热巧克力暖暖身子 花生注意到这位女士的目光扫了弹带一眼，接着就走进一扇三角形的门不见了 几分钟后她端着托盘回来了，托盘上放着好几个热气腾腾的杯子 “哦天呐，我完全忘了礼数，”她一边分发饮料一边说 “我该先介绍一下自己 我叫米利森特·马克梅克，这个名字念起来太拗口了 你们可以叫我M夫人。” 看来你们已经见过我的狗嘟嘟了。” “啊，原来你就是马克梅克家族的人呀，”花生说 “真高兴我们找到了你 我叫花生·琼斯，这两位是

Rockwell and Little-Bit. We need your help. Really?" she said thoughtfully. "That's a coincidence, because I could do with a bit of help too." "You need our help?" "Yes, I think that maybe I do. But I'll get to that in a minute." Mrs M sat down in a large, beautifully painted red leather armchair and took a sip of tea. "First, tell me, how did three children find their way here?" "We don't know," said Rockwell. "We're not even sure where "here" is. Hmmm, interesting." Mrs M's eyes narrowed. "So you don't actually know where you are?" "I do! I do!" shouted Little-Bit who loved nothing more than answering questions. "Chroma! I saw a sign by that door we came through. Mrs M frowned slightly. A sign by the, er, door, eh? Well, you are correct, Little-Bit. You are in Chroma. But do you know what Chroma is?" "The weirdest place on Earth?" said Rockwell. "Has Quite possibly," said Mrs M. "But it is more commonly known by another name. And what's that?" "Why, the Illustrated City, of course.

罗克韦尔和小比特 我们需要你的帮助 真的吗？” 她若有所思地说 “真巧，我刚好也需要一点帮助呢。” “你需要我们的帮助？” “对，我想我确实需要 不过我一会再说这件事。” M夫人坐在一把宽大、画工精美的红皮扶手椅上，抿了一口茶 “首先，告诉我，三个孩子是怎么找到这里来的？” “我们也不知道，”罗克韦尔说 “我们甚至都不确定‘这里’到底是哪里 嗯，有意思。” M夫人眯起了眼睛 “这么说，你们真的不知道自己在哪？” “我知道！ 我知道！”最爱回答问题的小比特大喊道 “是克罗玛！ 我们进来的那扇门边有块牌子，我看到了 M夫人微微皱了皱眉头 门边……呃，有块牌子，对吗？ 没错，小比特，你说对了 你们现在确实在克罗玛 可你们知道克罗玛是什么地方吗？” “世界上最奇怪的地方？”罗克韦尔说 “嗯，很有可能，”M夫人说，“不过它还有一个更广为人知的名字 那是什么名字？” 那当然就是插画之城呀