43 Crossing Inky Lake

43 Crossing Inky Lake Despite Little-Bit's protests (But it's the best drawing I've ever done!'), Peanut and Rockwell set about erasing all traces of their camp before Jonathan Higginbottom led the group through the trees to the banks of Inky Lake. Up close, it was a sight to behold. The perfectly flat surface extended as far as the eye could see and reflected the twinkling stars and bright full moon like a vast black mirror.

43 穿越墨水湖 尽管小不点抗议道（可这是我画过最棒的画呀！），花生和罗克韦尔还是擦除了营地的所有痕迹，随后乔纳森·希金博顿带着队伍穿过树林，来到了墨水湖岸边。 走近一看，眼前的景色格外壮观。 平整的湖面一望无际，像一面巨大的黑镜子，倒映着闪闪繁星和明亮的满月。

"This is as good an entry point as any," said the alligator. "Up you get, then. Doodle and the three children climbed on to his giant reptilian back and sat facing forwards with their feet dangling in the cool, jet-black water. When they were all in position, Jonathan Higginbottom eased away from the bank and swam smoothly out into the vast body of the lake. "Do you know who will be meeting us at the Strip?" asked Peanut. "I don't, I'm afraid," replied Jonathan Higginbottom. "We are never told the identities of our fellow agents in case

“这儿就是个不错的登岸点”，鳄鱼说道。 “那你们快上来吧。 杜德尔和三个孩子爬上他庞大的鳄鱼背，脸朝前坐好，脚垂在冰凉漆黑的湖水里。 所有人都就位后，乔纳森·希金博顿慢慢离开岸边，平稳地游向辽阔的湖心。 花生问：“你知道谁会在长街接我们吗？” 乔纳森·希金博顿回答：“恐怕我也不知道。” “我们从来不会知道同伴的身份，以防

we're ever captured. If you don't know names, you can't give people up. Mr White is not averse to using every means of, er, persuasion available to him, you see. "So, if you don't know who it is, how will we know who it is?" "Don't worry, it will become clear. Just like when we met. "So, what is the Strip anyway?" Little-Bit was dragging her hand through the water and marvelling at how black it left her fingers. "It sounds like it'll be fun. "Well, that depends on your definition of fun. If you enjoy ear-splitting noise, horrendously busy streets and panic- inducing chaos, then you'll love it. "Ooooh," replied the little girl. "That does sound fun!" "Surely it would have been better to brave the Black Mountains and head straight for the Spire," said Rockwell. "Won't this huge detour expose us to more danger?" "Have you ever heard of the phrase "hiding in plain sight"?" replied the alligator. "Trust me, you will be much harder to spot among the crowds of the Strip than you would be sneaking through the Black Mountains. I can't pretend that I'm party to tactics, but in this instance, I definitely would have made the same decision. In fact, if I've learned one thing during my time with Mr and Mrs M, it's that you should always trust their judgement. Jonathan Higginbottom?" It was Peanut's turn to ask a question. "When we were flying over the valley and those two

我们哪天被抓住。 如果你不知道名字，就不会出卖任何人。 你懂的，怀特先生可是什么逼供手段都用得出来。 “那你都不知道是谁，我们怎么能认出对方呢？” “别担心，到时候就清楚了。 就像我们当初相遇时那样。 “那长街到底是什么地方啊？” 小不点把手泡在水里划动，惊叹湖水把她的手指染得这么黑。 “听起来好像很好玩。” “这得看你对好玩的定义是什么了。 如果你喜欢震耳欲聋的噪音、挤得水泄不通的街道、让人慌神的混乱，那你一定会爱上那里。 小女孩应道：“哦——” “那听起来真的好有意思！” 罗克韦尔说：“我们干脆直接闯黑龙山去尖塔不好吗，绕这么大弯 “不会让我们暴露在更多危险中吗？” 鳄鱼反问：“你没听过‘藏于闹市’这句话吗？” “相信我，混在长街的人群里，比偷偷摸进黑龙山难发现多了。” 我不敢说我懂那些作战策略，但换我做决定，我也肯定会选这条路。 其实我跟M夫妇共事这么久，只学到一件事：永远要相信他们的判断。 “乔纳森·希金博顿？” 这回轮到花生提问了。 “刚才我们飞过山谷的时候，那两个

flying-fish things started to chase us, they suddenly blew up for no reason at all. Do you know what happened?" The alligator smiled. "I was going to talk to you about that when we got to the other side of the lake, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. My very clever colleagues in the Resistance have developed a small device that scrambles the circuits of the Exocetia—the flying fish, as you call them. Basically, you press a button and the device emits sound waves, undetectable by the human ear, that cause the Exocetia to vibrate intensely, instantly overheat and, ultimately, explode. As long as you are within one hundred metres of them and, ideally, have a clear sightline, it should work. "Wow!" gasped Rockwell. "So Gavreau was right?" He noticed Peanut's confused expression. "Oh come on, you must have heard of Vladimir Gavreau! The Franco-Russian scientist who experimented with weapomsing infrasonic waves in the sixties? He was largely discredited by most "BORING!" shouted Little-Bit. Peanut looked at Rockwell and nodded. She turned to Jonathan Higginbottom. "So, it was you that blew them up?" "It was. I was watching you from the forest floor and saw

像飞鱼一样的东西追我们，它们突然就平白无故爆炸了。 你知道这是怎么回事吗？” 鳄鱼笑了笑。 “我本来打算到湖对岸再跟你们说，不过现在说也挺好。 抵抗组织里我聪明的同事发明了一个小装置，能干扰梭战机——就是你们说的飞鱼的电路。 简单说就是，你按下按钮，装置就会发出人耳听不到的声波，让梭战机剧烈震动，迅速过热，最后爆炸。 只要你离它们不超过一百米，最好还有清晰的视线，就能起效。” 罗克韦尔惊叹道：“哇！” “这么说加夫罗是对的？” 他注意到花生一脸困惑。 “哦拜托，你肯定听说过弗拉基米尔·加夫罗啊！ 六十年代研究次声波武器的法俄科学家？ 他大多时候都不被认可——“太无聊啦！”小不点喊道。 花生看向罗克韦尔，点了点头。 她转向乔纳森·希金博顿。 “所以，那些飞鱼是你炸的？” “没错，是我。 我当时在林地上盯着你们，看到

the Exocetia start to follow you. I had to wait for longer than I was totally comfortable with in order to get a good shot, but hopefully I was able to act before they managed to send further intelligence to Mr White and the RAZERs." "Thank you," said Rockwell. "Thank you so much. All part of the service. Actually, I took the liberty of putting the device in the outside pocket of your rucksack, young man. It might well come in handy at some point. After all, we're depending on you. Rockwell blushed. "Still want me to draw you that door?" asked Peanut. "Hmmm. Maybe I'll stay for a bit longer after all. "Good show, old boy!" chirped Jonathan Higginbottom. "Now, if I were you, I'd try and get a spot of sleep on my back there. It'll be a few hours before we reach the other side of the lake and you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow.

飞鱼开始跟着你们了。 为了找准时机出手，我担惊受怕等了很久，不过还好我赶在它们给怀特先生和剃刀军团送情报之前动了手。” 罗克韦尔说：“谢谢你。” “真的太感谢你了。 这是我分内的事。 对了小伙子，我已经把那个装置悄悄放在你背包的外袋里了。 说不定什么时候就能派上用场。 毕竟，我们都指望你们了。 罗克韦尔脸红了。 花生问：“你还想要我给你画那扇门吗？” “嗯…… 说不定我还真的再多待一阵子。 乔纳森·希金博顿欢快地说：“好样的，老弟！” “好了，如果我是你们，就趁现在在我背上歇一会儿。 我们还要好几个小时才到对岸，你们明天可得忙一整天呢。