52 The Light District

52 The Light District

52 光之区

The sky had turned a darker shade of blue and was infused with strokes of gold, orange and lilac. As Peanut, Rockwell, Little-Bit and Doodle followed the flamingo-pink path that led into the Light District, they marvelled at their beautiful surroundings. Buttery daffodils lined their route through a mauve latticework of shadows cast by the poplar trees shielding them from view. A small platoon of bumblebees provided the quiet, humming soundtrack. It was hard to believe that just a couple of hours ago they had been in the midst of the noisy chaos of the Strip. They walked for half an hour until they reached a large

天空变成了深深的蓝色，晕染着道道金色、橙色和淡紫色。 佩娜特、罗克韦尔、小不点和杜杜沿着火烈鸟粉色的小路走进光之区，一路都惊叹着绝美的周遭景色。 奶油色的水仙花沿路边盛放，杨树投下淡紫色格状阴影，将他们的身影藏了起来。 一小群熊蜂嗡嗡振翅，奏出轻柔的背景音。 很难相信，仅仅几个小时前，他们还处在喧闹大街的混乱嘈杂里。 他们走了半小时，最终来到了一大片

field spattered with bright-red poppies. Tired and hungry, they sat down in the long grass. Peanut pulled Little Tail from her bandolier and quickly drew some sausage rolls that tasted faintly of liquorice. Don't worry. I'll do my best to paint us something more delicious in the morning," she promised. Once they had eaten, she set about drawing disguises for everybody. She chose simple farmer's outfits, complete with wide-brimmed straw hats, so they would blend into the scenery and keep their faces hidden. They were just getting into their new gear when Doodle suddenly sat bolt upright and looked back towards the path. "Everybody quiet," hissed Rockwell. "Get down. They flattened themselves against the earth and peered through the long grass as six tall, silver figures emerged from behind the poplar trees and glided silently along the path. Little-Bit gasped. Peanut and Rockwell both covered her mouth. Yes, they were tall, and yes, they were fast, but it was the fact that the RAZERs made no noise whatsoever that was the scariest thing. It was obviously a key part of their design—

点缀着鲜红色罂粟花的原野。 又累又饿的他们，在长草丛里坐了下来。 佩娜特从斜挎袋里拿出小尾巴，很快画出几根香肠卷，吃起来带着淡淡的甘草味。 别担心。 明天一早我会尽力画出更美味的食物，她承诺道。 吃完东西后，她开始给大家画伪装服。 她选了简单的农夫装束，还搭配了宽檐草帽，这样就能融进风景里，把脸藏起来。 他们刚换上新装束，杜杜突然猛地坐直，回头望向小路。 大家安静，罗克韦尔嘶声说。 趴下。 他们紧紧贴住地面，透过长草往外看：六个高高的银色人影从杨树后走出，悄无声息地沿着小路滑来。 小不点倒吸了一口凉气。 佩娜特和罗克韦尔一齐捂住了她的嘴。 没错，他们个子高，速度也快，但最吓人的是，这些RAZER机器人居然没发出一丁点声响。 这显然是他们设计里的核心部分——

after all, stealth was imperative when capturing fugitives— but silence wasn't something Peanut would ever have thought of as particularly frightening. Until now. The four friends collectively held their breath as the robots glided within a few metres of them. It was only when they disappeared behind the haystacks and over the hill that the children were finally able to breathe. "That was too close!" panted Rockwell. "What are we going to do?" "We need to keep moving," replied Peanut. Carefully, she stood up and looked around. She noticed that the poppy field they were hiding in sloped down to the banks of a large pond. She ran down the hill for a closer look and saw that it was connected, via a network of canals, to a series of other ponds. She had an idea. She took Little Tail from her bandolier and drew a long wiggly line with a sharp hook on the end. She then whirled it around her head a few times like a lasso and threw it towards one of the huge lily pads floating on the water. The hook pierced the surface and Peanut pulled hard, dragging it towards the bank. She then took her block of charcoal and drew a long, thick pole.

毕竟追捕逃犯时，隐秘行动必不可少，但在此之前，佩娜特从没觉得安静会这么吓人。 直到这一刻。 四个伙伴一齐屏住呼吸，机器人从离他们只有几米的地方滑过。 直到机器人消失在干草堆后、翻过小山丘，几个孩子才终于敢重新呼吸。 太险了！罗克韦尔喘着气说。 我们该怎么办？ 我们得继续往前走，佩娜特回答。 她小心地站起身，环顾四周。 她发现，他们藏身的这片罂粟田向下倾斜，一直延伸到一个大池塘的岸边。 她跑下坡仔细查看，发现这个池塘通过运河网，和另外一连串池塘连通在一起。 她想到了一个好主意。 她从斜挎袋里拿出小尾巴，画了一条长长的波浪线，末端是一个锋利的钩子。 接着她像甩套索一样，把钩子在头顶转了几圈，朝水面上一片大大的荷叶扔过去。 钩子勾住荷叶后，佩娜特用力一拉，把荷叶拖到了岸边。 之后她拿出木炭块，画了一根又长又粗的船篙。

"OK. Everybody on," she said. Ooh, this is just like The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher!" said Little-Bit, beaming as she scrambled on board. Once they were all sitting comfortably, Peanut stood up with the pole, lowered one end into the water until it hit the bottom, and pushed off. They drifted effortlessly out into the middle of the pond. As they quietly cut through the water, Peanut was able to steer with the pole, guiding them towards the narrow canal on the southern side of the pond. The sun set as they cut an elegant swathe through the beautiful russets and purples reflected in the surface. Rockwell's eyelids felt heavy. Little-Bit and Doodle were already asleep. Go on. Catch some Zzzs," said Peanut as she guided them underneath a green wooden bridge spanning the canal. "I'll wake you when we reach Vincent Fields."

好了。 大家都上来，她说。 哇哦，这就和《杰里米·费希尔先生的故事》里一样！小不点笑开了花，边说边爬上了荷叶。 所有人都稳稳坐好后，佩娜特拿着船篙站起来，把一端插进水里碰到塘底，用力一撑就出发了。 他们轻轻松松漂到了池塘中央。 他们静静在水面滑行，佩娜特用船篙掌舵，把船引向池塘南侧狭窄的运河。 太阳落山时，他们划过水面，划破了水面倒映出的赤褐色与紫色的美丽光影。 罗克韦尔只觉得眼皮沉沉的。 小不点和杜杜已经睡着了。 来吧。 好好睡一觉吧，佩娜特说着，把船撑过了横在运河上的绿色木桥。 我们到文森特原野的时候，我会叫醒你们的。