75 Back in the Bunker

Part Five in which Peanut really wants to go home

第五部分：花生真的很想回家

75 Back in the Bunker The heat from the roaring fire in the Bunker's circular living room felt more welcome than ever. Peanut was sitting in an armchair sipping from a large mug of tea, with Little-Bit on her lap and Doodle at her feet. All around them, people were pulling books from shelves and packing them into the large, labelled cardboard boxes that were piled high around the room. "So, where will the new headquarters be?" asked Peanut. "Well, we have a few options," replied Mrs M from the kitchen. "The good news is that Mr White and the RAZERs seem to have gone for the time being at least. It won't take us long to pack everything up and, as soon as we have, we will move to the new location.

75 回到碉堡 碉堡圆形客厅里，炉火噼啪燃烧，暖意比任何时候都更让人安心。 花生坐在扶手椅上，捧着大马克杯喝茶，小比特趴在她腿上，杜德蹲在她脚边。 他们身边，大家正把书从书架上取下，装进贴着标签的大纸箱，房间四周已经堆起了高高的纸箱子。 "那么，新总部在哪里呀？"花生问道。 "嗯，我们有几个备选地点，" M夫人在厨房回答。 "好消息是，怀特先生和雷泽帮至少暂时已经离开了。 用不了多久就能打包好所有东西，打包完我们马上就搬去新地点。

Mrs M smiled as she walked through the triangular doorway holding a tray of hot crumpets. "By the way, Rockwell is going to be just fine." She set the tray down next to Peanut. "We were worried that he might have a concussion because he wouldn't stop talking nonsense: something about "triple maths" and "differentiation", but it turns out that he's just a bit worried about school. Totally normal for a boy of his age. "Did you tell him about the pencil? About the fact that we can't get back home?" asked Peanut. "Now, why would I have told him something like that?" Because it's true. That pencil was our only way out of here. At that moment, Mr M strolled into the room and warmed his hands over the fire. Peanut leaned forward. "Hello, Peanut," he said. "No word from your father, I'm afraid. We've put the word out with our best agents, but we've heard nothing yet. Peanut slumped back in her chair. Mr M smiled kindly and walked over. "Listen, my girl, your dad has proved his resourcefulness many, many times during his long service with the Resistance. For that reason, I firmly believe that he's OK. I'd wager that, as we speak, he's hiding from Mr White and the RAZERs somewhere in the city. If I know Gary, he'll be biding his time until an opportunity to move arises. We just have to be patient.

M夫人端着一盘热气腾腾的烤松饼，笑着穿过三角形门洞走了进来。 "对了，罗克威尔没事的。" 她把托盘放在花生身旁。 "我们之前还担心他脑震荡呢，因为他一直胡说八道，说什么“三重数学”还有“微分”，结果发现他只是担心上学的事而已。 他这个年纪的男孩，这太正常了。 "你告诉他铅笔的事了吗？ 告诉我们回不了家这件事了吗？"花生问道。 "我干嘛要跟他说这种事呀？" 因为这是事实啊。 那支铅笔是我们离开这里的唯一办法。 就在这时，M先生慢悠悠走进房间，凑到炉火边暖手。 花生往前探了探身子。 "你好呀，花生，"他说。 "很遗憾，还没有你爸爸的消息。 我们已经派最好的探子去打听了，但至今什么回音都没有。 花生瘫坐回椅子里。 M先生温和地笑了笑，走了过来。 "听着，孩子，你爸爸在抵抗组织服役这么多年，足智多谋的本事早就印证过无数次了。 所以，我坚信他现在肯定没事。 我敢打赌，我们现在说话的时候，他正在城里某个地方躲着怀特先生和雷泽帮呢。 我了解加里，他肯定在蛰伏等待出动的机会。 我们只需要耐心等一等。

"Yes," said Peanut. "I think you're right. I can't explain why, exactly, I just do... Something in the kaleidoscoppi's song told me he was safe. And at least we know he was in the Spire until just a few days ago. I knew he would never leave us on purpose!" "One thing I can promise you," said the old man, "is that we will find him. This city owes you a great debt, and we will do whatever we can to reunite you with your dad. You and your friends are fully fledged members of the Resistance now, and we always look after our own." "Speaking of which," said Mrs M, "we have a proposition for you." "What is it?" Peanut was intrigued. "Well, we wondered whether you would like to continue the work that your father was doing on our behalf. "The top-secret spying mission you told me about?" she said. "The very same," said Mrs M smiling. "We suspect that there's some kind of link between your world and Mr White, and your dad was looking for evidence that might connect the two." Peanut flushed with pride. "Well, if it was good enough for my dad, then that's good enough for me. I'm in." "But first, young lady, we need to get you back home to Melody Road," said Mrs M. "We don't want your mother to worry.

"没错，"花生说。 "我也觉得你说得对。 我讲不清具体为什么，但我就是相信…… 凯莱多斯比的歌声告诉我，他很安全。 至少我们知道，几天前他还在尖塔呢。 我就知道他绝对不会故意丢下我们的！" "我可以向你保证一件事，"老人说，"我们一定会找到他。 这座城市欠你们很大一份人情，我们会尽全力帮你和爸爸团聚。 你和你的朋友们现在已经是抵抗组织的正式成员了，我们向来会照顾好自己人。" "说到这儿，"M夫人说，"我们有个提议给你。" "是什么提议？" 花生好奇极了。 "唔，我们想问问你，愿不愿意接着你爸爸之前为我们做的工作做下去。" "就是你跟我说过那个最高机密的间谍任务吗？" 她说道。 "就是那个任务，"M夫人笑着说。 "我们怀疑你的世界和怀特先生之间存在某种关联，你爸爸一直在找能证明这点的证据。" 花生骄傲得涨红了脸。 "唔，既然我爸爸能做好，那我也没问题。 我加入。" "不过小姑娘，我们得先送你回旋律路的家，"M夫人说。 "我们不想让你妈妈担心。

Peanut looked confused. "But... but... we can't go home! Mr White has Little Tail! How can I draw a door if I don't have Little Tail?" "Ah yes. About that..." She rose from her chair and stood next to her husband. "Peanut. Do you remember when you first arrived, I explained how the city of Chroma came into being all those centuries ago?" "Yes." Peanut nodded. "You said it started with the Rainbow Lake." "That's right. And do you remember my mentioning people from the outside world, your world, coming to visit? Famous artists and creatives throughout history?" "Yes." "Well, how do you think they got here?" "I, er, I'm not sure. You said that there were rumours of portals between Chroma and the outside world, but you said they were never found. Mrs M turned to face Peanut. "I'm embarrassed to say, I wasn't telling you the truth." "What do you mean?" "Well, you see, we know that there is at least one portal, said Mr M, smiling. "It's a secret we guard closely, but we know exactly where it is.

花生一脸困惑。 "可是……可是我们回不了家呀！ 怀特先生抓走了小尾！ 没有小尾，我怎么画得出门呀？" "啊，没错。 说到这件事……"她站起身，走到丈夫身边站好。 "花生。 你还记得你刚到这儿的时候，我跟你讲过几百年前柯罗马城是怎么诞生的吗？" "记得。" 花生点了点头。 "你说它最早就是彩虹湖。" "没错。 那你还记得我提过，外面世界，也就是你们世界的人，会来这里参观吗？ 历史上那些有名的艺术家和创作者？" "记得。" "那你觉得，他们是怎么来到这里的呢？" "我，呃，我不知道。 你说过有传言说柯罗马和外界之间有传送门，但你说从来没人找到过。 M夫人转过脸面向花生。 "说出来挺不好意思的，我刚才没有跟你说实话。" "你这话是什么意思？" "其实呀，我们知道至少有一个传送门，"M先生笑着说。 "这是我们严守的秘密，但我们清楚地知道它在哪里。