21 Salle 345

Part Two in which Peanut travels the world

第二部分 花生的环球之旅

Chapter 21 Salle 345 Maman, pourquoi ses bras sont-ils tombés? Quelqu'un a-t-il Jaissé tomber la statue alors qu'il I'apportait å la galerie, ou le sculpteur a-t-il simplement manqué de temps?" The door was only open a crack but the child's voice was as clear as a bell. Peanut looked back at the others with her finger to her lips. "C'est trés, trés, vieux, mon chéri. "A different voice this time. Female. And belonging to an adult. "Crois-moi, vieillir est une chose brutale. Cela nous concerne tous. Allez, on doit retrouver papa rue Saint-Honoré dans dix minutes. "Je peux la toucher?" The child again. "Elle a I "air lisse." "I wonder what they're saying," whispered Rockwell. "The little boy is telling his mum that the statue looks

第二十一章 345展厅 妈妈，为什么雕像的胳膊掉了呀？ 是运去画廊的时候被人碰掉了，还是雕刻家根本没来得及雕完呀？” 门只开了一条缝，可孩子的声音却清脆得像铃铛一样。 花生把手指竖在嘴唇上，回头示意其他人安静。 “亲爱的，它已经非常非常古老啦。 这次是另一个人的声音。 是一位女士。 一位成年女士。 “相信我，变老是一件很残酷的事。 我们所有人都会变老。 快走，我们十分钟后要去圣奥诺雷街找爸爸。 “我能摸摸它吗？” 又是那个孩子的声音。 “它看起来滑溜溜的。” “我好奇他们在说什么，”洛克威尔小声说道。 “小男孩在告诉妈妈，这座雕像看起来

very smooth," said Little-Bit. "And that he wants to touch it. "Oh, but of course you speak French! Hang on, what statue?" "Quiet, you two. They'll hear," whispered Peanut. "NON! CHRISTOPHE! ARRÉTE CA! LA CORDE EST LA POUR UNE RAISON!" The woman was shouting now. Some footsteps approached rapidly. "Excusez-moi, madame," said an officious-sounding man, mais la galerie ferme maintenant. S'il vous plait, permettez-moi de vous montrer la sortie." There was the sound of a slight kerfuffle before three sets of footsteps faded into the distance. "OK," whispered Peanut. "I think the coast is clear. She pushed open the heavy door and the three children squeezed through. They found themselves in a large, grand room, with high, vaulted ceilings and red marble walls. To their left and right, huge arched openings led to equally opulent arcades, and straight ahead a statue-filled hallway, lined with ornate columns, seemed to go on for miles. The children stepped over a small glass barrier and turned to look back to see where they'd emerged from.

非常光滑，”小点点说。 “而且他想要摸摸它。 “哦，对啊，你当然会说法语！ 等等，你说什么雕像？” “安静点，你们两个。 会被他们听见的，”花生小声说。 “别呀！克里斯托弗！ 快停下！ 拉绳子是有原因的！” 这位女士现在大喊起来。 一阵脚步声快速朝这边走来。 “不好意思，夫人，”一个语气官腔的男人说道，画廊现在要关门了。 请允许我带您出去。” 一阵小小的骚动过后，三个人的脚步声渐渐远去了。 “好了，”花生小声说。 “我觉得现在没人了。 她推开沉重的大门，三个孩子挤了进去。 他们发现自己身处一间宽敞华丽的房间，有着高高的拱形天花板和红色大理石墙面。 左右两侧都有巨大拱门，通向同样奢华的拱廊，正前方的走廊摆满雕像，两侧立着精致石柱，长得仿佛望不到头。 孩子们跨过一道小小的玻璃护栏，转身回头看自己是从哪里进来的。

The sculpture was magnificent. An elegant female figure, two metres tall and beautifully carved from white marble. "Er, where are her arms? Are they on display somewhere else?" said Rockwell. "Don't be such a philistine, Rockwell," said Peanut. "It's obviously very old. Anyway, everybody knows that there's great beauty in imperfection. I think she's absolutely stunning. The statue stood on a large black plinth, the front of which had opened up like a door. Peanut hopped back over the barrier and pushed it shut. To her amazement, any evidence of the portal's existence totally disappeared as the door closed, apart from some very faint hinges and a tiny handle which looked like they had been drawn with a pencil. Suddenly they heard footsteps in the arcade to their right. Quick as a flash, they hid in a shadowy alcove underneath one of the arches at the side of the room. A small figure, dressed entirely in white, came trotting

这座雕塑美极了。 是一尊优雅的女性雕像，两米高，由白色大理石精雕细琢而成。 “呃，她的胳膊在哪里呀？ 放在别的地方展出了吗？”洛克威尔说。 “别这么没品味啦，洛克威尔，”花生说。 “它显然已经非常古老了。 再说了，大家都知道不完美也藏着独特的美呀。 我觉得她简直太迷人了。 雕像立在一块大大的黑色底座上，底座的正面像一扇门一样敞开着。 花生跳回护栏那边，把小门关上了。 让花生惊讶的是，门关上后，传送门存在过的痕迹完全消失了，只留下几道极淡的合印记和一个小小的把手，看起来就像是铅笔画上去的。 突然，他们听到右侧拱廊传来了脚步声。 他们飞快地躲进房间侧边一道拱门下的阴影凹室里。 一个全身上下都穿白衣的小个子，快步跑

into the gallery carrying a portrait of an enigmatic young woman in both hands. The person then stood in front of the statue, right on the spot where Peanut, Rockwell and Little-Bit had been seconds earlier, his white fedora glowing in the early evening light. "It's him," whispered Rockwell. "It's Mr White!" "Hmm. I recognise that painting said Peanut under her breath. Mr White looked to his left, and then his right, checking that the coast was clear before stepping over the barrier. He pulled open the small door in the plinth and dived through.

进了画廊，双手捧着一幅肖像，画里是一位神秘的年轻女子。 这个人站在了雕像正前方，正好站在几秒前花生、洛克威尔和小点点站过的地方，他的白色软呢帽在傍晚的微光里微微发亮。 “就是他，”洛克威尔小声说。 “是怀特先生！” “嗯。 我认得这幅画，花生低声说道。 怀特先生左右看了看，确认四周没人后跨过了护栏。 他拉开底座上的小门，一下子钻了进去。