22 Leaving the Louvre

Chapter 22 Leaving, the Louvre Keeping a safe distance, the children followed Mr White's route exactly, leaving the pyramid and walking into a large, paved courtyard, surrounded on three sides by imposing limestone pavilions. Suddenly, an ear-splitting alarm began to sound, making them all jump. The high-pitched siren seemed to be coming from everywhere. "WHAT'S GOING ON?" shouted Little-Bit. "MY GUESS," said Peanut, covering her ears, "IS THAT THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING HAS JUST CRUMBLED AWAY INTO DUST. OR AT LEAST WHAT THEY THINKIS THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PAINTING HAS JUST CRUMBLED AWAY INTO DUST."

第22章 离开卢浮宫 孩子们和怀特先生保持着安全距离，完全循着他的路线前进，走出金字塔，走进了一座宽阔的石板庭院，庭院三面环绕着气势恢宏的石灰岩馆楼 突然，一阵震耳欲聋的警报响起，吓得所有人都跳了起来 尖锐的警笛声仿佛从四面八方传来 “出什么事了？”小不点喊道 “我猜，”花生捂着耳朵说，“是世界上最有名的那幅画刚化成尘土了 “或者至少，他们认为是世界最有名的那幅画，刚刚化成尘土了”

A vast number of police officers started to spill out from the many doorways and colonnades in the pavilions lining the courtyard, all of them running at top speed towards the pyramid. "Sacrebleu!" shouted one gendarme as he raced past the gang. "Apparement, la Joconde vicnt de se désintégrer!" Meanwhile, fifty metres ahead of the children, the bright figure of Mr White was strolling in the opposite direction to the running policemen. Peanut watched as he disappeared through a large archway. "COME ON! WE MUSTN'T LOSE HIM," she shouted over the alarm. The children scampered across the courtyard, through the archway and into another square. This one was much smaller, with a large fountain in the middle and four exits, one on each side. "Which way did he go?" "There!" said Rockwell, pointing to their right. This exit led straight out on to a wide road running parallel with a river. "That must be the Seine," said Little-Bit, proudly displaying her geographical knowledge.

一大群警察从庭院沿线馆楼的各处门口和柱廊涌了出来，全都全速朝着金字塔跑去 “该死！”一名宪兵跑过孩子们身边时大喊 “看样子，蒙娜丽莎刚刚碎裂了！” 与此同时，在孩子们前方五十米处，怀特先生那醒目的身影正慢悠悠地走着，方向和奔跑的警察正好相反 花生看着他穿过大拱门，消失不见 “快跟上！” “我们不能跟丢他！”她盖过警报声大喊 孩子们蹦跳着跑过庭院，穿过拱门，进入了另一座广场 这座广场小得多，中央有一座大喷泉，四边各有一个出口 “他往哪边走了？” “在那边！”罗克威尔指着他们的右侧说道 这个出口直接通向一条和河流平行的宽阔马路 “那肯定是塞纳河，”小不点骄傲地展示着自己的地理知识说道

And look, there he is!" Mr White was ambling across a bridge directly in front of them, straight towards a large, domed building on the opposite bank. The children followed, making sure to keep far enough back to avoid being spotted. "So," said Peanut, to herself as much as anyone, "the sculpture on the plinth we came out of must have been the Venus de Milo. I can't believe I didn't recognise it! A year at St Hubert's and my artistic knowledge is already fading away..." "Seriously though, how are we going to get back to Chroma?" said Rockwell. "Or better still, home?" "Listen. Do you remember when Mrs M said that White had been spotted back in the Spire an hour after going through the other portals around Chroma?" Rockwell nodded. And we figured he must be making new portals with Little Tail each time to get back?" He nodded again. "Well, my guess is that he's going to make another one any minute now and nip through. So we just have to follow him." "Simple as that, is it?" said Rockwell sarcastically.

“你看，他就在那儿！” 怀特先生正慢悠悠地走在他们正前方的桥上，径直朝着对岸那座带穹顶的大型建筑走去 孩子们跟在后面，一直小心保持足够远的距离，避免被发现 “所以说，”花生喃喃道，既说给大家听也说给自己听，“我们刚才出来的那个基座上的雕塑，肯定是米洛斯的维纳斯啊 我居然没认出它来！ 在圣于贝尔学校待了一年，我的艺术知识都已经快忘光了……” “说真的，我们到底要怎么才能回克罗玛啊？”罗克威尔问道 “或者说，能不能先回家？” “听我说 你们还记得吗，M夫人说过，怀特穿过克罗玛周边其他传送门一小时后，就被人发现在尖塔那边了？” 罗克威尔点了点头 那我们之前推测，他肯定是每次都和小尾巴一起做出新的传送门回去，对不对？” 他又点了点头 “唔，我猜他马上就要再做一个传送门钻进去了 所以我们只要跟着他就好” “就这么简单，是吗？”罗克威尔挖苦地说道

It was deep into the evening now. The sun had almost set and Paris was beginning to twinkle. As they walked across the bridge, they could see the Eiffel Tower to their right, rising majestically above the boulevards. It was lit up like a Christmas tree, shimmering and golden against the purple sky. At the end of the bridge, Mr White crossed the road and turned left in front of the domed building. He then walked for a few hundred metres along the river's south

现在已经入夜很深了 太阳几乎完全落山，巴黎开始闪烁起点点灯火 他们过桥时，能看到右侧的埃菲尔铁塔，巍峨耸立在林荫大道上方 它像圣诞树一样被点亮，在紫色天幕的映衬下闪着金色微光 到了桥的尽头，怀特先生穿过马路，在穹顶建筑前左转 随后他沿着河的南走了几百米

bank before turning right into the bustling streets of the Latin Quarter. "We need to get a bit closer to him," said Peanut, breaking into a jog. "We don't want to lose him among the crowds." White picked up his pace slightly as he passed the boutiques and gift shops of Rue Dauphine and then negotiated the rows of parked bicycles and throngs of revellers outside the cocktail bars of Rue André Mazet. Once they'd crossed

岸，随后右转走进了拉丁区熙熙攘攘的街道 “我们得跟他再近一点，”花生说着，开始小跑起来 “我们可不想在人群里跟丢他” 怀特走过多菲内街的精品店和礼品店后，稍微加快了脚步，接着穿过一排排停放的自行车，绕开安德烈·马泽街鸡尾酒酒吧外挤挤挨挨的欢乐人群 等他们穿过

into the narrow, pedestrianised Cour du Commerce Saint- André, the children found it a lot tougher to keep an eye on their quarry, as he weaved between the indecisive tourists and the turbo-charged waiters serving diners their al fresco meals. "It smells so nice," said Rockwell. "Anyone else hungry?" "Keep focused, Rockwell," said Peanut. "If we lose him, we are properly stuck. When they eventually emerged, blinking, on to the wide and brightly lit Boulevard Saint-Germain, they were relieved to see Mr White on the opposite side of the road. They still had him in their sights! "Thank goodness he dresses to match his name," said Little-Bit. "Imagine how hard it'd be to spot him if he was called Mr Grey!" He then made a left turn by a large corner cafe with a red awning, and walked south down Rue de l'Odéon. It was a long, straight road lined with clothes shops, all of which had closed for the day, so it was much quieter than the other streets. About halfway along, the gang ducked down behind a clumsily parked scooter and watched as Mr White slowed his pace. "Is he going to that theatre?" whispered Rockwell. He did appear to be approaching the grandiose, Roman- style building at the end of the street, but then, before he got there, he stopped and bent down. "This feels strange," said Peanut. "What's he up to?"

走进狭窄的步行商业街圣- 安德烈弄堂，孩子们发现很难盯紧目标，目标左闪右躲，绕开拿不定主意的游客，躲开给露天食客上菜、脚步飞快的侍者。 “闻着好香呀，”罗克韦尔说。 “还有谁饿了吗？”“集中注意力，罗克韦尔，”皮纳特说。 “要是跟丢了他，我们就彻底没辙了。 等他们终于眨着眼睛走到开阔明亮的圣日耳曼大道时，看到怀特先生就在马路对面，都松了一口气。 他们还能盯紧他！ “谢天谢地，他的穿着和名字很配，”利特比特说。 “要是他叫格雷先生，想想找他有多难！” 接着他在拐角带红色遮阳篷的大咖啡馆旁左转，沿着奥德翁街往南走。 这是一条长长的直街，两旁开满服装店，这天都已经打烊，所以比别的街道安静多了。 走到差不多一半路程，几个小伙伴蹲在一辆乱停的踏板车后，看着怀特先生放慢了脚步。 “他要去那家剧院吗？”罗克韦尔小声问。 他看起来确实是朝街尽头那栋气派的罗马风格建筑走，可还没走到，就停下弯下了腰。 “这事有点不对劲，”皮纳特说。 “他在搞什么名堂？