24 Arretez!

Chapter 24 Arretez! LB. why are you so sure that Mr White went this way?" asked Peanut as they made their way along the dark, dank passageway.

第24章 停下！ 小不点。 花生沿着阴暗潮湿的通道往前走，开口问道：“你为什么这么肯定怀特先生走了这条路？”

"It's quite simple," said Little-Bit. "I'm just following the smell of sulphur dioxide." "Ooh, hang on! I know this one!" said Rockwell enthusiastically. "Sulphur dioxide: the smell-making compound that's released when you strike a match. I remember that from Mrs Bloyce's chemistry class." "That's right," said Little-Bit. "It's the same smell given off by those flaming-stick things that you see in old Robin Hood films. So we literally have to follow our noses." "Guys," whispered Rockwell after half an hour of sniffing their way through the tunnels. "Has anybody stopped to think about the craziness of what we're doing? I mean, what happens if we don't find him? We're literally running around a weird maze of dark, spooky tunnels underneath Paris, and let's face it, we're totally lost. "We're not lost. And we will find him," insisted Peanut. "I know it. "Come to think of it, what happens if we do find him?" said Rockwell. "Also, shouldn't we have been laying some kind of safety trail. You know, like Hansel and Gretel?" "Rockwell, stop talking and start sniffing," said Peanut sharply, although she did think that the trail idea was a good one.

“这很简单呀，”小不点说。 “我就是跟着二氧化硫的气味找路的。” “哦，等一下！ 这个我知道！”罗克韦尔兴奋地说。 “二氧化硫就是划火柴的时候释放出来的产味化合物。 我是在布洛伊丝夫人的化学课上学到这个的。” “说得没错，”小不点说。 “它和老罗宾汉电影里那些燃烧的木棍散发出的味道一样。 所以我们真的就是跟着鼻子走呀。” “朋友们，”他们嗅着气味在隧道里走了半小时后，罗克韦尔轻声说。 “有没有人好好想过，我们现在做的事有多疯狂？ 我是说，如果找不到他怎么办？ 我们真的就是在巴黎地下这片又黑又吓人的奇怪迷宫里乱跑，说实话，我们已经完全迷路了。 “我们没迷路。 而且我们一定能找到他，”花生坚持道。 “我肯定能找到。” “话说回来，要是我们真找到他了怎么办？”罗克韦尔说。 “还有，我们不该留下什么安全记号吗？ 你懂的，就像亨塞尔和格莱特那样呀？” “罗克韦尔，别说话了赶紧闻，”花生厉声说，不过她其实觉得留记号这个主意很不错。

"Wait! Did you see that?" said Little-Bit suddenly. "Back there." "What? OUCH!" said Rockwell, looking over his shoulder and banging his forehead on the ceiling. "I saw it too... A light," said Peanut. "HÉ! ARRÉTEZ-VOUS!" The officious voice was clear and alarmingly loud as it echoed up the passageway. It was closely followed by footsteps and a fast-moving, bouncing yellow beam of light that appeared around a corner twenty metres behind them. Run!" shouted Peanut. "Where to?" yelled Rockwell, his escalating panic barely concealed beneath the surface. Just... go forwards!" she replied. The three children dashed blindly through the catacombs, the sound of their pursuer's footsteps ringing in their ears. Their eyes had only partially adjusted to the darkness—they couldn't see more than a couple of metres ahead—so all three had their arms stretched out in front of them like zombies, hands flexed in anticipation of any unexpected dead ends. "This way!" shouted Peanut. "I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!" "I sincerely hope you're speaking literally and not metaphorically!" said Rockwell. Sure enough, there was a soft, golden glow filling the

“等等！ 你刚才看见那个了吗？”小不点突然说。 “就在刚才那后面。” “什么？哎哟！”罗克韦尔扭头看的时候，额头撞到了隧道顶。 “我也看见了…… 有光，”花生说。 “嘿！站住！” 这个霸道的声音清晰洪亮，吓人地在通道里回荡开来。 紧接着就传来了脚步声，一道晃动的黄色光柱快速移动，从二十米外的拐角后露了出来。 快跑！”花生大喊。 “往哪跑？”罗克韦尔吼道，他难掩心头越来越强烈的恐慌。 就……往前跑！” 她回答道。 三个孩子在地下墓穴里拼命狂奔，追赶者的脚步声一直在他们耳边回响。 他们的眼睛才刚适应黑暗——只能看清前方一两米远——所以三个人都像僵尸一样把胳膊伸在身前，攥着双手，防备着随时可能出现的意外死路。 “这边！”花生大喊。 “我看见隧道尽头有光了！” “我真心希望你说的是字面意思，不是比喻啊！”罗克韦尔说。 果然，一道柔和的金光填满了

tunnel up ahead. As she got closer, Peanut realised that it was coming from a vertical shaft, similar to the one they had climbed down to get into the catacombs in the first place. They skidded to a halt in the pool of light and frantically started to climb the iron rungs on the wall, Little-Bit first, then Peanut, and then, finally, Rockwell. "POLICE! ARRÉTEZ-VOUS! VENEZ-ICI!" shouted the man chasing them, sounding very close now. He arrived at the bottom of the ladder as Rockwell reached the halfway point, then threw his torch to the floor and started to climb up after the children with impressive agility. CHURRY UP!" screamed Rockwell to his friends. "OH NO! HE'S GOT HOLD OF MY SHOE!" "JE TE TIENS MAINTENANT!" said the policemen, his hand clasped to Rockwell's trainer.

前方的隧道。 越走越近，花生才发现光是从一口垂直竖井里透出来的，和他们当初爬下来进入墓穴的那口井差不多。 他们在光圈里急刹停下，慌慌张张开始爬墙上的铁梯横档，小不点先爬，接着是花生，最后是罗克韦尔。 “警察！ 站住别动！ 过来！”追他们的男人大喊，听起来已经近在咫尺了。 罗克韦尔爬到一半的时候，男人追到了梯子底部，他把手电扔到地上，身手相当敏捷地跟着孩子们往上爬。 快点呀！罗克韦尔冲着朋友们尖叫。 “哦糟了！ 他抓住我的鞋了！” “我抓到你了！”警察说，他的手紧紧攥住了罗克韦尔的运动鞋。

"GET OFF ME!" shouted the boy, thrashing his leg around wildly while trying to maintain a grip on the rung. Rockwell felt the shoe slowly slipping from his foot, and with one last frantic kick it came off completely. He looked down to see the man fall from the ladder, a police cap flying from his head and Rockwell's favourite trainer in his hand.

“放开我！” 男孩大喊，一边疯狂蹬腿，一边努力抓牢梯级不松手。 罗克韦尔感觉到鞋子慢慢从脚上滑出去，最后他拼命一踢，鞋子彻底脱了脚。 他低头一看，男人从梯子上掉了下去，警帽掉了，手里还攥着他最喜欢的那双运动鞋。