Chapter 12

ChAPTER TWELVE "So," said Tiger, who had mopped up his tears and was looking sheepishly at Kate, "I suppose you want to know what I'm doing on this train?" "Only if you'll talk to us in rhyme again!" said Kate with a smile. But before he could open his mouth, a GAAAASP! came from the corner.

第十二章 老虎擦干了眼泪，不好意思地看着凯特，开口说：“那个呀，我猜你肯定想知道我在这列火车上干什么吧？” 凯特笑着说：“只要你愿意再用押韵的调子跟我们说话，我就想知道！” 可他还没来得及张嘴，角落里突然传来一声倒抽冷气的声音：“啊——！”

Rupert was standing next to an open cupboard, his small eyes wide at what he'd just discovered. Gymnastics trophies. Sixteen of them. A bundle of Ancient Scrolls. A half-eaten packet of Extremely Flavoursome Ginger-Nut Biscuits. Kate jumped to her feet. "You're the thief?" She couldn't believe what was

鲁珀特站在一个敞开的柜子旁边，刚发现的东西把他的小眼睛都瞪圆了。 体操奖杯。 足足有十六座。 一捆古老的卷轴。 还有半包吃了一半、味道特别香浓的姜味坚果饼干。 凯特猛地站了起来。 “原来你就是那个小偷？” 她简直不敢相信眼前发生的

happening. "You've been working with Madame Maude all along!" "I wish!" said Tiger. "That woman's my GOD! Have you witnessed how fast she can fillet a cod?" "So you are in cahoots!" exclaimed Kate. "You've been cahooting this whole time!" "Quite the opposite," yawned Tiger. "I've been trying to get her to sample my cooking and needed some extra equipment. Baking paper is just so processed these days. And do you really expect me to bash biscuits with anything weighing less than ten kilograms?" There was a pause as Kate tried to

一切。 “原来你一直都在跟莫德夫人一伙！” 老虎说：“我倒是想啊！” “那个女人可是我的偶像！ 你见过她切鳕鱼的速度有多快吗？” 凯特惊呼：“所以你们果然是一伙的！ “你们从头到尾都在串通捣鬼！” 老虎打了个哈欠，说：“恰恰相反。” “我一直想让她尝尝我做的菜，所以需要点额外的工具。 现在的烘焙纸加工得太厉害了，根本不好用。 再说了，你总不会指望我用不到十公斤重的东西来敲饼干吧？” 凯特顿了顿，努力想弄明白

make sense of it all. "So you stole because you want to impress Madame Maude... because she used to be a cook?" "A cook? A COOK? Madame Maude did not "used to be a cook"! Madame Maude is behind some of the most inspired concoctions in modern cheffing! Her discoveries rival those of Anna Pavlova and the Earl of Sandwich combined! "If I can't impress her, this journey will be my one-way trip to Exile. I've heard there is nothing to eat there but noodled eels. Nothing to remind me of the Tiger I once was." "But she's a... a..." stammered Kate. But what was Madame Maude? For it seemed she was no longer a thief.

这到底是怎么回事。 “所以你偷东西是为了打动莫德夫人……因为她以前是个厨师？” “厨师？ 就个普通厨师？ 莫德夫人可不是什么‘以前当过厨师’！ 现代烹饪界好多最有创意的菜品，背后的发明者都是莫德夫人！ 她的发现，跟安娜·帕夫洛娃和三明治伯爵两个人加起来的成就都能比一比！ “要是我打动不了她，这趟旅程就是我去流放地的单程票了。 我听说那儿除了鳗鱼面，什么吃的都没有。 一点能让我想起从前那只威风老虎的东西都找不到。” 凯特结结巴巴地说：“可她是个……是个……” 可莫德夫人到底是什么人呢？ 因为现在看来，她好像根本不是小偷了。

"Her career was one giant lie!" "Ah, that old walnut." Tiger sighed. "I suppose you heard about the whole debacle. "Clam sham", the media called it. "All very ironic considering they weren't clams at all." "We know," said Kate, exasperated. "They were oysters! She lied to the judges about where they were from!" "Have you ever," said Tiger, "stopped to think that maybe Madame Maude just made a mistake?" Kate blinked. A mistake? Tiger carried on. "What if Madame Maude didn't lie, but simply misidentified an oyster, saying- I don't know- that it was from northern Chile, when it really originated from southern Peru?"

“她的职业生涯全都是弥天大谎！” “啊，又是那桩老掉牙的事。” 老虎叹了口气。 “我猜你已经听说过那场大乱子了吧。 媒体都叫它‘蛤蜊骗局’。 “说起来特别讽刺，因为那些根本就不是蛤蜊。” 凯特有点不耐烦地说：“我们知道。” “那些是牡蛎！ 她跟评委撒谎，说牡蛎的产地不是真的！” 老虎说：“你有没有停下来想一想，说不定莫德夫人只是犯了个错而已？” 凯特眨了眨眼。 只是个错？ 老虎继续说。 “要是莫德夫人没撒谎，只是认错了牡蛎而已呢？比如说—— 我就是打个比方啊——她本来以为牡蛎是智利北部来的，可其实它是秘鲁南部产的？”

"And everyone ganged up on her, said Kate quietly. "Maybe they were waiting for her to fail," said Rupert from the floor. "Or maybe they were disappointed," said Tiger gravely. "Honestly? I really expected better of her myself. We're talking about the woman who could tell you the exact date and time- to the minute- of a cloudberry cordial from a single sniff. The woman who was so committed to the competition she tattooed a whisk on her own ankle with a... fork." "To be fair," said Kate, "she doesn't help herself, not with that pointy stick and the way she bosses everyone around."

凯特轻声说：“然后所有人都合起伙来针对她。” 鲁珀特坐在地上开口说：“说不定他们一直都等着她栽跟头呢。” 老虎严肃地说：“也说不定他们是觉得失望。” “说实话？ 我自己以前也对她期望特别高。 就是这个女人，只要闻一口云莓甜酒，就能精准说出它酿造的日期和时间，精确到分钟哦。 她对比赛特别投入，甚至用……叉子在自己脚踝上纹了个打蛋器的图案。” 凯特说：“公平来说，她也确实不太讨喜，总拿着那根尖尖的棍子，还对所有人呼来喝去的。”