Chapter 2

ChAPTER TWO Kate didn't like Madame Maude, but she wasn't going to stay annoyed when there was a whole train to explore and, no doubt, many hidden stories for a Special Correspondent to report. Together she and Rupert found a small library stuffed with old books- where they met a pensive Russian priest conversing with a bored-looking man called Mr Billie, a conservatory- where

第二章 凯特不喜欢莫德夫人，不过她可没功夫一直闹别扭，整列火车还等着她去探索呢，而且毫无疑问，有好多隐秘故事等着这位特约通讯员去报道。 她和鲁珀特一起找到了一个塞着旧书的小图书室，在那儿他们遇到了一位若有所思的俄罗斯神父，正和一个看起来百无聊赖、叫比利先生的男人交谈，之后又找到了一个暖房——暖房里

a glass ceiling revealed the fading pink of a winter sky, an impressive dining car and, just beyond that, a kitchen. Peering round the silver door they found Simon the Conductor-in-Training leaning over a vat of bubbling beige goo and peering at a recipe book, a wooden spoon in one hand and a dishcloth in the other. "A pinch of salt?" he was muttering to himself. "A pinch? What is this— a riddle?" "Shouldn't you be conducting the train?" Kate asked nervously, making him jump. "Kate! The kitchen is

玻璃天花板映着冬日天空渐渐淡去的粉色霞光，还有一节气派的餐车，再往那边走就是厨房了。 他俩凑在银色的厨房门边往里瞧，看见见习列车员西蒙正趴在一大桶冒着泡的米色糊糊边上，盯着一本食谱，一只手拿着木勺，另一只手攥着擦碗布。 “一小撮盐？” 他正小声嘀咕着。 “一小撮？ 这是什么——猜谜语吗？” “你不是应该去指挥列车运行吗？” 凯特小心翼翼地开口问，把他吓了一跳。 “凯特！ 厨房绝对

ABSOLUTELY Out of Bounds for children and small animals." He flapped a dirty dishcloth at them. "There are knives galore! Off you go!" "I'm not looking forward to breakfast, if that's what we're getting," said Rupert as they scurried back down the train, pockets full of emergency bread rolls stolen for this very reason. They spent the rest of the evening settling into a small but cosy

禁止小孩和小动物进来。” 他挥着一块脏脏的擦碗布赶他们走。 “这儿到处都是刀！ 快走快走！” “要是早饭就做这个，我可一点都不想吃。”他们沿着列车往回跑的时候鲁珀特说道，他俩口袋里还装满了专门为这种情况准备的应急小面包。 当晚剩下的时间里，他们就和爸爸一起安顿进了一间不大但很温馨的

compartment with Dad. While he fussed about, unpacking and lining up his aftershave bottles in order of "what smell suits what time of day', Kate laid out Roo's special sleeping sock on her pillow. It was at breakfast the next day that the drama began. Everyone was in the dining car, trying not to slop their breakfast of runny scrambled egg (a vast improvement on the mess Kate had seen behind the scenes) down their fronts, when a high- pitched voice cut through the chatter. It was Miss Bonbon, a very elegant passenger who wore a lot of scarves. They had shared a lovely chat about adventures

隔间里。 爸爸忙忙叨叨地收拾东西，把他的须后水瓶都按“什么时间适合什么香味”的顺序摆好，凯特则把鲁鲁专属的睡觉袜子铺在了自己的枕头上。 第二天早饭的时候，意外发生了。 所有人都在餐车里，努力不让自己那份稀溜溜的炒鸡蛋（比凯特之前在厨房后台看见的那团糊糊强多了）滴到衣服上，这时一个尖细的声音盖过了大家的聊天声。 说话的是邦邦小姐，她是个非常优雅的乘客，总爱戴好多围巾。 前一天晚上他们还开心地聊过冒险的话题

the previous evening, but now she was looking sad, and standing at the door in her dressing gown. "They've all g-g-gone!" she stammered. "My gymnastics trophies! All sixteen of them!" The carriage erupted into What?'s and "Goodness me!'s

可现在她看上去难过极了，穿着睡袍站在餐车门口。 “它们全、全、全没了！” 她结结巴巴地说。 “我的体操奖杯！ 整整十六个啊！” 车厢里瞬间炸开了锅，大家都在问“什么？”，还有人喊“我的天呐！”

and a couple of simultaneous "Is there anything she can't do? from a pair of twins with vivid red plaits. Only Madame Maude remained silent, sipping on her boiling water, Master Mimkins curled on her lap. "I hate to break even more bad news, said Simon the Conductor-in-Training over the murmurs, "but the trophies aren't the only things that are missing." A collective hush fell over the breakfasters. "Three packets of Extremely Flavoursome Ginger-Nut Biscuits have gone from under my bunk," he whispered dramatically.

“还有什么是她不会的吗？” 两个扎着亮眼红辫子的双胞胎异口同声地问。 只有莫德夫人没说话，小口喝着她的开水，咪咪金斯老爷蜷在她腿上。 “我实在不想再报坏消息了，”见习列车员西蒙在众人的议论声中开口，“可不见的东西不只有奖杯。” 吃早饭的人们一下子都安静了下来。 “三包超浓味姜味坚果饼干，从我铺位底下消失了。”他刻意压低声音，说得跟演戏似的。