Chapter 14

ChAPTER FOURTEEN Kate woke up the next morning with a stomach full of dread. She wasn't looking forward to facing Figgy and explaining she had let another sabotaged newspaper out into the City, and was nowhere nearer catching the meddler than she had been last time they had spoken. After listening to Dad's tales of high- level metalworking with Hank, Kate excused herself and made her way to

第十四章 第二天早上凯特醒来，胃里沉甸甸的，满是不安。 她实在不想面对菲吉，不想解释自己又把一份被动过手脚的报纸发到了城里，而且距离上次和菲吉谈过之后，她还是半点头绪都没有，根本抓不到那个搞破坏的人。 听完爸爸讲他和汉克一起做高级金属加工的趣事，凯特跟家里打了个招呼，就动身前往

Figgy's office, a supportive Rupert in her pocket. Dazzling sun streamed in through the great windows as they stepped inside, but the clear autumn sky did nothing to calm Kate's nerves. She had never missed a deadline before- although if Figgy would just hear her out, maybe she'd give her a little more time to keep trying. "Darling!" Figgy called from a chair at a long table laden with orange juice and thin slices of smoked fish. "I can't wait to hear what scandalous events you've exposed." Kate could feel her face reddening. How was she going to tell Figgy she'd not

菲吉的办公室，贴心的鲁珀特揣在她的口袋里陪着她。 她们走进去的时候，灿烂的阳光从大窗户里倾泻进来，可晴朗的秋日天空半点都没能安抚凯特紧张的神经。 她以前从来没耽误过截止日期——不过要是菲吉愿意听她好好解释，说不定会多给她一点时间，让她再努努力。 “亲爱的！” 菲吉坐在一张长桌旁招呼她，桌上摆满了橙汁，还有切得薄薄的熏鱼片。 “我都等不及想听你挖出了什么惊人大八卦啦。” 凯特只觉得自己的脸一下子就红了。 她该怎么跟菲吉说，她不仅

only failed to find out who was sabotaging the newspaper, but had allowed it to happen again? "Tell me everything!" Figgy was chattering away happily, helping herself to eggs from a slowly rotating platter of breakfast foods as Kate sat down opposite her. "Who was doing it and why, and what they said when you caught them, and what they were wearing!" "I... um..." Kate cleared her throat, but before she could say anything, Bunty set down a golden tray in between her and Figgy. On it, ironed and crisp, lay that morning's copy of The Lookout Post. "But... what's all this?" Figgy's expression sank as she flicked through the newspaper.

没查到是谁在给报纸搞破坏，还让这种事又发生了一次呢？ “快什么都告诉我呀！” 菲吉开开心心地说个不停，凯特在她对面坐下的时候，她正从慢慢转动的早餐大盘里拿鸡蛋。 “是谁干的呀，为什么要这么做，你抓到他们的时候他们说了什么，还有他们穿的什么衣服！” “我……呃……”凯特清了清嗓子，可还没等她开口，邦蒂就把一个金灿灿的托盘放在了她和菲吉中间。 托盘上放着当天的《瞭望哨报》，熨得平平整整，纸页挺括。 “可……这是怎么回事？” 菲吉翻着报纸，脸色一下子沉了下来。

"We didn't save the paper yesterday," blurted Kate, breaking the silence. "But we're so close, I know it! There's a mix-up going on with the chutes and someone's been tampering in Penny's Darkroom!" "What happened in Penny's Darkroom?" asked Figgy, suddenly suspicious. "Someone spilled her Depiction Liquid, said Kate. "And left footprints." "Footprints leading to where?" asked Figgy, fixing her eyes on Kate. "Um, well... nowhere," Kate replied. "Darling," said Figgy, blotting her mouth with a spotless napkin and looking at the clock.

“我们昨天没保住报纸，”凯特打破沉默，脱口而出。 “可我们只差一点点了，我真的知道！ 传送 chute 那边出了问题，还有人偷偷进过彭妮的暗房搞破坏！” “彭妮的暗房出什么事了？”菲吉问道，语气一下子变得充满怀疑。 “有人打翻了她的显像液，”凯特说。 “还留下了脚印。” “脚印通往哪里？”菲吉盯着凯特追问道。 “呃，那个……没通往哪里，”凯特回答。 “亲爱的，”菲吉一边说，一边用干净的餐巾擦了擦嘴，还看了一眼时钟。

"It seems as if your work here is done. The saboteur has won. We simply cannot go on being ridiculed in this way. I have no choice but to shut down The Lookout Post." "But what about Catherine Rodríguez's big article?" asked Kate, looking at Figgy in horror. "It's now or never," said Figgy sadly. "I'll have to tell her the news myself." She looked out of the window and sighed. "I must say, it's a tragic day. I really thought you could handle this case, Kate, but I'm sad to say I was proved wrong." Kate's eyes pricked with hot tears. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, pushing her chair away from the table and walking quickly out of the enormous room.

“看来你这份工作已经做到头了。 搞破坏的人赢了。 我们实在不能再这样被人当成笑柄了。 我别无选择，只能关停《瞭望哨报》。” “那凯瑟琳·罗德里格斯的那篇重磅报道怎么办？”凯特惊恐地看着菲吉问道。 “已经没机会发了，”菲吉难过地说。 “我得亲自去告诉她这个消息。” 她望着窗外，叹了口气。 “说实话，这真是让人难过的一天。 我之前真的觉得你能办好这件事，凯特，可我很难过，我看错人了。” 凯特的眼睛火辣辣的，眼泪一下子涌了上来。 “对不起。”她小声说道，把椅子从桌边推开，快步走出了这间巨大的房间。