Chapter 15

ChAPTER FIFTEEN "If you're about to do a Rousing Speech, Rupert, said Kate in a mufled voice, her face buried in a pillow, "I'm not sure I can hear one right now." "I wasn't," said Rupert sadly, rolling up his sleeping sock. "I am a mouse with no rouse left." They were back in the Guest Suite for the last time to pack their bags. Figgy was going to tell everybody the news

第十五章“鲁伯特，如果你是要发表一场振奋人心的演讲，”凯特把脸埋在枕头里，声音闷闷的，“我现在恐怕听不进去。” “我没打算演讲，”鲁伯特一边卷起他的睡眠袜，一边难过地说。 “我这只老鼠现在可是一点劲儿都提不起来了。” 他们最后一次回到客房套间收拾行李。 菲吉正要去告诉大家一个消息

that The Lookout Post would be closing at three o'clock, and soon the entire building would be empty. Kate could hardly bear to think about it. She had sent a note via chute to Frances, but hadn't heard anything back. "Figgy was right." Kate sighed, getting up and beginning to gather up her things. "Perhaps this case was just too big for a small girl and an even smaller mouse." She flicked through The Special Correspondent Manual with a heavy heart, wondering if there was any official protocol for resigning or alternative career options for failed Special Correspondents.

瞭望岗报社三点就要关门了，很快整栋楼都会空无一人。 凯特想到这儿就难过得受不了。 她通过投递槽给弗朗西斯递了一张便条，但是一直没有收到回信。 “菲吉说得对。” 凯特叹了口气，站起身开始收拾自己的东西。 “也许对一个小女孩和一只比她还小的老鼠来说，这个案子实在太复杂了。” 她心情沉重地飞快翻着《特约通讯员手册》，想看看有没有辞职的官方流程，或是给失败的特约通讯员准备的其他职业选择。

INCONCLUSIVE CASES Stories are not always easy to write. An excess of information can become paralysing, exciting leads turn into dead ends, and all the while your sense of confidence as a reporter hangs in the balance. I assure you that every Special Correspondent has felt like this at one point or another. There were times during my own trials with C.A. Bloom that the sheer amount of botanical information became overwhelming to both me and my pollen allergies, but feeling stuck and tired is no sign of failure. Tips: Know when to stop. Signs include: the ends are tied up, the questions have

暂无定论的报道 新闻故事并不总是好写的。 信息太多会让人无从下手，充满希望的线索会变成死胡同，而你作为记者的信心自始至终都悬在半空中。 我向你保证，每一位特约通讯员都有过这样的时刻。 我当初和C.A.布鲁姆合作的时候，有好几次海量的植物学信息把我压得喘不过气，我的花粉过敏也跟着受罪，但陷入瓶颈、感到疲惫绝不代表你失败了。 小提示：要知道什么时候该停下。 停下的信号包括：所有线索都已经理顺，该问的问题都问过

been asked or you have exhaustedly traipsed down every avenue of thought. Although you may be disappointed, you will write more articles, and will always be a Special Correspondent. I have failed many times. (See again A Not-So-Brief History of Khakis.) Know when to keep going. Signs include: the ends are not tied up, there are questions you are still asking yourself and you have an itchy feeling in your fingers as if you would like a pencil there. In this case, I recommend looking very closely at the part of the case you find most confusing. I have found this is usually where the answer lies. CatheRiNE RodPiguEz

了，或是你已经筋疲力尽，把所有能想到的思路都走了一遍。 也许你会感到失望，但你以后还会写出更多报道，你永远都是一名特约通讯员。 我失败过很多次。 （可以再回顾一下《卡其裤不太短简史》） 也要知道什么时候该坚持下去。 坚持的信号包括：线索还没理顺，你心里还有没解开的疑问，你的手指痒痒的，总觉得手里该握支笔。 遇到这种情况，我建议你仔细去看案子里你最看不懂的那部分。 我发现答案往往就藏在那里。 凯瑟琳·罗德皮格斯

Dad poked his head around the door. "I'm afraid it's time to go, my sweets. I must say, I'll miss seeing Hank every day. He's a natural educator." As Kate and Rupert trudged behind him towards the lift, Kate's thoughts began to churn- and it was true, there was a slight itch in the tips of her fingers. "Perhaps it's best to think of the wonderful time you had here, instead of how it ended, Dad was saying, as the doors swooshed closed behind them for the last time. But Kate wasn't listening. What was it she had just read?

爸爸探了探头进房间。 “恐怕我们该走了，我的小宝贝们。 说实话，我会想念每天能见到汉克的日子的。 他天生就是当老师的料。” 凯特和鲁伯特跟在他身后慢吞吞地朝电梯走去，凯特的脑子飞快转了起来——没错，她的指尖确实有点微微发痒。 “也许最好多想想你在这里度过的美好时光，别老想着结束的方式，”电梯门在他们身后最后一次关上时，爸爸这么说道。 但凯特没在听。 她刚才读到什么来着？

I recommend looking very closely at the part of the case you find most confusing. I have found this is usually where the answer lies. She thought of Penny's stamp. That was the most confusing part to her. It didn't make sense. How could a copy bearing Penny's own stamp have got to Johannes? Was someone forging it? Who? And how? Then it all came to her in a flash of brilliance. "Rupert!" she cried. "Do we still have those goggles from Penny's Darkroom?" I just packed them," he squeaked. "I thought they might come in handy sometime. Why?"

我建议你仔细去看案子里你最看不懂的那部分。 我发现答案往往就藏在那里。 她想到了彭妮的印章。 那是她最搞不懂的地方。 完全说不通啊。 盖着彭妮自己印章的复印版怎么会落到约翰内斯手里呢？ 难道有人伪造印章？ 是谁？ 又是怎么做到的？ 紧接着灵光一闪，她一下子全想通了。 “鲁伯特！” 她喊出声。 “彭妮暗房的那副护目镜我们还留着吗？” “我刚把它们收进包里了，”他吱吱叫着回答。 “我觉得以后说不定什么时候能用上。 怎么了？”