Chapter 5

ChAPTER FIVE "Mr Jones!" Kate called, as she ran to catch up with Smarty. "Could we have a moment of your time, please?" "Look, Kitty-" "That's not my na—" "Sure, Kat, whatever. How long is this going to take? I'm a busy man, down to the wire on the Chippy

第五章 “琼斯先生！” 凯特一边喊，一边跑着追上斯玛蒂。 “请问我们能耽误您一点时间吗？” “听着，小猫咪——”“那不是我的名——”“行啦，小凯，随便吧。 这事儿要花多久？ 我可是个大忙人，《奇皮摇摆秀》的采访已经到最后关头了

Swing interview, and that's not taking into account the sabotage that's been going on around here." "That's exactly what I want to ask you about," said Kate eagerly, jogging to keep up with him. "Are strange things happening? Is someone acting suspiciously? Do you have reason to believe the truth is being compromised?" Smarty raised his eyebrows. "I see someone's been studying The Special Correspondent Manual." Kate blushed. Every writer here was sure to know a lot more about reporting than she did, but Figgy had chosen Kate for a reason. It was imperative she kept her cool.

，而且这还没算上最近到处发生的蓄意破坏事件呢。” “我想问的正好就是这件事，”凯特急切地说，小跑着跟上他的脚步。 “是不是有怪事在发生？ 有没有谁的行为很可疑？ 您有没有理由觉得真相正在被人篡改？” 斯玛蒂挑起了眉毛。 “我看某人是把《特派记者手册》学透了啊。” 凯特脸红了。 这里的每个记者肯定都比她懂新闻报道，但菲吉选了凯特肯定是有原因的。 她必须保持冷静。

I'm just trying to get my head around who might be doing this, and why." Kate scrambled for her pencil just as Smarty suddenly stopped in front of a coffee machine. She walked straight into him. "Oh, I see," he said, ignoring her clumsiness and pressing a button. Hot liquid began pouring into a mug. "You're checking off the suspects. Good investigating, kid, but let me tell you, this is all I've ever wanted! I've got it made here. I get free tickets to all the games I want, I get to go to dinner with the stars afterwards, and I can travel by The Lookout Post's private blimp. Why would I sabotage my own success? No The Lookout Post means no Smarty Jones."

我只是想搞清楚可能是谁在做这种事，还有这么做的原因。” 凯特急着去拿笔，正好斯玛蒂突然在咖啡机前停了下来。 她直直地撞到了他身上。 “哦，我懂了，”他没在意她的冒失，按下了一个按钮。 热饮开始流进杯子里。 “你在挨个排查嫌疑人嘛。 调查做得不错啊，小家伙，不过我跟你说，这里的生活我再满意不过了！ 我在这儿过得可舒服了。 所有我想看的比赛都有免费门票，赛后还能和明星一起吃饭，还能坐《瞭望哨报》的私人飞艇出行。 我为什么要搞破坏，毁了自己的好日子呢？ 《瞭望哨报》没了，我斯玛蒂·琼斯也什么都不是了。”

Kate frantically scribbled down everything Smarty was saying, keeping one eye on the milk foam building in his mug. "And before you start thinking I'd go to The Daily Spoon or elsewhere-" Smarty flashed a dazzling white smile- "they couldn't afford me." "So you haven't personally seen anything strange?" asked Kate. "Or been the target of any meddling yourself?" "Not really. Smarty shrugged. "Whoever's doing this has their sights set on one goal-hole: the newspaper. We've all been the subject of ruined headlines- me, Hilda, Gus, River- everyone! Did you see what was printed

凯特疯飞快把斯玛蒂说的每句话都记下来，一只眼睛还盯着他杯子里越积越多的奶泡。 “还有啊，你别想着我会跳槽去《每日勺子报》或者别的地方——”斯玛蒂露出一个亮得晃眼的白牙笑容——“他们可雇不起我。” “所以您本人没见过什么怪事吗？”凯特问。 “或者您自己也没成为谁搞破坏的目标？” “没怎么遇到过。 斯玛蒂耸了耸肩。 “不管是谁干的，他们的目标都只有一个：搞垮这家报社。 我们所有人的头条都被搞砸过——我、希尔达、格斯、里弗——每个人都没逃掉！ 你看到上一期报纸印的内容了

in the last copy? Stunning Victory was changed to Slimy Picklery- SON-OF-A- TENNIS-RACKET!" Foam exploded all over Smarty's suit and splattered Kate and Rupert. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" He looked around wildly. "They're targeting us all!"

吗？ “绝妙胜利”被改成了“黏糊腌菜厂”——我勒个网球拍的！” 奶泡“嘭”地喷了斯玛蒂一身西装，还溅到了凯特和鲁珀特身上。 “我说的就是这种事！” 他慌乱地四处张望。 “他们在针对我们所有人！”

"Um, I'm not sure that was the saboteur," said Kate, as Rupert put his face in his paws. But Smarty wasn't listening. "Good luck cracking this one, kid. I wouldn't like to be standing in your bowling shoes!" And with that he strode into his office and shut the door. Through the glass, Kate saw Smarty aim a basketball at a hoop attached to his wall and miss. "What a smug man," said Rupert to Kate, as they patted themselves dry with tea towels. "As much as I don't like Smarty Jones," said Kate, "I don't think he's the one doing this. He's got too much to lose."

“呃，我觉得这可能不是搞破坏的人干的，”凯特说，一旁的鲁珀特捂脸把脸埋进了爪子里。 但斯玛蒂根本没在听。 “祝你能顺利破案，小家伙。 我可不想处在你这个麻烦的位置上！ 说完他就大步走进自己的办公室，关上了门。 透过玻璃，凯特看见斯玛蒂对着墙上挂的篮筐投篮球，结果投偏了。 “这人也太自鸣得意了，”鲁珀特一边和凯特用茶巾擦身上的奶泡，一边对她说。 “虽然我也很不喜欢斯玛蒂·琼斯，”凯特说，“但我觉得这事不是他干的。 他损失的东西太多了。”