Chapter 8

ChAPTER EiGLT Kate's mind raced as she paced the Darkroom floor. "Let me get this straight - someone comes in here, spills the Depiction Liquid and then snatches Frances's photograph!" she muttered. "But why hers? Everyone's work is being meddled with- the last copy had

第八章 凯特在暗房里踱来踱去，脑子飞速转个不停。 “我先捋捋啊——有人闯进来，打翻了显像液，还抢走了弗朗西丝的照片！” 她低声嘀咕着。 “可为什么偏要拿她的啊？ 大家的作品都被搞了破坏啊——上一期报纸里

moustaches drawn all over Smarty, and Hilda's glasses were made to look like snails..." "Maybe whoever took it is a fan of hers," suggested Rupert. "And was trying to save it from being meddled with." "And left the rest for the saboteur?" said Kate. "But who would do that? And why?" She kept pacing, thinking back to her banana-stained copy of The Lookout Post. And then it came to her. "Holy crumbs!" Kate gasped, scooping up Rupert and rushing towards the lift. If what she was thinking was right, she had cracked this case wide open. "Thank you, Penny!" she cried over her shoulder. "You're welcome," said Penny. "And be

斯玛蒂的脸上被画满了小胡子，希尔达的眼镜还被画成了蜗牛的样子……” “说不定拿照片的人是她的粉丝呢？”鲁伯特提议道。 “想把她的照片救下来，免得被人破坏呀。” “那剩下的就都留给搞破坏的人霍霍？”凯特反问道。 “可谁会这么做啊？ 又是为什么呢？” 她继续踱着步，回想起自己那份沾了香蕉渍的《瞭望邮报》。 突然她灵光一闪。 “我的天呐！” 凯特倒吸一口冷气，一把抱起鲁伯特就往电梯冲。 如果她的猜想没错，那这个案子就彻底被她破了。 “谢谢你，佩妮！” 她回头大喊道。 “不客气呀。”佩妮说。 “还有记得把你

sure to sharpen your pencil- it's three sentences away from reaching categorical bluntness!" "Tell me what's going on, Kate!" squeaked Rupert, as Kate dashed through the Newsroom and back to her desk. "Are you currently experiencing a Stroke of Genius?" "I really hope so," said Kate, spreading out her garbage-streaked copy of The Lookout Post. "Look, Roo- what do you see?"

的铅笔削一削——再写三句话，它就要彻底钝得没法用啦！” “凯特，告诉我怎么回事呀！”鲁伯特吱吱叫着，凯特冲过新闻编辑室跑回自己的办公桌。 “你现在是不是突然灵光乍现啦？” “希望是这样。”凯特说着，摊开自己那份沾了脏东西的《瞭望邮报》。 “你看，鲁鲁——你看到什么了？”

"A headline reading Heatwave: Lose your Clothes, a coupon for a free aeroplane, and a picture of Smarty obscured by banana peel," said Rupert, crossing his tiny arms. "Okay, okay- what don't you see?" Kate pointed at Frances's articles and adverts. "Her surrealist take on power- napping, the article about her new film, the Fishy Delishy advert..." Rupert's eyes widened. "No mistakes." "Exactly," said Kate, with a grim smile. "Not one of Frances's pictures or articles has been touched by the saboteur." "Do you think she's behind this all?" asked Rupert. Kate nodded. "I think she was the one

“一个标题写着《热浪来袭：脱掉衣服吧》，一张免费飞机兑换券，还有斯玛蒂的照片被香蕉皮挡住了。”鲁伯特抱着小胳膊说道。 “好啦好啦，那你没看到什么呢？” 凯特指了指弗朗西丝的文章和广告。 “她写的关于 power-napping（能量小憩）的超现实主义解读，关于她新电影的文章，还有‘美味鱼鱼’的广告……” 鲁伯特眼睛一下子瞪大了。 “没有被改的地方。” “没错。”凯特露出一个冷冷的笑容。 “破坏者完全没碰弗朗西丝的任何照片和文章。” “你觉得这一切都是她搞的鬼？”鲁伯特问。 凯特点了点头。 “我觉得就是她

meddling in Penny's room, saving her own photo, while leaving the rest to ruin." "But perhaps she just didn't like her picture and didn't want it to go to print?" suggested Rupert. "Or the only reason she looks so good all the time and gets to write so many articles is because she ruins everyone else's! Think about it, Roo, she can get away with anything, what with her being everyone's favourite child prodigy." "It could just be a coincidence," squeaked Rupert. "I'm not jumping to conclusions here, Roo. This is solid proof!" "Remember what you thought about Madame Maude, warned Rupert. "Just

在佩妮的房间搞破坏，把自己的照片藏好，剩下的就不管了任人毁掉。” “可说不定她只是不喜欢自己那张照片，不想登在报纸上呀？”鲁伯特提出了别的想法。 “说不定她总是看起来那么厉害，能写那么多文章，就是因为她把别人的作品都毁掉了啊！ 你想想啊鲁鲁，她是所有人都喜欢的神童，做什么都不会被责怪的。” “这也有可能只是巧合呀。”鲁伯特小声说。 “我可不是随便下结论的，鲁鲁。 这可是实打实的证据！” “还记得你之前对莫德夫人的猜测吗？”鲁伯特提醒道。 “不能

because you don't like someone, it doesn't mean they're up to no good." "I don't not like Frances," snapped Kate. "This is real evidence we're talking about, Roo, not a silly hunch." "You're right." Rupert sighed. "But I just don't want it to be Frances." "Oh, come on, Rupert! Because you think she's a misunderstood golden girl?" "No," said Rupert shyly. "She sort of reminds me of you." Kate rolled her eyes. "Well, I'd never sabotage The Lookout Post." Rupert sat down on an inkpot, slightly deflated. "Well, what next?" he asked. Kate's eyes fell on Frances's flower- laden desk. She poked Rupert cheekily

因为你不喜欢某个人，就觉得对方肯定在做坏事呀。” “我没有不喜欢弗朗西丝。”凯特没好气地说。 “我们说的这是真凭实据，鲁鲁，不是什么傻兮兮的直觉。” “你说得对。” 鲁伯特叹了口气。 “可我就是不希望做这些事的人是弗朗西丝。” “哎呀，得了吧鲁伯特！ 就因为你觉得她是个被人误解的黄金女孩？” “不是的。”鲁伯特不好意思地说。 “我觉得她有点像你。” 凯特翻了个白眼。 “我才不会破坏《瞭望邮报》呢。” 鲁伯特坐在墨水瓶上，有点蔫蔫的。 “那接下来怎么办呀？”他问道。 凯特的目光落到了弗朗西丝那张摆满花的桌子上。 她调皮地用铅笔头戳了戳鲁伯特