05 Flames in the Mist

Chapter 5. Flames in the Mist. The water grew shallow again, then they were on dry land. The ninjas lowered Jack and Annie to the ground. Thanks, said Annie. Thanks, said Jack. Squeak, said the mouse. The ninjas said nothing, but they looked around. Jack looked around too. A full moon was rising in the sky. Dark rocks dotted the side of the mountain. The ninjas started moving. They

第五章 迷雾中的火光。水又变浅了，接着他们回到了干燥的陆地上。 忍者们把杰克和安妮放到地上。 “谢谢。”安妮说。“谢谢。”杰克说。小老鼠吱吱叫了一声。忍者们什么也 没说，只是环顾四周。杰克也跟着看了看。一轮满月正缓缓升上 天空。深色的岩石星星点点分布在山的一侧。忍者们开始行动了。 他们

went silently up the slope between the rocks. Jack and Annie followed them. Jack wasn't afraid of the ninjas now. In fact, he was starting to like them. Maybe they really could help find Morgan. The ninjas moved silently, but Jack and Annie made plenty of noise. They panted as they climbed the rocky hillside. Their wet sneakers made squishy sounds. Suddenly the ninjas froze. Jack could see their eyes darting around. Voices were coming from the valley below. Jack saw torches flaming in the mist. The ninjas started moving faster. Jack and Annie hurried after them. Who's carrying the torches? Annie asked.

沿着岩石之间的斜坡悄悄往上走。杰克和安妮跟在后面。现在杰克一点都不怕这些忍者了。 其实他都开始喜欢他们了。说不定他们真的能帮忙找到摩根呢。 忍者们走得悄无声息，可杰克和安妮动静可大了。他们爬着满是岩石的山坡，大口喘着气。 湿漉漉的运动鞋踩在地上发出咯吱咯吱的声响。 忽然忍者们都停住了。杰克看到他们的眼睛滴溜溜四下张望。下方的山谷里传来了说话声。 杰克看到迷雾里有火把在燃烧。忍者们加快了脚步。杰克和安妮赶紧跟在后面跑。 “拿火把的是谁呀？”安妮问。

Jack was too out of breath to speak. He also didn't have an answer. They came to a pine forest. Night birds called out. Wind rattled the branches. The ninjas moved like ghosts through the forest. They appeared and disappeared through moonlight and shadows. Jack and Annie struggled to keep up. Finally the ninjas came to a stop. One ninja held out his hand as if to say, wait. Then both ninjas stepped away into the shadows of the trees and were gone. Where did they go? said Annie. I don't know, said Jack. Maybe the book can tell us. He pulled the ninja book out of his pack. He turned the pages until he came to a picture of a cave.

杰克喘得说不出话来。而且他也不知道答案。 他们来到了一片松树林。夜鸟在鸣叫。风吹得树枝沙沙作响。 忍者们像幽灵一样在树林里穿行。 他们在月光和阴影里忽隐忽现。 杰克和安妮拼命追赶才能跟上。 最后忍者们终于停了下来。 一个忍者伸出手，好像在说：等一下。 接着两个忍者都退到树影里，消失不见了。 “他们去哪了？”安妮问。 “我不知道呀。”杰克说，“说不定这本书能告诉我们。” 他从背包里掏出那本关于忍者的书。 他翻了好几页，直到看见一张画着洞穴的图。

By the light of the full moon, he read, Sometimes ninjas held meetings in hidden mountain caves to plan secret missions. Oh man, said Jack, I bet they went inside a hidden cave. He pulled out his notebook and pencil. He wrote, Meetings in hidden caves. Jack turned the page. He stared at a picture of a ninja sitting on a mat. He read, Ninjas took orders from a ninja master. The master was a mysterious, wise person who knew many secrets of nature.

借着满月的光亮，他读道： 忍者有时候会在隐蔽的山洞里开会，谋划秘密任务。 “哇，”杰克说，“我猜他们肯定进了某个隐蔽的山洞。” 他掏出笔记本和铅笔，写下： 在隐蔽的山洞开会。 杰克翻过一页。他盯着一张画着忍者坐在垫子上的图，读道： 忍者们听从忍者大师的命令。 这位大师神秘又睿智，知晓很多大自然的秘密。

Wow! whispered Jack. Just then the two ninjas returned. Jack quickly put his books away. The short ninja motioned for Jack and Annie to follow. In the shadows was the entrance of a dark cave. What's in there? Annie whispered. The ninja master! Jack whispered back.

“哇！”杰克小声惊呼。 就在这时，两个忍者回来了。杰克赶紧把书收好。 个子矮的那个忍者示意杰克和安妮跟他走。 阴影里藏着一个黑漆漆的山洞入口。 “里面有什么呀？”安妮小声问。 “是忍者大师！”杰克小声回答。