02 Rattlesnake Flats

Chapter 2. Rattlesnake Flats The air was hot and dry. Jack and Annie peeked outside. The treehouse had landed in a lone tree on a prairie. The sun was low in the sky. Right in front of them was the town from the cover of the book. In real life it looked empty and spooky. To one side of the town was a patch of ground with several tombstones. That's creepy, said Annie.

第二章 响尾蛇平原 空气又热又干，杰克和安妮偷偷往外瞅。 树屋落在了大草原上一棵孤零零的树上，太阳低低地挂在天上。 他们正前方就是书封面上的那个小镇，现实里看着空荡荡的，怪吓人的。 小镇的一边有一小块地，立着好几块墓碑。 "好吓人啊。"安妮说。

Yeah, said Jack. He took a deep breath. What's our riddle say?

"是啊。"杰克说。 他深吸了一口气。 "我们的谜语怎么说来着？"

Annie held up the ancient scroll. She unrolled it. Then she and Jack read together.

安妮举着那卷古老的卷轴，把它展开，然后和杰克一起读了起来。

Out of the blue, my lonely voice calls out to you. Who am I? Am I? Jack pushed his glasses into place and read the riddle again to himself. There must be a mistake, he said. Am I is written twice. Well, I don't hear any voices now, Annie said as she looked out the window. There were no human sounds at all. Only the buzzing of flies and the whistling of the dry wind. Let's look at the book, Jack said. He opened the book. The pages were yellow with age. He found a picture of the town and read the words beneath it out loud.

突如其来，我孤单的声音向你呼唤。 我是谁？ 是我吗？ 杰克推了推鼻梁上的眼镜，又把谜语自己默念了一遍。 "肯定出错了。"他说。 "‘是我吗’写了两遍呢。" "唔，我现在可没听到什么声音呀。"安妮边说边往窗外看。 半点儿人的声音都听不到。 只有苍蝇的嗡嗡声，还有干风呼啸的声响。 "我们看看那本书吧。"杰克说。 他把书打开。 书页因为年代久远都泛黄了。 他找到一张小镇的图片，大声读出了图片下面的文字。

In the 1870s, Rattlesnake Flats was a rest stop for the stagecoach that carried passengers from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Fort Worth, Texas. When the creek dried up, everyone left. By 1880, it was a ghost town. Wow, a ghost town, said Annie, her eyes wide. Let's take a quick look around, said Jack, so we can leave before dark. Right, said Annie, let's hurry. She started down the rope ladder. Jack put the old book into his pack, then he followed Annie down the ladder. They stood by the tree and looked about. Tumbleweeds blew across the dry ground. Suddenly something jumped past them. Yikes, they both said.

19世纪70年代，响尾蛇平原是公共马车的中途休息站，马车搭载的乘客 是从新墨西哥州圣达菲去往得克萨斯州沃思堡的。 小溪干涸之后，所有人都搬走了。 到1880年的时候，这儿就成了一座鬼镇。 "哇，是鬼镇哎！"安妮眼睛瞪得圆圆的说。 "我们快速逛一圈吧，"杰克说，"这样我们就能在天黑前离开了。" "对呀，我们快点。"安妮说。 她顺着绳梯往下爬。 杰克把那本旧书放进背包，跟着安妮也爬下了梯子。 他们站在树边四处张望。 风滚草在干燥的地面上滚来滚去。 突然有什么东西蹦着从他们身边经过。 "呀！"他俩同时叫出了声。

But it was just a rabbit, a lone, long -legged rabbit hopping past them. Hey, he's just like that rabbit we saw at home, said Jack. Yeah, that rabbit must have been a sign of things to come, said Annie. The rabbit hopped across the prairie and out of sight. I'd better take notes, said Jack. He reached into his backpack and took out his notebook and pencil. He wrote, rabbits with long legs. What's that sound? Said Annie. What sound? Asked Jack. That rattling sound, said Annie. Jack looked up. What? He said, there. Annie pointed to a rattlesnake.

不过只是一只兔子而已，一只孤零零的长腿兔子蹦蹦跳跳地路过。 "哎，它跟我们在家看到的那只兔子一模一样哎。"杰克说。 "对呀，那只兔子肯定是预兆要发生这些事呢。"安妮说。 兔子蹦过草原，消失在了视野里。 "我最好记点笔记。"杰克说。 他伸手到背包里，拿出了笔记本和铅笔。 他写道：长腿的兔子。 "那是什么声音？" 安妮问。 "什么声音？" 杰克问。 "那种咔嗒咔嗒的声音。"安妮说。 杰克抬起头。 "什么？" 他说，"在那儿。" 安妮指向一条响尾蛇。