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The boy is joking about the children， thought Van Cheele.
范·切尔想这个男孩在开小孩的玩笑。
But perhaps he really is stealing animals from the woods and farms.
可是他可能真的偷树林和农场的动物，
I must find out more about this.
我得把这事搞清楚。
Aloud he said，'You catch rabbits？ You must be joking.
他大声说，"你抓兔子？你一定在开玩笑。
Our rabbits are much too fast for you.
我们的兔子跑起来比你快得多。"
'At night I hunt on four feet，' was the boy's surprising reply.
"夜里我用四只脚狩猎。"这是男孩令人吃惊的回答。
'You mean that you hunt with a dog？'guessed Van Cheele.
"你是说你用狗打猎？"范·切尔猜。
The boy sat up suddenly and laughed a strange， low laugh.
男孩突然坐起来，发出了古怪低沉的笑声。
To Van Cheele that laugh sounded horribly like a growl.
对范·切尔来说，这笑声听起来像可怕的嗥叫。
'I don't think any dog would like to hunt with me，' the boy said. 'Not at night…'
"我想没有哪条狗愿意和我一起打猎，"男孩说，"在晚上没有……"
There is something horrible about this boy， thought Van Cheele.
男孩有些可怕，范·切尔想。
I don't like the way he looks and I don't like the way he talks.
我不喜欢他看人的样子和说话的方式。
'I can't let you stay in my woods，' he said aloud.
"我不能让你呆在我的树林里，"他大声说。
'Very well then- shall I come and live in your house？'Replied the boy.
"很好，那么--我可以去你家住吗？"男孩回答。
Van Cheele thought about his quiet， tidy house.
范·切尔想着他平静整洁的家。
No， he did not want this strange， wild boy at all.
不，他根本不想接受这个古怪野性的男孩。
Of course， the boy was joking…but Van Cheele was not amused.
当然，这个孩子在开玩笑……但是范·切尔不觉得好笑。
'If you don't go away，' he said， 'I shall have to call the police.
"如果你不走，"他说，"我就要叫警察。"
At once the boy turned and jumped head-first into the pool.
男孩马上头朝下翻身跳进水塘。
A moment later， his shining， wet body landed half－way up the grassy bank where Van Cheele was standing.
片刻后，他闪亮、湿淋淋的身体便一半出现在范·切尔站着的长满青草的岸上。
Van Cheele stepped backwards.
范·切尔朝后退，
His foot slipped on the wet grass and he fell.
他的脚在湿草上一滑便跌倒了。
He found himself lying on the grass with those wolfish yellow eyes uncomfortably near to his.
他发现自己躺在草地上，那双狼似的黄眼睛离他很近，令他不舒服。
He felt a moment of horrible fear.
他感到一阵恐惧。
The boy laughed again， a laugh that was like the growl of a wild animal， then disappeared among the bushes.
男孩又笑了，笑声像野兽的嗥叫，随即他就消失在树丛里。
'What an extraordinarily wild animal！' said Van Cheele as he picked himself up.
"多么离奇的野兽！"范·切尔站起身时说。
And then he remembered Cunning ham's words about a wild animal in his woods.
这时他想起了坎宁安关于他家树林里有野兽的话。
As he walked slowly home， Van Cheele thought about several things which had happened in and around the village recently.
慢慢朝家走时，范·切尔想着最近村子里和周围地方发生的几件事。
Perhaps this boy knows something about them， he thought…
可能这个孩子知道些什么，他想……
Something has been killing rabbits and birds in the woods lately.
最近什么东西一直在杀树林里的兔子和鸟，
Something has been stealing the farmer's chickens and carrying off the young sheep from the hills.
一直在偷农夫的鸡、吃山上的小羊。
Is it possible that this wild boy is hunting at night with a fast， intelligent dog？
有可能是这个野孩子晚上带着一条敏捷聪明的狗在打猎吗？
The boy talked of hunting on four feet at night…
男孩谈到了晚上用四只脚打猎的事……
But he also said that dogs did not like to hunt with him at night…Very strange indeed.
可是他也说了狗不喜欢和他在晚上打猎……真奇怪。
As Van Cheele walked along， he turned the questions over and over in his head.
范·切尔走着，脑子里反复想着这些问题。
Suddenly he stopped.
突然他停住脚步。
The miller's son！ he said to himself.
磨坊主的儿子！他自言自语。
The child disappeared two months ago.
这孩子两个月前失踪的，
Everyone thought that he had fallen into the river and been carried away.
每个人都认为他掉进河里被河水卷走了。
