Where's Sheriff?

　　林子里就剩下郑叹一个,抬脚准备离开,郑叹想起那个被盗的钱包还掉落在草丛里,跑过去看了看,反正现在周围光线很暗,也没谁会注意这边,郑叹索性直立起来,用两只前爪将钱包拾起,慢慢往林子边沿走.

Zheng Tan was the last one in the forest. He lifted his paws and readied to leave the area. Suddenly, he remembered that the stolen wallet was still somewhere on the forest floor and ran over to search for it. It was so dark in this area that no one would pay any attention. Zheng Tan stood upright and clutched the wallet between his two front paws. He slowly walked to the edge of the forest.

　　郑叹没想将钱包据为己有,也没兴趣打开钱包看看有些什么东西,虽然没仔细瞧这个钱包的样子,但从这个钱包上传来的香味可以得出结论,这是个女士钱包.

Zheng Tan had no interest in claiming the wallet as his own, nor did he want to know of the contents inside. Though he didn't carefully inspect the wallet, from the oncoming waft of perfume, he concluded it belonged to a woman.

　　作为校园里的绿化草种之一,黑麦草的绿化效果虽然不错,但郑叹并不喜欢在这种草丛里窜动,草叶子刮在身上的感觉不太舒服.郑叹看了看周围,小林子旁边这条小路上这时候走动的人并不多.

As one of the campus' green grass initiatives, the effects of ryegrass were beyond a doubt effective. Zheng Tan on the other hand was not a fan of navigating through the tall grass. It was uncomfortable to be continuously scratched by the grass. Zheng Tan took scanned his surroundings. At this time of day, there weren't too many people who would walk on the small path next to the forest.

　　郑叹走到边沿的时候恰好看到一个在教学楼那边看门的老大爷正拎着收音机哼着戏曲小调经过,在学校里闲逛的时候,郑叹也辨认过这周围每栋教学楼和院系楼的看门大爷们,虽然不知道这位老大爷的品行怎样,但郑叹只想赶紧将手上这个钱包解决掉,趁那老大爷摇头晃脑哼曲没注意的时候,郑叹将钱包仍在那老大爷必经之路上,然后退回林子爬上树,看着那边.

Just as Zheng Tan reached the edge of the forest, he noticed a security guard from one of the lecture buildings humming to the music being broadcasted out from his portable stereo. From all of his leisurely strolls across the campus, Zheng Tan could now differentiate each of security guards for each lecture hall and department buildings. Though he wasn't clear about this specific security guard's morals, he wanted to rid himself of the wallet as soon as possible. While the old guard was completely immersed in his music Zheng Tan threw the wallet in the path of the security guard. He immediately leapt back into the forest, scaled a tree, and watched the scene unfold.

　　那老大爷估计是刚出去遛弯了,捡到钱包之后不知道咕哝了些什么,看了看周围,没发现附近有什么人,便往广场那边走.

The old man probably had only started his evening walk. When he picked up the wallet, he started to say something under his breath. He scanned his surroundings. Not finding anyone around him, he made his way towards the plaza.

　　郑叹就跟在他身后不远处,看到那老大爷走到广场旁的体育馆门外,来到公告板前拿着笔写了个失物招领,然后跟那边的保卫人员谈起来.

Zheng Tan followed the old guard at a distance. He watched as the guard stopped right in front of the gymnasium by the plaza. The guard came to the notice board, pulled out a pen and wrote up a missing item notice. Then he turned to chat up the security guard in that area.

　　解决完钱包的事,郑叹就在体育馆门口一个装饰作用的石台那里蹲着.

Settled with the wallet business, Zheng Tan move to crouch on a decorative stone platform outside the gymnasium.

　　"嘿,那猫咋回事?"那老大爷指了指郑叹,很奇怪为什么会有一只猫这么淡定地蹲在这里,要知道,广场周围很热闹,乐声在这里都听得到,体育馆门口也是进进出出的来这里锻炼放松的学生和教师们,这猫竟然一点都不怕.

"Oi, What's up with that cat?" The old security guard pointed at Zheng Tan. It was strange for a cat to be so composed and crouched in such a space. You have to understand, this plaza was very noisy, with music all about. There was also a consistent flow of students and professors entering and leaving whether for exercise or relaxation. He couldn't believe this cat showed no signs of fear.

　　门口的保卫人员回头看了眼,道:"是顾老师她家的猫,等顾老师跳完舞跟着一起回去呢."

The gymnasium security guard glanced at the cat and simply said: "This is teacher Gu's family cat. It waits for her to finish up her dance then they walk back together."

　　这倒让那老大爷提起兴趣了,拉着那个保卫人员说了说郑叹的事情,直到焦妈跳完舞过来拿包和杯子.

This got this old guard excited. He roped the security guard into a conversation purely about Zheng Tan till Mama Jiao had finished her dance and came back to pick up her bag and water bottle.

　　听到别人夸自家猫,焦妈很得意,晚上带着郑叹回家的时候脸上的笑就没消过.

She was very pleased hearing others compliment her house cat. On their way home that evening, her smile never left her face.

　　郑叹倒是没将这些夸赞放心上,他心里想着那只猫的事情.

Zheng Tan on the other hand wasn't concerned with the compliment. His mind was completely occupied with that thieving cat.

　　自打发现小偷猫将爪子伸进楚华大学,郑叹接下来几天都一直警惕着,出去转圈的时候也注意周围不认识的猫,不过,挨了自己一爪子的那只猫没再出现.

After personally discovering that the thieving cat had extended its reach to Chu Hua University, Zheng Tan made sure to be fully alert for the next couple of days. While on his walks, he made sure to scrutinize every single cat he didn't know. However, this cat that had suffered an injury from him never ended up reappearing.

　　这日,因为听到天气预报说晚上有雨,只是不知道什么时候会下,吃完晚饭后郑叹也安分地呆在家里,不过,心里总感觉有点烦躁不安.郑叹看看外面暗下来的天空,感觉比前两天黑得早了点,估计是天气原因,乌云将应有的晚霞遮住了.

Today, the news reported rain showers in the evening. But without an accurate prediction of the time of the showers, eh decided to stay put indoors. However, he still felt anxious. He looked up at the darkening sky outside the window. It seemed to have darkened earlier in comparison to the past two days. Perhaps it was due to the weather. The colorful rays of the sunset had already been enveloped by the darkening clouds.

　　在阳台上吹了会儿风,郑叹回到客厅,趴在沙发上跟小柚子一起看动画片,焦妈在洗碗,焦远在房间里玩电脑.

After relishing in the breeze from the balcony, Zheng Tan headed back into the living room and curled up on the sofa to enjoy some cartoons with You Zi. Mama Jiao was still doing the dishes, while Jiao Yuan was in his room occupied with video games.

　　晚上十点左右的时候,开始下雨了,很快就听到外面噼里啪啦的雨滴砸窗户的声音,雷声滚滚.

It was around 10 pm when the downpour started. Almost immediately, the pitter-patter of the rain striking the windows and the rolling thunder was heard indoors.

　　郑叹窝在小柚子旁边正迷迷糊糊想事情的时候,耳朵一动,听到主卧那边电话响起的声音.

Zheng Tan who had curled up right beside You Zi was occupied in dream like thoughts when his ears twitched and he picked up the sound of the phone ringing from the master bedroom.

　　这种天气谁会打电话过来?不知道有危险吗?虽然这边的建筑都装有避雷针,但也并不能保证100%安全.

Who would be calling in this kind of weather? Don't they know of the dangers? The buildings here were all constructed with lightning rods, but it didn't guarantee 100% safety.

　　因为外面雷声和雨打窗户的声音,郑叹没听到焦妈接电话说的内容,等了会儿,没再听到焦妈那边有什么动静,估计睡下了.郑叹抬爪子拨了拨耳朵,然后钻进毯子里面开始酝酿睡意.

Because of the chaotic sounds of the rain and thunder, Zheng Tan was unable to decipher the contents of the call. After a while, there wasn't any more activity from Mama Jiao, it was probably because she had fallen asleep. Zheng Tan took out his claws to scratch behind his ears before tunneling himself into the blankets letting the drowsiness take hold.

　　一晚上郑叹并没有睡好,莫名地睡不安稳.

But Zheng Tan ended up in restless sleep. Inexplicably, he was sleepless.

　　一大早起来吃早餐的时候,焦妈问了郑叹一句:"黑炭哪,你知不知道警长去哪儿了?"

During early morning breakfast, Mama Jiao asked Zheng Tan: "Hey Charcoal, do you know where Sheriff went?"

　　郑叹正准备啃碗里的鸡蛋,听到焦妈的话,心里咯噔一下.

Just as Zheng Tan was about to sink his teeth into the egg in his bowl, he head Mama Jiao's question. His heart jolted in reaction.

　　警长那货虽然喜欢跑外面大家,但一直都按时回家的,很少在外面呆一整晚,而且昨晚上还是那种天气,按照以前的习惯,那家伙应该会早早回来的.

Sheriff that idiot, though he was always running out and about, he always returned home on time. It was unusual for him to be out for the entire night. Especially with such terrible weather yesterday, based on his usual habits, that guy should've been home very early.

　　见自家猫愣愣看着自己,焦妈心里叹气,觉得自家猫大概是听不懂自己的意思,也没再说了,焦远和小柚子问起来,焦妈也没多讲,只是让俩孩子多将心思放学习上,别操心其他事.

Seeing her cat stare back at her blankly, Mama Jiao could only sigh. Feeling as though her cat couldn't understand her, she no longer tried to prod for answers. Jiao Yuan and You Zi started asking her questions, but she hushed them down. She wished for the two kids to concentrate on their studies and not on anything else.

　　而郑叹这边则没什么胃口了,难怪从昨天就有种不太妙的感觉.

Zheng Tan was losing his appetite. Perhaps this was why he felt so agitated yesterday.

　　怕焦妈看出什么,郑叹最后还是强行将碗里的鸡蛋和一点儿面条咽了下去,要出去办事,总得吃饱才有气力.

Scared that Mama Jiao would notice that something was amiss, Zheng Tan forced down the egg in his bowl. He needed his energy for the rest of the day.

　　出门的时候焦妈还叮嘱郑叹送完小柚子就回家,别到处乱跑.焦妈倒是想将自家猫关家里,可惜关不住啊!说来说去,还是焦爸的错,谁让他将大门钥匙都给猫了呢,还配了门禁卡,谁家猫会有这些?偏偏这些烦恼焦妈还不能跟别人说,就像焦爸谈过的,太出头了不是好事.唉,家里养只太聪明的猫也不是那么让人省心!

Just as he was heading out, Mama Jiao cautioned Zheng Tan to return home immediately after dropping off You Zi. He wasn't to run around on his own. If it was up to Mama Jiao, she would've locked up their cat. But this wasn't possible! If they had to pin the blame on someone, it had to be Papa Jiao. He was the one who gave their cat their house key. Not only that, but he also got their cat a key card. Who else's cat would have access to something like this? And it just had to be these headaches that had to kept out of conversations. As she had discussed with Papa Jiao, things that were prodigious weren't always good. Sigh. Having a highly intellectual cat didn't make it any easier.

　　郑叹送了小柚子就在周围转悠,专找那些爱八卦的大妈们平日里聚集的地方偷听.

After dropping of You Zi, Zheng Tan ended up strolling around in the vicinity. He purposefully looked for the group of middle aged ladies who'd always gather round to gossip. He was going to listen in.

　　郑叹没有费多少时间就从几个刚买菜回来的大妈嘴里了解到了焦妈早餐的时候那么问的原因.

Without wasting time, Zheng Tan was able to understand from the middle aged ladies what had gone down the previous night, and for what reason Mama Jiao had asked the questions that she did during breakfast.

　　昨晚上九点多的时候,西区大院那边一个老师上完晚上的课程回家的路上发现自家猫重伤躺在路边,身上全是抓伤咬伤,毛上全是血迹,那老师打开手电筒发现血迹从路边延伸到林子里面,看上去自家猫应该是从林子里爬出来的.

Around 9 pm yesterday, a professor from the western quarters was on his way home from his lecture and discovered his cat with heavy wounds lying by the road. It was covered in claw and bite marks and had its fur matted with blood. That professor had took out a flashlight and found that the trail of blood led all the way back into the forest. His cat seemed to have dragged itself out from the forest.

　　赶紧送到宠物中心那边的二十四小时门诊部,检查了伤势确定没有生命危险后,那位老师顿时放下心,要不是自家猫运气好碰到自己,估计再拖半个多小时,一场雨下来,小命就真没了.

He immediately transferred his cat to the pet center's 24 hour emergency room. Only after the in-depth examination and assurance that his cat wasn't in any life threatening emergencies, was he finally able to relax. If his cat didn't have the dumb luck to be happened upon by him, another hour with the downpour of the rain, his cat wouldn't have kept its life.

　　安置好自家猫之后,那位老师一肚子气,兽医说了,自家猫身上那伤就是猫抓咬的,平日里跟自家猫最不对付的只有东区大院那只"警长",以前打打也就算了,反正两只身上都是小伤不断,但这次实在太过分了!

After making sure that his cat was properly resting, the professor was ready to explode from anger. The vet had told him that his cat's injuries resulted in a fight with another cat. Typically, his cat and that "Sheriff" from the eastern quarters didn't get along well. They bit and nipped at each other in the past before, and it didn't matter since mild wounds weren't a big deal. But this was completely unacceptable!

　　所以,那老师直接找上门问责,却发现,警长并没回来,直到下雨都没回家.

So this professor had made a personal visit to get answers. However he had discovered that Sheriff hadn't even returned home, not even after the rainstorm had ended.

　　这下子警长它主人也意识到不对劲了.猫嘛,在外面打打架身上一些抓伤都是常有的事,警长的主人已经习惯了,不过自家猫精神一直不错,就算晚上出去玩也按时回家,平时到九,十点的时候会在家属楼下面叫唤喊门,让主人开门禁,而且过年那段丢猫高峰期也已经过去,正因为这样,它主人平时也就没放在心上,谁知道现在发生这事,再也淡定不了了.

At this point, even Sheriff point sensed that something was wrong. Getting scratched up in a fight was normal. They're cats aren't they? Sheriff owner was completely accustomed to something like this, but he knew his cat had pretty good spirit. Even if Sheriff was to go out to play in the evening, he would always make sure to be home on time. Usually around 9 or 10, he's be downstairs howling for his owner to open the door. Needless to say, because the peak season of cat thieving was already over, his owner wasn't extra concerned when he didn't return. Who knew that his ignorance would have resulted in something like this. He could no longer keep himself calm.

　　大家猜测是不是有其他猫进了校园,下爪那么狠,应该不是学校里面的猫,要不然以前学校里怎么一直平平静静的?

Everyone guessed that it must have been the handiwork of a cat that had infiltrated campus that would be fierce enough to be so savage in its attack. It couldn't have been the work of a cat on campus, else how would the peace have been held for so long?

　　了解到事情始末,郑叹也担心.难怪昨天那么晚了,而且还是这种天气,警长它主人还急着打电话到处问人,听说晚上还冒雨出去找到十二点多了,一直没找到,今早上雨停了也没见警长回来.警长它主人还去校保卫处那边要监控视频,学校里的摄像头并不都是摆设,可是有摄像头的地方毕竟都是人多的,经常走动的地方,并不是猫的活动区.

Finally understand the situation from beginning to end caused Zheng Tan utmost worry. No wonder Sheriff's owner had been frantically calling so late and during such terrible weather. Apparently he'd even gone out during the storm to search till around midnight, but it was all in vain. Even this morning after the storm had passed, Sheriff was still nowhere to be found. Sheriff's owner even went over to campus security to check security tapes, but the areas that they taped were only places that were full of people. It didn't capture places that cats often ventured to.

　　很多人私下里说,警长大概是回不来了.

A lot of people were discussing privately. Maybe Sheriff wasn't going to come back.

　　郑叹觉得这事与那只挨了自己一爪子的猫有关,当时那只猫离开时低吼的声音和眼神,看得出来不是个善茬,凶性十足.

Zheng Tan felt that this situation was closely linked to the cat he had attacked the other day. At the time, when the cat was leaving the scene, it made itself clear with its low growls and the intensity in its eyes that it was someone who could be easily dealt with. This cat displayed a lot of aggression.

　　而且,郑叹还猜测应该有不止一只猫过来,如果只有那样的一只猫的话,不至于让西区大院那只猫伤成那样,还差点断气,而警长到现在也没见影,这两只算是东西家属区的猫中身经百战的高手了,一般的猫还真不能拿它们咋样.

Moreover, Zheng Tan guessed it wasn't just one cat that had returned. It it was one measly cat, it couldn't have caused the type of damage that the cat from the western quarters suffered. The cat nearly died in the process and Sheriff was still nowhere to be found. The two cats were considered the best and most experienced fighters of the east and west quarters. Normal cats couldn't even put a dent in them.

　　昨晚那场雨,将一些气味都冲走,郑叹想寻寻可疑气味也不大可能.

It was pretty impossible, even for Zheng Tan, to sniff up any strange scents anymore with yesterday's intense storm washing away all scents.

　　如果警长只是被盗贼猫的主使者——那位至今未曾谋面的驯猫师抓走的话,至少暂时应该没性命之忧吧?核桃师兄不是说过么,驯猫师对于一些有天赋的猫会感兴趣,警长也算是有天赋了,一只猫能将吉娃娃语吼得那么正宗,也算是猫里面的一大奇葩.

If Sheriff was only kidnapped by the mastermind behind the thieving cats — the trainer who had yet to reveal themselves, then at least there shouldn't be any threats to his life right? Didn't Walnut even mention, that the cat trainer was most likely quite interested in talent cats. The gift that Sheriff possessed, the ability to create authentic Chihuahua barks, is something that is unbelievable even among cats.

　　但倘若那位驯猫师并没有发现警长的天赋,而是直接任由自己的猫下杀手的话...

But in the case that the cat trainer didn't discover Sheriff's gifts, and let loose his cats to finish the work...

　　郑叹接连找了好几个绿化树林区域,那也是警长打架的时候常去的地方,西区那只猫被发现位置,附近一个林子里郑叹还真嗅到了一些气味,有警长的,有西区那只猫的,包括那只被自己抽了一爪子的猫,还有至少三几个陌生的猫的气味.

Zheng Tan brought his search to a number of nearby forested areas. These were all places that Sheriff was often seen engaging in brawls. By the area where the cat from the western quarters was discovered, Zheng Tan picked up the scent of Sheriff, the cat from the western quarters, the cat that he had attacked as well at least three other cats that were unrecognizable.

　　可惜,林子之外再发现不了什么了.如果昨晚上没下雨多好.

It was a disappointment. Nothing else provided potential leads outside the forest. If only it hadn't rained.

　　郑叹找了一圈之后,烦躁地趴在一棵大梧桐树上喘气.

After searching around in circles, Zheng Tan, full of frustration leaped onto a sycamore tree, panting.

　　虽然警长只是一只猫,但从郑叹变成一只猫到现在,东区大院四贱客也算一个小型的团体了,警长也被郑叹看做是个重要的玩伴,一个猫兄弟.兄弟出事,郑叹也平静不了,此刻的担忧躲过愤怒,甚至在各个林子里找的时候郑叹都悬着一颗心,生怕看到出现在林子里的是一只身体已经僵硬的猫.

Even though Sheriff was only a cat, Zheng Tan had found a certain commodarie between the 4 cats in the eastern quarters. From the time he's spent as a cat till now, Zheng Tan now valued Sheriff as an important playmate, a cat brother. If a brother was in trouble, Zheng Tan couldn't relax. His current anger was overwhelmed with worry. He traveled through each area with his emotions all strung, agonizing over the possibility of happening upon the stiff body of a cat.

　　烦躁地抓了抓耳朵,尾巴甩在粗壮的树枝上发出啪啪的声响.

With annoyance, he scratched at his ears. His tail pounding on the the thick branches of the tree bringing about a "pa pa" sound.

　　往好的方面想,如果,警长那家伙没有被抓,伤势也没有到跑不动的地步,或者被攻击的时候找机会逃了,会躲在哪儿?虽然那家伙智商不怎么高,但也不是只蠢的.

Turning to a more optimistic outlook, if Sheriff wasn't caught, or wounded to a point he could no longer move. He could have found a way to slip out when he was being attacked. But where could he have hid? Sheriff wasn't the smartest cookie out there, but he wasn't dumb either.

　　尾巴甩动的幅度渐渐减小,尾巴尖有节奏地动着,郑叹回想了一下警长可能去的藏身地点.

His tail started to lessen in the magnitude of movement and the tip of tail started to move to a certain beat. Zheng Tan thought back to all the possible locations that Sheriff could have hid.

　　警长也常在校园里活动,对各处应该也很熟悉.

Sheriff often moved around all throughout campus and was very familiar with the grounds.

　　郑叹一个个地方开始回想,筛选.

Zheng Tan looked back to every single area, filtering the possible locations.

　　突然,郑叹想到一个地方,那里也是警长经常去的——学校里那处老瓦房区!

Suddenly, Zheng Tan thought of a specific location. It was where Sheriff often visited—the old tiled houses on campus.

　　天气不错的时候那里可是一个小型的猫聚集地!

When the weather was better, it was often a gathering places for cats.

　　不再迟疑,郑叹立马跳下树,往老瓦房那边过去.

No longer hesitating, Zheng Tan immediately jumped off the tree and headed over to the old tiled houses.