Maeve and Fynn reached the car boot sale at six. The field was already full of cars. Sellers opened their boots and set out folding tables.
梅芙和芬恩六点就到了后备箱旧货集市。场地上已经停满了车。摊主们打开后备箱，摆出折叠桌。
Maeve needed old parts for the school science fair. She wanted to build a small machine. Fynn held a list of cheap things to find.
梅芙需要一些旧零件，为学校的科学展做准备。她想造一台小机器。芬恩手里拿着一张要找的便宜东西的清单。
"Look for wires first," said Fynn. "Then small motors."
“先找电线，”芬恩说，“然后是小电机。”
"And anything strange," said Maeve.
“还有任何奇怪的东西。”梅芙说。
They walked down the first row. A man sold old plates. A girl sold toy cars. A boy sold broken radios, but he wanted too much money.
他们沿着第一排走下去。一个男人在卖旧盘子，一个女孩在卖玩具小汽车，一个男孩在卖坏收音机，可他要价太高。
"Everything here is rubbish," said Fynn.
“这里全是破烂。”芬恩说。
"Everything here is a treasure," said Maeve. "You just do not know it yet."
“这里全是宝贝，”梅芙说，“只是你还不知道而已。”
At the end of the row, Maeve stopped. A woman sat behind a table of rubber things. There were boots, a swim cap and a pink hot-water bottle.
走到这一排的尽头，梅芙停住了。一位女士坐在一张摆满橡胶制品的桌子后面，有靴子、泳帽，还有一只粉红色的热水袋。
The bottle was fat and soft. Maeve touched it. Every other thing on the table felt cold. The bottle felt warm.
那只热水袋又胖又软。梅芙摸了摸它。桌上其他的东西摸起来都是凉的，只有热水袋是暖的。
"Is this one hot?" she asked.
“这个是热的吗？”她问。
"No," said the woman. "It only leaks. Fifty pence."
“不是，”女士说，“它就是漏水。五十便士。”
"Where did you get it?"
“你是从哪儿弄到的？”
"It came in a box from an old house," said the woman. "I did not look inside."
“从一栋老房子里的一个箱子里拿来的，”女士说，“我没看里面。”
Maeve held the bottle to her ear. Something inside went tick, tick, tick.
梅芙把热水袋贴在耳边。里面有什么东西在滴答、滴答、滴答地响。
"Fynn, come here," she said.
“芬恩，过来。”她说。
Fynn listened. His eyes grew wide. "Bottles do not tick," he said.
芬恩听了听，眼睛睁得很大。“热水袋是不会滴答响的。”他说。
"I know," said Maeve. She paid the woman. Her hand shook a little.
“我知道，”梅芙说。她付了钱，手微微发抖。
They carried the bottle behind some crates at the edge. Maeve opened the cap. Water ran out of a thin crack at the bottom. A drop fell every second.
他们把热水袋抱到边上的几只板条箱后面。梅芙拧开盖子。水从底部一条细细的裂缝里流出来，每秒钟掉一滴。
Inside the bottle sat a silver egg. It was the size of an apple. A soft blue light shone from it. On its side was a tiny screen. The screen showed a number. It said 34.
热水袋里面有一枚银色的蛋，有苹果那么大，发出柔和的蓝光。它的侧面有一个小小的屏幕，屏幕上显示着一个数字：34。
"It is a machine," said Fynn.
“这是一台机器。”芬恩说。
"Look," said Maeve. "It moves."
“看，”梅芙说，“它会动。”
The egg turned slowly in the water. Then it made a sound like tiny bells. A thin voice came out of it.
那枚蛋在水里慢慢地转动。接着，它发出一种像小铃铛一样的声音，传出一个纤细的声音。
"Cold," said the egg. "Cold. Cold."
“冷，”蛋说，“冷。冷。”
Fynn sat down hard on a crate. "It talks," he said.
芬恩一屁股坐在一只板条箱上。“它会说话。”他说。
"It is afraid," said Maeve. "I think it needs the warm water."
“它在害怕，”梅芙说，“我想它需要热水。”
The number changed. Now it said 33. The blue light grew a little weaker.
数字变了，现在显示33。蓝光弱了一点。
Fynn took out his notebook. He looked at his watch and wrote fast. Two minutes later, the number said 31.
芬恩拿出笔记本。他看着手表，飞快地写着。两分钟后，数字变成了31。
"The number is its temperature," he said. "One number goes every minute. If it reaches twenty, the light goes out."
“这个数字是它的温度，”他说，“每分钟掉一个数。要是降到二十，光就会熄灭。”
"How long is that?" asked Maeve.
“那是多久？”梅芙问。
"Eleven minutes," said Fynn. "Maybe less. The water gets colder and colder."
“十一分钟，”芬恩说，“也许更少。水会越来越凉。”
Maeve thought fast. "We need two things," she said. "We must stop the leak. And we need hot water."
梅芙飞快地想着。“我们需要两样东西，”她说，“得堵住漏洞，还得找热水。”
"My kettle is at home," said Fynn. "Home is twenty minutes away."
“我的水壶在家，”芬恩说，“回家要二十分钟。”
"Then we do not go home," said Maeve. "We find hot water here."
“那我们就不回家，”梅芙说，“我们在这儿找热水。”
Fynn looked around the field. There were many tables and no kettles. Then he smiled. "The coffee van," he said. "It is at the far gate."
芬恩环顾场地。桌子很多，却没有一只水壶。然后他笑了。“咖啡车，”他说，“在最远的那个门口。”
"Leak first," said Maeve.
“先补漏洞。”梅芙说。
They ran to a stall that sold bike parts. A man sat there with a tin of patches and some glue.
他们跑到一个卖自行车零件的摊位。一个男人坐在那里，面前有一盒补丁和一些胶水。
"We need a patch," said Maeve. "Please. Right now."
“我们需要一块补丁，”梅芙说，“拜托了。马上。”
"One pound," said the man. He cut a patch and gave her the glue. "Press it for one minute," he said. "Then it holds."
“一英镑，”男人说。他剪下一块补丁，把胶水递给她。“按住一分钟，”他说，“就牢了。”
Maeve dried the bottle with her sleeve. She spread the glue and pressed the patch over the crack. Fynn counted out loud. Sixty seconds felt very long.
梅芙用袖子把热水袋擦干。她涂上胶水，把补丁按在裂缝上。芬恩大声数着秒。六十秒显得特别漫长。
The number said 28 when she let go. The patch held. No more drops fell.
她松手时，数字是28。补丁粘住了，不再有水滴落下来。
"Now the van," said Fynn.
“现在去咖啡车。”芬恩说。
They looked down the field. The sellers parked their cars in long rows. The path around the edge was full of buyers. They walked slowly and stopped at every table.
他们望向场地。摊主们把车一排排停得很长。边上那条小路挤满了买东西的人，他们走得很慢，每张桌子都要停一停。
"It takes ten minutes that way," said Fynn. "We only have eight."
“走那条路要十分钟，”芬恩说，“我们只有八分钟。”
Maeve looked at the rows of cars. Between two vans she saw a narrow gap. Behind the cars, a strip of grass ran along the hedge. It was empty.
梅芙看着一排排的车。两辆货车之间，她看到一道狭窄的缝隙。车后面，一条草地沿着树篱延伸开去，空无一人。
"Nobody walks behind the cars," she said. "That is our shortcut."
“没人会走车后面，”她说，“那就是我们的捷径。”
They squeezed between the vans. Maeve held the bottle against her chest. Fynn ran in front and pushed branches out of the way.
他们从货车之间挤了过去。梅芙把热水袋抱在胸前。芬恩跑在前面，把树枝拨开。
"Cold," said the voice. "So cold."
“冷，”那个声音说，“好冷。”
"We will be there," said Maeve. "Wait for us."
“我们会赶到的，”梅芙说，“等着我们。”
They ran past bins and boxes and a pile of old tyres. A dog barked at them. They jumped over a rope. They did not stop once.
他们跑过垃圾桶、箱子和一堆旧轮胎。一条狗对着他们叫。他们跳过一根绳子，一次也没有停下。
At the far gate, many buyers waited at the coffee van. The number said 23. Maeve pushed to the front.
在最远的那个门口，很多买东西的人正在咖啡车前等着。数字是23。梅芙挤到了最前面。
"Please," she said. "I need hot water. Only a little. It is for a very small friend."
“拜托了，”她说，“我需要热水，只要一点点。是给一个非常小的朋友用的。”
The man in the van looked at the pink bottle. The blue light shone through the rubber. He did not ask a single question. He filled a jug from his shiny tap.
车里的男人看了看那只粉红色的热水袋。蓝光透过橡胶亮着。他一个问题也没有问，就用他闪亮的水龙头接了一壶水。
"Careful," he said. "This water is very hot."
“小心，”他说，“这水很烫。”
Fynn stopped her hand.
芬恩按住了她的手。
"Too hot," he said. "Maybe it breaks the egg."
“太烫了，”他说，“说不定会把蛋弄坏。”
Maeve stared at him. The number said 22. She felt her heart beat fast.
梅芙盯着他。数字是22。她的心怦怦直跳。
"Do you have a thermometer?" she asked the man.
“你有温度计吗？”她问那个男人。
"For the milk," said the man. He gave her a long glass one. He also gave her a bottle of cold water. "Mix them in the jug."
“是煮牛奶用的。”男人说。他递给她一支长长的玻璃温度计，还给了她一瓶凉水。“在壶里混一混。”
Maeve poured the cold water in. Fynn read the thermometer.
梅芙把凉水倒进去。芬恩读着温度计。
"Sixty," he said. "Still too hot."
“六十度，”他说，“还是太烫。”
She added more.
她又加了些。
"Forty," he said. "Add a little more cold."
“四十度，”他说，“再加一点凉的。”
She did.
她照做了。
"Thirty-six," said Fynn. "That is good."
“三十六度，”芬恩说，“正好。”
The number said 21. The blue light went very dim.
数字是21。蓝光变得非常暗。
"Now," said Maeve. She poured the water into the bottle. Fynn held the cap open with both hands. Some water splashed on his shoes. Nobody cared.
“现在。”梅芙说。她把水倒进热水袋。芬恩用双手撑住瓶口。一些水溅到了他的鞋上，没有人在意。
For three long seconds, nothing happened. Then the number said 22. Then 24. Then 27.
三秒钟漫长地过去，什么也没有发生。然后数字变成了22，接着是24，再是27。
The egg made its bell sound. The light grew bright and steady.
蛋发出了铃铛般的声音。光变得明亮而稳定。
"Warm," said the egg. "Warm. Warm."
“暖，”蛋说，“暖。暖。”
Fynn laughed and sat down on the grass. His legs shook. Maeve screwed the cap on tight. The man in the van gave them a thumbs up.
芬恩笑着坐在草地上，两条腿直发抖。梅芙把盖子拧紧。咖啡车里的男人朝他们竖起了大拇指。
The number climbed to 34 and stopped. Maeve and Fynn watched it for a long time. Behind them, the line of buyers grew short. Sellers began to pack their boots. Cars drove out of the field one by one.
数字爬到34就停住了。梅芙和芬恩看了很久。他们身后，买东西的人排的队越来越短。摊主们开始收拾后备箱，车一辆接一辆驶出场地。
Fynn wrote a last line in his notebook. He showed it to Maeve. It said: Ask the egg where it comes from.
芬恩在笔记本上写下最后一行，拿给梅芙看。上面写着：问问蛋它是从哪儿来的。
Maeve smiled and put the bottle in her lap. Her small machine for the science fair did not matter now. The field became empty and quiet. The blue light glowed through the pink rubber. The little bells rang softly in the grass.
梅芙笑了，把热水袋放在膝上。她那台为科学展准备的小机器，此刻已经不重要了。场地渐渐变得空旷而安静。蓝光透过粉红色的橡胶发着光。小铃铛的声音，在草地上轻轻响着。
