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The rest of us drove to the Navy Offices where we went to a big room full of books and maps.
其他人驱车前去海军部，我们到了一间大屋子，屋子满是书和地图。
We got a copy of the Tide Tables, and I sat down and looked through it while the others watched.
找到一本潮汐表，我坐下来一页页地翻，而其他人则在旁边看着。
It was no good. There were more than fifty places where high tide was at 10. 27.
没用。有五十多处涨潮时间是十点十七分。
We needed more information than that.
仅这一点不够，我们需要知道得多些。
I thought hard. What did Scudder mean by steps, and why was it so important to count them?
我苦思冥想。斯卡德尔说的台阶是什么意思，为什么数台阶那么重要？
It must be somewhere with several paths going down to the sea.
一定有个地方有几条路通往海边。
This path would be the only one with thirty－nine steps.
唯有这条路有三十九级台阶。
I had another thought and checked the time of regular ships leaving England.
我又想出一个主意，于是核对从英格兰出发的班船时间。
There was no ship at 10. 17.
可是没有十点十七分的班船。
Why was high tide important? In a big harbour the tide doesn't matter.
为什么涨潮那么重要？在大港口潮汐并不重要。
It is only important in a small harbour, or somewhere where there is no harbour at all.
只有小港口，或者根本没有港口的地方才重要。
