9 It’s Gone

9 IT'S GONE "What a wonderful mystery," Mother Mary Joseph said softly. "Your light shines for all those who need us." "Who are you?" Sister Agnes said in a hushed voice. "Angels?" Annie laughed. "No, we're tourists," she said. Faint voices came from across the dark waters. "Hello! Anyone there?" "Yes!" Annie called back from the window. "This way!" Jack and Annie worked with Sister Agnes and Mother Mary Joseph for the rest of the night. They all helped storm refugees find their way to the Ursuline Academy. They

“真是个奇妙的谜，”玛丽·约瑟夫母亲轻声说。 “你的光芒照耀着所有需要我们的人。” “你是谁？”阿格尼斯修女低声说。 “天使?”安妮笑了。“不，我们是游客，”她说。 昏暗的水面上传来微弱的说话声。 “你好!任何人吗?”“是的!”安妮从窗口喊道。 “这样!”杰克和安妮与阿格尼斯修女和玛丽·约瑟夫嬷嬷一起工作了一整晚。 他们都帮助风暴难民找到通往乌尔苏拉学院的路。 他们

called out again and again, urging them to come toward the light. Jack and Annie helped people climb through the window. They led them to the auditorium. They gave them shoes and blankets. They were never too tired to lend a hand. Just before dawn, the water started going down. By the first light of morning, Jack saw that the floodwaters had flowed back out to sea, like water draining from a bathtub. The Great Galveston Hurricane was over. Sunlight streamed in. Morgan's tiny star sparkled in the window. The glass star was just a glass star again. Annie took the necklace down and put it around her neck. "Oh, no," said Jack, looking out the window. Not one building was left standing between the academy and the waterfront. The ground was covered with pools of muddy brown water and mounds of trash.

一遍又一遍地喊着，催促他们朝光明的方向来。 杰克和安妮帮助人们爬过窗户。 他们把他们带到礼堂。 他们给了他们鞋子和毯子。 他们从不嫌累而不伸出援手。 就在黎明前，水开始下降。 天亮的时候，杰克看到洪水又流回了大海，就像浴缸里的水一样。 加尔维斯顿大飓风结束了。 阳光照了进来。摩根的小星星在橱窗里闪闪发光。 玻璃星又变成了玻璃星。 安妮把项链取下来，戴在脖子上。 “哦，不，”杰克看着窗外说。 学院和海滨之间没有一栋建筑。 地上满是棕色的泥水和成堆的垃圾。

Bells began to ring from the chapel. "A new day is beginning," Mother Mary Joseph said. "Yes," said Annie. "Deadly storms are terrible," said Mother Mary Joseph. "But they always end. Then you start over. And you look at the world a little differently." "Yes," said Jack. He was suddenly so tired he couldn't think straight. "You both must lie down and rest now," said the nun. "You can sleep in my room." "Thanks," said Annie. "But we have to find our parents right away, so they'll know we're safe. Please tell Rose, Lily, and Lucas good-bye for us." "Of course," said the nun. "I will." "And thank Rose for taking good care of us," said Jack. "Tell her not to worry—we know how to find our mom and dad." "Are you certain you know where they

教堂的钟声开始响起。 “新的一天开始了，”玛丽·约瑟夫说。 “是的，”安妮说。“致命的风暴是可怕的，”玛丽·约瑟夫嬷嬷说。 “但它们总是结束的。然后重新开始。 你看世界的角度也会有所不同。” “是的，”杰克说。他突然累得无法思考。 “你们俩现在必须躺下休息，”修女说。 “你可以睡我的房间。” “谢谢，”安妮说。“但是我们必须马上找到我们的父母，这样他们就知道我们是安全的。 请代我们向罗斯、莉莉和卢卡斯道别。” “当然，”修女说。 “我愿意。”“谢谢罗斯对我们的照顾，”杰克说。 “告诉她别担心——我们知道怎么找到我们的爸爸妈妈。” “你确定你知道他们在哪儿吗？

are?" the nun asked. "Yes. We just have to get back to Avenue L near 25th Street," said Annie. "Is that far from here?" Jack asked Mother Mary Joseph. "Oh, no, it's very close," she answered. "Only two blocks north." "Thanks," said Annie. Mother Mary Joseph looked worried. "Are you positive you can find your parents?" she asked. "No question about it," Annie said. "You'll come right back here if you don't find them," the nun said. "Promise?" "Promise," said Jack and Annie together. Mother Mary Joseph led Jack and Annie down the stairs to the first level of the building. All the windows were broken, and all the doors had been blown away. The storm water had drained out, leaving muddy puddles on the stone floor.

是吗？”修女问。“是的。 我们只需要回到25街附近的L大道，”安妮说。 “那离这儿远吗？”杰克问玛丽·约瑟夫嬷嬷。 “哦，不，很近，”她回答。 “往北走两个街区就到了。”“谢谢，”安妮说。 玛丽·约瑟夫妈妈看起来很担心。 “你肯定能找到你的父母吗？”她问。 “毫无疑问，”安妮说。 “如果你找不到他们，你会马上回来的，”修女说。 “承诺?”“我保证，”杰克和安妮一起说。 玛丽·约瑟夫妈妈领着杰克和安妮下了楼梯，来到了大楼的第一层。 所有的窗户都被打破了，所有的门都被吹走了。 雨水已经排干了，在石头地上留下了泥泞的水坑。

Mother Mary Joseph stopped in the open entranceway. "Thank you for all your help— and for your guiding light," she said. "Thank you for helping us," said Annie. "You remind me of a good friend of ours named Morgan." "Me too," said Jack. Mother Mary Joseph smiled. "Be careful, my friends." She bowed her head, and then left them. "Mother Mary Joseph was the hero Morgan wanted us to learn from," said Annie. "Right," said Jack. He quoted from Morgan's rhyme: Learn from a hero Who's humble and brave, Who welcomes the hundreds Arriving on waves. "Look her up in our Texas book," said

玛丽·约瑟夫嬷嬷在敞开的入口停了下来。 “谢谢你的帮助，谢谢你的指路明灯，”她说。 “谢谢你帮助我们，”安妮说。 “你让我想起了一个叫摩根的好朋友。” “我也是，”杰克说。玛丽·约瑟夫妈妈笑了。 “小心点，我的朋友们。”她低下头，然后离开了他们。 “玛丽·约瑟夫母亲是摩根希望我们学习的英雄，”安妮说。 “好的，”杰克说。他引用了摩根的诗句：向谦逊勇敢的英雄学习，他欢迎潮水般涌来的数百人。 “在我们德州的书里查一下她，”他说

Annie. "I'm afraid it's ruined," Jack said. He pulled off his knapsack and took out the Texas book. It was soaking wet. All the pages were stuck together. "Oh, too bad," said Annie. Jack put the book back into his knapsack. "Let's go," he said. Then he and Annie headed out of the Ursuline Academy. They took each other's hands and began slogging through the mud. As they walked up 25th Street, Jack looked straight ahead. He tried not to think about the destroyed city and the mounds of wreckage. Instead, Jack kept his mind on home…on the Frog Creek woods and their house and their mom and dad. He thought of Morgan le Fay and Merlin and the magic tree house. Soon Jack and Annie turned onto Avenue L. All the houses had been torn apart on that street, too. Only a few walls and

安妮。“恐怕它毁了，”杰克说。 他卸下背包，拿出那本德州书。 它湿透了。所有的书页都粘在一起了。 “哦，太糟糕了，”安妮说。 杰克把书放回背包里。 “我们走吧，”他说。然后他和安妮离开了乌尔苏拉学院。 他们拉着彼此的手，开始在泥泞中跋涉。 当他们沿着25街走的时候，杰克直视着前方。 他尽量不去想被毁的城市和成堆的残骸。 相反，杰克一心想着家乡，想着青蛙溪森林，想着他们的房子，想着他们的爸爸妈妈。 他想起了摩根、仙女、梅林和神奇的树屋。 不久，杰克和安妮拐进了L大街。 那条街上所有的房子也都被拆了。 只有几堵墙和