27_A Deadly Chase

” This way! ” Brody shouted. He grabbed Julia, who seemed to be frozen with terror, and yanked her into motion. Markos was already sprinting ahead of them, away from the charging metal bull. “ What is that thing?” Julia cried as she ran alongside Brody. “ The bull is made of metal, but it acts like it’s alive! That’s so weird! ” Brody shot her a surprised look. ” Now you think things are weird?“ he said. ” You didn’t seem to think it was weird to ride in a flying chariot. Or to travel back in time either. “ Please, " Markos called over his shoulder. “ There is no time for talking right now! ” 。.

“这条路”布罗迪喊道。 他抓住朱莉娅，她似乎被吓得僵住了，然后猛拉她运动。 马库斯已经冲在他们前面，远离了那只冲锋的金属公牛。 "那是什么东西？“茱莉亚和布罗迪一起跑时喊道。 ”这头公牛是用金属做的，但它却能像活的一样运动，这也太不可思议了” 布罗迪惊讶地看了她一眼。 “现在你觉得事情很奇怪吗？”他说道。“你似乎不觉得坐在飞行的战车上很奇怪。或者回到过去。” 马科斯歇斯底里地喊道：”快点，现在没时间谈论这些“

Brody saw that the sheer rock wall continued to their right for as far as he could see. So did the thorny thicket on their left. Just ahead he spotted a forest. “ Keep going, ” Brody said. “ Maybe the bull can’t fit between the tree trunks. ” Brody was right—sort of. The metal bull was still charging after them. But when the kids darted into the forest, the bull halted, roaring with fury. “ Clever strategy, Brody! ” Markos cried breathlessly. “ We stopped him. ” Julia gasped. “ No, we didn’t—keep running! ”

布罗迪看到陡峭的岩壁一直延伸到他们的右边，一直延伸到他能看到的地方。他们左边的荆棘丛也是如此。就在前面，他发现了一片森林。 “继续走，”布罗迪说。“也许公牛不能穿过树干之间。” 布罗迪是对的。金属公牛仍在追赶他们。但当孩子们冲进森林时，公牛停了下来，愤怒地咆哮着。 ”聪明的策略，布罗迪！“马科斯气喘吁吁地哭了起来。“我们阻止了他。” 茱莉亚倒吸了一口气。“不，我们没有，继续跑！”

The bull was already ramming its way forward. Tree trunks cracked and fell in every direction. Soon the kids found themselves running out of the far end of the forest. Once again they were trapped in an open area between the high rock wall and the thorny thicket. “ What are we going to do? ” Julia glanced over her shoulder at the bull. “ Run faster! ” Brody yelled back. “ Easy for you to say, champion, ” Markos grumbled breathlessly. Brody didn’t answer. He’d just spotted something ahead. “ Uh-oh. ”

公牛已经在猛冲前进。树干开裂，倒向四周。 很快，孩子们发现自己跑出了森林的尽头。他们又一次被困在高高的岩壁和带刺的灌木丛之间的开阔地带。 “我们要做什么？”朱莉娅回头瞥了一眼公牛。 “跑得更快！”布罗迪喊道。 “冠军，对你来讲很容易，”马库斯气喘吁吁地嘟囔着。 布罗迪没有回答。他刚刚发现前方有什么东西。“噢。”

The others looked ahead too. “ Oh no! ” Julia cried. A short distance from them, the rock wall curved out, blocking their way completely! ” What are we going to do?“ Julia cried again. ” We’ll have to try going back through the thicket, “ Markos said. “ Perhaps that will slow the bull. ” “ That won’t work, ” Brody pointed out. ” That metal bull won’t feel any scratches. It will charge through faster than we can go. ” They reached the rock wall and skidded to a stop.

其他人也看到了前面。“哦，不！”茱莉亚哭了。 离他们不远，岩壁就弯了出来，完全挡住了他们的去路！ ”我们要怎么办？“茱莉亚又哭了。 “我们必须试着穿过灌木丛，”马库斯说。“也许这会让公牛慢下来。” ”这行不通，”布罗迪指出。“那只金属公牛不会感觉到任何划痕，它的速度将超过我们的速度。” 他们到达岩壁，滑了下来。

Julia stared up at the sheer cliff. “ What other choice do we have?” she said. Brody glanced at the bull, which was still coming at them. “ I don’t know, ” he said, feeling frantic. The cliff didn’t have a single handhold that he could see—they couldn’t climb to safety that way. He looked around for a sturdy branch or anything else he could use as a weapon. Maybe he could fight off the bull long enough for Julia and Markos to crawl through the thicket to safety. ” Hello down there! “ a voice called from overhead. “ Look up! I’m throwing you a rope! ”

朱莉娅凝视着陡峭的岩壁。“我们还有什么其他选择？”她说。 布罗迪瞥了一眼公牛，它还在向他们扑来。“我不知道，”他说，感觉很慌张。 岩壁上看不到一个能用来攀爬的点，他们无法爬到安全的地方。 他四处寻找一根粗壮的树枝或任何其他可以用作武器的东西。也许他能与公牛搏斗足够长的时间，让朱莉娅和马科斯穿过灌木丛，安全地爬过去。 “下面的人，你好！”从头顶传来的声音。“抬头！我给你们扔绳子！”

Brody gasped and looked up. A face was peering down at them. It was Heracles! ” Hurry! ” Another face appeared beside Heracles—his brother, Iphicles. “ The bull automaton will reach you in a moment! ” A thick rope dropped down near them. Heracles was holding the other end. ” Grab hold of it, ” Heracles called. “ Now! ” “ All of us?” Markos looked worried. “ But how can you . . . you can’t possibly—” Hurry! ” Iphicles yelled. “ It’s coming! ” He was right. The bull was charging toward them.

布罗迪气喘吁吁，抬起头来。一张脸向下凝视着他们。是赫拉克勒斯！ “快点！”另一张脸出现在赫拉克勒斯的身边，是他的哥哥伊菲克勒斯。“公牛机很快就会到达你身边！” 一根粗绳在他们附近垂下。赫拉克勒斯抓住了另一端。 “抓住它，”赫拉克勒斯喊道。“现在！” ”我们所有人吗？”马科斯看起来很担心。“但你怎么能……你不可能……” “快点！”伊菲克勒斯喊道。“它来了！” 他是对的。公牛向他们冲来。