Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 With Hugo somewhat subdued, Anton must have been able to wiggle his feet and legs the way Lester had told him to, because Dan saw that his head and shoulders were leaning back, as if he were trying to lie on top of the sand. The waves were lapping at his neck and chin. "Good, you're in position now," Lester said as calmly as if he were giving a tennis lesson. "Pretend like you're floating on your back— move your arms and legs like you're swimming." Dan watched in amazement as the rest of Anton's body gradually emerged from the quicksand. "Any minute now, you should be able to roll out," Lester said. Sure enough, a few moments later, Anton "swam" onto firmer sand and rolled onto his stomach. He pushed himself up on his hands and

第十七章在雨果有点被制服的情况下，安东一定能够按照莱斯特告诉他的那样扭动他的脚和腿，因为丹看到他的头和肩膀向后倾斜，好像他想躺在沙子上。 海浪拍打着他的脖子和下巴。 “很好，你现在就位了，”雷斯脱平静地说，好像在给学生上网球课。 “假装你是仰面漂浮的——移动你的胳膊和腿，就像你在游泳一样。” 丹惊奇地看着安东身体的其余部分逐渐从流沙中露出来。 莱斯特说：“现在，你随时都可以出发了。” 果然，过了一会儿，安东“游”到更硬的沙滩上，趴在地上打滚。 他用双手撑了起来，然后

knees and panted, looking so much like a giant breed of dog that Dan almost laughed. "Your turn," Lester said to Hugo. "Start wiggling your feet and legs." Hugo ignored him. "Get over here and pull me out!" he yelled at Anton. "He can't pull you out," Lester said. "The suction's too strong. You'll have to do what he did to get out." "Do like he says," Anton said. "GIMME YOUR HAND!" Hugo bellowed. Anton shrugged. Then he lay down on his stomach and put out his hand. Hugo grabbed it and Anton started pulling. Hugo struggled against the muck. "NO!" Lester yelled. "You're churning up the sand—" Instead of being pulled out, Hugo sank in further. "LET GO!" Anton yelled. "You're pulling me in!" Hugo responded by grabbing on to Anton's arm

他跪了下来，喘着气，看起来很像一只巨型狗，丹差点笑出来。 “该你了，”雷斯脱对雨果说。 “开始扭动你的脚和腿。” 雨果不理他。“过来把我拉出来！”他对安东喊道。 “他不能把你拉出来，”莱斯特说。 “吸力太强了。 你得像他那样才能逃出去。” “照他说的做，”安东说。 “把手给我！”雨果大声。 安东耸耸肩。然后他趴在地上，伸出手来。 雨果抓住它，安东开始拉。 雨果在淤泥中挣扎。 “不!”莱斯特喊道。“你在搅动沙子——”雨果不但没有被拉出来，反而陷得更深了。 “放手!”安东喊道。“你把我拉进去了！”雨果的反应是抓住安东的手臂

with both hands. Anton made a fist with his free hand. "Let go or I'll bash your nose again!" he threatened. The quicksand was moving, sliding around and rippling as if it were a living thing. Now Hugo and Lester were both up to their armpits in the mire. Hugo was much taller than Lester; the waves were lapping at his chin. But they were washing over Lester's mouth. Just then the crest of a bigger wave broke over them. Lester managed to hold his breath in time, but Hugo emerged coughing and spluttering. "Okay, okay!" he choked out. "I'll do it your way!" He glared at Lester, then looked up at Anton. "Hold him so he don't get in my way." Anton grabbed one of Lester's arms, although Dan could see it that it was totally unnecessary. Lester wasn't getting in anyone's way. "Go on," Lester said. "Lean back, wiggle your feet." He held his breath as another wave washed over him. Hugo was mired deeper than Anton had been, so it was taking him longer to get his body into

用双手。安东用空着的那只手握紧了拳头。 “放开我，不然我再打你的鼻子！”他威胁道。 流沙在移动，四处滑动，泛起涟漪，仿佛有生命的东西。 这时，雨果和雷斯脱都陷在泥沼里了。 雨果比雷斯脱高得多；海浪拍打着他的下巴。 但它们在莱斯特的嘴上洗着。 就在这时，一个更大的浪尖向他们袭来。 雷斯脱设法及时屏住呼吸，但雨果却又咳又吐。 “好吧，好吧！”他哽咽着说。 “我照你说的做！”他怒视着莱斯特，然后抬头看着安东。 “抓住他，别让他挡我的路。” 安东抓住了莱斯特的一只胳膊，尽管丹看得出这完全没有必要。 莱斯特没有妨碍任何人。 “说下去，”雷斯脱说。“向后靠，摆动你的脚。” 他屏住呼吸，另一个海浪向他袭来。 雨果比安东陷得更深，所以他花了更长的时间才把身体弄进去

position. Now Lester could only take a breath by stretching his head up between waves. "Lester!" Dan shouted. "Forget about him— save yourself!" He looked over his shoulder. Where were the girls? Hugo finally rolled out of the quicksand. "Let's blow," Anton said. "Wait!" Dan cried out. "You're just gonna leave him? After he helped you?" Hugo shrugged. "Whatcha want us to do, kid? He said it himself, we can't pull him out." "That's what he said," Anton agreed. They began splashing their way toward the beach, leaving Dan at the edge of the quicksand pit with Lester all but fully submerged. Dan glanced around frantically. No sign of Amy or Nellie. He looked at Lester, who was leaning back, obviously wiggling his legs in the quicksand. Dan knew that Lester could get himself out— if he didn't run out of air.

的位置。现在雷斯脱只能把头伸到波浪之间来喘口气。 “莱斯特!”丹喊道。“忘了他吧——救你自己吧！”他回头看了看。 女孩们在哪里？雨果终于滚出了流沙。 “我们吹吧，”安东说。“等等!”丹喊道。 “你就这样离开他？” 在他帮助了你之后？”雨果耸耸肩。 “你想让我们做什么，孩子？” 他自己说的，我们救不了他。” “他就是这么说的。”安东表示同意。 他们开始朝海滩溅水，把丹留在流沙坑的边缘，莱斯特几乎完全淹没在水里。 丹疯狂地环顾四周。 没有艾米和内莉的踪迹。他看了看雷斯脱，雷斯脱正靠在后面，显然在流沙里扭动着他的腿。 丹知道莱斯特可以逃出去——如果他没有耗尽空气的话。

He thought he'd have enough time. He didn't count on the waves getting bigger so fast. Another wave crested, and Dan saw to his horror that Lester could no longer take a breath between waves; his head was completely underwater. A tube, like a snorkel, Dan thought desperately. Some sort of tube he could stick in Lester's mouth that would clear the top of the waves so he could breathe… Dan patted his pockets frantically. Nothing there. Nothing anywhere except water that was getting deeper by the minute. Lester was still leaning back, working his legs and feet toward the surface. But as Dan watched, Lester's eyes began bugging out. He was almost out of air. Dan had never felt so helpless. If he grabbed Lester and tried to pull him out, it would only make things worse. Should he run back to try to find help? No! I can't leave him here alone— I'm all he's

他认为他有足够的时间。 他没料到海浪涨得这么快。 又一波浪达到顶点，丹惊恐地看见雷斯脱在波浪之间再也喘不过气来；他的头完全浸在水里。 一根管子，像一个通气管，丹绝望地想。 他可以把某种管子插进莱斯特的嘴里，这样他就可以清除上面的海浪，这样他就可以呼吸了……丹疯狂地拍着口袋。 什么都没有。除了每分钟都在变深的水，什么都没有。 雷斯脱仍然靠在椅背上，用他的腿和脚向水面移动。 但在丹的注视下，莱斯特的眼睛开始冒火了。 他几乎喘不过气来。丹从未感到如此无助。 如果他抓住莱斯特，想把他拉出来，只会让事情变得更糟。 他应该跑回去找人帮忙吗？ 不!我不能把他一个人留在这里，我是他的全部

got! And in that moment, Dan knew what to do. Dan dropped to his hands and knees in the water. It was getting hard to tell where the edges of the pit were; he just had to trust that the sand would stay firm beneath him. He took a huge breath and puffed his cheeks out, leaning over so Lester could see him clearly. Lester jerked his head in a nod. He understood what Dan was doing. Dan plunged his face into the water. He found Lester's mouth with his own and exhaled all the air in his lungs. Then he surfaced and wiped away the water streaming into his eyes. It worked! Between waves, he could see Lester smiling! "YES!" Dan pumped his fist once. A few more breaths should give Lester enough time to get out. He inhaled, went under, and gave Lester a second breath. This time Lester gave him a thumbs–up. Dan was ecstatic. He still couldn't see the lower half of

得到了!在那一刻，丹知道该怎么做。 丹双手和膝盖都掉进水里了。 越来越难分辨出坑的边缘在哪里了；他只需要相信脚下的沙子会保持稳固。 他深深地吸了一口气，鼓起两颊，俯身让雷斯脱看清楚。 雷斯脱摇了摇头，点头。 他明白丹在做什么。 丹把脸伸进水里。 他用自己的嘴碰到雷斯脱的嘴，把肺里的空气都呼了出来。 然后他浮出水面，擦去流进眼睛的水。 它工作!在海浪之间，他看见雷斯脱在微笑！“是的!”丹挥了一下拳头。 再呼吸几下莱斯特就有足够的时间出来了。 他吸了一口气，沉了下去，给雷斯脱第二次呼吸。 这次莱斯特对他竖起大拇指。 丹欣喜若狂。他还是看不见下半部分