Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Strong arms lifted George up. He felt himself being carried. "Papa?" he said. "Papa?" Why did his head hurt so much? Had the panther knocked him out of the tree? Was he sick with a fever like Mama? And whose voice was whispering in his ear? "Giorgio. Giorgio. Wake up." George opened his eyes. Marco's amber eyes shone down on him. This was no dream. He was not sick. The Titanic was sinking.

第13章有力的手臂把乔治举起来。 他感到自己被人抬着。 “爸爸?”他说。“爸爸?”为什么他的头那么疼? 是黑豹把他从树上撞下来的吗? 他是不是像妈妈一样发烧了? 是谁的声音在他耳边低语? “乔治。乔治。醒醒。” 乔治睁开眼睛。马可琥珀色的眼睛盯着他。 这不是梦。他没有生病。 泰坦尼克号正在下沉。

The bow was completely underwater now, and waves swept over the deck. Lounge chairs sailed past them and crashed over the side. People clung to the rails. A few slipped and were swept overboard. Marco had wrapped one arm around the railing and the other around George. "It's time to go," Marco said. "Go where?" George said, even though he knew. They were going into the water. There was nowhere else for them to go. Marco held George's arm as they climbed over the railing. "When we jump, jump as far out as you can," Marco said. "Away from the ship." George filled his lungs with the icy air. "Jump!" Marco cried. George pushed with his feet and leaped off the boat. He closed his eyes, imagining that he had enormous wings that would take him soaring into the sky. But then he hit the water, and down he went. And just when he was sure his lungs would pop, the ocean seemed to spit him back up.

船首现在完全被水淹没了，海浪拍打着甲板。 躺椅从他们身边飞过，从侧面撞了过去。 人们紧紧抓住栏杆。 有几个人滑倒了，被卷进了海里。 马可一只胳膊搂着栏杆，另一只胳膊搂着乔治。 “该走了，”马可说。 “去哪里?”乔治说，尽管他知道。 他们要下水了。 他们没有别的地方可去。 他们爬过栏杆时，马可抓住乔治的胳膊。 “我们跳的时候，跳得越远越好，”马可说。 “离船远点。”乔治的肺里充满了冰冷的空气。 “跳!”马可哭了。乔治用脚一推，跳下了船。 他闭上眼睛，想象着自己有一双巨大的翅膀，可以带他飞上天空。 但他一落水，就沉下去了。 就在他确信自己的肺会爆裂的时候，大海似乎又把他吐了出来。

George sputtered. The water was so cold it felt like millions of needles were stabbing him. It hurt so much he couldn't move. Someone grabbed him by the life jacket and started dragging him away from the ship. It took George a few seconds to realize that it was Marco. He stopped to grab a door that was floating by. After helping George climb up on top, Marco found a crate for himself. It wasn't big enough to keep his feet out of the water. But it was better than nothing. The crate had a rope attached to it. Marco tied it around his arm and handed the end to George. "Hold tight," he said. They turned and stared at the ship. The entire front was underwater, and the back had risen toward the sky. It groaned and squeaked and sparked. Black smoke poured from its funnels, and the lights flickered. It was like watching a fairy-tale dragon, stabbed and bleeding, fighting for its life. And finally it seemed to give up. The groaning stopped. The lights went dark. And the Titanic sank into the bubbling black

乔治气急败坏的说。水太冷了，感觉就像无数根针扎在他身上。 疼得他动不了。 有人抓住他的救生衣，开始把他拖离船。 乔治过了几秒钟才意识到那是马可。 他停下来抓住一扇飘过的门。 在帮助乔治爬到上面之后，马可给自己找了一个板条箱。 它不够大，不能让他的脚离开水。 但聊胜于无。 板条箱上系着一根绳子。 马可把它系在胳膊上，把一端递给乔治。 “坚持住，”他说。他们转过身来盯着那艘船。 整个正面都被水淹没了，而背面已经伸向了天空。 它呻吟着，吱吱作响，发出火花。 烟囱里冒出黑烟，灯光闪烁。 这就像在看一条童话故事中的龙，被刺伤流血，为自己的生命而战。 最后，它似乎放弃了。 呻吟声停止了。灯光暗了下来。 泰坦尼克号沉入了冒泡的黑暗中

water, down, down, down, down, until George closed his eyes. He couldn't make himself watch Mr. Andrews's beautiful ship disappear. A sound rose up around him, people calling for help. More and more people, screaming and yelling, hundreds of voices swirling together like a howling wind. Marco pulled George away from the people and the wreckage. George couldn't believe how strong he was, how hard he kicked, how his arms sliced through the water.

水，往下，往下，往下，往下，直到乔治闭上眼睛。 他不忍心看着安德鲁斯先生那艘漂亮的船消失。 他周围响起了呼救声。 越来越多的人，尖叫着，叫喊着，几百个声音像呼啸的风一样搅在一起。 马可把乔治从人群和残骸中拉开。 乔治简直不敢相信自己是那么强壮，踢得那么用力，双臂划破水面。

When he finally stopped, Marco was gasping for breath, exhaling cold clouds of white mist. He tightened the rope around his arm and patted George on the shoulder. "I rest now, Giorgio," he said breathlessly. He closed his eyes and put his head down on the

当他终于停下来时，马可已经喘不过气来，呼出一团冰冷的白雾。 他把绳子系紧，拍了拍乔治的肩膀。 “我现在休息了，乔治。”他上气不接下气地说。 他闭上眼睛，把头放在床上

crate. "Soon." Soon what? George was afraid to ask. Soon it would be over? Soon they would be rescued? Or soon they would be swallowed up by the darkness? George heard men talking somewhere close by. He looked around, relieved that he wasn't all by himself, and to his shock, just ahead, he saw a lifeboat. "Marco!" he said. "Wake up!" But Marco didn't move. His arms hung off the side of the crate. His feet dangled in the icy water. "Marco! We need to get to that boat!" But Marco was still. And George realized that his friend had used every last ounce of strength. He'd gotten George off the sinking ship, and across the icy waters. It was up to George now. He tucked the rope under his body and started paddling. The water seared his hands and arms. It was so cold it felt boiling hot, like lava. But he didn't stop until he reached the boat.

板条箱。“很快。”很快什么?乔治不敢问。 很快就会结束?他们很快就会被救出来? 或者他们很快就会被黑暗吞没? 乔治听到有人在附近说话。 他环顾四周，松了一口气，因为他不是独自一人。令他震惊的是，就在前方，他看到了一艘救生艇。 “马可!”他说。“醒来!”但是马可没有动。 他的胳膊挂在板条箱的侧面。 他的脚在冰冷的水中晃来晃去。 “马克!我们得到那艘船上去!”但马可却一动不动。 乔治意识到他的朋友已经用尽了最后一丝力气。 他把乔治从下沉的船上救了出来，穿过冰冷的海水。 现在就看乔治的了。他把绳子塞到身下，开始划水。 水烫着他的手和胳膊。 太冷了，感觉像熔岩一样滚烫。 但他直到走到船上才停下来。