Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 George ran as fast as he could down the hall. He heard shouting behind him, but he didn't stop until he was back on B deck, safe again in first class. A steward hurried past him with a stack of clean towels. "Good evening, sir," he said. George nodded, out of breath. Nothing could happen to him up here, he knew. So why was his heart still pounding? It was the ship, he realized — that thundering noise. That shaking in the hold. Had a boiler exploded? Had a steam pipe burst?

乔治以最快的速度跑过大厅。 他听到身后有喊叫声，但他没有停下来，直到他回到B甲板，安全回到头等舱。 一个乘务员拿着一叠干净毛巾匆匆从他身边走过。 “晚上好，先生，”他说。 乔治点了点头，上气不接下气。 他知道，在这里他不会出事的。 那他的心为什么还在跳? 那是船的声音，他意识到——那雷鸣般的声音。 船舱里的颤抖。是锅炉爆炸了吗? 蒸汽管道破裂了吗?

An eerie silence surrounded him, and George's heart skipped a beat as he realized that the engines had been turned off. The quiet rumbling had stopped. Just outside, George heard people talking loudly. Did they know what was happening? George went out onto the deck and walked over to the small crowd of men. Most were still dressed in their dinner tuxedos and puffing on cigars. They were standing at the rail, pointing and laughing at something happening on the well deck, one level below. What was so funny? George squeezed between two men and looked over the rail. At first he was sure his eyes were playing tricks. It looked like the well deck had been through a winter storm. It was covered with ice and slush. A bunch of young men in tattered coats and hats were pelting each other with balls of ice, roaring with laughter like kids having a snowball fight. "What's happened?" asked a man who'd walked up behind George.

一阵诡异的寂静包围着他，乔治意识到引擎已经关闭，他的心跳加快了。 安静的隆隆声停止了。 就在外面，乔治听到人们大声说话。 他们知道发生了什么事吗? 乔治走到甲板上，向那一小群人走过去。 大多数人仍然穿着晚礼服，抽着雪茄。 他们站在栏杆旁，指着下面一层井甲板上发生的事情，笑着。 什么事这么好笑?乔治挤在两个人中间，从栏杆上往外看。 起初，他确信自己的眼睛在作怪。 看起来，井甲板好像经历了一场冬季风暴。 它被冰和雪泥覆盖着。 一群穿着破破烂烂的外套、戴着破破烂烂的帽子的年轻人，像打雪仗的孩子一样哄堂大笑，互相投掷冰球。 “出什么事了?”一个从乔治身后走过来的人问道。

"The ship nudged an iceberg!" said an old man with a bushy mustache. He didn't sound worried. An iceberg! "Is that why they've stopped the engines?" said the new man. "Because of some ice on the deck?" "Just being cautious, it seems, following regulations," said the older fellow. "I spoke to one of the officers. He assured me we'll be underway any moment. Hey there!" he yelled down to the young men below. "Toss some of that ice up here!" One of the gang picked up a piece of ice the size of a baseball. He threw it, but the man with the bushy mustache missed. George reached out and made a clean catch with one hand. The crowd cheered. George held up the ice and smiled. Then he held it out to the man. "Keep it, son!" he said. "There's plenty for everyone." The piece of ice was heavier than George had expected. He sniffed it and wrinkled his nose. It smelled like old sardines!

“船撞上冰山了!”一个留着浓密胡子的老人说。 他听起来并不担心。冰山!“这就是他们停止引擎的原因吗?”新来的人说。 “因为甲板上有冰吗?”“看来只是出于谨慎，遵守规定，”老家伙说。 “我和其中一名警官谈过。 他向我保证我们随时会出发。 嘿!”他朝下面的年轻人喊道。 “把冰块扔到这儿来!”其中一人捡起一块棒球大小的冰块。 他把它扔了出去，但那个留着浓密胡子的男人没打中。 乔治伸出手，用一只手抓住了一个干净的球。 人群欢呼起来。乔治举起冰块，笑了。 然后他把它递给了那个人。 “留着吧，孩子!”“每个人都有很多。” 这块冰比乔治预料的要重。 他闻了闻，皱了皱鼻子。 闻起来像老沙丁鱼!

More ice balls came sailing up from below, and the men jostled to catch them. Their laughter and cheers rose up around George, and the fear he'd felt in the baggage hold faded away. From up here, on the deck of this incredible ship, George felt powerful. Nothing could hurt him on the Titanic. Not a meteor falling from space. Not a giant squid. Not the scar-faced man. George squinted out into the distance, hoping to see the iceberg, but the sea faded into darkness. His teeth were chattering now. It was so much colder than it had been at dinnertime. He wanted to be back in bed, curled up under his fancy first class sheets and blankets. The corridor was still quiet as George crept toward his suite. As he was letting himself in, he stepped on something that made a crunching sound under his boot. At first George thought that it was ice or a piece of glass. But when he picked up his heel, he saw that the carpet was covered with yellow crystals.

更多的冰球从下面飞了上来，人们挤着去接它们。 他们的笑声和欢呼声在乔治周围响起，他在行李舱里感到的恐惧也消失了。 从这里，在这艘不可思议的船的甲板上，乔治感到自己很强大。 在泰坦尼克号上没有什么能伤害到他。 不是从太空坠落的流星。 不是巨型乌贼。不是那个疤脸男人。 乔治眯着眼睛望向远处，希望能看到冰山，但大海渐渐消失在黑暗中。 他的牙齿在打战。 天气比吃饭时冷多了。 他想回到床上，蜷缩在他豪华的头等舱床单和毯子下面。 乔治蹑手蹑脚地走向他的套房时，走廊里仍然静悄悄的。 当他开门进去的时候，他踩到了什么东西，在他的靴子下面发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。 起初，乔治以为那是冰或一块玻璃。 但是当他抬起脚跟时，他看到地毯上覆盖着黄色的水晶。

George smiled. It was just one of Phoebe's lemon drops. George let himself in, easing the door shut. Phoebe's bed curtains were closed. The light under Aunt Daisy's door was off. George quickly changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. Yes, he was safe, he told himself. He tried to go to sleep, but as the minutes ticked by, his mind got restless. It hit him that his knife was gone, forever, and the total silence of the ship seemed to press down on him. Why hadn't the engines started up again? He lay wide awake, listening and wondering. It was almost a relief when he heard someone knocking on their door.

乔治笑了。那只是菲比的柠檬汁。 乔治轻轻把门关上，自己走了进去。 菲比的床帷拉上了。 黛西姨妈家门下的灯灭了。 乔治迅速换上睡衣，爬上了床。 是的，他很安全，他告诉自己。 他想睡觉，但时间一分一秒地过去，他的头脑变得焦躁不安。 他突然意识到，他的刀不见了，永远不见了，船上的寂静似乎压在他身上。 为什么引擎还没有发动起来? 他醒着躺着，边听边想。 当他听到有人敲门时，他几乎松了一口气。