Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 The ground shook as Marcus had never felt before, as though hundreds of monsters were waking up in their underground caves, pounding the earth in fits of fury. Panicking, the guards let go of Marcus and Tata. Marcus ran to his father and clung to him, struggling to stay upright as the earth rose and fell like waves on a wild river. The top of the mountain had blown off, and from the jagged opening gushed an enormous billowing brown cloud. The cloud seemed to stretch into the heavens. Flames shot through the

地面震动了，这是马库斯从来没有感觉到过的，好像有几百只怪物在它们的地下洞穴里醒来，愤怒地敲打着大地。 警卫们惊慌失措，放开了马库斯和塔塔。 马库斯跑向他的父亲，紧紧抱住他，挣扎着保持直立，而大地就像汹涌的河流上的波浪一样起起伏伏。 山顶被风吹走了，从参差不齐的洞口喷出了一大片翻滚的棕色云。 云似乎一直延伸到天空。 火焰穿透了屋顶。

smoke as jagged bolts of lightning ripped at the sky. People streamed out of the shops. Beggars rose to their feet. Slaves dropped their bundles of wood and water jugs. For a moment, nobody spoke. Nobody even seemed to be breathing. All eyes were on the mountain. But then came the shouts. "It's the end of the world!" "Why are the gods punishing us?" "Everyone must leave Pompeii!" Tata shouted. He started pulling Marcus through the crowd. But Festus called to his guards. "No! Stop those slaves!" Festus bellowed. The guards lunged for Marcus and Tata. But Tata held up his hand. "You must listen!" he boomed. Somehow his voice rose up over the roar of Vesuvius. To Marcus's shock, the guards did not move. They were just as scared as everyone else.

烟像锯齿状的闪电划破天空。 人们从商店里涌出。 乞丐们站了起来。 奴隶们扔下了一捆捆的木头和水壶。 一时间，没有人说话。 似乎没有人在呼吸。 所有的目光都集中在山上。 但随后传来了喊叫声。“这是世界末日!”“诸神为什么要惩罚我们?”“所有人都必须离开庞贝!”塔塔喊道。 他开始拉着马库斯穿过人群。 非斯都叫了卫兵来。 “不!阻止那些奴隶!”非斯都大吼。 卫兵们扑向马库斯和塔塔。 但塔塔举起了手。 “你一定要听!” 不知怎的，他的声音盖过了维苏威火山的轰鸣声。 令马库斯吃惊的是，守卫们没有动。 他们和其他人一样害怕。

"If you want to live, you must leave now," Tata warned. He spoke not only to the guards but to the gathering crowd. "Get out of the city, and go as far away from the mountain as you can."

塔塔警告说:“如果你想活下去，现在就必须离开。” 他不仅对卫兵讲话，而且对聚集的人群讲话。 “出城去，离山越远越好。”

Just then a man stepped out of Festus's chariot. His fine toga swished around his powerful body. In his hand flashed the seal of a senator, one of the most powerful men in Pompeii. But it was not Festus that this man had come out to talk to. It was Tata. "What you say about the mountain," he demanded. "How do you know this?" Festus stepped up. "He is just—" The man silenced Festus with a wave of his hand. "Speak," he ordered Tata. Tata did not shrink back from the powerful man. He met his challenging gaze. "Sir, for years my master was the scientist Linus Selius. My son and I were on the mountain last night. We saw many signs that this disaster was coming. Soon it will be too late to escape with our lives." The man looked up on the mountain, at the boiling ash cloud that now filled the sky. The mountain's power seemed to be growing. It was now only a matter of time before this blanket of doom fell over the city.

那时，有一个人从非斯都的车上下来。 他那件漂亮的长袍在他强壮的身体周围嗖嗖作响。 他手里挥舞着元老院的印章，他是庞贝最有权势的人之一。 这人出来，并不是要和非斯都说话。 是塔塔。“你说的那座山，”他问道。 “你怎么知道的?”非斯都站了起来。 “他只是——”那人一挥手，叫非斯都住嘴。 “说吧，”他命令塔塔。塔塔没有在这位有权势的人面前退缩。 他面对着他挑衅的目光。 “先生，多年来我的主人是科学家莱纳斯·塞留斯。 我儿子和我昨晚在山上。 我们看到了许多灾难即将来临的迹象。 很快就来不及逃命了。” 那人抬头望着山上，看着沸腾的火山灰云现在充满了天空。 这座山的力量似乎在增长。 这场灾难降临到这座城市只是时间问题。

"How much time do we have?" "A few hours at the most," Tata said. "The worst will come after the mountain runs out of power. I believe all of the gases and ash in the sky will come back down, and explode. A great wave of fire will sweep down over Pompeii." "Dear gods," the man whispered. A mask seemed to drop from his face, baring his fear. "Festus," he said. "We must warn the magistrates at once! We must order people to leave the city!" And before Festus could reply, the man had rushed off. With surprising speed, he sprinted across the Forum. He rushed past the guards and disappeared into the government building. "This is nonsense—" Festus bellowed. But his words were cut off by a loud whoosh from the sky just above them. Marcus looked up just in time to see a giant flaming fireball closing in on them. "Look out!" someone screamed. Tata grabbed Marcus and they dove for cover behind an enormous statue. And then — Kaboom!

“我们还有多少时间?”“最多几个小时，”塔塔说。 “最糟糕的情况将在这座山耗尽电力后出现。 我相信天空中所有的气体和灰烬都会回来，然后爆炸。 一股巨大的大火将席卷庞贝。” “天哪，”那人低声说。 一个面具似乎从他脸上掉了下来，露出了他的恐惧。 他说，非斯都。“我们必须立刻警告地方长官!”我们必须命令人们离开这座城市!”非斯都还没有回答，那人就跑了。 他以惊人的速度冲过广场。 他冲过警卫，消失在政府大楼里。 “这是胡说八道——”非斯都吼道。 但是他的话被一声响亮的嗖嗖声打断了。 马库斯抬头一看，正好看到一个巨大的火球向他们逼近。 “小心!”有人尖叫。 塔塔抓住马库斯，他们躲在一座巨大的雕像后面。 然后——砰!

The flaming boulder hit the street with a deafening explosion. Small shards of rock showered over Marcus and Tata. But the explosion had spared them. They struggled to their feet and made their way back to the street, where a crowd had formed. He heard gasps and wails of shock. As Tata and Marcus approached, one of Festus's guards turned around. "The master is dead," he announced. Marcus peered through the crowd. The boulder had left a shallow crater in the street. And in the center, lying in a broken heap, was Festus. Marcus looked away. He expected to feel happy. Festus was dead! But it turned out there was no pleasure in seeing anyone's broken body, not even the body of someone as hateful as Festus. Marcus looked up at the roiling cloud spewing from Vesuvius. And all he could feel was terror.

燃烧的大石头砸在街上，发出震耳欲聋的爆炸声。 小块的岩石碎片像雨点一样落在马库斯和塔塔身上。 但爆炸使他们幸免于难。 他们挣扎着站起来，回到街上，那里已经聚集了一群人。 他听到震惊的喘息声和哀号声。 当塔塔和马库斯走近时，非斯都的一个卫兵转过身来。 “主人死了，”他宣布。 马库斯透过人群向外张望。 巨石在街上留下了一个浅坑。 非斯都在中间，躺在破堆里。 马库斯把目光移开。他期望感到幸福。 非斯都死了!谁知看见人残缺的身体，就不喜悦，就是看见像非斯都这样可恨的人的身体，也不喜悦。 马库斯抬头看着维苏威火山喷出的翻滚的云。 他能感觉到的只有恐惧。