Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 Tata was breathing. Marcus could see that. But then why didn't he open his eyes? Why didn't Tata answer when Marcus called his name? The rock seemed to have knocked him into a deep and terrible sleep, and Marcus could not wake him up. The storm of rocks continued. Flaming boulders whooshed through the sky, their explosions booming all around. Somehow Marcus managed to drag Tata through the rocks. With a strength he never knew he had, he hoisted Tata up the five stairs that led through the temple's open doorway. He laid Tata on the cold stone floor and collapsed next to him.

塔塔还在呼吸。 马库斯看得出来。那他为什么不睁开眼睛呢? 马库斯叫塔塔的名字时，塔塔为什么不回答? 那块石头似乎把他打得陷入了可怕的沉睡，马库斯无法唤醒他。 石头的风暴还在继续。 燃烧的巨石在天空中呼啸而过，它们的爆炸声响彻四周。 马库斯设法把塔塔拖过了岩石。 他以一种自己从未意识到的力量，把塔塔抬上了通往寺庙敞开大门的五层楼梯。 他把塔塔放在冰冷的石头地板上，瘫倒在他旁边。

Hours passed before Tata's eyes finally fluttered open, and even longer before the fog cleared from his eyes and he could sit up. With each passing minute, it seemed, the mountain's fury grew stronger. The booming and whooshing and thundering and pounding had melded together into a bone-rattling roar. The walls of the temple shook and groaned. They were running out of time, Marcus knew. And then suddenly Tata turned to him. He took Marcus's hand. "My dear son, it is time for you to go," he said. "I know," Marcus said. "As soon as you're strong enough we can—" "No," Tata interrupted. "I'll never make it to the gates. But if you go now you'll still have a chance." It took a moment for Marcus to understand what Tata was saying: that Marcus should escape by himself. "No," Marcus said, locking eyes with Tata. "Please, Marcus. I have thought about this. I have considered every idea. There is no other possibility."

几个小时过去了，塔塔终于睁开了眼睛，甚至更久之后，他眼睛里的雾才散去，他才能坐起来。 随着时间的流逝，这座山的愤怒似乎越来越强烈。 轰隆声、呼啸声、雷鸣声和砰砰声融合在一起，变成了一声震骨的轰鸣声。 寺庙的墙壁震动呻吟。 他们的时间不多了，马库斯知道。 然后塔塔突然转向他。 他握住马库斯的手。“我亲爱的儿子，你该走了，”他说。 “我知道，”马库斯说。“不，”塔塔打断了他的话。 “我到不了大门口了。 但如果你现在去，你还有机会。” 马库斯过了一会儿才明白塔塔在说什么:马库斯应该自己逃跑。 “不，”马库斯说，眼睛盯着塔塔。 “请,马库斯。我想过这个问题。 每一个主意我都考虑过了。 没有别的可能了。”

Marcus knew that this was right. But it didn't matter. "I'm sorry," Marcus said. "But I'm staying here with you." He looked away so Tata wouldn't see his tears. And that's when he finally took a good look at the statue that stood right in front of them. The god with wings on his hat and on his sandals. Marcus's whole body tingled. The god was Mercury. A strange but familiar voice whispered in his mind. "When hope is lost, follow the hand of Mercury." The words were so clear, as though the old beggar woman was still right next to him. Marcus jumped up and went to the statue. He touched the marble, half expecting the statue to turn to flesh and blood, for Mercury to scoop him and Tata into his arms and fly them to the heavens. "What is it?" Tata said. He turned to Tata. "That old beggar woman, Tata," Marcus explained. "There was something

马库斯知道这是对的。 但这并不重要。“对不起，”马库斯说。 “但我要和你呆在一起。” 他把目光移开，不让塔塔看到他的眼泪。 就在那时，他终于仔细看了看站在他们面前的雕像。 他的帽子和凉鞋上都有翅膀。 马库斯全身发麻。 这位神就是墨丘利。一个陌生而熟悉的声音在他脑海中低语。 "失去希望时，跟随墨丘利之手" 这句话是那么清楚，好像那个老乞丐女人还在他身边。 马库斯跳起来，走向雕像。 他碰了碰大理石，还以为雕像会变成血肉之躯，让墨丘利把他和塔塔抱在怀里，带他们飞向天堂。 “什么事?”塔塔说。他转向塔塔。 “那个老乞丐女人，塔塔，”马库斯解释说。 “有一件事

else she said to me." He spoke her words slowly to Tata. Marcus waited for Tata to tell him it was crazy to believe in the ranting words of a stranger. But Tata didn't shake his head. He stared at the statue intently, studying it. And Marcus understood that at that moment it didn't matter whether the beggar woman's words were science or magic or madness. Marcus felt the truth of her words in his heart. And so, it seemed, did Tata. Tata rose to his feet, shaking off his pain and weakness. "Marcus," he said, his eyes wide with excitement. "Look at the statue's right hand." Marcus saw it too. It seemed the statue was pointing to something. But what? The floor was bare. Unless… Marcus dropped to his knees. He felt around the tile floor until he found a gap between two large tiles. His heart pounded as he dug his fingers into the gap. There was a groove in the side of one of the

不然她就对我说。”他慢慢地对塔塔说了她的话。 马库斯等着塔塔告诉他，相信一个陌生人的咆哮是疯狂的。 但塔塔没有摇头。 他目不转睛地盯着雕像，仔细研究着。 马库斯明白，在那一刻，不管那个乞丐女人的话是科学、魔法还是疯狂，都不重要。 马库斯在心里感觉到她的话是真的。 塔塔似乎也是如此。 塔塔站了起来，摆脱了疼痛和虚弱。 “马库斯，”他说，兴奋地瞪大了眼睛。 “看雕像的右手。” 马库斯也看到了。雕像似乎在指向什么东西。 但是什么?地板是光秃秃的。 除非马库斯跪了下来 他在铺着瓷砖的地板上摸索，直到发现两块大瓷砖之间有一个缺口。 当他把手指伸进缺口时，他的心怦怦直跳。 其中一个的侧面有一个凹槽

tiles. He lifted it up. And he could barely believe what he saw underneath. There was a trapdoor.

瓷砖。他把它举起来。他简直不敢相信下面的景象。 有一个活板门。