Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 "Your mother is safe at my house!" Mr. Morrow shouted over the roaring fire. One of Mr. Morrow's friends had taken Mama there in a buggy, hours before. "My house is far to the north," he said. "The flames won't reach there. She didn't want to leave the hotel. But I promised her that I would find you." He explained this as they ran to the corner. The streets were practically deserted; almost everyone else on the block had already fled. Mr. Morrow had stayed behind, risking his life to look for Oscar. Oscar opened his mouth to thank him, to tell him about Jennie and Bruno.

第十三章“你妈妈在我家很安全!”莫罗先生在熊熊燃烧的炉火上喊道。 几个小时前，莫罗先生的一个朋友用童车带妈妈去了那里。 “我家在北边很远的地方，”他说。 “火焰到不了那里。 她不想离开酒店。 但我答应过她我会找到你的。” 当他们跑到拐角处时，他解释了这一点。 街上几乎空无一人;街区里几乎所有人都逃走了。 莫罗先生留下了，冒着生命危险寻找奥斯卡。 奥斯卡张开嘴感谢他，告诉他关于珍妮和布鲁诺的事。

But his voice was wrecked from the smoke and his shouting. And he didn't know how to begin. A cab stood at the corner, the horse covered with a soaking-wet blanket to protect it from the sparks. A familiar voice shouted to them through the smoke. "Got him, Charlie?" It was Joseph, the cabdriver Oscar had met earlier. "I do!" Mr. Morrow called. "Mr. Morrow's got half the city of Chicago looking for you, son," Joseph said as they climbed in. Seconds later they were inside the buggy, and the horse took off in a gallop. The two walls of flame were moving toward each other, but Joseph steered his horse through the middle and then swerved onto a side street that the fire hadn't yet touched. Most horses would have refused to budge in a fire like this, or would be rearing up in wild panic. But the old nag was calm, and Joseph barely had to snap the reins to keep her moving quickly. "Joseph is taking us to the nearest bridge," Mr. Morrow said. "We'll cross the river there and

但是他的声音被烟和他的喊叫弄得嘶哑了。 他不知道如何开始。 一辆马车停在街角，马身上盖着一条浸湿的毯子，以保护它不受火花的伤害。 一个熟悉的声音在烟雾中向他们喊道。 “抓到他了吗，查理?”原来是约瑟夫，奥斯卡之前遇到的那个出租车司机。 “我做的!”莫罗先生打来电话。 “莫罗先生让半个芝加哥的人都在找你，孩子。”他们爬上车时，约瑟夫说。 几秒钟后，他们进了马车，马疾驰而去。 两道火焰墙互相靠近，但约瑟夫牵着马穿过中间，然后转向一条尚未被火焰触及的小巷。 大多数马在这样的大火中会拒绝移动，或者在极度恐慌中成长起来。 但是这匹老马很平静，约瑟夫几乎不需要拉缰绳就能让它快速移动。 “约瑟夫正带我们去最近的桥，”莫罗说。 “我们在那儿过河

make our way to my house. There are fires on the other side, but nothing like this." Mr. Morrow shook his head. "I can't believe it, Oscar," he said. "So much is gone." The courthouse was in ruins, Mr. Morrow said. So were the new opera house, the grand department stores, and the huge factories and train depots. Thousands of houses were gone. "I don't know what will be left when this is all over," Mr. Morrow said. The bridge came into view. It was wide, with a roadway in the center and two narrow walkways on either side. Oscar's heart sank as he saw the hundreds of people knotted together on the bridge, the dozens of buggies creeping along. "Charlie," Joseph said. "You're better off on foot. And I need to get up to my sister's house, to check on her." "Of course," Mr. Morrow said. He and Oscar climbed out, and Mr. Morrow reached up to shake hands with Joseph. "Thanks. I'll see you, friend," Mr. Morrow said.

去我家吧。另一边也有火，但没有这样的。” 莫罗先生摇了摇头。 “我简直不敢相信，奥斯卡，”他说。 “这么多都没了。”莫罗说，法院已经成了一片废墟。 新歌剧院、大型百货公司、大型工厂和火车站也是如此。 成千上万的房屋被毁。 “我不知道这一切结束后还会留下什么，”莫罗说。 那座桥出现了。 它很宽，中间有一条车道，两边有两条狭窄的人行道。 奥斯卡的心一沉，因为他看到成百上千的人在桥上打结在一起，几十辆童车缓缓驶过。 “查理，”约瑟夫说。“你最好步行。 我得去我姐姐家看看她怎么样了。” “当然，”莫罗先生说。 他和奥斯卡爬了出来，莫罗先生伸手和约瑟夫握手。 “谢谢。再见，朋友，”莫罗先生说。

"You sure will," Joseph said. But Oscar could see the doubt in both men's eyes. They were standing in front of a paint warehouse, and Mr. Morrow looked at the bridge. His face was etched with worry. "I don't like the look of that bridge," he said. "The roadway is made of wood. It could burn at any time. If the fire comes, all of those people will be trapped. It will be complete panic." Oscar remembered the horror of being stuck in the stampeding crowd with Jennie and Bruno. He knew Mr. Morrow was right, that the bridge was unsafe. But how else could they get across the river? He looked out on the water. Farther up were boats steaming and sailing in both directions. But this stretch was mostly empty. "There," Mr. Morrow said, spotting a rowboat tied up along the riverbank. "I used to row across all the time when I was a kid. It takes just a few minutes."

“你一定会的，”约瑟夫说。 但奥斯卡能看出两人眼中的怀疑。 他们站在一个油漆仓库前，莫罗先生看着那座桥。 他的脸上写满了忧虑。 “我不喜欢那座桥的样子，”他说。 “这条路是木头做的。 它随时都可能燃烧。 如果发生火灾，所有的人都会被困住。 这将是一场彻底的恐慌。” 奥斯卡还记得和珍妮、布鲁诺一起挤在拥挤的人群中的可怕情景。 他知道莫罗先生是对的，那座桥不安全。 但他们还能怎么过河呢? 他向水面望去。 再往上一点，是朝两个方向航行的船只。 但这段路基本上是空的。 “在那儿，”莫罗先生说，他看到河岸上拴着一只划艇。 “当我还是个孩子的时候，我经常划船过河。 只需要几分钟。”

They hurried to the boat. "Climb in," Mr. Morrow said. "I'm going to see if I can find another set of oars." It was only when Oscar got into the boat that he realized his whole body was shaking. But the thought of seeing Mama made him feel stronger. "Here," Mr. Morrow said, handing Oscar a set of oars. "We're going to have to move very quickly." Soon they had shoved off and were rowing with all their might. Oil fumes rose up, and something worse — that slaughterhouse stench. Garbage and dead rats floated around them. With so many factories lining the shores, Oscar knew the water must be a filthy witch's brew.

他们急忙向小船走去。“爬进去，”莫罗先生说。 “我去看看能不能再找到一副桨。” 直到奥斯卡上了船，他才意识到自己全身都在颤抖。 但是一想到要见到妈妈，他就觉得更坚强了。 “给你，”莫罗先生说着，递给奥斯卡一副桨。 “我们必须迅速采取行动。” 不久，他们就划开了船，竭尽全力划着。 油烟升起，还有更糟的——屠宰场的恶臭。 垃圾和死老鼠漂浮在他们周围。 岸边有这么多工厂，奥斯卡知道这水一定是肮脏的女巫酿造的。

The wind blew hard, sending showers of sparks over the river. Shouts and screams rang out from the bridge. Oscar saw that a wagon in the middle of the

风刮得很大，在河上飞溅着火花。 桥上传来喊叫声和尖叫声。 奥斯卡看到一辆马车停在