Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 "Row faster, Oscar!" Mr. Morrow shouted. But the flaming boat was too big and moving too quickly for them to get out of the way in time. "Oscar!" Mr. Morrow said. "Can you swim?" "Yes," Oscar said. "Good," he said. "Swim to shore. When you get to the other side, get yourself to the lakeshore." Why was Mr. Morrow telling him this? There was no time to ask. The burning ship was closing in. "Jump!" Mr. Morrow cried. Oscar threw himself over the side. The cold water slapped him and burned his skin. He started swimming as fast as he could, keeping his eyes and mouth closed against the foul water.

第十四章“划快点，奥斯卡!”莫罗先生喊道。 但是着火的船太大了，移动得太快了，他们来不及躲开。 “奥斯卡!”莫罗先生说。“你会游泳吗?”“是的，”奥斯卡说。 “很好，”他说。“游到岸边去。 当你到达另一边时，你自己到达湖岸。” 莫罗先生为什么要告诉他这些? 没有时间问了。燃烧的船正在靠近。 “跳!”莫罗先生叫道。奥斯卡跳了下去。 冷水拍打着他，烫伤了他的皮肤。 他开始以最快的速度游泳，闭上眼睛和嘴巴挡住污浊的水。

Crash! Sparks flew up all around as the flaming ship hit the rowboat, slicing it in half and setting it on fire. Oscar kept swimming. He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see Mr. Morrow right beside him. But he wasn't. Oscar stopped and turned, churning his legs and arms to stay afloat. Through the smoke, he saw something bobbing in the water. It was Mr. Morrow clinging to a small piece of wood and struggling to keep his head above water. Now Oscar understood why Mr. Morrow didn't think he could make it to the other side of the river. He couldn't swim! Oscar should have known — Papa couldn't swim either, even though he grew up near the ocean. Mama was one of the few people Oscar knew who could swim, and it was she who had taught Oscar. "Keep going, Oscar!" Mr. Morrow cried.

崩溃!着火的船撞到划艇，溅起的火花四溅，划艇被劈成两半，着火了。 奥斯卡一直在游泳。他回头瞥了一眼，以为莫罗先生就在他身边。 但他不是。奥斯卡停了下来，转过身来，扭动着双腿和手臂，让自己浮在水面上。 透过烟雾，他看到水里有东西在上下浮动。 那是莫罗先生，他紧紧抓住一小块木头，挣扎着把头露出水面。 现在奥斯卡明白了为什么莫罗先生认为他无法到达河对岸。 他不会游泳!奥斯卡应该知道——爸爸也不会游泳，尽管他在海边长大。 妈妈是奥斯卡认识的少数几个会游泳的人之一，也是她教会了奥斯卡。 “继续，奥斯卡!”莫罗先生叫道。

Oscar saw a huge piece of wood floating near him. He grabbed it and kicked as hard as he could to get to Mr. Morrow. "Mr. Morrow! Grab hold." Mr. Morrow looked up in surprise and relief as Oscar thrust the wood toward him. And that's when Oscar noticed that back on the south shore, from where they'd just escaped, the roof of the paint warehouse had caught fire. His heart leaped into his throat. Any minute, there would be a massive explosion. They had to get away now! They both clung to the makeshift raft, kicking frantically. And then — KABOOM! Behind them, the paint factory exploded with a deafening blast. Oscar waited for the crush of burning wood, for flames to reach out and grab them. But instead, the force of the explosion created a wave that came up behind them. It propelled them forward, out of the fire's reach, toward the safety of the north shore.

奥斯卡看到一块巨大的木头漂浮在他附近。 他抓住它，用尽全力踢向莫罗先生。 “明日先生!抓住。”当奥斯卡把木头推到他面前时，莫罗先生惊讶地抬起头来，松了口气。 就在这时，奥斯卡注意到在南岸，他们刚刚逃离的地方，油漆仓库的屋顶着火了。 他的心都跳到嗓子眼儿了。 随时都可能发生大爆炸。 他们现在必须离开!他们俩都紧紧抓住那只临时搭建的木筏，疯狂地踢着。 然后——砰!在他们身后，油漆厂发出震耳欲聋的爆炸声。 奥斯卡等待着燃烧的木头发出撞击的声音，等待着火焰伸出来抓住他们。 但相反，爆炸的力量在他们身后形成了一个波浪。 它推动着他们向前，离开了大火的范围，向安全的北岸驶去。

They landed with a thud on the muddy riverbank. Oscar looked back, amazed to see that the river itself was now on fire. He could barely believe they'd made it. Yet he felt little relief. Oscar stared over the flaming river. The entire south side of the city was in the grip of fire and smoke. And somewhere in the middle of it all were Jennie and Bruno. Oscar told Mr. Morrow all about them as they trudged away from the river. Mr. Morrow listened closely, and Oscar sensed that he was using Oscar's words to paint a picture of Bruno and Jennie in his mind. "We'll find them, Oscar," he kept saying. "I found you, didn't I?" But the search for Jennie and Bruno would have to wait. Because once again Oscar and Mr. Morrow found themselves in a fight for their lives. They kept trying to get back to Mr. Morrow's house, but the wind grew stronger and stronger, sweeping ferocious fires all through the north side

他们砰的一声落在泥泞的河岸上。 奥斯卡回头一看，惊奇地发现河本身也着火了。 他简直不敢相信他们成功了。 然而，他并没有感到宽慰。 奥斯卡凝视着燃烧的河水。 整个城市的南部都被大火和烟雾笼罩着。 珍妮和布鲁诺就在这中间。 当他们艰难地离开河边时，奥斯卡把他们的一切都告诉了莫罗先生。 莫罗先生仔细地听着，奥斯卡感觉到他是在用奥斯卡的话在脑海中描绘布鲁诺和珍妮的画面。 “我们会找到他们的，奥斯卡。”他不停地说。 “我找到你了，不是吗?”但寻找珍妮和布鲁诺还得再等等。 因为奥斯卡和莫罗先生又一次陷入了生死之战。 他们一直试图回到莫罗先生的房子，但风越来越大，席卷了整个北部的大火

of the river. Entire blocks burned within minutes. Flames chased after Oscar and Mr. Morrow. Each time they thought they were safe, a new fire would erupt, and they were on the run again. Their last hope was Lake Michigan, which stretched out to the east of the city. As the fires closed in behind them, they waded into the freezing water, ready to duck under if the flames attacked. There were hundreds of people all around them, and the crowd grew to the thousands as the night wore on. There were entire families with their horses and with their wagons piled high with furniture, fancy ladies in their ruffled dresses and jewels, children who had been separated from their parents. They all stood gasping in the smoky air, shivering in the freezing water. The hours crept by, the sun came up, and still the fires raged out of control. It would be another endless day before finally the fires began to tire, when the winds lost their fury, when it was finally safe enough to wade out of the freezing water. It took hours more for Oscar and Mr. Morrow to make their way back to his house in the pouring

河的。整个街区在几分钟内被烧毁。 火焰追着奥斯卡和莫罗先生。 每当他们以为自己安全的时候，又会爆发一场新的大火，他们又开始逃亡。 他们最后的希望是密歇根湖，它一直延伸到城市的东部。 当大火在他们身后逼近时，他们涉水进入冰冷的水中，准备在火焰袭击时潜入水中。 他们周围有数百人，随着夜幕的降临，人群逐渐增加到数千人。 有一家家的家庭，他们的马和马车上堆满了家具，有穿着褶边连衣裙、戴着珠宝的漂亮女士，有与父母失散的孩子。 他们都站在烟雾弥漫的空气中喘着粗气，在冰冷的水中瑟瑟发抖。 时间一小时一小时地过去了，太阳升起来了，但大火仍在失去控制地熊熊燃烧。 这又是一个没完没了的日子，直到大火终于开始熄灭，直到狂风不再肆虐，直到人们终于可以安全地从冰冷的水中涉水而出。 奥斯卡和莫罗先生又花了几个小时才在倾盆大雨中回到他的家

rain. They were numb with cold and shock, miserable with thirst, and wheezing in the smoky air. But finally they made it to Mr. Morrow's stone house, one of the few houses still standing. And there, on the porch, was Mama. Oscar got the idea that she'd been standing there for days. She sprinted off the porch and into the drenching rain to meet them. Her face was as pale as bone. Oscar ran to her, throwing himself into her arms.

下雨了。他们冻得发麻，干渴得难受，在烟雾弥漫的空气中气喘吁吁。 但最后，他们来到了莫罗先生的石屋，这是为数不多的仍屹立不倒的房子之一。 站在门廊上的是妈妈。 奥斯卡觉得她已经在那里站了好几天了。 她冲出门廊，冲进倾盆大雨中迎接他们。 她的脸像骨头一样苍白。 奥斯卡跑向她，扑进她的怀里。