Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 THREE HOURS EARLIER A TRAIN TO CHICAGO Don't puke. That's what Oscar had been telling himself for the past nine hours as the train chugged and swayed and jerked its way toward Chicago. They'd crossed four hundred miles of wide open prairie. For hours, Oscar had been staring out the window. There had been nothing to see but shoulder-high grass and a few scrawny buffalo that seemed to wave good-bye to Oscar with their swishing tails. Now that they were getting closer to the city, Oscar couldn't bear to look. He slouched down in his seat and glued his eyes to his dusty boots.

第二章三小时前一列开往芝加哥的火车不要呕吐。 这是奥斯卡在过去的9个小时里一直在告诉自己的，因为火车在向芝加哥驶去的路上嘎吱嘎吱地摇晃着。 他们穿越了四百英里广阔的草原。 几个小时以来，奥斯卡一直盯着窗外看。 除了齐肩高的草地和几只骨瘦如柴的水牛外，什么也看不见，它们似乎在用嗖嗖作响的尾巴向奥斯卡挥手告别。 现在他们离城市越来越近了，奥斯卡不忍心看了。 他懒洋洋地坐在座位上，眼睛紧盯着满是灰尘的靴子。

"Are you feeling all right, Oscar?" Mr. Morrow said. "I'm fine, sir," Oscar lied. "Such a long trip," Mama said, her freckled face shining with excitement. "I feel like we're heading up to the moon!" Mama and Mr. Morrow both laughed, but nothing seemed funny to Oscar. So much had happened these past few weeks. He was in a state of shock. Mama had married Mr. Morrow. They had sold the Minnesota farm where Oscar had lived his entire life. And now they were moving to a strange city that might as well be the moon. No wonder Oscar felt sick. Of course the real nightmare had happened two years ago, when Papa died. He was killed in a vicious blizzard, a wall of ice and snow and wind that slammed into their prairie town with no warning. Papa had been trying to get home. His wagon crashed into a tree in the blinding snow. Even now, Oscar couldn't believe that Papa was gone.

“你感觉还好吗，奥斯卡?”莫罗先生说。 “我很好，先生。”奥斯卡撒谎道。 “这么长的一段旅程，”妈妈说，她那布满雀斑的脸上洋溢着兴奋的光芒。 “我觉得我们要登上月球了!”妈妈和莫罗先生都笑了，但奥斯卡觉得没什么好笑的。 这几个星期发生了很多事。 他处于震惊的状态。 妈妈嫁给了莫罗先生。 他们卖掉了奥斯卡生活了一辈子的明尼苏达农场。 现在他们要搬到一个陌生的城市，就像月亮一样。 难怪奥斯卡觉得不舒服。 当然，真正的噩梦发生在两年前，爸爸去世的时候。 他死于一场凶猛的暴风雪，一堵由冰雪和风组成的墙毫无预兆地袭击了他们的草原小镇。 爸爸一直想回家。 他的马车在眩目的大雪中撞在一棵树上。 即使到现在，奥斯卡也不敢相信爸爸已经不在了。

Papa was the toughest man Oscar knew. He'd been a sheriff in Dakota Territory. He'd survived a gunfight with one of the most brutal outlaws in the West. He'd carved a farm out of forty acres of wild prairie. Papa was Oscar's hero. Those first weeks after Papa died, Oscar was sure his sadness would rip him apart. But he couldn't just lie in bed sobbing. With Papa gone, it was Oscar's job to help Mama with the farm. He made a whispered promise to Papa — to watch over the farm, to work as hard as he could to keep it going. He worked before dawn and after school. He worked so hard he'd fall into bed every night, too exhausted to think. Mama wanted Oscar to see his friends. "Maybe tomorrow," Oscar always answered. "Then come sit with me awhile," Mama would say. "Let's play cards." He and Mama and Papa used to play fierce games of hearts. When Papa lost, he'd pretend to fly into a rage, pounding the table while Mama and Oscar doubled over laughing.

爸爸是奥斯卡认识的最坚强的人。 他曾是达科塔地区的治安官。 他在与西部最残暴的歹徒枪战中幸存下来。 他在四十英亩的荒地上开辟了一个农场。 爸爸是奥斯卡的英雄。爸爸去世后的头几个星期，奥斯卡确信他的悲伤会把他击垮。 但他不能只是躺在床上哭泣。 爸爸走了，奥斯卡的工作就是帮妈妈打理农场。 他低声向爸爸保证——照看农场，尽他所能努力工作，让农场继续经营下去。 他在黎明前和放学后工作。 他工作如此努力，以至于每天晚上都躺在床上，累得无法思考。 妈妈想让奥斯卡见见他的朋友。 “也许明天吧，”奥斯卡总是这样回答。 “那就过来陪我坐一会儿，”妈妈说。 “我们玩牌吧。”他和爸爸妈妈经常玩激烈的红心游戏。 当爸爸输了的时候，他会假装勃然大怒，敲打桌子，而妈妈和奥斯卡则笑得弯下腰来。

But Oscar had no time for cards. All he wanted to do was work. The seasons passed in a blur of sweat and dirt and aching muscles. And Oscar would have just kept on going. But then, six months ago, Mr. Charlie Morrow appeared at their door. Mr. Morrow was an artist for a big Chicago newspaper. He'd come to Castle for his latest project, which was to paint scenes of life in a booming little prairie town. Mama was honored when Mr. Morrow stopped by and asked if he could paint their farm. Each morning for a month, Mr. Morrow would show up just after the sun rose, waving at Mama and Oscar with his paint-stained fingers. "Hello!" he'd sing out. He was a big man, with jet-black hair and a beard to match. Mama said he reminded her of a giant from a fairy tale. "But the nice kind," she explained. Oscar liked Mr. Morrow well enough. He made Mama smile, that was for sure.

但是奥斯卡没有时间玩牌。 他只想工作。 季节在汗水、泥土和酸痛的肌肉中流逝。 而奥斯卡会继续往前走。 但六个月前，查理·莫罗先生出现在他们家门口。 莫罗先生是芝加哥一家大报纸的艺术家。 他来卡斯尔是为了他的最新项目，画一个蓬勃发展的草原小镇的生活场景。 莫罗先生来拜访，问妈妈能不能画他们的农场，妈妈感到很荣幸。 在一个月的时间里，每天早晨，莫罗先生都会在太阳升起后出现，用他沾满油漆的手指向妈妈和奥斯卡挥手。 “你好!”他大声说。他身材魁梧，一头乌黑的头发和一副与之相配的胡子。 妈妈说他让她想起童话里的巨人。 “但是好的那种，”她解释说。 奥斯卡很喜欢莫罗先生。 他让妈妈笑了，这是肯定的。

Most nights after Mr. Morrow packed up his paints, he'd join them for supper. Afterward he and Mama would sit out on the porch and look over the day's paintings. "Oscar, join us," Mr. Morrow would boom. But why did Oscar need to look at paintings of his farm? He lived there! So he'd make excuses and then fall asleep to the sound of Mr. Morrow and Mama's soft laughter drifting upstairs. After Mr. Morrow went back to Chicago, Mama seemed to get a letter from him every single day. So maybe Oscar shouldn't have been shocked when, two months ago, Mama sat Oscar down under the apple tree with some big news.

大多数晚上，莫罗先生收拾好颜料后，都会和他们一起吃晚饭。 之后，他和妈妈会坐在门廊上，欣赏当天的画作。 “奥斯卡，加入我们，”莫罗先生会大声说。 但奥斯卡为什么要看他农场的画呢? 他住在那里!所以他会找借口，然后在莫罗先生和妈妈飘到楼上的轻轻的笑声中睡着。 莫罗先生回到芝加哥后，妈妈似乎每天都能收到他的一封信。 所以，两个月前，当妈妈带着一些重大消息让奥斯卡坐在苹果树下时，也许奥斯卡不应该感到震惊。

"He's asked me to marry him," she said. At first Oscar laughed. Mr. Morrow? He was nothing like Papa! He was an artist. An artist! Was that even a job? But then Oscar noticed how Mama's eyes were twinkling. "Oscar," she said. "I want to say yes." Oscar stopped laughing. "He's a wonderful man," she said. "And what a life we'll have with him in Chicago." At first Oscar just sat there like he'd been smacked in the head with a shovel.

“他向我求婚了，”她说。 一开始奥斯卡笑了。明天先生吗? 他一点也不像爸爸!他是个艺术家。 一个艺术家!那算是一份工作吗? 但是奥斯卡注意到妈妈的眼睛在闪烁。 “奥斯卡，”她说。“我想说是的。” 奥斯卡停止了笑。“他是个很棒的人，”她说。 “我们和他在芝加哥将会有多么美好的生活啊。” 一开始奥斯卡只是坐在那里，就像被铁锹砸了头一样。