Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 THIRTY MINUTES LATER 9:00 P.M. ILLINOIS CENTRAL TRAIN DEPOT "Those street kids are vicious," the policeman said. He looked down at Oscar. "Son, you're lucky you didn't get stabbed." Mama, Mr. Morrow, and Oscar stood with the policeman on the spot where their suitcases had been. The cop, Officer Brennan, was an old buddy of Mr. Morrow's. He explained that Oscar had been tricked. That little girl wasn't really lost. She was a crook, part of a band of thieves. "She distracted you so the others could steal the suitcases," Officer Brennan said. "Happens here every day."

第四章30分钟后，晚上9点 “那些流落街头的孩子很恶毒，”警察说。 他低头看着奥斯卡。“儿子，你没被刺伤算你走运。” 妈妈、莫罗先生和奥斯卡和警察站在他们放箱子的地方。 那个警察，布伦南警官，是莫罗先生的老朋友。 他解释说奥斯卡被骗了。 那个小女孩并没有真的迷路。 她是个骗子，是一伙小偷中的一员。 “她分散了你的注意力，好让其他人去偷箱子，”布伦南说。 “每天都在这里发生。”

Officer Brennan and three other cops had already scoured the station, but there was no sign of the girl or the bags or those rough boys Oscar had seen. Oscar told the policeman about them, too, including the redheaded boy with the strange eyes. "Otis Webber," the cop said, his friendly eyes narrowing. "He's only fourteen years old, but he's got the heart of a killer. We hear he works for an older guy. They take helpless orphans and turn them into ruthless criminals." Oscar shuddered. "Will you find our suitcases?" Mama said. "Doubtful, ma'am," he said, giving them all an apologetic smile before he left. Mr. Morrow put his arm around Oscar's shoulders. "I should have warned you," he said. "In a big city like this, there are some bad characters." "What's done is done," Mama said, shaking the worry from her face. "We can all get new clothes. What matters is that here we are, together." Mr. Morrow beamed at Mama.

布伦南警官和其他三名警察已经搜遍了警局，但没有找到那个女孩、那些袋子或奥斯卡看到的那些粗鲁男孩的踪迹。 奥斯卡也把他们的情况告诉了警察，包括那个长着奇怪眼睛的红发男孩。 “奥蒂斯·韦伯，”警察说，友好的眼睛眯了起来。 “他只有十四岁，但他有一颗杀手的心。 我们听说他为一个年长的人工作。 他们把无助的孤儿变成残忍的罪犯。” 奥斯卡战栗。“你能找到我们的手提箱吗?”妈妈说。 “不知道，夫人，”他说，在离开前向他们所有人致以歉意的微笑。 莫罗先生搂着奥斯卡的肩膀。 “我应该警告你的，”他说。 “在这样一个大城市里，总有一些坏人。” “木已成舟，”妈妈说，脸上的忧虑一扫而光。 “我们都可以买新衣服。 重要的是我们在一起。” 莫罗先生对妈妈微笑。

Oscar ducked out from under Mr. Morrow's arm. Oscar didn't care about his clothes. All he cared about was Papa's badge, which was gone forever. It was past 10:00 P.M. when they finally got out of the station and into a cab, a beat-up buggy pulled by a dusty horse. The cabdriver flashed a smile filled with black teeth when he saw Mr. Morrow. "Charlie!" he cried. "Welcome back!" Was there anyone in Chicago who didn't know Mr. Morrow? "Hello, Joseph!" Mr. Morrow said, patting the man on the shoulder. "Take us to the Palmer House, please." Joseph let out a sharp whistle. "Fancy!" "We'll have supper there," Mr. Morrow told Mama and Oscar. "Then we'll head home. Oscar, I think you're going to like the house. My father built it. It's a little far away from things, north of our new park. The best room is my studio. You can look out the windows and see all of Chicago." Oscar managed a nod and bit his tongue.

奥斯卡从莫罗先生的胳膊底下钻了出来。 奥斯卡不在乎他的穿着。 他只在乎爸爸的徽章，那已经永远消失了。 晚上10点多，他们终于走出车站，上了一辆出租车，那是一辆破旧的马车，由一匹尘土飞扬的马拉着。 出租车司机看到莫罗先生时，露出了一口黑牙的微笑。 “查理!”“欢迎回来!”芝加哥有谁不认识莫罗先生吗? “你好,约瑟夫!”莫罗先生拍拍那人的肩膀说。 “请带我们去帕尔默公馆。” 约瑟夫吹了一声尖锐的口哨。 “喜欢!”“我们在那儿吃晚饭，”莫罗先生对妈妈和奥斯卡说。 “然后我们就回家。奥斯卡，我想你会喜欢这房子的。 是我父亲建造的。离我们新公园的北面有点远。 最好的房间是我的工作室。 你可以透过窗户看到整个芝加哥。” 奥斯卡勉强点了点头，咬了咬舌头。

Mr. Morrow's house would never be home. Home was Papa's farm, where the air didn't smell like dead hogs, where the only thieves were the rabbits that stole carrots from the garden. The horse clattered away from the train tracks and warehouses and onto a wide avenue of grand buildings. Oscar tried not to act like he was impressed, but the buildings were taller than any tree he'd ever climbed. "Amazing, isn't it?" Mr. Morrow said, smiling proudly. "When I was born, this city was just a little town on a marsh. Today, Chicago is one of the most important cities in the world." "It's beautiful," Mama said. But suddenly Mama's expression darkened. "Does the sky look odd to you?" she asked, her brow wrinkling with worry. Oscar saw it, too, a pale orange glow in the sky. "Must be a fire," Joseph said matter-of-factly. "We're having fires practically every night now. Hasn't rained here in months. The city is bonedry." The word fire sent a flash of fear across Mama's face, and it jolted Oscar, too. Three years ago, a

莫罗先生的房子永远不会回来。 家是爸爸的农场，那里的空气没有死猪的味道，那里唯一的小偷是那些从花园里偷胡萝卜的兔子。 马咔嗒咔嗒地驶离铁轨和仓库，来到一条由宏伟建筑组成的宽阔大道上。 奥斯卡尽量不表现出被打动的样子，但这些建筑比他爬过的任何一棵树都要高。 “很神奇，不是吗?”莫罗先生骄傲地笑着说。 “当我出生的时候，这个城市只是一个沼泽上的小镇。 今天，芝加哥是世界上最重要的城市之一。” “真漂亮，”妈妈说。 但是妈妈的表情突然变暗了。 “你觉得天空怪怪的吗?”她问，眉头因担心而皱了起来。 奥斯卡也看见了，天空中有一道淡橙色的光。 “一定是着火了，”约瑟夫实事求是地说。 “我们现在几乎每天晚上都生火。 这里几个月没下雨了。 这个城市很沉闷。”“火”这个词让妈妈的脸上闪过一丝恐惧，奥斯卡也吓了一跳。 三年前，a

massive forest fire had erupted in the woods north of Castle. It burned thousands of acres of pine and birch trees, and then raced across the prairie toward Castle. Dozens of buildings were burned, including Oscar's barn. The entire town could have been lost. But just as flames were lapping at the edges of Main Street, a big rainstorm blew in and doused the fire. "Don't worry," Mr. Morrow said, giving Mama a reassuring pat. "Chicago has one of the best fire departments in the country. We have close to two hundred firemen and a fleet of the best new steam pumpers. That fire will be out before we finish supper." The cab lurched to a stop, and Joseph turned around. "And here we are, folks. Palmer House hotel. Finest in the city." They climbed out of the cab, and a man in a top hat swung open the hotel's huge front door. Oscar peered inside at the glittering lobby. Bright lights twinkled, and piano music filled the air. Oscar lingered outside. He'd never seen such a fancy place, and he was sure he didn't belong in there.

城堡北面的树林里爆发了一场大火。 大火烧毁了数千英亩的松树和桦树，然后穿过草原冲向城堡。 数十座建筑被烧毁，包括奥斯卡的谷仓。 整个小镇都可能被毁。 但就在大火蔓延到主街边缘的时候，一场暴雨来了，把火浇了。 “别担心，”莫罗先生说着，轻轻拍了拍妈妈，让她放心。 “芝加哥拥有全国最好的消防部门之一。 我们有近200名消防队员和一批最好的新蒸汽泵。 我们吃完晚饭之前，火就会灭了。” 马车摇晃着停了下来，约瑟夫转过身来。 “伙计们，我们到了。帕尔默宾馆。 是城里最好的。”他们从出租车里爬出来，一个戴着大礼帽的男人打开了酒店巨大的前门。 奥斯卡凝视着闪闪发光的大厅。 明亮的灯光闪烁着，空中回荡着钢琴曲。 奥斯卡在外面徘徊。他从来没见过这么豪华的地方，他确信自己不属于那里。

Oscar glanced back at the street, tempted to bolt away to the train station. And that's when he saw her — a little girl scurrying down the sidewalk. Even in the flickering gaslight, there was no mistaking that dirty yellow cap, those raggedy braids. "There she is!" Oscar called out. But Mama and Mr. Morrow were already starting across the lobby, and Oscar's shouts were drowned out by the music and the hum of the chattering crowd. The girl moved quickly across the sidewalk. And before he even realized what he was doing, Oscar had dashed into the street. He had to catch that little thief!

奥斯卡回头看了看街道，真想跑到火车站去。 就在那时，他看到了她——一个小女孩在人行道上跑来跑去。 即使在闪烁的煤气灯下，也不会弄错那顶脏兮兮的黄帽子，那些破烂的辫子。 “她在那儿!”奥斯卡喊道。 但是妈妈和莫罗先生已经开始穿过大厅了，奥斯卡的喊声被音乐声和人群的嘈杂声淹没了。 女孩迅速地穿过人行道。 在他意识到自己在做什么之前，奥斯卡已经冲到了街上。 他必须抓住那个小小偷!