Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 The next few hours went by in a nightmarish blur. Gertie's fever had spiked to 105 degrees. The ship's doctor, Dr. Rudinger, was trying everything to cool her off, but nothing was working. And the worst part was that Hugo wasn't allowed into the cabin. He and Dad had to wait in the hallway while the doctor and Mom took care of Gertie.

接下来的几个小时就像噩梦一般模糊地过去了。 格蒂的体温飙升到了105华氏度。 船上的医生鲁丁格博士想尽一切办法给她降温，但都不起作用。 最糟糕的是，雨果不被允许进入机舱。 当医生和妈妈照顾格蒂时，他和爸爸不得不在走廊里等着。

Day turned to night, and Hugo lost all sense of time. He prayed and tried to calm himself with his favorite memories — seeing the Yankees beat the Red Sox, walking through the bright green hills of the Thika Valley after a strong rain, sharing a mango with the one-eared baboon. But those happy pictures would flicker and fade. And all Hugo could think about was his little sister, lying pale and still in her bed. And then he couldn't think at all. His mind filled up with a terrible clawing fear, as if a big black bird were trapped inside his skull. It was very early in the morning when Dr. Rudinger finally stepped out of their cabin. "She's stable now," he told them. "We finally got her fever down." Hugo almost fainted with relief. Dad grabbed the doctor's hands. "Thank you, Doctor."

白天变成了黑夜，雨果完全失去了时间感。 他祈祷着，试图用他最美好的回忆让自己平静下来——看洋基队击败红袜队，在一场大雨后穿过锡卡山谷明亮的绿色山丘，和独耳狒狒分享一个芒果。 但那些快乐的画面会闪烁和褪色。 雨果满脑子想的都是他的小妹妹，脸色苍白，一动不动地躺在床上。 然后他就完全不能思考了。 他的脑子里充满了可怕的恐惧，仿佛一只大黑鸟被困在他的头骨里。 这是一个非常早的早晨。 鲁丁格终于走出了他们的小屋。 “她现在情况稳定了，”他告诉他们。 “我们终于让她退烧了。” 雨果松了一口气，几乎晕了过去。 爸爸抓住医生的手。 “谢谢你，医生。”

"We'll have an ambulance waiting at the airfield when we land." Dad looked at his watch. "Thank goodness," Dad said. "We land at six A.M. That's only three hours from now." The doctor shook his head. "No, sir. There have been strong headwinds across the Atlantic. And now there are storms all along the East Coast. We're running at least eight hours behind schedule." Eight hours? Hugo's knees went weak, and Dad looked like he might get sick. The doctor put a hand on Dad's shoulder. "Your little girl is very tough, Mr. Ballard." He promised to check back within the hour. Hugo and Dad went into their cabin. Gertie was sleeping, and Mom was sitting by her bed. Mom looked like she'd just returned from a back-breaking journey. Mom got up and hugged Hugo.

“我们降落时，会有一辆救护车在机场等着。” 爸爸看了看手表。“谢天谢地，”爸爸说。 “我们早上6点着陆离现在只有三个小时了。” 医生摇了摇头。 “没有，先生。大西洋那边有很强的逆风。 现在东海岸到处都是风暴。 我们至少比计划晚了8个小时。” 八个小时?雨果的膝盖发软了，爸爸看起来好像要生病了。 医生把手放在爸爸的肩膀上。 “你的小女儿很坚强，巴拉德先生。” 他答应在一小时内回来。 雨果和爸爸走进了他们的小屋。 格蒂正在睡觉，妈妈坐在她的床边。 妈妈看起来像是刚从辛苦的旅行中回来。 妈妈站起来拥抱了雨果。

"Can I sit with her?" Hugo asked. "Of course." "I'll take your mother to stretch her legs," Dad said. "We'll be back in a few minutes." Hugo sat in the chair and laid a careful hand on his sister's forehead. She still felt hot, but not like she was burning up. He knew he should let her sleep. But he needed to hear her voice. "Gertie," Hugo whispered. "It's me." Gertie's eyes fluttered open. "Oogo," she rasped. Their eyes locked together. Some invisible evil was attacking his sister, and Hugo could do nothing to help her. I'm sorry, Hugo wanted to say, sorry that I can't protect you. He'd never felt more helpless. He leaned closer to Gertie, taking her hand. "Gertie," he said. "Is there anything you want?"

“我能和她坐在一起吗?”雨果问道。 “当然。”“我带你妈妈去伸伸腿，”爸爸说。 “我们一会儿就回来。” 雨果坐在椅子上，小心翼翼地把手放在妹妹的额头上。 她仍然觉得热，但不像被烫着了。 他知道他应该让她睡觉。 但他需要听到她的声音。 “格蒂，”雨果低声说。“是我。” 格蒂的眼睛眨了一下。 “乌戈。”她粗声说。他们的眼睛紧紧地盯在一起。 某种看不见的恶魔正在攻击他的妹妹，而雨果却无能为力。 我很抱歉，雨果想说，抱歉我不能保护你。 他从未感到如此无助。 他更靠近格蒂，握住她的手。 “格蒂，”他说。“你想要什么吗?”

If she'd wanted the moon, Hugo would have climbed out the window and ripped it out of the sky for her. But his sister didn't want the moon. She looked at Hugo. "Panya," she whimpered. Gertie wanted her dog.

如果她想要月亮，雨果早就爬出窗户把月亮从天上扯下来给她了。 但是他的妹妹不想要月亮。 她看着雨果。“潘亚，”她呜咽着说。 格蒂想要她的狗。