Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 The beam came down like a flaming sword. Hugo fell back and rolled onto his side, bracing for the deadly crack of metal on his head. But the beam just missed him. It had missed Mr. Singer, too. But Colonel Kohl wasn't so lucky. The beam had landed across his neck. He lay there with his

第十六章光束像一把燃烧着火焰的剑一样落了下来。 雨果向后一倒，侧身翻滚着，准备迎接金属砸在他头上的致命噼啪声。 但那束光没打中他。 它也没有击中辛格。 但科尔上校就没那么幸运了。 横梁落在了他的脖子上。 他躺在那里

eyes open, motionless, his hand still gripping his gun. Hugo could see that Colonel Kohl wouldn't ever be getting up again. But there was no time for Hugo to think about this. The airship was falling and breaking apart. His lungs felt as though they would explode. He and Mr. Singer both jumped up. They joined hands and lunged for the windows. Mr. Singer heaved Hugo out first. The zeppelin was so close to the ground that Hugo barely felt the impact. He landed on his stomach. Seconds later, Mr. Singer landed a few feet away. Hugo got up and turned to run. But something hit his back — hard. And he suddenly realized it was too late. Chunks of the flaming Hindenburg were now crashing down around Hugo and Mr. Singer — the white-hot metal beams. The slabs of burning walls.

眼睛睁着，一动不动，他的手仍然握着枪。 雨果看得出，科尔上校再也站不起来了。 但雨果没有时间考虑这个问题。 飞艇正在下落并解体。 他的肺好像要爆炸了。 他和辛格先生都跳了起来。 他们手拉着手向窗户扑去。 辛格先把雨果抱了出来。 齐柏林飞艇离地面很近，雨果几乎感觉不到撞击。 他趴在地上。几秒钟后，辛格降落在几英尺远的地方。 雨果站起身，转身要跑。 但是有什么东西重重地击中了他的背。 他突然意识到已经太晚了。 燃烧着的兴登堡号的大块碎片正在雨果和辛格先生周围轰然坠落——那些白热的金属横梁。 燃烧着的墙板。

Men shouted to them. "Hurry! Get up! Get up!" There was fire everywhere now — raining from the sky, rising from the ground, burning his clothes, his shoes, his hair. Hugo dropped to the ground and curled into a ball. There was no hope. His body erupted in scorching pain as the fire raked his flesh. And then Hugo couldn't feel anything. His mind went dark, his breathing stopped. But suddenly his brain flickered back to life, and Hugo felt sure that somehow he'd been dropped out of the burning Hindenburg and into the Thika River. Cool water rushed all around him. The next thing he knew he was lying on a soft blanket, with bright lights all around. Was he back in Kenya, under the golden sun? He heard voices calling for him:

人们对他们大喊大叫。“快点!起来!起床!”现在到处都是火——从天上下雨，从地上升起，烧着他的衣服、鞋子和头发。 雨果倒在地上，蜷成一团。 没有希望了。他的身体突然感到一阵灼痛，因为火烧到了他的肉。 然后雨果失去了知觉。 他的脑子一片漆黑，呼吸停止了。 但突然间，他的大脑又恢复了活力，雨果确信自己不知怎么地从燃烧的兴登堡号上掉了下来，掉进了锡卡河。 冷水在他周围奔涌。 接下来他只知道自己躺在柔软的毯子上，四周都是明亮的灯光。 他回到肯尼亚了吗，在金色的阳光下? 他听到有人在呼唤他:

"Hugo!" "Hugo!" "Oogo!" And the loudest of all, "Garooo, garooo, garooo!"

“雨果!”“雨果!”“Oogo !”最响的是，“garoo, garoo, garoo !”