Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 The sound got louder. "Garooooo! Garooooo! Garooooo!" Wait! Hugo had heard that sound before. It was Panya! "That's our dog!" Hugo exclaimed. His howling barks were echoing from farther back in the ship. Mr. Singer cocked his head and listened.

第九章声音越来越大。 “Garooooo !Garooooo !Garooooo !”等等!雨果以前听到过这种声音。 是潘亚!“那是我们的狗!”雨果喊道。 他那嚎叫的吠声从船的后面传来回响。 辛格歪着头听着。

"Heavens, that dog has a loud bark," Mr. Singer said. "It's louder than the Hindenburg's engines!" "Can we go see the dog, Father?" Marty asked. "He sounds so lonely!" Mr. Singer shook his head. "I wish we could," Mr. Singer said. "But he's in the very back of the zeppelin, and only crew members are permitted back there. Even I'm not allowed in the cargo area." "Panya's a tough little guy," Dad said, putting his arm around Hugo. "And we'll get to see him tomorrow." They made their way to the front of the zeppelin. As they walked, Dad eyed the gas cells that wavered all around them. "How much hydrogen is on this zeppelin?" Dad asked. "There are sixteen gas cells. Altogether there are seven million cubic feet of gas." Hugo wasn't an expert, but that seemed like a huge amount.

“天哪，那条狗叫得真响，”辛格说。 “比兴登堡号的引擎还响!”“我们能去看狗吗，爸爸?”马蒂问道。 “他听起来好孤独啊!”辛格摇了摇头。 “我希望我们可以，”辛格说。 “但他在齐柏林飞艇的最后面，只有机组人员才被允许进去。 就连我也不能进入货物区。” “潘亚是个坚强的小家伙，”爸爸说着，用胳膊搂着雨果。 “我们明天就能见到他了。” 他们向齐柏林飞艇的前部走去。 他们走着走着，爸爸注视着周围摇摇晃晃的气室。 “这艘齐柏林飞艇上有多少氢气?”爸爸问。 “这里有16个毒气室。 总共有七百万立方英尺的天然气。” 雨果不是专家，但这似乎是一个巨大的数字。

"I have to ask," Dad said. "Isn't it terribly dangerous to be flying with all of this flammable hydrogen?" "The gas cells are constantly monitored," Mr. Singer said. "There are ladders and walkways that allow the crew to inspect the cells from every side. The captain has instruments in the cockpit that immediately detect if there is a leak. We've been flying with hydrogen for fourteen years without an accident." "But still, wouldn't it be wiser to use a safer gas like helium?" "Of course," Mr. Singer said. "You could throw a torch into a bag of helium and it wouldn't burn. But all of the world's helium comes from the United States. And with Hitler in power, the U.S. government won't sell helium to German companies." "Not even to make the Hindenburg safer?" Dad asked. Mr. Singer shook his head.

“我得问问，”爸爸说。 “带着这些可燃的氢气飞行不是很危险吗?”“毒气室受到持续监控，”辛格说。 “这里有梯子和走道，让工作人员可以从四面八方检查牢房。 机长在驾驶舱内有仪器，可以立即检测是否有泄漏。 我们已经用氢燃料飞行了14年，没有出过事故。” “但是，使用更安全的气体，比如氦气，不是更明智吗?”“当然，”辛格说。 “你可以把火把扔进一袋氦气里，但它不会燃烧。 但是世界上所有的氦都来自美国。 希特勒掌权后，美国 政府不会把氦气卖给德国公司。” “甚至不让兴登堡号更安全?”爸爸问。 辛格摇了摇头。

"But I don't understand," Marty said. "Americans love the Hindenburg." Hugo didn't get it, either. Why would the American government worry about zeppelins? As usual, Dad had an explanation. "The first German zeppelins were used as weapons," Dad said. "They used them during the Great War." Hugo's grandfather had fought in that terrible, bloody first world war, which is why Hugo knew all about it. Germany started the war in 1914. Soon the Germans were battling against a team of countries known as the Allies: Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan. The United States entered the war in 1917 and helped the Allies defeat Germany. Never in history had there been such brutal killing in a war. For the first time, soldiers had modern weapons like machine guns and tanks and powerful bombs. There were tremendous battles that killed tens of thousands of men in a single

“但我不明白，”马蒂说。 “美国人喜欢兴登堡号。” 雨果也不明白。 为什么美国政府要担心齐柏林飞艇呢? 像往常一样，爸爸有一个解释。 “第一批德国齐柏林飞艇被用作武器，”爸爸说。 “他们在第一次世界大战期间使用过。” 雨果的祖父曾参加过那场可怕的、血腥的第一次世界大战，所以雨果对此了如指掌。 德国在1914年发动战争。 很快，德国人开始与被称为协约国的多国作战:英国、法国、俄国、意大利和日本。 美国于1917年参战，并帮助协约国击败德国。 历史上从未有过战争中如此残酷的杀戮。 士兵们第一次拥有了像机关枪、坦克和强力炸弹这样的现代武器。 曾经发生过几次激烈的战斗，一次就杀死了数万人

day. The Germans even invented a new kind of weapon, a poison called mustard gas. It killed soldiers by burning their lungs when they breathed, or made them blind. But Hugo never knew the Germans had used zeppelins, too. "They used them to drop bombs on England and France," Dad said. "And you think Hitler would turn the Hindenburg into a weapon?" Hugo asked. Hugo looked around trying to imagine how many bombs the Germans would fit in this enormous space. Dad and Mr. Singer shared a dark look. "Hitler is a madman," Mr. Singer said. His voice was very soft, but his friendly eyes now blazed with anger. "Anything is possible." Just then they heard footsteps rushing toward them, and a man calling out for Mr. Singer. "Herr Singer! Herr Singer!"

的一天。德国人甚至发明了一种新型武器，一种叫做芥子气的毒药。 它会在士兵呼吸时燃烧他们的肺部，或者使他们失明。 但是雨果从来不知道德国人也用过齐柏林飞艇。 “他们用它们向英国和法国投炸弹，”爸爸说。 “你认为希特勒会把兴登堡号变成武器吗?”雨果问道。 雨果环顾四周，试图想象德国人在这个巨大的空间里能装下多少枚炸弹。 爸爸和辛格先生都愁眉苦脸。 “希特勒是个疯子，”辛格说。 他的声音很柔和，但他友好的眼睛里却闪烁着愤怒的光芒。 “一切皆有可能。”就在这时，他们听到有脚步声朝他们冲过来，还有一个人在喊辛格先生。 “赫尔歌手!赫尔歌手!”

One of the Hindenburg's stewards appeared, red-faced and out of breath. He glanced at Dad and spoke to Mr. Singer in German. Hugo could see from Mr. Singer's face that this time something really was wrong — very wrong. Terrifying thoughts flooded Hugo's mind. Had Kohl caught the spy? Was there trouble with the zeppelin? But then Mr. Singer turned to Dad. "Mr. Ballard, your wife needs you to come back to the cabin right away." Dad went pale. And somehow Hugo understood. It wasn't the Hindenburg that was in danger. It was Gertie. "I'm sorry," Mr. Singer said to Dad. "But it seems your daughter is very sick."

兴登堡号上的一个乘务员出现了，满脸通红，上气不接下气。 他瞥了爸爸一眼，用德语和辛格先生说了几句。 雨果从辛格先生的脸上看出，这一次确实出了什么问题——非常不正常。 可怕的想法充斥着雨果的脑海。 科尔抓住间谍了吗?齐柏林飞船出问题了吗? 但随后辛格先生转向爸爸。 “巴拉德先生，你妻子要你马上回小屋去。” 爸爸脸色苍白。不知怎的，雨果明白了。 处于危险中的不是兴登堡号。 是格蒂。“对不起，”辛格先生对爸爸说。 “但是你的女儿好像病得很重。”