Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 "It was two months after Lexington and Concord — June 1775," Paul began. Almost exactly one year ago. "I marched from Connecticut to Boston with about twenty other men from my town. It took a week — a hundred miles. My feet nearly fell off." They joined about two thousand other American soldiers camped outside Boston.

“那是在莱克星顿和康科德之后的两个月——1775年6月，”保罗开始说。 差不多就在一年前。 他说:“我和镇上的大约20个人从康涅狄格行军到波士顿。 花了一个星期，走了一百英里。 我的脚差点掉下来。”他们加入了大约2000名驻扎在波士顿城外的美国士兵。

Boston was the headquarters for the British army in America, Paul explained. There were six thousand Redcoats stationed there, and they'd taken over the city. "The people of Boston were like prisoners. British soldiers moved into any house they wanted. There wasn't enough food. Shops were shut down. It was so bad. We had to do something to get the British out." There was no American army yet. But each town in the colonies had a militia — a small group of volunteer fighters. Few of those men had ever fought in a war before. "We were all just regular fellows — farmers, bakers, shopkeepers, shoemakers, sailors. Some of us didn't even know how to shoot." And this ragtag group was about to battle the most powerful army in the world. Paul and the other men knew all about the Redcoats. They were experienced fighters.

保罗解释说，波士顿是英国驻美国军队的总部。 有六千名英国士兵驻扎在那里，他们占领了这座城市。 “波士顿人就像囚犯一样。 英国士兵想住哪所房子就住哪所。 没有足够的食物。商店都关门了。 太糟糕了。我们必须做点什么把英国人赶出去。” 那时还没有美国军队。 但是殖民地的每个城镇都有民兵——一小群志愿战士。 这些人中很少有人以前打过仗。 “我们都是普通人——农民、面包师、店主、鞋匠、水手。 我们中的一些人甚至不知道如何射击。” 这群乌合之众即将与世界上最强大的军队作战。 保罗和其他人都知道红衣兵的事。 他们都是经验丰富的战士。

The British carried modern muskets. And their muskets had extra killing power — a sharp sword attached to the end — a bayonet. "We heard that the British shoot first. And if you don't die from a musket ball to your gut, they'll finish you off with a quick stab in the heart with a bayonet." Nate flinched. The night before the battle, the Americans had been warned that thousands of British troops were on their way. Paul spent the night frantically helping to build fortifications — dirt walls and ditches that could protect them from musket fire. "We worked all night," he said. And then, just after dawn, the British attacked. "We could hear them before we could see them," Paul said. "Their battle drums make a terrible sound." Paul leaned forward. His voice dropped to a husky whisper. "RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat.

英国人携带现代火枪。 他们的火枪有额外的杀伤力——末端有一把锋利的剑——刺刀。 “我们听说英国人先开枪。 如果你不被一颗火枪子弹击中内脏而死，他们就会用刺刀在你的心脏上迅速刺死你。” 内特退缩。开战前一晚，美国人接到警告，数以千计的英军正在赶来。 保罗整晚疯狂地帮助建造防御工事——土墙和壕沟，以保护他们免受火枪射击。 “我们工作了一整夜，”他说。 然后，就在黎明时分，英国人发起了进攻。 “我们在看到他们之前就能听到他们的声音，”保罗说。 “他们的战鼓发出可怕的声音。” 保罗身体前倾。他的声音降为沙哑的耳语。 “老鼠，那，那，那，那。

RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat. RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat." The hairs on the back of Nate's neck stood up. "Then came the cannon explosions. British warships had sailed into the river below us, and were blasting us nonstop with cannonballs." "I was in one of the ditches — a trench. Somehow a big rock had gotten into my boot. I bent down to get it out. And the second I lowered my head, something huge went screaming over it." "A cannonball?" Nate gasped. "At least a twenty-pounder," Paul said. "It knocked my hat off. It could have taken off my head!" He patted the ugly green hat next to him. "I always knew this was my lucky hat. I never go anywhere without it." Paul took a deep breath. "I was terrified. I just wanted to run away." "But you didn't run," Nate guessed.

老鼠，那，那，那，那。老鼠，那，那，那，那。” 内特脖子后面的汗毛都竖起来了。 接着是炮声。 英国军舰驶入我们下面的河流，不停地向我们发射炮弹。” “我当时在一条沟渠里——一条沟渠。 不知怎么的，一块大石头钻进了我的靴子。 我弯下腰想把它弄出来。 当我低下头的那一刻，一个巨大的东西在我身上尖叫。” “炮弹?”内特气喘吁吁地说。 “至少20磅，”保罗说。 “它把我的帽子撞掉了。它差点把我的头砍下来!”他拍了拍身边那顶难看的绿帽子。 “我一直都知道这是我的幸运帽。 我去哪儿都带着它。” 保罗深吸了一口气。“我吓坏了。 我只想逃走。” “但你没有逃跑，”内特猜测道。

"No," Paul said. "It's amazing that none of us did. "We were high up on that hill," Paul went on. "That's always where you want to be in a battle. On the high ground. It's easier to knock out your enemies when they're coming up a hill. And we were dug in — protected by our dirt walls and trenches. "The drums got louder." The British army finally appeared — four thousand Redcoat soldiers, marching in endless lines. They started up the hill. "But we didn't shoot. Our plan was to wait until the British were close — close enough to see their eyes. And then we'd all shoot at once." The British came closer, and closer. Finally the order came. "Fire!" KI-crack! KI-crack! KI-crack! KI-crack! Thousands of musket balls flew through the air.

“不，”保罗说。“令人惊讶的是，我们都没有这样做。 “我们在山上的高处，”保罗继续说。 “在战斗中，这总是你想要的。 在高地上。当你的敌人爬上山坡时，你更容易击倒他们。 我们被挖了进去——被土墙和壕沟保护着。 “鼓声更响了。”英国军队终于出现了——四千名红衣士兵，排成无尽的队伍。 他们开始上山。“但我们没有开枪。 我们的计划是等到英国人靠近——近到可以看到他们的眼睛。 然后我们就一起开枪。” 英国人越来越近了。 最后，命令来了。“火!”KI-crack !KI-crack !KI-crack !KI-crack !成千上万的火枪子弹在空中飞舞。

"Hundreds of Redcoats fell. We Americans ducked behind our defenses and reloaded. Then we fired again." KI-crack! KI-crack! KI-crack! KI-crack! "The Redcoats sent up three waves of soldiers. And then the battle was over." Paul took a deep breath, like he'd been running. Nate's own heart was pounding. It took him a moment to remember that they weren't on that bloody hill outside Boston. They were in New York City, sitting together in the grass. "So you won the battle?" Nate asked excitedly. "No," Paul said. "You lost?" Nate asked, confused. "Not really. We ran out of gunpowder. We had to retreat — escape down the back end of the hill. We didn't free Boston. So no. We definitely didn't win. "But we didn't lose, either. More than a thousand Redcoats were killed or hurt that day.

“数百名英军士兵阵亡。 我们美国人躲到防线后面重新装弹。 然后我们又开了枪。”KI-crack !KI-crack !KI-crack !KI-crack !英国兵派出了三波士兵。 然后战斗就结束了。” 保罗深吸了一口气，就像他一直在跑步一样。 内特的心也怦怦直跳。 他过了一会儿才想起他们不在波士顿城外那该死的山上。 他们在纽约，一起坐在草地上。 “这么说你打赢了这场仗?”内特兴奋地问。 “不，”保罗说。“你丢了吗?”内特疑惑地问。 “不是真的。我们的火药用完了。 我们不得不撤退——从山的后面逃走。 我们没有解放波士顿。所以没有。 我们肯定没有赢。“但我们也没有输。 那天有一千多名英国士兵阵亡或受伤。