Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 Nate moved slowly through the forest, his eyes scanning, his ears open for pounding footsteps and evil cannonball sizzles and musket ball hisses. Explosions and musket cracks filled the air. But the sky over the forts was still clear of smoke. Nate hoped that meant that the British had not made it that far.

内特慢慢地穿过森林，眼睛扫视着，耳朵竖起，倾听着沉重的脚步声、邪恶的炮弹嘶嘶声和火枪子弹的嘶嘶声。 空气中充满了爆炸声和火枪的噼啪声。 但是堡垒上空仍然没有烟雾。 内特希望这意味着英国人还没有走那么远。

Nate passed two soldiers, both dead from musket shots. One was an American, about Papa's age. The other was a young Redcoat. Nate whispered prayers as he went by each one. He kept moving. He saw no more soldiers — alive or dead. But a few minutes later he heard voices. There, not far ahead, up in the hills. Four Redcoats. Every one of Nate's muscles twitched. Run! But Nate thought of Slash, tipping his hat at the policemen as he strolled by. Nate reminded himself: He was not a terrified young boy. He was a brave Hessian! Hopefully the soldiers were far enough away so they wouldn't notice the coat's torn bottom and how it sagged off Nate's shoulders. Nate gritted his teeth. He walked along, waving stiffly like a Hessian might. To Nate's shock, the Redcoats waved back.

内特从两个士兵身边经过，他们都死于火枪射击。 一个是美国人，和爸爸差不多大。 另一个是一个年轻的英国士兵。 内特每经过一个人，就低声祈祷。 他不停地移动。他再也没有看到士兵——活着的或死去的。 但几分钟后，他听到了说话声。 就在前面不远的山上。 四个兵。内特的每块肌肉都在抽搐。 快跑!但内特想起了Slash，他向路过的警察脱帽致意。 内特提醒自己:他不是一个吓坏了的小男孩。 他是一个勇敢的黑森人!希望士兵们离得够远，这样他们就不会注意到外套撕破的底部，以及它是如何从内特的肩膀上滑落下来的。 内特咬紧牙关。他一边向前走，一边像黑森人一样僵硬地挥着手。 令内特吃惊的是，英国人也向他挥手致意。

Soon they were out of sight. And Nate made it to the road. It would lead him out of the woods and right back to the fort. Nate quickened his steps. Explosions pounded his ears. Smoke burned his eyes and nose. The booms and crackles were getting louder. Just get to the fort, Nate told himself. Just get to the fort. He came to the edge of the woods. Now just about half a mile of open fields stood between him and his fort on Brooklyn Heights. The Americans had a wide-open view of anyone approaching the forts. They'd see Nate and think he was a Hessian. They might shoot him by mistake. Nate quickly ripped off the coat and silver hat and tossed them into a bush, along with the musket and bayonet. He had taken just a few steps when he heard that nightmarish sound. RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat. RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat.

很快他们就看不见了。 内特终于上路了。 它会带他走出树林，直接回到堡垒。 内特加快了脚步。爆炸声震耳欲聋。 烟烧伤了他的眼睛和鼻子。 轰隆声和噼啪声越来越响。 快回堡垒去，内特对自己说。 快去堡垒。他来到了树林的边缘。 现在，在他和他在布鲁克林高地的堡垒之间，隔着大约半英里的旷野。 美国人对任何接近堡垒的人都睁大了眼睛。 他们看到内特会以为他是黑森人。 他们可能会误射他。 内特迅速撕下外套和银帽子，连同步枪和刺刀一起扔进了灌木丛。 他刚走几步就听到了那可怕的声音。 老鼠，那，那，那，那。老鼠，那，那，那，那。

Nate looked slowly to his right. And what he saw in the distance turned his blood to ice. There were thousands of men, a sea of bright red spreading as far back as Nate could see. RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat. RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat. Before Nate could figure out what to do, he heard pounding footsteps and panicked voices coming from the woods behind him. "They're coming!" "They're right behind us!" "Get to the fort!" Men burst out of the woods — dozens and dozens of American soldiers running for their lives. Some were bloodied. All wore wild looks of fear. Before Nate knew it, he was running, too. He glanced behind him, and saw some Redcoats and Hessians trying to catch up. And to the right, that huge Redcoat army was on the march. Their drums beat louder.

内特慢慢地向右边看了看。 他在远处看到的一切使他的血液都凝固了。 那里有成千上万的人，一片鲜红色的海洋一直延伸到内特所能看到的远处。 老鼠，那，那，那，那。老鼠，那，那，那，那。 内特还没想明白该怎么做，就听到身后树林里传来沉重的脚步声和惊慌的声音。 “他们来了!”“他们就在我们后面!”“快去堡垒!”人们从树林里冲了出来——几十个又几十个美国士兵在逃命。 有些人浑身是血。大家脸上都带着恐惧的神情。 内特还没反应过来，他也跑了。 他向身后瞥了一眼，看见一些英国士兵和黑森人正在追赶。 而在右边，庞大的英国陆军正在行军。 他们的鼓声更响了。

RAT, tat, tat, tat, tat. Shots rang out. Cannons boomed. Balls whizzed by. Nate tried not to imagine the blinding pain of his guts being torn open, his bones splintering, his clothes soaked with blood. Any minute he expected a cannonball to plow through the crowd, for an explosion to blow them all into the smoky sky. Kaboom! Kaboom! KI-crack! KI-crack! Sizzle. Hiss. The sounds all melded together — the explosions, the shouts, the footsteps, the pounding of Nate's heart. It was like the night of the storm that had taken Papa, a wild swirl of terror. But Nate was not hit. And there was the fort, with hundreds of American soldiers waiting for them. Nate ran with

老鼠，那，那，那，那。枪声响起。 大炮蓬勃发展。球嗖嗖地飞过。 内特试着不去想象内脏被撕开、骨头裂成碎片、衣服被鲜血浸透时那种令人目眩的痛苦。 他随时都在期待着一颗炮弹穿过人群，一场爆炸会把他们全都炸到烟雾弥漫的天空中。 大爆炸!大爆炸!KI-crack !KI-crack !嘶嘶声。 嘶嘶声。所有的声音都融合在一起——爆炸声、喊叫声、脚步声、内特心跳的声音。 就像爸爸被暴风雨带走的那个夜晚，一股疯狂的恐怖漩涡。 但内特没有中枪。堡垒就在那里，数百名美国士兵在那里等着他们。 内特和

the crowd to the back of the fort, where there was a small break in the wall. He collapsed onto the ground. But he sat there just long enough to catch his breath. And then he walked all around the fort, searching the crowd of dazed and terrified men for Paul, Martin, Captain Marsh, and the rest of the Connecticut 5th. They were nowhere to be found. Reports trickled in from the hideous battle raging outside. Hundreds of Americans had been killed and captured already. British and Hessian soldiers were getting closer to the fort. The attack would be brutal. The Americans were doomed. Hours crawled by. More and more American soldiers staggered in. Many were covered with mud from escapes through swamps. Others were soaking wet and half-drowned from swimming

人群向堡垒的后面走去，那里的墙上有一个小裂缝。 他倒在地上。 但他在那里坐了很长时间才缓过气来。 然后他绕着堡垒转了一圈，在这群茫然害怕的人中间寻找保罗、马丁、马什上尉和康涅狄格第5步兵团其余的人。 他们无处可寻。 外面正在进行的可怕的战斗传来零星的消息。 数百名美国人已经被杀或被俘。 英国和黑森士兵越来越接近堡垒。 攻击将是残酷的。 美国人注定要失败。 几个小时过去了。越来越多的美国士兵摇摇晃晃地走了进来。 许多人身上都沾满了从沼泽中逃出来的泥土。 其他人则浑身湿透，游泳时差点淹死