Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 SEVEN WEEKS EARLIER JULY 11, 1776 12:00 NOON NORWALK, CONNECTICUT Nate crawled along his uncle's vegetable garden, tugging up weeds and flicking away fat green worms. The burning sun cooked his back. His muscles ached from hours of work. But even

第二章七周前1776年7月11日中午12点康涅狄格州诺沃克纳特沿着叔叔的菜园爬着，一边拔除杂草，一边赶走又肥又绿的虫子。 烈日灼烧他的背。 他的肌肉因长时间工作而疼痛。 但即使是

worse was the sound of his uncle's voice, barking through the open dining room window. His uncle was talking about the war with England. Nate peeked through the window. His uncle, Uriah Storch, was sitting at the fine wooden table. He was eating his noon meal with his best friend, Mr. Marston. Nate breathed in the delicious food smells. But there was nothing delicious about watching Storch gobble the leg of a roasted goose. Storch pretended to be a gentleman. But Nate had seen hogs with better manners. "George Washington should be hanged!" Storch was saying, cracking the poor goose's bone with his large teeth.

更糟糕的是他叔叔的声音，从餐厅开着的窗户里传来。 他的叔叔正在谈论与英国的战争。 内特从窗户往外偷看。 他的叔叔尤赖亚·斯托奇正坐在精致的木桌旁。 他正和他最好的朋友马斯顿先生一起吃午饭。 内特呼吸着美味食物的味道。 但是看着斯托奇狼吞虎咽地吃烤鹅腿一点也不好吃。 斯托奇装出绅士的样子。 但内特见过更有礼貌的猪。 “乔治·华盛顿应该被绞死!”斯托奇一边说，一边用他的大牙齿咬着那只可怜的鹅的骨头。

George Washington was the commander of the American army. Most people in Connecticut loved General Washington. They called themselves Patriots, which meant they were rooting for the Americans to win the war. But Storch and his pal were on England's side. Storch hated George Washington more than he hated the fleas that crawled around his curled white wig.

乔治·华盛顿是美国军队的统帅。 康涅狄格州的大多数人都喜欢华盛顿将军。 他们称自己为爱国者，这意味着他们支持美国人赢得战争。 但斯托奇和他的伙伴站在英格兰这边。 斯托奇讨厌乔治·华盛顿胜过讨厌爬在他卷曲的白色假发上的跳蚤。

Storch turned toward the kitchen and bellowed, "More meat!" Seconds later Eliza hurried in, carrying a silver platter piled high with fresh goose. Eliza stood patiently while the men heaped food on their plates. She'd been up since dawn cooking this meal. But neither of the men thanked her, or even looked at her. Nate hated living here with Storch. But Eliza had it far worse. Nate was his nephew. Eliza was Storch's slave. Nate caught Eliza's eye through the window. He pushed together his lips and puffed out his cheeks — his best Storch imitation. Eliza raised her eyebrow at Nate, a reminder that he'd better watch himself. Storch was always looking for an excuse to give Nate a whack with his walking stick. He would not be happy to see Nate's blue eyes peering through the window. Nate ducked away. He had hours of work left to do, but he needed a break from the heat. He went to a shady spot under the cherry tree and looked

斯托奇转向厨房，吼道:“再来点肉!”几秒钟后，伊丽莎匆匆走了进来，端着一个银盘子，上面堆满了新鲜的鹅肉。 男人们往盘子里盛食物时，伊丽莎耐心地站着。 她从黎明就起来做这顿饭了。 但是两个人都没有感谢她，甚至都不看她一眼。 内特讨厌和斯托奇住在一起 但伊丽莎的情况更糟。 内特是他的侄子。伊丽莎是斯托奇的奴隶。 内特透过窗户看到了伊丽莎的目光。 他抿紧嘴唇，鼓起面颊——这是他模仿Storch的最佳方式。 伊丽莎对内特扬起眉毛，提醒他最好小心点。 斯托奇总是找借口用手杖打内特。 看到内特的蓝眼睛透过窗户窥视，他会不高兴的。 内特躲开了。他还有几个小时的工作要做，但他需要休息一下。 他走到樱桃树下的阴凉处看了看

down at the Long Island Sound. He loved watching the ships sailing by. Nate closed his eyes and pretended he was on one of those ships, heading out to the open sea. His mind filled up with the sounds of flapping sails and squawking seagulls. He imagined a cool sea breeze ruffling his hair. He could practically feel his father's strong hand resting on his shoulder. Papa had been a ship's captain. After Nate's mama got sick and died, when Nate was just four, Papa started taking Nate along with him on his voyages. Nate grew up crisscrossing the ocean with Papa and his crews. What a happy life! Sure, not every kid would want to grow up on the sea. The creaking wooden sailing ships were crawling with rats. The stale, wormy biscuits could break your teeth. Nate's bed was a hammock hanging from the ceiling.

在长岛海湾。 他喜欢看船只驶过。 内特闭上眼睛，假装自己在其中一艘船上，驶向公海。 他的脑子里充满了拍打船帆的声音和海鸥的叫声。 他想象着凉爽的海风吹拂着他的头发。 他几乎能感觉到父亲有力的手搭在他的肩膀上。 爸爸曾经是一艘船的船长。 内特的妈妈生病去世后，内特才四岁，爸爸开始带着内特一起旅行。 内特从小就和爸爸和他的船员们在海上漂泊。 多么幸福的生活啊!当然，不是每个孩子都想在海边长大。 吱吱作响的木制帆船上爬满了老鼠。 不新鲜的、有虫的饼干会咬坏你的牙齿。 内特的床是一张吊床，挂在天花板上。

But none of that mattered. Because Nate was with Papa. Nate pictured his father's green eyes flashing from under his old sailing cap, his black ponytail waving in the wind. He'd wrap his arm around Nate's shoulder as they stood on the deck, looking out at the endless ocean. "You never know what's ahead," Papa would say, his eyes brimming with excitement. But now a wave of sadness crashed over Nate. Papa died almost two years ago, while they were sailing home from a trip to the Caribbean islands. The voyage had been smooth, with steady winds, a glassy sea, and a crew of ten men. Nate's favorite crew member was Paul Dobbins, a joking eighteen-year-old with bright red hair and a gaptoothed grin. He'd sailed with Papa before, and had always treated Nate like a favorite brother. They had been halfway through their threeweek voyage home when they sailed into the path of a wicked storm. It came out of nowhere, a

但这些都不重要。 因为内特和爸爸在一起。 内特想象着他父亲的绿眼睛在他的旧航海帽下闪闪发光，他的黑色马尾辫在风中摇曳。 当他们站在甲板上，望着无边无际的大海时，他会搂着内特的肩膀。 “你永远不知道前面会有什么，”爸爸会说，他的眼睛里充满了兴奋。 但现在一股悲伤的情绪席卷了内特。 爸爸大约两年前去世了，当时他们刚从加勒比海群岛旅行回来。 航行很顺利，风平浪静，海面风平浪静，还有十名船员。 内特最喜欢的船员是保罗·多宾斯，一个爱开玩笑的18岁男孩，一头鲜红的头发，咧嘴笑着。 他以前和爸爸一起航行过，一直把内特当作最喜欢的兄弟。 他们三个星期的航程已经走了一半，这时他们驶入了一场邪恶的风暴。 它不知从哪里冒出来的