Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 JULY 12, 1776 JUST BEFORE DAWN NORWALK, CONNECTICUT Nate's eyes snapped open. Hideous pictures flashed through his mind — a blood-streaked face, clawlike hands grabbing for his throat.

第五章1776年7月12日黎明前，康涅狄格州诺沃克，内特的眼睛突然睁开。 可怕的画面在他的脑海里闪过——一张血迹斑斑的脸，爪子般的双手抓住了他的喉咙。

He blinked hard to end this nightmare, to shake himself awake. But then Nate understood — he was awake. He was hiding out in the woods about three miles from Storch's house. This is where he'd wound up after his breathless run. He'd sat here under the trees for hours, in a kind of numb shock, trying to figure out what to do. Somehow he must have fallen asleep. It was now pitch dark. Strange sounds rose up around him. Clicks and buzzes and hoots, the rustling of invisible wings and paws. His jaw throbbed. His neck felt swollen and bruised. But even worse was the loneliness. He felt like a castaway clinging to a barrel in a stormy ocean. He'd made a giant mistake, he realized, fighting back tears. He had to go back to Storch's — to Eliza and Theo. He stood up and started to make his way through the woods.

他使劲眨着眼睛，想结束这场噩梦，把自己摇醒。 但内特明白了——他醒着。 他躲在离斯托奇家三英里的树林里。 这是他气喘吁吁地跑完后停下来的地方。 他在树下坐了几个小时，有点麻木的震惊，试图想出该怎么办。 他一定是睡着了。 现在是一片漆黑。他周围响起了奇怪的声音。 咔哒声、嗡嗡声、嘶嘶声，还有看不见的翅膀和爪子发出的沙沙声。 他的下巴在抽动。他的脖子肿了，青肿了。 但更糟糕的是孤独。 他觉得自己就像一个在狂风暴雨的大海中紧紧抓着木桶的漂流者。 他意识到自己犯了一个巨大的错误，强忍着泪水。 他不得不回到斯托奇家，回到伊丽莎和西奥那里。 他站起来，开始穿过树林。

Storch would be calmer now, Nate told himself. And whatever Storch might to do to him, he'd have to take it. Because what choice did he have? He didn't have a single coin in his pocket or a scrap of food to eat. He was just a boy, alone in the world. But then as Nate walked along, he thought about another boy who had once been by himself. The pirate Slash O'Shea. Nate slowed down as he remembered the stories Papa had told him about when Slash was a kid. He'd been born in London, England. His parents had died before he was five years old. He wasn't called Slash yet — back then he was called Jonathan. With his parents gone, he wound up in a filthy orphanage, more like a prison than a home for helpless kids. The food was barely fit for pigs. The beatings were brutal. Finally young Jonathan couldn't take it. When he was ten years old, he ran away.

现在斯托奇会平静些了，内特对自己说。 不管斯托奇要对他做什么，他都得接受。 因为他有什么选择? 他口袋里没有一枚硬币，也没有一点吃的。 他只是个男孩，孤独地活在这个世界上。 但当内特走着的时候，他想起了另一个曾经独自一人的男孩。 海盗Slash O'Shea。内特回忆起斯莱士小时候爸爸给他讲过的故事，放慢了脚步。 他出生在英国伦敦。 他的父母在他五岁前就去世了。 他还不叫Slash——那时候他叫Jonathan。 父母去世后，他住进了一家肮脏的孤儿院，与其说是无助孩子的家，不如说是监狱。 这种食物勉强适合猪吃。 殴打很残忍。最后，小乔纳森受不了了。 他十岁时离家出走。

He must have been terrified, Nate thought. Like Nate was now. But there was no way he'd go back to that wretched orphanage. Jonathan got himself a job on a ship, as a cabin boy. He'd sailed away. And he never looked back. Nate pictured a boy standing on the deck of a big sailing ship. The boy's face became clearer… until it became Nate's own face. Nate blinked. Something inside him shimmered. Suddenly the night didn't seem so dark. If young Slash could go to sea, why couldn't he? Sure, Nate was too young — Papa wouldn't hire cabin boys who were younger than fourteen. But Nate was bigger and taller than most eleven-year-olds. And Papa had taught him to work harder than sailors twice his age. Nate quickened his step as he made his plan.

他一定吓坏了，内特想。 就像内特现在一样。但他不可能再回到那个可怜的孤儿院了。 乔纳森在船上找到了一份工作，做了一名舱员。 他坐船走了。他从不回头。 内特想象着一个男孩站在一艘大帆船的甲板上。 男孩的脸越来越清晰，直到变成了内特自己的脸。 内特眨了眨眼睛。他心里有什么东西在闪烁。 突然间，夜晚似乎不那么黑暗了。 如果年轻的Slash能去航海，他为什么不能呢? 当然，内特太年轻了——爸爸不会雇佣14岁以下的小男孩。 但内特比大多数11岁的孩子都要高大。 爸爸教他比年龄是他两倍的水手更努力地工作。 内特加快了脚步，制定了计划。

New York City was about fifty miles south of here. He'd go to Norwalk Harbor. There were always boats heading down to New York City, loaded up with vegetables or oysters or hogs to sell. Nate would hide out on one of those boats. If the winds and currents were strong, he would be in New York City by the afternoon. The city had one of the busiest harbors in the colonies, with merchant ships heading to the Caribbean and Europe and all corners of the world. There had to be at least one captain willing to give Nate a chance. Nate could practically feel Papa's hand on his back, pushing him along. He saw Theo in his mind, with his bright and hopeful eyes. And remembered the last word Eliza had said to him. "Go."

纽约市在这里以南50英里处。 他会去诺沃克港。 总是有船开往纽约市，满载着蔬菜、牡蛎或猪出售。 内特会躲在其中一艘船上。 如果风和洋流够强，他下午就能到纽约了。 这座城市拥有殖民地最繁忙的港口之一，商船驶往加勒比海、欧洲和世界各个角落。 至少有一个队长愿意给内特一个机会。 内特几乎能感觉到爸爸的手在他背上推着他。 他在脑海里看到了西奥，那双明亮而充满希望的眼睛。 他想起了伊丽莎对他说的最后一句话。 “走吧。”

He made it to the harbor several hours later. The docks were already crowded with sailors and fishermen preparing for the day. And for once Nate lucked out. At the end of the dock was the sailing ship Valerie. It made weekly runs to New York City, Nate knew. And its deck was already loaded up with baskets and crates heaped with corn and potatoes and cherries. The sails were up. The ship was about to leave! There were only three men working on the small ship. They were too busy working to notice when he slipped on board. He scurried across the deck and hid himself between two big baskets of corn. A few minutes later sailors pushed the boat away from the dock. And with a whoosh of wind, Nate was on his way.

几个小时后，他到达了港口。 码头上已经挤满了为这一天做准备的水手和渔民。 这一次内特很幸运。 码头尽头停着瓦莱丽号帆船。 内特知道，它每周都会去纽约。 甲板上已经堆满了装满玉米、土豆和樱桃的篮子和板条箱。 帆升起来了。船就要开了!小船上只有三个人在干活。 他们忙着工作，没注意到他滑到了船上。 他匆匆穿过甲板，躲在两大筐玉米中间。 几分钟后，水手们把船推离了码头。 随着一阵嗖嗖的风，内特上路了。