Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 John mustered the last of his strength and screamed out at the top of his lungs. "Franny!" The blizzard screamed back. But then another voice punched through the blizzard's howl. "John!" It wasn't Franny.

第十五章约翰鼓起最后一点力气，扯着嗓子尖叫起来。 “弗兰妮!”暴风雪呼啸而来。 但另一个声音穿过暴风雪的嚎叫。 “约翰!”不是弗兰妮。

It was Miss Ruell. Her voice was muffled by the wind. But he thought she was somewhere very close. And then a hand clamped onto his arm. Miss Ruell had found him! She gripped his arm tighter and managed to pull him up.

是鲁埃尔小姐。她的声音被风遮住了。 但他觉得她就在附近。 然后一只手抓住了他的胳膊。 鲁埃尔小姐找到他了！她更紧地抓住他的胳膊，好不容易把他拉了起来。

John was so freezing cold that his body wasn't working right. He couldn't feel his feet. He kept stumbling and falling to his knees. Luckily, Miss Ruell was stronger than she looked. She wrapped her arm around John's waist. And she practically dragged him through the rising snowdrifts and up the steps to the schoolhouse door. The next thing John knew, he was inside. He collapsed onto the floor. He couldn't see through his frozen eyes. But he felt people surrounding him. Hands swept snow from his head. Gentle fingers brushed ice from his face. A blanket came around his shoulders. John would have died of embarrassment if he wasn't practically frozen to death. And then someone hugged him. John smelled apples and soap. Could it be? Was he dreaming? "Franny?"

约翰冷得身体都不能正常工作了。 他的脚失去了知觉。 他不停地绊倒，跪在地上。 幸运的是，鲁埃尔小姐比看上去要强壮。 她用胳膊搂住约翰的腰。 她几乎是拖着他穿过上升的雪堆，走上台阶，来到校舍门口。 接下来，约翰知道自己已经进去了。 他瘫倒在地板上。 他冻僵的眼睛看不见东西。 但他觉得周围有人。 双手拂去他头上的雪。 温柔的手指拂去他脸上的冰。 一条毯子围着他的肩膀。 要不是被冻死，约翰早就尴尬死了。 然后有人拥抱了他。 约翰闻到了苹果和肥皂的味道。 是吗？他是在做梦吗？ “弗兰妮?”

Hot tears welled up in John's eyes, melting the ice that crusted his lashes and lids. He stared at his sister's face. He had never in his life felt so relieved. "Why did you go outside!" she cried. "I thought you were lost!" John stuttered through his chattering teeth. "I was looking for you!" "I snuck inside and was here hiding under Miss Ruell's desk, for the game." No wonder John didn't see her. "Help John up and let's get him closer to the stove," Miss Ruell said. Peter, Rex, and Sven all lifted John to his feet and practically carried him across the room. Myra brought over a chair so he could sit. The guys hovered around him. Franny glued herself to John's side. But Miss Ruell shooed everyone away. "Let him get warm," she said.

约翰热泪盈眶，融化了他睫毛和眼睑上的冰。 他盯着妹妹的脸。 他一生中从未感到如此轻松。 “你为什么要到外面去！” “我还以为你迷路了呢！”约翰牙齿打颤，结结巴巴地说。 “我正在找你呢！”“我溜了进去，躲在鲁尔小姐的桌子下面，准备玩游戏。” 难怪约翰没看见她。 “扶约翰起来，让我们把他抬到离炉子近一点的地方，”鲁埃尔小姐说。 彼得、雷克斯和斯文都把约翰扶起来，几乎把他抱过了房间。 迈拉搬来一把椅子，让他坐下。 那些家伙在他周围徘徊。 弗兰妮紧紧地贴在约翰身边。 但鲁尔小姐把大家都赶走了。 “让他暖和暖和，”她说。

Myra took Franny by the hand, and the guys moved away. Miss Ruell was still covered with snow. She was untying a rope that was knotted around her waist. John realized she must have tied the other end to something in the schoolhouse. That's how she had made sure she would be able to find her way back inside. How smart of Miss Ruell. And brave. She must think he was a fool, to run outside in the blizzard. She must hate him more than ever. John took a breath. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said. His teacher looked at him with surprise. She wasn't wearing her glasses. Her bun had come loose. Brown curls hung around her face. She didn't look scary. "You thought your sister was out there," she said. "What you did was brave." Their eyes locked together for a moment. A gentle smile flickered across his teacher's face.

迈拉拉着弗兰尼的手，他们走开了。 鲁埃尔小姐身上仍然覆盖着雪。 她正在解开缠在腰上的绳子。 约翰意识到她一定是把另一端系在了学校里的什么东西上。 她就是这样确保自己能找到回去的路的。 鲁埃尔小姐真聪明。和勇敢。 她一定认为他是个傻瓜，竟会在暴风雪中跑到外面去。 她一定比以前更恨他了。 约翰吸了一口气。“对不起，夫人，”他说。 他的老师惊讶地看着他。 她没戴眼镜。 她的发髻松了。棕色的卷发垂在她的脸上。 她看起来并不可怕。“你以为你妹妹在外面，”她说。 “你所做的很勇敢。”他们的目光相视了一会儿。 老师的脸上闪过一丝温柔的微笑。

She patted John's arm before she walked back to her desk. Maybe it was the fire in the stove. But suddenly, John felt warmer. The wind screamed louder. The schoolhouse walls shuddered, and the windows rattled. But Miss Ruell, her hair back in its bun, was steely and calm. She gave all the older kids jobs. When John was warmed up again, he helped the guys sweep away the snow that was sifting under the door and through the cracks in the walls. Myra and Annie kept watch over the little kids and soon had them playing Simon Says. Moving around helped them stay warm. John kept his eye on Franny. But now he couldn't stop thinking about Ma and Pa. What if Pa had been out in the field when the blizzard hit? What if Ma had been in the barn?

她拍了拍约翰的胳膊，然后走回她的办公桌。 也许是炉子里的火。 但突然间，约翰觉得暖和了。 风更响了。校舍的墙壁在颤抖，窗户格格作响。 但鲁埃尔小姐，她的头发梳成圆髻，显得坚毅而镇定。 她给所有大一点的孩子工作。 当约翰再次暖和起来时，他帮助那些家伙清除了门下和墙缝里的雪。 迈拉和安妮照看着孩子们，很快就让他们玩起了《西蒙说》。 四处走动有助于它们保持温暖。 约翰一直盯着弗兰妮。 但现在他无法停止对爸爸妈妈的思念。 如果暴风雪来袭时爸爸正在外面的地里呢？ 如果妈妈在谷仓里呢？