Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 ABOUT FOUR MONTHS EARLIER SEPTEMBER 19, 1887 PRAIRIE CREEK, DAKOTA TERRITORY 7:45 A.M. John's little sister, Franny, had disappeared. She and John were on their way to their schoolhouse. They were halfway through the

第2章大约四个月前1887年9月19日，达科他领地草原溪早上7:45 约翰的小妹妹弗兰妮失踪了。 她和约翰正在去学校的路上。 他们已经完成了一半

three walk from their farm. They were following an old wagon trail that cut through the tall golden grass. Franny, who was five, had been skipping up ahead. John had been watching her blond braids flap up and down like the wings of a happy yellow bird. Somehow he'd lost sight of her, john sped up lookin all around. It was hard to see through the grass, which rose up so high. It tickled his neck. A unicorn could be prancing by, and john wouldn't notice franny. He shouted, where are you? Whoosh, said the wind swish, said the grass,

三个人从他们的农场走出来。 他们沿着一条穿过高高的金色草地的旧马车小道走着。 五岁的弗兰妮一直蹦蹦跳跳地跑在前面。 约翰一直看着她的金色辫子像一只快乐的黄鸟的翅膀一样上下摆动。 不知怎么的，他看不见她了，约翰加快了速度四处张望。 野草长得那么高，很难透过草丛看清楚。 它使他的脖子发痒。即使有独角兽在旁边蹦蹦跳跳，约翰也不会注意到弗兰妮。 他喊道，你在哪里？ 风嗖嗖地说，草嗖嗖地说，

But no sign of Franny. John sighed. She must be playing hide-and-seek, her favorite game. When Franny found a good spot, she'd sit there forever. She was going to make them late. It was hard enough for John, going to a school where he had no friends. But his teacher, Miss Ruell, was mean.

但是没有弗兰妮的踪迹。约翰叹了口气。 她一定在玩她最喜欢的游戏——捉迷藏。 当弗兰妮找到一个好位置时，她会永远坐在那里。 她要让他们迟到。 在一所没有朋友的学校上学对约翰来说已经够难的了。 但他的老师鲁尔小姐很刻薄。

He pictured her now, her hair stretched back in a bun, her eyes glaring through her little round glasses. She was young, and barely five feet tall. But she ruled over the schoolhouse like a Civil War general. John had never once seen her smile. When kids were late, Miss Ruell made them stay in for recess and memorize some boring poem. Torture! "Franny!" John shouted. He stood on his tiptoes, peering into the distance. All he could see, in any direction, was wide-open prairie. It seemed to stretch out forever, an ocean made of grass. He still couldn't get used to it, all this empty land. John and Franny and their parents had moved here to Dakota about a year ago, from Chicago. It wasn't John's idea; he'd been happy living in the city. But Ma and Pa were fed up with their dark little apartment, their cursing neighbors, and the noise and stink that rose up from the street.

他想象着她现在的样子，她的头发向后梳成一个发髻，她的眼睛透过她的小圆眼镜闪闪发光。 她很年轻，身高还不到五英尺。 但她却像内战时期的将军一样统治着学校。 约翰从未见过她笑过。 当孩子们迟到时，鲁尔小姐就让他们在课间休息时留在家里背一些无聊的诗。 酷刑!“弗兰妮!”约翰喊道。 他踮起脚尖，凝视着远方。 从任何方向看，他所能看到的都是开阔的大草原。 它似乎永远延伸下去，是一片由草构成的海洋。 他还是无法适应这片空旷的土地。 约翰、弗兰妮和他们的父母大约一年前从芝加哥搬到了达科塔。 这不是约翰的主意；他在城市里生活得很开心。 可是爸妈受够了他们那阴暗的小公寓，受够了满口脏话的邻居，受够了街上飘来的吵闹声和臭气。

For years Ma and Pa had been talking about moving out west and buying a farm. But John always figured that was just their crazy dream, like John wishing he could be a pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings, his favorite baseball team. Pa didn't make much money, working at a cabinet shop. How could they ever afford to buy land for a farm? Then Ma and Pa heard they could get land in a place called Dakota. It was thousands of miles of open space, west of Minnesota. Dakota wasn't a state, but it would be soon, folks said. And the government wanted farmers to come. They were even giving away big plots of land — for free! All you had to do was build a farm and stay for five years. Then the land was yours forever. For Ma and Pa, it was a dream come true. "We're heading west!" Pa boomed. "We'll be pioneers," Ma said.

多年来，爸爸妈妈一直在谈论搬到西部去买个农场。 但约翰总是认为那只是他们疯狂的梦想，就像约翰希望自己能成为他最喜欢的棒球队芝加哥白袜队的投手一样。 爸爸在橱柜店打工，挣的钱不多。 他们怎么买得起地来建农场呢？ 后来爸爸妈妈听说他们可以在一个叫达科塔的地方买地。 这是一片数千英里的开阔地带，位于明尼苏达州西部。 人们说，达科塔还不是一个州，但很快就会成为一个州。 政府希望农民来。 他们甚至免费赠送大片土地！你所要做的就是建一个农场，然后住上五年。 然后这片土地就永远是你的了。 对爸爸妈妈来说，这是梦想成真。 “我们往西走！”Pa蓬勃发展。 “我们将成为先锋，”马说。

John hoped the West would be like the places in his favorite adventure stories, with rivers filled with gold nuggets and brave sheriffs chasing after famous bank robbers like Billy the Kid. Ma and Pa sold practically everything they owned. They traveled west by train — it took seven days to reach the edge of Dakota Territory. Then they bought a rickety wagon and an ox to pull it. John named the ox Shadow, after his favorite White Stockings pitcher, Shadow Pyle. It was a two-day ride to the little town of Prairie Creek. If you could call it a town. Only about twenty families lived there, on little farms scattered across the prairie. The main street was a dusty strip of dirt with a general store on one side and a hardware store and tiny hotel on the other. John's family settled on a 160-acre piece of land about two miles outside of town. There were no rivers of gold, no brave sheriffs. There wasn't even a bank for a guy like Billy the

约翰希望西部能像他最喜欢的冒险故事里的地方一样，河里满是金块，勇敢的警长追捕像比利小子这样著名的银行劫匪。 爸爸妈妈几乎把他们所有的东西都卖掉了。 他们乘火车向西旅行，花了7天时间才到达达科他领地的边缘。 然后他们买了一辆摇摇晃晃的马车和一头牛来拉它。 约翰把这头牛命名为“影子”，以他最喜欢的白袜队投手“影子”派尔的名字命名。 到普雷里克里克小镇要花两天的时间。 如果你能称之为城镇的话。 那里只有大约20户人家住在分散在大草原上的小农场里。 主街是一条尘土飞扬的土路，一边是一家杂货店，另一边是一家五金店和一家小旅馆。 约翰一家在城外约两英里处的一块160英亩的土地上定居下来。 没有黄金的河流，没有勇敢的治安官。 像比利这样的人连银行都没有