Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 "So tell me, Greg," Cassie said, looking sweetly at the manager who'd greeted them earlier that afternoon. "When exactly do these grizzlies show up here?" Mel and Steve stood behind her, with painted-on smiles. They were pretending to be all excited to see the grizzlies eating from the dump. If Greg knew

“告诉我吧，格雷格，”凯西说，甜蜜地看着那天下午早些时候迎接他们的经理。 “这些灰熊到底什么时候出现在这里？”梅尔和史蒂夫站在她身后，脸上画着微笑。 他们假装很高兴看到灰熊在垃圾堆里吃东西。 如果格雷格知道

how they really felt, he might not be truthful with them. Mel felt like a spy. "Oh, the grizzlies come every single night," Greg said, neatening a stack of papers on his desk. "They'll be here when it gets dark. We'll make an announcement." "We've been hearing all about it," Steve said lightly. "I'm surprised the rangers haven't put a stop to it… and, uh, you know, ruined everything." "Because isn't feeding wild animals supposed to be against the rules at Glacier?" Mel asked. Of course it was. There were signs everywhere: DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. "Oh, the rangers know all about it," Greg said. "There were three rangers here just a few nights ago. They were out there watching when the bears came. Didn't say a word to me. And besides, they know we have no choice." "About what?" Steve asked.

至于他们的真实感受，他可能不会对他们说实话。 梅尔觉得自己像个间谍。“哦，灰熊每天晚上都来，”格雷格一边说，一边整理桌子上的一叠文件。 “天黑的时候他们就会到这里。 我们会宣布的。” “我们一直都听说过这件事，”史蒂夫轻描淡写地说。 “我很惊讶护林员没有阻止它……而且，呃，你知道，毁了一切。” “因为喂野生动物不应该违反冰川公园的规定吗？”梅尔·问道。 当然是。到处都有告示：不要给动物喂食。 “哦，护林员知道这一切，”格雷格说。 “几天前还有三个护林员在这里。 熊来的时候，他们正在外面看。 什么都没跟我说。而且，他们知道我们别无选择。” “什么?”史蒂夫问。

"We have to dump our garbage out there. Because what else are we going to do with it? The park service gave me an incinerator back in June so we could burn our trash. But it was way too small. The thing broke after a few weeks. I kept asking for a new one. But they just ignored me." "So the park service knows all about this?" Steve asked, a little too loudly. Mel gave him a little nudge. She didn't want Greg to get suspicious. But Greg didn't seem to notice. "Sure they know. This has been going on at the chalet for years. The tourists love it. And the rangers know that. I'm just keeping up the tradition." They thanked Greg and went outside. They were barely out the door when Steve started to rant. He was seething with anger. "Did you hear that guy? Doesn't he know how dangerous this is? They're hurting the bears. And they're going to get someone killed. The park service knows? This is crazy!"

“我们必须把垃圾倒在那里。 因为我们还能用它做什么呢？ 六月的时候公园管理局给了我一个焚化炉这样我们就可以把垃圾烧掉了。 但是它太小了。几个星期后，那东西坏了。 我一直想要一个新的。 但他们就是不理我。” “这么说公园管理局知道这一切了？”史蒂夫问，声音有点太大了。 梅尔轻轻推了他一下。 她不想让格雷格起疑心。 但格雷格似乎没有注意到。 “他们当然知道。这种事在小木屋里已经发生好几年了。 游客们喜欢它。护林员知道这一点。 我只是在延续传统。” 他们谢过格雷格，走了出去。 他们刚出门，史蒂夫就开始咆哮起来。 他怒不可遏。 “你听到那个人说的话了吗？”他不知道这有多危险吗？ 他们在伤害熊。 他们会害死一个人的。 公园管理局知道吗？这太疯狂了！”

Mel's own cheeks were burning, too. "How could he not realize how wrong this is?" Cassie shushed them. "We have to stay calm. We have more work to do." She looked around. "It's time to find that dump." The dump was right where the mustache man had said it was, in the back of the chalet, down the steep, rocky hill. The big ditch was filled with bottles and cardboard boxes and cartons. The stink of rotting food rose up. It reminded Mel of the disgusting smell of Old Slim's breath when he stuck his head through the window. The sight of the garbage made Mel queasy. So she looked down at the dirt instead… and saw something else. "Look!" she said. The dirt was covered with paw prints. They were everywhere. Steve knelt down. "Grizzly."

梅尔自己的脸颊也在发烫。 “他怎么会没有意识到这是多么的错误呢？”卡西让他们安静下来。 “我们必须保持冷静。我们还有更多的工作要做。” 她环顾四周。“是时候找到那个垃圾场了。” 垃圾场就在那个留胡子的男人说过的地方，在小木屋的后面，陡峭的岩石山脚下。 那条大沟里堆满了瓶子、纸板箱和纸箱。 腐烂食物的臭味飘了起来。 这使梅尔想起了老斯利姆把头伸进窗户时呼出的令人作呕的气味。 看到垃圾使梅尔感到恶心。 于是她低头看了看泥土，看到了别的东西。 “看！”她说。泥土上满是爪印。 他们无处不在。史蒂夫跪了下来。 “灰熊”。

He studied an especially huge one. It was twice the size of his hand. "See how the toes are lined up straight," he said, his finger hovering over the print. "That's how you tell a grizzly print from a black bear's. A black bear's toes are curved, like an upside-down U. And look here—" He pointed to the five dots running across the very top of the print. "These indents are the tips of the claws." "How many bears have been here?" Aunt Cassie asked. "It's hard to tell without really studying the prints," Steve said. He peered around, then walked about ten yards to the side. "But it looks like at least five different adults, and some cubs." They hiked down the grassy hill. Near the bottom, there was a small cooking grill and a fire pit. A sign said GRANITE PARK CAMPGROUND. They all stood there in shock. "They actually let people camp out here?" Mel asked, even though the answer was clear.

他研究了一个特别大的。 那是他手的两倍大。 “看，脚趾是怎么排成一条直线的，”他说，手指悬停在指纹上。 “这就是你如何区分灰熊和黑熊的指纹。 黑熊的脚趾是弯曲的，就像一个颠倒的U形。 看这里——”他指着版画最上面的五个点。 “这些凹痕是爪子的尖端。” “有多少熊来过这里？”卡西姨妈问。 “如果不仔细研究指纹，很难判断，”史蒂夫说。 他环顾四周，然后向旁边走了大约十码。 “但它看起来至少有五只不同的成年熊，还有一些幼崽。” 他们徒步走下长满草的小山。 靠近底部，有一个小烧烤架和一个火坑。 牌子上写着花岗岩公园露营地。 他们都震惊地站在那里。 “他们真的让人们在这里露营吗？”梅尔问，尽管答案很清楚。

"The grizzlies have to pass right through here on their way up to that dump," Steve said. "This just gets crazier and crazier," Cassie muttered, shaking her head. Thinking about it made Mel's skin prickle with fear. A creeping uneasiness filled her chest. Granite Park really was in the middle of the nowhere. The closest road or ranger station was miles away. And Mel knew there were no phones way up here in the backcountry. If something happened — if someone got hurt — it would take a very long time for help to arrive.

“灰熊去垃圾场的路上必须经过这里，”史蒂夫说。 “这真是越来越疯狂了，”凯西摇着头喃喃地说。 一想到这个，梅尔就害怕得皮肤发痒。 一种隐隐的不安充满了她的胸膛。 花岗岩公园真的是在荒无人烟的地方。 最近的公路或护林站也在几英里之外。 梅尔知道这偏僻的地方没有电话。 如果发生了什么事——如果有人受伤了——救援要花很长时间才能到达。