Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 1967 2:00 P.M. When Steve first came inside he could barely speak. He collapsed into a chair and sat there in shock. Mel, Pops, and Aunt Cassie gathered around him.

第十九章1967年8月13日星期日下午两点 史蒂夫刚进来的时候几乎说不出话来。 他瘫倒在椅子上，震惊地坐在那里。 梅尔、老爷子和卡西姨妈围着他。

Luckily Kevin had played hard all morning and was taking a nap. Mel studied Steve's face. It was a jumble of anger and sadness. He took a deep breath. "There was grizzly attack last night at Granite Park, at the campground below the chalet, just after midnight." He spoke so quietly that they had to lean close. "A nineteen-year-old girl was killed. The grizzly dragged her from her sleeping bag. She had a friend with her. A young man. The bear bit him up. But he survived." Mel's whole body started to shake. "One hour later," Steve continued, "there was another attack. A second girl was killed." He swallowed. "And it wasn't at Granite Park." "Where was it?" Mel asked. "Trout Lake." Pops frowned. "But that's at least ten miles from Granite Park. There must be a mistake. No grizzly can move that fast."

幸运的是，凯文整个上午都玩得很卖力，现在正在打盹。 梅尔端详着史蒂夫的脸。那是一种愤怒和悲伤的混杂。 他深吸了一口气。“昨晚刚过午夜，在花岗岩公园小木屋下面的露营地，发生了灰熊袭击事件” 他说话的声音很轻，他们不得不靠得更近一些。 “一名19岁的女孩被杀。 灰熊把她从睡袋里拖了出来。 她有一个朋友和她在一起。 一个年轻人。熊把他咬了。 但他活了下来。”梅尔的整个身体开始颤抖。 “一小时后，”史蒂夫接着说，“又发生了一次袭击。 第二个女孩被杀了。” 他吞下。“而且不是在花岗岩公园。” “它在哪儿？”梅尔·问道。 “鲑鱼湖”。就皱起了眉头。 “但那离花岗岩公园至少有十英里。 一定是搞错了。没有灰熊能跑那么快。”

Steve closed his eyes and took a breath. "It was a different grizzly." "But, son, that can't be right," Pops said. "It's just impossible. Two girls killed in one night, by two different grizzlies?" "I know, sir," Steve said. "But it happened. It happened. I heard from the rangers today. They're hunting for the grizzlies right now." Mel clasped her hands together. She felt sick. Pops stood up slowly. "All right," he said. "I've made a decision. We're leaving here as soon as we can. It's not safe to stay." His voice cracked a little. Like when he'd told Mel Mom was gone, after the crash. By Tuesday morning they had packed up, cleaned the cabin, and loaded the car. Steve came to say good-bye to all of them. He was staying; the rangers had asked for his help.

史蒂夫闭上眼睛，深吸一口气。 “这是一只不同的灰熊。” “但是，孩子，那不可能是对的，”老爷子说。 “这是不可能的。两个女孩在一晚上被两只不同的灰熊杀死？”“我知道，先生。”史蒂夫说。 “但它发生了。它的发生而笑。 我今天收到了护林员的消息。 他们现在正在寻找灰熊。” 梅尔双手紧握。 她觉得不舒服。老爷子慢慢站起来。 “好吧，”他说。“我已经做了决定。 我们要尽快离开这里。 呆在这里不安全。”他的声音有些沙哑。 就像他告诉梅尔妈妈不在的时候，车祸之后。 到星期二早上，他们已经收拾好行李，打扫了小屋，装上了车。 史蒂夫是来和他们道别的。 他要留下来；护林员曾向他求助。

"They understand that this place needs some big changes," he said. "They're already starting to clean up some of the campgrounds. And they're going to do much more. So at least that's a start." "But look what it took… those poor girls," Pops said. Both girls were nineteen, and in college. They worked at Glacier. Just like Mom and Cassie had when they were in college. "And the bears?" Cassie asked. "Have they found them?" "The Granite Park bear was a mother with two cubs," Steve said, nodding. "They've shot that bear. Her paw was completely torn up, probably by glass. She had to be in pain." "And the other one?" Pops asked. "The Trout Lake bear?" Steve looked down for a moment. And Mel knew what he was going to say. "It was the same bear that came here. I'm sure. Skinny, sickly. They shot it, too. That bear was

“他们明白，这个地方需要一些大的改变，”他说。 “他们已经开始清理一些露营地。 他们还会做更多的事情。 所以至少这是一个开始。” “但看看那些可怜的女孩付出了什么，”老爷子说。 两个女孩都19岁，都在上大学。 他们在冰川工作。就像妈妈和凯西上大学时那样。 “熊呢？”卡西问。 “他们找到了吗？”“花岗岩公园的那只熊是一只有两只小熊的熊妈妈，”史蒂夫点点头说。 “他们打死了那只熊。它的爪子完全被撕碎了，可能是被玻璃砸伤的。 她一定很痛苦。”“另一个呢？”持久性有机污染物问道。 “鳟鱼湖熊？”史蒂夫低下头看了一会儿。 梅尔知道他要说什么。 “这就是来这里的那只熊。 我肯定。瘦,体弱多病。他们也拍了。 那只熊

also suffering. Its teeth were full of glass." Old Slim. Of course that bear wasn't a monster. He was just a sick animal, in pain. Steve hugged them all good-bye. He said he'd visit them at home in a few weeks. And an hour later they were pulling away from the cabin, with Cassie's Volkswagen following behind. She was coming to stay with them for a week in Wisconsin. Mel turned and watched as Lake McDonald slowly disappeared, until it was just a thin line of turquoise in the distance. She rolled down her window and breathed in the sweet smell of pine. Some birds sang out, as though they were saying good-bye. Mel whispered good-bye back, just in case. Just in case they never came back to Glacier again.

还痛苦。它的牙齿里全是玻璃。” 旧的苗条。那只熊当然不是怪物。 他只是一只生病的动物，痛苦不堪。 史蒂夫和他们所有人拥抱道别。 他说过几周后会去他们家拜访。 一个小时后，他们离开了小屋，卡西的大众汽车跟在后面。 她要来威斯康辛州和他们一起住一个星期。 梅尔转过身来，看着麦克唐纳湖慢慢地消失，直到它在远处变成一条绿松石色的细线。 她摇下车窗，呼吸着松树的清香。 一些鸟高声歌唱，好像在说再见。 梅尔小声说再见，以防万一。 以防他们再也不回冰川镇了。