Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 TWO DAYS EARLIER SUNDAY, AUGUST 6, 1967 LAKE MCDONALD, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK AROUND 8:00 P.M. "Mel! I have a question for you," said Mel's four-year-old brother, Kevin. "Go ahead," Mel said.

第二章两天前，星期天，1967年8月6日晚上8点左右，冰川国家公园麦克唐纳湖。 “梅尔!我有个问题要问你，”梅尔四岁的弟弟凯文说。 “说吧，”梅尔说。

They were on the beach outside their grandfather's log cabin. Kevin was perched on Mel's lap, gobbling a roasted marshmallow. Their campfire crackled. The lake looked purple in the moonlight. "What's the most dangerous, most scariest, most fiercest animal?" Kevin asked. "Here in Glacier?" Mel asked. She swallowed the last bit of her own roasted marshmallow. Kevin nodded. "A grizzly bear," she said. "But only if you surprise it." Everyone knew that. "What animal can beat a grizzly?" he asked. "Hmmm," Mel said. She loved her little brother more than anything. But he could drive her crazy with his nonstop questions. "What about a mountain lion?" Kevin asked. "I doubt it," Mel said. She stared into the campfire. "Wolf?"

他们在祖父小木屋外的海滩上。 凯文坐在梅尔的腿上，狼吞虎咽地吃着一块烤棉花糖。 他们的营火噼啪作响。湖在月光下呈紫色。 “最危险、最可怕、最凶猛的动物是什么？”凯文问。 “在冰川这儿？”梅尔·问道。 她吞下了自己烤的最后一点棉花糖。 凯文点了点头。“一只灰熊，”她说。 “但前提是你要给它一个惊喜。” 每个人都知道。“什么动物能打败灰熊？”他问。 “嗯，”梅尔说。她爱她的弟弟胜过一切。 但他不停地问问题会把她逼疯。 “美洲狮怎么样？”凯文问。 “我很怀疑，”梅尔说。她凝视着篝火。 “狼?”

"Probably not." "Coyote?" "I don't think so." "I know!" Kevin said excitedly. "A wolverine!" Those were ferocious animals that looked like little bears but were really a kind of weasel. Mel had no idea if wolverines picked fights with grizzlies. Luckily, their grandfather was just walking down from the cabin. His work boots crunched on the rocky sand. "Did somebody say wolverine?" he asked as he sat down next to them. "I once saw a wolverine steal a dead deer from three wolves. The wolverine was no bigger than a fox. But it had no fear. No fear at all." Kevin jumped up off Mel's lap. "Can a wolverine beat a grizzly?" "No," Pops said, shaking his head. "Grizzlies are the strongest. But I'll tell you this. Wolverines are fierce!"

“大概不会。”“狼?”“我不这么认为。” “我知道!”凯文兴奋地说。 “一个金刚狼!”那些凶猛的动物看起来像小熊，但实际上是一种黄鼠狼。 梅尔不知道狼獾是否会和灰熊打架。 幸运的是，他们的祖父正从小屋走下来。 他的工作靴踩在多岩石的沙地上发出嘎吱嘎吱的响声。 “有人说金刚狼吗？”他在他们旁边坐下时问道。 “我曾经看到一只狼獾从三只狼那里偷了一只死鹿。 狼獾不比狐狸大。 但它没有恐惧。一点也不害怕。” 凯文从梅尔的腿上跳了起来。 “狼獾能打败灰熊吗？”“不，”老爷子摇着头说。 “灰熊是最强的。 但我要告诉你。狼獾很凶猛！”

"Like me!" Kevin said with a little growl. He bared his teeth and turned his sticky hands into claws. Then he fell into Pops's lap in a fit of giggles. The sound rose up into the starry sky. And at that moment, Mel could pretend that this was just another normal, happy vacation in Glacier.

“像我这样的!”凯文低声咆哮着说。 他露出了牙齿，把黏糊糊的手变成了爪子。 然后，他咯咯地笑着，倒在老爷子的腿上。 那声音响彻星空。 在那一刻，梅尔可以假装这只是另一个正常的，快乐的冰川假期。

But of course there was nothing normal about this trip. And Mel was sure she'd never feel happy again. Dad was back home in Wisconsin. He couldn't miss any more work this year. And Mom… Mom was gone. She'd died last December in a car crash. Mel felt a stabbing pain in her chest, like her heart was cracking apart all over again. She stood up, fighting tears. "Be right back," she told Pops and Kevin as she headed to the cabin. She didn't like anyone to see her cry. Mel hadn't wanted to come to Glacier this year. But Pops said they had to keep up their tradition. They always came to Glacier for two weeks in the summer. Mom would want them to be here, Pops said. Dad agreed. "You love Glacier, Mel," he reminded her. "I think it's going to make you feel better."

当然，这次旅行一点也不正常。 梅尔确信她再也不会感到快乐了。 爸爸在威斯康辛州的家里。 今年他不能再错过任何工作了。 还有妈妈，妈妈不在了。她于去年12月死于一场车祸。 梅尔感到胸口一阵刺痛，就像她的心脏又裂开了一样。 她站了起来，强忍着泪水。 “马上回来，”她朝小屋走去时对老爷子和凯文说。 她不喜欢别人看到她哭。 梅尔今年本来不想来冰川的。 但老爷子说他们必须保持传统。 他们总是在夏天来冰川呆上两个星期。 老爷子说，妈妈会希望他们在这里的。 爸爸同意了。“你爱冰川，梅尔，”他提醒她。 “我觉得这会让你感觉好点。”

By better, Dad meant Mel would want to do something other than sitting alone in her room. That she'd want to see her friends, play softball, go bowling… anything. But Mel didn't want to feel better. She didn't deserve to feel better. Since it was her fault that Mom was gone. Mel pulled open the door to the cabin as her mind flashed back to that snowy December night. Her friend Teresa had wanted her to sleep over. Mom said no because the roads were too icy for driving. Mel begged and pleaded. And finally, when the snow had stopped, Mom had agreed to take her. They pulled out of the driveway. The skies had cleared, and the snow seemed to glow. Mom had started to sing. "Row, row, row your boat…" And Mel started singing along. It was one of their funny traditions, from when Mel was a little girl. Whenever they were alone in the car, they'd sing together. The dumber the song, the better.

爸爸说的“更好”是指梅尔想做点什么，而不是一个人坐在房间里。 她会想见她的朋友，打垒球，打保龄球……任何事情。 但是梅尔并不想感觉好一点。 她不应该感觉更好。 因为妈妈的死是她的错。 梅尔拉开小屋的门，她的思绪闪回到那个下雪的十二月夜晚。 她的朋友特蕾莎想让她在她家过夜。 妈妈说不行，因为路上太冰了，不能开车。 梅尔苦苦哀求。最后，雪停了，妈妈同意带她去。 他们把车开出车道。 天空放晴了，雪似乎在发光。 妈妈已经开始唱歌了。“划，划，划你的船……”梅尔开始跟着唱。 这是他们有趣的传统之一，从梅尔还是个小女孩的时候就开始了。 每当他们单独在车里时，他们就一起唱歌。 歌越傻越好。