Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Ten minutes later, Aunt Cassie and Mel pulled into the parking lot at the Lake McDonald ranger station. It was just a small log building, about three miles from the cabin. They waited in line behind a young man with a mop of brown hair and a beard. He was paying for a trail map.

第九章十分钟后，卡西姨妈和梅尔把车开进了麦克唐纳湖护林站的停车场。 那只是一座小木屋，离木屋大约三英里远。 他们排在一个留着棕色头发和胡子的年轻人后面。 他付钱买了一张地图。

When he was finished, Aunt Cassie stepped back and gave Mel a little nudge toward the counter. Mel stepped up. The ranger gave her a kindly smile. He didn't look much younger than Pops. "What can I do for you, young lady?" Mel felt nervous, like when her teacher called on her. But she took a breath and looked the man in the eye. "I live down the lake, in one of the

他吃完后，卡西姨妈退后一步，轻轻推了梅尔一下柜台。 梅尔走上前来。护林员亲切地对她笑了笑。 他看起来并不比老爷子年轻多少。 “我能为你做些什么，小姐？”梅尔感到很紧张，就像她的老师叫她一样。 但她深吸了一口气，看着男人的眼睛。 “我住在湖边，在一个

cabins," she said. "A grizzly bear came out of the woods last night and followed me up to the cabin, and then it smashed the window and tried to break down our door and —" The ranger held up his hand. "Let me guess. Skinny bear? Light brown. Long claws?" Mel glanced back at Aunt Cassie, who raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's the one," Mel said. "How did you know?" "We call that bear Old Slim," the ranger said. "People have been complaining about him all summer. A real troublemaker. Been raiding campgrounds. Making a mess of people's garbage cans. Stealing people's food. Harmless, though." Mel felt her cheeks turn red. What was this man saying? Hadn't he heard what she'd just told him? "Harmless?" Mel said. "That bear almost ripped our door off the hinges, and…" The memory of the grizzly's paw only inches from Kevin's face

小木屋，”她说。“一只灰熊昨晚从树林里出来，跟着我来到小屋，然后它打碎了窗户，还想撞开我们的门——”护林员举起手来。 “让我猜猜。瘦小的熊吗? 浅棕色。长爪子吗?”梅尔回头看了卡西姨妈一眼，她惊讶地扬起了眉毛。 “就是这个，”梅尔说。 “你怎么知道的？”“我们管那只熊叫老斯利姆，”护林员说。 “整个夏天人们都在抱怨他。 一个真正的麻烦制造者。一直在突袭露营地。 把别人的垃圾桶弄得一团糟。 偷别人的食物。无害的。” 梅尔感到她的脸颊变红了。 这个人在说什么？难道他没听见她刚才对他说的话吗？ “无害吗?”梅尔说。“那只熊差点把我们的门从铰链上扯下来，而且……”记忆中灰熊的爪子离凯文的脸只有几英寸远

flashed across her mind. She pinched her index finger and thumb close together. "And it got this close to tearing my little brother to shreds!" Aunt Cassie put a hand on Mel's shoulder. Mel realized she was on her tippy-toes, leaning over the counter. She let out a breath and took a step back. She didn't want to be rude. But she needed the ranger to understand. The ranger nodded. "That Old Slim's a real rascal. A few days ago he chased a couple of boys at the Trout Lake campground. Wrecked their tent. Bit right through some cans of chili. Ate a whole pack of wieners in one bite." The ranger chuckled. "Excuse me," Aunt Cassie said, stepping closer to the counter herself. "I'm not sure what's funny about this grizzly." Mel heard something over her shoulder and noticed that the young man was lurking just inside the doorway, listening. Were she and Aunt Cassie making too big of a fuss?

闪过她的脑海。她把食指和拇指紧紧地捏在一起。 “它差点把我弟弟撕成碎片！”卡西姨妈把手放在梅尔的肩膀上。 梅尔意识到她踮起了脚尖，身子趴在柜台上。 她叹了口气，向后退了一步。 她不想显得无礼。 但她需要护林员的理解。 护林员点点头。“那个老瘦子真是个坏蛋。 几天前他在鳟鱼湖露营地追了几个男孩。 破坏了他们的帐篷。正好咬穿了几罐辣椒。 一口就吃了一整包香肠。” 护林员笑了。“对不起，”卡西姨妈说着，自己走近了柜台。 “我不知道这只灰熊有什么好笑的。” 梅尔听到身后有什么声音，注意到那个年轻人正躲在门口偷听。 她和卡西姨妈是不是太小题大做了？

"The rangers need to do something about this bear," Aunt Cassie went on, her voice rising sharply. The ranger's cheeks turned pink. "There's nothing I can do, miss. I'm just a volunteer." He pointed to the symbol on his shirt and shrugged. "Most of the the rangers are dealing with the fires." He patted Mel's hand. "I'm sorry you were scared, kiddo. But I wouldn't worry about that grizzly." Mel's temper flared up again. Because she was pretty sure she should be worried. "Can you at least tell us why it was acting like that?" Mel asked. "Do you think I could have done something?" "I wasn't there," the ranger said. "But from the other stories, it sounds like this bear's just a little… off. Like I said, I wouldn't worry about it." Then he stepped back from the counter; he was done with this conversation.

“护林员需要对这只熊做点什么，”卡西姨妈继续说，她的声音急剧提高。 护林员的脸颊变红了。 “我无能为力，小姐。 我只是个志愿者。”他指着衬衫上的标志，耸了耸肩。 “大多数护林员都在处理火灾。” 他拍拍梅尔的手。“很抱歉你被吓到了，孩子。 但我不会担心那只灰熊。” 梅尔又发火了。 因为她很确定她应该担心。 “你至少能告诉我们它为什么会这样吗？”梅尔·问道。 “你觉得我能做点什么吗？”“我不在场，”护林员说。 “但从其他故事来看，这只熊听起来有点……不对劲。” 就像我说的，我不会担心的。” 然后他从柜台前退了回来；他结束了这次谈话。

Mel was fuming as they walked back to the parking lot. They were almost at the car when a voice called to them. "Wait!" It was the young man with the beard. He hurried over. "You're right about that grizzly," he said to Mel, catching his breath. "It's dangerous. Very dangerous." Aunt Cassie and Mel waited to hear more. "And it's not just that one bear. There's a big problem here at Glacier. If something isn't done soon, someone's going to get killed."

当他们走回停车场时，梅尔很生气。 他们快到汽车时，一个声音向他们喊道。 “等等!”是那个留胡子的年轻人。 他匆匆走了过去。“你说的那只灰熊是对的，"他喘着气对梅尔说。 “这是危险的。很危险的。” 卡西姨妈和梅尔等着听更多的消息。 “而且不仅仅是那只熊。 冰川有个大问题。 如果不尽快采取行动，就会有人被杀。”