Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 FIVE HOURS LATER "As we all know, the Nazis are hiding the weapons right here," Mr. Leon said, pointing to a spot on the map. "They're in the old barn they've been using as a warehouse." Paul was sitting next to Victor in a room in the castle basement. The small room was crowded.

“我们都知道，纳粹把武器藏在这里，”莱昂指着地图上的一个地方说。 “他们在他们一直用作仓库的旧谷仓里。” 在城堡地下室的一个房间里，保罗坐在维克多旁边。 小房间里挤满了人。

Throughout the afternoon, more people had arrived. And Paul had been shocked to discover that he recognized every one of them. There was Marie, the young woman who had served him the cookies at the bakery. Her work at the shop made her one of the resistance's most prized spies. She'd picked up many secrets listening while the Nazi soldiers gorged themselves on cakes and tarts. There was Mr. Spire, an older man with a limp, who'd been friends with Paul's grandfather. Pierre the policeman was back. And there was Mrs. Bernard, a gray-haired woman who had the prettiest voice in the church choir. Paul would never have guessed any of these people would be in the resistance. And of course the person he'd least suspected was sitting next to him. Maman.

整个下午，来的人越来越多。 保罗惊讶地发现他认识他们每一个人。 还有玛丽，那个在面包店给他端饼干的年轻女人。 她在店里的工作使她成为抵抗组织最宝贵的间谍之一。 在纳粹士兵大吃蛋糕和馅饼的时候，她听到了许多秘密。 斯皮尔先生是一个跛脚的老人，他是保罗祖父的朋友。 警察皮埃尔回来了。 还有伯纳德太太，一个头发花白的女人，在教堂唱诗班里有着最美丽的嗓音。 保罗绝对想不到这些人会加入抵抗组织。 当然，他最不怀疑的人就坐在他旁边。 妈妈。

She'd arrived a couple hours ago. Mr. Leon had spoken to her first; then she came to find Paul. They'd sat for a moment alone, holding hands, wiping away tears. But not much needed to be said. Now Paul knew all about Maman's secret life. And whether Maman liked it or not, Paul was a part of it. And anyway, there was no time for tearful talk. Mr. Leon had gathered them to discuss an urgent mission, the one that Victor had come to Le Roc to help with. The Nazis were keeping some deadly weapons in Le Roc. These weapons needed to be destroyed. "The Allies have sent us another message," Mr. Leon went on. "They want these terrible weapons destroyed tonight." It was Maman who had brought this message, Paul had learned. There were people in town who'd been given secret radios they used to communicate with the Allies. One of Maman's jobs was to pick up those messages and deliver

她几个小时前到的。 利昂先生先跟她说过话；然后她来找保罗。 他们单独坐了一会儿，手牵着手，擦去眼泪。 但其实无需多说。 现在保罗知道妈妈的秘密生活了。 不管妈妈喜欢与否，保罗都是其中的一部分。 无论如何，我们没有时间泪流满面地交谈。 里昂先生召集他们讨论一项紧急任务，就是维克多来勒洛克帮忙的任务。 纳粹在勒洛克藏了一些致命武器。 这些武器需要销毁。 “盟军又给我们传达了一条信息，”莱昂接着说。 “他们希望这些可怕的武器今晚就被摧毁。” 保罗了解到，这个消息是妈妈带来的。 镇上有些人拿到了秘密无线电，用来和盟军联络。 妈妈的工作之一就是收集并传递这些信息

them to other resistance members in and around Le Roc. "These are one of the Nazis' most powerful weapons," said Mr. Spire. "More destructive than anything I remember from World War One." He'd actually fought in that war with Paul's grandfather. "They can kill one thousand men in minutes." A chill went up Paul's spine. Victor had told him about these weapons earlier. They were a kind of powerful cannon with six barrels. Each one could shoot one hundred exploding rockets in a minute. The weapon was called a Nebelwerfer, a German word that Paul didn't understand. But he knew it must mean something evil. When the rockets hit, they exploded, killing everything in their path. This made Nebelwerfers one of the most feared weapons the Nazis had. "The Allies have told us that this mission is urgent," Mr. Leon said. "That's why they took the unusual step of sending Victor. He is one of their

向勒洛克内外的其他抵抗组织成员提供信息。 “这是纳粹最强大的武器之一，”斯皮尔说。 “比我记忆中的第一次世界大战更具破坏性。” 他实际上和保罗的祖父一起参加了那场战争。 “他们可以在几分钟内杀死一千人。” 一股寒意袭上了保罗的脊背。 维克多之前跟他说过这些武器。 它们是一种威力强大的大炮，有六个炮管。 每一枚都能在一分钟内发射100枚爆炸火箭。 这种武器被称为Nebelwerfer，这是一个保罗不懂的德语单词。 但他知道这一定意味着什么邪恶的东西。 当火箭击中时，它们爆炸了，摧毁了沿途的一切。 这使得nebelwerfer成为纳粹最可怕的武器之一。 “盟军告诉我们，这项任务很紧急，”莱昂说。 “这就是为什么他们不寻常地派维克多去的原因。 他是他们中的一员

best men. Victor is not simply a soldier. He is a special agent, trained in explosives." Victor nodded, and now Mr. Leon stepped aside so Victor could take over. Victor stood up and explained that the mission should be simple. "I have brought a new kind of plastic explosive. It's called C-Three." He lifted a block of what looked like dull yellow clay. "This explosive is very light. Just a small amount will cause a powerful blast. We can slice off a bit and put it in one of the cannon barrels. Once the Nazis try to fire the cannon, the whole thing will explode." "We will turn their weapon of death against them," said Mrs. Bernard. Paul eyed her, surprised to hear these harsh words coming from the same mouth that sang their Christmas carols. "Exactly," said Victor. "Any questions?" Mr. Leon asked.

最好的男人。维克多不仅仅是一名士兵。 他是一名特工，受过爆破训练。” 维克多点了点头，里昂先生走到一边，让维克多接手。 维克多站起来解释说，任务应该很简单。 “我带来了一种新型塑料炸药。 它叫做c - 3。”他举起一块看起来像暗黄色粘土的东西。 “这种炸药很轻。 一点点就能引起强烈的爆炸。 我们可以切下一点，放在炮管里。 一旦纳粹试图发射大炮，整个东西就会爆炸。” “我们要用他们的死亡武器对付他们，”伯纳德太太说。 保罗看着她，惊讶地听到这些刺耳的话是从唱圣诞颂歌的那张嘴说出来的。 “没错。”维克托说。“有什么问题吗?”莱昂先生问。

He leaned forward and looked at each person, one by one. It was the same look he used at school, the one that made Paul feel a little smarter. Like suddenly he could accomplish anything he set his mind to. "I have a question," Marie said, putting down her mug of cider. "We informed the Allies that there were Nebelwerfers here months ago. Now they've sent Victor and we must destroy these weapons tonight. What changed to make things so urgent?" The others murmured their agreement, and Maman nodded her head. Paul had been wondering the same thing. Mr. Leon glanced at Victor, who looked down. Paul sensed there was something they weren't sharing with the rest of the group. Mr. Spire put his hand over Mr. Leon's. "Jacques," he said. "Are the Allies about to attack France? Is the invasion about to happen? Is that why they want the weapons destroyed?"

他身体前倾，一个接一个地打量着每个人。 这和他在学校时的表情一模一样，让保罗觉得自己聪明了一点。 突然间，他可以完成任何他下定决心要做的事。 “我有一个问题，”玛丽说着，放下了她那杯苹果酒。 “我们几个月前就通知盟军这里有尼伯维尔人。 现在他们派来了维克多，我们今晚必须摧毁这些武器。 是什么变化让事情变得如此紧急？”其他人低声表示同意，妈妈点了点头。 保罗也一直在想同样的事情。 利昂先生瞥了维克多一眼，维克多低下头。 保罗感觉到有些事情他们没有和小组的其他人分享。 斯皮尔先生把手放在莱昂先生的手上。 “雅克，”他说。“盟军要进攻法国了吗？” 入侵即将发生吗？ 这就是他们希望销毁武器的原因吗？”