Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 5:50 A.M. The soldier—he looked so young Paul wondered if he was even eighteen—held his hand out toward Paul. It took Paul a moment to understand: He was offering to help Paul to his feet. "Danke," Paul said. Paul had barely realized he knew that German word.

第十六章上午5:50那个士兵——他看起来很年轻，保罗甚至怀疑他是否只有18岁——向保罗伸出手。 保罗过了一会儿才明白：他是在帮助保罗站起来。 “谢谢，”保罗说。保罗几乎没有意识到他认识那个德语单词。

Thank you. Their eyes met. The soldier didn't look like a cruel Nazi. He looked like a kid, someone Paul and Gerard might have wanted to play soccer with. But then the young soldier suddenly stood up straight. He clicked the heels of his black boots together and threw his arm straight out in front of him—a Nazi salute. Paul whirled around and saw a furious-looking Nazi officer. The man's face was red with rage. He shoved the young soldier so hard the young man stumbled and almost fell. And then the officer stood over Paul, so close that Paul could smell the man's sour sweat. "What are you doing here?" the Nazi bellowed. "Nobody is allowed in this area! It is strictly forbidden." He reminded Paul of Stroop—the animal glint in his eye, the knife-sharp edge of his voice. How Paul could sense how much he

谢谢你！他们的目光相遇了。 这个士兵看起来不像一个残忍的纳粹分子。 他看起来像个孩子，保罗和杰拉德可能会想和他一起踢足球。 但是，那个年轻的士兵突然站直了身子。 他咔哒一声把黑靴子的鞋跟合在一起，把胳膊笔直地伸到身前——这是一个纳粹式的敬礼。 保罗转过身来，看见一个怒容满面的纳粹军官。 那人的脸气得通红。 他把那个年轻士兵推得太狠了，那个年轻人绊了一下，差点摔倒。 然后那个军官站在保罗身边，离他很近，保罗都能闻到他的酸臭汗。 “你在这里干什么？”纳粹怒吼道。 “任何人不得入内！”这是严格禁止的。” 他使保罗想起了斯特鲁普——他眼睛里闪烁着动物的光芒，他那尖利的嗓音。 保罗怎么能感觉到他有多爱他

enjoyed this, that he had the power to make people feel terrified. The Nazi reached over and roughly searched Paul's pockets. He pulled out something small. Paul's blood turned to ice. The C-3—that extra slab that Mr. Leon had given him. Paul had forgotten that he still had it. The Nazi held it up and studied it carefully. His eyes narrowed to needle slits. He knew exactly what it was, Paul could see. Paul turned to bolt, but the Nazi clamped his hand on Paul's arm. Paul tried to jerk away, but the hand gripped him like a metal claw. The Nazi shouted out, and two other soldiers rushed toward them. Paul's heart filled with terror as he thought of what would happen next. They would drag him to some dark dungeon, and make him tell them where he had gotten the C-3. Paul's mind flashed with knives, with flames, all the terrible ways the

我很享受这一点，他有能力让人感到恐惧。 纳粹伸手粗暴地搜了保罗的口袋。 他掏出一件小东西。 保罗的血都凝固了。 c -3就是里昂先生给他的那块。 保罗忘了他还留着它。 纳粹把它举起来仔细研究。 他的眼睛眯成针眼。 他很清楚那是什么，保罗看得出来。 保罗转身逃跑，但纳粹分子的手紧紧抓住了保罗的手臂。 保罗想挣脱，但那只手像金属爪一样抓住了他。 纳粹大声喊道，另外两名士兵向他们冲了过来。 保罗想到接下来要发生的事，心里充满了恐惧。 他们会把他拖到某个黑暗的地牢里，逼他说出C-3是从哪里弄来的。 保罗的脑子里闪过刀子，闪过火焰，闪过所有可怕的方式

Nazis would hurt him so he'd tell them his secrets—about the resistance, Mr. Leon, and Maman. Thunder rumbled, as though Paul's fear was tearing open the sky. Paul glanced out over the English Channel. Through the thick fog, he could see small flashes of orange. There was a faint whistling sound that got louder and louder and louder: Sssssssssssssssss. Seconds later, Kaboom! An explosion rocked the ground. Both Paul and the Nazi fell into the grass. Paul rolled away from him as black, billowing smoke blinded him. Everything around Paul seemed to go quiet. He coughed, and tears poured from his eyes. The smoke cleared, and Paul saw that the Nazi who'd grabbed him was still on the ground, deathly still. That blast had killed him.

纳粹会伤害他，这样他就会告诉他们他的秘密——关于抵抗运动、里昂先生和妈妈的秘密。 雷声隆隆，仿佛保罗的恐惧撕开了天空。 保罗眺望着英吉利海峡。 透过浓雾，他能看到橙色的小闪光。 一阵微弱的哨声，越来越响，越来越响：嘶嘶嘶嘶。 几秒钟后，砰！一声爆炸震动了地面。 保罗和纳粹都掉进了草丛里。 保罗从他身边滚开，滚滚的黑烟弄瞎了他的眼睛。 保罗周围的一切似乎都安静下来了。 他咳嗽了一下，眼泪从他的眼睛里涌出。 硝烟散去，保罗看到抓他的纳粹还躺在地上，死气沉沉的。 那次爆炸杀死了他。

Paul scrambled to his feet. He still had no idea what was happening, but this was his chance to get away from here. He started to run. But then it hit him… that thundering sound. The bright orange flashes through the fog. The explosion. The Allied ships were here! The thunder roared again. Sssssssssssssssss. Kaboom! The Allies were firing from their battleships, Paul realized. They must be trying to crush the Nazi defenses—the machine guns and cannons that were lined up on the cliffs. The Allies wanted to clear the way before their soldiers poured onto the beaches. But if Paul didn't get out of here now, those Allied battleships were going to crush him, too.

保罗爬了起来。 他仍然不知道发生了什么，但这是他离开这里的机会。 他开始跑。但他突然听到了雷鸣般的声音。 明亮的橙色在雾中闪烁。 爆炸。盟军的军舰来了！雷声又轰鸣起来。 Sssssssssssssssss。大爆炸!保罗意识到，盟军是从战列舰上开火的。 他们一定是想击溃纳粹的防御工事——在悬崖上排列的机枪和大炮。 盟军想在他们的士兵涌向海滩之前扫清道路。 但如果保罗现在不离开这里，盟军的战列舰也会摧毁他。