Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 Paul climbed quickly. He felt like he was being pulled along by some invisible force, like he was a nail moving toward a magnet. He made it up to the soldier, and handed over the knife. The man looked young, maybe twenty-five or so. He wasn't tall, but muscles bulged under his uniform. He seemed very strong. "Thanks, kid," he said, flashing a smile.

第六章保罗爬得很快。 他觉得自己被某种看不见的力量牵引着前进，就像一颗钉子朝着磁铁移动。 他向士兵做了个补偿，把刀递给了他。 那人看上去很年轻，大概25岁左右。 他个子不高，但他的制服下肌肉发达。 他看起来很强壮。“谢谢你，孩子，”他微笑着说。

He had one of those faces that was bright and open and made you feel like you'd known him a long time. "You're welcome," Paul said, trying not to stare too hard. The soldier's uniform was covered with pockets. Pouches and bags of different sizes and shapes were strapped to his chest, his arms, and his legs. Paul spotted a tear in his pants and a nasty gash on his shin. That must have been where the blood had come from. "My name's Victor," the soldier said, eyeing Paul as he sliced through one of the shoulder straps of his parachute harness. "Sergeant Victor Lopez, American army." So Paul had guessed right. "Who are you?" Victor asked. "Paul," he answered. Paul noticed the small silver pin on the collar of Victor's uniform. It showed a parachute between a set of wings. And Paul understood. This man

他长着一张明亮而开放的脸，让你觉得你认识他很久了。 “不用谢，”保罗说，尽量不让自己盯得太紧。 士兵的制服上布满了口袋。 他的胸前、手臂和腿上绑着不同大小和形状的小袋和袋子。 保罗发现裤子上有个破洞，小腿上有个严重的伤口。 那一定是血的来源。 “我的名字叫维克多，”士兵一边说，一边看着保罗切开降落伞安全带的一根肩带。 “维克多·洛佩斯中士，美军。” 所以保罗猜对了。 “你是谁？”维克托问道。 他回答说：“保罗。”保罗注意到维克多制服领子上的银色小别针。 它显示了一对翅膀之间的降落伞。 保罗明白了。这个人

hadn't parachuted down because his plane had crashed. He'd jumped out. There were soldiers trained to do that, Paul knew. They were called paratroopers. "How long have you been up here?" Paul asked. "Since about four A.M. Wasn't a good flight. We came under enemy fire coming off the English Channel. Plane barely got me here. I had to jump out way too low, no time to steer. So I wound up stuck in this tree." "Coo-roo." Paul's head snapped up. There was that friendly pigeon again, perched on the branch right above Victor. "That's Ellie," Victor said, cutting the last string of the parachute. He dropped down to take a seat on the branch next to Paul and shook his head at the bird. "I told you to get going." He looked at Paul. "Ellie's a carrier pigeon."

他没有跳伞，因为他的飞机坠毁了。 他跳出来了。保罗知道，有受过训练的士兵。 他们被称为伞兵。 “你在这儿多久了？”保罗问。 “大约从凌晨四点开始这次飞行不太顺利。 我们在英吉利海峡外遭到敌人的炮火袭击。 飞机才勉强把我送到这里。我跳得太低了，没时间掌舵。 所以我被困在了这棵树上。” “Coo-roo。”保罗猛地抬起头来。 那只友好的鸽子又出现了，停在维克多正上方的树枝上。 “那是埃莉，”维克多说着，割断了降落伞的最后一根绳子。 他坐下来坐在保罗旁边的树枝上，对着那只鸟摇了摇头。 “我告诉过你要走了。” 他看着保罗。“艾莉是一只信鸽。”

Those were pigeons that carried messages, Paul knew. Paul noticed the little metal tube attached to the bird's leg. That's where you could put a rolled-up piece of paper. "They sent her along with me," Victor continued. "She's supposed to fly back to England with a message so people know I got stuck in this tree. But she doesn't seem to want to leave me." "I think she likes you," Paul said. Ellie gazed at Victor with her shiny gold eyes. In love was more like it. "The army's going to fire you, Ellie," Victor said. "Coo-roo," Ellie answered. Paul laughed without meaning to. The sound — his own low chuckle — was one he hadn't heard much lately. Victor cracked a smile and shook his head. Paul had about a million questions he wanted to ask.

保罗知道，那些鸽子是用来传递信息的。 保罗注意到小鸟腿上的小金属管。 你可以在那里放一张卷起来的纸。 “他们让她和我一起来的，”维克多继续说。 “她应该带着消息飞回英国，这样人们就知道我被困在这棵树上了。 但她似乎不想离开我。” “我觉得她喜欢你，”保罗说。 艾莉用闪亮的金色眼睛凝视着维克多。 更像是在恋爱中。“军队会开除你的，艾莉，”维克多说。 “咕咕，”埃莉回答。 保罗无意中笑了。 这声音——他自己的低笑声——是他最近很少听到的。 维克多笑了笑，摇了摇头。 保罗有无数的问题想问。

The most important: What was Victor doing here in Le Roc? But then he heard the sound of a motor. Paul looked out to the road and saw a Nazi patrol truck creeping slowly along. The truck stopped right near the gate that led into the meadow. Paul and Victor both scrambled down the tree. They glanced around, but the whole meadow was surrounded by those thick, tall bushes. Those bushes — they were called hedgerows — were everywhere in this part of France. But Paul knew they weren't always as solid as they looked. He and Gerard used to play soccer here. They were always crawling through the hedgerows to find their lost ball. Paul spotted a good hiding place just up ahead. "There!" Paul said, dashing over to the spot. He pulled some vines aside. "Good work," Victor whispered as they both crawled in. Ellie flew in behind them.

最重要的是：维克多在勒洛克做什么？ 就在这时，他听到了发动机的声音。 保罗向外望去，看见一辆纳粹巡逻车慢慢地驶过。 卡车正好停在通往草地的大门附近。 保罗和维克多都爬下了树。 他们环顾四周，发现整个草地都被那些又粗又高的灌木丛包围着。 这些灌木——它们被称为树篱——在法国的这个地区到处都是。 但保罗知道他们并不总是像他们看起来那么坚实。 他和杰拉德以前在这里踢足球。 他们总是爬过树篱去找他们丢失的球。 保罗在前面发现了一个很好的藏身之处。 “有!”保罗说着，冲了过去。 他把一些藤蔓拔到一边。 “干得好。”两人爬进去时，维克多小声说。 艾莉飞到他们后面。

They were well hidden now — and just in time. Four German soldiers appeared through the gate. Paul's eyes narrowed as he recognized the tall man leading the way. It was Captain Egon Stroop. He was a monster, the cruelest Nazi in Le Roc, for sure. He had personally led the roundup of the Jewish people this past March. Paul's neighbors said Stroop had used a whip to force them into trucks, smiling the entire time. Of course Stroop had his dog with him now, a wolflike German shepherd. It was a trained killer, Paul had heard, with jaws strong enough to crack a human skull. Paul shivered, even though it was warm outside. The Nazis circled the tree, looking up at Victor's parachute. But the dog was racing around sniffing the ground. Suddenly it stopped. Right in the spot

他们现在藏得很好——正好及时。 四名德国士兵从大门进来。 保罗眯起眼睛，认出了带路的高个子男人。 是埃贡·斯特鲁普上尉。 他是个怪物，毫无疑问是洛克最残忍的纳粹。 今年3月，他亲自领导了对犹太人的围捕行动。 保罗的邻居们说，斯特鲁普用鞭子强迫他们上卡车，全程都面带微笑。 当然，斯特鲁普现在带着他的狗，一只像狼一样的德国牧羊犬。 保罗听说，这是一个训练有素的杀手，它的下颚强壮得足以击碎人类的头骨。 尽管外面很暖和，保罗还是打了个寒颤。 纳粹分子围着树转，抬头看着维克多的降落伞。 但那只狗正在四处奔跑，嗅着地面。 突然它停了下来。就在现场