Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 Paul stayed still as a stone. He tried not to imagine that dog's teeth tearing into his neck, cracking his bones. There was a rustling in the leaves above him. What looked like a feathered gray bullet shot out from the bushes toward the dog. It was Ellie! She flew up to the dog, gave it a vicious peck on the nose, and then landed on its back.

第七章保罗像石头一样一动不动。 他尽量不去想象那只狗的牙齿咬进他的脖子，咬断他的骨头。 他头顶上的树叶沙沙作响。 一颗灰色的长着羽毛的子弹从灌木丛中向狗射出。 是埃莉！她飞到狗跟前，狠狠地啄了它的鼻子一下，然后落在它的背上。

The dog stopped short and yelped in fear. Ellie took off again, flying around the dog like a tiny fighter plane, flapping her wings. She let out a clucking shriek — a pigeon battle cry. The dog leaped up, snapping and growling, its jaws foaming. But Ellie didn't fly away. Either she was the bravest pigeon that ever lived, or the craziest. The Nazis came running over, with Stroop in the lead. They were close enough now so that Paul could see Stroop's face — the white, waxy skin; the thin, crooked lips; and the watery, yellowed eyes. Paul's gut filled with a sickening churn of hatred and fear. Stroop gripped his machine gun and aimed it at Ellie. Brrrrrrrt! Brrrrrrt! Bullets sprayed through the air. Stroop missed Ellie. But now his dog was whining and crying in terror. It turned and went charging across the meadow and through the gate.

狗突然停了下来，吓得大叫起来。 艾莉又起飞了，像一架小型战斗机一样绕着小狗飞，拍打着翅膀。 她发出一声咯咯的尖叫——鸽子的战斗叫声。 那条狗跳了起来，又咬又叫，嘴里吐着白沫。 但是埃莉没有飞走。 她要么是世上最勇敢的鸽子，要么是最疯狂的鸽子。 纳粹在斯特鲁普的带领下跑过来了。 他们现在离得很近了，所以保罗可以看到斯特鲁普的脸——雪白的、蜡状的皮肤；又薄又弯的嘴唇；还有那双水汪汪的黄眼睛。 保罗的内心充满了令人作呕的仇恨和恐惧。 斯特鲁普握着他的机关枪对准艾莉。 Brrrrrrrt !Brrrrrrt !子弹在空中喷射。 斯特鲁普想念艾莉。但现在他的狗在恐惧中呜呜叫着。 它转过身，冲过草地，穿过大门。

Stroop screamed out some furious German words, which sent the other three Nazis on a mad dash after the dog. Paul looked for Ellie, but she'd flown off. Stroop stood there, looking around. Then he stamped his foot and rushed after them. For now, it seemed nothing was more important than finding his dog. Paul and Victor crawled out of the bushes. They stared at each other in relief, but they knew that Stroop would be back. "Is there another way out of here?" Victor asked. Paul nodded. He led Victor down to the corner of the meadow, through a gap in the bushes and into an apple orchard. But this wasn't safe, either. Someone could easily spot Victor and report him. There were people in town — dirty rats — who spied for the Nazis in exchange for money and food. Paul's heart hammered.

斯特鲁普尖叫着说出了几句愤怒的德语，这让其他三个纳粹分子疯狂地追赶那条狗。 保罗找埃莉，但她飞走了。 斯特鲁普站在那里，环顾四周。 然后他跺着脚跟在他们后面。 现在，似乎没有什么比找到他的狗更重要了。 保罗和维克多从灌木丛中爬了出来。 他们如释重负地面面相觑，但他们知道斯特鲁普会回来的。 “还有别的路出去吗？”维克托问道。 保罗点了点头。他领着维克多走到草地的一角，穿过灌木丛的一个缺口，进入一个苹果园。 但这也不安全。 有人很容易发现维克多并举报他。 镇上有些人——肮脏的老鼠——为纳粹做间谍，以换取金钱和食物。 保罗的心怦怦直跳。

Ellie appeared, and landed at Paul's feet. "Coo-roo," she said. "Think!" she seemed to be saying. And then it came to Paul — the one place where Victor might just be safe. "I know where you can hide," Paul said. "And I can take you there." Victor shook his head. "No, Paul. You need to get home. This is way too much to ask…" But suddenly they heard shouting voices. German voices. There was no time to argue. They took off. Paul led Victor through the orchard. It was surrounded by hedgerows. But Paul knew a spot where they could cut through into a wheat field. They ran through the feathery stalks and scaled a stone wall. As they zigzagged across Le Roc, Paul kept thinking of Gerard. They'd explored every inch of this town. There wasn't a secret path they hadn't

艾莉出现了，落在保罗的脚边。 “咕咕，”她说。“想想看！”她似乎在说。 然后到了保罗，那里可能是维克多安全的地方。 “我知道你可以藏在哪里，”保罗说。 “我可以带你去那儿。” 维克多摇了摇头。“不,保罗。 你得回家了。这要求太过分了……”但是突然他们听到了喊叫的声音。 德国之声。没有时间争论了。 他们起飞了。保罗领着维克多穿过果园。 它被树篱包围着。 但保罗知道一个地方，他们可以从那里抄近路进入麦田。 他们跑过羽毛般的茎秆，爬上一堵石墙。 当他们曲折地穿过勒洛克时，保罗一直在想杰勒德。 他们搜遍了这个小镇的每一寸土地。 没有他们没有的秘密通道

discovered. Paul heard Gerard's voice echoing in his mind. Race you! Paul ran faster. Finally, after one last turn, there it was: the one place in town where nobody would go. Not even the Nazis. The Castle Le Roc. It was exactly as Paul remembered — the crumbling walls, the filthy blackened stones, the green vines crawling up to the windows, like thousands of twisting snakes. The tower rose up crookedly into the sky. "What is this place?" Victor asked. "It's an old castle," Paul said. "Nobody ever comes here." "I can see why," Victor answered. Paul didn't mention the dragon. And he especially didn't mention the creepy story he'd heard last summer. People said that a burned body had been found at the base of the tower. The police had searched the property but still had no idea who — or what — had killed the person.

发现。保罗听到杰勒德的声音在他的脑海里回响。 比赛你!保罗跑得更快了。 最后，经过最后一次转弯，它终于出现了：镇上唯一一个没人会去的地方。 甚至连纳粹都没有。洛克城堡。 它和保罗记忆中的一模一样——摇摇欲坠的墙壁，肮脏的黑石头，爬满窗户的绿藤蔓，就像成千上万条蜿蜒的蛇。 那座塔歪歪扭扭地直插云霄。 “这是什么地方？”维克托问道。 “这是一座古老的城堡，”保罗说。 “从来没有人来过这里。”“我知道为什么，”维克多回答。 保罗没有提到龙。 他尤其没有提到他去年夏天听到的令人毛骨悚然的故事。 人们说在塔的底部发现了一具烧焦的尸体。 警方搜查了房子，但仍然不知道是谁或什么杀死了这个人。

Paul wasn't sure what to make of that story. But this much he knew: The castle was creepier than ever. It was the perfect place for Victor to hide. Ellie swooped down and landed next to Victor. Paul wondered how she'd do against a dragon. Just then there were footsteps behind them. Paul turned as a masked man with a rifle leaped out from behind a tree.

保罗不知道该怎么理解这个故事。 但他只知道一点：城堡比以往任何时候都令人毛骨悚然。 对维克多来说，这是绝佳的藏身之处。 艾莉俯冲下来，落在维克多旁边。 保罗想知道她如何对付一条龙。 就在这时，他们身后传来了脚步声。 保罗转过身来，一个拿着步枪的蒙面男子从树后跳了出来。