Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Mr. Leon looked equally stunned. Victor's voice broke the silence. "I'm Sergeant Victor Lopez," he said. "American army. And this boy here is—" Mr. Leon stepped forward and grabbed Paul into a crushing hug. And now it was Victor's turn to be shocked. Paul held his teacher tight, fighting back tears.

利昂先生看上去同样惊愕。 维克多的声音打破了沉默。 “我是维克多·洛佩斯中士，”他说。 “美国军队。这个男孩是——”利昂先生走上前去，紧紧地抱住保罗。 现在轮到维克多感到震惊了。 保罗紧紧地抱住他的老师，强忍着泪水。

"We're old friends," Mr. Leon told Victor when he and Paul finally stepped apart. Mr. Leon took off his round glasses and wiped away his own tears. He put his glasses back on and held his hand out to Victor. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Sergeant Lopez," he said in that deep, cheerful voice that Paul knew so well. But wait. How did Mr. Leon know who Victor was? "Welcome to the headquarters of the Le Roc resistance," he said. Victor had been right! "I know why the Allies sent you," Mr. Leon continued. "We are ready to help you with this mission. We had our people out looking for you last night. But they couldn't find you." Paul turned to Victor. A mission? With the resistance? That's why Victor had come to Le Roc? It seemed so.

“我们是老朋友了，”当莱昂和保罗最终分开时，他对维克多说。 利昂先生摘下圆眼镜，擦去自己的眼泪。 他戴上眼镜，向维克多伸出手。 “很高兴终于见到你了，洛佩斯中士，”他用保罗非常熟悉的低沉、欢快的声音说。 但是等待。里昂先生怎么知道维克多是谁？ “欢迎来到勒洛克抵抗组织的总部，”他说。 维克多是对的！“我知道盟军为什么派你来，”莱昂接着说。 “我们随时准备帮助你们完成这项任务。 昨晚我们派人出去找你了。 但是他们找不到你。” 保罗转向维克多。一个任务吗? 抵抗运动？这就是维克多来洛克的原因吗？ 似乎是这样。

"I would have been captured," Victor said. "If it hadn't been for Paul." He told Mr. Leon how Paul had climbed the tree, how he'd helped Victor escape. "This kid is brave," he said. "I've always known that," Mr. Leon said proudly. But then his eyebrows pressed together with worry. "Paul, how did you possibly know to come here? Did you know that this was a resistance base? Did you have any idea that I—" "No, sir!" Paul exclaimed. "I thought nobody would be here. And, Mr. Leon, I was there when you got shot. I thought you…" He stared at his teacher, and it all came back — those three shots. The screams. The sight of Mr. Leon's lifeless body sinking into the river. Paul's throat tightened, and he looked down at the dusty stone floor. "I'm sorry, Paul," Mr. Leon said softly. "I wish I could have let you know that I was all right. But

“我会被抓的，”维克多说。 “如果没有保罗的话。” 他告诉里昂先生保罗是如何爬上树的，他是如何帮助维克多逃跑的。 “这孩子很勇敢，”他说。 “我一直都知道这一点，”莱昂自豪地说。 但随后他的眉毛因担心而紧绷在一起。 “保罗，你怎么知道要到这里来？” 你知道这里是抵抗组织的基地吗？ 你知不知道我——““不知道，先生！”保罗说。 “我以为没有人会在这里。 里昂先生，你中枪的时候我也在场。 我以为你……”他盯着老师，一切都浮现了出来——那三声枪响。 的尖叫声。看到里昂先生的尸体沉入河中。 保罗的喉咙绷紧了，他低头看着尘土飞扬的石头地板。 “对不起，保罗，”莱昂先生轻声说。 “我真希望我能让你知道我没事。 但

only a few people know that I escaped. If the Nazis had caught me, it would have put the lives of many people in danger. It's far better that the Nazis believe I'm at the bottom of that river." Paul didn't doubt that. "Victor," Mr. Leon said, "let's get you settled so we can get to work." Mr. Leon led them out of the room. Someone was waiting for them. "Coo-roo." "She's my carrier pigeon," Victor told Mr. Leon. "Excellent!" Mr. Leon said. "She can send a message back that you've made it." Victor and Paul eyed each other. They'd tell Mr. Leon about Ellie later. That pigeon wasn't going anywhere. Mr. Leon introduced them to Pierre, the man who'd dragged them in here. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore. Paul recognized him. He was a policeman in town.

只有少数人知道我逃走了。 如果纳粹抓住了我，许多人的生命就会受到威胁。 让纳粹相信我已经在河底了，这要好得多。” 保罗对此毫不怀疑。“维克多，”莱昂说，“我们先把你安顿好，然后再开始工作。” 里昂先生领他们走出房间。 有人在等他们。 “Coo-roo。”“她是我的信鸽，”维克多告诉里昂先生。 “太好了!”莱昂说。 “她可以发回一个信息，告诉你你成功了。” 维克多和保罗面面相觑。 他们后来会把艾莉的事告诉里昂先生。 那只鸽子哪儿也去不了。 里昂先生把他们介绍给皮埃尔，就是那个把他们拖到这里来的人。 他不再戴面具了。 保罗认出了他。他是镇上的警察。

"Sorry for the rough welcome," Pierre said, giving Paul's shoulder a squeeze. Paul understood why Pierre had been so protective. But he also knew Pierre's old rifle wouldn't do much good if the Nazis raided this place. Hopefully the legend of the dragon would keep the Nazis away. And if that didn't do it, the story of the burned body should scare them off. Victor and the men disappeared down the winding hall, with Ellie fluttering behind. Now Mr. Leon and Paul were alone. "Paul," his teacher said. "It's not safe for you to leave here now. I know the Nazis are searching everywhere for Sergeant Lopez. And someone might have spotted you in that area. We need to find out exactly what the Nazis know. So I want you to stay here." Paul's skin tingled. He wanted to stay. But then he thought of Maman. "What about my mother?" Paul asked. He couldn't just not come home. She'd be frantic with

“很抱歉，这样粗暴地欢迎你。”皮埃尔说，捏了捏保罗的肩膀。 保罗明白皮埃尔为什么这么保护他。 但他也知道，如果纳粹袭击这里，皮埃尔的旧步枪就没什么用了。 希望龙的传说能让纳粹远离。 如果这还不行，那烧焦尸体的故事应该能把他们吓跑。 维克多和其他人消失在蜿蜒的大厅里，艾莉在后面飘动。 现在只剩下莱昂先生和保罗了。 “保罗，”他的老师说。“你现在离开这里不安全。 我知道纳粹正在到处找洛佩斯中士。 有人可能在那地方看到你了。 我们得弄清楚纳粹到底知道些什么。 所以我希望你留在这里。” 保罗的皮肤一阵刺痛。他想留下来。 但他又想起了妈妈。 “那我妈妈呢？”保罗问。 他不能就这么不回家。 她会发狂的

worry. "About your mother," Mr. Leon said. "She's due here in just a couple hours." He spoke slowly, like when he was explaining a math problem that wasn't as simple as it looked. It took a moment for the meaning of Mr. Leon's words to sink in. "Maman?" Paul said. "Is she… is she in the resistance?" How was that possible? Maman? Quiet, gentle Maman? Mr. Leon nodded. "She's one of many people in Le Roc who are a part of this fight. She's one of our best messengers." Paul thought of all those mornings when Maman left on her bicycle before dawn. When she got home late, her face flushed, peering out the curtains as she fixed supper. Paul felt that his world had suddenly cracked open. And inside was another world, a world filled

担心。“关于你母亲的事，”莱昂说。 “再过几个小时她就要到这儿了。” 他说得很慢，就像在解释一道数学问题，而这个问题并不像看上去那么简单。 过了一会儿，我才明白莱昂先生的话的意思。 “妈妈?”保罗说。“她……她参加抵抗运动了吗？”这怎么可能呢？ 妈妈吗?安静，温柔的妈妈？ 莱昂点点头。“她是勒洛克参与这场斗争的许多人之一。 她是我们最好的信使之一。” 保罗想起了妈妈在黎明前骑着自行车离开的那些早晨。 她回家晚了，脸涨得通红，一边做晚饭，一边从窗帘里往外看。 保罗觉得他的世界突然裂开了。 里面是另一个世界，一个充满了