Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Chet rose to his knees and threw up. When he could stand, he staggered over to his clothes. His hands were shaking so badly that he could barely button his shirt. He shoved his feet into his boots, not even trying to lace them. And then on wobbly legs, his blood pounding in his ears, he ran up the hill and found his way to Main Street.

第十章切特跪起来，吐了起来。 当他能站起来的时候，他摇摇晃晃地走过去换衣服。 他的手抖得厉害，连衬衫都扣不上了。 他把脚塞进靴子里，连系鞋带的念头都没有。 然后，他摇摇晃晃的腿，耳朵里的血怦怦直跳，向山上跑去，找到了通往主街的路。

He pushed past the ladies with their shopping baskets. He crossed the street, ignoring the honking motorcar that swerved around him. A man in a buggy shouted at him to watch out. The horse whinnied. Chet barely noticed. He staggered into Mr. Colton's hardware store, tripping across the doorway and knocking over a display of watering cans. The clattering brought three customers to the front of the store. Mr. Colton hurried out from behind the counter. "Chet?" he said worriedly. "What's wrong?" Chet opened his mouth. But he couldn't speak. "What happened?" Mr. Colton said. "Why is your shirt covered with blood? Are you bleeding? Who did this to you?" A small group of customers clustered around him, their eyes filled with concern. Finally, Chet got the words out. "A shark." "What?" Mr. Colton said. "A shark," Chet repeated. "Has there been another attack on the shore?" Mr. Colton said. "I didn't see anything in the newspaper." Chet shook his head.

他从提着购物篮的女士们身边挤过去。 他穿过街道，不理睬在他周围突然转向的汽车。 一个坐在马车里的人大声叫他小心。 那匹马嘶鸣着。切特几乎没有注意到。 他摇摇晃晃地走进科尔顿的五金店，在门口绊了一跤，撞倒了陈列的洒水罐。 哗啦哗啦的声音把三位顾客引到了店门口。 科尔顿先生急忙从柜台后面走了出来。 “切特?”他担心地说。 “怎么了?”切特张开嘴。 但他说不出话来。“发生什么事了?”科尔顿说。 “你的衬衫怎么沾满了血?” 你流血了吗?这是谁对你做的?”一小群顾客簇拥在他周围，眼里充满了担忧。 最后，切特把话说了出来。 “鲨鱼”。“什么?”科尔顿说。 “鲨鱼，”切特重复道。“海岸上又发生袭击了吗?”科尔顿说。 “我在报纸上什么也没看到。” 切特摇了摇头。

"There's a shark in the creek," he said. "I saw it. It crashed into me." The crowd erupted into loud laughter. Mr. Colton offered a sympathetic smile and a hand on his shoulder. "It's the heat, my boy. It's driving us all a little mad." He asked one of the customers to go into the back and bring Chet a drink. He led Chet through the laughing crowd and sat him on the stool behind the counter. A man handed Chet a tin mug of water. "Take a drink, son," Mr. Colton said. But Chet pushed it away, and water splashed onto a pile of seed catalogs. "We have to warn people!" But Mr. Colton just shook his head, like Chet was a little kid who was sure he'd seen a unicorn galloping down the sidewalk. "There's so much garbage floating in that creek," Mr. Colton said. "It could have been a plank from the dock, or a barrel, or a —" "No," Chet said. "It was a shark!" "I think maybe all those pranks are getting to you," Mr. Colton said.

“小溪里有条鲨鱼，”他说。 “我看见了。它撞到了我身上。” 人群爆发出大声的笑声。 科尔顿先生露出同情的微笑，一只手搭在他的肩上。 “是天气太热了，孩子。这让我们都有点抓狂了。” 他让一位顾客到后面去给切特拿一杯饮料。 他领着切特穿过笑声不断的人群，让他坐在柜台后面的凳子上。 一个男人递给切特一杯水。 “喝一杯吧，孩子，”科尔顿先生说。 但是切特把它推开了，水溅到了一堆种子目录上。 “我们必须警告人们!”但科尔顿先生只是摇了摇头，好像切特是个小孩，确信自己看到了一只独角兽在人行道上飞奔。 “小溪里漂浮着太多的垃圾，”科尔顿说。 “它可能是码头上的一块木板，或者一个桶，或者一个——”“不，”切特说。 “是鲨鱼!”“我想也许所有这些恶作剧都影响到了你，”科尔顿说。

Chet knew that he must sound crazy, that he could spend all day swearing that he'd seen a shark. Nobody would believe him. Why would they? A shark in the creek? It was impossible! Except that Chet had seen it with his own eyes. If he'd been a step slower, he'd be dead right now, another name in the newspaper. "It's all right, son," Mr. Colton said. "How about I call Dr. Jay and he'll give you a ride home. You've never been in his motorcar, have you?" Mr. Colton headed to the back of the store to use the telephone. The customers drifted away, shaking their heads and chuckling. No, nobody would believe it. Meanwhile, that shark was still in the creek. And then it hit Chet… that there was one person in town who just might believe him, who might know what to do. He wasn't sure, but it was his best hope. He slid off the stool and rushed out of the store.

切特知道他听起来一定很疯狂，他可以花一整天发誓说他看到了鲨鱼。 没有人会相信他。他们为什么要这么做? 小溪里有鲨鱼?这是不可能的!除了切特亲眼所见。 如果他再慢一步，他现在已经死了，成为报纸上的另一个名字。 “没事的，儿子，”科尔顿先生说。 “要不我打电话给杰伊医生，他会送你回家的。” 你从来没有坐过他的汽车，是吗?”科尔顿先生走到商店后面去打电话。 顾客们慢慢走开了，摇着头，咯咯地笑着。 不，没人会相信的。 与此同时，那条鲨鱼还在小溪里。 然后切特突然想到镇上有一个人可能会相信他，知道该怎么做。 他不确定，但这是他最大的希望。 他从凳子上滑下来，冲出了商店。

"Chet!" Mr. Colton called. "Where are you going?" Chet didn't turn around. He had to find Captain Wilson. He'd wasted enough time already.

“切特!”科尔顿先生打来电话。 “你要去哪儿?”切特没有转身。 他必须找到威尔逊上尉。 他已经浪费了足够多的时间。