Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 "Charlie!" Papa bellowed from the porch. "Come in!" Charlie rushed back up the steps, and Papa pulled him inside, closing the door tight. "It's salt water!" Charlie said breathlessly as water streamed down his face. Mama grabbed the blanket again and wrapped it around Charlie's shoulders.

第13章“查理！”爸爸在门廊上吼道。 “进来!”查理冲回台阶，爸爸把他拉进屋里，关上了门。 “这是咸水！”查理上气不接下气地说，水顺着他的脸流下来。 妈妈又抓起毯子，把它裹在查理的肩膀上。

"It's coming from the Gulf!" Charlie went on. "It's an overflow. An overflow reached all the way here!" Papa put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "That's not possible," he said. "Papa! I'm telling you!" Charlie said. "I tasted the water! It's salty!" "Maybe the wind has carried some sea spray…" Papa said. Charlie stepped forward, "I saw Mr. Early this morning. He said that a bad hurricane hit here in 1837, before Galveston was even a city. What if that's happening again?" Papa was actually starting to look annoyed, which was rare. "Charlie," he said, clearly trying to keep his voice low. "Remember what Mr. Cline says about hurricanes. He's an expert. And Mr. Early…" "Mr. Early has become very confused, sweetheart," Mama said gently.

“是从海湾来的！”查理接着说。 “这是一个溢出。河水一直流到这里来了！”爸爸把手放在查理的肩膀上。 “那是不可能的，”他说。 “爸爸!我告诉你！”查理说。 “我尝了水的味道！”是咸的!”“也许风吹来了一些浪花……”爸爸说。 查理走上前去，“我今天早上看到了厄尔利先生。 他说1837年一场严重的飓风袭击了这里，当时加尔维斯顿还不是一个城市。 如果这种事再次发生怎么办？”爸爸实际上开始看起来很生气，这是很少见的。 “查理，”他说，显然试图压低声音。 “记住克莱恩先生对飓风的看法。 他是个专家。还有岳利先生……” “亲爱的，早莉变得很困惑。”妈妈温柔地说。

"So was Grandpa!" Charlie said. "But he never made anything up!" Charlie just realized this now. He explained it to Mama and Papa—how, yes, Grandpa was very confused in the months before he died. He didn't know where he was, or who was who. "But he remembered all the important things that happened to him," Charlie said, "especially memories from when he was a little boy. And all those stories about the Revolution." Just a week before he died, Grandpa had told Charlie his favorite story—from when he'd fought in the famous battle of San Jacinto. That was the battle that won the Revolution. It made Texas its own country for a few years until it became an American state in 1845. "He told me that story a million times…" Charlie remembered how Grandpa had described cannonballs and bullets flying through the air. "He always told it the exact same way—even that last time. Not one detail was missing!"

“爷爷也是！”查理说。 “但他从来没有编造过什么！”查理现在才意识到。 他向爸爸妈妈解释了这件事——是的，爷爷在去世前的几个月里非常困惑。 他不知道自己身在何处，也不知道谁是谁。 “但他记得发生在他身上的所有重要的事情，”查理说，“尤其是他小时候的记忆。 还有那些关于革命的故事。” 就在爷爷去世前一个星期，他给查理讲了他最喜欢的故事——他参加了著名的圣哈辛托战役。 这场战役赢得了革命的胜利。 在1845年德克萨斯成为美国的一个州之前的几年里，它把德克萨斯当作自己的国家。 “他给我讲了无数遍这个故事……”查理记得爷爷是如何描述炮弹和子弹在空中飞舞的。 “他总是用一模一样的方式讲——即使是最后一次。 一个细节都没有遗漏！”

Charlie paused. Mama and Papa were just staring at him. How could Charlie make them understand? Because with each passing second, Charlie felt more and more certain. "This is a hurricane!" he cried. And as if the wind agreed with Charlie, a powerful gust shook the house. The walls trembled. And then… PLOOF. A big chunk of plaster fell from the sitting room ceiling and landed in a powdery clump on the floor. Papa ran over and stared at it. He looked from the plaster to Charlie to the window. Then back at the plaster again. The next thing Charlie knew, Papa was out the front door. "William!" Mama called after him, but Papa rushed down the porch steps. Mama and Charlie watched from the doorway as Papa waded into the

查理停顿了一下。妈妈和爸爸只是盯着他看。 查理怎么能让他们明白呢？ 因为随着时间的流逝，查理越来越确信。 “这是飓风！”他喊道。 仿佛风和查理是一致的，一阵强风摇动了房子。 墙壁在颤抖。然后…噗。 一大块灰泥从客厅天花板上掉了下来，落在地板上成了粉末状的一团。 爸爸跑过去盯着它看。 他看看石膏，又看看查理，又看看窗户。 然后再回到石膏上。 查理知道的下一件事是，爸爸走出了前门。 “威廉!”妈妈在后面叫他，但爸爸冲下了门廊的台阶。 妈妈和查理站在门口看着爸爸涉水走进房间

street—like Charlie had. He tasted the water—like Charlie had. He came back inside. Water streamed from his beard. Charlie took off his blanket and put it around Papa. It was very quiet for a moment—even the wind seemed to be holding its breath. And then Papa looked at Charlie. "This is different from 1886—from any storm I've seen," he said. "That water in the streets—it's not from the rain. It's from the Gulf. You're right, son. This could very well be a hurricane. I'm sorry I didn't believe you before." Charlie felt a strange mix of feelings. Relieved that Papa believed him. But also scared. Papa eyed the broken plaster from the ceiling again. "This house wasn't built for a hurricane," he said. "I know because I helped Grandpa build it." He took a breath. "We need to leave right away."

像查理一样。 他像查理一样尝了一口水。 他回到屋里。水从他的胡子上淌下来。 查理脱下毯子，盖在爸爸身上。 有那么一会儿，一切都很安静——甚至连风似乎都屏住了呼吸。 然后爸爸看着查理。 “这次不同于1886年，不同于我见过的任何一次风暴，”他说。 “街上的水——不是雨水。 它来自墨西哥湾。你说得对，儿子。 这很可能是一场飓风。 对不起，我以前不相信你。” 查理心里百感交集。 爸爸相信了他，他松了一口气。 但也很害怕。爸爸又看了看天花板上破碎的灰泥。 “这座房子不是为抵御飓风而建的，”他说。 “我知道，因为我帮爷爷建的。” 他深吸了一口气。“我们得马上离开。”

Mama nodded. "I'll get Lulu and pack some clothes." "Where will we go?" Charlie asked. Mama and Papa looked at each other, and Charlie could see they didn't have an answer. Then Mama glanced at the plate of gingersnaps on the coffee table. "I have an idea," she said. Fifteen minutes later, they were making their way along Avenue M, heading toward one of the biggest and sturdiest houses in Galveston. Normally the walk would take maybe fifteen minutes. But the weather was getting worse by the minute. It was dark and cold. The wind was fierce. The rain poured down. Water filled the streets and sloshed onto the sidewalks. They had to zigzag around fallen wires and branches that blocked their way. Mama had wrapped Lulu in blankets and held her tight

妈妈点了点头。“我去叫露露，收拾些衣服。” “我们去哪儿？”查理问道。 爸爸妈妈面面相觑，查理看得出他们没有答案。 然后妈妈看了一眼咖啡桌上的那盘姜饼。 “我有个主意，”她说。 十五分钟后，他们沿着M大道，朝着加尔维斯顿最大、最坚固的房子之一走去。 正常情况下，步行大约需要15分钟。 但是天气一分一秒地变坏了。 天又黑又冷。风很猛。 大雨倾盆而下。水灌满了街道，溅到了人行道上。 他们不得不绕着挡住去路的倒下的电线和树枝迂回前进。 妈妈用毯子把露露裹起来，紧紧地抱着她