Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 THE NEXT MORNING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 AROUND 9:00 A.M. BAILETS DINING ROOM WELLINGTON, WASHINGTON Clink clink clink. Mr. Riggins nervously tapped his fork on his plate. Janie, Frederick, Mr.

第11章第二天早上，2月26日，星期六上午9点左右。 惠灵顿，华盛顿，叮当叮当。 里金斯先生紧张地用叉子敲着盘子。 珍妮，弗雷德里克，约翰先生。

Riggins, Mr. McBride, and Miss Wade were at their usual table at Bailets, eating breakfast. "The same thing that happened in Cascade could happen here," Mr. Riggins said grimly. "You can see how the snow is piling up on the side of the mountain. It's all hanging over us. All it would take—" "Mr. Riggins, please," Miss Wade said sharply, cutting Mr. Riggins off and flicking her eyes toward Janie and Frederick. "Could a big avalanche happen here?" Frederick asked worriedly. The hairs on Janie's neck stood up. But Mr. McBride quickly calmed her fears. "We are perfectly safe," he said, without a shred of doubt. "Mr. Bailets told me that avalanches have always been a problem in Cascade. But not here in Wellington. The slope of the mountain is different. He says there has never been an avalanche here."

里金斯、麦克布莱德先生和韦德小姐正坐在巴莱茨饭店的老桌子旁吃早饭。 “发生在喀斯喀特的事情也可能发生在这里，”里金斯冷酷地说。 “你可以看到雪是如何堆积在山的一边。 这一切都笼罩着我们。只要……” 请给我里金斯，"韦德小姐厉声说，打断了里金斯先生的话，瞟了一眼珍妮和弗雷德里克。 “这里会发生大雪崩吗？”弗雷德里克担心地问。 珍妮脖子上的汗毛都竖起来了。 但麦克布莱德先生很快打消了她的恐惧。 “我们绝对安全，”他毫不怀疑地说。 “巴莱茨先生告诉我，雪崩一直是喀斯喀特的一个问题。 但在惠灵顿不是这样。 山的坡度不同。 他说这里从来没有发生过雪崩。”

"And he should know," said Miss Wade, picking up her coffee mug. "He and his wife have lived here for twenty years—" "No!" Mr. Riggins said, suddenly standing up. He marched over to the window. "I've made up my mind. We should leave here. As soon as possible!" He turned back toward the table. "I've spoken to some of the workers. The town of Scenic is only about five miles from here. All we have to do is follow the tracks. We'll see a trail that leads down the mountain, straight into the town." Mr. McBride stared at him. "You're saying we should walk five miles across these mountains, in a blizzard? I'm sorry, my friend, but that's ridiculous." Angry red splotches appeared on Mr. Riggins's cheeks. "You're not thinking clearly," Mr. McBride went on. "This blizzard will be over soon. Mr. Pettit says—"

“他应该知道的，"韦德小姐一面说，一面拿起她的咖啡杯。 “他和他妻子在这儿住了二十年了——”“不！”里金斯先生突然站了起来。 他大步走到窗前。 “我已经下定决心了。我们应该离开这里。 越快越好！”他转身朝桌子走去。 “我已经和一些工人谈过了。 风景镇离这里只有大约五英里。 我们要做的就是追踪痕迹。 我们会看到一条小路通向山下，直通镇上。” 麦克布莱德先生盯着他。 “你是说我们应该在暴风雪中步行五英里穿过这些山？” 我很抱歉，我的朋友，但这太荒谬了。” 里金斯先生的脸颊上出现了愤怒的红斑。 “你没有想清楚，”麦克布莱德先生接着说。 “暴风雪很快就会过去。 佩蒂特先生说——”

"Pettit has no idea what's happening!" Mr. Riggins snapped, pounding his fist on their table. A fork clattered to the floor. "Don't you see? We're like those passengers on the train that was stranded in 1907. We're on our own. If we want to get out of here, we're going to have to walk. Because if we don't get out of here soon…" "Mr. Riggins—" Miss Wade said. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning," he said. "With or without you all." And with a last huff of anger, he stormed away. "He'll never do it," Mr. McBride said, reaching down and picking up the dropped fork. But Mr. Riggins left early the next morning, taking three other men with him. All day, people worried about what could happen to them. "They could fall off a cliff!" "I hear there are packs of hungry wolves out there." "If they're buried in a slide, we won't find them until spring."

“佩蒂特根本不知道发生了什么！”里金斯先生厉声说，用拳头捶着桌子。 叉子落在地板上发出咔嗒声。 “你还不明白吗？”我们就像1907年被困在火车上的乘客。 我们只能靠自己了。如果我们想离开这里，就得走了。 因为如果我们不赶快离开这里……” 里金斯——"韦德小姐说。 “我明天早上就要走了，”他说。 “不管有没有你们。” 说完，他怒气冲冲地走了。 “他永远不会这么做的，”麦克布莱德先生说着，伸手捡起掉在地上的叉子。 但里金斯先生第二天一大早就离开了，还带着另外三个人。 一整天，人们都在担心会发生什么事。 “他们可能会从悬崖上掉下来！”“我听说外面有一群饥饿的狼。” “如果它们被埋在滑梯里，我们要到春天才能找到它们。”

The mood on the train got gloomier and gloomier with each passing hour. And not only because people were worried about Mr. Riggins and the other men. Snow was piling up on the mountain. Food was running low at Bailets; dinner that night was greasy potatoes and bitter fried onions. Adding to the worries, the train was out of fresh water. Mr. Anderson was melting snow so they had water to drink. But there wasn't much for washing up. No wonder the train stunk so bad, like sweaty bodies and dirty diapers. Nobody ate much at breakfast Monday morning. Janie picked at her plate of greasy potatoes. Their little group was getting ready to head back to the train when four men stumbled in through the dining room door. They looked half-frozen, with beards caked with snow. Each carried a big shovel.

随着时间的流逝，火车上的气氛变得越来越阴郁。 不仅因为人们担心里金斯先生和其他人。 雪堆积在山上。 巴莱茨的食物快吃完了；那天晚上的晚餐是油腻的土豆和苦炸洋葱。 更令人担忧的是，火车上的淡水已经用完了。 安德森先生正在融化雪，这样他们就有水喝了。 但是没有太多的东西可以洗。 难怪火车上臭气熏天，浑身是汗，尿不湿。 星期一早上没人吃多少早餐。 珍妮吃着她那盘油腻的土豆。 他们这一小群人正准备回到火车上，这时有四个人从餐厅的门里跌跌撞撞地走了进来。 他们看起来都快冻僵了，胡子上结了一层雪。 每个人都拿着一把大铲子。

"That's our army of shovelers?" Miss Wade whispered, lifting her eyebrows. "Poor things." "We've come from Scenic," called out a tall man with a bright red nose. "Is Mr. Bailets here? We have a message, about some men from your train." Frederick looked at Janie with wide eyes. "It's about Mr. Riggins!" he said. The red-nosed man reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper. He handed it to Mr. Bailets. Mrs. Letts's hands flew to her heart. "Oh dear," she gasped. The dining room fell silent, and all eyes were on Mr. Bailets as he unfolded the paper. Janie braced herself for terrible news.

“那是我们的铲土部队？”韦德小姐扬起眉毛，低声说。 “可怜的东西。”“我们是从风景区来的，”一个长着大红鼻子的高个子男人喊道。 “巴莱先生在这儿吗？”我们有个消息，关于你火车上的几个人。” 弗雷德里克睁大眼睛望着珍妮。 “是关于里金斯先生的！”他说。 红鼻子男人把手伸进口袋，拿出一张纸。 他把它递给了巴莱茨先生。 莱茨太太的双手直扑心口。 “哦，天哪，”她喘着气说。餐厅里一片寂静，巴莱茨先生打开报纸时，所有的目光都集中在他身上。 珍妮准备好迎接可怕的消息。