Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 THE NEXT DAY FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1964 Mom and Dad and Uncle Solly rushed through breakfast. Even though school was closed for Good Friday, they still had work to do on the house they were building. Jackson planned to spend the day doing chores for Uncle Solly. He

第十一章第二天，1964年3月27日，星期五，爸爸妈妈和索利叔叔匆匆吃完早饭。 尽管学校因耶稣受难日而停课，但他们仍有工作要做，他们正在建造的房子。 杰克逊打算花一天的时间为萨利叔叔做些家务。 他

hadn't slept well last night. Every time he'd closed his eyes, he'd heard the kids' voices from the playground. "He hates us." "That kid's weird." "Maybe he'd like us if we had fur and tails." Hopefully shoveling snow and splitting wood would help him clear his head. "Jackson," Uncle Solly said as he was putting on his boots. "You remember that ship that's coming in this afternoon? The Chena?" Jackson nodded. How could he forget? "I need you to go down to the loading dock and get a note to my buddy in the crew. I'm not going to make it down to see him tonight. We're going to be working late at the house." "Uh, sure," Jackson said. Going down to the dock was the last thing Jackson wanted to do. Every kid in his class would be on that dock! But he couldn't say no to Uncle Solly. He'd just have to avoid the kids.

昨晚没睡好。 每次他闭上眼睛，就能听到操场上孩子们的声音。 “他恨我们。”“那孩子真奇怪。” “如果我们有毛和尾巴，也许他会喜欢我们。” 希望铲雪和劈柴能让他清醒一下头脑。 “杰克逊，”萨利叔叔一边穿靴子一边说。 “你还记得今天下午来的那艘船吗？” 契那发电厂吗?”杰克逊点头。 他怎么会忘记呢？“我要你去装货码头，给我在船上的朋友带个便条。 我今晚不打算下去见他了。 我们要在家里工作到很晚。” “嗯，当然，”杰克逊说。去被告席是杰克逊最不愿意做的事。 他班上的每个孩子都会在码头上！但他无法拒绝萨利叔叔。 他只要避开孩子们就行了。

Uncle Solly scrawled out a note and handed it to Jackson. "Just give it to any of the sailors you see," he said. "Get there around five thirty." Would the kids be gone by then? Jackson hoped so. At five fifteen, Jackson grabbed his backpack and headed down to the waterfront. It was barely a five-minute walk. To distract himself, Jackson thought of all the fun times he'd had with Uncle Solly over the years. Heading out of the harbor in Uncle Solly's little boat, they'd explored the coves and bays tucked between the mountains. There was always something to see—a walrus with dagger tusks, dolphins dancing in the waves, furry sea otters floating around on rafts they made from kelp. Best of all was the humpback whale Jackson spotted a couple of years ago. It broke the surface

索利叔叔潦草地写了一张纸条递给杰克逊。 “把它给你看到的任何一个水手就行了，”他说。 “五点半左右到。” 到那时孩子们都走了吗？ 杰克逊希望如此。5点15分，杰克逊抓起背包朝海滨走去。 步行不到五分钟。 为了分散自己的注意力，杰克逊想起了这些年来他和索利叔叔一起度过的所有快乐时光。 他们乘着索利叔叔的小船驶出港口，探索了群山之间的小海湾。 总有一些东西值得一看——长着獠牙的海象，在海浪中跳舞的海豚，在海带做的木筏上漂浮的毛茸茸的海獭。 最好的是杰克逊几年前发现的座头鲸。 它打破了表面

of the bay—a massive creature more than fifty feet long. Water shot out of the blowhole on its back before it sank down again. A moment later, it exploded up out of the water. Arching its back, it seemed to hover in the air before disappearing in a shimmering splash that drenched Jackson and Uncle Solly. Jackson's chest tightened as he thought of those happy summer days. He wondered what Leonor would have said about that whale, or how Nora would have described it. Did Mary know any songs about whales? And what kind of joke would Chris have told to crack them all up? Jackson would never know. And why should he care? Jackson pulled his parka tighter around him as a bitter wind blew from the harbor. At least it wasn't snowing. Jackson came to the end of Alaska Avenue. Just ahead of him was the waterfront. It was like a separate little town sitting right on the harbor—

海湾里的一个巨大的生物，有五十多英尺长。 水从它背上的喷水孔里喷出来，然后又沉了下去。 片刻之后，它从水里爆炸了。 它弓着背，似乎在空中盘旋，然后消失在闪闪发光的水花中，把杰克逊和索利叔叔淋透了。 想到那些快乐的夏日时光，杰克逊的胸口紧绷着。 他不知道利奥诺会怎么说那条鲸，或者诺拉会怎么描述它。 玛丽知道关于鲸鱼的歌吗？ 克里斯会讲什么样的笑话让他们都笑翻呢？ 杰克逊永远不会知道。他为什么要在意呢？ 一阵刺骨的风从港口吹来，杰克逊把大衣裹得更紧了。 至少当时没有下雪。 杰克逊来到了阿拉斯加大道的尽头。 就在他前面是海滨。 它就像一个独立的小镇坐落在港口上

different docks, warehouses for fish and cargo, a salmon cannery where fish were cut up and packed into cans. Jackson could see the Chena floating with its right side up against the main loading dock. It was at least ten times as long as a humpback whale. Jackson crossed a busy street and stepped onto a bridge that headed out over the water to the docks. Uncle Solly had been right; at least half the town was here. Cars were parked up and down the street. Kids skipped past Jackson, their parents chasing behind. A truck rumbled by and the bridge shook. Jackson stepped off the bridge and onto the main loading dock. Dockworkers lugged crates into the warehouse. A forklift zipped past. Jackson walked slowly toward the ship, reaching into his pocket for Uncle Solly's note. He looked around but didn't see any sailors to give it to. The only sailor he could see was above him, on the deck of the Chena. The man was leaning over

不同的码头，存放鱼和货物的仓库，一个鲑鱼罐头工厂，鱼被切成罐头。 杰克逊可以看到“中国号”的右侧靠在主装货码头上漂浮着。 它至少是座头鲸的十倍长。 杰克逊穿过一条繁忙的街道，走上一座通往码头的桥。 萨利叔叔是对的；镇上至少一半的人都在这里。 街道上停满了汽车。 孩子们跳过杰克逊，他们的父母在后面追着。 一辆卡车隆隆驶过，桥也摇晃起来。 杰克逊走下桥，来到主装货码头。 码头工人把板条箱拖进仓库。 一辆叉车疾驰而过。杰克逊慢慢地向船走去，把手伸进口袋，拿出索利叔叔的纸条。 他环顾四周，但没有看到任何水手可以给他。 他唯一能看见的水手就在他上方的“中国”号甲板上。 那人俯下身来

the railing, smiling down at a group of little kids gathered below. "Who wants an apple?" he sang. "I do!" cried a little girl in a pink hat. The man tossed the fruit down. "Got it!" She clutched the apple to her chest like it was a gold nugget. "How about a chocolate bar!" the man called.

栏杆朝下面一群小孩子微笑着。 “谁想要苹果？”他唱道。 “我愿意！”一个戴粉红色帽子的小女孩叫道。 那人把水果扔了下去。 “明白了!”她把苹果紧紧地抱在胸前，好像那是块金块。 “来块巧克力棒怎么样！”