Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 About twenty yards from the cabin were two big steel drums, each the size of a large garbage can. Dad used his knife to pry open the bear-proof lids. Inside was everything they needed to keep from freezing and starving to death: a sturdy tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, a first aid kit, a camping stove, and a pot to melt snow for water. Plus, there

第五章离小屋大约二十码的地方有两个大钢桶，每个都有一个大垃圾桶那么大。 爸爸用刀撬开了防熊的盖子。 里面有防止冻死和饿死所需的一切：结实的帐篷、睡袋、手电筒、急救箱、野营炉和一个融雪取水的锅。 另外,有

was enough moose jerky to feed them for a few days. Of course Mom and Dad had made sure they were prepared—even for this. The sounds of the fire filled the air. Sizzle. Crackle. Hiss. Boom! A window shattered. The thick smoke burned Jackson's nose. Falling embers sizzled as they brushed against his face. But Jackson ignored the sounds and the smells and the pinpricks of pain. He barely glanced at the fire's twisting flames. He kept his mind focused on the work of loading the supplies onto the sled. When everything was piled on top, they dragged it to a spot far from the cabin. That way they'd be safe from flying sparks and embers. As they set up the tent, Mom and Dad worked out their plan. "We'll stay here tonight," Dad said, grabbing a tent pole. "At sunrise we'll leave for Glennallen."

有足够他们吃几天的驼鹿肉干。 当然，爸爸妈妈已经确保他们做好了准备——即使是为了这个。 空气中充满了大火的声音。 嘶嘶声。裂纹。嘶嘶声。繁荣!一扇窗户碎了。 浓烟烧伤了杰克逊的鼻子。 落下的余烬擦着他的脸发出嘶嘶声。 但杰克逊忽略了声音、气味和针刺般的疼痛。 他几乎没看一眼那扭曲的火焰。 他把注意力集中在把补给品装到雪橇上的工作上。 当所有的东西都堆在上面时，他们把它拖到离小屋很远的地方。 这样他们就不会受到飞溅的火花和余烬的伤害。 当他们搭起帐篷时，爸爸妈妈制定了他们的计划。 “我们今晚就住在这里，”爸爸说着，抓起一根帐篷的杆子。 “太阳一亮，我们就出发去格伦纳伦。”

That was the closest town, twenty miles away. In the summer, they'd take their canoe down the river and get there in a day. But it was winter, and the river was frozen. They'd have to walk—a three-day journey. If they were lucky. Jackson tried not to imagine what could happen to them on such a long trek in the winter. They could get slammed by a blizzard. They could fall through river ice. And that winter bear… But he understood why they couldn't just stay here and live in their tent. It was too cold. And just like that winter bear, they wouldn't be able to find enough food. The calendar said that the first day of spring was only a couple of weeks away. What a joke. Here in Alaska, the freezing weather could stick around for months after that. "We'll call Uncle Solly from the general store," Mom said, spreading out a tarp over the snowy ground. "He'll drive up to Glennallen to get us."

那是最近的城镇，20英里远。 夏天的时候，他们会划独木舟顺流而下，一天就能到达那里。 但当时是冬天，河水都结冰了。 他们得走三天的路。 如果他们幸运的话。杰克逊尽量不去想象在冬天长途跋涉会发生什么。 他们可能会被暴风雪袭击。 他们可能会掉进河里的冰里。 还有那只冬熊，但他明白为什么他们不能呆在这里，住在帐篷里。 天气太冷了。就像那只冬熊一样，它们找不到足够的食物。 日历上说离春天的第一天只有几个星期了。 真是个笑话。在阿拉斯加，寒冷的天气可能会持续数月。 “我们打电话给杂货店的索利叔叔，”妈妈说着，在雪地上铺了一块防水布。 “他会开车去格伦纳伦接我们的。”

Uncle Solly. Just hearing that name helped Jackson relax. Uncle Solly was Mom and Dad's best friend— Jackson's, too. He lived in Valdez, a busy town on the sea about one hundred miles south of Glennallen. Jackson, Mom, and Dad stayed in Valdez with Uncle Solly every summer. Those three-week trips were a chance to take a short break from the wilderness. They'd stock up on food for the winter, see the doctor and the dentist, and go on adventures with Uncle Solly. Uncle Solly lived in a small cottage not far from the busy Valdez waterfront. Jackson felt like a prince as he took hot showers and used the toilet—which was inside the house! And the storebought food! Milk. Eggs. Chips. Cookies. Ice cream. Jackson stuffed himself at every meal. But three weeks in Valdez was always enough for Jackson. The noise, the cars, the people… it was all too much. He never liked saying goodbye

叔叔萨利。听到这个名字就能让杰克逊放松下来。 萨利叔叔是爸爸妈妈最好的朋友，也是杰克逊最好的朋友。 他住在瓦尔迪兹，这是格伦纳伦以南约100英里的一个繁忙的海边小镇。 每年夏天，杰克逊、妈妈和爸爸都和索利叔叔一起住在瓦尔迪兹。 那三周的旅行是一个从荒野中短暂休息的机会。 他们会储备过冬的食物，去看医生和牙医，和索利叔叔一起去冒险。 索利叔叔住在离繁忙的瓦尔迪兹海滨不远的一间小别墅里。 杰克逊感觉自己就像个王子，他洗热水澡，用房子里的厕所！还有商店买的食物！牛奶。 鸡蛋。芯片。饼干。冰淇淋。 杰克逊每顿饭都狼吞虎咽。 但对杰克逊来说，在瓦尔迪兹呆三个星期就足够了。 噪音、汽车、人群……都让人受不了。 他从不喜欢说再见

to Uncle Solly. But he couldn't wait to get back home to the quiet of the bush. "How long will we stay in Valdez?" Jackson asked as he pounded a tent pole into the frozen ground. "Dad and I will have to get jobs," Mom said. "We're going to need to save up money to buy supplies to rebuild." "Maybe we can get back here by August," Dad said. Four months. Already that seemed like forever.

给萨利叔叔。但他迫不及待地想回到寂静的灌木丛中。 “我们要在瓦尔迪兹待多久？”杰克逊一边问，一边把一根帐篷的杆子戳进冰冻的地面。 “爸爸和我必须找工作，”妈妈说。 “我们需要攒钱购买重建物资。” “也许我们能在八月前赶回来，”爸爸说。 四个月。那已经像是永远了。