Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 FOUR DAYS LATER FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1964 4:45 A.M. VALDEZ, ALASKA Roooooooooaaaaar! The winter bear was in the cabin! And now it had come for Jackson, and there was no escape.

第六章四天后1964年3月13日星期五凌晨4点45分 瓦尔迪兹，阿拉斯加州冬熊在小屋里！现在它向杰克逊扑来了，谁也逃不掉了。

Jackson stared in horror at the bear's dripping teeth, smelled its bloody breath. He braced himself for the bone-crunching bite. And then… Jackson's eyes snapped open. It took a few seconds for his groggy head to clear. There was no bear. He wasn't in the cabin. He and Mom and Dad had made it to Valdez last night. They'd gone to sleep in Uncle Solly's attic guest room. Jackson could hear Mom and Dad breathing softly from their bed a few feet away. In the moonlight, he could see the clock on the dresser—4:45 A.M. Jackson pulled the quilt around him. He shivered as he remembered the three bitterly cold nights they'd spent in their tent. His bones and muscles ached from the twenty-mile walk. But they'd been lucky. No blizzards. No sign of the winter bear.

杰克逊惊恐地盯着熊滴着水的牙齿，闻着它血腥的气息。 他鼓起勇气，准备挨那咬得骨头嘎吱作响的一口。 然后，杰克逊的眼睛突然睁开了。 他昏昏沉沉的脑袋过了几秒钟才清醒过来。 没有熊。他不在船舱里。 他和爸爸妈妈昨晚去了瓦尔迪兹。 他们在索利叔叔阁楼的客房里睡觉了。 杰克逊可以听到爸爸妈妈在几英尺外的床上轻轻地呼吸。 在月光下，他可以看到梳妆台上的时钟——凌晨4:45 杰克逊把被子裹在身上。 他想起他们在帐篷里度过的三个寒冷的夜晚，不禁打了个寒颤。 走了二十英里，他的骨头和肌肉都痛了。 但他们很幸运。没有暴风雪。 没有冬熊的踪影。

They'd made it to Glennallen with no trouble. The owners of the general store made them bowls of chili while they waited for Uncle Solly. By sunset last night, they were finally here, safe and sound. Jackson eyed the clock again. Should he get out of bed now? Back home Jackson was always up at five o'clock. That way he could do some of his homeschool work before chores. But his school supplies and books were all burned up now. It felt so good to be warm. Just a few more minutes, Jackson thought, closing his eyes. The next time Jackson woke up, the sun was streaming through the window. Mom and Dad's bed was empty. He looked at the clock. What?! Eight o'clock?! He'd never slept that late in his life! One night in Valdez and already he'd turned into a lazy slug.

他们顺利地到达了格伦纳伦。 杂货店的老板在等索利叔叔的时候给他们做了几碗辣椒。 昨晚日落时分，他们终于安然无恙地来到这里。 杰克逊又看了看钟。 他现在该起床了吗？ 回到家，杰克逊总是5点钟起床。 这样他就可以在做家务之前先做一些家庭作业。 但他的学习用品和书籍现在都烧毁了。 温暖的感觉真好。 再过几分钟，杰克逊闭上眼睛想。 当杰克逊再次醒来时，阳光正透过窗户照进来。 爸爸妈妈的床是空的。 他看了看钟。什么? !8点钟? !他一生中从来没有睡到这么晚！在瓦尔迪兹的一个晚上他就变成了懒虫。

He scrambled out of bed and threw on his clothes. They stank of smoke and sweat and moose jerky. In a flash he was down the stairs. "Good morning!" Uncle Solly boomed when Jackson walked into the cozy kitchen. He was at the stove. Mom and Dad were sipping coffee at the table. Jackson was glad to see his parents looking cheerful and bright eyed. They'd all been dragging last night when they finally got to Valdez. "Sorry I slept so late," Jackson said. "I could have slept all day," Mom said with a yawn. "Be glad you weren't up early," Uncle Solly said to Jackson. "You escaped helping me shovel the driveway. It snowed last night. Again." Jackson looked out the window. Whoa! There was at least a foot of fresh snow, on top of the five feet that had been there last night. Drifts rose up past the first-floor window of the house next door.

他爬下床，匆匆穿上衣服。 它们散发着烟味，汗味和驼鹿肉干的味道。 刹那间，他下了楼。 “早上好!”当杰克逊走进舒适的厨房时，索利叔叔大声说道。 他在炉子旁。妈妈和爸爸在桌旁喝咖啡。 杰克逊很高兴看到他的父母看起来很高兴，眼睛很亮。 昨晚他们终于到达瓦尔迪兹的时候都拖了很久。 “对不起，我睡得太晚了，”杰克逊说。 “我本可以睡一整天的，”妈妈打着哈欠说。 “幸亏你没有早起，”索利叔叔对杰克逊说。 “你帮我铲车道时逃了出来。 昨晚下雪了。了。” 杰克逊向窗外望去。 哇!除了昨晚五英尺厚的积雪外，这里至少又下了一英尺厚的新雪。 隔壁房子的一楼窗户上方飘起了积雪。

"Did you know we get more snow here in Valdez than anywhere else in Alaska?" Uncle Solly said as he cracked an egg into a sizzling skillet. Dad and Mom smirked at Jackson over their mugs of coffee. Uncle Solly loved reminding them that Valdez was extra special. "Most beautiful town in Alaska," he would brag. "Everyone agrees." Out the window, Jackson could see straight down the street to the waterfront. Fishing boats bobbed in the bright blue water. Across the harbor, a zigzag of sparkling mountains rose into the morning sky. It was pretty, Jackson thought. But he missed the pine trees that surrounded the cabin. Uncle Solly put a heaping plate of fluffy eggs, thick bacon, and toast in front of Jackson. Now, that is beautiful, Jackson thought. They never got to eat eggs at the cabin. And Uncle Solly's toast was made with the squishy white store-bought bread Jackson loved.

“你知道吗？瓦尔迪兹的降雪量比阿拉斯加其他任何地方都多。”萨利叔叔边说边往滋滋作响的煎锅里打了一个鸡蛋。 爸爸和妈妈一边喝着咖啡，一边对着杰克逊傻笑。 萨利叔叔喜欢提醒他们瓦尔迪兹很特别。 “阿拉斯加最美丽的小镇，”他自夸道。 “每个人都同意。”透过窗户，杰克逊可以直直地看到街道尽头的海滨。 渔船在湛蓝的海水中上下浮动。 在港口的另一边，波光粼粼的山脉呈之字形矗立在早晨的天空中。 很漂亮，杰克逊想。 但他想念小屋周围的松树。 萨利叔叔在杰克逊面前放了一大盘松软的鸡蛋、厚厚的熏肉和烤面包。 真是太美了，杰克逊想。 他们从来没在小木屋里吃过鸡蛋。 索利叔叔的吐司是用杰克逊喜欢的从商店买来的又软又白的面包做的。

"Thanks, Uncle Solly," Jackson said as he shoveled the first forkful into his mouth. "You won't believe it," Mom said, sitting back in her chair. "Dad and I already have jobs!" "How did that happen?" Jackson asked through a mouthful. "Uncle Solly hired us," Dad said. Uncle Solly turned from the stove, his smile bright under his big bushy mustache. He was a carpenter, and it turned out he needed help with a new house he was building. "I'm lucky you showed up," he said. "We're the lucky ones," Mom said, smiling at Uncle Solly. "You've always been there for us." That was true. Mom and Dad had met Uncle Solly during their miserable first year in Alaska. He was living in the bush back then, in a cabin about six miles from theirs. When Mom and Dad ran out of food that winter, Uncle Solly shared his. He'd taught them about hunting and fishing and living off the land. Without Uncle Solly's help,

“谢谢，萨利叔叔，”杰克逊说着，把第一把叉子塞进嘴里。 “你不会相信的，”妈妈说着，靠在椅子上。 “爸爸和我已经有工作了！”“这是怎么回事？”杰克逊哽咽着问道。 “萨利叔叔雇了我们，”爸爸说。 萨利叔叔从火炉边转过身来，浓密的大胡子下露出灿烂的笑容。 他是一个木匠，碰巧他正在盖一所新房子，需要人帮忙。 “我很幸运你来了，”他说。 “我们是幸运的，”妈妈微笑着对萨利叔叔说。 “你一直在我们身边。” 这是真的。妈妈和爸爸在阿拉斯加悲惨的第一年就认识了索利叔叔。 他当时住在丛林里，离他们家六英里远的一间小木屋里。 那年冬天，爸爸妈妈的食物用光了，索利叔叔分享了他的食物。 他教他们如何打猎、捕鱼和在陆地上生活。 没有萨利叔叔的帮助，