Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Wilkie led them back toward Market Street. Wilkie was sure Fletch had gone back to the abandoned house where they stashed their loot. "That way if the police got us," he explained, "they wouldn't find it." They zigzagged through the crowds of people. Most of them were heading away from where Wilkie was taking them. And no wonder. The damage was worse the farther south they walked. One boardinghouse was split in half. Another had been swallowed by the earth almost to its rooftop. Trolley tracks were twisted like pretzels. On one block, men were trying to hoist a horse out of a hole in the street. Leo tried not to look at the collapsed buildings, but he couldn't stop thinking about who might still be inside.

第十章威尔基领着他们回到市场街。 威尔基确信弗莱彻已经回到了他们藏匿赃物的那所废弃的房子里。 “那样的话，即使警察抓到我们，”他解释说，“他们也找不到。” 他们曲折地穿过人群。 大多数人都离开了威尔基带他们去的地方。 这并不奇怪。他们越往南走，破坏就越严重。 一间寄宿公寓被劈成两半。 另一座几乎被吞没到了屋顶。 电车轨道像椒盐脆饼一样扭曲。 在一个街区，人们正试图把一匹马从街上的一个洞里拉出来。 里奥尽量不去看倒塌的建筑物，但他忍不住在想谁可能还在里面。

The fires were worse down here. With every step the smoke was thicker, the air hotter. Leo's lungs started to ache. They were about to cross Market Street when a fire wagon clattered up and stopped in front of them. The two huge horses pulling the wagon wheezed and snorted. Sweat soaked their bodies. Two firefighters jumped off, dragging a thick hose. They hooked it up to a hydrant, but only a trickle of water came out. A man in a bloodstained shirt rushed up to the firemen. "Please help me," he begged. "Everything I own is in my house, and a fire is moving toward it."

这里的火灾更严重。 每走一步，烟就更浓，空气也更热。 利奥的肺开始疼痛。 他们正要穿过市场街时，一辆消防车嘎吱嘎吱地驶来，停在他们面前。 拉车的两匹大马呼哧呼哧地喘着粗气。 汗水浸透了他们的身体。 两名消防队员拖着一根粗水管跳了下来。 他们把它连在一个消防栓上，但只有涓涓细流流出来。 一个穿着血迹斑斑的衬衫的人向消防队员冲了过来。 “请帮帮我，”他恳求道。 “我所有的东西都在我的房子里，一场大火正在向它蔓延。”

He pointed across the street, where the roof of one house was on fire. Next door, men were leading horses out of a stable. "I'm sorry sir," said the taller of the firemen. "The quake broke our water mains. We've been up and down Market. We can't find any water to fight the fires."

他指着街对面，那里有一所房子的屋顶着火了。 隔壁，男人们正把马从马厩里牵出来。 “对不起，先生，”个子较高的那个消防员说。 “地震破坏了我们的水管。 我们在市场上上下下逛了一圈。 我们找不到水来灭火。”

"You're just going to let the city burn?" the man exclaimed. The firemen said nothing. But their eyes — weary and scared — told the answer. San Francisco was burning. And nobody could stop it. The firemen rolled up their hoses, climbed into their wagon, and continued down the street. Leo knew they should get out of here. Morris was right. But suddenly Morris gasped. "It's Fletch!" he cried, pointing across the street. Leo saw him. He was carrying a small, tattered flour sack. "Fletch!" shouted Wilkie. His voice boomed through the smoky air. Fletch turned, took one look at Wilkie, and bolted down the alley next to the burning house. To Leo's amazement, it wasn't Wilkie who took off first after Fletch. It was Morris. They both disappeared into the alley. Leo and Wilkie started after them.

“你打算让这座城市被烧毁吗?” 消防队员什么也没说。但是他们疲惫而恐惧的眼睛告诉了我们答案。 旧金山正在燃烧。 没有人能阻止它。消防队员卷起水管，爬上他们的马车，继续沿着街道前进。 里奥知道他们应该离开这里。 莫里斯是对的。但莫里斯突然倒吸了一口气。 “是弗莱契!”他指着街对面叫道。 利奥看到了他。他提着一个破旧的小面粉袋。 “弗莱契!”威尔基喊道。他的声音在烟雾弥漫的空气中隆隆作响。 弗莱契转过身来，看了威尔基一眼，就跑到燃烧的房子旁边的小巷里去了。 令利奥吃惊的是，在弗莱彻之后，威尔基并没有先走。 是莫里斯。他们俩都消失在巷子里。 里奥和威尔基开始追他们。

But they had barely crossed the street when the ground jolted with another aftershock. People screamed and ran into the street. There was a deep cracking noise right above them. A piece of rooftop from the burning house crashed onto the sidewalk. Garbage on the ground erupted into flames. The alley was now blocked by a wall of fire.

但他们刚过马路，地面就又发生了余震。 人们尖叫着跑到街上。 就在他们头顶上，传来一阵深沉的噼啪声。 着火的房子屋顶的一块碎片掉在人行道上。 地上的垃圾突然燃烧起来。 巷子现在被一堵火墙挡住了。