Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Fletch looked at Wilkie with a sweet smile painted on his face. "I knew you'd find me, old pal. I knew it. I was sitting here praying. And here you are." Fletch was clutching that white flour sack. "Here," he said, holding it out to Wilkie. "See? I saved it for you. I was going to come look for you. I swear I was." "Sure you were, Fletch," Wilkie said in a weak voice. "I know you didn't forget about me." Leo and Morris looked at each other, unsure of what was happening. Did Wilkie really believe Fletch's lies? Was he going to join back up with him? "Come on," Fletch rasped. "We can share with your new buddies too, if that's what you want. Whatever you say, pal. Whatever you say."

弗莱契看着威尔基，脸上挂着甜蜜的微笑。 “我就知道你会找到我的，老朋友。 我就知道。我坐在这里祈祷。 现在你来了。”弗莱契抓着那个白面粉袋。 “给你，"他说着，把它递给威尔基。 “看到了吗?我为你留的。我本来要来找你的。 我发誓我是。”“当然，弗莱契，”威尔基用微弱的声音说。 “我知道你没有忘记我。” 利奥和莫里斯面面相觑，不知道发生了什么事。 威尔基真的相信弗莱彻的谎言吗? 他会和他一起回去吗? “来吧。”弗莱契粗声说。“如果你想的话，我们也可以和你的新朋友分享。 随你怎么说，伙计，随你怎么说。”

"I'll take care of you, Fletch," Wilkie said. His voice didn't sound weak anymore. "Of course you will," Fletch said. "We're a team, you and me. We take care of each other." Wilkie snatched the flour sack from Fletch. He handed it to Leo. "Your gold is in there," he said. "Take it." "Sure," Fletch said. "Sure thing. Let the kid have his gold back. We're all friends now." Leo rummaged through the sack. It was filled with money — bills and coins, watches and wallets. He found his gold nugget. It felt warm, as though it had been in Papa's hand just moments before. He handed the flour sack back to Wilkie. Wilkie stepped back and stared at Fletch. "You left me for dead," Wilkie said. "No!" Fletch cried. "I was coming back for you. That's where I was heading. I swear it." Leo could see the rage on Wilkie's face. It was as though the heat and fury of the fire had taken control of him. Wilkie grabbed a splintered piece of wood. He raised it up, so it was over Fletch's head. Leo and Morris both leaped forward.

“我会照顾你的，弗莱契，”威尔基说。 他的声音听起来不再微弱了。 “你当然会的，”弗莱契说。 “我们是一个团队，你和我。 我们互相照顾。” 威尔基从弗莱彻手里抢过面粉袋。 他把它递给利奥。“你的金子在里面，”他说。 “把它。”“当然，”弗莱契说。 “当然的事。让那孩子拿回他的金子。 我们现在都是朋友了。”利奥翻遍了麻袋。 箱子里装满了钞票、硬币、手表和钱包。 他找到了他的金块。它摸起来很暖和，就像刚才还在爸爸手里一样。 他把面粉袋递给威尔基。 威尔基退后一步，盯着弗莱契。 “你丢下我等死，”威尔基说。 “不!”装上羽毛哭了。“我正要回来找你。 这就是我要去的地方。 我发誓。”里奥可以看到威尔基脸上的愤怒。 仿佛烈火的炽热和狂怒控制了他。 威尔基抓了一块碎木头。 他把它举了起来，这样它就越过了弗莱彻的头顶。 利奥和莫里斯都跳上前去。

"No, Wilkie!" they both shouted. They each grabbed one of Wilkie's massive arms. Wilkie shook them off like they were butterflies. He glared at Fletch. He was set to smash that wood over Fletch's head. But Morris moved so that he was between Fletch and Wilkie. "We don't have time for this," Morris said, in his matter-of-fact voice. "We have to go." Leo stood frozen, afraid that Wilkie might hurt Morris. Then what would happen? But somehow Morris could always get people to pay attention, whether they wanted to or not. Leo reached up and took hold of the wood. Wilkie held it tight, but finally he let Leo take it. Wilkie grabbed Fletch roughly by the arm and stood him up. Fletch cried out in pain. Leo could see that his leg was horribly twisted. He needed to get to a hospital. Wilkie didn't care. He dragged Fletch, yelling and limping, out into the street and tossed him onto the sidewalk.

“不，威尔基!”他们俩都喊道。 他们每个人都抓住了威尔基粗壮的一只胳膊。 威尔基把它们像蝴蝶一样甩了。 他怒视着弗莱契。他要把那块木头砸在弗莱彻的头上。 但是莫里斯移动了，所以他在弗莱彻和威尔基之间。 “我们没时间了，”莫里斯用他那就事论事的语气说。 “我们得走了。”利奥站在那里一动不动，担心威尔基会伤害莫里斯。 然后会发生什么?但不管人们是否愿意，莫里斯总能引起他们的注意。 利奥伸手抓住了木头。 威尔基抓得很紧，但最后还是让里奥拿走了。 威尔基粗暴地抓住弗莱契的胳膊，让他站了起来。 弗莱契痛苦地叫了起来。利奥看得出他的腿严重扭曲。 他需要去医院。 威尔基不在乎。他一瘸一拐地把弗莱契拖到街上，把他扔到人行道上。

There were two policemen just up the street. "Maybe they'll help you," Wilkie said. Then he spat on the ground and stormed away. Leo and Morris hurried after him. None of them looked back at Fletch. But they could hear his rasping cries echoing behind them. They'd walked just a few blocks when they passed a woman standing in front of a ruined, burning house. Her four little children were gathered around her, their clothes tattered and covered with ash. The woman was sobbing to a soldier. "I've lost everything!" she wailed. "My husband! My house! Everything! What will we do? What will become of me and my children?" The soldier patted the woman's arm but then moved on. Wilkie stopped short. He went to the woman. Without a word, he handed her the flour sack. Then he turned and hurried back to Leo and Morris.

街上有两个警察。 “也许他们会帮助你，”威尔基说。 然后他朝地上啐了一口唾沫，气冲冲地走开了。 利奥和莫里斯急忙跟在他后面。 他们谁也没有回头看弗莱彻。 但他们能听到他刺耳的叫声在身后回响。 他们刚走了几个街区，就看到一个女人站在一栋烧毁的房子前。 她的四个小孩围在她身边，他们的衣服破烂不堪，满是灰烬。 那个女人对着一个士兵啜泣。 “我失去了一切!”她哭着说。 “我的丈夫!我的房子!一切!我们该怎么办? 我和我的孩子们会怎么样呢?”士兵拍了拍女人的胳膊，然后又走开了。 威尔基突然停了下来。他走向那个女人。 他二话没说，把面粉袋递给她。 然后他转身匆匆回到利奥和莫里斯身边。

Leo could see that Wilkie's face had changed. The blazing look was gone. A peaceful look had come over him. He didn't look back at the woman. But Leo did. He watched her open the bag and look in. Leo knew he'd never forget the look of amazement on her face. With every hour they walked, they heard of new fires, new neighborhoods destroyed — all of the streets south of Market, Rincon Hill, downtown, Chinatown. City Hall was gone. So was the library, with its one million books. Morris got tears in his eyes when he heard that.

利奥看得出威尔基的脸色变了。 那炽烈的目光消失了。 他露出了平静的神色。 他没有回头看那个女人。 但是里奥做到了。他看着她打开袋子往里看。 利奥知道他永远不会忘记她脸上惊讶的表情。 他们每走一个小时，就会听到新的火灾，新的社区被毁——市场以南的所有街道，林肯山，市中心，唐人街。 市政厅不见了。拥有一百万本书的图书馆也是如此。 莫里斯听到这话时，眼里含着泪水。

Hundreds of little fires had joined together into huge firestorms that raced through the city. No neighborhood was safe. And so they just kept walking. Leo had never been so tired. Or thirsty. His entire body ached. His eyes burned. He had cuts all over his hands. He had no idea where they'd end up. But he was still in one piece. That was something. He had his gold nugget back. And he had a feeling inside, one he hadn't felt since Papa was still alive. Walking between Wilkie and Morris, his shoulders brushing theirs, he knew in his heart that he wasn't alone.

成百上千的小火苗聚集在一起，形成了席卷整个城市的大火风暴。 没有一个社区是安全的。所以他们就继续往前走。 利奥从来没有这么累过。 或渴了。他全身都痛。 他的眼睛发烫。他的手上全是刀伤。 他不知道他们最后会在哪里。 但他还完好无损。 这很了不起。他拿回了他的金块。 他内心有一种感觉，一种自从爸爸还活着以来他从未有过的感觉。 走在威尔基和莫里斯之间，他的肩膀擦着他们的肩膀，他心里知道他并不孤单。