Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 APRIL 21 1906 SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA Leo stood on the train platform at the Sacramento station. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky. Beside him, Morris had his face turned up, enjoying the fresh, clear air.

第十四章1906年4月21日，加利福尼亚，萨克拉门托利奥站在萨克拉门托火车站的月台上。 太阳在晴朗的蓝天上明亮地照耀着。 在他身旁，莫里斯仰着脸，享受着新鲜、清新的空气。

All around them were refugees from San Francisco. There were all different kinds of people — fancy ladies and street kids, Chinese families and scruffy gamblers, businessmen and very old people. Coats and hats were covered with ash and dust. Some people wore bandages, or walked with

他们周围都是来自旧金山的难民。 有各种各样的人——时髦的女士和街头的孩子，中国家庭和邋遢的赌徒，商人和非常老的人。 衣服和帽子都沾满了灰和灰尘。 有些人缠着绷带，或者带着

crutches. And they all shared the same expression, a mixture of shock and relief. Their city was gone. Thousands were dead. But they had escaped. Alive. They'd gotten to the California capital just that morning: Leo, Morris, Wilkie, and thousands of strangers. The Southern Pacific Railroad had given out one free train ticket to anyone who wanted to leave San Francisco. After spending three miserable days in Golden Gate Park, the boys all wanted to get as far away from San Francisco as they could. The park had been turned into a tent city. Soldiers handed out food and water, but there wasn't enough for everyone. Leo and the guys had waited in line all day just to get a piece of bread and some water. Sleeping was impossible with all the crying and screaming. The fires had finally gone out on the fourth morning after the earthquake. But smoke and ash still filled the sky. Every breath reminded Leo of what had happened.

拐杖。他们的表情都是一样的，既震惊又宽慰。 他们的城市消失了。数千人死亡。 但是他们逃走了。活着。 就在那天早上，利奥、莫里斯、威尔基和成千上万的陌生人来到了加州的首府。 南太平洋铁路公司给任何想离开旧金山的人免费发了一张火车票。 在金门公园度过了悲惨的三天之后，男孩们都想离旧金山越远越好。 公园已经变成了帐篷城。 士兵们分发了食物和水，但不够每个人用。 利奥和他的伙伴们排了一整天的队，就为了得到一块面包和一些水。 在这样的哭闹声中，根本无法入睡。 地震后的第四天早上，大火终于熄灭了。 但烟雾和灰烬仍然充斥着天空。 每一次呼吸都提醒利奥发生了什么。

Some people in the tent city were already talking about rebuilding. A preacher had stood in front of a crowd, calling on the crowd not to give up on San Francisco. "Our city is gone," he said. "But its spirit is here! We will rebuild!" Leo believed it. Grandpop had helped build this city the first time, when it had been turned from a bunch of shacks in the mud into one of the most beautiful cities in the world. But Leo knew that he needed to put the ruins and smoke behind him. Even before the quake, he'd been looking for a fresh start. Wilkie and Morris needed one too. They'd left Golden Gate Park and walked for three hours through the smoldering ruins to get to the train station. They'd crowded onto the first train they could. Five hours later they were breathing in clear air, gazing up at buildings that stood strong and tall. The earth was still. They figured they'd stay in Sacramento. They'd sell newspapers. They'd share a room. They'd get by.

帐篷城的一些人已经在谈论重建。 一位传教士站在人群面前，呼吁人们不要放弃旧金山。 “我们的城市消失了，”他说。 “但它的精神在这里!”我们会重建的!”利奥相信了。 爷爷第一次帮助建设了这个城市，当它从一堆泥棚子变成世界上最美丽的城市之一的时候。 但是利奥知道他需要把废墟和烟雾抛在身后。 甚至在地震之前，他就一直在寻找一个新的开始。 威尔基和莫里斯也需要一个。 他们离开了金门公园，在熊熊燃烧的废墟中走了三个小时才到达火车站。 他们挤上了第一列火车。 五个小时后，他们呼吸着清新的空气，凝视着高耸的建筑物。 大地一片寂静。他们打算留在萨克拉门托。 他们会卖报纸。他们会共用一个房间。 他们还过得去。

But over these past few hours, their plans had changed. That morning, the three of them had gone to a bank. Within the hour, Leo had sold his gold nugget. It's what Grandpop would have done, he was sure. And what Papa would have wanted Leo to do. He had enough money to buy Wilkie a train ticket to Seattle. Wilkie was going to find that man who wanted to turn him into a football star. "Why don't you guys come with me?" Wilkie had said. "You could play too. We could all be on the same team." "We already are," Morris said in that wise voice of his. They all smiled. They were some team, the three of them. Leo had the idea they always would be, no matter where life took them. But Leo and Morris weren't going with Wilkie. They had a plan of their own. Leo had bought two tickets to New York City.

但在过去的几个小时里，他们的计划改变了。 那天早上，他们三个人去了银行。 不到一个小时，里奥就卖掉了他的金块。 祖父肯定会这么做的。 还有爸爸希望里奥做的事。 他有足够的钱给威尔基买一张去西雅图的火车票。 威尔基要去找那个想把他变成足球明星的人。 “你们为什么不和我一起去呢?”威尔基说。 “你也可以玩。我们可以在同一个团队。” “我们已经是了，”莫里斯用他那睿智的声音说。 他们都笑了。他们三个真是个团队。 里奥的想法是，无论生活把他们带到哪里，他们永远都是。 但里奥和莫里斯没和威尔基一起去。 他们有自己的计划。 利奥买了两张去纽约的票。

He and Morris would find Morris's cousins. They would start new lives there. It was a crazy idea, Leo knew. But no crazier than when Grandpop had left New Hampshire to make his fortune in gold country. Wilkie took a long look at them before he got onto the train, like he was painting their pictures in his mind. "I'll see you again," he said. He stuck his hand out, and Leo and Morris put their hands on top of his. Their fingers were cut up, black with ash and grime, scraped raw in spots. But their hands looked strong, especially put all together. The train whistle blew. And then, just as when he gave that sack of loot to the crying lady, Wilkie turned and hurried off without another word. Leo and Morris stood in silence, watching Wilkie's train disappear. They bought themselves some cold bottles of milk and warm rolls. And then there was nothing to do but wait for their own train.

他和莫里斯去找莫里斯的表兄妹。 他们将在那里开始新的生活。 利奥知道这是个疯狂的想法。 但没有比爷爷离开新罕布什尔去黄金之乡发家时更疯狂的了。 威尔基上火车前久久地看了他们一眼，就像在脑海里描绘他们的模样。 “我会再见到你的，”他说。 他伸出手来，利奥和莫里斯把他们的手放在他的手上。 他们的手指被割伤了，被灰和污垢弄得发黑，还被刮得脏兮兮的。 但是他们的手看起来很有力，尤其是放在一起的时候。 火车汽笛响了。然后，就像他把那袋战利品递给哭泣的女士一样，威尔基转身，二话没说就匆匆走开了。 利奥和莫里斯默默地站着，看着威尔基的火车消失了。 他们给自己买了几瓶冷牛奶和一些热面包卷。 然后除了等自己的火车就没有别的事可做了。