Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 When the fighting began, explosions of cannon fire were booming from both sides. The explosions got louder and louder, and came so quickly that there was just one tremendous noise, as though every tree on earth was crashing to the ground at once. The earth under their feet shook. The noise pounded in their ears. Birdie stayed in the wagon with Les, whose leg was in such bad shape that he could barely walk. Homer and Thomas stood on a big rock near the wagon. They could see the hills and the fields

第十四章战斗开始时，双方都传来轰隆隆的炮声。 爆炸声越来越大，而且来得如此之快，只听到一个巨大的声音，仿佛地球上的每一棵树都在同时轰然倒塌。 他们脚下的大地震动了。 噪音在他们耳中轰鸣。 伯迪和莱斯呆在马车里，莱斯的腿伤势严重，几乎走不动路。 霍默和托马斯站在马车附近的一块大石头上。 他们可以看到小山和田野

below. Right now, there was too much cannon smoke to see much. But earlier that morning, when all was still quiet, Homer had pointed out the spot where the men from their regiment were positioned: a small hill covered with scrubby trees and big rocks. It didn't look like much, especially from far away. But it was one of the highest points in Gettysburg. "It's worth fighting for," Homer said. "And our men are tough. By God, we'll fight for it. If those rebels want it, they're going to have to try to rip it out of our hands." He'd pointed to the meadow, just below the rocky hill. "I'd guess that, within a few hours, there are going to be thousands of rebel troops charging across that meadow to try to take the high ground." Thomas kept his eye on the smoky scene below. Every so often a gust of wind would clear the

在下面。现在，大炮的烟雾太多了，看不清什么。 但那天早上早些时候，当一切还很安静的时候，霍默指出了他们团里的人所在的地方:一座小山，上面长满了灌木和大石头。 它看起来并不怎么样，尤其是从远处看。 但这是葛底斯堡的最高点之一。 “值得为之奋斗，”霍默说。 “我们的人很坚强。上帝作证，我们会为之战斗的。 如果那些叛军想要它，他们将不得不试图从我们手中夺走它。” 他指了指那块草地，就在岩石小山下面。 “我猜，在几个小时内，将会有数千名叛军穿过那片草地，试图占领高地。” 托马斯目不转睛地注视着下面烟雾缭绕的景象。 每隔一段时间，一阵风就会吹干净

smoke for a few seconds, and Thomas would catch a glimpse of the field. So far there were no soldiers charging across it. Maybe there never would be. Suddenly a messenger on horseback came galloping up. "The captain needs the ammunition wagon right away!" "We were ordered to stay here," Homer said. "They need more cartridges now!" "All right," Homer said. "We'll get it right up there." Les got up and tried to hop over to the ammunition wagon, his face sweaty and white with pain. "Let me go," Thomas said. Birdie was fast asleep. He would be back before she woke up. Homer and Les looked nervously at each other, but then Homer gave a nod.

烟雾持续几秒钟，托马斯就能瞥见田野。 到目前为止，还没有士兵冲过去。 也许永远不会有。 突然，一个信使骑着马疾驰而来。 “船长马上需要弹药车!”“我们被命令留在这里，”霍默说。 “他们现在需要更多的子弹!”“好吧，”霍默说。 “我们马上就把它弄上去。” 莱斯站起来，试图跳上弹药车，他的脸因痛苦而汗流浃背。 “让我走吧，”托马斯说。小鸟睡得很熟。 他会在她醒来之前回来。 霍默和莱斯紧张地面面相觑，但随后霍默点点头。

Thomas hopped onto the wagon, and Homer snapped the reins. The horses moved swiftly, out of the field and up a dusty road. "Keep your head down," Homer said. The horses faltered, struggling to get up a rocky stretch of the road. They'd barely made it to the top of the hill when there was a whistling sound. "Look out!" a voice screamed. There was a deafening explosion. Kaboom! And a tree right behind them shattered into a million shards of wood. The horses panicked, and Homer quickly unhitched them from the wagon. "Come on!" he called. "Let's grab some boxes and run up there!" But then there was more whistling…. "Thomas! Run!" Thomas sprinted away seconds before a cannonball smashed into the wagon.

托马斯跳上马车，霍默猛地拉住缰绳。 马很快地跑出了田地，走上一条尘土飞扬的路。 “把头低下，”霍默说。 马摇摇晃晃地挣扎着爬上一段多岩石的路。 他们刚走到山顶，就传来了口哨声。 “小心!”一个声音尖叫道。 一声震耳欲聋的爆炸声。 大爆炸!他们身后的一棵树碎成了无数的木头碎片。 马儿惊慌失措，霍默赶紧把它们从马车上解下来。 “来吧!”他喊道。“我们拿几个箱子跑过去吧!”但随后又有更多的口哨声.... “托马斯!快跑!”几秒钟后，一颗炮弹击中了马车。

Kaboooooom! Thomas felt as though his head had been smacked into a stone wall. A shard of metal sliced his forehead. Another carved a jagged gash into his right thigh. The wagon erupted into a fireball as he hit the ground. Flames chased after him. Men groaned and screamed. "Thomas!" called Homer. Thomas gasped in the smoke. Blood spilled into his eyes. He couldn't breathe. Burning wood surrounded him. He crawled away, his leg throbbing with pain. He was desperate to escape the flames and smoke. He rolled down the hill, down, down, down, until he reached the flat grass of the meadow.

Kaboooooom !托马斯觉得自己的头好像撞到了一堵石墙上。 一块金属碎片划破了他的额头。 另一人在他的右大腿上刻了一道锯齿状的伤口。 当他撞到地上时，马车突然变成了一个火球。 火焰追着他。人们呻吟着，尖叫着。 “托马斯!”荷马喊道。托马斯在烟雾中喘着气。 鲜血流进了他的眼睛。 他无法呼吸。燃烧的木头包围着他。 他爬开了，腿疼得直跳。 他不顾一切地想逃离火焰和烟雾。 他滚下山，滚下山，滚下山，滚下山，一直滚到平坦的草地上。

His head pounded. He could feel the blood gushing from his leg. It was a bad cut. Very bad. The smoke burned his eyes and his lungs. It was hard to breathe, to even think. Down in the grass, there wasn't as much smoke. A breeze blew and for a few seconds the air cleared. Thomas could see across the field. He froze in terror. There they were, rebel soldiers ready to charge. There were thousands of them — men in front on horseback, waving gleaming swords. Behind them, two lines of men stretched across the entire meadow, soldiers with their rifles raised.

他的头砰砰作响。他能感觉到血从腿上涌出。 伤口很严重。非常糟糕。 烟烧伤了他的眼睛和肺。 呼吸都很困难，甚至思考都很困难。 在下面的草地上，没有那么多烟。 一阵微风吹过，空气在几秒钟内变得清新起来。 托马斯能看到田野的另一边。 他吓得僵住了。叛军就在那里，准备冲锋。 他们有成千上万的人，骑在马背上，在前面挥舞着闪闪发光的剑。 在他们身后，两排人在整个草地上展开，士兵们举着步枪。