Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Birdie looked at Thomas, too terrified to even cry. "They won't hurt us, Birdie," Thomas whispered, praying this was true, trying to keep his voice steady. But his entire body was trembling. He heard the sound of stirrups clinking, of boots on the ground. The men were coming! Thomas stood up and was about to shout, "Don't shoot us!" But then he caught a glimpse of the men. There were two, and they weren't facing Thomas and Birdie. Their rifles were aimed up

伯蒂看着托马斯，吓得连哭都不敢哭。 “他们不会伤害我们的，伯迪。”托马斯低声说，祈祷这是真的，努力让自己的声音保持稳定。 但是他的整个身体都在颤抖。 他听到马镫的丁当声和靴子踩在地上的声音。 那些人来了!托马斯站起来，正要喊:“别开枪!”但随后他瞥见了那些人。 有两个人，他们面对的不是托马斯和伯蒂。 他们的步枪瞄准了

into a tree. And they were wearing gray uniforms, the same as Mr. Knox's sons had worn when they went off to war. Thomas quickly ducked back down. Something was strange. He turned to Birdie and put his finger on his lips. Then he peeped up again, trying to get a better look. There were no dogs anywhere. Was it possible…? "We see you up there!" one of the men called up into the tree. "Get down now or we'll blow you to pieces!" They were not slave catchers. They were soldiers. They weren't looking for Thomas and Birdie! But who were they chasing? Thomas studied the men. One of them was very tall, with a straggly beard. The other was skinny with a bushy brown mustache.

钻进一棵树里。他们穿着灰色的制服，和诺克斯的儿子们上战场时穿的一样。 托马斯迅速蹲下身子。 有点奇怪。他转向伯迪，把手指放在嘴唇上。 然后他又抬起头来，想看得更清楚些。 到处都没有狗。 有可能吗?“我们看见你在上面了!”其中一个人朝树上喊道。 “趴下，不然我们就把你炸成碎片!”他们不是奴隶捕手。 他们是士兵。他们不是在找托马斯和伯蒂!但他们在追谁呢? 托马斯打量着这些人。其中一个个子很高，留着凌乱的胡子。 另一个骨瘦如柴，留着浓密的棕色小胡子。

There was a rustling in the tree the men stood beside. A boot appeared, and then someone dropped onto the ground. A man. He looked to be around Clem's age. He wasn't tall, but he looked powerful. His face was smudged with dirt, and his tangled brown hair was matted with leaves. He was wearing a uniform, too, a dark blue one. It was torn and soaked in sweat. His expression was fierce as he rose slowly to his feet. Thomas guessed he was a Yankee — a soldier fighting for the North. Thomas didn't know much about the war — just that the North and South were fighting against each other. He had no idea why. Suddenly Birdie started to whimper. Thomas ducked down, pulling her to him. Didn't she know to stay quiet?! And then he saw what Birdie was whimpering about: The biggest skunk he'd ever seen was only

站在旁边的那棵树沙沙作响。 一只靴子出现了，然后有人倒在地上。 一个男人。他看起来和克莱姆差不多大。 他个子不高，但看起来很有力量。 他的脸上沾满了泥土，他那蓬乱的棕色头发上结满了树叶。 他也穿着制服，深蓝色的。 它被撕破了，被汗水浸透了。 当他慢慢站起来时，他的表情很凶狠。 托马斯猜想他是一个北方佬——一个为北方作战的士兵。 托马斯对这场战争所知不多，只知道南北双方在互相交战。 他不知道为什么。突然，小鸟开始呜咽起来。 托马斯蹲下身子，把她拉到身边。 难道她不知道要保持安静吗?然后他明白了小鸟在抱怨什么:他见过的最大的臭鼬只有

a few feet from them, nosing around in the leaves. It didn't seem to notice Thomas and Birdie… yet. He held Birdie tight to his chest. He couldn't worry about the skunk now. He craned his neck so he could keep an eye on the soldiers. He wished they'd just do their business and get out of here. "You'll be sorry you ever came here, boy!" growled the tall Southern soldier. He took a pistol from his belt. And as quick as a snakebite, he smashed it into the blue soldier's face. There was a sickening cracking sound. The blue soldier fell to his knees, blood spurting from his nose. "What are you doing?!" the other gray soldier yelled. "Our orders are to bring back prisoners, not beat them to death!" "Shut up!" the tall man bellowed, his voice so vicious that the other man backed off. Thomas's heart pounded. He hugged Birdie closer, putting his hands over her ears so she wouldn't hear the curses and cries.

就在离他们几英尺远的地方，在树叶里嗅来嗅去。 它似乎还没有注意到托马斯和伯蒂…… 他把小鸟紧紧地抱在胸前。 他现在不能再担心臭鼬了。 他伸长脖子以便留意士兵们。 他希望他们做他们的生意，离开这里。 “你会后悔到这儿来的，孩子!"高个子南方士兵咆哮道。 他从腰带上拿出一把手枪。 就像被蛇咬一样，他迅速地把它砸在了蓝衣士兵的脸上。 传来一声令人作呕的爆裂声。 蓝衣士兵跪倒在地，鲜血从鼻子里喷涌而出。 “你在干什么?!”另一个灰色的士兵喊道。 “我们的命令是把俘虏带回来，而不是打死他们!”“闭嘴!”高个子男人吼道，他的声音如此恶毒，以至于另一个人退后了。 托马斯的心怦怦直跳。他把小鸟抱得更紧了，用手捂住她的耳朵，这样她就听不见咒骂和哭声了。

The tall man stepped up and kicked the blue soldier, who doubled over, groaning in pain. Then the fallen man looked up, and somehow, his desperate eyes found Thomas, peering through the tangle of leaves. Thomas felt a strange jolt. That look: He'd seen it before. It was the same look Clem had had when the men took him away. The tall man placed the barrel of his pistol at the side of the blue soldier's head. "You're gone, Yankee," he said, clicking back the hammer.

高个子男人走上前去，踢了蓝衣士兵一脚，蓝衣士兵弯下腰，痛苦地呻吟着。 然后那个倒下的人抬起头来，不知怎么的，他绝望的眼睛看到了托马斯，他正透过纠结的树叶窥视着。 托马斯感到一阵奇怪的震动。 那种表情，他以前见过。 这和克莱姆被带走时的表情一模一样。 高个子男人把手枪的枪管放在蓝衣士兵的头旁边。 “你走了，北方佬，"他说，一面把锤子敲回去。