Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 Max quickly flipped onto his stomach. He flattened himself against the ground, bracing for the crushing blow. The tree landed with a thunderous crash. The earth trembled. Dirt flew into Max's eyes and nose. But the ditch was just deep enough so that Max was not smashed. The tree completely covered the ditch, but it had not hit him. It seemed that the fire was snuffed out when the tree fell. Now he was just trapped.

马克斯迅速翻了个身。 他伏在地上，准备迎接这致命的一击。 树轰隆一声落在地上。 大地颤抖起来。尘土飞进了马克斯的眼睛和鼻子。 但沟的深度刚好让马克斯没有被压碎。 那棵树完全遮住了沟渠，但并没有击中他。 当树倒下时，似乎火被扑灭了。 现在他被困住了。

He lay there, his drumming heart ready to burst from his chest. Above him, Max heard footsteps and voices frantically calling his name. He screamed for help, but his voice was a muffled whisper. He realized nobody could see him. And soon the voices faded, and he was alone. He tried pushing against the tree with his back. It didn't budge. He remembered a few years ago, when there was a fierce thunderstorm in Esties. The lashing winds had knocked down dozens of trees. A branch from a giant oak had fallen in front of their house. It was only a branch, but Papa had needed the help of three other men to haul it away. There was no way Max would be able to move the enormous tree. It was hopeless. Max lay in the ditch, facedown in the dirt.

他躺在那里，怦怦直跳的心快要从胸膛里跳出来了。 在他上方，马克斯听到脚步声和声音疯狂地呼唤着他的名字。 他大声呼救，但他的声音是低沉的低语。 他意识到没人能看见他。 很快，那些声音就消失了，只剩下他一个人。 他试着用背推那棵树。 它没有动。他记得几年前，埃斯蒂有一场猛烈的雷雨。 猛烈的大风吹倒了几十棵树。 一棵巨大的橡树的树枝倒在了他们的房子前面。 那只是一根树枝，但爸爸需要另外三个人的帮助才能把它拖走。 马克斯不可能移动那棵巨大的树。 这是没有希望的。马克斯躺在沟里，脸朝下埋在泥土里。

It seemed as though the earth was swallowing him up, that he would soon disappear forever. And for a split second, Max thought of just closing his eyes and letting the darkness take him. But a voice — his own — shouted at him. Get up! Of course he couldn't just lie here and give in! He refused to let the Nazis beat him — at least not without a fight. He clenched his teeth and managed to inch himself onto his side. Somehow he had to find another way out of the ditch. He groped around with his fingers, until he found a rock. He gripped it in his hand. It was small, but sharp — perfect for digging. Max jammed the rock into the side of the ditch, scraping and digging, The work was agonizingly slow at first, and it was broiling hot. Sweat soaked his clothes and dripped into his eyes.

大地似乎要把他吞没，他很快就要永远消失了。 有那么一瞬间，麦克斯想要闭上眼睛，让黑暗带走他。 但是一个声音——他自己的声音——对他大喊大叫。 起来!他当然不能就这样躺在这里屈服!他拒绝让纳粹打败他——至少不会不打一架。 他咬紧牙关，设法挪动身子。 无论如何，他必须找到另一条出路。 他用手指摸索着，终于找到了一块石头。 他把它攥在手里。 它很小，但很锋利——非常适合挖掘。 马克斯把石头塞进沟边，一边刮一边挖。开始的时候，工作缓慢得令人痛苦，而且非常热。 汗水浸湿了他的衣服，滴进了他的眼睛。

But soon he had carved out a small space. He dug and dug, until he finally broke through to the surface. Fresh air poured in, cooling Max's face and giving him a second wind. The dirt became looser, and Max dug more easily. He slipped the rock into his shirt pocket; he might need it later. Then he started grabbing the earth with his hands. And finally he had made a hole that looked just big enough to squirm through. He pushed with all of his might, worming himself under the tree. He ignored the splinters of wood that ripped into his skin. He crawled out, feeling as though he had escaped from his own grave. Max stood on wobbly legs, wiping the clumps of dirt from his ears and nose. His entire body ached; his fingertips were raw and bleeding. He had no idea how long he'd been in the ditch — he guessed an hour at least.

但很快他就开辟出了一个小空间。 他挖啊挖，终于挖到了地面。 新鲜空气涌了进来，使马克斯的脸凉了下来，让他喘了口气。 泥土变得松软了，麦克斯挖起来更容易了。 他把那块石头塞进衬衫口袋;他以后可能会用得上。 然后他开始用手抓地。 最后，他挖了一个洞，看起来刚好能钻过去。 他用尽全身力气推，在树下蠕动。 他没有理会扎进皮肤的木头碎片。 他爬了出来，感觉好像从自己的坟墓里逃了出来。 马克斯摇摇晃晃地站着，擦去耳朵和鼻子上的一团一团的污垢。 他全身疼痛;他的指尖还在流血。 他不知道自己在沟里呆了多久——他猜至少有一个小时了。

He looked around, praying he'd see Zena and Aunt Hannah and Martin and Lev waiting for him. But he was alone. He looked out at the swamp. Had they gone there without him? No, Max decided. They wouldn't leave him. At least the bombs had stopped falling, and the skies were quiet. But now Max heard a noise in the distance: Rat, tat, tat. Rat, tat, tat, tat. There was no mistaking it: machine-gun fire. The bombing was over. The Nazi troops were now marching through the forest.

他环顾四周，祈祷能看到泽娜、汉娜姨妈、马丁和列弗在等他。 但他孤身一人。他向沼泽望去。 他们自己去了吗? 不，麦克斯决定了。他们不会离开他。 至少炸弹已经停止下落，天空也安静下来了。 这时，马克斯听到远处有声音:河鼠，嗒，嗒。 老鼠，那，那，那。这是毋庸置疑的:机枪射击。 轰炸结束了。纳粹军队正在穿过森林。