Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Ring Out, Wild Bells Pete would have been proud. That's what Evan thought as he neared the top of Lovell's Hill. There was the bell, hanging on the crossbeam, the way it had for as long as Evan could remember. Something about seeing it there gave him such a sense of gratitude and happiness that he reached out his arm and put it around Jessie's shoulder, giving her a quick squeeze as they climbed the last few steps to the top. "It's still here," said Jessie. As if anyone could have gotten it down again! Evan, Maxwell, and Jessie had spent two hours hauling the bell back up the hill on a toboggan with only the moon lighting their way. Then they'd hoisted it onto the hooks and lashed it to the crossbeam with a rope that Jessie tied in a million knots. When

第十六章敲响野铃，皮特会感到自豪的。 埃文在接近洛弗尔山顶时就是这么想的。 从埃文记事起，钟就一直挂在横梁上。 看到它在那里，他感到非常感激和幸福，于是他伸出手臂搂住杰西的肩膀，在他们爬上最后几级台阶时紧紧地搂住了她。 “它还在这里，”杰西说。 好像有人能把它再弄下来似的！埃文、麦克斯韦尔和杰西花了两个小时用雪橇把钟拖回山上，一路上只有月光照亮。 然后他们把它吊到挂钩上，用一根绳子把它绑在横梁上，杰西用绳子打了无数个结。 当

they were done hanging the bell, Evan had noticed a few spots on the post that were splintered. Tomorrow, he would come up here with a sanding block and work on the wood until it was smooth, just the way Pete had taught him. Evan nodded. "Still here." It was good to know that the bell would remain, right where it belonged. The snow that had fallen earlier carpeted the hillside, and the moon shone brightly in the clear, cold air. The effect was like a stadium lit up for a night game. Evan could see all kinds of details: the letters inscribed on the bell, the grain in the wood of the crossbeam, and the faces of the people gathered. Some of them he recognized, like Mrs. Upton and the Bradleys, who had been friends of Grandma's for years. But lots of the people were new to Evan. Grandma would have known them all, but Grandma was home resting with Mom. Evan was sorry about that. It didn't feel like New Year's

他们把钟挂好了，埃文注意到柱子上有几个地方裂开了。 明天，他会拿着一块砂石来到这里，像皮特教他的那样，把木头磨得光滑。 艾凡点点头。“还在这里。” 很高兴知道那口钟还在它原来的地方。 早些时候下的雪铺满了山坡，月亮在清冷的空气中明亮地照耀着。 这种效果就像一个为夜间比赛而点亮的体育场。 埃文可以看到各种细节：钟上刻的字母，横梁上的木纹，以及聚集在一起的人们的脸。 其中有些人他认得，比如厄普顿太太和布拉德利一家，他们是奶奶多年的朋友。 但是很多人对埃文来说都是新手。 奶奶应该都认识他们，但奶奶在家陪妈妈休息。 埃文对此很抱歉。 这感觉不像新年

Eve without Grandma. Of course, Maxwell was there with his mom and dad, all three on cross-country skis. When he spotted Evan and Jessie, Maxwell whooshed over to them. He held up his wrist with its digital watch. "Twelve minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Exactly," he said. "I set my watch to the official NIST clock. It's accurate to within six-tenths of a second." Then he whooshed back over to his parents, who were talking to a young couple Evan didn't recognize. The man was holding a small child in his arms and had his back to Evan. The woman was someone Evan had never seen before. "I guess we know who the youngest is this year," said Evan to Jessie, pointing at the couple. Jessie looked over at them and said, "I didn't know Pete had a kid!" "That's not—" but then Evan looked closer and saw that it was Pete. "I didn't know, either!"

没有奶奶的夏娃。当然，马克斯韦尔和他的父母一起去了，他们三人都在越野滑雪板上。 当他看到埃文和杰西时，麦克斯韦尔向他们疾驰而过。 他举起戴着电子表的手腕。 “十二分三十八秒。 没错，”他说。“我把手表调到NIST的官方时钟。 它的精确度在零点六秒之内。” 然后他转身回到父母身边，他们正在和一对埃文不认识的年轻夫妇交谈。 那个男人怀里抱着一个小孩，背对着埃文。 这个女人是埃文以前从未见过的人。 “我想我们知道今年谁是最小的了，”埃文指着这对夫妇对杰西说。 杰西看着他们说：“我不知道皮特有个孩子！”“那不是——”但埃文凑近了看，发现那是皮特。 “我也不知道！”

Evan walked over, feeling a little shy. "Hey," he said to Pete. "Man of the family, huh?" Pete broke into a smile and put out his fist for Evan to bump. "You know it. This is my posse. Kayley, say hi to Big Man Evan." But the little girl in Pete's arms just buried her face against her dad's shoulder, too shy and sleepy to greet a stranger. "And this is my wife, Melissa." Evan said hello and shook hands politely, the way he'd been taught. Melissa told him how relieved she was to hear that Grandma was okay. "You and your sister are heroes," she said. Evan looked at Pete, and Pete raised his eyebrows in response. He'd already given Evan a talking-to in private about not sticking to the plan they'd agreed on. Traipsing off in the woods and dragging your little sister with you! But Evan could tell by the way Pete smiled now that he was just as glad as Melissa that Grandma had been found, safe and sound. "All's well that ends well," said Melissa,

埃文走了过去，感到有点害羞。 “嘿，”他对皮特说。“家里的男人，是吧？”皮特突然笑了起来，伸出拳头让埃文撞。 “你知道的。这是我的团队。 凯莉，跟大个子埃文打个招呼。” 但皮特怀里的小女孩只是把脸埋在她爸爸的肩膀上，太害羞，太困，不敢和陌生人打招呼。 “这是我的妻子，梅丽莎。” 埃文礼貌地打招呼，握手，就像他被教导的那样。 梅丽莎告诉他，听到奶奶没事的消息，她如释重负。 “你和你妹妹是英雄，”她说。 埃文看着皮特，皮特扬起眉毛作为回应。 他已经私下跟埃文谈过了，说他不会坚持他们商定的计划。 拖着你的小妹妹在树林里闲逛！但埃文从皮特的微笑可以看出，他和梅丽莎一样高兴，因为奶奶被找到了，安然无恙。 “结局好一切都好，”梅丽莎说，

tucking the leg of Kayley's snow pants into her boot. "Too bad she couldn't be here, though. It won't be the same without her." They stood in the moonlight, talking about the events of the day and the trip home planned for tomorrow. Evan and Jessie and Mrs. Treski were driving back in the morning, and Grandma would be coming with them. Maybe for good. Pete would keep working on the house. He thought he'd have it all wrapped up by the end of January. There was a pause in the conversation, and then Melissa asked, "So who's the oldest?" They all looked around, and a murmur began to sweep through the crowd. Who's the oldest this year? One man said, "I'm fifty-three," and a woman called out, "Fifty-eight, here." "Where's Mrs. Lewis?" asked someone, and a voice in the crowd said, "She's staying home. Said to say hello to everyone." "Not so many of the older folks this year," said

把凯莉雪地裤的裤腿塞进靴子里。 “可惜她不能来。 没有她，一切都不一样了。” 他们站在月光下，谈论着今天发生的事情和明天回家的计划。 埃文、杰西和特雷斯基太太明天早上开车回去，奶奶也会跟他们一起去。 也许是永远。皮特会继续装修房子。 他原以为一月底就能把一切都搞定。 谈话停顿了一下，然后梅丽莎问道：“那么谁是最大的？”他们都向四周看了看，人群中开始响起一阵窃窃私语。 今年谁是最大的？ 一个男人说：“我53岁。”一个女人喊道：“58岁，在这里。” “刘易斯太太在哪儿？”有人问，人群中有一个声音说：“她呆在家里。 让我向大家问好。” “今年没有那么多老年人，”他说

Pete. "On account of the snow, I guess." Evan shook his head. If Grandma were here, she'd have them all beat by a couple of decades. "Four minutes!" yelled Maxwell. "Precisely!" Everyone on the hill began to crowd in closer, forming a warm circle around the New Year's Eve bell. "Another year!" shouted someone, and Mrs. Cooper said, "And not a day wiser!" which made people laugh. Evan watched as Pete moved into the very center of the circle, holding Kayley close to him and whispering in her ear. The woman who had announced her age as fifty-eight also moved into the center of the circle and said something to Pete that made him throw back his head and laugh. "C'mon, Jess," said Evan. His sister was hanging on the outside of the circle, staring at the path that led back to the house. "What are you waiting for?" "Three minutes!" shouted Maxwell. Suddenly Jessie broke away from the circle

皮特。“我想是因为下雪的缘故吧。” 埃文摇了摇头。如果奶奶在这里，她会让他们都领先几十年。 “四分钟！”麦克斯韦喊道。 “正是!”山上的每个人都开始挤得更近，在除夕的钟声周围形成一个温暖的圈。 “又一年！”有人喊道，库珀太太说：“一天也不会聪明！”这让大家哈哈大笑。 埃文看着皮特走到圈子的中心，把凯莉抱在身边，在她耳边低语。 那个宣布自己58岁的女人也走到圈子的中心，对皮特说了些什么，使他仰起头来笑了起来。 “来吧，杰西，”埃文说。他的妹妹挂在圆圈的外面，盯着那条通往房子的小路。 “你还在等什么？”“三分钟！”麦克斯韦喊道。 杰西突然离开了圈子