15 A Helpful Stranger

CHAPTER 15 A Helpful Stranger Henry hurried on in the dusk. After a while, his wound stopped hurting. He thought of home as he walked, and he was eventually overcome with weariness. His head hung forward and his shoulders hunched as if he was carrying a heavy bundle. His feet scraped along the ground. At last he heard a cheery voice near his shoulder. "You seem to be in a pretty bad way, huh?" Henry did not look up, but he managed to say, "Uh."

第十五章乐于助人的陌生人亨利在暮色中匆匆赶路。 过了一会儿，他的伤口不痛了。 他一边走一边想家，最后终于感到疲惫不堪。 他的头向前垂着，肩膀耷拉着，好像扛着一个沉重的包袱。 他的脚在地上擦来擦去。 最后，他听到一个欢快的声音靠近他的肩膀。 “你看起来情况很糟，是吧？”亨利没有抬头，但他勉强说了声：“呃。”

The owner of the cheery voice took him firmly by the arm. "Well," he said with a laugh, "I'm going your way. The whole gang is going your way, and I guess I can give you a lift." As they went along, the man asked Henry what he had seen and told him what he had learned of Henry's troop. "They're way over there in the center of the fight," the man said. "I guess just about everybody has had his share of fighting today. I almost gave up a few times. There was shooting and yelling everywhere. It was dark and I couldn't tell where I was or even what side I was on. How did you find your way over here, anyway? Your troop is pretty far from here. Well, I guess I can find them." In the search that followed, the man with the cheery voice seemed to have some kind of magic skill. He was able to find his way easily through the maze of the tangled forest.

那个声音欢快的人紧紧地抓住他的胳膊。 “好吧，”他笑着说，“我跟你去。 大家都跟你走同一条路，我想我可以载你一程。” 当他们走的时候，那个人问亨利他看到了什么，并告诉他他对亨利的部队的了解。 “他们就在那里，在战斗的中心，”那人说。 “我想今天几乎每个人都有他的战斗份额。 有几次我差点就放弃了。 到处都是枪声和喊叫声。 天很黑，我不知道自己身在何处，甚至不知道自己站在哪一边。 你是怎么找到这里来的？ 你的部队离这里很远。 好吧，我想我能找到他们。” 在随后的搜索中，那个声音欢快的人似乎有某种魔法。 他在错综复杂的森林迷宫中很容易地找到了路。

Whenever they came across other people, the man was as smart as a detective and as brave as a hero. Problems fell away before him and became things that could help them on their way. Henry stood by while his companion found the way back for both of them. The forest seemed to be filled with men running around in circles, lost. But the cheery man led Henry through everything until, at last, he started to chuckle with joy and satisfaction. "Ah, there you are. See that fire?" the man asked. Henry nodded. He felt stupid. "Well, there's your troop," the man said. "And now, good-bye, old boy. Good luck to you." A warm and strong hand held Henry's soft fingers for a minute, and then he heard a cheerful whistling as the man walked away.

每当他们遇到其他人时，这个人就像侦探一样聪明，像英雄一样勇敢。 问题在他面前消失了，变成了可以帮助他们前进的东西。 亨利站在一旁，他的同伴替他们俩找到回去的路。 森林里似乎到处都是迷路的人绕着圈子跑来跑去。 但是这个快乐的人带领亨利经历了所有的事情，直到最后，他开始高兴和满意地笑了起来。 “啊，你来了。看到那堆火了吗？”那人问道。 亨利点了点头。他觉得自己很蠢。 “嗯，这是你的部队，”那人说。 “好了，再见了，老伙计。 祝你好运。”一只温暖而有力的手握着亨利柔软的手指，过了一会儿，他听到一阵欢快的口哨声，那人走开了。

The man had been kind to him, and as he watched him walk away, Henry suddenly realized that he had never even seen the man's face.

那个人对他很好，当他看着他走开时，亨利突然意识到他甚至从来没有见过那个人的脸。