8 The Men Flee

CHAPTER 8 The Men Flee Henry looked around in a daze. He picked up his cap from the ground, wiggled in his jacket to make it more comfortable, and bent down to retie his shoelaces. So it was over at last! The test had been passed and the difficulties of war had been beaten. Henry was thrilled. He was sure that he had been wonderful. The other men in his troop seemed to feel just as proud of themselves. They shook hands and helped the ones who were hurt. But suddenly, cries of amazement broke out among the troops.

亨利茫然地环顾四周。 他从地上捡起帽子，在夹克衫里晃了晃，使它舒服些，然后弯下腰重新系鞋带。 终于结束了！考验已经通过，战争的困难已经被战胜。 亨利很激动。他确信自己表现得很出色。 他的部队里的其他人似乎也同样感到自豪。 他们握手，帮助那些受伤的人。 但是突然，部队里响起了惊叫。

"Here they come again!" someone yelled. Henry saw forms running out of the woods in the distance. He saw the tilted flag speeding forward. The shells, which hadn't bothered the troop for some time, came swirling around them again. They exploded in the grass and among the trees. The explosions looked like strange flowers bursting into fierce bloom. The men groaned. They moved slowly and stiffly. As they watched the rapid approach of the enemy, they began to rebel against their duty. "Why can't somebody send support?" someone asked. "We won't survive a second attack," said another. "I didn't come to fight the whole darned rebel army myself." Henry stared. Surely, he thought, this was not about to happen. There could not be another battle. He waited as if everyone

“他们又来了！”有人喊道。 亨利看见远处有人影从树林里跑出来。 他看见倾斜的旗帜疾驰向前。 炮弹已经有一段时间没有打扰部队了，现在又在他们周围打转。 它们在草丛和树丛中爆炸了。 爆炸看起来就像奇怪的花朵怒放。 男人们呻吟着。他们缓慢而僵硬地移动着。 当他们看到敌人迅速逼近时，他们开始反抗自己的职责。 有人问道：“为什么就不能派人来支援呢？” 另一个人说：“第二次袭击我们活不下去了。” “我不是亲自来和整个该死的叛军作战的。” 亨利盯着。他想，这当然不会发生。 不可能再有战斗了。 他等着，就像大家一样

would stop and admit that it was a mistake. But the firing began again and ripped in both directions. Henry's neck was shaking and his hands were awkward. He began to imagine that the enemy men were better and stronger than the men in his troop. The enemy must be machines of steel. In the smoke they looked like dragons. A man near him who had been working busily at his rifle suddenly stopped and ran away with a loud howl. Another, who had worn an expression of courage, saw this and became afraid. He, too, threw down his gun and fled. There was no shame in his face. He ran like a rabbit. Others began to hurry away through the smoke. Henry watched them, yelled with fright, and turned around. He started running. For a moment he lost the direction of safety. Death and injury threatened him from

会停下来承认这是个错误。 但是枪声又开始了，而且朝两个方向猛烈射击。 亨利的脖子在颤抖，他的手很笨拙。 他开始想象敌人的人比他部队里的人更优秀、更强壮。 敌人必须是钢铁机器。 在烟雾中，他们看起来像龙。 他身边一个正忙着拿枪的人突然停了下来，大叫一声跑开了。 另一个面露勇敢表情的人看到了这一幕，开始害怕起来。 他也扔下枪逃跑了。 他脸上没有羞耻的表情。 他跑得像只兔子。其他人开始在烟雾中匆匆离去。 亨利看着他们，吓得大叫起来，转过身来。 他开始跑。他一时找不到安全的方向。 死亡和伤害威胁着他

every direction. He began to speed toward the back of the troop. His rifle and cap were gone. His unbuttoned coat blew in the wind. On his face was all the horror of his imagination. The lieutenant tried to catch him, but Henry escaped. He ran like a blind man. Once, he knocked his shoulder into a tree so hard that he fell over. As soon as Henry turned his back on the enemy, his fears grew even greater. His imagination made everything worse. As he ran, he saw men on his right and left doing the same. He heard many footsteps behind him. Shells flew over his head with long wild screams. Henry was amazed when he came within view of another troop of men in action. They were fighting with great enthusiasm. No one seemed to know the death that was headed their way. Henry thought they were fools and pitied them.

每一个方向。他开始飞快地向队伍的后面跑去。 他的步枪和帽子都不见了。 他敞着扣子的上衣在风中飘动。 他的脸上满是他想象中的恐怖。 中尉试图抓住他，但亨利逃走了。 他跑得像个瞎子。有一次，他的肩膀重重地撞在一棵树上，摔了下来。 亨利一背弃敌人，他的恐惧就变得更加强烈。 他的想象力使一切变得更糟。 当他跑的时候，他看到他左右的人都在做同样的事情。 他听到身后有许多脚步声。 炮弹从他头上飞过，发出阵阵狂吠。 当亨利看到另一队正在作战的士兵时，他感到很吃惊。 他们以极大的热情战斗着。 似乎没有人知道死亡正在向他们袭来。 亨利认为他们是傻瓜，同情他们。

He kept moving toward the back of the action. Finally, Henry saw a general sitting on a horse. Sometimes the general was surrounded by other men on horses. At other times he was alone. Henry stayed near the general and tried to overhear what he was saying. Perhaps the general would ask him for information. Henry could tell him about all the confusion on the front lines. He knew all about it. He wanted to tell the general that it was wrong to sit here and make no effort to stop the death happening behind him. Any fool could see that the men should pull back. One of the officers rode up to the general and said, "By heavens, they have! They've held them!" The general began to roar at his troops, "We've got them now! We've got them for sure!"

他不停地向人群的后部移动。 最后，亨利看到一位将军骑在马上。 有时将军被其他骑马的人包围着。 其他时候他是一个人。 亨利呆在将军身边，试图偷听他说的话。 也许将军会向他打听消息。 亨利可以告诉他前线的混乱。 他知道这一切。他想告诉将军，坐在这里不努力阻止身后发生的死亡是错误的。 任何傻瓜都能看出那些人应该撤退。 其中一个军官骑着马走到将军面前说：“天哪，他们有！他们抓住他们了！”将军开始对他的部队吼道：“我们现在抓到他们了！我们肯定抓住他们了！”