“Where have you been!” Mama demanded, her face strangely stricken. “What do you mean running around out there this time of night!”
“你们去哪了？”妈妈一脸严肃，“这么晚了，你们跑出去干什么？”
“Dunno ’bout that,” I said,”but they know we ain’t where we s’pose to be.”
“不清楚。但他们肯定知道我们偷偷溜出去了。”
“Papa –” I began.
“爸爸——”
We ran noisily up onto the porch and flung open the unlatched door. Mama and Big Ma, standing with Mr. Morrison near the foot of the bed, turned as we entered and Big Ma cried, “Lord, there they is!”
我们飞速跑到前廊，推开了没有闩上的房门，发现妈妈、奶奶和莫里森先生都站在床前。我们刚一进去，奶奶就惊呼道：“天哪！他们回来了！”
When we neared the house, the dull glow of a kerosene lamp was shining faintly from the boys’ room.”Y-you s’pose they already know!” Christopher-John asked breathlessly as we ran up the lawn.
快到家时，我们看到男孩们的房间里闪烁着微弱的灯光。“爸爸妈妈不会知道提杰的事了吧？”克里斯托弗上气不接下气地问。
“Where’s Stacey?”
“斯泰西呢？”
Before we could answer either question, Papa appeared in the doorway, dressed, his wide leather strap in hand.
我们还没回答，爸爸已经出现在门口，他穿好了衣服，手里拿着皮带。
“That boy’s gotten mighty grown,” Papa said, clearly angry. “I’m gonna teach all of y’all ’bout traipsing off in the middle of the night… and especially Stacey. He should know better. If Mr. Morrison hadn’t seen this door open, I suppose you would’ve thought you was getting away with something — like T. J. Well, y’all gonna learn right here and now there ain’t gonna be no T. J. s in this house –“
“他以为自己长大了，是吗？”爸爸很生气，“我跟你们说过了，半夜不准跑出去…特别是斯泰西。要不是莫里森先生发现门开着，估计你们还以为没有人发现呢，就像提杰偷偷溜进来一样。像提杰这样的小孩，我们家是不允许他进来的…”
“He-he down to T. J.’s. Papa –“
“他去了提杰家，爸爸…”
Everything. I poured out everything. About T. J.’s breaking into the mercantile with the Simmses, about his coming in the night fleeing the Simmses, about the coming of the men and what they had done to the Averys. About Mr. Jamison and the threat of the men to come to the house to get him and Mr. Morrison.
我把所有的事情说了一遍：提杰如何跟马文他们闯进了巴尼特商店；他怎样摆脱了马文他们；我们看到那帮人是如何伤害艾弗里一家的；后来杰米森先生来了，却遭到威胁；华莱士他们还扬言要抓爸爸和莫里森先生。
“Yessir. But he hid in the forest. They don’t know he’s there.”
“是的，但他躲在树林里，他们不知道斯泰西在那儿。”
“What!” Papa asked, his eyes narrowing. “What y’all talking ’bout!”
“什么？到底发生了什么？”
“And T. J., too,” echoed Little Man, trembling.
“还有提杰。”小家伙的声音也发着抖。
“But, Papa, they h-hurt Claude!” Christopher-John cried, tears streaming down his cheeks for his injured friend.
“可是，爸爸，他们…他们弄伤了克劳德！”克里斯托弗急得哭了起来。
“Papa, they hurt’em real bad and… and,” I could not finish. Papa came to me and took my face in his hands. “What is it, Cassie girl! Tell me.”
“爸爸，他们伤得很重…很重…还有…”我几乎快说不出话来了。爸爸捧着我的脸：“凯西，发生了什么？告诉我。”
Mama followed him into their room, and the boys and I followed her.
妈妈跟着他进了房间，我们跟在妈妈后头。
“And Stacey’s still down there!” Papa asked when I had finished.
“斯泰西还在那儿吗？”爸爸问我什么时候做完的。
From over the bed Papa pulled his shotgun.
爸爸从床上掏出猎枪。
Papa spun around suddenly. “Cotta get him out of there,” he said, moving quicker than I had thought possible with his bad leg.
爸爸突然转过身：“得叫他快点离开。”爸爸虽然腿受伤了，可移动起来却比想象中快。
“Got no other way,” he said, stuffing a box of shells into his shirt pocket.
“没别的办法了。”爸爸把一盒子弹塞进了衬衫口袋。
“David, not with the shotgun. You can’t stop them like that.”
“大卫，不要拿枪，你不能这么做。”
“I know, David, I know. But there’s got to be another way. Some way they won’t kill you too!”
“我知道，大卫，我知道。我们可以想别的办法啊，不被他们杀死的办法！”
“If I don’t, they’ll hang T. J. This thing’s been coming a long time, baby, and T. J. just happened to be the one foolish enough to trigger it. But, fool or not, I can’t just sit by and let them kill the boy. And if they find Stacey –“
“如果我不开枪，他们就会吊死提杰。这件事不过是个导火索。可不管提杰有多坏，我都不能看着他们杀死他。而且，万一他们发现了斯泰西…”
“You fire on them and they’ll hang you for sure. They’d like nothing better.”
“如果你对他们开枪，他们肯定会吊死你的。”
“Seems like they might be planning to do that anyway,” Papa said, turning from her. “They come here, no telling what’ll happen, and I’ll use every bullet I got ‘fore I let them hurt anybody in this house.”
“他们本来就是这么谋划的。”爸爸转身背向妈妈，“如果他们来这里，我会用完最后一颗子弹，不让他们伤害到这屋子里的任何一个人。”
Mama grabbed his arm. “Get Harlan Granger to stop it. If he says so, they’ll go on home.”
妈妈拉着爸爸的胳膊：“让格兰杰去阻止他们啊。如果他出面的话，一定会有用的。”
Papa shook his head. “Them cars had to come right past his house to get to the Averys”, and if he intended to stop them, he’d stop them without me telling him so.
爸爸摇了摇头。“他们到艾弗里家，一定会经过格兰杰那里。要是他想阻止，早就那么做了。”
“Then,” said Mama, “force him to stop it.”
“那就——逼他去做。”
“David?”
“大卫？”
Mr. Morrison nodded and followed Papa onto the porch, a rifle in his hand. Like a cat Mama sprang after them and grabbed Papa again. “David, don’t… don’t use the gun.”
莫里森先生点点头，拿着来复枪，跟着爸爸走到前廊。妈妈追了上去，再次抓住爸爸的手：“大卫…别，别用枪。”
Mama pushed us back into her room, where Big Ma fell upon her knees and prayed a powerful prayer. Afterward both Mama and Big Ma changed their clothes, then we sat, very quiet, as the heat crept sticky and wet through our clothing and the thunder banged menacingly overhead. Mama, her knuckles tight against her skin as she gripped the arms of her chair. looked down upon Christopher-John, Little Man, and me, our eyes wide awake with fear, “I don’t suppose it would do any good to put you to bed.” she said quietly. We looked up at her. She did not mean to have an answer; we gave none, and nothing else was said as the night minutes crept past and the waiting pressed as heavily upon us as the heat.
妈妈让我们回屋，奶奶跪在地上，虔诚地祈祷着。等到妈妈和奶奶换了衣服后，我们又静静地坐着。屋顶上，电闪雷鸣。妈妈用手指紧紧抓着椅背，低着头看着我们三个，眼神里隐隐带着担忧：“叫你们上床，恐怕也没什么用。”我们抬头看着她，没有说话。时间缓慢流逝，像是夏天的热气在灼烧着我们。
“How!” asked Papa dryly. “Hold a gun to his head!” He left her then, going back into the boys’ room. “You coming, Mr. Morrison!”
“怎么做？拿枪指着他的头？”爸爸走向了男孩们的房间，“莫里森先生，你要不要一起去？”
Papa stared out as a bolt of lightning splintered the night into a dazzling brilliance. The wind was blowing softly, gently toward the east. “Perhaps…” he started, then was quiet.
爸爸望着夜空，一道闪电划破天际，微风徐徐吹向东边。“或许吧…”他开始说话，然后很安静。
Papa touched Mama’s face tenderly with the tips of his fingers and said, “I’ll do what I have to do, Mary… and so will you.” Then he turned from her, and with Mr. Morrison disappeared into the night.
爸爸用手指轻轻碰了碰妈妈的脸庞：“玛丽，我得去做我应该做的…你也是。”说完，他转身和莫里森先生消失在夜幕中。
“Mama. the cotton!” I cried. “It’s on fire!”
“妈妈！棉花——着火了！”我大叫着。
Then Mama stiffened. She sniffed the air and got up.
妈妈突然坐直身子，四处嗅了嗅，然后起了身。
“What is it, child!” Big Ma asked.
“怎么了？”奶奶问。
“You smell smoke!” Mama said, going to the front door and opening it. Little Man. Christopher-John. and I followed, peeping around her in the doorway. From deep in the field where the land sloped upward toward the Granger forest, a fire billowed, carried eastward by the wind,
“你们没有闻到火烧味吗？”妈妈说着走到了门口，我们三个也跟在身后。格兰杰森林斜上方的田野里着火了，而且随着风，火不断往东边蔓延。
“Oh, good Lord!” Big Ma exclaimed, hurrying to join us. “That lightning done that!”
“哦，天啊！”奶奶也跑了出来，“被闪电击中了！”
“If it reaches those trees, it’ll burn everything from here to Strawberry,” Mama said. She turned quickly and ran across the room to the side door. “Stay here.” she ordered, opening the door and fleeing across the yard to the barn. “Mama, you’d better get some water!” she yelled over her shoulder.
“要是烧到了那些树，火会一直蔓延到斯特罗贝里的。”妈妈转身跑到侧门，“待在这儿。”然后她打开门跑到了谷仓。“妈妈，你去弄些水来！”她回头大喊。
Big Ma stepped onto the back porch and brought in the washtub and began filling it with water, “We gotta fight that fire and try and stop it ‘fore it reach them trees. Stand back now out the way so y’all don’t get wet.”
奶奶走到后廊拿来了水桶，开始装水：“我们得灭火，趁火还没有蔓延到那些树那里之前。退后，别被水泼到了。”
Big Ma hurried into the kitchen with Christopher-John, Little Man. and me at her heels, “What we gonna do, Big Ma!” I asked.
奶奶慌忙跑到厨房，我们三个也跟了过去。“我们要做什么？”我问。
“It’s for fighting the fire.” she replied hastily.
“是用来灭火的。”她急忙回答。
In a few minutes Mama returned, her arms loaded with sacks of burlap. She quickly threw the sacks into the water and ran back out again. When she returned, she carried two shovels and several more sacks.
过了几分钟，妈妈跑回来了，她手里拿着麻布袋。她把麻布袋丢在水里，然后又跑了出去。等她回来时，她又拿来了两把铲子和一些粗布袋。
“No,” Mama said. “You’re going to stay here.”
“不，你们留在这里。”
“Oh.” said Little Man, grabbing for one o~ the shovels as I started to take the other.
“噢！”小家伙伸手拿了一把铲子，我也顺势要拿另一把。
“Mama, what you gonna do with all that!” asked Little Man.
“妈妈，你拿这些东西干什么？”小家伙问。
Mama studied us closely and bit her lower lip. She was silent for several moments, then she shook her head. “Can’t anyone get to the house from the Grangers’ without our seeing them. I’d rather they stay here than risk them near the fire.”
妈妈咬着嘴唇，看着我们，最终还是摇了摇头：“他们要来的话，一定会经过格兰杰家，那样我们就会被发现。孩子们还是待在家里，不要让他们冒险接近着火的地方。”
Big Ma straightened from where she was bent dunking the sacks into the water. “Mary, child, you don’t think it’d be better to take them with us!”
正在把麻布袋浸湿的奶奶直起了身：“玛丽，你不觉得带上孩子们更好吗？”
Then she charged each of us, a strange glint in her eyes. “Cassie, Christopher-John, Clayton Chester, hear me good. I don’t want you near that fire. You set one foot from this house and I’m going to skin you alive… do you hear me now!”
妈妈再次看向我们，眼里闪着奇异的光亮：“凯西、克里斯托弗、小家伙，你们听好了，你们千万不能靠近着火的地方。你们要是敢踏出家门一步，我就剥了你们的皮…听到没有？”
We nodded solemnly. “Yes ma’am. Mama.”
我们严肃地点了点头：“听到了，妈妈。”
“B-but. Mama,” cried Christopher-John. “y’all going out there in that lightning!”
“可是…妈妈，外面这么危险，你们为什么还要出去？”克里斯托弗快要哭了。
“And stay inside. That lightning’s dangerous.”
“还有，留在屋里，外面电闪雷鸣的，很危险。”
“It can’t be helped, baby.” she said. “The fire’s got to be stopped.”
“我们得把火扑灭。”她说。
Then she and Big Ma laid the shovels across the top of the tub and each took a handle of it. As they stepped out the back door. Mama looked back at us. her eyes uncertain, as if she did not want to leave us.”Y’all be sure to mind now.” ordered Big Ma gruffly, and the two of them carrying the heavy tub crossed the yard toward the garden. From the garden they would cut through the south pasture and up to where the cotton blazed. We watched until they were swallowed by the blackness that lay between the house and the fire, then dashed back to the front porch where the view was clearer. There we gazed transfixed as the flames gobbled the cotton and crept dangerously near the forest edge.
妈妈和奶奶把铲子横放在水桶上面，一人提着一边。走出门时，妈妈回头看了我们一眼，眼里似乎带着不舍。“你们要小心啊。”奶奶大声嘱咐我们，然后她们走向了燃烧着的棉花田。我们看着她们渐渐没入黑暗之中。
“No… it’s going the other way. Toward the forest.”
“不会，火是往另一边烧的，会烧到森林那边。”
“Th-that fire, Cassie.” said Christopher-John. “it gonna burn us up!”
“那火，凯西…会烧到我们这里吗？”克里斯托弗问我。
“On a night like this!” I exclaimed. “Boy, you are crazy!”
“像这样的晚上？你疯了吗？”我惊讶地说。
I gazed out into the night, seeing nothing but the gray smoke and the red rim of the fire in the east, “Who’s that!”
我看向黑暗中，只看到滚滚的浓烟和红色的火舌：“是谁？”
“But what you doing here!” repeated Little Man with a sniffle.
“但你为什么来这里？”小家伙吸着鼻子。
“Jeremy, what you doing out this time of night?” I questioned, taken aback to see him.
“杰里米，这么晚了，你来这里干吗？”
“Hey, y’ail all right!”
“你们还好吧？”
Little Man tugged at my arm. “Papa and Stacey and Mr. Morrison, Cassie! They in them trees!” Then iron-willed Little Man began to cry. And Christopher-John too. And the three of us huddled together, all alone,
小家伙扯了扯我，“爸爸、莫里森先生，还有斯泰西，他们还在森林里！”说完他开始哭了起来，克里斯托弗也哭了起来。我们三个紧紧抱在了一起。
Jeremy looked rather shamefaced, and shrugged. “Well, anyway, I was and I smelled smoke. I knew it was comin’ from this away and I was ‘fraid it was y’all’s place, so I run in and told my pa, and him and me we come on up here over an hour ago.
杰里米看起来很是不好意思：“好吧。我是闻到了火烧味，而且发现是从这边传来的。我担心你们家着火了，所以就跑去告诉了我爸爸，他和我一个小时前就到这里来了。”
“It ain’t night no more, Cassie. It’s near dawn.”
“凯西，现在快天亮了。”
“Then it’s gonna burn up the trees.” said Christopher-John sadly.
“那样的话，树会被烧掉的！”克里斯托弗伤心地说。
“I was sleepin’ up in my tree like I always do –“
“我像平常一样，在树上睡觉…”
“It’s me,” I said Jeremy Simms, running up the lawn.
“是我。”杰里米走了出来。
“R. W. and Melvin!” Little Man. Christopher-John. and I exclaimed together.
“罗文和马文？”我们三个不约而同地叫了起来。
“You mean you been out there fighting that fire!”
“你说，你们也在救火？”
Jeremy nodded. “My pa, and R, W. and Melvin too.”
杰里米点点头。“还有罗文和马文。”
“But they was –” I poked Christopher-John into silence.
“他们不是——”我赶紧推了克里斯托弗一把。
Jeremy looked out across the field, shielding his eyes against the brilliance of the fire. “They tryin’ like everything to stop it. Your papa and Mr. Granger, they got –“
杰里米望向田野的另一边，把他的眼睛遮住，挡住火光。“大家都在想办法灭火，你爸爸，还有格兰杰先生——”
“How bad is it?” I asked, ignoring his wonderings. “It get much of the cotton!”
“有多糟糕？”我没理会他的疑惑，“棉花又被烧掉很多吗？”
“Yeah, they got there ‘fore us. And there’s a whole lot of men from the town out there too.” He looked puzzled, “I wonder what they all was doin’ out here!”
“是啊，他们比我们先到，还有很多从城里来的人。”他看起来有些疑惑，“不知道他们来做什么。”
“Papa! You seen Papa! He all right!” cried Christopher- John breathlessly.
“爸爸！你看见我爸爸了？他还好吗？”克里斯托弗急切地问道。
Jeremy nodded absently. “Funny thing. That fire come up from that lightning and struck one of them wooden fence posts, I reckon, and sparked that cotton. Must’ve burned a good quarter of it… Y’all lucky it ain’t headed this way.”
杰里米心不在焉地点点头：“真奇怪，闪电击中了篱笆，我猜是火花溅到了棉花上，大概已经烧了四分之一了…幸好没有烧到你们这边。”
“But the trees,” said Christopher-John. “It gonna get the trees, ain’t it!”
“森林，不会烧到森林那边吧？”克里斯托弗问。
Again, Jeremy nodded. “Yeah, he out there too.”
杰里米点点头：“看到了，他也在那儿。”
“And Stacey, you seen him!” inquired Little Man.
“斯泰西呢？你看见他了吗？”
Jeremy nodded, looking down at him strangely, “Yeah, he’s fine –“
杰里米疑惑地看着他：“他很好…”
Little Man, Christopher-John. and I glanced at each other, relieved just a bit, and Jeremy went on, though eyeing us somewhat suspiciously. “Your papa and Mr. Granger, they got them men diggin’ a deep trench ‘cross that slope and they say they gonna burn that pasture grass from the trench back to the cotton –“
我、小家伙和克里斯托弗对视了一眼，松了一口气。杰里米依然怀疑地看着我们，接着说：“你爸爸和格兰杰先生叫人在斜坡上挖了一道沟，他们说，火烧到那儿就不会再蔓延了…”
Jeremy stared blankly at the fire and shook his head. “Dunno,” he said finally. “Sure hope so, though.” There was a violent clap of thunder, and lightning flooded the field. “One thing would sure help though is if that ole rain would only come on down.”
杰里米冲着火焰眨了眨眼，摇摇头说：“不知道。希望有用吧。”这时候，一声闷雷响起，天际划过一道闪电，杰里米说：“要是现在能下一场雨就好了。”
“You think that’ll stop it!” I asked.
“你觉得那能灭火吗？”
All four of us looked up at the sky and waited a minute for the rain to fall. When nothing happened, Jeremy turned and sighed. “I better be gettin’ back now. Miz Logan said she left y’all here so I just come to see ’bout ya.” Then he ran down the slope, waving back at us as he went. When he got to the road, he stopped suddenly and stood very still; then he put out his hands, hesitated a moment, and spun around wildly as if he were mad.
我们四个抬头看着天，可一滴雨也没看到。杰里米转过身，叹了口气：“我要走了。洛根太太说把你们留在了家里，所以我就跑来了。”他跑下了土坡，但到了马路上时，他突然站住了。杰里米张开双臂，犹豫了一下，然后发疯似的乱舞。
“But what Mama meant was that she didn’t want us near the fire, and it’s out now.”
“妈妈只是让我们别靠近着火的地方，现在火已经灭了。”
“It’s rainin’, y’all!” he cried. “That ole rain a-comin’ down!”
“下雨啦！下雨啦！”他高兴地大喊。
When the dawn came peeping yellow-gray and sooted over the horizon, the fire was out and the thunderstorm had shifted eastward after an hour of heavy rain. I stood up stiffly, my eyes tearing from the acrid smoke, and looked out across the cotton to the slope, barely visible in the smoggish dawn. Near the slope where once cotton stalks had stood, their brown bells popping with tiny puffs of cotton, the land was charred, desolate, black, still steaming from the night.
天快亮时，火终于被扑灭了。下了一个小时的暴雨，终于向东转移了。我呆呆地站着，眼睛被烟熏得不停地流泪。斜坡旁的棉花田，已经成了烧焦模样。
Little Man, Christopher-John, and I jumped from the porch and ran barefooted onto the lawn, feeling the rain fine and cool upon our faces. And we laughed, whooping joyously into the thundering night, forgetting for the moment that we still did not know what had happened to T. J.
我们三个光着脚跑到草地上，任由雨水打在我们的脸上。我们笑着、跳着，一瞬间忘记了提杰的事情。
I wanted to go and take a closer look, but for once Christopher-John would not budge. “No!” he repeated over and over. “I ain’t going!”
我想走近一些看看，但克里斯托弗不同意：“不，我不去！我不去！”
Christopher-john set his lips firmly together, folded his plump arms across his chest and was adamant. When I saw that he would not be persuaded, I gazed again at the field and decided that I could not wait any longer. “Okay, you stay here then.”
克里斯托弗紧紧抿着嘴，双手环抱着胸，一副坚定不移的模样。我没办法劝动他，决定不再理会他。“好吧，那你就留在这儿好了，我们马上回来。”我和小家伙义无反顾地冲到了路上。
“He really ain’t coming,” said Little Man, amazed, looking back over his shoulder.
“他还真的没跟过来。”小家伙回头看了一眼，惊讶地说。
“We’ll be right back.” Ignoring his protests, Little Man and I ran down to the wet road.
“我们马上回来。”我和小家无视他的抗议，跑到湿路上。
“I guess not,”! said, searching for signs of the fire in the cotton. Farther up the road the stalks were singed, and the fine gray ash of the fire lay thick upon them and the road and the forest trees.
“我想不会吧，”！说着，在棉花里寻找着火的痕迹。再往前走，麦秸被烧焦了，灰白色的灰烬厚厚地覆盖着它们，道路和树林。
When we reached the burnt-out section of the field, we surveyed the destruction. As far as we could see, the fire line had extended midway up the slope, but had been stopped at the trench. The old oak was untouched. Moving across the field, slowly, mechanically, as if sleepwalking, was a flood of men and women dumping shovels of dirt on fire patches which refused to die. They wore wide handkerchiefs over their faces and many wore hats, making it difficult to identify who was who, but it was obvious that the ranks of the fire fighters had swelled from the two dozen townsmen to include nearby farmers. I recognized Mr. Lanier by his floppy blue hat working side by side with Mr. Simms, each oblivious of the other, and Papa near the slope waving orders to two of the townsmen.
当我们到了烧焦的地方后，静静地看着烧焦的情况。火蔓延到一半时，就被之前挖的土沟挡住了，所以没有烧到森林那边。田间有许多人，如同梦游一般，机械地用铲子铲起泥土，盖在将熄未熄的火苗上。他们不是脸上罩着毛巾，就是头上戴着帽子，很难辨认出是谁。不过看得出来，城里的二十多户人家，还有附近的农民都过来救火了。我从拉尼尔先生松垮的蓝帽子认出了他，他和西蒙先生站在一块儿。爸爸在斜坡旁，指挥着两个城里人。
Then Little Man nudged me, “Look over there, Cassie, There go Mama and Big Ma!” I followed his pointing finger. Mama and Big Ma were headed home across the field,
小家伙推了推我：“看，凯西，奶奶和妈妈过来了！”我朝他手指的方向看去，看到她们正朝着家的方向走来。
Mr. Granger, hammering down smoldering stalks with the flat of his shovel, was near the south pasture where Mr. Morrison and Mama were swatting the burning ground, Nearer the fence a stocky man, masked like the others, searched the field in robot fashion for hidden fire under the charred skeletons of broken stalks, When he reached the fence, he leaned tiredly against it, taking off his handkerchief to wipe the sweat and soot from his face. He coughed and looked around blankly. His eyes fell on Little Man and me staring up at him. But Kaleb Wallace seemed not to recognize us, and after a moment he picked up his shovel and started back toward the slope without a word.
格兰杰先生在南边用铲子拍打冒着烟的棉花。莫里森先生和妈妈也在拍打地上的火苗。靠近篱笆的地方，站着一个矮矮胖胖的人。他和其他人一样遮着脸，在田里寻找着烧焦的茎叶中未熄灭的火苗。当走到篱笆边时，他筋疲力尽地靠在那儿，拿下手帕，擦着脸上的汗水和灰尘。他咳了一声，空洞地望着四周，目光停留在正盯着他看的小家伙和我身上——他是华莱士！不过他没有认出我们。过了一会儿，他拿起铲子走向了斜坡。
“Come on.” I said, sprinting back up the road, When we reached the house, we dragged our feet across the wet lawn to clean them and rejoined Christopher-John on the porch. He looked a bit frightened sitting there ail alone and was obviously glad we were back, “Y’all all right!” he asked.
“快走。”我飞快地跑到路上。到了家，我们在湿草地上蹭了蹭，蹭掉脚上的脏东西后，到门廊和克里斯托弗会合。他起初惊慌地站在那里，看到我们后开心了起来：“你们还好吧？”
Mama sighed and sat down on the steps, laying the sacks on the ground. The boys and I sat beside her.
妈妈叹了口气，坐在阶梯上，将布袋放在地上。我们在她身旁坐下。
“I’m gonna go on in and change, Mary,” Big Ma said, climbing the steps and opening our bedroom door. “Miz Fannie gonna need somebody.”
“玛丽，我先去换衣服了。”奶奶走进屋里，“芬妮太太需要人照顾。”
Mama nodded. “Tell her I’ll be down soon as I get the children to bed and things straightened out here.” Then she turned and looked down at Little Man, Christopher-John. and me, eager to know what had happened. She smiled slightly, but there was no happiness in it. “T. J.’s ail right. The sheriff and Mr. Jamison took him into Strawberry.”
妈妈点点头：“我等孩子们上床睡觉，把事情处理好以后就过去。”妈妈回头看着急切想知道到底发生了什么的我们：“提杰没事。警长和杰米森先生把他带到斯特罗贝里去了。”
“And C-Claude!” stammered Christopher-John.
“克劳德呢？”克里斯托弗结结巴巴地问。
“What’d it look like!”
“情况怎样？”
“Course we’re all right,” I said, plopping on the porch and trying to catch my breath.
“当然。”我上气不接下气地说。
“But T. J., Mama,” I persisted. “What ’bout T. J.!”
“提杰呢？提杰怎么样了？”我问道。
Before either Little Man or I could answer, Mama and Big Ma emerged from the field with Stacey, the sacks now blackened remnants in their hands. We ran to them eagerly.
我们还没来得及回答，妈妈、奶奶，还有斯泰西就回来了，他们手中的布袋已经变得焦黑，我们急忙跑向他们。
Mama held up her hand wearily. “Babies! Babies!” Then she put her arm around Christopher-John, “Claude’s fine, honey. And,” she said. looking down at Little Man, “Papa and Mr. Morrison, they’ll be coming soon.
妈妈虚弱地摆摆手。“孩子们，孩子们，”她把手搭在克里斯托弗的肩上，“克劳德没事了…”她低头看着小家伙，“爸爸和莫里森先生很快就回来。”
“Stacey, you all right!” I cried. “What ’bout T. J.!”
“斯泰西，你还好吗？提杰呢？”我急切地问。
And Little Man asked, “Papa and Mr. Morrison, ain’t they coming!”
“还有爸爸和莫里森先生呢？”小家伙也问道。
I looked at him suspiciously. I had seen Papa move on that leg. He could have made the slope if he wanted to.
我怀疑地看着斯泰西，我看到过爸爸是怎么走路的，要是他想的话，他肯定是能爬上去的。
“But why, Mama!” asked Little Man. “He done something bad!”
“为什么？妈妈，他做错了什么吗？”小家伙问。
“They think he did, baby. They think he did.”
“他们觉得他做错了事，他们觉得。”
Stacey looked across at Mama to see if she intended to answer: then, his voice hollow and strained, he said, “Mr. Granger stopped them and sent them up to fight the fire.”
斯泰西看了妈妈一眼，然后低声道：“格兰杰先生制止了他们，然后叫大家去救火。”
“Then — then they didn’t hurt him no more!” I asked.
“他们没有再伤害他吧？”我问。
I sensed that there was more, but before I could ask what, Christopher-john piped, “And — and Papa and Mr. Morrison, they didn’t have to fight them ole men! They didn’t have to use the guns!”
我觉得事情不只如此，可还没来得及问，克里斯托弗就问：“爸爸和莫里森先生没有跟那些人打架吗？他们没有用枪吧？”
“Thank the Lord, no.” said Mama. “They didn’t.”
“谢天谢地，幸好他们没有。”妈妈说。
“The fire come up.” said Stacey, “and Mr. Morrison come and got me and then them men come down here to fight the fire and didn’t nobody have to fight nobody.”
“起火后，莫里森先生来找我，然后跟那些人一起去救火，所以没有打起来。”斯泰西说。
“Mr. Morrison come get you alone!” I asked, puzzled. “Where was Papa!”
“莫里森先生一个人去叫你？爸爸呢？”我有些疑惑。
Stacey again looked at Mama and for a moment they both were silent. Then Stacey said. “Y’all know he couldn’t make that slope with that bad leg of his.”
斯泰西看着妈妈，他俩都没说话，过了一会儿，斯泰西才说：“你知道，爸爸腿受伤了，爬不上那个斜坡。”
“All right now.” Mama said, rising. “It’s been a long, tiring night and it’s time you all were in bed.”
妈妈站了起来：“好了，真是漫长而疲倦的一夜啊，你们快去睡觉吧。”
I shrugged, then leaned closer toward her, wanting an answer, yet afraid to hear it.
我耸了耸肩，既想听到些什么，又有些害怕听到些什么。
“The taxes will get paid, don’t you worry,” was all the answer she gave. “Now, let’s get to bed.”
“别担心，税会缴清的，快去睡吧。”
“Inside!”! All of us went in but Stacey, and Mama did not make him. But as soon as she had disappeared into the boys’ room to make sure Little Man and Christopher-John got to bed, I returned to the porch and sat beside him. “I thought you went to bed,” he said.
“快去睡觉！”我们都进屋了，但是斯泰西没有。妈妈到男孩们的房间里监督小家伙和克里斯托弗睡觉。我偷偷溜出来，在斯泰西身旁坐下。“我以为你睡了。”他说。
Mama looked at me oddly. “Since when did you start worrying about taxes?”
妈妈有些奇怪地看着我：“你什么时候关心起税了？”
“Me too!” yawned Christopher-John.
“我也是。”克里斯托弗也打着哈欠说。
“But I wanna wait for Papa and Mr. Morrison!” protested Little Man.
“可我想等爸爸和莫里森先生回来。”小家伙说。
“I wanna know what happened over there.”
“我想知道到底发生了什么。”
“I told you, Mr. Granger –“
“我说过了，格兰杰先生…”
I reached for her arm. “Mama, how bad is it really! I mean, is there enough cotton left to pay the taxes!”
我拉住妈妈的手：“妈妈，情况到底有多糟糕？我们还能缴得上税吗？”
“I come and got Papa and Mr. Morrison like you asked.” I reminded him. “Now I wanna know everything happened after I left.”
“我按你说的找来爸爸和莫里森先生…”我提醒着他，“我想知道在那之后发生的一切。”
“You go over there!”
“你也去了？”
Stacey sighed and rubbed his left temple absently, as if his head were hurting. “Ain’t much happened ‘cepting Mr. Jamison tried talking to them men some more, and after a bit they pushed him out of the way and stuffed T. J. into one of their cars. But Mr. Jamison, he jumped into his car and lit out ahead of them and drove up to Mr. Granger’s and swung his car smack across the road so couldn’t nobody get past him. Then he starts laying on his horn.
斯泰西叹了口气，心不在焉地揉了揉太阳穴，一副头痛的模样：“没发生什么。只是杰米森先生想跟他们说理，却被那帮人推开了。那些人把提杰丢进车里，杰米森先生也跳上他的车，抢在他们之前开到了格兰杰先生家，把他的车横在路上，不让他们过去，然后他们开始拼命按喇叭。”
He nodded. “By the time I got “cross the field to where I could hear what was going on, Mr. Granger was standing on his porch and Mr. Jamison was telling him that the sheriff or nobody else was ’bout to stop a hanging on that flimsy message he’d sent up to the Averys’. But Mr. Granger, he just stood there on his porch looking sleepy and bored, and finally he told the sheriff, “Hank, you take care of this. That’s what folks elected you for.”
他点点头：“我爬到了能听到他们讲话的地方。格兰杰先生站在他们家的门廊上，我听到杰米森先生跟他说，他没有办法阻止警长和那帮人吊死提杰。但格兰杰先生一副睡眼惺忪、懒得搭理的模样，最后他只对警长说，‘汉克，你处理吧，不然他们选你做什么？’
“Then Kaleb Wallace, he leaps out of his car and tries to grab Mr. Jamison’s keys. But Mr. Jamison threw them keys right into Mrs. Granger’s flower bed and couldn’t nobody find them, so Melvin and R. W. come up and pushed Mr. Jamison’s car off the road. Then them cars was ’bout to take off again when Mr. Granger comes running off the porch hollering like he’s lost his mind. ‘There’s smoke coming from my forest yonder the yells. Dry as that timber is, a fire catch hold it won’t stop burning for a week. Give that boy to Wade like he wants and get on up there!’ And folks started running all over the place for shovels and things, then all of them cut back down the road to the Averys’ and through them woods over to our place.”
“华莱士跳下车想抢杰米森先生的车钥匙，杰米森先生就把钥匙丢到格兰杰先生的花圃了，这样没人能找得到。后来马文和罗文把杰米森先生的车子推开了，正当他们要开车离去时，格兰杰先生突然发疯似的跑下门廊，‘我的森林冒烟了！那些树那么干，要是着火了，可要烧上一个星期！把那小孩交给韦德，先给我去救火！’于是大家都开始忙乱起来，到处找铲子和各种东西，然后又回到艾弗里的家，穿过林子，赶到我们的田里。”
I sat very still, listening to the soft sounds of the early morning, my eyes on the field. There was something which I still did not understand.
我呆呆地坐着，看着清晨降临，依然有一件事情萦绕在我的心头。
Stacey nodded. “He found me when I followed them men back up to the woods.”
“对，就是我跟在他们后头走进森林的时候。”
Stacey nodded toward the road. “Here come Papa and Mr. Morrison.” They were walking with slow, exhausted steps toward the drive.
斯泰西往马路那边点点头：“爸爸和莫里森先生回来了。”他们迈着沉重的步子，筋疲力尽的样子。
The two of us ran down the lawn, but before we reached the road a car approached and stopped directly behind them. Mr. Jamison was driving. Stacey and I stood curiously on the lawn, far enough away not to be noticed, but close enough to hear.
我和斯泰西跑了过去，还没跑到马路上，一辆车开了过来，停在他们后面，那是杰米森先生。我们好奇地站在那儿，不让他们看见，却依稀能听到他们的对话。
Papa hit the roof of the car hard with his clenched fist and turned toward the field, his head bowed.
爸爸的拳头砸向了车顶，他转向棉花田的方向，低垂着头。
“David. I thought you should know…” said Mr. Jamison, “I just come from Strawberry to see the Averys –“
“大卫，我想你应该知道，我是来看艾弗里他们的——”
“And that’s when Mr. Morrison come got you!”
“莫里森先生就是那个时候找到你的吗？”
For a long, long minute, none of the men spoke; then Mr. Morrison said softly, “The boy, how is he!”
他们沉默了好长时间，莫里森先生开了口：“那孩子，提杰怎么样了？”
“How bad is it?”
“情况有多糟糕？”
Mr. Jamison stared straight out at the road. “Jim Lee Barnett… he died at four o’clock this morning.”
杰米森先生说：“巴尼特…他凌晨四点，走了。”
There was a cautious silence as he gazed up at Papa and Mr. Morrison, their faces set in grim, tired lines. “… Or some- body might just get to wondering about that fire…”
他盯着莫里森先生和爸爸，他们的脸色十分严肃：“…不然，会有人以为这是故意纵火…”
Mr. Jamison pulled off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, damp against his forehead. Then, squinting, he looked over his shoulder at the field. “Folks thinking.” he said slowly, as if he did not want to say what he was about to say, “folks thinking that lightning struck that fence of yours and started the fire…” He pulled at his ear. “It’s better-, I think, that you stay clear of this whole thing now, David, and don’t give anybody cause to think about you at all, except that you got what was coming to you by losing a quarter of your cotton…”
杰米森先生摘下帽子，用手指拨开贴在额头上的头发，望着棉花田。“大家都觉得…”他欲言又止，“大家都觉得…这场火是因为闪电击中了你们的篱笆引起的…我觉得，大卫，你还是不要卷入这件事里，别让大家怀疑到你身上，就让大家只知道你失去了四分之一的棉花…”
Papa said, “I’ll go in with them.”
“我跟你们一起去。”爸爸说。
“Stacey.” I whispered, “what’s he talking ’bout!”
“斯泰西，他们在说什么？”我小声问。
“Dec Crandon says he’s got a couple of broken ribs and his jaw’s broken. but he’ll be all right… for now. I’m going to his folks to tell them and take them to town. Just thought I’d tell you first.”
“医生说他断了不少骨头，下巴也脱臼了。不过，现在…他还好。我要去告诉他的家人，把他们带到城里。我想，应该先来跟你说一声。”
“Hush. Cassie,” Stacey said, his eyes intent on the men.
“凯西，别说话！”斯泰西静静地注视着他们。
“But I wanna know –“
“可我想知道——”
Stacey looked around at me sharply, his face drawn, his eyes anxious, and without even a murmur from him I suddenly did know. I knew why Mr. Morrison had come for him alone. Why Mr. Jamison was afraid for Papa to go into town. Papa had found a way, as Mama had asked, to make Mr. Granger stop the hanging: He had started the fire.
斯泰西转过来看着我，他脸色阴沉，眼神焦虑，一言不发，我却突然明白了什么。我知道莫里森先生为什么一个人去找斯泰西，知道杰米森先生为什么害怕爸爸到城里去。爸爸想到了一个办法，像妈妈说的，强迫格兰杰先生阻止那些人——是爸爸放火烧了棉花田。
And it came to me that this was one of those known and unknown things, something never to be spoken, not even to each other. I glanced at Stacey, and he saw in my eyes that I knew, and understood the meaning of what I knew, and he said simply, “Mr. Jamison’s going now.”
我突然明白了，这件事绝对不能说出去，无论对谁，都不能。我看了斯泰西一眼，他知道我已经明白了，也知道了这件事意味着什么，他只是淡淡地说：“杰米森先生要走了。”
Mr. Jamison turned around in the driveway and headed back toward the Averys’. Papa and Mr. Morrison watched him leave, then Mr. Morrison walked silently up the drive to do the morning chores and Papa, noticing us for the first time, stared down at us, his eyes bloodshot and unsmiling. “I thought y’all would’ve been in bed by now.” he said.
杰米森先生开着车往艾弗里家去了，爸爸和莫里森先生看着他远去，然后莫里森先生静静地去做早晨的工作。爸爸看到了我们，他的眼睛布满血丝，脸上没有一丝微笑：“我以为你们现在应该睡了。”
“Papa,” Stacey whispered hoarsely, “what’s gonna happen to T. J. now!”
“爸爸，”斯泰西声音嘶哑，“提杰怎么样了？”
“Papa, could he?”
“爸爸，会不会？”
Papa studied us. “He could possibly go on the chain gang…”
“他可能会…坐牢。”
Papa put a strong hand on each of us and watched us closely. “I ain’t never lied to y’all, y’all know that.”
爸爸两手搭着我们的肩：“我从不说谎，你们知道的。”
He waited, his eyes on us. “Well, I… I wish I could lie to y’all now.”
他停了一下，看着我们：“但…这次我想说一次谎。”
“Son –“
“孩子…”
“Yessir.”
“是的。”
Papa looked out at the climbing sun, a round, red shadow behind the smoggish heat. He didn’t answer immediately, and it seemed as if he were debating whether or not he should. Finally. very slowly, he looked down. first at me, then at Stacey. He said quietly, “He’s in jail right now.”
爸爸看着渐渐攀上天空的太阳，他没有立即回答，似乎在思考着该不该回答，最后他慢慢地低下头，看着我，再看向斯泰西：“他被关起来了。”
“And — and what then!” asked Stacey.
“那…然后呢？”斯泰西问。
“Papa, could he… could he die!” asked Stacey, hardly breathing.
“爸爸，他会不会，会不会…死？”斯泰西快不能呼吸了。
“No! Oh. Papa, no!” I cried. “They wouldn’t do that to ole T. J.! He can talk his way outa just ’bout anything! Be- sides, he ain’t done nothing that bad. It was them Simmses! Tell them that!”
我哭了起来：“不！爸爸，不！他们不能这样对提杰！他可以说出真相，他真的没有那么坏，是马文他们干的！为什么不说出来！”
Stacey, shaking his head, backed away, silent, not wanting to believe, but believing still. His eyes filled with heavy tears, then he turned and fled down the lawn and across the road into the shelter of the forest.
斯泰西摇摇头，退了几步，满脸的不相信。他的眼里含满泪水，他转身冲下草地，穿过马路，跑向了森林。
In the afternoon when I awakened, or tomorrow or the next day, the boys and I would still be free to run the red road, to wander through the old forest and sprawl lazily on the banks of the pond. Come October, we would trudge to school as always, barefooted and grumbling, fighting the dust and the mud and the Jefferson Davis school bus.
到了下午，我醒了过来。明天，或许后天…我和男孩们无论哪天，都还是可以在红泥路上奔跑，可以在树林里漫步，或是懒洋洋地躺在湖边。10月到了，我们会像以往一样，光着脚，拖着沉重的步伐，一路抱怨着去学校，并与杰斐逊大卫学校的校车做斗争。
Mama was waiting for us as we climbed the steps, her face wan and strained, Little Man and Christopher-John were already in bed, and after Mama had felt my forehead and asked if I was all right she sent me to bed too. Big Ma had already gone to the Averys’ and climbed into bed alone. A few minutes later both Mama and Papa came to tuck me in, talking softly in fragile, gentle words that seemed about to break. Their presence softened the hurt and I did not cry. But after they had left and I saw Papa through the open window disappear into the forest after Stacey, the tears began to run fast and heavy down my cheeks.
妈妈站在阶梯上等着我们，她的脸色看起来很苍白。小家伙和克里斯托弗已经睡着了。妈妈摸了摸我的额头，问我好不好，然后送我去房间睡觉。奶奶已经去了艾弗里家，只有我一个人躺在床上。过了一会儿，爸爸妈妈到我的房间给我盖好被子。他们的出现治愈了我的内心，我没有哭泣。但我一看到爸爸离开，到森林里去找斯泰西时，我的眼泪再也忍不住了。
Papa tilted my chin and gazed softly down at me. “All I can say, Cassie girl.,. is that it shouldn’t be.” Then, glancing back toward the forest, he took my hand and led me to the house.
爸爸摸了摸我的脸颊，温柔地看着我：“凯西…这就是命运。”他又望向森林，然后拉起我，把我带到屋里。
Papa stared after him, holding me tightly to him. “Oh, P-Papa, d-does it have to be!”
爸爸看着他，然后紧紧抱着我。“爸爸，这，这是真的吗？”我问。
But T. J. never would again.
可提杰，再也无法这样了。
I had never liked T. J,, but he had always been there, a part of me, a part of my life, just like the mud and the rain, and I had thought that he always would be. Yet the mud and the rain and the dust would all pass. I knew and understood that. What had happened to T. J. in the night I did not understand, but I knew that it would not pass. And cried for those things which had happened in the night and would not pass.
我不喜欢提杰，可他总跟我们在一起，渐渐地，他成了我生活里的一部分，像泥土、雨水一样。我总觉得，他会一直在。但泥土与雨水也会消失，他也会。那晚，发生在提杰身上的事情，或许我还琢磨不透，但它已经深深烙在我的记忆里。
END OF BOOK
完
I cried for T. J. For T. J. and the land.
我为提杰哭泣，也为这片土地。
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