The children were waiting upon the dock when Joe came back. But it was too late then to find Mr. Browning.
乔回来时,孩子们正在码头上等他。但那时再去找布朗宁先生已经太晚了。
Jessie began, “You know, Joe, Grandfather said we should never build a fire outdoors unless someone older helped us. Now we have such a good place for a picnic, we thought we’d invite our school friends over for a picnic on the beach. They have never seen the island.”
杰西开口道:“你知道的,乔,爷爷说过,除非有大人帮忙,否则我们绝不能在户外生火。现在我们有了这么好的野餐地点,就想邀请学校的同学们来海滩上野餐。他们还从没见过这座小岛呢。”
“I’ll be glad to help you build a fire, if that’s what you want,” said Joe.
“如果你们想生火,我很乐意帮忙,”乔说。
“Oh, thanks, Joe,” said Jessie.
“哦,谢谢你,乔,”杰西说。
The four children invited their friends over Captain Daniel’s telephone. All of them said that they would come.
四个孩子用丹尼尔船长的电话邀请了他们的朋友。朋友们都说会来参加。
Henry’s friend was a tall boy named Morris Wilder, and Jessie’s friend was Morris’ sister, Marjorie. Violet invited her friend, Barbara Black.
亨利的朋友是一个名叫莫里斯·怀尔德的高个子男孩,杰西的朋友是莫里斯的妹妹玛乔丽。维奥莱特邀请了她的朋友芭芭拉·布莱克。
Benny surprised them by saying that he wanted to invite Mike Wood, a little boy who was always in trouble.
本尼语出惊人,说他想邀请迈克·伍德,一个总是惹麻烦的小男孩。
“Mike and Benny will be quite a pair!” cried Henry. “But I suppose he can invite anyone he likes. We all did.”
“迈克和本尼凑在一起可够热闹的!”亨利叫道,“不过我想他可以邀请任何他喜欢的人。我们都是这样做的。”
“We’ll have fish chowder for dinner,” said Jessie. “We can always get some fish from Captain Daniel.”
“我们午餐吃鱼杂烩,”杰西说,“我们总能从丹尼尔船长那儿弄到些鱼。”
“And we’ll all pick blueberries after the others get here,” said Henry. “That will be something to do.”
“等其他人到了之后,我们就一起去摘蓝莓,”亨利说,“这样就有事做了。”
When the guests arrived, Watch was very excited. Mike had brought his big white dog, Spotty, with him.
客人们到达时,小狗沃奇兴奋极了。迈克带来了他的大白狗斯波蒂。
Jessie had a hard time trying to keep the dogs from fighting, but after a lot of barking Watch and Spotty were friends.
杰西费了好大劲才没让两只狗打起来,但在一阵狂吠之后,沃奇和斯波蒂成了朋友。
“Let’s race the dogs, Ben,” cried Mike, who could never be still very long.
“本,我们来赛狗吧,”一刻也闲不住的迈克喊道。
The two boys held the dogs for a minute, and then let them go. Both dogs seemed to understand, for they raced to the beach where they dropped, panting, on the sand beside Joe.
两个男孩把狗拉住了一会儿,然后松开手。两只狗似乎都明白了,它们向海滩冲去,最后在乔身边的沙滩上气喘吁吁地趴了下来。
Watch knew the way, and got there first.
沃奇认识路,先跑到了终点。
“Spotty got there first!” shouted Mike.
“斯波蒂先到!”迈克大喊。
“He did not!” cried Benny. “He didn’t even know the way!”
“它没有!”本尼叫道,“它连路都不认识!”
“Benny, Benny!” said Henry. “Don’t start the picnic fighting.”
“本尼,本尼!”亨利说,“别在野餐一开始就吵架。”
“Watch got there first and you know it,” said Benny.
“沃奇先到的,你心知肚明,”本尼说。
“Spotty is better than Watch,” said Mike.
“斯波蒂比沃奇强,”迈克说。
“Spotty is not better than Watch!” shouted Benny. “Watch can run faster than Spotty, and he got there first in the race!”
“斯波蒂才不比沃奇强!”本尼吼道,“沃奇跑得比斯波蒂快,比赛也是它先到的!”
“You started this fight, Ben!” said Mike.
“是你挑起这场争吵的,本!”迈克说。
“I did not start it!” shouted Benny.
“我没有!”本尼大喊。
“Yes, you did, too!” shouted Mike.
“不,就是你!”迈克也大喊。
“Now, you listen to me, young fellow,” said Morris, catching Mike’s hand. “You stop, or you’ll have to go home.”
“喂,你给我听着,小家伙,”莫里斯抓住迈克的手说,“你再不住嘴,就只能回家了。”
Mike began to jump up and down, when suddenly he jumped on a very sharp shell. Then Mike sat down holding his foot and crying at the same time.
迈克开始上下蹦跳,突然踩到了一个非常尖锐的贝壳。于是迈克坐下来,抱着脚哭了起来。
Henry sat down, too, and tried to look at Mike’s foot. He took out his box of things for fixing cuts.
亨利也坐了下来,试着查看迈克的脚。他拿出了处理伤口的急救盒。
“Keep still, now, Mike,” he said. “You’ve got a long cut here, but it’s not deep. Let me fix it.”
“别动,迈克,”他说,“你这里划了一道长长的口子,但不深。让我来处理一下。”
The cut foot was a big help to everyone. It kept Mike in sight all morning, while the four older children and Joe picked blueberries.
这只受伤的脚反倒帮了大家大忙。整个上午迈克都待在大家的视线范围内,而四个大一点的孩子和乔则去摘蓝莓了。
At noon, Jessie and Violet watched while Joe made a fire and boiled some water. Henry and Morris cut the potatoes and onions and the chowder was soon ready.
中午,乔生火烧水,杰西和维奥莱特在一旁看着。亨利和莫里斯切好了土豆和洋葱,鱼杂烩很快就做好了。
Everyone enjoyed the chowder, and the boys had made enough extra for supper, too. After blueberries and milk, Jessie and Violet washed the dishes in the ocean, while Benny and Mike walked away slowly.
大家都很喜欢这道杂烩,男孩们还多做了一些留作晚餐。吃完蓝莓、喝完牛奶后,杰西和维奥莱特在海里洗了碗,本尼和迈克则慢慢走开了。
“Keep an eye on Mike, Henry,” said Jessie.
“盯着点迈克,亨利,”杰西说。
“I can see them. They are just sitting over there on the rocks,” said Henry.
“我能看见他们。他们就坐在那边的岩石上,”亨利说。
But the next time he looked, the boys had gone.
但他再看过去时,两个男孩不见了。
“Where could they go?” he cried, getting up quickly. “There’s no place for them to go, because I can see the whole beach!”
“他们能去哪儿?”他急忙站起来叫道,“这整片海滩我都能看见,根本没地方可去啊!”
But the little boys were not in sight. As Henry climbed upon the rocks, he was very glad to hear Benny’s voice.
但两个小男孩确实不在视线内了。当亨利爬上岩石时,听到本尼的声音让他松了一口气。
“I wonder who left the bottle here?” said Benny.
“不知道是谁把这个瓶子留在这儿的?”本尼说。
Henry and Morris looked under the rocks into a tiny cave.
亨利和莫里斯往岩石下方的一个小洞穴里看去。
“How in the world did you boys get in there?” asked Henry.
“你们俩到底是怎么进去的?”亨利问。
“The stone came off,” said Benny. “It was like a door, and we pulled it away. It was awfully heavy.”
“那块石头松动了,”本尼说,“它就像一扇门,我们把它拉开了。那块石头重得要命。”
“Say, you fellows climb out of there and let us go in,” said Morris. The little boys obeyed at once and the two older boys crawled in and looked around. They saw a big stone table with an old bottle on it.
“我说,你们俩快爬出来,让我们进去看看,”莫里斯说。两个小男孩立刻照做,两个大男孩爬进洞里四处张望。他们看到一张大石桌,上面放着一个旧瓶子。
“Let’s take out the bottle,” said Henry. “There may be something inside.”
“我们把瓶子拿出来吧,”亨利说,“里面可能有什么东西。”
“Look, Joe,” said Morris. “See what Ben and Mike found.”
“看,乔,”莫里斯说,“看看本尼和迈克发现了什么。”
“There’s a paper inside the bottle,” said Henry. “Shall we take it out?”
“瓶子里有一张纸,”亨利说,“我们要把它拿出来吗?”
“Why not?” said Joe, turning it over. “Maybe there’s a name on the paper.”
“为什么不呢?”乔说着把瓶子翻了个面,“纸上也许有个名字。”
“Let me get the paper out with my knife,” said Henry. The mouth of the bottle was just wide enough for the knife. Henry pulled the paper out easily and read, “‘If found, give to J. Alden. Six feet from cross to red rock, and three feet down. J. A. and R. W.’”
“让我用小刀把纸取出来,”亨利说。瓶口刚好能伸进小刀。亨利轻松地把纸抽了出来,念道:“‘若被发现,请交给J.奥尔登。从十字架到红岩六英尺处,向下挖三英尺。J.A.与R.W.留。’”
“Grandfather must have left it here when he was a boy,” said Henry, “but I don’t see any cross.”
“这肯定是爷爷小时候留在这里的,”亨利说,“但我没看到什么十字架。”
“I do,” said Mike. “It’s right over there.” He pointed at a strange rock. It did look like a cross.
“我看到了,”迈克说,“就在那边。”他指着一块奇怪的岩石。那块岩石看起来确实像个十字架。
“And there’s the red rock!” cried Violet. “See!”
“还有那块红岩!”维奥莱特叫道,“快看!”
“This will be easy,” said Morris. “You run a string from the cross straight to the red rock. Then what does it say?” He looked at the paper again. “Six feet. Well, six feet from the cross you dig down for three feet. There must be something there.”
“这就简单了,”莫里斯说,“从十字架拉一根线直到红岩。然后纸上怎么说的?”他又看了看那张纸,“六英尺。嗯,从十字架起六英尺的地方,往下挖三英尺。那里肯定有东西。”
The children were excited as they tied the string to the red rock. Joe showed them where six feet would be. Then they took turns digging with a spoon. With Watch and Spotty to help, they dug a hole three feet deep, but there was nothing in it but water. After an hour’s digging they had still not found anything.
孩子们兴奋地把绳子系在红岩上。乔给他们标出了六英尺的位置。然后他们轮流用勺子挖土。在沃奇和斯波蒂的帮助下,他们挖了一个三英尺深的坑,但除了水什么也没有。挖了一个小时后,他们依然一无所获。
“We can dig some other day,” said Henry at last. “It may be down twelve feet since the paper is very old.”
“我们可以改天再挖,”亨利最后说,“既然这张纸年代久远,宝藏可能在地下十二英尺的地方。”
All the children but Mike were tired and were glad to sit down on the grass. The little fellow still sat beside the hole with Spotty, digging away with the spoon. Then suddenly he began to shout.
除了迈克,所有孩子都累了,很高兴能坐在草地上休息。这个小家伙仍然带着斯波蒂坐在坑边,继续用勺子挖着。突然,他开始大喊起来。
“It’s mine, all mine, because I found it. You can’t say it isn’t, because you all stopped digging.”
“这是我的,全是我的,因为是我找到的。你们不能赖账,因为你们都停手不挖了。”
When the children ran to the hole, they saw Mike pulling out a black box covered with wet sand. And Mike went right on shouting.
当孩子们跑到坑边时,只见迈克正拉出一个沾满湿沙的黑盒子。迈克还在不停地喊着。
“I found the cave, too, and made Ben help me take the door off, and I found the cross and I dug out the box, and it’s mine!”
“山洞也是我找到的,我还让本帮我拆掉了石门,十字架也是我找到的,盒子也是我挖出来的,所以它是我的!”
“Don’t talk so much. Of course it’s yours, Mike,” said Henry. “Why don’t you open it?”
“别嚷嚷了。当然是你的啦,迈克,”亨利说,“你怎么不打开看看?”
It was not hard to do this, because the box was very old. Mike pulled off the cover with his fingers, and the children saw a pile of old money. Mike put the money, one piece at a time, in the cover of the box.
打开盒子并不难,因为它已经很旧了。迈克用手指掀开盖子,孩子们看到了一堆旧钱币。迈克把钱一枚一枚地放进盒盖里。
“Just five dollars!” said Morris. “What a lot of money, Mike!”
“整整五美元!”莫里斯说,“好多钱啊,迈克!”
“Grandfather will give him a five-dollar bill,” said Jessie. “I think he would like to keep this old money he put here when he was a boy. Wouldn’t you like to have a new five-dollar bill, Mike?”
“爷爷会给他一张五美元纸币的,”杰西说,“我想爷爷更愿意保留他小时候藏在这里的这些旧钱。迈克,你想要一张崭新的五美元钞票吗?”
“Y-yes, of course,” said Mike who had never had even a dollar bill before in his whole life.
“想……想的,当然要,”迈克结结巴巴地说,他这辈子连一美元的钞票都没拥有过。
Just then, the children heard a shout coming over the water. Then they noticed a boy in a rowboat who was standing up, shouting, and pointing at the water.
就在这时,孩子们听到水面上传来喊叫声。接着他们注意到一艘划艇上站着一个男孩,正一边大喊一边指着水面。
A dark head showed for a minute and then went out of sight.
一个黑色的脑袋在水面上露了一下,随即又消失了。
“There’s somebody in the water, too!” cried Morris.
“水里还有人!”莫里斯叫道。
Henry heard Joe say to himself, “I’m well, now. I’m not afraid.”
亨利听到乔自言自语道:“我现在身体好了。我不怕了。”
Joe took off his shoes, jumped into the water, and swam very fast. “Bring the boat here!” he shouted to the boy in the boat.
乔脱下鞋子,跳进水里,飞快地游了过去。“把船划过来!”他对船上的男孩喊道。
But the boat went right past him.
但那艘船却径直从他身边划了过去。
“Oh, come back, Joe!” cried Benny.
“哦,快回来,乔!”本尼哭喊道。
“He’ll come back, all right,” said Morris. “He’s a wonderful swimmer! Look!”
“他会没事回来的,”莫里斯说,“他游泳可厉害了!你看!”
As Morris spoke, Joe swam under water suddenly. When he came up he was pulling the boy to the rowboat. It seemed hours before Joe finally got the boy into the boat and pulled himself in.
莫里斯话音刚落,乔突然潜入水中。当他浮出水面时,正拉着那个男孩朝划艇游去。感觉过了好几个小时,乔才终于把男孩弄上船,自己也爬了上去。
“Good for Joe!” shouted Henry. “I hope he got there in time.”
“乔真棒!”亨利高呼,“希望他赶得及时。”
“Everybody ought to know how to swim,” said Morris. “That boy was afraid. He just stood there and yelled. He couldn’t even bring the boat over when Joe asked him to.”
“每个人都应该学会游泳,”莫里斯说,“那个男孩吓坏了。他只是站在那里大喊大叫。乔让他把船划过去,他都做不到。”
All this time Mike had not said anything. He stood very still as he looked out over the water. The little fellow seemed to have turned to stone.
这期间迈克一句话也没说。他一动不动地站着,凝视着水面。这个小家伙仿佛变成了石头人。
“Why are you so scared?” asked Henry.
“你怎么吓成这样?”亨利问。
“I think it’s Pat,” said Mike, still staring at the boat.
“我觉得那是帕特,”迈克说,眼睛依然盯着那艘船。
“Pat? Who is he?” asked Henry.
“帕特?他是谁?”亨利问。
“He’s my brother,” said Mike. “He’s eleven years old. I think he was the one in the water.”
“他是我哥哥,”迈克说,“他十一岁了。我觉得落水的人就是他。”
“You can’t see that far,” said Morris. “What makes you think so, Mike?”
“那么远你根本看不清,”莫里斯说,“你为什么这么认为,迈克?”
“Well, I told him there would be something to eat at this picnic, and that maybe we’d play ball.”
“嗯,我跟他说这次野餐有好吃的,而且我们可能会打球。”
“I begin to see,” said Henry, looking at Morris. “Do you know who the other boy is?”
“我开始明白了,”亨利看着莫里斯说,“你知道另一个男孩是谁吗?”
“Maybe Johnny,” said Mike. “I told Johnny, too, and he knew about a rowboat he could get.”
“可能是约翰尼,”迈克说,“我也告诉了约翰尼,他知道哪儿能弄到一艘划艇。”
“How did they get the boat?” asked Morris.
“他们怎么弄到船的?”莫里斯问。
“They just took it,” said Mike.
“他们直接偷走的,”迈克说。
“What an awful thing to do!” shouted Henry. “Besides, they can’t swim or row.”
“这太不像话了!”亨利怒道,“况且他们既不会游泳也不会划船。”
It did seem so, for Joe was rowing. One boy was out of sight in the boat, and the other boy sat at one end. When Jessie saw the boat coming, she called to Marjorie, “Let’s run to the barn and get some blankets and towels.”
事实确实如此,因为是乔在划船。一个男孩躺在船舱里看不见,另一个男孩坐在船头。杰西看到船驶来,便对玛乔丽喊道:“我们快去谷仓拿些毯子和毛巾来。”
“Good for you, Jessie!” called Joe when the girls brought the blankets. “Lay them down on the other side of the fire.”
“干得好,杰西!”女孩们拿来毯子时,乔喊道,“把它们铺在火的另一边。”
Jessie and Marjorie spread out the blankets, while Henry and Morris caught the boat as it landed on the beach.
杰西和玛乔丽铺开毯子,亨利和莫里斯则在船靠岸时稳住了它。
“It is Pat,” said Mike in a frightened voice. “Isn’t it, Johnny?”
“真的是帕特,”迈克惊恐地说,“对不对,约翰尼?”
“Yes,” said Johnny. “But he’ll be all right. This man said so.”
“是的,”约翰尼说,“但他会没事的。这位大叔说了。”
“He’s lucky,” said Henry. “Lucky that Joe knew how to swim.”
“他真走运,”亨利说,“幸亏乔会游泳。”
Pat was very still when the boys helped Joe lift him out of the boat and roll him in a blanket by the fire.
当男孩们帮着乔把帕特抬下船,用毯子裹好放在火堆旁时,帕特一动不动。
“We won’t talk to him now,” said Joe, rubbing the boy’s hair with a towel. “We’ll let him sleep first. He’s all tired out.”
“我们现在先别跟他说话,”乔一边用毛巾擦着男孩的头发一边说,“让他先睡一觉。他累坏了。”
“I guess you won’t have to talk to him,” said Johnny, who was very white. “We won’t ever take a boat again.”
“我看你们也不用再跟他谈了,”脸色苍白的约翰尼说,“我们再也不敢偷船了。”
“No, I don’t believe you will, either,” called Joe, as he went back to the hut for dry clothes.
“是啊,我相信你们再也不敢了,”乔边说边走回小屋换干衣服。
Just then, Mike said, “Pat didn’t get any dinner. Will you heat up the chowder for him, Henry?”
就在这时,迈克说:“帕特还没吃午饭呢。亨利,你能帮他热一下杂烩吗?”
“He can’t eat when he’s sound asleep, can he?” asked Morris.
“他睡得这么沉,没法吃东西吧?”莫里斯问。
“No, but he’ll wake up when he smells the chowder,” said Mike. “Maybe I could have some more myself, because I didn’t eat much lunch.”
“没关系,他闻到杂烩的香味就会醒的,”迈克说,“也许我自己也能再吃点,因为我午饭没吃多少。”
“Ho, I should say you didn’t!” said Morris. “Only three bowls full!”
“呵,你可真没吃多少!”莫里斯说,“才吃了满满三碗而已!”
“I’ll tell you what we can do,” said Joe, who had come back wearing dry clothes. “We have just enough to play ball, if Mike is eating and doesn’t want to play.”
“我有个主意,”换上干衣服回来的乔说,“如果迈克要吃饭不想玩的话,我们剩下的人刚好够组队打球。”
“Oh, I want to play! I want to play!” shouted Mike, jumping up and forgetting about the cut on his foot.
“哦,我要玩!我要玩!”迈克跳起来喊道,完全忘了脚上的伤口。
And so all the children played ball. Later, there was more chowder for everyone, and Pat did wake up when he smelled the food.
于是所有的孩子都去打起了球。后来,大家又吃了一顿杂烩,帕特也确实被食物的香味唤醒了。
“This is the best picnic I’ve ever been to,” said Mike, passing his bowl again.
“这是我参加过的最棒的野餐,”迈克说着再次递上了他的碗。
“Hold on, there!” warned Joe. “Don’t give him any more, Henry. Six bowls of chowder in one day are enough for one small boy.”
“等等!”乔警告道,“别再给他盛了,亨利。一个小男孩一天吃六碗杂烩已经够了。”
Just then Captain Daniel came with the boat to take the children home. And now Benny began to cry because his friend was going.
就在这时,丹尼尔船长驾船来接孩子们回家。本尼因为朋友要离开而哭了起来。
“Ho! What are you crying about, Ben?” asked Mike. “I wouldn’t cry at nothing.”
“嘿!你哭什么呀,本?”迈克问,“我可不会因为这点小事就哭鼻子。”
So nobody cried when the company started for home in the boat. When Mike could not hear Benny’s answer, he put his two hands up to his mouth and shouted, “Spotty can run—faster—than—Watch!”
于是当大家乘船启程回家时,谁也没有哭。当迈克听不到本尼的回答时,他把双手拢在嘴边大喊道:“斯波蒂跑得——比——沃奇——快!”
“Well, Benny, don’t you care,” said Henry. “Just be glad the day is over with no more trouble.”
“算了,本尼,别在意了,”亨利说,“只要这一天平安结束、没再出乱子就该高兴了。”
“You’re right,” said Joe. “What a day!” Then Henry remembered that Joe had said he was well again. And when Henry told Jessie about it later, she thought it was very strange, too.
“你说得对,”乔说,“今天真是惊心动魄啊!”这时亨利想起乔曾说自己身体已经康复了。后来亨利把这件事告诉杰西时,她也觉得非常奇怪。
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