评论
打印
He woke early. Or, rather, he was pulled awake. Bimbo was doing the pulling. The dog had dragged Tito to his feet and was urging the boy along. Somewhere. Where, Tito did not know. His feet stumbled uncertainly; he was still half asleep. For a while he noticed nothing except the fact that it was hard to breathe. The air was hot. And heavy. So heavy that he could taste it. The air, it seemed, had turned to powder—a warm powder that stung his nostrils and burned his sightless eyes.
他醒得很早。确切地说，他是被拖醒的，拖着他的是宾博。这只狗把蒂托拉了起来，然后让他跟着它走，但是蒂托不知道它要带他到哪里去。蒂托半睡半醒，跌跌撞撞地走着。一时间，除了呼吸困难，他什么也感觉不到。空气很热，很浓重，浓到他仿佛都能够尝到空气的味道。空气仿佛变成了粉末——一种热乎乎的粉末。这粉末刺激着他的鼻孔，灼痛了他本就看不到任何东西的眼睛。
Then he began to hear sounds. Peculiar sounds. Like animals under the earth. Hissings and groanings and muffled cries that a dying creature might make dislodging the stones of his underground cave. There was no doubt of it now. The noises came from underneath. He not only heard them—he could feel them. The earth twitched; the twitching changed to an uneven shrugging of the soil. Then, as Bimbo half pulled, half coaxed him across, the ground jerked away from his feet and he was thrown against a stone fountain.
然后他听到了声音，声音很特别，像是地底下的动物发出来的。那是一种垂死的生物在从地洞里往外搬石头时会发出的嘶嘶声、呻吟声和压抑的鸣咽声。确实是这样的，那些声音来自地下。他不仅听到了这些声音，而且能感受到它们。地面动了一下，接着开始上下起伏，然后就在宾博半拉半哄地将他带到一边去时，他脚下的地面突然摇晃了一下，他被扔到一个山泉边上。
The water—hot water—splashing in his face revived him. He got to his feet, Bimbo steadying him, helping him on again. The noises grew louder; they came closer. The cries were even more animal-like than before, but now they came from human throats. A few people, quicker of foot and more hurried by fear, began to rush by. A family or two—then a section—then, it seemed, an army broken out of bounds. Tito, bewildered though he was, could recognize Rufus as he bellowed past him, like a water buffalo gone mad. Time was lost in a nightmare.
山泉里的热水溅到了他的脸上，让他清醒了过来。宾博协助他站了起来，并帮着他继续前进。那些声音越来越大，他们离声源也越来越近。那叫声听起来更像是动物的叫声了，但实际上是人们发出的声音。一些吓坏的人步履匆忙地跑过。刚开始的时候是一两家人，后来是一小 队人，再后来仿佛是一支突破约束的军队冲了出来。尽管蒂托有点晕头转向，但是在鲁弗斯像发疯的水牛一样叫喊着从他身边经过的时候，他还是认出他来了。时间陷入了噩梦中。
