第八章　穿紅襯衣的男孩

Edith Nesbit

鐵路旁，孩子們正觀看著精彩的游戲。細(xì)心的他們注意到，一個(gè)穿紅襯衣的男孩在游戲時(shí)無(wú)故“消失”了。發(fā)生了什么事情？

Scene?1 The?paper?chase

游戲

“The?boys?from?the?school?in?Maidbridge?are?having?a?paper?chase?today，”?said?Bobbie，?the?next?morning.?“Perks?thinks?they?ll?go?along?beside?the?railway?line.?We?could?go?and?watch.”

There?were?men?working?on?the?railway?line，?and?the?children?began?by?watching?them.?They?almost?forgot?the?paper?chase，?and?were?surprised?when?a?voice?said，?“Let?me?pass，?please.”?It?was?the?first?boy?from?the?school.

“He?s?the?‘hare?（野兔），”?explained?Bobbie.?“All?the?other?boys?are?the?‘hounds?（獵犬）?and?they?have?to?chase?after?him.”

There?was?a?bag?under?the?hare?s?arm.?It?was?full?of?pieces?of?paper，?which?he?dropped?behind?him?for?the?other?boys?to?follow.?They?watched?as?he?ran?into?the?black?mouth?of?the?tunnel.

The?workmen?watched?him，?too.

“He?shouldn?t?go?in?there，”?said?one.

“It?s?only?a?game，”?said?another.

“Passengers?shouldn?t?cross?the?line.”

“He?s?not?a?passenger.”

Then?came?the?“hounds”，?following?the

pieces?of?white?paper.?They?came?down?the?steps?at?the?side?of?the?tunnel?and?disappeared?into?the?darkness.?The?last?boy?was?wearing?a?red?shirt.

“Will?they?take?long?to?get?through?the?tunnel？”?asked?Peter.

“An?hour?or?more，”?guessed?one?of?the?men.

“Let?s?go?across?the?top?of?the?hill?and?see?them?come?out?from?the?other?end?of?the?tunnel，”?Peter?said?to?his?sisters.D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

The?tunnel?was?cut?through?a?hill.?They?climbed?over?stones?and?through?narrow?openings?between?trees，?and?at?last?they?reached?the?very?top?of?the?hill.

“It?s?lovely?up?here，”?said?Bobbie，?as?she?looked?across?the?fields.?“It?was?worth?the

climb.”

“The?paper?chase?is?worth?the?climb，”?said?Phyllis.?“But?hurry，?or?we?ll?miss?it.”

But?there?was?plenty?of?time，?and?they?had?to?wait?at?the?other?end?of?the?tunnel.

“Look！?Here?he?comes！”?shouted?Peter?at

last.

The?hare?came?very?slowly?out?of?the?shadows?of?the?tunnel.?Soon?after，?came?the?hounds.?They?were?going?slowly，?too，?and?looked?very?tired.

Scene?2 Search?for?the?boy?in?the?red?shirt

尋找紅襯衣男孩

“What?shall?we?do?now？”?said?Bobbie.

“That?s?not?the?last，”?said?Peter.?“The?hound?in?the?red?shirt?isn?t?out?yet.”?They?waited?and?waited，?but?the?boy?did?not?appear.

The?children?began?to?worry，?and?they?climbed?down?to?the?mouth?of?the?tunnel.?But?they?couldn?t?see?a?boy?in?a?red?shirt.

“Perhaps?he?s?had?an?accident，”?said?Peter.?“Let?s?go?and?look.”

The?tunnel?was?dark?after?the?sunshine?outside，?and?they?walked?beside?the?line.

“If?a?train?comes，?stand?flat?against?the?wall，”?said?Peter.?His?voice?sounded?very?different?inside?the?tunnel?walls.

“I?don?t?like?it！”?said?Phyllis.

There?was?a?low?noise?on?the?railway?line.D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

“What?s?that？”?said?Peter.

“It?s?a?train，”?said?Bobbie.

“Let?me?go?back！”?cried?Phyllis.

“It?s?quite?safe，”?said?Bobbie.?“Stand?back.”

The?train?came?towards?them，?and?the?noise?got?louder?and?louder.?Then?it?was?screaming?past，?and?they?could?feel?the?hot?air?and?smell?the?smoke.?They?pushed?themselves?flat?against?the?tunnel?wall.

“Oh！”?said?the?children，?after?it?was?gone.

Peter?took?the?end?of?a?candle?from?his?pocket，?and?his?hand?was?shaking?when?he?lit?it?with?a?match.?“C—come?on，”?he?said.?And?the?three?of?them?went?deeper?into?the?darkness?of?the?tunnel.

The?boy?in?the?red?shirt?was?on?the?ground，?beside?the?line.?His?eyes?were?closed?and?he?did?not?move?when?they?reached?him.

“Is...?is?he?dead？”?asked?Phyllis.

“Dead？?No！”?said?Peter.

And?slowly，?the?boy?opened?his?eyes.?“I...?I?think?I?ve?broken?my?leg，”?he?said.?“How?did?you?get?here？”

“We?saw?you?all?go?into?the?tunnel，?and?then?we?went?across?the?hill?to?see?you?all?come?out，”?explained?Peter.?“The?others?came?out，?but?you?didn?t.?So?we?came?to?look?for?you.”

Scene?3 Waiting?for?help

等待救援

“You?re?very?brave，”?said?the?boy.

“Can?you?walk，?if?we?help?you？”?said?Bobbie.

“I?can?try，”?said?the?boy.?He?did?try，?but?he?could?only?stand?on?one?foot.?“Oh，?I?must?sit?down.?The?pain?is?awful.”?He?sat?down?again?and?closed?his?eyes.?The?others?looked?at?each?other.D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

“You?must?go?and?get?help，”?said?Bobbie?quickly.?“I?ll?stay?with?him.?You?take?the?longest?bit?of?candle，?but?be?quick.”

Peter?looked?worried.?“Let?me?stay，?and?you?and?Phyllis?go.”

“No，”?said?Bobbie.?“You?two?go—and?lend?me?your?knife.?I?ll?try?and?cut?his?boot?off?before?he?wakes?up?again.?Just?be?quick！”

Bobbie?watched?their?figures?disappear，?then?put?her?little?candle?beside?the?boy?s?foot.?She?used?Peter?s?knife?to?cut?off?the?boot，?then?she?looked?at?the?broken?leg.?“It?needs?something?soft?under?it，”?she?thought，?and?then?remembered?her?petticoat.?She?took?it?off?and?carefully?put?it?under?the?boy?s?leg.

He?woke?up?a?few?minutes?later.

“What?s?your?name？”?asked?Bobbie.

“Jim，”?he?said.

“Mine?is?Bobbie，”?she?said.?“Peter?and?Phyllis?have?gone?to?get?some?help.”

“Why?didn?t?you?go?with?them？”?he?said.

“Someone?had?to?stay?with?you，”?said?Bobbie.?“I?must?put?out?the?candle?or?it?will?burn?itself?out.”

“Are?you?afraid?of?the?dark，?Bobbie？”?asked?Jim，?when?they?were?sitting?in?the?darkness.

“Not—not?very?afraid，”?said?Bobbie.?“But—let?s?hold?hands，”?said?Jim.?He?put?his?large?hand?over?her?small?one.?Then?they?sat?and?waited.

Peter?and?Phyllis?went?to?a?farm?to?get?help.?When?the?two?children?got?back?to?the?tunnel?with?the?men?from?the?farm，?they?found?Bobbie?and?Jim?asleep.D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

The?men?carried?Jim?on?a?piece?of?flat?wood.

“Where?does?he?live？”?asked?one?of?them.

“In?Northumberland，”?answered?Bobbie.?“He?told?me?while?we?were?waiting.”

Scene?4 Jim?s?grandfather

吉姆的祖父

“I?m?at?a?school?in?Maidbridge，”?said?Jim，?“I?suppose?I?must?get?back?there.”

“A?doctor?ought?to?see?you?first，”?said?the?man.

“Bring?him?to?our?house，”?said?Bobbie.?“It?s?not?far?along?the?road.?I?m?sure?Mother?will?say?it?s?all?right.”

Mother?did?say?it?was?all?right，?although?she?was?a?little?surprised?at?first.?Then?Bobbie?explained.

“I?m?sorry?to?be?so?much?trouble，”?Jim?said?to?Mother?as?the?men?carried?him?in.?His?face?was?white?with?pain.

“Don?t?worry，?you?poor?dear，”?said?Mother.?“You?must?go?to?bed，?and?I?ll?send?for?Doctor?Forrest.”

Mother?also?sent?a?message?to?Jim?s?school，?to?tell?them?what?had?happened.

“My?grandfather?lives?near?here，”?said?Jim.

“Then?I?ll?write?and?tell?him，?too，”?said?Mother.?“I?m?sure?he?ll?want?to?know.?What?s?his?name？”

After?breakfast?the?next?day，?someone?knocked?at?the?front?door.

“That?will?be?the?doctor?again，”?said?Mother.?She?went?out?of?the?kitchen?and?opened?the?door.

But?it?wasn?t?the?doctor.?The?children?listened?as?Mother?and?the?visitor?went?upstairs.?They?heard?them?talking，?and?were?sure?that?they?knew?the?voice?of?the?visitor.?But?who?was?it？D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

After?a?while，?the?bedroom?door?opened?and?they?heard?Mother?and?the?visitor?come?down?and?go?into?the?front?room?of?the?house.?Then?they?heard?Mother?calling，?“Bobbie！”

Mother?was?in?the?hall.?“Jim?s?grandfather?has?come，”?she?said.?“He?wants?to?see?you?all.”

They?followed?Mother?into?the?other?room，?and?there?sat—THEIR?OWN?OLD?GENTLEMAN.

Scene?5 Hope?from?the?old?gentleman

來(lái)自老人的希望

“Oh，?it?s?you！”?cried?Bobbie.

“How?wonderful！”?said?Peter.?“But?you?re?not?going?to?take?Jim?away，?are?you？?I?was?hoping?he?could?stay.”

The?old?gentleman?smiled.?“No，”?he?said.?“Your?mother?is?very?kind.?She?has?agreed?to?let?Jim?stay?here.?I?thought?of?sending?a?nurse，?but?your?mother?was?good?enough?to?agree?to?be?his?nurse?herself.”

“But?what?about?her?writing？”?said?Peter，?before?anyone?could?stop?him.?“There?won?t?be?anything?for?him?to?eat?if?she?doesn?t?write.”

The?old?gentleman?smiled?kindly?at?Mother.?“She?has?agreed?to?stop?her?writing?for?a?while，?and?become?Head?Nurse?of?my?hospital.”

“Oh！”?said?Phyllis.?“Will?we?have?to?go

away?from?the?white?house，?the?railway?and?everything？”

“No，?no，?darling，”?Mother?said?quickly.?“The?hospital?is?here，?at?this?house.”

“And?my?unlucky?Jim?is?the?only?one?needing?a?nurse，”?said?the?old?gentleman.?“But?there?will?be?a?maid?and?someone?to?cook?the?meals?until?Jim?is?well.”D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71

“Then?will?Mother?start?writing?again？”?asked?Peter.

“Perhaps?something?nice?will?happen，?and?she?won?t?have?to，”?said?the?old?gentleman.?“Take?care?of?your?mother，?my?dears.?She?s?a?woman?in?a?million.?Now，?perhaps?Bobbie?can?take?me?to?the?door？”

The?two?of?them?went?outside，?and?the?old?gentleman?said，?“I?got?your?letter，?my?child，?but?it?wasn?t?necessary.?When?I?read?about?your?father?in?the?newspapers?at?the?time，?I?began?trying?to?find?out?things.?I?haven?t?done?much?yet，?but?I?have?hopes，?my?dear—I?have?hopes.”

“Oh！”?said?Bobbie，?crying?a?little.

“But?keep?your?secret?a?little?longer，”?he?said.

“You?don?t?think?Father?did?it，?do?you？”?said?Bobbie.?“Oh，?say?you?don?t！”

“I?m?sure?he?didn?t，”?said?the?old?gentleman.D641FB77-0AF1-44B7-9A2E-9DCB28FF8F71