025 救援者还是攻击者

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Another rainy season arrived. But this time it seemed to pass quickly

又一个雨季来临了。不过这次，时间似乎过得很快。

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That was because we now had Jenny with us

那是因为我们现在有珍妮相伴。

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Her lively spirits and good conversation kept us happy

她活泼的性情和得体的谈吐让我们都很开心。

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She and the boys told many wondrous tales to entertain everyone during the evenings

晚上，她和孩子们讲了许多奇妙的故事，给大家解闷。

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At last the rains ceased, and we stepped out into the spring air

雨终于停了，我们踏出门外，走进了春日的空气里。

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After the rainy season, our various properties required attention

雨季过后，我们的各处家产都需要打理。

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Jack and Franz spent a day working on the island in the bay

杰克和弗朗茨花了一整天，在海湾的小岛上干活。

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They repaired the watchtower and put the two cannons in working order

他们修好了瞭望塔，把两门大炮也整装完备。

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As evening drew near, the rest of us strolled along the beach

快到傍晚时，我们其余人在海滩上散步。

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We watched Jack and Franz as they completed their work

我们远远望着杰克和弗朗茨干完他们的活。

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Soon it was time for target practice

不一会儿，就到了练靶子的时候。

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Paddling off in the kayak, Jack and Franz left an empty tub at a distance from the island

杰克和弗兰茨划着皮艇，在离岛不远的水面上放了一只空木桶。

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They returned to the island and fired

等他们返回岛上，便朝木桶开了枪。

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The tub shattered into pieces, and the boys shouted with triumph

木桶顿时散了架，两个男孩得意地欢呼起来。

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As their shouts died away, we heard three cannons booming in response

等他们的呼声渐渐落下去，我们竟听见三声炮响，像是在回应他们。

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" Could that possibly be from a ship?" asked Fritz

“这炮声会不会是船上的？”弗里茨问道。

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" It sounded like it came from the west," said Ernest

欧内斯特说：“听上去是从西边来的。”

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" Maybe it was just the boys firing again," suggested Jenny

珍妮猜道：“说不定只是男孩们又开了一枪。”

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But Jack and Franz were paddling as fast as they could toward us

可这时杰克和弗兰茨正拼命地往我们这边划。

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They must have heard the sound too

他们一定也听到了炮声。

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So many questions rushed through my mind

许多问题涌上我的心头。

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Was a European ship nearby? Or was it a Malay pirate?

附近是一艘欧洲船吗？还是一艘马来海盗船？

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What would happen when we met our fellow humans?

我们遇到同类时会发生什么？

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Would they be friends who would help us?

他们会是愿意帮助我们的朋友吗？

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Would they be enemies who would attack us?

他们会是攻击我们的敌人吗？

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Or would they be poor, unfortunate creatures who needed our help?

或者他们会是需要我们帮助的可怜不幸的人？

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Before I could say anything, Jack and Franz were onshore

我还没来得及说什么，杰克和弗兰茨已经上岸了。

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" Did you hear them?" gasped Jack." What shall we do? Where shall we go?"

“你们听到了吗？”杰克喘着气说。“我们该怎么办？我们该去哪里？”

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" Oh, Fritz!" said Franz, grasping his oldest brother's hands

“哦，弗里茨！”弗兰茨抓住他大哥的手说。

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" It must be a European ship. We shall find it

“肯定是一艘欧洲船。我们会找到它的。”

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We shall see Switzerland once more!"

我们又能再见到瑞士了！”

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Until then I did not realize how much the two boys longed to return to Europe

直到那时，我才意识到这两个男孩是多么渴望回到欧洲。

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" What should we do?" asked Fritz

“我们该怎么办？”弗里茨问道。

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" We can't do anything right now," I said." It is growing dark

“我们现在什么也做不了，”我说，“天快黑了。

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We will have to wait until tomorrow."

我们得等到明天。”

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We returned to Rockburg in the greatest excitement

我们怀着万分激动的心情回到了石堡。

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Everyone was talking eagerly, and no one went to bed until late

每个人都急切地交谈着，直到深夜才上床睡觉。

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That night the boys and I took turns keeping watch in case more signals were fired

那天晚上，我和孩子们轮流守夜，以防有更多信号发出。

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In the middle of the night, the wind began to blow

半夜时分，开始起风了。

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And for the next two days, a fearful storm kept us impatiently trapped at home

接下来的两天，一场可怕的暴风雨把我们焦躁地困在了家里。

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On the third morning the skies cleared, and I set off to the island with Jack and Franz

第三天早上，天空放晴了，我便和杰克、弗兰茨出发前往小岛。

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I was worried that the storm had destroyed the ship

我担心那场暴风雨已经毁了那艘船。

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Or that it had gone out to sea to weather the storm and would not return

又或者，它为了躲避风暴驶向了外海，就再也不回来了。

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We fired the cannons. One. Two. And then we waited

我们鸣响了加农炮。一声。两声。然后我们就等待着。

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For some minutes there was no reply

好几分钟过去了，都没有回应。

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Then we heard the answering sound of cannons in the distance

接着，我们听到了远处传来回应我们的炮声。

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" They're still nearby!" shouted Jack

“他们还在附近！”杰克喊道。

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We quickly returned to shore, where the family was in the greatest state of excitement

我们迅速回到岸边，家人们正处在极度的兴奋之中。

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" Calm yourselves!" I said to everyone

“大家冷静一下！”我对所有人说道。

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" I don't know the answers yet to any of your questions."

“你们提出的任何问题，我现在都还不知道答案。”

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Fritz and I prepared to investigate

我和弗里茨准备前去一探究竟。

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Well-armed and equipped with a telescope, we seated ourselves in the kayak

我们全副武装，带上望远镜，坐进了皮划艇里。

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" Be careful!" called my wife as we set off

我们出发时，妻子喊道：“小心点！”

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We paddled out of the bay and around the high cliffs to our left

我们划出海湾，绕过了左侧的高耸悬崖。

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For almost an hour we proceeded in the direction from which the cannon sounds had come

我们朝着之前炮声传来的方向划行了将近一个小时。

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But we saw nothing until we came to a small cove

但我们什么也没看见，直到来到一个小海湾。

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Then suddenly we saw a large ship!

然后，我们突然看见了一艘大船！

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Keeping our kayak close to the cliff, I peered through the telescope

我把皮划艇紧贴悬崖，透过望远镜仔细观察。

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I did not want those on board to see us

我不想让船上的人看见我们。

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" It's an English naval ship," I said," and there are some tents pitched onshore."

“是一艘英国海军舰艇，”我说，“岸上还搭了一些帐篷。”

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I handed the telescope to Fritz

我把望远镜递给弗里茨。

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But I began to have some concerns." Why is this ship here?" I asked

但我开始有些担忧。“这艘船为什么会在这里？”我问道。

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" It's so far off the usual shipping routes

“这里远离常规航线。

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Perhaps its crew has done away with the captain and seized the ship?"

会不会是船员谋害了船长，劫持了船只？”

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" No, Father!" Fritz exclaimed

“不，爸爸！”弗里茨大声说道。

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" I can see the captain talking to one of the officers

“我看见船长正在和一名军官交谈。

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All looks well on board. Take another look."

船上一切看起来都很好。您再看看。”

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He handed the telescope back to me, and I saw that he was right

他把望远镜递还给我，我看出他说得对。

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" Let's go to them at once!" said Fritz, taking up his paddle

“我们马上去找他们吧！”弗里茨说着，拿起了桨。

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" No," I said firmly

“不行，”我坚决地说。

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" I do not want to appear before these strangers like this

“我不想就这样出现在这些陌生人面前。

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We will go home and gather up the whole family

我们先回家，把全家人都召集起来。

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Dressed in our finest clothing, we will return in the sailboat and welcome these men to our shores."

穿上我们最好的衣服，再坐帆船回来，欢迎这些人来到我们的海岸。”