At noon we were stuck in a muddy road about, as nearly as we could figure, ten kilometres from Udine. The rain had stopped during the forenoon and three times we had heard planes coming, seen them pass overhead, watched them go far to the left and heard them bombing on the main highroad. —
午时我们被困在离乌迪内大约十公里远的泥泞小路上。在上午雨停了，我们三次听到飞机的声音，看到它们从头顶飞过，往左飞了很远，然后听到它们在主要高速公路上投弹。 —

We had worked through a network of secondary roads and had taken many roads that were blind, but had always, by backing up and finding another road, gotten closer to Udine. Now, Aymo’s car, in backing so that we might get out of a blind road, had gotten into the soft earth at the side and the wheels, spinning, had dug deeper and deeper until the car rested on its differential. —
我们通过一系列次要道路，走了许多盲路，但总是通过倒车找到另一条路，逐渐靠近乌迪内。现在，艾莫的车，在后退以便脱离一条盲道时，陷入了路边的软土里，车轮转动，越来越深，直到车停在了差速器上。 —

The thing to do now was to dig out in front of the wheels, put in brush so that the chains could grip, and then push until the car was on the road. —
现在需要做的是在车轮前面挖出土，放上灌木，让链条可以抓住，然后推车，直到车开上路。 —

We were all down on the road around the car. —
我们全都蹲在车旁。 —

The two sergeants looked at the car and examined the wheels. —
两位中士看着车，检查着车轮。 —

Then they started off down the road without a word. I went after them.
然后他们默不作声地沿着路走了开。我跟在他们后面。

“Come on,” I said. “Cut some brush.”
“走吧，”我说，“砍点灌木。”

“We have to go,” one said.
“我们必须走了，”一位说。

“Get busy,” I said, “and cut brush.”
“快点动手吧，”我说，“砍点灌木。”

“We have to go,” one said. The other said nothing. —
“我们必须走了，”一位说。另一位什么也没说。 —

They were in a hurry to start. They would not look at me.
他们匆匆忙忙地要出发。他们不肯看我一眼。

“I order you to come back to the car and cut brush,” I said. The one sergeant turned. —
“我命令你们回到车旁砍灌木，”我说。其中一位中士转身。 —

“We have to go on. In a little while you will be cut off. —
“我们得继续前行。再过一会儿你们就会被切断了。” —

You can’t order us. You’re not our officer.”
“你不能命令我们。你不是我们的军官。”

“I order you to cut brush,” I said. They turned and started down the road.
“我命令你们去砍灌木，”我说。他们转身并沿路走去。

“Halt,” I said. They kept on down the muddy road, the hedge on either side. —
“停下，”我说道。他们继续沿着两旁长满灌木的泥泞小路走着。 —

“I order you to halt,” I called. They went a little faster. —
“我命令你们停下，”我喊道。他们加快了脚步。 —

I opened up my holster, took the pistol, aimed at the one who had talked the most, and fired. —
我打开枪套，拿出手枪，瞄准了那个说话最多的人，然后扣动了扳机。 —

I missed and they both started to run. I shot three times and dropped one. —
我没有击中，他们都开始奔跑。我连续开了三枪，打倒了一个人。 —

The other went through the hedge and was out of sight. —
另一个冲过篱笆，消失在视线之外。 —

I fired at him through the hedge as he ran across the field. —
他在跑过田野时，我透过篱笆向他开枪。 —

The pistol clicked empty and I put in another clip. —
手枪发出空弹的声音，我装上了另一发弹夹。 —

I saw it was too far to shoot at the second sergeant. —
我看到第二个工兵中士已经跑得太远了。 —

He was far across the field, running, his head held low. —
他跑得很远，低着头。 —

I commenced to reload the empty clip. Bonello came up.
我开始重新填装空弹夹。邦内洛走了过来。

“Let me go finish him,” he said. I handed him the pistol and he walked down to where the sergeant of engineers lay face down across the road. —
“让我去结束他吧，”他说。我递给他手枪，他走到工兵中士趴在路中的地方。 —

Bonello leaned over, put the pistol against the man’s head and pulled the trigger. —
邦内洛俯身，把手枪对准那人的头部扣动了扳机。 —

The pistol did not fire.
手枪没有响。

“You have to cock it,” I said. He cocked it and fired twice. —
“你得先扳动击锤，”我说道。他扳动了击锤，开了两枪。 —

He took hold of the sergeant’s legs and pulled him to the side of the road so he lay beside the hedge. —
他拉着中士的腿，把他拉到路边，让他躺在篱笆旁边。 —

He came back and handed me the pistol.
他回来递给我手枪。

“The son of a bitch,” he said. He looked toward the sergeant. “You see me shoot him, Tenente?”
“这个混蛋，”他说。他朝着中士看了一眼。“你看到我打死他了，中尉？”

“We’ve got to get the brush quickly,” I said. “Did I hit the other one at all?”
“我们得快点收拾这些灌木，”我说。“我有没有击中那个其他人？”

“I don’t think so,” Aymo said. “He was too far away to hit with a pistol.”
“我觉得没击中，”Aymo说。“他离得太远，手枪根本打不到。”

“The dirty scum,” Piani said. We were all cutting twigs and branches. —
“这些卑鄙的东西，”Piani说。我们都在砍树枝和树枝。 —

Everything had been taken out of the car. Bonello was digging out in front of the wheels. —
车里的一切都被搬出来了。Bonello正在车轮前挖土。 —

When we were ready Aymo started the car and put it into gear. —
当我们准备好时，Aymo开始启动车子，挂入档位。 —

The wheels spun round throwing brush and mud. —
车轮转动，溅起泥泞和树枝。 —

Bonello and I pushed until we could feel our joints crack. —
Bonello和我推车，直到感觉到关节发出脆响。 —

The car would not move.
车子一动不动。

“Rock her back and forth, Barto,” I said.
“摇摆她来回，Barto，”我说。

He drove the engine in reverse, then forward. The wheels only dug in deeper. —
他反向启动发动机，然后向前。车轮只是越陷越深。 —

Then the car was resting on the differential again, and the wheels spun freely in the holes they had dug. I straightened up.
然后车子又靠在差速器上，车轮在它们挖的坑里自由旋转。我站了起来。

“We’ll try her with a rope,” I said.
“我们用绳子试试看，”我说。

“I don’t think it’s any use, Tenente. You can’t get a straight pull.”
“我觉得没什么用，Tenente。你无法得到直线拉力。”

“We have to try it,” I said. “She won’t come out any other way.”
“我们必须试一试，”我说道。”不然她不会出来。”

Piani’s and Bonello’s cars could only move straight ahead down the narrow road. —
皮亚尼和博内洛的车只能沿着狭窄的道路直行。 —

We roped both cars together and pulled. The wheels only pulled sideways against the ruts.
我们把两辆车用绳子绑在一起，并拉了起来。车轮只是在车辙中横向拉动。

“It’s no good,” I shouted. “Stop it.”
“没用的，”我喊道。”停下来吧。”

Piani and Bonello got down from their cars and came back. Aymo got down. —
皮亚尼和博内洛从车上下来了，往回走。艾莫也下了车。 —

The girls were up the road about forty yards sitting on a stone wall.
那些女孩在前面的石墙上坐着，大约四十码的地方。

“What do you say, Tenente?” Bonello asked.
“你说呢，上尉？”博内洛问道。

“We’ll dig out and try once more with the brush,” I said. I looked down the road. It was my fault. —
“我们挖掉，再用刷子试一试，”我说。我看了看路。这是我的错。 —

I had led them up here. The sun was almost out from behind the clouds and the body of the sergeant lay beside the hedge.
我引导他们上了这里。太阳已经快要从云层后露出来，而军士的尸体就躺在篱笆旁。

“We’ll put his coat and cape under,” I said. Bonello went to get them. —
“我们把他的外套和斗篷放在下面，”我说道。博内洛去拿了。 —

I cut brush and Aymo and Piani dug out in front and between the wheels. —
我砍了些树枝，艾莫和皮亚尼在前面和车轮之间挖掘。 —

I cut the cape, then ripped it in two, and laid it under the wheel in the mud, then piled brush for the wheels to catch. —
我剪下斗篷，然后把它撕成两半，放在泥泞中的车轮下面，然后堆上刷子让车轮抓住。 —

We were ready to start and Aymo got up on the seat and started the car. —
我们准备起步，艾莫上了驾驶座，开始启动车辆。 —

The wheels spun and we pushed and pushed. —
车轮打滑，我们拼命地推着。 —

But it wasn’t any use.
但是一点用也没有。

“It’s –ed,” I said. “Is there anything you want in the car, Barto?”
“这辆车完蛋了，”我说道。“Barto，你有什么要在车里拿的吗？”

Aymo climbed up with Bonello, carrying the cheese and two bottles of wine and his cape. —
Aymo和Bonello爬上去，拿着奶酪和两瓶葡萄酒，还有他的披风。 —

Bonello, sitting behind the wheel, was looking through the pockets of the sergeant’s coat.
Bonello坐在驾驶座上，翻找着中士的外套口袋。

“Better throw the coat away,” I said. “What about Barto’s virgins?”
“最好把外套丢掉，”我说。“Barto的处女们怎么办？”

“They can get in the back,” Piani said. “I don’t think we are going far.”
“她们可以坐进后面去，” Piani说。“我们应该不会走太远。”

I opened the back door of the ambulance.
我打开了救护车的后门。

“Come on,” I said. “Get in.” The two girls climbed in and sat in the corner. —
“快，”我说。“上车吧。”两个女孩爬进去坐在角落里。 —

They seemed to have taken no notice of the shooting. I looked back up the road. —
她们似乎没有注意到枪声。我回头看着前面的路。 —

The sergeant lay in his dirty long-sleeved underwear. I got up with Piani and we started. —
中士躺在脏兮兮的内衣里。我和Piani起身开始走。 —

We were going to try to cross the field. —
我们打算尝试穿越田野。 —

When the road entered the field I got down and walked ahead. —
当道路进入田野时，我下车走在前面。 —

If we could get across, there was a road on the other side. We could not get across. —
如果我们能过去，另一边就有一条路。可是我们无法过去。 —

It was too soft and muddy for the cars. When they were finally and completely stalled, the wheels dug in to the hubs, we left them in the field and started on foot for Udine.
对汽车来说，地太软太泥泞了。当它们最终完全陷住，车轮深陷到轮毂里时，我们把它们留在了田野里，开始徒步前往乌迪内。

When we came to the road which led back toward the main highway I pointed down it to the two girls.
当我们来到通向主要高速公路的路口时，我指着下面的路对两个女孩说。

“Go down there,” I said. “You’ll meet people.” They looked at me. —
“走下去吧，”我说。“你们会碰到人的。”她们看着我。 —

I took out my pocket-book and gave them each a ten-lira note. —
我打开我的口袋书，给了她们每人一张十里拉的钞票。 —

“Go down there,” I said, pointing. “Friends! Family!”
“朝那边走，”我指着说。“那里有朋友！家人！”

They did not understand but they held the money tightly and started down the road. —
他们听不懂，但紧紧抓着钱，开始沿着路走去。 —

They looked back as though they were afraid I might take the money back. —
他们回头看着，仿佛害怕我拿回钱。 —

I watched them go down the road, their shawls close around them, looking back apprehensively at us. —
我看着她们沿着路走去，披着披肩，惊恐地回头看着我们。 —

The three drivers were laughing.
三名司机在笑。

“How much will you give me to go in that direction, Tenente?” Bonello asked.
“Tenente，你愿意付多少钱让我朝那个方向走？”Bonello问道。

“They’re better off in a bunch of people than alone if they catch them,” I said.
“如果他们抓到他们，他们在一群人中会更安全，”我说。

“Give me two hundred lire and I’ll walk straight back toward Austria,” Bonello said.
“给我两百里拉，我会径直走回奥地利，”Bonello说。

“They’d take it away from you,” Piani said.
“他们会从你那里拿走的，”Piani说。

“Maybe the war will be over,” Aymo said. We were going up the road as fast as we could. —
“也许战争快结束了，”Aymo说。我们尽可能快地朝路上走。 —

The sun was trying to come through. Beside the road were mulberry trees. —
太阳正努力冲出云层。路边有桑树。 —

Through the trees I could see our two big moving-vans of cars stuck in the field. —
透过树木，我能看到我们两辆大货车被卡在田野里。 —

Piani looked back too.
Piani也回头看了看。

“They’ll have to build a road to get them out,” he said.
“他们必须修路才能把它们开出来，”他说。

“I wish to Christ we had bicycles,” Bonello said.
“我多想我们有自行车，”邦内洛说。

“Do they ride bicycles in America?” Aymo asked.
“美国人骑自行车吗？”艾莫问道。

“They used to.”
“以前有的。”

“Here it is a great thing,” Aymo said. “A bicycle is a splendid thing.”
“这里自行车可是了不起的东西，”艾莫说。“自行车可是个绝妙的东西。”

“I wish to Christ we had bicycles,” Bonello said. “I’m no walker.”
“我多想我们有自行车，”邦内洛说。“我不喜欢走路。”

“Is that firing?” I asked. I thought I could hear firing a long way away.
“那是在打仗吗？”我问。我似乎能听到很远的地方有枪声。

“I don’t know,” Aymo said. He listened.
“我不知道，”艾莫说。他听了听。

“I think so,” I said.
“我想是的，”我说。

“The first thing we will see will be the cavalry,” Piani said.
“我们首先会看到的是骑兵，”皮亚尼说。

“I don’t think they’ve got any cavalry.”
“我觉得他们没有骑兵。”

“I hope to Christ not,” Bonello said. “I don’t want to be stuck on a lance by any–cavalry.”
“但愿不是，”邦内洛说。“我不想被什么骑兵的长矛刺中。”

“You certainly shot that sergeant, Tenente,” Piani said. We were walking fast.
“你确实击毙了那个中士，中尉，”皮亚尼说。我们在快速行走。

“I killed him,” Bonello said. “I never killed anybody in this war, and all my life I’ve wanted to kill a sergeant.”
“我杀了他，”邦内洛说。“我在这场战争中从来没杀过人，我一辈子都想杀个中士。”

“You killed him on the sit all right,” Piani said. “He wasn’t flying very fast when you killed him.”
“你确实击毙了他正坐着不动，”皮亚尼说。“你击毙他时他也没怎么往前开。”

“Never mind. That’s one thing I can always remember. I killed that–of a sergeant.”
“不要紧。这是我永远记得的一件事。我杀了那个该死的中士。”

“What will you say in confession?” Aymo asked.
“你在忏悔时会说什么？”艾莫问道。

“I’ll say, ‘Bless me, father, I killed a sergeant.” They all laughed.
“我会说，‘父啊，求你给我祝福，我杀了一个中士。’”他们都笑了。

“He’s an anarchist,” Piani said. “He doesn’t go to church.”
“他是无政府主义者，”皮亚尼说。“他不去教堂。”

“Piani’s an anarchist too,” Bonello said.
“皮亚尼也是无政府主义者，”博内洛说。

“Are you really anarchists?” I asked.
“你们真的是无政府主义者吗？”我问。

“No, Tenente. We’re socialists. We come from Imola.”
“不是的，上尉。我们是社会主义者。我们来自伊莫拉。”

“Haven’t you ever been there?”
“你们从来没有去过那里吗？”

“No.”
“没有。”

“By Christ it’s a fine place, Tenente. You come there after the war and we’ll show you something.”
“天哪，那是个很好的地方，上尉。战后你要来那里，我们会给你看看。”

“Are you all socialists?”
“你们都是社会主义者吗？”

“Everybody.”
“每个人都是。”

“Is it a fine town?”
“那是个漂亮的城镇吗？”

“Wonderful. You never saw a town like that.”
“太棒了。你从来没有见过那样的城镇。”

“How did you get to be socialists?”
“你们是怎么成为社会主义者的？”

“We’re all socialists. Everybody is a socialist. We’ve always been socialists.”
“我们都是社会主义者。每个人都是社会主义者。我们一直都是社会主义者。”

“You come, Tenente. We’ll make you a socialist too.”
“你来吧，Tenente。我们会让你也成为社会主义者的。”

Ahead the road turned off to the left and there was a little hill and, beyond a stone wall, an apple orchard. —
前面的路向左转，有一座小山，石墙之后是一个苹果园。 —

As the road went uphill they ceased talking. —
随着路的上坡，他们停止了交谈。 —

We walked along together all going fast against time.
我们一起快步走着，都在与时间赛跑。