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Winter and summer, the mails must go through, and in their lonely posts at remount and relay stations the men who looked after the ponies must be fed.
無論冬季還是夏季，郵件必須送達，在換馬站和中繼站，在孤獨的崗位上照顧小馬的人，必須得到供應。
Already those on the far side of the mountains had received their supplies from a wagon train which had gone out several weeks before.
那些住在山那邊的人已經收到了幾星期前已經用馬車送去的補給。
Now it was necessary only to supply the posts closer to St. Joseph.
現在只需要提供給靠近圣約瑟夫的哨所就行了。
A swiftly moving train of twenty wagons, drawn by mules and in charge of experienced fighting men, left the settlement;
一列快速行進的火車運送20匹馬，由騾子拉著，有經驗的勇士負責指揮，離開了定居點；
and with it rode William Saunders.
威廉·桑德斯也在其中。
His duty was to check the supplies as they were dealt out, to keep the records for Russell, Majors and Waddell.
他的職責是檢查分發的物資，為拉塞爾、梅杰斯和瓦德爾做好記錄。
Three days out of St. Joseph and a hundred miles to the west, a lone rider overtook the wagons and passed them at a gallop with a wave of the hand by way of greeting.
在圣約瑟城的第三天，向西一百英里的地方，有一個孤獨的騎手追上了貨車，用一只手揮手致意，疾馳而過。
It was the Pony Express rider carrying the mail from the East on the second relay west.
是“快馬郵遞”的騎手在第二次向西接力賽時，扛著郵件從東邊過來了。
Five miles ahead lay a remount corral;
在前面五英里處，有一所新馬畜欄；
ten miles beyond it was the relay station where the pouch would be turned over to the man who would ride the third stretch.
再過十英里就是中繼站，在那里郵袋將被交給第三段路程的那個人。
“There's snow a-coming,” said Big Jim Bartigan, leader of the wagon train, sniffing the air.
“快要下雪了，”貨車首領比格·吉姆·巴提干看著天空說道。
“We'll try to make the relay station before night.”
“我們將設法在天黑前到達中繼站。”
When they arrived, the wagons were parked in a circle for the best protection, the mules and saddle animals were put in the corral, sentinels were selected, and the others set about getting supper.
當他們到達的時候，為了得到最好的保護，貨車被停成一圈，騾子和馬鞍上的動物被放在畜欄里，挑選好哨兵，其他人開始吃晚飯。
Half an hour later one of the sentinels cried out that a horse and rider were coming down the trail.
半小時后，一個哨兵喊道，有一匹馬和騎馬的人正沿著小路走來。
The man slumped heavily forward upon the neck of the beast, clutching at the pommel of his saddle.
那人重重地靠在馬的脖子上，緊抓著馬鞍。
The animal shuffled slowly along staggering from side to side, and as he came up to the wagons, stumbled, fell, and did not rise again.
那馬搖搖晃晃地慢慢地走著，走到馬車跟前，踉踉蹌蹌地跌跌撞撞，跌倒在地，再也站不起來了。
Wearily the rider dragged himself from beneath the animal, picked up his saddl ebags, staggered into the ring of wagons, and sank beside a fire.
疲倦的騎手掙扎著從馬的下面爬了出來，拿起他的鞍囊，踉踉蹌蹌地走到馬車圈里，在火旁坐下。
