評論
打印
“Too late for any train until tomorrow,” said Ballinger.
巴林格說：“明天之前的火車都來不及了。”。
“I’ll go to Traverse on the ice,” asserted Pat.
帕特說：“我會穿行冰面前往特拉弗斯。”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Ballinger. “It’s all of sixteen miles from here, and that means thirty-two miles between now and morning, with bundles to bring back. You can’t do it, Pat.”
“這無法實現！”巴林格驚呼道。“這里離特拉弗斯有十六英里，這就意味著從現在到早晨，你要趕路32公里，還要帶著包裹回來。你不能這么做，帕特。”
“I’ll try it,” said Pat. “The stores’ll be open late this night, and the children’ll be lookin’ for Santy Claus in the mornin’. I’ll play I’m Santy.”
“我試試看，”帕特說。“商店今晚會開到很晚，孩子們明早會找圣誕老人。我會偽裝成圣誕老人。”
A HARD JOURNEY FOR SANTA CLAUS
圣誕老人的艱難旅程
Pat insisted, and Ballinger finally let him go. There seemed to be no chance that he would be back by morning, but if he reached Traverse City before the stores closed, he certainly could rest and get back sometime during Christmas day. That would be better than no Christmas at all.
帕特堅持這樣做，巴林格最終讓他去了。他似乎不可能在早上回來，但如果他在商店關門前到達特拉弗斯城，他肯定可以在圣誕節期間休息一下，然后回來。那總比沒法過圣誕節好。
From the house to Traverse City one could travel in almost a straight line on the ice, making only slight detours round Neahtawanta Point and Marion Island. Yet, as Ballinger had said, it was all of sixteen miles, and traveling over the ice, wearing felt boots and overshoes, is not at all like sprinting over a cinder path in the summer time. Pat could not possibly hope to make more than four miles an hour on the average, and he would be fortunate if he did as well as that.
想要從這個房子前往特拉弗斯城，人們幾乎可以在冰上沿直線趕路，只需在尼塔萬塔角和馬里恩島繞道而行。然而，正如巴林格所說的那樣，全程16英里，要穿著氈靴和套鞋走在冰上，完全不同于夏天走在煤渣路上，還能疾跑。帕特并不寄希望于平均每小時步行4英里以上，如果他能做到這一點，那就是幸運降臨。
As a matter of fact, he was not fortunate. The wind was strong and was directly in his face, and this held him back not a little. The fishermen, too, who live in tents on the ice for days and weeks at a time, sought to delay him for the sake of his company.
事實上，他并不幸運。風很大，他逆風而行，這使他速度下降了不少。漁民們也在冰上的帳篷里住了好幾周，他們試圖拖延帕特的時間，想讓他陪伴他們一會。
