“Too late for any train until tomorrow,” said Ballinger.
巴林格说:“明天之前的火车都来不及了。”。
“I’ll go to Traverse on the ice,” asserted Pat.
帕特说:“我会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.”
“这无法实现!”巴林格惊呼道。“这里离特拉弗斯有十六英里,这就意味着从现在到早晨,你要赶路32公里,还要带着包裹回来。你不能这么做,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.”
“我试试看,”帕特说。“商店今晚会开到很晚,孩子们明早会找圣诞老人。我会伪装成圣诞老人。”
A HARD JOURNEY FOR SANTA CLAUS
圣诞老人的艰难旅程
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.
帕特坚持这样做,巴林格最终让他去了。他似乎不可能在早上回来,但如果他在商店关门前到达特拉弗斯城,他肯定可以在圣诞节期间休息一下,然后回来。那总比没法过圣诞节好。
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.
想要从这个房子前往特拉弗斯城,人们几乎可以在冰上沿直线赶路,只需在尼塔万塔角和马里恩岛绕道而行。然而,正如巴林格所说的那样,全程16英里,要穿着毡靴和套鞋走在冰上,完全不同于夏天走在煤渣路上,还能疾跑。帕特并不寄希望于平均每小时步行4英里以上,如果他能做到这一点,那就是幸运降临。
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.
事实上,他并不幸运。风很大,他逆风而行,这使他速度下降了不少。渔民们也在冰上的帐篷里住了好几周,他们试图拖延帕特的时间,想让他陪伴他们一会。