Island of the Blue Dolphins（Ⅲ）

◎By Scott O’Dell

新的首領決定帶領全族人離開這座島嶼，族人準備集體登船離開海豚島去東方居住，可是卡拉娜發現自己的弟弟還未登船，她立刻跳下船尋找弟弟，于是和弟弟一起被留在了海豚島。

Track 9

The ship began to circle the kelp bed and I thought surely that it was going to return to the shore. I held my breath, waiting. Then slowly its direction changed. It pointed toward the east. At that moment I walked across the deck and, though many hands tried to hold me back,1)flungmyself into the sea.

A wave passed over my head and I went down and down until I thought I would never behold the day again. The ship was far away when I rose. Only the sails showed through the2)spray. I was still3)clutchingthe basket that held all of my things, but it was very heavy and I realized that I could not swim with it in my arms. Letting it sink, I started off toward the shore.

I could barely see the two rocks that guarded the entrance to Coral Cove, but I was not fearful. Many times I had swum farther than this, although not in a storm.

1) flinɡ [fl??] v. （用力）投；猛地移動

2) spray [spre?] v. 噴灑

3) clutch [kl?t?] v. 抓緊

I kept thinking over and over as I swam how I would punish Ramo when I reached the shore, yet when I felt the sand under my feet and saw him standing at the edge of the waves, holding his fishing spear and looking so4)forlorn, I forgot all those things I planned to do. Instead I fell to my knees and put my arms around him.

The ship had disappeared.

4) forlorn [f??l??n] adj. 被遺棄的；絕望的

船開始繞過海草區，我滿以為它將折回岸上去。我屏住呼吸等待著。誰知船的方向在漸漸改變。它在向東方駛去。就在這一瞬間，我幾步跨過甲板，盡管許多手向我伸來，想把我拉回去，我還是一頭栽進了海里。

一個浪頭蓋沒了我的頭頂，我在一個勁兒地往下沉，我以為再也見不到天日了。等到我從水里冒出來，大船已經遠去。透過浪花只能看到半片帆影。那只裝著我全部家當的籃子，還牢牢抓在我的手里，沉得要命。我心里明白，手挽一只籃子是不可能游泳的。我讓籃子沉下海底，開始朝岸上游去。

我模模糊糊看見守衛珊瑚灣入口的兩塊礁石，但我并不害怕。有好多次我游得比這還遠呢。不過在暴風雨里游水，這還是頭一回。

我一邊往岸上游，一邊在反復考慮到了岸上該如何處罰拉莫。可是當我腳觸沙子，看見他站在浪邊，手拿他的捕魚鏢槍，一副失魂落魄的樣子，我把原先的打算忘得一干二凈，反倒跪在沙子上，把他緊緊摟在懷里。

船已經無影無蹤。