We left the cave at once，and travelled allnight . Early in the morning we stopped. We hadcome to the end of a long mountain chain. In frontthere was a piece of open，empty moorland. The sunwas rising and we sat down to eat and to makeplans.
我们马上离开山洞，走了一整夜，到第二天凌晨，才停住脚步。我们已经走完了连绵的山脉，面前是一片空旷的荒凉地带。这时，太阳正在升起，我们坐下来吃东西，商量下一步该怎么办。
“This is the d ifficult bit，Da vid ，”Alan said.
“S ha ll we lie h e re till nigh t，or sha ll we try the ope nmoorla nd to the e a s t？If the re d - coa ts come ，the yc a n s e e us a long wa y from he re .”
艾伦说；“大卫，这一段路该怎么走，很难决定，咱们是在这儿躺到天黑呢，还是想办法通过这个空旷的荒野往东走呢？红外套要是赶来，老远就能发现咱们。”
“Ala n，”I replied，“we ca nnot go ba ck we s t toAppin . We ha ve not e nough mone y or foo d. Le t us ge tawa y now.”
我回答说：“艾伦，咱们不能向东折回去回亚品。钱和干粮不够。
还是向前走吧。”
My words pleased him，and he agreed. 他听了我的话很高兴，同意马上走。
Birds were crying above us，and far away somedeers were moving. Red heather grew in places onthe moorland. Fires had burnt some of it. Therewere also wide spaces of bog and water. All around
鸟儿在天空啼叫，远处，几只鹿在奔跑。荒野上有的地方长着红色的灌木丛，有些被野火烧掉了。荒野上还有大片大片的沼泽和水塘，
us there were the tops of the mountains.
四周是林立的山头。
We moved in thee hollow parts of the moor.
Sometimes these turned away from the east，and thenwe had to cross the flat，open parts. We walked withbent bodies or moved on our stomachs. Slowly wecrept from one heather bush to the next. It was a clearday again，and the sun was terribly hot.
我们在荒野里挑低凹处向前移动。有时候，低凹地并不朝东，我们就只好通过平坦开阔的旷野，有时弯着腰，有时干脆朝前爬。慢慢地，我们从一个灌木丛移到另一个灌木丛。那天又是个晴天，火辣辣的太阳烤得人难受。
About noon we lay down in a thick bush tosleep. Alan took the first watch，and I the sec ond.
We had no clock. So Alan put a stick of heather inthe ground. He made a mark in the earth to theeast.
大约正午时分，我们在一个茂密的灌木丛中躺下睡觉。艾伦担任头班警戒，我担任下一班。我们没有钟表，艾伦就在地上插了一根树枝，在东边地上做了个记号，让我等树枝的影子照到记号那地方时叫醒他。
He told me to wake him when the shadow ofthe heather reached the mark. Suddenly I openedmy eyes. The sun had moved a long way. I looked atthe stick of heather. I was filled with shame andfear. I had slept during my watch. We were in danger！
Red - coats vere moving towards us from thesouth - east. They were riding their horses throughthe deep parts of the heather.
我 突然醒来，睁开了眼睛。太阳已经移动了一大截子。我看了看树枝，感到既内疚，又害怕。我在担任警戒时竟然睡着了。我们的处境很危险！红外套从东南方向朝我们包抄过来，他们骑着马，从灌木丛深处蜂拥而来。
I woke Alan. He looked at the soldiers，andthen at the sun’s position. His face was sharp andanxious，but he said no words of blame.
我叫醒了艾伦。他瞅了瞅红外套，又看了看太阳的位置，脸色既严峻又焦急，可是没有说一句责怪我的话。
“We mus t run ，”he said.“Le t us go towa rdsBe n Ald e r. ”He pointed to a mountain in the north
“咱们跑吧，往本奥尔德尔山那边跑。”他指了指东北方向的一座
ｅａｓｔ．“It is a wild ，empty mounta in with hills a nd hollows. If we ca n g e t the re be fore morning ，we ma y bes a fe .”
山，对我说。“那座山上荒无人烟，到处是山岗和谷地。咱们要是能在天亮前赶到那里，也许可以脱险。”
“But Ala n ，”I cried，“tha t will le a d us a cros s thepa th of the soldie rs ！”
“可是，艾伦，这样咱们就得从那些士兵的路中间插过去。”找大声说。
“I know tha t，”he said.“But if we turn ba ck toAppin ，we sha ll be two de a d me n . Now，Da vid ，hurry！”
艾伦说：“这我知道。可是，咱们要是折回亚品，就只能死在半道上。好了，大卫，快！”
He moved quickly forward on his hands andknees. We wound in and out of the moorland hollows.
Our faces were covered with dust，and ourbodies ached. Now and again there was a sound ofwings. A bird was rising out of the heather. We haddisturbed it. We lay still.
