“Kids on the Track!”
小孩在铁轨上！
By Jack Murphy
杰克•墨菲

家住新泽西州Ramsey的Kate Pritchard，30岁，有两个儿子，Todd，三岁半，Scott，一岁半，离她家不足300英尺处，横卧着一条铁轨。走笔至此，读者已经能猜到，事情就出在这条铁轨上。
两个小孩正在门外玩耍，Kate刚购物归来，正忙着从车上往家里搬运东西。
“Stay right there,” Kate said, “while Mommy puts the groceries away. Then we’ll all go inside and have lunch, okay?”
就在Kate忙进忙出的时候，Todd和Scott已经穿过小树林，爬上了铁路路基，跪在铁轨枕木边上玩耍。
此刻，数千英尺之外，一列货车正在以每小时40英里的速度朝两个小孩隆隆驶来。两位货车的驾驶员Anthony Falzo和Rich Campana正在火车头上闲聊。
突然，Anthony Falzo和Rich Campana同时意识到前方铁轨上的两个小黑点不是别的，而是两个幼童！于是紧急刹车加鸣响汽笛。可是：
Engrossed in play, Todd and Scott did not hear the train. Finally as the sound became thunderous, Scott looked up and froze.
此刻，Anthony已经走下车头，手握铁把手，站在最下边的一格铁梯上。随时准备纵身跃下，抢救儿童。他毕竟是一位经验丰富的司机：
Though the train was slowing, Anthony knew he couldn’t outrun it. Instead, he forced himself to wait until he would be close enough to leap off and grab the boys.
上段的两个词用得绝妙，一是outrun，体现了英语构词的简捷；二是forced，写活了千钧一发之际，Anthony的真实心态。
接着，读者眼前闪过了这样一个难忘的镜头：
Anthony sprang forward from the ladder. Landing on the loose, fist-size ballast stones(碎石) alongside the track, he had to struggle to keep his balance. In two giant strides he almost reached the children. They stared up at him in wide-eyed shock. Anthony, flinging his body into space, flew toward them.
儿童得救了？没有！
But the train had caught up to them. Anthony saw the black steel edge of the snow blade clip(猛击) the young child under the chin, driving his head back and scraping over his face.
惨不忍睹！车头的一部分甚至撞入了Anthony的尼龙背心，割断了里面的尼龙丝！可是，他还是把Scott从轮子底下拖了出来！
母亲Kate闻声赶到，见Todd没事，但又见：
… the still figure of a man lying under the overhang of the third car. Scott’s head, a mask of darkening blood, was visible under him. Kate ran to them. “Scott!” she yelled.
Anthony躺在路基上，紧紧搂抱着Scott，急令Kate报警并叫救护车。
当记者询问Anthony在冒生命危险抢救儿童时，是否犹豫过，他回答：
No. All I could think was that those two little kids have their whole lives still ahead of them, and if I do nothing, they’re dead. There was no way I could let that happen.
这句话是否能反映美国人特有的务实精神？最让人难忘的是：… those two little kids have their whole lives still ahead of them.
我们读过不少车轮下救人的故事，那些救人者大多是从路旁勇敢地冲上去救人，而本故事却是司机从车头上冲下来救人！这一点将长久地留在我们的记忆之中。

MONDAY, MAY 1, 1989, was a pleasant morning in Ramsey, N. J. Kate Pritchard, 30, bent over her car truck and struggled with the bags of groceries she’d just brought home. She heard the distant moan of a locomotive horn. The trains of Conrail and New Jersey Transit passed less than 300 feet from the Pritchards’ house. No fence separated their back yard from the track --- only a thick stand of trees. But her sons, 31/2-year-old Todd and 18-month-old Scott, were nearby, playing on the driveway.
1989年5月1日星期一早晨，风和日丽，住在新泽西州拉姆齐的30岁的凯特•普理查德弯下腰，费力地拿下她刚刚带回家的袋子。她听到远处传来火车头喇叭的呼啸声。联铁公司的火车和新泽西运输就停在离普理查德家不到300英尺的地方。在他们家后院与铁轨之间没有围墙——只有厚厚的一片树林。然而，她3岁半的儿子托德和1岁半的斯科特就在附近，他们正在车道上玩耍。
 “Stay right there,” Kate said, “while Mommy puts the groceries away. Then we’ll all go inside and have lunch, okay?”
“就呆在那儿，”凯特说，“等妈妈把杂物放好，我们就进去吃午饭，好吗？”
 “Okay!” said Todd, giving a thumbs-up gesture he’d seen his father make.
“好的！”托德说着竖起大拇指，他见过爸爸做这样的手势。
 “Okay!” echoed Scott, trying to copy his older brother.
“好的！”斯科特模仿哥哥也附和了一声。
Todd watched his mother enter the house with several bags. Speaking in a stern voice, he told his little brother to be a good boy. Even at 18 months, Scott was not one to take orders meekly. He pointed his toy car at Todd. “You be good!” he said.
托德看见妈妈拿着几个袋子进屋去了。托德用严厉的声音告诉他的弟弟要做一个乖孩子。尽管只有一岁半，斯科特不会乖顺地接受命令。他用自己的玩具汽车指着托德。“你要乖！”他说。
KATE shut the refrigerator and hurried outside. Good. The boys were playing right where she’d left them.
凯特关上冰箱，慌忙跑出去。好的。这两个男孩子就在她丢下他们的地方玩。
As she lifted more bags from the trunk, Kate heard a train race past, invisible, beyond the curtain of trees --- a passenger express, she judged from its speed. She carried more bags into the house.
当凯特把更多的袋子从车上抬下来时，她听到一列火车疾驰而过。尽管被树帘遮住视线她看不到火车，可是，凯特从它的速度判断出这是一列客车。她把更多的袋子搬进了屋里。
THE SOUNDS of the train apparently drew the boys’ attention to the track. After making their way through the trees, they clambered to the top of the steep roadbed, knelt down along the railroad ties and began to play.
火车的声响显然把男孩们的注意力吸引到了铁轨上。他们穿过树林，攀爬到陡峭的路基上面，跪在铁轨枕木边上玩耍。
A FEW THOUSAND feet west, a freight train rolled slowly toward the children. Overhead lights signaled to engineer Rich Campana that the passenger train ahead was out of the way, and they could resume their normal speed of 40 miles per hour. The engineer pulled the throttle, then turned to conductor Anthony Falzo, sitting at the locomotive’s left observation window.
一列货车从西边几千英尺远的地方朝孩子们慢慢驶来。高架的灯光向工程师里奇•坎帕纳发出信号：前方的客车已经远离，他们可以恢复每小时40英里的正常速度。这位工程师拉下节流阀，然后转身对坐在火车头左观察窗边的列车员安东尼•法尔佐说。
 “So what’d you do over the weekend, Anthony?”
“那么，你周末要干什么，安东尼？”
Medium in height and strongly build, Anthony had worked for Conrail for almost half his 35 years. He and Rich had made this run between Suffern, N. Y. , and Paterson, N. J. , many times. Children playing in their back yards often waved at the train, and Anthony never failed to wave back. Still he took his responsibility seriously, so after turning his head to smile at Campana, he quickly looked ahead again as he spoke.
安东尼中等身材、强壮结实，35的他已经在联铁工作将近18年了。他和里奇在纽约的萨芬和新泽西州的帕特森之间行驶过很多次。在后院玩耍的孩子们经常向火车挥手，安东尼每次都会挥手回应。不过，他对待自己的责任十分严肃。因此，在扭过头向坎帕纳微笑过之后，他一边讲着话，一边迅速地回过头注视着前方。
 “Oh, not much. Mostly messing around --- a little TV, then bed. What else?”
“哦，没什么事。大多情况下无所事事——看会电视，然后睡觉。还有别的吗？”
Campana chuckled. “Hey, you’d better cool down, Anthony --- you’re getting to be a real party animal!”
坎帕纳吃吃地笑。“嗨，你最好冷静下来，安东尼——你快变成一个真正喜欢结群生活的动物了！”
The two men laughed: Anthony was a low-key person. As a boy he had a passion for railroading, encouraged by friends’ fathers who were rail workers. As an adult, he developed a strong desire to help others, and served six years of street duty as an auxiliary police officer in Bloomfield, N.J.
这二人大笑着：安东尼是一个行事有分寸，不好高骛远的人。当他还是孩子的时候，在他那些朋友的做铁路工人的父亲的鼓励下，他就对铁路工作非常有热情。成年后，他非常乐于助人，在新泽西的布卢姆菲尔德做了6年的街道辅警。
The men were still chuckling as the locomotive, moving at 21 miles per hour and accelerating, topped a slight grade. The 19 freight cars behind it screeched and clattered.
火车以每小时21英里的速度行驶，而且还在加速。这两个人仍旧咯咯地笑着，这时，火车头驶上一个小小的坡度。后面的19节货车车厢发出“哐当哐当”的响声。
Rich and Anthony spotted something ahead at the same instant.
里奇和安东尼同时注意到了前方有什么东西。
 “What’s that up there?” asked the engineer. Anthony didn’t answer. Staring intently, he was trying to identify the curious shape on the track ahead. A crumpled cardboard box? Discarded rags?
“那里是什么？”工程师问道。安东尼没有回答，他全神贯注地盯着看，想辨认出前方铁轨上这个古怪的形状。一个被揉皱的纸板箱？被丢弃的垃圾？
Suddenly both men realized what it was. Rich threw on the emergency brake and jerked the air horn handle with all his strength.
突然，两个人都意识到这是什么了。里奇拉动紧急刹车，使出全身力气猛拉汽笛拉柄。
The horn’s blast and Anthony’s words exploded at the same time: “Kids on the track!”
火车的汽笛声和安东尼的吼叫“孩子在轨道上！”几乎同时炸响。
Anthony had dealt with emergencies for many years, especially in his police service. Now all his experience took over. He felt his body “go on automatic.”
安东尼有很多年都是在处理紧急情况，特别是在做辅警期间。现在他所有的经验都起作用了。他感到自己的身体“无意识地行动起来”。
He sprang through the cab door onto a narrow running board six feet above the wheels and raced to the front of the swaying train. Scrambling down a steel ladder, he paused on the bottom rung, two feet above the roadbed flashing by.
他跳出驾驶室的门，跳到离车轮6英尺高的踏板上，又来到摇晃着的火车前端。他顺着一根钢制的梯子向下爬，停在离路基两英尺高的（梯子的）横档上，路基在他脚下急速闪过。
Now he could clearly see the two little children. They were sitting alongside the rail. Anthony waved frantically and shouted, “Get away! Get away!”
此时，他能够清楚地看到两个小孩，他们正坐在铁轨边。安东尼向他们拼命地挥手，大喊道，“走开！走开！”
He mentally calculated the train’s deceleration rate and groaned. We’ll never stop in time.
他在心里计算着火车的减速速率，呻吟着。我们决不会及时刹住。
ENGROSSED IN PLAY, Todd and Scott did not hear the train. Finally as the sound became thunderous, Scott looked up and froze.
托德和斯科特沉浸于玩耍之中，没有听见火车的声音。最后，当声音变得如轰鸣的雷声时，斯科特抬起头，顿时僵住了。
THOUGH the train was slowing, Anthony knew he couldn’t outrun it. Instead, he forced himself to wait until he would be close enough to leap off and grasp the boys. With perhaps ten feet left between them and the sharp-edged snowplow blade at the front of the train, Anthony sprang forward from the ladder. Landing on the loose, fist-size ballast stones alongside the track, he had to struggle to keep his balance. In two giant strides he almost reached the children. They stared up at him in wide-eyed shock. Anthony, flinging his body into space, flew toward them.
尽管火车慢了下来，但是安东尼知道他不可能比火车跑得快。相反，他只能等到离得足够近的时候，跳下来抓住男孩。当孩子和火车前面扫雪机锋利的刀片只剩10英尺的时候，安东尼从梯子上向前跳去。他落在铁轨边拳头大小的松散的碎石块上，不得不挣扎着保持平衡。他猛跨了两大步，就快够到孩子了。两个孩子眼睛发直地看着安东尼，他飞身扑向车头和两个小孩之间的那段空隙，直扑他们俩。
 THE UNENDING HOWL of the train horn struck Kate Pritchard like a hammer blow. “The boys!” she cried, and raced out the door. They were gone!
火车无休止的轰鸣就像锤头一样敲击着凯特•普理查德。“男孩们！”她大喊一声冲出门去。他们不见了！
The track, she thought. I must get to the track!
铁轨，她心里想。我必须到铁轨上！
AS HIS BODY hurtled downward, Anthony covered Todd while reaching out with one arm to grab Scott and pull him clear of the track. But the train had caught up to them. Anthony saw the black steel edge of the snow blade clip the young child under the chin, driving his head back and scraping over his face. Instantly, blood flashed across the boy’s forehead.
安东尼猛然向下扑，身体保护住了托德，同时，伸出一只手臂抓住斯科特，把他从铁轨上拉下来。但是，火车已经赶上了他们。安东尼看到扫雪机钢制的黑色刀边向小孩下巴的下方猛击过来，他的头被迫扭了过来，刀片从他脸上擦过去。鲜血立即溅满了这个男孩的前额。
Part of the train then punched into the back of Anthony’s quilted work vest, ripping the nylon fabric. Still, Anthony managed to pull Scott completely beneath him.
接着，火车的某个部分冲进安东尼有衬里的工作背心的后背，割破了尼龙布。安东尼仍然拼力把斯科特完全拽在他的身体之下。
He’s dead, Anthony thought. He felt sick with horror. Burying his face in the stones, he pushed downward on the two boys with all his strength as the overhang of the train passed inches above them.
他死了，安东尼心里想。他因恐惧感到恶心。他把脸埋进石头里，并使出全身力气把两个男孩向下推，而此时，火车悬垂下来的突出物离他们只有几英尺。
THE FIRST PERSON Kate saw when she reached the halted train was Todd. Her older boy was jumping up and down and crying uncontrollably. But Kate could see he wasn’t injured. She grabbed and hugged him. Then she saw the still figure of a man lying under the overhang of the third car. Scott’s head, a mask of darkening blood, was visible under him. Kate ran to them. “Scott!” she yelled.
当凯特来到已经刹住的火车跟前，她看见的第一个人是托德。她的大儿子上蹦下跳，控制不住地大哭着。然而，凯特看得出来他没有受伤。凯特一把抓住他，并把他紧紧抱住。接着，她看见第三节车厢悬垂着的东西之下躺着一个静止不动的人影。她看到斯科特的脑袋——被变黑的血遮蔽着——在这个人的下面。凯特跑过去。“斯科特！”她大声吼叫。
Anthony twisted to face her. “Lady,” he said, his voice calm, “go to your house. Call the police and an ambulance.” Kate, only half hearing him, extended her arms to take her baby. Anthony spoke again, more sharply: “Ma’am, listen! Go to your house and call the police --- call an ambulance. Go!”
安东尼扭过来面对着她。“女士，”他声音平静地说，“去你家。打电话报警，叫救护车。”凯特也没有完全听清楚安东尼在说些什么，伸出手臂去抱她的小孩。安东尼又说了一边，这次声音变得刺耳多了：“妈妈，听！去你家，打电话报警——叫救护车来。去！”
Kate tore back to the house, made the calls, then reached her husband, Gary, via his beeper.
凯特飞奔回家，打了电话，然后通过寻呼机联系上了她的丈夫。
When the first police car arrived, Anthony was still clutching little Scott. The conductor knew from the child’s cries that he was alive, but Scott might have internal injuries that any movement could worsen. So Anthony insisted the emergency personnel check the boy before he would release his grip. Miraculously, Scott’s injuries were not serious, requiring just 13 stitches.
当第一辆警车到达时，安东尼仍然紧紧抓着小斯科特。列车员从孩子的哭声知道他还活着，但是斯科特可能有内伤，任何活动都可能会使伤势恶化。因此，安东尼坚持急救人员检查过孩子之后，他再松开手。奇迹的是，斯科特的伤并不严重，只需缝13针就可以了。
There had only been 14 inches between the plow blade and the ground. Reporters later asked Anthony if he had hesitated before risking his life.
扫雪机的刀片和地面只有14英尺。后来记者问安东尼，他在冒生命危险之前是否犹豫过。
 “No,” he replied. “All I could think was that those two little kids have their whole lives still ahead of them, and if I do nothing, they’re dead. There was no way I could let that happen.”
“没有，”他回答说。“我所能想到的就是这两个小孩子未来还有他们整个的人生。如果我无动于衷，他们就死了。我不能够让这种事情发生。”
Soon after the incident, Anthony visited the Pritchards’ home. He recalls putting his arms around Todd and Scott and lifting them. “It made me remember the moment when I first sheltered them under the train. It was an eerie feeling, holding them again --- and wonderful too.”
事件过去不久，安东尼来到普理查德家做客。他回忆起他用自己的两只手臂挽住托德和斯科特，并把他们举了起来。“这让我记起我第一次在火车下面保护他们的情景。再次举起他们，感觉难以名状——不过，也非常美好。”
Since that first visit, the Pritchards say that Anthony has almost become a member of the family. They also report that a fence now separates their neighborhood from the railroad track.
    自从这第一次做客之后，普理查德说安东尼几乎成了家里的一份子。还有报道说，现在他们整个街坊和铁轨之间被围墙割开了。