http://img1.qq.com/news/20050510/1715209.jpg

一架道格拉斯C-47运输机飞行在“驼峰航线”上。

 

《血战长空》

下部　尾声

 

飞机平稳地降落在旧金山国际机场，随着人流，霍华德出了机舱。一出舱门，他就开始大口地呼吸起外面的空气。它进入他的肺中，不久就弥漫了他全身。那种久违地，让他激动不已的感觉又悄然浮上心头。

在机场外，他拦下了一辆出租车。司机微笑着望着他，直到他关上车门。

“先生，去哪里？”

“马克　霍普金斯饭店。”

“好咧！”司机吹着口哨，作为回答。他轻巧地掉转车头，沿着大路向前开去。

 “喂，先生。当兵的吧？”汽车开出不久，司机就饶有兴趣地问道。

“是的。”

“太好了，先生，我们胜利了。”司机兴奋地说，他伸出一只手，冲霍华德做了个胜利的手势。

“是的。”

 “你真幸运，朋友。”司机羡慕地说，“我太老了，要不，一定去前线体验一下，很可能会弄枚漂亮的勋章回来。”

“朋友，你是个真正幸运的人。”霍华德说。

司机看着他，不好意思地微笑起来。

 

  http://pic.itiexue.net/pics/2010_7_16_71604_11471604.jpg

 

The aircraft landed smoothly at San Francisco International Airport. Along with the crowd, Howard went out of the cabin. On stepping out of the door, he started breathing deeply the outside air, which went into his lungs, and soon filled to his body. The long-lost excited feeling quietly crowded in.

Outside the airport, he stopped a taxi. The driver kept looking at him with a smile until he closed the door.

“Where to, Sir?”

“Mark Hopkins Hotel.”

“OK!” the driver gave a whistle as the respond. He deftly turned around, and drove straight along the road.

 “Hello, sir. You are a soldier, right?” After a short while, the driver asked him with interest.

“Yes.”

“Great, sir, we’ve won.” The driver said with excitement. He reached out a hand, and made a sign of victory to Howard.

“Yes.”

“You're lucky enough, my friend.” The driver said admiringly, “I am too old, or I must go to the front line to experience the war, and it is likely for me to come back with a piece of beautiful military decoration.”

“My friend, you are really lucky.” Howard said.

The driver looked at him smiling sheepishly.

 

汽车上了电报山，在亨廷顿公园前，霍华德下了车。他攀山而上，在科尔庄园前，他停下脚步。里面漆黑一片，一副寥落，沉闷的景象。几天前，他给科尔家去过电话，知道了他们一些近况，科尔夫人上年已经去世，妹妹也已出嫁。他的伯父和父亲现在都在纽约。听说他要来旧金山，老人邀请他去庄园住宿。

“谢谢，科尔先生。”霍华德说，“我已经在马克　霍普金斯饭店预订了房间。”

“好吧。”科尔伯父叹口气，他停顿了一会。“霍华德，你那一天去旧金山？”

“八月二十二日。”霍华德说。

“一路平安，霍华德。以后要记住常给我们来电话。”老人平静地说。

“放心吧，科尔先生。”

The taxi climbed up the Telegraph Hill, and Howard got out of it in front of Huntington Park. He climbed the mountain along the path, and stopped before the Cole Estate. It was as dark as night inside, a sparse and dull scene. A few days ago, he telephoned the Cole family, and knew about some recent situations that Cole’s wife died last year, and that his younger sister got married. His uncle and father were both in New York. When the old man heard Howard would come to San Francisco, he invited him to stay in his estate.

“Thank you, Mr. Cole,” Howard said, “I have already booked a room at the Mark Hopkins Hotel.”

“Okay.” Uncle Cole sighed, and paused for a while. “Howard, on which day will you go to San Francisco?”

“August 22.” Howard said.

“Wish you a nice trip, Howard. Remember often to give us a call later on.” The old man said quietly.

“I assure you, Mr. Cole.”

 

 

http://pic.itiexue.net/pics/2010_7_16_71603_11471603.jpg

 

在旅馆里，他办理好一切手续，服务生带着他上了电梯，来到三楼他下榻的房间。他打开房间的门，问他有没有需要的事情，这才放心离开了。霍华德把自己的挎包丢到桌上，双手交叠在头下，躺倒在床上。

日本投降后，他立即就写了申请，希望到中国去。虽然一切顺利，但还是花费了一些时间。这些天，他一直思念着叶梅。并且随着时间推移，这种思念愈发强烈，使他几乎到了崩溃的边缘。但战争还没有结束，他仍有许多工作要做，所以只能在痛苦中煎熬。

他瞅了一眼腕上的手表，发现时间尚早。就钻进浴室里，冲了个澡。精神顿觉好了许多，肚子也开始咕咕叫起来。他换上一件军用衬衣，在镜前梳理好头发，就出了房间。        

In the hotel, he handled all the formalities. A waiter led him down to the elevator and to his hotel room on the third floor, opened the door of the room, asked if there was anything else he could do for him, and then left without worry. Howard threw his bag to the table, and lay on the bed, with his hands folded under his head.

After the Japanese surrendered, he immediately wrote an application hoping to go to China. Although everything went well, it still took him some time. These days, he had been missing Ye Mei. As time went by, this feeling was so increasingly strong that he almost was on the brink of collapse. But the war was not over yet, and he still had much work to do, so he was only suffering in pain.

He took a look at his wrist watch, only to find it was rather early. He got into the bathroom, and took a shower. Immediately he felt much better and his stomach started rumbling. He put on a military shirt, combed hair before a mirror and went out of the room.

 

他乘电梯去顶楼那家著名的‘鸡尾酒’酒吧。在电梯里，他就能听见外面呯呯作响的音乐声。一个头发花白的老者和一对青年恋人在电梯中，他们友好地冲着他微笑，就象相识已久的老朋友一样。

“朋友，我们胜利了。”老者说。

“是的，先生。”

“我们以后再也不用去打仗了，长官。”青年人说。

“但愿如此。”霍华德说。

He took the elevator to the famous Cocktail Bar on the top floor. In the elevator, he could hear the banging of music inside. A gray-haired old man and a pair of young lovers were also in the elevator. They were smiling at him in a friendly way, as if they had been his old friend for long.

“My friend, we are victorious.” The old man said.

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll no longer have to go to war, sir.” said the young man.

 “I hope so.” Howard said.

 

酒吧里挤满了人，下面舞池里也是拥挤不堪。大家谈笑风生，喜悦之情写满脸上。霍华德迟疑了一会，还是从人群中挤进去，倚着柜台，望着前面。他惊奇地发现，几年前，他们坐的那张桌子依然空荡荡的。他想也没想就走过去，在一个座位上坐下来。

“对不起，先生。已经有顾客预定这个位置了。”一位侍者走过来，带着他们职业所特有的微笑对霍华德说。

“噢，我不知道。”霍华德有些难为情地站起身。

那位侍者转过身，向前走了几步。但他似乎想起什么，又转回来，对霍华德微笑着。

“先生，可以问一下你的姓名吗？”

“当然，”霍华德说，“霍华德。詹姆斯　霍华德。”

“嗨，先生。对不起，这就是您的座位。”侍者弓一下身，歉意地说。

“我的座位？”霍华德被弄糊涂了，他狐疑地问了一句。

“是的，先生。有人为您预定了这个位子。”

“是吗？”

“是的，先生。”

The bar was packed with people, the dance floor below crowded as well. People were talking cheerfully and humorously, joy filling their faces. Howard hesitated for a while, squeezed through the crowd and looked at the front, leaning on the counter. He was surprised to find the table they sat at a few years ago was still vacant. He went over to sit down on a seat without thinking.

“I’m sorry, sir. This table’s reserved.” A waiter came and said to Howard, with their unique career smile.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Howard stood up feeling a little embarrassed.

The waiter turned around and walked forward a few steps. But he seemed to have thought of something, and turned back at Howard smiling.

“Sir, can I have your name?”

“Sure,” said Howard, “Howard. James Howard.”

“Hey, sir, I'm sorry. This is your seat.” The waiter bowed, and said apologetically.

“My seat?” Howard was confused, and asked suspiciously.

“Yes, sir. Someone booked this seat for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, sir.”

 

霍华德小心翼翼地坐下来。他想点餐。但那个侍者已经转到别的地方去了。他只好坐着，继续等待。在他旁边，四年前，科尔一家坐的那张桌子边，有一老一少两个军人，另外的人是三个女士。从他们断断续续地谈话中，他知道那是一对父子兵。

那个侍者回来时，手中托着一个硕大的盘子。他把五杯鸡尾酒放在桌上，然后把一份套餐放在霍华德面前。

“这是怎么会事？”霍华德指着酒和套餐问侍者。

“喔，先生。这不是您预定的吗？”侍者吃惊地回答道。

“没有，我没有预定这些。”霍华德说。

“不会错的，先生。”侍者仔细看了看手中的帐单，然后肯定地回答道。

Howard sat down carefully. He would like to order. However, the waiter had already gone to somewhere else. He had to sit and continue to wait. Next to him, an old and a young soldier were sitting at the table the Cole family sat at four years ago, and the other three persons were women. From their on-and-off conversation, he knew the two soldiers were father and son.

The waiter came back, holding a huge plate on his hand. He put five cocktails on the table, and then put a set meal in front of Howard.

“What’s the matter?” Howard asked the waiter, pointing to the wine and the set meal.

“Oh, sir. Are these not what you booked?” the waiter replied amazedly.

“No, I haven’t booked these.” Howard said.

“That can’t be wrong, sir.” The waiter carefully looked at the bill in his hand, and then gave an affirmative reply.

 

霍华德迟疑了一会，突然恍然大悟。他站起身，把那四杯鸡尾酒在桌上摆好，让它们正对四个空着的座位。然后他拿起自己的酒杯，逐个的碰了它们一下。

“干杯，朋友们。我们胜利了！朋友们，我们胜利了！”他喃喃自语着，把杯中的酒一饮而尽。

好像在配合他似的，舞池里响起了《友谊地久天长》曲子。听着这熟悉的旋律，霍华德心情更加激动。他的手不由自主地抚摸着他的上衣口袋，然后轻轻地打开袋盖上的钮扣，从里面取出一封还没有封好的信。

两天前，他去了一趟柯林斯堡，看望伯特的母亲。听说霍华德要到中国来，克林斯曼夫人特意写了这封信，让他转交给中国政府和宋美龄。

霍华德从信封里取出信，把它展开在桌子上。虽然他已读过多次了，但仍忍不住读起来。

Howard hesitated for a while, and suddenly understood why. He stood up and carefully set the four cocktails, which were right opposite to four empty seats. Then he raised his glass, and touched them one by one.

“Cheers, friends. We won! Friends, we won!” He muttered to himself, and drained off the glass.

It seemed to assort him that the tune of Auld Lang Syne arose on the dance floor. Listening to the familiar melody, Howard was even more excited. He involuntarily stroked his coat pocket, gently opened the bag cover button and then took an unsealed letter from the pocket.

Two days ago, he went on a trip to Fort Collins to visit Bert’s mother. Having heard Howard would come back to China, Mrs. Klinsmann specifically wrote this letter, and asked him to transfer it to the Chinese government and Song Meiling.

Howard took the letter from the envelope and expanded it on the table. Although he had read it many times, he could not help but read.

 

亲爱的宋美龄夫人：

亲爱的夫人：首先，请接受一个美国公民的胜利祝愿。经过几年英勇作战，伟大的中国人民和美国人民并肩抗敌，打败了凶残的敌人。在此，请接受我对中国人民的敬佩之情，敬佩他们在战争中所表现出的牺牲精神及坚忍不拔的人格，并向那些在战争中死难的人们致以深切的哀悼。

您一定不认识我，夫人。但我认识您，您的照片就挂在我家客厅墙上最显要位置上。在照片里，您，陈纳德将军和我的儿子正冲着我们微笑。我每天早晨起床的第一件事，就是来看望您们，临睡前的最后的事情，也是这样。

所以，我知道您一定知道我的儿子。伯特　克林斯曼，那个您和陈纳德将军手下的战士。他对您和您的国家是那么崇敬，我现在还清楚地记得那年他回国后，向我讲述的关于您和中国的那些故事。

夫人。战争现在结束了，但我的儿子依旧没有回家。几个月前，他在‘驼峰’上失踪。但是，这不是真的。夫人，请相信我的话，请相信一个母亲的直觉。我了解他。在这个世界上，没有一个人比我更了解他，因为我是他的母亲。

 

我不能确定他确切的位置，但我知道伯特还活着。是的，还活着。在香格里拉或喜马拉雅山某一个山坳里，正严阵以待，等待着您和陈纳德将军向他做出攻击敌人的命令。

夫人，请救救我的儿子，请派人去这些地方，一定能找到他。并请转告他，日本人已经投降，我们再也不用打仗了。请转告他，他的母亲想念他，盼望他快快回家。

崇敬您的琼　克林斯曼

Dear Ms. Song Meiling,

Dear Ms. Song, please accept an American greetings on the victory at first. After several years of heroic fight, the great Chinese and American peoples fought against the enemy side by side, and defeated the brutal enemy. Now and here, please accept my admiration for their spirit of sacrifice and indomitable personality the Chinese people demonstrated in the war, and I’ll express my deepest condolences to those people who lost their lives in the war.

You can’t know me, Madame. But I know you, and the photo of you is hanging in the most prominent position of my living room wall. In the photo, you, General Chennault and my son are smiling at us. The first thing after I get up every morning is to visit you, and the last thing before I go to bed is the same.

So, I guess you must know my son, Bert Klinsmann, who was a soldier under the leadership of you and General Chennault. He respected you and your country so much that I still clearly remember the year when he returned home and told me stories about you and China.

Madam, the war is now over, but my son doesn’t go home yet. A few months ago, he was dismissing on the Hump. However, this is not true. Madam, please believe me, believe a mother’s intuition. I know him well. In this world, no one knows him better than I do, because I am his mother.

I am not sure of his exact location, but I know Bert is still alive. Yes, still alive. In some valley of Shangri-La or the Himalayas, he is alert and ready, waiting for the command of you and Claire Chennault to attack the enemy.

Madam, please help my son. Please send people to go to these places, and they are sure to find him. Please tell him that the Japanese have surrendered, and we are no longer at war. Please tell him that his mother misses him and expects him to come home as soon as possible.

 

　　　　　　With high respectful,

                           Joan Klinsmann 

 

霍华德看着信，他感到有些东西进入了他的眼中。这东西使他眼睛湿润，使他觉得发痒。他不记得自己曾有过这种感觉。可能在他生命中某个时候有过这样的时刻，但那是很久以前的事情，现在他早已忘记了。

他坐在那里，思绪又回到几年前那些岁月。眼泪在他眼睛里越聚越多，最后夺眶而出。他毫不在意，任由它们顺着自己脸颊向下流淌。音乐现在已停止了，酒吧里所有人在同情地望着他。但他无法感觉到这一切。直到眼泪弥住他的眼睛，他才抬起手，想把它们拭去。恍惚中，他看见一个人从外面走进来，他是个中等身材，金发碧眼的英俊小伙子，他微笑着，步伐坚定地向他走来。

“伯特，是你吗？我的好兄弟。是你吗？”霍华德迟疑了一会，猛地从椅子里站起身。他一边呼唤着那个熟悉的名字，一边不顾一切地朝门口奔去．．．．．．

While reading the letter, Howard felt something into his eyes. It made his eyes moist, and made him feel itching. He could not remember to have had this feeling. Maybe there was such a moment in his life, but it was a long time ago, he already forgot.

He sat there, his thoughts back to the hours a few years ago. More and more tears gathered in his eyes, and finally rushed out. He didn’t care it, letting them flowing down along his cheeks. The music stopped, and everyone in the bar was looking at him sympathetically. But he could not feel it at all until the tears covered his eyes. He raised his hand and wanted to wipe them away. In a trance, he saw a man come in from the outside, who was a handsome young blond man of medium build. He walked toward him firmly with a smile.

“Bert, is that you, buddy, is that you?” Howard hesitated for a while, and suddenly stood up from his chair. While calling the familiar name, he was rushing toward the door regardless of everything...