那天下午荷西下班后，他并没有照例推门进来，只留在车上按喇叭，音如“三毛，三毛。”于是我放下了正在写著玩的毛笔字跑去窗口回答他。
That afternoon, after coming
back from work, Hexi didn’t enter the house as he used to. Instead, he stayed
in the car and honked the horn, giving sound like “Sanmao, Sanmao”. So I
dropped calligraphy practicing which was meant for fun and run to the window to
respond to him.
“为什么不进来？”我问他。
“Why
not come inside?” I said.
“我知道什么地方有化石的小乌龟和贝壳，你要去吗？”
“I
know a place where we can find fossil tortoises and shells. You going?”
我跳了起来，连忙回答∶“要去，要去。”
Jumping
to my feet, I hastily said, “Yes. Yes.”
“快出来！”荷西又在叫。
“Then
come out quickly!” Hexi was shouting again.
“等我换衣服，拿些吃的东西，还有毯子。”我一面向窗口叫，一面跑去预备。
“Wait,
I need to change. And also, I need to bring something to eat, and a blanket.” I
shouted towards the window while running to get things ready.
“快点好不好，不要带东西啦！我们两三小时就回来。”
“Can’t
you be quick? Forget about those things. We will be back in two or three
hours.”
我是个急性人，再给他一催，干脆一秒钟就跑出门来了。
An
impetuous person I was, and with his pushing, I rushed out of the door in a
second.
身上穿了一件布的连身裙拖到脚背，脚上穿了一双拖鞋，出门时顺手抓了挂在门上的皮酒壶，里面有一公升的红酒。这样就是我全部的装备了。
I
had a cotton dress long enough to cover the back of my feet and a pair of
slippers. I grabbed the leather flagon which was hung on the door and contained
one liter of red wine and then went out. Those were all I was equipped
with.
“好了，走吧！”我在车垫上跳了一跳满怀高兴。
“All
set. Let’s go!” I bounced a little on the car seat cushion with overwhelming
joy.
“来回两百四十多里，三小时在车上，一小时找化石，回来十点种正好吃晚饭。”荷西正在自言自语。
“The
round trip is about 120 kilometers. Three hours would be spent on driving and
one hour on fossil searching. Around ten o’clock, we will be back home in time
for dinner.” Hexi said to himself.
我听见来回两百多里路，不禁望了一下已经偏西了的太阳，想对荷西抗议。但是此人自从有了车以后，这个潜伏性的“恋车情结”大发特发，又是个Ｏ型人，不易改变，所以我虽然觉得黄昏了还跑那么远有点不妥，但是却没有说一句反对的话。
Upon
hearing the round trip of about 120 kilometers, I couldn’t help looking at the
sun which had already set towards the west and wanted to raise an objection.
Yet ever since this man got a car, the hidden “car complex” inside him had
manifested itself and had been growing like crazy. Besides, he was a man with
type O blood, which meant a stubborn character. Thus, I didn’t say anything, though
I felt it somewhat inappropriate to drive that far at dusk.
一路上沿著公路往小镇南方开了二十多公里，到了检查站路就没有了，要开始进入一望无际的沙漠。
We
had driven over twenty kilometers from the town all along the road to the
south. After we passed the checkpoint, we would start the journey into the
endless desert.
那个哨兵走到窗口来看了看，说著∶“啊，又是你们，这个时候了还出去吗？”
The
guard walked to our car window, checked inside and then said, “Oh, it’s you
again. Going out at this late hour?”
“不远，就在附近三十公里绕圈子，她要仙人掌。”荷西说完了这话开了车子就跑。
“Not
going far. About thirty kilometers around here. She wants cactus.” No sooner
had Hexi said that than he drove off.
“你为什么骗他？”我责问他。
“Why
lied to him?” I asked him with a reproach.
“不骗不给出来，你想想看，这个时间了，他给我们去那么远？”
“If
I haven’t lied to him, he wouldn’t have let us out. Just think about it, will
he let us go that far at this hour?”
“万一出事了，你给他的方向和距离都不正确，他们怎么来找我们？”我问他。
“If
something happens, how could they reach us as you gave them neither the right
direction nor the right location?” I said.
“不会来找的，上次几个嬉皮怎么死的？”他又提令人不舒服的事，那几个嬉皮的惨死我们是看到的。
“They
won’t come to find us. Remember how those hippies died?” He was mentioning that
unpleasant accident again. We saw ourselves how they died in tragedy.
已经快六点种了，太阳虽然挂下来了，四周还是明亮得刺眼，风已经刮得有点寒意了。
It’s
almost six o’clock. The sun had set while it was still dazzlingly bright all
around. The wind was getting cold, though.
车子很快的在沙地上开著，我们沿著以前别人开过的车轮印子走。满辅碎石的沙地平坦地一直延伸到视线及不到的远方。海市蜃楼左前方有一个，右前方有两个，好似是一片片绕著小树丛的湖水。
We
drove fast on the sand, tracing the car tracks left by others. The sand road
covered by gravel stretched smoothly far out of the sight. There was a mirage
to our left in the front, and two to the right, appearing as shadow debris of a
lake surrounded by bushes.
四周除了风声之外什么也听不见，死寂的大地像一个巨人一般躺在那里，它是狰狞而又凶恶的，我们在它静静展开的躯体上驶著。
Nothing
in the surroundings except for the sound of wind could be heard. The earth
reigned by dead silence was like a ferociously evil giant lying there, and we
were driving on its silently stretched body.
“我在想，总有一天我们会死在这片荒原里。”我叹口气望著窗坍说。
“We
might die in this desert one day, I think.” I signed while staring at the
windowsill.
“为什么？”车子又跳又冲的往前飞驰。
“Why
is that?” The car jumped and dashed speedily forward.
“我们一天到晚跑进来扰乱它，找它的化石，挖它的植物，捉它的羚羊，丢汽水瓶、纸盒子、脏东西，同时用车轮压它的身体。沙漠说它不喜欢，它要我们的命来抵偿，就是这样——呜、呜——。”我一面说，一面用手做出掐人脖子的姿势。荷西哈哈大笑，他最喜欢听我胡说八道。
“We
have come here to disturb it all day long, collecting its fossils, digging its
plants, catching its antelopes, throwing in it water bottles, paper boxes and
dirty garbage and crushing its body with wheels. The desert says it doesn’t
like that. It threatens to take our lives as compensation. Just like this—wuh,
wuh—, “I howled while making a gesture of wringing someone’s neck. Hexi cracked
up laughing. He was fond of me talking all baloney.
这时我将车窗杠部摇上来，因为气温已经不知不觉下降了很多。
I rolled
up the window, for the temperature was imperceptibly getting lower.
“迷宫山来了。”荷西说。
“Here
comes Maze Hill.”Hexi said.
我抬起头来往地平线上极力望去，远处有几个小黑点慢慢地在放大。那是附近三百里内唯一的群山，事实上它是一大群高高的沙堆，散布在大约二、三十里方圆的荒地上。
I
looked up and gazed far into the horizon. There appeared some black dots which
were gradually enlarging. Those were the only hills within the 150 kilometers around.
As a matter of fact, they were merely high mounds of sands, dotted around the
desert for about 10 to 15 kilometers.
这些沙堆因为是风吹积成的，所以全是弧形的，在外表上看去一模一样。它们好似一群半圆的月亮，被天空中一只大怪手抓下来，放置在撒哈拉沙漠里，更奇怪的是，这些一百公尺左右高的沙堆，每一个间隔的距离都是差不多的。人万一进了这个群山里，一不小心就要被迷住失去方向。我给它取名叫迷宫山。
Blown
together by wind and shaped like long arcs, these mounds all appeared exactly
the same. They were like semicircular moons snatched from the sky by a creepy
giant hand and placed in the Sahara Desert. The odder thing is, these sand
mounds about one hundred meters high were more or less equally spaced. If
someone accidentally went into these hills, he might easily get lost Thus, I
named it Maze Hill.
迷宫山越来越近了，终于第一个大沙堆耸立在面前。
Maze
Hill is approaching nearer and nearer. Finally the first sand mound showed
itself in front of us.
“要进去啊？”我轻轻的说。
“Going
in?” I whispered.
“是，进去后再往右边开十五里左右就是听说有化石的地方。”
“Yes.
We go in and drive about 7,500 meters to the right and then we will arrive at
the place which is said to have fossils.”
“快七点半多了，鬼要打墙了。”我咬咬嘴唇，心里不知怎的觉得不对劲。
“It’s
almost half past seven. Ghosts are about to come out enchanting us.” I bit my
lips, an eerie feeling somehow growing in me.
“迷信，那里来的鬼。”荷西就是不相信。
“Pure
superstitious. Where are there ghosts?” Hexi never believe that kind of stuff
at all.
此人胆大粗心，又顽固如石头，于是我们终于开进迷宫山里去绕沙堆了。太阳在我们正背后，我们的方向是往东边走。
This
man was bold, careless and as stubborn as a stone. There we were, driving into Maze
Hill in the end and circling these sand mounds. The sun was right behind us, so
we were heading to the east.
迷宫山这次没有迷住我们，开了半小时不到就跑出来了。
Maze
Hill didn’t perplex us this time and we drove out of it within half an hour.
再往前去沙地里完全没有车印子，我们对这一带也不熟悉更加上坐在一辆完全不适合沙漠行驶的普通汽车里，心情上总很没有安全感。荷西下车来看了一看地。
We
drove forward onto the sand road where there were no longer car tracks. As we
were not familiar with this area and this ordinary car was completely not
suitable for traveling in the desert, we felt somewhat insecure. Hexi got off
the car to check the road.
“回去吧！”我已完全无心找化石了。
“Let’s
go back!” I was not in the mood for fossil searching anymore.
“不回去。”荷西完全不理会我，车子一跳又往这片完全陌生的地上继续开下去。
“No.”
Hexi chose to ignore me. The car jumped into this completely strange place and
continued its journey.
开了两三里路，我们前面现出了一片低地，颜色是深咖啡红的，那片地上还罩了一层淡灰紫色的雾气。几千万年以前此地可能是一条很宽的河。
When
we drove another 1000 or 1500 meters, there appeared before us the maroon
lowlands, covered by light purple fog. It might have been a very broad river here
tens of millions years ago.
荷西说∶“这里可以下去。”车子慢慢顺著一大片斜坡滑下去，他将车停住，又下车去看地，我也下车了，抓起一把土来看，它居然是湿泥，不是沙，我站了一下，想也想不通。
Hexi
said, “We could go down this way.” The car slowly slid down the slope. Then he
stopped the car and got off it again to check the road. I got off too and
picked from the ground a handful of dirt. It was wet mud instead of sand. I
stood there for a while and couldn’t figure out why.
“三毛，你来开车，我在前面跑，我打手势叫停，你就不要再开了。”
“Sanmao,
you drive. I will run before you. When I made a stopping gesture, then don’t
drive any further.”
说完荷西就开始跑起来。我慢慢发动车子，跟他保持一段距离。
Then
Hexi started running. I started the car slowly and kept him at a distance.
“怎么样？”他问我。
“You
ok with that?” he asked me.
“没问题。”我伸出头去回答他。
“Yes.”
I stretched my head out of the car to answer him.
他越跑离我越远，然后又转过身来倒退著跑，同时双手挥动著，叫我前进。
He
was running farther and farther from me. Then he suddenly turned around and run
backwards, waving his hands to direct me to drive ahead.
这时我看见荷西身后的泥土在冒泡泡，好像不太对，我赶紧煞车向他大叫∶“小心，小心，停——”我打开车门一面叫一面向他跑去，但是荷西已经踏进这片大泥沼里去了，湿泥一下没到他的膝盖，他显然吃了一惊，回过头去看，又踉跄的跌了几步，泥很快的没到了他大腿，他挣扎了几步，好似要倒下去的样子，不知怎的，越挣扎越远了，我们之间迅了很大一段距离。
Then
I saw the earth behind Hexi was babbling. Something seemed to be wrong. I
hastily braked the car and cried, “Be careful. Careful. Stop—”I opened the door
and run towards him, still shouting at him. However, Hexi had stepped into the swamp and got bogged, with wet mud
going over his knees in no time, which apparently startled him. Looking back,
he staggered for a few steps while mud quickly reached up to his thighs. After
floundering a few more steps, he almost fell and was somehow farther away. Soon
we were far across a distance between each other.
我张口结舌的站在一边，人惊得全身都冻住了，我不相信这是真的，但是眼前的景象是千真万确的啊！这全是几秒钟内发生的事情。
I
stood there, dumbstruck and frozen in horror. I couldn’t believe what I saw but
it was the gospel truth, which all happened in a few seconds.
荷西困难地在提脚，眼看要被泥沼吃掉了，这时我看见他右边两公尺左右好似有一块突出来的石头，我赶紧狂叫∶“往那边，那边有块石头。”
Hexi
strived to lift himself out of the swamp which was about to devour him at any
moment. Suddenly I noticed that there seemed to be a rock striking out the
swamp about two meters on his right. I shouted crazily, “Move that way, there
is a rock there.”
他也看见石块了，又挣扎著过去，泥已经埋到他的腰部了。我远远的看著他，却无法替他出力，急得全身神经都要断了，这好似在一场恶梦里一样。
Seeing
the rock too, he floundered towards it with mud already burying his waist. I watched
him from afar, unable to do anything. I was so out of wits with anxiety that
all my nerves were nearly broken. It was a nightmare.
看见他双手抱住了泥沼内突出来的大石块，我方醒了过来，马上跑回车内去找可以拉他过来的东西，但是车内除了那个酒壶之外，只有两个空瓶子和一些《联合报》，行李箱内有一个工具盒，其它什么也没有。
The
sight of him holding onto the rock that stroke out of the swamp brought me to
my senses. I run immediately back to the car and tried to find something that
could help pull him up. However, I could find nothing but the leather flagon, two
empty bottles, some United Daily News papers and a tool box in the trunk.
我又跑回泥沼边去看看荷西，他没有作声，呆呆的望著我。
I
went back to check on Hexi, who remained silent and stared at me in a daze.
我往四处疯狂的乱跑，希望在地上捡到一条绳子，几块木板，或者随便什么东西都好。但是四周除了沙和小石子之外，什么也没有。
I
run about here and there like crazy, hoping to find a rope or some planks or anything
that could help. Nevertheless, there was nothing around here except for sand
and small stones.
荷西抱住石块，下半身陷在泥里，暂时是不会沉下去了。
Hexi
was holding the rock with the lower part of his body stuck in the mud. For the
moment, he stopped sinking further more.
“荷西，找不到拉你的东西，你忍一下。”我对他叫著，我们之间大约有十五公尺。
“Hexi,
I can’t find anything that could help pull you up. Just hang in there.” I
shouted at him, who was fifteen meters away.
“不要急，不要急。”他安慰我，但是他声音都变了。
“Don’t
fret, I will be all right.” He comforted me, though his voice turned different.
四周除了风声之外就是沙，濛濛的在空气中飞扬著。前面是一片广大的泥沼，后面是迷宫山，我转身去望太阳，它已经要落下去了。再转身去看荷西，他也正在看太阳。
There
was nothing in the surroundings except for the sound of the wind and sand
flying about in the misty sky. In the front was a vast swamp; while at the back
was Maze Hill. I turned around and saw that the sun was about to set down. Then
I turned and saw Hexi was also watching the setting sun.
夕阳黄昏本是美景，但是我当时的心情却无法欣赏它。寒风一阵阵吹过来，我看看自己单薄的衣服，再看看泡在稀泥里的荷西，再回望太阳，它像独眼怪人的大红眼睛，正要闭上了。
I was
not in the mood to admire the beautiful setting sun at dusk. The cold wind blew
now and then. I looked at my thin clothes, then at Hexi, who was still swamped
in the mud, and then at the sun. It was very much like the one-eyed monster’s
huge red eye which was about to close.
几小时之内，这个地方要冷到零度，荷西如果无法出来，就要活活被冻死了。“三毛，进车里去，去叫人来。”他对我喊著。
Within
hours, it would be zero-degree cold. If Hexi were still stuck there, he would
be frozen to death. “Sanmao, get in the car and go fetch some people here.”
Hexi shouted.
“我不能离开你。”我突然情感激动起来。
“I
don’t want to leave you.” Suddenly I became emotional.
前面的迷宫山我可以看方向开出去，但是从迷宫山开到检查站，再去叫人回来，天一定已经黑了。天黑不可能再找到迷宫山回到荷西的地方，只有等天亮，天亮时荷西一定已经冻死了。
I
could drove out of Maze Hill in the frontier of the desert, which was still
perceptible at that time. But it would get pretty dark if I were to drive from
Maze Hill all the way back to the checkpoint to fetch someone here. It’s
impossible to find the way in the darkness from Maze Hill to the swamp which
stuck Hexi. It had to wait until daytime, by which Hexi must have been frozen
to death.
太阳完全看不见了，气温很快的下降，这是沙漠夜间必然的现象。
The
sun disappeared and the temperature was dropping rapidly, which was inevitable
phenomenon at night in the desert.
“三毛，到车里去，你要冻死了。”荷西愤怒的对我叫著，但是我还是蹲在岸边。
“Sanmao,
get in the car. You are freezing.” Hexi yelled at me angrily. Nevertheless, I
stayed, squatting by the swamp.
我想荷西一定比我冻得更厉害，我发抖发得话也不想讲，荷西将半身挂在石块上，只要他不动，我就站起来叫他∶“荷西，荷西，要动，转转身体，要勇敢——”他听见我叫他，就动一下，但是要他在那个情形下运动也是太困难了。
I
knew Hexi must have suffered the freezing cold even more. Yet I trembled so
hard that I couldn’t say anything. Hexi was still hanging half of his body on
the rock. As long as there were no signs of him moving, I would stand up and
encourage him, “Hexi! Hexi! Keep moving! Move your body around and be brave—”
When he heard me calling him, he stirred a little bit. Substantial movements
were way too difficult to make under that circumstance.
天已经变成鸽灰色，我的视线已经慢慢被暮色弄模糊了。
The
sky turned dove-gray. The dusk was gathering and gradually blurring my visions.
我的脑筋里疯狂的挣扎，我离开他去叫人，冒著回不来救他的危险，还是陪著他一同冻死。
My
mind was struggling wildly. Should I leave him to ask for help at the risk of
not being able to come back and save him or should I just stay here and keep
him company even if we would both end up being frozen to death.
这时我看见地平线上有车灯，我一愣，跳了起来，明明是车灯嘛！在很远很远，但是往我这个方向开来。
Then
I saw car light flashing from the horizon. I was numbed for a while and then
leaped up. It was absolutely light from a car! Though very far away, the car
was heading our way.
我大叫∶“荷西，荷西，有车来。”一面去按车子的喇叭，我疯了似的按著喇叭，又打开车灯一熄一亮吸引他们的注意，然后又跳到车顶上去挥著双手乱叫乱跳。
I
shouted out loud, “Hexi! Hexi! A car!” Meanwhile, I run back to our car and
madly honked the horn. Then I turned the car light on and off several times.
And then I climbed to the car top, shouting and waving.
终于他们看到了，车子往这边开来。
Finally
they noticed me. The car was heading towards us.
我跳下车顶向他们跑去，车子看得很清楚了，是沙漠跑长途的吉普车，上面装了很多茶叶木箱，车上三个沙哈拉威男人。
I
jumped off the car top and run towards them. The car could be seen clearly
then; it was a jeep for long drive in the desert. There were many wood tea
boxes on it and three sahrawi men as well.
他们开到距离我快三十公尺处便停了车，在远处望著我，却不走过来。
They
wouldn’t come near after they stopped the car about thirteen meters from me,
but simply stared at me in the distance instead.
我当然明白，他们在这荒野里对陌生人有戒心，不肯过来。于是我赶快跑过去，他们正在下车。我们的情形他们可以看得很清楚，天还没有完全黑。
I
completely understood that they were vigilant and reluctant to come near some
random stranger in the wilds, so I run quickly towards them instead. They were
getting off the jeep. It was not fully dark yet, so they could see clearly what
happened to us.
“帮帮忙，我先生掉在泥沼里了，请帮忙拖他上来。”我跑得上气不接下气，到了他们面前满怀希望的求著。
“Help
us, please. My husband fell into the swamp. Please help me pull him up.” I came
to them, short of breath because of the running and yet full of hope.
他们不理我，却用土话彼此谈论著，我听得懂他们说∶“是女人，是女人。”“快点，请帮帮忙，他快冻死了。”我仍大口大口的喘著气。
They
ignored me but kept talking with each other in their indigenous language, which
were somewhat comprehensible to me. They were saying, “It’s a woman. It’s a
woman.” “Hurry and help us, please? He is frozen to death.” I was still panting
for breath.
“我们没有绳子。”其中的一个回答我，我愣住了，因为他的口气拒人千里之外。
“We
don’t have robes.” one of them said. I was stupefied by his frosty rejection.
“你们有缠头巾，三条结在一起可以够长了。”我又试探的建议了一句。我明明看见车上绑木箱的是大粗麻绳。
“But
you have turbans. Three could be knotted together and that would be long
enough.” I said tentatively. I had seen for myself that those wood boxes in the
car were bound with thick hemp robes.
“你怎么知道我们一定会救他，奇怪。”
“How
can you be sure that we will help him? That’s funny.”
“我……”我想再说服他们，但是看见他们的眼神很不定，不怀好意的上下打量著我，我便改口了。
“I...”I
tried to persuade them. But when I saw their wandering eyes looking at me up
and down balefully, I said then,
“好，不救也没法勉强，算了。”我预备转身便走，荒山野地里碰到疯子了。说时迟那时快，我正要走，这三个沙哈拉威人其中的一个突然一扬头，另外一个就跳到我背后，右手抱住了我的腰，左手摸到我胸口来。
“All
right, I can’t force you to help. So never mind.” I meant to turn around and
leave immediately, for I realized that these guys in the wilds were some kind
of lunatics. However, before I got on going, one of these Sahrawi suddenly
titled his head and then another one quickly jumped behind my back, holding me
on the waist with his right hand and feeling me up on my breasts with his left.
我惊得要昏了过去，本能的狂叫起来，一面在这个疯子铁一样的手臂里像野兽一样的又吼又挣扎，但是一点用也没有。他扳住我的身体，将我转过去面对著他，将那张可怕的脸往我凑过来。
I
almost passed out by the shock and shouted hysterically by instinct while
struggling like a beast in this lunatic’s iron-like arms. Yet it was futile. He
turned my body around so as to make me face him and his dreadful face tried to
lean over.
荷西在那边完全看得见山坡上发生的情形，他哭也似的叫著∶“我杀了你们。”
Hexi
saw clearly what happened on the slope and cried out, “I will kill you.”
他放开了石头预备要踏著泥沼拚出来，我看了一急，忘了自己，向他大叫∶“荷西，不要，不要，求求你——”一面哭了出来。
He
relaxed his hold on the rock, trying to fight a way out. Upon seeing this I
freaked out and forgot about myself, “Hexi, no! No! I beg you—” I burst into
tears while shouting at him.
那三个沙哈拉威人给我一哭全去注意荷西了，我面对著抱著我的疯子，用尽全身的气力，举起脚来往他下腹踢去，他不防我这致命的一踢，痛叫著蹲下去，当然放开了我。我转身便逃，另外一个跨了大步来追我，我蹲下去抓两把沙子往他眼睛里撒去，他两手蒙住了脸，我乘这几秒钟的空档，踢掉脚上的拖鞋，光脚往车子的方向没命的狂奔。
My
crying diverted attentions of those three Sahrawi and they all turned to look
at Hexi. Confronting the lunatic who held me, I expended all my strength in
kicking his lower belly part with my foot. He didn’t see that deadly kick
coming, so he ended up crouching in pain and thus released me from his grasp. I
turned and started running. Another guy chased me after with lengthened stride.
I squatted down, scooped up two handfuls of sand and threw them at his eyes. He
then covered up his face with hands, while I kicked off my slippers in these few
seconds and run desperately towards my car with bare feet.
他们三个没有跑步来追，他们上了吉普车慢慢的往我这儿开来。
They
didn’t run after me. Instead, they got in the jeep and drove slowly after me.
我想当时他们一定错估了一件事情，以为只有荷西会开车，而我这样乱跑是逃不掉的，所以用车慢慢来追我。
They
must have got it wrong in thinking that only Hexi could drive and I could never
escape by running, so they drove in a leisurely manner to pursue me.
我跳进车内，开了引擎，看了一眼又留在石块边的荷西，心里像给人鞭打了一下似的抽痛。
I
jumped inside the car and started the engine. Then I took a glance at Hexi and the
sight of him staying beside the rock cut me like a whip.
“跑，跑，三毛，跑。”荷西紧张的对我大叫。
“Run!
Run! Sanmao, run!” Hexi was nervously shouting at me.
我没有时间对他说束何话，用力一踏油门。车子跳了起来，吉普车还没到，我已冲上山坡飞也似的往前开去。吉普车试著挡我，我用车好似“自杀飞机”一样去撞它。他们反而赶快闪开了。
I
didn’t have time to say anything to him and simply pressed the accelerator
hard. The car sprung from the ground. Before the jeep even came to me, I had
driven onto that slope and sped forward like a rocket. The jeep tried to block
me, yet I drove like a “suicidal plane” towards them. They dodged quickly
instead.
油门已经踏到底了，但是吉普车的灯光就是避不掉，他们咬住我的车不放过我，我的心紧张得快跳出来，人好似要窒息了一样喘著气。
The
gas pedal had been floored, yet the Jeep’s light still couldn’t be rid of. They
were close at my heels and wouldn’t let me go. I was so jittery that I thought
my heart would bump outside and I was simply suffocating and gasping for
breath.
我一面开车，一面将四边车门都按下了锁，左手在座垫背后摸索，荷西藏著的弹簧刀给我握到了。
As
I drove, I locked all four car doors. I groped with my left hand under the
cushion and found the switchblade Hexi had hidden.
迷宫山来了，我毫不考虑的冲进去，一个沙堆来了，我绕过去，吉普车也跟上来，我疯狂的在这些沙堆里穿来穿去，吉普车有时落后一点，有时又正面撞过来，总之无论我怎么拚命乱开，总逃不掉它。
Maze
Hill appeared before me. I dashed in without any hesitation. Here came one sand
hill, so I swerved around. The jeep followed me. While I zigzagged among those
sand hills, sometimes the jeep lagged behind for a while and sometimes it
charged towards me from ahead. Whichever direction and however hard I was
driving, there was no escaping from it.
这时我想到，除非我熄了自己的车灯，吉普车总可以跟著我转，万一这样下去汽油用完了，我只有死路一条。
Then
it came to me that unless I turned off my car light, the Jeep could always
follow me along and that if the gas run out, I would be doomed eventually.
想到这儿，我发狠将油门拚命踏，绕过半片山，等吉普车还没有跟上来，我马上熄了灯，车子并没有减速，我将驾驶盘牢牢抓住，往左边来个紧急转弯，也就是不往前面逃，打一个转回到吉普车追来后面的沙堆去。
Upon
thinking of all that, I stepped on the gas pedal with a determined effort. When
I bypassed half a hill and the jeep was not in sight yet, I turned off the
light and kept speeding ahead. Then, holding firmly on the steering wheel, I
swerved sharply to the left, for I didn’t plan to drive forward, instead I
drove back towards the sand hill we had passed during the chasing.
弧形的沙堆在夜间有一大片阴影，我将车子尽量靠著沙堆停下来，开了右边的门，从那里爬出去，离车子有一点距离，手里握著弹簧刀，这时我多么希望这辆车子是黑色的，或者咖啡色、墨绿色都可以，但是它偏偏是辆白色的。
The
arc-shaped sand hills cast wide shadows in the evening. I stopped the car as
near the sand hill as possible, opened the right door and climbed out. I stood
nearby the car at a certain distance, holding the switchblade in the hand. How
I wish the car was black, or brown or dark green, yet it was white.
我看见吉普车失去了我的方向，它在我前面不停的打著转找我，它没有想到我会躲起来，所以它绕了几圈又往前面加速追去。
That
Jeep lost my track and kept circling around ahead to search for me. It never
occurred to them that I had already hidden somewhere, so they drove around a
few sand hills and sped further ahead.
我沿著沙地跑了几步，吉普车真的开走了，我不放心怕它开回来，又爬到沙堆顶上去张望，吉普车的灯光终于完全在远处消失了。
I
run forward a few steps and saw that the jeep had truly driven away. Yet I was
far from relieved, so I climbed on the top of the sand hill to assure myself
that it wouldn’t come back. The jeep’s light vanished into the distance.
我滑下山回列车里去，发觉全身都是冷汗，眼前一波一波的黑影子涌上来，人好似要呕吐似的。我又爬出车子，躺在地上给自己冻醒，我绝不能瘫下来，荷西还留在沼泽里。
I
slid downhill and got back into the car with cold sweat all over my body. Then
I saw waves of stars and felt like vomiting, so I climbed out of the car again
and lied down, trying to sober up in the coldness. I couldn’t let myself
collapse. Hexi was still in that swamp.
又等了几分钟，我已完全镇静下来了。看看天空，大熊星座很明亮，像一把水杓似的挂在天上，小熊星在它下面，好似一颗颗指路的钻石，迷宫山在夜间反而比日正当中时容易辨认方向。
A
few minutes later, I regained my composure. I looked up and found the bright
Ursa Major hanging in the sky like a dipper and Ursa Junior beneath it like
diamonds showing directions. In Maze Hill, it’s actually easier to identify the
direction in the evening than in the bright day.
我在想，我往西走可以出迷宫，出了迷宫再往北走一百二十里左右，应该可以碰到检查站，我去求救，再带了人回来，那样再快也不会在今夜，那么荷西——他——我用手捂住了脸不能再想下去。
I
was thinking that I could get out of Maze Hill from the west, and then head
north for about 60 kilometers to reach for help at the checkpoint and bring
someone back with me. However soon we tried to be back, tonight was not a
possibility. By then, Hexi—he—I covered my face with hands and couldn’t dare to
think any more.
我在附近站了一下，除了沙以外没有东西可以给我做指路的记号，但是记号在这儿一定要留下来，明天清早可以回来找。
I
stood nearby for a while. There was nothing but sand here that could be used as
a mark of direction. And the mark should remain here till tomorrow morning, so
that we could track down back.
我被冻得全身剧痛，只好又跑回到车里去。无意中我看见车子的后座，那块座垫是可以整个拆下来的啊，我马上去开工具箱，拿出起子来拆螺丝钉，一面双手用力拉座垫，居然被我拆下来了。
I
was achingly freezing to the bone, so I run back inside the car. Suddenly I
caught sight of the back seat, the cushion of which could entirely be torn
down. So I opened the tool box in no time and used the screwdriver to remove
the screw, while at the same time pulled at the seat cushion. Surprisingly, I
tore it down.
我将这块座垫拖出来，丢在沙地上，这样明天回来好找一点。我上车将车灯打开来，预备往检查站的方向开去，心里一直控制著自己，不要感情形事，开回去看荷西不如找人来救他，我不是丢下了他。
I
pulled the cushion out of the car and threw it on the sand. So I could find my
way back more easily tomorrow morning. I got onto the car and turned on the car
light, ready to drive to the checkpoint. I restrained myself from being
emotional and told myself that it was better to find some help than drive back
to see Hexi and that I did not abandon him.
车灯照著沙地上被我丢在一旁的大黑座垫，我已经发动车子了。
With
the car shedding light on the big black cushion I have thrown on the sand, I
started the car.
这时我像被针刺了一下，跳了起来，车垫那么大一块，又是平的，它应该不会沉下去。我兴奋得全身发抖，赶快又下去捡车垫，仍然将它丢进后座。掉转车头往泥沼的方向开去。
All
of a sudden, I sprang up as if I were pricked by the needle. That cushion, huge
and flat, should not sink in the swamp. I was thrilled with joys and shivers.
So I hurriedly got off the car, picked the cushion up and threw it in the back
car seat. Then I turned around the car and drove back to the swamp.
为了怕迷路，我慢慢的沿著自己的车印子开，这样又绕了很多路，有时又完全找不到车印，等到再开回到沼泽边时，我不敢将车子太靠近，只有将车灯对著它照去。
For
fear of getting lost, I carefully followed the car tracks I left before,
circling around for miles and sometimes losing the tracks. Finally I got back
to the swamp. Yet I didn’t dare to drive too close, so I simply flashed the car
light towards it.
泥沼静静的躺在黑暗中，就如先前一样，偶尔冒些泡泡，泥上寂静一片，我看不见荷西，也没有那块突出来的石头。
The
swamp lied quietly in the darkness, just like before and babbling only
occasionally. It was dead still on the surface of the swamp. I couldn’t see Hexi,
or the stone that stroke out.
“荷西，荷西——”我推开车门沿著泥沼跑去，口里高叫著他的名字。但是荷西真的不见了。我一面抖著一面像疯子一样上下沿著泥沼的边缘跑著，狂喊著。
“Hexi,
Hexi—” I pushed the car door open and run towards it, calling out his name. But
he really disappeared. I run along the swamp like a mad woman, shivering and
shouting.
荷西死了，一定是死了，恐怖的回声在心里击打著我。我几乎肯定泥沼已经将他吞噬掉了。这种恐惧令人要疯狂起来。
Hexi
was dead. He must have been dead. The terrifying echo inside punched my heart.
I was almost certain that the swamp swallowed him. The fear drove me crazy.
我逃回到车里去，伏在驾驶盘上抖得像风里的一片落叶。
I
fled to the car and hunched over the steering wheel, shivering like a fallen
leaf in the wind.
不知过了多久，我听见有很微弱的声音在叫我——“三毛——三毛——”我慌张的抬起头来找，黑暗中我看不到什么，打开车灯，将车子开动了一点点，又听清楚了，是荷西在叫我。我将车开了快一分钟，荷西被车灯照到了，他还是在那块石头边，但是我停错了地方，害得空吓一场。
Time
slipped without my notice when I heard a weak voice calling me, “Sanmao—Sanmao—”I
raised up my head and tried to find that voice, but I could see nothing in the
darkness. So I turned the light on and drove a bit ahead. Then I heard it again
clearly. It was Hexi calling me. I was driving for nearly one minute before Hexi
finally appeared in my light and he was still beside the rock. It’s just that I
had stopped at the wrong place, totally a false alarm.
“荷西，撑一下，我马上拉你出来。”
“Hexi,
hang in there. I will pull you out right away.”
他双手抱住石块，头枕在手臂里，在车灯下一动也不动。
He
was holding that rock with both hands while resting the head on his arms,
motionless in the light.
我将车垫拉出来，半拖半抱的往泥沼跑下来，跑到湿泥缠我小腿的地方，才将这一大块后车座垫用力丢出去，它浮在泥上没有沉下去。
I
pulled the cushion out and carried it by holding and sometimes dragging along
the way to the swamp till I reached the spot where wet mud was calf-deep. Then
I hurled this huge cushion into the swamp and it floated on the mud instead of
sinking.
“备胎！”我对自己说，又将备胎由车盖子下拖出来。跑到泥沼边，踏在车垫上，再将备胎丢进稀泥里，这样我跟荷西的距离又近了。
“Spare
tire!” I said to myself. Then I dragged out the spare tire under the bonnet and
run back to the mud. I stepped onto the cushion and threw the spare tire in the
mud, which got me closer to Hexi.
冷，像几百只小刀子一样的刺著我，应该还不到零度，我却被冻得快要倒下去了。我不能停，我有许多事要赶快做，我不能缩在车里。
Coldness
stabbed me like hundreds of knives. It hadn’t fallen to zero-degree, yet I was
so freezing that I almost collapsed. I couldn’t stop. I had so many things to
hurry that I couldn’t stay in the car.
我用千斤顶将车子右边摇起来，开始拆前轮胎。快，快，我一直催自己，在我手脚还能动以前，我要将荷西拉出来。
I
jacked up the car on the right and started tearing down the tire. Quick, quick,
I pushed myself. Before my hands and feet got frozen, I needed to pull Hexi
out.
下了前胎，又去拆后胎，这些工作我平日从来没有那么快做好过，但是这一次只有几分钟全拆下来了。
The
front tire was tore down, and then the back tire. I had never completed anything
like that that quick before. But this time I got them all done in a few
minutes.
我看看荷西，他始终动也不动的僵在那儿。
I
looked at Hexi, who stayed there with stiffness all the time.
“荷西，荷西。”我丢一块手掌大的小石块去打他，要他醒，他已经不行了。我抱著拆下的轮胎跑下坡，跳过浮著的车垫，备胎，将手中的前胎也丢在泥里，这样又来回跑了一次，三个车胎和一个座垫都浮在稀泥上了。
“Hexi,
Hexi.”I threw a small stone about the size of a palm near him trying to awake
him, for he was cracking up. I held the tires that I had tore down and run
downhill. Then I hopped onto the cushion, then the spare tire, and threw the
front tire in the swamp as well. It took me another round of hopping back and
forth before all three tires and one cushion were floating in the mud.
我分开脚站在最后一个轮胎上，荷西和我还是有一段距离，他的眼神很悲哀的望著我。
I
stood on the third tire, feet apart. Hexi was still some distance away from me.
He looked at me with sadness in his eyes.
“我的衣服！”我想起来，我穿的是长到地的布衣服，裙子是大圆裙。我再快速跑回车内，将衣服从头上脱下来，用刀割成四条宽布带子，打好结，再将一把老虎钳绑在布带前面，抱著这一大堆带子，我飞快跑到泥沼的轮胎上去。
“My
dress!” It occurred to me that I was wearing a cloth dress, long enough to
cover my feet and in fully rounded shape. I galloped back inside the car where
I stripped the dress from the head. Then I cut the dress into four wide cloth
belts with a knife, knotted them together into one and tied a pair of pliers to
its front end. Then I sprinted back to those tires in the swamp with this big
pile of belts.
“荷西，喂，我丢过来了，你抓好。”我叫荷西注意，布带在手中慢慢被我打转。一点一点放远，它还没有跌下去，就被荷西抓住了。
“Hey,
Hexi, I am throwing the belt. Try to catch it.” I asked Hexi to pay attention
to the belt which I was twirling along into the distance. Hexi caught it before
it could fall into the swamp.
他的手一抓住我这边的带子，我突然松了口气，跌坐在轮胎上哭了起来，这时冷也知道了。饿也知道了，惊慌却已过去。
Seeing
him grip the belt, I felt like breathing again all of a sudden and sunk down on
the tire crying. Coldness and hunger started showing themselves as the panic
was over.
哭了几声，想起荷西，又赶快拉他，但是人一松懈，气力就不见了，怎么拉也没见荷西动。
I
cried for a while and suddenly remembered Hexi. I hastily pulled him, but Hexi
was moving nowhere for I had lost the strength because of the relaxation.
“三毛，带子绑在车胎上，我自己拉。”荷西哑著声音说。
“Sanmao,
tie the belt to the tire. I will pull myself out.”Hexi said in a hoarse voice.
我坐在轮胎上，荷西一点一点拉著带子，看他近了，我解开带子，绑到下一个轮胎给他再拉近，因为看情形，荷西没有气力在轮胎之间跳上岸，他冻太久了。
I
sat on the tire while Hexi pulled the belt. When he was near, I untied the belt
and fastened it to the next tire, so he could pull further ahead. Having been
frozen for too long, Hexi was apparently not able to hop between tires and then
ashore under that circumstance.
等荷西上了岸，他马上倒下去了。我还会跑，我赶紧跑回车内去拿酒壶，这是救命的东西，灌下了他好几口酒，我急于要他进车去，只有先丢下他，再去泥里捡车胎和车垫回来。
No
sooner had he got ashore than he fell flat on the ground. I could still be able
to run, so I run fast back to the inside of the car and grab the wine flagon,
the life saver. Then I put some ounces of wine into his mouth. As I was eager
to get him back in the car, I had to leave him there temporarily and get back
these tires and cushions from the mud.
“荷西，活动手脚，荷西，要动，要动——”我一面装车轮一面回头对荷西喊，他正在地下爬，脸像石膏做的一样白，可怖极了。
“Hexi,
move your hands and feet. Hexi, keep moving. Keep moving—” I turned to Hexi and
shouted at him while installing these tires. Hexi crawled on the sand looking
terrible, his face as pale as if it were made of gypsum.
“让我来。”他爬到车边，我正在扭紧后胎的螺丝帽。
“Let
me do it.” He crawled beside the car. I was tightening the screw cap on the
back tire.
“你去车里，快！”我说完丢掉起子，自己也爬进车内去。
“Get
inside the car. Be quick!” I threw the screwdriver and climbed into the car
too.
我给荷西又灌了酒，将车内暖气开大，用刀子将湿裤筒割开，将他的脚用我的割破的衣服带子用力擦，再将酒浇在他胸口替他擦。
I
poured some more liquor into his mouth. Then I turned on the radiator, cut Hexi’s
wet trouser open with a knife, wiped hard his feet with belts made of rags, and
then wiped his chest with liquors.
似乎过了一个世纪，他的脸开始有了些血色，眼睛张开了一下又闭起来。
A
century seemed to have passed before redness reappeared on his cheek. His eyes
opened for a second and then closed again.
“荷西，荷西。”我轻轻拍打他的脸叫著他。
“Hexi,
Hexi.” I cried and gently patted him in the face.
又过了半小时，他完全清醒了，张大著眼睛，像看见鬼一样的望著我，口中结结巴巴的说∶“你，你……”
Half
one hour had passed before he came to his consciousness. Looking at me with eyes
wide open as if he had seen ghosts, he staggered, “You, you...”
“我，我什么？”我被他的表情吓了一大跳。
“Me,
me what?” I was frightened by his countenance.
“你——你吃苦了。”他将我一把抱著，流下泪来。
“You—you really suffered.” He
held me closely, tears coming out of his eyes.
“你说什么，我没有吃苦啊！”我莫名其妙，从他手臂里钻出来。
“What
did you say? I did not suffer!” I escaped from his arms, feeling baffled.
“你被那三个人抓到了？”他问。
“You
were caught by those three men?”he said.
“没有啊！我逃掉了，早逃掉了。”我大声说。
“No,
I run away. Quite some time ago.” I said loudly.
“那，你为什么光身子，你的衣服呢？”
“Then
why are you naked? Where are your clothes?”
我这才想到我自己只穿著内衣裤，全身都是泥水。荷西显然也被冻了，也居然到这么久之后才看见我没有穿衣服。
Only
by then did I realize that I wore nothing but underwear and was covered with
wet muddy water. Obviously, Hexi was frozen so badly that even he didn’t notice
that I was naked until then.
在回家的路上，荷西躺在一旁，他的两只腿必须马上去看医生，想来是冻伤了。夜已深了，迷宫山像鬼魅似的被我丢在后面，我正由小熊星座引著往北开。
Hexi
lied on his seat on the way home. He needed to see the doctor immediately for
his legs, which presumably suffered from frostbite. It was deep night.
Ghost-like Maze Hill was quickly left behind me as I drove to the north guided
by Ursa Minor.
“三毛，还要化石么？”荷西呻吟似的问著我。
“Sanmao,
still want that fossil?” Hexi asked me in a groaning voice.
“要。”我简短的回答他。“你呢？”我问他。
“Yes.”
I gave him a short answer. “You?”I asked him.
“我更要了。”
“More
than ever.”
“什么时候再来？”
“When
will we come back?”
“明天下午。”
“Tomorrow
afternoon.”
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