Chapter VI - An Appeal for Help Capitolo VI - Un appello di aiuto

For one of the very few times in her life when confronted by an emergency the "Little Captain" did not know quite what to do. Per una delle pochissime volte nella sua vita, di fronte a un'emergenza, la "Capitana" non sapeva bene cosa fare. Grace clung to Betty, murmuring over and over again: Grace si aggrappò a Betty, mormorando in continuazione:

"What shall I say? What shall I do?" Amy and Mollie stared uncomprehendingly at one another. Grace still held the telegram that had brought more bad news.

Then Betty got her senses in working order.

"In the first place," she said, "you mustn't let your mother know about this, Grace. "In primo luogo", disse, "non devi farlo sapere a tua madre, Grace. You must keep it from her. Dovete tenerglielo nascosto. In the second place your father must be told at once. In secondo luogo, tuo padre deve essere informato subito. Now you go in and act as if nothing had happened. Ora entrate e vi comportate come se non fosse successo nulla. I'll go see your father." Vado a trovare tuo padre". "But I can't act as if nothing had happened," protested Grace, with a wailing tone in her voice. "Ma non posso fare finta di niente", protestò Grace, con un tono di voce lamentoso. "I'd be sure to act so strangely that mamma would suspect at once, and begin to question me." "Sarei sicura di comportarmi in modo così strano che la mamma sospetterebbe subito e comincerebbe a interrogarmi". "Then Mollie or Amy must go in with you, and help to keep up appearances. "Allora Mollie o Amy devono entrare con voi e aiutarvi a mantenere le apparenze. Amy, you go in and talk—play—sing—dance—do anything to keep Grace from feeling bad, and giving away the secret. Amy, tu entri e parli, suoni, canti, balli, fai di tutto per evitare che Grace si senta in colpa e sveli il segreto. As soon as Mr. Ford comes he can decide whether or not to tell his wife. Mollie, you and I will go down to his office. This is the night he gets home late; isn't it, Grace?" "Yes. Oh, how I wish he were here now! Oh, come vorrei che fosse qui ora! Poor Will!" "Well, we'll soon have him home," declared Betty. "Now you two do as I tell you. "Ora voi due fate come vi dico. Talk about Florida—anything but what has happened. Parlare della Florida - tutto tranne quello che è successo. Mr. Ford will know what to do when he comes. Now, Mollie, let's hurry. Gracious! I believe it's going to snow. Well, we won't have any of that in Florida, that's a blessing for you, Grace," and Betty smiled bravely. Beh, non avremo nulla di tutto ciò in Florida, è una benedizione per te, Grace", e Betty sorrise coraggiosamente. "We may never go now—if Will isn't found." "Potremmo non andare più, se Will non viene trovato". "Oh, he'll be all right," declared Betty, with more confidence than she felt. "Come along, Mollie." "Vieni, Mollie". The two set off through the gathering storm, while Grace and Amy turned into the former's house. I due si incamminarono attraverso la tempesta crescente, mentre Grace e Amy si diressero verso la casa del primo. They were under a strain, and afterward they hardly remembered what they did. Erano sotto pressione e dopo non ricordavano quasi più quello che avevano fatto. But Grace did not betray the secret, at any rate. Ma Grace non tradì il segreto, in ogni caso. The two girls talked of many things, and when Mrs. Ford referred to the home-coming of her son Amy changed the subject as soon as she could. Le due ragazze parlarono di molte cose e quando la signora Ford fece riferimento al ritorno a casa del figlio, Amy cambiò argomento appena poté.

Then, fortunately, Mrs. Ford went upstairs to lie down until dinner was ready, and Grace, with a sigh of relief, threw herself on a couch. Poi, fortunatamente, la signora Ford salì al piano di sopra per sdraiarsi fino a quando la cena non fu pronta, e Grace, con un sospiro di sollievo, si buttò su un divano.

"There!" she sighed. "We can act naturally now. Poor little mother—I wonder how she will take it?" "Oh, she is brave," said Amy. "Besides, nothing very dreadful can have happened. "Inoltre, non può essere successo nulla di così terribile. Will may be all right. Will potrebbe stare bene. Even if he has gone off with a labor contractor, who has a bad reputation, your brother is able to look after himself. Anche se è andato con un appaltatore di lavoro, che ha una cattiva reputazione, vostro fratello è in grado di badare a se stesso. He can appeal to the police, if necessary." Se necessario, può rivolgersi alla polizia". "Perhaps. Anyhow, you can look on the bright side, Amy. Comunque, puoi guardare il lato positivo, Amy. I wish papa would hurry." Vorrei che papà si sbrigasse". "Oh, he will, as soon as Betty tells him." "Oh, lo farà, non appena Betty glielo dirà". Meanwhile Betty and Mollie were hurrying on through the storm to Mr. Ford's office. Nel frattempo Betty e Mollie si affrettavano a raggiungere l'ufficio del signor Ford attraverso la tempesta. They found him working over a complicated law case, and he seemed startled when he saw the two girls. Lo trovarono che stava lavorando a un complicato caso legale e sembrò spaventato quando vide le due ragazze.

"Where is Grace—what has happened?" he asked, quickly.

"This telegram—it came for you to the house—Grace opened it," explained Mollie, briefly. Mr. Ford seemed to comprehend it at a glance. Il signor Ford sembrò comprenderlo a colpo d'occhio.

"I was afraid of this!" he exclaimed. "Some of those rascally labor contractors will do anything to get help. "Alcuni di quei furfanti appaltatori di lavoro farebbero di tutto per ottenere un aiuto. I will have to go down there, I think. Does Mrs. Ford know?" "No, I told Grace to keep it from her until you came home." "That was right. I must make light of this. Then I'll leave for Jacksonville at once. Thank you very much, Betty." He closed his desk and went out with the girls, calling a carriage for them and himself, as the snow was now falling heavily. Chiuse la scrivania e uscì con le ragazze, chiamando una carrozza per loro e per sé, dato che la neve stava ormai cadendo abbondantemente.

In some way Mr. Ford managed to impart some of the details of the new emergency to his wife without unduly arousing her. In qualche modo Mr. Ford riuscì a comunicare alla moglie alcuni dettagli della nuova emergenza senza eccitarla troppo. He also spoke of the necessity of going to Florida.

"Oh, do you really have to go?" his wife asked, in alarm.

"I think it will be better. Will may do something rash, thinking he is putting through a fine business deal. Will potrebbe fare qualcosa di avventato, pensando di concludere un buon affare. I don't want him to get into—legal difficulties. It would not look well for my professional reputation," and Mr. Ford forced a laugh to reassure his wife. Non sarebbe una buona cosa per la mia reputazione professionale", e Mr. Ford fece una risata per rassicurare la moglie. Arrangements for going to Jacksonville were soon made, as he was to leave on the midnight train. I preparativi per andare a Jacksonville furono presto presi, poiché doveva partire con il treno di mezzanotte. In the meanwhile he communicated with the telegraph authorities in the South, telling them of his plans, and asking for any additional information. Nel frattempo comunicò con le autorità telegrafiche del Sud, informandole dei suoi piani e chiedendo ulteriori informazioni.

All that he could learn was that Will had gone to the address given in his first letter—a private boarding house. Tutto ciò che riuscì a sapere fu che Will si era recato all'indirizzo indicato nella prima lettera, una pensione privata. He had been there a few days, making friends with the landlady, and finally had gone off with a man who bore a shady reputation in the city. Era rimasto lì qualche giorno, facendo amicizia con la padrona di casa, e alla fine se n'era andato con un uomo che aveva una reputazione poco chiara in città. Will had said he was going farther into the interior, and the woman thought she heard something about a lumber camp, or a place where turpentine and other pine-tar products, were obtained. Will aveva detto che sarebbe andato più lontano nell'interno e la donna pensava di aver sentito parlare di un campo di legname o di un luogo dove si otteneva trementina e altri prodotti del catrame.

"Well, do the best you can, Grace, until I come back," said Mr. Ford. "Beh, fai del tuo meglio, Grace, finché non torno", disse il signor Ford. "And look after your mother. Perhaps this will be all right after all." Forse alla fine andrà tutto bene". There were three weary days of waiting, relieved only by brief messages from Mr. Ford, saying that he was doing all he could to find Will. Furono tre giorni di attesa estenuante, alleviati solo da brevi messaggi del signor Ford, che diceva che stava facendo tutto il possibile per trovare Will. Mrs. Ford was not told the whole story, save that her son had gone into the interior.

"Oh, I'm sure something must have happened!" exclaimed Grace, when on the fourth day there came a message saying Mr. Ford was on his way back. "He hasn't Will with him, or he would have said so. Oh, isn't it perfectly terrible!" Oh, non è perfettamente terribile!". "Now, don't worry," advised Betty. "I know that is easy to say, Grace, and hard to do. But try. Even if your father hasn't found Will, perhaps he has some trace of him. He would hardly come back without good reason." Difficilmente tornerebbe senza un buon motivo". "I suppose not. Oh, aren't boys—terrible!" Oh, i ragazzi sono terribili!". "But Will didn't mean to cause all this trouble," spoke Mollie. "I know. But he has, just the same." Ma lo ha fatto lo stesso". Grace was too miserable even to think of chocolates. Grace era troppo infelice anche solo per pensare ai cioccolatini.

Mr. Ford looked pale and tired when he came home, and his eyes showed loss of sleep.

"Well," he said to Grace, who was surrounded by her three chums, "I didn't find Will. He seems to have made a mess of it." Sembra che abbia fatto un pasticcio". "How?" asked his sister.

"Well, by getting in with this developing concern. "Beh, entrando in questo progetto in via di sviluppo. It seems that he signed some sort of contract, agreeing to work for them. He supposed it was clerical or secretary's work, but it turns out that he was deceived. Pensava che si trattasse di un lavoro d'ufficio o di segreteria, ma si è scoperto che si era ingannato. What he signed was a contract to work in one of the many camps in the wilds of the interior. Firmò un contratto per lavorare in uno dei tanti campi nelle zone selvagge dell'interno. He may be getting out cypress, or turpentine." Forse sta tirando fuori il cipresso o la trementina". "Couldn't you locate him, Daddy?" asked Grace.

"No, for the firm he signed with operates many camps. "No, per l'azienda con cui ha firmato opera molti campi. I could get very little satisfaction from them. La soddisfazione che ne ricavavo era minima. I may have to appeal to the authorities." Forse dovrò appellarmi alle autorità". "But Will is not of age—they can't hold him even if he did sign a contract to work, especially when they deceived him," declared Grace. "Ma Will non è maggiorenne, non possono trattenerlo anche se ha firmato un contratto di lavoro, soprattutto se lo hanno ingannato", dichiarò Grace. "I know it, my dear," replied her father. "But they have him in their clutches, and possession, as you know, is nine points of the law, and part of the tenth. "Ma lo hanno in pugno e il possesso, come sapete, è nove punti della legge e parte del decimo. Where Will is I don't know. Just as the message said, he went off with that smooth talker, and he seems to have disappeared." Proprio come diceva il messaggio, è andato via con quel chiacchierone e sembra che sia scomparso". "How—how can you find him?" asked Grace.

"I'm going to have your Uncle Isaac trace him. "Chiederò a vostro zio Isaac di rintracciarlo. He knows the South better than I, and can work to better advantage. That is why I came back. Uncle Isaac is in New York City now. I am going to telegraph him to come on here and I'll give him the particulars. Then he can hunt for Will. Poor boy! I guess he wishes now that he'd stayed in the mill." Immagino che ora rimpianga di essere rimasto in fabbrica". The news was broken to Mrs. Ford as gently as could be, but it nearly prostrated her. La notizia fu comunicata alla signora Ford con la massima delicatezza possibile, ma la prostrò quasi. Then Uncle Isaac came, and to his credit be it said that he was kinder than his wont. Poi arrivò lo zio Isaac, e a suo merito va detto che fu più gentile del solito. He seemed really sympathetic and did not once say, "I told you so!" Sembrava davvero comprensivo e non ha detto nemmeno una volta: "Te l'avevo detto!". He readily agreed to search for his nephew, and left for the South as soon as he could finish his business. Egli accettò prontamente di cercare il nipote e partì per il Sud non appena poté concludere i suoi affari.

"I guess our Florida trip is all off," said Grace with a sigh, one evening. "Credo che il nostro viaggio in Florida sia saltato", disse Grace con un sospiro, una sera. "Not at all," said her father. "I want you girls to go. It may be that you might hear some word of Will." Può darsi che tu possa sentire qualche parola di Will". "Then we will go!" his sister cried. "Oh! I do hope we can find him." Spero che riusciremo a trovarlo". The preparations for the Florida trip went on. Meanwhile nothing was heard from the missing youth, and Uncle Isaac had no success. Nel frattempo non si ebbero notizie del giovane scomparso e lo zio Isaac non ebbe successo.

Then, most unexpectedly, there came word from the boy himself—indirect word—but news just the same. Poi, in modo del tutto inaspettato, arrivò una notizia dal ragazzo stesso, una parola indiretta, ma pur sempre una notizia.

It was in the shape of a letter from a Southern planter, who said one of his hands had picked up the enclosed note in a cotton field near a railroad track. Si trattava di una lettera di un piantatore del Sud, che diceva che una delle sue mani aveva raccolto il biglietto allegato in un campo di cotone vicino a un binario ferroviario. It had probably been tossed from a train window, and had laid some time in the field, being rain-soaked. It bore Mr. Ford's address, and so the planter forwarded it. La lettera recava l'indirizzo del signor Ford e il piantatore la inoltrò. The note was as follows:

"Dear Dad: I certainly am in trouble. "Caro papà: Sono certamente nei guai. That development business was a fake, and I have literally been kidnapped, with a lot of other young fellows—some colored. They're taking us away to a turpentine swamp to work. Ci portano a lavorare in una palude di trementina. I've tried to escape, but it's no use. Ho cercato di scappare, ma è stato inutile. I appealed for help to the crowd, as did some of the others, but the contractors declared we were a lot of criminals farmed out by the State. Ho lanciato un appello di aiuto alla folla, come hanno fatto altri, ma gli appaltatori hanno dichiarato che eravamo un gruppo di criminali allevati dallo Stato. And, as a lot of their workers really are convicts, I had no show. E, poiché molti dei loro lavoratori sono davvero detenuti, non ho avuto alcuno spettacolo. I don't know what to do—help me if you can. I don't know where they're taking us, but if I get a chance I'll send word. Non so dove ci porteranno, ma se ne avrò l'occasione lo comunicherò. I'm scribbling this under my hat in the train, and I'm going to toss it out the window. Lo sto scarabocchiando sotto il cappello in treno e lo getterò fuori dal finestrino. I hope you get it. Spero che tu lo capisca.

"Will."