Chapter XIV - The Tattered Youth Capitolo XIV - La giovinezza a brandelli

Betty Nelson reached the bank of the river and stopped. Betty Nelson raggiunse la riva del fiume e si fermò. She could go no farther for the muddy water stretched itself at her feet. Non poteva andare oltre, perché l'acqua fangosa si stendeva ai suoi piedi. But her boat—the trim little Gem —was moving slowly up the stream under the influence of the mysterious something that was towing it away from the girls. Ma la sua barca, la piccola Gemma, risaliva lentamente la corrente sotto l'influenza di qualcosa di misterioso che la stava allontanando dalle ragazze.

"Oh!" cried Grace. "What can we do? Betty—Mollie! We must stop it." "Yes; but how?" asked Mollie. She and the others had followed Betty to the shore.

"We must find another boat, and catch the Gem! " cried Amy. "It isn't going very fast." "If we only could!" murmured Betty, looking helplessly around. But no other boat was in sight. "We must do something," she went on. "We'll be marooned if we stay here!" "Saremo abbandonati se restiamo qui!". "But what can be towing our boat?" asked Mollie. She stood on the bank, nervously twining her fingers in and out, weaving them back and forth as she always did when puzzled or alarmed. Rimase in piedi sulla riva, intrecciando nervosamente le dita, facendole andare avanti e indietro come faceva sempre quando era perplessa o allarmata. "Is it the current taking it away, Betty?" "È la corrente che lo porta via, Betty?". "But it's going against the current," Grace pointed out. "Some animal must have become entangled in the anchor or painter, Betty. "Qualche animale deve essere rimasto impigliato nell'ancora o nel pittore, Betty. An alligator, perhaps." "That's it!" cried Mollie. "An alligator is running away with our boat. "Un alligatore sta scappando con la nostra barca. Oh, Betty!" "It may be that," admitted the Little Captain, as she gazed after her craft. "Può darsi", ammise la Capitana, mentre guardava la sua imbarcazione. "I didn't think of it, but that's probably what it is. "Non ci avevo pensato, ma probabilmente è così. I don't see the beast above the water, though. Non vedo però la bestia sopra l'acqua. Do you, girls?" There was nothing visible except part of the anchor rope that extended from the ring-bolt in the forward deck, over the stem and slanting down into the water. Non c'era nulla di visibile, tranne una parte della corda dell'ancora che si estendeva dal bullone ad anello nel ponte di prua, oltre la prua e scendeva in acqua.

"The alligator may be swimming just below the surface," was Mollie's opinion. "He may come up pretty soon, and we can throw stones at it. That's it, Betty. We must stone the creature and make it let go. Dobbiamo prendere a sassate la creatura e costringerla a lasciarsi andare. Come on!" Betty laughed. The others looked at Mollie curiously.

"She—she's hysterical," murmured Grace. "I am not!" protested Mollie indignantly.

"But the idea of throwing stones at an alligator!" "Ma l'idea di lanciare pietre contro un alligatore!". cried Grace. "Why, its hide will turn a bullet!" "Perché, la sua pelle trasformerà un proiettile!". "Oh!" exclaimed Amy blankly. "Then what can we do? We have no bullets!" "It isn't going very fast," observed Mollie as she watched the boat moving slowly up the river. "We can run along the bank after it, and maybe the beast will let go, or run ashore with the Gem . "Possiamo correre dietro alla riva, e forse la bestia si lascerà andare, oppure correre a riva con la Gemma. Then we could get it." Allora potremmo prenderlo". "Who—the boat or the alligator?" asked Betty, who seemed to be in better spirits now, even in the face of trouble. chiese Betty, che ora sembrava essere di buon umore, anche di fronte ai problemi.

"The boat, of course." "Then speak of the Gem as 'her' and the alligator as 'it,'" Betty directed. "Allora parla della Gemma come 'lei' e dell'alligatore come 'esso'", disse Betty. "But I believe Mollie's plan is the only one we can adopt. We must follow along the bank. Dobbiamo seguire la riva. Only I hope, if the alligator does let go, it won't be in the middle of the river, for then our boat would float down, and it might lodge on the other shore. Spero solo che, se l'alligatore si lascia andare, non sia in mezzo al fiume, perché in quel caso la nostra barca galleggerebbe e potrebbe finire sull'altra riva. Then we would be as badly off as we are now. Allora saremmo messi male come lo siamo ora. Oh, what a predicament! Oh, che situazione difficile! We seem to be getting into nothing but trouble of late." Sembra che ultimamente ci stiamo cacciando in un mare di guai". "Never mind," consoled Amy. "Non importa", consolò Amy. "Maybe this will be the last." "It's a comfort to think so, anyhow," agreed Grace. "È comunque un conforto pensarlo", concordò Grace. "I wonder why an alligator ran off with our boat?" "Chissà perché un alligatore è scappato con la nostra barca?". "A mere accident," was Betty's opinion. "Probably the creature was swimming along shore, and became entangled in our anchor rope. "Probabilmente la creatura stava nuotando lungo la riva ed è rimasta impigliata nella nostra corda dell'ancora. It may be as much frightened as we are distressed. Può essere spaventato quanto noi siamo angosciati. But come on, if we're going to try to get the boat." Ma andiamo, se vogliamo provare a prendere la barca". Stumbling over the uneven way, the girls raced along the river bank. Inciampando sulla strada sconnessa, le ragazze corsero lungo la riva del fiume. Sometimes the boat appeared to be coming close in shore, and again it would veer out. A volte l'imbarcazione sembrava avvicinarsi alla riva, altre volte virava al largo.

"I've just thought of something!" "Ho appena pensato a qualcosa!". exclaimed Amy as they came up nearly opposite the boat, for it was being towed more slowly now, as though the creature having it in charge found it harder work. esclamò Amy quando arrivarono quasi di fronte alla barca, che ora veniva trainata più lentamente, come se la creatura che la comandava trovasse più difficile il lavoro.

"Then do, for goodness sake, tell us what it is," demanded Mollie. "Allora, per carità, diteci di cosa si tratta", chiese Mollie. "I'm about played out." "Sono quasi esaurito". "If we threw stones on the other side of the alligator—I mean across, between him and the other shore—it might scare him over this way." "Oh!" screamed Grace. "Don't you dare scare him over here!" "Non osare spaventarlo qui!". "I didn't mean right here," went on Amy. "I only meant farther in toward this shore. "Intendevo solo più in là, verso questa riva. Then he might run aground and we could wade out and get the boat." Poi potrebbe incagliarsi e noi potremmo guadare la barca". "Wade in the water that has an alligator in it!" "Guadate l'acqua in cui c'è un alligatore!". cried Grace with a shudder. gridò Grace con un brivido. "Never!" "Well, it might be a good plan to try," spoke Betty. "I see what Amy means. "Capisco cosa intende Amy. When we were little, and used to play with toy boats, if one went out too far we used to throw stones in the water beyond it, and the waves would sometimes send it ashore. Now, if we did that, the alligator might think someone on the other bank was throwing things at him, and he would come over here. Se lo facessimo, l'alligatore potrebbe pensare che qualcuno sull'altra sponda gli stia lanciando degli oggetti e verrebbe qui. It's worth trying." "I am certain I can't throw straight," complained Grace. "Sono certa di non riuscire a lanciare dritto", si lamentò Grace. "Oh, well, this isn't a ball game," said Mollie. "Oh, beh, questa non è una partita di pallone", disse Mollie. "Any sort of throwing will do for an alligator. "Qualsiasi tipo di lancio va bene per un alligatore. Come on, now, all together." In spite of her protest, Grace managed to do fairly at the stone-throwing. Nonostante le sue proteste, Grace riuscì a cavarsela bene nel lancio delle pietre. In fact the outdoor girls were what their name implied—they could do many things that outdoor boys could do, and throwing stones was one of their accomplishments. They had not played basket ball for nothing.

A shower of missiles fell into the water on the far side of whatever creature was towing the Gem . Una pioggia di missili cadde in acqua sul lato opposto di qualunque creatura stesse trainando la Gemma. For a few minutes no effect was produced, and then the creature under water did seem to veer over toward the shore where the girls were slowly walking along. Per qualche minuto non sortì alcun effetto, ma poi la creatura sott'acqua sembrò dirigersi verso la riva, dove le ragazze stavano lentamente camminando.

"Gracious! "Grazioso! If he really comes here!" cried Grace, getting ready to beat a retreat. gridò Grace, preparandosi a battere in ritirata.

"I'm afraid there's not much danger," spoke Betty, in a low tone. "Temo che non ci sia molto pericolo", disse Betty, in tono basso. "He seems too fond of our boat." "Sembra troppo affezionato alla nostra barca". "Throw more stones!" directed Mollie, and another shower of small rocks sailed through the air to fall with many splashes into the turbid water. diresse Mollie, e un'altra pioggia di piccoli sassi solcò l'aria per cadere con molti schizzi nell'acqua torbida.

There was a swirl in the river just in front of the Gem , as though the creature towing it objected to the treatment it was receiving. Nel fiume c'era un vortice proprio davanti alla Gemma, come se la creatura che la trainava si opponesse al trattamento che stava ricevendo. And then, as the girls, anxiously watching, prepared to send another volley of stones, Amy uttered a cry, and pointed up the river toward a small point of land that jutted out into the stream. Mentre le ragazze, ansiose, si preparavano a lanciare un'altra raffica di sassi, Amy lanciò un grido e indicò il fiume verso una piccola punta di terra che si protendeva nel corso d'acqua.

"Look!" she cried. "A man in a boat!" They all gazed to where she indicated, and beheld not a man, but a ragged youth standing up in a broad bottomed scow, poling himself down stream. Tutti guardarono verso il punto indicato dalla donna e videro non un uomo, ma un giovane cencioso in piedi su una lancia dal fondo largo, che si dirigeva verso la corrente. He was headed directly for the Gem . Si dirigeva direttamente verso la Gemma.

"Oh, he is just in time!" cried Mollie. "He'll get our boat for us!" "Prenderà la nostra barca per noi!". "Call to him!" directed Grace. "I'm so nervous that I can't speak above a whisper." "Sono così nervoso che non riesco a parlare più di un sussurro". Mollie raised her voice in an appeal for help.

"Hello, there!" she called. "Our boat! Right in front of you! Can you get it? Scare away the alligator! Spaventate l'alligatore! It's towing our boat off! Please get it!" The ragged youth looked up, startled, and glanced from the boat, seemingly moving up stream without any visible propelling agency, to the four girls on the shore. Il giovane cencioso alzò lo sguardo, spaventato, e lanciò un'occhiata dalla barca, che sembrava risalire la corrente senza alcun organo di propulsione visibile, alle quattro ragazze sulla riva. He seemed much surprised, and acted, as Betty said afterward, as though he would like to run away. Sembrava molto sorpreso e si comportava, come disse Betty in seguito, come se volesse scappare. She called to him:

"Look out for the alligator! Don't get into danger!" Non mettetevi in pericolo!". The ragged youth now seemed to comprehend what was wanted of him. Il giovane cencioso sembrò ora comprendere ciò che si voleva da lui. He poled his clumsy craft toward the Gem and peered down into the water to see what manner of creature was at the other end of the anchor rope. Spinse la sua goffa imbarcazione verso la Gemma e scrutò nell'acqua per vedere che tipo di creatura ci fosse all'altro capo della corda dell'ancora. Then he waved his pole at the girls, as though to reassure them, and edged nearer the motor boat. Poi agitò il palo verso le ragazze, come per rassicurarle, e si avvicinò al motoscafo.

"All right!" he called, in a quick, nervous manner. ha chiamato, in modo rapido e nervoso. "I see him. I'll get him for you." Te lo chiamo io". "Gracious—I wonder if he means the boat or the alligator?" said Mollie. "I hope he understands that we don't want both—only the boat." "Oh, he'll know," declared Betty. "Oh, lo saprà", dichiarò Betty. She was eagerly watching the actions of the ragged youth in the scow. Osservava con interesse le azioni del giovane cencioso sulla lancia.

Suddenly he drew something from his pocket and held it close to the water, leaning over the edge of his craft. Improvvisamente estrasse qualcosa dalla tasca e la tenne vicino all'acqua, sporgendosi dal bordo della sua imbarcazione.

There was a puff of smoke, a flash of fire, and a report that sounded very loudly to the girls. Ci fu uno sbuffo di fumo, un lampo di fuoco e un rapporto che suonò molto forte per le ragazze.

"Oh!" cried Grace, covering her ears with her hands.

"Be quiet, silly!" exclaimed Betty. "It was the only thing he could do. "Era l'unica cosa che poteva fare. He shot at the alligator." Again the revolver of the ragged youth sounded loudly and, a little cloud of smoke floated over his boat. Di nuovo il revolver del giovane cencioso suonò forte e una nuvoletta di fumo fluttuò sulla sua barca. Then he shouted:

"I hit him! I hit him!" He was seen to reach over with his pole, and fish for something in the water. È stato visto avvicinarsi con la canna e pescare qualcosa nell'acqua.

"I hope he isn't going to bring it ashore—the alligator, I mean!" cried Mollie. "We want the boat. Get the boat!" she called to the ragged youth.