Chapter XXI - To the Rescue Capitolo XXI - Alla riscossa

For a few seconds it was like a tableau, the strange young man, more ragged than before (if that were possible) standing in the midst of the clearing, and gazing as though spellbound at the girls in the motor boat. Per qualche secondo fu come un tableau, lo strano giovane, più stracciato di prima (se fosse possibile), in piedi in mezzo alla radura, che guardava come incantato le ragazze nella barca a motore.

On their part, Betty and her chums, following the half-whispered announcement made by Betty, stared at The Loon almost as if he might be a ghost of the Florida forest.

For perhaps a quarter of a minute they all remained thus, scarcely moving—hardly breathing—and then the young man made a slow turn. Per forse un quarto di minuto rimasero tutti così, senza muoversi, respirando a fatica, e poi il giovane fece una lenta virata. He seemed about to plunge back into the tangle whence he had come. Sembrava che stesse per ripiombare nel groviglio da cui era venuto.

"Don't do that!" said Mollie, hardly above a whisper. disse Mollie, a malapena al di sopra di un sussurro. "He mustn't do that!" and she seemed appealing to her chums. "We must keep him here—speak to him—perhaps he knows where Tom went." "Or, if he doesn't, perhaps he can tell us which way to go to get home," breathed Grace. "He's some company, anyhow." "È una bella compagnia, comunque". The Loon, to give him the title bestowed on him by the men in the boat, hesitated as he caught the sound of whispering. Il Loon, per dargli il titolo conferitogli dagli uomini della barca, esitò quando colse il suono di un sussurro. He shifted from one foot to the other, much after the manner of some animal seeking to escape unnoticed. Si spostò da un piede all'altro, come un animale che cerca di fuggire inosservato.

He took a step backward. By this time Betty had brought her boat close to the extending tree branch, where she had made fast before. A questo punto Betty aveva portato la sua barca vicino al ramo dell'albero che si stava estendendo, dove si era già fermata. The power had been shut off and the Gem had drifted to the former mooring place. La corrente era stata tolta e la Gemma era andata alla deriva verso il precedente punto di ormeggio. Now Betty was ready for action.

"I beg your pardon," she said in a low voice, and with an intonation calculated to disperse the fears of even the most timid youth, "but will you be so good as to help us again? "Vi chiedo scusa", disse a bassa voce e con un'intonazione tale da dissipare i timori anche dei giovani più timidi, "ma sareste così gentili da aiutarci ancora? We are the girls, you know, whose boat you got when the manatee was towing it away." Siamo le ragazze, sai, di cui hai preso la barca quando il lamantino la stava trainando via". "Wha—what?" gasped the other, and he seemed much afraid.

"We're the same girls," went on Betty. "You know, we saw you poling down the river that day. If you come closer you can see us and make sure. We need help again. We are lost and a friend of ours is missing. Wait, I'll light the lamps," and with a turn of the switch Betty set aglow the electric lights, operated by a storage battery. Aspetti, accendo le lampade" e, girando l'interruttore, Betty accese le luci elettriche, azionate da una batteria di accumulatori. The youth started again. Clearly he was a most timid creature. Chiaramente era una creatura molto timida.

"We saw the men who were after you," put in Mollie, thinking to add to his confidence. "And we didn't tell; did we, girls." "E non l'abbiamo detto, vero, ragazze?". "No!" came in a chorus. In spite of the rather unprepossessing appearance of the youth the girls were glad to see him. Nonostante l'aspetto poco raccomandabile del giovane, le ragazze furono felici di vederlo.

"Now will you help us again?" asked Mollie. "We've had a dreadful time, and we need help. You won't go away; will you?" "N—no!" was the hesitating answer. "I came to look for you, but I wasn't sure—you see I have to be so careful." "Sono venuto a cercarti, ma non ero sicuro - vedi che devo stare molto attento". "Gracious, I wonder if he thinks we wanted to capture him?" "Perbacco, chissà se pensa che volevamo catturarlo?". thought Grace, feeling about amid the cushions for some chocolates. pensò Grace, cercando tra i cuscini qualche cioccolatino. That was a sure sign Grace had recovered her equanimity. Questo era un segno sicuro che Grace aveva recuperato la sua equanimità.

"You came to look for us?" echoed Betty, wonderingly. fece eco Betty, meravigliata.

"Yes, miss," was the answer. "He sent me to find you." "He? Who do you mean?" Betty questioned anxiously.

"Tom—Tom Osborne. He told me to come here and tell you he couldn't come." "Couldn't come—why?" Betty's voice had a note of fear in it now. "'Cause they've caught him. He's cotched, Miss." È in branda, signorina". "Caught? By whom?" It was Mollie who questioned now.

Before answering The Loon, which name seemed to fit the poor creature well, glided forward, glancing back nervously over his shoulder now and then, as though he feared pursuit. Prima di rispondere, il Loon, nome che sembrava adattarsi bene alla povera creatura, scivolò in avanti, lanciando di tanto in tanto un'occhiata nervosa alle spalle, come se temesse di essere inseguito.

"Oh dear!" murmured Grace. "I don't like this. It's worse than the ghost of the island." "Be quiet," urged Betty. "It may be all right yet. I'm going to light more lamps." Thus far she had only set aglow one in the after cockpit, and the red and green side lights, together with the one on the small signal mast. Finora ne aveva acceso solo uno nella cabina di pilotaggio e le luci laterali rosse e verdi, oltre a quella sul piccolo albero di segnalazione. Now she flooded the cabin with radiance, for it was getting more and more gloomy in the forest clearing. Ora inondava la capanna di luce, perché nella radura della foresta si stava facendo sempre più cupo.

"Won't you come aboard?" "Non vuoi salire a bordo?". urged Betty kindly. "We will do all we can for Tom Osborne if he is in trouble. We can't understand why he deserted us. We have been in much distress, we got lost and had to come back. Siamo stati molto in difficoltà, ci siamo persi e siamo dovuti tornare indietro. Come aboard and tell us all about it so we will know what to do. Perhaps you are hungry. We left food there," and she indicated it. "Bring it here, and then perhaps you can take us back to the bungalow. "Portalo qui, e poi forse potrai riportarci al bungalow. The men there will organize a searching party if need be. Gli uomini del luogo organizzeranno una squadra di ricerca, se necessario. But tell us who has caught Tom." The Loon did not answer for a minute. He looked to where Betty pointed, saw the packet of food and went toward it eagerly. Guardò verso il punto indicato da Betty, vide il pacchetto di cibo e vi si diresse con impazienza. Then he brought it to the moored boat.

"I am hungry," he said simply. "Then eat first, and talk later," urged Mollie. "I know what it is to be hungry." "I'll admit I'm hungry now," said Grace. "Ammetto che ora ho fame", disse Grace. "We left enough food so we could have some, I think." "Abbiamo lasciato abbastanza cibo per poterne mangiare un po', credo". "Hush! we had a good lunch," said Betty, "and there is no telling what will happen before morning. Abbiamo fatto un buon pranzo", ha detto Betty, "e non si sa cosa succederà prima di domattina. Grace, you and Amy might make some hot chocolate." "Will you tell us your name now, or are you still afraid?" asked Betty of the youth, who was eating ravenously. chiese Betty al giovane, che stava mangiando voracemente. "The men called you—The Loon—I believe it was." "Gli uomini ti chiamavano il Loon, se non sbaglio". "Yes, Miss, that's my name. You see I'm not quite right in the head. Vedete, non sono del tutto a posto con la testa. I got hurt when I was a baby. I'm harmless, but I can't do much work—I'm not strong. Sono innocuo, ma non posso lavorare molto, non sono forte. My name is Harry Jackson." "And have you no home—no friends?" "Not as I knows on, Miss, no. "Non come so io, signorina, no. I had an uncle once, but he died. I live around the camps—sometimes the men is good to me, and sometimes not." He ate quickly, but daintily, and was not all uncouth. Mangiava velocemente, ma con gusto, e non era affatto rozzo. From time to time he glanced about like some frightened animal.

"They calls me The Loon," he went on. "But I know some things. I know more than they want me to." So più di quanto loro vogliano che io sappia". "Do you think you could pilot this boat to Mr. Stonington's place?" asked Mollie with much anxiety.

"Yes, Miss, I could. I know my way all around these waters. I can take you there. But we ought to help him—help Tom and the other one. I promised I'd come for you." "Then tell us where Tom is—who has him—how did he come to send you for us—who is 'the other one'?" "Allora dicci dov'è Tom, chi lo ha preso, come ha fatto a mandarti a chiamare, chi è 'l'altro'?". Betty questioned thus rapidly. Betty si interrogò così rapidamente. The Loon passed his hand over his forehead as though to brush away the cobwebs from his poor brain. Il Loon si passò una mano sulla fronte come per spazzolare via le ragnatele dal suo povero cervello. Then he said:

"The same men caught him, Miss. "What same men?" "The ones who were after me. There's a camp back there in the woods, and they have him, and the other one, too. I started for help for him long ago, but they got after me and took me back. Ho iniziato a chiedere aiuto per lui molto tempo fa, ma mi hanno inseguito e mi hanno ripreso. Then they brought Tom in this afternoon. Poi hanno portato Tom nel pomeriggio. He saw me and told me to come for you. They didn't see him tell me. We've got to go to the rescue." Dobbiamo andare in soccorso". "I should say we had!" "Direi che ci siamo riusciti!". exclaimed Betty. "This is all very mysterious, Harry." She could not bear to call him The Loon. "Can you tell us any more about all this? "Può dirci qualcosa di più su tutto questo? Why did Tom go away?" Perché Tom è andato via?". "That's it!" "Ecco!" cried the queer youth. gridò il bizzarro giovane. "That's what I've been trying to remember. "È quello che ho cercato di ricordare. He told me to be sure and tell you that he didn't run away. Mi ha detto di assicurarmi di dirti che non è scappato. He saw you getting flowers, he said, and he went off in the woods a way to look for some rare kind for you. Ti ha visto prendere dei fiori, ha detto, e si è allontanato nel bosco per cercare qualche fiore raro per te. He didn't mean to go so far. Non voleva arrivare a tanto. Then the men caught him, and took him away before he could warn you. Poi gli uomini lo catturarono e lo portarono via prima che potesse avvertirvi. That's what he wanted me to be sure and tell you. Now I've remembered," and he seemed quite pleased in his own peculiar way. "But who is this other one you started to help?" asked Grace, a strange eagerness creeping into her voice. chiese Grace, con una strana impazienza che si insinuava nella sua voce.

"Wait, please, wait," begged The Loon, again passing his hand over his brow. "Aspettate, vi prego, aspettate", implorò il Loon, passandosi di nuovo la mano sulla fronte. "I can't think very fast. I know the bad men in the lumber camp had Tom, and the other one—I don't know his name. So che gli uomini cattivi del campo di legname avevano Tom e l'altro, non so il suo nome. But maybe we can rescue them both. If you'll come——" He sprang from the boat to the tree branch and thence ashore. Scese dalla barca al ramo dell'albero e poi a terra. Then he stood waiting in the glare of the boat's lights. Poi rimase in attesa nel bagliore delle luci della barca. "Wait," said Betty gently. "We must go for help, first. Come, Harry, get aboard and take us to the orange grove. Then we will get Mr. Hammond and some men to come to the rescue." Poi chiameremo il signor Hammond e alcuni uomini per venire in soccorso".