Chapter IX: On a Sand Bar Kapitel IX: Auf einer Sandbank

"Alligators!" screamed Amy. "Don't you dare say that, Grace!" "But it's so—I saw one—I nearly put my hand on his big black head. Oh, isn't it horrid!" Oh, non è orribile!". Grace and Amy were clinging to each other now in the middle of the boat. Grace e Amy erano aggrappate l'una all'altra ora al centro della barca. Betty had turned about at their exclamations, and Mollie was gazing curiously into the swirling water. Betty si era voltata alle loro esclamazioni e Mollie guardava curiosa nell'acqua vorticosa.

"I don't see any alligator," she announced, unbelievingly. "Are you sure you saw one, Grace?" "Of course I am. Oh, Betty! There's one now, just ahead of you. Ce n'è uno adesso, proprio davanti a voi. You're going to run into him!" Lo incontrerete!". Betty turned her attention to guiding the boat only just in time. Betty si dedicò alla guida della barca appena in tempo. Certainly something long and knobby and black was almost at the bow. Certamente qualcosa di lungo e nodoso e nero era quasi a prua. She veered to one side, and then exclaimed: Si spostò da un lato e poi esclamò:

"Alligator! That was nothing but a log, Grace Ford! How silly of you!" Che sciocco!" "Silly? Nothing of the sort. Niente di tutto questo. I tell you I did see an alligator." "It was a log—but it does look like one of the big creatures, though," said Amy. "Oh, if it should have been one!" "Oh, se fosse stato uno solo!". "Well, it couldn't eat us—here in the boat," said Mollie. "No, but it might have capsized us, and then—" Grace paused suggestively. "No, ma avrebbe potuto rovesciarci, e allora..." Grace fece una pausa suggestiva. "'All's well that ends well,'" quoted Betty, as she turned the boat nearer shore. "Tutto è bene quel che finisce bene", disse Betty, avvicinando la barca alla riva. "Some day we must take our lunch, and have a picnic ashore. "Un giorno dovremo prendere il nostro pranzo e fare un picnic a terra. See the lovely Spanish moss hanging down from the trees. Osservate l'incantevole muschio spagnolo che pende dagli alberi. It's like living history over again. È come rivivere la storia. Just think of it, how Balboa came here and discovered the land, and——" Pensate a come Balboa sia venuto qui e abbia scoperto la terra, e...". "It wasn't Balboa, it was Ponce de Leon who located Florida," corrected Mollie. "Non è stato Balboa, ma Ponce de Leon a localizzare la Florida", corregge Mollie. "Don't you remember—Flowery Easter?" "Non ti ricordi di Pasqua fiorita?". "Oh, so it was. Well, anyhow——" "There—there!" screamed Grace. "There's an alligator, surely. It's alive, too! Oh, dear! An alligator!" She pointed to something long and dark floating in the river—something that seemed to be covered with scales and ridges—something that suddenly turned up an ugly head, with bulging eyes, which looked fishily at the girls in the boat. Indicò qualcosa di lungo e scuro che galleggiava nel fiume, qualcosa che sembrava ricoperto di squame e creste, qualcosa che improvvisamente sollevò una brutta testa, con occhi sporgenti, che guardava con aria di pesce le ragazze nella barca.

Then, with a swirl of its tail, the creature sank below the surface. Poi, con un colpo di coda, la creatura affondò sotto la superficie.

"Yes, that was an alligator," said Betty quietly. "I told you it was," spoke Grace. "And to think I nearly had my hand on it. Oh, I don't want to remember it." "But it didn't bite you," said practical Mollie. "Ma non ti ha morso", disse la pratica Mollie. "If it had—well, the less said the better," remarked Betty. "Se avesse... beh, meno lo dico meglio è", osservò Betty. "Now let's forget all about it and enjoy ourselves. Maybe there are only a few of them here in the river." "I wonder what alligators are good for, anyhow?" "Mi chiedo comunque a cosa servano gli alligatori". came from Amy, as she resumed her seat. venne da Amy, mentre riprendeva il suo posto. "They don't seem fit for anything." "You forget about alligator bags," corrected Mollie. "What would we do for valises and satchels if we had no alligators, I'd like to know?" "That's so," admitted Amy. Grace was looking over the surface of the river as though to see if any more of the ugly creatures were in sight, but the water was unruffled save by the wind. Grace guardava la superficie del fiume come per vedere se altre brutte creature fossero in vista, ma l'acqua non era agitata se non dal vento.

Not knowing the character of the stream Betty did not want to venture to far. Non conoscendo il carattere del torrente, Betty non volle avventurarsi troppo lontano. So, after going down about a mile or so, she turned the boat and headed up stream. Così, dopo essere scesa per circa un miglio, ha girato la barca e ha risalito la corrente. They passed a number of small boats, manned by colored boys who were fishing, and the youngsters suspended operations to gaze with mingled wonder and fear at Betty's swiftly-moving craft. Passarono accanto a un certo numero di piccole imbarcazioni, con a bordo ragazzi di colore che stavano pescando, e i giovani sospesero le operazioni per guardare con meraviglia e timore l'imbarcazione di Betty che si muoveva rapidamente. They tied up at the small dock which extended out into the river at the foot of the orange grove, well satisfied with their first trip, even though they had been frightened by the alligators. Si legarono al piccolo molo che si estendeva nel fiume ai piedi dell'aranceto, ben soddisfatti del loro primo viaggio, anche se erano stati spaventati dagli alligatori.

"Yes, you will find one or two 'gators, now and then," said Mr. Hammond, the overseer, when told of the girls' experience. "Sì, ogni tanto troverete uno o due alligatori", ha detto il signor Hammond, il sorvegliante, quando gli è stata raccontata l'esperienza delle ragazze. "But they won't bother you, especially in a big boat. "Ma non vi daranno fastidio, soprattutto in una grande barca. Don't worry." But Grace was so nervous that night that she did not sleep well, and Mrs. Stonington grew quite alarmed. Perhaps it was as much worry over the fate of Will, as the recollection of her escape from the alligator, that disturbed Grace. Forse era tanto la preoccupazione per la sorte di Will, quanto il ricordo della sua fuga dall'alligatore, a turbare Grace.

For no good news had come from Mr. Ford. Perché dal signor Ford non erano giunte buone notizie. He had set many influences at work on the case, but so far nothing had come of his inquiries. Aveva messo in moto molte influenze sul caso, ma finora le sue indagini non avevano portato a nulla.

Will seemed to have been taken into the interior of Florida, and there lost. Sembra che Will sia stato portato nell'interno della Florida e lì si sia perso. There were so many turpentine camps, or places where contract labor was used to get out valuable wood, or other products, that a complete inquiry would take a long time. C'erano così tanti campi di trementina, o luoghi in cui la manodopera a contratto veniva utilizzata per estrarre legno pregiato o altri prodotti, che un'indagine completa avrebbe richiesto molto tempo.

Mrs. Ford was as well as could be expected, Grace's father wrote, though naturally very much worried. La signora Ford stava bene come ci si poteva aspettare, scriveva il padre di Grace, anche se naturalmente era molto preoccupata. And Grace was worried too. If she could have engaged actively in a search for her brother perhaps she might not have fretted so. Se avesse potuto impegnarsi attivamente nella ricerca del fratello, forse non si sarebbe preoccupata così tanto. But it was harassing to sit idly by and let others do the work. Ma era fastidioso rimanere inerti e lasciare che altri facessero il lavoro.

"Especially when we have already done so much," said Betty, agreeing with her chum's view of the case. "Soprattutto quando abbiamo già fatto tanto", disse Betty, concordando con la visione del caso della sua amica. Watching the work of gathering oranges, occasionally themselves helping somewhat, taking walks, drives and trips in the motor boat, made time for the girls pass quickly. Osservare il lavoro di raccolta delle arance, a volte aiutando loro stesse, fare passeggiate, giri in macchina e gite in barca a motore, ha fatto sì che il tempo per le ragazze passasse velocemente.

Then, one day, Betty said:

"Girls, we must go on a picnic. Take our lunch and go down the river in the boat. Go ashore and eat. Scendere a terra e mangiare. We will do some exploring." "And perhaps find the fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon missed," added Mollie. "If you find it, bring some of the water back," begged Mr. Stonington. "You girls will not need it—I do." "We'll bottle some for you," promised Amy, laughing. Soon they were off in the Gem again, Grace, at least, keeping a wary eye out for alligators. Presto furono di nuovo nella Gemma, mentre Grace, almeno, teneva d'occhio gli alligatori. But they saw none of the unprepossessing creatures.

"Though perhaps we may meet with a sea-cow," suggested Betty, as she looked for a pleasant place whereon to go ashore for lunch. "Ma forse potremmo incontrare una mucca di mare", suggerì Betty, mentre cercava un posto piacevole dove scendere a terra per il pranzo. "What's a sea-cow?" asked Mollie.

"One that eats sea-weed," cried Amy. "Uno che mangia le alghe", esclamò Amy. "No, I mean a manatee," went on Betty. "No, intendo un lamantino", continuò Betty. "Don't you remember the big creatures we saw in the New York aquarium a year or so ago?" "Oh, yes!" exclaimed Amy. "Well, they're not as bad as alligators—at least they haven't such large mouths." "Beh, non sono cattivi come gli alligatori, almeno non hanno una bocca così grande". "And they only eat—grass," added Mollie. Betty was sending her boat ahead at good speed, scanning the shores of the river for some quiet cove into which to steer. Betty stava mandando avanti la sua barca a buona velocità, scrutando le rive del fiume alla ricerca di qualche baia tranquilla in cui dirigersi. The day was warm, and the sun shone down unclouded. La giornata era calda e il sole splendeva senza nuvole. From the banks came the odor of flowers. Dalle rive giungeva l'odore dei fiori.

Suddenly, as the boat chugged along, there came a momentary halt, as though it had struck something. All'improvviso, mentre l'imbarcazione procedeva alacremente, si fermò momentaneamente, come se avesse urtato qualcosa.

"What's that?" cried Grace.

"Maybe an alligator has us," suggested Mollie with a laugh. "Forse ci ha preso un alligatore", suggerì Mollie con una risata. For the Gem went on as though nothing had happened. Perché la Gemma continuò come se non fosse successo nulla.

"Don't be silly!" "Non essere sciocco!" chided Grace. rimproverò Grace. "It was certainly something." Betty looked back a bit nervously, and glanced at the engine.

"I hope the gasoline isn't giving out," she murmured. "The idea!" "L'idea!" cried Grace.

Then with a shock that threw all the girls forward in their seats the Gem came to a sudden halt, and the engine raced furiously. Betty at once shut off the power. Betty spense subito la corrente.

"Oh, oh!" cried Grace.

"What is it? Has an alligator got hold of us?" Un alligatore si è impossessato di noi?". Betty looked over the bow. Betty guardò a prua. Then she said grimly: Poi disse cupamente:

"We've run on a sand bar—that's all. "Abbiamo corso su un banco di sabbia, tutto qui. Run on it good and hard, too. E anche di correrci sopra bene e con forza. I wonder if we can get off?" Chissà se possiamo scendere?".