Chapter XVI - Suspicious Characters Capitolo XVI - Personaggi sospetti 第十六章 可疑人物

"What shall we do?" whispered Grace, glancing at Betty, who stood at the wheel, seemingly as calm and unperturbed as though she had the Gem out for a little run on Rainbow Lake. sussurrò Grace, lanciando un'occhiata a Betty, che stava al volante, apparentemente calma e imperturbabile come se avesse portato la Gemma a fare una piccola corsa sul lago Rainbow. "Oh, what shall we do?" "Oh, cosa dobbiamo fare?". "Do?" echoed Mollie. "Wait until there's something to be done, of course." "But those men—they are heading right for us, and we don't know them!" "Ma quegli uomini... si stanno dirigendo proprio verso di noi, e noi non li conosciamo!". "And we didn't know Mr. Belton when he came to our rescue," replied Mollie. "So that doesn't count." "But neither of these men is Mr. Belton," went on Grace. "Oh, I don't like Florida as much as I thought I would!" "Oh, la Florida non mi piace così tanto come pensavo!". "I'm sorry," spoke Amy gently. "I—I didn't mean just that, my dear," answered Grace impulsively. "Non intendevo proprio questo, mia cara", rispose Grace impulsivamente. "But they are heading for us, Betty." "Of course they are," said the Little Captain. "But that doesn't mean I am going to stop for them." "Ma questo non significa che mi fermerò per loro". "Betty Nelson! Do you mean that you aren't going to stop?" gasped Grace.

"That's what I do mean. I don't see why we should halt our boat just because two strange men signal us. Indeed I'm not going to!" and Betty turned on more power. e Betty ha aumentato la potenza. She gazed straight ahead as though she did not see the men in the approaching craft, who were now wildly waving their hands, and turning their rather disreputable-looking craft in the direction of the Gem . Guardò dritto davanti a sé, come se non vedesse gli uomini dell'imbarcazione in avvicinamento, che ora agitavano selvaggiamente le mani e giravano la loro imbarcazione dall'aspetto piuttosto disdicevole in direzione della Gemma.

"Betty Nelson! You're just splendid!" cried Grace impulsively as she moved forward and threw her arms about her chum. "I wish I had your courage!" "Don't hug me too tightly," begged Betty with a laugh. "Non abbracciarmi troppo forte", implora Betty con una risata. "I may have to steer out of their way." "Potrei dovermi allontanare dalla loro strada". Indeed it did seem so, for the other craft was coming about so as to almost cross the bows of the boat of the outdoor girls. In effetti sembrava così, perché l'altra imbarcazione si stava avvicinando in modo da incrociare quasi la prua della barca delle ragazze all'aperto. Then one of the men called:

"I say, young ladies, will you stop a minute? "Dico, signorine, volete fermarvi un attimo? We want to speak to you." Betty never turned her head, but gazed on down the river as though intent on not grounding on a sand bar, or running into an alligator. Her chums followed her example, but Grace could not forbear giving the men one glance. Le sue compagne seguirono il suo esempio, ma Grace non poté fare a meno di lanciare un'occhiata agli uomini.

"They're talking together," she reported in a low voice. "Stanno parlando insieme", ha riferito a bassa voce. "Let 'em talk—as long as they don't talk to us," answered Mollie. "Lasciamoli parlare, purché non parlino con noi", rispose Mollie. The men seemed to have decided on something after a conference, for the one who had first hailed the girls now called again:

"I say, young ladies, we don't mean to be impolite or to bother you, but we're looking for a boat, and——" "Dico, signorine, non vogliamo essere scortesi o disturbarvi, ma stiamo cercando una barca e...". "This boat isn't for sale," said Betty in non-committal tones. "Questa barca non è in vendita", disse Betty in tono non impegnativo. "We have no time to stop." "But you don't understand," cried the man, seemingly growing desperate. "Ma lei non capisce", gridò l'uomo, apparentemente sempre più disperato. "One of our boats was taken last night by a young fellow, and he came down the river. We followed him, but we must have passed him in the night. Lo abbiamo seguito, ma dobbiamo averlo superato nella notte. Now we're on our way back. Ora siamo sulla via del ritorno. He may have hid in some bayou, and be on his way down farther up stream. Potrebbe essersi nascosto in qualche baia ed essere in procinto di risalire la corrente. All we wanted to know was if you had seen a tall young fellow, with blue eyes, in a small skiff?" Volevamo solo sapere se avevate visto un ragazzo alto e giovane, con gli occhi azzurri, su una piccola barca". Betty returned no answer. It was not a question, strictly speaking. The men had merely said they wanted to know, and Betty saw no reason for gratifying their "want." Gli uomini avevano semplicemente detto di voler sapere e Betty non vedeva alcun motivo per soddisfare il loro "desiderio". "Hey, can't you stop and answer a civil question?" "Ehi, non puoi fermarti e rispondere a una domanda civile?". cried the second man, and his voice was angry. "If you don't we may——" "Se non lo fai, possiamo...". Betty's cheeks flushed. Without turning her head she answered:

"You'd better be careful how you make threats. "Faresti meglio a stare attento a come fai le minacce. We are from Mr. Stonington's orange grove, and Mr. Hammond——" "There, I knew you'd make a mess of it, Bill!" "Ecco, sapevo che avresti fatto un pasticcio, Bill!". said the other man—the one who had first spoken—and he turned accusingly to his companion. disse l'altro uomo, quello che aveva parlato per primo, e si rivolse con tono accusatorio al suo compagno.

"Well, I don't care—why don't they answer? "Beh, non mi interessa: perché non rispondono? I'll wager they've seen that fellow and won't tell." Scommetto che hanno visto quel tipo e non lo dicono". "Why shouldn't they tell?" asked the first man in a low voice, but he forgot how well even low tones carry over the water. chiese il primo uomo a bassa voce, dimenticando però che anche i toni bassi si propagano bene sull'acqua. "They are strangers here I am certain. They can't know 'The Loon,' and so we're perfectly safe in questionin' 'em." Non possono conoscere 'The Loon', e quindi siamo perfettamente al sicuro nell'interrogarli". "Yes, but they won't answer. "Sì, ma non rispondono. Git over closer and maybe we can make 'em!" Avvicinatevi e forse riusciremo a farli!". "Oh!" gasped Grace, startled. sussultò Grace, spaventata.

"They'd better not try!" "Meglio che non ci provino!". cried Mollie with a sparkle in her eyes. gridò Mollie con un luccichio negli occhi. "We're not very far from home, and this boat can go twice as fast as theirs." "Don't be alarmed," said Betty. "I've got some speed in reserve yet." "Ho ancora un po' di velocità di riserva". The men consulted together again. They had put their boat about now, and were coming down after the Gem . Avevano messo a bordo la loro barca e stavano scendendo dopo la Gemma. But it was easy to see they had no speed.

"I say!" called out the man who had first hailed. "Won't you tell us if you've seen a ragged lad in a boat? "Non vuoi dirci se hai visto un ragazzo straccione su una barca? We don't mean any harm. Non vogliamo fare del male. Just stop a minute!" "We have no time!" said Betty sharply, "and if you persist in following us——" "Say, look here!" "Dite, guardate qui!". blustered the second man, "if you gals don't——" sbottò il secondo uomo, "se voi ragazze non...". "Now let up on that line, Bill!" "Ora molla il filo, Bill!". cautioned the other. ha ammonito l'altro. "We don't mean any harm," he proceeded. "Non abbiamo alcuna intenzione di fare del male", ha proseguito. "My friend here is a bit rough——" "I'm no rougher than you!" "Non sono più rude di te!". retorted his companion. replicò il suo compagno.

"We're willing to pay for the information," went on the first man. "Siamo disposti a pagare per le informazioni", proseguì il primo uomo. "It won't take but a minute——" But Betty stayed to hear no more. Ma Betty non volle sentire altro. She opened wide the throttle of her motor, and the Gem shot ahead, leaving the other craft far behind. Spalancò la valvola a farfalla del motore e il Gem scattò in avanti, lasciando l'altra imbarcazione molto indietro. There was some evidence in the quicker staccato exhaust of the pursuing boat that the occupants tried to get more speed out of her, but they failed, and a little later Amy, turning around, saw them circling back up stream. Il gas di scarico più rapido dell'imbarcazione inseguitrice testimoniava che gli occupanti avevano cercato di ottenere una maggiore velocità, ma non ci riuscirono e poco dopo Amy, voltandosi, li vide risalire la corrente.

One man stood up and shook his fist vindictively at the girls. Un uomo si alzò in piedi e scosse il pugno in modo vendicativo contro le ragazze. Grace gasped as she saw this. Grace ebbe un sussulto quando lo vide.

"Oh, I am sure they mean us some harm!" "Oh, sono sicuro che ci vogliono fare del male!". she cried.

"Nonsense!" "Sciocchezze!" asserted Betty. "We're far enough off now." "Siamo abbastanza lontani ora". "But if we come out again?" "Ma se usciamo di nuovo?". Amy suggested.

"I think we will take one of the young men from the orange crate factory," suggested Mollie. "Penso che prenderemo uno dei giovani della fabbrica di casse d'arancia", suggerì Mollie. "Mr. Hammond will spare us one, I'm sure, and it would be too bad if we had to give up our trips on the river just because some men are hunting a fugitive." "Il signor Hammond ce ne risparmierà uno, ne sono certo, e sarebbe un peccato se dovessimo rinunciare alle nostre gite sul fiume solo perché alcuni uomini stanno dando la caccia a un fuggitivo". "And I wonder what they want of him?" asked Grace. "He seemed harmless enough." "Sembrava abbastanza innocuo". "They said he had their boat," supplied Amy. "Yes, that was probably to escape in," suggested Grace. "He was going for help for someone. Maybe a friend of his was hurt. I wish someone could take help to my brother. Oh, it's dreadful to think he may be in need of it, and that we are unable to get to him." È terribile pensare che possa averne bisogno e che non riusciamo a raggiungerlo". "It certainly is," agreed Betty. "Lo è certamente", concorda Betty. "But fretting will do no good. "Ma agitarsi non serve a nulla. We may have news of him any time now." Potremmo avere notizie di lui da un momento all'altro". A little later the girls tied up at the orange grove dock. They made light of their adventures, even the one with the sea cow, and did not mention the ragged youth at all, except to say a stranger had recovered their boat for them. Fecero luce sulle loro avventure, anche su quella con la mucca marina, e non menzionarono affatto il giovane straccione, se non per dire che uno sconosciuto aveva recuperato la loro barca per loro.

"For there is no need of telling too many persons that we saw him," said Betty later. "Some of the hands might hear of it and, without meaning to, betray his secret." "Qualcuno potrebbe venirne a conoscenza e, senza volerlo, tradire il suo segreto". "But we don't know where he went," said Grace. "No, and I don't want to—then we can't tell under any circumstances. We'll just keep quiet about it." Non ne parleremo". For a day or so the girls did not venture far from the bungalow on the river, but soon they tired of comparative inactivity and planned a little cruise, down stream this time, past Lake Chad, and up another river that emptied into it. Per circa un giorno le ragazze non si allontanarono dal bungalow sul fiume, ma ben presto si stancarono della relativa inattività e progettarono una piccola crociera, questa volta lungo la corrente, passando per il lago Ciad e risalendo un altro fiume che vi sfociava.

"But you'd better take one of my young helpers along," suggested Mr. Hammond, when the girls made known their plan. "Ma è meglio che portiate con voi uno dei miei giovani aiutanti", suggerì il signor Hammond, quando le ragazze esposero il loro piano. "There have been a couple of suspicious characters hanging around of late, and I don't want you to take any chances. "Ultimamente ci sono stati un paio di personaggi sospetti in giro e non voglio che corriate rischi. I'll give you a young fellow you can depend on." Vi darò un giovane su cui poter contare".