Chapter XIII - A Strange Tow Capitolo XIII - Una strana traina Глава XIII - Странный буксир

Betty, as well as Grace, Mollie and Amy, seemed much taken aback by the earnest words of Mrs. Belton. Betty, così come Grace, Mollie e Amy, sembrarono molto colpite dalle parole sincere della signora Belton. The wife of the labor contractor seemed under stress of some excitement, as she faced the girls after the warning. La moglie dell'appaltatore sembrava sottoposta a uno stress di una certa eccitazione, mentre affrontava le ragazze dopo l'avvertimento.

"Don't go!" she went on. "Don't any of you think of going! I used to think my husband dealt with a rough enough class of men, but those in the interior—in the turpentine camps, and cypress swamps—oh, they are the most lawless element you can imagine. Pensavo che mio marito avesse a che fare con una classe di uomini abbastanza rozza, ma quelli dell'interno - nei campi di trementina e nelle paludi di cipressi - oh, sono l'elemento più illegale che si possa immaginare. And no wonder, for no men, unless they are compelled, will work with those contractors. E non c'è da stupirsi, perché nessun uomo, a meno che non sia costretto, lavorerà con questi appaltatori. They have to keep their men just like prisoners." "Oh, dear, don't tell me any more!" begged Grace, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of her brother.

"But perhaps Will isn't treated as the others are," suggested Betty, giving the woman a look she understood. "He went there under different circumstances than the others, and he may receive consideration." "Of course I don't know all the circumstances," went on Mrs. Belton as she nodded at Betty to show that she would be more careful in what she said. "He may be favored. Of course not all the contractors are cruel, but they have to deal with a bad class of men, and that makes them harsh, perhaps. Naturalmente non tutti gli appaltatori sono crudeli, ma hanno a che fare con una classe di uomini cattivi e questo li rende forse duri. But take my advice, and don't go near one of those places under any circumstances. Please don't!" "Don't go where?" asked her husband, coming in at that moment with Mr. Hammond. "Are the girls thinking of going cruising among the Everglades?" and he laughed heartily. Betty was beginning to like him very much, as were the other girls. He was rough, and uncouth, but he seemed honest and sincere, and his wife, a hard-working woman, had given of her best hospitality to the visitors. Era rude e rozzo, ma sembrava onesto e sincero, e sua moglie, una donna che lavorava sodo, aveva dato la sua migliore ospitalità ai visitatori.

"No, they weren't talking of the Everglades," said Mrs. Belton. "This young lady thinks her brother may have been taken to one of the turpentine camps, or other camps in the interior, and she wants to rescue him. "Questa giovane donna pensa che suo fratello sia stato portato in uno dei campi di trementina o in altri campi dell'interno e vuole salvarlo. I was telling her to keep away." "And that's good advice," agreed Mr. Belton, more seriously than he had yet spoken. "Ed è un buon consiglio", concordò Mr. Belton, più seriamente di quanto non avesse ancora detto. "I don't mind mixing up with some men, but those contract laborers are pretty bad. "Non mi dispiace mischiarmi con alcuni uomini, ma quei lavoratori a contratto sono piuttosto cattivi. My men are nothing to them, though I do get a hard customer once in a while." I miei uomini non sono nulla per loro, anche se ogni tanto mi capita un cliente difficile". "But what can we do?" Grace besought. La grazia è stata chiesta. "If Will is there we must get him away! Of course I'm not sure, but papa is looking everywhere for him, and the best clue we got was that he was somewhere in the interior of here." "Then take my advice, and let the authorities do the searching," said Mr. Belton. "The season won't last much longer, and they may discharge a lot of their men—these contractors may. "La stagione non durerà ancora per molto, e potrebbero congedare molti dei loro uomini - questi appaltatori potrebbero farlo. Then your brother could come out of his own accord." Allora tuo fratello potrebbe uscire di sua spontanea volontà". "Oh, but it is so long to wait!" cried Grace. "Surely there must be some way," and she looked pleadingly at the two men. "Sicuramente ci sarà un modo", e guardò implorante i due uomini. "Well, I don't know," said Mr. Belton slowly. "I'll do all I can to help you, and so will any of my men. And I think Hammond, here, will say the same thing." "Surely!" exclaimed the overseer. "But the question is—what could we do?" "We'd first have to locate the camp," said the labor man. "After that we could talk business. "Dopo di che potremmo parlare di affari. It would depend on who was running it, and where it was. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and when I hear anything I'll let you know, Miss. What sort of a looking young man might your brother be?" Grace described Will accurately, enough so that Mr. Belton said he would know him if he saw or heard of him.

"And now are you young ladies ready to go back?" asked Mr. Hammond, as he smiled at Betty and her chums.

"Quite," she answered. "Abbastanza", rispose lei. "We have had a good view of the interior of Florida." "Oh, shucks!" "Oh, accidenti!" exclaimed the labor contractor. "Begging your pardon, Miss, for that kind of talk. But you haven't seen anything of the interior yet. There's parts I wouldn't want to trust myself to, not with all of my men behind me, and I'm not a scary sort of an individual, either. Ci sono parti in cui non vorrei fidarmi di me stesso, non con tutti i miei uomini dietro di me, e non sono nemmeno un individuo spaventoso. There's parts no one has ever been in, I reckon. Ci sono parti in cui nessuno è mai stato, credo. Don't you say so, Hammond?" Non lo dici tu, Hammond?". "That's what I do!" "È quello che faccio!" was the emphatic answer. "Well, are you ready, girls?" They left, bidding Mr. and Mrs. Belton good-bye, and Grace received renewed promises that all possible would be done to locate her brother. Se ne andarono, salutando i signori Belton, e Grace ricevette nuove promesse che sarebbe stato fatto tutto il possibile per rintracciare suo fratello.

Mr. Belton promised to bring a boat-load of laborers to the orange grove in the morning, and as the visitors left they heard the soft strains of one of the negro songs following them through the deep woods. Mr. Belton promise di portare una barca di braccianti all'aranceto in mattinata, e mentre i visitatori se ne andavano sentirono le dolci note di uno dei canti dei negri che li seguivano attraverso i boschi profondi. The effect was weird in the extreme, especially when they reached the denser parts of the forest. L'effetto è stato estremamente strano, soprattutto quando hanno raggiunto le zone più dense della foresta.

Good time was made back to "Orangeade," as the girls had christened the bungalow in the grove, the boat running well. Il ritorno a "Orangeade", come le ragazze avevano battezzato il bungalow nel boschetto, è stato piacevole e la barca funziona bene. Mr. Hammond complimented the girls on the manner in which they ran the craft, each taking a turn at steering, while the overseer imparted instructions as to various sand bars and shallow places along the course. Il signor Hammond si è complimentato con le ragazze per il modo in cui hanno condotto l'imbarcazione, ognuna delle quali si è alternata al timone, mentre il supervisore impartiva istruzioni sui vari banchi di sabbia e sulle zone poco profonde lungo il percorso.

Mr. Stonington was much interested in the report brought back by the girls regarding the lawlessness of the interior camps, and he agreed with Mr. Hammond that if any attempt at a rescue should be made a number of reliable men must be taken along. Il signor Stonington era molto interessato al resoconto delle ragazze sull'illegalità degli accampamenti interni e concordava con il signor Hammond sulla necessità di portare con sé, in caso di tentativo di salvataggio, un certo numero di uomini affidabili.

"And I must write to father!" exclaimed Grace, "and ask if he has any clues. He may be able to give us some aid in locating the neighborhood of the camp. Oh, if Will could only know we are here, and would send us a letter! Just think, girls! Pensate, ragazze! He doesn't even know we are in Florida!" "It does seem strange," remarked Mollie. "Sembra strano", osservò Mollie. "Usually wherever we go we see the boys once in a while." "Di solito, ovunque andiamo, vediamo i ragazzi ogni tanto". "It is lonesome without them," said Betty impulsively. "Ci si sente soli senza di loro", disse Betty impulsivamente. "I wonder if there is any chance of them coming down this summer?" "Mi chiedo se ci sia la possibilità che scendano quest'estate". "It's winter—up where they are," remarked Amy. "Oh, every place is summer to Betty when she thinks of a certain young man; summer and orange blossoms," drawled Grace. "Oh, ogni luogo è estate per Betty quando pensa a un certo giovane; estate e fiori d'arancio", disse Grace. "Don't be silly!" snapped Betty, with a vivid blush. scattò Betty, con un vivace rossore. "You know I meant all the boys—not one!" "Sai che intendevo tutti i ragazzi, non uno solo!". "Selfish girl—she wants them all!" "Ragazza egoista, li vuole tutti!". laughed Mollie.

Glorious were they—those winter days in Florida, where the outdoor girls enjoyed themselves to the utmost. Splendide sono state quelle giornate invernali in Florida, dove le ragazze all'aperto si sono divertite al massimo. Had it not been for one little rift in the lute, their pleasure and happiness would have been complete—and that rift was the absence of Will. Se non fosse stato per una piccola frattura nel liuto, il loro piacere e la loro felicità sarebbero stati completi, e quella frattura era l'assenza di Will. Grace seemed to feel it more keenly as day passed day and no word came. Grace sembrava sentirlo più intensamente man mano che il giorno passava e non arrivava nessuna notizia.

Her father did write saying that the inquiry was progressing slowly, and that it would take some time to have scanned each list of minor offenders who had been "hired" out to contractors under an old law, operative only in certain cases. Suo padre le scrisse che l'inchiesta procedeva lentamente e che ci sarebbe voluto un po' di tempo per scansionare ogni lista di minori delinquenti che erano stati "affittati" ad appaltatori in base a una vecchia legge, operativa solo in alcuni casi. As for naming any special locality where Will might be, that was impossible, as yet. Per quanto riguarda il nome di una località particolare in cui Will potrebbe trovarsi, questo era ancora impossibile.

Mrs. Stonington seemed very much improved by her stay in the South, but she was not yet out of danger, the doctor said, and must use care. Her husband and Amy were still anxious about her, and watched her carefully; for, though she was no relation to Amy, she still acted, and in reality was, almost as a mother to the girl. Il marito e Amy erano ancora in ansia per lei e la osservavano con attenzione, perché, pur non essendo parente di Amy, si comportava ancora, e in realtà era, quasi come una madre per la ragazza.

Amy's newly-found brother paid one visit to the bungalow in the orange grove, but could not stay long, as his business was increasing. Il nuovo fratello di Amy fece una visita al bungalow nell'aranceto, ma non poté fermarsi a lungo, perché i suoi affari stavano aumentando. He reported all well in Deepdale.

"By the way," he said with a chuckle, "those old friends of yours, Alice Jallow and Kittie Rossmore, have started a sort of automobile club. "A proposito", disse ridendo, "quelle tue vecchie amiche, Alice Jallow e Kittie Rossmore, hanno fondato una specie di club automobilistico. I guess they're trying to rival you." Credo che stiano cercando di rivaleggiare con te". "They're not friends of ours," said Mollie quickly, "and as for being rivals—we refuse to consider them as such." "Well, I don't blame you." "Beh, non ti biasimo". The orange picking was in full swing now, and the girls spent many happy days in the grove. La raccolta delle arance era ormai in pieno svolgimento e le ragazze trascorsero molte giornate felici nel boschetto. They learned many new ways of eating oranges, and marveled at the difference in flavor of the fruit picked from the trees, from that as they recalled it in the North.

The laborers supplied by Mr. Belton had proved to be good workers, and more were sent for, the girls taking Mr. Hammond up to the clearing in the motor boat to arrange about them. I braccianti forniti da Mr. Belton si erano dimostrati dei buoni lavoratori e ne furono mandati altri; le ragazze accompagnarono Mr. Hammond alla radura con la barca a motore per sistemarli. Grace hoped to have some news of her brother, but the contractor said he had not been able to get any clues.

It was about a week after this, on a fine sunny day, not as warm as some of its predecessors, that Betty proposed a trip in her motor boat. Fu circa una settimana dopo, in una bella giornata di sole, non così calda come altre precedenti, che Betty propose una gita con la sua barca a motore.

"Let's go quite a distance up the river," she suggested. "Risaliamo un bel po' il fiume", suggerì. "There are new sights to see, Mr. Hammond says, and no bars to run upon after we pass the landing where Mr. Belton docks. "Ci sono nuove cose da vedere, dice il signor Hammond, e non ci sono sbarre su cui correre dopo aver superato l'approdo dove attracca il signor Belton. We may find some new streams or lakes to explore, for we've been all over Lake Chad." Potremmo trovare nuovi corsi d'acqua o laghi da esplorare, perché abbiamo girato tutto il lago Ciad". This was so, the girls soon having exhausted the possibilities of that body of water. Fu così che le ragazze esaurirono presto le possibilità di quello specchio d'acqua.

"I'm willing," agreed Mollie. "Sono disposta", concorda Mollie. "And we can take our lunch, and stay all day," added Grace. "Oh dear! I wish someone would invent non-melting chocolate!" Vorrei che qualcuno inventasse il cioccolato non fondente!". she complained, for her fingers were stained with the half-liquid confection. si lamentò, perché le sue dita erano macchiate di quella confenzione semiliquida.

"Some non-eating ones would be better," said Mollie, with a laugh. "Sarebbe meglio se ci fossero dei non mangiatori", disse Mollie, ridendo. "Just the kind you look at, you know." "Proprio il tipo che si guarda, sai". "I don't think that's funny," spoke Grace, slightly elevating her pretty nose. "Non mi sembra divertente", disse Grace, alzando leggermente il suo bel naso. Finally they got started, after repeated injunctions from Mrs. Stonington to "be careful," to all of which they dutifully promised obedience. Finalmente si avviarono, dopo le ripetute ingiunzioni della signora Stonington di "stare attenti", alle quali promisero doverosamente di obbedire. The trip was a delightful one, and no accidents marred it. Il viaggio è stato piacevole e nessun incidente lo ha rovinato. They swept on up the river, which had hardly current enough to be noticeable. Risalirono il fiume, che aveva una corrente appena sufficiente per essere percepita. They paused to admire pretty spots, and stopped for lunch in a "perfect fairyland of a grove," to quote Amy. Si sono soffermati ad ammirare i luoghi più belli e si sono fermati per il pranzo in un boschetto "perfetto come un paese delle fate", per citare Amy. The Gem was anchored near an overhanging tree which served to permit the girls to go ashore dry-shod. La Gem era ancorata vicino a un albero sporgente che permetteva alle ragazze di scendere a terra a piedi asciutti.

Merry indeed was the luncheon. Il pranzo è stato davvero allegro. Grace was passing the olives, when she happened to glance toward the boat. Grace stava passando le olive, quando le capitò di guardare verso la barca. Her surprise caused her to drop the bottle in the box of crackers, as she cried: La sorpresa le fece cadere la bottiglia nella scatola di cracker, mentre piangeva:

"Betty—look, your boat is adrift!" "Betty, guarda, la tua barca è alla deriva!". "So it is!" "Così è!" agreed the Little Captain, standing up. "I thought we anchored it securely." "And look!" added Mollie, as she pointed. aggiunse Mollie, mentre indicava. "It's going up stream! "Sta risalendo la corrente! Can the engine have started of itself?" "No, the clutch is out," said Betty, running down to the shore. "No, la frizione è fuori uso", disse Betty, correndo verso la riva. "Something is towing the boat up stream. "Qualcosa sta trainando la barca verso la corrente. See, the anchor rope is extended out in front!" Vedete, la corda dell'ancora è allungata davanti!".