【荆棘鸟】第三章 17

他们跟我说，要是我们那样走的话，那比我们想想办法赶今 晚的车更受罪呢。”  “我能挺过去，帕迪，”菲又说了一遍。“有弗兰克和梅吉照顾我，不会有什 么事的。”她两眼望着弗兰克，恳求他别再说了。      “那我现在就去给玛丽打个电报，告诉她明天晚上等我们。”      中心火车站比克利里家的人所到过的任何建筑物都要大，一个巨大的圆柱形玻 璃大厅似乎在同时回响着、吸收着成千上万的人的喧声闹语。他们在横七竖八的捆 着绳子的筐子旁等着，目不转睛地望着一块巨大的指示板，它是由手拿长杆的人调 整的。在愈来愈暗的暮色中，他们挤在这群人中间，眼巴巴地望着五号站台上的铁 门；门虽然关着，但门上面有手写的几个字：“基兰博邮车”。在一号站台和二号 站台上，紧张的活动预示着开往布里斯班和墨尔本的夜班快车即将发车，旅客们正 在熙熙攘攘地通过检票口。不久，便轮到他们了。五号站台的门吱吱嘎嘎地打开了， 人们开始急不可待地挪动起来。      帕迪给他们找了一间空着的二等车厢，把大一些的男孩子安置在靠窗口的座位 上，而菲、梅吉和那些小小孩则坐在通往车厢连接处的长过道的滑门旁。
        有人抱着 找个空位的希望探进脸来，但一看见车厢里有那么多孩子，马上就被吓退了。有时 候，家人口多也有它的长处。      夜里很冷，他们解下了所有的手提箱外面捆着的花格呢大旅行毛毯；尽管车厢 里没有供暖，但地板上放着装满了热灰的钢箱却散发着热气。不管怎么样，谁也没 盼着供暖，因为在澳大利亚或新西兰，任何地方都是从不供暖。      “爸，还有多远呐？”当列车起动，车身轻摇，铿铿锵锵地向前方的目的地奔 驶时，梅吉问道。      “比我们那本地图册上看到的路程要长得多，梅吉。610英里。明天傍晚的时候 我们就到了。”      男孩子们惊得透不过气来，可是，窗外灯光初放，万家灯火所构成的仙境般的 画面使他们把这一点忘在脑后了。他们全都凑到了窗前观看着，在列车驶出的最初 几英里路程中，房子仍然不见少。随着车速的加快，灯光越来越稀少，终于完全消 失，代替它们的是不断地涌向呼号着的疾风的点点火星。
 

and they told me we'd suffer a lot more traveling that way than if we make the effort to catch tonight's express."
  "I'll manage, Paddy," Fee repeated. "I've got Frank and Meggie; I'll be all right." Her eyes were on Frank, pleading for his silence. "Then I'll send Mary a telegram now, telling her to expect us tomorrow night."
  Central Station was bigger than any building the Clearys had ever been inside, a vast glass cylinder 2 which seemed simultaneously 3 to echo and absorb the din 1 of thousands of people waiting beside battered 4, strapped 5 suitcases and fixedly 6 watching a giant indicator 7 board which men with long poles altered by hand. In the gathering 8 evening darkness they found themselves a part of the throng 9, their eyes on the steel concertina gates of platform five; though shut, they bore a large hand- painted sign saying GILLANBONE MAIL. On platform one and platform two a terrific activity heralded 10 the imminent 11 departure of the Brisbane and Melbourne night expresses, passengers crowding through the barriers. Soon it was their turn, as the gates of platform five squashed themselves open and the people began eagerly to move.
  Paddy found them an empty second-class compartment 12, put the older boys by the windows and Fee, Meggie and the baby by the sliding doors which led into the long corridor connecting compartments 13. Faces would peer in hopefully in sight of a spare seat, to vanish horrified 14 at the sight of so many young children. Sometimes being a large family was an advantage. The night was cold enough to warrant unstrapping of the big tartan traveling rugs all the suitcases bore on their outsides; though the carnage was not heated, steel boxes full of hot ashes lay along the floor radiating warmth, and no one had expected heating anyway because nothing in Australia or New Zealand was ever heated.
  "How far is it, Daddy?" Meggie asked as the train drew out, clanking and rocking gently across an eternity 15 of points.
  "A long way further than it looked on our atlas 16, Meggie. Six hundred and ten miles. We'll be there late tomorrow afternoon."
  The boys gasped 17, but forgot it at the blossoming of a fairyland of lights outside; everyone clustered at the windows and watched while the first miles flew by and still the houses did not diminish. The speed increased, the lights grew scattered 18 and finally went out, replaced by a constant flurry of sparks streaming past in a howling wind.