扎达克司令穿过马路来到监狱门前，说道：“我是扎达克司令。我要见一个人。”
“对不起，司令，”一个卫兵说，“我们不能开门。没有地球司令的信谁也不能进去。”
“好吧，”扎达克说。他顺着马路从监狱旁边绕了过去。
一个卫兵从后面赶了上来。“对不起，司令，”他说得很快，“请您今天晚上来吧。午夜的时候我可以打开后门。您能见到从OM-45号宇宙飞船来的那两个人。”
扎达克注视着那个卫兵：“你们队长会杀了你的。”
那个卫兵笑了：“是我们队长给您打电话，告诉您OM-45号那两个人的事的。他是塞鲁船长的哥哥。”
扎达克没有笑：“监狱长会把你和你们队长都杀掉的。”
“没关系，”那个卫兵说，“我们愿意帮忙。”
“午夜。”扎达克说了一声就走了。
午夜时分，888号监狱正门前有四个卫兵，还有一个卫兵守在后门。那个卫兵打开后门，扎达克走了进去。卫兵什么也没说。他们走下楼梯进了一个大房间。那个房间里没有床也没有椅子，许多犯人睡在地板上。凯和瑞拉坐在门边的地板上。
“你们可以谈五分钟，”那个卫兵悄悄说，“下一班卫兵12点一刻来。”
凯和瑞拉站起身：“晚上好，司令。”他们说。
扎达克看了看那些犯人：“这些人为什么被关在这儿？”他对凯和瑞拉说道，“高格不喜欢他们，所以把他们关了起来。我跟高格说了下雨的事，还有人工臭氧层的事，可是他根本不听。今天有人告诉我非洲那些幼林失火了，可是高格根本不想听火灾的事。”扎达克愤怒地冷笑了一声：“他也不想知道澳大利亚我那些树林的事。他从来不听我的。他总想着火星，从来不想想我们美丽的地球。”
凯认真听着。“别太在意，司令，”他平静地说，“请您和阿岱谈谈。他会帮忙的。他可以从月球回来帮助您。”
“不行，”扎达克说，“今天下午我给他打了电话。他是个好人，也愿意帮忙。可我不需要帮助。我要阻止高格——我要杀了他。”
凯闭目凝神了一会儿。“高格的卫兵有枪。他们会杀了您的，司令。”他说，“您需要多一些人帮忙。等等阿岱。他能帮您找更多的人。”
“不，凯，”扎达克平静地说，“我不想要更多的人。阿岱可以在高格死了以后——也许我死了以后再回来。我不希望阿岱也来送死。”
“对不起，司令。”那个卫兵说。他看了看门边挂着的钟。
“好吧，咱们走。”扎达克对卫兵说。他看了看瑞拉又看了看凯。他的双眼晶莹碧蓝。“再见了。”他说。
“再见，司令。”凯说。
“要小心！”瑞拉喊着，“祝您好运！”
那天清晨，地球司令的家里非常安静。一个卫兵打开房门。
“早晨好，扎达克司令，”他说，“地球司令不在办公室。”
“没关系，”扎达克说，“我可以等。”
扎达克来到楼上开始等待。
8点钟的时候贝尔走了进来。“早晨好，司令，”她说，“今天您可真早。您今天高兴点了吗？地球司令昨天跟您发了很大的火。今天可别上来就谈什么雨水或者人工臭氧层的事了。”
扎达克笑了，可他的蓝眼睛里透着寒光。“不会的，”他说，“今天我不准备谈雨水的事。”
正说着，高格走了进来。他看着扎达克：“这是怎么了？你为什么早晨8点钟就来这儿？”
扎达克从衣兜里掏出了枪。高格看见了那支枪，脸色煞白。他目光灰暗，充满恐惧。一时间大家都僵在了那儿。
突然，贝尔那只黑白相间的猫跑了进来。
“卫兵！卫兵！”贝尔喊了起来。
那只猫朝扎达克扑过来，扎达克把猫抡到一边。贝尔朝房间另一头的高格跑去，就在这时，扎达克朝高格开枪了。可是贝尔正好跑到他和高格之问。她叫了一声就倒在了地板上。在黑色地板的映衬下她的头发显得越发红艳。
“不！”高格大喊，“你打死了贝尔！”
三个拿着长枪的卫兵跑了进来，站在高格前面。
“杀了他！”高格叫着，一边去救贝尔。
扎达克看了看那几个卫兵，又看了看贝尔和高格。凯说得对：他活不成了。
“凯，阿岱，我对不起你们。”他平静地说。
卫兵们朝扎达克开了枪。他缓缓地倒在地板上。
5
Forest fires
Later that morning, four guards took Rilla to Gog's office. His face looked tired and his eyes were red.
"Leave us," he said to the guards. Then he looked at Rilla. "Tell me about Kiah. When did you first meet him? Is Zadak his friend? What do they talk about?"
Rilla looked down at the floor and said nothing.
"Come on, tell me!" Gog said angrily. He waited, but Rilla said nothing. "Tell me about Zadak, then. Your father and Commander Zadak were friends. Now, you're talking to Zadak about the AOL. I know that. What is Zadak saying?"
"Why? Why do you want to know about Commander Zadak?" Rilla asked.
"I'm asking the questions, not you," Gog said. "Did you see Zadak yesterday?"
"The AOL is important, not Commander Zadak," Rilla said.
Gog watched Rilla carefully. "Zadak is dead."
"No!" Rilla cried.
"He is dead," Gog said again. "You lost your friend, here in this building, early this morning. My guards shot him."
Rilla's face went white, "What happened? Tell me!"
"I'm going to tell you one thing," Gog said angrily. "I'm going to destroy Australia. I'm going to burn Zadak's new forest there. You can tell all your friends! Zadak wanted to kill me, but I killed him. He wanted money for rain, money for the AOL, and now he's dead. You can tell all those prisoners in prison 888. They wanted to stop me, but they can't now. I'm going to Mars! Bel always wanted to go to Mars." He began to hit the table with his hand. "I'm going to leave this dead planet! Nobody can stop me!"
"You're crazy," Rilla said. "You killed Zadak, but one day someone is going to kill you."
Gog stood up. His face was tired and he looked ill. "Be quiet!" he said. "Guards! Take her away. Back to 888."
The guards came in and took Rilla out.
"What happened?" she asked them. "Commander Zadak is dead; why is Gog angry?"
The guards said nothing. But after they returned to the gate of 888, a guard said to Rilla, very quietly: "Bel is dead. Zadak didn't shoot Gog, but he shot Bel, before the guards shot him."
A guard. took Rilla into the prison, and soon she was with Kiah again.
"What happened?" Kiah asked. "Tell me."
Rilla put her hands over her face and began to cry. "Zadak is dead," she began. "He didn't kill Gog. He killed Bel before the guards shot him, and now Gog is going to destroy Australia."
Kiah sat down on the floor next to Rilla. His face was sad. "Don't cry," he said quietly.
Three or four prisoners came across the room.
"What's the matter?" they asked.
"Zadak is dead," Kiah said. "But Bel is dead, too."
"What's going to happen next?" someone asked. But nobody answered.
The next afternoon, Captain Seru's brother took Kiah and Rilla to a little room at the back of the prison.They sat down, and five minutes later Captain Seru arrived. Nobody smiled.
"You were right, Captain," Kiah said. "Gog sent us to prison because we told him about the holes in the AOL."
Seru smiled. "You were right, Kiah," she said. "Those satellite numbers were very bad. I began to tell Gog, but he didn't listen to me."
"Would you like some coffee? And some sandwiches?" Seru's brother asked.
"Yes, please," Seru said. "I'm hungry." She looked at Kiah and Rilla. "Things are very bad."
"What's happening?" Rilla asked.
"You know about Zadak? And Bel?"
"Yes. Gog told Rilla yesterday," Kiah said.
Seru smiled, but her eyes were not happy. "Gog talked to me this morning," she said. Her brother came in with the coffee and sandwiches and Seru began to eat. "Gog wants to know about Zadak, and about you," she said. "He's going to kill us all, I think, before he goes to Mars."
Suddenly, Rilla felt ill. "I can't eat now!" she cried. But she took some coffee and began to drink. "Let's get out of here," she said. "Perhaps we can get a plane to Brazil and go to my family."
"Difficult," Seru said. "Last night fires began in the new forest in Europe, and they're moving across Europe. The fires in Africa are burning fast. Gog began to destroy Zadak's forest in Australia yesterday."
"Did you phone Adai?" Kiah asked.
"Adai! You never stop talking about Adai. What can he do?" Rilla said. She felt angry.
Seru looked at Rilla for a minute. "Yes, I phoned Adai before I came here. I told him about Zadak and Bel, and about the fires. He asked about you, Kiah. He can't come down at Kisangani airport because Gog is there with a lot of his guards. Ship MARS 4 is nearly ready and Gog is watching it. He wants to leave Earth tomorrow."
"How can Adai help us?" Rilla asked. "He can't shoot all the guards here."
Captain Seru finished the last sandwich. "Let's leave that to Adai," she said. "We can do nothing."
"Are you going to stay here?" Kiah asked.
"Yes," Seru answered. "Adai is coming to the prison after he arrives on Earth."
"Oh yes?" Rilla said tiredly. "But when? Gog can kill us before Adai comes."
"No, he can't," Seru's brother said. "You can stay here, in this room. Gog's guards are all afraid—afraid of the fires, afraid of the people. They aren't going to look for you here."
* * *
angrily adv. with anger, the feeling that makes people want to fight. 生气地，愤怒地。
lost vt. past tense of "to lose", no longer have. 失去。
burn v. to be on fire. 着火；燃烧。
crazy adj. mad , foolish. 疯，傻的。
sad adj. unhappy. 难过，伤心。
meet v. come face to face with. 见面，会见。
sandwich n. two pieces of bread with meat in between. 三明治。
felt v. past tense of "to feel"; learn about by touching. 触摸。
fire n. sth. burning. 火，火焰。
ill adj. in bad health. 病，生病。
5 森林大火
那天上午发生了这些事情之后，四个卫兵把瑞拉带到了高格的办公室。高格一脸疲惫，眼睛红红的。
“出去吧。”他吩咐卫兵。之后他盯着瑞拉：“跟我说说凯。你第一次见到他是什么时候？扎达克是他的朋友吗？他们都谈些什么呢？”
瑞拉低头看着地板，一言不发。
“说呀，告诉我！”高格生气地喊。他等待着，瑞拉仍旧什么也没说。“那就说说扎达克吧。你爸爸和扎达克司令是朋友。现在你把人工臭氧层的事告诉了他。我知道这些。扎达克他怎么说？”
“为什么？为什么你想知道扎达克司令的事？”瑞拉问。
“是我在提问，不是你，”高格说，“昨天你见到扎达克了吗？”
“人工臭氧层才是重要的，不是扎达克司令。”瑞拉说。
高格凝视着瑞拉：“扎达克死了。”
“不！”瑞拉叫了起来。
“他死了，”高格重复了一遍，“你失去了你的朋友，就在这座楼里，就在今天清晨。我的卫兵开枪打死了他。”
瑞拉的脸白了：“出了什么事？告诉我！”
“有一件事我得告诉你，”高格恼怒地说，“我要毁掉澳大利亚。我要把扎达克新栽的森林烧毁，你可以告诉你所有的朋友。扎达克想杀死我，可我杀了他。他想为下雨的事，为人工臭氧层要钱，可现在他死了。你可以告诉888号监狱里所有的人。他们想阻止我，可现在他们不可能了。我要去火星！贝尔一直想去火星的。”他用手敲打着桌面，“我要离开这个死亡的星球！没人能阻拦我！”
“你疯了，”瑞拉说，“你杀了扎达克，但总有一天也会有人把你杀掉的。”
高格站起身。他面色疲惫，憔悴不堪。“住嘴！”他喊着，“卫兵！把她带走。带回888号监狱去。”
卫兵们把瑞拉带了出去。
“出了什么事？”她问他们，“扎达克司令死了，高格为什么那么生气？”
卫兵们什么也没说。可是到了888号监狱门口，一个卫兵小声告诉瑞拉：“贝尔死了。扎达克没打着高格，可他打死了贝尔，然后卫兵才朝扎达克开的枪。”
一个卫兵把瑞拉带进监狱，很快瑞拉就回到了凯身边。
“出了什么事？”凯问，“告诉我。”
瑞拉捂着脸哭了起来。“扎达克死了，”她说，“他没能杀死高格。他打死贝尔之后那些卫兵杀了他，现在高格要毁掉澳大利亚。”
凯在瑞拉身边坐了下来。“别哭了。”他轻轻对瑞拉说，脸上流露出悲伤的神情。
三四个犯人走了过来。
“出了什么事？”他们问。
“扎达克死了，”凯说，“贝尔也死了。”
“以后还会出什么事呢？”一个人问。可是没人回答。
第二天下午，塞鲁船长的哥哥把凯和瑞拉带到监狱后面的一个小房间。他们坐了下来，5分钟后，塞鲁船长来了。大家都很严肃。
“船长，不出您所料，"凯说，“我们告诉高格人工臭氧层有洞的事，他就把我们送进了监狱。”
塞鲁笑了。“你说得对，凯，”她说，“那些卫星数据的确很糟糕。我试着跟高格说，可他根本不听我的。”
“要点咖啡吗？还有三明治？”塞鲁的哥哥问。
“好吧，要一点，”塞鲁说，“我饿了。”她看着凯和瑞拉：“情况非常糟糕。”
“出了什么事？”瑞拉问。
“你知道扎达克的事吗？还有贝尔？”
“瑞拉知道，高格昨天告诉她了。”凯说。
塞鲁笑了，可她的目光中却没有喜悦的神情。“高格今天早晨跟我谈过了。”她说。她哥哥拿着咖啡和三明治走了进来，塞鲁边吃边说：“高格想知道关于扎达克的情况，他也想知道关于你们的情况。”她说，“我想，他要把我们大家都杀掉，然后再去火星。”
突然，瑞拉感到很难受。“我现在吃不下去！”她喊着，一边倒了杯咖啡喝起来。“咱们出去吧，”她说，“也许我们能搭上去巴西的飞机回我家去。”
“很困难，”塞鲁说，“昨天夜里欧洲的新森林起了火，火势正向整个欧洲蔓延。非洲的大火越烧越猛。昨天高格开始摧毁扎达克在澳大利亚的森林。”
“你给阿岱打电话了吗？”凯问。
“阿岱！你怎么老是说起他，他能干什么呢？”瑞拉非常生气。
塞鲁注视了一阵瑞拉：“是的，我来之前给阿岱打过电话。我告诉了他扎达克和贝尔的事，还有火灾。他还问到你，凯。他不能降落在基桑加尼机场，因为髙格在那儿，他还布置了许多士兵。火星4号宇宙飞船已经基本准备就绪，高格正密切关注着它的进展。他想明天离开地球。”
“阿岱怎么帮助我们呢？”瑞拉问，“他也不能把这儿所有的卫兵都打死。”
塞鲁船长吃完了最后一个三明治。“这个问题就留给阿岱吧，”她说，“我们什么也做不了。”
“您准备待在这儿吗？”凯问。
“是的，”塞鲁说，“阿岱抵达地球之后就会到这座监狱来的。”
“噢，真的吗？”瑞拉疲惫地说，“可是什么时候呢？阿岱来之前高格就会把我们杀了。”
“不，他不会，”塞鲁的哥哥说，“你们可以待在这儿，在这个房间里。髙格的卫兵都害怕——怕那些火灾；怕那些人。他们不会到这儿来找你们的。”
6
Spaceship to the Moon
And so they waited. And waited. Rilla slept in her chair. Kiah and Seru talked quietly. Seru's brother came and went. Most of the prison guards ran away with the prisoners. Seven or eight people—some prisoners and some guards—didn't want to run away, so they came into the room and waited, too.
Ten o'clock came, then eleven o'clock. It was very quiet. Seru walked up and down the room. Kiah sat next to Rilla. Seru's brother came into the room again.
"It's after midnight," he said.
Just then, they heard the noise of a plane. Kiah stood up. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of the building."
Quietly, they left the building. It was a dark, hot night. There were no guards in front of the prison, so they went to the gate and waited there. Suddenly, they saw the plane. It was a little plane, and it came down on the road in front of the prison!
Rilla took Kiah's hand. "You were right," she said. "I'm sorry."
Kiah smiled. He began to feel happy. "That's all right. I understand. I know Adai very well, and you don't."
The plane stopped and someone opened the door. Kiah ran across to the plane.
"How many can you take?" he called. "There are twelve of us."
"That's all right," someone said. "Quickly, the spaceship is waiting."
The twelve people got into the little plane, and the plane began to move. Rilla looked at the captain of the plane. He was tall, with brown hair. He looked nice. Was this the famous Commander Adai?
"Where is the spaceship?" Kiah asked.
"At the old airport," the man said. "One of the fires is moving very quickly across the new forest. It's going to arrive at the west of Kisangani before tomorrow, I think. But the old airport is OK." Then the man looked at Kiah and smiled warmly. "My brother," he said. "My little brother, in prison 888!"
"Your brother? Commander Adai?" Rilla asked. "But you didn't tell me that!"
Kiah smiled. "Nobody knew," he said. "But now—it doesn't matter now. Everyone can know."
The little plane came down at the old airport, south of the town.
"Let's be careful," Adai said. "We don't want someone to shoot us before we leave.
The spaceship was dark. Quickly, everyone jumped down from the plane and ran across to the spaceship. Soon, the spaceship left Earth, and everyone looked down at the burning planet. They saw the dark smoke over Africa, and here and there, through the smoke, the red, angry fires.
"The fires are destroying the forest very quickly," Seru said.
Adai put his hand on Kiah's arm. "I'm sorry about Zadak," he said.
"I wanted him to wait," Kiah said. "I wanted him to talk to you."
Adai's face was sad. "He didn't want me to die," he said quietly. "He was a good man. And now he's dead."
"And Gog is going to Mars," Seru said.
"Mars? He's crazy! Mars isn't ready for people," Adai said.
"But Gog wants to go, and so he's going," Seru said. "Tell us about the Moon colony. That isn't ready: you need more money."
"No, I don't," Adai said. "The Moon colony is ready. I asked for more money because of Zadak: I wanted to give him money for rain. But Gog didn't listen; he wanted all Earth's money for the spaceship to Mars."
"I don't want to leave Earth," Rilla said sadly. She felt tired and afraid.
Adai smiled warmly at Rilla. "Nobody wants to leave Earth," he said. "But under the Moon is the best home for us now. Wait and see. The Moon colony is a beautiful, wonderful country, with rivers and rain, forests and flowers, buildings—and the first town. You can visit Earth again soon, and bring more people to the Moon colony. We all want to help Earth, because it's our first home. I know that. At the same time, you are going to be happy under the Moon."
Suddenly, someone cried: "Look at the Moon!"
And through the window of the spaceship they saw the Moon before them, cold, white and beautiful; and under the Moon, there was the Moon colony!
* * *
midnight n. 12 o' clock at night. 午夜。
smoke n. visible vapour coming from a burning thing. 烟，烟雾。
ready adj. in the condition for doing some thing. 准备好的。
country n. land of a nation. 国土；国家。
