CHAPTER 9
Muntz glared at the three wet dogs standing before him. “You lost them?” he growled. He slammed his cane against the floor.
“It was Dug,” Beta said quickly.
“Yeah, he’s with them,” Gamma agreed. “He helped them escape!”
Muntz groaned in frustration, then stopped suddenly. “Wait. Wait a minute. Dug…”
Muntz flipped a switch. It was a tracking switch, and it could trace Dug’s collar anywhere. Dug didn’t even notice when the tracking light on his collar lit up. He was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over the rocks below and sniffing.
“See anything?” asked Carl.
“No, my pack is not following us!” said Dug. “Boy, they are dumb.” He scampered back to Carl and Russell and began leading the way through the twisty rocks.
Russell and Carl followed, pulling the house. Kevin was on the front porch, resting.
Russell looked up at the bird. “You okay, Kevin?” She picked at her bandage, then settled back down.
“You know what, Mr. Fredricksen?” Russell said as they walked along. “The wilderness isn’t quite what I expected.”
“Yeah? How so?” Carl asked.
“It’s kinda … wild,” Russell said. “I mean, it’s not how they made it sound in my book.”
“Get used to that, kid,” Carl answered.
“My dad made it sound so easy. He’s really good at camping.” Russell thought for a moment. “He used to come to all my sweat lodge meetings. And afterwards we’d go get ice cream at Fenton’s. I always get chocolate, and he gets butter-brickle. Then we’d sit on this one curb, right outside, and I’ll count all the blue cars and he counts all the red ones, and whoever gets the most wins. I like that curb.”
Russell looked up at Carl. “That might sound boring,” he said, “but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most.”
Carl thought about that. It was the same way with Ellie. What he missed most was just being with her. Looking at clouds. Cleaning the house. That’s not so weird, he thought.
The baby birds called out. Kevin looked up and returned the call.
“Look, there it is!” Russell shouted, pointing to the rocks. He tried to run, but his tether stopped him.
Carl pulled on it to get his attention. “Hold on, Russell. Stand still.”
Carl unclipped the hose, first from Russell and then from himself. Then he tied the house to a tree.
Russell helped Kevin off the porch. Then Kevin squawked and darted up the hill toward her babies. Carl, Russell, and Dug ran after her.
“Kevin! You’re feeling better!” exclaimed Russell.
Carl laughed. “Look at that bird go!”
“That’s it!” Russell hollered. “Go, Kevin. Go find your babies!”
Kevin was just at the entrance to the maze when a spotlight fell on her. It was Muntz! He had followed them in the Spirit of Adventure.
“Run, Kevin!” Russell screamed. “Run!”
Kevin ran, but a huge net shot out of the blimp. It forced her to the ground.
Kevin cried out.
Russell gasped. “Oh, no!”
Carl and Russell ran toward the bird. “Russell, give me your knife!” Carl cried. Russell handed it over, and Carl sawed at the net.
“Get away from my bird!” Muntz shouted.
Carl turned and gasped. He stopped sawing the net.
Muntz’s dogs were moving toward them, and they were dragging something behind them. It was Carl’s house.
Carl froze. Ellie’s clubhouse!
Muntz threw the lantern toward the house. The lantern broke, sending flames across the ground. The flames shot up. They licked at the bottom of the house.
“No!” cried Carl.
A balloon popped. Then another. Then more. The house sank toward the flames. The flames rose toward the house…
A moment later, the house was on fire!
The bird cried out.
Carl felt his heart breaking. Ellie’s clubhouse! The house they had lived in together for more than thirty years! The floor where they had danced …
He couldn’t watch it burn. He couldn’t.
“No!” The knife fell from Carl’s hand.
The dogs swarmed toward Kevin. The bird cried out, terrified. “No!” Russell screamed as the dogs dragged Kevin up the gangplank, into the blimp.
“Careful,” said Muntz as he turned and followed the dogs. “We’ll want her in good shape for my return.”
“Let her go!” Russell ran after the blimp as it took off. But it was no use. Russell watched as the blimp soared into the sky, taking Kevin with it.
Carl ran toward his burning house. He pulled it away from the fire and beat the flames with his jacket until they disappeared. He could feel Russell and Dug looking at him.
“You gave away Kevin,” Russell said accusingly. “You just gave her away.”
Carl sighed. How can I explain that I didn’t “just” give her away? he thought. They were burning Ellie’s house! “This is none of my concern!” he snapped. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“Master,” Dug said gently. “It’s all right.”
“I am not your master, and if you hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened!” Carl shouted. “Bad dog! Bad dog!”
Dug slunk away with his tail between his legs.
Carl put his harness back on. “Now, whether you assist me or not,” he announced to Russell, “I am going to Paradise Falls if it kills me.”
He started trudging.
Russell couldn’t think of anything to do but follow.
The balloons were limp. The house dragged as Carl struggled over the rocky ground. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw Russell’s harness. It was empty. Russell was following, but he wasn’t assisting anymore. He was staring at the ground, his blood boiling with anger.
Finally, Carl reached the spot he wanted. He let the house settle almost to the ground, the balloons barely holding it aloft. Then he walked to the edge of the tepui. The sound of the falls pounded in his ears as they poured down the steep mountainside.
Carl took out Ellie’s childhood drawing. He’d placed her house exactly where she had drawn it.
I did it, Carl thought. Finally. This adventure nearly killed me, but I kept my vow.
He wondered why he didn’t feel happy.
Russell walked up to Carl. “Here,” he said. He tossed his Wilderness Explorer sash on the ground. “I don’t want this anymore.”
Carl picked up Russell’s sash. Then he watched as Russell walked away and sat down on a rock. Carl turned toward his house. It was barely floating now. He could step right onto the porch.
Carl went inside. The living room was a mess. Lamps had toppled, the table was broken, books were lying on the floor.
Carl began to tidy up. He picked up his chair and stood it in its proper place. He put Ellie’s chair next to it.
Finally, Carl sat down. He closed his eyes.
It was quiet. The only noise was the steady roar of the falls outside. It should have been relaxing… only it wasn’t.
Carl opened his eyes. Everything around him was the same… but he felt different.
Ellie’s adventure book was lying at his feet. He opened it and put Ellie’s drawing carefully in its place. He looked at the page for a long time. Then he flipped to the next page, and then through the pages of newspaper clippings about Muntz and the photos of South America—Ellie’s dreams.
He turned the page. STUFF I’M GOING TO DO, it read.
Carl drew in a deep breath. His fingers hovered at the edge of the page, afraid to turn it. He didn’t want to see the empty pages. All the adventures Ellie never had … all because Carl hadn’t kept his promise.
But he forced himself to look.
To his surprise, the pages weren’t blank. And they weren’t plastered with fantastic adventures she had dreamed up, either. Instead, they were full of pictures of their life together. There was a photo of their wedding. The two of them at Yosemite National Park. Playing at the beach. Photo after photo …
Carl felt his throat tighten.
The last photo was of them together. They were old. They were sitting side by side, in their chairs. They looked happy.
Ellie had written something below the photo.
Thanks for the adventure, it read. Now go have a new one. Love, Ellie.
Carl smiled. Ellie had seen their simple life as an adventure. She had gotten her wish after all.
He looked over at her chair, but it was empty.
Russell’s sash was lying across the arm. Carl picked it up. He gently touched the empty space and crossed his heart.
Carl hurried outside. “Russell?” he called. But Russell was nowhere in sight. Carl looked up just in time to see Russell rising into the air. He was holding a large bunch of balloons and a leaf blower as a steering device.
“I’m gonna help Kevin even if you won’t!” Russell called to Carl. He zoomed away, steering awkwardly with the leaf blower.
“No!” Carl shouted. “Russell! No!” He ran back to his house and struggled to lift it. But it was no use. The house wouldn’t budge. He couldn’t fly after Russell. Furious, Carl tossed a chair off the porch.
The house rose. Just a little, but it rose.
That gave Carl an idea.
第 9 章
蒙茲瞪著面前這三條濕漉漉的狗咆哮道:“你們竟然把他們給跟丟了?”他將手杖狠狠向地面戳去。
二寶連忙解釋:“都怪道格。”
“沒錯,道格跟他們是一伙的。”小寶贊同道,“他還幫他們逃跑!”
蒙茲嘆了口氣,非常失望。忽然,他想到了什么。“等等,等等,道格……”
蒙茲按下一個開關(guān),這是個追蹤開關(guān),無論道格身在何處,它都能追蹤到道格項圈的位置。項圈上的追蹤燈亮起時,道格根本沒有注意到。此時,他正站在懸崖邊上,望著下面的巖石,嗅著附近的氣味。
“有什么動靜嗎?”卡爾問道。
“沒有,那群狗沒追上來!”道格說,“太好了,他們蠢透了。”他迅速跑回卡爾和小羅身邊,準(zhǔn)備帶他們穿過亂石堆。
小羅和卡爾拖著房子,跟在道格身后。凱文臥在房前的走廊上休息。
小羅抬頭看了看凱文,問道:“你還好嗎,凱文?”凱文起身輕輕啄了一下腿上的繃帶,又重新臥了回去。
“你知道嗎,費迪遜先生?”小羅邊走邊說,“野外跟我想的不太一樣。”
“是嗎?怎么不一樣?”卡爾問道。
“有點兒……太荒涼了。”小羅說,“我是說,這跟我在書上看到的不一樣。”
“慢慢習(xí)慣吧,孩子。”卡爾回答道。
“我爸爸說得可簡單了,他真的很擅長露營。”小羅想了一下后又說,“以前每次帳篷大會,他都會來。開完會后,我們就一起去吃‘芬頓’冰激凌,我總是點巧克力的,而他就點黃油脆皮的。然后我們就坐在店外的馬路邊,我數(shù)藍色的車,他數(shù)紅色的,最后誰數(shù)得多誰就贏了。我喜歡那個馬路邊。”
小羅抬頭看了看卡爾,繼續(xù)說道:“也許聽起來很無聊,但這些無聊的事卻是我最難忘的。”
卡爾對此深有感觸,他對艾莉也是這種感覺。他最懷念的就是和艾莉待在一起,看看天上的白云,整理整理房間。這并沒有那么奇怪,卡爾心想。
走著走著,一陣鳥寶寶的鳴叫聲傳來。凱文抬起頭,回應(yīng)著這陣叫聲。
“瞧,就在那兒!”小羅指著一堆巖石喊道。他想跑過去,但被身上拴著的軟管拖住了。
卡爾拽了一下軟管,提醒小羅說:“等一下,小羅。站著別動。”
說完,卡爾解下小羅身上系著的軟管,又解下自己身上的,然后把房子拴在了一棵樹上。
小羅幫凱文從門廊上跳下來。落地后,凱文大聲鳴叫著,飛奔向?qū)γ娴纳筋^,朝自己的孩子跑去???、小羅和道格緊緊跟在她后面。
“凱文,你看起來好多了!”小羅喊道。
卡爾也大笑著說:“瞧她跑得多快!”
“就是那兒!”小羅大喊道,“去吧,凱文。去找你的孩子吧!”
就在凱文剛跑到迷宮入口時,一道閃光燈打在她身上。蒙茲來了!他乘著“探險精神號”追來了。
“跑啊,凱文!”小羅尖叫道,“快跑!”
凱文向前跑去,但飛船中撒下一張巨網(wǎng),將她牢牢地困在地面上。
凱文大叫。
小羅倒吸了一口氣,大喊道:“哦,不!”
卡爾和小羅向凱文跑去。“小羅,把刀給我!”卡爾喊道。小羅把刀遞給卡爾,卡爾立即開始鋸網(wǎng)繩。
“離我的鳥遠點兒!”蒙茲大喊。
卡爾轉(zhuǎn)過頭,倒吸一口氣,停下了手上的動作。
他看見蒙茲的狗正向他們跑來,身后還拖著什么東西,定睛一看,竟是卡爾的房子!
卡爾整個人都呆住了。那是艾莉的俱樂部!
蒙茲把燈籠丟向那個房子,燈籠碎了,里面的火苗躥了出來?;鹧嫠臑R,火舌舔舐著房子底部。
“不!”卡爾大喊。
一個氣球爆了,緊接著又一個爆了,越來越多的氣球在火焰的烤炙下爆裂了。房子沉入火焰,火焰爬上了房子……
不一會兒,整座房子都陷入了熊熊烈火之中。
凱文又大叫了一聲。
卡爾的心都要碎了。那可是艾莉的俱樂部??!那是他們一起住了三十多年的房子啊!里面有他們跳過舞的地板……
他不能眼睜睜地看著房子就這樣被燒掉,決不能!
“不!”刀從卡爾手中滑落了下來。
一群狗向凱文涌去,凱文發(fā)出恐懼的叫聲。他們把凱文拖上舷梯,帶進了飛船,小羅尖叫道:“不!”
“當(dāng)心點!”蒙茲說著,轉(zhuǎn)身跟那群狗進入了飛船,“我們要把她完好無損地帶回去。”
“放開她!”飛船起飛時,小羅在后面追著,但這只是徒勞。他只能眼睜睜地看著飛船升向天空,帶著凱文遠去。
卡爾沖向燃燒著的房子,他把房子從火海中拉出來,用夾克撲打著火焰,直到不見一絲火苗才停手。他能感覺到小羅和道格都在看著他。
“你讓他們把凱文抓走了,”小羅用責(zé)備的語氣道,“你就這樣丟下了她。”
卡爾嘆了口氣。我要怎么解釋我并不是“就這樣”丟下了她?他想道,他們可是要燒掉艾莉的房子??!“這不關(guān)我的事!”他厲聲說,“我也不想這樣!”
“主人,”道格柔聲地說,“沒關(guān)系的。”
“我不是你的主人,要不是你的出現(xiàn),這一切都不會發(fā)生!”卡爾喊道,“惡狗!惡狗!”
聽到這些,道格夾著尾巴走開了。
卡爾重新套上軟管,對小羅說:“現(xiàn)在,不管你幫不幫忙,我就是拼了老命,也要去天堂瀑布。”
他吃力地向前走去。
小羅不知道自己還能做什么,只好跟著卡爾。
氣球變得更癟了??栙M力地拉著房子,經(jīng)過一片巖石地時,他感覺房子快要拖到地上了。他轉(zhuǎn)過頭,看見了小羅的那根軟管,但軟管頭上卻空空如也。顯然,雖然小羅還跟著他,卻不再幫他了。他盯著地面,快要氣炸了。
終于,卡爾到達了目的地。他安頓下來,讓房子自然地飄浮在離地面不遠的高度,此時的氣球已經(jīng)不能讓房子飛得那么高了。然后他走到特普伊山崖邊,望見瀑布傾瀉而下,翻騰的水聲從峭壁半山腰傳來,沖擊著他的耳膜。
卡爾拿出艾莉兒時的畫作,他終于把房子帶到了艾莉畫中的地方。
卡爾想,我終于來了。盡管這次冒險幾乎使我喪命,但我還是遵守了承諾。
但令他奇怪的是,他并沒有想象中那么開心。
小羅走過來,把野外探險家肩帶丟到地上,沖卡爾說道:“都給你!我不要了!”
卡爾撿起肩帶,看著小羅走向遠處,坐在了一塊巖石上。他轉(zhuǎn)身向房子走去。這時,房子幾乎落到了地面上,他甚至可以一腳踏上門廊。
卡爾走進屋子,發(fā)現(xiàn)客廳一團糟,燈掉落在地上,桌子破了,書也攤得到處都是。
他開始收拾屋子。他先把自己的椅子扶起來,放回原位,又把艾莉的椅子擺在了自己的椅子旁邊。
收拾好這一切后,卡爾坐了下來,閉上眼睛。
周圍安靜極了,只有屋外的瀑布不斷地怒吼著。這本應(yīng)是十分放松的時刻,然而他卻并沒有那么輕松。
卡爾睜開眼睛。周圍的一切還是老樣子,但是,他卻感覺有什么變得不一樣了。
艾莉的探險書就躺在他腳邊,他翻開書,把艾莉那幅畫小心翼翼地放回原位,久久地注視著這一頁。然后他翻到下一頁,再往后翻,后面幾頁上貼著新聞簡報,都是關(guān)于蒙茲的報道,還有艾莉的夢想之地南美洲的照片。
他又翻了一頁,上面寫著幾個大字:心愿單。
卡爾深吸了一口氣。他的手指在書頁邊緣徘徊著,不敢再往下翻。他不想看到后面那一片空白。全都怪自己之前沒有履行諾言,艾莉這輩子都沒經(jīng)歷過任何探險……
但是,他還是強迫自己翻下去。
令他驚訝的是,那些頁面并不是空白的。當(dāng)然,上面也不是艾莉曾經(jīng)夢想的奇幻探險,而是貼滿了他們一起生活的各種照片。有婚禮的照片,有兩人在約塞米蒂國家公園的照片,有他們在沙灘上玩耍的照片,一張接一張……
卡爾感到喉嚨有些發(fā)緊。
最后一張是他們兩人的合照,照片上他們都老了,并排坐在兩把扶手椅上,看起來非常幸福。
艾莉在這張照片下面寫了一些話。
謝謝你同我一起探險,現(xiàn)在,去開始一場新的探險吧,愛你的艾莉。
卡爾笑了,看來艾莉是把他們簡簡單單的生活當(dāng)成了探險。原來,她的愿望已經(jīng)實現(xiàn)了。
他望向艾莉那把椅子,但上面已沒有她的身影。
小羅的那條肩帶掛在椅子扶手上,卡爾把它拿過來,輕輕摸了摸獎?wù)麻g的空隙,在胸口畫了個十字。
然后,卡爾急忙沖出屋子,大喊道:“小羅?”但他并沒看到小羅。卡爾抬起頭,恰好看到小羅升到了半空中。小羅抓著一大捆氣球,手里還拿著個吹葉機作為轉(zhuǎn)向裝置。
“就算你不去,我也要去救凱文!”小羅沖卡爾喊道。他笨拙地操縱著吹葉機,很快就飄遠了。
“不要!”卡爾大喊道,“小羅,不要!”他轉(zhuǎn)身沖到房子前面,試圖把房子抬起來,但卻毫無作用。房子一點也沒動,他沒法飛去追小羅。一氣之下,卡爾從門廊上扔下一把椅子。
房子升高了一點。雖然只是一點點,但也確實升高了。
卡爾頓時有了主意。