"Do you want to go home?" he said quietly, a different pain than mine saturating his voice. “你想回家了吗？”他安静地问道，一种不同于我的痛苦浸透了他的语气。

"No." I walked forward till I was close beside him, anxious not to waste one second of whatever time I might have with him. “不。”我走向前，直到自己紧挨在他身旁。我焦虑不安着，不想再浪费我还能和他在一起的每一秒钟。

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice gentle. “怎么回事？”他问道，声音是那么的温柔。

"I'm not a good hiker," I answered dully. "You'll have to be very patient." “我不是个很好的徒步旅行者。”我沉闷地回答道。“你得非常有耐心才行。”

"I can be patient—if I make a great effort." “我可以很有耐心——如果我努力的话。”

He smiled, holding my glance, trying to lift me out of my sudden, unexplained dejection. 他微笑着，抓住了我的视线，试图把我从那阵突如其来的，无法解释的沮丧中拉出来。

I tried to smile back, but the smile was unconvincing. He scrutinized my face. 我努力向他微笑，但那笑容太假了。他仔细审视着我的脸。

"I'll take you home," he promised. “我会带你回家的。”他保证道。

I couldn't tell if the promise was unconditional, or restricted to an immediate departure. 我说不清这个保证是没有限制的，还是指立刻离开。

I knew he thought it was fear that upset me, 我知道他认为是害怕让我紧张不安。

and I was grateful again that I was the one person whose mind he couldn't hear. 而我又一次对此感到高兴，我是唯一一个他无法读心的人。

"If you want me to hack five miles through the jungle before sundown, you'd better start leading the way," I said acidly. “如果你想让我在日落以前穿过这五英里的丛林，你最好现在就开始带路。”我尖刻地说道。

He frowned at me, struggling to understand my tone and expression 他冲我皱起了眉，挣扎着想读懂我的语气和神情。

He gave up after a moment and led the way into the forest. 片刻之后，他放弃了，带头向森林里走去。

It wasn't as hard as I had feared. 这趟旅程并没有我所畏惧的那样艰难。

The way was mostly flat, and he held the damp ferns and webs of moss aside for me. 一路上几乎非常平坦，他为我把潮湿的蕨类植物和密布的苔藓拨到一边。

When his straight path took us over fallen trees or boulders, 当他笔直的路线穿过了倒下的树木或巨石时，

he would help me, lifting me by the elbow, and then releasing me instantly when I was clear. 他会帮助我，用手肘把我举起来，然后趁我还神志清醒的时候立刻放开我。

His cold touch on my skin never failed to make my heart thud erratically. 他冰冷的触碰落在我的肌肤上，总能让我的心砰砰乱跳，无一落空。

Twice, when that happened, I caught a look on his face that made me sure he could somehow hear it. 有两次，发生这样的状况时，我捕获到了他脸上的神情，我敢肯定他听见了。