Several held metal canisters out in front of them and were braced as if expecting an attack.
几个人将金属罐举在身前，做好了防备，仿佛在等待袭击。
Well, whatever this game was, most of us were willing to play. Coco was one of the first to approach, and she was snagged and pulled without resistance out through the gate. Most of the rest of the pack followed, lining up willingly, though several hung back—Sister, Fast, Spike, Top Dog, and myself, because I just didn’t feel like limping over to them. If they wanted to play, let them play with Spike.
好吧，无论这是什么游戏，我们大多数人都愿意参与。可可是第一个上前的，她没有抵抗就被抓住并拉出门外。剩下的大部分人跟随其后，心甘情愿地排好队，不过还有几个人犹豫不决——Sister 、Fast 、斯派克、头领狗和我自己，因为我只是不想一瘸一拐地走过去找他们。如果他们想玩，就让他们和斯派克一起玩吧。
Sister broke into a run around the perimeter of the yard, as if expecting a hole to open. Fast went with her at first and then stopped in despair, watching her panicked, pointless flight. Two men closed in on her and captured her with a rope. Fast let them take him right away, so that he’d go with Sister, and Top Dog stepped forward with dignity when they called to him.
Sister 沿着院子的周边跑了起来，仿佛在等着地面裂开一个洞。Fast 最初跟着她跑，但后来绝望地停下，眼睁睁看着她惊慌、毫无意义的逃跑。两个男人靠近她，用绳子捉住了她。Fast 立刻让他们抓住自己，这样他就能和Sister 一起走，而当他们叫头领狗时，他端庄地走了上前。
Spike, though, fought the loop, growling savagely and snapping at them. The men yelled, and one of them directed a thin stream of liquid from his canister at Spike’s face, the scent instantly burning my nose from all the way across the Yard. Spike stopped fighting and fell to the ground, his paws over his snout. They dragged him out and then came to me.
然而，斯派克拼命挣扎，凶猛地咆哮并朝他们扑去。那些男人大喊，一人用罐子里喷出一股细流液体直射斯派克的脸，气味瞬间从院子的另一端呛到了我的鼻子。斯派克停止了挣扎，倒在地上，用爪子捂住鼻口。他们把他拽了出去，然后走向我。
“Nice doggy. You hurt your leg, boy?” one of the men asked. I gave my tail a feeble wag and ducked my head a little to make it easier for him to slip the loop over my head, which took a bit of doing because of my stupid plastic collar.
“好狗狗。你伤了腿，孩子？“其中一名男子问道。我微弱地摇了摇尾巴，稍微低下头，让他更容易将环套在我的头上，这需要一些时间，因为我愚蠢的塑料项圈。
Once outside the fence, I was upset to see Senora crying, struggling against Carlos and Bobby. Her sadness came off her and washed into me, and I pulled against the noose, wanting to go comfort her.
一旦走出围栏，我看见西尼奥拉哭泣，拼命挣扎着对抗卡斯特和鲍比时，我感到很难过。她的悲伤传递给了我，我也随之感到痛苦，我拉扯着绳套，想要去安慰她。
One of the men tried to hand Senora a paper, but she threw it on the ground.
其中一个男人试图递给西尼奥拉一张纸，但她把它扔到了地上。
“Why do you do this? We’re not hurting anyone!” Bobby shouted. His anger was clear and frightening.
“你为什么要这样做？我们没有伤害任何人！”鲍比大喊。他的愤怒显而易见，让人害怕。
“Too many animals. Poor conditions,” the man with the paper said. He, too, radiated anger, and everyone was very tense and stiff. I noticed that his clothes were dark and that he had metal flashing on his chest.
“太多动物了。条件很差，”拿着纸的人说。他也充满了愤怒，大家都非常紧张和僵硬。我注意到他的衣服是深色的，胸口还带着金属闪光物。
“I love my dogs,” Senora wailed. “Please don’t take them from me.” Senora was not angry; she was sad and afraid.
“我爱我的狗，”西尼奥拉哭喊道。“请不要把它们从我身边带走。”西尼奥拉并不是生气，她是伤心和害怕。
“Inhumane,” the man replied.
“不人道，”那人回答道。
I was mystified. Seeing the entire pack outside the Yard, led one by one to cages on the trucks, was very disorienting. Most of us had our ears back and our tails submissively low. I was next to Rottie, whose deep, heavy woofing filled the air.
我感到困惑。看到整群狗在院子外，一只接一只地被带到卡车上的笼子里，让人非常迷惑。我们大多数人都耳朵后贴，尾巴低垂，表示顺从。我站在罗特犬旁边，它那低沉、厚重的吠声充满了空气。
My comprehension did not improve when we arrived at our destination, which smelled a little like the place with the nice lady in the cool room but was hot and filled with loud, anxious dogs. I followed willingly and was somewhat disappointed to find myself shoved into a cage with Fast and Top Dog—I would have preferred Coco or even Sister, though my fellow males were as cowed as I was and regarded me without hostility.
当我们到达目的地时，我的理解力并没有提高，那里的气味有点像有位好心女士在凉爽房间里的地方，但却很热，充满了吵闹、焦虑的狗。我心甘情愿地跟随，却有些失望地发现自己被塞进了一个笼子里，和 Fast 与头领狗一起——我本希望能和可可甚至 Sister 在一起，尽管我的同伴们像我一样胆怯，并没有敌意地看着我。
The barking was deafening, yet above it all I heard the unmistakable snarl of Spike in full attack, followed by a sharp squeal of pain from some unfortunate canine. Men yelled, and then a few minutes later Spike was led past us at the end of a pole, disappearing down a hallway.
犬吠声震耳欲聋，但在这一切之上，我清楚地听到了斯派克全力攻击时那确定无疑的咆哮声，随后是某只不幸的狗发出的尖锐痛叫声。有人喊叫，几分钟后，斯派克被架在一根杆子的末端从我们面前带过，随后消失在走廊尽头。
A man stopped in front of our cage. “What happened here?” he asked.
一个男人停在我们的笼子前。“这里发生了什么事？”他问。
The other man, the one who had just led Spike away, stopped and regarded me without interest. “Dunno.”
另一个人，就是刚刚带走斯派克的那个人，停下来看了我一眼，毫无兴趣地说：“不知道。”
From the first man I sensed a caring tinged with sadness, but from the second man there was nothing but disinterest. The first man opened the door and gently probed my leg, pushing Fast’s face away.
我从第一个男人身上感到了一种带着悲伤的关心，但从第二个男人那里只感受到漠不关心。第一个男人打开门，轻轻地触碰我的腿，把 Fast 的脸推开。
“This is ruined,” he said.
“这都毁了，”他说。
I tried to communicate to him that I was a much better dog without the stupid collar on.
我试图向他表达，没有那个愚蠢的项圈，我是一只更棒的狗。
“Unadoptable,” the first man said.
“无法收养，”第一个男人说道。
“We got too many dogs,” the second man said.
“我们有太多狗了，”第二个人说道。
The first man reached inside the cone and smoothed my ears back. Though I felt disloyal to Senora, I licked his hand. He mostly just smelled of other dogs.
第一个男人伸手进锥形罩里，把我的耳朵往后抚平。虽然我觉得对女士不忠，我还是舔了他的手。他身上大多只是别的狗的味道。
“Okay,” the first man said.
“好吧，”第一个男人说道。
The second man reached in and helped me jump to the ground. He slipped the loop of rope around me and led me back to a tiny, hot room. Spike was there, in a cage, while two other dogs I’d never met paced loose outside Spike’s cage, giving it a wide berth.
第二个人伸手进来，帮我跳到地上。他把绳圈套在我身上，带我回到一个小而闷热的房间。斯派克在那里，被关在笼子里，而另外两只我从未见过的狗在斯派克的笼子外自由走动，绕着远远的不靠近它的路线走。
“Here. Wait.” The first man was at the door. He reached down and unsnapped the collar, and the air that rushed at my face was like a kiss. “They hate those things.”
“在这里。等一下。”第一个人站在门口。他弯下身解开了衣领的扣子，迎面而来的空气像是一个吻。“他们讨厌那些东西。”
“whatever,” the second man said.
“随便吧，”第二个人说道。
They shut the door behind them. One of the new dogs was an old, old female, who sniffed my nose without much interest. Spike was barking, making the other dog, a younger male, nervous.
他们在身后关上了门。其中一只新来的狗是一只年纪很大的母狗，对我的鼻子只是随意地嗅了嗅。斯派克正在叫，使另一只年轻的公狗感到紧张。
With a groan, I slid down to lie on the floor. A loud hiss filled my ears, and the young male began to whine.
我呻吟一声，滑到地板上躺下。一阵刺耳的嘶嘶声充满了我的耳朵，年轻的男孩开始哀鸣。
Suddenly Spike toppled to the floor with a crash, his tongue sliding out of his mouth. I regarded him curiously, wondering what he was up to. The old female slumped nearby, her head coming to rest against Spike’s cage in a manner I was astounded he would allow. The young male whined, and I regarded him blankly, then shut my eyes. I felt overwhelmed with a fatigue as heavy and oppressive as when I was a small puppy and my brothers and sister would lie on top of me, crushing me. That’s what I was thinking about as I began to sink into a dark, silent sleep—being a puppy. Then I thought of running wild with Mother, and of Senora’s caresses, and of Coco and the Yard.
突然，斯派克碰的一声倒在地板上，舌头滑出嘴外。我好奇地打量着他，想知道他在干什么。年老的雌性动物瘫倒在旁边，她的头靠在斯派克的笼子上，我惊讶他竟然允许这样。年轻的雄性动物抱怨着，我茫然地看着他，然后闭上了眼睛。我感到一种压倒性的疲惫，就像小时候，我的兄弟姐妹们会躺在我身上，把我压得喘不过气来时一样。这就是我开始沉入黑暗、寂静的睡眠时在想的——成为一只小狗。然后我又想起了和母亲一起奔跑，想起了西尼奥拉的爱抚，还有可可和院子。
Unbidden, the sadness I’d felt from Senora washed through me, and I wanted to squirm up to her and lick her palms and make her happy again. Of all the things I’d ever done, making Senora laugh seemed the most important.
未受邀请地，我从西尼奥拉那里感受到的悲伤涌上心头，我只想爬到她身边，舔她的手掌，让她再次开心。在我做过的所有事情中，让西尼奥拉笑起来似乎是最重要的。
It was, I reflected, the only thing that gave my life any purpose.
我反思道，那是唯一赋予我生命任何意义的事情。