《飞屋环游记》第10章

Carl tossed everything out of the house. Chairs, tables, dressers, dishes, shoes, hats, pictures in frames. The house rose a little, then some more.

Carl shoved the refrigerator off the porch.

Whoosh! Carl let out a whoop as the house took off into the air. Below, all his and Ellie's belongings lay strewn across the ground— including the couple's favorite comfy chairs, which now sat side by side, once again, at the top of Paradise Falls.

He rushed to the steering rig. He adjusted his direction and scanned the sky.

Knock, knock!

"Russell?" Carl cried. The door swung open, but Russell wasn't there. Instead, Carl saw a big-eyed golden retriever. "Dug!"

"I was hiding under your porch because I love you," Dug explained. "Can I stay?"

"Can you stay?" Carl cried, his heart soaring. "Well, you're my dog, aren't you? And I'm your master!"

"You are my master?" Dug barked and his tail wagged crazily. He lunged forward, licking Carl's face. "Oh, boy! Oh, boy!"

"Good boy, Dug. You're a good boy, Dug." Carl laughed and patted the dog.

Now all they had to do was find Russell.

Russell was on board the Spirit of Adventure. Muntz's dogs were tying him to a chair. He'd tried to sneak on board using his leaf blower, but the dogs had discovered him.

"Where's your elderly friend?" Muntz demanded angrily.

Russell's face clouded. "He's not my friend anymore." Russell turned on the leaf blower and blasted Muntz in the face.

Muntz grabbed the leaf blower and tossed it aside. "If you're here," Muntz said, "Fredricksen can't be far behind." He grabbed Russell and dragged him toward the map room.

"Let me go!" Russell shouted. "Where are you keeping Kevin?"

Beta snarled as he leaned close to Russell. "Scream all you want, small mailman."

"None of your mailman friends can hear you," Gamma added.

Muntz looked out the porthole. A house was sailing directly toward the blimp! "Alpha!" Muntz shouted. "Fredricksen's coming back. Guard that bird. If you see the old man, kill him." He flipped a switch and walked out of the room.

The floor below Russell started to lower. He was on the ramp!

Muntz headed for the cockpit and took the wheel. The house had disappeared. "Where are you, Fredricksen?" he snarled.

Muntz didn't know that the house was behind him. From his porch, Carl could see that Russell was on the ramp, tied to a chair. Carl put on Russell's sash and then noticed that Russell was starting to slide toward the edge.

Carl steered his house closer to the blimp. He hooked his cane to the garden hose and zipped over to Russell. Just as Russell was about to slide off the ramp, Carl reached out and caught the back of Russell's chair. He scooped him to safety at the edge of the ramp.

"Dug!" Carl cried. "Bring her over!"

"Mr. Fredricksen!" Russell cried. "You came back for Kevin! Let's go get her."

"I don't want your help," Carl announced. "I want you safe." He and Dug set Russell down in the living room, where he'd be safe. Then they went back for Kevin.

The whole airship was being patrolled by Muntz's dogs. Dug and Carl sneaked through an air duct until they found the bird. She was locked in a giant cage, guarded by more fierce dogs.

"What do we do now, Dug?" Carl whispered, peeping down from the air vent in the ceiling.

But Dug didn't answer. He was too busy chomping on one of the tennis balls at the end of Carl's cane.

Tennis ball … , Carl thought.

He lowered himself onto the top of Kevin's cage and raised a tennis ball over his head. "Who wants the ball?" he shouted.

"Me!" The dogs hopped around in excitement. "I do! I want the ball!"

"Then go get it!" Carl tossed the ball out the door.

The dogs raced after it, shouting, "I got it!"

Carl slammed the door behind them. The dogs were locked out. Then he turned to Kevin. "Let's get you out of here," he said.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Russell was still struggling with the ropes that held him to the chair. Finally, he wriggled free! Unfortunately, at that moment his chair tipped out onto the porch … and over the edge.

Russell screamed as he and his chair dropped from the porch. He grasped at the garden hose, which unspooled from its caddy. The chair fell away, and Russell clung to the hose.

The wind pushed the house back toward Muntz's ship.

"Does anyone know where they are?" Muntz demanded inside the cockpit. His dogs were barking and talking madly. He could hardly understand a word.

Just then, Russell slid, squeaking, across the cockpit's window, dangling by the end of the garden hose. "Whoa!"

Muntz and Alpha gaped at him. Muntz spoke into the radio. "Gray Leader," he commanded, "take down the house!"

Seconds later, an airplane zoomed from the bottom of the blimp.

"Aaaaah! Ahh!" Russell yelled as another and then another plane joined the attack.

Muntz's dogs were the pilots!

The planes fired at the house, narrowly missing Russell.

"Aaaaah!" Russell screamed.

The planes turned to make another pass at the house. Russell struggled to climb the hose.

But Russell was on his own. If he was going to get back into the house, he was going to have to do it all by himself.

"Come on, Kevin," Carl urged. He, Dug, and the bird crept through the trophy room, looking for a way out of the airship. At that moment, Muntz emerged from the shadows. He had a sword raised over his head.

Barking, Dug lunged at Muntz and bit his leg! Muntz kicked Dug out the door and slammed it shut. Dug barked at the closed door. Suddenly, Dug heard growling. He turned slowly.

Alpha and the rest of the pack were right behind him.

"Hi," Dug said to the snarling pack.

Inside the trophy room, Muntz lifted his sword with a growl. Carl raised his cane to defend himself.

Muntz slashed at Carl, but his sword hit a pillar instead and stuck there. Carl swung his cane and missed.

Muntz pulled his sword free. He knocked Carl to the floor. "Any last words, Fredricksen? Come on, spit it out!"

That gave Carl an idea. He spat his false teeth in Muntz's face. Muntz stumbled backward, giving Carl just enough time to recover.

Carl put his teeth back in as Muntz went on the attack. "I'm taking that bird back with me alive or dead!" Muntz yelled. He swung the sword at Carl.

Just then, in the cockpit, the dogs knocked Dug against the controls. The ship tilted, and Muntz stumbled. Carl saw his chance to escape.

"Come on, Kevin!" he cried. Carl and Kevin darted out the window. They started to climb a ladder on the side of the airship. Muntz was right behind them.

Meanwhile, back in the cockpit, Alpha faced off against Dug. "I will enjoy the killing of you now, Dug," Alpha snarled.

Dug looked around, desperate. The only thing within reach was a lamp. As Alpha lunged, Dug grabbed the lampshade and thrust it over Alpha's head, knocking loose one of the knobs on his collar.

The rest of the pack stopped and stared at him. "He wears the Cone of Shame!" said one of the pack.

Horrified, Alpha realized that the lampshade looked just like the hideous funnel he had made Dug wear as punishment. "Huh? What?" he cried, his voice once again high-pitched and squeaky. "Do not just continue sitting! Attack!"

But the dogs only laughed at him.

"Sit!" Dug commanded.

Alpha sat. The other dogs were so surprised, they sat, too. They waited for Dug's next command.

Dug was delighted. For the first time, he was the leader of the pack!

But Dug's friends were still in trouble. Outside, Russell was trying to climb the hose. His hands were about to give out. "I can't do it."

"Russell!" Carl shouted.

Russell caught sight of Carl and Kevin climbing the side of the airship.

"Caw-caw, rarr! Caw-caw, rarr!" Carl called.

The Wilderness Explorer call set Russell's blood on fire! "You leave Mr. Fredricksen alone!" he shouted at Muntz. Russell wasn't about to let a fellow Explorer down! Hand over hand, he hauled himself up to the house. He ignored the planes as they dove toward him. Russell had only one goal— to save Carl and Kevin.

A plane closed in just as Russell pulled himself onto the porch.

Russell pointed down. "Hey!" he shouted. "Squirrel!"

"Squirrel!" cried the squadron leader. "Where's the squirrel?"

"Squirrel! Where's the squirrel?" shouted the other pilots. Their planes zoomed madly as they looked around, desperate to find the squirrel.

The planes slammed into each other! The dog pilots ejected and their parachutes unfurled. They dropped safely toward the ground. A dog pilot named Omega shook his head. "I hate squirrels."

On the side of the blimp, Muntz had grabbed Carl's leg. Carl kicked him off. Muntz fell partway down the ladder but managed to grab a rung at the last minute.

Finally, Carl and Kevin reached the top of the blimp. Dug joined them.

"Russell!" Carl waved his arms at the house. "Over here!"

Russell steered the house toward his friends. Carl heaved Kevin onto the porch.

"Come on, Kevin!" Carl laughed.

As the house started to rise, Carl held tight to Dug and jumped up onto the porch. They'd made it!

But then Muntz appeared. He was standing on top of the airship holding a rifle. Boom! One of his bullets ripped through the balloon strings, sending half of the balloons floating into the sky. The house plunged and hit the top of the airship. Carl tumbled out.

Just then, the house started to slide off the airship. It was going to fall! Carl grabbed the end of the hose, trying to stop it.

"Russell! Get out of there!" Carl yelled.

Russell, Dug, and Kevin ran out to the porch. But Muntz fired another shot, forcing them to duck back into the house.

"Leave them alone!" Carl yelled as Muntz ran toward the house.

Muntz climbed onto the porch. The house tipped forward. Carl tightened his grip. Muntz banged on the front door with his rifle. Carl knew he had to do something.

Suddenly, he had an idea!

"Russell!" he shouted. "Hang on to Kevin! Don't let go of him!"

Russell didn't understand, but he did as he was told. Both Russell and Dug held on tight to Kevin and braced themselves.

Muntz burst through the front door. He raised his rifle.

Outside, Carl pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. "Kevin!" he cried, waving the candy. "Chocolate!"

Kevin streaked toward the chocolate. She blasted through the front window, hauling Russell and Dug with her.

Muntz scrambled after the bird. As he leaped after her, his foot got caught on a bunch of balloons and he drifted away.

Carl had done it—he'd saved his friends! But he hadn't managed to save his house. Carl watched as it disappeared into the clouds. Ellie's clubhouse was gone forever.

"Sorry about your house, Mr. Fredricksen," Russell said sadly.

For a moment, Carl didn't speak. He wasn't nearly as upset as he'd thought he'd be. He had thought that the house, with all its reminders, was keeping Ellie near him. But now he realized something. Ellie wasn't in the house.

Ellie was in his heart.

"You know," Carl said, "it's just a house."

He turned toward Dug, Kevin, and Russell.

They're more than friends, Carl thought.

They're family.

And speaking of family …

卡尔把房间里所有的东西都扔了出去——椅子、桌子、梳妆台、餐具、鞋子、帽子、带相框的照片。房子又升高了一点，然后越来越高。

他又把冰箱从门廊上推了下去。

呼！随着房子升上天空，卡尔高兴地大叫一声。向下望去，他和艾莉所有的物品都散落在地上，也包括那对他们最爱的舒适座椅。两张椅子再次并排放在一起，伫立在天堂瀑布的顶端。

然后他冲向驾驶台，一边观察空中的情况，一边调整前进的方向。

咚咚咚，咚咚咚！一阵敲门声传来。

“小罗？”卡尔惊呼。他打开门，却没看到小罗。相反，他看到了一只大眼睛的金毛猎犬。“道格！”

“我喜欢你，所以藏在了门廊下面。”道格解释着，“我能留下吗？”

“这还用问吗？”卡尔满心欢喜地喊道，“当然了，你是我的狗，对吧？我是你的主人！”

“你愿意当我的主人？”道格一边欢呼一边卖力地摇着尾巴，随后纵身一跃，向前扑去，对着卡尔的脸一阵狂舔，“哦，太棒了！哦，太棒了！”

“好孩子，道格。你是个好孩子，道格。”卡尔笑着拍了拍这只狗。

现在他们得尽快找到小罗。

此刻的小罗身处“探险精神号”，被蒙兹的狗绑在一张椅子上。他本想利用吹叶机偷偷潜进来，不料被这群狗发现了。

蒙兹厉声喝道：“你那个老朋友呢？”

小罗脸上阴云密布。“他已经不是我朋友了。”说着，小罗打开吹叶机，冲着蒙兹的脸猛吹过去。

蒙兹一把抢过吹叶机，把它丢到了一边。“既然你在这里，”蒙兹说，“那费迪逊肯定也在附近。”他一把抓起小罗，将他拽向地图室。

“放开我！”小罗喊道，“你把凯文关在哪儿了？”

二宝倾身靠近小罗，咆哮道：“你就尽管叫吧，小邮差。”

“你的邮差朋友都不会来救你。”小宝在旁边添了一句。

蒙兹向舷窗外看了看，竟看到一座房子径直向飞船冲过来！“大宝！”蒙兹大喊，“费迪逊要来了。看好那只鸟，如果见到那个老家伙，就杀了他。”说完，他按下一个开关，走出了房间。

小罗脚下的地板开始下降，他发现自己竟然是在舷梯上！

蒙兹径直前往驾驶舱，亲自掌舵。但那个房子却消失了。“费迪逊，你在哪儿？”他吼道。

此刻，房子其实就跟在飞船后面，而蒙兹却对此毫无察觉。卡尔站在门廊远远望去，看见小罗被绑在舷梯的一张椅子上。他戴上小罗的那条肩带，随后注意到小罗正慢慢向飞船边缘滑去。

卡尔驾驶着房子靠近飞船。他将自己的手杖勾在软管上，飞速向小罗滑去。眼看小罗就要从旋梯上滑下去，卡尔抵达小罗身边，一把抓住了他的椅子靠背，在舷梯边缘救下了他。

“道格！”卡尔喊道，“把房子带过来！”

“费迪逊先生！”小罗激动地大喊，“你回来救凯文了！我们去找她吧。”

卡尔说：“我不用你帮忙，我只要你安全。”说罢，他和道格便将小罗安置在安全的客厅里，然后这一人一狗便返回去救凯文。

飞船上到处都是来回巡逻的猎犬，道格和卡尔只能借助通风管道偷偷地前进。终于，他们找到了凯文。她被关在一个巨大的笼子里，被更多凶恶的狗看守着。

“我们该怎么办，道格？”卡尔从天花板上的通风口向下窥视，低声问道。

道格没有回答，他正忙着啃卡尔手杖底部的一个网球。

网球……卡尔动起了脑筋。

他小心地跳到凯文的笼子顶上，将一个网球举过自己头顶，大喊了一句：“谁想要这个球？”

“我！”那群狗兴奋地跳来跳去，“我想要！我想要那个球！”

“那就去捡吧！”卡尔把球扔出房间。

所有的狗都争先恐后追了出去，其中一条大喊道：“我抢 到了！”

卡尔砰的一声关上了门，把那些狗锁在了外面，随即转身对凯文说：“我这就放你出来。”

此刻，小罗仍在房子里，费力地解着将自己绑在椅子上的绳子。终于，绳子解开了！然而就在那一刻，不幸的事发生了，椅子向门廊倾斜而去，滑向了房子边缘。

小罗和椅子一起从门廊上坠落下去，他吓得尖叫起来。情急之下，他抓住一根从盘着的轮子上散开的花园软管。椅子掉了下去，小罗紧紧地抓住了软管。

风把房子重新推向了蒙兹的飞船。

“谁知道他们在哪儿？”蒙兹在驾驶舱中喊道。那些狗疯狂地吠着，回答着，嘈杂的环境让他一个字都听不清。

就在这时，小罗吊在花园软管末端，滑过驾驶舱的窗户，窗户上传来一连串刺耳的吱吱声。“哇哦！”

蒙兹和大宝目瞪口呆地望着他。随后，蒙兹对着无线电命令道：“灰狗队长，把那个房子打下来！”

几秒钟后，一架飞机从飞船底部冲了出来。

“啊——！啊！” 眼看一架又一架飞机朝自己袭来，小罗失声大喊。

驾驶员是蒙兹的那群狗！

飞机冲着房子开火，紧擦着小罗飞过。

“啊——！”小罗大声尖叫。

飞机掉头再次经过房子旁边，小罗奋力地顺着软管往上爬。

小罗完全在孤军奋战，要想回到房子里，他只能靠自己。

“快点，凯文。”卡尔催促道。他、道格，还有凯文悄悄地走进战利品陈列室，寻找着逃离飞船的道路。就在这时，蒙兹忽然从阴影中走出来，手里拿着一把剑，举过头顶。

“汪！”道格叫了一声，扑向蒙兹，一口咬住他的腿。蒙兹把道格踢出门外，狠狠地关上了门。道格对着紧闭的门狂吠。突然，他听到身后传来咆哮声，于是慢慢转过身。

大宝和其他狗正站在他身后。

“你们好。”道格对那群咆哮的伙伴说道。

在战利品陈列室里，蒙兹低吼一声，举起了手中的剑。卡尔也举起自己的手杖作为防卫。

蒙兹举剑向卡尔砍去，却砍在柱子上，卡住了。卡尔挥舞着手杖，也没有击中蒙兹。

蒙兹将剑从柱子上拔了下来，把卡尔踢倒在地，举剑说道：“有什么遗言吗，费迪逊？来吧，一吐为快吧！”

卡尔灵机一动，计上心来。他把假牙一口吐到蒙兹脸上，蒙兹向后倒下，给了卡尔足够的缓冲时间。

卡尔把假牙装回嘴里，蒙兹再次发起攻击。“无论是死是活，我都要把那只鸟带回去。”蒙兹喊道。他再次朝卡尔举起了剑。

而就在此时，驾驶舱里，一群狗将道格撞到了操控台上。飞船因此发生了倾斜，蒙兹踉跄了一下，卡尔意识到这是逃离的好机会。

“快走，凯文！”卡尔喊道。他和凯文冲出窗口，顺着飞船一侧的梯子开始向上爬，蒙兹紧随其后。

而在同一时间，大宝正和道格在驾驶舱里打得不可开交，他咆哮道：“我现在很享受杀死你的过程，道格。”

道格环顾四周，感到有些绝望。他所能触及的范围内只有一盏灯。大宝迎面扑来，道格一把抓过灯罩，冲着大宝的脑袋砸了下去，敲松了他项圈上的一个按钮。

其余的狗都停了下来，望着大宝，有一条说：“他戴上了‘耻辱锥帽’。”

大宝听后吓了一跳，他这才发觉，这个灯罩看起来跟他为了惩罚道格而制作的那个丑陋的漏斗一样。“嗯？什么？”他喊道，声音再次变得又高又尖，“别坐在那儿了！快进攻！”

然而那群狗只是嘲笑着他。

“坐下！”道格命令道。

大宝坐了下来。其余的狗惊讶极了，却也跟着坐了下来。他们等候着道格的下一道命令。

道格太高兴了，这是他第一次成为这群狗的首领！

然而道格的朋友们此刻仍在险境中挣扎。窗外，小罗正努力地顺着软管往上爬，他觉得自己的双手快没力气了：“我不行了。”

这时，卡尔喊道：“小罗！”

小罗寻声望去，看见了卡尔和凯文，他们正顺着飞船的一侧在往上爬。

卡尔又喊道：“嘎—嘎，喔呜！嘎—嘎，喔呜！”

这野外探险家的口号让小罗热血沸腾。“你离费迪逊先生远一点！”他冲蒙兹大喊一声。小罗不想让自己的探险家同伴失望，他继续朝着房子一点一点向上爬去。飞机朝他俯冲过来时，他也毫不畏惧。他现在只有一个目标——去救卡尔和凯文。

小罗刚爬上门廊，一架飞机便靠近了房子。

小罗指了指下面，喊道：“瞧！松鼠！”

“松鼠！”飞行中队队长喊道，“哪儿有松鼠？”

“松鼠！哪儿有松鼠？”其余的驾驶员也喊道。他们向四周望去，急切地想找到松鼠，飞机因此疯狂移动着。

他们的飞机轰的一声撞在一起！机舱中的狗从里面弹了出来，身后张开降落伞，安全地向地面落去。一只叫小小宝的狗摇了摇头说：“我讨厌松鼠！”

而在飞船的一侧，蒙兹抓住了卡尔的腿。卡尔一脚将他踢开，蒙兹顺着梯子坠落下去，但在最后关头，他抓住了下面的一级阶梯。

最终，卡尔和凯文到达了飞船顶部，道格也来到了这里。

“小罗！”卡尔对着房子挥舞着手臂，喊道，“到这儿来！”

小罗驾驶着房子向他的朋友们飞去。房子临近时，卡尔把凯文推上门廊。

“跟上，凯文！”卡尔大笑道。

房子开始上升，卡尔紧紧抱住道格，跳上了门廊。他们成 功了！

然而，蒙兹再次出现了。他站在飞船顶上，手里拿着把枪。砰！一颗子弹打断了系着气球的绳子，半捆气球向空中飞去。房子急速下坠，撞在飞船顶上，卡尔从里面摔了出来。

紧接着，房子开始从飞船上往下滑。眼看就要掉下去了！卡尔急忙抓住软管末端，试图阻止房子继续下滑。

“小罗！快出来！”卡尔大喊。

小罗、道格和凯文跑到了门廊上。但蒙兹又开了一枪，他们被迫躲回到房子里。

“别碰他们！”看见蒙兹冲向房子，卡尔大喊道。

蒙兹爬上门廊，房子又向外倾斜了一点。卡尔把软管抓得更紧了。蒙兹用枪狠狠地砸着房门，卡尔明白自己必须做点什么。

他忽然有了主意！

“小罗！”他喊道，“抱紧凯文！别松手！”

虽然小罗不明白为什么要这样，但他还是照做了。他和道格都紧紧抱住凯文，做好了准备。

蒙兹从前门冲了进去，举起了手中的枪。

而在外面，卡尔从口袋里拿出了一条巧克力。“凯文！”他晃动着巧克力喊道，“巧克力哦！”

凯文径直冲向巧克力，她拖着小罗和道格，从前窗穿了 出来。

蒙兹赶忙追了上去。但是，在他跟随凯文跳出房子时，他的脚被一串气球缠住了，于是他随着房子向远处飘去。

卡尔做到了——他救了他的朋友们！但是，他却没能护住自己的房子。卡尔看着房子消失在云海中，艾莉的俱乐部永远消失了。

“费迪逊先生，对不起，你的房子没了。”小罗失落地说道。

卡尔沉默了一会儿，他发现自己并没有想象中那么难过。他一度以为，那个房子有他全部的回忆，让他觉得艾莉就在身边。但是，他现在明白了，艾莉并不在那座房子里。

艾莉一直在他心中。

“算了，”卡尔说，“只是座房子而已。”

说完，他转向道格、凯文和小罗。

但是，他们已经不仅仅是朋友了。卡尔想道。

他们是家人。

说到家人……