Marta Heilbrun took her boyfriend's hand as they watched the sun set. How beautiful， she thought.

Marta， 23， and Ron Penner， 29， had been dating¹ for three months， but on this four-day long trip on foot through Utah's² Grand Canyon³， they'd begun to feel their relationship was blossoning into something special.

Danger was the last⁴ thing on their minds as they took in the view⁵ and looked for a spot to set up camp for the night.

\"Let's stop here，\" Ron said， pointing to a small canyon. Marta looked up at a sheer⁶ cliff， where a five-foot large stone seemed precariously⁷ perched⁸， and hesitated. Oh， it's probably been there for ages， she told herself.

The two made dinner， climbed wearily into their sleeping bags and drifted off. Marta was in a deep sleep when a loud boom⁹ woke her. She felt a crushing¹⁰ weight on her legs and heard Ron cry out in pain. Dazed¹¹， she reached out and touched something cold and rough at her side. Oh， God， she thought in horror. It's the huge stone! It had fallen so hard that it shattered¹² to pieces upon impact¹³.

\"Ron!\" she screamed as pain shot through her legs. \"I can't move !\"

His heart pounding and one leg bleeding and throbbing¹⁴ with pain， Ron grabbed his flashlight. His kneecap¹⁵ was literally split¹⁶ in half. He unzipped¹⁷ Marta's sleeping bag—then gasped. Both her legs were crushed and bleeding!

\"Don't worry， I'll take care of you，\" he soothed. \"I have to find help.\" But where? They were miles from anywhere! Then Ron remembered a group of hikers¹⁸ they'd passed. They had to be near by...

\"I'm going to find those hikers we saw，\" he said， brushing the chips¹⁹ of rock off Marta's legs then lifting them. He tucked²⁰ her in and kissed her. \"I love you.\"

Tears sprang to Marta's eyes: it was the first time he'd said it. \"I love you too，\" she whispered as he hobbled²¹ off. Dizzy²² from blood loss， Marta started to fade out and panicked²³. Stay awake ! she told herself. To keep her mind off her fear and pain， she reached for a paperback and forced herself to read.

Yards away， Ron walk with efforts along one painful step at a time， dragging his bleeding， injured leg behind him. She could bleed to death or go into shock²⁴， he told himself: Keep going.

Back in the canyon， the words on the page swam and Marta set the book down. It seemed as if Ron had been gone for hours. She pictured him lying somewhere bleeding and unconscious. \"Ron!\"she panicked. \"Please come back to me!\"

A little further， Ron urged himself between each torturous²⁵ step-and-drag. You can do it， he told himself as pain screamed up his leg and forced him to crawl. He pictured Marta， alone and scared， her consciousness fading. Don't slip away， Marta! he prayed.

Shivering， Marta looked up at the night sky and felt utterly alone. Ron's goodbye played over and over²⁶ in her mind. Please let us see each other again， she prayed.

Move! Ron urged his weary muscles. The pain was constant， but he fought it with thoughts of Marta: her smile， her laugh， how good it felt to be around her. It had taken him what felt like hours to cover what he guessed was a mile and his body was crying， \"Stop!\" but his heart said \"No!\"

One more yard， two， three， then— yes! He'd found the path the travellers had been on. Please let them be nearby， he prayed as he dragged himself a few more feet. \"Somebody help us!\" he screamed， collapsing²⁷.

Anguish²⁸ filled Ron. There's no one here! He despaired. But incredibly²⁹—llemergency medical technicians on a training course were camping nearby. And in his sleeping bag， one of them stirred.

\"Someone's in trouble!\" Matt Herr³⁰ shouted， racing off to ward the screams.

Ron recognized the approaching EMTs as the travellers he'd seen earlier. \"Thank God you're here!\" he gasped. \"My girlfriend—she's hurt!\" As several EMTs worked on Ron， Matt and three others rushed to find Marta.

Panic gripped Marta as she watched the dawn break. Ron didn't make it³¹! she thought. Suddenly， she heard voices shouting her name. \"I'm here !\" she screamed.

As Matt knelt beside her， relief flooded³² Marta—then fear. \"Where's Ron?\" she cried. \"He's all right，\" Matt reassured her， then held her hand as the others set her legs in splints³³.

\"I have to get help，\" Matt told her. Leaving the other EMTs with Marta， he hiked several miles to a forestry administration station. Soon， a helicopter was taking Marta and Ron to the nearest hospital， 300 miles away. Ron hugged Marta on the stretcher. \"You're my hero，\" she whispered. \"You saved my life.\"

Marta and Ron were rushed into surgery³⁴ where doctors repaired Ron's kneecap and two dozen fractures³⁵ in Marta's legs.

Today， Marta and Ron are almost completely recovered and more in love than ever. They're even planning their next adventur—a bicycle ride through Vermont³⁶.

\"It was just pure luck those EMTs were there， \"Marta says. \"God was watching over³⁷ us.\"

Notes：

1 date vi． 與異性朋友約會(huì)2．Utah n． (美)猶他州 3．canyonn．峽谷(Grand Canyon：[美]科羅拉多大峽谷)

4．1ast adj． 極少可能的 5．take in the view觀賞景物 6．sheeradj． 陡峭的 7．precariouslyadv． 不穩(wěn)定地

8．perch vi． 暫歇9．boomn． 低沉而有回響的聲音，隆隆聲 10．crushingadj． 壓擠致傷的

11．daze vt. 使惶惑，使茫然 12．shatter vi． 碎裂 13．impactn． 碰撞 14．throbvi． 抽動(dòng)，跳動(dòng)

15．kneecap n． 膝蓋骨 16． split vt． (P．P．of split)被劈開17．unzipvt． 拉開…的拉鎖

18．hiker n． 徒步旅行者 19．chip n． 碎屑 20．tuckvt．包起，裹起 21．hobblevi． 跛行

22．mzzy adj． 頭昏的23．panickedvt．vi．(p．a(chǎn)ndP.P．of panic)（使）感到恐慌

24．shock n． 休克 25．torturousadj． 曲折的26．over and over反反復(fù)復(fù)

27．collapse vi． 倒下，瓦解28． anguish n．劇痛 29．incrediblyadv． 難以置信地，不可思議

30．Matt Herr n． 馬特先生(Herr：[德語(yǔ)]先生 )31. makeit做到 32．floodvt． 淹沒(méi) 33．splintn．夾板，托板

34．surgeryn． 外科手術(shù)室35．fracturen． 骨折36．Vermontn．(美)佛蒙特州37．watchover照看，守護(hù)

瑪爾塔·海爾布倫手牽著男友的手，眼睛觀賞著日落黃昏的美景。多好看呀!她想。

瑪爾塔，23歲；羅恩·彭納，29歲，他們經(jīng)常約會(huì)已有三個(gè)月，但是在這次穿越猶他州的科羅拉多河大峽谷的四天徒步旅行過(guò)程中，他們開始覺(jué)得兩人的關(guān)系發(fā)展到了特殊的階段。

正當(dāng)他們觀賞景物和尋覓宿營(yíng)位置的當(dāng)兒，對(duì)身邊有無(wú)險(xiǎn)情，無(wú)心加以考慮。

“咱們就在這兒扎營(yíng)吧”。羅恩指著一條小谷說(shuō)，瑪爾塔抬頭看見一座峭壁，上面似乎不太牢靠地頂著一塊有五呎見方的大石頭，心里猶豫了一下。噢，這也許是多少年了，她自我排解。

兩人做了晚餐，用過(guò)之后，覺(jué)得乏倦，便鉆進(jìn)各自的睡袋，迷迷糊糊地睡著了?，敔査谜?，忽聽一聲巨響，將她嚇醒。她覺(jué)得雙腿有猛砸的重量，又聽到羅恩疼得直喊?；袒笾兴斐鍪秩ィ缴磉呌袀€(gè)又涼又粗糙的硬東西。啊，天哪，她心驚肉跳地想起：這就是那塊巨石!它重重地滾落，竟碰撞得碎裂開來(lái)。

“羅恩!”她在兩腿徹骨疼痛中發(fā)出尖叫，“我動(dòng)彈不了啦!”他的心怦怦亂跳，一條腿鮮血橫流，一抽一抽地疼。他急忙抓起手電，他的膝蓋骨完全劈成兩半。他拉開瑪爾塔睡袋的拉鎖一看——倒抽了一口涼氣。她的兩腿被砸壞，鮮血不住地淌!

“別著急，我來(lái)救護(hù)你，”他撫慰她說(shuō)，“我一定找人來(lái)救。”但是，上哪兒去找?無(wú)論去哪兒，都有很遠(yuǎn)的路程。這時(shí)羅恩想起他們?cè)龅揭蝗翰叫姓?，那些人必定就在附近?/p>

“我就去找那群步行者，”他說(shuō)著，隨手撣去瑪爾塔腿上的石渣，將兩腿抬動(dòng)一下，又用睡袋將她遮裹好，吻她，說(shuō)：“我愛你?！?/p>

瑪爾塔的眼窩涌出熱淚：這是他第一次對(duì)她說(shuō)出這句話?！拔乙矏勰悖本驮谒蝗骋还兆唛_時(shí)，她低聲回答。

因失血過(guò)多而頭昏的瑪爾塔覺(jué)得氣弱，心慌。保持清醒!她叮囑自己。為了克服恐懼和疼痛，她伸手抓起一本平裝書，迫使自己閱讀。

幾碼之外，羅恩吃力地跛行，走一步疼一陣，拖拽著那條重傷流血的腿。她可能流血致死或?qū)е滦菘?。他警示自己：?jiān)持前進(jìn)。

在峽谷里，書上的字漂動(dòng)起來(lái)，瑪爾塔把書丟下。她似乎覺(jué)得羅恩已經(jīng)去了好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。在她的幻覺(jué)中，他倒在某處，淌著鮮血，昏了過(guò)去?！傲_恩!”她頓覺(jué)惶恐，“請(qǐng)你回到我身邊!”

走了一段，羅恩在蹣跚不穩(wěn)，一拖一拐的慢行中，鞭策自己。你能行!他在疼痛難忍地舉步當(dāng)中，告誡自己，以至迫使自己往前爬。在他想象里，瑪爾塔既孤獨(dú)，又害怕，知覺(jué)在消退。你可別悄悄地離開我，瑪爾塔!他連聲禱念著。

身子不住地哆嗦，瑪爾塔抬眼望望夜空，覺(jué)得十分孤獨(dú)。羅恩說(shuō)過(guò)的“再見”，在她心里反復(fù)回響。請(qǐng)讓我們彼此再次相見，她禱告上蒼。

往前挪!羅恩催逼自己疲憊的肌體。腿部疼痛沒(méi)完沒(méi)了，但他利用對(duì)瑪爾塔的惦記來(lái)戰(zhàn)勝它。她甜美的微笑，她爽朗的大笑，都?xì)v歷在目；跟她一起生活，該多么的愉快!現(xiàn)在他覺(jué)著好像費(fèi)了幾小時(shí)才走了一哩似的。那疼痛的身軀在叫喊“止步!”心里卻斷言“不!”

又走了一碼，兩碼，三碼，然后——是的!他發(fā)現(xiàn)了那些步行者走過(guò)的那條草徑。他拽著身子又朝前趔趄了幾呎，嘴里也在祈禱：恭請(qǐng)上帝讓他們就在附近?！扒笄蠛眯娜藖?lái)救命啊!”他失聲呼叫，身子倒在地上了。

劇痛令他難忍，這里沒(méi)有一個(gè)人!他絕望了。但是奇跡一般——來(lái)辦培訓(xùn)班的十一名急救醫(yī)護(hù)人員真的在附近扎了營(yíng)，睡在睡袋中的一名成員身子扭動(dòng)了一下。

“有人遇難了!”馬特先生喊了一聲，隨即朝尖叫聲跑去。

羅恩一眼認(rèn)出跑來(lái)的醫(yī)護(hù)人員們就是白天見過(guò)的那群步行者?！爸x天謝地。你們真的在這里!”他氣喘吁吁地說(shuō)?！拔业呐笥选芰酥貍?”在幾位醫(yī)護(hù)人員搶救羅恩時(shí)，馬特和另外三個(gè)人跑去尋找瑪爾塔。

瑪爾塔發(fā)現(xiàn)天已拂曉，心里頓時(shí)慌亂。羅恩沒(méi)有辦成!她心里在想。忽然，她聽到有人喊她的名字?！拔以谶@兒!”她尖聲回答。

馬特跪在她的身旁時(shí)，瑪爾塔松了口氣——跟著又生恐懼。

“羅恩哪里去了?”她喊了起來(lái)?！傲_恩沒(méi)事兒，”馬特讓她放心，同時(shí)握住她的手，別人給她的兩腿上了夾板。

“我還需要去求援，”馬特告訴她。馬特把瑪爾塔交給別人照管，他步行好幾哩，找到了林業(yè)保管站。時(shí)間不長(zhǎng)，一架直升飛機(jī)將瑪爾塔和羅恩送到了三百哩遠(yuǎn)的，但比較起來(lái)是最近的一所醫(yī)院。在擔(dān)架上羅恩將瑪爾塔抱在懷里。她低聲對(duì)他說(shuō)，“你是我的英雄；你拯救了我的生命?！?/p>

瑪爾塔和羅恩被緊急推到外科手術(shù)室，在那里醫(yī)生們手術(shù)修復(fù)了羅恩的膝蓋骨和瑪爾塔兩腿的二十多處骨折。

現(xiàn)今，瑪爾塔和羅恩幾乎完全康復(fù)，兩人的愛情也愈益加深。他們甚至正在計(jì)劃著下一次的冒險(xiǎn)行動(dòng)——騎自行車穿行佛蒙特州。

巧遇那些急救醫(yī)護(hù)人員純粹是不幸中的萬(wàn)幸，”瑪爾塔說(shuō)，“上帝在守護(hù)著我們?！?/p>