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In these first few hours, only the quick-witted managed to escape. A wealthy wool merchant called his family together and crammed jewelry and money into a sack. Lighting a torch, he led his little band out into the nightmare of the streets. Many hundreds of Pompeiians fled in those first few dark hours. Stumbling in the darkness, they made their way to the city gates, then out and down to the harbor. They boarded boats and got away, living to tell the tale of their city's destruction. Others preferred to remain within the city, huddling inside the temples, or in the public baths or in the cellars of their homes. They still hoped the nightmare would end.
在最初的几个小时里，只有一些特别机智的人逃了出来。一位有钱的羊毛商把他的家人聚集在一起，将首饰和钱塞入大口袋，点着火把带领他的那一小群家人走进乱哄哄的街道。几百个庞贝人在城市陷入黑暗的最初几个小时逃了出去，他们在黑暗中跌跌撞撞，艰难地走向城门，出了城后直奔港口，登上船逃离了危险，这才活下来将他们城市毁灭的故事告诉他人。其他人选择留在城里，聚集在庙里，公共澡堂里，或者自己家的地窖里，他们仍然希望噩梦会结束。
It was evening now. And a new trouble was in store for Pompeii. The earth trembled and quaked! Roofs went crashing in ruin, burying hundreds who had hoped to survive the eruption. In the forum the tall columns toppled. The entire city seemed to shake in the grip of a giant fist.
已经是晚上了，庞贝正将面临新的灾难。大地晃动了起来！屋顶顷刻倒塌，将希望躲过火山喷发的几百人埋在废墟下。广场上高大的柱子倒了，整个城市就像被一只巨拳紧握着颤动。
Three feet of pumice stones now covered the ground. Ash floated in the air. Poisonous gas came drifting from the crater, though people could still breathe. Roofs were collapsing everywhere. The cries of the injured and dying filled the air. Rushing throngs, blinded by the darkness and the smoke, rushed up one street and down the next, trampling the fallen in a crazy fruitless dash toward safety. Dozens of people plunged into dead-end streets and found themselves trapped by crashing buildings. They waited there, too frightened to run further, expecting the end.
此时已有三英尺厚的浮石覆盖着大地；火山灰在空中飘荡；虽然人们尚能呼吸，可有毒的气体还在从火山口飘出。四处的房屋都在倒塌，到处都可以听到伤者和奄奄一息的人的哭喊声。在黑暗和烟雾中，人们什么都看不见，为了寻找安全地带，徒劳地到处乱窜，踏着摔倒的人的身体，从一条街跑到另一条街。大群人闯进死胡同，发现自己被困在纷纷倒塌的建筑物中。他们待在那里，吓得再也跑不动了，只能等待死亡降临。
