读者文摘:21世纪最大规模的寻宝事件之一(3)（在线收听）

Then there are the fatalities. Four people have died while searching, three of them in the summer of 2017:

然后就出现了死亡事故。四个人在寻宝时死掉了，其中三人的死亡发生在2017年夏天。

Jeff Murphy, who fell 500 feet while hiking in Yellowstone National Park;

杰夫·墨菲在黄石国家公园远足时从500英尺高处摔了下来。

Eric Ashby, who drowned while rafting the Arkansas River in Colorado;

埃里克·阿什比在科罗拉多的阿肯色河漂流时溺水身亡；

and Paris Wallace, whose body was discovered seven miles from his car in the New Mexico mountains.

还有帕里斯·华莱士，他的尸体是在新墨西哥山区离他的车7英里的地方被发现的。

It's a peculiar plot twist, given that thousands have been searching for Fenn's treasure since 2011.

这是一个奇特的情节转折，因为自2011年以来，成千上万的人一直在寻找芬恩的宝藏。

Has the terrain gotten inexplicably more treacherous, or have the searchers started taking bigger risks?

是地形莫名地变得更加危险，还是寻宝者开始冒更大的风险？

Fenn, who has been loath to give away additional clues—"It's all in the poem," he would tell inquisitive hunters—has recently started sharing more details.

芬恩一直都不愿泄露更多的线索-他会告诉好奇的搜寻者，“线索都在诗里面”-他最近开始分享更多细节。

After Ashby's drowning, he wrote in a blog post, "Please remember that I was about 80 when I made two trips from my vehicle to where I hid the treasure.

在阿什比溺水身亡后，他在一篇博客中写道，“请记住当我两次开车到我藏宝的地方时，我就差不多80岁了。

Please be cautious and don't take risks." More clues he has revealed: The treasure isn't in a mine—"I mean, they have snakes in 'em," he has said—or a tunnel.

请小心一些，不要冒险。”他揭露了更多线索：宝藏不在矿藏里面-“我的意思是，它们里面有蛇，”他说-或者在隧道里。

It's between 5,000 feet and 10,200 feet above sea level. It's not in Canada or Idaho or Utah or a graveyard.

宝藏在海拔5000到10200英尺之间。它不在加拿大、爱达荷州、犹他州或墓地里。

"Where warm waters halt" is not a dam, and it's not "on top of any mountain though it may be close to the top."

“在温暖的海水停止的地方”指的不是一个水坝，宝藏没有在任何山的山顶，尽管它可能接近山顶。”

When I asked why the searchers didn't seem to be getting any closer, Fenn told me that "they don't seem to be focusing on the first clue."

当我问到，为什么搜寻者没有接近宝藏时，芬恩告诉我，“他们没有专注第一条线索。”

He of course didn't reveal what the first clue was. Why are Fenn's treasure hunters so into what seems like a ridiculous thing to do with their time?

当然，他没有揭露第一条线索是什么。为什么芬恩宝藏的搜寻者如此痴迷，在一件似乎是可笑的事情上浪费时间？

Many are quick to say that their lives have been enriched by their experiences.

很多人很快就说他们的生命因他们的经历而更加丰富。

Neitzel says that prior to learning of Fenn's treasure, he never took a walk that wasn't necessary, but in the past decade he has climbed mountains.

雷特泽尔表示，在知道芬恩的宝藏之前，他从不走没有必要的路，但是在过去的十年里，他去爬了山。

Kreis will tell you how she used to cower in her tent, terrified of grizzlies or other wild beasts, but now feels fearless.

克莱斯过去常常蜷缩在自己的帐篷里，害怕灰熊或者其他野兽，但是现在她无所畏惧。

"It's changed us," she says. "My sisters and daughters, we're brave Viking women. Nothing scares us anymore."

她说，“寻宝改变了我们。”我的姐妹和女儿们，我们是勇敢的女海盗。没有什么能吓到我们。”

For some, such as Bill Sullivan of Seattle, the mystery of Fenn's treasure chest is literally all they have.

对于一些人来说，比如西雅图的沙利文，芬恩藏宝箱的秘密几乎就是他们的全部。

Sullivan, 60, is homeless and lives mostly out of his car. He'd like to have a roof over his head and dependable meals.

60岁的沙利文是个流浪汉，大部分时间都住在他的车外，他想有个栖身之所，吃顿像样的饭。

But that's not why he's focused on Fenn's elusive jackpot. For him, it's about following in the footsteps of his ancestors.

但是这不是他专注于芬恩的难以寻找的大奖的原因。对他来说，寻宝是跟随先人的脚步。

"My grandfather prospected gold in Alaska a hundred years ago," Sullivan says.

沙利文说，“我祖父一百年前在阿拉斯加州寻找过金子。”

"He had a sled dog team and trapped beaver. So that's in my blood."

“他有一个雪橇狗队和捕获的海狸。寻宝存在于我的血液里。”