牛津書蟲系列 遠大前程 Chapter 2

2 Catching a convict

2 抓住一名罪犯

All that morning I was frightened that my sister would discover that I had stolen from her，but luckily she was so busy cleaning the house，and roasting the chickens for our Christmas lunch that she did not notice that I had been out，or that any food was missing.At half-past one our two guests arrived.Mr Wopsle had a large nose and a shining，bald forehead，and was the church clerk.Mr Pumblechook， who had a shop in the nearest town，was a fat，middle-aged man witn a mouth like a fish，and staring eyes.He was really Joe’s uncle but it was Mrs Joe who called him uncle.Every Christmas Day he arrived with two bottles of wine，handing them proudly to my sister.

一上午，我一直害怕姐姐會發(fā)現(xiàn)我偷了她的東西，但是，幸運的是她只顧忙于打掃房間，為我們的圣誕節(jié)午飯準備烤雞，并沒有注意我出過門，也沒發(fā)現(xiàn)少了任何吃的東西。1點半鐘，我們的兩位客人到了。伍甫賽先生的鼻子很大，禿頂?shù)念~頭閃閃發(fā)光，他是教堂里的辦事員。潘波趣先生，他在最近的鎮(zhèn)上有一個商店，是一個長得體胖腰圓的中年人，有一副像魚的嘴臉，賊溜溜的眼睛，他是喬的親舅舅，可是喬夫人卻喊他舅舅。每年圣誕節(jié)，他都帶兩瓶葡萄酒來送給我姐姐，以顯示他的闊氣。

‘Oh Uncle Pumblechook!This is kind!’she always replied.

“噢，潘波趣舅舅您真是個好心人!”她總是這樣說。

‘It’s no more than you deserve，’was the answer every time.

“這是一點小意思，”每一次都是這種回答。

Sitting at table with these guests I would have felt uncomfortable even if I hadn’t robbed my sister.Not only was Pumblechook’s elbow in my eye，but I wasn’t allowed to speak，and they gave me the worst pieces of meat.Even the chickens must have been ashamed of those parts of their bodies when they were alive.And worse than that，the adults never left me in peace.

和這些客人們圍桌而坐，即使我沒偷姐姐的東西，我的心情也不好受，不但潘波趣和我近在咫尺，而且不允許我說話，他們給我的是最不好的一塊肉，甚至給的雞塊也是它們活著的時候身體最害臊的那部分。比這更壞的是大人們總是打攪我。

‘Before we eat，let us thank God for the food in front of us，’said Mr Wopsle，in the deep voice he used in church.

“我們進餐之前，讓我們感謝上帝賜給我們面前的食物”，伍甫賽先生以他在教堂常用的低沉語調(diào)說。

‘Do you hear that?’whispered my sister to me.‘Be grateful!’

“你聽見了嗎?”姐姐耳語對我說，“感謝!”

‘Especially，’said Mr Pumblechook firmly，‘be grateful，boy，to those who brought you up by hand.’

“特別是，”潘波趣先生堅定地說，“孩子，要感謝那些把你親手帶大的人。”

‘Why are the young never grateful?’wondered Mr Wopsle sadly.

“為什么這個小家伙從來沒有感激之情呀?”驚奇的伍甫賽先生不解地問。

‘Their characters are naturally bad，’answered Mr Pumblechook，and all three looked unpleasantly at me.

“他們的品行就是天生的壞，”潘波趣先生回答說，三個人不愉快地看著我。

When there were guests，Joe’s position was even lower than usual(if that was possible)，but he always tried to help me if he could.Sometimes he comforted me by giving me extra gravy.He did that now.

當(dāng)有客人的時候，喬的地位甚至比平時還要低，但是，他總是盡最大努力設(shè)法幫助我。有時，他用給我額外添的點肉汁來安慰我?，F(xiàn)在，他就是這樣做的。

‘Just imagine，boy，’said Mr Pumblechook，‘if your sister hadn’t brought you up—’

“正走神呢，孩子，”潘波趣先生說，“如果不是你姐姐親手把你帶大……”。

‘You listen to this，’said my sister to me crossly.

“你聽著，”我姐姐不高興地對我說。

‘If，as I say，she hadn’t spent her life looking after you，where would you be now?’

“如果像我說的，不是她花費很大的精力照顧你，你現(xiàn)在還不知在哪兒呢?”

Joe offered me more gravy.

喬又給我加了一些肉湯。

‘He was a lot of trouble to you，madam，’Mr Wopsle said sympathetically to my sister.

“他給你添了不少麻煩，夫人，”伍甫賽先生對我姐姐同情地說。

‘Trouble?’she cried.‘Trouble?’And then she started on a list of all my illnesses，accidents and crimes，while everybody except Joe looked at me with disgust.Joe added more gravy to the meat swimming on my plate，and I wanted to pull Mr Wopsle’s nose.

“麻煩?”她喊了起來，“麻煩?”接著她開始羅列了一堆我的生并意外及干的壞事，除了喬，其他人都用反感的目光瞅著我。喬又添了些肉湯，使那塊肉在我盤子里漂浮著，我真想揪伍甫賽先生的鼻子。

In the end Mrs Joe stopped for breath，and said to Mr Pumblechook，‘Have a little brandy，uncle.There is a bottle al-ready open.’

最后，喬夫人停住了，喘了口氣，接著對潘波趣先生說，“舅舅，喝點白蘭地吧，有一瓶已經(jīng)打開了。”

It had happened at last!Now she would discover I had stolen some brandy，and put water in the bottle.Mr Pumblechook held his glass up to the light，smiled importantly at it and drank it.When，immediately afterwards，he jumped up and began to rush round the room in a strange wild dance，we all stared at him in great surprise.Was he mad?I wondered if I had murdered him，but if so，how?At last he threw himself gasping into a chair，crying ‘Medicine!’Then I understood.Instead of filling up the brandy bottle with water，I had put Mrs Joe’s strongest and most unpleasant medicine in by mistake.That was what the big brown bottle contained.

禍事降臨了!現(xiàn)在，她會發(fā)現(xiàn)我偷了一些白蘭地，而把水倒進瓶子里。潘波趣先生舉起杯子在光線中端詳，并露出了笑臉，仰起腦袋一飲而荊接著，他突然感到很難受，躥了起來，著魔似地開始圍著屋子亂舞亂撞，我們大家很驚奇地盯著他。他瘋了嗎?我納悶是我殺了他。果真如此，怎么辦?最后，他氣喘吁吁地一屁股靠倒在椅子上。接著喊，“藥!”這時，我明白了，是我搞錯了，把喬夫人配制的，味道極苦的藥當(dāng)成水倒進了白蘭地酒瓶里。那是盛在褐色大瓶子里的。

‘But how could my medicine get into a brandy bottle?’asked my sister.Fortunately she had no time to find the answer，as Mr Pumblechook was calling for a hot rum to remove the taste of the medicine.‘And now，’she said，when the fat man was calmer，‘you must all try Uncle Pumblechook’s pre-sent to us!A really delicious meat pie!’

“可是，我的藥怎么能進到白蘭地酒瓶里呢?”我姐姐問。幸好她顧不上去找答案。因為潘波趣先生叫喊著要些熱松子酒，以除掉藥的味道。“喂喂，”她說。這時，這個肥胖的家伙驚魂漸定，“你們大家必須嘗嘗潘波趣舅舅給我們送的禮物!味道鮮美的肉餅!”

‘That’s right，Mrs Joe!’said Mr Pumblechook，looking more cheerful now.‘ Bring in the pie!’

“很好，喬夫人，”潘波趣先生說，看樣子現(xiàn)在稍高興了點，“拿肉餅!”

‘You shall have some，Pip，’said Joe kindly.

“你也會有一份肉餅，匹普，”喬和藹地說。

I knew what would happen next.I could not sit there any longer.I jumped down from the table，and ran out of the room.

我料到下一步會發(fā)生什么事情，我不能在這兒繼續(xù)坐下去了，我從椅子上跳下來，拔腿跑出了屋外。

But at the front door I ran straight into a group of soldiers.Mrs Joe was saying as she came out of the kitchen，‘The pie-has-gone!’but stopped when she saw the soldiers.

但是，在前門口，我直奔入一隊士兵里。當(dāng)喬夫人從廚房里出來時，嘴里正在叨咕，“肉餅——不翼而飛!”可是，當(dāng)她看到士兵們時，閉上了嘴。

‘Excuse me，ladies and gentlemen，’said the officer in charge.‘I’m here in the King’s name，and I want the black-smith.’

“對不起，女士們、先生們，”那個負責(zé)的軍官說，“我在這里以國王的名義，要找鐵匠。”

‘And why do you want him?’said my sister crossly.

“你們找他干嗎?”我姐姐不高興地問。

‘Madam，’replied the officer Politely，‘speaking for myself，I’d like the pleasure of meeting his fine wife.Speaking for the King，I’d like him to repair these handcuffs.’

“夫人，”軍官客氣地說，“就我自己而言，我樂意見到他美麗的妻子，要是就國王而言，我樂意他修理加固這些手銬。”

‘Ah，very good，very good!’ said Mr Pumblechook，clap-ping.

“噢，很好，很好!”潘波趣先生拍著手說。

The soldiers waited in the kitchen while Joe lit the forge fire and started work.I began to feel better now that everyone had forgotten the missing pie.

士兵們在廚房等候，而喬生上爐火，開始干活。我漸漸地不害怕了，大家都把丟肉餅的事拋到腦后去了。

‘How far are we from the marshes?’asked the officer.

“我們從這里到沼澤地有多遠?”軍官問。

‘About a mile，’replied Mrs Joe.

“大約1英里，”喬夫人回答。

‘ That’s good.We’ll catch them before it’s dark.’

“那不太遠，我們將在天黑前抓到他們。”

‘ Convicts，officer?’asked Mr Wopsle.

“逃犯，軍官?”伍甫賽先生問。

‘Yes，two escaped convicts out on the marshes.Has anyone here seen them?’

“是的，有兩個逃犯還躲在沼澤地里，有誰見過他們的蹤跡嗎?”

The others all shook their heads.Nobody asked me.When the handcuffs were ready，Joe suggested we should go with the soldiers，and as Mrs Joe was curious to know what happened，she agreed.So Joe，Mr wopsle and I walked behind the men through the village and out on to the marshes.

其他的人都搖搖頭，幸虧沒有人問我。當(dāng)手銬準備就緒，喬提議我們跟著這些官兵一起去，喬夫人好奇地想知道發(fā)生了什么事情，所以她同意了。因此，喬、伍甫賽先生和我走在隊伍的后面，穿過村莊向沼澤地開進。

‘ I hope we don’t find those poor men，Joe，’I whispered.

“我希望我們找不到那些可憐的人，喬，”我小聲說道。

‘ I hope not either，Pip，’he whispered back.It was cold，with an east wind blowing from the sea，and it was getting dark.

“我也希望那樣，匹普，”他小聲回敬了我一句。從大海刮來東風(fēng)，天氣很冷，夜幕降臨了。

Suddenly we all stopped.We heard shouts in the distance.

突然，我們大家停止了前進，我們聽到遠方的嚎叫聲。

‘This way!Run!’the officer ordered，and we all rushed in that direction.The shouts became clearer.‘ Murder!’‘Escaped convict!’‘Help!’At last we discovered two men fighting each other.One was my convict，and the other was the man who had run away when I had seen him near the shelter.Somehow the soldiers held the men apart and put the hand-cuffs on them.

“這個方向!追!”軍官命令道。我們迅速向喊聲方向奔去。嚎叫聲越來越近，“謀殺!”“逃犯!”“救命呀!”最后我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩個人在互相廝打著。一個是我?guī)椭哪莻€囚犯，另一個是我在遮蔽體見過的那個逃竄的小伙子。不曉得什么緣故，士兵們把兩人分開，并一一戴上手銬。

‘Here he is，I’m holding him for you!’shouted my convict.

“他在這兒，是我為你們抓住的!”我的那個囚犯喊著。

‘Officer，he tried to murder me!’cried the other man.His face was bleeding and he was clearly very frightened.

“軍官，他企圖殺害我!”另一個囚犯哭喊著，他的臉上流著血，很明顯，他非常驚恐。

‘ Murder him!No，’said the first，‘ that would be too easy.I want him to suffer more，back on the prison-ship.He’s lying，as he did at our trial!You can’t trust Compeyson!’

“想殺害他!不，”第一個逃犯說，“殺他太容易了，我要讓他多受受折磨，送回船上監(jiān)獄。他在說謊，因為他在試探我們!你們不要相信康培生!”

Just then he noticed me for the first time.I shook my head at him，to show that I had not wanted the soldiers to find him.He stared at me，but I did not know if he understood or not.

這時，他第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)了我，我向他搖了搖頭，表示并不是我讓士兵們找到了他的。他盯著我，我不知道他是否明白我的意思。

The prisoners were taken to the riverside，where a boat was waiting to take them on to the prison-ship.Just as he was about to leave，my convict said，‘Officer，after my escape，I stole some food，from the blacksmith’s house.Bread，cheese，brandy and a meat pie.I’m sorry I ate your pie，blacksmith.’

逃犯們被帶到河邊，那兒有一只小船正等著把他們送到船上監(jiān)獄。正在他離開的時候，我的那個囚犯說：“軍官，我逃跑后，我從鐵匠家里偷了些吃的，面包、黃油、白蘭地和一塊肉餅，我很抱歉，我吃了你的肉餅，鐵匠。”

‘I’m glad you did，’replied Joe kindly.‘ We don’t know why you’re a convict，but we wouldn’t want you to die of hunger.’

“你這樣做我很高興，”喬很客氣地說，“我們并不知道為什么你是一名罪犯，可我們總不能讓你餓死。”

The man rubbed his eyes with the back of his dirty hand.We watched the small boat carry him out to the middle of the river，where the great black prison-ship stood high out of the water，held by its rusty chains.He disappeared into the ship，and I thought that was the last I had seen of him.

這個罪犯用他的臟手背揉擦著眼睛，我們望著那只小船，把他帶進河中央。在那里，依靠著生銹的鐵錨鏈固定在突出水面的那艘大黑牢船上。他被押進船里，消失得無影無蹤。我心想，這是我見他最后一面了。