17 Pip is close to death
17 匹普死里逃生
I paid Clarrikers Miss Havisham’s nine hundred pounds,and felt glad that Herbert’s future,at least, was safe.Clarrikers were going to send Herbert to India,to open a new office there.So while helping my old friend,I would be losing him at the same time.
我支付給克拉雷克斯,郝薇香小姐的900英鎊,感到高興的是,最終,赫伯特的前程是平安無(wú)事??死卓怂勾蛩闩珊詹厝ビ《?,在那兒辦一個(gè)新的事務(wù)所。因此,在幫助我的老朋友同時(shí),我將失去他。
Wemmick advised us to move Magwitch out of the country in the middle of the week.So we decided to row the boat down to Clara’s house on Wednesday,collect Magwitch,and continue right down the river to Essex,where we could stop one of the foreign ships sailing from the port of London to Ger many or Holland.With luck,nobody would notice us or sus pect us.Our friend Startop agreed to row instead of me,as my hands were still too painful.
文米克勸我們?cè)诒局苤衅诎疡R格韋契轉(zhuǎn)移到國(guó)外。因此,我們決定在星期三,劃船到克萊拉的家,帶上馬格韋契,繼續(xù)沿著河走到艾西克斯,在那兒,我們能夠停靠在從倫敦港口航行到德國(guó)或荷蘭去的其中一艘外國(guó)船上。帶給我們好運(yùn),沒(méi)有人會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)和懷疑我們。我們的朋友史達(dá)多蒲同意代替我劃船,因?yàn)槲业氖秩匀缓芡础?/p>
However, when I went back to our rooms on Monday, my head full of arrangements for the journey,I found a letter,ad dressed to me and delivered by hand.It said:
然而,當(dāng)我星期一回到我們的住處時(shí),為了這次旅行安排,我的頭都脹大了,我發(fā)現(xiàn)一封寫(xiě)給我的信,并是親手遞送的,內(nèi)容如下:
‘If you want information about your guest,you should come tonight or tomorrow night to the old house near the lime kiln on the marshes.Tell no one.You must come alone.’
“如果想知道你的客人消息,你在今天晚上或明天晚上到沼澤地石灰窯附近那間舊屋來(lái),勿讓別人知道,你必須獨(dú)自一人來(lái)。”
I did not have time to consider. I rushed out again and was just in time to catch the afternoon coach.
我沒(méi)有時(shí)間思考,我又沖了出去,正好趕上下午的馬車(chē)。
I stopped in town only to ask about Miss Havisham. She was still very ill, it seemed.Then I walked fast on to the dark lonely marshes.Soon I arrived at the lime-kiln, which was still burning,although the workmen had all gone home.I pushed open the door of the old house, which I thought was uninhabited,but to my surprise there was a bed, a table and a candle inside Suddenly the candle was blown out,I was at-tacked from behind and my arms were tied close to my sides with a thick rope.The pain in my injured arm was terrible.In a moment the candle was lit again,and I recognized my at-tacker.Orlick!I saw he had been drinking,and I knew I was in a very dangerous situation.
我在鎮(zhèn)上停下來(lái),只是想打聽(tīng)一下郝薇香小姐的情況,好像是她病得仍然很重。然后,我快速向荒涼黑暗的沼澤地走去。很快找到了石灰窯,雖然民工都已回家,但是石灰窯仍在燃燒。我推開(kāi)那間舊屋的門(mén),我想沒(méi)有人居祝但是,讓我吃驚的是里面有一張床、一張桌子和一支蠟燭。突然蠟燭被撲滅,有人在背后襲擊了我,雙臂被一條粗繩子緊緊地綁在我身體的兩側(cè),在受傷的胳膊上,疼痛難以忍受。過(guò)了一會(huì)兒,蠟燭又點(diǎn)亮了,認(rèn)出我的襲擊者,奧立克!我見(jiàn)他已經(jīng)喝了酒,知道我處在十分危險(xiǎn)的位置。
‘Now,’ he said fiercely,‘I’ve got you!’
“喂,”他兇惡地說(shuō),“我可逮住你啦!”
‘Why have you brought me here?’I asked.
“你為什么把我?guī)У竭@兒!”我問(wèn)道。
‘Don’t yon know?’ he replied, drinking straight from a bottle.‘Because you’re my enemy. I lost that job at Miss Havisham’s because of you. And what’s more, Biddy would have liked me if you hadn’t been there.You’ve been in my way ever since you were a child.And now I’m going to have your life!Tonight you’re going to die!’
“你不知道?”他回答說(shuō),直接對(duì)著瓶子喝著酒,“因?yàn)槟闶俏业臄橙?。因?yàn)槟悖沂チ撕罗毕阈〗慵业哪欠莨ぷ?。還有,如果你不在那兒的話,畢蒂會(huì)喜歡我。自從你是個(gè)小孩子時(shí)就一直有害于我?,F(xiàn)在,我打算殺了你!今天晚上,你將走向末日。
I felt I was looking down into my own grave. I could see no possible way of escape.
我感覺(jué)到,我正走向死亡之墓。我明白,無(wú)逃生之路。
‘More than that,’he said,‘I don’t want anything left of you.I’ll put your body in the kiln.Even your clothes will be burnt,and in the morning there’ll be nothing left.’
“這還不夠,”他說(shuō),“我不會(huì)讓你留下任何痕跡,我將把你的身體放到石灰窯里,甚至連你的衣服都化為灰燼,到了早晨將一絲不留。”
I realized I had not told anybody where I was going.No-body would know where to look for me.
我知道沒(méi)有告訴任何人我去哪了,沒(méi)有人會(huì)知道到這兒找我。
‘Another thing,’he said,smiling cruelly,‘it was your fault your ugly sister was attacked.I did it,I hit her with the iron chain your convict left on the marshes,but I did it be cause I hated you!’ He drank again.I watched the level of the liquid go down.I knew that when he finished the bottle, my life would end.
“還有另一件事情”,他殘忍地笑著說(shuō),“你那討厭的姐姐被擊倒是你的過(guò)錯(cuò),那是我干的,我擊倒了她,用的是在沼澤地你那個(gè)罪犯留下的鐵鏈。不過(guò),都是因?yàn)楹弈阄也鸥傻?”他又喝了酒,我看到酒的液面在下降。我知道,當(dāng)他喝完這瓶酒,我的生命即將結(jié)束。
‘And I know all about that convict you’ re hiding. I’ve waited and watched outside your rooms and on the stairs.You fell over me once.I’ve got a friend who’s going to inform the police about him.Yes,Compeyson’ll make sure he’s hanged,when you’re dead!’
“我對(duì)你藏的那個(gè)罪犯了如指掌,我已經(jīng)在你的屋子外面和樓梯等候監(jiān)視著,你一旦落在我手上,我有一個(gè)朋友,這個(gè)朋友打算把他的情況通知警察。對(duì)了,康培生確信他將被絞死。那時(shí),你也歸天了!”
The last of the rum went down his throat, and picking up his hammer he came towards me.Determined to fight,I shouted as loudly as I could. Suddenly the door was thrown open and Herbert and Startop rushed in. With a violent shout Orlick jumped over the table and escaped into the night.
他最后一滴朗姆酒下肚,拿起錘子向我走來(lái),決定去戰(zhàn)斗,我拼命地大聲呼喊。突然,門(mén)被撞開(kāi),赫伯特和史達(dá)多蒲沖了進(jìn)來(lái),伴隨著一陣猛烈的嘈雜聲,奧立克跳上桌子,逃竄到黑夜之中。
My two friends had found Orlick’s letter to me, which, in my hurry,I had dropped in my room in London. They had suspected some wicked plot, and come straight to the town,and then to the marshes, to find me. Luckily they had arrived just in time.
我的兩個(gè)朋友發(fā)現(xiàn)了奧立克給我的信,由于慌忙,把信掉在倫敦我的屋子里,他們猜到一些不好的兆頭,直接到了鎮(zhèn)上,然后去了沼澤地找我。真幸運(yùn),他們到得正是時(shí)候。
They took me back to London that night, and looked after me carefully all the next day, so that, although my arm was still aching, and I felt very weak,I was fit enough for the planned journey on Wednesday.
他們連夜把我?guī)Щ貍惗兀诙煲徽於技?xì)心地照料我。雖然,我的手臂仍然疼痛,感覺(jué)很虛弱,我還是能勝任星期三的旅行計(jì)劃。