牛津書蟲系列 織工馬南 4 Godfrey is in trouble

4 Godfrey is in trouble

4 戈弗雷有麻煩了

Godfrey was not very surprised to find that Dunstan had not come home after his day's hunting.Perhaps he was staying the night at a public house.But when Dunstan did not return home the next day，Godfrey began to worry about Wild-fire.He did not trust his brother，and wondered if Dunstan had gone away to spend the money on gambling.So he decided to go to look for him.On the road near Raveloe he met his neigh-bour，John Bryce，who had arranged to buy Wildfire from Dun-stan.

戈弗雷對于鄧斯坦在狩獵的第二天沒有回家來一點兒也不奇怪。他也許又在哪間酒館呆了一夜?？傻谌爨囁固惯€沒回來，戈弗雷開始有些為他的野火擔心了。他信不過他的兄弟，懷疑鄧斯坦是不是去把錢花在賭場上了。于是他決定去找鄧斯坦，在離瑞福洛不遠的路上他遇到了鄰居約翰·布萊斯，那個想從鄧斯坦那里買走野火的人。

'Well，Godfrey，'said Bryce，'did your brother tell you about the horse?'

“怎么樣，戈弗雷，”布萊斯說，“你弟弟告訴你關于馬的事兒了嗎?”

'What do you mean，John?'replied Godfrey quickly.'No，he hasn't been home yet.What's happened to my horse?'

“什么意思，約翰?”戈弗雷馬上問，“他還沒回家。我的馬怎么了?”

'Ah，so he was yours，was he?Dunstan told me you'd giv-en him Wildfire.I was going to buy him，you know.'

“噢，那是你的馬，是嗎?鄧斯坦告訴我你把野火給他了，你知道我曾經想買那馬。”

'What's Dunstan done?Is Wildfire hurt?'asked Godfrey crossly.

“鄧斯坦干什么了?野火受傷了?”戈弗雷怒氣沖沖地問。

'Worse than that，'answered Bryce.'I'm afraid your horse is dead. We've only just found him.Your brother rode him to the hunt and the horse fell at a gate and broke his back.So you haven't seen Dunstan since yesterday?'

“更糟，”布萊斯回答，“你的馬死了，我們剛找到它。你兄弟騎它去狩獵，在跳一個籬笆門的時候馬摔斷了脊背。從昨天你一直沒見你弟弟?”

'No，and he'd better not come home now!'replied Godfrey angrily.'How stupid I was to trust him with my horse!'

“沒有，他最好別現(xiàn)在回家來!”戈弗雷氣急敗壞地說，“我太傻了，竟然把馬交給他!”

'But where can Dunstan be?I suppose he wasn't hurt，be-cause we didn't find him near the horse.'

“可鄧斯坦在哪兒?我想他沒事，因為我們在馬旁邊沒找到他。”

'Him?'said Godfrey bitterly.'Oh，he'll be all right.He'll never be hurt—he only ever hurts other people!We'll hear of him soon enough，don't worry. '

“他?”戈弗雷苦澀地說，“他不會有事兒的。他永遠不會受傷——他只會去傷別人!你放心，我們很快會聽到他的消息。”

Bryce said goodbye and rode away.Godfrey rode slowly back into Raveloe，thinking about what he would very soon have to do.There was no longer any escape.He must confess the whole truth to his father.For the rest of the day he planned what he would say.He would explain that he had lent Fowler's money to Dunstan，because Dunstan knew his secret.That would be the right moment to tell the Squire about his secret marriage to Molly.'But he'll be very angry!'thought Godfrey.'And when he's angry with people，he just wants to punish them!He won't listen or calm down!But perhaps he'll keep my se-cret—he's so proud of the family name!And if he disinherited me，everyone would talk about it.'

布萊斯告別后騎馬走了，戈弗雷邊騎馬慢慢向村里走，邊想下面怎么辦。沒法再逃了，他必須向父親承認一切。這一天剩下的時間他都在想該向父親說些什么。他要向父親解釋因為鄧斯坦知道他的秘密，所以他不得不把福勒還來的錢借給了鄧斯坦，正好趁此機會告訴父親自己和莫麗的秘密婚姻。“但他會很生氣!”戈弗雷想，“他一定會懲罰惹他生氣的人!他不會聽我說，也不會平靜下來!但也許他會保守我的秘密——他是那么珍視家族的榮譽!如果他取消我的繼承權，每個人都會議論這件事。”

When he went to bed that night， Godfrey thought he had decided what to say.But when he woke up in the morning，he could not see any reason to confess to the marriage.Why should he lose the chance of marrying Nancy? Why should he tell the whole truth now， when perhaps it was not necessary?No，it would be better to go on in the same way as before.Per haps Dunstan would stay away for a while，and then there would be no need to tell his father about Molly.'But today I'll tell the Squire about the money，'he thought.'He'll have to know about that.'

晚上上床的時候，戈弗雷已經決定了怎么說，可早上起床時，他又怎么也找不到承認秘密婚姻的理由了。為什么要失去娶南茜的機會?真有必要現(xiàn)在就承認一切嗎?不，像以前那樣過更好。也許鄧斯坦會在外面呆一段時間，那也就沒必要對父親講莫麗的事了。“但今天我得對他講錢的事，”他想，“他必須知道這件事。”

Godfrey was already in the dining-room when his father ar-rived for breakfast.The Squire sat down at the head of the table and ordered the servant to bring him some beer.

父親來吃早飯時，戈弗雷已經在餐廳了。鄉(xiāng)紳在桌子上首坐下，叫用人拿啤酒來。

'Haven't you had breakfast yet，Godfrey?'he asked.

“還沒吃過早飯嗎?戈弗雷?”他問。

'Yes，I have，sir，'replied Godfrey，'but I was waiting to speak to you.'

“吃過了，先生，”戈弗雷回答，“我等您想說點兒事。”

'Well，you young people have plenty of time，'answered the Squire.'We older ones have to do all the work.'

“你們年輕人總有空閑，”鄉(xiāng)紳回答，“可我們老家伙什么活都得干。”

Godfrey looked straight at his father.'Sir，'he said bravely，'I must tell you-something very unfortunate has happened to Wildfire.'

戈弗雷直視著他父親。“先生，”他鼓足勇氣說，“我必須告訴您——野火發(fā)生了不幸。”

'What!Has he broken a leg?I thought you could ride bet-ter than that!Well，you can't expect me to pay for a new horse.I'm very short of money at the moment.And I'm angry with Fowler-he still hasn't paid me what he owes me.If he doesn't pay today，he'll go to prison!'the Squire's face was red， and he banged angrily on the table as he spoke.

“什么!它的腿摔斷了?我還以為你會騎馬呢!別指望我再給你買一匹新馬，我這一陣沒錢，我正在為福勒生氣——他還沒有還欠我的錢。今天再不還，我會讓他進監(jiān)獄!”鄉(xiāng)紳漲紅了臉，生氣地拍著桌子說。

'It's worse than breaking a leg，'continued Godfrey miser-ably.'Wildfire's dead.But I don't want you to buy me anoth-er horse.I just feel sorry I can't pay you-you see，sir，the truth is，I'm very sorry，F(xiàn)owler did pay the money.He gave it to me，and I was stupid enough to let Dunstan have it.And he was going to sell Wildfire and then I was going to repay you the money.'

“比腿斷了更糟，”戈弗雷接著沮喪地說，“野火死了。不過我并不想讓您給我買新馬，我只是為不能還上您的錢而難過——您看，很抱歉，實際上福勒先生已經還了錢，他還給了我，而我太傻了，竟然把錢交給了鄧斯坦，我必須再還給您，所以鄧斯坦就去賣野火。”

The Squire's face was purple now，and for a moment he could not speak.'You—you let Dunstan have my money?Why did you give it to him? And why did he want it?Where's Dunstan now?He'll answer my questions， or leave this house!Go and fetch him at once!'

鄉(xiāng)紳的臉已經變成了紫色，氣得一時說不上話來。“你——你把我的錢給了鄧斯坦?為什么給他?他為什么要錢?鄧斯坦現(xiàn)在在哪兒?他必須回答我的問題，否則就滾出這幢房子!馬上去給我找他!”

'Dunstan hasn't come home，sir.The horse was found dead，and nobody knows where Dunstan is.''Well，why did you let him have my money? Answer me!'said the Squire，staring angrily at Godfrey.

“鄧斯坦還沒回家來，先生，馬被找到時已經死了，沒人知道鄧斯坦在哪兒。”

'Well，sir，I don't know，'replied Godfrey，hesitating.He was not good at lying，and was not prepared for his father's questions.

“那你為什么把我的錢給他?回答我!”鄉(xiāng)紳憤怒地盯著戈弗雷。

'You don't know?'the Squire repeated scornfully.'Well， I know why. I think you've done something wrong， and you've bribed Dunstan to keep it a secret!That's it，isn't it?'

“我也不知道，先生。”戈弗雷猶豫地回答，他不善于說謊，對父親的提問也沒有準備。

The Squire had made a very clever guess，and Godfrey's heart banged in sudden alarm.He was not ready to confess ev-erything yet.'Well，sir，'he said，trying to speak carelessly，'it was just a little business between Dunstan and me. You wouldn't be interested in it，you know.'

“你不知道?”鄉(xiāng)紳藐視地重復道。“我知道了，一定是你做了錯事要鄧斯坦為你保密!對不對?”

'How old are you now?Twenty-six?'asked the Squire an-grily.'Old enough to look after your money and mine too!I've been much too generous to you boys， but I'm going to be harder on you all from now on. You've got a weak character，Godfrey， like your poor mother. I think you need a wife who knows what she wants， because you can't decide anything by yourself!When you were thinking of marrying Nancy Lammeter，I agreed， didn't I?Have you asked her or not?She hasn't refused to marry you， has she?'

鄉(xiāng)紳做了一個聰明的猜想，戈弗雷心里一驚。他還沒有準備對父親承認一切。“噢，先生，”他盡量輕描淡寫地說，“這只是我和鄧斯坦之間的一點兒小事兒，您不會感興趣。”

'No，I haven't asked her，'said Godfrey，feeling very hot ad uncomfortable，'but I don't think she'll accept me.'

“你多大了? 26?”鄉(xiāng)紳生氣地問，“你已經足夠大了，應該能照看你的錢和我的錢了!我以前對你們太寬容了，可從現(xiàn)在開始我會對你們嚴厲起來。你的性格太軟弱了，戈弗雷，就像你那可憐的媽媽。我想你需要有個頭腦清楚的老婆來幫幫你，你自己根本不會做任何決定!我不是同意你娶南茜·拉默特嗎?有沒有向她求婚?她沒有拒絕你吧?”

'Don't be stupid， Godfrey!'said the Sqiuire with a scornful laugh.'Any woman would want to marry into our family!Do you want to marry her?'

“我還沒有問她，”戈弗雷感到一陣燥熱，很不自在，“不過我認為她不會接受。”“別傻了，戈弗雷!”鄉(xiāng)紳嘲笑他說，“所有女人都希望嫁到咱們家!你想不想娶她?”

'There's no other woman I want to marry，'said Godfrey，avoiding his father's eyes.

“除了她，我誰都不想娶，”戈弗雷不肯看父親的眼睛。

'Well，then，let me speak to her father for you，since you aren't brave enough to do it yourself. She's a pretty girl， and intelligent.'

“好吧，既然你沒有勇氣自己講，那我替你對她父親說。那是個漂亮姑娘，也很聰明。”

'No，sir，please don't say anything at the moment，'said Godfrey quickly.'I must ask her myself.'

“不，先生，請先別說，”戈弗雷趕緊說，“我必須自己對她說。”

'Well，ask her then.When you marry her，you'll have to forget about horses and so on.It'll be good for you to do some serious work. You should get married soon.'

“那好，去對她說吧。娶了她以后，你必須忘了那些馬什么的。做些正經事對你有好處。你應該趕快結婚。”

'Please don't try to hurry things，sir，'begged Godfrey.

“請您別急，先生。”戈弗雷請求父親。

'I'll do what I like，'said the Squire firmly.'And if you don't do what I want，I'll disinherit you and you can leave the house.Now，if you know where Dunstan's hiding-I expect you do-tell him he needn't come home. He'll pay for his own food from now on.'

“我想怎樣就怎樣，”鄉(xiāng)紳堅決地說，“如果你不按我想的去做，我將取消你的繼承權，你可以離開這里?，F(xiàn)在，如果你知道鄧斯坦在哪兒——我想你知道——去告訴他，他不用再回來了。從現(xiàn)在起，他得自己付飯錢了。”

'I don't know where he is，sir.Anyway，it's you who should tell him to leave home.'

“我不知道他在哪兒，先生。不管怎樣，只有您才可以對他說讓他離開這個家。”

'Don't argue with me，Godfrey，'said the Squire，turning back to his breakfast.'Just go and tell the servants to get my horse ready.'

“別跟我爭論，戈弗雷，”鄉(xiāng)紳的注意力轉回他的早餐，“去讓用人把我的馬備好。”

Godfrey left the room. He was relieved that his father had not discovered the whole truth However， he was a little wor-ried that the Squire would try to arrange his marriage with Nancy.While he was married to Molly，he could not marry Nancy，although it was his dearest wish.But as usual he was waiting and hoping for some unexpected change in his situation， which would save him from any unpleasantness.

戈弗雷離開餐廳，他為父親沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)全部實情長出一口氣?？墒牵行母赣H會為他安排和南茜的婚事。雖然娶南茜是他最熱切的愿望，但他不可能既娶莫麗，又娶南茜。不過，像往常一樣，他等待并希望著會發(fā)生一些意想不到的變化，把自己從所有這些麻煩中解脫出來。