'Well, well,' said the lawyer, when I had finished, 'what an exciting adventure! You will have to write it down one day! I had heard of you, Mr David, from your friends in Essendean, who wrote to me when they had no word from you. Your uncle then told me that he had given you money to study in Europe, but I did not think that was true. I'm afraid we all know that Ebenezer Balfour is not a very good or honest man! Then Captain Hoseason appeared, saying that you were lost when his ship went down. But now I understand what really happened, and I know that you are David Balfour.' He put a hand on my shoulder in a fatherly way and continued. 'You'll want to know about the house of Shaws. It's a strange story. When they were young, your father Alexander and his younger brother Ebenezer loved the same girl. Your father was always a kind, loving brother, so when the girl decided to marry him, Alexander left Cramond and let Ebenezer have the house and farmland. Well, I think it was a bad mistake. What happened was that your parents were always very poor, and Ebenezer became more and more interested in money. He never married, of course.'
“唔，唔，”我講完以后律師說道，“多驚險的經歷啊！你真應該有朝一日把它寫下來！我曾經從你在埃森丁的朋友那里聽說過你，戴維先生，他們在沒有你的消息時曾經寫信給我。當時你的叔叔告訴我說他已經給你錢讓你在歐洲學習，但我當時就想那不是真的。我想我們都知道埃比尼澤·鮑爾弗先生并不是一個好人或老實人！后來霍齊亞森船長出現了，說他的船下沉時你就不見了。但現在我知道真的發生了什么事。我知道你就是戴維·鮑爾弗。”他慈父般地把手放在我的肩上并繼續說：“你可能想知道肖家大院的有關情況。是一個奇特的故事。你父親亞歷山大和他的弟弟埃比尼澤年輕時愛上了同一個女孩。你父親一直是一個友善的、討人喜歡的兄弟，所以那個女孩決定嫁給他時他便離開了克萊蒙德并把房子和農田留給了埃比尼澤。唔，我想這是一個大錯。所發生的事情是，你的父母一直很窮，而埃比尼澤越來越對金錢感興趣。他從未結婚，當然了。”
'Well, sir,' I said, 'and now, what will happen?'
“那么，先生，”我說，“現在又會怎么樣呢？”
'Now that your father is dead,' replied the lawyer, 'you own the house of Shaws and the farms around it. But Ebenezer won't accept that, and it will be expensive if he wants us to prove it in court. In fact, we must stay out of court, if possible. The kidnapping will be difficult to prove, and we don't want people asking questions abut your friend Mr Thomson. No, I think that we should leave Ebenezer at Shaws, where he's been for twenty-five years, and ask him to pay you some money every year, instead of giving you the house. What do you think?'
“既然你的父親去世了，”律師回答說，“你就擁有肖家大院和周圍的農場。但埃比尼澤不會接受，如果他要我們在法庭上證明這一點那將花銷很大。事實上我們必須盡可能不去法庭。這次誘拐很難證明，我們也不愿意讓別人問一些關于你朋友湯姆森的問題。對，我想我們應該讓埃比尼澤留在肖家大院，他在那兒已經待了25年了。而且我們可以要求他每年給你一些錢而不是要他把房子還你。你認為怎么樣？”
'That sounds excellent to me, sir,' I replied. 'But I think that we could accuse my uncle of kidnapping me. It's easier to prove than you think. Listen,' and I described my plan to him.
“那樣聽起來很棒，先生。”我回答，“但我想我們可以控告我叔叔誘拐了我。證明起來比你想像得容易。聽著，”我然后向他描述了我的計劃。
He was very pleased with it. 'Yes, Mr David, very good! If we can catch Ebenezer like that, he can't refuse to give you some of the money that belongs to you!' He called to his secretary, Torrance. 'You must come with us tonight, Torrance. You'll have to listen to the conversation you hear，and write it all down. And bring the Balfour papers with you.' Then he turned to me. 'But if I accept your plan, Mr David, I'll have to meet your friend Mr Thomson, who may be,I only say may be, a criminal.' He was silent for a while, thinking deeply, then went on, 'Well, let's talk of something different. Do you know, the other day, I saw Torrance in the street? But because I wasn't wearing my glasses, I didn't recognize him! My own secretary! Ha-ha-ha!' and he laughed happily at himself.
他對此很高興。“是，戴維先生，很好！如果我們能那樣套住埃比尼澤的話，他不可能拒絕把本屬于你的一些錢還給你！”他大叫他的秘書托倫斯：“你必須今晚和我們一起來，托倫斯。你必須認真聽你聽到的，并將其記錄下來。并且帶來與鮑爾弗家族有關的文件。”接著他轉身對我說：“但是如果我接受了你的計劃，戴維先生，我必須見一下你的朋友湯姆森先生。他可能是，我只是說可能是，一個罪犯。”他沉默了一會兒，沉思著，然后接著說；“好了，讓我們聊一下別的什么事情。你知道嗎？前幾天我在街上看見了托倫斯，但因為當時我沒帶眼鏡，我沒有認出他來！我自己的秘書！哈哈哈！”他還自嘲地開懷大笑。
I smiled politely. 'Perhaps he's getting old,' I thought.
我禮貌地微微一笑。“可能他變老了，”我想。
But later that evening, when Mr Rankeillor, Torrance and I were walking out of Queensferry, the lawyer suddenly cried out, laughing, 'Well, how stupid of me! I've forgotten my glasses!' And I understood why he had told met he story about Torrance. Now he could meet Alan, a man wanted for murder, and if the soldiers asked him later for information he could say that he never saw Alan clearly and could not possibly recognize him.
但這之后那天晚上，我、蘭基勒先生和托倫斯走出昆斯費里后，蘭基勒這位律師突然笑著叫道：“唉，我多思蠢！我忘了我的眼鏡！”于是我明白了他為什么給我講托倫斯的故事。他現在可以見到正被人通緝捉拿的艾倫了，一旦士兵日后問他有關情況，他會講他從未看清艾倫，也不可能認出他。
When we arrived near Alan's hiding-place, I whistled the little Highland song. When he appeared, we explained to him what we wanted him to do, and he readily agreed.
當我們靠近艾倫隱蔽的地方時，我用口哨吹起了那首高地小曲。艾倫出來以后，我們對他解釋想讓他做什么，他欣然同意了。
So the four of us continued walking until we reached the house of Shaws.
于是我們四個人繼續前行，直到到了肖家大院。
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