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As the storks flew northward the Negroes were marching southward-a long, dusty column, infantry,screw-gun batteries, and then more infantry, four or five thousand men in all, winding up the road with a clumping of boots and a clatter of iron wheels.
白鸛鼓翼被去時，黑人正行軍南下-一列長長的滿身征塵的隊伍：步兵，炮隊，接著又是更多的步兵，總共大約四五千人，正靴聲橐橐，車聲轔轔地蜿蜒前行。
They were Senegalese, the blackest Negroes in Africa, so black that sometimes it is difficult to see whereabouts on their necks the hair begins. Their splendid bodies were hidden in reach-me-down khaki uniforms, their feet squashed into boots that looked like blocks of wood, and every tin hat seemed to be a couple of sizes too small. It was very hot and the men had marched a long way. They slumped under the weight of their packs and the curiously sensitive black faces were glistening with sweat.
他們是塞內加爾人，是非洲膚色最黑的人--黑得簡直難以看清他們頸項上的頭發從何處生起。他們健碩的身軀罩在舊的卡其布制服里面，腳上套著一雙看上去像塊木板似的靴子，每個人頭上戴著的鋼盔似乎都小了一兩號。天氣正熱,隊伍已經走了很長一段路，士兵們都被沉重的包袱壓得疲憊不堪，敏感得出奇的黑臉頰上汗水閃閃發光。
As they went past, a tall, very young Negro turned and caught my eye. But the look he gave me was not in the least the kind of look you might expect. Not hostile, not contemptuous, not sullen, not even inquisitive. It was the shy, wide-eyed Negro look, which actually is a look of profound respect. I saw how it was. This wretched boy, who is a French citizen and has therefore been dragged from the forest to scrub floors and catch syphilis in garrison towns, actually has feelings of reverence before a white skin. He has been taught that the white race are his masters, and he still believes it.
當他們走過時，一個身體欣長，年紀很輕的黑人回頭后顧，和我的目光相遇。他的那種目光完全超出人們意料之外。既不帶敵意，又不含輕蔑，也沒有慍怒，甚至連好奇的成分都沒有。那是一種羞怯的，瞪圓雙眼的黑人的目光，實際上就是一種表示深厚敬意的目光。這種情況我是了解的。這可憐的小伙子，因為成了法國公民，所以被從森林里拉出來送到軍隊駐扎的城鎮去擦洗地板，并染上了梅毒。他對于白種人的確是滿懷敬意的。過去別人教導他說白種人是他的主人，對此他至今深信不疑。
