評論
打印
I will tell her when she is a little calmer.
“等她心情平靜一些的時候我會告訴她的。”
Dirk, filled with compassion, begged her to take the message at once.
戴爾克心頭充滿了無限悲憫，請求她立刻把這句話說給她聽。
It may cure her. I beseech you to ask her now.
“也許這會治好她的病的。我求求你現在就去問她吧。”
With a faint smile of pity, the nurse went back into the room. We heard her low voice, and then, in a voice I did not recognise the answer:
護士的臉上泛起一絲憐憫的笑容，走進病室。我們聽到她低聲說了兩句什么，接著就是一個我辨認不出的聲音在回答：
No. No. No.
“不，不，不。”
The nurse came out again and shook her head.
護士走出來，搖了搖頭。
Was that she who spoke then? I asked. "Her voice sounded so strange."
“剛才是她在說話嗎？”我問。“她的嗓音全變了。”
It appears that her vocal cords have been burnt by the acid.
“她的聲帶似乎被酸液燒壞了。”
Dirk gave a low cry of distress. I asked him to go on and wait for me at the entrance, for I wanted to say something to the nurse. He did not ask what it was, but went silently. He seemed to have lost all power of will; he was like an obedient child.
戴爾克發出一聲痛苦的低聲叫喊。我叫他先到外面去，在進門的地方等著我，因為我要同護士說幾句話。他并沒有問我要說什么，便悶聲不響地走開了。他好象失去了全部意志力，象個聽話的小孩似地任憑別人支使。
Has she told you why she did it? I asked.
“她對你說過沒有，為什么她做出這件事來？”我問護士說。
No. She won't speak. She lies on her back quite quietly. She doesn't move for hours at a time. But she cries always. Her pillow is all wet. She's too weak to use a handkerchief, and the tears just run down her face.
“沒有。她什么話也不說。她安安靜靜地仰面躺著，有時候一連幾個鐘頭一動也不動。但是她卻不停地流眼淚，連枕頭都流濕了。她身體非常虛弱，連手帕也不會使用，就讓眼淚從臉上往下淌。”
It gave me a sudden wrench of the heart-strings. I could have killed Strickland then, and I knew that my voice was trembling when I bade the nurse good-bye.
我突然感到心弦一陣絞痛。要是思特里克蘭德在我跟前，我真能當時就把他殺死。當我同護士告別的時候，我知道連自己的聲音都顫抖起來了。
I found Dirk waiting for me on the steps. He seemed to see nothing, and did not notice that I had joined him till I touched him on the arm. We walked along in silence. I tried to imagine what had happened to drive the poor creature to that dreadful step. I presumed that Strickland knew what had happened, for someone must have been to see him from the police, and he must have made his statement. I did not know where he was. I supposed he had gone back to the shabby attic which served him as a studio. It was curious that she should not wish to see him. Perhaps she refused to have him sent for because she knew he would refuse to come. I wondered what an abyss of cruelty she must have looked into that in horror she refused to live.
我發現戴爾克正在門口臺階上等著我。他好象什么都沒看見，直到我觸到他的胳臂時，他才發覺我已經站到他身邊。我們兩個默默無言地向回走。我拼命地想象，究竟發生了什么事逼得這個可憐的人兒走上這條絕路。我猜想思特里克蘭德已經知道發生的這個不幸事件了，因為警察局一定已經派人找過他，聽取了他的證詞。我不知道思特里克蘭德現在在哪里。說不定他已經回到那間他當作畫室的簡陋的閣樓去了。她不想同他見面倒是有些奇怪。也許她不肯叫人去找他是因為她知道他絕不會來。我很想知道，她看到了一個什么樣的悲慘的無底深淵才恐懼絕望、不想再活下去。
