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Sam was sorry;
山姆很遺憾，
sorry he hadn’t been braver, or stronger, or good with swords,
他遺憾自己既不勇敢，也不強壯；他遺憾自己不會用武器；
that he hadn’t been a better son to his father and a better brother to Dickon and the girls.
他遺憾自己不是父親的好兒子，不是狄肯和姑娘們的好兄弟；
He was sorry to die too, but better men had died on the Fist, good men and true, not squeaking fat boys like him.
他也遺憾自己即將死去。那么多優秀的人在拳峰上死去，他們堅強可靠，不像我，是個只會尖叫的胖小子。
At least he would not have the Old Bear hunting him through hell, though.
至少熊老不會到七重地獄來追我。
I got the birds off. I did that right, at least.
我把鳥送了出去，盡到了職責。
He had written out the messages ahead of time, short messages and simple,
其實信息是他提前寫就的，極簡短，只有一句話：
telling of an attack on the Fist of the First Men, and then he had tucked them away safe in his parchment pouch,
我們在先民拳峰上遭到攻擊。他一直將其安穩地塞在裝羊皮紙的袋子里，
hoping he would never need to send them.
期望永遠無需送出。
When the horns blew Sam had been sleeping.
號角吹響時，山姆在睡覺。
He thought he was dreaming them at first,
起初他以為自己夢到了號角聲，
but when he opened his eyes snow was falling on the camp and the black brothers were all grabbing bows and spears and running toward the ringwall.
但睜開眼睛，雪正飄落在營地里，黑衣兄弟們都抓起弓箭和長矛，奔向環墻。
Chett was the only one nearby, Maester Aemon’s old steward with the face full of boils and the big wen on his neck.
附近只有齊特，他是伊蒙學士從前的事務官，臉頰長滿癤子，脖子上還有一個大粉瘤。
Sam had never seen so much fear on a man’s face as he saw on Chett’s when that third blast came moaning through the trees.
當第三聲號角自樹叢中呻吟著傳來，山姆從沒見過一個人能如此恐懼。
“Help me get the birds off,” he pleaded, but the other steward had turned and run off, dagger in hand.
“幫我把鳥放出去，”他請求，但對方轉身就跑，手里還拿著匕首。
He has the dogs to care for, Sam remembered.
他得去照顧獵狗，山姆想起來，
Probably the Lord Commander had given him some orders as well.
或許總司令也給他下了命令。
His fingers had been so stiff and clumsy in the gloves, and he was shaking from fear and cold,
手套里的指頭異常僵硬笨拙，并因恐懼和寒冷而顫抖，
but he found the parchment pouch and dug out the messages he’d written.
他好歹找到裝羊皮紙的口袋，拔出事先寫的短信。
The ravens were shrieking furiously, and when he opened the Castle Black cage one of them flew right in his face.
烏鴉們狂亂地咶噪，當他打開來自黑城堡的籠子，其中一只鳥頓時直沖向他的臉，
Two more escaped before Sam could catch one, and when he did it pecked him through his glove, drawing blood.
在他抓到另一只之前又有兩只逃走，而被他抓住的烏鴉，隔著手套將他的手啄出了血。
Yet somehow he held on long enough to attach the little roll of parchment.
他死命不放，得以將那一小卷羊皮紙捆上。
The warhorn had fallen silent by then, but the Fist rang with shouted commands and the clatter of steel.
此時號聲已歇，先民拳峰上充斥著發號施令和鋼鐵碰撞聲。
“Fly!” Sam called as he tossed the raven into the air.
“飛吧！”山姆大喊，將烏鴉拋向空中。
The birds in the Shadow Tower cage were screaming and fluttering about so madly that he was afraid to open the door, but he made himself do it anyway.
來自影子塔的籠子里的鳥尖叫撲騰得如此瘋狂，以至于他害怕得不敢開門，只好強迫自己。
This time he caught the first raven that tried to escape.
這次他逮住了第一只試圖逃走的烏鴉，
A moment later, it was clawing its way up through the falling snow, bearing word of the attack.
片刻之后，它載著消息在飛雪中上升離開。
His duty done, he finished dressing with clumsy, frightened fingers,
職責履行完畢，接下來他用嚇得笨拙的手指戴上帽子，
donning his cap and surcoat and hooded cloak and buckling on his swordbelt, buckling it real tight so it wouldn’t fall down.
穿上外套和兜帽斗蓬，緊緊扣上劍帶，使它不至于滑落，
Then he found his pack and stuffed all his things inside, spare smallclothes and dry socks,
然后找到包裹，將所有東西塞進去：備用內衣，干襪子，
the dragonglass arrowheads and spearhead Jon had given him and the old horn too,
瓊恩給的龍晶箭頭和矛尖，那只舊的戰號，
his parchments, inks, and quills, the maps he’d been drawing, and a rock-hard garlic sausage he’d been saving since the Wall.
羊皮紙，墨水，鵝毛筆，先前畫的地圖，外加從長城帶來、一直保存著的一段石頭般硬的蒜腸。
He tied it all up and shouldered the pack onto his back.
他系好包裹，把它扛到背上。
The Lord Commander said I wasn’t to rush to the ringwall, he recalled, but he said I shouldn’t come running to him either.
總司令說我不用上環墻，他心想，也叫我不要跑去問他。
Sam took a deep breath and realized that he did not know what to do next.
山姆深深吸口氣，意識到自己不知道下一步該怎么辦。
He remembered turning in a circle, lost, the fear growing inside him as it always did.
他迷亂地轉圈，恐懼一如既往在體內增長。
There were dogs barking and horses trumpeting, but the snow muffled the sounds and made them seem far away.
狗吠，馬嘶，經由大雪的壓制，聽起來似乎都很遙遠。
Sam could see nothing beyond three yards, not even the torches burning along the low stone wall that ringed the crown of the hill.
三碼以外，什么都看不清，甚至環繞山頂的矮石墻上燃燒的火炬也不例外。
Could the torches have gone out?
難道火炬熄滅了？
That was too scary to think about.
這個想法太可怕。
The horn blew thrice long, three long blasts means Others.
三聲長長的號角，三聲代表異鬼來襲。
The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy,
它們是林間的白鬼，冰冷的陰影，小時侯，這些故事令他尖叫顫抖。
riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood …
騎著巨大的冰蜘蛛，追逐熱血……
Awkwardly he drew his sword, and plodded heavily through the snow holding it.
他笨手笨腳地拔劍出鞘，在雪地沉重跋涉。
A dog ran past barking, and he saw some of the men from the Shadow Tower, big bearded men with longaxes and eight-foot spears.
一條狗從面前吠叫著跑過。他看到一些影子塔來的人，留大胡子，拿著長柄斧和八尺長矛。
