評(píng)論
打印
She did not ask them to sit. She just stood in the door and listened quietly until the spokesman came to a stumbling halt. Then they could hear the invisible watch ticking at the end of the gold chain.
她并沒有叫他們坐下，而是徑直站在門口，一聲不吭地聽著，直到發(fā)言代表結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說完。這時(shí)，只聽見有滴答滴答的聲音，那是金鏈另一端隱沒在褲袋里的懷表發(fā)出來的聲音。
Her voice was dry and cold. "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Colonel Sartoris explained it to me. Perhaps one of you can gain access to the city records and satisfy yourselves."
她說起話來，聲音冷酷無情。“杰斐遜時(shí)，我無須納稅。薩特里斯上校早已給我交代過了。興許你們可以派個(gè)人去査一査鎮(zhèn)政府檔案，事情就清楚了。”
But we have. We are the city authorities, Miss Emily. Didn't you get a notice from the sheriff, signed by him?
“可我們査過了。艾米莉小姐，我們就是鎮(zhèn)政府當(dāng)局的。難道你沒有收到司法長(zhǎng)官親手簽署的通知嗎？”
I received a paper, yes, Miss Emily said. "Perhaps he considers himself the sheriff.... I have no taxes in Jefferson."
“不錯(cuò)，我是收到過一張紙，”艾米莉小姐說道，“司法長(zhǎng)官，也許他真把自己當(dāng)回事……杰斐遜時(shí)，我無須納稅。”
But there is nothing on the books to show that, you see. We must go by the—
“可是，納稅冊(cè)上并沒有無須納稅的說明，要知道，我們必須依……”
See Colonel Sartoris. I have no taxes in Jefferson.
“找薩特里斯上校要去。杰斐遜時(shí)，我無須納稅。”
But, Miss Emily—
“可是，艾米莉小姐……”
See Colonel Sartoris. (Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years.) "I have no taxes in Jefferson. Tobe!" The Negro appeared. "Show these gentlemen out."
“找薩特里斯上校要去（薩特里斯上校已經(jīng)死了將近十年了），杰斐遜時(shí)，我無須納稅。托布！”黑奴應(yīng)聲而來。“把這些紳士們給我?guī)С鋈ァ！?/div>
Ⅱ
第二節(jié)
So she vanquished them, horse and foot, just as she had vanquished their fathers thirty years before about the smell. That was two years after her father's death and a short time after her sweetheart—the one we believed would marry her—had deserted her. After her father's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all. A few of the ladies had the temerity to call, but were not received, and the only sign of life about the place was the Negro man—a young man then—going in and out with a market basket.
就這樣，艾米莉把他們一個(gè)一個(gè)地完全收拾了，這種場(chǎng)面在三十年前也發(fā)生過，他們的父輩因熏天臭氣而鬧事，她照樣把他們的父輩給收拾了。那事發(fā)生在她父親死后兩年，也就是她的心上人——我們一直以為一定會(huì)與結(jié)婚的那個(gè)人——拋棄她后不久才發(fā)生的事。父親死后，她很少出門；但心上人走了后人們幾乎再也沒有看到她的身影了。有幾個(gè)冒失的女人曾去過她的家，但卻吃了閉門羹。房屋四周唯一的生命跡象就是那個(gè)黑人——當(dāng)時(shí)他很年輕——拎著菜籃子進(jìn)進(jìn)出出。
