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The troop of cavalry had been organized three months before, the very day that Georgia seceded from the Union, and since then the recruits had been whistling for war. The outfit was as yet unnamed, though not for want of suggestions. Everyone had his own idea on that subject and was loath to relinquish it, just as everyone had ideas about the color and cut of the uniforms. “Clayton Wild Cats,” “Fire Eaters,” “North Georgia Hussars,” “Zouaves,” “The Inland Rifles” (although the Troop was to be armed with pistols, sabers and bowie knives, and not with rifles), “The Clayton Grays,” “The Blood and Thunderers,” “The Rough and Readys,” all had their adherents. Until matters were settled, everyone referred to the organization as the Troop and, despite the high-sounding name finally adopted, they were known to the end of their usefulness simply as “The Troop.”
騎兵營(yíng)是三個(gè)月前佐治亞州脫離聯(lián)邦那天成立起來(lái)的，從那以后那些入伍的新兵便一直在盼望打仗。至今這個(gè)組織還沒(méi)有命名，盡管已經(jīng)有了種種方案。對(duì)于這個(gè)問(wèn)題，正像對(duì)于軍服的顏色和式樣什么的，每個(gè)人都有自己的主張，并且都不愿意放棄。什么"克萊頓野貓"啦，"暴躁人"啦，"北佐治亞輕騎兵"啦，"義勇軍"，"內(nèi)地步槍兵"啦（盡管這個(gè)營(yíng)將是用手槍、軍刀和單刃獵刀而不是用步槍來(lái)裝備"克萊頓灰衣人"啦，"血與怒吼者"啦，"莽漢和應(yīng)聲出擊者"啦，所有這些名稱都不乏附和者。在問(wèn)題沒(méi)有解決之前，大家都稱呼這個(gè)組織為"營(yíng)"，而且，不管最終采用的名稱多么響亮，他們始終用的是簡(jiǎn)簡(jiǎn)單單的一個(gè)"營(yíng)"字。
The officers were elected by the members, for no one in the County had had any military experience except a few veterans of the Mexican and Seminole wars and, besides, the Troop would have scorned a veteran as a leader if they had not personally liked him and trusted him. Everyone liked the four Tarleton boys and the three Fontaines, but regretfully refused to elect them, because the Tarletons got lickered up too quickly and liked to skylark, and the Fontaines had such quick, murderous tempers. Ashley Wilkes was elected captain, because he was the best rider in the County and because his cool head was counted on to keep some semblance of order. Raiford Calvert was made first lieutenant, because everybody liked Raif, and Abel Wynder, son of a swamp trapper, himself a small farmer, was elected second lieutenant.
軍官由大家選舉，因?yàn)槿h除了參加過(guò)墨西哥戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)和塞米諾爾戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的少數(shù)幾個(gè)老兵外，誰(shuí)也沒(méi)有軍事經(jīng)驗(yàn)；而且，如果大家并不喜歡和不信任他，要讓一個(gè)老兵當(dāng)頭領(lǐng)也只會(huì)引起全營(yíng)的蔑視。大家全都喜歡塔爾頓家四個(gè)小伙子和方丹家三兄弟，不過(guò)令人遺憾的是都不愿意選舉他們，因?yàn)樗栴D家的人太容易喝醉酒和喜歡玩樂(lè)，鉭方丹兄弟又非常性急和暴躁。結(jié)果艾希禮·威爾克斯被選做隊(duì)長(zhǎng)了，因?yàn)槭撬强h里最出色的騎手，而且頭腦冷靜，大伙相信他還能維持某種表面的秩序。雷弗德·卡爾弗特是人人都喜愛(ài)的，被任命為上尉，而艾布爾·溫德，那個(gè)沼澤地捕獵手的兒子（他本人是小農(nóng)），則被選做中尉了。
