評(píng)論
打印
'I should go away, Captain Cuttle,' said Walter.'Dursn't do it, Wal'r,' returned the Captain. 'She'd find me out, wherever I went. Sit down. How's Gills?'
“我就要離開(kāi)這里，卡特爾船長(zhǎng)，”沃爾特說(shuō)道。“別走，沃爾，”船長(zhǎng)回答道。“我不論走到哪里，她都會(huì)把我找到的。請(qǐng)坐。吉爾斯好嗎？”
The Captain was dining (in his hat) off cold loin of mutton, porter, and some smoking hot potatoes, which he had cooked himself, and took out of a little saucepan before the fire as he wanted them. He unscrewed his hook at dinner-time, and screwed a knife into its wooden socket instead, with which he had already begun to peel one of these potatoes for Walter. His rooms were very small, and strongly impregnated with tobacco-smoke, but snug enough: everything being stowed away, as if there were an earthquake regularly every half-hour.
船長(zhǎng)戴著帽子，正在吃午飯：冷的羊腰子、黑啤酒和幾個(gè)冒著熱氣的土豆。土豆是他自己煮的，他需要吃的時(shí)候，就從火爐前面的一只有柄的小平底鍋中取出。吃飯的時(shí)候，他解下鉤子，把一把小刀插進(jìn)木制的插口里；他已經(jīng)用這把小刀開(kāi)始為沃爾特把一個(gè)土豆的皮剝?nèi)チ恕Ｋ姆块g很小，充滿(mǎn)了濃烈的吸煙草散發(fā)出的氣味，但卻十分溫暖舒適。所有的東西都收藏了起來(lái)，仿佛這里每隔半小時(shí)就要發(fā)生一次地震似的。
'How's Gills?' inquired the Captain.
“吉爾斯好嗎？”船長(zhǎng)問(wèn)道。
Walter, who had by this time recovered his breath, and lost his spirits - or such temporary spirits as his rapid journey had given him - looked at his questioner for a moment, said 'Oh, Captain Cuttle!' and burst into tears.
沃爾特這時(shí)已經(jīng)緩過(guò)氣來(lái)，但卻喪失了情緒——或者可以說(shuō)是喪失了一種由于急速趕路而暫時(shí)振奮起來(lái)的情緒。他向問(wèn)他的人望了一會(huì)兒，說(shuō)道，“啊，卡特爾船長(zhǎng)！”然后，就流出了眼淚。
No words can describe the Captain's consternation at this sight Mrs MacStinger faded into nothing before it. He dropped the potato and the fork - and would have dropped the knife too if he could - and sat gazing at the boy, as if he expected to hear next moment that a gulf had opened in the City, which had swallowed up his old friend, coffee-coloured suit, buttons, chronometer, spectacles, and all.
船長(zhǎng)看到這種情景時(shí)的驚恐是不能用言語(yǔ)形容的。面對(duì)著這種情形，麥克斯廷杰太太已完全消失了。土豆和叉子從他手中掉下——如果可能的話，小刀也會(huì)掉下的——，他坐在那里凝視著這個(gè)孩子，仿佛他預(yù)料立刻就會(huì)聽(tīng)到，城里的土地已經(jīng)裂開(kāi)一個(gè)深坑，它已經(jīng)把他的老朋友、他的咖啡色外衣、鈕扣、精密計(jì)時(shí)表、眼鏡以及一切都吞沒(méi)了。
But when Walter told him what was really the matter, Captain Cuttle, after a moment's reflection, started up into full activity. He emptied out of a little tin canister on the top shelf of the cupboard, his whole stock of ready money (amounting to thirteen pounds and half-a-crown), which he transferred to one of the pockets of his square blue coat; further enriched that repository with the contents of his plate chest, consisting of two withered atomies of tea-spoons, and an obsolete pair of knock-knee'd sugar-tongs; pulled up his immense double-cased silver watch from the depths in which it reposed, to assure himself that that valuable was sound and whole; re-attached the hook to his right wrist; and seizing the stick covered over with knobs, bade Walter come along.
但是當(dāng)沃爾特把事實(shí)真相告訴他之后，卡特爾船長(zhǎng)沉思了片刻，就立刻非常活躍地行動(dòng)起來(lái)。他從碗柜頂層隔板上的一個(gè)小錫罐中倒出他存有的全部現(xiàn)錢(qián)（總共是十三鎊零半個(gè)克朗①），并把它們裝進(jìn)他的寬大的藍(lán)色上衣的一個(gè)口袋中，接著他又把餐具箱子中所存有的東西充實(shí)到這個(gè)儲(chǔ)藏所中。餐具箱子中所存有的是兩只干癟的、不像原形的茶匙和一副舊式的彎曲的方糖箱子。他又把他那只很大的、有雙層外殼的銀表從它安息的深處拉了出來(lái)，以便確信這個(gè)珍貴的物品完好無(wú)損；然后他把鉤子重新擰緊到右腕上，拿起那根有好多節(jié)的手杖，囑咐沃爾特動(dòng)身。
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①克朗：舊時(shí)英國(guó)的硬幣，一克朗等于五先令。
Remembering, however, in the midst of his virtuous excitement, that Mrs MacStinger might be lying in wait below, Captain Cuttle hesitated at last, not without glancing at the window, as if he had some thoughts of escaping by that unusual means of egress, rather than encounter his terrible enemy. He decided, however, in favour of stratagem.
可是他在這種由于道德高尚而激發(fā)的興奮中仍然記得，麥克斯廷杰太太可能在下面等待著，所以卡特爾船長(zhǎng)最后猶豫起來(lái)，甚至還往窗子看了一眼，仿佛他腦子里閃出這樣的念頭：寧可從這個(gè)不尋常的出口逃走，也不要碰見(jiàn)他那個(gè)可怕的敵人；可是他決定采用計(jì)謀。
