評論
打印
'Wal'r,' said the Captain, with a timid wink, 'go afore, my lad. Sing out, "good-bye, Captain Cuttle," when you're in the passage, and shut the door. Then wait at the corner of the street 'till you see me.
“沃爾，”船長膽怯地眨眨眼睛，說道，“你先走，我的孩子。當你走到走廊里的時候，你就大聲喊道，‘再見，卡特爾船長，’再把門關上。然后你在街道拐角里等著我，直到我們見面為止。”
These directions were not issued without a previous knowledge of the enemy's tactics, for when Walter got downstairs, Mrs MacStinger glided out of the little back kitchen, like an avenging spirit. But not gliding out upon the Captain, as she had expected, she merely made a further allusion to the knocker, and glided in again.
這些指示是預先知道敵人的策略才發出的，因為當沃爾特走下樓的時候，麥克斯廷杰太太像一個復仇的妖魔一樣，從后面的小廚房中悄悄地溜了出來，但是沒有像她原先期望的那樣碰上船長，她只是再一次暗示了一下門環的事，就又悄悄地溜回廚房里去了。
Some five minutes elapsed before Captain Cuttle could summon courage to attempt his escape; for Walter waited so long at the street corner, looking back at the house, before there were any symptoms of the hard glazed hat. At length the Captain burst out of the door with the suddenness of an explosion, and coming towards him at a great pace, and never once looking over his shoulder, pretended, as soon as they were well out of the street, to whistle a tune.
大約過了五分鐘光景，卡特爾船長才鼓起勇氣來設法逃走；因為沃爾特在街道拐角等了好久，一直回頭看看那座房屋，但卻沒有看到那頂上了光的硬帽子的任何影子。終于，船長像爆炸一樣突然地沖出到門外，大步地向他走來，一次也沒有回頭去看；當他們一離開這條街的時候，他就假裝吹口哨。
'Uncle much hove down, Wal'r?' inquired the Captain, as they were walking along.
“舅舅的情緒很低沉吧，沃爾？”他們向前走去的時候，船長問道。
'I am afraid so. If you had seen him this morning, you would never have forgotten it.'
“我擔心是這樣。如果您今天早上看到他的話，那么您將永遠忘不了他的那副神情。”
'Walk fast, Wal'r, my lad,' returned the Captain, mending his pace; 'and walk the same all the days of your life. Overhaul the catechism for that advice, and keep it!'
“快些走，沃爾，我的孩子，”船長加快步伐，回答道，“你這一輩子永遠用這同樣的步子走路。請查一下《教義問答》，并記住這句忠告。”
The Captain was too busy with his own thoughts of Solomon Gills, mingled perhaps with some reflections on his late escape from Mrs MacStinger, to offer any further quotations on the way for Walter's moral improvement They interchanged no other word until they arrived at old Sol's door, where the unfortunate wooden Midshipman, with his instrument at his eye, seemed to be surveying the whole horizon in search of some friend to help him out of his difficulty.
船長心中只顧想到所羅門·吉爾斯，也許也夾雜著他剛剛從麥克斯廷杰太太那里逃出來的回憶，所以沒有再引用其他的話來幫助沃爾特來進一步完善他的德行。在他們到達老所爾的家門口之前，他們沒有交談其他的話；不幸的木制海軍軍官候補生手里拿著儀器在老所爾家的門口似乎正在向地平線眺望著，想要找一位朋友來幫助他擺脫困境。
'Gills!' said the Captain, hurrying into the back parlour, and taking him by the hand quite tenderly. 'Lay your head well to the wind, and we'll fight through it. All you've got to do,' said the Captain, with the solemnity of a man who was delivering himself of one of the most precious practical tenets ever discovered by human wisdom, 'is to lay your head well to the wind, and we'll fight through it!'
“吉爾斯！”船長急忙跑到后客廳里，十分親切地握著他的手。“昂起頭來迎著風，我們將會戰勝它。”船長像一個正在傳達人類智慧所發現的最為寶貴、最切合實際的教義的人那樣莊嚴地說道。“你應該做的一切，就是昂起頭來迎著風，我們將會戰勝它！”
Old Sol returned the pressure of his hand, and thanked him.
老所爾緊緊地握著他的手，并且謝謝他。
Captain Cuttle, then, with a gravity suitable to the nature of the occasion, put down upon the table the two tea-spoons and the sugar-tongs, the silver watch, and the ready money; and asked Mr Brogley, the broker, what the damage was.
然后卡特爾船長以在這種場合適宜的莊重的神態，在桌子上放下那兩只茶匙，那副方糖箝子，那只銀表和現錢，同時問經紀人布羅格利先生，需要償付多少錢。
