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'It's no very precious appointment,' observed Mr Carker, taking up a pen, with which to endorse a memorandum on the back of the paper. 'I hope he may bestow it on some orphan nephew of a musical friend. It may perhaps stop his fiddle-playing, if he has a gift that way. Who's that? Come in!'
“這不是一項很重要的任命，”卡克先生取出一支筆，在公文背面簽署了意見。“我想他可能把這個職位贈送給一位孤兒，他一位音樂朋友的侄子了。它也許會終止他的提琴演奏，如果他有那方面的天賦的話。是誰？進來吧！”
'I beg your pardon, Mr Carker. I didn't know you were here, Sir,' answered Walter; appearing with some letters in his hand, unopened, and newly arrived. 'Mr Carker the junior, Sir - '
“請原諒，卡克先生。我不知道您在這里，先生，”沃爾特手里拿了幾封沒有啟封的新到的信件，走進來，回答道：
“是低級職員卡克先生，先生——”
At the mention of this name, Mr Carker the Manager was or affected to be, touched to the quick with shame and humiliation. He cast his eyes full on Mr Dombey with an altered and apologetic look, abased them on the ground, and remained for a moment without speaking.
經理卡克先生一聽到這個名字，立刻被觸到了痛處，感到羞恥與屈辱，或者裝出這種樣子；他換了一副抱歉的神色，低垂著眼睛，注視著董貝先生，片刻間一言不發。
'I thought, Sir,' he said suddenly and angrily, turning on Walter, 'that you had been before requested not to drag Mr Carker the Junior into your conversation.'
“我想，先生，”他突然怒沖沖地轉身對著沃爾特，說道：“我以前曾經請求您在談話中別把低級職員卡克先生扯進來的 。”
'I beg your pardon,' returned Walter. 'I was only going to say that Mr Carker the Junior had told me he believed you were gone out, or I should not have knocked at the door when you were engaged with Mr Dombey. These are letters for Mr Dombey, Sir.'
“請您原諒，”沃爾特回答道。“我只是想要說，低級職員卡克先生告訴我，他想您出去了；否則，您與董貝先生正有事商談的時候，我就不會來敲門了。這些是給董貝先生的信，先生。”
'Very well, Sir,' returned Mr Carker the Manager, plucking them sharply from his hand. 'Go about your business.'
“很好，先生，”經理卡克先生把信從他手里猛搶過去，回答道。“回去干您的事情去吧。”
But in taking them with so little ceremony, Mr Carker dropped one on the floor, and did not see what he had done; neither did Mr Dombey observe the letter lying near his feet. Walter hesitated for a moment, thinking that one or other of them would notice it; but finding that neither did, he stopped, came back, picked it up, and laid it himself on Mr Dombey's desk. The letters were post-letters; and it happened that the one in question was Mrs Pipchin's regular report, directed as usual - for Mrs Pipchin was but an indifferent penwoman - by Florence. Mr Dombey, having his attention silently called to this letter by Walter, started, and looked fiercely at him, as if he believed that he had purposely selected it from all the rest.
可是卡克先生把信拿到手里那樣隨便無禮，因此他把一封信掉在地上了，而且他自己還沒有注意到這一點。董貝先生也沒有留意到掉在他腳邊的那封信。沃爾特遲疑了一會兒，心想他們兩人當中這一位或那一位會注意到的，但發現他們誰也沒有注意到，他就停下腳步，走回來，把它撿起來，親自擱在董貝先生的辦公桌上。這些信都是郵寄來的；我們提到的這封信碰巧是皮普欽太太的定期報告，寄發地址像往常一樣，是由弗洛倫斯寫的，因為皮普欽太太是一位不擅長寫字的女人。當董貝先生的注意力被沃爾特默默地吸引到這封信的時候，他吃了一驚，兇猛地看著他，仿佛他相信他是故意把它從所有信中挑出來似的。
'You can leave the room, Sir!' said Mr Dombey, haughtily.
“您可以離開這個房間了，先生，”董貝先生傲慢地說道。
He crushed the letter in his hand; and having watched Walter out at the door, put it in his pocket without breaking the seal.
他把信在手里揉成一團，注視著沃爾特走出門外以后，沒有啟封就把它塞進衣袋。
