名著·查太莱夫人的情人 - 第110节

　　康妮却干脆走不了"希尔达说，克利福太出名了。"

Again the silence of pure frustration. "

　　颓丧的静默重新把三人笼罩起来。

'The world is what it is. If you want to live together without being persecuted, you will have to marry. To marry, you both have to be divorced. So how are you both going about it?' "

　　世界就是这样。如果你们想安然同居，你们便得结婚。要结婚，你俩都得先离婚。那么我们将怎样安排呢？"

He was silent for a long time.

　　他静默了很久。

'How are you going about it for us?' he said. "

　　你将替我人首安排呢？"他说。

　　我们要看如果旦肯肯出名做共同被告的话，那么我们便要使克利福提出离婚，你则在你那方面进行你自己的离婚。你们俩得分开，直到你们都自由了的时候。"

'Sounds like a lunatic asylum.' "

　　这世界象是个疯人院。"

'Possibly! And the world would look on you as lunatics: or worse.; "

　　也许！但是，在世人的眼中，你的才是疯子一也许更甚呢。"

'What is worse?' "

　　更甚到什么？"

'Criminals, I suppose.' "

　　罪犯，我想。"

　　好，我希望我还能多用几回我的巴首。"他冷笑道，说了，他默默地愤怒着。

'Well!' he said at last. 'I agree to anything. The world is a raving idiot, and no man can kill it: though I'll do my best. But you re right. We must rescue ourselves as best we can.' "

　　好吧！"他最后说，"我同意一切吧，这世界是个暴庚的白痴，谁也消灾不了它，但是我将尽我的力，你是对的，我们得尽力营救我们自己的。"

He looked in humiliation, anger, weariness and misery at Connie.

　　他屈辱地，愤怒地，厌烦地，忧苦地望着康妮。

'Ma lass!' he said. 'The world's goin' to put salt on thy tail.' "

　　我的小人儿！"他说，"世人要在你的屁股上加盐了。"

'Not if we don't let it,' she said. "

　　不，假如我们不屈服的话。"她说。

　　她对于反抗世界的情感比他是疏淡的。

Duncan, when approached, also insisted on seeing the delinquent game-keeper, so there was a dinner, this time in his flat: the four of them. Duncan was a rather short, broad, dark-skinned, taciturn Hamlet of a fellow with straight black hair and a weird Celtic conceit of himself. His art was all tubes and valves and spirals and strange colours, ultra-modern, yet with a certain power, even a certain purity of form and tone: only Mellors thought it cruel and repellent. He did not venture to say so, for Duncan was almost insane on the point of his art: it was a personal cult, a personal religion with him.

　　探调旦肯的意思的时候，他坚持着要见见这罪人守猎者。他约定四人在他家里晚餐，旦肯是哈姆莱特一流人物，有点矮而胖，肤色暗黑，寡言笑，头发是黑而不卷，他有一种凯尔特人的古怪的虚荣心，他的作品只是些管条、瓣形、螺形线和奇异的颜色的混合物；是超现代的，可是也有某种气魄，甚至某种纯粹的形式与格调，渤梅乐士觉得这种艺术是残酷的，令人厌恶的，他不敢说出来，因为旦肯对于他的艺术的主见差不多是病态的。艺术之于他，是个人的一种崇拜，一种宗教。

They were looking at the pictures in the studio, and Duncan kept his smallish brown eyes on the other man. He wanted to hear what the game-keeper would say. He knew already Connie's and Hilda's opinions.

　　他们在画室里看着图画，旦暖的褐色的小眼睛，总不离开梅乐士。他想知道这守猎人的意见怎样，至于康妮和希尔达的意见，他早巳知道了。

'It is like a pure bit of murder,' said Mellors at last; a speech Duncan by no means expected from a game-keeper. "

　　那有点象纯粹的谋杀。"梅乐士终于说，这种话是旦肯所预想不到会从一个守猎人口中说出来的。

'And who is murdered?' asked Hilda, rather coldly and sneeringly. "

　　被杀的是谁呢？"希尔达有点冷酷地嘲讽地问道。

　　是我！一个人所有的恻悯心肠都被杀了。"

A wave of pure hate came out of the artist. He heard the note of dislike in the other man's voice, and the note of contempt. And he himself loathed the mention of bowels of compassion. Sickly sentiment!

　　这话引起了艺术家的深恨。他听出那人的声调晨带着厌恶不轻蔑。而他自己是讨厌人提起什么侧悯心肠的。那是令人厌恶的情感！

Mellors stood rather tall and thin, worn-looking, gazing with flickering detachment that was something like the dancing of a moth on the wing, at the pictures.

　　梅乐士站着，又高又瘦，态度疲惫，心不在焉，摇曳不定，仿佛飞蛾的飞舞，凝视着那些图画。

'Perhaps stupidity is murdered; sentimental stupidity,' sneered the artist. "

　　也许是愚蠢的东西被杀了，多情的愚蠢的东西被杀了。"艺术家讥消着说。

'Do you think so? I think all these tubes and corrugated vibrations are stupid enough for anything, and pretty sentimental. They show a lot of self-pity and an awful lot of nervous self-opinion, seems to me.' "

　　你觉得么？我觉得所有这些管条和起伏的颤动，才比什么都愚蠢，而且够多情了，我觉得它们表示着不少的自怜自叹的意味，和太多的神织持贩自尊自傲。"

　　另一阵疾恨涌上心来，那艺术家的脸都黄了。但是，他静默地、高傲地把图画向着墙壁番了过去。

'I think we may go to the dining-room,' he said. And they trailed off, dismally. "

　　我想我们可以到餐室里去了。"他说。他们在一种沉郁的静默中离开了画室。

After coffee, Duncan said:

　　咖过后，旦肯说：

'I don't at all mind posing as the father of Connie's child. But only on the condition that she'll come and pose as a model for me. I've wanted her for years, and she's always refused.' He uttered it with the dark finality of an inquisitor announcing an auto da fe. "

　　我毫不介意充作康妮的孩子的父亲。但是有个条件，康妮得来作我的模特儿。这是我多年的心愿，而她是一向所拒绝的。"他说这话是抱着黑暗的决心的，好象一个宣布火刑的裁判官似的。

'Ah!' said Mellors. 'You only do it on condition, then?' "

　　啊！"梅乐士说，"那么只在这条件之下你才肯做么？"

　　对了！非有这条件我便不做。"旦肯的话里，故意带着对梅乐士的最在的藐视。他带着有点太多了。

'Better have me as a model at the same time,' said Mellors. 'Better do us in a group, Vulcan and Venus under the net of art. I used to be a blacksmith, before I was a game-keeper.' "

　　最好是同时把我当作你的模特儿，"梅乐士说，"最好是把我们画在一起：把维娜丝和伏尔甘放在艺术的网下，我在做守猎人以前，是一个铁匠呢。"

'Thank you,' said the artist. 'I don't think Vulcan has a figure that interests me.' "

　　谢谢！"艺术家说，"忧尔甘的尊容不合我的胃口。"

'Not even if it was tubified and titivated up?' "

　　甚至他的容貌象管条一样，而且修饰得象新郎一案，也不合尊胃么？"

There was no answer. The artist was too haughty for further words.

　　艺术家没有回答他觉得回答起来未免降格了。