目 录 上一节 下一节 
上帝,太太,请不要这样!"克鲁伊大婶说,她自己也禁不住失声痛哭。顿时,屋子里的人全都哭成了一团。在这里,高贵的人和低贱者的泪水,化解了受压迫者心中的不满和愤怒。啊!人们啊,看看这些受难者,你们就能看出,与其冷漠地花钱买东西送去,还不如给他们一滴真挚的同情的眼泪。 "My good fellow," said Mrs. Shelby, "I can't give you anything to do you any good. If I give you money, it will only be taken from you. But I tell you solemnly, and before God, that I will keep trace of you, and bring you back as soon as I can command the money;--and, till then, trust in God!"" 我的好仆人,"希尔比太太说,"我不能给你什么东西,也帮不了你什么忙。我给你钱,他们会立刻把钱拿走的。但是我可以郑重地在上帝面前起誓,我会随时找人探听你的下落,等我有了足够的钱,我就把你接回家来,但在此之前,先相信上帝吧!" Here the boys called out that Mas'r Haley was coming, and then an unceremonious kick pushed open the door. Haley stood there in very ill humor, having ridden hard the night before, and being not at all pacified by his ill success in recapturing his prey. 这时候,孩子们叫嚷着说赫利老爷到了。紧接着,门被粗鲁地一脚踢开了。赫利出现在门前,非常地气愤。他骑着马追了一天,也没有追到猎物,他憋了一肚子的气,现在还没有消呢。 "Come," said he, "ye nigger, ye'r ready? Servant, ma'am!" said he, taking off his hat, as he saw Mrs. Shelby." 快点,"他叫嚷着,"你这个黑鬼,现在准备好了吗?啊,太太,您尊贵的奴仆向您问好。"赫利说,他看到希尔比太太在场,便脱帽向她致敬。 Aunt Chloe shut and corded the box, and, getting up, looked gruffly on the trader, her tears seeming suddenly turned to sparks of fire. 克鲁伊大婶关好木箱,又仔细捆绑了一下,然后站起身,两只眼睛怒视着奴隶贩子,眼中的泪水霎时化成了愤怒的火焰。 
汤姆顺从地站起来,走到新主人的身后,并把沉重的箱子扛到了肩膀上。克鲁伊大婶抱着小孩子,陪着汤姆走到车子前,两个小男孩哭着跟在她的后面。 Mrs. Shelby, walking up to the trader, detained him for a few moments, talking with him in an earnest manner; and while she was thus talking, the whole family party proceeded to a wagon, that stood ready harnessed at the door. A crowd of all the old and young hands on the place stood gathered around it, to bid farewell to their old associate. Tom had been looked up to, both as a head servant and a Christian teacher, by all the place, and there was much honest sympathy and grief about him, particularly among the women. 希尔比太太来到奴隶贩子身旁,和他认真地交谈了一会儿。在这段时间内,汤姆一家人都走到了一辆备好车鞍的马车跟前。一大群仆人围在马车周围,特地来和多年的伙伴告别。汤姆是奴仆中的头儿,又是他们学习基督教义的老师。在这群人中,大家都真诚地同情他,那些妇女更为他感到悲伤。 "Why, Chloe, you bar it better 'n we do!" said one of the women, who had been weeping freely, noticing the gloomy calmness with which Aunt Chloe stood by the wagon." 哎,克鲁伊,怎么你比我们还能沉得住气啊?"一个一直在伤心的女人说。她看到站在马车旁边的克鲁伊大婶脸色阴沉但却很平静,于是便发问道。 "I's done _my_ tears!" she said, looking grimly at the trader, who was coming up. "I does not feel to cry 'fore dat ar old limb, no how!"" 我已经哭干了眼泪,"克鲁伊大婶边回答边用眼睛瞪着朝她们走来的奴隶贩子,"我不想在这个老家伙面前掉眼泪!" "Get in!" said Haley to Tom, as he strode through the crowd of servants, who looked at him with lowering brows. 赫利在穿过怒视他的人群以后,对汤姆喊道:"上车!" 
汤姆上了马车,赫利从车座下拿出来一副沉重的脚镣,紧扣在汤姆的脚踝上。 A smothered groan of indignation ran through the whole circle, and Mrs. Shelby spoke from the verandah,--"Mr. Haley, I assure you that precaution is entirely unnecessary." 车子旁边的人们见此情形都非常气愤,但他们都克制着自己的感情,只是轻声抱怨着。希尔比太太在门廊上说:"赫利先生,你放心吧,你这种做法是没有必要的。" "Don' know, ma'am; I've lost one five hundred dollars from this yer place, and I can't afford to run no more risks."" 对此我可没有把握,太太,我已经损失了五百美元,现在我不能再冒险了。" "What else could she spect on him?" said Aunt Chloe, indignantly, while the two boys, who now seemed to comprehend at once their father's destiny, clung to her gown, sobbing and groaning vehemently." 太太,你别再对这种人心存幻想了。"克鲁伊大婶气愤地说。两个小男孩此时也明白了父亲的命运,不禁抓着母亲的衣角哭了起来。 "I'm sorry," said Tom, "that Mas'r George happened to be away."" 我非常难过,"汤姆说,"乔治少爷恰好不在家。" 
乔治去附近农庄那个同伴家去了,要在那儿住两三天才回来。他大清早就走了,当时大家还不知道汤姆被卖的事情,所以他走时对此事也是闻所未闻的。 "Give my love to Mas'r George," he said, earnestly." 请代我转达对乔治少爷的爱意吧。"汤姆诚恳地说。 Haley whipped up the horse, and, with a steady, mournful look, fixed to the last on the old place, Tom was whirled away. 赫利打马把汤姆带走了。汤姆目光忧郁地凝视着这个熟悉的农庄,他的目光没有离开过它,一直到最终看不见农庄为止。 Mr. Shelby at this time was not at home. He had sold Tom under the spur of a driving necessity, to get out of the power of a man whom he dreaded,--and his first feeling, after the consummation of the bargain, had been that of relief. But his wife's expostulations awoke his half-slumbering regrets; and Tom's manly disinterestedness increased the unpleasantness of his feelings. It was in vain that he said to himself that he had a _right_ to do it,--that everybody did it,--and that some did it without even the excuse of necessity;--he could not satisfy his own feelings; and that he might not witness the unpleasant scenes of the consummation, he had gone on a short business tour up the country, hoping that all would be over before he returned. 这时候,希尔比先生不在家中,他把汤姆卖掉以摆脱他所害怕的人的控制,他做完这桩生意以后,先是感到解除了一份负担,但妻子的一番话使他那本已泯灭一半的良知苏醒了。紧接着,他便懊悔起来,汤姆那特有的男子汉气概和高尚品德更加使他悔恨自己的选择。尽管他对自己说:他拥有这样做的权利,其它的人都这样做,而且有的人甚至连"别无选择"之类的借口也找不到,但是此时,这种安慰的话却并没起什么作用,他的心依然难以平静下来。他认为自己还是不见到那个令他难堪的场面为妙,于是他决定暂时离开这里几天,到乡下去处理一件生意场上的事情,他希望等他回来时一切都已经过去了。 Tom and Haley rattled on along the dusty road, whirling past every old familiar spot, until the bounds of the estate were fairly passed, and they found themselves out on the open pike. After they had ridden about a mile, Haley suddenly drew up at the door of a blacksmith's shop, when, taking out with him a pair of handcuffs, he stepped into the shop, to have a little alteration in them. 在一条脏乱的土路上,汤姆和赫利乘坐的马车在嘎吱吱地向前行进着。平日里所熟悉的景色逐渐被抛到了后面,最后,庄园也从视野中消失了。后来,汤姆发现马车已在一条空旷的大路上行进着。大约走出了半英里路后,赫利在一家铁匠铺前停下车来。他拿出一副手铐想让铁匠将它稍作一下修改。 
这个手铐对于这个大个儿来说显得有些小了。"赫利边把手铐递给铁匠,边指着汤姆说。 "Lor! now, if thar an't Shelby's Tom. He han't sold him, now?" said the smith." 上帝啊!那不是希尔比家的汤姆吗?他被卖掉了吗?" "Yes, he has," said Haley." 是的,被卖掉了。"赫利回答说。 "Now, ye don't! well, reely," said the smith, "who'd a thought it! Why, ye needn't go to fetterin' him up this yer way. He's the faithfullest, best crittur--"" 是真的吗?"铁匠说,"真是难以预料。你不用给他戴手铐,他最听话,最老实了……" "Yes, yes," said Haley; "but your good fellers are just the critturs to want ter run off. Them stupid ones, as doesn't care whar they go, and shifless, drunken ones, as don't care for nothin', they'll stick by, and like as not be rather pleased to be toted round; but these yer prime fellers, they hates it like sin. No way but to fetter 'em; got legs,--they'll use 'em,--no mistake."" 是啊!"赫利说,"但是想要逃走的也多是这种人。那些愚笨的人反倒不在乎去哪儿,更别说那些懒鬼、酒鬼了,说不定他们还喜欢被卖掉呢,那样的话还可以到处转一转,但这种上等货却不喜欢这样。没有办法的,他们长着两条腿,他们不会不用它的,所以只好把他们铐上,我说的不会有错。" 
哎,"铁匠在自己的工具中摸索着说,"我说,外地人,肯塔基人不喜欢去那边的庄园。那边的黑人死亡频率极高,是这样吗?" "Wal, yes, tol'able fast, ther dying is; what with the 'climating and one thing and another, they dies so as to keep the market up pretty brisk," said Haley." 是的,很高。有时是因为天气的原因,有时则是另有原因。但话说回来,黑奴死得快些,市场才会兴旺啊。"赫利说。 "Wal, now, a feller can't help thinkin' it's a mighty pity to have a nice, quiet, likely feller, as good un as Tom is, go down to be fairly ground up on one of them ar sugar plantations."" 汤姆真是一个好人,他是那样的体面、老实、可靠,一想起他会在南方某个甘蔗园被折磨至死,心里真是太难过了。" "Wal, he's got a fa'r chance. I promised to do well by him. I'll get him in house-servant in some good old family, and then, if he stands the fever and 'climating, he'll have a berth good as any nigger ought ter ask for."" 但他的机会还是挺好的。我答应他原来的主人好好照料他。我想把他卖给有钱人家做个下人。只要他经受住那里的热病和那种气候,他会找到黑人们喜欢干的好工作的。"
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