名著·雾都孤儿 - 第130节


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  雅各岛上的堆栈空空如也,连房顶也没有,墙壁东倒西歪,窗户已不成其为窗户,门倒在街上,烟囱黑黝黝的,却从不冒烟。三四十年前,不景气和法律诉讼拉锯战还不曾光临,这里市面相当繁荣,可而今,它的确已经成了一座孤岛。房舍没有主人,胆大的人就破门而人,据为己有。他们住在这里,死在这里。这些人必有各自重大的原因才来找一处秘密的住所,要么就是确实已经到了走投无路的地步,否则也不必到雅各岛上来寻求庇护。

   In an upper room of one of these houses--a detached house of fair size, ruinous in other respects, but strongly defended at door and window: of which house the back commanded the ditch in manner already described--there were assembled three men, who, regarding each other every now and then with looks expressive of perplexity and expectation, sat for some time in profound and gloomy silence. One of these was Toby Crackit, another Mr. Chitling, and the third a robber of fifty years, whose nose had been almost beaten in, in some old scuffle, and whose face bore a frightful scar which might probably be traced to the same occasion. This man was a returned transport, and his name was Kags.

  这些房子里有一座相当大的孤楼,房子的其他方面都已破败不堪,唯有门窗防范森严。房子的后部濒临水沟,情况就是前边描绘过的那样--在二楼的一个房间里,有三个人聚在一块儿,这三人愁眉苦脸,不时露出惶惑而期待的神色相互看一眼,已经在沉默中坐了好一阵子。三个人当中,一个是托比·格拉基特,另一个是基特宁先生,第三个约莫五十岁上下,也是以偷盗为生的,他的鼻子在以往的一次斗殴中差不多给揍扁了,脸上带着一道可怕的伤痕,兴许也可以追溯到同一个场合。这人是一个从海外逃回来的流放犯,名叫凯格斯。

   'I wish,' said Toby turning to Mr. Chitling, 'that you had picked out some other crig when the two old ones got too warm, and had not come here, my fine feller.'

  “我的好伙计,”托比朝基特宁先生转过脸去,说道,“既然那两处老窝都呆不下去了,你还是另外找个地方避避风得了,不该上这儿来。”

   'Why didn't you, blunder-head!' said Kags.

  “死脑筋,你干吗不呢?”凯格斯也说。

   'Well, I thought you'd have been a little more glad to see me than this,' replied Mr. Chitling, with a melancholy air.

  “嗳,我本以为你见到我会比这个样子高兴一些呢。”基特宁先生神情沮丧地回答。

  “你呀你呀,年轻的绅士,”托比说道,“一个人像我这样独来独往,凭这一手才弄到一套舒适的房子安顿下来,周围也没人又是打听又是闻味,有幸看见一位处在你这样境况的年轻绅士光临,真是令人担待不起啊(虽说在方便的时候,阁下可能是一位受人尊敬、讨人喜欢的牌友)。”

   'Especially, when the exclusive young man has got a friend stopping with him, that's arrived sooner than was expected from foreign parts, and is too modest to want to be presented to the Judges on his return,' added Mr. Kags.

  “尤其是,这位独来独往的年轻人家里还住着一个朋友,这个朋友从国外回来的时间比预期的早了一些,偏偏他又很谦虚,不愿去向法官报到。”凯格斯补充说。

   There was a short silence, after which Toby Crackit, seeming to abandon as hopeless any further effort to maintain his usual devil-may-care swagger, turned to Chitling and said,

  在一阵短暂的沉默之后,托比·格拉基特似乎对于保持平素那副魔鬼见了也会发愁的臭架子终于绝望,他不再下功夫,转向基特宁说道:

   'When was Fagin took then?'

  “弗金又是啥时候给抓去的?”

   'Just at dinner-time--two o'clock this afternoon. Charley and I made our lucky up the wash-us chimney, and Bolter got into the empty water-butt, head downwards; but his legs were so precious long that they stuck out at the top, and so they took him too.'

  “正是吃午饭的当儿--今天下午两点钟。我跟查理打洗衣坊烟囱里溜掉了,波尔特一头栽进那个空的大水桶,可他两条腿太长了,竖在水桶顶上,他们就又把他抓住了。”

  “蓓特呢?”

   'Poor Bet! She went to see the Body, to speak to who it was,' replied Chitling, his countenance falling more and more, 'and went off mad, screaming and raving, and beating her head against the boards; so they put a strait-weskut on her and took her to the hospital--and there she is.'

  “可怜的蓓特。她跑去看那具尸体,说是去告个别,”基特宁一张脸拉得越来越长,答道,“一下就疯了,又是尖叫又是说胡话,拿脑袋往墙壁上撞,他们只好给她穿上约束衣,带她上医院去了--她眼下在那儿。”

   'Wot's come of young Bates?' demanded Kags.

  “小贝兹怎么样?”凯格斯问。

   'He hung about, not to come over here afore dark, but he'll be here soon,' replied Chitling. 'There's nowhere else to go to now, for the people at the Cripples are all in custody, and the bar of the ken--I went up there and see it with my own eyes--is filled with traps.'

  “在附近转悠,天黑以前不会上这儿来,不过他很快就会来的,”基特宁回答,“眼下也没别的地方可走,瘸子店那儿的人全部被拘留,那个酒吧本来是窝子--我跑到那儿去,亲眼看见来着--里边全是密探。”

   'This is a smash,' observed Toby, biting his lips. 'There's more than one will go with this.'

  “这是一次大扫荡,”托比咬着嘴唇说道,“搭进去的可不光是一个人。”

  “现在正是审判期,”凯格斯说道,“只要预审结束,波尔特供出了费金--从他以前说的话来看,他肯定会招供--他们可以判定费金是事前从犯,星期五开庭审判,从今儿个算起,再过六天他可就要荡秋千了,我他--”

   'You should have heard the people groan,' said Chitling; 'the officers fought like devils, or they'd have torn him away. He was down once, but they made a ring round him, and fought their way along. You should have seen how he looked about him, all muddy and bleeding, and clung to them as if they were his dearest friends. I can see 'em now, not able to stand upright with the pressing of the mob, and draggin him along amongst 'em; I can see the people jumping up, one behind another, and snarling with their teeth and making at him; I can see the blood upon his hair and beard, and hear the cries with which the women worked themselves into the centre of the crowd at the street corner, and swore they'd tear his heart out!'

  “你们准听说了,百姓吼得才叫厉害,”基特宁说道,“要不是警察豁出命来赶,他已经给撕成碎片了。他倒下去了一次,可警察在他四周围成一个圆圈,硬冲出去了。你们没有看见他四顾张望的样子,浑身是泥,满脸淌血,贴在警察身边,就好像警察是他最亲密的朋友似的。我眼下还看得见,人群拼命往前挤,他们也顶不住,就把他夹在自己人中间拖走了。我看得见,人们一个接一个跳上来,咬牙切齿,嗷嗷直叫,朝他扑过去。我看得见他头发、胡子上的血,我听得见,娘们儿都吵吵着挤进街角的人群中,发誓要把他的心挖出来。”

   The horror-stricken witness of this scene pressed his hands upon his ears, and with his eyes closed got up and paced violently to and fro, like one distracted.

  吓得魂不附体的现场目击者捂住耳朵,闭着眼睛站起来,狂暴地走来走去,像是神智错乱了一般。

   While he was thus engaged, and the two men sat by in silence with their eyes fixed upon the floor, a pattering noise was heard upon the stairs, and Sikes's dog bounded into the room. They ran to the window, downstairs, and into the street. The dog had jumped in at an open window; he made no attempt to follow them, nor was his master to be seen.

  当他作出这些举动的时候,另外两个默默地坐在一旁,直瞪瞪地盯着地板,这时,楼梯上响起一阵啪哒啪哒的声音,赛克斯的狗窜进了屋里。他们往窗口奔去,又跑下楼,冲到街上。狗是从一扇开着的窗户里跳进来的,它没有跟着三个人跑,它的主人也没有出现。

   'What's the meaning of this?' said Toby when they had returned. 'He can't be coming here. I--I--hope not.'

  “这是什么意思?”三个人又回来了,托比说道。“他不会上这儿来的。我--我--但愿不会。”

  “他要是上这儿来的话,会带着狗一块儿来,”凯格斯俯下身来,察看着那只躺在地板上直喘气的畜生。“喂。咱给它点儿水喝,瞧它跑得气都喘不过来了。”

   'He's drunk it all up, every drop,' said Chitling after watching the dog some time in silence. 'Covered with mud--lame--half blind--he must have come a long way.'

  “它把水全喝下去了,一滴也不剩,”基特宁默不作声地盯着狗看了一阵,说道。“满身泥浆--腿也瘸了--眼睛也快睁不开了--一定走了很远的路。”

   'Where can he have come from!' exclaimed Toby. 'He's been to the other kens of course, and finding them filled with strangers come on here, where he's been many a time and often. But where can he have come from first, and how comes he here alone without the other!'

  “它能打哪儿来!”托比嚷道,“它保准到别的窝子去过了,发现里边全是生人才跑到这儿来的,这地方它来过多次,又是经常来。可一开始它是从什么地方来?没有那个人,它怎么会一路跑来?”

   'He'--(none of them called the murderer by his old name)--'He can't have made away with himself. What do you think?' said Chitling.

  “他--”(三个人谁也不提凶手的名字)--“他不会寻短见的,你们认为呢?”基特宁说道。

   Toby shook his head.

  托比摇了摇头。

  “要是他死了,狗一定会把我们领到他自杀的地方去。”凯格斯说,“不。他恐怕已经逃出英国,把狗撇下了。他肯定是耍了什么花招,要不狗也不会这样老实。”

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名著·雾都孤儿 - 第130节