目 录 上一节 下一节 
“呃，是的，小姐，我懂。”奥立弗急切地回答，“可我在想，我已经有点忘恩负义了。” 'To whom?' inquired the young lady. “对谁？”少女问道。 'To the kind gentleman, and the dear old nurse, who took so much care of me before,' rejoined Oliver. 'If they knew how happy I am, they would be pleased, I am sure.' “那位好心的绅士啊，还有那位亲爱的老阿妈，他们过去对我可好呢，”奥立弗答道，“要是他们知道我现在多么幸福的话，他们一定很高兴，我敢保证。” 'I am sure they would,' rejoined Oliver's benefactress; 'and Mr. Losberne has already been kind enough to promise that when you are well enough to bear the journey, he will carry you to see them.' “他们一定会高兴的，”奥立弗的女恩人说道，“罗斯伯力先生真是个好人，他答应，一旦你身体好起来，能够出门旅行，他就带你去看看他们。” 'Has he, ma'am?' cried Oliver, his face brightening with pleasure. 'I don't know what I shall do for joy when I see their kind faces once again!' “是吗，小姐？”奥立弗高兴得容光焕发，不禁大叫了一声。“等我再一次看到他们的慈祥面容的时候，真不知道会乐成什么样子。” 
奥立弗的身体不久就恢复得差不多了，能够经受一次远行的劳顿。果不其然，一天清晨，他和罗斯伯力先生乘上梅莱太太的小马车出发了。车到杰茨桥的时候，奥立弗脸色变得煞白，发出一声高喊。 'What's the matter with the boy?' cried the doctor, as usual, all in a bustle. 'Do you see anything--hear anything--feel anything--eh?' “这孩子怎么啦？”大夫照例又紧张起来，大声问道，“你是不是看见了什么--听见了什么--感觉到了什么--哦？” 'That, sir,' cried Oliver, pointing out of the carriage window. 'That house!' “那里，先生，”奥立弗一边喊，一边从车窗里指出去，“那所房子。” 'Yes; well, what of it? Stop coachman. Pull up here,' cried the doctor. 'What of the house, my man; eh?' “是啊，那有什么关系？停车。在这里停一下，”大夫嚷道，“宝贝儿，那房子怎么了，唔？” 'The thieves--the house they took me to!' whispered Oliver. “那些贼--他们带我去的就是那所房子。”奥立弗低声说道。 
“让它见鬼去！”大夫喊道，“啊哈，在那儿呢！我要下车！” But, before the coachman could dismount from his box, he had tumbled out of the coach, by some means or other; and, running down to the deserted tenement, began kicking at the door like a madman. 然而，车夫还没来得及从座位上跳下来，大夫已经想办法从马车里爬了出去。他跑到那所废弃的房子跟前，开始踢门，跟一个疯子似地。 'Halloa?' said a little ugly hump-backed man: opening the door so suddenly, that the doctor, from the very impetus of his last kick, nearly fell forward into the passage. 'What's the matter here?' “喂喂？”一个委琐丑恶的驼背汉子猛地把门打开，说道。大夫由于最后一脚用力过猛，险些跌进了过道。“出了什么事？” 'Matter!' exclaimed the other, collaring him, without a moment's reflection. 'A good deal. Robbery is the matter.' “什么事！”这一位大吼一声，不假思索地揪住那人的衣领。“事多着呢。打劫的事。” 'There'll be Murder the matter, too,' replied the hump-backed man, coolly, 'if you don't take your hands off. Do you hear me?' “还会出杀人的事呢，”驼背汉子冷冷地答道，“你要是不丢手的话。你听见没有？” 
“问我听见没有，”大夫说着，给了俘虏一阵猛抖。 'Where's--confound the fellow, what's his rascally name--Sikes; that's it. Where's Sikes, you thief?' “在哪儿--他妈的那家伙，叫什么来着--赛克斯，对了，赛克斯在哪儿，你这个贼？” The hump-backed man stared, as if in excess of amazement and indignation; then, twisting himself, dexterously, from the doctor's grasp, growled forth a volley of horrid oaths, and retired into the house. Before he could shut the door, however, the doctor had passed into the parlour, without a word of parley.He looked anxiously round; not an article of furniture; not a vestige of anything, animate or inanimate; not even the position of the cupboards; answered Oliver's description! 驼背汉子瞪大了眼睛，似乎无比惊诧无比愤慨的样子，随后便灵巧地挣脱大夫的手，咆哮着发出一阵可怕的诅咒，往屋子里退去。不过，他还没来得及关上房门，大夫已经二话不说，闯进了一间屋子。他焦急地看了看四周：没有一件家具，没有一样东西，不管是有生命的还是无生命的，能和奥立弗的描绘对得上，连那只食品柜的位置也不对。 'Now!' said the hump-backed man, who had watched him keenly, 'what do you mean by coming into my house, in this violent way? Do you want to rob me, or to murder me? Which is it?' “喂，”驼背汉子一直严密注视着大夫，这时说道，“你这么蛮不讲理闯进我家，打算干什么？你是想抢我呢，还是想杀了我？是哪一种啊？” 'Did you ever know a man come out to do either, in a chariot and a pair, you ridiculous old vampire?' said the irritable doctor. “你莫非见到过一个人乘双驾马车出门杀人抢东西，你这个可笑的老吸血鬼？”生性急躁的大夫说。 
“那你想干什么？”驼背问道，“你再不出去，可别怪我不客气了！滚你的！” 'As soon as I think proper,' said Mr. Losberne, looking into the other parlour; which, like the first, bore no resemblance whatever to Oliver's account of it. 'I shall find you out, some day, my friend.' “我认为合适的时候会走的，”罗斯伯力先生一边说，一边朝另一个房间望去，那个房间和前边那间一样，完全不像奥立弗说的样子。“总有一天我会查到你的底细，我的朋友。” 'Will you?' sneered the ill-favoured cripple. 'If you ever want me, I'm here. I haven't lived here mad and all alone, for five-and-twenty years, to be scared by you. You shall pay for this; you shall pay for this.' And so saying, the mis-shapen little demon set up a yell, and danced upon the ground, as if wild with rage. “你行吗？”丑恶的驼子冷冷一笑。“随你什么时候找我，我都在这儿，我在这地方住了二十五年了，一没有发疯，二不是就我一个人，还怕你？你会付出代价的，你会付出代价的。”说着，矮小的丑八怪发出一阵嚎叫，在地上又蹦又跳，像是气得失去了常态。 'Stupid enough, this,' muttered the doctor to himself; 'the boy must have made a mistake. Here! Put that in your pocket, and shut yourself up again.' With these words he flung the hunchback a piece of money, and returned to the carriage. “真够愚蠢的，这也，”大大暗自说道，“那孩子准是弄错了。喏，把这放进你的口袋，重新把你自个儿关起来吧。”随着这番话，他扔给驼背一张钞票，便回马车上去了。 The man followed to the chariot door, uttering the wildest imprecations and curses all the way; but as Mr. Losberne turned to speak to the driver, he looked into the carriage, and eyed Oliver for an instant with a glance so sharp and fierce and at the same time so furious and vindictive, that, waking or sleeping, he could not forget it for months afterwards. He continued to utter the most fearful imprecations, until the driver had resumed his seat; and when they were once more on their way, they could see him some distance behind: beating his feet upon the ground, and tearing his hair, in transports of real or pretended rage. 驼背汉子尾随着来到车门前，一路发出无数最最野蛮的诅咒与怒骂。然而，就在罗斯伯力先生转身和车夫说话时，他探头朝马车里边望去，刹那间瞧了奥立弗一眼，目光是那样犀利，咄咄逼人，同时又是那样凶狠，充满敌意，奥立弗在后来的几个月里，不管是醒来的时候还是睡着了，都始终忘不了。直到车夫回到座位上，那汉子还在不停地破口大骂。他们重新踏上旅途，这时还可以看见他在后边跺脚，扯头发，不知是真是假地暴跳如雷。 
“我真是个笨蛋，”大夫沉默了很久才说道，“你以前知道吗，奥立弗？” 'No, sir.' “不知道，先生。” 'Then don't forget it another time.' “那下一回可别忘了。” 'An ass,' said the doctor again, after a further silence of some minutes. 'Even if it had been the right place, and the right fellows had been there, what could I have done, single-handed? And if I had had assistance, I see no good that I should have done, except leading to my own exposure, and an unavoidable statement of the manner in which I have hushed up this business. That would have served me right, though. I am always involving myself in some scrape or other, by acting on impulse. It might have done me good.' “一个笨蛋，”大夫再度陷入沉默，过了几分钟他又说道，“就算地方找对了，而且就是那帮家伙，我单枪匹马，又能怎么样？就算有帮手，我看也得不到什么结果，只会让我自己出丑，还不得不供出我把此事遮掩过去的经过。总之，我真是活该。我老是一时性起，搞得自己左右为难。这事应该给我一点教训才对。” Now, the fact was that the excellent doctor had never acted upon anything but impulse all through his life, and if was no bad compliment to the nature of the impulses which governed him, that so far from being involved in any peculiar troubles or misfortunes, he had the warmest respect and esteem of all who knew him. If the truth must be told, he was a little out of temper, for a minute or two, at being disappointed in procuring corroborative evidence of Oliver's story on the very first occasion on which he had a chance of obtaining any. He soon came round again, however; and finding that Oliver's replies to his questions, were still as straightforward and consistent, and still delivered with as much apparent sincerity and truth, as they had ever been, he made up his mind to attach full credence to them, from that time forth. 事实上，这位出色的医生一辈子办事都是凭一时冲动，这里可以对支配他的种种冲动说一句不带恶意的恭维活，他非但从来没有被卷进任何特别麻烦或者倒霉的事情中去，反而从所有认识他的人那里得到极为真诚的推崇和敬重。实事求是讲，眼下他是有一点生气，有一两分钟时间感到失望，他很想拿到有关奥立弗身世的确切证据，哪知遇到的头一个机会就落空了。不过，他很快又恢复了常态，发现奥立弗在答复自己的盘问时依然老老实实，前后吻合，显然和以往一样真诚坦率。他打定主意，从今以后完全相信他的话。
| 
