目 录 上一节 下一节 
“好” 'And the time, night.' “时间是夜里。” 'Yes.' “对呀。” 'And the place, the crazy hole, wherever it was, in which miserable drabs brought forth the life and health so often denied to themselves--gave birth to puling children for the parish to rear; and hid their shame, rot 'em in the grave!' “场面，那个破破烂烂的窝，管它在哪儿呢，一些个不要脸的贱货，她们自己经常都性命难保，健康就别提了--生下一些哭哭啼啼的孩子给教区抚养，把她们的丑事，妈的，带到坟墓里藏起来了。” 'The lying-in room, I suppose?' said Mr. Bumble, not quite following the stranger's excited description. “我想，是产妇室吧？”邦布尔先生说道。陌生人讲得慷慨激昂，他有点跟不大上。 
“对，”陌生人说，“有个孩子就是在那儿生的。” 'A many boys,' observed Mr. Bumble, shaking his head, despondingly. “有许多孩子。”邦布尔摇了摇头，有些泄气。 'A murrain on the young devils!' cried the stranger; 'I speak of one; a meek-looking, pale-faced boy, who was apprenticed down here, to a coffin-maker--I wish he had made his coffin, and screwed his body in it--and who afterwards ran away to London, as it was supposed. “这帮该死的小鬼。”陌生人嚷了起来，“我说的是其中一个，一个长相可怜巴巴，脸上没有血色的男孩，他在本地一个棺材店老板手下当过一阵学徒--我巴不得老板早就替他造好了棺材，把他装进去，再拧紧螺钉--据说他后来跑到伦敦去了。” 'Why, you mean Oliver! Young Twist!' said Mr. Bumble; 'I remember him, of course. There wasn't a obstinater young rascal--' “哦，你指的是奥立弗、小退斯特。”邦布尔先生说道，“我当然记得他。没有一个小坏蛋有那么顽固的--” 'It's not of him I want to hear; I've heard enough of him,' said the stranger, stopping Mr. Bumble in the outset of a tirade on the subject of poor Oliver's vices. 'It's of a woman; the hag that nursed his mother. Where is she?' “我不想打听他的情况，他的事我听得多了，”邦布尔先生正准备一一历数不幸的奥立弗的罪过，陌生人没让他往下说。“我想打听的是一个女人，照看过他母亲的那个丑八怪。现在她在哪儿？” 
“她在哪儿？”邦布尔先生有了掺水杜松子酒垫底，开始变得幽默起来。“那可难说了。反正她去的地方不需要接生婆，我猜想她横竖是再没事情干了。” 'What do you mean?' demanded the stranger, sternly. “你是什么意思？”陌生人一本正经地问道。 'That she died last winter,' rejoined Mr. Bumble. “意思就是她去年冬天就死了。”邦布尔先生回答。 The man looked fixedly at him when he had given this information, and although he did not withdraw his eyes for some time afterwards, his gaze gradually became vacant and abstracted, and he seemed lost in thought. For some time, he appeared doubtful whether he ought to be relieved or disappointed by the intelligence; but at length he breathed more freely; and withdrawing his eyes, observed that it was no great matter. With that he rose, as if to depart. 听到这个消息，陌生人目不转睛地望着他，半晌没有把视线移开，但他的眼神却渐渐变得空蒙、迷惘，好像陷入了沉思。好一会儿，他似乎有点拿不准对于听到这个消息究竟应该感到欣慰还是失望，但末了还是松了一口气，目光也收了回去，说那也算不得什么大事。说罢他站起来，像是打算离去。 But Mr. Bumble was cunning enough; and he at once saw that an opportunity was opened, for the lucrative disposal of some secret in the possession of his better half. He well remembered the night of old Sally's death, which the occurrences of that day had given him good reason to recollect, as the occasion on which he had proposed to Mrs. Corney; and although that lady had never confided to him the disclosure of which she had been the solitary witness, he had heard enough to know that it related to something that had occurred in the old woman's attendance, as workhouse nurse, upon the young mother of Oliver Twist. Hastily calling this circumstance to mind, he informed the stranger, with an air of mystery, that one woman had been closeted with the old harridan shortly before she died; and that she could, as he had reason to believe, throw some light on the subject of his inquiry. 然而，邦布尔先生毕竟老奸巨猾，他立刻看出，机会就在眼前，他可以从他内当家掌握的某种秘密之中捞到好处。老沙丽去世的那个夜晚他记得再清楚不过了，那一天正是他向柯尼太太求婚的喜庆日子，经历的事情很多，他有充分的理由想起那个日子。尽管太太从来没有向他透出口风说她是唯一的见证，他却听说了不少事，知道同那个在济贫院当护士的老太婆照料奥立弗·退斯特年轻的母亲有关。他很快就想起了当时的情况，便神秘兮兮地告诉陌生人，那个鬼老太婆临死之前曾经与一位女士关起门来谈过，他有理由相信，那位女士能够对他想要打听的事情提供一些线索。 
“我怎么才能找到她？”陌生人说话时已经把戒心抛到了脑后，清清楚楚明地表明因为这个消息，他惧怕的所有事情（且不管他究竟怕什么）又都重新跃上心头。 'Only through me,' rejoined Mr. Bumble. “只有通过我。”邦布尔先生回答。 'When?' cried the stranger, hastily. “什么时候？”陌生人风风火火地嚷道。 'To-morrow,' rejoined Bumble. “明天。”邦布尔答道。 'At nine in the evening,' said the stranger, producing a scrap of paper, and writing down upon it, an obscure address by the water-side, in characters that betrayed his agitation; 'at nine in the evening, bring her to me there. I needn't tell you to be secret. It's your interest.' “晚上九点，”陌生人掏出一张纸片，在上边写了一个紧靠河边的住址，地方很偏僻；从字迹上看得出他非常亢奋。“晚上九点钟，带她到我那儿去。我用不着嘱咐你保守秘密了。这可是有你的好处。” 
随着这番话，他先朝门口走去，途中停了一下，把酒账结了。他说了一句两人不同路，又着重提醒了一遍第二天晚上约定的时间，没再多客套，拔脚就走。 On glancing at the address, the parochial functionary observed that it contained no name. The stranger had not gone far, so he made after him to ask it. 济贫院院长看了一眼那个住址，发觉上边没写名字。这时陌生人还没走远，他为了问个明白便赶上去。 'What do you want?' cried the man. turning quickly round, as Bumble touched him on the arm. 'Following me?' “你想干什么？”邦布尔拍了拍陌生人的肩膀，那人骤然转过身来，叫道。“你盯我的梢。” 'Only to ask a question,' said the other, pointing to the scrap of paper. 'What name am I to ask for?' “只问一句话，”对方指着那张纸片说，“我该去找什么人？” 'Monks!' rejoined the man; and strode hastily, away. “孟可司。”那人答了一句，便急急忙忙大步离去了。 
这是一个阴云密布、空气沉闷的夏夜。阴沉了整整一天的云霭铺展开来，化作大团浓厚而呆滞的水气，早已凝聚起大滴的雨点，似乎预示着一场暴风雨即将来临。就在这个时候，邦布尔夫妇绕过镇上那条大街，朝着城外大约一英里半的一个小居民点出发了，那里稀稀落落有几所破房子，建在一块低洼污秽的沼地上，紧挨着河边。 They were both wrapped in old and shabby outer garments, which might, perhaps, serve the double purpose of protecting their persons from the rain, and sheltering them from observation. The husband carried a lantern, from which, however, no light yet shone; and trudged on, a few paces in front, as though--the way being dirty--to give his wife the benefit of treading in his heavy footprints. They went on, in profound silence; every now and then, Mr. Bumble relaxed his pace, and turned his head as if to make sure that his helpmate was following; then, discovering that she was close at his heels, he mended his rate of walking, and proceeded, at a considerable increase of speed, towards their place of destination. 他们俩裹着破旧的外衣，这样打扮或许可以一举两得，既可以免受雨淋，又能掩人耳目。作丈夫的提着一盏没有点亮的手灯，步履艰难地走在前边，路上满是污泥浊水--像是有心让落后几步的老婆踩着他那深深的脚印往前走。他们不声不响地走着，邦布尔先生时不时地放慢脚步，回头看看，仿佛是想搞清自己那位贤内助跟上来了没有，见她一步也没落下，随即将步伐调整到颇为可观的速度，朝目的地走去。 This was far from being a place of doubtful character; for it had long been known as the residence of none but low ruffians, who, under various pretences of living by their labour, subsisted chiefly on plunder and crime. It was a collection of mere hovels: some, hastily built with loose bricks: others, of old worm-eaten ship-timber: jumbled together without any attempt at order or arrangement, and planted, for the most part, within a few feet of the river's bank. A few leaky boats drawn up on the mud, and made fast to the dwarf wall which skirted it: and here and there an oar or coil of rope: appeared, at first, to indicate that the inhabitants of these miserable cottages pursued some avocation on the river; but a glance at the shattered and useless condition of the articles thus displayed, would have led a passer-by, without much difficulty, to the conjecture that they were disposed there, rather for the preservation of appearances, than with any view to their being actually employed. 那个地方远远不只是一个名声可疑的去处，早就远近闻名，住在这里的全都是下三烂的歹徒恶棍，这些家伙打着各式各样自食其力的幌子，主要靠偷窃和作案为生。这里整个是一个棚屋和茅舍的大杂烩--有些是用七长八短的砖石仓仓猝猝盖起来的，另一些是用蛀蚀过的旧船板搭在一起--完全没有进行过收拾整理，大部分距离河岸只有几英尺。几条拖上河滩的破木船拴在岸边的矮墙上，到处散落着一支船桨或是一卷绳子什么的，乍眼看去，似乎暗示这些简陋小屋的居户从事某种水上职业。不过，一巳看到这些东西七零八落地摆在那里，没有人用，过路人无需作难就能揣摸出，这些东西放在那儿，与其说是考虑到实际用途，不如说是拿来装装样子。
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