牛津書蟲系列 金銀島 13 A prisoner of the enemy

13 A prisoner of the enemy

13 敵人的俘虜

Somebody brought a light and I saw the inside of the house.Five pirates were on their feet，and another man was lying down with a head wound.But my heart became filled with fear when I saw no prisoners.Were my friends all dead?

有人拿來了火;我看清了房子里的情形。有五個海盜站在那里，還有一個頭受了傷躺在地上。我看到?jīng)]有俘虜，心里就害怕起來。我的朋友們都死了?

‘Here's Jim Hawkins!’said Silver.‘How friendly of you to visit us，Jim!’

“原來是吉姆·霍金斯!”西爾弗說。“歡迎你來我們這兒，吉姆!”

‘Where are my friends?’I asked.

“我的朋友們在哪兒?”我問。

Silver answered in a smooth voice.‘Yesterday.morning，Doctor Livesey came down with a white flag.“Cap’n Silver，”he said，“you've lost.The ship's gone.”We looked out and，by thunder，the ship had gone!“Let's bargain，”said the doctor.So we bargained，and here we are，in the house.And your friends?They walked off and I don't know where they are.And now，are you going to join us，Jim?’

西爾弗用流暢的語調(diào)開始講。“昨天早上，李甫西大夫打著白旗來找我們。‘西爾弗船長，’他說，‘你們失敗了，船已經(jīng)開走了!’我們跑出去一看，船果然不見了。‘我們來講條件吧，’大夫說。我們跟他講妥了條件，我們就到這里來了。你的朋友?他們走了，我也不知道他們?nèi)ツ睦锪恕，F(xiàn)在你愿意和我們一起干嗎?”

‘You're in trouble，’I said.‘Ship lost，treasure lost，men lost.And if you want to know who did it----it was me!I was in the apple barrel the night we saw the island，and I heard every word you said.And the ship?It was me who cut her ropes and killed the men aboard her，and it's me who has sailed her to a place where you'll never find her.Kill me if you like，but if you let me live，I'll do what I can to save you when you're arrested and brought to trial for piracy.

“你們的處境很不妙，”我說。“船丟了，財寶丟了，人也丟了。如果你們想知道是誰干的，告訴你們，是我干的。我們看見陸地的那天晚上，我躲在蘋果桶里聽到你們講的所有的話。至于那條船，也是我割斷了繩索，殺死了船上的人，然后把船駛到你們誰也找不到的地方。要殺要放隨你們便，但如果你們放了我，將來你們因為當(dāng)海盜受審判時，我將盡力救你們的命。”

One man swore and jumped forward with his knife.

一個人罵著拔出刀站起來。

‘Get back there!’cried Silver.‘Did you think you were cap’n here，Tom Morgan?Well，there's never been a man to stand against me.and see another day!’

“住手!”西爾弗喊道。“你以為在這兒你是船長嗎，湯姆·摩根?跟我作對的人從來都活不到第二天!”

Angry whispers came from the other men.

其他的人發(fā)出了不滿的聲音。

‘Did any of you gentlemen want to argue with me?’shouted Silver.‘Well，I'm ready.Let him take a knife，and I'll see the colour of his inside!’

“你們有誰想跟我爭嗎?”西爾弗嚷道。“我準備好了。讓他拿把刀，我定要看看他的五臟六腑是什么顏色!”

Not a man answered.I listened to my heart beating.Silver waited calmly，his pipe in his mouth，as he watched his followers.Slowly，they got together at the far end of the house and whispered to each other.

沒什么人答話。我的心撲撲地跳。西爾弗靜靜地等著，嘴里叼著煙斗，不停地看著他的同伙。慢慢地，那幫海盜退到木屋的一邊，交頭接耳低語起來。

‘You seem to have a lot to say，’said Silver.‘Let me hear it，or stop talking.’

“你們像是有許多話要講，”西爾弗說。“講出來讓我聽聽，要不就閉嘴。”

‘We'll go outside and talk，’replied one man.And he stepped calmly towards the door and disappeared out of the house.One after another，the rest of the men did the same.

“我們到外面去說，”一個人說。他靜靜地走出木屋。其他人也一個一個走出木屋。

‘They're going to kill you，Jim，’said Silver when the two of us were alone，‘and they're going to stop me being their captain.When I looked into that bay and saw the ship was gone，I knew it was all over.Now，I'll save your life，if I can，but it must be a bargain----you must save Long John from dying under the law.’

“他們要殺掉你，吉姆，”屋里就剩我們兩個人時西爾弗說。“他們不想讓我當(dāng)船長了。當(dāng)我向海灣望去，看見船失蹤了，我就知道全完了?，F(xiàn)在我要救你，但我們必須講條件——你也得幫高個兒約翰免上絞架。”

‘I'll do what I can，’I told him.

“我能做的一定去做，”我說。

‘There's trouble coming，Jim，’he said.‘And talking of trouble，why did the doctor give me the map?’

“就要有麻煩了，吉姆，”他說。“說到麻煩，大夫為什么把那張圖給我?”

I stared at him in great surprise.Why indeed?

我盯著他，臉上露出驚訝的表情。為什么呢?

‘Well，he did，’Silver went on.‘And that's strange.’

“真的，他把圖交給我了，”西爾弗繼續(xù)說。“這里面一定有文章。”

The door opened and the five pirates came in.They pushed one man forward and he gave something to Silver.

門開了，五個海盜走進來。他們把其中一個人往前推，那個人交給西爾弗一樣?xùn)|西。

The sea cook looked at what the man had given him.‘The black spot!’he said.He turned the paper over.‘What's this?No longer captain.You're becoming quite a leading man in this crew，George Merry.You'll be cap’n next，I suppose.But tell me what's wrong.’

這位海上廚子看了看同伙給他的東西。“黑券!”他說道，然后看紙的背面。“寫的什么?下臺!你在這伙人中確實是個人物，喬治，我猜接下來一定是你當(dāng)船長。告訴我為什么。”

‘I'll tell you what's wrong!’said George.‘First，you made too many mistakes on this trip.Second，you let the enemy out of this trap for nothing.And then there's this boy.’

“我來告訴你為什么!”喬治說。“第一，在這次航行中你犯了不少錯誤。第二，你白白從這地方把敵人放走了。還有就是這個孩子的事。”

‘Is that all?’asked Silver quietly.

“還有嗎?”西爾弗沉著地問。

‘It's enough，’replied George.

“這些就足夠了，”喬治說。

‘Well，I'll answer you，’said Silver.‘You all know what I wanted but you wouldn't listen，would you?In my plan，we'd be on the Hispaniola now，every dead man alive and the treasure on ship，by thunder!Next，this boy.Well，we'll use him to bargain with.He might be our last chance.And the doctor?You've been glad enough to have a doctor coming to see you every day----you，John，with your head broken…or you，George，sick and shaking with fever only a few hours ago.I made a bargain，that's why I let’em go!’He threw a piece of paper on to the floor.It was the map with the three crosses.

“好吧，現(xiàn)在我回答你，”西爾弗說。“你們都知道我想如何行事，但你們都沒聽，對嗎?如果照我說的去做，我們早已回到伊斯帕尼奧拉號上，不會死一個人，船上裝滿了財寶!還有，這個孩子?，F(xiàn)在我們得用他來講條件。這是我們最后的機會。至于那大夫，約翰，你的頭受傷了，你不是曾經(jīng)很高興大夫每天來照看你嗎?還有你，喬治，幾小時前還發(fā)燒發(fā)抖，病得不行。所以我做了交易，讓他們走了!”他把一張紙扔到地上，正是那張畫著三個叉叉的地圖。

The pirates jumped on it like cats upon a mouse.

那幫海盜像貓見了老鼠一樣撲過去。

‘Very pretty，’said George，‘but how are we going to get away with the treasure，when we have no ship?’

“這太好了，”喬治說，“可是咱們沒有船，怎么把財寶運走?”

‘You tell me，George!’shouted Silver.‘You and the others lost the ship;I found the treasure.But I'll not be your captain any longer!’

“該你告訴我，喬治!”西爾弗嚷道。“你和他們丟掉了船;我找到了寶藏。但我將不再當(dāng)你們船長了。”

‘Silver for cap’n!’shouted the pirates.

“西爾弗當(dāng)船長!”那幫海盜喊道。

After a moment，the sea cook smiled.‘George，’he said.‘I think you'll have to wait a while before you get another chance to be captain.’

過了一會兒，船上的廚子笑了。“喬治，”他說，“你想當(dāng)船長還得等上一段時間。”

Early in the morning Dr Livesey came to the stockade.

第二天一早李甫西大夫就來到寨子。

‘We've a surprise for you，doctor，’Silver called out.‘We've a little stranger here.’

“我們有件意想不到的事告訴你，大夫，”西爾弗說。“我這兒有位小客人。”

The doctor was now inside the stockade.‘Not Jim?’

大夫已經(jīng)進了寨子。“難道是吉姆嗎?”

‘The very same Jim，’said Silver.

“正是吉姆，”西爾弗說。

The doctor stopped.‘Well，well，’he said.Then he went on，Let's see these sick men of yours，Silver.’

大夫停住腳步。“好吧，”他說。“先去看你的病人吧，西爾弗。”

A moment afterwards，he entered the house.With one look at me，he went to his work among the sick.

他隨即走進木屋，看了我一眼，然后去看那些病人。

‘Well，that's done，’he said，after visiting each man.‘And now I'd like to talk to that boy，please.’

“好了，都看完了，”大夫說。“現(xiàn)在我想和那個孩子談?wù)劇?rdquo;

‘No!’cried George Merry.

“不行!”喬治·墨利大叫起來。

‘Silence!’shouted Silver.‘Hawkins，’he went on in his usual voice，‘will you promise not to escape?’I gave the promise.‘Then，doctor，’said Silver，‘you just step outside that stockade，and when you're there，I'll bring the boy down on the inside.You can talk through the fence.’

“住嘴!”西爾弗喊道。“霍金斯，”他仍然用那種平和的語調(diào)說，“你能保證不逃跑嗎?”我答應(yīng)了他。“那么，大夫，”西爾弗說，“你先走到圍欄外邊去，你到了那里，我就把孩子帶出來，你們可以隔著圍欄交談。”

The men's anger exploded after the doctor left the house，and they accused Silver of trying to make a separate peace for himself.Silver waved the map in front of them and told them they were stupid.

大夫剛走出木屋，海盜們的不滿情緒就爆發(fā)了，他們都指責(zé)西爾弗單獨媾和。西爾弗向他們揚了揚地圖，說他們都太蠢。

‘By thunder!’he cried.‘We'll break the peace when the right time comes----and that's not now!’And then he walked out on his crutch，his hand on my shoulder.‘Slowly，boy，’he whispered to me.‘We don't want to worry them.’

“媽的!”他叫道。“時機一到，咱們當(dāng)然要撕毀協(xié)議——但不是現(xiàn)在!”他拄著拐杖走出屋子，一只手放在我肩上。“慢點走，孩子，”他對我說。“我們不能讓他們起疑心。”

Dr Livesey was waiting outside the stockade.‘The boy will tell you how I saved his life，’Silver said through the fence.‘Will you say a good word for me?’

李甫西大夫正在寨子外邊等著。“這孩子會告訴你我如何救了他的命，”西爾弗隔著圍欄說，“你不能給我說句好話嗎?”

‘You're not afraid，John，are you?’asked Dr Livesey.

“你是不是害怕了，約翰?”李甫西大夫問道。

‘I don't like the idea of dying by the law，’said Silver.‘And now I'll leave you and Jim alone.’

“我不想上絞架，”西爾弗說。“現(xiàn)在你和吉姆單獨談吧。”

‘So，Jim，’said the doctor，‘here you are.I'm disappointed in you.You went away when Captain Smollett was wounded，which wasn't a brave thing to do.’

“唉，吉姆，”大夫說，“你又回來了。我對你很失望。斯摩列特船長受傷的時候，你倒跑了。真是懦夫行為!”

‘Doctor，’I cried，‘I've blamed myself enough.’

“大夫!”我哭了，“我已經(jīng)自責(zé)過了。”

‘Jim，’said the doctor，his voice changed.‘Jim，I can't have this.Jump over and we'll run!’

“吉姆，”大夫換了一種語氣對我說，“吉姆，咱們不能這樣。跳過圍欄來咱們跑吧。”

‘No，’I said.‘I promised Silver I wouldn't escape，and I must go back.But listen，I took the ship and she's in North Inlet，on the beach.’

“不，”我說，“我向西爾弗保證過不跑，我必須回去。聽著，我把船奪過來了，現(xiàn)在停在北面的海灘。”

‘The ship!’cried the doctor.

“船!”大夫叫起來。

I told him my story and he listened in silence Then he said，‘It's you that saves our lives，Jim，and now we'll save yours.Silver!’he called，then as the cook came nearer，said，‘Some Advice----don't hurry to find that treasure.If you do，watch out for storms.’

我把自己的經(jīng)歷給他講了，他靜靜地聽著。然后他說：“是你救了我們的命，我們也要救你出來。西爾弗!”他叫道。等那廚子走近了，他又說：“我要勸你一句，別太著急去尋寶。如果你那樣做了，請小心風(fēng)暴。”

‘What's the game，doctor?’said Silver.‘Why did you give me the map?’

“大夫，你這玩的是什么把戲?”西爾弗說。“你為什么給我那張圖?”

‘I can't say more，’said the doctor.‘It's not my secret to tell.But if we both get out of this alive，Silver，I'll do my best to save you.Now，keep the boy close beside you，and when you need help，shout for it.’

“我不能再多說了，”大夫說。“這不是我個人的秘密。如果我們都能活著離開這兒，西爾弗，我會盡力救你的命。讓這孩子呆在你身邊，如果你需要幫助，就喊我。”

Then Dr Livesey hurried off into the wood.

然后李甫西大夫匆匆向樹林里走去。