書蟲三級《伊桑·弗羅姆》：8、結局
8.Endings
8．結局
The whining voice stopped as I stepped into Frome's kitchen. There were two women sitting there, and I could not tell which one had been the speaker.
我走進弗羅姆家的廚房時，那又尖又細的抱怨聲停了下來。屋里坐著兩個女人，我不知道剛才說話的是哪一個。
One of them stood up when we entered, and without a word went to bring a dish of food to the table. She was tall and thin, and wore an untidy, shapeless dress. Her lined face and thin lips were of the same yellowish colour, and she had thin grey hair and grey, lifeless eyes.
我們進門時，一個女人站了起來，一言不發(fā)地走去拿了盤食物放在桌上。她高高瘦瘦的，穿了件邋遢的皺衣裳。布滿皺紋的臉和薄薄的嘴唇一樣，透著枯黃色。她長著稀疏的灰白頭發(fā)，陰郁的眼睛毫無生氣。
The other woman was smaller, and she also had grey hair and a thin, bloodless face. She turned her head towards me quickly, but her body did not move at all. Her dark eyes shone with the crazy brightness that is sometimes seen in people with disease of the spine.
另一個女人個子小些，也長著灰白的頭發(fā)，臉龐削瘦，毫無血色。她朝我快速地轉過頭來，可身子卻一點兒沒動。她的黑眼睛閃著狂躁的光芒，這光芒有時你會在脊椎病患者的眼中看到。
The kitchen was a poor place. The few pieces of furniture were of the poorest kind, mostly broken and dirty.
廚房很破舊，僅有的幾件家具都是最差的那種，而且大都又破又臟。
My, it's cold in here,' said Frome, looking around.
“嘿，這兒真冷啊。”弗羅姆說著，看了看四周。
The tall woman said nothing, but the dark-eyed woman answered complainingly, in a thin, whining voice:
高個兒女人什么都沒說，黑眼睛的女人拖著尖細的聲音抱怨道：
It's Zeena's fault. She fell asleep and the fire went out. I've been so cold, waiting for her to wake up.'
“都是齊娜的錯兒。她睡著了，火滅了。我等著她醒過來，冷極了。”
I knew then that it was her voice that I had heard.
我這才意識到剛才聽到的是她的聲音。
The tall woman brought the food to the table. Frome looked at me and said: 'This is my wife, Mrs Frome.' After a moment he added, turning to the figure in the armchair: 'And this is Miss Mattie Silver...'
高個子女人把食物端上餐桌。弗羅姆看看我，說道：“這是我妻子，弗羅姆太太。”過了一會兒，他轉身朝向搖椅中的身影，補充道：“這是瑪?shù)?middot;西爾弗小姐……”
Ruth Hale was very pleased to see me return safely in the moming, and most surprised to hear how I had spent the night.
第二天早晨，露絲·黑爾看到我安全回來，非常高興，而聽到我如何過夜之后，更是驚訝不已。
You must be the first stranger there in twenty years,' she said. 'It's awful to see them, all locked up together in that house. And they're not easy people, any of them. Mattie used to be; before the accident she was a really sweet girl. But not now — she's had too much pain. Now when she and Zeena fight, the look on Ethan's face is enough to break your heart.'
“你絕對是20年來第一個去那兒的陌生人。”她說，“看到他們一起困在那房子里，真是件讓人難過的事。他們不是隨和的人，誰都不是?，?shù)龠^去是，出事之前，她真是個可愛的女孩兒。可現(xiàn)在——她忍受太多痛苦了?，F(xiàn)在，她和齊娜吵架的時候，伊桑臉上的表情能讓人心碎。”
Yes, it must be awful for them,' I agreed.
“是啊，他們一定挺難的。”我同意黑爾夫人的話。
It was just terrible at the beginning,' she went on. 'They brought Mattie here, and I stayed with her all night. Then in the morning she opened her eyes and said... Oh, I don't know why I'm telling you this...' She stopped, crying.
“開始時，情況非常糟。”她接著說，“他們把瑪?shù)偎偷竭@兒來，我整夜都陪著她。第二天早上，她睜開眼，說……哦，我真不知道為什么要和你說這些……”她停下來，哭了。
After a few moments she dried her tears and continued: 'Then when the doctors said we could move Mattie, Zeena sent for her and took her back to the farm.'
過了一會兒，她擦干了眼淚，繼續(xù)說道：“后來大夫說我們能挪動瑪?shù)倭?，齊娜就讓人把她接回農莊去了。”
And she's been there ever since?' I asked.
“之后她就一直待在那兒？”我問。
There was no other place for her to go,' Ruth Hale answered simply; and I thought how hard life was for the poor.
“她沒處可去啊。”露絲·黑爾簡短地回答道。而我在想，窮人的生活是多么艱難啊。
Zeena's cared for the pair of them for over twenty years now,' Ruth Hale went on. 'And there they all are, shut up in that one kitchen.'
“到現(xiàn)在，齊娜照顧他們倆二十多年了，”露絲·黑爾繼續(xù)說，“三個人在一起，都困在廚房里。”
Then she looked at me and said in a low voice:
接著她看了看我，低聲說：
There was one day, about a week after the accident, when they thought Mattie couldn't live. Well, I say it was a pity she did. People think that's an awful thing to say, but they weren't with her when she first woke up... And I say this, too. All those years with Mattie have destroyed Ethan. The way they are now, there's not much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in their graves — except that down there they're all silent and the women have to keep quiet.'
“有一天，大概是他們出事后一周，大家都認為瑪?shù)倩畈怀闪恕０?，要我說，她活著反而更可憐。人們會覺得這么說不好，可當她第一次醒來的時候，他們可不在她身邊……我現(xiàn)在也這么說。和瑪?shù)僭谝黄鸬倪@些年毀了伊桑。他們現(xiàn)在這個樣子，弗羅姆家的人，在農場里活著的和躺在墳墓里的沒什么區(qū)別——唯一的區(qū)別是躺在墳墓里的都沒有聲音，那兒的女人不得不把嘴閉上。”
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