牛津書蟲系列 簡愛 chapter 13

13 The stranger is attacked

13 陌生人遭襲擊

I was woken by the full moon shining in on me，as I had forgotten to draw my curtains.Suddenly，a wild，terrible cry broke the silence，echoing throughout the house.My heart missed a beat.What could it mean?It came from the top floor.Then I heard the sounds of a desperate struggle，just above my room.

由于我忘記拉好窗簾，一輪滿月照在我身上，我被弄醒了。突然，一聲可怕的狂叫打破了寂靜，在整幢房子里回蕩。我的心跳都停了。這是怎么回事?聲音從頂層傳來，接著我聽到就在我樓上有死命掙扎的聲音。

’Help!Help! Help!Come on! Help me! Rochester! Rochester! For God’s sake, come!' shouted a voice from upstairs. Bedrooms were opened as the guests woke up.What’s happening?’’Fetch a candle’ Is It a fire?’’Are there burglars?’’Where’s Rochester? He isn’t in his room!’ ’Here l am!’ called the master of the house, descending with a candle from the top floor.’It’s all right.Don’t be afraid ladies. A servant’s had a bad dream, that’s all, and started screaming. Nothing to worry abut. Please go back to your rooms. You’ll catch cold otherwise.’ And so he calmed his guests and persuaded them to return to their rooms.

“救命!救命!救命!來人啊!救救我!羅切斯特!羅切斯特!看在上帝的份上，快來啊!”樓上有人喊著。許多臥室的門打開了，客人們都被吵醒了。“出什么事了?”“拿蠟燭來!”“著火了嗎?”“有強盜?”“羅切斯特呢?他不在自己屋里!”“我在這兒!”房子的主人喊道，他拿著蠟燭從頂樓走了下來。“沒事兒。女士們，別怕。一個仆人做了噩夢，然后開始喊叫，就這樣。沒什么好擔心的。請回屋吧，不然會著涼的。”他安慰著客人們，把他們勸回屋里。

But l knew that the sounds l had heard could have nothing to do with a servant’s dream. h I dressed and waited In my room in case l was needed. After about an hour, when Thornfield Hall was completely still, there was cautious knock on my door.

但是我知道我聽到的聲音跟什么仆人的噩夢毫無關(guān)系。于是我穿好衣服，等在屋里，以防要我?guī)兔?。大約一小時后，特恩費得已恢復(fù)了平靜，有人小心地敲我的門。

’Are you awake，Jane?’asked the voice I had been expecting.

“簡，你醒著嗎?”我期待的聲音問道。

’Yes，sir，and dressed.’

“先生，醒了，還穿好了衣服。”

’Good，I need you.Come and help me.Bring a clean cloth with you.’We went quietly up to the top floor，where he unlocked one of the small black doors.

“好，我需要你，來幫幫忙，帶上一塊干凈的布。”我們悄悄走上頂層，他打開了其中的一扇小黑門。

’Do you feel faint at the sight of blood?’he asked.

“你見到血暈不暈?”他問。

’I don’t think so，’I replied.We entered a room with curtains hung on the walls.One of the curtains was tied back to reveal a secret door into another small room.From there came an angry growling sound，almost like a dog.

“我想不會。”我答道。我們走進屋里，只見簾子掛在墻上，其中一個已卷好，露出一個暗門，通向另一間小屋子。從那兒傳出了憤怒的嚎叫聲，幾乎像一只狗似的。

’Wait here，’said Mr Rochester，and Went into the secret room where a shout of laughter greeted him.Ah，so Grace Poole was there!He came out quickly and closed the secret door.Then he showed me why he needed me.In an armchair lay Mr Mason，his clothes and his arm covered in blood。As we bent over him，he opened his eyes and groaned.

“等在這兒。”羅切斯特說完走進密室，一陣狂笑迎接了他。啊，格麗絲·普爾在里面!他很快退身出來，關(guān)上了暗門。然后他指給我為什么他需要我。扶手椅上躺著梅森先生，他的衣服上和手臂上都有血。當我們俯身看他時，他睜開眼睛呻吟著。

’Am I going to die?’he murmured weakly.

“我會死嗎?”他虛弱地輕聲說。

’No，man，don’t be foolish.It’s just a scratch，’answered Mr Rochester.’Now jane，’he said，turming to me，have to leave you in this room with Mason while I fetch the doctor.You must wipe away the blood with the damp cloth，like this，and help him to drink a little water.But on no account must you speak to him.Is that understood?’I nodded，and nervously watched him leave the room.I could hear him turning the key in the lock.

“不會的，別傻了，不過劃傷了一點兒。”羅切斯特說。他轉(zhuǎn)過身來對我交待著：“簡，我要你留在屋里陪梅森先生，我去請醫(yī)生。你必須用濕布擦凈血跡，像這樣，然后給他喝點兒水。但切莫對他說話，明白嗎?”我點點頭，害怕地看著他離開了房間，聽到他把門鎖上了。

So here I was，in the middle of the night，locked in with a bleeding，dying man，and a wild，murdering woman only on the other side of a door!It seemed a long night，interrupted only by Mason’s groans，and by occasional animal-like noises from the secret room.I had plenty of time to wonder why these violent attacks happened，first the fire in Mr Rochester’s room，and now a physical attack on a stranger.And how was Mr Mason involved?Why was he here on the top floor?I had heard his host showing him to a bedroom near mine，on the second floor.And why was Mr Rochester so frightened when Mr Mason came to Thornfield?

于是我就這么半夜被鎖起來陪伴一個流血不止、就要死去的人，而殺人的瘋女人就在門那邊!夜顯得那么漫長，只有梅森的呻吟和不時從密室里傳出的野獸般的聲音不時打破長夜。我有許多時間猜測為什么會發(fā)生這些暴力事件，先是羅切斯特先生房間著火，現(xiàn)在又是陌生人遭到襲擊。梅森先生是怎么卷進來的?他為什么會在頂層呢?我聽到主人把他領(lǐng)進二樓我隔壁的臥室的。梅森先生來到特恩費得，為什么羅切斯特先生那么害怕?

At last Mr Rochester arrived with the doctor，who cleaned and bandaged Mason’s wounds.

終于，羅切斯特先生帶著醫(yī)生來了，那醫(yī)生為梅森清洗、包扎了傷口。

’Strange!’remarked the doctor，’The skin on the shoulder has been torn by teeth，as well as a knife!’

“真奇怪!”醫(yī)生說，“肩上的傷既有牙咬的，也有刀扎的!”

’She bit me，murmured Mason，when Rochester managed to get the knife from her.’

梅森低聲說;“羅切斯特奪她手里的刀時，她咬了我。”

’Well，I warned you not to see her alone，’said Rochester.’You should have waited till the morning，then we could have seen her together.Den’t worry，man，when you get back to the West Indies，you can forget her.Think of her as dead and buried.Now，doctor，is Mason ready to be moved?I have a carriage waiting outside You’ll take him home with you to avoid gossip，and then in a few days he’ll be fit enough to leave the country.

羅切斯特說：“我警告過你不要單獨見她。你應(yīng)該等到早晨，然后我們一起去看她。別擔心，伙計，你回到西印度群島，就可以把她忘掉，就當她死了.被埋掉了。醫(yī)生，梅森先生能動了嗎?我有馬車等在外面。你把他帶去你家，免生議論，幾天后他就可以休養(yǎng)得離開這個國家了。”

Although it was now early morning，the house was still in total silence，and so there were no witnesses to see Mason being helped downstalrs and put in the carriage.

盡管已是清晨，整幢房子仍是寂靜一片，因此沒人看到梅森被扶到樓下，坐進了馬車。

’Look after him，doctor.’said Rochester.’Goodbye，Dick.’

“醫(yī)生，好好照顧他。”羅切斯特說，“迪克，再見!”

’Edward，make sure she’s taken care of，make sure she’s treated well… Mason could not continue，but burst into tears.

“愛德華，保證照顧好她，保證好好待她……”梅森說不下去了，哭了起來。

’I’ll do my best，Dick，as I always have done，’replied Rochester，shutting the door of the carriage，which rolled away.’But I wish there was an end to it!’he murmured to himself.

“狄克，我會像以前一樣盡最大努力的。”羅切斯特回答說。他關(guān)上車門，車走了。“可我希望有結(jié)束的一天。”他自語道。

As we were walking back through the garden to the house，he said to me，’Jane，you’ve had a strange night.You look pale.Were you afraid when I left you alone with Mason?’

我們穿過花園回到屋里時，他對我說：“簡，你過了奇怪的一夜。你看上去臉色蒼白。我留下你陪梅森時你害怕嗎?”

’Not of Mason，sir，but of Grace Poole in the secret room.’

“不是怕梅森，是怕暗室里的格麗絲·普爾。”

’But I’d locked her door.I would never leave you in danger.’

“可我已經(jīng)鎖了門，我不會讓你處在危險中的。”

’Will she go on living here，sir?’I asked.

“她還會在這兒住下去嗎?”我問。

’Oh yes.Don’t think about her.’

“噢，是的。別想她了。”

’But I’m sure your life is in danger while she’s here.’

“可我肯定她住在這兒你就會有生命危險。”

’Den’t worry，I can take care of myself.I’m in more danger while Mason’s in England.I live in constant fear of a disaster.’

“別擔心，我會照顧好自己。梅森不離開英格蘭，我會更有危險。我總是擔心災(zāi)難會降臨。”

’But Mr Mason’s weak!You have great influence with him!’

“但是梅森先生很脆弱!你對他影響力很大!”

’Yes.He wouldn’t knowingly hurt me，but by one careless word he could destroy，if not my life，at least my chance of happiness.Sit down with me on this bench，Jane.I want to ask you something.

“是的，他不會故意傷害我，但不小心說錯一個字，他如果不是毀掉我的生活，也會奪走我尋求幸福的機會。簡，和我一起坐在凳子上。我想問你點兒事。”

The early sun warmed the bench and the birds were singing.Now，Jane，suppose a boy in a foreign country makes a mistake，not a crime， mind you.The results of this mistake have a terrible effect on his whole life.He comes home aftef years of suffering，and meets someone，who is fresh and good and pure.Now，can he ignore society，can he forget the past,and live the rest of his life with her in peace?’

晨曦照暖了長凳，小鳥在唱歌。“簡，如果一個男孩在國外犯了錯誤，我提醒你不是犯罪，錯誤的結(jié)果嚴重影響了他的整個生活。經(jīng)過多年的痛苦之后，他重返故里，遇到一個人，清新、善良、純潔。那么，他能否不顧社會，忘記過去，和她一起平靜地度過余生?”

It was a difficult question to answer.In the end I said，

這個問題很難回答。最后我說：

’You can’t rely on a human being to cure you of evil and give you peace.You must ask for God’s help.’

“你不能依靠人來醫(yī)治你的邪惡，給你安寧，你必須請求上帝的幫助。”

’But I think I’ve found the cure!It’s… He paused.I held my breath.I almost thought the birds would stop singing to hear the name he was going to say.

“但是我覺得我已找到了出路，是……”他停住了。我屏住呼吸，我覺得連小鳥都會停止歌唱，聽聽他要講出的名字。

’Yes，’he said in quite a different，hard voice，you’ve noticed my love for Miss Ingram，haven’t you?Don’t you think she’ll cure me of my wickedness，Jane?Oh，I can hear some of the guests in the garden.Go into the house by the back door.’As I went one way，and he another，I heard him say cheerfully to the gentlemen，’Mason’s already left.I got up early to say goodbye to him.’

“是的。”他換了完全不同的生硬語調(diào)，“你已經(jīng)注意到我對英格姆小姐的愛慕，是不是?簡，你不覺得她可以醫(yī)治我的惡習(xí)嗎?噢，我聽到有客人來花園了。從后門進屋去。”我們分頭走開時，我聽到他高興地對先生們說：“梅森已經(jīng)走了，我一早起來和他道別。”