牛津書蟲(chóng)系列 亡靈島 2 島嶼

2 The Island

2 島嶼

We went to Scotland the next day，first by plane，then by train.Greta Ross travelled with us.

第二天我們就去了蘇格蘭，先乘飛機(jī)，后乘火車。格里塔·羅斯與我們同行。

I looked out of the train window and saw fields and villages and mountains.‘Mum is right，’I thought.‘Scotland is a very beautiful place.’

我從火車車廂的窗子向外望去，看到了田野、村莊和群山。“媽媽說(shuō)得對(duì)，”我想，“蘇格蘭是個(gè)非常漂亮的地方。”

‘You're going to be my husband's secretary，’Greta Ross told my mother He's a businessman，but he never leaves the island.He does all his work by telephone and letter and computer.He invests money in companies， all over the world.’

“你就要當(dāng)我丈夫的秘書了。”格里塔·羅斯告訴我媽媽說(shuō)，“他是個(gè)商人，但他從來(lái)不離開(kāi)這個(gè)島。他通過(guò)電話、信函和電腦來(lái)干他所有的工作。他向遍布世界各地的公司投資。”

‘Do many people live on the island?’I asked.

“許多人住在島上嗎?”我問(wèn)。

‘Not many，'said Greta Ross.‘You'll meet them soon.’

“不多。”格里塔·羅斯說(shuō)，“不一會(huì)兒你就能見(jiàn)到他們了。”

‘Greta Ross is young，’I thought.‘Is her husband young，too? How can a young man buy an island?Is he very rich?’

“格里塔·羅斯年輕。”我想，“她丈夫也年輕嗎?一個(gè)年輕人怎么能買得起一座島嶼呢?他很有錢嗎?”

After the train， we went on Mr Ross's boat， which took us out to the island. The boatman was a young man. He had dark hair and was brown from the sun.

下了火車，我們上了羅斯先生的船，那船帶著我們出海向島駛?cè)?。船夫是個(gè)年輕人。他長(zhǎng)著一頭黑發(fā)，皮膚曬成了棕色。

‘This is Tony， said Greta Ross.‘He works for Mr Ross.’

“這是托尼。”格里塔·羅斯說(shuō)，“他為羅斯先生工作。”

‘Hi，'said Tony.

“你好，”托尼說(shuō)。

Soon we were near the island.I could see the beaches and the cliffs. The boat slowed down.

不久我們就離這個(gè)島近了。我能看到海灘和峭壁了。船慢了下來(lái)。

‘There are dangerous rocks around the island，’explained Tony.‘A lot of them are under the water and you can't see them.I have to be careful.But the rocks keep other boats away，and that pleases Mr Ross.’

“島的四周都是危險(xiǎn)的礁石。”托尼解釋道，“許多礁石在水下，人看不見(jiàn)。我得很小心。但這些礁石使別的船不能靠近這個(gè)島，那使羅斯先生感到很高興。”

‘Why?’I asked.

“為什么?”我問(wèn)道。

Tony looked at Greta Ross but she wasn't listening.‘Mr Ross doesn't like visitors to the island，'tony said in a quiet voice.

托尼看了一下格里塔·羅斯，但她沒(méi)在聽(tīng)我們說(shuō)些什么。“羅斯先生不喜歡客人到島上來(lái)，”托尼輕聲說(shuō)。

Then Greta Ross looked at us and Tony said no more.

接著，格里塔·羅斯看了看我們，托尼便沒(méi)再說(shuō)什么。

‘Why doesn't Mr Ross like visitors?’I thought.‘Has he something to hide?’

“為什么羅斯先生不喜歡客人呢?”我思考著。“難道他有什么事要遮遮掩掩嗎?”

When we arrived on the island， my mother and I followed Greta up to the house.It was very big and there were trees all around it.

我們到了島上之后，我和我媽媽隨格里塔來(lái)到了那幢房子。它很大，四周都是樹(shù)。

A woman was waiting inside the house.

一個(gè)女人正在房子里等著我們。

‘This is Mrs Duncan，Tony's mother，'said Greta.‘She's the housekeeper and her husband is the gardener.Mrs Duncan will take you up to your rooms. I'm going to tell Mr Ross you've arrived.’

“這是鄧肯太太，托尼的母親。”格里塔說(shuō)，“她是女管家，她丈夫是園叮鄧肯太太將帶你們上樓去你們住的房間。我去告訴羅斯先生你們已經(jīng)到了。”

The housekeeper was a little woman with short hair. She went up the stairs，and my mother and I went after her.

管家是個(gè)留著短發(fā)的小婦人。她上了樓，我和我媽媽隨后跟著她。

My room was next to my mother's.I looked out of the win dow and saw the garden at the back of the house.A man was working in the garden，near some trees.‘Is that Mr Duncan?’I thought.I looked between the trees and saw the sea.‘It's a beautiful house and a beautiful island.’

我的房間就在我媽媽的房間的隔壁。從窗子向外望去，我看到了房后的園子。有個(gè)人正在園子里干活，那兒旁邊有些樹(shù)。“那就是鄧肯先生吧?”我想。我透過(guò)樹(shù)林，看到了大海。“這房子漂亮，這島也漂亮。”

That evening，we had dinner with Mr and Mrs Duncan and Tony.We ate in the big kitchen.

那天傍晚，我們與鄧肯夫婦和托尼一起進(jìn)餐。我們?cè)诖髲N房吃飯。

‘What happened to Mr Ross's last secretary?’asked my mother.

“羅斯先生的上任秘書發(fā)生了什么事?”我媽媽問(wèn)道。

‘She's in hospital，'replied Mrs Duncan.‘She's going to be away all summer.’

“她住院了。”鄧肯太太回答說(shuō)，“整個(gè)夏季她都將不在。”

‘Isn't Mrs Ross lonely here?’I said.

“羅斯夫人在這兒不寂寞嗎?”我說(shuō)道。

‘No，'said Mrs Duncan.‘She likes painting a lot.She has a room upstairs and goes there to paint.She's very good.Sometimes she goes to different places on the island to paint pictures.’

“不寂寞。”鄧肯太太說(shuō)，“她非常喜歡畫畫。她樓上有個(gè)房間，她常去那兒畫畫。她這個(gè)人很好。有時(shí)她去島上不同的地方畫畫。”

We finished eating our meal.Soon after，Greta Ross came into the kitchen.

我們吃完了飯。不久之后格里塔·羅斯來(lái)到了廚房。

‘Mr Ross wants to see you and your daughter now，Mrs Sanders，'she said Follow me，please.’

“羅斯先生現(xiàn)在想見(jiàn)見(jiàn)你和你的女兒，桑德斯夫人。”她說(shuō)，“請(qǐng)跟我來(lái)。”

We followed her through the house and into a big room.This was Mr Ross's office and he was sitting behind a desk.

我們跟著她穿過(guò)房子來(lái)到一個(gè)大房間里。這是羅斯先生的辦公室，他正坐在辦公桌的后面。

I was surprised.He was a young man，about thirty.He had a moustache，short dark hair，and he wore glasses.

我很驚訝。他是個(gè)年輕人，大約三十歲。他留著胡子，長(zhǎng)著黑色短發(fā)，并戴著眼鏡。

Mr Ross was speaking into the telephone.‘Who does he look like?’I thought.‘Is it Tony Duncan?’

羅斯先生正在打電話。“他看上去像誰(shuí)呢?”我思考著。“像托尼·鄧肯?”

‘Mr Ross is talking to a business friend in New York，'said Greta.‘Please，sit down.’

“羅斯先生正在與紐約的一位商界朋友通話。”格里塔說(shuō)，“請(qǐng)吧，坐下。”

While we waited， I looked around the office.There were three telephones，a computer， and lots of books and papers.

我們等著的時(shí)候，我打量了一下這間辦公室。屋里有三部電話、一臺(tái)電腦以及許多書本和文件。

There was another door and I could see a smaller room，next to the office.There was a smaller desk and another computer in there.

辦公室還有一個(gè)門，所以我可以看到緊挨著辦公室的一個(gè)小一些的房間。那里面有一張小一些的辦公桌，另有一臺(tái)電腦。

Mr Ross finished speaking on the phone，then looked care fully at my mother and me.For a few seconds he didn't speak，and just watched us.Then he said，‘I'm pleased to meet you，Mrs Sanders.I need some help with my work.My secretary is in hospital，and there's a lot of work to do. Sometimes you’11have to work late at night，because of time differences in New York and Tokyo.Is that all right?’

羅斯先生打完了電話，然后仔細(xì)地看了看我媽媽和我。有那么片刻他默默不語(yǔ)，只是在打量我們。然后他說(shuō)：“見(jiàn)到你們很高興，桑德斯夫人。我需要人幫助處理我的工作。我的秘書正在住院，有許多事情要處理。由于紐約和東京都有時(shí)差問(wèn)題，有時(shí)候你得在深夜工作。你看行嗎?”

‘Yes， that's all right，’said my mother.

“行，那沒(méi)什么。”我媽媽說(shuō)。

‘Can you use a computer?’

“你會(huì)用電腦嗎?”

‘Yes.’

“會(huì)用。”

‘Good.’He looked at me.‘Is this your daughter?’

“那很好。”他看了看我。“這是你女兒?jiǎn)?”

‘Yes， this is Carol，'said my mother.

“是，這是卡羅爾。”我媽媽說(shuō)。

‘Hallo，’I said.

“您好，”我說(shuō)。

‘Greta says you like gardening.There's a big garden here，so you can help Mr Duncan.And there's a farm.Dan and Stella Parks live in the farmhouse and work on the farm.You can help them，too.We have some animals.Some sheep，a few cows and chickens.And there's a horse called Smoke.He's grey，like his name.Can you ride?’

“格里塔說(shuō)你喜歡園藝。這里有個(gè)大園子，所以你可以給鄧肯先生幫幫忙。這里還有個(gè)農(nóng)常丹·帕克斯和斯特拉·帕克斯住在農(nóng)舍里并在農(nóng)場(chǎng)干活。你也可以給他們幫幫忙。我們養(yǎng)了些動(dòng)物。一些羊，幾頭牛和數(shù)只小母雞。還有一匹叫‘煙’的馬。這匹公馬灰色，跟它的名字一樣。你會(huì)騎馬嗎?”

‘Yes，’I said.‘I can ride a horse.’

“會(huì)騎，”我說(shuō)，“我會(huì)騎馬。”

‘You can ride Smoke around the is land，if you like.’

“如果你喜歡，你可以騎‘煙’在島上轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)。”

‘I'd like that，’I said.‘Thank you.’

“那太好了。”我說(shuō)，“謝謝您。”

‘And we grow vegetable and fruit，’he said.‘I work on the farm sometimes.I enjoy it.’

“我們還培植蔬菜和水果。”他說(shuō)，“我有時(shí)在農(nóng)場(chǎng)里干些活。我喜歡干農(nóng)活。”

I smiled at him but he didn't smile back.

我朝他笑了笑，可他沒(méi)回敬我的笑。

‘Carol will enjoy working on the farm，'said my mother.‘Won't you，Carol?’

“卡羅爾會(huì)喜歡在農(nóng)場(chǎng)干活的。”我媽媽說(shuō)，“是不是，卡羅爾?”

‘Yes，’I said.

“是的，”我說(shuō)。

‘Mr Ross looks sad，’I thought.‘But how did he get all his money? And why does he hide away on an island?’

“羅斯先生顯得有些憂傷。”我想，“但是他怎么會(huì)有那么多錢呢?而且為什么他要隱匿在一個(gè)島上呢?”