牛津書蟲系列 織工馬南 2 Godfrey and Dunstan Cass

2 Godfrey and Dunstan Cass

2 戈弗雷·凱斯和鄧斯坦·凱斯

The most important person in Raveloe was Squire Cass， a gentleman farmer，who lived with his three sons in the handsome Red House opposite the church，and owned a num-her of farms outside the village.His wife had died many years before.

瑞福洛村最重要的人物是鄉(xiāng)紳凱斯。他的妻子許多年前就已經(jīng)死了，只有他和3個兒子一起住在教堂對面的漂亮的“紅屋”里，在村子外面有大片屬于他的土地。

One dark November evening，fifteen years after Silas Marner had first arrived in Raveloe，some of the villagers were drinking beer in the public house，the Rainbow.Old Mr Macey，the church clerk，was remembering the Squire's wife.

11月的一個傍晚，在西拉斯·馬南來到瑞福洛村15年以后，幾個村民在名叫“彩虹”的小酒館里喝酒，教堂的執(zhí)事麥西老先生講起了凱斯的妻子。

'She was a wonderful lady，'he said，shaking his grey head sadly.'Everything was always so pretty and clean at the Red House when she was alive!When she died，all those years ago，the poor Squire，well，he didn't know what to do.And he's still lonely，believe me!That's why we often see him in here in the evenings.And another thing，if poor Mrs Cass were alive today，I'm sure she'd be very disappointed with her sons.The Squire should make those boys do some work，but in-stead he lets them stay at home and gives them money to spend on horses，or gambling，or women! '

“那是個好女人，”麥西傷感地?fù)u著長滿灰發(fā)的頭，“她在的時候，紅屋從來都是那么干凈、漂亮!許多年前，她去世的時候，可憐的鄉(xiāng)紳，唉，他不知道該怎么辦?，F(xiàn)在，他仍然很孤獨，真的!所以我們才會經(jīng)常見他晚上到這兒來喝酒。如果凱斯太太還活著，她一定會為她的兒子們感到失望。鄉(xiāng)紳應(yīng)該讓他的兒子們?nèi)ジ牲c兒活，而不應(yīng)該讓他們呆在家里，還給他們錢去玩馬、賭博、找女人!”

'Come，come，Mr Macey，'said the landlord.'They're rich young gentlemen，after all.You can't expect them to work on the farms like us country people.But you're right about Dun-stan Cass.He's a bad one，he is.Always borrowing money，and never paying it back.Always gambling，always in trouble!He'll come to a bad end，he will!'

“行了，麥西先生，”酒館主人說，“不管怎么說，人家是有錢的年輕紳士，你哪能讓他們像我們這些鄉(xiāng)下人一樣下地干活呢?不過鄧斯坦·凱斯倒確實像你說的，他確實不怎么樣，總在借錢，卻從來不還，總是賭博，而且總是惹麻煩!他一定不會有好下場!”

'But the other two are different，'said the butcher，a red-faced，smiling man.'Bob Cass is still only a boy.And Mr God-frey，the eldest，well，I don't believe he'll be like his brother Dunstan.Just look at him!He's got an open，honest face.And he's going to inherit the Squire's money and all the land.And what's more，he's going to marry Miss Nancy Lammeter.When she moves into the Red House as Mrs Godfrey Cass，she'll make life more comfortable for all the Casses.She'll save the Squire money too—the Lammeters have the best of every-thing in their house，but they're very careful with their money.'

“另兩個可不一樣，”笑瞇瞇的紅臉屠戶說，“鮑勃·凱斯還是個孩子，老大戈弗雷先生可不像他兄弟鄧斯坦，看看他那張臉是多么的誠實、大方。他會繼承鄉(xiāng)紳的財產(chǎn)和所有的土地，而且他還會娶南茜·拉默特小姐。等她以戈弗雷·凱斯太太的身份入主紅屋后，她會把凱斯全家的生活照料好。而且她會為鄉(xiāng)紳節(jié)省很多錢——拉默特家有各種最好的東西，可他們用錢很小心。”

The farrier，a small man with a sharp face，always enjoyed disagreeing with the butcher.'Mr Godfrey marry Miss Nancy!'he laughed.'That's what you think!Haven't you noticed how Miss Nancy has changed towards Godfrey since last year?You remember，he was away from home，for days and days.Nobody knows what he was doing，but Godfrey hasn't been the same since then.Miss Nancy isn't stupid—she won't marry a man she can't trust!'

長著尖臉的小個子馬掌匠最愛和屠戶過不去。“戈弗雷先生娶南茜小姐!”他大笑著說，“這是你這么想!你沒發(fā)現(xiàn)從去年開始南茜小姐對戈弗雷的態(tài)度已經(jīng)變了嗎?你知道，他經(jīng)常離開家外出，一去好多天。沒人知道他在干什么，可從那時起他就變了。南茜小姐可不傻——她不會嫁給一個她把握不住的人。”

The landlord always tried to prevent his customers from ar-guing.'What you all say is very true.But let's hope that Mr Godfrey doesn't lose his chance of marrying Miss Nancy.'

酒館主人總是試圖平息客人們的爭論。“你們說的都對，但愿戈弗雷先生不要失去娶南茜小姐的機(jī)會。”

Meanwhile，at the Red House，Godfrey Cass was waiting for his brother in the sitting-room，with a very worried expression on his handsome face.Soon the door opened，and a heavy-look-ing young man entered.It was Dunstan.He had clearly been drinking.

在大家在酒館談?wù)摰耐瑫r，在紅屋里，戈弗雷·凱斯正在客廳中等他的弟弟鄧斯坦，他英俊的臉上一臉焦急。一會兒，門開了，一個粗壯的年輕人走進(jìn)來。這就是鄧斯坦，他顯然剛喝過許多酒。

'How I hate him!'thought Godfrey.

“我太恨他了!”戈弗雷心里想。

'Well，sir，'said Dunstan unpleasantly，'you sent for me，and as you're the oldest，and you'll be the Squire one day，I have to obey you.So what do you want?'

“啊，先生，”鄧斯坦不高興地說，“你派人叫我，因為你是老大，因為有一天你會成為鄉(xiāng)紳，所以我不能不聽命于你。你想干什么?”

'Just listen，will you?'replied Godfrey angrily，'if you aren't too drunk to understand!You must pay me back the money I lent you last month.You know I got it from Fowler，of Church Farm.He owed the money to the Squire，and asked me to give it to him.Now the Squire is angry with Fowler for not paying，and I've got to give the money back!'

“如果還沒醉得聽不懂話你就好好聽著!”戈弗雷生氣地說，“你必須把我上個月借給你的錢還給我。你知道我是從教堂農(nóng)場的福勒那里拿的錢，他這些錢是欠咱們父親的，他讓我把這錢還給父親?，F(xiàn)在父親以為福勒還沒有還錢，所以很生氣，我必須把錢還回去!”

Dunstan came close to Godfrey and smiled in an evil way.'Well，my dear kind brother，why don't you find the money yourself?That would be much less trouble for me!'

鄧斯坦走近戈弗雷陰險地笑了。“好吧，我親愛的好心的哥哥，你為什么不自己去找錢?那就不會太麻煩我了!”

Godfrey controlled himself with difficulty.'Don't smile at me like that，or I'll hit you!'

戈弗雷努力控制住自己。“別這么對我笑，否則我揍你!”

'Oh no，you won't，answered Dunstan.'Because if you do，I'll tell the Squire your secret.I'll tell him that his handsome eldest son fell in love with that poor girl Molly in the town，and married her in a hurry.The Squire'll be angry because you married her in secret，and he'll disinherit you.Then I'll get the house and land when the old man dies!But don't worry，I'm a good brother to you.I won't tell him，and you'll find the money to pay back，I know you will.'

“不，你不會，”鄧斯坦回答，“因為如果你揍了我，我就會向父親告發(fā)你的秘密。我會告訴他，他的漂亮的長子愛上了城里的一個窮丫頭莫麗，而且匆匆忙忙娶了她。父親會因為你偷偷娶了她而生氣的，并且會取消你的繼承權(quán)。那么我將在老頭兒死后得到這房子和土地!不過別擔(dān)心，我是你的好兄弟，我不會告訴他，而且你會自己找到錢還回去，我知道你會的。”

'Where can I get the money from?'cried Godfrey.'I tell you，I haven't got any!'

“我到哪兒去弄錢?”戈弗雷喊道，“告訴你，我沒錢!”

'You could borrow It，'said Dunstan carelessly.'Or wait-I've had a better idea.You could sell your horse.'

“你可以去借，”鄧斯坦漫不經(jīng)心地說，“或者，等等——我有個好點兒的主意，你可以把馬賣了。”

'Sell Wildfire!You know how muchl love that horse!'

“賣野火?你知道我是多么喜歡這匹馬!”

'Well，you could ride him to the hunt tomorrow.I know two or three men who'd be interested in buying him，and they'll be at the hunt，I'm sure.It'd be easy.'

“好了，你可以明天騎著它去狩獵會，我知道有幾個人想買它，明天他們肯定也在狩獵會，這很容易。”

'No，I haven't got time to go hunting tomorrow.I-I'm going to Mrs Osgood's birthday dance.'

“不行，明天我沒時間去狩獵會。我——我得去參加奧斯古德太太的生日舞會。”

'Aha!'said Dunstan，laughing.'And perhaps you'll see sweet Miss Nancy there—and you'll dance with her-and you'll talk of love…'

“噢!”鄧斯坦大笑起來，“沒準(zhǔn)兒你能在那兒見到可愛的南茜小姐——你會和她跳舞——你會和她談情說愛……”

'Be quiet!'shouted Godfrey，his face turning red.'Don't speak of Miss Nancy like that，or I'll kill you!'

“住嘴!”戈弗雷喊道，他的臉紅了。“別這么說南茜小姐，否則我殺了你!”

'Don't get so angry，brother，'answered Dunstan calmly.'You've got a very good chance with her.In fact，I advise you to be nice to her.You and I know that Molly's started drink ing.Well，if she drinks too much one day and dies，then you could marry Nancy.She wouldn't mind being a second wife，if she didn't know there was a first.And luckily you've got a kind brother who'll keep your secret well.'

“別這么生氣，哥哥，”鄧斯坦冷冷地說，“這是你和她的好機(jī)會，真的，我勸你對她好一點兒。咱們都知道莫麗開始喝酒了，有一天她喝多了酒死了，你就能娶南茜了，她不會介意做第二個太太的，如果她根本不知道有個第一個的話。有我這么個好弟弟為你保守秘密，你是多么幸運呀。”

Godfrey's face was white now，and he was trembling.'Look，Dunstan，I've nearly had enough of this.You can push a man too far，you know.Perhaps I'll go to the Squire now and confess everything to him.He'll discover the truth one day，because Molly says she'll come and tell him.She wants every-one to know we re married.When the Squire knows the truth，you won't get any more money from me!'

戈弗雷臉色慘白，有些顫抖。“鄧斯坦，我受夠了，別欺人太甚，或許我會馬上去找父親承認(rèn)這一切。他早晚會發(fā)現(xiàn)真相，因為莫麗說會來告訴他。她希望每個人都知道我們結(jié)婚了。等父親知道了，你就別想再從我這兒弄一分錢!”

Dunstan replied lightly，'Do what you like，brother.'

鄧斯坦輕松地回答：“隨你便，哥哥。”

Godfrey hesitated.He knew he had fallen into Dunstan's trap，when he made the mistake of marrying Molly.It was Dunstan who had Introduced his brother to Molly，hoping that Godfrey would fall in love and marry her.Dunstan was clearly delighted that his evil plan had succeeded.Godfrey was now in a difficult situation.He no longer loved his young wife，and could not stop thinking of Nancy Lammeter.He felt sure that with Nancy as his wife he would not need to have secrets，and could be open and honest with everybody.But for the moment he had to give Dunstan whatever he wanted，keep Molly happy，and lie to his father and his friends.If he told his father the truth，the situation would become impossible.The Squire would disinherit him and he would be just a poor working man for the rest of his life.And far worse than that，he would lose any hope of marrying Nancy.No!He could not accept that.He would find the money for Dunstan，and wait for the situa-tion to get better.Living with fear in his heart，the fear of be-ing discovered，was better than living without Nancy's love.

戈弗雷猶豫了，他知道自從錯誤地和莫麗結(jié)婚以后，自己就掉進(jìn)了鄧斯坦的陷阱。鄧斯坦把戈弗雷介紹給莫麗，就是想讓他愛上她并娶她。鄧斯坦顯然很得意自己的計劃能夠成功。戈弗雷現(xiàn)在處于困難的境地，他不再愛他的年輕妻子，也不能停止想念南茜·拉默特。他深信如果南茜成為自己的妻子，他就不再需要保守什么秘密，可以誠實、坦率地去面對每一個人。但現(xiàn)在鄧斯坦要什么，他就得給什么，必須讓莫麗高興，并且必須對父親和朋友們?nèi)鲋e。如果向父親說出實情，情況將不可想像，自己會被父親取消繼承權(quán)，會像一個可憐的工人一樣過完下半輩子。更糟糕的是，自己將再不可能娶到南茜了。不，他不會接受這一切!他要給鄧斯坦找錢，等待事情好轉(zhuǎn)。懷著怕被發(fā)現(xiàn)的恐懼活著，總比得不到南茜的愛活著要強(qiáng)。

He turned to Dunstan.'It's just like you to talk of selling Wildfire—the best horse I've ever had!'

他轉(zhuǎn)向鄧斯坦。“賣掉野火——我最好的馬，這正是你的行徑!”

'Let me sell him for you-you know I'm good at buying and selling.I can ride him to the hunt for you tomorrow，and bring you back the money.But you must decide.You lent me that money，and you'll have to pay it back to the Squire.So it's your problem，not mine!'

“讓我替你去賣——你知道我善做買賣。明天我會把它騎到狩獵會，然后帶錢回來給你。不過這必須由你來決定。錢你已經(jīng)借給我了，你得去還給父親，所以這是你的問題而不是我的。”

Godfrey thought for a moment.'All right，'he said.'But make sure you bring me back all the money，Dunstan!'

戈弗雷想了一會兒。“好吧，”他說，“不過你必須把所有的錢拿回來給我!”

The next morning，as Dunstan was riding Wildfire out of Rav-eloe，he passed the old quarry.All the stone had been taken out of it and it was no longer used;now all that was left was a deep hole full of reddish water.Opposite the quarry was Silas Marn-er's cottage.Dunstan suddenly had an idea.'Everybody in Raveloe talks of the weaver's money—he must have a lot hid-den away in that cottage!Why doesn't Godfrey borrow some money from him，and pay him back when he becomes the Squire?'He wondered whether to go back to the Red House at once，to tell Godfrey about this wonderful idea of his，but he did not want to miss the hunt，so he decided to continue on his way.

第二天早晨，鄧斯坦騎著野火離開瑞福洛時，從老采石場經(jīng)過。所有的石頭都已經(jīng)被采走，采石場已經(jīng)廢棄多時，現(xiàn)在只剩一個滿是紅水的大深洞了。西拉斯·馬南的草屋就在采石場的對面。鄧斯坦忽然有了個主意。“瑞福洛的每個人都在談?wù)摽棽冀车腻X——他一定在草屋里藏了很多錢。戈弗雷干嘛不向他借點兒，等成了鄉(xiāng)紳后再還給他呢?”他猶豫了一下是不是馬上回去把自己的好主意告訴戈弗雷，但最后還是決定繼續(xù)趕路，因為他不想錯過狩獵會。

At the hunt he met several friends and neighbours，and be fore the hunt started he managed to sell Wildfire for a good price.The money would be paid when he brought the horse to the neighbour's house later that day.Dunstan knew it would be safer to take the horse there immediately，so that he could be sure of receiving the money.But he was confident that he could take care of Wildfire during the hunt，and so，after a glass or two of whisky，he joined the other riders in the fields.This time，however，he was not as lucky as usual，and horse and rid-er fell while jumping a gate.Dunstan got up，shaken but unhurt，but poor Wildfire's back was broken，and in a few mo-ments he died.

在狩獵會，鄧斯坦遇到了幾個朋友和鄰居，在狩獵會開始前他已經(jīng)把野火賣了個好價錢，說好晚些時候把馬送到鄰居家里再拿錢。鄧斯坦知道馬上把馬送去更安全，這樣他肯定能拿到錢。但他相信自己在狩獵會上能照料好馬。于是，喝了一兩杯威士忌啟，他加入了其他狩獵者的行列。不幸的是，這次鄧斯坦沒有平時幸運，在跳過一個籬笆門時，馬和騎手都摔倒了。鄧斯坦站了起來，摔得夠嗆但沒傷著，而可憐的野火的背卻摔斷了，幾分鐘后，它死了。

Dunstan looked around，and was glad to see that no other riders had noticed his accident.He did not want people to think he was a bad rider.He did not care much about Wildfire，be-cause he thought he now had a much better plan to offer God-frey.The worst thing was that he would have to walk home，something he was not at all used to doing.

鄧斯坦看看四周，很高興沒有別的騎手注意到他的事故，他不想讓人覺得他是個不好的騎手。他并不在乎野火，因為他覺得他有更好的主意提供給戈弗雷。最麻煩的是他得步行回家了，這可是他一點兒也不習(xí)慣的。

He drank some more whisky from the bottle he kept in his pocket，and started down the country road.He kept thinking about Silas's money.There would certainly be enough for his own needs as well as Godfrey's.Dunstan thought it would be easy to frighten the weaver a little，and then Silas would quick-ly agree to lend his money.

又喝了些身上酒瓶里的酒，鄧斯坦踏上了回家的鄉(xiāng)村小路。他一直在想西拉斯的錢，那些錢肯定夠哥哥和自己用的了。鄧斯坦相信很容易就能嚇住織布匠，讓他把錢借出來。

It was four o'clock in the afternoon，and the whole country-side was covered by a thick mist.Dunstan did not see anyone on his way back to Raveloe.He knew he was getting close to the old quarry，although he could not see the road in front of him.At last he saw light coming from the weaver's cottage，and he decided to knock at the door.'Why not ask the old man for the money now?he thought.

這時是下午4點，整個村野都被濃霧籠罩著。鄧斯坦在回瑞福洛的路上沒有看到一個人。雖然看不見前面的路，但他知道自己已經(jīng)接近老采石場了。終于看到了織布匠屋里的燈光，他決定去敲門。“為什么不現(xiàn)在就去向老頭兒借錢?”他想。

But when he knocked loudly，there was no reply.And when he pushed the door，it opened.Dunstan found himself in front of a bright fire which showed every corner of the small living-room.Silas Marner was not there.Dunstan was tired and cold，so he went quickly to sit by the warm fire.As he sat down，he noticed a small piece of meat cooking over the fire.It was hanging from a large door key.

他大聲敲門的時候，屋里沒有人答應(yīng)，推了推，門開了。鄧斯坦進(jìn)到了一個被爐火照亮了每一個角落的小屋里，西拉斯·馬南不在家。鄧斯坦覺得又冷又累，趕緊在暖和的爐火前坐下。坐下時，他發(fā)現(xiàn)一小片肉吊在一把大鑰匙上，在火上烤著。

'So，the old man's cooking meat for his supper，is he?'thought Dunstan.'But where is he?Why is his door unlocked?Perhaps he went out to fetch some wood for the fire，and fell into the quarry!Perhaps he's dead!'this was an interesting new idea.'And if he's dead，who inherits his mon-ey?Who would know that anybody had come to take it away?'And the most important question of all—'Where is the money?'

“這是老家伙為自己燒的晚飯吧!”鄧斯坦想，“他去哪兒了?為什么不鎖門?也許出去運柴火，結(jié)果掉采石場里了!沒準(zhǔn)他死了!”這是個有趣的新想法。“如果他死了，誰繼承他的錢?誰會知道有人來過把錢拿走了?”可更重要的問題是——“錢在哪兒?”

Dunstan's excitement made him forget that the weaver could still be alive.He wanted Silas to be dead，and he wanted Silas's money.He looked round the cottage again.There was very little furniture，just a bed，the loom，three chairs and a table.Dunstan looked under the bed，but the money was not there.Then he noticed a plsce on the floor，near the loom，where the floorboards looked different.By pulling up one of the boards，he discovered Silas's hiding-place.He took out the two heavy bags filled with gold，put the boards back and hurried to the door.

興奮使鄧斯坦忘了織布匠有可能還活著。他希望西拉斯死了，他希望得到西拉斯的錢。于是他重新看看小屋，家具很少，只有一張床、織布機(jī)、三把椅子和一張桌子。看看桌子下面，錢不在。鄧斯坦注意到織布機(jī)旁邊地上的一個地方，地板看起來有些特別，扒開一塊板，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了西拉斯的藏錢之處。他取出兩個裝滿金幣的袋子，把板蓋好，急忙跑向屋門。

Outside，the rain was falling heavily，and he could not see anything at all.Carrying the heavy bags，he stepped forward into the darkness.

外面的雨下得很大，鄧斯坦什么也看不見。拿著沉沉的袋子，他走進(jìn)黑暗之中。