牛津書蟲系列 黑駿馬 6 The fire

6 The fire

6 大火

The first day we travelled about fifty kilometres， but James drove carefully and made sure that Ginger and I were always on the smoothest part of the road. It was evening when we reached the hotel where we were going to stay that night.It was in the Market Place and two stablemen came out to us.

第一天我們趕了大約五十公里的路，詹姆斯小心翼翼地趕車，一直注意著讓我和金兒走在道路較平坦的那一邊。晚上我們到了一個(gè)飯店，準(zhǔn)備在這里過夜。這是在馬克特·普雷斯，兩個(gè)馬夫迎了出來。

The chief stableman was a pleasant old man， and he led me into a long stable with six or eight stalls in it，and two or three horses.The younger man brought in Ginger，and James watched while we were groomed.

馬夫長是個(gè)令人愉快的老人，他把我牽進(jìn)了一個(gè)有六到八欄的長廄，里面有兩三匹馬。年輕馬夫牽進(jìn)了金兒。當(dāng)給我們刷洗時(shí)，詹姆斯在一旁看著。

'I thought I was quick，'James told the old stableman，'but you're quicker than anyone.'

“我以為我手快，”詹姆斯對老馬夫說，“可是你比誰都快。”

'I've worked with horses since I was twelve years old， and I can tell you it's good to be able to work with a well-behaved，well-cared for animal like this，'said the stableman，patting my neck.'Who is your master?'

“我12歲起就干這行了!而且我跟你說，能和像這匹馬這樣教養(yǎng)好，料理得好的動(dòng)物一起干活兒，是件愉快的事。”老馬夫說著，拍拍我的脖子。“你的主人是誰?”

'Mr Gordon of Birtwick Park，'said James.

“伯特威克莊園的高頓先生，”約翰說。

'I've heard of him，'said the stableman.'He's a good judge of horses， and the best rider in this part of the country.'

“我聽說過他，”馬夫說，“他是一個(gè)相馬的行家，而且是這一帶最好的騎手。”

'He doesn't ride very often now，'said James，'not since the poor young master was killed.'

“他現(xiàn)在不常騎馬了，”詹姆斯說，“自從可憐的小主人死了以后，他就不騎馬了。”

'I read about that in the newspaper，'said the stableman.'A fine horse was killed too，wasn't it?'

“我在報(bào)紙上看到這個(gè)消息了，”馬夫說，“一匹好馬也死了，是嗎?”

'Yes，an excellent horse，'said James.'He was the brother of this one，and just like him.'

“是啊，一匹出色的馬，”詹姆斯說，“他是這匹馬的哥哥，和他長得一樣。”

'Terrible!'said the old man.'It was a bad place to jump，wasn't it? A man's life and a horse's life are worth more than a hare—or they should be!'

“太可怕了!”老人說。“那地方不能跳，是嗎?一個(gè)人和一匹馬的生命比一只野兔貴重多了——本來就是這么回事!”

Later that evening，the younger stableman brought in anoth-er horse， and a young man with a pipe in his mouth came into the stable to talk to him.

晚些時(shí)，小馬夫又牽進(jìn)了一匹馬，一個(gè)小伙子嘴里叼著煙斗跟進(jìn)來和他聊天。

'Towler， go up and get some hay and put it down for this horse， will you?'said the stableman.'But put down your pipe first.'

“透勒，上去給這匹馬拿些干草來，好嗎?”馬夫說，“不過先放下你的煙斗。”

'All right，'said the other man，and went up a ladder and through a little door. I heard him step across the floor over my head and push down some hay through a hole in the roof，into the new horse's feeding place.

“行啊”那人說，爬上一架梯子，穿過了一扇小門。我聽見他從我頭頂?shù)牡匕遄哌^，從屋頂上的一個(gè)孔把干草塞下來，扔進(jìn)新來的馬的槽里。

James came in to look at us before he went to bed，and then the door was locked.

詹姆斯進(jìn)來看了看我們，然后就去睡覺了，馬廄的門被鎖了起來。

I don't know how long I slept， or what time it was when I woke up，but the air seemed thick and I heard Ginger and an-other horse moving about worriedly.It was quite dark and I could see nothing.The stable was full of smoke，and it was al-most impossible to breathe.

我不知睡了多久，也不知醒來時(shí)是幾點(diǎn)，只看見空氣中煙霧重重，聽見金兒和另一匹馬在不安地四處走動(dòng)。天色漆黑，我什么也看不見。馬廄里濃煙滾滾，簡直透不過氣來。

The smoke seemed to come from the little door above me，and I could hear a strange noise up there. The other horses were now all awake， moving about restlessly.

煙霧似乎是從我頭頂上的小門涌出來，我聽見那上面有奇怪的聲音。其他的馬現(xiàn)在全醒了，焦慮地走來走去。

At last I heard someone outside， and then the younger sta-bleman ran in with a light.He began to untie the horses，and tried to lead then out. The first horse would not go with him，nor the second or third. He tried to pull me out， but he was so frightened himself that he frightened me，and I would not move.

最后我聽見外面有人，年輕的馬夫提著燈跑進(jìn)來。他開始解開馬，想把他們牽出去。第一匹馬不肯跟他走，第二匹、第三匹也是這樣。他想來拉我，可是他自己已經(jīng)被嚇得要命，也把我嚇壞了，我也不肯動(dòng)。

The noise above was louder now and there was a shout of 'Fire!'outside. The old stableman came in quietly and quickly and got one horse out，then another. By now the flames were coming down through the roof and the noise was terrible.

頭頂上的怪響現(xiàn)在更大了，外面有人喊“著火了!”這時(shí)老馬夫安靜但迅速地走進(jìn)來，帶了一匹馬出去，然后又帶出去一匹。現(xiàn)在火焰已從天花板上燒下來，聲音可怕極了。

Then I heard James's voice， quiet and friendly as it always was.'Come on，Beauty，'he said，'we'll soon get you out of this smoke.'He took off his scarf and tied it over my eyes，then led me out， patting me all the time.He took the scarf off，then shouted，'Take this horse， somebody， while I go back for the other!'

這時(shí)我聽到了詹姆斯那和往常一樣安靜友善的聲音。“來，黑駿馬，”他說，“我們會(huì)很快把你弄出這個(gè)煙幕陣的。”他解下圍巾，蒙住我的雙眼，然后帶我出來，一路拍著我。他取下圍巾，喊道：“來人，勒住這馬，我得回去找另一匹馬!”

Windows in the hotel were open and people were shouting.I watched the stable door，where the smoke came out thicker than ever.Then I heard one voice above all the others，and recognized it as my master's.

旅店的窗戶開著，人們都在大喊大叫。我看著馬廄的大門，那兒煙冒得更濃了。然后我聽到了一個(gè)壓住一切的聲音，那是我的主人。

'James Howard!James Howard! Are you there?'

“詹姆斯·霍華德!詹姆斯·霍華德!你在那兒嗎?”

There was no answer，only the crash of something falling in the stables—but the next moment I saw James coming through the smoke，leading Ginger with him.

沒有應(yīng)答，只有馬廄里什么東西倒塌的聲音——隨后我看見詹姆斯從濃煙中鉆出來，牽著金兒。

'My brave boy!'said the master.'Are you hurt?'

“我勇敢的孩子!”主人說，“你受傷了嗎?”

James shook his head，unable to speak because of the smoke.

詹姆斯搖搖頭。他被煙嗆得說不出話了。

Suddenly，I heard the sound of wheels and galloping horses.'It's the fire-engine!'shouted someone.

突然間，我聽到了車輪聲和疾馳的馬蹄聲。“救火車來了!”有人喊道。

Two horses ran past me，pulling the heavy fire-engine.The firemen jumped out，and we went quickly into the wide，quiet Market Place，out of their way.

兩匹馬從我身旁跑過，拖著沉重的救火車。消防員跳下來，我們趕緊跑回寬敞、安靜的馬克特·普雷斯旅店，以免擋著他們的路。

The master led us to a large hotel on the other side where a stableman came to take us in;then the master hurried off to find his wife.

主人帶我們?nèi)チ肆硪粋€(gè)大旅店，一個(gè)馬夫出來帶我們進(jìn)去，然后主人趕回去找他的妻子。

The next morning，he came to see how we were and to speak to James.I did not hear much，but James looked very happy and the master looked proud of him.

第二天一早，他來看望我們并和詹姆斯談了幾句。我聽見得不多，不過詹姆斯看上去很高興，主人也滿懷自豪地看著他。

How did the fire start?Someone said they saw Dick Towler go into the stable smoking a pipe，but that when Dick came out he didn't have it.The young stableman said that he asked Dick to go up the ladder to put down some hay，but also told him to put down his pipe first.Dick said that he did this，but nobody believed him.

這場大火是怎么引起的?有人說看見迪克·透勒吸著煙斗走進(jìn)馬廄，而出來時(shí)煙斗沒帶在身邊。小馬夫說他要迪克上梯子弄些干草下來，但也要他先放下煙斗。迪克說他照辦了，不過沒人信他。

James said the roof and floor had all fallen in and only the black walls were standing;the two poor horses who could not get out were buried under the fallen roof.

詹姆斯說房頂和地板都塌了，只有熏黑的墻壁還直立著;兩匹可憐的馬來不及跑出來，被塌下的屋頂砸死了。