【前情回顾】:
时光回溯,一名叫Lucy的女孩认识了Jefferson Hope,两人之间产生了爱的火花。但现实的残酷却让Lucy一定要嫁给摩门教徒。于是Lucy一家决定离开犹他州。
【今日翻译】:
Young had told Ferrier that his daughter must marry either Mr. Drebber or Mr. Stangerson.
Drebber and Stangerson called on Ferrier, who told them that his daughter would never marry either of them.
The next day, he found painted on a door on his farm the number ‘28’—the number of days that he had left to decide whom his daughter should marry.
Each night a new and smaller number was painted somewhere on his farm.
Ferrier was powerless, and could see no way of avoiding the blow that was coming to himself and his daughter.
领头人曾告诉过Ferrier,他的女儿必须嫁给Drebber或者Stangerson中的一个。
Drebber和Stangerson跟Ferrier联系,结果Ferrier说无论如何女儿都不会嫁给他们其中任何一只。
然后,第二天,他就在他的农场大门上发现了一个数字“28”——他还有28天来决定女儿到底嫁给谁。
每天晚上都会有一个新的数字出现在他的农场的某一处。
Ferrier感到非常的无能为力,找不到任何办法来解决这一困局。
One night after the number ‘2’ had been painted on his house, Ferrier heard someone tapping very gently upon the door.
Was it some midnight killer? John Ferrier felt that instant death would be better than the doubt.
Springing forward, he threw the door open.
It was Jefferson Hope.
当到了“2”这个晚上的时候,Ferrier听到了有人徐徐的敲着门。
会不会是半夜杀手?John Ferrier觉得,与其这么想来想去,还是直接死的痛快。
随后向前走了几步,开了门。
门外的是 Jefferson Hope。
“Good God!” cried John Ferrier. “How you scared(吓到) me!”
“Give me food,” Jefferson said. “I have had no time for food for forty-eight hours.”
He threw himself upon the cold meat and bread which were still lying upon the table from his host’s supper, and ate it quickly.
“Is Lucy well?” he asked, when he had satisfied his hunger.
“Yes. She does not know the danger,” her father answered.
“That is well. The house is watched on every side.
They may be sharp(机警的), but they’re not quite sharp(机警的) enough to catch a hunter such as I.”
“娘咧!”John Ferrier低喊了一声,“你吓死我了!”
“给我点吃的,我已经48个小时没吃过一粒米了。” Jefferson 说着,就扑向了桌上还剩着的冰冷的肉和面包,开始狼吞虎咽。
“Lucy还好吧?”吃完,就关心起了爱人。
“恩,她还不知道危险。”她父亲说。
“那就好,这房子一直有人监视,他们好像还挺机警的,不过再机警也会拿我这样的猎人没辙。”
John Ferrier felt a different man now that he realized that he had help.
He grabbed(抓住) the young man’s hand and shook it warmly.
“You’re a man to be proud of,” he said. “What are we to do?”
“Tomorrow is your last day, and unless you act tonight you are lost.
I have three horses waiting in the Eagle Ravine.
We must head for Carson City through the mountains.
You had better wake Lucy. It is just as well that the servants do not sleep in the house.”
John Ferrier感觉自己帮助的这个男人真是与众不同的有胆识。
“你很令人骄傲。那我们接下来怎么做?”
“明天就是最后一天了,今晚上要是不行动那就没机会了。我在 Eagle Ravine(鹰谷)有三匹马。我们得连夜穿山越岭,往Carson 城走。你现在把Lucy叫起来把,仆人没在屋子里睡倒是方便了不少。”
The welcoming between the lovers was warm, but brief, for minutes were precious(宝贵的), and there was much to be done.
Opening the window very slowly and carefully, they waited until a dark cloud had somewhat obscured(模糊) the night, and then one by one passed through into the little garden.
Once on the high road they made rapid progress.
About the middle of the second day of their flight their food began to run out.
久别相见的情人间气氛热烈浓郁,但是很短暂,因为他们现在有很多事情要做,每一分钟都很宝贵。
小心翼翼的打开窗户,他们一直等到天上被一片阴云覆盖,夜色朦胧之际,才一个个的爬出窗户到花园里。
一直走上了大路,他们更快的提速狂奔。
大概到了第二天中午,他们没啥吃的了。
This gave Jefferson a little uneasiness(担忧).
Choosing a sheltered(可藏身的) corner, he stacked(堆) together a few dried branches and made a fire, at which his companions might warm themselves.
And he set out in search of food.
He walked for a couple of miles without any luck.
At last, after two or three hours of searching, he managed to find and shoot a big-horn(角) antelope(羚羊).
The creature was too large to lift, so Jefferson cut away one thigh(大腿) and part of the side.
这让Jefferson有点担忧。找了一个可以藏身的角落,寻了一些干树枝,燃起了火堆,让父女能暖和些。
然后他就去找些食物。
不幸的是,走了好几英里都没见一个能吃的。
最后,经过两三个小时的搜寻,终于打到一只羚羊。不过太大了,没办法全拖回去,所以只能砍下一条大腿和部分肉。
With this food over his shoulder, he hurried to return to the others, for it was already getting dark.
When he turned the corner, he saw the spot where the fire had been.
There was still a glowing(发光) pile of wood ashes there, but it had evidently not been touched since his departure(离开).
There was no living creature near the fire: animals, man, girl, all were gone.
It was only too clear that some sudden and terrible disaster had occurred during his absence.
把这些食物扛上肩,他就往藏身处回走,毕竟天都已经黑了。
当他回到那个角落的时候,他看到火堆的灰烬,还有点余下的火星再闪,但是很显然,从他走后这个火堆就没有被打理过。
而且,除了火堆,周边再没有其他的生物了:马,男人,女孩儿。都不在。
很显然,他走了以后,这里发生了一场悲剧。
Then his eye fell upon an object which made his blood run cold.
It was a newly-dug grave(坟墓) with a cross over it. The writing on the cross was brief, but to the point:
JOHN FERRIER,
FORMERLY OF SALT LAKE CITY,
Died August 4th, 1860.
然后他看到旁边的一个东西,让他浑身血液都冻僵了。
那是一个新挖掘的坟墓。上面立着一个十字架,上头写着:
JOHN FERRIER,
曾居住于盐湖城(Utah犹他州的一个地方),
死于1860年8月4日。
Jefferson Hope looked wildly round to see if there was a second grave(坟墓), but there was no sign of one.
Lucy had been carried back by the Mormons to accomplish(履行) her original destiny(命运) as a wife of a member of the Church.
As the young fellow realized the certainty of her fate(命运), and his own inability to prevent it, he wished that he, too, was lying with the old farmer.
However, his active spirit shook off the lethargy(倦怠) which sprang from despair(绝望).
If there was nothing else left to him, he could at least devote his life to revenge(复仇).
Jefferson Hope又环绕了一周,看看还有没有第二个坟墓,不过没有了。看来Lucy是被抓回去履行她的命运嫁给一位摩门教徒了。
当这位年轻人意识到他对这样的情况如此的无能为力的时候,真想跟这位老父亲躺在一起。
不过,很快,他绝望的情绪就被震退了:如果这个世上没有什么可以留恋的,那就将余生都用来复仇。
He heard from a Mormon acquaintance(熟人) that Lucy was now married to Drebber, but that she was so sick that no one expected her to survive.
She died within a month.
Jefferson was just in time to attend(参加) the funeral preparations, and to take the wedding(结婚) ring so that she would not be buried with it.
他从一位熟识的摩门教徒那里得知,Lucy嫁给了Drebber,不过已经身染重病,而且也没人愿意给她救治。
不过一个月,她就去世了。
Jefferson去参加了她的葬礼,并且将婚介拿了下来。他知道,她不想带着婚介安葬。
Drebber and Stangerson had left Utah, and no one knew where they had gone.
With the small amount of money he had, plus whatever he could earn along the way, Jefferson Hope travelled from town to town in search of his enemies.
Year passed into year, his black hair turned grey and his health failed, but still he searched on, a human bloodhound(猎犬), with his mind wholly set upon the one object of revenge(复仇) to which he had devoted his life.
He almost caught up with Drebber in Cleveland, Ohio, but Drebber and Stangerson (who had become Drebber’s private secretary) had him arrested(逮捕).
后来,Drebber 和 Stangerson 离开了Utah(犹他州),没人知道他们去了哪里。
Jefferson带着他仅有的钱,并且沿途尽可能的赚得一些资金,开始了找寻仇人的旅程。
一年又一年,他的黑发染了灰,身体也大不如前,但是,仍然作为一只人类猎犬,怀着满腔的毕生复仇之情,找寻着他的仇人。
在Ohio(俄亥俄州)的Cleveland(克利夫兰),他差点就抓到了Drebber。但是,他因为 Drebber 和 Stangerson (现在已经是Drebber的秘书)被抓了。
By the time Jefferson Hope was free, his enemies had left for Europe.
Jefferson followed them there, and tracked his enemies from city to city.
When he reached St. Petersburg, they had left for Paris; and when he followed them there, he learned that they had just set off for Copenhagen(哥本哈根).
At the Danish(丹麦的) capital he was again a few days late, for they had left for London, where he found them at last.
当他重获自由的时候,他的仇人已经离开了欧洲。
Jefferson追踪着他的仇人,走过一个又一个城市。
当他到达 Petersburg街的时候,他们已经离开去了巴黎;当他跟着到了巴黎,他们又已经去了哥本哈根。
就是在丹麦,他也晚了他们几天。
直到在伦敦,他追上了他们。
over。