译《织工马南》第二章：戈弗雷·凯斯和邓斯坦・凯斯(一)
Chapter 2 Godfrey and Dunstan Cass(2)
第二章戈弗雷·凯斯和邓斯坦・凯斯(二)
‘Where can I get the money from?’ cried Godfrey. ‘I tell you, I haven't got any!’
“我去哪弄钱？”戈弗雷怒吼。“我告诉过你，我弄不到钱！”
‘You could borrow it.’ said Dunstan carelessly. ‘Or wait- I’ve had a better idea. You could sell your horse.’
“你可以去借钱。”邓斯坦满不在乎地说。“等等——我有个更好的主意。你可以把你的马卖了。”
‘Sell Wildfire! You know how much I love that horse!’
“卖掉野火！你明知道我有多爱那匹马！”
‘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.’
“呃，你明天可以骑它去狩猎。我认识两三个想买它的人，他们明天肯定会去狩猎。那会很容易卖掉的。”
‘No, I haven’t got time to go hunting tomorrow. I-I'm going to Mrs Osgood's birthday dance.’
“不行，我明天没有时间去狩猎。我——我要参加奥斯古德夫人的生日舞会。”
‘Aha!’ said Dunstan, laughing. ‘And perhaps you'II see sweet Miss Nancy there-and you'll dance with her - and you'll talk of love....’
“啊！”邓斯坦笑着说。“你可能会在那见到可爱的南希小姐——你会和她跳舞——和她谈情说爱……”
‘Be quiet!’shouted Godfrey, his face turning red. ‘Don’t speak of Miss Nancy like that, or I’ll kill you!’
“安静点！”戈弗雷涨红了脸，训斥道。“别那样说南希小姐，不然我杀了你！”
‘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 drinking. 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.’
“别这么生气，哥们，”邓斯坦淡淡地回。“你有个不错的机会与她相处。实际上，我建议你对她好点。你我都知道莫莉开始酗酒了。呃，如果她某天喝多酒给喝死了，那你就可以娶南希了。她不会介意做第二任妻子的。如果她不知道你结过婚的话。幸运的是，你有一个善良的弟弟，会帮你保密的。”
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 everyone to know we’re married. When the Squire knows the truth, you won't get any more money from me!’
戈弗雷气得脸色发白，浑身发抖。“听着，邓斯坦，我受够了。你心里清楚你做得太过了。可能我现在就去找乡绅，向他坦白一切。他总有一天会发现真相的，因为莫莉说她要来告诉他。她想让所有人都知道我们结婚了。当乡绅知道真相时，你休想再从我这得到一分钱！”
Dunstan replied lightly, ‘Do what you like, brother.’
邓斯坦不在意地说：“随你便吧，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 situation to get better. Living with fear in his heart, the fear of being discovered, was better than living without Nancy's love.
戈弗雷犹豫了。当他稀里糊涂地娶莫莉时，他就知道自己中了邓斯坦的圈套。是邓斯坦把他介绍给莫莉的，就是希望戈弗雷会爱上她娶她。显然，邓斯坦很高兴他的计划得逞了。现在戈弗雷处境困难。他不再爱他年轻的妻子，他止不住地想念南希·拉默特。他确信如果南希是他的妻子，他就不会有秘密，可以对每个人都坦诚。但是现在他不得不给邓斯坦任何他想要的东西，让莫莉开心，和对他的父亲及朋友撒谎。如果他告诉父亲真相，就一切都不可能了。乡绅会剥夺他的继承权，那他余生都将只会是一个穷苦的工人。更糟糕的是，他会失去和南希结婚的一切希望。不！他无法接受这一点。他会为邓斯坦弄到钱，等局面好转起来。生活在恐惧中，担心被告发，总好过没有南希的爱的生活。
He turned to Dunstan. 'It's just like you to talk of selling Wildfire - the best horse I've ever had.’
他看向邓斯坦。“就像你说的卖掉野火——那匹我养过的最好的马。”
‘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!’
“我替你把它卖了吧——你知道我擅长买卖。我明天可以替你骑它去狩猎，然后把钱带回来给你。但你得想清楚。你借我的那笔钱，你要如数还给乡绅。但那是你的事，跟我没关系！”
Godfrey thought for a moment. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘But make sure you bring me back all the money, Dunstan!’
戈弗雷想了一会儿。“好，”他说。“但你一定要把所有的钱都带回来给我，邓斯坦！”
The next morning, as Dunstan was riding Wildfire out of Raveloe, 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 Marner's cottage. Dunstan suddenly had an idea. ‘Everybody in Raveloe talks of the weaver’s money - he must have a lot hidden 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.
第二天早上，邓斯坦骑着野火走出拉弗尔村时，他路过老采石场。所有的石头都开采出来了，采石场也被弃用了；如今只留下一个个深坑，里面积满了红色的水。采石场对面是塞拉斯·马南的小屋。邓斯坦突然想到。“拉弗尔的每个人都在谈织布工的钱——他一定有很多钱藏在那间小屋里！为什么戈弗雷不向他借钱，等他成为乡绅后再还他呢？”他犹豫要不要立即回红楼，告诉戈弗雷他这个绝妙的想法，但他不想错过狩猎，所以他决定继续往前走。
译《织工马南》第二章：戈弗雷·凯斯和邓斯坦·凯斯(三)
PS:本书为书虫系列四级读物，由英国著名女作家乔治·艾略特所著、英国书虫系列著名作家克莱尔·韦斯特改写。
英文为书虫系列原文，译文是笔者翻译。本文仅因个人兴趣而译，故本文谢绝转载和各种商业用途，同时承诺若出现任何责任由作者承担，必要时可删除文章。