译《雾都孤儿》第八章:盗窃案之后(二)

After many expressions of undying love, Mr Bumbld finally left the room, and returned home, with  bright visions of his future.

许了许多海誓山盟后,班布尔先生离开房间回了家,想着未来一片光明。

While these events were happening in the workhouse, the Artful Dodger and Charles Bates were playing cards in Fagin's house. The Dodger, as usual, was winning easily; somehow, he always seemed to know exactly what cards the other players had in their hands. Suddenly there was a faint ring on the bell downstairs, and Toby came in ―― the man who had gone  with Bill Sikes and Oliver to rob the house in Chertsey. Fagin jumped to his feet.

当济贫院正上演这些事时,机灵鬼达金斯和查理·贝兹正在费金家玩扑克牌。机灵鬼通常轻轻松松就能赢;不知怎么回事,他总能准确地猜到其他牌友手里的牌。突然,楼下传来细微地门铃声,托比就走了进来――也就是和比尔·赛克斯,奥利弗一起去彻特西抢劫的人。费金立马起身。

'Where are they?' he screamed. 'Sikes and the boy! Where are they hiding?'

“剩下的人呢?”他尖声问。“赛克斯和那个男孩子呢,他们藏在哪?”

'We failed,' said the robber.

“我们抢劫失败了!”抢劫犯说。

'What happened?'

“发生什么了?”

'They fired and hit the boy. We ran away with Oliver between us, and they chased us with dogs.'

“他们开枪打中了那个男孩。我们带着奥利弗就跑,后面他们带着狗在追。”

'And the boy? What about the boy?' gasped Fagin.

“那个男孩呢?那男孩怎么样了?”费金满脸震惊地问。

'His head was hanging down, and he was cold. We needed to go faster so we left him in a field, alive or dead. That's all i know about him.'

“他垂着头,全身冰冷的。我们还得跑快些,所以就把他扔在了牧场,也不知道是活着还是死了。我就知道这些。”

Fagin did not wait to hear any more. He gave an angry scream, ran out of the house and hurried through the streets until he reached Bill Sikes' house. As he climbed the stairs, he thought, 'Well, Nancy, if there's anything going on here, i'll find out about it ― however clever you are!'

费金听不进去其他的话了。他怒吼一声,就冲出了房间,跑过街道到比尔·赛克斯家。爬楼梯时,就想“呃,南希,如果这有什么线索的话,我都会找出来的――不管你有多机灵来着。”

Nancy was alone upstairs in her room, her head on the table.

南希一个人呆在楼上的房间里,脑袋正趴在桌上。

'She's been drinking again,' thought Fagin. As he closed the door, she woke up. He told her what had happened during the robbery; she said nothing and her head returned to the table. 'And where do you think the boy is now, my dear?' Fagin asked her, trying hard to see her face. 'Poor little child! Left alone like that!'

“她又喝酒了,”费金想。他关门打算离开时,她清醒了过来。费金告诉南希抢劫发生的事,她没说一句话就又趴到了桌上。“你觉得那个男孩现在在哪,亲爱的?”费金盯着她的脸问。“可伶的孩子,他孤零零的躺在那儿。”

Nancy looked up. 'I hope the child's dead. Then he'd be happier than any of us.'

南希抬头。“我希望那孩子死了,那他就比我们中的任何一个都要开心。”

'What!' said Fagin, in amazement.

“什么?”费金大吃一惊,问。

'It's better like that. That sight of the boy turns me against myself, and all of you.'

“这样最好。这就像看到了我自己,我们所有人的结局”

'You're drunk.' Fagin suddenly lost his temper. 'The boy's worth a fortune to me ― and now a drunken gang has lost him. And if Sikes doesn't return that boy to me, dead or alive, I'll tell the police about him and I'll get Sikes hanged. Just remember that!'

“你喝多了”费金突然大发雷霆。“那男孩是我的一笔钱财――现在一个醉汉把他弄丢了。如果赛克斯不把那男孩还给我,生死不论,我就向警察告发他,把他送上绞刑架。记清楚了。”

When Fagin left her, Nancy was already back in a drunken sleep, her head lying on the table once more. Fagin went out into the blackness of the night and walked home. He had reached the corner of his street and was searching in his pocket for his key, when a dark figure came out of the shadows and crossed the road towards him.

费金离开时,南希醉得又昏睡了过去,头还趴在桌上。费金闯进黑夜中,往家里走。他走到家门口那条街的拐角处,暗处闪出个黑影穿过马路走到他身边时,他正在往口袋里摸钥匙。

'I've been waiting here for two hours, Fagin,' said the stranger. 'Where have you been?'

“我在这等你2小时了,费金。”陌生人说。“你上哪去了?”

'On your business, my dear,' said Fagin, glancing at him uneasily.

“忙你的事去了,亲爱的。”费金不悦地撇了他一眼,说。

'We'd better talk inside.'

“我们最好进屋说话。”

The door closed behind them and they crept quietly up to the top floor in order not to wake the sleeping boys downstairs. They sat in dark room, the only light coming from a candle burning in the passage outside.

他们进屋后,关好身后的门,不想吵醒楼下睡得正香的男孩们,他们就轻手轻脚地爬上了阁楼。他们坐在乌漆嘛黑的房间里,唯一的光就是外面走廊里亮着的蜡烛。

The stranger's name was Monks, and he was in an evil mood.

陌生人叫蒙克斯,脾气很差。

He listened to Fagin for a while, frowning heavily. 'It was badly planned.' he said angrily. 'Couldn't you have made the boy into an ordinary thief, and then got him arrested and sent out of the country for the rest of his life?'

他听费金说了一会儿后,眉毛都皱到一块去了。“这计划糟透了。”他怒气冲冲地说。“你就不能把他训练成普通的小偷,让他被捕,让他余生都在国外流放吗?”

'But he isn't like the other boy's here,' Fagin said, 'I had nothing to frighten him with. Anyway, i've already helped you. After he was caught by the police, stealing from the bookshop, i got Nancy to get him back. And then she felt sorry for him.'

“他和在这的其他男孩不同。”费金说。“我没什么能威胁到他的。不管怎么说,我都帮了你。在书店行窃,他被警察逮捕后,我又让南希把他抓回来了。她还对他心怀愧疚呢。”

'Kill her.' Monks said impatiently.

“杀了她!”蒙克斯毫无耐心地说。

'We can't afford to do that kind of thing.' said Fagin. 'But i can turn the boy into an ordinary thief now. And then Nancy will harden her heart against him. I know how women are, but if he's already dead――'

“我们不做杀人的行当”费金说。“但我现在能让那个男孩成普通的小偷了。南希也会硬起心肠对他的。我知道女人的心思,但如果他死了的话――”

'That's not my fault!' said Monks quickly. 'I always said to you ― do anything you want to him, but don't kill him. I wouldn't have been able to forget it if you had.'

“那跟我没关系。”蒙克斯立马说。“我总是跟你说――你想怎么对他就怎么对他,别死了就成。如果你已经做了的话,我也不会忘了的。”

更多译文:

《雾都孤儿》(更新中)

《多里安·格雷的画像》(完)

《秘密花园》(完)

PS:本书为牛津系列简易读物,由著名作家查理德·罗杰根据英国作家查尔斯·狄更斯的同名小说改写。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。

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