牛津書蟲系列 三十九級臺階 6 The bald writer

6 The bald writer

6 禿頭作家

Ⅰ spent the night in the hills，in some thick heather be-hind a rock. I had no coat and I was very cold. My coat，Scudder's notebook，my watch and even my pipe and tobacco were with Mr Turnbull. All I had was some biscuits.

那天我就在山里巖石后的茂密石楠叢里過夜。我身上沒大衣，覺得很冷。我的大衣、斯卡德爾的筆記本、我的手表、甚至我的煙斗和煙都留在特恩布爾先生那兒了。盡我所有只是一點餅干。

I had half the biscuits for supper. and tried to keep warm in the heather. I was feeling quite pleased. So far I had been very lucky. The milkman，the man at the hotel，Sir Harry，the roadman and even Marmaduke had all helped me，and I felt that with help like this I might win. My main problem now was that I was very hungry. I fell asleep imagining the most beautiful meals.

我吃了一半餅干當(dāng)晚餐，偎在石楠叢里盡量保持熱量。而我心里覺得樂滋滋的。迄今為止，我運氣還不錯。送奶員、旅店老板、哈里爵士、修路人甚至馬默杜克都幫了我的忙，有這樣的幫助我覺得會成功?，F(xiàn)在主要問題是我太餓了。我夢想著一頓頓美餐昏昏入睡。

I woke up very cold in the early morning. I looked down the hill，and in a second I was putting my boots on as fast as I could. There were men only a few hundred metres below me，walking up and searching the heather step by step.

大清早我一睜眼就覺得冷得不得了。向山下看了看，我分秒必爭地穿上鞋。離我只有數(shù)百米的下面有一伙人向上爬著，仔細地搜索著石楠叢。

Keeping low in the heather，I moved up the hill. At the top，I stood up and showed myself. I heard men shouting，and then I pretended to disappear over the top of the hill， but in fact I got down in the heather and crawled back down into the valley. After twenty minutes I looked back and saw the men disappearing over the top of the hill.

我在石楠叢里緊貼著地面向山上爬。到了山頂，我站起來不再躲藏。我聽到人們的吶喊聲，于是便假裝向山的那坡逃去，而實際隱身于石楠叢中，向下又爬回峽谷。二十分鐘后我回頭看看，那些人正在越過山頂向那一坡追去。

I didn't know where I was，but I knew I must keep moving. I was twenty minutes in front of them， but they were local men and they knew these hills better than I did. Soon they were close behind me and I was running as fast as I could. After a time I saw to my left some trees and the chim-neys of a farmhouse. I ran down towards them and found my-self in a garden. As I came nearer the house，I saw an old man looking at me through an open door. I crossed the garden and went in.

我不知道我在什么地方，只知道我必須不停地走。我領(lǐng)先他們二十分鐘，但他們是當(dāng)?shù)厝?，對這片山地比我熟悉。不久他們就緊緊跟上來了，我就竭力地跑著。過了一會兒，我看到左首有一片樹林和一家農(nóng)舍的煙囪。于是就奔那里跑去，不覺得到了一個庭院里。我向房子走去，這時一個老頭開著門正在瞧著我。我穿過庭院，進了屋。

I was in a pleasant room，with books everywhere. At a desk in the middle sat an old man with a kind face. He had glasses on the end of his nose，and the top of his bald head shone like glass. He didn't move，but looked up and waited for me to speak.

我進了一間很不錯的屋子，屋子里擺滿了書。中間放著一張書桌，桌旁坐著一位老人，神態(tài)慈祥。鼻尖上架著一副眼鏡，頭頂禿禿的像玻璃一樣閃著光。他一動不動，抬著頭等著我開口。

I was so surprised by his calmness that for a minute I just stared at him.

他的鎮(zhèn)定出乎我意料，以至于有一會兒我只是呆呆地望著他。

'You're in a hurry，my friend，'he said slowly.

“朋友，您很著急呀，”他緩緩地說。

I looked out of the window at the moor. We could both see the line of men walking through the heather.

我透過窗戶向荒原望去，我們倆都看到一隊人正穿行于石楠叢中。

'Ah，I see，'he said. 'The police are after you， are they?Well，we'll talk about it later. I don't like the police in my house when I'm working. Go through that door on the left and close it behind you. You will be safe in there. '

“我明白了，”他說。“警察在追您，是不是?這事我們過一會兒再說。我干活的時候不喜歡警察到我家來打攪。請走左邊的門，隨手把門關(guān)上。那里很安全。”

And this extraordinary man picked up his pen and started to write.

這位不同尋常的老人拿起筆寫起字來。

I did what he said， and found myself in a small room with only a very small window high up in one wall. The door closed behind me. Once again I had found somewhere to hide.

我聽他的，不覺來到一間小屋，只有一個小窗戶還開得很高。門已經(jīng)關(guān)好。我又找到藏身之處了。

But I didn't feel comfortable. There was something strange about the old man. I had suddenly appeared in his house， but he didn't seem surprised. And his eyes were frighteningly in-telligent. I waited，and tried to forget that I was very hungry. I thought about breakfast，and suddenly the door opened and there was the old man again.

然而我覺得不自在。這個老頭哪里有點怪。我突然闖進屋，可是看來他一點也不吃驚。他那雙眼睛睿智得叫人害怕。我在那兒等著，極力不去想轆轆饑腸。我正在想著早飯，門突然打開了，又是那個老頭。

'I told the police you had gone over the hill. This is a lucky morning for you，Mr Richard Hannay，'he said， smiling.

“我告訴警察您已經(jīng)翻山走了。理查德·哈內(nèi)先生，今天上午您真運氣。”他笑著說。

As he spoke，his eyes half closed， and immediately I re-membered Scudder's description of a man who could'hood his eyes like a hawk. I saw that I had walked into the hands of my enemies.

他說話的時候，眼睛瞇著，我猛地記起斯卡德爾說過一個人，這個人能“像貓頭鷹那樣瞇著眼睛”。我意識到我已經(jīng)走到敵人的手心里來了。

My first thought was to knock him down and run， but two men came through the door. They were carrying guns.

我第一個想法是把他打倒然后逃跑，可是兩條漢子推門而入。他們手里都拿著槍。

The old man knew my name， but he had never seen me be-fore. I took a chance. 'I don't know what you mean，'I said roughly. 'And who are you calling Hannay? My name's Ainslie. '

老頭知道我叫什么，但從來沒見過我。我想碰碰運氣。“我不明白您說什么，”我粗聲粗氣地說。“您叫誰哈內(nèi)?我的名字叫安斯利。”

'Of course，you have many names，'he said，still smiling. 'We won't argue about a name. '

“當(dāng)然，您有好多名字，”他仍然笑著說。“別為名字抬杠了。”

I looked at him angrily. 'I suppose you're going to call the police back. I wish I'd never seen that car. Here's the money. 'I put four pounds on the table.

我忿忿然地看著他。“我猜您要把警察叫回來。當(dāng)初要是沒見到那輛車就什么事也沒有了。”我把四英磅放在桌子上。

'I won't call the police，'he said. 'This is a private problem between yon and me. '

“我不會叫警察，”他說。“這是你我之間的私事。”

'Oh，stop it!'I cried. 'I've had no luck since I left my ship in Edinburgh. I found a crashed car and took a little money out of it， and I've had the police after me for two days. You do what you like. Ned Ainslie's finished. '

“得了，住口吧!”我喊起來。“從愛丁堡一下船我就不順。碰到一輛撞壞的汽車，從里邊拿了點錢，結(jié)果警察追了我兩天。您愛怎么樣隨便好了。奈德·安斯利算完了。”

I could hear doubt in his voice when he next spoke.

他又開始說話，從聲音里我可以聽出他的猶豫不決。

'Would you be kind enough to tell me what you've been do-ing for the last few days?'

“勞您駕能不能告訴我最近幾天您都干什么了?”

I can't. I haven't eaten for two days. Give me something to eat and I'll tell you the truth. 'I put on my best begging voice.

“不行。我兩天沒吃飯了。給我點東西吃，然后我實話實說。”我盡量裝出懇求的聲調(diào)。

Some food was brought to me， and while I was eating， he said something to me in German. I stared at him stupidly. Then I told him my story. I was a sailor，and I had left my ship in Edinburgh to travel across Scotland to see my brother. I had found a car in a river and taken some money from it. But the police were now chasing me.

飯給我端來了，我一邊吃他一邊用德語對我講什么。我就傻呼呼地盯著他。然后把我的故事講給他聽。我是個海員，從愛丁堡下的船，路過蘇格蘭去看我兄弟。在那里我看到一輛汽車，于是在里邊拿了點錢。可警察就一直緊追不舍。

'They can have their money back，'I cried. ' It's only brought me trouble!'

“他們可以把錢拿回去嘛，”我叫道。“這點錢凈給我添亂!”

'You're good at lying，Hannay，'he said.

“哈內(nèi)，您挺會撒謊的，”他說。

I started to get very angry. 'My name's Ainslie and I don't know anybody called Hannay. I'd rather have the police than you and your guns and your Hannays. No，I'm sorry，sir，I'm grateful for the food，but I'd like to go now. '

我發(fā)起怒來。“我叫安斯利，不認(rèn)識什么叫哈內(nèi)的人。我寧可讓警察抓住也比叫您、您的槍和您的哈內(nèi)抓住好。對不起，先生，我不干，感謝您的飯，現(xiàn)在我想走了。”

I could see that he was not sure. He had never seen me，and I suppose I did not look like my photograph.

可以看出他猶豫不決了。他從來沒見過我，而且，我猜我看起來也不像我的照片。

'I won't let you go. If you are Mr Ainslie，then you'll soon be able to prove it. If you're not，then I have a surprise for you. '

“我不讓您走。假如您是安斯利先生的話，很快您就能證明一點。假如您不是，那么我會讓您大吃一驚。”

He rang a bell，and a third servant appeared.

他按門鈴，第三個仆人來了。

'I want the car in five minutes，'he said. 'There will be three for lunch. '

“五分鐘后我要用車，”他說。“預(yù)備三個人的午餐。”

Then he looked at me， and that was the most frightening thing of all. His eyes were unnatural-bright，cold and evil. I tried to stare back，and even to smile.

然后他就看著我，那目光比什么都可怕。他的眼睛不同尋常——明亮、陰冷、邪惡。我極力以眼還眼，甚至極力裝出笑臉。

'You'll know me next time we meet，' I said.

“下回再見面您就認(rèn)識我了，”我說道。

'Karl，'he said，speaking in German. 'Put this man in the back room until I return. '

“卡爾，”他用德語說。“把這個人放到后面的屋里等我回來再說。”

I was taken out of the room with a gun at each ear.

我被拉出屋去，一邊耳朵頂著一枝槍。

The back room was very dark and full of old bottles and boxes. The windows had shutters on the outside. The key turned in the door，and I could hear the feet of the guards outside.

后面的屋黑洞洞的堆滿舊瓶子和破箱子。窗戶外面安著百葉窗。鑰匙插在鎖孔里，我可以聽到外面衛(wèi)兵的腳步聲。

I sat down feeling very unhappy. The old man had gone to collect his friends，the men who had talked to me when I was the roadman. They would soon discover that I was not the roadman，nor Mr Ainslie，but Richard Hannay. I began to wish I had been found by the police;I would feel safer with them than with this man and his two friends.

我坐下來，感到心情很不好。那個老頭去叫他的朋友，那些人在我裝修路人的時候和我說過話。他們很快就會知道我既不是修路人，也不是安斯利先生而是理查德·哈內(nèi)。我想還不如讓警察抓住的好;讓警察抓住比讓這個人和他那兩個朋友抓住我覺得安全些。

They were coming for lunch，so I had only two hours. I tried the windows but they would not move. I felt the boxes and bottles，and then found a door in the wall. It was a cup-board door， and it was locked. I had nothing else to do so I pulled on it until it opened.

他們要回來吃午飯，所以我只有兩個小時的時間。我試著打開窗戶，可是弄不動。我摸索著箱子、瓶子，后來發(fā)現(xiàn)墻上有個門，是壁櫥的門，緊鎖著。除此無法可想，所以我就使勁拉那個門，門被打開了。

There were a lot of things inside. On one shelf there were some matches， and I used them to look more closely. At the back of one shelf was a strong wooden box. I broke it open and found， to my surprise，some fuses and several small square packets of explosive.

屋里放著好多東西。在一個書架上有火柴，我點著火柴，更仔細地觀察著。在一個書架后面放著個硬木箱。我把箱子打開，出乎我的意料，里面有導(dǎo)火索和若干方形包裝的炸藥。

I knew that with these I could blow the house up. The problem was that I didn't know how much to use. If I used too much， I would blow myself up. But if I didn't use them at all，I would be dead in three hours.

我知道用這些炸藥可以把整座房子炸飛。問題是我不知道該用多少炸藥。如果用得太多，那么會連我自己也被炸飛。而要是索性不用，那么用不了三個小時我就得完蛋。

I put one of the squares of explosive near the door， and put a fuse from there to the other side of the room. I lit the fuse and hid behind some boxes. There was silence for five seconds…

我把一包炸藥放在門邊，把導(dǎo)火索從那兒接到屋的另一頭。我點著導(dǎo)火索，躲在箱子后面。五秒鐘內(nèi)默無聲息……

The wall exploded into a bright yellow light， something fell on my left arm， and I became unconscious.

轟然一聲，屋墻被炸成亮黃色的火光，什么東西砸到我的左臂上，后來就失去了知覺。

I was unconscious for only a few seconds. Then I stood up，trying not to breathe the yellow smoke. The window had been blown out and I climbed out into the garden. Across the gar-den there were some buildings，and one was an old tower. I felt too ill to go very far，and that seemed the best hiding place.

我只昏迷了幾秒鐘。然后我站起來，盡量不呼吸炸藥的黃煙。窗戶被炸開了，我爬窗而出，跳到庭院里。庭院的對面是房子，其中有一個古塔。我感覺太難受，沒法走遠，看來這個塔是個最好的藏身之所。

The climb up the outside of that tower was the most difficult thing I ever did. My head felt terrible， and the smoke had made me very sick， but in the end I managed it， and lay down at the top. Then I became unconscious again.

從塔的外面向上爬，我從來沒干過這么難的事。我頭疼得要命，硝煙熏得我很難受，但最后終于爬了上去，在塔頂上躺下來。后來我又昏過去了。

When I woke up，my head was burning and the sun was shining into my face. I lay for a long time without moving. I could hear men talking. I looked through a hole in the wall and saw men with guns. There was the bald man and I thought I could see the fat one too.

醒來時我覺得頭發(fā)燒，陽光照在我的臉上。我一動不動地躺了好長時間。我可以聽到人們的說話聲。透過墻上的窟隆我看到人們都拿著槍。有那個禿頭的人，我想還會有那個胖子。

For half an hour they searched all the buildings. They came to the door at the bottom of my tower， and for a minute I thought they were going to come up，but the door was locked.

他們把所有建筑物搜索了半個小時。他們又來到塔底的門口，我一閃念，以為他們準(zhǔn)備要上來，然而門給鎖上了。

All afternoon I lay on that roof. I was terribly thirsty， and，to make it worse，I could see and hear a small stream which came off the moor and flowed near the farm. I wanted a drink of that cool clear water more than anything in the world.

我在塔頂躺了整整一個下午。我口渴得要命，更糟糕的是我可以看到也可以聽到從荒原上流來一條小溪，在附近的田野里淌著。要是能喝上一口這么清涼的水，這世界上什么東西我都不想要了。

From the tower I could see all the moor around. I saw two men go off in a car， and another man on a horse，and I imag-ined they were looking for me. But I could also see something more interesting. At the top of the hill behind the house was a ring of trees with grass inside. It was clear that this was where the plane landed.

從塔頂可以看到四周的荒原。我看見兩個人坐車走了，另一個則騎著馬，我估計他們正在找我。我還看見了更有意思的東西。在房子后面的山頂上，樹圍成一個圓圈，圈里是草地。很顯然，這是飛機降落的地方。

It was an excellent place for an airfield. It could not be seen from below because it was at the top of the hill; from the valley，the hill seemed covered with trees. And anyone watching the plane coming in to land would think it was just flying over the hill. I realized that if the plane arrived now， the pilot would probably see me，so I lay still， and hoped night would come quickly.

這個地方作機場太好了。它位于山頂，所以從下往上看不到;從山谷向上看，看到山好像被樹覆蓋著。所以，如果有人看到飛來要降落的飛機還以為飛機正在飛越山頂。我意識到如果現(xiàn)在飛機飛過來，駕駛員多半會看見我，所以我躺著一動不動，盼著天快點黑下來。

Luckily，when the plane did arrive，it was almost dark. I watched it land，and then waited until everything was quiet. There was no moon， and I was too thirsty to wait，so at nine o'clock I climbed down. Halfway down， somebody came out of the house with a light，and I froze. Then the light disap-peared and I continued down to the ground.

運氣真是不錯，飛機真地飛過來的時候，天差不多黑了。我望著飛機降落，然后等著一切歸于平靜。天上沒有月亮，我渴得等不下去了，于是九點鐘我爬了下去。走了一半，我看見有人拿著燈從房里出來，我嚇得僵住了。后來燈光不見了，我接著走到平地上。

I crawled as far as the trees. I guessed that the house would be guarded in some way，so I continued very slowly and care-fully，and found a wire about sixty centimetres from the ground. Falling over that would doubtless start alarm bells ringing in the house.

我沿著樹林一直爬。我估計著那所房子會怎么布置警戒，所以，我慢慢地、小心翼翼地爬，看到有一截電線露出地面大約六十厘米。如果絆上肯定會引響房里的警鈴。

A hundred metres further on there was another wire， but after that it was the open moor. Ten minutes later I had my head in the stream and I drank litres of cold water.

一百米開外還有一段電線，后面便是開闊的荒原。爬了十分鐘，我一頭扎進小溪，喝了好幾升涼水。

I did not stop again until I was ten kilometres from that terrible house.

我跑出距那所可怕的房子有十公里才停下腳。