書蟲四級《不平靜的墳墓》：“噢，朋友，你一吹哨，我就會來到你身邊”

Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Boy'
“噢，朋友，你一吹哨，我就會來到你身邊”

Are you going away for the holidays, Professor?' The speaker was sitting next to the Professor at dinner in St James's College.

“教授，你要去度假嗎？”在圣·詹姆斯學院吃飯時，坐在教授身邊的人問道。

Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow,' said Professor Parkins. 'I'm learning to play golf, and I'm going to Burnstow on the east coast for a week or two to improve my game.'

“對，明天就動身，”帕金斯教授說，“我正學打高爾夫球，所以要到東海岸的伯恩斯陀用一兩周時間提高球藝。”

Professor Parkins was a young man who took himself, and everything that he did, very seriously.

帕金斯教授是個嚴格要求自己并且凡事認真的年輕人。

Oh, Parkins,' said another man. 'There are the remains of an old Templar church at Burnstow. Would you have a look at the place? I'd like to know if it's worth going to see.'

“噢，帕金斯，”另一個人說，“伯恩斯陀有個古老的圣殿騎士教堂的遺跡。你愿意去看看嗎？我想了解一下那地方是不是值得一看。”

Certainly,' said the Professor. 'I'll make some notes for you if you like.'

“當然沒問題，”教授說，“如果你希望的話，我可以為你做點兒記錄。”

There won't be much left above ground. I think the place is quite near the beach, about half a mile north from the Globe Inn.'

“地面上應當沒有什么東西了。我覺得那地方離海灘很近，在地球旅館北部大約半英里的地方。”

I'm staying at the Globe, in fact,' said Parkins. He sounded a little annoyed. 'I could only get a room with two beds in it. I plan to do some work there, and I need a large room with a table, but I really don't like the idea of having two beds in the room.'

“其實，我就要住地球旅館。”帕金斯說。聽起來他有點不大高興。“我只能住上雙人間。我打算在那兒干點兒活，需要個能放張桌子的大房間，我確實不喜歡屋子里放兩張床。”

Two beds? How terrible for you, Parkins!' said a man called Rogers. 'I'll come down and use one of them for a few days. I'll be a companion for you.'

“兩張床？這讓你太不舒服了，帕金斯！”一個叫羅杰斯的人說，“我要去住幾天，睡其中一張床，跟你作個伴。”

Parkins gave a polite little laugh. 'I'm afraid you'd find it rather dull, Rogers. You don't play golf, do you?'

帕金斯禮貌地輕輕一笑說：“恐怕你會覺得那里的生活很乏味，羅杰斯。你不會打高爾夫球，對吧？”

No. Very boring game,' said Rogers, not at all politely. 'But if you don't want me to come, just say so. The truth, as you always tell us, never hurts.'

“對。很無聊的運動，”羅杰斯很不禮貌地說，“如果你不愿意讓我去，直說好了。你不是常告訴我們實話不傷人嗎？”

Professor Parkins was well known for always being polite and always telling the truth, and Rogers often amused himself by asking questions which Parkins found difficult to answer. Parkins tried to find an answer now that was both polite and truthful.

帕金斯教授一向以禮貌待人和總說實話出名，羅杰斯則經(jīng)常以問一些使他難以回答的問題為樂。眼下帕金斯正在努力尋找著一個既禮貌又符合事實的回答。

Well, Rogers, perhaps it will be a little difficult for me to work if you are there.'

“這么說吧，羅杰斯，如果你在那兒，或許我干起活來會有點困難。”

Rogers laughed loudly. 'Well done, Parkins!' he said. 'Don't worry. I'll let you get on with your work in peace, and I can be useful and keep the ghosts away.' Here he smiled at the others round the table, while Parkins' face turned a deep pink. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Parkins,' Rogers added. 'I forgot that you don't like careless talk about ghosts.'

羅杰斯大笑起來。“好了，帕金斯！”他說，“別擔心。我會讓你靜心工作的，而且我會對你有用，可以為你驅(qū)走鬼神。”說到這兒，他對圍坐在桌子周圍的人們笑著，這時帕金斯的臉變得通紅。“噢，對不起，帕金斯，”羅杰斯接著說，“我忘了你不喜歡人們隨便談什么鬼呀神的。”

That is quite true,' said Parkins. His voice got a little louder. 'I cannot accept the idea of ghosts. It is the complete opposite of everything I believe. I hold, as you know, very strong opinons on this matter.'

“一點不假，”帕金斯的說話聲高了些，“我不能接受那種認為鬼神存在的觀點。我根本不信。你們知道我對這件事情的看法很固執(zhí)。”

Oh yes, we know that,' said Rogers. 'Well, we'll talk about it again at Burnstow perhaps.'

“噢，是啊，我們知道，”羅杰斯說，“好吧，或許咱們在伯恩斯陀會再談。”

From this conversation it will be clear that Parkins was indeed a very serious young man—quite unable, sadly, to see the funny side of anything, but at the same time very brave and sincere in his opinions.

從這段交談中可以看出帕金斯的確是個很嚴肅的年輕人。遺憾的是他看不到事情有趣的一面，可很膽大，對事物的看法很實在。

Late the following day Parkins arrived at the Globe Inn in Burnstow, and was taken to his room with the two beds, of which we have heard. He unpacked his things and arranged his books and papers very tidily on the large table by the window. In fact, the table was surrounded on three sides by windows: the large central window looked straight out to sea, the right one looked south over the village of Burnstow, and the left one looked north along the beach and the low cliff behind it. Between the inn and the sea, there was only a piece of rough grass and then the beach. Over the years the sea had slowly come closer; now it was no more than fifty metres away.

第二天晚些時候，帕金斯到了伯恩斯陀的地球旅館，被帶到了我們前面聽說過的那個內(nèi)有兩張床的房間。他取出包里的東西，把書和材料整整齊齊地放在了靠窗的那張大桌子上。其實，這張桌子是三面靠窗：從中間那扇大窗戶可以直接向外看到大海，右邊的那扇向南可以俯瞰伯恩斯陀村，左邊的那扇向北可以看到海灘和后面低矮的峭壁。小旅店和大海間僅有一塊不平整的草地，接著便是海灘了。多年來大海慢慢貼近了那小旅館，現(xiàn)在相距已經(jīng)不到50米了。

Most of the people staying at the Globe were there for the golf. One of them was a Colonel Wilson, an old soldier with a very loud voice, and very strong opinions.

多數(shù)住地球旅館的人是來打高爾夫球的。其中一位是威爾遜上校，一位嗓門很洪亮、對事物看法很固執(zhí)的老兵。

Professor Parkins, who was as brave as he was honest, spent the first day of his holiday playing golf with Colonel Wilson, and trying to 'improve his game'. Perhaps he was not wholly successful in this, because by the end of the afternoon the Colonel's face was a most alarming colour. Even his moustache looked angry, and Parkins decided that it would be safer not to walk back to the inn with him. He thought he would walk along the beach instead, and try to find the remains of the Templar church.

帕金斯教授，這位既膽大又坦誠的人，度假的第一天就和威爾遜上校打了一天的高爾夫球來努力“提高球藝”。大概他做得不大好，因為到下午結(jié)束時，上校的臉色很嚇人，連胡子都氣歪了。帕金斯想還是不和他一起回旅館更安全些。他想沿著海灘走走，尋找一下圣殿騎士教堂的遺跡。

He found them very easily—by falling over some of the old stones, in fact. When he picked himself up, he saw that the ground all around him was broken up with shallow holes and bits of old stone wall covered in grass. The Templars used to build round churches, Parkins remembered, and even after hundreds of years there were enough grass-covered stones left to show the circle of the outer wall. For a time Parkins walked around, looking and measuring, and making notes in his notebook.

他毫不費力便找到了那些遺跡，其實是因為被一些古舊的石頭絆倒而找到的。站起身時，他發(fā)現(xiàn)周圍的地上布滿了淺淺的洞和長滿野草的古舊石頭墻的碎塊。帕金斯記得過去圣殿騎士常蓋的是圓形教堂，即使過了幾百年，還有那么多長滿野草的石頭使人們能看出原來外圍墻的圈子在哪兒。帕金斯四下轉(zhuǎn)著，觀察、測量，并在筆記本上做著記錄。

There was a large stone in the centre of the circle, and Parkins noticed that the grass had been pulled away from one corner of it. He knelt down and, using his pocket-knife, dug away some more of the grass to see the stone underneath. As he did so, a piece of earth fell inwards, showing that there was a hole under the stone. He tried to light a match to see inside, but the wind was too strong, so he put his hand into the hole and felt around with his knife. The sides, top, and bottom of the hole were smooth and regular, he discovered; it must be a man-made hole in a wall. As he pulled the knife out, he heard the sound of metal on metal—there was something in the hole. He put his hand back in and his fingers found a thin piece of metal. Naturally enough, he pulled it out, and saw that it was a piece of metal pipe about ten centimetres long, also man-made and clearly very old. By this time it was getting too dark to do anything more, so he put the metal pipe in his pocket and started to walk home along the beach.

圈子中心有塊大石頭，帕金斯注意到它一角的野草被人拔掉了。他跪下身子拿自己的小折刀又挖掉一些草，以便觀察下面的石頭。這時一塊土塌了進去，說明石頭下面有洞。他想劃根火柴看看里面，可風太大，于是他便將手伸進洞里用刀子四下探索著。他發(fā)現(xiàn)洞壁、洞頂和洞底都很光滑規(guī)則，這一定是在墻里挖的洞。當他從里面拿出刀子時，聽到了金屬間的撞擊聲——洞里有東西。他又把手伸進去，手指摸到一片薄薄的金屬。很自然他把那東西拿了出來，發(fā)現(xiàn)是段長約10厘米的金屬管，也是人造的，很明顯年代已經(jīng)很久遠了。這時天黑得已經(jīng)不能干什么了，于是他把那段金屬管放進口袋，開始沿著海灘往家走。

In the evening half-light the place seemed wild and lonely, and a cold north wind blew at his back. Far ahead of him he could see the lights of the village, but here there was only the long empty beach with its black wooden breakwaters, and the shadowy, whispering sea.

傍晚柔和灰暗的光線使這個地方顯得荒涼而孤寂，冰冷的北風侵襲著他的后背。他能看到遠方村里的燈光，可眼前只有長長的空落落的海灘和黑色的木制防波堤，還有那朦朦朧朧低聲作響的大海。

He crossed the stones higher up on the beach and went down to the sand, which was easier to walk on, although he had to climb over the breakwaters every few metres.

他越過海灘高處的石頭地往下走上一片沙地，沙地好走一些，雖然每走幾米就要爬一段防波堤。

When he looked behind him to see how far he had come, he saw that he might have a companion on his walk home. A dark figure, some way back, seemed to be running to catch up with him, but he never seemed to get any closer. It couldn't be anybody he knew, Parkins thought, so he did not wait for him. However, a companion, he began to think, would really be very welcome on that cold, dark beach. He suddenly remembered the stories he had read in his less sensible childhood—stories of strange companions met in lonely places. 'What would I do now,' he wondered, 'if I looked back and saw a black figure with wings and a tail? Would I run, or would I stand and fight? Fortunately, the person behind me doesn't look like that—and he seems to be as far away as when I first saw him. I shall get my dinner before he does, and, oh dear! It's nearly time for dinner now. I must run!'

當他回頭看自己走出了多遠時，發(fā)現(xiàn)好像有個伴兒跟他一起往家走。一個黑乎乎的人影似乎在他后面跑著追他，可似乎怎么也不能靠近他。帕金斯心想他肯定不認識這人，于是就沒等他。他開始想到，在這寒冷黑暗的沙灘上，有人作伴也是很不錯的。突然他又想起小時候不大懂事時讀過的故事——那些在人煙稀少的地方遇到奇怪伴侶的故事。“我現(xiàn)在該怎么辦呢？”他心里想，“如果我回頭看到一個長著翅膀和尾巴的黑影，我是跑，還是站在那里跟他拼呢？還好，我后面那人不像是那樣的——他離我的距離似乎跟我一開始看到他時差不多。我得先吃飯，天啊！快到吃飯時間了，我得跑了！”

At dinner the Professor found the Colonel much calmer than he had been in the afternoon. Later, the two men played cards together and, as Parkins played cards much better than he played golf, the Colonel became quite friendly and they arranged to play golf together again the next day.

吃飯時，教授發(fā)現(xiàn)上校比下午平靜多了。后來他們一起玩牌，由于帕金斯的牌技比他的高爾夫球技強很多，上校變得很友好起來。他們還安排了第二天再去打球。

When Parkins returned to his room, he found the little metal pipe where he had put it on the table. He looked at it carefully and realized that it was a whistle. He tried to blow it but it was full of earth, so he took out his knife and cleared the earth out onto a piece of paper, which he then shook out of the window. As he stood at the open window, he was surprised to see someone standing on the grass in front of the hotel, although it was almost midnight.

帕金斯回到房間便看到了自己放在桌子上的那一小段金屬管，他仔細看了看，發(fā)現(xiàn)它是個口哨。他想吹吹，可里面都是土，于是他拿出刀子把土掏出來倒在一張紙上，抖落在窗外。他站在開著的窗戶旁時很驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)雖然已經(jīng)快半夜了，卻有個人站在旅館前面的草地上。

He shut the window and took the whistle over to the light to look at it again. He cleaned the dirt off and found that there were letters deeply cut along the side of the whistle.

他關(guān)上窗戶把口哨拿到亮處又看了看，把上面的土擦干凈后發(fā)現(xiàn)口哨上深深地刻著：

QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT

QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT

Now, that's Latin,' he said to himself. 'I think it means, "Who is this who is coming?" Well, the best way to find out is clearly to whistle for him.'

“噢，這是拉丁文，”他自語道，“我想它的意思是‘來者是誰？’哦，知道來者是誰最好的辦法顯然是給他吹口哨聽。”

He put the whistle to his lips and blew, then stopped suddenly, surprised and pleased at the sound he had made. It was a soft sound, but also seemed to travel a long way. And it brought a picture into his mind—a picture of a wide, dark place at night, with a fresh wind blowing, and in the middle a lonely figure... But at that moment a real wind made his window shake, and the picture disappeared. The wind was so sudden that it made him look up, just in time to see the white shape of a seabird's wing outside the window.

他把口哨放在嘴邊吹起來，突然又停了下來，吹出的聲音使他自己都感到既驚訝又高興。那聲音很柔和，可似乎又能傳出很遠，并且把一幅畫面呈現(xiàn)在他腦海中——畫面是夜里一個寬闊黑暗的地方，清風吹拂，畫面中間還有個孤零零的人影……這時真的有股風吹得他的窗戶晃動起來，那畫面消失了。風起得很突然，他禁不住向天上看了一眼，正好看見窗外一只海鳥白色翅膀的輪廓。

He was so interested in the sound the whistle had made that he blew it again, this time more loudly. No picture came into his mind, but a sudden and very violent wind blew his window open with a crash. Both candles went out, and the wind seemed to be trying to pull the room to pieces. For twenty seconds Parkins battled to close the window again, but it was like trying to push back a burglar who was fighting to get in. Then the wind suddenly dropped for a moment, and the window banged shut and fastened itself. Parkins lit the candles and looked to see what damage had been done. There was none—not even a broken window. But the noise had woken the Colonel in the room above; Parkins could hear him walking around and talking to himself.

他覺得那口哨發(fā)出的聲音很有意思，于是便又吹起來，這回聲音更大了。他的腦海里不再呈現(xiàn)出畫面。突然一陣狂風砰地一聲把他的窗戶刮開了。兩根蠟燭都滅了，那風似乎想把屋子撕成碎片。帕金斯用了20秒鐘的時間拼命地試著把窗戶關(guān)上，可這簡直像是要把拼命想進屋的強盜推回去一樣。這時風突然停了一下，窗戶砰地一聲關(guān)上，搭扣自動扣上。帕金斯點上蠟燭看看有什么被弄壞的地方，他發(fā)現(xiàn)沒有任何地方被弄壞——甚至連塊破玻璃都沒有?？蛇@里的聲音吵醒了樓上房間里的上校；帕金斯能聽見他踱著步自言自語。

The wind continued to blow for a long time, beating against the house and crying like a creature in pain. Lying in bed, listening, Parkins thought that a less sensible person might imagine all kinds of unpleasant things. In fact, after a quarter of an hour, he thought that even sensible people would prefer not to hear this sound.

風又繼續(xù)刮了好長一陣子，不斷撞擊著房子，像個忍受著痛苦的人在叫喊。帕金斯躺在床上聽著，心里想一個不太明智的人可能會想象出各種各樣的不愉快的事情來。事實上過了一刻鐘，他想甚至很明智的人也不會愿意聽到這種聲音的。

He noticed that one of his neighbours was finding it difficult to sleep, too. He could quite clearly hear someone not far away, turning over in bed again and again.

他注意到他的一個鄰居也感到難以入睡了。他能清楚地聽到不遠處有人在床上翻來覆去的聲音。

Sometimes when we close our eyes and try to sleep, we see pictures that are so unpleasant that we have to open our eyes again to make them disappear. This is what now happened to the Professor. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the same picture. There was a long beach with breakwaters running down to the sea, under a dark sky. He recognized it as the beach he had walked along earlier. Then, in the distance, he saw a man running along the beach, climbing desperately over the breakwaters and looking back over his shoulder all the time. Parkins could not see his face, but he knew that the man was terribly afraid. He was also nearly exhausted. Each breakwater was harder to climb than the last. 'Will he get over this next one?' thought Parkins. 'It seems higher than the others.' Yes; half climbing, half throwing himself, the man got over, and then fell to the ground, unable to get up again.

有時候當我們閉上眼睛想要睡覺時，會看到一些令人不快的畫面，于是我們不得不睜開眼睛讓它們消散。教授此時的情況正是這樣。他一閉上眼睛就會看到同樣的畫面。黑暗的天空下長長的海灘上防波堤延伸入海。他認出這是他走過的那個海灘。這時他看見遠處有個人正沿著海灘跑著，拼命地爬過防波堤，還不時地回頭看著。帕金斯看不到那人的臉，可他知道那人害怕極了，而且也快要筋疲力竭了。每個防波堤都比前一個更難爬。“他能爬過下一個嗎？”帕多斯想著，“下一個似乎比前頭的那些都高。”那人全身用力地爬著翻了過去，接著摔在地上起不來了。

The picture had not yet shown any cause for the man's fear, but now a distant figure appeared, moving very quickly. It wore a long, flowing garment, and there was something so strange about the way it moved that Parkins was very unwilling to see it any closer. It stopped, lifted its arms, bent down towards the sand, then ran, still bent over, down to the edge of the sea and back again. Now it straightened itself, and moved forward along the beach at a frightening speed. At last it came to the breakwater where the man lay hidden. Again it ran down to the sea and back again, then lifted its arms and ran towards the breakwater.

在這之前從畫面上還看不出那人為什么害怕，不過這時遠處出現(xiàn)了個人影，動作很快。那人穿著一件長而飄垂的外衣，動作看起來有點怪，因而帕金斯很不愿意看到它再靠近了。它停了下來，抬起雙臂朝沙地彎下腰，接著還是彎著腰朝海邊跑過去又跑了回來。然后直起身，以驚人的速度沿著海灘向前移動著。最后它來到剛才那人藏身的防波堤處。接著朝大海跑過去又跑了回來，之后抬起雙臂又朝那防波堤跑了過去。

It was always at this moment that Parkins was not brave enough to keep his eyes closed any longer. At last he decided to light his candle, get out a book, and read for a while. The noise of the match and the sudden light seemed to alarm something near his bed—a rat, probably—which ran away across the floor. The match immediately went out, but a second one burnt better, and Parkins lit the candle and opened his book. When he finally felt sleepy, he forgot, for the first time in his tidy, sensible life, to blow out the candle, and the next morning it was completely burnt down.

每到這時，帕金斯就不敢再閉著眼睛了。最后他決定點上蠟燭拿出書來看一會。劃火柴的聲音和突然出現(xiàn)的亮光似乎驚嚇了他床邊的什么東西——可能是老鼠——跑過了地板?；鸩耨R上滅了，不過第二根著得好一點兒，帕金斯點上了蠟燭打開了書。當他終于感到很困倦時，他，這個生活通常安排得有序而合理的人，頭一次忘了吹滅蠟燭，第二天早上那蠟燭已經(jīng)完全燒盡了。

He was in his room after breakfast when the servant who cleaned the rooms came in, carrying some blankets.

吃完早飯他待在屋子里，這時打掃房間的仆人進來了，拿著幾條毯子。

Would you like any extra blankets on your bed, sir?' she asked.

“先生，您的床上是不是還需要毯子呀？”她問。

Ah, yes, thank you,' said Parkins. 'I would like one. I think it's getting colder.'

“啊，是啊，謝謝你，”帕金斯說，“來一條吧，我覺得天氣越來越冷了。”

Which bed shall I put it on, sir?' the girl asked.

“先生，我把它放在哪張床上呀？”那女孩問。

What? Why, the one I slept in last night,' replied Parkins.

“什么？當然放在昨晚我睡的那張床上呀。”帕金斯回答。

Yes, sir. But we thought you'd slept in both of them, sir. We had to make both of them this morning.'

“好吧，先生，可是我們覺得您兩張床都睡過，今天早晨我們只得都收拾了一下。”

Really? How strange!' said Parkins. 'I didn't touch the other bed except to put my suitcase on it when I unpacked. But you thought that someone had actually slept in it?'

“真的嗎？太怪了！”帕金斯說，“除了打開行李時我把手提箱放在上面，后來就一直沒動過那張床。你們真覺得有人在上面睡過嗎？”

Oh yes, sir. The sheets and blankets were thrown all over the place. I thought you'd had bad dreams, sir.'

“是的，先生。床單和毯子扔得到處都是。我以為您做惡夢了呢，先生。”

Oh dear,' said Parkins. 'Well, I'm sorry if I made extra work for you. Oh, I'm expecting a friend of mine from Cambridge to come for a few days and sleep in the other bed. That will be all right, I suppose?'

“天??！”帕金斯說，“哎呀，要是給你添麻煩的話，我真是對不起你。我正等著一位劍橋大學的朋友來呆幾天，就睡那張床，可以吧？”

Oh yes, sir,' said the girl. 'It's no trouble, I'm sure. Thank you, sir.' And she left the room.

“噢，可以，先生，”那女孩說，“當然沒有問題，謝謝您，先生。”說完她便離開了房間。

That day Parkins tried very hard to improve his game, with some success, and the Colonel became even more friendly, and quite talkative.

那天帕金斯下功夫提高球藝，還真有效，上校變得更友善了，而且說了不少話。

That was an extraordinary wind we had last night,' he said as they were playing. 'In my part of the country they would say that someone had been whistling for it.'

“昨天晚上的風刮得太出奇了，”他們打著球時他說，“在我的家鄉(xiāng)，人們會說這是有人吹口哨召喚它。”

Do they really believe in that kind of thing where you come from?' asked Parkins.

“你們那兒的人真信這類事情？”帕金斯問。

They believe in it all over the place,' the Colonel replied. 'And, in my experience, there's usually some truth in what the country people say.'

“那地方的人都信。”上校回答，“而且憑我的經(jīng)驗，那些鄉(xiāng)下人說的通常還是有些真實的。”

There was a pause in the conversation while they continued with the game. Then Parkins said, 'I feel I should tell you, Colonel, that I hold very strong opinions on these matters. In fact, I don't believe at all in anything supernatural.'

他們停下談話繼續(xù)打球。這時帕金斯說：“上校，我覺得我應該告訴你，我對這些事情很有成見。實際上我根本不相信任何超自然的東西。”

What?' cried the Colonel, 'D'you mean to say that you don't believe in ghosts, or anything of that kind?'

“什么？”上校喊道，“你是說你不相信鬼神什么的？”

In nothing whatever of that kind,' replied Parkins. 'There is an explanation for everything, you see. In fact,' he went on, 'I blew a whistle myself last night, and the wind seemed to come in answer to my call. But of course—'

“任何那類東西都不信，”帕金斯回答。“你知道，凡事都可以有個解釋。事實上，”他接著說，“昨天晚上我吹口哨了，那風似乎是聽了我的召喚才來的。不過當然——”

The Colonel stopped and looked at him. 'Whistling. were you?' he said. 'What kind of whistle did you use? Your turn to play, sir.'

上校停了下來，看著他。“昨晚你吹著口哨嗎？”他說，“你是用什么口哨吹的？該你打球了，先生。”

Parkins hit his ball, and then told the Colonel about finding the old whistle in the Templar church.

帕金斯擊了一下球，接著把自己在圣殿騎士教堂找到那個舊口哨的事兒告訴了上校。

Well, sir, I'd be very careful about using a thing like that,' said the Colonel. 'Who knows what the Templars used it for? Dangerous lot of people, they were.'

“哎呀，先生，用那樣一個東西，我會很小心的，”上校說，“誰知道那些圣殿騎士用它干過什么呢？那都是些危險的人物。”

He went on to give his opinions on the church, old and modern, and the two men had a very enjoyable argument. The morning passed so pleasantly that they continued to play golf together in the afternoon, then walked back in the evening light to the Globe.

接著他談起了自己對古代和現(xiàn)代教堂的看法，倆人興致勃勃地爭論了一番。一上午他們過得很愉快，于是下午接著又打，傍晚一起走回地球旅館。

As they turned the corner of the inn, the Colonel was nearly knocked down by a small boy who ran into him at high speed, and then remained holding on to him and crying. At first the Colonel was rather annoyed, but he soon saw that the boy was so frightened that he could not speak.

他們走到旅店拐彎處時，上校差點兒被一個猛撞在他身上的小男孩撞倒，那小孩還抓著他大哭著。一開始上校很惱火，可他很快發(fā)現(xiàn)那男孩嚇得連話都說不出來了。

What's the matter? What have you seen? Who has frightened you?' the two men asked together.

“怎么了？你看見什么了？誰嚇著你了？”倆人同時問道。

Oh sir! I saw it wave at me out of the window,' cried the boy, 'and I don't like it.'

“噢，先生！我看見那東西對著窗外向我招手，”那男孩叫道，“我不喜歡它。”

What window?' said the Colonel crossly. 'Explain yourself, boy.'

“什么窗戶？”上校生氣地說，“孩子，說說怎么回事？”

The front window in the inn, sir, upstairs.'

“我是說旅館的前窗戶，先生，樓上的。”

After several questions they learnt that the boy had been playing with his friends on the grass in front of the inn. When the others had gone home for their tea, he had looked up at the big front window and had seen something waving at him. It was a figure of some kind, in white. The boy couldn't see its face, but it had waved at him. There was something horrible about it, and it wasn't like a human being at all.

問了他幾個問題后，他們得知那男孩一直和他的伙伴們在旅館前的那塊草地上玩耍。其他孩子都回家喝茶了，他抬頭看了看那扇大大的前窗戶，發(fā)現(xiàn)有東西在向他招手。那是某種形體，穿白色衣服。男孩看不見它的臉，可它確實朝他招手了。這真是太可怕了，而且那東西根本不像個人。

It was someone trying to frighten you,' said the Colonel. 'Next time, like a brave little English boy, you throw a stone at it... Well, perhaps not that; but tell the people in the inn about it. Now, here's sixpence for you, and you'd better run along home for your tea.'

“這是有人要嚇唬你，”上校說，“孩子，下次勇敢點兒，朝他扔石頭……噢，或許可以不這樣，而是把事情告訴旅館的人。好了，給你這6便士，你還是跑回家喝茶吧。”

The two men went round to the front of the inn and looked up. There was only one window that fitted the description they had heard.

倆人繞到旅館前面抬頭看著，發(fā)現(xiàn)只有一扇窗戶符合剛才聽到的描述。

That's very strange,' said Parkins. 'I remember that I locked my door when I went out this morning and the key is still in my pocket.'

“太怪了，”帕金斯說，“我記得今天早上出去時鎖了門，而且鑰匙還在我口袋里呢。”

They went upstairs, found that the door of the room was still locked, unlocked it, and went in.

他們上了樓，發(fā)現(xiàn)房門仍然鎖著，于是打開鎖進了屋。

Well, everything seems perfectly all right,' said Parkins, looking around.

“噢，一切似乎都很正常。”帕金斯四下看了看說。

Except your bed,' said the Colonel.

“除了你的床以外。”上校說。

That's not my bed,' said Parkins. 'But it certainly looks very untidy.' The sheets and blankets were thrown about all over the bed. Parkins thought for a while. 'Ah,' he said, 'I disarranged it when I was unpacking. Perhaps the girl came in to make the bed, the boy saw her at the window, and then she was called away before she could finish it.'

“那不是我的床，”帕金斯說，“可那張床確實很不整潔。”床單和毯子扔得滿床都是。帕金斯想了想。“啊，”他說，“我從包里取出東西時把那床弄亂了。也許那女孩進來收拾時，剛才那個男孩從窗口看到了她，可是還沒等她干完就被叫走了。”

Well, ring the bell and ask her,' said the Colonel.

“好吧，按一下鈴問問她。”上校說。

When the girl came, she explained that she had made the bed in the morning and that no one had been in the room since the Professor had left. Mr Simpson, the manager, had the only other key. Mr Simpson then came up and said that he had not been in the room himself, and had not given the key to anyone else. Parkins checked the room carefully; nothing was missing and his books and papers were as he had left them. The girl made the bed again and the two men went down to have their tea.

那女孩來了，她解釋說早晨她收拾了床，而且從教授走后沒人進來過。經(jīng)理辛普森先生那兒還有另外一把鑰匙。這時辛普森先生上樓來說他沒到這屋來過，也沒把鑰匙給過任何人。帕金期仔細檢查了一下屋子，什么也沒少，他的書和材料還是原來的老樣子。那女孩又收拾了一遍床，然后倆人下樓來喝茶。

That evening, Colonel Wilson was unusually quiet and thoughtful during dinner and cards and, as they were going up to their rooms, he said to Parkins:

那天晚上吃飯和打牌時，威爾遜上校有點兒不同尋常地沉默和心事重重。他們上樓回房間時，他對帕金斯說：

You know where I am if you need me during the night.'

“夜里需要我時叫我一聲。”

Thank you, Colonel, but I don't expect to call on you,' replied Parkins. 'Oh, I have that whistle I told you about. Would you like to see it?'

“謝謝你，上校，不過我不想麻煩你，”帕金斯回答，“噢，我跟你說過的那個口哨，你想看看嗎？”

The Colonel turned the whistle over in his hands, looking at it carefully.

上校在手里擺弄著那口哨，仔細看著。

What are you going to do with it?' he asked.

“你要怎么處理它呀？”他問。

I'll show it to the people at Cambridge when I get back and probably give it to the museum, if it's any good.'

“回去后我把它拿給劍橋的人們看看。如果有用的話，或許我要把它交給博物館。”

If it were mine,' said the Colonel, 'I'd throw it into the sea right now. But, of course, you and I don't think the same way about these things. Good night.'

“如果這東西是我的，”上校說，“我現(xiàn)在就把它扔進海里。不過，對這些事情咱倆看法當然不一致，晚安吧。”

And he went off to his room.

接著他便回房間了。

There were no curtains at the windows in the Professor's room. The previous night it had not mattered, but tonight there was a bright moon in a cloudless sky. Parkins was afraid that the moonlight might wake him up in the middle of the night, so he arranged a blanket, held up with a stick and his umbrella, which would stop the moonlight shining on to his bed. Soon he was comfortably in bed where he read a book for a while. Then he blew out his candle and went to sleep.

教授的房間沒有窗簾。前一天晚上還沒事兒，可今天晚上明亮的月亮掛在無云的天空中。帕金斯擔心半夜月光會把他照醒，于是弄了條毯子用一根棍和雨傘掛起來，這樣月光就不再照在他床上了。他很快便舒舒服服地躺在床上，看了會兒書，然后吹滅蠟燭睡覺了。

An hour or so later he was suddenly woken by a loud crash. In a moment he realized that the blanket had fallen down and a bright moon was shining on his bed. Should he get up and put the blanket up again, or could he manage to sleep if he did not? He lay in bed for several minutes trying to decide what to do.

過了約一個小時，他忽然被一聲巨響驚醒。他很快意識到是那毯子掉下來了，明亮的月光照在他的床上。是不是應該起來再把毯子掛起來，如果不這樣他還能睡著嗎？他躺在床上用了好幾分鐘試圖決定該怎么辦。

All at once he turned over in bed, eyes wide open, listening hard. There had been a movement in the other bed! Was it a rat? The sound came again, something moving in the blankets and making the bed shake. No rat could make a noise like that, surely!

突然他翻了個身，睜大眼睛仔細聽起來。另一張床上有動靜！是老鼠嗎？接著那聲音又出現(xiàn)了，有東西在毯子里動而且弄得床也晃動起來。老鼠是絕對不會發(fā)出那樣的聲音的！

Suddenly his heart nearly stopped beating as a figure sat up in the empty bed. Parkins jumped out of his own bed and ran towards the window to get his stick. As he did so, the thing in the other bed slid to the floor and stood, with arms stretched out, between Parkins and the door.

一個人影從那張空床上坐起來，這時帕金斯的心幾乎突然停止了跳動。他跳下床跑到窗前去拿棍子，與此同時，那張床上的東西滑到地上站起身來，兩只胳膊伸著，擋在了帕金斯和門中間。

Parkins stared at the creature in horror. He could not reach the door without touching it as he passed, and the thought of that touch made him feel sick.

帕金斯驚恐地盯著那東西看。他想到門口的話，經(jīng)過它時就必須觸到它，一想到觸到它，他就覺得惡心。

Now it began to move, bending low and feeling its way with arms that were hidden in its flowing garment. Parkins realized with horror that it could not see. It turned away from him and, in doing so, touched the bed he had just left. It bent its head low and felt all over the bed in a way that made Parkins tremble with fear.

這時那東西開始動了，彎著身子，用掩在飄垂的外衣里的雙臂摸索著往前走。帕金斯驚恐地意識到它看不見東西。它轉(zhuǎn)身離開時，觸到了他剛離開的那張床。它低下頭在床上到處摸索著，這使帕金斯嚇得直哆嗦。

Realizing that the bed was empty, the creature moved forward into the moonlight which shone in through the window. For the first time Parkins saw it clearly, but the only thing he could remember later was a horrible, a sickeningly horrible, face of crumpled cloth. The expression on that face he could not or would not describe, but it certainly drove him nearly mad with fear.

當它發(fā)現(xiàn)那床是空的，那東西又向前移動到了從窗口照進的月光中。帕金斯第一次看清了它的模樣，可后來他唯一能記起的是那張令人作嘔而可怕的皺巴巴布臉。那臉上的表情他描述不上來或者說不想描述，可它確實快要把他嚇瘋了。

But he had no time to watch it for long. With frightening speed the creature moved around the room, searching and feeling, and a corner of its flowing garment brushed across Parkins' face. He screamed in horror, and at once it jumped at him, driving him towards the window. The next moment Parkins was halfway through the window backwards, screaming again and again at the top of his voice, and the cloth face was pushed close into his own.

他沒有時間一直觀察它了。只見那東西以嚇人的速度在屋子里轉(zhuǎn)著，尋找著摸索著，它飄垂著的外衣的一角擦過帕金斯的臉，他驚恐地尖叫起來。那東西立即朝他撲過來，把他朝窗前逼去。接著帕金斯的半個身子都探出了身后的窗戶，他扯著嗓子一聲聲尖叫著，那張布臉已經(jīng)很貼近他的臉了。

In that final second, the Colonel kicked the door open and was just in time to see the frightening sight at the window. When he reached the figures, only one was left. Parkins fell forward into the room in a faint, and before him on the floor lay a crumpled bedsheet.

就在這千鈞一發(fā)之時，上校踢開了門，正好看到窗口那令人毛骨悚然的一幕。當他走近時，人影就只剩下一個。帕金斯昏了過去，向前跌進屋子里，他面前的地板上只是條皺巴巴的床單。

The Colonel asked no questions, but kept everyone out of the room, helped Parkins back to bed and, with a blanket round his shoulders, spent the rest of the night in the other bed.

上校什么也沒問，只是不讓任何人進屋。他幫帕金斯躺回床上，自己則在肩上裹了條毯子，在另一張床上過了后半夜。

The next morning Mr Rogers arrived and, to his surprise, was very warmly welcomed by the Professor. The three men discussed what to do for a long time. The Colonel, who remembered a similar experience in India, supposed that the creature, having no body of its own, had to make one out of the sheet from the bed. At the end of their talk, the Colonel left the hotel carrying between his finger and thumb a small piece of metal, which he threw into the sea as far as a strong arm could send it. Later, he burnt the sheet in the field behind the Globe.

第二天上午羅杰斯先生到了。出乎他的意料，他受到了教授熱誠的歡迎。3個人就該怎么辦商量了很長時間。上校記得他在印度有過類似的經(jīng)歷，他認為那東西自己沒有軀體而不得不用床單造出一個來。他們說完這些，上校用手指夾著那小片金屬離開了旅館，用力把它遠遠地扔進了大海。后來他又在地球旅館后面的空地里燒掉了那條床單。

As you can imagine, Professor Parkins' opinions on some matters are now less certain than they used to be. He is also a more nervous person than he was. Even a coat hanging up on a door will alarm him, and the sight of a scarecrow in a field late on a winter afternoon has given him more than one sleepless night.

您可以想像得出，現(xiàn)在帕金斯教授對一些事情的看法不像以前那么絕對了，人也變得比過去緊張了。甚至掛在門上的一件外衣都會嚇著他，冬日接近傍晚時看到田里的一個稻草人更使他度過了不止一個不眠之夜。