野性的呼喚01 北部之旅

1 To the north
1 北部之旅

Buck did not read the newspapers. He did not know that trouble was coming for every big dog in California. Men had found gold in the Yukon， and these men wanted big， strong dogs to work in the cold and snow of the north.
巴克不曾讀過(guò)報(bào)紙，他不知道人們需要高大強(qiáng)壯能夠在北方的嚴(yán)寒和冰雪中工作的狗。人們?cè)谟蘸影l(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦，因此對(duì)加利福尼亞的每一條大狗來(lái)說(shuō)都在劫難逃。 Buck lived in Mr Miller’s big house in the sunny Santa Clara valley There were large gardens and fields of fruit trees around the house， and a river nearby. In a big place like this，of course， there were many dogs There were house dogs and farm dogs， but they were not important.Buck was chief dog;he was born here， and this was his place .He was four years old and weighed sixty kilos .He went swimming with Mr Miller’s sons，and walking with his daughters .He carried the grandchildren on his back， and he sat at Mr Miller’s feet in front of the fire in winter.
在陽(yáng)光明媚的桑塔·克拉拉山谷中，巴克的家就在米勒先生的大房子里。房子的周圍是開(kāi)闊的莊園和種滿了果樹(shù)的田野。一條小河從附近流過(guò)。這樣一個(gè)遼闊的地方，是狗的樂(lè)園。諸如看門狗和牧羊犬，但他們是無(wú)足輕重的。真正的狗的首領(lǐng)是巴克;他生于斯長(zhǎng)于斯，這兒簡(jiǎn)直就是他的天下。他4歲，體重60公斤。他同米勒先生的兒子一起游泳，也陪著他的女兒們一起去散步，有時(shí)他還會(huì)給米勒先生的孫兒們當(dāng)馬騎。冬天到了，他就偎著爐火蹲坐在米勒先生的腳邊。
But this was 1897， and Buck did not know that men and dogs were hurrying to north-west Canada to look for gold.And he did not know that Manuel， one of Mr Miller’s garden-ers， needed money for his large family. One day，when Mr Miller was out， Manuel and Buck left the garden together.It was just an evening walk， Buck thought.No one saw them go， and only one man saw them arrive at the railway station.This man talked to Manuel， and gave him some money .Then he tied a piece of rope around Buck’s neck.
然而到了1897年，巴克不知道這一年人們都帶著狗蜂涌到加拿大西北部尋找金礦。他更不知道，米勒先生的一個(gè)園丁曼紐埃勒需要錢養(yǎng)活他的一大家子。有一天，米勒先生出去了，曼紐埃勒帶著巴克離開(kāi)了莊園。對(duì)于巴克來(lái)說(shuō)，他還以為這只是傍晚的散步。沒(méi)有人看到他們，只有一個(gè)人看見(jiàn)他們到了火車站。這個(gè)人同曼紐埃勒說(shuō)了什么，然后塞給他一些錢，隨后他將一條繩子系到巴克的脖子上。
Buck growled， and was surprised when the rope was pulled hard around his neck.He jumped at the man.The man caught him and suddenly Buck was on his back with his tongue out of his mouth. For a few moments he was unable to move， and it was easy for the two men to put him into the train.
巴克咆哮起來(lái)，卻吃驚地發(fā)現(xiàn)脖子上的繩索勒得緊緊的。他跳起來(lái)直撲向那個(gè)人。那人一把抓住了巴克，突然巴克就被仰面朝天摔在地上，舌頭也被拽了出來(lái)。過(guò)了好一會(huì)兒他都動(dòng)彈不得，于是兩個(gè)人輕而易舉地把他送上了火車。
When Buck woke up， the train was still moving. The man was sitting and watching him， but Buck was too quick for him and he bit the man’s hand hard.Then the rope was pulled again and Buck had to let go.
當(dāng)巴克醒過(guò)來(lái)的時(shí)候，火車仍然在開(kāi)。那人坐在那兒注視著他，然而巴克卻更加迅疾，狠狠地咬住了那人的手。但脖子上的繩索又一次勒住了他，巴克不得不松了口。
That evening， the man took Buck to the back room of a bar in San Francisco. The barman looked at the man’s hand and trousers covered in blood.
那天晚上，那個(gè)人把巴克帶到舊金山一間酒吧的后屋里。酒吧老板看了看那人血跡斑斑的手和長(zhǎng)褲。
‘How much are they paying you for this?’he asked.
“他們付你多少錢?”他問(wèn)。
‘I only get fifty dollars.’
“我只掙50美元。”
‘And the man who stole him—how much did he get?’ asked the barman.
“那么那個(gè)偷狗的人——他又賺多少?”酒吧老板問(wèn)道。
‘A hundred. He wouldn’t take less.’
“100美元。他不肯少一個(gè)子兒。”
‘That makes a hundred and fifty. It’s a good price for a dog like him .Here， help me to get him into this.’
“也就是說(shuō)150美元。對(duì)于這樣一條狗可真是個(gè)好價(jià)錢。這邊來(lái)，幫我把他弄到這里去。”
They took off Buck’s rope and pushed him into a wooden box. He spent the night in the box in the back room of the bar. His neck still ached with pain from the rope， and he could not understand what it all meant . What did they want with him， these strange men? And where was Mr Miller?
他們解開(kāi)巴克的繩索然后把他推進(jìn)一只木箱。他在酒吧的后屋里在那個(gè)木箱中過(guò)了一夜。他的脖子仍然因?yàn)槔K子勒過(guò)而疼痛不已，而且他對(duì)于所有的一切都如墜五里云中。這些陌生人他們想讓他做什么呢?米勒先生又在哪里呢?
The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north.
第二天巴克被關(guān)在木箱里運(yùn)到火車站，送上了北去的列車。
For two days and nights the train travelled north， and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor drank. Men on the train laughed at him and pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box. For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirsti-er. His eyes grew red and he bit anything that moved.
火車向北開(kāi)了兩天兩夜。這兩天兩夜，巴克忍饑挨餓，滴水未進(jìn)?；疖嚿系娜藗兂靶λ?，把木棍從箱子上的洞中伸進(jìn)去捅他。這兩天兩夜，巴克越來(lái)越怒火中燒，也越來(lái)越饑渴難忍。他紅著眼睛，撕咬所有移動(dòng)的東西。
In Seattle four men took Buck to a small， high-walled back garden， where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting. Buck was now very angry indeed and hejumped and bit at the sides of his box. The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a club.
在西雅圖，四個(gè)人把巴克抬進(jìn)一座小小的但卻有高高院墻的莊園里。一個(gè)身著舊紅外套的肥胖男人等在那里。這當(dāng)口兒巴克已經(jīng)憤怒到了極點(diǎn)。他跳著，咬著木箱的邊緣。那胖子微微一笑，拿來(lái)一把斧子和一根木棍。
‘Are you going to take him out now?’ asked one of the men. ‘Of course，’ answered the fat man， and he began to break the box with his axe.
“你打算現(xiàn)在就把他放出來(lái)嗎?”其中一人問(wèn)道。“當(dāng)然。”胖子說(shuō)。他開(kāi)始用斧子劈開(kāi)木箱。
Immediately the four other men climbed up onto the wall to watch from a safe place.
立即，另外4個(gè)人爬到院墻上去，從安全的地方觀望著。
As the fat man hit the box with his axe， Buck jumped at the sides， growling and biting， pulling with his teeth at the pieces of broken wood. After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out. ‘ Now， come here， red eyes，’ said the fat man， dropping his axe and taking the club in his right hand.
當(dāng)那個(gè)胖子用斧頭劈開(kāi)木箱時(shí)巴克在邊緣處跳著，咆哮著、撕咬著，用牙齒扯著碎木片。一會(huì)兒，就有一個(gè)洞，大到足可以讓巴克鉆出來(lái)。“現(xiàn)在，過(guò)來(lái)，你這急紅了眼的。”那胖子說(shuō)著扔下斧頭，右手抄起木棍。
Buck jumped at the man， sixty kilos of anger， his mouth wide open ready to bite the man’s neck. Just before his teeth touched the skin， the man hit him with the club. Buck fell to the ground. It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand. He stood up， and jumped again. Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground.Ten times he jumped at the man， and ten times the club hit him. Slowly he got to his feet， now only just able to stand.There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears. Then the fat man walked up and hit him again， very hard， on the nose.The pain was terrible. Again， Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground.A last time he jumped， and this time， when the man knocked him down， Buck did not move.
巴克60公斤的憤怒之軀撲向那人，他大張著嘴準(zhǔn)備一口咬住那人的脖子。就在他的牙齒剛剛碰到皮膚的時(shí)候，那人用棍子給了他一下，巴克摔倒在地。這還是頭一次有人用棍子打他，他不知所措。他站起來(lái)，再次猛撲過(guò)去，木棍再次擊中了他使他癱倒在地。他撲了10次，木棍就打他10次。他慢慢地站起來(lái)，現(xiàn)在他僅能勉強(qiáng)站祝鮮血從他的口鼻和耳朵中涌出來(lái)。然后那人走上前又打了他，狠狠地?fù)糁辛怂谋亲?。劇痛襲來(lái)，巴克再一次撲向那人，但他又被打倒在地。最后一次他撲上去，而這一次，當(dāng)那人把他打倒時(shí)，巴克再也沒(méi)有動(dòng)彈一下。
‘He knows how to teach a dog a lesson，’ said one of the men on the wall. Then the four men jumped down and went back to the station.
“他可知道如何把狗制得服服帖帖的，”墻上的一個(gè)人說(shuō)。然后這4個(gè)人跳下來(lái)，回車站去了。
‘His name is Buck，’said the fat man to himself， reading the letter that had come with the box.‘Well， Buck， my by，’he said in a friendly voice，‘we’ve argued a little， and I think the best thing to do now is to stop. Be a good dog and we’ll be friends. But if you’re a bad dog， I’ll have to use my club again.Understand?’
“他的名字叫巴克。”那胖子自言自語(yǔ)道，讀著寫在木箱上的字母。“咳，巴克，我的孩子，”他用友好的語(yǔ)氣說(shuō)道。“我們有個(gè)小小的爭(zhēng)斗，現(xiàn)在我想我們最好停戰(zhàn)。做一只好狗，我們會(huì)成為朋友的。但是你若使壞，我就不得不用棍子對(duì)付你了，明白嗎?”
As he spoke， he touched Buck’ s head， and although Buck was angry inside， he did not move. When the man brought him water and meat， Buck drank and then ate the meat， piece by piece， from the man’s hand.
他一邊說(shuō)，一邊撫摸著巴克的頭。雖然巴克憤恨難平，他卻沒(méi)有再反抗。當(dāng)那人給他拿來(lái)水和肉時(shí)，巴克喝了水，又從那人的手上一片又一片地吃著肉。
Buck was beaten(he knew that) but he was not broken. He had learnt that a man with a club was stronger than him.Every day he saw more dogs arrive， and each dog was beaten by the fat man. Buck understood that a man with a club must be obeyed， although he did not have to be a friend.
巴克挨了打(他現(xiàn)在知道怎么回事了)，但他并未就此垮掉。他知道那個(gè)拿棍子的男人比他強(qiáng)大。每一天他都看見(jiàn)許多狗被送進(jìn)來(lái)。每條狗都被那胖子痛打過(guò)。巴克明白他雖然不必成為那人的朋友，卻必須聽(tīng)從他。
Men came to see the fat man and to look at the dogs. Some-times they paid money and left with one or more of the dogs.One day a short， dark man came and looked at Buck.
人們來(lái)找胖子看狗。有時(shí)他們付了錢牽走一只或更多的狗。一天一個(gè)黑矮的人來(lái)了，他看見(jiàn)了巴克。
‘That’s a good dog!’ he cried.‘How much do you want for him?’
“那可是條好狗!”他叫道。“你賣多少錢?”
‘Three hundred dollars. It’s a good price， Perrault，’said the fat man.
“300美元。這是個(gè)好價(jià)錢，佩諾特，”那胖子說(shuō)。
Perrault smiled and agreed that it was a good price. He knew dogs， and he knew that Buck was an excellent dog.
佩諾特笑了，他知道這價(jià)錢合適。他是狗的行家里手，他明白巴克是一條優(yōu)秀的狗。
‘One in ten thousand，’ Perrault said to himself.
“千里挑一”，佩諾特心里說(shuō)。
Buck saw money put into the fat man’ s hand， and he was not surprised when he and another dog called Curly were taken away by Perrault. He took them to a ship， and later that day Buck and Curly stood and watched the coast get further and further away.They had seen the warm south for the last time.
巴克看見(jiàn)那胖子收了錢，并且當(dāng)他和另一條叫科莉的狗被佩諾特帶走時(shí)他對(duì)此已經(jīng)不足為奇了。他把他們帶上船，那天不久巴克和科莉站在那兒看著越來(lái)越遠(yuǎn)的海岸，這是他們最后一次看見(jiàn)溫暖的南方了。
Perrault took Buck and Curly down to the bottom of the ship. There they met another man， Francois. Perrault was a French-Canadian， but Francois was half-Indian，tall and dark.Buck learnt quickly that Perrault and Francois were fair men，calm and honest. And they knew everything about dogs.
佩諾特把巴克和科莉帶到船尾，在那里他們見(jiàn)到另一個(gè)人，弗朗索瓦斯。佩諾特是法國(guó)與加拿大的混血兒，弗朗索瓦斯則有一半印第安人的血統(tǒng)，又黑又高。巴克很快就了解佩諾特和費(fèi)朗索瓦斯為人不錯(cuò)，沉穩(wěn)可靠。他們對(duì)于狗的習(xí)性可謂了如指掌。
There were two other dogs on the ship.One was a big dog called Spitz， as white as snow. He was friendly to Buck at first， always smiling. He was smiling when he tried to steal Buck’ s food at the first meal. Francois was quick and hit Spitz before Buck had time to move. Buck decided that this was fair， and began to like Francois a little.
船上還有兩只別的狗。其中有一只大狗叫斯皮茲，渾身雪白。他起初對(duì)巴克倒挺友好，時(shí)時(shí)沖他微笑致意。但吃第一頓飯時(shí)，他就企圖偷吃巴克的食物，而臉上居然微笑著。在巴克還來(lái)不及采取任何行動(dòng)之前，弗朗索瓦斯就迅速給了斯皮茲一下。巴克覺(jué)得這事處理得挺公道，他對(duì)弗朗索瓦斯有了一點(diǎn)兒好感。
Dave， the other dog， was not friendly. He wanted to be alone all the time. He ate and slept and was interested in nothing.
另一只狗戴夫并不友善。他喜歡獨(dú)自呆著。他除了吃就是睡，對(duì)一切都漠不關(guān)心。
One day was very like another， but Buck noticed that the weather was getting colder. One morning， the ship’s engines stopped， and there was a feeling of excitement in the ship.Francois leashed the dogs and took them outside. At the first step Buck’s feet went into something soft and white. He jumped back in surprise. The soft， white thing was also falling through the air， and it fell onto him. He tried to smell it， and then caught some on his tongue. It bit like fire， and then dis appeared. He tried again and the same thing happened. People were watching him and laughing， and Buck felt ashamed，although he did not know why. It was his first snow.
有一天一切如常，但巴克留意到天氣漸漸地在變冷。一個(gè)早晨，船的馬達(dá)終于停止了，船上有一種令人興奮的氣氛。弗朗索瓦斯用繩子拴出狗，把他們帶出船艙。巴克一邁腳就陷進(jìn)一種輕軟潔白的東西里，他驚恐地跳了回去。那輕軟潔白的東西也正從空中飄下來(lái)，落在他的身上。他嘗試著嗅嗅它，然后又用舌頭舔舔它，那東西嚼起來(lái)像火一樣灼燒，但轉(zhuǎn)瞬就無(wú)影無(wú)蹤了。他又試了試，還是同樣的結(jié)果。人們看著他笑了起來(lái)。雖然巴克不知道為什么，但他害了羞。這畢竟是他第一次接觸到雪。