野性的呼喚06 對人的熱愛

6 For the love of a man
6 對人的熱愛

John Thornton had been ill in December，and his two friends had had to leave him at White River and go on to Dawson.They left him in the camp with plenty of food ，and with his two dogs，Skeet and Blackie.Now the spring had come，and he was almost well.He lay in the sun by the river with Buck，watching the water and listening to the birds，slowly getting stronger and stronger.
約翰·桑頓在12月份時生了病，他的兩個朋友不得不把他獨(dú)自留在白河然后奔赴道桑。他們把他留在營地，備下大量食物和兩條狗，斯開特和布萊吉。如今春天來了，他幾乎康復(fù)了。他和巴克一同躺在河邊曬太陽，看著流水潺潺，聆聽著鳥聲啾啾，慢慢地強(qiáng)壯了起來。 對巴克來說，在奔波了5000公里之后，休息是最快意的事情了，他逐漸恢復(fù)了強(qiáng)壯，長胖了許多。在等待桑頓的朋友從道?；貋淼娜兆?，對人和狗來說，是一段寧靜舒賴的時光。
Skeet made friends with Buck immediately，and while Buck was still very ill， every morning she washed his cuts carefully with her tongue.Blackie，too，was friendly，and as Buck grew stronger，the three dogs often played games together.Sometimes Thornton joined the games too.
斯開特立刻同巴克成了朋友。當(dāng)巴克仍然非常虛弱的時候，每天早晨她都用舌頭舔凈他的傷口。布萊吉也很友好。在巴克越來越健壯之后，三條狗常在一起嬉戲。有時桑頓也加入其中。
The days passed very happily，and for the first time，Buck learned to love，He had never loved a man before.He and Mr Miller in the Santa Clara valley had been very good friends，but Buck had not loved him.John Thornton had saved his life，but he was also a man who was naturally kind to animals.He took very good care of his dogs，not because it was sensible to do that， but because he felt they were his children. He was always talking to Buck，holding his head and shaking it lovingly.In answer，Buck liked to take Thornton’s hand gently in his mouth.
時間愉快地飛逝，而平生頭一次，巴克學(xué)會了愛。從前他從未愛過別人。他和米勒先生從前在桑塔·克拉拉山谷時只是極好的朋友，但是巴克從來沒愛過他。約翰·桑頓救了他的命，但他還是一個天性善待動物的人。他細(xì)致地照看著他的狗，并不是出于什么意識，而是因為他覺得他們是他的孩子。他總是和巴克說話兒，捧著他的頭憐愛地?fù)u晃著。作為回答，巴克喜歡輕輕地把桑頓的手噙在嘴里。
Buck was happy to lie on the ground all day and watch Thornton And when Thornton spoke to him or touched him，Buck went wild with happiness. At first， he was afraid that Thornton was going to disappear，like Perrault and Francois，and at night he sometimes woke up and went to the tent to make sure that he was still there.
巴克也很高興整天躺在地上看著桑頓。每當(dāng)桑頓同他說話或撫摸他時，巴克就會高興地發(fā)狂。起初，他很害怕桑頓也會像佩諾特和弗朗索瓦斯一樣消失，于是他常常會在夜里醒來溜到帳篷里去看看他是否還在那兒。
But something was changing in Buck.He had lived in the north a long time now，and he was almost a wild dog.He was happy to sit by Thornton’s fire，but he sat as a wild animal，and his dreams were filled with other animals—dogs， half wolves，and wild wolves.They seemed to call him into the forest，and sometimes Buck wanted to leave the fire and answer the call.But every time he went into the trees，his love for Thornton brought him back.
但是巴克的本性發(fā)生了變化。如今他已經(jīng)在北方呆了很久，他幾乎變成了一條野狗。他喜歡蹲坐在桑頓的火邊，但他蹲坐的姿勢像野獸，而他的夢中則充滿了野獸的影子——狗，狼狗，還有野狼。他們似乎在叢林里向他呼喚，有時巴克想離開火堆回應(yīng)那呼喚。但是每當(dāng)他躍入?yún)擦謺r，對桑頓的熱愛又將他拉了回來。
It was only Thornton who stopped him going into the forest.Other men did not interest him.Visitors to the camp tried to make friends with him，but Buck stayed cold.When Thornton’s two friends，Hans and Pete，arrived from Dawson，Buck refused to notice them at first.Then he saw that they were friends of Thornton’s and after that he accept ed them;but they were not his friends They were，like Thornton，kind men，and they understood that Buck loved Thornton，and him alone.
只有桑頓才是阻擋他回到森林中去的人。他對別的人漠不關(guān)心。到營地來的人試圖同他交朋友，但他卻毫無興趣。當(dāng)桑頓的兩個朋友，漢斯和皮特從道?；貋頃r，巴克起初連正眼都不瞧他們。直到后來他看出來他們是桑頓的朋友才開始接受他們;但他們并不是他的朋友。他們和桑頓一樣善良，知道巴克深愛著而且只愛桑頓一個人。
Thornton，too，understood Buck.One day，Buck and the three men were sitting on some high rocks， a hundred metres above the river.Thornton wondered if Buck would obey any order， even a crazy one.‘Jump，Buck!’he shouted，pointing down to the river.A second later the three men were holding Buck back as he tried to jump.
桑頓也明白巴克的心意。有一天，巴克和3個男人一同坐在高高的巖石上，距河水有100米的距離。桑頓想知道巴克是否會遵從任何命令，甚至是一個瘋狂的命令。“跳下去，巴克!”他喊著，指著河水。一秒鐘之后那3個男人使勁把要往下跳的巴克拽了回來。
‘That was very strange，’said Pete， when they had sat down again.
“這可真奇了，”皮特說，他們重新坐了下來。
‘Not strange;wonderful，’said Thornton.‘Terrible，too.Sometimes it frightens me.’
“不奇怪，真是棒極了，”桑頓說，“也可怕，有時我真有點害怕。”
‘Yes.I feel sorry for any man who hits you when Buck’s near，’said Pete.
“沒錯，如果有人揍了你，只要巴克在跟前，我可就真替那人難過啦。”皮特說。
‘So do I，’said Hans.
“我有同感。”漢斯接道。
It happened in the autumn in Circle City.A man called Bur ton was starting a fight with another man in a bar.Thornton stepped between them to try to stop them.Buck was，as usual，lying in the corner watching.Burton hit Thornton and he nearly fell，just catching a table.Buck flew through the air at Burton’s throat.Burton saved his life by putting up his arm，and was thrown on to the ground，with Buck on top of him.Buck took his teeth out of the man’s arm and this time bit into his throat.Then a crowd of people pulled Buck off，and a doctor was called.Everyone agreed that Buck had only attacked because he saw Thornton in danger，and from that day Buck’s name became famous all over the north.
在圈城的秋天發(fā)生了一件事。在酒吧里，一個叫伯頓的人同另一個人動手打了起來。桑頓夾在他們中間試圖阻止他們。巴克像平常一樣躺在角落里觀注著，伯頓打了桑頓，如果不是抓住一張桌子，他幾乎倒在了地上。巴克凌空撲向伯頓的咽喉。伯頓情急之下伸出胳膊才救了自己一命，但他還是被掀倒在地，巴克撲在他身上，巴克松開咬住胳膊的牙齒這一次咬住了他的咽喉。之后一群人把巴克拉開了，醫(yī)生也被叫了過來。每個人都認(rèn)定巴克只有確認(rèn)桑頓在危險中時才會攻擊別人。從那天起，巴克就名揚(yáng)北方了。
Later that year，Buck saved Thornton in a different way.The three men were taking a boat down a fast and rocky river.Thornton was in the boat，while Hans and Pete moved along the river bank，holding the boat with a rope.Buck followed them，keeping a worried eye on Thornton.
那年不久，巴克又用另一種方式救了桑頓一命。3個人那時正把一只小船推到一條水流湍急而且多礁石的河里去。桑頓在船上，而漢斯和皮特則沿著河岸走，用一根繩索拉住小船。巴克跟著他們，擔(dān)憂地盯著桑頓。
They came to a more dangerous part of the river， and the boat started to go too quickly.Hans pulled on the rope to stop it，and pulled too hard.The boat turned over，and Thornton was thrown into the water and carried down river towards rocks where no swimmer could live.
當(dāng)他們走到河中比較危險的地段時，小船開始極快地滑行。漢斯拉住繩索想攔住它，但用勁太猛。船翻了個個兒，桑頓被拋進(jìn)水里，沿著河流向巖石撞去，而那里幾乎沒有人能生還。
Buck jumped in immediately and swam three hundred me tres until he reached Thornton.Then he turned，and with Thornton holding his tail，Buck swam towards the river bank.But they moved slowly，and all the time the river was carrying them towards the place where the water crashed twenty metres down onto rocks.Thornton knew that they would not get to the bank quickly enough，so he let go of Buck，held on to a rock in the middle of the water，and shouted，‘Go，Buck，go!’
巴克立即躍入水中，游了300米才到桑頓的身邊。然后他轉(zhuǎn)過身，讓桑頓抓住他的尾巴，巴克向河岸游去。但是他們游的很慢，河水始終沖著他們向一個急流漂去，那個急流從20米高的地方掉到下面的巖石上去。桑頓知道他們大概不能很快到達(dá)岸邊，就松開了巴克，抓住水中的一塊巖石喊著，“走，巴克，快走!”
Buck swam as hard as he could to the bank，and Pete and Hans pulled him out.
巴克使盡全身的力氣向岸邊游去，皮特和漢斯把他拉了上來。
It was hard for Thornton to hold on to his rock in that wild water，and his friends knew they had only a few minutes to save him.They tied their rope round Buck，who at once jumped into the river and tried to swim to Thornton.The first time，the water took him past the rock，and Pete and Hans had to pull him back The second time，he swam higher up the river，and the water brought him down to Thornton.Thornton held on to Buck，and Hans and Pete pulled the rope as hard as they could.Man and dog disappeared under the water，banging into rocks，turning over and over，sometimes with Buck on top，sometimes Thornton.When Hans and Pete finally pulled them out，both seemed more dead than alive But after a while their eyes opened and life returned
在那樣湍急的水流中抓住一塊巖石對桑頓來說恐怕艱辛異常，他的朋友們知道他們只有幾分鐘的時間來營救他。他們把繩索系在巴克身上，他立刻又跳到水中用力向桑頓游去。第一次，水把他沖過了巖石，皮特和漢斯不得不把他拽回來。第二次，他從河的上游游過去，河水把他帶到桑頓那里。桑頓抓住巴克，漢斯和皮特用盡力氣拉著繩索。人和狗一會兒消失在水下，撞進(jìn)巖石中，在水中翻上翻下。有時巴克在上面，有時桑頓在上面。當(dāng)漢斯和皮特最后把他們拉上來的時候，人和狗都幾乎死過去了。但是不一會兒他們的眼睛睜開了，身上恢復(fù)了生命力。
That winter，at Dawson，Buck did something that made him even more famous in the north.It was also very helpful to the three men.They wanted to make a journey to look for gold in the east，and they needed money.They were in a bar one day when some of the men started to talk about dogs.One man said that he had a dog who was strong enough to pull a sledge with two hundred kilos on it.Another said his dog could pull two hundred and fifty.A third man，called Matthewson，said his dog could pull three hundred kilos.
那個冬天，在道桑，使巴克在北方更加聞名遐爾的是他干的另一件事。對3個人來說也受益不淺。他們打算到東部去旅行尋找金礦，但他們?nèi)卞X。一天他們在酒吧的時候有一些人開始談?wù)摴?。有一個人說他有一只狗強(qiáng)壯得能拉200公斤重的雪撬。另一個人則夸耀他的狗能拉250公斤。第三個人叫馬修遜，他甚至說他的狗可以拉得動300公斤。
‘That’s nothing，’said Thornton.‘Buck can pull three hundred and fifty.’
“那算什么，”桑頓說。“巴克能夠拉350公斤。”
‘ Can he break the sledge out when it’s frozen to the ice and then start it moving?And pull it a hundred metres?’ asked Matthewson.
“他能夠把凍在冰上的雪撬拉動嗎?再拉100米遠(yuǎn)?”馬修遜問道。
‘He can break it out，and start it，and pull it a hundred metres，said Thornton.
“他能破冰拉動雪撬，而且能拉100米遠(yuǎn)。”桑頓答道。
‘Well，’said Matthewson，speaking slowly and loudly.‘I’ve got a thousand dollars here，and I say he can’t.’ As he spoke，he took a bag of gold and put it down on the table.
“好，”馬修遜說，他的聲音又慢又響亮，“我有1000美元，我打賭他辦不到。”他一邊說，一邊掏出一袋金子放在桌上。
Suddenly Thornton was worried.He knew Buck was strong，but was he strong enough? Now ten men were watching him and waiting.He didn’t have a thousand dollars，and neither did Hans or Pete.
突然桑頓開始擔(dān)心了。他知道巴克是健壯的?？墒撬娴娜缢f的那樣強(qiáng)壯嗎?現(xiàn)在10個人都盯著他等待著。他沒有1000美元，漢斯和皮特也沒有。
‘I’ve got a sledge outside with three hundrd and fifty kilos on it，’said Matthewson.‘So it’s easy if you want to try.’
“我外面的雪撬上有350公斤的東西。”馬修遜說。“如果你想試一下的話，很容易。”
Thornton didn’t know what to say.He looked at the other men in the bar.One of them was an old friend，Jim O’Brien.
桑頓不知說什么好了。他巡視了一下酒吧里的人。其中一個是他的老朋友，吉姆·奧布賴恩。
‘Can yon lend me a thousand dollars，Jim?’he asked softly.
“你能借我1000美元嗎，吉姆?”他輕聲問到。
‘Sure，’said O’Brien，putting another bag of gold next to Matthewson’s.‘But I don’t think the dog can do it，John.’
“沒問題，”奧布賴恩說，拿出另一袋金子擱在馬修遜的金子旁邊。“不過我覺得你那狗辦不到，約翰。”
Everybody went out into the street.There were two or three hundred men around Matthewson’s sledge.The sledge had been outside the bar for two hours，and it was frozen to the ice，in a temperature of 50°below zero.Most of the men thought that Buck was not strong enough，and Matthewson smiled happily.
每個人都跑到街上。大約有兩三百人圍著馬修遜的雪撬。雪撬已經(jīng)在外面停了兩個小時。在零下50°的氣溫中，牢牢地凍結(jié)在冰上。大部分人都認(rèn)為巴克不會有這么大的力氣，馬修遜得意地笑著。
‘Shall we make it two thousand dollars?’he asked.
“我們打2000美金的賭怎么樣?”他問。
Thornton，Hans and Pete talked for a minute.They had only four hundred dollars，but they added this to O’Brien’s thousand.Matthewson，very sure of winning.also put down another four hundred dollars.
桑頓，漢斯和皮特交談了一會兒。他們只有400美元，他們把這加到奧布賴恩借的1000美元上。馬修遜感覺會穩(wěn)操勝券，也加了400美元。
Matthewson’s ten dogs were taken away，and Buck，who could feel the excitement in the air，was harnessed to the sledge.Buck was，without question，a very fine animal—bright-eyed，intelligent，his thick coat shining with health.And he looked as strong as a horse.
馬修遜的10條狗被牽到一邊。巴克，嗅到空氣中彌漫的興奮，被套上了雪撬。毫無疑問，巴克是非常出色的——雙眼炯炯有神，機(jī)智伶俐，一身濃密油亮的皮毛閃著健康的光澤，他就像一匹馬一樣健壯。
One man went up to Thornton.‘I’ll buy him now，’he said.‘I’11 give you eight hundred dollars for him.’
一個人走上前對桑頓說：“我買他，我給你800美元。”
Thornton shook his head and sat down on the snow next to Buck.He held Buck’s head in his hands and spoke softly into his ear.‘If you love me，Buck.If you love me.’
桑頓搖了搖頭，然后就坐在巴克旁邊的雪地上。他把巴克的頭捧在手中在他耳邊輕聲說：“如果你愛我，巴克，如果你愛我。”
Buck took Thornton’s hand between his teeth，then let go，and Thornton stood up and stepped back.
巴克把桑頓的手含在嘴里，然后松開了，桑頓站起來并走了回去。
‘Ready，Buck，’he said.
“準(zhǔn)備，巴克，”他說。
Buck pulled on the harness a little， getting ready.
巴克拉緊了挽具，做好了準(zhǔn)備。
‘Right!’cried Thornton.
“向右!”桑頓喊道。
Buck pulled to the right，hard，stopped suddenly，and the ice under the sledge began to break.
巴克向右使勁拉了一下，突然停住，雪撬下的冰開始碎了。
‘Now，left!’called Thornton，and Buck pulled to the left，breaking more of the ice.
“現(xiàn)在，向左!”桑頓喊道。巴克向左拉去，弄碎了更多的冰。
‘Now，pull!’
“現(xiàn)在，拉!”
Buck threw himself against his harness，and pulled.He held his body low to the ground，his head down and forward，and his feet dug into the hard snow.Harder and harder he pulled.Suddenly，the sledge moved a centimetre…two…three…and，little by little，it started to go forward across the snow.With each second it went a little faster，and Thornton ran be hind，calling to Buck as he pulled the sledge towards the end of the hundred metres.The watching men were shouting and throwing their hats in the air;Buck had won.
巴克用力抵住挽具，拉著。他的身子低低地向地面彎著，頭向前埋著，腳用勁蹬住堅硬的雪地越來越使勁地拉著。突然，雪撬移動了一厘米，……兩厘米……三厘米……漸漸地，雪撬開始沿著雪地移動了。每一秒鐘都移得快一點，桑頓跟在后面跑，當(dāng)巴克拉至100米的終點時喊住他。圍觀的人們歡呼起來，把帽子扔到空中，巴克贏了。
Then Thornton was on the snow next to Buck again，talking to him，and Buck had Thornton’s hand in his teeth.
然后桑頓再次坐到巴克旁邊的雪地上，和他說話，巴克含著桑頓的手。