牛津書蟲系列 誘拐 3 David is alone

3 David is alone

3 戴維是獨自一人

It was a cold night，so I could not sit down to rest.In stead，I walked up and down on the beach，trying to keep warm.There was no sound except the crash of the waves.I felt very lonely and afraid.

晚上很冷，所以我不能坐下來休息。反之，我在沙灘上走來走去，以試著保暖。除了波濤聲外，再也沒有別的聲音了。我感到非常孤獨，也很害怕。

In the morning I climbed a hill，and looked out over the sea，but there was nothing at all on the water.And around me on the island，I could not see any houses or people.I did not like to think what had happened to my friend Alan and the others，and I did not want to look at this emptiness any longer.So I climbed down again，and walked eastwards.I was hoping to find a house，where I could dry my clothes，and get something to eat.

早晨，我爬上一座小山，遠望大海，但水上什么也沒看見。而在島上，我的四周也沒有房屋或者人們。我不愿多想我的朋友艾倫和別人出了什么事，而且我也不想再看這片荒野了。于是我又爬下來，朝東走去。我希望自己能找到一座房子，能在那兒弄干衣服并找點東西吃。

I soon discovered that nobody lived on Earraid.It was too far to swim to Mull，which could see across the water.I thought perhaps I could wade across，but when I tried it，the water was too deep，and I had to turn back.By now it had started to rain，and I felt very miserable.

我很快就發(fā)現沒有人居住在伊銳德。要游到馬爾去太遠了，隔著水我能看到那兒。我琢磨著等退潮時也許能蹚過去，但我試時水太深了，我不得不退回來。這時開始下起雨來，我感到非常難受。

Then I remembered the piece of wood，which had already saved my life once.It would help me to get across the sea to Mull!So I walked all the way back to the beach where I had arrived.The piece of wood was in the sea，so I waded into the water to get it.But as I came closer，it moved away from me.And when the water was too deep for me to stand，the piece of wood was still several metres away.I had to leave it，and went back to the beach.It was a terrible moment for me.I was feeling very tired，hungry and thirsty，with no hope of getting away from this lonely island.For the first time since leaving Essendean，I lay down and cried.

接著我想起了那塊木板，曾救過我性命的那塊。它將能幫著我渡過大海到達馬爾!于是我返回到我到達時的那片海灘。那塊木頭在海里，于是我蹚水去取它?？墒?，我一靠近些時，木頭就從我身邊漂走了。水深得我都站不住時，那片木頭離我還有幾米遠。我不得不隨它去，回到岸上。這對我來說是很難受的一刻。我感到非常累，又饑又渴，覺得沒有希望從這個孤島上逃身。離開埃森丁后我第一次躺下來哭了起來。

I do not want to remember the time that I spent on Earraid.I had nothing with me except my uncle's gold and Alan's silver button，and as I had never lived near the sea，I did not know what to eat or how to fish.In fact，I found some shellfish among the rocks on the coast，and ate them，but I was very sick afterwards.That was the only food that I could find，so I was always hungry on Earraid.All day and all night it rained heavily，but there was no roof or tree on the island，and my clothes were cold and wet on my body.

我不想再記起我在伊銳德島的日子。除了我叔叔的金子和艾倫的銀扣子，我一無所有;而且因為以前我從來沒有在海邊生活過，我不知道該吃什么或怎樣捕魚。事實上，在海岸的礁石中間我找到了一些貝，吃了，但過后我感到非常惡心。那是我所能找到的唯一食品，因此在伊銳德島我總是處于饑餓狀態(tài)。整天整夜雨都下得很大，但島上沒有樹，也沒有屋檐，我的衣服裹著身體，又冷又潮。

I chose to spend most of my time in the north of Earraid，on a little hill.From here I could see the old church on the island of Iona，not far away to the west，and smoke from people's houses on Mull，to the east.I used to watch this smoke，and think of the people there，and their comfortable lives.This gave me a little hope，in my lonely life among the rocks and the rain and the cold sea.

經選擇我把我的大部分時間花在伊銳德島北部的一座小山上。從這兒我能看見西邊不遠處愛歐娜島上古老的教堂和東邊馬爾島上的住戶的房中冒出的炊煙。我望著炊煙，想像著生活在那里的人們和他們舒適的生活。這給我在凄風冷海中、在礁石之間過著的孤獨的生活帶來一絲希望。

Two days passed，and on the third day two things happened.First，I discovered that I had lost almost all my money through a hole in my pocket.I only had three of my uncle's thirty-eight pounds left.But worse was to come.While I was sitting on a rock，looking out over Iona，I suddenly noticed a small boat moving fast through the Water.I jumped to my feet and shouted as loudly as I could.The two men in the boat were near enough to hear.They shouted back in Gaelic，and laughed.But the boat did not turn，and sailed on，right in front of my eyes，to Iona.

兩天過去了，第三天發(fā)生了兩件事。首先，我發(fā)現我?guī)缀跛械腻X都從口袋上的一個洞那兒漏掉了。叔叔給我的38鎊錢只剩下3鎊。可是更糟糕的事接踵而至了。當我坐在一塊礁石上遠望比愛歐娜島更遠處時，我忽然注意到一條小船飛快地駛過水面。我突然站起來，竭盡全力地叫。船上的那兩個人離我近到了能夠聽到我的聲音的程度。他們用蓋爾語對我大聲回話，大笑著。但船沒有掉頭，繼續(xù)向前駛著，在我眼巴巴的注視之下直至愛歐娜島。

I could not understand why they did not come to help me.I continued shouting wildly，although I could no longer see them.And then，I lay down and cried for the second time.This time I wasn't sad，but angry，because I thought that they had left me to die alone in that terrible place.

我不明白他們?yōu)槭裁床粊韼椭?。雖然我看不見他們了，但我繼續(xù)狂叫著。接著，我躺下來，又一次哭了。這一次我并不傷心，而是氣憤，因為我想到他們把我留在這個可怕的地方，讓我孤零零地死去。

The next morning，I was surprised to see that the same men were sailing towards Earraid from Iona.At once I ran down to the rocky coast to meet them.The boat came near me，but stayed a few metres away in the water.There was a third man in the boat，who was talking and laughing with the others.Then he stood up and spoke fast to me in Gaelic，which I could not understand.But sometimes he used an English word，and once I heard the word ‘tide’.This gave me a flash of hope.

第二天早上，我驚奇地看見正是那兩個人從愛歐娜島向伊銳德島駛來。我立刻跑下來，來到礁巖岸邊迎接他們。船到了我附近，但停在水中離我?guī)酌走h處。船上除這兩個人外，還有一個人，他正和另外兩個人說笑著。然后他站起來，用蓋爾語對我飛快地說起來，那我聽不懂。但有時他也用一個英語單詞，一次我聽到“潮水”這個詞。這給了我一絲希望。

‘Do you mean—that when the tide is low…?’I cried，and could not finish. ‘Yes，yes，’he called back，‘tide，’and laughed again.

“您是說——當潮水退低時……?”我大聲地喊著，但沒能說完。“對，對，”他回話道，“潮水，”接著又笑了。

I turned my back on the boat and ran back excitedly to the east of the island，where Earraid was the closest to Mull.And sure enough，there was now only a little water between the is lands.I was able to wade through it easily，and reached Mull with a happy shout.How stupid of me not to realize that it was possible to get to Mull，twice a day，at low tide!Now I felt very grateful to the boatmen for guessing my problem，and coming back to help me.

我轉過身，背對著小船，激動地跑回小島的東端，在那兒伊銳德島離馬爾島最近。而且很肯定的是現在兩島之間的水很少。我能夠輕易地蹚過去，隨著一聲歡快的叫聲我到達馬爾。我多傻，竟沒有意識到我能乘低潮時一天兩次地到馬爾!我非常感激那些船夫，他們猜到了我的問題而且還回來幫助我。

I walked towards the smoke that I had seen so often from Earraid，and reached a long，low house built of stone.Outside sat an old man，smoking his pipe in the sun.He spoke a little English， and told me that the officers and sailors from the ship had all arrived there safely a few days before.

我向我在伊銳德島上曾這么多次地看到的那縷炊煙走去，到了一個長長的、低矮的石屋那兒。屋外坐著一位老人，正在太陽下用煙斗吸煙。他講一點兒英語，告訴我那條船上的高級船員和水手幾天前就已安全地到達了那兒。

‘Was one of them dressed in fine clothes?’I asked.

“其中有一位穿著考究的人嗎?”我問道。

‘Aye，there was one like that，’he smiled.‘Ye must be the lad with the silver button!’

“對，有像那么回事的一位。”他微笑著，“你一定是那個有銀扣子的小伙子!”

‘Why，yes!’I said，surprised.

“哎，我是!”我說道，感到驚訝。

‘Well then，your friend says that ye must follow him to the house of his clansman，James Stewart，in Appin.’

“那樣的話，你的朋友說你一定得跟著他到他族人詹姆斯·斯圖爾特的、位于阿平的家去。”

He and his wife gave me food and drink，and let me sleep that night in their house. In the morning I thanked them for their kindness，and started my journey to Appin.

他和妻子給我吃的和喝的，并讓我夜晚睡在他們家里。早晨我謝過了他們的好意，開始了去往阿平的旅途。

I walked across Mull to Torosay，where I took a boat across the water to Lochaline.Then I walked to Kingairlock，where I took another boat across Loch Linnhe to Appin.This took six days，and on my way I met and spoke to a number of travellers.I heard all about Alan's clan，the Stewarts，and their enemies，the Campbells.Although they were both High land clans，the Campbells and Stewarts had hated each other for years，and now the Campbells were helping the English army drive many Highlanders out of their homes. Indeed， in a day or two， I heard， red-haired Colin Campbell himself was com ing to Appin， with King George's soldiers， to drive the Stew arts out and so destroy his enemies. But I heard also of James Stewart， head of the Stewart clan in Appin， and that he and his clansmen would dearly love to see Colin Campbell dead.

我穿過馬爾島來到托羅塞島，乘船來到洛哈林。接著我走到金蓋爾洛克，在那兒又乘船穿過林荷溯到達阿平。這花了我6天時間，一路上我遇到了不少趕路人并和他們進行了交談。我聽說了艾倫的氏族斯圖爾特人和他們的仇人坎貝爾人的所有的事。雖然他們都是蘇格蘭高地氏族，但坎貝爾人和斯圖爾特人互相仇恨已有數年之久，而且坎貝爾人現在正在幫著英格蘭部隊把很多高地人驅趕出他們的家園。事實上，我又聽說一兩天后長著紅頭發(fā)的科林·坎貝爾將帶領喬治國王的部隊到阿平驅逐斯圖爾特人，這樣就能打垮他的敵人。但我又聽說阿平的斯圖爾特氏族的頭領詹姆斯·斯圖爾特和他的族人將非常喜歡看到科林·坎貝爾被打死。

People also talked of a man called Alan Breck. Some called him a murderer; others said that he was a brave fighter. He was in danger every time he returned to the Highlands，be cause the English would pay a good price for him-dead or alive. I listened with interest to everything that they told me.But I liked it best when I heard Alan described as a fine man and an honest Highlander.

人們也談論一個叫艾倫·布雷克的人。有人叫他殺人犯，也有另外一些人說他是個英勇的斗士。因為英格蘭人出高價懸賞捉拿他——不管他是活還是死的，所以每次他返回蘇格蘭高地時都處在危險之中。我饒有興趣地聽著人們告訴我的每一件事。但當我聽到艾倫被描繪成一個品德不錯的人和一個誠實的蘇格蘭高地人時我最喜歡。

When I got out of the boat in Appin， I sat down among some trees to decide what to do next. Should I go on， and join Alan， whose friends were King George's enemies， and whose life was full of danger，or should I go back south again，quietly and safely， to the Lowlands?

我在阿平下船后，坐在一些樹中決定下一步該怎么辦。是繼續(xù)走并伴隨其朋友與喬治國王為敵及其生活充滿了危險的艾倫呢，還是悄悄地、安全地又回南方到低地去?

As I was thinking， four men on horses came past me on the road. As soon as I saw these men， I decided to continue my adventure， although I cannot explain why.

當我思考時，四個人騎著馬從我面前走過。雖然我無法解釋原因，但我一看見他們就決定繼續(xù)我的冒險。

I stopped the first man， who was tall and red-haired.

我擋住了第一個人，那是個高個子并長著紅頭發(fā)。

‘Could you tell me the way to James Stewart's house，sir?’I asked.

“您能告訴我去詹姆斯·斯圖爾特家怎么走嗎，先生?”我問道。

All the men looked at each other. The red-haired man did not reply，but spoke to one of the others，who looked like a lawyer.‘Is Stewart calling his people together， do ye think?’

所有的人互相看著。長紅頭發(fā)的人沒有回答，但對其他人中一個看似律師的人說：“你53是否認為斯圖爾特正在召集他的民眾呢?”

The lawyer replied，‘We'd better wait here for the sold iers to join us， before we go any further.’

律師回答道：“在我們繼續(xù)走之前，最好在這兒等士兵來加入我們的隊伍。”

The red-haired man，I suddenly realized，must be Colin Campbell himself.‘If you're worried about me，’ I said，‘I'm not a Stewart， but a Lowlander， and I'm for King George.’

這個長紅頭發(fā)的人，我猛然意識到一定是科林·坎貝爾本人。“如果你們?yōu)槲覠赖脑挘?rdquo;我說，“(我告訴你)我可不是斯圖爾特人，而是一個低地人，我贊成喬治國王一邊。”

‘That's well said，’ replied Campbell，‘but， if I may ask，why is an honest Lowlander like you so far from his home?Today is not a good day for travelling. This is the day when the Appin Stewarts have to leave their farms， and there may be trouble.”

“那說得漂亮。”坎貝爾回答道，“但是，允許我問一句，為什么像你這樣一個誠實的低地人要遠離你的家園呢?今天并不是個適于旅行的好天。就是在今天所有的在阿平的斯圖爾特人都得離開他們的農場，這可能會有事端。”

He was turning to speak to the lawyer again，when there came a sudden bang from the hill， and Campbell fell off his horse.‘They've shot me!’ he cried， holding his heart.

忽然從山上傳來砰的一聲時，他正又扭頭和他的律師說話，接著他就應聲落馬了。“他們打中了我!”他手捂著心臟，喊著。

He died almost immediately. The men's faces were white as they looked down at his body.I saw something move on the hill，and noticed， among the trees， a man with a gun， turning away from the road.

他幾乎馬上就死了，當他們俯視著他的尸體時，他們的臉像紙一樣蒼白。我看見小山上有什么東西在移動，并透過樹叢注意到有一個帶槍的人從路上跑開了。

‘Look! The murderer!’ I cried， and began to run up the hill towards him. He saw me chasing him， and went faster.Soon he disappeared behind a rock， and I could no longer see him. I stopped next to some trees， then I heard a voice below，on the road.

“看!殺人犯!”我叫著，開始拔腿上山向他跑去。他看見我追他，跑得更快了。很快他在一塊巖石后消失了，我再也看不見他了。我在一些樹旁停住了，接著聽到從下面的路上傳來一個聲音。

The lawyer was shouting to a large number of redcoated soldiers， who had just joined the men around Campbell's dead body.‘Ten pounds if ye catch that lad!’ he cried.He's one of the murderers! He stopped us in the road，to give the killer a better chance to shoot Campbell!’

律師正對著一大群身穿紅色制服的士兵大喊，他們正并入圍攏坎貝爾的尸體的人中。“誰抓住那個小伙子，給誰10鎊!”他喊道。“他是其中的一個謀殺犯!他在路上截住我們，給刺殺者向坎貝爾開槍的良機!”

Now I felt a new kind of fear. My life was in serious danger， although I had not done anything wrong.

現在我感到一種別樣的恐懼。雖然我什么都沒做錯，但我的生命處在巨大的危險之中。

My mouth felt dry， and for a moment I could not move. I stood there in the open，on the hill，while the soldiers lifted their guns，ready to shoot.

我口干舌燥，有一會兒竟不能動彈。我站在山上的空曠處，而這時士兵們舉起了槍，準備射擊。

‘Jump in here among the trees，’ said a voice near me.

“跳進這里，到樹叢里來，”我附近有個聲音說道。

I did not know what I was doing， but I obeyed. As I did so， I heard the banging of the guns， and realized that the sol diers were shooting at me. In the shadow of the trees， I found Alan Breck standing there. It was he who had spoken to me.

我不知道我在干什么，但我遵從了。我這么做時，聽到了槍的砰砰聲，并意識到士兵們在向我開槍。在樹的陰暗處，我發(fā)現艾倫·布雷克站在那兒。剛才是他和我說話。