PART2 Chapter5 复仇天使-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《福尔摩斯探案经典之血字的研究A Study in Scarlet》

Chapter 5 The Avenging Angels All night their course lay through intricate defiles and over irregular and rock- strewn paths.More than once they lost their way,but Hope's intimate knowledge of the mountains enabled them to regain the track once more.When morning broke,a scene of marvellous though savage beauty lay before them.In every direction the great snow-capped peaks hemmed them in,peeping over each other's shoulders to the far horizon.So steep were the rocky banks on either side of them,that the larch and the pine seemed to be suspended over their heads, and to need only a gust of wind to come hurtling down upon them.Nor was the fear entirely an illusion,for the barren valley was thickly strewn with trees and boulders which had fallen in a similar manner.Even as they passed,a great rock came thundering down with a hoarse rattle which woke the echoes in the silent gorges,and startled the weary horses into a gallop. As the sun rose slowly above the eastern horizon,the caps of the great mountains lit up one after the other,like lamps at a festival,until they were all ruddy and glowing.The magnificent spectacle cheered the hearts of the three fugitives and gave them fresh energy.At a wild torrent which swept out of a ravine they called a halt and watered their horses,while they partook of a hasty breakfast.Lucy and her father would fain have rested longer,but Jefferson Hope was inexorable. "They will be upon our track by this time,"he said."Everything depends upon our speed.Once safe in Carson we may rest for the remainder of our lives." ·208· 第五章 复仇天使 整个夜间，他们都在地形复杂的峡谷和乱石堆积的 小路上行进。不止一次迷了路，但霍普谙熟山区情况， 他们这才又找回了正路。黎明时分，展现在他们眼前的 是一派荒蛮但却瑰丽的景色。四方八面全是积雪皑皑的 ①hem [hem)包围 巨大山峰，层峦叠嶂，绵延到天边。两旁山岩陡立，上 面生长的松树好像是悬在头顶上，似乎一阵风刮过，它 ②larch [la:t们n.落叶松 们就会砸落下来。这种担心并不是多余的，荒凉的山谷 中，四处堆满了从上方滚落的树木和巨石。甚至就在 他们经过时，一块巨石轰隆隆地滚落了下来，雷鸣般的 巨响在寂静的山谷中回荡，疲惫不堪的马匹吓得狂奔 起来。 太阳从东方地平线上冉冉升起，朝霞照亮了一座座 3 gallop ['gaelop]m.疾驰 山峰，犹如节日里的盏盏彩灯，最后，所有山峰一片红 色，熠熠生辉，活力四射。眼前壮丽的景象令三个逃亡 者内心充满了欢乐，顿时神清气爽了起来。行至峡谷中 ④spectacle'spektakl]n,景 象 的一处湍急的水流旁时，他们停了下来，让马饮水，他 们自己则将就着用了点早餐。露茜和父亲本想多休息一 会，但杰弗逊·霍普态度坚决。“这个时候，他们会在 5 inexorably [in'eksarabll a. 无情的，毫不宽容的 后面追赶我们了，”他说，“一切全都取决于我们的速 度。一旦平安抵达了卡森城，我们想要休息一辈子都可 以。” ·209· Chapter 5 The Avenging Angels During the whole of that day they struggled on through the defiles,and by evening they calculated that they were more than thirty miles from their enemies.At night-time they chose the base of a beetling crag,where the rocks offered some protection from the chill wind,and there,huddled together for warmth,they enjoyed a few hours'sleep.Before daybreak,however,they were up and on their way once more.They had seen no signs of any pursuers,and Jefferson Hope began to think that they were fairly out of the reach of the terrible organization whose enmity they had incurred.He little knew how far that iron grasp could reach,or how soon it was to close upon them and crush them. About the middle of the second day of their flight their scanty store of provisions began to run out.This gave the hunter little uneasiness,however,for there was game to be had among the mountains,and he had frequently before had to depend upon his rifle for the needs of life.Choosing a sheltered nook, he piled together a few dried branches and made a blazing fire,at which his companions might warm themselves,for they were now nearly five thousand feet above the sea level,and the air was bitter and keen.Having tethered the horses,and bade Lucy adieu,he threw his gun over his shoulder,and set out in search of whatever chance might throw in his way.Looking back,he saw the old man and the young girl crouching over the blazing fire,while the three animals stood motionless in the back-ground.Then the intervening rocks hid them from his view. He walked for a couple of miles through one ravine after another without success,though,from the marks upon the bark of the trees,and other indications,he judged that there were numerous bears in the vicinity.At last, after two or three hours'fruitless search,he was thinking of turning back in despair,when casting his eyes upwards he saw a sight which sent a thrill of pleasure through his heart.On the edge of a jutting pinnacle,three or four hundred feet above him,there stood a creature somewhat resembling a sheep in appearance,but armed with a pair of gigantic horns.The big-horn-for so it is called-was acting,probably,as a guardian over a flock which were ·210· 第五章 复仇天使【 整个白天，他们都在奋力穿越峡谷。到了傍晚时 分，估计离追赶他们的敌人相距有三十多英里了。夜 间，他们选择了在一块突出的峭壁下面过夜。此处岩石 可以遮挡山里刺骨的寒风，他们蜷缩在一起相互暖和， 睡了几个小时。然而，天还没亮，他们就起身继续赶路 了。由于没有发现有追踪者的迹象，杰弗逊·霍普开始 觉得，那个可怕的组织尽管对他们恨之入骨，但现在已 是鞭长莫及了。他根本不知道，那个铁打的魔掌可以延 ①enmity'enmati]n.敌对 的状态 伸到多远，也不知道，它很快就会接近他们，把他们击 个粉碎。 大概在他们出逃后的次日中午，他们仅有的一点粮 食就要吃光了。然而，年轻猎手对此并不是很着急，山 里到处是猎物，他以往就常常靠枪来获取不可或缺的食 物。他找到了一个隐蔽的角落，堆起枯枝生火，让两个 同伴暖和一下身子。他们此时已是在海拔五千英尺的高 山上，天气冰冷彻骨。他把几匹骡马拴好后，对露茜道 别了一声，便把枪背在了肩膀上，出发寻找猎物去了。 回头望了一眼，看见老人和姑娘正蹲在熊熊燃烧的火 边，三匹牲口一动不动地站立在他们身后。再往前走， 交错的岩石挡住了视线，看不见他们了。 2 motionless ['maufanlas]a. 静止的 他穿过了一个又一个峡谷，走了有两英里路程， 但一无所获。不过，根据在树干皮上留下的痕迹，还 有其他一些迹象，他断定，附近有大量的熊出没。最 后，经过了两三个小时搜寻毫无所获，他失望之极， ③vicinity [vi'sinati]m.附近 正打算返回。这时候，他向上看了一眼，看到的情形 令他心花怒放。在离他头顶三四百英尺高的地方，有 一处突出的悬崖，悬崖边上站立着一只野兽，看上去 ④pinnacle ['pinakl].顶峰 像头绵羊，但长着一对大盘角。大盘羊一它其实就 ⑤resemble【ri'zembll类 是叫这个名字一或许是给一群羊放哨，羊群处在猎 似于 ⑥gigantic【dyai'gaentik]a. 手的视线之外。但幸运的是，它刚好背对着霍普所在 巨大的 的方向，没有看到他。霍普卧倒在地，把枪架在一块 ·211· Chapter 5 The Avenging Angels invisible to the hunter;but fortunately it was heading in the opposite direction, and had not perceived him.Lying on his face,he rested his rifle upon a rock, and took a long and steady aim before drawing the trigger.The animal sprang into the air,tottered for a moment upon the edge of the precipice,and then came crashing down into the valley beneath. The creature was too unwieldy to lift,so the hunter contented himself with cutting away one haunch and part of the flank.With this trophy over his shoulder,he hastened to retrace his steps,for the evening was already drawing in.He had hardly started,however,before he realized the difficulty which faced him.In his eagerness he had wandered far past the ravines which were known to him,and it was no easy matter to pick out the path which he had taken.The valley in which he found himself divided and sub-divided into many gorges, which were so like each other that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other.He followed one for a mile or more until he came to a mountain torrent which he was sure that he had never seen before.Convinced that he had taken the wrong turn,he tried another,but with the same result.Night was coming on rapidly,and it was almost dark before he at last found himself in a defile which was familiar to him.Even then it was no easy matter to keep to the right track,for the moon had not yet risen,and the high cliffs on either side made the obscurity more profound.Weighed down with his burden,and weary from his exertions,he stumbled along,keeping up his heart by the reflection that every step brought him nearer to Lucy,and that he carried with him enough to ensure them food for the remainder of their journey. He had now come to the mouth of the very defile in which he had left them. Even in the darkness he could recognize the outline of the cliffs which bounded it.They must,he reflected,be awaiting him anxiously,for he had been absent nearly five hours.In the gladness of his heart he put his hands to his mouth and made the glen reecho to a loud halloo as a signal that he was coming.He paused and listened for an answer.None came save his own cry,which clattered up the dreary,silent ravines,and was borne back to his ears in countless ·212· 第五章 复仇天使 岩石上，不慌不忙地瞄准目标后，扣动扳机。猎物突 地向上跳了一下，在悬崖边上晃了晃，就跌落到了峡 谷底了。 ①precipice [presipis]n.悬 猎物十分沉重，根本背不起来。所以，猎手决定， 割下一条后腿，再从腹部切下一部分。他把战利品扛到 肩上，匆匆忙忙往回赶路，因为夜幕已经开始降临了。 ②haunch [ho:nt切n.腰腿 然而，他刚要出发，便就意识到自己面临着困境。由于 ③trophy['traufi]n.战利品 自己心急火燎地寻找猎物，已经走了很远的路程了，离 那些熟悉的峡谷已经很远了，很难寻找到他来时的小路 了。他眼下所处的这道峡谷分成了许多沟沟壑壑，看上 去都差不多，很难分辨清楚。他沿着一条沟壑走了一英 里多，最后到达了一个山涧，他肯定来时并没有看到过 这条山涧。他坚信，自己走错路了，于是换了另外一条 路线，结果还是错了。夜幕很快笼罩了下来，等到最后 ④torrent['toront]m.急流 找到那条自己熟悉的峡谷时，天差不多已经全黑了。虽 然他找到了这条熟路，沿着正确的路线走也不是件容易 的事情，因为月亮还没有升起，两边高耸的悬崖更加深 了昏暗的气氛。他肩上扛着东西，长途跋涉后感到疲惫 不堪了，于是踉踉跄跄地前行着，振作精神，心里怀着 一种念想，自己每前进一步，就离露茜近了一步。还有 就是，自己肩上扛着的东西足够他们在后面的旅途中 吃了。 他现在终于回到了同他们分别的那个峡谷的谷口 了。尽管在黑暗中，他还是辨认出了周围峭壁的轮廓。 他想到，他们一定等他等得很焦虑了，因为自己离开 了将近五个小时。高兴之余，他把自己的两只手放到 嘴边，大“嘿”了一声，声音在峡谷中回荡，作为信号， 表明他回来了。他停了下来，听听有没有人回应。毫无 5reecho ['ri:'ekau]m.回响 反应，只有自己的呼声在阴郁寂静的峡谷中回荡，一次 hallo [ha'lu:ln狩猎时招 呼猎犬的喊声 次传回自己的耳朵。他又叫喊了一声，声音比先前的更 加响亮，但是，还是没有听到他的同伴们半点微弱的回 ·213· Chapter 5 The Avenging Angels repetitions.Again he shouted,even louder than before,and again no whisper came back from the friends whom he had left such a short time ago.A vague, nameless dread came over him,and he hurried onwards frantically,dropping the precious food in his agitation. When he turned the corner,he came full in sight of the spot where the fire had been lit.There was still a glowing pile of wood ashes there,but it had evidently not been tended since his departure.The same dead silence still reigned all round.With his fears all changed to convictions,he hurried on. There was no living creature near the remains of the fire:animals,man,maiden, all were gone.It was only too clear that some sudden and terrible disaster had occurred during his absence-a disaster which had embraced them all,and yet had left no traces behind it. Bewildered and stunned by this blow,Jefferson Hope felt his head spin round, and had to lean upon his rifle to save himself from falling.He was essentially a man of action,however,and speedily recovered from his temporary impotence Seizing a half-consumed piece of wood from the smouldering fire,he blew it into a flame,and proceeded with its help to examine the little camp.The ground was all stamped down by the feet of horses,showing that a large party of mounted men had overtaken the fugitives,and the direction of their tracks proved that they had afterwards turned back to Salt Lake City.Had they carried back both of his companions with them?Jefferson Hope had almost persuaded himself that they must have done so,when his eye fell upon an object which made every nerve of his body tingle within him.A little way on one side of the camp was a low-lying heap of reddish soil,which had assuredly not been there before.There was no mistaking it for anything but a newlydug grave.As the young hunter approached it,he perceived that a stick had been planted on it,with a sheet of paper stuck in the eleft fork of it.The inscription upon the paper was brief,but to the point: JOHN FERRIER. FORMERLY OF SALT LAKE CITY. Died August 4th,1860. ·214· 第五章 复仇天使【 声，不久前他可是还同他们在一起的啊。一种朦胧莫名 的恐惧感袭上了心头。于是，他疯狂地急忙向前跑，慌 乱中，那来之不易的食物掉到了地上。 他转过崖壁之后，前面的情形看得很清楚了，就是 先前生火的地点。还有一堆闷烧着的木柴灰烬，但很显 然，从他离开之后，就再没有人照管过，周围也同样是 一片死寂。他的担心演化成了现实，他快步走上前。火 ①reign [rein]v统治 堆的余烬附近再没有活着的生命了，牲口，老人，姑 @conviction [kan'vikfan]n. 确信 娘，全都消失了。情况再清楚不过了，他不在的这段时 间里，某个突如其来的可怕灾难降临了一灾难瞬间毁 灭了他们，而且还没有留下半点痕迹 面对这个突如其来的打击，杰弗逊·霍普不知所 措，目瞪口呆，只觉得天旋地转，只得用枪支撑着身子 才没有倒下去。但是，他终归是个行动敏捷的人，很快 就消除了一时的无力感。他从闷烧着火堆里抓起一根烧 3 impotence ['impatans]n. 无能为力 了一半的木柴，把木柴吹出火苗，借着火把的光亮仔细 地查看了一遍。地面上到处是马蹄印，说明有一大群 骑马的人袭击了两个逃亡的人。马蹄印表明的方向证明 了，他们随后返回到盐湖城去了。他们把他的两个同伴 都一道带回去了吗？杰弗逊·霍普几乎说服自己了，即 他们一定那样做了。突然，他的眼晴落到了一样东西 上，不禁全身的每一根神经都感到刺痛。营地一侧的不 远处，有个低矮的红土堆，毫无疑问，先前是没有的。 这不可能是别的东西，一定是一座新坟。年轻猎人走到 近处，只见上面插了根木棍，在木棍的枝桠处夹了张 纸。纸条上的文字很简略，但意思很清楚： ④cleft [kleft]n.裂缝 约翰·费里厄 5 inscription [in'skripfanl n. 文字 盐湖城人 死于1860年8月4日 ·215· Chapter 5 The Avenging Angels The sturdy old man,whom he had left so short a time before,was gone, then,and this was all his epitaph.Jefferson Hope looked wildly round to see if there was a second grave,but there was no sign of one.Lucy had been carried back by their terrible pursuers to fulfil her original destiny,by becoming one of the harem of the Elder's son.As the young fellow realized the certainty of her fate,and his own powerlessness to prevent it,he wished that he,too,was lying with the old farmer in his last silent resting-place. Again,however,his active spirit shook off the lethargy which springs from despair.If there was nothing else left to him,he could at least devote his life to revenge.With indomitable patience and perseverance,Jefferson Hope possessed also a power of sustained vindictiveness,which he may have learned from the Indians amongst whom he had lived.As he stood by the desolate fire,he felt that the only one thing which could assuage his grief would be thorough and complete retribution,brought by his own hand upon his enemies.His strong will and untiring energy should,he determined,be devoted to that one end.With a grim,white face,he retraced his steps to where he had dropped the food,and having stirred up the smouldering fire,he cooked enough to last him for a few days.This he made up into a bundle,and,tired as he was,he set himself to walk back through the mountains upon the track of the Avenging Angels. For five days he toiled footsore and weary through the defiles which he had already traversed on horseback.At night he flung himself down among the rocks,and snatched a few hours of sleep;but before daybreak he was always well on his way.On the sixth day,he reached the Eagle Canon,from which they had commenced their ill-fated flight.Thence he could look down upon the home of the Saints.Worn and exhausted,he leaned upon his rifle and shook his gaunt hand fiercely at the silent widespread city beneath him.As he looked at it,he observed that there were flags in some of the principal streets,and other signs of festivity.He was still speculating as to what this might mean when he heard the clatter of horse's hoofs,and saw a mounted man riding towards him. ·216· 第五章 复仇天使 年轻人刚离开后不久，意志刚强的老人离开人世 ①epitaph【'epita:fln.墓志 了，那么，这竞是他的全部墓志铭。杰弗逊·霍普疯狂 铭 地四处寻找，看看有没有另外一座坟墓，但毫无迹象。 露茜已经被那些恶毒的追踪她的人挟持回去了，续写她 最初的命运去了，成为了长老儿子的妻妾之一。年轻人 意识到她的命运已经如此，他自己已是回天乏力了，所 以恨不得自己也像老人一样，静静地躺在最后的安息 ⑦lethargy门e0ad3in.没精 地里。 打采 然而，他积极进取的精神使他又一次摆脱了因绝望 3 indomitable [in'domitabl] 而致的泰靡消沉的状态。即便没有任何别的东西了，他 a.不屈服的 vindictiveness [vin'dikt 至少可以用自己毕生的精力来报仇雪恨。杰弗逊·霍普 ivnas]n.复仇 除了拥有百折不饶的耐心和毅力之外，还有着无穷的复 仇力量。这可能是他在同印第安人朝夕相处的过程中受 到的影响。他伫立在被遗弃的火堆旁，心里感觉到，唯 一能够减轻自己内心悲伤的事情是，亲手完全彻底地报 仇。他下定了决心，把自己坚定的意志和不竭的精力全 部倾注在这个目标上。他表情凝重，脸色苍白，返回到 自己掉落食物的地方去。拨旺了闷烧的火堆，烤好了够 几天吃的羊肉。他把烤好的肉包了起来之后，尽管很疲 倦了，还是出发往回走，翻山越龄，踏上了复仇天使们 走过的路。 他先前骑着马跨过了一座座峡谷，现在徒步行走， 整整走了五天，艰难跋涉，身心疲惫。夜间，躺卧在乱 ⑤snatch【snxt夺取； 石丛中，将就着睡上几个小时，但是，天还没有亮，他 抓住机会做 就已经踏上旅途了。到了第六天时，他到达了鹰谷。当 时就是在这样一处地方，他们开始了自己命运悲惨的逃 亡之路，由此可以看到摩门教徒们的家园。他尽管已经 精疲力竭了，但身子仍然倚靠着枪身，朝着下方那座寂 静宽广的城市恶狠狠地挥舞着一只干瘦的手。望着城市 的时候，他注意到了，一些主要的街道上挂起了旗帜 ⑥festivity [fes''tivati]n.喜 庆日 还有别的节日装饰。他正琢磨着这是怎么回事，突然听 ·217·