冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第1133期:第五十四章 琼恩(10)

 　　Jon sat under the trees and ate his biscuit and cheese while his mare¹ grazed along the kingsroad. 琼恩坐在树下，吃着饼干和乳酪，任母马沿着国王大道吃草。

　　He kept the apple for last. It had gone a little soft, but the flesh was still tart² and juicy. 他把苹果留到最后，虽然摸起来有些软，果肉仍然酸甜多汁。

　　He was down to the core when he heard the sounds: horses, and from the north. 听到声音时，他正在啃果核：是蹄声，从北方来。

　　Quickly Jon leapt up and strode to his mare. Could he outrun them? 琼恩一跃而起，奔向母马。跑得掉吗？

　　No, they were too close, they'd hear him for a certainty, and if they were from Castle Black... 不，距离太近，一定会暴露声音，何况假如他们从黑城堡来……

　　He led the mare off the road, behind a thick stand of grey-green sentinels. 于是他牵着母马离开大路，走到一丛浓密的灰青色哨兵树后。

　　"Ouiet now," he said in a hushed voice, crouching³ down to peer through the branches. “别出声喔。”他悄声说，一边蹲伏下来，透过树枝缝隙向外窥视。

　　If the gods were kind, the riders would pass by. 倘若诸神保佑，对方就会不经意地骑马跑过。

　　Likely as not, they were only smallfolk from Mole's Town, farmers on their way to their fields, 八成鼹鼠村的农民，正返回自己的田地，

　　although what they were doing out in the middle of the night... 可他们干嘛大半夜的走呢？……

　　He listened to the sound of hooves growing steadily⁴ louder as they trotted⁵ briskly down the kingsroad. 他静静呤听，蹄声沿着国王大道急速而来，步伐坚定，逐渐增大。

　　From the sound, there were five or six of them at the least. 依声音判断，大概有五六个人。

　　Their voices drifted through the trees. 对方的话音在林木间穿梭。

　　... certain he came this way? “……确定他走这边？”

　　We can't be certain. “当然不确定。”

　　He could have ridden east, for all you know. Or left the road to cut through the woods. That's what I'd do. “搞不好他朝东去了。或是离开道路，穿越树林。换了我就会这么做。”

　　In the dark? Stupid. If you didn't fall off your horse and break your neck, you'd get lost and wind up back at the Wall when the sun came up. “在这一团漆黑的晚上？你别傻了。就算没摔下马来，折了脖子，辨不清路乱走，等太阳升起大概也绕回长城了。”

1 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

2 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

3 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

5 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。