血字的研究 75复仇天使(6)

The prediction of the Mormon was only too well fulfilled.

那个摩门教徒的预言果然丝毫不爽地应验了。

Whether it was the terrible death of her father or the effects of the hateful marriage into which she had been forced,

不知是否为了她父亲的惨死，还是由于她被迫成婚、心怀愤恨的缘故，

poor Lucy never held up her head again, but pined away and died within a month.

可怜的露茜一直萎靡不振，了无生趣；不到一个月，她便郁郁而死。

Her sottish husband, who had married her principally for the sake of John Ferrier's property,

她的混账丈夫所以要娶她，主要是为了约翰·费瑞厄的财产；

did not affect any great grief at his bereavement¹;

因此，他对于她的死亡，并不感到多大的悲伤；

but his other wives mourned over her, and sat up with her the night before the burial, as is the Mormon custom.

倒是他的一些亲戚却对她表示了哀悼，并且按照摩门教的风俗，在下葬前，整夜为她守灵。

They were grouped round the bier in the early hours of the morning,

第二天凌晨，正当她们围坐在灵床旁边的时候，

when, to their inexpressible fear and astonishment², the door was flung open,

室门忽然大开，一个衣衫褴褛、面目粗野、饱经风霜的男人闯了进来。

and a savage-looking, weather-beaten man in tattered³ garments strode into the room.

她们惊骇万分，吓得说不出话来。

Without a glance or a word to the cowering⁴ women,

这个人对那些缩作一团的妇女瞧都没有瞧一眼，

he walked up to the white silent figure which had once contained the pure soul of Lucy Ferrier.

径自走向那个曾经一度蕴藏着露茜·费瑞厄纯洁灵魂的苍白、安静的遗体。

Stooping over her, he pressed his lips reverently⁵ to her cold forehead, and then, snatching up her hand, he took the wedding ring from her finger.

他弯下身来，在她那冰冷的额上虔诚地吻了一下。接着，又拿起她的手来，从她的手指上取下那只结婚指环。

"She shall not be buried in that," he cried with a fierce snarl⁶, and before an alarm could be raised sprang down the stairs and was gone.

他凄厉地叫道："她决不能戴着这个东西下葬。"当人们还没有来得及声张起来的时候，他便飞身下楼倏然不见了。

So strange and so brief was the episode that the watchers might have found it hard to believe it themselves or persuade other people of it,

这件事发生得这样地出奇，这样地突兀，要不是露茜手指上那只作为新娘标志的金指环已不翼而飞的这一不可否认的事实存在，

had it not been for the undeniable fact that the circlet of gold which marked her as having been a bride had disappeared.

就连那些守灵人自己都很难相信这是事实，更不用说让别人相信了。

For some months Jefferson Hope lingered among the mountains, leading a strange, wild life,

杰弗逊·侯波在大山中飘荡了几个月，过着一种原始的非人生活，

and nursing in his heart the fierce desire for vengeance⁷ which possessed⁸ him.

他刻骨铭心地时时刻刻想着报仇雪恨。

Tales were told in the city of the weird⁹ figure which was seen prowling about the suburbs, and which haunted the lonely mountain gorges¹⁰.

这时，城里流行着一种传说，都说有一个怪人，出没在深山大壑之间，他在城外到处徘徊不去。

Once a bullet whistled through Stangerson's window and flattened¹¹ itself upon the wall within a foot of him.

有一次，一粒子弹嗖地穿过斯坦节逊的窗户，射在离他不到一英尺远的墙壁上。

On another occasion, as Drebber passed under a cliff a great boulder¹² crashed down on him,

又有一次，当锥伯从绝壁下经过的时候，一块巨石，从他的头上落将下来，

and he only escaped a terrible death by throwing himself upon his face.

他连忙卧倒在地，方才逃脱了这场灾难。

1 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

3 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

4 cowering   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He turned his baleful glare on the cowering suspect. 他恶毒地盯着那个蜷缩成一团的嫌疑犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He stood over the cowering Herb with fists of fury. 他紧握着两个拳头怒气冲天地站在惊魂未定的赫伯面前。 来自辞典例句

5 reverently   

adv.虔诚地

参考例句：

• He gazed reverently at the handiwork. 他满怀敬意地凝视着这件手工艺品。
• Pork gazed at it reverently and slowly delight spread over his face. 波克怀着愉快的心情看着这只表，脸上慢慢显出十分崇敬的神色。

6 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

7 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

8 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

9 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

10 gorges   

n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕

参考例句：

• The explorers were confronted with gorges(that were)almost impassable and rivers(that were)often unfordable. 探险人员面临着几乎是无路可通的峡谷和常常是无法渡过的河流。 来自辞典例句
• We visited the Yangtse Gorges last summer. 去年夏天我们游历了长江三峡。 来自辞典例句

11 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

12 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。