血字的研究 87案情回顾(9)

"'It was not I who killed her father,' he cried.

他叫道：'杀死她父亲的并不是我。'

"'But it was you who broke her innocent heart,' I shrieked¹, thrusting the box before him.

"'但是，是你粉碎了她那颗纯洁的心！'我厉声喝道，一面把毒药盒子送到他的面前，

'Let the high God judge between us. Choose and eat.

'让上帝给咱们裁决吧。拣一粒吃下去。

There is death in one and life in the other.

一粒可以致死，一粒可以获生。

I shall take what you leave.

你拣剩下的一粒我吃。

Let us see if there is justice upon the earth, or if we are ruled by chance.'

让咱们瞧瞧，世界上到底还有没有公道，或者咱们都是在碰运气。'

"He cowered² away with wild cries and prayers for mercy,

"他吓得躲到一边，大喊大叫起来，哀求饶命。

but I drew my knife and held it to his throat until he had obeyed me.

但是，我拔出刀来顶着他的咽喉，一直到地乖乖地吞下了一粒，我也吞下了剩下的一粒。

Then I swallowed the other, and we stood facing one another in silence for a minute or more,

我们面对面，一声不响地站在那里有一两分钟之久，

waiting to see which was to live and which was to die.

等着瞧究竟谁死谁活。

Shall I ever forget the look which came over his face when the first warning pangs³ told him that the poison was in his system?

当他的脸上显出痛苦表情的时候，他就知道了他已吞下了毒药。他当时的那副嘴脸我怎么能够忘记呢？

I laughed as I saw it, and held Lucy's marriage ring in front of his eyes.

我看见他那副形状，不觉大笑起来，并且把露茜的结婚指环举到他的眼前。

It was but for a moment, for the action of the alkaloid is rapid.

可是这一切只是一会儿功夫，因为那种生物硷的作用发挥得很快。

A spasm⁴ of pain contorted his features; he threw his hands out in front of him, staggered,

一阵痛苦的痉挛使他的面目都扭曲变形了，他两手向前伸着，摇晃着；

and then, with a hoarse⁵ cry, fell heavily upon the floor.

接着就惨叫一声，一头倒在地板上了。

I turned him over with my foot, and placed my hand upon his heart.

我用脚把他翻转过来，用手摸摸他的心口，

There was no movement. He was dead!

心不跳了，他死了！

"The blood had been streaming from my nose, but I had taken no notice of it.

"这时，血一直从我的鼻孔中往外流个不停，但是我并没有在意。

I don't know what it was that put it into my head to write upon the wall with it.

不知怎的，我灵机一动，便用血在墙上写下了一个字。

Perhaps it was some mischievous⁶ idea of setting the police upon a wrong track,

这也许是由于一种恶作剧的想法，打算把警察引入歧途；

for I felt light-hearted and cheerful.

因为当时我的心情确实是非常轻松愉快。

I remember a German being found in New York with RACHE written up above him,

我想起了，纽约曾发现过一个德国人被人谋杀的事件，在死者的身上写着拉契这个字。

and it was argued at the time in the newspapers that the secret societies must have done it.

当时报纸上曾经争论过，认为这是秘密党干的。

I guessed that what puzzled the New Yorkers would puzzle the Londoners,

我当时想，这个使纽约人感到扑朔迷离的字，可能也会使伦敦人困惑不解。

so I dipped my finger in my own blood and printed it on a convenient place on the wall.

于是，我就用手指蘸着我自己的血，在墙上找个合适地方写下了这个字。

Then I walked down to my cab and found that there was nobody about,

后来，我就回到我的马车那里去了。我发觉周围一个人也没有，

and that the night was still very wild.

夜依然是风狂雨骤。

I had driven some distance,

我赶着马车走了一段路以后，

when I put my hand into the pocket in which I usually kept Lucy's ring, and found that it was not there.

把手伸进经常放着露茜指环的衣袋里一摸，忽然发觉指环不见了。

I was thunderstruck at this, for it was the only memento⁷ that I had of her.

我大吃一惊，因为这个东西是她留下的惟一的纪念物了。

Thinking that I might have dropped it when I stooped over Drebber's body,

我想，可能是在我弯身察看锥伯尸体时，把它掉下去的。

I drove back, and leaving my cab in a side street, I went boldly up to the house

于是，我又赶着马车往回走。我把马车停在附近的一条横街上，大着胆子向那间屋子走去；

for I was ready to dare anything rather than lose the ring.

因为我宁可冒着任何危险，也不愿失去这只指环。

When I arrived there, I walked right into the arms of a police-officer who was coming out,

我一走到那所房子，就和一个刚从那座房子里出来的警察撞了个满怀。

and only managed to disarm⁸ his suspicions by pretending to be hopelessly drunk.

我只好装着酪酊大醉的样子，以免引其他的疑心。

That was how Enoch Drebber came to his end.

这就是伊瑙克·锥伯死时的情形。

1 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

2 cowered   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响，人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
• He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里，吓得语无伦次。

3 pangs   

突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛

参考例句：

• She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
• With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。

4 spasm   

n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作

参考例句：

• When the spasm passed,it left him weak and sweating.一阵痉挛之后，他虚弱无力，一直冒汗。
• He kicked the chair in a spasm of impatience.他突然变得不耐烦，一脚踢向椅子。

5 hoarse   

adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的

参考例句：

• He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
• He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动，嗓子都喊哑了。

6 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

7 memento   

n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西

参考例句：

• The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
• My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

8 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。