四签名 89大宗阿格拉宝物（8）

"That is all over," I answered. "It was nothing. I will tell you no more gloomy details.

我答道："那都是过去的事了，也不算什么。我不再讲这些闷气的事了，

Let us turn to something brighter. There is the treasure.

让咱们看看可以使咱们高兴的东西吧。这里是宝物，

What could be brighter than that?

还有什么比这更令人高兴的呢？

I got leave to bring it with me, thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it."

我是专为您带了来的，料想您一定愿意亲自打开，先睹为快。"

"It would be of the greatest interest to me," she said.

她道："这再好也没有了。"

There was no eagerness in her voice, however.

可是她的语气并没有显露出她有多么兴奋。

It had struck her, doubtless, that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win.

因为这宝物是费了不少心血才得到手的，她不能不这样地表示一下，否则也显得她太不承情了。

"What a pretty box!" she said, stooping over it. "This is Indian work, I suppose?"

她看着箱子说道："这箱子真美极了！这是在印度做的吧？"

"Yes; it is Benares metal-work."

"是的，是印度著名的比纳里兹金属制品。"

"And so heavy!" she exclaimed, trying to raise it.

她试着把箱子抬了抬，说道："真够重的，

"The box alone must be of some value. Where is the key?"

这箱子本身恐怕就很值钱呢。钥匙在哪儿？"

"Small threw it into the Thames," I answered. "I must borrow Mrs. Forrester's poker¹."

我答道："被斯茂扔到泰晤士河里去了，我们须借弗里斯特夫人的火钳用一用。"

There was in the front a thick and broad hasp, wrought² in the image of a sitting Buddha³.

在箱子前面有一个粗重的铁环，铁环上面铸着一尊佛像。

Under this I thrust the end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever.

我把火钳插在铁环下面，用力向上撬起，

The hasp sprang open with a loud snap.

铁环应手打开。

With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. We both stood gazing in astonishment⁴. The box was empty!

我用颤抖的手指把箱盖抬起，我们二人注视着箱内，都惊奇得呆住了。这个箱子是空的！

No wonder that it was heavy. The ironwork was two-thirds of an inch thick all round.

无怪这个箱子这样的重，箱子四周全是三分之二英寸厚的铁板，

It was massive, well made, and solid, like a chest constructed to carry things of great price,

非常坚固，制造的也是异常精致，确是用作收藏宝物的箱子。

but not one shred⁵ or crumb⁶ of metal or jewellery lay within it. It was absolutely and completely empty.

可是里边什么也没有了，完全是空的。

1 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

2 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

3 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。

4 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。

5 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

6 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。