四签名 95琼诺赞·斯茂的奇异故事（5）

I wasn't destined¹ to do much soldiering, however.

可是，我的军队生活先天注定不能久常。

I had just got past the goose-step and learned to handle my musket², when I was fool enough to go swimming in the Ganges.

在我刚学会鹅步操，学会使用步枪的时候，我愚蠢的到恒河里去游泳。

Luckily for me, my company sergeant³, John Holder⁴, was in the water at the same time, and he was one of the finest swimmers in the service.

幸运的是，连队的游泳能手、班长约翰·侯德当时也在河里。

A crocodile took me just as I was halfway⁵ across and nipped off my right leg as clean as a surgeon could have done it, just above the knee.

一条鳄鱼就在中流象外科手术一样干脆地把我整个小腿都咬了下来。

What with the shock and the loss of blood, I fainted,

由于惊吓和失血，我晕了过去，

and should have been drowned if Holder had not caught hold of me and paddled for the bank.

如果没有侯德抓着我向岸边游去的话我就会被淹死了。

I was five months in hospital over it,

我在医院里养了五个月

and when at last I was able to limp out of it with this timber toe strapped⁶ to my stump⁷,

最后才装上木腿跛着出了院。

I found myself invalided⁸ out of the Army and unfitted for any active occupation.

我因残废被取消了军籍，因此就更难找到就业的机会了。

I was, as you can imagine, pretty down on my luck at this time,

你们可以想象，我的运气有多么坏。

for I was a useless cripple, though not yet in my twentieth year.

那时我还不到二十岁，已成了无用的瘸子，

However, my misfortune soon proved to be a blessing⁹ in disguise.

可是窘困了不久时来运转，

A man named Abel White, who had come out there as an indigo-planter,

恰巧有一个新来印度经营靛青园子的、名叫阿勃怀特的园主

wanted an overseer to look after his coolies and keep them up to their work.

正在找一个人监督靛青园的苦力们的工作。

He happened to be a friend of our colonel's, who had taken an interest in me since the accident.

这个园主碰巧是我原来所属部队团长的朋友。团长因为我的残废时常照顾我，

To make a long story short, the colonel recommended me strongly for the post,

简短来说，团长竭力推荐我。

and, as the work was mostly to be done on horseback, my leg was no great obstacle,

因为这个工作主要是骑在马上，我的两膝还能夹得住马腹，

for I had enough thigh¹⁰ left to keep a good grip on the saddle.

虽然残废，骑马还不成问题。

What I had to do was to ride over the plantation¹¹, to keep an eye on the men as they worked, and to report the idlers.

我的工作是在庄园内巡行，监督工人和把工人的勤惰情况随时报告园主。

The pay was fair, I had comfortable quarters, and altogether I was content to spend the remainder of my life in indigo-planting.

报酬很不错，住处也舒适，因此我很有做这靛青事业以终此生的志愿。

Mr. Abel White was a kind man, and he would often drop into my little shanty¹² and smoke a pipe with me,

园主阿勃怀特先生为人和蔼可亲，常常到我的小屋里来吸支烟聊聊天，

for white folk out there feel their hearts warm to each other as they never do here at home.

因为在那里的白种人不象在这里的一样，彼此都很关切。

1 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

2 musket   

n.滑膛枪

参考例句：

• I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
• So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟，突然，乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

8 invalided   

使伤残（invalid的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He was invalided out of the army because of the wounds he received. 他因负伤而退役。
• A plague invalided half of the population in the town. 这个城镇一半的人口患上了瘟疫。

9 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

10 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

11 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

12 shanty   

n.小屋，棚屋；船工号子

参考例句：

• His childhood was spent in a shanty.他的童年是在一个简陋小屋里度过的。
• I want to quit this shanty.我想离开这烂房子。