月亮和六便士 第五十五章(2)

 It appears that Dr. Coutras had gone one day to Taravao in order to see an old chiefess who was ill, 事情的经过大概是这样的。有一次库特拉斯医生到塔拉窝去给一个生病的女酋长看病。

and he gave a vivid of the obese¹ old lady, lying in a huge bed, smoking cigarettes, and surrounded by a crowd of dark-skinned retainers. 库特拉斯把这位女酋长淋漓尽致地描写了一番。女酋长生得又胖又蠢，躺在一张大床上抽着纸烟，周围站着一圈乌黑皮肤的侍从。

When he had seen her he was taken into another room and given dinner—raw fish, fried bananas, and chicken—que sais-je, the typical dinner of the indigene— 看过病以后，医生被请到另一间屋子里，被招待了一顿丰盛的饭食——生鱼、炸香蕉、小鸡，还有一些他不知名的东西，这是当地土着的标准饭菜。

and while he was eating it he saw a young girl being driven away from the door in tears. 吃饭的时候，他看见人们正在把一个眼泪汪汪的年轻女孩子从门口赶走。

He thought nothing of it, but when he went out to get into his trap and drive home, he saw her again, standing² a little way off; 他当时并没有注意，但在他吃完饭，正准备上马车启程回家的时候，他又看见她在不远的地方站着。

she looked at him with a woebegone air, and tears streamed down her cheeks. 她凄凄惨惨地望着他，泪珠从面颊上淌下来。

He asked someone what was wrong with her, and was told that she had come down from the hills to ask him to visit a white man who was sick. 医生问了问旁边的人，这个女孩儿是怎么回事。他被告知说，女孩子是从山里面下来的，想请他去看一个生病的白人。

They had told her that the doctor could not be disturbed. 他们已经告诉她，医生没有时间管她的事。

He called her, and himself asked what she wanted. 库特拉斯医生把她叫过来，亲自问了一遍她有什么事。

She told him that Ata had sent her, she who used to be at the Hotel de la Fleur, and that the Red One was ill. 她说她是爱塔派来的，爱塔过去在鲜花旅馆干活儿，她来找医生是因为“红毛”病了。

She thrust into his hand a crumpled³ piece of newspaper, and when he opened it he found in it a hundred-franc note. 她把一块揉皱了的旧报纸递到医生手里，医生打开一看，里面是一张一百法郎的钞票。

"Who is the Red One?" he asked of one of the bystanders. “谁是‘红毛’？”医生问一个站在旁边的人。

He was told that that was what they called the Englishman, a painter, who lived with Ata up in the valley seven kilometres from where they were. 他被告诉说，“红毛”是当地人给那个英国人，一个画家起的外号儿。这个人现在同爱塔同居，住在离这里七公里远的山丛中的一条峡谷里。

He recognised Strickland by the description. 根据当地人的描述，他知道他们说的是思特里克兰德。

But it was necessary to walk. It was impossible for him to go; that was why they had sent the girl away. 但是要去思特里克兰德住的地方，只能走路去；他们知道他去不了，所以就把女孩子打发走了。

1 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。