月亮和六便士 第五十六章(1)

 Chapter 56 第五十六章

Then two years more went by, or perhaps three, for time passes imperceptibly in Tahiti, and it is hard to keep count of it; 两年又过去了，也许是三年，因为在塔希提，时间总是不知不觉地流逝过去，没有人费心去计算。

but at last a message was brought to Dr. Coutras that Strickland was dying. 但是最后终于有人给库特拉斯医生带来个信儿，说是思特里克兰德很快就要死了。

Ata had waylaid¹ the cart that took the mail into Papeete, and besought² the man who drove it to go at once to the doctor. 爱塔在路上拦住一辆往帕皮提递送邮件的马车，请求赶车的人立刻到医生那里去一趟。

But the doctor was out when the summons came, and it was evening when he received it. 但是消息带到的时候，医生恰巧不在家。直到傍晚他才听到这个信儿。

It was impossible to start at so late an hour, and so it was not till next day soon after dawn that he set out. 天已经太晚了，他当天无法动身；他是第二天清早才启程去的。

He arrived at Taravao, and for the last time tramped the seven kilometres that led to Ata's house. 他首先到了塔拉窝，然后下车步行；这是他最后一次走七公里的路到爱塔家去。

The path was overgrown, and it was clear that for years now it had remained all but untrodden. 小路几乎已被荒草遮住，看来已经有好几年没有行人的足迹了。

It was not easy to find the way. 路很不好走；

Sometimes he had to stumble along the bed of the stream, and sometimes he had to push through shrubs³, dense⁴ and thorny⁵; 有时候他得跋涉过一段河滩；有时候他得分开长满荆棘的茂密的矮树丛。

often he was obliged to climb over rocks in order to avoid the hornet-nests that hung on the trees over his head. 有好几次他不得不从岩石上爬过去，为了躲避挂在头顶树枝上的野蜂窝。

The silence was intense. 密林里万籁无声。

It was with a sigh of relief that at last he came upon the little unpainted house, extraordinarily⁶ bedraggled now, and unkempt; 最后他走到那座没有油漆过的木房子前面时，他长舒了一口气。这所房子现在已经破旧得不成样子，而且一片龌龊，不堪入目。

but here too was the same intolerable silence. 迎接他的仍是一片无法忍受的寂静。

He walked up, and a little boy, playing unconcernedly in the sunshine, started at his approach and fled quickly away: to him the stranger was the enemy. 他走到阳台上，一个小孩儿正在阳光底下玩儿，一看见他便飞快地跑掉了；在这个孩子的眼睛里，所有陌生人都是敌人。

Dr. Coutras had a sense that the child was stealthily watching him from behind a tree. 库特拉斯医生意识到孩子正躲在一棵树后面偷偷地看着他。

The door was wide open. 房门敞开着。

He called out, but no one answered. 他叫了一声，但是没有人回答。

He stepped in. 他走了进去。

He knocked at a door, but again there was no answer. 他在另一扇门上敲了敲，仍然没有回答。

He turned the handle and entered. 他把门柄一扭便走进去。

The stench that assailed⁷ him turned him horribly sick. 扑鼻而来的一股臭味几乎叫他呕吐出来。

He put his handkerchief to his nose and forced himself to go in. 他用手帕堵着鼻子，硬逼着自己走进去。

The light was dim, and after the brilliant sunshine for a while he could see nothing. 屋子里光线非常暗，从外面灿烂的阳光下走进来，一时他什么也看不见。

Then he gave a start. 当他的眼睛适应了室内的光线时，他吓了一大跳。

He could not make out where he was. 他不知道自己走到什么地方来了，

He seemed on a sudden to have entered a magic world. 仿佛是，他突然走入了一个神奇的世界；

He had a vague impression of a great primeval forest and of naked people walking beneath the trees. 蒙蒙眬眬中，他好像觉得自己正置身于一个原始大森林中，大树下面徜徉着一些赤身裸体的人。

Then he saw that there were paintings on the walls. 过了一会儿他才知道，他看到的是四壁上的巨大壁画。

1 waylaid   

v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I got waylaid on my way here. 我在来这里的路上遭到了拦路抢劫。
• He was waylaid by thieves. 他在路上被抢了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 besought   

v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• The prisoner besought the judge for mercy/to be merciful. 囚犯恳求法官宽恕[乞求宽大]。 来自辞典例句
• They besought him to speak the truth. 他们恳求他说实话. 来自辞典例句

3 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

6 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

7 assailed   

v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• He was assailed with fierce blows to the head. 他的头遭到猛烈殴打。
• He has been assailed by bad breaks all these years. 这些年来他接二连三地倒霉。 来自《用法词典》