He shook his head. "You're incredible." 他摇了摇头：“你简直难以置信。”

I realized, as he drove my truck out of the main part of town, that I had no idea where he lived. 当他把我的卡车开出镇里的主街区时，我才意识到，我还不知道他住在哪里。

We passed over the bridge at the Calawah River, the road winding northward, the houses flashing past us growing farther apart, getting bigger. 我们开过架在Calawah河上的桥，开向通往北部的道路。房屋飞快地从我们车旁掠过，渐渐变得不那么密集，房屋主体也变得越来越巨大。

And then we were past the other houses altogether, driving through misty forest. 然后，我们把所有的住家都抛在了身后，开进了云雾缭绕的森林。

I was trying to decide whether to ask or be patient, when he turned abruptly onto an unpaved road. 我还在试图决定是要开口问还是耐心等待的时候，他忽然掉转车头开进了一条没有铺着柏油的路。

It was unmarked, barely visible among the ferns. 这条路没有任何标记，在一片蕨类植物中隐约可见。

The forest encroached on both sides, leaving the road ahead only discernible for a few meters as it twisted, serpentlike, around the ancient trees. 它蜿蜒蛇行着穿过一颗颗古老的树木，森林在路两旁侵蚀着我们的视野，让我们只能看见路前方几米远的地方。

And then, after a few miles, there was some thinning of the woods, and we were suddenly in a small meadow, or was it actually a lawn? 然后，又开过数英里以后，树木变得稀少些了，忽然间我们就在一片小小的草地上了，或许这事实上是一片私人草坪？

The gloom of the forest didn't relent, though, for there were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. 但是，森林里的幽暗感并未消散，因为有六棵未经修剪的雪松用它们广阔的绵延的枝叶荫蔽着整块草地。

The trees held their protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story. 这些树撑起了它们保护性的树阴，一直绵延到房屋的外墙上，那外墙凌于树荫之上，使得环绕着房屋一层的深邃的门廊显得有些陈旧。

I don't know what I had expected, but it definitely wasn't this. 我不知道自己在期待着什么，但绝对不是这样的。

The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. 这所房子经久优美，也许有一百年以上的历史了。

It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. 它被粉刷成一种柔和的，有些褪色的白色，有三层楼高，四四方方，很是对称。

The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration. 门窗都是最初的结构，或是修旧如旧。

My truck was the only car in sight. 我的卡车是我所能看见的唯一一辆车子。

I could hear the river close by, hidden in the obscurity of the forest. 我能听到河流的声音，就在附近的某个地方，隐藏在幽暗的森林中。