"'Well, Ata,' he said, 'do you fancy me for a husband.' “‘喂，爱塔，’他说，‘你喜欢不喜欢叫我当你丈夫？’”

"She did not say anything, but just giggled. 她什么话也没说，只是叽叽咯咯地笑着。

"'But I tell you, my poor Strickland, the girl has a beguin for you,' I said. “‘我不是告诉你了吗，思特里克兰德，这个女孩子对你挺有情意吗？’”我说。

"I shall beat you,' he said, looking at her. “‘我可是要揍你的。’”他望着她说。

"'How else should I know you loved me,' she answered." “‘你要是不打我，我怎么知道你爱我呢？’”她回答说。

Tiare broke off her narrative and addressed herself to me reflectively. 蒂阿瑞把这个故事打断，回溯起自己的往事来。

"My first husband, Captain Johnson, used to thrash me regularly. “我的第一个丈夫，约翰生船长，也总是经常不断地用鞭子抽我。

He was a man. He was handsome, six foot three, and when he was drunk there was no holding him. 他是个男子汉，六英尺三高，长得仪表堂堂。他一喝醉了，谁也劝不住他，

I would be black and blue all over for days at a time. 总是把我浑身打得青一块、紫一块，多少天也退不去。

Oh, I cried when he died. I thought I should never get over it. 咳，他死了的时候我那个哭啊。我想我这辈子再也不能从这个打击里恢复过来啦。

But it wasn't till I married George Rainey that I knew what I'd lost. 但是我真的懂得我的损失多么大，那还是在我同乔治·瑞恩尼结婚以后。

You can never tell what a man is like till you live with him. 要是不跟一个男的一起生活，你是永远不会知道他是怎样一个人的。

I've never been so deceived in a man as I was in George Rainey. 乔治·瑞恩尼叫我大失所望，任何一个男人也没有这么叫我失望过。

He was a fine, upstanding fellow too. He was nearly as tall as Captain Johnson, and he looked strong enough. 他长得也挺漂亮，身材魁梧，差不多同约翰生船长一样高，看起来非常结实。

But it was all on the surface. 但是这一切都是表面现象。

He never drank. He never raised his hand to me. 他从来没有喝醉过，从来没有动手打过我。

He might have been a missionary. 简直可以当个传教士。

I made love with the officers of every ship that touched the island, and George Rainey never saw anything. 每一条轮船进港我都同船上的高级船员谈情说爱，可是乔治·瑞恩尼什么也看不见。

At last I was disgusted with him, and I got a divorce. 最后我实在腻味他了，我跟他离了婚。

What was the good of a husband like that? 嫁了这么一个丈夫有什么好处呢？

It's a terrible thing the way some men treat women." 有些男人对待女人的方式真是太可怕了。”

I condoled with Tiare, and remarked feelingly that men were deceivers ever, 我安慰了一下蒂阿瑞，表示同情地说，男人总是叫女人上当的；

then asked her to go on with her story of Strickland. 接着我就请她继续给我讲思特里克兰德的故事。

"'Well,' I said to him, 'there's no hurry about it. Take your time and think it over. “‘好吧，’我对思特里克兰德说，‘这事不用着急。慢慢地好好想一想。

Ata has a very nice room in the annexe. Live with her for a month, and see how you like her. 爱塔在厢房里有一间挺不错的屋子，你跟她一起生活一个月，看看是不是喜欢她。

You can have your meals here. 你可以在我这里吃饭。

And at the end of a month, if you decide you want to marry her, you can just go and settle down on her property.' 一个月以后，如果你决定同她结婚，你就可以到她那块地产上安下家来。’”