《曾达的囚徒》第17期:有关囚犯的消息(1)

9 News of the prisoner¹

9 有关囚犯的消息

The next morning I was sitting in the garden in the sun when suddenly I saw young Rupert of Hentzau on horseback coming through the trees towards me．

第二天早晨，我正坐在阳光下的花园里，突然看见鲁帕特骑着马穿过树林朝我走来。

He was not afraid of my men，but asked to speak with me alone．He said he had a message for me from the Duke² of Strelsau．

他并不怕我的人，但是请求和我单独谈谈。他说他有斯特莱索公爵给我的口信。

I asked my friends to move away，and Rupert came and sat down near me．

我请朋友们离开，然后鲁帕特过来在我旁边坐了下来。

'Rassendyll，'he began，'the Duke…．'

“拉森狄尔，”他开始说，“公爵……”

'Don't you know how to speak to the King？'I asked．

“难道你不知道应该怎样对国王说话吗？”我问。

'Why pretend³ with me？'

“干吗跟我装假？”

'Because it isn't finished yet．'

“因为事情还没完。”

'well，I'm here because I want to help you…'

“好吧，我来这儿是因为我想帮助你……”

'Then give me the message．What does the Duke want？'I asked．

“那就告诉我那个口信。公爵想要什么？”

'He wants you to leave．He'll take you safely out of the country and give you a hundred thousand pounds．'

“他要你离开。他会帮你安全地离开这个国家。而且会给你10万英镑。”

'I refuse，'I replied immediately⁴．

“我拒绝。”我立即回答。

Rupert laughed．'I knew it！'he cried．'Duke Michael doesn't understand men like us！… You must die，then，'he added⁵ carelessly．

鲁帕特笑了：“我知道，”他说：“迈克尔公爵不了解你我这样的人！……那么你就得死。”他漫不经心地加了一句。

'Yes，'I answered．'But you won't be alive to see me die！'I laughed．'How's your prisoner？'I added．

“对。”我回答：“不过你也别想活着看到我死！”我笑着说：“你的犯人怎么样了？”

'Alive，'he replied．'How's the pretty Princess⁶？'

“还活着！”他回答：“美丽的公主怎么样了？”

I took a step towards him．'Go now，before I kill you，'I shouted angrily．

我朝他跨了一步，“在我杀了你之前赶紧滚！”我生气地喊道。

Rupert turned， but suddenly he came back．He put out his right hand．'Shake hands！'he called．

鲁帕特转过身，但他突然又回来了。他伸出右手，叫道：“握握手吧！”

Of course，he knew what I would do．I put my hands behind my back．Quickly，his left hand moved towards me．

他当然知道我会怎么做。我把手放在背后。他的左手却一下子伸过来，

In it he held a dagger⁷ and it was coming straight at my heart！I jumped to one side，and the dagger went deep into my shoulder．

手里的短剑直刺向我的心脏。我跳向一边，短剑深深地刺进我的肩膀。

Before my friends could do anything，Rupert of Hentzau was on his horse and galloping⁸ through the trees．

没等我的朋友反应过来，鲁帕特已经上马跑进了树林。

I heard my men going after him with their guns and then everything went black．

我听见我的人开枪追赶他，然后一切都变黑了。

When I awoke it was dark，and Fritz was at my bedside．He told me that I was not badly hurt，and that the plan to catch Johann had been successful．

我醒来时天已经黑了。弗里茨坐在我的床边。他说我的伤不重，并且告诉我我们抓约翰的计划已经成功了。

'He seems pleased to be here，'Fritz said．'I think he's afraid of Duke Michael．'

“他看上去很高兴能呆在这儿。”弗里茨说，“我想他害怕迈克尔公爵。”

1 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 duke   

n.公爵

参考例句：

• His grandfather was a royal duke.他的祖父是王室公爵。
• The duke was the king's most trusted adviser.公爵是国王最信赖的顾问。

3 pretend   

vt.假装，假托，装扮；vi.假装，装作

参考例句：

• So you don't need to pretend,do you?所以你不必装假了，对吧？
• Many people pretend that they understand modern art.许多人装着自己懂得现代艺术。

4 immediately   

ad.立即地，即刻地；直接地，紧密地

参考例句：

• I'll change it immediately for you.我立刻给您换。
• I immediately become happy again.我立马就变的高兴起来了。

5 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。

6 princess   

n.公主，王妃，公爵夫人

参考例句：

• The princess grew up happily.公主很快乐地长大了。
• She was the people's princess.她是人民的王妃。

7 dagger   

n.匕首，短剑，剑号

参考例句：

• The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
• The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。

8 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。