狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第54章Part6

At the moment, the bell rang loudly in the hall. He turned white, as she held her hand up like an enchantress, at whose invocation the sound had come.
'Hark! do you hear it?'
He set his back against the door; for he saw a change in her, and fancied she was coming on to pass him. But, in a moment, she was gone through the opposite doors communicating with the bed-chamber, and they shut upon her.
Once turned, once changed in her inflexible unyielding look, he felt that he could cope with her. He thought a sudden terror, occasioned by this night-alarm, had subdued her; not the less readily, for her overwrought condition. Throwing open the doors, he followed, almost instantly.
But the room was dark; and as she made no answer to his call, he was fain to go back for the lamp. He held it up, and looked round, everywhere, expecting to see her crouching in some corner; but the room was empty. So, into the drawing-room and dining-room he went, in succession, with the uncertain steps of a man in a strange place; looking fearfully about, and prying behind screens and couches; but she was not there. No, nor in the hall, which was so bare that he could see that, at a glance.
All this time, the ringing at the bell was constantly renewed, and those without were beating at the door. He put his lamp down at a distance, and going near it, listened. There were several voices talking together: at least two of them in English; and though the door was thick, and there was great confusion, he knew one of these too well to doubt whose voice it was.
He took up his lamp again, and came back quickly through all the rooms, stopping as he quitted each, and looking round for her, with the light raised above his head. He was standing thus in the bed-chamber, when the door, leading to the little passage in the wall, caught his eye. He went to it, and found it fastened on the other side; but she had dropped a veil in going through, and shut it in the door.
All this time the people on the stairs were ringing at the bell, and knocking with their hands and feet.
He was not a coward: but these sounds; what had gone before; the strangeness of the place, which had confused him, even in his return from the hall; the frustration of his schemes (for, strange to say, he would have been much bolder, if they had succeeded); the unseasonable time; the recollection of having no one near to whom he could appeal for any friendly office; above all, the sudden sense, which made even his heart beat like lead, that the man whose confidence he had outraged, and whom he had so treacherously deceived, was there to recognise and challenge him with his mask plucked off his face; struck a panic through him. He tried the door in which the veil was shut, but couldn't force it. He opened one of the windows, and looked down through the lattice of the blind, into the court-yard; but it was a high leap, and the stones were pitiless.
The ringing and knocking still continuing - his panic too - he went back to the door in the bed-chamber, and with some new efforts, each more stubborn than the last, wrenched it open. Seeing the little staircase not far off, and feeling the night-air coming up, he stole back for his hat and coat, made the door as secure after hIm as he could, crept down lamp in hand, extinguished it on seeing the street, and having put it in a corner, went out where the stars were shining.

就在這時候，門廳裏的鈴大聲響着。當她像女巫一樣舉起手來，在她的符咒的召喚下，傳過來的時候，他的臉色發白了。
“聽！你聽到了嗎？”
他用背頂着門；因爲他看到她發生了點變化，以爲她正走來想從他身邊閃過去。可是她在片刻間走進對面通到臥室的門裏去，把門砰地一聲關上了。
一旦她有了轉變，一旦她的堅定不屈的眼光轉到別處，他覺得他就能對付她。他想這夜間警報引起的突然驚恐已經征服了她，因爲就是沒有這驚恐她也已過度疲勞了。他推開門急忙跟着她進去。
可是房間魚黑洞洞的，他喊她她又沒有回答，所以他只好回來拿燈。他把燈舉得高高的，仔細觀察着四周，指望她蹲伏在什麼角落裏；可是房間裏空無一人。因此，他像一個在陌生地方走路的人那樣邁着遲疑不決的步子，走進客廳，接着又走進餐廳，害怕地環視四周，並在屏風與躺椅後面窺視；可是她不在那裏；她也不在門廳裏，門廳裏空蕩蕩的，他一眼就可以看得清清楚楚。
在這段時間裏，鈴聲一直不斷地重新震響着。外面一些人在敲門。他把燈放在離門較遠的地方，走近門口，仔細傾聽。有好幾個在交談，至少有兩個人是說英語的。雖然門是厚實的，也很嘈雜，但他對當中一個人的熟悉極了，所以毫不懷疑這是誰的。
他又拿起燈，很快穿過所有的房間往回走；在離開每個房間的時候，他都停下腳步，把燈舉得比頭還高，往四下裏看看有沒有她。當他這樣站在臥室裏的時候，那扇通向牆中通道的門突然吸引了他的注意。他走到那扇門旁，發現它從外面被鎖上了。不過她在穿過這扇門的時候，掉了一塊麪紗，它被夾在門縫裏。
在這段時間裏，樓上的人們一直在拉着鈴並用手敲着門，用腳踢着門。
他並不是個膽小鬼，可是這些敲門的正不斷傳來；在這以前發生的事情使他意氣懊喪；這個地方對他是生疏的（甚至當他從門廳回來的時候，這也使他感到慌亂）；他的計劃已遭到失敗（因爲說起來奇怪，如果他取得成功的話，那麼他會大膽得多）；現在的時間是很不合適的；他記起他在近處沒有什麼人可以請求給予友好的幫助；特別重要的是，他心中突然感覺到（這甚至使他的心感到像鉛一樣沉重），他已辜負了他的信任、奸詐地欺騙了他的那個人正拿着從他臉上摘下的假面具，在這裏要尋到他，向他挑戰；--所有這一切，使他感到恐慌。他試圖弄開那扇夾着面紗的門，可是他怎麼用力也弄不開。他打開一扇窗子，通過百葉窗的格子往下面的庭院裏看；但是要往下跳實在太高了，地面上的石頭是冷酷無情的。
鈴聲和敲門聲依舊繼續在響着--他也繼續處在恐慌的狀態中--，他回到臥室中的那扇門旁，重新做出努力，每一次都比上一次更頑強地使勁，終於把它扭開了。他看到小樓梯就在不遠的地方，同時感覺到夜間的冷空氣迎面襲來，於是就悄悄地又回來取帽子和外衣，並把他後面的門儘量關牢；然後他手裏拿着燈，躡手躡腳地從梯子上走下去；當他看到街道的時候，他滅了燈，把它擱在一個角落裏，並走到星光正在照耀着的外面。