狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第34章Part11

'By the north road out of London, deary. You shall see the house if you like. It ain't much to boast of, genteel as his own is. No, no, no,' cried the old woman, shaking her head and laughing; for her daughter had started up, 'not now; it's too far off; it's by the milestone, where the stones are heaped; - to-morrow, deary, if it's fine, and you are in the humour. But I'll go spend - '
'Stop!' and the daughter flung herself upon her, with her former passion raging like a fire. 'The sister is a fair-faced Devil, with brown hair?'
The old woman, amazed and terrified, nodded her head.
'I see the shadow of him in her face! It's a red house standing by itself. Before the door there is a small green porch.'
Again the old woman nodded.
'In which I sat to-day! Give me back the money.'
'Alice! Deary!'
'Give me back the money, or you'll be hurt.'
She forced it from the old woman's hand as she spoke, and utterly indifferent to her complainings and entreaties, threw on the garments she had taken off, and hurried out, with headlong speed.
The mother followed, limping after her as she could, and expostulating with no more effect upon her than upon the wind and rain and darkness that encompassed them. Obdurate and fierce in her own purpose, and indifferent to all besides, the daughter defied the weather and the distance, as if she had known no travel or fatigue, and made for the house where she had been relieved. After some quarter of an hour's walking, the old woman, spent and out of breath, ventured to hold by her skirts; but she ventured no more, and they travelled on in silence through the wet and gloom. If the mother now and then uttered a word of complaint, she stifled it lest her daughter should break away from her and leave her behind; and the daughter was dumb.
It was within an hour or so of midnight, when they left the regular streets behind them, and entered on the deeper gloom of that neutral ground where the house was situated. The town lay in the distance, lurid and lowering; the bleak wind howled over the open space; all around was black, wild, desolate.
'This is a fit place for me!' said the daughter, stopping to look back. 'I thought so, when I was here before, to-day.'
'Alice, my deary,' cried the mother, pulling her gently by the skirt. 'Alice!'
'What now, mother?'
'Don't give the money back, my darling; please don't. We can't afford it. We want supper, deary. Money is money, whoever gives it. Say what you will, but keep the money.'
'See there!' was all the daughter's answer. 'That is the house I mean. Is that it?'

“倫敦城外北邊公路附近，寶貝。如果你願意，你可以去看看他們的房屋。這座房屋沒有什麼可以誇耀的，雖然他自己的另一座倒是十分闊氣。不，不，不”老太婆搖搖頭，大笑着喊道，因爲她的女兒已經從椅子上跳起來了，”現在不去看；那裏太遠了。房屋是在一塊里程碑附近，那塊里程碑旁邊有一堆石子；--如果天氣晴朗，你又有興趣的話，那麼就明天去吧，寶貝。可是我現在得去把錢花掉--”
“站住！”女兒重新燃燒着怒火，向她衝過去，說道，”那位姐姐是不是一位臉孔漂亮的女妖精，頭髮是黑色的？”
老太婆驚奇與恐懼地點點頭。
“我在她臉上看到了他的一些特徵，兩人長得有些相像！
那是一座孤零零的紅房子，門前有一條綠色的小走廊。”
老太婆又點點頭。
“今天我在那裏坐過！把錢還給我。”
“艾麗斯！寶貝！”
“把錢還給我，要不我會打傷你的。”她一邊說，一邊從老太婆手裏把錢硬搶過來；並且絲毫不顧她的埋怨和哀求，就重新披上脫下的斗篷，急速地向門外跑出去。
母親一拐一拐地儘量跟隨着她，同時勸說着她；可是這些勸說對她絲毫不起作用，就像對包圍着她們的風雨和黑暗不起作用一樣。女兒固執地、狠狠地打定了主意，對於其他一切全都滿不在乎；她不顧氣候和距離，彷彿她已忘記了她經過了長途跋涉，也忘記了她的疲勞，一直向着那座她曾得到救助的房屋走去；走了幾刻鐘之後，老太婆筋疲力盡，氣喘吁吁，大膽地抓住女兒的裙子；可是她不敢再做別的了；她們穿過雨水和黑暗，默默無言地向前繼續走去。如果說母親不時吐出一兩聲怨言的話，那麼她總是在剛要吐出的時候就立刻把它壓下去，唯恐女兒會從她身邊跑開，把她丟在後面；女兒則一直一句話也不說。
當她們把城市的街道拋在身後，進入房屋所在的那個既不是城市又不是鄉村的地段、四周是更加深沉的黑暗的時候，已經過了半夜十二點鐘了。城市座落在遠方，陰慘、昏暗；寒風在開曠的空間怒號；四周的一切是黑暗、荒蕪、淒涼。
“這地方對我倒是很合適的！”女兒停下腳步，回頭看看，說道，”今天當我初到這裏的時候，我就這樣想過。”
“艾麗斯，我的寶貝，”母親輕輕地拉了拉她的裙子，喊道，”艾麗斯！”
“現在還想說什麼，媽媽？”
“別把錢還回去，我親愛的，請別還回去。我們還不起，我們要吃晚飯，寶貝。不管是誰給的，錢總是錢。你想對她說什麼就說什麼，但錢得留着。”
“看那邊！”這就是女兒的回答。”那就是我所說的房屋。是不是？”