書蟲四級《不平靜的墳?zāi)埂罚哼\用如尼魔文

Casting the Runes
運用如尼魔文

15th April 1902

1902年4月15日

Dear Mr Karswell

親愛的卡斯韋爾先生：

I am returning your paper on 'The Truth of Alchemy', which you have kindly offered to read at our next club meet ing. Unfortunately, we do not feel able to accept your offer.

這里將您有關(guān)“煉金術(shù)的真實性”的文章退還給您，您提議在我們俱樂部下次開會時宣讀該文，很對不起，我們不能接受。

W. Gayton, Secretary

秘書　W. 蓋伊頓

18th April 1902

1902年4月18日

Dear Mr Karswell

親愛的卡斯韋爾先生：

I am afraid that I am not able to arrange a meeting with you to discuss your offer to read a paper on alchemy. However, the club considered your offer most carefully, and we did not refuse it until we had asked for the opinion of an expert in these matters.

我恐怕不能安排時間與您商談您要宣讀煉金術(shù)方面文章的提議。不過，我們俱樂部是進行了十分認(rèn)真的考慮，并且是在征詢了這方面專家的意見后，才對您的提議予以拒絕的。

W. Gayton, Secretary

秘書　W. 蓋伊頓

20th April 1902

1902年4月20日

The Secretary writes to in form Mr Karswell that it is impossible for him to give the name of any person or persons who were asked for an opinion on Mr Karswell's paper on alchemy. The Secretary also wishes to say that he cannot reply to any further letters on this matter.

秘書現(xiàn)寫信通知卡斯韋爾先生不可能告訴他有關(guān)他那篇煉金術(shù)方面的文章他們征詢了哪個或哪些人的意見。而且秘書還想說他不會再為此事回信了。

And who is Mr Karswell?' asked the Secretary's wife. She had called at his office and had just picked up and read the last of these letters.

“卡斯韋爾先生是誰呀？”秘書夫人問道。她來到丈夫的辦公室里，拿起剛才那幾封信看了最后一封。

Well, my dear,' replied her husband, 'just at present Mr Karswellis a very angry man. All I know about him is that he's rich, lives at Lufford Abbey in Warwickshire, and considers himself to be an alchemist. And I don't want to meet him for the next week or two. Now, shall we go?'

“噢，親愛的，”她丈夫回答，“現(xiàn)在卡斯韋爾先生很惱火。我只知道他很富有，住在沃里克郡的勒夫德大教堂，他認(rèn)為自己是個煉金術(shù)士，最近一兩周我不想見他。好了，咱們走吧。”

What have you been doing to make him angry?' asked the Secretary's wife.

“你做了什么使他惱火的事兒了？”秘書夫人問道。

The usual thing, my dear. He sent us a paper which he wanted to read at our next meeting. We showed it to Edward Dunning—almost the only man in England who knows about these things—and he said it was no good, so we refused it. Now Karswell wants to see me about it and to find out whose opinion we asked for. Well, you've seen my reply to that. Of course, you mustn't say anything about it to anyone.'

“親愛的，只是件很平常的事情。他給我們寄來了一篇文章，想要我們下次開會時宣讀。我們把文章給愛德華·鄧寧看了——他可差不多是英國這方面唯一的專家了——他說這篇文章沒什么價值，于是我們便拒絕了他的提議?，F(xiàn)在卡斯韋爾想見我，并想知道我們到底征詢了誰的意見。這不，你也看見我的答復(fù)了。當(dāng)然你可千萬別把這事兒告訴任何人。”

You know very well that I would never do a thing like that. Indeed, I hope he doesn't discover that it was poor Mr Dunning.'

“你很清楚我決不會這么做。我真希望他不會知道你們找的是可憐的鄧寧先生。”

Why do you say "poor" Mr Dunning?' said the Secretary. 'He's a very happy man and quite rich, I believe. He has a comfortable home and plenty of time to spend on his hobbies.'

“你為什么說‘可憐的’鄧寧先生呢？”秘書說，“我覺得他生活得既幸福又富有。他有個很舒適的家而且有足夠的時間花在自己的愛好上。”

I only meant that I would be sorry for him if Mr Karswell discovered his name and made trouble for him.'

“我只是說，如果卡斯韋爾先生知道他的名字后找他的麻煩，我會很同情他的。”

Oh yes! He would be poor Mr Dunning then,' agreed her husband.

“是呀！那他可真要成了可憐的鄧寧先生了。”她丈夫也同意她的說法。

*　　*　　*

*　　*　　*

The Secretary and his wife were lunching with friends that day, a Mr and Mrs Bennett, who came from Warwickshire. Mrs Gayton decided to ask them if they knew Mr Karswell. However, before she could do so, Mrs Bennett said to her husband:

那天秘書和夫人與他們的朋友，沃里克郡的貝內(nèi)特夫婦，共進午餐。蓋伊頓夫人決定問問他們是否認(rèn)識卡斯韋爾先生?？蛇€沒等她開口，就聽貝內(nèi)特夫人對丈夫說：

I saw Mr Karswell this morning. He was coming out of the British Museum as I was driving past.'

“今天早上我見到卡斯韋爾先生了。我開車路過大英博物館時見他正從里邊出來。”

Did you really?' said her husband. 'I wonder what brings him up to London.'

“真的嗎？”她丈夫說，“真不知道他到倫敦干什么來了。”

Is he a friend of yours?' asked the Secretary, smiling at his wife.

“他是你們的朋友嗎？”秘書微笑著看著妻子問道。

Oh no!' said Mr and Mrs Bennett together.

“噢，不！”貝內(nèi)特夫婦異口同聲地說。

He's one of our neighbours in Warwickshire,' explained Mrs Bennett, 'but he's not at all popular. Nobody knows what he does with his time and they say he believes in all kinds of strange and unpleasant things. If he thinks you have been impolite to him, he never forgets it, and he never does any thing kind for his neighbours.'

“他是我們在沃里克郡的一個鄰居，”貝內(nèi)特夫人解釋道，“可他一點兒都不招人喜歡。大家都不知道他在干些什么，聽說他相信各種各樣稀奇古怪而且使人不快的東西。如果他覺得你對他不恭敬，就永遠不會忘掉，而且這人從來沒為鄰居們做過什么善事。”

But, my dear,' said her husband, 'you're forgetting the Christmas party he gave for the children.'

“不過，親愛的，”她丈夫插話道，“你忘了他給孩子們辦的圣誕晚會了。”

Oh no, I'm not,' replied his wife. 'That's a good example of what I mean.' She turned to the Secretary and his wife. 'The first winter he was at Lufford this horrible man invited all the village children to a Christmas party at his house. He said that he had some of these new moving pictures to show them. Everyone was rather surprised because they thought that he didn't like children; he used to be very angry if any of the village children came on to his land. However, the children all went and a friend of ours, Mr Farrer, went with them to see that everything was all right.'

“噢，沒有，”貝內(nèi)特夫人回答，“這件事正能說明我的意思。”她轉(zhuǎn)向秘書和夫人接著說，“這個討厭的家伙搬到勒夫德的頭一年冬天，邀請村里所有的孩子到他家去參加圣誕晚會。他說他有些新電影要放給他們看。大家對此都很吃驚，因為人們都覺得他不喜歡孩子；過去如果村里的哪個孩子到了他的地盤上，他會很惱火的。不過，孩子們還是都去了，我們的一位叫法勒的朋友為確保他們平安無事也跟著去了。”

And was it?' asked the Secretary.

“孩子們都平安無事嗎？”秘書問道。

Indeed it was not!' replied Mrs Bennett. 'Our friend said it was obvious that Mr Karswell wanted to frighten the children to death, and he very nearly did so. The first film was "Red Riding Hood", and the wolf was so terrible that several of the smaller children had to leave the room. The other films were more and more frightening. At the end Mr Karswell showed a film of a little boy in the park surrounding Lufford Abbey—every child in the room could recognize the place. There was a horrible creature in white following the little boy. At first you could see it hiding in the trees, then it became clearer and clearer and at last it caught the little boy and pulled him to pieces. Our friend said that it gave him some very bad dreams, so you can imagine how the children felt. Of course, this was too much and Mr Farrer told Karswell that he must stop it. All Mr Karswell said was: "Oh! The dear children want to go home to bed, do they? Very well, just one last picture."

“當(dāng)然不是了！”貝內(nèi)特夫人回答說，“我們的朋友說卡斯韋爾先生顯然是想把孩子們嚇?biāo)?，而且他差不多真把他們嚇?biāo)懒恕Ｋ诺牡谝徊侩娪笆恰都t色騎士兜帽》，里面的那只狼很可怕，幾個小一點兒的孩子嚇得不得不離開了屋。其他幾部片子越來越嚇人。最后卡斯韋爾先生放了部一個小男孩在勒夫德大教堂周圍公園里的影片——屋里的每個孩子都能認(rèn)出電影里的那個地方。一個身著白衣的怪物跟著那男孩。一開始那怪物藏在樹叢里，后來就能看得越來越清楚，最后它抓住了那小男孩并把他撕成了碎片。我們的朋友說他看了這部電影都做了惡夢，所以你們可以想象孩子們的感覺怎么樣。這樣做當(dāng)然太過分了，于是法勒先生告訴卡斯韋爾必須停下來?？ㄋ鬼f爾先生只是說：“噢！親愛的孩子們想回家睡覺了是嗎？好吧，再放最后一部。”

And then he showed a short film of horrible creatures with wings and lots of legs. They seemed to be crawling out of the picture to get among the children. Of course, the children were terribly frightened and they all started screaming and running out of the room. Some of them were quite badly hurt because they were all trying to get out of the room at the same time. There was the most awful trouble in the village afterwards. Several of the fathers wanted to go to Lufford Abbey and break all the windows, but the gates were locked when they got there. So you see why Mr Karswell is not one of our friends.'

“接著他放了一部短片，是有關(guān)一些長著翅膀和許多條腿的可怕怪物的。這些怪物似乎正從電影里爬出，到孩子們中來。孩子們當(dāng)然十分害怕，于是都開始尖叫著從房間里跑出來。因為他們都想同時跑出來，所以有幾個孩子受傷很厲害。后來村里出了最大的亂子。幾個孩子的父親想去勒夫德大教堂把所有的窗戶都砸碎，可他們到那兒發(fā)現(xiàn)門都鎖著呢。這回你明白卡斯韋爾先生為什么不是我們的朋友了吧。”

Yes,' agreed her husband. 'I think Karswell is a very dangerous man. I feel sorry for anyone who makes an enemy of him.'

“是這樣的，”他丈夫也附和著說，“我覺得卡斯韋爾是個極其危險的人物。誰與他為敵恐怕都不會有好結(jié)果的。”

Is he the man,' asked the Secretary, 'who wrote a History of Witchcraft about ten years ago?'

“他是不是那個大約十年前寫《巫術(shù)的歷史》那本書的人呀？”秘書問道。

Yes, that's the man,' replied Mr Bennett. 'Do you remember what the newspapers said about it?'

“是的，就是他，”貝內(nèi)特先生回答，“你還記得報界是怎么評價這本書的嗎？”

Yes, I do,' said the Secretary. 'They all said that it was a really bad book. In fact, I knew the man who wrote the sharpest report of them all. So did you, of course. You remember John Harrington? He was at Cambridge with us.'

“記得，”秘書說，“報界都說這本書確實很糟糕。而且我認(rèn)識其中那篇最尖刻的評論的作者。當(dāng)然你們也認(rèn)識了。你們記得約翰·哈林頓嗎？他和我們一起在劍橋大學(xué)待過。”

Oh, very well indeed. But I had heard nothing of him between the time we left university and the day I read about his accident in the newspaper.'

“噢，當(dāng)然記得?？蓮奈覀冸x開劍橋大學(xué)到在報上讀到他出事的消息就一直沒有他的消息。”

What happened to him?' asked one of the ladies.

“他出了什么事？”其中一位夫人問道。

It was very strange,' said Mr Bennett. 'He fell out of a tree and broke his neck. The mystery was why he had climbed the tree in the first place. There he was, an ordinary man walking home along a country road late one evening, and suddenly he began to run as fast as he could. Finally he climbed up a tree beside the road; a dead branch broke, he fell and was killed. When they found him the next morning, he had a terrible expression of fear on his face. It was quite clear that he had been chased by something and people talked about mad dogs and so on, but no one ever found the answer. That was in 1889 and ever since then his brother, Henry, who was also at Cambridge with us, has been trying to find out the truth of what happened. He thinks that someone wanted to harm his brother but, of course, he has never been able to prove anything.'

“事情非常奇怪，”貝內(nèi)特先生說，“他從樹上掉下來摔斷脖頸而死。首先他為什么會爬到樹上去就是個謎。他一個平平常常的人夜晚沿著一條鄉(xiāng)間小路往家走著，突然就開始拼命跑起來，最后爬上了路邊的一棵樹，一根枯枝折了，于是他掉下來摔死了。第二天早上人們發(fā)現(xiàn)他時，他臉上帶著一種極度恐懼的表情。很明顯后面有什么追他，人們說是瘋狗什么的，可沒人知道到底是什么。這是1889年的事，從那以后他弟弟亨利，當(dāng)時也和我們一起在劍橋大學(xué)的那位，就一直在努力想了解事情的真相。他覺得有人想害他哥哥，當(dāng)然還從來沒能找到任何證據(jù)。”

After a pause Mr Bennett asked the Secretary, 'Did you ever read Karswell's History of Witchcraft?'

停了一下，貝內(nèi)特先生問秘書：“你讀過卡斯韋爾的《巫術(shù)的歷史》嗎？”

Yes, I did,' said the Secretary.

“讀過。”秘書回答。

And was it as bad as Harrington said?'

“果真像哈林頓說的那么糟嗎？”

Oh yes. It was badly written but what it said was very bad too, although Karswell seemed to believe every word of what he was saying.'

“噢，是的，寫得很糟，而且內(nèi)容也很糟，雖然卡斯韋爾似乎對自己的每一句話都深信不疑。”

I didn't read the book but I remember what Harrington wrote about it,' said Mr Bennett. 'If anyone wrote like that about one of my books, I would never write another, I'm sure.'

“我沒讀那本書，可我記得哈林頓的評論，”貝內(nèi)特先生說，“如果有人那樣評論我的某本書，我肯定不會再寫書了。”

I don't think Karswell feels the same way,' replied the Secretary. 'But it's half past three; we must go. Thank you for an excellent lunch.'

“我覺得卡斯韋爾沒有這種感覺，”秘書回答說。“都3點半了，我們得走了。謝謝你們這頓極其豐盛的午餐。”

On the way home Mrs Gayton said, 'I hope that horrible man Karswell doesn't discover that it was Mr Dunning who said his paper was no good.'

回家的路上蓋伊頓夫人說：“我希望那可怕的家伙卡斯韋爾不會發(fā)現(xiàn)是鄧寧先生說他的文章很糟糕。”

I don't think he's likely to do that,' replied her husband. 'Dunning won't tell him and neither shall I. The only way Karswell might find out is by asking the people at the British Museum Library for the name of anyone who studies all their old books about alchemy. Let's hope he won't think of that.'

“我想他不大可能知道，”她丈夫說，“鄧寧不會告訴他，我也不會?？ㄋ鬼f爾知道鄧寧名字的唯一辦法就是問大英博物館圖書館的人誰在研究他們那些煉金術(shù)方面的古舊書籍。真希望他不會想到這個辦法。”

But Mr Karswell was a very clever man.

可卡斯韋爾先生是個極其聰明的人。

One evening, later in the same week, Mr Edward Dunning was returning from the British Museum Library, where he had been working all day, to his comfortable home. He lived alone there, except for the two women who cooked and cleaned for him. A train took him most of the way home, then he caught a bus for the last mile or two. He had finished reading his newspaper by the time he got on the bus so he amused himself by reading the different notices on the windows opposite him. He already knew most of them quite well, but there seemed to be a new one in the corner that he had not seen before. It was yellow with blue letters, and all he could read was the name 'John Harrington'. Soon the bus was nearly empty and he changed his seat so that he could read the rest of it. It said:

同一個星期后幾天的一個傍晚，愛德華·鄧寧先生從大英博物館圖書館出來，回他那舒適的家，他在館里用功了一整天，除了兩個給他做飯和打掃衛(wèi)生的女人，只有他一個人住。他回家的大部分路程是坐火車，最后一兩里路再坐公共汽車。上公共汽車時他已經(jīng)看完了報紙，于是便看著對面車窗上各種各樣的布告來打發(fā)時光。其中大部分他已相當(dāng)熟悉，可有個角落似乎有一張新的，他以前從來沒見過。這張布告是黃底藍字，他只看到一個人名“約翰·哈林頓”。一會兒汽車上便沒有什么人了，于是他換了個座位，這樣就能看清布告上還寫了些什么。上面寫著：

REMEMBER JOHN HARRINGTON OF THE LAURELS, ASHBROOKE, WARWICKSHIRE, WHO DIED 18TH SEPTEMBER 1889. HE WAS AL LOWED THREE MONTHS.

記住沃里克郡阿什布魯克享有殊榮的約翰·哈林頓，他死于1889年9月18日。只讓他活了三個月。

Mr Dunning stared at this notice for a long time. He was the only passenger on the bus when it reached his stop, and as he was getting off, he said to the driver, 'I was looking at that new notice on the window, the blue and yellow one. It's rather strange, isn't it?'

鄧寧先生盯著那布告看了很長一段時間。到站時車上只剩了他一個乘客。下車時他對司機說：“我剛才在看窗子上新貼的那張布告，那張藍字黃底的，是不是挺怪的？”

Which one is that, sir?' asked the driver. 'I don't think I know it.'

“先生，你說的是哪張呀？”司機問道，“我不知道有那么一張。”

Why, this one here,' said Mr Dunning, turning to point to it. Then he suddenly stopped—the window was now quite clear. The blue and yellow notice, with its strange message, had completely disappeared.

“噢，這兒這張呀，”鄧寧先生說著轉(zhuǎn)身指向那張布告。這時他突然停住了——窗子上很干凈。那張藍字黃底的布告，連同上面奇怪的內(nèi)容都徹底不見了。

But I'm sure...' Mr Dunning began, staring at the window. Then he turned back to the driver. 'I'm sorry. Perhaps I imagined it,' he said.

“可是我明明……”鄧寧先生盯著那車窗看著，接著轉(zhuǎn)過身對司機說：“對不起，可能是我胡思亂想了。”

He hurried off the bus and walked home, feeling rather worried. The notice had been there on the window; he was sure of it. But what possible explanation could there be for its disappearing like that?

他匆匆下了汽車往家走，心里感覺很不安。那布告原本就在車窗上，他敢肯定，可后來不見了，這又怎么解釋呢？

The following afternoon Mr Dunning was walking from the British Museum to the station when he saw, some way ahead of him, a man holding some leaflets, ready to give to people as they passed. However, Mr Dunning did not see him give anyone a leaflet until he himself reached the place. One was pushed into his hand as he passed. The man's hand touched his, and gave Mr Dunning an unpleasant surprise. The hand seemed unnaturally rough and hot. As Mr Dunning walked on, he looked quickly at the leaflet and noticed the name Harrington. He stopped in alarm, and felt in his pocket for his glasses, but in that second someone took the leaflet out of his hand. He turned quickly—but whoever it was had disappeared, and so had the man with the leaflets.

第二天下午，鄧寧先生從大英博物館出來往火車站走，這時他看見前面有個人手拿一些傳單要發(fā)給過路的人們?？芍钡剿叩侥莾?，不見那人發(fā)給任何一個人。他經(jīng)過時那人往他手里塞了一張，那人的手碰到他的手，他感到又不舒服又詫異。那只手似乎粗糙而且熱得出奇。鄧寧先生往前走著，他掃了一眼那張傳單，又看到了哈林頓的名字。他驚恐地停下腳步，在口袋里翻找著眼鏡，就在這時有人從他手中拿走了傳單。他迅速轉(zhuǎn)過身——可人不見了，就連那拿傳單的人也不見了。

The next day in the British Museum he was arranging his papers on the desk when he thought he heard his own name whispered behind him. He turned round hurriedly, knocking some of his papers on to the floor, but saw no one he recognized. He picked up his papers and was beginning to work when a large man at the table behind him, who was just getting up to leave, touched him on the shoulder.

第二天他在大英博物館整理著桌子上的材料時，覺得身后有人低聲叫他的名字，他急忙轉(zhuǎn)過身，把一些材料碰掉在地上，可沒見有自己認(rèn)識的人。他撿起材料又要開始工作，這時坐在他后面那張桌旁的一個身材高大的人剛好起身要走，那人碰了一下他的肩膀。

May I give you these?' he said, holding out a number of papers. 'I think they must be yours.'

“給您。”他伸著手拿著幾份材料說，“我想這些東西一定是您的。”

Yes, they are mine. Thank you,' said Mr Dunning. A moment later the man had left the room.

“是的，是我的，謝謝您。”鄧寧先生回答。一會兒那人便走了。

Later, Mr Dunning asked the librarian if he knew the large man's name.'

此后，鄧寧先生問圖書館員知不知道那大個子的名字。

Oh yes. That's Mr Karswell,' said the librarian. 'In fact, he asked me the other day who were the experts on alchemy, so I told him that you were the only one in the country. I'll introduce you if you like; I'm sure he'd like to meet you.'

“知道。他是卡斯韋爾先生，”館員說，“其實有一天他還問過我哪些人是煉金術(shù)方面的專家，我告訴他您是國內(nèi)唯一的一位。如果您愿意我可以把您介紹給他，我想他肯定會很愿意見您的。”

No, no, please don't,' said Dunning. 'He is someone I would very much prefer to avoid.'

“不，不，請不要這樣做，”鄧寧說，“他是我很不愿意見的人。”

Usually Mr. Dunning looked forward to an evening spent alone with his books, but now he wanted to be with other people. Unfortunately, the train and the bus were unusually empty. When he reached his house, he was surprised to find the doctor waiting for him.

通常鄧寧先生很盼望讀著書獨自過一個晚上，可現(xiàn)在卻很愿意有人和他在一起。不巧，火車和汽車上的人都少得出奇。到家時，他驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)醫(yī)生在等著他呢。

I'm sorry, Dunning,' said the doctor. 'I'm afraid I've had to send both your servants to hospital.'

“對不起，鄧寧，”醫(yī)生說，“沒辦法，我把你的兩個仆人都送進醫(yī)院了。”

Oh dear!' said Mr Dunning. 'What' s the matter with them?'

“天?。?rdquo;鄧寧先生說，“她們怎么了？”

They told me they'd bought some fish for their lunch from a man who came to the door, and it has made them quite ill.'

“她們告訴我，她們從一個到門前來的人那兒買了魚當(dāng)午飯吃，吃了以后她們很難受。”

I'm very sorry to hear that,' said Mr Dunning.

“真糟糕。”鄧寧先生說。

It's strange,' said the doctor. 'I've spoken to the neighbours and no one else has seen anyone selling fish. Now, don't worry. They're not seriously ill, but I'm afraid they won't be home for two or three days. Why don't you come and have dinner with me this evening? Eight o'clock. You know where I live.'

“很奇怪，”醫(yī)生接著說，“我和鄰居們談過，沒人看見有人賣魚。不過不用擔(dān)心，她們病得不重，不過兩三天內(nèi)恐怕回不了家。你今天晚上來跟我吃飯吧，8點鐘，你知道我的住處。”

Mr Dunning enjoyed his evening with the doctor and returned to his lonely house at half past eleven. He had got into bed and was almost asleep when he heard quite clearly the sound of his study door opening downstairs. Alarmed, he got out of bed, went to the top of the stairs, and listened. There were no sounds of movements or footsteps, but he suddenly felt warm, even hot, air round his legs. He went back and decided to lock himself into his room, and then suddenly, the electric lights all went out. He put out his hand to find the matches on the table beside the bed—and touched a mouth, with teeth and with hair around it, and not, he said later, the mouth of a human being. In less than a second he was in another room and had locked the door. And there he spent a miserable night, in the dark, expecting every moment to hear something trying to open the door. But nothing came.

鄧寧先生和醫(yī)生過了一個不錯的晚上，11點半他回到了自己空落落的家里。他上了床快要睡著時，突然很清楚地聽到樓下他書房的開門聲。他很驚恐地下床到樓梯頂部傾聽著。聽不到任何動靜或腳步聲。這時他突然感到雙腿被一股暖烘烘甚至是熱乎乎的空氣包圍著。他回到房間打算把自己鎖在里面，突然燈全滅了，他抻手去摸床邊桌子上的火柴——卻觸到了一張嘴，上面長著牙齒，周圍還有毛發(fā)。后來他說，那不是一張人嘴。接著他迅速進了另外一間屋子并且鎖上了門。黑暗中他度過了一個很不舒服的夜晚，隨時想著會聽到有東西要開門的聲音，卻一直沒有動靜。

When it grew light, he went nervously back into his bedroom and searched it. Everything was in its usual place. He searched the whole house, but found nothing.

天一亮，他便心情緊張地回到臥室搜尋。所有的東西都放在原來的位置。他找遍了整個屋子也沒發(fā)現(xiàn)什么異常的東西。

It was a miserable day for Mr Dunning. He did not want to go to the British Museum in case he met Karswell, and he did not feel comfortable in the empty house. He spent half an hour at the hospital where he found that the two women were feeling much better. Then he decided to go to the Club for lunch. There, he was very glad to find his friend the Secretary and they had lunch together. He told Gayton that his servants were in hospital, but he was unwilling to speak of his other problems.

鄧寧先生那一天過得很難受。他怕遇到卡斯韋爾，所以不想去大英博物館，在空蕩蕩的屋子里待著又覺得不舒服。他在醫(yī)院里待了半個小時，發(fā)現(xiàn)兩個女仆好多了。接著他決定到俱樂部去吃午飯。他很高興在那兒遇到了他的朋友秘書先生，他們共進了午餐。他告訴蓋伊頓他的仆人們住院了，卻不愿把自己的其他麻煩事兒說出來。

You poor man,' said the Secretary. 'We can't leave you alone with no one to cook your meals. You must come and stay with us. My wife and I will be delighted to have you. Go home after lunch and bring your things to my house this afternoon. No, I won't let you refuse.'

“你這可憐的家伙，”秘書說，“不能讓你孤孤單單的沒人給你做飯呀。一定要到我家來，我和夫人很愿意你來。吃完飯回家，今天下午把你的東西拿到我家來。我不許你不答應(yīng)呀。”

In fact, Mr Dunning was very happy to accept his friend's invitation. The idea of spending another night alone in his house was alarming him more and more.

其實，鄧寧先生很愿意接受朋友的邀請，獨自一人在那套房子里再過上一夜的想法越來越使他驚恐不安。

At dinner that evening Mr Dunning looked so unwell that the Gaytons felt sorry for him and tried to make him forget his troubles. But later, when the two men were alone, Dunning became very quiet again. Suddenly he said:

那晚吃飯時，鄧寧先生看起來很不舒服。蓋伊頓夫婦同情他，于是就努力使他忘掉煩惱。后來只有他們兩個男人在一起時，鄧寧變得很平靜起來。他突然說：

Gayton, I think that man Karswell knows that I was the person who advised you to refuse his paper.'

“蓋伊頓，我想那個卡斯韋爾知道你是聽了我的建議才拒絕接受他的文章的。”

Gayton looked surprised. 'What makes you think that?' he asked.

蓋伊頓很吃驚，“你怎么會這么想呢？”他問道。

So Dunning explained. 'I don't really mind,' he continued, 'but I believe that he's not a very nice person and it could be difficult if we met.'

于是鄧寧解釋了一番，“我倒不介意，”他接著說，“可我覺得他不是個和善的人，如果我們見面的話會很不愉快的。”

After this Dunning sat in silence, looking more and more miserable. At last Gayton asked him if some serious trouble was worrying him.

接著鄧寧便一語不發(fā)地坐在那兒，表情越來越痛苦。最后蓋伊頓問他是不是有什么特別麻煩的事使他心煩。

Oh! I'm so glad you asked,' said Dunning. 'I feel I really must talk to someone about it. Do you know anything about a man named John Harrington?'

“噢！很高興你問起，”鄧寧說，“我覺得是得跟人談?wù)勥@事了。你知道一個叫約翰·哈林頓的人的情況嗎？”

Very surprised, Gayton could only ask why he wanted to know. Then Dunning told him the whole story of the notice in the bus, the man with the leaflets, and what had happened in his own house. He ended by asking again if Gayton knew anything about John Harrington.

蓋伊頓感到很奇怪，他只能問他為什么想知道這個人的情況。接著鄧寧把汽車?yán)锏牟几?，發(fā)傳單的人和他自己家里發(fā)生的事情全告訴了他。最后他又問蓋伊頓是不是知道約翰·哈林頓的情況。

Now it was the Secretary who was worried and did not quite know how to answer. His friend was clearly in a very nervous condition, and the story of Harrington's death was alarming for anyone to hear. Was it possible that Karswell was involved with both men? In the end Gayton said only that he had known Harrington at Cambridge and believed that he had died suddenly in 1889. He added a few details about the man and his books.

這回秘書先生不安了，他真不知道應(yīng)該如何回答這個問題。他的朋友顯然處在一種提心吊膽的狀態(tài)，哈林頓之死誰聽了都會驚恐不安的?？ㄋ鬼f爾是不是可能與這兩個人都有瓜葛？最后蓋伊頓只說他在劍橋大學(xué)時就認(rèn)識哈林頓，并且相信他突然死于1889年。他還說了幾句有關(guān)這個人和他寫的書的一些情況。

Later, when they were alone, the Secretary discussed the matter with his wife. Mrs Gayton said immediately that Karswell must be the link between the two men, and she wondered if Harrington's brother, Henry, could perhaps help Mr Dunning. She would ask the Bennetts where Henry Harrington lived, and then bring the two men together.

后來秘書與夫人單獨在一起時談起了此事。蓋伊頓夫人馬上說卡斯韋爾一定與這兩個人都有關(guān)聯(lián)，她說不知道哈林頓的弟弟亨利是不是能幫助鄧寧先生。她要去問問貝內(nèi)特夫婦亨利住在哪兒，然后把這兩個人召集到一起。

When they met, the first thing Dunning told Henry Harrington was of the strange ways in which he had learnt his brother's name. He described his other recent experiences and asked Harrington what he remembered about his brother before he died.

兩人一見面，鄧寧首先告訴亨利·哈林頓他是以什么奇怪的方式知道了他哥哥的名字，并且描述了自己近來的一些其他經(jīng)歷，然后問起哈林頓他能記得的哥哥死前的一些情況。

John was in a very strange condition for some time before his death, it's true,' replied Henry Harrington. 'Among other things, he felt that someone was following him all the time. I'm sure that someone was trying to harm him, and your story reminds me very much of the things he experienced. Could there be any link between you and my brother, do you think?'

“確實，約翰死前一段時間一直處于一種很奇怪的狀態(tài)，”亨利·哈林頓說，“其中有一點就是他覺得一直有人跟著他。我確信有人想害他，發(fā)生在你身上的事情使我想起了他的一些經(jīng)歷。你覺得你和我哥哥之間有什么關(guān)聯(lián)嗎？”

Well,' replied Dunning, 'there is just one thing. I'm told that your brother wrote some very hard things about a book not long before he died and, as it happens, I too have done something to annoy the man who wrote that book.'

“噢，”鄧寧回答道，“只有一件事，我聽說你哥哥死前不久對一本書進行了十分尖刻的評論，事有湊巧，我也做了件惹惱這本書作者的事情。”

Don't tell me his name is Karswell, 'said Harrington.

“這個人不是叫卡斯韋爾吧。”哈林頓說。

Why yes, it is,' replied Dunning.

“噢，就是他。”鄧寧回答。

Henry Harrington looked very serious.

亨利·哈林頓的神情變得很嚴(yán)肅。

Well, that is the final proof I needed,' he said. 'Let me explain. I believe that my brother John was sure that this man Karswell was trying to harm him. Now, John was very fond of music. He often went to concerts in London, and always kept the concert programmes afterwards. About three months before he died, he came back from a concert and showed me the programme.

“哦，這就是我需要的最后證據(jù)，”他說，“我來解釋一下吧。我相信我哥哥約翰很清楚這個叫卡斯韋爾的人想害他。對了，約翰喜歡音樂，他經(jīng)常去倫敦聽音樂會，之后總是把音樂會的節(jié)目單保留下來。大約在他死前三個月，他聽完音樂會回來給我看了那張節(jié)目單。

"I nearly missed this one," he said. "I couldn't find mine at the end of the concert and was looking everywhere for it. Then my neighbour offered me his, saying that he didn't need it any more. I don't know who he was—he was a very large man."

‘這張節(jié)目單我差點兒沒拿到，’他說，‘音樂會結(jié)束時，我的那張找不到了，我就到處找，這時我的鄰座把他的這張給了我，還說他不要了。我不認(rèn)識這個人——是個身材很高大的人。’

Soon after this my brother told me that he felt very uncomfortable at night. Then, one evening, he was looking through all his concert programmes when he found something strange in the programme that his large neighbour had given him. It was a thin piece of paper with some writing on it—not normal writing. It looked to me more like Runic letters in red and black. Well, we were looking at this and wondering how to give it back to its owner when the door opened and the wind blew the paper into the fire. It was burnt in a moment.'

“這之后不久，我哥哥便告訴我他夜里感到很不舒服。后來，一天晚上他在從頭到尾瀏覽他的那些音樂會節(jié)目單時，發(fā)現(xiàn)他那位身材高大的鄰座給他的那張有點兒奇怪：那張節(jié)目單是一張薄紙，上面寫了些字——不是些平常的字。我看更像紅黑相間的如尼字母。我們正看著那張單子想著怎么才能把它還給它的主人，突然門開了，一陣風(fēng)把它刮進了火里，很快被燒掉了。”

Mr Dunning sat silent as Harrington paused.

哈林頓停了一下，鄧寧先生一言不發(fā)地坐在那兒。

Now,' he continued, 'I don't know if you ever read that book of Karswell's, The History of Witchcraft, which my brother said was so badly written.'

“噢，”他接著說，“我不知道你是否讀過卡斯韋爾的《巫術(shù)的歷史》，就是我哥哥說寫得很糟糕的那本書。”

Dunning shook his head.

鄧寧搖搖頭。

Well,' Harrington went on, 'after my brother died I read some of it. The book was indeed badly written and a lot of it was rubbish, but one bit caught my eye. It was about "Casting the Runes "on people in order to harm them, and I'm sure that Karswell was writing from personal experience. I won't tell you all the details, but I'm certain that the large man at the concert was Karswell, and that the paper he gave my brother caused his death. Now, I must ask you if anything similar has happened to you.'

“哦，”哈林頓接著說，“我哥哥死后，我看了其中一部分。那書確實寫得很糟糕，許多內(nèi)容都是胡說八道，可有一點引起了我的注意，也就是把“如尼魔文”“甩”給別人讓他們受害，我敢肯定卡斯韋爾是憑著親身經(jīng)驗寫出來的。我就不跟你說那些細節(jié)了，可我確信音樂會上那個身材高大的人就是卡斯韋爾，他給我哥哥的那張紙使他丟了性命。哦，我必須問一下在你身上是不是也發(fā)生了類似的事情。”

Dunning told him what had happened in the British Museum.

鄧寧把大英博物館里發(fā)生的事情告訴了他。

So Karswell did actually pass you some papers?' said Harrington. 'Have you checked them? No? Well, I think we should do so at once, if you agree.'

“這么說卡斯韋爾真給了你一些什么材料？”哈林頓說：“你看了嗎？沒有？噢，如果你同意的話，我想我們應(yīng)該馬上看一看。”

They went round to Dunning's empty house where his papers were lying on the table. As he picked them up, a thin piece of paper fell to the ground. A sudden wind blew it towards the open window, but Harrington closed the window just in time to stop the paper escaping. He caught the paper in his hand.

他們到了鄧寧空落落的家，他的材料就放在桌子上。他拿起來，這時一張薄紙掉在地上。突然一陣風(fēng)把它刮向開著的窗戶，這時哈林頓及時關(guān)上窗戶使那張紙沒有跑掉。他一把把它抓在手里。

I thought so,' he said. 'It looks just like the one my brother was given. I think you're in great danger, Dunning.'

“如我所料，”他說，“這張紙很像我哥哥收到的那張。鄧寧，我覺得你的處境很危險。”

The two men discussed the problem for a long time. The paper was covered in Runic letters which they could not understand, but both men felt certain that the message, whatever it was, could bring unknown horrors to its owner. They agreed that the paper must be returned to Karswell, and that the only safe and sure way was to give it to him in person and see that he accepted it. This would be difficult since Karswell knew what Dunning looked like.

兩個人就此事商談了很長時間。那張紙滿篇都是他們看不懂的如尼字母，可兩個人很明白，不管是什么內(nèi)容，它都會給其主人帶來不知什么樣的可怕事情。他們倆都覺得一定得把這張紙還給卡斯韋爾，唯一安全保險的辦法就是親自把它交給他，讓他確實接受下來。因為卡斯韋爾知道鄧寧的長相，所以這樣做是很困難的。

I can grow a beard,' said Dunning, 'so that he won't recognize me. But who knows when the end will come?'

“我可以蓄胡須，”鄧寧說，“這樣他就不會認(rèn)出我來了，可誰知道我的末日什么時候來臨呢？”

I think I know,' said Harrington. 'The concert where my brother was given the paper was on June 18th, and he died on September 18th, three months later.'

“我想我知道，”哈林頓說，“在音樂會上我哥哥拿到那張紙的日子是6月18日，而他死在9月18日，相隔三個月。”

Perhaps it will be the same for me,' Dunning said miserably. He looked in his diary. 'Yes, April 23rd was the day in the Museum—that brings me to July 23rd. Now, Harrington, I would very much like to know anything you can tell me about your brother's trouble.'

“可能我也會如此的，”鄧寧痛苦地說。他看了看日記接著說：“是的，在博物館那天是4月23日——那就是說我能活到7月23日。哈林頓，我很希望你把你哥哥當(dāng)時遇到的麻煩都告訴我。”

The thing that worried him most,' said Harrington, 'was the feeling that whenever he was alone, someone was watching him. After a time I began to sleep in his room, and he felt better because of that. But he talked a lot in his sleep.'

“當(dāng)時最使他不安的，”哈林頓說，“是每當(dāng)獨自一人時，便覺得有人在盯著他。后來我開始睡在他的房間里，這樣他感覺好了一點兒，可他睡覺總說夢話。”

What about?' asked Dunning.

“說些什么呢？”鄧寧問。

I think it would be better not to go into details about that,' replied Harrington. 'But I remember that he received a packet by post, which contained a little diary. My brother didn't look at it, but after his death I did, and found that all the pages after September 18th had been cut out. Perhaps you wonder why he went out alone on the evening he died? The strange thing is that during the last week of his life all his worries seemed to disappear, and he no longer felt that someone was watching or following him.'

“我想最好還是不要細談這事了。”哈林頓回答，“我記得他收過一個郵包，內(nèi)有一小本日記。我哥哥沒看過，他死后我看了，發(fā)現(xiàn)9月18日后的那些頁全被剪掉了?；蛟S你不明白為什么他在死的那天晚上一個人出去吧？奇怪的是死前最后一周他所有的煩惱都煙消云散了，而且不再覺得有人在盯著或在跟蹤他了。”

Finally, the two men made a plan. Harrington had a friend who lived near Lufford Abbey; he would stay with him and watch Karswell. If he thought they had a chance to arrange an accidental meeting, he would send a telegram to Dunning. Meanwhile, Dunning had to be ready to move at any moment and had to keep the paper safe.

最后兩人制定了計劃。哈林頓有位朋友住在勒夫德大教堂附近，他要到他那兒去盯著卡斯韋爾。如果他覺得有機會在鄧寧與卡斯韋爾間安排一次偶然相遇，他就給鄧寧打電報。與此同時，鄧寧得隨時準(zhǔn)備動身并且妥善保存好那張紙。

Harrington went off to his friend in Warwickshire and Dunning was left alone. He found waiting very hard, and was unable to work or to take any interest in anything. He felt that he was living in a black cloud that cut him off from the world. He became more and more worried as May, June, and the first half of July passed with no word from Harrington. But all this time Karswell remained at Lufford Abbey.

哈林頓動身到沃克郡的那位朋友那兒去了，只剩下鄧寧孤孤單單一個人。他發(fā)現(xiàn)等待是件很難熬的事情，干不了事情，而且對什么都沒有興趣。他感覺自己生活在一塊與世隔絕的黑云里。5月、6月、7月的前半個月都過去了，一直沒有哈林頓的音訊，他越來越擔(dān)心起來。這段時間卡斯韋爾一直待在勒夫德教堂。

At last, less than a week before July 23rd, Dunning received a telegram from his friend:

終于就在7月23日前不到一周，鄧寧收到了他朋友的電報：

Karswell is leaving London for France on the boat train on Thursday night. Be ready. I will come to you tonight. Harrington.

卡斯韋爾將于周四晚乘坐按時與船銜接的列車從倫敦動身去法國。準(zhǔn)備好，今天晚上我去找你。哈林頓。

When he arrived, the two men made their final plan. The boat train from London stopped only once before Dover, at Croydon West. Harrington would get on the train in London and find where Karswell was sitting. Dunning would wait for the train at Croydon West where Harrington would look out for him. Dunning would make sure that his name was not on his luggage and, most importantly, must have the paper with him.

他一到，兩人便制定了最后的方案。從倫敦發(fā)車的火車在到達多佛爾前只停一次，是在克羅伊登西站。哈林頓將在倫敦上車并且找到卡斯韋爾坐的位置。鄧寧將在克羅伊登西站等車，到了那兒哈林頓會留心他在哪兒等著的。鄧寧的行李上一定不要寫名字，最重要的是他一定要帶上那張紙。

On Thursday night Dunning waited impatiently for the train at Croydon West. He now had a thick beard and was wearing glasses, and felt sure that Karswell would not recognize him. He noticed that he no longer felt himself to be in danger, but this only made him worry more, because he remembered what Harrington had said about his brother's last week.

星期四晚上，鄧寧在克羅伊登西站急躁不安地等著火車。他蓄著濃密的胡子戴著眼鏡，很有把握卡斯韋爾不會認(rèn)出他來的。他察覺到自己不再有處于危險境地的感覺，這點使他愈發(fā)擔(dān)心起來，因為他記得哈林頓談到過他哥哥死前一周的情況。

At last the boat train arrived and he saw his friend at one of the windows. It was important not to show that they knew each other, so Dunning got on further down the train and slowly made his way to the right compartment.

火車終于來了，他在一個窗口發(fā)現(xiàn)了他的朋友。不能讓人看出他們相識，這一點是很重要的，于是鄧寧從列車稍后一段上了車，慢慢地朝哈林頓所處的那個隔間走去。

Harrington and Karswell were alone in the compartment, and Dunning entered and sat in the corner furthest from Karswell. Karswell's heavy travelling coat and bag were on the seat opposite him, and next to where Dunning was now sitting. Dunning thought of hiding the paper in the coat but realized that this would not do; he would have to give it to Karswell and see that Karswell accepted it. Could he hide Karswell's bag in some way, put the paper in it, and then give the bag to him as he got off the train? This was the only plan he could think of. He wished desperately that he could ask Harrington's advice.

隔間里只有哈林頓和卡斯韋爾兩個人，鄧寧進來坐在離卡斯韋爾最遠的一角。卡斯韋爾沉重的旅行外衣和旅行包放在他對面的座位上，鄧寧的座位旁邊。鄧寧想把那張紙藏進他的大衣里，但他意識到這樣做不行，他得把它交給卡斯韋爾而且得保證卡斯韋爾收下。能不能用什么辦法把卡斯韋爾的包藏起來，把那張紙放進去，然后他下車時再把包交給他呢？他只能想到這個辦法了。他實在太希望能征求一下哈林頓的意見。

Karswell himself seemed very restless. Twice he stood up to look out of the window. Dunning was just going to try to make his bag fall off the seat when he saw a warning expression in Harrington's eye—Karswell was watching them in the window.

卡斯韋爾本人似乎也很不安。他兩次站起身來朝窗外望著。鄧寧試圖把他的包從座位上碰掉，這時他看到了哈林頓目光中對他的警告——卡斯韋爾正從窗戶里看著他們呢。

Then Karswell stood up a third time, opened the window and put his head outside. As he stood up, something fell silently to the floor and Dunning saw that it was a thin wallet containing Karswell's tickets. In a moment Dunning had pushed the paper into the pocket at the back of the wallet. Just then the train began to lose speed as it came into Dover station, and Karswell closed the window and turned round.

這時卡斯韋爾第三次站起身來，打開窗戶把頭伸到窗外。隨著他站起身，有樣?xùn)|西輕輕地掉在了地板上，鄧寧一看是個裝著卡斯韋爾各種票據(jù)的薄薄的錢包。他迅速把那張紙塞進了錢包后部的口袋里。這時火車進了多佛爾站開始減速，卡斯韋爾關(guān)上窗戶轉(zhuǎn)過身來。

May I give you this, sir? I think it must be yours,' said Dunning, holding out the wallet.

“先生，把這個給您，我想這東西一定是您的。”鄧寧說著把那錢包遞了過去。

Oh, thank you, sir,' replied Karswell, checking that they were his tickets. Then he put the wallet into his pocket.

“噢，謝謝你，先生。”卡斯韋爾邊回答邊看了一下他的票據(jù)，接著把錢包放進了口袋。

Suddenly the compartment seemed to grow dark and very hot, but already Harrington and Dunning were opening the door and getting off the train.

突然隔間里似乎變得又黑又熱，這時哈林頓和鄧寧已經(jīng)在開門下車了。

Dunning, unable to stand up, sat on a seat on the platform breathing deeply, while Harrington followed Karswell the little way to the boat. He saw Karswell show his ticket to the ticket collector and pass on to the boat. As he did so, the official called after him:

鄧寧坐在月臺的座位上喘著粗氣，都站不起來了。這時哈林頓跟著卡斯韋爾走了幾步到了船前。他看見卡斯韋爾給檢票員看了票便上了船。這時，那位檢票員在他身后喊道：

Excuse me, sir. Has your friend got a ticket?'

“對不起，先生，您的朋友有票嗎？”

What d'you mean, my friend?' shouted Karswell angrily.

“什么意思？我的朋友？”卡斯韋爾生氣地大聲喊道。

Sorry, sir, I thought there was someone with you,' apologized the ticket collector. He turned to another official beside him, 'Did he have a dog with him or something? I was sure there were two of them.'

“對不起，先生，我以為有人跟您一起呢。”那位檢票員道著歉。他轉(zhuǎn)向身旁的另一位檢票員說：“他是不是帶了條狗什么的？我敢肯定還有一個什么東西。”

Five minutes later there was nothing except the disappearing lights of the boat, the night wind, and the moon.

5分鐘后，這里便只剩下了船上漸漸遠去的燈光、夜風(fēng)和月光了。

That night the two friends sat up late in their room in the hotel. Although the danger was past, a worry remained.

那天晚上在一家旅館里兩位朋友夜很深了還沒睡。雖然已經(jīng)沒有什么危險了，可他們還是有點兒擔(dān)心。

Harrington,' Dunning said, 'I'm afraid we have sent a man to his death.'

“哈林頓，”鄧寧說，“恐怕我們把一個人送上死路了。”

He murdered my brother,' replied Harrington, 'and he tried to murder you. It is right that he should die.'

“他害死了我哥哥，”哈林頓說，“又想害死你，他也該死。”

Don't you think we should warn him?' asked Dunning.

“你說我們是不是應(yīng)該提醒他一下呀？”鄧寧問。

How can we?' replied his friend. 'We don't know where he's going.'

“怎么提醒？”他的朋友問，“我們也不知道他要去哪兒。”

He's going to Abbeville,' said Dunning. 'I saw it on his ticket. Today is the 21st. We could send a telegram in the morning to all the main hotels in Abbeville saying: Check your ticket wallet. Dunning. Then he would have a whole day.'

“他要去阿比維爾，”鄧寧說，“我看見他的票上寫著呢。今天是21號。我們早晨可以給阿比維爾主要的旅館都發(fā)封電報，寫上：檢查一下你的票夾。鄧寧。這樣他還有一整天的時間。”

After a pause Harrington agreed. 'I see it would make you feel happier,' he said, 'so we'll warn him.'

停了一會兒，哈林頓同意了，他說：“我知道這樣做會使你心里更舒服。那我們就提醒他一下吧。”

The telegrams were sent first thing in the morning but no one knows if Karswell received any of them. All that is known is that on July 23rd a man was looking at the front of a church in Abbeville when a large piece of stone fell from the roof and hit him on the head, killing him immediately. The police reported that nobody was on the roof at the time. From papers found on the body they discovered that the dead man was an Englishman, named Karswell.

第二天早上他們首先把那些電報發(fā)了出去，可誰也不知道卡斯韋爾收到了沒有。人們只知道7月23日那天，一個人正在阿比維爾一所教堂前面看著，突然一塊大石頭從屋頂落下砸在他頭上，他當(dāng)即被砸死。警方報告說當(dāng)時屋頂上沒有人。他們從死者身上發(fā)現(xiàn)的證件得知他是個英國人，叫卡斯韋爾。

Some months later Dunning reminded Harrington that he had never told him what his brother had talked about in his sleep. But Harrington had only said a few words when Dunning begged him to stop.

幾個月后，鄧寧提醒哈林頓說他還從沒把他哥哥睡夢中說了些什么告訴自己。可哈林頓剛說了幾個字，鄧寧就求他不要說下去了。