牛津書蟲系列 金銀島 14 Looking for the treasure

14 Looking for the treasure

14 尋寶記

We went back to eat our breakfast.

我們回去吃了早餐。

‘They have the ship，’Silver told the men，‘and I don't know where it is.But once we have the treasure，we'll find it soon enough.I'll keep the boy close by me when we look for the treasure;then，when we have both ship and treasure，we'll persuade Jim to join us，and give him some of the treasure for all his help.’

“他們有船，”西爾弗說，“我不知道在哪兒。但我們一旦找到寶藏，很快就會找到船。我們尋寶時我會把這孩子帶在身邊;然后，我們會同時擁有船和寶藏，我們會說服吉姆入伙，分給他一些財寶。”

The men were happy，but I was afraid.If Silver's plan came true，he would forget Dr Livesey and the others，I was sure And if things went wrong，how could a boy and a one-legged man fight five strong men?

那伙人都挺高興，我卻害怕起來。如果西爾弗的計劃成真的話，他肯定會忘掉李甫西大夫和其他人。而事情如果搞砸了，一個孩子和一個瘸子哪敵得過五個壯漢?

When we left the stockade，everyone had weapons except me.Silver had two guns;and the parrot，Captain Flint，sat on his shoulder.There was a rope around me and I followed after Silver，who held the other end.

我們離開寨子，除我之外每個人都帶著武器。西爾弗帶著兩枝槍;那只名叫弗林特船長的鸚鵡在他肩上。我跟在他身后，腰里拴著一根繩子，另一端在他手里。

Some of the men carried spades，others food and rum，and we made our way to the beach where the two boats were waiting.The men talked about the map.The cross was too large to be of much help，and the words on the back of the map were no better.

其余的人拿著鎬，食物，還有朗姆酒。我們來到停著兩只小船的岸邊。他們討論著地圖上的標記。叉畫得太大了，表示不了確切地點，背面的說明文字也好不到哪兒去。

Tall tree.Spyglass shoulder，to the North of North-North-East.

望遠鏡肩上一棵大樹，方位北北東偏北骷髏島，東南東偏東。

Skeleton Island East-South-East and by East.We landed the boats at the mouth of the second river，then began to climb Spyglass Hill.Silver and I followed a long way behind the rest，and I had to help him.We were near the top when a man on the left cried aloud.The others started to run towards him.

我們把小船停在第二條河的河口處上岸，然后開始爬望遠鏡山。西爾弗和我遠遠落在這伙人的后面，我還得幫他。我們快到山頂時，左邊一個人大叫一聲，大伙都向他跑去。

‘He can't have found the treasure，’said Morgan.

“他不可能已發(fā)現(xiàn)了寶藏，”摩根說。

And indeed it was something very different—the bones of a human skeleton，a few pieces of clothing still on it.Cold fear filled every heart.

的確是件完全不同的事，地上有一具死人的骨架，上面還留著一些衣服的碎片。每個人心里都一陣顫栗。

‘He was a seaman，’said George Merry.

“他是一個水手，”喬治·墨利說。

‘Yes，’agreed Silver But look at the way those bones are lying—it isn't natural.’The man lay perfectly straight—his feet pointing one way，his hands，over his head，pointing the opposite way.‘I've got an idea，’said Silver.‘Look!We can see the top of Skeleton Island from here.These bones are a pointer，telling us which way to go!’

“是，”西爾弗說。“不過看看這骨架的姿勢，好像很不自然。”死人躺得筆直，腳指著一個方向，手舉過頭指著相反的方向。“我有個主意，”西爾弗說。“我們從這兒可以看見骷髏島的頂部，這骨架為我們指明了方向!”

He was right.Our compass showed that the body pointed straight towards Skeleton Island，and in a line East-South-East and by East.

他是對的。指南針顯示死人正好指向骷髏島，方位正好是東南東偏東。

We left the skeleton behind，but now the pirates kept together and talked in frightened whispers.At the top of the hill，Silver took out his compass again.

我們離開骨架，但現(xiàn)在海盜們都聚在一起走了，有時還害怕地嘀咕著什么。到山頂?shù)臅r候，西爾弗又拿出了羅盤。

‘There are three tall trees，’he said，‘in about the right place.Spyglass shoulder must be that lower place，there.A child could find the treasure now!’

“那邊有三棵大樹，”他說。“大約就是那地方。‘望遠鏡的肩膀’肯定就是那片低地。現(xiàn)在連小孩都能找到寶藏了!”

Suddenly，out of the middle of the trees in front of us，a high shaking voice began to sing：

正在這時，從我們前方的樹林里，傳出帶著顫音的水手老調(diào)：

Fifteen men on the dead man's chest----

十五個人趴著死人箱——

Yo-ho-ho，and a bottle of rum!

唷呵呵，朗姆酒一瓶，快來嘗!

The effect on the pirates was terrible to see.The colour went from their six faces，and they caught hold of each other like frightened children.Morgan fell to the ground，trembling with fear.

那幫海盜們的丑態(tài)真是慘不忍睹。他們六個人都變了臉色，互相抓著，像受驚的孩子一樣。摩根趴在地上，嚇得直發(fā)抖。

‘It's Flint!’cried George Merry.

“是弗林特!”喬治·墨利叫道。

‘No!’said Silver，fighting to get the word out.‘It's someone playing games----it's no ghost!’

“不!”西爾弗好不容易才說出來。“有人鬧著玩，不是鬼魂。”

Then the voice came again：‘Darby M’Graw!’it screamed.‘Darby M’Graw!Fetch the rum!’

不一會又傳來那聲音：“達比·麥克格雷!”聲音尖厲。“達比·麥克格雷，拿朗姆酒來!”

The pirates were fixed to the ground after the voice died away，their staring eyes full of horror.

那幫海盜站在那里一動不動，像腳下生了根，眼里充滿了恐懼。

‘That does it!’said one.‘Let's go!’

“這就是了!”有人說。“咱們走吧!”

‘Those were Flint's last words before he died，’cried Morgan.

“那是弗林特死前最后一句話，”摩根喊道。

‘I'm here to get that treasure，’shouted Silver，‘and I'll not be beaten by man or ghost!I was never afraid of Flint in his life and，by thunder，I'll face him dead!There's seven hundred thousand pounds not a quarter of a mile from here.I'll not leave that much money for a drunken old seaman----him dead，too!And there's something strange.There was an echo，and no man ever saw a ghost with a shadow，so why should a ghost's voice have an echo?It's not natural.’

“我來這兒是尋寶，”西爾弗嚷道。“我不會被什么人或鬼打敗!媽的，我也不怕他的鬼魂。離這兒不到1/4英里有70萬英鎊。不能因為碰上個死了的老醉鬼就扔掉這么多財寶不要埃而且有點怪。剛才的聲音有回音，而且也沒人看見過鬼魂還有影子。為什么鬼魂的聲音還有回音?這很奇怪。”

The words calmed George Merry.‘Yes，that's right，’he said.‘Now I think about it，it was like Flint's voice，but not exactly like it.It was like another person's voice…more like----’

這些話讓喬治·墨利平靜了一些。“沒錯，”他說。“我現(xiàn)在想起來了。那聲音很像弗林特的，但又不確切。挺像另一個人的聲音……更像——”

‘Ben Gunn!’shouted Silver.

“本·葛恩!”西爾弗叫道。

‘If it was，it's still a ghost，’said Dick.‘Ben Gunn's not here in body，any more than Flint is.’

“如果是的話，也還是鬼魂的聲音，”迪克說。“本·葛恩也是個死人，和弗林特一樣。”

But the older men laughed.‘Nobody minds Ben Gunn，Dead or alive，’cried George.

年長的幾個人笑起來。墨利嚷道：“誰也不把本·葛恩放在眼里，不管他是死是活，誰也不怕他。”

The men were happy again，the colour back in their faces as they talked together and began to walk on.George Merry went first，leading the way with Silver's compass.

那幫人又高興起來，臉上漸漸有了血色，他們開始邊說邊趕路。喬治·墨利走在前面，拿著西爾弗的羅盤領(lǐng)路。

We reached the first tall tree，but it was the wrong one.So was the second.The third was tall enough to be seen from the sea，both east and west of the island.My companions hurried on，desperate to get their hands on the seven hundred thousand pounds in gold which lay somewhere under the tree's shadows.

我們走到第一棵大樹下，但證明是錯的。第二棵也是如此。第三棵樹很高，從東西兩面的海上都能看見。我的同行者們急忙趕過去，一心想得到藏在樹陰下的70萬英鎊財寶。

Silver pulled at the rope that held me，and turned his eyes upon me with a deadly look.I could read his thoughts.So near to the gold now，everything was forgotten—his promise and the doctor's warning.I knew he hoped to take the treasure，cut every honest throat on that island，find and board the Hispaniola at night，and sail away a rich man and a murderer.

西爾弗拽著繩子，惡狠狠地瞪著我。我明白他的心思。現(xiàn)在離寶藏越來越近了，他忘了一切——他的保證和大夫的勸告。我知道他希望找到寶藏后殺掉每一個誠實的人，晚上找到伊斯帕尼奧拉號逃掉，做一個富翁和殺人犯。

Suddenly，George Merry shouted，‘All together，boys!’，and the men began to run.Not ten metres farther on they stopped and cried out.Silver moved quickly，and the next moment we were with them Before us was a large hole，but it was not a new hole because grass grew on the bottom.

忽然，喬治·墨利喊道：“都過來!”大家都跑過去。不出十米大伙都停下來驚叫起來。西爾弗迅速過去，我們很快和他們在一起了。在我們面前是個大洞，顯然不是新挖的，因為底部長滿了野草。

There was no treasure.

洞里沒有寶藏。

The seven hundred thousand pounds had gone!

價值70萬英鎊的財寶不翼而飛了!