Unit 1 Ghosts for T ea
' Ten pence for a view over the bay' . said the old man with the telescope.
'Lovely clear morning. Have a look at the old lighthouse and the remains of the great shipwreck of 1935.'
“十便士看海湾风光。”那个带着望远镜的老头说道。
“多么晴朗美丽的早晨。来看看那古老的灯塔和1935年大海难的遗迹吧!” Ten pence was sheer robbery, but the view was certainly magnificent. 十便士是纯粹的抢劫,可是海湾的景色确实壮丽。
Cliffs stretched into the distance, sparkling waves whipped by the wind were unr olling on to the beach, and a few yachts, with creamy-white sails, were curving and do dging gracefully on the sea . Just below, a flock of seagulls were screaming at one ano ther as they twisted and glided over the water. A mile out to sea, the old lighthouse sto od on a stone platform on the rocks, which were being greedily licked by the waves. In no way indeed did I grudge my money. As I directed the telescope towards the light house, the man beside me tapped my wrist.
峭壁伸展向远处,海风激起的波浪闪耀着铺展在沙滩上,海面上几艘游艇伴着乳白色风帆优雅地弯成弧形避开。天空下方,一群海鸥在一只只的叫唤着,侧身滑过水面。离岸一英里处,在海浪贪婪地拍打的岩石上,那座古老的灯塔矗立在一石头平台上。的确我决不会吝惜钱。当我把望远镜对准灯塔时,我身旁的那个老头拍了拍我的手腕。
' Have you heard about the terrible tragedy that occurred there in that lighthouse? ' he asked in a hushed whisper.
'I imagine there may be plenty of legends attached to such a dramatic-looking pla ce' , I suggested.
“您听过在那座灯塔里发生的一起骇人听闻的惨案吗?”他压低了嗓声对我说。 “我想这么一个看起来非常富有戏剧性的地方或许有很多传说吧。”我说。 'It's no legend' , declared the old man.'My father knew the two men involved. It a ll took place fifty years ago to-day. Let me tell you.
His voice seemed to grow deeper and more dramatic.
“这可不是传说,”那老头郑重其事地说。“我父亲认识那起惨案的两个当事人。一切都发生在50年前的今天。我来说给您听听吧。”
他的声音似乎变得更低沉、更富有戏剧性了。
'For a whole week that lighthouse had been isolated by storms' , he began, 'with t errifying seas surging and crashing over the rocks. People on shore were anxious abou t the two men working there. They'd been on the best of terms until two or three week s before, when they had quarrelled over cards in the village inn. Martin had accused B lake of cheating. Blake had vowed to avenge the insult to his honour. But thanks to t he wise advice of a man they both respected, they apologised to each other, and soon s eemed to have got over their disagreement. But some slight resentment and bitterness remained. and it was feared that the strain of continued isolation and rough weather m ight affect their nerves, though, needless to say, their friends had no idea how serious t he consequences would be.
“整整一个礼拜,那座灯塔被风暴困住了。”他开始说,“咆啸的大海波涛汹涌,撞击着岩石。岸上的人们十分担心在那儿工作的两个人。在两三个礼拜前他们还是最好的朋友,在乡村酒店里玩牌时吵了一架。马丁指责布莱克作弊,布莱克就发誓要报复对他名誉的侮辱。但是多亏一位他们俩都尊敬的人好言相劝,他们才互相道歉,而
且似乎渡过了不和。不过还是有些怨恨,令人担心的是,持续隔绝的脾气和恶劣的天气会刺激他们俩的神经,然而不用说,他们的朋友还不知道后果会是多么严重。”
'Fifty years ago to-night, no light appeared in the tower, and only at two o'clock i n the morning did the beam suddenly start to flash out its warning again. 'The next mo rning the light was still visible. The storm had almost blown itself out, so a relief boat set out to investigate. A grim discovery awaited the crew . The men's living-room w as in a horrifying state. The table was over-turned: a pack of playing cards was scatter ed everywhere: bloodstains splashed the floor. The relief men climbed the winding sta ir to the lantern room and there discovered Martin's body, crouched beside the burning lamp. He had been stabbed and was dead. Two days later, Blake's body was washed u p. scratched, bruised, and terribly injured.
“50年前的那个晚上,灯塔上没有出现灯光,直到凌晨两点钟突然一束灯光再次开始闪出警告信号。“第二天早上,灯光依然可见。风暴已经平息了,因此一艘救生船出发查看情况。一个残酷的发现等待着船员。马丁和布莱克的卧室一片恐怖场景,桌子被翻倒在地,一副牌散得到处都是,血迹溅得满地。营救人员爬上旋梯来到灯塔间,在那儿发现了马丁的尸体蜷缩在仍然亮着的灯旁。他是被戳死的。两天后,布莱克的尸体被冲了上来,身上满是划伤、擦伤,伤得很重。
' Only then could we really start guessing what had happened. This great tragedy could only have been due to a renewal of their quarrel. Bored and depressed as a resul t of their isolation, Martin and Blake must have started to play cards. Again suspecting cheating, Martin had accused his former friend of dishonesty; a fight had broken o ut and Blake had seized his knife. In a fit of madness he had attacked his companion, who had fallen mortally wounded. Then, appalled by what he had done, the loneliness , the battering of wind and waves, Blake had rushed to the parapet and flung himself o n to the rocks below, where the sea had claimed him.
“只是在那时我们才真正开始猜测发生了什么事。这个巨大的惨剧可能只是归因于他们的再次争吵。由于与世隔绝产生的乏味与沮丧,他们一定开始打牌。马丁再次怀疑布莱克作弊,指责之前的朋友不老实。接着一场打斗发生了,布莱克抓起刀子,在一阵狂怒之下袭击了他的同伴,马丁受了致命伤倒下。然后布莱克被自己的所为震惊,加之孤独寂寞以及风浪的拍击声,他狂奔到栏杆边纵身投向下面的岩石,大海吞噬了他。
'But Martin was still alive. Hours later, after darkness had fallen, he had recovere d consciousness. He remembered his job of lighting the lamp; suffering intense pain, t he poor wretch crawled slowly up the winding staircase, dragging himself from step t o step till he got to the lantern. At his last gasp he managed to light this before finally collapsing.
“但马丁还活着。过了几小时天色暗下来以后,他恢复了意识,想起自己点灯的职责。忍着剧痛,可怜的马丁慢慢地爬上旋梯,拖着自己一步一步地爬到灯前。在他倒下之前,用尽最后一口气点亮了灯塔。
'For years afterwards it was said that the lighthouse was haunted, and, owing to t hese stories, they didn't have any applicants for the job of lighthouse-keeper from amo ng the superstitious local inhabitants. And now they say that on every anniversary o f that day, especially when the sea is rough, you can stand in the living-room, hear the cards failing and the sound of angry cries, see the flash of a blade, and then glimpse a figure rushing to the parapet. And then you hear the slow dragging of a body from ste p to step towards the room above.
“数年后,据说那座灯塔闹鬼了。而且,因为这些传说,当地迷信的居民中没有人愿意接替做灯塔管理员。如今人们说,每年的那一天,尤其是当海上情况很恶劣的时候,站在卧室里你就能听到摔纸牌声和怒吼声,看到刀刃的寒光,还会瞥见一个人影奔向栏杆,然后听到慢慢拖动的身体一步一步爬向塔顶。”
'The old man paused and I turned to go.
'By the way', he added, 'have you any free time this afternoon? If so, why don't y ou have tea in the lighthouse? We are putting on a special boat trip to-day. We're charg ing a pound. And my brother, who bought the old lighthouse when they built the new one just on the point, can serve very good teas there - included in the price of the boat trip-a bargain, considering the problem of obtaining the food. And if you are at all sen sitive to the supernatural, you're likely to have an unusual, perhaps an uncanny experi ence there.
老头停了停,我转身欲走。
“对了,”补充道,“今天下午您有空吗?有空的话,为什么不到那座灯塔去喝杯茶?今天我们开专船,收费一镑。当人们在那个地方建造了一座新灯塔时,我兄弟买下了那座旧的,那里可以提供很好的茶,交易是茶钱包括在船费里,要知道弄到吃的是很费事的。如果您对超自然的东西很感兴趣的话,在那里你可能会有一次不同寻常或者说是不可思议的经历。”
I eyed him appreciatively. 'Y ou're wasting your talents', I said. 'Y ou should have been a fiction writer.
我欣赏地看着他。“您真是在浪费您的才能”我说道,“您本应该是个小说家。” 'Y ou don't believe it? exclaimed the old man indignantly.
'I'd find it a job,' I answered. ' My father, Henry Cox, started as keeper of that lig hthouse fifty- two years ago, and he and Jim Dowley, now retired on a pension, were i n charge for ten years. Come and see my dad one day with that tale; he'd enjoy it' .
But the old man had already turned his attention to a more likely client. “你不相信?”老人愤怒地喊道。
“我很难相信。”我回答说,“我父亲叫亨利·科克斯,52 年前就开始当那个灯塔的管理员,他和吉姆·道利现在都已退休拿养老金。他们管理了十几年。哪天带上那个传说来看看我父亲,他一定会喜欢的。”
但老头已经把注意力转向一个更有可能上当的顾客去了。