《高级英语》课文逐句翻译（7）_第2页

　　总是不太想让别人清楚地了解他的想法的埃尔吉说道，“是吗？”可赛利娜却不想让他就这么不置可否。“埃尔吉，”她嘲弄道，“埃尔吉，你知道他是不会去的！”

　　Always tentative about letting you know what he was really thinking， Elgie said， “Yeah？” But Salina wouldn't let him get away so noncommittally， “Elgie，” she scoffed. “You know he wouldn't go！”

　　“是呀，你知道，”埃尔吉开口说，“卡司特那件事发生以后，我和喜鹊曾经想要躲藏起来，最后我们到了奥古斯塔娜大学的校园。那儿有我们的几个朋友。他开始谈论自由，而这些是我永远都不会忘记的。在那以后当他被捕入狱时，自由便成为了他的主要话题。自由。他渴望自由，可是，老兄，他们总盯着你的时候，你不可能有自由。哦，那个怪物，就是他的那个假释官，是一只卑鄙的看门狗。”

　　“Well， you know，” Elgie began， “one time when Magpie and me were hiding out after that Custer thing， we ended up on to Augustana College Campus. We got some friends there. And he started talking about freedom and I never forget that， and then after he went wants to be free and you can't be that， man， when they're watching you all the time. Man， that freak that's his parole officer is some mean watch-dog.”

　　“你觉得他会拿到奖学金吗？”我满怀希望地说。

　　“You think he might go for the scholarship？” I asked， hopefully.

　　“我不知道。也许吧。”

　　“I don't know. Maybe.”

　　“他在哪儿？”我问道。

　　“Where is he？” I asked.

　　沉默了很长一会儿后，埃尔吉终于开口了：“我想你来得太好了，因为喜鹊需要从这没完没了的监视和检查中解脱出来。事实上，他一直谈道：”如果我和白人交往，那么我将没有自由；那里没有印第安人的自由。你现在应该和他谈谈。他变了。他赞成同白人完全分离或隔离。“

　　There was a long silence. Then Elgie said at last， “I think it's good that you've come， because Magpie needs some relief from this constant surveillance， constant checking up. In fact， that's what he always talks about. 'If I have to associate with the whites， then I'm not free： there is no liberty in that for Indians.' You should talk to him now. He's changed. He's for complete separation， segregation， total isolation from the whites.”

　　“这是不是有点太过分了？太不实际了？”我问道。

　　“Isn't that a bit too radical？ Too unrealistic？” I asked.

　　“我不知道。我真的不知道。”

　　“I don't know. Damn if I know.”

　　“好了，”赛利娜说，“你觉得他在加利福尼亚的那所大学里会怎样？可这是他学习和写作的一个好机会。我觉得他会从中找到一种愉快的感觉。”

　　“Yeah，” said Salina， “Just what do you think it would be like for him at that university in California？” “But it's a chance for him to study， to write. He can find a kind of satisfying isolation in that， I think.”

　　过了一会儿，埃尔吉说道：“不错，我认为你是对的”。

　　After a few moments， Elgie said， “Yeah， I think you are right.”

　　然后他又从后排座位上抬起身来说道：“我要过桥了，再过大约3个街区就到了。在我快要下桥的地方的左边有一座白色的老式二层小楼。喜鹊的哥哥刚从内布拉斯加州教养院出来，现在跟他的妻子就住在那儿，喜鹊也在。”

　　“ Soon he got out of the back seat and said， ”I'm going to walk over the bridge . It's about three blocks down there. There is an old， whit two-story house on the left side just before you cross the bridge. Magpie's brother just got out of the Nebraska State Reformatory and he is staying there with his old lady， and that's where Magpie is.“

　　现在终于能够和他谈谈，并让他自己作出决定了。

　　At last！ Now I could really talk to him and let him make this decision for himself.

　　“呵！还有些问题，”埃尔吉说，“喜鹊本不应该在那儿，你知道，因为这是他的假释条件的一部分，那就是他要离开朋友、亲戚和以前的囚犯，差不多是所有的人。可上帝呀，这是他的哥哥呀。等到日落前你们再来。把车停在加油站那儿，只要从那儿绕过那条街走到房子的后门进去，你就可以跟喜鹊谈所有这一切了。”

　　“There are things about this though，” Elgie said. “Magpie shouldn't have been there， see， because it's a part of the condition of his parole that he stays away from friends and relatives and ex-convicts and just about everybody. But Jesus， this is his brother. Wait until just before sundown and then come over. Park your car at the service station just around the block from there and walk to the back entrance of the house and then you can talk to Magpie about all this.”

　　赛利娜跟我讲述着喜鹊在背井离乡数月后返回鸭溪的情形及他的亲戚是怎样到他姐姐家欢迎他返乡的。“他们来听他和兄弟唱歌，他们围坐在椅子上，欢笑着和他一起歌唱。”

　　Salina was talking， telling me about Magpie's return to Crow Creek after months in exile and how his relatives went to his sister's house and welcomed him home. “They came to hear him sing with his brothers， and they sat in chairs around the room and laughed and sang wit him.”

　　我们到达时，院子里停着几辆车。赛利娜压低声音说，“她们可能正在聚会。”

　　Several cars were parked in the yard of the old house as we approached， and Salina， keeping her voice low， said， “Maybe they are having a party.”

　　然而，四周的寂静使我忐忑不安。当我们走进敞着的后门时，看到人们都站在厨房里，我小心翼翼地问道，“出什么事了？

　　But the silence which hung about the place filled me with apprehension， and when we walked in the back door which hung open， we saw people standing in the kitchen. I asked carefully， “What's wrong？”

　　没有人答话，只有埃尔吉走了过来。他那充血的眼睛里充满悲伤和痛苦。

　　Nobody spoke but Elgie came over， his bloodshot eyes filled with sorrow and misery.

　　他在我们面前站了一会儿，然后示意我们到起居室去。

　　He stood in front of us for a moment and then gestured us to go into the living room.

　　屋子里静静地，坐满了人。终于，埃尔吉轻轻地说道，“他们枪杀了他。”

　　The room was filled with people sitting in silence， and finally Elgie said， quietly， “They shot him.”

　　“他们说他违反了假释条件把他抓走了，关进监狱后就枪杀了他。”

　　“They picked him up for breaking the conditions of his parole and they put him in jail and … they shot him.”

　　“可是为什么？”我大喊道，“怎么会发生这样的事？”

　　“But why？” I cried. “How could this have happened？”

　　“他们说他们认为他要反抗，而且他们害怕他。”

　　“They said they thought he was resisting and that they were afraid of him.”

　　“害怕？”我怀疑地问，“但……但是，他有武器吗？”

　　“Afraid？” I asked， incredulously. “But…but…was he armed？”

　　“没有”，埃尔吉说着坐了下来。他的胳膊撑在膝盖上，头低着。

　　“No，” Elgie said， seated now， his arm on his knees， his head down. “No， he wasn't armed.”

　　我把喜鹊的诗紧紧握在手里，两手的拇指交替在平滑的纸夹上狠狠地摁着。

　　I held the poems tightly in my hands pressing my thumbs，first one and then the other，against the smoothness of the cardboard folder.