狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第23章Part 11

'Not Number Nine?' asked Florence, hesitating.
'Who said it wasn't Number Nine?' said Mrs MacStinger.
Susan Nipper instantly struck in, and begged to inquire what Mrs MacStinger meant by that, and if she knew whom she was tAlking to.
Mrs MacStinger in retort, looked at her all over. 'What do you want with Captain Cuttle, I should wish to know?' said Mrs MacStinger.
'Should you? Then I'm sorry that you won't be satisfied,' returned Miss Nipper.
'Hush, Susan! If you please!' said Florence. 'Perhaps you can have the goodness to tell us where Captain Cutlle lives, Ma'am as he don't live here.'
'Who says he don't live here?' retorted the implacable MacStinger. 'I said it wasn't Cap'en Cuttle's house - and it ain't his house -and forbid it, that it ever should be his house - for Cap'en Cuttle don't know how to keep a house - and don't deserve to have a house - it's my house - and when I let the upper floor to Cap'en Cuttle, oh I do a thankless thing, and cast pearls before swine!'
Mrs MacStinger pitched her voice for the upper windows in offering these remarks, and cracked off each clause sharply by itself as if from a rifle possessing an infinity of barrels. After the last shot, the Captain's voice was heard to say, in feeble remonstrance from his own room, 'Steady below!'
'Since you want Cap'en Cuttle, there he is!' said Mrs MacStinger, with an angry motion of her hand. On Florence making bold to enter, without any more parley, and on Susan following, Mrs MacStinger recommenced her pedestrian exercise in pattens, and Alexander MacStinger (still on the paving-stone), who had stopped in his crying to attend to the conversation, began to wail again, entertaining himself during that dismal performance, which was quite mechanical, with a general survey of the prospect, terminating in the hackney-coach.
The Captain in his own apartment was sitting with his hands in his pockets and his legs drawn up under his chair, on a very small desolate island, lying about midway in an ocean of soap and water. The Captain's windows had been cleaned, the walls had been cleaned, the stove had been cleaned, and everything the stove excepted, was wet, and shining with soft soap and sand: the smell of which dry-saltery impregnated the air. In the midst of the dreary scene, the Captain, cast away upon his island, looked round on the waste of waters with a rueful countenance, and seemed waiting for some friendly bark to come that way, and take him off.
But when the Captain, directing his forlorn visage towards the door, saw Florence appear with her maid, no words can describe his astonishment. Mrs MacStinger's eloquence having rendered all other sounds but imperfectly distinguishable, he had looked for no rarer visitor than the potboy or the milkman; wherefore, when Florence appeared, and coming to the confines of the island, put her hand in his, the Captain stood up, aghast, as if he supposed her, for the moment, to be some young member of the Flying Dutchman's family.'
Instantly recovering his self-possession, however, the Captain's first care was to place her on dry land, which he happily accomplished, with one motion of his arm. Issuing forth, then, upon the main, Captain Cuttle took Miss Nipper round the waist, and bore her to the island also. Captain Cuttle, then, with great respect and admiration, raised the hand of Florence to his lips, and standing off a little(for the island was not large enough for three), beamed on her from the soap and water like a new description of Triton.
'You are amazed to see us, I am sure,'said Florence, with a smile.
The inexpressibly gratified Captain kissed his hook in reply, and growled, as if a choice and delicate compliment were included in the words, 'Stand by! Stand by!'

“這不是九號嗎？”弗洛倫斯遲疑地問道。
“誰說這不是九號？”麥克斯廷傑太太說道。
蘇珊·尼珀立刻插嘴，要求麥克斯廷傑太太解釋一下她這麼說是什麼意思，她是不是知道她是在跟誰講話。
麥克斯廷傑太太進行還擊，把她全身上下打量了一遍。“我倒想要知道，你們要找卡特爾船長幹什麼？”麥克斯延傑太太說道。
“您倒想要知道？那我感到遺憾，您的要求將得不到滿足，”尼珀姑娘回敬道。
“別說話，蘇珊！求求你！”弗洛倫斯說道，“夫人，如果卡特爾船長不是住在這裏，也許您肯行個好，告訴我們一下，他住在哪裏？”
“誰說他不是住在這裏？”難以和解的麥克斯廷傑太太反責道，“我剛纔說的是，這不是卡特爾船長的房屋——這確實不是他的房屋，——這要是是他的房屋，但願上帝禁止這樣的事！——因爲卡特爾船長不知道怎麼管理房屋——也不配有一個房屋——這是我的房屋——當我把樓上租給卡特爾船長的時候，哎呀，我真是做了一件別人毫不領情的事情，簡直就等於把珠子扔在豬的面前一樣！”
麥克斯廷傑太太發表這些議論時，故意提高嗓門，對着樓上的窗子，每一個分句都彷彿是從一支具有無數個槍筒子的步槍中鋒利地、劈里啪啦地放射出來似的。射出最後一發子彈之後，她們聽到船長的聲音，從他的房間中提出微弱的抗議說，“下面安靜些！”
“你們不是要找卡特爾船長嗎，他就在那裏！”麥克斯廷傑太太生氣地揮了揮手說道。弗洛倫斯不再交涉，大着膽子走進屋子，蘇珊·尼珀在後面跟隨着；這時麥克斯廷傑太太穿着木套鞋又開始走來走去；亞歷山大·麥克斯廷傑仍舊坐在人行道的石板上，剛纔曾經住聲注意談話，這時又開始哇哇大哭起來；他的哭是完全沒有感情的，他在進行這個悽慘的表演時觀望着街道上的景物開心取樂，那輛出租馬車就在街道的盡頭。
船長在他自己的房間中，坐在肥皂水海洋中間的一個很小的孤島上，手插在衣袋裏，腿在椅子下面蜷曲起來。船長的窗子已經洗刷乾淨，牆壁已經洗刷乾淨，火爐已經洗刷乾淨；除了火爐之外，一切東西都是潮溼的，由於肥皂水和沙子沾在上面，正在閃閃發光；空氣中充滿了這種乾貨①的氣味。在這淒涼的景色中間，船長被拋棄在他的島嶼上，露出沮喪的神色，環顧四周一片汪洋，似乎正在等待着什麼搭救的小船漂來把他帶走。
但是當船長露出絕望的臉容對着門口時看到了弗洛倫斯和她的侍女出現在眼前，這時候真沒有什麼言語能夠描述他的驚奇的了。剛纔由於麥克斯廷傑太太滔滔不絕地講話，使得其他的聲音都難以辨別，所以他原先除了等待酒店的侍者和送牛奶的人外，並沒有期待更稀有的來訪者，因此，當弗洛倫斯前來，跑到島嶼邊界，把手放在他的手裏時，船長嚇得發呆地站了起來，彷彿他在剎那間把她看成是“漂泊的荷蘭人”家庭中的某個年輕的成員一樣。
可是船長立即恢復冷靜之後，首先關心的是把她安置在乾燥的土地上；這件事他揮動一下胳膊就完成了。接着，卡特爾船長走進滄海，摟着尼珀姑娘的腰身，把她也移放到島嶼上。然後，卡特爾船長極爲尊敬和欽佩地把弗洛倫斯的手舉到他的嘴脣上，稍稍往後退了一下（因爲島嶼的面積容納不下三個人），像是個特里頓新族一樣，站在肥皂水中，眉開眼笑地望着她。
“您看到我們一定很吃驚了吧！”弗洛倫斯微笑着說道。
船長感到說不出的高興，吻了吻他的鉤子，作爲答覆，並用低沉的聲音說道，“做好準備！做好準備！”彷彿這些話包含着最優美、最巧妙的問候似的。