《魔法師的外甥》第8期:開錯的門(4)
"Silence, sir!" said Uncle Andrew, bringing his hand down on the table. "I will not be talked to like that by a little, dirty, schoolboy. You don't understand. I am the great scholar, the magician, the adept, who is doing the experiment. Of course I need subjects to do it on. Bless my soul, you'll be telling me next that I ought to have asked the guinea-pigs' permission before I used them! No great wisdom can be reached without sacrifice. But the idea of my going myself is ridiculous. It's like asking a general to fight as a common soldier. Supposing I got killed, what would become of my life's work?"
"Oh, do stop jawing," said Digory. "Are you going to bring Polly back?"
"I was going to tell you, when you so rudely interrupted me," said Uncle Andrew, "that I did at last find out a way of doing the return journey. The green rings draw you back."
"But Polly hasn't got a green ring."
"No " said Uncle Andrew with a cruel smile.
"Then she can't get back," shouted Digory. "And it's exactly the same as if you'd murdered her.
"She can get back," said Uncle Andrew, "if someone else will go after her, wearing a yellow ring himself and taking two green rings, one to bring himself back and one to bring her back."
And now of course Digory saw the trap in which he was caught: and he stared at Uncle Andrew, saying nothing, with his mouth wide open. His cheeks had gone very pale.
"I hope," said Uncle Andrew presently in a very high and mighty voice, just as if he were a perfect Uncle who had given one a handsome tip and some good advice, "I hope, Digory, you are not given to showing the white feather. I should be very sorry to think that anyone of our family had not enough honour and chivalry to go to the aid of - er - a lady in distress."
"Oh shut up!" said Digory. "If you had any honour and all that, you'd be going yourself. But I know you won't. Alright. I see I've got to go. But you are a beast. I suppose you planned the whole thing, so that she'd go without knowing it and then I'd have to go after her."
"Of course," said Uncle Andrew with his hateful smile.
"Very well. I'll go. But there's one thing I jolly well mean to say first. I didn't believe in Magic till today. I see now it's real. Well if it is, I suppose all the old fairy tales are more or less true. And you're simply a wicked, cruel magician like the ones in the stories. Well, I've never read a story in which people of that sort weren't paid out in the end, and I bet you will be. And serve you right."
Of all the things Digory had said this was the first that really went home. Uncle Andrew started and there came over his face a look of such horror that, beast though he was, you could almost feel sorry for him. But a second later he smoothed it all away and said with a rather forced laugh, "Well, well, I suppose that is a natural thing for a child to think - brought up among women, as you have been. Old wives' tales, eh? I don't think you need worry about my danger, Digory. Wouldn't it be better to worry about the danger of your little friend? She's been gone some time. If there are any dangers Over There - well, it would be a pity to arrive a moment too late."
“好了，別哆裏哆嗦地訓人了，”迪格雷説，“你準備讓波莉回來嗎？”
“剛才你粗魯地打斷我時，我就要告訴你，”安德魯舅舅説，“我最後終於找到了回來的辦法。綠戒指能帶你回來。”
“但波莉沒有綠戒指。”
“沒有。”安德香舅舅殘忍地一笑。
“這麼説，她不能回來了，”迪格雷高聲喊着，“這跟謀害沒什麼兩樣。”
“她可以回來，”安德魯舅舅説，”如果有人肯去找她，戴上一枚黃戒指，再帶上兩枚綠戒指，一枚給自己，一枚給她。”
這時，迪格雷明白自己上了當，他大張着嘴，無聲地旬若安德魯舅舅。他的臉變得蒼白。
“我希望，”安德魯舅舅用勁大聲説遂，好像他是個大方而正派的舅舅，給過誰一筆可觀的賞錢或者善意的忠告似的，“我希望，迪格雷，你不盲歡示弱。想到我們家沒有人有足夠的責任心和俠義精神去解救苦難中的女士，我就感到十分遺憾。”
“住嘴吧！”迪格雷説，“要是你有點兒責任心和俠義精神，你自己就會去，但我知道你是不會去的。好，我明白，我必須去，但你的確是個狼心狗肺的傢伙。我想，這全是你一手策劃的，計她糊里糊塗地消失了，然後，我就不得不跟若去。”
“當然。”安德魯舅舅奸笑着説。
“好，我去。但有件事，我一定要説在前頭。我過去不相信魔法，直到今天，我才知道是真的。那麼，我想，那些古老的神話故事多多少少都是真的。你就是故事裏寫的那種那惡、殘忍的魔法師。我還從來沒有讀過這樣的人能逃脱懲罰的故事。我敢打賭，你也會有這一天的。那是報應。”
迪格雷説了那麼多，這番話才最切中要害。安德魯舅舅吃了一驚。雖然他缺乏人性，但他臉上露出的恐懼神態幾乎讓人感到憐憫。可是，這種神色很快消失了，接着是響亮的笑聲。他説“唉唉，對一個像你這樣在女人堆里長大的孩子來説，這麼想是很自然的。老太太們講的故事，對嗎？我認為你不必為我擔憂，迪格雷。為你的小朋友擔忱不是更好嗎？她走了好一陣了，要是那邊有什麼危險——遲去一秒鐘都會遺憾的。”
