Chapter 2 Godfrey and Dunstan Cass(3)
第二章：戈弗雷·凱斯和鄧斯坦·凱斯(三)
At the hunt he met several friends and neighbours, and before the hunt started he managed to sell Wildfire for a good price. The money would be paid when he brought the horse to the neighbour’s house later that day. Dunstan knew it would be safer to take the horse there immediately, so that he could be sure of receiving the money. But he was confident that he could take care of Wildfire during the hunt, and so, after a glass or two of whisky, he joined the other riders in the fields. This time, however, he was not as lucky as usual, and horse and rider fell while jumping a gate. Dunstan got up, shaken but unhurt, but poor Wildfire’s back was broken, and in a few moments he died.
在狩獵場，鄧斯坦遇到了幾個朋友和鄰居，狩獵開始前，他就以很好的價格賣掉了野火。商定當天晚些時候，他把馬牽到鄰居家時，錢就會付清。鄧斯坦知道立即把馬牽去鄰居家會更穩妥，這樣他肯定能拿到錢。但他相信在狩獵時他能照顧好野火，所以，喝了一兩杯威士忌後，他加入了場上其他騎手的行列。然而，這一次他沒有像往常那麼走運，在跨欄時他和馬都摔倒了。鄧斯坦站起來，搖搖晃晃的但沒受傷，但可憐的野火的背摔斷了，不一會兒就嚥氣了。
Dunstan looked around, and was glad to see that no other riders had noticed his accident. He did not want people to think he was a bad rider. He did not care much about Wildfire, because he thought he now had a much better plan to offer Godfrey. The worst thing was that he would have to walk home, something he was not at all used to doing.
鄧斯坦環顧四周，很高興其他騎手沒有注意到這次意外。他不希望人們認爲他是個糟糕的騎手。他不太關心野火，因爲他覺得他現在有更好的計劃給戈弗雷。最糟糕的就是，他不得不走回家，他根本就沒走路回家的習慣。
He drank some more whisky from the bottle he kept in his pocket, and started down the country road. He kept thinking about Silas’s money. There would certainly be enough for his own needs as well as Godfrey's. Dunstan thought it would be easy to frighten the weaver a little, and then Silas would quickly agree to lend his money.
他拿出放在口袋裏的酒瓶，再喝了些威士忌，然後沿着鄉間小路走。他一路都在想塞拉斯的錢。那錢一定夠他和戈弗雷的需要。鄧斯坦想嚇唬織布工應該很容易，然後塞拉斯很快就會同意借錢給他。
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and the whole countryside was covered by a thick mist. Dunstan did not see anyone on his way back to Raveloe. He knew he was getting close to the old quarry, although he could not see the road in front of him. At last he saw light coming from the weaver’s cottage, and he decided to knock at the door. ‘Why not ask the old man for the money now?’ he thought.
下午四點，整個鄉間都籠罩在濃霧中。鄧斯坦在返回拉弗爾的路上沒看到任何人。儘管他看不清前面的路，但他知道自己離老採石場越來越近。最後，他看到織布工的小屋裏的光，他決定上前去敲門。“爲什麼不現在就向老傢伙借錢呢？”他想。
But when he knocked loudly. There was no reply. And when he pushed the door, it opened. Dunstan found himself in front of a bright fire which showed every corner of the small living-room. Silas Marner was not there. Dunstan was tired and cold, so he went quickly to sit by the warm fire. As he sat down, he noticed a small piece of meat cooking over the fire. It was hanging from a large door key.
但他用力敲門，沒有人迴應。他推了推門，門開了。鄧斯坦發現自己站在明亮的爐火前，火光照亮了小房間的每一個角落。塞拉斯·馬南沒在家。鄧斯坦又累又冷，所以他趕緊坐在溫暖的爐火旁。當他坐下時，他看到爐火上方有一小塊肉。它掛在一個大的門鑰匙上。
‘So, the old man's cooking meat for his supper, is he?’ thought Dunstan. ‘But where is he? Why is his door unlocked? Perhaps he went out to fetch some wood for the fire and fell into the quarry! Perhaps he's dead!' This was an interesting new idea. ‘And if he's dead who inherits his money? Who would know that anybody had come to take it away?’ And the most important question of all - ‘Where is the money?’
“所以，老傢伙在烤晚上喫的肉，是嗎？”鄧斯坦想。“可他去哪了？爲什麼他的門沒鎖？可能他出門去拿柴火了，然後掉進了採石場！可能他摔死了！”真是個有趣的新想法。“如果他死了，誰來繼承他的錢？誰會知道有人來把錢拿走了呢？”最重要的問題是——“錢放在哪？”
Dunstan's excitement made him forget that the weaver could still be alive. He wanted Silas to be dead, and he wanted Silas's money. He looked round the cottage again. There was very little furniture, just a bed, the loom, three chairs and a table. Dunstan looked under the bed, but the money was not there. Then he noticed a place on the floor near the loom, where the floorboards looked different. By pulling up one of the boards, he discovered Silas's hiding-place. He took out the two heavy bags filled with gold, put the boards back and hurried to the door.
鄧斯坦興奮得忘了織布工可能還活着。他只想着塞拉斯死了，他要拿到他的錢。他再次環顧小屋。房間裏傢俱少得可伶，只有一張牀，一架織布機，三把椅子和一張桌子。鄧斯坦看了看牀底下，但錢沒在那裏。然後他注意到織布機附近的地板，那裏的地板看起來不一樣。他拉起一塊木板，發現了塞拉斯藏錢的地方。他拿出兩個重重的袋子，裏面裝滿了金子，再把木板放回原處，急忙衝到門口。
Outside, the rain was falling heavily and he could not see anything at all. Carrying the heavy bags, he stepped forward into the darkness.
外面正下着大雨，他什麼也看不見，提着重重的袋子，闖入黑暗中緩緩前行。
PS:本書爲書蟲系列四級讀物，由英國著名女作家喬治·艾略特所著、英國書蟲系列著名作家克萊爾·韋斯特改寫。
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