4.At night in the hayfield
4.夜晚的干草场
Geoffrey worked hard all afternoon, cutting the hay, while Maurice worked on the wagon.
杰弗里整个下午都在辛勤地割草，而莫里斯则在修理马车。
The brothers did not speak, but the feeling between them was warm and friendly.
兄弟俩虽然没有说话，但彼此之间的气氛温暖而友好。
Geoffrey understood that their little fight would stay a secret – Maurice would not tell.
杰弗里明白他们之间的小争执会成为一个秘密——莫里斯不会说出去的。
The sun got hotter and hotter.
太阳越来越热。
There was not a breath of wind, and everybody began to feel tired.
没有一丝风，大家都开始感到疲倦。
‘There’s another day’s work here,’ said the father at teatime, while they sat under the tree.
“这里还有一天的活儿要干，”父亲在喝茶时间说道，当时他们正坐在树下。
‘Somebody will have to stay the night here then,’ said Geoffrey. ‘I’ll do it.’
“那就得有人在这里过夜了，”杰弗里说，“我来吧。”
‘No, I’ll do it,’ said Maurice.
“不，我来，”莫里斯说。
‘You did it last night,’ said the father. ‘You must get some rest tonight.’
“你昨晚已经守过了，”父亲说，“今晚你必须休息一下。”
‘No, I’m staying,’ said Maurice.
“不，我要留下，”莫里斯坚持道。
‘He wants to meet his girl again,’ explained Henry.
“他是想再见他的姑娘，”亨利解释道。
The father thought about this. ‘I don’t know…’
父亲想了想。“我不知道……”
But in the end Maurice stayed.
但最终莫里斯还是留了下来。
At eight o’clock, after sundown, the men got on their bicycles, the father got the wagon ready, and everybody left.
八点钟，日落后，男人们骑上自行车，父亲准备好马车，大家都离开了。
Slowly, the evening sky turned dark.
慢慢地，夜空暗了下来。
The young man stood alone in the field, listening to the sounds of the night.
年轻人独自站在田野里，聆听着夜晚的声音。
It was still hot, and from the hedges came the rich, sweet smell of wild flowers.
天气依然炎热，树篱间飘来浓郁甜美的野花香。
Then the moon came out, catching the flowers in its light, and they shone like white ghostly faces against the dark of hedge.
接着月亮出来了，月光照在花上，它们在黑暗的树篱映衬下闪耀着，像一张张苍白的幽灵面孔。
Higher on the hill, the farm horses, free for the night, were moving around the field.
在山坡高处，农场的马儿们夜间自由活动，在田野里四处走动。
Maurice had an hour to wait before Paula came, and he decided to take a bath in the little river at the bottom of the fields.
离保拉到来还有一个小时，莫里斯决定去田边的小河里洗个澡。
He washed himself in the cold water, and it felt good on his warm body.
他用冷水冲洗身体，凉爽的感觉让他燥热的身体十分舒畅。
Above him the tall trees by the river whispered in a little wind.
头顶上，河边的大树在微风中低语。
‘How beautiful the night is!’ he thought.
“夜晚多美啊！”他想。
Laughing, he took a handful of white flowers from the hedge, and threw them over himself.
他笑着从树篱上摘了一把白花，撒在自己身上。
At nine o’clock he was waiting under the tree by the haystacks.
九点钟时，他在干草堆旁的树下等着。
He felt both excited, and afraid.
他既兴奋又害怕。
She was late.
她迟到了。
At a quarter past nine she came, running across the field, as light and as quick as a bird.
九点一刻她来了，跑过田野，像鸟儿一样轻盈敏捷。
‘Oh, their little girl would not go to sleep tonight,’ she cried. ‘I sat in that bedroom for an hour.’
“噢，他们的小女孩今晚不肯睡觉，”她喊道，“我在卧室里坐了一个小时。”
She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. ‘Ah, the night smells so good!’ She smiled.
她仰望天空，深吸了一口气。“啊，夜晚的气息真好闻！”她微笑着说。
She was full of life, quick and strong at the same time.
她充满活力，既敏捷又强健。
‘I want’ – she could not find the English words – ‘I would like – to run – now!’
“我想”——她找不到合适的英语单词——“我想要——跑步——现在！”
Maurice laughed. ‘Let’s run, then,’ he said.
莫里斯笑了。“那我们就跑吧，”他说。
And in a second she was gone.
转眼间她就跑了出去。
Maurice ran after her, but he could not catch her easily.
莫里斯在后面追，但不容易追上她。
At last he caught her by the arm, and they stood together, laughing.
最后他抓住了她的胳膊，两人站在一起大笑。
‘I can run faster,’ she cried happily. ‘Yes?’
“我能跑得更快，”她快乐地喊道，“是吗？”
‘No,’ he replied, with his deep little laugh. ‘No, you can’t.’
“不，”他带着低沉的笑声回答，“不，你不能。”
They walked on across the field, and then suddenly saw the three farm horses in front of them.
他们继续穿过田野，突然看见三匹农马出现在面前。
‘We ride a horse?’ she said.
“我们骑马吗？”她说。
‘Now?’ said Maurice. ‘In the dark?’
“现在？”莫里斯说，“在黑夜里？”
‘Yes, yes,’ she cried, ‘in the dark!’
“是的，是的，”她喊道，“在黑夜里！”
Maurice caught one of the horses, put the girl on the horse’s back, then climbed up in front of her.
莫里斯抓住一匹马，把女孩扶上马背，然后爬到她前面。
She put her arms round his waist.
她双手环抱住他的腰。
The horse walked uphill and at the top they stopped and looked round.
马走上山坡，到了山顶他们停下来环顾四周。
Clouds were moving across the sky, hiding the moon and the stars.
云层在天空中移动，遮住了月亮和星星。
The night lay across the fields and hills like a great dark carpet, with here and there the little lights of a house or a farm.
夜色像一张巨大的深色地毯覆盖着田野和山丘，零星点缀着房屋或农场的微弱灯光。
Maurice could feel the girl’s warm arms around his waist.
莫里斯能感觉到女孩温暖的双臂环绕着他的腰。
‘Do you want to go back now?’ he asked.
“你现在想回去吗？”他问。
‘I stay with you,’ she answered softly.
“我要和你在一起，”她轻声回答。
Maurice gave a little laugh.
莫里斯轻笑了一声。
He wanted to kiss her, but he was afraid to.
他想吻她，但又不敢。
The horse moved under them.
马在他们身下动了动。
‘Let the horse go fast,’ said Paula. ‘Fast!’
“让马跑快点，”保拉说，“快点！”
‘All right then,’ Maurice said.
“好吧，”莫里斯说。
He hit the horse’s neck. ‘Come on, boy, let’s go!’ he cried.
他拍了一下马脖子。“来吧，伙计，我们走！”他喊道。
And away they went down the hill, faster and faster.
于是他们冲下山坡，越跑越快。
It was a wild, dangerous, exciting ride.
这是一次狂野、危险而又刺激的骑行。
Maurice held on to the horse with hands and knees; Paula held on to Maurice, her arms around his waist, and her face against his strong, warm back.
莫里斯手脚并用地紧紧抓住马；保拉则紧紧抱着莫里斯，双臂环绕他的腰，脸贴在他结实温暖的背上。
At last the horse came to a stop.
马终于停了下来。
Paula half fell off its back, and Maurice quickly jumped down beside her.
保拉差点从马背上摔下来，莫里斯迅速跳下马站在她身旁。
They were both laughing, and excited by their wild ride.
两人都笑着，为这次狂野的骑行感到兴奋。
And suddenly, he had her in his arms, and was kissing her.
突然间，他将她拥入怀中，亲吻了她。
They did not move for some time.
他们保持这个姿势许久未动。
Then, silently, arm in arm, they walked to the haystacks.
然后，他们默默地挽着手臂，走向干草堆。
The sky was now dark and heavy with cloud.
此时天空乌云密布，一片漆黑。
Maurice looked up, and felt a drop of rain on his face.
莫里斯抬起头，感觉一滴雨落在脸上。
‘It’s going to rain,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to put the cover on the new stack.’
“要下雨了，”他说，“我得给新草堆盖上防雨布。”
He left Paula, and went to the shed in the corner of the field.
他离开保拉，走到田角的小棚屋里。
He pulled out the big heavy cover and pulled it across the ground to the stack.
他拖出那块又大又重的防雨布，在地上拉着它来到草堆旁。
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Paula.
“你要做什么？”保拉问。
‘Put it over the top of the stack, to keep the rain out.’
“把它盖在草堆顶上，防止雨水淋湿。”
‘Ah!’ she cried. ‘Up there!’
“啊！”她叫道，“到那上面去！”
Rain began to fall.
雨开始下了起来。
It was very dark between the two great buildings of hay.
在两堵巨大的干草墙之间非常黑暗。
Maurice put the long ladder up the side of the stack, and Paula stared up at the black wall of hay above her.
莫里斯把长梯子靠在草堆侧面，保拉抬头凝视着上方黑色的草墙。
‘You carry the cover up there?’ she asked.
“你要把防雨布扛上去吗？”她问。
‘Yes,’ said Maurice.
“是的，”莫里斯说。
‘I must help you,’ she said.
“我必须帮你，”她说。
And she did.
她确实这么做了。
Maurice went first up the ladder, carrying one end of the cover, and Paula climbed up behind him, carrying the other end.
莫里斯先爬上梯子，扛着防雨布的一头，保拉紧跟其后爬上去，扛着另一头。
While they were climbing up the ladder, a light stopped on the road by the top field.
就在他们爬梯子的时候，一道灯光停在了上方田野边的路上。
It was Geoffrey on his bicycle, coming to help his brother with the cover for the haystack.
是杰弗里骑着自行车来了，想帮哥哥一起盖草堆的防雨布。
Silently, he pushed his bicycle across the field to the shed.
他悄无声息地推着自行车穿过田野来到棚屋。
He was afraid to call out.
他不敢出声喊叫。
If his brother was with the German girl, he did not want to surprise them together in the dark.
如果哥哥正和那个德国女孩在一起，他不想在黑暗中惊扰他们。
There was no one in the shed.
棚屋里没有人。
He walked across to the stacks and was nearly there when he heard a noise.
他走向草堆，快到时听到了一声响动。
The ladder was slowly falling down the side of the stack.
梯子正沿着草堆侧面慢慢倒下。
It hit the ground with a bang.
“砰”的一声砸在地上。
‘What was that?’ he heard Maurice’s voice, from the top of the stack.
“那是什么声音？”他听到莫里斯从草堆顶上传来的声音。
‘Something fell,’ came the voice of the German girl.
“有东西掉下去了，”传来德国女孩的声音。
Maurice lay down and looked over the side of the stack. ‘It was the ladder!’ he said. ‘We knocked it down, when we were pulling the cover up.’
莫里斯趴下身子朝草堆边缘看去。“是梯子！”他说，“我们拉防雨布的时候把它碰倒了。”
‘We’re in prison up here?’ the girl said, excited.
“我们被困在上面了吗？”女孩兴奋地说。
‘Yes. But if I shout, they’ll hear at the vicar’s house.’
“是的。但如果我喊叫，牧师家的人会听见的。”
‘Oh no,’ she said quickly.
“哦，别，”她急忙说。
‘I don’t want to,’ he replied, with a short laugh.
“我也不想喊，”他短促地笑了一声回答道。
He began to pull the cover across the top of the stack.
他开始把防雨布拉过草堆顶部。
Down below, Geoffrey moved quietly round the corner of the second haystack.
在下面，杰弗里悄悄地绕到第二个干草堆的角落。
He did not want them to see him.
他不想让他们看见自己。
He heard Maurice’s voice again.
他又听到了莫里斯的声音。
‘One good thing, we won’t get wet. We can sit under the cover.’
“有个好处，我们不会被淋湿。我们可以坐在防雨布下面。”
‘Maurice!’ said the girl. She sounded worried.
“莫里斯！”女孩说道，听起来有些担心。
‘What is it?’ he said gently. ‘You’ll be all right. Look, the cover’s on now. We can sit under this corner.’
“怎么了？”他温柔地说，“你会没事的。看，防雨布已经盖好了。我们可以坐在这个角落里。”
‘Will I be all right, Maurice?’
“我会没事吗，莫里斯？”
‘Of course you will. But do you want to go back to the vicar’s house? Shall I shout for somebody?’
“当然会没事。但你想回牧师家吗？要我喊人来帮忙吗？”
‘No. No, I don’t want to go back.’
“不，不，我不想回去。”
‘Are you sure?’ he asked.
“你确定吗？”他问。
‘Yes, yes, I am sure.’ She laughed.
“是的，是的，我确定。”她笑了。
Geoffrey turned away at the last words, and walked back to the shed.
听到最后这句话，杰弗里转过身，走回了棚屋。
The rain was now falling heavily.
此刻雨下得很大。
He felt miserable, and lonely.
他感到痛苦而孤独。
In the shed he took the lamp off his bicycle and shone it round the walls.
在棚屋里，他取下自行车上的灯，照着四周的墙壁。
All the tools lay in one corner, and there was a big wooden box, and a deep bed of hay.
所有的工具都堆在一个角落里，还有一个大木箱和一张厚厚的干草铺。
He put the lamp out and threw himself down on the hay.
他熄灭灯，一头倒在干草上。
‘I’ll put the ladder up for them later,’ he thought.
“待会儿我再给他们把梯子架好吧，”他想。
He lay there, thinking about his brother’s luck, and the German girl, with her strange ways and her quick, bright laugh.
他躺在那里，想着哥哥的好运，还有那个德国女孩，她那奇特的举止和爽朗明快的笑声。
‘Why does she like Maurice? Why doesn’t she like me? No woman will ever love me,’ he thought miserably. ‘I’m too slow, I don’t have the words.’
“为什么她喜欢莫里斯？为什么不喜欢我？永远不会有任何女人爱我，”他痛苦地想着，“我太迟钝了，也不会说话。”
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