“What we going to do?”
“咱们准备怎么办呢？”
He remembered the panic flight down the mountainside.
霎时他记起了惊惶失措地飞逃下山侧的那一幕。
Ralph turned toward the platform. The conch glimmered among the trees, a white blob against the place where the sun would rise. He pushed back his mop.
拉尔夫转身走向平台。海螺在树林中闪着微光，衬着朝阳即将升起的方向显出白花花的一团。他把乱蓬蓬的头发往后一捋。
“No fear.”
“别害怕。”
I told you a dozen times now,” said Ralph, “we saw it.”
“我告诉过你几十遍了，”拉尔夫说，“我们是亲眼目睹的。”
Ralph jerked away from him and walked a few paces along the beach. Jack was kneeling and drawing a circular pattern in the sand with his forefinger. Piggy’s voice came to them, hushed.
拉尔夫从他身边猛地闪开，沿海滩走了几步。杰克跪在地上，用食指在沙子里画着圆圈。猪崽子的话音传到了他们耳中，声音是压低了的。
He shuddered violently. Piggy took off his one round of glass and polished the surface.
他浑身上下不停地打战。猪崽子取下他的那块圆镜片，擦着镜面。
“Are you sure? Really sure, I mean?”
“你有把握吗？我是说，真的吃准了？”
“I don’t think we’d ever fight a thing that size, honestly, you know. We’d talk but we wouldn’t fight a tiger. We’d hide. Even Jack would hide.”
“老实说，我认为咱们决不会跟那么大的一个东西干一仗的。咱们或许会说说，但不会真跟老虎去较量。咱们会躲起来，连杰克都会躲起来。”
“How the hell should I know?”
“他妈的我怎么会知道呢？”
“The beast had teeth,” said Ralph, “and big black eyes.”
“那野兽长着牙齿，”拉尔夫说，“还有一双黑洞洞的大眼睛。”
“Go up and see,” said Jack contemptuously, “and good riddance.”
“爬上去自个儿瞧吧，”杰克轻蔑地说道，“好透口气安安心。”
“I don’t know.”
“我不晓得。”
“Are you sure? Really?”
“你有把握吗？真的吗？”
Piggy looked up miserably from the dawn-pale beach to the dark mountain.
猪崽子从曙光初照的灰白的海滩上，沮丧地抬头眺望黑的山岭。
“D’you think we’re safe down here?”
“你认为咱们在下面这儿安全不？”
Simon came stealing out of the shadows by the shelters. Ralph ignored Jack’s question. He pointed to the touch of yellow above the sea.
西蒙从窝棚边的阴影里悄悄地走了出来。拉尔夫对杰克提出的问题置之不理。他指着海上方一抹黄色的曙光。
Jack still looked at the sand.
杰克仍看着地上的沙子。
“As long as there’s light we’re brave enough. But then? And now that thing squats by the fire as though it didn’t want us to be rescued –“
“只要有光咱们就会有勇气的。可随后呢？眼下那东西正蹲坐在火堆旁，好像存心不让咱们得救——”
“Now you done it. You been rude about his hunters.”
“这下你可搞糟了。你对他的猎手们太粗鲁了。”
“Oh shut up!”
“哼，住口！”
A point of gold appeared above the sea and at once all the sky lightened.
海的上方又出现了微微的金光，瞬息之间整个天空亮堂起来。
“What about my hunters?”
“我的猎手们怎么样？”
“Boys armed with sticks.”
“那是些拿木棒作武器的孩子们。”
“What about my hunters?”
“我的猎手们怎么样？”
“So we can’t have a signal fire… We’re beaten.”
“这下咱们不可能生起信号火堆……咱们被打败了。”
Jack got to his feet. His face was red as he marched away. Piggy put on his one glass and looked at Ralph.
杰克站起来。他涨红着脸，大步走开了。猪崽子戴上那片眼镜，看着拉尔夫。
He was twisting his hands now, unconsciously. His voice rose.
他不知不觉地紧扣着双手，话音也高了起来。
The sound of the inexpertly blown conch interrupted them. As though he were serenading the rising sun, Jack went on blowing till the shelters were astir and the hunters crept to the platform and the littluns whimpered as now they so frequently did. Ralph rose obediently, and Piggy, and they went to the platform.
一阵吹得不熟练的海螺声打断了他们的争论。杰克好像在朝初升的旭日奏着小夜曲，他不停地吹，窝棚里骚动起来，猎手们爬到平台上来，小家伙们啜泣着，正如近来他们常抽抽噎噎地那样哭。拉尔夫也顺从地站起来，跟猪崽子和他们一起到了平台上。
“Quiet!” shouted Jack. “You, listen. The beast is sitting up there, whatever it is –“
“静一静！”杰克叫喊道，“大家都听着。野兽正直挺挺地坐在那儿，管它是什么——”
“This meeting –“
“这次会——”
Jack interrupted him.
杰克打断了拉尔夫的话头。
“Oh, take it! Go on — talk!”
“哼，拿着，说下去——说吧！”
“I’ve called an assembly,” said Jack, “because of a lot of things. First, you know now, we’ve seen the beast. We crawled up. We were only a few feet away. The beast sat up and looked at us. I don’t know what it does. We don’t even know what it is –“
“我召开这次大会，”杰克说道，“因为有好多事情。第一桩——你们现在知道，我们已经亲眼看到了野兽。我们爬了上去，只离开几码，野兽坐起来，直瞪着我们。我不晓得它在干啥，我们连那东西是什么也不知道——”
“Perhaps it’s waiting –“
“也许它正等着——”
Ralph thrust the conch into Jack’s arms and sat down on the trunk.
拉尔夫把海螺一把塞到杰克的手臂里，接着一屁股坐到树干上。
“Trees –“
“从树林里——”
“If you hadn’t called it I should have. You just blew the conch.”
“你不召集我也一样会开的，你只是吹吹海螺罢了。”
“The beast comes out of the sea –“
“那野兽是从海里出来的——”
“Talk,” said Ralph bitterly, “talk, talk, talk.”
“扯淡，”拉尔夫狠狠地说，“扯呀，扯呀，尽扯。”
He took the conch from Jack.
拉尔夫从杰克那里拿过海螺。
“Out of the dark –“
“从黑暗中出来——”
“Well, isn’t that calling it?”
“那不好吗？”
“I called it.”
“这次会是我召开的。”
“Hunting –“
“打猎——”
“Hunting,” said Jack. He remembered his age-old tremors in the forest. “Yes. The beast is a hunter. Only — shut up! The next thing is that we couldn’t kill it. And the next is that Ralph said my hunters are no good.”
“打猎，”杰克说。杰克记起了他老早就在森林里感到惶惶不安。“没错。那野兽是个打猎的。不过——住口！第二桩是我们不可能杀掉它。再一桩是拉尔夫说我的猎手们都没用。”
“Yes, hunting.”
“对呀，打猎。”
Jack turned to the hunters.
杰克转向猎手们。
Jack turned, red in the face, his chin sunk back. He glowered up under his eyebrows.
杰克转过身去，脸色通红，缩回了下巴。他横眉竖眼，向上怒视。
“He’s a coward himself.”
“他自己是个孬种。”
“I never said that!”
“我从没说过！”
Jack clutched the conch to him.
杰克紧握海螺往胸前靠靠。
“Call me a coward then.”
“你还叫我胆小鬼。”
“He’s not a hunter. He’d never have got us meat. He isn’t a prefect and we don’t know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing. All this talk –“
“拉尔夫不是个猎手。他从没给我们弄来过肉。他不是班长[1]，我们对他什么也不了解。拉尔夫只会发号施令，指望别人任他摆布。这一切扯淡——”【注：[1] 班长（prefect），亦译作“级长”，英国学校中负责纪律的学生，他有权利和责任管别的学生。】
For a moment he paused and then went on.
杰克停了停又说：
“I’ve got the conch. Ralph thinks you’re cowards, running away from the boar and the beast. And that’s not all.”
“我拿着海螺。拉尔夫认为你们是孬种，见到野公猪和野兽就狼狈而逃。这还没完。”
“He’s like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn’t a proper chief.”
“拉尔夫就像猪崽子，他说话都像猪崽子，他不是个真正的头头。”
“I went too!”
“我也上了！”
There was a kind of sigh on the platform as if everyone knew what was coming. Jack’s voice went up, tremulous yet determined, pushing against the uncooperative silence.
平台上传出一种叹息声，就像人人都知道什么要来临了。杰克继续说着，话音颤抖却很决然，奋力反抗那体现着不合作的沉默。
“After.”
“那是后来。”
“On top, when Roger and me went on — he stayed back.”
“在山顶上。罗杰和我朝前的时候——他赖在后面。”
“All this talk!” shouted Ralph. “Talk, talk! Who wanted it? Who called the meeting?”
“这一切扯淡！”拉尔夫喊道。“扯淡，扯淡！谁要扯淡？谁召集这次会的？”
“I went on too,” said Ralph, “then I ran away. So did you.”
“我也上去了，”拉尔夫说，“后来我跑了，你也跑了。”
The two boys glared at each other through screens of hair.
两个男孩蓬头散发，怒目而视。
“How many think –“
“多少人认为——”
He laid the conch with great care in the grass at his feet. The humiliating tears were running from the corner of each eye.
杰克非常小心地将海螺放到脚下的草中。眼角里滚出了遭受屈辱的泪水。
“Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief?”
“谁认为拉尔夫不该当头头？”
His voice tailed off. The hands that held the conch shook. He cleared his throat, and spoke loudly.
他的话音越来越低。拿着海螺的双手瑟瑟发抖。他清清嗓子，大声地说了一句。
He held the conch against his chest with one hand and stabbed the air with his index finger.
杰克以一手握着海螺靠在胸前，以另一手的食指戳向空中。
“All right then,” he said in tones of deep meaning, and menace, “all right.”
“那好吧，”他以一种意味深长，充满威胁的语气说道。“那好。”
The silence continued, breathless and heavy and full of shame. Slowly the red drained from Jack’s cheeks, then came back with a painful rush. He licked his lips and turned his head at an angle, so that his gaze avoided the embarrassment of linking with another’s eye.
仍然是一片沉默，毫无声息，气氛阴沉，充满了羞愧感。杰克双颊上的红色慢慢地褪了下去，接着一种痛苦的表情又涌了上来。他舔舔嘴唇，把头偏开一点，免得自己的目光同另一个人的眼光相遇而弄得很尴尬。
“All right then.”
“那好吧。”
“Hands up,” said Jack strongly, “whoever wants Ralph not to be chief?”
“举手表决，”杰克激烈地说，“谁不要拉尔夫当头头？”
He looked expectantly at the boys ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence.
他期待地注视着排在四周的孩子们，而后者却一动也不动，冻僵了似的。棕榈树下死一般的沉寂。
“I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you.”
“我不玩了。不再跟你们玩了。”
Most of the boys were looking down now, at the grass or their feet. Jack cleared his throat again.
这时大多数孩子低头看着草地或自己的脚。杰克又清了清喉咙。
“Jack!”
“杰克！”
Piggy was indignant.
猪崽子怒气冲冲。
He blundered out of the triangle toward the drop to the white sand.
杰克跌跌撞撞地冲出了三角地，直奔通向白晃晃沙滩的低凹处。
Piggy gave up the attempt to rebuke Ralph. He polished his glass again and went back to his subject.
猪崽子不想再去责备拉尔夫。他又擦起眼镜片来，又回到了老话题上。
“I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.”
“我要独自走开。拉尔夫可以去逮他的野猪。我打猎时随便谁要参加都可以。”
“– No!”
“——不！”
He leapt down from the platform and ran along the beach, paying no heed to the steady fall of his tears; and until he dived into the forest Ralph watched him.
他从平台上往下一跳，沿着海滩跑了，也顾不上不断往下流淌的泪水；拉尔夫看着杰克，直看到他一头跑进了森林。
“Well there!”
“哎呀！”
“I’m not going to be a part of Ralph’s lot –“
“我不想跟拉尔夫同命运——”
“What?”
“怎么啦？”
Jack turned and looked back at Ralph. For a moment he paused and then cried out, high-pitched, enraged.
杰克回首朝拉尔夫看了一眼。他停了一会儿，接着愤激地尖声大叫道：
“I been talking, Ralph, and you just stood there like –“
“拉尔夫，我一直在跟你说话，可你傻站在那儿，就像——”
“He’ll come back. When the sun goes down he’ll come.” He looked at the conch in Piggy’s hand.
“他会回来的。太阳一落山他就会回来。”拉尔夫注视着猪崽子手中的海螺。
“We can do without Jack Merridew. There’s others besides him on this island. But now we really got a beast, though I can’t hardly believe it, we’ll need to stay close to the platform; there’ll be less need of him and his hunting. So now we can really decide on what’s what.”
“没杰克·梅瑞狄咱们也能干。岛上除了他还有别人呢。可现在咱们真发现了一头野兽，尽管我简直难以相信。咱们必须靠近平台呆着，那就用不到杰克和他那套打猎。所以现在倒可以真正决定该怎么办了。”
Softly, looking at Piggy and not seeing him, Ralph spoke to himself.
拉尔夫双眼温柔地看着猪崽子，却视若无睹，他自言自语地说道：
He looked along the right-hand logs, numbering the hunters that had been a choir.
杰克沿着右面的圆木看过去，清点着曾经是一个合唱队的猎手们。
His speech made, he allowed Piggy to lift the conch out of his hands. Then he retired and sat as far away from the others as possible.
西蒙的发言完了，他让猪崽子从他手中拿走海螺。然后退了下去，坐得尽可能离别人远点。
“Simon? What is it this time?”
“西蒙？现在是什么时候了？”
“What’s the good of climbing up to this here beast when Ralph and the other two couldn’t do nothing?”
“山上呆着野兽，爬上去有什么用？再说拉尔夫加上另外两个也毫无办法呢？”
A half-sound of jeering ran round the circle and Simon shrank from it.
围成圈的孩子们当中开始发出了嘲笑声，西蒙又畏缩起来。
The circle shivered with dread. Simon broke off and turned to Piggy who was looking at him with an expression of derisive incomprehension.
周围的孩子们惊骇得战栗不止。西蒙中断了讲话，转向猪崽子，而后者却以一种毫不理解的，讥嘲的表情看着西蒙。
For a while they sat in depressed silence. Then Simon stood up and took the conch from Piggy, who was so astonished that he remained on his feet. Ralph looked up at Simon.
有一阵子他们垂头丧气，默不作声地坐着。随后西蒙站起来从猪崽子那里拿过海螺，后者吃了一惊，还是盘腿坐着。拉尔夫抬头看看西蒙。
“I think we ought to climb the mountain.”
“我认为咱们该爬上山去。”
Again the pressure of the assembly took his voice away. He sought for help and sympathy and chose Piggy. He turned half toward him, clutching the conch to his brown chest.
大会的压力又一次剥夺了他发言的勇气。西蒙寻求着帮助和同情，他选中了猪崽子。他紧握海螺贴在褐色的胸膛上，半侧着身转向猪崽子。
“I thought there might be something to do. Something we-“
“我认为说不定有什么事情可做。有些事情咱们——”
“What else is there to do?”
“那又怎么办呢？”
Simon whispered his answer.
西蒙低声回答道：
“There’s no help, Piggy. Nothing to be done.”
“无法可想。猪崽子。无路可走啰。”
“So we’ll have the fire down here,” said Ralph. He looked about him. “We can build it just here between the bathing pool and the platform. Of course –“
“那么咱们要在下面这儿筑个火堆，”拉尔夫说。他察看着四周。“咱们可以把火堆就筑在这儿，在洗澡潭和平台之间。当然——”
The boys began to babble. Only Piggy could have the intellectual daring to suggest moving the fire from the mountain.
孩子们开始七嘴八舌地谈论起来。只有猪崽子才有智有勇，提出把火堆从山上移到这儿。
“No go, Piggy. We’ve got no fire. That thing sits up there — we’ll have to stay here.”
“完了，猪崽子。咱们没火堆了。那个东西坐在那儿——咱们只好待在这儿。”
Piggy lifted the conch as though to add power to his next words.
猪崽子举起了海螺，好像是要为他下面的话增添力量。
“I said we could all do without a certain person. Now I say we got to decide on what can be done. And I think I could tell you what Ralph’s going to say next. The most important thing on the island is the smoke and you can’t have no smoke without a fire.”
“我说，少了某一个人咱们也都能干。现在，我认为咱们必须决定做些什么。我还认为我可以告诉你们拉尔夫下一步打算说什么。岛上最重要的事情是烟，没有火也就无法生烟。”
“That’s right!”
“说得对！”
Piggy was speaking now with more assurance and with what, if the circumstances had not been so serious, the others would have recognized as pleasure.
现在猪崽子发起言来显得更有把握了；要不是形势这么严峻的话，别人本也会看得出他是愉快地在发言。
“We got no fire on the mountain. But what’s wrong with a fire down here? A fire could be built on them rocks. On the sand, even. We’d make smoke just the same.”
“咱们山上的火堆是没了。可是在下面这儿搞一个火堆又有什么不好呢？既然火堆可以筑在山岩上，那也可以筑在沙滩上。反正一样能生烟。”
“By the bathing pool!”
“就在洗澡潭边！”
Ralph made a restless movement.
拉尔夫不安地动了一下。
“Smoke!”
“生烟！”
He broke off, frowning, thinking the thing out, unconsciously tugging at the stub of a nail with his teeth.
他中断了话语，一面皱眉皱额，一面想把事情弄弄清楚，不知不觉地又用牙齿啃起残剩的指甲来了。
“We’ll build the fire now.”
“咱们这就来筑个火堆。”
“Of course the smoke won’t show so much, not be seen so far away. But we needn’t go near, near the –“
“当然烟显示的范围不会那么大了，也不会让人从老远处就能看见。但是，咱们不必去再靠近，靠近——”
The others nodded in perfect comprehension. There would be no need to go near.
其他人点着脑袋，心领神会。没有必要再靠近。
The greatest ideas are the simplest. Now there was something to be done they worked with passion. Piggy was so full of delight and expanding liberty in Jack’s departure, so full of pride in his contribution to the good of society, that he helped to fetch wood. The wood he fetched was close at hand, a fallen tree on the platform that they did not need for the assembly, yet to the others the sanctity of the platform had protected even what was useless there. Then the twins realized they would have a fire near them as a comfort in the night and this set a few littluns dancing and clapping hands.
最了不起的思想往往是最简单的。现在可有事情做了，他们热火朝天地干着。由于杰克不在，猪崽子兴致勃勃，十分活跃，他对自己能为团体利益作出贡献而充满自豪，他也帮着拾柴火。猪崽子的木柴是在很近的地方拾来的，那是倒在平台上的一根树干，是他们开大会时用不上的；然而对其他人来说，平台是神圣的，即使是无用的东西也受到它的保护。双胞胎意识到他们将有一个火堆在近旁，夜里可以当做一种安慰，而几个小家伙因此跳舞、鼓起掌来。
The wood was not so dry as the fuel they had used on the mountain. Much of it was damply rotten and full of insects that scurried; logs had to be lifted from the soil with care or they crumbled into sodden powder. More than this, in order to avoid going deep into the forest the boys worked near at hand on any fallen wood no matter how tangled with new growth. The skirts of the forest and the scar were familiar, near the conch and the shelters and sufficiently friendly in daylight. What they might become in darkness nobody cared to think. They worked therefore with great energy and cheerfulness, though as time crept by there was a suggestion of panic in the energy and hysteria in the cheerfulness. They built a pyramid of leaves and twigs, branches and logs, on the bare sand by the platform. For the first time on the island, Piggy himself removed his one glass, knelt down and focused the sun on tinder. Soon there was a ceiling of smoke and a bush of yellow flame.
这里的柴火不像他们在山上烧的木柴那样干燥。大多数又湿又烂，爬满了小虫；而且得小心地把烂树身从泥土中弄起来，否则就会碎裂成湿漉漉的粉末。更有甚者，为了避免走进森林深处，孩子们就在近旁拾柴火，随手拾起那些倒在地上的断枝残干，也不管上面缠长着新的藤蔓。森林边缘和孤岩太令人熟悉了，就靠着海螺和窝棚，大白天里洋溢着友好的气氛。可它们在黑暗里会变得怎样，却并没有人去关心。因此他们干得劲头十足，兴高采烈，尽管随着时间的悄悄逝去，他们的干劲中带着惶恐不安，兴奋中夹着歇斯底里。他们在平台旁毫无遮蔽的沙滩上筑了个金字塔形的柴火堆，满是树叶，大小枝条和断树残躯。来到岛上后这还是第一次，猪崽子自己取下了他那块眼镜片，跪下来通过镜片焦点将光聚到火绒上。一会儿火堆的上方就形成了一层烟，还有一丛金黄色的火焰。
“Where’s Maurice?”
“莫里斯到哪儿去了？”
The littluns who had seen few fires since the first catastrophe became wildly excited. They danced and sang and there was a partyish air about the gathering.
自从第一次熊熊大火之后，小家伙们很少再看到大火堆，他们欣喜若狂，又是跳舞，又是唱歌，会场中洋溢着济济一堂的欢乐气氛。
“We’ll have to have a small fire. This one’s too big to keep up.”
“咱们得搞个小火堆。这一个太大了，没法维持下去。”
“We could experiment. We could find out how to make a small hot fire and then put green branches on to make smoke. Some of them leaves must be better for that than the others.”
“咱们可以试验一下，先搞清怎么才能生一小堆旺火，随后把青树枝放上去弄出烟来。有些叶子一定比别的叶子烧起来烟更多。”
“If you can find ’em.”
“要是你能找得到他们的话。”
He looked round. Then for the first time he saw how few biguns there were and understood why the work had been so hard.
拉尔夫往四下张望着，这才第一次看到大家伙们是这么少，他恍然大悟，为什么活儿干起来会这么费劲。
“I expect… no, he wouldn’t go into the forest by himself, would he?”
“我猜想……不，他不会独自到森林里去的，是不是？”
Ralph dropped down in the sand.
拉尔夫猛地坐倒在沙滩上。
“We’ll have to make a new list of who’s to look after the fire.”
“咱们该重新定一份名单，决定谁来管火堆。”
At last Ralph stopped work and stood up, smudging the sweat from his face with a dirty forearm.
拉尔夫终于停了手，他站起来，用肮脏的前臂揩擦脸上的汗水。
As the fire died down so did the excitement. The littluns stopped singing and dancing and drifted away toward the sea or the fruit trees or the shelters.
火堆渐渐熄灭，激动的程度也随之下降。小家伙们停止了唱歌跳舞，他们四散开去，有的向大海走去，有的到野果林去，有的到窝棚去了。
Piggy wiped his glass again.
猪崽子又揩擦起眼镜来。
Piggy sat down carefully on the sand and began to polish his glass.
猪崽子小心翼翼地坐到沙滩上，开始擦起眼镜。
Piggy leaned forward and put a fragment of wood on the fire.
猪崽子朝前倾着身子，把一块碎木片放到火堆上。
He would not look at Piggy but spoke casually.
他不愿看着猪崽子，只是随随便便地问道：
Ralph jumped up, ran swiftly round the fire and stood by Piggy, holding up his hair.
拉尔夫一跃而起，很快地绕过火堆，站到猪崽子身边，把自己的头发往上一揪。
“I expect they’ve gone. I expect they won’t play either.”
“我想他们走开了，他们也不会去玩。”
“But we’ve got to have a list! There’s you and me and Samneric and –“
“可咱们必须造一份名单！有你、我、萨姆埃里克和——”
“Where’s Bill and Roger?”
“比尔和罗杰在哪儿？”
Ralph sat down and began to poke little holes in the sand. He was surprised to see that one had a drop of blood by it. He examined his bitten nail closely and watched the little globe of blood that gathered where the quick was gnawed away.
拉尔夫坐下，用手指在沙地上戳着洞洞。他惊奇地看到一只洞的旁边有一滴血。他仔细地察看着啃咬过的指甲，注视着被咬得露出了活肉的指头上凝聚起来的小血块。
“I seen them stealing off when we was gathering wood. They went that way. The same way as he went himself.”
“我看见他们在我们拾柴火的时候悄悄地溜了。他们是往那边去的。他自己也是往那边离去的。”
Ralph finished his inspection and looked up into the air. The sky, as if in sympathy with the great changes among them, was different today and so misty that in some places the hot air seemed white. The disc of the sun was dull silver as though it were nearer and not so hot, yet the air stifled.
拉尔夫不再看自己的手指，抬起头来向空中望去。天空似乎也同情孩子们当中所发生的巨大变化，今天也跟往日不一样，模糊极了，有些地方炽热的空气看上去白茫茫的。圆盘似的太阳呈现出暗淡的银光。太阳好像近了一点，也没刚才那么热，然而空气却使人闷得发慌。
Piggy went on speaking.
猪崽子继续说道：
“I thought perhaps,” said Piggy, “we ought to have a feast, kind of.”
“我认为，”猪崽子说，“或许咱们该大吃一顿。”
“Here you are.”
“瞧，请吧。”
“Thanks,” he said. Then with an accent of pleased surprise –“Thanks!”
“谢谢，”拉尔夫说。随后带着一种令人愉快而吃惊的语调又说——“多谢！”
The voice came near his shoulder and sounded anxious. “We can do without ’em. We’ll be happier now, won’t we?”
话音从靠近他肩膀的地方传来，听上去很是焦急。“没他们咱们也能干。眼下咱们更快活，是不是？”
The three boys sat down. They had a great mass of the fruit with them and all of it properly ripe. They grinned at Ralph as he took some and began to eat.
三个孩子坐了下来。他们吃的野果多极了，全是熟透的。拉尔夫拿起野果吃起来，他们则对他露齿而笑。
Ralph sat. The twins came, dragging a great log and grinning in their triumph. They dumped the log among the embers so that sparks flew.
拉尔夫坐着。双胞胎拖着一根挺大的圆木走过来，脸上带着胜利的微笑。他们把圆木往余烬上砰地放下，火星四溅。
“We can do all right on our own, can’t we?”
“咱们靠自己的力量也能干得挺好，不是吗？”
“Do all right on our own,” said Piggy. “It’s them that haven’t no common sense that make trouble on this island. We’ll make a little hot fire –“
“咱们自己干得很不错，”猪崽子说。“是他们连一点常识都没有，尽在岛上弄出麻烦来。咱们可以生一个又小又旺的火堆——”
He came to himself with a jolt. Piggy and the other two were by him. They were laden with fruit.
拉尔夫猛地醒了过来。猪崽子和另外两个就在他的身旁。他们满兜着野果。
For a long time while the log dried, caught fire and turned red hot, Ralph sat in the sand and said nothing. He did not see Piggy go to the twins and whisper to them, nor how the three boys went together into the forest.
好长一段时间圆木才被烤干，然后蹿起了火，烧得通红，拉尔夫默默地坐在沙地上。他既没有看见猪崽子走到双胞胎前低声跟他们俩说着什么，也没有看见他们三个一块儿走进了森林。
“They always been making trouble, haven’t they?”
“他们老是添麻烦，不是吗？”
“I don’t know.”
“我不晓得。”
Ralph remembered what had been worrying him.
拉尔夫记起了一直使他烦恼的事情。
“You don’t think he’s climbing the mountain?”
“你认为他会不会爬到山上去呢？”
Piggy broke into noisy laughter and took more fruit. “He might be.” He gulped his mouthful. “He’s cracked.”
猪崽子突然出声地笑起来，又拿起了更多的野果。“说不定他会的。”他吞下嘴里的野果又说。“他疯了。”
“Where’s Simon?”
“西蒙在哪儿？”
Simon had passed through the area of fruit trees but today the littluns had been too busy with the fire on the beach and they had not pursued him there. He went on among the creepers until he reached the great mat that was woven by the open space and crawled inside. Beyond the screen of leaves the sunlight pelted down and the butterflies danced in the middle their unending dance. He knelt down and the arrow of the sun fell on him. That other time the air had seemed to vibrate with heat; but now it threatened. Soon the sweat was running from his long coarse hair. He shifted restlessly but there was no avoiding the sun. Presently he was thirsty, and then very thirsty. He continued to sit.
西蒙已经走过了成片的野果树林，可今天小家伙们忙于筑海滩上的火堆，没工夫跟着西蒙一起去。他在藤蔓中继续朝前走，最后到达了空地旁边那块藤蔓交织成的大“毯子”，爬了进去。在屏幕般的树叶之外，满地金光，蝴蝶在当中无休止地翩翩起舞。他跪了下来，箭似的阳光射到了他身上。先前空气似乎在跟暑热一起振动，可眼下空气闷得有点吓人。不久从他长而粗硬的头发上就淌下了一串串汗珠。他烦躁地挪动着身子，可就是没法避开阳光。一会儿他有点渴了，而随后他越发口干舌焦。他继续坐着。
Far off along the beach, Jack was standing before a small group of boys. He was looking brilliantly happy.
在沿海滩远远的地方，杰克正站在一小群孩子前面。看上去他眉飞色舞，快乐得很。
“Yes!”
“对！”
They nodded, and the crisis passed easily.
他们点着头，紧要关头轻松地过去了。
“We’re going to forget the beast.”
“咱们将要把野兽忘记掉。”
“Forget the beast!”
“把野兽忘掉！”
He nodded at them.
杰克朝他们点点头。
“And then — about the beast.”
“还有——关于野兽的事。”
“We’ll hunt. I’m going to be chief.”
“咱们要打猎。我来当头头。”
“That’s right!”
“对呀！”
He stood up abruptly.
杰克蓦地站了起来。
If Jack was astonished by their fervor he did not show it.
要是说杰克因他们的这股狂劲吃了一惊，他并没有流露出来。
“I say this. We aren’t going to bother about the beast.”
“我说，咱们别再担心野兽了。”
They moved, looked at the forest.
他们动了一下，注视着森林。
They agreed passionately out of the depths of their tormented private lives.
孩子们由于各人在生活中都受到很大的折磨，充满激情地表示同意。
“And another thing. We shan’t dream so much down here. This is near the end of the island.”
“还有件事情。咱们在下面这儿不会再做那么多恶梦了。这儿已靠近了岛的尽头。”
“Hunting,” he said. He sized them up. Each of them wore the remains of a black cap and ages ago they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of angels.
“打猎，”他说。杰克把他们打量了一下。他们个个戴着残破的黑帽子，很早以前，他们曾经拘谨地排成两列横队，他们曾经唱过天使的歌。
“Now listen. We might go later to the castle rock. But now I’m going to get more of the biguns away from the conch and all that. We’ll kill a pig and give a feast.” He paused and went on more slowly. “And about the beast. When we kill we’ll leave some of the kill for it. Then it won’t bother us, maybe.”
“现在听我说。过些时候咱们可以到城堡岩去。可此刻我要从海螺那儿拉来更多的大家伙，就那样。咱们要宰一头猪，大吃一顿。”他停顿一下，讲得更慢了。“谈到野兽。咱们杀了猪后，该留一部分给它。那么它也许就不会来找咱们的麻烦。”
He turned and trotted away and after a moment they followed him obediently.
杰克转身快步跑开，片刻之后，他们都顺从地跟在他后面。
“We’ll go into the forest now and hunt.”
“咱们现在就到森林中去打猎。”
They spread out, nervously, in the forest. Almost at once Jack found the dung and scattered roots that told of pig and soon the track was fresh. Jack signaled the rest of the hunt to be quiet and went forward by himself. He was happy and wore the damp darkness of the forest like his old clothes. He crept down a slope to rocks and scattered trees by the sea.
他们在森林中神经紧张地四散开来。杰克几乎立即发现了地上有被挖掘过的痕迹和乱糟糟的根茎，这说明有野猪，不久踪迹更清楚了。杰克向其余的猎人打了个信号，叫他们安静下来，他独自往前走着。杰克很快活，他在潮湿而阴暗的森林里简直如鱼得水，他爬下一道斜坡，爬到了海边的岩石和零落的树林中。
The pigs lay, bloated bags of fat, sensuously enjoying the shadows under the trees. There was no wind and they were unsuspicious; and practice had made Jack silent as the shadows. He stole away again and instructed his hidden hunters. Presently they all began to inch forward sweating in the silence and heat. Under the trees an ear flapped idly. A little apart from the rest, sunk in deep maternal bliss, lay the largest sow of the lot. She was black and pink; and the great bladder of her belly was fringed with a row of piglets that slept or burrowed and squeaked.
猪群躺在那儿，挺着胀鼓鼓的大肚子舒坦地享受着树阴下的凉意。这会儿没有风，野猪未起疑心；而实践已把杰克培养得像影子那样悄没声息。他又偷偷地爬开去指导隐蔽着的猎人。一会儿工夫，他们全都在寂静和暑热中满头大汗地往前挪动起来。树丛下，一只耳朵在懒洋洋地扇动着。在跟猪群稍隔开一点的地方，躺着猪群中最大的一头老母猪，眼下它沉浸在深厚的天伦之乐中。这是一头黑里带粉红的野猪，大气泡似的肚子上挤着一排猪仔：有的在睡觉，有的在往里挤，有的在吱吱地叫。
They raced along the pig-track, but the forest was too dark and tangled so that Jack, cursing, stopped them and cast among the trees. Then he said nothing for a time but breathed fiercely so that they were awed by him and looked at each other in uneasy admiration. Presently he stabbed down at the ground with his finger.
他们沿着野猪的通道直追，但是森林中太黑暗，地上满是缠绕在一起的藤蔓，于是杰克咒骂着让他们停下，在树丛中东寻西觅。随后他沉默了一阵子，只是大口地喘粗气，大家都对他很敬畏，他们面面相觑，带着一种令人不安的钦佩。过了一会儿他用手指点着地面。
Fifteen yards from the drove Jack stopped, and his arm, straightening, pointed at the sow. He looked round in inquiry to make sure that everyone understood and the other boys nodded at him. The row of right arms slid back.
杰克在离野猪群十五码的地方停住了脚；他瞄准那头老母猪，伸直手臂，探询地往四下里探望，确定一下是不是大家都领会了他的意图，其他孩子朝他点点头。一排右臂向后摆去。
“Now!”
“打！”
“After her!”
“追上它！”
The drove of pigs started up; and at a range of only ten yards the wooden spears with fire-hardened points flew toward the chosen pig. One piglet, with a demented shriek, rushed into the sea trailing Roger’s spear behind it. The sow gave a gasping squeal and staggered up, with two spears sticking in her fat flank. The boys shouted and rushed forward, the piglets scattered and the sow burst the advancing line and went crashing away through the forest.
猪群惊跳起来；大约只相距十码，矛尖用火烧硬过的木头长矛朝选定的老母猪飞去。一个猪仔发狂似的尖叫一声，身后拖着罗杰的长矛冲进海水。老母猪喘着粗气，一声尖叫，摇摇晃晃地爬将起来，肥胖的侧面被扎进了两根长矛。孩子们叫喊着冲了上去，猪仔四散逃命，老母猪猛地冲破排列成行向它逼近的孩子们，哗啦啦地钻进森林跑了。
He stopped before a covert.
杰克在一簇树丛前停住了。
They surrounded the covert but the sow got away with the sting of another spear in her flank. The trailing butts hindered her and the sharp, cross-cut points were a torment. She blundered into a tree, forcing a spear still deeper; and after that any of the hunters could follow her easily by the drops of vivid blood. The afternoon wore on, hazy and dreadful with damp heat; the sow staggered her way ahead of them, bleeding and mad, and the hunters followed, wedded to her in lust, excited by the long chase and the dropped blood. They could see her now, nearly got up with her, but she spurted with her last strength and held ahead of them again. They were just behind her when she staggered into an open space where bright flowers grew and butterflies danced round each other and the air was hot and still.
他们包围了树丛，虽然老母猪侧面又扎进了一根长矛，但它还是逃脱了。拖在地上的长矛柄妨碍着老母猪逃命，尖深而横切的伤口折磨着它。它慌乱地撞到一棵树上，使得一根长矛更深地戳入体内；这以后任何一个猎手都可以根据点点的鲜血轻而易举地跟上它了。烟雾腾腾而令人讨厌的下午时光，正带着潮湿的暑热慢慢地流逝；老母猪流着血，发疯似的在他们前头摇摇摆摆地夺路而逃，猎手们紧追不放，贪馋地钉住它，由于长久的追逐和淋淋的鲜血而兴奋至极。这下他们能看到野猪，差不多就要追上它了，可野猪死命一冲，又跑到了他们的前头去。老母猪摇摇晃晃地逃进了一块林间空地，那儿鲜花盛开，争妍斗芳，蝴蝶双双，翩翩起舞，空气却既闷热又呆滞，这时候他们正赶到野猪的后面。
Before the others could examine the drop of blood, Jack had swerved off, judging a trace, touching a bough that gave. So he followed, mysteriously right and assured, and the hunters trod behind him.
别人还没来得及细察血滴，杰克就已经突然转开身子，一边判断着踪迹，一边摸了摸折断弯下的一根大树枝。他就这样跟踪追击，很正确而且颇有把握，显得有点神秘；猎手们在他身后紧跟着。
“In there.”
“在这里面。”
“There –“
“瞧——”
He giggled and flicked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. Then Jack grabbed Maurice and rubbed the stuff over his cheeks. Roger began to withdraw his spear and boys noticed it for the first time. Robert stabilized the thing in a phrase which was received uproariously.
杰克格格地笑着伸手扑向孩子们，而他们也嘻嘻地笑着避开他那还在冒血腥气的手掌。随后杰克一把揪住莫里斯，把血污擦到了他的脸颊上。罗杰开始拔出自己的长矛，孩子们这才第一次注意到罗杰的长矛。罗伯特讲了一句话，提出把野猪固定起来，大伙儿喧闹着表示赞同。
At last the immediacy of the kill subsided. The boys drew back, and Jack stood up, holding out his hands.
行动迅速的屠杀平息了下去。孩子们退了回去，杰克站起来，伸出双手。
Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror. Roger ran round the heap, prodding with his spear whenever pigflesh appeared. Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a highpitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in the center of the clearing.
到了这儿，在热得逼人的暑热之下，老母猪倒了下去，猎手们蜂拥而上。这种来自陌生世界的可怕爆发使老母猪发了狂，它吱喳尖叫，猛跳起来，空气中充满了汗水、噪声、鲜血和恐怖。罗杰绕着人堆跑动，哪里有猪身露出来就拿长矛往哪里猛刺。杰克骑在猪背上，用刀子往下猛捅。罗杰发现猪身上有块地方空着，他用长矛猛戳，并用力地往里推，直把自己身体的全部重量都压在长矛上。长矛渐渐地往里扎，野猪恐怖的尖叫变成了尖锐的哀鸣。接着杰克找到了猪的喉咙，一刀下去，热血喷到了他的手上。在孩子们的重压之下老母猪垮掉了，野猪身上叠满猎手。林中空地上的蝴蝶仍然在翩翩飞舞，它们并没有分心。
“Look.”
“瞧吧。”
“Uh –?”
“呃——？”
This time Robert and Maurice acted the two parts; and Maurice’s acting of the pig’s efforts to avoid the advancing spear was so funny that the boys cried with laughter.
这一次罗伯特和莫里斯扮演了这两个角色；莫里斯装作野猪竭力想逃避逼近的长矛，样子是那么滑稽，逗得孩子们都大笑大嚷。
“Did you hear what he said?”
“你们听到他的话了吗？”
“We’ll raid them and take fire. There must be four of you; Henry and you, Robert and Maurice. We’ll put on paint and sneak up; Roger can snatch a branch while I say what I want. The rest of you can get this back to where we were. We’ll build the fire there. And after that –“
“咱们去偷袭他们，把火种取来。你们中四个人得去；亨利和你，比尔[2]和莫里斯。咱们都涂成花脸，偷偷地跑去；当我说要什么时，罗杰就抢走一根燃着的树枝，你们其余的人把猪抬回到咱们原来的地方。咱们在那儿筑一个火堆。随后——”【注：[2] 此处的比尔疑为罗伯特之误，否则似同下文有矛盾。】
“Right up her ass!”
“把那个大笨猪竖起来！”
“How can we make a fire?”
“咱们怎么生火呢？”
“Did you hear?”
“你们听见没有？”
“We’ll take the meat along the beach. I’ll go back to the platform and invite them to a feast. That should give us time.”
“咱们把肉带到海滩去。我回到平台去请他们都来吃。那得花时间。”
At length even this palled. Jack began to clean his bloody hands on the rock. Then he started work on the sow and paunched her, lugging out the hot bags of colored guts, pushing them into a pile on the rock while the others watched him. He talked as he worked.
终于孩子们对这个也腻了。杰克把自己沾血的双手往岩石上擦擦。然后杰克开始宰割这头猪，他剖膛开胸，把热气腾腾的五颜六色的内脏掏出来，在岩石上把猪内脏堆成一堆，其他人都看着他。杰克边干边说道：
“Right up her ass!”
“把那个大笨猪竖起来！”
Roger spoke.
罗杰说话了。
“Chief –“
“头领——”
Jack squatted back and frowned at the pig.
杰克朝后一蹲，皱起眉头看着野猪。
“Ram one end in the earth. Oh — it’s rock. Jam it in that crack. There.”
“把一头插进地里。哦——这是岩石。把它插到岩缝里。那儿。”
“Pick up the pig.”
“把猪抬起来。”
“But we’ll leave part of the kill for…”
“但是咱们要把这死猪的一部分留给……”
Presently he stood up, holding the dripping sow’s head in his hands.
没过多少时候杰克就站了起来，双手拎着血淋淋的猪头。
“Where’s that stick?”
“木棒在哪儿？”
Maurice and Robert skewered the carcass, lifted the dead weight, and stood ready. In the silence, and standing over the dry blood, they looked suddenly furtive.
莫里斯和罗伯特把尖木棒往猪身上一戳，抬起了死猪，站在那儿，做好准备。在寂静之中，他们站在干涸的血迹之上，一眼看上去显得有点鬼鬼祟祟。
“Here.”
“在这儿。”
Instinctively the boys drew back too; and the forest was very still. They listened, and the loudest noise was the buzzing of flies over the spilled guts.
孩子们本能地往后退缩；此刻森林一片静谧。他们所听见的最响的噪音就是苍蝇的嗡嗡声，它们围着掏出在外的内脏直转。
“Sharpen a stick at both ends.”
“弄一根木棒，把两头削尖。”
Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick which pierced through into the mouth. He stood back and the head hung there, a little blood dribbling down the stick.
杰克举起了猪头，把它柔软的喉咙插进木棒的尖端，尖端捅穿死猪的喉咙直到它的嘴里。他往后靠一靠，猪头挂在那儿，沿着木棒淌下涓涓的血水。
He knelt down again and was busy with his knife. The boys crowded round him. He spoke over his shoulder to Roger.
他又跪了下来，忙碌地挥起刀子。孩子们挤在他的周围。他侧首越过自己的肩膀对罗杰说：
Jack spoke in a whisper.
杰克低声说道：
He paused and stood up, looking at the shadows under the trees. His voice was lower when he spoke again.
他停住不讲，站了起来，注视着树下的阴影。杰克再开口时他的话音轻了一点。
The silence accepted the gift and awed them. The head remained there, dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth. All at once they were running away, as fast as they could, through the forest toward the open beach.
寂静接受了这份供品，并使他们感到敬畏。猪头还留在那儿，眼睛是昏暗的，微微地咧着嘴，牙缝中满是黑污的血迹。他们立刻拔腿而逃，全都尽可能快地穿过森林逃向开阔的海滩。
“I know that.”
“这我知道。”
“This head is for the beast. It’s a gift.”
“这个猪头是献给野兽的。猪头是供品。”
He looked away, licking his dry lips.
西蒙把脸转开，舔着干裂的双唇。
Simon stayed where he was, a small brown image, concealed by the leaves. Even if he shut his eyes the sow’s head still remained like an after-image. The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life. They assured Simon that everything was a bad business.
西蒙还待在老地方，一个藏在叶丛边的褐色的小小的人形。即使他闭上眼睛，猪头的形象仍留在脑际。老母猪半开半闭的、昏暗的眼睛带着对成年人生活的无限讥讽。这双眼睛是在向西蒙证实，一切事情都糟透了。
Jack spoke loudly.
杰克大声说道：
Simon discovered that he had spoken aloud. He opened his eyes quickly and there was the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight, ignoring the flies, the spilled guts, even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick.
西蒙发现自己是在大声地说话。他匆匆睁开眼睛，在别扭的日光中，猪头像被逗乐似的咧着嘴巴，它无视成群的苍蝇、散乱的内脏，甚至无视被钉在木棒之上的耻辱。
A gift for the beast. Might not the beast come for it? The head, he thought, appeared to agree with him. Run away, said the head silently, go back to the others. It was a joke really — why should you bother? You were just wrong, that’s all. A little headache, something you ate, perhaps. Go back, child, said the head silently.
这是献给野兽的供品，也许来接受的不是野兽吧？西蒙觉得猪头也显出同意他的样子。猪头无声地说道，快跑开，快回到其余的人那儿去。真是个笑话——要你操什么心呢？你错了，就那么回事。有点儿头痛吧，或许是因为你吃了什么东西。回去吧，孩子，猪头无声地说着。
Simon looked up, feeling the weight of his wet hair, and gazed at the sky. Up there, for once, were clouds, great bulging towers that sprouted away over the island, grey and cream and copper-colored. The clouds were sitting on the land; they squeezed, produced moment by moment this close, tormenting heat. Even the butterflies deserted the open space where the obscene thing grinned and dripped. Simon lowered his head, carefully keeping his eyes shut, then sheltered them with his hand. There were no shadows under the trees but everywhere a pearly stillness, so that what was real seemed illusive and without definition. The pile of guts was a black blob of flies that buzzed like a saw. After a while these flies found Simon. Gorged, they alighted by his runnels of sweat and drank. They tickled under his nostrils and played leapfrog on his thighs. They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood — and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition. In Simon’s right temple, a pulse began to beat on the brain.
西蒙仰起头来，注视着天空，感到了湿头发的重量。天空高处这时候都是云，巨大而鼓胀的塔楼形状的云块在上空很快地变化着，灰色的、米色的、黄铜色的。云层在陆地的上方，不时地散发出闷热的、折磨人的暑热。甚至连蝴蝶也放弃了这块空地，空留着那面目可憎的东西，龇牙咧嘴，滴着鲜血。西蒙垂下脑袋，小心地闭着双眼，又用手护住眼睛。树底下没有阴影，到处是珍珠似的，一片宁静，因而真实的东西倒似乎虚无缥缈起来，变得缺乏明确的界限。一堆猪内脏成了一大群苍蝇围着的黑团，发出锯子锯木头那样的声音。不一会儿这些苍蝇发现了西蒙。它们已经吃饱了，这时候停在他身上一道道汗水上喝起来。苍蝇把西蒙的鼻孔弄得痒痒的，在他的大腿上这儿叮两下，那儿叮两下。这些苍蝇黑乎乎的，闪闪发绿，不计其数；在西蒙的面前，挂在木棒上的苍蝇之王露齿而笑。西蒙终于屈服了，他掉过头去：看到了白晃晃的猪牙，昏暗的眼睛，一摊鲜血——西蒙的眼光被古老的，令人无法逃避的招呼所吸引住了[3]。西蒙的右太阳穴里，一条动脉在他脑子里怦怦地搏动。【注：[3] 此处所谓“古老的，令人无法逃避的”，似乎是指“蝇王”所象征的“恶”，如同“原罪”一样是人的与生俱来的永恒部分。】
“Well, that isn’t fair. Don’t you see? They ought to do two turns.”
“嘿，那可不公平。难道你看不出？他们应该算两个轮次。”
“What about the fire?”
“火堆怎么样呢？”
“That branch is gone.”
“那根树枝烧光了。”
“Of course.”
“当然。”
“Trouble is, we haven’t got enough people for a fire. You got to treat Samnenc as one turn. They do everything together –“
“真伤脑筋，咱们没足够的人手来生火堆。你不得不把萨姆埃里克当做一个轮次。他们什么事情都一块儿做——”
Ralph sighed and stood up. There were no shadows under the palms on the platform; only this strange light that seemed to come from everywhere at once. High up among the bulging clouds thunder went off like a gun.
拉尔夫叹口气，站了起来。平台的棕榈树下没有阴影；只有这种似乎同时来自各个方向的奇怪的光线。在膨胀的高空云层中，像开炮似的打着响雷。
Ralph considered this and understood. He was vexed to find how little he thought like a grownup and sighed again. The island was getting worse and worse.
拉尔夫思考以后明白了其中的意思。他很恼火，发现自己思考问题是那么不像个大人，又叹了口气。岛上的情况正越来越糟。
Piggy made an aimless little pattern in the sand with his fingers.
猪崽子用手指在沙滩上随便地画着小小的图案。
“We’re going to get buckets of rain.”
“就要下倾盆大雨了。”
Ralph trotted into the forest and returned with a wide spray of green which he dumped on the fire. The branch crackled, the leaves curled and the yellow smoke expanded.
拉尔夫快步走进森林，带回来一大抱青树枝，一下子都倾倒在火堆上。树枝噼啪作响，树叶蜷曲起来，黄烟扩展开去。
“We ought to get some more wood. We’re out of green branches.”
“咱们该再去拿点柴火来。青树枝已经烧完了。”
Ralph and Piggy lay in the sand, gazing at the fire and idly flicking pebbles into its smokeless heart.
拉尔夫和猪崽子躺在沙滩上，一面注视着火堆，一面懒洋洋地朝无烟的火堆中心轻投着小卵石。
“Where’s Samneric?”
“萨姆埃里克哪儿去了？”
“Piggy. What are we going to do?”
“猪崽子。咱们该怎么办呢？”
“What’s more, I don’t sometimes. Supposing I got like the others — not caring. What ‘ud become of us?”
“尤其是，有时候我也不在乎。假定我也变得像别人那样——满不在乎。咱们会变成什么样子呢？”
“You’ll want another green branch soon.”
“一会儿又得要加一根青树枝。”
“We can’t keep one fire going. And they don’t care. And what’s more –” He looked intensely into Piggy’s streaming face.
“咱们一堆火都没法生起来。而他们又不在乎。尤其是——”拉尔夫盯着猪崽子淌汗的脸。
“Just have to get on without ’em.”
“没他们咱们也一定得干下去。”
“But — the fire.”
“但是——火堆。”
“‘Course I would.”
“我当然会的。”
“Can’t they see? Can’t they understand? Without the smoke signal we’ll die here? Look at that!”
“难道他们就看不出？难道他们就不明白，没有烟作信号咱们就会死在这儿？瞧那个！”
He saw Piggy look up; and blundered on.
拉尔夫看到猪崽子昂起头来，急急忙忙地说下去。
Piggy looked at the fire.
猪崽子注视着火堆。
“I’m scared.”
“我害怕。”
“Not of the beast. I mean I’m scared of that too. But nobody else understands about the fire. If someone threw you a rope when you were drowning. If a doctor said take this because if you don’t take it you’ll die — you would, wouldn’t you? I mean?”
“不单是指野兽，野兽我也怕的。但他们全都不理解火堆的重要性。要是你快淹死了，有人扔给你一条绳子，你一定会抓住不放的。要是医生说，把药吃下去，要不你就会死，你一定会赶紧吃的——你一定会的，对不对，我这样想？”
He frowned at the black and white mess in which lay the unburnt ends of branches. He tried to formulate.
他皱眉看着黑白相间的一团余烬，其中搁着没烧光的树枝梢头。拉尔夫试着把自己的一套想法讲出来。
Ralph rolled over.
拉尔夫翻了个身。
A wave of heated air trembled above the ashes but without a trace of smoke.
余烬上一股热气流颤动着，可一点烟也没有。
Piggy took off his glasses, deeply troubled.
猪崽子取下眼镜，心烦意乱。
“Jack.” A taboo was evolving round that word too.
“杰克。”讲那个字眼仿佛有点犯忌讳。
Piggy rubbed his glasses slowly and thought. When he understood how far Ralph had gone toward accepting him he flushed pinkly with pride.
猪崽子慢条斯理地擦着眼镜，动着脑筋。他明白拉尔夫已经在相当的程度上把他当作一个知心朋友，不由得脸上泛出了骄傲的红晕。
Ralph nodded solemnly.
拉尔夫严肃地点点头。
“Piggy, what’s wrong?”
“猪崽子，毛病在哪里？”
“Yes,” he said, “I suppose it must be.”
“对，”他说，“我猜一定是这么回事。”
“No, not it… I mean… what makes things break up like they do?”
“不，不是指野兽……我是指……是什么把事情搞得四分五裂，就像他们干的那样？”
The forest near them burst into uproar. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling, so that the littluns fled screaming. Out of the corner of his eye, Ralph saw Piggy running. Two figures rushed at the fire and he prepared to defend himself but they grabbed half-burnt branches and raced away along the beach. The three others stood still, watching Ralph; and he saw that the tallest of them, stark naked save for paint and a belt, was Jack.
他们附近的森林中爆发出一阵喧闹声。脸上涂得白一道、红一道、绿一道的恶魔似的人影号叫着冲了出来，小家伙们尖声叫喊、东窜西逃。拉尔夫从眼角看到猪崽子正在奔逃。两个人影冲到了火堆边，拉尔夫正准备进行自卫，可他们抢了半燃的树枝就沿着海滩一溜烟逃走了。其余三个仍然站着，注视着拉尔夫；拉尔夫看出其中最高的那个就是杰克，他除了涂料和皮带以外完全光着身子。
“Jack?”
“杰克？”
“I dunno, Ralph. I expect it’s him.”
“我不晓得，拉尔夫。我猜是他。”
“I dunno, Ralph. We just got to go on, that’s all. That’s what grownups would do.”
“我不晓得，拉尔夫。不过咱们不得不干下去，就那么回事。大人也会这么干的。”
Ralph, having begun the business of unburdening himself, continued.
拉尔夫已经开始推卸责任，他继续说道：
Piggy looked at him in astonishment.
猪崽子惊讶地注视着他。
“Do you mean the –?”
“你是指——？”
“Well?”
“怎么？”
Ralph had his breath back and spoke.
拉尔夫倒吸了一口气说：
He paused and looked round. He was safe from shame or self-consciousness behind the mask of his paint and could look at each of them in turn. Ralph was kneeling by the remains of the fire like a sprinter at his mark and his face was half-hidden by hair and smut. Samneric peered together round a palm tree at the edge of the forest. A littlun howled, creased and crimson, by the bathing pool and Piggy stood on the platform, the white conch gripped in his hands.
他停下来环顾着四周。因为脸上涂得五颜六色，杰克摆脱了羞耻感和自我意识，他可以一个个把他们挨次看过来。拉尔夫跪在火堆的余烬边，就像个短跑选手在起跑线上，他的脸有一半被头发和污迹遮盖着。萨姆埃里克围着森林边一棵棕榈树张看着。在洗澡潭旁一个小家伙皱着绯红的面孔在嚎哭，猪崽子站在平台上，双手紧握白色的海螺。
“Tonight we’re having a feast. We’ve killed a pig and we’ve got meat. You can come and eat with us if you like.”
“今晚我们要大吃一顿。我们宰了一头猪，有好多肉。要是愿意就来跟我们一起吃吧。”
Jack ignored him, lifted his spear and began to shout.
杰克不理睬拉尔夫，举起长矛开始喊道：
“Listen all of you. Me and my hunters, we’re living along the beach by a flat rock. We hunt and feast and have fun. If you want to join my tribe come and see us. Perhaps I’ll let you join. Perhaps not.”
“你们全都听着。我和我的猎手们都住在海滩边上一块平坦的岩石旁。我们打猎、吃喝、玩乐。如果你们要想加入我们一伙[4]，那就来瞧瞧吧。我也许会让你们参加，也许不。”【注：[4] 原文为my tribe（我的部落／我的一伙人），为行文通俗，下面的“tribe”均译作“一伙”或“一帮”等。】
Up in the cloud canyons the thunder boomed again. Jack and the two anonymous savages with him swayed, looking up, and then recovered. The littlun went on howling. Jack was waiting for something. He whispered urgently to the others.
那高高云层的罅隙间，又响起了隆隆的雷声。杰克及跟他同来的两个不知名的野蛮人晃动着身子，仰望天空，接着又恢复了原样。小家伙继续在嚎哭。杰克正等待着什么似的，他催促地朝那两个人低声说道：
The group of boys looked at the white shell with affectionate respect. Piggy placed it in Ralph’s hand and the littluns, seeing the familiar symbol, started to come back.
成群的孩子带着深情的敬意注视着白色的贝壳。猪崽子把海螺放到拉尔夫手中，小家伙们看到熟识的标志，开始走回来。
“Go on — now!”
“说下去——快说！”
“Go on!”
“说吧！”
Then the three of them turned and trotted away. Presently Ralph rose to his feet, looking at the place where the savages had vanished. Samneric came, talking in an awed whisper.
随即他们三个转过身去，快步走了。片刻之后，拉尔夫站起来凝视着野蛮人消逝了的那块地方。萨姆埃里克走了回来，带着畏惧的口气低声说：
“The Chief has spoken.”
“头领已经说了。”
“When I saw Jack I was sure he’d go for the conch. Can’t think why.”
“我一看到杰克就吃准他要来抢海螺。也不知道是为什么。”
“I thought I was going to have asthma.”
“我觉得我要发气喘病了。”
“I thought it was –“
“我认为那是——”
He turned toward the platform, feeling the need for ritual. First went Ralph, the white conch cradled, then Piggy very grave, then the twins, then the littluns and the others.
拉尔夫转身朝平台走去，他感到需要有点仪式。拉尔夫先走，他把白色的海螺捧在手里，随后是表情庄重的猪崽子，再后是双胞胎，最后面是小家伙和别的孩子。
The two savages murmured. Jack spoke sharply.
两个野蛮人嗫嚅着。杰克严厉地说：
Piggy stood above them on the platform, still holding the conch.
猪崽子高高地站在平台上，仍然拿着海螺。
“Not here.”
“不是在这儿。”
“Sucks to your ass-mar.”
“去你的鸡—喘病。”
“– and I was –“
“——我可——”
The two savages looked at each other, raised their spears together and spoke in time.
两个野蛮人互相看看，一起举起长矛，同声说道：
“That was Jack and Maurice and Robert,” said Ralph. “Aren’t they having fun?”
“那是杰克，莫里斯和罗伯特，”拉尔夫说道。“他们不是在闹着玩儿吧？”
“– scared.”
“——害怕了。”
He started to laugh, then stopped and became fluent instead.
他开始笑了，然后又止住笑，话倒说得流利起来。
He paused again and the silence became full of doubt and wonder.
他又停了一停，孩子们的沉默变得充满了疑惑和惊异。
“But the –“
“但是——”
“But the… oh… the fire! Of course, the fire!”
“但是……哦……火堆！当然，火堆！”
Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down.
拉尔夫感到一阵困惑，因为脑子里忽隐忽现着一道遮拦物似的。他有一些话要说，随后这道遮拦物落下了。
“The fire’s the most important thing. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. I’d like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning. The fire’s the most important thing on the island, because, because –“
“火堆是最重要的事情。没有火堆咱们就无法得救。我倒愿意涂上打仗前涂身的颜色[5]，做一个野蛮人。但是，咱们必须让火堆燃着。火堆是岛上最要紧的事情，因为，因为——”【注：[5] 这里的原文是war—paint，古代人在皮肤上画上图案，作为一种“心理武器”，以引起敌人的恐怖。如古代不列颠人在战争中以蓝色画身，外貌可怕，曾给罗马的恺撒留下深刻的印象。现在有些原始民族仍然这样做。】
When he stopped no one said anything. After the many brilliant speeches that had been made on this very spot Ralph’s remarks seemed lame, even to the littluns.
拉尔夫讲完后，大家都不说话。就是在这个地方，拉尔夫曾经做过好多次精彩的演说，而现在他的讲话即使对小家伙们来说，也已经令人乏味了。
Piggy whispered urgently. “Rescue.”
猪崽子急迫地低声说着：“得救。”
They were regarding him gravely, not yet troubled by any doubts about his sufficiency. Ralph pushed the idiot hair out of his eyes and looked at Piggy.
大家严肃地看着他，一点都没有怀疑到他的能力，拉尔夫把挡在眼睛前面的，讨厌的头发撩开去，他看看猪崽子。
“Oh yes. Without the fire we can’t be rescued. So we must stay by the fire and make smoke.”
“哦，对对。没有火堆咱们就无法得救。所以咱们必须待在火堆旁边把烟生起来。”
“Sit down all of you. They raided us for fire. They’re having fun. But the –“
“你们全都坐下。他们偷袭咱们是为了火。他们正在闹着玩儿。但是——”
“– to a feast –“
“——去大吃一顿——”
“– meat –“
“——野猪肉——”
Samneric took the conch.
萨姆埃里克拿过海螺。
Ralph held up his hand. “Why shouldn’t we get our own meat?”
拉尔夫举起手。“为什么咱们就不能自己去弄肉呢？”
The littluns sat, solemnly thinking of meat, and dribbling. Overhead the cannon boomed again and the dry palm fronds clattered in a sudden gust of hot wind.
小家伙们坐着，神情严肃地想着猪肉，馋涎欲滴。在他们头上，此时又响起了放炮似的隆隆雷声，一阵突如其来的热风把干巴巴的棕榈叶丛吹得咔哒咔哒地直响。
“That must be fun like Bill says — and as he’s invited us –“
“那准像比尔说的，挺好玩——而且他已经邀请咱们去——”
“– I could do with some meat –“
“——我很想吃点猪肉——”
“He’s a hunter. They’re all hunters. That’s different.”
“他是个猎手，他们全是猎手。那可不一样。”
The twins looked at each other.
双胞胎面面相觑。
“Now we can’t have the fire up there — because we can’t have the fire up there — we need more people to keep it going. Let’s go to this feast and tell them the fire’s hard on the rest of us. And the hunting and all that, being savages I mean — it must be jolly good fun.”
“现在咱们没法在那上面生火了——因为没法在那上面生火——咱们就需要更多的人来维持火堆。让我们跟他们一起吃猪肉吧，告诉他们，靠剩下的我们这些人很难维持火堆。还有打猎呀，诸如此类的事情——我是说扮成野蛮人——那准是挺好玩的。”
At last Bill held out his hands for the conch.
最后比尔伸出手来拿海螺。
Bill answered. “We don’t want to go in the jungle.”
比尔答道：“我们不想到丛林里去。”
Ralph grimaced. “He — you know — goes.”
拉尔夫皱着眉头。“他——你知道——会去的。”
“– crackling –“
“烤起来噼噼啪啪——”
No one spoke for a moment, then Piggy muttered to the sand. “Meat –“
一时谁也没开口，然后猪崽子对着沙滩咕哝着：“肉——”
“You are a silly little boy,” said the Lord of the Flies, “just an ignorant, silly little boy.”
“你是个傻小子，”蝇王说道，“一个无知的傻小子。”
“What are you doing out here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“你独自一个人到这儿来干什么？难道你不怕我？”
“Pig’s head on a stick.”
“木棒上的猪头。”
Simon answered him in the same silent voice.
西蒙同样无声地回答它。
“Well then,” said the Lord of the Flies, “you’d better run off and play with the others. They think you’re batty. You don’t want Ralph to think you’re batty, do you? You like Ralph a lot, don’t you? And Piggy, and Jack?”
“那好，”蝇王又说，“你最好跑开，跟别人去玩。他们认为你疯了。你不想让拉尔夫认为你疯了，是不是？你很喜欢拉尔夫，是吗？还喜欢猪崽子、杰克？”
Simon’s head was tilted slightly up. His eyes could not break away and the Lord of the Flies hung in space before him.
西蒙的脑袋微微翘起。他的眼睛没法子离开去，蝇王随时都挂在他面前。
Simon shook.
西蒙战栗着。
“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?”
“别梦想野兽会是你们可以捕捉和杀死的东西！”猪头说道。有一阵子，森林和其他模模糊糊地受到欣赏的地方回响起一阵滑稽的笑声。“你心中有数，是不是？我就是你的一部分？过来，过来，过来点！我就是事情没有进展的原因吗？为什么事情会搞成这副样子呢？”
“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.”
“没人会帮你的忙，只有我。而我是野兽。”
Simon’s mouth labored, brought forth audible words.
西蒙费力地动了动嘴巴，勉强听得出这样的话语。
Simon moved his swollen tongue but said nothing.
西蒙动动肿了的舌头，但什么也没说。
“Don’t you agree?” said the Lord of the Flies. “Aren’t you just a silly little boy?”
“难道你不同意？”蝇王说道。“难道你不就是个傻小子吗？”
“This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there — so don’t try to escape!”
“真可笑。你明明晓得你到下面那儿去只会碰到我——别再想逃避了！”
“– Or else,” said the Lord of the Flies, “we shall do you? See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. Do you. See?”
“——不然，”蝇王说道，“我们就会要你的小命。明白吗？杰克、罗杰、莫里斯、罗伯特、比尔、猪崽子，还有拉尔夫要你的命。懂吗？”
“This has gone quite far enough. My poor, misguided child, do you think you know better than I do?”
“这已经太过分了。我可怜的、误入歧途的孩子，你认为你比我还高明吗？”
Simon was inside the mouth. He fell down and lost consciousness.
西蒙掉在大嘴巴里，他一个劲地往下掉，终于失去了知觉。
There was a pause.
停顿了一会儿。
“Come now,” said the Lord of the Flies. “Get back to the others and we’ll forget the whole thing.”
“去吧，”蝇王说。“回到其余的人那儿去，我们把整个事情都忘记掉。”
“I’m warning you. I’m going to get angry. D’you see? You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don’t try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else –“
“我在警告你，我可要发火了。你看得出吗？没人需要你。明白吗？我们将要在这个岛上玩乐。懂吗？我们将要在这个岛上寻欢作乐！别再继续尝试了，我可怜的、误入歧途的孩子，不然——”
Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was blackness within, a blackness that spread.
西蒙感到他正看着一张巨大的嘴巴，里面是漆黑的，这黑暗还在不断扩大。
The laughter shivered again.
那笑声又颤抖着响了起来。
Simon’s body was arched and stiff. The Lord of the Flies spoke in the voice of a schoolmaster.
西蒙的身子弓了起来，并且变得僵硬。蝇王用师长的口气训诫道：
Simon’s head wobbled. His eyes were half closed as though he were imitating the obscene thing on the stick. He knew that one of his times was coming on. The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon.
西蒙的脑袋摇晃起来。他半闭着眼睛，仿佛是在模仿着木棒上那个卑污的东西。他知道自己又头晕眼花了。蝇王像个气球似的膨胀起来。
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