2. The dream / 2. 梦
One night, two or three weeks later, when the boy was in bed, Rhoda Brook sat by the dying fire in her little house.
两三周后的一天夜里，男孩儿睡下以后，罗达·布鲁克坐在她那小房子里即将熄灭的炉火旁。
She stared at the fire for a long time, but she saw only the picture in her head of the new wife.
她朝炉火望了很长时间，脑子里却只有那位新夫人的影像。
At last, tired from her day’s work, she went to bed.
最后，累了一天的她终于上床入睡了。
But the picture of Gertrude Lodge did not go away.
可是格特鲁德·洛奇的影像却没有离去。
When Rhoda slept, the young wife was still there in Rhoda’s dreams.
罗达睡着之后，那位年轻夫人又出现在她的梦中。
She sat on Rhoda’s body in the bed, staring into Rhoda’s face.
她来到床边，坐在罗达身上，死死盯着罗达的脸。
Her blue eyes were cold, and with a cruel laugh, she put her left hand in front of Rhoda’s eyes.
她蓝色的眼睛冷冰冰的，残忍地笑着，并把左手伸到罗达眼前。
There, on the third finger, was her wedding-ring.
那只手的无名指上，戴着她的结婚戒指。
And the phantom of Gertrude Lodge laughed again.
接着，格特鲁德·洛奇的幻影再一次笑了起来。
Rhoda turned this way and that way, but the phantom was still there.
罗达辗转反侧，可幻影一直挥之不去。
It sat, heavier and heavier, on Rhoda’s body, and now Rhoda could not move.
它坐在罗达身上，越来越重，现在罗达已经动弹不得了。
Always in her ears was that cruel laugh, and always in front of her eyes was that left hand with its wedding-ring.
她的耳朵里灌满了那残忍的笑声，眼前一直晃动着那只戴着结婚戒指的左手。
Always in her ears was that cruel laugh, and always in front of her eyes was that left hand with its wedding-ring.
总是能听到那残忍的笑声，眼前总是晃动着那只戴着结婚戒指的左手。
At last, half-dead with terror, Rhoda suddenly put out her right hand, took hold of the phantom’s left arm, and pulled it hard.
终于，吓得半死的罗达猛地伸出右手，抓住了幻影的左臂，用力一拉。
The phantom fell off the bed onto the floor, and Rhoda sat up.
幻影从床上摔到地板上，罗达也坐了起来。
‘Dear God!’ she cried. She felt cold, so cold.
“天啊！”她叫道。她感到冷，特别冷。
‘That was not a dream – she was here!’
“这不是梦——她刚才就在这儿！”
She could still feel the young woman’s arm under her hand – a warm, living arm.
她仍能感受到那年轻女人的胳膊握在她的手中——那是一只温热的、活生生的胳膊。
She looked on the floor for the woman’s body, but there was nothing there.
她望向地板，寻找那女人的身体，但地上什么都没有。
Rhoda Brook slept no more that night, and at the dairy early the next morning, she looked pale and ill.
那天夜里，罗达·布鲁克再也睡不着了。第二天一大早在奶牛场里，她看起来面色苍白，病恹恹的。
She could not forget the feel of that arm under her hand.
她忘不了手中抓着那只胳膊的感觉。
When she came home for breakfast, her son asked her,’What was that noise in your room last night, mother? Did you fall off the bed?’
回家吃早饭的时候，儿子问她：“妈妈，昨天夜里你屋子里的响动是怎么回事？是你从床上掉下来了吗？”
‘Noise? What time did you hear it?’
“响动？你什么时候听到的？”
‘About two o’clock. But what was it, mother? Something fell, I heard it. Was it you?’
“大概两点钟。到底是怎么回事，妈妈？什么东西掉下来了，我听到了。是你吗？”
Rhoda did not answer, and after breakfast she began to do her work in the house.
罗达没有回答。吃过早饭，她开始做家务。
At about midday she heard something, and looked out of the window.
大约正午时分，她听到有声音，就向窗外望了望。
At the bottom of the garden stood a woman – the woman from her dream.
有个女人站在花园的尽头——正是她梦里的女人。
Rhoda stood still, and stared.
罗达动也不动地站着，注视着她。
The boy came to look out of the window too.
男孩儿也凑过来，向窗外望去。
‘Oh, there’s Mrs Lodge,’ he said. ‘She told me—’
“哦，那是洛奇夫人。”他说，“她跟我说——”
‘Told you?’ said his mother. She looked angry. ‘Why did you speak to her? I told you not to.’
“她跟你说？”他母亲说。她看上去生气了。“你为什么跟她说话？我告诉过你不要跟她说话的。”
‘She spoke to me first. I met her in the road.’
“是她先跟我说话的。我在路上碰到她来着。”
‘When was this?’
“什么时候？”
‘Yesterday.’
“昨天。”
‘What did you tell her?’
“你跟她说什么了？”
‘Nothing. She began to talk to me, and then she saw my old shoes. She said, “Do they keep the rain out?” And I said, “No, they don’t, but mother and I have no money for new shoes.” Then she said, “I can give you some better shoes.” She’s bringing them now, I think. Perhaps they’re in her bag. She’s very nice, mother – she gives things to lots of people.’
“没说什么。她跟我聊起天来，后来看到我的旧鞋子，就问：‘这鞋能挡雨吗？’我说：‘不行，挡不了。可我和妈妈没钱买新鞋子。’然后她说：‘我可以给你双好点儿的鞋子。’我想她现在是把鞋子带来了，可能就在她的袋子里。她人很好，妈妈——她给很多人送过东西。”
By now Mrs Lodge was at the door.
这时候，洛奇夫人已来到了门前。
Rhoda wanted to run away, but there was no back door in her little house.
罗达想跑掉，可她家的小房子没有后门，她只得等在那里。
So she waited, and the boy ran to open the door.
男孩儿跑去开门。
The boy ran to open the door.
男孩儿跑去开门。
‘This is the right house then,’ said Mrs Lodge, smiling at the boy. ‘And this is your mother, is it?’
“看来就是这座房子啦。”洛奇夫人冲男孩儿微笑着说，“这是你妈妈，对吗？”
The face and body were the same as those of the phantom in Rhoda’s dream, but there was nothing cruel in this face.
这面容，这身材，跟罗达梦里的幻影一模一样，只是她的脸上没有半点儿残忍的样子。
The blue eyes were warm, and the smile was sweet and kind.
她那蓝色的眼睛里流露着温暖，她的微笑甜美又善良。
The young woman took the shoes out of her bag, and gave them to the boy.
年轻女人从包里拿出鞋子，递给了男孩儿。
She smiled and talked in a warm and friendly way.
她微笑着，说话的语气温和而友善。
‘How kind she is!’ thought Rhoda. ‘How young and sweet and innocent! Why did I have that bad dream about her? She’s a friend, not an enemy.’
“多好的一个人啊！”罗达心想，“那么年轻，那么可爱，那么纯真！为什么我会做那个关于她的噩梦？她是朋友，不是敌人啊。”
Two days later Mrs Lodge came again, with a new shirt for the boy, and twelve days after that she visited Rhoda a third time. The boy was out that day.
两天之后，洛奇夫人又给男孩儿送来一件新衬衫。十二天之后，她第三次造访了罗达的家。男孩儿那天没在家。
‘I like walking up here on the hill,’ Mrs Lodge told Rhoda. ‘And your house is the only one up here.’
“我喜欢走到山坡上来。”洛奇夫人对罗达说，“而你家是这地方唯一的房子。”
They talked about the weather and the village, then Mrs Lodge got up to leave.
她们聊了聊天气和村里的事，之后洛奇夫人起身告辞。
‘Are you well, Rhoda?’ she asked. ‘You look pale.’
“你身体好吗，罗达？”她问，“你的脸色看起来很苍白。”
‘Oh, I’m always pale,’ said Rhoda. ‘But what about you, Mrs Lodge? Are you well?’
“哦，我脸色总是苍白的。”罗达说，“您呢，洛奇夫人？您身体好吗？”
‘Yes, I am, but… there is something… It’s nothing very bad, but I don’t understand it.’
“我还好，只不过……有点儿……不是什么很严重的问题，可我不明白是怎么回事。”
‘There is something… It’s nothing very bad, but I don’t understand it,’ said Mrs Lodge.
“有点儿……不是什么很严重的问题，可我不明白是怎么回事。”洛奇夫人说。
She uncovered her left hand and arm. There were marks on the arm, yellowy-brown marks, like marks made by fingers.
她挽起衣袖，露出左手和左臂。她的胳膊上有一些黄褐色的印迹，像是被手指抓过似的。
Rhoda stared at them.
罗达盯着这些印迹。
‘How did it happen?’ she asked.
“这是怎么回事？”她问。
‘I don’t know,’ said Mrs Lodge. ‘One night, when I was in bed, I had a dream… and then suddenly, my arm hurt very badly. Perhaps I hit it on something in the daytime, but I don’t remember it.’
“我不知道。”洛奇夫人说。“一天夜里，我睡觉的时候做了一个梦……接着，我的胳膊突然就疼得厉害。或许我白天撞到了什么东西，自己没察觉。”
She laughed. ‘My dear husband says it’s nothing very much, and he’s right, of course.’
她笑着说，“我亲爱的丈夫说没什么大不了的，我肯定他说得对。”
‘Yes… Which night was that?’ said Rhoda.
“对，没事……这是哪天夜里的事？”罗达问。
Mrs Lodge thought for a moment. ‘It was two weeks ago today. It was two o’clock in the night – I remember, because I heard the clock.’
洛奇夫人想了一会儿。“两周以前的今天。时间是夜里两点——我记得，因为我听到了钟声。”
It was the same night, the same hour, as Rhoda’s dream of the phantom. Rhoda remembered the terror of it, and felt cold.
这件事发生在罗达梦到幻影的同一天夜里，同一个时间。罗达记起了那可怕的梦，感到浑身发冷。
‘How can this be?’ she thought, when Mrs Lodge left. ‘Did I do that? But why? She is innocent and kind – I don’t want to hurt her. And how can a thing like that happen? Only witches can do things like that…’
“怎么会这样？”洛奇夫人离开后，她想，“确实是我做的吗？可这是为什么？她那么纯真，那么善良——我不想伤害她。怎么会发生这样的事情？这种事只有女巫才可以做到啊……”
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