The Pit and the Pendulum
陷坑与钟摆
I will not open my eyes. Not yet. I lie on my back, very still, and remember…
我不会睁开眼睛。还不到时候。我仰面躺着，一动不动，回忆着……
The black clothes of the judges… their voices, their words. You must die… I watched the judges’ mouths – mouths speaking my name, ordering my death. You must die… Cold hands of terror closed round my heart. Then came a sweet thought – what wonderful rest there will be in the grave! After that, I fainted, and saw and heard nothing for a long while.
法官们的黑袍……他们的声音，他们的话语。“你必须死……”我注视着法官们的嘴——念出我名字、宣判我死刑的嘴。“你必须死……”恐惧的冰冷之手扼住了我的心。接着一个甜蜜的念头袭来——坟墓里该是多么美妙的安息啊！随后，我昏了过去，许久什么也看不见，什么也听不见。
But I knew when they took me away from that room. They were tall men, moving silently. Down… down they carried me, down into darkness and terror.
但当他们把我从那个房间里带走时，我是知道的。他们是高个子男人，默默地移动着。下去……他们把我带下去，带入黑暗与恐怖之中。
I have not opened my eyes yet. I lie on my back, and put out my hand. It falls heavily on something wet and hard. Where am I? Am I still in the prisons at Toledo? Why am I still alive? The Spanish Inquisition kills by fire. Why have they not burnt me to death?
我还没有睁开眼睛。我仰面躺着，伸出我的手。它重重地落在某种潮湿而坚硬的东西上。我在哪里？我还在托莱多的监狱里吗？为什么我还活着？西班牙宗教法庭是用火刑处死人的。为什么他们没有烧死我？
And now I remember other stories of the prisons at Toledo, stories of other kinds of death…
现在我想起了关于托莱多监狱的其他传闻，关于其他死法的传闻……
I am afraid to open my eyes. Not afraid of seeing something terrible, but afraid that there is nothing to see. And when at last I do open them, I am right. The blackness of the blackest night is around me. Am I already dead? No! A terrible thought comes to me. I am in a tomb – they have buried me alive in a tomb!
我不敢睁开眼睛。不是害怕看到可怕的东西，而是害怕什么也看不见。当最后我真的睁开眼时，我猜对了。最漆黑的夜晚般的黑暗包围着我。我已经死了吗？不！一个可怕的想法袭来。我在一座坟墓里——他们把我活埋在坟墓里！
A terrible thought comes to me. I am in a tomb…
一个可怕的想法袭来。我在一座坟墓里……
I jump up, moving my arms around me. I can feel and see nothing. This place is too big to be a tomb.
我跳起来，挥动着双臂。我什么也感觉不到，什么也看不见。这地方太大了，不像一座坟墓。
I walk on, slowly, until my fingers touch a wall. It is wet and cold. I begin to follow it round, but then stop. How big is my prison? I must know. I tear off a small piece of my long prison shirt and put it on the floor, next to the wall. I move on again, counting my steps.
我继续往前走，慢慢地，直到我的手指触到一堵墙。它是潮湿而冰冷的。我开始沿着它转圈，但随后停了下来。我的监狱有多大？我必须知道。我从长长的囚衣上撕下一小块布，把它放在地板上，紧挨着墙。我再次往前走，数着我的步数。
Walking is not easy. My feet often slip on the wet floor, and suddenly I fall down. I lie there, with my eyes closed. I want to get up, but I am tired… so tired…
走路并不容易。我的脚经常在潮湿的地板上打滑，突然间我摔倒了。我躺在那里，闭着眼睛。我想站起来，但我太累了……太累了……
I sleep for some time. When I wake up, I put out my arm and find bread and a bottle of water next to me. I eat hungrily and drink from the bottle. After a time, I get up and follow the wall again, counting my steps.
我睡了一阵子。当我醒来时，我伸出胳膊，发现旁边有一块面包和一瓶水。我狼吞虎咽地吃着，喝着瓶里的水。过了一会儿，我站起来，再次沿着墙走，数着步数。
When I find the piece of my shirt on the floor, I stop and think. My prison is about fifty steps around – so about thirty metres. Does it help me to know this? Perhaps not, but now I want to know more.
当我在地板上找到那块布时，我停了下来思考。我的监狱周长大约五十步——也就是大约三十米。知道这些对我有帮助吗？也许没有，但现在我想知道更多。
I start to move across the room, away from the wall. After six or seven steps, my feet slip on the wet floor again, and I fall heavily on my face.
我开始穿过房间，离开墙壁。走了六七步后，我的脚再次在潮湿的地板上打滑，我脸朝下重重地摔倒了。
And yet… there is nothing under my head. My body lies on the floor, but under my head there is… nothing. And I can feel on my face a little soft wind, bringing with it a smell, a warm wet smell – the smell of things that have been dead for a long time.
然而……我的头下面什么也没有。我的身体躺在地板上，但我的头下面……什么也没有。我能感觉到脸上有一股微弱的软风，带着一种气味，一种温暖潮湿的气味——一种很久以前就死了的东西的气味。
I put out my arm, and find that I am on the edge of a pit. How deep is it? I feel around the floor with my fingers and find a small stone. I drop it into the pit, and listen. After a long time, it falls into water.
我伸出胳膊，发现我在一个坑的边缘。它有多深？我用手指在地板上摸索，找到一块小石头。我把石头扔进坑里，听着。过了很久，它掉进了水里。
At the moment, a door opens and closes high above me. For a second there is light in my prison, and then it is gone again. But in that second I see I was just one step away from death in that terrible pit.
就在那时，头顶上方的一扇门开了又关。我的监狱里有一秒钟的光亮，然后光亮又消失了。但在那一秒钟里，我看到我离那个可怕的坑只差一步就要掉进去送命了。
Shaking, I move slowly back to the wall. I have heard stories about the prison pits of the Inquisition, and they do not give you a quick, clean death.
我颤抖着，慢慢地退回到墙边。我听说过关于宗教法庭监狱坑的传闻，它们不会给你一个快速、干净的死法。
Dear God, I am going to die in this prison – a slow and terrible death. Every second of every hour of every day I will wait for it, and the waiting will be as terrible as the death itself.
亲爱的上帝，我要死在这监狱里了——一种缓慢而可怕的死法。每一天的每一小时的每一秒我都要等待着它，而等待本身将和死亡一样可怕。
My fear keeps me from sleep for many long hours, but at last my eyes close. When I wake up, there is bread and water beside me again. So… they are watching me all the time, and come in while I am asleep.
我的恐惧让我许多个小时无法入睡，但最后我的眼睛闭上了。当我醒来时，旁边又有一块面包和一瓶水。所以……他们一直在监视我，并且趁我睡觉时进来过。
I am very thirsty and I drink the water quickly. They have put something in it because at once I feel very sleepy, and I fall into a long, deep sleep. For how long, I do not know. But when I wake up, it is not so dark. A yellow light is coming from somewhere, and I can see my prison at last.
我很渴，迅速喝完了水。他们在里面放了东西，因为我立刻感到非常困倦，陷入了一种漫长而深沉的睡眠。多久，我不知道。但当我醒来时，天没那么黑了。一道黄光从某个地方射来，我终于看清了我的监狱。
The room is square, and the walls are not made of stone but of metal. There are pictures on them, pictures of faces with wild-looking eyes – the eyes of devils. In the centre of the stone floor is the pit.
房间是方形的，墙壁不是石头做的，而是金属做的。上面有画，画着面孔和狂野的眼睛——魔鬼的眼睛。石地板的中央是那个坑。
I cannot stand up! Why?
我站不起来！为什么？
Now I see. I am lying on my back, and am tied to a low wooden bed, with many ropes around my body. I can move my head a little, and my right arm,
现在我明白了。我仰面躺着，被许多绳子绑在一张低矮的木床上。我只能稍微动一下头和右胳膊，
and I can just get a hand to the plate of food on the floor next to me. But there is no bottle of water… and I am so thirsty. The food this time is meat, dry salty meat, which makes me even thirstier than I was before.
勉强够得着放在旁边地板上的盘子里的食物。但没有水瓶……我太渴了。这次的食物是肉，又干又咸的肉，这让我比以前更渴了。
I look up at the metal ceiling above me. On one square of it there is a picture of old Father Time. He is holding a pendulum… No, wait! The pendulum is real – it is moving from side to side.
我抬头看着头顶上方的金属天花板。其中一块板上画着老寿星。他拿着一个钟摆……不，等等！那钟摆是真的——它在左右摆动。
I watch it for a while, a little afraid. Then I hear a noise. Nine or ten large rats have come up from the pit. They can smell the meat, and are running to it across the floor. I make them go away again, but it is hard work.
我看着它看了一会儿，有点害怕。然后我听到了声音。九到十只大老鼠从坑里爬了上来。它们闻到了肉味，正跑过地板去吃。我把它们赶走了，但这很费力。
Because of the rats it is about an hour before I look up at the ceiling again. The pendulum is still moving from side to side, but more strongly now, and… yes! it is getting lower! Then I go cold with terror. I see that the bottom of the pendulum is made of a great piece of metal, bright and sharp – sharper than the blade of any knife. It is right above my heart, and when it moves from side to side through the air, the blade makes a terrible hissing noise.
因为老鼠，大约一个小时后我才再次抬头看天花板。钟摆仍在左右摆动，但现在摆动得更有力了，而且……是的！它在下降！我吓得浑身冰凉。我看到钟摆的底部是一大块金属，明亮而锋利——比任何刀刃都锋利。它正好在我的心脏上方，当它在空气中左右摆动时，刀刃发出可怕的嘶嘶声。
And with each move, it comes nearer and nearer.
随着每一次摆动，它越来越近。
I escaped death in the pit, but now I am staring at another death. I can do nothing, only watch in terror, and wait until that bright blade cuts into my body.
我逃过了坑里的死法，但现在我面临着另一种死亡。我无能为力，只能惊恐地看着，等待那明亮的刀刃切入我的身体。
With each move of the pendulum, that bright blade comes nearer and nearer.
随着钟摆的每一次摆动，那明亮的刀刃越来越近。
Hours, perhaps days, go past. I do not know how many, but the terror does not stop.
几个小时，也许是几天过去了。我不知道有多少，但恐怖没有停止。
I have counted the moves of the pendulum… watched the blade come lower and lower… heard the hissing get louder and louder. Already I can smell the metal of the sharp blade, and I push my body up to it.
我数着钟摆的摆动次数……看着刀刃越来越低……听着嘶嘶声越来越大。我已经能闻到锋利刀刃的金属味了，我把身体向上推去。
Come! Cut me! Be quick, give me death!
来吧！割断我！快点，给我死亡！
I sleep, wake, and sleep again. And still the pendulum moves from side to side above me, and the blade comes nearer and nearer. When it reaches me, it will cut across my body, into my heart.
我睡着，醒来，又睡着。钟摆仍然在我头顶上方左右摆动，刀刃越来越近。当它到达我这里时，它会切开我的身体，切入我的心。
I cannot stop watching it now. I cry out, I laugh, I scream, and still the blade comes nearer. So many long hours of terror. When will they end?
我现在无法停止注视它。我大叫，我大笑，我尖叫，刀刃仍然越来越近。如此漫长的恐怖时光。它们何时才会结束？
I am hungry, and put out my hand to take the last piece of meat from the plate on the floor. Wait!
我饿了，伸手去拿地板盘子里的最后一块肉。等等！
A thought comes into my head.
一个念头钻进我的脑海。
Could I…?
我能……？
It is only a small hope, but…
这只是一个微小的希望，但是……
The rats are still with me, waiting around my bed, watching me with their red, hungry eyes. ‘What food’, I think, ‘do they eat in that terrible pit?’
老鼠还在我身边，守在我的床边，用它们红色的、饥饿的眼睛盯着我。“它们在那个可怕的坑里吃什么食物呢？”我想。
They can smell the piece of meat in my hand. I can see their eyes, watching. The meat is full of fat, and if I put the fat on the ropes around my body…
它们能闻到我手里的肉味。我能看见它们的眼睛，盯着看。肉里全是脂肪，如果我把脂肪涂在绑住我身体的绳子上……
I do this. Then I lie still.
我这样做了。然后我一动不动地躺着。
Yes! Some of the biggest rats have jumped up on me. Now there are more, coming from the pit. Suddenly there are hundreds of them running over me, over my body, over my face, touching my eyes, my mouth with their cold mouths. Aaagh!
是的！一些最大的老鼠跳到了我身上。现在有更多的老鼠从坑里爬出来。突然间有数百只老鼠跑过我的身体，跑过我的脸，用它们冰冷的嘴触碰我的眼睛、我的嘴。啊！
In seconds the blade will begin to cut into me. I must lie still, I must lie still…
几秒钟后刀刃就要开始割入我身体了。我必须一动不动，我必须一动不动……
And yes! The rats are eating into the ropes – I can feel it! The blade of the pendulum begins to cut my shirt, and now my body, but the rats have done their work and the ropes fall away from me.
是的！老鼠在啃绳子——我能感觉到！钟摆的刀刃开始割我的衬衫，现在割到了我的身体，但老鼠完成了它们的工作，绳子从我身上脱落了。
I push the rats off, move away from the pendulum, off the bed, onto the floor. There! I am free!
我推开老鼠，躲开钟摆，离开床，落到地板上。好了！我自由了！
Free – but still a prisoner of the Inquisition.
自由了——但仍然是宗教法庭的囚犯。
The pendulum has stopped moving. It is going back up through the ceiling. So, they are still watching me. What new terror will they send me now?
钟摆停止了摆动。它正通过天花板收回去。所以，他们一直在监视我。现在他们会送来什么新的恐怖？
I look around my metal prison. Already, something is different, something has changed. What is it? And this yellow light, where is it coming from? I look again at the metal walls – and now I can see the narrow gap along the bottom. The yellow light comes from there. I get down to look, but cannot see through the gap.
我环顾我的金属监狱。已经，有些东西不一样了，有些东西变了。是什么？还有这黄光，是从哪里来的？我再次看向金属墙壁——现在我能看到底部有一道狭窄的缝隙。黄光就是从那里来的。我趴下来看，但无法透过缝隙看到外面。
When I stand up again, I see at once what is different. Those faces on the walls… the colours are brighter, and those wild, devilish eyes burn with –
当我再次站起来时，我立刻看到了不同之处。墙上的那些面孔……颜色更鲜艳了，那些狂野的、魔鬼般的眼睛燃烧着——
with fire. Yes, real fire! The walls and ceiling are burning, and the smell of hot metal fills the prison. Already it is hard to breathe.
火。是的，真正的火！墙壁和天花板都在燃烧，灼热金属的气味充满了监狱。已经很难呼吸了。
I move away from the wall to the pit in the centre of the room. The burning ceiling sends light deep into the pit, and looking down, I see…
我离开墙壁，走向房间中央的坑。燃烧的天花板将光投射到坑的深处，我向下看，看到了……
Looking down into the pit, I see…
向下看进坑里，我看到了……
No, no, I cannot – I cannot speak of it! Not this! No, no, not this! Oh, any terror, but not this!
不，不，我不能——我无法言说！不要这样！不，不，不要这样！哦，任何恐怖都行，但不要这个！
I run from the edge and hide my face in my hands.
我从坑边跑开，把脸埋在手里。
It is getting hotter, much hotter. Shaking, I take my hands away from my face and look up. What’s this? The walls are moving. The room is changing, it is longer and narrower, the walls are closing in on me. So this is the new death – death by burning. Then come, Death! Any death is better than the pit!
越来越热，热得多。我颤抖着，把手从脸上拿开抬头看。这是什么？墙壁在移动。房间在变化，变得更长更窄，墙壁向我合拢。所以这是新的死法——烧死。那么来吧，死亡！任何死法都比掉进坑里好！
But the burning walls push me nearer and nearer to the centre of the room – and the pit. Of course! That is what they want! The walls will push me until I fall into the pit! There will be no escape from this death.
但燃烧的墙壁把我推得离房间中央——和那个坑——越来越近。当然！这就是他们想要的！墙壁会一直把我推向掉进坑里！这种死法无法逃脱！
So hot now, and getting hotter… the burning walls closing in… nowhere to stand… my back and arms are burnt… my feet are on the edge of the pit… I cannot hold… I give one last, long scream—
现在太热了，越来越热……燃烧的墙壁在合拢……无处立足……我的背和胳膊被烧伤了……我的脚在坑的边缘……我撑不住了……我发出最后一声长长的尖叫——
Voices! I can hear voices! Yes, and the sound of running feet, doors opening, men shouting. Now the burning walls are moving back. A hand catches my arm as I begin to fall, fainting, into the pit.
声音！我能听到声音！是的，还有奔跑的脚步声，门开了，人们在喊叫。现在燃烧的墙壁在退回去。当我开始晕倒掉进坑里时，一只手抓住了我的胳膊。
It is General Lasalle. The French army has arrived in the city of Toledo, and the Spanish Inquisition is at last in the hands of its enemies.
是拉萨尔将军。法国军队已经抵达托莱多城，西班牙宗教法庭终于落入了它的敌人手中。
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