The Lighthouse
灯塔
When the engines stopped, the Forfarshire was about five kilometres east of St Abbs Head, in Scotland.
当引擎停止运转时，“福法尔郡号”正位于苏格兰圣阿布斯角以东约五公里处。
The ship was travelling north, from Hull to Dundee.
这艘船正从赫尔驶往邓迪，一路向北航行。
But the wind came from the north, so the Forfarshire, without her engines, began to go south again, back to England.
但风从北方吹来，因此失去动力的“福法尔郡号”又开始向南漂流，回到了英格兰方向。
It was dark, and the wind was very strong.
天色漆黑，狂风大作。
About thirty kilometres south-east of St Abbs Head is a group of small rocky islands not far from the mainland.
在圣阿布斯角东南方约三十公里处，有一群距离大陆不远的小型岩石岛屿。
These are the Farne Islands.
这就是法恩群岛。
On one of them, Longstone Island, there is a lighthouse.
在其中一座名为朗斯通的岛上，矗立着一座灯塔。
There were three people in the lighthouse that night — William Darling, his wife Thomasin, and their daughter Grace.
那天晚上，灯塔里有三个人——威廉·达林、他的妻子托马辛以及他们的女儿格蕾丝。
Grace’s brothers were usually there too, but that night they were in Bamburgh, on the mainland.
格蕾丝的兄弟们通常也在灯塔里，但当晚他们都在大陆上的班堡。
At seven o’clock that night, William Darling went up the long stairs of the lighthouse to light the big oil lantern.
当晚七点，威廉·达林爬上灯塔长长的楼梯，去点亮那盏巨大的油灯。
Grace went with him.
格蕾丝随他一同前往。
William Darling was a thin, strong man about fifty years old.
威廉·达林是个瘦削而强健的男人，大约五十岁年纪。
He moved quickly and quietly.
他行动敏捷且悄无声息。
He had a candle in his hand.
他手里拿着一根蜡烛。
Sometimes he turned to talk to Grace, and the candlelight lit up the big brown eyes in his kind, old face.
有时他会转过身来和格蕾丝说话，烛光映照出他慈祥苍老面容上那双棕色的大眼睛。
Grace was a young woman about twenty-two years old.
格蕾丝是个二十二岁左右的年轻女子。
She was not very tall or strong.
她个子不高，也不算强壮。
She had big brown eyes like her father, and soft brown hair.
她有着像父亲一样棕色的大眼睛和柔软的棕色头发。
She carried an oil can in one hand, and held the side of her long skirts with the other hand.
她一手提着油壶，另一手拎着长裙的裙摆。
She smiled at her father while they talked.
父女俩交谈时，她对着父亲微笑。
At the top of the lighthouse Grace and her father came into a small room.
在灯塔顶端，格蕾丝和父亲走进了一个小房间。
This room had no walls — just big windows all around.
这个房间没有墙壁，四周全是巨大的窗户。
The noise of the wind and rain was terrible here, and they had to shout to hear each other.
这里的风雨声大得可怕，他们必须大声喊叫才能听见彼此的声音。
Grace put oil in the big lantern in the middle of the room, and William lit it.
格蕾丝给房间中央的大灯添了油，威廉将其点燃。
When the lantern was burning, the big silver mirrors began to move slowly around it.
灯亮起后，巨大的银色反光镜开始围绕着它缓缓转动。
William Darling and his daughter stood and watched them.
威廉·达林和女儿站在一旁注视着这一切。
The rain crashed against the windows, and the wind screamed like an animal in the night.
雨水猛烈地拍打着窗户，狂风在夜色中如野兽般嘶吼。
‘God help the poor sailors to see this light,’ shouted William.
“愿上帝保佑可怜的水手们能看到这灯光，”威廉大喊道。
‘It’s as dark as death out there. No moon, no stars — nothing but wind and rain and wild white water.’
“外面黑得像死亡一样。没有月亮，没有星星——只有风雨和汹涌的白色浪花。”
‘Let us pray there are no ships near the rocks,’ shouted Grace.
“让我们祈祷礁石附近没有船只吧，”格蕾丝喊道。
‘The storm will wreck any ship that comes near them tonight.’
“今晚任何靠近那里的船只都会被风暴摧毁。”
‘That’s true, lass,’ said William.
“说得对，孩子，”威廉说。
‘But we can do no more now. Let’s go down to supper.’
“但我们现在也无能为力了。下去吃晚饭吧。”
The father and daughter went slowly down the dark, narrow stairs to the kitchen.
父女俩沿着黑暗狭窄的楼梯慢慢走下厨房。
Grace’s mother, Thomasin, was putting the supper on the table.
格蕾丝的母亲托马辛正在把晚餐端上桌。
She was a whitehaired woman of sixty-five.
她是一位六十五岁的白发妇人。
‘Did you see anything?’ she asked.
“你们看到什么了吗？”她问道。
‘No, my love, nothing,’ William answered. ‘Only the rain on the windows.’
“没有，亲爱的，什么也没看到，”威廉回答，“只有打在窗户上的雨水。”
‘Thank God,’ she said. ‘You couldn’t help anyone tonight, William. If there is a shipwreck, you can do nothing. The boys aren’t here.’
“谢天谢地，”她说，“今晚你帮不了任何人，威廉。如果发生海难，你也无能为力。儿子们都不在这儿。”
‘But, mother,’ Grace said. ‘Father has to try to save people. It’s his job. He can’t leave them to die.’
“可是，妈妈，”格蕾丝说，“父亲必须尽力救人。这是他的职责。他不能眼睁睁看着他们死去。”
‘Grace, no man could row a boat by himself in this wild sea,’ said Thomasin.
“格蕾丝，在这种狂暴的海面上，没有人能独自划动一艘船，”托马辛说。
‘So let us thank God that there are no poor ships near us, on this terrible night.’
“所以，让我们感谢上帝，在这个可怕的夜晚，我们附近没有可怜的船只。”
‘Yes, Grace, let us thank God for that,’ said William.
“是啊，格蕾丝，让我们为此感谢上帝吧，”威廉说。
And so the three people sat quietly around their table in the warm kitchen, and put their hands together to pray.
于是，这三个人静静地围坐在温暖厨房的桌旁，双手合十开始祈祷。
In the black night outside, the wind screamed, and the big waves crashed against the rocks, again and again and again.
在外面漆黑的夜里，狂风呼啸，巨浪一次又一次地撞击着岩石。
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