3.Back to Doone valley 重返杜恩山谷
The months and the years went by, and I grew very tall and strong, as my father had been.
岁月流逝，我长得像父亲一样高大强壮。
By the time I had finished growing, I was bigger than any man on Exmoor, and could pick up John Fry with one hand and hold him in the air — until he begged me to put him down.
到我成年时，我的体格比埃克斯穆尔的任何人都魁梧，能单手把约翰·弗莱举到半空中——直到他求我把他放下来。
My sister Annie grew more and more beautiful every year, with her wide blue eyes and soft brown hair.
我的妹妹安妮一年比一年漂亮，她有着湛蓝的大眼睛和柔软的棕发。
She was so kind and so gentle that everyone loved to be with her, and it is easy to understand why my mother’s cousin, Tom Faggus, fell in love with her.
她是那样善良温柔，大家都喜欢和她在一起，也难怪我母亲的表亲汤姆·法格斯会爱上她。
Tom Faggus was someone that our family was both proud and ashamed of.
对于汤姆·法格斯这个人，我们家既引以为豪又深感羞愧。
For a time he was one of the most famous robbers in England, and people still tell the stories of his adventures all over the country.
他曾一度是英格兰最出名的强盗之一，全国各地至今仍在流传他的冒险故事。
He had been an honest farmer once, but a rich man had used the law to steal his farm, and after that Tom took his revenge on all rich men he met on the roads.
他本是个老实的农夫，但一个富人利用法律夺走了他的农场，从此汤姆便向他在路上遇到的所有富人复仇。
Perhaps that was why he was so popular with the people, as he stole only from the rich, gave generously to the poor and the sick, and never hurt anyone in his life.
也许正因如此，他才深受百姓爱戴，因为他只劫富济贫，且一生从未伤害过任何人。
While I was still a boy, he came to our farm one day, asking my mother for food and a bed for the night.
在我还是个孩子的时候，有一天他来到我们的农场，向我母亲讨些食物和借宿一晚。
At first my mother told him to go away, fearing that we children would learn bad ways from him, but in the end she agreed.
起初母亲让他走开，生怕我们孩子跟他学坏，但最终还是同意了。
‘You may be a bad man in some ways,’ she said to him, ‘but there are far worse than you. So come and sit by the fire, and eat whatever we can give you.’
“在某些方面你或许是个坏人，”她对他说，“但比你坏的人多得是。所以过来坐在炉火旁吧，吃点我们能给你的东西。”
Tom always had a smile and a good word for everybody, and was great fun to be with.
汤姆总是对每个人笑脸相迎、言语友善，和他在一起非常有趣。
All the time he was with us, I saw Annie looking at him very kindly, and over the years we had many more visits from him.
在他和我们相处的时光里，我看到安妮总是含情脉脉地看着他，此后的几年里他又多次来访。
As for Lizzie, I never thought anyone would fall in love with her!
至于莉齐，我从没想过会有人爱上她！
She was small and thin, and perhaps a little too clever — you never knew what she was going to say next.
她个子瘦小，也许还有点过于聪明——你永远不知道她下一句会说什么。
But I should not talk in this way about my own sister.
但我不该这样议论自己的亲妹妹。
My mother didn’t seem to grow any older, and was still pretty, and as good-hearted as ever.
母亲似乎没有变老，依然美丽，心地也一如既往地善良。
She had never forgotten my father, and as the years went by, she still sometimes cried for him.
她从未忘记过父亲，随着岁月流逝，她有时仍会为他落泪。
In all this time, if I thought of Lorna Doone at all, it was only as a kind of dream.
在这些年里，即便我想起洛娜·杜恩，那也只像是在回忆一场梦。
And the Doone men went on robbing and killing, just as they pleased.
而杜恩家族的人依旧随心所欲地烧杀抢掠。
Then one Christmas, when I was twenty-one, my Uncle Ben was robbed by the Doones on his way across Exmoor.
后来在我二十一岁那年的圣诞节，本叔叔在穿越埃克斯穆尔的途中被杜恩家的人抢劫了。
He had been coming to visit us, and when he didn’t arrive, my mother sent me out to look for him.
他本是来探望我们的，见他迟迟未到，母亲便派我出去寻找。
I found him on a high, lonely path, tied on to his horse with his nose to its tail.
我在一条偏僻的高处小路上找到了他，他被绑在马背上，脸贴着马尾巴。
He was very angry, and wanted revenge on the Doones.
他怒不可遏，想要向杜恩家报仇。
He asked me to show him where they lived, so that he could learn the best way to attack them ‘when the time was right’.
他让我带路去看看他们的住处，以便了解“时机成熟时”进攻他们的最佳方式。
So a day or two later I took him up into the mountains that looked down on the valley.
于是一两天后，我带他登上了俯瞰山谷的山峦。
I had not been back this way since I was fourteen, and on the way, I thought of the girl I had met in this valley — of her lovely dark eyes, her sweet smile, her sadness… and her loneliness.
自从十四岁那年以后，我就再也没走过这条路；途中，我想起了在这个山谷里遇见的那个女孩——想起她可爱的黑眸、甜美的微笑、她的忧伤……还有她的孤独。
At the top of a steep cliff, we looked down into the long, green Doone valley.
站在陡峭的悬崖顶端，我们俯瞰着狭长翠绿的杜恩山谷。
At either end was a narrow gap in the mountain walls.
山谷两端的山壁各有一道狭窄的缺口。
At the further end was the waterfall which I had climbed seven years before, and at the other was what we called the Doone-gate.
远端是我七年前攀爬过的瀑布，另一端则是我们称之为“杜恩之门”的地方。
This was two rocky cliffs facing each other, with only a narrow path between them.
那是两座对峙的岩崖，中间仅有一条窄道相通。
It was like the gate of a castle, and it seemed impossible to break into the valley.
它就像城堡的大门一样，想闯入山谷似乎是不可能的。
But Uncle Ben saw a way.
但本叔叔看出了门道。
‘Do you see how you could attack them?’ he said. ‘If you put big guns along the cliffs on both sides, and fired down into the valley, you could defeat the Doones in half an hour.’
“你看该怎么攻打他们？”他说，“如果在两侧悬崖上架起大炮，朝山谷里轰击，半小时内就能消灭杜恩家的人。”
But I was not listening to him.
但我根本没听他在说什么。
I was looking across to the waterfall end of the valley, and a little figure in white walking there, someone who walked with a very light step.
我正眺望着山谷瀑布那一端，那里有一个身着白衣的娇小身影在走动，步履极其轻盈。
My heart began to beat more quickly, and the blood came to my face.
我的心跳开始加速，脸上泛起了红晕。
In seven years I had half-forgotten her, and she would never remember me, I thought.
七年来我已经快把她忘了，而且我想她也绝不会记得我了。
But at that moment, once and for all, I saw my future in front of me: Lorna Doone.
但就在那一刻，我彻底看清了自己的未来就在眼前：洛娜·杜恩。
On the way home I was quiet, and Uncle Ben asked me many times what was wrong with me.
回家的路上我一言不发，本叔叔问了我好几次是怎么了。
But I could not tell him. The truth was, I had decided to go back into Doone valley.
但我没法告诉他。事实是，我已下定决心要重返杜恩山谷。
I waited until Saint Valentine’s day — the exact day when I had first entered the valley.
我一直等到情人节那天——正是我初次进入山谷的日子。
Again, I followed the river, and again I climbed the waterfall.
我再次沿着河流前行，再次攀上了瀑布。
Although I was seven years older, the climb was not easy.
虽然长了七岁，但攀登起来依然不易。
When I got to the top, I looked around me carefully.
到达顶端后，我仔细地环顾四周。
In the early spring sunshine, the valley was beautiful.
在初春的阳光下，山谷美不胜收。
As I looked at the stream and the fields of grass on either side of it, I forgot about any dangers — and then I heard someone singing, in a beautiful voice.
当我凝视着溪流及两岸的草地时，忘却了一切危险——就在这时，我听到有人用美妙的嗓音在歌唱。
At first I hid behind a rock, but when I looked out, I saw the lovely sight of Lorna Doone coming towards me, along by the side of the stream.
起初我躲在一块岩石后面，但当我探出头时，看到了动人的一幕：洛娜·杜恩正沿着溪边向我走来。
Her beauty frightened me. How could I — only a farmer — talk to her?
她的美貌让我心生怯意。我——区区一个农夫——怎么配和她说话？
But something seemed to pull at me and I came out from behind the rock.
但仿佛有一种力量牵引着我，我从岩石后走了出来。
At first, she turned to run away, not knowing who I was, but then I said, ‘Lorna Doone!’ and she seemed to remember me.
起初，她因不认识我而转身欲逃，但当我喊出“洛娜·杜恩！”时，她似乎想起了我。
A smile broke out on her face.
她脸上绽放出了笑容。
‘I’m John Ridd,’ I said, ‘the boy who gave you those beautiful fish, seven years ago today.’
“我是约翰·里德，”我说，“就是七年前的今天送给你那些漂亮鱼儿的那个男孩。”
‘Oh, yes — the boy who was so frightened that he hid behind those rocks. I remember.’
“哦，是的——那个吓得躲在岩石后面的男孩。我记得。”
‘And do you remember how kind you were, and how you wanted to help me? And then you went away, riding on a big man’s shoulders, and pretending you had never seen me. But you looked back and waved at me.’
“你还记得你当时多么善良，多么想帮我吗？然后你离开了，骑在一个大汉的肩膀上，假装从没见过我。但你回过头来向我挥了手。”
‘Oh, yes. I remember everything, because it isn’t often I see anybody, except — I mean… Well, I just remember, that’s all. But don’t you remember, sir, how dangerous this place is?’
“哦，是的。我什么都记得，因为我很少见到人，除了——我是说……好吧，我只是记得罢了。但是先生，难道您不记得这里有多危险吗？”
But I couldn’t answer her. She had kept her eyes on me all the time — large eyes, of a softness and brightness and beauty that took my breath away.
但我无法回答她。她的目光一直停留在我身上——那双大眼睛如此柔和、明亮、美丽，令我屏息凝神。
I felt love taking hold of me — a love too deep and too strong for words.
我感到爱意将我紧紧攫住——这份爱深沉强烈得无法用言语表达。
How could I explain feelings that I did not really understand myself?
连我自己都无法真正理解这种情感，又该如何向她解释呢？
She turned her eyes away from me. ‘I don’t think you can possibly know, John Ridd, the dangers of this place, or what its people are like.’
她把目光从我身上移开。“约翰·里德，我想你根本不可能知道这个地方有多危险，也不知道这里的人是什么样子的。”
I could see that she herself was very frightened. She was trembling, from fear that someone might see me while I was there, and hurt me.
我能看出她自己也非常害怕。她在发抖，生怕有人看到我在这里而伤害我。
To tell the truth, I also grew afraid, and thought I had better go and say no more, until the next time I came.
说实话，我也开始害怕了，心想最好还是先离开，不再多说什么，等下次再来。
I touched her white hand softly. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ I said. ‘I’ll go now, but I’ll come again soon, and bring you some fresh eggs from our farm.’
我轻轻触碰了她白皙的手。“别怕，”我说，“我现在就走，但很快还会再来，给你带些我们农场的新鲜鸡蛋。”
She reminded me again of the danger. ‘But,’ she went on, ‘it seems that you still remember your secret way in,’ and she smiled at me kindly.
她再次提醒我这里很危险。“不过，”她接着说，“看来你还记得进来的秘密通道，”并对我报以温柔的微笑。
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