7.Lorna leaves the valley 洛娜逃离山谷
I left Doone valley by my own secret route and went home to make plans for bringing Lorna to the farm.
我通过自己的秘密路线离开了杜恩山谷，回家去筹划把洛娜带到农场的事宜。
It was time to tell Mother all about Lorna and the danger she was in.
是时候告诉母亲关于洛娜的一切以及她所处的险境了。
At first Mother was very angry and unhappy at my news.
起初，母亲听到这个消息后非常生气和难过。
She talked wildly about going away and leaving the farm, but after a time she began to calm down.
她激动地说要离开这里，丢下农场不管，但过了一阵子，她开始平静下来。
‘When you see her, Mother,’ I said, ‘I’m sure you will love her like a daughter.
“母亲，当您见到她时，”我说，“我相信您一定会像对待亲生女儿一样爱她。”
And I know she will love you with all her heart — she is so good and gentle.’
我也知道她会全心全意地爱您——她是那么善良温柔。”
Mother was too kind-hearted to be angry for long.
母亲心地太善良了，气不了多久。
She cried a little more, then smiled and said, ‘Well, God knows what is good for us.
她又哭了一会儿，然后微笑着说：“好吧，只有上帝知道什么对我们最好。”
You must bring her here, John, and I will teach her how to be a farmer’s wife.’
约翰，你必须把她带到这里来，我会教她如何做一个农夫的妻子。”
Lorna and I had agreed a new signal.
洛娜和我约定了一个新的信号。
There was a tall tree near her grandfather’s house, which I could see from the cliff top above the valley.
在她祖父的房子附近有一棵大树，我在山谷上方的悬崖顶上就能看到它。
In the top branches of the tree there were seven large birds’ nests from the last summer.
树顶的枝丫上有七个去年夏天留下的大鸟巢。
Gwenny could climb like a cat, and if one morning saw only six nests, then Lorna’s grandfather was dead and she was in great danger.
格温妮爬树像猫一样灵巧，如果哪天早上她看到只剩六个巢，那就说明洛娜的祖父去世了，而她正处于极大的危险之中。
It was a bad winter that year.
那年冬天格外寒冷恶劣。
We had more snow than anyone could remember, and on Exmoor the snow was soon so deep that no one could walk on it safely.
雪下得比任何人记忆中的都要大，埃克斯穆尔高原上的积雪很快就深到没人能安全行走的地步。
I had to find a way to cross this, but I had an idea.
我必须想办法穿过这片雪地，但我有了个主意。
Lizzie had once shown me a book about the icy countries of the far north, where people wore ‘snow shoes’.
莉齐曾经给我看过一本关于遥远北方冰雪国度的书，那里的人们穿着“雪鞋”。
The book had pictures of these wide, flat shoes which stopped travellers’ feet going down through the snow.
书里有这种宽大扁平鞋子的图片，它们能防止旅行者的脚陷入雪中。
For the first time I thanked my sister in my heart for reading so many books!
我第一次在心里感谢姐姐读了那么多书！
I found some wood and animal skins, and soon I had made some snow shoes, like the ones in Lizzie’s book.
我找了些木头和兽皮，很快就做成了几双雪鞋，就像莉齐书里画的那样。
We had a sled on the farm, which we used when the ground was covered in ice.
我们农场有一个雪橇，通常在地面结冰时使用。
A horse could not pull it in this weather — but, with my snow shoes, I could!
在这种天气里马拉不动它——但是，穿上我的雪鞋，我可以拉动它！
I could use it to carry Lorna and her servant.
我可以用它来载洛娜和她的仆人。
Some days later I saw only six birds’ nests in the tree, and that evening I tied myself to the sled, and left for Doone valley.
几天后，我看到树上只剩下六个鸟巢，那天晚上我把自已绑在雪橇上，出发前往杜恩山谷。
I took the sled to the waterfall, which was now a fall of ice, and tied it up there.
我把雪橇拉到瀑布边，那里现在已经变成了一道冰瀑，并把雪橇拴在那里。
Then I continued on foot, going around the south side of the valley towards the Doone-gate.
然后我继续步行，绕过山谷南侧朝杜恩大门走去。
But when I looked down, I saw there was a quicker way to reach Lorna.
但当我向下看时，我发现了一条更快到达洛娜那里的路。
The sides of the valley, like everything else, were covered in deep snow, and here the snow was smooth and icy.
山谷两侧和其他所有地方一样，都被厚厚的积雪覆盖着，而且这里的雪面光滑结冰。
I looked around to check that there were no Doones in sight, then sat down on the icy snow and pushed myself off.
我环顾四周确认没有杜恩家族的人出现，然后坐在冰雪上用力一蹬滑了下去。
In seconds I had slid all the way down the mountainside, and landed in a hill of soft snow at the bottom.
几秒钟内我就顺着山坡滑到底部，落在了一堆松软的雪堆里。
At Sir Ensor’s house, I whispered Lorna’s name below the window, as before.
在恩索爵士的房子外，我像以前一样在窗下轻声呼唤洛娜的名字。
This time, Gwenny let me in, when she was sure who I was.
这一次，格温妮确认是我后，便让我进去了。
But inside I saw a terrible sight.
但在屋里我看到了可怕的一幕。
Gwenny looked almost mad with hunger, and Lorna lay back on a chair, as white as the valley all around us.
格温妮饿得几乎发狂，而洛娜瘫坐在椅子上，脸色苍白得像我们周围的山谷一样。
‘Good God!’ I said, and ran to her.
“天哪！”我喊道，向她跑去。
I took her in my arms but she was so weak that she could not speak at first.
我把她抱在怀里，但她虚弱得一开始连话都说不出来。
‘We’ve been kept in here for days without food,’ said Gwenny.
“我们被关在这里好几天没吃东西了，”格温妮说。
‘And they were going to keep us here until Lorna agreed to marry Carver.’
“他们打算一直把我们关在这里，直到洛娜同意嫁给卡弗为止。”
‘We must leave at once,’ I said.
“我们必须马上离开，”我说。
‘Will you come with me, Lorna? I promise to take you safely through the snow.’
“洛娜，你愿意跟我走吗？我保证带你安全穿过雪地。”
Lorna gave me her lovely smile. ‘Of course I will, dear,’ she whispered. ‘Of course I will.’
洛娜给了我一个可爱的微笑。“我当然愿意，亲爱的，”她低声说，“我当然愿意。”
‘And you too, of course, Gwenny,’ I said. ‘Be quick now, and help me to get your mistress ready.’
“当然还有你，格温妮，”我说，“快点，帮我给你的女主人收拾一下准备出发。”
From outside, I had heard the sounds of singing.
从外面，我听到了唱歌的声音。
There were usually guards around the house, Gwenny told me, but tonight the Doones were drinking and dancing to welcome Carver as their new leader.
格温妮告诉我，房子周围通常有守卫，但今晚杜恩家族的人正在喝酒跳舞，欢迎卡弗成为他们的新首领。
This would give us our chance — with all this happening, the robbers would never notice us leaving.
这给了我们机会——趁着这番热闹，强盗们绝不会注意到我们离开。
We were soon ready.
我们很快就准备好了。
I picked up my beautiful Lorna and carried her through the snow and the darkness to the other end of the valley.
我抱起美丽的洛娜，带着她穿过风雪和黑暗，来到山谷的另一端。
Gwenny was able to follow us, putting her feet in the places where my snow shoes had been.
格温妮踩着我在雪地上留下的脚印，得以跟上我们。
I made Lorna comfortable in the sled, with her little servant beside her, and I told her to hold on to Lorna tightly.
我让洛娜舒服地躺在雪橇里，让她的小侍女坐在旁边，并嘱咐侍女紧紧扶住洛娜。
The waterfall was now a path of ice — very steep and dangerous, but I was able to take the sled down it, using my stick, and all my strength, to stop it going too fast on the ice.
瀑布现在成了一条冰道——非常陡峭且危险，但我用木棍和全身力气控制速度，成功地把雪橇滑了下去。
When we were down the waterfall, I tied myself to the sled and began to pull.
下了瀑布之后，我把自已绑在雪橇上开始拉拽。
It was hard work for me — but the best work I had ever done in my life!
这对我来说是苦差事——却也是我一生中做过的最棒的事！
There was no time to lose, with Lorna so weak from hunger and cold, so I pulled fast, and an hour later we were home.
刻不容缓，因为洛娜因饥寒交迫已极度虚弱，所以我拼命快拉，一个小时后我们就到家了。
My mother and sisters came to the door, and helped me to carry Lorna in.
母亲和姐妹们来到门口，帮我把洛娜抬进屋。
We put her in a chair by the fire, and gave her some soup.
我们把她安置在炉火旁的椅子上，喂了她一些汤。
Then she slept, while I watched over her.
然后她睡着了，我在旁边守护着她。
After a time, she began to wake up.
过了一会儿，她慢慢醒了过来。
She put her trembling hands into mine, and looked at me with so much love in her eyes that I could not find the words to speak to her.
她把颤抖的双手放进我的手里，眼中满含爱意地望着我，让我感动得说不出话来。
We sat like this for several minutes, and then we heard a little sound behind us.
我们就这样静静地坐了几分钟，然后听到身后传来轻微的声响。
It was Mother, crying with happiness to see us so loving.
是母亲，看到我们如此恩爱，她高兴得哭了。
At this, Lorna got up and went to her.
见此情景，洛娜站起身走向母亲。
She knelt beside Mother’s chair and looked up into her face.
她跪在母亲的椅子旁，仰头看着母亲的脸。
Mother put her hand on Lorna’s hair. ‘My sweet child,’ she said softly.
母亲把手放在洛娜的头发上，轻声说道：“我可怜的孩子。”
A few days later, when Lorna and I were sitting together by the fire, she said to me:
几天后，当我和洛娜一起坐在炉火旁时，她对我说：
‘John, you gave me a beautiful ring, and now I want to give you something.
“约翰，你送了我一枚漂亮的戒指，现在我也想送你一件东西。”
It is only a very poor, old thing, but it’s all I have.
这只是一件很破旧的老物件，但却是我仅有的一切了。
My grandfather gave it to me before he died. I hope you will take it.’
这是祖父临终前给我的。希望你能收下它。”
Then she put on my finger the strangest ring I had ever seen.
接着，她在我手指上戴上了一枚我从未见过的最奇特的戒指。
It was very old, and there was a picture on it.
戒指非常古老，上面还刻着一幅图案。
It was hard to see what the picture was, but it looked almost like a cat in a tree.
很难看清那图案是什么，但看起来几乎就像一只树上的猫。
‘I shall wear it, my love,’ I said, ‘until the day I die.’
“我会戴着它的，我的爱人，”我说，“直到我生命终结的那一天。”
0 条评论