11.Tom Faggus in danger 汤姆遇险
We still lived in fear of another attack from the Doones, and now that the soldiers had gone we had no one to help us.
我们仍然生活在对杜恩家族再次袭击的恐惧之中，如今士兵们已经撤离，我们无人可依。
The main reason for their first attack — Lorna — was gone, but I was sure that Carver now hated me with all his heart, and would destroy us all if he could.
他们第一次袭击的主要原因——洛娜——虽然已经离开，但我确信卡弗现在对我恨之入骨，只要有机会就会将我们赶尽杀绝。
However, Jeremy Stickles brought us some good news one day.
然而有一天，杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯给我们带来了好消息。
The King had at last agreed that the robbers should be punished, and that Jeremy should do whatever was necessary to catch them.
国王终于同意惩治这些强盗，并授权杰里米采取一切必要手段将他们捉拿归案。
So perhaps the Doones were saving their strength, preparing for a much bigger fight than their argument with me.
因此，杜恩家族或许正在养精蓄锐，准备一场比与我的恩怨规模更大的战斗。
Then something happened which made everyone afraid for the future.
接着发生了一件事，让所有人都对未来感到惶恐。
Suddenly, King Charles the Second died.
查理二世突然驾崩了。
There was terrible trouble in England, as everyone argued over who should be the new King, and soon fighting began.
英格兰陷入了严重的动荡，人们为新王人选争执不休，战火随即点燃。
I wondered if all this would bring any danger for Lorna.
我不禁担心这一切是否会给洛娜带来危险。
But the truth was, I knew very little about her now.
但事实上，我现在对她知之甚少。
She had not written to me since the day she had left, or even sent a message.
自从她离开那天起，她既没有给我写过信，也没有捎过只言片语。
I only knew what I had heard from travellers in the town.
我所知道的仅仅是从镇上旅人那里听来的消息。
They said that young Lady Lorna Dugal was much talked about in London, as one of the most beautiful women in the city.
他们说年轻的洛娜·杜加尔小姐在伦敦备受瞩目，被誉为城中最美丽的女子之一。
I became more and more certain that she had forgotten all about John Ridd, among the brighter stars of London.
我愈发确信，在伦敦那些璀璨群星之中，她早已把约翰·里德忘得一干二净了。
In June, the fighting became more serious.
到了六月，战事愈演愈烈。
There was now a new King — James, the son of Charles the Second — but many people in Dorset and Somerset were against him, and had joined an army of rebels.
新王詹姆斯——查理二世之子——虽已即位，但多塞特郡和萨默塞特郡的许多人反对他，纷纷加入了叛军。
There was no chance now that Jeremy Stickles and his soldiers would fight the Doones.
杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯和他的士兵们现在根本不可能去对付杜恩家族了。
King James needed all his men to fight the rebels.
詹姆斯国王需要调动所有兵力来镇压叛军。
At first we were very worried.
起初我们非常担忧。
Surely the Doones would attack us now.
想必杜恩家族此时定会向我们发起进攻。
But the Doones had seen a new hope for their future.
但杜恩家族却看到了未来的新希望。
They had joined the King’s enemies, hoping to win back their old land in the fighting.
他们投靠了国王的敌人，企图通过战争夺回昔日的领地。
So they had sent most of their men to join the rebels, and were too busy again to worry about the Ridds — at least for a while.
于是他们派出大部分人马加入叛军，再次忙得无暇顾及里德一家——至少暂时是这样。
As for me, I had decided that this battle between the King and his enemies was not my fight.
至于我，我已认定这场国王与其敌人之间的战争与我无关。
Most people in the towns and villages around Oare were on the King’s side and we gave no help to his enemies, but sensible people stayed at home.
奥厄周边村镇的大多数人都支持国王，我们虽未援助国王的敌人，但明智的人都选择待在家中。
Too many men would die in the fighting anyway, without our joining them.
即便我们不参与，这场战争也已注定要让无数人丧生。
However, I did get involved in the troubles, because one rainy day Annie came to see us, with some bad news.
然而，我还是卷入了这场纷争，因为在一个雨天，安妮带着坏消息来找我们。
She ran into the kitchen, her face wet with tears.
她冲进厨房，脸上挂满了泪水。
‘Oh, John!’ she cried. ‘You must help me!’
“噢，约翰！”她哭喊道，“你一定要帮帮我！”
‘Whatever is the matter, Annie dear?’ I said.
“到底出什么事了，亲爱的安妮？”我问。
‘It’s Tom,’ Annie cried. ‘He’s gone to join the rebels, and you must, oh, you must go after him and bring him back.’
“是汤姆，”安妮哭着说，“他去投奔叛军了，你必须，哦，你必须去把他追回来。”
We had been afraid of this.
我们一直担心的事还是发生了。
Tom could not forget the excitement of his old life and had become bored with farming.
汤姆无法忘怀昔日生活的刺激，对务农的日子感到了厌倦。
Mother was very unhappy and did not want me to go, but I had to help my unhappy sister.
母亲非常难过，不想让我去，但我必须帮助悲伤的姐姐。
And although I knew it would be dangerous, I was quite glad of the chance of adventure.
虽然我知道此行凶险，但我其实也有几分庆幸能有这次冒险的机会。
Perhaps — who knows? — I would learn some news of Lorna on my travels.
也许——谁知道呢？——我能在途中打听到洛娜的消息。
So I promised to fetch Annie’s husband home, and early the next morning I rode away on our fastest horse.
于是我答应把安妮的丈夫带回家，第二天一早便骑着家里最快的马出发了。
I went from town to town, asking for news of the fighting, but it was four days before I finally found the two armies at Bridgwater.
我辗转各个城镇打听战况，直到四天后才终于在布里奇沃特找到了两军的踪迹。
There had been a great battle the night before, which the rebels had lost, and many of them now lay dead or dying on the battlefield.
前一夜刚发生过一场大战，叛军战败，许多人此刻或死或伤地躺在战场上。
I shall never forget that terrible sight.
我永远忘不了那惨烈的景象。
I thought Tom must be dead, and I walked all over the battlefield, looking for his body.
我以为汤姆一定已经阵亡了，便走遍了整个战场寻找他的遗体。
Several times I stopped in my search, to give some poor dying man a last drink from my water bottle.
搜寻途中，我几次停下脚步，用水壶给那些垂死的可怜人喂上最后一口水。
After a time I found myself near an old farm building, and I suddenly saw that the riderless horse standing in the doorway was without doubt Tom Faggus’s horse.
过了一会儿，我来到一座旧农舍旁，猛然发现门口站着的那匹无主之马无疑是汤姆·法格斯的坐骑。
I hurried into the building, and found Tom lying on the ground, badly wounded.
我急忙跑进屋里，发现汤姆倒在地上，伤势严重。
He could still speak, but only in a whisper, because of the pain.
他还能说话，但因剧痛只能低声耳语。
‘Put me on my horse, John,’ he said, ‘and she’ll take me home. No one can catch her — she’s the fastest horse alive. It’s my best chance of escaping.’
“把我扶上马吧，约翰，”他说，“她会带我回家的。没人能追上她——她是世上跑得最快的马。这是我逃脱的最佳机会。”
He was right.
他说得没错。
The King’s soldiers were still riding around the battlefield, looking for rebels to kill.
国王的士兵仍在战场周围巡视，搜杀叛军。
So I tied up Tom’s wound as best I could, put him on his horse, and turned the horse’s head for home.
于是我尽力包扎好汤姆的伤口，将他扶上马背，然后把马头转向回家的方向。
‘Thank you, John. I am safe now,’ he whispered. He lay along his horse’s neck, to close the wound in his side. ‘But look out for yourself, John Ridd.’
“谢谢你，约翰。我现在安全了，”他低语道。他伏在马颈上，以压住肋下的伤口。“但你自己要当心啊，约翰·里德。”
I watched Tom’s horse disappear into the distance, and only a minute later I turned and saw soldiers coming towards me. ‘Stop,’ they said, ‘in the name of the King.’
我目送汤姆的马消失在远方，仅仅一分钟后，我一转身就看见一队士兵朝我逼近。“站住，”他们喝道，“奉国王之命！”
‘I’m not a rebel,’ I said. ‘I’m on the King’s side and —’
“我不是叛军，”我说，“我是支持国王的，而且——”
But they would not listen to me. ‘You are an enemy of the King,’ they said, ‘and the punishment is death.’
但他们不听我解释。“你是国王的敌人，”他们说，“罪当处死。”
I tried to argue with them, and as they laid their hands on me, I knocked one soldier to the ground.
我试图与他们争辩，当他们动手抓我时，我将一名士兵击倒在地。
This made them even angrier, and the captain ordered his men to tie me to a tree and shoot me at once.
这让他们更加愤怒，队长下令手下把我绑在树上立即枪决。
There was nothing I could do against twenty men, so I closed my eyes and tried to think about Lorna and my mother.
面对二十个人我毫无办法，只好闭上眼睛，努力回想洛娜和母亲的模样。
The captain gave the order to fire, but at the same moment I heard a horse coming towards us, and another voice shouting, ‘Stop!’
队长下达了开枪的命令，但就在同一时刻，我听见一阵马蹄声向我们疾驰而来，另一个声音高喊着：“住手！”
It was Jeremy Stickles!
是杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯！
He rode his horse between me and the guns, and started to argue with the captain. His voice was the sweetest sound I had heard for a long time!
他策马挡在我和枪口之间，开始与队长交涉。他的声音是我许久以来听过最悦耳的声音！
The argument was soon over.
争论很快就结束了。
I heard Jeremy mention Judge Jeffreys once or twice, and before long he had persuaded the captain not to shoot me.
我听到杰里米提了一两次杰弗里斯法官的名字，没过多久他就说服了队长不要开枪。
‘This man, John Ridd, is my prisoner,’ said Jeremy, ‘and I shall take him to London for trial there.’
“这个人，约翰·里德，是我的囚犯，”杰里米说，“我要把他带到伦敦受审。”
As we rode away together, I thanked Jeremy with all my heart for saving my life.
当我们一同骑马离开时，我衷心感谢杰里米的救命之恩。
‘You’re not safe yet, John,’ he said. ‘I know you’re not an enemy of the King, but many people will not believe you. If you want to stay a free man and keep your farm and land, there’s only one thing you can do — you must come to London with me and tell your story to Judge Jeffreys.’
“你还没脱离危险，约翰，”他说，“我知道你不是国王的敌人，但很多人不会相信。如果你想重获自由并保住你的农场和土地，只有一条路可走——你必须跟我回伦敦，向杰弗里斯法官陈述你的经历。”
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