8 After the robbery
8 抢劫之后
The night was bitterly cold.
夜晚寒冷刺骨。
A sharp wind whipped the fallen snow up into the air and blew it into every hole and corner.
凛冽的寒风卷起地上的积雪，吹进每一个缝隙和角落。
It was a night for the homeless to lie down and die; and for luckier people to sit close to their fires and thank God they were at home.
这样的夜晚，无家可归者只能倒下等死；而幸运的人们则能围坐在炉火旁，感谢上帝让他们拥有温暖的家。
In the workhouse where Oliver was born, Mrs Corney — the widow in charge — was making tea by her fire.
在奥利弗出生的济贫院里，负责管理的寡妇科尼太太正坐在炉火旁煮茶。
When she heard a knock at her door, she frowned and called out sharply, ‘Come in.’
听到敲门声时，她皱起眉头，厉声喊道：“进来。”
The frown, however, was quickly changed to a sweet smile when she saw Mr Bumble enter.
然而，当她看到邦布尔先生走进来时，皱眉立刻变成了甜美的微笑。
‘Hard weather, Mr Bumble,’ said the widow.
“天气真恶劣啊，邦布尔先生，”寡妇说道。
‘Yes, indeed, ma’am,’ replied the beadle.
“是啊，确实如此，夫人，”教区干事回答道。
‘We’ve had to give out to the poor people in this town great quantities of bread and cheese today, and they’re still complaining.
“今天我们已经给镇上的穷人发了大量的面包和奶酪，可他们还在抱怨。
Why, one man even came back and demanded some free fire-wood!
甚至有个男人还跑回来索要免费的木柴！
What does he want that for?
他要那个干什么？
People are never satisfied.
人永远不知足。
Give them one thing today, and tomorrow they’ll ask for something else!’
今天给了他们一样东西，明天他们就会要别的！”
Mrs Corney agreed that it was very shocking.
科尼太太也表示这实在令人震惊。
They discussed some workhouse business together, and then Mr Bumble looked hopefully at the teapot.
他们一起讨论了一些济贫院的事务，然后邦布尔先生满怀期待地看着茶壶。
Mrs Corney offered him some tea.
科尼太太便给他倒了些茶。
Instantly, Mr Bumble sat down by the fire and gave the widow such a warm smile that her face turned a delicate pink.
邦布尔先生立刻在炉火旁坐下，对寡妇露出了温暖的笑容，羞得她脸颊泛起淡淡的红晕。
She passed Mr Bumble the tea-cup, and as he took it, he managed to give her hand a little stroke.
她把茶杯递给邦布尔先生，他接茶时顺势轻轻抚摸了一下她的手。
‘You’re a kind-hearted woman, Mrs Corney,’ said the beadle.
“您真是个心地善良的女人，科尼太太，”教区干事说。
‘Oh, Mr Bumble!’ said the widow, smiling shyly.
“哦，邦布尔先生！”寡妇害羞地笑着说。
For a while there was a friendly silence between them, then Mr Bumble moved his chair closer to the widow’s.
两人之间保持着友好的沉默，过了一会儿，邦布尔先生把椅子挪得离寡妇更近了。
Mrs Corney, of course, did not notice this, but when the beadle’s arm began to slide around her waist, she felt she must make a small protest.
科尼太太当然没有注意到这一点，但当教区干事的手臂开始搂住她的腰时，她觉得必须稍微表示一下抗议。
Encouraged by this response, Mr Bumble immediately gave her a kiss, but at this interesting moment there was a sudden knock at the door.
受到这种反应的鼓励，邦布尔先生立刻吻了她一下，但就在这有趣的时刻，门外突然传来了敲门声。
Mr Bumble jumped to his feet and went to the other end of the room.
邦布尔先生猛地跳起来，走到了房间的另一头。
‘Please, Mrs Corney,’ said a voice outside.
“求求您，科尼太太，”门外一个声音说道。
‘Old Sally is going fast.’
“老莎莉快不行了。”
‘Well, what can I do to help her?’ asked Mrs Corney angrily.
“好吧，我能帮她什么呢？”科尼太太生气地问。
‘Nothing, ma’am,’ replied the old woman outside.
“没什么，夫人，”门外的老妇人回答。
‘But she says she has something to tell you, which you must hear.
“但她说有事要告诉您，您必须得听听。
She won’t die quietly till you come.’
您要是不去，她就死不瞑目。”
Complaining loudly, Mrs Corney asked Mr Bumble to wait until she came back.
科尼太太大声抱怨着，请邦布尔先生等她回来。
Then she followed the old woman up the stairs.
然后她跟着老妇人上了楼。
Old Sally lay in bed in a freezing cold room.
老莎莉躺在冰冷刺骨的房间的床上。
The fire was so small and mean that it gave no warmth at all.
炉火微弱得可怜，一点热气也没有。
Mrs Corney bent over the bed, and the dying woman opened her eyes.
科尼太太俯身在床边，垂死的女人睁开了眼睛。
‘Come closer,’ she murmured.
“靠近点，”她低声说。
‘Let me whisper in your ear.’
“让我在您耳边悄悄说。”
She held onto Mrs Corney’s arm and pulled her down towards her.
她抓住科尼太太的手臂，把她拉向自己。
‘In this same room I once helped a pretty young woman who came in with cut and bleeding feet, who gave birth to a boy and then died.’
“就在这间屋子里，我曾帮助过一个漂亮的年轻女人，她进来时双脚割破流血，生下一个男孩后就死了。”
‘Well?’ asked Mrs Corney impatiently.
“然后呢？”科尼太太不耐烦地问。
‘I robbed her. She was hardly dead before I stole it!’
“我抢了她的东西。她还没断气我就偷走了！”
‘Stole what?’
“偷了什么？”
‘It! The only thing she had. It was gold. It could have saved her life!’
“就是那个！她唯一拥有的东西。是金的。那本来可以救她的命！”
‘Gold? Who was this mother? Tell me!’
“金子？那个母亲是谁？告诉我！”
‘She told me to look after it when she died.’
“她临死前让我保管它。”
The old woman’s mind was getting confused.
老妇人的神志开始混乱了。
‘She trusted me, poor girl, and I stole it.’
“她信任我，可怜的姑娘，我却偷了它。”
‘Quick, tell me or it may be too late!’ said Mrs Corney greedily.
“快说，不然就来不及了！”科尼太太贪婪地说。
‘What was it, and what was the boy’s name?’
“那是什么？男孩叫什么名字？”
The old woman could hardly speak.
老妇人几乎说不出话来了。
‘Oliver. The gold I stole was —’
“奥利弗。我偷的金子是——”
‘Yes, yes! What?’
“对，对！是什么？”
The old woman fell back onto the bed, dead.
老妇人倒回床上，断了气。
Mrs Corney hurried back to her room, where Mr Bumble was still admiring her furniture and counting her silver tea spoons.
科尼太太匆匆回到自己的房间，邦布尔先生还在欣赏她的家具，数着她的银茶匙。
They sat down again by the fire, and soon Mr Bumble’s arm returned to its previous position round Mrs Corney’s waist.
他们再次在炉火旁坐下，很快邦布尔先生的手臂又回到了刚才的位置，搂住了科尼太太的腰。
It was not long before he asked her to marry him, and the widow happily accepted him.
没过多久他就向她求婚，寡妇欣然接受了。
While they drank to celebrate the arrangement, Mrs Corney told Mr Bumble about old Sally’s death, and the unknown gold object which she had stolen from the dead body of the young woman.
在他们举杯庆祝订婚时，科尼太太告诉了邦布尔先生老莎莉的死讯，以及她从那个年轻女人的尸体上偷来的不明金器。
After many expressions of undying love, Mr Bumble finally left the room and returned home, with bright visions of his future.
在表达了无数海枯石烂的爱意后，邦布尔先生终于离开房间回家去了，心中充满了对未来的美好憧憬。
While these events were happening in the workhouse, the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates were playing cards in Fagin’s house.
就在济贫院发生这些事的时候，“机灵鬼”和查理·贝茨正在费金的家里打牌。
The Dodger, as usual, was winning easily; somehow, he always seemed to know exactly what cards the other players had in their hands.
像往常一样，“机灵鬼”赢得轻而易举；不知怎么的，他似乎总是清楚地知道其他玩家手里有什么牌。
Suddenly there was a faint ring on the bell downstairs, and Toby came in — the man who had gone with Bill Sikes and Oliver to rob the house in Chertsey.
突然楼下传来微弱的铃声，托比走了进来——他就是那个曾同比尔·赛克斯和奥利弗一起去切特西抢劫房子的人。
Fagin jumped to his feet.
费金猛地站了起来。
‘Where are they?’ he screamed.
“他们在哪儿？”他尖叫道。
‘Sikes and the boy! Where are they hiding?’
“赛克斯和那个孩子！他们躲在哪里？”
‘We failed,’ said the robber.
“我们失败了，”强盗说。
‘What happened?’
“出了什么事？”
‘They fired and hit the boy. We ran away with Oliver between us, and they chased us with dogs.’
“他们开枪打中了孩子。我和赛克斯架着奥利弗逃跑，他们带着狗在后面追。”
‘And the boy? What about the boy?’ gasped Fagin.
“那孩子呢？孩子怎么样了？”费金喘着气问。
‘His head was hanging down, and he was cold. We needed to go faster so we left him in a field, alive or dead. That’s all I know about him.’
“他的头耷拉着，身子冰凉。我们需要跑得更快，所以就把他丢在了田野里，不管死活。关于他我只知道这些。”
Fagin did not wait to hear any more.
费金没再听下去。
He gave an angry scream, ran out of the house and hurried through the streets until he reached Bill Sikes’ house.
他愤怒地尖叫一声，冲出屋子，急匆匆穿过街道，直到来到比尔·赛克斯的家。
As he climbed the stairs, he thought, ‘Well, Nancy, if there’s anything going on here, I’ll find out about it — however clever you are.’
上楼时他想：“哼，南希，如果这里有什么猫腻，不管你多聪明，我都会查个水落石出。”
Nancy was alone upstairs in her room, her head on the table.
南希独自一人在楼上的房间里，头趴在桌子上。
‘She’s been drinking again,’ thought Fagin.
“她又喝酒了，”费金心想。
As he closed the door, she woke up.
当他关上门时，她醒了过来。
He told her what had happened during the robbery; she said nothing and her head returned to the table.
他告诉她抢劫时发生的事；她一言不发，头又趴回了桌上。
‘And where do you think the boy is now, my dear?’ Fagin asked her, trying hard to see her face.
“你觉得那孩子现在在哪儿，亲爱的？”费金问她，极力想看清楚她的脸。
‘Poor little child! Left alone like that.’
“可怜的小家伙！就这样被孤零零地丢下了。”
Nancy looked up.
南希抬起头来。
‘I hope the child’s dead. Then he’d be happier than any of us.’
“我希望那孩子已经死了。那样他会比我们任何人都幸福。”
‘What!’ said Fagin, in amazement.
“什么！”费金惊讶地说。
‘It’s better like that. The sight of the boy turns me against myself, and all of you.’
“那样更好。看到那孩子就让我厌恶我自己，也厌恶你们所有人。”
‘You’re drunk.’ Fagin suddenly lost his temper.
“你喝醉了。”费金突然发了脾气。
‘The boy’s worth a fortune to me — and now a drunken gang has lost him.
“那孩子对我来说价值连城——现在却被一群醉鬼弄丢了。
And if Sikes doesn’t return that boy to me, dead or alive, I’ll tell the police about him and I’ll get Sikes hanged. Just remember that!’
如果赛克斯不把那孩子还给我，不管是死是活，我就去报警，让赛克斯被绞死。你给我记住！”
When Fagin left her, Nancy was already back in a drunken sleep, her head lying on the table once more.
费金离开时，南希又陷入了醉梦之中，头再次趴在了桌上。
Fagin went out into the blackness of the night and walked home.
费金走进漆黑的夜色中，步行回家。
He had reached the corner of his street and was searching in his pocket for his key, when a dark figure came out of the shadows and crossed the road towards him.
当他走到自家街角，正在口袋里摸索钥匙时，一个黑影从暗处走出，穿过马路向他走来。
‘I’ve been waiting here for two hours, Fagin,’ said the stranger.
“我在这里等了两个小时了，费金，”陌生人说。
‘Where have you been?’
“你去哪儿了？”
‘On your business, my dear,’ said Fagin, glancing at him uneasily.
“去办你的事了，亲爱的，”费金不安地看了他一眼说。
‘We’d better talk inside.’
“我们最好进去谈。”
The door closed behind them and they crept quietly up to the top floor in order not to wake the sleeping boys downstairs.
他们身后关上了门，为了不打扰楼下熟睡的孩子们，他们悄悄地爬上顶楼。
They sat in a dark room, the only light coming from a candle burning in the passage outside.
他们坐在一间黑暗的房间里，唯一的光源来自外面走廊里点燃的一支蜡烛。
The stranger’s name was Monks, and he was in an evil mood.
陌生人名叫蒙克斯，此刻心情极其恶劣。
He listened to Fagin for a while, frowning heavily.
他听费金讲了一会儿，眉头紧锁。
‘It was badly planned,’ he said angrily.
“计划得太糟糕了，”他愤怒地说。
‘Couldn’t you have made the boy into an ordinary thief, and then got him arrested and sent out of the country for the rest of his life?’
“你就不能把那孩子变成个普通小偷，然后让他被抓起来，被驱逐出境度过余生吗？”
‘But he isn’t like the other boys here,’ Fagin said.
“但他和这里的其他孩子不一样，”费金说。
‘I had nothing to frighten him with.
“我没有什么能吓唬住他的。
Anyway, I’ve already helped you.
不管怎样，我已经帮过你了。
After he was caught by the police, stealing from the bookshop, I got Nancy to get him back. And then she felt sorry for him.’
他在书店偷东西被警察抓住后，是我让南希把他弄回来的。结果她却同情起他来。”
‘Kill her!’ Monks said impatiently.
“杀了她！”蒙克斯不耐烦地说。
‘We can’t afford to do that kind of thing,’ said Fagin.
“我们承担不起那种事的后果，”费金说。
‘But I can turn the boy into an ordinary thief now.
“但我现在可以把那孩子变成普通小偷。
And then Nancy will hard her heart against him. I know how women are. But if he’s already dead—’
那样南希就会对他狠下心来。我了解女人。但如果他已经死了——”
‘That’s not my fault!’ said Monks quickly.
“那不是我的错！”蒙克斯急忙说。
‘I always said to you — do anything you want to him, but don’t kill him.
“我一直跟你说——你想怎么处置他都行，但不要杀他。
I wouldn’t have been able to forget it, if you had.’
如果你杀了他，我永远无法释怀。”
Suddenly he jumped to his feet, staring at the wall opposite the door.
突然他跳了起来，盯着门对面的墙壁。
‘What’s that?’ he whispered, terrified.
“那是什么？”他惊恐地低语。
‘What? Where?’ cried Fagin.
“什么？在哪里？”费金叫道。
‘The shadow! I saw the shadow of a woman pass along that wall!’
“影子！我看见一个女人的影子从那面墙上掠过！”
White-faced, they both ran from the room into the passage.
两人脸色煞白，从房间跑到走廊里。
The candle threw long shadows down the stairs, but there was no one there.
烛光在楼梯上投下长长的影子，但那里空无一人。
They listened. Only silence filled the house.
他们侧耳倾听。整栋房子里只有死一般的寂静。
‘It was your imagination,’ said Fagin, softly.
“是你的幻觉，”费金轻声说。
‘I swear I saw it!’ replied Monks.
“我发誓我看到了！”蒙克斯回答。
They searched all the upstairs rooms. They were empty, and as quiet as death.
他们搜查了楼上所有的房间。里面空空如也，死寂无声。
Monks grew calmer, and eventually left the house at one o’clock in the morning.
蒙克斯渐渐平静下来，最终在凌晨一点离开了房子。
The chase down at Chertsey the previous night had not lasted long.
前一天晚上在切特西的追逐并没有持续很久。
There was a lot of noise of men shouting and dogs barking, as the servants from the house pursued the robbers across the fields.
男仆们喊着，狗吠叫着，一片嘈杂，他们追着强盗穿过田野。
But Sikes and Toby wasted no time.
但赛克斯和托比毫不耽搁。
They dropped Oliver’s unconscious body in a field, and disappeared into the fog and darkness in different directions.
他们把昏迷不醒的奥利弗丢在一片田野里，然后分头消失在雾气和黑暗中。
The three pursuers lost enthusiasm for the chase and agreed among themselves that it was much too dangerous to continue.
三个追赶者失去了追击的热情，一致认为继续追下去太危险了。
They returned to the house, keeping close together and trying to look brave.
他们紧紧靠在一起回到房子里，努力装出一副勇敢的样子。
Morning came, but Oliver still lay in the field as if dead.
天亮了，但奥利弗仍然躺在田野里，仿佛死了一般。
It began to rain heavily, and after a while Oliver opened his eyes.
开始下起了大雨，过了一会儿，奥利弗睁开了眼睛。
His left arm was covered in blood and hurting badly.
他的左臂沾满了血，疼痛难忍。
He felt so weak he could hardly stand, but he knew that if he stayed where he was, he would die.
他虚弱得几乎站不起来，但他知道如果留在原地，必死无疑。
Gasping with pain, he forced himself to his feet and with slow, shaky steps, began to walk.
他痛得直喘粗气，强迫自己站起来，迈着缓慢颤抖的步伐开始行走。
He had no idea where he was going, and moved forward mechanically, as though in a dream.
他不知道自己要去哪里，只是机械地向前挪动，仿佛在梦中一般。
After a while his feet found a road, and he looked round and saw a house in the distance.
走了一阵子，他的脚踩到了一条路，他环顾四周，看见远处有一所房子。
He decided he would rather die near human beings than in a cold field, so he turned his steps towards the house.
他决定宁可死在有人烟的地方，也不愿死在冰冷的田野里，于是转身朝那所房子走去。
As he came nearer, he realized that the house was familiar and he felt faint with terror.
走近时，他意识到这所房子很熟悉，顿时吓得头晕目眩。
But where else could he go?
可他还能去哪儿呢？
With a last effort, he crawled up the path and knocked on the door, then fell exhausted on the step.
他用尽最后的力气爬上小径敲了敲门，然后筋疲力尽地倒在台阶上。
It was now mid-morning.
此时已是上午时分。
Inside the house the men servants were still describing the night’s adventures to the cook and the servant girl, who gasped with appreciative horror at every exciting moment.
房子里，男仆们还在向厨娘和女佣描述夜里的冒险经历，每讲到惊险之处，她们都会配合地发出惊恐的喘息声。
They were all enjoying themselves very much — when there came a knock at the door.
他们都听得津津有味——这时传来了敲门声。
Pale with fright, they all stared at each other.
大家吓得脸色苍白，面面相觑。
Nobody was keen to answer the knock, so eventually they all went, including the dogs.
没人愿意去开门，最后只好大家一起过去，连狗也跟着去了。
Very cautiously, they opened the door, and saw nothing more alarming than poor Oliver, curled up in a sad little heap on the step.
他们小心翼翼地打开门，发现并没有什么可怕的东西，只有可怜的奥利弗蜷缩成一团，凄惨地躺在台阶上。
Then one of the men gave a shout, seized the boy by a leg and pulled him into the hall.
接着一个男人大喊一声，抓住男孩的一条腿把他拖进了大厅。
‘Here he is!’ he cried excitedly.
“他在这儿！”他兴奋地叫道。
‘Here’s the thief! I shot him last night!’
“小偷在这儿！昨晚是我开枪打的他！”
A young lady appeared at the top of the stairs.
一位年轻女士出现在楼梯顶端。
‘What’s going on here? Quiet, please! Is this poor boy very hurt?’
“这里怎么回事？请安静！这个可怜的孩子伤得很重吗？”
‘Very,’ said the servant, proudly.
“很重，”仆人自豪地说。
‘Then one of you go to town as fast as you can and fetch a policeman and Dr Losberne.
“那你们谁尽快去镇上，找个警察和洛斯伯恩医生来。
The rest of you, help to carry the boy upstairs and put him to bed. Treat him kindly, I beg you.’
其余的人帮忙把孩子抬上楼放到床上。求你们善待他。”
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