'Wal'r,' said the Captain, with a timid wink, 'go afore, my lad. Sing out, "good-bye, Captain Cuttle," when you're in the passage, and shut the door. Then wait at the corner of the street 'till you see me. “沃尔,”船长胆怯地眨眨眼睛,说道,“你先走,我的孩子。当你走到走廊里的时候,你就大声喊道,‘再见,卡特尔船长,’再把门关上。然后你在街道拐角里等着我,直到我们见面为止。” These directions were not issued without a previous knowledge of the enemy's tactics, for when Walter got downstairs, Mrs MacStinger glided out of the little back kitchen, like an avenging spirit. But not gliding out upon the Captain, as she had expected, she merely made a further allusion to the knocker, and glided in again. 这些指示是预先知道敌人的策略才发出的,因为当沃尔特走下楼的时候,麦克斯廷杰太太像一个复仇的妖魔一样,从后面的小厨房中悄悄地溜了出来,但是没有像她原先期望的那样碰上船长,她只是再一次暗示了一下门环的事,就又悄悄地溜回厨房里去了。 Some five minutes elapsed before Captain Cuttle could summon courage to attempt his escape; for Walter waited so long at the street corner, looking back at the house, before there were any symptoms of the hard glazed hat. At length the Captain burst out of the door with the suddenness of an explosion, and coming towards him at a great pace, and never once looking over his shoulder, pretended, as soon as they were well out of the street, to whistle a tune. 大约过了五分钟光景,卡特尔船长才鼓起勇气来设法逃走;因为沃尔特在街道拐角等了好久,一直回头看看那座房屋,但却没有看到那顶上了光的硬帽子的任何影子。终于,船长像爆炸一样突然地冲出到门外,大步地向他走来,一次也没有回头去看;当他们一离开这条街的时候,他就假装吹口哨。 'Uncle much hove down, Wal'r?' inquired the Captain, as they were walking along. “舅舅的情绪很低沉吧,沃尔?”他们向前走去的时候,船长问道。 'I am afraid so. If you had seen him this morning, you would never have forgotten it.' “我担心是这样。如果您今天早上看到他的话,那么您将永远忘不了他的那副神情。” 'Walk fast, Wal'r, my lad,' returned the Captain, mending his pace; 'and walk the same all the days of your life. Overhaul the catechism for that advice, and keep it!' “快些走,沃尔,我的孩子,”船长加快步伐,回答道,“你这一辈子永远用这同样的步子走路。请查一下《教义问答》,并记住这句忠告。” The Captain was too busy with his own thoughts of Solomon Gills, mingled perhaps with some reflections on his late escape from Mrs MacStinger, to offer any further quotations on the way for Walter's moral improvement They interchanged no other word until they arrived at old Sol's door, where the unfortunate wooden Midshipman, with his instrument at his eye, seemed to be surveying the whole horizon in search of some friend to help him out of his difficulty. 船长心中只顾想到所罗门·吉尔斯,也许也夹杂着他刚刚从麦克斯廷杰太太那里逃出来的回忆,所以没有再引用其他的话来帮助沃尔特来进一步完善他的德行。在他们到达老所尔的家门口之前,他们没有交谈其他的话;不幸的木制海军军官候补生手里拿着仪器在老所尔家的门口似乎正在向地平线眺望着,想要找一位朋友来帮助他摆脱困境。 'Gills!' said the Captain, hurrying into the back parlour, and taking him by the hand quite tenderly. 'Lay your head well to the wind, and we'll fight through it. All you've got to do,' said the Captain, with the solemnity of a man who was delivering himself of one of the most precious practical tenets ever discovered by human wisdom, 'is to lay your head well to the wind, and we'll fight through it!' “吉尔斯!”船长急忙跑到后客厅里,十分亲切地握着他的手。“昂起头来迎着风,我们将会战胜它。”船长像一个正在传达人类智慧所发现的最为宝贵、最切合实际的教义的人那样庄严地说道。“你应该做的一切,就是昂起头来迎着风,我们将会战胜它!” Old Sol returned the pressure of his hand, and thanked him. 老所尔紧紧地握着他的手,并且谢谢他。 Captain Cuttle, then, with a gravity suitable to the nature of the occasion, put down upon the table the two tea-spoons and the sugar-tongs, the silver watch, and the ready money; and asked Mr Brogley, the broker, what the damage was. 然后卡特尔船长以在这种场合适宜的庄重的神态,在桌子上放下那两只茶匙,那副方糖箝子,那只银表和现钱,同时问经纪人布罗格利先生,需要偿付多少钱。 |