下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
"That settled it, that first glimpse he caught of her. He did not start back down the Yukon in a week, as he had intended. He lingered on a month, two months, all summer. And we who had suffered understood, and wondered what the outcome would be. Undoubtedly, in our minds, it seemed that Flush of Gold had met her master. And why not? There was romance sprinkled all over Dave Walsh. He was a Mammon King, he had made the Mammon Creek strike; he was an old sour dough, one of the oldest pioneers in the land—men turned to look at him when he went by, and said to one another in awed undertones, 'There goes Dave Walsh. ' And why not? He stood six feet four; he had yellow hair himself that curled on his neck; and he was a bull—a yellow—maned bull just turned thirty—one.
“他见到她的第一眼，就下了决心。一周后他没有如之前打算好的那样，启程沿育空河顺流而下回去。他逗留了一个月、两个月、整个夏天。我们这些曾吃过苦头的人理解，也想知道结局会怎样。毋庸置疑，在我们看来，金光好像遇到了可以征服她的男人。怎么能不是呢？爱情遍布了戴夫•沃尔什的全身。他是一个玛门国王，他发现了玛门河的矿藏。他是个老居民，是这片土地最早的开拓者之一——他路过时男人们都会转身看他，而且还会充满敬畏地低声对彼此说， ‘那就是戴夫•沃尔什。’ 怎么能不是呢？他身高六英尺四英寸，他那黄色的头发在脖颈处卷曲，他就是一头公牛——一头刚满三十一岁的黄色鬃毛的公牛。
"And Flush of Gold loved him, and, having danced him through a whole summer's courtship, at the end their engagement was made known. The fall of the year was at hand, Dave had to be back for the winter's work on Mammon Creek, and Flush of Gold refused to be married right away. Dave put Dusky Burns in charge of the Mammon Creek claim, and himself lingered on in Dawson. Little use. She wanted her freedom a while longer; she must have it, and she would not marry until next year. And so, on the first ice, Dave Walsh went alone down the Yukon behind his dogs, with the understanding that the marriage would take place when he arrived on the first steamboat of the next year.
“金光爱他，而且他追求她的整个夏天里，她都在和他跳舞。最后他们订婚的事公之于众。那年的秋天马上就要到了，戴夫必须回玛门河开始冬天的工作，而金光不愿马上结婚。戴夫把玛门河的申请产权的土地交给达斯基•伯恩斯掌管，他自己则继续逗留在道森。但这没多大用。她想拥有再长一点儿时间的自由。她必须拥有，直到第二年她才肯结婚。因此，冰面刚冻结好，戴夫•沃尔什就一个人坐着狗拉的雪橇沿育空河顺流而下。他们达成默契，第二年他坐着第一艘汽船到达的时候就结婚。
"Now Dave was as true as the Pole Star, and she was as false as a magnetic needle in a cargo of loadstone. Dave was as steady and solid as she was fickle and fly—away, and in some way Dave, who never doubted anybody, doubted her. It was the jealousy of his love, perhaps, and maybe it was the message ticked off from her soul to his; but at any rate Dave was worried by fear of her inconstancy. He was afraid to trust her till the next year, he had so to trust her, and he was pretty well beside himself. Some of it I got from old Victor Chauvet afterwards, and from all that I have pieced together I conclude that there was something of a scene before Dave pulled north with his dogs. He stood up before the old Frenchman, with Flush of Gold beside him, and announced that they were plighted to each other. He was very dramatic, with fire in his eyes, old Victor said. He talked something about 'until death do us part'; and old Victor especially remembered that at one place Dave took her by the shoulder with his great paw and almost shook her as he said: 'Even unto death are you mine, and I would rise from the grave to claim you. ' Old Victor distinctly remembered those words' Even unto death are you mine, and I would rise from the grave to claim you. 'And he told me afterwards that Flush of Gold was pretty badly frightened, and that he afterwards took Dave to one side privately and told him that that wasn't the way to hold Flush of Gold—that he must humour her and gentle her if he wanted to keep her.
“那时的戴夫就像北极星一样忠诚，而她则像众多磁石中的磁针一样摇摆不定。戴夫坚定不移而且忠诚可靠，而她用情不专而且轻浮不定。在某些方面，从未怀疑过别人的戴夫，对她产生了怀疑。或许，是他的爱令他产生猜忌，也许是因为她的灵魂传达给他的灵魂的讯息，但不管怎么说，戴夫因怕她变心而感到忧虑。戴夫不敢到明年之前一直信任他，但他又不得不这样信任她，他几乎发狂了。有些事情是我后来从老维克托•肖韦那里听来的，从我拼起来的所有事情中我断定，在戴夫驾着狗北去之前发生了这样一幕。戴夫站到那个法国老人面前，金光则站在戴夫旁边。戴夫宣布他和金光已经订婚了。老维克托说，戴夫当时非常激动，眼中充满了热情。他说了些类似 ‘直到死亡将我们分开’ 的话。老维克托尤其记得，在一个地方，戴夫用他的大手抓住金光的肩膀，几乎是边晃着她边说道： ‘即使是死了，你也是我的，我会从墓穴里站出来占有你。’ 老维克托清楚地记得那些话， ‘即使是死了，你也是我的，我会从墓穴里站出来占有你。’ 他事后告诉我金光真是被吓坏了，他后来私下把戴夫叫到一旁，告诉他那不是抓住金光的方式——如果他想拥有她的话，就必须迎合她、抚慰她。
"There is no discussion in my mind but that Flush of Gold was frightened. She was a savage herself in her treatment of men, while men had always treated her as a soft and tender and too utterly—utter something that must not be hurt. She didn't know what harshness was... until Dave Walsh, standing his six feet four, a big bull, gripped her and pawed her and assured her that she was his until death, and then some. And besides, in Dawson, that winter, was a music—player—one of those macaroni—eating, greasy—tenor—Eye—talian—dago propositions—and Flush of Gold lost her heart to him. Maybe it was only fascination—I don't know. Sometimes it seems to me that she really did love Dave Walsh. Perhaps it was because he had frightened her with that even—unto—death, rise—from—the—grave stunt of his that she in the end inclined to the dago music—player. But it is all guesswork, and the facts are, sufficient. He wasn't a dago; he was a Russian count—this was straight; and he wasn't a professional piano—player or anything of the sort. He played the violin and the piano, and he sang—sang well—but it was for his own pleasure and for the pleasure of those he sang for. He had money, too—and right here let me say that Flush of Gold never cared a rap for money. She was fickle, but she was never sordid.
“在我看来，金光毋庸置疑是被吓到了。她本人对待男人很残酷，然而男人却总是把她当成是温柔脆弱、绝对绝对不能受到伤害的女子。她从不知什么是残酷……直到身高六英尺四英寸的戴夫•沃尔什出现，他像一头大公牛一样，抓着她、笨拙地抚摸她，并向她保证到死她都是他的人，而且还远不止这些。另外，那年冬天，在道森有一个音乐家——那些吃通心粉、油嘴滑舌、追求金光的意大利人中的一个——金光爱上了他。或许那只是迷恋——我不知道。有时在我看来她好像真的爱戴夫•沃尔什。或许是因为他那场 ‘就算死了也要从墓穴里站出来’ 的惊人表演吓到了她，她最终倾向了那个意大利音乐家。但这一切都是猜测，而事实是很充分的。他不是意大利佬，他是个俄国伯爵——这是真的。他并不是职业钢琴家或者诸如此类的别的什么。他拉小提琴、弹钢琴，还唱歌——唱得很好——但那是为了让自己和那些自己为之歌唱的人高兴。他也有钱——在这里我要说明一下，金光从来不在乎钱。她虽用情不专，但从不贪婪。
"But to be getting along. She was plighted to Dave, and Dave was coming up on the first steamboat to get her—that was the summer of '98, and the first steamboat was to be expected the middle of June. And Flush of Gold was afraid to throw Dave down and face him afterwards. It was all planned suddenly. The Russian music—player, the Count, was her obedient slave. She planned it, I know. I learned as much from old Victor afterwards. The Count took his orders from her, and caught that first steamboat down. It was the Golden Rocket. And so did Flush of Gold catch it. And so did I. I was going to Circle City, and I was flabbergasted when I found Flush of Gold on board. I didn't see her name down on the passenger list. She was with the Count fellow all the time, happy and smiling, and I noticed that the Count fellow was down on the list as having his wife along. There it was, stateroom, number, and all. The first I knew that he was married, only I didn't see anything of the wife... unless Flush of Gold was so counted. I wondered if they'd got married ashore before starting. There'd been talk about them in Dawson, you see, and bets had been laid that the Count fellow had cut Dave out.
“但话说回来。她和戴夫订了婚，而且戴夫要乘第一艘汽船来娶她——那是一八九八年的夏天，第一艘汽船预计将在六月中旬到达。金光后来既不敢抛弃戴夫，又不敢面对他。这都是突然计划的。那个俄国音乐家，那个伯爵，是她恭顺的俘虏。是她计划的，我知道。我后来从老维克托那里也得知了这件事。伯爵从她那里得到命令，然后便乘第一艘汽船顺流而下。那艘汽船叫做金火箭。金光也乘坐了那艘船。我也是。我打算去环形城，发现金光在船上时，我大吃了一惊。在乘客名单里我并没有看到她的名字。她一直和那个伯爵在一起，开心地微笑着。我注意到名单中那个伯爵是带着他妻子一起的。在上面，有特等舱、舱号，什么都有。首先我知道他结婚了，只是我没有见到他妻子的影子……除非金光算是他的妻子。我怀疑启程之前他们是不是已经在岸上结婚了。道森有关于他们的传言，要知道，人们打赌伯爵已经打败了戴夫。
"I talked with the purser. He didn't know anything more about it than I did; he didn't know Flush of Gold, anyway, and besides, he was almost rushed to death. You know what a Yukon steamboat is, but you can't guess what the Golden Rocket was when it left Dawson that June of 1898. She was a hummer. Being the first steamer out, she carried all the scurvy patients and hospital wrecks. Then she must have carried a couple of millions of Klondike dust and nuggets, to say nothing of a packed and jammed passenger list, deck passengers galore, and bucks and squaws and dogs without end. And she was loaded down to the guards with freight and baggage. There was a mountain of the same on the fore—lower—deck, and each little stop along the way added to it. I saw the box come aboard at Teelee Portage, and I knew it for what it was, though I little guessed the joker that was in it. And they piled it on top of everything else on the fore—lower—deck, and they didn't pile it any too securely either. The mate expected to come back to it again, and then forgot about it. I thought at the time that there was something familiar about the big husky dog that climbed over the baggage and freight and lay down next to the box. And then we passed the Glendale, bound up for Dawson. As she saluted us, I thought of Dave on board of her and hurrying to Dawson to Flush of Gold. I turned and looked at her where she stood by the rail. Her eyes were bright, but she looked a bit frightened by the sight of the other steamer, and she was leaning closely to the Count fellow as for protection. She needn't have leaned so safely against him, and I needn't have been so sure of a disappointed Dave Walsh arriving at Dawson. For Dave Walsh wasn't on the Glendale. There were a lot of things I didn't know, but was soon to know—for instance, that the pair were not yet married. Inside half an hour preparations for the marriage took place. What of the sick men in the main cabin, and of the crowded condition of the Golden Rocket, the likeliest place for the ceremony was found forward, on the lower deck, in an open space next to the rail and gang—plank and shaded by the mountain of freight with the big box on top and the sleeping dog beside it. There was a missionary on board, getting off at Eagle City, which was the next step, so they had to use him quick. That's what they'd planned to do, get married on the boat.
“我与船上的事务长交谈。他知道的事情并不比我多，他不认识金光，反正他几乎忙得要死。你知道育空河上的汽船是什么样子，但是你猜不到在一八九八年六月离开道森的金火箭是什么样子。它就像一只蜂鸟。作为第一艘出发的汽船，它装载着所有的坏血病患者和医院的病人。那时船上肯定装载了无数克朗代克河里的金粉和金块，更不用说挤得满满当当的乘客名单，甲板上有大量的乘客，还有看不到尽头的印第安男女和狗。它因为装载了过重的货物和行李而沉到了警戒线。船头较低的甲板上堆满了如山般的货物和行李，而且沿途每稍停一下都会有东西搬上来。在特俄勒俄的陆运路线上，我看到那个箱子被搬上了船，我知道那是做什么的，尽管我猜不到里面的玄机。他们把它放在船头较低的甲板上堆放的所有东西上，而且他们也没有把它堆放得很稳。船上的大副打算着再回来放好它，可后来就把它忘了。我那时就想着那只高大健壮的狗有些眼熟，它爬过行李和货物，然后趴在了那个箱子旁边。后来我们碰到了格伦岱尔，它朝道森行进着。在它朝我们打招呼的时候，我想到了船上的戴夫，他正赶往道森去找她——金光。我转过身看见她站在栏杆旁。她的眼睛很明亮，但是见到另一艘汽船时她看起来有点儿害怕，她紧紧倚靠着伯爵以期得到保护。她本没必要那么紧靠着他，我也本没必要那么确信失望的戴夫•沃尔什快到道森了。因为戴夫•沃尔什并没有在格伦岱尔上。有许多事我当时并不知道，但我很快就知道了——比如说，那两个人那时还没有结婚。没到半个小时，婚礼的准备工作就开始了。想想主舱上的那些病人，以及金火箭拥挤的状况，他们觉得最适合举办仪式的地方在前面，较低的那个甲板上，就在栏杆和跳板旁的一块空地上。它被如山般的货物遮蔽着，货物顶上就放着那个大箱子，那只狗睡着了，趴在箱子旁边。船上有个传教士，他在伊格尔城下船，就是下一站，所以他们必须尽快利用他。他们之前计划好了的，要在船上结婚。
"But I've run ahead of the facts. The reason Dave Walsh wasn't on the Glendale was because he was on the Golden Rocket. It was this way. After loiterin 'in Dawson on account of Flush of Gold, he went down to Mammon Creek on the ice. And there he found Dusky Burns doing so well with the claim, there was no need for him to be around. So he put some grub on the sled, harnessed the dogs, took an Indian along, and pulled out for Surprise Lake. He always had a liking for that section. Maybe you don't know how the creek turned out to be a four—flusher; but the prospects were good at the time, and Dave proceeded to build his cabin and hers. That's the cabin we slept in. After he finished it, he went off on a moose hunt to the forks of the Teelee, takin't he Indian along.
“但是我讲得早了些。戴夫•沃尔什没有在格伦岱尔上的原因是因为他在金火箭上。事情是这样的。在因为金光而在道森磨蹭之后，他从冰上顺势而下到了玛门河。到那儿后他发现达斯基•伯恩斯把申请产权的土地处理得很妥当，他没有必要留下来。所以他在雪橇上备了一些食物，给狗套上挽具，带了一个印第安人随行，然后就朝瑟普赖斯湖出发了。他总是喜欢那个地方。或许你不明白，怎么那条小河原来只是虚张声势，但是那时的前景很好，而且戴夫继续建那个属于他和金光的小木屋。那就是我们借宿的小木屋。他建完以后，就出发去特俄勒俄的岔口处猎驼鹿，还带着那个印第安人。
"And this is what happened. Came on a cold snap. The juice went down forty, fifty, sixty below zero. I remember that snap—I was at Forty Mile; and I remember the very day. At eleven o'clock in the morning the spirit thermometer at the N.A. T. &T. Company's store went down to seventy—five below zero. And that morning, near the forks of the Teelee, Dave Walsh was out after moose with that blessed Indian of his. I got it all from the Indian afterwards—we made a trip over the ice together to Dyea. That morning Mr. Indian broke through the ice and wet himself to the waist. Of course he began to freeze right away. The proper thing was to build a fire. But Dave Walsh was a bull. It was only half a mile to camp, where a fire was already burning. What was the good of building another? He threw Mr. Indian over his shoulder—and ran with him—half a mile—with the thermometer at seventy—five below. You know what that means. Suicide. There's no other name for it. Why, that buck Indian weighed over two hundred himself, and Dave ran half a mile with him. Of course he froze his lungs. Must have frozen them near solid. It was a tomfool trick for any man to do. And anyway, after lingering horribly for several weeks, Dave Walsh died.
“接下来就是随后发生的。天气骤冷。温度降到了零下四十度、零下五十度、零下六十度。我记得那次的寒潮——我那时在四十里，我记得那一天。那天上午的十一点钟，N. A. T. &T. 公司仓库中的酒精温度计显示气温降到了零下七十五度。那天早上，在特俄勒俄岔口附近，戴夫•沃尔什带着那个该死的印第安人出去猎驼鹿。这都是我事后从那个印第安人那里得知的——我们曾一起从冰上旅行到代亚。那天早上，那位印第安先生掉进了冰窟窿，腰部以下都湿了。当然他身上立马就开始结冰了。合适的做法就是生个火。但是戴夫•沃尔什就是一头公牛。那里离宿营地只有半英里，而宿营地已经生了火。何必再生火呢？他将那个印第安先生扛在肩上——扛着他跑——跑了半英里——当时气温是零下七十五度。你知道那意味着什么。自杀。没什么别的说法了。哎呀，那个印第安男人自己的体重就超过了二百磅，戴夫扛着他跑了半英里。当然他的肺被冻住了。它们肯定快被冻得坚实了。任何人这么做都是愚蠢透顶的。总之，这样可怕地拖延了几周后，戴夫•沃尔什就死了。
"The Indian didn't know what to do with the corpse. Ordinarily he'd have buried him and let it go at that. But he knew that Dave Walsh was a big man, worth lots of money, a hi—yu skookum chief. Likewise he'd seen the bodies of other hi—yu skookums carted around the country like they were worth something. So he decided to take Dave's body to Forty Mile, which was Dave's headquarters. You know how the ice is on the grass roots in this country—well, the Indian planted Dave under a foot of soil—in short, he put Dave on ice. Dave could have stayed there a thousand years and still been the same old Dave. You understand—just the same as a refrigerator. Then the Indian brings over a whipsaw from the cabin at Surprise Lake and makes lumber enough for the box. Also, waiting for the thaw, he goes out and shoots about ten thousand pounds of moose. This he keeps on ice, too. Came the thaw. The Teelee broke. He built a raft and loaded it with the meat, the big box with Dave inside, and Dave's team of dogs, and away they went down the Teelee.
“那个印第安人不知道该怎样处理尸体。按常理他本应该埋葬了戴夫然后就算了。但是他知道戴夫•沃尔什是个大人物，是个强壮的首领，值很多钱。他也曾见过其他强壮的人的尸体被运到村子附近，它们好像有些价值。所以他决定带着戴夫的尸体到四十里去，那里是戴夫的大本营。你知道这个村子里草根处的结冰状况——啊，那个印第安人把戴夫埋在了地下一英尺的土壤里——简而言之，他把戴夫暂时搁置了起来。戴夫本可以在那儿呆上一千年还仍然是老样子。你知道的——就和在冰箱里一样。后来那个印第安人从瑟普赖斯湖那儿的小木屋里拿来一把粗木锯，然后弄了足够做一个箱子的木料。而且，在等待解冻时期的过程中，他外出猎到大约一万磅的驼鹿。他把驼鹿也储存了起来。解冻时期到了。特俄勒俄河解冻了。他造了一个木筏然后把鹿肉、那个里面装着戴夫的大箱子，还有戴夫那一队狗都装了上去，这样他们就沿着特俄勒俄河顺流而下了。
"The raft got caught on a timber jam and hung up two days. It was scorching hot weather, and Mr. Indian nearly lost his moose meat. So when he got to Teelee Portage he figured a steamboat would get to Forty Mile quicker than his raft. He transferred his cargo, and there you are, fore—lower deck of the Golden Rocket, Flush of Gold being married, and Dave Walsh in his big box casting the shade for her. And there's one thing I clean forgot. No wonder I thought the husky dog that came aboard at Teelee Portage was familiar. It was Pee—lat, Dave Walsh's lead—dog and favourite—a terrible fighter, too. He was lying down beside the box.
“木筏挂到了一个木头障碍，耽搁了两天。天气热得像火烧似的，印第安先生的鹿肉差点儿就没保住。所以到特俄勒俄陆运路线时，他认为坐汽船到四十里去会比他划木筏快。他转移了他的货物，这就是我前面说到的，在金光举行结婚仪式的金火箭船头较低的甲板上，而戴夫•沃尔什在那只大箱子里为她遮出一片阴影区。有一件事我给忘得一干二净了。怪不得我看着在特俄勒俄陆运路线上船的那只高大健壮的狗眼熟呢。它是皮拉特，是戴夫的领头狗，也是他最喜欢的狗——它也是一个很厉害的斗士。它正趴在箱子旁边。
"Flush of Gold caught sight of me, called me over, shook hands with me, and introduced me to the Count. She was beautiful. I was as mad for her then as ever. She smiled into my eyes and said I must sign as one of the witnesses. And there was no refusing her. She was ever a child, cruel as children are cruel. Also, she told me she was in possession of the only two bottles of champagne in Dawson—or that had been in Dawson the night before; and before I knew it I was scheduled to drink her and the Count's health. Everybody crowded round, the captain of the steamboat, very prominent, trying to ring in on the wine, I guess. It was a funny wedding. On the upper deck the hospital wrecks, with various feet in the grave, gathered and looked down to see. There were Indians all jammed in the circle, too, big bucks, and their squaws and kids, to say nothing of about twenty—five snarling wolf—dogs. The missionary lined the two of them up and started in with the service. And just then a dog—fight started, high up on the pile of freight—Pee—lat lying beside the big box, and a white—haired brute belonging to one of the Indians. The fight wasn't explosive at all. The brutes just snarled at each other from a distance—tapping at each other long—distance, you know, saying dast and dassent, dast and dassent. The noise was rather disturbing, but you could hear the missionary's voice above it.
“金光看到了我，把我叫过去，还和我握了手，并给我介绍那个伯爵。她很美。我那时还是如以往一样对她着迷。她冲我微笑，还说一定要我签名，作为她婚礼的见证者之一。我没有拒绝她。她一直是个孩子，像孩子一样残忍就太过分了。而且，她还告诉我说她有道森仅有的两瓶香槟——或者应该说那是在前一晚的道森。在我知道之前，我已经被安排为她和伯爵的健康举杯祝福。人群聚集到周围，汽船的船长非常显眼，我想他们都是试图来喝酒的。那是一场很滑稽的婚礼。较高的甲板上，那些医院的病人聚在一起向下观望着，他们中很多都是一只脚已经踏进坟墓的人了。印第安人也全都挤在周圈，高大的印第安男人们和他们的妻子还有孩子，更不必说大约二十五只汪汪直叫的狼狗了。那传教士让他们两个人站好后就开始主持婚礼。就在那时一场狗之间的战斗开始了，就在那堆得高高的货物之上——发生在趴在大箱子旁边的皮拉特和其中一个印第安人的白毛畜生之间。它们打得一点儿也不激烈。两个畜生只是从远处朝彼此狂吠——在远处朝对手挠着地，你知道的，它们嗷嗷汪汪地叫唤着。那声音让人很不安，但你还是可以透过它听到那个传教士的声音。
"There was no particularly easy way of getting at the two dogs, except from the other side of the pile. But nobody was on that side—everybody watching the ceremony, you see. Even then everything might have been all right if the captain hadn't thrown a club at the dogs. That was what precipitated everything. As I say, if the captain hadn't thrown that club, nothing might have happened.
“除了从那堆货物的另一面，没有什么特别容易的方法可以靠近那两条狗。但是那一面没有人——人们都在看婚礼，你知道的。即便那样，如果船长没有朝那两条狗扔一根棒子，一切本会还好。那个举动促成了接下来发生的一切。正如我说的，如果船长没扔那根棒子，可能什么事也不会发生。
"The missionary had just reached the point where he was saying 'In sickness and in health, ' and 'Until death do us part. ' And just then the captain threw the club. I saw the whole thing. It landed on Pee—lat, and at that instant the white brute jumped him. The club caused it. Their two bodies struck the box, and it began to slide, its lower end tilting down. It was a long oblong box, and it slid down slowly until it reached the perpendicular, when it came down on the run. The onlookers on that side the circle had time to get out from under. Flush of Gold and the Count, on the opposite side of the circle, were facing the box; the missionary had his back to it. The box must have fallen ten feet straight up and down, and it hit end on.
“那传教士刚刚说到 ‘无论疾病还是健康’ 和 ‘直到死亡将我们分开’ 。就在那时船长扔出了那根棒子。我目睹了那一切。棒子砸在了皮拉特的身上，就在那一刻，那只大白狗朝它猛地扑了过去。这是那根棒子引起的。它们两个的身体碰撞着那个箱子，箱子开始往下滑，较低的一端倾斜下来。那是一个矩形的长箱子，它慢慢下滑直到垂直立起来，这时它开始不停向下落。周圈那边的旁观者们还来得及从它下面躲开。金光和伯爵站在周圈的另一边，面对着箱子，传教士则背对着它。那箱子肯定是直上直下地从十英尺高处掉下来，然后一头着地了。
"Now mind you, not one of us knew that Dave Walsh was dead. We thought he was on the Glendale, bound for Dawson. The missionary had edged off to one side, and so Flush of Gold faced the box when it struck. It was like in a play. It couldn't have been better planned. It struck on end, and on the right end; the whole front of the box came off; and out swept Dave Walsh on his feet, partly wrapped in a blanket, his yellow hair flying and showing bright in the sun. Right out of the box, on his feet, he swept upon Flush of Gold. She didn't know he was dead, but it was unmistakable, after hanging up two days on a timber jam, that he was rising all right from the dead to claim her. Possibly that is what she thought. At any rate, the sight froze her. She couldn't move. She just sort of wilted and watched Dave Walsh coming for her! And he got her. It looked almost as though he threw his arms around her, but whether or not this happened, down to the deck they went together. We had to drag Dave Walsh's body clear before we could get hold of her. She was in a faint, but it would have been just as well if she had never come out of that faint; for when she did, she fell to screaming the way insane people do. She kept it up for hours, till she was exhausted. Oh, yes, she recovered. You saw her last night, and know how much recovered she is. She is not violent, it is true, but she lives in darkness. She believes that she is waiting for Dave Walsh, and so she waits in the cabin he built for her. She is no longer fickle. It is nine years now that she has been faithful to Dave Walsh, and the outlook is that she'll be faithful to him to the end.”
“你要记得，当时我们谁都不知道戴夫•沃尔什已经死了。我们还以为他在格伦岱尔上，正在前往道森。传教士侧身向一边闪开，所以当箱子落地的时候金光正好面对着它。那就像是戏剧中演的一样。不可能有更好的设计了。箱子一头着地，而且是右边那头，盖子整个掉了下来。戴夫双脚立地地划出来，身体有一部分被毛毯裹着，黄色的头发飘浮着，还在太阳下闪着光。他恰巧从箱子里出来，双脚立地，朝金光滑去。她不知道他已经死了，但是千真万确，在被木头障碍搁置了两天后，他真的从死亡中站起来占有她了。可能那就是她所想的。无论如何，这副情景让她呆住了。她动不了了。她只是有点儿畏缩地看着戴夫•沃尔什朝自己过来！戴夫碰到了金光。看起来简直就像是他伸出胳膊抱着她，但不管这有没有发生，他们一起倒在了甲板上。我们不得不把戴夫•沃尔什的尸体彻底拖走，才能够抓住金光。她昏厥了，但要是她永远不从昏厥中醒来也就好了，因为她醒来后，就开始像精神病人一样尖叫。她持续叫了好几个小时，直至筋疲力尽。噢，是啊，她恢复了。你昨晚见到她了，也很清楚她恢复到了什么程度。没错，她不再狂暴了，但却活在了黑暗中。她相信自己在等戴夫•沃尔什，所以就在戴夫为她建的小木屋里等他。她再也没有用情不专。九年过去了，她一直对戴夫•沃尔什很忠诚，看起来她会一直对他忠诚的。”
Lon McFane pulled down the top of the blankets and prepared to crawl in.
朗•麦克费恩掀开上面的毛毯，准备钻进去。
"We have her grub hauled to her each year, " he added, "and in general keep an eye on her. Last night was the first time she ever recognized me, though. "
“我们每年都会把她的食物给她运送过去，” 他加了一句， “大体上照看她一下。而昨晚是她第一次认出我。”
"Who are the we? " I asked.
“我们是指谁啊？” 我问道。
"Oh, " was the answer, "the Count and old Victor Chauvet and me. Do you know, I think the Count is the one to be really sorry for. Dave Walsh never did know that she was false to him. And she does not suffer. Her darkness is merciful to her. "
“噢，” 他答道， “伯爵、老维克托•肖韦和我。” 你知道吗，我觉得那个伯爵才是真正值得可怜的人。戴夫•沃尔什从来都不知道金光对他不忠诚。而金光没有受苦。那黑暗对她来说是种仁慈。”
I lay silently under the blankets for the space of a minute.
我静静地躺在毛毯里有一分钟。
"Is the Count still in the country? " I asked.
“那个伯爵还在这个村子吗？” 我问道。
But there was a gentle sound of heavy breathing, and I knew Lon McFane was asleep.
但传来一阵和缓又沉重的呼吸声，我知道朗•麦克费恩睡着了。
