Moon—Face

圆脸

A Story of Mortal Antipathy John Claverhouse was a moon—faced man. You know the kind, cheek—bones wide apart, chin and forehead melting into the cheeks to complete the perfect round, and the nose, broad and pudgy, equidistant from the circumference, flattened against the very centre of the face like a dough—ball upon the ceiling. Perhaps that is why I hated him, for truly he had become an offense to my eyes, and I believed the earth to be cumbered with his presence. Perhaps my mother may have been superstitious of the moon and looked upon it over the wrong shoulder at the wrong time.

一个关于极度憎恶的故事约翰·克拉弗豪斯是位有着圆月般脸庞的男人。你知道，就是那种：颧骨分得很开，下巴和前额与颧骨融为一体，能组成一个完整的圆形；又宽又短的鼻子到那张圆脸的四周距离相等，平贴在脸的正中心，好像是黏在天花板上的一个圆面团。可能这就是我为什么讨厌他的原因，说真的，他的长相是对我眼睛的一种冒犯，而且我相信他的存在也成为了地球的累赘。也许是因为我的母亲对月亮抱有迷信的想法，而且在错误的时间、倚靠着错误的肩膀仰望过月亮。

Be that as it may, I hated John Claverhouse. Not that he had done me what society would consider a wrong or an ill turn. Far from it. The evil was of a deeper, subtler sort; so elusive, so intangible, as to defy clear, definite analysis in words. We all experience such things at some period in our lives. For the first time we see a certain individual, one who the very instant before we did not dream existed; and yet, at the first moment of meeting, we say: "I do not like that man. " Why do we not like him? Ah, we do not know why; we know only that we do not. We have taken a dislike, that is all. And so I with John Claverhouse.

但就算是这样，我还是很讨厌约翰·克拉弗豪斯。他并没有对我做什么社会大众所公认的坏事或恶行。远非如此。那是一种更深更微妙的罪恶，那么地难以捉摸，难以触及，以致于无法用语言清楚准确地表达出来。我们生命中的某个阶段一定都经历过这样的事情。我们第一次见到某个人，一个我们在上一刻还从没想过会存在的人，然而就在见面的那一刻，我们就会说： “我不喜欢这个人。” 为什么我们不喜欢他呢？啊，我们自己也不知道为什么；我们只知道我们不喜欢。我们就是讨厌他，仅此而已。这就是我对约翰·克拉弗豪斯的感觉。

What right had such a man to be happy? Yet he was an optimist. He was always gleeful and laughing. All things were always all right, curse him! Ah how it grated on my soul that he should be so happy! Other men could laugh, and it did not bother me. I even used to laugh myself—before I met John Claverhouse.

这样的一个人有什么权利开心呢？但他还真是一个乐天派。他总是快活地笑着。他的一切总是那么顺利，我诅咒他！一想到他这么开心，我的心灵就备受刺激。别的人也可以笑，却不会烦到我。甚至连我自己，过去也常常欢笑——当然那是在遇到约翰·克拉弗豪斯之前。

But his laugh! It irritated me, maddened me, as nothing else under the sun could irritate or madden me. It haunted me, gripped hold of me, and would not let me go. It was a huge, Gargantuan laugh. Waking or sleeping it was always with me, whirring and jarring across my heart—strings like an enormous rasp. At break of day it came whooping across the fields to spoil my pleasant morning revery. Under the aching noonday glare, when the green things drooped and the birds withdrew to the depths of the forest, and all nature drowsed, his great "Ha! ha! " and "Ho! ho! " rose up to the sky and challenged the sun. And at black midnight, from the lonely cross—roads where he turned from town into his own place, came his plaguey cachinnations to rouse me from my sleep and make me writhe and clench my nails into my palms.

但他的笑不同！他的笑使我恼火，使我发狂，好像世间再没别的事能让我恼火生气的了。他的笑缠扰着我，紧紧抓住我不放。那是一种巨大的、大得惊人的笑声。不管我是睡着还是醒着，这笑声都如影随形，像一把巨大的锉刀在我的心弦上辗轧着发出嗡嗡声。破晓时分，他的笑高声掠过田地，打扰了我清晨美好的遐想。在正午刺眼的阳光照射下，绿色植物都无精打采地垂下了头，鸟儿也都飞回到了森林的深处，万物都沉寂了，只有他巨大的 “哈！哈！” 和 “呼！呼！” 声直冲云霄，挑战太阳的权威。而在漆黑的午夜，他从镇上回家，在经过那个幽僻的十字路口时，总会发出他那讨厌的狂笑，把我从梦中惊醒，让我痛苦地翻来覆去，紧攥着指甲扎进掌心里。

I went forth privily in the night—time, and turned his cattle into his fields, and in the morning heard his whooping laugh as he drove them out again. "It is nothing, " he said; "the poor, dumb beasties are not to be blamed for straying into fatter pastures. "

夜间我悄悄地把他的牛赶到了田地里，但早上还是可以听见他把牛赶出田里时所发出的高声大笑。 “这没什么，” 他说， “这些可怜又不能说话的畜生走到更肥沃的草场觅食，没什么可责怪的。”

He had a dog he called "Mars, " a big, splendid brute, part deer—hound and part blood—hound, and resembling both. Mars was a great delight to him, and they were always together. But I bided my time, and one day, when opportunity was ripe, lured the animal away and settled for him with strychnine and beefsteak. It made positively no impression on John Claverhouse. His laugh was as hearty and frequent as ever, and his face as much like the full moon as it always had been.

他养了一条体型巨大又异常凶猛的狗，他叫它马尔斯（罗马神话中的战神）。这只狗有一半鹿犬血缘，一半警犬血缘，长得与两种狗都有些相似。他十分喜爱马尔斯，他们俩总是在一起。但我一直在等待时机，直到有一天，时机成熟了，我把这只狗引诱走，喂它吃了掺了马钱子碱的牛排。这件事绝对没有对约翰·克拉弗豪斯造成一点影响。他依旧经常纵声大笑，他的脸也还和往常一样那么圆。

Then I set fire to his haystacks and his barn. But the next morning, being Sunday, he went forth blithe and cheerful.

之后我放火烧了他的干草垛和谷仓。但第二天早晨，正好是个礼拜日，他还是快乐无忧地出门去了。

"Where are you going? " I asked him, as he went by the cross—roads.

“你去哪儿啊？” 当他走过十字路口的时候，我问他道。

"Trout, " he said, and his face beamed like a full moon. "I just dote on trout. "

“去钓鳟鱼，” 他答道，他的脸像一轮圆月般散发着光芒， “我就是爱捕鳟鱼。”

Was there ever such an impossible man! His whole harvest had gone up in his haystacks and barn. It was uninsured, I knew. And yet, in the face of famine and the rigorous winter, he went out gayly in quest of a mess of trout, forsooth, because he "doted" on them! Had gloom but rested, no matter how lightly, on his brow, or had his bovine countenance grown long and serious and less like the moon, or had he removed that smile but once from off his face, I am sure I could have forgiven him for existing. But no. he grew only more cheerful under misfortune.

怎么会有这么一个让人不可思议的人啊！他所有的收成都在那堆干草垛和谷仓中烧毁了。我知道那是没有投过保的。然而，即使将要面临饥荒和严冬，他还是快快乐乐地出门去钓鳟鱼了，无疑，因为他 “酷爱” 捕鱼。若是他的眉头上曾停留过一丝忧郁，又或者他能拉长了脸变得严肃些，让他那迟钝的面容看起来不再那么像个圆月，又或者他能从脸上摘掉那层微笑的面具，哪怕只有一次，我敢说我可能已经原谅了他的存在。但恰恰相反。面对不幸，他反而变得更加开心了。

I insulted him. He looked at me in slow and smiling surprise.

我辱骂他。他看着我微笑着，慢慢地露出了吃惊的表情。

"I fight you? Why? " he asked slowly. And then he laughed. "You are so funny! Ho! ho! You'll be the death of me! He! he! he! Oh! Ho! ho! ho! " What would you? It was past endurance. By the blood of Judas, how I hated him! Then there was that name—Claverhouse! What a name! Wasn't it absurd? Claverhouse! Merciful heaven, WHY Claverhouse? Again and again I asked myself that question. I should not have minded Smith, or Brown, or Jones—but CLAVERHOUSE! I leave it to you. Repeat it to yourself—Claverhouse. Just listen to the ridiculous sound of it—Claverhouse! Should a man live with such a name? I ask of you. "No, " you say. And "No" said I.

“要我和你打架？为什么？” 他迟钝地问道。然后他又笑了， “你太有趣了！呼！呼！你真是笑死我了！呵！呵！呵！哦！呼！呼！呼！” 要是你，你会怎么办？我实在忍无可忍了。我以犹大的鲜血发誓，我恨死他了！还有他的那个名字——克拉弗豪斯！这是个什么名字啊！听起来难道不可笑吗？克拉弗豪斯！仁慈的上帝啊，为什么要叫克拉弗豪斯呢？我一遍又一遍地问自己这个问题。如果他叫史密斯，或者布朗或者琼斯，我都不会介意——但他却叫克拉弗豪斯！我把这个问题留给你。你自己多念几遍——克拉弗豪斯。听听这可笑的发音——克拉弗豪斯（Claverhouse听起来像 “聪明的房子” ）！会有人能够忍受这样的名字吗？我问你。 “不会。” 你说。我也说 “不会” 。

But I bethought me of his mortgage. What of his crops and barn destroyed, I knew he would be unable to meet it. So I got a shrewd, close—mouthed, tight—fisted money—lender to get the mortgage transferred to him. I did not appear but through this agent I forced the foreclosure, and but few days (no more, believe me, than the law allowed) were given John Claverhouse to remove his goods and chattels from the premises. Then I strolled down to see how he took it, for he had lived there upward of twenty years. But he met me with his saucer—eyes twinkling, and the light glowing and spreading in his face till it was as a full—risen moon.

但我突然想起他可能需要抵押贷款。按他的粮食和谷仓损毁的情况来看，我知道他是无力偿还了。所以我找了一个机灵、口风紧，又吝啬的放贷者把抵押贷款转给了他。我并没有出面，但通过这个代理人，我要求强制执行止赎权，所以不几天（相信我，也就是法定日期一到）克拉弗豪斯就得被迫带着他的全部动产搬离住处。于是我溜达着去看他会有何反应，因为他已经在那里住了有20多年了。但我看见的却是他那双闪烁着的溜圆眼睛，眼里散发出的光芒逐渐扩散到他的脸上，直到那光汇成了一轮升起的满月。

"Ha! ha! ha! " he laughed. "The funniest tike, that youngster of mine! Did you ever hear the like? Let me tell you. He was down playing by the edge of the river when a piece of the bank caved in and splashed him. 'O papa! ' he cried; 'a great big puddle flewed up and hit me. ' "

“哈！哈！哈！” 他大笑道， “我那孩子，最最有趣的小淘气！你曾听过类似的事吗？让我告诉你吧。他正在河边玩，忽然一片河堤塌陷，水溅了他一身。 ‘哦，爸爸！’ 他哭喊道， ‘一个大水坑飞了起来，打中了我。’”

He stopped and waited for me to join him in his infernal glee.

他停了下来，等着我一起加入他那可憎的欢乐中。

"I don't see any laugh in it, " I said shortly, and I know my face went sour.

“我没听出来有哪一点好笑。” 我干脆地答道，我知道我的脸色很难看。

He regarded me with wonderment, and then came the damnable light, glowing and spreading, as I have described it, till his face shone soft and warm, like the summer moon, and then the laugh— "Ha! ha! That's funny! You don't see it, eh? He! he! Ho! ho! ho! He doesn't see it! Why, look here. You know a puddle—

他惊奇地凝视着我，然后眼里又出现了那该死的光芒，越来越亮，扩散开来，就像我之前描述的那样，直到他的脸发出温暖又柔和光芒，就像夏天的月亮一般，然后他又开始大笑—— “哈！哈！那真有趣！你不觉得吗，嗯？呵！呵呼！呼！呼！他居然不觉得好笑！嗨，听我给你解释。你知道一个水坑……”

But I turned on my heel and left him. That was the last. I could stand it no longer. The thing must end right there, I thought, curse him! The earth should be quit of him. And as I went over the hill, I could hear his monstrous laugh reverberating against the sky.

但没等他说完我就转身走了。那是最后一次。我再也无法忍受了。这一切都必须立刻结束，我想着，诅咒他！这个地球不应该有他的存在。我翻越山岭的时候，都能听见他那可怕的笑声在天地间回荡。

Now, I pride myself on doing things neatly, and when I resolved to kill John Claverhouse I had it in mind to do so in such fashion that I should not look back upon it and feel ashamed. I hate bungling, and I hate brutality. To me there is something repugnant in merely striking a man with one's naked fist—faugh! it is sickening! So, to shoot, or stab, or club John Claverhouse (oh, that name! ) did not appeal to me. And not only was I impelled to do it neatly and artistically, but also in such manner that not the slightest possible suspicion could be directed against me.

迄今，我总是为自己办事干净利落而自豪，所以当我下定决心杀掉约翰·克拉弗豪斯的时候，我脑海里想的是这事也一定要做得滴水不漏，不会让自己回头想起的时候感到羞耻。我讨厌笨手笨脚，我也不喜欢暴力。在我看来，仅仅赤手空拳地去打人是件讨厌的事情——呸！那真是让人恶心。同样，我也不会考虑用枪射、用刀刺或用棍子打约翰·克拉弗豪斯（哦，这个可恶的名字！）。我不仅想把这件事做得干净艺术，而且也想做得让人丝毫不会将我看成可能的怀疑对象。

To this end I bent my intellect, and, after a week of profound incubation, I hatched the scheme. Then I set to work. I bought a water spaniel bitch, five months old, and devoted my whole attention to her training. Had any one spied upon me, they would have remarked that this training consisted entirely of one thing—RETRIEVING. I taught the dog, which I called "Bellona, " to fetch sticks I threw into the water, and not only to fetch, but to fetch at once, without mouthing or playing with them. The point was that she was to stop for nothing, but to deliver the stick in all haste. I made a practice of running away and leaving her to chase me, with the stick in her mouth, till she caught me. She was a bright animal, and took to the game with such eagerness that I was soon content.

为此我绞尽脑汁，经过一周的精心孕育，我最终想出一个绝妙的计划。然后我就开始着手去做了。我买了一只五个月大的水猎母狗，并全身心地投入到对它的训练之中。如果有人暗中监视过我的话，他们会说我对狗的训练只有一件事——捡东西。我给这只狗取名为 “贝娄娜（战神马尔斯之妻）” ，我教它取回我扔进水里的木棍，不仅是要捡回，而且要立刻捡回，不能叼在嘴里嚼或者玩耍。训练的关键在于它不能因任何事停下来，一定要飞快地把棍子送回来。我经常跑开，让它嘴里衔着棍子追我，直到追上为止。它是只聪明的狗，一直积极地参加训练，所以不久就让我满意了。

After that, at the first casual opportunity, I presented Bellona to John Claverhouse. I knew what I was about, for I was aware of a little weakness of his, and of a little private sinning of which he was regularly and inveterately guilty.

那之后，在一个看似偶然的机会，我把贝娄娜送给了约翰·克拉弗豪斯。我知道我在干什么，因为我注意到了他的一个小弱点。他会经常地对自己的一个小罪过感到内疚，这种内疚根深蒂固。

"No, " he said, when I placed the end of the rope in his hand. "No, you don't mean it. " And his mouth opened wide and he grinned all over his damnable moon—face.

“不，” 当我把狗绳放到他手里时，他忙说， “不，你不是真想送给我吧。” 他的嘴张得很大，笑意遍及了他那张可憎的圆脸。

"I—I kind of thought, somehow, you didn't like me, " he explained. "Wasn't it funny for me to make such a mistake? " And at the thought he held his sides with laughter.

“我——我还以为你不怎么喜欢我，” 他解释说， “我犯了这样的错误难道不可笑吗？” 一想起这个，他又开始捧腹大笑。

"What is her name? " he managed to ask between paroxysms.

“这狗叫什么名字？” 他努力压抑着狂笑问道。

"Bellona, " I said.

“叫贝娄娜。” 我说。

"He! he! " he tittered. "What a funny name. "

“呵！呵！” 他嗤嗤地笑道， “真是个有趣的名字。”

I gritted my teeth, for his mirth put them on edge, and snapped out between them, "She was the wife of Mars, you know. "

我咬紧牙关忍着不爆发，他的笑已经快让我忍无可忍了，于是厉声说道： “你知道的，它是马尔斯的老婆。”

Then the light of the full moon began to suffuse his face, until he exploded with: "That was my other dog. Well, I guess she's a widow now. Oh! Ho! ho! E! he! he! Ho! " he whooped after me, and I turned and fled swiftly over the hill.

于是圆月的光辉开始布满他的脸庞，直到他喊道： “那是我的另一只狗。嗨，我想它现在是个寡妇吧。哦！呼！呼！额！呵！呵！呼！” 他在我身后大喊大叫，我转过身向山上飞快地逃去。

The week passed by, and on Saturday evening I said to him, "You go away Monday, don't you? "

一周过去了，周六晚上我问他： “你是不是周一就要走了？”

He nodded his head and grinned.

他点了点头，然后咧着嘴笑了。

"Then you won't have another chance to get a mess of those trout you just 'dote' on. "

“那你就再没有机会钓你酷爱的鳟鱼了。”

But he did not notice the sneer. "Oh, I don't know, " he chuckled. "I 'm going up to—morrow to try pretty hard.

但他并没注意到我的嘲讽。 “哦，我也不大清楚。” 他轻声笑着说， “我打算明天去，好好地抓些鱼。”

Thus was assurance made doubly sure, and I went back to my house hugging myself with rapture.

那真是双重保险，于是我回到家里，自己一阵狂喜。

Early next morning I saw him go by with a dip—net and gunnysack, and Bellona trotting at his heels. I knew where he was bound, and cut out by the back pasture and climbed through the underbrush to the top of the mountain. Keeping carefully out of sight, I followed the crest along for a couple of miles to a natural amphitheatre in the hills, where the little river raced down out of a gorge and stopped for breath in a large and placid rock—bound pool. That was the spot! I sat down on the croup of the mountain, where I could see all that occurred, and lighted my pipe.

第二天一大早，我看见他拿着抄网和麻袋路过，贝娄娜小跑着跟在他后面。我知道他要去哪儿，他会从后面的牧场抄近路，穿过矮树丛爬到山顶。我小心地不让人看见，沿着山顶走了几英里，来到了山里的一个天然的圆形凹地，发源于峡谷的小河从那里奔涌而下，注入到一个平静的、被岩石包围的大湖中。就是那里。我在山腰上坐了下来，在那儿我能看见发生的一切，然后我点燃了烟斗。

Ere many minutes had passed, John Claverhouse came plodding up the bed of the stream. Bellona was ambling about him, and they were in high feather, her short, snappy barks mingling with his deeper chest—notes. Arrived at the pool, he threw down the dip—net and sack, and drew from his hip—pocket what looked like a large, fat candle. But I knew it to be a stick of "giant"; for such was his method of catching trout. He dynamited them. He attached the fuse by wrapping the "giant" tightly in a piece of cotton. Then he ignited the fuse and tossed the explosive into the pool.

没过多久，约翰·克拉弗豪斯就出现了，他正吃力地沿着河床往上游走。贝娄娜在他周围小跑着，他们都很兴致高昂，贝娄娜短促明快的吠声和他低沉的歌声融合在一起。到达湖之后，他扔下了抄网和麻袋，从裤子后兜里掏出了一样东西，看上去像一根又大又粗的蜡烛。但我知道那是一根 “炸药” ，他就是用这个方法捕鳟鱼的。他装好炸药，把炸药紧紧地包在一块棉布里，放好引线，然后点燃引线把炸药扔进了湖里。

Like a flash, Bellona was into the pool after it. I could have shrieked aloud for joy. Claverhouse yelled at her, but without avail. He pelted her with clods and rocks, but she swam steadily on till she got the stick of "giant" in her mouth, when she whirled about and headed for shore. Then, for the first time, he realized his danger, and started to run. As foreseen and planned by me, she made the bank and took out after him. Oh, I tell you, it was great! As I have said, the pool lay in a sort of amphitheatre. Above and below, the stream could be crossed on stepping—stones. And around and around, up and down and across the stones, raced Claverhouse and Bellona. I could never have believed that such an ungainly man could run so fast. But run he did, Bellona hot—footed after him, and gaining. And then, just as she caught up, he in full stride, and she leaping with nose at his knee, there was a sudden flash, a burst of smoke, a terrific detonation, and where man and dog had been the instant before there was naught to be seen but a big hole in the ground.

就像一道闪电般，贝娄娜冲进了水里去追炸药。我差点高兴得大声尖叫起来。克拉弗豪斯对着狗大声吼叫，但一点用也没有。他用泥块和石子不停地朝狗丢去，但狗还是稳稳地向前游着，直到它叼住了那根 “炸药” ，然后突然转身向岸边游来。所以，生平第一次，他意识到了自己的危险，开始逃跑。就像我预见和计划的一样，狗游上了河岸并紧追着他不放。哦，我告诉你，太精彩了！正如我所说过的，这个湖处于一个类似圆形竞技场的地形之中。上上下下都有可以用来穿过小溪的垫脚石。克拉弗豪斯和贝娄娜绕着湖一圈圈，上上下下地跨着石头前赶后追。我从没想到这么个笨拙的人会跑得这么快。但不管他怎么跑，贝娄娜都紧紧地追着他，并越来越近。然后，就在他大步向前跑时，狗追上了他，跳起来时鼻子碰到了他的膝盖，忽然巨大的爆炸声响起，火光乍现，浓烟滚滚，人和狗瞬间就都不见了，地上只剩一个大洞。

"Death from accident while engaged in illegal fishing. " That was the verdict of the coroner's jury; and that is why I pride myself on the neat and artistic way in which I finished off John Claverhouse. There was no bungling, no brutality; nothing of which to be ashamed in the whole transaction, as I am sure you will agree. No more does his infernal laugh go echoing among the hills, and no more does his fat moon—face rise up to vex me. My days are peaceful now, and my night's sleep deep.

“非法捕鱼中意外导致死亡。” 这就是法医评审委员会的裁定，这也是为什么我对自己杀死约翰·克拉弗豪斯所用的干净艺术的手法感到自豪的原因。没有一点破绽或暴力，整个过程中没有任何让人感到羞耻的地方，我确信你也会同意我的说法。他那可恶的笑声再也不会在山间回响，他那圆月般的胖脸也不会再在我面前升起，惹我心烦。现在我白天能够安享宁静，晚上也能酣然入梦了。