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I
一
It was for two reasons that Montana Kid discarded his "chaps" and Mexican spurs, and shook the dust of the Idaho ranges from his feet. In the first place, the encroachments of a steady, sober, and sternly moral civilization had destroyed the primeval status of the western cattle ranges, and refined society turned the cold eye of disfavor upon him and his ilk. In the second place, in one of its cyclopean moments the race had arisen and shoved back its frontier several thousand miles. Thus, with unconscious foresight, did mature society make room for its adolescent members. True, the new territory was mostly barren; but its several hundred thousand square miles of frigidity at least gave breathing space to those who else would have suffocated at home.
蒙塔纳·基德丢弃了他的 “皮护腿套裤” 和墨西哥马刺，抖掉了脚上的爱达荷山地的尘土，他这样做有两个原因。首先，稳固、冷静、严肃的道德文明的入侵摧毁了西方养牛场的原始状态，上流社会开始对他这种人冷眼相待。其次，其所在的种族在某一伟大的时刻已经奋起，并将其边境地区向后推进了数千英里。因此，伴随着无意识的远见，成熟的社会为年轻的成员们让出了空间。的确，新的领地几乎全部是荒芜的。但是这数十万平方英里寒冷的地域至少给那些在家乡感到窒息的人们提供了喘息的空间。
Montana Kid was such a one. Heading for the sea—coast, with a haste several sheriff's posses might possibly have explained, and with more nerve than coin of the realm, he succeeded in shipping from a Puget Sound port, and managed to survive the contingent miseries of steerage sea—sickness and steerage grub. He was rather sallow and drawn, but still his own indomitable self, when he landed on the Dyea beach one day in the spring of the year. Between the cost of dogs, grub, and outfits, and the customs exactions of the two clashing governments, it speedily penetrated to his understanding that the Northland was anything save a poor man's Mecca. So he cast about him in search of quick harvests. Between the beach and the passes were scattered many thousands of passionate pilgrims. These pilgrims Montana Kid proceeded to farm. At first he dealt faro in a pine—board gambling shack; but disagreeable necessity forced him to drop a sudden period into a man's life, and to move on up trail. Then he effected a corner in horseshoe nails, and they circulated at par with legal tender, four to the dollar, till an unexpected consignment of a hundred barrels or so broke the market and forced him to disgorge his stock at a loss. After that he located at Sheep Camp, organized the professional packers, and jumped the freight ten cents a pound in a single day. In token of their gratitude, the packers patronized his faro and roulette layouts and were mulcted cheerfully of their earnings. But his commercialism was of too lusty a growth to be long endured; so they rushed him one night, burned his shanty, divided the bank, and headed him up the trail with empty pockets.
蒙塔纳·基德就是这样的人。他前往海岸，其急迫程度可能只有治安官手下的几个人可以解释。他虽钱不多，却很有勇气，成功地从普吉特海湾的一个港口乘船出发，设法从统舱内晕船和食物造成的意外苦难中存活了下来。在这年春季的一天，当他登上戴依海滩时，他的脸色相当灰黄、憔悴，但他仍然是那个不服输的自己。在狗、食物、装备的花费和两个互相对立的政府的海关苛税之间，他很快认识到，北方地区不是穷人的圣地。所以他到处寻找快速的收成。在海滩和关口之间分散着成千上万狂热的朝圣者。蒙塔纳·基德来到这些朝圣者中播种。开始时，他在一个用松木板搭的赌博小屋中发法罗牌。但讨厌的是，他情非得已突然给一个人的生命画上了句号，不得不沿着小路继续前行。之后他垄断了马掌钉市场，马掌钉按照法定货币的票面价值销售——四个法定货币为一美元。但一桩突如其来的、约一百个桶的委托买卖打破了行情，他迫不得已亏本卖出自己储备的马掌钉。那以后，他定居在希普·坎普，组织了一些专业的行李搬运工，一天之内就使运费猛升到了运一磅十美分。搬运工们为了表示对他的感激之情，时常玩他摆出的法罗牌戏和轮盘赌。虽然收入被骗走了，他们却觉得高兴。但是他的营利意识变得太强了，搬运工们也忍不下去了。于是一天晚上他们突然袭击了他，烧毁了小屋，瓜分了庄家的赌本，让身无分文的他沿着小路离开。
Ill—luck was his running mate. He engaged with responsible parties to run whisky across the line by way of precarious and unknown trails, lost his Indian guides, and had the very first outfit confiscated by the Mounted Police. Numerous other misfortunes tended to make him bitter of heart and wanton of action, and he celebrated his arrival at Lake Bennett by terrorizing the camp for twenty straight hours. Then a miners' meeting took him in hand, and commanded him to make himself scarce. He had a wholesome respect for such assemblages, and he obeyed in such haste that he inadvertently removed himself at the tail—end of another man's dog team. This was equivalent to horse—stealing in a more mellow clime, so he hit only the high places across Bennett and down Tagish, and made his first camp a full hundred miles to the north.
霉运和蒙塔纳·基德如影相随。他和几个靠得住的同伙接洽，经由危险陌生的小路，越境经营威士忌酒生意。结果他失去了印第安向导，就连第一套装备也被骑警没收了。诸多其他的厄运使蒙塔纳·基德内心痛苦、行为放荡。他连续二十小时不停地恐吓营地，以庆祝自己抵达莱克本尼特。随后，矿工们集会，控制了蒙塔纳·基德，并命令他离开。他对这群人毕恭毕敬。由于慌张地从命，他一不小心尾随了另一人带领的狗队。这跟在气候更温和的地区盗马没什么两样，所以他穿过本尼特，沿着塔吉什走，只到达了那边的高地，并在离北方足有一百英里远的地方第一次扎营。
Now it happened that the break of spring was at hand, and many of the principal citizens of Dawson were travelling south on the last ice. These he met and talked with, noted their names and possessions, and passed on. He had a good memory, also a fair imagination; nor was veracity one of his virtues.
那时碰巧春天即将来临，道森的许多主要市民都趁着最后的冰面尚未融化前往南方。他遇见了这些市民，和他们攀谈，并且记下了他们的名字和财产，接着就继续前行了。他记性不错，想象力也丰富，但缺乏诚实的美德。
II
二
Dawson, always eager for news, beheld Montana Kid's sled heading down the Yukon, and went out on the ice to meet him. No, he hadn't any newspapers; didn't know whether Durrant was hanged yet, nor who had won the Thanksgiving game; hadn't heard whether the United States and Spain had gone to fighting; didn't know who Dreyfus was; but O 'Brien? Hadn't they heard? O' Brien, why, he was drowned in the White Horse; Sitka Charley the only one of the party who escaped. Joe Ladue? Both legs frozen and amputated at the Five Fingers. And Jack Dalton? Blown up on the "Sea Lion" with all hands. And Bettles? Wrecked on the "Carthagina, " in Seymour Narrows, —twenty survivors out of three hundred. And Swiftwater Bill? Gone through the rotten ice of Lake LeBarge with six female members of the opera troupe he was convoying. Governor Walsh? Lost with all hands and eight sleds on the Thirty Mile. Devereaux? Who was Devereaux? Oh, the courier! Shot by Indians on Lake Marsh.
道森人总是渴望得到新消息，他们看到蒙塔纳·基德的雪橇往育空方向走，就都出来到冰面上见他。不，他不读任何报纸，不知道达兰特是否已经被绞死了，也不知道谁赢了感恩节的比赛，没听说美国和西班牙是否已经打起来了，不晓得谁是德赖弗斯。但是奥布赖恩呢? 难道他们没有听说过？哎呀，奥布赖恩在怀特霍斯溺水身亡。而斯特卡·查利是党派中唯一得以逃脱的人。乔·拉杜呢？在五指半岛，他的两条腿被冻伤，然后截肢了。还有杰克·多尔顿呢？他和众人在 “海狮群岛” 被炸死了。贝特尔斯呢？他在西摩海峡的 “卡特桑吉娜” 遇难——三百个人中只有二十个幸免于难。斯威夫特沃特·比尔呢？他和他护送的歌剧团中的六位女成员通过了莱克莱芭基易碎的冰面。沃尔什长官呢？他和所有人还有八套雪橇都在三十里失踪了。德弗罗呢？德弗罗是谁？哦，那个情报员！他在马什湖被印第安人枪毙了。
So it went. The word was passed along. Men shouldered in to ask after friends and partners, and in turn were shouldered out, too stunned for blasphemy. By the time Montana Kid gained the bank he was surrounded by several hundred fur—clad miners. When he passed the Barracks he was the centre of a procession. At the Opera House he was the nucleus of an excited mob, each member struggling for a chance to ask after some absent comrade. On every side he was being invited to drink. Never before had the Klondike thus opened its arms to a che—cha—qua. All Dawson was humming. Such a series of catastrophes had never occurred in its history. Every man of note who had gone south in the spring had been wiped out. The cabins vomited forth their occupants. Wild—eyed men hurried down from the creeks and gulches to seek out this man who had told a tale of such disaster. The Russian half—breed wife of Bettles sought the fireplace, inconsolable, and rocked back and forth, and ever and anon flung white wood—ashes upon her raven hair. The flag at the Barracks flopped dismally at half—mast. Dawson mourned its dead.
事情就是这样。这个消息传开了。人们用肩膀挤进去探问朋友和伙伴的情况，转而又被挤出来。他们对这种不敬的行为深感震惊。到蒙塔纳·基德登上河岸的时候，他被数百名穿皮衣的矿工围住。当他经过兵营时，他走在队伍正中。在歌剧院，他是一群情绪激动的人们的核心，每个人都努力争取机会去探问某个缺席的伙伴的情况。他被邀请到各处去喝茶。克朗代克地区从未像这样张开双臂欢迎茶。所有道森人都发出疑惑的哼哼声。在道森的历史上，这样一连串的大灾难从未发生过。春季时去南方的名人都被杀掉了。住在小木屋里的人都从屋里搬了出来。狂暴的人们急忙沿着小溪和峡谷顺流而下，来找这个讲述此种灾难故事的人。贝特尔斯的俄国混血妻子朝壁炉走去，伤心欲绝地前倾后仰，不时把白色木灰用力扔在她乌油油的头发上。兵营在悲伤之中呼地降了半旗。道森人为死者哀悼。
Why Montana Kid did this thing no man may know. Nor beyond the fact that the truth was not in him, can explanation be hazarded. But for five whole days he plunged the land in wailing and sorrow, and for five whole days he was the only man in the Klondike. The country gave him its best of bed and board. The saloons granted him the freedom of their bars. Men sought him continuously. The high officials bowed down to him for further information, and he was feasted at the Barracks by Constantine and his brother officers. And then, one day, Devereaux, the government courier, halted his tired dogs before the gold commissioner's office. Dead? Who said so? Give him a moose steak and he'd show them how dead he was. Why, Governor Walsh was in camp on the Little Salmon, and O 'Brien coming in on the first water. Dead? Give him a moose steak and he'd show them.
没人会知道为什么蒙塔纳·基德要这么做。事实上真理不在他那里，解释也没什么风险。但是整整五天，他使这片土地悲伤地呜咽。整整五天，他是克朗代克唯一的男人。乡村给他提供最好的膳宿。他可以自由出入酒吧。人们不断地寻找蒙塔纳·基德。一些高官为得到更多的消息而向他卑躬屈膝，而且他在兵营得到了康斯坦丁及其老战友的款待。接着，有一天，政府的情报员徳弗罗，在行政长官金色的办公室前停住了他那些疲惫的狗。死了？谁说的？给他一份麋鹿肉排，他就会告诉他们他是怎么死的。哎呀，沃尔什长官在小萨蒙地区露营，奥布赖恩会在下第一场雨时过来。死了？给他一份麋鹿肉排，他就会告诉他们。
And forthwith Dawson hummed. The Barracks' flag rose to the masthead, and Bettles' wife washed herself and put on clean raiment. The community subtly signified its desire that Montana Kid obliterate himself from the landscape. And Montana Kid obliterated; as usual, at the tail—end of some one else's dog team. Dawson rejoiced when he headed down the Yukon, and wished him godspeed to the ultimate destination of the case—hardened sinner. After that the owner of the dogs bestirred himself, made complaint to Constantine, and from him received the loan of a policeman.
道森人立马哼了起来。兵营的旗子升到了杆顶，贝特尔斯的妻子洗完澡，换上了干净的衣服。社区巧妙地表明了它的要求：蒙塔纳·基德要从这片土地上消失。蒙塔纳·基德消失了，如往常一样，消失在另一个人的狗队的末尾。道森人很高兴蒙塔纳·基德前往育空，并希望他一路顺风，到达那无情的罪人的最终目的地。自那之后，狗的主人忙碌起来，他向康斯坦丁诉苦，并从他那里借用了一个警察。
III
三
With Circle City in prospect and the last ice crumbling under his runners, Montana Kid took advantage of the lengthening days and travelled his dogs late and early. Further, he had but little doubt that the owner of the dogs in question had taken his trail, and he wished to make American territory before the river broke. But by the afternoon of the third day it became evident that he had lost in his race with spring. The Yukon was growling and straining at its fetters. Long detours became necessary, for the trail had begun to fall through into the swift current beneath, while the ice, in constant unrest, was thundering apart in great gaping fissures. Through these and through countless airholes, the water began to sweep across the surface of the ice, and by the time he pulled into a woodchopper's cabin on the point of an island, the dogs were being rushed off their feet and were swimming more often than not. He was greeted sourly by the two residents, but he unharnessed and proceeded to cook up.
环形城在望，加上最后一层冰块要在他的滑板之下碎裂，蒙塔纳·基德就利用这些白昼渐渐变长的日子，一直驱狗前行。另外，他几乎确定，存有疑问的狗的主人已经上路。他希望能够在河冰破裂之前到达美国的领土。但到第三天下午，很明显他已经输掉了与春天的赛跑。育空河对着它的桎梏怒吼，想要摆脱它。必须绕道远行了，因为向来不平静的冰吼叫着裂开了大缝隙，冰下湍急的水流开始漫上路面。通过这些裂缝和数不清的冰窟窿，水开始蔓延到冰面。蒙塔纳·基德向岛的岬角一个伐木者的小木屋驶去，这使他的狗也变得过分紧张，不时地游几下。他受到那两位居民刻薄的迎接，不过他还是解下了狗的套具，开始谋划。
Donald and Davy were fair specimens of frontier inefficients. Canadian—born, city—bred Scots, in a foolish moment they had resigned their counting—house desks, drawn upon their savings, and gone Klondiking. And now they were feeling the rough edge of the country. Grubless, spiritless, with a lust for home in their hearts, they had been staked by the P.C. Company to cut wood for its steamers, with the promise at the end of a passage home. Disregarding the possibilities of the ice—run, they had fittingly demonstrated their inefficiency by their choice of the island on which they located. Montana Kid, though possessing little knowledge of the break—up of a great river, looked about him dubiously, and cast yearning glances at the distant bank where the towering bluffs promised immunity from all the ice of the Northland.
唐纳德和戴维都是边境地区无能者的典型。他们是生于加拿大、长于城市的苏格兰人，一时犯傻从账房辞了职，动用积蓄去了克朗代克。现在他们感受着在这个乡村生活的艰辛。他们饥肠辘辘，无精打采，非常想回家。他们受到P. C. 公司的资助，为它的汽船伐木，公司承诺最后会给他们回家的路费。他们选择呆在这座岛上伐木，没考虑过可能有冰汛——这也恰恰体现了他们的无能。虽然对大河解冻这种事了解不多，蒙塔纳·基德还是怀疑地四下观看，并不时向往地看一眼远处的河岸。那里高耸的峭壁可能会逃过所有北方地区冰块的侵袭。
After feeding himself and dogs, he lighted his pipe and strolled out to get a better idea of the situation. The island, like all its river brethren, stood higher at the upper end, and it was here that Donald and Davy had built their cabin and piled many cords of wood. The far shore was a full mile away, while between the island and the near shore lay a back—channel perhaps a hundred yards across. At first sight of this, Montana Kid was tempted to take his dogs and escape to the mainland, but on closer inspection he discovered a rapid current flooding on top. Below, the river twisted sharply to the west, and in this turn its breast was studded by a maze of tiny islands.
喂饱自己和狗之后，蒙塔纳·基德点燃烟斗，出去溜达，以对形势有更深入的了解。这座岛和周围的河流都处在高地。就是在这座岛上，唐纳德和戴维建造了他们的小木屋，堆积了许多成捆的木头。远处的河岸在足足一英里开外。岛和近处河岸之间有一个约一百码宽的秘密通道。第一眼看到这些时，蒙塔纳·基德很想带着他的狗逃到大陆。但经过更为仔细的检视后，他发现高处有一股急流涌出。在下面，河流突然转向了西方。在这个转弯处，河流伸出的部分散布着一些迂曲的小岛。
"That's where she'll jam, " he remarked to himself.
“它会在那儿堵住的。” 他自言自语。
Half a dozen sleds, evidently bound up—stream to Dawson, were splashing through the chill water to the tail of the island. Travel on the river was passing from the precarious to the impossible, and it was nip and tuck with them till they gained the island and came up the path of the wood—choppers toward the cabin. One of them, snow—blind, towed helplessly at the rear of a sled. Husky young fellows they were, rough—garmented and trail—worn, yet Montana Kid had met the breed before and knew at once that it was not his kind.
六个明显会逆流驶向道森的雪橇，被寒冷的河水拍打着冲到小岛的末端去了。在河上行驶先是很危险，到最后就变成不可能的任务。河流和他们在角逐中一直不相上下，直至他们到了这个岛并踏上伐木者去往小木屋的小道。其中有个人患了雪盲症，在一个雪橇的尾部被拖着无助地前行。这些年轻的小伙子都曾体力健壮，现在却穿着粗衣，筋疲力尽。而蒙塔纳·基德以前曾见过这种人，立马知道他们和他不是一类人。
"Hello! How's things up Dawson—way? " queried the foremost, passing his eye over Donald and Davy and settling it upon the Kid.
“你好！道森的情况怎么样呀？” 走在最前面的人询问道。他瞥了一眼唐纳德和戴维，最后把目光定在基德身上。
A first meeting in the wilderness is not characterized by formality. The talk quickly became general, and the news of the Upper and Lower Countries was swapped equitably back and forth. But the little the newcomers had was soon over with, for they had wintered at Minook, a thousand miles below, where nothing was doing. Montana Kid, however, was fresh from Salt Water, and they annexed him while they pitched camp, swamping him with questions concerning the outside, from which they had been cut off for a twelvemonth.
他们在荒野的第一次见面十分自然。他们很快就聊开了，相互分享、谈论着南北方乡村的种种消息。但是，新来的人知道的那点儿事很快就说完了，因为他们是在下面一千英里处的米诺克过的冬，那地方没发生过什么事。然而，蒙塔纳·基德刚从咸水湖来。在搭帐篷的时候，他们争相问他无数关于外界的事情，因为他们已经有一年没与外界联系了。
A shrieking split, suddenly lifting itself above the general uproar on the river, drew everybody to the bank. The surface water had increased in depth, and the ice, assailed from above and below, was struggling to tear itself from the grip of the shores. Fissures reverberated into life before their eyes, and the air was filled with multitudinous crackling, crisp and sharp, like the sound that goes up on a clear day from the firing line.
突然，一声尖锐的破裂声盖过了河上所有的嘈杂声。每个人都退到了岸上。表层的水越来越深，遭受上下双向攻击的冰块挣扎着摆脱河岸的束缚。他们眼睁睁地看着冰面的裂缝越来越大。空中充斥着各种各样的爆裂声，就像是晴日里射击线那儿发出的枪响一样，干脆而尖利。
From up the river two men were racing a dog team toward them on an uncovered stretch of ice. But even as they looked, the pair struck the water and began to flounder through. Behind, where their feet had sped the moment before, the ice broke up and turned turtle. Through this opening the river rushed out upon them to their waists, burying the sled and swinging the dogs off at right angles in a drowning tangle. But the men stopped their flight to give the animals a fighting chance, and they groped hurriedly in the cold confusion, slashing at the detaining traces with their sheath—knives. Then they fought their way to the bank through swirling water and grinding ice, where, foremost in leaping to the rescue among the jarring fragments, was the Kid.
在河的上游，两个人正赶着狗队，在一块无遮掩的冰面上向他们全速驶来。但是正当他们在看时，这两个人遇到了冰面融化的水，划着水开始艰难地前行。在后面，他们刚刚迅速驶过的地方，冰块破裂并翻了过去。河水从这个裂口涌出，漫过了他们的腰间，淹没了雪橇。狗和雪橇间扭成了九十度角，和一团快沉没的缠绕物纠结在一起。但是，他们停了下来不再逃，好给狗逃脱的机会。他们在一片冰凉的混乱中慌忙摸索，用鞘刀砍那些耽搁他们的缰绳。然后，他们穿过漩涡和碎冰，努力向河岸前进。他们处在不断碰撞的碎物中，而最先作出迅速反应、营救他们的正是基德。
"Why, blime me, if it ain't Montana Kid! " exclaimed one of the men whom the Kid was just placing upon his feet at the top of the bank. He wore the scarlet tunic of the Mounted Police and jocularly raised his right hand in salute.
“唉呀，老天爷！真是多亏了蒙塔纳·基德！” 其中一人叫喊着，基德刚刚把他安置到河岸的最高处。他穿着骑警的鲜红色紧身短上衣，打趣地举起右手敬礼。
"Got a warrant for you, Kid, " he continued, drawing a bedraggled paper from his breast pocket, "an 'I' ope as you'll come along peaceable. "
“基德，给你一张逮捕令，” 他从胸前的口袋里取出一张破旧不堪的纸，继续说道， “并且希望你一切顺利。”
Montana Kid looked at the chaotic river and shrugged his shoulders, and the policeman, following his glance, smiled.
蒙塔纳·基德看着那条混乱的河，耸了耸肩。警察顺着他的目光看去，微笑着。
"Where are the dogs? " his companion asked.
“狗在哪儿？” 他的同伴问道。
"Gentlemen, " interrupted the policeman, "this' ere mate o 'mine is Jack Sutherland, owner of Twenty—Two Eldorado—"
警察打断道： “先生们，这是我朋友，杰克·萨瑟兰，他有二十二座黄金城——”
"Not Sutherland of '92? " broke in the snow—blinded Minook man, groping feebly toward him.
“不是92届的那个萨瑟兰吗？” 那个患雪盲症的米诺克人无力地摸索着向他走来，打断道。
"The same. " Sutherland gripped his hand.
“是同一个人。” 萨瑟兰握紧他的手。
"And you? "
“那你呢？”
"Oh, I 'm after your time, but I remember you in my freshman year, —you were doing P.G. work then. Boys, " he called, turning half about, this is Sutherland, Jack Sutherland, erstwhile full—back on the' Varsity. Come up, you gold—chasers, and fall upon him! Sutherland, this is Greenwich, —played quarter two seasons back. "
“哦，我在你后面几届。但在大一时我就记得你——那时你正在攻读研究生的课程。伙计们，” 他半转身喊道， “这是萨瑟兰，杰克·萨瑟兰，以前在大学时是后卫。过来，你们这些淘金者，过来见见他！萨瑟兰，这是格林尼治——两个赛季前打四分卫。”
"Yes, I read of the game, " Sutherland said, shaking hands. "And I remember that big run of yours for the first touchdown. "
“哦，我知道那场比赛。” 萨瑟兰一边说着，一边和他握了握手。 “我还记得你第一次持球触地得分所成功运用的持球跑动打法。”
Greenwich flushed darkly under his tanned skin and awkwardly made room for another.
格林尼治棕褐色的脸涨成了猪肝色，笨拙地给别人让了让地方。
"And here's Matthews, —Berkeley man. And we've got some Eastern cracks knocking about, too. Come up, you Princeton men! Come up! This is Sutherland, Jack Sutherland! "
“这是马修斯——伯克利人。我们中还有一些来自东部地区漂泊的运动好手。过来，普林斯顿人！过来！这是萨瑟兰，杰克·萨瑟兰！”
Then they fell upon him heavily, carried him into camp, and supplied him with dry clothes and numerous mugs of black tea.
然后他们一哄而上，把他带回帐篷，给他拿了些干衣服，端上好几大杯红茶。
Donald and Davy, overlooked, had retired to their nightly game of crib. Montana Kid followed them with the policeman.
被忽视的唐纳德和戴维回屋玩起了他们每晚都玩的克里比奇牌戏。蒙塔纳·基德和警察尾随在他们之后。
"Here, get into some dry togs, " he said, pulling them from out his scanty kit. "Guess you'll have to bunk with me, too. "
他从自己为数不多的衣服中抽出几件，说道： “给，换上这些干衣服。我想你也不得不和我将就着睡了。”
"Well, I say, you're a good 'un, " the policeman remarked as he pulled on the other man's socks. Sorry I've got to take you back to Dawson, but I only' ope they won't be 'ard on you.
“哎呀，我说，你这人真不错。” 警察一边穿着基德的袜子，一边说道， “很抱歉我得把你带回道森，但是我希望他们不会对你过分严厉。”
"Not so fast. " The Kid smiled curiously. "We ain't under way yet. When I go I 'm going down river, and I guess the chances are you'll go along. "
“别这么快啊。” 基德古怪地微笑。 “我们还没开始呢。我走的时候会往下游走，我想你可能也要一起走。”
"Not if I know myself—"
“我自己也不太清楚——”
"Come on outside, and I'll show you, then. These damn fools, " thrusting a thumb over his shoulder at the two Scots, "played smash when they located here. Fill your pipe, first—this is pretty good plug—and enjoy yourself while you can. You haven't many smokes before you. "
“跟我到外面来吧，我指给你看。” 他将拇指伸过肩，指着那两个苏格兰人，说道： “这些该死的蠢人，定居在这儿的时候破了产。首先，填满你的烟斗——这烟草相当好——只管尽情享受吧。你不怎么抽嘛。”
The policeman went with him wonderingly, while Donald and Davy dropped their cards and followed. The Minook men noticed Montana Kid pointing now up the river, now down, and came over.
警察好奇地和他一起抽。唐纳德和戴维也丢下牌，和他们一起抽了起来。从米诺克来的人们注意到蒙塔纳·基德时而指指河上游，时而又指指下游，便走了过来。
"What's up? " Sutherland demanded.
“怎么了？” 萨瑟兰问道。
"Nothing much. " Nonchalance sat well upon the Kid. "Just a case of raising hell and putting a chunk under. See that bend down there? That's where she'll jam millions of tons of ice. Then she'll jam in the bends up above, millions of tons. Upper jam breaks first, lower jam holds, pouf! " He dramatically swept the island with his hand. "Millions of tons, " he added reflectively.
“没什么。” 基德显得漠不关心。 “只不过是大麻烦要来了。看到那儿的弯曲处了吗？那里会堆积上百万吨冰块。然后会有上百万吨在上面的那些弯曲处堆积。上面的冰块最先断裂，下面的能撑上一会儿，噗！” 他用手夸张地比划了一下整个岛。 “上百万吨啊。” 他沉思着，又添上这么一句。
"And what of the woodpiles? " Davy questioned.
戴维问道： “那些木料堆会怎样呢？”
The Kid repeated his sweeping gestures and Davy wailed, "The labor of months! It canna be! Na, na, lad, it canna be. I doot not it's a jowk. Ay, say that it is, " he appealed.
基德重复了比划的手势。戴维哀诉道： “这可是几个月的劳动成果啊！不能发生这种事！不，不，老弟，绝对不能。我不知道刚才是你讲了个笑话。哎，快说它是个笑话啊。” 他恳求道。
But when the Kid laughed harshly and turned on his heel, Davy flung himself upon the piles and began frantically to toss the cordwood back from the bank.
但是，基德发出刺耳的笑声，转过了身。戴维一下子瘫坐在木堆上，开始疯狂地把岸上的木材扔回去。
"Lend a hand, Donald! " he cried. "Can ye no lend a hand? 'T is the labor of months and the passage home! "
“帮我一把啊，唐纳德！” 他喊道， “你难道会坐视不管吗？这可是几个月来的劳动成果啊，还有回家的路费！”
Donald caught him by the arm and shook him, but he tore free. "Did ye no hear, man? Millions of tons, and the island shall be sweepit clean. "
唐纳德拽住了他的胳膊，摇晃着他，但是戴维挣脱了。 “伙计，难道你没听见吗？上百万吨，还有整个岛都会被淹没。”
"Straighten yersel 'up, man, " said Donald. It's a bit fashed ye are.
“伙计，振作一点儿，” 唐纳德说道， “你有点儿太过烦恼了。”
But Davy fell upon the cordwood. Donald stalked back to the cabin, buckled on his money belt and Davy's, and went out to the point of the island where the ground was highest and where a huge pine towered above its fellows.
但是，戴维还是瘫坐在木材堆上。唐纳德高视阔步走回小木屋，扣上他还有戴维的藏着钱的腰带，走出来，来到岛的岬角。那儿地势最高，还有一棵非常高大的松树，周围的松树都不及它。
The men before the cabin heard the ringing of his axe and smiled. Greenwich returned from across the island with the word that they were penned in. It was impossible to cross the back—channel. The blind Minook man began to sing, and the rest joined in with—
小木屋前的人们听着他斧子的声响，微笑着。格林尼治从岛的另一端回来，说他们都被困住了。要穿过秘密通道是不可能的。那个患雪盲症的米诺克人开始唱歌，其他人也跟着和——
"Wonder if it's true? Does it seem so to you? Seems to me he's lying—Oh, I wonder if it's true? "
“这是不是真的？在你们看来是真的吗？在我看来，是他在撒谎——啊，我想知道，这是不是真的呢？”
"It's ay sinfu’, " Davy moaned, lifting his head and watching them dance in the slanting rays of the sun. "And my guid wood a 'going to waste. "
戴维抬起头，看着他们在斜阳的光辉下跳舞，悲叹道： “这真是罪恶。我的木材都要白费了。”
"Oh, I wonder if it's true, " was flaunted back.
“啊，我想知道这是不是真的。” 歌声炫耀似的回应他。
The noise of the river ceased suddenly. A strange calm wrapped about them. The ice had ripped from the shores and was floating higher on the surface of the river, which was rising. Up it came, swift and silent, for twenty feet, till the huge cakes rubbed softly against the crest of the bank. The tail of the island, being lower, was overrun. Then, without effort, the white flood started down—stream. But the sound increased with the momentum, and soon the whole island was shaking and quivering with the shock of the grinding bergs. Under pressure, the mighty cakes, weighing hundreds of tons, were shot into the air like peas. The frigid anarchy increased its riot, and the men had to shout into one another's ears to be heard. Occasionally the racket from the back channel could be heard above the tumult. The island shuddered with the impact of an enormous cake which drove in squarely upon its point. It ripped a score of pines out by the roots, then swinging around and over, lifted its muddy base from the bottom of the river and bore down upon the cabin, slicing the bank and trees away like a gigantic knife. It seemed barely to graze the corner of the cabin, but the cribbed logs tilted up like matches, and the structure, like a toy house, fell backward in ruin.
河上的喧闹声骤然停止了。一种异常的平静包围着他们。冰挣脱了河岸，在渐渐涨高的河面上越漂越高。它来了，快速而无声地漂了二十英尺。然后，如蛋糕一样的巨大冰块轻轻地触碰到河岸的顶端。岛的末端，由于地势较低，被淹没了。接着，白茫茫的洪水开始毫不费力地侵袭下游。但是，随着势头不断增强，声响也越来越大。很快，嘎吱作响的冰块使整座岛都开始摇晃、颤抖。在压力之下，几百吨重的、如蛋糕一般的巨大冰块，像豌豆一样崩裂到空中。这种冰冷的混乱状态越来越严重，人们要想让对方听见自己说的话，得朝着他的耳朵大喊才行。偶尔能在混乱之中听见从秘密通道传来的嘈杂声。一块巨大的 “蛋糕” 正好打到岛的岬角上，整个岛都因此震动。二十棵松树被连根拔起，在河面上旋转漂荡，浑浊的河底也被洪水掀翻上来。洪水一步步向小木屋逼近，像一把巨大的刀在削着河岸和树木。看起来洪水几乎没有碰到小木屋的角落，但是屋中的原木却像火柴似的上倾，小木屋就像个玩具房子一样向后倒塌，成了废墟。
"The labor of months! The labor of months, and the passage home! " Davy wailed, while Montana Kid and the policeman dragged him backward from the woodpiles.
“几个月的劳动成果啊！几个月的劳动成果，还有回家的路费！” 戴维哀诉着，蒙塔纳·基德和警察把他从木料堆那儿拽了回来。
"You'll 'ave plenty o' hoppertunity all in good time for yer passage 'ome, " the policeman growled, clouting him alongside the head and sending him flying into safety.
“你还会有很多好机会能很快挣到回家的路费。” 警察怒吼着，猛地扇了戴维一耳光，很快把他送到了安全的地方。
Donald, from the top of the pine, saw the devastating berg sweep away the cordwood and disappear down—stream. As though satisfied with this damage, the ice—flood quickly dropped to its old level and began to slacken its pace. The noise likewise eased down, and the others could hear Donald shouting from his eyrie to look down—stream. As forecast, the jam had come among the islands in the bend, and the ice was piling up in a great barrier which stretched from shore to shore. The river came to a standstill, and the water finding no outlet began to rise. It rushed up till the island was awash, the men splashing around up to their knees, and the dogs swimming to the ruins of the cabin. At this stage it abruptly became stationary, with no perceptible rise or fall.
唐纳德从松树的顶端看着毁灭性的冰块把木材卷走并在下游消失。对这场灾难，冰凌洪水似乎已经满足了，于是降到了之前的水位，并开始放慢速度。嘈杂声也变小了。其他人能够听见唐纳德在高处大声喊着，让大家往下游看。正如预测的那样，小岛的弯曲处堵住了，冰块在一个巨大的障碍处堆积起来，这障碍处从一个河岸延伸到另一个河岸。河流停了下来，找不到出口的河水开始上涨。河水一直快速上涨，直至岛被淹没。人们趟着没膝的水，那些狗游向了小木屋的废墟。河水到达这个水位的时候，突然不动了，让人觉察不到涨落。
Montana Kid shook his head. "It's jammed above, and no more's coming down. "
蒙塔纳·基德摇了摇头。 “上面堵住了，不会再有冰块下来了。”
"And the gamble is, which jam will break first, " Sutherland added.
萨瑟兰补充道： “不确定的是哪个堵塞口会先破裂。”
"Exactly, " the Kid affirmed. "If the upper jam breaks first, we haven't a chance. Nothing will stand before it. "
“一点儿没错。” 基德肯定地说， “如果是上面的堵塞口先破裂，我们就没机会了。一切都会被摧毁。”
The Minook men turned away in silence, but soon "Rumsky Ho" floated upon the quiet air, followed by "The Orange and the Black. " Room was made in the circle for Montana Kid and the policeman, and they quickly caught the ringing rhythm of the choruses as they drifted on from song to song.
那些米诺克人默默地离开了，但是不一会儿《拉莫斯基赫尔》的歌声就在寂静的空中浮起，紧跟着的是《橙色和黑色》。人们在蒙塔纳·基德和警察周围围成了一个圈，一首歌一首歌地唱下去，很快就抓住了合唱中清晰的韵律。
"Oh, Donald, will ye no lend a hand? " Davy sobbed at the foot of the tree into which his comrade had climbed. "Oh, Donald, man, will ye no lend a hand? " he sobbed again, his hands bleeding from vain attempts to scale the slippery trunk.
“啊，唐纳德，你不愿帮忙吗？” 戴维在树下哭诉，就是刚才他的同伴爬上去的那棵树。 “啊，唐纳德，伙计，你不愿帮忙吗？” 他又哭诉起来，试图顺着滑溜溜的树干爬上去，却是徒劳，双手都流血了。
But Donald had fixed his gaze up river, and now his voice rang out, vibrant with fear:
然而唐纳德凝视着河流，突然声音颤抖，其中夹杂着恐惧，大声喊道：
"God Almichty, here she comes! "
“万能的上帝，它又来了！”
Standing knee—deep in the icy water, the Minook men, with Montana Kid and the policeman, gripped hands and raised their voices in the terrible, "Battle Hymn of the Republic. " But the words were drowned in the advancing roar.
米诺克人、基德和那个警察站在及膝的冰水里，握紧了手，惊恐地提高了音调，唱着《共和国战歌》。但是，洪水逼近的咆哮声淹没了他们的歌声。
And to Donald was vouchsafed a sight such as no man may see and live. A great wall of white flung itself upon the island. Trees, dogs, men, were blotted out, as though the hand of God had wiped the face of nature clean. This much he saw, then swayed an instant longer in his lofty perch and hurtled far out into the frozen hell.
唐纳德看到了这样的景象——人们再也看不见东西，也无法生存。一股白浪像一面巨大的墙一样猛地向小岛扑过来。树木、狗和人们都被淹没了，好像是上帝伸手把自然的脸擦净了。唐纳德看了这么多，在那高处的位置上摇摆了片刻之后，便纵身跳进了那个冰封的地狱。