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“这个老头子，他真是疯了，” 他用英文对那个方脑门的人说， “他说的都是蠢话，跟小孩子一样。”
"We will hear his talk which is like that of a child, " said the square—browed man. "And we will hear it, word for word, as he speaks it. Do you understand? "
“我们就听听他那跟小孩子一样的话吧，” 方脑门的人说， “我们要逐字逐字地听他讲下去。你明白吗？”
Howkan understood, and Imber's eyes flashed, for he had witnessed the play between his sister's son and the man in authority. And then began the story, the epic of a bronze patriot which might well itself be wrought into bronze for the generations unborn. The crowd fell strangely silent, and the square—browed judge leaned head on hand and pondered his soul and the soul of his race. Only was heard the deep tones of Imber, rhythmically alternating with the shrill voice of the interpreter, and now and again, like the bell of the Lord, the wondering and meditative "Hell" of the red—haired man.
霍坎领会了，英勃尔的眼睛里闪着光，因为他亲眼目睹了他的外甥和那个掌权的人之间的较量。然后他讲起了自己的故事，这是一首讲述青铜肤色的爱国者的史诗，值得刻在青铜碑上留给后世。大家都安静得出奇，那个方脑门的法官用手支着脑袋，思量着这个人的灵魂和他民族的灵魂。只听见英勃尔深沉的音调，和那个翻译的尖嗓门，有节奏地交替着，不时还听见那个红头发男人冥思苦想似地说声 “他妈的” ，好像上帝的钟声。
"I am Imber of the Whitefish people. " So ran the interpretation of Howkan, whose inherent barbarism gripped hold of him, and who lost his mission culture and veneered civilization as he caught the savage ring and rhythm of old Imber's tale. "My father was Otsbaok, a strong man. The land was warm with sunshine and gladness when I was a boy. The people did not hunger after strange things, nor hearken to new voices, and the ways of their fathers were their ways. The women found favor in the eyes of the young men, and the young men looked upon them with content. Babes hung at the breasts of the women, and they were heavy—hipped with increase of the tribe. Men were men in those days. In peace and plenty, and in war and famine, they were men.
“我是英勃尔，怀特菲什人。” 霍坎这样翻译着，他一听到英勃尔野蛮的语气和音调，他天生的野性就控制住了他，使他忘记了教会的教养和文明的外表。 “我的父亲是奥兹巴奥克，一条壮实的汉子。” 我小的时候，我们那块土地上都是暖洋洋的阳光和快乐的人们。没有人追求奇怪的东西，也没有人听陌生人的话。他们的父辈怎么生活，他们就怎么生活。女人都得到年轻男人的喜爱，男人们心满意足地瞧着她们。女人给孩子们喂奶，她们让部族的人口增加，自己的屁股就大起来了。那个时候，男人都是汉子。不管在太平富饶的日子里还是遇到战争饥荒，他们都是汉子。
"At that time there was more fish in the water than now, and more meat in the forest. Our dogs were wolves, warm with thick hides and hard to the frost and storm. And as with our dogs so with us, for we were likewise hard to the frost and storm. And when the Pellys came into our land we slew them and were slain. For we were men, we Whitefish, and our fathers and our fathers' fathers had fought against the Pellys and determined the bounds of the land.
“那个时候，河里的鱼比现在多，林子里的肉也比现在多。我们的狗都像狼，厚厚的皮毛，暖暖和和，不怕冰霜，也不怕风雪。我们的狗这样，我们也是这样，我们同样不怕冰霜，不怕风雪。佩利人来到我们地面上的时候，我们就杀了他们，也被他们杀了不少。因为我们怀特菲什的人，我们都是汉子，我们的父辈和祖辈跟佩利人打过，还划定了疆界。”
"As I say, with our dogs, so with us. And one day came the first white man. He dragged himself, so, on hand and knee, in the snow. And his skin was stretched tight, and his bones were sharp beneath. Never was such a man, we thought, and we wondered of what strange tribe he was, and of its land. And he was weak, most weak, like a little child, so that we gave him a place by the fire, and warm furs to lie upon, and we gave him food as little children are given food.
“就像我说的，我们的狗这样，我们也是这样。有一天，第一个白人来了。他在雪地里，用手和膝盖爬过来。他的皮绷得紧紧的，下面是凸起的骨头。我们想，从来没有过这样的人，我们很奇怪，他来自哪个陌生的部族，哪个地方呢。他很虚弱，非常虚弱，像小孩一样，因此，我们就在火边给他腾了个位子，让他躺在温暖的毛皮上，像给小孩喂东西一样喂他。”
"And with him was a dog, large as three of our dogs, and very weak. The hair of this dog was short, and not warm, and the tail was frozen so that the end fell off. And this strange dog we fed, and bedded by the fire, and fought from it our dogs, which else would have killed him. And what of the moose meat and the sun—dried salmon, the man and dog took strength to themselves; and what of the strength they became big and unafraid. And the man spoke loud words and laughed at the old men and young men, and looked boldly upon the maidens. And the dog fought with our dogs, and for all of his short hair and softness slew three of them in one day.
“他带着一条狗，有我们的三条狗那么大，也是很虚弱。那条狗的毛很短，不能保暖，尾巴都冻僵了，尾巴尖都给冻掉了。我们给这只陌生的狗喂吃的，让它在火边卧着，并且把我们的狗赶开，要不然它就给咬死了。吃了驼鹿肉和晒干的鲑鱼之后，那个人和他的狗就有了力气，有了力气，他们就变得大模大样，无所畏惧了。那个人说话大声，不管老的还是年轻的，都要取笑，还大胆地瞟那些小姑娘。他的那只狗和我们的狗打架，别瞧它的毛又短又软，它一天里就咬死了我们三条狗。”
"When we asked the man concerning his people, he said, 'I have many brothers, ' and laughed in a way that was not good. And when he was in his full strength he went away, and with him went Noda, daughter to the chief. First, after that, was one of our bitches brought to pup. And never was there such a breed of dogs, —big—headed, thick—jawed, and short—haired, and helpless. Well do I remember my father, Otsbaok, a strong man. His face was black with anger at such helplessness, and he took a stone, so, and so, and there was no more helplessness. And two summers after that came Noda back to us with a man—child in the hollow of her arm.
“我们问起他那一族的人时，他说， ‘我有不少弟兄，’ 然后便不怀好意地笑了。他完全恢复体力以后就离开了，瑙达，我们首领的女儿，也跟着走了。之后发生的第一桩事就是，我们的一只母狗生了小狗。从没见过这样品种的狗——脑袋大，嘴唇厚，毛又短，不中用。我记得很清楚，我的父亲，奥兹巴奥克，一条壮实的汉子。他一看见这个不中用的东西，就气得脸色铁青，他拿起一块石头，就那样，那个不中用的东西就没了。那之后，过了两个夏天，瑙达怀里抱着个男孩回来了。”
"And that was the beginning. Came a second white man, with short—haired dogs, which he left behind him when he went. And with him went six of our strongest dogs, for which, in trade, he had given Koo—So—Tee, my mother's brother, a wonderful pistol that fired with great swiftness six times. And Koo—So—Tee was very big, what of the pistol, and laughed at our bows and arrows. 'Woman's things, ' he called them, and went forth against the bald—face grizzly, with the pistol in his hand. Now it be known that it is not good to hunt the bald—face with a pistol, but how were we to know? and how was Koo—So—Tee to know? So he went against the bald—face, very brave, and fired the pistol with great swiftness six times; and the bald—face but grunted and broke in his breast like it were an egg, and like honey from a bee's nest dripped the brains of Koo—So—Tee upon the ground. He was a good hunter, and there was no one to bring meat to his squaw and children. And we were bitter, and we said, 'That which for the white men is well, is for us not well. ' And this be true. There be many white men and fat, but their ways have made us few and lean.
“这才是开始。第二个白人又来了，他带了几条短毛狗，走的时候丢下了它们。但是他带走了我们六条最壮实的狗，作为交易，他给了我舅舅库苏提一把很棒的能快速连放六响的手枪。库苏提觉得有了这把枪就很了不起，他还嘲笑我们的弓箭。他说那是 ‘女人的东西’ ，然后就拿着手枪去打那只脸上没毛的灰熊。如今我们都知道了，用手枪去打灰熊是不行的，可是那时候我们怎么能知道呢？库苏提又怎么能知道呢？于是他很英勇地去了，用手枪飞快地连放了六响，但是那只灰熊只哼了一声，就像抓鸡蛋一样把他的胸口抓得粉碎，库苏提的脑浆像蜂蜜流出蜂窝一样流了一地。他是个能干的猎手，但是再也没有人给他老婆孩子把肉带回家了。我们都很痛苦，我们说， ‘白人的好东西，就是我们的坏东西。’ 这是真的。白人很多，还都是胖胖的，但是依着他们过日子的办法却让我们的人少了，瘦了。”
"Came the third white man, with great wealth of all manner of wonderful foods and things. And twenty of our strongest dogs he took from us in trade. Also, what of presents and great promises, ten of our young hunters did he take with him on a journey which fared no man knew where. It is said they died in the snow of the Ice Mountains where man has never been, or in the Hills of Silence which are beyond the edge of the earth. Be that as it may, dogs and young hunters were seen never again by the Whitefish people.
“第三个白人来了，带来了各种各样奇特的能吃的和能用的东西。作为交换，他带走了我们二十条最壮实的狗。另外，他还用礼物和承诺带走了我们十个年轻的猎手，把他们弄到了没人知道的地方。据说，他们不是死在没有人烟的冰山积雪里，就是死在天边寂静的大山里了。不管怎么样，从那以后，怀特菲什的人再也没有见过那些狗和那些年轻的猎手了。”
"And more white men came with the years, and ever, with pay and presents, they led the young men away with them. And sometimes the young men came back with strange tales of dangers and toils in the lands beyond the Pellys, and sometimes they did not come back. And we said: 'If they be unafraid of life, these white men, it is because they have many lives; but we be few by the Whitefish, and the young men shall go away no more. ' But the young men did go away; and the young women went also; and we were very wroth.
“从此以后，一年又一年，白人来得更多了，他们总是用钱和礼物把那些年轻人带走。有时候，有的年轻人会回来，给我们讲在比佩利人居住地更远的地方，他们经历的危险和艰难，有时候，他们根本不回来。我们说： ‘要说那些白人不怕送命，是因为他们人多；但是我们怀特菲什人少，年轻人不能再离开了。’ 但是年轻人还是离开了，连年轻的女人也离开了，我们很恼火。”
"It be true, we ate flour, and salt pork, and drank tea which was a great delight; only, when we could not get tea, it was very bad and we became short of speech and quick of anger. So we grew to hunger for the things the white men brought in trade. Trade! trade! all the time was it trade! One winter we sold our meat for clocks that would not go, and watches with broken guts, and files worn smooth, and pistols without cartridges and worthless. And then came famine, and we were without meat, and two score died ere the break of spring.
“确实，我们吃到了面粉、腌猪肉，喝上了茶，很高兴；可是我们弄不到茶的时候就很糟了，我们变得少言寡语，还容易生气。这样我们慢慢盼望白人能带来那些东西跟我们交易。交易！交易！始终都是交易！有一年冬天，我们卖出去的肉，换来了不会走的钟，坏了零件的手表，磨平了的锉刀，还有没有子弹的手枪，都是没用的东西。然后就闹起了饥荒，我们没了肉，开春之前，有四十个人饿死了。”
Now are we grown weak, 'we said; ' and the Pellys will fall upon us, and our bounds be overthrown. 'But as it fared with us, so had it fared with the Pellys, and they were too weak to come against us.
“我们说， ‘如今我们弱了，佩利人会来打我们，攻占我们的地盘的。’ 不过我们经历的，佩利人也经历了，他们也变弱了，没法来打我们了。”
"My father, Otsbaok, a strong man, was now old and very wise. And he spoke to the chief, saying: 'Behold, our dogs be worthless. No longer are they thick—furred and strong, and they die in the frost and harness. Let us go into the village and kill them, saving only the wolf ones, and these let us tie out in the night that they may mate with the wild wolves of the forest. Thus shall we have dogs warm and strong again. "
“我的父亲，奥兹巴奥克，一条壮实的汉子，这时已经老了，但是非常有见识。他跟首领说： ‘瞧，我们的狗都用不上了。它们的皮毛不厚了，身体也不结实了，它们会在冰雪中干活的时候死掉。我们不如去村子里把它们杀了，只把狼种留下，然后夜里把它们栓在外面，让它们跟林子里的野狼交配。这样一来，我们就又能得到那些皮毛暖和身体结实的狗了。”
"And his word was harkened to, and we Whitefish became known for our dogs, which were the best in the land. But known we were not for ourselves. The best of our young men and women had gone away with the white men to wander on trail and river to far places. And the young women came back old and broken, as Noda had come, or they came not at all. And the young men came back to sit by our fires for a time, full of ill speech and rough ways, drinking evil drinks and gambling through long nights and days, with a great unrest always in their hearts, till the call of the white men came to them and they went away again to the unknown places. And they were without honor and respect, jeering the old—time customs and laughing in the faces of chief and shamans.
“首领听了他的话，我们怀特菲什人就因为我们的狗而出名了，它们是这一带最棒的狗。可是我们不是因为自己才出名的。我们最棒的年轻男女都跟着白人从水路陆路走了，到很远的地方去了。年轻女人，回来的时候都老了，都衰弱了，就像瑙达回来时一样，要不她们就不回来。年轻男人会回来一段时间，他们在火堆旁坐着，说话下流，举止粗野，喝着害人的酒，整日整夜地赌博，他们老是心神不宁，直到白人来叫他们，他们就又走了，跑到我们不知道的地方去了。他们没有尊严，也不尊敬别人，嘲笑往日的风俗，还当面讥笑首领和萨满巫师们。”
"As I say, we were become a weak breed, we Whitefish. We sold our warm skins and furs for tobacco and whiskey and thin cotton things that left us shivering in the cold. And the coughing sickness came upon us, and men and women coughed and sweated through the long nights, and the hunters on trail spat blood upon the snow. And now one, and now another, bled swiftly from the mouth and died. And the women bore few children, and those they bore were weak and given to sickness. And other sicknesses came to us from the white men, the like of which we had never known and could not understand. Smallpox, likewise measles, have I heard these sicknesses named, and we died of them as die the salmon in the still eddies when in the fall their eggs are spawned and there is no longer need for them to live.
“就像我说的，我们怀特菲什人变成了一个弱小的民族了。我们卖掉我们暖和的皮毛，换来了烟草、威士忌和单薄的棉布衣服，让我们在严寒中冻得发抖。咳嗽病也找上了我们，男男女女整夜咳嗽，出汗，出去打猎的人在雪地上吐血。还时不时地有一个又一个人嘴里突然喷血，接着就死了。女人们生的孩子也少了，生出来的也都体弱多病。还有很多其他的病也是白人带给我们的，都是我们从没见过也不懂怎么回事的病。像天花、麻疹，我听别人是这么说的；我们的人就是害了这样的病死了，就好像鲑鱼在秋天产完卵，不需要再活下去了，就死在静止的水涡里了。”
"And yet, and here be the strangeness of it, the white men come as the breath of death; all their ways lead to death, their nostrils are filled with it; and yet they do not die. Theirs the whiskey, and tobacco, and short—haired dogs; theirs the many sicknesses, the smallpox and measles, the coughing and mouth—bleeding; theirs the white skin, and softness to the frost and storm; and theirs the pistols that shoot six times very swift and are worthless. And yet they grow fat on their many ills, and prosper, and lay a heavy hand over all the world and tread mightily upon its peoples. And their women, too, are soft as little babes, most breakable and never broken, the mothers of men. And out of all this softness, and sickness, and weakness, come strength, and power, and authority. They be gods, or devils, as the case may be. I do not know. What do I know, I, old Imber of the Whitefish? Only do I know that they are past understanding, these white men, far—wanderers and fighters over the earth that they be.
“然而，奇怪的是，白人像死亡的气息一样飘来，他们的那一套总是把人带往死路，他们的鼻孔里都是死亡的气息，但是他们死不了。他们的威士忌、烟草还有短毛狗；他们那么多的病，天花、麻疹、咳嗽、吐血；他们的白皮肤，经不住冰霜和风雪；他们不中用的手枪，即使能飞快地连放六响。尽管有那么多病，他们还越长越胖，越来越兴旺，掌控着全世界，霸道地践踏着全世界的人们。他们的女人也娇嫩得跟婴儿一样，外表很柔弱，但是不容易完蛋，那些男人都是他们生的。而且，从这种种柔嫩、疾病和虚弱之中，产生的是力量、权势和权威。他们是神是鬼，就要看情况了。我可不知道。我，怀特菲什的老英勃尔，又能知道什么？我只知道他们让人没法了解，这些白人，总是流浪到很远的地方，在他们走过的地方打仗。”
"As I say, the meat in the forest became less and less. It be true, the white man's gun is most excellent and kills a long way off; but of what worth the gun, when there is no meat to kill? When I was a boy on the Whitefish there was moose on every hill, and each year came the caribou uncountable. But now the hunter may take the trail ten days and not one moose gladden his eyes, while the caribou uncountable come no more at all. Small worth the gun, I say, killing a long way off, when there be nothing to kill.
“就像我说的，林子里的肉越来越少。这是真的，白人的枪好极了，在老远的地方就打中；但是没有野兽可打的时候，要枪还有什么用？我小的时候，在怀特菲什，每座山上都有驼鹿，每年都有无数的驯鹿跑来。但是如今，猎手跑上十天也见不到一只驼鹿，至于那无数的驯鹿，根本就不来了。要我说，没有野兽可打的时候，枪一点用都没有，即使能隔着老远就打中。”
"And I, Imber, pondered upon these things, watching the while the Whitefish, and the Pellys, and all the tribes of the land, perishing as perished the meat of the forest. Long I pondered. I talked with the shamans and the old men who were wise. I went apart that the sounds of the village might not disturb me, and I ate no meat so that my belly should not press upon me and make me slow of eye and ear. I sat long and sleepless in the forest, wide—eyed for the sign, my ears patient and keen for the word that was to come. And I wandered alone in the blackness of night to the river bank, where was wind—moaning and sobbing of water, and where I sought wisdom from the ghosts of old shamans in the trees and dead and gone.
“而我，英勃尔，看着怀特菲什人、佩利人，还有这块地面上所有的部族，都像林子里的野兽一样渐渐消亡，我思量着这些事情。思量了很久。我跟萨满巫师们和那些见多识广的老人们商量。为了避免村子里的嘈杂打扰，我就离开村子，我不吃肉，以免我的肚子发胀、我的眼睛和耳朵都变得迟钝。我昼夜不眠地在林子里坐了很长时间，我睁大眼睛等待征兆，我耐心和敏锐的耳朵等待着要传给我的话。我一个人在黑夜里徘徊，走到河边，风在悲啼，水在啜泣，我打算在那里找到逝去的萨满巫师们的灵魂给我的启示。”
"And in the end, as in a vision, came to me the short—haired and detestable dogs, and the way seemed plain. By the wisdom of Otsbaok, my father and a strong man, had the blood of our own wolf—dogs been kept clean, wherefore had they remained warm of hide and strong in the harness. So I returned to my village and made oration to the men. 'This be a tribe, these white men, ' I said. 'A very large tribe, and doubtless there is no longer meat in their land, and they are come among us to make a new land for themselves. But they weaken us, and we die. They are a very hungry folk. Already has our meat gone from us, and it were well, if we would live, that we deal by them as we have dealt by their dogs. "
“最后，像幻影一样，在我的面前出现了那些可恶的短毛狗，办法似乎很简单。当初，我的父亲奥兹巴奥克，一条壮实的汉子，正是因为有了他的智慧，我们的狼狗才保留了纯种的血统，它们才保有暖和的毛皮和足够的力气去拉雪橇。于是，我回到村子里，跟人们讲述。 ‘这些白人，他们是一个部族，’ 我说， ‘一个很大的部族，可以肯定的是，他们的土地上没有肉了，然后他们就来到我们中间，想在这里给自己开拓一片新天地。但是他们让我们变弱了，我们的人死了。他们是贪婪的民族。我们已经没有兽肉了，要是我们想活下去，就得像对付他们的狗一样对付他们。”
"And further oration I made, counselling fight. And the men of the Whitefish listened, and some said one thing, and some another, and some spoke of other and worthless things, and no man made brave talk of deeds and war. But while the young men were weak as water and afraid, watched that the old men sat silent, and that in their eyes fires came and went. And later, when forest and made more talk. And now we were agreed, and we remembered the good young days, and the free land, and the times of plenty, and the gladness and sunshine; and we called ourselves brothers, and swore great secrecy, and a mighty oath to cleanse the land of the evil breed that had come upon it. It be plain we were fools, but how were we to know, we old men of the Whitefish?
“我还说了很多，劝大家跟敌人作战。怀特菲什河的人听了以后，有的这样说，有的那样说，还有些人说了些废话，没人大胆地谈到行动和作战。虽然年轻人意志薄弱，胆小怕事，但是我观察到，那些老人却默默坐着，眼睛里闪着怒火。之后，在林子里，我们谈了很多。这时，我们已经达成共识，我们记起了年轻时的好日子，自由的土地，丰衣足食的光景，有快乐还有阳光；我们结成兄弟，保证保守秘密，发誓要把侵入我们土地的害人种族清除干净。很明显，我们都是傻子，但是当时我们这些怀特菲什的老头子怎么知道？”
"And to hearten the others, I did the first deed. I kept guard upon the Yukon till the first canoe came down. In it were two white men, and when I stood upright upon the bank and raised my hand they changed their course and drove in to me. And as the man in the bow lifted his head, so, that he might know wherefore I wanted him, my arrow sang through the air straight to his throat, and he knew. The second man, who held paddle in the stern, had his rifle half to his shoulder when the first of my three spear—casts smote him.
“为了激励其他人，我第一个行动了。我一直在育空河岸守卫着，直到第一只独木船从上游漂来。上面有两个白人，我站在岸上，举起一只手，他们就改变了路线，朝我这面划来。船头的那个人刚抬起头，打算弄清楚我为什么招呼他，我的箭就嗖的一声穿过空气，直射进他的咽喉，这时他知道了。第二个人本来在船尾划桨，他的来复枪还没举到肩头，我已经扔出三根矛，第一根就击中了他。”
" 'These be the first, ' I said, when the old men had gathered to me. 'Later we will bind together all the old men of all the tribes, and after that the young men who remain strong, and the work will become easy. "
“ ‘这就算开始了，’ 老头子们都聚集到我身边的时候，我说， ‘以后我们就要联合各个部族的老头子，再以后就是那些还很结实的年轻人，这样，干起来就容易了。”
"And then the two dead white men we cast into the river. And of the canoe, which was a very good canoe, we made a fire, and a fire, also, of the things within the canoe. But first we looked at the things, and they were pouches of leather which we cut open with our knives. And inside these pouches were many papers, like that from which thou has read, O Howkan, with markings on them which we marvelled at and could not understand. Now, I am become wise, and I know them for the speech of men as thou hast told me. "
“然后，我们把那两具白人的尸体扔到了河里。至于那只独木船，真是只好船，我们点了把火，把船连同船上的东西一并烧了。不过烧之前我们看了看那些东西，是一些皮口袋，我们拿刀子把它们割开了。里面有很多写着字的纸，霍坎，就跟你刚才念的那些一样，上面的符号我们看了都很奇怪，搞不明白。如今，我变聪明了，我知道那是人们说的话，就像你跟我说的话一样。”
A whisper and buzz went around the courtroom when Howkan finished interpreting the affair of the canoe, and one man's voice spoke up: "That was the lost '91 mail, Peter James and Delaney bringing it in and last spoken at Le Barge by Matthews going out. The clerk scratched steadily away, and another paragraph was added to the history of the North.
霍坎把独木船的事情翻译完之后，审判室里响起了一片嘁嘁喳喳的低语声，一个男人大声说： “那是九一年丢掉的邮包，彼得·詹姆斯和德莱尼负责押运，马修斯是最后见到他们的人，还在勒巴尔杰湖边跟他们说过话。” 书记不停地写下去，于是，北方的历史又添了一段内容。
"There be little more, " Imber went on slowly. "It be there on the paper, the things we did. We were old men, and we did not understand. Even I, Imber, do not now understand. Secretly we slew, and continued to slay, for with our years we were crafty and we had learned the swiftness of going without haste. When white men came among us with black looks and rough words, and took away six of the young men with irons binding them helpless, we knew we must slay wider and farther. And one by one we old men departed up river and down to the unknown lands. It was a brave thing. Old we were, and unafraid, but the fear of far places is a terrible fear to men who are old.
“要说的也不多了，” 英勃尔慢吞吞地说了下去， “我们干过的事情都在纸上了。我们是老头子，我们不明白。我，英勃尔，到现在也不明白。我们暗地里杀，不停地杀，年龄越大，我们就越狡猾，我们学会了出手快，但是不慌张。当白人来到我们当中，铁青着脸，粗鲁地骂人，还拿铁链带走了我们六个无助的年轻人的时候，我们就明白了，我们得到更广的范围、更远的地方去杀。于是，我们这些老头子就一个又一个地到上游和下游不知名的地方去了。这是一种勇敢的行为。我们老了，什么都不怕，但是对于年纪大的人来说，出远门还是件可怕的事。”
"So we slew, without haste and craftily. On the Chilcoot and in the Delta we slew, from the passes to the sea, wherever the white men camped or broke their trails. It be true, they died, but it was without worth. Ever did they come over the mountains, ever did they grow and grow, while we, being old, became less and less. I remember, by the Caribou Crossing, the camp of a white man. He was a very little white man, and three of the old men came upon him in his sleep. And the next day I came upon the four of them. The white man alone still breathed, and there was breath in him to curse me once and well before he died.
“于是我们就巧妙地杀下去，毫不慌乱。不管是在奇尔库特，还是在德尔塔，从山口到海边，只要白人在那里宿营或者开路，我们就杀。不错，他们是死了，但是没有什么用。他们仍然会翻山过来，而且越来越多，而我们这些老头子，年纪大了，越来越少。我还记得，在驯鹿隘，有一个白人在那里扎了营。他是一个很矮小的白人，有三个老头子趁他睡着的时候去杀他。第二天，我遇到了他们四个人。只有那个白人还喘着气，他临死前还诅咒了我一通。”
"And so it went, now one old man, and now another. Sometimes the word reached us long after of how they died, and sometimes it did not reach us. And the old men of the other tribes were weak and afraid, and would not join with us. As I say, one by one, till I alone was left. I am Imber, of the Whitefish people. My father was Otsbaok, a strong man. There are no Whitefish now. Of the old men I am the last. The young men and young women are gone away, some to live with the Pellys, some with the Salmons, and more with the white men. I am very old, and very tired, and it being vain fighting the Law, as thou sayest, Howkan, I am come seeking the Law. "
“于是，就这样，今天这个老头子死了，明天那个老头子也死了。有时候，过了很久，我们才知道他们怎么死的，有时候，根本就没什么消息。而别的部族的老头子体弱又胆小，都不愿意和我们一块干。就像我说的，一个又一个都死了，直到最后剩下我一个人。我是英勃尔，怀特菲什人。我父亲是奥兹巴奥克，一条壮实的汉子。如今已经没有怀特菲什人了。我是最后一个怀特菲什的老头子。年轻的男人和女人都离开了，有的去跟佩利人一起生活，有的去跟萨蒙人一起生活，更多的是到白人那里去了。我年纪很大了，也很累了，就像你说的，霍坎，跟法律作对是白费力气，所以我就来自首了。”
"O Imber, thou art indeed a fool, " said Howkan. But Imber was dreaming. The square—browed judge likewise dreamed, and all his race rose up before him in a mighty phantasmagoria—his steel—shod, mail—clad race, the lawgiver and world—maker among the families of men. He saw it dawn red—flickering across the dark forests and sullen seas; he saw it blaze, bloody and red, to full and triumphant noon; and down the shaded slope he saw the blood—red sands dropping into night. And through it all he observed the Law, pitiless and potent, ever unswerving and ever ordaining, greater than the motes of men who fulfilled it or were crushed by it, even as it was greater than he, his heart speaking for softness.
“哦，英勃尔，你真傻。” 霍坎说。但是英勃尔正在做梦。那个方脑门的法官也做起梦了，他的整个种族都站在他面前，像一个巨大的幻影——他们是脚穿钢靴，身披铁甲的种族，他们是人类各种族中制订法律，创造万物之人。他看见这个幻影在黎明闪烁着红光，穿过黑暗的森林和阴郁的海洋；他看见它发出血红的火光，变成饱满全盛的正午；然后他看见在隐蔽的斜坡下，血红的沙砾正在沉入夜色中。通过这一切，他看到了无情却有力的法律，永远不可改变，永远在发号施令，不仅比那些履行法律或者被法律压制的人强大，甚至比他还强大，他的心软了。