http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16257/16257-h/16257-h.htm

THE TURTLES OF TASMAN

杰克·倫敦短篇小說集（《塔斯馬尼亞的海龜知道》等）

（注：杰克·倫敦最后一部出版作品）

譯者：若離

BY THE TURTLES OF TASMAN

塔斯馬尼亞的海龜知道

I

第一章

Law, order, and restraint had carved Frederick Travers' face. It was the strong, firm face of one used to power and who had used power with wisdom and discretion. Clean living had made the healthy skin, and the lines graved in it were honest lines. Hard and devoted work had left its wholesome handiwork, that was all. Every feature of the man told the same story, from the clear blue of the eyes to the full head of hair, light brown, touched with grey, and smoothly parted and drawn straight across above the strong-domed forehead. He was a seriously groomed man, and the light summer business suit no more than befitted his alert years, while it did not shout aloud that its possessor was likewise the possessor of numerous millions of dollars and property.

弗雷德里克·特拉弗斯的臉由律法、規(guī)矩和限制鐫刻而成。那是一張堅(jiān)強(qiáng)又堅(jiān)定的臉，屬于一個(gè)曾經(jīng)握有權(quán)力并且自如運(yùn)用智慧和判斷力的人。因?yàn)槠饺諓壅麧崳钠つw很健康，臉上是一道道風(fēng)霜實(shí)實(shí)在在的手筆。一言以蔽之，全身心投入的辛勞工作讓這張臉成了一件完整的手工藝品。這位男士有一雙蔚藍(lán)色的雙眸，頭發(fā)側(cè)分，梳得很順，滿頭淺棕色里夾雜著銀絲，垂下來的那部分發(fā)絲直接蓋住了飽滿的前額。他身上的特征無一不在告訴我們：他是注意梳洗的人，輕便的夏季商務(wù)套裝最適合他這些年時(shí)時(shí)警惕的生活。可這樣的裝束并沒有大聲向世人宣告，它的擁有者可能同時(shí)坐擁數(shù)百萬美元的資金和房產(chǎn)。

For Frederick Travers hated ostentation. The machine that waited outside for him under the porte-cochère was sober black. It was the most expensive machine in the county, yet he did not care to flaunt its price or horse-power in a red flare across the landscape, which also was mostly his, from the sand dunes and the everlasting beat of the Pacific breakers, across the fat bottomlands and upland pastures, to the far summits clad with redwood forest and wreathed in fog and cloud.

弗雷德里克·特拉弗斯討厭炫耀。在門外專供車輛進(jìn)出的通道上，等候他的那輛車通體黑色，顯得肅穆。那是縣里最貴的車，但他并不愿意吹噓它不菲的價(jià)格。伴隨著太平洋連綿不斷的濤聲，那輛車開足馬力越過沙丘，馳騁在大多屬于特拉弗斯名下的地界上，穿越肥沃的低洼河灘和高地的牧場，開往長滿紅杉的山峰，登上云霧繚繞的山頂自由呼吸。即便如此，他對車子強(qiáng)勁的馬力也不屑一提。

A rustle of skirts caused him to look over his shoulder. Just the faintest hint of irritation showed in his manner. Not that his daughter was the object, however. Whatever it was, it seemed to lie on the desk before him.

裙子發(fā)出的沙沙聲讓他沒法集中精力看。這種舉止顯示他有一絲煩躁。讓他心煩的倒不是女兒。不管是什么，罪魁禍?zhǔn)姿坪醵挤旁谒媲暗臅郎稀?/p>

"What is that outlandish name again?" she asked. "I know I shall never remember it. See, I've brought a pad to write it down."

“又是什么外國佬的名字？”女兒問，“我知道，我永遠(yuǎn)也記不住那種人名。我?guī)н^來一個(gè)便箋本，可以記在上面。”

Her voice was low and cool, and she was a tall, well-formed, clear-skinned young woman. In her voice and complacence she, too, showed the drill-marks of order and restraint.

這女孩年紀(jì)輕輕，個(gè)子高挑，身形姣好，皮膚光潔。她的聲音低沉，聽起來人很冷靜，能聽出一種自我滿足感。這嗓音和這心態(tài)都顯示，規(guī)矩和限制也在她身上打下了烙印。

Frederick Travers scanned the signature of one of two letters on the desk. "Bronislawa Plaskoweitzkaia Travers," he read; then spelled the difficult first portion, letter by letter, while his daughter wrote it down.

桌上有兩封信，弗雷德里克·特拉弗斯掃了掃其中一封的簽名，念出聲來：“布羅尼斯拉娃·普拉斯科維查卡亞·特拉弗斯。”然后，他逐個(gè)字母拼出來這一串名字里難讀的前面部分，女兒在一邊記下來。

"Now, Mary," he added, "remember Tom was always harum scarum, and you must make allowances for this daughter of his. Her very name is—ah— disconcerting. I haven't seen him for years, and as for her...." A shrug epitomised his apprehension. He smiled with an effort at wit. "Just the same, they're as much your family as mine. If he is my brother, he is your uncle. And if she's my niece, you're both cousins."

“瑪麗你現(xiàn)在聽好，”他接著說，“記得那個(gè)總是粗心大意冒冒失失的湯姆吧，你必須體諒他這個(gè)女兒。那姑娘的名字嘛，有點(diǎn)別扭。我有些年沒見過他了，也沒見過他女兒……”說這話時(shí)，他聳聳肩，流露出對湯姆的擔(dān)心。他微笑著，想盡量理智些，又說道：“他們是我的家人，也是你的，一樣的。他是我的弟弟，也就是你叔叔。她是我的外甥女，你們就是堂姐妹。”

Mary nodded. "Don't worry, father. I'll be nice to her, poor thing. What nationality was her mother?—to get such an awful name."

瑪麗點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭：“別擔(dān)心，爸爸。我會(huì)對她好的，可憐吶。她媽媽是哪國人？起這么難受的名字。”

"I don't know. Russian, or Polish, or Spanish, or something. It was just like Tom. She was an actress or singer—I don't remember. They met in Buenos Ayres. It was an elopement. Her husband—"

“我不知道。俄羅斯，或者波蘭、西班牙還是什么地方。和湯姆一樣的人。她是個(gè)演員或者歌手，我不記得了。他們在布宜諾斯艾利斯碰上，倆人私奔了。她丈夫——”

"Then she was already married!"

“那時(shí)候她已經(jīng)結(jié)婚了！”

Mary's dismay was unfeigned and spontaneous, and her father's irritation grew more pronounced. He had not meant that. It had slipped out.

瑪麗震驚地脫口而出，絲毫沒有掩飾自己的情緒。父親變得更煩躁了。他本來沒打算抖出來這種事，一時(shí)說漏嘴了。

"There was a divorce afterward, of course. I never knew the details. Her mother died out in China—no; in Tasmania. It was in China that Tom—" His lips shut with almost a snap. He was not going to make any more slips. Mary waited, then turned to the door, where she paused.

“當(dāng)然，那之后就離婚了。我一直不清楚具體情況。她母親死在中國，不，塔斯馬尼亞。是湯姆在中國——”他突然打住了，不打算再透露什么。瑪麗等了等，沒見他往下說，就走向門去，在門口停住腳步。

"I've given her the rooms over the rose court," she said. "And I'm going now to take a last look."

她說：“我已經(jīng)給她留了房間，那里可以看到開玫瑰的院子。我現(xiàn)在要去那兒最后看一眼。”

Frederick Travers turned back to the desk, as if to put the letters away, changed his mind, and slowly and ponderingly reread them.

弗雷德里克·特拉弗斯轉(zhuǎn)身往書桌那邊走，似乎想把信收起來，后來改了主意，打開信慢慢地又了一遍，讀著讀著陷入沉思。

"Dear Fred:

"It's been a long time since I was so near to the old home, and I'd like to take a run up. Unfortunately, I played ducks and drakes with my Yucatan project—I think I wrote about it—and I'm broke as usual. Could you advance me funds for the run? I'd like to arrive first class. Polly is with me, you know. I wonder how you two will get along.

"Tom.

"P.S. If it doesn't bother you too much, send it along next mail."

一封信上寫道：

“親愛的弗雷德：

上一次我離老宅這么近還是很久以前的事。我喜歡快馬加鞭的。可惜，這回我因?yàn)槌稣饔瓤ㄌ沟挠?jì)劃揮霍了不少錢，我記得之前寫到過這事，和過去一樣，現(xiàn)在我破產(chǎn)了。你能不能借我點(diǎn)錢，幫我墊付一下路費(fèi)？我想坐一等艙回來。你知道的，波莉和我一起。我還不知道你們倆以后會(huì)相處得怎么樣。

湯姆

又及：如果你不是太費(fèi)事，寄錢過來的時(shí)候順便也給我回封信。”

"Dear Uncle Fred":

the other letter ran, in what seemed to him a strange, foreign-taught, yet distinctly feminine hand.

另一封信開頭是“親愛的弗雷德叔叔”，他看著像一個(gè)陌生人的手筆，看得出對方母語不是英文，顯然是個(gè)女士。

信中說：

"Dad doesn't know I am writing this. He told me what he said to you. It is not true. He is coming home to die. He doesn't know it, but I've talked with the doctors. And he'll have to come home, for we have no money. We're in a stuffy little boarding house, and it is not the place for Dad. He's helped other persons all his life, and now is the time to help him. He didn't play ducks and drakes in Yucatan. I was with him, and I know. He dropped all he had there, and he was robbed. He can't play the business game against New Yorkers. That explains it all, and I am proud he can't.

"He always laughs and says I'll never be able to get along with you. But I don't agree with him. Besides, I've never seen a really, truly blood relative in my life, and there's your daughter. Think of it!—a real live cousin!

"In anticipation,

"Your niece,

"Bronislawa Plaskoweitzkaia Travers.

“父親不知道我寫這封信。他把他給您寫的內(nèi)容告訴我了。事情不是那樣。這次回來是因?yàn)樗麤]有多少日子好活。他不知道自己快不行了，可我和醫(yī)生打聽過。他必須回家，我們已經(jīng)身無分文。我們住在一間寄宿公寓，那里地方很小，而且不透風(fēng)，不適合他住。他這輩子一直在幫別人，現(xiàn)在得有人幫他一把了。他在尤卡坦沒有揮金如土，我陪著他的，我清楚。他在那兒被人搶了，什么都沒了。他沒法在生意場上和紐約佬對著干。這已經(jīng)能說明一切原因，即使他沒能干成，我也感到驕傲。

他總是笑著說，我永遠(yuǎn)和您處不來。可我不這么認(rèn)為。而且，我還從來沒有見過一個(gè)真正有血緣關(guān)系的親戚，也就是您的女兒。期待見面！想見到堂妹真人！

您期盼中的外甥女

布羅尼斯拉娃·普拉斯科維查卡亞·特拉弗斯”

"P.S. You'd better telegraph the money, or you won't see Dad at all. He doesn't know how sick he is, and if he meets any of his old friends he'll be off and away on some wild goose chase. He's beginning to talk Alaska. Says it will get the fever out of his bones. Please know that we must pay the boarding house, or else we'll arrive without luggage.

"B.P.T."

“又及：您最好把錢電匯過來，不然您根本見不著我爸爸的。他不知道自己病得多重。要是碰到哪個(gè)老朋友，他還會(huì)為了某個(gè)徒勞的冒險(xiǎn)上路。他已經(jīng)開始說到阿拉斯加了。談到那個(gè)地方，他就會(huì)熱血沸騰。對了，您得注意下，我們還必須付寄宿公寓的房費(fèi)，要不我們離開這兒的時(shí)候連行李都帶不走。

布羅尼斯拉娃·普拉斯科維查卡亞·特拉弗斯”

Frederick Travers opened the door of a large, built-in safe and methodically put the letters away in a compartment labelled "Thomas Travers."

弗雷德里克·特拉弗斯打開一個(gè)嵌入墻里的大保險(xiǎn)箱，有條不紊地把信放進(jìn)一個(gè)標(biāo)著“托馬斯·特拉弗斯”的隔間。

"Poor Tom! Poor Tom!" he sighed aloud.

“可憐的湯姆！可憐啊！” 他長出一聲哀嘆。