飘 第二章3

"He was." Gerald let go of his daughter's arm and turned, peering sharply into her face."

"他在那里。"杰拉尔德放开女儿的胳臂，转过身来，用犀利的眼光凝视着她的脸，

And if that's why you came out here to wait for me, why didn't you say so without beating around the bush?"

"如果你就是为了这个才出来等我的，那你为什么不直截了当说，却要兜这么大个圈子呢?”

Scarlett could think of nothing to say, and she felt her face growing red with annoyance."

思嘉不知说什么好，只觉得心中一片纷乱，脸都涨得通红了。

“Well, speak up."

"好，说下去。"

Still she said nothing, wishing that it was permissible to shake one's father and tell him to hush his mouth."

她还是什么也不说，真希望在这种局面下能使劲摇晃自己的父亲叫他闭嘴算了。

"He was there and he asked most kindly after you, as did his sisters, and said they hoped nothing would keep you from the barbecue tomorrow. I'll warrant nothing will," he said shrewdly. "And now, daughter, what's all this about you and Ashley?"

"他在，并且像他的几个妹妹那样十分亲切地问候了你，还说希望不会有什么事拖住你不去参加明天的大野宴呢。我当然向他们保证绝不会的，"他机灵地说，"现在你说，女儿，关于你和艾希礼，这到底是怎么回事呀?”

"There is nothing," she said shortly, tugging at his arm. "Let's go in, Pa."

"没什么，"她简单地答道，一面拉着他的胳臂，“我们进去吧，爸。"

"So now 'tis you wanting to go in," he observed. “But here I'm going to stand till I'm understanding you. Now that I think of it, 'tis strange you've been recently. Has he been trifling with you? Has he asked to marry you?"

“现在倒是你要进去了，"他说，"可是我偏要站在这里，直到我明白你是怎么回事。唔，我想起来了，你最近显得有点奇怪。难道他跟你胡闹来着?他向你求婚了吗?”

“No," she said shortly.

"Nor will he," said Gerald.

"没有。"她简单地回答。

"他是不会的。"杰拉尔德说。

Fury flamed in her, but Gerald waved her quiet with a hand.

她心中顿时火起，可是杰拉尔德摆了摆手，叫她平静些。

"Hold your tongue, Miss! I had it from John Wilkes this afternoon in the strictest confidence that Ashley's to marry Miss Melanie. It's to be announced tomorrow."

“别说了，姑娘!今天下午我从约翰·威尔克斯那里听说，艾希礼千真万确要跟媚兰小姐结婚。明天晚上就要宣布。"

Scarlett's hand fell from his arm. So it was true!

思嘉的手从他的胳臂上滑下来。那果然是真的呀!

A pain slashed at her heart as savagely as a wild animal's fangs.

她心头一阵剧痛，仿佛一只野兽用尖牙在咬着似的。

Through it all, she felt her father's eyes on her, a little pitying, a little annoyed at being faced with a problem for which he knew no answer.

就在这当儿，她父亲的眼睛死死盯住她，由于面对一个他不知该怎样回答的问题而觉得有点可怜，又颇为气恼。

He loved Scarlett, but it made him uncomfortable to have her forcing her childish problems on him for a solution. Ellen knew all the answers.Scarlett should have taken her troubles to her.

他爱思嘉，可是现在她竟把她那些孩子气的问题向他提出来，强求他来解决，这就使他很不舒服。爱伦懂得怎样回答这些问题。思嘉本来应当到她那里去诉苦的。

"Is it a spectacle you've been making of yourself - of all of us?" he bawled, his voice rising as always in moments of excitement.

“你这不是在出自己的洋相--出咱们大家的洋相吗?”他厉声说，声音高得像平日发脾气时一样了，

"Have you been running after a man who's not in love with you, when you could have any of the bucks in the County?"

“你是在追求一个不爱你的男人了?可这县里有那么多公子哥儿，你本来是谁都可以挑的呀!”

Anger and hurt pride drove out some of the pain.

"I haven't been running after him. It-it just surprised me."

愤怒和受伤的自尊感反而把思嘉心中的痛苦驱走了一部分。

“我并没有追求他。只不过--感到吃惊罢了。"

"It's lying you are!" said Gerald, and then, peering at her stricken face, he added in a burst of kindliness: “I'm sorry, daughter. But after all, you are nothing but a child and there's lots of other beaux."

“你这是在撒谎!”杰拉尔德大声说，接着，他凝视着她的脸，又突然显得十分慈祥地补充道:“我很难过，女儿。但毕竟你还是个孩子，而且别的小伙子还多着呢。"

“Mother was only fifteen when she married you, and I'm sixteen," said Scarlett, her voice muffled.“妈嫁给你时才十五呀，现在我都十六了。"思嘉嘟嘟哝哝地说。

"Your mother was different," said Gerald."She was never flighty like you. Now come, daughter, cheer up, and I'll take you to Charleston next week to visit your Aunt Eulalie

"*可不一样，"杰拉尔德说，"她可从来不像你这样胡思乱想。好了，女儿。高兴一点，下星期我带你到查尔斯顿去看尤拉莉姨妈。

and, what with all the hullabaloo they are having over there about Fort Sumter, you'll be forgetting about Ashley in a week."

看看他们那里怎样闹腾萨姆特要塞的事，包你不到一星期就把艾希礼忘了。"

"He thinks I'm a child," thought Scarlett, grief and rage choking utterance, "and he's only got to dangle a new toy and I'll forget my bumps."

“他还把我当孩子看，"思嘉心里想，悲伤和愤怒憋得她说不出话来，“以为只要拿着新玩具在我面前晃两下，我就会把伤痛全忘了呢。"

“Now, don't be jerking your chin at me,"

108

warned Gerald. "If you had any sense you'd have married Stuart or Brent Tarleton long ago. Think it over, daughter. Marry one of the twins and then the plantations will run together and Jim Tarleton and I will build you a fine house, right where they join, in that big pine grove and-"

"好，不要跟我作对了，”杰拉尔德警告说，"你要是懂点事，早就该同斯图尔特或者布伦特结婚了。考虑考虑吧，女儿。同这对双胞胎中无论哪一个结婚，两家的农场便可以连成一片，吉姆·塔尔顿和我便会给你们盖一幢漂亮房子，就在两家农场连接的地方，那一大片松林里，而且--"

"Will you stop treating me like a child!" cried Scarlett. "I don't want to go to Charleston or have a house or marry the twins. I only want-" She caught herself but not in time.

“别把我当小孩子看待了，好吗?"思嘉嚷道，"我不去查尔斯顿，也不要什么房子，或同双胞胎结婚。我只要一-"说到这里她停顿了，但已经为时过晚。

Gerald's voice was strangely quiet and he spoke slowly as if drawing his words from a store of thought seldom used.

杰拉尔德的声音显得出奇的平静，他慢吞吞地说着，仿佛是从一个很少使用的思想匣子里把话一字一句地抽出来似的。

"It's only Ashley you're wanting, and you'll not be having him. And if he wanted to marry you, 'twould be with misgivings that I'd say Yes, for all the fine friendship that's between me and John Wilkes."

"你惟一要的是艾希礼，可是却得不到他。而且即使他要和你结婚，我也未必就乐意答应，无论我同约翰·威尔克斯家有多好的交情。”

And, seeing her startled look, he continued: “I want my girl to be happy and you wouldn't be happy with him."

这时他看到她惊惶的神色，便接着说:“我要让我的女儿幸福，可你同他在一起是不会幸福的。”

"Oh, I would! I would!"

“”啊，我会的，我会的!"

"That you would not, daughter. Only when like marries like can there be any happiness."

"你不会的，女儿。只有同一类型的人两相匹配，才有幸福可言。"

Scarlett had a sudden treacherous desire to cry out, "But you've been happy, and you and Mother aren't alike," but she repressed it , fearing that he would box her ears for her impertinence.

思嘉心里忽然起了一种恶意，想大声喊出来:“可你不是一直很幸福呀，尽管你和妈并不是同类的人。"不过她把这念头压下去了，生怕他容忍不了这种鲁莽行为，会打她的耳光。

"Our people and the Wilkes are different," he went on slowly , fumbling for words."The Wilkes are different from any of our neighbors - different from any family I ever knew. They are queer folk, and it's best that they marry their cousins and keep their queerness to themselves."

“咱们家的人跟威尔克斯家的人不一样，"他字斟句酌地慢慢说，“威尔克斯家跟咱们所有的邻居--跟我所认识的每家邻居都不一样。他们是些古古怪怪的人，最好是和他们的表姐妹去结婚，让他们一起保持自己的古怪去吧。”

"Why, Pa, Ashley is not-"

"怎么，爸爸，艾希礼可不是--"

"Hold your whist, Puss! I said nothing against the lad, for I like him.

“别急呀，姑娘!我并没说这个年轻人的坏话嘛，因为我喜欢他。

And when I say queer, it's not crazy I'm meaning.

“我说的古怪，并不就是疯狂的意思。

He's not queer like the Calverts who'd gamble everything they have on ahorse, or the Tarletons who turn out a drunkard or two in every litter, or the Fontaines who are hot headed little brutes and after murdering a man for a fancied slight.

他的古怪并不像卡尔弗特家的人那样，把所有的一切都押在一匹马身上，也不像塔尔顿家的孩子那样每次都喝得烂醉如泥，而且跟方丹家那些狂热的小畜生也不一样，他们动不动就行凶*人。

That kind of queerness is easy to understand for sure, and but for the grace of God Gerald 0'Hara would be having all those faults!

那种古怪是容易理解的，而且，老实说吧，要不是上帝保佑，杰拉尔德·奥哈拉很可能样样俱全呢。

And I don't mean that Ashley would run off with another woman, if you were his wife, or beat you.

我也不是说，你要是做了他的妻子，艾希礼会跟别的女人私奔，或者揍你。

You'd be happier if he did, for at least you'd be understanding that.

要是那样，你反而会幸福些，因为你至少懂得那是怎么回事。

But he's queer in other ways, and there's no understanding him at all. I like him, but it's neither heads nor tails I can make of most he says.

可是他的古怪属于另一种方式，它使你对艾希礼根本无理解可言。我喜欢他，可是对于他所说的那些东西，我几乎全都摸不着头脑。

Now, Puss, tell me true, do you understand his folderol about books and poetry and music and oil paintings and such foolishness?"

好了，姑娘，老实告诉我，你理解他关于书本、诗歌、音乐、油画以及诸如此类的傻事所说的那些废话吗?”

“Oh, Pa,"cried Scarlett impatiently,“if I married him, I'd change all that!"

“啊，爸爸，"思嘉不耐烦地喊道，“要是我跟他结了婚，我会把这一切都改变过来的!”

"Oh, you would, would you now?" said Gerald testily, shooting a sharp look at her. "Then it's little enough you are knowing of any man living, let alone Ashley.

"唔，你会，你现在就会?”杰拉尔德暴躁地说，狠狠地瞪了她一眼。“这说明你对世界上任何一个男人都知道得还很少，更何况对艾希礼呢。

No wife has ever changed a husband one whit, and don't you be forgetting that.

你可千万别忘了哪个妻子也不曾把丈夫改变一丁点儿啊。

3.91% 23:13

And as for changing a Wilkes-God's nightgown, daughter! The whole family is that way, and they've always been that way.And probably always will.

"至于说改变威尔克斯家的某个人，那简直是笑话，女儿。他们全家都那样，而且历来如此。而且大概会永远这样下去了。

I tell you they're born queer. Look at the way they go tearing up to New York and Boston to hear operas and see oil paintings.

我告诉你，他们生来就这么古怪。瞧他们今天跑纽约，明天跑波士顿，去听什么歌剧，看什么油画，那个忙活劲儿!

And ordering French and German books by the crate from the Yankees! And there they sit reading and dreaming the dear God knows what, when they' d be better spending their time hunting and playing poker as proper men should.

还要从北方佬那儿一大箱一大箱地订购法文和德文书呢!然后他们就坐下来读，坐下来梦想天知道什么玩意儿，这样的大好时光要是像正常人那样用来打猎和玩扑克，该多好呀!”

"There's nobody in the County sits a horse better than Ashley," said Scarlett, furious at the slur of effeminacy flung on Ashley,

"可是县里没有人骑马骑得比艾希礼更好的呢，"思嘉对这些尽是诬蔑艾希礼的话十分恼火，才开始辩护起来，

"nobody except maybe his father. And as for poker, didn't Ashley take two hundred dollars away from you just last week in Jonesboro?"

"也许他父亲不算，此外一个人也没有。至于打扑克，艾希礼不是上星期在琼斯博罗还赢走了你二百美元吗?”

"The Calvert boys have been blabbing again," Gerald said resignedly,

“又是卡尔弗特家的小子们在胡扯了，"杰拉尔德不加辩解地说，

"else you'd not be knowing the amount. Ashley can ride with the best and play poker with the best-that's me, Puss! And I'm not denying that when he sets out to drink he can put even the Tarleton under the table.

“要不然你怎会知道这个数目。艾希礼能够跟最出色的骑手骑马，也能跟最出色的牌友玩扑克--我就是最出色的，姑娘!而且我不否认，他喝起酒来能使甚至塔尔顿家的人也醉倒在桌子底下。

He can do all those things, but his heart's not in it. That's why I say he's queer."

所有这些他都行，可是他的心不在这上面。这就是我说他为人古怪的原因。"

Scarlett was silent and her heart sank. She could think of no defense for this last, for she knew Gerald was right.

思嘉一声不响，她的心在往下沉。对于这最后一点，她想不出辩护的话来了，因为她知道杰拉尔德是对的。

Ashley's heart was in none of the pleasant things he did so well. He was never more than politely interested in any of the things that vitally interested every one else.

艾希礼的心不在所有这些他玩得最好的娱乐上。对于大家所最感兴趣的任何事物，他最多只不过出于礼貌，表示爱好而已。

Rightly interpreting her silence, Gerald patted her arm and said triumphantly:

杰拉尔德明白她这沉默的意思，便拍拍她的臂膀得意地说:

"There now, Scarlett! You admit 'tis true. What would you be doing with a husband like Ashley? 'Tis moonstruck they all are, all the Wilkes."

“好啦，思嘉!你承认我这话说对了。你要艾希礼这样一个丈夫干什么呢?他们全都是疯疯癫癫的，所有威尔克斯家的人。

And then, in a wheedling tone:

接着，他又用讨好的口气说:“

“When was mentioning the Tarletons the while ago,l wasn't pushing them. They're fine lads, but if it' s Cade Calvert you're setting your cap after, why, 'tis the same with me.

“刚才我提到塔尔顿家的小伙子们，那可不是挤兑他们呀。他们是些好小子，不过，如果你在设法猎取的是凯德·卡尔弗特，那么，这对我也完全一样。

The Calverts are good folk, all of them, for all the old man marrying a Yankee.

卡尔弗特家的人是好样的，他们都是这样，尽管那老头娶了个北方佬。

And when l'm gone- Whist, darlin', listen to me! I'll leaveTara to you and Cade-”

等到我过世的时候--别响呀，亲爱的，听我说嘛!我要把塔拉农场留给你和凯德”