飘第一章4

"He ain't trash! Do you mean to compare him with real white trash like the Slatterys? Able just ain't rich.

他不是下流货呀!你是要拿他跟真正的白人下流坯像斯莱特里那种人相比吗?艾布尔只不过没有钱罢了。

He's a small farmer, not a big planter, and if the boys thought enough of him to elect him lieutenant, then it's not for any darky to talk impudent about him.The Troop knows what it's doing."

他不是大农场主，但毕竟是个小农场主。既然那些新入伍的小伙子认为可以举他当尉官，那么哪个黑小子也不能肆意说他的坏话。营里自有公论嘛。"

The troop of cavalry had been organized three months before, the very day that Georgia se- ceded from the Union, and since then the recruits had been whistling for war.

骑兵营是三个月前佐治亚州脱离联邦那天成立起来的，从那以后那些入伍的新兵便一直在盼望打仗。

The outfit was as yet unnamed, though not for want of sug- gestions. Everyone had his own idea on that subject and was loath to relinquish it ，just as everyone had ideas about the color and cut of the uniforms.

这个组织至今还没有命名，尽管已经有了种种方案。对于这个问题，正像对于军服的颜色和式样似的，每个人都有自己的主张，并且都不愿意放弃。

"Clayton Wild Cats" "Fire Eaters","North Georgia Hus-sars","Zouaves", "The Inland Rifles"(although the Troop was to be armed with pistols,sabers and bowie knives, and not with rifles),"

什么“克莱顿野猫”啦，“暴躁人”啦，“北佐治亚轻骑兵”啦，“义勇军”啦，“内地步枪兵”啦(尽管这个营将是用手枪、军刀和单刃猎刀而不是用步枪来装备的)，

The Clayton Grays","The Blood and Thunderers"，"The Rough and Readys", all had their ad- herents.

“克莱顿灰衣人”啦，“血与怒吼者”啦，“莽汉和应声出击者"啦，所有这些名称都不乏附和的人。

Until matters were settled, every despite the high sounding name finally adopted， they were known to the end of their useful- ness simply as "The Troop."

在问题没有解决之前，大家都称呼这个组织为“营”，并且，不管最终采用的名称多么响亮，他们始终用的是简简单单一个“营”字。

The officers were elected by the members, for no one in the County had had any military experience except a few veterans of the Mexican and Seminole wars and, besides,the Troop would have scorned a veteran as a leader if they had not personally liked him and trusted him.

军官由大家选举，因为全县除了少数几个参加过墨西哥战争和塞米诺尔战争的老兵外，谁也没有军事经验;而且，如果大家并不喜欢和信任他，要让一个老兵当头领也只会引起全营的蔑视。

Everyone liked the four Tarleton boys and the three Fontaines, but regretfully refused to elect them, because the Tarletons got lickered up too quickly and liked to skylark, and the Fontaines had such quick,murderous tempers.

大家全都喜欢塔尔顿家四个小伙子和方丹家三兄弟，不过令人遗憾的是都不愿意选举他们，因为塔尔顿家的人太容易喝醉酒和喜欢玩乐，而方丹兄弟又非常性急和暴躁。

Ashley Wilkes was elected captain, because he was the best rider in the County and because his cool head was counted on to keep some semblance of order.

结果艾希礼·威尔克斯被选做队长了，原因是他是县里最出色的骑手，而且头脑冷静，大伙相信他还能维持某种表面的秩序。

Raiford Calvert was made first lieutenant, because everybody liked Raif, and Able Wynder,son of a swamp trapper, himself a small farmer,was elected second lieutenant.

雷弗德·卡尔弗特是人人都喜爱的，被任命为上尉，而艾布尔·温德，那个沼泽地捕猎手的儿子(他本人是小农)，则被选做中尉了。

Abel was a shrewd, grave giant,illiterate, kind of hear of ladies. There was little snobbery in the Troop.

艾布尔是个精明沉着的大个儿，不识字，心地和善，比别的小伙子年龄大一些，在妇女面前也表现得比较有礼貌。“营”里很少有骄下媚上的现象。

Too many of their fathers and grandfathers had come up to wealth from the small farmer class for that.

他们的父亲和祖父大多是以小农致富的，不会有那种势利眼。

Moreover, Able was the best shot in the Troop, a real sharpshooter who could pick out the eye of a squirrel at seventy five yards, and, too, he knew all about living outdoors, building fires in the rain， tracking animals and finding water.

而且艾布尔是“营”里最好的射击手，一杆真正的“神枪”，他能够在七十五码外瞄准一只松鼠的眼睛，也熟悉野外生活，会在雨地里生火，会捕捉野兽，会寻找水源。

The Troop bowed to real worth and moreover, because they liked him, they made him an officer.

“营”里很尊重有真本事的人，而且由于大伙喜欢他，所以让他当了军官。

He bore the honor gravely and with no untoward conceit, as though it were only his due.

他严肃对待这种荣誉，不骄傲自大，好像这不过是他的本分。

But the planters' ladies and the planters' slaves could not overlook the fact that he was not born a gentleman, even if their men folks could.

可是那些农场主太太们和他们的农奴们却不能宽恕他并非生来就是上等人这一事实，尽管她们的男人都做到了。

In the beginning, the Troop had been recruited exclusively from the sons of planters, a gentle- man's outfit,

开始时，这个“营”只从农场主的子弟中招募营丁，因而可以说是个上层的组织;

each man supplying his own horse， arms, equipment,uniform and body servant.

他们每人自备马匹、武器、装备、制服和随身仆人。

But rich planters were few in the young county of Clayton, and， in order to muster a full strength troop, it had been necessary to raise more recruits of small farmers, hunters in the backwoods,swamp trappers, Crackers and, in a very few cases, even poor whites, if they were above the average of their class.但是有钱的农场主在克莱顿这个新辟的县毕竟很少，同时为了建立一支充实的武装力量，便有必要从小农和森林地带的猎户、沼泽地的捕兽者、山地居民，有时甚至穷白人(只要他们在本阶级的一般水平之上)的子弟中招募更多的新兵。

These latter young men were as anxious to fight the Yankees,should war come, as were their richer neighbors ; but the delicate question of money arose.

后一部分青年人也和他们的富裕邻居一样，渴望着战争一爆发便去打北方佬，不过金钱这个微妙的问题却随之产生了。

Few small farmers owned horses. They carried on their farm operations with mules and they had no surplus of these,seldom more than four.

小农中很少有人是有马的。他们是使用骡子耕作，而且也没有富余的，最多不过四头骡子。

The mules could not be spared to go off to war, even if they had been acceptable for the Troop, which they emphatically were not.

这些骡子即使营里同意接受，也不能从田里拉去上战场呀，何况营里还口口声声说不要呢。

As for the poor whites, they considered themselves well off if they owned one mule.

至于那些穷白人，他们只要有一头骡子便自以为满不错了。

The backwoods folks and the swamp dwellers owned neither horses nor mules.

边远林区的人和沼泽地带的居民既无马也没有骡子。

They lived entirely off the produce of their lands and the game in the swamp, conducting their business generally by the barter system and seldom see- ing five dollars in cash a year, and horses and uniforms were out of their reach.

他们完全靠林地的出产和沼泽中的猎物过活，做生意也是以物换物，一年看不见五元现金，要自备马匹、制服是办不到的。

But they were as fiercely proud in their poverty as the planters were in their wealth, and they would accept nothing that smacked of charity from their rich neighbors.可是这些人身处贫困仍极其骄傲，就像那些拥有财富的农场主一样;他们决不接受来自富裕邻居的任何带施舍意味的东西。

So, to save the feelings of all and to bring the Troop up to full strength,Scarlett's father, John Wilkes, Buck Munroe, Jim Tar- leton，Hugh Calvert, in fact every large planter in the County with the one exception of Angus MacIntosh, had contributed money to completely outfit the Troop, horse and man.

在这种局面下，为了保持大家的感情和把军营建成一个充实的组织，思嘉的父亲，约翰·威尔克斯，巴克·芒罗，吉姆·塔尔顿，休·卡尔弗特，实际除安格斯·麦金托什以外，全县每个大农场主，都捐钱把军营全面装备起来，包括马匹和人员在内。

The upshot of the matter was that every planter agreed to pay for equipping his own sons and a certain number of the others, but the manner of handling the arrangements was such that the less wealthy members of the outfit could accept horses and uniforms without offense to their honor.

这件事是由每个农场主同意出钱装备自己的儿子和别的若干人开始的，但经过适当的安排以后，营里那些不怎么富裕的成员也就能够坦然接受他们的马匹和制服而不觉得有失体面了。

The Troop met twice a week in Jonesboro to drill and to pray for the war to begin.

营队每星期在琼斯博罗集合两次，进行操练和祈祷战争早日发生。

Arrangements had not yet been completed for obtaining the full quota of horses, but those who had horses performed what they imagined to be cavalry maneuvers in the field behind the courthouse, kicked up a great deal of dust,

马匹还没有备齐，但那些有马的人已经在县府背后的田野里搞起了他们想象中的骑兵演习，掀起满天尘土，扯着嘶哑的嗓子叫喊着，挥舞着从客厅墙上取下来的革命战争时代的军刀。

Those who, as yet, had no horses sat on the curb in front of Bullard's store and watched their mounted comrades, chewed to- bacco and told yarns.

那些还没有马匹的人便只好坐在布拉德仓库前面的镶边石上观看，一面嚼着烟草闲聊。

Or else engaged in shooting matches. There was no need to teach any of the men to shoot. Most Southerners were born with guns in their hands, and lives spent in hunting had made marksmen of them all.

要不他们就比赛打靶。谁也用不着你去教他打枪。因为大多数南方人生来就是玩枪的，他们平日消磨在打猎中的时间把他们全都练成了好射手。

From planters' homes and swamp cabins, a varied array of firearms came to each muster.

从农场主家里和沼泽地的棚屋中，一队队年轻人携着武器奔向每个集合点。

There were long squirrel guns that had been new when first the Alleghenies were crossed,

其中有初次越过阿勒格尼山脉时还很新的用来打松鼠的长杆枪，

old muzzle loaders that had claimed many an Indian when Georgia was new, horse pistols that had seen service in 1812,in the Seminole wars and in Mexico

有佐治亚新开辟时打死过许多印第安人的老式毛瑟枪，有在一八一二年以及墨西哥和塞米诺尔战争中服过役的马上用的手枪，

silver mounted dueling pistols,pocket derringers, double barreled hunting pieces and handsome new rifles of Eng-lish make with shining stocks of fine wood.

还有决斗用的镶银手枪、短筒袖珍手枪、双筒猎枪，漂亮的带有硬木枪托的英制新式来福枪，等等。