Few families in the north end of town slept that night for the news of the disaster to the Klan, and Rhett’s stratagem spread swiftly on silent feet as the shadowy form of India Wilkes slipped through back yards, whispered urgently through kitchen doors and slipped away into the windy darkness. —
在镇北的几户家庭中，那个夜晚几乎没有人入眠，因为关于克兰组织的灾难的消息传得很快。而在印地亚·威尔克斯如影随形的身影穿过后院，悄声地透过厨房门紧急交谈，然后隐匿在风吹过的黑暗中。 —

And in her path, she left fear and desperate hope.
她所经过的地方，留下了恐惧和绝望。

From without, houses looked black and silent and wrapped in sleep but, within, voices whispered vehemently into the dawn. —
从外部来看，房屋显得黑暗而寂静，似乎包裹在夜色中酣睡着，但是在内部，声音却在黎明中猛烈地细语耳语。 —

Not only those involved in the night’s raid but every member of the Klan was ready for flight and in almost every stable along Peachtree Street, horses stood saddled in the darkness, pistols in holsters and food in saddlebags. —
不仅是参与夜间袭击的人，每个克兰成员都已经准备好逃跑了。几乎沿着桃树街的每个马厩，马站在黑暗中已经备好了鞍具，手枪放在枪套里，口袋里有食物。 —

All that prevented a wholesale exodus was India’s whispered message: —
唯一阻止大规模逃亡的是印地亚的低声传达： —

“Captain Butler says not to run. The roads will be watched. —
“巴特勒队长说不要逃跑。路上会有人监视。他已经与那个瓦特林的人做了安排——” 在昏暗的房间里，男人们低声交谈： —

He has arranged with that Watling creature—” In dark rooms men whispered: —
“但是，我为什么要相信那个该死的背叛者巴特勒呢？这可能是个陷阱！” —

“But why should I trust that damned Scallawag Butler? It may be a trap!” —
不管怎样，这句低声的话引起了一些人的兴趣，他们开始思考这个问题。 —

And women’s voices implored: “Don’t go! If he saved Ashley and Hugh, he may save everybody. —
“不要走！如果他救了阿什利和休，他也许会拯救所有人。”女人们的声音哀求道。 —

If India and Melanie trust him—” And they half trusted and stayed because there was no other course open to them.
“如果印第亚和梅兰妮相信他——” 于是她们半信半疑地留下来，因为别无选择。

Earlier in the night, the soldiers had knocked at a dozen doors and those who could not or would not tell where they had been that night were marched off under arrest. —
在当晚早些时候，士兵们敲了十几家门，那些不肯或不敢说自己当晚去过哪里的人被带走关进了拘留所。 —

Rene Picard and one of Mrs. Merriwether’s nephews and the Simmons boys and Andy Bonnell were among those who spent the night in jail. —
里内·皮卡尔德、梅里韦瑟夫人的一个侄子和辛蒙斯家的孩子以及安迪·邦奈尔都是那些在监狱过夜的人中的一部分。 —

They had been in the ill- starred foray but had separated from the others after the shooting. —
他们曾参与这次倒霉的冒险，但在枪声响起后他们和其他人分了开来。 —

Riding hard for home they were arrested before they learned of Rhett’s plan. —
他们骑马奔回家，在得知瑞德的计划之前就被逮捕了。 —

Fortunately they all replied, to questions, that where they had been that night was their own business and not that of any damned Yankees. —
幸运的是，他们对问题的回答都是，他们当晚去过哪里是他们自己的事，与任何该死的北方佬无关。 —

They had been locked up for further questioning in the morning. —
他们被关进监狱进行进一步询问。 —

Old man Merriwether and Uncle Henry Hamilton declared shamelessly that they had spent the evening at Belle Watling’s sporting house and when Captain Jaffery remarked irritably that they were too old for such goings on, they wanted to fight him.
老人梅里韦瑟和亨利·汉密尔顿无耻地宣称他们整晚都在贝尔·沃特林的招待所度过，并且当贾弗瑞船长被恼怒地说他们对这种行为已经太老时，他们还想与他斗争。

Belle Watling herself answered Captain Jaffery’s summons, and before he could make known his mission she shouted that the house was closed for the night. —
贝尔·沃特林本人回应了贾弗瑞船长的召唤，还没等他说明任务，她就大声喊说这个房子已经关门了。 —

A passel of quarrelsome drunks had called in the early part of the evening and had fought one another, torn the place up, broken her finest mirrors and so alarmed the young ladies that all business had been suspended for the night. —
一群吵闹的酒鬼在晚上的早些时候来过，他们彼此之间打架，捣乱了整个地方，打碎了她最好的镜子，吓坏了年轻女士们，所以她们当晚停业了。 —

But if Captain Jaffery wanted a drink; the bar was still open—
但如果贾弗瑞船长想要喝一杯，吧台还是开着的——

Captain Jaffery, acutely conscious of the grins of his men and feeling helplessly that he was fighting a mist, declared angrily that he wanted neither the young ladies nor a drink and demanded if Belle knew the names of her destructive customers. —
贾弗瑞船长极为意识到他的士兵们咧着嘴笑，又感到自己像是在打击一团迷雾，愤怒地宣称他既不想要年轻女士，也不想喝酒，并且追问贝尔是否知道那些破坏者的名字。 —

Oh, yes, Belle knew them. They were her regulars. —
哦，是的，贝尔认识他们。他们是她的常客。 —

They came every Wednesday night and called themselves the Wednesday Democrats, though what they meant by that she neither knew or cared. —
他们每个星期三晚上来，并自称为星期三民主党人，尽管她既不知道也不关心他们的意思。 —

And if they didn’t pay for the damage to the mirrors in the upper hall, she was going to have the law on them. —
如果他们不支付上层大厅镜子的损坏费用，她就要找法律来解决。 —

She kept a respectable house and— Oh, their names? —
她经营着一家体面的店铺，哦，他们的名字？ —

Belle unhesitatingly reeled off the names of twelve under suspicion, Captain Jaffery smiled sourly.
贝尔毫不犹豫地念出了十二个引起怀疑的名字，杰佛里船长愤愤不平地笑了。

“These damned Rebels are as efficiently organized as our Secret Service,” he said. —
“这些该死的叛乱者组织得和我们的秘密特工一样高效，”他说。 —

“You and your girls will have to appear before the provost marshal tomorrow.”
“你和你的女孩们明天得去见见警卫队司令。”

“Will the provost make them pay for my mirrors?”
“警卫队会让他们赔偿我的镜子吗？”

“To hell with your mirrors! Make Rhett Butler pay for them. He owns the place, doesn’t he?”
“他妈的，你的镜子去找雷特·巴特勒赔偿。他是店里的老板，不是吗？”

Before dawn, every ex-Confederate family in town knew everything. —
天亮之前，镇上的每个前邦联家庭都知道了一切。 —

And their negroes, who had been told nothing, knew everything too, by that black grapevine telegraph system which defies white understanding. —
而他们的黑奴，虽然什么都没被告知，但也通过那个黑奴葡萄藤电报系统知道了一切，这个系统凌驾于白人的理解之上。 —

Everyone knew the details of the raid, the killing of Frank Kennedy and crippled Tommy Wellburn and how Ashley was wounded in carrying Frank’s body away.
每个人都知道这次袭击的细节，如杀死弗兰克·肯尼迪和残废的汤米·韦尔伯恩，以及阿什利在抬走弗兰克的尸体时受伤的情况。

Some of the feeling of bitter hatred the women bore Scarlett for her share in the tragedy was mitigated by the knowledge that her husband was dead and she knew it and could not admit it and have the poor comfort of claiming his body. —
女人们对斯嘉丽对这场悲剧的参与感到痛恨，但也知道她的丈夫已经死了，她知道这点却无法承认，也无法对他的尸体说声别了。 —

Until morning light disclosed the bodies and the authorities notified her, she must know nothing. —
在天亮揭示尸体并通知有关部门之前，她必须对此一无所知。 —

Frank and Tommy, pistols in cold hands, lay stiffening among the dead weeds in a vacant lot. —
弗兰克和汤米手里握着冷冰冰的手枪，僵直地躺在一片荒废地的杂草中。 —

And the Yankees would say they killed each other in a common drunken brawl over a girl in Belle’s house. —
而南方联邦士兵会说他们是在对比尔的房子里因为一个女孩而发生的醉酒争斗中互相杀害的。 —

Sympathy ran high for Fanny, Tommy’s wife, who had just had a baby, but no one could slip through the darkness to see her and comfort her because a squad of Yankees surrounded the house, waiting for Tommy to return. —
人们对汤米的妻子范妮充满同情，她刚生了一个孩子，但是由于一队南方联邦士兵围着房子等待汤米回来，没有人能够在黑暗中溜过去看望她并安慰她。 —

And there was another squad about Aunt Pitty’s house, waiting for Frank.
而在像皮蒂姨妈家也有一队部队，他们在等着弗兰克回来。

Before dawn the news had trickled about that the military inquiry would take place that day. —
黎明前消息已经传开，军事调查将在当天进行。 —

The townspeople, heavy eyed from sleeplessness and anxious waiting, knew that the safety of some of their most prominent citizens rested on three things—the ability of Ashley Wilkes to stand on his feet and appear before the military board, as though he suffered nothing more serious than a morning-after headache, the word of Belle Watling that these men had been in her house all evening and the word of Rhett Butler that he had been with them.
镇上的居民因失眠和焦虑的等待而显得疲惫不堪。他们知道一些杰出公民的安全取决于三件事情：阿什利·威尔克斯能否站起来并在军事会议上露面，仿佛他只是遭受了一场宿醉后的头痛；贝尔·沃特林女士的证词，证明这些人整晚都在她的房子里；还有雷特·巴特勒的证词，证明他和他们在一起。

The town writhed at these last two! Belle Watling! To owe their men’s lives to her! —
镇上为此而痛苦不已！贝尔·沃特林！竟然要将他们男人的性命寄托在她身上！ —

It was intolerable! Women who had ostentatiously crossed the street when they saw Belle coming, wondered if she remembered and trembled for fear she did. —
这简直是无法忍受！那些当初看见贝尔走过来时公然避让的女人们，现在担心她是否还记得，甚至为此战栗。 —

The men felt less humiliation at taking their lives from Belle than the women did, for many of them thought her a good sort. —
相较于女性们，男人们对于从贝尔那里救回性命并不感到羞耻，因为他们中的许多人认为她是个好人。 —

But they were stung that they must owe lives and freedom to Rhett Butler, a speculator and a Scallawag. —
但他们对此感到愤怒，因为他们必须将自己的生命和自由归功于瑞特·巴特勒，一个投机商和无赖。 —

Belle and Rhett, the town’s best-known fancy woman and the town’s most hated man. —
贝尔和瑞特，镇上最知名的娼妓和最受人憎恶的男人。 —

And they must be under obligation to them.
他们必须对他们负有义务。

Another thought that stung them to impotent wrath was the knowledge that the Yankees and Carpetbaggers would laugh. —
另一个让他们愤怒得无能为力的想法是，南北战争结束后的北方人和底层北方侨民会嘲笑他们。 —

Oh, how they would laugh! Twelve of the town’s most prominent citizens revealed as habitual frequenters of Belle Watling’s sporting house! —
哦，他们会笑个够！镇上12个最著名的市民被揭示为贝尔·沃特林娱乐场的常客！ —

Two of them killed in a fight over a cheap little girl, others ejected from the place as too drunk to be tolerated even by Belle and some under arrest, refusing to admit they were there when everyone knew they were there!
其中两个人因为争夺一个无价值的女人而被杀，其他人因为喝醉酒被贝尔赶出去，还有一些人因为不承认他们在那里，而每个人都知道他们在那里！

Atlanta was right in fearing that the Yankees would laugh. —
当年亚特兰大担心北方人会嘲笑他们，现在他们的恐惧成为现实。 —

They had squirmed too long beneath Southern coldness and contempt and now they exploded with hilarity. —
他们已经忍受了南方人的冷漠和鄙视太久，现在他们爆发出了欢笑。 —

Officers woke comrades and retailed the news. —
官员们唤醒战友，并向他们传达了这个消息。 —

Husbands roused wives at dawn and told them as much as could be decently told to women. —
黎明时分，丈夫们唤醒妻子们，告诉她们尽量委婉地告知女性的那些事情。 —

And the women, dressing hastily, knocked on their neighbors’ doors and spread the story. —
妇女们匆忙地着装，敲开邻居们的门，传播着这个故事。 —

The Yankee ladies were charmed with it all and laughed until tears ran down their faces. —
这一切都让北方妇女们陶醉其中，笑得泪流满面。 —

This was Southern chivalry and gallantry for you! —
这就是南方的骑士风度！ —

Maybe those women who carried their heads so high and snubbed all attempts at friendliness wouldn’t be so uppity, now that everyone knew where their husbands spent their time when they were supposed to be at political meetings. —
或许那些总是摆出高高在上的姿态，对友善的举动总是不屑一顾的妇女们，现在知道了她们的丈夫在政治会议期间都做些什么后，不会再那么嚣张了。 —

Political meetings! Well, that was funny!
政治会议！真是好笑！

But even as they laughed, they expressed regret for Scarlett and her tragedy. —
然而，尽管他们笑着，也对斯嘉丽和她的悲剧表达了遗憾。 —

After all, Scarlett was a lady and one of the few ladies in Atlanta who were nice to Yankees. —
毕竟，斯嘉丽是一个淑女，也是亚特兰大为数不多对北方人友善的女士之一。 —

She had already won their sympathy by the fact that she had to work because her husband couldn’t or wouldn’t support her properly. —
她因为丈夫不能或不愿意好好养家，而被人们以工作为生而受到同情，这已经让她赢得了他们的同情。 —

Even though her husband was a sorry one, it was dreadful that the poor thing should discover he had been untrue to her. —
尽管她的丈夫很可怜，但这让可怜的她发现他对她不忠简直令人可怕。 —

And it was doubly dreadful that his death should occur simultaneously with the discovery of his infidelity. —
更可怕的是他的死与他的不忠同时发生。 —

After all, a poor husband was better than no husband at all, and the Yankee ladies decided they’d be extra nice to Scarlett. —
毕竟，一个可怜的丈夫总比没有丈夫好，而南方女士们决定对斯嘉丽更加友好。 —

But the others, Mrs. Meade, Mrs. Merriwether, Mrs. Elsing, Tommy Wellburn’s widow and most of all, Mrs. Ashley Wilkes, they’d laugh in their faces every time they saw them. —
但是其他人，梅德太太、梅里韦瑟太太、尔辛太太、汤米·威尔本的寡妇，尤其是艾希莱·威尔克斯太太，每次见到他们都会嘲笑他们。 —

That would teach them a little courtesy.
这会教育他们一点礼貌。

Much of the whispering that went on in the dark rooms on the north side of town that night was on this same subject. —
那个晚上在城北的黑暗房间里，大部分谈论的都是这个话题。 —

Atlanta ladies vehemently told their husbands that they did not care a rap what the Yankees thought. But inwardly they felt that running an Indian gantlet would be infinitely preferable to suffering the ordeal of Yankee grins and not being able to tell the truth about their husbands.
亚特兰大的女士们强烈告诉她们的丈夫，他们一点也不在乎北方人怎么想。但内心里，她们觉得奔跑印第安人的火环比忍受北方人的嘲笑，不能说出她们丈夫真相要好太多。

Dr. Meade, beside himself with outraged dignity at the position into which Rhett had jockeyed him and the others, told Mrs. Meade that, but for the fact that it would implicate the others, he would rather confess and be hanged than say he had been at Belle’s house.
梅德博士感到义愤填膺，对于雷德把他和其他人逼到了这个地步，他告诉梅德夫人，要是不牵连到其他人，他宁愿坦白认罪、被绞死，也不愿承认他去过贝尔家。

“It is an insult to you, Mrs. Meade,” he fumed.
“这是对您的侮辱，梅德夫人，”他愤怒地说道。

“But everyone will know you weren’t there for—for—”
“可是大家都会知道您并没有去过那里，而……”

“The Yankees won’t know. They’ll have to believe it if we save our necks. And they’ll laugh. —
“洋鬼子们不会知道。如果我们能保全性命，他们不得不相信。他们会嘲笑我们。 —

The very thought that anyone will believe it and laugh infuriates me. —
一想到有人会相信并嘲笑我，我就气得要发疯。 —

And it insults you because—my dear, I have always been faithful to you.”
而且这会侮辱你，因为——亲爱的，我对你一直忠诚。

“I know that,” and in the darkness Mrs. Meade smiled and slipped a thin hand into the doctor’s. —
“我知道这一点，”在黑暗中，梅德夫人微笑着，将一只纤细的手搭进了医生的手中。 —

“But I’d rather it were really true than have one hair of your head in danger.”
“但是如果让一根你头上的头发有危险，我宁愿它是真的.”

“Mrs. Meade, do you know what you are saying?” —
“梅德夫人，你知道你在说些什么吗?” —

cried the doctor, aghast at the unsuspected realism of his wife.
医生惊讶地大喊，他没想到他的妻子会有如此出乎意料的真实感。

“Yes, I know. I’ve lost Darcy and I’ve lost Phil and you are all I have and, rather than lose you, I’d have you take up your permanent abode at that place.”
“是的，我知道。我失去了达西，失去了菲尔，你是我唯一拥有的人，我宁愿让你永远留在那个地方，也不愿失去你。”

“You are distrait! You cannot know what you are saying.”
“你心烦意乱！你不知道自己在说什么。”

“You old fool,” said Mrs. Meade tenderly and laid her head against his sleeve.
“你这个老傻瓜，”梅迪太太温柔地说，把头靠在他的袖子上。

Dr. Meade fumed into silence and stroked her cheek and then exploded again. —
梅迪医生愤怒地沉默了一会儿，抚摸着她的脸颊，然后再次爆发。 —

“And to be under obligation to that Butler man! Hanging would be easy compared to that. —
“还要受那个巴特勒男人的恩情！相比于那个,上吊都是轻的。 —

No, not even if I owe him my life, can I be polite to him. —
不, 即使是欠他一条命，我也不可能对他客客气气. —

His insolence is monumental and his shamelessness about his profiteering makes me boil. —
他的无理取闹令人发指，他对赚钱的不要脸让我愤怒不已。 —

To owe my life to a man who never went in the army—”
欠一个从未参军的人一条命——”

“Melly said he enlisted after Atlanta fell.”
“梅莉说他亚特兰大被占领后就志愿入伍了。”

“It’s a lie. Miss Melly will believe any plausible scoundrel. —
“这是个谎言。梅莉小姐相信任何能编个好听故事的无赖。 —

And what I can’t understand is why he is doing all this—going to all this trouble. —
我不明白的是，他为什么要这样做，费这么大劲。 —

I hate to say it but—well, there’s always been talk about him and Mrs. Kennedy. —
我不愿说，但是，关于他和肯尼迪夫人一直有传闻。 —

I’ve seen them coming in from rides together too often this last year. —
去年以来，我太经常看到他们一起从游乐设施里出来。 —

He must have done it because of her.”
他一定是因为她而这样做的。

“If it was because of Scarlett, he wouldn’t have lifted his hand. —
如果是因为斯嘉丽，他就不会抬手动粗了。 —

He’d have been glad to see Frank Kennedy hanged. —
他一定很高兴看到弗兰克·肯尼迪被绞死。 —

I think it’s because of Melly—”
我觉得是因为梅莉——

“Mrs. Meade, you can’t be insinuating that there’s ever been anything between those two!”
梅德夫人，你不能暗示他们之间曾有过什么事情！

“Oh, don’t be silly! But she’s always been unaccountably fond of him ever since he tried to get Ashley exchanged during the war. —
噢，别傻了！但自从那场战争期间他试图替换阿什利以来，她一直对他异常偏爱。 —

And I must say this for him, he never smiles in that nasty-nice way when he’s with her. —
而且我必须为他说一句，每当他和她在一起时，他从不带着那种讨人厌的笑容。 —

He’s just as pleasant and thoughtful as can be—really a different man. —
他非常友善和体贴——真是一个完全不同的人。 —

You can tell by the way he acts with Melly that he could be decent if he wanted to. —
从他和梅莉相处的方式可以看出，如果他愿意，他可以变得体面。 —

Now, my idea of why he’s doing all this is—” She paused. “Doctor, you won’t like my idea.”
现在，我认为他这么做的原因是——”她停了下来。“医生，你不会喜欢我这个想法的。”

“I don’t like anything about this whole affair!”
“我对这整个事件什么都不喜欢！”

“Well, I think he did it partly for Melly’s sake but mostly because he thought it would be a huge joke on us all. —
“嗯，我认为他这样做一部分是为了梅莉的缘故，但更多是因为他觉得这将是对我们所有人的一场巨大的玩笑。” —

We’ve hated him so much and showed it so plainly and now he’s got us in a fix where all of you have your choice of saying you were at that Watling woman’s house and shaming yourself and wives before the Yankees—or telling the truth and getting hanged. —
我们如此痛恨他，如此明显地表现出来，现在他让我们陷入了困境，你们都可以选择说你们在瓦特林夫人家，并在洋基队面前羞辱自己和妻子，或者说实话而被绞死。 —

And he knows we’ll all be under obligation to him and his—mistress and that we’d almost rather be hanged than be obliged to them. —
而他知道我们都要对他和他的－－情妇负有责任，我们宁愿被绞死也不想对他们感恩戴德。 —

Oh, I’ll wager he’s enjoying it.”
哦，我敢打赌他正在享受这个。

The doctor groaned. “He did look amused when he took us upstairs in that place.”
医生呻吟着。“当他带我们上楼的时候，他看起来很得意。”

“Doctor,” Mrs. Meade hesitated, “what did it look like?”
“医生，”米德夫人犹豫着，“那里是什么样子的？”

“What are you saying, Mrs. Meade?”
“你在说什么，米德夫人？”

“Her house. What did it look like? Are there cut-glass chandeliers? —
“她的房子。是什么样子的？有切割玻璃的吊灯吗？ —

And red plush curtains and dozens of full-length gilt mirrors? —
还有红绒窗帘和几十个全身镀金的镜子吗？ —

And were the girls—were they unclothed?”
还有那些女孩子们－－她们是裸着身子吗？”

“Good God!” cried the doctor, thunderstruck, for it had never occurred to him that the curiosity of a chaste woman concerning her unchaste sisters was so devouring. —
“天哪！”医生惊呼，他从未想过一个贞洁的女人对于她们荡妇姐妹的好奇心会如此炙热。 —

“How can you ask such immodest questions? —
“你怎么能问出这样不雅的问题？ —

You are not yourself. I will mix you a sedative.”
你已经变了，我会给你调制安眠药。

“I don’t want a sedative. I want to know. —
我不想要安眠药，我想知道。 —

Oh, dear, this is my only chance to know what a bad house looks like and now you are mean enough not to tell me!”
哦，亲爱的，这是我唯一了解一个糟糕房子的机会，现在你却舍不得告诉我！

“I noticed nothing. I assure you I was too embarrassed at finding myself in such a place to take note of my surroundings,” said the doctor formally, more upset at this unsuspected revelation of his wife’s character than he had been by all the previous events of the evening. —
我一点也没注意到。我向你保证，我对自己如此陌生的环境感到非常尴尬，没有留意周围的情况，”医生正式地说道。这个突如其来地揭示了他妻子的性格，比整个晚上发生的事情都让他更加心烦意乱。 —

“If you will excuse me now, I will try to get some sleep.”
如果你现在原谅我，我会试着睡一会儿。

“Well, go to sleep then,” she answered, disappointment in her tones. —
那好吧，那你去睡吧，”她的语气中带着失望。 —

Then as the doctor leaned over to remove his boots, her voice spoke from the darkness with renewed cheerfulness. —
当医生弯下腰准备脱掉鞋子时，她的声音从黑暗中重新变得愉快起来。 —

“I imagine Dolly has gotten it all out of old man Merriwether and she can tell me about it.”
“我想Dolly一定从Merriwether老先生那里得到了所有消息，她可以告诉我。”

“Good Heavens, Mrs. Meade! Do you mean to tell me that nice women talk about such things among them—”
“天哪，麦迪斯夫人！你是说好女人们会在彼此之间谈论这样的事情吗？”

“Oh, go to bed,” said Mrs. Meade.
“哦，去睡吧，”麦迪斯夫人说道。

It sleeted the next day, but as the wintry twilight drew on the icy particles stopped falling and a cold wind blew. —
第二天下起了雨夹雪，但随着冬日的黄昏来临，冰粒停止了下落，一阵寒风吹过。 —

Wrapped in her cloak, Melanie went bewilderedly down her front walk behind a strange negro coachman who had summoned her mysteriously to a closed carriage waiting in front of the house. —
穿着斗篷的梅兰妮迷茫地跟在一个陌生的黑人马车夫后面，他神秘地召唤着她，车夫站在房子前等着。 —

As she came up to the carriage the door was opened and she saw a woman in the dim interior.
当她走近马车时，门被打开了，她看见一位身影模糊的女人在车厢里。

Leaning closer, peering inside, Melanie questioned: “Who is it? —
倚近一些，凝视着里面，梅兰妮问道：“是谁？ —

Won’t you come in the house? It’s so cold—”
你不愿意进屋吗？外面太冷了—”

“Please come in here and set with me a minute, Miz Wilkes,” came a faintly familiar voice, an embarrassed voice from the depths of the carriage.
“请进来陪我坐一会儿，威尔克斯夫人。”一阵陌生又有些熟悉的声音从车厢深处传来，她似乎有些尴尬。

“Oh, you’re Miss—Mrs.—Watling!” cried Melanie. —
“哦，你是米丝—沃特林！”梅兰妮叫道。 —

“I did so want to see you! You must come in the house.”
“我真的很想见到你！你一定要进屋来。”

“I can’t do that, Miz Wilkes.” Belle Watling’s voice sounded scandalized. —
“我做不到那样，威尔克斯夫人。”贝尔·沃特林的声音听起来很震惊。 —

“You come in here and set a minute with me.”
“你进来这里，陪我坐一会儿。”

Melanie entered the carriage and the coachman closed the door behind her. —
梅兰妮进了马车，马车夫在她身后关上了车门。 —

She sat down beside Belle and reached for her hand.
她坐在Belle旁边，伸手拉住了她的手。

“How can I ever thank you enough for what you did today! How can any of us thank you enough!”
“你今天所做的，我们怎么能够感激你呢！我们所有人又怎么能够感激你呢！”

“Miz Wilkes, you hadn’t ought of sent me that note this mornin’. —
“威尔克斯太太，你不应该给我发送那个早上的便条。” —

Not that I wasn’t proud to have a note from you but the Yankees might have got it. —
“并不是我不自豪地收到了你的便条，但是洋人可能会得到它。” —

And as for sayin’ you was goin’ to call on me to thank me—why, Miz Wilkes, you must of lost your mind! —
“至于你说你会来找我感谢我——哎呀，威尔克斯太太，你一定是疯了！” —

The very idea! I come up here as soon as ‘twas dark to tell you you mustn’t think of any sech thing. —
“这个主意！我一到天黑就来告诉你不要想这种事。” —

Why, I—why, you—it wouldn’t be fittin’ at all.”
“哎呀，你——你这样做一点也不合适。”

“It wouldn’t be fitting for me to call and thank a kind woman who saved my husband’s life?”
“对我来说，去拜访并感谢救了我丈夫命的好心妇人不合适吗？”

“Oh, shucks, Miz Wilkes! You know what I mean!”
“噢，得了吧，威尔克斯太太！你知道我是什么意思！”

Melanie was silent for a moment, embarrassed by the implication. —
梅兰妮沉默了一会儿，对这个一身端庄打扮的美女在马车的黑暗中看起来并不像她想象中那样一个坏女人、一个妓女院的女主人该有的样子。 —

Somehow this handsome, sedately dressed woman sitting in the darkness of the carriage didn’t look and talk as she imagined a bad woman, the Madam of a House, should look and talk. —
不知为何，这位穿着典雅的、能言善辩的女士坐在马车的黑暗中并不像她想象中的那样一个坏女人，一个妓院的小姐应该有的样子。 —

She sounded like—well, a little common and countrified but nice and warm hearted.
她听起来像——嗯，有点粗俗和傻乎乎的，但是很好心。

“You were wonderful before the provost marshal today, Mrs. Watling! —
“今天你在警卫队长面前表现得非常出色，瓦特林夫人！ —

You and the other—your—the young ladies certainly saved our men’s lives.”
你和其他——你们——年轻女士们确实挽救了我们士兵的生命。”

“Mr. Wilkes was the wonderful one. I don’t know how he even stood up and told his story, much less look as cool as he done. —
“威尔克斯先生真是了不起。我不知道他是如何屹立不倒地讲述他的故事的，更别提他做到冷静如常了。 —

He was sure bleedin’ like a pig when I seen him last night. —
我在昨晚见到他的时候，他像头猪一样流血不止。 —

Is he goin’ to be all right, Miz Wilkes?”
威尔克斯夫人，他会没事吗？”

“Yes, thank you. The doctor says it’s just a flesh wound, though he did lose a tremendous lot of blood. —
“是的，谢谢你。医生说只是肉伤，尽管他失血很多。 —

This morning he was—well, he was pretty well laced with brandy or he’d never have had the strength to go through with it all so well. —
今早他——嗯，他大部分时间都喝了不少白兰地，不然他根本没有力气把所有事情都处理得这么好。 —

But it was you, Mrs. Watling, who saved them. —
但是是你，瓦特林夫人，救了他们。 —

When you got mad and talked about the broken mirrors you sounded so—so convincing.”
当你生气并谈到破碎的镜子时，你听起来很——很有说服力。”

“Thank you, Ma’m. But I—I thought Captain Butler done mighty fine too,” said Belle, shy pride in her voice.
“谢谢，夫人。但是我——我觉得巴特勒船长也做得很好。”贝尔害羞地骄傲地说道。

“Oh, he was wonderful!” cried Melanie warmly. “The Yankees couldn’t help but believe his testimony. —
“哦，他真是太棒了！”梅兰妮热情地喊道。“洋基队无法不相信他的证词。” —

He was so smart about the whole affair. I can never thank him enough—or you either! —
他对整件事情非常聪明。我永远无法感谢他，也感谢不够你！ —

How good and kind you are!”
你真善良好人！

“Thank you kindly, Miz Wilkes. It was a pleasure to do it. —
“非常感谢你，威尔克斯太太。帮忙是我的荣幸。” —

I—I hope it ain’t goin’ to embarrass you none, me sayin’ Mr. Wilkes come regular to my place. —
嗯，希望这不会让你难堪，我说威尔克斯先生常去我家。 —

He never, you know—”
你知道的，他从不——”

“Yes, I know. No, it doesn’t embarrass me at all. I’m just so grateful to you.”
“是的，我知道。不，这一点也不让我感到难堪。我只是非常感激你。”

“I’ll bet the other ladies ain’t grateful to me,” said Belle with sudden venom. —
“我敢打赌那些女士们不会对我感激，”贝尔突然恶言恶语地说道。 —

“And I’ll bet they ain’t grateful to Captain Butler neither. —
“我敢打赌她们对巴特勒船长也不会感激。 —

I’ll bet they’ll hate him just this much more. —
我敢打赌她们会因此更加讨厌他。 —

I’ll bet you’ll be the only lady who even says thanks to me. —
我敢打赌你将是唯一一个感激我的女士。 —

I’ll bet they won’t even look me in the eye when they see me on the street. But I don’t care. —
我敢打赌她们在街上见到我时都不会正眼看我。但我不在乎。 —

I wouldn’t have minded if all their husbands got hung. But I did mind about Mr. Wilkes. —
她们的丈夫全都被吊死我并不介意。但我很在意威尔克斯先生的事。 —

You see I ain’t forgot how nice you was to me durin’ the war, about the money for the hospital. —
你看，我没忘记你在战争期间对我有多么好，给医院捐钱的事情。 —

There ain’t never been a lady in this town nice to me like you was and I don’t forget a kindness. —
这个镇上从来没有一个女士对我像你那样好，我不会忘记一次善行。 —

And I thought about you bein’ left a widder with a little boy if Mr. Wilkes got hung and—he’s a nice little boy, your boy is, Miz Wilkes. —
我还想过如果威尔克斯先生被绞死，你会成为一个寡妇，带着一个小男孩。你的孩子是个好孩子，威尔克斯夫人。 —

I got a boy myself and so I—”
我自己也有个孩子，所以我…

“Oh, you have? Does he live—er—”
“哦，你有孩子吗……呃……”

“Oh, no’m! He ain’t here in Atlanta. He ain’t never been here. He’s off at school. —
“哦，不，夫人！他不在亚特兰大。他从来没有来过这里。他在学校。 —

I ain’t seen him since he was little. I— well, anyway, when Captain Butler wanted me to lie for those men I wanted to know who the men was and when I heard Mr. Wilkes was one I never hesitated. —
我自从他小时候就没见过他了。我……呃，无论如何，当巴特勒队长想让我为那些人撒谎时，我想知道是哪些人，当我听说威尔克斯先生是其中之一时，我没有犹豫。 —

I said to my girls, I said, ‘I’ll whale the livin’ daylights out of you all if you don’t make a special point of sayin’ you was with Mr. Wilkes all evenin’.”
我对我的女孩们说,‘如果你们不特别强调说你们整个晚上都和威尔克斯先生在一起，我会把你们揍个半死。’

“Oh!” said Melanie, still more embarrassed by Belle’s offhand reference to her “girls.” —
“哦！”梅兰妮更加难堪，被贝尔粗鲁地提到她的“女孩们”。 —

“Oh, that was—er—kind of you and—of them, too.”
“哦，那真是……呃……你和她们真好。”

“No more’n you deserve,” said Belle warmly. “But I wouldn’t of did it for just anybody. —
“那是你应得的，”贝尔温暖地说道。“但是，我才不会为了任何人去做呢。 —

If it had been that Miz Kennedy’s husband by hisself, I wouldn’t of lifted a finger, no matter what Captain Butler said.”
如果那位肯尼迪太太的丈夫独自一人来的话，无论巴特勒队长说什么，我都不会动一根手指。

“Why?”
“为什么？”

“Well, Miz Wilkes, people in my business knows a heap of things. —
“好吧，威尔克斯太太，我们这一行人了解很多事情。 —

It’d surprise and shock a heap of fine ladies if they had any notion how much we knows about them. —
如果有这些优雅的女士们知道我们知道多少关于她们的事情，她们一定会感到非常吃惊和震惊。 —

And she ain’t no good, Miz Wilkes. She kilt her husband and that nice Wellburn boy, same as if she shot them. —
她一文不值，威尔克斯太太。她像开枪一样杀了她的丈夫和那个好样的韦尔本男孩。 —

She caused it all, prancin’ about Atlanta by herself, enticin’ niggers and trash. —
她的一切都是她导致的，她自己独自在亚特兰大四处闲逛，引诱黑人和低贱之人。 —

Why, not one of my girls—”
噢，我的姑娘们中没有一个—”

“You must not say unkind things about my sister-in-law.” Melanie stiffened coldly.
“你不可以说我这个嫂子坏话。”梅兰妮冷冰冰地说道。

Belle put an eager placating hand on Melanie’s arm and then hastily withdrew it.
贝尔急切地安抚地把手放在了梅兰妮的手臂上，然后匆忙地收了回去。

“Don’t freeze me, please, Miz Wilkes. I couldn’t stand it after you been so kind and sweet to me. —
“请别对我生气，威尔克斯太太。在你对我如此友善和甜蜜之后，我受不了。 —

I forgot how you liked her and I’m sorry for what I said. —
我忘记了你喜欢她，对我说的话我感到很抱歉。” —

I’m sorry about poor Mr. Kennedy bein’ dead too. He was a nice man. —
对于肯尼迪先生的不幸去世，我感到非常遗憾。他是一个好人。 —

I used to buy some of the stuff for my house from him and he always treated me pleasant. —
我过去经常从他那里购买一些家居用品，他总是对我很友善。 —

But Miz Kennedy—well, she just ain’t in the same class with you, Miz Wilkes. —
但是肯尼迪太太——她与威尔克斯太太不在同一水平上。 —

She’s a mighty cold woman and I can’t help it if I think so. —
她是一个非常冷漠的女人，我无法改变我这样的看法。 —

..When are they goin’ to bury Mr. Kennedy?”
他们打算什么时候举行肯尼迪先生的葬礼？

“Tomorrow morning. And you are wrong about Mrs. Kennedy. —
“明天早上。你对肯尼迪太太的看法错了。 —

Why, this very minute she’s prostrated with grief.”
事实上，此刻她因为悲伤而身体不适。

“Maybe so,” said Belle with evident disbelief. “Well, I got to be goin’. —
“也许吧，”贝尔毫不相信地说道。”好了，我得走了。 —

I’m afraid somebody might recognize this carriage if I stayed here longer and that wouldn’t do you no good. —
如果我在这里待得太久，恐怕会有人认出这辆马车，对您没有好处。 —

And, Miz Wilkes, if you ever see me on the street, you—you don’t have to speak to me. I’ll understand.”
威尔克斯太太，如果你在街上见到我，你——没必要和我打招呼。我会理解的。

“I shall be proud to speak to you. Proud to be under obligation to you. —
“我会很自豪与您交谈。很荣幸对您有所帮助。 —

I hope—I hope we meet again.”
我希望——我希望我们能再次相遇。

“No,” said Belle. “That wouldn’t be fittin’. Good night.”
“不，”贝尔说。”那样不合适。晚安。