January and February of 1864 passed, full of cold rains and wild winds, clouded by pervasive gloom and depression. —
1864年的1月和2月过去了，寒冷的雨水和狂野的风吹满了天空，笼罩着普遍的忧郁和沮丧。 —

In addition to the defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the center of the Southern line had caved. —
除了在葛底斯堡和维克斯堡的失败之外，南方阵线的中心也崩溃了。 —

After hard fighting, nearly all of Tennessee was now held by the Union troops. —
经过艰苦的战斗，田纳西几乎全部被联邦军队控制。 —

But even with this loss on the top of the others, the South’s spirit was not broken. —
但即使在这些损失之上，南方的精神并没有崩溃。 —

True, grim determination had taken the place of high-hearted hopes, but people could still find a silver lining in the cloud. —
确实，高尚的希望已经被坚定的决心所取代，但人们仍然可以在困境中找到一线希望。 —

For one thing, the Yankees had been stoutly repulsed in September when they had tried to follow up their victories in Tennessee by an advance into Georgia.
首先，当联邦军队试图在田纳西的胜利后进军乔治亚时，他们在9月份曾被坚强地击退。

Here in the northwesternmost corner of the state, at Chickamauga, serious fighting had occurred on Georgia soil for the first time since the war began. —
在该州的最西北部角落，即奇卡莫加，自战争开始以来，这里发生了激烈的战斗。 —

The Yankees had taken Chattanooga and then had marched through the mountain passes into Georgia, but they had been driven back with heavy losses.
联邦军队已经占领了查塔努加，然后穿过山口进入乔治亚，但他们遭受了沉重的损失，并被击退。

Atlanta and its railroads had played a big part in making Chickamauga a great victory for the South. Over the railroads that led down from Virginia to Atlanta and then northward to Tennessee, General Longstreet’s corps had been rushed to the scene of the battle. —
亚特兰大及其铁路在使奇卡马加成为南方的伟大胜利中起到了重要的作用。通过从弗吉尼亚通往亚特兰大再向北通往田纳西的铁路，隆斯垂特将军的军团已经被迅速调往战场。 —

Along the entire route of several hundred miles, the tracks had been cleared and all the available rolling stock in the Southeast had been assembled for the movement.
沿着数百英里的整条路线，铁轨已经被清理，东南地区的所有可用铁路车辆都被集中起来进行运输。

Atlanta had watched while train after train rolled through the town, hour after hour, passenger coaches, box cars, flat cars, filled with shouting men. —
亚特兰大目睹了一列又一列的火车穿过城镇，连续几个小时，客车、货车、平板车上都坐满了欢呼雀跃的士兵。 —

They had come without food or sleep, without their horses, ambulances or supply trains and, without waiting for the rest, they had leaped from the trains and into the battle. —
他们没有食物也没有睡眠，没有马匹、救护车或供给车队，而且没有等待其他人，他们就跳下火车投入了战斗。 —

And the Yankees had been driven out of Georgia, back into Tennessee.
然后南方军队将敌人逐出乔治亚，迫使他们后撤到田纳西。

It was the greatest feat of the war, and Atlanta took pride and personal satisfaction in the thought that its railroads had made the victory possible.
这是战争中最伟大的壮举，亚特兰大引以为豪，并为自己的铁路能使胜利成为可能而感到自豪。

But the South had needed the cheering news from Chickamauga to strengthen its morale through the winter. —
但是南方需要来自奇克马加的令人振奋的消息来增强士气，度过冬季。 —

No one denied now that the Yankees were good fighters and, at last, they had good generals. —
现在没有人否认北方人是优秀的战士了，最后他们也找到了优秀的将领。 —

Grant was a butcher who did not care how many men he slaughtered for a victory, but victory he would have. —
格兰特是个屠夫，他不在乎为了胜利杀死多少人，但是他一定要取得胜利。 —

Sheridan was a name to bring dread to Southern hearts. —
谢里登的名字让南方人心生畏惧。 —

And, then, there was a man named Sherman who was being mentioned more and more often. —
而且，还有一个名叫谢尔曼的人越来越经常被提及。 —

He had risen to prominence in the campaigns in Tennessee and the West, and his reputation as a determined and ruthless fighter was growing.
他在田纳西和西部的战役中崭露头角，他作为一个坚决和无情的战士的名声越来越大。

None of them, of course, compared with General Lee. Faith in the General and the army was still strong. —
当然，他们中没有一个可以与李将军相比。对将军和军队的信心仍然很坚定。 —

Confidence in ultimate victory never wavered. But the war was dragging out so long. —
对最终胜利的信心从未动摇过。但是战争拖得太久了。 —

There were so many dead, so many wounded and maimed for life, so many widowed, so many orphaned. —
有太多的死者，太多的伤者和终身残疾者，太多的寡妇和孤儿。 —

And there was still a long struggle ahead, which meant more dead, more wounded, more widows and orphans.
而且还有长期的斗争在前，这意味着会有更多的死者，更多的伤者，更多的寡妇和孤儿。

To make matters worse, a vague distrust of those in high places had begun to creep over the civilian population. —
更糟糕的是，一种对高层人士的模糊不信任开始蔓延到平民群众中。 —

Many newspapers were outspoken in their denunciation of President Davis himself and the manner in which he prosecuted the war. —
许多报纸公开谴责戴维斯总统本人以及他打仗的方式。 —

There were dissensions within the Confederate cabinet, disagreements between President Davis and his generals. —
南部内阁内部出现分歧，戴维斯总统与他的将军之间存在分歧。 —

The currency was falling rapidly. Shoes and clothing for the army were scarce, ordnance supplies and drugs were scarcer. —
货币迅速贬值。军队缺少鞋子和衣物，军械供应和药品更加稀缺。 —

The railroads needed new cars to take the place of old ones and new iron rails to replace those torn up by the Yankees. —
铁路需要新车辆来取代旧车辆，新的铁轨来替换被北方人拆除的铁轨。 —

The generals in the field were crying out for fresh troops, and there were fewer and fewer fresh troops to be had. —
实地将军们呼吁新鲜军队，可是越来越少的新兵可用。 —

Worst of all, some of the state governors, Governor Brown of Georgia among them, were refusing to send state militia troops and arms out of their borders. —
最糟糕的是，其中一些州州长，例如乔治亚州的布朗州长，拒绝派遣州民兵部队和武器超出他们的边界。 —

There were thousands of able-bodied men in the state troops for whom the army was frantic, but the government pleaded for them in vain.
在州军队中有成千上万的健壮男子，而军队对他们迫切需要，但政府的请求却无济于事。

With the new fall of currency, prices soared again. —
随着货币的新一波贬值，物价再次飞涨。 —

Beef, pork and butter cost thirty-five dollars a pound, flour fourteen hundred dollars a barrel, soda one hundred dollars a pound, tea five hundred dollars a pound. —
牛肉、猪肉和黄油每磅要价三十五美元，面粉一桶要价一千四百美元，苏打一磅要价一百美元，茶叶一磅要价五百美元。 —

Warm clothing, when it was obtainable at all, had risen to such prohibitive prices that Atlanta ladies were lining their old dresses with rags and reinforcing them with newspapers to keep out the wind. —
暖和的衣物，即使能买到，也因价格高昂到令人无法承受的程度，亚特兰大的女士们开始用布条补强旧裙子，用报纸加固，以防风寒。 —

Shoes cost from two hundred to eight hundred dollars a pair, depending on whether they were made of “cardboard” or real leather. —
鞋子的价格从两百到八百美元一双不等，这取决于它们是由“纸板”还是真皮制成。 —

Ladies now wore gaiters made of their old wool shawls and cut-up carpets. —
女士们现在穿着由旧毛绒披肩和剪碎的地毯制成的高筒靴。 —

The soles were made of wood.
靴子的底部是木质的。

The truth was that the North was holding the South in a virtual state of siege, though many did not realize it. —
事实上，北方实际上对南方实行了围困状态，虽然很多人没有意识到这一点。 —

The Yankee gunboats had tightened the mesh at the ports and very few ships were now able to slip past the blockade.
北方的炮舰越来越严密地封锁了港口，几乎没有船只能够从中逃逸。

The South had always lived by selling cotton and buying the things it did not produce, but now it could neither sell nor buy. —
南方一直依靠出售棉花并购买自身无法生产的物品为生，但现在既无法销售，也无法购买。 —

Gerald O’Hara had three years’ crops of cotton stored under the shed near the gin house at Tara, but little good it did him. —
杰拉德·奥哈拉在塔拉的棉花处理厂附近的棚子下存放了三年的庄稼，但这对他来说却毫无用处。 —

In Liverpool it would bring one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, but there was no hope of getting it to Liverpool. —
在利物浦，这些棉花将能带来一百五十万美元，但是根本没有希望将其送到利物浦。 —

Gerald had changed from a wealthy man to a man who was wondering how he would feed his family and his negroes through the winter.
杰拉德已经从一个富有的人变成了一个担心如何在冬季养活家人和黑奴的人。

Throughout the South, most of the cotton planters were in the same fix. —
整个南方，大多数种植棉花的农民都处于同样的困境中。 —

With the blockade closing tighter and tighter, there was no way to get the South’s money crop to its market in England, no way to bring in the necessaries which cotton money had brought in years gone by. —
随着封锁越来越紧，再也没有办法将南方的赚钱作物运到英国市场，也无法带进几年前靠棉花赚来的必需品。 —

And the agricultural South, waging war with the industrial North, was needing so many things now, things it had never thought of buying in times of peace.
而农业南方与工业北方交战，现在需要很多东西，这些东西在和平时期从未考虑过购买。

It was a situation made to order for speculators and profiteers, and men were not lacking to take advantage of it. —
这是专家和投机商的配备情况，而且没有缺乏人来利用它。 —

As food and clothing grew scarcer and prices rose higher and higher, the public outcry against the speculators grew louder and more venomous. —
随着食物和衣物变得越来越稀缺，价格也越来越高，公众对投机商的怒声浩大且愈发恶毒。 —

In those early days of 1864, no newspaper could be opened that did not carry scathing editorials denouncing the speculators as vultures and bloodsucking leeches and calling upon the government to put them down with a hard hand. —
就在1864年的初期，无论打开哪家报纸，都少不了尖锐的社论抨击投机商是秃鹰和吸血水蛭，并要求政府用重手打击他们。 —

The government did its best, but the efforts came to nothing, for the government was harried by many things.
政府尽力而为，但努力都归于无用，因为政府被许多事情困扰着。

Against no one was feeling more bitter than against Rhett Butler. —
没有比对雷特·巴特勒更仇恨的人了。 —

He had sold his boats when blockading grew too hazardous, and he was now openly engaged in food speculation. —
当封锁变得太危险时，他卖掉了自己的船只，现在他公然从事食品投机。 —

The stories about him that came back to Atlanta from Richmond and Wilmington made those who had received him in other days writhe with shame.
从里士满和威尔明顿传回亚特兰大的关于他的故事，让那些曾经接待过他的人深感羞愧。

In spite of all these trials and tribulations, Atlanta’s ten thousand population had grown to double that number during the war. —
尽管经历了诸多的艰难和困苦，亚特兰大的人口在战争期间增长了一倍，达到了一万。 —

Even the blockade had added to Atlanta’s prestige. —
封锁线的存在甚至提升了亚特兰大的声誉。 —

From time immemorial, the coast cities had dominated the South, commercially and otherwise. —
从太古以来，沿海城市一直在商业和其他方面主导着南方。 —

But now with the ports closed and many of the port cities captured or besieged, the South’s salvation depended upon itself. —
但现在，随着港口关闭并且许多港口城市被占领或围困，南方的救援只能依赖于自身。 —

The interior section was what counted, if the South was going to win the war, and Atlanta was now the center of things. —
关键是内陆地区，如果南方要赢得战争，亚特兰大现在就是事物的中心。 —

The people of the town were suffering hardship, privation, sickness and death as severely as the rest of the Confederacy; —
这座城镇的人民和南部其他地方一样，遭受着艰辛、匮乏、疾病和死亡的折磨。 —

but Atlanta, the city, had gained rather than lost as a result of the war. —
但是亚特兰大这座城市在战争的结果中并没有损失，反而获得了收获。 —

Atlanta, the heart of the Confederacy, was still beating full and strong, the railroads that were its arteries throbbing with the never-ending flow of men, munitions and supplies.
亚特兰大，南方联邦的心脏，依然充满力量，铁路如同动脉一样悸动着不断涌入的人员、军火和物资。

In other days, Scarlett would have been bitter about her shabby dresses and patched shoes but now she did not care, for the one person who mattered was not there to see her. —
在以往的日子里，斯嘉丽或许会对她破旧的衣裳和补丁鞋心生愤懑，但现在她并不在意，因为唯一在乎她的人并不在场。 —

She was happy those two months, happier than she had been in years. —
在那两个月里，她很幸福，比多年来的任何时候都要快乐。 —

Had she not felt the start of Ashley’s heart when her arms went round his neck? —
当她的手臂环绕上亚什利的脖子时，她是否感受到了他心跳的起伏？ —

seen that despairing look on his face which was more open an avowal than any words could be? —
她是否看到了他那张绝望的脸，那种表情比任何言语更坦白地宣示着他的感受？ —

He loved her. She was sure of that now, and this conviction was so pleasant she could even be kinder to Melanie. —
他爱她。她如今对此深信不疑，这样的确信让她甚至对梅兰妮更宽容一些。 —

She could be sorry for Melanie now, sorry with a faint contempt for her blindness, her stupidity.
她现在可以为梅兰妮感到伤心了，对她的盲目和愚蠢有一丝可怜又轻蔑。

“When the war is over!” she thought. “When it’s over—then…”
“当战争结束时！”她在心里想。”当它结束了——然后…”

Sometimes she thought with a small dart of fear: “What then?” But she put the thought from her mind. —
有时候她会略感害怕：”然后呢？”但她将这个念头从脑海中驱散。 —

When the war was over, everything would be settled, somehow. —
当战争结束时，一切会以某种方式解决。 —

If Ashley loved her, he simply couldn’t go on living with Melanie.
如果阿什利爱她，他就不能继续和梅兰妮生活在一起。

But then, a divorce was unthinkable; and Ellen and Gerald, staunch Catholics that they were, would never permit her to marry a divorced man. —
但是，离婚是不可想象的；埃伦和杰拉尔德，作为坚定的天主教徒，绝不会允许她嫁给一个离过婚的人。 —

It would mean leaving the Church! Scarlett thought it over and decided that, in a choice between the Church and Ashley, she would choose Ashley. —
这将意味着背弃教会！斯嘉丽仔细考虑了一下，决定在教会和阿什利之间的选择中，她会选择阿什利。 —

But, oh, it would make such a scandal! Divorced people were under the ban not only of the Church but of society. —
但是，唉，那将造成如此大的丑闻！离婚的人不仅被教会所谴责，也受到社会的排斥。 —

No divorced person was received. However, she would dare even that for Ashley. —
任何离过婚的人都不被接纳。不过，为了阿什利，她甚至会冒这个险。 —

She would sacrifice anything for Ashley.
为了阿什利，她愿意牺牲一切。

Somehow it would come out all right when the war was over. —
当战争结束时，总会有办法解决的。 —

If Ashley loved her so much, he’d find a way. She’d make him find a way. —
如果阿什利真那么爱她，他会找到办法的。她会让他找到办法。 —

And with every day that passed, she became more sure in her own mind of his devotion, more certain he would arrange matters satisfactorily when the Yankees were finally beaten. —
随着每一天的过去，她越来越确信他对她的承诺，更加确信当南方联邦最终战胜北方联邦时，他会妥善安排事情。 —

Of course, he had said the Yankees “had” them. Scarlett thought that was just foolishness. —
当然，他曾说过：洋基队“已经”赢了。斯嘉丽觉得那只是荒谬的话。 —

He had been tired and upset when he said it. But she hardly cared whether the Yankees won or not. —
他说那句话时又累又烦。但她对洋基队是否获胜几乎不关心。 —

The thing that mattered was for the war to finish quickly and for Ashley to come home.
重要的是战争能快点结束，让阿什利回家。

Then, when the sleets of March were keeping everyone indoors, the hideous blow fell. —
随后，在三月的寒冷天气里，发生了可怕的打击。 —

Melanie, her eyes shining with joy, her head ducked with embarrassed pride, told her she was going to have a baby.
梅拉妮的眼睛闪烁着喜悦，自豪得低下头来，告诉她自己怀孕了。

“Dr. Meade says it will be here in late August or September,” she said. —
“米德医生说孩子会在八月底或九月出生，”她说。 —

“I’ve thought—but I wasn’t sure till today. Oh, Scarlett, isn’t it wonderful? —
“我一直在考虑，但直到今天才确定。哦，斯嘉丽，这太好了！ —

I’ve so envied you Wade and so wanted a baby. —
“我一直嫉妒你家的韦德，一直渴望自己能有个孩子。 —

And I was so afraid that maybe I wasn’t ever going to have one and, darling, I want a dozen!”
“我一直担心自己可能永远不会有孩子，亲爱的，我想要一打！”

Scarlett had been combing her hair, preparing for bed, when Melanie spoke and she stopped, the comb in mid-air.
斯嘉丽正在梳着头，准备睡觉，梅拉妮说话时，她停了下来，梳子悬在半空中。

“Dear God!” she said and, for a moment, realization did not come. —
“天哪！”她说，片刻内还没反应过来。 —

Then there suddenly leaped to her mind the closed door of Melanie’s bedroom and a knifelike pain went through her, a pain as fierce as though Ashley had been her own husband and had been unfaithful to her. —
然后，她突然想起了梅兰妮卧室的关闭门，一阵刺痛穿透她的心脏，这种痛苦就像是阿什利背叛了她一样残酷。 —

A baby. Ashley’s baby. Oh, how could he, when he loved her and not Melanie?
一个孩子。阿什利的孩子。哦，他怎么能做到这一点，当他爱的是她而不是梅兰妮？

“I know you’re surprised,” Melanie rattled on, breathlessly. “And isn’t it too wonderful? —
“我知道你很惊讶”，梅兰妮喘着气说道，“这不是太美妙了吗？ —

Oh, Scarlett, I don’t know how I shall ever write Ashley! —
哦，天啊，斯嘉丽，我该怎么给阿什利写信呢？ —

It wouldn’t be so embarrassing if I could tell him or—or—well, not say anything and just let him notice gradually, you know—”
如果我能告诉他，或者，或者，不说什么，让他慢慢发现就好了，你知道吗——”

“Dear God!” said Scarlett, almost sobbing, as she dropped the comb and caught at the marble top of the dresser for support.
“亲爱的上帝！”斯嘉丽几乎要哭了出来，她放下梳子，抓住梳妆台的大理石台面支撑住自己。

“Darling, don’t look like that! You know having a baby isn’t so bad. You said so yourself. —
“亲爱的，不要那样看着我！你知道生孩子并不可怕。你自己也说过这样。 —

And you mustn’t worry about me, though you are sweet to be so upset. —
你不必为我担心，虽然你这么担心我真是太好了。 —

Of course, Dr. Meade said I was— was,” Melanie blushed, “quite narrow but that perhaps I shouldn’t have any trouble and—Scarlett, did you write Charlie and tell him when you found out about Wade, or did your mother do it or maybe Mr. O’Hara? —
当然，梅德博士说我是…是，”梅兰妮红着脸说：”相当窄，但也许我不会有什么麻烦，而且…斯嘉丽，你是在当你发现韦德的事情时给查理写信的，还是你妈妈做的，或者可能是奥哈拉先生？ —

Oh, dear, if I only had a mother to do it! —
哦，亲爱的，如果我有一个母亲来做这件事多好啊！ —

I just don’t see how—”
我就是不明白该怎么做…

“Hush!” said Scarlett, violently. “Hush!”
“嘘！” 斯嘉丽暴怒地说道。”嘘！”

“Oh, Scarlett, I’m so stupid! I’m sorry. I guess all happy people are selfish. —
“哦，斯嘉丽，我真是太愚蠢了！对不起。我猜所有快乐的人都是自私的。 —

I forgot about Charlie, just for the moment—”
我只是短暂地忘记了查理…

“Hush!” said Scarlett again, fighting to control her face and make her emotions quiet. —
“嘘！” 斯嘉丽再次说道，努力控制自己的表情和情感，使它们保持安静。 —

Never, never must Melanie see or suspect how she felt.
永远，永远不能让梅兰妮看到或怀疑自己的感受。

Melanie, the most tactful of women, had tears in her eyes at her own cruelty. —
最善于策略的女人梅兰妮为自己的残酷行为流下了眼泪。 —

How could she have brought back to Scarlett the terrible memories of Wade being born months after poor Charlie was dead? —
她是怎么能让斯嘉丽重新回忆起韦德在可怜的查理去世几个月后出生的可怕记忆呢？ —

How could she have been so thoughtless?
她怎么会如此不体贴？

“Let me help you undress, dearest,” she said humbly. “And I’ll rub your head for you.”
“让我帮你脱衣服，亲爱的，”她谦卑地说。”我会为你按摩头部的。

“You leave me alone,” said Scarlett, her face like stone. —
“你离我远点，”斯嘉丽说道，她的脸像石头一样冷酷。 —

And Melanie, bursting into tears of self-condemnation, fled the room, leaving Scarlett to a tearless bed, with wounded pride, disillusionment and jealousy for bedfellows.
“梅兰妮忍不住自责地哭了起来，逃离房间，让斯嘉丽独自面对一张没有泪水的床，受伤的自尊心、幻灭和嫉妒成了她的床伴。

She thought that she could not live any longer in the same house with the woman who was carrying Ashley’s child, thought that she would go home to Tara, home, where she belonged. —
“她觉得她不能再和一个怀着艾希礼孩子的女人住在同一所屋子里，觉得她应该回到Tara，回到她应该属于的家。 —

She did not see how she could ever look at Melanie again and not have her secret read in her face. —
“她实在搞不懂自己以后怎么面对梅兰妮而不让她读出她脸上的秘密。 —

And she arose the next morning with the fixed intention of packing her trunk immediately after breakfast. —
“于是第二天早上起来后她立刻下定决心，在吃完早饭后就开始收拾行李。 —

But, as they sat at the table, Scarlett silent and gloomy, Pitty bewildered and Melanie miserable, a telegram came.
“然而，正当他们坐在桌旁，斯嘉丽默不作声，郁闷地坐着，皮蒂迷茫，梅兰妮痛苦不堪时，一封电报到了。

It was to Melanie from Ashley’s body servant, Mose.
“是梅兰妮收到的来自艾希礼的侍从莫斯的电报。

“I have looked everywhere and I can’t find him. Must I come home?”
“‘我已经到此为止无处找到他了。我需要回家吗？’”

No one knew what it meant but the eyes of the three women went to one another, wide with terror, and Scarlett forgot all thoughts of going home. —
无人知晓，但三个女人的眼神相互交汇，充满了恐惧。斯嘉丽忘记了回家的念头。 —

Without finishing their breakfasts they drove down to telegraph Ashley’s colonel, but even as they entered the office, there was a telegram from him.
她们吃不完早餐就赶去电报亚什利的团长，但她们刚进办公室，就收到了来自他的电报。

“Regret to inform you Major Wilkes missing since scouting expedition three days ago. —
“遗憾地通知您，威尔克斯少校在三天前的侦察任务中失踪。 —

Will keep you informed.”
会继续保持您的联络。”

It was a ghastly trip home, with Aunt Pitty crying into her handkerchief, Melanie sitting erect and white and Scarlett slumped, stunned in the corner of the carriage. —
回家的路上仿佛是一场恐怖的旅程，派蒂姨妈哭泣着抱着手绢，梅拉妮坐得笔直苍白，斯嘉丽则呆坐在马车的角落里，惊呆了。 —

Once in the house, Scarlett stumbled up the stairs to her bedroom and, clutching her Rosary from the table, dropped to her knees and tried to pray. —
一回到家，斯嘉丽踉跄着上楼到她的卧室，在桌子上抓住她的念珠，跪下试图祈祷。 —

But the prayers would not come. There only fell on her an abysmal fear, a certain knowledge that God had turned His face from her for her sin. —
但是祷告没有出口。只有深深的恐惧笼罩着她，她确信上帝因为她的罪而背弃了她。 —

She had loved a married man and tried to take him from his wife, and God had punished her by killing him. —
她曾经爱上了一个已婚的男人并试图将他夺离他的妻子，而上帝用夺去他的生命来惩罚着她。 —

She wanted to pray but she could not raise her eyes to Heaven. —
她想祈祷，但她无法抬起眼睛仰望天堂。 —

She wanted to cry but the tears would not come. —
她想哭，但眼泪无法流出。 —

They seemed to flood her chest, and they were hot tears that burned under her bosom, but they would not flow.
她感觉胸口涌满了热泪，像燃烧在她胸前的热泪，但它们无法流淌出来。

Her door opened and Melanie entered. Her face was like a heart cut from white paper, framed against black hair, and her eyes were wide, like those of a frightened child lost in the dark.
门开了，梅拉妮走了进来。她的脸像是从白纸上剪出的心形，黑发映衬得分外明亮，眼睛睁得大大的，像是一个在黑暗中迷失的害怕的孩子。

“Scarlett,” she said, putting out her hands. —
“斯嘉丽，”她伸出双手说道。 —

“You must forgive me for what I said yesterday, for you’re—all I’ve got now. —
“你必须原谅我昨天说的话，因为你是我唯一的依靠。 —

Oh, Scarlett, I know my darling is dead!”
“哦，斯嘉丽，我知道我的亲爱的已经去世了！”

Somehow, she was in Scarlett’s arms, her small breasts heaving with sobs, and somehow they were lying on the bed, holding each other close, and Scarlett was crying too, crying with her face pressed close against Melanie’s, the tears of one wetting the cheeks of the other. —
不知怎么的，她已经在斯嘉丽的怀里，她小小的胸脯随着啜泣而起伏，不知怎么的，她们躺在了床上，紧紧地拥抱着彼此，斯嘉丽也哭了起来，她的脸紧贴着梅拉妮的脸，她们的泪水交织在一起。 —

It hurt so terribly to cry, but not so much as not being able to cry. —
哭泣真的太痛苦了，但不哭泣的感觉更糟糕。 —

Ashley is dead—dead, she thought, and I have killed him by loving him! —
艾丽西已经死了-死了，她想，是我对他的爱杀了他！ —

Fresh sobs broke from her, and Melanie somehow feeling comfort in her tears tightened her arms about her neck.
鲜活的啜泣声从她的口中传出，梅拉妮感到她的泪水给她带来了一丝安慰，紧紧地搂住了她的脖子。

“At least,” she whispered, “at least—I’ve got his baby.”
“至少，”她低声说，“至少，我有他的孩子。”

“And I,” thought Scarlett, too stricken now for anything so petty as jealousy, “I’ve got nothing—nothing—nothing except the look on his face when he told me good-by.”
“而我，”斯嘉丽想道，现在太受打击了，已经无法如此肤浅地嫉妒，“除了他告诉我再见时脸上的表情，我什么也没有了。”

The first reports were “Missing—believed killed” and so they appeared on the casualty list. —
最初的报道是“失踪-被认为已经阵亡”，因此他们出现在伤亡名单上。 —

Melanie telegraphed Colonel Sloan a dozen times and finally a letter arrived, full of sympathy, explaining that Ashley and a squad had ridden out on a scouting expedition and had not returned. —
梅拉妮发了无数封电报给斯隆上校，最后收到了一封充满同情的信，解释说阿什利和一个小队骑出去侦察，但没有返回。 —

There had been reports of a slight skirmish within the Yankee lines and Mose, frantic with grief, had risked his own life to search for Ashley’s body but had found nothing. —
有报道称在联邦军线内发生了一次小规模的冲突，梅勒尼心痛地冒险搜索了阿什利的尸体，但什么也没找到。 —

Melanie, strangely calm now, telegraphed him money and instructions to come home.
梅勒尼现在奇怪地冷静下来，给他发电报并寄钱和指示让他回家。

When “Missing—believed captured” appeared on the casualty lists, joy and hope reanimated the sad household. —
“失踪—据信被俘”的消息出现在伤亡名单上时，喜悦和希望重新燃起了那个悲伤的家庭。 —

Melanie could hardly be dragged away from the telegraph office and she met every train hoping for letters. —
梅兰妮几乎舍不得离开电报局，每次都盼望着能收到信件。 —

She was sick now, her pregnancy making itself felt in many unpleasant ways, but she refused to obey Dr. Meade’s commands and stay in bed. —
她现在病了，怀孕的不适感让她感到很不舒服，但她拒绝服从米德医生的命令，留在床上休息。 —

A feverish energy possessed her and would not let her be still; —
一种狂热的能量占据了她，不让她静下来； —

and at night, long after Scarlett had gone to bed, she could hear her walking the floor in the next room.
而且晚上，当斯嘉丽已经上床睡觉后，她能听到她在隔壁房间来回走动。

One afternoon, she came home from town, driven by the frightened Uncle Peter and supported by Rhett Butler. —
一天下午，她从镇上回家，由受惊的彼得舅舅开车，得到了雷特·巴特勒的支持。 —

She had fainted at the telegraph office and Rhett, passing by and observing the excitement, had escorted her home. —
她在电报局晕倒了，雷特经过并观察到这一情况，便护送她回家。 —

He carried her up the stairs to her bedroom and while the alarmed household fled hither and yon for hot bricks, blankets and whisky, he propped her on the pillows of her bed.
他把她扶上楼梯，放在床上的枕头上，而那些被惊慌失措的家人四处寻找着热砖、毛毯和威士忌。

“Mrs. Wilkes,” he questioned abruptly, “you are going to have a baby, are you not?”
“威尔克斯夫人，”他突然问道，“你是不是怀孕了？”

Had Melanie not been so faint, so sick, so heartsore, she would have collapsed at his question. —
如果梅兰妮不是那么虚弱，那么病重，那么伤心，她在听到这个问题时肯定会晕倒。 —

Even with women friends she was embarrassed by any mention of her condition, while visits to Dr. Meade were agonizing experiences. —
即使在女性朋友面前，她一提到自己的状况都觉得尴尬，而去看梅德医生更是一种煎熬。 —

And for a man, especially Rhett Butler, to ask such a question was unthinkable. —
而且对于一个男人，尤其是雷特·巴特勒这样问这样的问题，简直难以想象。 —

But lying weak and forlorn in the bed, she could only nod. —
在病床上躺着又虚弱又孤独的她只能点头。 —

After she had nodded, it did not seem so dreadful, for he looked so kind and so concerned.
在她点头之后，事情似乎没那么可怕了，因为他看起来如此善良，如此关心。

“Then you must take better care of yourself. —
“那么你必须更好地照顾自己。 —

All this running about and worry won’t help you and may harm the baby. —
这么忙碌和担心只会对你和孩子有害。 —

If you will permit me, Mrs. Wilkes, I will use what influence I have in Washington to learn about Mr. Wilkes’ fate. —
如果你允许的话，威尔克斯夫人，我将利用我在华盛顿的影响力来了解威尔克斯先生的命运。 —

If he is a prisoner, he will be on the Federal lists, and if he isn’t—well, there’s nothing worse than uncertainty. —
如果他是个囚犯，他会出现在联邦的名单上，如果他不是的话，唯一比不确定更糟的就是不确定。” —

But I must have your promise. Take care of yourself or, before God, I won’t turn a hand.”
但是我必须要你的承诺。照顾好你自己，否则，我发誓在上帝面前，我不会出手帮忙。

“Oh, you are so kind,” cried Melanie. “How can people say such dreadful things about you?” —
“哦，你真是太好了，”梅兰妮喊道。“人们怎么会说你这么可怕的事情呢？” —

Then overcome with the knowledge of her tactlessness and also with horror at having discussed her condition with a man, she began to cry weakly. —
然后，意识到自己的无 t 隐忍和与男人讨论她的状况的恐怖，并伴随着虚弱的哭泣。 —

And Scarlett, flying up the stairs with a hot brick wrapped in flannel, found Rhett patting her hand.
斯嘉丽飞快地跑上楼，手上抱着一块用法兰绒包裹的热砖，发现瑞德正在拍着她的手。

He was as good as his word. They never knew what wires he pulled. —
他不负所承诺。他们从不知道他动用了什么手段。 —

They feared to ask, knowing it might involve an admission of his too close affiliations with the Yankees. —
他们不敢问，因为他们知道这可能涉及到他与北方联邦军的密切关系。 —

It was a month before he had news, news that raised them to the heights when they first heard it, but later created a gnawing anxiety in their hearts.
一个月过去了，他们得到了消息，一开始他们听到的消息让他们欢天喜地，但之后又让他们的心中产生了一种令人焦虑的不安。

Ashley was not dead! He had been wounded and taken prisoner, and the records showed that he was at Rock Island, a prison camp in Illinois. —
阿什利没有死！他受伤并被俘，在记录中显示他被关押在伊利诺伊州的罗克岛集中营。 —

In their first joy, they could think of nothing except that he was alive. —
在最初的喜悦中，他们除了知道他还活着，什么都想不到了。 —

But, when calmness began to return, they looked at one another and said “Rock Island!” —
但是，当平静开始回归时，他们互相看着对方说：“洛克岛！” —

in the same voice they would have said “In Hell!” —
以同样的语气，他们本可以说：“去地狱吧！” —

For even as Andersonville was a name that stank in the North, so was Rock Island one to bring terror to the heart of any Southerner who had relatives imprisoned there.
因为正如安德森维尔这个名字在北方名声狼藉一样，洛克岛对于任何拥有被关押在那里的亲戚的南方人来说都是一种心灵恐惧。

When Lincoln refused to exchange prisoners, believing it would hasten the end of the war to burden the Confederacy with the feeding and guarding of Union prisoners, there were thousands of bluecoats at Andersonville, Georgia. —
当林肯拒绝交换俘虏时，相信这样会加速战争结束，让南方联邦因为需要负担养育和看守联邦俘虏而不堪重负时，安德森维尔乔治亚有成千上万的联邦士兵。 —

The Confederates were on scant rations and practically without drugs or bandages for their own sick and wounded. —
邦联士兵们饥肠辘辘，几乎没有自己照料病痛和伤员的药品或绷带。 —

They had little to share with the prisoners. —
他们没有多少可以与俘虏分享的东西。 —

They fed their prisoners on what the soldiers in the field were eating, fat pork and dried peas, and on this diet the Yankees died like flies, sometimes a hundred a day. —
他们用战地士兵吃的食物来喂养俘虏，即猪肥和干豌豆，而在这种饮食下，洋基人像苍蝇一样死去，有时一天死上百人。 —

Inflamed by the reports, the North resorted to harsher treatment of Confederate prisoners and at no place were conditions worse than at Rock Island. —
被这些报道激起的北方人对南方的俘虏采取了更加严厉的对待，而在任何地方，情况都没有洛克岛更糟糕。 —

Food was scanty, one blanket for three men, and the ravages of smallpox, pneumonia and typhoid gave the place the name of a pest-house. —
食物稀少，三个人共用一条毯子，天花、肺炎和伤寒的蔓延使这个地方被称为疫区。 —

Three-fourths of all the men sent there never came out alive.
被送到那里的四分之三的人都没有活着出来。

And Ashley was in that horrible place! Ashley was alive but he was wounded and at Rock Island, and the snow must have been deep in Illinois when he was taken there. —
阿什利就在那个可怕的地方！阿什利还活着，但他受伤了，在洛克岛，当他被送到那里时，伊利诺伊州已经积雪深厚。 —

Had he died of his wound, since Rhett had learned his news? —
如果他因伤而死了，是不是由于雷特得知了他的消息？ —

Had he fallen victim to smallpox? Was he delirious with pneumonia and no blanket to cover him?
他是否染上了天花？他是否因肺炎而神志不清，却没有毯子来盖着？

“Oh, Captain Butler, isn’t there some way— Can’t you use your influence and have him exchanged?” cried Melanie.
“哦，巴特勒上尉，难道没有办法吗？你能不能利用你的影响力让他交换出去？”梅兰妮喊道。

“Mr. Lincoln, the merciful and just, who cries large tears over Mrs. Bixby’s five boys, hasn’t any tears to shed about the thousands of Yankees dying at Andersonville,” said Rhett, his mouth twisting. —
“林肯先生，那位仁慈而公正的人，为比克斯比夫人的五个儿子流泪，却没有为安德森维尔的数千名北方人流泪。”雷特的嘴角扭曲着说道。 —

“He doesn’t care if they all die. The order is out. No exchanges. —
“他不在乎他们是否全部死去。命令已经下达。没有交换。” —

I—I hadn’t told you before, Mrs. Wilkes, but your husband had a chance to get out and refused it.”
“我——之前没有告诉你，威尔克斯夫人，你丈夫有机会离开，但他拒绝了。”

“Oh, no!” cried Melanie in disbelief.
“哦，不可能！” 梅兰妮难以置信地喊道。

“Yes, indeed. The Yankees are recruiting men for frontier service to fight the Indians, recruiting them from among Confederate prisoners. —
“确实是这样。南方联邦的囚犯被征募为边疆服役以对抗印第安人，南方联邦战俘中招募他们。” —

Any prisoner who will take the oath of allegiance and enlist for Indian service for two years will be released and sent West. Mr. Wilkes refused.”
“任何愿意宣誓效忠并加入印第安人服务两年的囚犯将被释放并派往西部。威尔克斯先生拒绝了。”

“Oh, how could he?” cried Scarlett. “Why didn’t he take the oath and then desert and come home as soon as he got out of jail?”
“哦，他怎么可以这样做？” 斯嘉丽哭道。“为什么他不宣誓然后趁出狱后逃亡回家？”

Melanie turned on her like a small fury.
梅兰妮像小小的愤怒一样转向她。

“How can you even suggest that he would do such a thing? —
“你怎么能暗示他会做这种事呢？ —

Betray his own Confederacy by taking that vile oath and then betray his word to the Yankees! —
通过接受那个卑劣的宣誓背叛他自己的南方联邦，然后再背叛他对北方的诺言！ —

I would rather know he was dead at Rock Island than hear he had taken that oath. —
我宁愿知道他死在洛克岛，也不愿听到他宣誓的消息。 —

I’d be proud of him if he died in prison. —
如果他死在监狱中，我会为他感到骄傲。 —

But if he did THAT, I would never look on his face again. —
但是如果他做了那样的事情，我将永远不再对他投以一瞥。 —

Never! Of course, he refused.”
绝不！当然，他拒绝了。

When Scarlett was seeing Rhett to the door, she asked indignantly: —
当斯嘉丽送雷特到门口时，她愤怒地问道： —

“If it were you, wouldn’t you enlist with the Yankees to keep from dying in that place and then desert?”
“如果是你，你会加入北方人以避免死在那个地方然后又逃跑吗？”

“Of course,” said Rhett, his teeth showing beneath his mustache.
“当然,” 雷特说，他的牙齿露在小胡子下面。

“Then why didn’t Ashley do it?”
“那为什么阿什利不这样做呢？”

“He’s a gentleman,” said Rhett, and Scarlett wondered how it was possible to convey such cynicism and contempt in that one honorable word.
“他是一个绅士，”雷特说道，斯嘉丽想知道如何做到在那个充满蔑视与鄙视的字里行间传递出这么尊贵的字眼。