Close upon the hour of noon the whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly news. —
正午过后不久，整个村庄突然传来了可怕的消息，整个村庄为之震动。 —

No need of the as yet un-dreamed-of telegraph; —
尚未出现电报的时候，并不需要。 —

the tale flew from man to man, from group to group, from house to house, with little less than telegraphic speed. —
消息传得如同电报一般迅速，从人到人，从群到群，从屋到屋。 —

Of course the schoolmaster gave holiday for that afternoon; —
当然，校长安排了那个下午的放假。 —

the town would have thought strangely of him if he had not.
如果他没有这么做，镇上会对他感到奇怪。

A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man, and it had been recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff Potter—so the story ran. —
一把血腥的刀子被发现在被杀的人旁边，有人认出那是马夫·波特（米夫·波特）的，这就是传言。 —

And it was said that a belated citizen had come upon Potter washing himself in the “branch” about one or two o’clock in the morning, and that Potter had at once sneaked off—suspicious circumstances, especially the washing which was not a habit with Potter. —
还有传言说，一位迟归的市民在凌晨一两点的时候看到波特在“溪流”中清洗自己，并且波特立刻溜走了。这是可疑的情况，尤其是普通情况下波特从不会洗澡。 —

It was also said that the town had been ransacked for this “murderer” (the public are not slow in the matter of sifting evidence and arriving at a verdict), but that he could not be found. —
还有传言说，镇上已经搜查过这个“凶手”（公众在筛选证据和得出定论方面非常迅速），但是找不到他。 —

Horsemen had departed down all the roads in every direction, and the Sheriff “was confident” that he would be captured before night.
骑兵们朝每个方向都离开了，而该治安官”充满信心”他会在黑夜降临前被捕获。

All the town was drifting toward the graveyard. —
整个城镇都往墓地聚集。 —

Tom’s heartbreak vanished and he joined the procession, not because he would not a thousand times rather go anywhere else, but because an awful, unaccountable fascination drew him on. —
汤姆的心痛消失了，他加入了行列，并不是因为他千方百计都愿去别的地方，而是因为一种可怕、难以解释的吸引力把他吸引了过去。 —

Arrived at the dreadful place, he wormed his small body through the crowd and saw the dismal spectacle. —
到达这邪恶的地方，他扭动着小身体穿过人群，看见了可怕的景象。 —

It seemed to him an age since he was there before. Somebody pinched his arm. —
他觉得好像自己离这里已经过去了很久。有人捏了捏他的手臂。 —

He turned, and his eyes met Huckleberry’s. —
他转过头，与哈克贝利的眼神相遇了。 —

Then both looked elsewhere at once, and wondered if anybody had noticed anything in their mutual glance. —
他们同时转过头去，诧异地想知道有没有人注意到他们刚才的目光。 —

But everybody was talking, and intent upon the grisly spectacle before them.
但是每个人都在交谈，并专注于他们面前可怕的景象。

“Poor fellow!” “Poor young fellow!” “This ought to be a lesson to grave robbers! —
“可怜的家伙！”“可怜的年轻人！”“这应该教育那些盗墓贼！” —

” “Muff Potter’ll hang for this if they catch him!” This was the drift of remark; —
“如果他们抓到花花公子，他就会被绞死！” 这就是人们的评论。 —

and the minister said, “It was a judgment; —
部长说，“这是一个判断； —

His hand is here.”
他的手就在这里。”

Now Tom shivered from head to heel; for his eye fell upon the stolid face of Injun Joe. At this moment the crowd began to sway and struggle, and voices shouted, “It’s him! —
现在汤姆从头到脚都打了一个寒战; 因为他的眼睛落在了伊朱恩乔的冷漠脸上。就在这时，人群开始摇晃和挣扎，声音喊道，“是他！是他！他自己来了！” —

it’s him! he’s coming himself!”
“谁？谁？”有二十个声音询问。

“Who? Who?” from twenty voices.
“马夫·波特！”

“Muff Potter!”
“喂，他停下了！—当心，他转身了！别让他跑了！”

“Hallo, he’s stopped!—Look out, he’s turning! Don’t let him get away!”
“快看，他转头了！”

People in the branches of the trees over Tom’s head said he wasn’t trying to get away—he only looked doubtful and perplexed.
树枝上的人们说他并不是在想要逃离——只是看起来犹豫和困惑。

“Infernal impudence!” said a bystander; —
“该死的厚颜无耻！”旁观者说道； —

“wanted to come and take a quiet look at his work, I reckon—didn’t expect any company.”
“我猜他只是想过来静静看看他的作品，没想到会有人来。”

The crowd fell apart, now, and the Sheriff came through, ostentatiously leading Potter by the arm. —
群众现在四散而开，警长走了过来，显眼地拉着波特的胳膊。 —

The poor fellow’s face was haggard, and his eyes showed the fear that was upon him. —
这可怜的家伙面容憔悴，眼中流露出恐惧。 —

When he stood before the murdered man, he shook as with a palsy, and he put his face in his hands and burst into tears.
当他站在被谋杀的人面前时，他全身颤抖，把脸埋在手中，哭了起来。

“I didn’t do it, friends,” he sobbed; “’pon my word and honor I never done it.”
“朋友们，我没做这事，”他抽泣着说道；“以我的言辞和荣誉发誓，我从没干过。”

“Who’s accused you?” shouted a voice.
“是谁指控了你？”有人大喊道。

This shot seemed to carry home. Potter lifted his face and looked around him with a pathetic hopelessness in his eyes. —
这一击看起来打中了要害。波特抬起脸，带着无助的绝望眼神四处看着。 —

He saw Injun Joe, and exclaimed:
他看见了印弟安·乔，并喊道：

“Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you’d never—”
“哦，印弟安·乔，你曾答应过我你不会—”

“Is that your knife?” and it was thrust before him by the Sheriff.
“这是你的刀吗？”警长将刀拿到他面前。

Potter would have fallen if they had not caught him and eased him to the ground. Then he said:
波特如果他们没有抓住他并把他缓缓放到地上，他就会摔倒。然后他说：

“Something told me ’t if I didn’t come back and get—” He shuddered; —
“有什么东西告诉我，如果我不回来拿……”他颤抖着； —

then waved his nerveless hand with a vanquished gesture and said, “Tell ’em, Joe, tell ’em—it ain’t any use any more.”
然后他无力地挥了挥手，做了一个被征服的手势，说：“告诉他们，乔，告诉他们——再没有任何用处了。”

Then Huckleberry and Tom stood dumb and staring, and heard the stony-hearted liar reel off his serene statement, they expecting every moment that the clear sky would deliver God’s lightnings upon his head, and wondering to see how long the stroke was delayed. —
汉克伯里和汤姆呆呆地站着，目不转睛地听着这个铁石心肠的撒谎者滔滔不绝地说着他平静的陈述，他们每一刻都期待着晴空会对他降下上帝的雷霆，惊奇地看着这一击为何迟迟不到。 —

And when he had finished and still stood alive and whole, their wavering impulse to break their oath and save the poor betrayed prisoner’s life faded and vanished away, for plainly this miscreant had sold himself to Satan and it would be fatal to meddle with the property of such a power as that.
当他讲完并且还活着、完好无损地站着时，他们动摇的冲动，打破誓言来拯救那个可怜的被出卖的囚犯的生命，消失无踪了，因为明显地这个罪犯已经将自己出卖给了撒旦，插手如此一股势力的财产将会带来灾难性的后果。

“Why didn’t you leave? What did you want to come here for?” somebody said.
“你为什么不离开？你到这里来干什么？”有人问道。

“I couldn’t help it—I couldn’t help it,” Potter moaned. —
“我没办法——我没办法，”波特嘴里喃喃自语。 —

“I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t seem to come anywhere but here. —
“我想逃走，但无论我怎么努力，都只能来到这里。” —

” And he fell to sobbing again.
他又开始放声痛哭起来。

Injun Joe repeated his statement, just as calmly, a few minutes afterward on the inquest, under oath; and the boys, seeing that the lightnings were still withheld, were confirmed in their belief that Joe had sold himself to the devil. —
在验尸时，印第安乔重复了他的陈述，依然平静，几分钟后；男孩们看到天空中的闪电还没出现，更加确信乔把自己卖给了魔鬼。 —

He was now become, to them, the most balefully interesting object they had ever looked upon, and they could not take their fascinated eyes from his face.
在他们眼中，他变得异常可怕和引人注目，他们无法从他的脸上移开迷恋的目光。

They inwardly resolved to watch him nights, when opportunity should offer, in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master.
他们下定决心，等到机会来临时，在晚上监视他，希望能一瞥他可怕的主人。

Injun Joe helped to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a wagon for removal; —
印第安乔帮忙抬起被杀人者的尸体，放入一辆马车中准备清理； —

and it was whispered through the shuddering crowd that the wound bled a little! —
人群传出颤栗声，有人私下说被刺伤的地方还在流血！ —

The boys thought that this happy circumstance would turn suspicion in the right direction; but they were disappointed, for more than one villager remarked:
男孩们以为这种快乐的情况会引起怀疑的方向，但他们感到失望的是，不止一个村民说道：

“It was within three feet of Muff Potter when it done it.”
“它在离穆夫波特不到三英尺的地方发生。”

Tom’s fearful secret and gnawing conscience disturbed his sleep for as much as a week after this; —
汤姆那可怕的秘密和折磨他的良心在此之后扰乱了他一周的睡眠； —

and at breakfast one morning Sid said:
早餐时，西德说道：“汤姆，你在睡梦中胡言乱语，让我经常半夜醒来。”

“Tom, you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake half the time.”
汤姆变得苍白，垂下了眼睛。

Tom blanched and dropped his eyes.
“这是个不祥之兆。”波莉阿姨严肃地说道，“你心里想什么，汤姆？”

“It’s a bad sign,” said Aunt Polly, gravely. “What you got on your mind, Tom?”
汤姆沉默不语，垂头不语。

“Nothing. Nothing ’t I know of.” But the boy’s hand shook so that he spilled his coffee.
“没有。我不知道有什么。”但是男孩的手颤抖得洒了咖啡。

“And you do talk such stuff,” Sid said. —
“你说的话真是一派胡言。”西德说。 —

“Last night you said, ‘It’s blood, it’s blood, that’s what it is! —
“昨晚你说，‘那是血，那是血！’ —

’ You said that over and over. And you said, ‘Don’t torment me so—I’ll tell! —
你一遍又一遍地说。你还说，‘别这样折磨我——我会说的！’ —

’ Tell what? What is it you’ll tell?”
说什么呢？你要说什么？”

Everything was swimming before Tom. There is no telling what might have happened, now, but luckily the concern passed out of Aunt Polly’s face and she came to Tom’s relief without knowing it. She said:
汤姆的一切都在晃动。现在真不知道会发生什么，但幸运的是，波莉阿姨脸上的关切消失了，她毫不知情地解救了汤姆。她说：

“Sho! It’s that dreadful murder. I dream about it most every night myself. —
“唉！就是那起可怕的谋杀案。我每天晚上都会梦到它。 —

Sometimes I dream it’s me that done it.”
有时候我还会梦到是我干的。”

Mary said she had been affected much the same way. Sid seemed satisfied. —
玛丽说她也受到了同样的影响。西德似乎很满意。 —

Tom got out of the presence as quick as he plausibly could, and after that he complained of toothache for a week, and tied up his jaws every night. —
汤姆以尽可能合理的方式离开了那里，此后他抱怨了一个星期的牙痛，每天晚上都绑着他的下巴。 —

He never knew that Sid lay nightly watching, and frequently slipped the bandage free and then leaned on his elbow listening a good while at a time, and afterward slipped the bandage back to its place again. —
他从未意识到西德每晚都躺在那里看着，经常将绷带解开，然后倚着肘听很长时间，然后再将绷带放回原处。 —

Tom’s distress of mind wore off gradually and the toothache grew irksome and was discarded. —
汤姆的精神压力逐渐消失，牙疼也变得让人烦恼，于是他不再介意。 —

If Sid really managed to make anything out of Tom’s disjointed mutterings, he kept it to himself.
如果西德真能听懂汤姆一些支离破碎的喃喃自语，他把它藏在心里了。

It seemed to Tom that his schoolmates never would get done holding inquests on dead cats, and thus keeping his trouble present to his mind. —
对汤姆来说，看起来他的同学永远不会停止对死猫进行调查，这使得他的困扰一直存在于他的脑海中。 —

Sid noticed that Tom never was coroner at one of these inquiries, though it had been his habit to take the lead in all new enterprises; —
西德注意到，在这些调查中，汤姆从来没有担任过法医的角色，尽管他习惯于在所有新项目中发挥领导作用； —

he noticed, too, that Tom never acted as a witness—and that was strange; —
他还注意到，汤姆从来没有担任过证人—-这很奇怪； —

and Sid did not overlook the fact that Tom even showed a marked aversion to these inquests, and always avoided them when he could. —
西德并没有忽视汤姆对这些调查的明显厌恶，并且总是尽量避开它们。 —

Sid marvelled, but said nothing. However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased to torture Tom’s conscience.
雖然依然對此感到驚訝，但席德並未說什麼。然而，最終規模盡行走下坡路，並且不再折磨湯姆的良心。

Every day or two, during this time of sorrow, Tom watched his opportunity and went to the little grated jail-window and smuggled such small comforts through to the “murderer” as he could get hold of. —
在這段憂愁的時間裡，湯姆每天或隔一天都會找機會去小小的鐵窗前，偷偷地把一些能找到的小補給品送給「兇手」。 —

The jail was a trifling little brick den that stood in a marsh at the edge of the village, and no guards were afforded for it; —
這座監獄是一個微不足道的小磚頭牢房，位於村子邊緣的沼澤地帶，並且沒有提供守衛； —

indeed, it was seldom occupied. These offerings greatly helped to ease Tom’s conscience.
事實上，它很少有人入住。這些供品很大程度上幫助湯姆安撫了良心。

The villagers had a strong desire to tar-and-feather Injun Joe and ride him on a rail, for body-snatching, but so formidable was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter, so it was dropped. —
村民們非常希望對印弟安佐和騎在鐵軌上把他黏上焦油，以示懲罰他著夥器官，但他的性格太可怕了，找不到誰願意領導這件事，所以就放棄了。 —

He had been careful to begin both of his inquest-statements with the fight, without confessing the grave-robbery that preceded it; —
他小心翼翼地在兩次審訊聲明中都始於打鬥，而沒有承認它之前的墓碑竊盜。 —

therefore it was deemed wisest not to try the case in the courts at present.
因此，目前认为最明智的做法是不在法庭上审理此案。