Then Ball-of-Bat，blushing and embarrassed，looked at the four travelers who had fasted and stammered： —
球棒之球羞涩且尴尬地看着那些已经快速前行的四位旅客，他支支吾吾地说： —

“Goodness knows！if I cared to offer anything to these gentlemen and ladies，I would—”Then she was silent，as if fearing an insult．Loiseau took up the word： —
“老天爷知道！如果我愿意给各位先生和女士们提供些什么，我会——”然后她沉默了，仿佛害怕受到侮辱。 —

“Ah！ —
—

certainly，in times like these all the world are brothers and ought to aid each other． —
洛瓦索接过话茬说：“啊！确实，在这样的时候，全世界都是兄弟， —

Come，ladies，without ceremony；why the devil not accept？ —
应该互相帮助。来吧，女士们，不要拘礼；我们为什么不接受呢？ —

We do not know whether we shall even find a house where we can pass the night． —
我们甚至不知道我们是否能找到一个能过夜的房子。 —

At the pace we are going now，we
以我们现在的速度，我们

They still hesitated，no one daring to assume the responsibility of a“Yes． —
他们仍然犹豫不决，没有人敢贸然回答“是”。 —

”The Count decided the question． —
伯爵解决了问题。 —

He turned toward the fat，intimidated girl and，taking on a grand air of condescension，he said to her：
他转向那位胖乎乎、受到惊吓的姑娘，摆出一副宽宏大量的样子，对她说：

“We accept with gratitude，Madame．”
“我们满怀感激地接受，夫人。”

It is the first step that counts． —
关键是迈出第一步。 —

The Rubicon passed，one lends himself to
一旦过了卢比孔河，人便会俯首。

pears，a loaf of hard bread，some wafers，and a full cup of pickled gherkins and onions，of which crudities Ball-of-Fat，like all women，was extremely fond．
梨、一条硬面包、一些威化饼干，以及满满一杯腌制的小黄瓜和洋葱，这些粗食是Ball-of-Fat等所有女性都特别喜欢的。

They could not eat this girl’s provisions without speaking to her． —
他们在没有和这位女士说话的情况下吃她的食物似乎有些不合适。 —

And so they chatted， with reserve at first；then，as she carried herself well，with more abandon． —
于是他们开始谈话，起初有所保留；但随着她表现得体， —

The ladies De Breville and Carré-Lamadon，who were acquainted with all the ins and outs of good-breed-ing，were gracious with a certain delicacy．The Countess，especially，showed that amiable condescension of very noble ladies who do not fear being spoiled by con－tact with anyone，and was charming．But the great Madame Loiseau，who had the soul of a plebeian，remained crabbed，saying little and eating much．
谈话也渐渐放松了。布雷维尔夫人和Carré-拉马东夫人都对礼仪之道了如指掌，她们以一种微妙的优雅友好相待。特别是伯爵夫人，她展现了那种非常高贵的女士们的亲切优雅，她们不担心与任何人的接触会降低自己的身份，因而非常迷人。但是地位崇高的Madame洛瓦索夫人心性如平民，态度冷淡，话不多而食不少。

The conversation was about the war，naturally． —
谈话自然而然地转到了战争上。 —

They related the horrible deeds of the Prussians，the brave acts of the French；and all of them，although running away，did homage to those who stayed behind． —
他们谈论普鲁士人的恐怖行径，法国人的英勇事迹；尽管所有人都在逃离，但他们对那些留下来的人表示敬意。接着， —

Then personal stories began to be told，and Ball-of-Fat related，with sincere emotion，and in the heated words that such girls sometimes use in expressing their natural feelings，how she had left Rouen：
大家开始讲个人的故事，丰腴姑娘带着真挚的情感，用那些处于自然感情之中时女孩们有时所用的激昂语言，讲述了她是如何离开鲁昂的：

“I believed at first that I could remain，”she said． —
“起初我以为我可以留下来，”她说。 —

“I had my house full of provisions，and I preferred to feed a few soldiers rather than expatriate myself，to go I knew not where．But as soon as I saw them，those Prussians，that was too much for me！ —
“我家里储备了很多食物，我宁愿喂养几个士兵，也不愿背井离乡，去我不知道的地方。但一旦我看到了他们，那些普鲁士人，那实在是太过分了！ —

They made my blood boil with anger，and I wept for very shame all day long． —
他们让我气血沸腾，羞愧到整日泪流不止。哦！ —

Oh！if I were only a man！ —
如果我是个男人就好了！ —

I watched them from my windows，the great porkers with their pointed helmets，and my maid held my hands to keep me from throwing the furniture down upon them． —
我透过窗户瞧着他们，那些佩戴尖顶头盔的大个子士兵，我的女仆还得抓住我的手，以防我一激动把家具扔向他们。然后， —

Then one of them came to lodge at my house； —
他们中有一个住进了我的房子； —

I sprang at his throat the first thing； —
我第一时间就扑向他的喉咙； —

they are no more difficult to strangle than other people． —

And I should have put an end to that one then and there had they not pulled me away by the hair． —

After that，it was necessary to keep out of sight． —

And finally，when I found an opportunity，I left town and-here I am！”

They congratulated her．She grew in the estimation of her companions，who had not shown themselves so hot-brained，and Cornudet，while listening to her，took on the approving，benevolent smile of an apostle，as a priest would if he heard a devotee praise God，for the long-bearded democrats have a monopoly of patriotism，as the men in cassocks have a religion． —
她的伙伴们对她的评价提高了，他们没有表现得那么冲动。科努德听着她的话，脸上露出了赞许的、慈祥的微笑，就像一个使徒。当听到一个信徒赞美上帝时，一个牧师会表现出怎样的笑容；因为长胡子的民主主义者垄断了爱国主义，正如身穿法衣之人垄断了宗教一样。 —

In his turn he spoke，in a doctrinal tone，with the emphasis of a proclamation such as we see pasted on the walls about town，and finished by a bit of eloquence whereby he gave that“scamp of a Badinguet”a good lashing．
接着他轮到发言，用一种教条式的语调，带着布告似的重音，就像我们在城镇的墙壁上贴着的那样，并以一段雄辩结束，给了那个“巴丁盖混账”一顿好鞭子。

Then Ball-of-Fat was angry，for she was a Bona-partist． —
然后，丰腴姑娘动怒了，因为她是波拿巴派支持者。 —

She grew redder than a cherry and，stammering with indignation，said：
她面红如樱桃，气愤得结巴了起来，说道：

“I would like to have seen you in his place，you other people．Then everything would have been quite right； —
“我倒想看看你们这些人要是处在他的位置会怎样。那样一切就都正确了；哦， —

oh，yes！It is you who have betrayed this man！ —
是的！背叛这个人的正是你们！ —

One would never have had to leave France if it had been governed by blackguards like you！”
如果由你们这些无耻之徒来治理法国，我们根本就不需要离开！”

Cornudet，undisturbed，preserved a disdainful，superior smile，but all felt that the high note had been struck，until the Count，not without some difficulty，calmed the exasperated girl and proclaimed with a manner of authority that all sincere opinions should be respected． —
科努德面无表情，保持着那种不屑和优越的微笑，但所有人都感到那高昂的音符已经被击中了。直到伯爵，尽管有些困难，平息了愤怒的女孩，并以一种权威的方式宣布所有真诚的意见都应当受到尊重。 —

But the Countess and the manufacturer’s wife，who had in their souls an unreasonable hatred for the people that favor a Republic，and the same instinctive tenderness that all women have for a decorative，despotic government，felt themselves drawn，in spite of them－selves，toward this prostitute so full of dignity，whose sentiments so strongly resembled their own．
然而伯爵夫人和制造商的妻子，内心对支持共和国的人民有着无理的憎恨，同样本能地对装饰性的、专制的政府有一种女性特有的柔情，尽管不情愿，却被这位尊严的妓女所吸引，因为她的情感与她们自己的如此相似。

The basket was empty．By ten o’clock they had easily exhausted the contents and regretted that there was not more． —
篮子空了。到十点钟时，他们已轻易地吃光了所有内容物，还为没有更多而感到遗憾。 —

Conversation continued for some time，but a little more coldly since they had finished eating．
尽管继续聊了一会儿话，但由于吃完了，谈话变得略带冷淡。

The night fell，the darkness little by little became profound，and the cold，felt more during digestion，made Ball－of－Fat shiver in spite of her plumpness． —
夜幕降临，黑暗渐渐加深，消化中难免感到的寒意使得“肉团”不禁开始颤抖，尽管她身体丰满。 —

Then Madame de Breville offered her the little footstove，in which the fuel had been renewed many times since morning； —
布雷维尔夫人于是提出把她的小暖脚炉——自早晨以来已经多次添过燃料——让给“肉团”。她立即接受了， —

she accepted it immediately，for her feet were becoming numb with cold． —
因为她的脚已经开始因冷而麻木。 —

The ladies Carré-Lamadon and Loiseau gave theirs to the two religious sisters．
卡雷-拉马东夫人和洛瓦索夫人则将她们的暖脚炉让给了两位修女。

The driver had lighted his lanterns． —
车夫点亮了他的车灯。 —

They shone out with lively glimmer showing a cloud of foam beyond，the sweat of the horses；and，on both sides of the way，the snow seemed to roll itself along under the moving reflection of the lights．
它们明亮地闪烁着，映出马匹身前飞溅的泡沫——汗水所致；而在路的两旁，雪仿佛在灯光移动映照下滚动。

Inside the carriage one could distinguish nothing． —
车厢内什么也看不清楚。但突然之间， —

But a sudden movement seemed to be made between Ball-of-Fat and Cornudet； —
肉团和科努德之间似乎发生了一些动作； —

and Loiseau，whose eye penetrated the shadow，believed that he saw the big－bearded man start back quickly as if he had received a swift，noiseless blow．
洛瓦索那锐利的眼睛穿透了黑暗，他相信自己看到那个留着浓密胡须的男人迅速后仰，好像是默不作声地挨了一记猛击。

Then some twinkling points of fire appeared in the distance along the
远方出现了几点火光在黑暗中闪烁。

hours given to resting and feeding the horses，made thirteen．They en-tered the town and stopped before the Hotel of Commerce．
给马匹休息和喂食的时间总共是十三个小时。他们进入城镇，在商业旅馆前停下。

The carriage door opened！ —
马车门打开了！ —

A well－known sound gave the travelers a start； —
一个熟悉的声音让旅客们吓了一跳； —

it was the scabbard of a sword hitting the ground． —
那是一剑鞘击在地面上的声音。紧接着， —

Immediately a German voice was heard in the darkness．
黑暗中传来了一个德国人的声音。

Although the diligence was not moving，no one offered to alight，fearing some one might be waiting to murder them as they stepped out． —
尽管马车没有移动，但没人主动下车，担心一出来就会有人等着谋杀他们。然后， —

Then the conductor appeared，holding in his hand one of the lanterns which lighted the carriage to its depth，and showed the two rows of frightened faces，whose mouths were open and whose eyes were wide with surprise and fear．
售票员出现了，手里拿着一盏照亮整个马车深处的灯笼，映照出两排吓坏了的脸孔，嘴巴张开，眼睛因惊讶和恐惧睁得大大的。

Outside beside the driver，in plain sight，stood a German officer，an excessively tall young man，thin and blond，squeezed into his uniform like a girl in a corset，and wearing on his head a flat，oilclotn cap which made him resemble the porter of an English hotel． —
车外，司机旁边，一个德国军官清晰可见，一个极高的年轻人，瘦长而金发，穿着像女孩紧绷绷的紧身胸衣一样的制服，头戴一顶平顶的油布帽，使他看起来像个英国酒店的门童。 —

His enormous mustache，of long straight hairs，growing gradually thin at each side and terminating in a single blond thread so fine that one could not perceive where it ended，seemed to weigh heavily on the corners of his mouth and，drawing down the cheeks，left a decided wrinkle about the lips．
他那巨大的胡子，一根根长直的毛发，向两边逐渐稀疏，尽头是一根挺细的金线，细得几乎看不见在哪里结束，似乎沉重地压在他嘴角，拖曳下颊，勾勒出嘴唇周围明显的皱纹。