The river gleams dully through the early morning haze; —
清晨的薄雾中，河水微微泛着阴沉的光芒； —

softly its waters gurgle against the smooth pebbles of the banks. —
在河岸平滑的鹅卵石上，水声轻柔地潺潺流动。 —

In the shallows by the banks the river is calm, its silvery surface almost unruffled; —
在河岸处的浅水中，河面平静无波，银色的表面几乎没有涟漪； —

but out in midstream it is dark and restless, hurrying swiftly onward. —
但在中流，它变得幽暗而不安，急促地向前飞逝。 —

The majestic Dnieper, the river immortalised by Gogol. The tall right bank drops steeply down to the water, like a mountain halted in its advance by the broad sweep of the waters. —
那威严的第聂伯河，被戈果尔永恒地歌颂。右岸高大陡峭，像一座被宽广的水流挡住前进的山。 —

The flat left bank below is covered with sandy spots left when the water receded after the spring floods.
下方平坦的左岸覆盖着春季洪水退去后留下的沙块。

Five men lay beside a snub-nosed Maxim gun in a tiny trench dug into the river bank. —
五个人躺在河岸挖的小壕沟中一个钝头的马克沁机枪旁。 —

This was a forward outpost of the Seventh Rifle Division. —
这是第七步兵师的一个前沿哨所。 —

Nearest the gun and facing the river lay Sergei Bruzzhak.
最靠近机枪，面朝河流躺着谢尔盖·布鲁扎克。

The day before, worn out by the endless battles and swept back by a hurricane of Polish artillery fire, they had given up Kiev, withdrawn to the left bank of the river, and dug in there.
前一天，由于无尽的战斗而精疲力竭，被波兰炮火的狂风吹袭，他们放弃了基辅，撤至左岸，挖掘了阵地。

The retreat, the heavy losses and finally the surrender of Kiev to the enemy had been a bitter blow to the men. —
撤退、沉重的损失，最终将基辅交给敌人，对士兵们来说是一次沉重打击。 —

The Seventh Division had heroically fought its way through enemy encirclement and, advancing through the forests, had emerged on the railway line at Malin Station, and with one furious blow had hurled back the Polish forces and cleared the road to Kiev.
第七师英勇地冲出敌军包围，穿过森林，出现在马林站的铁路线上，一击之下，击退波兰军队，开辟了通往基辅的道路。

But the lovely city had been given up and the Red Army men were downcast.
但美丽的城市被放弃了，红军士兵们郁闷不已。

The Poles, having driven the Red units out of Darnitsa, now occupied a small bridgehead on the left bank of the river beside the railway bridge. —
波兰人已经将红军单位赶出达尔尼察，现在占领了铁路桥旁左岸的一个小桥头堡。 —

But furious counterattacks had frustrated all their efforts to advance beyond that point.
但是愤怒的反击阻止了他们一切进攻的努力，无法超越那个点。

As he watched the river flowing past, Sergei thought of what had happened the previous day.
当谢尔盖看着河水流过时，他想起了前一天发生的事情。

Yesterday, at noon, his unit had given battle to the Poles; —
昨天中午，他的部队与波兰人交战； —

yesterday he had had his first hand-tohand engagement with the enemy. —
昨天他第一次与敌人进行了近身搏斗。 —

A young Polish legionary had come swooping down upon him, his rifle with its long, sabre-like French bayonet thrust forward; —
一个年轻的波兰军团士兵向他扑来，手持长长的、剑一样的法国刺刀； —

he bounded towards Sergei like a hare, shouting something unintelligible. —
他像野兔一样向谢尔盖奔来，嘴里喊着令人难以理解的话语。 —

For a fraction of a second Sergei saw his eyes dilated with frenzy. —
谢尔盖看到他的眼睛在疯狂中瞪大了。 —

The next instant Sergei’s bayonet clashed with the Pole’s, and the shining French blade was thrust aside. —
下一秒，谢尔盖的刺刀与波兰人的刺刀相撞，闪闪发光的法国刀锋被扳开了。 —

The Pole fell… .
波兰人倒下了……

Sergei’s hand did not falter. He knew that he would have to go on killing, he, Sergei, who was capable of such tender love, such steadfast friendship. —
谢尔盖的手没有颤抖。他知道自己必须继续杀戮，他，谢尔盖，一个能够怀有温柔爱意、坚定友情的人。 —

He was not vicious or cruel by nature, but he knew that he must fight these misguided soldiers whom the world’s parasites had whipped up into a frenzy of bestial hatred and sent against his native land. —
他并非天生邪恶或残忍，但他知道自己必须对抗这些被世界上的寄生虫煽动成兽性仇恨并派往他的祖国的错失士兵。 —

And he, Sergei, would kill in order to hasten the day when men would kill one another no longer.
而他，谢尔盖，将会杀戮，以加快人们不再相互残杀的那一天的到来。

Paramonov tapped him on the shoulder. “We’d better be moving on, Sergei, or they’ll spot us.”
帕拉蒙诺夫拍了拍他的肩膀。“我们最好赶紧走，谢尔盖，否则他们会发现我们。”

For a year now Pavel Korchagin had travelled up and down his native land, riding on machine-gun carriages and gun caissons or astride a small grey mare with a nick in her ear. —
一年来，帕维尔·科尔恰金在他的祖国上下遍地旅行，骑在机枪车辆和炮弹车辆上，或骑在一匹有个耳朵上的割痕的小灰马上。 —

He was a grown man now, matured and hardened by suffering and privation. —
现在，他已经是一个成熟的男人，经历了痛苦与困苦的考验而变得成熟坚强。 —

The tender skin chafed to the raw by the heavy cartridge belt had long since healed and a hard callus had formed under the rifle strap on his shoulder.
被沉重的弹药带磨破的嫩皮早已愈合，肩上托枪带下已经形成了坚硬的老茧。

Pavel had seen much that was terrible in that year. —
在那一年，保尔见过许多可怕的事情。 —

Together with thousands of other fighting men as ragged and ill-clad as himself but afire with the indomitable determination to fight for the power of their class, he had marched over the length and breadth of his native land and only twice had the storm swept on without him:
他和成千上万的其他战士一起，他们衣衫褴褛，但内心燃烧着不可战胜的决心，为了阶级的力量而奋斗，他们跋涉于自己的祖国的长征路上，只有两次风暴在没有他的情况下席卷过:

the first time when he was wounded in the hip, and the second, when in the bitterly cold February of 1920 he sweltered in the sticky heat of typhus.
第一次是他被击中臀部，第二次是在寒冷的1920年2月里，他在黏糊糊的伤寒热中挣扎。

The typhus took a more fearful toll of the regiments and divisions of the Twelfth Army than Polish machine guns. —
这种伤寒对第十二集团军的师团和师部造成的破坏更加惊人，比波兰机枪还要严重。 —

By that time the Twelfth Army was operating over a vast territory stretching across nearly the whole of the Northern Ukraine blocking the advance of the Poles.
那时，第十二集团军正活动在横跨近乎整个北乌克兰的广阔领土上，堵住波兰军队的前进道路。

Pavel had barely recovered from his illness when he returned to his unit which was now holding the station of Frontovka, on the Kazatin-Uman branch line. —
保尔刚从疾病中康复，便返回到他的部队，此刻他们正守卫卡扎廷-乌曼支线上的Frontovka车站。 —

Frontovka stood in the forest and consisted of a small station building with a few wrecked and abandoned cottages around it. —
Frontovka坐落在森林里，由一个小车站建筑和几栋破旧的废弃小屋组成。 —

Three years of intermittent battles had made civilian life in these parts impossible. —
三年间的断断续续的战斗使得这个地区的民生变得不可能。 —

Frontovka had changed hands times without number.
Frontovka已经多次易手。

Big events were brewing again. At the time when the Twelfth Army, its ranks fearfully depleted and partly disorganised, was falling back to Kiev under the pressure of the Polish armies, the proletarian republic was mustering its forces to strike a crushing blow at the victory-drunk Polish Whites.
重大事件再次在酝酿。当第十二集团军，其队伍严重减员并且部分失去组织，被波兰军队逼迫着向基辅撤退时，无产阶级共和国正在集结力量，准备向陶醉于胜利的波兰白军发动毁灭性打击。

The battle-seasoned divisions of the First Cavalry Army were being transferred to the Ukraine all the way from the North Caucasus in a campaign unparalleled in military history. —
第一骑兵军团的经验丰富的师和旅被转移到乌克兰，从北高加索来到这里，这是军事史上空前的战役。 —

The Fourth, Sixth, Eleventh and Fourteenth Cavalry divisions moved up one after another to the Uman area, concentrating in the rear of the front and sweeping away the Makhno bandits on their way to the scene of decisive battles.
第四、第六、第十一和第十四骑兵师一一陆续向乌曼地区前进，在前线后方集结，清除了通往决定性战斗现场的马赫诺匪帮。

Sixteen and a half thousand sabres, sixteen and a half thousand fighting men scorched by the blazing steppe sun.
一万六千五百把刀，一万六千五百名被烈日灼伤的战士。

To prevent this decisive blow from being thwarted by the enemy was the primary concern of the Supreme Command of the Red Army and the Command of the Southwestern Front at this juncture. —
阻止这一决定性打击被敌人挫败，是红军最高司令部和西南战线指挥部此刻的首要关切。 —

Everything was done to ensure the successful concentration of this huge mounted force.
为确保这支庞大的骑兵力量的成功集结，一切都已经做好了。

Active operations were suspended on the Uman sector. —
乌曼地区的行动已暂停。 —

The direct telegraph lines from Moscow to the front headquarters in Kharkov and thence to the headquarters of the Fourteenth and Twelfth armies hummed incessantly. —
直通到哈尔科夫前线总部，然后到第十四和第十二集团军总部的电报线不停地发出嗡嗡声。 —

Telegraph operators tapped out coded orders: —
电报操作员发出编码命令： —

“Divert attention Poles from concentration cavalry army.” —
“转移波兰人的注意力，不让他们注意到骑兵军队的集结。” —

The enemy was actively engaged only when the Polish advance threatened to involve the Budyonny cavalry divisions.
敌人只有在波兰人的进攻威胁到布留东尼骑兵师时才会积极参战。

The campfire shot up red tongues of flame. —
营火舌头烧得高高的。 —

Dark spirals of smoke curled up from the fire, driving off the swarms of restless buzzing midges. —
黑烟的漩涡从火中升起，驱赶着蚊虫。 —

The men lay in a semicircle around the fire whose reflection cast a coppery glow on their faces. —
人们半圆形地躺在火堆周围，火的反射在他们的脸上投下一抹铜色光芒。 —

The water bubbled in messtins set in the bluish-grey ashes.
水在蓝灰色的灰烬中的餐具中冒着泡。

A stray tongue of flame leaped out suddenly from beneath a burning log and licked at someone’s tousled head. —
一团火焰突然从燃烧的木棍下跳出，舔着一个蓬乱的头发。 —

The head was jerked away with a growl: “Damnation!” —
头被一个喃喃自语的声音抽走：“该死！” —

And a gust of laughter rose from the men grouped around the fire.
一阵笑声从围绕火堆的人群中传了开来。

“The lad’s so full of book-learning he don’t feel the heat of the fire,” boomed a middle-aged soldier with a clipped moustache, who had just been examining the barrel of his rifle against the firelight.
“这小伙子这么满腹经纶，居然连火的热都不感觉得到，”一个略显中年的士兵说，他刚刚在火光下检查了他步枪的枪管。

“You might tell the rest of us what you’re reading there, Korchagin?” someone suggested.
“那你可以告诉我们你在那儿读什么，科尔恰金？”有人建议道。

The young Red Army man fingered his singed locks and smiled.
年轻的红军士兵摸了摸被烧焦的头发，微笑着。

“A real good book, Comrade Androshchuk. Just can’t tear myself away from it.”
“同志安德罗什丘克，这是一本真正的好书。我简直无法将目光从它身上移开。”

“What’s it about?” inquired a snub-nosed lad sitting next to Korchagin, laboriously repairing the strap of his pouch. —
“它是关于什么的？”旁边一个小鼻子的小伙子问道，他正辛苦地修理着自己包袱的皮带。 —

He bit off the coarse thread, wound the remainder round the needle and stuck it inside his helmet. —
他咬断了粗糙的线，把剩下的线缠绕在针上，然后把针插进了头盔里。 —

“If it’s about love I’m your man.”
“如果是关于爱情的，我就是你的人。”

A loud guffaw greeted this remark. Matveichuk raised his close-cropped head and winked slyly at the snub-nosed lad: —
这番话引起了一阵哄堂大笑。马特维丘克抬起他整齐修剪的头颅，对着小鼻子的小伙子挤了个眼睛： —

“Love’s a fine thing, Sereda,” he said. “And you’re such a handsome lad, a regular picture. —
“爱情是件好事，谢列达”，他说。“而你是个英俊的小伙子，一副模样。我们走到哪里，女孩们都会穿破鞋子追着你跑。 —

Wherever we go the girls fairly wear their shoes out running after you. —
真是太可惜了，像你这样一个英俊的脸孔被一个小小的缺陷给毁了：你的鼻子是五戈比硬币。但这很容易弥补。 —

Too bad a handsome phiz like yours should be spoiled by one little defect: —
只需要在夜里把一个诺维茨基10磅炸弹(诺维茨基手榴弹重约四公斤，用于炸毁铁丝网围栏。)挂在上面，第二天早上就会没事了。” —

you’ve got a five-kopek piece instead of a nose. But that’s easily remedied. —
这句玩笑话引发了一阵笑声，让绑在机枪架上的马匹吓得尖声嘶鸣。 —

Just hang a Novitsky 10-pounder ( The Novitsky grenade weighing about four kilograms and used to demolish barbed-wire entanglements. —
谢列达漫不经心地扭头看了一眼。 —

) on the end of it overnight and in the morning it’ll be all right.”
“重要的不是你的脸，而是你脑袋里装的东西。”

The roar of laughter that followed this sally caused the horses tethered to the machine-gun carriers to whinny in fright.
他有力地敲了一下自己的额头以示表达。

Sereda glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder. —
“无论我们走到哪里，对你来说，是这里最重要。” —

“It’s not your face but what you’ve got in here that counts.” —
小伙子听完后报以开怀大笑。 —

He tapped himself on the forehead expressively. —
他随意地指了指自己的脑袋。 —

“Take you, you’ve got a tongue like a stinging nettle but you’re no better than a donkey, and your ears are cold.”
“拿你吧，你嘴巴像刺荨麻一样尖刻，但你比驴还不如，还冻得耳朵发冷。”

“Now then, lads, what’s the sense in getting riled?” —
“来吧，伙计们，生气有什么意义呢？” —

Tatarinov, the Section Commander,admonished the two who were about to fly at each other. —
“塔塔林诺夫，小组长，责备即将冲到一起去的两人。” —

“Better let Korchagin read to us if he’s got something worth listening to.”
“要是科尔恰金有值得听的东西，还是让他读给我们吧。”

“That’s right. Go to it, Pavlushka!” the men urged from all sides.
“对啊，开始吧，帕夫卢什卡！” 众人从四面八方敦促道。

Pavel moved a saddle closer to the fire, settled himself on it and opened the small thick volume resting on his knees.
帕维尔把一个鞍子移到离火堆更近的地方，坐在上面，打开放在膝盖上的小厚书。

“It’s called The Gadfly, Comrades. The Battalion Commissar gave it to me. —
“同志们，这本书叫《牛虻》。营政委给的。 —

Wonderful book,Comrades. If you’ll sit quietly I’ll read it to you.”
“绝妙的书，同志们。如果你们安静些，我就读给你们听。”

“Fire away! We’re all listening.”
“开始吧！我们都在听。”

When some time later Comrade Puzyrevsky, the Regimental Commander, rode up unnoticed to the campfire with his Commissar he saw eleven pairs of eyes glued to the reader.
当不久之后普济列夫斯基团长和政委悄悄骑到篝火旁时，看到十一双眼睛都盯着读书的人。

He turned to the Commissar:
他转向政委：

“There you have half of the regiment’s scouts,” he said, pointing to the group of men. —
“这就是团里一半的侦察兵，”他指着那群人说。 —

“Four of them are raw young Komsomols, but they’re good soldiers all of them. —
“其中四个是新来的年轻共青团员，但他们都是优秀的战士。 —

The one who’s reading is Korchagin, and that one there with eyes like a wolfcub is Zharky. —
那位在读书的是科尔恰金，那个眼睛像狼崽的是扎尔基。 —

They’re friends, but they’re always competing with each other on the quiet.
他们是朋友，但他们总在暗中比较竞争。”

Korchagin used to be my best scout. Now he has a very serious rival. —
科尔恰金曾是我最优秀的侦察兵。现在他有一个非常认真的对手。 —

What they’re doing just now is political work, and very effective it is too. —
他们现在所做的是政治工作，而且效果非常好。 —

I hear these youngsters are called ‘the young guard’. —
我听说这些年轻人被称为“年轻卫士”。 —

Most appropriate, in my opinion.”
在我看来，这个最合适了。

“Is that the political instructor reading?” the Commissar asked.
“那位政治教官在读什么？”政委问道。

“No. Kramer is the political instructor.” Puzyrevsky spurred his horse forward.
“不是。克雷默是政治指导员。”普济列夫斯基鞭策着马前行。

“Greetings, Comrades!” he called.
“同志们，问候！”他喊道。

All heads turned toward the commander as he sprang lightly from the saddle and went up to the group.
所有的人都转向指挥官，他轻巧地从马上跳下，走向了群里。

“Warming yourselves, friends?” he said with a broad smile and his strong face with the narrow,slightly Mongolian eyes lost its severity. —
“在取暖，朋友们？”他面带笑容地说道，他那张带着略显蒙古眼睛的强壮脸庞也没了严肃。 —

The men greeted their commander warmly as they would a good comrade and friend. —
士兵们热情地迎接他们的指挥官，就像迎接一个好朋友一样。 —

The Commissar did not dismount.
政委没有下马。

Pushing aside his pistol in its holster, Puzyrevsky sat down next to Korchagin.
普济列夫斯基把配枪推到一边，坐到科尔恰金旁边。

“Shall we have a smoke?” he suggested. “I have some first-rate tobacco here.”
“我们抽根烟吧？”他建议道。”我这里有一些一流的烟草。”

He rolled a cigarette, lit it and turned to the Commissar: “You go ahead, Doronin. —
他卷起一支烟，点燃了，然后转向政委：”你先走吧，多罗宁。 —

I’ll stay here for a while. If I’m needed at headquarters you can let me know.”
我在这里待一会儿。如果需要我回指挥部，你就通知我。”

“Go on reading, I’ll listen too,” Puzyrevsky said to Korchagin when Doronin had gone.
“继续读吧，我也会听着，”普兹列夫斯基在多罗宁离开后对科尔恰金说。

Pavel read to the end, laid the book down on his knees and gazed pensively at the fire. —
念完，帕维尔把书放在膝盖上，凝视着火光。 —

For a few moments no one spoke. All brooded on the tragic fate of the Gadfly.
几分钟里，没有人说话。大家都在思考《蝉》的悲惨命运。

Puzyrevsky puffed on his cigarette, waiting for the discussion to begin.
普兹列夫斯基吸着烟，等待着讨论的开始。

“A grim story that,” said Sereda, breaking the silence. —
“一个可怕的故事，”谢列达打破了寂静。 —

“I suppose there are people like that in the world. It’s not many who could stand what he did. —
“我想世界上确实有这样的人。经受住他所经历的并不多。 —

But when a man has an idea to fight for he can stand anything,” Sereda was-visibly moved. —
但是当一个人有一个值得为之战斗的理念，他能经受任何事情，”谢列达显然被深深感动了。 —

The book had made a deep impression on him.
这本书给他留下了深刻的印象。

“If I could lay my hands on that priest who tried to shove a cross down his throat I’d finish the swine off on the spot!” —
“如果我能抓住那个试图往他喉咙里灌十字架的神父，我会当场了结那个畜生！”安德伦科夫，一位来自白城师的皮鞋学徒，愤怒地喊道。 —

Andryusha Fomichev, a shoemaker’s apprentice from Belaya Tserkov, cried wrathfully.
“一个人有可为而死，”安德鲁舒克，用树枝将烹饪锅推近火堆，确信地说道。

“A man doesn’t mind dying if he has something to die for,” Androshchuk, pushing one of the messtins closer to the, fire with a stick, said in a tone of conviction.
“这给了一个人力量。如果你知道自己站对了，你可以毫无遗憾地死去。

“That’s what gives a man strength. You can die without regrets if you know you’re in the right. —
这就是英雄的养成方式。 —

That’s how heroes are made.
我曾经认识一个小伙子，名叫波赖卡。当白军围困他在敖德萨时，他单枪匹马对抗整个排，他比他们还快用手榴弹引爆了自己和整个队伍。

I knew a lad once, Poraika was his name. When the Whites cornered him in Odessa, he tackled a whole platoon singlehanded and before they could get at him with their bayonets he blew himself and the whole lot of them up with a grenade. —
他看上去并不起眼。不是你在书里读到的那种男人，但值得一书。 —

And he wasn’t anything much to look at. Not the kind of a fellow you read about in books, though he’d be well worth writing about. —
—

There’s plenty of fine lads to be found among our kind.”
在我们族群中找到很多优秀的小伙子。

He stirred the contents of the messtin with a spoon, tasted it with pursed-up lips and continued:
他用勺子搅动了食物盒里的食物，皱着嘴尝了一口，然后继续说道：

“There are some who die a dog’s death, a mean, dishonourable death. —
“有些人会死得很惨，死得很卑鄙、无耻。” —

I’ll tell you something that happened during the fighting at Izyaslav. —
我要告诉你们一件在伊日扎拉夫战役中发生的事情。 —

That’s an old town on the Goryn River built back in the time of the princes. —
那是古老的小镇，坐落在戈林河畔，是公主时代建造的。 —

There was a Polish church there, built like a fortress. —
那里有一座波兰教堂，构建得像一座堡垒。 —

Well, we entered that town and advanced single file along the crooked alleys. —
好吧，我们进入那个镇子，沿着蜿蜒的小巷单列前进。 —

A company of Letts were holding our right flank. —
一队列附近的列托人占据着我们的右侧。 —

When we get to the highway what do we see but three saddled horses tied to the fence of one of the houses. —
当我们来到公路时，看到了一座房子篱笆上绑着三匹备好的马。 —

Aha, we think, here’s where we bag some Poles! About ten of us rushed into the yard. —
啊哈，我们想，这里会抓到一些波兰人！大约十个人冲进院子。 —

In front of us ran the commander of that Lettish company, waving his Mauser.
在我们前面跑着那个列托部队的指挥官，挥舞着他的毛瑟枪。

“The front door was open and we ran in. But instead of Poles we found our own men in there. —
“正门是敞开着的，我们跑进去。但是我们看到的不是波兰人，而是我们自己人。” —

A mounted patrol it was. They’d got in ahead of us. —
骑马巡逻队。他们比我们先进了一步。 —

It wasn’t a pretty sight we laid eyes on there.
我们看到的不是一个美好的场面。

They were abusing a woman, the wife of the Polish officer who lived there. —
他们正在侮辱一位女士，那是住在那里的波兰军官的妻子。 —

When the Lett saw what was going on he shouted something in his own language. —
当莱特看到发生的事情时，他用自己的语言大喊了一些话。 —

His men grabbed the three and dragged them outside. —
他的手下抓住了这三个人，把他们拖到外面。 —

There were only two of us Russians, the rest were Letts. Their commander was a man by the name of Bredis. —
我们俄罗斯人只有两个，其余都是莱特人。他们的指挥官是一个叫布雷迪斯的人。 —

I don’t understand their language but I could see he’d given orders to finish those fellows off. —
我听不懂他们的语言，但我能看出他已经下令了，要把那几个家伙了结掉。 —

They’re a tough lot those Letts, unflinching. They dragged those three out to the stables. —
莱特人是一群强硬的家伙，毫不畏惧。他们把那三个人拖到马厩里。 —

I could see their goose was cooked. One of them, a great hulking fellow with a mug that just asked for a brick, was kicking and struggling for all he was worth. —
我能看出他们完蛋了。其中一个，一个体格魁梧的家伙，长相让人忍不住想砸他个东西，正在使尽全力踢打挣扎。 —

They couldn’t put him up against the wall just because of a wench, he yelped. —
他们不能仅仅为了一个女人就把他枪毙在墙边，他大喊着。 —

The others were begging for mercy too.
其他人也在求饶。

“I broke out into a cold sweat. I ran over to Bredis and said: —
“我浑身冷汗直冒。我跑过去对布雷迪斯说： —

‘Comrade Company Commander,’ I said, ‘let the tribunal try them. —
“同志连队长，”我说，“让审判委员会审判他们。 —

What do you want to dirty your hands with their blood for? —
你为什么要用他们的鲜血弄脏你的手呢？ —

The fighting isn’t over in the town and here we are wasting time with this here scum.’ —
城里的战斗还没有结束，我们在这里却在浪费时间和这帮败类纠缠。 —

He turned on me with eyes blazing like a tiger’s. Believe me, I was sorry I spoke. —
他眼睛中闪烁着犹如老虎般的怒火。相信我，我后悔当时说了。 —

He points his gun at me. I’ve been fighting for seven years but I admit I was properly scared that minute. —
他用枪指着我。我打了七年仗，但我承认那一刻我真的害怕透了。 —

I see he’s ready to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. —
我看到他已经准备先开枪再问问题。 —

He yells at me in bad Russian so I could hardly understand what he was saying: —
他用糟糕的俄语对我大喊，所以我几乎听不懂他在说什么: —

‘Our banner is dyed with our blood,’ he says. —
‘我们的旗帜被我们的鲜血染红,’ 他说。 —

‘These men are a disgrace to the whole army. —
‘这些人给整个军队丢脸。 —

The penalty for banditry is death.’
盗匪的惩罚是死刑.’

“I couldn’t stand it any more and I ran out of that yard into the street as fast as I could and behind me I heard them shooting. —
“我再也无法忍受了，我以最快的速度跑出院子，冲进了街道，身后传来他们的枪声。 —

I knew those three were done for. By the time we got back to the others the town was already ours.
我知道那三个人完蛋了。当我们回到其他人那里时，小镇已经被我们占领了。

“That’s what I mean by a dog’s death, the way those fellows died. —
“这就是我所说的狗死，那几个家伙死得那样。 —

The patrol was one of those that’d joined us at Melitopol. —
巡逻队是在梅利托波尔加入我们的。 —

They’d been with Makhno at one time.
他们曾与马克诺一起。

Riffraff, that’s what they were.”
无赖，他们就是这样的。”

Androshchuk drew his messtin toward him and proceeded to untie his bread bag.
安德罗舒克把他的饭盒拉了过来，开始解开他的面包袋。

“Yes, you find scum like that on our side too sometimes. You can’t account for everyone. —
“是的，我们这边有时也会找到那样的败类。不能对每个人负责。 —

On the face of it they’re all for the revolution. And through them we all get a bad name. —
从外表看，他们都支持革命。通过他们，我们都受到了损害。 —

But that was a nasty business, I tell you. —
但那事真是恶心，我告诉你。 —

I shan’t forget it so soon,” he wound up, sipping his tea.
我不会那么快忘记的,” 他一边喝着茶，一边结束了谈话。

Night was well advanced by the time the camp was asleep. —
夜深人静，营地里的人都已入睡。 —

Sereda’s whistling snores could be heard in the silence. —
在寂静中能听到塞列达的呼噜声响彻整个营地。 —

Puzyrevsky slept with his head resting on the saddle.
普济列夫则枕着鞍睡着了。

Kramer, the political instructor, sat scribbling in his notebook.
政治教员克莱默坐在一旁写着笔记。

Returning the next day from a scouting detail, Pavel tethered his horse to a tree and called over Kramer, who had just finished drinking tea.
从侦察任务回来的下一天，帕维尔将马系在一棵树上，叫来刚喝完茶的克莱默。

“Look, Kramer, what would you say if I switched over to the First Cavalry Army? —
“看，克莱默，如果我转到第一骑兵军队，你说怎么样？” —

There’s going to be big doings there by the looks of it. —
看起来那里将会有大动作。 —

They’re not being massed in such numbers just for fun,are they? —
他们不会只是为了好玩聚集在那里吧？ —

And we here won’t be seeing much of it.”
我们这里看不到太多。

Kramer looked at him in surprise.
克莱默惊讶地看着他。

“Switch over? Do you think you can change units in the army the way you change seats in a cinema?”
“转队？你觉得在军队中可以像在电影院里换座位一样换部队吗？”

“But what difference does it make where a man fights?” —
“但一个人在哪里打仗有什么区别呢？” —

Pavel interposed. “I’m not deserting to the rear, am I?”
帕维尔插话道。”我又不是投降到后方，对吧？”

But Kramer was categorically opposed to the idea.
但克莱默坚决反对这个想法。

“What about discipline? You’re not a bad youngster, Pavel, on the whole, but in some things you’re a bit of an anarchist. —
“纪律呢？帕维尔，整体来说你不是个坏孩子，但在某些方面你有点无政府主义者的倾向。” —

You think you can do as you please? You forget, my lad, that the Party and the Komsomol are founded on iron discipline. —
你以为你可以为所欲为吗？忘了吧，小伙子，党和共青团建立在铁的纪律之上。 —

The Party must come first. And each one of us must be where he is most needed and not where he wants to be. —
党必须放在第一位。我们每个人都必须在最需要的地方，而不是在想要的地方。 —

Puzyrevsky turned down your application for a transfer, didn’t he? —
普济列夫斯基拒绝了你的调动申请，是吗？ —

Well, there’s your answer.”
好吧，这就是你的答案。

Kramer spoke with such agitation that he was seized with a fit of coughing. —
克拉默说话时如此激动，结果突然发作了咳嗽。 —

This tall, gaunt man was a printer by profession and the lead dust had lodged itself firmly in his lungs and often a hectic flush would appear on his waxen cheeks.
这位高大而消瘦的男子以印刷工为业，铅尘已经牢固地扎根在他的肺中，经常会在他苍白的面颊上出现潮红。

When he had calmed down, Pavel said in a low but firm voice:
当他冷静下来时，帕维尔用低沉而坚定的声音说：

“All that is quite correct but I’m going over to the Budyonny army just the same.”
“一切都是正确的，但我还是要加入布留诺夫的部队。”

The next evening Pavel was missing at the campfire.
第二天晚上，帕维尔在篝火中消失了。

In the neighbouring village a group of Budyonny cavalrymen had formed a wide circle on a hill outside the schoolhouse. —
在附近的村庄，一群布留诺夫的骑兵在学校外的一个小山上排成一个宽圈。 —

One giant of a fellow, seated on the back of a machine-gun carrier, his cap pushed to the back of his head, was playing an accordion. —
一名巨大的家伙坐在一辆机枪载具的后面，他的帽子后面翘起，正在拉着手风琴。 —

The instrument wailed and blared under his inept fingers like a thing in torment, confusing the dashing cavalryman in unbelievably wide red riding breeches who was dancing a mad hopak in the centre of the ring.
手风琴在他笨拙的手指下嘶响呼啸，像一个受折磨的东西，使中间正跳着狂放舞蹈的骑兵眼花缭乱。

Eager-eyed village lads and lasses clambered onto the gun carrier and fences to watch the antics of these troopers whose brigade had just entered their village.
渴望的村庄男孩和姑娘们爬上机枪载具和篱笆，观看这些骑兵的表演，他们的旅团刚刚进入他们的村庄。

“Go it, Toptalo! Kick up the earth! Ekh, that’s the stuff, brother! —
“干得好，托普塔洛！踢起尘土来！嗯，这就对了，兄弟！ —

Come on there, you with the accordion, make it hot!”
手风琴的那位，加油！加把劲！”

But the player’s huge fingers that could bend an iron horseshoe with the utmost ease sprawled clumsily over the keys.
但球员那根可以轻而易举弯曲铁马蹄的巨大手指笨拙地摊开在按键上。

“Too bad Makhno got Afanasi Kulyabko,” remarked one bronzed cavalryman regretfully. —
“太可惜了，马赫诺战士得到了阿法纳西·库利亚布科。”一个受过阳光晒黑的骑兵遗憾地说道。 —

“That lad was a first-class hand at the accordion. He rode on the right flank of our squadron. —
“那小伙子手风琴弹得一流。他骑在我们中队的右翼。” —

Too bad he was killed. A good soldier, and the best accordion player we ever had!”
“他去世太遗憾了。他是一名出色的士兵，也是我们有史以来最好的手风琴手！”

Pavel, who was standing in the circle, overheard this last remark. —
帕维尔站在一圈人群中，听到了最后一句话。 —

He pushed his way over to the machine-gun carrier and laid his hand on the accordion bellows. —
他挤过去，走到了机枪手旁边，手放在手风琴的风箱上。 —

The music subsided.
音乐停止了。

“What d’you want?” the accordionist demanded with a scowl.
“你想怎么了？”手风琴手生气地询问道。

Toptalo stopped short and an angry murmur rose from the crowd: “What’s the trouble there?”
托普塔洛停了下来，人群中传来一阵愤怒的低声喧哗：“那边怎么了？”

Pavel reached out for the instrument. “Let’s have a try,” he said.
帕维尔伸手拿起了乐器。“让我来试试。”他说道。

The Budyonny cavalryman looked at the Red infantryman with some mistrust and reluctantly slipped the accordion strap off his shoulder.
步雅农尼骑兵带着一些不信任地看着这名红军步兵，勉强地将手风琴肩带从肩上拿了下来。

With an accustomed gesture Pavel laid the instrument on his knee, spread the sinuous bellows out fanwise and let go with a rollicking melody that poured forth with all the lusty vigour of which the accordion is capable:
帕维尔习惯地用手势把乐器放在膝盖上，将曲笛风箱蔓延开来，然后开始奏响一个欢快的旋律，带着手风琴所能发挥的所有有力的活力：

Ekh, little apple,
哟，小苹果，

Whither away?
你要去哪里？

Get copped by the Cheka
被契卡抓住。

And that’s where you stay!
你就待在那里吧！

Toptalo caught up the familiar tune and swinging his arms like some great bird he swept into thering, executing the most incredible twists and turns, and slapping himself smartly on the thighs,knees, head, forehead, the shoe soles, and finally on the mouth in time with the music.
托普塔洛听到了熟悉的曲调，像一只巨大的鸟一样挥舞着双臂进入了环形舞台，执行着最难以置信的扭转和转体动作，按照音乐的节奏，用力拍打大腿、膝盖、头部、额头、鞋底，最后用口打响节拍。

Faster and faster played the accordion in a mad intoxicating rhythm, and Toptalo, kicking his legs out wildly, spun around the circle like a top until he was quite out of breath.
手风琴的节奏越来越快，发出一种疯狂而令人陶醉的乐曲，托普塔洛狂踢着双腿，像陀螺一样在圆圈里旋转，直到完全喘不过气来。

On June 5, 1920, after a few brief but furious encounters Budyonny’s First Cavalry Army broke through the Polish front between the Third and Fourth Polish armies, smashed a cavalry brigade under General Sawicki en route and swept on toward Ruzhiny.
1920年6月5日，布德延尼的第一骑兵军在与波兰第三和第四军之间进行了几次短暂而激烈的交战后，突破了波兰防线，击溃了萨维基将军指挥的骑兵旅，继续向卢日尼前进。

The Polish command hastily formed a striking force and threw it into the breach. —
波兰指挥部急忙组成了一个突击部队，投入战斗。 —

Five tanks were rushed from Pogrebishche Station to the scene of the fighting. —
从波格雷比什切站紧急调来了五辆坦克到战场。 —

But the Cavalry Army bypassed Zarudnitsy from where the Poles planned to strike and came out in the Polish rear.
但骑兵军绕过扎鲁德尼，波兰计划的攻击地点，来到波兰后方。

General Kornicki’s Cavalry Division was dispatched in pursuit of the First Cavalry Army with orders to strike at the rear of the force, which the Polish command believed to be headed for Kazatin, one of the most important strategic points in the Polish rear. —
科尔尼斯基将军的骑兵师被派遣追击第一骑兵军，命令打击这支据信正朝着波兰后方的部队，这对波兰指挥部来说并不令人放心。 —

This move, however, did not improve the position of the Poles.
尽管他们成功封锁了缺口，切断了骑兵军的联系，但在他们的背后有一支强大的骑兵部队威胁着摧毁他们的后方基地，并袭击基辅的军团。

Although they succeeded in closing the breach and cutting off the Cavalry Army, the presence of a strong mounted force behind their lines which threatened to destroy their rear bases and swoop down on their army group at Kiev, was far from reassuring. —
随着前进，红军骑兵师摧毁了小铁路桥，扯断了铁路轨道，以阻碍波兰的撤退。 —

As they advanced, the Red cavalry divisions destroyed small railway bridges and tore up railway track to hamper the Polish retreat. —
从俘虏口中得知，波兰在日托米尔设有一个军事指挥部（实际上整个前线的总部都设在那里），第一骑兵军的指挥官决定占领基秋米尔和别尔迪丘夫，这两个重要的铁路枢纽和行政中心。 —

On learning from prisoners that the Poles had an army headquarters in Zhitomir (actually the headquarters of the whole front was located there), the commander of the First Cavalry Army decided to take Zhitomir and Berdichev, both important railway junctions and administrative centres. —
在6月7日黎明时分，第四骑兵师已经全速前往基秋米尔。 —

At dawn on June 7 the Fourth Cavalry Division was already on its way at full speed to Zhitomir.
现在科尔恰金骑在一个中队的右侧，代替了备受怀念的手风琴手库利亚布科。

Korchagin now rode on the right flank of one of the squadrons in place of Kulyabko, the lamented accordionist. —
他被列入中队，是在士兵们共同要求的情况下，他们拒绝放走这位出色的手风琴手。 —

He had been enrolled in the squadron on the collective request of the men, who had refused to part with such an excellent accordion player.
He had been enrolled in the squadron on the collective request of the men, who had refused to part with such an excellent accordion player.

Without checking their foam-flecked horses they fanned out at Zhitomir and bore down on the city with naked steel flashing in the sun.
不查看他们泡沫飞溅的马匹，他们展开扎扎实实地朝日光闪耀的日出击默尔城。

The earth groaned under the pounding hoofs, the mounts breathed hoarsely, and the men rose in their stirrups.
大地在蹄声的重击下发出轰鸣，坐骑粗喘着气，人们居高临下。

Underfoot the ground sped past and ahead the large city with its gardens and parks hurried to meet the division. —
脚下的地面飞快地掠过，前方的大城市与其花园和公园也匆匆赶来迎接这支部队。 —

The mounted avalanche flashed by the gardens and poured into the centre of the city,and the air was rent by a fear-inspiring battle-cry as inexorable as death itself.
这支骑兵雪崩般地闪过花园，涌入城市中心，空气中被一个令人畏惧的战斗呐喊撕裂，如同死神一般无情。

The Poles were so stunned that they offered little resistance. The local garrison was crushed.
波兰人被惊得目瞪口呆，几乎没有抵抗。当地的驻军被击溃。

Bending low over the neck of his mount, Pavel Korchagin sped along side by side with Toptalo astride his thin-shanked black. —
低头驾驭马匹，帕维尔·科尔恰金与托普塔洛并骑在一起，后者骑着瘦腿黑马。 —

Pavel saw the dashing cavalryman cut down with an unerring blow a Polish legionary before the man had time to raise his rifle to his shoulder.
帕维尔看到这位骁勇的骑兵用精准的一击砍倒了一个波兰军团士兵，士兵还没来得及举起步枪瞄准。

The iron-shod hoofs grated on the paving stones as they careered down the street. —
铁蹄在铺砌的石头上刺耳地摩擦，他们冲下街道。 —

Then at an intersection they found themselves face to face with a machine gun planted in the very middle of the road and three men in blue uniforms and rectangular Polish caps bending over it. —
然后在一个十字路口，他们与一挺放置在道路正中央的机枪以及三名穿着蓝色制服和方形波兰军帽的人面对面。 —

There was also a fourth, with coils of gold braid on his collar, who levelled a Mauser at the mounted men.
还有第四个人，在他的领子上缠绕着金穗，举起毛瑟向骑兵们瞄准。

Neither Toptalo nor Pavel could check their horses and they galloped toward the machine gun,straight into the jaws of death. —
托普塔洛和帕维尔无法控制他们的马匹，他们朝向机枪冲刺，直奔死亡之境。 —

The officer fired at Korchagin, but missed.
军官向科尔恰金开了枪，但没有命中。

The bullet whanged past Pavel’s cheek, and the next moment the Lieutenant had struck his head against the paving stones and was lying limp on his back, thrown off his feet by the horse’s onrush.
子弹从帕维尔的面颊边呼啸而过，下一刻，中尉已经撞击到石板地面，倒在那里，被马匹的冲击击倒。

That very moment the machine gun spat out in savage frenzy, and stung by a dozen bullets,Toptalo and his black crumpled to the ground.
就在那一瞬间，机枪疯狂地喷射出子弹，托普塔洛和他的黑马被十多颗子弹击倒在地。

Pavel’s mount reared up on its hind legs, snorting with terror, and leapt with its rider over the prone bodies to the men at the machine gun. —
帕维尔的坐骑跃起后腿，因恐惧而喷着鼻息，与骑手一起跃过躺在地上的人，冲向机枪旁的人们。 —

His sabre described a flashing arc in the air and sank into the blue rectangle of one of the army caps.
他的军刀在空中划过一个闪亮的弧线，沉入了一个军帽的蓝色方块中。

Again the sabre flashed upwards ready to descend upon a second head, but the frantic horse leapt aside.
军刀再次闪现，准备落在第二个头颅上，但是狂躁的马跳开了。

Like a mountain torrent the squadron poured into the streets and scores of sabres flashed in the air.
像山洪一样，中队涌入街道，数十把军刀在空中闪耀。

The long narrow corridors of the prison echoed with cries.
监狱的长长狭窄走廊回荡着呼喊声。

The cells packed with gaunt, hollow-eyed men and women were in a turmoil. —
监狱里挤满了消瘦、眼神空洞的男人和女人，一片骚动。 —

They could hear the battle raging in the town—could this mean liberation? —
他们能听到城市里战斗声响起——这会意味着解放吗？ —

Could it be that this force that had swept suddenly into the town had come to set them free?
这突然涌入城市的力量会是来释放他们吗？

The shooting reached the prison yard. Men came running down the corridors. —
枪声传到监狱院子里。人们沿着走廊跑来。 —

And then the cherished, long-awaited words: —
然后，期盼已久的话语： —

“You are free, Comrades!”
“同志们，你们自由了！”

Pavel ran to a locked door with a tiny window, from which stared dozens of pairs of eyes, and brought his rifle butt down fiercely against the lock again and again.
帕维尔跑到一个带有小窗户的上锁门前，窗户里面瞪着许多双眼睛，而后猛烈地用步枪枪托一次又一次地击打锁头。

“Wait, let me crack it with a bomb,” cried Mironov. —
“等等，让我用炸弹炸开它,”米罗诺夫喊道。 —

He pushed Pavel aside and produced a hand grenade from a pocket.
他把帕维尔推到一边，从口袋里掏出手榴弹。

Platoon commander Tsygarchenko tore the grenade from his hands.
排长齐加尔琴科从他手里夺过手榴弹。

“Stop, you fool, are you mad! They’ll bring the keys in a jiffy. —
“别动，你这个傻瓜，你疯了吗！他们马上会把钥匙拿来的。” —

What we can’t break down we’ll open with keys.”
我们无法分解的东西，我们将用钥匙打开。

The prison guards were already being led down the corridor, prodded along with revolvers, when the ragged and unwashed prisoners, wild with joy, poured out of their cells.
当蓬头垢面的囚犯们兴高采烈地涌出牢房时，监狱卫兵已经被手持左轮手枪赶走沿着走廊前行。

Throwing a cell door wide open, Pavel ran inside.
把一扇牢门大开，帕维尔迅速跑了进去。

“Comrades, you’re free! We’re Budyonny’s men—our division’s taken the town!”
“同志们，你们获得自由了！我们是布杜尼的部队——我们的师取得了这座城市！”

A woman ran weeping to Pavel and throwing her arms around him broke into sobs.
一名妇女哭着跑到帕维尔身边，伸开双臂拥抱着他，开始啜泣。

The liberation of five thousand and seventy-one Bolsheviks and of two thousand Red Army political workers, whom the Polish Whites had driven into these stone dungeons to await shooting or the gallows, was more important to the division’s fighting men than all the trophies they had captured, a greater reward than victory itself. —
解放五千零七十一名布尔什维克和两千名红军政治工作人员，在这些石头地穴里等待处决或绞刑的波兰白军已经重要得多，比他们夺取的所有战利品更为重要，比胜利本身还有价值。 —

For seven thousand revolutionaries the impenetrable gloom of night had been supplanted by the bright sun of a hot June day.
对于七千名革命者来说，不可透视的夜色已经被炎热六月日的明媚阳光所取代。

One of the prisoners, with skin as yellow as a lemon, rushed at Pavel in a transport of joy. —
一个肤色像柠檬一样黄的囚犯，兴高采烈地向帕维尔奔去。 —

It was Samuel Lekher, one of the compositors from the Shepetovka printshop.
他是谢佩托夫卡印刷厂的排版工之一，名叫塞缪尔·莱克尔。

Pavel’s face turned grey as he listened to Samuel’s account of the bloody tragedy enacted in his native town and the words seared his heart like drops of molten metal.
听着塞缪尔讲述故乡发生的血腥悲剧，帕维尔的脸色变得灰白，他感觉像熔化的金属滴落在心里。

“They took us at night, all of us at once. Some scoundrel had betrayed us to the military gendarmes. —
“他们在夜间抓住我们，一下子就抓住了我们所有人。某个无耻的家伙向军事宪兵告密。 —

And once they had us in their clutches they showed no mercy. —
一旦他们抓住我们，就毫不留情。 —

They beat us terribly,Pavel. I suffered less than the others because after the first blows I lost consciousness. —
他们狠狠地殴打我们，帕维尔。我比其他人受的苦少，因为第一次殴打后我就失去了意识。 —

But the others were stronger than me.
但其他人比我更为坚强。

“We had nothing to hide. The gendarmes knew everything better than we did. —
“我们没有什么好藏的。宪兵比我们自己都更了解一切。” —

They knew every step we had taken, and no wonder, for there had been a traitor among us. —
他们知道我们每一步的行动，难怪，因为我们中间有个叛徒。 —

I can’t talk about those days, Pavel. You know many of those who were taken. —
我不能谈论那些日子，帕维尔。你知道很多被带走的人。 —

Valya Bruzzhak, and Rosa Gritsman, a fine girl just turned seventeen—such trusting eyes she had, Pavel! —
瓦利亚·布鲁扎克，罗莎·格里茨曼，一个刚满十七岁的好女孩——她有着如此信任的眼睛，帕维尔！ —

Then there was Sasha Bunshaft,you know him, one of our typesetters, a merry lad, always drawing caricatures of the boss. —
还有萨沙·邦夏夫，你认识他，我们的一个排字工，一个开朗的小伙子，总是画老板的讽刺画。 —

They took him and two Gymnasium students, Novoselsky and Tuzhits—you remember them too most likely. —
他们带走了他和两个中学生，诺沃塞尔斯基和图日茨—你很可能也记得他们。 —

The others too were local people or from the district centre. —
其他人也是本地人或者来自区中心。 —

Altogether twenty-nine were arrested, six of them women. They were all brutally tortured. —
一共抓了二十九个人，其中六个是女人。他们都遭受了残酷的折磨。 —

Valya and Rosa were raped the first day. —
瓦利亚和罗莎在第一天被强奸。 —

Those swine outraged the poor things in every possible way, then dragged them back to the cell more dead than alive. —
那帮畜生用各种方式对这些可怜的女孩进行了奸污，然后把她们半死不活地拖回牢房。 —

Soon after that Rosa began to rave and a few days later she was completely out of her mind.
不久之后，罗莎开始疯狂，几天后她完全失去了理智。

“They didn’t believe that she was insane, they said she was shamming and beat her unmercifully every time they questioned her. —
“他们不相信她疯了，说她是装疯，每次审问她都毫不留情地殴打她。 —

She was a terrible sight when they finally shot her. —
当他们最终枪杀她时，她已是一个惨不忍睹的景象。 —

Her face was black with bruises, her eyes were wild, she looked like an old woman.
她的脸上布满了青紫，眼神疯狂，看起来像个老妇人。

“Valya Bruzzhak was splendid to the very end. They all died like real fighters. —
“瓦利亚·布鲁扎克一直表现得很出色，就像一个真正的战士一样。他们都像真正的战士一样死去。 —

I don’t know how they had the strength to endure it all. —
我不知道他们哪里来的力量承受这一切。 —

Ah, Pavel, how can I describe their death to you? —
啊，帕维尔，我怎么能向你描述他们的死亡呢？ —

It was too horrible.
这太可怕了。

“Valya had been doing the most dangerous kind of work: —
“瓦尔雅一直在做最危险的工作： —

she was the one who had contact with the wireless operators at the Polish headquarters and with our people in the district centre, besides which they found two grenades and a pistol when they searched her place. —
她是与波兰总部的无线电操作员以及我们在区域中心的人员联系的人,搜索她的住处时他们发现了两枚手榴弹和一把手枪。 —

The grenades had been given to her by the provocateur. —
这些手榴弹是由煽动者给她的。 —

Everything had been framed so as to charge them with intending to blow up the headquarters.
一切都被安排成他们打算炸毁总部的罪名。

“Ah, Pavel, it is painful for me to speak of those last days, but since you insist I shall tell you. —
“啊，保罗，谈论那些最后的日子对我来说很痛苦，但既然你坚持，我会告诉你。 —

The military court sentenced Valya and two others to be hanged, the rest to be shot. —
军事法庭判处瓦利亚和另外两人被绞死，其余人被枪决。 —

The Polish soldiers who had worked with us were tried two days earlier. —
与我们一起工作的波兰士兵两天前接受审判。 —

Corporal Snegurko, a young wireless operator who had worked in Lodz as an electrician before the war, was charged with treason and with conducting Communist propaganda among the soldiers and sentenced to be shot. —
司务长斯涅古尔科，他是一名年轻的无线电操作员，在战前在罗兹担任电工，被控叛国罪和在士兵中进行共产主义宣传，判处枪决。 —

He did not appeal, and was shot twenty-four hours after the sentence.
他没有上诉，判决后二十四小时被处决。

“Valya was called in to give evidence at his trial. —
“瓦利亚被传唤出庭作证。 —

She told us afterwards that Snegurko pleaded guilty to the charge of conducting Communist propaganda but vigorously denied that he had betrayed his country. —
她事后告诉我们，斯涅古尔科承认了进行共产主义宣传的指控，但坚决否认自己背叛祖国。 —

‘My fatherland,’ he said, ‘is the Polish Soviet Socialist Republic. —
“‘我的祖国’他说，‘是波兰苏维埃社会主义共和国。 —

Yes, I am a member of the Communist Party of Poland. —
是的，我是波兰共产党的成员。 —

I was drafted into the army against my will, and once there I did my best to open the eyes of other men like myself who had been driven off to the front.
我是迫害下被征召入伍的，一旦在那里，我尽力唤醒其他类似我自己被逼上前线的人的眼睛。

You may hang me for that, but not for being a traitor to my fatherland, for that I never was and never will be. —
你可以因此绞死我，但不能因为我背叛祖国而绞死我，因为我从来不是，也永远不会成为背叛者。 —

Your fatherland is not my fatherland. Yours is the fatherland of the gentry, mine is the workers’ and peasants’ fatherland. —
你的祖国不是我的祖国。 你的是绅士的祖国，我的是工人和农民的祖国。 —

And in my fatherland, which will come—of that I am deeply convinced—no one will ever call me a traitor.’
在我的祖国，我深信绝对不会有人称我为叛徒。

“After the trial we were all kept together. —
审判结束后，我们都被一起关押在一起。 —

Just before the execution we were transferred to the jail.
行刑前，我们被转移到了监狱。

During the night they set up the gallows opposite the prison beside the hospital. —
在夜晚他们在监狱旁边的医院设立了绞刑架。 —

For the shooting they chose a place near a big ditch over by the forest not far from the road. —
他们选择在森林旁边的一条大沟附近执行枪决。 —

A common grave was dug for us.
为我们开挖了一个共同的坟墓。

“The sentence was posted up all over town so that everyone should know of it. —
判决被张贴在城里的各处，以便每个人都知道。 —

The Poles decided to hold a public execution to frighten the population. —
波兰人决定公开处决以恐吓人口。 —

From early morning they began driving the townsfolk to the place of execution. —
从清晨开始，他们开始赶集市民到执行地点。 —

Some went out of curiosity, terrible though it was. —
有些出于好奇，尽管这很可怕。 —

Before long they had a big crowd collected outside the prison wall. —
不久，他们在监狱墙外聚集了一大群人。 —

From our cell we could hear the hum of voices. —
从我们的牢房里我们能听到嗡嗡声。 —

They had stationed machine guns on the street behind the crowd, and brought up mounted and foot gendarmes from all parts of the area. —
他们在人群后面的街道上部署了机枪，并从该地区的所有地方调来了骑兵和步兵宪兵。 —

A whole battalion of them surrounded the streets and vegetable fields beyond. —
他们整整一个营围绕着街道和田地。 —

A pit had been dug beside the gallows for those who were to be hanged.
绞刑架旁边挖了一个坑用于那些将被绞死的人。

“We waited silently for the end, now and then exchanging a few words. —
我们默默等待着结局，时不时交换几句话。 —

We had talked everything over the night before and said our good-byes. —
我们在前一晚已谈论过一切，并道别。 —

Only Rosa kept whispering to herself over in one corner of the cell. —
只有罗莎一直在牢房的一角低声自语。 —

Valya, after all the beatings and outrages she had endured, was too weak to move and lay still most of the time. —
瓦利亚，经历了所有的殴打和侮辱后，已经虚弱到几乎动不了，大部分时间都在躺着。 —

Two local Communist girls, sisters they were, could not keep back the tears as they clung to one another in their last farewell. —
当地两位共产主义女孩，姐妹俩，在最后的告别中情不自禁地抱在一起哭泣。 —

Stepanov, a young man from the country, a strapping lad who had knocked out two gendarmes when they came to arrest him, told them to stop. —
史蒂潘诺夫，一个乡下的年轻人，一个身材强壮的小伙子，在被抓的时候曾经击倒过两名宪兵，告诉他们停下来。 —

‘No tears, Comrades! You may weep here, but not out there. —
“同志们，不要流泪！你们可以在这里哭泣，但不能在那里。 —

We don’t want to give those bloody swine a chance to gloat. There won’t be any mercy anyway. —
我们不想给那帮该死的畜生狂欢的机会。反正也不会有什么仁慈。 —

We’ve got to die, so we might as well die decently. —
我们必须死，所以我们最好体面地死去。 —

We won’t crawl on our knees.
我们不会跪着求饶。

Remember, Comrades, we must meet death bravely.’
记住，同志们，我们必须勇敢地面对死亡。”

“Then they came for us. In the lead was Szwarkowski, the Intelligence Chief, a mad dog of a sadist if there ever was one. —
“然后他们来了。领头的是情报局长斯瓦尔科夫斯基，如果有疯狂的虐待者的话，他绝对是其中之一。 —

When he didn’t do the raping himself he enjoyed watching his gendarmes do it. —
当他没有亲自强奸时，他喜欢看他的宪兵这样做。 —

We were marched to the gallows across the road between two rows of gendarmes, ‘canaries’ we called them on account of their yellow shoulder-knots. —
我们被押走去绞刑架，经过街道，两排宪兵间，我们称他们为‘金丝雀’，因为他们肩膀上的黄色肩章。 —

They stood there with their sabres bared.
他们站在那里，剑鞘已经亮出。”

“They hurried us through the prison yard with their rifle butts and made us form fours. —
“他们用步枪的枪托催促我们快走过监狱院子，让我们排成四列。 —

Then they opened the gates and led us out into the street and stood us up facing the gallows so that we should see our comrades die as we waited for our turn to come. —
然后他们打开大门，把我们带出去站在街上，面对着绞刑架，让我们看着同伴一个个地死去，等待我们自己的轮到。 —

It was a tall gallows made of thick logs.
绞刑架高高耸立，由粗实的圆木制成。

Three nooses of heavy rope hung down from the crosspiece and under each noose was a platform with steps supported by a block of wood that could be kicked aside. —
横木上吊着三根结实的绳子，每根绳子下面有一个平台，台阶由一个可以踢开的木块支撑。 —

A faint murmur rose from the sea of people which rocked and swayed. —
人群中发出微弱的嘈杂声，人群涌动起伏。 —

All eyes were fixed on us. We recognised some of our people in the crowd.
所有目光都投向我们，我们在人群中认出了一些同志。

“On a porch some distance away stood a group of Polish gentry and officers with binoculars. —
“在一间遥远的门廊上，站着一群波兰绅士和军官，他们手持望远镜。 —

They had come to see the Bolsheviks hanged.
他们前来观看布尔什维克被绞刑的情景。

“The snow was soft underfoot. The forest was white with it, and it lay thick on the trees like cotton fluff. —
“脚下是软绵绵的积雪，森林被白雪覆盖，树上积满了像棉絮一样的厚雪。 —

The whirling snowflakes fell slowly, melting on our burning faces, and the steps of the gallows were carpeted with snow. —
飘零的雪花慢慢落下，在我们火热的脸上融化，绞刑架的台阶上铺满了雪。 —

We were scantily dressed but none of us felt the cold. —
我们穿着单薄，但没有人感到冷。 —

Stepanov did not even notice that he was walking in his stockinged feet.
斯捷潘诺夫甚至没有注意到他赤脚行走。

“Beside the gallows stood the military prosecutor and senior officers. —
“绞刑架旁站着军事检察官和高级军官们。 —

At last Valya and the two other comrades who were to be hanged were led out of the jail. —
终于，瓦利亚和其他两名同志被带出监狱。 —

They walked all three arm-in-arm, Valya was in the middle supported by the other two for she had no strength to walk alone. —
他们三人并肩走着，瓦利亚夹在中间，依靠其他两人支撑，因为她没有力气独自走路。 —

But she did her best to hold herself erect, remembering Stepanov’s words: —
但她尽力保持挺拔，记住了斯捷潘诺夫的话： —

‘We must meet death bravely, Comrades!’ She wore a woollen jacket but no coat.
‘同志们，我们必须勇敢面对死亡！’ 她穿着一件羊毛外套，没有穿大衣。

“Szwarkowski evidently didn’t like the idea of them walking arm-in-arm for he pushed them from behind. —
“斯瓦尔科夫斯基显然不喜欢他们手挽手地走在一起，因为他从后面推了他们一下。 —

Valya said something and one of the mounted gendarmes slashed her full force across the face with his whip. —
瓦利娅说了些什么，一个骑警用鞭子狠狠地抽了她一记，满脸的力道。 —

A woman in the crowd let out a frightful shriek and began struggling madly in an effort to break through the cordon and reach the prisoners, but she was seized and dragged away. —
人群中有一名妇女发出了可怕的尖叫声，并疯狂挣扎着试图冲破封锁线，走向囚犯，但她被抓住并拖走了。 —

It must have been Valya’s mother. When they were close to the gallows Valya began to sing. —
这位妇女一定是瓦利娅的母亲。当他们接近绞刑架时，瓦利娅开始唱歌。 —

Never have I heard a voice like that—only a person going to his death could sing with such feeling. —
我从未听过这样的声音——只有一个行将就木的人才能如此用心地歌唱。 —

She sang the Warszawianka, and the other two joined in. —
她唱着《瓦尔维安卡》，另外两人加入合唱。 —

The mounted guards lashed out in a blind fury with their whips, but the three did not seem to feel the blows. —
马队的护卫们愤怒地用鞭子乱抽，但三人似乎一点也不觉得疼。 —

They were knocked down and dragged to the gallows like sacks. —
他们被打倒，像袋子一样拖到绞架那里。 —

The sentence was quickly read and the nooses were slipped over their heads. —
判决很快宣读出来，套索套在他们的脑袋上。 —

At that point we began to sing:
在那时我们开始唱：

Arise, ye prisoners of starvation… .
起来，饥饿的囚徒……

“Guards rushed at us from all sides and I just had time to see the blocks knocked out from under the platforms with rifle butts and the three bodies jerking in the nooses. .. .
“护卫们从四面八方向我们冲过来，我只来得及看到几声枪托打碎了吊台下的木块，三具尸体在套索上颤抖着……

“The rest of us had already been put to the wall when it was announced that ten of us had had our sentences commuted to 20 years’ imprisonment. —
“当我们已经被推到墙边时，有人宣布十个人的判决被减为二十年监禁。 —

The other sixteen were shot.”
其他十六人被枪决了。”

Samuel clutched convulsively at the collar of his shirt as if he were choking.
山姆抽搐着抓住他衬衫的领口，好像在窒息。

“For three days the bodies hung there in the nooses. The gallows were guarded day and night.
“三天内，尸体悬挂在那里，绞刑台日夜把守。

After that a new batch of prisoners was brought to jail and they told us that on the fourth day the rope that held the corpse of Comrade Toboldin, the heaviest of the three, had given way. —
“之后，新一批囚犯被带到监狱，他们告诉我们，第四天，悬挂着同志托伯丁的尸体的绳索断裂了，是三人中最重的一个。 —

After that they removed the other two and buried them all.
“之后他们移走了另外两具尸体，把他们都埋了。

“But the gallows was not taken down. It was still standing when we were brought to this place. —
“但绞架并没有拆除，当我们被带到这个地方时，它仍然矗立在那里。 —

It stood there with the nooses waiting for fresh victims.”
“它带着套索在等待着新的牺牲者。”

Samuel fell silent staring with unseeing eyes before him, but Pavel was unaware that the story had ended. —
塞缪尔沉默了，盯着眼前茫然的眼睛，但保尔不知道故事已经结束了。 —

The three bodies with the heads twisted horribly to one side swayed silently before his eyes.
三具尸体的头部可怕地扭曲向一侧，在他眼前静静地摇晃着。

The bugle sounding the assembly outside brought Pavel to himself with a start.
外面响起了集合号角声，使保尔猛地惊醒。

“Let’s go, Samuel,” he said in a barely audible voice.
“我们走吧，塞缪尔，”他用几乎听不见的声音说。

A column of Polish prisoners was being marched down the street lined with cavalry. —
一列波兰战俘正在被押解沿着骑兵排成的街道行进。 —

At the prison gates stood the Regimental Commissar writing an order on his notepad.
监狱大门口站着团政委在他的笔记本上写令。

“Comrade Antipov,” he said, handing the slip of paper to a stalwart squadron commander, “take this, and have all the prisoners taken under cavalry escort to Novograd-Volynsky. —
“安提波夫同志，”他对一个健壮的中队长说，递给他一张纸条，“拿着这个，让所有的战俘在骑兵护送下被带到诺沃格拉德-沃林斯基。 —

See that the wounded are given medical attention. —
确保受伤者得到医疗救治。 —

Then put them on carts, drive them about twenty versts from the town and let them go. —
然后把他们放在车上，开车约二十公里远的地方释放他们。 —

We have no time to bother with them. But there must be no maltreatment of prisoners.”
我们没时间和他们打交道。但对战俘不能有任何虐待。”

Mounting his horse, Pavel turned to Samuel. “Hear that?” he said. —
骑上马，保尔转向塞缪尔。“听到了吗？”他说。 —

“They hang our people, but we have to escort them back to their own side and treat them nicely besides. How can we do it?”
“他们绞死我们的人，但我们却要护送他们回到他们那边，而且还要友善对待他们。我们怎么做得到？”

The Regimental Commissar turned and looked sternly at the speaker. —
团政委转身，严厉地望着说话的人。 —

“Cruelty to unarmed prisoners,” Pavel heard him say as if speaking to himself, “will be punished by death. —
“对手无寸铁的战俘残忍行为，”保尔听到他自言自语似地说道，“将会被处以死刑。 —

We are not Whites!”
我们不是白军！”

As he rode off, Pavel recalled the final words of the order of the Revolutionary Military Council which had been read out to the regiment:
当帕维尔骑马离开时，他回想起了革命军事委员会的最后命令：

“The land of the workers and peasants loves its Red Army. It is proud of it. —
“工人和农民的土地热爱他们的红军。他们为之自豪。 —

And on that Army’s banners there shall not be a single stain.”
在那支军队的旗帜上不会有一丝污点。”

“Not a single stain,” Pavel whispered.
“毫无污点”，帕维尔轻声说。

At the time the Fourth Cavalry Division took Zhitomir, the 20th Brigade of the Seventh Rifle Division forming part of a shock corps under Comrade Golikov was crossing the Dnieper River in the area of Okuninovo village.
第四骑兵师占领日托米尔的时候，第七步兵师第20旅在戈利科夫同志麾下的冲击军团中正横渡第聂伯河，位于奥库宁诺沃村。

Another corps, which consisted of the 25th Rifle Division and a Bashkir Cavalry brigade, had orders to cross the Dnieper and straddle the Kiev-Korosten railway at Irsha Station. —
另一个军团由第25步兵师和一个巴什基尔骑兵旅组成，被下令横渡第聂伯河，并占领伊尔夏站的基辅-科罗斯滕铁路。 —

This manoeuvre would cut off the Poles’ last avenue of retreat from Kiev.
这个机动打击将切断波兰人从基辅撤退的最后退路。

It was during the crossing of the river that Misha Levchukov of the Shepetovka Komsomol organisation perished. —
米沙·列夫丘科夫，来自舍佩托夫卡共青团组织的成员，就在横渡河流时丧生。 —

They were running over the shaky pontoon bridge when a shell fired from somewhere beyond the steep bank opposite whined viciously overhead and plunged into the water,ripping it to shreds. —
他们在摇摇欲坠的浮桥上奔跑时，一发炮弹从对岸陡峭的河岸那里射过来，狠狠地呼啸着，然后击中了水面，撕裂了它。 —

The same instant Misha disappeared under one of the pontoons. —
就在那一瞬间，米沙消失在一个浮桥下。 —

The river swallowed him up and did not give him back. —
河水把他吞没了，再也没有把他送回来。 —

Yakimenko, a fair-haired soldier in a battered cap, cried out: “Mishka! Hell, that was Mishka! —
雅基门科，一个头戴破旧帽子的金发士兵，喊道：“米什卡！该死，那是米什卡！ —

Went down like a stone, poor lad!” For a moment he stared horrified into the dark water, but the men running up from behind pushed him on: —
像块石头一样下沉，可怜的家伙！”他惊恐地盯着黑暗的水流片刻，但从后面赶来的人推着他往前走： —

“What’re you gaping there for, you fool. Get on with you!” There was no time to stop for anyone. —
“你在那里发呆什么呢，蠢货。快点！”现在没时间再为任何人停下来。 —

The brigade had fallen behind the others who had already occupied the right bank of the river.
这个旅落后了，其他人已经占领了河对岸。

It was not until four days later that Sergei learned of Misha’s death. —
直到四天后，谢尔盖才得知米莎去世的消息。 —

By that time the brigade had captured Bucha Station, and turning in the direction of Kiev, was repulsing furious attacks by the Poles who were attempting to break through to Korosten.
此时，该旅已经占领了布查站，并转向基辅方向，击退波兰人猛烈的进攻，他们试图冲破到科罗斯滕。

Yakimenko threw himself down beside Sergei in the firing line. —
亚基门科跳到开火线旁边，与谢尔盖并肩作战。 —

He had been firing steadily for some time and now he had difficulty forcing back the bolt of his overheated rifle. —
他已经持续不断地开火一段时间了，现在他很难将他过热的步枪的枪栓拉回去。 —

Keeping his head carefully lowered he turned to Sergei and said: —
他小心地低下头，转向谢尔盖说： —

“Got to give her a rest. She’s red hot!”
“必须休息一下。她太烫了！”

Sergei barely heard him above the din of the shooting.
谢尔盖几乎听不见他在射击声中的声音。

When the noise subsided somewhat, Yakimenko remarked as if casually: —
当噪音稍微减弱时，亚基门科看似漫不经心地说： —

“Your comrade got drowned in the Dnieper. He was gone before I could do anything.” —
“你的战友在第聂伯河中溺水身亡。在我来得及做任何事之前，他就走了。” —

That was all he said. He tried the bolt of his rifle, took out another clip and applied himself to the task of reloading.
他仅此一提。他试了试步枪的枪栓，取出另一个弹夹，开始重新装弹。

The Eleventh Division sent to take Berdichev encountered fierce resistance from the Poles. A bloody battle was fought in the streets of the town. —
第十一师被派去占领别尔迪切夫时遭遇到波兰人的激烈抵抗。在镇上的街道上发生了一场血腥的战斗。 —

The Red Cavalry advanced through a squall of machine-gun fire. —
红骑兵冲过一阵机枪火力的狂风暴雨。 —

The town was captured and the remnants of the routed Polish forces fled. Trains were seized intact in the railway yards.
镇被占领，溃败的波兰军队的残余部队逃窜。火车在铁路场被完整地占领。

But the most terrible disaster for the Poles was the exploding of an ammunition dump which served the whole front. —
但对波兰人最可怕的灾难是一个弹药库的爆炸，这个弹药库为整个前线提供弹药。 —

A million shells went up in the air. The explosion shattered window panes into tiny fragments and caused the houses to tremble as if they were made of cardboard.
一百万发炮弹升入空中。爆炸将窗玻璃炸成碎片，让房屋摇晃得仿佛是用纸板做的。

The capture of Zhitomir and Berdichev took the Poles in the rear and they came pouring out of Kiev in two streams, fighting desperately to make their way out of the steel ring encircling them.
日托米尔和别尔迪切夫的占领使波兰人处于进退两难的境地，他们从基辅涌出，拼命地想摆脱包围着他们的钢铁环。

Swept along by the maelstrom of battle, Pavel lost all sense of self these days. —
在战斗的漩涡中被卷入，帕维尔这些日子失去了自我感觉。 —

His individuality merged with the mass and for him, as for every fighting man, the word “I” was forgotten; —
他的个性与大众融为一体，在他看来，就像每一个战士一样，“我”这个词被遗忘了； —

only the word “we” remained: our regiment, our squadron, our brigade.
只剩下“我们”这个词：我们的团，我们的中队，我们的旅。

Events developed with the speed of a hurricane. Each day brought something new.
事件以飓风般的速度发展。每一天都会带来新的东西。

Budyonny’s Cavalry Army swept forward like an avalanche, striking blow after blow until the entire Polish rear was smashed to pieces. —
布迪奥尼的骑兵军队如同雪崩般向前推进，一次又一次地发动打击，直到整个波兰后方被覆灭。 —

Drunk with the excitement of their victories, the mounted divisions hurled themselves with passionate fury at Novograd-Volynsky, the heart of the Polish rear. —
醉心于胜利的兴奋，骑兵师团投入激情澎湃地向诺沃格拉德—沃洛奇斯基进攻，这是波兰后方的心脏。 —

As the ocean wave dashes itself against the
当海浪冲击着墨绿的海岸，退潮又再次袭来时，他们也只是稍作后退，然后带着威风的呼喊声一次又一次地向前冲！向前冲！

rockbound shore, recedes and rushes on again, so they fell back only to press on again and again with awesome shouts of “Forward!Forward!”
无论是铁丝网障碍，还是城市中的驻守部队拼死抵抗，都无法拯救波兰人。

Nothing could save the Poles—neither the barbed-wire entanglements, nor the desperate resistance put up by the garrison entrenched in the city. —
6月27日的早晨，布连斯基的骑兵在不下马的情况下涉过斯卢奇河，进入诺沃格拉德-沃林斯基，并将波兰人赶出该市，向科莱茨方向前进。 —

And on the morning of June 27 Budyonny’s cavalry forded the Sluch River without dismounting, entered Novograd-Volynsky and drove the Poles out of the city in the direction of Korets. —
与此同时，第四十五师跨过斯卢奇河在新米罗波尔，并科托夫斯基骑兵旅冲向利巴尔村。 —

At the same time the Forty-Fifth Division crossed the Sluch at Novy Miropol, and the Kotovsky Cavalry Brigade swooped down upon the settlement of Lyubar.
第一骑兵集团军的无可抗拒的冲击使波兰人溃不成军，四散逃窜。

The radio station of the First Cavalry Army received an order from the commander-in-chief of the front to concentrate the entire cavalry force for the capture of Rovno.
在这混乱的日子里，帕维尔·科尔恰金遇到了一次意想不到的相遇。

The irresistible onslaught of the Red divisions sent the Poles scattering in demoralised panic-stricken groups.
他被旅长派到一辆装甲列车所在的车站。

It was in these hectic days that Pavel Korchagin had a most unexpected encounter. —
帕维尔骑着马飞奔而上，停在了那辆铁灰色头车旁。 —

He had been sent by the Brigade Commander to the station where an armoured train was standing. —
装甲列车上伸出的黑色炮管使其看起来严峻威武。 —

Pavel took the steep railway embankment at a canter and reined in at the steel-grey head carriage. —
几个穿着油污衣服的人在旁边忙着抬起保护车轮的重型钢装甲板。 —

With the black muzzles of guns protruding from the turrets, the armoured train looked grim and formidable. —
“我在哪里可以找到列车长？” —

Several men in oil-stained clothes were at work beside it raising the heavy steel armour plating that protected the wheels.
帕维尔问一个提着水桶的穿着皮夹克的红军士兵。

“Where can I find the commander of the train?” —
“在那边”，那个人指着火车头。 —

Pavel inquired of a leather-jacketed Red Army man carrying a pail of water.
广播电台接到了一道命令，要求将整个骑兵力量集中起来攻占罗夫诺。

“Over there,” the man replied pointing to the engine.
红军师的不可阻挡的冲击让波兰人惊慌失措地四处乱窜。

Pavel rode up to the engine. “I want to see the commander!” he said. —
帕维尔骑马来到火车头。“我要见指挥官！”他说。 —

A man with a pockmarked face, clad in leather from head to foot, turned. —
一个满脸麻子的男人，从头到脚穿着皮革，转过身来。 —

“I’m the commander.”
“我就是指挥官。”

Pavel pulled an envelope from his pocket.
帕维尔从口袋里拿出一个信封。

“Here is an order from the Brigade Commander. Sign on the envelope.”
“这是旅团指挥官的命令。在信封上签字。”

The commander rested the envelope on his knee and scribbled his signature on it. —
指挥官把信封放在膝盖上，在上面匆匆签上了名字。 —

Down on the tracks a man with an oil can was working on the middle wheel of the engine.
铁轨上，一个拿着油罐的人正在修理火车的中间轮。

Pavel could only see his broad back and the pistol-butt sticking out of the pocket of his leather trousers.
帕维尔只能看到他宽厚的背和从皮裤口袋里露出来的手枪扳机。

The commander handed the envelope back to Pavel who picked up the reins and was about to set off when the man with the oil can straightened up and turned round. —
指挥官把信封递给帕维尔，帕维尔拿起缰绳，正要离开，这时，那个拿油罐的人站了起来，转过身来。 —

The next moment Pavel had leapt off his horse as though swept down by a violent gust of wind.
下一刻，帕维尔就像被一阵猛烈的风卷走一样，跃下马来。

“Artem!”
“阿尔泰姆！”

The man dropped his oil can and caught the young Red Army man in a bear’s embrace.
那个人放下油罐，用熊抱拥住了年轻的红军士兵。

“Pavka! You rascal! It’s you!” he cried unable to believe his eyes.
“帕夫卡！你这个家伙！是你！”他说，难以相信自己的眼睛。

The commander of the armoured train looked puzzled, and several gunners standing by smiled broadly at the joy of the two brothers in this chance meeting.
装甲列车的指挥官感到困惑，几名站在旁边的炮手看到两兄弟相逢的喜悦都面带微笑。

It happened on August 19 during a battle in the Lvov area. —
这一幕发生在8月19日，在利沃夫地区的一次战斗中。 —

Pavel had lost his cap in the fighting and had reined in his horse. —
帕维尔在战斗中丢失了帽子，勒住了他的马。 —

The squadrons ahead had already cut into the Polish positions. —
前方的军队已经冲入了波兰的阵地。 —

At that moment Demidov came galloping through the bushes on his way down to the river. —
就在那时，德米多夫骑马穿过灌木丛，前往河边。 —

As he flew past Pavel he shouted:
当他飞驰经过帕维尔时，喊道：

“The Division Commander’s been killed!”
“师长被杀了！”

Pavel started. Letunov, his heroic commander, that man of sterling courage, dead! —
帕维尔震惊了。他的英勇指挥官列图诺夫，这位勇气坚定的人，竟然牺牲了！ —

A savage fury seized Pavel.
一股野蛮的愤怒突袭了帕维尔。

With the blunt edge of his sabre he urged on his exhausted Gnedko, whose bit dripped with a bloody foam, and tore into the thick of the battle.
他用刀背催动他疲惫不堪的格涅德科，咬勒已经滴着血沫的嚼子，冲进了激烈的战斗中。

“Kill the vermin, kill ‘em! Cut down the Polish szlachtal They’ve killed Letunov!” —
“杀那些害虫，杀掉他们！砍掉波兰的士绅们！他们杀了列图诺夫！” —

And blindly he slashed at a figure in a green uniform. —
他盲目地朝一个穿绿制服的人挥刀。 —

Enraged at the death of their Division Commander, the cavalrymen wiped out a whole platoon of Polish legionaries.
愤怒于师长的死亡，骑兵们消灭了一整个波兰的军团。

They galloped headlong over the battlefield in pursuit of the enemy, but now a Polish battery went into action. —
他们在战场上疾驰追击敌人，但这时一个波兰的炮兵连开炮了。 —

Shrapnel rent the air spattering death on all sides.
弹片令空中血雨飞溅。

Suddenly there was a blinding green flash before Pavel’s eyes, thunder smote his ears and red-hot iron seared into his skull. —
突然，帕维尔眼前一片耀眼的绿光，雷鸣震耳，灼热的铁烙进了他的头颅。 —

The earth spun strangely and horribly about him and began to turn slowly upside down.
大地怪异而恐怖地旋转着，开始缓慢地颠倒。

Pavel was thrown from the saddle like a straw. —
保罗像稻草一样从鞍上摔了下来。 —

He flew right over Gnedko’s head and fell heavily to the ground.
他飞过了格涅杰科的头顶，重重地摔到了地上。

Instantly black night descended.
瞬间，黑夜降临了。