Baldy Woods reached for the bottle, and got it. —
巴尔迪·伍兹伸手去拿瓶子，并成功拿到了。 —

Whenever Baldy went for anything he usually–but this is not Baldy’s story. —
每当巴尔迪想要拿东西时，他通常会这样做–但这并不是巴尔迪的故事。 —

He poured out a third drink that was larger by a finger than the first and second. —
他倒出了比第一和第二杯大一个手指的三分之一的饮料。 —

Baldy was in consultation; —
巴尔迪正在磋商， —

and the consultee is worthy of his hire.
被咨询者是值得付费的。

“I’d be king if I was you,” said Baldy, so positively that his holster creaked and his spurs rattled.
“如果我是你，我会成为国王”，巴尔迪如此肯定地说道，以至于弹奏器皮套嘎吱作响，马刺叮当作响。

Webb Yeager pushed back his flat-brimmed Stetson, and made further disorder in his straw-coloured hair. —
韦伯·耶格推开他那宽檐斯特森帽，更加弄乱了他那颜色像稻草一样的头发。 —

The tonsorial recourse being without avail, he followed the liquid example of the more resourceful Baldy.
由于理发师无能为力，他便效仿机灵的巴尔迪，以此为榜样，喝酒解愁。

“If a man marries a queen, it oughtn’t to make him a two-spot,” declared Webb, epitomising his grievances.
“如果一个男人娶了一个女王，那就不应该让他变得一无是处，”韦伯诉说着他的委屈。

“Sure not,” said Baldy, sympathetic, still thirsty, and genuinely solicitous concerning the relative value of the cards. —
“当然不会，”巴尔迪同情地说道，还想喝点酒，对于牌的相对价值真诚地关心着。“按照权利来说， —

“By rights you’re a king. —
你是个国王。 —

If I was you, I’d call for a new deal. —
如果我是你，我会要求重新发牌。 —

The cards have been stacked on you–I’ll tell you what you are, Webb Yeager.”
牌被操纵了–我告诉你你是怎样的，韦伯·耶格。”

“What?” asked Webb, with a hopeful look in his pale-blue eyes.
“什么？”韦布问道，带着期待的神色在他苍白的蓝眼睛里。

“You’re a prince-consort.”
“你是一位亲王陪嫁。”

“Go easy,” said Webb. “I never blackguarded you none.”
“别太苛刻，”韦布说。“我从没对你说过恶语。”

“It’s a title,” explained Baldy, “up among the picture-cards; —
“这是一个头衔，在纸牌里很重要； —

but it don’t take no tricks. —
但是它不需要任何诡计。” —

I’ll tell you, Webb. It’s a brand they’re got for certain animals in Europe. —
“我告诉你，韦布。这是欧洲某些动物身上的标记。 —

Say that you or me or one of them Dutch dukes marries in a royal family. —
假设你或我或一个荷兰公爵娶了皇室。 —

Well, by and by our wife gets to be queen. —
然后，我们的妻子渐渐成为皇后。 —

Are we king? Not in a million years. —
我们成为国王了吗？休想。 —

At the coronation ceremonies we march between little casino and the Ninth Grand Custodian of the Royal Hall Bedchamber. —
在加冕仪式上，我们在小赌场和皇家大厅卧室第九护卫之间行进。 —

The only use we are is to appear in photographs, and accept the responsibility for the heir- apparent. —
我们唯一的作用就是出现在照片中，并承担预定继承人的责任。 —

That ain’t any square deal. —
这简直是不公平。 —

Yes, sir, Webb, you’re a prince- consort; and if I was you, I’d start a interregnum or a habeus corpus or somethin’; —
是的，韦布，你是一位亲王陪嫁；如果我是你，我会发动取消政权或人身保护令或其他什么； —

and I’d be king if I had to turn from the bottom of the deck.”
即使要从牌堆底部翻开，我也要成为国王。”

Baldy emptied his glass to the ratification of his Warwick pose.
巴尔迪向他的沃里克姿态敬酒，将杯子倒空。

“Baldy,” said Webb, solemnly, “me and you punched cows in the same outfit for years. —
“伙计，”韦伯沉重地说道，“你和我穿着同样的服装为同样的牛工作了多年。 —

We been runnin’ on the same range, and ridin’ the same trails since we was boys. —
我们在同一片草原奔跑，在同一条小径上骑行，自从我们还是孩子的时候。 —

I wouldn’t talk about my family affairs to nobody but you. —
我只会向你谈论我的家庭事务。 —

You was line-rider on the Nopalito Ranch when I married Santa McAllister. —
当我娶了圣塔·麦克阿里斯特时，你是诺帕利托牧场的线路骑手。 —

I was foreman then; —
那时我是领班; —

but what am I now? I don’t amount to a knot in a stake rope.”
但是现在我算什么呢？我在牛绳梗上算不了个结。

“When old McAllister was the cattle king of West Texas,” continued Baldy with Satanic sweetness, “you was some tallow. —
“当麦克阿里斯特老太爷还是德克萨斯西部的牛王时，” 鲍尔迪带着魔鬼般的甜蜜说道，“你也是些脂肪。 —

You had as much to say on the ranch as he did.”
你在牧场上说了不少话，他也是这样。

“I did,” admitted Webb, “up to the time he found out I was tryin’ to get my rope over Santa’s head. —
“我承认，直到他发现我想把绳子套到圣塔的头上，他把我赶到了离牧场屋最远的地方。 —

Then he kept me out on the range as far from the ranch-house as he could. —
等老人去世时， —

When the old man died they commenced to call Santa the ‘cattle queen.’ I’m boss of the cattle–that’s all. —
他们开始称圣塔为’牛后’。我只是牛的老板，仅此而已。 —

She ‘tends to all the business; —
她负责所有的业务； —

she handles all the money; —
她处理所有的钱； —

I can’t sell even a beef-steer to a party of campers, myself. —
我连一头牛也卖不出去，甚至给一群露营者。 —

Santa’s the ‘queen’; and I’m Mr. Nobody.”
圣诞老人是“女王”，而我是无名小卒。

“I’d be king if I was you,” repeated Baldy Woods, the royalist. —
“如果我是你，我会成为国王，”皇室主义者鲍尔迪·伍兹重复道。 —

“When a man marries a queen he ought to grade up with her–on the hoof– dressed–dried–corned–any old way from the chaparral to the packing- house. —
“当一个男人娶了一位女王，他应该跟上她的步伐——从牧场到屠宰场，无论是鲜肉、腌制的、熏制的，还是其他任何方式。 —

Lots of folks thinks it’s funny, Webb, that you don’t have the say-so on the Nopalito. —
很多人认为这很有趣，韦伯，你居然对诺帕利托不说了算。 —

I ain’t reflectin’ none on Miz Yeager–she’s the finest little lady between the Rio Grande and next Christmas–but a man ought to be boss of his own camp.”
“我可没对耶格太太有什么反对意见——她是里约格兰德河和明年圣诞节之间最好的小姐——但是一个人应该是自己篷子下的老大。”

The smooth, brown face of Yeager lengthened to a mask of wounded melancholy. —
耶格的一张浑身留着光洁的褐色脸庞流露出一种受伤的忧郁表情。 —

With that expression, and his rumpled yellow hair and guileless blue eyes, he might have been likened to a schoolboy whose leadership had been usurped by a youngster of superior strength. —
伴随着这种表情，还有他蓬乱的黄发和天真的蓝眼睛，他可能会被比作一个被力量更强大的年轻人夺走领导地位的学童。 —

But his active and sinewy seventy-two inches, and his girded revolvers forbade the comparison.
但他那灵活有力的六英尺身材和腰间的左右佩枪不允许这样的比较。

“What was that you called me, Baldy?” he asked. —
“你刚才叫我什么，鲍尔迪？”他问道， —

“What kind of a concert was it?”
“是什么样的音乐会？”

“A ‘consort,’” corrected Baldy–“a ‘prince-consort.’ It’s a kind of short-card pseudonym. —
“一个‘合作者’，”巴尔迪纠正道——“一个‘亲王合作者’。这是一种短牌化名。 —

You come in sort of between Jack-high and a four-card flush.”
你的手牌介于高杰克和四张同花之间。

Webb Yeager sighed, and gathered the strap of his Winchester scabbard from the floor.
韦伯·耶格叹了口气，从地板上拿起Winchester的枪套带。

“I’m ridin’ back to the ranch to-day,” he said half-heartedly. “I’ve got to start a bunch of beeves for San Antone in the morning.”
“我今天骑马回牛场，”他半心半意地说道。“明天我要送一批牛去圣安东尼奥。”

“I’m your company as far as Dry Lake,” announced Baldy. “I’ve got a round-up camp on the San Marcos cuttin’ out two-year-olds.”
“我陪你到干湖，”巴尔迪宣布道。“我在圣马科斯设了一个围捕营地，准备带走两岁的小牛。”

The two companeros mounted their ponies and trotted away from the little railroad settlement, where they had foregathered in the thirsty morning.
这两个朋友跨上了马，从他们早晨口渴的小铁路聚会地点处小跑而去。

At Dry Lake, where their routes diverged, they reined up for a parting cigarette. —
在干湖，他们的道路分开，他们停下来吸一支烟。 —

For miles they had ridden in silence save for the soft drum of the ponies’ hoofs on the matted mesquite grass, and the rattle of the chaparral against their wooden stirrups. —
几英里以来，他们一直沉默无声，除了马蹄在厚厚的肖篱草上发出的沉闷声和简陋马镫与灌木枝的摩擦声。 —

But in Texas discourse is seldom continuous. —
但在得克萨斯州， —

You may fill in a mile, a meal, and a murder between your paragraphs without detriment to your thesis. —
人们很少进行连续的对话。你可以在段落之间填充一英里的距离、一顿饭以及一起谋杀，而不会对你的论点造成损害。 —

So, without apology, Webb offered an addendum to the conversation that had begun ten miles away.
所以，没有道歉的话，韦伯为已经开始的对话提供了一个补充，那个对话已经开始了十英里远的地方。

“You remember, yourself, Baldy, that there was a time when Santa wasn’t quite so independent. —
“你自己还记得，弗莱德，圣诞老人还不是那么独立的时候。 —

You remember the days when old McAllister was keepin’ us apart, and how she used to send me the sign that she wanted to see me? —
你还记得那些麦考利斯特老太太让我们分开的日子，还记得她曾经给我发信号要见我吗？ —

Old man Mac promised to make me look like a colander if I ever come in gun-shot of the ranch. —
麦考利斯特老头子答应如果我再靠近牧场，他会让我看起来像个筛子。 —

You remember the sign she used to send, Baldy–the heart with a cross inside of it?”
你还记得她经常发的那个信号，弗莱德——在一个心形里面画了个十字的那个吗？

“Me?” cried Baldy, with intoxicated archness. —
“我？” 疯狂地笑着的韦伯说道：” —

“You old sugar-stealing coyote! —
你这个老偷糖的土狼！ —

Don’t I remember! —
难道我不记得吗！ —

Why, you dad-blamed old long-horned turtle- dove, the boys in camp was all cognoscious about them hiroglyphs. —
嘿，你这个老懒龟鸽子，营地的人都对那些象形文字很熟悉。 —

The ‘gizzard-and-crossbones’ we used to call it. —
我们习惯上叫它们’鸟胃和骷髅’。 —

We used to see ‘em on truck that was sent out from the ranch. —
我们经常在从牧场送出的货车上看到它们。 —

They was marked in charcoal on the sacks of flour and in lead-pencil on the newspapers. —
它们用木炭在面粉袋上标记，在报纸上用铅笔标记。 —

I see one of ‘em once chalked on the back of a new cook that old man McAllister sent out from the ranch–danged if I didn’t.”
我曾经在老麦克阿利斯特从牧场送出的一个新厨师的背上看到一个他们中的一个画的标记，该死的，我真的看到了。

“Santa’s father,” explained Webb gently, “got her to promise that she wouldn’t write to me or send me any word. —
韦伯温和地解释道：“圣诞老人的爸爸，让她答应不给我写信或传达我任何消息。” —

That heart-and-cross sign was her scheme. —
那个十字和心形的标记是她的计划。 —

Whenever she wanted to see me in particular she managed to put that mark on somethin’ at the ranch that she knew I’d see. —
每当她特别想见我时，她总能在牧场上的某个东西上标上那个标记，她知道我会看到。 —

And I never laid eyes on it but what I burnt the wind for the ranch the same night. —
每次我见到那个标记，我都会立刻冲回牧场。 —

I used to see her in that coma mott back of the little horse-corral.”
我过去常常在小马圈后面看见她。

“We knowed it,” chanted Baldy; “but we never let on. —
我们知道，鲍尔迪吟唱道：“但我们从未透露。 —

We was all for you. We knowed why you always kept that fast paint in camp. —
我们一直都站在你这一边。我们知道你为什么总是带着那种不褪色的颜料在营地里。” —

And when we see that gizzard-and-crossbones figured out on the truck from the ranch we knowed old Pinto was goin’ to eat up miles that night instead of grass. —
当我们看到从牧场运来的那辆卡车上绘制着那个心脏和骷髅的图案时，我们就知道老平托将在那个晚上吃掉里程而不是草。 —

You remember Scurry–that educated horse-wrangler we had– the college fellow that tangle-foot drove to the range? —
你还记得斯克里吗？那位受过教育的骑马师——我们曾经有过的那个，就是那个酒僵驾车的大学同学吗？ —

Whenever Scurry saw that come-meet-your-honey brand on anything from the ranch, he’d wave his hand like that, and say, ‘Our friend Lee Andrews will again swim the Hell’s point to-night.’”
每当斯克里看到农场上有那个“来见你的甜心”品牌的东西，他就会挥挥手，说：“我们的朋友李·安德鲁斯今晚又要游遍地狱角了。”

“The last time Santa sent me the sign,” said Webb, “was once when she was sick. —
“圣人最后一次给我发信号的时候，”韦伯说，“是她生病的时候。 —

I noticed it as soon as I hit camp, and I galloped Pinto forty mile that night. —
我一到营地就注意到了，然后我骑着小马飞奔了四十英里。 —

She wasn’t at the coma mott. —
她不在昏迷森林。 —

I went to the house; —
我走到屋子门口； —

and old McAllister met me at the door. —
老麦考利斯特在门口迎接我。 —

‘Did you come here to get killed?’ says he; —
“你是来这里找死的吗？”他说， —

‘I’ll disoblige you for once. —
“这一次我可不想让你失望。 —

I just started a Mexican to bring you. —
我刚刚派一个墨西哥人来找你。 —

Santa wants you. Go in that room and see her. —
圣人要你。进那个房间看她一眼。 —

And then come out here and see me.’
然后出来见我。”

“Santa was lyin’ in bed pretty sick. —
“圣人躺在床上生病得很厉害。 —

But she gives out a kind of a smile, and her hand and mine lock horns, and I sets down by the bed– mud and spurs and chaps and all. —
但她露出一丝微笑，她的手和我的手紧握在一起，我就坐在床边——泥土、马刺和护腿裤都不顾了。” —

‘I’ve heard you ridin’ across the grass for hours, Webb,’ she says. ‘I was sure you’d come. —
她说：“我听说你在草地上骑了几个小时，韦伯，我肯定你会来的。你看见了标志吗？ —

You saw the sign?’ she whispers. —
”她低声说道。 —

‘The minute I hit camp,’ says I. “Twas marked on the bag of potatoes and onions.’ ‘They’re always together,’ says she, soft like–‘always together in life.’ ‘They go well together,’ I says, ‘in a stew.’ ‘I mean hearts and crosses,’ says Santa. ‘Our sign–to love and to suffer–that’s what they mean.’
我说：“我一到营地，就看到了。”“标志挂在装着土豆和洋葱的袋子上。”她轻声说：“他们总是在一起。”“他们在生活中相得益彰。”我说道：“在炖菜里它们也很搭配。”圣诞老人说：“我的意思是心和十字。”“我们的标志-爱与承受-就是这个意思。”

“And there was old Doc Musgrove amusin’ himself with whisky and a palm-leaf fan. —
还有老医生马斯格罗夫拿着威士忌和棕榈叶扇自娱自乐。 —

And by and by Santa goes to sleep; —
然后圣诞老人睡着了； —

and Doc feels her forehead; —
医生摸了摸她的额头； —

and he says to me: ‘You’re not such a bad febrifuge. But you’d better slide out now; —
他对我说：“你并不是个糟糕的退烧剂。但是你最好现在离开； —

for the diagnosis don’t call for you in regular doses. —
因为正规治疗并不需要你。 —

The little lady’ll be all right when she wakes up.’
小姑娘醒来后就会没事的。”

“I seen old McAllister outside. ‘She’s asleep,’ says I. ‘And now you can start in with your colander-work. —
我看见麦克阿利斯特老头在外面。“她睡着了，”我说。“现在你可以开始用你的漏网之鱼了。 —

Take your time; for I left my gun on my saddle-horn.’
慢慢来吧；因为我把枪留在马鞍上了。”

“Old Mac laughs, and he says to me: —
“老麦克笑了起来，对我说： —

‘Pumpin’ lead into the best ranch- boss in West Texas don’t seem to me good business policy. —
‘在西得克萨斯州，对最好的牧场老板开枪似乎不是明智的商业策略。 —

I don’t know where I could get as good a one. —
我不知道我能在哪找到一位像你这样优秀的。 —

It’s the son-in-law idea, Webb, that makes me admire for to use you as a target. —
正是因为你是我女婿，韦伯，才使我钦佩你成为狙击目标的。 —

You ain’t my idea for a member of the family. —
你不是我理想中的家庭成员。 —

But I can use you on the Nopalito if you’ll keep outside of a radius with the ranch-house in the middle of it. —
但是如果你不接近以牧场大楼为中心的范围，我可以让你在Nopalito上发挥作用。 —

You go upstairs and lay down on a cot, and when you get some sleep we’ll talk it over.‘”
你上楼去躺在一张小床上，睡一觉后我们再商讨。”

Baldy Woods pulled down his hat, and uncurled his leg from his saddle- horn. —
巴尔迪伍兹拉下帽子，并将腿从马鞍上伸直。 —

Webb shortened his rein, and his pony danced, anxious to be off. —
韦伯缩短缰绳，他的小马焦急地跃动着。 —

The two men shook hands with Western ceremony.
两个男人按照西部的礼仪握手。

“Adios, Baldy,” said Webb, “I’m glad I seen you and had this talk.”
“再见，巴尔迪”，韦伯说，“很高兴见到你并且有这次谈话。”

With a pounding rush that sounded like the rise of a covey of quail, the riders sped away toward different points of the compass. —
骑手们嗖嗖地冲过去，发出像起群鹌鹑一样的嗞嗞声，分别向不同的方向飞驰而去。 —

A hundred yards on his route Baldy reined in on the top of a bare knoll, and emitted a yell. He swayed on his horse; —
百码之外，巴尔迪在一片光秃的丘陵顶上勒住马，发出一声呼喊。他在马上摇晃着； —

had he been on foot, the earth would have risen and conquered him; —
如果他是步行，大地会升起并征服他； —

but in the saddle he was a master of equilibrium, and laughed at whisky, and despised the centre of gravity.
但是在鞍上，他是平衡的大师，嘲笑威士忌，蔑视重心。

Webb turned in his saddle at the signal.
韦伯在收到信号后转过马身。

“If I was you,” came Baldy’s strident and perverting tones, “I’d be king!”
“如果我是你，”巴尔迪尖锐而曲解的声音传来，“我就会做王！”

At eight o’clock on the following morning Bud Turner rolled from his saddle in front of the Nopalito ranch-house, and stumbled with whizzing rowels toward the gallery. —
第二天早上八点钟，巴德·特纳骑马来到诺帕里托农场的门前，他带着啸吆声向走廊走去。 —

Bud was in charge of the bunch of beef-cattle that was to strike the trail that morning for San Antonio. —
巴德负责一群牛肉牛，今天早晨要上路前往圣安东尼奥。 —

Mrs. Yeager was on the gallery watering a cluster of hyacinths growing in a red earthenware jar.
叶格太太正在走廊上给一个红陶瓷罐里的一簇风信子浇水。

“King” McAllister had bequeathed to his daughter many of his strong characteristics–his resolution, his gay courage, his contumacious self-reliance, his pride as a reigning monarch of hoofs and horns. —
“国王”麦克阿利斯特将他许多坚定的特点遗传给了他的女儿–他的决心，他的勇猛精神，他的顶嘴自信，他作为一位牛群和牛角的统治者的自豪。 —

Allegro and fortissimo had been McAllister’s temp and tone. —
Allegro和fortissimo是McAllister暂时和偏好的音调。在Santa中，它们转变为女性的调子。 —

In Santa they survived, transposed to the feminine key. —
(temp指的是音乐速度，tone指的是声音的品质和特点) —

Substantially, she preserved the image of the mother who had been summoned to wander in other and less finite green pastures long before the waxing herds of kine had conferred royalty upon the house. —
实质上，她保持了母亲的形象，母亲早在拥有奶牛的繁荣时期之前就被召唤到其他不那么有限的青草地上徘徊。 —

She had her mother’s slim, strong figure and grave, soft prettiness that relieved in her the severity of the imperious McAllister eye and the McAllister air of royal independence.
她有母亲那苗条有力的身材和庄重而柔美的姿色，这使她摆脱了严苛的McAllister眼神和McAllister皇家独立的气质。

Webb stood on one end of the gallery giving orders to two or three sub-bosses of various camps and outfits who had ridden in for instructions.
韦伯站在画廊的一端，向几个骑来接受指示的各个营地和装备的副领班下达命令。

“Morning,” said Bud briefly. —
“早上好，”布德简单地说道。 —

“Where do you want them beeves to go in town–to Barber’s, as usual?”
“你想让这些牛去镇上哪儿——像往常一样去巴伯那儿吗？”

Now, to answer that had been the prerogative of the queen. —
现在，回答这个问题就是女王的特权。 —

All the reins of business–buying, selling, and banking–had been held by her capable fingers. —
所有的商业事务——买卖和银行业务——都由她有能力的手指掌握。 —

The handling of cattle had been entrusted fully to her husband. —
处理牛的工作完全托付给了她的丈夫。 —

In the days of “King” McAllister, Santa had been his secretary and helper; —
在“国王”麦卡利斯特时代，圣诞节曾是他的秘书和助手。 —

and she had continued her work with wisdom and profit. —
她在聪明和有益的工作中继续着她的工作。 —

But before she could reply, the prince-consort spake up with calm decision:
但是在她回答之前，王储发表了冷静果断的意见：

“You drive that bunch to Zimmerman and Nesbit’s pens. —
“你把那群牛送到齐默曼和内斯比特的牛圈。 —

I spoke to Zimmerman about it some time ago.”
我一段时间前和齐默曼谈过这件事。”

Bud turned on his high boot-heels.
巴德转过高筒靴。

“Wait!” called Santa quickly. —
“等一下！”圣诞节迅速喊道。 —

She looked at her husband with surprise in her steady gray eyes.
她惊讶地看着丈夫，稳定的灰色眼睛中带着惊讶。

“Why, what do you mean, Webb?” she asked, with a small wrinkle gathering between her brows. —
“怎么了，韦伯？”她用眉毛间微微皱起，问道， —

“I never deal with Zimmerman and Nesbit. —
“我从来不和齐默曼和内斯比特有过交易。 —

Barber has handled every head of stock from this ranch in that market for five years. —
巴伯这五年来一直处理这个牧场的所有牲畜。 我不打算把生意从他手里拿走。”她朝巴德·特纳面前看去。 —

I’m not going to take the business out of his hands.” She faced Bud Turner. —
“把那些牛交给巴伯，”她坚决地下结论。 —

“Deliver those cattle to Barber,” she concluded positively.
巴德公正地看着门廊上挂着的水罐，另一条腿站立着，嚼着一片豆腐树叶。

Bud gazed impartially at the water-jar hanging on the gallery, stood on his other leg, and chewed a mesquite-leaf.
她咬牙切齿地望着巴兹·特纳。

“I want this bunch of beeves to go to Zimmerman and Nesbit,” said Webb, with a frosty light in his blue eyes.
“我希望这些肉牛送给齐默曼和尼斯比特,“韦伯说着，他蓝色眼睛中透出一丝冷漠的光芒。

“Nonsense,” said Santa impatiently. “You’d better start on, Bud, so as to noon at the Little Elm water-hole. —
“胡说，”圣诞老人不耐烦地说道。“你最好赶紧出发，Bud，这样中午就能到小榆树水洞了。 —

Tell Barber we’ll have another lot of culls ready in about a month.”
告诉巴伯，大约一个月后我们会有另一批烂牲口准备好。

Bud allowed a hesitating eye to steal upward and meet Webb’s. Webb saw apology in his look, and fancied he saw commiseration.
Bud有些犹豫地抬起眼睛看向韦伯。韦伯从他的眼神里看到了道歉，也觉得他看到了同情。

“You deliver them cattle,” he said grimly, “to–”
“你把那些牛交给……”

“Barber,” finished Santa sharply. “Let that settle it. —
“巴伯，”圣诞老人干脆利落地打断了。“就这样吧。 —

Is there anything else you are waiting for, Bud?”
Bud，你还有其他等待的事吗？”

“No, m’m,” said Bud. But before going he lingered while a cow’s tail could have switched thrice; —
“没有，妈妈，”Bud说。但在离开之前，他徘徊了一会儿，就像一头牛的尾巴甩三下的时间； —

for man is man’s ally; —
因为人是人的伙伴； —

and even the Philistines must have blushed when they took Samson in the way they did.
即使非利士人在他们采取撒姆森的方式时也会感到羞愧。

“You hear your boss!” cried Webb sardonically. —
“你听到你的老板说了！”韦伯讽刺地喊道。 —

He took off his hat, and bowed until it touched the floor before his wife.
他脱下帽子，向着妻子鞠躬，直到触及地板。

“Webb,” said Santa rebukingly, “you’re acting mighty foolish to-day.”
“韦伯，”圣诞老人责备地说道，“你今天真是太愚蠢了。”

“Court fool, your Majesty,” said Webb, in his slow tones, which had changed their quality. —
“宫廷的小丑，陛下，”韦伯用他那慢吞吞的语调说道，他的语气已经变了。 —

“What else can you expect? —
“你还能期待什么呢？ —

Let me tell you. —
让我告诉你。 —

I was a man before I married a cattle-queen. What am I now? —
我在娶了一个牛后之前是个男人。现在呢？ —

The laughing-stock of the camps. —
成了营地的笑柄。我会再次成为一个男人。 —

I’ll be a man again.”
”

Santa looked at him closely.
圣塔仔细地看着他。

“Don’t be unreasonable, Webb,” she said calmly. —
“韦伯，别无理取闹，”她平静地说道。 —

“You haven’t been slighted in any way. —
“你没有被冷落。 —

Do I ever interfere in your management of the cattle? —
我从来没有干涉你对牛群的管理。 —

I know the business side of the ranch much better than you do. —
我对牧场的商业运作了解得比你好。 —

I learned it from Dad. Be sensible.”
这是我从爸爸那学来的。要理智点。”

“Kingdoms and queendoms,” said Webb, “don’t suit me unless I am in the pictures, too. —
“王国和王后，”韦伯说，“我只在图片中扮演角色才喜欢。 —

I punch the cattle and you wear the crown. —
我打牛，你戴冠。 —

All right. —
好吗。 —

I’d rather be High Lord Chancellor of a cow-camp than the eight-spot in a queen-high flush. —
我宁愿当牛营中的高级法律顾问，也不愿做一个出现在皇后手中的8点连续的牌。 —

It’s your ranch; and Barber gets the beeves.”
这是你的牧场；巴伯得到了这些牛。”

Webb’s horse was tied to the rack. —
韦伯的马被绑在货架上。 —

He walked into the house and brought out his roll of blankets that he never took with him except on long rides, and his “slicker,” and his longest stake-rope of plaited raw-hide. —
他走进房子，拿出了他除了长途骑行外从未携带的毯子卷和他的“雨衣”，以及他最长的编织生皮绳索。 —

These he began to tie deliberately upon his saddle. Santa, a little pale, followed him.
他开始有意识地把这些东西系在马鞍上。圣塔有点苍白地跟着他。

Webb swung up into the saddle. His serious, smooth face was without expression except for a stubborn light that smouldered in his eyes.
韦伯跳上马鞍。他那严肃而光滑的面孔没有任何表情，只有一种顽固的光芒在他的眼睛里闷烧着。

“There’s a herd of cows and calves,” said he, “near the Hondo water- hole on the Frio that ought to be moved away from timber. —
“在Frio的Hondo水坑附近有一群奶牛和小牛，”他说，“应该把它们从树林里赶走。 —

Lobos have killed three of the calves. —
洛博兹已经杀死了三只小牛。 —

I forgot to leave orders. —
我忘了留下指令。 —

You’d better tell Simms to attend to it.”
你最好告诉辛姆斯去处理。”

Santa laid a hand on the horse’s bridle, and looked her husband in the eye.
圣塔用手触摸了马的缰绳，与丈夫对视。

“Are you going to leave me, Webb?” she asked quietly.
“你要离开我吗，韦伯？”她平静地问道。

“I am going to be a man again,” he answered.
“我要重新做个男人，”他回答道。

“I wish you success in a praiseworthy attempt,” she said, with a sudden coldness. She turned and walked directly into the house.
“我祝你在值得称赞的尝试中成功”，她突然冷淡地说道。她转身走进房子。

Webb Yeager rode to the southeast as straight as the topography of West Texas permitted. —
韦伯·亚格以西德克萨斯州的地形允许的最大限度向东南方向骑行。 —

And when he reached the horizon he might have ridden on into blue space as far as knowledge of him on the Nopalito went. —
当他到达地平线时，他可能会一直骑到无边无际的蓝色空间，因为来自Nopalito的他的消息没有了。 —

And the days, with Sundays at their head, formed into hebdomadal squads; —
而日子们，在星期天的带领下，组成了每周一次的小队； —

and the weeks, captained by the full moon, closed ranks into menstrual companies crying “Tempus fugit” on their banners; —
星期，由满月指挥，关上了军队，他们的旗帜上写着“时间飞逝”； —

and the months marched on toward the vast camp-ground of the years; —
月份朝着岁月的巨大露营地前进； —

but Webb Yeager came no more to the dominions of his queen.
但韦伯·亚格再也没有来到他女王的领地。

One day a being named Bartholomew, a sheep-man–and therefore of little account–from the lower Rio Grande country, rode in sight of the Nopalito ranch-house, and felt hunger assail him. —
有一天，一个名叫巴托洛缪的人，来自下游的Rio Grande地区，骑马出现在Nopalito庄园的视线中，并感到饥饿。 —

Ex consuetudine he was soon seated at the mid-day dining table of that hospitable kingdom. —
按照惯例，他很快就坐在了这个好客王国的午餐桌旁。 —

Talk like water gushed from him: —
说话如涌水般从他口中涌出。 —

he might have been smitten with Aaron’s rod–that is your gentle shepherd when an audience is vouchsafed him whose ears are not overgrown with wool.
他可能对亚伦的杖爱慕不已——当有一位不长满羊毛的听众为他保证，他温文尔雅地引导群羊。

“Missis Yeager,” he babbled, “I see a man the other day on the Rancho Seco down in Hidalgo County by your name–Webb Yeager was his. —
“耶格太太，”他嘟哝着，“前几天我在伊达尔戈县的塞科牧场见到一个以您的名字命名的人——韦伯·耶格尔是他的名字。 —

He’d just been engaged as manager. He was a tall, light-haired man, not saying much. —
他刚刚被聘为经理。他是个高个子，金发的人，话不多。 —

Perhaps he was some kin of yours, do you think?”
也许他和您有点亲戚关系，您认为呢？”

“A husband,” said Santa cordially. “The Seco has done well. —
“一个丈夫，”圣塔亲切地说道，“塞科牧场经营得很好。 —

Mr. Yeager is one of the best stockmen in the West.”
耶格先生是西部最好的牧场主之一。”

The dropping out of a prince-consort rarely disorganises a monarchy. —
皇室少见的皇室亲王的退出很少会导致王室混乱。 —

Queen Santa had appointed as mayordomo of the ranch a trusty subject, named Ramsay, who had been one of her father’s faithful vassals. —
圣塔皇后任命了牧场的总管，一个忠诚的臣民——拉姆齐，他曾经是她父亲忠实的领地民。 —

And there was scarcely a ripple on the Nopalito ranch save when the gulf-breeze created undulations in the grass of its wide acres.
诺帕利托牧场几乎没有任何波澜，只有当墨西哥湾的微风在广阔的牧场上创造出起伏的时候。

For several years the Nopalito had been making experiments with an English breed of cattle that looked down with aristocratic contempt upon the Texas long-horns. —
几年来，Nopalito一直在进行关于一种英格兰牛品种的实验，这些牛鄙视得很高，看不起德克萨斯长角牛。 —

The experiments were found satisfactory; —
实验结果令人满意， —

and a pasture had been set aside for the blue-bloods. —
为这些纯种牛设定了一个牧场。 —

The fame of them had gone forth into the chaparral and pear as far as men ride in saddles. —
他们的名声传到了茂密灌木丛和蓬松的梨树地方，就是人们骑马追逐的地方。 —

Other ranches woke up, rubbed their eyes, and looked with new dissatisfaction upon the long-horns.
其他牧场也被唤醒，睁开眼睛，对长角牛产生了新的不满。

As a consequence, one day a sunburned, capable, silk-kerchiefed nonchalant youth, garnished with revolvers, and attended by three Mexican vaqueros, alighted at the Nopalito ranch and presented the following business-like epistle to the queen thereof:
因此，一天，一位晒黑了的、能干的、系着丝巾的漠不关心的年轻人，带着三个墨西哥牧工，到达了Nopalito牧场，并向女主人呈上了以下商业风格的信件：

Mrs. Yeager–The Nopalito Ranch:
叶格夫人 - Nopalito牧场：

Dear Madam:
亲爱的夫人：

I am instructed by the owners of the Rancho Seco to purchase 100 head of two and three-year-old cows of the Sussex breed owned by you. —
我奉Rancho Seco牧场主的指示，购买您拥有的100头两三岁的Sussex品种母牛。 —

If you can fill the order please deliver the cattle to the bearer; —
如果您能满足订单，请将牛交给带信者。 —

and a check will be forwarded to you at once.
一张支票会立即寄给您。

Respectfully,Webster Yeager,Manager the Rancho Seco.
恭敬地，韦伯斯特·耶格，兰乔塞科的经理。

Business is business, even–very scantily did it escape being written “especially”–in a kingdom.
生意就是生意，即使在一个王国里也是如此，它勉强没有被写成”尤其是”这个词。

That night the 100 head of cattle were driven up from the pasture and penned in a corral near the ranch-house for delivery in the morning.
那天晚上，100头牛从牧场赶到离牧场房子不远的围栏里，准备在早上交付。

When night closed down and the house was still, did Santa Yeager throw herself down, clasping that formal note to her bosom, weeping, and calling out a name that pride (either in one or the other) had kept from her lips many a day? —
当夜晚降临，房子安静下来的时候，圣塔·耶格扑倒在地上，紧紧地抱着那张正式的纸条，哭泣着，呼喊着一个骄傲（不管是一个人或者另一个）已经让她很多天都没有从嘴唇上说出的名字。 —

Or did she file the letter, in her business way, retaining her royal balance and strength?
或者她以她处理事务的方式，将这封信归档，保持她的皇家平衡和力量？

Wonder, if you will; but royalty is sacred; —
如果你愿意的话，你可以想象；但是王权是神圣的， —

and there is a veil. But this much you shall learn:
有一层面纱。但是你将会知道这么多：

At midnight Santa slipped softly out of the ranch-house, clothed in something dark and plain. —
在午夜时分，圣塔轻轻地走出牧场房子，穿着一件黑暗而朴素的衣服。 —

She paused for a moment under the live-oak trees. —
她在橡树下停顿了一会儿。 —

The prairies were somewhat dim, and the moonlight was pale orange, diluted with particles of an impalpable, flying mist. —
大草原显得有些暗淡，月光呈淡橙色，掺杂着飞舞的细雾颗粒。 —

But the mock-bird whistled on every bough of vantage; —
但是蒙鸟在每个有利位置的枝条上吹着口哨； —

leagues of flowers scented the air; —
绵延数里的花朵散发着香气。 —

and a kindergarten of little shadowy rabbits leaped and played in an open space near by. —
附近的一片空地上有一群幼小的兔子在跳跃和玩耍。 —

Santa turned her face to the southeast and threw three kisses thitherward; —
圣诞老人转身面向东南方，朝那里投去三个吻； —

for there was none to see.
因为无人能看见。

Then she sped silently to the blacksmith-shop, fifty yards away; and what she did there can only be surmised. —
然后她悄无声息地向50码远的铁匠铺冲去；她在那里做了些什么只能猜测。 —

But the forge glowed red; —
但是熔炉发出红光； —

and there was a faint hammering such as Cupid might make when he sharpens his arrow-points.
有微弱的敲击声，就像丘比特磨尖箭头时发出的声音。

Later she came forth with a queer-shaped, handled thing in one hand, and a portable furnace, such as are seen in branding-camps, in the other. —
随后，她手里拿着一个奇怪形状的手柄物件，另一只手拿着一个可携带的炉子，就像品牌营地里所见的那样。 —

To the corral where the Sussex cattle were penned she sped with these things swiftly in the moonlight.
带着这些东西，她迅速地在月光下来到了苏塞克斯牛圈。

She opened the gate and slipped inside the corral. —
她打开了门，悄悄地走进了牛圈。 —

The Sussex cattle were mostly a dark red. —
苏塞克斯牛大多呈深红色。 —

But among this bunch was one that was milky white–notable among the others.
但在这群牛里面有一头奶白色的——与其他牛显得格外引人注目。

And now Santa shook from her shoulder something that we had not seen before–a rope lasso. —
现在，圣诞老人从她的肩膀上甩下了一样我们之前从未见过的东西——一根绳索套索。 —

She freed the loop of it, coiling the length in her left hand, and plunged into the thick of the cattle.
她解开套索的开口，将整根绳子在左手中盘旋，然后冲进牛群的中间。

The white cow was her object. She swung the lasso, which caught one horn and slipped off. —
那头奶白色的牛成了她的目标。她挥动着套索，其中一角绕住了牛角然后滑落下来。 —

The next throw encircled the forefeet and the animal fell heavily. —
下一次抛掷将前脚圈住了，牛重重地摔倒。 —

Santa made for it like a panther; —
圣诞老人像豹子一样扑上去； —

but it scrambled up and dashed against her, knocking her over like a blade of grass.
但它爬起来，向她冲过来，把她撞倒，就像草叶一样。

Again she made her cast, while the aroused cattle milled around the four sides of the corral in a plunging mass. —
她再次抛出套索，而激动的牛从谷仓的四面围拢过来，形成一团混乱的群体。 —

This throw was fair; —
这一次抛掷准确无误； —

the white cow came to earth again; —
那头奶白色的牛再次被制服， —

and before it could rise Santa had made the lasso fast around a post of the corral with a swift and simple knot, and had leaped upon the cow again with the rawhide hobbles.
趁它还没有爬起来，圣诞老人迅速简单地将套索绳结绑在了谷仓的柱子上，并用牛皮勒脚套住了它，然后再次跳到了牛的身上。

In one minute the feet of the animal were tied (no record-breaking deed) and Santa leaned against the corral for the same space of time, panting and lax.
一分钟内动物的脚被绑了起来（没有创下记录的业绩），而圣诞老人则懒洋洋地靠在围栏上，气喘吁吁。

And then she ran swiftly to her furnace at the gate and brought the branding-iron, queerly shaped and white-hot.
然后她迅速跑到门口的炉子旁边，拿来了一个奇怪形状的白热烙铁。

The bellow of the outraged white cow, as the iron was applied, should have stirred the slumbering auricular nerves and consciences of the near-by subjects of the Nopalito, but it did not. —
当烙铁被施加在愤怒的白牛上时，它发出的怒吼本应该激起那些附近诺帕利托的居民的意识和良知，但事实并非如此。 —

And it was amid the deepest nocturnal silence that Santa ran like a lapwing back to the ranch-house and there fell upon a cot and sobbed–sobbed as though queens had hearts as simple ranchmen’s wives have, and as though she would gladly make kings of prince-consorts, should they ride back again from over the hills and far away.
正是在最深的夜晚寂静中，圣诞老人像草鹬一样跑回牧场的房子，倒在一张小床上哭泣——她哭得像一个王后一样，她有着与普通农妇妻子一样简单的心，她愿意让那些从山冈远处骑回来的王子们成为国王。

In the morning the capable, revolvered youth and his vaqueros set forth, driving the bunch of Sussex cattle across the prairies to the Rancho Seco. Ninety miles it was; —
早晨，那位能干的、手持左轮手枪的年轻人和他的牧民们出发了，驱赶着一群萨塞克斯牛穿过草原到达Rancho Seco牧场。这是一个90英里的路程。 —

a six days’ journey, grazing and watering the animals on the way.
一段六天的旅程，沿途放牧和给动物喂水。

The beasts arrived at Rancho Seco one evening at dusk; —
牲畜在黄昏时到达Rancho Seco， —

and were received and counted by the foreman of the ranch.
被农场的领班接收并清点。

The next morning at eight o’clock a horseman loped out of the brush to the Nopalito ranch-house. —
第二天早上八点，一个骑马人从灌木丛中奔驰出来，来到了Nopalito牧场的宅院。 —

He dismounted stiffly, and strode, with whizzing spurs, to the house. —
他僵硬地下马，用呼啸的马刺大步走向房子。 —

His horse gave a great sigh and swayed foam-streaked, with down-drooping head and closed eyes.
他的马发出一声长叹，身上沾满了泡沫，低垂着头闭着眼。

But waste not your pity upon Belshazzar, the flea-bitten sorrel. —
但请不要可怜那只斑点的马贝尔沙扎尔。 —

To-day, in Nopalito horse-pasture he survives, pampered, beloved, unridden, cherished record-holder of long-distance rides.
今天，在Nopalito的马牧场，他存活了下来，被宠爱着、珍视着，成为长距离骑行的纪录保持者。

The horseman stumbled into the house. —
骑马人跌跌撞撞地进了房子。 —

Two arms fell around his neck, and someone cried out in the voice of woman and queen alike: —
两双手臂环绕着他的脖子，有人用妇女和女王一样的声音喊道：“Webb， —

“Webb– oh, Webb!”
哦，Webb！”

“I was a skunk,” said Webb Yeager.
“我是个卑鄙鬼，”Webb Yeager说。

“Hush,” said Santa, “did you see it?”
“别说话，”Santa说，“你看见了吗？”

“I saw it,” said Webb.
“我看见了，”Webb说。

What they meant God knows; and you shall know, if you rightly read the primer of events.
他们说的意思只有上帝知道；如果你能正确阅读事件的启蒙书，你也会知道。

“Be the cattle-queen,” said Webb; —
“做牛仔女王吧，”韦伯说。 —

“and overlook it if you can. —
“如果你能忽略的话。 —

I was a mangy, sheep-stealing coyote.”
我曾经是一只破烂的、偷羊的土狼。”

“Hush!” said Santa again, laying her fingers upon his mouth. —
“嘘！”圣塔再次说道，把手指放在他嘴上。 —

“There’s no queen here. —
“这里没有女王。” —

Do you know who I am? I am Santa Yeager, First Lady of the Bedchamber. —
“你知道我是谁吗？我是圣塔·耶格，卧室的第一夫人。 —

Come here.”
过来。”

She dragged him from the gallery into the room to the right. —
她把他从走廊拉进了右边的房间。那里有一个摇篮， —

There stood a cradle with an infant in it–a red, ribald, unintelligible, babbling, beautiful infant, sputtering at life in an unseemly manner.
里面有一个婴儿——一个红色、猥亵、无法理解、嘟囔不清、美丽的婴儿，在不端庄的方式下挣扎着迎接生命。

“There’s no queen on this ranch,” said Santa again. —
“这个牧场上没有女王，”圣塔再次说道。 —

“Look at the king. He’s got your eyes, Webb. Down on your knees and look at his Highness.”
“看看国王。他有你的眼睛，韦伯。跪下，看看他的殿下。”

But jingling rowels sounded on the gallery, and Bud Turner stumbled there again with the same query that he had brought, lacking a few days, a year ago.
但是角铃的声音在走廊上响起，巴德·特纳再次跌跌撞撞地跑了进来，带着一年前他带来的相同问题，只是差了几天。

”‘Morning. Them beeves is just turned out on the trail. —
“早上好。那些牛刚刚走上了小径。 —

Shall I drive ‘em to Barber’s, or–”
我该把它们驱赶到巴伯那里，还是……”

He saw Webb and stopped, open-mouthed.
他看到了韦伯，呆住了。

“Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!” shrieked the king in his cradle, beating the air with his fists.
“巴巴巴巴巴巴！”国王在摇篮里尖叫着，用拳头打着空气。

“You hear your boss, Bud,” said Webb Yeager, with a broad grin–just as he had said a year ago.
“你听到你的老板布德说，”韦伯·耶格带着灿烂的笑容说，就像他一年前说的一样。

And that is all, except that when old man Quinn, owner of the Rancho Seco, went out to look over the herd of Sussex cattle that he had bought from the Nopalito ranch, he asked his new manager:
除此之外，当兰乔塞克牧场的老主人奎因出去查看他从诺帕利托牧场购买的苏塞克斯牛群时，他问他的新经理：

“What’s the Nopalito ranch brand, Wilson?”
“威尔逊，诺帕利托牧场的牌子是什么？”

“X Bar Y,” said Wilson.
“X Bar Y，”威尔逊说。

“I thought so,” said Quinn. “But look at that white heifer there; —
“我就知道，”奎因说。“但看那只白色小母牛， —

she’s got another brand–a heart with a cross inside of it. —
她有另一个牌子-一个里面有十字架的心形。 —

What brand is that?”
那是什么牌子？”