IT LOOKED like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. —
我们当时在阿拉巴马州的南方， —

We were down South, in Alabama – Bill Driscoll and myself – when this kidnapping idea struck us. —
Bill Driscoll和我，这个绑架想法突然冒出来。 —

It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, “during a moment of temporary mental apparition”; —
正如Bill后来说的那样，“在暂时的精神状态中”; —

but we didn’t find that out till later.
但我们直到后来才发现这一点。

There was a town down there, as flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of course. —
那里有一个城镇，像法兰绒蛋糕一样平坦，当然叫做Summit。 —

It contained inhabitants Of as undeleterious and self-satisfied a class of peasantry as ever clustered around a Maypole.
它包含了一群像五月柱周围聚集的无害和自鸣得意的乡村民众。

Bill and me had a joint capital of about six hundred dollars, and we needed just two thousand dollars more to pull off a fraudulent town-lot scheme in Western Illinois with. —
Bill和我共有大约六百美元的资本，我们只需要再筹集两千美元，就可以在伊利诺伊州西部进行一项欺诈性的乡镇土地计划。 —

We talked it over on the front steps of the hotel. —
我们在旅馆的前台上讨论了这个计划。 —

Philoprogenitiveness, says we, is strong in semi-rural communities; —
我们说，家长爱是在半农村社区中非常强烈的; —

therefore and for other reasons, a kidnapping project ought to do better there than in the radius of newspapers that send reporters out in plain clothes to stir up talk about such things. —
因此，出于这个原因以及其他原因，绑架项目在那里应该比那些派记者穿着便装去煽动关于这类事情讨论的报纸发行范围内做得更好。 —

We knew that Summit couldn’t get after us with anything stronger than constables and maybe some lackadaisical bloodhounds and a diatribe or two in the Weekly Farmers’ Budget. —
我们知道萨米特（Summit）没有比警察更强大的势力可以对付我们，顶多就是一些懒散的嗅觉敏锐的猎犬，再加上《每周农场预算》上的一两篇长篇大论。所以， —

So, it looked good.
情况看起来很美好。

We selected for our victim the only child of a prominent citizen named Ebenezer Dorset. —
我们选中了一位名叫埃本尼泽·多塞特（Ebenezer Dorset）的显赫市民的独生子作为我们的受害者。 —

The father was respectable and tight, a mortgage fancier and a stern, upright collection-plate passer and forecloser. —
这位父亲是个受人尊敬但十分吝啬的人，专门做抵押贷款生意，还是个拿着收集筹款盘子和执行查封工作的正直严厉之人。 —

The kid was a boy of ten, with bas-relief freckles, and hair the colour of the cover of the magazine you buy at the news-stand when you want to catch a train. —
这个孩子是个十岁的男孩，有凸起的雀斑，头发的颜色就像你在报摊买火车出发时的那本杂志封面。 —

Bill and me figured that Ebenezer would melt down for a ransom of two thousand dollars to a cent. —
比尔和我估计埃本尼泽会为了两千美元的赎金而妥协一切，一分不少。 —

But wait till I tell you.
但是等你听我说完再下结论。

About two miles from Summit was a little mountain, covered with a dense cedar brake. —
离萨米特大约两英里的地方有一座小山，上面长满了茂密的雪松灌木。 —

On the rear elevation of this mountain was a cave. —
这座山的背面有一个洞穴。 —

There we stored provisions. One evening after sundown, we drove in a buggy past old Dorset’s house. —
我们在那里储存了食物。在一个傍晚黄昏时分，我们驾驶着一辆马车从多塞特老人的房子前经过。 —

The kid was in the street, throwing rocks at a kitten on the opposite fence.
这个孩子在街上，对着对面的栅栏上的小猫扔石头。

“Hey, little boy!” says Bill, “would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?”
“嘿，小男孩！”比尔说，“你想要一袋糖果和一个愉快的骑行吗？”

The boy catches Bill neatly in the eye with a piece of brick.
孩子用一块砖头正好打中了比尔的眼睛。

“That will cost the old man an extra five hundred dollars,” says Bill, climbing over the wheel.
“那将使老头额外花费五百美元。”比尔说着，爬过车轮。

That boy put up a fight like a welter-weight cinnamon bear; —
那个男孩像一个中量级的肉桂熊一样奋力抵抗； —

but, at last, we got him down in the bottom of the buggy and drove away. —
但是最终，我们把他按倒在马车底部，开车离开了。 —

We took him up to the cave and I hitched the horse in the cedar brake. —
我们把他带到了山洞，我把马拴在了雪松丛林中。 —

After dark I drove the buggy to the little village, three miles away, where we had hired it, and walked back to the mountain.
天黑后，我把马车开到了三英里外的小村庄，那里我们租的车，然后步行回到山上。

Bill was pasting court-plaster over the scratches and bruises on his features. —
比尔正在脸上贴着创可帖，覆盖着他的擦伤和瘀伤。 —

There was a burning behind the big rock at the entrance of the cave, and the boy was watching a pot of boiling coffee, with two buzzard tailfeathers stuck in his red hair. —
山洞入口的大石头后面有一团燃烧的火焰，男孩正在盯着一个煮沸的咖啡壶，红色的头发上插着两根秃鹫的尾羽。 —

He points a stick at me when I come up, and says:
他用一根棍子指着我，说：

“Ha! cursed paleface, do you dare to enter the camp of Red Chief, the terror of the plains?
“哈！诅咒的白人，你敢进入红酋长的营地吗？他是大草原上的恐怖之源！”

“He’s all right now,” says Bill, rolling up his trousers and examining some bruises on his shins. —
“他现在没事了，”比尔说着，卷起裤腿检查他小腿上的一些伤痕， —

“We’re playing Indian. —
“我们在玩印第安人。” —

We’re making Buffalo Bill’s show look like magic-lantern views of Palestine in the town hall. —
“我们要让巴菲洛比尔的表演在镇政厅里显得像巴勒斯坦的幻灯片一样平凡无奇。” —

I’m Old Hank, the Trapper, Red Chief’s captive, and I’m to be scalped at daybreak. —
“我是老汉克，陷入红酋长的俘虏，明天天亮就要被割头皮。” —

By Geronimo! that kid can kick hard.”
“天啊！那个孩子踢得真狠。”

Yes, sir, that boy seemed to be having the time of his life. —
“是的，先生，那个男孩似乎过得非常开心。 —

The fun of camping out in a cave had made him forget that he was a captive, himself. —
露天野营的乐趣让他忘记了自己是个俘虏。” —

He immediately christened me Snake-eye, the Spy, and announced that, when his braves returned from the warpath, I was to be broiled at the stake at the rising of the sun.
“他立刻给我起了个名字，叫做蛇眼间谍，并宣布等他的勇士们从战场归来，我会在太阳升起时被绑到火刑柱上。”

Then we had supper; and he filled his mouth full of bacon and bread and gravy, and began to talk. He made a during-dinner speech something like this:
“然后我们吃晚饭，他满嘴塞满了培根、面包和肉汁，开始说话了。他像这样发表了一段午餐期间的演说：

“I like this fine. I never camped out before; —
“我很喜欢这个。我以前从未露营过， —

but I had a pet ‘possum once, and I was nine last birthday. —
但我曾经养过一只’貂’，我上次生日九岁。 —

I hate to go to school. —
我讨厌上学。 —

Rats ate up sixteen of Jimmy Talbot’s aunt’s speckled hen’s eggs. —
老鼠吃掉了吉米·塔尔伯特姑姑的十六个斑点鸡蛋。 —

Are there any real Indians in these woods? I want some more gravy. —
这片树林里有真正的印第安人吗？我想要更多的肉汁。 —

Does the trees moving make the wind blow? —
是树的运动让风吹吗？ —

We had five puppies. What makes your nose so red, Hank? —
我们有五只小狗。汉克，你的鼻子为什么那么红？ —

My father has lots of money. —
我爸爸有很多钱。 —

Are the stars hot? —
星星热吗？ —

I whipped Ed Walker twice, Saturday. I don’t like girls. —
上周六我两次打击了艾德·沃克。我不喜欢女孩。 —

You dassent catch toads unless with a string. —
除非用绳子，否则你不能抓蟾蜍。 —

Do oxen make any noise? Why are oranges round? —
牛会发出声音吗？为什么橙子是圆的？ —

Have you got beds to sleep on in this cave? —
这个洞穴里有床可以睡吗？ —

Amos Murray has got Six toes. —
埃莫斯·默里有六个脚趾。 —

A parrot can talk, but a monkey or a fish can’t. —
鹦鹉会说话，但猴子或鱼不能。 —

How many does it take to make twelve?”
要做十二需要几个人？”

Every few minutes he would remember that he was a pesky redskin, and pick up his stick rifle and tiptoe to the mouth of the cave to rubber for the scouts of the hated paleface. —
每隔几分钟，他会想起自己是个讨厌的红肤鬼，然后拿起他的木枪蹑手蹑脚地走到洞口悄悄窥视着被憎恶的白人的侦察兵。 —

Now and then he would let out a war-whoop that made Old Hank the Trapper shiver. —
他时不时地发出一声使老猎人汉克颤抖的战吼。 —

That boy had Bill terrorized from the start.
那个男孩从一开始就让比尔吓坏了。

“Red Chief,” says I to the kid, “would you like to go home?”
“小头目，”我对那个孩子说，“你想回家吗？”

“Aw, what for?” says he. “I don’t have any fun at home. —
“哎，为什么要回家？”他说。“我在家没有乐趣。 —

I hate to go to school. —
我讨厌上学。 —

I like to camp out. You won’t take me back home again, Snake-eye, will you?”
我喜欢露营。你不会再带我回家了，蛇眼，对吗？”

“Not right away,” says I. “We’ll stay here in the cave a while.”
“现在还不会，”我说。“我们会在这个洞穴里待一段时间。”

“All right!” says he. “That’ll be fine. —
“好的！”他说。“太好了。 —

I never had such fun in all my life.”
我一辈子都没有过这么有趣的时光。”

We went to bed about eleven o’clock. —
我们大约在晚上十一点上床睡觉。 —

We spread down some wide blankets and quilts and put Red Chief between us. —
我们铺了一些宽大的毯子和被子，把小头目放在我们中间。 —

We weren’t afraid he’d run away. —
我们不担心他会逃走。 —

He kept us awake for three hours, jumping up and reaching for his rifle and screeching: “Hist! —
他一直跳来跳去，伸手拿起他的步枪，尖叫着：“嘘！伙计！”在我和比尔的耳边，当他年轻的想象力听到树枝的脆响或叶子的沙沙声时，似乎暗示着歹徒团伙正在偷偷靠近。 —

pard,” in mine and Bill’s ears, as the fancied crackle of a twig or the rustle of a leaf revealed to his young imagination the stealthy approach of the outlaw band. —
最后，我陷入了烦恼的睡眠，梦见自己被一个红发凶恶的海盗绑在一棵树上。 —

At last, I fell into a troubled sleep, and dreamed that I had been kidnapped and chained to a tree by a ferocious pirate with red hair.
在天刚亮的时候，我被比尔惊人的一连串尖叫声吵醒了。这些尖叫声不像是来自一个有男子气概的声音器官发出的呼喊、嚎叫、喊叫、吼叫或呜咽声，而只是令人不雅、可怕、令人羞辱的尖叫声，就像女人在看到鬼魂或毛毛虫时发出的声音。

Just at daybreak, I was awakened by a series of awful screams from Bill. They weren’t yells, or howls, or shouts, or whoops, or yalps, such as you’d expect from a manly set of vocal organs – they were simply indecent, terrifying, humiliating screams, such as women emit when they see ghosts or caterpillars. —
在一个洞穴里，在天刚亮时，听到一个强壮、绝望、肥胖的男人不受控制地尖叫，这是一件非常可怕的事情。 —

It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, desperate, fat man scream incontinently in a cave at daybreak.
我跳了起来，看看是怎么回事。红色酋长坐在比尔的胸口上，一只手缠在比尔的头发里。

I jumped up to see what the matter was. —
红色酋长坐在比尔的胸口上， —

Red Chief was sitting on Bill’s chest, with one hand twined in Bill’s hair. —
一只手缠在比尔的头发里。 —

In the other he had the sharp case-knife we used for slicing, bacon; —
在另一只手中，他握着我们用来切割培根的锋利的小刀； —

and he was industriously and realistically trying to take Bill’s scalp, according to the sentence that had been pronounced upon him the evening before.
他正勤奋而逼真地试图按照前一天晚上对他的判决将比尔的头皮割下来。

I got the knife away from the kid and made him lie down again. —
我从孩子手中夺过刀，让他再次躺下。但是， —

But, from that moment, Bill’s spirit was broken. —
从那一刻起，比尔的精神就被击败了。 —

He laid down on his side of the bed, but he never closed an eye again in sleep as long as that boy was with us. —
他躺在床的一边，但只要那个孩子和我们在一起，他再也没有闭眼入睡。 —

I dozed off for a while, but along toward sun-up I remembered that Red Chief had said I was to be burned at the stake at the rising of the sun. —
我打了个盹，但快到日出时我记起了红酋长说过我会被绑在柴堆上，等太阳升起时被烧死。 —

I wasn’t nervous or afraid; —
我并不紧张或害怕， —

but I sat up and lit my pipe and leaned against a rock.
我坐起身来，点燃烟斗，靠在一块石头上。

“What you getting up so soon for, Sam?” asked Bill.
“你为什么这么早起床，山姆？”比尔问道。

“Me?” says I. “Oh, I got a kind of a pain in my shoulder. —
“我？”我说，“哦，我肩膀有点疼。 —

I thought sitting up would rest it.”
我想坐起来休息一下。”

“You’re a liar!” says Bill. “You’re afraid. —
“你在撒谎！”比尔说。“你害怕了。 —

You was to be burned at sunrise, and you was afraid he’d do it. —
你本来应该在日出时被烧死，你害怕他会这么做。 —

And he would, too, if he could find a match. —
如果他能找到一个配偶的话，他也会这样做。 —

Ain’t it awful, Sam? —
这真是可怕，Sam。 —

Do you think anybody will pay out money to get a little imp like that back home?”
你认为会有人支付钱把这样一个小恶魔送回家吗？

“Sure,” said I. “A rowdy kid like that is just the kind that parents dote on. —
“当然，”我说。 “像那样调皮的孩子正是家长们宠爱的对象。 —

Now, you and the Chief get up and cook breakfast, while I go up on the top of this mountain and reconnoitre.”
现在，你和首领起来做早餐，我去这座山的山顶上侦查一下。

I went up on the peak of the little mountain and ran my eye over the contiguous vicinity. —
我走上小山的顶峰，眺望周边地区。 —

Over toward Summit I expected to see the sturdy yeomanry of the village armed with scythes and pitchforks beating the countryside for the dastardly kidnappers. —
在朝山上的方向，我期待着看到全副武装的村庄村民们，手持镰刀和干草叉，四处搜查那些卑鄙的绑架犯。 —

But what I saw was a peaceful landscape dotted with one man ploughing with a dun mule. —
但是我看到的是一个和一匹灰驴耕田的宁静景色。 —

Nobody was dragging the creek; —
没有人在拖着小溪； —

no couriers dashed hither and yon, bringing tidings of no news to the distracted parents. —
没有传令兵东奔西走，向着心力憔悴的父母们传递毫无内容的消息。 —

There was a sylvan attitude of somnolent sleepiness pervading that section of the external outward surface of Alabama that lay exposed to my view. —
我看到的是阿拉巴马州那片暴露在我视线范围内外表的区域上，笼罩着一种昏昏欲睡的森林氛围。 —

“Perhaps,” says I to myself, “it has not yet been discovered that the wolves have home away the tender lambkin from the fold. —
“也许，”我对自己说，“人们还没有发现狼已经把嫩羔羊从羊圈里带走了。” —

Heaven help the wolves!” says I, and I went down the mountain to breakfast.
“愿天父助狼！”我说着下山去吃早餐。

When I got to the cave I found Bill backed up against the side of it, breathing hard, and the boy threatening to smash him with a rock half as big as a cocoanut.
当我到达洞穴时，我发现比尔背靠在洞穴的一侧，气喘吁吁，那个男孩威胁要用一块半个椰子那么大的石头砸他。

“He put a red-hot boiled potato down my back,” explained Bill, “and the mashed it with his foot; —
“他往我背上放了一个红热的煮熟的土豆，”比尔解释说，“然后用脚踩碎它； —

and I boxed his ears. Have you got a gun about you, Sam?
我打了他的耳光。你身上有枪吗，山姆？

I took the rock away from the boy and kind of patched up the argument. —
我从男孩手里抢过石头，有点化解了争论。 —

“I’ll fix you,” says the kid to Bill. “No man ever yet struck the Red Chief but what he got paid for it. —
“我要收拾你，”男孩对比尔说道。“红酋长被打过的人从来都得到了应有的报应。 —

You better beware!”
你最好小心点！”

After breakfast the kid takes a piece of leather with strings wrapped around it out of his pocket and goes outside the cave unwinding it.
早餐后，男孩从口袋里拿出一片用绳子缠着的皮革，走出洞穴，解开绳子。

“What’s he up to now?” says Bill, anxiously. —
“他现在要做什么？”比尔焦虑地说。 —

“You don’t think he’ll run away, do you, Sam?”
“你不会以为他要逃跑吧，山姆？”

“No fear of it,” says I. “He don’t seem to be much of a home body. —
“我没有害怕，”我说。“他似乎不太喜欢呆在家里。 —

But we’ve got to fix up some plan about the ransom. —
但是我们得制定一些关于赎金的计划。” —

There don’t seem to be much excitement around Summit on account of his disappearance; —
“苏密特似乎没有因为他的失踪而引起太大的兴奋； —

but maybe they haven’t realized yet that he’s gone. —
但也许他们还没有意识到他走了。” —

His folks may think he’s spending the night with Aunt Jane or one of the neighbours. —
“他的家人可能认为他今晚在简婶婶或其他邻居那里过夜。无论如何， —

Anyhow, he’ll be missed to-day. —
今天会发现他不见了。” —

To-night we must get a message to his father demanding the two thousand dollars for his return.”
“今晚我们必须传达给他父亲的信息要求付两千美元作为他的赎金。”

Just then we heard a kind Of war-whoop, such as David might have emitted when he knocked out the champion Goliath. —
就在那时，我们听到了一种类似大卫击败巨人歌利亚时发出的战争呼喊声。 —

It was a sling that Red Chief had pulled out of his pocket, and he was whirling it around his head.
那是一个红酋长从口袋里拿出来的吊索，他把它甩向了自己的头顶。

I dodged, and heard a heavy thud and a kind of a sigh from Bill, like a horse gives out when you take his saddle off. —
我闪开了，听到了比尔的一声沉闷的撞击声和一种类似马在卸下鞍具时发出的叹息声。 —

A niggerhead rock the size of an egg had caught Bill just behind his left ear. —
一个巨大的鸡蛋大小的凸起石击中了比尔的左耳后面。 —

He loosened himself all over and fell in the fire across the frying pan of hot water for washing the dishes. —
他全身松懈下来，摔进了满是洗碗用的热水的炉火里。 —

I dragged him out and poured cold water on his head for half an hour.
我把他拖出来，倒了半个小时的冷水在他头上。

By and by, Bill sits up and feels behind his ear and says: —
不久，比尔坐了起来，摸着耳朵后面说：“山姆， —

“Sam, do you know who my favourite Biblical character is?”
你知道我最喜欢的圣经人物是谁吗？”

“Take it easy,” says I. “You’ll come to your senses presently.”
“放松点，”我说。 “一会你就会醒悟过来。”

“King Herod,” says he. “You won’t go away and leave me here alone, will you, Sam?”
“希律王，”他说。 “你不会离开我一个人在这里，对吧，山姆？”

I went out and caught that boy and shook him until his freckles rattled.
我出去抓住那个小男孩，把他摇得天昏地暗。

“If you don’t behave,” says I, “I’ll take you straight home. Now, are you going to be good, or not?”
“如果你不听话，”我说， “我就会带你直接回家。现在，你打算乖乖的吗？”

“I was only funning,” says he sullenly. —
“我只是开玩笑，”他愠怒地说。 —

“I didn’t mean to hurt Old Hank. But what did he hit me for? —
“我不是故意伤害汉克老头的。但他为什么要打我？” —

“I’ll behave, Snake-eye, if you won’t send me home, and if you’ll let me play the Black Scout to-day.”
“我会听话，眯眼蛇，如果你不把我送回家，而且如果你让我今天扮演黑色侦察兵。”

“I don’t know the game,” says I. “That’s for you and Mr. Bill to decide. —
“我不知道这个游戏，”我说。 “这是由你和比尔先决定。 —

He’s your playmate for the day. —
他是你的玩伴今天。” —

I’m going away for a while, on business. Now, you come in and make friends with him and say you are sorry for hurting him, or home you go, at once.”
我要出差一段时间。现在，你进去和他交朋友，说你很抱歉伤害了他，或者立刻回家。

I made him and Bill shake hands, and then I took Bill aside and told him I was going to Poplar Cove, a little village three miles from the cave, and find out what I could about how the kidnapping had been regarded in Summit. —
我让他和比尔握手，然后把比尔带到一边告诉他我要去波普拉科夫，那是离洞穴三英里远的小村庄，想看看绑架案在桑米特社区里是如何看待的。 —

Also, I thought it best to send a peremptory letter to old man Dorset that day, demanding the ransom and dictating how it should be paid.
此外，我认为最好当天给老多塞特先生写一封命令性的信，要求赎金，并规定如何支付。

“You know, Sam,” says Bill, “I’ve stood by you without batting an eye in earthquakes, fire and flood – in poker games, dynamite outrages, police raids, train robberies and cyclones. —
“你知道，山姆”，比尔说，“地震、火灾、洪水，还有扑克游戏、炸药爆炸、警察突袭、火车劫持和龙卷风，我在所有这些情况下都毫不犹豫地站在你这边。 —

I never lost my nerve yet till we kidnapped that two-legged skyrocket of a kid. —
直到我们绑架那个火炬似的小子，我从未失去过勇气。 —

He’s got me going. You won’t leave me long with him, will you, Sam?”
他让我感到焦虑。你不会让我长时间和他待在一起吧，山姆？”

“I’ll be back some time this afternoon,” says I. “You must keep the boy amused and quiet till I return. —
“今天下午我会回来的”，我说，“你必须让孩子开心而安静，等我回来。 —

And now we’ll write the letter to old Dorset.”
现在我们来给老多塞特写信吧。”

Bill and I got paper and pencil and worked on the letter while Red Chief, with a blanket wrapped around him, strutted up and down, guarding the mouth of the cave. —
比尔和我拿起纸和铅笔，在洞口来回踱步的红酋长披着毯子，守卫着口岸。 —

Bill begged me tearfully to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand. —
比尔含泪恳求我，将赎金从两千美元降到一千五百美元。 —

“I ain’t attempting,” says he, “to decry the celebrated moral aspect of parental affection, but we’re dealing with humans, and it ain’t human for anybody to give up two thousand dollars for that forty-pound chunk of freckled wildcat. —
他说：“我不是要否定那种以亲子之爱为中心的道德取向，但现在我们面对的是人类，为了一个四十磅重、长斑块状的野猫砸下两千美元，这不符合人性。” —

I’m willing to take a chance at fifteen hundred dollars. You can charge the difference up to me.”
我愿意冒一次一千五百美元的险。剩下的差价算我的帐。

So, to relieve Bill, I acceded, and we collaborated a letter that ran this way:
为了安抚比尔，我妥协了，我们合作起草了一封信，信中写道：

Ebenezer Dorset, Esq.:
尊敬的埃本尼泽·多塞特先生：

We have your boy concealed in a place far from Summit. —
我们将您的孩子隐藏在离山顶很远的地方。 —

It is useless for you or the most skilful detectives to attempt to find him. —
您或者最熟练的侦探试图找到他是徒劳无功的。 —

Absolutely, the only terms on which you can have him restored to you are these: —
绝对的事实是，您可以将他夺回拥有，唯一的条件是： —

We demand fifteen hundred dollars in large bills for his return; —
我们要求一千五百美元的大面额钞票作为他归还的代价； —

the money to be left at midnight to-night at the same spot and in the same box as your reply – as hereinafter described. —
钱将会在今晚午夜留在与您的回复相同的地点和同一个盒子里——如下所述。 —

If you agree to these terms, send your answer in writing by a solitary messenger to-night at half-past eight o’clock. —
如果您同意这些条件，请在今晚八点半之前以书面回复派遣一位独立信使。 —

After crossing Owl Creek, on the road to Poplar Cove, there are three large trees about a hundred yards apart, close to the fence of the wheat field on the right-hand side. —
在前往波普拉科夫的路上，穿过猫头鹰溪，右手边接近麦田栅栏，有三棵相距百码左右的大树。 —

At the bottom of the fence-post, opposite the third tree, will be found a small pasteboard box. —
在第三棵树对面的栅栏柱底部，将会找到一个小硬纸板盒子。 —

The messenger will place the answer in this box and return immediately to Summit.
信使将把回复放入这个盒子，并立即返回苏密特村。

If you attempt any treachery or fail to comply with our demand as stated, you will never see your boy again.
如果你企图背叛或未能按照我们的要求履行，你将永远见不到你的孩子。

If you pay the money as demanded, he will be returned to you safe and well within three hours. —
如果你按要求支付了钱款，他将在三个小时内平安无事地归还给您。 —

These terms are final, and if you do not accede to them no further communication will be attempted.
这些条件是最终的，如果你不同意，不再尝试进一步沟通。

TWO DESPERATE MEN.
两个绝望的人。

I addressed this letter to Dorset, and put it in my pocket. —
我把这封信寄给了多塞特，并把它放在了口袋里。 —

As I was about to start, the kid comes up to me and says:
就在我即将开始时，那孩子走到我跟前说：

“Aw, Snake-eye, you said I could play the Black Scout while you was gone.”
“嗨，独眼蛇，你说我可以在你离开的时候玩黑色斥候。”

“Play it, of course,” says I. “Mr. Bill will play with you. —
“玩吧，当然可以，”我说。“比尔先生会和你一起玩。 —

What kind of a game is it?”
是什么样的游戏？”

“I’m the Black Scout,” says Red Chief, “and I have to ride to the stockade to warn the settlers that the Indians are coming. —
“我是黑色斥候，”红酋长说，“我必须骑向据点，警告定居者印第安人来了。 —

I’m tired of playing Indian myself. —
“我已经厌倦了自己扮演印第安人。 —

I want to be the Black Scout.”
我想成为黑色斥候。”

“All right,” says I. “It sounds harmless to me. —
“好吧，”我说。“听起来对我来说没什么危险。 —

I guess Mr. Bill will help you foil the pesky savages.”
我想比尔先生会帮你打击这些讨厌的野蛮人。”

“What am I to do?” asks Bill, looking at the kid suspiciously.
“那我该做什么？”比尔问着，怀疑地看着那个孩子。

“You are the hoss,” says Black Scout. “Get down on your hands and knees. —
“你是马，”黑色斥候说。“趴下，以便我骑向据点。 —

How can I ride to the stockade without a hoss?”
没有马，我怎么能去呢？”

“You’d better keep him interested,” said I, “till we get the scheme going. —
“在我们实施计划之前，最好让他保持兴趣，”我说。“放松点。 —

Loosen up.”
”

Bill gets down on his all fours, and a look comes in his eye like a rabbit’s when you catch it in a trap.
比尔趴在地上，眼神中流露出一种兔子被困在陷阱中时的表情。

“How far is it to the stockade, kid?” he asks, in a husky manner of voice.
“孩子，到了囤地还有多远？”他用一种沙哑的声音问道。

“Ninety miles,” says the Black Scout. “And you have to hump yourself to get there on time. —
“九十英里，”黑人侦查兵说道，“你必须亲自前往以确保按时到达。喂， —

Whoa, now!”
现在来吧！”

The Black Scout jumps on Bill’s back and digs his heels in his side.
黑人侦查兵跳到比尔的背上，用脚后跟猛踢他的腰部。

“For Heaven’s sake,” says Bill, “hurry back, Sam, as soon as you can. —
“拜托了，”比尔说道，“山姆，你尽快回来吧。 —

I wish we hadn’t made the ransom more than a thousand. Say, you quit kicking me or I’ll get up and warm you good.”
我希望我们没有要求赎金超过一千美元。喂，你别再踢我了，否则我会站起来好好教训你的。”

I walked over to Poplar Cove and sat around the post-office and store, talking with the chawbacons that came in to trade. —
我走到杨树湾，坐在邮局和商店里，和那些来做交易的乡巴佬们聊天。 —

One whiskerando says that he hears Summit is all upset on account of Elder Ebenezer Dorset’s boy having been lost or stolen. —
有个胡子拉碴的家伙说，听说峰会方圆因为埃伯尼泽·多尔塞特的儿子失踪或被绑架而大为震动。 —

That was all I wanted to know. —
这正是我想要知道的。 —

I bought some smoking tobacco, referred casually to the price of black-eyed peas, posted my letter surreptitiously and came away. —
我买了一些烟草，随便提到了黑眼豆的价格，偷偷寄出了我的信，然后离开了。 —

The postmaster said the mail-carrier would come by in an hour to take the mail on to Summit.
邮政局长说，邮递员会在一个小时后来取信件送往峰会。

When I got back to the cave Bill and the boy were not to be found. —
当我回到洞穴时，Bill和那个男孩不见了。 —

I explored the vicinity of the cave, and risked a yodel or two, but there was no response.
我探索了洞穴周围的地方，冒险尝试了几声呼喊，但没有回应。

So I lighted my pipe and sat down on a mossy bank to await developments.
所以我点燃了我的烟斗，坐在一个长满苔藓的岸边等待事情的发展。

In about half an hour I heard the bushes rustle, and Bill wabbled out into the little glade in front of the cave. —
大约半小时后，我听到灌木丛沙沙作响，Bill晃晃悠悠地走出来，来到洞穴前面的小林地。 —

Behind him was the kid, stepping softly like a scout, with a broad grin on his face. —
他身后走着那个孩子，像一个侦察兵一样轻盈地脚步，脸上带着灿烂的笑容。 —

Bill stopped, took off his hat and wiped his face with a red handkerchief. —
Bill停下来，摘下帽子，用一块红手帕擦了擦脸。 —

The kid stopped about eight feet behind him.
孩子在他后面停了约八英尺的距离。

“Sam,” says Bill, “I suppose you’ll think I’m a renegade, but I couldn’t help it. —
“Sam，”Bill说，”我想你会认为我是个叛徒，但我无能为力。 —

I’m a grown person with masculine proclivities and habits of self-defense, but there is a time when all systems of egotism and predominance fail. —
我是个成年人，有着男性的倾向和自卫习惯，但总有些时候个人主义和支配欲望都会失败。 —

The boy is gone. I have sent him home. All is off. —
孩子走了。我把他送回家了。 —

There was martyrs in old times,” goes on Bill, “that suffered death rather than give up the particular graft they enjoyed. —
一切都结束了。旧时有些殉道者宁可死也不放弃他们享受的特权。 —

None of ‘em ever was subjugated to such supernatural tortures as I have been. —
没有一个人经历过像我这样的超自然折磨。 —

I tried to be faithful to our articles of depredation; —
我试着忠于我们的掠夺守则， —

but there came a limit.”
但是有一个限度。

“What’s the trouble, Bill?” I asks him.
“怎么了，比尔？”我问他。

“I was rode,” says Bill, “the ninety miles to the stockade, not barring an inch. Then, when the settlers was rescued, I was given oats. —
“我被骑了九十英里到了栈房，一步都没少。然后，当拯救者们到来时，我得到了燕麦。 —

Sand ain’t a palatable substitute. And then, for an hour I had to try to explain to him why there was nothin’ in holes, how a road can run both ways and what makes the grass green. —
沙子可不是一种可口的替代品。然后，我得花一个小时来解释给他为什么洞里没有东西，道路为什么可以双向行驶，以及为什么草是绿色的。 —

I tell you, Sam, a human can only stand so much. —
我告诉你，山姆，一个人只能承受这么多。 —

I takes him by the neck of his clothes and drags him down the mountain. —
我抓住他衣领的脖子，把他从山上拽下来。 —

On the way he kicks my legs black-and-blue from the knees down; —
在路上，他踢得我的腿从膝盖以下一片黑青。 —

and I’ve got to have two or three bites on my thumb and hand cauterized.
我不得不去疗伤两三次，在我的大拇指和手上都咬了两三口。

“But he’s gone” – continues Bill – “gone home. —
“但他已经走了”——比尔继续说——“走了回家。 —

I showed him the road to Summit and kicked him about eight feet nearer there at one kick. —
我给他指了通往山顶的路，并且一脚把他踢得离那边近了八英尺。” —

I’m sorry we lose the ransom; —
很抱歉我们失去了赎金； —

but it was either that or Bill Driscoll to the madhouse.”
但要么是赎金，要么是把比尔·德里斯科尔送进疯人院。

Bill is puffing and blowing, but there is a look of ineffable peace and growing content on his rose-pink features.
比尔喘着气，脸上带着难以言喻的平静和越来越满足的表情。

“Bill,” says I, “there isn’t any heart disease in your family, is there?
“比尔，”我说，”你们家里没有心脏病吧？

“No,” says Bill, “nothing chronic except malaria and accidents. Why?”
“没有，”比尔说，”除了疟疾和意外之外没有慢性病。为什么？

“Then you might turn around,” says I, “and have a took behind you.”
“那你可以转过身来，”我说，” 看看后面有什么。

Bill turns and sees the boy, and loses his complexion and sits down plump on the round and begins to pluck aimlessly at grass and little sticks. —
比尔转过身，看到了那个小男孩，脸色变得苍白，他笨拙地坐在地上，随意地撕拉着草和小树枝。 —

For an hour I was afraid for his mind. —
一个小时以来，我一直担心他的精神状况。 —

And then I told him that my scheme was to put the whole job through immediately and that we would get the ransom and be off with it by midnight if old Dorset fell in with our proposition. —
然后我告诉他，我的计划是立即完成整个工作，如果老德赛特接受我们的提议，我们将在午夜前得到赎金并离开。 —

So Bill braced up enough to give the kid a weak sort of a smile and a promise to play the Russian in a Japanese war with him is soon as he felt a little better.
于是比尔勉强给那个孩子一个虚弱的微笑，并承诺在他感觉好些之后，和他一起玩俄罗斯人与日本人的战争游戏。

I had a scheme for collecting that ransom without danger of being caught by counterplots that ought to commend itself to professional kidnappers. —
我有一个方案，可以在没有被反扒计划抓住的危险的情况下收取赎金，这应该会得到专业绑匪的认可。 —

The tree under which the answer was to be left – and the money later on – was close to the road fence with big, bare fields on all sides. —
答案和后来的钱都将被放置在靠近路边篱笆旁的树下，周围都是一片宽广的裸露田地。 —

If a gang of constables should be watching for any one to come for the note they could see him a long way off crossing the fields or in the road. —
如果一群巡警正在观察是否有人来拿那个纸条，他们可以从远处就能看到他穿过田地或者在马路上。 —

But no, sirree! At half-past eight I was up in that tree as well hidden as a tree toad, waiting for the messenger to arrive.
但是，不可能！八点半的时候，我就躲在那棵树上，像一只藏在里面的蟾蜍，等待信使的到来。

Exactly on time, a half-grown boy rides up the road on a bicycle, locates the pasteboard box at the foot of the fence-post, slips a folded piece of paper into it and pedals away again back toward Summit.
准时到达，一个年幼的男孩骑着自行车沿着路骑来，找到放在篱笆柱脚的硬纸板盒子，将一张纸塞进去，然后又骑回去返回Summit。

I waited an hour and then concluded the thing was square. —
我等了一个小时，然后得出结论这件事是安全可行的。 —

I slid down the tree, got the note, slipped along the fence till I struck the woods, and was back at the cave in another half an hour. —
我从树上滑下来，拿到了那张纸条，沿着篱笆走到碰到树林的地方，半个小时后回到了洞穴。 —

I opened the note, got near the lantern and read it to Bill. It was written with a pen in a crabbed hand, and the sum and substance of it was this:
我打开了那张纸条，走近灯笼，把它念给了比尔听。这是用蟹爪手一蹭写的，内容简要如下：

Two Desperate Men.
绝望的两个人。

Gentlemen: I received your letter to-day by post, in regard to the ransom you ask for the return of my son. —
先生们：我今天通过邮件收到了您关于赎回我儿子所需赎金的信。 —

I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter-proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept. —
我觉得你们的要求有点高，因此我向您提出了一个反对建议，我倾向于相信您会接受。 —

You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands. —
你们把约翰尼带回家，并支付现金两百五十美元，我同意接手他。 —

You had better come at night, for the neighbours believe he is lost, and I couldn’t be responsible for what they would do to anybody they saw bringing him back.
你最好在晚上来，因为邻居们认为他已经失踪了，我对任何他们看到带他回来的人所做的事情不能负责。

Very respectfully,EBENEZER DORSET.
此致，EBENEZER DORSET。

“Great pirates of Penzance!” says I; —
“彻头彻尾的海盗啊！”我说道；” —

“of all the impudent – “
这真是太厚颜无耻了——”

But I glanced at Bill, and hesitated. —
但我看了比尔一眼，犹豫了。 —

He had the most appealing look in his eyes I ever saw on the face of a dumb or a talking brute.
他的眼神中有一种我从未在哑巴或会说话的畜生脸上见过的极具呼吁力。

“Sam,” says he, “what’s two hundred and fifty dollars, after all? We’ve got the money. —
“嗨，山姆，两百五十美元算得了什么呢？我们有钱。 —

One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam. —
再多陪这孩子一晚就让我疯了。” —

Besides being a thorough gentleman, I think Mr. Dorset is a spendthrift for making us such a liberal offer. —
“除了是个彻底的绅士，我觉得多赛特先生简直是一个挥霍无度的人，竟然给了我们这么大方的提议。” —

You ain’t going to let the chance go, are you?”
“你不会放过这个机会吧？”

“Tell you the truth, Bill,” says I, “this little he ewe lamb has somewhat got on my nerves too. —
“说实话，比尔，这只小母羊也让我有点心烦意乱。” —

We’ll take him home, pay the ransom and make our get-away.”
“我们会把他带回家，付赎金然后逃走。”

We took him home that night. —
“那天晚上我们把他带回了家。 —

We got him to go by telling him that his father had bought a silver-mounted rifle and a pair of moccasins for him, and we were going to hunt bears the next day.
我们告诉他他爸爸为他买了一把银装来复枪和一双鹿皮鞋，明天我们要去猎熊。”

It was just twelve o’clock when we knocked at Ebenezer s front door. —
“我们敲响了埃贝尼泽的前门的时候刚好是午夜十二点。” —

Just at the moment when I should have been abstracting the fifteen hundred dollars from the box under the tree, according to the original proposition, Bill was counting out two hundred and fifty dollars into Dorset’s hand.
“就在本来的计划中我应该从树下的盒子中拿出一千五百美元的时候，比尔正在把两百五十美元递到多赛特的手中。”

When the kid found out we were going to leave him at home he started up a howl like a calliope and fastened himself as tight as a leech to Bill’s leg. —
当孩子发现我们要把他留在家里时，他像一个旋律般的呼啸声开始哭喊起来，紧紧抓住比尔的腿，就像一条紧贴在皮肤上的蛭虫一样。 —

His father peeled him away gradually, like a porous plaster.
他父亲慢慢地把他撕离开，就像撕掉一块多孔的膏药一样。

“How long can you hold him?” asks Bill.
“你能抓住他多久？”比尔问。

“I’m not as strong as I used to be,” says old Dorset, “but I think I can promise you ten minutes.”
“我以前不像现在这样强壮了，但我想我能保证你十分钟。”老道尔塞特说。

“Enough,” says Bill. “In ten minutes I shall cross the Central, Southern and Middle Western States, and be legging it trippingly for the Canadian border.”
“足够了，”比尔说。“十分钟后，我将穿越中部、南部和中西部的州，然后迅速朝加拿大边境逃去。”

And, as dark as it was, and as fat as Bill was, and as good a runner as I am, he was a good mile and a half out of Summit before I could catch up with him.
尽管天已经这么黑了，比尔已经胖得不行了，而我就是一个擅长跑步的人，但在我追上他之前，他已经从萨米特出发已经走了一英里半。