Tiare, when I told her this story, praised my prudence, and for a few minutes we worked in silence, for we were shelling peas. —
塔尤尔在我讲述这个故事时，赞扬我的谨慎，我们沉默地一起剥豌豆。 —

Then her eyes, always alert for the affairs of her kitchen, fell on some action of the Chinese cook which aroused her violent disapproval. —
她的眼睛总是留意厨房的事务，突然看到中国厨师的某个举动，引起她的强烈不满。 —

She turned on him with a torrent of abuse. —
她冲着他发泄出一连串辱骂。 —

The Chink was not backward to defend himself, and a very lively quarrel ensued. —
那个中国厨师也不甘示弱，于是一场激烈的争吵开始了。 —

They spoke in the native language, of which I had learnt but half a dozen words, and it sounded as though the world would shortly come to an end; —
他们说着本地语言，而我只懂得几个词，听起来好像世界马上就要终结； —

but presently peace was restored and Tiare gave the cook a cigarette. —
但很快和平恢复，塔尤尔给了厨师一支香烟。 —

They both smoked comfortably.
他们两人舒舒服服地抽烟。

“Do you know, it was I who found him his wife?” —
“你知道吗，是我给他找到了妻子。” —

said Tiare suddenly, with a smile that spread all over her immense face.
塔尤尔突然笑着说，笑容扩散到她那张宽广的脸上。

“The cook?”
“那个厨师?”

“No, Strickland. “
“不是，史特里克兰。”

“But he had one already. “
“可是他已经有妻子了。”

“That is what he said, but I told him she was in England, and England is at the other end of the world. “
“他是这么说的，但我告诉他她在英格兰，而英格兰在世界的另一端。”

“True, ” I replied.
“没错，”我回答说。

“He would come to Papeete every two or three months, when he wanted paints or tobacco or money, and then he would wander about like a lost dog. —
“他每隔两三个月就会来帕皮提，需要颜料或烟草或钱，然后他会像只迷失的狗一样四处游荡。” —

I was sorry for him. I had a girl here then called Ata to do the rooms; —
我为他感到难过。我有个叫阿塔的女孩来做房间； —

she was some sort of a relation of mine, and her father and mother were dead, so I had her to live with me. —
她跟我有点亲戚关系，她的父母已经去世了，所以我让她和我住在一起。 —

Strickland used to come here now and then to have a square meal or to play chess with one of the boys. —
史特里克兰时不时会来这里吃顿饱饱的或者和其中一个男孩下国际象棋。 —

I noticed that she looked at him when he came, and I asked her if she liked him. —
我注意到她每次他来时都看着他，于是我问她喜欢他吗。 —

She said she liked him well enough. You know what these girls are; —
她说她挺喜欢他的。你知道这些女孩怎么样； —

they’re always pleased to go with a white man. “
他们总是乐意跟白人在一起。”

“Was she a native?” I asked.
“她是本地人吗？”我问。

“Yes; she hadn’t a drop of white blood in her. —
“是的；她一点白人血统都没有。 —

Well, after I’d talked to her I sent for Strickland, and I said to him: —
后来我和她谈过后就找来了史特里克兰，对他说： —

Strickland, it's time for you to settle down. --- <span><tang1>史特里克兰，是时候让你安定下来了。 —

A man of your age shouldn’t go playing about with the girls down at the front. —
你这个年龄的人不应该和前线那些女孩胡闹。 —

They’re bad lots, and you’ll come to no good with them. —
她们都不是什么好货色，你跟她们走不到好地方的。 —

You’ve got no money, and you can never keep a job for more than a month or two. —
你没钱，工作也干不了多久。现在没有人愿意雇佣你。 —

No one will employ you now. You say you can always live in the bush with one or other of the natives, and they’re glad to have you because you’re a white man, but it’s not decent for a white man. —
你说你总是可以和一个本地人住在丛林里，他们很乐意接纳你因为你是个白人，可这不适合一个白人做。 —

Now, listen to me, Strickland. ‘”
现在，听我的。’”

Tiare mingled French with English in her conversation, for she used both languages with equal facility. —
Tiare在谈话中混合使用法语和英语，因为她能够同样流利地使用这两种语言。 —

She spoke them with a singing accent which was not unpleasing. —
她说话的口音带有一种歌唱般的腔调，并不令人讨厌。 —

You felt that a bird would speak in these tones if it could speak English.
你觉得如果鸟会说英语的话，它们会用这样的语调。

”‘Now, what do you say to marrying Ata? She’s a good girl and she’s only seventeen. —
“‘那么，你觉得和Ata结婚怎么样？她是个好女孩，才十七岁。 —

She’s never been promiscuous like some of these girls – a captain or a first mate, yes, but she’s never been touched by a native. —
她从来没有像一些女孩那样随便过–可能用船长或高级船员，但她从未被本地人碰过。 —

Elle se respecte, vois-tu. The purser of the Oahu told me last journey that he hadn’t met a nicer girl in the islands. —
Elle se respecte, vois-tu. Oahu的事务长上次告诉我说，在岛上他还没有见过比她更好的女孩。 —

It’s time she settled down too, and besides, the captains and the first mates like a change now and then. —
她也该定下来了，而且船长和高级船员们偶尔也喜欢换一换。 —

I don’t keep my girls too long. She has a bit of property down by Taravao, just before you come to the peninsula, and with copra at the price it is now you could live quite comfortably. —
我的女孩不会长期留在这里。她在Taravao旁边有一块产业，就在半岛前面，现在椰酸脂的价格这么高，你们可以过得相当舒服。 —

There’s a house, and you’d have all the time you wanted for your painting. —
那里有一座房子，你可以有足够的时间画画。 —

What do you say to it?”
你觉得怎么样？”

Tiare paused to take breath.
Tiare停下来喘口气。

“It was then he told me of his wife in England. —
“那时他告诉我他在英格兰有一个妻子。 —

‘My poor Strickland, ’ I said to him, ‘they’ve all got a wife somewhere; —
‘可怜的斯特里克兰德，’我对他说，‘他们通常都在别处有个妻子； —

that is generally why they come to the islands. —
这通常就是他们来到这些岛屿的原因。 —

Ata is a sensible girl, and she doesn’t expect any ceremony before the Mayor. She’s a Protestant, and you know they don’t look upon these things like the Catholics. ‘
Ata是个明智的女孩，她并不指望在市长面前有什么仪式。她是个新教徒，你知道他们对待这些事情不像天主教徒那样看待。”

“Then he said: But what does Ata say to it?'It appears that she has a beguin for you, ’ I said. —
“然后他说：但Ata对此有什么看法呢？'看来她对你有好感，’我说。 —

She's willing if you are. Shall I call her?' --- <span><tang1>如果你愿意，她也愿意。我给她打电话吗？’ —

He chuckled in a funny, dry way he had, and I called her. —
他发出一声干笑，用他那种有趣又干燥的方式，我就给她打了电话。 —

She knew what I was talking about, the hussy, and I saw her out of the corner of my eyes listening with all her ears, while she pretended to iron a blouse that she had been washing for me. —
那个轻浮的女人明白我在说什么，我看见她偷偷地用尽全力倾听，同时假装在熨一件她为我洗的衬衣。 —

She came. She was laughing, but I could see that she was a little shy, and Strickland looked at her without speaking. “
她来了。她笑着，但我能看出她有点害羞，而史特里克兰却默默地看着她。”

“Was she pretty?” I asked.
“她漂亮吗？”我问。

“Not bad. But you must have seen pictures of her. —
“还行。但你一定见过她的照片。 —

He painted her over and over again, sometimes with a pareo on and sometimes with nothing at all. —
他一次又一次地画她，有时她穿着一块长方形围裙，有时一丝不挂。 —

Yes, she was pretty enough. And she knew how to cook. I taught her myself. —
是的，她足够漂亮。而且她会做饭。我亲自教过她。 —

I saw Strickland was thinking of it, so I said to him: —
我看到史特里克兰在考虑，于是我对他说： —

‘I’ve given her good wages and she’s saved them, and the captains and the first mates she’s known have given her a little something now and then. —
‘我给她发了好工资，她也存了些钱，她认识的船长和大副们偶尔也会送些东西给她。 —

She’s saved several hundred francs. ‘
她已经存了好几百法郎。’

“He pulled his great red beard and smiled.
“他拉了拉他那一头红色胡子，微笑着。

”Well, Ata, ' he said, 'do you fancy me for a husband. ' <span><tang1>"那，Ata，’他说，’你愿意嫁给我吗。’

“She did not say anything, but just giggled.
“她没有说话，只是咯咯笑了起来。”

“But I tell you, my poor Strickland, the girl has a beguin for you, ' I said. <span><tang1>“但我告诉你，我可怜的斯特里克兰德，那女孩对你有意思，’我说。

“I shall beat you, ‘ he said, looking at her.
“`我会打你的，’他说，看着她。

”How else should I know you loved me, ' she answered. " <span><tang1>“不然我怎么知道你爱我呢，’她回答道。”

Tiare broke off her narrative and addressed herself to me reflectively.
蒂亚雷中断了她的叙述，沉思地对我说。

“My first husband, Captain Johnson, used to thrash me regularly. He was a man. —
“我的第一个丈夫约翰逊船长经常殴打我。他是个男人。 —

He was handsome, six foot three, and when he was drunk there was no holding him. —
他英俊，六英尺三，喝醉了就无法控制。 —

I would be black and blue all over for days at a time. Oh, I cried when he died. —
我会遍体鳞伤好几天。哦，他去世时我哭了。 —

I thought I should never get over it. But it wasn’t till I married George Rainey that I knew what I’d lost. —
我以为我永远无法忘记。但直到我嫁给乔治·雷尼，我才知道自己失去了些什么。 —

You can never tell what a man is like till you live with him. —
你永远不知道一个人的真面目，直到和他生活在一起。 —

I’ve never been so deceived in a man as I was in George Rainey. —
我从未被一个人欺骗得如此彻底，如同乔治·雷尼对我。 —

He was a fine, upstanding fellow too. He was nearly as tall as Captain Johnson, and he looked strong enough. —
他也是个高大挺拔的家伙。他几乎和约翰逊船长一样高，看起来足够强壮。 —

But it was all on the surface. He never drank. He never raised his hand to me. —
但那都是表面现象。他从不酗酒。他从不动手打我。 —

He might have been a missionary. I made love with the officers of every ship that touched the island, and George Rainey never saw anything. —
他简直可以当传教士。我和每艘停靠在岛上的船的官员搞暧昧，而乔治·雷尼却从未发现。 —

At last I was disgusted with him, and I got a divorce. —
最后我对他感到厌恶，我离了婚。 —

What was the good of a husband like that? —
这样的丈夫有什么好处呢？” —

It’s a terrible thing the way some men treat women. “
“有些男人对待女性的方式真是可怕。”

I condoled with Tiare, and remarked feelingly that men were deceivers ever, then asked her to go on with her story of Strickland.
我和提亚表示同情，感情地说男人总是欺骗者，然后请她继续讲述史特里克兰的故事。

”Well, ' I said to him,there’s no hurry about it. Take your time and think it over. —
“‘嗯，’我对他说，‘没有关于这件事的急迫性。慢慢考虑吧。’ —

Ata has a very nice room in the annexe. Live with her for a month, and see how you like her. —
阿塔在附楼里有一个非常好的房间。和她一起住一个月，看看你是否喜欢她。 —

You can have your meals here. And at the end of a month, if you decide you want to marry her, you can just go and settle down on her property. ‘
你可以在这里吃饭。一个月结束时，如果你决定要娶她，你就可以去她的财产上定居。”

“Well, he agreed to that. Ata continued to do the housework, and I gave him his meals as I said I would. —
“好吧，他同意了。阿塔继续做家务，我给他做我说过的饭。 —

I taught Ata to make one or two dishes I knew he was fond of. He did not paint much. —
我教阿塔做了几道他喜欢的菜。他不怎么画画。 —

He wandered about the hills and bathed in the stream. —
他在山间漫步，到溪边洗澡。 —

And he sat about the front looking at the lagoon, and at sunset he would go down and look at Murea. He used to go fishing on the reef. —
他坐在前面看着泻湖，日落时会下去看穆雷亚。他常去珊瑚礁钓鱼。 —

He loved to moon about the harbour talking to the natives. He was a nice, quiet fellow. —
他喜欢在港湾四处闲逛，和土人聊天。他是个很好、很安静的人。 —

And every evening after dinner he would go down to the annexe with Ata. I saw he was longing to get away to the bush, and at the end of the month I asked him what he intended to do. —
每天晚饭后他都会和阿塔走到附楼。我看得出他渴望离开去丛林，一个月结束时我问他打算做什么。 —

He said if Ata was willing to go, he was willing to go with her. So I gave them a wedding dinner. —
他说如果阿塔愿意走，他愿意跟她走。所以我给了他们一顿婚礼晚餐。 —

I cooked it with my own hands. I gave them a pea soup and lobster a la portugaise, and a curry, and a cocoa-nut salad – you’ve never had one of my cocoa-nut salads, have you? —
我亲手烹饪了它。我给他们一道豌豆汤和葡式龙虾，还有一道咖喱和椰丝沙拉–在您离开之前我要给您做一个–然后我给他们做了一块冰淇淋。 —

I must make you one before you go – and then I made them an ice. —
我们喝了尽可能多的香槟和酒后甜酒。 —

We had all the champagne we could drink and liqueurs to follow. —
我们再吃甜点。” —

Oh, I’d made up my mind to do things well. —
哦，我已经下定决心要把事情做好。 —

And afterwards we danced in the drawing-room. —
之后我们在客厅里跳舞。 —

I was not so fat, then, and I always loved dancing. “
那时我没有那么胖，而且我一直喜欢跳舞。

The drawing-room at the Hotel de la Fleur was a small room, with a cottage piano, and a suite of mahogany furniture, covered in stamped velvet, neatly arranged around the walls. —
花之旅酒店的客厅是一个小房间，有一台小钢琴和一套桃花心木家具，盖着印花天鹅绒，整齐地摆放在墙边。 —

On round tables were photograph albums, and on the walls enlarged photographs of Tiare and her first husband, Captain Johnson. —
圆桌上放着相册，墙上是缩大的Tiaré和她的第一任丈夫约翰逊船长的照片。 —

Still, though Tiare was old and fat, on occasion we rolled back the Brussels carpet, brought in the maids and one or two friends of Tiare’s, and danced, though now to the wheezy music of a gramaphone. —
尽管Tiaré年老体胖，我们仍然时不时地卷起布鲁塞尔地毯，让女仆和一两个Tiaré的朋友进来跳舞，尽管现在音乐是从一个不太好的留声机传出来。 —

On the verandah the air was scented with the heavy perfume of the tiare, and overhead the Southern Cross shone in a cloudless sky.
阳台上空气被满是花香的Tiaré芬芳弥漫着，头顶上是一片云less的天空里闪烁着南十字星。

Tiare smiled indulgently as she remembered the gaiety of a time long passed.
Tiaré微笑着回忆起很久以前的欢乐时光。

“We kept it up till three, and when we went to bed I don’t think anyone was very sober. —
“我们狂欢到凌晨三点，上床睡觉时我认为没有人是很清醒的。 —

I had told them they could have my trap to take them as far as the road went, because after that they had a long walk. —
因为我告诉他们可以用我的马车把他们送到路走到尽头的地方，因为那之后他们还要走很长的一段路。 —

Ata’s property was right away in a fold of the mountain. —
阿塔的财产就在山脉的折叠处。 —

They started at dawn, and the boy I sent with them didn’t come back till next day.
他们是在黎明时分出发的，我派去的男孩直到第二天才回来。

“Yes, that’s how Strickland was married. “
“是的，就是这样，Strickland结婚了。”