Then two years more went by, or perhaps three, for time passes imperceptibly in Tahiti, and it is hard to keep count of it; —
之后又过了两年，或许是三年，因为在塔希提，时间流逝得不易察觉，很难计算； —

but at last a message was brought to Dr. Coutras that Strickland was dying. —
但最终有人向库特拉斯医生带来消息，说史特里克兰快要死了； —

Ata had waylaid the cart that took the mail into Papeete, and besought the man who drove it to go at once to the doctor. —
阿塔拦住了运送邮件到帕皮提的马车，恳求车夫立刻去找医生； —

But the doctor was out when the summons came, and it was evening when he received it. —
但医生在召唤到达时不在家，直到傍晚才得知消息； —

It was impossible to start at so late an hour, and so it was not till next day soon after dawn that he set out. —
这个时候太晚了，无法出发，所以他直到第二天黎明才动身； —

He arrived at Taravao, and for the last time tramped the seven kilometres that led to Ata’s house. —
他到达了塔拉瓦奥，最后一次徒步走过通往阿塔家的七公里的小径； —

The path was overgrown, and it was clear that for years now it had remained all but untrodden. —
小路长满了杂草，显然已经多年没人踏足了； —

It was not easy to find the way. Sometimes he had to stumble along the bed of the stream, and sometimes he had to push through shrubs, dense and thorny; —
路并不好走。有时他不得不跌跌撞撞地沿着小溪走，有时他不得不穿过密而多刺的灌木； —

often he was obliged to climb over rocks in order to avoid the hornet-nests that hung on the trees over his head. —
他经常不得不爬过岩石，以避开挂在头顶树上的马蜂巢； —

The silence was intense.
周围一片寂静；

It was with a sigh of relief that at last he came upon the little unpainted house, extraordinarily bedraggled now, and unkempt; —
最终他松了口气，在一所早已荒废和疏忽不堪的涂着漆的小房子前停了下来； —

but here too was the same intolerable silence. —
但这里依旧是同样令人无法忍受的寂静； —

He walked up, and a little boy, playing unconcernedly in the sunshine, started at his approach and fled quickly away: —
他走近，一位在阳光下毫不在乎玩耍的小男孩听到他的脚步声，吓得迅速逃开； —

to him the stranger was the enemy. Dr. Coutras had a sense that the child was stealthily watching him from behind a tree. —
对于这个陌生人，他是敌人。库特拉斯医生有一种感觉，这个孩子悄悄地从树后窥视着他； —

The door was wide open. He called out, but no one answered. He stepped in. —
门大开着。他喊了一声，但没有人回答。他走了进去。 —

He knocked at a door, but again there was no answer. He turned the handle and entered. —
他敲了敲门，但再次没有回应。他转动把手进入房间。 —

The stench that assailed him turned him horribly sick. —
迎面而来的恶臭让他极度恶心。 —

He put his handkerchief to his nose and forced himself to go in. —
他捂住鼻子，强迫自己进入。 —

The light was dim, and after the brilliant sunshine for a while he could see nothing. —
光线昏暗，在刺眼的阳光之后，他一时什么都看不见。 —

Then he gave a start. He could not make out where he was. —
突然他吃了一惊，完全不知道自己在哪里。 —

He seemed on a sudden to have entered a magic world. —
他仿佛突然进入了一个魔幻世界。 —

He had a vague impression of a great primeval forest and of naked people walking beneath the trees. —
他模糊地感觉到一个巨大的原始森林，裸露的人们在树下行走。 —

Then he saw that there were paintings on the walls.
然后他看到墙上有画。

” Mon Dieu, I hope the sun hasn’t affected me, “ he muttered.
“Mon Dieu，希望太阳没有让我受影响，”他喃喃自语。

A slight movement attracted his attention, and he saw that Ata was lying on the floor, sobbing quietly.
一个轻微的动作引起了他的注意，他看到阿塔躺在地板上静静地哭泣。

“Ata, ” he called. “Ata. “
“阿塔，”他喊道。”阿塔。”

She took no notice. Again the beastly stench almost made him faint, and he lit a cheroot. —
她没有理会。恶心的气味几乎让他晕倒，他点燃了雪茄。 —

His eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, and now he was seized by an overwhelming sensation as he stared at the painted walls. —
他的眼睛逐渐适应了黑暗，现在当他盯着墙壁上的画时，一种无法抗拒的感觉袭来。 —

He knew nothing of pictures, but there was something about these that extraordinarily affected him. —
他对绘画一无所知，但这些画对他产生了非同寻常的影响。 —

From floor to ceiling the walls were covered with a strange and elaborate composition. —
从地板到天花板，墙上覆盖着奇怪而复杂的构图。 —

It was indescribably wonderful and mysterious. It took his breath away. —
这是难以形容的美妙和神秘。它让他屏住了呼吸。 —

It filled him with an emotion which he could not understand or analyse. —
它让他充满了一种无法理解或分析的情感。 —

He felt the awe and the delight which a man might feel who watched the beginning of a world. —
他感受到了一种敬畏和喜悦，就像一个人看到了世界的开始一样。 —

It was tremendous, sensual, passionate; and yet there was something horrible there, too, something which made him afraid. —
它是巨大的，感性的，充满激情；但同时也有令人恐惧的东西。 —

It was the work of a man who had delved into the hidden depths of nature and had discovered secrets which were beautiful and fearful too. —
这是一个深入自然隐藏深处并发现美丽而可怕秘密的人的杰作。 —

It was the work of a man who knew things which it is unholy for men to know. —
这是一个了解那些对于人类来说是不可知的东西的人的作品。 —

There was something primeval there and terrible. It was not human. —
那里有一种原始的和可怕的东西。这不是人类的。 —

It brought to his mind vague recollections of black magic. —
它让他想起了黑魔法的模糊回忆。 —

It was beautiful and obscene.
它既美丽又淫秽。

” Mon Dieu, this is genius. “
” Mon Dieu, 这是天才。”

The words were wrung from him, and he did not know he had spoken.
这些话被他挤压出来，他自己都没有意识到自己已经说出口。

Then his eyes fell on the bed of mats in the corner, and he went up, and he saw the dreadful, mutilated, ghastly object which had been Strickland. —
然后他的目光落在角落的草席上，他走过去，看到了那个可怕、被肢解、令人发指的对象，那就是史特里克兰。 —

He was dead. Dr. Coutras made an effort of will and bent over that battered horror. —
他已经死了。库特拉斯博士下定决心，俯身检查了那个遭殴打的恐怖物体。 —

Then he started violently, and terror blazed in his heart, for he felt that someone was behind him. —
接着，他突然吓了一跳，心中燃起了恐惧，因为他觉得有人在他身后。 —

It was Ata. He had not heard her get up. —
那人就是阿塔。他没有听到她起身的声音。 —

She was standing at his elbow, looking at what he looked at.
她站在他的肘部旁边，看着他看的东西。

“Good Heavens, my nerves are all distraught, ” he said. “You nearly frightened me out of my wits. “
“天哪，我的神经都紊乱了，”他说。“你差点把我吓疯了。”

He looked again at the poor dead thing that had been man, and then he started back in dismay.
他再次看着那个可怜的已经去世的人，然后惊恐地后退了。

“But he was blind. “
“但他是盲人。”

“Yes; he had been blind for nearly a year. “
“是的；他已经瞎了将近一年了。”