中英雙語閱讀 月亮與六便士

Chapter 27

Two or three weeks passed. One morning, having come to a pause in my work, I thought I would give myself a holiday, and I went to the Louvre.

又過了兩三個星期。一天早晨，我的工作正好告一段落，我覺得可以放自己一天假，便決定到盧佛爾宮去消磨一天。

I wandered about looking at the pictures I knew so well, and let my fancy play idly with the emotions they suggested. I sauntered into the long gallery, and there suddenly saw Stroeve.

我在畫廊裡随便走着，一邊欣賞那些我早已非常熟悉的名畫，一邊任憑我的幻想同這些畫幅所激起的感情随意嬉戲。我悠閑地走進長畫廊，突然一眼看到了施特略夫。

I smiled, for his appearance, so rotund and yet so startled, could never fail to excite a smile, and then as I came nearer I noticed that he seemed singularly disconsolate.

我臉上泛起了笑容，因為他那圓胖的身軀、象受了驚吓似的神情使我每次見到總是要發笑。但是在我走近他以後，我發現他的神情非常沮喪。

He looked woebegone and yet ridiculous, like a man who has fallen into the water with all his clothes on, and, being rescued from death, frightened still, feels that he only looks a fool.

他的樣子凄苦不堪，但又那麼滑稽，好象一個穿得衣冠齊楚而失足落水的人被打撈上來以後仍然心懷餘悸，生怕别人拿他當笑話看。

Turning round, he stared at me, but I perceived that he did not see me. His round blue eyes looked harassed behind his glasses.

他轉過身來，兩眼瞪着我，但是我知道他并沒有看見我。他的一雙碧藍的圓眼睛在眼鏡片後面充滿了憂傷。

"Stroeve, " I said.

He gave a little start, and then smiled, but his smile was rueful.

"Why are you idling in this disgraceful fashion?" I asked gaily.

"It's a long time since I was at the Louvre. I thought I'd come and see if they had anything new. "

“施特略夫。”我叫了一聲。

他吓了一跳，接着就露出笑容來，但是他笑得那麼凄慘。

“你怎麼這樣丢了魂似地在這裡遊蕩？”我用快活的語調問道。

“我很久沒有到盧佛爾宮來了。我想得來看看他們展出了什麼新東西沒有。”

"But you told me you had to get a picture finished this week. "

"Strickland's painting in my studio. "

"Well?"

“可是你不是告訴我，這禮拜得畫好一幅畫嗎？”

“思特裡克蘭德在我畫室裡畫畫兒呢。”

“哦？”

"I suggested it myself. He's not strong enough to go back to his own place yet. I thought we could both paint there. Lots of fellows in the Quarter share a studio. I thought it would be fun. I've always thought it would be jolly to have someone to talk to when one was tired of work. "

“我提議叫他在那裡畫的。他身體還不夠好，還不能回到自己的住處去。我本來想我們可以共用那間畫室。在拉丁區很多人都是合夥租用一間畫室。我本來以為這是個好辦法。一個人畫累了的時候，身邊有個伴兒可以談兩句，我一直以為這樣做會很有趣。”

He said all this slowly, detaching statement from statement with a little awkward silence, and he kept his kind, foolish eyes fixed on mine. They were full of tears.

這些話他說得很慢，每說一句話就非常尴尬地停歇好半晌兒，與此同時，他的一對溫柔的、有些傻氣的大眼睛卻一直緊緊盯着我，隻是在那裡面已經充滿了淚水了。

"I don't think I understand, " I said.

"Strickland can't work with anyone else in the studio."

"Damn it all, it's your studio. That's his lookout. "

He looked at me pitifully. His lips were trembling.

“我不懂你說的話，”我說。

“思特裡克蘭德身邊有人的時候不能工作。”

“去他媽的，那是你的畫室啊。他應該自己想辦法。”

他凄凄慘慘地看着我，嘴唇抖個不停。

"What happened?" I asked, rather sharply.

He hesitated and flushed. He glanced unhappily at one of the pictures on the wall.

"He wouldn't let me go on painting. He told me to get out. "

"But why didn't you tell him to go to hell?"

“出了什麼事了？”我問，語氣很不客氣。

他吞吞吐吐地半天沒說話，臉漲得通紅。他看了看牆上挂的一張畫，臉色非常痛苦。

“他不讓我畫下去。他叫我到外邊去。”

“你為什麼不叫他滾蛋呢？”

"He turned me out. I couldn't very well struggle with him. He threw my hat after me, and locked the door. "

I was furious with Strickland, and was indignant with myself, because Dirk Stroeve cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.

"But what did your wife say?"

"She'd gone out to do the marketing. "

“他把我趕出來了。我不能同他動手打架呀。他把我的帽子随後也扔了出來，把門鎖上了。”

思特裡克蘭德的做法使我氣得要命，但是我也挺生自己的氣，因為戴爾克•施特略夫扮演了這樣一個滑稽角色，我居然憋不住想笑出來。

“你的妻子說什麼了？”

“她出去買東西去了。”

"Is he going to let her in?"

"I don't know. "

I gazed at Stroeve with perplexity. He stood like a schoolboy with whom a master is finding fault.

"Shall I get rid of Strickland for you?" I asked.

“他會不會也不讓她進去？”

“我不知道。”

我不解地看着施特略夫。他站在那裡，象一個正挨老師訓的國小生。

“我去替你把思特裡克蘭德趕走怎麼樣？”我問。

He gave a little start, and his shining face grew very red.

"No. You'd better not do anything. "

He nodded to me and walked away. It was clear that for some reason he did not want to discuss the matter. I did not understand.

他的身體抖動了一下，一張閃閃發光的面孔漲得通紅。

“不要。你最好什麼也不要做。”

他向我點了點頭，便走開了。非常清楚，由于某種原因他不想同我讨論這件事。我不懂他為什麼要這樣。

資源來自網絡侵删