《能言馬與男孩》第62期:不受歡迎的同路人(3)
The only result was that the horse broke into a kind of pretence of a trot for five or six paces and then subsided into a walk again. And now it was quite dark and they seemed to have given up blowing that horn. The only sound was a steady drip-drip from the branches of the trees.
"Well, I suppose even a walk will get us somewhere sometime," said Shasta to himself. "I only hope I shan't run into Rabadash and his people."
“哦，我想、哪怕它步行也會走到某個地方吧，”沙斯塔跟他自己說道，”我只是希望我不要碰到拉巴達什和他的人馬。He went on for what seemed a long time, always at a walking pace. He began to hate that horse, and he was also beginning to feel very hungry.
他繼續走了彷彿很長的時間，走的始終是那種慢步。他開始憎恨那馬兒，也開始感覺十分飢餓。
Presently he came to a place where the road divided into two. He was just wondering which led to Anvard when he was startled by a noise from behind him. It was the noise of trotting horses. "Rabadash!" thought Shasta. He had no way of guessing which road Rabadash would take. "But if I take one," said Shasta to himself, "he may take the other: and if I stay at the cross-roads I'm sure to be caught." He dismounted and led his horse as quickly as he could along the right-hand road.
不久他來到了一個岔路口。他正在琢磨哪一條路是通向安瓦德的，這時他背後一陣聲音使他吃了驚。原來是馬兒奔騰的聲音。”拉巴達什！”少斯塔心中想道。他沒法兒猜測拉巴達什會走哪條路。”但如果我走這一條，”沙斯塔跟自己說道，”他說不定會走那一條，如果我待在這岔路口，我一定會被他們逮住的。”他下了馬，盡最大力量趕緊牽着馬兒沿右邊那條路走去。The sound of the cavalry grew rapidly nearer and in a minute or two Shasta realized that they were at the crossroads. He held his breath, waiting to see which way they would take.
騎兵的聲音迅速地愈來愈近，一兩分鐘之內沙斯塔便覺察到他們已經在岔路口了。他屏息靜氣，等着看他們走哪條路。There came a low word of command "Halt!" then a moment of horsey noises - nostrils blowing, hoofs pawing, bits being champed, necks being patted. Then a voice spoke.
傳來一聲低沉的命令”停止前進！”——接下來的片刻之間，都是馬兒的聲音——馬鼻子裏噴着鼻息，馬蹄刨着地面，吧眩吧啦地咬着馬嚼子，以及被輕輕拍着的馬脖子等。然後，有個聲音講話了。"Attend, all of you," it said. "We are now within a furlong of the castle. Remember your orders. Once we are in Narnia, as we should be by sunrise, you are to kill as little as possible. On this venture you are to regard every drop of Narnian blood as more precious than a gallon of your own. On this venture, I say. The gods will send us a happier hour and then you must leave nothing alive between Cair Paravel and the Western Waste. But we are not yet in Narnia. Here in Archenland it is another thing. In the assault on this castle of King Lune's, nothing matters but speed. Show your mettle. It must be mine within an hour. And if it is, I give it all to you. I reserve no booty for myself. Kill me every barbarian male within its walls, down to the child that was born yesterday, and everything else is yours to divide as you please - the women, the gold, the jewels, the weapons, and the wine. The man that I see hanging back when we come to the gates shall be burned alive. In the name of Tash the irresistible, theinexorable forward!"
“你們大家注意啦，”這聲音說道，”我們現在離城堡不到八分之一英里了。牢牢記住命令。一旦我們進入納尼亞國境(應該在太陽出來時到達)，你們要儘可能少殺人。在此番冒險行動中，你們要把每一滴納尼亞人的血看得比你們自己的每一加侖血還要重要。我說的是在此番冒險行動中。天神會賜給我好時辰的，那時你們在凱爾帕拉維爾和西部沙漠之間就不必留下任何活的東西了。但你們現在還沒有進入納尼亞境內。在這兒阿欽蘭境內那就是另外一回事了。在攻擊倫恩國王的城堡時，最要緊的是速度，其他都無足輕重。拿出你們的勇氣來。必須在一個鐘頭之內把它拿下來。如果你們佔領了它，我把一切都給你們。我什麼戰利品也不留給自己。替我把城牆裏每一個野蠻的男子，直到昨天剛生的孩子，統統殺掉，其餘的一切也歸你們，你們高興怎樣分享就怎樣分享——包括女人、金子、珠寶、武器和美酒。進到城門口而退縮的人，我要把他活活燒死。以不可抗拒、不可阻擋的塔什神的名義——前進！”With a great cloppitty-clop the column began to move, and Shasta breathed again. They had taken the other road.
蹄聲嘚嘚復嘚嘚，騎兵縱隊開始移動了，沙斯塔緩過一口氣來。他們走上了另一條大路。Shasta thought they took a long time going past, for though he had been talking and thinking about "two hundred horse" all day, he had not realized how many they really were. But at last the sound died away and once more he was alone amid the drip-drip from the trees.
沙斯塔認爲騎兵縱隊花了好長時間纔開過去，儘管他整天講着、想着”二百人馬”，他可並未確悉他們究竟有多少人馬。最後，騎兵縱隊的聲音終於消失了，他再次獨自聽着樹木枝頭滴水的聲音。He now knew the way to Anvard but of course he could not now go there: that would only mean running into the arms of Rabadash's troopers. "What on earth am I to do?" said Shasta to himself. But he remounted his horse and continued along the road he had chosen, in the faint hope of finding some cottage where he might ask for shelter and a meal. He had thought, of course, of going back to Aravis and Bree and Hwin at the hermitage, but he couldn't because by now he had not the least idea of the direction.
現在他知道到安瓦德去的路了，但他此刻當然不能到那兒去，去的話只不過是意味着撞到拉巴達什軍隊的刀劍上去。”我究竟該幹什麼呢?”沙斯塔跟他自己說。他重新跨上了馬，沿着他選定的道路繼續前進，心裏抱着微薄的希望，但願能找到一間茅屋，在那兒求個棲身之所，弄到一頓飯吃。當然，他曾想回到隱士住處同阿拉維斯、布里、赫溫相會，可是他辦不到，因爲如今他壓根兒弄不清方向了。
