狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第22章Part 4

'Mr Carker grinned at him like a shark, but in an absent, thoughtful manner.
'Whether,' submitted Mr Perch, after a short silence, and another cough, 'it mightn't be best for me to tell him, that if he was seen here any more he would be given into custody; and to keep to it! With respect to bodily fear,' said Mr Perch, 'I'm so timid, myself, by nature, Sir, and my nerves is so unstrung by Mrs Perch's state, that I could take my affidavit easy.'
'Let me see this fellow, Perch,' said Mr Carker. 'Bring him in!'
'Yes, Sir. Begging your pardon, Sir,' said Mr Perch, hesitating at the door, 'he's rough, Sir, in appearance.'
'Never mind. If he's there, bring him in. I'll see Mr Gills directly. Ask him to wait.'
Mr Perch bowed; and shutting the door, as precisely and carefully as if he were not coming back for a week, went on his quest among the sparrows in the court. While he was gone, Mr Carker assumed his favourite attitude before the fire-place, and stood looking at the door; presenting, with his under lip tucked into the smile that showed his whole row of upper teeth, a singularly crouching apace.
The messenger was not long in returning, followed by a pair of heavy boots that came bumping along the passage like boxes. With the unceremonious words 'Come along with you!' - a very unusual form of introduction from his lips - Mr Perch then ushered into the presence a strong-built lad of fifteen, with a round red face, a round sleek head, round black eyes, round limbs, and round body, who, to carry out the general rotundity of his appearance, had a round hat in his hand, without a particle of brim to it.
Obedient to a nod from Mr Carker, Perch had no sooner confronted the visitor with that gentleman than he withdrew. The moment they were face to face alone, Mr Carker, without a word of preparation, took him by the throat, and shook him until his head seemed loose upon his shoulders.
The boy, who in the midst of his astonishment could not help staring wildly at the gentleman with so many white teeth who was choking him, and at the office walls, as though determined, if he were choked, that his last look should be at the mysteries for his intrusion into which he was paying such a severe penalty, at last contrived to utter -
'Come, Sir! You let me alone, will you!'
'Let you alone!' said Mr Carker. 'What! I have got you, have I?' There was no doubt of that, and tightly too. 'You dog,' said Mr Carker, through his set jaws, 'I'll strangle you!'
Biler whimpered, would he though? oh no he wouldn't - and what was he doing of - and why didn't he strangle some- body of his own size and not him: but Biler was quelled by the extraordinary nature of his reception, and, as his head became stationary, and he looked the gentleman in the face, or rather in the teeth, and saw him snarling at him, he so far forgot his manhood as to cry.
'I haven't done nothing to you, Sir,' said Biler, otherwise Rob, otherwise Grinder, and always Toodle.
'You young scoundrel!' replied Mr Carker, slowly releasing him, and moving back a step into his favourite position. 'What do you mean by daring to come here?'
'I didn't mean no harm, Sir,' whimpered Rob, putting one hand to his throat, and the knuckles of the other to his eyes. 'I'll never come again, Sir. I only wanted work.'
'Work, young Cain that you are!' repeated Mr Carker, eyeing him narrowly. 'Ain't you the idlest vagabond in London?'
The impeachment, while it much affected Mr Toodle Junior, attached to his character so justly, that he could not say a word in denial. He stood looking at the gentleman, therefore, with a frightened, self-convicted, and remorseful air. As to his looking at him, it may be observed that he was fascinated by Mr Carker, and never took his round eyes off him for an instant.
'Ain't you a thief?' said Mr Carker, with his hands behind him in his pockets.
'No, sir,' pleaded Rob.
'You are!' said Mr Carker.

卡克先生像鯊魚一樣向他咧著嘴笑，但露出心不在焉、若有所思的神情。
“是不是，”珀奇先生在短短的沉默和再咳嗽了一次以後，恭恭敬敬地說道，“最好由我對他說，如果他再到這裡來的話，就要把他監禁起來，永遠不放出來！至於說對他施行暴力恐嚇，”珀奇先生說道，“就我本人來說，我生性是個膽小的人，先生，珀奇太太的狀況又把我的神經弄得十分混亂，因此我是很容易屈服招供的。”
“讓我看一看這個傢伙，珀奇，”卡克先生說，“把他領進來！”
“遵命，先生。請原諒，先生，”珀奇先生在門口遲疑地說道，“他的外貌是粗野的，先生。”
“沒關係。如果他在這裡的話，那麼就把他領進來吧。我過一會兒就接見吉爾斯先生，請他等一下。”
珀奇先生鞠了個躬，嚴嚴實實、小小心心地把門關好，彷彿他準備一個星期也不再回到這裡來似的，然後他走到庭院裡往麻雀中間去尋找。他走了以後，卡克先生在壁爐前面採取了他所喜愛的姿勢，站在那裡看著門；他收縮下脣，露出微笑，顯露出上面的整排牙齒，奇怪地戒備著，就像貓蹲在那裡等待耗子似的。
信差不久就回來了，跟隨著他的是笨重的長統皮靴在走廊裡咯噔咯噔的響聲，就像擊拳的聲音一樣。珀奇先生很不客氣地喊了一聲：“你過來！”——這是從他嘴裡說出的很不尋常的引見方式——然後領進了一個體格強壯、十五歲的小夥子；他臉孔圓圓的、紅紅的，頭圓圓的、光光的，眼睛圓圓的、黑黑的，手和腳圓圓的，身體圓圓的，手裡還拿著一頂圓圓的、完全沒有帽簷的帽子，這使他整個身姿的圓形達到了完備無缺的地步。
珀奇先生剛把這位來訪的人領到卡克先生面前，看到卡克先生向他點了一下頭，就立刻順從地退下去了。等到他們兩人開始單獨面對面的時候，卡克先生預先沒有說一句話，就抓住他的喉嚨，搖晃著他的身子，直到他的頭似乎就要離開肩膀為止。
那孩子在萬分驚訝之中，不由自主瘋狂似地凝視著這位露出這麼多白牙、把他卡得不能透氣的先生和辦公室的牆壁，彷彿他已下定了決心，如果他真被窒息死去的話，那麼他最後一眼也得把他由於闖到這裡而遭到如此惡厲懲罰的祕密給探究出來似的；他終於發出了聲音：
“好啦，先生！您放開我吧，好不好！”
“放開你！”卡克先生說道，“什麼！我已經抓住你了，是不是？”這點是毫無疑問的，而且是抓得緊緊的。“你這條狗，”
卡克先生咬牙切齒地說道，“我要勒死你！”拜勒抽噎著。他果真要勒死他嗎？啊，不，他不會的！那麼他為什麼要那麼做呢？他為什麼不勒死跟他個子相同的什麼人，而要勒死他呢？可是拜勒被這不尋常的接待方式壓制得完全馴服；當他的頭安定下來，不再搖晃，他望著那位先生的臉，更正確地說，望著他的牙齒，看到他對他咆哮如雷的時候，他竟完全忘掉了他的丈夫氣概，放聲大哭起來。
“我沒有做什麼對不起你的事情，先生，”拜勒說道；他就是羅布，也就是磨工，而且永遠是圖德爾。
“你這年輕的無賴！”卡克先生回答道，一邊慢慢地放開了他，並往後退了一步，恢復了他所喜愛的姿勢，“你膽敢跑到這裡來，打算幹什麼？”
“我沒有什麼壞的用意，先生，”羅布啜泣著，一隻手撫摸著喉嚨，另一隻手的指節擦著眼睛。“我再也不到這裡來了，先生。我只是想找工作做。”
“工作？你是個年輕的該隱！”卡克先生逼視著他，說道，“難道你不是倫敦最遊手好閒的流浪漢嗎？”
這個指責雖然很影響小圖德爾先生的情緒，但卻完全符合他的身份，所以他說不出一句否認的話。他就站在那裡，懷著驚恐不安、自知有罪、悔恨不已的神情望著這位先生。可以指出一點的是，當他望著他的時候，他被卡克先生強烈地吸引住了，圓圓的眼睛片刻也沒有離開他。
“你不是一個小偷嗎？”卡克先生手插在衣袋裡，說道。
“不是，先生。”羅布爭辯道。
“你就是！”卡克先生說。