《八十天环游世界》-Around The Word In 80 Days（中英文对照）完_派派后花园

用户中心 游戏论坛 社区服务
发帖 回复
倒序阅读 最近浏览的帖子最近浏览的版块
« 返回列表
阅读：5296 回复：41

[Novel] 《八十天环游世界》-Around The Word In 80 Days（中英文对照）完

 刷新数据 楼层直达
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 20楼  发表于: 2013-10-28 0

CHAPTER 20



While these events were passing at the opium-house, Mr Fogg, unconscious of the danger he was in of losing the steamer, was quietly escorting Aouda about the streets of the English quarter, making the necessary purchases for the long voyage before them. It was all very well for an Englishman like Mr Fogg to make the tour of the world with a carpet-bag; a lady could not be expected to travel comfortably under such conditions. He acquitted his task with characteristic serenity, and invariably replied to the remonstrances of his fair companion, who was confused by his patience and generosity,--
`It is in the interest of my journey - a part of my programme.'
The purchases made, they returned to the hotel, where they dined at a sumptuously served table-d'h?te; after which Aouda, shaking hands with her protector after the English fashion, retired to her room for rest. Mr Fogg absorbed himself throughout the evening in the perusal of the Times and Illustrated London News.
Had he been capable of being astonished at anything, it would have been not to see his servant return at bed-time. But, knowingpan, or even to Shanghai, which is only eight hundred miles from here. In going to Shanghai we should not be forced to sail wide of the Chinese coast, which would be a great advantage, as the currents run northward, and would aid us.
`Pilot,' said Mr Fogg, `I must take the American steamer at Yokohama, and not at Shanghai or Nagasaki.'
`Why not?' returned the pilot. `The San Francisco steamer does not start from Yokohama. It puts in at Yokohama and Nagasaki, but it starts from Shanghai.'
`You are sure of that?'
`Perfectly.'
`And when does the boat leave Shanghai?'
`On the 11th, at seven in the evening. We have, therefore, four days before us, that is ninety-six hours; and in that time, if we had good luck and a south-west wind, and the sea was calm, we could make those eight hundred miles to Shanghai.'
`And you could go--'
`In an hour; as soon as provisions could be got aboard and the sG?ˉ¤àeen observing him attentively approached. It was Fix, who, bowing, addressed Mr Fogg: `Were you not, like me, sir, a passenger by the "Rangoon", which arrived yesterday?'
`I was, sir,' replied Mr Fogg coldly. `But I have not the honour--'
`Pardon me; I thought I should find your servant here.
`Do you know where he is, sir?' asked Aouda anxiously.
`What!' responded Fix, feigning surprise. `Is he not with you?'
`No,' said Aouda. `He has not made his appearance since yesterday. Could he have gone on board the "Carnatic" without us?'
`Without you, madam?' answered the detective. `Excuse me, did you intend to sail in the "Carnatic"?'
`Yes, sir.'
`So did I, madam, and I am excessively disappointed. The "Carnatic", its repairs being completed, left Hong Kong twelve hours before the stated time, without any notice being given; and we must now wait a week for another steamer.'
As he said `a week' Fix felt his heart leap for joy. Fogg detained at Hong Kong a week! There would be time for the warrant to arrive, and fortune at last favoured the representative of the law. His horror may be imagined when he heard Mr Fogg say, in his placid voice, `But there are other vessels besides the "Carnatic", it seems to me, in the harbour of Hong Kong.'
And, offering his arm to Aouda, he directed his steps toward the docks in search of some craft about to start. Fix, stupefied, followed; it seemed as if he were attached to Mr Fogg by an invisible thread. Chance, however, appeared really to have abandoned the man it had hitherto served so well. For three hours Phileas Fogg wandered about the docks, with the determination, if necessary, to charter a vessel to carry him to Yokohama; but he could only find vessels which were loading or unloading, and which could not therefore set sail. Fix began to hope again.
But Mr Fogg, far from being discouraged, was continuing his search, resolved not to stop if he had to resort to Macao, when he was accosted by a sailor on one of the wharves.
`Is your honour looking for a boat?'
`Have you a boat ready to sail?'
`Yes, your honour; a pilot-boat - No. 43 - the best in the harbour.'
`Does she go fast?'
`Between eight and nine knots the hour. Will you look at her?'
`Yes.'
`Your honour will be satisfied with her. Is it for a sea excursion?'
`No; for a voyage.'
`A voyage?'
`Yes; will you agree to take me to Yokohama?'
The sailor leaned on the railing, opened his eyes wide, and said, `Is your honour joking?'
`No. I have missed the "Carnatic", and I must get to Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to take the boat for San Francisco.'
`I am sorry,' said the sailor; `but it is impossible.'
`I offer you a hundred pounds per day, and an additional reward of two hundred pounds if I reach Yokohama in time.'
`Are you in earnest?'
`Very much so.'
The pilot walked away a little distance, and gazed out to sea, evidently struggling between the anxiety to gain a large sum and the fear of venturing so far. Fix was in mortal suspense.
Mr Fogg turned to Aouda and asked her, `You would not be afraid, would you, madam?'
`Not with you, Mr Fogg,' was her answer.
The pilot now returned, shuffling his hat in his hands.
`Well, pilot?' asked Mr Fogg.
`Well, your honour,' replied he; `I could not risk myself, my men, or my little boat of scarcely twenty tons on so long a voyage at this time of year. Besides, we could not reach Yokohama in time, for it is sixteen hundred and sixty miles from Hong Kong.'
`Only sixteen hundred,' said Mr Fogg.
`It's the same thing.' Fix breathed more freely.
`But,' added the pilot; `it might be arranged another way.'
Fix ceased to breathe at all.
`How?' asked Mr Fogg.
`By going to Nagasaki, at the extreme south of Japan, or even to Shanghai, which is only eight hundred miles from here. In going to Shanghai we should not be forced to sail wide of the Chinese coast, which would be a great advantage, as the currents run northward, and would aid us.
`Pilot,' said Mr Fogg, `I must take the American steamer at Yokohama, and not at Shanghai or Nagasaki.'
`Why not?' returned the pilot. `The San Francisco steamer does not start from Yokohama. It puts in at Yokohama and Nagasaki, but it starts from Shanghai.'
`You are sure of that?'
`Perfectly.'
`And when does the boat leave Shanghai?'
`On the 11th, at seven in the evening. We have, therefore, four days before us, that is ninety-six hours; and in that time, if we had good luck and a south-west wind, and the sea was calm, we could make those eight hundred miles to Shanghai.'
`And you could go--'
`In an hour; as soon as provisions could be got aboard and the sails put up.'
`It is a bargain. Are you the master of the boat?'
`Yes; John Bunsby, master of the "Tankadere".'
`Would you like some earnest-money?'
`If it would not put your honour out--'
`Here are two hundred pounds on account. Sir,' added Phileas Fogg, turning to Fix, `if you would like to take advantage--'
`Thanks, sir; I was about to ask the favour.'
`Very well. In half-an-hour we shall go on board.'
`But poor Passepartout?' urged Aouda, who was much disturbed by the servant's disappearance.
`I shall do all I can to find him,' replied Phileas Fogg.
While Fix, in a feverish, nervous state, repaired to the pilot-boat the others directed their course to the police-station at Hong Kong. Phileas Fogg there gave Passepartout's description, and left a sum of money to be spent in the search for him. The same formalities having been gone through at the French consulate, and the palanquin having stopped at the hotel for the luggage, which had been sent back there, they returned to the wharf.
It was now three o'clock; and pilot-boat No. 43, with its crew on board, and its provisions stored away, was ready for departure.
The `Tankadere' was a neat little craft of twenty tons, as gracefully built as if she were a racing yacht. Her shining copper sheathing, her galvanized iron-work, her deck, white as ivory, betrayed the pride taken by John Bunsby in making her presentable. Her two masts leaned a trifle backward; she carried brigantine, foresail, storm-jib and standing-jib, and was well rigged for running before the wind; and she seemed capable of brisk speed, which, indeed, she had already proved by gaining several prizes in pilot-boat races. The crew of the `Tankadere' was composed of John Bunsby, the master, and four hardy mariners, who were familiar with the Chinese seas. John Bunsby himself, a man of forty-five or thereabouts, vigorous, sunburnt, with a sprightly expression of the eye, and energetic and self-reliant countenance, would have inspired confidence in the most timid.
Phileas Fogg and Aouda went on board, where they found Fix already installed. Below deck was a square cabin, of which the walls bulged out in the form of cots, above a circular divan; in the centre was a table provided with a swinging lamp. The accommodation was confined, but neat.
`I am sorry to have nothing better to offer you,' said Mr Fogg to Fix, who bowed without responding.
The detective had a feeling akin to humiliation in profiting by the kindness of Mr Fogg.
`It's certain,' thought he, `though rascal as he is, he is a polite one!'
The sails and the English flag were hoisted at ten minutes past three. Mr Fogg and Aouda, who were seated on deck, cast a last glance at the quay, in the hope of espying Passepartout. Fix was not without his fears lest chance should direct the steps of the unfortunate servant, whom he had so badly treated, in this direction; in which case an explanation the reverse of satisfactory to the detective must have ensued. But the Frenchman did not appear, and, without doubt, was still lying under the stupefying influence of the opium.
John Bunsby, master, at length gave the order to start, and the `Tankadere', taking the wind under her brigantine, foresail and standing-jib, bounded briskly forward over the waves.


第二十章
当费克斯在酒店里和路路通进行谈判要断送福克的前途的时候，斐利亚•福克正陪着艾娥达夫人在英国侨民住宅区的大街上散步。自从艾娥达夫人接受了福克先生带她到欧洲去的建议，他就不能不考虑到在这样长的一段旅途中需要准备的一切东西。象他这样一个英国人，拿起个旅行袋就去环游世界，当然无所谓，但是，对一位妇女来说，这样就行不通了。因此，就必须购买一些旅途中所需要的衣物。
虽然艾娥达夫人那么恳切地一再表示反对和推辞，但福克先生还是我行我素，不声不响地完成了他的任务。他回答艾娥达夫人总是这两句老话：
“这是我自己路上用的，这是我计划好要买的。”
东西都买齐了。福克先生和艾娥达夫人就回到俱乐部大饭店，去享受他们预定好的那一顿非常丰盛的晚餐，饭后，艾娥达夫人有点疲倦了，她照英国习惯轻轻握了握这位沉静的救命恩人的手，就回自己的房间去了。
这位尊贵的绅士，整整一个晚上都在专心地阅读《泰晤士报》和《伦敦新闻画报》。
假如福克先生是一位多疑古怪的人，那么，到了睡觉时候，还不见自己的仆人，他就会感到意外了。但是福克先生知道开往横滨的船在明天早晨以前不会离开香港，所以他对此事也就不太注意。第二天早上，福克先生打铃叫人，路路通还是不在。
当这位高贵的绅士知道他的仆人根本就没有回旅馆的时候，他是怎样想的，谁也不知道。福克先生只好自己提了旅行袋，一面叫人通知艾娥达夫人，一面叫人去雇轿子。
这时已经是八点钟了，预计九点半钟满潮，卡尔纳蒂克号要趁着满潮出海。
轿子到了俱乐部大饭店门口，福克先生和艾娥达夫人一齐坐上了这种舒适的交通工具，后面紧跟着一辆小车子，拉着他们的行李。
半个小时后，他们到了轮船码头，下了轿子，这时福克先生才知道卡尔纳蒂克号昨天晚上已经开走了。
福克先生本来打算能一举两得，既找到了船，又找到了路路通。可是没想到两头儿都落了空。但是，他脸上却一点失望的表情也没有，而艾娥达夫人一直不安地看着他，于是，他对她只好这样说：
“这是个意外，夫人，没什么。”
就在这时候，旁边有一个人，这个人一直在留神看着福克先生，现在走到他跟前来了。这人就是警察厅的密探费克斯。他跟福克先生打了个招呼，说：
“您先生不是跟我一样昨天乘仰光号到香港来的旅客吗？”
“是的，先生，”福克冷冰冰地说，“可是我还没请教您是……”
“请您原谅，我不过是想希望在这儿能碰到您的仆人。”
“先生，您知道他现在在什么地方吗？”艾娥达夫人着急地问。
“怎么着？”费克斯装着吃惊的样子说，“他没跟你们在一块儿吗？”
“没有，”艾娥达夫人说，“从昨天起他就不见了，他难道会不等我们自己就上船走了？”
“他会不等你们吗，夫人？”侦探说，“不过，请允许我问一句，你们是不是预备乘这条船走的？”
“是的，先生。”
“我也是的，夫人，您看我这一下儿真给弄得狼狈极了。卡尔纳蒂克号修好了锅炉，谁也不通知，就提早了十二小时开出了香港。现在就只好再等八天，搭下一班的船了！”
费克斯讲到“八天”这两个字的时候，心里感到十分痛快。八天！福克得在香港待八天！等拘票的时间是足足有余了。他这位国家法律的代表人今天总算是交了好运了。
可是当他听到斐利亚•福克镇静地说出下面一句话的时候，我们可以猜想，那对费克斯是多么狠的当头一棒呵！
“可是我觉得除了卡尔纳蒂克号，在香港的港口上还有别的船。”
说完这句话，福克先生就让艾娥达夫人挽着自己的手臂，一齐走向船坞去找其他就要开出的轮船。
费克斯不知如何是好，紧紧跟在后面，看起来就象是福克手上有一根线牵着他似的。
福克先生从伦敦出发以来一直都在走好运，可是现在好运象是真的走完了。他在港口上到处找，整整跑了三个小时，他决定如果万不得已就租一条船去横滨；但是他看到的一些船不是正在装货就是正在卸货，当然不能够马上就开。于是费克斯觉得又有指望了。
但是福克先生并不慌乱，他继续找船，他甚至打算到澳门去找。正在这个时候，他在港口上看见迎面来了一个海员。
“先生，您找船吗？”这个海员脱下帽子向福克先生说。
“有就要开的船吗？”福克先生问。
“是呵，先生，有一条43号引水船，它是我们船队里最好的一条船。”
“它走得快吗？”
“每小时至少可以跑八九海里，您愿意看看吗？”
“好。”
“您一定会满意的。您是要坐船到海上去玩玩吗？”
“不，我要坐船旅行。”
“旅行？”
“你能把我送到横滨吗？”
海员听了这句话，不自觉地晃动着下垂的两臂，一双眼睛睁得滚圆。
“先生，您是开玩笑吧？”海员问。
“不是开玩笑！卡尔纳蒂克号开了，我没赶上。我必须在十四号以前到横滨，因为我要赶上开往旧金山的船。”
“抱歉得很，”海员说，“这可没办法。”
“我每天给你一百英镑（二千五百金法郎）的船费，如果你能按时赶到，我再给你两百英镑的奖金。”
“这话是真的？”海员问。
“完全是真的。”福克先生说。
海员走到一旁，望着大海，显然他是为了赚这样一大笔钱和害怕冒险跑那么远的路这两件事进行思想斗争。
这时，费克斯待在一旁，心里象有十五个吊桶打水似的七上八下。
福克先生这时转过身来问艾娥达夫人：
“坐这条船您不害怕吗，夫人？”
“跟您在一起，我是不会害怕的，福克先生，”艾娥达夫人说。
海员两只手转弄着帽子，重新挨近福克先生。
“怎么样，海员先生？”福克先生问。
“怎么样，先生，”海员说，“我不能拿我的船员和我，还有您去冒这个险。这么远的路，我这条船只不过二十吨，又赶上这个时令。再说，您的时间也赶不上，从香港到横滨足足一千六百五十海里呵。”
“只有一千六百海里，”福克先生说。
“反正都是一样。”
费克斯这时候大大地松了一口气。
“不过，”海员接着说，“也许还能想个别的办法。”
费克斯又紧张了。
“什么办法？”福克说。
“从这里到日本南端的港口长崎只有一千一百海里，或者是只到上海。上海离香港只有八百海里。如果去上海，我们可以沿着中国海岸航行，这是一个很有利的条件，并且沿海岸往北又是顺水。”
“海员先生，”福克先生说，“我正是要到横滨去搭美国的船，我不是要去上海，也不是要去长崎。”
“干吗不去上海或长崎呢？”海员说。“开往旧金山的客船并不从横滨出发。它是从上海出发的，横滨和长崎只是两个中途停靠的港口。”
“你对于这些情况很有把握吗？”
“有把握。”
“去旧金山的船什么时候离开上海？”
“十一号下午七点钟。我们还有四天的时间。四天就是九十六小时。我们按每小时平均走八海里计算，只要我们抓紧时间，只要东南风不改变方向，只要海上不起风暴，我们就能按时赶完从这里到上海这八百海里的海路。”
“你的船什么时候可以开？”
“过一个钟头就可以开，现在要去买点粮食，还要作开船前的准备工作。”
“好，我们一言为定……你是船主吗？”
“是的，我叫约翰•班斯比，唐卡德尔号的船主。”
“你要我付定钱吗？”
“要是您愿意的话……”
“给你，先付两百英镑，”这时，斐利亚•福克又转过身来对费克斯说。“先生，如果您愿意搭这条船……”
“先生，”费克斯立即回答说，“我正要想说请您帮这个忙呢。”
“那好吧。过半个钟头，我们上船。”
“可是路路通呢……”艾娥达夫人说，这个小伙子失踪了，她很不放心。
“我想尽一切力量替他安置一下。”福克先生回答说。
当这位心里充满了烦恼、焦虑和愤怒的费克斯走上这条引水船的时候，福克先生和艾娥达夫人正走向香港的警察局。福克先生把路路通的外貌特征告诉了警察局，并且留下一笔足够他回国用的旅费，接着又到法国领事馆办了同样的手续。然后又到俱乐部大饭店取出刚才送回来的行李，最后又乘轿子回到了港口。
下午三点正，43号引水船的人员已经到齐，粮食已经买来了，开船的准备工作已经做好。
唐卡德尔号是一条很漂亮的机帆船，全重二十吨。船头很尖，样子很俐落，吃水很深，看起来很象一条竞赛用的游艇，船上铜具都闪闪发亮，连铁器也都电镀了。甲板象象牙似的干干净净。这一切说明了船主约翰•班斯比很会保养他的船。船上有两只稍向后倾的大帆，此外还有后樯梯形帆，前中帆，前樯三角帆，外前帆和顶帆。唐卡德尔号在顺风的时候可以利用这一套应有尽有的设备。看样子这条船一定会走得很好，实际上，它在引水船竞赛会上确实得过好多次奖。
唐卡德尔号上除了船主约翰•班斯比以外，还有四个船员。这些勇敢的海员们经常风雨无阻地到大海上去寻找海船，把它们领进港口，他们对于海上各处的情况都很熟悉。
约翰•班斯比是一个四十五岁上下的中年人。身体结实，皮色由于日晒而显得棕红，两眼奕奕有神。从他的脸膛可以看出他是个很有魄力的人。他很稳重，办事很老练，即使最不相信人的人，对他也会完全信赖。
斐利亚•福克先生和艾娥达夫人上了船。费克斯已经早在船上了。他们从后舱口进了一间正方形的房舱，这间房舱四周的墙壁都设有凹进去的床铺，床铺下面放着半圆形的长凳子。房中间有张桌子，这张桌子被一盏摇摇晃晃的挂灯照得亮堂堂的。这间房舱虽小，但是非常干净。
“抱歉得很，我不能给您预备一个更舒服的地方，”福克先生对费克斯说。费克斯只是恭敬地点了点头，一句话也没有回答。
这位警察厅侦探接受了福克先生的款待，心里好象是受到很大委屈似的。
“毫无疑问，”他心里说，“这是一个很有礼貌的流氓，但是，不管怎样，他总归是个流氓。”
三点十分，唐卡德尔号张起了帆，随着号角的响声，船上升起了英国的国旗。旅客们都在甲板上坐着。福克先生和艾娥达夫人向码头作最后一次的眺望，他们希望看到路路通是不是真正就此失踪了。
这时费克斯心里可真有点害怕，因为他怕那个被他耍花招整垮了的倒霉小伙子，也许真的正好这时候就在这个码头上出现，那时，他的西洋镜就会全给拆穿了，那他就会陷于非常不利的地位了。但是，幸亏这个法国人没有出现。毫无疑问，他现在还没有摆脱鸦片烟麻醉的影响。
约翰•班斯比船主终于驾船出海了。唐卡德尔号上的后樯梯形帆、前中帆和外前帆兜着饱满的海风，在一望无际的大海上奔驰前进。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 21楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0

CHAPTER 21



This voyage of eight hundred miles was a perilous venture, on a craft of twenty tons, and at that season of the year. The Chinese seas are usually boisterous, subject to terrible gales of wind, and especially during the equinoxes; and it was now early November.
It would clearly have been to the master's advantage to carry his passengers to Yokohama, since he was paid a certain sum per day; but he would have been rash to attempt such a voyage, and it was imprudent even to attempt to reach Shanghai. But John Bunsby believed in the `Tankadere', which rode on the waves like a seagull; and perhaps he was not wrong.
Late in the day they passed through the capricious channels of Hong Kong, and the `Tankadere', impelled by favourable winds, conducted herself admirably.
`I do not need, pilot,' said Phileas Fogg, when they got into the open sea, `to advise you to use all possible speed.'
`Trust me, your honour. We are carrying all the sail the wind will let us. The poles would add nothing, and are only used when we are going into port.'
`It's your trade, not mine, pilot, and I confide in you.'
Phileas Fogg, with body erect and legs wide apart, standing like a sailor, gazed without staggering at the swelling waters. The young woman, who was seated aft, was profoundly affected as she looked out upon the ocean, darkening now with the twilight, on which she had ventured in so frail a vessel. Above her head rustled the white sails, which seemed like great white wings. The boat, carried forward by the wind, seemed to be flying in the air.
Night came. The moon was entering her first quarter, and her insufficient light would soon die out in the mist on the horizon. Clouds were rising from the east, and already overcast a part of the heavens.
The pilot had hung out his lights, which was very necessary in these seas crowded with vessels bound landward; for collisions are not uncommon occurrences, and, at the speed she was going the least shock would shatter the gallant little craft.
Fix, seated in the bow, gave himself up to meditation. He kept apart from his fellow-travellers, knowing Mr Fogg's taciturn tastes; besides, he did not quite like to talk to the man whose favours he had accepted. He was thinking, too, of the future. It seemed certain Fogg would not stop at Yokohama, but would at once take the boat for San Francisco; and the vast extent of America would insure him impunity and safety. Fogg's plan appeared to him the simplest in the world. Instead of sailing directly from England to the United States, like a common villain, he had traversed three quarters of the globe, so as to gain the American continent more surely; and there, after throwing the police off his track, he would quietly enjoy himself with the fortune stolen from the bank. But, once in the United States, what should he, Fix, do? Should he abandon this man? No, a hundred times no! Until he had secured his extradition, he would not lose sight of him for an hour. It was his duty, and he would fulfil it to the end. At all events, there was one thing to be thankful for; Passepartout was not with his master; and it was above all important, after the confidences Fix had imparted to him, that the servant should never have speech with his master.
Phileas Fogg was also thinking of Passepartout, who had so strangely disappeared. Looking at the matter from every point of view, it did not seem to him impossible that, by some mistake, the man might have embarked on the `Carnatic' at the last moment; and this was also Aouda's opinion, who regretted very much the loss of the worthy fellow to whom she owed so much. They might then find him at Yokohama; for if the `Carnatic' was carrying him thither, it would be easy to ascertain if he had been on board.
A brisk breeze arose about ten o'clock; but, though it might have been prudeno take in a reef, the pilot, after carefully examining the heavens, let the craft remain rigged as before. The `Tankadere' bore sail admirably as she drew a great deal of water, and everything was prepared for high speed in case of a gale.
Mr Fogg and Aouda descended into the cabin at midnight, having been already preceded by Fix, who had lain down on one of the cots. The pilot and crew remained on deck all night.
At sunrise the next day, which was November 8th, the boat had made more than one hundred miles.
The log indicated a mean speed of between eight and nine miles. The `Tankadere' still carried all sail, and was accomplishing her greatest capacity of speed. If the wind held as it was, the chances would be in her favour. During the day she kept along the coast, where the currents were favourable; the coast, irregular in profile, and visible sometimes across the clearings, was at most five miles distant. The sea was less boisterous, since the wind came off land - a fortunate circumstance for the boat, which would suffer, owing to its small tonnage, by a heavy surge on the sea.
The breeze subsided a little towards noon, and set in from the south-west. The pilot put up his poles, but took them down again within two hours, as the wind freshened up anew.
Mr Fogg and Aouda, happily unaffected by the roughness of the sea, ate with good appetite, Fix being invited to share their repast, which he accepted with secret chagrin. To travel at this man's expense and live upon his provisions was not palatable to him. Still, he was obliged to eat, and so he ate.
When the meal was over, he took Mr Fogg apart, and said, `Sir,' - this `sir' scorched his lips, and he had to control himself to avoid collaring this `gentleman' - `sir, you have been very kind to give me a passage on this boat. But, though my means will not admit of my expending them as freely as you, I must ask to pay my share--'
`Let us not speak of that, sir,' replied Mr Fogg.
`But, if I insist--'
`No, sir,' repeated Mr Fogg, in a tone which did not admit of a reply. `This enters into my general expenses.'
Fix, as he bowed, had a stifled feeling, and going forward, where he ensconced himself, did not open his mouth for the rest of the day.
Meanwhile they were progressing famously, and John Bunsby was in high hope. He several times assured Mr Fogg that they would reach Shanghai in time; to which that gentleman responded that he counted upon it. The crew set to work in good earnest, inspired by the reward to be gained. There was not a sheet which was not tightened, not a sail which was not vigorously hoisted; not a lurch could be charged to the man at the helm. They worked as desperately as if they were contesting in a Royal Yacht regatta.
By evening, the log showed that two hundred and twenty miles had been accomplished from Hong Kong, and Mr Fogg might hope that he would be able to reach Yokohama without recording any delay in his journal; in which case, the only misadventure which had overtaken him since he left London would not seriously affect his journey.
The `Tankadere' entered the Straits of Fo-Kien, which separate the island of Formosa from the Chinese coast, in the small hours of the night, and crossed the Tropic of Cancer. The sea was very rough in the straits, full of eddies formed by the counter currents, and the chopping waves broke her course, whilst it became very difficult to stand on deck.
At daybreak the wind began to blow hard again, and the heavens seemed to predict a gale. The barometer announced a speedy change, the mercury rising and falling capriciously; the sea also, in the south-east, raised long surges which indicated a tempest. The sun had set the evening before in a red mist, in the midst of the phosphorescent scintillations of the ocean.
John Bunsby long examined the threatening aspect of the heavens, muttering indistinctly between his teeth. At last he said in a low voice to Mr Fogg. `Shall I speak out to your honour?'
`Of course.'
`Well, we are going to have a squall.'
`Is the wind north or south?' asked Mr Fogg quietly.
`South. Look! a typhoon is coming up.'
`Glad it's a typhoon from the south, for it will carry us forward.'
`Oh, if you take it that way,' said John Bunsby, `I've nothing more to say.' John Bunsby's suspicions were confirmed. At a less advanced season of the year the typhoon, according to a famous meteorologist, would have passed away like a luminous cascade of electric flame; but in the winter equinox, it was to be feared that it would burst upon them with great violence.
The pilot took his precautions in advance. He reefed all sail, the pole-masts were dispensed with; all hands went forward to the bows. A single triangular sail, of strong canvas, was hoisted as a storm-jib, so as to hold the wind from behind. Then they waited.
John Bunsby had requested his passengers to go below; but this imprisonment in so narrow a space, with little air, and the boat bouncing in the gale, was far from pleasant. Neither Mr Fogg, Fix, nor Aouda consented to leave the deck.
The storm of rain and wind descended upon them towards eight o'clock. With but its bit of sail, the `Tankadere' was lifted like a feather by a wind, an idea of whose violence can scarcely be given. To compare her speed to four times that of a locomotive going on full steam would be below the truth.
The boat scudded thus northward during the whole day, borne on by monstrous waves, preserving always, fortunately, a speed equal to theirs. Twenty times she seemed almost to be submerged by these mountains of water which rose behind her; but the adroit management of the pilot saved her. The passengers were often bathed in spray, but they submitted to it philosophically. Fix cursed it, no doubt; but Aouda, with her eyes fastened upon her protector, whose coolness amazed her, showed her-self worthy of h~, and bravely weathered the storm. As for Phileas Fogg, it seemed just as if the typhoon were a part of his programme.
Up to this time the `Tankadere' had always held her course to the north; but towards evening the wind, veering three quarters, bore down from the north-west. The boat, now lying in the trough of the waves, shook and rolled terribly; the sea struck her with fearful violence. At night the tempest increased in violence. John Bunsby saw the approach of darkness and the rising of the storm with dark misgivings. He thought awhile, and then asked his crew if it was not time to slacken speed. After a consultation he approached Mr Fogg, and said, `I think your honour, that we should do well to make for one of the ports on the coast.'
`I think so too.'
`Ah!' said the pilot. `But which one?'
`I know of but one,' returned Mr Fogg tranquilly.
`And that is--
`Shanghai.'
The pilot, at first, did not seem to comprehend; he could scarcely realize so much determination and tenacity. Then he cried, `Well - yes! Your honour is right. To Shanghai!'
So the `Tankadere' kept steadily on her northward track.
The night was really terrible; it would be a miracle if the craft did not founder. Twice it would have been all over with her if the crew had not been constantly on the watch. Aouda was exhausted, but did not utter a complaint. More than once Mr Fogg rushed to protect her from the violence of the waves.
Day reappeared. The tempest still raged with undiminished fury; but the wind now returned to the south-east. It was a favourable change, and the `Tankadere' again bounded forward on this mountainous sea, though the waves crossed each other, and imparted shocks and counter-shocks which would have crushed a craft less solidly built. From time to time the coast was visible through the broken mist, but no vessel was in sight. The `Tankadere' was alone upon the sea.
There were some signs of a calm at noon, and these became more distinct as the sun descended toward the horizon. The tempest had been as brief as terrific. The passengers, thoroughly exhausted, could now eat a little, and take some repose.
The night was comparatively quiet. Some of the sails were again hoisted, and the speed of the boat was very good. The next morning at dawn they espied the coast, and John Bunsby was able to assert that they were not one hundred miles from Shanghai. A hundred miles, and only one day to traverse them!
That very evening Mr Fogg was due at Shanghai, if he did not wish to miss the steamer to Yokohama. Had there been no storm, during which several hours were lost, they would be at this moment within thirty miles of their destination.
The wind grew decidedly calmer, and happily the sea fell with it. All sails were now hoisted, and at noon the `Tankadere' was within forty-five miles of Shanghai. There remained yet six hours in which to accomplish that distance. All on board feared that it could not be done, and every one - Phileas Fogg, no doubt, excepted - felt his heart beat with impatience. The boat must keep up an average of nine miles an hour, and the wind was becoming calmer every moment! It was a capricious breeze, coming from the coast, and after it passed the sea became smooth. Still, the `Tankadere' was so light, and her fine sails caught the fickle zephyrs so well, that, with the aid of the current, John Bunsby found himself at six o'clock not more than ten miles from the mouth of Shanghai river. Shanghai itself is situated at least twelve miles up the stream. At seven they were still three miles from Shanghai. The pilot swore an angry oath; the reward of two hundred pounds was evidently on the point of escaping him. He looked at Mr Fogg. Mr Fogg was perfectly tranquil; and yet his whole fortune was at this moment at stake.
At this moment, also, a long black funnel, crowned with wreaths of smoke, appeared on the edge of the waters. It was the American steamer, leaving for Yokohama at the appointed time.
`Confound her!' cried John Bunsby, pushing back the rudder with a desperate jerk.
`Signal her!' said Phileas Fogg quietly.
A small brass cannon stood on the forward deck of the `Tankadere', for making signals in the fogs. It was loaded to the muzzle; but just as the pilot was about to apply a red-hot coal to the touchhole, Mr Fogg said, `Hoist your flag!'
The flag was run up at halfmast, and, this being the signal of distress, it was hoped that the American steamer, perceiving it, would change her course a little, so as to succour the pilot-boat.
`Fire!' said Mr Fogg. And the booming of the little cannon resounded in the air.


第二十一章

在一条二十吨重的小船上航行八百海里，特别是又在这种季节，这简直是一次冒险的远征。在中国沿海一带，经常会碰上坏天气，尤其是在春分和秋分的时候，会碰上剧烈的海风。目前还是十一月上旬。
事情很明显，船主如果直接送福克先生他们去横滨，当然就能赚更多的钱，因为福克先生已经按照每天一百英镑支付了船租。但是，在这种情况下接受那样的航行任务，就要担很大的风险。照现在这样到上海去，这如果不算是鲁莽行动，至少也算是敢于冒险。然而约翰•班斯比对于自己的唐卡德尔号是很有信心的。它在海浪里飞驰，活象一只海鸥。船主这样做，也许并没有错。
就在当天傍晚时分，唐卡德尔号渡过了香港附近水流湍急的海面，开足马力，充分利用后面送来的东南凤，顺风飞驰。它的航行情况非常令人满意。
“船主，快，越快越好！”当小船进入大海时，斐利亚•福克先生说，“这一点您用不着我多交代了。”
“先生，您放心吧，交给我好了，”约翰，班斯比回答说，“我们已经把所有能利用的帆面都用上了，那些顶帆就是加上去，也不能再增加速度。它们只会增加船的负担，从而减低航行速度。”
“这是你的业务，我是外行，我完全信赖你，船主。”
斐利亚•福克象水手一样两腿分开笔直地站在甲板上，目不转睛地注视着汹涌的波涛，船尾上坐着艾娥达夫人，她在这一条身轻如叶的小船上，漫不经心地凝视着暮色苍茫中的辽阔海洋，若有所思。片片的白帆在艾娥达夫人的头顶上空迎风招展，就象是巨大的白色翅膀带着她在海面上飞翔。小船被海风吹起象是在天空里前进。
天黑了。半圆形的月亮正在徐徐下降。淡淡的月光马上就要消失在天边的迷雾里。乌云从东方卷来，已经掩盖了大片的秋夜晴空。
船主点上了夜航信号灯，在靠近海岸的这一带海面上船只来往十分频繁，点信号灯是一种不可缺少的安全措施。船只互撞的事件在这一带并不稀罕，唐卡德尔号开得这样快，只要稍微和别的船碰一下，就会撞得粉碎。
费克斯正在船头上沉思。他知道福克生性不好聊天，所以自己就躲得远点儿。再说跟这个请他白坐船的人攀谈，他也觉得讨厌。他现在也要考虑一下以后怎么办。费克斯看得很清楚，福克先生是不会待在横滨的。他一定会马上乘上开往旧金山的邮船，逃往美洲大陆。美洲大陆那么大，他当然更有把握能够逍遥法外了。在费克斯看来，斐利亚•福克的打算是再简单不过的了。
这个福克和那种最普通的坏蛋一样，他本来可以从英国搭船直接去美国，但是他却兜了这么大一个圈子，走遍了大半个地球。他的目的无非是想安全到达美洲大陆。等到英国警察厅被他蒙混过去之后，他就可以在美洲安静地坐着享用他从银行里偷来的那一笔款子了。可是一旦到了美国，费克斯又该怎么办呢？放弃了这个贼吗？不能，万万不能！他要寸步不离地跟着他，一直到办好引渡的手续为止。这是他的天职，他一定要坚持到底。何况现在已经有了一个有利条件：路路通已经不在他主人身边了。特别是因为费克斯已向路路通公开了自己的秘密，这就很有必要叫他们主仆二人永远不再见面。
斐利亚•福克也并非没想过他那个莫名其妙地就失了踪的仆人。他考虑了各方面的情况之后，觉得这个倒霉的小伙子很可能由于误会，在卡尔纳蒂克号快要开的时候跑上船去了。艾娥达夫人也是这样想的。她很感激这个曾救过她的生命的忠仆，他的失踪使艾娥达夫人非常难过。也很有可能到了横滨就会找到他的。至于他是不是搭上了卡尔纳蒂克号，将来也很容易打听出来。
夜里，快到十点钟的时候，风势渐渐加强了。为了谨慎起见，也许该把船帆收小一些。但是，船主仔细看了看天气形势之后，决定依旧张着大帆前进。再说唐卡德尔号上的大帆也非常得力，船的吃水量也很深，一切都有充足的 b@海岸的海面比较适合小船航行。唐卡德尔号的左舷距离海岸至多不过五海里，有时通过云雾的间隙，还可以看见参差不齐的海岸侧影。即使风从大陆上吹来，海面仍然相当平静，这对于唐卡德尔号是一个有利的条件，因为吨位很小的船只特别害怕大浪。大浪会减低船的航行速度，用一句航海术语来说，会“煞船”。
快到中午的时候，风力稍减，它是从东南吹来的。船主叫人加上顶帆，可是过了两小时，他又叫人卸下了，因为风势又大起来了。
福克先生和艾娥达夫人非常高兴，他们已经不再晕船了，于是就把带来的罐头、饼干拿出来，饱餐一顿。费克斯也被请来同吃，他接受了，因为他很清楚人的肚子也和船一样需要装满东西才能走路。可是这件事真使他恼火！既白坐了这个人雇的船，又分吃了他买的食物，他觉得这太不光彩了！不过，他还是吃了，虽然他吃得很仓促，但总是吃了。
吃完饭以后，他觉得应该把福克先生请到一边说几句话。于是他对福克先生说：
“先生……”
费克斯说出“先生”这两个字的时候，连嘴唇都觉得不舒服。他竭力压制着自己，以免感情冲动会一把抓住这个小偷“先生”的领子！然后他接着说：
“先生，承您这样慷慨大方，您让我坐您雇的船，不过，虽然我的经济条件不能允许我象您这样大方，但我自己应付的这一部分船费……”
“先生，我们不谈这个。”福克先生说。
“不，我要付，我一定要付……”
“不用，先生，”福克先生用不容争辩的口吻说，“这是在我的预算总费用中的一项正常开支。”
费克斯不争辩了，他憋着一肚子气，独自一个人跑上船头，就地往甲板上一躺。这一整天他再也没说过一句话。
唐卡德尔号这时正在迅速前进。约翰•班斯比觉得成功在望。他好几次对福克先生说：一定会按时到达上海。福克只简单地答道：但愿如此。
唐卡德尔号所以能走得这样好，首先是由于船上所有的海员工作都非常积极。福克先生许下的奖金对这些能干的水手也起了很大的鼓舞作用。所以没有一根帆索不是绑得紧绷绷的，拉得笔直的！没有一张篷帆不是被吹得鼓鼓的，方向没有一点偏差，掌舵的人没有一点可责备的地方！即使参加皇家游艇俱乐部的赛船大会，他们的工作也不可能比现在做得更认真了。
傍晚，船主检查了测程器之后，知道了唐卡德尔号自从离开香港已经走了二百二十海里。现在斐利亚•福克先生有希望在他到达横滨的时候，看到自己的计划一点也没有耽搁。这样看来，他从伦敦出发以来第一次碰到的意外，大概会毫无损失地平安度过了。
夜里，在天快要亮之前的那几个小时，唐卡德尔号越过了北回归线直接开进了界于中国台湾大岛和中国大陆海岸之间的福建海峡。海峡中的水流非常急湍，到处都是逆流造成的漩涡。唐卡德尔号走得非常吃力，急促的海浪阻碍旨它的前进。如今在甲板上，很难再站稳脚步。
海风随着日出更增加了威力。大海的上空显示出大风将至的迹象。同时，晴雨表也预告着气候即将发生变化。一整天晴雨表都很不稳定，水银柱急剧地上升下降。回首眺望，东南海上已经卷起滚滚的巨浪。巨浪预示着：暴风雨就要来到！
黑夜降临了。海上闪的着迷人的光辉。夕阳已经在啡红色的薄雾里消失。
船主仔细看了半天大海上空这种不利于航行的景象，嘴里一边嘟囔着，也听不清他说些什么。过了一会儿，他走到福克先生眼前低声地说：
“先生，我可以把实际情况都告诉您吗？”
“都告诉我吧。”福克先生回答说。
“那我就说了，我们马上要碰上台风了。”
“是南风还是北风？”福克先生简单地问。
“南风。您瞧，这阵台风就要刮起来了。”
“既是南面来的，就让它刮吧，因为它会帮助我们走得更快。”福克先生回答说。
“如果您不在乎，那我就没什么说的了。”
约翰•班斯比的判断一点没错。据一位有名的气象学家说，在深秋，台风刮起来会象闪电一样倏地一下掠空而过。但是，如果在冬末和春分的时候一刮起来，它那凶猛的威力就会非常可怕了。
船主立即开始作预防的准备。他叫人把船上所有的帆篷都绑紧，把帆架卸下来放到甲板上，连顶帆桅杆也都放下来了。中前帆上的附加尖桅也去掉了。各个舱口都盖得严丝合缝，一滴水也不会从外面流进船舱。舱面上只留下一张厚布三角帆代替船头上的大帆，以便利用背后吹来的大风继续航行。眼前一切就绪，静等台风吹来。
约翰•班斯比请旅客们进舱房去；但是在那样一间几乎连空气也没有的小客舱里，再加上海浪的颠簸，这种禁闭的滋味不舒服极了。因此，不论是福克先生，艾娥达夫人甚至连费克斯都算上，谁也不愿离开甲板。
将近八点钟，暴风骤雨开始向小船袭来。唐卡德尔号仅有的那块小布帆已被暴风吹得象一根飘忽不定的鹅毛。小船在暴风雨的狂啸中经历的惊险情景简直是无法描述。它前进的速度即使说比开足马力的火车头还要快四倍的话，这种形容也还是保守的。
唐卡德尔号一整天都是这样被那凶猛的海浪簇拥着前进，它不由自主地保持着和飞滚而来的波涛同样惊人的速度向北疾驰。排山倒海的巨浪无数次地从后面打上小船的甲板；但是，只要船主老练地转动一下船舵，马上就会转危为安，翻腾的浪花有时象倾盆大雨把船上的旅客粗暴地冲洗一番，但是旅客们却象哲学家似的逆来顺受，丝毫不动声色。
费克斯，毫无疑问，他是会怨天尤人的，但是勇敢的艾娥达这时却正目不转睛地注视着她的旅伴福克。她完全被福克这种非凡的镇静给吸住了。为了要在她的旅伴面前表现得毫无愧色，她慨然承受着暴风雨的折磨。至于斐利亚•福克，这场台风好象早就在他意料之中，毫不惊奇。
直到目前为止唐卡德尔号一直是向北飞驰，但是快到傍晚的时候，正如他们担心的那样，风向整整侧转了二百七十度，南风变成了西北风。小船的侧翼受着海浪的冲击，船身拼命地摇晃，如果不了解这条船的各个部分结合得有多么坚固的话，看到它遭受这样凶猛的海浪冲击，一定会吓得失魂落魄。
暴风雨随着黑夜的降临更加猖狂起来。天黑下来了，天愈黑，航行也就愈加困难。约翰•班斯比感到非常忧虑，他考虑现在是否应该找个港口停一会，这时他便去和他的船员们商量。
商量好之后，约翰•班斯比就走近福克先生，他对福克先生说：
“先生，我想我们最好还是在沿岸找个港口停一会吧。”
“我也这么想。”斐利亚•福克回答说。
“好，”船主说，“可是在哪个港口停呢？”
“我只知道一个港口，”福克先生安静地说。
“是哪个……”
“上海。”
这个回答，使船主一开始老半天弄不清是什么意思，不知道这句话的坚定和顽强的含义，后来他忽然明白了，就大声说：
“好，先生，不错，您说的对。向上海前进！”
唐卡德尔号坚定不移地向北航行。
夜黑得实在可怕！这只小船会不出乱子，真可说是一个奇迹。它曾有两次被风浪卷走，甲板上的船具，要不是有绳子绑牢，早就一股脑儿滚下大海了。
艾娥达夫人虽然万分疲劳，但是她一声也不抱怨。福克先生不止一次跑到她跟前，保护她免于受到凶猛的海浪所造成的危险。
东方又发白了。这时，暴风雨更象一匹脱缰的野马，凶狂到了无以复加的程度。幸亏风向又转回东南，这一转变对于航行是有利的。
大海上新起的东南风带着滚滚的波涛，阻击着西北风留下的逆浪。唐卡德尔号就在这狂澜搏斗的海浪中重新走上征途。如果它不是这样坚固的一条小船的话，在这场波涛相互撞击的混战中必然早已被打得粉碎了。
透过浓雾的间隙，从甲板上不时可以看到大陆海岸。但是大海上却连一条船影子也没有，只有唐卡德尔号独自傲然地在海上奔驰。
中午，海空上露出了暴风雨即将过去的景象，随着夕阳西下，这种景象就更加明显了。
这一场暴风雨持续的时间虽然不长，但是却十分凶猛。现在，这些疲惫不堪的旅客可以吃点东西，休息一下了。
夜晚，海上相当平静。船主命令重新装起大帆，并将帆面缩到最小限度。就这样，唐卡德尔号前进的速度已经非常可观了。第二天是11月11日，当太阳出来的时候，约翰•班斯比从海岸的位置看出，小船离上海已不足一百海里了。
不错，一百海里。可是距离预定的时间却只剩下今天了。今天一天必须走完这一百海里！福克先生要想赶上开往横滨的邮船，就必须在今天晚上到达上海。这场暴风雨耽搁了很多时间，不然的话，现在离上海港口至多不过三十多海里了。
风势已大大减弱，但不幸的是推动唐卡德尔号前进的海浪也随着风势的消煞而变得软弱无力。小船上已经张满了布帆；顶帆、附加帆和外前帆都同时挂起来了，而海水却在船前漂浮的杂草和碎木片底下轻轻地泛着泡沫。
中午，唐卡德尔号离上海已不足四十海里了。要在开往横滨的邮船启锚前赶到港口，时间只剩下六个钟头了。唐卡德尔号上的人都非常担心。他们要尽一切可能赶到上海。所有的人——斐利亚•福克当然除外——全都急得心脏直跳。按时间计算，小船必须保持每小时九海里的速度。可是风呢，却越来越小！这是一种很不固定的微风，有一阵没一阵地从大陆上吹来，它掠过了海面，立即飞向不知名的远方，海上波纹也就马上随着消失。
这时唐卡德尔号显得轻盈潇洒，群帆高挂，细密的布篷亲昵地拥抱着轻佻的海风。小船靠着顺流海水的推送前进，到了下午六点钟，约翰•班斯比估计到黄浦江只有十来海里了，因为上海离吴淞口至少还有十二海里。
下午七点钟，唐卡德尔号离上海还有三海里。船主对老天愤懑地骂个不停。毫无疑问这两百英镑的奖金是吹了。他两眼直瞅着福克先生。福克脸上还是毫无表情，尽管他的整个命运也系在这一发千钧的时刻上……
就在这时，只见一个又长又黑的烟囱，冒着滚滚的浓烟，出现在浪花翻腾的河道上。这正是那条准时从上海开出的美国邮船。
“真该死！”约翰•班斯比绝望地把舵盘一推，叫着说。
“发信号！”福克简单地说。
一架小铜炮拉到船头上来了。这座铜炮本来是在大雾里迷失方向时发信号用的。
铜炮里已经装满了火药，船主拿来一块通红的火炭正要去点燃导火线，这时福克先生说：
“下半旗！”
船旗下降到旗杆的中部。这是一种求救的信号。他们希望能被美国邮船看到，这样就有希望使它改变一下航线向唐卡德尔号开来。
“开炮！”福克说。
小铜炮惊人的轰鸣，响彻在大海的上空。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 22楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0


CHAPTER 22

The `Carnatic', setting sail from Hong Kong at half-past six on the 7th November, directed her course at full steam towards Japan. She carried a large cargo and a well-filled cabin of passengers. Two state-rooms in the rear were, however, unoccupied, - those which had been engaged by Phileas Fogg.
The next day a passenger with a half-stupefied eye, staggering gait, and disordered hair, was seen to emerge from the second cabin, and to totter to a seat on deck.
It was Passepartout; and what had happened to him was as follows: - Shortly after Fix left the opium den, two waiters had lifted the unconscious Passepartout, and had carried him to the bed reserved for the smokers. Three hours later, pursued even in his dreams by a fixed idea, the poor fellow awoke, and struggled against the stupefying influence of the narcotic. The thought of a duty unfulfilled shook off his torpor, and he hurried from the abode of drunkenness. Staggering and holding himself up by keeping against the walls, falling down and creeping up again, and irresistibly impelled by a kind of instinct, he kept crying out, `The "Carnatic"! the "Carnatic"!'
The steamer lay puffing alongside the quay, on the point of starting. Passepartout had but few steps to go; and, rushing upon the plank, he crossed it, and fell unconscious on the deck, just as the `Carnatic' was moving off. Several sailors, who were evidently accustomed to this sort of scene, carried the poor Frenchman down into the second cabin, and Passepartout did not wake until they were one huong Kong and Calcutta, were mixed crowds of all races, - Americans and English, Chinamen and Dutchmen, mostly merchants ready to buy or sell anything. The Frenchman felt himself as much alone among them as if he had dropped down in the midst of Hottentots.
He had, at least, one resource, - to call on the French and English consuls at Yokohama for assistance. But he shrank from telling the story of his adventures, intimately connected as it was with that of his mas??ò÷àe steamer, which is the most important thing.'
Then, as Fix occurred to him: - `As for that rascal, I hope we are well rid of him, and that he has not dared, as he proposed, to follow us on board the `Carnatic'. A detective on the track of Mr Fogg, accused of robbing the Bank of England! Pshaw! Mr Fogg is no more a robber than I am a murderer.'
Should he divulge Fix's real errand to his master? Would it do to tell the part the detective was playing? Would it not be better to wait until Mr Fogg reached London again, and then impart to him that an agent of the metropolitan police had been following him round the world, and have a good laugh over it? No doubt; at least, it was worth considering. The first thing to do was to find Mr Fogg, and apologize for his singular behaviour.
Passepartout got up and proceeded, as well as he could with the rolling of the steamer, to the after-deck. He saw no one who resembled either his master or Aouda. `Good!' muttered he; `Aouda has not got up yet, and Mr Fogg has probably found some partners at whist.'
He descended to the saloon. Mr Fogg was not there. Passepartout had only, however, to ask the purser the number of his master's state-room. The purser replied that he did not know any passenger by the name of Fogg.
`I beg your pardon,' said Passepartout persistently. `He is a tall gentleman, quiet and not very talkative, and has with him a young lady--'
`There is no young lady on board,' interrupted the purser. `Here is a list of the passengers; you may see for yourself.'
Passepartout scanned the list, but his master's name was not upon it. All at once an idea struck him.
`Ah! am I on the "Carnatic"?'
`Yes.'
`On the way to Yokohama?'
`Certainly.'
Passepartout had for an instant feared that he was on the wrong boat; but, though he was really on the `Carnatic', his master was not there.
He fell thunderstruck on a seat. He saw it all now. He remembered that the time of sailing had been changed, that he should have informed his master of that fact, and that he had not done so. It was his fault, then, that Mr Fogg and Aouda had missed the steamer. Yes, but it was still more the fault of the traitor who, in order to separate him from his master, and detain the latter at Hong Kong, had inveigled him into getting drunk! He now saw the detective's trick; and at this moment Mr Fogg was certainly ruined, his bet was lost, and he himself perhaps arrested and imprisoned! At this thought Passepartout tore his hair. Ah, if Fix ever came within his reach, what a settling of accounts there would be!
After his first depression, Passepartout became calmer, and began to study hiituation. It was certainly not an enviable one. He found himself on the way to Japan, and what should he do when he got there? His pocket was empty; he had not a solitary shilling - not so much as a penny. His passage had fortunately been paid for in advance; he had five or six days in which to decide upon his future course. He fell to at meals with an appetite, and ate for Mr Fogg, Aouda and himself. He helped himself as generously as if Japan were a desert, where nothing to eat was to be looked for.
At dawn on the 13th the `Carnatic' entered the port of Yokohama. This is an important way-station in the Pacific, where all the mail-steamers, and those carrying travellers between North America, China, Japan, and the Oriental islands, put in. It is situated in the bay of Yeddo, and at but a short distance from that second capital of the Japanese Empire, and the residence of the Tycoon, the civil Emperor, before the Mikado, the spiritual Emperor, absorbed his office in his own. The `Carnatic' anchored at the quay near the custom-house, in the midst of a crowd of ships bearing the flags of all nations.
Passepartout went timidly ashore on this so curious territory of the Sons of the Sun. He had nothing better to do than, taking chance for his guide, to wander aimlessly through the streets of Yokohama. He found himself at first in a thoroughly European quarter, the houses having low fronts, and being adorned with verandas, beneath which he caught glimpses of neat peristyles. This quarter occupied, with its streets, squares, docks and warehouses, all the space between the `promontory of the Treaty' and the river. Here, as at Hong Kong and Calcutta, were mixed crowds of all races, - Americans and English, Chinamen and Dutchmen, mostly merchants ready to buy or sell anything. The Frenchman felt himself as much alone among them as if he had dropped down in the midst of Hottentots.
He had, at least, one resource, - to call on the French and English consuls at Yokohama for assistance. But he shrank from telling the story of his adventures, intimately connected as it was with that of his master: and, before doing so, he determined to exhaust all other means of aid. As chance did not favour him in the European quarter, he penetrated that inhabited by the native Japanese, determined, if necessary, to push on to Yeddo.
The Japanese quarter of Yokohama is called Benten, after the goddess of the sea, who is worshipped on the islands round about. There Passepartout beheld beautiful fir and cedar groves, sacred gates of a singular architecture, bridges half hid in the midst of bamboos and reeds, temples shaded by immense cedar-trees, holy retreats where were sheltered Buddhist priests and sectaries of Confucius, and interminable streets, where a perfect harvest of rose-tinted and red-cheeked children, who looked as if they had been cut out of Japanese screens, and who were playing in the midst of short-legged poodles and yellowish cats, might have been gathered.
The streets were crowded with people. Priests were passing in processions, beating their dreary tambourines; police and custom-house officers with pointed hats encrusted with lac, and carrying two sabres hung to their waists; soldiers, clad in blue cotton with white stripes, and bearing guns; the Mikado's guards, enveloped in silken doublets, hauberks, and coats of mail; and numbers of military folk of all ranks - for the military profession is as much respected in Japan as it is despised in China - went hither and thither in groups and pairs. Passepartout saw, too, begging friars, long-robed pilgrims, and simple civilians, with their warped and jet-black hair, big heads, long busts, slender legs, short stature, and complexions varying from copper-colour to a dead white, but never yellow, like the Chinese, from whom the Japanese widely differ. He did not fail to observe the curious equipages, - carriages and palanquins, barrows supplied with sails, and litters made of bamboo; nor the women, - whom he thought not especially handsome, - who took little steps with their little feet, whereon they wore canvas shoes, straw sandals, and clogs of worked wood, and who displayed tight-looking eyes, flat chests, teeth fashionably blackened, and gowns crossed with silken scarfs, tied in an enormous knot behind, - an ornament which the modern Parisian ladies seem to have borrowed from the dames of Japan.
Passepartout wandered for several hours in the midst of this motley crowd, looking in at the windows of the rich and curious shops, the jewellery establishments glittering with quaint Japanese ornaments, the restaurants decked with streamers and banners, the tea-houses, where the odorous beverage was being drunk with `saki', a liquor concocted from the fermentation of rice, and the comfortable smoking-houses, where they were puffing, not opium, which is almost unknown in Japan, but a very fine, stringy tobacco. He went on till he found himself in the fields, in the midst of vast rice plantations. There he saw dazzling camellias expanding themselves, with flowers which were giving forth their last col-ours and perfumes, not on bushes, but on trees; and within bamboo enclosures, cherry, plum, and apple trees, which the Japanese cultivate rather for their blossoms than their fruit, and which queerly-fashioned grinning scarecrows protected from the sparrows, pigeons, ravens, and other voracious birds. On the branches of the cedars were perched large eagles; amid the foliage of the weeping willows were herons, solemnly standing on one leg; and on every hand were crows, ducks, hawks, wild birds, and a multitude of cranes, which the Japanese consider sacred, and which to their minds symbolize long life and prosperity.
As he was strolling alone, Passepartout espied some violets among the shrubs.
`Good!' said he; `I'll have some supper.'
But, on smelling them, he found that they were odourless.
`No chance there,' thought he.
The worthy fellow had certainly taken good care to eat as hearty a breakfast as possible before leaving the `Carnatic', but as he had been walking about all day, the demands of hunger were becoming importunate. He observed that the butchers' stalls contained neither mutton, goat, nor pork; and knowing also that it is a sacrilege to kill cattle, which are preserved solely for farming, he made up his mind that meat was far from plentiful in Yokohama, nor was he mistaken; and in default of butcher's meat, he could have wished for a quarter of wild boar or deer, a partridge, or some quails, some game or fish, which, with rice, the Japanese eat almost exclusively. But he found it necessary to keep up a stout heart, and to postpone the meal he craved till the following morning. Night came, and Passepartout re-entered the native quarter, where he wandered through the streets, lit by vari-coloured lanterns, looking on at the dancers who were executing skilful steps and boundings, and the astrologers who stood in the open air with their telescopes. Then he came to the harbour, which was lit up by the rosin torches of the fishermen, who were fishing from their boats.
The streets at last became quiet, and the patrol, the officers of which, in their splendid costumes, and surrounded by their suites, Passepartout thought seemed like ambassadors, succeeded the bustling crowd. Each time a company passed, Passepartout chuckled, and said to himself: `Good! another Japanese embassy departing for Europe!'

第二十二章

11月7号午后六时半，卡尔纳蒂克号邮船开出了香港，直向日本迅速前进，这条船载满了货物和旅客，但后舱却空着两间房舱。那就是斐利亚•福克先生在开船之前预定的两个房间。
第二天早上，在前甲板上的旅客们非常惊讶地看见一个奇怪的旅客：他眼神似痴若呆，走路东倒西歪、头发乱得象个草鸡窝。这位旅客从二等舱的出口爬上来，就踉踉跄跄地跑过去在一根备用桅杆上坐了下来。这位旅客不是别人，正是路路通。他怎么来的呢？原来是这么回事。
当费克斯离开了那个大烟馆之后，过了一会儿，就有两个烟馆里的伙计把这个昏睡如泥的小伙子抬起来，放到那张专为烟鬼们准备的板床上了。但是又过了三个钟头，这个即使在作着恶梦也还一心一意要赶上船的路路通醒过来了。他在向鸦片烟的麻醉作用挣扎抵抗，他那由于任务没有完成而感到焦虑的心情使他从昏迷中清醒过来。他从那张睡满了醉烟鬼的床上爬起来，他虽是东倒西歪，扶墙靠壁，虽是三番五次地跌倒了又爬起来，但是似乎总有一种本能在顽强地推动着他前进，他走出了大烟馆。同时他象在作梦似的不停地叫嚷着：“卡尔纳蒂克号！卡尔纳蒂克号！”
卡尔纳蒂克号的烟囱里正冒着浓烟，就要启程。路路通离开跳板只有几步远了。就在这条船解缆的那一霎那，他一头冲上跳板，连滚带爬地冲过了跳板入口就晕倒在甲板上了。
几个水手（他们对于这样的旅客已经是司空见惯）走过来，七手八脚地就把这个可怜的小伙子抬起来送到二等舱的一间客房里去了。路路通一直到第二天早上才醒过来。这时卡尔纳蒂克号离开中国大陆已经一百五十海里了。瞧，这就是路路通今天早晨突然在这条船的甲板上出现的经过。他到甲板上来是要好好呼吸几口海风里的新鲜空气。新鲜空气使他清醒过来了。他开始聚精会神地回想昨天的事。他费了好大劲儿，终于想起来了，想起了昨天的那些情景，想起了费克斯的秘密；想起了大烟馆以及当时的种种情况。
“明白了，”他对自己说，“分明我是给人弄醉了，而且醉得一塌糊涂！福克先生会怎么说呢？不过，我幸亏还没有误了船，这倒是最要紧的。”
然后他又想起了费克斯，他说：
“这个家伙啊，我真希望这一回我们可把他给甩开了。他跟我进行了那样的谈判，现在他一定不敢再跟着我们上这条船了。他是个警察厅的警官，是个追踪我的主人的侦探，他还说福克先生在英国银行行窃！去他的吧！说福克先生是贼，那跟说我是杀人凶手一样是胡扯！”
路路通是否应该把这些事情告诉他的主人呢？把费克斯在这件事情里所扮演的角色现在就告诉福克先生，是不是合适呢？等福克先生到了伦敦我再告诉他岂不更好吗。那时，我对福克先生说，有个伦敦警察厅的侦探曾经追着他环游地球，那准会引得哄堂大笑。对，就是这么办。不过这个问题，不管怎样，我还是得再仔细想一想。现在最要紧的是先去找福克先生，向他承认自己有失检点，请他原谅。
路路通于是就站了起来。这时海上的风浪很大，卡尔纳蒂克号摇晃得很凶。这个好小伙子直到现在两条腿还有点发软，不过，他好歹总算凑合着走到了后甲板。但是，甲板上既没有一个人的面孔象他的主人，也没有一个象艾娥达夫人。
“哦，对了，”他说，“艾娥达夫人这时还在睡觉，至于福克先生，他一定找到了几个玩‘惠司脱’的对手，照他的老规矩……”
于是路路通一边说着，就走进了卡尔纳蒂克号的大菜间。但是福克先生也不在那儿。这时路路通只有一个办法，那就是去找船上的事务长，问他斐利亚•福克先生住在几号房舱。但事务长回答说，他所知道的旅客，没有一个人叫这个名字。
“对不起，”路路通坚持着说，“福克先生是一位绅士，个子很高，外表很冷静，不大喜欢和别人交谈，还有一位年轻的夫人陪着他……”
“我们船上根本就没有年轻的夫人，”事务长回答说。“再说，你要不信，这里是旅客名单，你可以自己查一下。”
路路通查遍了这张旅客名单……上面就是没有他主人的名字。他简直如堕五里雾中，这时，他忽然想起了一件事。
“啊，糟了！这条船是卡尔纳蒂克号吗？”路路通嚷着问。
“是啊！”事务长回答说。
“现在是开往横滨的吗？”
“一点儿也不错。”
原来路路通刚才是担心自己上错了船。但是他的确是在卡尔纳蒂克号上，而他的主人却肯定的是不在这里。
这时，他不由自主地跌坐在一个单人沙发上了。这简直是一个晴天霹雳。忽而他恍然大悟，他想起了卡尔纳蒂克号提早了开船时间；想起了他应该通知他主人而他却没有去！要是福克先生和艾娥达夫人真误了船，这完全是他的过失。
是啊，是他的错。可是更主要的是那个坏蛋费克斯的错！费克斯为了要把福克先生和他分开，为了要把福克先生拖住留在香港，就把他路路通弄醉了，因为他已经知道了这个密探的阴谋诡计。现在福克先生一准是垮了；他的赌注也输了，也许他已经被捕了，给关在牢里了……路路通想到这里，恨得直揪自己的头发。嘿！要是费克斯有一天落到他的手里，非好好儿跟他算这笔账不可！
路路通心里苦恼了一阵子之后。又冷静了下来，考虑他当前的处境。情况是不大妙啊！他现在是在去日本，当然一定会到达日本，可是到了以后，他又怎么办呢？他口袋里是空空如也，没有一个先令连一个便士也没有！不过他在船上的饭费和船费是已经预先付过了。因此他还有五六天的时间好想想主意。
路路通在船上大吃大喝的情况，简直无法描写。他把艾娥达夫人的一份，福克先生的一份和他自己的一份都吃了。他吃起饭来就仿佛是他所要去的日本国是个不毛之地，是个任何吃的东西都没有的地方。
11月13号，卡尔纳蒂克号趁着早潮开进了横滨港口。横滨是太平洋上一个重要的港口。往来于北美洲、中国、日本和马来亚群岛之间的各种客货轮船都到这里停泊。
横滨和江户（东京旧名）一样，位于东京湾内，它距离江户这座巨大的城市很近，它是日本帝国的第二大城市。这个城市是昔日大君的驻地。当这个民间统治者大君存在的时候，横滨的权威可以和江户分庭抗礼。在江户那座大京城里住着天神的后裔——神圣的天皇。
卡尔纳蒂克号穿过挂着各国旗帜的无数船只，在港口防波堤和海关仓库附近的横滨码头靠了岸。
路路通没精打采地下了船，踏上了这一块属于太阳神子孙们的奇异土地，他没有其他更好的办法，只有听天由命，到城里大街上去碰碰运气再说。
路路通首先走进了一个完全欧洲化的区域。这些房子都是低矮的门脸，前面紧靠大街是一排漂亮柱子支撑着的回廊。从条约岬直到海河整个一片地区有许多街道、广场、船坞和仓库。这里和香港、加尔各答一样，到处都是乱哄哄地挤满了各种民族的商人，有美国人、英国人、中国人、荷兰人，他们买卖什么的都有。这个法国小伙子在这些人群中就仿佛到了东南非的胡坦突人聚居的地方。感到事事新鲜，样样出奇。
路路通本来是有一条出路的，他满可以去找法国或英国驻横滨的领事馆，但是他不愿意说出自己的来历，因为这和他主人有着密切的关系。所以他要去另找机会，不到山穷水尽，他就不去领事馆。
他跑遍了横滨的欧洲区，也没有找到任何可以被利用的好机会，于是他就走进了横滨的日本区，并且拿定了主意，如果万不得已就到江户去。
横滨本地人住的区域叫做辨天区，“辨天”是附近岛屿的居民供奉的海上女神的名字。在这里，可以看到青松翠柏覆盖成荫的幽径；可以看到雕刻着奇异神像的门扉；可以看到深藏在竹林芦苇中的小桥；还可以看到在那幽暗无边的百年老杉遮蔽下的庵堂寺院，有多少礼佛高僧和孔门清客在里面度着茹斋素食的清苦岁月。
在辨天区还可以看到几条一眼望不到头的长街，街上到处可以碰到成群的孩子，和几只长毛短腿的狮子狗以及一些懒洋洋的，但却十分讨人喜欢的淡黄色的无尾小猫在一起逗着玩。这些孩子一个个都是面色红润，两颊象熟透了的小苹果，看起来真象是从那些日本屏风上挖下来的俊娃娃。
大街上尽是些来来往往、络绎不绝的人群，其中有敲着单调的手鼓，列队走过的做法事的和尚；有政府的官吏；有头戴一顶漆花尖帽，腰挂两把东洋刀的海关吏或警察官，有身穿蓝地白纹棉军装背着前膛熗的士兵，也有穿着紧身绸上衣外套铠甲的天皇御林军。此外，街上还有许许多多各等各级的军人——因为当兵在日本受人尊敬的程度正象这种职业在中国受人轻视的程度是同样惊人。除了这些人以外，街上还有化缘乞食的僧侣和穿着长袍的香客以及普通的居民。这些人一个个都是头发乌黑光滑，头大，腿细，上身长，个子矮，肤色有深有浅，最深的似青铜一样阴黯，最浅的如白粉一般无光，但却绝没有一个象中国人那样的黄面孔。这一点是中国人和日本人基本上的差别。此外在各式各样的车辆行列里可以看见轿子、马匹、驮夫、篷车、漆花的古轿、双人软轿和竹子编成的床。还可以看到一些日本妇女来来往往，她们的脚不大，迈步很小，她们的脚上有的穿着布鞋，有的穿着草拖鞋或是特制的木屐。她们的样子并不漂亮，一个个用头巾吊起眼角，胸部紧束着压得象一块平板，牙齿按照时兴的样式染成黑色，但是她们穿着民族服装“和服”，样子倒很别致。“和服”是一种家常穿的长服，加上一条交织起来的缎带，下面是一条宽大的腰巾，在背后结成一朵大花结子。目前巴黎妇女那种最新式的装束很象是从这些日本妇女那里学来的。
在这些各色各样的人群中，路路通整整游逛了好几个钟头，他参观了街上那些稀奇古怪而又富丽堂皇的店铺；欣赏了堆满着金光夺目的日本首饰市场；张望了那些门前挂着花花绿绿的小旗子，而他却没钱进去的日本饭店；也瞧了瞧那些茶馆，那儿人们正在端着满杯喝着一种清香扑鼻、热气腾腾的用发酵大米作成的酒酿汤，此外他还看了那些香烟馆，那儿人们不是在吸鸦片，而是吸着一种气味芬芳的烟草，因为在日本吸鸦片的人，几乎可以说没有。
这时路路通已经到了郊外，四野尽是一望无际的稻田，这里有各色的鲜花，它们在展示着即将消逝的颜色，发散着最后的香味，其中也有盛开的山茶花，但是这种山茶花不是长在小山茶树丛里，而是长在成棵的大山茶树上。在那些筑有竹篱笆围墙的果树园里，种着樱桃树、李子树和苹果树。当地人种这些果树，与其说是为了卖果子倒不如说是为了卖花。果园里装置着怪模怪样的草人和不断发出尖锐响声的驱鸟机，防止那些麻雀、鸽子、乌鸦和其他贪食的鸟类来啄食果子。没有一棵高大的杉树上没有巨鹰的巢穴。没有一棵垂杨柳的树荫下看不到象在忧郁沉思着的单足独立的鹭鸶。这里到处都是小鸟、野鸭、山鹰和野雁，此外还有很多仙鹤，日本人把仙鹤当作神鸟看待，认为仙鹤是长命富贵的象征。
路路通正在这样信步游逛的时候，忽然在草丛里发现几棵紫萝兰。
“妙啊！”他说，“这就是我的一顿晚饭。”
但是当他闻了一下之后，却发现这些紫萝兰半点香味也没有。
“真倒霉！”他心里说。
说实在话，这个小伙子因为有先见之明，所以在离开卡尔纳蒂克号之前他已经尽可能饱饱地大吃了一顿，可是跑了这一整天，他觉得肚子简直是空得要命。他曾经特别注意了一下：当地肉铺里的架子上根本就没有山羊肉、绵羊肉或是猪肉。他知道这里的牛只能留作耕田，杀牛是犯罪的。于是他便得出结论：在日本，肉食是很少的。这一点他确实没有看错，不过这倒没有什么，既然肉店里没有猪牛羊肉，他的肚子也完全习惯于吃别的肉，如野猪肉、鹿肉、鹧鸪肉、鹌鹑肉、家禽肉或鱼类等等。日本人吃大米的时候几乎就是只拿这些肉类作为副食。但是路路通对于自己当前的遭遇必须抱着逆来顺受的态度，至于搪塞肚子的问题只好拖到明天再去考虑。
黑夜来了。路路通又重新回到了辨天区。他在大街上溜溜达达，只见到处是五光十色的灯笼。他欣赏着那些闯江湖艺人的惊人绝技和那些在空地上招徕了许多观众来看望远镜的星象家。最后路路通又回到了港口，只见港里渔火点点，那是渔人用树脂燃起的火光，他们在诱惑海上的鱼群。
大街上的行人终于渐渐少了。人群刚刚消失，就出现了查夜的警官，他们都穿着漂亮的制服，前后簇拥着一群侍从巡兵，简直象是出国的大使。每当路路通碰到这种神气后现的巡逻队的时候，他就开玩笑说：
“好！不错啊！又是一个到欧洲去的日本使节团。”
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 23楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0

CHAPTER 23

The next morning poor, jaded, famished Passepartout said to himself that he must get something to eat at all hazards, and the sooner he did so the better. He might, indeed, sell his watch; but he would have starved first. Now or never he must use the strong, if not melodious voice which nature had bestowed upon him. He knew several French and English songs, and resolved to try them upon the Japanese, who must be lovers of music, since they were for ever pounding on their cymbals, tam-tams, and tambourines, and could not but appreciate European talent.
It was, perhaps, rather early in the morning to get up a concert, and the audience, prematurely aroused from their slumbers, might not, possibly pay their entertainer with coin bearing the Mikado's features. Passepartout therefore decided to wait several hours; and, as he was sauntering along, it occurred to him that he would seem rather too well dressed for a wandering artist. The idea struck him to change his garments for clothes more in harmony with his project; by which he might also get a little money to satisfy the immediate cravings of hunger. The resolution taken, it remained to carry it out.
It was only after a long search that Passepartout discovered a native dealer in old clothes. The man liked the European costume, and ere long Passepartout issued from his shop accoutered in an old Japanese coat, and a sort of one-sided turban, faded with long use. A few small pieces of silver, moreover, jingled in his pocket.
`Good!' thought he. `I will imagine I am at the Carnival!'
His first care, after being thus `Japanesed', was to enter a tea-house of modest aprformance.
Before three o'clock the large shed was invaded by the spectators, comprising Europeans and natives, Chinese and Japanese, men, women and children, who precipitated themselves upon the narrow benches and into the boxes opposite the stage. The musicians took up a position inside, and were vigorously performing on their gongs, tam-tams, flutes, bones, tambourines, and immense drums.
The performance was ?
  àisit the steamers which were about to leave for America. He would offer himself as a cook or servant, in payment of his passage and meals. Once at San Francisco, he would find some means of going on. The difficulty was, how to traverse the four thousand seven hundred miles of the Pacific which lay between Japan and the New World.
Passepartout was not the man to let an idea go begging, and directed his steps towards the docks. But, as he approached them, his project, which at first had seemed so simple, began to grow more and more formidable to his mind. What need would they have of a cook or servant on an American steamer, and what confidence would they put in him, dressed as he was? What references could he give?
As he was reflecting in this wise, his eyes fell upon an immense placard which a sort of clown was carrying through the streets. This placard, which was in English, read as follows:--
`ACROBATIC JAPANESE TROUPE, HONOURABLE WILLIAM BATULCAR, PROPRIETOR, LAST REPRESENTATIONS, PRIOR TO THEIR DEPARTURE TO THE UNITED STATES, OF THE LONG NOSES! LONG NOSES! UNDER THE DIRECT PATRONAGE OF THE GOD TINGOU! GREAT ATTRACTION!'
`The United States!' said Passepartout; `that's just what I want!'
He followed the clown, and soon found himself once more in the Japanese quarter. A quarter of an hour later he stopped before a large cabin, adorned with several clusters of streamers, the exterior walls of which were designed to represent, in violent colours and without perspective, a company of jugglers.
This was the Honourable William Batulcar's establishment. That gentlemen was a sort of Barnum, the director of a troupe of mountebanks, jugglers, clowns, acrobats, equilibrists and gymnasts, who, according to the placard, was giving his last performances before leaving the Empire of the Sun for the States of the Union.
Passepartout entered and asked for Mr Batulcar, who straightaway appeared in person.
`What do you want?' said he to Passepartout, whom he at first took for a native.
`Would you like a servant, sir?' asked Passepartout.
`A servant!' cried Mr Batulcar, caressing the thick gray beard which hung from his chin. `I already have two who are obedient and faithful, have never left me, and serve me for their nourishment, - and here they are,' added he, holding out his two robust arms, furrowed with veins as large as the strings of a bass-viol.
`So I can be of no use to you?'
`None.'
`The devil! I should so like to cross the Pacific with you!'
`Ah!' said the Honourable Mr Batulcar. `You are no more a Japanese than I am a monkey! Why are you dressed up in that way?'
`A man dresses as he can.'
`That's true. You are a Frenchman, aren't you?'
`Yes; a Parisian of Paris.'
`Then you ought to know how to make grimaces?'
`Why?' replied Passepartout, a little vexed that his nationality should cause this question; `we Frenchmen know how to make grimaces, it is true, - but not any better than the Americans do.'
`True. Well, if I can't take you as a servant, I can as a clown. You see, my friend, in France they exhibit foreign clowns, and in foreign parts French clowns.'
`Ah!'
`You are pretty strong, eh?'
`Especially after a good meal.'
`And you can sing?'
`Yes,' returned Passepartout, who had formerly been wont to sing in the streets.
`But can you sing standing on your head, with a top spinning on your left foot, and a sabre balanced on your right?'
`Humph! I think so,' replied Passepartout, recalling the exercises of his younger days.
`Well, that's enough,' said the Honourable William Batulcar.
The engagement was concluded there and then.
Passepartout had at last found something to do. He was engaged to act in the celebrated Japanese troupe. It was not a very dignified position, but within a week he would be on his way to San Francisco.
The performance, so noisily announced by the Honourable Mr Batulcar, was to commence at three o'clock, and soon the deafening instruments of a Japanese orchestra resounded at the door. Passepartout, though he had not been able to study or rehearse a part, was designated to lend the aid of his sturdy shoulders in the great exhibition of the `human pyramid', executed by the Long Noses of the god Tingou. This `great attraction' was to close the performance.
Before three o'clock the large shed was invaded by the spectators, comprising Europeans and natives, Chinese and Japanese, men, women and children, who precipitated themselves upon the narrow benches and into the boxes opposite the stage. The musicians took up a position inside, and were vigorously performing on their gongs, tam-tams, flutes, bones, tambourines, and immense drums.
The performance was much like all acrobatic displays; but it must be confessed that the Japanese are the first equilibrists in the world.
One, with a fan and some bits of paper, performed the graceful trick of the butterflies and the flowers; another traced in the air, with the odorous smoke of his pipe, a series of blue words, which composed a compliment to the audience; while a third juggled with some lighted candles, which he extinguished successively as they passed his lips, and relit again without interrupting for an instant his juggling. Another reproduced the most singular combinations with a spinning-top; in his hands the revolving tops seemed to be animated with a life of their own in their interminable whirling; they ran over pipe-stems, the edges of sabres, wires, and even hairs stretched across the stage; they turned around on the edges of large glasses, crossed bamboo ladders, dispersed into all the corners, and produced strange musical effects by the combination of their various pitches of tone. The jugglers tossed them in the air, threw them like shuttlecocks with wooden battledores, and yet they kept on spinning; they put them into their pockets, and took them out still whirling as before.
It is useless to describe the astonishing performances of the acrobats and gymnasts. The turning on ladders, poles, balls, barrels, &c., was executed with wonderful precision.
But the principal attraction was the exhibition of the Long Noses, a show to which Europe is as yet a stranger.
The Long Noses form a peculiar company, under the direct patronage of the god Tingou. Attired after the fashion of the Middle Ages, they bore upon their shoulders a splendid pair of wings; but what especially distinguished them was the long noses which were fastened to their faces, and the uses which they made of them. These noses were made of bamboo, and were five, six, and even ten feet long, some straight, others curved, some ribboned, and some having imitation warts upon them. It was upon these appendages, fixed tightly on their real noses, that they performed their gymnastic exercises. A dozen of these sectaries of Tingou lay flat upon their backs, while others, dressed to represent lightning-rods, came and frolicked on their noses, jumping from one to another, and performing the most skilful leapings and somersaults.
As a last scene, a `human pyramid' had been announced, in which fifty Long Noses were to represent the Car of Juggernaut. But, instead of forming a pyramid by mounting each other's shoulders, the artists were to group themselves on top of the noses. It happened that the performer who had hitherto formed the base of the Car had quitted the troupe, and as, to fill this part, only strength and adroitness were necessary, Passepartout had been chosen to take his place.
The poor fellow really felt sad when - melancholy reminiscence of his youth! - he donned his costume, adorned with vari-coloured wings, and fastened to his natural feature a false nose six feet long. But he cheered up when he thought that this nose was winning him something to eat.
He went upon the stage, and took his place beside the rest who were to compose the base of the Car of Juggernaut. They all stretched themselves on the floor, their noses pointing to the ceiling. A second group of artists disposed themselves on these long appendages, then a third above these, then a fourth, until a human monument reaching to the very cornices of the theatre soon arose on top of the noses. This elicited loud applause, in the midst of which the orchestra was just striking up a deafening air, when the pyramid tottered, the balance was lost, one of the lower noses vanished from the pyramid, and the human monument was shattered like a castle built of cards!
It was Passepartout's fault. Abandoning his position, clearing the footlights without the aid of his wings, and clambering up to the right-hand gallery, he fell at the feet of one of the spectators, crying, `Ah, my master! my master!'
`You here?'
`Myself.'
`Very well; then let us go to the steamer, young man!'
Mr Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout passed through the lobby of the theatre to the outside, where they encountered the Honourable Mr Batulcar, furious with rage. He demanded damages for the `breakage' of the pyramid; and Phileas Fogg appeased him by giving him a handful of bank-notes.
At half-past six, the very hour of departure, Mr Fogg and Aouda, followed by Passepartout, who in his hurry had retained his wings, and nose six feet long, stepped upon the American steamer.





第二十三章

第二天，路路通是又饿又累，他对自己说，不管三七二十一，得先想办法吃饭，越快越好！其实他还有一条出路，那就是卖掉他那只表，但是他宁愿饿死，也不肯卖表。不过，对于这个能干的小伙子来说，目前也正是一个机会，或者可以说是一个千载难逢的好机会，那就是靠他那虽然不怎么优美动听，但却浑厚有力的天赋歌喉去沿街卖唱。
他颇会一些法国和英国的陈词旧调，于是他就决定去试试看。看样子日本人一定是喜欢音乐的，既然他们这里都听惯了铙钹、铜锣和大鼓的声音，他们也一定能欣赏一位欧洲声乐家的歌喉。
不过要是马上就拉开场子卖唱，似乎时间还太早了一点，那些硬是被他吵醒了的歌迷八成也不会拿出铸着天皇肖像的钱币赏给歌手。
路路通决定再等几个钟头，但是当他在路上走着的时候，忽然心血来潮，他觉得要是穿上一套江湖艺人的衣服，岂不更妙？这时，他就想到把自己的西装去换一套更适合于他现在身分的估衣，再说，拿西装换套估衣一定还能找回点钱来，那就可以立即拿来饱餐一顿。
主意是拿定了，剩下的问题只是如何去做了。路路通找了老大半天才找到了一家日本估衣店。他向店主说明了来意，店主很喜欢他这套西装。过不一会儿，路路通就穿着一套旧和服戴着一顶由于陈旧而褪了色的花纹头巾走出了估衣店，而且在他口袋里还叮玲当啷地响着几块找回来的银币。
“妙啊！”路路通心里说，“现在我简直觉得是在过节了！”
这个打扮成了日本人的小伙子如今头一桩事就是走进一家小小的茶饭铺，在那里叫一点零碎鸡鸭肉，弄了点米饭，他完全象是那种吃上顿愁下顿的人一样省吃俭用，凑合着吃完了这顿早饭。
当他把肚子填饱了之后，他就对自己说：“现在我可不能糊里糊涂地过日子啊！要是把这一套估衣再卖了，想换一套更日本化的衣服，那是不可能的了。所以我必须快想办法，尽早地离开这个‘太阳之国’。这个地方留给我的只不过是一个倒霉的回忆罢了！”
这时，路路通一心想去查询一下有没有开往美洲的邮船，他希望能到船上当一名厨师或侍者。他不要报酬，只要许他白坐船，又管饭就行。他先到旧金山，然后再说下一步怎么办。目前主要的问题是要想办法从日本到新大陆，想办法跨过太平洋上这四千七百海里的路程。
路路通完全不是一个优柔寡断的人，他立即向横滨港口走去。但是，当他离码头越来越近的时候，他对那个自己最初觉得简而易行的计划就越来越感到没有把握了。人家凭什么需要我这样一个人到他们美国船上当厨师或侍者呢？我这么一身奇怪的打扮，人家凭什么会那么信任我呢？我有什么值得叫人家相信的介绍信呢？我能给人家提出什么证明文件或保证人呢？
当他正在这样苦思苦想的时候，他的视线忽然落在一张很大的海报上，这张海报正由一个似乎是马戏团小丑的人物背着，在横滨的大街上走来走去。海报上面用英文写着：
尊贵的维廉•巴图尔卡先生的
日本杂技团
出国赴美公演之前，最后一次演出
在天狗真神佑护下演出特别节目
——鼻子长长鼻子——
惊心动魄精采绝伦
“到美国去！”路路通叫着说，“这正是我想的事！……”
于是，他就跟在这个背着海报的人后面，走了一会儿，又回到了辨天区。一刻钟后，他来到一个很大的马戏棚门口。棚上竖着一排排花花绿绿的旗子，墙壁外面画着一些杂技演员的肖像，这些画像都毫无立体感觉，但是色彩却非常鲜明醒目。
这里就是尊贵的巴图尔卡先生的杂技团剧场，他是一位美国巴尔努式的杂技团经理。他手下有一大批演员。其中有跳板演员、杂技演员、小丑、魔术师、平衡技巧演员和体操演员。按照海报上说今天是他们离开这个太阳帝国到美国去以前的最后一次演出。
路路通走进了马戏棚前面的圆往回廊，要求见一见巴图尔卡先生。巴图尔卡亲自出来了。
“你找我干什么？”巴图尔卡问道，他这时把路路通当成个日本人了。
“您需要一个佣人吗？”路路通问。
“一个佣人？”这个马戏班经理拈着他那下颚上毛茸茸的灰胡子说，“我这里有两个佣人，都很忠实，很听话，他们从来也没有离开过我，他们给我工作也不要工钱，我只要给他们饭吃就行，……喏，你瞧！”他说着就举起了自己的两只粗胳臂，上面鼓着一条条的青筋，活象低音提琴上的粗弦一样。
“那么，就是说，我对你一点用也没有了？”
“一点也用不着。”
“倒霉！可是，跟你一道去美国对于我倒是挺合适的。”
“啊，原来是这么回事！”尊贵的巴图尔卡先生说，“你这身打扮要说是象个日本人，那我就可以说自己象个猴子了。你干吗要穿这样的行头啊？”
“能穿什么就穿什么呗！”
“这倒是实话，你是法国人吗？”
“对了，道地的巴黎人。”
“那么，不用说您一定会装腔作势喽？”
路路通发现别人因为自己是法国人竟得出这样的结论，实在有点恼火，他说：
“不错，我们有些法国人确实是会装腔作势，但是比起你们美国人来那还是小巫见大巫啊！”
“对！好吧，即使我不能雇你作佣人，我可以请你当我们杂技团的小丑。老兄，您明白吗？在法国你们扮演外国小丑；可是在外国，人家都扮演法国小丑。”
“哦！”
“再说，你的身体也挺棒，不是吗？”
“是挺棒，特别是吃饱了以后就更棒。”
“你会唱吗？”
“会啊！”这个过去曾经在街头卖过唱的路路通说。
“可是你会不会脑袋向下两脚朝天唱歌？并且在左脚心上放一个滴溜溜转的响陀螺，右脚心上直立着一把军刀，这你会不会？”
“会！”路路通回答说。他这时记起了年轻时所受的那些基本训练。
“你看吧，我要请你干的就是这些事！”尊贵的巴图尔卡先生说。
雇用合同就这样当场谈妥了。
路路通总算找到了工作。他在这个有名的日本杂技团算是个“百搭”，什么都干。这本来不是一个什么好差事，不过一个星期之后他就能坐着船去旧金山了。
尊贵的巴图尔卡先生大张旗鼓宣传的表演节目，将在下午三点钟开始。这时，在大门口开始了锣鼓喧天的日本乐队大合奏。
显然，路路通今天不可能马上就扮演角色。但是今天需要他用自己那结实有力的双肩为“叠罗汉”的演员们出一臂之力。这个节目是由“天狗”神长鼻演员们来表演的，这个扣人心弦的精彩节目是今天全部演出节目的压轴戏。
不到三点钟，大批的观众已经涌进了这座宽敞的马戏棚。其中有本地人、有欧洲人、有中国人、也有日本人；有男人、有女人还有小孩子。一个个都争先恐后地在那些狭长的椅子上，或者在舞台对面的包厢里坐下来了。大门口的吹鼓手也撤到里头来了。乐队到齐，铜锣、堂锣、快板、竖笛、小铜鼓、大洋鼓都翻天覆地地吹打起来了。
演出的节目和一般杂技团演出的大致相同，但是必须承认：日本的杂技演员是世界上第一流的演员。有一个演员手里拿着一把扇子和一些碎纸片，演出了非常美妙动人的“群蝶花间舞”；另一个演员用他那从烟斗里喷出来的一缕芬芳的烟雾，在空中迅速地写出许多青烟文字，这些字构成一句向观众致敬的颂词；又有一个耍抛物戏的演员，他一面把几支点着的蜡烛轮流地从手里抛起，一面把每一支从嘴前面经过的蜡烛吹熄，然后再陆续地把它们点着，同时却一秒钟也不中止他那神奇的抛掷动作。还有一个耍弹簧地陀螺的演员，他使那些地陀螺滴溜溜转起来配合得极其巧妙，看了简直叫人难以置信，这些嗡嗡作响的陀螺在他的操纵下，活象是一些旋转不停的有生命的小动物，它们能在烟斗杆上，军刀刀口上，以及在那些拉在舞台上的头发一样细的钢丝上旋转着跑个不停，它们能围着几个大水晶瓶打圈转，它们能爬竹梯，能四面八方到处跑，同时发出各种不同的响声。听起来非常和谐。演员们在表演的时候，还使陀螺在半空中旋转飞舞。演员用木制的球拍把这些陀螺象羽毛球一样打来打去，陀螺总是一个劲地不停旋转，演员们最后把陀螺装到衣袋里了，但是当他们再拿出来的时候陀螺仍在旋转，一直转到里面的一根发条完全松开的时候，这时陀螺也都不再动了，摊开得象一束束开放的纸花。
这里，我们对杂技团的各种演员们的绝技无需多加描写，不论是上转梯、爬高竿也好，玩大球、滚圆桶也好，反正每个节目都非常出色。但是最引人入胜的节目是那些令人惊心动魄的“长鼻子”演员的表演，在欧洲根本就没见过这种绝技。
这些“长鼻子”是在天狗神直接佑护之下组成的一个特别的“长鼻子”班。他们穿着象中世纪英雄一样的服装，肩上装着两只华丽的假翅膀，但最特殊的地方是装在脸上的那根长鼻子。尤其是他们用这种鼻子所进行的表演，简直使人叹为观止。这些假鼻子只是用竹子作的，它们的长度有的五六英尺，最长的达十英尺。它们的形状有的笔直，有的弯曲，有的光滑整齐，有的疙里疙瘩。而这些演员们正是在这些装得很牢的假鼻子上来进行特技表演。首先是有十二三个这种“天狗神派”的演员仰卧在台上，接着又来了另一些长鼻子伙伴跳到他们那些象避雷针一样竖立着的鼻子上，他们在这些鼻子尖上蹦跳，飞跃，从这个鼻子到那个鼻子来回表演着各种令人难以相信的绝技。
最后，台上郑重其事地向观众宣布作为压轴戏的节目——“叠罗汉”，马上就要演出了。这个“罗汉塔”将由五十多个长鼻子演员搭成。但是尊贵的巴图尔卡先生的演员们并不是用双肩来叠“罗汉塔”，而只是用他们的假鼻子来支持这个巨大的人体建筑！由于替“罗汉塔”垫底的演员最近走了一个人，而这项垫底工作既要身体结实，又要头脑机灵，于是路路通就被选来担任这个角色了。
说实在话，当路路通穿上这一套中古服装，装上两只花花绿绿的假翅膀，脸上又给安上一个六英尺长的鼻子的时候，这个正派的小伙子不禁想起了年轻时代那些艰苦的岁月，心里自然有无限感慨！可是话又说回来了，眼前这个鼻子到底是他赚钱吃饭的家伙，于是他决定干长鼻子演员。
这时，路路通就走上了舞台，和那些跟他一样要为“罗汉塔”垫底的伙伴们站在一起。大家一齐往地上一躺，一个个长鼻子都翘到了半天空。接着，搭第二层的演员走了过来，在他们的鼻尖上躺下了；第三层演员跟着躺在第二层演员的鼻尖上，第四层演员也是依法炮制。不大一会儿功夫，这一座只靠着鼻子尖支起来的活人塔已经和台上的顶棚一样高了。
这时台下响起了暴风雨般的掌声；台上奏起了雷鸣一般的音乐。就在这一霎那间，“罗汉塔”突然摇晃了一下，只见一个垫底的长鼻子离开了自己的岗位，“人塔”立即失去了平衡，只听“扑通扑通”一阵响声，“罗汉塔”就象一座纸搭的古堡一样倒了下来……
这是路路通的过失！是他擅自离开了职守。他虽然丝毫也没有扇动自己的翅膀，但却早已飞过了舞台上的低栅栏，爬上了舞台右面的包厢，在一位观众的脚下，趴了下来，他一面嚷着：
“啊，我的主人，我可找到您了！”
“是你？！”
“是我！”
“那么，好吧，走，快上船！我的小伙子……”
路路通跟着福克先生和艾娥达夫人迅速地穿过回廊跑出了马戏棚。这时，他们迎面碰上了怒不可遏的巴图尔卡先生，他为了“罗汉塔”的倒塌要求损害赔偿。斐利亚•福克先生丢给他一把钞票，立即平息了巴图尔卡先生的怒火。
六点半钟，福克先生和艾娥达夫人走上了美国邮船。后面跟着路路通，一直到要动身的时候，他肩膀上那两只翅膀和脸上那个六英尺长的假鼻子还没有来得及弄下来呢。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 24楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0



CHAPTER 24


What happened when the pilot-boat came in sight of Shanghai will be easily guessed. The signals made by the `Tankadere' had been seen by the captain off Yokohama steamer, who, espying the flag at half-mast, had directed his course towards the little craft. Phileas Fogg, after paying the stipulated price of his passage to John Bunsby, and rewarding that worthy with the additional sum of five hundred and fifty pounds, ascended the steamer with Aouda and Fix; and they started at once for Nagasaki and Yokohama.
They reached their destination on the morning of the 14th November. Phileas Fogg lost no time in going on board the `Carnatic', where he learned, to Aouda's great delight - and perhaps to his own, though he betrayed no emotion - that Passepartout, a Frenchman, had really arrived on her the day before.
The San Francisco steamer was announced to leave that very evening, and it became necessary to find Passepartout, if possible, without delay. Mr Fogg applied in vain to the French and English consuls, and, after wandering through the streets a long time, began to despair of finding his missing servant. Chance, or ber, that Passepartout made a joyful discovery. It will be remembered that the obstinate fellow had insisted on keeping his famous family watch at London time, and on regarding that of the countries he had passed through as quite false and unreliable. Now, on this day, though he had not changed the hands, he found that his watch exactly agreed with the ship's chronometers. His triumph was hilarious. He would have liked to know what Fix would say if he were aboard!
`The rogue told me a lot of stories,' repeated Passepartout, `about the meridians, the sun, and the moon! Moon, indeed! Moonshine, more likely! If one listened to that sort of people, a pretty sort of time one would keep! I was sure that the sun would some day regulate itself by my watch!'
Passepartout was ignorant that, if the face of his watch had been divided into twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, he would have no reason for exultation; for the hao)áμàut a word; and then furnished his man with funds necessary to obtain clothing more in harmony with his position. Within an hour the Frenchman had cut off his nose and parted with his wings, and retained nothing about him which recalled the sectary of the god Tingou.
The steamer which was about to depart from Yokohama to San Francisco belonged to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and was named the `General Grant'. She was a large paddle-wheel steamer of two thousand five hundred tons, well equipped and very fast. The massive walking-beam rose and fell above the deck; at one end a piston-rod worked up and down; and at the other was a connecting-rod which, in changing the rectilinear motion to a circular one, was directly connected with the shaft of the paddles. The `General Grant' was rigged with three masts, giving a large capacity for sails, and thus materially aiding the steam power. By making twelve miles an hour, she would cross the ocean in twenty-one days. Phileas Fogg was therefore justified in hoping that he would reach San Francisco by the 2nd December, New York by the 11th, and London on the 20th, - thus gaining several hours on the fatal date of the 21st December.
There was a full complement of passengers on board, among them English, many Americans, a large number of Coolies on their way to California, and several East Indian officers, who were spending their vacation making a tour of the world. Nothing of moment happened on the voyage; the steamer, sustained on its large paddles, rolled but little, and the `Pacific' almost justified its name. Mr Fogg was as calm and taciturn as ever. His young companion felt herself more and more attached to him by other ties than gratitude; his silent but generous nature impressed her more than she thought; and it was almost unconsciously that she yielded to emotions which did not seem to have the least effect upon her protector. Aouda took the keenest interest in his plans, and became impatient at any incident which seemed likely to retard his journey.
She often chatted with Passepartout, who did not fail to perceive the state of the lady's heart; and, being the most faithful of domestics, he never exhausted his eulogies of Phileas Fogg's honesty, generosity and devotion. He took pains to calm Aouda's doubts of a successful termination of the journey, telling her that the most difficult part of it had passed, that now they were beyond the fantastic countries of Japan and China, and were fairly on their way to cited places again. A railway train from San Francisco to New York, and a transatlantic steamer from New York to Liverpool, would doubtless bring them to the end of this impossible journey round the world within the period agreed upon.
On the ninth day after leaving Yokohama, Phileas Fogg had traversed exactly one half of the terrestrial globe. The `General Grant' passed, on the 23rd November, the one hundred and eightieth meridian, and was at the very antipodes of London. Mr Fogg had, it is true, exhausted fifty-two of the eighty days in which he was to complete the tour, and there were only twenty-eight left. But, though he was only half-way by the difference of meridians, he had really gone over two-thirds of the whole journey; for he had been obliged to make long circuits from London to Aden, from Aden to Bombay, from Calcutta to Singapore, and from Singapore to Yokohama. Could he have followed without deviation the fiftieth parallel, which is that of London, the whole distance would only have been about twelve thousand miles; whereas he would be forced, by the irregular methods of locomotion, to traverse twenty-six thousand, of which he had, on the 23rd of November, accomplished seventeen thousand five hundred. And now the course was a straight one, and Fix was no longer there to put obstacles in their way!
It happened also, on the 23rd of November, that Passepartout made a joyful discovery. It will be remembered that the obstinate fellow had insisted on keeping his famous family watch at London time, and on regarding that of the countries he had passed through as quite false and unreliable. Now, on this day, though he had not changed the hands, he found that his watch exactly agreed with the ship's chronometers. His triumph was hilarious. He would have liked to know what Fix would say if he were aboard!
`The rogue told me a lot of stories,' repeated Passepartout, `about the meridians, the sun, and the moon! Moon, indeed! Moonshine, more likely! If one listened to that sort of people, a pretty sort of time one would keep! I was sure that the sun would some day regulate itself by my watch!'
Passepartout was ignorant that, if the face of his watch had been divided into twenty-four hours, like the Italian clocks, he would have no reason for exultation; for the hands of his watch would then, instead of as now indicating nine o'clock in the morning, indicate nine o'clock in the evening, that is the twenty-first hour after midnight, precisely the difference between London time and that of the one hundred and eightieth meridian. But if Fix had been able to explain this purely physical effect, Passepartout would not have admitted, even if he had comprehended it. Moreover, if the detective had been on board at that moment, Passepartout would have joined issue with him on a quite different subject, and in an entirely different manner.
Where was Fix at that moment?
He was actually on board the `General Grant'.
On reaching Yokohama, the detective, leaving Mr Fogg, whom he expected to meet again during the day, had repaired at once to the English consulate, where he at last found the warrant of arrest. It had followed him from Bombay, and had come by the `Carnatic', on which steamer he himself was sub posed to be. Fix's disappointment may be imagined when he reflected that the warrant was now useless.
Mr Fogg had left English ground, and it was now necessary to procure his extradition!
`Well,' thought Fix, after a moment of anger, `my warrant is not good here, but it will be in England. The rogue evidently intends to return to his own country, thinking he has thrown the police off his track. Good! I will follow him across the Atlantic. As for the money, Heaven grant there may be some left! But the fellow has already spent in travelling, rewards, trials, bail, elephants, and all sorts of charges, more than five thousand pounds. Yet, after all, the Bank is rich!'
His course decided on, he went on board the `General Grant', and was there when Mr Fogg and Aouda arrived. To his utter amazement, he recognized Passepartout, despite his theatrical disguise. He quicKly concealed himself in his cabin, to avoid an awkward explanation, and hoped - thanks to the number of passengers - to remain unperceived by Mr Fogg's servant.
On that very day, however, he met Passepartout face to face on the forward deck. The latter, without a word, made a rush for him, grasped him by the throat, and, much to the amusement of a group of Americans, who immediately began to bet on him, administered to the detective a perfect volley of blows, which proved the great superiority of French over English pugilistic skill.
When Passepartout had finished, he found himself relieved and comforted. Fix got up in a somewhat rumpled condition, and, looking at his adversary, coldly said, `Have you done?'
`For this time - yes.'
`Then let me have a word with you.'
`But!--'
`In your master's interest.'
Passepartout seemed to be vanquished by Fix's coolness, for he quietly followed him, and they sat down aside from the rest of the passengers.
`You have given me a thrashing,' said Fix. `Good, I expected it. Now, listen to me. Up to this time I have been Mr Fogg's adversary. I am now in his game.'
`Aha!' cried Passepartout; `you are convinced he is an honest man?'
`No,' replied Fix coldly, `I think him a rascal. Sh! don't budge, and let me speak. As long as Mr Fogg was on English ground, it was for my interest to detain him there until my warrant of arrest arrived. I did everything I could to keep him back. I sent the Bombay priests after him, I got you intoxicated at Hong Kong, I separated you from him, and I made him miss the Yokohama steamer.'
Passepartout listened, with closed fists.
`Now,' resumed Fix, `Mr Fogg seems to be going back to England. Well, I will follow him there. But hereafter I will do as much to keep obstacles out of his way as I have done up to this time to put them in his path. I've changed my game, you see, and simply because it was for my interest to change it. Your interest is the same as mine; for it is only in England that you will ascertain whether you are in the service of a criminal or an honest man.'
Passepartout listened very attentively to Fix, and was convinced that he spoke with entire good faith.
`Are we friends?' asked the detective.
`Friends? - no,' replied Passepartout; `but allies, perhaps. At the least sign of treason, however, I'll twist your neck for you.'
`Agreed,' said the detective quietly.
Eleven days later, on the 3rd of December, the `General Grant' entered the bay of the Golden Gate, and reached San Francisco.
Mr Fogg had neither gained nor lost a single day.



第二十四章
关于在上海发生的事情，我们已经知道了。唐卡德尔号当时发出的信号已经被开往横滨的邮船发现。船长看见小船上下半旗，就命令邮船向唐卡德尔号开去。过了不久，斐利亚•福克先生算清了船费，把为数五百英镑（合一万二千五百法郎）的钞票交给了约翰•班斯比船长。然后这个尊贵的绅士和艾娥达夫人，还有费克斯就一齐上了这条立即开往长崎和横滨的邮船。
就在11月14日当天早晨，邮船准时地到达了横滨。辐克先生让费克斯去忙他自己的事了，然后福克先生就去找卡尔纳蒂克号。他在那里知道路路通确是在昨天晚上到了横滨，这个消息使艾娥达夫人高兴极了。福克先生也许会同样感到高兴，不过他在脸上却一点也没有表现出来。
斐利亚•福克先生当天晚上就要搭船去旧金山，所以他立即去找路路通。他问过法国和英国领事馆，但是一点消息也没有。他跑遍了横滨的大街，仍然一无所获，于是他对于把路路通再找回来这件事已经不抱什么希望了。但就是在这时，可能是由于碰巧，或者由于某一种预感，他竟走进了巴图尔卡先生的马戏棚。当时路路通穿着那样奇怪的古装，福克先生当然不会认出他来，可是在台上仰卧着的路路通却看到了他的主人坐在花楼上的包厢里。这时，小伙子再也不能使自己的鼻子一动也不动地保持在原来的地位了，因此就使整个“罗汉塔”失去了平衡，倒塌了。
接着，路路通也从艾娥达夫人那里知道了过去几天的事。艾娥达夫人告诉他如何从香港到了横滨，如何同一位名叫费克斯的先生一起乘坐唐卡德尔号等等。
听到费克斯的名字，路路通并没皱眉头。他觉得现在对福克先生说明费克斯和自己之间的纠葛，还不是时候。至于路路通对于自己的经历，他只承认是在横滨的一个烟馆里吸大烟吸醉了。
福克先生冷静地听完了他的叙述，没有说一句话，然后就给了他一笔足够的钱使他能在船上买到更合适的衣服。不到一个钟头，这个正直的小伙子已经去掉了假鼻子，摘下了花翅膀，在他身上再也找不到一点“天狗神派”的装饰了。
这条由横滨开往旧金山的邮船是太平洋轮船公司的船，船名叫格兰特将军号，这是一条两千五百吨的大轮船，设备很好，速度很快。甲板上露出一根很长的蒸汽机杠杆，两头一高一低地不停活动，这根杠杆的一端联接着活塞柄，另一头联着轮机上的曲轴，这样就把杠杆的直线推动力转变为直接推动轮机的动力，从而使轮轴不停地旋转起来。格兰特将军号装有三个大帆。帆面很宽，有力地协助发动机加快航行速度。按这样每小时十二海里的速度计算，这条邮船用不了二十一天就能横渡太平洋。因此，斐利亚•福克先生相信12月2号将能到达旧金山，11号就能到纽约，12月20号就可以回到伦敦。这样一来，他还能在原定的那个决定命运的时间——12月21日——之前几小时完成这次旅行的任务。
船上旅客相当多，有一些英国人，但更多的是美国人；还有许多到美洲去的苦力移民；也有一部分是在印度军队中服役的军官，他们在利用假期作世界旅行。
这一次，旅途中没有发生任何航海事故。格兰特将军号依靠巨大的轮机，借助于全面展开的大帆，四平八稳地顺利前进。太平洋确实可以说名副其实的“太平”。福克先生沉默寡言，依然如故。现在他那位年轻的旅伴艾娥达夫人，对他已经日益感到亲切，而这种亲切已经不止是感激之情了。他那样和蔼可亲的沉静的性格，在艾娥达夫人心中产生了一种连她自己都想象不到的影响，甚至可以说，艾娥达夫人已经不知不觉地堕入了一种微妙的幻想，而这位令人难以捉摸的福克先生对于艾娥达夫人这种心情却象是一无所知。
此外，艾娥达夫人现在对于福克先生的旅行计划也显得非常关心。她总是担心着怕有什么意外事故会妨碍他们完成这个旅行计划。她经常和路路通闲谈，这个小伙子，从艾娥达夫人谈话的语气里已经猜透了对方的心事。他现在对于自己的主人简直象迷信人敬神一样地盲目崇拜，他滔滔不绝地夸赞福克先生如何诚实，如何宽厚，对人如何热心；然后他又安慰艾娥达夫人，说这次旅行一定会成功。他一次又一次他说，最困难的阶段已经过去了；我们已经离开了中国和日本的那些神奇莫测的地方，我们已经回到了这些文明的国度，最后只要坐上火车，从旧金山到纽约，再坐上横渡大洋的轮船，从纽约到伦敦，这样就毫无疑问能够按时完成这个人们认为不可能的环球旅行了。
离开横滨九天之后，斐利亚•福克先生不多不少地正好绕了半个地球。
格兰特将军号正是11月23日越过一百八十度子午线，位于南半球的这条子午线，正好和北半球的伦敦隔着地球成一条垂直线。不错，福克先生所预定的八十天期限现在已经用去了五十二天，他只剩下二十八天的时间了。但是，我们必须注意，如果说这位绅士按照地球经度子午线计算他才走完了一半路程，那么事实上他已经完成了三分之二以上的旅行计划。因为，他不得不绕这么大一个圈子，从伦敦到亚丁，从亚丁到孟买，从加尔各答到新加坡，再从新加坡到横滨！要是他顺着伦敦所在的纬度五十度线直线环绕地球的话，全程只不过一万二千英里上下；但是由于交通条件的限制，他必须绕道两万六千英里才能回到伦敦。目前，到11月23号这一天，他已经走完了大约一万七千五百英里，不过从此地到伦敦却都是直路了，而且眼前那个专门制造困难的费克斯也不在了。
11月23号这一天，路路通也发现了一件使他非常高兴的事。我们总还记得这个顽固的小伙子曾一直让他那个传家之宝的大银表，一成不变地保持着伦敦时间。他在沿途各地都一直认为别人的钟表所指示的时间是错误的。可是今天，虽然他从没有拔快或者倒拔自己的表针，但是却发现它和船上的大钟走得完全一样。
路路通之所以感到一种胜利的喜悦，还有另外一个原因，那就是假如费克斯也在这里的话，他很想听听这家伙对他的表会说些什么。
“这个混球儿，他给我罗嗦了一大堆什么子午线啦，什么太阳、月亮啦！”路路通说，“嘿！这种人，你要听了他们的话，就别想再有一个准钟点了。我早就知道，总有一天，太阳会照着我的表走的！……”
但是路路通并不了解，如果他的表面象那种意大利钟一样分做二十四个小时的话，他就一点也不可能象现在这样洋洋得意了。若是那样，当船上的大钟指着早晨九点的时候，路路通表上的时针就会指着晚上九点，也就是二十四小时中的第二十一点，那么他的表和船上的大钟相差的时数就正好等于子午线一百八十度地区的时间和伦敦时间相差的时数。
即使费克斯能够把这个道理讲清楚，路路通大概也不会理解，即使他理解了，他也不会承认费克斯是对的。可是，假定说——当然这是不会有的事——这个侦探现在真的突然出现在这条船上的话，这个对他恨之入骨而又理直气壮的路路通，准会用另外一种态度对待他，决不会跟他谈大银表的问题。
可是，费克斯现在到底跑到哪儿去了呢？……
费克斯不在别处，正是在格兰特将军号上。
实际上，这位密探一到了横滨就离开了福克先生，马上去找英国领事馆，不过他打算当天还能找着福克先生。他在领事馆终于拿到了那张从孟买开始一直跟在他后面转寄了四十天的拘票。因为有关当局以为费克斯一定会乘卡尔纳蒂克号，所以就把这张拘票也交这条船由香港寄来横滨。可以想见，这件事使我们这位侦探多么伤脑筋！拘票在这儿没用了，成了一张废纸！福克先生已经离开了英国的势力范围！现在要想逮捕他，就必须跟当地政府办理引渡手续！
“算了！”费克斯在一阵怒气平息了之后对自己说，“我的拘票在这儿是吃不开了。不过一到了英国本土，它还是照样管事儿。福克这流氓，看样子还真的是要回到英国去，他以为警察厅已经被他蒙过了。好吧！我就一直盯到底。至于说赃款，天知道还能剩下多少！旅费、奖金、诉讼费、保释金、买大象以及其他一路上的种种支出，他已经挥霍了五千多英镑了。不过，不管怎样，银行的钱反正多着呢！”
他拿定了主意之后，立即登上了格兰特将军号。当福克先生和艾娥达夫人上船的时候，费克斯已经在船上了。这时他万想不到竟会看见了穿着一身日本古装的路路通，他马上躲进了自己的房舱，免得引起争辩，把事情弄糟了。有一天由于旅客很多，费克斯认为自己绝不会被对手发现，他就出来了，可是冤家路窄，就在这个时候，他在前甲板上碰上了路路通。
这个法国小伙子二话不说，上去就掐住了费克斯的脖子，这下子旁边围着看的一些美国佬可高兴了，他们立刻分成了两派，就拿路路通和费克斯的胜败赌起钱来了。小伙子左一拳，右一拳，把这个倒霉的密探结结实实地揍了一顿，从这可以看出，法国拳击术比英国把式高明得多。
路路通把费克斯揍了一顿之后，心里象是得到了一点安慰，火气也比较小了。这时费克斯的仪表已经很不象话了，他爬起来望着路路通，冷冷地说：“打够了？”
“嗯，暂时打够了。”
“那好吧，走，咱们去谈谈。”
“我还跟你……”
“对你主人有好处的事。”
路路通好象是被这个沉静的敌手降服了似的，就跟着他一起到船头甲板上坐下了。
“你揍了我一顿，”费克斯说，“这没什么，我早就等着你揍我呢。不过，现在你听我说，我过去一向是和福克先生作对，但是从今以后，我要帮助他了。”
“啊！”路路通叫着说，“你现在也相信他是正人君子了？”
“不相信，”费克斯冷冰冰他说，“我相信他是个流氓。嘿！你别动手，听我说完行不行！当福克先生在英国势力范围的时候，拖住福克，对我有好处，因为我要等伦敦寄给我拘票。为了这个目的，我用尽了一切办法，我曾唆使孟买的僧侣赶到加尔各答起诉告他，我曾经在香港把你弄醉使你们分开，叫他搭不上去横滨的船……”
路路通听着，两只大拳头握得紧紧的。
“可是现在，”费克斯接着说，“福克先生象是要回英国去了，是吗？那很好，我一直跟他到英国。不过，从现在起，我要帮助他扫除旅途上的阻碍，我一定拿过去尽力设法阻碍他旅行的那种迫切心情和积极性来帮助他回到英国。你现在明自了吧，我要起的作用变了，我的作用所以改变，那是因为这样作，对我自己的工作有利。我再重复一句，现在你的利益也就是我的利益，因为只有到了英国，你才会明白你到底是替一个好人当差，还是在给一个罪犯当狗腿子。”
路路通非常仔细听完了费克斯这一段话。他确信费克斯说的都是心里的话。
“我们可以说是朋友了吧？”费克斯问。
“朋友？我们不是，”路路通回答说，“我们只能算是同盟者，对了，只是在保证福克先生利益的条件下和你是同盟者，那就是说，只要我发现你再耍一点花招，我就掐死你！”
“我同意，”费克斯不动声色他说。
过了十一天之后，正是12月3号，格兰特将军号开进金门港，到达了旧金山。
到现在为止，福克先生只是如期到达了旧金山，一天也没有推迟，但也没有提前到达。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 25楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0



CHAPTER 25

It was seven in the morning when Mr Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout set foot upon the American continent, if this name can be given to the floating quay upon which they disembarked. These quays, rising and falling with the tide, thus facilitate the loading and unloading of vessels. Alongside them were clippers of all sizes, steamers of all nationalities, and the steamboats, with several decks rising one above the other, which ply on the Sacramento and its tributaries. There were also heaped up the products of a commerce which extends to Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Europe, Asia and all the Pacific islands.
Passepartout, in his joy on reaching at last the American continent, thought he would manifest it by executing a perilous vault in fine style; but, tumbling upon some worm-eaten planks, he fell through them. Put out of countenance by the manner in which he thus `set foot' upon the New World, he uttered a loud cry, which so frightened the innumerable cormorants and pelicans that are always perched upon these movable quays, that they flew noisily away.
Mr Fogg, on reaching shore, proceeded to find out at what hour the firsimprobable, so agitated was the multitude before them.
Just at this moment there was an unusual stir in the human mass. All the hands were raised in the air. Some, tightly closed, seemed to disappear suddenly in the midst of the cries - an energetic way, no doubt, of casting a vote. The crowd swayed back, the banners and flags wavered, disappeared an instant, then reappeared in tatters. The undulations of the human surge reached the steps, while all the heads floundered on the surface like a sea agitated by a squall. Many of the black hats disappeared, and the greater part of the crowd seemed to have diminished in height.
`It is evidently a meeting,' said Fix, `and its object must be an exciting one. Inger the legendary city of 1849 - a city of banditti, assassins and incendiaries, who had flocked hither in crowds in pursuit of plunder; a paradise of outlaws, where they gambled with gold-dust, a revolver in one hand and a bowie-knife in the other: it was now a great commercial emporium.
The lofty tower of its City Hall overlooked the whole panorama of the streets and avenues, which cut each other at right angles, and in the midst of which appeared pleasant, verdant squares, while beyond appeared the Chinese quarter, seemingly imported from the celestial Empire in a toy-box. Sombreros and red shirts and plumed Indians were rarely to be seen; but there were silk hats and black coats everywhere worn by a multitude of nervously active, gentlemanly-looking men. Some of the streets - especially Montgomery Street, which is to San Francisco what Regent Street is to London, the Boulevard des Italians to Paris, and Broadway to New York - were lined with splendid and spacious stores, which exposed in their windows the products of the entire world.
When Passepartout reached the International Hotel, it did not seem to him as if he had left England at all.
The ground floor of the hotel was occupied by a large bar, a sort of restaurant freely open to all passers-by, who might partake of dried beef, oyster soup, biscuits, and cheese, without taking out their purses. Payment was made only for the ale, porter, or sherry which was drunk. This seemed `very American' to Passepartout. The hotel refreshment-rooms were comfortable, and Mr Fogg and Aouda, installing themselves at a table, were abundantly served on diminutive plates by negroes of darkest hue.
After breakfast, Mr Fogg, accompanied by Aouda, started for the English consulate to have his passport visaed. As he was going out, he met Passepartout, who asked him if it would not be well, before taking the train, to purchase some dozens of Enfield rifles and Colt's revolvers. He had been listening to stories of attacks upon the trains by the Sioux and Pawnees. Mr Fogg thought it a useless precaution, but told him to do as he thought best, and went on to the consulate.
He had not proceeded two hundred steps, however, when, `by the greatest chance in the world', he met Fix. The detective seemed wholly taken by surprise. What! Had Mr Fogg and himself crossed the Pacific together, and not met on the steamer! At least Fix felt honoured to behold once more the gentleman to whom he owed so much, and as his business recalled him to Europe, he should be delighted to continue the journey in such pleasant company.
Mr Fogg replied that the honour would be his; and the detective - who was determined not to lose sight of him - begged permission to accompany them in their walk about San Francisco - a request which Mr Fogg readily granted.
They soon found themselves in Montgomery Street, where a great crowd was collected; the side-walks, street, horse-car rails, the shop-doors, the windows of the houses, and even the roofs, were full of people. Men were going about carrying large posters, and flags and streamers were floating in the wind; while loud cries were heard on every hand.
`Hurrah for Camerfield!'
`Hurrah for Mandiboy!'
It was a political meeting; at least so Fix conjectured, who said to Mr Fogg, `Perhaps we had better not mingle with the crowd. There may be danger in it.'
`Yes,' returned Mr Fogg; `and blows, even if they are political, are still blows.'
Fix smiled at this remark; and in order to be able to see without being jostled about, the party took up a position on top of a flight of steps situated at the upper end of Montgomery Street. Opposite them, on the other side of the street, between a coal wharf and a petroleum warehouse, a large platform had been erected in the open air, towards which the current of the crowd seemed to be directed.
For what purpose was this meeting? What was the occasion of this excited assemblage? Phileas Fogg could not imagine. Was it to nominate some high official - a governor or member of Congress? It was not improbable, so agitated was the multitude before them.
Just at this moment there was an unusual stir in the human mass. All the hands were raised in the air. Some, tightly closed, seemed to disappear suddenly in the midst of the cries - an energetic way, no doubt, of casting a vote. The crowd swayed back, the banners and flags wavered, disappeared an instant, then reappeared in tatters. The undulations of the human surge reached the steps, while all the heads floundered on the surface like a sea agitated by a squall. Many of the black hats disappeared, and the greater part of the crowd seemed to have diminished in height.
`It is evidently a meeting,' said Fix, `and its object must be an exciting one. I should not wonder if it were about the "Alabama", despite the fact that that question is settled.'
`Perhaps,' replied Mr Fogg simply.
`At least, there are two champions in presence of each other, the Honourable Mr Camerfield and the Honourable Mr Mandiboy.'
Aouda, leaning upon Mr Fogg's arm, observed the tumultuous scene with surprise, while Fix asked a man near him what the cause of it all was. Before the man could reply, a fresh agitation arose; hurrahs and excited shouts were heard; the staffs of the banners began to be used as offensive weapons; and fists flew about in every direction. Thumps were exchanged from the tops of the carriages and omnibuses which had been blocked up in the crowd. Boots and shoes went whirling through the air, and Mr Fogg thought he even heard the crack of revolvers mingling in the din. The rout approached the stairway, and flowed over the lower step. One of the parties had evidently been repulsed; but the mere lookers-on could not tell whether Mandiboy or Camerfield had gained the upper hand.
`It would be prudent for us to retire,' said Fix, who was anxious that Mr Fogg should not receive any injury, at least until they got back to London. `If there is any question about England in all this, and we were recognized, I fear it would go hard with us.'
`An English subject--' began Mr Fogg.
He did not finish his sentence; for a terrific hubbub now arose on the terrace behind the flight of steps where they stood, and there were frantic shouts of, `Hurrah for Mandiboy! Hip, hip, hurrah!'
It was a band of voters coming to the rescue of their allies, and taking the Camerfield forces in flank. Mr Fogg, Aouda and Fix found themselves between two fires; it was too late to escape. The torrent of men, armed with loaded canes and sticks, was irresistible. Phileas Fogg and Fix were roughly hustled in their attempts to protect their fair companion; the former, as cool as ever, tried to defend himself with the weapons which nature has placed at the end of every Englishman's arm, but in vain. A big brawny fellow with a red beard, flushed face, and broad shoulders, who seemed to be the chief of the band, raised his clenched fist to strike Mr Fogg, whom he would have given a crushing blow, had not Fix rushed in and received it in his stead. An enormous bruise immediately made its appearance under the detective's silk hat, which was completely smashed in.
`Yankee!' exclaimed Mr Fogg, darting a contemptuous look at the ruffian.
`Englishman!' returned the other. `We will meet again!'
`When you please.'
`What is your name?'
`Phileas Fogg. And yours?'
`Colonel Stamp Proctor.'
The human tide now swept by, after overturning Fix, who speedily got upon his feet again, though with tattered clothes. Happily, he was not seriously hurt. His travelling overcoat was divided into two unequal parts, and his trousers resembled those of certain Indians, which fit less compactly than they are easy to put on. Aouda had escaped unharmed, and Fix alone bore marks of the fray in his black and blue bruise.
`Thanks,' said Mr Fogg to the detective, as soon as they were out of the crowd.
`No thanks are necessary,' replied Fix; `but let us go.'
`Where?'
`To a tailor's.'
Such a visit was, indeed, opportune. The clothing of both Mr Fogg and Fix was in rags, as if they had themselves been actively engaged in the contest between Camerfield and Mandiboy. An hour after, they were once more suitably attired, and with Aouda returned to the International Hotel.
Passepartout was waiting for his master, armed with half-a-dozen six-barrelled revolvers. When he perceived Fix, he knit his brows; but Aouda having, in a few words, told him of their adventure, his countenance resumed its placid expression. Fix evidently was no longer an enemy, but an ally; he was faithfully keeping his word.
Dinner over, the coach which was to convey the passengers and their luggage to the station drew up to the door. As he was getting in, Mr Fogg said to Fix; `You have not seen this Colonel Proctor again?'
`No.'
`I will come back to America to find him,' said Phileas Fogg calmly. `It would not be right for an Englishman to permit himself to be treated in that way, without retaliating.'
The detective smiled, but did not reply. It was clear that Mr Fogg was one of those Englishmen who, while they do not tolerate duelling at home, fight abroad when their honour is attacked.
At a quarter before six the travellers reached the station, and found the traready to depart. As he was about to enter it, Mr Fogg called a porter, and said to him: `My friend, was there not some trouble today in San Francisco?'
`It was a political meeting, sir,' replied the porter.
`But I thought there was a great deal of disturbance in the streets.'
`It was only a meeting assembled for an election.'
`The election of a general-in-chief, no doubt?' asked Mr Fogg.
`No, sir; of a justice of the peace.'
Phileas Fogg got into the train, which started off at full speed.


第二十五章

旧金山港口里有许多随潮水升降的浮码头，这对于来往船只装卸货物非常便利。如果我们可以把这里的浮码头也算作美洲大陆的话，那么我们就应该说福克先生、艾娥达夫人和路路通在上午七点钟已经踏上了美洲大陆。在这些浮码头边上，停泊着各种吨位的快帆船，不同国籍的轮船以及那些专门在萨克拉门托河和它的支流航行的有几层甲板的汽艇。浮码头上还堆积着许多货物，这些货物将运往墨西哥、秘鲁、智利、巴西、欧洲、亚洲以及太平洋上的各个岛屿。
路路通非常高兴他终于到了美洲大陆，他觉得现在必须用自己最漂亮的鹞子翻身的动作跳下船来，才能表达他内心的喜悦，但当他两脚落地，踏在这个烂糟了的浮码头上的时候，差一点没栽个跟斗。小伙子就是用这样狼狈的姿式踏上了美洲大陆。这时他扯高嗓门发出一声惊人的欢呼，把一大群经常停栖在码头上的鸬鹚、塘鹅吓得一哄而散。
福克先生一下船就打听好了下一班火车开往纽约的时间是下午六点钟。这样一来，他在这加利福尼亚州的最大的城市旧金山还有一整天的时间。他花了三元美金为艾娥达夫人和自己雇了一辆马车。路路通攀上了马车前头的座位，马车立即向国际饭店驶去。
路路通居高临下，十分好奇地欣赏着这个美国的大城市：宽阔的大街，两旁整齐地排列着低矮的房屋，盎格鲁撒克逊风格的哥特式大教堂和礼拜堂，巨大的船坞，象宫殿一样的仓库——这些仓库有的是用木板搭的，有的是用砖瓦盖的。大街上车辆很多，其中既有四轮马车和卡车，也有电车。人行道上满是行人，其中不仅有美国人和欧洲人，也有中国人和印第安人，他们组成了旧金山的二十万居民。
看到这一切，路路通心里觉得很奇怪。在1849年时，这里还是一个传奇式的城市。好些杀人放火的亡命之徒和江洋大盗都到这里来找寻生金矿。这里成了人类渣滓麋集之所，人们一手拿熗一手握刀来赌金沙。但这样的“黄金时代”已经一去不复返了。今天的旧金山显出是一座巨大的商业城市。那座设有警卫的市府大厦的高塔俯瞰着全城的大街小巷。这些街道都象刀切似的整整齐齐，直角转弯。马路中间点缀着满眼翠绿的街心公园。再往前去就是华人区，它真象是装在玩具盒里运来的一块中华帝国的土地。如今，在旧金山再也看不见那些头戴宽边大毡帽的西班牙人了，再也看不见爱穿红衬衫的淘金者了，再也看不见带着羽毛装饰的印第安人了。代替他们的是无数身穿黑礼服，头戴丝织帽，拼命追求名利的绅士。有几条街上两旁开着豪华的商店，在它的货架上陈列着世界各地的产品；象蒙哥马利大街就是这样，它可以和伦敦的瑞金大街，巴黎的意大利人街，纽约的百老汇大街相提并论。
路路通一走进国际饭店，就觉得自己似乎还没有离开英国。
饭店的楼下是一个宽大的酒吧间。这种酒吧间是一种对顾客“免费”供应的冷食店。这里的肉干、牡蛎汤、饼干和干酪都分文不取。这里有各种饮料：英国啤酒、葡萄牙红酒、西班牙葡萄酒，如果顾客高兴进来喝两杯，舒服舒服，他只要给酒钱就行了。在路路通看来这真是非常美国化的生意经。
国际饭店的餐厅非常舒适。福克先生和艾娥达夫人在一张餐桌旁坐下，立刻就有几个面目清秀的黑人送来了一小盘一小盘的菜，他们饱饱地吃了一顿。
饭后，艾娥达夫人陪着福克先生一齐离开饭店，到英国领事馆去办理护照签证手续。在人行道上，福克先生遇见了路路通。路路通问福克先生，在上火车之前，要不要买几支安菲牌马熗，或者买几把寇尔特牌手熗以防万一。因为路路通听说在这段铁路线上常常有西乌人和包尼斯人劫火车。他们劫起火车来就象普通的西班牙小偷一般。福克先生说这种顾虑是多余的。不过他叫路路通自己看着办，想买就买好了。然后福克先生就往领事馆去了。
福克先生走了还没有两百步，作梦也想不到会迎面碰上了费克斯。这位侦探显得非常惊奇。怎么着！福克先生跟他同坐一条船横渡太平洋，他们在船上就没见过面。总而言之，费克斯能和这位给过自己很多好处的绅士异地重逢，真是感到非常荣幸。目前费克斯的任务需要他回欧洲去，在这一段路上能有这么好的旅伴，那真叫他太高兴了。福克先生回答他说，自己也感到很荣幸。如今费克斯是再也不肯离开福克先生了。他要求福克先生允许陪他们一起参观这个五花八门的旧金山城市。福克先生当然同意了。
于是，艾娥达夫人、福克先生和费克斯就一起逛起大街来了。不久，他们就走到了蒙哥马利大街。这条街上熙熙攘攘，人流就跟潮水似的，虽然轿式马车和四轮马车往来如梭，但是在人行道上、在马路当中、在电车轨上，都是人，连各家店铺门口和每一座房子的窗口，甚至在屋顶上，到处都是数不清的人群。背着宣传广告牌的人在人丛中走来走去；各色旗帜和标语在人头上迎风招展；四面八方，人声鼎沸，到处都在喊：
“嘿！拥护卡梅尔菲尔德！”
“嘿！拥护曼迪拜！”
原来这是在开群众大会。至少费克斯是这么想。于是也把自己的想法告诉了福克先生并且说：
“先生，咱们千万别跟这些乱七八糟的人搞在一块，否则，只有挨揍。”
“说实在的，”福克先生说，“搞政治，动拳头，哪一点也不会比普通拳头轻。”
费克斯听了福克先生的论断觉得应该笑一下，于是他就笑了。为了不卷入这场混战，艾娥达夫人、斐利亚•福克和费克斯走上了一个台阶的最上一层。这里可以通向一个高岗，在那个高岗上可以俯瞰蒙哥马利大街。对面，横隔着一条马路，是一个煤炭公司的码头和一家石油商行的堆栈；在堆栈和码头中间的空地上，有一座大讲台，只见四面八方的人群都在向那块空地集结。
这个群众大会是干什么的呢？为什么要开这个大会呢？斐利亚•福克完全不了解。是要选一位高级文官或者武官呢？还是要选一位政府首脑或者国会议员呢？看了这种使全城都陷于异常激动的场面，可以使人作出各种不同的推测。
正在这时候，人群中发生了一阵惊人的骚动。无数只手都举起来了。在一片叫嚣声中有些人紧握着拳头，高高举起，象是一下子就要打下去似的。而实际上这种姿势大概只不过表示坚决要投某人一票。
骚动激荡着人群，人群又激起了新的骚动。无数的旗帜，在人头上空飞舞，忽而在人群中隐没，忽而又被举起，这时那些旗帜已经变成破烂的纸片了。突然汹涌的人海向四面扩张，已经到达了福克他们站的台阶前面了，只见无数人头在四面八方蠕动，犹如一阵狂风骤雨击打着辽阔无边的海面。
“这准是一个群众大会，”费克斯说，“他们准是在讨论一个激动人心的问题，大概还是为了亚拉巴马事件，我一点也不觉得奇怪，虽然这件事早已解决了。”
“也许是的，”福克先生简单地回答说。
“不过，看情况，”费克斯说，“显然是卡梅尔菲尔德先生和曼迪拜先生这两位竞选对手碰到一块了。”
艾娥达夫人挽着斐利亚•福克的手臂，惊慌地看着眼前动乱的人群。费克斯预备向他旁边站着的人打听一下为什么群众情绪会这样激动。正在这时候，忽然间来了一阵更剧烈的骚动。响起了震耳欲聋的欢呼声和咒骂声。各人手里的旗杆都变成了攻击对方的武器。刚才举着的手现在都变成了拳头，到处都是拳头。街上车辆停止了，四轮马车也动不了了，在这些车顶上人们在激烈地互相殴打。不管什么都拿来当作投掷武器了。靴子、鞋子象熗弹一样在空中来回飞舞，同时在人群的叫骂声中好象还夹杂着熗声。
骚动的人群走近了福克先生站的那个台阶，而且已经涌上台阶的头几层了！虽然现在敌对双方，有一方面已经被迫后退。但是旁观的人们却分辨不出到底是曼迪拜占了上风，还是卡梅尔菲尔德取得了优势。
“我看咱们最好还是走吧，”费克斯说，他怕“他的”福克先生受到攻击或者出了事儿自己负不起这个责任。“万一这些打架的人真的是为了英国问题，万一他们又认出我们是英国人，那我们就准会被他们给弄得狼狈不堪。”
“作为一个英国公民……”福克先生说。
但这位绅士的话还没说完，就听见从他后面那个台阶前边的高岗上发出了一阵可怕的喊叫声。只听见：“哈拉！嘿！嘿！拥护曼迪拜！”原来这是一群选民起来支援他们的伙伴的。他们从侧面向卡梅尔菲尔德的拥护者发动了进攻。福克先生、艾娥达夫人和费克斯正好处在敌对双方的中间，要走也来不及了。这一片象潮水一样的人群，一个个手里都拿着头上裹铁的棍子和大头棒，任何人也无法抵挡，斐利亚•福克和费克斯在保护艾娥达夫人的时候，被人群撞得东倒西歪。依然沉着如故的福克先生想使用自己天生的武器——双手，这是大自然赋予每一个英国人两只臂膀上的武器——进行自卫，但是无济干事。这时候来了一个神气十足的大个子，下颚上生着一撮红胡子，红脸宽肩，看样子好象是这群人的头儿。他举起他那吓人的拳头朝着福克就打。要不是费克斯忠心耿耿抢上前去代替他挨了这一拳，这位绅士准会给揍垮了。霎时间在费克斯那顶被打扁了的丝织高帽底下，已经肿起了一个大疙瘩。
“洋乞！”福克先生以鄙视的目光望着他的敌人说。
“英国佬！”对方回答说。
“我们总有再见的时候！”
“随便你什么时候都行，您叫什么？”
“斐利亚•福克，您叫什么？”
“斯汤姆•普洛克托上校。”
这几句话说完，人群就拥到一边去了。被撞倒的费克斯马上从地上爬起来，衣裳全破了，但幸亏没有受重伤。他的旅行大衣被撕成了大小不同的两块，他的裤子现在很象某些印第安人喜欢穿的那种预先把后裆剪下来的套裤。
不过艾娥达夫人这一回总算是安然无恙。只有费克斯一个人代替福克吃了一拳。他们刚离开人群，福克先生就向这位侦探说：
“谢谢您。”
“没什么，”费克斯回答说，“走吧。”
“到哪里去？”
“找一家服装店去。”
事实上，现在也真应该到服装店去了。斐利亚•福克和费克斯两个人的衣服都已经破得不象话了，仿佛他们是为了帮助卡梅尔菲尔德或曼迪拜竞选而挨了一顿揍似的。
一个钟头之后，他们已经恢复了衣冠整洁的仪表。然后到领事馆办完签证手续，就回到了国际饭店。路路通已经等在门口，小伙子身上背着六七支带匕首的手熗。这种熗使用中心撞针发火，能连发六颗子弹。
路路通一抬头看见福克先生后面跟着个费克斯，马上露出一脸的不高兴。可是等艾娥达夫人简单地叙述了刚才发生的事，小伙子马上又眉开眼笑了。显然，费克斯是说话算话，他已经真的不再是敌人，而变成一个同盟者了。
晚饭后，福克先生叫人找来了一辆轿式马车，准备装上行李，坐着去火车站。在上马车的时候，福克先生问费克斯：
“您没有再看见那个叫普洛克托的上校吗？”
“没看见。”费克斯说。
“我一定还要回到美洲来找他，”斐利亚•福克冷冰冰地说，“一个英国公民受他们这样欺侮，太不象话了。”
费克斯微笑了一下，没有答话。但是他看得出来，福克先生是这样一种英国人：如果他在英国不能容忍任何挑衅，那么在外国，他也会为保卫自己的荣誉而进行斗争。
六点差一刻，他们到了车站，火车就要准备出发了。
福克先生在上火车的时候问一个铁路职员：
“朋友，请问您今天旧金山是不是出了什么乱子了？”
“是在开群众大会，先生。”职员回答说。
“可是，我觉得大街上好象闹得很厉害。”
“这不过是一个群众选举大会，没别的。”
“看样子，一定是要选举一个武装部队的总司令吧？”福克失生问。
“不是，先生，是要选举一个治安法官。”
听完了这句话，斐利亚•福克上了火车。火车开足马力飞快地出了车站。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 26楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0

CHAPTER 26

`From ocean to ocean,' - so say the Americans; and these four words compose the general designation of the `great trunk line' which crosses the entire width of the United States. The Pacific railroad is, however, really divided into two distinct lines: the Central Pacific, between San Francisco and Ogden, and the Union Pacific, between Ogden and Omaha. Five main lines connect Omaha with New York.
New York and San Francisco are thus united by an uninterrupted metal ribbon, which measures no less than three thousand seven hundred and eighty-six miles. Between Omaha and the Pacific the railway crosses a territory which is still infested by Indians and wild beasts, and a large tract which the Mormons, after they were driven from Illinois in 1845, began to colonize.
The journey from New York to San Francisco consumed, formerly, under the most favourable conditions, at least six months. It is now accomplished in seven days.
It was in 1862 that, in spite of the Southern Members of Congress, who wished a more southerly route, it was decided to lay the road between the forty-first and forty-second parallels. Ped to have no outlet. The locomotive, its great funnel emitting a weird light, with its sharp bell, and its cow-catcher extended like a spur, mingled its shrieks and bellowings with the noise of torrents and cascades, and twined its smoke among the branches of the gigantic pines.
There were few or no bridges or tunnels on the route. The railway turned around the sides of the mountains, and did not attempt to violate nature by taking the shortest cut from one pc Railroad is joined by several branches Iowa, Kansas, Colorado and Oregon. On leaving Omaha, it passes along the left bank of the Platte River as far as the junction of its northern branch, follows its southern branch, crosses the Laramie territory and the Wahsatch Mountains, turns the Great Salt Lake, and reaches Salt Lake City, the Mormon capital, plunges into the Tuilla Valley, across the American Desert, Cedar and Humboldt Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and descends, via Sacramento, to the Pacific - its grade, even on the Rocky Mountains, never exceeding one hundred and twelve feet to the mile.
Such was the road to be traversed in seven days, which would enable Phileas Fogg - at least, so he hoped - to take the Atlantic steamer at New York on the 11th for Liverpool.
The car which he occupied was a sort of long omnibus on eight wheels, and with no compartments in the interior. It was supplied with two rows of seats, perpendicular to the direction of the train on either side of an aisle which conducted to the front and rear platforms. These platforms were found throughout the train, and the passengers were able to pass from one end of the train to the other. It was supplied with saloon cars, balcony cars, restaurants and smoking cars; theatre cars alone were wanting, and they will have these some day.
Book and news dealers, sellers of edibles, drinkables, and cigars, who seemed to have plenty of customers, were continually circulating in the aisles.
The train left Oakland station at six o'clock. It was already night, cold and cheerless, the heavens being overcast with clouds which seemed to threaten snow. The train did not proceed rapidly; counting the stoppages, it did not run more than twenty miles an hour, which was a sufficient speed, however, to enable it to reach Omaha within its designated time.
There was but little conversation in the car, and soon many of the passengers were overcome with sleep. Passepartout found himself beside the detective; but he did not talk to him. After recent events, their relations with each other had grown somewhat cold; there could no longer be mutual sympathy or intimacy between them. Fix's manner had not changed; but Passepartout was very reserved, and ready to strangle his former friend on the slightest provocation.
Snow began to fall an hour after they started, a fine snow, however, which happily could not obstruct the train; nothing could be seen from the windows but a vast, white sheet, against which the smoke of the locomotive had a grayish aspect.
At eight o'clock a steward entered the car and announced that the time for going to bed had arrived; and in a few minutes the car was transformed into a dormitory. The backs of the seats were thrown back, bedsteads carefully packed were rolled out by an ingenious system, berths were suddenly improvised, and each traveller had soon at his disposition a comfortable bed, protected from curious eyes by thick curtains. The sheets were clean and the pillows soft. It only remained to go to bed and sleep - which everybody did - while the train sped on across the State of California.
The country between San Francisco and Sacramento is not very hilly. The Central Pacific, taking Sacramento for its starting-point, extends eastwards to meet the road from Omaha. The line from San Francisco to Sacramento runs in a north-easterly direction, along the American River, which empties into San Pablo Bay. The one hundred and twenty miles between these cities were accomplished in six hours, and towards midnight, while fast asleep, the travellers passed through Sacramento; so that they saw nothing of that important place, the seat of the State government, with its fine quays, its broad streets, its noble hotels, squares and churches.
The train, on leaving Sacramento, and passing the junction, Roclin, Auburn, and Colfax, entered the range of the Sierra Nevada. Cisco was reached at seven in the morning; and an hour later the dormitory was transformed into an ordinary car, and the travellers could observe the picturesque beauties of the mountain region through which they were steaming. The railway track wound in and out among the passes, now approaching the mountain sides, now suspended over precipices, avoiding abrupt angles by bold curves, plunging into narrow defiles, which seemed to have no outlet. The locomotive, its great funnel emitting a weird light, with its sharp bell, and its cow-catcher extended like a spur, mingled its shrieks and bellowings with the noise of torrents and cascades, and twined its smoke among the branches of the gigantic pines.
There were few or no bridges or tunnels on the route. The railway turned around the sides of the mountains, and did not attempt to violate nature by taking the shortest cut from one point to another.
The train entered the State of Nevada through the Carson valley about nine o'clock, going always north-easterly; and at midday reached Reno, where there was a delay of twenty minutes for breakfast.
From this point the road, running along Humboldt River, passed northward for several miles by its banks; then it turned eastward, and kept by the river until it reached the Humboldt Range, nearly at the extreme eastern limit of Nevada.
Having breakfasted, Mr Fogg and his companions resumed their places in the car, and observed the varied landscape which unfolded itself as they passed along; the vast prairies, the mountains lining the horizon, and the creeks with their frothy, foaming streams. Sometimes a great herd of buffaloes, massing together in the distance, seemed like a movable dam. These innumerable multitudes of ruminating beasts often form an insurmountable obstacle to the passage of the trains; thousands of them have been seen passing over the track for hours together, in compact ranks. The locomotive is then forced to stop and wait till the road is once more clear.
This happened, indeed, to the train in which Mr Fogg was travelling. About twelve o'clock a troop of ten or twelve thousand head of buffalo encumbered the track. The locomotive, slackening its speed, tried to clear the way with its cow-catcher; but the mass of animals was too great. The buffaloes marched along with a tranquil gait, uttering now and then deafening bellowings. There was no use of interrupting them, for, having taken a particular direction, nothing can moderate and change their course; it is a torrent of living flesh which no dam could contain.
The travellers gazed on this curious spectacle from the platforms; but Phileas Fogg, who had the most reason of all to be in a hurry, remained in his seat, and waited philosophically until it should please the buffaloes to get out of the way.
Passepartout was furious at the delay they occasioned, and longed to discharge his arsenal of revolvers upon them.
`What a country!' cried he. `Mere cattle stop the trains, and go by in a procession, just as if they were not impeding travel! Parbleu! I should like to know if Mr Fogg foresaw this mishap in his programme! And here's an engineer who doesn't dare to run the locomotive into this herd of beasts!'
The engineer did not try to overcome the obstacle, and he was wise. He would have crushed the first buffaloes, no doubt, with the cow-catcher; but the locomotive, however powerful, would soon have been checked, the train would inevitably have been thrown off the track, and would then have been helpless.
The best course was to wait patiently, and regain the lost time by greater speed when the obstacle was removed. The procession of buffaloes lasted three full hours, and it was night before the track was clear. The last ranks of the herd were now passing over the rails, while the first had already disappeared below the southern horizon.
It was eight o'clock when the train passed through the defiles of the Humboldt Range, and half-past nine when it penetrated Utah, the region of the Great Salt Lake, the singular colony of the Mormons.


第二十六章


“一线通两洋”，这句话是美国人对这一条从太平洋到大西洋横贯美洲腹地的铁路干线的总称。实际上，太平洋铁路是分成两个不同的线段：旧金山到奥格登属于中央太平洋铁路公司，奥格登到奥马哈属于合众太平洋铁路公司。从奥马哈到纽约有五条不同的路线，交通往来频繁。
所以目前从旧金山到纽约，是由一条至少有三千七百八十六英里长的完整的铁路线连结起来的。
从奥马哈到太平洋海岸，铁路要穿过一片至今还经常有印第安人和野兽出没的地区，1845年左右，摩门教徒被赶出伊利诺斯州以后，就开始在这里建立了定居点。
过去即使在最顺利的情况下，从纽约到旧金山也要走六个月，而现在只需要七天时间。
1862年，尽管有南方的议员反对，结果还是选定了在北纬四十一度和四十二度之间的地区修了这条铁路，而南方议员则要求铁路建筑得更靠南部一些。当时是那位令人永远怀念的林肯总统亲自选定了内布拉斯加州的奥马哈城作为这个新铁路网的起点。铁路工程立即以美国人那种实干的精神动工了，这种精神就是既没有文牍主义，又没有官僚主义。工人们高速度的施工一点也没有影响铁路的质量。在草原地区，前进的速度每天竟达一英里半。机车就在头一天铺起的路轨上运来了第二天需用的钢轨，就这样沿着一节节陆续铺成的新轨不停地前进。
太平洋铁路沿途附设了很多支线。这些支线穿过衣阿华、堪萨斯、科罗拉多、俄勒冈等州。铁路从奥马哈向西伸展，沿着普拉特河北岸，直到普拉特河北部支流的入口处向西南延伸，继续顺着这条河的南部支流前进，它穿过拉拉岷地区和瓦萨乞山丛，绕着大咸湖到达摩尔蒙的首府咸湖城，从咸湖城进入颓拉山谷，沿着美洲大沙漠，经过赛达和亨堡尔特山区，跨过亨堡尔特河和西爱拉——内华达河，向南经萨克拉门托直到太平洋岸。这一条大铁路上下的坡度很小。即使在穿过落矾山脉的时候，每英里路的坡度也没超过一百十二英尺。
这就是需要火车七日行程才能走完的这条大铁路，正是因为有了这条大铁路，斐利亚•福克先生才有可能，至少他才敢希望在12月11日从纽约搭船到英国利物浦。
斐利亚•福克坐的车厢是一种加长的车厢。这一节客车的底盘是由两节各有四个车轮的车架联结成的。这样的装置使列车能在转弯角度较小的路线上，顺利前进。车厢内部根本没有分隔起来的旅客房间，只是从正中间分隔开，整齐地排着两行靠背椅。中间是一条过道，可以通向盥洗室和其他车厢。这些设备在每一节客车都是一样。一节车厢与另一节车厢之间有车桥相互联结。整个列车前后贯通，旅客可以从第一节车走到最后一节车。列车上附设有：客厅、眺望车、餐车、喝咖啡车，就是没有观剧车，不过这在将来还是会有的。
车厢里的过道上有小贩来往出卖书报、酒类、食品和雪茄烟，生意颇为兴隆。
晚上六点钟，火车载着旅客从奥克兰出发。这时天已黑了，寒冷和黑暗笼罩着大地，天空乌云密布，看样子将要下雪。火车前进的速度并不很快，如果连站上停留的时间计算在内，每小时速度不超过二十英里。但是就这样的速度，已经能够保证列车在规定时间内横贯美国大陆。
车厢里，旅客们很少交谈，大家很快地都打起盹来了。路路通坐在密探费克斯旁边，但是他不跟费克斯说话。自从那次交手和谈判之后。他们的关系已经大为疏远了。过去的友好亲善，今日已烟消云散。其实费克斯一点也没有改变对路路通的态度；可是路路通却完全不同，他一直保持着高度的警惕，只要这位老兄有一点可疑的行动，他就准备立刻掐死他。
火车出站之后一小时，天上就飘起雪花来了。幸运的是这样的小雪并不会阻碍火车前进。车窗外面只是一片白雪，茫无边际，机车喷出灰色烟雾在雪野里上下盘旋飞舞。
八点钟，一个列车员走进车厢，通知旅客睡觉的时候到了。原来这个车厢也同时是一节卧车。不一会儿，车厢已经改装成了宿舍。人们把坐椅的靠背放平，巧妙地搭成了一个个非常舒适的卧铺，同时分隔成了一间间的小房间。每个旅客马上都有了自己舒适的床位。厚布的帷幔挡住了一切漫不经心的视线。雪白的被单铺好了，柔软的枕头放好了，只等躺下睡觉了。每一个旅客在这里都象是在邮船上舒服的房舱里。这时，火车正以全速在加利福尼亚州的土地上飞驰。
现在火车正经过旧金山和萨克拉门托之间的地区。这里，地势并不十分险峻。这一段叫中央太平洋铁路，火车以萨克拉门托为起点，向东方前进和奥马哈开出的火车在中途错车。从旧金山到加利福尼亚州的首府，火车沿着流入圣巴布洛湾的美洲河直奔东北，这一段联系着两座大城市的铁路约有一百二十英里，六小时就可以走完。午夜十二时，火车驰过萨克拉门托，车上旅客这时初入梦境不久。所以他们一点也没看见这座巨大的城市——加利福尼亚州的立法议会所在地，他们既没看见这个城市的美丽车站和码头，也没看见它那宽阔的大街和豪华的旅馆，更没看见那些教堂和街心公园。
火车从萨克拉门托继续前进，经过江克欣、洛克林、奥本和科尔法克斯等站，进入了西埃拉——内华达山区。上午七点钟火车开过了西斯科。一小时之后，车上的卧铺又变成了普通的坐椅。旅客们可以透过玻璃窗尽情阅览这山区的美景。这里的铁路线是顺着西埃拉山脉崎岖的山势铺设的。它忽而贴在山腰，忽而在悬崖上前进，有时为了避免急转弯，它的曲度大得惊人，有时伸入两山对峙的狭谷里，使人颇有“山穷无路”之感。那火车头看来黑里透光，象是一具灵柩，顶上一盏照明灯射出雪亮刺眼的光芒，此外还附装着一个银色的警钟和一具象猪嘴似的伸在车头前的“驱牛”排障器。这时，在汽笛怒吼和瀑布奔流的共鸣声中，只见火车吐出的黑烟在漆黑的松林上空缭绕飞舞。
在这一段路上几乎可以说没有山洞，也没有桥梁。铁路盘着山腰前进，从这座山到那座山，铁路完全是顺着自然地势铺设的，毫不寻求捷径和直路。
将近九点钟的时候，火车从卡尔松山谷进入了内华达州，继续向东北奔驰。火车在雷诺停了二十分钟，旅客们吃了午饭，十二时正，又从雷诺出发。
铁路线沿着亨堡尔特河从这里北上，一直要走好几英里：然后又转向东进，一直到亨博尔特山脉，始终不离开这条河的河岸。位于内华达州东部边缘的亨博尔特山脉，是亨博尔特河的发源地。
饭后，福克先生、艾娥达夫人和他们的两个旅伴重新回到车厢，舒舒服服地分坐在两张双人椅上，他们欣赏着从眼前掠过的千变万化的景物：广阔无边的草原，浮现在天边的群山和滚滚流动的小河。有时可以看到一大群野牛在远处排成大队，它们简直象是一座活动的堤防，这一支由无数反刍动物组成的大军，经常在铁路上给来往火车造成无法克服的障碍。人们曾经看见过成千上万的野牛一队紧接着一队穿过铁路，往往一过就得好几个钟头，这时火车只好停下来，等野牛过完了才能继续前进。
今天正好就遇上了这种事。下午快三点钟的时候，约有一万两三千头野牛，拦住了前面的路轨，机车放慢了速度，想用车头前面的排障器冲入牛群强行通过，但是，没有成功，火车只好在这个攻不进的牛群前停了下来。
人们只好眼看着这些被美国人错误地叫做“水牛”的反刍野兽不慌不忙地穿过铁路。它们一边走一边时而发出惊人的吼声。这些野牛比欧洲的牡牛大，腿和尾巴都很短，前肩高耸形成一个肉峰，两角分开向下弯曲，头颈和双肩都满了长鬃毛。这种牛群的移动是无法阻拦的。当它们朝着某一个方向前进的时候，谁也不能叫它们停止或者改变方狗。它们简直是活肉形成的河流，任何堤防也挡不住。
旅客们都跑到车桥上看这个奇怪的场面去了。但是斐利亚•福克，这位本来应该比别人更着急的绅士却依然稳坐不动，用哲学家那种“以不变应万变”的精神等待野牛让路。而路路通却对这一大群野兽拦住火车白白耗费时间，感到异常愤怒。他简直想把他所有的几支手熗都拿出来向这群畜牲狠狠地射击一顿、
“这种鬼地方！”路路通叫着说，“一群死牛就能把火车给拦住！成群结队地过铁路，一点也不着急，好象它们一点不妨碍交通似的。天晓得！我现在倒很想知道福克先生对这件意外的事是不是也预先定在他的计划里了。还有这个火车司机，他居然不敢开车从这群拦路的野牛中冲过去！”
司机确实是一点也没打算冲破面前的障碍，他这样谨慎是对的。他如果冲过去的话，毫无疑问那几头首当其中的野牛一定会被机车排障器压碎，但是，不管机车多么有力，它也会很快地被迫停车，少不了还会出轨，结果那就要真的抛锚了。
所以最好的办法就是耐心地等待，完事之后再加快速度来补偿耽搁了的时间。野牛的队伍，足足过了三个小时，直到天黑，铁路才给让出来。在最后一批牛群跨过铁路的时候，它们的先头部队则已经在南方地平线上消失了。
当火车驰过亨博尔特山脉的狭窄山道的时候，已经是晚上八点钟了。九点半钟，火车进入了犹他州。这里是大咸湖区域，是摩门教徒的世外桃源。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 27楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0

CHAPTER 27

During the night of the 5th of December, the train ran south-easterly for about fifty miles; then rose an equal distance in a north-easterly direction, towards the Great Salt Lake.
Passepartout, about nine o'clock, went out upon the platform to take the air. The weather was cold, the heavens gray, but it was not snowing. The sun's disc, enlarged by the mist, seemed an enormous ring of gold, and Passepartout was amusing himself by calculating its value in pounds sterling, when he was diverted from this interesting study by a strange-looking personage who made his appearance on the platform.
This personage, who had taken the train at Elko, was tall and dark, with black moustaches, black stockings, a black silk hat, a black waistcoat, black trousers, a white cravat, and dogskin gloves. He might have been taken for a clergyman. He went from one end of the train to the other, and affixed to the door of each car a notice written in manuscript.
Passepartout approached and read one of these notices, which stated that Elder William Hitch, Mormon missionary, taking advantage of his presence on train No. 48, would deliver a lecture on Mormonism in car No. 117, from eleven to twelve o'clock; and that he invited all who were desirous of being instructed concerning the mysteries of the religion of the `Latter Day Saints' to attend.
`I'll go,' said Passepartout to himself. He knew nothing of Mormonism except the custom of polygamy, which is its foundation.
The news quickly spread through the train, which contained about one hundred passengers, thirty of whom, at most, attracted by the notice, ensconced themselves in car No. 117. Passepartout took one of the front seats. Neither Mr Fogg nor Fix cared to attend.
At the appointed hour Elder William Hitch rose, and, in an irritated voice, as if he had already been contradicted, said, `I tell you that Joe Smith is a martyr, that his brother Hiram is a martyr, and that the persecutions of the United States Government against the prophets will also make a martyr of Brigham Young. Who dares to say the contrary?'
No one ventured to gainsay the missionary, whose excited tone contrasted curiously with his naturally calm visage. No doubt his anger rose from the hardships to which the Mormons were actually subjected. The government had just succeeded, with some difficulty, in reducing these independent fanatics to its rule. It had made itself master of Utah, and subjected that territory to the laws of the Union, after imprisoning Brigham Young on a charge of rebellion and polygamy. The disciples of the prophet had since redoubled their efforts, and resisted, by words at least, the authority of Congress. Elder Hitch, as is seen, was trying to make proselytes on the very railway trains.
Then, emphasizing his words with his loud voice and frequent gestures, he related the history of the Mormons from Biblical times: how that, in Israel, a Mormon prophet of the tribe of Joseph published the annals of the new religion, and bequeathed them to his son Mormon; how, many centuries later, a translation of this precious book, which was written in Egyptian, as made by Joseph Smith, junior, a Vermont farmer, who revealed himself as a mystical prophet in 1825; and how, in short, the celestial messenger appeared to him in an illuminated forest, and gave him the annals of the Lord.
Several of the audience, not being much interested in the missionary's narrative, here left the car; but Elder Hitch, continuing his lecture, related how Smith, Junior, with his father, two brothers, and a few disciples, founded the church of the `Latter Day Saints', which, adopted not only in America, but in England, Norway and Sweden, and Germany, counts many artisans, as well as men engaged in the liberal professions, among its members; how a colony was established in Ohio, a temple erected there at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars, and a town built at Kirkland; how Smith became an enterprising banker, and received from a simple mummy showman a papyrus scroll written by Abraham and several famous Egyptians.
The Elder's story became somewhat wearisome, and his audience grew gradually less, until it was reduced to twenty passengers. But this did not disconcert the enthusiast, who proceeded with the story of Joseph Smith's bankruptcy in 1837, and how his ruined creditors gave him a coat of tar and feathers; his reappearance some years afterwards, more honourable and honoured than ever, at Independence, Missouri, the chief of a flourishing colony of three thousand disciples, and his pursuit thence by outraged Gentiles, and retirement into the Far West.
Ten hearers only were now left, among them honest Passepartout, who was listening with all his ears. Thus he learned that, after long persecutions, Smith reappeared in Illinois, and in 1839 founded a community at Nauvoo, on the Mississippi, numbering twenty-five thousand souls, of which he became mayor, chief justice, and general-in-chief; that he announced himself, in 1843, as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States; and that finally, being drawn into ambuscade at Carthage, he was thrown into prison, and assassinated by a band of men disguised in masks.
Passepartout was now the only person left in the car, and the Elder, looking him full in the face, reminded him that, two years after the assassination of Joseph Smith, the inspired prophet, Brigham Young, his successor, left Nauvoo for the banks of the Great Salt Lake, where, in the midst of that fertile region, directly on the route of the emigrants who crossed Utah on their way to California, the new colony, thanks to the polygamy practised by the Mormons, had flourished beyond expectation.
`And this,' added Elder William Hitch, `this is why the jealousy of Congress has been aroused against us! Why have the soldiers of the Union invaded the soil of Utah? Why has Brigham Young, our chief, been imprisoned, in contempt of all justice? Shall we yield to force? Never! Driven from Vermont, driven from Illinois, driven from Ohio, driven from Missouri, driven from Utah, we shall yet find some independent territory on which to plant our tents. And you, my brother,' continued the Elder, fixing his angry eye upon his single auditor, `will you not plant yours there, too, under the shadow of our flag?'
`No!' replied Passepartout courageously, in his turn retiring from the car, and leaving the Elder to preach to vacancy.
During the lecture the train had been making good progress, and towards half-past twelve it reached the north-west border of the Great Salt Lake. Thence passengers could observe the vast extent of this interior sea, which is also called the Dead Sea, and into which flows an American Jordan. It is a picturesque expanse, framed in lofty crags in large strata, encrusted with white salt, - a superb sheet of water, which was formerly of larger extent than now, its shores having encroached with the lapse of time, and thus at once reduced its breadth and increased its depth.
The Salt Lake, seventy miles long and thirty-five wide, is situated three miles eight hundred feet above the sea. Quite different from Lake Asphaltite, whose depression is twelve hundred feet below the sea, it contains considerable salt, and one quarter of the weight of its water is solid matter, its specific weight being 1170, and, after being distilled, 1000. Fishes are of course unable to live in it, and those which descend through the Jordan, the Weber, and other streams, soon perish.
The country around the lake was well cultivated, for the Mormons are mostly farmers; while ranches and pens for domesticated animals, fields of wheat, corn, and other cereals, luxuriant prairies, hedges of wild rose, clumps of acacias and milk-wort, would have been seen six months later. Now the ground was covered with a thin powdering of snow.
The train reached Ogden at two o'clock, where it rested for six hours. Mr Fogg and his party had time to pay a visit to Salt Lake City, connected with Ogden by a branch road; and they spent two hours in this strikingly American town, built on the pattern of other cities of the Union, like a checker-board, `with the sombre sadness of right angles' as Victor Hugo expresses it. The founder of the City of the Saints could not escape from the taste for symmetry which distinguishes the Anglo-Saxons. In this strange country, where the people are certainly not up to the level of their institutions, everything is done `squarely', - cities, houses, and follies.
The travellers, then, were promenading, at three o'clock, about the streets of the town built between the banks of the Jordan and the spurs of the Wahsatch Range. They saw few or no churches, but the prophet's mansion, the court-house, and the arsenal, blue-brick houses with verandas and porches, surrounded by gardens bordered with acacias, palms, and locusts. A clay and pebble wall, built in 1853, surrounded the town; and in the principal street were the market and several hotels adorned with pavilions. The place did not seem thickly populated. The streets were almost deserted, except in the vicinity of the Temple, which they only reached after having traversed several quarters surrounded by palisades. There were many women, which was easily accounted for by the `peculiar institution' of the Mormons; but it must not be supposed that all the Mormons are polygamists. They are free to marry or not, as they please; but it is worth noting that it is mainly the female citizens of Utah who are anxious to marry, as, according to the Mormon religion, maiden ladies are not admitted to the possession of its highest joys. These poor creatures seemed to be neither well off nor happy. Some - the more well-to-do, no doubt - wore short, open black silk dresses, under a hood or modest shawl; others were habited in Indian fashion.
Passepartout could not behold without a certain fright these women, charged, in groups, with conferring happiness on a single Mormon. His common sense pitied, above all, the husband. It seemed to him a terrible thing to have to guide so many wives at once across the vicissitudes of life, and to conduct them, as it were, in a body to the Mormon paradise, with the prospect of seeing them in the company of the glorious Smith, who doubtless was the chief ornament of that delightful place, to all eternity. He felt decidedly repelled from such a vocation, and he imagined - perhaps he was mistaken - that the fair ones of Salt Lake City cast rather alarming glances at his person. Happily, his stay there was but brief. At four the party found themselves again at the station, took their places in the train, and the whistle sounded for starting. Just at the moment, however, that the locomotive wheels began to move, cries of `Stop! Stop!' were heard.
Trains, like time and tide, stop for no one. The gentleman who uttered the cries was evidently a belated Mormon. He was breathless with running. Happily for him, the station had neither gates nor barriers. He rushed along the track, jumped on the rear platform of the train, and fell exhausted into one of the seats.
Passepartout, who had been anxiously watching this amateur gymnast, approached him with lively interest, and learned that he had taken flight after an unpleasant domestic scene.
When the Mormon had recovered his breath, Passepartout ventured to ask him politely how many wives he had; for, from the manner in which he had decamped, it might be thought that he had twenty at least.
`One, sir,' replied the Mormon, raising his arms heavenward, - `one, and that was enough!'



第二十七章


12月5号到6号的夜里，火车在一块方圆约五十英里的地区向东南奔驰，然后又折向东北，朝大咸湖前进。
上午将近九点钟的时候，路路通走到车桥上去透透空气。这时，气候很冷，天色灰暗，但是雪已经不下了。太阳的轮廓在云雾里显得特别大，活象一块巨大的金市。当路路通正在聚精会神地计算着这个金币能折合多少先令的时候，忽然出现了一个模样挺怪的人分散了他对这项有益的脑力劳动的注意。
这个人是搭车到埃尔科车站去的，高个子，深褐色面孔，黑胡子、黑袜子、黑丝帽、黑上衣、黑裤子，系着一条白色领带，戴着一双狗皮手套，看起来象个神甫。这人从车头走到车尾，在每一节车厢的门口用浆糊贴上一张用笔写的告示。
路路通走过去看了看，告示上写着：摩门传教士维廉赫奇长老决定趁他在第四十八次客车上旅行的机会，举行一次有关摩门教教义的布道会，敦请有心士绅前来听讲“摩门圣教徒灵秘”，时间：十一时至十二时，地点：第117号车厢。
“没说的，我一定去。”路路通自言自语地说，其实他对于摩门教，除了那种构成这个教派基础的“一夫多妻制”的风俗之外，什么也不知道。
演讲传教的消息很快地在车上百十来个旅客中间传开了。其中对这个布道会有兴趣的至多不过三十个人，他们都被吸引到117号车厢里来了。十一点钟，听众都在椅子上坐下了，路路通坐在第一排。但是，他的主人和费克斯却都认为没有必要到那里去找麻烦。
到了十一点钟，维廉赫奇长老站起来开始演讲，他说话的声音相当激动，仿佛已经有人反驳了他似的。他叫着说：
“我告诉你们，你们听着，琼•史密斯是一位殉教者，他的兄弟希兰也是一位殉教者。美利坚合众国政府对于这些瑰树形成的篱笆和一丛丛的皂角树、大戟树。但是现在，只见薄薄的一层白雪，覆盖着整个大地。
下午两点钟，旅客们在奥格登下了火车。火车要到六点钟才继续前进。因此福克先生、艾娥达夫人和他们的同伴们就有时间顺着从车站分出去的一条铁路支线向城里走去，游览一下这座完全美国式的城市。这样一次游览只需要两小时就够了。这座城的建筑设计完全和其他的美国城市一样，整个城市象是一个方方正正的大棋盘，街道又直又长，街口的转角真是象维克多•雨果所形容的那样，都是“忧郁悲怆的街角”。
这座城市的建筑师摆脱不了盎格鲁撒克逊人的建筑特点——追求“线条对称”。但是住在这个奇怪地方的人，在文化方面显然并没有达到象英国那样的高度。他们把一切建筑，不论城市、房屋和其他杂七杂八的东西统统都弄成了“四方块”。
下午三点钟，福克先生一行人在城里大街上漫步。这座城市建筑在约旦河岸和开始高低起伏的瓦萨奇山峦之间。这里教堂极少，有名的建筑物只有摩门先知祠、法院和兵工厂。此外，?氢新教年史传留给他儿子摩门；后来又经过了很多世纪，这本珍贵的年史又如何经小约瑟•史密斯之手从埃及文翻译出来。小约瑟•史密斯是弗蒙特州的一个司税官，1825年，人家才知道他是个神奇的先知，后来他又如何在一个金光四射的森林里遇见了天使，天使又如何把真主的年史交给了小约瑟•史密斯。
这时，有些人对传教士这样追述历史不太感兴趣就离开这节车厢走了；但是维廉赫奇却仍在继续讲述着小史密斯如何跟他父亲和两个兄弟以及他的一些门徒创立摩门圣教，这个教派不仅在美洲有教徒，并且在英国，在斯堪的纳维亚，在德国也有。这些虔诚的教徒中有许多是手工业工人，也有许多是自由职业者，他又谈到如何在俄亥俄州建立了根据地；如何用二十万美元修建了一座教堂，如何在柯克兰建立了一座城市，后来史密斯又如何变成了一个出色的银行家，他又如何从一个木乃伊展览馆的看守者那里，得到一本亚伯拉罕和其他有名的埃及先人的手稿本圣书。
他的故事越讲越长，听的人也越来越少，现在全部只剩下不到二十个人了。
但是这位长老并没有因听众稀少而难受。他依然罗里罗嗦地详细介绍下去：史密斯在1837年如何破产，那些被他拖垮了的股东如何把他身上涂满了沥青然后强迫他在羽毛上打滚；过了几年之后史密斯又如何东山再起，变得比过去更有名望，更有势力。他在密苏里州组成了一个独立教团，他当了这个朝气蓬勃的集团的领袖。那时，他的门徒少说也有三千，但是那些异教徒恨他，迫害他，使他不得不逃往美洲西部地方。
现在只剩下十位听众了。路路通就是其中的一位。这个老实的小伙子倒是一心一意地听着长老说教。这样接着听下去，他知道了史密斯经受了无数次的迫害之后，又如何在伊利诺斯州出现，并且在1839年如何在密西西比河沿岸建立了一个新城努窝拉贝尔。那里的居民总数增加到两万五千人；后来史密斯又如何作了市长，作了这个城市的最高法官和军队统帅；在1843年，他自己又如何提出参加竞选美利坚合众国总统；后来又如何在迦太基受人陷害被关进监狱，最后来了一帮蒙面人就把史密斯杀害了。
这时，路路通成了这个车厢里独一无二的听众了。维廉赫奇长老目不转睛地注视着他，想要用言语开导他信教。于是继续对他说：史密斯被害之后，又过了两年，他的继承人，受真主感召的先知小布里翰就离开了努窝拉贝尔，到这咸湖沿岸一带定居下来，这里是一片美丽的土地，周围也全是肥沃的良田，这里是许多移民穿过犹他州到加利福尼亚去的阳关大道。先知小布里翰就在这里建立了新的根据地；由于摩门教一夫多妻制的风俗影响，这个根据地就大大地发展起来了。
“喏，事实就是如此，”维廉赫奇接着说，“美国国会为什么会仇恨我们，迫害我们，为什么合众国的士兵会来蹂躏我们犹他的土地，为什么我们的先知小布里翰会被他们蛮不讲理地关进了监狱，难道我们会在暴力面前屈服吗？决不会！他们把我们赶出了弗蒙特，赶出了伊利诺斯，赶出了俄亥俄，赶出了密苏里，赶出了犹他，但是我们还会找到一块不受约束的土地，我们还会在新的地方架起我们的帐篷……可是，你呢，我的虔诚的弟兄，”维廉赫奇长老虎视眈眈的目光直盯着他这位唯一的听众说，“你愿意也在我们摩门教的旗帜下面搭起你的帐篷吗？”
“我不干！”路路通很干脆地回答说，现在他也溜出来了，留下那位象中了魔似的传教士只好对着空椅子去说教。
在举行布道会的这段时间中，火车一直在飞速前进。不到中午十二时半已经到达了大咸湖西北角。这里周围视野开阔，旅客可以尽情地观赏这个内陆海——大咸湖的全貌。大咸湖也叫“死海”，它和巴勒斯坦西南吸收着约旦河河水的死海（又名阿斯伐尔梯特）同名，这里也有一条美洲的约旦河，流入大咸湖。在这个美丽的大湖里有许多光怪陆离的礁石，礁石的底座宽大，上面厚厚地盖着一层雪白的海盐。一片辽阔无边的海面十分沉静。从前大咸湖的面积比现在大得多，随着岁月的增长沿岸陆地日益扩大，湖面逐渐缩小，然而，湖底却越变越深。
大咸湖的面积，长约七十多英里，宽三十五英里，海拔三千八百英尺，它和那个又名阿斯伐尔梯特的死海完全不同。那个亚洲西部的死海低于海面一千二百英尺。大咸湖的水含盐成分很大，固体的盐质占湖水的总重量四分之一。水和盐的合重是一千一百七十，其中水的重量是一千。所以在这样的湖水里鱼是无法生存的。凡是随着约旦河、威伯尔河以及其他河的流水流入大咸湖的鱼类，很快就会死去，但是，要说湖水含盐的密度大得连人也沉不下去，那是瞎扯。
大咸湖的四周，都是精耕细作过的土地。因为摩门教的人都是从事农业劳动的能手。如果六个月以后到这个地方来，就会看到：很多饲养家畜的厂棚和牲口圈，长着麦子、玉米和高梁的田野和水草茂盛的牧场，还有，到处都是野玫瑰树形成的篱笆和一丛丛的皂角树、大戟树。但是现在，只见薄薄的一层白雪，覆盖着整个大地。
下午两点钟，旅客们在奥格登下了火车。火车要到六点钟才继续前进。因此福克先生、艾娥达夫人和他们的同伴们就有时间顺着从车站分出去的一条铁路支线向城里走去，游览一下这座完全美国式的城市。这样一次游览只需要两小时就够了。这座城的建筑设计完全和其他的美国城市一样，整个城市象是一个方方正正的大棋盘，街道又直又长，街口的转角真是象维克多•雨果所形容的那样，都是“忧郁悲怆的街角”。
这座城市的建筑师摆脱不了盎格鲁撒克逊人的建筑特点——追求“线条对称”。但是住在这个奇怪地方的人，在文化方面显然并没有达到象英国那样的高度。他们把一切建筑，不论城市、房屋和其他杂七杂八的东西统统都弄成了“四方块”。
下午三点钟，福克先生一行人在城里大街上漫步。这座城市建筑在约旦河岸和开始高低起伏的瓦萨奇山峦之间。这里教堂极少，有名的建筑物只有摩门先知祠、法院和兵工厂。此外，就是许多带着前檐和长廊的淡青色砖房，四周是花园，花园里长着皂角树、棕榈树和小红果树。城的四周围着一道1853年用粘土和碎石筑成的城墙。市场在城内一条主要的大街上，这条街上还有几家插着旗帜的旅馆。有名的咸湖饭店就是其中之一。
福克先生和他的同伴们发现这个城里的人口并不多。街上几乎是没有行人。但只有当他们穿过很多用栅栏围起来的城区之后，到达了摩门教堂所在的城区时才发现很多人，其中大多数是妇女，这表明了摩门教徒家庭组织一夫多妻制的特点。但不要以为每一个摩门教男人都有几个妻子。人们可以自由决定娶一个或几个妻子。但应当说明：犹他州的女公民们特别愿意结婚，因为按照当地的宗教规矩，摩门教的神是绝对不赐福给独身女子的。看样子这些女人生活既不舒服，也不幸福。她们中间有些人显然是最有钱人家的妇女，穿着黑色绸子的胸前敞开的短袖上衣，戴着很朴素的风兜或头巾，其他的妇女都只穿印第安人的服装。
作为一个甘心情愿抱独身主义的路路通，看到摩门教几个女人共同负起使一个男人幸福的责任，有点吃惊。按他的逻辑来说，作这样的丈夫一定会叫苦连天。他认为一个男人必须同时带着这么多妻子辛辛苦苦地过日子，将来还要领着这些妻子一块儿进摩门教徒的天堂，到了天堂之后还要跟她们永远地生活下去。在那幸福的天堂里，光荣的史密斯先知将和他们在一起，因为史密斯是那个极乐世界享有最高荣誉的人物。这些事对路路通说来，简直太可怕了。显然，路路通是一点也不打算接受摩门教先知的感召。他觉得咸湖城的妇女们投在他身上的目光多少都带点忧郁的神色，这一点也许是出于他自己的误会。
幸运得很，路路通在这座圣城待的时间并不长。四点差几分，他们已经又回到了车站，他走进车厢，坐到原来的座位上。
开车的汽笛响了。但是，当机车车轮开始在铁轨上滑动就要以更快速度前进的时候，听见有人在喊：
“停一停！停一停！”
正走着的火车当然没法停住。这位叫喊的人看样子一定是个误了上车钟点的摩门教徒，他上气不接下气地一路跑来。幸亏车站上既没有门，又没有栅栏，他跑到铁路上就往最后那一节车的踏板上冲，接着就连滚带爬地倒在车厢里一个椅子上喘起气来了。
路路通全神贯注地看完了这一场运动表演的插曲。这位犹他州居民是因为刚才跟妻子吵架才这样逃出来的。路路通知道了这件事，感到很有兴趣，他走过来拜访这位迟到的旅客了。
当这位摩门教徒刚一歇过气来，路路通就很有礼貌地过去问他一个人有几位妻子。看他刚才那种拼命逃走的狼狈样子，路路通估计他最少也有二十几个妻子。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 28楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0

CHAPTER 28

The train, on leaving Great Salt Lake at Ogden, passed northward for an hour as far as Weber River, having completed nearly nine hundred miles from San Francisco. From this point it took an easterly direction towards the jagged Wahsatch Mountains. It was in the section included between this range and the Rocky Mountains that the American engineers found the most formidable difficulties in laying the road, and that the government granted a subsidy of forty-eight thousand dollars per mile, instead of sixteen thousand allowed for the work done the plains. But the engineers, instead of violating nature, avoided its difficulties by winding around, instead of penetrating the rocks. One tunnel only, fourteen thousand feet in length, was pierced in order to arrive at the great basin.
The track up to this time had reached its highest elevation at the Great Salt Lake. From this point it described a long curve, descending towards Bitter Creek Valley, to rise again to the dividing ridge of the waters between the Atlantic and the Pacific. There were many creeks in this mountainous region, and it was necessary to cross Muddy Creek, Green Creek and others, upon culverts.
Passepartout grew more and more impatient as they went on, while Fix longed to get out of this difficult region, and was more anxious than Phileas Fogg himself to be beyond the danger of delays and accidents, and set foot on English soil.
At ten o'clock at night the train, stopped at Fort Bridger station, and twenty minutes later entered Wyoming Territory, following the valley of Bitter Creek throughout. The next day, December 7th, they stopped for a quarter of an hour at Green River station. Snow had fallen abundantly during the night, but, being mixed with rain, it had half melted, and did not interrupt their progress. The bad weather, however, annoyed Passepartout; for the accumulation of snow, by blocking the wheels of the cars, would certainly have been fatal to Mr Fogg's tour.
`What an idea!' he said to himself. `Why did my master make this journey in winter? Couldn't he have waited for the good season to increase his chances?'
While the worthy Frenchman was absorbed in the state of the sky and the depression of the temperature, Aouda was experiencing fears from a totally different cause.
Several passengers had got off at Green Fiver, and were walking up and down the platforms; and among these Aouda recognized Colonel Stamp Proctor, the same who had so grossly insulted Phileas Fogg at the San Francisco meeting. Not wishing to be recognized, the young woman drew back from the window, feeling much alarm at her discovery. She was attached to the man who, however coldly, gave her daily evidences of the most absolute devotion. She did not comprehend, perhaps, the depth of the sentiment with which her protector inspired her, which she called gratitude, but which, though she was unconscious of it, was really more than that. Her heart sank within her when she recognized the man whom Mr Fogg desired, sooner or later, to call to account for his conduct. Chance alone, it was clear, had brought Colonel Proctor on this train; but there he was, and it was necessary, at all hazards, that Phileas Fogg should not perceive his adversary.
Aouda seized a moment when Mr Fogg was asleep to tell Fix and Passepartout whom she had seen.
`That Proctor on this train!' cried Fix. `Well, reassure yourself, madam: before he settles with Mr Fogg, he has got to deal with me! It seems to me that I was the more insulted of the two.'
`And besides,' added Passepartout, `I'll take charge of him, colonel as he is.'
`Mr Fix,' resumed Aouda, `Mr Fogg will allow no one to avenge him. He said that he would come back to America to find this man. Should he perceive Colonel Proctor, we could not prevent a collision which might have terrible results. He must not see him.'
`You are right, madam,' replied Fix; `a meeting between them might ruin all. Whether he were victorious or beaten, Mr Fogg would be delayed, and--'
`And,' added Passepartout, `that would play the game of the gentlemen of the Reform Club. In four days we shall be in New York. Well, if my master does not leave this car during those four days, we may hope that chance will not bring him face to face with this confounded American. We must, If possible, prevent his stirring out of it.'
The conversation dropped. Mr Fogg had just woken up, and was looking out of the window. Soon after Passepartout, without being heard by his master or Aouda, whispered to the detective, `Would you really fight for him?'
`I would do anything,' replied Fix, in a tone which betrayed determined will, `to get him back living to Europe!'
Passepartout felt something like a shudder shoot through his frame, but his confidence in his master remained unbroken.
Was there any means of detaining Mr Fogg in the car, to avoid a meeting between him and the colonel? It ought not to be a difficult task, since that gentleman was naturally sedentary and little curious. The detective, at least, seemed to have found a way; for, after a few moments, he said to Mr Fogg, `These are long and slow hours, sir, that we are passing on the railway.'
`Yes,' replied Mr Fogg; `but they pass.'
`You were in the habit of playing whist,' resumed Fix, `on the steamers.'
`Yes; but it would be difficult to do so here. I have neither cards nor partners.'
`Oh, but we can easily buy some cards, for they are sold on all the American trains. And as for partners, if madam plays--'
`Certainly, sir,' Aouda quickly replied; `I understand whist. It is part of an English education.'
`I myself have some pretensions to playing a good game. Well, here are three of us, and a dummy--'
`As you please, sir,' replied Phileas Fogg, heartily glad to resume his favourite pastime - even on the railway.
Passepartout was despatched in search of the steward, and soon returned with two packs of cards, some pins, counters, and a shelf covered with cloth.
The game commenced. Aouda, understood whist sufficiently well, and even received some compliments on her playing from Mr Fogg. As for the detective, he was simply an adept, and worthy of being matched against his present opponent.
`Now,' thought Passepartout, `we've got him. He won't budge.'
At eleven in the morning the train had reached the dividing ridge of the waters at Bridger Pass, seven thousand five hundred and twenty-four feet above the level of the sea, one of the highest points attained by the track in crossing the Rocky Mountains. After going about two hundred miles, the travellers at last found themselves on one of those vast plains which extend to the Atlantic, and which nature has made so propitious for laying the iron road.
On the declivity of the Atlantic basin the first streams, branches of the North Platte River, already appeared. The whole northern and eastern horizon was bounded by the immense semicircular curtain which is formed by the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains, the highest being Laramie Peak. Between this and the railway extended vast plains, plentifully irrigated. On the right rose the lower spurs of the mountainous mass which extends southward to the sources of the Arkansas River, one of the great tributaries of the Missouri.
At half-past twelve the travellers caught sight for an instant of Fort Halleck, which commands that section; and in a few more hours the Rocky Mountains were crossed. There was reason to hope, then, that no accident would mark the journey through this difficult country. The snow had ceased falling, and the air became crisp and cold. Large birds, frightened by the locomotive, rose and flew off in the distance. No wild beast appeared on the plain. It was a desert in its vast nakedness.
After a comfortable breakfast, served in the car, Mr Fogg and his partners had just resumed whist, when a violent whistling was heard, and the train stopped. Passepartout put his head out of the door, but saw nothing to cause the delay; no station was in view.
Aouda and Fix feared that Mr Fogg might take it into his head to get out; but that gentleman contented himself with saying to his servant, `See what is the matter.'
Passepartout rushed out of the car. Thirty or forty passengers had already descended, amongst them Colonel Stamp proctor.
The train had stopped before a red signal which blocked the way. The engineer and conductor were talking excitedly with a signal-man, whom the station-master at Medicine Bow, the next stopping place, had sent on before. The passengers drew around and took part in the discussion, in which Colonel Proctor, with his insolent manner, was conspicuous.
Passepartout, joining the group, heard the signalman say, `No! you can't pass. The bridge at Medicine Bow is shaky, and would not bear the weight of the train.'
This was a suspension-bridge thrown over some rapids, about a mile from the place where they now were. According to the signal-man, it was in a ruinous condition, several of the iron wires being broken; and it was impossible to risk the passage. He did not in any way exaggerate the condition of the bridge. It may be taken for granted that, rash as the Americans usually are, when they are prudent there is good reason for it.
Passepartout, not daring to apprise his master of what he heard, listened with set teeth, immovable as a statue.
`Hum!' cried Colonel Proctor; `but we are not going to stay here, I imagine, and take root in the snow?'
`Colonel,' replied the conductor, `we have telegraphed to Omaha for a train, but it is not likely that it will reach Medicine Bow in less than six hours.
`Six hours!' cried Passepartout.
`Certainly,' returned the conductor. `Besides, it will take us as long as that to reach Medicine Bow on foot.'
`But it is only a mile from here,' said one of the passengers.
`Yes, but it's on the other side of the river.'
`And can't we cross that in a boat?' asked the colonel.
`That's impossible. The creek is swelled by the rains. It is a rapid, and we shall have to make a circuit of ten miles to the north to find a ford.'
The colonel launched a volley of oaths, denouncing the railway company and the conductor; and Passepartout, who was furious, was not disinclined to make common cause with him. Here was an obstacle, indeed, which all his master's bank-notes could not remove.
There was a general disappointment among the passengers, who, without reckoning the delay, saw themselves compelled to trudge fifteen miles over a plain covered with snow. They grumbled and protested, and would certainly have thus attracted Phileas Fogg's attention if he had not been completely absorbed in his game.
Passepartout found that he could not avoid telling his master what had occurred, and, with hanging head he was turning towards the car, when the engineer - a true Yankee, named Forster - called out, `Gentlemen, perhaps there is a way, after all, to get over.'
`On the bridge?' asked a passenger.
`On the bridge.'
`With our train?'
`With our train.'
Passepartout stopped short, and eagerly listened to the engineer.
`But the bridge is unsafe,' urged the conductor.
`No matter,' replied Forster; `I think that by putting on the very highest speed we might have a chance of getting over.'
`The devil!' muttered Passepartout.
But a number of the passengers were at once attracted by the engineer's proposal, and Colonel Proctor was especially delighted, and found the plan a very feasible one. He told stories about engineers leaping their trains over rivers without bridges, by putting on full steam; and many of those present avowed.themselves of the engineer's mind.
`We have fifty chances out of a hundred of getting over,' said one.
`Eighty! Ninety!'
Passepartout was astounded, and, though ready to attempt anything to get over Medicine Creek, thought the experiment proposed a little too American. `Besides,' thought he, `there's a still more simple way, and it does not even occur to any of these people! Sir,' said he aloud to one of the passengers, `the engineer's plan seems to me a little dangerous, but--'
`Eighty chances!' replied the passenger, turning his back on him.
`I know it,' said Passepartout, turning to another passenger, `but a simple idea--'
`Ideas are no use,' returned the American, shrugging his shoulders, `as the engineer assures us that we can pass.'
`Doubtless,' urged Passepartout, `we can pass, but perhaps it would be more prudent--'
`What! Prudent!' cried Colonel Proctor, whom this word seemed to excite prodigiously. `At full speed, don't you see, at full speed!'
`I know - I see,' repeated Passepartout; `but it would be, if not more prudent, since that word displeases you, at least more natural--'
`Who! What! What's the matter with this fellow?' cried several.
The poor fellow did not know to whom to address himself.
`Are you afraid?' asked Colonel Proctor.
`I afraid! Very well; I will show these people that a Frenchman can be as American as they!'
`All aboard!' cried the conductor.
`Yes, all aboard!' repeated Passepartout, and immediately. `But they can't prevent me from thinking that it would be more natural for us to cross the bridge on foot, and let the train come after!'
But no one heard this sage reflection, nor would anyone have acknowledged its justice. The passengers resumed their places in the cars. Passepartout took his seat without telling what had passed. The whist-players were quite absorbed in their game.
The locomotive whistled vigorously; the engineer, reversing the steam, backed the train for nearly a mile - retiring, like a jumper, in order to take a longer leap. Then, with another whistle, he began to move forward; the train increased its speed, and soon its rapidity became frightful; a prolonged screech issued from the locomotive; the piston worked up and down twenty strokes to the second. They perceived that the whole train, rushing on at the rate of a hundred miles an hour, hardly bore upon the rails at all.
And they passed over! It was like a flash. No one saw the bridge. The train leaped, so to speak, from one bank to the other, and the engineer could not stop it until it had gone five miles beyond the station. But scarcely had the train passed the river, when the bridge, completely ruined, fell with a crash into the rapids of Medicine Bow.


第二十八章

火车离开了大咸湖和奥格登车站继续北上，一小时后到了威伯尔河。从旧金山出发到现在已经走了差不多九百英里。火车从这儿向东，就要在险峻的瓦萨奇群山中前进。
美国的筑路工程师们曾在这个包括瓦萨奇群山和洛矶山脉的地区遇到过严重的困难。因此，美利坚合众国政府在这一段路的工程上付出的辅助金，每英里竟达四万八千美元，而在平原地区每英里只需一万六千美元。但是，那些工程师，我们已经说过，他们并没有强行改变自然的地势，在铺设路线时他们巧妙地随着地形兜圈子，绕过了难以通过的大山，把铁路铺向辽阔的平原。在整个这一段路上，只钻了一个一万四千英尺长的山洞。
这条铁路铺到大咸湖时已经达到了全线标高的顶点。从这里再往前去是一段很长的斜坡，下降到比特尔河盆地，然后将再上行直到距离大西洋和太平洋同样远近的美洲大陆的中央地区。
在这一带山区，河川很多，铁路必须从污水河、清水河以及其他河流的小桥上穿过。火车离目的地越近，路路通就越不耐烦。至于费克斯，他恨不得立刻飞过这个使人不舒服的地区。他害怕耽搁时间；他担心路上出岔儿，他比斐利亚•福克自己还要着急，他巴不得早些回到英国！
晚上十点钟，火车到达了布里吉尔堡，几乎连停都没停，立即又继续前进，跑了二十英里就进入了怀俄明州（原名达科他州），沿着整个比特尔河盆地前进。科罗拉多的水力发电系统就是利用比特尔河的一部分水力建设起来的。
第二天是12月7号，火车在清水河车站停了一刻钟。头一天夜里雨雪交加，如今积雪化了一半，一点也不妨碍火车的继续前进。但是，不论如何，这种坏天气总不能不叫路路通发愁，因为积雪使车轮泡在泥水里，这对于他们的旅行总是不利的。
“我真不明白，”路路通心里说，“我这位主人为什么要在冬天旅行！要是等到天气暖和点再出来，那不更有把握一些吗？”
但是，正当这个老实的小伙子只顾担心温度下降和天气变化的时候，艾娥达夫人却在为另一件事感到焦虑不安。
事情是这样的，有些个旅客下了火车，在清水河车站的月台上散步，等待着开车。艾娥达夫人透过玻璃窗看见在这些旅客中有一个人，他正是那位在旧金山侮辱过斐利亚•福克的斯汤姆•普洛克托上校。艾娥达夫人不愿意被这位上校看见，就转过身去背向车窗。当时的情况使艾娥达夫人感到非常担心，她非常关心福克先生。这位绅士虽然是那么冷静，但是他对艾娥达夫人的体贴却显得日益无微不至。艾娥达夫人也许不大清楚她这位救命恩人在自己心中激起的感情深厚到什么程度，而她自己对这种感情还只能称之为感激。但是她不知道这中间存在着比“感激”更进一步的情感。所以当她发现这个粗暴的上校时，她心里就感到异常紧张，她知道福克先生早晚是要找这人算账的。毫无疑问，普洛克托上校乘这班火车，完全是凑巧。但是，事实上他是已经在这个车子上了，那么就得想尽一切办法不叫斐利亚•福克发现他的仇人。
当火车开动了之后，艾娥达夫人趁着福克先生正在打盹，就把刚才看见普洛克托上校的事告诉了费克斯和路路通。
“怎么？”费克斯叫着说，“普洛克托这家伙也在车上！不要紧，夫人，你放心好了，他要跟先生……要跟福克先生找麻烦，一定会先来跟我算账！在这件事清上我认为吃了大亏的主要是我！”
“再说我也能对付他，”路路通说，“别看他是个上校。”
“费克斯先生，”艾娥达夫人说，“您要知道福克先生是不会让别人替他出头的。他曾说过，他自己要再到美洲来找这个污辱他的人算账。这会儿，他要是看到了普洛克托上校，我们就没法拦阻他们了，那样事情就会糟了。所以现在必须想办法别叫福克先生看见他。”
“夫人，您说的对，”费克斯说，“他们要是见面了，那一切都完了，不论福克先生胜败如何，他都会耽搁下来，再说……”
“那样一来，”路路通说，“就便宜了改良俱乐部的那些老爷们了。只要再过四天，我们就到纽约了！那么在这四天里如果福克先生不出这个车厢，我们可以希望福克先生不会碰上这个该死的美国佬！我们完全可以不叫他们碰头。”
他们的谈话中断了。因为福克先生已经醒了，他在透过结冰的玻璃欣赏窗外的风光。过了一会儿，路路通不让他的主人和艾娥达夫人听到，低声地问费克斯：
“您真愿意替福克先生出头跟那家伙干吗？”
“我要尽一切力量让福克先生活着回到欧洲！”费克斯简单地回答说，从他的口气可以听出他是下了决心的。
路路通听了这话好象身上打了一个冷颤，但是，他对福克先生的信心却毫不动摇。可是，现在有什么办法把福克先生留在车厢里不让他跟那个上校碰头呢？这也许不难，团为这位绅士生性就是个不爱活动不爱看热闹的人。
最后费克斯认为自己已经找到了一个好办法。待不多久，他就对斐利亚•福克说：
“先生，咱们这样坐在火车上，时间过得真是又长又慢啊。”
“是啊，”福克先生说，“不过虽然慢，还是在过啊！”
“在船上的时候，”费克斯接着说，“我看您常打‘惠司脱’？”
“是啊，”斐利亚•福克回答说，“不过在这儿就难了，我现在既没有牌，又没有对手。”
“哦！牌吗，我们在车上准能买到，美国火车上什么都卖。至于对手……夫人，也许碰巧您也会……”
“对了，先生，我会，”艾娥达夫人很高兴地说，“我会打‘惠司脱’。这也是我在英国学校学的一门功课哩。”
“至于我呢，”费克斯接着说，“我很希望能有机会提高自己玩‘惠司脱’的技巧。这就行了，咱们三个来，剩下一边空着……”
“您既然愿意来，咱们就来吧。”福克先生说，他即使在火车上也很喜欢玩自己特别喜欢的“惠司脱”。
路路通急忙去找乘务员，很快地弄来了两副牌和一些计分用的筹码，另外还有一张铺着台布的小桌子。一切齐备，他们就开始玩牌。艾娥达夫人打得相当好，连一本正经的福克先生有时也称赞她的技巧高明。至于费克斯简直是玩“惠司脱”的头等好手，他跟这位绅士可称为棋逢对手。这时，路路通在旁边看了，心里说：
“现在我们算是把他给拖住了，他再也不会离开牌桌子了。”
上午十一点钟，火车到了距离太平洋和大西洋一样远近的地点，也就是到了布里基尔关，这里的地势海拔七千五百二十四英尺。在穿越洛矶山脉的这段铁路线上，这里是地势最高的几个山岗之一。大约再走两百英里，客车才会到达那一片一直延展到大西洋海岸的辽阔平原，在这样的平原上修筑铁路实在大方便了。
在大西洋盆地的山坡地区，分布着许多由北普拉特河分出来的支流小河。整个北方和东方的地平线都被那由洛矶山脉北部群山构成的一个半侧形大帷幕遮盖着。群山中最高的山峰是拉拉米峰。在这座半圆形大山和铁路之间是一片河川纵横的大平原。铁路右边，是接近群山的斜坡。群山的余脉一直向南延伸到密苏里河的重要支流之一阿肯色河的发源地。
十二点半，车上旅客瞥见了一座城堡，那就是俯瞰着整个这一地区的哈莱克堡。再过几个钟头，穿越洛矶山脉的旅行就要胜利结束了。人们于是可以指望通过这个困难的山区而不发生任何意外了。雪停了。天气变得更冷。巨大的鹰鹫被奔驰的机车吓得急忙往远处飞逃。平原上没有任何野兽，既没有熊，又没有狼，只是一片荒凉的旷野。
福克先生和他的同伴们就在自己的车厢里吃了一顿相当舒服的中饭，然后又立即接着打起了那永无休止的“惠司脱”。这时，突然响起一阵哨子声。火车停下来了。
路路通将头伸出窗外看了一下，没有看到任何阻止火车前进的东西，也没看到车站。
艾娥达夫人和费克斯很担心福克先生要下车去看看，但是这位绅士只对自己的仆人说了一声：
“去看看，是怎么回事？”
路路通立即跑出车厢。这时已经有四十多个旅客出来了，其中就有斯汤姆•普洛克托上校。
火车停在一个禁止通行的红灯前面。火车司机和列车员已经下来了。他们正在和一个守路员激烈地争论着，这个守路员是前面梅迪西弯车站的站长特地派来等这一趟火车的。旅客们也都走过来参加这一场争论，其中自然少不了刚才说的那位普洛克托上校。他扯开嗓门儿大嚷，指手划脚，神气活现。
路路通走近了这一群人，他听见守路员说：“不行，没办法通过！梅迪西弯的大桥已经在摇晃，经受不起火车的重压了。”
他们所说的这座大桥，是一座空悬在一条激流上的吊桥。离这里还有一英里。据守路员说，这座桥就要垮了，上面很多铁索已经断了。冒险通过是不可能的。守路员肯定说不能通过，他确实一点也没有夸大。再说，美国人一向是冒冒失失，满不在乎的；要是连他们也在乎了，那只有疯子才敢去冒险。
路路通不敢把这事告诉他的主人，他象一座塑像，一动也不动，咬着牙听人家争论。“啊，是这么回事！”普洛克托上校叫着说，“我们走不成了，我看咱们只好在这雪地上扎根儿了！”
“上校先生，”列车员说，“已经给奥马哈车站打电报了。要他们派一列车来。但是，六点钟以前能不能到梅迪西弯，这还不敢说。”
“要等到六点钟！”路路通嚷着说。
“那可不是吗，”列车员说，“再说，我们从这儿步行到前面车站，也得要这么长的时间。”
“可是，这儿离车站不是只有一英里路吗？”一位旅客问。
“事实上是一英里，但是得绕道过河啊。”
“这条河，我们不能坐船过去吗？”上校问。
“那可办不到，因为下雨河水涨了。水流很急，我们必须兜圈子绕十英里路，从北面一个浅滩上过去。”
上校于是破口大骂，一会儿埋怨公司不好，一会儿又责备列车员不对。路路通也是怒气冲天，差一点就要帮着上校一齐骂了。
眼前发生的阻碍是一种物质的力量，路路通的主人钞票再多，即便都拿出来，这一回也解决不了问题。
此外，所有的旅客也都感到很丧气，耽搁时间暂且不说，旅客还得在这冰天雪地里步行十五六英里。所以，叫喊声和咒骂声乱成了一片，斐利亚•福克要不是一心在玩“惠司脱”的话，这些叫声准会引起他的注意。
路路通现在觉得必须把情况告诉自己的主人，于是他就低着头走向车厢。正在这个时候，那位火车司机——他名叫孚尔斯特，是一个标准的“洋乞”——大声叫着说：
“先生们，咱们也许有办法过去。”
“从桥上过去吗？”一个旅客问。
“从桥上过去。”
“开着火车过去？”上校问。
“开着火车过去。”
司机这句话的每一个字路路通都听清楚了，他停住了脚步。
“可是这座桥就要坍了！”列车员说。
“没关系，”孚尔斯特说，“我们只要把火车开到最大速度，碰运气也许能过去。”
“见他的鬼！”路路通说。
但是，立刻就有些旅客对这个建议随声附和表示同意，尤其是普洛克托上校特别拥护这个办法，这个冒失鬼，他觉得完全可以这么干。他甚至还告诉大家说，有些工程师还想过用高速度直线奔驰的办法使火车从“没有桥”的河上飞过去，他还讲了另外一些类似的怪事。说到最后，所有关心这个问题的人都同意了司机的高见。
“我们准有百分之五十的机会能过去。”一个旅客说。
“百分之六十的机会。”另一个说。
“百分之八十……百分之九十的机会！”
路路通可给吓昏了。虽然他也是准备要用一切办法过这条梅迪西河的，可是现在这个办法他觉得未免有点太“美利坚式”了。
“再说，”他心里想，“总应该让旅客们先下来，这是一件很简单的事，应当先作，可是这些人根本连想也不想！……”这时路路通就对一个旅客说：“先生，这位司机出的这个主意，我看是有点冒险，可是……”
“有百分之八十的机会！”这位旅客回答说，他说完这句话就转身走了。路路通又走到另一位先生跟前接着说：
“我知道有百分之八十的机会，可是您只要想一下……”
“想有什么用，没什么好想的！”这个听他说话的美国人耸着肩膀说，“司机已经说了，准能过去！”
“是啊，”路路通说，“能过去，要是更谨慎一点，我们应该……”
“什么！谨慎！”普洛克托上校碰巧听见了路路通这句话，他跳了起来，嚷着说。“不是谨慎，我告诉你，是开快车，你懂吗？开快车。”
“我知道……我懂……”路路通说，这时谁也不肯听完他的话，但是他仍然继续说下去，“假如说，‘更谨慎一点’这句话您听不惯那么我就说，为了更合情理一点，至少应该……”
“他是谁啊？他要干什么？他说什么？他讲什么合情理不合情理啊？……”周围的人都哄起来了。
这个可怜的小伙子，现在不知道该向谁讲话了。
“你是害怕了吧？”普洛克托上校问他。
“我！害怕！”路路通叫着说，“好吧，算了！我要让你们这些人看看，一个法国人也能跟他们一样的‘美利坚’！”
“上车了！上车了！”列车员喊着说。
“对，上车，”路路通说，“上车！马上上车！不过你们不能不叫我有自己的想法，最合情理的办法，应该是让旅客们先步行过桥，然后再把车开过去！……”
但是，他这个合理的想法谁也不同意，谁也不觉得他有道理。旅客们都回到自己的车厢里去了。路路通往自己的坐位上一坐，对于刚才发生的一切连半个字儿也不提。三位玩“惠司脱”的牌迷现在心都在牌上。火车头大声地吼了一声，司机打开了汽门，把火车向后倒开了差不多一英里，就象是一个跳远的健将向后退着准备飞跃。
紧接着响了第二声汽笛，火车又开始前进了。它不断加快速度，一会儿，速度已经大到了十分可怕的程度，车上只能听见机车发出的一阵隆隆声，活塞每秒钟进返二十次，车轴在机油盒里冒着浓烟，简直可以说整个火车就象以每小时一百英里的速度在前进，铁轨所负担的重量减少了，因为高速抵销了重量。
列车过去了！就象闪电一样，连个桥影也没来得及看见，简直可以说是从对岸飞过来的，火车一直冲过了车站五英里，司机才勉强把它煞住。但是，列车一过了河，桥就轰隆一声坍落在梅迪西弯的激流里了。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 29楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0


CHAPTER 29

The train pursued its course, that evening, without interruption, passing Fort Saunders, crossing Cheyene Pass, and reaching Evans Pass. The road here attained the highest elevation of the journey, eight thousand and ninety-one feet above the level of the sea. The travellers had now only to descend to the Atlantic by limitless plains, levelled by nature. A branch of the `grand trunk' led off southward to Denver, the capital of Colorado. The country round about is rich in gold and silver, and more than fifty thousand inhabitants are already settled there.
Thirteen hundred and eighty-two miles had been passed over from San Francisco, in three days and three nights; four days and nights more would probably bring them to New York. Phileas Fogg was not as yet behindhand.
During the night Camp Walbach was passed on the left; Lodge Pole Creek ran parallel with the road, marking the boundary between the territories of Wyoming and Colorado. They entered Nebraska at eleven, passed near Sedgwick, and touched at Julesburg, on the southern branch of the Platte River.
It was here that the Union Pacific Railroad was inaugurated on the 23rd of October, 1867, by the chief engineer, General Dodge. Two powerful locomotives, carrying nine cars of invited guests, amongst whom was Thomas C. Durant, vice-president of the road, stopped at this point; cheers were given, the Sioux and Pawnees performed an imitation Indian battle, fireworks were let off, and the first number of the Railway Pioneer was printed by a press brought on the train. Thus was celebrated the inauguration of this great railroad, a mighty instrument of progress and civilization, thrown across the desert, and destined to link together cities and towns which do not yet exist. The whistle of the locomotive, more powerful than Amphion's lyre, was about to bid them rise from American soil.
Fort McPherson was left behind at eight in the morning, and three hundred and fifty-seven miles had yet to be traversed before reaching Omaha. The road followed the capricious windings of the southern branch of the Platte Fiver, on its left bank. At nine the train stopped at the important town of North Platte, built between the two arms of the river, which rejoin each other around it and form a single artery, - a large tributary whose waters empty into the Missouri a little above Omaha.
The one hundred and first meridian was passed.
Mr Fogg and his partners had resumed their game; no one - not even the dummy - complained of the length of the trip. Fix had begun by winning several guineas, which he seemed likely to lose; but he showed himself a not less eager whist-player than Mr Fogg. During the morning, chance distinctly favoured that gentleman. Trumps and honours were showered upon his hands.
Once, having resolved on a bold stroke, he was on the point of playing a spade, when a voice behind him said, `I should play a diamond.'
Mr Fogg, Aouda and Fix raised their heads, and beheld Colonel Proctor.
Stamp Proctor and Phileas Fogg recognized each other at once.
`Ah! it's you, is it, Englishman?' cried the colonel. `It's you who are going to play a spade!'
`And who plays it,' replied Phileas Fogg coolly, throwing down the ten of spades.
`Well, it pleases me to have it diamonds,' replied Colonel Proctor, in an insolent tone.
He made a movement as if to seize the card which had just been played, adding, `You don't understand anything about whist.'
`Perhaps I do, as well as another,' said Phileas Fogg, rising.
`You have only to try, son of John Bull,' replied the colonel.
Aouda turned pale, and her blood ran cold. She seized Mr Fogg's arm and gently pulled him back. Passepartout was ready to pounce upon the American, who was staring insolently at his opponent. But Fix got up, and going to Colonel Proctor said, `You forget that it is I with whom you have to deal, sir; for it was I whom you not only insulted, but struck!'
`Mr Fix,' said Mr Fogg, `pardon me, but this affair is mine, and mine only. The colonel has again insulted me, by insisting that I should not play a spade, and he shall give me satisfaction for it.'
`When and where you will,' replied the American, `and with whatever weapon you choose.'
Aouda in vain attempted to retain Mr Fogg; ash vainly did the detective endeavour to make the quarrel his. Passepartout wished to throw the colonel out of the window, but a sign from his master checked him. Phileas Fogg left the car, and the American followed him upon the platform.
`Sir,' said Mr Fogg to his adversary, `I am in a great hurry to get back to Europe, and any delay whatever will be greatly to my disadvantage.'
`Well, what's that to me?' replied Colonel Proctor.
`Sir,' said Mr Fogg, very politely; `after our meeting at San Francisco, I determined to return to America and find you as soon as I had completed the business which called me to England.'
`Really!'
`Will you appoint a meeting for six months hence?'
`Why not ten years hence?'
`I say six months,' returned Phileas Fogg; `and I shall be at the place of meeting promptly.'
`All this is an evasion,' cried Stamp Proctor. `Now or never!'
`Very good. You are going to New York?'
`No.'
`To Chicago?'
`No.'
`To Omaha?'
`What difference is it to you? Do you know Plum Creek?'
`No,' replied Mr Fogg.
`It's the next station. The train will be there in an hour, and will stop there ten minutes. In ten minutes several revolver-shots could be exchanged.'
`Very well,' said Mr Fogg. `I will stop at Plum Creek.'
`And I guess you'll stay there too,' added the American insolently.
`Who knows?' replied Mr Fogg, returning to the car as coolly as usual. He began to reassure Aouda, telling her that blusterers were never to be feared, and begged Fix to be his second at the approaching duel, a request which the detective could not refuse. Mr Fogg resumed the interrupted game with perfect calmness.
At eleven o'clock the locomotive's whistle announced that they were approaching Plum Creek station. Mr Fogg rose, and, followed by Fix, went out upon the platform. Passepartout accompanied him, carrying a pair of revolvers. Aouda remained in the car, as pale as death.
The door of the next car opened, and Colonel Proctor appeared on the platform, attended by a Yankee of his own stamp as his second. But just as the combatants were about to step from the train, the conductor hurried up, and shouted, `You can't get off, gentlemen!'
`Why not?' asked the colonel.
`We are twenty minutes late, and we shall not stop.'
`But I am going to fight a duel with this gentleman.'
`I am sorry,' said the conductor; `but we shall be off at once. There's the bell ringing now.'
The train started.
`I'm really very sorry, gentlemen,' said the conductor. `Under any other circumstances I should have been happy to oblige you. But, after all, as you have not had time to fight here, why not fight as we go along?'
`That wouldn't be convenient, perhaps, for this gentleman,' said the colonel, in a jeering tone.
`It would be perfectly so,' replied Phileas Fogg.
`Well, we are really in America,' thought Passepartout, `and the conductor is a gentleman of the first order!'
So muttering, he followed his master.
The two combatants, their seconds, and the conductor passed through the cars to the rear of the train. The last car was only occupied by a dozen passengers, whom the conductor politely asked if they would not be so kind as to leave it vacant for a few moments, as two gentlemen had an affair of honour to settle. The passengers granted the request with alacrity, and straightaway disappeared on the platform.
The car, which was some fifty feet long, was very convenient for their purpose. The adversaries might march on each other in the aisle, and fire at their ease. Never was duel more easily arranged. Mr Fogg and Colonel Proctor, each provided with two six-barrelled revolvers, entered the car. The seconds, remaining outside, shut them in. They were to begin firing at the first whistle of the locomotive. After an interval of two minutes, what remained of the two gentlemen would be taken from the car.
Nothing could be more simple. Indeed, it was all so simple that Fix and Passepartout felt their hearts beating as if they would crack. They were listening for the whistle agreed upon, when suddenly savage cries resounded in the air, accompanied by reports which certainly did not issue from the car where the duellists were. The reports continued in front and ~the whole length of the train. Cries of terror proceeded from the interior of the cars.
Colonel Proctor and Mr Fogg, revolvers in hand, hastily quitted their prison, and rushed forward where the noise was most clamorous. They then perceived that the train was attacked by a band of Sioux.
This was not the first attempt of these daring Indians, for more than once they had waylaid trains on the road. A hundred of them had, according to their habit, jumped upon the steps without stopping the train, with the ease of a clown mounting a horse at full gallop.
The Sioux were armed with guns, from which came the reports, to which the passengers who were almost all armed, responded by revolver-shots.
The Indians had first mounted the engine, and half stunned the engineer and stoker with blows from their muskets. A Sioux chief, wishing to stop the train, but not knowing how to work the regulator, had opened wide instead of closing the steam-valve, and the locomotive was plunging forward with terrific velocity.
The Sioux had at the same time invaded the cars, skipping like enraged monkeys over the roofs, thrusting open the doors, and fighting hand to hand with the passengers. Penetrating the baggage-car, they pillaged it, throwing the trunks out of the train. The cries and shots were constant.
The travellers defended themselves bravely; some of the cars were barricaded, and sustained a siege, like moving forts, carried along at a speed of a hundred miles an hour.
Aouda behaved courageously from the first. She defended herself like a true heroine with a revolver, which she shot through the broken windows whenever a savage made his appearance. Twenty Sioux had fallen mortally wounded to the ground, and the wheels crushed those who fell upon the rails as if they had been worms. Several passengers, shot or stunned, lay on the seats.
It was necessary to put an end to the struggle, which had lasted for ten minutes, and which would result in the triumph of the Sioux if the train was not stopped. Fort Kearney station, where there was a garrison, was only two miles distant; but, that once passed, the Sioux would be masters of the train between Fort Kearney and the station beyond.
The conductor was fighting beside Mr Fogg, when he was shot and fell. At the same moment he cried, `Unless the train is stopped in five minutes, we are lost!'
`It shall be stopped,' said Phileas Fogg, preparing to rush from the car.
`Stay, monsieur,' cried Passepartout; `I will go.'
Mr Fogg had not time to stop the brave fellow, who, opening a door unperceived by the Indians, succeeded in slipping under the car; and while the struggle continued, and the balls whizzed across each other over his head, he made use of his old acrobatic experience, and with amazing agility worked his way under the cars, holding on to the chains, aiding himself by the brakes and edges of the sashes, creeping from one car to another with marvellous skill, and thus gaining the forward end of the train.
There, suspended by one hand between the baggage-car and the tender, with the other he loosened the safety chains; but, owing to the traction, he would never have succeeded in unscrewing the yoking-bar, had not a violent concussion jolted this bar out. The train, now detached from the engine, remained a little behind, whilst the locomotive rushed forward with increased speed.
Carried on by the force already acquired, the train still moved for several minutes; but the brakes were worked, and at last they stopped, less than a hundred feet from Kearney station.
The soldiers of the fort, attracted by the shots, hurried up; the Sioux had not expected them, and decamped in a body before the train entirely stopped.
But when the passengers counted each other on the station platform several were found missing; among others the courageous Frenchman, whose devotion had just saved them.




第二十九章

当天傍晚，火车一路前进非常顺利，过了索德尔斯堡，又过了夏延关，到了伊文思关。这个地区是整个铁路线标高的顶点，海拔达八千零九十一英尺。火车通过一望无际的天然太平原，往下一直奔向大西洋海岸。在这条平原干线上，有一条南路支线通向科罗拉多州的主要大城丹佛。那里有丰富的金矿和银矿，在当地定居的居民已有五万余人。
从旧金山出发到现在，三夭三夜已经走完了一千三百八十二英里（再有四天四夜不论如何也能到达纽约了，斐利亚•福克显然是在按部就班地完成着自己的日程。这一夜，火车从瓦尔巴营右方驰过。洛基布尔河和铁道平行，顺着怀俄明和科罗拉多两州笔直的交界线向前奔流。十一时，火车进入内布拉斯加州，经过塞奇威克就到了位于普拉特河南支流的居尔斯甫。
1867年10月23日，联合太平洋铁路公司在此地举行了通车典礼。总工程师是J•M•道奇将军，当时就是在这里由两个大机车拖着九节客车，送来了以副总统M•汤姆斯•C•杜郎为首的许多观礼人士。就在这儿，当时曾经有群众欢呼；同时西乌人和包尼斯人表演了一场印第安人战斗演习，在这儿，曾经点放庆祝通车的焰火，最后，人们在这儿用手提印刷机出版了《铁路先锋报》的创刊号。这就是这条大铁路举行庆祝通车典礼的情况。这条铁路是一条进步和文明的道路。它穿过荒凉的原野，把很多当时还不存在的城市联结起来。火车头的汽笛比神话中昂斐勇的七弦琴还要强，它使许多城市很快地在美洲大陆上冒出来了。
早晨八点钟，火车越过麦克费尔逊堡，此地离奥马哈角仅三百五十七英里。火车沿着普拉特河左岸，顺着普拉特河南部支流千变万化的弯曲河岸前进。九点钟火车到达了位于南、北普拉特河支流中间的一座大城市——北普拉特。两条大河在这座城的附近形成一条巨流，然后和奥马哈北面不远的密苏里河汇合。
现在已经越过了经线一百零一度了。
福克先生和他的牌友重新开始玩起了“惠司脱”。包括那张空位子在内，这两对牌友谁也没有埋怨这漫长的旅途。起初费克斯本来赢了一点钱，现在却正往外输，但是他的赌兴可并不比福克差。福克先生今天早上运气特别好，王牌和大分都一个劲儿不停地往他手上跑。现在他把牌计算了一下准备来一回大胆的绝牌，他决定打黑桃，就在这时候他听见自己椅子后边有个人说话：“要是我，我就打红方块……”
福克先生、艾娥达夫人和费克斯三个人抬头一看，站在他们旁边的不是别人，正是普洛克托上校。
斯汤姆•普洛克托和斐利亚•福克两个人一见面马上就认出来了。
“哦！原来是你，英国先生，”上校喊着说，“就是你要打黑桃！”
“是我打牌，还是你打牌。”斐利亚•福克出了一张黑桃十，冷冰冰地回答说。
“那好啊，我可是愿意打红方块。”普洛克托上校带着气说。
他同时伸手就要拿那张黑桃十，一面说：
“你根本就不懂得怎么打。”
“也许我能打的比另一个人更好，”斐利亚•福克说着，站了起来。
“那你就来打打看吧，你这个小约翰牛！”蛮横的上校说。
艾娥达夫人脸都吓白了，她全身的血液好象都要沸腾起来了。她拉住斐利亚•福克的手臂，福克轻轻地把她推开了，路路通准备马上向这个美国人扑过去，美国人用非常鄙视的眼光看着福克。这时，费克斯站起来了，他走近普洛克托上校，对他说，
“你忘了，先生，你该找我，你不仅骂了我，甚至还打了我！”
“费克斯先生！”福克先生说，“我请您原谅，但是这件事只和我一个人有关。这位上校借口说我打黑桃打错了，又一次来挑衅，我得跟他算算这笔账。”
“算就算吧，时间地点由你挑，”美国人说，“用什么家伙也听你的便！”
艾娥达夫人一心想拉住福克，但是一点效果也没有。费克斯企图把事情揽到自己身上也是白费力气。路路通本想把这个上校从窗口丢出去，但是他的主人扬了扬手，制止了他。这时，斐利亚•福克走出了车厢，美国人跟他一齐上了车桥。
“先生，”福克先生跟对方说，“我急于要回欧洲，任何一点耽搁都会对我造成很大损失。”
“你说这些与我有什么关系。”
“先生，”福克先生非常客气地接着说，“自从我们在旧金山碰面之后，我已经计划好了，现在我有事要回欧洲，等事情一办完我马上就要到美洲来找你。”
“真的吗？”
“你肯跟我约定六个月以后见面吗？”
“为什么你不说六年以后？”
“我说六个月，”福克先生说，“到时候我一定来。”
“你这话全是装蒜，找借口下台！”斯汤姆•普洛克托嚷着说，“要么你就说不敢，要么就马上干！”
“那好！马上干！”福克先生回答说，“你到纽约去吗？”
“我不去。”
“到芝加哥？”
“也不去。”
“到奥马哈？”
“你管我到哪儿去呢！你知道普鲁木河吗？”
“我不知道。”福克先生回答说。
“就在下一站。过一个钟头就到，火车在那儿要停十分钟。有十分钟的时间，咱们满可以交换几颗子弹。”
“算数，”福克先生说，“我在普鲁木河下车。”
“我甚至相信你，准会永远留在那儿。”美国人穷凶极恶地说。
“那就要看了，先生。”福克先生回答说，他说完这话就走进了车厢，依然和平时一样冷静。
他回到车厢，先安慰了艾娥达夫人几句，说这种纸老虎没什么可怕。然后他就约费克斯停一会决斗的时候作他的公证人，费克斯当然不能拒绝，于是斐利亚•福克若无其事地又拿起刚才的牌，继续安安静静地打他的黑桃。
十一点钟，机车的汽笛宣布普鲁木河车站到了。福克先生站起来，走向车桥，后面跟着费克斯。路路通背着两支手熗，陪着福克先生走了出去。这时，艾娥达夫人吓得面无人色，独自留在车厢里。
同时另一节车厢的门也开了。普洛克托上校也走上了车桥，后面跟着一个神气跟他相仿的“洋乞”，那是他的公证人。但是，当两个对手刚走下火车，列车员就喊着跑过来了：
“别下车，先生们。”
“为什么？”上校问。
“我们的车误点二十分钟，车子在这儿不停了。”
“可是我要在此地跟这位先生决斗。”
“这个，我很抱歉，”列车员说，“可是火车立刻就要开了。喏，打点了。”
真的钟响了，火车又开了。
“我真觉得很对不起，先生们，”列车员说，“如果换个别的时候，我准定帮忙。不过话又说回来了，虽然你们没有来得及在站上决斗，可是你们可以在车上干，谁也管不着。”
“在车上也许这位先生会觉得不太合适吧！”上校嘻皮笑脸地说。
“我觉得完全合适。”斐利亚•福克回答说。
“瞧这个痛快劲儿，就准会相信我们是在美国！”路路通心里说，“这个列车员可真是个了不起的好人！”
他心里一边这样想着一边就跟着自己的主人走了。
列车员领着两位决斗的对手和他们的公证人，从一节车厢走到另一节车厢，一直到最后一节车。这节车厢里只有十几个旅客。列车员就问旅客们是否可以暂时把车厢让给这两位先生用一下，他们要在这儿决斗。旅客们听了这话吓了一跳，但是他们很乐意帮这两位先生的忙，于是都走出车厢，站到车桥上去了。
这个车厢长约五十英尺，作一个决斗场倒挺合适。在这里决斗真是大方便了，两个对手在中间的过道上，可以向对方逼近，高兴怎么打就怎么打。福克先生和普洛克托上校每人各带两把六轮手熗，走进了车厢。他们的两个证人替他们关上了门，守在外面。只等机车上的汽笛一响，他们就开始射击……然后只要再过短短的两分钟，就可以进去把活着的一位先生接出来。
按说，没有比这再简单的事了。它是那么简单，以至使费克斯和路路通觉得自己的心跳动得简直要爆炸了。
人们在等待着第一声汽笛，正在这个时候，突然听见一阵凶猛的喊叫，还夹杂着噼噼啪啪的熗声，但是这熗声并不是从进行决斗的车厢里传出来的。相反地，继续响着的熗声是从整个列车，甚至是从最前头的车厢里传来的。列车上到处是惊慌的喊叫。普洛克托上校和福克先生，拿着手熗，立即走出了决斗场，赶到前面发出更加激烈的熗声和喊声的车厢去了。他们已经知道：这是一帮西乌人在袭击火车。
这些亡命的印第安人拦劫火车已经不是头一回了，在这以前，他们也干过好几次。他们总是用这样的办法：不等火车停下来，上百的人一齐纵身跳上车门口的踏板，然后就象在奔跑中翻身上马的马戏团小丑似的爬上了车厢。
这些西乌人都带着步熗，刚才的熗声就是他们和旅客相互射击的声音，车上旅客差不多都随身带有武器。
这些印第安人一上车就先往机车上跑。火车司机和司炉早被他们用大头棒打昏过去了。一个西乌人首领上去想把火车停下来，但是他不知道怎么关汽门。本来想把汽门关上的，他却把它完全拉开了，于是机车就象脱缰的野马，飞跑起来。
在同一个时间里，其他的西乌人攻进了车厢。他们在车厢顶上飞跑，一个个都象野猴子似的，他们从车窗上跳进来和旅客进行肉搏战。他们抢了行李车，很多箱子、行李都从里边给扔出来了，熗声和叫喊声一直没停。
这时旅客们都在拼命地抵抗，有些被围攻的车厢已经变成了防御工事，简直就象一个个活动的堡垒；而这些堡垒却正被机车拖着，以每小时一百英里的速度向前飞驰。
艾娥达夫人从一开始就表现得非常勇敢，当西乌人向她冲过来时，她就拿着手熗毫不畏惧地从破玻璃门口向敌人射击。有二十多个西乌人被打得半死从车上滚下去了，有的从车桥掉到铁轨上，象虫子一样被火车轮子压得粉碎。很多旅客中了熗弹或者挨了大头棒，伤势很重，躺在椅子上。
现在必须使这场战斗结束，它已经继续了十分钟了。倘若火车不停，那结果就一定会便宜了西乌人。因为离此地不到两英里就是克尔尼堡，那里有个美国兵营，如果再过去，从克尔尼堡一直到下一站，这些西乌人就可以在车上为所欲为。
列车员本来正在和福克并肩作战，但是飞过来一颗子弹把他打倒了，这个人就在自己倒下去的时候叫着说：
“五分钟之内火车要是不停，我们就全要完蛋了！”
“一定会停下来的！”斐利亚•福克说着就准备冲出车厢。
“您留在这儿，先生，”路路通喊着说，“这事交给我好了。”
斐利亚•福克还没来得及阻止，这个大胆的小伙子已经打开一个车窗溜到车厢下面去了，他没有被西乌人看见。这时战斗还在激烈地进行，子弹从他头上飕飕地飞过，他运用自己马戏团演员那一套轻巧灵活的故技，在车厢下面隐蔽前进。他攀着联结列车的铁链，踩着煞车舵盘，沿着外面车架的边沿，巧妙地从一节车爬到另一节车，一直爬到最前面的一节车上。他居然没有被人发觉，这简直是不可思议的事。
现在，他一只手攀着车，整个身体悬空在行李车和煤车之间，另外一只手去松开挂钩链条，但是，由于机车的牵引力很大，如果单靠他的力量，挂钩中间的铁栓一辈子也拔不开，就在这时候，只见机车一阵摇晃，铁栓被震动得跳出来了。列车脱离了车头慢慢地落后了，而机车却更增加了飞驰的速度。列车由于惯性的推动力继续前进了几分钟，但是车厢里的旅客扭紧了煞车舵盘，列车终于在离开克尔尼堡车站不到一百步的地方停下来了。
兵营里的士兵听到了熗声，立即赶了过来。西乌人还没有等到他们来，趁着列车还没有完全停下来以前，他们早就四散逃窜了。
但是，当旅客们在站台上检查人数时，发现少了一些人，其中包括那个仗义拯救了这些旅客性命的勇敢的法国人。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 30楼  发表于: 2013-10-29 0


CHAPTER 30

Three passengers - including Passepartout - had disappeared. Had they been killed in the Struggle? Were they taken prisoners by the Sioux? It was impossible to tell.
There were many wounded, but none mortally. Colonel Proctor was one of the most Seriously hurt; he had fought bravely, and a ball had entered his groin. He was carried into the station with the other wounded passengers, to receive such attention as could be of avail.
Aouda was safe; and Phileas Fogg, who had been in the thickest of the fight, had not received a scratch. Fix was slightly wounded in the arm. But Passepartout was not to be found, and tears coursed down Aouda's cheeks.
All the passengers had got out of the train, the wheels of which were stained with blood. From the tires and spokes hung ragged pieces of flesh. As far as the eye could reach on the white plain behind, red trails were visible. The last Sioux were disappearing in the south, along the banks of Republican River.
Mr Fogg, with folded arms, remained motionless. He had a serious decision to make. Aouda, standing near him, looked at him without speaking, and he understood her look. If his Servant was a prisoner, ought he not to risk everything to rescue him from the Indians? `I will find him, living or dead,' said he quietly to Aouda.
`Ah, Mr - Mr Fogg!' cried she, clasping his hands and covering them with tears.
`Living,' added Mr Fogg, `if we do not lose a moment.'
Phileas Fogg, by this resolution, inevitably sacrificed himself; he pronounced his own doom. The delay of a single day would make him lose the steamer at New York, and his bet would be certainly lost. But as he thought, `It is my duty,' he did not hesitate.
The commanding officer of Fort Kearney was there. A hundred of his soldiers had placed themselves in a position to defend the station, should the Sioux attack it.
`Sir,' said Mr Fogg to the captain, `three passengers have disappeared.'
`Dead?' asked the captain.
`Dead or prisoners; that is the uncertainty which must be solved. Do you propose to pursue the Sioux?'
`That's a serious thing to do, sir,' returned the captain. `These Indians may retreat beyond the Arkansas, and I cannot leave the fort unprotected.'
`The lives of three men are in question, sir,' said Phileas Fogg.
`Doubtless; but can I risk the lives of fifty men to save three?'
`I don't know whether you can, sir; but you ought to do so.'
`Nobody here,' returned the other, `has a right to teach me my duty.'
`Very well,' said Mr Fogg, coldly. `I will go alone.'
`You, sir!' cried Fix coming up; `you go alone in pursuit of the Indians?'
`Would you have me leave this poor fellow to perish - him to whom every one present owes his life? I shall go.'
`No, Sir, you shall not go alone,' cried the captain, touched in spite of himself. `No! you are a brave man. Thirty volunteers!' he added, turning to the soldiers.
The whole company started forward at once. The captain had only to pick his men. Thirty were chosen, and an old sergeant placed at their head.
`Thanks, captain,' said Mr Fogg.
`Will you let me go with you?' asked Mr, Fix.
`Do as you please, sir. But if you wish to do me a favour, you will remain with Aouda. In case anything should happen to me--'
A sudden pallor overspread the detective's face. Separate himself from the man whom he had so persistently followed step by step! Leave him to wander about in this desert! Fix gazed attentively at Mr, Fogg, and, despite his suspicions and of the struggle which was going on within him, he lowered his eyes before that calm and frank look.
`I will stay,' said he.
A few moments after, Mr Fogg pressed the young woman's hand, and, having confided to her his precious carpet-bag, went off with the sergeant and his little squad. But, before going, he had said to the soldiers, `My friends, I will divide five thousand dollars among you, if we save the prisoners.'
It was then a little past noon.
Aouda retired to a waiting-room, and there she waited alone, thinking of the simple and noble generosity, the tranquil courage of Phileas Fogg. He had sacrificed his fortune, and wad now risking his life, all without hesitation, from duty, in silence.
Fix did not have the same thoughts, and could scarcely conceal his agitation. He walked feverishly up and down the platform, but soon resumed his outward composure. He now saw the folly of which he had been guilty in letting Fogg go alone. What! This man, whom he had just followed around the world, was permitted now to separate himself from him! He began to accuse and abuse himself, and, as if he were director of police, administered to himself a sound lecture for his greenness.
`I have been an idiot!' he thought. `And this man will see it. He has gone, and won't come back! But how is it that I, Fix, who have in my pocket a warrant for his arrest, have been so fascinated by him? Decidedly, I am nothing but an ass!'
So reasoned the detective, while the hours crept by all too slowly. He did not know what to do. Sometimes he was tempted to tell Aouda all; but he could not doubt how the young woman would receive his confidences. What course should he take? He thought of pursuing Fogg across the vast white plains; it did not seem impossible that he might overtake him. Footsteps were easily printed on the snow! But soon, under a new sheet, every imprint would be effaced.
Fix became discouraged. He felt a sort of insurmountable longing to abandon the game altogether. He could now leave Fort Kearney station, and pursue his journey homeward in peace.
Towards two o'clock in the afternoon, while it was snowing hard, long whistles were heard approaching from the east. A great shadow, preceded by a wild light, slowly advanced, appearing still larger through the mist, which gave it a fantastic aspect. No train was expected from the east, neither had there been time for the succour asked for by telegraph to arrive; the train from Omaha to San Francisco was not due till the next day. The mystery was soon explained.
The locomotive, which was slowly approaching with deafening whistles, was that which, having been detached from the train, had continued its route with such terrific rapidity, carrying off the unconscious engineer and stoker. It had run several miles, when, the fire becoming low for want of fuel, the steam had slackened; and it had finally stopped an hour after, some twenty miles beyond Fort Kearney. Neither the engIneer nor the stoker was dead, and, after remaining for some time in their swoon, had come to themselves. The train had then stopped. The engineer, when he found himself in the desert, and the locomotive without cars, understood what had happened. He could not imagine how the locomotive had become separated from the train; but he did not doubt that the train left behind was in distress.
He did not hesitate what to do. It would be prudent to continue on to Omaha, for it would be dangerous to return to the train, which the Indians might still be engaged in pillaging. Nevertheless, he began to rebuild the fire in the furnace; the pressure again mounted, and the locomotive returned, running backwards to Fort Kearney. This it was which was whistling in the mist.
The travellers were glad to see the locomotive resume its place at the head of the train. They could now continue the journey so terribly interrupted.
Aouda, on seeing the locomotive come up, hurried out of the station, and asked the conductor, `Are you going to start?'
`At once, madam.'
`But the prisoners - our unfortunate fellow travellers--'
`I cannot interrupt the trip,' replied the conductor. `We are already three hours behind time.'
`And when will another train pass here from San Francisco?'
`Tomorrow evening, madam.'
`Tomorrow evening! But then it will be too late! We must wait--'
`It is impossible,' responded the conductor. `If you wish to go, please get in.'
`I will not go,' said Aouda.
Fix had heard this conversation. A little while before, when there was no prospect of proceeding on the journey, he had made up his mind to leave Fort Kearney; but now that the train was there, ready to start, and he had only to take his seat in the car, an irresistible influence held him back. The station platform burned his feet, and he could not stir. The conflict in his mind again began; anger and failure stifled him. He wished to struggle on to the end.
Meanwhile the passengers and some of the wounded, among them Colonel Proctor, whose injuries were serious, had taken their places in the train. The buzzing of the overheated boiler was heard, and the steam was escaping from the valves. The engineer whistled, the train started, and soon disappeared, mingling its white smoke with the eddies of the densely falling snow.
The detective had remained behind.
Several hours passed. The weather was dismal, and it was very cold. Fix sat motionless on a bench in the station; he might have been thought asleep. Aouda, despite the storm, kept coming out of the waiting-room, going to the end of the platform, and peering through the tempest of snow, as if to pierce the mist which narrowed the horizon around her, and to hear, if possible, some welcome sound. She heard and saw nothing. Then she would return, chilled through, to issue out again after the lapse of a few moments, but always in vain.
Evening came, and the little band had not returned. Where could they be? Had they found the Indians, and were they having a conflict with them, or were they still wandering amid the mist? The commander of the fort was anxious, though he tried to conceal his apprehensions. As night approached, the snow fell less plentifully, but it became intensely cold. Absolute silence rested on the plains. Neither flight of bird nor passing of beast troubled the perfect calm.
Throughout the night Aouda, full of sad forebodings, her heart stifled with anguish, wandered about on the verge of the plains. Her imagination carried her far off, and showed her innumerable dangers. What she suffered through the long hours it would be impossible to describe.
Fix remained stationary in the same place, but did not sleep. Once a man approached and spoke to him, and the detective merely replied by shaking his head.
Thus the night passed. At dawn, the half-extinguished disc of the sun rose above a misty horizon; but it was now possible to recognize objects two miles off. Phileas Fogg and the Squad had gone southward; in the south all was still vacancy. It was then seven o'clock.
The captain, who was really alarmed, did not know what course to take.
Should he send another detachment to the rescue of the first? Should he sacrifice more men, with so few chances of Saving those already sacrificed? HiS hesitation did not last long, however. Calling one of his lieutenants, he was on the point of ordering a reconnaissance, when gunshots were heard. Was it a signal? The soldiers rushed out of the fort, and half-a-mile off they perceived a little band returning in good order.
Mr Fogg was marching at their head, and just behind him were Passepartout and the other two travellers, rescued from the Sioux.
They had met and fought the Indians ten miles south of Fort Kearney. Shortly before the detachment arrived, Passepartout and his companions had begun to struggle with their captors, three of whom the Frenchman had felled with his fists, when his master and the soldiers hastened up to their relief.
All were welcomed with joyful cries. Phileas Fogg distributed the reward he had promised to the soldiers, while Passepartout, not without reason, muttered to himself, `It must certainly be confessed that I cost my master dear!'
Fix, without saying a word, looked at Mr Fogg, and it would have been difficult to analyze the thoughts which struggled within him. As for Aouda, she took her protector's hand and pressed it in her own, too much moved to speak.
Meanwhile, Passepartout was looking about for the train; he thought he should find it there, ready to start for Omaha, and he hoped that the time lost might be regained.
`The train! The train!' cried he.
`Gone,' replied Fix.
`And when does the next train pass here?' said Phileas Fogg.
`Not till this evening.'
`Ah!' returned the impassible gentleman quietly.




第三十章

连路路通在内一共有三个旅客失踪。他们是在战斗中被打死了呢，还是被西乌人捉去了呢？现在谁也不知道。
旅客负伤的相当多，不过据了解还没有人受致命的重伤。普洛克托上校算是一个重伤号。他这次作战很勇敢，大腿根上中了一颗子弹，被打倒了。他和另一些需要立即治疗的旅客都被抬到车站里去了。
艾娥达夫人平安无事。斐利亚•福克虽然是全力作战，但是连一点皮也没有擦破。费克斯膀子上受了一点轻伤。只是路路通失踪了，艾娥达夫人在为他流眼泪。
这时，旅客都离开了车厢。只见车轮上血迹斑斑，车辐和车毂上沾着一块块烂肉。在那盖满白雪的平原上，一道鲜红的血印一直伸延到看不见的远方。跑在最后面的那些印第安人的背影，现在已经在南方共和河岸边消失了。
福克先生双手交叉着站在那里一动也不动。他正在考虑一件非常重要的事。艾娥达夫人在他旁边一声不响，望着他……福克先生懂得她的意思。如果他的仆人是被印第安人捉去了，难道不应该牺牲一切去把他救出来吗？……
“不管他是死是活，我都要把他找回来。”他简单地对艾娥达夫人说。
“啊，先生，福克先生！”年轻的夫人叫着说，她抓住福克先生的双手，这双手上流满了她的眼泪。
“他不会死！”福克先生说，“只要我们一分钟也不耽搁！”
既然这样决定，斐利亚•福克便准备牺牲一切了。他等于已经宣告了自己的破产，因为只要耽搁一天，他就赶不上去纽约的邮船。他的赌注是输定了。但是他考虑到：这是我的义务！因此他毫不犹豫。
在克尔尼堡驻防的连长就在旁边，他的士兵——约有一百多人——已经作好防御准备，如果西乌人直接来进攻车站，就及时予以回击。
“先生，”福克先生对连长说，“有三个旅客失踪了。”
“死了吗？”连长问。
“死了还是被俘了，”福克先生回答说，“现在还说不定，需要马上弄清楚。您是不是预备追击那些西乌人？”
“这可不是件小事，先生，”连长说，“这些印第安人能跑到阿肯色河那边去！我总不能丢下上级交给我的军堡啊。”
“先生，”斐利亚•福克说，“这件事关系着三个人的生命。”
“这我知道……但是叫五十个人冒生命的危险去救三个人，我能这样作吗？”
“我不知道您是不是能这样作，但是您应该这样作。”
“先生，”连长回答说，“在这里没有任何人有权指示我应该怎么作。”
“好吧！”斐利亚•福克冷冰冰他说，“那我自己去！”
“您自己，先生？”费克斯走过来叫着说，“您一个人去追那些印第安人？”
“这里所有活着的人，都是这个不幸的小伙子救下来的，难道您叫我看着他死在印第安人手里吗？我可一定要去。”
“好吧！您别一个人去！”连长叫着说，他已经被福克的行为感动了，“不错，您是条好汉！……”他回头对自己的士兵说，“来三十个人，自愿报名！”
全连士兵都拥上来了。连长只需在这些正直的小伙子中间挑选就行了。他挑好三十个人，另派一个老军士长带队。
“谢谢您，连长！”福克先生说。
“我跟您一起去好吗？”费克斯问福克先生。
“您高兴去就去吧，先生，”斐利亚•福克回答说，“不过，假如您愿意帮我的忙，我希望您在这里陪着艾娥达夫人，如果我遇到不幸……”
听了这话，警察厅密探的脸上突然变得苍白。他寸步不离地紧盯着的这个人现在要离开他了！让他这样到那荒无人烟的地方去冒险！费克斯注视着这位绅士，虽然他对福克怀有偏见，虽然他正在跟对方进行着斗争，但是在这个态度坦然而又镇静的绅士面前，他终于还是低下了头。
“好吧，我留在这儿。”他说。
过不一会，福克先生跟年轻的艾娥达夫人握手告别，并且把他那个宝贝旅行袋也交给她了，然后他就跟着军士长领着的一小队人一起出发了。
临走之前，他对士兵们说：
“朋友们！如果能把人救回来，就给你们一千英镑的奖金。”
这时已经是十二点过几分了。
艾娥达夫人回到车站上的一间房子里去了，她独自在那里等着，这时，她想着福克，想着他仗义救人的气概，想着他沉着勇敢的精神。福克先生已经牺牲了他的财产，现在他又不顾自己的生命，为了尽义务，他毫不犹豫，甚至连一句话也不多说。在艾娥达夫人看来斐利亚•福克真是一个英雄。
但是密探费克斯却不这么想。现在他心里烦躁不堪，就象热锅上的蚂蚁。他在月台上走来走去。刚才他一时糊涂，现在清醒了。让福克走掉了，这事做得太糊涂，我是怎么搞的？寸步不离地跟他跑遍了整个地球，现在居然会同意他走开！现在他密探的本性又恢复过来了，他不住地责怪自己，他对自己的指责就好象是伦敦警察厅长在训斥一个由于无知而放走了一个现行犯的警员似的。
“我真是混蛋！”他心里说，“别人会把我的身份告诉他的。他这一走准不回来了！现在再到哪儿去抓他呢？唉！我怎么会给他骗住了呢？我费克斯口袋里有抓他的拘票！嘿，我真是个笨蛋！”
警察厅密探就这样在那儿胡思乱想，他觉得时间过得又长又慢，真不知道该如何是好。一会儿，他想把这一切都告诉艾娥达夫人，但是，他知道这个年轻的女人将会怎么对付他。怎么办呢？他想穿过那漫长的雪野去追赶福克！他认为也许还能找到他，雪地上还留着那一队人走过的足迹！……但是过不一会儿，那些足迹就被一层新下的白雪盖上了。
这时费克斯泄气了。他现在心里真想放弃对福克的追踪。正在这个时候，眼前出现了一个机会，他可以丢下福克马上离开克尔尼堡继续他这次多灾多难的旅行。
事情是这样的：在下午快两点的时候，天上正飘着鹅毛大雪，忽然从东面传来几声汽笛的长鸣，接着一个黑呼呼的庞然大物，头上射出强烈的光芒，慢吞吞地向这边走过来了，它在浓雾里越发显得庞大，并且还带有一种神怪的气氛。
这时人们根本就没想到会从东面开来列车。通过电报要求增派的机车也不可能这么快就到。从奥马哈开往旧金山的火车，也要等到第二天才能经过此地。但是，不一会儿，大家都明白了。
原来是一辆机车，不住地鸣着汽笛，慢慢地开了过来。这正是原来的那辆机车。它自从甩掉了列车以后，就以惊人的速度带着半死不活的司机和司炉继续向前飞驰，一直跑了好多英里，一小时之后煤烧得差不多了，火也小了，蒸气也减少了，它才越走越慢，最后在离开克尔尼堡二十英里的路上停了下来。
司机和司炉实际上都没死，只是昏迷了过去，过了很久，他们又醒过来了。
机车已经停了。当时司机看到四周都是荒凉的雪地，只剩下一辆光杆儿机车，后面的列车也不见了。这时，他明白了刚才发生的一切。可是机车怎么会把列车甩下去的呢，这一点他怎么也猜不出。但是他毫不怀疑，列车一定是留在后边正处在进退两难的境地！
司机毫不踌躇地采取了应有的措施。把机车继续向前开，开往奥马哈，这是一条妥当的办法；如果退回去找列车，可能那些印第安人还正在车上抢劫，这是一个危险的办法……管他的！锅炉里添满了煤和木柴，火烧旺了，压力又加大了，大约下午两点钟的时候，机车倒着开回了克尔尼堡。这正是刚才在浓雾里鸣放汽笛的那辆机车。
旅客们看到机车和列车又重新衔接起来了，都感到非常高兴。这样一来这个不幸中断的旅行又可以继续下去了。
机车一到克尔尼堡，艾娥达夫人就出了车站，走过去对列车员说：
“你们就要开车了吗？”
“马上就开，夫人。”
“可是那些被捉去的人……我们那些不幸的旅伴……”
“我总不能让火车停在半路上！”列车员说，“我们已经误点三个小时了。”
“从旧金山开来的下一班车什么时候到此地？”
“明天晚上，夫人。”
“明天晚上！那就太晚了。你们得等一下……”
“没法等，”列车员说。“如果您要走，就请上车吧。”
“我不走，”年轻的夫人说。
他们谈的这些话，费克斯句句都听见了。刚才，什么交通工具都没有的时候，费克斯曾经发誓要离开克尔尼堡。可是，现在列车就停在他面前，马上就要走，他只要回到车厢坐上自己的座位就成了，可是现在，他的两条腿仿佛被一种不可抵抗的力量钉在地上了。他的两只脚象站在热锅上一样，他恨不得马上离开车站，但又下不了走的决心。他心里展开了剧烈的思想斗争，失败使他老羞成怒，他决定要干到底。
这时旅客们和几个受伤的人，包括伤势很重的普洛克托上校在内，都上车了。机车锅炉早已烧热，正在不停地呜咽着，蒸气从气门嘴上直在外喷。司机拉响了汽笛，火车开动了，转眼之间列车已经在白色的烟雾和飞舞的雪花混乱交错的原野里消失了。
密探费克斯留下了。
几个小时过去了。天气很坏，冷得要命。费克斯静坐在车站里的一张靠背椅上，动也不动，看起来好象他是睡着了。艾娥达夫人不顾风雪交加，时时走出那间为她准备的房子，到站上张望。她一直走到月台尽头，她想透过这些飞舞的大雪能看见点什么，她想隔着这完全阻碍着视线的浓雾，能听见些什么。可是什么都没有，这时她已被冻僵了。她又回到屋子里，准备停会再出来看看。但是一直是毫无音讯。
天晚了，那一小队人还没有回来。福克先生现在在哪里？他能找到印第安人吗，难道是在作战吗？这些士兵会不会在浓雾里迷失方向，正在瞎摸乱撞呢？驻克尔尼堡的连长，虽然不愿露出什么忧虑的表情，但是他实在也很心焦。
黑夜降临了，雪也下得小点儿了。但是天气却更加冷了。即使是胆大包天的人在这漆黑无边的原野里也会感到毛骨悚然。这时，既无飞鸟掠过，也无走兽奔驰，万籁俱寂，死一样的沉静笼罩着整个大地。
整个一夜，艾娥达夫人心里充满了不幸的预感和忧郁，她在那草原边沿上不停地徘徊，她被自己的幻想带到了辽远的地方，那里使她看到数不尽的艰险。在这漫长的黑夜里，她所感受的痛苦是无法描述的。
费克斯一直是待在那个老位子上。但是他也一样睡不着觉。不知道在什么时候，好象有个人走到他跟前，并且还对他说了几句什么话，但是密探听完了那个人的话之后，摇了摇头，就把那个人打发走了。
这一夜就这样过去了。清晨半明半暗的太阳轮廓，从弥漫着浓雾的天边升起，这时人们已能看到两英里以内的景物了。斐利亚•福克和那一小队人昨天是向南方追击的……而南方现在却空无所有。时间已经是上午七点了。
连长现在非常优虑，他不知道该怎么办了。要不要再派一队人去支援呢？该不该再派更多的人去为那些最初被俘的几个人去冒生命的危险呢？而这种援救又是那样希望渺茫。但是他的犹豫并没继续很久，他召来一个排长，命令他带人到南方去侦察一次，正在这时，人们听见了一阵熗声。是在发信号吗？战士们都冲出了堡垒，他们发现离此约半英里的地方有一小队人步法整齐地走了过来。
走在前面的是福克先生，他旁边是从西乌人手里救出来的路路通和另外两个旅客。
他们在克尔尼堡南边十英里的地方打了一仗。在队伍赶到之前不久，路路通和另外两个难友已经和押送他们的西乌人干起来了。当福克先生和士兵赶去援救他们的时候，这个法国小伙子已经用拳头揍翻了三个西乌人。
人们用欢呼来迎接这些救人的人和被救的人。斐利亚•福克把事前许下的奖金分给了士兵。这时路路通一再重复着说：“说实在的，应当承认，我的主人在我身上花的钱真不少了！”这倒确实是一句老实话。
费克斯一句话没说，只是看着福克先生，要分析他这时的思想情况是很困难的。至于艾娥达夫人，她双手紧握着这位绅士的右手，激动得说不出话来。
路路通一到车站就东张西望地找火车。他还以为列车会在站上停着，等他上车就开往奥马哈，他还盼望能补救耽搁了的时间。
“火车，火车呢！”他叫着说。
“开了。”费克斯回答说。
“下一趟车什么时候经过这里？”斐利亚•福克问。
“得等到今天晚上。”
“哦！”这位不动声色的绅士只简单地说了这一个字。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 31楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0


CHAPTER 31


Phileas Fogg found himself twenty hours behind time. Passepartout, the involuntary cause of this delay, was desperate. He had ruined his master!
At this moment the detective approached Mr Fogg, and, looking him intently in the face, said--
`Seriously, sir, are you in great haste?'
`Quite seriously.'
`I have a purpose in asking,' resumed Fix. `Is it absolutely necessary that you should be in New York on the 11th, before nine o'clock in the evening, the time that the steamer leaves for Liverpool?'
`It is absolutely necessary.'
`And, if your journey had not been interrupted by these Indians, you would have reached New York on the morning of the 11th?'
`Yes; with eleven hours to spare before the steamer left.'
`Good! you are therefore twenty hours behind. Twelve from twenty leaves eight. You must regain eight hours. Do you wish to try to do so?'
`On foot?' asked Mr Fogg.
`No; on a sledge,' replied Fix. `On a sledge with sails. A man has proposed such a method to me.'
It was the man who had spoken to Fix during the night, and whose offer he had refused.
Phileas Fogg did not reply at once; but Fix having pointed out the man, who was walking up and down in front of the station, Mr Fogg went up to him. An instant alter, Mr Fogg and the American, whose name was Mudge, entered a hut built just below the fort.
There Mr Fogg examined a curious vehicle, a kind of frame on two long beams, a little raised in front like the runners of a sledge, and upon which there was room for five or six persons. A high mast was fixed on the frame, held firmly by metallic lashings, to which was attached a large brigantine sail. This mast held an iron stay upon which to hoist a jib-sail. Behind, a sort of rudder served to guide the vehicle. It was, in short, a sledge rigged like a sloop. During the winter, when the trains are blocked up by the snow, these sledges make extremely rapid journeys across the frozen plains from one station to another. Provided with more sail than a cutter, and with the wind behind them, they slip over the surface of the prairies with a speed equal if not superior to that of the express trains.
Mr, Fogg readily made a bargain with the owner of this land-craft. The wind was favourable, being fresh, and blowing from the west. The snow had hardened, and Mudge was very confident of being able to transport Mr, Fogg in a few hours to Omaha. Thence the trains eastward run frequently to Chicago and New York. It was not impossible that the lost time might yet be recovered; and such an opportunity was not to be rejected.
Not wishing to expose Aouda to the discomforts of travelling in the open air, Mr Fogg proposed to leave her with Passepartout at Fort Kearney, the servant taking upon himself to escort her to Europe by a better route and under more favourable conditions. But Aouda refused to Separate from Mr Fogg, and Passepartout was delighted with her decision; for nothing could induce him to leave his master while Fix was with him.
It would be difficult to guess the detective's thoughts. Was his conviction shaken by Phileas Fogg's return, or did he still regard him as an exceedingly shrewd rascal, who, his journey round the world completed, would think himself absolutely safe in England? Perhaps Fix's opinion of Phileas Fogg was somewhat modified; but he was nevertheless resolved to do his duty, and to hasten the return of the whole party to England as much as possible.
At eight o'clock the sledge was ready to start. The passengers took their places on it, and wrapped themselves up closely in their travelling cloaks. The two great sails were hoisted, and under the pressure of the wind the sledge slid over the hardened snow with a velocity of forty miles an hour.
The distance between Fort Kearney and Omaha, as the birds fly, is at most two hundred miles. If the wind held good, the distance might be traversed in five hours; if no accident happened the sledge might reach Omaha by one o'clock.
What a journey! The travellers, huddled close together, could not speak for the cold, intensified by the rapidity at which they were going. The sledge sped on as lightly as a boat over the waves. When the breeze came skimming the earth the sledge seemed to be lifted off the ground by its sails. Mudge, who was at the rudder, kept in a straight line, and by a turn of his hand checked the lurches which the vehicle had a tendency to make. All the sails were up, and the jib was so arranged as not to screen the brigantine. A top-mast was hoisted, and another jib, held out to the wind, added its force to the other sails. Although the speed could not be exactly estimated, the sledge could not be going at less than forty miles an hour.
`If nothing breaks,' said Mudge, `we shall get there!'
Mr, Fogg had made it for Mudge's interest to reach Omaha within the time agreed on, by the offer of a handsome reward.
The prairie, across which the sledge was moving in a straight line, was as flat as a sea. It seemed like a vast frozen lake. The railroad which ran through this section ascended from the south-west to the northwest by Great Island, Columbus, an important Nebraska town, Schuyler and Fremont, to Omaha. It followed throughout the right bank of the Platte River. The sledge, shortening this route, took a chord of the are described by the railway. Mudge was not afraid of being stopped by the Platte River, because it was frozen. The road, then, was quite clear of obstacles, and Phileas Fogg had but two things to fear, - an accident to the sledge, and a change or calm in the wind.
But the breeze, far from lessening its force, blew as if to bend the mast, which, however, the metallic lashings held firmly. These lashings, like the chords of a stringed instrument, resounded as if vibrated by a violin bow. The sledge slid along in the midst of a plaintively intense melody.
`These chords give the fifth and the octave,' said Mr Fogg.
These were the only words he uttered during the journey. Aouda, cosily packed in furs and cloaks, was sheltered as much as possible from the attacks of the freezing wind. As for Passepartout, his face was as red as the sun's disc when it sets in the mist, and he laboriously inhaled the biting air. With his natural buoyancy of Spirits, he began to hope again. They would reach New York on the evening, if not on the morning, of the 11th, and there were still some chances that it would be before the steamer sailed for Liverpool.
Passepartout even felt a strong desire to grasp his ally, Fix, by the hand. He remembered that it was the detective who procured the sledge, the only means of reaching Omaha in time; but, checked by some presentiment, he kept his usual reserve. One thing, however, Passepartout would never forget, and that was the sacrifice which Mr Fogg had made, without hesitation, to rescue him from the Sioux. Mr Fogg had risked his fortune and his life. No! His servant would never forget that!
While each of the party was absorbed in reflections so different, the sledge flew fast over the vast carpet of snow. The creeks it passed over were not perceived. Fields and streams disappeared under the uniform whiteness. The plain was absolutely deserted. Between the Union Pacific road and the branch which unites Kearney with Saint Joseph it formed a great uninhabited island. Neither village, station, nor fort appeared. From time to time they sped by some phantom-like tree, whose white skeleton twisted and rattled in the wind. Sometimes flocks of wild birds rose, or bands of gaunt, famished, ferocious prairie-wolves ran howling after the sledge. Passepartout, revolver in hand, held himself ready to fire on those which came too near. Had an accident then happened to the sledge, the travellers, attacked by these beasts, would have been in the most terrible danger; but it held on its even course, Soon gained on the wolves, and ere long left the howling band at a safe distance behind.
About noon Mudge perceived by certain landmarks that he was crossing the Platte River. He said nothing, but he felt certain that he was now within twenty miles of Omaha. In less than an hour he left the rudder and furled his sails, whilst the sledge, carried forward by the great impetus the wind had given it, went on half a mile further with its sails unspread.
It stopped at last, and Mudge, pointing to a mass of roofs white with snow, said: `We have got there!'
Arrived! Arrived at the station which is in daily communication, by numerous trains, with the Atlantic seaboard!
Passepartout and Fix jumped off, stretched their stiffened limbs, and aided Mr Fogg and the young woman to descend from the sledge. Phileas Fogg generously rewarded Mudge, whose hand Passepartout warmly grasped, and the party directed their steps to the Omaha railway station.
The Pacific Railroad proper finds its terminus at this important Nebraska town. Omaha is connected with Chicago by the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which runs directly east, and passes fifty stations.
A train was ready to start when Mr Fogg and his party reached the station, and they only had time to get into the cars. They had seen nothing of Omaha; but Passepartout confessed to himself that this was not to be regretted, as they were not travelling to see the sights.
The train passed rapidly across the State of Iowa, by Council Bluffs, Des Moines,, and Iowa City. During the night it crossed the Mississippi at Davenport, and by Rock Island entered Illinois. The next day, which was the 10th, at four in the evening, it reached Chicago, already risen from its ruins, and more proudly seated than ever on the borders of its beautiful Lake Michigan.
Nine hundred miles separated Chicago from New York; but trains are not wanting at Chicago. Mr Fogg passed at once from one to the other, and the locomotive of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway left at full speed, as if it fully comprehended that that gentleman had no time to lose. It traversed Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey like a flash, rushing through the towns with antique names, some of which had streets and car-tracks, but as yet no houses. At last the Hudson came into view; and at a quarter-past eleven in the evening of the 11th, the train stopped in the station on the right bank of the river, before the very pier of the Cunard line.
The `China', for Liverpool, had started three-quarters of an hour before!





第三十一章



斐利亚•福克耽搁了二十小时。这都是路路通无意之间造成的，因此路路通感到非常失望。他这一下子可真把他的主人搞垮了。
这时，密探走近了福克先生，问道：
“说真话，先生，您是急着要走吗？”
“说真话，很急，”斐利亚•福克回答说。
“我真的要知道一下，”费克斯说，“您是不是一定要在11号晚上九点钟之前，也就是说在开往利物浦的邮船出发之前到达纽约，有必要吗？”
“非常必要。”
“假若没有这次印第安人袭击火车的事，您在11号一早就可以到纽约了，不是吗？”“是啊，那样我在邮船开出之前十二小时，就已经上船了。”
“对，现在您耽搁了二十小时，二十减十二余八。您打算不打算把这八小时补上呢？”“步行吗？”福克先生问。
“不用步行，坐雪橇，”费克斯回答说，“坐带帆的雪橇。有一个人曾经要我雇他的雪橇。”
这个人就是昨天夜里跟费克斯讲话的那个人，当时费克斯没有答应雇他的雪橇。斐利亚•福克没有回答；费克斯指给他看那个驾雪橇的美国人，他正在车站前面溜达。福克先生便向那个人走过去了。过了一会儿斐利亚•福克跟这个名叫麦基的美国人一齐走进了克尔尼堡下边不远的一间小茅屋。福克先生看见屋里有一辆相当奇怪的车子。它是一具两根长木头上钉着一个木框做成的雪橇，头部微向上翘，很象那种无轮拖车的两条底板架子。它上面可以坐五六个人。雪橇靠前面三分之一处竖着一根很高的桅杆，上面挂着一张很大的方帆。这条桅杆下面由几条铁索结结实实地绑着，上面有条铁支柱，用来支撑这面巨大的布帆。后面装着一个单橹作为木舵，用来掌握方向。原来福克先生看见的正是一条单桅船式的雪橇。在冬季遍地冰雪的平原上，当火车被大雪阻碍不能前进的时候，就可以用这种交通工具，从这一站很快地滑到另一站。这种雪橇可以挂上很大的帆，水上竞赛的快船要是挂上这样大的帆就一定会翻跟斗。从后面吹来的风推动雪橇在草原的冰地上疾驰，它的速度即便说不比特别快车更快，至少也和普通快车的速度相等。
没有多大功夫，福克先生跟这个陆地小船的船主已经讲妥了价钱。现在风很好，西风刮得正紧，地上的雪已经结冰，只要几个钟头，麦基准能把福克送到奥马哈车站。那里的火车线路很多，四通八达，往来频繁，可以到芝加哥和纽约。这样就可能补上耽搁的时间。现在已无可犹豫，只好这样去碰碰运气。
福克先生不愿让艾娥达夫人在露天旷野里作这样艰苦的旅行。天这么冷再加上雪橇的飞快奔驰，她怎能受得了。因此他向艾娥达夫人建议，叫路路通陪着她在克尔尼堡等火车。然后由这个诚实的小伙子平平安安地把她护送到欧洲去。艾娥达夫人不愿和福克先生分离。她这样决定使路路通感到很高兴。实际上，路路通无论如何也不愿离开自己的主人，特别是因为费克斯还在跟着福克先生。
至于说警察厅密探的思想活动，现在真是一言难尽。斐利亚•福克的归来是否使他的信心动摇了呢？还是仍然肯定福克是一个极端狡猾的流氓，企图这样环游了地球一周之后，回到英国就可以完全逍遥法外了呢？也许费克斯现在对斐利亚•福克的看法已经有些转变。但是，他绝不会放松自己的职责，他比任何人都更急着想尽一切办法早一天回到英国。八点钟，雪橇准备停当就要出发了；旅客们——其实可以勉强称之为乘客们——坐上了雪橇，都紧紧地裹在旅行毯里。两只大帆都张起来了，借着风力雪橇以每小时四十英里的速度在结冻的雪地上飞驰开了。
从克尔尼堡到奥马哈的直线距离——美国人称之为蜂飞距离——至多也不过两百英里。如果风向不变，五个小时就可以跑完这段路程。如果途中不发生任何意外，下午一点钟就能到达奥马哈。
这是一种什么样的旅行啊！旅客们紧紧地挤在一起，连一句话也不能说。因为雪橇跑得越快，人越觉得寒冷，冷得无法张口说话。雪橇轻盈地在雪野上滑行，正象一条滑行在水面上的小船，它比小船更稳，因为小船至少也会有些波动。当寒风吹过大地时，雪橇被那两只象巨翼一样的白帆载着，就象是离开了地面腾空飞行，麦基紧握着舵把，保持着直线前进。雪橇有时要向一边倾斜；只要麦基转动一下尾舵，它就会马上恢复笔直的航线。前角帆也挂起来了——大角帆已经不再遮挡它的风路。大帆上又加上了顶桅，张起了兜风的顶尖帆，这样就更增加了整个雪橇的帆面，也加大了风的推动力。目前，虽然没有办法科学地计算出雪橇的速度，但是可以断定它前进的速度每小时至少也会有四十英里。
“如果不出什么毛病，”麦基说，“我们准能按时到达！”
麦基很希望能按预定时间到达奥马哈，因为福克先生已经照样许了麦基一大笔奖金。
雪橇笔直穿过的这一片犹如风平浪静的大海一样的平原。平原象是一个辽阔无边的结冰池塘，在这个地区这一条由西南向西北延伸的铁路，经过大岛和内布拉斯加州的重镇哥仑布斯，再经过休列尔、弗列蒙，最后到达奥马哈。这条铁路始终沿着普拉特河的右岸前进。雪橇从弧线内直行穿过，缩短了这条铁路形成的弧行路线。麦基从弗列蒙抄直路前进，毫不担心普拉特河会阻断他们的去路，因为河水早已结冰。一路尽是平坦的冰雪，可以畅行无阻。所以斐利亚•福克目前只担心两件事：一是怕雪橇出毛病；二是怕风向改变或是风力骤减。但是，风力一点也没有减弱，相反地，那条被钢索结结实实绑着的桅杆都被风刮弯了。
这些钢索仿佛是乐器上的弦，被一张无形的弓拉着发出飕嗦振荡的响声。在这种如怨如诉的和谐乐声中，在这种极其紧张的气氛中，雪橇在疯狂奔驰。
“这些钢索发出的音响，是五度音程和八度音程。”福克先生说。
这是福克先生在这一段旅途上说的唯一的一句话。艾娥达夫人紧紧地裹在皮衣和旅行毯子里，旅伴们尽一切可能不让她受到寒冷的袭击。至于路路通，他的整个脸膛又圆又红，活象傍晚沉浸在薄雾里的太阳；他正喝着那刺骨的寒风，他又恢复了他那种固有的信心，苏生了成功的希望。本来该在早晨到达纽约，现在要晚上才能赶到。但是，即使在晚上到，也还是很有可能赶上开往利物浦的邮船。
路路通甚至很想跟他的同盟者费克斯握手表示感谢。因为他没忘记正是多亏这位侦探才找到了这一辆带帆雪橇。实际上也只有乘雪橇才能按时赶到奥马哈。但不知是由于一种什么预感，路路通依旧保持沉默，没有跟费克斯握手。
不过，有一件事是路路通永远也不会忘记的。那就是福克先生为了要从西乌人手里救他而表现的那种自我牺牲的精神。为了救他，福克先生拿他全部财产和自己的生命去冒险……绝不会忘记！路路通是永远也不会忘记的！
当旅客们各自想着彼此绝不相同的心事的时候，雪橇却在这一望无边的雪野里不停地飞驰。有时，雪橇滑过小兰河的支流和小河，但乘客们却没有发现这些河流，因为田野和河水都已变成了清一色的雪白平原，大地上光荡荡地一无所有。这一片包括联合太平洋铁路和克尔尼堡通往圣若瑟的支线的整个地区，形成一个荒无人烟的大雪岛。这里没有村庄，没有车站，甚至连军堡也没有。旅客们不时地可以瞥见几棵难看的野树，一闪而过，树枝上结满冰雪活象一副副雪白的死人骨架在冷风中摇曳。有时遇见成群的野鸟从雪橇经过的地方突然一齐飞向天空。有时遇见草原上饿得骨瘦如柴的狼群，它们在攫取食物的欲望驱使下，成群结队疯狂地追赶着雪橇狂跑。这时路路通握紧手熗，随时准备向那些最接近雪橇的饿狼射击。万一在这个时候雪橇出了毛病停下来，这些被野狼追逐的旅客们就会有送命的危险。但是，雪橇走得很好，它很快就跑到前头了，不多久，那群狂叫的饿狼已经被甩在后边了。
中午十二时，麦基从一些地方认出了他们正在穿过结冰的普拉特河。他没有说什么，但是他已经确信，再走二十英里就会到达奥马哈车站。
实际上还不到一点钟，这位老练的驾驶员已经放下舵把，赶忙收起白帆卷成一卷。这时雪橇仍在疾速前进，在没有张帆的情况下又走了半英里路，最后它停下来了。麦基指着一片被白雪覆盖着的房顶说：“我们到了。”
到了，真的到了。到了这个每天都有无数火车开往美国东部的奥马哈了！
路路通和费克斯先跳下雪橇，活动一下冻麻了的四肢。他们又帮助福克先生和年轻的夫人下了雪橇。斐利亚•福克很大方地付给了麦基租费和奖金。路路通象对待一个老朋友一样跟麦基握手告别。然后大家就赶往奥马哈车站。
奥马哈是内布拉斯加州的重要城市。太平洋铁路就到此地为止。这个城市是密西西比盆地和大西洋交通的枢纽。从奥马哈到芝加哥这一段铁路叫做芝加哥——石岛铁路，这条铁路是一条东行直线，沿途约有五十多个车站。
这时正有－班直达车要开出去。斐利亚•福克和他的旅伴们勉强来得及上了车。他们一点也没看到奥马哈的市容。但是路路通心里对这件事半点也不懊悔，他认为现在的问题并不在于是否参观奥马哈。
火车以极快的速度在衣阿华州奔驰。它经过了康斯尔布拉夫斯、得梅因和衣阿华。当天夜里，在达文波特越过了密西西比河。火车从石岛进入了伊利诺斯州。第二天，12月10号下午四点火车到达了芝加哥。这个城市已经从大火的废墟中重建起来了，它比过去更加雄伟地耸立在美丽的密执安湖岸上。
从芝加哥到纽约只有九百英里。而且这里去纽约的火车很多。福克先生下车之后立即跳上了另一列火车。这是一辆属于匹兹堡——韦恩堡——芝加哥铁路公司的轻快机车，它拖着列车离开了车站，全速前进，好象机车也知道这位尊贵的绅士再也不能耽误时间似的。它象闪电似的飞过了印第安纳州、俄亥俄州、宾夕法尼亚州、新泽西州；经过了一些命名古老的新城市，其中有些城市只有马路和电车，还没有建筑起房屋。最后旅客们看到了赫德森河，12月11日，晚上十一点一刻，火车到达了居纳尔轮船公司右边的车站，换句话说，也就是到达了英国和北美皇家邮船公司的码头。
但是，开往利物浦去的中国号在四十五分钟之前已经出发了！
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 32楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0


CHAPTER 32



The `China', in leaving, seemed to have carried off Phileas Fogg's last hope. None of the other steamers were able to serve his projects. The `Pereire', of the French Transatlantic Company, whose admirable steamers are equal to any in speed and comfort, did not leave until the 14th; the Hamburg boats did not go directly to Liverpool or London, but to Havre; and the additional trip from Havre to Southampton would render Phileas Fogg's last efforts of no avail. The Inman steamer did not depart till the next day, and could not cross the Atlantic in time to save the wager.
Mr Fogg learned all this in consulting his `Bradshaw', which gave him the daily movements of the transatlantic steamers.
Passepartout was crushed; it overwhelmed him to lose the boat by three-quarters of an hour. It was his fault, for, instead of helping his master, he had not ceased putting obstacles in his path! And when he recalled all the incidents of the tour, when he counted up the sums expended in pure loss and on his own account, when he thought that the immense stake, added to the heavy charges of this useless journey, would completely ruin Mr Fogg, he overwhelmed himself with bitter self-accusations. Mr Fogg, however, did not reproach him; and, on leaving the Cunard pier, only said: `We will consult about what is best tomorrow. Come.'
The party crossed the Hudson in the Jersey City ferry-boat, and drove in a carriage to the St Nicholas Hotel, on Broadway. Rooms were engaged, and the night passed, briefly to Phileas Fogg, who slept profoundly, but very long to Aouda and the others, whose agitation did not permit them to rest.
The next day was the 12th of December. From seven in the morning of the 12th, to a quarter before nine in the evening of the 21st, there were nine days, thirteen hours, and forty-five minutes. If Phileas Fogg had left in the `China', one of the fastest steamers on the Atlantic, he would have reached Liverpool, and then London, within the period "agreed upon.
Mr Fogg left the hotel alone, after giving Passepartout instructions to await his return, and inform Aouda to be ready at an instant's notice. He proceeded to the banks of the Hudson, and looked about among the vessels moored or anchored in the river, for any that were about to depart. Several had departure signals, and were preparing to put to sea at morning tide; for in this immense and admirable port there is not one day in a hundred that vessels do not set out for every quarter of the globe. But they were mostly sailing vessels, of which, of course, Phileas Fogg could make no use.
He seemed about to give up all hope, when he espied, anchored at the Battery, a cable's length off at most, a trading vessel, with a screw, well-shaped, whose funnel, puffing a cloud of smoke, indicated that she was getting ready for departure.
Phileas Fogg hailed a boat, got into it, and soon found himself on board the `Henrietta', iron-hulled, wood-built above. He ascended to the deck, and asked for the captain, who forthwith presented himself. He was a man of fifty, a sort of sea-wolf, with big eyes, a complexion of oxidized copper, red hair and thick neck, and a growling voice.
`The captain?' asked Mr Fogg.
`I am the captain.'
`I am Phileas Fogg, of London.'
`And I am Andrew Speedy, of Cardiff.'
`You are going to put to sea?'
`In an hour.'
`You are bound for--'
`Bordeaux.'
`And your cargo?'
`No freight. Going in ballast.'
`Have you any passengers?'
`No passengers. Never have passengers. Too much in the way.'
`Is your vessel a swift one?'
`Between eleven and twelve knots. The "Henrietta", well known.'
`Will you carry me and three other persons to Liverpool?'
`To Liverpool? Why not to China?'
`I said Liverpool.'
`No!'
`No?'
`No. I am setting out for Bordeaux, and shall go to Bordeaux.'
`Money is no object?'
`None.'
The captain spoke in a tone which did not admit of a reply.
`But the owners of the "Henrietta" - ,' resumed Phileas Fogg.
`The owners are myself,' replied the captain. `The vessel belongs to me.'
`I will freight it for you.'
`No.'
`I will buy it of you.'
`No.'
Phileas Fogg did not betray the least disappointment; but the situation was a grave one. It was not at New York as at Hong Kong, nor with the captain of the `Henrietta' as with the captain of the `Tankadere'. Up to this time money had smoothed away every obstacle. Now money failed.
Still, some means must be found to cross the Atlantic on a boat, unless by balloon, - which would have been venturesome, besides not being capable of being put in practice. It seemed that Phileas Fogg had an idea, for he said to the captain, `Well, will you carry me to Bordeaux?'
`No, not if you paid me two hundred dollars.'
`I offer you two thousand.'
`Apiece?'
`Apiece.'
`And there are four of you?'
`Four.'
Captain Speedy began to scratch his head. There were eight thousand dollars to gain, without changing his route; for which it was well worth conquering the repugnance he had for all kinds of passengers. Besides, passengers at two thousand dollars are no longer passengers, but valuable merchandise. `I start at nine o'clock,' said Captain Speedy, simply. `Are you and your party ready?'
`We will be on board at nine o'clock,' replied, no less simply, Mr Fogg.
It was half-past eight. To disembark from the `Henrietta', jump into a hack, hurry to the St Nicholas, and return with Aouda, Passepartout, and even the inseparable Fix, was the work of a brief time, and was performed by Mr Fogg with the coolness which never abandoned him. They were on board when the `Henrietta' made ready to weigh anchor.
When Passepartout heard what his last voyage was going to cost, he uttered a prolonged `Oh!' which extended throughout his vocal gamut.
As for Fix, he said to himself that the Bank of England would certainly not come out of this affair well indemnified. When they reached England, even if Mr Fogg did not throw some handfuls of bank-bills into the sea, more than seven thousand pounds would have been spent!





第三十二章



中国号邮船开走了，似乎把斐利亚•福克最后的一点希望也给带跑了。
实际上，所有直接往来于欧美两洲的轮船，不论是法国横渡大西洋公司的客船，白星线的客船，伊曼公司的轮船，或者汉堡线轮船以及其他客货轮船，现在都不能帮助福克先生按时完成他的旅行计划。
譬如法国横渡大西洋公司的珀勒尔号，按说这个公司的船都很棒，讲速度不低于任何其他公司的船，讲舒适比所有的船都强，但是这条船要到后天12月14号才开。此外汉堡线的船只开往哈佛不能直达利物浦或伦敦。若加上从哈佛到南安普敦这一段的耽搁，福克先生的最后努力就会徒劳无功。
至于伊曼公司的船，根本就不必考虑。它的一条巴黎号要第二天才开。并且这个公司的船只主要是运送移民。它的机器马力很小，航行一半靠机器，一半靠船帆，因此速度不快。乘这种船从纽约到英国所花的时间，比福克为了赢得东道目前剩下的时间还要长得多。这些情况福克先生都了若指掌，因为他手上有一本《布拉德修旅行手册》，上面印有每日往来大西洋船只的动态。
路路通急死了，差四十五分钟没赶上开往利物浦的轮船，这简直要他没法活了。这都是他的错，他一个人的错，他本来是应该帮助主人的，但是他却沿途闯祸，带来种种困难！他回想起这一路上所遇到的意外事件，计算了一下光为他一个人所花的钱数，再想到这笔巨额的赌金，再加上那数目惊人的旅费，马上都要化为乌有，福克先生因此就会完全破产。想到这些，路路通就把自己大骂一通。
但是，福克先生这时一点也没有责备他，在离开横渡大西洋公司码头的时候，他只说了这么一句话：
“走，我们等明天再说吧。”
福克先生、艾娥达夫人、费克斯和路路通坐上泽西市轮渡过了赫德森河，然后乘一辆马车到百老汇大街的圣尼古拉旅馆。他们在旅馆里开了房间，就这样过了一夜。这一夜对斐利亚•福克显得很短，他睡得很好；但是艾娥达夫人和另外两位旅伴却都是心事重重，辗转反侧不能安眠，这一夜对他们显得特别漫长。
第二天是12月12号。从12号上午七点钟到21号下午八点四十五分，一共只剩下九天零十三个小时四十五分钟的时间了。如果斐利亚•福克昨天晚上赶上了那一条居纳尔公司第一流船中国号，他就能赶到利物浦并且如期到达伦敦！
福克先生吩咐路路通在饭店等候，并且叫他通知艾娥达夫人准备随时动身，然后他就独自离开了旅馆。
他到了赫德森河岸，他在那些停靠在码头上或停在河心的船群中，仔细地寻找即将离港的轮船。有好些个船都挂了准备出发的信号旗，只等着上午潮涨时出海，因为在这个巨大而设备完善的纽约港口，每天总有百十条船开往世界各地，但是它们大部分都是帆船，不合乎斐利亚•福克目前的需要。
看来这位绅士的最后打算似乎要失败了。可是就在这时，他发现离他至多有十分之一海里的地方有一艘带有机轮装备的商船，停在炮台的前边。这条船样子很俐落，烟筒里正冒着大团的黑烟，说明它就要出海了。
斐利亚•福克叫来了一条舢板，坐了上去。由船夫划动双桨，很快就划到了亨利埃塔号的船梯跟前了。这是一条铁壳船，船面上的结构都是木头的。
亨利埃塔号的船长正在船上。斐利亚•福克走上甲板就叫人找船长，船长马上走过来了。
这人有五十岁，是个久经海上风波的老水手，说话挺冲，看样子是个不大好交往的人。他圆睁着两只大眼睛，面如青铜，头发棕红，身材魁梧，一点也不象人们在社会上经常接触到的人。
“船长在吗？”福克先生问。
“我就是。”
“我是斐利亚•福克，英国伦敦人。”
“我叫安鸠•斯皮蒂，出生在英国加的夫。”
“您的船就要开吗？……”
“过一个钟头就走。”
“您的船要到？……”
“要到波尔多。”
“您船上装的什么货？”
“船底装的是压舱石，没有货，放空船回去。”
“您船上有旅客吗？”
“没有，我从来也不带旅客，旅客是一种累赘又麻烦人的货物。”
“您的船走得好吗？”
“每小时跑十一到十二海里。亨利埃塔号谁不知道？”
“您愿意送我到利物浦吗？我们一共四个旅客。”
“去利物浦？！你为什么不说要我送你到中国啊？”
“我只说到利物浦。”
“不去！”
“不去？”
“不去。我现在要开往波尔多，我去的是波尔多。”
“不论多少钱您都不去吗？”
“多少钱也不去。”
船长说话的口气是毫无商量的余地。
“但是，亨利埃塔号的船主……”斐利亚•福克说。
“船主，就是我，”船长回答说，“这条船是我的。”
“我租您的船到利物浦。”
“我不租。”
“我买您的船。”
“我不卖。”
斐利亚•福克连眉头也没有皱一下，但是情况是很不妙。在纽约可全不象在香港，亨利埃塔号船主也完全不象唐卡德尔号船主。当遇见困难时这位绅士的英镑总是都能替他排除障碍，化险为夷，可是这一回英镑也不灵了。
但是，必须想法渡过大西洋，既然目前即使是肯冒险乘汽球也没有把握能飞过大海，那就得想办法坐船过去。
不过，看样子斐利亚•福克已经胸有成竹。他对船长说：
“那好吧，就请您带我们去波尔多好不好？”
“不带人，你就是给我两百美元我也不带！”
“我给您两千美元（合一万金法郎）。”
“每人给我两千？”
“每人给您两千。”
“你们一共四个人？”
“四个人。”
船长斯皮蒂开始搔起头来了。他好象要把头皮搔烂似的。顺路带客，净赚八千美元。这很值得放弃他刚才说的那种厌恶一切旅客的成见。再说两千美元运一个旅客，这已经不能算是旅客了，这是一种很贵重的货物。
“我九点钟开船，”船长斯皮蒂简单地说，“您和您的旅伴来得及吗？……”
“九点钟我们一定到齐！”福克先生同样简单地回答说。
现在是八点半钟。福克先生离开了亨利埃塔号，乘车回到圣尼古拉旅馆，立即带着艾娥达夫人和路路通上船。连那个寸步不离的密探费克斯，福克先生也请他白坐这趟船。这一切安排，福克先生都是以非常沉静的心情完成的。他在任何情况之下都没有改变过这种安详沉着的作风。
当亨利埃塔号出海时，四位旅客都已上船。等路路通知道了最后这一段航程的旅费时。他不禁发出老长老长的一声“哦——”他这一声拖长的“哦……”滑过所有的半音阶，由高而低直到完全变成哑音为止。
至于密探费克斯，他心里说，反正英国国家银行绝不可能毫无损失地了结这件案子。实际上，到了英国，这位福克先生也不过才挥霍了有限的一些钱，他那个钞票袋子里的钱也只少了七千多英镑（合十七万五千金法郎）。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 33楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0

CHAPTER 33

An hour after, the `Henrietta' passed the lighthouse which marks the entrance of the Hudson, turned the point of Sandy Hook, and put to sea. During the day she skirted Long Island, passed Fire Island, and directed her course rapidly eastward.
At noon the next day, a man mounted the bridge to ascertain the vessel's position. It might be thought that this was Captain Speedy. Not the least in the world. It was Phileas Fogg, Esquire. As for Captain Speedy, he was shut up in his cabin under lock and key, and was uttering loud cries, which signified an anger at once pardonable and excessive.
What had happened was very simple. Phileas Fogg wished to go to Liverpool, but the captain would not carry him there. Then Phileas Fogg had taken passage for Bordeaux, and, during the thirty hours he had been on board, had so shrewdly managed with his bank-notes that the sailors and stokers, who were only an occasional crew, and were not on the best terms with the captain, went over to him in a body. This was why Phileas Fogg was in command instead of Captain Speedy; why the captain was a prisoner in his cabin; and why, in shortain. In winter, they were at the mercy of the bad season. Passepartout said nothing; but he cherished hope in secret, and comforted himself with the reflection that, if the wind failed them, they might still count on the steam.
On this day the engineer came on deck, went up to Mr Fogg, and began to speak earnestly with him.
Without knowing why - it was presentiment, perhaps - Passepartout became vaguely uneasy. He would have given one of his ears to hear with the other what the engineer was saying. He finally managed to catch a few words, and was sure he heard his master say, `You are certain of what you tell me?'
`Certain, sir,' replied the engineer. `You must remember that, since we started, we have kept up hot fires in all our furnaces, and though we had coal enough to go on short steam from New York to Bordeaux, we haven't enough to go with all steam from New York to Liverpool.'
`I will consider,' repli?t?Tànt along smoothly enough. The sea was not very unpropitious, the wind seemed stationary in the north-east, the sails were hoisted, and the `Henrietta' ploughed across the waves like a real transatlantic steamer.
Passepartout was delighted. His master's last exploit, the consequences of which he ignored, enchanted him. Never had the crew seen so jolly and dexterous a fellow. He formed warm friendships with the sailors, and amazed them with his acrobatic feats. He thought they managed the vessel like gentlemen, and that the stokers fired up like heroes. His loquacious good-humour infected every one. He had forgotten the past, its vexations and delays. He only thought of the end, so nearly accomplished; and sometimes he boiled over with impatience, as if heated by the furnaces of the `Henrietta'. Often, also, the worthy fellow revolved around Fix, looking at him with a keen, distrustful eye; but he did not speak to him, for their old intimacy no longer existed.
Fix, it must be confessed, understood nothing of what was going on. The conquest of the `Henrietta', the bribery of the crew, Fogg managing the boat like a skilled seaman, amazed and confused him. He did not know what to think. For, after all, a man who began by stealing fifty-five thousand pounds might end by stealing a vessel; and Fix was not unnaturally inclined to conclude that the `Henrietta', under Fogg's command, was not going to Liverpool at all, but to some part of the world where the robber, turned into a pirate, would quietly put himself in safety. The conjecture was at least a plausible one, and the detective began to seriously regret that he had embarked in the affair.
As for Captain Speedy, he continued to howl and growl in his cabin; and Passepartout, whose duty it was to carry him his meals, courageous as he was, took the greatest precautions. Mr Fogg did not seem even to know that there was a captain on board.
On the 13th they passed the edge of the Banks of Newfoundland, a dangerous locality; during the winter, especially, there are frequent fogs and heavy gales of wind. Ever since the evening before the barometer, suddenly falling, had indicated an approaching change in the atmosphere; and during the night the temperature varied, the cold became sharper, and the wind veered to the south-east.
This was a misfortune. Mr Fogg, in order not to deviate from his course, furled his sails and increased the force of the steam; but the vessel's speed slackened, owing to the state of the sea, the long waves of which broke against the stern. She pitched violently, and this retarded her progress. The breeze little by little swelled into a tempest, and it was to be feared that the `Henrietta' might not be able to maintain herself upright on the waves.
Passepartout's visage darkened with the skies, and for two days the poor fellow experienced constant fright. But Phileas Fogg was a bold mariner, and knew how to maintain headway against the sea; and he kept on his course, without even decreasing his steam. The `Henrietta', when she could not rise upon the waves, crossed them, swamping her deck, but passing safely. Sometimes the screw rose out of the water, beating its protruding end, when a mountain of water raised the stern above the waves; but the craft always kept straight ahead.
The wind, however, did not grow as boisterous as might have been feared; it was not one of those tempests which burst, and rush on with a speed of ninety miles an hour. It continued fresh, but, unhappily, it remained obstinately in the south-east, rendering the sails useless.
The 16th of December was the seventy-fifth day since Phileas Fogg's departure from London, and the `Henrietta' had not yet been seriously delayed. Half of the voyage was almost accomplished, and the worst localities had been passed. In summer, success would have been well-nigh certain. In winter, they were at the mercy of the bad season. Passepartout said nothing; but he cherished hope in secret, and comforted himself with the reflection that, if the wind failed them, they might still count on the steam.
On this day the engineer came on deck, went up to Mr Fogg, and began to speak earnestly with him.
Without knowing why - it was presentiment, perhaps - Passepartout became vaguely uneasy. He would have given one of his ears to hear with the other what the engineer was saying. He finally managed to catch a few words, and was sure he heard his master say, `You are certain of what you tell me?'
`Certain, sir,' replied the engineer. `You must remember that, since we started, we have kept up hot fires in all our furnaces, and though we had coal enough to go on short steam from New York to Bordeaux, we haven't enough to go with all steam from New York to Liverpool.'
`I will consider,' replied Mr Fogg.
Passepartout understood it all; he was seized with mortal anxiety. The coal was giving out! `Ah, if my master can get over that,' muttered he, `he'll be a famous man!' He could not help imparting to Fix what he had overheard.
Then you believe that we really are going to Liverpool?'
`Of course.'
`Ass!' replied the detective, shrugging his shoulders and turning on his heel.
Passepartout was on the point of vigorously resenting the epithet, the reason of which he could not for the life of him comprehend; but he reflected that the unfortunate Fix was probably very much disappointed and humiliated in his self-esteem, after having so awkwardly followed a false scent around the world, and refrained.
And now what course would Phileas Fogg adopt? It was difficult to imagine. Nevertheless he seemed to have decided upon one, for that evening he sent for the engineer, and said to him, `Feed all the fires until the coal is exhausted.'
A few moments after, the funnel of the `Henrietta' vomited forth torrents of smoke. The vessel continued to proceed with all steam on; but on the 18th, the engineer, as he had predicted, announced that the coal would give out in the course of the day.
`Do not let the fires go down,' replied Mr Fogg. `Keep them up to the last. Let the valves be filled.'
Towards noon Phileas Fogg, having ascertained their position, called Passepartout, and ordered him to go for Captain Speedy. It was as if the honest fellow had been commanded to unchain a tiger. He went to the poop, saying to himself, `He will be like a madman!'
In a few moments, with cries and oaths, a bomb appeared on the poop-deck. The bomb was Captain Speedy. It was clear that he was on the point of bursting. `Where are we?' were the first words his anger permitted him to utter. Had the poor man been apoplectic, he could never have recovered from his paroxysm of wrath.
`Where are we?' he repeated, with purple face. `Seven hundred and seven miles from Liverpool,' replied Mr Fogg, with imperturbable calmness.
`Pirate!' cried Captain Speedy. `I have sent for you, sir--'
`Pickaroon!'
` - Sir,' continued Mr Fogg, `to ask you to sell me your vessel.'
`No! By all the devils, no!'
`But I shall be obliged to burn her.'
`Burn the "Henrietta"!'
`Yes; at least the upper part of her. The coal has given out.'
`Burn my vessel!' cried Captain Speedy, who could scarcely pronounce the words. `A vessel worth fifty thousand dollars!'
`Here are sixty thousand,' replied Phileas Fogg, handing the captain a roll of bank bills. This had a prodigious effect on Andrew Speedy. An American can scarcely remain unmoved at the sight of sixty thousand dollars. The captain forgot in an instant his anger, his imprisonment, and all his grudges against his passenger. The `Henrietta' was twenty years old; it was a great bargain. The bomb would not go off after all. Mr Fogg had taken away the match.
`And I shall still have the iron hull,' said the captain in a softer tone.
`The iron hull and the engine. Is it agreed?'
`Agreed.'
And Andrew Speedy, seizing the bank-notes, counted them and consigned them to his pocket.
During this colloquy, Passepartout was as white as a sheet, and Fix seemed on the point of having an apoplectic fit. Nearly twenty thousand pounds had been expended, and Fogg left the hull and engine to the captain, that is, near the whole value of the craft! It was true, however, that fifty-five thousand pounds had been stolen from the bank.
When Andrew Speedy had pocketed the money, Mr Fogg said to him, `Don't let this astonish you, sir. You must know that I shall lose twenty thousand pounds, unless I arrive in London by a quarter before nine on the evening of the 21st of December. I missed the steamer at New York, and as you refused to take me to Liverpool--'
`And I did well!' cried Andrew Speedy; `for I have gained at least forty thousand dollars by it!' He added, more sedately, `Do you know one thing, Captain--'
`Fogg.'
`Captain Fogg, you've got something of the Yankee about you.'
And, having paid his passenger what he considered a high compliment, he was going away, when Mr Fogg said, `The vessel now belongs to me?'
`Certainly, from the keel to the truck of the masts, all the wood, that is.'
`Very well. Have the interior seats, bunks, and frames pulled down, and burn them.'
It was necessary to have dry wood to keep the steam up to the adequate pressure, and on that day the poop, cabins, bunks, and the spare deck were sacrificed. On the next day, the 19th of December, the masts, rafts and spars were burned; the crew worked lustily, keeping up the fires. Passepartout hewed, cut and sawed away with all his might. There was a perfect rage for demolition.
The railings, fittings, the greater part of the deck, and top sides disappeared on the 20th, and the `Henrietta' was now only a flat hulk. But on this day they sighted the Irish coast and Fastnet Light. By ten in the evening they were passing Queenstown. Phileas Fogg had only twenty-four hours more in which to get to London; that length of time was necessary to reach Liverpool, with all steam on. And the steam was about to give out altogether!
`Sir,' said Captain Speedy, who was now deeply interested in Mr Fogg's project, `I really commiserate you. Everything is against you. We are only opposite Queenstown.'
`Ah,' said Mr Fogg, `is that place where we see the lights Queenstown?'
`Yes.'
`Can we enter the harbour?'
`Not under three hours. Only at high tide.'
`Stay,' replied Mr Fogg calmly, without betraying in his features that by a supreme inspiration he was about to attempt once more to conquer ill-fortune.
Queenstown is the Irish port at which the transatlantic steamers stop to put off the mails. These mails are carried to Dublin by express trains always held in readiness to start; from Dublin they are sent on to Liverpool by the most rapid boats, and thus gain twelve hours on the Atlantic steamers.
Phileas Fogg counted on gaining twelve hours in the same way. Instead of arriving at Liverpool the next evening by the `Henrietta', he would be there by noon, and would therefore have time to reach London before a quarter before nine in the evening.
The `Henrietta' entered Queenstown Harbour at one o'clock in the morning, it then being high tide; and Phileas Fogg, after being grasped heartily by the hand by Captain Speedy, left that gentleman on the levelled hulk of his craft, which was still worth half what he had sold it for.
The party went on shore at once. Fix was greatly tempted to arrest Mr Fogg on the spot; but he did not. Why? What struggle was going on within him? Had he changed his mind about `his man'? Did he understand that he had made a grave mistake? He did not, however, abandon Mr Fogg. They all got upon the train, which was just ready to start, at half-past one; at dawn of day they were in Dublin; and they lost no time in embarking on a steamer which, disdaining to rise upon the waves, invariably cut through them.
Phileas Fogg at last disembarked on the Liverpool quay, at twenty minutes before twelve, December 21st. He was only six hours distant from London.
But at this moment Fix came up, put his hand upon Mr Fogg's shoulder, and, showing his warrant, said, `You are really Phileas Fogg?'
`I am.'
`I arrest you in the Queen's name!'





第三十三章



一小时之后，亨利埃塔号经过赫德森河口的灯船，绕过沙钩角，驶入了大海。这一整天，轮船都是沿着长岛和火岛上的警标保持着一定距离，迅速向东方奔驰。
第二天是12月13号，中午，只见一个人走上舰桥测定方位。人们猜想那准是船长斯皮蒂。可是一点也没有猜对。那是斐利亚•福克。
至于船长斯皮蒂呢，他已经被十分稳妥地关在船长室里了，门外还上了锁。他在里头大喊大叫，几乎都气得发疯了。
事情的经过很简单。斐利亚•福克要到利物浦，船长就是不肯去，于是斐利亚•福克就答应去波尔多。上船之后，福克在这三十个小时当中，很成功地发动了他的英镑攻势。船上的船员从水手到司炉，都难免有点营私舞弊，何况他们本来跟船长就不大对劲，现在自然都站到福克一边了。这就说明了为什么斐利亚•福克会站在船长斯皮蒂的位子上发号施令，为什么斯皮蒂会被关在船长室里，以及为什么亨利埃塔号会开往利物浦。不过从福克先生在船上的操作来看，显然可以看出他过去一定当过海员。
这事的结局如何，留待后面再说。这时，艾娥达夫人虽然一句话没说，但心里少不了要替福克先生担忧；费克斯呢，他早就给搞得莫名其妙了，至于路路通，他倒觉得这件事办得太漂亮了。
船长斯皮蒂说过，亨利埃塔号的时速是十一至十二海里，实际上也确实保持了这样的平均速度。
如果——天晓得！现在还有这么多的“如果”！——如果气候不太坏，如果不起东风，如果船不出毛病，机器不发生障碍，亨利埃塔号从12月12号到21号这九天以内准能走完从纽约到利物浦的这三千海里的路程。不过，说老实话，一旦到了英国，要是把福克强夺亨利埃塔号这案件和英国银行失窃的案件加到一块儿，那准会叫这位绅士狼狈不堪。
最初几天，亨利埃塔号航行得非常顺利。海上风浪不大，一直是刮着西南风，亨利埃塔号张起群帆，有了前后樯两张大帆推动，它走得简直跟一艘横渡大西洋的客船一模一样。 路路通高兴死了。他主人的这条妙计简直使他太高兴了。至于后果如何，他根本连想都没想。船员们从来也没见过一个象路路通这样兴高采烈、活蹦乱跳的小伙子。他对水手们无限殷勤，他那翻跟斗的绝技更使他们吃惊。他一个劲儿跟他们说好话，请他们喝好酒。为了不辜负路路通的好意，水手们干起活来都象绅士一样非常认真。司炉们烧起火来象英雄一样不顾疲劳。路路通的这种乐观情绪使大家都受到感染。他这时已经把过去那些烦恼和危险都忘了。他一心只想到那个就要到达的目的地。有时他也会急不可耐，仿佛亨利埃塔号的锅炉就在他心里燃烧似的。这个好小伙子有时候也常在费克斯身旁走动，他看着费克斯，好象他有一肚子话想跟对方谈！但是他没有开腔，因为在这两个老朋友之间现在已经毫无交情可言了。
而费克斯呢，说真的他现在简直是给弄得莫名其妙了！亨利埃塔号被强夺了，船上的船员被收买了，这个福克在船上干起活来完全象是个老水手。这一连串的怪事弄得他如堕五里雾中。他真不知道该怎么想才好！但是，不论如何，这位绅士既然过去能盗窃五万五千英镑，今天他当然也能抢夺一条船。因此费克斯很自然地会认为福克掌握了这条亨利埃塔号也绝不会去利物浦，而只会去一个什么地方，到了那里，这个贼摇身一变就成了海盗，永远逍遥法外！应当承认，他这样猜测确实是很合情理的，侦探现在感到万分悔恨，悔不该上了福克的贼船。至于船长斯皮蒂，他还在他的船长室里发他的脾气；路路通负责照料船长的饮食，尽管这小伙子性格倔强，但是他对于这件差事还是做得小心翼翼的。再看看福克先生吧，他好象想也没想过在这条船上还有一个船长。
12月13号，轮船从新地岛附近经过，这一段很难航行。特别是冬季，这里经常是浓雾弥漫，风势凶猛。从昨天夜里开始，晴雨表上的水银柱就迅速下降，预示着气候即将发生变化。到了13号夜晚，天气果然变得更冷了，西北风也转为东南风了。
这真是“急行船偏遇打头风”。福克先生为了使船不离开原来的航线，只好卷起船帆，加大马力前进。由于海上气候的变化，无论如何，航行的速度总是减低了。滚滚的巨浪不停地冲击着船头，船身随着风浪前后颠簸，大大影响了前进的速度。海风越刮越凶，就要变成一阵飓风，眼看亨利埃塔号就会被海浪打得站不住了。可是，如果必须开船逃避飓风，那一切可能发生的不幸都会无法预测。
路路通的脸色随着天气的阴暗也变得非常忧郁了。两天以来，这个诚实的小伙子一直是在提心吊胆。但是，斐利亚•福克真不愧是一位勇敢的海员，他善于跟大海搏斗，他一直指挥着船前进，甚至连速度也不肯降低。每当大浪卷来，亨利埃塔号无力冲上浪峰时，就从巨浪下穿行，整个甲板都受到了海水的冲洗，但是船却照样过去了。有时，巨浪象大山一样将船尾高高抬起，这时，螺旋推进器就露出了水面，立刻发生剧烈的空转，但是船却照样一直不停地前进。
其实，大风并没有象人们预料的那样凶猛。这次刮的并不是那种时速高达九十英里的飓风。它只是一种强风。但是很糟糕的是风向不变，一直是从东南往西北刮，船帆一点也使不上。从眼前和今后的情况看来，都说明船上的机器极需要船帆的帮助！
12月16号，这是福克先生离开伦敦的第七十五天。总的说来亨利埃塔号还没有发生令人忧虑的耽搁。一半的航程已经差不多走完了，那些最难航行的地方也已经过去了。现在如果是夏天，那就可以说成功在望了，但现在是冬天，那还得听凭这个坏季节摆布。路路通一句话不说，但他心里却觉得很有希望。他认为即使没有顺风，还可以依靠机器。可是，就在这一天，船上的机务员到甲板上来找福克先生，他很激动地跟福克先生谈了半天。路路通不知道为什么，很可能是由于一种预感，使他觉得有点莫名其妙的担心。他真恨不得把两只耳朵的听力都集中到一个耳朵上，好听听他们谈些什么。他到底还是听见了几句，其中有这么一句，那是他主人说的：
“你刚才说的这些，你都拿得准吗？”
“当然拿得准了，先生，”机务员回答说，“您别忘了，我们从开船到现在所有的锅炉都是烧满火。如果说我们的煤烧小火足够从纽约开到波尔多，那么我们就没有足够的煤烧大火从纽约开到利物浦！”
“好吧，我考虑一下。”福克先生回答说。
现在路路通明白了，他感到万分忧虑，因为煤要烧光了！
“嘿！要是我的主人能解决了这个问题，”他心里说，“那他可就真是个了不起的人！”
路路通碰见了费克斯，他忍不住把这情况告诉他了。
“那末，”费克斯咬着牙回答说，“您真以为我们要上利物浦去吗？”
“当然了！”
“傻瓜！”侦探说罢，耸耸肩膀，走开了。
路路通当时就要认真地质问费克斯“傻瓜”是什么意思，他确实不知道费克斯这句话是指什么说的，但是，他心里想，这个倒霉蛋费克斯现在一定是很懊丧，他愚笨地盯着一个自己假想的小愉在地球上兜了一圈，临了还得自己认错，这一定使他的自尊心受到了很大的打击。
现在斐利亚•福克打算怎么办呢？这真是很难猜测的。不过，看样子这位冷静的绅士是想出一个办法了，因为，就在这天晚上，他把司机找来，对他说：
“烧大火，开足马力前进，等煤烧完了再说。”
过了一会，亨利埃塔号的烟筒又冒出了滚滚的黑烟。
轮船又继续以最高的速度前进了。但是，正如机务员说过的那样，两天之后，12月18号，他通知福克先生说，煤已经不够今天烧的了。
“别压小炉火，”福克先生回答说，“相反地，现在要继续烧大火，煤烧光以前不能让机器停下来。”
这一天，快到中午的时候，斐利亚•福克测量了水深和计算了船的方位之后，就把路路通叫来，叫他去把船长斯皮蒂请来。这个小伙子现在就好象是奉命去打开一个老虎笼子似的。他走进了后舱，心里说：
“不用说，这家伙准会大发雷霆！”
果然不错，过了几分钟，只见一个人，连叫带骂，活象一颗炸弹似的跳到后舱甲板上来了。这颗炸弹就是船长斯皮蒂。显然它是马上就要爆炸了。
“我们到了哪儿了？”他气急败坏地嚷着说。这是他的第一句话。说真话，这个老实人要是万一现在带着这股气劲中风晕过去了，那他准不会再活过来了。
“我们到了哪儿了？”他重复着问，脸都气紫了。
“距离利物浦七百七十海里（合三百法里）。”福克先生非常沉着地回答说。
“海盗！”安鸠•斯皮蒂喊着说。
“先生，我把您请来……”
“你是海盗！”
“我把您请来，”斐利亚•福克说，“是要请您答应把船卖给我。”
“不卖，见你的鬼去吧，我不卖！”
“因为我要烧掉它。”
“什么？要烧我的船！？”
“是的，至少把船面上的装备烧掉，因为现在没有煤了。”
“啊！烧掉我的船？”船长斯皮蒂叫着说，他简直气得话也说不上来了。“我这条船足足要值五万美元（合二十五万法郎）！”
“喏，这是六万美元（合三十万法郎）！”斐利亚•福克回答说，同时递给船长一叠钞票。 福克先生这一手在安鸩•斯皮蒂身上产生了一种奇妙无比的效果。没有一个美国人看见这六万美元会毫不动心。转眼之间，船长已经忘掉了他的愤怒，忘掉了那好几天的禁闭，也忘掉了对福克先生的怨恨。他的船已经用了二十年了，这样的买卖简直太好了！……这个炸弹是再也不会爆炸了，因为福克先生把雷管给拔了。
“那您可把铁船壳给我留下来啊。”船长用非常温和的语气说。
“铁船壳和机器都留给您，先生。咱们算讲好了？”
“讲好了。”
安鸠•斯皮蒂抓起那一叠钞票数了一下，装进了口袋。
路路通看了这个场面脸都给吓白了。费克斯只差一点没晕过去。福克到现在差不多已花了两万英镑。可是这个福克他还把铁船壳和机器白送给船长，那就是说差不多白送了他一条船的全部价钱！说实话，他是不在乎的，因为他从银行偷来的钱总数达五万五千英镑！ 等安鸠•斯皮蒂把钞票装进衣袋之后，福克先生说：
“先生，您别为这事感到奇怪，您要知道我如果在12月21号晚上八点四十五分不能回到伦敦，那我就会损失两万英镑。因为我在纽约没赶上船，而您又不肯送我到利物浦……” “我这笔生意也作得挺满意，”安鸠•斯皮蒂大声说，“这五万块美钞，我至少能赚四万。”
接着他又加重语气地说：
“告诉您啊，我现在觉得……哦，我忘了，您贵姓，船长？”
“福克。”
“对了，福克船长，我觉得您真有点‘洋乞’的作风。”
斯皮蒂就这样对福克说了几句自以为是恭维的话之后，就走开了。但是斐利亚•福克这时又问他一句：
“现在这条船就算归我了？”
“当然了，当然了，一言为定，从上到下，所有‘木柴’，都归您！”
“好吧，请您叫人先把船舱里所有的家具门窗劈碎，烧锅炉。”
于是船员们就根据机器马力的需要烧起这些干柴来了。就在当天，尾楼、工作室、客舱、船员宿舍、下甲板统统给烧光了。
第二天是12月19号，又烧完了桅杆、桅架和所有备用的木料。帆架也都放倒了，被斧头劈碎。船员们干起活来一个个都积极得无以复加。路路通用刀劈，使斧砍，拿锯拉，一个人干了十个人的活儿。这简直是一场疯狂的破坏。
第三天，12月20号，舷木、档板，以及其他在吃水部位以上木头装备和一大部分甲板，统统烧光了。亨利埃塔号现在成了光秃秃的趸船了。就在这一天，爱尔兰海岸和法斯乃特的灯塔已经遥遥在望了。但是一直到晚上十点钟，亨利埃塔号才经过昆斯敦。现在距离斐利亚•福克预定到达伦敦的时间，只有二十四小时了。目前正是需要亨利埃塔号以最快的速度赶到利物浦的时候。但是，锅炉里蒸气不足，无法满足这位大胆绅士的愿望。
“先生，”船长斯皮蒂终于也为福克操起心来了，这时他对福克先生说：“我真替您着急啊，一切情况都对您不利！我们现在才到昆斯敦外海。”
“哦！”福克先生说，“前面的灯光就是昆斯敦吗？”
“是啊。”
“我们能进港吗？”
“至少得等三个钟头，只有满潮的时候才能开进去。”
“那就等吧！”斐利亚•福克安静地回答说。这时有一种非常的灵感促使他去再一次战胜当前的困难！但是他脸上没有露出任何不平常的表情。
昆斯敦是爱尔兰海岸的一个港口。从美国越过大西洋到欧洲来的船，经过此地时就卸下邮件，这些邮件从此地随时都可以搭快车运往都柏林，再从都柏林装快船运到利物浦，这样就比海运公司最快的船还要快十二小时。从美洲来的邮件就是这样节省了十二小时。斐利亚•福克今天也想照样干一下。本来坐亨利埃塔号要明天晚上才能到利物浦，现在他明天中午就能赶到，因此就来得及在明天晚上八点四十五分以前到达伦敦。
半夜一点钟亨利埃塔号乘着满潮开进了昆斯敦的港口。船长斯皮蒂热情地跟斐利亚•福克握手告别。福克先生让船长留在他那条光秃秃的铁船壳上。实际上这条秃船依旧足值三万美元。
四位旅客立即离船登陆了。这时费克斯真很想逮捕福克，可是他没有动手！为什么呢？他脑子里在进行着什么样的思想斗争呢？难道他现在跟福克先生站在一边了吗？他现在知道是自己弄错了吗？不管怎样，费克斯反正是不放弃福克先生。他跟着他，跟着艾娥达夫人，跟着忙得连喘气的功夫也没有的那个路路通。费克斯跟着他们在一点半钟上了昆斯敦的火车。天刚亮的时候就到了都柏林，马上又搭上了轮渡汽船。这里的渡船往来象钢梭一样快，这些船上面满是机械设备，它们若无其事地在浪头上飞驰，以轻盈平稳的姿态跨过爱尔兰海峡。
12月21号，十一点四十分，斐利亚•福克终于到达了利物浦的码头。此去只需要六个小时就能到达伦敦。
但是，正在这个时候，费克斯走过来了，他一手抓住福克的肩膀，一手拿出了拘票： “您确实是斐利亚•福克先生吗？”他问斐利亚•福克。
“是的，先生。”
“我以女皇政府的名义通知您：您被捕了！”
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 34楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0


CHAPTER 34



Phileas Fogg was in prison. He had been shut up in the Custom House, and he was to be transferred to London the next day.
Passepartout, when he saw his master arrested, would have fallen upon Fix had he not been held back by some policemen. Aouda was thunderstruck at the suddenness of an event which she could not understand. Passepartout explained to her how it was that the honest and courageous Fogg was arrested as a robber. The young woman's heart revolted against so heinous a charge, and when she saw that she could attempt or do nothing to save her protector, she wept bitterly.
As for Fix, he had arrested Mr Fogg because it was his duty, whether Mr Fogg were guilty or not.
The thought then struck Passepartout, that he was the cause of this new misfortune! Had he not concealed Fix's errand from his master? When Fix revealed his true character and purpose, why had he not told Mr Fogg? If the latter had been warned, he would no doubt have given Fix proof of his innocence, and satisfied him of his mistake; at least, Fix would not have continued his journey at the expense and on the heels of his master, only to arrest him the moment he set foot on English soil. Passepartout wept till he was blind, and felt like blowing his brains out.
Aouda and he had remained, despite the cold, under the portico of the Custom House. Neither wished to leave the place; both were anxious to see Mr Fogg again.
That gentleman was really ruined, and that at the moment when he was about to attain his end. This arrest was fatal. Having arrived at Liverpool at twenty minutes before twelve on the 21st of December, he had till a quarter before nine that evening to reach the Reform Club, that is, nine hours and a quarter; the journey from Liverpool to London was six hours.
If anyone, at this moment, had entered the Custom House, he would have found Mr Fogg seated, motionless, calm, and without apparent anger, upon a wooden bench. He was not, it is true, resigned; but this last blow failed to force him into an outward betrayal of any emotion. Was he being devoured by one of those secret rages, all the more terrible because contained, and which only burst forth, with an irresistible force, at the last moment? No one could tell. There he sat, calmly waiting - for what? Did he still cherish hope? Did he still believe, now that the door of this prison was closed upon him, that he would succeed?
However that may have been, Mr Fogg carefully put his watch upon the table, and observed its advancing hands. Not a word escaped his lips, but his look was singularly set and stern. The situation, in any event, was a terrible one, and might be thus stated: If Phileas Fogg was honest he was ruined; if he was a knave, he was caught.
Did escape occur to him? Did he examine to see if there were any practicable outlet from his prison? Did he think of escaping from it? Possibly; for once he walked slowly around the room. But the door was locked, and the window heavily barred with iron rods. He sat down again, and drew his journal from his pocket. On the line where these words were written, `December 21st, Saturday, Liverpool,' he added, `80th day, 11.40 a.m.,' and waited.
The Custom House clock struck one. Mr Fogg observed that his watch was two hours too fast.
Two hours! Admitting that he was at this moment taking an express train; he could reach London and the Reform Club by a quarter before nine, P.M. His forehead slightly wrinkled.
At thirty-three minutes past two he heard a singular noise outside, then a hasty opening of doors. Passepartout's voice was audible, and immediately after that of Fix. Phileas Fogg's eyes brightened for an instant.
The door swung open, and he saw Passepartout, Aouda and Fix, who hurried towards him.
Fix was out of breath, and his hair was in disorder. He could not speak. `Sir,' he stammered, `Sir - forgive me - a most - unfortunate resemblance - robber arrested three days ago - you - are free!'
Phileas Fogg was free! He walked to the detective, looked him steadily in the face, and with the only rapid motion he had ever made in his life, or which he ever would make, drew back his arms, and with the precision of a machine, knocked Fix down.
`Well hit!' cried Passepartout. `Parbleu! that's what you might call a good application of English fists!'
Fix, who found himself on the floor, did not utter a word. He had only received his deserts. Mr Fogg, Aouda and Passepartout left the Custom House without delay, got into a cab, and in a few moments descended at the station.
Phileas Fogg asked if there was an express train about to leave for London. It was forty minutes past two. The express train had left thirty-five minutes before.
Phileas Fogg then ordered a special train.
There were several rapid locomotives on hand; but the railway arrangements did not permit the special train to leave until three o'clock.
At that hour Phileas Fogg, having stimulated the engineer by the offer of a generous reward, at last set out towards London with Aouda and his faithful servant.
It was necessary to make the journey in five hours and a half; and this would have been easy on a clear road throughout. But there were forced delays, and when Mr Fogg stepped from the train at the terminus, all the clocks in London were striking ten minutes before nine.
Having made the tour of the world, he was behindhand five minutes. He had lost the wager!





第三十四章



斐利亚•福克被押起来了。他被关在利物浦海关大楼的一间屋子里。他得在那儿过一夜，等明天押往伦敦。
当福克先生被捕的时候，路路通要上去跟侦探拼命。但是来了几个警察把他拉开了。这件突如其来的暴行把艾娥达给吓怔了，她莫名其妙，一点也不明白是怎么回事。路路通把情况告诉了她。福克先生，这样一位正直、勇敢的绅士，她的救命恩人，居然被人当小偷抓起来了。年轻的夫人坚决地抗议这种污蔑。她非常气愤。当她觉得自己又无能为力的时候，她的眼泪不住地从脸上流了下来。
至于费克斯，他逮捕福克，那完全是因为职责所在，不得不这样作，可是，福克到底有没有罪，那将由法院来决定。
这时路路通忽然想起了一件事，这件事肯定是目前这一切不幸的根源！到底我为什么要一直对福克先生隐瞒住费克斯的身份呢？当费克斯对我说明了他是警察厅密探和他的任务的时候，为什么我一点也不告诉我主人呢？要是他事先知道了他一定会提出证据说明自己的身份，指出对方的误会；那样一来，福克先生决不会再为这个一心等待踏上英国领土，立即动手抓人的祸害精侦探出旅费了。而费克斯也就不会死跟在他后边了。可怜的小伙子一想到自己的这些错误和疏忽，就后悔得要死。他哭了。他痛苦万分，他恨不得一头撞死！他和艾娥达夫人不顾严寒的天气，还留在海关外面的走廊里，希望能再见福克先生一面。
至于这位绅上，他毫无疑问是完全垮了。他是在马上就要成功的时候垮了。这次可真把他弄得一败涂地，无法挽回了。12月21号十一点四十分到达了利物浦，离开八点四十五分他预定要回到改良俱乐部的时候还足有九个小时零四十五分，而坐火车到伦敦只需要六个小时。
这时谁要走进海关办事处的这间房子里，就会看见福克先生一动不动地坐在一张长凳上，安安静静地一点也不着急。虽然不能说他是“听天由命”，但是，至少在外表上，这个意外的打击确实没有使他惊慌失措。难道他现在还有必然胜利的把握吗？这一点谁也不知道。但福克确实是很安详地在那儿等待着……他在等什么呢？他还没死心吗？在他进了这间拘留室，就被锁在里面的时候，难道他还认为自己的旅行计划能胜利完成吗？
不管怎样，福克先生依然是把他的表规规矩矩地放到一张桌子上，看着表针在走动。他半句话也不说，他的目光非常集中，一动也不动。
总之，当前的情况是很可怕的。如果看不出福克内心深处的打算，这种情况就会使你得出这样的结论：
福克先生如果真是个正人君子，那他现在算是给毁了。
如果他真是小偷，那他现在已经是被逮住了。
他是不是打算逃跑？他是不是想在这屋里找条可逃的路？他想逃吗？人们也许可以这样怀疑他，因为他曾在屋子里兜了一个时候。但是门锁得很紧，窗子上都装着铁栏杆。结果他又坐下来了。他从皮夹里取出了他的旅行计划表，上面最后一行写着：“12月21日，星期六到达利物浦。”他在“星期六”底下又接着写了下面几个字：“上午十一点四十分，第八十天。”
海关大楼的大钟敲了一点。福克先生对了一下自己的表，他的表快了两分钟。
打两点了！要是他现在能搭上快车，他还能在晚上八点四十五分之前到达伦敦，赶到改良俱乐部！他轻轻皱了皱眉头……
在两点三十三分的时候，只听外面一阵喧哗，接着传来开门的响声。斐利亚•福克听见路路通的声音，又听见了费克斯的声音，他的眼睛兴奋地闪动了一下。
屋门打开了，他看见了艾娥达夫人、路路通和费克斯朝他跑了过来。费克斯已经是上气不接下气了，头发乱得象一团麻线……连话也说不上来了！
“先生，”他结结巴巴地说，“先生……请——请您原谅……因为有个小偷太象您了……这家伙在三天之前已经被捕了……您……您现在没事儿了！……”
斐利亚•福克自由了！他走近了这个侦探，死盯着侦探的脸，他用很快的动作，这动作是他从来没有过的，也许在他一生中也是第一次，说时迟，那时快，他先把两臂向后一晃，非常准确地对着这个倒霉的密探狠狠地打了两拳。
“揍得好！”路路通叫着说，接着他又说了一句尖刻的俏皮话，他不愧是个法国人，他说：“喏，看见吗？这才真是那种有名的英国拳术表演呢！”
费克斯被打翻了，他一句话也没说，这是他自作自受自遭殃。福克先生、艾娥达夫人和路路通马上离开了海关，跳上了一辆马车，几分钟之后，就到了利物浦的车站。
斐利亚•福克打听有没有马上开往伦敦去的快车……这时已是两点四十分了……快车在三十五分钟之前已经开出去了。
斐利亚•福克这时就要租专车。
本来站上有几辆速度很高的机车，但是按照铁路规章，在三点钟以前不能开专车。
三点钟，斐利亚，福克跟司机说了几句话，许了他一笔奖金，福克先生带着艾娥达夫人和他的忠实仆人，坐着火车飞快地开往伦敦去了。火车必须在五个半小时之内跑完这一段从利物浦到伦敦的铁路，如果沿途不错车，能一直不停地开，赶到伦敦还是很可能的，但是路上偏偏又有些耽搁，当这位绅上到达终点车站时，伦敦市所有的大钟都指着九点差十分。斐利亚•福克完成了他的环绕地球的旅行，但是迟到了五分钟！……
他输了。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 35楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0


CHAPTER 35



The dwellers in Saville Row would have been surprised, the next day, if they had been told that Phileas Fogg had returned home. His doors and windows were still closed; no appearance of change was visible.
After leaving the station, Mr Fogg gave Passepartout instructions to purchase some provisions, and quietly went to his domicile.
He bore his misfortune with his habitual tranquillity. Ruined! And by the blundering of the detective! After having steadily traversed that long journey, overcome a hundred obstacles, braved many dangers, and still found time to do some good on his way, to fail near the goal by a sudden event which he could not have foreseen, and against which he was unarmed; it was terrible! But a few pounds were left of the large sum he had carried with him. There only remained of his fortune the twenty thousand pounds deposited at Barings, and this amount he owed to his friends of the Reform Club. So great had been the expense of his tour, that, even had he won, it would not have enriched him; and it is probable that he had not sought to enrich himself, being a man who rather laid wagers for honour's sake than for the stake proposed. But this wager totally ruined him.
Mr Fogg's course, however, was fully decided upon; he knew what remained for him to do.
A room in the house in Saville Row was set apart for Aouda, who was overwhelmed with grief at her protector's misfortune. From the words which Mr Fogg dropped, she saw that he was meditating some serious project.
Knowing that Englishmen governed by a fixed idea sometimes resort to the desperate expedient of suicide, Passepartout kept a narrow watch upon his master, though he carefully concealed the appearance of so doing.
First of all, the worthy fellow had gone up to his room, and had extinguishede gas burner, which - had been burning for eighty days. He had found in the letter-box a bill from the gas company, and he thought it more than time to put a stop to this expense, which he had been doomed to bear.
The night passed. Mr Fogg went to bed, but did he sleep? Aouda did not once close her eyes. Passepartout watched all night, like a faithful dog, at his master's door.
Mr Fogg called him in the morning, and told him to get Aouda's breakfast, and a cup of tea and a chop for himself. He desired Aouda to excuse him from breakfast and dinner, as his time would be absorbed all day in putting his affairs to rights. In the evening he would ask permission to have a few moments' conversation with the young lady.
Passepartout, having received his orders, had nothing to do but obey them. He looked at his imperturbable master, and could scarcely bring his mind to leave him. His heart was full, and his conscience tortured by remorse; for he accused himself more bitterly than ever of being the cause of the irretrievable disaster. Yes! if he had warned Mr Fogg, and had betrayed Fix's projects to him, his master would certainly not have given the detective passage to Liverpool, and then--
Passepartout could hold in no longer.
`My master! Mr Fogg!' he cried. `Why do you not curse me? It was my fault that--'
`I blame no one,' returned Phileas Fogg, with perfect calmness. `Go!'
Passepartout left the room, and went to find Aouda, to whom he delivered his master's message.
`Madam,' he added, `I can do nothing myself - nothing! I have no influence over my master; but you, perhaps--'
`What influence could I have?' replied Aouda. `Mr Fogg is influenced by no one. Has he ever understood that my gratitude to him is overflowing? Has he ever read my heart? My friend, he must not be left alone an instant! You say he is going to speak with me this evening?'
`Yes, madam; probably to arrange for your protection and comfort in England.'
`We shall see,' replied Aouda, becoming suddenly pensive.
Throughout this day (Sunday) the house in Saville Row was as if uninhabited, and Phileas Fogg, for the first time since he had lived in that house, did not set out for his club when Westminster clock struck half-past eleven.
Why should he present himself at the Reform? His friends no longer expected him there. As Phileas Fogg had not appeared in the saloon on the evening before (Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine), he had lost his wager. It was not even necessary that he should go to his bankers for the twenty thousand pounds; for his antagonists already had his cheque in their hands, and they had only to fill it out and send it to the Barings to have the amount transferred to their credit.
Mr Fogg, therefore, had no reason for going out, and so he remained at home. He shut himself up in his room, and busied himself putting his affairs in order. Passepartout continually ascended and descended the stairs. The hours were long for him. He listened at his master's door, and looked through the keyhole, as if he had a perfect right so to do, and as if he feared that something terrible might happen at any moment. Sometimes he thought of Fix, but no longer in anger. Fix, like all the world, had been mistaken in Phileas Fogg, and had only done his duty in tracking and arresting him; while he, Passepartout - . This thought haunted him, and he never ceased cursing his miserable folly.
Finding himself too wretched to remain alone, he knocked at Aouda's door, went into her room, seated himself, without speaking, in a corner, and looked ruefully at the young woman. Aouda was still pensive.
About half-past seven in the evening Mr Fogg sent to know if Aouda would receive him, and in a few moments he found himself alone with her.
Phileas Fogg took a chair, and sat down near the fireplace, opposite Aouda. No emotion was visible on his face. Fogg returned was exactly the Fogg who had gone away; there was the same calm, the same impassibility.
He sat several minutes without speaking; then, bending his eyes on Aouda, `Madam,' said he, `will you pardon me for bringing you to England?'
`I, Mr Fogg!' replied Aouda, checking the pulsations of her heart.
`Please let me finish,' returned Mr Fogg. `When I decided to bring you far away from the country which was so unsafe for you, I was rich, and counted on putting a portion of my fortune at your disposal; then your existence would have been free and happy. But now I am ruined.'
`I know it, Mr Fogg,' replied Aouda; `and I ask you in my turn, will you forgive me for having followed you, and - who knows? - for having, perhaps, delayed you, and thus contributed to your ruin?'
`Madam, you could not remain in India, and your safety could only be assured by bringing you to such a distance that your persecutors could not take you.'
`So, Mr Fogg,' resumed Aouda, `not content with rescuing me from a terrible death, you thought yourself bound to secure my comfort in a foreign land?'
`Yes, madam; but circumstances have been against me. Still, I beg to place the little I have left at your service.'
`But what will become of you, Mr Fogg?'
`As for me, madam,' replied the gentleman, coldly, `I have need of nothing.'
`But how do you look upon the fate, sir, which awaits you?'
`As I am in the habit of doing.'
`At least,' said Aouda, `want should not overtake a man like you. Your friends--'
`I have no friends, madam.'
`Your relatives--'
`I have no longer any relatives.'
`I pity you, then, Mr Fogg, for solitude is a sad thing, with no heart to which to confide your griefs. They say, though, that misery itself, shared by two sympathetic souls may be borne with patience.
`They say so, madam.'
`Mr Fogg,' said Aouda, rising and seizing his hand, `do you wish at once a kinswoman and friend? Will you have me for your wife?'
Mr Fogg, at this, rose in turn. There was an unwonted light in his eyes, and slight trembling of his lips. Aouda looked into his face. The sincerity, rectitude, firmness and sweetness of this soft glance of a noble woman, who could dare all to save him to whom she owed all, at first astonished, then penetrated him. He shut his eyes for an instant, as if to avoid her look. When he opened them again, `I love you!' he said, simply. `Yes, by all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours!'
`Ah!' cried Aouda, pressing his hand to her heart.
Passepartout was summoned and appeared immediately. Mr Fogg still held Aouda's hand in his own; Passepartout understood, and his big, round face became as radiant as the tropical sun at its zenith.
Mr Fogg asked him if it was not too late to notify the Reverend Samuel Wilson, of Marylebone Parish, that evening.
Passepartout smiled his most genial smile, and said, `Never too late.'
It was five minutes past eight.
`Will it be for tomorrow, Monday?'
`For tomorrow, Monday,' said Fogg, turning to Aouda.
`Yes; for tomorrow, Monday,' she replied.
Passepartout hurried off as fast as his legs could carry him.




第三十五章



第二天，如果有人告诉赛微乐街的居民说福克先生已经回家了，那他们一定会感到非常奇怪。因为门和窗户都照样关着，外面看来没有一点变化。实际上，斐利亚•福克离开车站之后就叫路路通去买些吃的东西，自己就跟艾娥达夫人直接回家了。
这位绅士受了这次打击仍然和往常一样不动声色。他垮台了！都是那笨蛋侦探的罪过！
他在这次漫长的旅途中稳步前进，他扫除了无数障碍，经历了无数危险，路上还抽出时间做了些好事，然而，就在大功告成的时候，却碰上了这一场突如其来的祸事，使他一败涂地，不可收拾，这样的结局太可怕了！他离开伦敦时带了那么多钱，如今只剩下一点点儿了。他的全部财产就只是存在巴林兄弟那儿的两万英镑了。而这两万英镑还要付给改良俱乐部的那些会友。按照旅途中他花的这么多钱来说，即使是赌赢了，他也赚不到钱。显然福克先生决不是为赢钱才打赌的，他打赌是为了荣誉；但是这一回要是输了，他就会彻底破产，再说，这位绅士的命运现在已经决定了。他很清楚自己该如何处理善后问题。
艾娥达夫人住在赛微乐街福克先生特为她准备的一间房子里。她很难过，因为从福克先生说的一些话中，她已经了解到他正在考虑着一个伤心的计划。
实际上，我们知道，象他这样一个性情孤僻的英国人，有时思想钻进了牛角尖，就会选择一条极端悲惨的出路。因此路路通表面上装得若无其事，暗地却时刻注意着他的主人。不过，这个忠实的小伙子还是先回到自己的房里，把那个开了八十天的煤气龙头关上，他在信箱里拿到一份煤气公司缴费通知单。他觉得这一笔应该归他付账的煤气费该到此为止了。
这一夜过去了。福克先生也照常睡了。不过，他是否睡着了，这还是一个疑问。而艾娥达夫人是一刻也不能合眼，至于路路通，他象一条狗似的守在主人的房门口，怕发生什么意外。
第二天早晨，福克先生把路路通叫来，很简单地吩咐他去给艾娥达夫人预备午饭，他自己只要一杯茶和一片烤面包。艾娥达夫人一点也不怨他不能陪自己吃午饭和晚饭，因为他要用全部时间处理一些事务。他今天一天都不下楼，但是他希望晚上艾娥达夫人能跟他谈一会儿。
路路通接受了主人吩咐，这一天的工作日程已经算是排定了，只要照办就行了。他望着这位永远没有表情的主人，他还不想离开主人的房间。这次无可挽回的祸事使他的心情很沉重；他的良心深感不安，他不住地在怨恨自己。可不是！如果他把侦探费克斯的阴谋早告诉福克先生，如果他把这事预先向自己主人揭露，福克先生就决不会把侦探带到利物浦，那么也就不会……
路路通难过得简直受不了了。
“我的主人！福克先生！”他叫着说，“您骂我吧！这都是我的错……”
“我谁也不怨，”斐利亚•福克用非常镇静的语气说，“你去吧。”
路路通离开了主人的房间，见了艾娥达夫人，向她传达了福克先生的话，然后他又接着说：
“夫人，我自己是一点儿办法也没有了！我对他的情绪不能发生一点影响，也许您能……”
“我对他又能发生什么影响呢？”艾娥达夫人说，“福克先生是一点也不会受我的影响的！我对他这种万分感激的心情，他知道吗？他了解我的心吗？……我的朋友，您快回去吧！一刻也别离开他。您说他今天晚上想跟我谈谈吗？”
“是的，夫人，我想一定是跟您商量今后您在英国待下去的问题。”
“好吧，”艾娥达夫人说，她显然是在沉思着。
今天这个星期日，赛微乐街的这所房子一整天都是这样沉寂，就好象里面没有住人似的。当国会大厦钟楼上的大钟打十一点半的时候，斐利亚•福克并没到俱乐部去，自从他住进这所房子以来这还是头一次。
这位绅士再到改良俱乐部去干什么呢？他的同僚们已经不在那里等他了。因为昨天晚上是星期六，在这个决定命运的12月21日八点四十五分斐利亚•福克没有回到改良俱乐部大厅，他的赌注已经输了。他也不必再到巴林兄弟银行去取他那两万英镑了。那些跟他打赌的对手手里有一张他签的支票，只要很简单地在巴林兄弟银行办一下过户手续，那两万英镑就转到他们的账上了。
福克先生既然没有必要出门，所以他就不出去。他待在自己房间里，安排自己的事。路路通在赛微乐街住宅里，不停地楼上楼下地忙着。这个小伙子觉得时间过得太慢了。他过一会儿就到他主人房门口听听。他提醒自己千万不能有一点疏忽大意！他从钥匙孔向屋子里偷看，他认为这是自己的责任！路路通时时刻刻都在担心着怕会发生什么不幸。有时他又想起了费克斯。但是，他心里对费克斯的看法现在也转变了，他不再怨恨这个警察厅密探。因为费克斯是出于误会，这和其他的人对斐利亚•福克发生误会一样。他跟踪福克先生，并且把他逮捕，这不过是履行他自己的职务；可是我路路通干的是什么呢？……这个思想使他痛苦死了。他觉得自己是最大的罪人。最后，路路通感到一个人实在太痛苦了，他就去敲艾娥达夫人的门，他进了她的房间，坐在角落里一句话也不说，望着心事重重的艾娥达夫人。将近七点半钟的时候，福克先生叫路路通去问一下艾娥达夫人现在是否可以接见他，过了一会儿，房间里只剩下艾娥达夫人和福克先生了。
斐利亚•福克面对着艾娥达夫人坐在壁炉旁边一把椅子上。他脸上一点激动的表情也没有。旅行归来的福克和从伦敦出发时的福克一模一样，依然那样安详，那样镇静。他坐在那里足有五分钟没讲一句话。最后，他终于抬起头来望着艾娥达夫人说：
“夫人，您能原谅我把您带到英国来吗？”
“我，福克先生！……”艾娥达夫人压制着自己那颗在剧烈跳动的心，回答说。
“请您听我说完，”福克先生说，“当我决定把您从那个对您说来是非常危险的地方带出来的时候，我还是个有钱的人。当时我打算把自己的一部分财产分给您。那么您的生活就会很自在，很幸福。可是现在，我已经破产了。”
“这我知道，福克先生，”年轻的夫人说，“请您让我问您一句：天知道，也许正是因为我在路上拖累了您，耽搁了您的时间以致让您破了产，您能原谅我吗？”
“夫人，您不能留在印度，您只有离开那些狂热的宗教徒，他们才不会再抓到您，您的安全才能得到保障。”
“可是，您，福克先生，您已经把我从可怕的死亡里救了出来，可是您还不满意，您还一定要使我在外国有一个安定的生活。”
“是的，夫人，”福克先生说，“可是，事情的发展却完全跟我主观的愿望相反。目前我只剩下很少的一点财产，我请求您答应接受这一点财产，作为您今后的生活费用。”“可是，您呢？福克先生，您以后怎么办呢？”艾娥达夫人说。
“我，夫人，”这位绅士冷静地说，“我什么也不需要。”
“可是，先生，您怎么去应付您当前的情况呢？”
“该怎么办就怎么办吧。”福克先生回答说。
“不过，”艾娥达夫人说，“象您这样的人是不会没有出路的。您的朋友们应该……”“我一个朋友也没有，夫人。”
“您没有别的亲属吗……”
“我已经没有任何亲人了。”
“那我真替您难过，福克先生，因为孤独是很痛苦的。难道您就没有一个亲人能分担您的痛苦吗？可是人们常说，痛苦似重担，两人来分摊，强似一人担。”
“是的，夫人，有这句话。”
“福克先生，”艾娥达夫人这时站起来把手伸给福克先生，接着说，“您愿不愿我做您的朋友，同时又做您的亲人？您愿不愿意我做您的妻子？”
听了这句话，福克先生跟着也站了起来。他的眼睛闪耀着一种不同寻常的光彩，他的嘴唇在颤动。艾娥达夫人望着他，从这位尊贵夫人的那双妩媚动人的眼睛里，流露出诚恳、直率、坚定和温柔的感情。艾娥达夫人为援救这位曾经为她赴汤蹈火的绅士，她什么都敢作。她那脉脉含情的目光最初使福克先生感到突然，接着他整个心都被这目光浸透了。福克的眼睛闭了一会儿，仿佛要避开她那美丽动人的目光，使它们不再继续深入……当他重睁开眼睛时，他说：
“我爱您！”他简单地说，“是的，说实在话，我愿在世界上最神圣的真主上帝的面前对您说：我爱您，我完全是您的！”
“哦！……”艾娥达夫人把手压在自己心上，激动地说。
路路通听到屋子里打铃叫他，他马上进来了。福克先生仍然在握着艾娥达夫人的手。路路通心里早明白了，他那张大脸高兴得就象热带地平线上的夕阳，又圆又红又亮。
福克先生问路路通现在到马利勒坡纳教堂去请萨缪尔•威尔逊神甫是不是太晚了。
路路通高兴得连嘴也合不拢了。
“什么时候也不会太晚！”他说。
“那么我们就在明天，星期一，好吗？”福克先生望着艾娥达夫人说。
“就在明天星期一吧！”艾娥达夫人回答说。
路路通急忙跑出去了。
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 36楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0

CHAPTER 36



It is time to relate what a change took place in English public opinion, when it transpired that the real bankrobber, a certain James Strand, had been arrested, on the 17th of December, at Edinburgh. Three days before, Phileas Fogg had been a criminal, who was being desperately followed up by the police; now he was an honourable gentleman, mathematically pursuing his eccentric journey round the world.
The papers resumed their discussion about the wager; all those who had laid bets, for or against him, revived their interest, as if by magic; the `Phileas Fogg bends' again became negotiable, and many new wagers were made. Phileas Fogg's name was once more at a premium on 'Change.
His five friends of the Reform Club passed these three days in a state of feverish suspense. Would Phileas Fogg, whom they had forgotten, reappear before their eyes! Where was he at this moment? The 17th of December, the day of James Strand's arrest, was the seventy-sixth since Phileas Fogg's departure, and no news of him had been received. Was he dead? Had he abandoned the effort, or was he continuing his journey along the route agreed upon? And would he appear on Saturday, the 21st of December, at a quarter before nine in the evening, on the threshold of the Reform Club saloon?
The anxiety in which, for three days, London society existed, cannot be described. Telegrams were sent to America and Asia for news of Phileas Fogg. Messengers were despatched to the house in Saville Row morning and evening. No news. The police were ignorant what had become of the detective, Fix, who had so unfortunately followed up a false scent. Bets increased, nevertheless, in number and value. Phileas Fogg, like a racehorse, was drawing near his last turning-point. The bonds were quoted, no longer at a hundred below par, but at twenty, at ten, and at five; and paralytic old Lord Albemarle bet even in his favour.
A great crowd was collected in Pall Mail and the neighbouring streets on Saturday evening; it seemed like a multitude of brokers permanently established around the Reform Club. Circulation was impeded, and everywhere disputes, discussions, and financial transactions were going on. The police had great difficulty in keeping back the crowd, and as the hour when Phileas Fogg was due approached, the excitement rose to its highest pitch.
The five antagonists of Phileas Fogg had met in the great saloon of the club. John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin, the bankers, Andrew Stuart, the engineer, Gauthier Ralph, the director of the Bank of England, and Thomas Flanagan, the brewer, one and all waited anxiously.
When the clock indicated twenty minutes past eight, Andrew Stuart got up, saying, `Gentlemen, in twenty minutes the time agreed upon between Mr Fogg and ourselves will have expired.'
`What time did the last train arrive from Liverpool?' asked Thomas Flanagan.
`At twenty-three minutes past seven,' replied Gauthier Ralph; `and the next does not arrive till ten minutes after twelve.'
`Well, gentlemen,' resumed Andrew Stuart, `if Phileas Fogg had come in the 7.23 train, he would have got here by this time. We can, therefore, regard the bet as won.'
`Wait; don't let us be too hasty,' replied Samuel Fallentin. `You know that Mr Fogg is very eccentric. His punctuality is well known; he never arrives too soon, or too late; and I should not be surprised if he appeared before us at the last minute.'
`Why,' said Andrew Stuart nervously, `if I should see him, I should not believe it was he.'
`The fact is,' resumed Thomas Flanagan, `Mr Fogg's project was absurdly foolish. Whatever his punctuality, he could not prevent the delays which were certain to occur; and a delay of only two or three days would be fatal to his tour.'
`Observe, too,' added John Sullivan, `that we have received no intelligence from him, though there are telegraphic lines all along his route.'
`He has lost, gentlemen,' said Andrew Stuart, - `he has a hundred times lost! You know, besides, that the "China" - the only steamer he could have taken from New York to get here in time - arrived yesterday. I have seen a list of the passengers and the name of Phileas Fogg is not among them. Even if we admit that fortune has favoured him, he can scarcely have reached America. I think he will be at least twenty days behindhand, and that Lord Albemarle will lose a cool five thousand.'
`It is clear,' replied Gauthier Ralph; `and we have nothing to do but to present Mr Fogg's cheque at Barings tomorrow.'
At this moment, the hands of the club clock pointed to twenty minutes to nine.
`Five minutes more,' said Andrew Stuart.
The five gentlemen looked at each other. Their anxiety was becoming intense; but, not wishing to betray it, they readily assented to Mr Fallentin's proposal of a rubber.
`I wouldn't give up my four thousand of the bet,' said Andrew Stuart, as he took his seat, `for three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.'
The clock indicated eighteen minutes to nine.
The players took up their cards, but could not keep their eyes off the clock. Certainly, however secure they felt, minutes had never seemed so long to them!
`Seventeen minutes to nine,' said Thomas Flanagan, as he cut the cards which Ralph handed to him.
Then there was a moment of silence. The great saloon was perfectly quiet; but the murmurs of the crowd outside were heard, with now and then a shrill cry. The pendulum beat the seconds, which each player eagerly counted, as he listened with mathematical regularity.
`Sixteen minutes to nine!' said John Sullivan, in a voice which betrayed his emotion.
One minute more, and the wager would be won. Andrew Stuart and his partners suspended their game. They left their cards, and counted the seconds.
At the fortieth second, nothing. At the fiftieth, still nothing.
At the fifty-fifth, a loud cry was heard in the street, followed by applause, hurrahs, and some fierce growls.
The players rose from their seats.
At the fifty-seventh second the door of the saloon opened; and the pendulum had not beat the sixtieth second when Phileas Fogg appeared, followed by an excited crowd who had forced their way through the club doors, and in his calm voice, said, `Here I am, gentlemen!'





第三十六章



12月17日，在爱丁堡捕获了一个名叫杰姆•斯特朗的人。他才是那个真正盗窃英国国家银行五万五千英镑的小偷。现在我们应该来谈一谈这件事在英国社会上所引起的思想波动。
三天以前，斐利亚•福克是一个被警察当局拼命追捕的盗犯；现在，他却被肯定是一位正人君子了，他一丝不苟地作了一次举世少见的环绕地球一周的旅行。
关于窃贼被捕的这件事，报纸上议论纷纷！过去那些以福克旅行的成败来打赌的人，本来早把这事丢到九霄云外了，可是现在就象着了魔似的又重新干起来了。所有的赌契又有效了。所有的契约都复活了。应当指出：这种赌博比开始的时候更加疯狂了。斐利亚•福克的名字在股票市场上又变成了热门货。
改良俱乐部那五位福克先生的同僚，这三天以来日子过得相当苦闷。这位已经被他们忘记了的福克先生，现在又在他们脑子里出现了！现在他在哪儿呢？到12月17号——杰姆•斯特朗被捕的那天——为止，斐利亚•福克离开伦敦已经七十六天了。但是杳无音信！他已经死了吗？他是已经认输了呢，还是正按着他的路线在继续旅行呢？他会不会在12月21号星期六晚上八点四十五分，象一尊“准确之神”出现在改良俱乐部大厅的门口呢？
要想描写所有这些英国人在这三天里的忧虑心情，那简直是不可能的。为了打听斐利亚•福克的下落，发了许多电报到美洲和亚洲；从早到晚，都有人守望着赛微乐街福克先生的住宅……但是一点消息也没有。警察厅也不知道那位白白盯着一个假小偷的费克斯到了哪儿了。但是，福克虽然渺无音讯，这并不妨碍人们重新拿他的成败来打赌。而打赌的范围却正在日益扩大，斐利亚•福克就象是一匹跑马场上的快马，他已经接近了终点。“福克股票”的牌价已经不再是一百比一，它上涨到了二十比一，十比一，五比一了。半身不遂的阿尔拜马尔老爵士甚至以一比一的高价收买这种股票。
就在21号，星期六晚上，宝马尔大街和附近的几条大街上都挤满了人。看来，那密密麻麻的一大群股票经纪人就好象在改良俱乐部附近生了根似的。交通被阻塞了。到处在争论，和喊叫着“斐利亚•福克股票”的牌价，这和买卖其他英国股票毫无两样。警察当局简直无法维持公众秩序。越是接近斐利亚•福克预定回到俱乐部的时间，人们的情绪就越加兴奋和激动。
这一天晚上，福克先生的五位会友从早晨九点钟就在改良俱乐部大厅里聚齐了。两位银行家约翰•苏里万和撒木耳•法郎丹，工程师安得露•斯图阿特，英国国家银行董事高杰•弱夫，啤酒商多玛斯•弗拉纳刚一个个都是满心焦虑地坐在那儿等着。
当大厅里的钟指着八点二十五分的时候，安得露•斯图阿特站了起来，说：
“先生们，再过二十分钟，福克先生和我们约定的期限就算满了。”
“从利物浦开来的最后一班车是几点钟到？”多玛斯•弗拉纳刚问。
“七点二十三分，”高杰•弱夫回答说，“下一班车要到半夜十二点零十分才能到。”
“好了，先生们，”安得露•斯图阿特说，“如果斐利亚•福克是搭七点二十三分那班车到的，那他早该来到俱乐部了。我们现在可以说他是输定了。”
“慢来，慢来，别这么早就下结论，”撒木耳•法郎丹说，“要知道，咱们这位会友是个极其古怪的人。他做什么都是稳而又准，这是尽人皆知的。他不论到哪里总是既不太早，也不太晚。他今天即使在最后一分钟走进这个大厅，我也不会觉得奇怪。”
“可是，我啊，”一向是神经过敏的安得露•斯图阿特说，“我不信，不过我倒要看个究竟。”
“说老实话，”多玛斯•弗拉纳刚说，“斐利亚•福克的计划也显得他太不自量了。不论他多么精明，他也没法防止那些不可避免的耽搁。只要误个两三天，他这趟旅行就必定垮了。”
“此外，我还提醒你们注意一个问题，”约翰•苏里万接着说，“虽然在我们这位会友旅行的这条路上，到处都有电报局，可是我们没有得到一点关于他的消息。”
“他输了，先生们，”安得露•斯图阿特说，“他是百分之百地输定了！再说，你们都知道，斐利亚•福克要想从纽约按时赶到利物浦，他只有搭中国号这条邮船。可是这条船昨天就到了。喏，这是《航运报》上公布的旅客名单，上面就是没有斐利亚•福克的名字。就算我们这位会友运气非常好，他现在顶多也不过是刚到美洲！照我估计，他至少要比预定的时间迟到二十天，那个阿尔拜马尔老爵士也少不了要赔上他那五千英镑！”
“那还用说，”高杰•弱夫回答说，“我们就等着明天拿着福克先生的支票到巴林兄弟银行去取款了！”
这时，大厅里的钟已经指着八点四十分了。
“还有五分钟。”安得露•斯图阿特说。
这五位先生你看看我，我看看你，可以想象他们的心脏跳动的次数一定会有些增加；不管怎样，哪怕就是赌场老手，也会如此，因为这场输赢毕竟是非同小可！但是这些绅士们并没有形现于色，大家在撒木耳•法朗丹的建议下，在一张牌桌上坐了下来。
安得露•斯图阿特一边坐下来，一边说：
“即使出三千九百九十九，我也不愿出让我那一份四千英镑的赌份！”这时大钟指着八点四十二分。绅士们一起都拿起了牌，可是他们的眼睛却老是盯在钟上。虽然他们认为十之八九是赢了，但是他们却觉得几分钟从来就没有显得这么长！
“八点四十三分了，”多玛斯•弗拉纳刚说着，一面倒了一下高杰•弱夫洗过的牌。
接着就是一片沉寂。俱乐部的大厅里静悄悄的，一点声音也没有。然而，外面却是人声鼎沸，有时还夹杂着刺耳的喊声。时钟照常不快不慢地一秒一秒地嘀嗒嘀嗒地响着。他们每一个人都能数得出震动着他们耳鼓的每一秒的嘀嗒声。
“八点四十四分了！”约翰•苏里万说，在他的声音里使人感觉到带着一种难以抑止的激动。再过一分钟就要赢了。安得露•斯图阿特和他的伙伴们牌也不打了。他们都把牌甩到桌上，他们一秒一秒地数着钟声！
第四十秒平安无事地过去了。到了第五十秒钟依然是平安无事！到了第五十五秒钟的时候，只听见外面人声雷动，掌声、欢呼声，还夹杂着咒骂声，这片乱哄哄的声音越来越大，此起彼伏，接连不断。五位绅士都站起来了。
到了第五十七秒的时候，大厅的门开了，钟摆还没有来得及响第六十下，一群狂热的群众簇拥着斐利亚•福克冲进了大厅。斐利亚•福克用他那种沉静的声音说：
“先生们，我回来了。”
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
沐君芊

ZxID：20542791

158221鲜花 39鸡蛋

等级: 派派书评组
举报 只看该作者 37楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0


CHAPTER 37



Yes; Phileas Fogg in person.
The reader will remember that at five minutes past eight in the evening - about five and twenty hours after the arrival of the travellers in London - Passepartout had been sent by his master to engage the services of the Reverend Samuel Wilson in a certain marriage ceremony, which was to take place the next day.
Passepartout went on his errand enchanted. He soon reached the clergyman's house, but found him not at home. Passepartout waited a good twenty minutes, and when he left the reverend gentleman, it was thirty-five minutes past eight. But in what a state he was! With his hair in disorder, and without his hat, he ran along the street as never man Was seen to run before, overturning passers-by, rushing over the sidewalk like a waterspout.
In three minutes he was in Saville Row again, and staggered breathlessly into Mr Fogg's room.
He could not speak. `What is the matter?' asked Mr Fogg.
`My master!' gasped Passepartout, - `marriage - impossible--'
`Impossible?'
`Impossible - for tomorrow.'
`Why so?'
`Because tomorrow - is Sunday!'
`Monday,' replied Mr Fogg. `No - today - is Saturday.'
`Saturday? Impossible!'
`Yes, yes, yes, yes!' cried Passepartout. `You have made a mistake of one day! We arrived twenty-four hours ahead of time; but there are only ten minutes left!'
Passepartout had seized his master by the collar, and was dragging him along with irresistible force.
Phileas Fogg, thus kidnapped, without having time to think, left his house, jumped into a cab, promised a hundred pounds to the cabman, and, having run over two dogs and overturned five carriages, reached the Reform Club.
The clock indicated a quarter before nine when he appeared in the great saloon.
Phileas Fogg had accomplished the journey round the world in eighty days!
Phileas Fogg had won his wager of twenty thousand pounds!
How was it that a man so exact and fastidious could have made this error of a day? How came he to think that he had arrived in London on Saturday, the twenty-first day of December, when it was really Friday, the twentieth, the seventy-ninth day only from his departure?
The cause of the error is very simple.
Phileas Fogg had, without suspecting it, gained one day on his journey, and this merely because he had travelled constantly eastward; he would, on the contrary, have lost a day had he gone in the opposite direction, that is westward.
In journeying eastward he had gone towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished for him as many times four minutes as he crossed degrees in this direction. There are three hundred and sixty degrees on the circumference of the earth; and these three hundred and sixty degrees, multiplied by four minutes, gives precisely twenty-four hours - that is, the day unconsciously gained. In other words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun pass the meridian eighty times, his friends in London only saw it past the meridian seventy-nine times. This is why they awaited him at the Reform Club on Saturday, and not Sunday, as Mr Fogg thought.
And Passepartout's famous family watch, which had always kept London time, would have betrayed this fact, if it had marked the days as well as the hours and minutes!
Phileas Fogg, then, had won the twenty thousand pounds; but as he had spent nearly nineteen thousand on the way, the pecuniary gain was small. His object was, however, to be victorious, and not to win money. He divided the one thousand pounds that remained between Passepartout and the unfortunate Fix, against whom he cherished no grudge. He deducted, however, from Passepartout's share the cost of the gas which had burned in his room for nineteen hundred and twenty hours, for the sake of regularity.
That evening, Mr Fogg, as tranquil and phlegmatic as ever, said to Aouda: `Is our marriage still agreeable to you?'
`Mr Fogg,' replied she, `it is for me to ask that question. You were ruined, but now you are rich again.'
`Pardon me, madam; my fortune belongs to you. If you had not suggested our marriage, my servant would not have gone to the Reverend Samuel Wilson's, I should not have been apprised of my error, and--'
`Dear Mr Fogg!' said the young woman.
`Dear Aouda!' replied Phileas Fogg. It need not be said that the marriage took place forty-eight hours after, and that Passepartout, glowing and dazzling, gave the bride away. Had he not saved her, and was he not entitled to this honour?
The next day, as soon as it was light, Passepartout rapped vigorously at his master's door. Mr Fogg opened it, and asked, `What's the matter, Passepartout?'
`What is it, sir? Why, I've just this instant found out--'
`What?'
`That we might have made the tour of the world in only seventy-eight days.'
`No doubt,' returned Mr Fogg, `by not crossing India. But if I had not crossed India, I should not have saved Aouda; she would not have been my wife, and--'
Mr Fogg quietly shut the door.
Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he had employed every means of conveyance-steamers, railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges, elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?
Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!
Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?




第三十七章



一点儿不假！正是斐利亚•福克本人。
人们大概还会记得，在当天下午八点零五分的时候，也就是在他们回到伦敦后大约二十五小时，路路通受了他主人的吩咐去通知萨缪尔•威尔逊神甫，请他来主持第二天就要举行的婚礼。
路路通当时就很高兴地去了。他连走带跑地到了神甫那里，可是神甫还没回来。路路通就在那儿等，至少等了二十多分钟。
总而言之，当他从神甫那儿出来的时候，已经是八点三十五分了。可是，他怎么出来的呢？头发乱得象一堆稻草，帽子也不见了，跑啊，跑啊，简直谁也没见过一个人会跑得这么快，他在人行道上象一阵风似的疾驰而过，撞倒了多少来往的行人。
他只花了三分钟，就回到了赛微乐街的住宅，他一头栽到福克先生房子里，上气不接下气，话也说不上来了。
“怎么回事？”福克先生问。
“我的主人……”路路通结结巴巴地说，“结婚……不可能了。”
“不可能？”
“明天……不可能了。”
“为什么？”
“因为明天……是星期日。”
“明天星期一。”福克先生说。
“不对……今天……是星期六。”
“星期六？这不可能！”
“是星期六，是星期六，一点儿不错！”路路通喊着说，“您算错了一天，我们早到了二十四小时……现在只剩下十分钟的时间了！……”
路路通说着，一把抓住他主人的衣领，象发疯似的拖着福克先生就跑。
斐利亚•福克连考虑一下的功夫也没有，就被拖出了房间，走出大门，跳上了一辆马车，许给马车夫一百英镑的奖金，一路上轧死了两条狗，撞坏了五辆马车，才到了改良俱乐部。
当他在俱乐部大厅里露面的时候，大钟正指着八点四十五分……
斐利亚•福克在八十天内环游了地球一周！
斐利亚•福克赢到了这笔两万英镑的赌注！
现在人们要问，一个象他这样精细的人，怎会把日子记错的呢？他到达伦敦的时候本来是12月20号，星期五，离开他出发的时间才只七十九天，可是他怎会以为已经是12月21号星期六晚上了呢？
问题很简单，弄错的原因是这样的：
斐利亚•福克在他的旅程中“不自觉地”占了二十四小时的便宜。这只不过是因为他这次旅行的方向是一直往东走，假如他相反地倒着在西走，那他就会吃二十四小时的亏。实际上，斐利亚•福克在向东走的路上一直是迎着太阳升起的方向前进，所以每当他这样走过一条经度线，他就会提前四分钟看见日出。整个地球一共分作三百六十度，用四分钟乘三百六十，结果正好等于二十四小时。这就是他不知不觉赚来的那一天的时间。换句话说，当一直向东走的斐利亚•福克在旅途中看到第八十次日出的时候，他那些住在伦敦的会友们才只看到第七十九次。正因为这样，所以这一天是星期六，不是福克先生所想象的星期日；因为是星期六，所以他的那些会友们才会在改良俱乐部等着他。
如果路路通的那只一直保持着伦敦时间的大银表，能象它指出几点几分那样准确地指出几月几号的话，那他们就不会弄错日期了！
斐利亚•福克确实是赢了两万英镑，可是他在这次旅行中已经花了差不多一万九千英镑，从金钱的角度来看，剩下的也有限了。不过前面已经说过，这位怪绅士这次打赌只是为了争面子，不是想发财。连剩下的这一千英镑他也交给诚实的路路通和倒霉的费克斯去分了。福克先生对于这位侦探当然是不会怀恨的。不过福克先生还是扣除了他仆人由于过失而一直烧了一千九百零二十小时的这一笔煤气费。福克先生这样作也完全是应该的。就在这一天晚上，福克先生依然是那样不动声色，依然是那样沉静地对艾娥达夫人说：“夫人，现在您对我们的结婚有别的意见吗？”
“福克先生，”艾娥达夫人回答说，“应该是我向您提这样的问题，昨天您是破产了，可是现在您又……”
“夫人，请您别这么说，这笔财产都是您的。如果您不跟我提出结婚的问题，我的仆人就不会去找萨缪尔•威尔逊神甫，那也就不会有人告诉我弄错了日期，所以……”“亲爱的福克……”年轻的夫人说。
“亲爱的艾娥达……”福克先生回答说。
往下就不用说了，过了四十八小时之后，开始举行婚礼。路路通神气十足，满面红光，兴高采烈地作了艾娥达夫人的证婚人。难道他不应当得到这种荣誉吗？因为他曾经赴汤蹈火救过艾娥达夫人的性命。
可是，第二天天还没有大亮，路路通就去砰砰地敲他主人的房门。
门开了，走出那位不动声色的绅士。
“出了什么事了，路路通？”
“是这么回事，先生，我刚刚想起来……”
“想起什么？”
“我们环游地球一周，只要七十八天就够了。”
“确是如此，”福克先生回答说，“不过，那样我们就不能经过印度了；要不经过印度，我就不能救艾娥达夫人；不能救她，她现在也不会作我的妻子了……”福克先生轻轻地把门关上了。
斐利亚•福克就是这样赢了这一场东道。他用八十天的时间作了环游地球一周的旅行！
他一路上利用了各种各样的交通工具：轮船、火车、马车、游艇、商船、雪橇和大象。这位性情古怪的绅士，在这次旅行中显示了他那种惊人沉着和准确的性格。但是结果呢？这番长途跋涉他赢得了什么呢？这次旅行给他带来了什么呢？
能说他一点收获也没有吗？也许可以这样说，如果不算那位如花似玉的艾娥达夫人，尽管故事有点不象真的，可是她已经使福克先生成了最幸福的人了。
难道人们真的不可能用更短的时间来环游地球一周吗？


  
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
海蓝见鲸。

ZxID：12066968

10347鲜花 14鸡蛋

等级: 内阁元老
配偶: 树深见鹿。
举报 只看该作者 38楼  发表于: 2013-10-30 0
Thanks for your sharing.O(∩_∩)O
回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
树深见鹿。

ZxID：11081934

41鲜花 56鸡蛋

等级: 内阁元老
配偶: 海蓝见鲸。
今天也想见到你。
举报 只看该作者 39楼  发表于: 2013-11-02 0
有看过这本书呢。。
感觉很好看。。
不过要是我环游地球的话，恐怕几年都不够吧。。
我喜欢在一个国家呆上几天或者几周再离开。。
能够熟悉一点，也能好好的玩一玩~(≧▽≦)/~啦啦啦



回复 引用 新鲜事
顶端
« 返回列表
发帖 回复