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‘Where is Miss Catherine?’ I cried hurriedly. ‘No accident, I hope?’ ‘At Thrushcross Grange,’ he answered; ‘and I would have been there too, but they had not the manners to ask me to stay.’ ‘Well, you will catch it!’ I said: ‘you’ll never be content till you’re sent about your business. What in the world led you wandering to Thrushcross Grange?’ ‘Let me get off my wet clothes, and I’ll tell you all about it, Nelly,’ he replied. I bid him beware of rousing the master, and while he undressed and I waited to put out the candle, he continued—‘Cathy and I escaped from the wash-house to have a ramble at liberty, and getting a glimpse of the Grange lights, we thought we would just go and see whether the Lintons passed their Sunday evenings standing shivering in corners, while their father and mother sat eating and drinking, and singing and laughing, and burning their eyes out before the fire. Do you think they do? Or reading sermons, and being catechised by their manservant, and set to learn a column of Scripture names, if they don’t answer properly?’ ‘Probably not,’ I responded. ‘They are good children, no doubt, and don’t deserve the treatment you receive, for your bad conduct.’ ‘Don’t cant, Nelly,’ he said: ‘nonsense! We ran from the top of the Heights to the park, without stopping—Catherine completely beaten in the race, because she was barefoot. You’ll have to seek for her shoes in the bog to-morrow. We crept through a broken hedge, groped our way up the path, and planted ourselves on a flower-plot under the drawing-room window. The light came from thence; they had not put up the shutters, and the curtains were only half closed. Both of us were able to look in by standing on the basement, and clinging to the ledge, and we saw—ah! it was beautiful—a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops hanging in silver chains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers. Old Mr. and Mrs. Linton were not there; Edgar and his sisters had it entirely to themselves. Shouldn’t they have been happy? We should have thought ourselves in heaven! And now, guess what your good children were doing? Isabella—I believe she is eleven, a year younger than Cathy—lay screaming at the farther end of the room, shrieking as if witches were running red-hot needles into her. Edgar stood on the hearth weeping silently, and in the middle of the table sat a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping; which, from their mutual accusations, we understood they had nearly pulled in two between them. The idiots! That was their pleasure! to quarrel who should hold a heap of warm hair, and each begin to cry because both, after struggling to get it, refused to take it. We laughed outright at the petted things; we did despise them! When would you catch me wishing to have what Catherine wanted? or find us by ourselves, seeking entertainment in yelling, and sobbing, and rolling on the ground, divided by the whole room? I’d not exchange, for a thousand lives, my condition here, for Edgar Linton’s at Thrushcross Grange—not if I might have the privilege of flinging Joseph off the highest gable, and painting the house-front with Hindley’s blood!’
‘Hush, hush!’ I interrupted. ‘Still you have not told me, Heathcliff, how Catherine is left behind?’
‘I told you we laughed,’ he answered. ‘The Lintons heard us, and with one accord they shot like arrows to the door; there was silence, and then a cry, “Oh, mamma, mamma! Oh, papa! Oh, mamma, come here. Oh, papa, oh!” They really did howl out something in that way. We made frightful noises to terrify them still more, and then we dropped off the ledge, because somebody was drawing the bars, and we felt we had better flee. I had Cathy by the hand, and was urging her on, when all at once she fell down. “Run, Heathcliff, run!” she whispered. “They have let the bull-dog loose, and he holds me!” The devil had seized her ankle, Nelly: I heard his abominable snorting. She did not yell out—no! she would have scorned to do it, if she had been spitted on the horns of a mad cow. I did, though: I vociferated curses enough to annihilate any fiend in Christendom; and I got a stone and thrust it between his jaws, and tried with all my might to cram it down his throat. A beast of a servant came up with a lantern, at last, shouting—“Keep fast, Skulker, keep fast!” He changed his note, however, when he saw Skulker’s game. The dog was throttled off; his huge, purple tongue hanging half a foot out of his mouth, and his pendent lips streaming with bloody slaver. The man took Cathy up; she was sick: not from fear, I’m certain, but from pain. He carried her in; I followed, grumbling execrations and vengeance. “What prey, Robert?” hallooed Linton from the entrance. “Skulker has caught a little girl, sir,” he replied; “and there’s a lad here,” he added, making a clutch at me, “who looks an out-and-outer! Very like the robbers were for putting them through the window to open the doors to the gang after all were asleep, that they might murder us at their ease. Hold your tongue, you foul-mouthed thief, you! you shall go to the gallows for this. Mr. Linton, sir, don’t lay by your gun.” “No, no, Robert,” said the old fool. “The rascals knew that yesterday was my rent-day: they thought to have me cleverly. Come in; I’ll furnish them a reception. There, John, fasten the chain. Give Skulker some water, Jenny. To beard a magistrate in his stronghold, and on the Sabbath, too! Where will their insolence stop? Oh, my dear Mary, look here! Don’t be afraid, it is but a boy—yet the villain scowls so plainly in his face; would it not be a kindness to the country to hang him at once, before he shows his nature in acts as well as features?” He pulled me under the chandelier, and Mrs. Linton placed her spectacles on her nose and raised her hands in horror. The cowardly children crept nearer also, Isabella lisping—“Frightful thing! Put him in the cellar, papa. He’s exactly like the son of the fortune-teller that stole my tame pheasant. Isn’t he, Edgar?” |
“阚思睿小姐去哪儿了？”我急忙叫道，“但愿她没出什么事吧。” “在画眉田庄，”他答道，“本来我也可以呆在那儿，可是他们对我太无礼，不让我留在那儿。” “好啊，你要倒霉啦！”我说，“非得要等到人家来辇你走，这下你满意了吧。你们到底为啥要游逛到画眉田庄去？” “让我先把湿衣服脱掉，再来告诉你是咋回事，耐莉。”他回答道。 我叫他小心别吵醒了少爷。当他正脱着衣服，我在等着熄灯时，他接着说：“阚思和我从洗衣房出去想自由自在地溜达溜达。我们瞅见了画眉田庄的灯火，想去看看林腾他们在周日晚上是不是站在墙角发抖，而他们的父母却坐在那儿又吃又喝，又唱又笑，在火炉跟前烤火，烤得眼珠都冒火了。你想林腾他们是这样的吗？或者在读《圣经》，而且被他们的男仆盘问着，要是他们答不上来，还要背《圣经》上一长串的名字，是吗？” “大概不会吧，”我答道，“他们当然是乖孩子，当然不该象你们那样，因为你们行为恶劣而受惩罚。” “别再装腔作势了，耐莉，”他说，“你净在扯瞎话！我们从山庄顶上跑到田庄里，一步都没停——阚思睿完全落在我后面，因为她赤着脚。你明天需要到沼泽地去把她的鞋找回来。我们爬过一个破篱笆墙，摸索着往前爬，我们把自己的身体安插到客厅窗子下面的一个花坛上。灯光从那儿照出来，他们还没有关上百叶窗，窗帘也只是半掩着。我俩站在墙根地上，手扒着窗台边，就能瞧到里面。我们看见了——啊！真是漂亮——一个富丽堂皇的地方，地上铺着猩红色的地毯，桌椅也都罩着猩红色的套子，纯白的天花板镶着金边，天花板中央一根根银链子上吊着许多玻璃坠，玻璃坠上的一个个小蜡烛光线柔和，照得玻璃坠闪闪发光。林腾老爷和夫人都不在场，整个屋子里只有爱德嘉和他几个姊妹。他们还不该快乐吗？要是换成我们的话，我们会以为自己到了天堂啦！可是，你猜你刚才说的那些乖孩子们在干什么？伊飒拜菈——我想她有十一岁，比阚思小一岁——躺在屋子较远一头尖声大叫，就好像是几个巫婆正把烧得通红的几根针刺进她的身体时发出的尖叫一样。爱德嘉站在火炉边，不声不响地哭着，桌子中间坐着一只小狗，爪子抖动，汪汪地叫。从他俩互相指责的样子看来，我们才弄明白他俩差点儿把小狗扯成两半。一对傻瓜！这就是他们的乐趣！两个人吵闹着该谁抱那堆暖和的皮毛，而且两个都开始哭了，因为两个人争着抢狗之后又都不肯要了。我们对着这两个活宝不禁笑出声来。他们真让我们小瞧！你啥时候见过我想要阚思睿要的东西来着，或是发现我们又哭又叫，在地上打滚，整间屋子一边一个，这样寻开心？即便我有上千条命，我也不会拿我在这儿的地位和爱德嘉•林腾在画眉田庄的地位交换——哪怕让我有权把周思福从最高的山墙尖上扔下来，而且在房子前面涂抹上亨得利的血，我也不会交换！” “嘘！嘘！”我打断他，“黑思克里夫，你还没告诉我怎么把阚思睿落下啦？” “我刚才给你说到我们笑啦，”他答道，“林腾家的人听见我们了，一个个箭步如飞似地冲到门口，大家都不作声，接着大叫道，‘啊，妈呀，妈呀！啊，爸呀！啊，妈呀！快来呀！啊，爸呀，啊！’他们真地就象我这样号叫着。我俩于是就发出吓人的声响好再吓唬吓唬他们，然后我俩就从窗台边上跳下去，因为这时有人正拉开门闩，我们觉得最好还是溜之大吉。我抓住阚思的手，拖着她跑，她忽然一下子跌倒了。‘快跑，黑思克里夫，快跑，’她小声说，‘他们放开了斗牛犬，它咬住我啦！’这个恶魔咬住了她的脚腕，耐莉，我听见那条狗可恶的嗥叫。阚思没有叫出声来——不！她就是被戳在一头发了疯的牛角上也不会叫的。可我喊啦，大声喊出足以歼灭基督王国里任何恶魔的一顿咒骂，我捡起一块石头猛塞到这条狗的嘴里，而且使出浑身力气想把这石头硬塞到它的喉咙里。终于有个畜生般的仆人提了马灯来了，嘴里叫嚷着：‘咬住，狐儿(1)咬住！’可是当他看见狐儿嘴里的猎物，声调就变了。狗被他掐住了，它那紫色的大舌头从嘴边挂出来有半尺长，耷拉的嘴巴流着带血的口水。那个人把阚思抱起来。她昏倒了——不是因为害怕，我敢断定，是疼昏的。他把她抱进屋里。我跟在后面，嘴里嘟囔着咒骂和报仇的话。‘抓到什么啦，罗伯特？’林腾老爷从大门口那儿喊着。‘先生，狐儿逮到一个小姑娘。’他回答，‘还有个小子，’他接着说，抓住我不放，‘这家伙看着倒像个惯犯！看来很象是强盗们先把他俩送进窗户，好等大家都睡熟了，他俩去给这一帮子人开门进来，好轻轻松松把我们都杀掉。您给我住嘴，你个满嘴喷粪的小偷，你！为这事你就该上绞刑架。林腾老爷，你先别把枪收起来。’‘不，罗伯特，’那个老混蛋说，‘这些坏蛋知道昨天是我收租的日子，他们想方设法算计我。进来吧，我要好好招待他们一番。约翰，把链子锁紧。珍妮，给狐儿喂点水喝。竟敢顶撞一位长官，在他的公馆里，还是在安息日！他们这样的傲慢无礼要到几时才算个头？啊，亲爱的玛丽，瞧这儿！别害怕，只不过是个小子——可是他眉头紧皱，一脸坏相，他的面相已经暴露出本性来了，趁他的行动还没表现出来，立刻把他绞死，不是给乡里做了件好事吗？’他把我拉到枝形吊灯底下。林腾夫人把眼镜戴在鼻梁上，吓得举起双手。孩子们一个个胆小如鼠，也都爬近了一些，伊飒拜菈咬着舌头含混不清地说着，‘这家伙好可怕！把他关到地窖里去吧，爸爸。那个偷我宠物雉的算命先生的儿子，长得就和他一样。不就是他吗，爱德嘉？’ |
