《v rising》仆人类型介绍，

《书虫》双语听读4级下 吉姆老爷06

前情提要：

斯坦最终给吉姆在帕图桑提供了一份工作，但是这个地方情况复杂，还会有危险。吉姆欣然接受了这份工作，拿着斯坦给他的信物，还有马洛给他的枪踏上了去帕图桑的船……

故事原文：

6.Marlow visits Jim 马洛看望吉姆

The coast of Patusan is straight and dark, on a misty sea. When I arrived there, nearly two years later, I could see blue mountain tops beyond the thick green jungle. Fortunately, the river was open then, and our ship stopped at the fishing village, called Batu Kring, at the mouth of the river. We needed to take on board a native to guide our little ship up the river to the trading-post at Patusan. The man who agreed to come with us was the chief or headman of the village. He talked confidently to me (only the second white man he had ever seen), and most of his talk was about the first white man he had ever seen. He called him Tuan Jim, and spoke of him with great respect.

在薄雾笼罩的大海上，帕图桑的海岸笔直而阴暗。大约两年之后，我去了那儿，越过浓密葱郁的丛林，我能看到远处蓝色的山顶。幸运的是，河流当时是开放的，我们的船在河口处一个名叫巴都克灵的渔村停下。我们需要带一个当地人上船为我们指路，把我们的小船沿河开到帕图桑的贸易站。同意跟我们去的男子是村子里的头领。我是他见到的第二个白人，他谈吐很自信，而他和我谈论的多半是他见到的第一个白人。他称呼这个白人图安吉姆，一说到他就满怀敬意。

I thought of Jim's last words to me, 'You shall hear of me.' It was perfectly true. I was hearing of him.

我想起吉姆对我说的最后那番话：“你会听到我的消息。”千真万确。我正在听他的消息。

At first, the headman told me, the natives had been very frightened of the lonely, white-uniformed figure, who had arrived so unexpectedly, and who gave them orders. He wanted them to take him by boat to the trading-post immediately. They were afraid Rajah Allang would be angry with them if they obeyed the stranger, but they were in greater fear of the white man's anger. After a lot of whispering among themselves, they decided that three of them would take Jim up the river by canoe.

这位头领告诉我，一开始，当地人很害怕这个形单影只、穿着白色制服的人，他出乎意外地来到他们中间，发号施令。他让他们立即划船带他去贸易站。他们担心遵从这位陌生人会惹恼王公阿朗，但他们更怕惹恼这个白人。他们私下商量之后，决定让三个人用独木舟带吉姆沿河而上。

That is how Jim entered the country where he became known and respected, from the blue mountains beyond the jungle to the white tops of the waves on the coast. Behind him were the waves of the sea, endlessly rising and sinking, and ahead of him were the immovable forests, reaching up towards the sunshine, but as dark and shadowy as life itself. And his opportunity sat waiting by his side, like an Eastern bride hiding her lovely face from her future husband.

吉姆就这样走进了这个国家，在这里他开始为人所知，并受到尊敬，从丛林远方的蓝色山脉到海岸边白色的浪尖都传诵着他的名字。在他身后，海浪永不停息地起起落落；在他前方，矗立不动的森林挺立在阳光中，但却又如生命本身一样暗淡和模糊。机会坐在他身边等待着，像是一位东方的新娘，在未来的丈夫面前藏起她美丽的脸庞。

But Jim told me later that he had never in his life felt so miserable and tired as in that canoe. He sat there, with his back straight and the sun beating down on his head, holding the gun I had given him. He felt almost sick with worry and the heat.

但吉姆后来告诉我，他在那只独木舟上感到了从未有过的痛苦和疲惫。他笔直地坐在那儿，火辣辣的太阳照在头上，手里拿着我送他的那杆枪。焦虑和炎热几乎让他病倒了。

As soon as the canoe reached the trading-post, the three boatmen jumped out and ran off into the trees. Jim saw a stockade with high wooden posts on his left, and some native houses further away. He jumped out too, and at first seemed to be alone. But then a gate in the stockade was thrown open, and a lot of Malays ran towards him. At the same time, a boat full of men with weapons appeared on the river, so that he could not escape in the now empty canoe. There was no way out. The boatmen had handed him over to the Rajah's men.

独木舟一到贸易站，三个划船的人就跳下船逃到了树林中。吉姆看到他左边有一个由高高的木桩围成的栅栏，远处还有一些当地的住房。他也跳下船，起先周围似乎只有他一个人。但后来栅栏上的一扇门猛地开了，很多马来人向他跑来。与此同时，一艘船出现在河上，上面载满手持武器的人，这样一来吉姆也无法坐空的独木舟逃走。他根本无路可逃。那几个划船的人把他交给了王公的手下。

Luckily there was no ammunition in my gun,' Jim told me, 'so I didn't try to kill anyone, and they didn't hurt me. I just asked them what they wanted. They didn't know what to say. Finally a servant ran up to say the Rajah wanted to see me. "All right," I said, "I want to see him too," and I simply walked in through the gate. And do you know the best thing about it? I'll tell you. It was lucky for them that they didn't kill me.'

“幸运的是我的枪里没装子弹，”吉姆告诉我，“因此我没有试图杀任何人，他们也没有伤害我。我只是问他们想做什么。他们不知道说什么。最终一个仆人跑过来说王公想见我。‘好的，’我说，‘我也想见他。’于是我就这么穿过大门走进去。你知道最精彩的是什么吗？我告诉你吧。没杀我他们算是走运了。”

He was speaking to me in front of his house on that first evening of my visit, after we had watched the moon move away over the hills, like a soul rising from a dead body. Moonlight is confusing and mysterious; it makes real things look shadowy, and shadows look real. But Jim by my side seemed very strong—not even moonlight could make him look shadowy to me. Perhaps, indeed, nothing could touch him since he had survived his fight with evil.

我去看他的第一个夜晚，我们站在他家门前聊天，看着月亮从山上移开，就像灵魂从尸体上升起，迷离而神秘的月色把真实的物体变成了影子，又把影子变得宛如实体。但我身边的吉姆看起来很强壮——甚至月光也无法让他在我眼中变得模糊。也许确实如此，自从他在与邪恶的抗争中幸存下来，什么都伤害不到他了。

All was silent, all was still in this lost corner of the world. The silvery grey houses crowding along the wide shining river seemed like a line of ghostly animals, pushing forward to drink from the lifeless water. Here and there, a warm red light shone through the thin house walls, where human beings ate, and talked, and rested.

万籁俱寂，在世界上这个被人遗忘的角落，一切都凝滞了。宽阔的河面波光粼粼，河边一座座银灰色的房子像一排动物的鬼影，探着头在毫无生气的水中酣饮。四下里有温暖的红光从薄薄的墙壁透出来，人们在屋子里面吃饭、聊天、休息。

You know,' Jim said to me, 'I often watch those little lights go out one by one. I love seeing people go to sleep under my eyes, safe and happy, with no fears for tomorrow. Peaceful here, isn't it? Ask any man, woman or child here if they trust me...' He paused, and spoke with deep meaning. 'Well, now I know I am all right, anyway.'

“你知道吗，”吉姆对我说，“我常常看着这些微弱的灯光一点点熄灭。我喜欢看着人们入睡，他们安全、幸福，不用为明天担心。这儿很安宁吧？你可以去问这儿的任何一个男人、女人或孩子，问他们是否信任我……”他停顿了一下，然后意味深长地说，“好了，无论如何，现在我知道自己没事了。”

So you've found that out at last,' I replied. 'I was always sure you were.'

“嗯，你终于知道自己没事了，”我回答说，“我一直相信你会的。”

Were you?' He touched my arm lightly. 'Well, then—you were right. My God! Just think what it means to me! How could I ever leave here? And after what you tell me of Mr Stein's offer... Leaving—it would be harder than dying. No, don't laugh, but I must feel—every day, every time I open my eyes—that I am trusted—that nobody can say—you know? Leave! Where would I go? Why? For what?'

“是吗？”他轻轻地碰了碰我的胳膊，“好吧——你说对了。天啊！想想这对我意味着什么！我怎么能够离开这里呢？在你告诉我斯坦先生给我的帮助之后……离开——比死还困难。不，别笑，我必须感觉——每一天，每次我睁开双眼——自己被信任着——没有人能说——你知道吗？离开！我能去哪儿？又为什么离开？离开能得到什么？”

I had told him (indeed it was the main reason for my visit) that Stein wanted to hand over the whole trading-post, with everything it contained, to Jim. At first Jim had refused to accept this generous offer, but I had made him realize that he had earned it. 'Stein is only giving you what you have made for yourself,' I had told him. And Jim had to give in, because all his successes, the trust, the fame, the love—all these things, which had given him control over his life and fate, had also made him a prisoner. He looked with an owner's eye at the land and its people, but it was they who owned him, to the last breath in his body.

我告诉吉姆，斯坦想把整个贸易站和其中的东西都送给他（实际上这也是我来看他的主要原因）。起初吉姆拒绝接受这个慷慨的提议，但我让他明白他受之无愧。“斯坦不过是把你自己挣得的东西给你。”我对他说。吉姆不得不让步，因为他得到的一切成功、信任、名誉和爱——所有这些东西，既让他成了自己生活和命运的主人，同时又把他变成了一个囚犯。他用拥有者的目光看着这片土地和这里的居民，但实际上是他们拥有了他，直到他生命的最后一息。

The trust and respect of these people was something to be proud of. I, too, was proud for him. It was certainly wonderful. He had shown he was a brave, intelligent, well-organized leader of men. He clearly felt deeply and seriously about his work in Patusan—the work that had proved to him that he was 'all right'. That is why he seemed to love the land and the people with a kind of wild selfishness.

能受到这些人的信任和尊敬是值得骄傲的。我也为他骄傲。这确实很了不起。他证实了自己是个勇敢、睿智、有很强组织能力的领袖。显然，他对在帕图桑的工作感情深厚，态度严肃——是这份工作证明他“没事了”。他也因此带着近乎疯狂的私欲爱着这片土地和那里的人民。

While I was in Patusan, Jim took me to visit the Rajah. 'This is where I was a prisoner for three days when I arrived,' he whispered to me, as we walked slowly through a silent and respectful crowd. 'Dirty place, isn't it? And they only gave me a small plate of rice and a bit of fried fish to eat! They took my gun away, of course, but they didn't lock me up. I was able to walk around inside the stockade.'

我在帕图桑的时候，吉姆带我去见了王公。“我刚来的时候就在这儿当了三天囚犯，”我们慢慢穿过满怀敬意的沉默人群时，他小声对我说，“这里很脏吧？他们当时只给我一小碟米饭和一点儿炸鱼吃！当然，他们拿走了我的枪，但没有把我关起来。我可以在栅栏里走动。”

At that moment we arrived in front of the Rajah, and I noticed how Jim changed his way of speaking at once. His manner was calm and polite, and he spoke slowly and seriously, giving a lot of thought to his words. This had just the right effect on the evil old Rajah, who was clearly afraid of Jim, but still respected and trusted him.

我们来到王公的面前，我注意到吉姆说话的方式突然变了。他表现得沉着而有礼，说话慢条斯理，口气严肃，每句话都深思熟虑。这正好对付阴险老道的王公，他显然害怕吉姆，但仍然尊敬他，信任他。

Although their conversation was difficult for me to follow, I understood that Jim was acting as a kind of judge, and telling the Rajah the difference between right and wrong. Some poor villagers had been robbed while on their way to trade at Doramin's house, and it was clear that everyone knew the Rajah's men were responsible for this robbery. But to the Rajah, Doramin was a hated enemy, and the Rajah cried out suddenly, 'It's Doramin who is a thief!' His weak old body shook with anger, and all around us, his family and servants stared, their mouths open.

虽然我很难跟上他们的谈话，但我听出吉姆正在担任某种法官的角色，告诉王公孰是孰非。有几个可怜的村民在去多拉曼家做买卖的路上被抢劫了，显然，每个人都知道这是王公的人干的。但王公对多拉曼恨之入骨，他突然大喊：“多拉曼才是贼！”愤怒让他年迈、虚弱的身体颤抖着，他的家人和仆人在我们周围瞠目结舌地看着他。

Then Jim began to speak. 'Nobody,' he said calmly, 'should prevent any man from getting his food and his children's food honestly. Nobody should ever steal.' There was a great stillness in the room. Finally the old Rajah looked up, shaking his head tiredly, and said, 'You hear, my people! No more of these little games.'

然后吉姆开口了。他平静地说：“任何人都不应当阻止别人以诚实的方式为他自己和他的孩子挣得食物。任何人都不应当偷窃。”屋子里安静了好一会儿。最后老王公抬起头，疲惫地摇着头，说：“听见了吧，大伙儿！别再用这些小花招了。”

One of his servants came forward to offer us two cups of coffee. 'You needn't drink,' Jim whispered quickly to me.

一个仆人走过来，给我们端来两杯咖啡。“你不用喝。”吉姆很快地小声对我说。

I didn't understand what he meant at first, but just watched him as he drank. Then I realized, and felt extremely annoyed. 'Why the hell do you put me in danger like this?' I whispered back to him, smiling pleasantly all the time. I drank the coffee, of course—I couldn't avoid doing that—and we left soon afterwards.

我起先不明白他的意思，只是看着他把咖啡喝下去。之后我才明白过来，觉得恼火极了。“你为什么带我到这么危险的地方来？”我低声对他说，却一直愉快地微笑着。当然，我也把咖啡喝了下去——我不能不喝——之后我们很快就离开了。

I'm very sorry about that,' said Jim quietly to me as we walked back to our boat. 'I really don't think he would try to poison us. Personally, I never think about it. You see, if I want to do any good here, I have to show I don't care about the danger. Many people trust me to do that—for them.'

“我很抱歉，”吉姆在返回船上的途中平静地对我说，“我真的不认为他会对我们下毒。我自己从没有这样想过。你明白，如果我想在这儿做点儿好事，就必须表现得无所畏惧。很多人都相信我会为他们讨公道。”

But anyone can see he's afraid of you,' I said crossly, all the time watching for the first sign of stomach pain.

“但任何人都看得出来，他怕你。”我生气地说，一直留心着肚子痛的迹象。

That's just it! He's probably afraid of me because I'm not afraid of his coffee.' He pointed to part of the stockade, where the tops of several posts were broken. 'Look, that's where I jumped over, on my third day as a prisoner. The Rajah and his advisers had spent all the time since my arrival trying to decide what to do with me, and I had just been waiting for something to happen. But suddenly I realized what extreme danger I was in, so I just ran at the stockade, and flew over like a bird. I picked myself up on the other side and ran as fast as I could towards the village houses, about four hundred metres away. Behind me I could hear shouting, as the Rajah's men started to follow me.

“就是这样！他怕我可能是因为我不怕他的咖啡。”他指着一小片栅栏，有几根桩子的顶端已经断了，“看，我就是从那儿跳过去的，那是在我被囚禁起来的第三天。王公和他的谋士们从我一来这里就一直在考虑怎么处置我，而我只是在等待着。但我突然意识到了自己处境危险，于是我跑向栅栏，像鸟一样一跃而过。我从栅栏的另一边站起来，用最快的速度跑向大约400米外的村庄。我听得见身后的叫喊声，王公的人开始追我。

Ahead of me was a creek. I jumped across it and landed in very soft, wet mud. I couldn't move my legs at all, and lay there, trying desperately to pull myself out with my arms. The mud came right up to my chin, and as I dug wildly, I thought I was burying myself even deeper. I was becoming exhausted, but I made one last great attempt—and at last felt myself creeping weakly out of the mud on the other side of the creek. Think of me, muddy and alone, in that terrible place, with no friends or anyone to help me! I ran through the village—women and children ran screaming from me, men stood still, staring at me in horror—I don't suppose I looked at all like a human being.

在我前方是一条小河。我跳了过去，落在松软潮湿的泥里。我的腿动不了，我躺在那儿，使劲儿想用胳膊把自己拉起来。泥巴没到我脸，我发疯似地挖着泥，却感觉我把自己埋得更深了。我的气力渐渐耗尽，但我做了最后一次努力——终于感觉自己在河的对岸从泥巴中无力地慢慢爬出来。想一想，我那时浑身是泥，独自一人，在那个可怕的地方，没有任何朋友、任何人可以帮我！我跑着穿过村子——女人和孩子从我身边尖叫着跑开，男人一动不动地站着，恐惧地看着我——我想我看上去一定不成人样。

Finally, I turned a corner, and fell into the arms of several surprised-looking men. I just had breath to cry, "Doramin!" They carried me to Doramin's house, which was inside its own stockade, and put me down in front of a large, important-looking man, sitting in a chair. Somewhere in my muddy clothes I managed to find Stein's silver ring. Everyone was shouting excitedly, and running here and there. I could hear shots in the distance from the Rajah's men, but here I was safe. Doramin's people were closing the heavy gates of the stockade, and giving me water to drink. Doramin's wife took care of me—she was very kind to me.'

“最后，我转了个弯，然后就倒进几个表情惊讶的人的手臂中。我只剩下了一口气够我喊出‘多拉曼’的名字，他们把我带到多拉曼的宅子里，房子外面也围有栅栏。他们把我放在一个高大、威严的人面前，他坐在一张椅子上。我终于从沾满泥水的衣服里找到了斯坦给的银戒指。每个人都兴奋地叫喊着，到处跑动。我能听见王公的人在远处开枪，但在这里我是安全的。多拉曼的人把栅栏沉重的大门关上，还给我水喝。多拉曼的妻子照料我，她对我很好。”

About sixty families in Patusan considered Doramin their chief. His men frequently had fights with the Rajah's people, mostly about trading. The problem was that the Rajah thought he alone should trade in Patusan; he became wild with anger when he discovered anyone else buying or selling. He was a cruel, evil and cowardly man, who had made a habit of robbing and killing Doramin's people, until Jim came.

帕图桑大约有60个家族把多拉曼看作他们的首领。多拉曼的人经常和王公的人发生冲突，大多是为了生意上的事。王公认为只有他才能在帕图桑做生意；一发现别人做买卖就气得发疯。他是一个残酷、邪恶、懦弱的人，常常抢劫、杀害多拉曼的人，直到吉姆到来。

There was a third leader in Patusan, an Arab half-caste called Sherif Ali, who had persuaded some of the natives to join him. They lived high up on the top of one of the two mountains, and from there often came down at night to steal food and animals, kill people and burn buildings. Parts of the countryside were blackened and empty, and the local people were suffering badly. In this confused situation, none of the three leaders trusted or respected each other, and until Jim's arrival, there seemed no way of bringing peace to the country.

帕图桑还有一个领导者，是个阿拉伯混血，他就是酋长阿里，他说服了一些当地人跟他一起干。他们盘踞了两山之一的山顶，常常夜里下山偷盗食物、牲口，还杀人放火。乡下好多地方都被烧成一片焦土，空无一人，当地人深受其害。在这种混乱的局面下，三个首领互不信任，互不尊敬，似乎没有办法让这里得到安宁，直到吉姆来了才改变了这一切。

If you once saw Doramin, you would never forget him. He was much larger than most Malays, with a heavy body dressed in richly coloured clothes, and a big, flat, round head, with proud, staring eyes. No one ever heard him raise his voice. He never moved without help; when he walked, two strong young men dressed in white held his elbows. In the afternoons, he sat silently by his wife's side, looking out, through an opening in the stockade, at the dark green jungle, the distant purple mountains, and the silver shining river.

如果你见过多拉曼，就永远不会忘记他。他比大多数马来人块头都要大，他那肥硕的身躯上套着鲜艳的衣服，脑袋又大又圆，头顶平平的，傲然的双眼炯炯有神。他从不高声说话。没有别人帮着，他根本动都不动；他走路的时候，总有两个穿白衣服的年轻彪悍的小伙子扶着他的胳膊肘。下午他总是安静地坐在妻子旁边，从栅栏的一个缺口向外张望，看着暗绿色的丛林，远处紫色的群山，以及银波闪烁的河流。

This old couple had a son called Dain Waris, a polite, handsome young man of twenty-four or five. They loved him deeply, although they never showed it. I liked him as soon as I met him. I realized he was both brave and intelligent, and I believe he trusted and even understood Jim. 'Dain Waris is the best friend I ever had, except for you,' Jim told me proudly. 'We fought together, you know. Against Sherif Ali. You see, when I arrived, the Rajah, Doramin and Sherif Ali were all afraid of each other. I soon realized what I had to do, but I needed Dain Waris's help. He was the first to believe in me, and he persuaded his father to agree to my plan.'

这对老夫妇有个儿子，名叫戴恩·沃里斯，小伙子彬彬有礼、英俊潇洒，有二十四五岁。老两口很疼爱他，虽然他们从不表露出来。我一见他就很喜欢，看得出他有勇有谋，而且我相信他不仅信任吉姆，甚至还理解他。“除了你，戴恩·沃里斯是我最好的朋友，”吉姆自豪地告诉我，“我们并肩与酋长阿里斗争。你要明白，我来这里时，王公、多拉曼和酋长阿里彼此畏惧。我很快意识到我该做什么，但我需要戴恩·沃里斯的帮助。他是第一个相信我的人，他还劝说他的父亲支持我的计划。”

Jim's plan! I heard the whole story of it from him during my visit. He had decided that it was necessary to defeat Sherif Ali, and planned to attack his mountain home. Doramin owned several heavy old guns, used in the past for fighting jungle wars. One dark night, Jim arranged for teams of men using ropes to pull these guns right up to the top of one of the mountains. It was difficult, hot work, and all the time Jim and the men were lifting and pulling, old Doramin sat watching silently in his chair. The Malays already believed that Jim was doing the impossible. How could those guns, too heavy for one man to lift, reach the mountain top? This was the beginning of their great respect for Jim.

吉姆的计划！我做客的日子里听吉姆讲述了整个故事。他决意要打败酋长阿里，并计划攻打他在山上的寨子。多拉曼有几架很沉的以前用于丛林战的老式火炮。在一个黑夜，吉姆安排几队人用绳索把这几架火炮拉到一个山顶上。这是个苦力活，吉姆一直和那些人又抬又拉，老多拉曼坐在椅子上安静地看着这一切。马来人开始认为吉姆做的事情是不可能成功的。这些火炮太重了，一个人扛都扛不起来，怎么能运到山顶？他们对吉姆的无比尊敬便始于此。

From there, Doramin's men had an excellent view of the other mountain top, where Sherif Ali and his followers were asleep. As soon as the sun rose, the first shots were fired, on Jim's order, and the battle began. Jim, with Dain Waris by his side, led a group up the second hill towards Sherif Ali's stockade. He knew he had to win this fight—Doramin's people were depending on him. He and Dain Waris were the first to break into the Arab's stockade. Close behind them came Tamb'Itam, Jim's personal servant and a fearless fighter. He was a Malay from the north, a stranger to Patusan, who for a time had been a prisoner of the Rajah. When he escaped, he came to Jim, and ever since had followed him everywhere, like a shadow.

从那儿，多拉曼的人可以看清另一座山的山顶，酋长阿里和他的追随者们正在那里睡觉。太阳一升起来，吉姆便下令开炮，战斗打响了。吉姆领着一支队伍爬上另一座山，直奔酋长阿里的寨子。戴恩·沃里斯跟在他旁边。他知道自己必须打赢这场战斗——多拉曼的人就指望他了。他和戴恩·沃里斯带头冲进阿拉伯人的寨子。紧随其后的是坦比坦，吉姆的仆人，一个无畏的战士。他是从北方来的马来人，在帕图桑人地两生，曾经是王公的囚犯。他逃出来后投奔了吉姆，自此之后就像影子一样处处跟随着他。

The battle was violent, but short. The stockade was burnt down and Sherif Ali and his men were defeated. Some were dead, but most of them were chased away into the jungle.

战斗很激烈，但很短暂。寨子被烧毁了，酋长阿里和他的手下被打败了。有的人死了，但大多数都被赶进了丛林。

When this wonderful news reached the village, people were delighted. They ran in and out of their houses, shouting, singing and laughing excitedly. Of course Jim was delighted too. He had succeeded in doing what he had promised, and now he could believe in himself again. I can't tell you how completely lonely he appeared to me, but somehow his loneliness added to his greatness. He seemed to be one of those men who can only be measured by the greatness of their fame, and his fame, remember, was the greatest thing for many a day's journey around, even beyond the jungle. His word was the one truth of every passing day, and reports of his fame travelled far and wide, heard on the lips of whispering men, full of wonder and mystery.

这个激动人心的消息传到了村子里，人们喜出望外。他们兴奋地跑进跑出，又是喊，又是唱，又是跳。吉姆当然也很高兴。他承诺的事情兑现了，他又找回了自信。我无法告诉你们他在我眼中有多么孤独，但在某种程度上，这种孤独让他更了不起。有些人只能用名气的大小去衡量，而他就是其中之一。别忘了，他的名声在那附近几天行程的范围内都如雷灌耳，甚至丛林之外的人都知道他。在过去的每一天里，人们把他的话当作唯一的真理，他声名远扬，人们低声谈论着他，带着几分惊奇，几分神秘。

No one ever saw Sherif Ali again, and when some of his men crept back from the jungle later, it was Jim, advised by Dain Waris, who chose a headman from among them. The Rajah was afraid that Jim would attack him too—he could lose his land, his money, his women, his servants! —and therefore he behaved very carefully. So Jim found himself in complete control of one of the most dangerous corners of the world.

没有人再见过酋长阿里，他的几个手下后来从丛林溜回来，吉姆听从戴恩·沃里斯的建议，从他们中间选了一个人做头领。王公害怕吉姆攻打他，让他失去土地、钱财、女人和佣人，因此行事非常小心。就这样，在这个世界上最危险的角落之一，吉姆感到自己掌握了一切。

Old Doramin, however, had a secret wish. He wanted to see his son take the Rajah's place one day, and just before I left, he spoke to me about it. 'Of course Tuan Jim knows best,' he said, 'but if I could only have a promise! I worry about the future of our country. You see, the land is always here, but white men come and go. One day this white man, too, will—'

但年老的多拉曼还有个深藏的愿望。他希望儿子有一天能取代王公的位置。在我临行前，他把这个想法告诉了我。“当然，图安吉姆知道怎样最好，”他说，“如果我能得到一个许诺就好了！我为这国家的未来担忧。你看，这片土地自古以来都在这里，但白人来了，又走了。有一天这个白人也一样，会——”

No, no,' I replied quickly, without thinking. 'He won't go.'

“不，不，”我连想都没想就立刻回答，“他不会走的。”

Doramin looked into my face. 'That is good news indeed,' he answered calmly. 'But why do you say that?'

多拉曼看着我的脸。“这确实是个好消息，”他平静地说，“但你为什么这么说呢？”

And his wife, a small, thin, motherly woman, asked sadly, 'Why did he travel so far away from his home? Has he no family, no old mother, who will always remember his face?'

他的妻子，一个瘦小、充满母性的女人伤心地说：“他为什么远离家乡？难道他没有家，没有一个总是记得他模样的老母亲吗？”

I could not answer. Strangely enough, that evening, my last in Patusan, I was asked the same question again.

我无法回答。奇怪的是，当晚，也就是我在帕图桑的最后一个晚上，又有人问了我同样的问题。

核心语言点：

• headman n. the chief or leader of a tribe （部落的）头人，村长。
• canoe n. a light, slender boat that has pointed ends and is propelled by paddles 独木舟。
• bride n. a woman on her wedding day or just before and after the event 新娘。
• stockade n. a barrier or enclosure formed from upright wooden posts or stakes （一排）栅栏，（一排）围桩。
• hand over pass to someone else 交出，移交。
• confusing adj. difficult to understand because there is no clear order or pattern 令人困惑的。
• robbery n. the crime of stealing things from a person or a place, especially by using violence 抢劫。
• crossly adv. Angrily 生气地。
• creek n. a small, narrow stream or river 小河，溪。
• sherif n. an Arabian ruler （阿拉伯）酋长。
• fire v. to shoot with a gun 放（枪、炮等）。
• defeat v. to win a victory over 击败，战胜。
• creep v. to move slowly and carefully, especially in order to avoid being heard or noticed 蹑手蹑脚地走；缓慢（或悄悄）地行走。
• motherly adj. of, resembling, or characteristic of a mother, especially in being caring, protective, and kind 母亲的；慈母般的。