《曾达的囚徒》第10期:国王回到斯特莱索(2)

When he saw me，he fell to the ground and cried，'Thank God，Your Majesty¹！You're safe！'

当他看见我时，他跪倒在地叫道：“感谢上帝，陛下，您平安无事！”

'Well done，boy！'Sapt shouted．'We'll do it！'

“干得好，孩子！”萨普特说，“我们就这么办。”

Fritz stood up．He looked at me，up and down，down and up．Then he took a step backwards²．'Where's the King？'he cried．

弗里茨站了起来，他看着我，从上到下，从下到上。然后他后退一步：“国王在哪里？”他嚷道。

'Be quiet，'Sapt warned him．'Someone will hear！'

“安静点，”萨普特警告他，“别人会听见的。”

Fritz's face was white now．'Is the King dead？'he asked quietly．

弗里茨的脸变白了，“国王死了吗？”他静静地问。

'Please God，no，'I answered．'But Black Michael has him．'

“上帝保佑吧，他还没有死。”我说，“不过黑迈克尔抓住他了。”

The next day was a long one for me．Sapt talked to me for three hours about what I must do and what I must say，what I liked and what I didn't like．

第二天对我来说十分漫长。萨普特对我说了三个小时，告诉我应该做什么，不能做什么，什么是我喜欢的，什么是我不喜欢的。

Then I had to do some of the King's business，but，because of my damaged finger，I did not have to write my name on any papers．

接着我不得不做一些国王该做的事。不过，由于我的手伤了，我不用在任何纸上签名。

When，at last，I was alone with Sapt and Fritz，we began to talk about Black Michael．Fritz told me that Black Michael had six very dangerous men among his servants-three Ruritanians，a Belgian，a Frenchman，and an Englishman³．

最后，当我又和萨普特、弗里茨在一起时，我们开始谈论黑迈克尔。弗里茨告诉我，黑迈克尔的随从中有六个非常危险的家伙，其中三个是卢里塔尼亚人，一个比利时人，一个法国人，还有一个英国人。

They did anything that the Duke ordered，and did not stop at murder．Three of them-the foreigners，Fritz had heard were in Strelsau now with Duke Michael．

黑迈克尔让他们做什么就做什么，就是杀人也干。弗里茨听说其中三个外国人现在正和黑迈克尔一起呆在斯特莱索。

Sapt banged⁴ the table with his hand in excitement．'Then the King must be alive！Michael's brought the foreigners with him，and left the three Ruritanians to hold the King prisoner．Usually，the Six，as they're called，go everywhere with him．'

萨普特兴奋地用手拍了一下桌子，“这么说国王肯定还活着。迈克尔带了三个外国人，让那三个卢里塔尼亚人看着国王。通常总是黑迈克尔走到哪儿他们六个跟到哪儿的。”

Fritz wanted to do something immediately about Black Michael and his men，but Sapt and I realized that we could not do anything openly．

弗里茨想立即就对黑迈克尔和他的人采取行动，可萨普特和我觉得我们什么事也不能公开地干。

'We'll play a waiting game，and let Michael make the first move，'I said．

“我们要玩一场等待游戏，让迈克尔先动手。”我说。

And so I continued as King of Ruritania．In order to help the real King，I tried to make myself popular with the people．I went riding through the streets，smiling and talking to everybody．

因此，我就继续当卢里塔尼亚的国王，为了帮助真正的国王，我试着得到人民的爱戴。我乘车穿过每条街道，对每个人微笑，跟每个人说话。

I also went to visit the Princess Flavia．The King's officials had told me that the Princess was very popular，and the people hoped that she would become my wife．

我也去拜访弗蕾维亚公主。国王的官员们告诉我公主非常受百姓的欢迎，人们希望她会成为我的妻子。

It was easy for me to pretend to be in love with the Princess．Too easy．Those beautiful eyes and that lovely smile were stealing my heart．Here was my greatest danger！

对我来说，假装我正爱着公主是很容易的事儿，太容易了。她那美丽的眼睛和可爱的微笑正悄悄占据我的心。这才是我最大的危险！

I was pretending to be another man，but losing my own heart．On my first visit，we sat together for a long time，talking of this and that．

我假装是另外一个男人，但失去的是我自己的心。在我第一次拜访她的时候，我们在一起坐着，说这说那，过了很长时间。

When I got up to leave，Princess Flavia said，'Rudolf，you will be careful，won't you？You have enemies，as I'm sure you know，and your life is very important to…Ruritania．'

当我站起来告别的时候，弗蕾维亚公主说：“鲁道夫，你会小心的，是吗？你有敌人，你肯定知道这个，而且你的生命对于卢里塔尼亚是很重要的。”

'Only to Ruritania？'I asked softly⁵．

“只对卢里塔尼亚重要吗？”我温柔地问。

'And to your loving cousin，'she answered quietly．

“对爱着你的表妹也一样。”她静静地回答。

I could not speak．I took her hand in mine．Then，with a heavy heart，I left．

我说不出话来。我握住了她的手，然后带着一颗沉重的心离开了她。

Of course，I made many mistakes in my new life as King．But I managed to talk my way out of them，with luck and with help from Fritz and Sapt．

自然，在作为国王的新生活中，我犯了许多错误，但我很幸运，加上有弗里茨和萨普特的帮助，都设法掩饰过去了。

It was like living on a knife edge．Once I met my brother Michael in the Princess's house．We smiled and talked politely，but I could see the anger in his black eyes．

这真像在刀刃上过日子。有一次我在公主的房子里遇见了我的兄弟迈克尔。我们微笑着，彬彬有礼地聊天，但我能看出他黑眼睛里的怒火。

1 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

2 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

3 Englishman   

n.(pl.Englishmen)英国人；英国男人

参考例句：

• I was astonished that he was not an Englishman.我很惊讶,他竟不是英国人。
• She stared thoughtfully at the Englishman across the table.她若有所思地盯着桌子对面的那个英国人。

4 banged   

vt.猛击，猛撞（bang的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Two days after the accident she still looked pretty banged up. 事故过去两天后她看上去伤势仍然很重。
• I've banged into the doorpost and hurt my arm. 我撞着了门柱，把臂伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 softly   

adv.柔和地，静静地，温柔地

参考例句：

• He speaks too softly for her to hear.他讲话声音太轻，她听不见。
• She breathed her advice softly.她低声劝告。