四签名 109琼诺赞·斯茂的奇异故事（19）

Well, we carried him in, Abdullah, Akbar, and I.

爱勃德勒·克汗，德斯特·阿克勃尔和我，三个人把尸身抬了进去。

A fine weight he was, too, for all that he was so short.

他身子虽然矮，可是真够重的。

Mahomet Singh was left to guard the door. We took him to a place which the Sikhs had already prepared.

莫郝米特·辛格留在外面守门。我们把他抬到已经预备好了的地方，

It was some distance off, where a winding¹ passage leads to a great empty hall,

这儿距离堡门相当远，通过一条弯曲的甬道进入一间空无一物的大厅，

the brick walls of which were all crumbling² to pieces.

屋子的砖墙全已破碎不堪，

The earth floor had sunk in at one place, making a natural grave,

地上有一凹坑，正好作天然的墓穴。

so we left Achmet the merchant there, having first covered him over with loose bricks.

我们把商人阿奇麦特的尸身放了进去，用碎砖掩盖好了，

This done, we all went back to the treasure.

弄完以后我们就都回去验看宝物了。

It lay where he had dropped it when he was first attacked.

铁箱还放在阿奇麦特原来被打倒的地方，

The box was the same which now lies open upon your table.

也就是现在放在桌上的这个箱子，

A key was hung by a silken cord to that carved handle upon the top.

钥匙用丝绳系在箱子盖上的刻花的提柄上边。

We opened it, and the light of the lantern gleamed upon a collection of gem³

我们把箱子打开，箱内的珠宝因灯光的照耀，发出来灿烂的光辉，

such as I have read of and thought about when I was a little lad at Pershore.

就如同我幼年在波舒尔时在故事里读过的和我当时所想象过的一样。

It was blinding to look upon them.

看着这些珠宝，使人眼花缭乱。

When we had feasted our eyes we took them all out and made a list of them.

我饱了眼福以后，就动手把珠宝列了一张清单。

There were one hundred and forty-three diamonds of the first water,

里面有一百四十三颗上等钻石，

including one which has been called, I believe, 'the Great Mogul,'

包括一颗叫做'大摩格尔'的

and is said to be the second largest stone in existence.

据说是世界上第二颗最大的钻石，

Then there were ninety-seven very fine emeralds, and one hundred and seventy rubies⁴, some of which, however, were small.

还有九十七块上好的翡翠，一百七十块红宝石（其中有些是小的），

There were forty carbuncles, two hundred and ten sapphires⁵, sixty-one agates⁶,

四十块红玉，二百一十块青玉，六十一块玛瑙，

and a great quantity of beryls, onyxes, cats'-eyes, turquoises⁷,

许多绿玉、缟玛瑙、猫眼石、土耳其玉

and other stones, the very names of which I did not know at the time,

和我那时还不认得的其他宝石，

though I have become more familiar with them since.

可是后来我就渐渐地认得了。

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

3 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

4 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

5 sapphires   

n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色

参考例句：

• Again there was that moment of splintered sapphires before the lids, dropping like scales, extinguished it. 她眼眶中又闪烁出蓝宝石的光彩，接着眼睑象鱼鳞般地垂落下来，双目又黯然失色了。 来自辞典例句
• She also sported a somewhat gawdy gold watch set with diamonds and sapphires. 她还收到一块镶着钻石和蓝宝石的金表。 来自辞典例句

6 agates   

n.玛瑙( agate的名词复数 )；玛瑙制（或装有玛瑙的）工具； （小孩玩的）玛瑙纹玩具弹子；5。5磅铅字

参考例句：

• The colorful agates are engraved for pursuing lofty spirit. 绚丽的玛尼石，镌刻着崇高的精神追求。 来自互联网
• Today, Earth teems with thousands of kinds of minerals, from agates to zircons. 现在，地球上到处是各种各样的矿物，从玛瑙到锆石应有尽有。 来自互联网

7 turquoises   

n.绿松石( turquoise的名词复数 )；青绿色

参考例句：