博斯科姆比溪谷秘案 36水落石出(3)

"You didn't know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil incarnate¹. I tell you that.

你不了解这个死者麦卡锡。他是个魔鬼的化身。我这是说实话。

God keep you out of the clutches of such a man as he.

愿上帝保佑你可千万不要让他这样的人抓住你的把柄。

His grip has been upon me these twenty years, and he has blasted my life.

这二十年来，他一直抓住我不放，他把我这一生都毁了。

I'll tell you first how I came to be in his power.

我首先告诉你我是怎样落到他手里的。

It was in the early '60's at the diggings.

那是十九世纪六十年代初在开矿的地方。

I was a young chap then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at anything;

那时我是个年轻小伙子，很容易冲动，也不安分守己，什么都想干；

I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took to the bush,

我和坏人结成了一伙，饮酒作乐，在开矿方面失利，

and in a word became what you would call over here a highway robber.

以后当了绿林强盗。

There were six of us, and we had a wild, free life of it,

我们一伙共有六个人，过着放荡不羁的生活，

sticking up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons² on the road to the diggings.

不时抢劫车站和拦截驶往矿场的马车。

Black Jack³ of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang.

我当时化名为巴勒拉特的黑杰克，现在在那个殖民地，人们还记得我们这一伙叫巴勒拉特帮。

"One day a gold convoy⁴ came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we lay in wait for it and attacked it.

有一天，一个黄金运输队从巴勒拉特开往墨尔本，我们埋伏在路边袭击了它。

There were six troopers and six of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles at the first volley.

那个运输队有六名护送的骑兵，我们也是六个人，可以说是势均力敌，不过我们一开枪就把四个骑兵打下马来。

Three of our boys were killed, however, before we got the swag.

我们也有三个小伙子被击毙才把那笔钱财弄到手。

I put my pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy.

我用手枪指着那马车夫的脑袋，他就是现在的这个麦卡锡。

I wish to the Lord that I had shot him then,

我向上帝祷告，如果我当时开枪打死了他，那就谢天谢地了，

but I spared him, though I saw his wicked little eyes fixed⁵ on my face, as though to remember every feature.

但是，我饶了他一条命，虽然我当时看到他那双眯缝着的鬼眼睛一直盯着看我，好象要把我脸部的所有特征都牢牢记住似的。

1 incarnate   

adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的

参考例句：

• She was happiness incarnate.她是幸福的化身。
• That enemy officer is a devil incarnate.那个敌军军官简直是魔鬼的化身。

2 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。