月亮和六便士 第四十六章(1)

 Chapter 46 第四十六章

I had not been in Tahiti long before I met Captain Nichols. 我在塔希提没有待几天便见到了尼柯尔斯船长。

He came in one morning when I was having breakfast on the terrace of the hotel and introduced himself. 一天早晨，我正在旅馆的露台上吃早饭，他走进来，作了自我介绍。

He had heard that I was interested in Charles Strickland, and announced that he was come to have a talk about him. 他听说我对查理斯·斯特里克兰德感兴趣，便毛遂自荐，来找我谈谈思特里克兰德的事。

They are as fond of gossip in Tahiti as in an English village, and one or two enquiries I had made for pictures by Strickland had been quickly spread. 塔希提的居民同英国乡下人一样，很喜欢聊天，我随便向一两个人打听了一下思特里克兰德的画儿，这消息很快就传到每个人的耳朵里去了。

I asked the stranger if he had breakfasted. 我问这位陌生的来客是否吃过早点。

"Yes; I have my coffee early," he answered, "but I don't mind having a drop of whisky." “吃过了，我一起床就喝过咖啡了，”他回答说，“但是喝一口威士忌我并不反对。”

I called the Chinese boy. 我把旅馆的中国侍者喊过来。

"You don't think it's too early?" said the Captain. “你是不是认为现在喝酒太早了点？”船长说。

"You and your liver must decide that between you," I replied. “这该由你同你自己的肝脏做出决定，”我回答说。

"I'm practically a teetotaller," he said, as he poured himself out a good half-tumbler of Canadian Club. “我其实是个戒酒主义者，”他一边给自己斟了大半杯加拿大克拉伯牌威士忌，一边说。

When he smiled he showed broken and discoloured teeth. 尼柯尔斯船长笑的时候露出一口很不整齐的发黑的牙齿，

He was a very lean man, of no more than average height, with gray hair cut short and a stubbly gray moustache. 他生得瘦小枯干，身材不到中等，花白的头发剪得很短，嘴上是乱扎扎的白胡子碴。

He had not shaved for a couple of days. 尼柯尔斯船长已经有好几天没有刮脸了。

His face was deeply lined, burned brown by long exposure to the sun, 他的脸上皱纹很深，因为长年暴露在阳光下，晒得黎黑。

and he had a pair of small blue eyes which were astonishingly shifty. 他生着一双小蓝眼睛，目光游移不定；

They moved quickly, following my smallest gesture, and they gave him the look of a very thorough rogue¹. 随着我的手势，他的眼睛很快地转来转去，叫人一望而知是个社会上的老油子。

But at the moment he was all heartiness² and good-fellowship. 但是这时候他对我却是一片热诚和真情实意。

He was dressed in a bedraggled suit of khaki, and his hands would have been all the better for a wash. 他身上穿的一套卡其衣裤邋里邋遢，两只手也早该好好洗一洗了。

"I knew Strickland well," he said, as he leaned back in his chair and lit the cigar I had offered him. “我同思特里克兰德很熟，”他说，他身体往椅子背上一靠，点上我递给他的雪茄烟。

"It's through me he came out to the islands." “他到这个地方来还是通过我的关系。”

"Where did you meet him?" I asked. “你最早是在什么地方遇到他的？”我问。

"In Marseilles." “马赛。”

"What were you doing there?" “你在马赛做什么？”

He gave me an ingratiating smile. 他像要讨好我似地赔了个笑脸。

"Well, I guess I was on the beach." “呃，我当时没在船上，境遇很糟。”

1 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

2 heartiness   

诚实，热心

参考例句：

• However, he realized the air of empty-headed heartiness might also mask a shrewd mind. 但他知道，盲目的热情可能使伶俐的头脑发昏。
• There was in him the heartiness and intolerant joviality of the prosperous farmer. 在他身上有种生意昌隆的农场主常常表现出的春风得意欢天喜地的劲头，叫人消受不了。