《曾达的囚徒》第9期:国王回到斯特莱索(1)（在线收听）

Chapter 5 His Majesty returns to Strelsau

第5章 国王回到斯特莱索

It was one o'clock in the morning．For a few minutes we said nothing．Then Sapt cried，'The Duke's men have taken the King prisoner！'

此刻是凌晨一点钟。有几分钟的时间我们一句话也没说，然后萨普特叫道：“公爵的人把国王关起来了！”

Then we must get back and wake everyone in Strelsau！'I cried．'We must catch Black Michael before he kills the King．'

“我们必须回到斯特莱索，唤醒那儿的每一个人。”我说，“我们必须在黑迈克尔杀了国王之前抓住他。”

'Who knows where the King is now？'Sapt answered．Then suddenly he began to laugh．'But we've given Black Michael a problem，'he said．

“谁又知道国王在哪儿呢？”萨普特回答。然后他突然笑了起来：“不过我们已经给了黑迈克尔一个难题。”他说，

'Yes，my boy．We'll go back to Strelsau．The King will be in his palace in Strelsau again tomorrow．'

“是的，我的孩子，我们回斯特莱索去。明天国王又会在斯特莱索的宫中的。”

'No！'I cried．

“不！”我说。

'Yes！'Sapt answered．'It's the only way to help him．Go back and take his place for him．'

“是的！”萨普特回答，“这是唯一能帮助他的方法。回去，替他去当国王。”

'But the Duke knows…'

“可是公爵明白……”

'Yes，but he can't speak，can he？What can he say？“This man isn't the King because I've taken the real King prisoner and murdered his servant．”Can he say that？'

“没错，但他没法说出来，对吗？他能说什么呢？'这个男人不是国王，因为我把真正的国王关进牢里，而且杀了他的仆人。'他难道能这么说吗？”

But people will soon realize l'm not the real King，'I said．

“可是人们很快就会知道我不是真正的国王。”我说。

'Perhaps，perhaps not，'said Sapt．'But we must have a King in Strelsau，or Michael will ride in tomorrow as the new King！Listen，boy，if you don't go back to Strelsau，they'll kill the King．

“也许会，也许不会。”萨普特说。“但我们必须得有一个国王在斯特莱索，否则迈克尔明天就会奔去成为新国王。听着，孩子，如果你不回斯特莱索，他们就会杀掉国王。

And if you do go back，they can't kill the King．Because if they kill him，how can they ever say that you're not the real King？Don't you see？'he cried．'It's a dangerous game，but it gives us a chance of winning．'

可是如果你回去了，他们就不能杀他，因为假如他们杀了他，他们怎么才能说明你不是真正的国王？你难道不明白吗？”他说，“这是一场危险的游戏，不过它给了我们一次获胜的机会。”

It was a wild，hopeless plan，but I was young．I would never have the chance of an adventure like this again．'Sapt，I'll try it，'I said．

这是一个疯狂无望的计划，但是那时我正年轻，我不可能再有这样的奇遇了。“萨普特，我试试。”我说。

'Good for you！'Sapt cried．'But we must hurry！Look！'

“太棒了！”萨普特说。“可我们得快点儿，你看。”

He pulled me over to the door The moon was low now，and there was not much light，but I could just see a small group of men on horses．They were Black Michael's men，probably coming to take the dead body of Josef away．

他把我拖到门边。月亮现在低低的，没有什么光亮，但我恰好能看见一小群人骑在马上。他们是黑迈克尔的人，可能是来运走约瑟夫的尸体。

'We can't let them go without doing something，'I said，thinking of poor Josef．

“我们不能就这么让他们走了。”我说，心里想着可怜的约瑟夫。

'Right，'Sapt agreed．We ran out of the back of the house，and quickly got onto our horses．

“好吧。”萨普特同意了。我们从屋子背后跑出去，很快地骑上了马。

Silently，we waited in the darkness，and then we galloped round the house and straight into the group of men．

在黑暗中我们悄悄地等着，然后飞快地绕过房子，直冲进那群人中。

Between us，we killed three of them，but a bullet hit my finger and it began to bleed．

我们杀了他们三个人，不过有一枪打中了我的手指，手指流血了。

We rode hard all night and it was about eight or nine o'clock in the morning when we reached Strelsau．Luckily，the streets were still empty．

我们骑着马整整走了一夜，到达斯特莱索是早上八九点钟，幸运的是，街上还是空空的。

We arrived at the palace，went in，and got to the dressing-room．When we opened the door，Fritz was asleep，but he woke immediately．

我们到达王宫，走进去直到更衣室。当我们开开门时，弗里茨正在熟睡，但他立刻就醒来了。