Then two years more went by, or perhaps three, for time passes imperceptibly in Tahiti, and it is hard to keep count of it; 两年又过去了，也许是三年，因为在塔希提，时间总是不知不觉地流逝过去，没有人费心去计算。

but at last a message was brought to Dr. Coutras that Strickland was dying. 但是最后终于有人给库特拉斯医生带来个信儿，说是思特里克兰德很快就要死了。

Ata had waylaid the cart that took the mail into Papeete, and besought the man who drove it to go at once to the doctor. 爱塔在路上拦住一辆往帕皮提递送邮件的马车，请求赶车的人立刻到医生那里去一趟。

But the doctor was out when the summons came, and it was evening when he received it. 但是消息带到的时候，医生恰巧不在家。直到傍晚他才听到这个信儿。

It was impossible to start at so late an hour, and so it was not till next day soon after dawn that he set out. 天已经太晚了，他当天无法动身；他是第二天清早才启程去的。

He arrived at Taravao, and for the last time tramped the seven kilometres that led to Ata's house. 他首先到了塔拉窝，然后下车步行；这是他最后一次走七公里的路到爱塔家去。

The path was overgrown, and it was clear that for years now it had remained all but untrodden. 小路几乎已被荒草遮住，看来已经有好几年没有行人的足迹了。

It was not easy to find the way. 路很不好走；

Sometimes he had to stumble along the bed of the stream, and sometimes he had to push through shrubs, dense and thorny; 有时候他得跋涉过一段河滩；有时候他得分开长满荆棘的茂密的矮树丛。

often he was obliged to climb over rocks in order to avoid the hornet-nests that hung on the trees over his head. 有好几次他不得不从岩石上爬过去，为了躲避挂在头顶树枝上的野蜂窝。

The silence was intense. 密林里万籁无声。

It was with a sigh of relief that at last he came upon the little unpainted house, extraordinarily bedraggled now, and unkempt; 最后他走到那座没有油漆过的木房子前面时，他长舒了一口气。这所房子现在已经破旧得不成样子，而且一片龌龊，不堪入目。

but here too was the same intolerable silence. 迎接他的仍是一片无法忍受的寂静。

He walked up, and a little boy, playing unconcernedly in the sunshine, started at his approach and fled quickly away: to him the stranger was the enemy. 他走到阳台上，一个小孩儿正在阳光底下玩儿，一看见他便飞快地跑掉了；在这个孩子的眼睛里，所有陌生人都是敌人。

Dr. Coutras had a sense that the child was stealthily watching him from behind a tree. 库特拉斯医生意识到孩子正躲在一棵树后面偷偷地看着他。

The door was wide open. 房门敞开着。

He called out, but no one answered. 他叫了一声，但是没有人回答。

He stepped in. 他走了进去。

He knocked at a door, but again there was no answer. 他在另一扇门上敲了敲，仍然没有回答。

He turned the handle and entered. 他把门柄一扭便走进去。

The stench that assailed him turned him horribly sick. 扑鼻而来的一股臭味几乎叫他呕吐出来。

He put his handkerchief to his nose and forced himself to go in. 他用手帕堵着鼻子，硬逼着自己走进去。

The light was dim, and after the brilliant sunshine for a while he could see nothing. 屋子里光线非常暗，从外面灿烂的阳光下走进来，一时他什么也看不见。

Then he gave a start. 当他的眼睛适应了室内的光线时，他吓了一大跳。

He could not make out where he was. 他不知道自己走到什么地方来了，

He seemed on a sudden to have entered a magic world. 仿佛是，他突然走入了一个神奇的世界；

He had a vague impression of a great primeval forest and of naked people walking beneath the trees. 蒙蒙眬眬中，他好像觉得自己正置身于一个原始大森林中，大树下面徜徉着一些赤身裸体的人。

Then he saw that there were paintings on the walls. 过了一会儿他才知道，他看到的是四壁上的巨大壁画。