皮漏斗之谜（12）

 

My heart sank within me as I saw these ominous¹ preparations, and yet I was held by the fascination² of horror, and I could not take my eyes from the strange spectacle. A man had entered the room with a bucket of water in either hand. Another followed with a third bucket. They were laid beside the wooden horse. The second man had a wooden dipper—a bowl with a straight handle—in his other hand. This he gave to the man in black. At the same moment one of the varlets approached with a dark object in his hand, which even in my dream filled me with a vague feeling of familiarity. It was a leathern filler. With horrible energy he thrust it—but I could stand no more. My hair stood on end with horror. I writhed³, I struggled, I broke through the bonds of sleep, and I burst with a shriek⁴ into my own life, and found myself lying shivering with terror in the huge library, with the moonlight flooding through the window and throwing strange silver and black traceries upon the opposite wall. Oh, what a blessed relief to feel that I was back in the nineteenth century—back out of that mediaeval vault⁵ into a world where men had human hearts within their bosoms⁷.

I sat up on my couch, trembling in every limb, my mind divided between thankfulness and horror. To think that such things were ever done—that they could be done without God striking the villains⁸ dead. Was it all a fantasy, or did it really stand for something which had happened in the black, cruel days of the world’s history? I sank my throbbing⁹ head upon my shaking hands. And then, suddenly, my heart seemed to stand still in my bosom⁶, and I could not even scream, so great was my terror. Something was advancing toward me through the darkness of the room.

我在旁边观望着，心里有种不祥的预感，可是受到恐惧感的控制，我无法把目光从这奇异的景象移开。一名男子双手各提一只水桶走进来，后面跟着另一个男子，手里也提着一桶水。他们把水桶放在木马旁边。后面的男子另一只手拿着长柄木勺，他把木勺递给黑衣人。这时，一名壮汉走进来，手里捧着一件黑色的物件，尽管是在梦中，我也觉得那东西有些眼熟。那是个皮漏斗。他使出全身力气插…可是我再也挺不住了，我感到毛骨悚然。我翻滚，挣扎，竭力挣脱梦境…随着一声尖叫我回到了真实的生活中，发现自己浑身战栗地躺在宽大的藏书室里，月光从窗口照进来，把窗户花格的影子投在对面的墙上，组成一幅银色黑色相间的古怪图象。哦，我大大地松了口气，终于回到十九世纪了一一从那个中世纪的拱形房间回到一个温馨的世界。

我在沙发上坐起来，四肢仍在颜抖，心里半是庆幸半是惊恐。难道这种事情真的发生过？难道做恶之人竟不遭天？这一切究竞是幻觉，还是在世界历史上那段黑暗冷酷的年代真的曾经存在过？突然，我的心脏仿佛停止跳动，甚至连尖叫也发不出了，恐惧到了极点一一黑暗中，一个黑影正向我走来。

1 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

2 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

3 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

4 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

5 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

6 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

7 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

8 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。