We were playing the drama of "William Tell, the Hero of Switzerland." 当时我们正在演出《瑞士英雄威廉·退尔》。

　　Of course I was William Tell, in spite of Fred Langdon, who wanted to act that character himself. 当然，威廉·退尔由我扮演，尽管弗雷德·兰登也觊觎这个角色。

　　I wouldn't let him, so he withdrew from the company, taking the only bow and arrow we had. 我没有让他演，他愤怒地退出了剧场，带走了唯一的弓箭。

　　I made a crossbow out of a piece of whalebone, and did very well without him. 我用鲸须另外做了一张弓，因此没有弗雷德·兰登也能演下去。

　　We had reached that exciting scene where Gesler, the Austrian tyrant, commands Tell to shoot the apple from his son's head. 演到奥地利暴君格斯勒命令威廉·退尔箭射放在自己儿子头上的苹果了。

　　Pepper Whitcomb, who played all the juvenile and women parts, was my son. 剧中扮演孩子的是佩珀·惠特科姆，他包揽了所有儿童和女性角色。

　　To guard against mischance, a piece of pasteboard was fastened by a handkerchief over the upper portion of Whitcomb's face,  为了防止意外，惠特科姆面部上方用手帕包了一块纸板挡着，

　　while the arrow to be used was sewed up in a strip of flannel. 箭头也用法兰绒布条缝了起来。

　　I was a capital marksman, and the big apple, only two yards distant, turned its russet cheek fairly towards me. 我是个神射手，而金黄色的大苹果离我只有二码远。

　　I can see poor little Pepper now, as he stood without flinching, waiting for me to perform my great feat. 我看到小佩珀站在那儿，毫无畏惧地等着我的壮举。

　　I raised the crossbow amid the breathless silence of the crowded audience, 我举起弩在拥挤的观众的一片死寂，

　　consisting of seven boys and three girls, exclusive of Kitty Collins, who insisted on paying her way in with a clothespin. 观众包括七个男孩和三个女孩，还有基蒂·克林斯，因为她坚持用衣夹支付入场费。

　　I raised the crossbow, I repeat. 我拉了两次弓。

　　Twang! went the whipcord; but, alas! instead of hitting the apple, the arrow flew right into Pepper Whitcomb's mouth,  砰！弓弦响了；哎呀！箭没有射中苹果，笔直飞入惠特科姆张开的嘴里。

　　which happened to be open at the time, and destroyed my aim. 这是在当时是开放的，并摧毁了我的目标。