狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第23章Part 10

Rob replied in the affirmative, and turning to a greasy parchment book on the shop desk, read the address aloud.
Florence again turned to her maid and took counsel with her in a low voice, while Rob the round-eyed, mindful of his patron's secret charge, looked on and listened. Florence proposed that they kould go to Captain Cuttle's house; hear from his own lips, what he thought of the absence of any tidings ofthe Son and Heir; and bring him, if they could, to comfort Uncle Sol. Susan at first objected slightly, on the score of distance; but a hackney-coach being mentioned by her mistress, withdrew that opposition, and gave in her assent. There were some minutes of discussion between them before they came to this conclusion, during which the staring Rob paid close attention to both speakers, and inclined his ear to each by turns, as if he were appointed arbitrator of the argument.
In time, Rob was despatched for a coach, the visitors keeping shop meanwhile; and when he brought it, they got into it, leaving word for Uncle Sol that they would be sure to call again, on their way back. Rob having stared after the coach until it was as invisible as the pigeons had now become, sat down behind the desk with a most assiduous demeanour; and in order that he might forget nothing of what had transpired, made notes of it on various small scraps of paper, with a vast expenditure of ink. There was no danger of these documents betraying anything, if accidentally lost; for long before a word was dry, it became as profound a mystery to Rob, as if he had had no part whatever in its production.
While he was yet busy with these labours, the hackney-coach, after encountering unheard-of difficulties from swivel-bridges, soft roads, impassable canals, caravans of casks, settlements of scarlet-beans and little wash-houses, and many such obstacles abounding in that country, stopped at the corner of Brig Place. Alighting here, Florence and Susan Nipper walked down the street, and sought out the abode of Captain Cuttle.
It happened by evil chance to be one of Mrs MacStinger's great cleaning days. On these occasions, Mrs MacStinger was knocked up by the policeman at a quarter before three in the morning, and rarely such before twelve o'clock next night. The chief object of this institution appeared to be, that Mrs MacStinger should move all the furniture into the back garden at early dawn, walk about the house in pattens all day, and move the furniture back again after dark. These ceremonies greatly fluttered those doves the young MacStingers, who were not only unable at such times to find any resting-place for the soles of their feet, but generally came in for a good deal of pecking from the maternal bird during the progress of the solemnities.
At the moment when Florence and Susan Nipper presented themselves at Mrs MacStinger's door, that worthy but redoubtable female was in the act of conveying Alexander MacStinger, aged two years and three months, along the passage, for forcible deposition in a sitting posture on the street pavement: Alexander being black in the face with holding his breath after punishment, and a cool paving-stone being usually found to act as a powerful restorative in such cases.
The feelings of Mrs MacStinger, as a woman and a mother, were outraged by the look of pity for Alexander which she observed on Florence's face. Therefore, Mrs MacStinger asserting those finest emotions of our nature, in preference to weakly gratifying her curiosity, shook and buffeted Alexander both before and during the application of the paving-stone, and took no further notice of the strangers.
'I beg your pardon, Ma'am,' said Florence, when the child had found his breath again, and was using it. 'Is this Captain Cuttle's house?'
'No,' said Mrs MacStinger.

羅布作了肯定的答覆，一邊轉身跑到店鋪寫字檯前，翻開上面一本油膩的羊皮紙本子，高聲念出地址。
弗洛倫斯又轉向她的侍女，低聲和她商量；這時眼睛圓圓的羅布記起恩人的祕密囑咐，繼續看着和聽着。弗洛倫斯建議她們出發到卡特爾船長家裏去，聽一聽他本人對“兒子和繼承人”下落不明這件事是怎麼想的；如果可能的話，她們就請他來安慰所爾舅舅。蘇珊起初有些反對，理由是距離太遠；但當她的女主人說可以乘出租馬車去以後，她撤銷了異議，表示同意。她們經過了幾分鐘之後才得出這個結論，在這當兒，眼睛直盯盯的羅布一直在密切地注意着兩位交談的人，兩隻耳朵輪流地側着，一會兒聽這位說，一會兒聽那位說，彷彿他是被指定來當這次爭辯的仲裁人似的。
最後，羅布被派出去喊馬車，客人們則留在店裏；他把馬車喊來以後，她們就乘坐到裏面，同時囑咐他轉告所爾舅舅，她們在回來的路途中一定再來看望他。羅布注視着馬車離開，直到它像現在的鴿子一樣，看不見爲止；然後他專心致志地坐在寫字檯前，耗費了大量墨水，在各種不同的小紙片上把所發生的事情一一記下，以防今後忘記。這些記載即使偶爾丟失，也毫無泄露祕密的危險，因爲每個字的墨跡遠沒有幹以前，它對羅布已成了深奧莫解的祕密，彷彿這根本不是他寫的一樣。
當他還在忙着從事這個工作的時候，那輛出租馬車經歷了種種前所未聞的困難——旋橋，沒有砌石的道路，不能通行的運河，運輸大桶的商隊，種植紅豆的菜園，小洗衣房以及在那一帶地方其他很多這一類的障礙——，停在布里格廣場的角落裏。弗洛倫斯和蘇珊·尼珀在這裏下了馬車，沿着街道走去，尋找卡特爾船長的住所。
運氣不好，這天碰巧是麥克斯廷傑太太大事清洗的日子。每逢這種日子，麥克斯廷傑太太半夜兩點三刻就被警察敲門喊醒，而第二天很少在夜裏十二點鐘以前就躺下睡覺的。這個慣例的主要目的看來在於麥克斯廷傑太太必須在天剛拂曉的時候就把所有的傢俱搬到後花園中，整天穿着木套鞋在屋子裏走來走去；天黑以後又要把傢俱搬回屋中。這套程序使小麥克斯廷傑這些鴿子們坐立不安，因爲它們在這種時候非但找不到任何休養腳痛的地方而且在程序進行過程中通常還要遭到母鳥的許多啄咬。
弗洛倫斯和蘇珊·尼珀走到麥克斯廷傑太太的門口時，那位值得尊敬但卻嚴厲可怕的女人正在把兩歲零三個月的亞歷山大·麥克斯廷傑沿着走廊拽出去，強迫他坐在街旁的人行道上。亞歷山大臉色發青，因爲他在受到懲罰之後氣都喘不上來；在這種情況下，人行道上冷冰冰的石板通常成爲他恢復精力的良醫妙方。
麥克斯廷傑太太看到弗洛倫斯臉上流露出憐憫亞歷山大的神色時，她作爲一個女人和母親的感情受到了傷害。所以，麥克斯廷傑太太就首先維護我們本性中這些最高尚的情感，而把滿足她的好奇心的微弱願望放在次要地位；在強迫亞歷山大坐到人行道石板上之前和之後，她搖晃着他的身子，並且毆打他，不再去注意這兩位陌生人。
“請原諒，夫人，”弗洛倫斯當孩子又喘過氣來，正在呼吸的時候，說道，“這是卡特爾船長的房屋嗎？”
“不是，”麥克斯廷傑太太說。