美国语文第四册 第159期:河口剧场(3)

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　　Pepper's roar, expressive² of astonishment³, indignation, and pain, is still ringing in my ears. 佩珀嚎叫着，充满吃惊、愤怒和痛苦，这声音至今还回响在我的耳边。

　　I looked upon him as a corpse⁴,  我像看一具尸体一样看着他，

　　and, glancing not far into the dreary⁵ future, pictured myself led forth⁶ to execution in the presence of the very same spectators then assembled. 同时想象着在不久的将来，我当着这些人的面被处决。

　　Luckily, poor Pepper was not seriously hurt; 幸运的是，可怜的佩珀伤势并不重。

　　but Grandfather Nutter⁷, appearing in the midst of the confusion (attracted by the howls of young Tell), 混乱中爷爷努特出现了（被小退尔的嚎叫吸引来的），

　　issued an injunction against all theatricals⁸ thereafter, and the place was closed; 下令从此停止一切演出，剧场关闭了。

　　not, however, without a farewell speech from me, 我没忘发表告别演说，

　　in which I said that this would have been the proudest moment of my life if I hadn't hit Pepper Whitcomb in the mouth. 我说如果不是射中了佩珀.惠特科姆的嘴，这一定是我一生中最骄傲的时刻。

　　Whereupon the audience (assisted, I am glad to state, by Pepper) cried, "Hear! hear!" 对此，观众（我得说，佩珀起了不小的作用）喊叫起来：“听！听！”

　　I then attributed the accident to Pepper himself,  后来我把过错归于佩珀自己，

　　whose mouth, being open at the instant I fired, acted upon the arrow much after the fashion of a whirlpool, and drew in the fatal shaft⁹. 我射击的时候，他大张的嘴像旋涡一样，把箭吸了进去。

　　I was about to explain how a comparatively small maelstrom¹⁰ could suck in the largest ship,  我正要解释小旋涡是怎么吸进大船的，

　　when the curtain fell of its own accord, amid the shouts of the audience. 在观众的喊叫声中，舞台的幕布自己掉了下来。

　　This was my last appearance on any stage. 这是我最后一次和舞台沾边。

　　It was some time, though, before I heard the end of the William Tell business. 可是很久以后人们还会提到威廉·退尔。

　　Malicious¹¹ little boys who hadn't been allowed to buy tickets to my theater used to cry out after me in the street,—"Who killed Cock Robin¹²?" 未获准买票进入剧场的小孩子们心怀恶意，常常在我身后喊——“谁杀死了知更鸟?”

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