双语·面纱 第三十章

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Suddenly her bearers, long silent, began to speak and one of them, turning round, with words she could not understand and with a gesture, sought to attract her attention. She looked in the direction he pointed and there, on the top of a hill, saw an archway; she knew by now that it was a memorial in compliment of a fortunate scholar or a virtuous widow, she had passed many of them since they left the river; but this one, silhouetted against the westering sun, was more fantastic and beautiful than any she had seen. Yet, she knew not why, it made her uneasy; it had a significance which she felt but could not put into words: Was it a menace that she vaguely discerned or was it derision? She was passing a grove of bamboos and they leaned over the causeway strangely as if they would detain her; though the summer evening was windless their narrow green leaves shivered a little. It gave her the sensation that some one hidden among them was watching her as she passed. Now they came to the foot of the hill and the rice-fields ceased. The bearers took it with a swinging stride. The hill was covered close with little green mounds, close, close to one another, so that the ground was ribbed like the sea-sand when the tide has gone out; and this she knew too, for she had passed just such a spot as they approached each populous city and left it. It was the graveyard. Now she knew why the bearers had called her attention to the archway that stood on the crest of the hill: they had reached the end of their journey.

They passed through the archway and the chair bearers paused to change the pole from shoulder to shoulder. One of them wiped his sweating face with a dirty rag. The causeway wound down. There were bedraggled houses on each side. Now the night was falling. But the bearers on a sudden broke into excited talk and with a jump that shook her ranged themselves as near as they could to the wall. In a moment she knew what had startled them, for as they stood there, chattering to one another, four peasants passed, quick and silent, bearing a new coffin, unpainted, and its fresh wood gleamed white in the approaching darkness. Kitty felt her heart beat in terror against her ribs. The coffin passed, but the bearers stood still; it seemed as though they could not summon up the will to go on. But there was a shout from behind and they started. They did not speak now.

They walked for a few minutes longer and then turned sharply into an open gateway. The chair was set down. She had arrived.

第三十章

突然，轿夫们经过很长一段时间的沉寂后开始叽叽喳喳说话了。其中一个轿夫转过身来，用她听不懂的话在说着什么，边说边打手势，想引起她的注意。她顺着他指的方向看去，在一个小山丘的山顶，耸立着一个拱门，她现在已经知道它是某种纪念碑，为了表彰某位先贤雅士或者贞洁的寡妇而建。他们自从上了河岸，一路上见了不少这样的牌坊。但是，这个牌坊在正在西下的太阳的映衬下，比她所见过的所有牌坊更为辉煌和漂亮。可不知为什么，它让她觉得不安，它有一种让她无法用言语描述的含义，是一种她隐约能察觉到的威胁吗？或是某种嘲弄？他们走进一片竹林，一根根竹子诡异地斜压着堤道，好像是要阻挡她前行。虽然夏天的晚上没有一丝微风，但细长、翠绿的竹叶却在微微颤动，给了她一种感觉，好像有人正躲在竹林里看着她经过。这时，他们已经走到山脚下，田埂路已经走到头了，轿夫们用摇摆的步伐沿着山路向上爬。小山丘上遍布着绿色的土堆，一个挨一个，密密匝匝，就像潮水退后，海滩上一排排的沙丘。她也知道这是什么，因为他们每进出一个人口稠密的城镇，都会经过这样的地方——坟场。现在她终于知道为什么轿夫们让她注意矗立在山顶的拱门了，他们已经到了旅途的终点。

他们通过了拱门，轿夫们歇了一下脚，把轿杠从一个肩上换到另一个肩上，有的人也趁机用脏兮兮的毛巾擦了擦满是汗水的脸。然后，堤道又向下蜿蜒了一小段路，道路的两旁有一些脏兮兮的房子。现在夜幕已经降临，但轿夫们又突然叽叽喳喳地说起话来，而且她感觉到轿椅一震，差点儿把她晃了下来，轿夫们紧紧贴着墙站立着。不一会儿，她就明白是什么惊吓着他们了。他们站在那儿，嘀咕着什么。四个农民悄无声息地从他们身边迅速通过，他们抬着一口崭新的棺材，这口棺材还没有刷油漆，在渐渐浓重的夜色中露出白花花的新木板的颜色。凯蒂觉得她的心被吓得怦怦直跳，都快到嗓子眼儿了。抬棺材的队伍已经过去，但轿夫们还愣愣地站着，好像还无法鼓起勇气继续前进。这时，不知谁在后面喊了一嗓子，他们又开始上路了，谁都没有说话。

他们又走了好几分钟，然后拐了个急弯，来到一个院落开阔的入口处。轿椅被慢慢放到了地上，她终于到家了。