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I took a seat at the end of the hearthstone opposite that towards which my landlord advanced, and filled up an interval of silence by attempting to caress the canine mother, who had left her nursery, and was sneaking wolfishly to the back of my legs, her lip curled up, and her white teeth watering for a snatch. My caress provoked a long, guttural gnarl. “You’d better let the dog alone,” growled Mr. Heathcliff in unison, checking fiercer demonstrations with a punch of his foot. “She’s not accustomed to be spoiled—not kept for a pet.” Then, striding to a side door, he shouted again, “Joseph!” Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depths of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me vis-à-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship over all my movements. Not anxious to come in contact with their fangs, I sat still; but, imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio, and some turn of my physiognomy so irritated madam, that she suddenly broke into a fury and leapt on my knees. I flung her back, and hastened to interpose the table between us. This proceeding aroused the whole hive: half-a-dozen four-footed fiends, of various sizes and ages, issued from hidden dens to the common centre. I felt my heels and coat-laps peculiar subjects of assault; and parrying off the larger combatants as effectually as I could with the poker, I was constrained to demand, aloud, assistance from some of the household in re-establishing peace. Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexatious phlegm: I don’t think they moved one second faster than usual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping. Happily, an inhabitant of the kitchen made more dispatch; a lusty dame, with tucked-up gown, bare arms, and fire-flushed cheeks, rushed into the midst of us flourishing a frying-pan: and used that weapon, and her tongue, to such purpose, that the storm subsided magically, and she only remained, heaving like a sea after a high wind, when her master entered on the scene. “What the devil is the matter?” he asked, eyeing me in a manner that I could ill endure after this inhospitable treatment. “What the devil, indeed!” I muttered. “The herd of possessed swine could have had no worse spirits in them than those animals of yours, sir. You might as well leave a stranger with a brood of tigers!” “They won’t meddle with persons who touch nothing,” he remarked, putting the bottle before me, and restoring the displaced table. “The dogs do right to be vigilant. Take a glass of wine?” “No, thank you.” “Not bitten, are you?” “If I had been, I would have set my signet on the biter.” Heathcliff’s countenance relaxed into a grin. “Come, come,” he said, “you are flurried, Mr. Lockwood. Here, take a little wine. Guests are so exceedingly rare in this house that I and my dogs, I am willing to own, hardly know how to receive them. Your health, sir?” I bowed and returned the pledge; beginning to perceive that it would be foolish to sit sulking for the misbehaviour of a pack of curs; besides, I felt loth to yield the fellow further amusement at my expense; since his humour took that turn. He—probably swayed by prudential consideration of the folly of offending a good tenant—relaxed a little in the laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs, and introduced what he supposed would be a subject of interest to me,—a discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of my present place of retirement. I found him very intelligent on the topics we touched; and before I went home, I was encouraged so far as to volunteer another visit to-morrow. He evidently wished no repetition of my intrusion. I shall go, notwithstanding. It is astonishing how sociable I feel myself compared with him. |
我在爐台的一頭找了個座位坐下，我的房東走到我對麵的座位坐了下來，為了填補這段沉默的空白時間，我試著撫弄那位狗媽媽，她剛剛給狗崽子們喂完奶，像狼一樣躡足潛蹤踅到我的雙腿後麵，她向上咧著嘴唇，齜著白牙，淌著涎水，隨時準備要向前一撲。我的撫弄激起她喉嚨裏長長的一聲嗥叫。 “你最好離她遠一點，不要去招惹她，”黑思克裏夫使勁跺了一下腳，製止狗的這種過激表現，同時他用同樣高的聲音大吼道，“她不習慣人撫弄——我們又不把她當寵物養。”接著他邁開大步走到角門，又再次高聲叫道：“周思福！” 周思福正在地窖深處，嘴裏含混不清地嘟囔著，絲毫沒有要上來的跡象，他的主人於是就衝下地窖找他去了。留下我和這條凶悍的母狗以及一對麵目猙獰、毛長發濃、邋裏邋遢的牧羊犬麵麵相覷。這對牧羊犬和那條母狗一樣隨時監視著我的一舉一動，目露猜忌之色。我並不急著要碰這些家夥的犬牙，所以就坐著紋絲不動；但是我想這幾個家夥很少能夠理解我對它們這種無聲的羞辱，我對著它們仨擠眉弄眼、扮扮鬼臉，非常倒黴的是，我麵部表情的某種變化一下子激怒了那條母狗，她突然暴跳起來，撲到我的雙腿膝蓋上。我使勁把她推開，並迅速拉了張桌子放在我和她中間。這下引起了公憤——六隻四蹄魔獸，大小不同，年歲各異，紛紛從剛才隱蔽之處竄到屋子正中央。我感覺我的腳後跟和上衣邊是重點攻擊對象；於是我用撥火棍盡力地把大塊頭的那幾個攻擊者擊退，隨後迫於無奈，我隻好大聲呼救，希望有人出麵來重建屋子裏剛才的祥和氣氛。 黑思克裏夫和他的仆人心情煩躁，不緊不慢地爬上了地窖台階——我認為他倆並不比平時走得哪怕就快一秒鍾，盡管爐台周邊此時已經是恐懼加狂叫，如同暴風驟雨一般。好在這時廚房裏衝出來一位身材健碩的女人，裙子卷起，胳膊赤裸，麵頰火紅，在我和三條狗中間，她掄起了一個平底煎鍋——她憑借這個武器並且嘴裏嗬斥著，終於奇跡般地平息了這場風暴。等她家主人上場時，她就像狂風刮過後的海麵上下起伏一樣，站在那裏隻喘著粗氣。 “活見鬼，這兒到底發生了什麽事？”黑思克裏夫問道，在我受到如此不恭待遇之後，他瞅我的那種眼神真是讓人受不了。 “是啊，這真是活見鬼！”我小聲嘟囔了一句。“鬼附身的豬群1都比不上先生您養的這些畜生身上的惡靈。您倒不如讓一個陌生訪客和一窩老虎呆在一起好了！” “如果人不觸碰這裏的任何東西，我的這些狗是不會招惹人的，”他說道，將一瓶酒放在我跟前，重新把剛才搬開的桌子擺回到原來的位置。“狗天生就是要時刻保持警覺。來杯酒如何？” “不了，謝謝。” “剛才沒被咬著吧。” “我要是真被咬著了，我會在咬我的那條狗身上打上我的圖章。” 黑思克裏夫咧嘴笑了起來。“請息怒，息怒”他說道，“你受驚了，勞克伍德先生。來，喝點酒。這個屋子難得來個客人，說了不怕你笑話，我和我的這幾條狗確實不懂得待客之道。先生，來，咱們喝一口，祝你健康！” 我身子向前欠了一下，算是回敬他。我開始感覺到，因為一群*****狗的不軌行為，而悶悶不樂幹坐著簡直是有些犯傻；另外，我討厭這家夥因我付出代價進而拿我尋開心；因為他就是要從我這裏尋開心。對於剛才得罪了一個好房客的愚蠢行為，他可能經過了深思熟慮，主意變得搖擺不定，說話語氣也變得和緩簡潔了一些，把那些代名詞和助動詞都從他的談話中剔除掉，然後向我介紹他覺得我會關注的話題——比如談論我目前幽居此處的利弊。我發現他對我們所碰觸的話題非常有見地；我向他告辭回到住處之前，信誓旦旦竟主動提出明天再來拜訪他。他顯然不願意我再來打擾。但無論如何，我還是要來的。我發現我自己比他合群多了！這個發現把我都嚇了一跳。 注1：鬼附體的豬群——見《聖經•新約•路加福音》第八章第三十一節到第三十三節：“眾魔哀求耶穌，勿投諸不測之淵。適有豖群，放牧山坡，魔求入豖身，耶穌允之；群魔乃離其人入豖群。豖忽闖下山坡，投淵而溺。” |
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