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‘Where is Miss Catherine?’ I cried hurriedly. ‘No accident, I hope?’ ‘At Thrushcross Grange,’ he answered; ‘and I would have been there too, but they had not the manners to ask me to stay.’ ‘Well, you will catch it!’ I said: ‘you’ll never be content till you’re sent about your business. What in the world led you wandering to Thrushcross Grange?’ ‘Let me get off my wet clothes, and I’ll tell you all about it, Nelly,’ he replied. I bid him beware of rousing the master, and while he undressed and I waited to put out the candle, he continued—‘Cathy and I escaped from the wash-house to have a ramble at liberty, and getting a glimpse of the Grange lights, we thought we would just go and see whether the Lintons passed their Sunday evenings standing shivering in corners, while their father and mother sat eating and drinking, and singing and laughing, and burning their eyes out before the fire. Do you think they do? Or reading sermons, and being catechised by their manservant, and set to learn a column of Scripture names, if they don’t answer properly?’ ‘Probably not,’ I responded. ‘They are good children, no doubt, and don’t deserve the treatment you receive, for your bad conduct.’ ‘Don’t cant, Nelly,’ he said: ‘nonsense! We ran from the top of the Heights to the park, without stopping—Catherine completely beaten in the race, because she was barefoot. You’ll have to seek for her shoes in the bog to-morrow. We crept through a broken hedge, groped our way up the path, and planted ourselves on a flower-plot under the drawing-room window. The light came from thence; they had not put up the shutters, and the curtains were only half closed. Both of us were able to look in by standing on the basement, and clinging to the ledge, and we saw—ah! it was beautiful—a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops hanging in silver chains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers. Old Mr. and Mrs. Linton were not there; Edgar and his sisters had it entirely to themselves. Shouldn’t they have been happy? We should have thought ourselves in heaven! And now, guess what your good children were doing? Isabella—I believe she is eleven, a year younger than Cathy—lay screaming at the farther end of the room, shrieking as if witches were running red-hot needles into her. Edgar stood on the hearth weeping silently, and in the middle of the table sat a little dog, shaking its paw and yelping; which, from their mutual accusations, we understood they had nearly pulled in two between them. The idiots! That was their pleasure! to quarrel who should hold a heap of warm hair, and each begin to cry because both, after struggling to get it, refused to take it. We laughed outright at the petted things; we did despise them! When would you catch me wishing to have what Catherine wanted? or find us by ourselves, seeking entertainment in yelling, and sobbing, and rolling on the ground, divided by the whole room? I’d not exchange, for a thousand lives, my condition here, for Edgar Linton’s at Thrushcross Grange—not if I might have the privilege of flinging Joseph off the highest gable, and painting the house-front with Hindley’s blood!’
‘Hush, hush!’ I interrupted. ‘Still you have not told me, Heathcliff, how Catherine is left behind?’
‘I told you we laughed,’ he answered. ‘The Lintons heard us, and with one accord they shot like arrows to the door; there was silence, and then a cry, “Oh, mamma, mamma! Oh, papa! Oh, mamma, come here. Oh, papa, oh!” They really did howl out something in that way. We made frightful noises to terrify them still more, and then we dropped off the ledge, because somebody was drawing the bars, and we felt we had better flee. I had Cathy by the hand, and was urging her on, when all at once she fell down. “Run, Heathcliff, run!” she whispered. “They have let the bull-dog loose, and he holds me!” The devil had seized her ankle, Nelly: I heard his abominable snorting. She did not yell out—no! she would have scorned to do it, if she had been spitted on the horns of a mad cow. I did, though: I vociferated curses enough to annihilate any fiend in Christendom; and I got a stone and thrust it between his jaws, and tried with all my might to cram it down his throat. A beast of a servant came up with a lantern, at last, shouting—“Keep fast, Skulker, keep fast!” He changed his note, however, when he saw Skulker’s game. The dog was throttled off; his huge, purple tongue hanging half a foot out of his mouth, and his pendent lips streaming with bloody slaver. The man took Cathy up; she was sick: not from fear, I’m certain, but from pain. He carried her in; I followed, grumbling execrations and vengeance. “What prey, Robert?” hallooed Linton from the entrance. “Skulker has caught a little girl, sir,” he replied; “and there’s a lad here,” he added, making a clutch at me, “who looks an out-and-outer! Very like the robbers were for putting them through the window to open the doors to the gang after all were asleep, that they might murder us at their ease. Hold your tongue, you foul-mouthed thief, you! you shall go to the gallows for this. Mr. Linton, sir, don’t lay by your gun.” “No, no, Robert,” said the old fool. “The rascals knew that yesterday was my rent-day: they thought to have me cleverly. Come in; I’ll furnish them a reception. There, John, fasten the chain. Give Skulker some water, Jenny. To beard a magistrate in his stronghold, and on the Sabbath, too! Where will their insolence stop? Oh, my dear Mary, look here! Don’t be afraid, it is but a boy—yet the villain scowls so plainly in his face; would it not be a kindness to the country to hang him at once, before he shows his nature in acts as well as features?” He pulled me under the chandelier, and Mrs. Linton placed her spectacles on her nose and raised her hands in horror. The cowardly children crept nearer also, Isabella lisping—“Frightful thing! Put him in the cellar, papa. He’s exactly like the son of the fortune-teller that stole my tame pheasant. Isn’t he, Edgar?” |
“闞思睿小姐去哪兒了？”我急忙叫道，“但願她沒出什麽事吧。” “在畫眉田莊，”他答道，“本來我也可以呆在那兒，可是他們對我太無禮，不讓我留在那兒。” “好啊，你要倒黴啦！”我說，“非得要等到人家來輦你走，這下你滿意了吧。你們到底為啥要遊逛到畫眉田莊去？” “讓我先把濕衣服脫掉，再來告訴你是咋回事，耐莉。”他回答道。 我叫他小心別吵醒了少爺。當他正脫著衣服，我在等著熄燈時，他接著說：“闞思和我從洗衣房出去想自由自在地溜達溜達。我們瞅見了畫眉田莊的燈火，想去看看林騰他們在周日晚上是不是站在牆角發抖，而他們的父母卻坐在那兒又吃又喝，又唱又笑，在火爐跟前烤火，烤得眼珠都冒火了。你想林騰他們是這樣的嗎？或者在讀《聖經》，而且被他們的男仆盤問著，要是他們答不上來，還要背《聖經》上一長串的名字，是嗎？” “大概不會吧，”我答道，“他們當然是乖孩子，當然不該象你們那樣，因為你們行為惡劣而受懲罰。” “別再裝腔作勢了，耐莉，”他說，“你淨在扯瞎話！我們從山莊頂上跑到田莊裏，一步都沒停——闞思睿完全落在我後麵，因為她赤著腳。你明天需要到沼澤地去把她的鞋找回來。我們爬過一個破籬笆牆，摸索著往前爬，我們把自己的身體安插到客廳窗子下麵的一個花壇上。燈光從那兒照出來，他們還沒有關上百葉窗，窗簾也隻是半掩著。我倆站在牆根地上，手扒著窗台邊，就能瞧到裏麵。我們看見了——啊！真是漂亮——一個富麗堂皇的地方，地上鋪著猩紅色的地毯，桌椅也都罩著猩紅色的套子，純白的天花板鑲著金邊，天花板中央一根根銀鏈子上吊著許多玻璃墜，玻璃墜上的一個個小蠟燭光線柔和，照得玻璃墜閃閃發光。林騰老爺和夫人都不在場，整個屋子裏隻有愛德嘉和他幾個姊妹。他們還不該快樂嗎？要是換成我們的話，我們會以為自己到了天堂啦！可是，你猜你剛才說的那些乖孩子們在幹什麽？伊颯拜菈——我想她有十一歲，比闞思小一歲——躺在屋子較遠一頭尖聲大叫，就好像是幾個巫婆正把燒得通紅的幾根針刺進她的身體時發出的尖叫一樣。愛德嘉站在火爐邊，不聲不響地哭著，桌子中間坐著一隻小狗，爪子抖動，汪汪地叫。從他倆互相指責的樣子看來，我們才弄明白他倆差點兒把小狗扯成兩半。一對傻瓜！這就是他們的樂趣！兩個人吵鬧著該誰抱那堆暖和的皮毛，而且兩個都開始哭了，因為兩個人爭著搶狗之後又都不肯要了。我們對著這兩個活寶不禁笑出聲來。他們真讓我們小瞧！你啥時候見過我想要闞思睿要的東西來著，或是發現我們又哭又叫，在地上打滾，整間屋子一邊一個，這樣尋開心？即便我有上千條命，我也不會拿我在這兒的地位和愛德嘉•林騰在畫眉田莊的地位交換——哪怕讓我有權把周思福從最高的山牆尖上扔下來，而且在房子前麵塗抹上亨得利的血，我也不會交換！” “噓！噓！”我打斷他，“黑思克裏夫，你還沒告訴我怎麽把闞思睿落下啦？” “我剛才給你說到我們笑啦，”他答道，“林騰家的人聽見我們了，一個個箭步如飛似地衝到門口，大家都不作聲，接著大叫道，‘啊，媽呀，媽呀！啊，爸呀！啊，媽呀！快來呀！啊，爸呀，啊！’他們真地就象我這樣號叫著。我倆於是就發出嚇人的聲響好再嚇唬嚇唬他們，然後我倆就從窗台邊上跳下去，因為這時有人正拉開門閂，我們覺得最好還是溜之大吉。我抓住闞思的手，拖著她跑，她忽然一下子跌倒了。‘快跑，黑思克裏夫，快跑，’她小聲說，‘他們放開了鬥牛犬，它咬住我啦！’這個惡魔咬住了她的腳腕，耐莉，我聽見那條狗可惡的嗥叫。闞思沒有叫出聲來——不！她就是被戳在一頭發了瘋的牛角上也不會叫的。可我喊啦，大聲喊出足以殲滅基督王國裏任何惡魔的一頓咒罵，我撿起一塊石頭猛塞到這條狗的嘴裏，而且使出渾身力氣想把這石頭硬塞到它的喉嚨裏。終於有個畜生般的仆人提了馬燈來了，嘴裏叫嚷著：‘咬住，狐兒(1)咬住！’可是當他看見狐兒嘴裏的獵物，聲調就變了。狗被他掐住了，它那紫色的大舌頭從嘴邊掛出來有半尺長，耷拉的嘴巴流著帶血的口水。那個人把闞思抱起來。她昏倒了——不是因為害怕，我敢斷定，是疼昏的。他把她抱進屋裏。我跟在後麵，嘴裏嘟囔著咒罵和報仇的話。‘抓到什麽啦，羅伯特？’林騰老爺從大門口那兒喊著。‘先生，狐兒逮到一個小姑娘。’他回答，‘還有個小子，’他接著說，抓住我不放，‘這家夥看著倒像個慣犯！看來很象是強盜們先把他倆送進窗戶，好等大家都睡熟了，他倆去給這一幫子人開門進來，好輕輕鬆鬆把我們都殺掉。您給我住嘴，你個滿嘴噴糞的小偷，你！為這事你就該上絞刑架。林騰老爺，你先別把槍收起來。’‘不，羅伯特，’那個老混蛋說，‘這些壞蛋知道昨天是我收租的日子，他們想方設法算計我。進來吧，我要好好招待他們一番。約翰，把鏈子鎖緊。珍妮，給狐兒喂點水喝。竟敢頂撞一位長官，在他的公館裏，還是在安息日！他們這樣的傲慢無禮要到幾時才算個頭？啊，親愛的瑪麗，瞧這兒！別害怕，隻不過是個小子——可是他眉頭緊皺，一臉壞相，他的麵相已經暴露出本性來了，趁他的行動還沒表現出來，立刻把他絞死，不是給鄉裏做了件好事嗎？’他把我拉到枝形吊燈底下。林騰夫人把眼鏡戴在鼻梁上，嚇得舉起雙手。孩子們一個個膽小如鼠，也都爬近了一些，伊颯拜菈咬著舌頭含混不清地說著，‘這家夥好可怕！把他關到地窖裏去吧，爸爸。那個偷我寵物雉的算命先生的兒子，長得就和他一樣。不就是他嗎，愛德嘉？’ |
