牛津书虫系列《诱拐》Chapter3 附中英双语文本

Two days passed，and on the third day two things happened．First，I discovered that I had lost almost all my money through a hole in my pocket．I only had three of my uncle's thirty-eight pounds left．But worse was to come．While I was sitting on a rock，looking out over Iona，I suddenly noticed a small boat moving fast through the Water．I jumped to my feet and shouted as loudly as I could．The two men in the boat were near enough to hear．They shouted back in Gaelic，and laughed．But the boat did not turn，and sailed on，right in front of my eyes，to Iona．
两天过去了，第三天发生了两件事。首先，我发现我几乎所有的钱都从口袋上的一个洞那儿漏掉了。叔叔给我的38镑钱只剩下3镑。可是更糟糕的事接踵而至了。当我坐在一块礁石上远望比爱欧娜岛更远处时，我忽然注意到一条小船飞快地驶过水面。我突然站起来，竭尽全力地叫。船上的那两个人离我近到了能够听到我的声音的程度。他们用盖尔语对我大声回话，大笑着。但船没有掉头，继续向前驶着，在我眼巴巴的注视之下直至爱欧娜岛。
I could not understand why they did not come to help me．I continued shouting wildly，although I could no longer see them．And then，I lay down and cried for the second time．This time I wasn't sad，but angry，because I thought that they had left me to die alone in that terrible place．
我不明白他们为什么不来帮助我。虽然我看不见他们了，但我继续狂叫着。接着，我躺下来，又一次哭了。这一次我并不伤心，而是气愤，因为我想到他们把我留在这个可怕的地方，让我孤零零地死去。
The next morning，I was surprised to see that the same men were sailing towards Earraid from Iona．At once I ran down to the rocky coast to meet them．The boat came near me，but stayed a few metres away in the water．There was a third man in the boat，who was talking and laughing with the others．Then he stood up and spoke fast to me in Gaelic，which I could not understand．But sometimes he used an English word，and once I heard the word ‘tide’．This gave me a flash of hope．
第二天早上，我惊奇地看见正是那两个人从爱欧娜岛向伊锐德岛驶来。我立刻跑下来，来到礁岩岸边迎接他们。船到了我附近，但停在水中离我几米远处。船上除这两个人外，还有一个人，他正和另外两个人说笑着。然后他站起来，用盖尔语对我飞快地说起来，那我听不懂。但有时他也用一个英语单词，一次我听到“潮水”这个词。这给了我一丝希望。
‘Do you mean—that when the tide is low…？’I cried，and could not finish． ‘Yes，yes，’he called back，‘tide，’and laughed again．
“您是说——当潮水退低时……？”我大声地喊着，但没能说完。“对，对，”他回话道，“潮水，”接着又笑了。
I turned my back on the boat and ran back excitedly to the east of the island，where Earraid was the closest to Mull．And sure enough，there was now only a little water between the is lands．I was able to wade through it easily，and reached Mull with a happy shout．How stupid of me not to realize that it was possible to get to Mull，twice a day，at low tide！Now I felt very grateful to the boatmen for guessing my problem，and coming back to help me．
我转过身，背对着小船，激动地跑回小岛的东端，在那儿伊锐德岛离马尔岛最近。而且很肯定的是现在两岛之间的水很少。我能够轻易地蹚过去，随着一声欢快的叫声我到达马尔。我多傻，竟没有意识到我能乘低潮时一天两次地到马尔！我非常感激那些船夫，他们猜到了我的问题而且还回来帮助我。
I walked towards the smoke that I had seen so often from Earraid，and reached a long，low house built of stone．Outside sat an old man，smoking his pipe in the sun．He spoke a little English， and told me that the officers and sailors from the ship had all arrived there safely a few days before．
我向我在伊锐德岛上曾这么多次地看到的那缕炊烟走去，到了一个长长的、低矮的石屋那儿。屋外坐着一位老人，正在太阳下用烟斗吸烟。他讲一点儿英语，告诉我那条船上的高级船员和水手几天前就已安全地到达了那儿。
‘Was one of them dressed in fine clothes？’I asked．
“其中有一位穿着考究的人吗？”我问道。
‘Aye，there was one like that，’he smiled．‘Ye must be the lad with the silver button！’
“对，有像那么回事的一位。”他微笑着，“你一定是那个有银扣子的小伙子！”
‘Why，yes！’I said，surprised．
“哎，我是！”我说道，感到惊讶。
‘Well then，your friend says that ye must follow him to the house of his clansman，James Stewart，in Appin．’