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《剝皮的手》-莫泊桑

《The Hand》- Maupassant

預(yù)審法官貝爾穆提耶被人簇?fù)碇?，正在?duì)圣魯克的神秘案件發(fā)表看法。一個(gè)月來，這件說不清道不明的殺人案件已經(jīng)攪得整個(gè)巴黎為之恐慌。誰都不明白案件究竟是怎么回事。

The inquiry judge was surrounded by people, he is giving opinions about the mysterious case. In the past one month, this strange homicide case has made the whole Paris panic and scary. No one knows what is going on with this case.

貝爾穆提耶先生背靠壁爐站著，列舉各項(xiàng)證據(jù)，討論各種看法，但就是不下結(jié)論。

Mr.Bell was standing with his back against the wall, listing the evidences and talking about the perspectives, but not to draw a conclusion.

幾個(gè)女人站起身想靠近他，卻又在原地不動(dòng)，凝視法官那張刮凈了胡須的嘴，等候至關(guān)重要的話語從里面冒出來。

Several women stood up, willing to approach him, but stay up. They are staring the judge’s mouth which has just shaved, waiting for the fatal words come out from it.

她們緊張得渾身顫抖，又是好奇，又是害怕，明知是可怕嚇人的事，卻又饑腸轆轆一樣充滿渴望。

They trembled all over with tension, curiosity and fear. They knew it was scary, but still aspire it like really hungry.

其中一個(gè)女人的臉色比其他人更為蒼白，在一片沉默中，她先開口道：

One of the woman’s faces is more pale than others, she choose to speak firstly in the silence:

“真可怕。這算是‘超自然’了，我們永遠(yuǎn)都弄不清楚?！?/p>

“It was so scary, this was a sort of supernatural, we will never understand what is going on”

法官轉(zhuǎn)過身對(duì)她說：

The judge turned around and said to her:

“是的，夫人，或許我們永遠(yuǎn)都弄不清楚。至于您剛才使用的‘超自然’一詞卻與本案無關(guān)。我們面對(duì)的是一件精心策劃又精心實(shí)施的罪行，它被重重迷霧籠罩，使得我們無法將之從那難解的犯罪情境中剝離出來。不過，我本人倒是曾經(jīng)辦過一個(gè)案子，其中也似乎慘雜著什么詭異之事。由于沒法查清楚，最后就只能不了了之了?！?/p>

“Yes, madam, we may never know it. But the word “supernatural”?you just used have nothing to do with this case. We are facing a elaborate crime, it is covered by dense fog, making us can’t get it out from the complicated circumstance. But I have worked on a case which also mixed with some mysterious things. It end up with nothing definite because we can’t figure it out.”

幾個(gè)女人同時(shí)發(fā)出聲來，語速之快使得她們的話音合而為一：

The women made some noises simultaneously, their voice combined because of the speed:

“哦！快給我們說說吧?！?/p>

“Really! Tell us please”

就像預(yù)審法官理所應(yīng)當(dāng)表現(xiàn)出的樣子，貝爾穆提耶先生莊重地笑了笑，接著說：

Mr.Bell smiled gravely, just like a inquiry judge, said:

“至少，你們不要以為我會(huì)有絲毫的可能設(shè)想這件奇案中有什么超人類的東西，我只相信正常的理由。是的，要想表達(dá)我們無法理解的事物，我們只用‘無法解釋’一詞，而不用‘超自然’這個(gè)字眼，這就好多了?？傊谖乙獙?duì)你們講的這個(gè)案件中，讓我尤為觸動(dòng)的是圍繞著案子的情景，也就是案發(fā)前的情況?！?/p>

“At least, you should not believe it is a possible that I think there are some supernatural things in the case. Yes, we only use the word “unexplainable”?instead of “supernatural”, that is better. Anyway, in this case which I am telling you, the thing that shocked me is the circumstance of the case, that is the situation before the crime.”

好吧，事情是這樣的：

Well, here is the thing:

那時(shí)，我在阿雅克肖擔(dān)任預(yù)審法官，那是座白色的小城，坐落在群山環(huán)抱下一個(gè)秀麗的海灣邊上。

At that time, I was a inquiry judge in A, that is a white city, sitting on the side of a beautiful bay which is surrounded by mountains.

在那里，我特別關(guān)注由當(dāng)?shù)匮H復(fù)仇風(fēng)俗所引發(fā)的案件。那些仇殺案有的精彩，有的殘忍，有的英勇，有的悲壯。

When I was there, I paid much attention to those cases about the culture of revenge among blood relations. Some of them are brilliant, some are cruel, some are brave and some are tragic.

那里有各種陰謀詭計(jì)，有人所能想到的最美的復(fù)仇故事，有一旦結(jié)下就永不磨滅的百年仇怨，還有不斷擴(kuò)大、幾成光榮之舉的殺戮。

There are all kinds of conspiracies and tricks, the most beautiful stories of revenge you can imagine, hatred of hundred years which will never disappear, slaughters which are constantly expanding.

兩年間，我聽說的都是血債血償，盡是科西嘉人可怕的偏見，一旦有人受辱，他就不得不向侮辱自己的人，向他的親屬和后代復(fù)仇。

In the two years, I heard about bloody revenges, I heard about terrible prejudice of Ks. Someone have to take revenge on the people who insult him and on their relatives and offspring.

我曾見過殘殺老人、兒童和旁系親屬的，那時(shí)我滿腦子裝的盡是這樣的故事。

I watched them to kill old people, children and relatives, my head was full of these stories.

然而，有一天我聽說有個(gè)英國人把海灣深處的一棟小別墅租下了幾年，還帶來了一個(gè)途經(jīng)馬賽時(shí)雇用的仆人。

But one day, I heard there is a British who rent a house in the deep of bay, and he brought a servant from M.

很快，所有人都談?wù)撈疬@個(gè)怪人來。他一個(gè)人在宅子里生活，除了打獵和釣魚從不出門。

Quickly, everyone started to talk about this freak, he lived in the house alone, and never go out except hunting or fishing.

他從不和人說話，也從不來城里，每天早晨卻要花一兩個(gè)小時(shí)用手槍和馬槍練習(xí)射擊。

He never talk to others, and never come to the town, but he spent one and two hours to practice shooting in the morning.

有關(guān)他的種種故事漸漸傳開了。有人說他是個(gè)因?yàn)檎卧驐墖h(yuǎn)遁的上層人物，也有人說他是犯了滔天大罪之后躲藏于此，甚至連恐怖至極的犯罪情節(jié)都描繪得有模有樣。

There were so many stories about him. Some people said he was a elite who get out of the state because of politics, some people said he committed horrible crimes and hide here, they can even describe all the plots of crimes in detail.

身為預(yù)審法官，我想要親自打聽此人的底細(xì)，結(jié)果卻無從得知，只知道他自稱約翰·洛威爾先生。

As the inquiry judge, I want to know the history about this person, but I got nothing except he named himself John.

我只能對(duì)他嚴(yán)加監(jiān)視。但實(shí)際上，他也沒什么可疑之處。

I can only watch him strictly, but in fact, he had nothing suspicious.

然而，有關(guān)他的流言蜚語仍在繼續(xù)著、擴(kuò)大著，變得無處不在。我決定試著親自去見見這個(gè)異鄉(xiāng)人，于是開始按時(shí)去他家周圍打獵。

However, gossip about him is expanding constantly, I decided to see him by myself and I began to go hunting around his home.

我耐心等了很久，機(jī)會(huì)終于來了。我開槍射中一只松雞，就在英國人眼皮底下把它打死了，獵犬把松雞叼了回來。

I waited for a long time and finally i got a change. I shoot a grouse under his eyes and the hound got it back.

然而一拿到獵物，我便立刻上前對(duì)自己的失禮表示歉意，并請(qǐng)約翰·洛威爾先生收下這只松雞。

Once I got the grouse, I immediately come forward to him and apologized for my impoliteness, and I asked Mr.John to take the grouse.

這是個(gè)留著紅頭發(fā)、紅胡子的大個(gè)子男人，高大魁梧，模樣像個(gè)大力士，但氣質(zhì)溫和又禮貌，身上一點(diǎn)也沒有那種所謂的英國式的古板。

This is a big guy with red hair and red beard who is just like a giant, but he is polite and gentle, and there is no some sort of British old-fashion with him.

對(duì)于我周全的禮節(jié)，他用英格蘭腔的法語對(duì)我表達(dá)了深深的謝意。如此一來，在這一個(gè)月中，我和英國人搭上了五六次話。

He expressed gratitude for my politeness, so in this month, I talked to him for several times.

終于，一天傍晚，路過他家門前時(shí)，我瞅見他正跨騎在花園的椅子上抽煙斗。

Finally, one day, when I passed by his home, I saw him was smoking on the chair in the garden.

我向他問好，他請(qǐng)我進(jìn)去喝啤酒。我沒有推辭便接受了。

I said hello to him and he invited me to drink beer. I didn’t refuse it.

他用英國人特有的周到禮儀招待了我，對(duì)法國，對(duì)科西嘉大加贊賞，說自己深愛這個(gè)國家，深愛這片海岸。

He served me with great politeness, he appreciated the France so much and he said he love this country, love the bay.

這時(shí)，我裝作很感興趣的樣子，其實(shí)是小心翼翼地問了幾個(gè)有關(guān)他人生經(jīng)歷和有何打算的問題。

And I was pretending to be very interested, and actually I carefully asked him several questions about his life experience and what does he want to do.

他回答得很爽快，告訴我他曾游歷多地，去過非洲、印度、美洲。最后，他笑著說：“我有過很多次奇遇。”

He answered me nicely and told me that he had travelled Africa, India and America. In the end, he said: ”I have many wonderful adventures”

我們又談到了打獵，他便對(duì)我詳細(xì)說了很多打獵的趣聞：有關(guān)捕獵河馬、老虎、大象，甚至還有大猩猩。

Then we talked about hunting, he said some interesting things about hunting the hippos, tigers, elephants and even gorillas.

我說：“這些野獸都很可怕。”

I said: “These wild animals are scary”

他微微一笑：“噢！不對(duì)，最可怕的是人。”說完他哈哈大笑起來，笑得酣暢痛快，是大塊頭英國佬高興時(shí)特有的笑?！拔疫€獵過很多人。”

He smiled: “No, human is the most scary”?Then he burst into laughter, “I also hunted many people”

接著，他談起了武器，并請(qǐng)我進(jìn)他房間，向我展示他收藏的各種類別的槍支。

Then, he talked about weapons and invited me to go into his room, he showed many different kinds of guns to me.

他的客廳四周蒙著黑色帷幔，全都鑲金邊。烏黑的綢緞上布滿了大朵的黃花，像火焰一樣耀眼奪目。

His living-room was covered by some black draperies which all with golden borders. And there are many yellow flowers on the draperies.

他說：“這是日本綢緞。”

It’s Japanese silks.

但是在最寬的一幅帷幔上，有一樣奇特的東西吸引了我的注意。只見在一塊方方正正的紅絲絨上，有個(gè)黑色的物體。我走到跟前仔細(xì)觀看，竟然是只手，一只人手。

There is a thing which attracted me on the draperies, a black stuff. When I came closer to see it , unexpectedly , it is hand, a human’s hand.

那并不是干凈的白色手骨，而是一只黑不溜秋的干尸手，留著黃指甲，肌肉暴露在外，還沾有從前的血跡，那血跡仿佛一塊污漬，抹在似乎是被斧頭齊根斬?cái)嗟那氨酃穷^上。

That’s not a clean bone of hand, it’s a black dried hand with dirty nails and blood, the bloodstain is just like a blot on the bone which was cut by an axe.

這手的腕上緊緊纏繞著一根粗鐵鏈，牢牢地將這只惡心的手與墻上的一個(gè)鐵環(huán)扣在一起。鐵環(huán)很結(jié)實(shí)，足以拴住一頭大象。

And there is a thick iron chain around the wrist, buckled the hand with a iron hoop. It seems really firm to tie down a elephant.

我問：“這是什么東西？”

What is this?

英國人不慌不忙地回答：“這是我最難纏的對(duì)手，來自美洲。我用大刀把它劈成兩半，又用尖利的碎石剝下了它的皮，放在太陽下面曬了一個(gè)星期。哈！對(duì)于我來說，這真是太痛快了?！?/p>

This is the most tough opponent of mine, from America. I used a knife to cut it into two pieces, and put it under the sun. It was so joyful.

我摸了摸這塊人體的殘肢，長這手的應(yīng)該是個(gè)巨人。手指出奇地長，鏈接著粗大的肌腱，有些地方還剩下點(diǎn)皮。這只被剝了皮的手慘不忍睹，不禁讓人想起某件野蠻的仇殺案。

I touched the hand, I think it was a giant, fingers are long.

我說：“這人應(yīng)該身強(qiáng)力壯。”

This guy should be really strong.

英國人溫文爾雅地回答道：“啊，是的，但我比他更強(qiáng)。我用這根鏈子鎖著他呢。”

Yes, but I am stronger than him. And I use the iron chain to lock him.

我以為他在開玩笑，便說：“鏈子現(xiàn)在一點(diǎn)用都沒有了，這只手又不會(huì)逃跑?！盜

I thought he was joking and said, the chain is useless, the hand will not escape.

約翰·洛威爾先生肅然答道：“它一直想溜走。這根鏈子非常必要。”

He said, it always want to run away, the chain is necessary.

我朝他臉上飛快瞥了一眼，心中不禁想：這是個(gè)瘋子，還是惡作??？

I glimpsed him and considered: Is this a madman or is this a prank?

但他的表情總是讓人難以捉摸，依然是那么平靜、和藹。于是我把話題轉(zhuǎn)到別的事情上，把他的各式槍支欣賞贊嘆了一番。

But his expression is always strange, peaceful and nice. So I turned the topic to other things, appreciated the guns a lot.

然而，我又注意到，柜子上有三支上了膛的手槍，似乎英國人一直在提防會(huì)遭到什么暗算。

However, I noticed that there are three loaded guns on the cabinet, seems that the British man was bewaring of some attacks.

后來，我又去過他家?guī)状?，再之后就不去了。因?yàn)榇蠹乙呀?jīng)對(duì)他的存在習(xí)以為常，就不以為怪了。

After that, I went to his home several times again and then I didn’t went there anymore, because everyone has used to him.

整整一年過去了。大約十一月底的一天早上，仆人把我叫醒，告訴我說約翰·洛威爾夜里被人殺害了。

After a whole year, in a morning of the end of November, a servant awake me up and told me that Mr.John was murdered.

半小時(shí)后，我與警察局局長及憲兵隊(duì)隊(duì)長進(jìn)入了這英國人的房子。

Half an hour later, I went into the house with police.

他的仆人待在門口，精神恍惚，哭個(gè)不停。我起先懷疑這個(gè)人，但他其實(shí)是無辜的。

His servant was standing out the door and crying. In the beginning, I doubt this guy, but actually he is innocent.

罪犯一直沒能找到。

We never found the criminal.

走進(jìn)客廳，我一眼就看到約翰先生的尸體仰面躺在屋子中央。

When I walked into the room, I saw the corpse of John lying on the center of the house.

他身上的背心已經(jīng)被撕爛了，襯衫的一只袖子也被扯下來耷拉著，這一切都說明，這里曾發(fā)生過激烈的搏斗。

His shirt was teared apart, this showed that there was a drastic fighting here.

英國人是被活活掐死的！他面堂發(fā)黑發(fā)腫，表情猙獰，顯露出極度的恐懼。

The British was strangled. His face was black and turgid with fear.

牙齒間似乎咬著什么東西，淌滿血的脖子上被扎了五個(gè)窟窿，就像是被尖頭鐵器鑿的一樣。

There are something in his mouth, his neck was pierced with five holes, just like by some ironware.

醫(yī)生來到現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，花了很長時(shí)間觀察尸體皮膚上的指印，最后說了這樣一句稀奇古怪的話：

The doctor came to the scene and spent much time to watch the fingers, he finally said a word:

“他是被一具骷髏掐死的?！?/p>

He was strangled by a skeleton.

我只覺得后背脊梁打了個(gè)冷戰(zhàn)，隨即向墻壁望去。那里曾經(jīng)系著一只可怕的被剝了皮的手，但是現(xiàn)在，手已經(jīng)不在了，只剩下一根斷掉的鐵鏈搖搖晃晃。

I just felt so scary and then go see the wall. There was a hand, but now it’s gone.

于是，我蹲下身子去觀察死者，發(fā)現(xiàn)他死死咬住的正是那只失蹤的一根手指，斷處在第二關(guān)節(jié)，與其說是被咬斷的，不如說是用牙磨斷的。

I squatted down to watch the corpse, found out that there was a finger in the mouth.

接下來的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)勘查一無所獲。門、窗、家具都完好無損，兩條看門狗也沒被吵醒。

The second day we found nothing. The door, the window are all undamaged, and two dogs were not waken up.

仆人的口供大致如下：

The testimony of the servant is like:

一個(gè)月來，他的主人似乎心神不寧。他收到很多信，收到一封就燒一封。

In the past one month, his master was always restless. The master received a lot of letters, and then he just burned them.

他經(jīng)常會(huì)像發(fā)瘋似的突然暴怒，抄起馬鞭就拼命抽打這只曾經(jīng)鎖在墻上、現(xiàn)在卻不知所終的干尸手。

He often exploded with rage just like he was crazy, and use the horsewhip to lash the dried hand.

直到案發(fā)時(shí)，也沒人知道這手是怎么沒的。

Until the time of the murder, no one knows where is the hand.

他每天都睡得很晚，把門窗關(guān)得死死的，并且總是隨身攜帶幾件武器。

He slept late every night and shut the doors and windows tightly , and he always carry some weapons with him.

他經(jīng)常在夜間高聲說話，像是在和什么人爭吵。

He often talked aloud at night, just like he was arguing with someone.

案發(fā)當(dāng)晚，他很反常地沒有發(fā)出任何聲響，仆人來開窗時(shí)才發(fā)現(xiàn)約翰先生已經(jīng)被害。仆人也想不出誰會(huì)是兇手。

At the night of the murder, abnormally, he didn’t make any noise, until the servant opened the door, Mr.John was found to be dead. The servant can’t figure out who is the criminal.

我把所知道的有關(guān)死者的情況通報(bào)給了法官和治安官員，他們?cè)谡麄€(gè)科西嘉島上進(jìn)行了嚴(yán)密搜查，但仍然一無所獲。

I told all the information about the victim to the judge and police officers. They scoured around the island but still got nothing.

然而，案發(fā)三個(gè)月后的一天夜里，我做了個(gè)可怕的噩夢(mèng)。

However, during one night three months later, i had a nightmare.

我仿佛看見了那只手，那只恐怖的剝皮的手，像蝎子或蜘蛛那樣飛快地沿著我房間的窗簾和墻壁爬行。

I saw the hand, that scary hand, scrambling along the curtains and walls of my room, just like a scorpion or a spider.

我驚醒了三次，又昏睡過去三次，每次都能見到那只陰森丑陋的斷手晃動(dòng)著爪子一樣的手指，在我房間里飛快地爬來爬去。

I woke up three times and fell asleep three times, but every time i can see the scary ugly hand, scrambling in my room.

第二天有人給我送來了那只手。由于沒法找到約翰·洛威爾的家人，人們只能把他葬在公墓里。

The second day, someone sent me the hand. People have to bury Mr.John in the cemetery because they can’t find his family.

斷手就是在他的墳?zāi)股厦嬲业降?，手上缺了一根食指?/p>

The hand was found on the tomb, it missed a finger.

好了，女士們，故事就是這樣，我只知道這么多。

Well, ladies, it’s the story, that’s all i know.

在場(chǎng)的女人們一個(gè)個(gè)心驚肉跳，臉色慘白，直打哆嗦。其中一位高聲道：

The women are all terrified, their face become pale with trembling. One of them said:

“但是，這還不是結(jié)局啊，也算不上是解釋！如果您不告訴我們您認(rèn)為這是怎么一回事的話，我們恐怕是睡不著的?！?/p>

But this is not a end, and not a explain, if you don’t tell us what is going on, we will be so terrified to sleep.

法官嚴(yán)肅地笑了一下：

The judge smiled:

“噢！我嘛，夫人們，我肯定會(huì)讓你們幻想的恐怖故事大為失色的。

Oh, ladies, I will let you down.

我想得很簡單，這只手的合法主人并沒有死，他用殘存的那只手來尋找這一只。

It was simple to me, the master of this hand is not dead, so he use the hand to find another hand.

但我無法得知他是怎么干的，這也算是一種血親復(fù)仇吧?！?/p>

But I have no idea how did he do it, maybe this is a kind of blood revenge.

其中一個(gè)女人囁嚅道：“不，不可能是這樣的。”

Another woman said: no, that’s impossible.

而預(yù)審法官的臉上笑容依舊，他最后說：“我已經(jīng)說得很清楚了，你們是不會(huì)喜歡我的解釋的?！?/p>

The inquiry judge was still smiling, finally he said: I have made it quite clear, you will definitely not like my explain.