狄更斯雙語小説:《董貝父子》第22章Part 10

'Neither there,' said Mr CarHer, pointing to the place they had just left, 'nor anywhere else. I'll try how true and grateful you can be. I'll prove you!' Making this, by his display of teeth and by the action of his head, as much a threat as a promise, he turned from Rob's eyes, which were nailed upon him as if he had won the boy by a charm, body and soul, and rode away. But again becoming conscious, after trotting a short distance, that his devoted henchman, girt as before, was yielding him the same attendance, to the great amusement of sundry spectators, he reined up, and ordered him off. To ensure his obedience, he turned in the saddle and watched him as he retired. It was curious to see that even then Rob could not keep his eyes wholly averted from his patron's face, but, constantly turning and turning again to look after him' involved himself in a tempest of buffetings and jostlings from the other passengers in the street: of which, in the pursuit of the one paramount idea, he was perfectly heedless.
Mr Carker the Manager rode on at a foot-pace, with the easy air of one who had performed all the business of the day in a satisfactory manner, and got it comfortably off his mind. Complacent and affable as man could be, Mr Carker picked his way along the streets and hummed a soft tune as he went He seemed to purr, he was so glad.
And in some sort, Mr Carker, in his fancy, basked upon a hearth too. Coiled up snugly at certain feet, he was ready for a spring, Or for a tear, or for a scratch, or for a velvet touch, as the humour took him and occasion served. Was there any bird in a cage, that came in for a share ofhis regards?
'A very young lady!' thought Mr Carker the Manager, through his song. 'Ay! when I saw her last, she was a little child. With dark eyes and hair, I recollect, and a good face; a very good face! I daresay she's pretty.'
More affable and pleasant yet, and humming his song until his many teeth vibrated to it, Mr Carker picked his way along, and turned at last into the shady street where Mr Dombey's house stood. He had been so busy, winding webs round good faces, and obscuring them with meshes, that he hardly thought of being at this point of his ride, until, glancing down the cold perspective of tall houses, he reined in his horse quickly within a few yards of the door. But to explain why Mr Carker reined in his horse quickly, and what he looked at in no small surprise, a few digressive words are necessary.
Mr Toots, emancipated from the Blimber thraldom and coming into the possession of a certain portion of his wordly wealth, 'which,' as he had been wont, during his last half-year's probation, to communicate to Mr Feeder every evening as a new discovery, 'the executors couldn't keep him out of' had applied himself with great diligence, to the science of Life. Fired with a noble emulation to pursue a brilliant and distinguished career, Mr Toots had furnished a choice set of apartments; had established among them a sporting bower, embellished with the portraits of winning horses, in which he took no particle of interest; and a divan, which made him poorly. In this delicious abode, Mr Toots devoted himself to the cultivation of those gentle arts which refine and humanise existence, his chief instructor in which was an interesting character called the Game Chicken, who was always to be heard of at the bar of the Black Badger, wore a shaggy white great-coat in the warmest weather, and knocked Mr Toots about the headthree times a week, for the small consideration of ten and six per visit.

“不要到那裏去説，”卡克先生指着他們剛剛離開的地方説道，“也不要到其他任何地方去説。我要看看你能忠實和感恩到什麼程度。我將考驗你！”他露出牙齒，晃晃腦袋，使他的話聽起來不僅是一種許諾，而且是一種威脅，然後他離開了羅布的眼睛（這雙眼睛一直牢牢地注視着他，彷彿他已用魔術把這孩子的整個身心都掌握到手裏了），騎着馬離開了。但在馬小跑了短短的一段距離之後，他發覺他的忠實的僕從還像先前一樣束着腰身，一路跟隨着他，使許多行人感到十分有趣，於是他就勒住馬，囑咐他回家去。為了保證孩子能服從命令，他在馬上回過頭去，注視着他離開。有趣的是，甚至在這時候，羅布還不能讓他的眼睛完全離開恩人的臉孔，而是不斷回過頭去，目送着卡克先生，結果他從街上其他行人那裏得到一陣陣毆打和推擠，因為他心中被一個至高無上的思想所支配，完全不去注意這些行人了。
經理卡克先生慢步向前騎着，露出一副悠然自得的神氣，這是一個稱心滿意地完成了這一天所有的事情，無憂無慮地不再去思考它們的人才會有的。卡克先生躊躇滿志、和顏悦色地沿着街道揀着好路向前騎去，一邊還輕輕地哼着曲子。他似乎跟貓一樣在喵喵地叫着，他是多麼高興啊。
卡克先生在浮思漫想中也有幾分像貓一樣，在爐邊把自己烘得暖暖和和的。他舒適地在腳上蜷曲着身子，隨時準備着跳起來，或者去撕裂什麼，或者去抓傷什麼，或者用天鵝絨般的腳爪去撫摸什麼，這一切全都聽隨他的心意和時機來決定。籠子裏有沒有什麼鳥兒需要他去關心的呢？
“一位很年輕的小姐！”經理卡克先生一邊哼唱着歌曲，一邊想着：“是啊，上次我看到她的時候，她還是個小孩子。我記得她有一雙烏黑的眼睛和一頭烏黑的頭髮，還有一個可愛的臉蛋。一個很可愛的臉蛋啊！我認為她是漂亮的。”
卡克先生揀着好路向前騎去，顯得更加和顏悦色和開朗愉快；他嘴裏哼着歌曲，直到他的許多牙齒使它發出了顫抖的聲調。終於他轉進了董貝先生公館所在的那條背陰的街道。他一心忙着用蜘蛛網纏繞住那個可愛的臉蛋，用網絲把它遮蔽，所以他根本沒有想到他已經騎到這裏來了；可是當他向高大的公館的冷冰冰的外景看了一眼的時候，他在離門口幾碼遠的地方迅速地勒住了馬。不過，為了解釋卡克先生為什麼迅速地勒住了馬，吃驚不小地看到了什麼，在這裏有必要説幾句離題的話。
圖茨先生從布林伯的奴役中解放出來，獲得了他世俗財富的某一部分——他在最後半年的試讀期間，習慣在每天晚上把這件事當做一項新發現，告訴給菲德先生，説：“遺囑執行人不能把它從他那裏奪走”——以後，孜孜不倦地埋頭研究生活的科學。他渴望從事輝煌、卓越的事業；在這崇高志向的激勵下，他把一套精緻的房間進行了佈置，其中還單設了一個運動室，裏面裝飾着一些比賽得勝的馬的畫片，可他對它們絲毫不感興趣；裏面還有一張長沙發，這使他顯得很不體面。圖茨先生在這個美妙可愛的住所中專心致志於使生活美化和高尚的技藝；他的主要教師是一位綽號叫做鬥雞的有趣人物，在“黑獾”酒吧中經常可以聽到他的情況；他在最熱的天氣中穿一件毛茸茸的白色厚大衣，每星期在圖茨先生的頭上用拳頭打三次，每次訪問得到十先令六便士的微薄報酬。