The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer（二十八）

《湯姆·索亞歷險(xiǎn)記》是美國小說家馬克·吐溫創(chuàng)作的長篇小說，首次發(fā)表于1876年。小說中的故事發(fā)生在19世紀(jì)上半葉美國密西西比河畔的一個(gè)普通小鎮(zhèn)上。主人公湯姆·索亞天真活潑、敢于冒險(xiǎn)、追求自由，不堪忍受束縛個(gè)性、枯燥乏味的生活，總是幻想著干一番英雄事業(yè)。小說通過主人公的冒險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷，對美國當(dāng)時(shí)虛偽庸俗的社會習(xí)俗、偽善的宗教儀式和刻板陳腐的學(xué)校教育制度進(jìn)行了諷刺和批判。

CHAPTER ⅩⅩⅦ

The adventure of the day mightily tormented Tom’s dreams that night.Four times he had his hands on that rich treasure and four times it wasted to nothingness in his fingers as sleep forsook him and wakefulness brought back the hard reality of his misfortune.As he lay in the early morning recalling the incidents of his great adventure，he noticed that they seemed curiously subdued and far away—somewhat as if they had happened in another world，or in a time long gone by.Then it occurred to him that the great adventure itself must be a dream！There was one very strong argument in favor of this idea—namely，that the quantity of coin he had seen was too vast to be real.He had never seen as much as fifty dollars in one mass before，and he was like all boys of his age and station in life，in that he imagined that all references to“hundreds”and“thousands”were mere fanciful forms of speech，and that no such sums really existed in the world.He never had supposed for a moment that so large a sum as a hundred dollars was to be found in actual money in any one’s possession.If his notions of hidden treasure had been analyzed，they would have been found to consist of a handful of real dimes and a bushel of vague，splendid，ungraspable dollars.

But the incidents of his adventure grew sensibly sharper and clearer under the attrition of thinking them over，and so he presently found himself leaning to the impression that the thing might not have been a dream，after all.This uncertainty must be swept away.He would snatch a hurried breakfast and go and find Huck.

Huck was sitting on the gunwale of a flatboat，listlessly dangling his feet in the water and looking very melancholy.Tom concluded to let Huck lead up to the subject.If he did not do it，then the adventure would be proved to have been only a dream.

“Hello，Huck！”

“Hello，yourself.”

Silence，for a minute.

“Tom，if we’d’a’left the blame tools at the dead tree，we’d’a’got the money.Oh，ain’t it awful！”

“‘Tain’t a dream，then，’tain’t a dream！Somehow I most wish it was.Dog’d if I don’t，Huck.”

“What ain’t a dream？”

“Oh，that thing yesterday.I been half thinking it was.”

“Dream！If them stairs hadn’t broke down you’d‘a(chǎn)’seen how much dream it was！I’ve had dreams enough all night—with that patch-eyed Spanish devil going for me all through’em—rot him！”

“No，not rot him.Find him！Track the money！”

“Tom，we’ll never find him.A feller don’t have only one chance for such a pile—and that one’s lost.I’d feel mighty shaky if I was to see him，anyway.”

“Well，so’d I；but I’d like to see him，anyway—and track him out—to his Number Two.”

“Number Two—yes，that’s it.I been thinking’bout that.But I can’t make nothing out of it.What do you reckon it is？”

“I dono.It’s too deep.Say，Huck—maybe it’s the number of a house！”

“Goody！... No，Tom，that ain’t it.If it is，it ain’t in this one-horse town.They ain’t no numbers here.”

“Well，that’s so.Lemme think a minute.Here—it’s the number of a room—in a tavern，you know！”

“Oh，that’s the trick！They ain’t only two taverns.We can find out quick.”

“You stay here，Huck，till I come.”

Tom was off at once.He did not care to have Huck’s company in public places.He was gone half an hour.He found that in the best tavern，No.2 had long been occupied by a young lawyer，and was still so occupied.In the less ostentatious house，No.2 was a mystery.The tavern-keeper’s young son said it was kept locked all the time，and he never saw anybody go into it or come out of it except at night；he did not know any particular reason for this state of things；had had some little curiosity，but it was rather feeble；had made the most of the mystery by entertaining himself with the idea that that room was“ha’nted”；had noticed that there was a light in there the night before.

“That’s what I’ve found out，Huck.I reckon that’s the very No.2 we’re after.”

“I reckon it is，Tom.Now what you going to do？”

“Lemme think.”

Tom thought a long time.Then he said：

“I’ll tell you.The back door of that No.2 is the door that comes out into that little close alley between the tavern and the old rattletrap of a brick store.Now you get hold of all the doorkeys you can find，and I’ll nip all of Auntie’s，and the first dark night we’ll go there and try’em.And mind you，keep a lookout for Injun Joe，because he said he was going to drop into town and spy around once more for a chance to get his revenge.If you see him，you just follow him；and if he don’t go to that No.2，that ain’t the place.”

“Lordy，I don’t want to foller him by myself！”

“Why，it’ll be night，sure.He mightn’t ever see you—and if he did，maybe he’d never think anything.”

“Well，if it’s pretty dark I reckon I’ll track him.I dono—I dono.I’ll try.”

“You bet I’ll follow him，if it’s dark，Huck.Why，he might’a’found out he couldn’t get his revenge，and be going right after that money.”

“It’s so，Tom，it’s so.I’ll foller him；I will，by jingoes！”

“Now you’re talking！Don’t you ever weaken，Huck，and I won’t.”

CHAPTER ⅩⅩⅧ

That night Tom and Huck were ready for their adventure.They hung about the neighborhood of the tavern until after nine，one watching the alley at a distance and the other the tavern door.Nobody entered the alley or left it；nobody resembling the Spaniard entered or left the tavern door.The night promised to be a fair one；so Tom went home with the understanding that if a considerable degree of darkness came on，Huck was to come and“maow，”whereupon he would slip out and try the keys.But the night remained clear，and Huck closed his watch and retired to bed in an empty sugar hogshead about twelve.

Tuesday the boys had the same ill luck.Also Wednesday.But Thursday night promised better.Tom slipped out in good season with his aunt’s old tin lantern，and a large towel to blindfold it with.He hid the lantern in Huck’s sugar hogshead and the watch began.An hour before midnight the tavern closed up and its lights（the only ones thereabouts）were put out.No Spaniard had been seen.Nobody had entered or left the alley.Everything was auspicious.The blackness of darkness reigned，the perfect stillness was interrupted only by occasional mutterings of distant thunder.

Tom got his lantern，lit it in the hogshead，wrapped it closely in the towel，and the two adventurers crept in the gloom toward the tavern.Huck stood sentry and Tom felt his way into the alley.Then there was a season of waiting anxiety that weighed upon Huck’s spirits like a mountain.He began to wish he could see a flash from the lantern—it would frighten him，but it would at least tell him that Tom was alive yet.It seemed hours since Tom had disappeared.Surely he must have fainted；maybe he was dead；maybe his heart had burst under terror and excitement.In his uneasiness Huck found himself drawing closer and closer to the alley；fearing all sorts of dreadful things，and momentarily expecting some catastrophe to happen that would take away his breath.There was not much to take away，for he seemed only able to inhale it by thimblefuls，and his heart would soon wear itself out，the way it was beating.Suddenly there was a flash of light and Tom came tearing by him：

“Run！”said he；“run，for your life！”

He needn’t have repeated it；once was enough；Huck was making thirty or forty miles an hour before the repetition was uttered.The boys never stopped till they reached the shed of a deserted slaughterhouse at the lower end of the village.Just as they got within its shelter the storm burst and the rain poured down.As soon as Tom got his breath he said：

“Huck，it was awful！I tried two of the keys，just as soft as I could！but they seemed to make such a power of racket that I couldn’t hardly get my breath I was so scared.They wouldn’t turn in the lock，either.Well，without noticing what I was doing，I took hold of the knob，and open comes the door！It warn’t locked！I hopped in，and shook off the towel，and，great Caesar’s ghost！”

“What！—what’d you see，Tom？”

“Huck，I most stepped onto Injun Joe’s hand！”

“No！”

“Yes！He was lying there，sound asleep on the floor，with his old patch on his eye and his arms spread out.”

“Lordy，what did you do？Did he wake up？”

“No，never budged.Drunk，I reckon.I just grabbed that towel and started！”

“I’d never’a’thought of the towel，I bet！”

“Well，I would.My aunt would make me mighty sick if I lost it.”

“Say，Tom，did you see that box？”

“Huck，I didn’t wait to look around.I didn’t see the box，I didn’t see the cross.I didn’t see anything but a bottle and a tin cup on the floor by Injun Joe；yes，I saw two barrels and lots more bottles in the room.Don’t you see，now，what’s the matter with that ha’nted room？”

“How？”

“Why，it’s ha’nted with whiskey！Maybe all the Temperance Taverns have got a ha’nted room，hey，Huck？”

“Well，I reckon maybe that’s so.Who’d‘a(chǎn)’thought such a thing？But say，Tom，now’s a mighty good time to get that box，if Injun Joe’s drunk.”

“It is，that！You try it！”

Huck shuddered.

“Well，no—I reckon not.”

“And I reckon not，Huck.Only one bottle alongside of Injun Joe ain’t enough.If there’d been three，he’d be drunk enough and I’d do it.”

There was a long pause for reflection，and then Tom said：

“Looky-here，Huck，less not try that thing any more till we know Injun Joe’s not in there.It’s too scary.Now，if we watch every night，we’ll be dead sure to see him go out，some time or other，and then we’ll snatch that box quicker’n lightning.”

“Well，I’m agreed.I’ll watch the whole night long，and I’ll do it every night，too，if you’ll do the other part of the job.”

“All right，I will.All you got to do is to trot up Hooper Street a block and meow—and if I’m asleep，you throw some gravel at the window and that’ll fetch me.”

“Agreed，and good as wheat！”

“Now，Huck，the storm’s over，and I’ll go home.It’ll begin to be daylight in a couple of hours.You go back and watch that long，will you？”

“I said I would，Tom，and I will.I’ll ha’nt that tavern every night for a year！I’ll sleep all day and I’ll stand watch all night.”

“That’s all right.Now，where you going to sleep？”

“In Ben Rogers’hayloft.He lets me，and so does his pap’s nigger-man，Uncle Jake.I tote water for Uncle Jake whenever he wants me to，and any time I ask him he gives me a little something to eat if he can spare it.That’s a mighty good nigger，Tom.He likes me，becuz I don’t ever act as if I was above him.Sometime，I’ve set right down and eat with him.But you needn’t tell that.A body’s got to do things when he’s awful hungry he wouldn’t want to do as a steady thing.”

“Well，if I don’t want you in the daytime，I’ll let you sleep.I won’t come bothering around.Any time you see something’s up，in the night，just skip right around and meow.”

第二十七章

白天的歷險(xiǎn)攪得湯姆晚上噩夢連連。先后四次他都把那些大量的財(cái)寶搞到手，可四次醒過來，無不兩手空空，害得他睡不了好覺，不得不回到不幸的殘酷現(xiàn)實(shí)中。大清早醒來，他回憶起了這趟大歷險(xiǎn)中發(fā)生的種種事件，卻奇怪地發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些事竟是如此模糊久遠(yuǎn)，仿佛發(fā)生在另一個(gè)世界，多年前發(fā)生的事。后來他覺得，這次大歷險(xiǎn)本身就是一場夢。他的這一想法自有其充分的理由，也就是說，他看見的錢幣數(shù)量之多簡直令人難以置信。過去他從未見過數(shù)目超過五十元的一堆錢。他也像所有他那樣歲數(shù)、同樣境況的孩子，認(rèn)為“幾百”“幾千”元不過是想象中的錢數(shù)，現(xiàn)實(shí)世界中并不存在。他從來沒有想過，哪怕是片刻也沒想過，一個(gè)人真的會擁有一百元這樣的巨款。若是分析一下他頭腦中的藏寶概念，那些寶藏只不過是一把碎角子，外加一堆模糊不清、抓不住、摸不到的金光燦燦的錢幣而已。

可是經(jīng)他反復(fù)思考之后，歷險(xiǎn)中詳情細(xì)節(jié)顯得越來越清晰明朗，所以他很快便得到一個(gè)印象：反正那不是夢。不能再有懷疑了。他得趕緊吃完早飯，去找哈克。

哈克正坐在一艘平底船的舷邊，兩只腳無精打采地在水中晃來蕩去，一副愁眉苦臉的樣子。湯姆決定讓哈克自己先提這話題，要是他不提，那這趟歷險(xiǎn)肯定是場夢了。

“你好，哈克！”

“你也好?！?/p>

片刻的沉默。

“湯姆，要是咱們把該死的工具留在那株枯樹下，就撈到那些錢了。哦，糟透了！”

“就是說，那不是夢，不是夢！可我倒希望那是夢哩。騙你是小狗，哈克。”

“什么夢？”

“昨天那事兒。我總覺得像是夢?！?/p>

“夢！要是樓梯沒斷裂，你就知道那是什么樣的夢了！我做了一夜的夢，老夢到那個(gè)戴眼罩的西班牙魔鬼追著我，該死的東西！”

“他不能死，要找到他！找到那些錢！”

“湯姆，永遠(yuǎn)找不到他了。一個(gè)人只有一次找到這么一大堆錢的機(jī)會，可這機(jī)會丟了。要是我再見到他，我準(zhǔn)會嚇破了膽。”

“可不是，我也一樣。不過我反正想見到他，跟蹤他——追到‘二號’。”

“二號，可不是。正是二號。我一直捉摸著這事兒?？删褪敲恢^腦。你說那是什么意思？”

“我說不上，太玄乎了。哈克，興許是房子號碼！”

“好主意！——不，不是。要是的話，也不在這個(gè)偏僻的鎮(zhèn)子上，這里的房子沒門牌號碼?！?/p>

“說對了。讓我想想。對了——是房間的號碼——知道嗎，客棧里的客房號碼！”

“哦，這下被你猜中了！這里只有兩家客棧，咱們很快就能查清的?！?/p>

“你別走，在原處待著，哈克，等著我回來。”

湯姆很快就走了。他不想在大庭廣眾之下與哈克待在一起。他去了半小時(shí)就回來了。他在那家最好的客棧發(fā)現(xiàn)，二號房長期以來一直由一名年輕的律師住著，現(xiàn)在還占著。而那家不怎么起眼的客棧的二號房很有些神秘。據(jù)客棧老板年輕的兒子說，那房間一直鎖著，他沒見有人進(jìn)出，夜里怎么樣他說不好。為什么會出現(xiàn)這情況，他不清楚。他是有點(diǎn)好奇，不過并沒怎么放在心上。他想，這房間說不定在“鬧鬼”吧。前天晚上他發(fā)現(xiàn)，房間里亮起過燈光。

“我查到的就這些，哈克。我看咱們要找的二號房就是那間。”

“我看也是那間，湯姆。那么你認(rèn)為該怎么辦呢？”

“讓我想想?！?/p>

湯姆想了一會兒，說：

“告訴你。那個(gè)二號房的后門就通向客棧和那座破舊的老磚房之間的小巷子里。你這就把能找到的門鑰匙全拿來。我也把姨媽的鑰匙偷偷拿來。一到?jīng)]月亮的黑夜，咱們就過去試試。你得留神印第安人喬，他說過，要再來鎮(zhèn)子摸情況，找機(jī)會復(fù)仇。你一見到他，就緊跟著他。要是他不去二號，那兒就不是咱們要找的地方。”

“說真的，我可不想跟著他！”

“我說，那可是在黑夜里。他發(fā)現(xiàn)不了你——就是看見你也不會起疑心的?！?/p>

“好吧，要是在很黑很黑的夜里，我會跟著他的。我說不準(zhǔn)，說不準(zhǔn)。我試試吧?！?/p>

“我跟你打個(gè)賭，哈克，只要是黑夜，你準(zhǔn)能跟住他！不是嗎，要是他發(fā)現(xiàn)沒機(jī)會報(bào)仇，那他就直接去拿那筆錢了?！?/p>

“是這么回事，湯姆，是這么回事。我去跟住他。老天爺，我一定跟住他。”

“有你這句話我就放心了。到時(shí)候可別說話不算數(shù)，哈克。我是說到做到的。”

第二十八章

當(dāng)天晚上，湯姆和哈克作好了去歷險(xiǎn)的準(zhǔn)備。他倆在那家客棧東轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)西逛逛，忙乎到九點(diǎn)鐘才走。他倆一個(gè)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地監(jiān)視那小巷；另一個(gè)守在客棧大門口。巷子里不見有人進(jìn)出，進(jìn)出客棧大門的人中，沒一個(gè)像那西班牙人。看來那將是個(gè)月明星稀的夜晚。湯姆只好回家，他知道，要是天夠黑，哈克準(zhǔn)會來找他，學(xué)貓喵喵叫幾聲，他就偷偷出來，去試鑰匙?？梢股恢焙芰?，哈克也在十二點(diǎn)鐘撤了崗，鉆進(jìn)一只空糖桶睡了。

到了星期二兩個(gè)孩子的運(yùn)氣也是很糟糕。星期三也一個(gè)樣，星期四的夜可能會好些。湯姆瞅準(zhǔn)機(jī)會，帶上姨媽那盞鐵皮舊提燈，燈上裹了層大毛巾，溜了出來。他把燈藏在哈克睡覺的空桶里，開始了監(jiān)視。午夜前一小時(shí)，客棧關(guān)門了。里面的燈也滅了——那是附近唯一亮著的燈。不見西班牙人出沒。巷子里也沒人出入。一切都顯得順順當(dāng)當(dāng)，如人所愿。黑夜伸手不見五指，萬籟無聲，只有偶爾從遠(yuǎn)處傳來沉悶的雷聲才打破四周的寂靜。

湯姆拿過提燈，在空桶里點(diǎn)上燈，用毛巾緊緊裹上，兩位冒險(xiǎn)家趁著黑暗直向客棧而去。哈克守在巷口望風(fēng)，湯姆摸索著進(jìn)了小巷。有一段時(shí)間，哈克等得好不焦急，他只覺得心頭有座大山壓著，煞是難熬。他巴望著但愿能一見那提燈的閃光——雖然燈光會讓他嚇一跳，但能告訴他，湯姆還好好兒活著。湯姆走了仿佛有好幾小時(shí)了。他準(zhǔn)暈過去了；也許是死了；也許他的心臟嚇得、緊張得破了。哈克在惴惴不安中，漸漸離巷口越來越近，事事都叫他擔(dān)驚受怕，時(shí)時(shí)都覺得大禍臨頭，讓他幾乎喘不過氣來。實(shí)際上他也吸不進(jìn)什么氣了，他只有微微的氣可喘，因?yàn)樗男呐K跳得極快，眼看著就要完蛋了。突然燈光一閃，湯姆從他身旁奔了過去。

“快跑，”他說，“快逃命！”

只這一句足矣，沒等湯姆說第二遍，哈克拔腿就跑起來，速度之快，每小時(shí)達(dá)三四十英里之多。兩個(gè)孩子跑呀跑，直跑到村口附近低處那座廢棄了的屠宰場小棚子才停住了腳步。他倆剛進(jìn)了安全的地方，傾盆大雨便下了起來。湯姆剛緩過勁來，便說：

“哈克，太可怕了！我盡量輕手輕腳地試了兩把鑰匙，可那要命的咔嗒咔嗒聲響個(gè)不停，嚇得我喘不過氣來，可就是打不開鎖。得，我糊里糊涂便抓住了門把，不料門竟開了！原來門沒鎖。我摸了進(jìn)去，掀掉燈上毛巾，喲，老天爺！”

“什么——你見到了什么，湯姆？”

“哈克，我居然踩到印第安人喬的手上了！”

“哪能呢？”

“真的。他躺在地板上，睡得正沉。眼睛上還蒙著那破眼罩，雙手?jǐn)傞_?！?/p>

“老天爺，你怎么辦？他醒過來沒有？”

“沒有。他一動不動，我看是喝醉了。我抓起毛巾，拔腿就跑！”

“我敢說，換了我是不會想到毛巾的?！?/p>

“可我想到了。要是丟了毛巾，我姨媽饒不了我。”

“我說，湯姆，你見到那個(gè)箱子了嗎？”

“哈克，來不及了，我壓根就沒朝四周看一下，我沒見到那箱子，也沒見到十字架。除了地板上印第安人身旁一只瓶子、一只洋鐵皮杯子，我什么也沒見到。可不，我還在房間里看到兩只酒桶，和許許多多酒瓶子?，F(xiàn)在你明白了吧，那鬧鬼的房子里到底怎么回事？”

“怎么回事？”

“我說，是酒在作祟！興許所有禁酒的客棧里都有那么一間客房會鬧鬼，你說是不是，哈克？”

“可不，我看是這么回事。過去誰會想到這上面？我說，湯姆，這會兒印第安人喬醉倒了，現(xiàn)在咱倆不是可以去拿那個(gè)箱子了嗎？”

“是嗎？你倒去試試！”

哈克打了個(gè)寒戰(zhàn)。

“哦，不——我看不行?！?/p>

“我看也不行，哈克。印第安人喬身旁只一個(gè)瓶子，那點(diǎn)酒是醉不倒他的。要是他喝了三瓶，他就會醉得不行，那時(shí)我可以去試試?！?/p>

兩個(gè)人都不言語，過了好一會兒，湯姆開口說：

“聽我說，哈克，印第安人喬不走，這事就別想試。太危險(xiǎn)了。只要咱們夜夜守著，準(zhǔn)保他遲早要出門的。到時(shí)候咱們就以迅雷不及掩耳之勢，把箱子拿過來?！?/p>

“得，我同意。我會整夜守著，夜夜守著，其他的事由你來辦?！?/p>

“好，交給我得了。你要干的就是到胡珀街來喵喵叫幾聲——要是我睡著了，那就朝窗子扔幾塊小石子，就能喚醒我。”

“行，這是個(gè)好主意?！?/p>

“我說，哈克，雨停了，我這就回家了。幾小時(shí)后天就開始亮了。這段時(shí)間你再過去看看，怎么樣？”

“我說過，我會去的，湯姆，我準(zhǔn)會去。我每夜都會盯上那客棧的，就盯上它一年。白天我睡覺，夜里去監(jiān)視?！?/p>

“很好。你這上哪兒睡覺去？”

“本·羅杰斯家的干草棚里。他讓我去的。他那黑人老爹杰克大叔也讓我去。他要我給他提水，我就幫著他干。每次我跟他要吃的，只要省得下來，他都會給的。他可是個(gè)好心的黑人，湯姆。他喜歡我，因?yàn)槲也粫床黄鹚?。有時(shí)候我干脆與他坐在一起吃飯，不過這事你可不能說出去。一個(gè)人餓極了，平常不愿干的事也會去干的?！?/p>

“好。要是白天我用不到你，你就睡覺去，我不會打攪你的。夜里要是發(fā)現(xiàn)什么事，立馬來找我，喵喵叫幾聲?！?/p>