白种人与黄种人 [美国媒体]

White and Yellow
by Jack London

《白种人与黄种人》
杰克·伦敦着



San Francisco Bay is so large that often its storms are more disastrous to ocean-going craft than is the ocean itself in its violent moments. The waters of the bay contain all manner of fish, wherefore its surface is ploughed by the keels of all manner of fishing boats manned by all manner of fishermen. To protect the fish from this motley floating population many wise laws have been passed, and there is a fish patrol to see that these laws are enforced. Exciting times are the lot of the fish patrol: in its history more than one dead patrolman has marked defeat, and more often dead fishermen across their illegal nets have marked success.

旧金山湾是如此之大，以至于每到狂风暴雨时，在这里刮起的风暴往往比海洋本身更加具有灾难性。海湾的水里生活着各种鱼类，因此海湾的水面经常被各种渔民乘坐的各种渔船的龙骨犁碾。为了从这些形形色色的漂泊在水面的人手中保护鱼类，有许多明智的规章制度已经获得了通过，并且由一个渔业巡逻队来监督这些规章制度的执行。对许多渔业巡警来说这是一个令人兴奋的时期:在这个时期的历史上，不止一个巡警因显着的失败而死去，但有更多的渔民在通过他们非法的渔网取得了显着的成功时死去。

Wildest among the fisher-folk may be accounted the Chinese shrimp- catchers. It is the habit of the shrimp to crawl along the bottom in vast armies till it reaches fresh water, when it turns about and crawls back again to the salt. And where the tide ebbs and flows, the Chinese sink great bag-nets to the bottom, with gaping mouths, into which the shrimp crawls and from which it is transferred to the boiling-pot. This in itself would not be bad, were it not for the small mesh of the nets, so small that the tiniest fishes, little new-hatched things not a quarter of an inch long, cannot pass through. The beautiful beaches of Points Pedro and Pablo, where are the shrimp-catchers' villages, are made fearful by the stench from myriads of decaying fish, and against this wasteful destruction it has ever been the duty of the fish patrol to act.

在这些渔民中最疯狂的可能就得数中国捕虾者。虾会在庞大的虾群中沿着水底爬行，直到到达淡水，然后转回头，再爬回盐水里，这就是虾的习性。在潮涨潮落间，中国人会把大袋网撒在底部，张大袋网口，虾就会爬进去，然后这些虾就会进到了滚烫的锅里。这本身并不是件坏事，如果不是因为网的小网格，这些网格小到连最小的鱼、不到四分之一英寸长的小东西都不放过。佩德罗角和巴勃罗湾的美丽海滩，捕虾者的村庄就在那里，那里充斥着无数腐烂的鱼散发出来的恶臭，让人胆战心惊，而反对这种浪费性的破坏，就是渔业巡逻队的职责所在。

When I was a youngster of sixteen, a good sloop-sailor and all- round bay-waterman, my sloop, the Reindeer, was chartered by the Fish Commission, and I became for the time being a deputy patrolman. After a deal of work among the Greek fishermen of the Upper Bay and rivers, where knives flashed at the beginning of trouble and men permitted themselves to be made prisoners only after a revolver was thrust in their faces, we hailed with delight an expedition to the Lower Bay against the Chinese shrimp-catchers.

当我还是个十六岁的年轻人的时候，就是一名单桅帆船好水手和一名全能的海湾船夫，我的单桅帆船——驯鹿号，在那段时间里被渔业委员会租下了，而我就成为了一名代理巡警。在跟上海湾和上流的希腊渔民舞刀弄枪，直到把左轮手枪顶在他们脸上，让他们承认自己是罪犯后，我们就欢歌笑语地来到了下海湾对付中国捕虾者。

There were six of us, in two boats, and to avoid suspicion we ran down after dark and dropped anchor under a projecting bluff of land known as Point Pinole. As the east paled with the first light of dawn we got under way again, and hauled close on the land breeze as we slanted across the bay toward Point Pedro. The morning mists curled and clung to the water so that we could see nothing, but we busied ourselves driving the chill from our bodies with hot coffee. Also we had to devote ourselves to the miserable task of bailing, for in some incomprehensible way the Reindeer had sprung a generous leak. Half the night had been spent in overhauling the ballast and exploring the seams, but the labor had been without avail. The water still poured in, and perforce we doubled up in the cockpit and tossed it out again.

我们有六个人，在两艘船上，为了避免怀疑，我们等到了天黑后，在被称为“佩德罗角”的土地上的一处悬崖下抛下锚。当随着黎明的第一缕曙光，让东方开始发白时，我们又开始上路了，当我们沿着海湾向佩德罗角出发时，我们的船紧紧地抓住了陆风。晨雾袅袅，缭绕水面，让我们什么都看不清，但我们会用热咖啡来驱走身体的寒意。而于此同时，我还得把精力投入到悲惨的排水任务中，因为某些令人费解的原因，这艘驯鹿号突然裂开了一个巨大的漏洞。有半个晚上的时间都花在了检修压舱物和探测接口上，但工人们却徒劳无功。水仍然源源不断地涌入进来，我们不得已在船舱里继续弯腰排水。

After coffee, three of the men withdrew to the other boat, a Columbia River salmon boat, leaving three of us in the Reindeer. Then the two craft proceeded in company till the sun showed over the eastern sky-line. Its fiery rays dispelled the clinging vapors, and there, before our eyes, like a picture, lay the shrimp fleet, spread out in a great half-moon, the tips of the crescent fully three miles apart, and each junk moored fast to the buoy of a shrimp-net. But there was no stir, no sign of life.

喝完咖啡后，我们有三个人退到了另一艘船上，一艘哥伦比亚河的捕鲑鱼船，留下我们三个在驯鹿号里。然后，这两艘船继续一起前行着，直到太阳从东方天际升起。它那炽热的光束驱散了粘着的水汽，在我们眼前的事物，就像一幅画般，这里着捕虾船，向着半月型分散开来，半月的尖端足足相距有三英里远，每条戎克船（译注junk，中国式平底帆船)都很快地停在捕虾网的浮标上。但是里面没有一丝生机，没有任何生命的迹象。

The situation dawned upon us. While waiting for slack water, in which to lift their heavy nets from the bed of the bay, the Chinese had all gone to sleep below. We were elated, and our plan of battle was swiftly formed.

我们的机会来了。中国人等到了平潮来临，从海湾的海床上拉起他们沉重的网后，他们都躺下睡着了。这时我们十分高兴，因为我们的作战计划很快就能形成了。

"Throw each of your two men on to a junk," whispered Le Grant to me from the salmon boat. "And you make fast to a third yourself. We'll do the same, and there's no reason in the world why we shouldn't capture six junks at the least."

“你那边派两个人各自到一艘戎克船上去，”勒格兰德（Le Grant）在鲑鱼船上悄悄地对我说道。“你自己也要快点弄到第三艘戎克船。我们也会做同样的事，在这个世界上已经没有理由来阻止我们捕获至少六艘戎克船。”

Then we separated. I put the Reindeer about on the other tack, ran up under the lee of a junk, shivered the mainsail into the wind and lost headway, and forged past the stern of the junk so slowly and so near that one of the patrolmen stepped lightly aboard. Then I kept off, filled the mainsail, and bore away for a second junk.

然后我们就分开行动。我把驯鹿号用在其他策略上，航行到一艘戎克船的背风面下，让主帆在风中颤抖以此失去前进动力，并缓慢地接近戎克船的船尾，近到可以让一名巡警轻轻地踩上船去。然后我就张开主帆，离开那艘戎克船，向着第二艘船而去。

Up to this time there had been no noise, but from the first junk captured by the salmon boat an uproar now broke forth. There was shrill Oriental yelling, a pistol shot, and more yelling.

到目前为止，还没有什么声音发起，但在鲑鱼船捕获的第一艘戎克船后，就爆发了一场骚动。那里有东方式的尖叫声、枪声还有更多的尖叫声。

"It's all up. They're warning the others," said George, the remaining patrolman, as he stood beside me in the cockpit.

“完了。他们正在警告其他人，”留在我船舱上的乔治（George）说道，他就站在我旁边。

By this time we were in the thick of the fleet, and the alarm was spreading with incredible swiftness. The decks were beginning to swarm with half-awakened and half-naked Chinese. Cries and yells of warning and anger were flying over the quiet water, and somewhere a conch shell was being blown with great success. To the right of us I saw the captain of a junk chop away his mooring line with an axe and spring to help his crew at the hoisting of the huge, outlandish lug-sail. But to the left the first heads were popping up from below on another junk, and I rounded up the Reindeer alongside long enough for George to spring aboard.

这时我们深处于船队的最深处，而警报以令人难以置信的速度迅速传播开来，甲板上开始挤满半醒半裸体的中国人。警报和愤怒的尖叫声在平静的水面上呼啸着，在某处有一个海螺被狠狠地吹响。在我们的右边，我看见一艘戎克船的船长用斧子砍断他的船的锚缆，帮助他的船员们从巨大的、古怪的帆的吊索上吊起来。但在左边，第一颗脑袋从下面弹起来，落在另一艘戎克船上，我把驯鹿号开到那艘船的旁边，与这艘船的距离足够让乔治跳上船。

The whole fleet was now under way. In addition to the sails they had gotten out long sweeps, and the bay was being ploughed in every direction by the fleeing junks. I was now alone in the Reindeer, seeking feverishly to capture a third prize. The first junk I took after was a clean miss, for it trimmed its sheets and shot away surprisingly into the wind. By fully half a point it outpointed the Reindeer, and I began to feel respect for the clumsy craft. Realizing the hopelessness of the pursuit, I filled away, threw out the main-sheet, and drove down before the wind upon the junks to leeward, where I had them at a disadvantage.

整个舰队都在行动着。除了帆船外，它们得经过长时间的划船才能动，海湾正被朝着四面八方逃亡的戎克船犁碾着。我现在是一个人在驯鹿号上，急切地想要捕获到一个三等奖。我捕捉到的第一艘戎克船消失得干干净净，因为那艘船的控帆索已经被收紧了，出乎我的意料地就被风吹走了，它足足比驯鹿号高出一半，于是我开始对这艘臃肿的船感到敬畏。我意识到追赶那艘船的无望，我就顺着风离去了，松开主帆索，然后在风来临之前，把船开到了一艘戎克船的下风处，这样我就让他们处于不利的地位。

The one I had selected wavered indecisively before me, and, as I swung wide to make the boarding gentle, filled suddenly and darted away, the smart Mongols shouting a wild rhythm as they bent to the sweeps. But I had been ready for this. I luffed suddenly. Putting the tiller hard down, and holding it down with my body, I brought the main-sheet in, hand over hand, on the run, so as to retain all possible striking force. The two starboard sweeps of the junk were crumpled up, and then the two boats came together with a crash. The Reindeer's bowsprit, like a monstrous hand, reached over and ripped out the junk's chunky mast and towering sail.

我选中的那艘船在我面前犹豫不定，当我迂回过去，想让登船变得容易些时，那艘船突然转向并且飞奔而逃，聪明的小蒙古人们一边弯着身子划船，一边用野蛮的节奏叫喊着。但对这种情况我早就准备好了，我突然转舵，把舵柄使劲往下压，并用我的身体把它压稳，还把主帆索拉过来，两手交替着一节一节地拉，让船跑起来，以便保持所有可能的冲击力。那艘戎克船的两个右舷都被撞烂了，然后我们两艘船就撞在了一起。驯鹿号的船首斜桅，就像一只巨大的手，伸出去并撕下了戎克船厚实的桅杆和高耸的帆。

This was met by a curdling yell of rage. A big Chinaman, remarkably evil-looking, with his head swathed in a yellow silk handkerchief and face badly pock-marked, planted a pike-pole on the Reindeer's bow and began to shove the entangled boats apart. Pausing long enough to let go the jib halyards, and just as the Reindeer cleared and began to drift astern, I leaped aboard the junk with a line and made fast. He of the yellow handkerchief and pock-marked face came toward me threateningly, but I put my hand into my hip pocket, and he hesitated. I was unarmed, but the Chinese have learned to be fastidiously careful of American hip pockets, and it was upon this that I depended to keep him and his savage crew at a distance.

这时有一个令人毛骨悚然的怒吼响起。是一个大只中国佬，看上去非常邪恶，他的头用一块黄丝巾裹着，脸上长着严重的痘痕，他在驯鹿号的船头上插上一根杆钩，开始推开纠缠在一起的船只。为松开三角帆的升降索，我停留足够长的时间，当驯鹿号开始分离并向后移动时，我用一根绳子很快就跃上了那艘戎克船。那个裹着黄丝巾和长着痘痕脸的中国佬威胁地朝我走来，但我把手伸进了我的后兜里，他犹豫了。我没有带任何武器，但中国人早就学会了要对美国人后兜小心谨慎，正是由于这一点，我决定让他跟他的野蛮同伴保持距离。

I ordered him to drop the anchor at the junk's bow, to which he replied, "No sabbe." The crew responded in like fashion, and though I made my meaning plain by signs, they refused to understand. Realizing the inexpediency of discussing the matter, I went forward myself, overran the line, and let the anchor go.

我命令他把戎克船的船头上的锚扔下去，而他回答说:“不，先生。”其他船员们也以同样的方式回应，尽管我用手势来表达了我的意思，但他们拒绝理解。我意识到讨论这件事的失策，所以我自己去松开线子，让锚落下去。

"Now get aboard, four of you," I said in a loud voice, indicating with my fingers that four of them were to go with me and the fifth was to remain by the junk. The Yellow Handkerchief hesitated; but I repeated the order fiercely (much more fiercely than I felt), at the same time sending my hand to my hip. Again the Yellow Handkerchief was overawed, and with surly looks he led three of his men aboard the Reindeer. I cast off at once, and, leaving the jib down, steered a course for George's junk. Here it was easier, for there were two of us, and George had a pistol to fall back on if it came to the worst. And here, as with my junk, four Chinese were transferred to the sloop and one left behind to take care of things.

“现在上船去，你们四个，”我大声说道，并用我的手指指示，他们中要有四个和我一起回去，第五个要留在戎克船里。黄丝巾犹豫了一下; 但我狠狠地重复了这个命令（比我感觉到的还要狠得多），并同时把我的手放在我的臀部上。黄丝巾再一次被吓到了，用他凶狠的外表让他的三个人上去驯鹿号。我立马开船，并把前帆放下来，为乔治的戎克船指引了一条路线。这样比较容易对付些，因为我们只有两个人，如果情况变得糟糕的话，乔治手里还有一把手枪。在那里，和我的戎克船情况一样，有四个中国人被转移到了小帆船上，一个留下来打理好事情。

Four more were added to our passenger list from the third junk. By this time the salmon boat had collected its twelve prisoners and came alongside, badly overloaded. To make matters worse, as it was a small boat, the patrolmen were so jammed in with their prisoners that they would have little chance in case of trouble.

我们的乘客名单上增加了来自第三艘戎克船的四位。这时，那艘捕鲑鱼船已经抓住了十二名囚犯并且靠岸了，同时也处于严重超载的状态。更糟的是，因为那是一艘小船，巡警们挤在他们的囚犯中间，以致于他们几乎不可能对付动乱。

"You'll have to help us out," said Le Grant.

“你得帮帮我们，”勒格兰德说道。

I looked over my prisoners, who had crowded into the cabin and on top of it. "I can take three," I answered.

我看了看我的囚犯，他们已经挤进了船舱上面了。“我可以再带三个，”我回答道。

"Make it four," he suggested, "and I'll take Bill with me." (Bill was the third patrolman.) "We haven't elbow room here, and in case of a scuffle one white to every two of them will be just about the right proportion."

“带四个，”他建议道，“我会带着比尔（Bill）跟我一起。”（比尔是第三位巡警。）“我们这里没有连伸胳膊的地方都没有，而且如果发生混战的话，一个白人就可以对付他们两个人。”

The exchange was made, and the salmon boat got up its spritsail and headed down the bay toward the marshes off San Rafael. I ran up the jib and followed with the Reindeer. San Rafael, where we were to turn our catch over to the authorities, communicated with the bay by way of a long and tortuous slough, or marshland creek, which could be navigated only when the tide was in. Slack water had come, and, as the ebb was commencing, there was need for hurry if we cared to escape waiting half a day for the next tide.

交换完成后，这艘捕鲑鱼船就竖起了它的斜杠帆，沿着海湾向着圣拉斐尔市附件的沼泽地驶去。我升起三角帆，跟在驯鹿号的后面。在圣拉斐尔市，我们要把我们的猎物移交给当局，就要通过一条漫长而曲折的泥沼，或者是通过沼泽地的小溪，在海湾进行交接，而那里只有涨潮时才可以航行。平潮已经来临了，也就意味着退潮正在来临，如果我们不想为了下一次涨潮等半天的话，我们就必须快点行动。

But the land breeze had begun to die away with the rising sun, and now came only in failing puffs. The salmon boat got out its oars and soon left us far astern. Some of the Chinese stood in the forward part of the cockpit, near the cabin doors, and once, as I leaned over the cockpit rail to flatten down the jib-sheet a bit, I felt some one brush against my hip pocket. I made no sign, but out of the corner of my eye I saw that the Yellow Handkerchief had discovered the emptiness of the pocket which had hitherto overawed him.

但是，随着太阳的升起，陆风已经开始消失，现在只有稍许微弱的风吹着。那艘捕鲑鱼船拿出了桨，很快就把我们远远地甩在了后面。一些中国人站在船舱的前部，靠近着舱门，有一次，当我靠在在船舱的栏杆上将三角帆索弄平一点时，我感到有人在蹭我的臀部口袋。当时我没有做任何反应，但从我眼角的余光中，我看到那个黄丝巾已经发现了我的臀部口袋空空如也，至今为止他都是因为这个被吓住的。

To make matters serious, during all the excitement of boarding the junks the Reindeer had not been bailed, and the water was beginning to slush over the cockpit floor. The shrimp-catchers pointed at it and looked to me questioningly.

这使事态严重起来，在兴奋地登上戎克船的时候，驯鹿号没有得到任何修复，水也开始在座舱地板上溅起来。捕虾人们指着它，疑惑地看着我。

"Yes," I said. "Bime by, allee same dlown, velly quick, you no bail now. Sabbe?"

“是的，”我说。“到时候，我们都会沉下去的，很快的，你们现在没有在排水。先生？”

No, they did not "sabbe," or at least they shook their heads to that effect, though they chattered most comprehendingly to one another in their own lingo. I pulled up three or four of the bottom boards, got a couple of buckets from a locker, and by unmistakable sign-language invited them to fall to. But they laughed, and some crowded into the cabin and some climbed up on top.

不，他们不是“先生”，至少他们摇了摇头，尽管他们在用自己的语言喋喋不休地交流。我拿出了三、四块底板，从储物柜里拿出几个桶，用不会被他们误解的手语的邀请他们下来。但是他们笑了，一些人挤进船舱里，一些人爬到了高处。

Their laughter was not good laughter. There was a hint of menace in it, a maliciousness which their black looks verified. The Yellow Handkerchief, since his discovery of my empty pocket, had become most insolent in his bearing, and he wormed about among the other prisoners, talking to them with great earnestness.

他们的笑声不是很好听，这里面暗含着威胁的意味，从他们恶狠狠的样子可以看出他们的恶意。黄丝巾，自从他发现了我的口袋是空的之后，他的行为举止就变得很傲慢，他在其他囚犯中间走来走去，并很严肃地跟他们说话。

Swallowing my chagrin, I stepped down into the cockpit and began throwing out the water. But hardly had I begun, when the boom swung overhead, the mainsail filled with a jerk, and the Reindeer heeled over. The day wind was springing up. George was the veriest of landlubbers, so I was forced to give over bailing and take the tiller. The wind was blowing directly off Point Pedro and the high mountains behind, and because of this was squally and uncertain, half the time bellying the canvas out and the other half flapping it idly.

我忍了下来，我走进船舱，开始把水泼出去。但我才刚开始泼水时，吊杆就在头顶上晃动，主帆上还待着一个蠢货，驯鹿号开始侧倾起来。起风了，乔治是一个名副其实的旱鸭子（landlubbers），所以我被迫放弃了排水，转而掌舵。风是吹向佩德罗角和高山后边的，因为这是种不稳定的狂风，帆布有一半的时间被吹得鼓起，而另一半时间则懒洋洋地拍打着。

George was about the most all-round helpless man I had ever met. Among his other disabilities, he was a consumptive, and I knew that if he attempted to bail, it might bring on a hemorrhage. Yet the rising water warned me that something must be done. Again I ordered the shrimp-catchers to lend a hand with the buckets. They laughed defiantly, and those inside the cabin, the water up to their ankles, shouted back and forth with those on top.

乔治是我见过的最全方位无助之人。在他所有残疾中，他还是一个肺病患者，我知道如果让他试着下去排水的话，可能会导致他出血。然而，逐渐上涨的水警告着我必须得做些什么。我再次命令捕虾人用木桶去帮我排水。但他们却肆无忌惮地笑了起来，待在船舱里的那些人，船舱里的水都涨到他们的脚踝处了，不过他们不以为然，跟着上面的人一起笑。

"You'd better get out your gun and make them bail," I said to George.

“你最好拿出你的枪，让他们去排水。”我对乔治说。

But he shook his head and showed all too plainly that he was afraid. The Chinese could see the funk he was in as well as I could, and their insolence became insufferable. Those in the cabin broke into the food lockers, and those above scrambled down and joined them in a feast on our crackers and canned goods.

但他摇了摇头，表示很害怕。中国人跟我一样可以看出他的恐惧，然后他们傲慢的态度变得更加令人难以忍受。那些待在船舱里的人闯进了食品柜，而上面的人则爬下来，和他们一起大吃特吃饼干和罐头食品。

"What do we care?" George said weakly.

“我们该怎么管？”乔治有气无力地说着。

I was fuming with helpless anger. "If they get out of hand, it will be too late to care. The best thing you can do is to get them in check right now."

我气得直哆嗦。“如果他们失去控制，那时候去管住他们就太晚了。你现在最好把他们控制住。”

The water was rising higher and higher, and the gusts, forerunners of a steady breeze, were growing stiffer and stiffer. And between the gusts, the prisoners, having gotten away with a week's grub, took to crowding first to one side and then to the other till the Reindeer rocked like a cockle-shell. Yellow Handkerchief approached me, and, pointing out his village on the Point Pedro beach, gave me to understand that if I turned the Reindeer in that direction and put them ashore, they, in turn, would go to bailing. By now the water in the cabin was up to the bunks, and the bed- clothes were sopping. It was a foot deep on the cockpit floor. Nevertheless I refused, and I could see by George's face that he was disappointed.

水越涨越高，而狂风，微风的前兆，也吹得越来越猛烈。在狂风之中，囚犯们已经吃了一个星期的食物，他们先是挤到一边，然后又挤到另一边，直到驯鹿号像一个海扇壳一样来回摇晃。黄丝巾走近我，指着他在佩德罗角海滩上的村庄，他想让我知道，如果我把驯鹿号开往那个方向，并且让他们上岸，他们就会去排水。这时，船舱里的水已经上升到了铺位了，床上的被褥也湿透了。水在船舱地板都有一英尺深了。但尽管如此，我还是拒绝了，从乔治的脸上我可以看出他对此很失望。

"If you don't show some nerve, they'll rush us and throw us overboard," I said to him. "Better give me your revolver, if you want to be safe."

我对他说:“如果你不表现出点胆量出来，他们就会突袭我们，把我们扔到海里去。”“如果你想要安全的话，最好就把你的左轮手枪给我。”

"The safest thing to do," he chattered cravenly, "is to put them ashore. I, for one, don't want to be drowned for the sake of a handful of dirty Chinamen."

“那是最安全的做法，”他怯怯地说，“把他们放在岸上去。对我来说，我不想为了这么一小撮肮脏的中国人而淹死。”

"And I, for another, don't care to give in to a handful of dirty Chinamen to escape drowning," I answered hotly.

“但对我来说，就算被淹死，我也不会屈服于这么一小撮肮脏的中国人，”我激动地回答。

"You'll sink the Reindeer under us all at this rate," he whined. "And what good that'll do I can't see."

“这样的话，你会把驯鹿号和我们都沉下去的，”他抱怨道。“这样做我可看不见有任何益处。”

"Every man to his taste," I retorted.

“每个人都有自己的见解”我反驳道。

He made no reply, but I could see he was trembling pitifully. Between the threatening Chinese and the rising water he was beside himself with fright; and, more than the Chinese and the water, I feared him and what his fright might impel him to do. I could see him casting longing glances at the small skiff towing astern, so in the next calm I hauled the skiff alongside. As I did so his eyes brightened with hope; but before he could guess my intention, I stove the frail bottom through with a hand-axe, and the skiff filled to its gunwales.

他没有再回答，但我看得出他是在可怜地发抖。在险恶的中国人和不断上涨的水之间，他吓得发狂;而且，比起中国人和水，我更怕他，害怕他的恐惧会驱使他去做什么。我能看见他用渴望的眼神看着船尾的小船，所以在风稍微平缓下来时，我把小船拖到了旁边。我这样做的时候，他的眼睛里充满了希望;但在他猜出我的意图之前，我用手斧把小船脆弱的底部凿了，而小船装满着它的船舷。

"It's sink or float together," I said. "And if you'll give me your revolver, I'll have the Reindeer bailed out in a jiffy."

我说:“要沉还是要浮，咱们都一起。”“还有如果你把你的左轮手枪给我，我就让驯鹿号在瞬间排水。”

"They're too many for us," he whimpered. "We can't fight them all."

“他们对我们来说太多人了，“他呜咽着说。”我们不能把他们全打倒。”

I turned my back on him in disgust. The salmon boat had long since passed from sight behind a little archipelago known as the Marin Islands, so no help could be looked for from that quarter. Yellow Handkerchief came up to me in a familiar manner, the water in the cockpit slushing against his legs. I did not like his looks. I felt that beneath the pleasant smile he was trying to put on his face there was an ill purpose. I ordered him back, and so sharply that he obeyed.

我厌恶地不理会他。那艘捕鲑鱼船很久之前就从一个叫做马林群岛的小群岛中消失了，所以从那一刻起就得不到任何帮助了。黄丝巾以一种熟练的方式向我走来，船舱里的水溅湿了他的腿。我不喜欢他的长相。我觉得他在脸上摆出一副愉快的笑容，是有一种恶意的目的。我命令他回去，他也就遵命照办了。

"Now keep your distance," I commanded, "and don't you come closer!"

“现在保持距离，”我命令道，“你不要再靠近了！”

"Wha' fo'?" he demanded indignantly. "I t'ink-um talkee talkee heap good."

“为什么'？”他愤怒地想要知道。”我认为谈谈比较好。”

"Talkee talkee," I answered bitterly, for I knew now that he had understood all that passed between George and me. "What for talkee talkee? You no sabbe talkee talkee."

“谈谈，”我痛苦地回答，因为我知道他已经明白我和乔治之间的事。“为什么要谈谈？你不是先生，你不能谈谈”

He grinned in a sickly fashion. "Yep, I sabbe velly much. I honest Chinaman."

他用一种很恶心的方式咧嘴笑了笑 。“是的，我是非常先生的。我是个诚实的中国人。”

"All right," I answered. "You sabbe talkee talkee, then you bail water plenty plenty. After that we talkee talkee."

“好吧，”我回答。“你是个先生，可以谈谈，那么等你把水大大地泼出去后，然后我们再来谈谈。”

He shook his head, at the same time pointing over his shoulder to his comrades. "No can do. Velly bad Chinamen, heap velly bad. I t'ink-um - "

他摇了摇头，同时又用他的肩膀指着他的同伴们。“不干。很坏的中国人，很坏很坏的。我认为”

"Stand back!" I shouted, for I had noticed his hand disappear beneath his blouse and his body prepare for a spring.

“退后!”我喊了起来，因为我注意到他的手在上衣下面消失了，他的身体正在准备干点什么。

Disconcerted, he went back into the cabin, to hold a council, apparently, from the way the jabbering broke forth. The Reindeer was very deep in the water, and her movements had grown quite loggy. In a rough sea she would have inevitably swamped; but the wind, when it did blow, was off the land, and scarcely a ripple disturbed the surface of the bay.

他惊慌失措地回到船舱里，去举行一场会议，从那些叽叽喳喳的声音，可以很明显看出来。驯鹿号上的水已经很深了，她的动作也变得很迟缓了。在波涛汹涌的大海中，她将不可避免地被淹没；但是这场风一吹，就会吹往了陆地，海湾的水面上连一道涟漪都没有留下。

"I think you'd better head for the beach," George said abruptly, in a manner that told me his fear had forced him to make up his mind to some course of action.

“我认为你最好开往海滩，”乔治突然说，他是再以另一种方式告诉我，他的恐惧迫使他下定决心要采取行动。

"I think not," I answered shortly.

“我不这么认为，”我简短地回答。

"I command you," he said in a bullying tone.

“我命令你，”他用恐吓的语气说。

"I was commanded to bring these prisoners into San Rafael," was my reply.

“我被命令把这些囚犯带到圣拉斐尔，”我回答。

Our voices were raised, and the sound of the altercation brought the Chinese out of the cabin.

我们的声音响起，争吵的声音把中国人引出了船舱。

"Now will you head for the beach?"

“现在你要前往海滩了吗?”

This from George, and I found myself looking into the muzzle of his revolver - of the revolver he dared to use on me, but was too cowardly to use on the prisoners.

这是乔治的话语，我发现自己正在看着他的左轮手枪的枪口——他竟敢用左轮手枪对着我，但他太过于胆小，不能把枪口对着囚犯。

My brain seemed smitten with a dazzling brightness. The whole situation, in all its bearings, was focussed sharply before me - the shame of losing the prisoners, the worthlessness and cowardice of George, the meeting with Le Grant and the other patrol men and the lame explanation; and then there was the fight I had fought so hard, victory wrenched from me just as I thought I had it within my grasp. And out of the tail of my eye I could see the Chinese crowding together by the cabin doors and leering triumphantly. It would never do.

我的大脑似乎被一种耀眼的光芒迷住了。整个局势，各个方面都被集中在我面前——丢失囚犯的耻辱，乔治的无用和怯懦，与勒格兰德和其他巡警的会面以及毫无说服力的解释;然后是我奋力拼搏的战斗，我以为我已经掌握了胜利，然而胜利现在却被抢走了。从我的眼睛的余光中，我可以看到中国人正挤在舱门，得意扬扬地淫笑着。这是万万不可的。

I threw my hand up and my head down. The first act elevated the muzzle, and the second removed my head from the path of the bullet which went whistling past. One hand closed on George's wrist, the other on the revolver. Yellow Handkerchief and his gang sprang toward me. It was now or never. Putting all my strength into a sudden effort, I swung George's body forward to meet them. Then I pulled back with equal suddenness, ripping the revolver out of his fingers and jerking him off his feet. He fell against Yellow Handkerchief's knees, who stumbled over him, and the pair wallowed in the bailing hole where the cockpit floor was torn open. The next instant I was covering them with my revolver, and the wild shrimp-catchers were cowering and cringing away.

我举起我的手，低下了头。第一项行动把枪口抬高了，第二项行动把我的头从呼啸而过的弹路上移开了。一只手抓住乔治的手腕，另一只手放在左轮手枪上。黄丝巾和他的帮派向我扑来。机不可失。我使出浑身的力气，把乔治的身体推上前去迎接他们。然后，我猛地把他拉回去，将左轮手枪从他的手指上扯下来，并把他掀翻。他被黄丝巾绊倒，倒在了他的膝盖上，而这两个人也被困在了排水孔里，在那里，船舱的地板被撕开着。下一刻，我用左轮手枪对准那些捕虾人，野蛮的捕虾人开始畏缩并且退缩了。

But I swiftly discovered that there was all the difference in the world between shooting men who are attacking and men who are doing nothing more than simply refusing to obey. For obey they would not when I ordered them into the bailing hole. I threatened them with the revolver, but they sat stolidly in the flooded cabin and on the roof and would not move.

但我很快就明白了，在这个世界上，那些拿着枪攻击的人与那些只会拒绝服从并且什么都不做的人之间存在着巨大的差异。当我命令他们进入排水孔时，他们不服从。我用左轮手枪威胁他们，但他们却在被水淹没的船舱和舱顶上呆呆地坐着，不肯动。

Fifteen minutes passed, the Reindeer sinking deeper and deeper, her mainsail flapping in the calm. But from off the Point Pedro shore I saw a dark line form on the water and travel toward us. It was the steady breeze I had been expecting so long. I called to the Chinese and pointed it out. They hailed it with exclamations. Then I pointed to the sail and to the water in the Reindeer, and indicated by signs that when the wind reached the sail, what of the water aboard we would capsize. But they jeered defiantly, for they knew it was in my power to luff the helm and let go the main-sheet, so as to spill the wind and escape damage.

十五分钟过去了，驯鹿号越沉越深，她的主帆还在平静地摆动着。但我从佩德罗角的岸边看到了水面上有一条黑线，正向我们袭来。这是我期待已久的稳定的微风。我把这个消息告诉给中国人并指了出来。他们欢呼雀跃起来。然后我指着船帆和驯鹿号上的水，并用手势来表示，当风吹到船帆上时，船上的水会让我们翻船的。但是他们挑衅地嘲笑我，因为他们知道我有能力迎风使舵，让主帆索活动起来，这样就能把风涌出，逃避危难。

But my mind was made up. I hauled in the main-sheet a foot or two, took a turn with it, and bracing my feet, put my back against the tiller. This left me one hand for the sheet and one for the revolver. The dark line drew nearer, and I could see them looking from me to it and back again with an apprehension they could not successfully conceal. My brain and will and endurance were pitted against theirs, and the problem was which could stand the strain of imminent death the longer and not give in.

但我已经下定决心了。我把主帆索拉起一两英尺，并用它转了一圈，然后把我的脚撑起来，把背抵在舵柄上。这让我一只手拉着控帆索，一只手拿着左轮手枪。黑线越来越近了，我看到他们从我身边向它张望，又带着一种他们无法隐藏的恐惧回去。我的大脑、意志和耐力都在与他们的相较量，而问题在于，哪一方能够经受住即将来临的死亡的压力？

Then the wind struck us. The main-sheet tautened with a brisk rattling of the blocks, the boom uplifted, the sail bellied out, and the Reindeer heeled over - over, and over, till the lee-rail went under, the cabin windows went under, and the bay began to pour in over the cockpit rail. So violently had she heeled over, that the men in the cabin had been thrown on top of one another into the lee bunk, where they squirmed and twisted and were washed about, those underneath being perilously near to drowning.

然后，风袭击了我们。主帆索紧绷着，伴随着一阵轻快的拍击声，船帆也鼓了出来，驯鹿跟着逐渐倾侧，直到围栏沉下去，船舱的窗户也沉了下去，海湾的水开始从座舱的围栏喷涌进来。她倾侧起来真是太危险了，船舱里的人一个叠一个地被甩到了铺位上，他们扭动着，蠕动着，而且还被冲刷着，那些待在下面的人正危险地处在淹死的边缘上。

The wind freshened a bit, and the Reindeer went over farther than ever. For the moment I thought she was gone, and I knew that another puff like that and she surely would go. While I pressed her under and debated whether I should give up or not, the Chinese cried for mercy. I think it was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. And then, and not until then, did I luff up and ease out the main-sheet. The Reindeer righted very slowly, and when she was on an even keel was so much awash that I doubted if she could be saved.

风力又增强了一点，驯鹿号比以前航行得更远了。我以为她已经离我而去了，我知道如果再来一股像这样的浪潮，她一定会离开我的。当我试图追问她，我是否应该就此放弃时，中国人哭喊着请求宽恕。我想这是我听过的最甜美的声音了。然后，就在这时，我放松主帆索，让船侧受风而行。让驯鹿好保持正常状态是非常缓慢的过程，当她的龙骨快与水面持平时，我都怀疑她是否能得救。

But the Chinese scrambled madly into the cockpit and fell to bailing with buckets, pots, pans, and everything they could lay hands on. It was a beautiful sight to see that water flying over the side! And when the Reindeer was high and proud on the water once more, we dashed away with the breeze on our quarter, and at the last possible moment crossed the mud flats and entered the slough.

但中国人疯狂地爬进了船舱，用桶、锅、锅和所有他们能拿到的东西来舀水。看到水从那边喷涌而出真是一种美丽的景象啊！而当驯鹿号再一次高傲地浮在水面上时，我们在微风中乘风破浪，最后穿过泥滩，来到了沼泽地。

The spirit of the Chinese was broken, and so docile did they become that ere we made San Rafael they were out with the tow-rope, Yellow Handkerchief at the head of the line. As for George, it was his last trip with the fish patrol. He did not care for that sort of thing, he explained, and he thought a clerkship ashore was good enough for him. And we thought so too.

中国人的精神已经被打碎了，以至于他们变得如此温顺，在我们到达圣拉斐尔市之前，他们就带着缆绳出来了，黄丝巾排在队伍的前头。至于乔治，这是他最后一次和渔业巡逻队巡逻了。他解释说，他不关心这样的事情，他认为当一个岸上的船员对他来说已经足够了。我们也是这样认为的。