Louis XVIII, on seeing this ravaged face, thrust away the table before which he was sitting.
看到这种焦急的神情，路易十八就猛烈地推开那张他正在写字的桌子。
"What is wrong with you, Baron?" he cried. "You seem thunderstruck. Do your troubled appearance and hesitant manner have anything to do with what Monsieur de Blacas was saying and what Monsieur de Villefort has just confirmed to me?"
“你怎么了，男爵阁下？”他惊喊道。“你看来很不安。你这种为难，这种犹豫，——是否和勃拉卡斯阁下所告诉我而维尔福阁下刚才又加以证实的事情有关系？”
Meanwhile M. de Blacas had made an urgent movement towards the baron, but the courtier's terror got the better of the statesman's pride: in such circumstances, it was far preferable for him to be humiliated by the Prefect of Police than to humiliate him, in view of what was at stake.
与此同时，勃拉卡斯公爵赶紧向男爵走去，那大臣的惊慌神色完全吓退了这位元老的得意心情；老实说，在这种情况下，要是警务部长战胜了他，实在比他使部长受到屈辱对他有利得多。
"Come, come!" said Louis XVIII.
“嗯，什么事？”路易十八问。
"Sire…" the baron stammered.
“陛下，——”男爵吞吞吐吐地说。
At this, the Minister of Police gave way to an onrush of despair and threw himself at the king's feet. Louis XVIII stepped back, raising his eyebrows.
那被绝望所压倒了的警务部长简直就象要扑到路易十八的脚跟前，后者退后了一步，并皱紧了眉头。
"Won't you say something?" he asked.
“请你说话好不好？”他说。
"Oh, Sire, what a terrible misfortune! What will become of me! I shall never recover from it!"
“噢，陛下，多可怕的祸事！我实在该死，我决不能饶恕我自己！”
"Monsieur," Louis XVIII said, "I order you to speak."
“阁下，”路易十八说，“我命令你快讲！”
"Sire, the usurper left Elba on February the twenty-eighth and landed on March the first."
“呃，陛下，逆贼二月二十六已离开爱尔巴，三月一日已登陆了。”
"Where?" the king asked urgently.
“在哪儿，——在意大利吗？”国王焦急地问。
"The usurper landed in France, near Antibes, on the Golfe Juan, two hundred leagues from Paris, on March the first, and it is only today, March the third, that you inform me of it! Well, Monsieur, what you are telling me is impossible: either you have been misinformed, or you are mad."
“那逆贼于三月一日在离巴黎七百五十哩琪恩湾昂蒂布的附近登陆，而你却在今天三月四日才得到这个消息！哦，先生，你告诉我的事是不可能的。你一定得到了捏造的报告，不然就是你发疯了。”
"Alas, Sire, it is only too true!"
“唉，陛下，这件事千真万确！”
"In France!" he cried. "The usurper in France! But was no one watching the man? Who knows, perhaps you were in league with him!"
“在法国！”他喊道，“这个逆贼已经在法国了！那末他们并没有看住这个人。谁知道？或许他们就是和他串通的！”
"Sire, no!" the Duc de Blacas cried. "A man like Monsieur Dandré could never be accused of treason. We were all blind, Sire, and the Minister of Police was as blind as the rest of us, nothing more."
“噢，陛下！”勃拉卡斯公爵惊喊道，“邓德黎决不是一个会叛国的人！陛下，我们都瞎了眼了，警务部长也象大家一样的瞎了眼，——只是如此而已。”
"In France, Sire, in a little port on the Golfe Juan, near Antibes."
“在法国，陛下，在一个小港口，昂蒂布附近，琪恩湾那儿。”
Louis XVIII made a gesture of inexpressible anger and alarm, leaping to his feet as though a sudden blow had struck him simultaneously in the heart and across the face.
路易做了一个难以形容的愤怒和惊惶的动作，然后勉自镇定，象是这个突然的打击同时击中了他的心和脸似的。
"But…" Villefort said, then he stopped dead in his tracks. "I beg your forgiveness, Sire," he said, with a bow. "My ardour carried me away. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
“但是——”维尔福说了这两个字，突然又住了口。“请您原谅，陛下，”他一面说，一面鞠了一躬，“我的热心使我不克自制了。陛下可否赐恩恕罪？”
"Speak, Monsieur, speak without fear. You alone warned us of the disease, help us to find the cure."
“说吧，先生，大胆地说吧，”路易回答。“只有你预先把这个险情警告了我们。现在请再忠告我们该取什么补救的办法！”
"Advancing, advancing," said Louis XVIII. "Is he marching on Paris then?"
“挺进！他在挺进！”路易十八说。“那末他是在向巴黎挺进吗？”
"Sire, I regret to inform Your Majesty of an unpalatable truth: feeling in the Dauphiné is not nearly as favourable to us as it is in Provence and Languedoc. The mountain-dwellers are Bonapartists, Sire."
“陛下，我很抱歉禀告陛下一件严酷的事实：陀菲内的民情远不如普罗旺斯或朗格多克。那些山里人是拿破仑党分子，陛下。”
The Minister of Police said nothing, but his silence was as eloquent as a confession.
警务部长一声不响，等于全部默认。
"Sire," Villefort said, "the usurper is hated in the South. It appears to me that, if he risks his chances there, we can easily rouse Provence and Languedoc against him."
“陛下，”维尔福说，“南方很痛恶逆贼，据我看，假如他想在那儿冒险，就很容易引起朗格多克和普罗旺斯两省起来反对他。”
"No doubt we can," said the minister, "but he is advancing through Gap and Sisteron."
“那是当然，”部长回答，“但他却在顺着加普和锡斯特龙挺进。”
"What about the Dauphiné?" the king asked Villefort. "Do you think we could raise resistance there as in Provence?"
“陀菲内省呢，阁下？”国王问维尔福。“你觉得也可能象普罗旺斯省那样吗？”
"So, his intelligence is good," Louis XVIII muttered. "How many men does he have with him?"
“那末，”路易低声地说，“他的情报倒很正确。他带着多少人？”
"I do not know, Sire," said the Minister of Police.
“我不知道，陛下。”警务部长答道。
"How do you mean, you don't know! Did you forget to find out that detail? It is a trivial matter, of course," he added, with a disdainful smile.
“什么！你不知道？你在这种情形之下还不留心去打听消息？不错，这原是无关重要的小事。”他说着，露出一个苛刻的微笑。
"And how did you come by this dispatch?"
“你这个快报是怎么来的？”国王问。
The minister hung his head and blushed brightly. "By the telegraph, Sire," he stammered.
部长低垂了头，脸上泛出殷红色，他喃喃地说，“是信号送来的，陛下。”
"I was unable to learn it, Sire. The dispatch contained only the news of the landing and the route taken by the usurper."
“陛下，这是不可能知道的，快报上只说到登陆和逆贼所取的路线。”
"It is fate, Sire," the minister muttered, realizing that such a weight, though light in the scales of destiny, was enough to crush a man.
“陛下，这是劫运！”部长轻声地说，他觉得这样的一种压力，在命运之神看来不论是如何轻微，但却已足够压倒一个人。
Louis XVIII stepped forward and crossed his arms, as Napoleon would have done.
路易十八向前跨一步，象拿破仑似的交叉起双臂。
"You mean," he said, going pale with rage, "that seven armies overthrew that man; a divine miracle replaced me on the throne of my fathers after twenty-five years of exile; and during those twenty-five years I studied, sounded out and analysed the men and the affairs of this country of France that was promised to me, only to attain the object of all my desires and for a force that I held in the palm of my hand to explode and destroy me!"
“哦，那末，”他喊道，脸色气得发青，“七国联军推翻了那个人。在二十五年的流亡以后，上天显示奇迹，把我送回到我父王的宝座上。在这二十五年中，我研究，探索，分析我负责的法国民情和事物，而当我实现我全部心愿的时候，我手里的权力却爆炸了，把我击成了齑粉！”
"So is it true, what our enemies say about us: nothing learned, nothing forgotten? If I had been betrayed as he was, then that might after all be some consolation; but to be surrounded by people whom I have raised to high office, who should consider my safety more precious than their own, because their interests depend on me -- people who were nothing before me, and will be nothing after -- and to perish miserably through inefficiency and ineptitude! Oh, yes, Monsieur, you are right indeed: that is fate."
“那末，我们敌人所批评我们的话说得不错：什么都没有学到，什么都不会忘记！假如我也象他那样为国人所共弃，则我还可有所自慰，但既然是大家推我为尊，他们就该爱护我超过爱护他们自己，——因为我的荣辱就是他们的荣辱，在我接位之前，他们是一无所有的，在我逊位之后，他们也将一无所有，——而我竟因他们愚昧无能而自取灭亡！噢，是的，阁下，你说得不错，——这是劫运！”
"Sire," the minister mumbled, "Sire, for pity's sake!"
“陛下，陛下，”部长咕哝地说，“陛下开恩——”
"To fall," Louis XVIII continued, having immediately realized the depth of the gulf above which the monarchy was tottering, "to fall and to learn of one's fall through the telegraph! Oh, I should rather mount the scaffold like my brother Louis XVI, than to descend the steps of the Tuileries in this way, driven out by ridicule… Monsieur, you do not know what ridicule means in France; and yet, if anyone ought to know…"
“亡国！”国王路易又说，他一眼已看清了王国底下的深渊，——“亡国也罢，我们只是从快报上才知道那个亡国的消息！噢！我情愿踏上我的王兄路易十六的断头台而不愿这样笑话地被赶下土伊勒里宫的楼梯。笑话呀，阁下！你为什么不知道他在法国的力量，而这原是你应该知道的！”
The king turned to the young man who was standing, motionless, at the back of the room, following the progress of this conversation on which hung the fate of a kingdom: "Come here, Monsieur de Villefort, come; and tell this gentleman that it was possible to have foreknowledge of everything, despite his ignorance of it."
“过来，维尔福先生，”国王又对那青年说，后者正一动不动，屏住了呼吸，在倾听一场决定一个王国命运的谈话，——“过来，告诉部长阁下。他所不知道的一切，别人就能事先知道。”
The minister was crushed beneath the weight of this terrifying indictment. M. de Blacas wiped a brow damp with sweat and Villefort smiled to himself, because he felt his own importance swelling.
在这一番冷嘲热讽之下，部长弯着身体不敢抬头。勃拉卡斯公爵只是抹他额头的冷汗。维尔福心里微笑，因为他觉得他的重要性已增加了。
"Sire, it was materially impossible to guess at plans which that man had hidden from everybody."
“陛下，那个人一手掩尽了天下人的耳目，要探听到那些企图可真是不可能的。”
"'Materially impossible'! Those are grand words, Monsieur. Unfortunately, grand words are like grand gentlemen: I have taken the measure of both. 'Materially impossible' -- for a minister, who has his officials, his offices, his agents, his informers, his spies and fifteen hundred thousand francs of secret funds, to know what is happening sixty leagues off the coast of France! Come, come: here is this gentleman who had none of these resources at his disposal, this gentleman, a simple magistrate, who knew more than you did with all your police force, and who would have saved my crown if, like you, he had the right to operate the telegraph."
“真是不可能！不错，这几个字真是伟大，阁下。不幸，我已经想过了，天下确实有伟大的字，也有伟大的人。一位有偌大一个机关，有职员，有密探，有一百五十万秘密活动费的部长，想知道离法国海岸一百八十哩以外的情形，难道真的不可能？好，那末，看吧，这儿有一位先生，他手下并没有这些工具，——这位先生只是一个法官，他却比你和所有你警务部的人知道得更多。假如，他象你那样，有权指挥收发信号的话，他早就把我这顶皇冠保住啦。”
"I am not saying this for you, Blacas," Louis XVIII went on. "Even though you discovered nothing, you did at least have the good sense to persevere in your suspicions: anyone else might have thought Monsieur de Villefort's revelations insignificant, or else the product of some self-serving ambition."
“我并没有说您，勃拉卡斯，”路易十八继续说，“因为就算您并没有发现什么，至少您很明达，曾坚持您的怀疑。要是换了一个人，就会认为维尔福阁下的发现是无足轻重的，或认为他只是想贪功邀赏。”
The Minister of Police turned with an expression of profound acrimony towards Villefort, who lowered his head with the modesty of triumph.
警务部长的眼光转到了维尔福身上，神色里表示着仇恨，后者带着胜利的谦逊低着头。
The last was an allusion to what the Minister of Police had said with such confidence an hour earlier.
这些话是针对警务部长一小时前那种极端自信的言论而发的。
"Sire," Villefort said, "the swiftness of the events proves to Your Majesty that only God, by raising a storm, could have forestalled them. What Your Majesty attributes to profound perspicacity on my part is purely and simply the outcome of chance. All I have done is to use what chance put in my way, as a devoted subject. Do not give me more credit than I deserve, Sire, and you will never have to revise your first opinion of me."
“陛下，”维尔福说，“这件事情变化之速足可向陛下证明：只有上帝掀起一阵风暴才能把它阻止。陛下誉臣有先见之明，实际上只是出于偶然，我只不过象一个忠心的臣仆那样抓住了那个偶然的机会而已。陛下，请不要赐给我不值得受的赞誉，因为，假如陛下对我赞誉过甚，将来恐怕再无机会来附和您的好意了。”
Villefort understood the king's strategy. Another person might have been carried away, intoxicated by this flattery, but he was afraid of making a mortal enemy of the minister, despite knowing that the man was doomed; because even though, at the height of his power, the minister had been unable to guess Napoleon's secret, in the final death throes of his fall he might discover Villefort's; he had only to question Dantès. So Villefort came to the man's aid instead of adding to his misery.
维尔福很懂得国王讲话的意向。要是换了别人，或许会被这一片赞誉所陶醉，而忘其所以了，但他怕自己会成为警务部长的一个死敌，虽然他看出邓德黎的失败已是无可挽回的了。事情也确是如此，这位部长在他权力十足的时候虽不能揭穿拿破仑的秘密，但凭着他临死时的一阵挣扎，却可能揭穿他的（维尔福的）秘密，因为他只要问一问邓蒂斯便得了。所以维尔福不但不帮助来击毁他，反而来救一救这位一个跟斗倒下来的部长。
The Minister of Police thanked the young man with a look, and Villefort knew that his plan had succeeded: having lost none of the king's gratitude, he had just made a friend on whom he could count, should need be.
警务部长以动人的一瞥谢谢这位青年，于是维尔福知道他的计划已经成功，那是说，既没有损害了国王的感激，又给自己安排了一个在必要的时候或可有所依赖的朋友。
"Thankfully, Sire, we can count on the army," said M. de Blacas. "Your Majesty knows that every report speaks of its devotion to Your Majesty's government."
“幸亏，陛下，”勃拉卡斯说，“我们可以信赖陆军，陛下知道，每一个报告都证实他们是忠心不贰的。”
"Very well," said the king; then, turning to M. de Blacas and the Minister of Police: "Now, gentlemen, I have no further need of you. You may go. What has to be done from now on falls within the province of the Minister of War."
“很好！”国王又开始说。“现在，先生们，”他转向勃拉卡斯公爵和警务部长继续说，“我对你们没有什么事谈了，你们可以回去，其余的事现在必须由陆军部来办理了。”
"Don't speak to me of reports, Duke; I know now how much faith I should put in them. But, on that subject, Monsieur le Baron, what further news do you have about the matter of the Rue Saint-Jacques?"
“阁下，别再向我提起报告了！因为我现在已经知道对它们该予以多少的信任。可是，说到报告，男爵阁下，你对于圣·杰克司街那件事有什么消息？”
"The matter of the Rue Saint-Jacques!" Villefort exclaimed, unable to contain himself. Then he stopped short and said: "Forgive me, Sire, my devotion to Your Majesty continually makes me forget, not the respect that I feel for you, which is too deeply engraved on my heart, but the rules of etiquette."
“圣·杰克司街的事件！”维尔福禁不住惊喊起来。然后，突然缩住口，他又说，“请您原谅，陛下，我对陛下的忠忱使我忘记——倒不是忘记我对您的尊敬，因为那在我的心里刻得太深了，而是一时忘记了礼仪。”
"You may speak out, Monsieur," said Louis XVIII. "Today you have earned the right to ask questions."
“尽量说吧，先生！”国王答道，“今天你已获得提出问题的权利。”
"Sire," the Minister of Police replied, "I was on the point of giving Your Majesty the new information that I have gathered about this, when Your Majesty's attention was distracted by the terrible disaster on the coast. This information can be of no further interest to His Majesty."
“陛下，”警务部长回答说，“我刚才就是来向陛下报告关于这方面的新消息的，碰巧陛下的注意力都被吸引到这件可怕的大事上去了，现在这些小事恐怕不再能使陛下发生兴趣了吧。”
"Indeed, Sire," the Minister of Police continued, "everything suggests that he was the victim, not of suicide, as first thought, but of murder. It appears that General Quesnel was coming out of a Bonapartist club when he disappeared. A stranger had visited him the same morning and made an appointment with him in the Rue Saint-Jacques. Unfortunately, the valet, who was doing the general's hair at the time when the stranger was shown into his dressing-room, clearly heard him mention the Rue Saint-Jacques, but could not remember the number."
“陛下，”警务部长说，“事实上，一切证据都使我们得到这个结论：就是他这次的死，并不象我们以前所相信的那样是自杀，而是一次暗杀。看来，奎斯奈尔将军是在离开一个拿破仑党俱乐部的时候失踪的。那天早晨，曾有一个不知姓名的人和他在一起，并约他在圣·杰克司街相会，不幸，当那个怪客进来的时候，将军的贴身跟班正在梳头，他虽然听到所提的街名，却没有听清门牌号码。”
"On the contrary, Monsieur, this affair seems to me to relate directly to the one uppermost in our minds, and General Quesnel's death may perhaps put us on the trail of an important internal conspiracy."
“正巧相反，阁下，——正巧相反，”路易十八说，“这件事据我看和刚才我们所注意的事一定有关系，奎斯奈尔将军之死或许就会引起一次内部的大叛乱。”
Villefort shuddered at this mention of General Quesnel.
提到奎斯奈尔将军的名字，维尔福发抖了。
The king turned to him. "Don't you agree with me, Monsieur de Villefort, that General Quesnel, who might have been thought a supporter of the usurper, but who was in reality entirely loyal to me, was the victim of an ambush by the Bonapartists?"
“维尔福先生，这位奎斯奈尔将军，他们都相信是依附逆贼的，但实际上他却完全忠心于我，我觉得他作了拿破仑党所设的一次埋伏的牺牲品，你是否与我有同感？”
While the Minister of Police was giving this information to the king, Villefort, who appeared to hang on his every word, blushed red, then went pale.
当警务部长向国王述说这件事的时候，维尔福全神贯注地倾听，脸上一阵红一阵白，象是他的生命就取决于这篇话上面似的。国王把眼光转到他身上。
"We are tracking down the man who made the appointment with him."
“他们已经在跟踪那个和他约会的人了。”
"Tracking him down?" Villefort repeated.
“已经跟踪他了吗？”维尔福说。
"It seems probable, Sire," said Villefort. "Is nothing more known?"
“这是可能的，陛下，”维尔福回答。“但现在所知的就只这些吗？”
"Yes, the servant gave us a description. He is a man of between fifty and fifty-five years old, with dark eyes overhung by bushy eyebrows, and a moustache. He was dressed in a blue frock-coat and wore the rosette of an officer of the Legion of Honour in his buttonhole. A man who precisely answers to this description was followed yesterday, but my agent lost him at the corner of the Rue de la Jussienne and the Rue Coq-Héron."
“是的，那侍仆已把他的外貌形容了出来。他是一个年约五十一二岁的人，肤色棕褐，蓬松的眉毛底下有一对黑色的眼睛，胡子长而密。他穿着蓝色披风，钮孔上挂着荣誉团军官的蔷薇章。昨天跟踪到一个人的外貌和以上所形容的完全相符，但到裘森尼街和高海隆路的拐角上，他忽然不见了。”
Villefort had leant against the back of a chair and, while the Minister of Police was speaking, he felt his legs give way beneath him; but when he heard that the stranger had evaded his pursuer, he breathed again.
维尔福将身体靠在一张圈椅的背上，因为在警务部长说话的时候，他觉得他的腿在发软，当他知道那个不知姓名的人已逃过那个跟踪他的密探的时候，他才敢又开始呼吸。
"On this, at least, I hope that Your Majesty will have satisfaction."
“陛下，我相信，陛下对此已经满意。”
"You must track this man down, Monsieur," the king told the Minister of Police. "If, as everything leads me to believe, General Quesnel, who has been so helpful to us at this time, was a victim of murder, whether or not by Bonapartists, I wish his assassins to be cruelly punished."
“继续追索这个人，阁下，”国王对警务部长说，“奎斯奈尔将军在这个时候对我们非常有用，据各方面看来，我相信他是被谋杀的，假如确是如此，则暗杀他的凶手，不论是否是拿破仑党，都该从严惩处。”
Villefort needed all his self-control to avoid showing the terror he felt on hearing the king's words.
国王这样宣布的时候，维尔福得用全副的镇定力才能使恐怖的神色不致透露出来。
"Very well, we shall see. I shall keep you no longer, Baron. Monsieur de Villefort, you must be tired after your journey; go and rest. You are doubtless staying with your father?"
“我们瞧吧。我不再耽搁你了，男爵。维尔福先生，你经过了这样长的一次旅程，一定很疲乏了，回去休息吧。你当然是耽搁在令尊那儿的罗。”
"How odd it is!" the king continued, with a gesture that expressed his irritation. "The police consider they have said the last word on the matter when they announce that a murder has been committed; and that they have done everything when they add: 'We are tracking down the people responsible.'"
“多妙呀！”国王用很尖酸的语气继续说。“当警务部说‘又发生了一件谋杀案’的时候，尤其是，当他们又加上一句‘我们已经在追索凶手’的时候，他们以为一切就都已了结了。”
A cloud passed in front of Villefort's eyes. "No, Sire, I am staying at the Hôtel de Madrid, in the Rue de Tournon."
维尔福微微有点昏眩。“不，陛下，”他答道，“我是在导农街的马德里饭店下榻的。”
"I asked to be taken directly to the Duc de Blacas, Sire."
“陛下，我是一来就去找勃拉卡斯公爵阁下的。”
"But you will see him, nonetheless?"
“但你总要见见他吧？”
"I think not, Sire."
“我不想会他，陛下。”
"You have seen him, I suppose?"
“可是你当然见过他罗？”
"No matter, Monsieur; have no fear, we shall not forget you, and meanwhile…" The king unpinned the cross of the Legion of Honour which he normally wore on his blue coat, next to the Cross of Saint-Louis and above the medal of the order of Notre-Dame du Mont Carmel et de Saint-Lazare, and, giving it to Villefort, said: "Meanwhile, take this cross."
“那算得什么，阁下，我们不会忘记你的，你放心好了。现在（说到这里，国王将他佩在蓝色上装上的荣誉勋章摘下来，递给维尔福，这枚勋章原是佩在他的圣·路易十字章的旁边，圣·拉柴勋章之上的）——现在且暂时接受了这个勋章。”
"But, Sire," Villefort said, "Your Majesty is mistaken: this is the cross of an officer of the Legion."
“陛下，”维尔福说，“陛下搞错了，这种勋章是军人的。”
"Ah yes, of course," Louis XVIII said with a smile, indicating that there had been a motive behind this repeated questioning. "I was forgetting the coldness in your relations with Monsieur Noirtier, and that this is another sacrifice you have made to the royal cause, for which I must compensate you."
“呀，我忘啦，”路易十八说，随即微笑了一下，表示这一切问题是没有任何动机的，“我忘记你和诺梯埃阁下的关系并不太好，这又是为忠心王室而作出的一个牺牲，为了两个牺牲你该得到报偿。”
"Sire, the expression of Your Majesty's goodwill is a reward that so far exceeds my ambitions, and I can have nothing further to ask of my king."
“陛下，陛下对我所表的仁慈已超过了我所希望的最高报偿，我已别无所求了。”
Villefort's eyes moistened with a tear of happiness and pride. He took the cross and kissed it. "And now," he asked, "what orders do I have the honour to receive from Your Majesty?"
维尔福的眼睛里充满了喜悦和得意的眼泪。他接过勋章来，吻了一下。“现在，”他说，“我可不可以问：陛下还有什么命令赐我执行的吗？”
"So be it, Monsieur," said Louis XVIII, "take it for what it is. I have no time to request another. Blacas, ensure that the certificate is delivered to Monsieur de Villefort."
“真是的！”路易十八说，“拿着吧，就算这样吧，因为我来不及给你弄个别的。勃拉卡斯，您负责叫他们写荣誉状送给维尔福阁下。”
"Take the rest that you need and consider that, while you have no power to serve me in Paris, you can be of the greatest service to me in Marseille."
“你需要休息，先休息去吧，要记得，虽不能在这儿巴黎为我服务，但你在马赛对我也大有用处呢。”
Villefort bowed. "Sire, in an hour I shall have left Paris."
“陛下，”维尔福一面鞠躬，一面回答，“我在一个钟头之内就要离开巴黎了。”
"How long will it last?" Villefort murmured, taking leave of the minister, whose career was finished, and looking around for a cab to take him home. One passed along the quay, Villefort waved it down and the cab drew over. He gave his address to the driver and leapt inside, where he abandoned himself to his ambitious dreams.
“将来不知能不能继续飞黄腾达。”维尔福心里这样自言自语，一面向部长致敬告别，他的任务已经结束了，一面就四顾寻找有没有出租的马车。这时正巧有一辆经过，他喊住了它，把地址告诉了车夫，就跳到车里，躺在座位上，做起野心的梦来了。
"Go then, Monsieur; and if I should forget you -- for the memory of kings is short -- do not hesitate to make yourself known to me… Monsieur le Baron, give the order to fetch the Minister of War. Blacas, stay here."
“去吧，先生，”国王说，“假如我忘了你（国王的记忆力是很短暂的），就设法使我想起你来，不必怕。男爵阁下，去叫军政部长来。勃拉卡斯，留在这儿。”
"Monsieur," the Minister of Police said to Villefort as they were leaving the Tuileries, "you have come through the right door: your fortune is made."
“啊，阁下，”在他们离开土伊勒里宫的时候，警务部长对维尔福说，“您走的门路不错，您的前程已经奠定了。”
"He asked for me by name?"
“他有没有说出我的名字？”
"He is a man of around fifty, Monsieur."
“唔，先生，是一个五十左右的人。”
At that moment, the valet returned.
侍者走进来。
"And what does this stranger look like?"
“他是怎么样的人。”
"What anonymous stranger is that? What does he want?"
“一个不愿意说出他姓名的生客！他想怎么样？”
"About the same size as Monsieur."
“和您差不多，先生。”
"He wishes to speak to Monsieur."
“他想跟您说话。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"In a long blue frock-coat buttoned from top to bottom, with the decoration of the Legion of Honour."
“穿一件蓝色的披风，排胸扣的，还挂着荣誉蔷薇勋章。”
"Who can know that I am here so soon?" he wondered.
“谁能知道我在这儿呢？”青年自问说。
"To me?"
“跟我？”
"What is it?" Villefort answered. "Who was that ringing? Who is asking for me?"
“咦，”维尔福说，“什么事？谁拉铃？谁要见我？”
"Certainly."
“说了。”
"A stranger who will not give his name."
“一个生客，他不愿意说出他的姓名。”
Ten minutes later he was home. He ordered his horses to be prepared for him to leave in two hours and asked for dinner to be served. He was about to sit down at the table when a firm, clear ring sounded at the door. The valet went to open it and Villefort heard someone speak his name.
十分钟以后，维尔福已到达他的旅馆，他吩咐把他的马在两小时内准备好，把早餐给他拿来。他正要进餐时，铃声响了，听那铃声，显然是由一只坚定而自在的手拉的。侍者打开门，维尔福听到来客提到他的名字。
"Short? Tall?"
“高还是矮？”
"Fair or dark?"
“头发是黑的还是黄的？”
"Dark, very dark, with black hair, black eyes and black eyebrows."
“黑，——黑极了，黑眼睛，黑头发，黑眉毛。”
"And dressed?" Villefort demanded urgently. "How is he dressed?"
“穿的什么衣服？”维尔福急忙问。
"It is he," Villefort murmured, going pale.
“这是他！”维尔福说，脸色苍白起来。
"By heaven!" The person whose description we have twice given appeared on the doorstep. "This is a fine way to treat a man. Is it the custom in Marseille for a son to keep his father waiting at the door?"
“呃，一点不错！”我们形容过两次外貌的那个人走进门来说，“手续那么麻烦哪！做儿子的叫他的父亲候在外客厅里，这可是马赛的规矩吗？”
"If you guessed as much," the newcomer remarked, putting his cane in a corner and his hat on a chair, "then permit me to remark, my dear Gérard, that it is most unfriendly of you to keep me waiting like this."
“哦，那末，假如你觉得这样肯定，”来客一面回答，一面把他的手杖靠在一个角落里，把帽子放在一张椅子上，“让我告诉你，我亲爱的杰拉，要我候在门外是不能算太孝顺的。”
"Father!" Villefort exclaimed. "So I was not wrong: I guessed that it must be you."
“爹！”维尔福喊道，“那末我没有弄错，我觉得这一定是您。”
"Leave us, Germain," said Villefort. The servant went out with obvious signs of astonishment.
“你走开，茄曼。”维尔福说。于是侍者带着显然很惊异的神色退出了房间。