One day, a mysterious group of colonists set out from Spain and landed on this spit of land, where it still resides today. No one knew where they had come from or what language they spoke. One of the leaders, who understood Provençal, asked the commune of Marseille to give them this bare and arid promontory on to which, like the sailors of Antiquity, they had drawn up their boats. The request was granted and, three months later, a little village grew up around the twelve or fifteen boats that brought these gypsies of the sea.
从前有一天一群神秘的移民离开西班牙，就在这块突出在海湾里的地带安居下来，一直到现在。当时谁都不知道他们从哪儿来，也听不懂他们的话。移民中有一位首领懂得普罗旺斯话，就恳求马赛市政府把这块荒芜贫瘠的海岬赐给他们，以便他们可以象古代的航海者一样把他们的小船拖到岸上来居住。这个要求获准了。三个月后，在那十四五艘运载这些流民渡海而来的小帆船周围，就兴起了一个小小的村庄。
A hundred yards away from the place where the two friends, staring into the distance with their ears pricked, were enjoying the sparkling wine of La Malgue, lay the village of Les Catalans, behind a bare hillock ravaged by the sun and the mistral.
那两位朋友一面喝着起泡的梅尔姬酒，一面竖起耳朵，注视着大约百步以外的一个地方。那儿，在一座光秃秃的、风雨剥蚀了的围墙后面，便是迦太兰人的村庄。
The same village, built in a bizarre and picturesque manner that is partly Moorish and partly Spanish, is the one that can be seen today, inhabited by the descendants of those men, who speak the language of their forefathers. For three or four centuries they have remained faithful to the little promontory on which they first landed, clinging to it like a flock of seabirds, in no way mixing with the inhabitants of Marseille, marrying among themselves and retaining the habits and dress of their motherland, just as they have retained its tongue.
这个村庄的建筑独创一格，颇为美观，半似西班牙式，半似摩尔式，现在的居民就是那些人的后代，他们还是说着他们祖先的语言。三四百年来，他们一心一意地依恋在这块小海岬上，象一群海鸟似的毫不与马赛的人口混合，他们互相通婚，保持着他们原来的习惯和祖国的风俗，犹如保持他们的语言一样。
A lovely young girl with jet-black hair and the velvet eyes of a gazelle, was standing, leaning against an inner wall, rubbing an innocent sprig of heather between slender fingers like those on a classical statue, and pulling off the flowers, the remains of which were already strewn across the floor. At the same time, her arms, naked to the elbow, arms that were tanned but otherwise seemed modelled on those of the Venus of Arles, trembled with a sort of feverish impatience, and she was tapping the ground with her supple, well-made foot, revealing a leg that was shapely, bold and proud, but imprisoned in a red cotton stocking patterned in grey and blue lozenges.
一个年轻美丽的姑娘正斜靠在壁板上。她的头发象乌玉般的黑，眼睛似膻羚羊眼睛般的柔润，她那象希腊古代雕刻一样纤细的手指，正在抚弄一束石南花，把花瓣撕碎，散播在地板上。她的手臂裸到肘部，露出被日光晒成褐色的一段，这两条美得象生在阿尔的美神像①身上一样的手臂，正在焦躁不安地摆动着。她那柔软好看的脚上穿着足踝处绣着灰蓝色花朵的纱袜，一只脚正在轻轻地拍着地面，好象故意要展露她那丰满匀称的小腿似的。【注：①阿尔是古罗马一个重要城市，阿尔的美神像是在当地发现的最有名的一座雕像。】
The reader must follow us along the only street of the little village and enter one of those houses, to the outside of which the sunlight has given that lovely colour of dead leaves which is peculiar to the buildings of the country; with, inside, a coat of whitewash, the only decoration of a Spanish posada.
读者们且随我走进这小村的惟一的一条街，踏入其中的一间屋子里。这间屋子的墙外爬满了乡村风味的藤类植物，阳光照着那些枯死的叶子，在上面染上一层美丽的色彩，房子里面粉饰着象西班牙旅馆里那样千篇一律的石灰。
A short distance away, a tall young man of between twenty and twenty-two was sitting on a chair, rocking it fitfully on two legs while supporting himself on his elbow against an old worm-eaten dresser and watching her with a look that combined anxiety with irritation. His eyes were questioning, but those of the young woman, firm and unwavering, dominated their conversation.
离开她三步远的地方，坐着一个年约二十二岁的高大青年，他跷起椅子的两条后腿，手肘撑在一张虫蚀的旧桌子上，带着一种烦恼不安的神色注视着她。他在用眼睛询问她，但青年姑娘坚决而镇定的凝视却控制了他的目光。
"You have had it a hundred times, Fernand, and you really must like torturing yourself, to ask me again."
“我已经答复过你一百次啦，弗南。你再问下去是自寻烦恼。”
"I, at least, never encouraged you in that hope, Fernand," Mercédès replied. "You cannot accuse me of having, even once, flirted with you. I've said repeatedly: 'I love you like a brother, but never demand anything more from me than this fraternal love, because my heart belongs to another.' Isn't that what I have always told you, Fernand?"
“但这又不是我让你抱那种希望的，弗南，”美茜蒂丝回答说，“你不能怪我曾经诱惑过你。我老是跟你说，‘我只把你看作我的哥哥，不必向我要求超过兄妹之爱的感情，因为我的心已是属于另外一个人的了。’我不是老跟你这样说吗，弗南？”
"Please, Mercédès," the man said. "Easter is coming round again; it's the time for weddings. Give me your answer!"
“你看，美茜蒂丝，”那青年说，“复活节又到了，你说，这不正是结婚的好时候吗？”
"Well, repeat it, I beg you, repeat it once more so that I can come to believe it. Tell me, for the hundredth time, that you reject my love, even though your mother approves of me. Convince me that you are prepared to trifle with my happiness and that my life and my death are nothing to you. My God, my God! To dream for ten years of being your husband, Mercédès, and then to lose that hope which was the sole aim of my existence!"
“唉，再说一遍吧，我求你，再说一遍，我才会相信！说一百遍也好，说你拒绝我的爱。虽然那是你母亲所应承的。让我充分了解你漠视我的幸福，了解对于我的生或死你是漠不关心的。唉！十年来老是梦想着要做你的丈夫，美茜蒂丝，而现在竟丧失了那希望，那作为我活在世上惟一目标的希望！”
"Yes, Mercédès, I know," the young man replied. "Yes, you have always been laudably, and cruelly, honest with me. But are you forgetting that it is a sacred law among the Catalans only to marry among themselves?"
“不错，我知道得很清楚，美茜蒂丝，”青年回答。“不错，你对我坦白的程度甚至有点近乎残酷。但你忘记同族相婚是迦太兰人的一条神圣的法律吗？”
"You are wrong, Fernand, it is not a law, but a custom, nothing more; and I advise you not to appeal to that custom on your behalf. You have been chosen for conscription, Fernand, and the freedom that you now enjoy is merely a temporary reprieve: at any moment you might be called up to serve in the army. Once you are a soldier, what will you do with me -- I mean, with a poor orphan girl, sad and penniless, whose only possession is a hut, almost in ruins, in which hang a few worn nets, the paltry legacy that was left by my father to my mother, and by my mother to me? Consider, Fernand, that in the year since she died, I have virtually lived on charity! Sometimes you pretend that I am of some use to you, so that you can be justified in sharing your catch with me. And I accept, Fernand, because you are the son of one of my father's brothers, because we grew up together and, beyond that, most of all, because it would hurt you too much if I were to refuse. But I know full well that the fish I take to the market, which bring me the money to buy the hemp that I spin -- I know, full well, Fernand, that it is charity."
“你错了，弗南，那不是一条法律，只是一种风俗。我求你不要引用这种风俗来帮你的忙。你在服着兵役，弗南，只是暂时缓征，随时可以应调入伍的。一旦当了兵，你又怎么来安排我呢？我，——一个无依无靠的孤儿，又没有财产，只有一间东歪西倒的小屋和一些破烂的渔网，就是这些可怜的遗产也还是我爹爹传给我妈妈，又由我妈妈传给我的。弗南，你也知道她老人家去世已有一年，我几乎完全靠公家的救济过活。你有时装作我帮过你的忙，借此让我分享你捕鱼得来的收获，我接受了，弗南，因为你是我的嫡堂哥哥，因为我们是从小一起长大的，更因为，假如我拒绝，会使你非常痛苦。但我深深地觉得，我拿去卖的这些鱼，拿去换亚麻来纺织的这些鱼——弗南，我非常明显地觉得，这还等于是一种施舍。”
"Yes, I understand," said Fernand. "You bear your own poverty patiently, but you are afraid of mine. Well, Mercédès, with your love, I would try to make my fortune; you would bring me luck and I should become rich. I can cast my fisherman's net wider, I can take a job as a clerk in a shop, I could even become a merchant myself!"
“我懂了，”弗南回答说，“你能够毫无怨言地忍受你的穷困生活，但你却怕我穷，那么，美茜蒂丝，得到了你的爱，我就发奋去致富。你会给我带来好运，我会发财。我可以扩展我的渔业，或许可以找到一个货仓管理员的职位，到时候我就可以做一个商人了。”
"Fernand," Mercédès replied, shaking her head, "one is not a good housekeeper and one cannot promise to remain an honest woman when one loves a man other than one's husband. Be satisfied with my friendship for, I repeat, that is all I can promise you and I only promise what I am sure of being able to give."
“弗南，”美茜蒂丝摇摇头回答，“一个女人能不能成为一个良好的管家妇那倒难说，但假如她爱着另外一个人还甚过于爱她的丈夫，谁还能说她是一个忠心的女人呢？你就满足于我的友谊算了吧，我对你再说一遍，这是我所能允许的最大限度，我无法允许我不能给的东西。”
"What does it matter, Mercédès, poor and alone as you are, when you suit me thus better than the daughter of the proudest shipowner or the richest banker in Marseille? What do people like us need? An honest wife and a good housekeeper. Where could I find better than you on either score?"
“那又有什么关系？美茜蒂丝，你虽然这样孤苦，但还是象最骄傲的船主女儿或马赛最有钱的银行家的小姐一样配得上我！我除了一个忠心的女人和严谨的主妇以外还另有何求呢？而我哪儿再能找到一个在这两方面都比你更好的人呢？”
"You can't do any such thing, Fernand: you're a soldier and, if you stay here among the Catalans, it is because there is no war for you to fight. So remain a fisherman, don't dream of things that will make reality seem even more terrible to you -- and be content with my friendship, because I cannot give you anything else."
“这种事办不到的，弗南。你是一个兵，你之所以还能留在迦太兰村，是因为现在没有战争。那末，还是做一个渔夫吧。别胡思乱想，因为梦想会使现实更觉难受。就以我的友谊为满足吧，因为我不能给你超过友谊以上的情感。”
"You are right, Mercédès, I shall be a seaman; and, instead of the dress of our forefathers which you despise, I shall have a patent-leather hat, a striped shirt and a blue jacket with anchors on the buttons. That's how a man needs to dress, isn't it, if he wants to please you?"
“那么，你说得对，美茜蒂丝。你鄙视我们祖先的服装，我就抛弃它。我要去当一名水手，我要戴一顶油漆过的帽子，穿一件条纹衬衫，外加一件蓝色的短外套，要纽扣上有铁锚的那种。那套衣服该讨你喜欢了吧？”
"What I mean, Mercédès, is that you are only so hard-hearted and cruel towards me because you are waiting for someone who is dressed like that. But it may be that the one you await is fickle and, even if he isn't, the sea will be fickle for him."
“我的意思是，美茜蒂丝，你之所以对我这样严厉和残酷，是因为你在等待着这样打扮的一个人。但或许你所等待的他是靠不住的，即使他自己可靠，大海对他可难说呢。”
"Fernand!" Mercédès exclaimed. "I thought you were kind, but I was mistaken. It is wicked of you to call on the wrath of God to satisfy your jealousy. Yes, I will not deny it: I am waiting for the man you describe, I love him and if he does not return, instead of blaming the fickleness that it pleases you to speak of, I shall think that he died loving me."
“弗南！”美茜蒂丝喊道，“我以前以为你的心地很善良，现在我才知道我错了！弗南，你祈求上帝的愤怒来帮助你的嫉妒是太卑鄙了！不错，我不否认，我是在等待着，我是爱你所指的那个人，即使他不回来，我也不相信他会象你所说的那样靠不住，我相信他至死会爱我，而且只爱我一个。”
The young Catalan made an angry gesture.
迦太兰青年现出忿忿的样子。
"What do you mean?" Mercédès asked, with an imperious look. "What do you mean? I don't understand you."
“你这是什么意思？”美茜蒂丝忿忿地射了他一眼，——“问你这是什么意思？我不懂。”
Fernand remained impassive. He made no attempt to wipe the tears that were running down Mercédès cheeks, yet he would have given a glass of his own blood for each of those tears; but they were shed for another. He got up, walked round the hut and returned, stopping before Mercédès with a dark look in his eyes and clenched fists. "Come now, Mercédès," he said. "Answer me once more: have you truly made up your mind?"
弗南没有回答，他也不想去擦掉美茜蒂丝脸上的眼泪，虽然每一滴眼泪好象流去他心上的一滴血一样，但这些眼泪是为另一个人而流的。他站起身来，在小屋里踱来踱去，然后他突然的露出阴沉的眼神，捏紧了拳头在美茜蒂丝面前停下来，对她说，“美茜蒂丝，”他说，“再说一句就算数，这是不是你最后的决定？”
"I understand what that means, Fernand: you want to blame him because I do not love you, and cross his dagger with your Catalan knife! What good would that do you? If you were defeated, you would lose my friendship; if you were the victor, you would see that friendship turn to hatred. Believe me, when a woman loves a man, you do not win her heart by crossing swords with him. No, Fernand, don't be carried away by evil thoughts. Since you cannot have me as your wife, be content to have me as a friend and a sister. In any case," she added, her eyes anxious and filling with tears, "stay, Fernand: you said, yourself, a moment ago that the sea is treacherous. It is already four months since he left, and I have counted a lot of storms in the past four months!"
“我懂得你的心思，弗南，因为我不爱你，你就会对他怀恨。你会用你的迦太兰刀去拚他的匕首。那能得到什么结果呢？假如你被打倒了，你就会丧失我的友谊，假如你打倒了他，你就会看到友谊变成了仇恨。相信我，想靠着和一个男人去打架来讨好爱那个男人的女人，这种方法是太笨了。不，弗南，你不能去想那些坏心思。不能娶我做你的妻子，你还能把我看作你的朋友和妹妹聊以自慰。而且，”她的眼睛里湿润着泪水，茫然地说，“等着吧，等着吧，弗南！你刚才说海是变幻莫测的，他已去了四个月，这四月中，曾有过几次险恶的风暴。”
"And if he forgets you?"
“假如他忘记你——”
"If he is dead, I shall die."
“假如他死了，我也跟着死。”
"I love Edmond Dantès," the young woman said, coldly, "and no one will be my husband except Edmond."
“我爱爱德蒙·邓蒂斯，”那位姑娘平静地回答，“除了爱德蒙以外，谁都不能做我的丈夫。”
"As long as I live."
“我活着一天，就爱他一天。”
"And you will love him for ever?"
“你永远爱他吗？”
"Ah!" the girl exclaimed, reddening with joy and leaping up, filled with love. "You see that he has not forgotten me: he is here!" And she ran to the door, and opened it, crying: "Come to me, Edmond! I am here!"
“咦！”青年女郎喊道，她的脸因愉快而涨得通红，满怀着情爱一跃而起，“你看，他没有忘记我，因为他已来了！”她冲到门口，打开门，说，“嗨，爱德蒙，我在这儿呢！”
Fernand bent his head like a discouraged man, gave a sigh that was like a groan, then suddenly looked up with clenched teeth and nostrils flared. "But suppose he is dead?"
弗南象一个斗败了的战士垂下了头，长长地嘘出一声象呻吟似的叹息，然后又突然抬起头望着她，咬紧牙关地说：“假如他死——”
"Mercédès!" cried a happy voice outside the house. "Mercédès!"
“美茜蒂丝！”一个声音在屋外兴冲冲地叫道，“美茜蒂丝！”
Pale and trembling, Fernand stepped back as a traveller might do at the sight of a snake; and, stumbling against his chair, fell back into it.
弗南脸色苍白，全身颤抖，象看见了一条赤练蛇的游客似的向后退去，踉踉跄跄地靠在椅子上，沉入椅子里。
Edmond and Mercédès were in each other's arms. The hot Marseille sun, shining through the doorway, drenched them in a flood of light. At first, they saw nothing of what was around them. A vast wave of happiness cut them off from the world and they spoke only those half-formed words that are the outpourings of such intense joy that they resemble the expression of pain.
爱德蒙和美茜蒂丝互相紧紧地拥抱着。耀眼的马赛的阳光从开着的门口穿入房间，把他俩照射在光明里。他们最初忘掉了周围的一切。极度的快乐把他们和世界隔离了开来，他们只能断断续续地讲话，这原是高兴到极点的象征，当人们极端高兴的时候，表面看来倒反而象悲伤。
Suddenly, Edmond noticed the sombre figure of Fernand, pale and threatening in the darkness. With a gesture of which he was not even himself aware, the young Catalan had laid his hand on the knife at his belt.
爱德蒙突然看见弗南那张阴郁的脸，这张埋在阴影里的脸苍白而带着威胁的神气，那迦太兰青年不自觉地做了一个动作，把他的手按在腰部皮带的短刀上。
"He will be your best friend, Dantès, because he is my friend, my cousin and my brother: this is Fernand, which means he is the man whom, after you, I love most in the world. Don't you recognize him?"
“这位将是你最好的朋友，邓蒂斯，因为他是我的朋友，我的堂兄，我的哥哥，这位是弗南，——除了你以外，爱德蒙，他就是世界上我最爱的人了。你不记得他了吗？”
That one glance told him everything. His brow clouded with rage.
这一看他就全都明白了，他脸色不禁怒气横生。
"Ah! Yes, indeed," said Edmond. And, without leaving Mercédès whose hand he held clasped in one of his own, he extended the other with a cordial gesture towards the Catalan. But Fernand, instead of responding to this sign of friendship, remained as silent and motionless as a statue. It was enough to make Edmond look enquiringly from Mercédès, who was trembling with emotion, to Fernand, sombre and threatening.
“对了！”爱德蒙说，他没有放开美茜蒂丝的手，一只手握着美茜蒂丝，把另一只手亲热地伸给那个迦太兰人。但弗南对这个友谊的表示并无反响，却依旧象一尊石像似的一动不动。爱德蒙于是把他的眼光仔细看看那焦急为难的美茜蒂丝，又看看那怀着阴郁敌意的弗南。
"Oh, forgive me," Dantès said, raising an eyebrow. "I did not realize that we were not alone."
“啊！对不起！”邓蒂斯皱着眉头转过身来说，“我不知道这儿有三个人。”
Then, turning to Mercédès, he asked: "Who is this gentleman?"
然后他转过去问美茜蒂丝，“这先生是谁？”
The blood drained from Fernand's face.
弗南脸色惨白得象死人一样。
Fernand's eyes lit up with rage.
弗南的眼里射出火来。
"An enemy!" Mercédès exclaimed, looking angrily in the direction of her cousin. "An enemy, in my house, you say, Edmond! If I thought that, I should take your arm and go with you to Marseille, leaving this house, never to return."
“一个敌人！”美茜蒂丝愤怒地扫了她堂兄一眼，喊道。“你说，爱德蒙，我的家里有一个敌人？假如果真如此，我就挽起你的手臂一同到马赛去，离开这个家，永不回来。”
"And if any misfortune were to befall you, my dear Edmond," she continued, with the same cool determination, proving to Fernand that she had read the sinister depths of his mind, "if any misfortune should happen to you, I should climb up the Cap de Morgiou and throw myself headlong on to the rocks."
“要是你遭到了什么不幸，亲爱的爱德蒙，”她继续镇静地说下去，使弗南觉得那青年姑娘已看出他心底深处的坏念头，——“要是你遭到不幸，我就投到摩琴岬的浪潮里，永远葬身海底。”
"But you are wrong, Edmond," she continued. "You have no enemies here. The only person here is Fernand, my brother, who is going to shake your hand like a true friend."
“但你弄错啦，爱德蒙，”她又说，“这儿没有你的敌人——这儿只有我的哥哥弗南，他会象一个老朋友那样跟你握手的。”
"I did not realize that I had hurried round to see you, Mercédès, only to find an enemy here."
“我来得太匆忙了，想不到在这儿遇到一个敌人。”
With these words, the girl turned her imperious face towards the Catalan and he, as if mesmerized by her look, slowly came across to Edmond and held out his hand. His hatred, like an impotent wave, had been broken against the ascendancy that the woman exercised over him. But no sooner had he touched Edmond's hand than he felt he had done all that it was possible for him to do, and rushed out of the house.
年轻姑娘说到最后这一句，就把她那威严的眼光盯住那迦太兰人弗南，后者似乎象受了那眼光的催眠一样，慢慢地向爱德蒙走来，伸出他的手。他的仇恨象是一个无力的浪涛，被美茜蒂丝所说的一番话击得粉碎。但简直还未碰到爱德蒙的手，他就觉得已无法再忍耐，赶快冲出屋子去了。
"Hey, Catalan! Hey, Fernand! Where are you going?" a voice called to him.
“喂，迦太兰人！喂，弗南！你到哪儿去？”一个声音喊道。
The young man stopped dead, looked around and saw Caderousse at the table with Danglars under a leafy arbour.
那青年突然停下来，周围四顾，看见卡德罗斯和邓格拉司在一个凉棚里对桌而坐。
"Ah!" he cried, running along like a madman and burying his hands in his hair. "Ah! Who will deliver me from this man? Wretch that I am, wretch that I am!"
“噢！噢！”他喊着，象一个疯子似的狂奔着，双手紧紧抓住自己的头发，——“噢！谁能给我除掉这个人？我太不幸了！”
Fernand stared at the two men with a dazed look, and did not answer.
弗南带着一种恍恍惚惚的神气望着他们，但一个字都没有说。
Fernand wiped the sweat from his brow and slowly made his way under the vault of leaves: its shade appeared to do something to calm his spirits and its coolness to bring a small measure of well-being back to his exhausted body.
弗南抹掉额角流着的冷汗，慢慢地走入凉棚，在那凉棚中，凉荫似乎使他平静了些，清爽的空气使他那精疲力尽的身体也振作了一些。
"He seems a bit down in the dumps," Danglars said, nudging Caderousse with his knee. "Could we be wrong? Contrary to what we thought, could it be that Dantès has got the upper hand?"
“他象是昏了，”邓格拉司碰碰卡德罗斯的膝头说。“别是我们弄错了，倒是邓蒂斯得胜了吧？”
"Why! We'll just have to find out," said Caderousse. And, turning back to the young man, he said: "Well, Catalan, have you made up your mind?"
“唔，我们来问个明白，”卡德罗斯回答，就转过去对那青年说，“喂，迦太兰人，你决定了吗？”
"Especially when they still have an almost full bottle in front of them," Danglars added.
“尤其是当他们面前还放着一满瓶酒的时候。”邓格拉司接上一句。
"What now," said Caderousse, "why don't you join us? Are you in such a hurry that you don't have time to say hello to your friends?"
“喂，”卡德罗斯说，“你怎么不过来呀？难道你真是这样的忙，连对你的朋友说一声‘日安’的时间都没有吗？”
"Not at all," the other said. "Just listen to him sigh. Come, Fernand, come now, lift your nose off the table and tell us: it is not very mannerly to refuse to answer your friends when they are asking after your health."
“不，”他答道，“你只要听听他叹息的声音就知道了！来，来，弗南！”卡德罗斯说，“把头抬起来，跟我们说说看。朋友们关心你的健康，你不答复可是不礼貌的呀。”
Fernand gave a groan that resembled a sob and let his head fall on to his wrists, which were crossed on the table.
弗南象呜咽似的呻吟了一声，用手遮住了脸，伏在桌子上。
"Good day," he said. "I think you called me?"
“日安，”他说，“是你们叫我吗？”
"Well now, do you want me to tell you what, Fernand?" Caderousse continued, coming straight to the point with that crude brutality of the common man whose curiosity makes him forget any sense of tact. "You look to me like a man who has been crossed in love!" He accompanied this quip with a roar of laughter.
“咦，弗南，我得说，”卡德罗斯一开头就提到对方的痛心事，这种人由于好奇而忘记了说话的技巧，“你的神色看来很不对，象是谈恋爱遭到了拒绝。”他说着就爆发出一阵粗鲁的大笑。
"I called you because you were running along like a madman and I was afraid you would go and throw yourself into the sea," Caderousse said with a laugh. "Devil take it, when one has friends, it is not only to offer them a glass of wine, but also to stop them drinking three or four pints of water."
“我看你象一个疯子似的奔跑，所以叫你一声，怕你去跳海，”卡德罗斯大笑着说。“见鬼！一个人有了朋友，不但得请他喝酒，还得劝阻他不要无事找事地去喝三四升水！”
"Huh!" Danglars retorted. "A lad built like that is not likely to be unhappy in love. You must be joking, Caderousse."
“算了！”邓格拉司说，“象他那样的青年小伙子在情场上是绝不会失意的。卡德罗斯，你这未免太嘲笑他了！”
"My health is fine," said Fernand, clenching his fists and without looking up.
“我很好，没有生病。”弗南捏紧拳头，依旧埋着脑袋说。
"Ah, Danglars, you see now," Caderousse said, winking at his friend. "This is how things are: Fernand here, who is a fine, brave Catalan, one of the best fishermen in Marseille, is in love with a beautiful girl called Mercédès; but it appears that, unfortunately, the girl herself is in love with the second mate of the Pharaon; and, as the Pharaon came into port this very day… You follow me?"
“啊！你看，邓格拉司，”卡德罗斯对他的朋友眨眨眼睛说，“是这么一回事：现在在你眼前的这位弗南，是一个勇敢的迦太兰人，是马赛顶呱呱的渔夫。他爱上了一位非常漂亮的姑娘，芳名叫美茜蒂丝，但不幸，那位漂亮姑娘却爱着埃及丑号上的大副，今天埃及王号到了——你懂得其中的奥妙了吧！”
"Poor Fernand has got his marching orders," Caderousse continued.
“可怜的弗南就没人理啦。”卡德罗斯补充说。
"So, what then?" said Fernand, lifting his head and looking at Caderousse, like a man anxious to find someone on whom to vent his wrath. "Mercédès is her own woman, isn't she? She is free to love whomsoever she wants."
“好，那又怎么样呢？”弗南抬起头来，眼睛盯住卡德罗斯，象要找谁来发泄似的。“谁管得着美茜蒂丝？她难道不是可以要爱谁就爱谁吗？”
"Oh, if that's how you take it," said Caderousse, "that's another matter. I thought you were a Catalan, and I have been told that the Catalans are not men to let themselves be pushed aside by a rival. They even said that Fernand, in particular, was fearsome in his vengeance."
“哦！假如你那样说，可就又是一回事了！”卡德罗斯说。“但我以为你是一个迦太兰人，而人家告诉我说，迦太兰人是绝不让敌手夺去一样东西的。甚至还告诉我说，尤其是弗南，报起仇来是不饶人的。”
"No, I don't," said Danglars.
“不，我不懂。”邓格拉司说。
"In any event," Caderousse said, drinking as he spoke and starting to show the effects of the heady wine of La Malgue, "in any event, Fernand is not the only person to have been put out by Dantès' fortunate return, is he, Danglars?"
“唉，真的，但无论如何，”卡德罗斯一面说话，一面喝酒，梅尔姬酒的力量已开始在发作了，——“无论如何，这次邓蒂斯交了好运回来，受打击的却不止弗南一个人，是吗，邓格拉司？”
"Poor boy!" Danglars continued, pretending to grieve for the young man from the bottom of his heart. "What do you expect? He didn't imagine that Dantès would suddenly return like this; he may have thought him dead, or unfaithful. Who knows? Such things are all the more distressing when they happen to us suddenly."
“可怜的人！”邓格拉司说，他假装感动得怜悯起这个青年来。“唉，你看，他想不到邓蒂斯会这样突然回来。他以为他已死了，或许碰巧别有所恋了！这种事情突然发生的时候，的确是非常令人难受的。”
Fernand smiled pityingly. "A lover is never fearsome," he said.
弗南凄然微笑了一下，“一个情人是永不会使人害怕的！”他说。
"No, what you say is true -- and I might even add that it will bring him misfortune."
“哦，你的话不错，但我说他自己可也得倒霉呢！”
"No matter," Caderousse went on, pouring out some wine for Fernand and replenishing his own glass for the eighth or tenth time (though Danglars had hardly touched the one in front of him). "No matter. In the meantime he will marry Mercédès, the lovely Mercédès. He has come back for that, at least."
“嗯，别提了，”卡德罗斯说，他给弗南倒了一杯酒，给自己也倒了一杯，这是他喝第八杯也不知是第九杯了，而邓格拉司始终只是抿抿而已。“没关系，就等着瞧娶上美茜蒂丝，娶上那个可爱的美茜蒂丝吧，——他回来就是来办这件事的。”
While the other was speaking, Danglars directed a piercing look at the young man, on whose heart Caderousse's words were falling like molten lead.
邓格拉司这时把他那锐利的目光盯在青年身上，卡德罗斯的话象熔解的铅似的倾入那青年的心。
"No, but it will be," said Caderousse, "just as surely as Dantès will be captain of the Pharaon, don't you think, Danglars?"
“不，快了，”卡德罗斯说，“这件事是肯定的，正象邓蒂斯一定就要做埃及王号的船长一样。呃，是不是，邓格拉司？”
"Oh, it's not settled yet," Fernand muttered.
“还没决定！”弗南低声地说。
"And when is the wedding?" he asked.
“什么时候结婚？”他问。
"Very well," he said, filling the glasses. "Then let's drink to Captain Edmond Dantès, husband of the beautiful Catalan!"
“好，”他倒满三只酒杯说，“我们来为爱德蒙·邓蒂斯船长，为美丽的迦太兰女人的丈夫喝一杯！”
Caderousse lifted his glass to his lips with a sluggish hand and drained it in one gulp. Fernand took his and dashed it to the ground.
卡德罗斯用他那不稳定的手把杯子举到嘴边，咕的一声一饮而尽。弗南则把他的酒杯往地下摔得粉碎。
Danglars shuddered at this unexpected stab and turned towards Caderousse, studying his face now to see if the blow had been premeditated; but he saw nothing except covetousness on this face, already almost besotted with drink.
邓格拉司被这个意外的攻击吃了一惊，他转向卡德罗斯，细察他脸部的表情，看看这一击是不是故意的，但他在那张醉醺醺的脸上，看到的只有嫉妒。
"Ha, ha!" said Caderousse. "What can I see over there, on the crest of the hill, coming from the Catalan village? You look, Fernand, your eyesight is better than mine. I think I'm starting to see less clearly and, as you know, wine is a deceptive imp: it looks to me like two lovers walking along, side by side and hand in hand. Heaven forgive me! They don't realize that we can see them and, look at that, they're kissing each other!"
“呃，呃，呃，”卡德罗斯结结巴巴地说。“迦太兰村那面墙边是什么东西呀？看，弗南！你的眼睛比我好。我的眼力开始模糊了。你知道酒是骗人的家伙，但我敢说那是一对情人手挽手的在那儿并肩散步。老天爷！他们不晓得我们看得见他们，这会儿他们在拥抱呢！”
"Do you know who they are, Monsieur Fernand?" he asked.
“你认识他们吗，弗南先生？”他说。
"Why don't you be quiet!" said Danglars, pretending to restrain Caderousse who, with drunken obstinacy, was leaning out of the arbour. "Try to stay upright and let the lovers enjoy themselves in peace. Why, look at Monsieur Fernand: he's being sensible. Why not try and do the same?"
“你别嚷好吧？”邓格拉司假意去阻止卡德罗斯，后者带着醉汉的那种牛性，已把头伸到凉棚外面去了。“为人要公道一点，让那对情人安安静静地去谈恋爱吧。看看弗南先生，学学他的榜样，他的态度多有克制！”
Danglars marked every single trait of the anguish that crossed Fernand's face, as its features changed before his eyes.
邓格拉司当然不会放松来给弗南多添一下痛苦。
"There! You see?" said Caderousse. "I didn't recognize them. Hey, Dantès! Hey, there, pretty girl! Come down for a moment and let us know when the wedding is: Fernand here is so stubborn, he won't tell us."
“呀！瞧那儿，喏！”卡德罗斯说，“现在我会认不出他们吗！喂，邓蒂斯，喂，可爱的小姐！到这儿来，告诉我们啥时候举行婚礼，因为弗南先生硬是不肯告诉我们！”
"Yes," the other replied dully. "It's Monsieur Edmond and Mademoiselle Mercédès."
“认识，”那个低声回答。“那是爱德蒙先生和美茜蒂丝小姐！”
It may be that Fernand, driven to the limit and baited by Danglars like a bull by the banderilleros, would finally have leapt forward, for he had already stood up and appeared to be gathering strength to throw himself at his rival; but Mercédès, upright and laughing, threw back her lovely head and shot a glance from her clear eyes. At that moment, Fernand recalled her threat to die if Edmond should die, and slumped back, discouraged, on his chair.
弗南大概是被邓格拉司挑弄得再也不能忍受了，他象一头被斗牛者激怒的公牛似的要冲出去，因为他已站了起来，而且似乎正在集中精力准备向敌人直冲。正当这时，美茜蒂丝带着微笑温雅地抬起她那张可爱的脸，露出她那纯洁明亮的眼睛。一看到这一对眼睛，弗南就想起假如爱德蒙死了她也跟着死的威胁，于是又沉重地跌回到他的座位上。
Caderousse, half standing, with his fists on the table, was still shouting: "Hello, there! Hello! Edmond! Can't you see your friends, or are you too proud to talk to them?"
“喂！”卡德罗斯继续喊，他用拳头撑住桌子，抬起半个身子，——“喂，爱德蒙！你究竟是没有看见你的朋友呢，还是不肯跟他们讲话？”
Danglars looked at the two men, one besotted by drink, the other enslaved by love, and murmured: "I shall get nothing out of these idiots: I fear I am sitting between a drunkard and a coward. On the one hand, I have a man eaten up by envy, drowning his sorrows in drink when he should be intoxicated with venom; on the other, a great simpleton whose mistress has just been snatched away from under his very nose, who does nothing except weep like a child and feel sorry for himself. And yet he has the blazing eyes of a Spaniard, a Sicilian or a Calabrian -- those people who are such experts when it comes to revenge -- and fists that would crush a bull's head as surely as a butcher's mallet. Fate is definitely on Edmond's side: he will marry the beautiful girl, become captain and laugh in our faces. Unless…" (a pallid smile hovered on Danglars' lips) "… unless I take a hand in it."
邓格拉司看看这两个人，看看这个，又看看那个，一个是发着酒疯，另一个完全被爱所压服了。“我在这些傻瓜身上是搞不出什么名堂的，”他默默地自语，“我真怕这儿一个是酒鬼，一个是懦夫，可是这个迦太兰人闪光的眼睛却象西班牙人、西西里人和卡拉布兰人，而他们是一向以报仇心切闻名的。爱德蒙的命运的确不错，他会娶到那个漂亮姑娘，他会做船长，他可以嘲笑我们这些人，除非——”邓格拉司的嘴边浮起一个阴险的微笑——“除非我来干预这件事。”他加上一句。
"So, the wedding is to take place shortly, Monsieur Dantès?" Danglars said, greeting the two young people.
“那末，就赶快举行婚礼吧，邓蒂斯先生。”邓格拉司向那对青年人鞠躬说。
"You must forgive my good neighbour, Caderousse," Dantès said. "He so seldom makes a mistake!"
“我们必须原谅我们这位可敬的邻居卡德罗斯，”邓蒂斯说，“他不小心搞错了。”
"No, my dear Caderousse," Edmond replied. "I am not proud, but I am happy -- and happiness, I believe, is even more dazzling than pride."
“不，我的伙计，”邓蒂斯回答，“我不是骄傲，只是我太快乐了，而我想快乐是比骄傲更易使人盲目的。”
"At last, all is explained," said Caderousse. "Ho! Good day to you, Madame Dantès."
“呀！很好，那倒也是一种说法！”卡德罗斯说。“噢，日安，邓蒂斯夫人！”
Mercédès bowed gravely and said: "That is not yet my name, and in my country they say it is bad luck to call a young woman by the name of her betrothed before he has become her husband. So, please, call me Mercédès."
美茜蒂丝庄重地鞠了一躬，说：“请别这么称呼我，在我们祖国，人家说，对一个尚未结婚的青年姑娘，就拿她未婚夫的姓名称呼她，是要倒霉的。所以，请你叫我美茜蒂丝吧。”
"As soon as possible, Monsieur Danglars. Today, everything is to be agreed at my father's house and tomorrow or, at the latest, the day after, we shall have the engagement dinner here at La Réserve. I hope that my friends will join us: you, of course, are invited, Monsieur Danglars, and you, too, Caderousse."
“我也是想越快越好，邓格拉司先生。今天先在我父亲那儿把一切准备好，明后天就在这儿里瑟夫酒家举行婚礼。我希望我的朋友都能来，那就是说，请你也来，邓格拉司先生，还有你，卡德罗斯。”
"And Fernand?" Caderousse asked, with a coarse laugh. "Will Fernand be there as well?"
“弗南呢，”卡德罗斯说着格格地笑了几声，“弗南也请到吗？”
"One always hurries towards happiness, Monsieur Danglars, because when one has suffered much, one is at pains to believe in it. But I am not impelled by mere selfishness. I have to go to Paris."
“人总是急于得到幸福的，邓格拉司先生，因为我们受苦的时间太长了，实在难于相信天下有好运气这种东西。但我之所以这样匆促，倒也并非完全出于为自己，我还得到巴黎去一次。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"My apologies," Danglars replied. "I was merely saying that you seem in a great hurry. After all, we have plenty of time: the Pharaon will not set sail for a good three months."
“对不起，”邓格拉司回答，“我只是说你太匆忙了一点。我们的时间很充裕呀，——埃及王号在三个月内是不会出航的。”
Fernand opened his mouth to reply, but his voice caught in his throat and he could not utter a single word.
弗南张开嘴想回答，但他的话一到嘴边就不见了，一个字都说不出来。
"Danglars," Edmond said with a smile, "I shall say the same to you as Mercédès did a moment ago: don't give me a title that does not yet belong to me, it could bring me ill luck."
“邓格拉司，”爱德蒙微笑着说，“我得象美茜蒂丝刚才对卡德罗斯所说的那样跟你说一遍，请不要给我一个不属于我的头衔，那或许会使我倒霉的。”
"My wife's brother is my brother," Edmond said, "and both Mercédès and I should regret it deeply if he were to be separated from us at such a time."
“我妻子的兄长也就是我的兄长，”爱德蒙说，“假如这种时候他不到，美茜蒂丝和我，就要非常不高兴了。”
"The agreement today, the engagement tomorrow or the day after: by George! You're in a great hurry, Captain."
“今天准备，明后天就行婚礼！你太匆忙啦，船长！”
"Ah, indeed! To Paris. And will this be your first visit, Dantès?"
“去巴黎？真的！你是第一次到那儿去吧，邓蒂斯？”
"You have business there?"
“你在那儿有事吗？”
"Yes, yes, I understand," Danglars said aloud; then he added, under his breath: "To Paris, no doubt to deliver the letter that the marshal gave him. By heaven! That letter has given me an idea -- an excellent idea! Ah, Dantès, my friend, your name is not yet Number One on the register of the Pharaon." Then, turning back to Edmond who was leaving, he shouted: "Bon voyage!"
“是，是，我知道，”邓格拉司说，然后他又低声对自己讲，“到巴黎去，一定是去送大元帅给他的那封信。呀！这封信倒给了我一个主意，一个好主意！唉，邓蒂斯，我的朋友呀，你还没有正式做到埃及王号上的第一号人物呢，”然后他转向那走开去的爱德蒙喊道，“顺风顺风！”
"Not of my own, but a final request that I must carry out for our poor Captain Leclère. You understand, Danglars, the mission is sacred to me. In any event, don't worry. I shall be gone only as long as it takes to go there and return."
“不是我自己的，是可怜的黎克勒船长最后的一次差遣。你知道我指的是什么，邓格拉司，这是我必须尽的义务。而且，我只要路上来去的时间就够了。”
"Thank you," Edmond replied, turning around and giving a friendly wave. Then the two lovers went on their way, calm and happy as two chosen souls heading for paradise.
“谢谢你。”爱德蒙友好地点一点头说。于是那一对情人就又安静而欢喜地继续走他们的路。