Hardly had de Villefort left the dining-room than he put off his joyful mask to take on the serious mien of one called upon to exercise the supreme office of pronouncing on the life of his fellow man. However, despite the mobility of his expression, something which the deputy had studied more than once, as a skilled actor does, in front of his mirror, on this occasion it was an effort for him to lower his brow and darken his features. In reality, apart from the memory of his father's choice of political allegiance (which, if he did not himself completely renounce it, might affect his own career), Gérard de Villefort was at that moment as happy as it is possible for a man to be. At the age of twenty-six, already wealthy in his own right, he held a high office in the legal profession; and he was to marry a beautiful young woman whom he loved, not with passion, but reasonably, as a deputy crown prosecutor may love. Apart from her beauty, which was exceptional, his fiancée, Mlle de Saint-Méran, belonged to a family which was among those most highly thought of at court in this time; and, besides the influence of her mother and father (who, having no other children, could reserve it entirely for their son-in-law), she was in addition bringing her husband a dowry of fifty thousand écus which, thanks to her "expectations" -- that dreadful word invented by marriage brokers -- might one day be increased by a legacy of half a million.
维尔福刚一离开客厅，他就装出一副手握生死大权者的庄严气派。他脸部的表情虽极善于变化，——这是代理官常常对镜训练出来的，因为一个职业演说家应该善于表情，——但现在他却得花一番力量才能皱紧他的眉毛，装出一副庄严沉着的神气。维尔福惟一的遗憾，是他父亲的政治路线，假如不是他自己处事极端审慎，那过去的回忆就可能会影响到他本身的事业，但除此以外，他可说是享尽人间的幸福了。他已很富有，虽然还只有二十七岁，却已有着一个很高的官位。他快要和一个年轻美丽的女人结婚，他之爱她，并非出于热情，而是出于理智，他用一个代理检察官所能爱的态度爱她。她的美是有目共赏的，而且他的未婚妻圣·米兰小姐还出身于当时在朝廷里居于最高地位的一个家庭。她的父母别无子女，所以他们的政治势力可以全部用来培植他们的女婿。此外，她还给她的丈夫带来一笔五万艾居的嫁奁，将来有一天大概还可加上一宗五十万遗产。
Hence, the addition of all these elements amounted for Villefort to a dazzling sum of felicity, to such an extent that he thought he was seeing sunspots when he had turned the eyes of his soul for any length of time on the contemplation of his inner life.
因此，这一切因素综合起来，使维尔福得到了无限的幸福。所以，当维尔福略一回省，静心地默察他的内心生活的时候，他就好象望到太阳上的焦点似地目眩神迷起来。
At the door, he found the police commissioner waiting for him. The sight of this sombre personage immediately brought him back from seventh heaven to the solid earth on which we all walk. He composed his features, as we mentioned, and approached the officer of the law: "Here I am, Monsieur. I have read the letter, and you did well to arrest this man. Now tell me everything you know about him and the conspiracy."
维尔福在门口遇到等候着他的警官。一见这位警官，他就从三重天又被拉回到地面上来了，于是他的脸部又装出我们先前形容过的那副神色，说：“那封信我念过了，先生，你办得很对，是应该把这个人逮捕起来。现在且告诉我，你有没有发现他和造反有关的情节。”
"As far as the conspiracy is concerned, Monsieur, we know nothing as yet. All the papers that we seized on him have been tied in a single bundle and deposited, sealed, on your desk. As for the detainee, you know from the letter denouncing him that he is one Edmond Dantès, first mate on board the three-master Pharaon, trading in cotton with Alexandria and Smyrna, and belonging to the house of Morrel and Son, of Marseille."
“关于造反的情节，先生，我们现在还无从知道。一切找到的文件都已封起来放在您的办公桌上。犯人名叫爱德蒙·邓蒂斯，是三桅大帆船埃及王号的大副，那条船是从亚历山大和士麦拿装棉花来的，是马赛摩莱尔父子公司的船。”
"No, Monsieur, he is quite a young man."
“唔，没有，先生，他还非常年轻呢。”
"Did he serve in the Navy before joining the merchant marine?"
“他在从事航业以前，有没有在海军里服役过？”
"Nineteen… twenty, at most."
“最多不过十九二十岁。”
At this moment, as Villefort was going down the Grande-Rue and had reached the corner of the Rue des Conseils, a man, who seemed to have been waiting there for him, came over. It was M. Morrel.
这时，维尔福已走到康泽尔街的拐角上，有一个人似乎在那儿等他，那人走向前来，他是摩莱尔先生。
"How old?"
“多大年龄？”
"Ah, Monsieur de Villefort!" the good man exclaimed. "I am so pleased to see you. Can you imagine! The strangest, the most unheard-of mistake has been made: they have just arrested the first mate of my ship, Edmond Dantès."
“呀，维尔福先生，”他喊道，“我很高兴见到您！您手下的人出于一件令人莫名其妙的误会，——方才把我船上的大副爱德蒙·邓蒂斯抓去了。”
"I know, Monsieur," said Villefort. "I have come to question him."
“我知道这回事，先生，”维尔福回答，“我现在就是去审问他。”
"My good sir," said M. Morrel, carried away by his friendship for the young man. "You do not know the person who is being accused; but I know him. He is the mildest, most honest man you could imagine, I might almost say the man who knows his job best of any in the merchant marine. Monsieur de Villefort, I commend him to you most sincerely and with all my heart!"
“噢，”摩莱尔说，他对那个青年人的友谊使他情不自禁的兴奋起来，“您不知道他，我却知道得很清楚。他是世界上最可敬最可靠的人，我敢说，在所有的商船界里，再没有一个比他更好的海员了。维尔福先生，我真心诚意地向你担保！”
As we have seen, Villefort belonged to the nobility of the town and M. Morrel to the plebeian part of it: the former was an extreme Royalist, the latter suspected of harbouring Bonapartist sympathies. Villefort looked contemptuously at Morrel and answered coldly: "You know, Monsieur, that one can be mild in one's private life, honest in one's business dealings and skilled in one's work, yet at the same time, politically speaking, be guilty of great crimes. You do know that, I suppose, Monsieur?"
我们已经知道，维尔福是马赛贵族社会中的人，而摩莱尔是平民；前者是一个保王党，后者则犯着拿破仑党的嫌疑。维尔福轻蔑地望着摩莱尔，冷冷地回答说：“你明白，阁下，一个人在私生活上也许可敬可靠，可以是商船界里最好的海员，可是从政治上讲，却可以是一个大罪人。是不是？”
This restore to us had a revolutionary ring to the ears of the crown prosecutor's deputy.
这“给我们”三个字在代理检察官的耳朵里听来很有些革命的气味。
Morrel blushed, for his conscience was not altogether clear on the point of his political opinions. In any case, his mind was slightly troubled by the confidential information that Dantès had given him about his talk with the marshal and the few words that the emperor had addressed to him. However, he added in tones of the most urgent pleading: "I beg you, Monsieur de Villefort, be just, as it is your duty to be, and generous, as you always are, and soon restore poor Dantès to us."
摩莱尔的脸红了，因为在政治方面，他的见解也并不十分明朗；此外，邓蒂斯所告诉他谒见大元帅的事，和圣上对他所说的那番话也更增加了他的困惑。但他还是用深切关怀的语气回答说：“维尔福先生，我求您还是象您一向那样公正仁慈，早些把他送回给我们。”
He emphasized these last words, as if intending to apply them to the shipowner himself, while his enquiring look seemed to search right into the innermost soul of a man who had tried to intervene on behalf of another, when he should have realized that he was himself in need of indulgence.
代理检察官说这些话的语气很重，好象他想把这些话应用于船主本身，而他的眼光似乎直穿对方的心，象是说，你为旁人说情，你应该知道你本人也得需要饶恕呢。
"Well, well!" he muttered to himself. "To us… Can this Dantès be a member of some sect of carbonari, for his protector to employ that collective expression without being aware that he was doing so? I seem to understand from the commissioner that he was arrested in a cabaret, and he added, in a large gathering: this was some kind of vente."
“唔，唔！”他默念道，“难道邓蒂斯是烧炭党①的一分子，所以他的保护人要用这种同生共死的态度来求情吗？我记得，他是在一个酒家被捕的，有许多人同在一起。”
Upon that, having arrived at the door of his house, which backed on to the law courts, he stepped majestically inside, after giving an icy bow to the unhappy shipowner, who remained as if rooted to the spot where Villefort had left him.
他这时已走到他自己的家门口，他的家就在法庭隔壁，他用冷冰冰的态度向船主行了一个礼后就进去了，只留下后者象化石似的呆立在维尔福离开他的那个地方。
Villefort crossed the anteroom, gave a sidelong glance in the direction of Dantès and, taking a dossier that was handed to him by one of the officers, vanished, saying: "Let the prisoner be brought in."
维尔福穿过外客厅，向邓蒂斯瞥了一眼，从一个宪兵手里接过一包东西，一面走进去，一面说：“把犯人带进来。”
The anteroom was full of gendarmes and police officers; and in the midst of them, under close arrest, surrounded by faces burning with hatred, the prisoner stood, calm and motionless.
外客厅里挤满了警察局和宪兵司令部派来的人，在他们中间，站着那个犯人，他虽然被严加看管，却仍很镇定，而且还带着微笑。
Swift though it was, the glance had been enough to give Villefort an idea of the man whom he would have to question: he had recognized intelligence in that broad forehead, courage in that firm eye and knitted brow, and candour in those full lips, half-parted to reveal two rows of teeth as white as ivory.
维尔福那一瞥虽很急促，但对那个他就要审问的人却已有了一个看法。他已从那饱满的前额上认出了聪明，从那黑眼睛和弯弯的眉毛上认出了勇敢，从那半开着的，露出一排珍珠似的牙齿的厚嘴唇上认出了坦白。
Then, in reply, he said aloud: "Monsieur, you may rest entirely assured and you will not have appealed to me in vain if the detainee is innocent; but if, on the contrary, he is guilty… We live in difficult times, Monsieur, when impunity would be the worst of examples: I shall thus be obliged to do my duty."
于是他说，“阁下，你可以放心，我必定公平尽责办理，假如他是冤枉的，那你对我的请求一定不会落空；但假如他的确有罪，那有罪不罚，在目前这个时期，这个例可开得太危险了，我必定要尽我的责任。”【注：①十九世纪初意大利的一个秘密政治组织，因经常装扮成烧炭人集会于树林，故称烧炭党。】
A moment later, Dantès entered.
过了一会儿，邓蒂斯进来了。
First impressions had been favourable to Dantès, but Villefort had often heard it said, as a profound political maxim, that one must beware of first impulses, even when they were correct, and he applied this rule on impulses to his impressions, without taking account of the difference between the two terms. He thus stifled the good instinct that was attempting to invade his heart and from there to attack his mind, settled his features in front of the mirror into their grandest expression and sat down, dark and threatening, behind his desk.
维尔福的第一个印象很不错，但他常常听人警告说，切勿信任第一次的冲动，他把这句格言也用到印象上去，忘记了这两个名词间的差别。所以他抑制住心头的怜悯感，板起面孔，在他的办公桌前坐下来。
It was only then that he met Villefort's dull gaze, that look peculiar to men of the law who do not want anyone to read their thoughts, and so make their eyes into unpolished glass. The look reminded him that he was standing before Justice, a figure of grim aspect and manners.
他这时才第一次接触到维尔福的眼光，——那种法官所特有的眼光，似乎象要看透嫌疑犯脑中的罪恶思想似的。
The young man was still pale, but calm and smiling. He greeted his judge in a simple but courteous manner, and looked around for somewhere to sit, as though he had been in the shipowner, M. Morrel's drawing-room.
这个年轻人脸色很苍白，但却很镇定，还是带着微笑，他从容有礼地向他的法官致了敬，四顾寻找一个座位，好象他是在摩莱尔先生的客厅里似的。
"My name is Edmond Dantès, Monsieur," the young man replied in a calm voice and ringing tones. "I am first mate on board the vessel Pharaon, belonging to Messrs Morrel and Son."
“我的姓名是爱德蒙·邓蒂斯，”青年镇定地回答说，“我是埃及王号的大副，那条船是摩莱尔父子公司的。”
"Your age?" Villefort continued.
“年龄？”维尔福又问。
"Who are you and what's your name?" Villefort asked, leafing through the notes that the officer had given him as he came in and which, in the past hour, had already become a voluminous pile, so quickly does the mound of reports and information build up around that unfortunate body known as detainees.
“你是谁，干什么的？”维尔福一面问，一面翻阅一堆文件，这里面有关于犯人的情报，就是他进来时一个宪兵递给他的。
"You were at your betrothal feast?" said the deputy, shuddering in spite of himself.
“你在请人吃喜酒？”代理检察官说，不由自主地打了一个寒噤。
"Nineteen."
“十九岁。”邓蒂斯回答。
"What were you doing at the time of your arrest?"
“你被捕的时候在干什么？”
"I was celebrating my betrothal, Monsieur," Dantès said, his voice faltering slightly, so sharp was the contrast between those moments of happiness and the dismal formalities in which he was now taking part, and so much did the sombre face of M. de Villefort enhance the brilliance of Mercédès' features.
“我是在请人吃喜酒，先生。”青年人说，他的声音微微有点颤抖，刚才那个快乐的时刻和现在这个痛苦的仪式对照起来，其间的差别是太大了。维尔福先生阴沉的脸色和美茜蒂丝满面红光的面孔对照起来，其间的差别也是太大了。
"Yes, Monsieur. I am about to marry a woman whom I have loved for the past three years."
“是的，先生，我正要和一位我爱了三年的青年姑娘结婚。”
This philosophical analogy, he thought, would cause a great stir when he returned to M. de Saint-Méran's salon; and, while Dantès waited for his next question, he was already mentally ordering the antitheses around which orators construct those sentences designed to elicit applause, but which sometimes produce the illusion of true eloquence.
“这种哲学感想在圣·米兰侯爵家里倒是一个极好的谈话资料。”他想，所以当邓蒂斯在等候他往下问的时候，他正在整理他的思绪，他觉得这是很好的对称话题，而演说家是常常用对称话题来获得雄辩之誉的。
Though usually impassive, nevertheless Villefort was struck by this coincidence; and the emotion in the voice of Dantès, whose happiness had been interrupted, sounded a sympathetic chord with him: he too was to be married, he too was happy, and his own felicity had been disturbed so that he might help to destroy that of a man who, like himself, was on the very brink of happiness.
维尔福虽然仍面不改色，却为这个巧合吃了一惊。邓蒂斯颤抖的声音在他的胸膛里引起了一阵同情的共鸣。邓蒂斯是在他的幸福中被惊扰来的，而他也快要结婚了，他也是在他自己的幸福中被人召来的，但他却来破坏另一个人的幸福。
When he had worked out his little interior discourse, Villefort smiled at the effect of it and returned to Dantès: "Continue, Monsieur."
当这篇演讲整理好以后，维尔福想到它可能发生的效力，不禁微笑了一下，然后转过来向邓蒂斯说：“往下说，先生。”
"How do you wish me to continue?"
“您要我再说些什么？”
"In such a way as to enlighten Justice."
“把你所知道的一切都讲出来。”
"Let Justice tell me on which points it wishes to be enlightened, and I shall tell it all that I know. However," he added, smiling in his turn, "I must warn it that I know very little."
“告诉我您要知道哪一方面的事情，我就可以把我所知道的全都讲出来。只是，”他微笑了一下，又说，“我预先告诉您，我知道得极少。”
"Did you serve under the usurper?"
“你有没有在逆贼手下服务过？”
"I was about to be enrolled in the Navy when he fell."
“我刚要编入皇家海军的时候，他就倒台了。”
"Your political opinions are reported to be extreme," said Villefort, who had not heard a word about this but was not averse to putting the question in the form of an accusation.
“据人报告说，你的政见很极端。”维尔福说，他本来从未听到这一类的事情，但他偏要把这次讯问弄得好象是一场控诉。
"My political opinions, Monsieur? Alas, I am almost ashamed to admit it, but I have never had what you might call an opinion: I am barely nineteen, as I had the honour to tell you. I know nothing and I am not destined to play any public role. The little that I am and shall be, if I gain the position to which I aspire, I owe to Monsieur Morrel. So all my opinions -- I would not say political, but private opinions -- are confined to three feelings: I love my father, I respect Monsieur Morrel and I adore Mercédès. That, Monsieur, is all I can tell Justice: you see that there is little to interest it there."
“我的政见！我！”邓蒂斯答道。“唉，先生，我从来不曾有过什么政见。我还没有满十九岁，我什么都不知道，我根本插不进去。假如我得到了我所希望的地位，我应该归功于摩莱尔先生。所以，我的全部意见——我不愿说政见，而只是私见——不出这三个范围：我爱我的父亲，我尊敬摩莱尔先生，我喜欢美茜蒂丝。先生，这就是我所能告诉您的一切了。您看，这都是多么无味的事情。”
While Dantès was speaking, Villefort examined his face, at once so mild and so frank, and recalled the words of Renée who, without knowing the prisoner, had begged indulgence for him. The deputy already had some acquaintance with crime and with criminals; so, in every word that Dantès spoke, he saw proof of his innocence. This young man, one might even say this child, plain, unaffected, eloquent with the heartfelt eloquence that is never found by those who seek it, full of affection for everyone, because he was happy and happiness makes even wicked men good, was so effectively spreading the warmth that overflowed from his heart that the accuser himself was not immune to it. Rough and stern though Villefort had been towards him, Edmond's look, tone and gestures expressed nothing but kindness and goodwill towards his interrogator.
邓蒂斯说话时，维尔福凝视着他那伶俐坦白的脸，并想起了丽妮的话，丽妮虽不知道谁是嫌疑犯，却曾代他求过情，请他从宽办理。据代理检察官对于犯罪和犯人的知识看来，这青年所说的每一个字都愈来愈使他相信他的无辜。这个孩子，——因为他还不能说是一个成人，——单纯，自然，有着绝非人力所可强求的，从心底所发出的雄辩，他对每一个人都抱着好感，因为他很幸福，而即使在幸福产生了恶果的时候，他甚至还把他的好感分给他的审判官，虽然维尔福装着一副可畏的目光和严厉的口吻。
"Monsieur," said Villefort, "do you know of any enemies you may have?"
“阁下，”维尔福说，“你知不知道你有仇人？”
This pleasurable expectation lit up Villefort's face, so that, when he turned away from his thoughts and back to Dantès, the latter, who had been following every movement across his judge's face, reflected his thoughts in a smile.
脑子里充满了这种想法，维尔福的脸就变成这样的快乐，所以当他转向邓蒂斯的时候，后者注意到他脸色的改变，也微笑起来。
"By heaven," Villefort thought, "this is a charming young man; and I hope I shall not have great difficulty in putting myself on the right side of Renée, by carrying out the first request that she has made of me. It should earn me a warm clasp of the hand in front of everyone and a delightful kiss in a more secluded corner."
“真的！”维尔福心想，“他倒是一个心地高尚的家伙！看来我不难讨好丽妮，服从她给我的第一道命令。我这就可以公开亲一亲她的手，还可以在私下讨得一个甜蜜的吻。”
"Enemies!" said Dantès. "I am fortunate enough to be too unimportant to have any. As to temperament, I may perhaps be a trifle quick-tempered, but I have always tried to restrain it towards my subordinates. I have ten or a dozen sailors under my orders: let them be questioned, Monsieur, and they will tell you that they like and respect me, not as a father -- I am too young for that -- but as an elder brother."
“我有仇人！”邓蒂斯答道，“我的地位还不够那种资格。至于我的脾气，那或许是太急躁了一点，但我已努力在克制了。我手下有十一二个水手，假如您问他们，他们就会告诉您，他们爱我敬我，把我看作一位长兄，我不敢说敬我若父，因为我太年轻了。”
"Yes, you are right. You must know human nature better than I do, and what you say is possible. But I confess that if these envious men were to be among my friends, I should rather not know who they are, so as not to be obliged to hate them."
“您说得对。您看人比我清楚，我承认，您所说的可能是事实，但假如这些嫉妒的人是我的朋友，那我宁愿不知道他们，免得对他们发生仇恨。”
"But, if you have no enemies, you may have inspired envy: you are about to be made captain at the age of nineteen, which is a distinction for someone of your class; you are about to marry a pretty girl who loves you, which is a rare fortune for someone of any class at all. Fortune having favoured you in these ways, you may have aroused jealousy."
“但即使没有仇人，你或许引起了旁人的嫉妒。你十九岁就要做船长，——这在你的环境里，是一个很好的职位了。你就要和一个爱你的漂亮姑娘结婚，——一种人世间稀有的幸福。这两桩运气或许已引起另一个人的嫉妒了。”
"You are wrong, Monsieur. One must always see clearly how one stands, as far as possible; and, frankly, you seem to me such a worthy young man that in your case I am going to depart from the normal procedure and help you to throw light on this by showing you the denunciation that has led to your being brought here. This is the accusing letter: do you recognize the writing?"
“你错了，你应该永远努力看清你周围的环境。你看来倒是一个可敬的青年，我愿意越例帮你查出写这封告密信的人。信在这儿，你认不认得那笔迹？”
Villefort took the letter from his pocket and offered it to Dantès, who examined it. His face clouded and he said: "No, Monsieur, I do not know this handwriting. It is disguised, yet it has an appearance of sincerity. In any case, the writing is that of an educated hand." He looked at Villefort with gratitude. "I am happy to find myself dealing with a man such as you, because my rival is indeed a true enemy."
维尔福一面说，一面从他的口袋里抽出那封信，递给邓蒂斯。邓蒂斯读了信。一片疑云浮上他的眉头，他说：“不，先生，我不认得那笔迹。这是伪装过的，可是却写得很流利。不管是谁写的，写倒是写得很好。”他感激地望着维尔福说，“我很幸运，能得到象您这样的人来审问。至于这个嫉妒的人，倒真是一个仇人。”
"Come, then," said the deputy prosecutor, "answer my questions honestly, not as an accused man to his judge, but as one wrongly accused might answer another who had his interests at heart. How much truth is there in this anonymous accusation?"
“现在，”代理检察官说，“坦白地答复我，——不要象一个犯人对一位法官，而要象一个受委屈的人对关心他的人那样，——这封匿名的告密信里究竟有几分是真情？”
And Villefort threw the letter, which Dantès had just given back to him, on to the desk with a gesture of distaste.
于是维尔福把邓蒂斯刚才交回给他的那封信轻蔑地抛在他的办公桌上。
"Carry on," Villefort said, adding under his breath: "If Renée could see me, I hope she would be pleased and no longer call me an executioner."
“讲吧，阁下，”维尔福说。然后，又心里想，“假如丽妮看到我这个样子，我想她一定会满意，不会再叫我刽子手了。”
"Everything and nothing, Monsieur: that is the absolute truth, on my honour as a sailor, on my love for Mercédès and on my father's life."
“没有一分是真的。我可以把实情告诉您。我凭我水手的名誉，凭我对美茜蒂丝的爱，凭我父亲的生命发誓——”
From the flash that passed through the young man's eyes as he spoke these words, Villefort was able to perceive how much violent energy was hidden beneath his mild exterior.
从那青年人眼里射出来的急速的一瞥，维尔福看出在温和的表面之下含蓄着莫大的精力。
"When we left Naples, Captain Leclère fell ill of a brain fever. As we had no doctor on board ship and, because of his haste to reach Elba, he did not want to drop anchor at any point along the coast, his illness worsened until, after three days, realizing that he was dying, he called to see me. "'My dear Dantès,' he said, 'swear on your honour to do what I ask of you. This is a matter of the highest importance.'"
“唔，当我们离开那不勒斯的时候，黎克勒船长突然患了脑膜炎。我们船上没有医生，而他又这样急于要到爱尔巴去，所以沿途的任何港口都没有停靠，他的头脑愈来愈昏乱，在第三天快要过去的时候，他自知将死，就叫我到他那儿去。‘我亲爱的邓蒂斯，’他说，‘我要你发誓完成我要告诉你的这件事，因为这是一件最最重要的大事。’”
"'I shall do it, Captain; but it may be more difficult than you think for me to see the marshal.'"
“‘我一定照办，船长，但或许我去见大元帅不象您预期的那样容易，万一不让我见到他呢？’”
"'Very well. As second-in-command, responsibility for the vessel will fall on you after my death, so I wish you to take command, set course for Elba, disembark at Porto Ferrajo, ask for the marshal and give him this letter. It may be that you will be given another letter and be told to carry out some mission. That mission, which I should have accomplished, Dantès, you will perform in my stead and the honour will be yours.'"
“‘好，你是大副，我死以后，这船的指挥权就交给你，你担负起指挥权，驶到爱尔巴岛，在费拉约港上岸，去找大元帅，把这封信交给他。或许他们会另外给你一封信，叫你当一次差。你一定得去完成本来要我去做的工作，并享受其中一切的荣誉和利益。’”
"'I swore to do as he asked'."
“‘我发誓照他说的做’。”
"'Here is a ring,' the captain said. 'Make sure that he gets it and all barriers will be removed.' On this, he gave me a ring. It was none too soon: two hours later, he lapsed into a delirium and, on the next day, he died."
“‘这儿有一只戒指，拿了它去求见，则一切困难都不会有了，’船长说。他说着就给我一只戒指。时间很迫促——两个钟头以后他就昏迷不醒，第二天他就死了。”
"Then what did you do?"
“你那时怎么办？”
"What I had to do, Monsieur, and what anyone would have done in my place. In all events, a dying man's wishes are sacred, but to a sailor the wishes of a superior officer are orders which must be carried out. So I set sail for Elba, arriving there the next day, when I confined everyone to the ship and disembarked alone. As I had foreseen, there was some difficulty in gaining an audience with the marshal, but I sent him the ring which was to serve as a token for me, and all doors were opened. He received me, questioned me on the circumstances of poor Leclère's last hours and, as the captain had predicted, gave me a letter which he told me to take, in person, to Paris. I promised to do so, since these were my captain's final wishes. I made land and quickly settled everything that had to be done on board; then I went to see my fiancée, whom I found more lovely and more loving than ever. Thanks to Monsieur Morrel, we were able to circumvent all the formalities of the Church and at last, as I told you, Monsieur, I was celebrating my betrothal. I was to be married in an hour and expected to leave for Paris tomorrow, when I was arrested, on the basis of this denunciation that you seem to despise as much as I do."
“我做了我应该做的事，不论哪一个人处在我的地位都会那样做的。不论在哪儿，一个将死的人，他最后的要求都是神圣的，对于一个水手，他上司的最后要求就是命令。我向爱尔巴岛驶去，第二天就到了。我命令每一个人都留在船上，独自上岸去。不出我之所料，我想见大元帅遇到了一些麻烦，但我把从船长那儿得来的戒指一交给他，就立刻获准了。他问我关于黎克勒船长去世的情形，而且，正如船长所告诉我的那样，给我一封信，要我带去给一个住在巴黎的人。我接受了那封信，因为这是我的船长命令我做的事。我在这儿靠岸，安排了船上的事，就赶快去看我的未婚妻，我发觉她更可爱也更比以前爱我了。谢谢摩莱尔先生，一切手续都办好了，一句话，就是刚才告诉您的，我是在请人吃喜酒。再过一个钟头，我本来就已经结了婚了，我本来预备明天动身到巴黎去，但因为这次告密，我就被捕了。我看您现在好似也象我这样鄙视这次告密呢。”
"Yes, yes," Villefort muttered. "I am convinced by your story and, if you are guilty, it is only of imprudence. Even that is excused by your captain's order. Let me have the letter that was entrusted to you on Elba, give me your word that you will appear at the first summons and you can rejoin your friends."
“唔！”维尔福说，“我看这似乎是实情。你就是有错，也只能算是疏忽罪，而且既然是奉了你船长的命令，连这种疏忽罪也是合法的了。你把从爱尔巴带来的这封信交出来，记下你的话，然后回到你朋友那儿去吧，需要传你的时候你再来。”
"So I am free to go!" Dantès exclaimed.
“那末，我是自由了吗，先生？”邓蒂斯高兴地喊道。
"Yes, provided you give me the letter."
“是的，但先得把这封信给我。”
"It must be in front of you, Monsieur, because it was taken with my other papers, some of which I recognize in that bundle."
“已经在您这儿啦，是他们从我身上搜去的，还有其他的信，我看到就在那包东西里面。”
"Wait," the lawyer told Dantès, who was picking up his hat and gloves. "To whom was it addressed?"
“等一等，”正当邓蒂斯去拿他的帽子和手套的时候，代理检察官说。“那封信是写给谁的。”
If a bolt of lightning had struck Villefort, it could not have done so with greater suddenness or surprise. He fell back into the chair from which he had half-risen to reach over to the bundle of papers that had been taken from Dantès; and, hastily going through them, drew out the fatal letter, on which he cast a look of unspeakable terror.
即使是一个霹雷打下来，也未必会使维尔福如此震惊，如此出乎意外。他倒在椅子里，匆忙地翻出他的口袋，拿了那封要命的信，带着恐怖的神色瞪着它。
"To Monsieur Noirtier, Rue Coq-Héron, in Paris."
“给诺梯埃先生的，地址是巴黎高海隆路。”
"Monsieur Noirtier, Rue Coq-Héron, number 13," he muttered, the colour draining from his face.
“高海隆路十三号诺梯埃先生收。”他轻声地念，脸色变得更加苍白。
"Yes, Monsieur," Dantès replied in astonishment. "Do you know him?"
“是的，”邓蒂斯说，他也吃了一惊，“难道您认识他吗？”
"No!" Villefort answered emphatically. "A faithful servant of the king does not know conspirators."
“不，”维尔福回答，“一个皇上的忠仆是不认识叛徒的。”
"Is this a matter of conspiracy, then?" Dantès asked, starting to feel even greater anxiety than before, having just thought he would be free. "In any event, Monsieur, as I told you, I had no idea what was in the dispatch that I carried."
“那末说，这是一个叛案吗？”邓蒂斯问，他本来相信自己已经自由，而现在开始比当初更感惊惶了。“但是，我已经对您说过，先生，我对于信的内容是一点都不知道的。”
"And you have not shown this letter to anyone?" Villefort asked, reading and growing paler as he read.
“这封信你有没有给谁看过？”维尔福问，脸色愈来愈苍白。
"In order for me to give it to him myself, Monsieur, I had to know his name."
“我要知道去送给谁不得不念那地址。”
"Nobody, Monsieur, except the person who gave it to me."
“谁都不知道，除了给我这封信的人以外。”
"To no one, Monsieur, on my honour!"
“一个都没有，我可以发誓。”
"That is one too many, even so," Villefort muttered, his brow clouding as he read towards the end. His pale lips, trembling hands and burning eyes excited the most painful anxiety in Dantès' mind.
“这已经太过啦。”维尔福轻声地说。他的脸色愈来愈阴暗，他那雪白的嘴唇和紧闭的牙齿使邓蒂斯满心疑惧。
"Nobody knows that you were the bearer of a letter from Elba addressed to Monsieur Noirtier?"
“谁都不曾知道你从爱尔巴岛带了一封给诺梯埃先生的信吗？”
"Perhaps not," Villefort said grimly, "but you did know the name of the person to whom it was addressed!"
“不错，但是你却知道收信人的名字。”维尔福说。
After reading, Villefort put his head in his hands and stayed like it for an instant, overcome.
读完信以后，维尔福用双手遮住他的脸。
"You say that you have no idea what is in this letter?" he asked.
“你可以向我发誓，说绝对不知道这封信的内容吗？”
"Heavens, Monsieur, what is it?" Dantès asked fearfully.
“噢，”邓蒂斯胆怯地说，“怎么一回事？”
Villefort did not reply but remained like that for a short time, then he looked up, with pale and troubled features, and read the letter once more.
维尔福没有答复，只是抬起头来嘘了一会儿气，重读那封信。
"I repeat, on my honour, Monsieur," said Dantès, "that I do not know. But for goodness' sake, what is wrong with you? You must be feeling unwell. Would you like me to ring, would you like me to call someone?"
“我向你发誓，先生，”邓蒂斯说，“但究竟是怎么一回事？您病了。我拉铃叫人来帮忙好吗，要我叫人吗？”
"Monsieur," Dantès said, hurt, "I wanted to help you, that's all."
“先生，”邓蒂斯答道，“我是叫人来照顾您。”
"Certainly not," said Villefort, rising abruptly. "Don't move or say a word. I am the one who gives orders here, not you."
“不，”维尔福赶紧站起来说，“你不要动，这儿发命令的人是我，不是你。”
"I don't need any help. I felt dizzy for a moment, nothing more. Look to yourself, not to me. Answer me."
“我无需人照顾，这只是一时的不适而已。留心你自己吧，别管我，回答我的话。”
Dantès was expecting this request to be followed by further questioning, but none came. Villefort slumped into his chair, passed an icy hand across a brow dripping with sweat, and began, for the third time, to read the letter.
邓蒂斯等着，等他提出问题，但却等了一个空。维尔福倒回椅子上，用手抹一抹他那汗湿淋淋的额头，第三次重读那封信。
"Oh, if he does know what is in this letter," he thought, "and if he should ever learn that Noirtier is Villefort's father, I am lost -- lost utterly!"
“噢，要是他知道了这个内容，”他轻声地说，“而且知道诺梯埃是维尔福的父亲，我就完了！”
From time to time he glanced at Edmond, as if his look might pierce the invisible barrier that holds secrets in the heart so that they do not pass the lips.
于是他用眼睛盯住爱德蒙，好象要看穿他的思想似的。
"Ah! Let there be no further doubt!" he exclaimed suddenly.
“哦！不用再怀疑了，他肯定已知道。”他突然喊道。
"Oh, yes, Monsieur," Dantès exclaimed, "and I thank you, because you have been more of a friend to me than a judge."
“噢，先生，”邓蒂斯大声说，“您倒象是一个朋友，不象是一位法官。”
"But, in heaven's name, Monsieur!" the unfortunate young man cried. "If your doubts are on my score, if you suspect me, then question me, I am ready to answer you."
“天哪，”不幸的青年说，“假如您怀疑我，问我吧，我可以答复您。”
Villefort made a violent effort to control himself and said, in a voice that he tried to keep firm: "Monsieur, your interrogation has brought up the most serious charges against you, so I am no longer able, as I had first hoped, to set you free immediately. Before I can take that step, I must consult the examining magistrates. Meanwhile, you have seen how I have treated you."
维尔福费了很大的力量，极力想使他的声音镇定，“阁下，”他说，“这次审问的结果，你有着极严重的嫌疑。我不再能象我刚才所希望的那样立刻恢复你的自由了。在这一步以前，我必须先得和首席推事商量，但我对你的态度如何，你是知道的。”
"Order me, Monsieur, and I shall obey you."
“噢，命令我吧，我一定服从！”
"I promise not to, Monsieur."
“我答应。”
"Do so, and I shall follow it as though it were an order."
“说吧，我一定遵命。”
"Monsieur!" Dantès exclaimed. "You are more than justice, you are goodness itself!"
“噢！”邓蒂斯喊道，“您不但是公正，简直是太好了。”
It seemed as though it was Villefort who was begging and the prisoner who was reassuring his judge.
现在看来倒象是维尔福在求情而犯人在安慰他了。
Villefort went over to the fireplace, threw the letter into the fire and waited until it was reduced to ashes.
维尔福走近壁炉，把信投入火里，直等到它完全烧尽。
"No," Villefort said, coming across to the young man. "No, I shall not give you any orders, you understand: I shall give you some advice."
“听着！这不是一个命令，而是我给你的一个忠告。”
"I am going to keep you until evening, here, at the Palais de Justice. Someone else may come and question you: tell him everything you told me, but don't say a word about the letter."
“在今天晚上以前，我要把你扣留在法院里。假如有谁来审问你，关于这封信你不要泄漏一个字。”
"But listen to me," Villefort continued. "After seeing me do that, you realize that you can trust me, don't you?"
“听着，”维尔福又说，“你看了我刚才所做的事以后，现在可以信任我了吧。”
"Well, I must keep you prisoner a little while longer, but for as short a time as I can. The main charge against you is the existence of this letter, and you see…"
“唉，我必须要多耽搁你一点时候，但我当使它尽可能的缩短。你主要的罪状是这封信，你看——”
"… and you see, I have destroyed it."
“你看，我烧毁了它。”
"Have no fear, Monsieur, I shall deny it," Dantès said.
“放心，我一定否认。”
"Swear to me."
“你发誓。”
Dantès held out his hand. "I swear."
邓蒂斯伸出手来。”我发誓。”
"The only one."
“是的。”
"You understand," he went on, looking towards the ashes which still retained the shape of the paper. "Now that the letter has been destroyed, only you and I know that it ever existed. You will never see it again, so deny it if anyone mentions it to you; deny it boldly and you will be saved."
“你看，”他又说，“信是销毁了，只有你和我知道有过这么一封信。所以，要是有人问到你，你就根本否认有这回事。”
"Good, good!" Villefort exclaimed, reaching for a bell-pull. Then he stopped as he was about to ring and said: "Was that the only letter that you had?"
“好，好！”维尔福喊道，伸手去拉铃。当他正要拉时，他停下来说：“那是你唯一的一封信吗？”
Dantès bowed, gave Villefort a last look of gratitude and went out. No sooner had the door shut behind him than the strength drained out of Villefort's body and he fell, almost unconscious, into a chair.
邓蒂斯向维尔福敬了一个礼，退出去了。他身后的门还没有完全关上，维尔福的精力就再也支持不住了，他昏昏沉沉地倒在一张椅子里。
"Follow this gentleman," Villefort told Dantès.
“跟他去。”维尔福对邓蒂斯说。
Villefort rang and the police commissioner came in. Villefort went up to the officer and whispered a few words in his ear. The commissioner answered with a nod.
维尔福拉响了铃。进来一个警官。维尔福在他的耳边低声说了几句话，那警官点一点头表示会意。
Then, after a moment, he muttered: "Oh, my Lord! On what slender threads do life and fortune hang…! If the crown prosecutor had been in Marseille or if the examining magistrate had been called in my place, I should have been lost: that paper, that accursed piece of paper would have plunged me into the abyss. Father! Will you always be an obstacle to my happiness in this world, and shall I always have to contend with your past!"
片刻以后，“噢，我的上帝！”他喃喃地说，“假如检察官在马赛，假如刚才不是来叫我而是找了首席推事，我就已完蛋啦。这封告密信差点把我打入十八层地狱。噢，我的爹呀，你过去的行为难道一定要来干涉我的成功吗？”
"That's it," he said. "This letter, which should have destroyed me, might perhaps make my fortune. Come, Villefort, to work!"
“这个办法很好，”他说，“就从这封本来要使我完蛋的信上，我就可以飞黄腾达起来。”
Then, suddenly, it seemed as though a light had unexpectedly passed through his mind and lit up his face. A smile rose to his still clenched lips, while his distraught look became a stare and his mind appeared to concentrate on a single idea.
突然间，一道光彩掠过他的脸，一个微笑浮上他的嘴角，他那犹豫的眼光变得坚定起来，他似乎全神贯注地在盘算着一个想法。
After making sure that the prisoner was no longer in the antechamber, the deputy prosecutor also went out and began to make his way briskly towards his fiancée's house.
他四面看看，确信犯人已经离开以后，代理检察官就赶快向他新娘的家里走去。