野性的呼唤故事（听读野性的呼唤）

★ 第7章 ★

In five minutes Buck had made fourteen hundred dollars for Thornton and his friends.

不过5分钟,巴克就为桑顿和他的朋友们赚了1400美元。

The money made it possible for them to travel east, where they wanted to look for a lost goldmine.

他们有足够的钱去东部旅行,他们想在那里寻找一座下落不明的金矿。

Men said that this mine had more gold than any other mine in the north.

人们传说那座金矿比任何一座北方的金矿都富足。

Many had looked for it, and some had died looking for it. The only men who knew where it was were now dead.

许多人都在寻找它,有一些人为了寻找它而命丧黄泉。那唯一知道金矿下落的人已经死了。

Thornton, Pete and Hans, with Buck and six other dogs, started off to the east in the spring.

桑顿,皮特和汉斯,带着巴克和另外6条狗,在春天向东方启程了。

They travelled up the Stewart River and crossed the Mackenzie Mountains.

他们渡过了斯塔沃特河,翻过了麦肯瑟山脉。

They did not move quickly; the weather was good, and the men shot animals for food when they needed it.

他们走的并不快。天气很不错。有时人们就打点野味来充饥。

Sometimes they travelled for a week, and sometimes they stopped for a week and searched for gold in the ground.

有时他们连续走一星期,有时他们会逗留一星期在地下寻找金矿。

Sometimes they were hungry, and sometimes they had lots of food.

有时他们忍饥挨饿,有时又食物丰足。

They spent all the summer in the mountains, carrying everything they needed on their backs, sometimes making boats to go down rivers or across lakes.

他们在山区里度过了夏天,背着所有必需品,有时他们制造小船沿河漂流或者横渡湖泊。

In the autumn they came to a strange, flat country, with many lakes.

秋天的时候他们来到一个奇特而平坦的国度,有许多湖泊。

They travelled on through the winter and met nobody, but once they found an old wooden house, with an old gun in it.

他们跋涉了整整一个冬天,没有碰到一个人。但是他们曾经发现过一座古式的木屋,还有屋内一杆旧枪。

When the spring came, they found, not the lost mine, but a lake in a wide valley.

当春天又来临的时候,他们发现的不是那座下落不明的金矿,而是一个位于宽阔峡谷中的湖泊。

Through the shallow water the gold showed like yellow butter, and here their search ended.

透过浅浅的湖水,金子就像黄澄澄的奶油一样。他们的搜寻到此结束了。

There was gold worth thousands of dollars in the lake, and they worked every day, filling bag after bag with gold.

湖中的金子价值连城,他们每天都工作,装满了一袋又一袋的金子。

The dogs had nothing to do except watch the men and eat the food which the men shot for them.

狗无所事事,只好看人们工作和吃人们打来的野味。

Buck spent many evenings sitting by the fire.

巴克总是坐在火边消磨着夜晚的时光。

As he sat, he saw again his dream world, where the strange hairy man sat next to him.

当他蹲坐在那里时,他又一次看到了他梦中的世界,那个奇怪的毛发浓密的人坐在他的旁边。

He also heard something calling him into the forest.

他依然感受到那来自丛林的呼唤。

Sometimes, in the middle of the day, he lifted his head and listened, and then ran off into the forest.

有时正值正午,他就抬头聆听着,然后就会蹿进森林里。

One night he woke up and heard the call again, a long howl.

一天晚上他从睡梦中醒来,又听到那呼唤,长长的嗥叫。

He ran into the forest, following the sound, and came to an open place in the trees.

他跑进森林,追随着那呼声,来到了林子间的一片空地上。

And there, his nose pointing to the sky, sat a wolf.

在那儿,蹲坐着一头狼,仰首望天。

The wolf stopped howling and Buck walked slowly towards him.

狼停止了嗥叫,巴克慢慢向他走过去。

The wolf ran, and Buck followed.

狼跑开了,巴克紧追不舍。

After a time, the wolf stopped and waited, watching Buck, ready to attack.

过了一段时间,狼停住步子等待着,打量着巴克,准备着一场恶斗。

But Buck did not want to fight, and soon the wolf realized this, and the two animals became friendly.

但是巴克无意开战,很快狼就意识到了这点。两头动物变得友好起来。

Then the wolf started to run again, and he clearly wanted Buck to follow him.

然后狼又开始了奔跑,很明显他希望巴克跟着他。

They ran for hours through the forest, and Buck remembered again his dream world where he, and others like him, had run through a much older forest.

他们在森林中跑了数个小时,巴克又想起了他梦中的世界,在那里他和他的同类,穿过一座古老的森林。

Then they stopped to drink, and Buck remembered John Thornton.

当他们停下来喝水的时候,巴克想起了约翰桑顿。

He turned and started to run back.

他掉头向回跑去。

The wolf followed him, then stopped and howled, but Buck ran on and did not turn.

狼跟着他,然后停下来嗥叫着,但是巴克头也不回继续奔跑回去。

Thornton was eating dinner when Buck returned.

巴克回来的时候,桑顿正在吃晚饭。

Buck jumped all over him, and for two days never left his side.

巴克扑在他的身上,有两天不肯离开他的左右,

He followed him every where watching him while he ate and while he slept.

到哪儿都跟着他,即使睡觉和吃饭也不肯把目光挪开。

But after two days the call of the wild came again, and he remembered the forest and the wolf who had run beside him.

但是两天之后,那野性的呼唤又响了起来,他又想起了森林和那头同他并驾齐驱的狼。

He started to sleep out in the forest at night, sometimes staying out for three or four days.

他开始在夜晚露宿在森林里,有时一呆就是三四天。

Once he was away for a week, fishing and killing animals for food.

有一次他跑出去了一个星期,捕鱼猎兽觅食吃。

He ate well, and he grew stronger and quicker and more alive.

他吃的很好,变得越发健壮敏捷,也更有生气。

His golden brown coat shone with health as he ran through the forest, learning its every secret, every smell, and every sound.

在他奔跑在森林里的时候,他的金褐色的皮毛闪着健康的光泽。他探索着森林中每一处的神秘,每一种气味,每一声声响。

'He's the finest dog that I've ever seen,' said Thornton to his friends one day as they watched back walking out of camp.

“他是我见过的最出色的狗, ”桑顿有一天对他的朋友们说,他们正看着巴克跑出营地。

'There'll never be another dog like him,' said Pete.

“绝无仅有”。皮特说。

They saw him walking out of camp but they didn't see the change that happened when he was inside the forest.

他们只看见他跑出了营地,但是他们无从知晓他在森林中发生的本质的变化。

At once he became a thing of the wild, stepping softly and silently, a passing shadow among the trees.

他会立刻变成一头野兽,步子轻捷无声,像一道阴影擦过森林。

In the autumn, Buck started to see moose in the forest.

在秋天,巴克开始在森林中发现驼鹿。

One day he met a group of about twenty.

有一天他碰上了大约有20头的一群驼鹿。

The largest was two me tres tall, and his antlers were more than two metres across.

最大的一头有两米高,两只鹿角甚至有两米多宽。

When he saw Buck, he got very angry.

他看见巴克的时候,十分生气。

For hours Buck followed the moose; he wanted the big one, but he wanted him alone.

巴克追随了这只驼鹿数个小时;他想要头大个儿的,并单独捕杀他。

By the evening Buck had driven the big old moose away from the others, and then he began his attack.

到傍晚时分,巴克把那头大个儿的老驼鹿赶到了鹿群之外,然后发动了进攻。

The animal weighed six hundred and fifty kilos, he was big enough and strong enough to kill Buck in seconds.

那动物重达650公斤，他高大强壮到足以在数秒中杀死巴克。

Patiently, Buck followed him for four days, attacking and then jumping away.

巴克耐心地追随了他4天,进攻一下就又跳开,

He gave him no peace, no time to eat or drink or rest, and slowly the moose became weaker.

他让他不得安宁,没有时间进食喝水,也无法休息。渐渐地那驼鹿衰弱下去。

At the end of the fourth day Buck pulled the moose down and killed him.

到第4天结束的当口儿,巴克扑倒了那头驼鹿杀死了他。

He stayed by the dead animal for a day and a half, eating, and then turned towards camp and John Thornton.

他在死兽旁呆了一天半的光景,吃食,然后返回到营地和约翰桑顿那里去。

Five kilometres from the camp, he smelt something strange.

离营地5公里远,他嗅到了异味,

Something was wrong. He started to run. After a few hundred metres he found the dead body of Blackie, with an arrow through his side.

出事了。他开始奔跑。几百米之后他发现了布莱吉的尸体,一支羽箭插在他身体的一侧。

Then he found another sledgedog, dying, with an arrow in his neck.

然后他又发现了另一只雪撬狗,脖子上插着一支羽箭,奄奄待毙。

Buck was near the camp now, and he could hear voices singing.

现在巴克已经接近营地了,他听到歌声传来。

Then he saw the body of Hans, lying on his face, with ten or fifteen arrows in his back.

之后他看到了汉斯的尸体,脸向下俯在地上,大约有10到15支羽箭插在他的后背上。

Buck was suddenly filled with a wild, burning anger.

巴克突然心中燃烧起了狂野的怒火。

The yeehats were dancing around the camp, when they heard a deep and terrible growling.

印第安人正围绕着营地跳舞,他们听到一声低沉可怕的咆哮。

Buck came out of the trees faster than the north wind, and threw himself on the Yeehats like a mad dog He jumped at the first man, and tore out his throat, killing him at once.

巴克比北风还要迅捷,从树丛中蹿了出来,他像一条疯狗一样直扑到印第安人身上去。他扑向第一个人,撕开了他的喉咙,令他当场毙命。

He jumped onto a second, then a third man, going each time for the throat.

然后他又扑向第二个人,然后又是第三个人,每一次都瞄准咽喉。

The Yeehats could neither escape nor use their arrows. Buck moved like a storm among them, tearing, biting, destroying, in a madness that he had never known before.

印第安人既不能逃走也不能用他们的箭。巴克像暴风雪一样掠过他们,撕扯,啃啮,破坏,他陷入过去从未有过的疯狂。

Nothing could stop him, and soon the Yeehats were running, wild with fear, back to the forest Buck followed for some time, then returned to the camp.

没有任何人能制止他,于是很快印第安人就在恐惧的狂乱中逃进了森林。巴克追赶了一阵,就返回了营地。

He found Pete, killed in his bed.

他发现皮特被杀死在床上。

He followed Thornton's smell to a deep pool, and found Skeet lying dead by the edge.

他嗅着桑顿的气味找到了一个深水潭,发现斯开特倒毙在潭边。

Thornton's body was somewhere under the water.

桑顿的尸体可能在水下的某个地方。

All day Buck stayed by the pool or walked restlessly round the camp.

整整一天巴克呆在水潭边,闻或围着营地不停地奔走。

But when the evening came, he heard new sounds from the forest; the wolves had come south for the winter, and were moving into Buck's valley.

但是当夜暮降临的时候,他听到森林中传出新的声响;狼群来到南方过冬了,他们正朝着巴克的山谷而来。

They came into the camp in the moonlight, and Buck stood silently, waiting for them.

他们在月光下来到了营地。巴克静静地仁立着等待着他们。

Suddenly, the bravest wolf jumped at Buck. In a second, Buck had bitten and then stood still again.

突然,一只最勇敢的狼扑向巴克。仅仅一秒钟，巴克就咬住了他，然后重新站直。

The wolf was dead behind him. Three more wolves jumped at him, and were killed.

狼死在他的身后。另3条狼又扑了上来,也死掉了。

Then the pack attacked in a crowd all at once.

然后狼群集体一起出击了。

But not one of them could bring Buck down; he was too quick, too strong, too clever for the mall.

但是没有一头狼能扑倒巴克;他对他们整个来说,太过迅捷,太强壮,也太聪明了。

After half an hour the pack stopped attacking and moved away.

半小时之后狼群停止了进攻,开始撤退。

Then one wolf moved forward slowly, in a friendly way; it was the wolf that Buck had met before in the forest.

有一头狼缓缓地走上前来,做出友好的姿态;这就是巴克以前在森林中遇到的那只狼。

They touched noses. Then another wolf came forward to make friends, and another.

他们互相碰碰鼻子致意。然后另外一只狼也走上来交朋友,然后又是一只。

Soon the pack was all around Buck, and the call of the wild was loud in Buck's ears.

很快巴克就被狼群围在了中心。野性的呼唤在巴克耳边响彻。

And when the wolves moved on, back into the forest, Buck ran with them, side by side.

狼群前进了,他们返回森林,巴克和他们一起并肩奔跑。

That is perhaps the end of Buck's story.

这也许就是关于巴克的故事的尾声了。

But after a few years, the Yeehats noticed that some of the wolves had golden brown in their grey coats.

但是几年之后,印第安人注意到灰色的狼群中有一些有金褐色的皮毛。

They also talked of a Ghost Dog that ran at the head of the pack.

他们还谈论着跑在狼群前的一只幽灵一样的狗。

And sometimes men were found dead, killed by the teeth of a terrible animal.

有时有一些人被发现被一个可怕动物用牙齿咬死了。

And each autumn, when the Yeehats follow the moose, there is one valley that they will not go into.

每年秋天,当印第安人追赶驼鹿的时候,有一个山谷他们从来不进去。

In the summers there is one visitor to that valley: a large, goldenbrown wolf, larger than anyother wolf.

在夏天的时候,山谷里只有一个探访者：一头高大金褐色的狼,比任何一头狼都高大。

He walks alone round the lake where the yellow gold shines in the water, and howls.

他沿着湖边走着,嗥叫着,水底的黄金闪烁着光芒。

But he is not always alone.

但他也不总是独自一个的。

In the long winter nights, he runs at the head of the wolf pack through the moonlight, calling into the night with them, singing a song from a younger world.

在漫长的冬夜,他带领狼群在月光下跑过,同他们一起在夜晚呼喊着,在一个更有生气的世界里唱着歌。

《野性的呼唤》，又名《荒野的呼唤》（The Call of the Wild），是美国作家杰克·伦敦创作的中篇小说。

作品讲述巴克原是米勒法官家的一只爱犬，经过了文明的教化，一直生活在美国南部加州一个温暖的山谷里。后被卖到美国北部寒冷偏远、盛产黄金的阿拉斯加，成了一只拉雪橇的狗。该作以一只狗的经历表现文明世界的狗在主人的逼迫下回到野蛮，写的是狗，也反映人的世界。

该作延续了杰克·伦敦小说的“生存”主题：生命总是在不断挣扎求存的过程中获得意义与力量。

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