一只金手

He never paid much attention to the neighbors living in his city block until the day the pretty middle-aged widow moved in two doors down from him. She was plump and dark with sparkling eyes， and she always wore dark gloves on her hands， even indoors.

他從來沒有注意過他的鄰居們，直到那天一個美麗的中年寡婦搬了進來住在他家的隔壁的隔壁。這個女人身材很好，還有一雙黑亮的大眼睛，只是她總是戴一副黑色的手套，即使是在屋里。

He went out of his way to meet her， and they often \"bumped\" into each other in the street and stood talking. One day， as she brushed the hair back from her forehead， he caught a glimpse of gold under the glove on her right arm. When he asked her about it， she grinned coquettishly and told him that she had lost one hand a few years back and now wore a golden hand in its place. In that moment， a terrible lust woke in his heart— not to possess the lady herself， but to possess the solid gold hand that she wore under her long black gloves.

他故意去見她，所以他們總是在街上“碰到”然后站在那說話。一天，他在她用手向后捋額前的頭發(fā)的時候，瞥見了她右手臂的手套下面有金光閃耀。當問她這是怎么回事時，她誘惑地笑了笑告訴他：因為她前幾年失去了一只手，所以安了一只金手。那一刻，一個可怕的念頭驚醒了他——不能只得到她，還要得到那長長黑手套下的那只金手。

He courted the widow with every stratagem known to him; flowers， trips to the theater， gifts， and compliments. And he won her heart. Within a month， they were standing in front of a minister， promising to love each other until death parted them. Within another month， he was a widower and had buried his ailing wife in the local cemetery—without her golden hand. It had been so easy. A slow poison， administered daily to resemble a wasting disease. No one—not his wife， not the family doctor， not their neighbors—suspected murder. And the night after the funeral， he slept with the golden hand under his pillow.

他用盡一切計謀向那個寡婦獻殷勤：送花、看電影、送禮物、說甜言蜜語。最終他得到了她的心。一個月之后，他們站在了牧師的面前，承諾彼此相愛、永不分離直到死亡。又過了一個月，他成了鰥夫，他在墓地埋葬了他的有病的妻子——那只金手沒有了。這事太簡單了。一種慢性毒藥，每天服用一點造成一種萎縮性疾病。沒有人——即使他的妻子、他的家庭醫(yī)生、他的鄰居——懷疑這是謀殺。葬禮結(jié)束的那晚，他枕著枕下的金手睡著了。

It was a dark night. Clouds covered the moon， and the wind was whistling down the chimney and rattling the shutters of the town house. He was deeply asleep when the door to his room slammed open with a loud bang and a wild wind whipped around the room， scattering papers and books and clothing and table coverings every which way. He sat up， startled by the sudden noise， and his pulse began to pound when he saw a greenish-white light bobbing slowly into the room. Before his eyes， the light slowly grew larger， taking on the shape of his dead wife. She was missing one arm. \"Where is my golden hand?\" she moaned， her dark eyes blazing with red fire. \"Give me my golden hand!\"

一日深夜，烏云遮住了月亮，狂風怒吼著從煙囪灌進來，鎮(zhèn)里房間的窗戶被吹得咔嗒咔嗒地響。房門砰地一聲開了，一陣狂風席卷了整個房間，報紙、書、衣服和桌上的東西被吹得到處都是，他從熟睡中被驚醒了。他呼地坐起來，被這突如其來的噪聲嚇了一跳，然后他看到一縷白青色的光慢慢地走了進來，他嚇得心咚咚直跳。在他眼前，那束光慢慢地變大，呈現(xiàn)出他死去的妻子的模樣，沒有了一只胳膊。“我的金手呢？”她呻吟著，黑眼睛中閃著紅色的火焰。“把我的金手還給我！”

He tried to speak， but his mouth was so dry with fear that he could only make soft gasping noises. The glowing phantom moved closer to him， her once-lovely face twisted into a hideous green mask. \"You stole my life and you stole my hand. Give me back my golden hand!\" the dead wife howled. The noise rose higher and higher， and the phantom pulsed with a strident green light that smote his eyes， making them water.

他想說話，可是嘴因為害怕而干燥得一句話都說不出來，只能發(fā)出含混的喘息聲。那個發(fā)光的幻影離他越來越近了，她曾經(jīng)可愛的臉已經(jīng)扭曲變成一個丑陋的綠色面具。“你偷走了我的生命也偷走了我的手。把我的金手還給我！”死去的妻子嚎叫著。聲音越來越高，幻影閃著綠色的光沖擊著他的雙眼，頓時他雙眼充滿淚水。

He cowered back against his pillows， and the hard shape of the golden hand pressed against his back. And then he felt the golden hand twitch underneath him as the mangled green phantom that had been his wife swooped down upon him， pressing his face against the pillow in a suffocating green cloud. He tried to scream， but it was cut off suddenly by a terrible pressure against his throat， cutting off his breath. The world went black.

他向后退著，一下子躺在枕頭上，那只堅硬的金手咯了他后背一下。然后，他感到金手在下面握緊了，那曾是他妻子的綠色幻影嘶叫著把他撲倒在床上，一陣令人窒息的綠色煙霧把他的臉摁在了枕頭上。他試圖喊叫，但突然被一個可怕的壓力壓斷了喉嚨，一下子斷了氣。一切都安靜了下來。

The next morning， when the housemaid came into the room with her master's morning cup of tea， she found him lying dead on the floor， with the golden hand clutched around his throat.

第二天早上，當女仆端著她主人的早茶進入他的房間的時候，發(fā)現(xiàn)他死在了地板上，那只金手掐著他的喉嚨。

能說會用

widow: n. 寡婦， 遺孀

The young widow was left with three children to fetch up.

這個年輕的寡婦要撫養(yǎng)3個孩子。

go out of the way 不怕麻煩，故意

All the cars go out of the way to let the ambulance past.

所有的車都閃開，讓救護車通過。

It was good of you to go out of your way to meet us at the station.

你真好，特意到車站來接我們。

◆編輯：劉芳