The Tiger in the Tunnel隧道里的虎

Tembu， the boy， opened his eyes in the dark.

男孩坦布在黑暗中睜開眼睛。

There was no moon that night， and the deathly stillness of the surrounding jungle was broken only occasionally by the cry of a cicada. Sometimes from far off came the hollow hammering of a woodpecker. Or the grunt of a wild boar could be heard.

那天夜里沒有月亮，周圍的叢林一片死寂，只有偶爾傳來一聲蟬鳴。有時從遠處傳來啄木鳥空洞的啄木聲，或者也能聽到野豬的哼哼聲。

Baldeo， the watchman， was awake. He stretched himself， slowly unwinding the heavy shawl. It was close on midnight and the chilly air made him shiver. The station was a small shack backed by heavy jungle.

守夜人巴爾代奧醒了。他伸了伸懶腰，慢慢地解開厚披巾。快到午夜了，寒冷的空氣讓他直打哆嗦。車站是個小木屋，屋后是茂密的叢林。

Baldeo was responsible for signaling whether or not the tunnel was clear of obstruction， and his hand-worked signal stood before the entrance. At night it was his duty to see that the lamp was burning， and that the overland mail passed through safely.

巴爾代奧負責發信號通知隧道是否暢通無阻，他的手工信號裝置立在入口處。到了晚上，他有責任確保燈亮著，確保陸路郵車安全通過。

“Shall I come too， Father？” asked Tembu sleepily， still lying huddled in a corner of the hut.

“我也去嗎，爸爸？”坦布仍然蜷縮在小屋的一個角落里，睡意朦朧地問道。

“No， it is cold tonight. Do not get up.”

“不，今晚很冷。不要起來。”

Tembu， who was twelve， did not always sleep with his father at the station， for he had also to help in the home， where his mother and small sister were usually alone. They lived in a small tribal village on the outskirts of the forest， about three miles from the station.

12歲的坦布不經常跟父親一起在車站睡覺，因為他也得在家里幫忙——他的母親和妹妹通常都是單獨在家里。他們住在森林外圍的一個部落小村里，離車站大約三英里。

Baldeo groped for his lamp in the darkness， then fumbled about in search of matches. When he had produced a light， he left the hut. Tembu had fallen asleep again.

巴爾代奧在黑暗中摸索著他的燈，然后摸尋火柴。他點亮燈，離開小屋。坦布又倒頭睡著了。

Baldeo wondered whether the lamp on the signal post was still alight. Gathering his shawl closer about him， he stumbled on. He longed to get back to his warm corner in the hut.

巴爾代奧不知道信號燈是不是還亮著。他裹緊披巾，繼續跌跌撞撞地走著。他渴望回到小屋溫暖的角落。

The eeriness of the place was increased by the neighboring hills which overhung the main line threateningly. On entering the cutting1 with its sheer rock walls towering high above the rails， Baldeo could not help thinking about the wild animals he might encounter. He had heard many tales of the famous tunnel tiger， a man-eater.

周遭山巒如猛獸般俯壓著鐵路干線，使這個地方更加陰森可怖。當進入崖壁高聳于鐵軌之上的路塹時，巴爾代奧不禁想到他可能會遇到的野獸。他聽說過那只著名的隧道食人虎的許多故事。

There had， of course， been panthers.

當然，還有黑豹。

Baldeo walked confidently. Like his forefathers， he carried a small axe. With it， he could cut down a tree neatly.

巴爾代奧走得很自信。他像祖先一樣拎著一把小斧頭。他能用這把斧頭干脆利落地砍倒一棵樹。

The cutting curved sharply， and in the darkness the black entrance to the tunnel loomed up menacingly. The signal light was out. Baldeo set to work to haul the lamp down by its chain. If the oil had finished， he would have to return to the hut for more. The mail train was due in five minutes.

鐵道有個急轉彎，幽暗的隧道口在夜色中森然顯現。信號燈熄了。巴爾代奧開始拽鏈條把燈拖下來。如果油用光了，他還得回到小屋去取。郵車五分鐘后到達。

Once more he fumbled for his matches. Then suddenly he stood still and listened. The frightened cry of a barking deer， followed by a crashing sound in the undergrowth， made Baldeo hurry. There was still a little oil in the lamp， and after an instant’s hesitation he lit the lamp again and hoisted it back into position. He walked quickly down the tunnel， swinging his own lamp， so that the shadows leapt up and down the soot-stained walls， and having made sure that the line was clear， he returned to the entrance and sat down to wait for the mail train.

他又一次摸索著找火柴。然后他突然站著不動，側耳傾聽。一只吠鹿驚恐地叫了起來，接著是灌木叢中傳來的撞擊聲，巴爾代奧趕緊加快動作。油燈里還有一點油，他遲疑了一瞬，又點上油燈，把它掛回原位。他沿著隧道迅速往前走，晃著自己的燈，人影在被煤煙熏黑的崖壁上跳動，在確定線路上沒人后，他回到入口處坐下來等待郵車。

The train was late. Sitting huddled up， he was almost dozing.

火車晚點了。他縮成一團坐著，昏昏欲睡。

A low， distant rumble woke the boy， who sat up， rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

遠處一陣低沉的隆隆聲驚醒了男孩，他揉著惺忪睡眼，直起身來。

“Father， it’s time to light the lamp，” he mumbled， and then， realizing that his father had been gone some time， he lay down again; but he was wide awake now， waiting for the train to pass， waiting for his father’s returning footsteps.

“爸爸，該點燈了。”他喃喃地說，然后意識到父親已經離開了一陣子，他又躺下了。但是，他現在完全清醒了，在等著火車經過，等著父親回來的腳步聲。

A low grunt resounded from the top of the cutting. In a second Baldeo’s all senses were on alert. Only a tiger could emit such a sound.

一陣低低的咕噥聲在路塹頂上回響。巴爾代奧所有的感官立刻警覺起來。只有老虎才能發出這樣的聲音。

There was no shelter for Baldeo， but he grasped his axe firmly and tensed his body， trying to make out the direction from which the animal was approaching. For some time there was only silence， even the usual jungle noises seemed to have ceased altogether. Then a thump and the rattle of small stones announced that the tiger had sprung into the cutting.

巴爾代奧沒有藏身的地方，但他緊握著斧頭，繃緊身體，試圖找出野獸靠近的方向。萬籟俱寂，甚至叢林中慣常的窸窣聲似乎也完全停止了。接著是砰的一聲和小石子的噠噠聲，這說明老虎已經跳進了鐵道。

Baldeo， listening as he had never listened before， wondered if it was making for the tunnel or the opposite direction—the direction of the hut， in which Tembu would be lying unprotected. He did not have to wonder for long. Before a minute had passed he made out the huge body of the tiger trotting steadily towards him. Its eyes shone a brilliant green in the light from the signal lamp. Flight was useless， for in the dark the tiger would be more sure-footed than Baldeo and would soon be upon him from behind. Baldeo stood with his back to the signal post， motionless， staring at the great brute moving rapidly towards him. The tiger came on fearlessly， and with a quick run and a snarl struck out with its right paw， expecting to bowl over this puny man who dared stand in the way.

巴爾代奧從來沒有像現在這樣仔細傾聽，想知道它是往隧道去，還是往相反方向去——也就是木屋的方向，坦布毫無防備地躺在那里。不容他多想，不到一分鐘，他就看見老虎的龐大身軀朝他穩步奔來。老虎的眼睛在信號燈的光線下發出耀眼的綠光。逃跑是沒用的，因為在黑暗中，老虎會比巴爾代奧步伐更穩健，很快就會追上來從背后襲擊他。巴爾奧代背對信號樁，一動不動地站著，盯著這頭快速向他移動的巨獸。老虎大膽逼近，猛地一個沖刺伴著低吼，右爪凌厲揮出，想要撲倒這個敢擋道的弱小人類。

With a marvelously agile leap Baldeo avoided the paw and brought his axe down on the animal’s shoulder. The tiger gave a roar and attempted to close in. Again Baldeo wielded his axe; but， to his horror， the beast swerved， and the axe caught his tiger on the shoulder， almost severing the leg.

巴爾代奧身手敏捷，一個箭步，避開虎爪，斧頭砍在老虎的肩上。老虎吼了一聲，想要靠近。巴爾代奧又一次揮起了斧頭，但令他驚恐的是，這頭野獸突然轉向，斧頭擊中了老虎的肩膀，幾乎砍斷了它的腿。

The tiger， roaring with pain， now sprang upon Baldeo， bringing him down and then tearing at his broken body. It was all over in a few minutes. Baldeo was conscious only of a searing pain down his back， and then there was blackness and the night closed in on him for ever.

老虎痛苦地咆哮著，撲向巴爾代奧，把他撲倒，然后撕扯他破損的身體。幾分鐘后，一切都結束了。巴爾代奧只意識到背部的灼痛，然后是黑暗和黑夜永遠包圍了他。

The tiger drew off and sat down licking its wounded leg， roaring every now and then with agony. It did not notice the faint rumble that shook the earth， followed by the distant puffing of an engine steadily climbing. The overland mail was approaching. Through the trees beyond the cutting， as the train advanced， the glow of the furnace could be seen.

老虎抽身，坐下來舔它受傷的腿，不時地痛苦咆哮。它沒有注意到震動大地的微弱轟鳴，隨后是穩穩攀爬的機車從遠處傳來的噴氣聲。陸路郵車來了。隨著火車的前進，透過鐵道旁的樹林，可以看到煤爐發出的紅光。

As the train entered the cutting， the engine whistled once， loud and piercingly. The tiger raised its head， then slowly got to his feet. It found itself trapped like the man. Flight along the cutting was impossible. It entered the tunnel， running as fast as its wounded leg would carry it. And then， with a roar and a shower of sparks， the train entered the yawning tunnel. The noise in the confined space was deafening; but， when the train came out into the open， on the other side， silence returned once more to the forest and the tunnel.

當火車進入通道時，汽笛響了一下，聲音響亮刺耳。老虎抬起頭，然后慢慢地站起來。它發現自己也像那人一樣被困住了。沿著通道逃跑行不通。它進了隧道，用盡它受傷的腿所能承受的最快速度奔跑著。接下來，隨著一聲轟鳴和一陣火花，火車駛入了洞開的隧道。密閉空間里的聲響震耳欲聾，但當火車在另一頭駛出隧道時，森林和隧道又恢復了寂靜。

Tembu and his sister and mother were plunged in grief for two whole days; but life had to go on， and a living had to be made， and all the responsibility now fell on Tembu. Three nights later， he was at the cutting， lighting the signal lamp for the overland mail.

坦布和他的母親、妹妹整整兩天都沉浸在悲痛之中；但是，生活得繼續，還得謀生，現在所有的責任都落到了坦布身上。三天后，他來到了這段狹窄通道，點亮了陸路郵車的信號燈。

He sat down in the darkness to wait for the train. There was nothing to be afraid of; and he had the axe with him， his father’s axe.

他在黑暗中坐下來等火車。他無所畏懼；此外，他身上還帶著斧頭，那是他父親的斧頭。

*本名宋金柱，焦作大學學術委員會委員，河南省作家協會會員。迄今已在外文出版社、譯林出版社、人民文學出版社等出版譯著多部。另在《英語世界》《當代外國文學》《譯林》等刊物上發表譯文多篇。

1 cutting（從山中開鑿出的）通道鐵路，河床。