山洞裡的等待

The lowest step, where the stream collected before it tumbled down a hundred feet and disappeared into the rubbly desert, was a little platform of stone and sand.

最低的一層——溪水在這裡匯聚，接著往下滾落一百英尺、消失在碎石遍布的沙漠裡——是一小片石頭和沙子的平台。

Only a pencil of water fell into the pool, but it was enough to keep the pool full and to keep the ferns green in the underhang of the cliff, and wild grape climbed the stone mountain and all manner of little plants found comfort here.

落進水池的只是一道鉛筆粗細的水流，卻足以讓水池保持滿盈，讓峭壁下方凹處的蕨類保持翠綠；野葡萄攀上石山，各式各樣的小植物都在這裡找到了安身之處。

The freshets had made a small sandy beach through which the pool flowed, and bright-green watercress grew in the damp sand.

山洪沖出了一小片沙灘，池水從沙灘上流過，鮮綠的豆瓣菜長在濕潤的沙裡。

The beach was cut and scarred and padded by the feet of animals that had come to drink and to hunt.

沙灘被來喝水、來獵食的動物的腳割出痕跡、留下疤痕、踩出一個個腳印。

The sun had passed over the stone mountains when Kino and Juana struggled up the steep broken slope and came at last to the water.

太陽已經越過了石頭山，奇諾和胡安娜才掙扎著爬上陡峭破碎的山坡，終於來到水邊。

From this step they could look out over the sun-beaten desert to the blue Gulf in the distance.

從這一層，他們可以越過被太陽烤焦的沙漠，望見遠方湛藍的海灣。

They came utterly weary to the pool, and Juana slumped to her knees and first washed Coyotito’s face and then filled her bottle and gave him a drink.

他們筋疲力盡地來到水池邊，胡安娜癱跪在地，先替柯尤提托洗臉，再把水瓶裝滿，餵他喝水。

And the baby was weary and petulant, and he cried softly until Juana gave him her breast, and then he gurgled and clucked against her.

嬰兒又累又鬧脾氣，一直輕輕地哭，直到胡安娜給他吸奶，他才在她懷裡咿咿呀呀、咂咂作聲。

Kino drank long and thirstily at the pool.

奇諾在水池邊大口大口地喝了很久。

For a moment, then, he stretched out beside the water and relaxed all his muscles and watched Juana feeding the baby, and then he got to his feet and went to the edge of the step where the water slipped over, and he searched the distance carefully.

接著有一會兒，他在水邊伸展身體，放鬆全身肌肉，看著胡安娜餵孩子；然後他站起來，走到水流滑落的平台邊緣，仔細地搜尋遠方。

His eyes set on a point and he became rigid.

他的眼睛定在一個點上，全身僵住了。

Far down the slope he could see the two trackers; they were little more than dots or scurrying ants and behind them a larger ant.

遠遠的坡下，他看得見那兩個追蹤者；他們不過是兩個小點，或兩隻急急爬行的螞蟻，後面跟著一隻大一點的螞蟻。

Juana had turned to look at him and she saw his back stiffen.

胡安娜轉頭看他，看見他的背僵直了。

“How far?” she asked quietly.

「多遠？」她靜靜地問。

“They will be here by evening,” said Kino.

「他們傍晚就會到。」奇諾說。

He looked up the long steep chimney of the cleft where the water came down.

他抬頭望向裂谷中那道又長又陡、像煙囪一樣的水流通道。

“We must go west,” he said, and his eyes searched the stone shoulder behind the cleft.

「我們得往西走。」他說，眼睛搜尋著裂谷後面那片岩石山肩。

And thirty feet up on the grey shoulder he saw a series of little erosion caves.

在灰色山肩上三十英尺高的地方，他看見一排被侵蝕出來的小洞。

He slipped off his sandals and clambered up to them, gripping the bare stone with his toes, and he looked into the shallow caves.

他脫掉涼鞋，手腳並用爬上去，用腳趾抓住光禿禿的石頭，往那些淺洞裡看。

They were only a few feet deep, wind-hollowed scoops, but they sloped slightly downwards and back.

它們只有幾英尺深，是被風挖空的凹坑，可是微微往下、往裡傾斜。

Kino crawled into the largest one and lay down and knew that he could not be seen from the outside.

奇諾爬進最大的一個躺下，知道從外面看不見他。

Quickly he went back to Juana.

他很快回到胡安娜身邊。

“You must go up there.

「你得上去那裡。

Perhaps they will not find us there,” he said.

也許他們在那裡找不到我們。」他說。

Without question she filled her water-bottle to the top, and then Kino helped her up to the shallow cave and brought up the packages of food and passed them to her.

她一句話也沒問，把水瓶裝得滿滿的，然後奇諾扶她爬上淺洞，再把幾包食物拿上去遞給她。

And Juana sat in the cave entrance and watched him.

胡安娜坐在洞口看著他。

She saw that he did not try to erase their tracks in the sand.

她看見他沒有去抹掉他們在沙上的足跡。

Instead, he climbed up the brush cliff beside the water, clawing and tearing at the ferns and wild grape as he went.

相反地，他爬上水邊長滿灌木的峭壁，一路抓扯著蕨類和野葡萄。

And when he had climbed a hundred feet to the next bench, he came down again.

等他爬了一百英尺到上一層台地，他又爬了下來。

He looked carefully at the smooth rock shoulder towards the cave to see that there was no trace of passage, and last he climbed up and crept into the cave beside Juana.

他仔細看著通往山洞的那片光滑岩石，確定沒有留下經過的痕跡，最後才爬上去，鑽進洞裡，到胡安娜身邊。

“When they go up,” he said, “we will slip away, down to the lowlands again.

「等他們往上追，」他說，「我們就溜走，回到低地去。

I am afraid only that the baby may cry.

我只怕孩子會哭。

You must see that he does not cry.”

你一定要讓他別哭。」

“He will not cry,” she said, and she raised the baby’s face to her own and looked into his eyes and he stared solemnly back at her.

「他不會哭的。」她說，她把嬰兒的臉捧到自己面前，看進他的眼睛，他也嚴肅地回望著她。

“He knows,” said Juana.

「他知道。」胡安娜說。

Now Kino lay in the cave entrance, his chin braced on his crossed arms, and he watched the blue shadow of the mountain move out across the brushy desert below until it reached the Gulf, and the long twilight of the shadow was over the land.

奇諾趴在洞口，下巴擱在交叉的手臂上，看著山的藍色陰影越過下方的灌木沙漠，一直延伸到海灣，陰影長長的暮色籠罩了大地。

The trackers were long in coming, as though they had trouble with the trail Kino had left.

追蹤者很久才到，好像奇諾留下的足跡讓他們費了不少工夫。

It was dusk when they came at last to the little pool.

他們終於來到小水池時，已經是黃昏了。

And all three were on foot now, for a horse could not climb the last steep slope.

三個人現在都步行，因為馬爬不上最後那段陡坡。

From above they were thin figures in the evening.

從上面看，他們是暮色中瘦瘦的身影。

The two trackers scurried about on the little beach, and they saw Kino’s progress up the cliff before they drank.

兩個追蹤者在小沙灘上急急地四處察看，喝水之前就看見了奇諾往峭壁上爬的痕跡。

The man with the rifle sat down and rested himself, and the trackers squatted near him, and in the evening the points of their cigarettes glowed and receded.

拿步槍的人坐下來休息，追蹤者蹲在他附近，暮色中他們的菸頭一亮一暗。

And then Kino could see that they were eating, and the soft murmur of their voices came to him.

接著奇諾看得出他們在吃東西，他們低聲說話的聲音傳了上來。

Then darkness fell, deep and black in the mountain cleft.

然後黑暗降臨，在山谷中又深又黑。

The animals that used the pool came near and smelled men there and drifted away again into the darkness.

常來水池的動物走近了，聞到那裡有人的氣味，又悄悄退回黑暗中。

He heard a murmur behind him.

他聽見身後有低語聲。

Juana was whispering: “Coyotito.”

胡安娜在輕聲說：「柯尤提托。」

She was begging him to be quiet.

她在央求他安靜。

Kino heard the baby whimper, and he knew from the muffled sounds that Juana had covered his head with her shawl.

奇諾聽見嬰兒嗚咽，從那悶住的聲音，他知道胡安娜用披巾蓋住了孩子的頭。

Down on the beach a match flared, and in its momentary light Kino saw that two of the men were sleeping, curled up like dogs, while the third watched, and he saw the glint of the rifle in the match light.

下面的沙灘上，一根火柴亮了起來，在它短暫的光中，奇諾看見兩個人像狗一樣蜷著睡覺，第三個人在守夜，他還看見步槍在火柴光裡閃了一下。

And then the match died, but it left a picture on Kino’s eyes.

然後火柴熄了，卻在奇諾眼裡留下了一幅畫面。

He could see it, just how each man was, two sleeping curled up and the third squatting in the sand with the rifle between his knees.

他看得見，每個人的樣子清清楚楚：兩個蜷著睡，第三個蹲在沙上，步槍夾在兩膝之間。

Kino moved silently back into the cave.

奇諾無聲地退回洞裡。

Juana’s eyes were two sparks reflecting a low star.

胡安娜的眼睛像兩點火花，映著一顆低垂的星。

Kino crawled quietly close to her and he put his lips near to her cheek.

奇諾悄悄爬到她身邊，把嘴唇湊近她的臉頰。

“There is a way,” he said.

「有一個辦法。」他說。

“But they will kill you.”

「可是他們會殺了你。」

“If I get first to the one with the rifle,” Kino said, “I must get to him first, then I will be all right.

「只要我先撲到拿槍的那個，」奇諾說，「我一定要先撲到他，那就沒事了。

Two are sleeping.”

有兩個在睡覺。」

Her hand crept out from under her shawl and gripped his arm.

她的手從披巾底下悄悄伸出來，抓住他的手臂。

“They will see your white clothes in the starlight.”

「他們會在星光下看到你的白衣服。」

“No,” he said.

「不會。」他說。

“And I must go before moonrise.”

「而且我得在月亮升起之前去。」

He searched for a soft word and then gave it up.

他想找一句溫柔的話，最後放棄了。

“If they kill me,” he said, “lie quietly.

「要是他們殺了我，」他說，「你就靜靜躺著。

And when they are gone away, go to Loreto.”

等他們走了，你就去洛雷托。」

Her hand shook a little, holding his wrist.

她握著他手腕的手微微發抖。

“There is no choice,” he said.

「沒有別的選擇。」他說。

“It is the only way.

「這是唯一的辦法。

They will find us in the morning.”

天亮他們就會找到我們。」

Her voice trembled a little.

她的聲音微微顫抖。

“Go with God,” she said.

「願上帝與你同行。」她說。

He peered closely at her and he could see her large eyes.

他湊近仔細看她，看得見她那雙大眼睛。

His hand fumbled out and found the baby, and for a moment his palm lay on Coyotito’s head.

他的手摸索著找到了嬰兒，有一會兒，他的手掌放在柯尤提托的頭上。

And then Kino raised his hand and touched Juana’s cheek, and she held her breath.

然後奇諾抬起手，摸了摸胡安娜的臉頰，她屏住了呼吸。

Against the sky in the cave entrance Juana could see that Kino was taking off his white clothes, for dirty and ragged though they were they would show up against the dark night.

在洞口映著天空的背景下，胡安娜看見奇諾在脫他的白衣服，因為那身衣服雖然又髒又破，在漆黑的夜裡還是會很顯眼。

His own brown skin was a better protection for him.

他自己的棕色皮膚，是更好的掩護。

And then she saw how he hooked his amulet neck-string about the horn handle of his great knife, so that it hung down in front of him and left both hands free.

接著她看見他把掛護身符的頸繩勾在大刀的角柄上，讓刀垂在胸前，空出兩隻手。

He did not come back to her.

他沒有再回到她身邊。

For a moment his body was black in the cave entrance, crouched and silent, and then he was gone.

有一會兒，他的身體在洞口成了一個黑影，蹲伏著，無聲無息，然後他就不見了。

Juana moved to the entrance and looked out.

胡安娜挪到洞口往外看。

She peered like an owl from the hole in the mountain, and the baby slept under the blanket on her back, his face turned sideways against her neck and shoulder.

她像貓頭鷹一樣從山洞裡往外窺看，嬰兒在她背上的毯子底下睡著了，臉側貼著她的脖子和肩膀。

She could feel his warm breath against her skin, and Juana whispered her combination of prayer and magic, her Hail Marys and her ancient intercession, against the black unhuman things.

她感覺得到他溫暖的呼吸貼著她的皮膚，胡安娜低聲念著她那混合了祈禱與咒語的禱詞——她的聖母經和她古老的求告——對抗那些黑暗的、非人的東西。

The night seemed a little less dark when she looked out, and to the east there was a lightening in the sky, down near the horizon where the moon would show.

她往外看時，夜好像沒那麼黑了，東方天空低處接近地平線、月亮要露臉的地方，漸漸亮了起來。

And, looking down, she could see the cigarette of the man on watch.

往下看，她看得見守夜那個人的菸頭。

Kino edged like a slow lizard down the smooth rock shoulder.

奇諾像一隻慢慢爬行的蜥蜴，沿著光滑的岩石山肩一點一點往下挪。

He had turned his neck-string so that the great knife hung down from his back and could not clash against the stone.

他已經把頸繩轉過去，讓大刀垂在背後，不會撞到石頭。

His spread fingers gripped the mountain, and his bare toes found support through contact, and even his chest lay against the stone so that he would not slip.

他張開的手指抓著山，赤裸的腳趾靠觸感找到立足點，連胸口都貼著石頭，免得滑下去。

For any sound, a rolling pebble or a sigh, a little slip of flesh on rock, would rouse the watchers below.

因為任何聲音——一顆滾落的小石子、一聲嘆息、皮肉在岩石上輕輕一滑——都會驚動下面守夜的人。

Any sound that was not germane to the night would make them alert.

任何不屬於夜晚的聲音，都會讓他們警覺。

But the night was not silent; the little tree frogs that lived near the stream twittered like birds, and the high metallic ringing of the cicadas filled the mountain cleft.

可是夜晚並不寂靜；住在溪邊的小樹蛙像鳥一樣啁啾，蟬高亢的金屬鳴聲充滿了山谷。

And Kino’s own music was in his head, the music of the enemy, low and pulsing, nearly asleep.

奇諾自己的音樂在他腦中，敵人的音樂，低沉、脈動，幾乎要睡著了。

But the Song of the Family had become as fierce and sharp and feline as the snarl of a female puma.

可是家之歌已經變得像母美洲獅的咆哮一樣兇猛、尖銳，帶著貓科的野性。

The family song was alive now and driving him down on the dark enemy.

家之歌此刻活了過來，驅使他撲向黑暗中的敵人。

The harsh cicada seemed to take up its melody, and the twittering tree frogs called little phrases of it.

刺耳的蟬鳴好像接下了它的旋律，啁啾的樹蛙也唱出它的片段。