「不，你來」

And Kino crept silently as a shadow down the smooth mountain face.

奇諾像影子一樣，沿著光滑的山壁無聲地往下爬。

One bare foot moved a few inches and the toes touched the stone and gripped, and the other foot a few inches, and then the palm of one hand a little downwards, and then the other hand, until the whole body, without seeming to move, had moved.

一隻赤腳挪動幾吋，腳趾碰到石頭、抓住，另一隻腳再挪幾吋，接著一隻手掌往下移一點，再換另一隻手，直到整個身體看起來沒有動，卻已經移動了。

Kino’s mouth was open so that even his breath would make no sound, for he knew that he was not invisible.

奇諾張著嘴，連呼吸都不發出聲音，因為他知道自己並不是隱形的。

If the watcher, sensing movement, looked at the dark place against the stone which was his body, he could see him.

守夜的人要是察覺到動靜，往石頭上那塊黑影——也就是他的身體——看過去，就會看見他。

Kino must move so slowly he would not draw the watcher’s eyes.

奇諾必須動得極慢，慢到不會引來守夜者的目光。

It took him a long time to reach the bottom and to crouch behind a little dwarf palm.

他花了很長的時間才爬到底，蹲在一棵矮小的棕櫚後面。

His heart thundered in his chest and his hands and face were wet with sweat.

他的心臟在胸口雷鳴般狂跳，手和臉都被汗浸濕了。

He crouched and took great slow long breaths to calm himself.

他蹲著，慢慢地深深吸氣，讓自己平靜下來。

Only twenty feet separated him from the enemy now, and he tried to remember the ground between.

現在他跟敵人之間只隔二十英尺，他努力回想中間的地面是什麼樣子。

Was there any stone which might trip him in his rush?

有沒有哪塊石頭會在他衝過去時絆倒他？

He kneaded his legs against cramp and found that his muscles were jerking after their long tension.

他揉捏雙腿防止抽筋，發現肌肉在長時間緊繃後一直抽動。

And then he looked apprehensively to the east.

接著他不安地望向東方。

The moon would rise in a few moments now, and he must attack before it rose.

月亮再過一會兒就要升起了，他必須在它升起之前出擊。

He could see the outline of the watcher, but the sleeping men were below his vision.

他看得見守夜者的輪廓，可是睡著的那兩個人在他視線之下。

It was the watcher Kino must find—must find quickly and without hesitation.

奇諾必須找到的是守夜的那個——必須迅速、毫不猶豫地找到他。

Silently he drew the amulet string over his shoulder and loosened the loop from the horn-handle of his great knife.

他無聲地把護身符的繩子從肩上拉過來，從大刀的角柄上解開繩圈。

He was too late, for as he rose from his crouch the silver edge of the moon slipped above the eastern horizon, and Kino sank back behind his bush.

他太遲了，因為他剛從蹲姿站起來，月亮的銀邊就滑上了東方的地平線，奇諾又縮回灌木後面。

It was an old and ragged moon, but it threw hard light and hard shadow into the mountain cleft, and now Kino could see the seated figure of the watcher on the little beach beside the pool.

那是一彎殘缺的老月亮，卻在山谷裡投下冷硬的光與冷硬的影，現在奇諾看得見坐在水池邊小沙灘上的守夜人了。

The watcher gazed full at the moon, and then he lighted another cigarette, and the match illumined his dark face for a moment.

守夜者直直地望著月亮，然後又點了一根菸，火柴的光照亮他黝黑的臉一瞬。

There could be no waiting now; when the watcher turned his head, Kino must leap.

現在不能再等了；守夜者一轉頭，奇諾就必須撲上去。

His legs were as tight as wound springs.

他的雙腿繃得像上緊的發條。

And then from above came a little murmuring cry.

就在這時，上方傳來一聲細小的、低低的哭聲。

The watcher turned his head to listen and then he stood up, and one of the sleepers stirred on the ground and awakened and asked quietly: “What is it?”

守夜者轉頭去聽，接著站了起來，地上睡著的一個人翻了個身醒來，低聲問：「怎麼了？」

“I don’t know,” said the watcher.

「不知道。」守夜者說。

“It sounded like a cry, almost like a human—like a baby.”

「聽起來像哭聲，幾乎像人——像嬰兒。」

The man who had been sleeping said: “You can’t tell.

剛才在睡覺的人說：「說不準。

Some coyote bitch with a litter.

大概是哪隻帶著一窩小崽的母郊狼。

I’ve heard a coyote pup cry like a baby.”

我聽過郊狼崽哭起來像嬰兒。」

The sweat rolled in drops down Kino’s forehead and fell into his eyes and burned them.

汗珠一顆顆從奇諾額頭滾下，掉進他眼裡，刺痛了他的眼睛。

The little cry came again and the watcher looked up the side of the hill to the dark cave.

細小的哭聲又傳來了，守夜者抬頭望向山坡上那個黑漆漆的洞。

“Coyote maybe,” he said, and Kino heard the harsh click as he cocked the rifle.

「也許是郊狼。」他說，奇諾聽見他扳起步槍擊鎚時那一聲刺耳的喀嚓。

“If it’s a coyote, this will stop it,” the watcher said as he raised the gun.

「要是郊狼，這一槍就能讓牠安靜。」守夜者說著舉起了槍。

Kino was in mid-leap when the gun crashed and the barrel-flash made a picture on his eyes.

槍轟然響起時，奇諾已經撲在半空中，槍口的火光在他眼裡留下一幅畫面。

The great knife swung and crunched hollowly.

大刀揮出，發出一聲空洞的碎裂聲。

It bit through neck and deep into chest, and Kino was a terrible machine now.

它咬穿脖子，深深砍進胸膛，奇諾此刻是一部可怕的機器。

He grasped the rifle even as he wrenched free his knife.

他一邊把刀猛力抽出，一邊抓住了步槍。

His strength and his movement and his speed were a machine.

他的力量、他的動作、他的速度，都是一部機器。

He whirled and struck the head of the seated man like a melon.

他猛地轉身，像打西瓜一樣砸在那個坐著的人頭上。

The third man scrabbled away like a crab, slipped into the pool, and then he began to climb frantically, to climb up the cliff where the water pencilled down.

第三個人像螃蟹一樣手忙腳亂地爬開，滑進水池，然後開始拚命攀爬，往那道細水流下的峭壁上爬。

His hands and feet threshed in the tangle of the wild grapevine, and he whimpered and gibbered as he tried to get up.

他的手腳在糾纏的野葡萄藤裡亂抓亂踢，一邊想往上爬，一邊嗚咽、語無倫次地哀叫。

But Kino had become as cold and deadly as steel.

可是奇諾已經變得像鋼鐵一樣冰冷而致命。

Deliberately he threw the lever of the rifle, and then he raised the gun and aimed deliberately and fired.

他從容地拉動步槍的槓桿，然後舉槍，從容地瞄準，開火。

He saw his enemy tumble backwards into the pool, and Kino strode to the water.

他看見敵人往後跌進水池，奇諾大步走到水邊。

In the moonlight he could see the frantic frightened eyes, and Kino aimed and fired between the eyes.

在月光下，他看得見那雙驚慌恐懼的眼睛，奇諾瞄準，朝兩眼之間開了一槍。

And then Kino stood uncertainly.

然後奇諾不確定地站著。

Something was wrong, some signal was trying to get through to his brain.

有什麼不對勁，有某個訊號正試圖傳進他的腦子。

Tree frogs and cicadas were silent now.

樹蛙和蟬現在都安靜了。

And then Kino’s brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound—the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death.

接著奇諾的腦子從那片血紅的專注中清醒過來，他認出了那個聲音——從石山側面那個小洞裡傳來的哀號、呻吟、越來越歇斯底里的哭聲，死亡的哭聲。

Everyone in La Paz remembers the return of the family; there may be some old ones who saw it, but those whose fathers and whose grandfathers told it to them remember it nevertheless.

拉巴斯每個人都記得這家人回來的那一天；也許有些老人親眼看過，可是那些從父親、從祖父那裡聽來的人，也一樣記得。

It is an event that happened to everyone.

那是一件發生在每個人身上的事。

It was late in the golden afternoon when the first little boys ran hysterically in the town and spread the word that Kino and Juana were coming back.

那是金色的午後將盡時，第一批小男孩歇斯底里地跑進鎮上，散布消息說奇諾和胡安娜回來了。

And everyone hurried to see them.

每個人都趕去看他們。

The sun was settling towards the western mountains and the shadows on the ground were long.

太陽正往西邊的山落下，地上的影子拉得很長。

And perhaps that was what left the deep impression on those who saw them.

也許正是這一點，在看見他們的人心中留下了深刻的印象。

The two came from the rutted country road into the city, and they were not walking in single file, Kino ahead and Juana behind, as usual, but side by side.

兩人從滿是車轍的鄉間小路走進城裡，他們不是像平常那樣一前一後——奇諾在前、胡安娜在後——而是並肩走著。

The sun was behind them and their long shadows stalked ahead, and they seemed to carry two towers of darkness with them.

太陽在他們身後，長長的影子在前面大步走著，他們好像帶著兩座黑暗的塔。

Kino had a rifle across his arm and Juana carried her shawl like a sack over her shoulder.

奇諾的手臂上橫著一把步槍，胡安娜把披巾像袋子一樣扛在肩上。

And in it was a small limp heavy bundle.

裡面是一個小小的、軟垂的、沉重的包袱。

The shawl was crusted with dried blood, and the bundle swayed a little as she walked.

披巾上結著乾掉的血，她走路時，那個包袱輕輕搖晃。

Her face was hard and lined and leathery with fatigue and with the tightness with which she fought fatigue.

她的臉因為疲憊、也因為她對抗疲憊時的那股緊繃，變得堅硬、布滿皺紋、像皮革一樣。

And her wide eyes stared inwards on herself.

她睜大的眼睛望向自己的內心。

She was as remote and as removed as Heaven.

她像天堂一樣遙遠、一樣隔絕。

Kino’s lips were thin and his jaws tight, and the people say that he carried fear with him, that he was as dangerous as a rising storm.

奇諾的嘴唇抿成一條細線，下顎咬緊，人們說他身上帶著恐懼，他危險得像一場正在升起的暴風雨。

The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side; that there was almost a magical protection about them.

人們說，這兩個人似乎已經脫離了人間的經驗；他們穿過了痛苦，從另一邊走了出來；他們身上幾乎有一種魔法般的保護。

And those people who had rushed to see them crowded back and let them pass and did not speak to them.

那些趕來看他們的人都往後退，讓他們過去，沒有人跟他們說話。

Kino and Juana walked through the city as though it were not there.

奇諾和胡安娜穿過城鎮，彷彿它根本不存在。

Their eyes glanced neither right nor left nor up nor down, but stared only straight ahead.

他們的眼睛不往右看、不往左看、不往上看、不往下看，只直直地望著前方。

Their legs moved a little jerkily, like well-made wooden dolls, and they carried pillars of black fear about them.

他們的腿動得有點僵硬，像做工精良的木偶，他們身邊環繞著一根根黑色恐懼的柱子。

And as they walked through the stone and plaster city brokers peered at them from barred windows and servants put one eye to a slitted gate and mothers turned the faces of their youngest children inwards against their skirts.

他們穿過石頭灰泥之城時，掮客們從裝著鐵條的窗後窺看，僕人們把一隻眼睛湊到門縫上，母親們把最小的孩子的臉轉向自己的裙子。

Kino and Juana strode side by side through the stone and plaster city and down among the brush houses, and the neighbours stood back and let them pass.

奇諾和胡安娜並肩大步走過石頭灰泥之城，走下樹枝屋之間，鄰居們都退後讓他們通過。

Juan Tomás raised his hand in greeting and did not say the greeting and left his hand in the air for a moment uncertainly.

胡安．托馬斯舉起手打招呼，卻沒有說出問候的話，手不確定地在空中停了一會兒。

In Kino’s ears the Song of the Family was as fierce as a cry.

在奇諾耳中，家之歌兇猛得像一聲吶喊。

He was immune and terrible, and his song had become a battle cry.

他刀槍不入，令人畏懼，他的歌已經變成了戰鬥的吶喊。

They trudged past the burned square where their house had been without even looking at it.

他們步履沉重地走過他們的家曾經所在、如今被燒成一方焦土的地方，連看都沒看一眼。

They cleared the brush that edged the beach and picked their way down the shore towards the water.

他們穿過海灘邊的灌木叢，沿著岸邊小心地走向水邊。

And they did not look towards Kino’s broken canoe.

他們也沒有望向奇諾那艘破掉的獨木舟。

And when they came to the water’s edge they stopped and stared out over the Gulf.

他們走到水邊，停下來，望著海灣。

And then Kino laid the rifle down, and he dug among his clothes, and then he held the great pearl in his hand.

然後奇諾放下步槍，在衣服裡掏著，接著他把那顆大珍珠握在手中。

He looked into its surface and it was grey and ulcerous.

他看進它的表面，它灰暗，像潰瘍一樣。

Evil faces peered from it into his eyes, and he saw the light of burning.

一張張邪惡的臉從裡面窺視著他的眼睛，他看見了燃燒的火光。

And in the surface of the pearl he saw the frantic eyes of the man in the pool.

在珍珠的表面，他看見了水池裡那個人驚慌的眼睛。

And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away.

在珍珠的表面，他看見柯尤提托躺在那個小洞裡，頭頂被子彈打掉了。

And the pearl was ugly; it was grey, like a malignant growth.

珍珠是醜陋的；它是灰色的，像一個惡性腫瘤。

And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane.

奇諾聽見了珍珠的音樂，扭曲而瘋狂。

Kino’s hand shook a little, and he turned slowly to Juana and held the pearl out to her.

奇諾的手微微發抖，他慢慢轉向胡安娜，把珍珠遞給她。

She stood beside him, still holding her dead bundle over her shoulder.

她站在他身邊，肩上還扛著她那個死去的包袱。

She looked at the pearl in his hand for a moment and then she looked into Kino’s eyes and said softly: “No, you.”

她看了一會兒他手裡的珍珠，然後看進奇諾的眼睛，輕聲說：「不，你來。」

And Kino drew back his arm and flung the pearl with all his might.

奇諾把手臂往後一拉，用盡全身力氣把珍珠擲了出去。

Kino and Juana watched it go, winking and glimmering under the setting sun.

奇諾和胡安娜看著它飛走，在落日下眨著眼、閃著光。

They saw the little splash in the distance, and they stood side by side watching the place for a long time.

他們看見遠處濺起一小朵水花，兩人並肩站著，望著那個地方，望了很久。

And the pearl settled into the lovely green water and dropped towards the bottom.

珍珠沉進可愛的綠色海水，往海底落下。

The waving branches of the algæ called to it and beckoned to it.

搖曳的海藻枝條呼喚著它，向它招手。

The lights on its surface were green and lovely.

它表面的光是綠色的，很可愛。

It settled down to the sand bottom among the fern-like plants.

它在蕨類般的植物之間，落定在沙底。

Above, the surface of the water was a green mirror.

上方，水面是一面綠色的鏡子。

And the pearl lay on the floor of the sea.

珍珠躺在海底。

A crab scampering over the bottom raised a little cloud of sand, and when it settled the pearl was gone.

一隻螃蟹從海底匆匆爬過，揚起一小片沙雲，等沙子落定，珍珠就不見了。

And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared.

珍珠的音樂漸漸化為一聲耳語，然後消失了。