One night at eleven o’clock，a seaman camedown into the forecastle to get his jacket. He whispered：“S hua n ha s finis he d him a t la s t. ”We allknew the meaning of this.
Soon after，the scuttle opened again and CaptainHoseason came down the ladder. He lookedsharply round the berths and then came up to me.
His voice was kind.
“We wa nt you in the round - hous e ，”he said.
“You will s e rve the re . You will cha nge pla ce s withRa nsome .”
Two seamen appeared in the scuttle. Theywere carrying Ransome in their arms. The light fellon the cabin - boy’s face. It was white and had aterrible smile. I was afraid，and I drew in my breathsharply.
“Run awa y to your pos t！”the captain cried.
I ran quickly up the ladder to the deck.
有天夜里十一点钟的时候，一个水手下到水手舱取他的上衣。他悄声说：“夏终于把他收拾了。”我们都明白他的意思。
过了一小会儿，舷窗又打开了，霍西森船长从梯子上走下来。他凶狠狠地环视了一下舱里的床铺，然后走到我跟前，亲切地说：
“我们想让你去后甲极室当侍童。你跟兰塞姆换换工作。”
两名水手抬着兰塞姆从舷窗口下来了。靠着窗口的光亮，我看到兰塞姆脸色苍白，浮现着一丝惨笑。
我感到很害怕，不禁倒吸了一口冷气。
“快点去干活！”船长大声喊。
我急急忙忙登上梯子，跑到甲板上。
The sea was rough，and the brig was rolling.
On the left hand，through a sail ，I could see thesunset. This surprised me，because it was late atnight . I did not know that we were sailing northround Scotland. We were on the high sea betweenthe Orkney and the Shetland Islands. The wind wasagainst us and I had been long in the dark. Ithought we were near America.
I soon forgot about the sunset. The deck waswet and I slipped. I held on to ropes and slowlycrossed to the round - house.
The round - house stood six feet above thedeck. There the captain and the two officers livedand slept. It was full of cupboards for the officers’
things and the ship ’s stores. On one wall therehung all the ship’s guns and a few cutlasses. Therewere more cutlasses in another part of the brig.
A small window，and a skylight in the roof，gave light by day. After dark there was always alamp.
I went in. Mr Shuan was sitting at the table，with a brandy bottle and a tin cup. He was a tall，strong man and very dark. He took no notice of me.
The captain followed me in and stood beneath
海上风浪很大，双桅船颠簸得很厉害。透过左边的一片风帆，我看到了晚霞。这使我吃惊，因为当时已是深夜。我并不知道我们在绕着苏格兰，在奥克尼群岛和设特兰群岛之间的深海洋面上向北行驶。
当时是逆风，我又一直待在黑暗中，还以为我们快到美洲了。
我很快就不注意晚霞不晚霞了。甲板上水淋淋的，我走不稳，只好抓住绳索，小心翼翼地走问后甲板室。
后甲板室比甲板高出六英尺，是船长、大副和二副的住处。室内到处是橱柜，里面放着船长和大副、二副的东西和船上的给养。一面墙上挂着船上的所有枪支和几把弯刀。另外还有许多弯刀放在船上另外一个地方。
后甲板室有一个小窗户和一个天窗，白天全靠它们采光。天黑后总得点一盏灯。
我走了进去。夏先生坐在桌子旁边，面前摆着一瓶白兰地和一个锡制酒杯。他身材高大健壮，皮肤黝黑。他没有理我。
船长跟着我走了进去，站在舷
the skylight. Mr Shuan did not move. Hoseasonwatched him with a serious face.
窗底下。夏先生一动也没有动。霍西森望着他，脸色很严峻。
In a short time Mr Riach came in and helooked strangely at the captain. The look meant“The bo y is de a d . ”Then he，too，fixed his eyes onMr Shuan.
Suddenly Mr Shuan put out his hand to takethe bottle. Mr Riach moved forward and pulled it away.
A door was open，and he threw the bottle intothe sea.
Mr Shuan jumped up. He was ready for anothermurder，but the captain stepped quickly betweenthe two men.
Sit down！”he shouted to Mr Shuan.“Wha tha ve you do ne ？Do you know you ’ve murde re d theboy？”
Mr Shuan sat down and put his hand to hishead.
“We ll，”he said，“he brought me a dirty cu p. ”Atthese words we were all astonished and afraid. Washe mad？The captain walked up to the chief officerand led him to his berth. He made him lie down.
Mr Shuan took off his sea boots quietly and obeyed.
“Ah ，”Mr Riach said to the captain，“why didn ’
t you inte rfe re be fore ？It’s too la te now.”
不一会儿，里亚契先生也走了进来，用一种奇异的眼光打量着船长，意思是说：“那个孩子死了。”然后，他也盯着夏先生。
夏先生突然伸出一只手去拿酒瓶。里亚契先生走上前去，夺走了酒瓶，从一个敞开的门里，把它扔进海中。
夏先生一跃而起，眼看又要再一次杀人，可是船长很快走过去把他们隔开了。他冲着夏先生喊道：
“坐下！你干的好事！你把那个孩子弄死了，知道吗？”
夏先生坐了下来，用一只手按住头，说：“他给我拿来一个脏酒杯。”
我们听到他的话，都惊呆了，也害怕极了。他发疯了吗？船长走到这位大副跟前，把他拉到他的铺位上摁躺下。夏先生乖乖地脱下他的水手靴子，躺了下来。
里亚契先生对船长说：“唉，你为什么不早点干涉呢？”现在已经太晚了。”
“Mr Ria ch ，”the captain said，“no one mus tknow of this nig ht’s work. We will s a y the boy fe ll intothe s e a .”
He sent me to get another bottle of brandy.
Then the two men sat down and drank.
That was the first night of my new duties. Iwas soon used to the work. I had to serve the mealsat regular hours. The food was simple - usually porridgeor salt meat . I was still so weak that I sometimesdropped plates. The captain and Mr Riachdid not complain or punish me. I think they couldnot forget Ransome.
船长说：“里亚契先生，今天晚上的事谁也不能让知道，咱们就说孩子自己掉进海里了。”
他让我再拿一瓶白兰地。他和二副坐下喝了起来。
这就是我当上侍童头一天夜里的情况。我很快就习惯了我的工作。我必须按时伺候他们吃饭。饭菜很简单--通常是稀饭或咸肉。
我身体仍然很虚弱，有时会把盘子掉在地板上。船长和里亚契先生倒没有说什么，也没有惩罚我。我想这是因为他们忘不了兰塞姆的事。
Mr Shuan was never used to me. His mind wasnever clear，and he soon forgot Ransome’s murder.
One day he was alone with me in the roundhouse.
He looked at me for so long that I was afraid.
“You we re not he re be fore ？”he asked.
“No，s ir ，”I said.
“The re wa s a nothe r ca bin - boy？”he asked again.
I said，“Ye s .”
“I thought s o，”he answered. He sat down andcalled for brandy.
My life was not very hard，and I had goodfood. All day I was running with drinks for the
夏先生一直没有跟我搞熟。他总是神志不清，很快就把兰塞姆的死忘得一干二净。
有一天，只有我们两个在后甲板室时，他死死盯着看我。我心里直发毛。
“你以前不在这儿？”他问道。
“是的，先生。”我回答说。
“过去还有一个侍童吧？”他又问了一句。“是的。”我回答道。
“我想也是这样。”他说完坐了下来，叫我去拿白兰地。
当侍童的生活对我来说并不太艰苦，而且吃得也蛮好。从早到晚
officers. At night I slept on the floor. It was a cold，hard bed.
But I could not forget Ransome，and I had myown troubles，too. I was doing a servant ’s work forthese three men. One had murdered a boy，and Idid not respect the others. And I was going to thelife of a slave.
Mr Riach never let me say anything more aboutmy story. Once I spoke of it to the captain. Hedrove me away. The days passed，and my hopesdied.
我老是一个劲儿给船长、大副等人送饮料，晚上睡在又冷又硬的地板上。
可是，我忘不了兰塞姆，同时也有自己的苦恼。我干的是伺候这三个人的活，其中一个是杀死一个孩子的凶手，其他两个也不值得我尊敬。而我却要去当他们的奴隶。
里亚契先生再也没有让我讲自己的遭遇。有一次我对船长讲，他却不听，把我赶走了。日子一天一天过去了，我的希望也破灭了。
