《底层的人们》开篇：英文原著带中文翻译

"How beautiful the revolution! Even in its most barbarous aspect it is beautiful," Solis said with deep feeling.

革命多美啊！哪怕是最野蛮的一面，也是美的。」索利斯满怀深情地说。

I

我

"That's no animal, I tell you! Listen to the dog barking! It must be a human being."

「那不是牲口，我跟你说！听那狗叫！一定是个人。」

The woman stared into the darkness of the sierra.

女人朝黑黢黢的山脉深处凝望。

"What if they're soldiers?" said a man, who sat Indian-fashion, eating, a coarse earthenware plate in his right hand, three folded tortillas in the other.

「要是他们是当兵的呢？」一个男人说。他像印第安人那样盘腿坐着吃东西，右手端着一只粗陶盘，另一只手里攥着三张叠好的玉米饼。

The woman made no answer, all her senses directed outside the hut. The beat of horses' hoofs rang in the quarry nearby. The dog barked again, louder and more angrily.

女人没有答话，全部心思都倾注在茅屋外面。近处石场里响起马蹄声。狗又叫了起来，叫得更响，更凶。

"Well, Demetrio, I think you had better hide, all the same."

「我说，德米特里奥，你还是躲一躲为好。」

Stolidly, the man finished eating; next he reached for a cantaro and gulped down the water in it; then he stood up.

男人不动声色地吃完，接着伸手够过一只陶罐，把里面的水一饮而尽，然后站起身来。

"Your rifle is under the mat," she whispered.

「你的枪在席子底下。」她低声说。

A tallow candle illumined the small room. In one corner stood a plow, a yoke, a goad, and other agricultural implements. Ropes hung from the roof, securing an old adobe mold, used as a bed; on it a child slept, covered with gray rags.

一支脂烛照亮了这间小屋。一个角落里立着犁、牛轭、赶牛棒和别的农具。屋顶垂下一根根绳子，吊着一张旧土坯模子，当作床用，上面睡着一个孩子，盖着灰扑扑的破布。

Demetrio buckled his cartridge belt about his waist and picked up his rifle. He was tall and well built, with a sanguine face and beardless chin; he wore shirt and trousers of white cloth, a broad Mexican hat and leather sandals.

德米特里奥把子弹带系在腰间，拿起步枪。他身材高大，体格结实，面色红润，下巴上没有胡须，穿着白布衬衫和裤子，戴一顶宽檐墨西哥帽，脚上是皮凉鞋。

With slow, measured step, he left the room, vanishing into the impenetrable darkness of the night.

他迈着缓慢而沉稳的步子走出屋子，消失在夜色那无法穿透的黑暗里。

The dog, excited to the point of madness, had jumped over the corral fence.

那条狗兴奋得近乎发狂，跳过畜栏的围墙。

Suddenly a shot rang out. The dog moaned, then barked no more. Some men on horseback rode up, shouting and sweating; two of them dismounted, while the other hung back to watch the horses.

忽然响起一声枪响。狗哀鸣一声，便不再叫了。几个骑马的人吆喝着奔来，满头大汗，其中两个下了马，另一个留在后面看马。

"Hey, there, woman: we want food! Give us eggs, milk, beans, anything you've got! We're starving!"

「喂，那边的女人：我们要吃的！给我们鸡蛋、牛奶、豆子，有什么拿什么！我们快饿死了！」

"Curse the sierra! It would take the Devil himself not to lose his way!"

「这该死的山！要不是魔鬼，谁能不迷路！」

"Guess again, Sergeant! Even the Devil would go astray if he were as drunk as you are."

「再猜猜，中士！就是魔鬼，醉成你这样也得迷路。」

The first speaker wore chevrons on his arm, the other red stripes on his shoulders.

先开口的那个人胳膊上戴着V形臂章，另一个肩上佩着红色肩章。

"Whose place is this, old woman? Or is it an empty house? God's truth, which is it?"

「这是谁家的地方，老婆子？还是座空屋子？老天作证，到底是哪样？」

"Of course it's not empty. How about the light and that child there? Look here, confound it, we want to eat, and damn quick tool Are you coming out or are we going to make you?"

「当然不是空的。那灯，还有那孩子，怎么说？喂，见鬼，我们要吃饭，他妈的快点！你是自己出来，还是要我们把你揪出来？」

"You swine! Both of you! You've gone and killed my dog, that's what you've done! What harm did he ever do you? What did you have against him?"

「你们这些畜生！你们两个都是！你们把我的狗打死了，就是这么回事！它碍着你们什么了？你们跟它有什么仇？」

The woman reentered the house, dragging the dog behind her, very white and fat, with lifeless eyes and flabby body.

女人拖着狗重新进了屋。那狗又白又肥，眼睛已经没了神，身子软塌塌的。

"Look at those cheeks, Sergeant! Don't get riled, light of my life: I swear I'll turn your home into a dovecot, see?"

「瞧那脸蛋，中士！别生气，我的心肝：我发誓要把你家变成个鸽棚，瞧着吧？」

"By God!" he said, breaking off into song:

「我的天！」他说着，忽然唱了起来：

"Don't look so haughty, dear, Banish all fears, Kiss me and melt to me, I'll drink up your tears!"

「别那么高傲，亲爱的，把恐惧都抛开，吻我，融化在我怀里，我要饮尽你的泪！」

His alcoholic tenor trailed off into the night.

他那带着酒气的男高音飘散在夜色中。

"Tell me what they call this ranch, woman?" the sergeant asked.

「告诉我，这庄子叫什么名字，女人？」中士问。

"Limon," the woman replied curtly, carrying wood to the fire and fanning the coals.

「利蒙。」女人简短地回答，一边往火里添柴，一边扇着炭火。

"So we're in Limon, eh, the famous Demetrio Macias' country, eh? Do you hear that, Lieutenant? We're in Limon."

「这么说我们到了利蒙，嗯，就是那个大名鼎鼎的德米特里奥·马西亚斯的地盘，嗯？你听见了吗，中尉？我们到了利蒙。」

"Limon? What the hell do I care? If I'm bound for hell, Sergeant, I might as well go there now. I don't mind, now that I've found as good a remount as this! Look at the cheeks on the darling, look at them! There's a pair of ripe red apples for a fellow to bite into!"

「利蒙？我管它呢？要是我注定下地狱，中士，那还不如现在就去。我不在乎，既然我找到了这么好的一匹换乘的马！瞧这宝贝的脸蛋，瞧啊！一对熟透的红苹果，就等人去咬一口！」

"I'll wager you know Macias the bandit, lady? I was in the pen with him at Escobedo, once."

「我敢打赌你认识那个土匪马西亚斯，太太？我当年在埃斯科贝多跟他一起蹲过班房。」