正文
Too Much Gold 太多金子
This being a story—and a truer one than it may appear—of a mining country, it is quite to be expected that it will be a hard-luck story. But that depends on the point of view. Hard luck is a mild way of terming it so far as Kink Mitchell and Hootchinoo Bill are concerned; and that they have a decided opinion on the subject is a matter of common knowledge in the Yukon country.
这是一个故事——一个比实际看起来的故事更真实的故事——一个关于采矿乡村的故事，自然也会是个不幸的故事。但那取决于看问题的角度。就金克·米切尔和胡特钦诺·比尔而言，不幸只是一种温和的说法；在育空地区，人人都知道他们俩对这个话题有清楚无误的认识。
It was in the fall of 1896 that the two partners came down to the east bank of the Yukon, and drew a Peterborough canoe from a moss-covered cache. They were not particularly pleasant-looking objects. A summer's prospecting, filled to repletion with hardship and rather empty of grub, had left their clothes in tatters and themselves worn and cadaverous. A nimbus of mosquitoes buzzed about each man's head. Their faces were coated with blue clay. Each carried a lump of this damp clay, and, whenever it dried and fell from their faces, more was daubed on in its place. There was a querulous plaint in their voices, an irritability of movement and gesture, that told of broken sleep and a losing struggle with the little winged pests.
就在1896年的秋天，这两个搭档向下走来到了育空河的东岸，从苔藓覆盖着的隐蔽处拉出一条彼得伯勒独木舟。他们长得不是特别好看。夏日的勘探饱含艰辛，还耗尽了食物，把他们折磨得衣衫褴褛、疲惫枯槁。蚊子在两个人的头顶上嗡嗡地盘旋。他们满脸都是蓝粘土。每个人都带着这么一块湿粘土，每次土干了从他们脸上落下来的时候，他们就再往那个位置贴上更多的湿粘土。他们嘴上抱怨悲叹，行为姿态带着怒气，这表明他们总是睡睡醒醒，没能斗过这带翅膀的小虫。
"Them skeeters'll be the death of me yet," Kink Mitchell whimpered, as the canoe felt the current on her nose, and leaped out from the bank.
“这些蚊子都要把我咬死了。”金克·米切尔呜咽地说，此时独木舟的船头已经入水，从河岸猛冲进水里。
"Cheer up, cheer up. We're about done," Hootchinoo Bill answered, with an attempted heartiness in his funereal tones that was ghastly. "We'll be in Forty Mile in forty minutes, and then—cursed little devil!”
“高兴点，高兴点。我们快要做完了。”胡特钦诺·比尔试探地回答说，可他的声调就像是在葬礼上那么令人恐怖，“还有四十分钟我们就到四十英里了，然后——该死的小家伙！”
One hand left his paddle and landed on the back of his neck with a sharp slap. He put a fresh daub of clay on the injured part, swearing sulphurously the while. Kink Mitchell was not in the least amused. He merely improved the opportunity by putting a thicker coating of clay on his own neck.
他一只手放开船桨，往脖子后面拍了响亮的一个巴掌。他往受伤的地方敷上了一层新粘土，一边还刻毒地咒骂着。可金克·米切尔一点也不觉得好笑。他只是趁着这个机会往自己的脖子上敷了一层更厚的粘土。
They crossed the Yukon to its west bank, shot down-stream with easy stroke, and at the end of forty minutes swung in close to the left around the tail of an island. Forty Mile spread itself suddenly before them. Both men straightened their backs and gazed at the sight. They gazed long and carefully, drifting with the current, in their faces an expression of mingled surprise and consternation slowly gathering. Not a thread of smoke was rising from the hundreds of log-cabins. There was no sound of axes biting sharply into wood, of hammering and sawing. Neither dogs nor men loitered before the big store. No steamboats lay at the bank, no canoes, nor scows, nor poling-boats. The river was as bare of craft as the town was of life.
他们横穿到育空河的西岸，顺流而下，划桨很轻松，将近四十分钟时，独木舟摇摆着来到了一座岛屿尾部的左边。四十英里顿时出现在他们面前。两个人都挺直了背，凝视着眼前的景象。他们仔细地盯了很久，船顺流而下，他们的脸上渐渐流露出又惊喜又惊恐的表情。几百个小木屋，却没有一缕炊烟从上面升起。那里没有斧头猛地砍在木头上的声音，也没有捶打木头和锯木头的声音。大仓库前没有狗溜达，也没有人闲逛。河岸前没有停靠的汽船，没有独木舟，没有平底船，也没有撑船。河面上没有一条船，跟没有人的小镇一样空荡荡的。
"Kind of looks like Gabriel's tooted his little horn, and you an' me has turned up missing," remarked Hootchinoo Bill.
“听着有点像加布里埃尔吹他的小号，咱们似乎是迷路了。”胡特钦诺·比尔说。
His remark was casual, as though there was nothing unusual about the occurrence. Kink Mitchell's reply was just as casual as though he, too, were unaware of any strange perturbation of spirit.
他的话说得很随意，仿佛这件事没有什么不寻常的。金克·米切尔的回答也和他一样随意，仿佛他也没有察觉到任何不安的情绪。
"Looks as they was all Baptists, then, and took the boats to go by water," was his contribution.
“他们看起来都是浸礼会教徒，然后乘着船从水路走了。”这就是他的贡献。
"My ol' dad was a Baptist," Hootchinoo Bill supplemented. "An' he always did hold it was forty thousand miles nearer that way.”
“我老爸就是浸礼会的教徒，”胡特钦诺·比尔补充道，“他总是认为走水路可以少走四万英里。”
This was the end of their levity. They ran the canoe in and climbed the high earth bank. A feeling of awe descended upon them as they walked the deserted streets. The sunlight streamed placidly over the town. A gentle wind tapped the halyards against the flagpole before the closed doors of the Caledonia Dance Hall. Mosquitoes buzzed, robins sang, and moose birds tripped hungrily among the cabins; but there was no human life nor sign of human life.
他们的东拉西扯就到此为止。他们把独木舟划进来，然后爬上高高的土堤。当他们走在废弃的街道上时，一种恐怖的感觉突然笼罩着他们。阳光宁静地洒在这个小镇上。一阵轻风拂过，卡利多尼亚舞厅紧闭的门前，升降索轻轻拍打着旗杆。蚊子嗡嗡地叫着，知更鸟唱着歌，饥饿的灰噪鸦在小木屋间跳来跳去；但那里却没有人，也看不出有人的迹象。
"I'm just dyin' for a drink," Hootchinoo Bill said and unconsciously his voice sank to a hoarse whisper.
“我就要渴死了。”胡特钦诺·比尔说着，没有意识到自己的声音已经变成了嘶哑的耳语。
His partner nodded his head, loth to hear his own voice break the stillness. They trudged on in uneasy silence till surprised by an open door. Above this door, and stretching the width of the building, a rude sign announced the same as the "Monte Carlo."But beside the door, hat over eyes, chair tilted back, a man sat sunning himself. He was an old man. Beard and hair were long and white and patriarchal.
他的搭档点了点头，不想让自己的声音打破这寂静。他们在这不安的寂静中吃力地走着，直到他们惊喜地发现一扇敞开的门。在门的上方，有一个展开的、和那座楼一样宽的简陋的标记，上面写着“蒙特卡洛”。但是在门边，一个男人用帽子遮住眼睛，斜靠在椅子上晒太阳。那是位上了年纪的人。他的胡子和头发又长又白，很有威严。
"If it ain't ol' Jim Cummings, turned up like us, too late for Resurrection!" said Kink Mitchell.
“若他不是老吉姆·卡明斯，我们这样突然出现，他都赶不上复活！”金克·米切尔说。
"Most like he didn't hear Gabriel tootin’," was Hootchinoo Bill's suggestion.
“他很可能没听见加布里埃尔的号声。”胡特钦诺·比尔暗示说。
"Hello, Jim! Wake up!" he shouted.
“你好，吉姆！醒醒！”他大声说。
The old man unlimbered lamely, blinking his eyes and murmuring automatically: "What'll ye have, gents? What'll ye have?”
这位老人一瘸一拐地准备起身，眨眨眼睛，不经思索地嘟囔着说：“你们要什么，先生们？你们要什么？”
They followed him inside and ranged up against the long bar where of yore a half-dozen nimble bar-keepers found little time to loaf. The great room, ordinarily aroar with life, was still and gloomy as a tomb. There was no rattling of chips, no whirring of ivory balls. Roulette and faro tables were like gravestones under their canvas covers. No women's voices drifted merrily from the dance-room behind. Ol' Jim Cummings wiped a glass with palsied hands, and Kink Mitchell scrawled his initials on the dust-covered bar.
他们跟着他进屋，两个人一前一后沿着长长的吧台走。这里以前有六个精明的酒吧服务生，他们忙得没有时间闲逛。昔日通常人声鼎沸的大屋子现在就像坟墓一样寂静阴郁。那里没有筹码咔嗒咔嗒的响声，也没有象牙球呼呼飞转的声音。轮盘赌和法罗桌像是帆布罩里的墓碑。后边的舞房也没有飘来女人欢乐的笑声。老吉姆·卡明斯用颤抖的手擦拭一个玻璃杯，金克·米切尔在布满尘土的吧台上胡乱涂出自己名字的首字母。
"Where's the girls?" Hootchinoo Bill shouted, with affected geniality.
“姑娘们哪儿去了？”胡特钦诺·比尔假装亲切地大声问。
"Gone," was the ancient bar-keeper's reply, in a voice thin and aged as himself, and as unsteady as his hand.
“走了。”这个老酒吧招待回答说，他的声音像他的身材一样单薄、像他的年龄一样苍老、像他的手一样颤抖。
"Where's Bidwell and Barlow?”
“比德韦尔和巴洛哪儿去了？”
"Gone."
“走了。”
"And Sweetwater Charley?"
“那斯威特沃特·查利呢？”
"Gone."
“走了。”
"And his sister?"
“他妹妹呢？”
"Gone too."
“也走了。”
"Your daughter Sally, then, and her little kid?"
“你女儿萨莉，还有她的孩子呢？”
"Gone, all gone."The old man shook his head sadly, rummaging in an absent way among the dusty bottles.
“走了，都走了。”老人悲伤地摇了摇头，心不在焉地在布满灰尘的瓶子中乱翻。
"Great Sardanapolis! Where?"Kink Mitchell exploded, unable longer to restrain himself. "You don't say you've had the plague?”
“伟大的萨达纳波利斯！在哪儿？”金克·米切尔再也控制不住自己，愤怒地说，“你不是要说你们遭遇了瘟疫吧？”
"Why, ain't you heerd?”The old man chuckled quietly. "They-all's gone to Dawson.”
“嗨，你们没听说？”老人轻笑起来，“他们都去道森了。”
"What-like is that?”Bill demanded. "A creek? or a bar? or a place?"
“道森是什么？”比尔问道，“一条河？一个酒吧？还是一个地方？”
"Ain't never heered of Dawson, eh?”The old man chuckled exasperatingly. "Why, Dawson's a town, a city, bigger'n Forty Mile. Yes, sir, bigger'n Forty Mile.”
“你们从来都没听说过道森，嗯？”老人令人恼怒地轻声笑起来，“哎呀，道森是一个镇，一个城市，比四十英里要大。是的，先生，比四十英里大。”
"I've ben in this land seven year," Bill announced emphatically, "an' I make free to say I never heard tell of the burg before. Hold on! Let's have some more of that whisky. Your information's flabbergasted me, that it has. Now just whereabouts is this Dawson-place you was a-mentionin'?”
“我在这片土地呆了七年了，”比尔断然说道，“请允许我说句话，以前我从来没听说过这个镇子。等等！我们再来点那种威士忌吧。你说的消息真是让我大吃一惊。你说的这个叫道森的地方到底在哪儿？”
"On the big flat jest below the mouth of Klondike," ol' Jim answered. "But where has you-all ben this summer?”
“就在克朗代克河河口下面那一大片平地上。”老吉姆回答说，“你们这个夏天都去哪儿了？”
"Never you mind where we-all's ben," was Kink Mitchell's testy reply. "We-all's ben where the skeeters is that thick you've got to throw a stick into the air so as to see the sun and tell the time of day. Ain't I right, Bill?”
“我们去哪儿不关你的事，”金克·米切尔不耐烦地答道，“我们去的地方蚊子多得不得了，你得往天上扔根棍子才能看见太阳，辨别时间。我说得对吗，比尔？”
"Right you are," said Bill. "But speakin' of this Dawson-place how like did it happen to be, Jim?”
“你说得没错，”比尔说，“但是你说到的这个叫道森的地方，是怎么回事，吉姆？”
"Ounce to the pan on a creek called Bonanza, an' they ain't got to bed-rock yet.”
“他们曾经在一条叫博南扎的小河淘金，那时他们还没有去过床岩。”
"Who struck it?"
“谁发现的？”
"Carmack."
“卡马克。”
At mention of the discoverer's name the partners stared at each other disgustedly. Then they winked with great solemnity.
一提到这个发现者的名字，这对搭档互相厌恶地盯着对方。然后他们非常严肃地眨了眨眼睛。
"Siwash George," sniffed Hootchinoo Bill.
“锡沃斯·乔治。”胡特钦诺·比尔嗤笑道。
"That squaw-man," sneered Kink Mitchell.
“那个娶了个印第安人当老婆的人。”金克·米切尔冷笑说。
"I wouldn't put on my moccasins to stampede after anything he'd ever find," said Bill.
“我不愿意穿着我的鹿皮鞋往他发现的地方跑，无论他发现的是什么。”比尔说。
"Same here," announced his partner. "A cuss that's too plumb lazy to fish his own salmon. That's why he took up with the Indians. S'pose that black brother-in-law of his,—lemme see, Skookum Jim, eh?—s'pose he's in on it?”
“我也是，”他的搭档大声说，“那个家伙懒到都不自己钓大马哈鱼。那就是他开始跟印第安人交好的原因。我猜他那个黑黝黝的小舅子——让我想想，斯古康姆·吉姆，是吧？他应该也参加了吧？”
The old bar-keeper nodded. "Sure, an' what's more, all Forty Mile, exceptin' me an' a few cripples.”
年迈的酒吧招待点点头。“当然，而且，所有四十英里的人都参加了，除了我和一些瘸子之外。”
"And drunks," added Kink Mitchell.
“还有酒鬼。”金克·米切尔补充说。
"No-sir-ee!" the old man shouted emphatically.
“没有先生啊！”老人大声强调。
"I bet you the drinks Honkins ain't in on it!”Hootchinoo Bill cried with certitude.
“我打赌酒坛子霍金斯没有参与！”胡特钦诺·比尔用肯定的语气附和道。
Ol' Jim's face lighted up. "I takes you, Bill, an' you loses.”
老吉姆一脸欢喜，“我想带上你，比尔，但你没赶上。”
"However did that ol' soak budge out of Forty Mile?”Mitchell demanded.
“不管怎么样，那个老酒坛子离开四十英里了？”米切尔查问道。
"The ties him down an' throws him in the bottom of a polin’-boat," ol' Jim explained. "Come right in here, they did, an' takes him out of that there chair there in the corner, an' three more drunks they finds under the pianny. I tell you-alls the whole camp hits up the Yukon for Dawson jes' like Sam Scratch was after them,—wimmen, children, babes in arms, the whole shebang. Bidwell comes to me an' sez, sez he, 'Jim, I wants you to keep tab on the Monte Carlo. I'm goin’.’
“他们把他捆起来丢到一条撑船的尾部，”老吉姆解释说，“他们正好在这儿，然后把他从那边角落的椅子那儿抓了起来，然后又在钢琴底下找到三个醉汉。我告诉你们，整个营地——女人、孩子、襁褓中的婴儿，所有的人——都请求离开育空地区到道森去，就像魔鬼斯克拉奇跟着他们一样。比德韦尔来找我，跟我说,‘吉姆，我想让你帮我看着蒙特卡洛。我要走了。’
“'Where's Barlow?' sez I. 'Gone,' sez he, 'an' I'm a-followin' with a load of whisky.’An' with that, never waitin' for me to decline, he makes a run for his boat an' away he goes, polin' up river like mad. So here I be, an' these is the first drinks I've passed out in three days.”
“‘巴洛在哪？’我问，‘走了，’他说，‘而且我要带许多威士忌走。’接着，他不等我拒绝，就跑着乘船离开了，疯了似的在河上撑着船。所以我现在在这儿，而且这是我这三天以来第一次跟别人分酒喝。”
The partners looked at each other.
这对搭档看了对方一眼。
"Gosh darn my buttoms!" said Hootchinoo Bill. "Seems likes you and me, Kink, is the kind of folks always caught out with forks when it rains soup."
“该死的滩地！”胡特钦诺·比尔说，“金克，看起来你和我是那种天上下汤羹雨却恰巧拿着叉子的人。”
"Wouldn't it take the saleratus out your dough, now?" said Kink Mitchell. "A stampede of tin-horns, drunks, an' loafers.”
“那不是能把你生面团里的小苏打清除掉吗？”金克·米切尔说，“一帮假阔佬、酒鬼和懒汉。”
"An' squaw-men," added Bill. "Not a genooine miner in the whole caboodle."
“还有那个娶了个印第安人当老婆的人，”比尔补充说，“这群人里没有一个是真正的矿工。”
"Genooine miners like you an' me, Kink," he went on academically, "is all out an' sweatin' hard over Birch Creek way. Not a genooine miner in this whole crazy Dawson outfit, and I say right here, not a step do I budge for any Carmack strike. I've got to see the colour of the dust first.”
“像你我这样的名副其实的矿工，金克，”他又卖弄学问地说，“在桦树溪总是全力以赴，一直辛勤工作。整个这一组去道森的人中没有一个是真正的矿工，而且我把话放这儿，我不会往卡马克发现的矿藏挪一步，不论是哪一个矿藏。我得先看看灰尘的颜色。”
"Same here," Mitchell agreed. "Let's have another drink.”
“我也一样。”米切尔赞同地说，“我们再喝一杯吧。”
Having wet this resolution, they beached the canoe, transferred its contents to their cabin, and cooked dinner. But as the afternoon wore along they grew restive. They were men used to the silence of the great wilderness, but this gravelike silence of a town worried them. They caught themselves listening for familiar sounds—"waitin' for something to make a noise which ain't goin' to make a noise," as Bill put it. They strolled through the deserted streets to the Monte Carlo for more drinks, and wandered along the river bank to the steamer landing, where only water gurgled as the eddy filled and emptied, and an occasional salmon leapt flashing into the sun.
下定决心之后，他们把独木舟拖上岸，把船上的东西搬到他们的小木屋里，然后做晚餐。但是在下午渐渐过去的时候，他们开始变得焦躁不安。他们习惯了荒郊野岭的寂静，但小镇坟墓一样的死寂让他们变得焦虑起来。他们发现他们自己正等着听熟悉的声音——正如比尔所说的“等着不会制造噪音的东西能制造出点噪音来”。他们溜达着穿过废弃的街道，到蒙特卡洛再喝点酒。他们闲沿着河岸走到了汽船码头，在那里只有漩涡满了又空了时水发出的汩汩声，间或有大马哈鱼跳起，在太阳下一掠而过。
They sat down in the shade in front of the store and talked with the consumptive storekeeper, whose liability to hemorrhage accounted for his presence. Bill and Kink told him how they intended loafing in their cabin and resting up after the hard summer's work. They told him, with a certain insistence, that was half appeal for belief, half challenge for contradiction, how much they were going to enjoy their idleness. But the storekeeper was uninterested. He switched the conversation back to the strike on Klondike, and they could not keep him away from it. He could think of nothing else, talk of nothing else, till Hootchinoo Bill rose up in anger and disgust.
他们在商店前面的阴凉处坐了下来，跟这个身体虚弱的看店人说话，这个看店人容易出血，所以才这般模样。比尔和金克告诉他，结束这个夏天艰苦的工作之后，他们是多么想在自己的小木屋里闲逛、休息一下。他们用坚定的语气告诉他，一半是因为呼吁信仰，一半是因为挑战矛盾，他们打算要尽情地享受清闲。但这个看店人并不感兴趣。他又把谈话绕回了克朗代克河上的发现，而且他们怎么也不能让他避开这个话题。他想不起其他什么事来，也谈不出其他什么事来，直到胡特钦诺·比尔生气厌恶地站起身。
"Gosh darn Dawson, say I!" he cried.
“我说，这该死的道森！”他大叫。
"Same here," said Kink Mitchell, with a brightening face. "One'd think something was doin' up there, 'stead of bein' a mere stampede of greenhorns an' tinhorns.”
“我也这么想，”金克·米切尔一脸开心地说，“人们会认为这里是在翻修，而不会想到是一群容易上当的傻瓜和假阔佬蜂拥地离开。”
But a boat came into view from downstream. It was long and slim. It hugged the bank closely, and its three occupants, standing upright, propelled it against the stiff current by means of long poles.
但他们却看见一艘从下游过来的小船。这艘船又细又长。船跟河岸靠得很近，三个船主站得笔直，撑着长杆艰难地推动着船逆流而上。
"Circle City outfit," said the storekeeper. "I was lookin' for 'em along by afternoon. Forty Mile had the start of them by a hundred and seventy miles. But gee! they ain't losin' any time!”
“环城全班人马，”这个看店人说，“我下午一直在找他们。他们是从离四十英里一百七十英里的地方启程的。但是看啊！他们一点时间都没耽误！”
'We'll just sit here quiet-like and watch 'em string by," Bill said complacently.
“我们就坐在这安安静静地看着他们排成一列经过。”比尔沾沾自喜地说。
As he spoke, another boat appeared in sight, followed after a brief interval by two others. By this time the first boat was abreast of the men on the bank. Its occupants did not cease poling while greetings were exchanged, and, though its progress was slow, a half-hour saw it out of sight up river.
他正说着，另一艘船出现在视线里，没过多久，后面又跟过来两艘船。此时，第一艘船就处在和岸上这些人并列的位置。船主和他们互相打招呼的时候，手中的撑杆也没有停下。尽管船前进得并不快，但是半个小时之后，上游的河面上就看不到它了。
Still they came from below, boat after boat, in endless procession. The uneasiness of Bill and Kink increased. They stole speculative, tentative glances at each other, and when their eyes met looked away in embarrassment. Finally, however, their eyes met and neither looked away.
一条船接着一条船仍旧从下面开过来，队列没有尽头。比尔和金克越来越感到不安。他们狐疑地试探性地扫视了对方几眼，目光相聚的时候，他们就尴尬地往别处看。然而最后，他们目光交汇的时候，谁也没往别的地方看。
Kink opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him and his mouth remained open while he continued to gaze at his partner.
金克张开嘴想说话，但他说不出来，他盯着他的搭档看的时候，嘴还是张着的。
"Just what I was thinken', Kink," said Bill.
“正是我所想的，金克。”比尔说。
They grinned sheepishly at each other, and by tacit consent started to walk away. Their pace quickened, and by the time they arrived at their cabin they were on the run.
他们难为情地朝着对方咧嘴笑了笑，心照不宣地走开了。他们加快了脚步，在到达小木屋的时候都跑起来了。
"Can't lose no time with all that multitude a-rushin' by," Kink spluttered, as he jabbed the sour-dough can into the beanpot with one hand and with the other gathered in the frying-pan and coffee-pot.
“那么多船路过这儿，我们得抓紧时间。”金克急促地说，他一手戳开馊了的生面团罐头，把它倒进豆罐里，一手把煎锅和咖啡壶收集到一起。
"Should say not," gasped Bill, his head and shoulders buried in a clothes-sack wherein were stored winter socks and underwear. "I say, Kink, don't forget the saleratus on the corner shelf back of the stove.”
“是要抓紧时间。”比尔喘着粗气说，他正把头埋在一个装着冬天穿的袜子和内衣的衣服袋里，“我说，金克，别忘了火炉后面角落架上的小苏打。”
Half-an-hour later they were launching the canoe and loading up, while the storekeeper made jocular remarks about poor, weak mortals and the contagiousness of "stampedin' fever.”But when Bill and Kink thrust their long poles to bottom and started the canoe against the current, he called after them:—
半个小时之后，他们开始把独木舟放下水，把东西装进船里，那时看店人正说着关于贫穷、弱势的人类和蜂拥狂热症传染性的玩笑话。但是当比尔和金克把他们的长杆戳进河底，开始逆流行舟的时候，他在后边叫他们：
"Well, so-long and good luck! And don't forget to blaze a stake or two for me!”
“好吧，再见，好运！别忘了给我刻一两个木桩！”
They nodded their heads vigorously and felt sorry for the poor wretch who remained perforce behind.
他们用力地点了点头，为这个可怜的不得不留在后面的家伙感到遗憾。
Kink and Bill were sweating hard. According to the revised Northland Scripture, the stampede is to the swift, the blazing of stakes to the strong, and the Crown in royalties, gathers to itself the fulness thereof. Kink and Bill were both swift and strong. They took the soggy trail at a long, swinging gait that broke the hearts of a couple of tender-feet who tried to keep up with them. Behind, strung out between them and Dawson (where the boats were discarded and land travel began), was the vanguard of the Circle City outfit. In the race from Forty Mile the partners had passed every boat, winning from the leading boat by a length in the Dawson eddy, and leaving its occupants sadly behind the moment their feet struck the trail.
金克和比尔哗哗地流汗。根据修订的《北国圣典》，一群人蜂拥而上的话就要动作敏捷，闪耀的利益属于强壮的人，而王室因此能把所有的东西都聚到其下。金克和比尔两个人都是既敏捷又强壮。他们沿着这条水路一大杆一大杆摇晃着前进，这使一对设法跟上他们脚步的童子军失去了信心。身后，在他俩和道森中间排成一列的（就是他们下船的地点，他们从这里开始陆路的旅途），是环城全班人马的先锋。从四十英里开始的角逐中，这对搭档超过了所有的船，在道森的漩涡处超出领头那条船一大截，他们踏上陆上小径的那一刻，被抛在后面的领头船船主黯然神伤。
"Huh! couldn't see us for smoke," Hootchinoo Bill chuckled, flirting the stinging sweat from his brow and glancing swiftly back along the way they had come.
“嘿！不能跟我们借个火了。”胡特钦诺·比尔轻声笑起来，他甩了甩眉毛上刺一样的汗水，向后迅速地瞥了一眼他们过来时的路。
Three men emerged from where the trail broke through the trees. Two followed close at their heels, and then a man and a woman shot into view.
从树林里伸出的小路上冒出三个人。有两个人紧跟在其后，接着又出现一个男人和一个女人。
"Come on, you Kink! Hit her up! Hit her up!"
“来啊你，金克！跟着她！跟着她！”
Bill quickened his pace. Mitchell glanced back in more leisurely fashion.
比尔加快了步伐。米切尔则不慌不忙地往后瞥了一眼。
"I declare if they ain't lopin'!”
“我敢说他们也许没有减慢速度！”
"And here's one that's loped himself out," said Bill, pointing to the side of the trail.
“这里有个人掉了队。”比尔说着，指向小路的一边。
A man was lying on his back panting in the culminating stages of violent exhaustion. His face was ghastly, his eyes bloodshot and glazed, for all the world like a dying man.
有个人仰面躺着喘着粗气，已经精疲力尽到了极限。他的脸色惨白，眼睛里布满了血丝，呆滞无神，完全像个要死的人。
"CHECHAQUO!"Kink Mitchell grunted, and it was the grunt of the old "sour dough" for the green-horn, for the man who outfitted with "self-risin’” flour and used baking-powder in his biscuits.
“新来的！”金克·米切尔咕哝着，那是老“探矿者”对新手的咕哝声，是对那些带“自发”面粉和在饼干中使用发酵粉的人的咕哝声。
The partners, true to the old-timer custom, had intended to stake down-stream from the strike, but when they saw claim 81 BELOW blazed on a tree,—which meant fully eight miles below Discovery,—they changed their minds. The eight miles were covered in less than two hours. It was a killing pace, over so rough trail, and they passed scores of exhausted men that had fallen by the wayside.
这对搭档信从老一辈的习俗，本来打算冒险从发现地顺流而下的，但当他们看见一棵树上刻着“81 下采矿地”的时候——这表明在发现地之下还有足足八英里——他们改变了主意。至少需要两个小时才能走完八英里。他们以令人精疲力尽的速度经过这段坎坷的小路，然后他们超过了许多因疲惫而倒在路边的人们。
At Discovery little was to be learned of the upper creek. Cormack's Indian brother-in-law, Skookum Jim, had a hazy notion that the creek was staked as high as the 30’s; but when Kink and Bill looked at the corner-stakes of 79 ABOVE, they threw their stampeding packs off their backs and sat down to smoke. All their efforts had been vain. Bonanza was staked from mouth to source,—"out of sight and across the next divide."Bill complained that night as they fried their bacon and boiled their coffee over Cormack's fire at Discovery.
在发现地他们没有发现什么有关上面那条小溪的事情。卡马克的印第安小舅子斯古康姆·吉姆模模糊糊地记得人们在这条河下竖的木桩和三十年代的一样高；但是当金克和比尔看到“79 上”的角桩时，他们把背上的背包一扔，坐下来抽烟。他们所有的努力都白费了。从博南扎的河口到河源都钉了桩子——“从视野之外到穿过下一个分水岭”。那晚在发现地，比尔一边抱怨着，一边用科马克的火煎火腿、煮咖啡。
"Try that pup," Carmack suggested next morning.
“试试那个家伙。”卡马克第二天早上建议说。
"That pup" was a broad creek that flowed into Bonanza at 7 ABOVE. The partners received his advice with the magnificent contempt of the sour dough for a squaw-man, and, instead, spent the day on Adam's Creek, another and more likely-looking tributary of Bonanza. But it was the old story over again—staked to the sky-line.
“那个家伙”指的是在“7 上”流入博南扎河的一条宽阔的溪流。这对搭档是老手，对这种娶印第安女人当老婆的男人提的建议很不屑，他们反而在亚当小河上过了一天，这条河是博南扎河的支流，而且看起来也更像。但老故事又一次重演——木桩一直钉到了天际边。
For threes days Carmack repeated his advice, and for three days they received it contemptuously. But on the fourth day, there being nowhere else to go, they went up "that pup."They knew that it was practically unstaked, but they had no intention of staking. The trip was made more for the purpose of giving vent to their ill-humour than for anything else. They had become quite cynical, sceptical. They jeered and scoffed at everything, and insulted every chechaquo they met along the way.
卡马克连续三天都来一遍遍地重复他的建议，而这三天来他们始终对这个建议很是不屑。但第四天的时候，他们没有别的地方可去了，就沿着“那个家伙”走。他们知道实际上那里没有上标记的木桩，但他们也没有打算自己标桩。他们这个旅程更多的是为了发泄自己不好的情绪而不是为了其他目的。他们早就变得愤世嫉俗、疑心重重。他们嘲笑一切，*辱侮**路上遇到的每一个新手。
At No. 23 the stakes ceased. The remainder of the creek was open for location.
到了23号的时候，就没有木桩了。这条河剩下的河段有待定位。
"Moose pasture," sneered Kink Mitchell.
“驼鹿牧场。”金克·米切尔冷笑道。
But Bill gravely paced off five hundred feet up the creek and blazed the corner-stakes. He had picked up the bottom of a candle-box, and on the smooth side he wrote the notice for his centre-stake:-
但比尔严肃地往前面的河段步量了五百英尺，然后在角桩上做了标记。他捡过一个蜡烛盒子的底座，他在底座光滑的一面上为中间的木桩写下了公告。
THIS MOOSE PASTURE IS RESERVED FOR THESWEDES AND CHECHAQUOS. —BILL RADER. Kink read it over with approval, saying:—
该片驼鹿牧场留给瑞典人和新手。——比尔·雷德。金克赞赏地读完后说道：
"As them's my sentiments, I reckon I might as well subscribe.”
“我也是这么想的，我想我也可以署上名。”
So the name of Charles Mitchell was added to the notice; and many an old sour dough's face relaxed that day at sight of the handiwork of a kindred spirit.
于是，查利·米切尔的名字也被加在了这条公告上；那天许多老手见到志趣相投的人行动之后的结果时，脸都放松了下来。
"How's the pup?”Carmack inquired when they strolled back into camp.
“这个家伙怎么样？”他们漫步走进营地的时候，卡马克问道。
"To hell with pups!" was Hootchinoo Bill's reply. "Me and Kink's goin' a-lookin' for Too Much Gold when we get rested up.”
“让那家伙见鬼去吧！”胡特钦诺·比尔回答说，“我和金克休息过来之后，就要去找太多金子了。”
Too Much Gold was the fabled creek of which all sour doughs dreamed, whereof it was said the gold was so thick that, in order to wash it, gravel must first be shovelled into the sluice-boxes. But the several days' rest, preliminary to the quest for Too Much Gold, brought a slight change in their plan, inasmuch as it brought one Ans Handerson, a Swede.
太多金子就是所有探矿者梦寐以求想要找到的传说中的小河，据说那里的金子厚得必须先要把沙砾铲进流槽里才能洗。在寻找太多金子之前，他们休息了几天，这使得计划稍稍做了一点改变，因为这期间一个瑞典人安斯·汉德森加入到他们当中。
Ans Handerson had been working for wages all summer at Miller Creek over on the Sixty Mile, and, the summer done, had strayed up Bonanza like many another waif helplessly adrift on the gold tides that swept willy-nilly across the land. He was tall and lanky. His arms were long, like prehistoric man's, and his hands were like soup-plates, twisted and gnarled, and big-knuckled from toil. He was slow of utterance and movement, and his eyes, pale blue as his hair was pale yellow, seemed filled with an immortal dreaming, the stuff of which no man knew, and himself least of all. Perhaps this appearance of immortal dreaming was due to a supreme and vacuous innocence. At any rate, this was the valuation men of ordinary clay put upon him, and there was nothing extraordinary about the composition of Hootchinoo Bill and Kink Mitchell.
安斯·汉德森整个夏天一直在六十英里的米勒溪为报酬而打工，而且在这个夏天结束的时候，他像许多其他的流浪儿一样误入了博南扎河，无助地在淘金的热潮中漂浮着，不论你愿意与否，这股淘金的热潮已经席卷了整个陆地。他长得又高又瘦。他的胳膊很长，就像原始人的胳膊似的，他的手长得像汤盘，弯曲粗糙，长时间的劳作使他的指关节变得很大。他无论是说话还是行动都很慢，他的眼睛是浅蓝色的，头发是浅黄色的，看起来充满了永久的梦想，而没有人了解这梦想，他自己尤其最不了解。也许这副充满永久梦想的模样是极度的无知和单纯的结果。无论如何，这就是普通人对他的评价，但胡特钦诺·比尔和金克·米切尔这对组合也没有什么特别的。
The partners had spent a day of visiting and gossip, and in the evening met in the temporary quarters of the Monte Carlo—a large tent were stampeders rested their weary bones and bad whisky sold at a dollar a drink. Since the only money in circulation was dust, and since the house took the "down-weight" on the scales, a drink cost something more than a dollar. Bill and Kink were not drinking, principally for the reason that their one and common sack was not strong enough to stand many excursions to the scales.
这对搭档花了一天的时间拜访和聊天，傍晚时在蒙特卡洛的临时营房里碰面。临时营房是蜂拥的人们卸去一身疲惫的地方，这里出售的劣质威士忌一美元一杯。由于这里唯一的流通货币是土，也因为这房子的磅秤是用“重锤”测量的，一杯酒的价格可不只一美金。比尔和金克当时并没有在喝酒，主要是因为他们唯一且共有的那个麻袋禁不住再往磅秤上放几次了。
"Say, Bill, I've got a chechaquo on the string for a sack of flour," Mitchell announced jubilantly.
“比方说，比尔，我可以在一个新手那里弄到一袋面粉。”米切尔喜气洋洋地说。
Bill looked interested and pleased. Grub as scarce, and they were not over-plentifully supplied for the quest after Too Much Gold.
比尔看起来很感兴趣，一副高兴的样子。因为当时食物紧缺，而且他们寻找太多金子也没有充足的食物供应。
"Flour's worth a dollar a pound," he answered. "How like do you calculate to get your finger on it?"
“一镑面粉值一美金。”他回答说，“你打算怎么把它弄到手？”
"Trade 'm a half-interest in that claim of ourn," Kink answered.
“用我们采矿地一半的产权跟他们交易。”金克回答道。
"What claim?"Bill was surprised. Then he remembered the reservation he had staked off for the Swedes, and said, "Oh!"
“什么采矿地？”比尔感到吃惊。然后他想起来他打上木桩的那块留给瑞典人的预留地，于是说：“哦！”
"I wouldn't be so clost about it, though," he added. "Give 'm the whole thing while you're about it, in a right free-handed way.”
“不过，我不会那么密切关注它的。”他补充了一句，“你在附近的时候就把整块地都给他们，而且要表现得慷慨大方。”
Bill shook his head. "If I did, he'd get clean scairt and prance off. I'm lettin' on as how the ground is believed to be valuable, an' that we're lettin' go half just because we're monstrous short on grub. After the dicker we can make him a present of the whole shebang.”
比尔摇了摇头。“如果我那么做，他得吓一大跳，然后欢欣雀跃地走开。我会假装说人们认为这块地是多么值钱，而我们之所以只让出一半的土地，是因为我们太需要食物了。交易之后，我们可以把整块地都当作礼物送给他。”
"If somebody ain't disregarded our notice," Bill objected, though he was plainly pleased at the prospect of exchanging the claim for a sack of flour.
“如果那些重要人物不会无视我们的通告的话。”比尔反对说，尽管他显然对用采矿地换取一袋面粉的前景感到很满意。
"She ain't jumped," Kink assured him. "It's No. 24, and it stands. The chechaquos took it serious, and they begun stakin' where you left off. Staked clean over the divide, too. I was gassin' with one of them which has just got in with cramps in his legs.”It was then, and for the first time, that they heard the slow and groping utterance of Ans Handerson.
“这块地是不会暴涨的，”金克有把握地对他说，“是24号，事实是这样。新手们把这件事当了真，他们开始在你离开的地方打木桩了。木桩也整整齐齐地钉到了分水岭。我正跟一个刚刚进来的腿部痉挛的人吹嘘呢。”就在那时，他们第一次听到安斯·汉德森慢慢地试探地说话。
"Ay like the looks," he was saying to the bar-keeper. "Ay tank Ay gat a claim."
“我喜欢这表情。”他正对酒吧招待说，“我想我得到了一个采矿地。”
The partners winked at each other, and a few minutes later a surprised and grateful Swede was drinking bad whisky with two hard-hearted strangers. But he was as hard-headed as they were hard-hearted. The sack made frequent journeys to the scales, followed solicitously each time by Kink Mitchell's eyes, and still Ans Handerson did not loosen up. In his pale blue eyes, as in summer seas, immortal dreams swam up and burned, but the swimming and the burning were due to the tales of gold and prospect pans he heard, rather than to the whisky he slid so easily down his throat.
这对搭档向对方使了使眼色，但几分钟过后一个又惊又喜的瑞典人跟两个铁石心肠的陌生人喝起了劣质的威士忌。不过，他是意志坚定，而他们，却是铁石心肠。这个麻袋频繁地在磅秤上搬来搬去，金克·米切尔每次都热切地看着，而安斯·汉德森也没有放松。在他浅蓝色的眼睛里，他永久的梦想就像这夏日的大海一般翻腾燃烧，这翻腾燃烧的起因是他听说的和金子有关的故事以及许多盘金子，而不是他毫不费力吞进喉咙的那些威士忌。
The partners were in despair, though they appeared boisterous and jovial of speech and action.
这对搭档陷入绝望之中，尽管他们的言语听起来很吵闹，动作看起来很快活。
"Don't mind me, my friend," Hootchinoo Bill hiccoughed, his hand upon Ans Handerson's shoulder. "Have another drink. We're just celebratin' Kink's birthday here. This is my pardner, Kink, Kink Mitchell. An' what might your name be?”
“不要管我，我的朋友。”胡特钦诺·比尔打了个嗝，他把手搭在安斯·汉德森的肩膀上，“再喝一杯。我们正在这儿给金克庆祝生日呢。这是我的搭档，金克，金克·米切尔。那你叫什么名字呢？”
This learned, his hand descended resoundingly on Kink's back, and Kink simulated clumsy self-consciousness in that he was for the time being the centre of the rejoicing, while Ans Handerson looked pleased and asked them to have a drink with him. It was the first and last time he treated, until the play changed and his canny soul was roused to unwonted prodigality. But he paid for the liquor from a fairly healthy-looking sack. "Not less 'n eight hundred in it," calculated the lynx-eyed Kink; and on the strength of it he took the first opportunity of a privy conversation with Bidwell, proprietor of the bad whisky and the tent.
这个有学问的人响亮地用手拍了拍金克的后背，金克假装自己此刻正玩得高兴而反应得很迟钝，安斯·汉德森看起来很开心，邀请他们跟自己喝上一杯。这是他第一次也是最后一次请客，直到游戏换成其他的，他精明的头脑意识到这是一种不寻常的挥霍。他从一个看上去相当干净的麻袋掏出钱，付了酒水钱。“里面至少有八百。”眼光犀利的金克算计着；据此，他第一次抓住了和这所营房以及劣质酒的主人比德韦尔私下里谈话的机会。
"Here's my sack, Bidwell," Kink said, with the intimacy and surety of one old-timer to another. "Just weigh fifty dollars into it for a day or so more or less, and we'll be yours truly, Bill an' me.”
“这是我的麻袋，比德韦尔。”金克用旧相识之间亲密确定的语气说，“每过一两天就称五十美金进去，我和比尔就会忠于你。”
Thereafter the journeys of the sack to the scales were more frequent, and the celebration of Kink's natal day waxed hilarious. He even essayed to sing the old-timer's classic, "The Juice of the Forbidden Fruit," but broke down and drowned his embarrassment in another round of drinks. Even Bidwell honoured him with a round or two on the house; and he and Bill were decently drunk by the time Ans Handerson's eyelids began to droop and his tongue gave promise of loosening.
在那之后，把麻袋运往磅秤的旅行变得更加频繁，金克的生日庆祝会变得欢腾起来。他甚至试图唱老辈人的经典歌曲《*果禁**的果汁》，但还是唱砸了，于是他又沉浸到新一个回合的饮酒中以掩饰自己的尴尬。就连比德韦尔也免费赠他一两回合酒以示奖励；他和比尔正好喝醉的时候，安斯·汉德森眼皮下垂，预示着他的话将要多起来。
Bill grew affectionate, then confidential. He told his troubles and hard luck to the bar-keeper and the world in general, and to Ans Handerson in particular. He required no histrionic powers to act the part. The bad whisky attended to that. He worked himself into a great sorrow for himself and Bill, and his tears were sincere when he told how he and his partner were thinking of selling a half-interest in good ground just because they were short of grub. Even Kink listened and believed.
比尔先是变得温柔亲切，而后又变得推心置腹。他向酒吧老板和其他世人，特别是安斯·汉德森讲述自己的困难和不幸。这段戏他不需要表演的功力。劣质威士忌发挥了作用。由于他自己的原因，让自己和比尔都陷入痛苦之中，当他讲述他和他的搭档因为缺乏食物而考虑出卖一块好地一半的产权时，他的眼泪是那么诚恳。甚至连金克听得都相信了。
Ans Handerson's eyes were shining unholily as he asked, "How much you tank you take?"
安斯·汉德森的眼睛闪烁着邪恶的目光，他问道：“你们想要多少食物？”
Bill and Kink did not hear him, and he was compelled to repeat his query. They appeared reluctant. He grew keener. And he swayed back and forward, holding on to the bar and listened with all his ears while they conferred together on one side, and wrangled as to whether they should or not, and disagreed in stage whispers over the price they should set.
比尔和金克没有听见他说话，他不得不又问了一遍。他们看起来有些勉强。他更加热切了。他紧扶着吧台，身子前后摇晃着，全神贯注地听着，而他们在另一边商量，争吵着要不要卖掉那块地，定价的时候又有分歧，故意用别人能听到的音量。
"Two hundred and—hic!—fifty," Bill finally announced, "but we reckon as we won't sell.”
“两百——嗝！——五十，”比尔最终宣布，“不过我们觉得我们不会卖。”
"Which is monstrous wise if I might chip in my little say," seconded Bidwell.
“如果我能插句嘴，就太明智了。”比德韦尔附和道。
"Yes, indeedy," added Kink. "We ain't in no charity business a-disgorgin' free an' generous to Swedes an' white men.”
“是的，确实是。”金克补充说，“我们做生意的人不是没有爱心，我们会慷慨地免费送给瑞典人和白人。”
"Ay tank we haf another drink," hiccoughed Ans Handerson, craftily changing the subject against a more propitious time.
“我觉得我们应该再喝一杯。”安斯·汉德森打了个嗝，狡猾地转移了话题，为一个更有利的时机做好准备。
And thereafter, to bring about that propitious time, his own sack began to see-saw between his hip pocket and the scales. Bill and Kink were coy, but they finally yielded to his blandishments. Whereupon he grew shy and drew Bidwell to one side. He staggered exceedingly, and held on to Bidwell for support as he asked—
这之后，为了促成这个有利时机，他自己的麻袋开始在他的口袋和磅秤之间来回上下移动。比尔和金克含糊其辞，但他们最终还是没有抵抗住他的花言巧语。于是他变得腼腆起来，把比德韦尔拽到一边。他走路摇晃得厉害，一面抓住比德韦尔撑住自己，一面问道——
"They ban all right, them men, you tank so?"
“他们，他们这些人没问题，你这么觉得吗？”
"Sure," Bidwell answered heartily. "Known 'em for years. Old sour doughs. When they sell a claim, they sell a claim. They ain't no air-dealers.”
“当然。”比德韦尔痛快地回答，“我认识他们好多年了，都是老手。当他们卖采矿地的时候，他们就会卖采矿地。他们可不是做空头生意的人。”
"Ay tank Ay buy," Ans Handerson announced, tottering back to the two men.
“我打算买。”安斯·汉德森说道，一摇一摆地往回走向这两个男人。
But by now he was dreaming deeply, and he proclaimed he would have the whole claim or nothing. This was the cause of great pain to Hootchinoo Bill. He orated grandly against the "hawgishness" of chechaquos and Swedes, albeit he dozed between periods, his voice dying away to a gurgle, and his head sinking forward on his breast. But whenever roused by a nudge from Kink or Bidwell, he never failed to explode another volley of abuse and insult.
但到现在他一直深陷梦想中，他宣称他要么就要整个采矿地，要么就什么都不要。这就是让胡特钦诺·比尔感到非常痛苦的原因。他冠冕堂皇地高谈反对新人和瑞典人的“强硬”，尽管他一阵一阵地打瞌睡，他说话的声音渐渐变成咯咯声，头也低垂在胸前。但是每次金克或者比德韦尔用胳膊肘推醒他的时候，他都会说出一串脏话。
Ans Handerson was calm under it all. Each insult added to the value of the claim. Such unamiable reluctance to sell advertised but one thing to him, and he was aware of a great relief when Hootchinoo Bill sank snoring to the floor, and he was free to turn his attention to his less intractable partner.
安斯·汉德森对这一切泰然处之。每句脏话都增加了这块采矿地的价值。出售做了广告的地皮是如此勉强和不友好，只向他说明一件事。而当胡特钦诺·比尔倒在地上打起了鼾声的时候，他觉得轻松了许多，他可以把他的注意力转向另一个比较容易对付的搭档。
Kink Mitchell was persuadable, though a poor mathematician. He wept dolefully, but was willing to sell a half-interest for two hundred and fifty dollars or the whole claim for seven hundred and fifty. Ans Handerson and Bidwell laboured to clear away his erroneous ideas concerning fractions, but their labour was vain. He spilled tears and regrets all over the bar and on their shoulders, which tears, however, did not wash away his opinion, that if one half was worth two hundred and fifty, two halves were worth three times as much.
尽管金克·米切尔是个穷困的数学家，但是他很容易被说服。他悲伤地哭泣，但愿意以两百五十美金的价格卖出一半的产权，或者以七百五十美金的价格卖出整个采矿地。安斯·汉德森和比德韦尔努力纠正他关于分数的错误算法，但他们的工夫是白费了。他趴在吧台上，又靠在他们肩膀上，一边流泪一边后悔，然而这些眼泪并没有消除他的想法，如果一半是两百五，那么两个一半就应该是两百五的三倍。
In the end,—and even Bidwell retained no more than hazy recollections of how the night terminated,—a bill of sale was drawn up, wherein Bill Rader and Charles Mitchell yielded up all right and title to the claim known as 24 ELDORADO, the same being the name the creek had received from some optimistic chechaquo.
结果——甚至连比德韦尔也只是模模糊糊地记得这个夜晚是怎么结束的——他们草拟了一份出售凭据，其中比尔·雷德和查尔斯·米切尔交出名为黄金国24号的采矿地的全部所有权，采矿地的名字跟乐观的新手给这条小溪取的名字一样。
When Kink had signed, it took the united efforts of the three to arouse Bill. Pen in hand, he swayed long over the document; and, each time he rocked back and forth, in Ans Handerson's eyes flashed and faded a wondrous golden vision. When the precious signature was at last appended and the dust paid over, he breathed a great sigh, and sank to sleep under a table, where he dreamed immortally until morning.
金克签完名之后，他们三个合力把比尔叫醒。他手里握着钢笔，对着文件犹豫了很长时间，而且每次他来回摇晃时，安斯·汉德森的眼睛里就会有一幅令人惊叹的金灿灿的美景闪现或消失。当这珍贵的签字最终填到凭据上，沙土的钱也付清时，他大吸了一口气，瘫在桌子底下睡着了，沉浸在无限的梦境中一直到清晨。
But the day was chill and grey. He felt bad. His first act, unconscious and automatic, was to feel for his sack. Its lightness startled him. Then, slowly, memories of the night thronged into his brain. Rough voices disturbed him. He opened his eyes and peered out from under the table. A couple of early risers, or, rather, men who had been out on trail all night, were vociferating their opinions concerning the utter and loathsome worthlessness of Eldorado Creek. He grew frightened, felt in his pocket, and found the deed to 24 ELDORADO.
但那天又阴又冷。他觉得糟透了。他的第一个下意识的动作就是去摸他的麻袋。麻袋轻得吓了他一跳。然后，前晚的回忆慢慢地涌进他的大脑。刺耳的声音扰乱了他。他睁开眼，从桌子底下盯着外面看。几个早起的人或者说是整夜都在外面赶路的人，大声嚷嚷着他们关于那令人讨厌的一文不值的黄金国溪的看法。他变得害怕起来，在自己的口袋里摸索，发现了黄金国24号的转让契约。
Ten minutes later Hootchinoo Bill and Kink Mitchell were roused from their blankets by a wild-eyed Swede that strove to force upon them an ink-scrawled and very blotty piece of paper.
十分钟之后，一个两眼瞪得圆圆的瑞典人掀开胡特钦诺·比尔和金克·米切尔的毯子，把他们叫醒，往他们身上用力地丢去一张字迹潦草、墨迹斑斑的纸。
"Ay tank Ay take my money back," he gibbered. "Ay tank Ay take my money back."
“我想把我的钱拿回来。”他急促不清地说，“我想把我的钱拿回来。”
Tears were in his eyes and throat. They ran down his cheeks as he knelt before them and pleaded and implored. But Bill and Kink did not laugh. They might have been harder hearted.
他哽咽了，眼睛里含着泪水。他跪在他们面前辩解哀求的时候，他们撞倒了他的脸颊。但比尔和金克没有笑。他们过去可能更加铁石心肠。
"First time I ever hear a man squeal over a minin' deal," Bill said. "An' I make free to say 'tis too onusual for me to savvy.”
“我第一次听见一个男人因为一个采矿的生意而尖叫。”比尔说，“我冒昧地说，这对我来说离谱得难以理解。”
"Same here," Kink Mitchell remarked. "Minin' deals is like horse-tradin’.”
“我也一样。”金克·米切尔说，“采矿生意就像马匹交易。”
They were honest in their wonderment. They could not conceive of themselves raising a wail over a business transaction, so they could not understand it in another man.
他们是真的对此感到惊叹。他们无法想象自己会因为一场商业交易号啕大哭，所以发生在别人身上时，他们也不能理解。
"The poor, ornery chechaquo," murmured Hootchinoo Bill, as they watched the sorrowing Swede disappear up the trail.
“可怜的坏脾气的新手。”胡特钦诺·比尔低声说，此时他们望着这个懊悔的瑞典人消失在小路上。
"But this ain't Too Much Gold," Kink Mitchell said cheerfully.
“但这个不是太多金子。”金克·米切尔高兴地说。
And ere the day was out they purchased flour and bacon at exorbitant prices with Ans Handerson's dust and crossed over the divide in the direction of the creeks that lie between Klondike and Indian River.
在这天结束之前，他们用安斯·汉德森的土买了很贵的面粉和腌肉，然后朝克朗代克河和印度安河之间的小溪的方向翻过了分水岭。
Three months later they came back over the divide in the midst of a snow-storm and dropped down the trail to 24 ELDORADO. It merely chanced that the trail led them that way. They were not looking for the claim. Nor could they see much through the driving white till they set foot upon the claim itself. And then the air lightened, and they beheld a dump, capped by a windlass that a man was turning. They saw him draw a bucket of gravel from the hole and tilt it on the edge of the dump. Likewise they saw another, man, strangely familiar, filling a pan with the fresh gravel. His hands were large; his hair wets pale yellow. But before they reached him, he turned with the pan and fled toward a cabin. He wore no hat, and the snow falling down his neck accounted for his haste. Bill and Kink ran after him, and came upon him in the cabin, kneeling by the stove and washing the pan of gravel in a tub of water.
三个月后，他们在暴风雪中又翻回这个分水岭，滑到了黄金国24号的小路上。这条小路把他们引到那边只是个偶然。他们不是在寻找采矿地。在这强劲的白色风雪中什么他们也看不清，直到他们踏上这块采矿地。然后空气变得清亮了些，他们看见一个垃圾堆，一个男人正在上方推着绞盘。他们看见他从这个洞里挖出一桶沙砾，然后把沙砾斜倒在垃圾堆的边缘。他们还看见一个觉得似曾相识的男人，那人正把新的沙砾装进盘子。他的手很大，浅黄色的头发湿漉漉的。但还没等他们走到他跟前，他就拿着盘子转过身，跑向一个小木屋。他没有戴帽子，由于走得匆忙，脖子里还落进了雪花。比尔和金克紧跟着他跑，在小木屋里遇见了他，他正跪在火炉旁，在一桶水里清洗这盘沙砾。
He was too deeply engaged to notice more than that somebody had entered the cabin. They stood at his shoulder and looked on. He imparted to the pan a deft circular motion, pausing once or twice to rake out the larger particles of gravel with his fingers. The water was muddy, and, with the pan buried in it, they could see nothing of its contents. Suddenly he lifted the pan clear and sent the water out of it with a flirt. A mass of yellow, like butter in a churn, showed across the bottom.
他精神非常集中，根本没有注意到有人进了小木屋。他们和他并排站在一旁观看。他灵巧地转动盘子，偶尔停下一两次，用手指挑出大些的沙砾。水变得浑浊了，盘子埋在水底，他们看不见里边有什么东西。突然，他从水里拎起这个盘子，然后摆动一下把里面的水清空。一大堆黄色的就像搅拌器里的奶油似的东西呈现在盘底。
Hootchinoo Bill swallowed. Never in his life had he dreamed of so rich a test-pan.
胡特钦诺·比尔咽了一口唾液。这辈子他做梦都没有想到过测验盘里会有这么多金子。
"Kind of thick, my friend," he said huskily. "How much might you reckon that-all to be?”
“很密实，我的朋友。”他用粗哑的声音说，“你觉得一共可能有多少？”
Ans Handerson did not look up as he replied, "Ay tank fafty ounces."
安斯·汉德森说话的时候没有抬头：“我想有五十盎司。”
"You must be scrumptious rich, then, eh?"
“那么你一定很富有，对吧？”
Still Ans Handerson kept his head down, absorbed in putting in the fine touches which wash out the last particles of dross, though he answered, "Ay tank Ay ban wort' five hundred t'ousand dollar.”
安斯·汉德森仍然低着头，专心致志地仔细地摸了几下，清洗掉最后一批浮渣，不过他回了一句：“我想我赚不了五十万美金。”
"Gosh!" said Hootchinoo Bill, and he said it reverently.
“天啊！”胡特钦诺·比尔说，而且他是很恭敬地说。
"Yes, Bill, gosh!" said Kink Mitchell; and they went out softly and closed the door.
“是的，比尔，天啊！”金克·米切尔说。然后，他们轻轻地走了出去，关上了门。