洛娜·杜恩(4级)(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：(英)理查德·布莱克摩尔

出版社：外语教学与研究出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

洛娜·杜恩(4级)试读：

内容简介

埃克斯莫尔的所有居民都对杜恩家族的人又恨又怕。当杜恩家族的人从杜恩山谷里骑马出来，在当地的农庄打家劫舍时，没人能阻挡他们。他们生性野蛮、体格强健，任何试图反抗他们的人很快便会招致杀身之祸。例如约翰·里德的父亲就是在骑马从集市回家的途中被他们所杀害。在那个没有法制的时代，只有国王的士兵们才能惩戒杜恩家族的人。但国王远在伦敦，而且他自己还有一身麻烦事。

约翰渐渐长大了，他在农庄上辛勤劳作，梦想着能替父报仇。但有一天，他遇见了洛娜·杜恩。她正是他梦寐以求的女孩——温柔、美丽、可爱——约翰情不自禁爱上了她。

可他怎么能娶仇人杜恩家的女孩呢？更何况还有个卡弗·杜恩——杜恩家族中最邪恶、最危险的人物——也在盘算着娶洛娜为妻……

LORNA DOONE

The Doones are hated and feared all over Exmoor. When they ride out from Doone valley to steal and rob from the local farms, no one can stop them. They are wild, strong men, and anyone who tries to fight them will soon be murdered. Like John Ridd's father, shot down while riding home from market. And in these lawless days only the King's soldiers can punish the Doones, but the King is far away in London and has troubles of his own.

As John grows up, he works hard on the farm and dreams of revenge for his father's death. But one day he meets Lorna Doone. She is the girl of his dreams — gentle, beautiful, loving — and John loses his heart to her.

But how can he marry a girl from the hated Doone family? And then there is Carver Doone, the most evil and dangerous of all the Doones, who plans to marry Lorna himself...

1 The end of school days

On the 29th November 1673, when I was twelve years old, John Fry, a worker from our family's farm, came to collect me from my school at Tiverton. He rode his horse up to the gate, leading my own little horse behind him. He was two weeks early, so I knew something was wrong.

'What are you doing here, John?' I asked him. 'It's not the holidays yet.'

He would not look at me. 'Oh, I know that, young Master Ridd. But your mother has saved the best apples, and cooked some wonderful cakes — all for you.'

'And Father? How is Father?' I said. It was usually Father who came to collect me, and it was strange that John Fry hadn't said anything about him.

'Oh, he's very busy on the farm just now,' he said. But John wasn't his usual self, and I knew this was a lie.

When I had packed my bags and said goodbye to my friends, I got on my horse and we started the journey home.

It was a long journey from Tiverton to Oare, and in places the road was very bad. John Fry would still not tell me why he had come to collect me, or answer my questions about Father. He looked unhappy about something, but I tried to hope for the best, as boys always do.

On the hill at the end of Dulverton town, we saw a big coach with six horses. In the front seat of the coach sat a foreign-looking woman, and next to her was a little dark-haired girl. I could see from the girl's soft skin that she was from a rich family, and I felt too shy to look at her more than once. She didn't look at me at all. Opposite them sat a very beautiful lady, in fashionable clothes, and next to her was a little boy, who was about two or three years old. The woman in the front, I thought, must be the servant of the family. I always remembered the family afterwards, because I had never seen people who were so grand, and so rich.

After Dulverton, the road got worse and worse, and soon we came into a very dangerous part of the country. This was Exmoor, a place of high, wild hills and deep valleys, and on Exmoor lived a family of robbers called the Doones. Everyone was afraid of them. They had robbed and murdered on Exmoor for many years, and had grown very strong. Now it was getting dark, and a fog was coming down. It was just the kind of night when the Doones would be out — and we were coming near to the path that they always used.

I wanted to ride fast, and cross the Doone path as quickly as possible, but John Fry knew better.

'Go slowly and quietly,' he said, 'if you want to see your home again.'

But when we came to the valley where the Doone path was, we heard the sound of horses.

'Hide!' said John, and we rode our horses off the path, and hid. But I wanted to look at the Doones, and went up onto a hill above the path. From there I saw a frightening sight.

Below me, moving quietly, were thirty horsemen. They were heavy, strong men, like all the Doones, and they were dressed for battle, carrying guns. Tied to their horses were all the things they had stolen. Some had sheep or other animals. But one man had a child across his horse — a little girl. She had on a very expensive dress, and I thought it was probably for this that the Doones had stolen her. I could not see whether she was alive or dead, but the sight of that child made me sad, and angry.

When we got home to the farm, my father did not come out to meet us, not even when the dogs ran up and made a lot of noise. 'Perhaps he has visitors,' I thought, 'and is too busy to come out.' But really I knew this was not true. I went away and hid. I didn't want anyone to tell me anything. I heard my mother and sister crying when they came out to find me, but I could not look at them.

Later they told me everything: my father had been killed. He had been murdered by the Doones.

It happened on his way back from the market at Porlock, on a Saturday evening. He was riding with six other farmers, and the Doones stopped them and asked them for their money. The other farmers passed their money over at once, but my father was brave. He rode at them, waving his long stick above his head. He managed to hit quite a few heads, but one Doone was waiting at the side of the road with a gun, and shot him.*　　*　　*

Although we knew it was the Doones who had killed my father, it was useless even to ask the local judges or law officers to do anything about it. They were afraid of the robbers, too — or were even helping them. The Doones did almost anything they wanted on Exmoor.

They were not local people. They came from the north of England, where their leader, Sir Ensor Doone, had been a rich man, with a lot of land. But he argued with his cousin, the Earl of Lorne, who had even more land, and because of the trouble he caused, the King took away nearly everything that Sir Ensor owned. A proud, angry man, Sir Ensor refused to make peace with his cousin, and without his land and farms he became very poor. Then he found that people who had once been happy to know him now turned away from him.

After this, Sir Ensor lived his life outside the law. With his wife and family and a few servants, he looked all over the country for a place to live, where no one would know him, and he could start again. He chose Exmoor, where few people live, and found the perfect place to build a new home.

This was the place we now call Doone valley. It is a green valley far from any town, surrounded by steep, rocky mountains. At first Sir Ensor lived peacefully, and the local people were friendly, even bringing him presents of food. But as his sons grew older, they did not want to work as farmers, and they began to take whatever they needed from the local farms and villages. They carried off farmers' daughters to be their wives and give them sons, and so over the years the Doone family became bigger and bigger.

They began as robbers, but robbery had quickly led to violence and murder. The people of Exmoor were too afraid to fight back because the Doones were big, strong men and excellent fighters, and now only soldiers could hope to break into their valley and defeat them.

So there was no punishment for my father's murderer. We buried him quietly, and my mother was left without a husband, to manage our farm and take care of her three children. We were too young to be of much help to her yet. I was the oldest, then there was Annie, two years younger than me, then little Lizzie.

For a while, I wanted revenge. I was strong, and growing stronger every day. But my mother always calmed me down when I talked of revenge. She did not want to lose me too, and I used to worry about what would happen to her and my sisters if I were killed. We tried to get on with our lives, but we missed my father terribly. Sometimes my mother and Annie would remember him and cry, and sometimes John Fry saw me with tears in my eyes — which I said was because of the cold wind. Lizzie, though she was the cleverest of us all, was too young to really understand what had happened.

So the months passed. I learnt how to shoot with my father's gun, and I worked hard on the farm to help my mother.

master n. a title prefixed to the name of a boy 小主人；少爷

fashionable adj. characteristic of or influenced by a current popular trend or style 流行的；入时的

shoot v. kill or wound (a person or animal) with a bullet or arrow 射死；射伤

argue v. exchange diverging or opposite views heatedly 争吵；争执

earl n. a man with a high social rank 伯爵

surround v. be all around, encircle 环绕

carry off take away by force 抢夺

break into enter forcibly 强行闯入

violence n. behaviour involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill 暴力行为

manage v. be in charge of; run 管理；经营

revenge n. something one does to punish someone who has done some injury or wrong 复仇

calm somebody down make somebody tranquil or quiet 使冷静下来

1．校园生活的结束

我叫约翰·里德，是萨默塞特郡奥尔村的一名农夫，我有个故事要讲给你听。那是年轻时发生在我身上的一些事。

1673年11月29日，当时我十二岁，我家农庄上的一名工人约翰·弗赖伊来蒂弗顿我就读的学校接我。他骑马来到校门口，身后牵着我的小马。他比以往提前了两周，所以我意识到肯定出了什么问题。“你到这儿来干吗，约翰？”我问他，“还没放假呢。”

他不愿与我对视：“哦，这我知道，里德少爷。不过你妈妈给你留了些最好的苹果，还做了很好吃的蛋糕——全都是给你的。”“那父亲呢？父亲还好吗？”我问。平时一般都是父亲来接我的，但奇怪的是，约翰·弗赖伊对他只字未提。“哦，他正在农庄上忙着呢，”约翰说。可他跟平时不太一样，我知道他在撒谎。

我收拾好行装，跟朋友们告别后，便骑上马，跟约翰一起踏上了回家的路。

从蒂弗顿到奥尔村路途遥远，有几段路面还很糟糕。约翰·弗赖伊还是不肯告诉我为什么来接我的人是他，也不肯回答同父亲有关的问题。他似乎为什么事而闷闷不乐，但我仍尽量往好的方面想，就像小男孩们通常所做的那样。

在达尔弗顿镇尽头的那座山上，我们看见了一辆六匹马拉的车。马车前座上坐着一个外国人模样的女子，她身边是个黑发小姑娘。从小姑娘柔嫩的皮肤能看出她出身富贵家庭，但我却害羞得不敢多看她一眼。而她根本就没有看我。她们对面坐着一位容貌出众、衣着入时的夫人，身边是个约摸两三岁光景的小男孩。我猜想坐在前座的女子一定是这家的仆人。此后我时常想起这一家人，因为我从没见过如此高贵富有的人家。

过了达尔弗顿，路况越发糟糕了，我们很快便来到了乡下最危险的一个地区。这里就是埃克斯莫尔，一个由高耸的荒山和深谷围成的地方。这儿居住着以抢劫为生的杜恩家族，所有人都对他们心怀恐惧。他们多年来一直在埃克斯莫尔劫掠、杀人，逐渐成了气候。天色正慢慢变暗，雾气也弥漫起来。这样的夜晚正是杜恩家族通常出来活动的时间——而我们正在接近他们平时出没的那条路。

我想骑快些，好尽快穿过杜恩路，但约翰·弗赖伊比我更有经验。“慢慢走，别出声，”他说，“要是你还想见到自己家的话。”

但当我们来到杜恩路所在的山谷时，却听见了马蹄声。“快躲起来！”约翰说道，我们骑马走下小路躲藏起来。但我想看看杜恩家族的人，于是便爬上了能俯视小路的一座小山。在那里，我看见了可怕的一幕。

我身下的小路上，三十名骑马的人正静悄悄地前行。跟所有杜恩家族的人一样，他们身材魁梧强壮；他们身披战衣，携带着枪支。马上捆着他们打劫的所有战利品，有的人还牵着绵羊和其他一些家畜。但其中一人的马背上却横放着一个小孩——一个小姑娘。她衣着华贵，我想这很可能就是杜恩家族的人将她抢来的原因。我看不清她是否还活着，但眼前这情形让我既难过又愤怒。

当我们回到农庄的家中时，父亲没出来迎接我们，就连那几条狗跑上前来汪汪乱叫时也不见他的踪影。“也许他有客人，”我想，“忙得没工夫出来了。”但其实我明白事实并非如此。我离开众人躲了起来，不希望任何人告诉我任何事。当母亲和姐姐出来找我时，我听见了她们的哭泣声，但却无法抬眼看她们。

后来，她们把一切都告诉了我：父亲被杀害了。他被杜恩家族的人给杀了。

那是一个星期六的晚上，父亲在从帕洛克的集市回来的路上遭遇了不测。他当时和另外六名农夫骑马同行，被杜恩家族的人拦路抢劫。其他农夫立刻将自己的钱交了出去，但我父亲很勇敢。他在头顶上空挥舞着自己的长棍子，骑着马朝对方冲了过去。他击中了好几个人的头，但杜恩家族有一个人端着枪守候在路边，开枪将他射死了。*　　*　　*

虽然我们知道杀害父亲的是杜恩家族的人，但即使请求本地法官或检察长采取行动也毫无用处。他们也害怕那些强盗——有时甚至会成为强盗的帮凶。杜恩家族的人在埃克斯莫尔几乎为所欲为。

他们不是本地人。他们来自英格兰北部，其首领恩索尔·杜恩爵士曾是那里的富翁，拥有良田千顷。但恩索尔爵士跟拥有更多田产的堂兄洛恩伯爵发生了争执，而正因为他引起了纷争和事端，国王下令剥夺他的财产，使他变得几乎一无所有。高傲而愤怒的恩索尔爵士拒绝同堂兄和解，而失去了田产和农庄后，他变得一贫如洗。接着，他发现曾与他交好的人们如今对他唯恐避之不及。

此后，恩索尔爵士过上了目无法纪的生活。他带着妻子、家人和几名仆人找遍全国，寻觅一个没有人认识他的地方定居，以便从头开始。他选择了人烟稀少的埃克斯莫尔，并在这里找到了一处绝好的地方来建设新家园。

这就是现在被我们称作杜恩山谷的地方。这是个远离市镇、葱葱郁郁的山谷，群山环绕，山势陡峭，岩山林立。刚开始，恩索尔爵士过着平静的生活，当地人都很友善，甚至还馈赠给他食物。但他的儿子们长大后却都不愿当农夫，并且开始从当地的农庄和村落中抢劫他们所需的一切物品。他们强抢农家女为妻，为他们生儿育女。如此经年累月，杜恩家族日渐壮大了。

他们一开始只是抢劫，但抢劫很快就演变成暴行和杀戮。埃克斯莫尔的居民不敢反击，因为杜恩家族的人身材魁梧壮硕，擅长打斗。到如今，可能只有士兵有希望闯进山谷将他们打败。

因此，杀害我父亲的凶手没有得到任何惩罚。我们默默地将他埋葬了，而失去了丈夫的母亲得承担起经营农庄和照顾三个孩子的责任。那时我们还太小，帮不上什么忙。我是三个孩子中的老大，其次是小我两岁的安妮，最小的是莉齐。

曾有一段时间，我想替父报仇。我体格强健，而且一天比一天强壮。但当我提到报仇的事时，母亲总是让我冷静下来。她不想再失去我，而我则担心万一自己被杀，母亲和妹妹们将会怎么样。我们设法继续生活下去，但都非常思念父亲。有时妈妈和安妮会想起他而哭起来；有时约翰·弗赖伊会看见我眼中噙着泪水——我会说这是让冷风给吹的。莉齐虽然是我们中最聪明的一个，但她还太小，无法真正明白究竟发生了什么事。

日子就这样一天天过去了。我用父亲的枪学会了如何射击，同时帮着母亲在农庄上辛勤劳作。

2 A boy and a girl

I was fourteen. My mother had been ill and was not eating very well, so I went out to find something that she liked — good, fresh fish, caught from clear water.

I went first along the Lynn river that runs through our valley, then I turned into Bagworthy Water. Though I knew that this river led to Doone valley, I did not think about it. I went on catching fish and moving up the river, then suddenly found myself standing at the bottom of the cliffs outside Doone valley.

In front of me was a waterfall, a steep hill of smooth, fast-moving water. It was a wild, lonely place, surrounded by tall trees, and it was already getting late. I knew I should turn for home — but I also wanted very much to see what was at the top of that waterfall. It looked a dangerous climb, but if I did not climb it, I would always remember that I was too frightened to do it.

So I climbed.

The water beat against my legs, once knocking me down so that I nearly drowned, but I pulled myself up and went on. When I reached the top at last, my arms and legs were aching and my feet were cut by the rocks. I fell in the grass, exhausted.

When I opened my eyes, for a few seconds I didn't know where I was. But, kneeling beside me, touching my face with a leaf, was a very young girl.

'Oh, I'm so glad,' she whispered softly, as I sat up and looked at her. 'Now you'll try to be better, won't you?'

I had never heard as sweet a sound as this girl's voice, nor seen anything as beautiful as the large dark eyes that watched me, full of care and wonder. I stared at her without speaking, noticing her long, shining black hair.

'What is your name?' she said, 'and how did you get here, and what have you got in your bag?'

'They're fish for my mother,' I said. 'Very special fish. But I'll give you some, if you like.'

'Dear me — you re so proud of them, when they're only fish! But look at your feet — they're bleeding. Let me tie something round them for you.'

'Oh, I'm not worried about them,' I said bravely. 'My name's John Ridd. What's your name?'

'Lorna Doone,' she answered, in a soft voice, and looked down at the grass. She seemed afraid of her own name. 'Lorna Doone. Didn't you know?'

I stood up and touched her hand, and tried to make her look at me, but she turned away. I felt sorry for her — and even more sorry when she started to cry.

'Don't cry,' I said. 'I'm sure you've never done any harm. I'll give you all my fish, Lorna, and catch some more for my mother.'

But she looked so sad, with the tears running down her face, that my heart ached for her and I gave her a kiss. At once my face turned red — here was I, just a simple farmer's boy, but she, though young, was clearly a lady and far above me.

She turned her head away, and I felt I should go. But I couldn't. She turned back to look at me.

'You must go,' she said. 'They will kill us if they find us together. You have found a way up into the valley, which they could never believe. You must go now, but when your feet are better, you can come and tell me how they are.' She smiled at me, and I could see that she liked me.

We talked for a while longer, but then a shout came down the valley. Lorna's face changed from playfulness to fear. We whispered our goodbyes, then Lorna ran away from me and lay in the grass, pretending to be asleep. I hid behind some rocks, and saw twelve cruel-looking men come walking down the valley, looking for Lorna. One of them — the biggest of them all, a man with a long black beard — found her. 'Here she is,' he said. 'Here's our little Queen.' He picked her up and kissed her so hard that I heard him. Then he put her on his shoulders, and carried her away. But as she went up the valley on the back of this frightening man, Lorna turned and secretly held up her hand to me.

Now I had to find a way out of the valley and get home. I almost broke my neck several times, climbing down the mountain, and I did not get home until long after dark. My mother was angry with me, but I would not say where I had been.

After my adventure, I thought a lot about the strange little girl I had met in Doone valley. But I never really imagined I would go back to the valley again. So after a while I thought less about her, and got on with my work on the farm.

exhausted adj. completely tired 精疲力竭的

2．少年偶遇

1675年的圣瓦伦廷节是改变了我人生的一天，虽然我当时并没有意识到这一点。

当时我十四岁。母亲病了一场，胃口不太好，于是我出门去找一些合她胃口的东西——从清水里抓来的新鲜可口的鱼。

我先沿着穿过村庄的林恩河往前走，然后转向巴格沃思河。虽然我明知道这条河流往杜恩山谷，却没有多想。我顺河而上边走边抓鱼，过了一会儿却猛然发现自己站在了杜恩山谷外的峭壁下。

在我面前悬着一道瀑布，一挂平滑迅疾的水流从陡坡上倾泻下来。这里荒凉僻静，四面环绕着高大的树木。夜幕已开始渐渐降临。我知道自己该掉头回家了——但我也很想看看瀑布顶上是怎样一番光景。看样子要爬上去很危险，但要是我不这么做，肯定会一直为自己的怯懦而耿耿于怀。

于是我开始往上爬。

水击打着我的双腿，有一次还将我掀翻下去，差点淹死。但我奋力站起身，继续往上爬。当我终于爬到山顶时，四肢阵阵酸痛，双脚已被岩石划破。我精疲力竭地倒在草地上。

当我睁开双眼时，一时间竟不知自己身在何方。但此时有个小女孩正跪在我身边，用一片树叶拂动着我的脸庞。“哦，我真高兴，”我坐起身望着她的时候，她柔声低语道，“现在你会努力让自己好起来的，对吧？”

我从没听过像这个小女孩的嗓音这般甜美的声音，也从没见过如此美丽的黑色的大眼睛。这双眼睛正关切而好奇地注视着我。我一言不发地凝望着她，注意到了她那头乌黑闪亮的长发。“你叫什么名字？”她问，“你怎么到这儿来的？你的袋子里装的是什么？”“那是给我妈妈的鱼，”我说，“是种很特别的鱼。不过如果你喜欢，我可以给你几条。”“天哪——不过是些鱼，值得你这么为它们感到骄傲！再看看你的脚——它们在流血！让我给你包扎一下吧。”“哦，我可不担心我的脚，”我勇敢地说，“我叫约翰·里德。你叫什么名字？”“洛娜·杜恩，”她轻声答道，低下头望着草地。她似乎害怕说出自己的名字。“洛娜·杜恩。难道你没听说过吗？”

我站起身碰了碰她的手，试着让她抬起头看我，但她扭开了身子。我为她感到难过——而当她开始哭泣时，我就愈发难过了。“别哭，”我说，“我相信你从没干过什么坏事。我把所有的鱼都给你，洛娜，我会替我妈妈另外捉几条的。”

但她神情悲切，泪水不断地从脸颊上淌落下来，让我不免为之心疼。我吻了她一下，脸立刻涨得通红——我只是个普通农夫的儿子，而她虽然还年幼，却显然是个淑女，地位远在我之上。

她扭过头去。我觉得自己该走了，却欲行又止。她转过身望着我。“你必须走了，”她说，“要是他们发现咱俩在一起，会杀了我们的。你竟然找到了一条进入山谷的路，他们怎么也不会相信的。你现在必须马上离开，不过等你的脚好些以后，可以来告诉我它们恢复得怎么样了。”她冲我浅浅一笑，我能看出她很喜欢我。

我们又聊了一会儿，突然从山谷下传来一声呼喊。洛娜活泼的脸立刻变得惊惶不安。我们低声道了别，洛娜从我身边跑开，躺到草地上假装睡着了。我躲在一堆岩石后，看见十二名凶神恶煞的男人沿着山谷走过来寻找洛娜。其中一人——那个最强壮的、蓄着黑色长胡子的家伙——找到了她。“她在这儿，”他说，“我们的小女王在这儿。”他将她抱起来，使劲亲了一下，那动静大得连我都听见了。然后他把她驮上肩头带走了。当那个可怕的男人驮着她走进山谷时，洛娜转过头悄悄冲我扬起了手。

现在我得想办法走出山谷回家去。下山的时候，我有好几次都差点摔断脖子；直到天色很晚了，我才回到了家。尽管妈妈对我很生气，我还是不肯说出自己究竟去了哪里。

那次冒险后，我曾多次想起在杜恩山谷里遇见的那个陌生的小女孩，但我从没真想过要重返山谷。因此，过了一阵子，我对她思念稍减，继续在农庄干活。

3 Back to Doone valley

My sister Annie grew more and more beautiful every year, with her wide blue eyes and soft brown hair. She was so kind and so gentle that everyone loved to be with her, and it is easy to understand why my mother's cousin, Tom Faggus, fell in love with her.

Tom Faggus was someone that our family was both proud and ashamed of. For a time he was one of the most famous robbers in England, and people still tell the stories of his adventures all over the country. He had been an honest farmer once, but a rich man had used the law to steal his farm, and after that Tom took his revenge on all rich men he met on the roads. Perhaps that was why he was so popular with the people, as he stole only from the rich, gave generously to the poor and the sick, and never hurt anyone in his life.

While I was still a boy, he came to our farm one day, asking my mother for food and a bed for the night. At first my mother told him to go away, fearing that we children would learn bad ways from him, but in the end she agreed.

'You may be a bad man in some ways,' she said to him, 'but there are far worse than you. So come and sit by the fire, and eat whatever we can give you.'

Tom always had a smile and a good word for everybody, and was great fun to be with. All the time he was with us, I saw Annie looking at him very kindly, and over the years we had many more visits from him.

As for Lizzie, I never thought anyone would fall in love with her! She was small and thin, and perhaps a little too clever — you never knew what she was going to say next. But I should not talk in this way about my own sister.

My mother didn't seem to grow any older, and was still pretty, and as good-hearted as ever. She had never forgotten my father, and as the years went by, she still sometimes cried for him.

In all this time, if I thought of Lorna Doone at all, it was only as a kind of dream. And the Doone men went on robbing and killing, just as they pleased.

Then one Christmas, when I was twenty-one, my Uncle Ben was robbed by the Doones on his way across Exmoor. He had been coming to visit us, and when he didn't arrive, my mother sent me out to look for him. I found him on a high, lonely path, tied on to his horse with his nose to its tail. He was very angry, and wanted revenge on the Doones. He asked me to show him where they lived, so that he could learn the best way to attack them 'when the time was right'. So a day or two later I took him up into the mountains that looked down on the valley.

I had not been back this way since I was fourteen, and on the way, I thought of the girl I had met in this valley — of her lovely dark eyes, her sweet smile, her sadness... and her loneliness.

At the top of a steep cliff, we looked down into the long, green Doone valley. At either end was a narrow gap in the mountain walls. At the further end was the waterfall which I had climbed seven years before, and at the other was what we called the Doone-gate. This was two rocky cliffs facing each other, with only a narrow path between them. It was like the gate of a castle, and it seemed impossible to break into the valley. But Uncle Ben saw a way.

'Do you see how you could attack them?' he said. 'If you put big guns along the cliffs on both sides, and fired down into the valley, you could defeat the Doones in half an hour.'

But I was not listening to him. I was looking across to the waterfall end of the valley, and a little figure in white walking there, someone who walked with a very light step. My heart began to beat more quickly, and the blood came to my face. In seven years I had half-forgotten her, and she would never remember me, I thought. But at that moment, once and for all, I saw my future in front of me: Lorna Doone.

On the way home I was quiet, and Uncle Ben asked me many times what was wrong with me. But I could not tell him. The truth was, I had decided to go back into Doone valley.

I waited until Saint Valentine's day — the exact day when I had first entered the valley. Again, I followed the river, and again I climbed the waterfall. Although I was seven years older, the climb was not easy. When I got to the top, I looked around me carefully.

In the early spring sunshine, the valley was beautiful. As I looked at the stream and the fields of grass on either side of it, I forgot about any dangers — and then I heard someone singing, in a beautiful voice. At first I hid behind a rock, but when I looked out, I saw the lovely sight of Lorna Doone coming towards me, along by the side of the stream. Her beauty frightened me. How could I — only a farmer — talk to her? But something seemed to pull at me and I came out from behind the rock.

At first, she turned to run away, not knowing who I was, but then I said, 'Lorna Doone!' and she seemed to remember me. A smile broke out on her face.

'I'm John Ridd,' I said, 'the boy who gave you those beautiful fish, seven years ago today.'

'Oh, yes — the boy who was so frightened that he hid behind those rocks. I remember.'

'And do you remember how kind you were, and how you wanted to help me? And then you went away, riding on a big man's shoulders, and pretending you had never seen me. But you looked back and waved at me.'

'Oh, yes. I remember everything, because it isn't often I see anybody, except — I mean... Well, I just remember, that's all. But don't you remember, sir, how dangerous this place is?'

But I couldn't answer her. She had kept her eyes on me all the time — large eyes, of a softness and brightness and beauty that took my breath away. I felt love taking hold of me — a love too deep and too strong for words. How could I explain feelings that I did not really understand myself?

She turned her eyes away from me. 'I don't think you can possibly know, John Ridd, the dangers of this place, or what its people are like.'

I could see that she herself was very frightened. She was trembling, from fear that someone might see me while I was there, and hurt me. To tell the truth, I also grew afraid, and thought I had better go and say no more, until the next time I came.

I touched her white hand softly. 'Don't be afraid,' I said. 'I'll go now, but I'll come again soon, and bring you some fresh eggs from our farm.'

She reminded me again of the danger. 'But,' she went on, 'it seems that you still remember your secret way in,' and she smiled at me kindly.

fall in love with to start to love someone or something very much 爱上

have a good word for somebody to praise somebody 替某人美言几句

face v. be positioned with the face or front towards or in a specific direction 面对

defeat v. win a victory over 打败

to tell the truth to be frank 说实话

3．重返杜恩山谷

日复一日，年复一年，我渐渐长得十分高大强壮，就像父亲当年那样。等到我长成型时，比埃克斯莫尔所有的男人都魁梧。我能单手托起约翰·弗赖伊，并把他举到空中——直到他哀求我将他放下。

我的妹妹安妮长着一双蓝色的大眼睛和一头柔软的褐色头发，出落得一年比一年美丽。她为人温柔善良，人人都喜欢跟她在一起。这就不难理解为什么母亲的表弟汤姆·费格斯会爱上她了。

汤姆·费格斯是个让我们家人既自豪又惭愧的人物。他曾一度是英格兰地区最出名的强盗之一，至今人们仍在讲述他在全国各地冒险的故事。他原本是一名老实巴交的农夫，但一个有钱人钻了法律的空子夺取了他的农庄，此后汤姆就开始向他遇到的所有有钱人进行报复。这也许就是他为何如此受欢迎的原因：他劫富济贫，而且一生从未伤害过任何人。

当我还是小孩子的时候，有一天他来到了我们的农庄，请求母亲给他些食物，并让他留宿一夜。起初，母亲决意赶他走，担心我们这些孩子会被他带坏，但最终她还是同意他留下了。“你在某些方面也许是个坏人，”她对他说，“但还有人比你坏得多。还是过来坐在火炉边上吧，随便吃点我们能给你的东西。”

汤姆总是面带微笑，对每个人都赞美有加，跟他在一起很有意思。他跟我们在一起时，我总是看见安妮非常温柔地望着他，而这些年来，他来做客的次数越发频繁了。

说到莉齐，我从来没想过会有人爱上她！她身材瘦小，而且或许还聪明得有些过头了——你永远也不知道她下一句话会说什么。但我不该这么说自己的妹妹。

母亲似乎一点都没变老，仍然同过去一样漂亮、善良。她从没忘记过父亲，虽然这么多年过去了，她有时仍会为他哭泣。

一直以来，就算我曾想起过洛娜·杜恩，也只不过像是一场梦。而杜恩家族的人则继续随心所欲地抢劫和杀戮。

我二十一岁那年的圣诞节，本叔叔在穿过埃克斯莫尔的路上遇到杜恩家族的打劫。他原本是要来我家做客，却一直没到，于是母亲便派我出去找他。我在一条地势较高的偏僻小路上找到了他，他鼻子贴着马尾巴被绑在马背上。他怒火冲天，想找杜恩家族的人报仇。他让我把杜恩家族的老巢指给他看，以便一旦“时机成熟”，能有最好的方法去袭击他们。于是一两天后，我带着他爬上了能俯瞰山谷的那条山脉。

十四岁以后，我就再没走过这条路。路上，我想起了曾在这个山谷里遇见的那个女孩——想起她可爱的黑眼睛、甜美的微笑、淡淡的忧伤……和孤寂。

我们站在陡峭的悬崖顶上，俯瞰脚下狭长葱郁的杜恩山谷。山谷的两端各有一道狭窄的缺口。较远的那头是我七年前曾攀登过的瀑布，而另一头则是被我们称为杜恩大门的地方。那里有两道石崖相对而立，中间只有一条狭窄的小路，就像城堡的大门，要想闯进山谷似乎是不可能的。但本叔叔看出了一条途径。“你看出该如何袭击他们了吗？”他问道，“只要沿着两侧的悬崖架设大炮朝山谷里开火，就能在半小时内把杜恩家族打败。”

但我没听进去。我正望向山谷尽头的瀑布。那里有个身穿白衣的娇小身影在走动，脚步十分轻盈。我的心跳开始加速，血液升腾到脸庞上。七年来，我差不多已将她遗忘了，而且我想她也绝不会记得我。但就在那一刻，我终于看到了自己的未来：那就是洛娜·杜恩。

在回家的路上，我一言不发。本叔叔多次问起我究竟怎么了，我却无法如实相告。事实上，我已决定要重返杜恩山谷。

我一直等到圣瓦伦廷节——这一天正好是我当年第一次进山谷的日子。我再次沿着河流前行，攀上了瀑布。虽然我比当年长大了七岁，要爬上去仍然不太容易。我爬上瀑布顶端后，小心地环顾四周。

在早春阳光的照耀下，山谷里景色秀美。我望着溪流和两岸的草地，忘记了所有的危险——接着，我听见有人在用美妙的歌喉吟唱。起初我躲到了一块岩石后，但当我探出头张望时，看见可爱的洛娜·杜恩正沿着岸边朝我走过来。她的美貌令我心惊。我——一名普普通通的农夫——怎么配跟她说话呢？但冥冥中似乎有人牵着我，我从岩石后走了出来。

一开始，她不知道我是谁，掉头便跑。我连忙喊了一声：“洛娜·杜恩！”她似乎记起了我，脸上霎时露出了微笑。“我是约翰·里德，”我说，“那个在七年前的今天给你那些漂亮的鱼的男孩。”“哦，没错——那个吓得躲到那堆岩石后头的男孩。我想起来了。”“那你还记不记得你当时有多善良、多想帮助我？然后你假装从没看见过我，坐在一个大个子男人的肩膀上离开了。但你当时向后看了看，还冲我挥了挥手。”“哦，是的。我全都记得，因为我很少见到生人，除了——我是说……呃，反正我还记得，没别的。可是，先生，难道你不记得这个地方有多危险了吗？”

我无法回答她的问题。她一直望着我——那双明亮的大眼睛温柔而美丽，让我透不过气来。我感到爱情将我紧紧抓住——这种爱如此深切和强烈，简直无法用言语来形容。我怎么能解释连自己都无法真正理解的感情呢？

她将目光从我身上移开：“约翰·里德，我想你不可能知道这里有多危险，这里的人究竟是怎样一副嘴脸。”

我能看出她十分恐慌。她一直瑟瑟发抖，生怕有人看见我在这儿并加害于我。说实话，我也渐渐害怕起来，觉得自己最好还是什么都别说了，先离开这里，等下次来再说。

我轻抚了一下她白皙的手。“别害怕，”我说，“我这就走。但我很快会再来，还会从我家农庄给你带一些新鲜鸡蛋来。”

她再次提醒我当心危险。“但是，”她接着说，“看样子你还记得进山谷的秘密通道，”说完她冲我温柔地笑了笑。

4 Lorna's story

This time when she saw me, she came quickly towards me. 'Mr Ridd, are you mad?' she said. 'There are men on guard all round the valley. We must hide at once.' She took my hand and led me to her secret place, which was a kind of room hidden in the rock of the mountain. It was a green, peaceful place, open to the sky above, but the only way into it was through a narrow entrance in a cave.

I gave her the eggs I had brought her as a present, and at this she began to cry.

'What have I done?' I asked.

'It's nothing you've done,' she said. 'It's just a sadness that I feel when I see anything from the world outside — and you've been very kind, and I'm not used to kindness.'

I wanted to put my arms around her, and kiss her, but I knew this would be wrong. So I sat and listened, and I think this made her like me more, because she began to tell me her life story. She told me everything — everything except what her feelings were towards John Ridd.

'Only two people ever listen to me, or try to help me,' she began. 'One is my grandfather, Sir Ensor Doone, and the other is my uncle, a clever man, whom they call the Counsellor. My grandfather is a very old and very hard man — except with me. He seems to know what is right and wrong, but not to want to think about it. And the Counsellor smiles a lot and talks about what is right and good — but he never does a good thing himself.'

'My Aunt Sabina used to take care of me, and she taught me very carefully. She was a good person, honest and kind, and when she died, it was like losing a mother. Now there is only one woman I can talk to — Gwenny, my servant. She is my closest friend.'

'I don't remember my father, but they say he was the eldest son of Sir Ensor Doone, and the bravest and best of them all. They say, because of that, that I am their "Queen".'

'I dream of a world outside this one, Mr Ridd — a world of peace. This valley is green and beautiful, but all around me is violence and robbery, and stupid behaviour. I can't come down to their level. I can't forget myself and live like them. And strange questions come to me, that they can never answer. When I try to think about the past, about my early childhood, I can't remember anything. I want to know what I am, and why I am in this place. I suppose you think that's strange. Perhaps people who are happy and at peace don't need to ask questions like those.'

Here, Lorna began to cry again. I could think of nothing to say, but I dried her eyes for her.

'Mr Ridd, I am ashamed and angry at myself for talking so much, like this. But you, who have a mother who loves you, and sisters, and a quiet home, can't tell how lonely it is to live as I do.'

'I have this secret place to come to, because I begged them for it. Only grandfather and the Counsellor come here — and sometimes Carver, the Counsellor's son. No one in the valley is as strong or brave as him. But he is not like his father. He is rough and violent, always quick to be angry, and will listen to no opinion except his own. There is talk of him wanting to marry me, but I would rather die than marry Carver Doone.'

'Now you see how unhappy I am here. I would escape, and go anywhere, but I know it would hurt my grandfather.'

This was too much for Lorna, and she couldn't tell me any more. She broke down and cried. I talked to her gently and kindly until she began to worry again about the danger I was in. I said I would come back and see her again, but she made me promise not to come back for another month — so that I would not add to her problems with fears about me. During that time, we agreed that if she were in any danger, she would put a dark coat over a white rock, near her secret room. I would be able to see this from a hill above the valley, and then I would come.

with one's head in the clouds full of idealistic dreams; out of touch with reality 想入非非地

dream of v. think of something that you would like to happen 向往；梦想

rough adj. not gentle; violent or boisterous 粗鲁的

escape v. break free from confinement or control 逃走

4．洛娜的故事

我心中燃烧着爱的烈火，想入非非地回到了家。整整那一周，我都无法停止对洛娜的思念，像梦游一般在农庄上劳作。很快，我又去见她了。

这一次她看见我时，飞快地朝我走了过来。“里德先生，你疯了吗？”她说，“山谷周围全都有人站岗，我们必须马上躲起来。”她拉着我的手，将我带到她的秘密藏身之处。那是隐藏在山上岩石间的一小块地方。那里树阴浓密，十分幽静，抬头就能看见天空，而唯一的通道就是山洞的一条狭窄的入口。

我将带来的鸡蛋作为礼物送给了她，她看到这情形立刻哭了起来。“我做错什么了吗？”我问。“跟你没关系，”她说，“只是当我看见来自外面世界的东西时，就会有一种悲伤的感觉——而你又一直对我这么好，我不太习惯有人对我好。”

我想伸出双臂拥她入怀、亲吻她，但我知道这样做是不对的，于是便坐下来听她说话。我想这样让她更喜欢我了，因为她开始给我讲述她的故事。她把一切都告诉了我——除了她对约翰·里德的感觉。“只有两个人会听我说话，会尽量帮助我，”她娓娓道来，“一个是我的祖父恩索尔·杜恩爵士，另一个是我的叔父，他是个聪明人，大家都叫他亲王。我祖父是个年迈而且极难相处的人——对我例外。他似乎知道何为善恶对错，但却不愿去想。亲王则总是笑呵呵的，喜欢高谈阔论何为正义善良——但自己却从不干什么好事。”“萨比娜阿姨过去时常照顾我，还非常用心地教导我。她是个好人，为人诚实善良。她过世的时候，我难过得像失去了生母。现在我只能跟一个女人说话了——那就是格温妮，我的女仆。她是我最亲密的朋友。”“我对我父亲没什么印象，但听他们说，我父亲是思索尔·杜恩爵士的大儿子，也是他最勇敢、最出色的儿子。他们说，正因为如此，我就是他们的‘女王’。”“我向往着一个不同于这里的世界，里德先生——一个祥和的世界。这片山谷青翠美丽，但我身边却充斥着暴力、抢劫和愚蠢的行为。我不能沦落到他们那种地步。我不能迷失自我，像他们那样生活。而且我会想出一些他们永远也无法回答的怪问题。每当我试图回忆过去、回忆自己的孩提时代时，我总是什么都想不起来。我想知道自己是什么人、为什么会在这里。我想你一定觉得这很奇怪。也许快乐平和的人不需要问这种问题。”

说到这儿，洛娜又开始哭泣了。我不知道该说什么才好，只能为她擦干眼泪。“里德先生，真是惭愧，我唠唠叨叨说了这么多话，真有点气我自己。但你有疼爱你的母亲，有妹妹们，还有一个安宁的家，你无法了解像我这样生活有多么孤寂。”“我向他们苦苦哀求，才得以来到这个隐秘的地方。只有祖父和亲王会来这儿——亲王的儿子卡弗偶尔也会来。山谷里没人比他更强壮勇猛。但他并不像他的父亲。他粗暴易怒、一意孤行。有传言说他想娶我，但我宁死也不愿嫁给卡弗·杜恩。”“现在你明白我在这儿有多么不开心了吧。我可以逃走，到别的地方去，但我知道这样会伤祖父的心。”

这些话极大地触动了洛娜的伤心处，她已经无法继续对我讲下去了。她情绪失控，哭了起来。我温柔而亲切地安抚着她，直到她再次为我身处险境担忧起来。我说会再回来看她，但她要我保证一个月内不再来——免得她除了自己的烦恼外，还要为我担心。那一次，我们约定如果她遇到什么危险，就在她的秘密山洞附近的一块白色岩石上放一件深色外套。我能从山谷上面的小山上看见这外套，然后就会赶过来。

5 To London

One afternoon, as I was outside the house feeding the horses, a stranger rode up to our gate and shouted at me. He was a tough-looking, hard-faced man, about forty years old, with small, quick eyes, and he was dressed very differently from the way we dress in Exmoor. He said he was looking for Plover's Barrows farm, and a man called John Ridd. When I told him he had found them both, he introduced himself as Jeremy Stickles, a servant of the King, and he gave me a letter. I looked at him in alarm, but he said there was nothing in the letter to worry me.

At the top of the letter, my name was written in large letters. I read:

TO JOHN RIDD:

This letter is to order you to appear before the King's judges in London, and tell them anything you know about some matters which may be harmful to the King and the country.

Jeremy Stickles seemed very pleased by my fear and surprise at the letter, but he said again that no one was going to hurt me. All I had to do was tell the truth.

When my mother read the letter, she became very worried and began to cry. She wondered how the King had heard of me, and what he wanted to do with me. But Mr Stickles, who wasn't really as hard as he seemed, explained everything carefully to her. He told her that the King only knew of me because the stories of my great size and strength had reached even London. He had heard I was a good man, and thought I could help him, that was all.

This made my mother feel better, but I was very unhappy. I was thinking of Lorna. How could I tell her I was going away? I had promised not to go back to the valley for a month, and that was still a few days away. But how terrible it would be if she came to look for me at the end of the month, and I was not there! I would have to break my promise and go before the agreed time.

Mr Stickles was happy to stay at the farm for one or two days, to try our good Exmoor food. So I used the time to look for Lorna. But I saw nothing of her in the valley, and no signal that she needed me. There was nothing else I could do. Mr Stickles wanted to go, and I had to leave for London without seeing her.*　　*　　*

A journey to London was both long and dangerous in those days, because of all the robbers on the roads. As I said goodbye to my mother and sisters and took my last look at the farmhouse, I felt very miserable. But Jeremy Stickles was a good companion. As we rode, he told me many amusing stories of London life, and we became the best of friends.

I did not like London. It was a crowded, dirty place, not at all like Exmoor — and, even worse, I had to wait more than two months before the King's judges were ready to see me. There was a lot of trouble in London at that time, with arguments between the King and the City of London. Nobody had time to talk to John Ridd, but I was not allowed to leave and go home. At last, I was called to see Judge Jeffreys.

Jeremy Stickles had told me about Judge Jeffreys. He was the King's chief judge, and there were terrible stories about him. He became very angry if anyone argued with him, and he had sent many of the King's enemies to their deaths.

In the room I walked into, there were three men sitting on high seats, and they were dressed in very rich clothes. In front of each of them was a desk, with pen and paper. The man in the middle seemed to be the most important. He was a big, heavy man, with a square chin and a kind of fire in his eyes. He was a man that almost anyone would be afraid of. This was certainly Judge Jeffreys.

He gave me a terrible stare, and asked me who I was and where I came from. When I had told him, he said: 'Well done, John Ridd. You have answered me without fear. I remember this matter now. I will ask you some questions.' He looked at me more closely. 'In Exmoor,' he said, 'there is a family of robbers. Is that true?'

I told him it was.

'And why isn't your local judge doing anything about them?'

'I suppose he's afraid, my Lord. The robbers are very strong, and their valley is hard to attack.'

'But they must still answer to the law!' Judge Jeffreys said. 'What's the name of these people, and how many of them are there?'

'They are the Doones, and we think there are about forty men in the valley.'

'I will do something about these thieves,' he said. 'Perhaps I will come down to the west myself.' But then he stared hard at me again, and asked: 'Is there any sign, in Exmoor, of any dislike of the King?'

'No, my Lord. We don't know much about him.'

'That's a good answer,' he laughed. 'But the King knows he has enemies in the country. I see you know nothing about them, though. You're a good man, John Ridd. Keep out of trouble. Keep away from the King's enemies, and from the Doones as well, and you will be safe. I was going to use you as a spy, but I see you're too honest. I will send someone else. But never tell anyone what I've said to you.' Here he stared at me very angrily, but when he saw he had frightened me enough, he smiled again. 'Now go home, John. I will remember you — and I don't think you will forget me.'

I had no money left to hire a horse for the journey back to Exmoor, so I had to walk the whole way. It took me seven days, and I was very glad to get home again.

alarm n. anxious or frightened awareness of danger 忧虑；惊恐

signal n. a gesture, action, or sound conveying information or an instruction 信号

companion n. a person with whom one spends time 同伴

amusing adj. causing somebody to laugh or smile; entertaining 好笑的；有趣的

keep away from to avoid going somewhere or seeing somebody 离……远点

5．伦敦之行

但是，我没能像预期中那么快与洛娜再次相见。一个月的时间还没过去，我就被人莫名其妙地从家里叫走了。

有一天下午，我正在屋外喂马，一个陌生人骑马来到我家大门口，冲着我大喊。那人长着一张冷酷刻板的脸，约摸四十岁上下，小眼珠转得飞快，衣着打扮跟埃克斯莫尔居民迥然不同。他说自己正在找普罗沃斯巴若斯农庄和一个名叫约翰·里德的人。当我告诉他二者都近在眼前时，他自我介绍说，他叫杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯，是国王的仆人。接着，他递给我一封信。我惶恐地望着他，但他说信中没什么会让我担忧的事。

信纸顶端用很大的字体写着我的名字。信上写道：

致约翰·里德：此信命令你前往伦敦拜见国王的法官们，并向他们如实禀报你所知道的可能对国王和国家不利的事。

看到我读信时所表现出的恐惧和惊讶，杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯似乎感到很满意，但他重申没人会伤害我，我所需要做的只是说出真相。

当母亲读到这封信时，她担心得哭了起来。她很想知道国王是如何得知我的存在的，以及他想把我怎么样。但斯蒂克尔斯先生其实没有看上去那么刻板，他仔细地向母亲解释了一切。他告诉她，国王之所以知道我的存在，只是因为关于我体型庞大、力气过人的传闻已经传到了伦敦。国王听说我是个好人，觉得我能帮助他，就这么简单。

这一席话让母亲感觉好些了，但我却闷闷不乐。我在想洛娜。我如何才能将自己要走的消息告诉她呢？我向她保证过一个月之内不会回到山谷，而现在离一个月的期限还有几天。可万一她在这个月底来找我，而我却不在那儿，那该有多糟糕啊！我只能不守承诺，在约定期限前到那儿去了。

斯蒂克尔斯先生很高兴能在农庄呆上一两天，尝尝我们埃克斯莫尔的美食。于是我便利用这段时间来寻找洛娜。但我在山谷中没见到她的半点身影，也没见到她需要我帮助时用的信号。我无计可施。斯蒂克尔斯先生想上路了，而我只好在没见到洛娜的情况下前往伦敦。*　　*　　*

在那个年代，去往伦敦的路途遥远而危险，因为沿途不时有强盗出没。我同母亲和妹妹们告别，最后看了一眼农庄的房子，心里非常难受。幸好杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯是个不错的旅伴。我们一路骑马前行，他给我讲了很多关于伦敦生活的趣闻，我们成了最好的朋友。

我并不喜欢伦敦。那是个拥挤而肮脏的地方，跟埃克斯莫尔截然不同——而更糟糕的是，我还得再等两个多月国王的法官们才能接见我。当时伦敦一片混乱，国王和伦敦市民之间纠纷不断。没有人有空搭理约翰·里德，而我也没获准离开伦敦回家。最终，杰弗里斯法官召见了我。

杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯给我描述过杰弗里斯法官。他是国王的首席法官，有不少关于他的令人心惊胆颤的传闻。要是有人胆敢同他争论，他就会暴跳如雷。他还曾经把国王的许多敌人送上了断头台。

我走进了一个房间，里面有三位衣着华贵的人坐在高高的椅子上，每人面前都有一张书桌，上面摆放着纸笔。中间那人看样子是最重要的人物。那是一位身材高大壮硕的男子，方下巴、目光如炬，几乎人人见了他都会惧怕三分。这位一定是杰弗里斯法官。

他严厉地瞪了我一眼，询问我的身份和籍贯。我回答完后，他说：“很好，约翰·里德，你回答我的问题时毫不畏惧。我现在想起来了。我要问你几个问题，”他紧紧逼视着我。“在埃克斯莫尔，”他问道，“有一个强盗家族，这是真的吗？”

我告诉他的确如此。“那为什么你们当地的法官没对他们采取任何行动？”“我想是因为他害怕那些强盗，法官大人。那些强盗势力非常强大，而且他们的山谷也很难攻破。”“但他们还是得接受法律的制裁！”杰弗里斯法官说，“这些人叫什么名字，总共有多少人？”“他们姓杜恩，估计山谷里有四十人左右。”“我会对这些盗贼采取行动的，”他说，“也许我会亲自到西部去一趟。”但紧接着，他又使劲盯着我，问道：“在埃克斯莫尔有没有对国王不满的迹象？”“没有，法官大人。我们对国王知道的不多。”“回答得很好，”他笑着说，“但国王知道他在国内有敌人。不过我看出你对他们一无所知。你是个好人，约翰·里德，别给自己惹麻烦。离国王的敌人们远点，也离杜恩家族远点，这样你就安全了。我原本想让你做一名间谍，但看得出你为人太实在了。我会另外派人去的。不过永远别把我说的话告诉任何人。”说到这里，他恶狠狠地瞪着我；但当他看出他已经把我吓得够呛时，又笑了。“好了，回家去吧，约翰。我会记住你的——而且我想你也不会忘记我的。”

我已经没有余钱雇马回埃克斯莫尔，所以只能一路走回去。我走

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