通译双语文库:陷坑与钟摆陷坑与钟摆|The Pit and the Pendulum

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陷坑与钟摆|The Pit and the Pendulum

属类：双语小说【分类】世界名著 -[作者: 埃德加 -爱伦-坡] 阅读：[4188] 登录会员即可添加到文库收藏夹，方便以后查看

一个人躺在托莱多的狱中。他心里害怕——不，不止害怕，他充满了恐惧，因为他知道宗教法庭的狱中有五花八门的“惊喜”。很快，他就会看到下方的陷坑…… 这个人并不是书中唯一一个满怀恐惧的人。当福尔图纳托正高高兴兴地要去参加狂欢节聚会时，他遇到了老朋友蒙特雷索。蒙特雷索想要聊聊阿蒙提拉多酒的事情，于是福尔图纳托发现自己身处蒙特雷索家房子下面阴冷潮湿的地窖之中。恐惧很快随之袭来……
一个害怕被活埋的人永远无法摆脱恐惧;一对年轻恋人的密会使很多人陷入恐惧之中;画家年轻貌美的妻子端坐在那里，一直微笑着——然而她心中充满了恐惧。
死亡和恐惧，恐惧和死亡，两者在这些故事中总是牵手相伴。请你在白天，选一个洒满阳光的房间，并在朋友的陪伴下阅读这些故事吧!
A man is lying in a prison in Toledo. He is afraid – no, he is more than afraid, he is full of terror, because he knows that the Inquisition has many surprises in its prisons. Very soon he will look down into the pit...
And he is not the only person in these stories to be full of terror. When Fortunato meets his old friend Montresor, he is a happy man, on his way to a carnival party. But Montresor wants to talk about some Amontillado, and Fortunato finds himself in the cold damp vaults below Montresor’s house. Terror soon follows...
The man who fears burial alive is never free from terror; a meeting of young lovers brings terror to many people; and the beautiful young wife of a painter sits smiling, smiling, smiling – but with terror in her heart.
Death and Terror, Terror and Death, walk hand in hand through these stories. Read them by daylight, in a bright sunny room, with friends around you!

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道德经

论语

孙子兵法

禮記

孟子

尚書

詩經

周易

简典

	Inquisition [ˌɪnkwɪ’zɪʃn]	n.调查;审查;(罗马天主教的)宗教法庭
	Toledo [tə’liːdəʊ]	托莱多(美国港市)
	tomb [tuːm]	n.坟墓
	sleepy [’sliːpi]	adj.欲睡的;困倦的
	salty [’sɔːlti]	adj.咸的
	thirsty [’θɜːsti]	adj.口渴的;渴望的
	hiss [hɪs]	n.嘘声;嘶嘶声
	past [pɑːst]	a. 过去的;
	devilish [’devəlɪʃ]	adj.魔鬼似的;可怕的;过分的
	fainting [’feɪntɪŋ]	n.昏晕;不省人事,
	Toledo [tə’liːdəʊ]	托莱多(美国港市)
	Inquisition [ˌɪnkwɪ’zɪʃn]	n.调查;审查;(罗马天主教的)宗教法庭

陷坑与钟摆|The Pit and the Pendulum

我不想睁开眼睛。现在还不是时候。我仰面躺着，一动不动，回想着……

可是当他们把我从那个房间拖走时，我是知道的。他们个子高大，轻手轻脚。向下……他们拖着我向下，向下进入到黑暗和恐惧之中。

我还没有睁开眼睛。我仰面躺着，伸出一只手。手重重地落在又湿又硬的东西上面。我在哪儿？我还在托莱多的监狱里吗？为什么我还活着？西班牙的宗教法庭通常采用火刑。他们为什么还没有烧死我？

此刻我记起了关于托莱多监狱的其他传闻，传闻中的其他死法……

我跳了起来，伸出手臂四处摸索。我什么也摸不着，什么也看不到。这个地方太大，不可能是一个坟墓。

走路并非易事。我的脚常常在潮湿的地面上打滑。突然，我摔倒了。我躺在地上，闭着眼睛。我想要站起来，可是我累了……已经筋疲力尽……

我睡了一段时间。醒来后，我伸出手臂，在身边摸到了面包和一瓶水。我狼吞虎咽地吃着面包，喝着瓶里的水。过了一会儿，我起身继续顺着墙壁走，边走边数我的脚步。

当我碰到地板上放着的那块牢服上撕下的布条时，我停下来思索。我的牢房绕一圈约五十步——这么说，大约是三十米。这个发现对我有用吗？或许没有，但是现在我想知道更多情况。

我开始横穿牢房，从墙边向中央走去。六七步之后，我的脚又在潮湿的地面上滑了一下，我脸朝下重重地摔倒了。

然而……我的头下面竟然什么都没有。我的身体趴在地面上，但我的头下面则是……空无一物。我的脸能感觉到一阵微风，随之飘来一种味道，一种温暖潮湿的味道——是什么东西死了很久之后散发出的味道。

我伸出手臂，发现自己趴在一个坑的边缘。这个坑有多深？我用手指在地面上四处摸索，找到了一块小石头。我把它扔进坑里，侧耳倾听。过了很久，它掉进了水里。

与此同时，上方远远的某处，一扇门打开后又关上了。有那么一瞬间，我的牢房里有了亮光，然后亮光又消失了。可就在那一瞬间，我看到我只差一步就要掉进那个可怕的坑里丧命。

我浑身颤抖，慢慢挪回到了墙边。我听说过关于宗教法庭监狱里的陷坑的传闻，而那绝不是一种干脆、痛快的死法。

天啊，我要死在这个监狱里了——缓慢而痛苦地死去。每天每时每刻，我都在等着死亡的降临，而等待过程之可怕绝不亚于死亡本身。

我的恐惧使我久久不能入睡，不过最终我的眼睛还是合上了。等我醒来的时候，我的身边又放着面包和水。这么说……他们一直在监视我，等我睡着时才进来。

牢房是方形的，墙壁不是石头的，而是金属的。墙壁上有一些画，画的是一张张脸，脸上长着狰狞的眼睛——魔鬼的眼睛。石头地面的中央是那个陷坑。

我无法站起身来！为什么呢？

我抬头看着我上方的金属天花板。有一块方形嵌板上是时间老人的画像。他拿着一个钟摆……不，等等！那个钟摆是真的——它正来回摆动呢。

我盯着它看了一会儿，有一点儿害怕。接着我听到一些动静。九或十只大老鼠从陷坑里爬了上来。它们闻到肉味，跑了过来。我把它们赶走了，但这可不是件易事。

而且随着每一次的摆动，它离我越来越近。

我躲过了命丧陷坑，可现在却眼睁睁地看着死亡再次降临。我什么都做不了，只能满怀恐惧地看着，等待着，直到那个明晃晃的利刃劈入我的身体。

几个小时，也可能是几天过去了。虽然，我不知道过了多久，可是恐惧一刻都不曾停止。

我数着钟摆摆动的次数……看着那利刃越来越低……听着那咝咝声越来越响。我已经能闻到那利刃的金属味了，于是我挺起身迎向它。

“来啊！劈了我！快一点儿，让我死吧！”

我睡了醒，醒了又睡。钟摆依然在我上方摆来摆去，利刃越来越近。等它够到我，就会劈开我的身体，劈入我的心脏。

现在，我无法不去看它。我大喊，大笑，大叫，然而利刃依然逐渐逼近。那绵延无尽的恐惧，到底何时才会停止？

我饿了，伸出手去拿地上盘中的最后一块肉。等等！

我想到了一个主意。

我能不能……？

虽然希望渺茫，可是……

那些老鼠还待在我身边，围在我的床边等着，它们用饥饿的红眼睛瞪着我。我想，“它们在那个可怕的陷坑里吃什么？”

它们能闻到我手里那块肉的味道。我能看到它们的眼睛正盯着肉看。那肉肥得流油，如果我把油脂抹在捆绑我的绳子上面……

我那么做了。然后我静静地躺着。

太棒了！那些体型最大的老鼠中有一些跳到了我身上。现在有更多的老鼠从陷坑里爬了出来。顷刻之间，有数百只老鼠跑到了我的身上、脸上，用它们冰冷的嘴触碰着我的眼睛、我的嘴。啊！

再过几秒钟，那利刃就将劈入我的身体。我必须一动不动地躺着，我必须一动不动地躺着……

太棒了！老鼠们正在咬绳子——我能感觉到！钟摆的利刃开始切割我的牢服，现在已经要切到我的身体了，好在老鼠们已经完成了它们的工作，绳索从我身上掉了下去。

我驱开群鼠，逃离了钟摆，翻身下地。就这样！我自由了！

自由了——但还是宗教法庭的囚徒。

钟摆停止了摆动。它升回到天花板上。这么说，他们还在监视我。现在他们还要给我制造什么新的恐惧？

我从墙壁旁走到牢房中央的陷坑边上。燃烧的天花板发出的光芒照亮了陷坑的深处，我低头看去，看到了……

不，不，我不能——我说不出来！不要是这个！不，不，不要是这个！啊，随便什么可怕的东西都行，但不要是这个！

我从坑边跑开，用手捂住了脸。

可是燃烧的墙壁将我一步步推向牢房中央——还有那个陷坑。当然！那就是他们想要的！墙壁会一直逼迫我，直到我掉进陷坑为止！这种死法是无论如何也逃脱不了了。

现在这么炙热，而且越来越热……燃烧的墙壁逼迫过来……站立的地方都没有……我的后背和胳膊都烧伤了……我的脚就在陷坑的边缘……我坚持不住了……我发出了最后一声长长的尖叫——

声音！我能听到声音！是的，还有跑步的声音，开门的声音和人们的喊声。现在燃烧的墙壁正在往回移动。就在我要晕倒跌入陷坑之时，一只手抓住了我的胳膊。

是拉萨尔将军。法国军队攻入了托莱多城，而西班牙宗教法庭最终落入了它的敌人之手。

I will not open my eyes. Not yet. I lie on my back, very still, and remember...

But I knew when they took me away from that room. They were tall men, moving silently. Down... down they carried me, down into darkness and terror.

I have not opened my eyes yet. I lie on my back, and put out my hand. It falls heavily on something wet and hard. Where am I? Am I still in the prisons at Toledo? Why am I still alive? The Spanish Inquisition kills by fire. Why have they not burnt me to death?

And now I remember other stories of the prisons at Toledo, stories of other kinds of death...

A terrible thought comes to me. I am in a tomb...

I jump up, moving my arms around me. I can feel and see nothing. This place is too big to be a tomb.

I walk on, slowly, until my fingers touch a wall. It is wet and cold. I begin to follow it round, but then stop. How big is my prison? I must know. I tear off a small piece of my long prison shirt and put it on the floor, next to the wall. I move on again, counting my steps.

Walking is not easy. My feet often slip on the wet floor, and suddenly I fall down. I lie there, with my eyes closed. I want to get up, but I am tired... so tired...

I sleep for some time. When I wake up, I put out my arm and find bread and a bottle of water next to me. I eat hungrily and drink from the bottle. After a time, I get up and follow the wall again, counting my steps.

When I find the piece of my shirt on the floor, I stop and think. My prison is about fifty steps around – so about thirty metres. Does it help me to know this? Perhaps not, but now I want to know more.

I start to move across the room, away from the wall. After six or seven steps, my feet slip on the wet floor again, and I fall heavily on my face.

And yet... there is nothing under my head. My body lies on the floor, but under my head there is... nothing. And I can feel on my face a little soft wind, bringing with it a smell, a warm wet smell – the smell of things that have been dead for a long time.

I put out my arm, and find that I am on the edge of a pit. How deep is it? I feel around the floor with my fingers and find a small stone. I drop it into the pit, and listen. After a long time, it falls into water.

At the same moment, a door opens and closes high above me. For a second there is light in my prison, and then it is gone again. But in that second I see I was just one step away from death in that terrible pit.

Shaking, I move slowly back to the wall. I have heard stories about the prison pits of the Inquisition, and they do not give you a quick, clean death.

Dear God, I am going to die in this prison – a slow and terrible death. Every second of every hour of every day I will wait for it, and the waiting will be as terrible as the death itself.

My fear keeps me from sleep for many long hours, but at last my eyes close. When I wake up, there is bread and water beside me again. So... they are watching me all the time, and come in while I am asleep.

I am very thirsty and I drink the water quickly. They have put something in it because at once I feel very sleepy, and I fall into a long, deep sleep. For how long, I do not know. But when I wake up, it is not so dark. A yellow light is coming from somewhere, and I can see my prison at last.

The room is square, and the walls are not made of stone but of metal. There are pictures on them, pictures of faces with wild-looking eyes – the eyes of devils. In the centre of the stone floor is the pit.

I cannot stand up! Why?

I look up at the metal ceiling above me. On one square of it there is a picture of old Father Time. He is holding a pendulum... No, wait! The pendulum is real – it is moving from side to side.

I watch it for a while, a little afraid. Then I hear a noise. Nine or ten large rats have come up from the pit. They can smell the meat, and are running to it across the floor. I make them go away again, but it is hard work.

And with each move, it comes nearer and nearer.

I escaped death in the pit, but now I am staring at another death. I can do nothing, only watch in terror, and wait until that bright blade cuts into my body.

With each move of the pendulum, that bright blade comes nearer and nearer.

Hours, perhaps days, go past. I do not know how many, but the terror does not stop.

I have counted the moves of the pendulum... watched the blade come lower and lower... heard the hissing get louder and louder. Already I can smell the metal of the sharp blade, and I push my body up to it.

Come! Cut me! Be quick, give me death!’

I sleep, wake, and sleep again. And still the pendulum moves from side to side above me, and the blade comes nearer and nearer. When it reaches me, it will cut across my body, into my heart.

I cannot stop watching it now. I cry out, I laugh, I scream, and still the blade comes nearer. So many long hours of terror. When will they end?

I am hungry, and put out my hand to take the last piece of meat from the plate on the floor. Wait!

A thought comes into my head.

Could I...?