4 Death in Geneva

Chapter 4 Death in Geneva When Victor returned, there was a letter from his father waiting for him. He opened it eagerly- but his face turned pale as he read.

维克托回来时，有一封他父亲的信在等着他。 他急切地打开了信——但读着读着，他的脸变得苍白了。

Dear Victor, How can I send such bad news? It is with tears and wretchedness I write- your little brother William is dead! Murdered! I must tell you how... We had gone for a family walk in the woods. We stopped to rest and we grown-ups fell asleep. William must have wandered off. When we woke, he was gone. We searched everywhere. Eventually I discovered his lifeless body, the marks of the murderer's fingers still red around his neck. A locket containing a picture of his dead mother had been stolen from him. Who could have robbed and killed an innocent child? Surely only a monster, someone without any human feeling! Hurry home, to comfort us in our grief... Your loving father Silently, Victor passed the letter to Henry. "Poor William!" cried Henry. "Still, at least he is at peace now. He does not need our pity- we must keep that for the living."

亲爱的维克多，我怎么能传达这样的坏消息呢？ 我是带着悲伤的眼泪写这封信的——你的小弟弟威廉死了！谋杀了!我必须告诉你…… 我们全家在树林里散步。 我们停下来休息，大人们睡着了。 威廉一定是走丢了。 当我们醒来时，他已经走了。 我们到处都找遍了。最后我发现了他的尸体，他的脖子上还留有凶手的手印。 一个装着他死去母亲照片的挂坠盒被人偷走了。 谁会抢劫并杀害一个无辜的孩子？ 当然只是一个怪物，一个没有任何人类感情的人！赶快回家，安慰我们的悲伤…… 维克多默默地把信递给亨利。 “可怜的威廉！”亨利叫道。 “不过，至少他现在很平静。 他不需要我们的怜悯——我们必须为活着的人保留怜悯。”

The friends returned to Geneva by coach. It was a long journey and they arrived late, during a storm. As lightning burned across the sky, Victor spotted a familiar ugly figure in the distance. "The monster!" He watched it run swiftly over the hills until it disappeared. Knowing the creature was still alive filled him with despair. "What is it doing here?" he wondered. And the suspicion came to him- could it be the murderer?

朋友们乘长途汽车回到日内瓦。 这是一次长途旅行，他们在暴风雨中迟到了。 当闪电划过天空时，维克多发现远处有一个熟悉的丑陋身影。 “怪物!”他看着它飞快地跑过小山，直到消失。 知道那家伙还活着，他感到绝望。 “它在这里做什么？”他纳闷。 于是他产生了怀疑——会是凶手吗？

The more he thought about it, the more certain he felt. "And I created this thing!" he moaned. "It's my fault it's here. I raised it from the grave, and now it's destroying my own family." At home, they were greeted by more bad news. The missing locket had been found -in the pocket of William's nanny, a young girl named Justine. For the authorities, eager for someone to blame, that was enough. She had been accused of murder and, after a hasty trial, hanged. "She couldn't explain how she came to have the locket," sighed Victor's father. "But I know she was innocent," wept Elizabeth. "She could never have hurt William. She loved him as much as the rest of us." Victor just shook his head. "I'm sure the monster is to blame for all this," he thought. "But how can I tell them? They'll think I'm insane."

他越想越觉得肯定。 “我创造了这个东西！”他呻吟道。 “这是我的错。我把它从坟墓里带出来，现在它正在毁掉我自己的家庭。” 在国内，迎接他们的是更多的坏消息。 丢失的挂坠盒在威廉的保姆，一个名叫贾斯汀的年轻女孩的口袋里找到了。 对于急于找替罪羊的当局来说，这就足够了。 她被指控犯有谋杀罪，经过仓促的审判，被处以绞刑。 “她无法解释她是怎么得到那个挂坠盒的。”维克多的父亲叹了口气。 “可是我知道她是无辜的，”伊丽莎白哭着说。 “她不可能伤害威廉。 她和我们一样爱他。” 维克多只是摇了摇头。 “我敢肯定这一切都要怪怪物，”他想。 “可是我怎么能告诉他们呢？”他们会认为我疯了。”

Tortured by remorse, Victor spent hours brooding. No one could comfort him, not even Elizabeth. He felt a terrible guilt for having created such a monster, and lived in fear it would strike again. To try to distract himself, he went for a long walk in the mountains. He climbed higher and higher, through jagged pines and ragged ravines, until he reached a lonely, rocky slope. Ice glittered in the sunlight and the majestic peak of Mont Blanc towered overhead. As he gazed up at the mountain, he heard a noise and spun around. A huge, ugly figure had appeared among the rocks. The monster! "Murderer," cried Victor, trembling with rage. "You strangled my brother, and an innocent woman was hanged for your crime. How dare you come here?"

在悔恨的折磨下，维克多花了几个小时沉思。 没有人能安慰他，伊丽莎白也不能。 他为创造了这样一个怪物而感到非常内疚，生活在恐惧中，害怕它会再次袭击他。 为了分散注意力，他在山里走了很长一段路。 他越爬越高，穿过参差不齐的松树和参差不齐的峡谷，最后来到了一个孤零零的岩石斜坡。 冰在阳光下闪闪发光，雄伟的勃朗峰耸立在头顶上。 当他抬头望着那座山时，他听到了响声，转过身来。 岩石间出现了一个巨大而丑陋的身影。 怪物!“杀人犯！”维克多叫道，气得浑身发抖。 “你勒死了我的兄弟，一个无辜的女人因你的罪行而被绞死。 你怎么敢到这里来？”