4 Blind Man’s Bluff The Sea Chest Is Opened

CHAPTER 4 Blind Man's Bluff: The Sea Chest Is Opened I told my mother all that I knew, and both of us realized that the Captain's terrible shipmates would soon be coming for his chest and that we would never get the money we were owed. We heard footsteps in the dark and were haunted by visions in the mist. We made up our minds to go to the nearest town to seek help, and were soon running scared. We ran on through the night and were happy to see the lights of the town

我把我所知道的一切都告诉了母亲，我们俩都意识到，船长那些可怕的船友很快就会来抢他的箱子，我们永远也拿不到欠我们的钱了。 我们在黑暗中听到脚步声，被雾中的幻象所困扰。 我们决定去最近的城镇寻求帮助，但很快就吓得跑开了。 我们在黑夜中奔跑着，看到镇上的灯火，我们很高兴

burning brightly. But it was all for nothing. When we told the townspeople what had happened and mentioned the name Captain Flint, they all hid, afraid to help us. They would seek out the doctor's aid, but they would not help us defend our inn. My mother cursed the men and told them we would risk returning alone. All they would do was to give me a loaded pistol and to promise to have horses for us when we returned in case we needed them. We headed back home in the dark moonless night through drifting fog. We somehow found our way back to the Admiral Benbow, where we bolted the door behind us, having only the Captain's dead body for company. I reached down to his hand and found the crumpled paper he had so feared getting: the one with the words on it that read, "You have till 10." Suddenly, our clock began chiming and we heard that it was only six

燃烧的明亮。但这一切都是徒劳的。 当我们把发生的事情告诉镇上的人，并提到弗林特船长这个名字时，他们都躲了起来，不敢帮助我们。 他们会寻求医生的帮助，但他们不会帮助我们保卫我们的客栈。 我母亲诅咒了那些人，告诉他们我们要冒险独自回去。 他们只给了我一支上了膛的手枪，并答应在我们回来时给我们备好马，以备不时之需。 在没有月亮的黑夜里，我们穿过飘散的雾回家。 不知怎么的，我们找到了回到“本葆海军上将”旅店的路。我们锁上了房门，只有船长的尸体陪伴着我们。 我伸手去摸他的手，找到了他一直担心会拿到的那张皱巴巴的纸：那张纸上写着：“你到10点为止。” 突然，我们的钟开始报时，我们听到现在才六点

and were cheered: we still had four hours before anything could happen. I felt through his pockets for the key but found only a pocketknife and compass. My mother suggested that it might be around his neck, so I tore open his shirt and there, sure enough, hanging on a string, was the key. We hurried to his room and spotted the old, battered chest. My mother quickly turned the key in the lock and had it open. Inside were carefully cleaned unworn clothing, pistols, silver, and trinkets from faraway lands. Beneath those things were parchment scrolls and a sack of gold. My mother insisted on taking only what was owed us. As we sat counting out the foreign coins, I grabbed her arm hard, holding a finger to my mouth. From the street, I heard the tapping of the blind man's cane and then heard him pulling at the lock of the door. When it wouldn't

大家都欢呼起来：我们还有四个小时才有可能发生什么。 我翻遍了他的口袋找钥匙，但只找到一把小刀和指南针。 母亲说钥匙可能挂在他的脖子上，于是我撕开他的衬衫，果然，钥匙挂在一根绳子上。 我们匆匆赶到他的房间，发现了那只破旧不堪的箱子。 我妈妈很快地把钥匙插进锁里，把门打开了。 里面是精心清洗过的未穿过的衣服、手枪、银器和来自远方的小饰品。 这些东西下面是羊皮纸卷轴和一袋金子。 我母亲坚持只拿她欠我们的东西。 当我们坐着数外国硬币时，我用力抓住她的手臂，用一根手指捂着嘴。 从街上，我听到盲人手杖的敲击声，然后听到他拉门锁的声音。 当它不会

open, we heard him retreat, tapping, into the night. "Mother," I said, "let's take it all and go!" But she would not. And then, suddenly, we heard a whistle from the street and she quickly changed her mind. "I'll take what I have!" she exclaimed. "And I'll take this bundle of old papers to make it even." With that, we jumped up and sprinted downstairs, opened the door, and ran into the street. As we went on our way, the mist began to disappear and we saw that we were not a moment too soon. The moon rose high and we would have been exposed had we stayed still. Again, we heard voices coming our way, and my mother turned to me.

打开，我们听到他撤退，敲着，进入黑夜。 “妈妈，”我说，“我们把这些都带走走吧！”但是她不愿意。 然后，突然，我们听到街上的哨声，她很快改变了主意。 “我要我所有的！”她叫道。 “我要拿这一捆旧报纸来抵偿。” 说着，我们跳起来，冲到楼下，打开门，跑到街上。 当我们继续前进的时候，雾开始消失，我们发现我们来得一点也不早。 月亮升得很高，如果我们不动，就会被暴露出来。 我们又听到有人朝我们走来，母亲转向我。

"Take this money, I'm going to faint." As she did so, I caught her in my arms and dragged her under the low bridge by the Admiral Benbow. We could still hear the voices within earshot of the inn. I crouched as low as I could.

“拿着这些钱，我要晕过去了。” 她这样做的时候，我把她抱在怀里，拖到“本葆海军上将”号旁边的矮桥下。 我们还能听到旅店附近的说话声。 我尽量蹲下身子。