2 Jonathan Arrives at the Castle

CHAPTER 2 Jonathan Arrives at the Castle As the passengers continued to cross themselves, Jonathan said good-bye and climbed into the carriage. It was almost midnight. Remembering the landlady's words, he could not help but shiver at this, despite the blanket and hot tea that the count's assistant had offered him. His shivering only increased when, off in the distance, wolves began to howl. The horses seemed to be shivering, too, or at least

第二章约拿单到达城堡当乘客们继续划十字时，约拿单说了声再见，爬上了马车。 已经快半夜了。他想起老板娘的话，不禁打了个寒颤，尽管伯爵的助手给他提供了毯子和热茶。 当远处传来狼群的嚎叫时，他的颤抖更厉害了。 马儿似乎也在发抖，至少是在发抖

snorting with fright. Just then a cloud that had been covering the moon shifted, bathing the scene in a pale blue light. There, all around them, stood the wolves—creatures with white teeth and red tongues, long limbs and shaggy hair. Jonathan jumped. It was terrifying to think that these creatures had been so close the entire time. But the count's assistant merely raised his arms and whispered something to the wolves, which fell immediately back. A cloud covered the moon again then, and they were once again in darkness. The carriage climbed the remaining distance up the steep mountain to what Jonathan could now see was a vast and ruined castle. Through great round arches, they entered a dark courtyard and stopped. The driver left Jonathan and his luggage at the castle's front door and then, with no further word or instruction, pulled away. The

吓得哼着鼻子。就在这时，遮住月亮的一片云移动了，把整个场景笼罩在淡蓝色的光线中。 在他们周围，站着狼——一种长着白牙齿、红舌头、长四肢和蓬松毛发的生物。 乔纳森吓了一跳。想到这些生物一直都离得这么近，真是太可怕了。 但是伯爵的助手只是举起双臂，对狼群低声说了几句话，狼群立刻后退了。 这时，乌云又遮住了月亮，他们又陷入了黑暗之中。 马车沿着剩下的路程爬上了陡峭的山坡，乔纳森现在看到了一座巨大的废墟城堡。 穿过巨大的圆拱门，他们进入了一个黑暗的庭院，停了下来。 司机把乔纳森和他的行李留在城堡的前门，然后，没有进一步的命令或指示，就开走了。 的

carriage disappeared into the night. The huge front door was made of wood, and carved in great detail, but Jonathan could see no knocker or bell anywhere. Taking a step back and looking up at the castle's long black windows, he could not see even one ray of light. Just then, from behind the door, he heard steps approaching. The steps were followed by the sounds of rattling chains and great steel bolts being pushed to the side. The door swung open and there stood a tall old man clad entirely in black, with gleaming eyes that looked strangely familiar. He had thick bushy eyebrows, pale skin, and very red lips. And when he smiled, behind those red lips were sharp-looking ivory teeth. "Welcome to my castle," the man said, in excellent but heavily accented English. "I am Count Dracula." He reached out and shook Jonathan's hand.

马车消失在夜色中。 巨大的前门是用木头做的，雕刻得非常精细，但乔纳森看不见门环或铃铛。 他往后退了一步，抬头望着城堡的黑色长窗，连一缕光线也看不见。 就在这时，他听到门后传来走近的脚步声。 紧接着是铁链和大钢栓被推到一边的嘎嘎声。 门开了，站着一个高大的老人，全身黑衣，眼睛闪闪发光，看起来很熟悉。 他有浓密的眉毛，苍白的皮肤，红红的嘴唇。 当他微笑的时候，红唇后面是锐利的象牙牙齿。 “欢迎来到我的城堡，”那人说，他的英语很好，但口音很重。 “我是德古拉伯爵。”他伸出手和乔纳森握了握手。

Taking Jonathan's bags, the count led him through long dark passages and up many winding sets of stone stairs. What grim adventure will this be? Jonathan wondered as they walked. But when the count threw open the door to what would be his room, Jonathan was slightly relieved. There, before him, was a warm crackling fire in the hearth and a delicious dinner spread out on a nearby table. I was silly to be afraid, Jonathan told himself sternly. I have allowed the suspicions of the townspeople to get to me. After all, he was a professional, here to do a job. He was also very hungry. "Won't you be joining me?" he asked the count, noticing that only one place had been set for dinner. "Oh, no," the count said. "I don't... I mean, I've already eaten." The count stayed, however, and kept

伯爵拿着约纳森的行李，领着他穿过又长又黑的通道，上了许多弯弯曲曲的石阶。 这将是多么残酷的冒险啊？ 乔纳森边走边想。 但是，当伯爵打开他的房间的门时，约纳森稍稍松了一口气。 在他面前，壁炉里有一堆温暖的噼啪作响的火，旁边的桌子上摆着美味的晚餐。 我害怕是愚蠢的，乔纳森严厉地对自己说。 我让镇上人的猜疑影响了我。 毕竟，他是一个专业人士，在这里做一份工作。 他也很饿。“您不和我一起去吗？”他问伯爵，因为他注意到宴会只安排在一个地方。 “噢，不，”伯爵说。“我不…… 我是说，我已经吃过了。” 伯爵却一直呆着，一直呆着

Jonathan company while he ate, asking him all sorts of questions. "If a ship comes into an English port," the count asked, for example, "can I arrange for someone to come and pick up cargo and have it transported into town?" "Of course," Jonathan said. "My firm could arrange that for you." "What if I wanted to arrange it myself?" the count asked. "No offense. I trust you will understand that sometimes it is wise to spread out your affairs, and not have one person knowing all of your business." Jonathan gave the count the names of some firms that could take care of such matters. Only as the first dim strand of the morning sun came through the window of Jonathan's room did the count stand up and push back his chair. Somewhere in the valley below, distant wolves began to howl. Jonathan shivered, thinking back to the

乔纳森一边吃饭一边陪着他，问他各种各样的问题。 “如果一艘船驶进英国港口，”伯爵问道，“我能不能安排人来取货，把货物运到城里去？”“当然，”乔纳森说。 “我的公司可以为你安排。” “如果我想亲自安排呢？”伯爵问道。 “没有进攻。我相信你会明白，有时把你的事情分散处理是明智的，不要让一个人知道你所有的事情。” 乔纳森告诉伯爵一些可以处理这类事务的公司的名字。 当第一缕晨曦从乔纳森房间的窗户射进来时，伯爵才站起来，把椅子往后推了推。 在下面山谷的某个地方，远处的狼开始嚎叫。 乔纳森打了个寒颤，回想起那件事

awful creatures that had lined the carriage's path. The count, however, smiled. "Listen to them," he said, almost wistfully. "The children of the night." Jonathan shivered even more, not only at this strange comment but at something else he noticed just then—the count's strangely hairy hands, with long thin fingernails cut to a sharp, almost clawlike point. Things would be clearer, he hoped, in the morning.

那些可怕的生物站在马车的道路两旁。 伯爵却微微一笑。 “听他们说。”他几乎是若有所思地说。 “夜之子。” 乔纳森不仅因为这句奇怪的话，而且因为他刚才注意到的另一件事，他更哆嗦了，那就是伯爵那双奇怪的多毛的手，细长的指甲剪成了尖尖的，几乎像爪子一样。 他希望，明天早上事情就会明朗起来。