16 Prison

CHAPTER 16 Prison T he prison cell was crowded and terribly dirty. Men and women were both trapped inside the tiny space. Some were handcuffed to a wall. Others were chained to beds. No one had much room to move around. When they had first arrived, Miles had been overcome with rage and grief. He could not think straight. He was focused on his

第十六章监狱监狱里拥挤不堪，脏得可怕。 男人和女人都被困在这个狭小的空间里。 一些人被铐在墙上。 其他人则被锁在床上。 没有人有足够的活动空间。 当他们第一次到达时，迈尔斯被愤怒和悲伤所征服。 他无法清醒地思考。 他专注于他的

brother's crimes and could think of nothing else. After some time, though, Miles began to calm down. He tried to figure out whether Edith had recognized him, but he could make no sense of it. His homecoming had been such a surprising and disappointing experience. A few days passed while Miles and Edward wasted away in the prison cell. They suffered through the dirty conditions and poor food. Edward was no longer claiming to be king. Things was already difficult enough with everyone calling Miles a fake. Miles was quite famous in the jail. Guards would often stop by to insult him. They occasionally brought people by who might recognize him, but no one said they knew him. Then one day they brought by an old man. He was another prisoner—one of the old servants from Hendon Hall. The guards pointed to Miles and asked "Is that your old

哥哥的罪行，想不出别的。 不过，过了一段时间，迈尔斯开始平静下来。 他想弄清楚伊迪丝是否认出了他，但是他搞不懂。 他的返乡是如此令人惊讶和失望的经历。 几天过去了，迈尔斯和爱德华在牢房里日渐消瘦。 他们忍受着肮脏的环境和糟糕的食物。 爱德华不再声称自己是国王。 大家都说迈尔斯是个骗子，事情已经够困难的了。 迈尔斯在监狱里很有名。 警卫经常会停下来侮辱他。 他们偶尔会带一些可能认识他的人过来，但没有人说认识他。 然后有一天，他们带来了一个老人。 他是另一个囚犯——亨顿庄园的一个老仆人。 卫兵指着迈尔斯问道：“那是你的旧的吗？

master?" The old man looked at Miles and shook his head. "I've no idea who you're talking about," he said. "I've never seen that man before." The guards laughed again and left the old man with Miles. When they were safely out of ear shot, the old man whispered, "Thank goodness!" and smiled. "At long last my master has returned. We thought you were dead all these years." "George?" Miles said. "Is that you? What are you doing here?" "The same thing as you. Your brother threw a lot of us in here. If it weren't for all the dirt and grub, you might recognize more of us." And so Miles learned the story of his family. As Hugh had told them, Arthur had died six years earlier. The stress of Arthur's death and Miles's disappearance caused Sir Richard to become sick. Sir Richard wanted

大师?”老人看着迈尔斯，摇了摇头。 “我不知道你在说谁，”他说。 “我以前从没见过那个人。” 卫兵们又笑了，把老人留给迈尔斯。 当他们安全离开听得见的范围时，老人轻声说：“谢天谢地！”然后笑了。 “我的主人终于回来了。 这些年来我们一直以为你已经死了。” “乔治?”麦欧斯说。“是你吗？” 你在这里做什么？”“跟你一样。 你哥哥把我们很多人扔进来了。 如果不是因为这些泥土和食物，你可能会认出更多的我们。” 于是迈尔斯了解了他家人的故事。 正如休告诉他们的，阿瑟早在六年前就去世了。 亚瑟的死和迈尔斯的失踪带来的压力使理查德爵士生病了。 理查德爵士想要

Hugh and Edith to be safe and married, but Edith begged for more time. She was certain Miles would return or send word. Sir Richard agreed. Then one day a letter arrived saying that Miles had been killed in battle. Sir Richard felt there was no point in waiting any longer, and Hugh and Edith were married. It was not long before talk spread through the countryside that Edith had found several drafts of the letter announcing Miles's death in her husband's own handwriting. But she had no hope of divorce. She had no other family and no means of support. If she left, Hugh would take all of her money and Edith would have nothing. When Sir Richard died, Hugh took over the family fortune as well. He was not well liked. In fact, most people feared him. Everyone knew that he was quick to throw people into jail. No one felt safe standing up to him. "That is an awful tale, George," Miles said.

休和伊迪丝希望平安结婚，但伊迪丝请求多给些时间。 她确信迈尔斯会回来或捎信来。 理查德爵士同意了。后来有一天收到一封信，说迈尔斯在战斗中阵亡了。 理查德爵士觉得没有必要再等下去了，于是休和伊迪丝结婚了。 不久，谣言传遍了乡村，伊迪丝发现了几份她丈夫亲笔写的宣布迈尔斯去世的信的草稿。 但是她不希望离婚。 她没有其他家庭，也没有经济来源。 如果她离开，休就会拿走她所有的钱，伊迪丝就什么都没有了。 理查德爵士死后，休也继承了家族财产。 他不受欢迎。事实上，大多数人都害怕他。 大家都知道他动不动就把人扔进监狱。 没有人敢和他对抗。 “这是一个可怕的故事，乔治，”迈尔斯说。

I would do anything to change it." "It is a strange time for everyone," George replied. "I have heard other rumors that the young, future king is mad. I hear they are keeping him away from the public." Suddenly Edward spoke up. "The future king is not mad!" he said. "You will do everyone some good if you stick to your own matters." The old servant shrugged his shoulders and returned to his own thoughts. "The old king will be buried in a day or two," George said. "The new king will be crowned a few days after that. I do wish I could take part in the celebrations. You miss so much when you're in prison." Edward sat in a state of shock. Was that little peasant boy still in the palace? For the first time, Edward realized that someone else might be crowned in his place. When their prison term finally ended,

我愿意做任何事来改变它。” “这对每个人来说都是一个奇怪的时刻，”乔治回答。 “我还听到其他传言，说这位年轻的未来国王疯了。 我听说他们让他远离公众。” 突然，爱德华开口了。“未来的国王没有疯！”他说。 “你专心做自己的事，对大家都有好处。” 老仆人耸了耸肩，继续想他自己的事。 “再过一两天，老国王就要下葬了。”乔治说。 “再过几天，新国王就要加冕了。 我真希望我能参加庆祝活动。 你在监狱里会想念很多东西。” 爱德华惊恐地坐着。 那个乡下小男孩还在宫殿里吗？ 爱德华第一次意识到别人可能会取代他的位置。 当他们的刑期终于结束时，

Miles and Edward headed back down the road. Miles was quite sad. He knew he could not go home. Hugh would simply have him jailed as a fraud again. All that he had hoped for was gone. Everyone whom he loved was gone. He wondered if he had lost his energy to fight, too. Edward, on the other hand, had a new strength. He marched down the road with determination. Miles caught sight of him and, for a moment, forgot his own problems. He found himself cheering up. "I have not asked you," Miles said, "where are we going?" "To London, of course." When Miles and Edward arrived in the city a few days later, they discovered that they were just in time. King Henry had been buried, and Tom was to be crowned king the next day.

迈尔斯和爱德华沿着路往回走。 迈尔斯很伤心。他知道他回不了家。 休只会再把他当作诈骗犯关起来。 他所希望的一切都破灭了。 他所爱的人都走了。 他怀疑自己是否也失去了战斗的精力。 另一方面，爱德华有了新的力量。 他毅然决然地沿着这条路前进。 迈尔斯看见了他，一时忘记了自己的烦恼。 他发现自己高兴起来了。 “我还没有问你，”迈尔斯说，“我们要去哪里？”“当然是去伦敦了。” 几天后，当迈尔斯和爱德华到达这座城市时，他们发现自己来得正是时候。 亨利国王已经下葬了，汤姆将在第二天加冕为国王。