6 Small’s Story

Chapter 6 Small's Story So Small sat back in his seat and began to tell his story. "I was born in Worcestershire and, when I was eighteen, I joined the army and was sent to India. I'd barely finished my training when I went swimming one day in the Ganges. A crocodile took me and nipped off my right leg just above the knee. Luckily, my company sergeant was with me, and he got me ashore. "Five months later, I limped out of hospital with this timber toe strapped to my stump. I was

第6章斯莫尔的故事斯莫尔靠在椅背上，开始讲述他的故事。 “我出生在伍斯特郡，18岁时参了军，被派往印度。 我刚完成训练，就有一天去恒河游泳。 一条鳄鱼咬住了我，咬掉了我右腿膝盖以上的部分。 幸运的是，我的连长和我在一起，他把我送到了岸上。 五个月后，我一瘸一拐地走出了医院，我的残肢上绑着这个木脚趾。 我是

unable to continue as a soldier, but I could still ride a horse and got a job working on a plantation as a supervisor. "There I stayed until 1857 when the great rebellion broke out against British rule in India. The whole country erupted in violence. We had to flee to the fortress at Agra for our safety. I was ordered to guard one of the gates in the wall, along with a couple of Sikh soldiers, Mahomet Singh and Abdullah Khan. On the third night of our watch, at about two o'clock, Mahomet suddenly seized hold of me and Abdullah put a knife to my throat. Abdullah said, 'Listen to me. You're either with us or you must die.' At first, I thought they were in league with the rebels and wanted to open the gate to them. But then they explained that if I joined with them, I could be rich.

虽然不能继续当兵，但我仍能骑马，并在一个种植园找到了一份主管的工作。 “我在那里一直待到1857年，当时印度爆发了反对英国统治的大叛乱。 整个国家爆发了暴力冲突。 为了安全，我们不得不逃到阿格拉的要塞。 我奉命守卫城墙上的一扇门，和我一起的还有几个锡克教士兵，穆罕默德·辛格和阿卜杜拉·汗。 在我们值勤的第三个晚上，大约两点钟的时候，穆罕默德突然抓住了我，阿卜杜拉用刀抵住了我的喉咙。 阿卜杜拉说：“听我说。 你要么跟我们在一起，要么就得死。”起初，我以为他们和叛军是一伙的，想给他们打开大门。 但后来他们解释说，如果我加入他们，我就会变得富有。

"They told me that a wealthy rajah in the northern provinces was sending his treasure to Agra to keep it safe during the rebellion. It was being taken there by a servant, who was due to arrive shortly at our gate, and they planned to steal it. The man leading him there, Dost Akbar, was a cousin of Abdullah's and part of the plot. "If I would swear my loyalty to them, they would give me one quarter of the treasure. I imagined myself returning to England with my pockets full of gold, impressing my family and friends, and immediately agreed.

“他们告诉我，北方省份的一位富有的王公要把他的财宝送到阿格拉，以便在叛乱期间保护这些财宝。 它是由一个仆人带到那里的，他很快就会到我们的门口，他们打算偷走它。 带他去那里的人多斯特·阿克巴（Dost Akbar）是阿卜杜拉的堂兄，也是阴谋的一部分。 “如果我发誓对他们忠诚，他们就会给我四分之一的宝藏。 我想象着自己带着装满金子的口袋回到英国，给我的家人和朋友留下深刻印象，于是立刻同意了。

"All went according to plan. The servant was killed on arrival, and we took the treasure. When we opened the chest, I almost wept to see such a beautiful collection of gems—diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and many others. "We hid the chest behind some bricks in a hall of the fortress. The next day, I drew up four plans, one for each of us, and put the sign of four at the bottom as a mark of our loyalty. Not long afterward, the rebellion was put down and peace —of a sort—returned. We hoped that soon we could each go our separate ways with our share of the treasure, but then disaster struck...

“一切都按计划进行。 仆人一到就被杀了，我们抢走了宝藏。 当我们打开箱子时，看到这么多漂亮的宝石——钻石、祖母绿、红宝石、蓝宝石，还有许多其他的，我几乎要哭了。 “我们把箱子藏在堡垒大厅里的砖块后面。 第二天，我拟定了四份计划，每人一份，并在计划的底部写上“四”作为我们忠诚的标志。 不久之后，叛乱被镇压，和平——某种程度上——恢复了。 我们希望很快就能各自带着那份财宝各奔东西，但是灾难来了……

"It turned out that the wealthy rajah hadn't completely trusted his servant, and he sent a second one to spy on him. He didn't tell the second servant about the treasure, just in case the two of them decided to get together and run off with it. The second servant witnessed our killing of the first servant and informed the police. "We were arrested and put on trial for murder. There was no mention of the treasure at the trial because, by then, the rajah had himself been overthrown and killed and no one else knew he'd sent the treasure to Agra. "The four of us were sentenced to life imprisonment on a penal colony in the Andaman

原来有钱的王公并不完全信任他的仆人，于是又派了一个人去监视他。 他没有告诉第二个仆人关于宝藏的事，以防他们俩决定一起带着宝藏逃跑。 第二个仆人目睹了我们杀死第一个仆人，并通知了警察。 “我们被逮捕了，并因谋杀而受审。 在审判中没有提到宝藏，因为那时，王公自己已经被推翻并被杀害了，没有人知道他把宝藏送到了阿格拉。 “我们四个人被判在安达曼的流放地终身监禁

Islands in the Indian Ocean. It was so frustrating being forced to work as slaves on an island prison when we could be living like princes if only we could get out. "Among the commanders there were Major Sholto and Captain Morstan. They played cards for money in the evenings with their comrades and often lost. Both men, I noticed, frequently complained about feeling poor. One night, after Sholto had lost particularly heavily, I gathered the courage to speak to him.

印度洋上的岛屿。 我们本可以像王子一样生活，但却被迫在岛上的监狱里做奴隶，这真令人沮丧，只要我们能出去。 指挥官中有舒尔托少校和摩斯坦上尉。 他们晚上和同志打牌赌钱，但经常输。 我注意到，这两个人都经常抱怨自己很穷。 一天晚上，在舒尔托输得特别惨之后，我鼓起勇气和他说话。