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Today, as he sat staring out of the window at the sea, he could not stop his hands shaking. Every morning he rang the hospital, to ask if his daughter Christine MacDonald was there. He had rung this morning, and a nurse had said yes, Christine was there, and the baby was coming. That had been four hours ago. For two hours John had sat by the telephone, afraid to ring the hospital again. Three times he had picked it up, and three times he had put it down again.
今天, 当他坐在窗口凝视着窗外的大海时, 他的手禁不住地颤抖。每天早晨他都打电话到医院问她的女儿克里斯汀·麦克唐纳是否在那儿。今早他又打电话, 一个护士说是的, 克里斯汀在那儿, 婴儿就要降生了。那已是4小时以前的事了。他已经坐在电话机旁两小时, 害怕再给医院打电话。他3次拿起电话, 又3次放下电话。
He picked it up again, and rang the number. Seven… five …eight… three…it was no good. He put the phone down again. He could not hear the news from the cold voice of a nurse over the telephone. He had to see the baby for himself.
他再次拿起电话, 拨了号码。7—5—8—3, 没有用。他再次放下电话。他不能在电话里护士冷淡的声音中听到这个消息, 他一定要亲自去看孩子。
He got up, put on his coat, and went downstairs. There was a cold wind outside, blowing from the sea. The sea and the sky were grey and miserable. He went into a shop and bought some flowers. He chose them carefully—bright red and yellow colours—and the shopkeeper put paper around them to keep them safe. John took them and walked quickly, nervously, along the windy road by the sea, towards the hospital.
他起身穿上外衣, 走下楼梯。外面从海上刮来一阵冷风。海面和天空一片阴暗凄凉。他走进一家商店买了一些花。他细心地挑选——鲜红和黄色——店主把它们用纸包扎好以防损坏。约翰拿起它们在风中飞快地忐忑不安地走在海边通往医院的路上。
It was raining out at sea. Already the rain was falling on the sandbanks where the seals used to live. Soon it would be falling on the town. John Duncan shivered, and turned his coat collar up. Then, with his bright flowers in his hand, he walked on, into the winter wind.
海上下起了雨。已经看到雨正落在海豹曾栖身过的沙滩上。很快小镇上也会下起雨。约翰·邓肯身上发抖, 他把衣领竖起来。然后手里拿着他鲜艳的花, 顶着冬天的寒风继续走去。
