Prologue 序幕

LESTAT here. You know who I am? Then skip the next few paragraphs. For those whom I have not met before, I want this to be love at first sight.
LESTAT 在这里。你知道我是谁吗？然后跳过接下来的几段。对于那些我以前没有见过的人，我希望这是一见钟情。

Behold: your hero for the duration, a perfect imitation of a blond, blue-eyed, six-foot Anglo-Saxon male. A vampire, and one of the strongest you'll ever encounter. My fangs are too small to be noticed unless I want them to be; but they're very sharp, and I cannot go for more than a few hours without wanting human blood.
看哪：你的英雄，一个金发碧眼、六英尺高的盎格鲁-撒克逊男性的完美模仿。吸血鬼，也是你见过的最强的吸血鬼之一。我的獠牙太小了，除非我愿意，否则不会被注意到;但是它们非常锋利，我不能不想要人血就超过几个小时。

Of course, I don't need it that often. And just how often I do need it, I don't know, because I've never put it to the test.
当然，我不需要它。我不知道我多久需要一次，因为我从来没有测试过它。

I'm monstrously strong. I can take to the air. I can hear people talking on the other side of the city or even the globe. I can read minds; I can bind with spells.
我非常强壮。我可以飞到空中。我能听到人们在城市的另一边甚至地球的另一边说话。我能读心术;我可以用咒语绑定。

I'm immortal. I've been virtually ageless since 1789.
我是不朽的。自 1789 年以来，我几乎不老。

Am I unique? By no means. There are some twenty other vampires in the world of whom I know. Half of these I know intimately; one half of those I love.
我是独一无二的吗？绝不是。世界上还有大约二十个我认识的吸血鬼。其中一半我非常熟悉;我爱的人的一半。

Add to this twenty a good two hundred vagabonds and strangers of whom I know nothing but now and then hear something; and for good measure another thousand secretive immortals, roaming about in human guise.
再加上这二十个流浪汉和陌生人，我一无所知，只是偶尔听到一些声音;还有一千个神秘的不朽者，伪装成人类四处游荡。

Men, women, children梐ny human being can become a vampire. All it takes is a vampire willing to bring you into it, to suck out most of your blood, and then let you take it back, mixed with his or her own. It's not all that simple; but if you survive, you'll live forever. While you're young, you'll thirst unbearably, probably have to kill each night. By the time you're a thousand years old, you'll look and sound wise, even if you were a kid when you started, and you will drink and kill because you cannot resist it, whether you need it anymore or not.
男人、女人、孩子都可以成为吸血鬼。所需要的只是一个吸血鬼愿意把你带进去，吸出你大部分的血液，然后让你把它带回去，和他或她自己的血液混合在一起。事情并没有那么简单;但如果你活下来，你就会永远活着。趁着你年轻的时候，你会口渴难忍，可能每晚都要杀人。当你一千岁的时候，你的外表和声音会很聪明，即使你刚开始的时候还是个孩子，你会喝酒和杀人，因为你无法抗拒它，无论你是否需要它。

If you live longer than that, and some do, who knows? You'll get tougher, whiter, ever more monstrous. You'll know so much about suffering that you will go through rapid cycles of cruelty and kindness, insight and maniacal blindness. You'll probably go mad. Then you'll be sane again. Then you may forget who you are.
如果你活得比这更久，有些人活得更久，谁知道呢？你会变得更强壮，更白，更可怕。你会对苦难有如此多的了解，以至于你将经历残酷与仁慈、洞察力与疯狂盲目的快速循环。你可能会发疯。然后你就会再次理智。然后你可能会忘记你是谁。

I myself combine the best of vampiric youth and old age. Only two hundred years old, I have been for various reasons granted the strength of the ancients. I have a modern sensibility but a dead aristocrat's impeccable taste. I know exactly who I am. I am rich. I am beautiful. I can see my reflection in mirrors. And in shopwindows. I love to sing and to dance.
我自己结合了吸血鬼青年和老年的精华。年仅两百岁，却因为种种原因被赋予了古人的力量。我有现代感，但有死去的贵族无可挑剔的品味。我确切地知道我是谁。我很有钱。我很漂亮。我可以在镜子里看到我的倒影。在商店橱窗里。我喜欢唱歌和跳舞。

What do I do? Anything that I please.
我该怎么办？任何我喜欢的东西。

Think about it. Is it enough to make you want to read my story? Have you perhaps read my stories of the vampires before?
想想吧。这足以让你想读我的故事吗？你以前读过我关于吸血鬼的故事吗？

Here's the catch: it doesn't matter here that I'm a vampire. It is not central to the tale. It's just a given, like my innocent smile and soft, purring French-accented voice and graceful way of sauntering down the street. It comes with the package. But what happened here could have happened to a human being; indeed, it surely has happened to humans, and it will happen to them again.
这里有一个问题：我是吸血鬼并不重要。它不是故事的核心。这只是一个给定的，就像我天真无邪的笑容和柔和的、咕噜咕噜的法国口音的声音以及在街上闲逛的优雅方式。它随包装一起提供。但这里发生的事情可能发生在一个人身上;事实上，它肯定发生在人类身上，而且会再次发生在他们身上。

We have souls, you and I.
我们有灵魂，你和我。

We want to know things; we share the same earth, rich and verdant and fraught with perils. We don't either of us
我们想知道事情;我们共享同一个地球，富饶而青翠，充满危险。我们俩都没有

know what it means to die, no matter what we might say to the contrary. It's a cinch that if we did, I wouldn't be writing and you wouldn't be reading this book.
知道死亡意味着什么，无论我们怎么说。如果我们这样做了，我就不会写，你也不会读这本书。

What does matter very much, as we go into this story together, is that I have set for myself the task of being a herb in this world. I maintain myself as morally complex, spiritually tough, and aesthetically relevant
当我们一起进入这个故事时，非常重要的一点是，我为自己设定了成为这个世界上的草药的任务。我坚持自己在道德上复杂，在精神上坚韧，在美学上相关

a being of blazing insight and impact, a guy with things to say to you.
一个具有炽热洞察力和影响力的人，一个有话要对你说的人。

So if you read this, read it for that reason that Lestat is talking again, that he is frightened, that he is searching desperately for the lesson and for the s.ong and for the raison d'etre, that he wants to understand his own story and he wants you to understand it, and that it is the very best story he has right now to tell. If that's not enough, read something else.
所以，如果你读到这篇文章，读它的原因就是莱斯塔特又在说话了，他很害怕，他拼命地寻找教训，寻找圣体和存在的理由，他想了解他自己的故事，他想让你理解它，这是他现在要讲的最好的故事。如果这还不够，请阅读其他内容。

If it is, then read on. In chains, to my friend and my scribe, I dictated these words. Come with me. Just listen to me. Don't leave me alone.
如果是，请继续阅读。我戴着锁链，对我的朋友和我的抄写员口述了这些话。跟我来。听我说。不要让我一个人呆着。

1

I SAW him when he came through the front doors. Tall, solidly built, dark brown hair and eyes, skin still fairly dark because it had been dark when I'd made him a vampire. Walking a little too fast, but basically passing for a human being. My beloved David.
当他从前门进来时，我看到了他。他身材高大，身材结实，深棕色的头发和眼睛，皮肤仍然相当黑，因为我把他变成吸血鬼的时候，它已经很黑了。走得有点太快了，但基本上是通过一个人。我心爱的大卫。

I was on the stairway. The grand stairway, one might say. It was one of those very opulent old hotels, divinely overdone, full of crimson and
我在楼梯上。有人可能会说，宏伟的楼梯。这是一家非常华丽的老酒店，神圣地过度了，充满了深红色和

gold, and rather pleasant. My Victim had picked it. I hadn't. My victim was dining with his daughter. And I'd picked up from my victim's mind that this was where he always met his daughter in New York, for the simple reason that St. Patrick's Cathedral was across the street.
黄金，相当令人愉快。我的受害者选择了它。我没有。我的受害者和他的女儿一起吃饭。我从受害者的脑海中了解到，这是他在纽约遇见女儿的地方，原因很简单，圣帕特里克大教堂就在街对面。

David saw me at once a slouching, blond, long-haired youth, bronze face and hands, the usual deep violet sunglasses over my eyes, hair presentably combed for once, body tricked out in a dark-blue, doubled-breasted Brooks Brothers suit.
大卫一眼就看出我是一个懒洋洋的、金发碧眼的长发青年，古铜色的脸和手，眼睛上戴着一副通常的深紫色太阳镜，头发梳得很整齐，穿着深蓝色的双排扣布鲁克斯兄弟西装。

I saw him smile before he could stop himself. He knew my vanity, and he probably knew that in the early nineties of the twentieth century,
我看到他笑了，然后他才停下来。他知道我的虚荣心，他可能知道在二十世纪初，

Italian fashion had flooded the market with so much shapeless, hangy, bulky, formless attire that one of the most erotic and flattering
意大利时尚充斥着如此多的无形、笨拙、笨重、无形的服装，这是最色情和最讨人喜欢的服装之一

garments a man could choose was the well-tailored navy-blue Brooks Brothers suit.
男人可以选择的服装是剪裁精良的海军蓝色布鲁克斯兄弟西装。

Besides, a mop of flowing hair and expert tailoring are always a potent combination. Who knows that better than I?
此外，飘逸的头发和专业的剪裁总是一个有力的组合。谁比我更清楚呢？

I didn't mean to harp on the clothes! To hell with the clothes. It's just I was so proud of myself for being spiffed up and full of gorgeous contradictions a picture of long locks, the impeccable tailoring, and a regal manner of slumping against the railing and sort of blocking stairs.
我不是故意在衣服上竖琴的！衣服见鬼去吧。只是我为自己感到骄傲，因为我被打扮得很漂亮，充满了华丽的矛盾，长长的头发，无可挑剔的剪裁，以及靠在栏杆和楼梯上的高贵方式。

He came up to me at once. He smelled like the deep winter out-side where people were slipping in the frozen streets, and snow had turned to filth in the gutters. His face had the subtle preternatural gleam which only I could detect, and love, and properly appreciate, and eventually kiss.
他立刻向我走来。他闻起来像是深冬的外面，人们在冰冷的街道上滑倒，雪在排水沟里变成了污秽。他的脸上有一种微妙的超自然光芒，只有我能察觉到，爱，欣赏，最终亲吻。

We walked together onto the carpeted mezzanine.
我们一起走到铺着地毯的夹层。

Momentarily, I hated it that he was two inches taller than me. But I was so glad to see him, so glad to be near him. And it was warm in here, and shadowy and vast, one of the places where people do not stare at others.
一瞬间，我讨厌他比我高两英寸。但我很高兴见到他，很高兴能靠近他。这里很温暖，阴暗而广阔，是人们不盯着别人看的地方之一。

"You've come," I said. "I didn't think you would."
“你来了，”我说。“我没想到你会。”

"Of course," he scolded, the gracious British accent breaking softly from the young dark face, giving me the usual shock. This was an old man in a young man's body, recently made a vampire, and by me, one of the most powerful of our remaining kind.
“当然，”他骂道，亲切的英国口音从年轻的黑脸上轻轻地折断出来，给我一种惯常的震惊。这是一个年轻人身体里的老人，最近变成了一个吸血鬼，在我看来，是我们剩下的同类中最强大的吸血鬼之一。

"What did you expect?" he said, tete-a-tete. "Armand told me you were calling me. Maharet told me."
“你期待什么？”他说，tete-a-tete。“阿尔芒告诉我你在给我打电话。马哈雷特告诉我。

"Ah, that answers my first question." I wanted to kiss him, and suddenly I did put out my arms, rather tentatively and politely so that he could get away if he wanted, and when he let me hug him, when he returned the warmth, I felt a happiness I hadn't experienced in months.
“啊，这回答了我的第一个问题。”我想亲吻他，突然间，我伸出双臂，相当试探性和礼貌，这样他就可以离开，如果他愿意，当他让我拥抱他时，当他回报温暖时，我感到了几个月来从未体验过的幸福。

Perhaps I hadn't experienced it since I had left him, with Louis. We had been in some nameless jungle place, the three of us, when we agreed to part, and that had been a year ago.
也许自从我和路易斯一起离开他之后，我就没有经历过。我们三个人曾经在某个无名的丛林里，当我们同意分开时，那是一年前的事了。

"Your first question?" he asked, peering at me very closely, sizing me up perhaps, doing everything a vampire can do to measure the mood and mind of his maker, because a vampire cannot read his maker's mind, any more than the maker can read the mind of the fledgling.
“你的第一个问题？”他问道，非常仔细地盯着我，也许是在打量我，做一个吸血鬼能做的一切来衡量他的创造者的情绪和思想，因为吸血鬼不能读懂他的创造者的思想，就像制造者不能读懂初出茅庐的人的思想一样。

And there we stood divided, laden with preternatural gifts, both fit and rather full of emotion, and unable to communicate except in the simplest and best way, perhaps with words.
我们站在那里，满载着超自然的天赋，既健康又充满情感，除了以最简单和最好的方式，也许是用语言，无法交流。

"My first question," I began to explain, to answer, "was simply going to be: Where have you been, and have you found the others, and did they try to hurt you? All that rot, you know how I broke the rules when I made you, et cetera."
“我的第一个问题，”我开始解释，回答，“只是：你去哪儿了，你有没有找到其他人，他们有没有试图伤害你？那些腐烂的东西，你知道我做你的时候是怎么违反规则的，等等。

"All that rot," he mocked me, the French accent I still possessed, now coupled with something definitely American. "What rot."
“那些烂东西，”他嘲笑我，我仍然拥有法国口音，现在再加上一些绝对的美国口音。“什么腐烂。”

"Come on," I said. "Let's go into the bar there and talk. Obvi-
“来吧，”我说。“我们去酒吧谈谈吧。Obvi-

ously no one has done anything to you. I didn't think they could or they would, or that they'd dare. I wouldn't have let you slip off into the world if I'd thought you were in danger."
没有人对你做过任何事情。我不认为他们能做到，或者他们会，或者他们敢。如果我认为你有危险，我不会让你溜到这个世界上去的。

He smiled, his brown eyes full of gold light for just an instant.
他笑了，棕色的眼睛在一瞬间充满了金色的光芒。

"Didn't you tell me this twenty-five times, more or less, before we parted company?"
“在我们分手之前，你不是跟我说了二十五次吗？”

We found a small table, cleaving to the wall. The place was half crowded, the perfect proportion exactly. What did we look like? A couple of young men on the make for mortal men or women? I don't care.
我们找到了一张小桌子，紧贴着墙。这个地方一半拥挤，完美的比例。我们是什么样子的？几个年轻人正在为凡人男人或女人而生？我不在乎。

"No one has harmed me," he said, "and no one has shown the slightest interest in it."
“没有人伤害过我，”他说，“也没有人对此表现出丝毫兴趣。

Someone was playing a piano, very tenderly for a hotel bar, I thought. And it was something by Erik Satie. What luck.
有人在弹钢琴，非常温柔地为酒店酒吧弹奏，我想。这是埃里克·萨蒂（Erik Satie）的作品。真是太幸运了。

"The tie," he said, leaning forward, white teeth flashing, fangs completely hidden, of course. "This, this big mass of silk around your neck! This is not Brooks Brothers!" He gave a soft teasing laugh. "Look at you, and the wing-tip shoes! My, my. What's going on in your mind? And what is this all about?"
“领带，”他说，身体前倾，洁白的牙齿闪闪发光，獠牙完全隐藏起来。“这，你脖子上的这一大块丝绸！这不是布鲁克斯兄弟！他轻声嘲讽地笑了笑。“瞧瞧你，还有那双翼尖鞋！我的，我的。你心里在想什么？这到底是怎么回事？

The bartender threw a hefty shadow over the small table, and murmured predictable phrases that were lost to me in my excitement and in the noise.
酒保在小桌子上投下了沉重的阴影，喃喃自语着可预测的短语，这些短语在我的兴奋和喧嚣中被遗忘了。

"Something hot," David said. It didn't surprise me. "You know, rum punch or some such, whatever you can heat up."
“热的东西，”大卫说。这并不让我感到惊讶。“你知道，朗姆酒潘趣酒之类的，随便你能加热什么。”

I nodded and made a little gesture to the indifferent fellow that I would take the same thing.
我点了点头，向那个冷漠的家伙做了一个小小的手势，说我会接受同样的东西。

Vampires always order hot drinks. They aren't going to drink them; but they can feel the warmth and smell them if they're hot, and that is so good.
吸血鬼总是点热饮。他们不会喝它们;但是如果它们很热，它们可以感觉到温暖并闻到它们，这真是太好了。

David looked at me again. Or rather this familiar body with David inside looked at me. Because for me, David would always be the elderly
大卫又看了看我。或者更确切地说，这个熟悉的身体，里面有大卫，看着我。因为对我来说，大卫永远是老人

human I'd known and treasured, as well as this magnificent burnished shell of stolen flesh that was slowly being shaped by his expressions and manner and mood.
我所认识和珍惜的人类，以及这个被偷走的肉体的华丽抛光外壳，正在慢慢被他的表情、举止和情绪塑造。

Dear Reader, he switched human bodies before I made him a vampire, worry no more. It has nothing to do with this story.
亲爱的读者，在我把他变成吸血鬼之前，他换了人的身体，不用担心了。它与这个故事无关。

'Something's following you again?" he asked. "This is what Ar mand told me.
“有什么东西又在跟踪你吗？”他问。“这是Ar mand告诉我的。

So did Jesse." 杰西也是。

"Where did you see them?"
“你在哪里看到的？”

"Armand?" he asked. "A complete accident. In Paris. He was just walking on the street. He was the first one I saw."
“阿尔芒？”他问。“完全是意外。在巴黎。他只是走在街上。他是我见到的第一个人。

"He didn't make any move to hurt you?"
“他没有做出任何伤害你的举动吗？”

"Why would he? Why were you calling to me? Who's stalking you? What is all this?"
“他为什么会这样？你为什么打电话给我？谁在跟踪你？这到底是怎么回事？

"And you've been with Maharet."
“而且你一直和马哈雷特在一起。”

He sat back. He shook his head. "Lestat, I have pored over
他坐了下来。他摇了摇头。“Lestat，我已经仔细研究了

manuscripts such as no living human has seen in centuries; I have laid my hands on clay tablets that..."
几个世纪以来没有活人见过的手稿;我把手放在泥板上......”

"David, the scholar," I said. "Educated by the Talamasca to be the perfect vampire, though they never had an inkling that that is what you'd become."
“大卫，学者，”我说。“被塔拉马斯卡人教育成完美的吸血鬼，尽管他们从未想过你会成为这样的人。”

"Oh, but you must understand. Maharet took me to these places where she keeps her treasures. You have to know what it means to hold in your hands a tablet covered in symbols that predate cuneiform
“哦，但你必须明白。马哈雷特带我去了这些她保存宝藏的地方。你必须知道手里拿着一块覆盖着早于楔形文字的符号的平板电脑意味着什么

. And Maharet herself, I might have lived how many centuries without ever glimpsing her."
.还有马哈雷特本人，我可能活了多少个世纪，却从未瞥见过她。

Maharet was really the only one he had ever had to fear. I suppose we both knew it. My memories of Maharet held no menace, only the mystery of a survivor of Millennia, a living being so ancient that each gesture seemed marble made liquid, and her soft voice had become the distillation of all human eloquence.
马哈雷特真的是他唯一害怕的人。我想我们都知道。我对玛哈雷特的记忆中没有威胁，只有几千年幸存者的神秘感，一个如此古老的生物，每一个手势都像是大理石变成液体，她柔和的声音已经成为所有人类口才的精华。

"If she gave you her blessing, nothing else much matters," I said with a little sigh. I wondered if I myself would ever lay eyes upon her again. I had not hoped for it nor wanted it.
“如果她给了你祝福，其他什么都不重要了，”我叹了口气说。我想知道我自己是否还会再看到她。我没有希望它，也不想要它。

"I've also seen my beloved Jesse," said David.
“我也见过我心爱的杰西，”大卫说。

"Ah, I should have thought of that, of course."
“啊，我当然应该想到这一点。”

"I went searching for my beloved Jesse. I went crying out from place to place, just the way you sent out the wordless cry for me."
“我去寻找我心爱的杰西。我从一个地方哭到另一个地方，就像你为我发出无言的哭泣一样。

Jesse. Pale, bird-boned, red-haired. Twentieth-century born. Highly educated and psychic as a human. Jesse he had known as a human; Jesse he knew now as an immortal. Jesse had been his human pupil in the order called the Talamasca. Now he was the equal of Jesse in beauty and vampiric power, or very near to it. I really did not know.
耶西。脸色苍白，鸟骨，红毛。二十世纪出生。受过高等教育，像人一样通灵。杰西是他认识的人类;杰西，他现在知道他是一个不朽的人。杰西曾是他的人类学生，名叫塔拉马斯卡。现在他在美貌和吸血鬼力量上与杰西相当，或者非常接近。我真的不知道。

Jesse had been brought over by Maharet of the First Brood, born as a human before humans had begun to write their history at all or barely knew that they had one. The Elder now, if there was one, the Queen of the Damned was Maharet and her mute sister, Mekare, of whom no one spoke anymore much at all.
杰西是被第一族的马哈雷特带过来的，在人类开始书写他们的历史之前，他就以人类的身份出生，或者几乎不知道他们有人类的历史。现在的长老，如果有的话，诅咒的女王是玛哈雷特和她的哑巴妹妹梅卡雷，没有人再说她们了。

I had never seen a fledgling brought over by one as old as Maharet.
我从来没见过像马哈雷特这样年纪的人带过来的雏鸟。

Jesse had seemed a transparent vessel of immense strength when last I saw her. Jesse must have had her own tales to tell now, her own chronicles and adventures.
当我最后一次见到杰西时，她似乎是一个透明的容器，充满了巨大的力量。杰西现在一定有她自己的故事要讲，她自己的编年史和冒险经历。

I had passed onto David my own vintage blood mixed with a strain even older than Maharet's. Yes, blood from Akasha, and blood from the ancient Marius, and of course my own strength was in my blood, and my own strength, as we all knew, was quite beyond measure.
我把我自己的老式血统和一种比马哈雷特更古老的血统传给了大卫。是的，来自阿卡莎的血液，来自古代马吕斯的血液，当然还有我自己的力量在我的血液中，而我自己的力量，正如我们都知道的那样，是无法衡量的。

So he and Jesse must have been grand companions, and what had it meant to her to see her aged mentor clothed in the fleshly raiment of a young human male?
所以他和杰西一定是伟大的伴侣，看到她年迈的导师穿着一个年轻的人类男性的肉体外衣，对她来说意味着什么？

I was immediately envious and suddenly full of despair. I'd drawn David away from those willowy white creatures who had drawn him into their sanctuary somewhere far across the sea, deep in a land where their treasures might be hidden from crisis and war for
我顿时羡慕不已，顿时充满了绝望。我把大卫从那些柳树般的白色生物身边拉开，这些生物把他吸引到遥远的海对岸的某个地方，在一片土地的深处，他们的宝藏可能隐藏在危机和战争中。

generations. Exotic names came to mind, but I could not for the moment think where they had gone, the two red-haired ones, the one ancient, the one young. And to their hearth, they had admitted David.
代。异国情调的名字浮现在脑海中，但我一时想不起来他们去了哪里，两个红头发的，一个古老的，一个年轻的。在他们的炉膛里，他们接纳了大卫。

A little sound startled me and I looked over my shoulder. I settled back, embarrassed to have appeared so anxious, and I focused silently for a moment on my victim.
一阵小小的声音吓了我一跳，我回头看了看。我安定下来，为表现得如此焦虑而感到尴尬，我默默地将注意力集中在我的受害者身上一会儿。

My Victim was still in the restaurant very near us in this hotel, sitting with his beautiful daughter. I wouldn't lose him tonight. I was sure enough of that.
我的受害者仍然在这家酒店离我们很近的餐厅里，和他漂亮的女儿坐在一起。今晚我不会失去他。我对此很确定。

I sighed. Enough of him. I'd been following him for months. He was interesting, but he had nothing to do with all this. Or did he? I might kill him tonight, but I doubted it. Having spied the daughter, and knowing full well how much the Victim loved her, I had decided to wait until she returned home. I mean, why be so mean to a young girl like that? And how he loved her. Right now, he was pleading with her to accept a gift, something newly discovered by him and very splendid in his eyes. However, I couldn't quite see the image of the gift in her mind or his.
我叹了口气。他受够了。我已经跟踪他好几个月了。他很有趣，但他与这一切无关。还是他？我今晚可能会杀了他，但我对此表示怀疑。在窥探了女儿之后，我非常清楚受害者有多爱她，我决定等到她回家。我的意思是，为什么要对这样的年轻女孩如此刻薄？以及他是多么爱她。此刻，他正在恳求她接受一份礼物，这是他新发现的，在他眼中非常灿烂的东西。然而，我不太清楚她或他脑海中礼物的形象。

He was a good victim to follow flashy, greedy, at times good, and always amusing.
他是一个很好的受害者，可以追随华而不实、贪婪、有时是善良的，而且总是很有趣。

Back to David. And how this strapping immortal opposite me must have loved the vampire Jesse, and become the pupil of Maharet. Why didn't I have any respect for the old ones anymore? What did I want, for the love of heaven? No, that was not the question. The question
回到大卫。而我对面的这个绑带的不朽者一定爱上了吸血鬼杰西，并成为马哈雷特的学生。为什么我不再尊重旧的了？为了天堂的爱，我想要什么？不，这不是问题。问题

t me right now? Was I running from it?
我现在吗？我是在逃避它吗？

He was politely waiting for me to look at him again. I did. But I didn't speak. I didn't begin. And so he did what polite people often do, he talked slowly on as if I were not staring at him through the violet glasses like one with an ominous secret.
他彬彬有礼地等着我再看他一眼。我做了。但我没有说话。我没有开始。于是他做了彬彬有礼的人经常做的事，他慢慢地说话，就好像我没有透过紫罗兰色的眼镜盯着他看，就像一个有着不祥秘密的人一样。

"No one has tried to hurt me," he said again in the lovely calm British manner, "no one has questioned that you made me, all have treated me with respect and kindness, though everyone of course wanted to know all the details firsthand of how you survived the Body Thief. And I don't think you know quite how you alarmed them, and how much they love you."
“没有人试图伤害我，”他又以可爱而平静的英国人的方式说，“没有人质疑你造就了我，所有人都以尊重和善意对待我，尽管每个人都当然想知道你是如何从偷尸贼中幸存下来的所有细节。而且我不认为你完全知道你是如何惊动他们的，以及他们有多爱你。

This was a kindly reference to the last adventure which had brought us together, and driven me to make him one of us. At the time, he had not sung my praises to Heaven for any part of it.
这是对上一次冒险的亲切提及，那次冒险使我们走到了一起，并驱使我让他成为我们中的一员。当时，他没有为其中的任何部分向天堂歌颂我。

"They love me, do they?" I said of the others, the remnants of our revenant species around the world. "I know they didn't try to help me." I thought of the defeated Body Thief.
“他们爱我，是吗？”我说的是其他人，我们在世界各地的亡魂物种的残余。“我知道他们没有试图帮助我。我想到了那个被打败的尸体小偷。

Without David's help, I might never have won that battle. I could not think of something that terrible. But I certainly didn't want to think of all my brilliant and gifted vampiric cohorts and how they'd watched from afar and done nothing.
如果没有大卫的帮助，我可能永远不会赢得那场战斗。我想不出这么可怕的事情。但我当然不想去想我所有才华横溢、天赋异禀的吸血鬼同伴，以及他们是如何在远处看着却什么也没做。

The Body Thief himself was in Hell. And the body in question was opposite me with David inside it.
盗尸贼自己也在地狱里。那具尸体就在我的对面，里面有大卫。

"All right, I'm glad to hear I had them a little worried," I said. "But the point is, I'm being followed again, and this time it's no scheming mortal who knows the trick of astral projection and how to take possession of someone else's body. I'm being stalked."
“好吧，我很高兴听到我让他们有点担心，”我说。“但关键是，我又被跟踪了，这一次不是诡计多端的凡人，他知道星光投射的诀窍，以及如何占有别人的身体。我被跟踪了。

He studied me, not so much incredulous as striving perhaps to grasp the implications.
他打量着我，与其说是怀疑，不如说是努力理解其中的含义。

"Being stalked," he repeated thoughtfully.
“被跟踪，”他若有所思地重复了一遍。

"Absolutely." I nodded. "David, I'm frightened. I'm actually frightened. If I told you what I think this thing is, this thing that's stalking me, you'd laugh."
“当然可以。”我点了点头。“大卫，我很害怕。我真的很害怕。如果我告诉你我的想法，这个跟踪我的东西，你会笑的。

"Would I?" “我愿意吗？”

The waiter had set down the hot drinks, and the steam did feel glorious. The piano played Satie ever so softly. Life was almost worth living, even for a son of a bitch of a monster like myself. Something crossed my mind.
侍者已经放下了热饮，蒸汽确实感觉很光荣。钢琴轻柔地弹奏着萨蒂。生活几乎是值得的，即使对于像我这样的怪物婊子的儿子来说也是如此。我脑海中闪过什么。

In this very bar, I'd heard my victim say to his daughter two nights ago, "You know I sold my soul for places just like this."
就在这家酒吧里，我听到我的受害者两天前对他的女儿说：“你知道我为了这样的地方出卖了我的灵魂。

I'd been yards away, quite beyond mortal hearing, yet hearing every word that fell from my Victim's lips, and I was enthralled with the daughter. Dora, that was her name. Dora. She was the one thing this strange and succulently alluring Victim truly loved, his only child, his daughter.
我离我几码远，完全听不见，但听到了从受害者嘴里说出的每一个字，我被女儿迷住了。朵拉，那是她的名字。朵 拉。她是这个奇怪而多汁诱人的受害者真正爱的一件事，他唯一的孩子，他的女儿。

I realized David was watching me.
我意识到大卫在看着我。

"Just thinking about the victim who brought me here," I said. "And his daughter. They're not going out tonight. The snow's too deep and the wind too cruel. He'll take her back up to their suite, and she'll look down on the towers of St. Patrick's. I want to keep my victim in my sights, you know."
“只是想着把我带到这里的受害者，”我说。“还有他的女儿。他们今晚不出去。雪太深，风太残酷。他会把她带回他们的套房，她会俯视圣帕特里克的塔楼。我想让我的受害者在我的视线中，你知道的。

"Good heavens, have you fallen in love with a couple of mortals?"
“老天爷，你爱上几个凡人了吗？”

"No. Not at all. Just a new way of hunting. The man's unique, a blaze of individual traits. I adore him. I was going to feed on him the first time I saw him, but he continues to surprise me. I've been
“不。一点也不。只是一种新的狩猎方式。这个男人是独一无二的，是个人特质的火焰。我崇拜他。我第一次见到他时就打算以他为食，但他继续让我感到惊讶。我去过

following him around for half a year."
跟着他走了半年。

I flashed back on them. Yes, they were going upstairs, just as I thought. They had just left their table in the restaurant. The night was too wretched even for Dora, though she wanted to go to the church and to pray for her father, and beg him to stay there and pray too. Some memory played between them, in their thoughts and
我回想起他们。是的，他们正在上楼，正如我所想的那样。他们刚刚把桌子留在餐厅里。即使对朵拉来说，这个夜晚也太悲惨了，尽管她想去教堂为她的父亲祈祷，并恳求他也留在那里祈祷。一些记忆在他们之间播放，在他们的思想和

fragmentary words. Dora had been a little girl when my Victim had first brought her to that cathedral.
零碎的单词。当我的受害者第一次把她带到那座大教堂时，朵拉还是个小女孩。

He didn't believe in anything. She was some sort of religious leader. Theodora. She preached to television audiences on the
他什么都不相信。她是某种宗教领袖。西奥多拉。她向电视观众讲道

seriousness of values and nourishment of the soul. And her father? Ah, well, I'd kill him before I learnt too much more, or end up losing this big trophy buck just for Dora's sake.
价值观的严肃性和灵魂的滋养。她的父亲呢？啊，好吧，我会在我学到太多东西之前杀了他，或者最终为了朵拉而失去这个巨大的奖杯。

I looked back at David, who was watching me eagerly, shoulder resting against the dark satin-covered wall. In this light, no one could have known he wasn't human. Even one of us might have missed it. As for me, I probably looked like a mad rock star who wanted all the world's attention to crush him slowly to death.
我回头看了看大卫，他正热切地看着我，肩膀靠在深色缎子覆盖的墙上。从这个角度来看，没有人会知道他不是人类。甚至我们中的一个人也可能错过了它。至于我，我可能看起来像一个疯狂的摇滚明星，想让全世界的注意力都慢慢地把他压死。

"The victim's got nothing to do with it," I said. "I'll tell you all that another time. It's just we're in this hotel because I followed him here. You know my games, my hunts. I don't need blood any more than Maharet does, but I can't stand the thought of not having it!"
“受害者与此无关，”我说。“我下次再告诉你。只是我们在这家酒店，因为我跟着他来了。你知道我的游戏，我的狩猎。我不需要像马哈雷特那样的血液，但我无法忍受没有血液的想法！

"And so what is this new sort of game?" he said politely in British.
“那么这种新的游戏是什么？”他用英语礼貌地说。

"I don't look so much for simple, evil people, murderers, you
“我不太看单纯，邪恶的人，杀人犯，你

know so much as a more sophisticated kind of criminal, someone with the mentality of an Iago. This one's a drag dealer. Highly
作为一个更老练的罪犯，一个具有伊阿古心态的人，知道这么多。这个是变装经销商。高度

eccentric. Brilliant. An art collector. He loves to have people shot, loves to make billions in a week off cocaine through one gateway and
古怪。明。艺术收藏家。他喜欢有人被枪杀，喜欢通过一个门户在一周内从可卡因中赚取数十亿美元。

heroin through another. And then he loves his daughter. And she, she has a televangelist church."
海洛因通过另一个。然后他爱他的女儿。而她，她有一个电视布道教会。

"You're really enthralled with these mortals." "Look right now, past me, over my shoulder. See the two people in the lobby moving towards the elevators?" I asked.
“你真的被这些凡人迷住了。”“现在看，从我身边经过，越过我的肩膀。看到大厅里的两个人朝电梯走去了吗？我问。

"Yes." He stared at them fixedly. Perhaps they'd paused in just the right spot. I could feel, hear, and smell both of them, but I couldn't know precisely where they were unless I turned around. But they were there, the dark smiling man with his pale-faced eager and innocent little girl, who was a woman-child of twenty-five if I had reckoned correctly.
“是的。”他定定地盯着他们。也许他们在正确的地方停了下来。我能感觉到、听到和闻到它们，但除非我转过身来，否则我无法确切地知道它们在哪里。但是他们就在那里，那个面带微笑的黑人带着他苍白的脸，热切而天真的小女孩，如果我没记错的话，她是一个二十五岁的女人和孩子。

"I know that man's face," said David. "He's big time. Interna- tional. They keep trying to bring him up on some charges. He pulled off an extraordinary assassination, where was it?" "The Bahamas."
“我知道那个人的脸，”大卫说。“他很有成就感。国际性。他们一直试图以一些罪名提出他。他完成了一次非同寻常的暗杀，它在哪里？“巴哈马。”

"My God, how did you happen on him? Did you really see him in person somewhere, you know, like a shell you found on the beach, or did you see him in the papers and the magazines?"
“我的天啊，你怎么会落在他身上？你真的在某个地方见过他，你知道，就像你在海滩上发现的贝壳一样，还是在报纸和杂志上见过他？

"Do you recognize the girl? Nobody knows they're connected." "No, I don't recognize her, but should I? She's so pretty, and so sweet. You're not going to feed on her, are you?"
“你认得那个女孩吗？没有人知道他们是有联系的。“不，我不认识她，但我应该吗？她很漂亮，很可爱。你不会以她为食吧？

I laughed at his gentlemanly outrage at such a suggestion. I wondered
我嘲笑他对这样的建议的绅士愤怒。我想知道

if David asked permission before sucking the blood of his victims,
如果大卫在吸食受害者的血之前征得许可，

or at least insisted that both parties be properly introduced. I had no idea what his killing habits were, or how often he fed. I'd made him plenty strong. That meant it didn't have to be every night. He was blessed in that.
或者至少坚持要适当地介绍双方。我不知道他的杀戮习惯是什么，也不知道他多久喂一次。我让他变得足够强壮。这意味着它不必每天晚上都如此。他在这方面是有福的。

"The girl sings for Jesus on a television station," I said. "Her church will someday have its headquarters in an old, old convent building in New Orleans. Right now she lives there alone, and tapes her programs out of a studio in the French Quarter. I think her show goes through some ecumenical cable channel out of Alabama." "You're in love with her."
“那个女孩在电视台为耶稣唱歌，”我说。“她的教会总有一天会把总部设在新奥尔良的一座古老的修道院建筑里。现在她一个人住在那里，在法国区的一个工作室里录制她的节目。我认为她的节目是通过阿拉巴马州的一些普世有线电视频道播出的。“你爱上了她。”

"Not at all, just very eager to kill her father. Her television appeal is peculiar. She talks theology with gripping common sense, you
“一点也不，只是非常想杀了她的父亲。她的电视吸引力很奇特。她用扣人心弦的常识谈论神学，你

know, the kind of televangelist that just might make it all work. Don't we all fear that someone like that will come along? She dances like a nymph or a temple virgin, I suppose I should say, sings like a seraph, invites the entire studio audience to join with her. Theology and ecstasy, perfectly blended. And all the requisite good works are recommended."
要知道，那种可能让一切顺利的电视布道者。我们难道不都担心这样的人会出现吗？我想我应该说，她像仙女或圣殿处女一样跳舞，像炽天使一样唱歌，邀请整个录音室的观众加入她的行列。神学和狂喜，完美融合。所有必要的好作品都值得推荐。

"I see," he said. "And this makes it more exciting for you, to feast on the father? By the way, the father is hardly an unobtrusive man. Neither seem disguised. Are you sure no one knows they're connected?"
“我明白了，”他说。“这让你更兴奋，宴请父亲？顺便说一句，父亲几乎不是一个不引人注目的人。两者似乎都没有伪装。你确定没人知道他们有联系吗？

The elevator door had opened. My Victim and his daughter were rising floor after floor into the sky.
电梯门打开了。我的受害者和他的女儿一层一层地升到天空中。

"He slips in and out of here when he wants. He's got bodyguards galore. She meets him on her own. I think they set it up by cellular phone. He's a computer cocaine giant, and she's one of his best- protected secret operations. His men are all over the lobby. If there'd been anyone nosing around, she would have left the restaurant alone first. But he's a wizard at things like that. There'll be warrants out for him in five states and he'll show up ringside for a heavyweight match in Atlantic City, right in front of the cameras. They'll never catch him. I'll catch him, the vampire who's just waiting to kill him. And isn't he beautiful?"
“当他想要的时候，他会溜进溜出这里。他有很多保镖。她独自遇见了他。我认为他们通过手机设置了它。他是一个电脑可卡因巨头，她是他最受保护的秘密行动之一。他的手下遍布大厅。如果有人在周围闲逛，她会先离开餐厅。但他是这种事情的奇才。他将在五个州获得逮捕令，他将出现在大西洋城的一场重量级比赛中，就在镜头前。他们永远抓不到他。我会抓住他，那个正等着杀他的吸血鬼。他不是很漂亮吗？

"Now, let me get this clear," David said. "You're being stalked by something, and it's got nothing to do with this victim, this, er, drug dealer, or whatever, or this televangelist girl. But something is
“现在，让我把这个说清楚，”大卫说。“你被什么东西跟踪了，这与这个受害者无关，这个，呃，毒贩，或者其他什么，或者这个电视布道的女孩。但有些东西是

following you, something frightening you, but not enough to make you Stop tracking this dark-skinned man who just got into the elevator?"
跟着你，有什么东西让你害怕，但还不足以让你停止追踪这个刚进电梯的黑皮肤男人？

I nodded, but then I caught myself in a little doubt. No, there Couldn't be any connection.
我点了点头，但随后我发现自己有点怀疑。不，不可能有任何联系。

Besides, this thing that had me rattled to the bone had started before I saw the Victim. It had "happened" first in Rio, the stalker, not long after I'd left Louis and David and gone back to Rio to hunt.
此外，这件让我嘎嘎作响的事情在我见到受害者之前就已经开始了。它首先“发生”在里约热内卢，跟踪者，在我离开路易斯和大卫回到里约打猎后不久。

I hadn't picked up this Victim until he'd walked across my path in
我没有抱起这个受害者，直到他走过我的路

own city of New Orleans. He'd come down there on a whim to
自己的城市新奥尔良。他会一时兴起来到那里

Dora for twenty minutes; they'd met in a little French Quarter
朵拉二十分钟;他们在法国的一个小街区相遇

and I had been walking past and seen him, sparkling like a fire, her white face and large compassionate eyes, and wham! It was hunger.
我走过去，看见他，像火一样闪闪发光，她白皙的脸庞和慈悲的大眼睛，呜呜！那是饥饿。

"No, it's got nothing to do with him," I said. "What's stalking me
“不，这与他无关，”我说。“是什么在跟踪我

started months before. He doesn't know I'm following him. I didn't catch on right away myself that I was being followed by this thing, this.. . ."
几个月前就开始了。他不知道我在跟踪他。我自己并没有马上意识到我被这个东西跟踪了，这个......”

"This what?" “这什么？”

"Watching him and his daughter, it's like my miniseries, you know. He's so intricately evil."
“看着他和他的女儿，这就像我的迷你剧，你知道的。他是如此的邪恶。

"So you said, and what is stalking you? Is this a thing or a person or ...?"
“所以你说，跟踪你的是什么？这是一件事，还是一个人，或者......？

"I'll get to that. This Victim, he has killed so many people. Drugs. Such people wallow in numbers. Kilos, kills, coded accounts. And the girl, the girl of course turned out not to be some dim-witted little miracle worker telling diabetics she can cure them with the laying on of hands."
“我会说的。这个受害者，他杀了这么多人。药物。这样的人沉溺于数字。公斤，杀戮，编码帐户。而那个女孩，那个女孩当然不是某个愚蠢的小奇迹创造者，她告诉糖尿病患者她可以通过按手治愈他们。

"Lestat, your mind's wandering. What's the matter with you? Why are you afraid? And why don't you kill this victim and get that part over?"
“莱斯塔特，你的思绪在徘徊。你怎么了？你为什么害怕？你为什么不杀了这个受害者，把那部分弄完呢？

"You want to go back to Jesse and Maharet, don't you?" I asked suddenly, a feeling of hopelessness descending on me. "You want to study for the next hundred years, among all those tablets and scrolls, and look into Maharet's aching blue eyes, and hear her voice, I know you do. Does she still always choose blue eyes?"
“你想回到杰西和马哈雷特身边，不是吗？”我突然问道，一种绝望的感觉降临在我身上。“你想在接下来的一百年里，在那些石板和卷轴中研究，看着马哈雷特痛苦的蓝眼睛，听听她的声音，我知道你是这样想的。她还总是选择蓝眼睛吗？

Maharet had been blind eyes torn out when she was made a vampire queen. She took eyes from her victims and wore them -until they could see no more, no matter how the vampiric blood tried to preserve them. That was her shocking feature the marble queen with the bleeding eyes. Why had she never wrung the neck of some vampire fledgling and stolen his or her eyes? It had never occurred to me before. Loyalty to our own kind? Maybe it wouldn't work. But she had her scruples, and they were as hard as she was. A woman that old remembers when there was no Moses and no Hammurabi's Code. When only the Pharaoh got to walk through the Valley of Death.... "Lestat," David said. "Pay attention. You must tell me what you are talking about. I've never heard you admit so readily that you were afraid. You did say afraid. Forget about me for the moment. Forget that victim and the girl. What's up, my friend? Who's after you?" "I want to ask you some more questions first." "No. Just tell me what's happened. You're in danger, aren't you? Or you think you are. You sent out the call for me to come to you here. It was an unabashed plea."
玛哈雷特在成为吸血鬼女王时被挖掉了双眼。她从受害者身上夺走了眼睛并戴上了它们——直到他们再也看不见了，无论吸血鬼的血液如何试图保护他们。那是她令人震惊的特征，大理石女王，流血的眼睛。为什么她从来没有拧过某个吸血鬼的脖子，偷走了他或她的眼睛？我以前从未想过。忠于我们自己的同类？也许它行不通。但她有她的顾忌，而且和她一样难。一个这么老的女人还记得没有摩西，也没有汉谟拉比法典的时候。当只有法老才能穿过死亡之谷时......“Lestat，”大卫说。“注意。你必须告诉我你在说什么。我从来没听你这么爽快地承认你害怕。你确实说过害怕。暂时忘了我。忘记那个受害者和那个女孩。怎么了，我的朋友？谁在追你？“我想先问你一些问题。”“不。告诉我发生了什么事。你有危险，不是吗？或者你认为你是。你发出电话让我到这里来找你。这是一个毫不掩饰的恳求。

"Are those the words Armand used, 'unabashed plea'? I hate Armand."
“这些是阿尔芒用的词，'毫不掩饰的恳求'吗？我讨厌阿尔芒。

David only smiled and made a quick impatient gesture with both hands. "You don't hate Armand and you know you don't." "Wanna bet?"
大卫只是笑了笑，用双手做了一个不耐烦的手势。“你不讨厌阿尔芒，你知道你不讨厌。“想打赌吗？”

He looked at me sternly and reprimandingly. English schoolboy stuff probably.
他严厉而训斥地看着我。可能是英国小学生的东西。

"All right," I said. "I'll tell you. Now, first, I have to remind you of something. A conversation we had. It was when you were alive still, when we last talked together in your place in the Cotswolds, you know, when you were just a charming old gentleman, dying in despair?
“好吧，”我说。“我会告诉你的。现在，首先，我必须提醒你一些事情。我们进行了一次对话。那是你还活着的时候，我们最后一次在科茨沃尔德的家里一起谈话的时候，你知道吗，当你只是一个迷人的老绅士，在绝望中死去的时候？

"I remember," he said patiently. "Before you went into the desert."
“我记得，”他耐心地说。“在你进入沙漠之前。”

"No, right after, when we knew I couldn't die as easily I thought I could, when I'd come back burnt. You cared for me. Then you started talking about yourself, your life. You said something about an experience you'd had before the war, you said, in a Paris cafe. You remember? You know what I'm talking about?"
“不，就在之后，当我们知道我不能像我以为的那样轻易死去时，当我回来时会被烧伤。你关心我。然后你开始谈论你自己，你的生活。你说了一些关于你战前在巴黎咖啡馆的经历。你还记得吗？你知道我在说什么吗？

"Yes. I do. I told you that when I was a young man I thought I'd seen a vision."
“是的。我愿意。我告诉过你，当我还是个年轻人的时候，我以为我看到了一个异象。

"Yes, something about the fabric of life ripping for a moment so you glimpsed things you shouldn't have seen."
“是的，关于生命结构的一些东西撕裂了一会儿，所以你瞥见了你不应该看到的东西。”

He smiled. "You're the one who suggested that, that the fabric had ripped somehow and I'd seen through the rip accidentally. I thought then and I still think now that it was a vision I was meant to see. But fifty years have passed since then. And my memory, my memory is surprisingly dim of the whole affair."
他笑了。“是你这么说的，布料不知何故撕裂了，我不小心看穿了撕裂。我当时是想的，我现在仍然认为这是我注定要看到的异象。但从那时起已经过去了五十年。而我的记忆，我对整个事件的记忆却出奇地模糊。

"Well, that's to be expected. As a vampire, you will remember
“嗯，这是意料之中的。作为一个吸血鬼，你会记得的

everything that happens to you from now on vividly, but the details
从现在开始发生在你身上的一切都生动，但细节

of mortal life will slip rather fast, especially anything that had to do
尘世的生活会滑得相当快，尤其是任何必须做的事情

with the senses, you'll find yourself chasing after it what did wine
有了感官，你会发现自己在追逐它 葡萄酒

taste like?" 味道像？

He motioned for me to be quiet. I was making him unhappy. I hadn't meant to do this.
他示意我安静。我让他不高兴。我不是故意的。

I picked up my drink, savored the fragrance. It was some sort of not Christmas punch. I think they called it wassail in England. I set down the glass. My hands and face were still dark from that excursion o the desert, that little attempt to fly into the face of the sun. That
我拿起饮料，细细品味着香味。这在某种程度上不是圣诞节的拳头。我想他们在英国称它为 wassail。我放下酒杯。我的手和脸仍然黝黑，因为那次沙漠之旅，那次小小的尝试飞向太阳的脸。那

helped me pass for human. What an irony. And it made my hand a little more sensitive to the warmth.
帮助我通过人类。真是讽刺。这让我的手对温暖更加敏感。

A ripple of pleasure ran through me. Warmth! Sometimes I think I get my money out of everything! There's no way to cheat a
一阵愉悦的涟漪在我身上荡漾。温暖！有时我想我从一切中得到了我的钱！没有办法欺骗一个

sensualist like me, somebody who can die laughing for hours over the
像我这样的感性主义者，一个可以笑几个小时的人

pattern of the carpet in a hotel lobby.
酒店大堂地毯的图案。

I became aware again of his watching me.
我再次意识到他在看着我。

He seemed to have collected himself somewhat or forgiven me for the one thousandth time for having put his soul into a vampire's body without his permission, indeed against his will. He looked at me,
他似乎在某种程度上恢复了自己，或者原谅了我一千次，因为他在未经他允许的情况下，确实违背了他的意愿，将他的灵魂放入吸血鬼的身体。他看着我，

almost lovingly suddenly, as if I needed that reassurance. I took it. I did.
几乎是突然之间充满爱意的，好像我需要这种安慰。我拿走了。我做了。

"In this Paris cafe, you heard two beings talking to each other," I said, going back to his vision of years before. "You were a young man. It all happened gradually. But you realized they weren't 'really' there, the two, in a material sense, and the language they were
“在这家巴黎咖啡馆里，你听到两个人在互相交谈，”我说，回到了他几年前的景象。“你是个年轻人。这一切都是逐渐发生的。但你意识到他们并不“真正”在那里，在物质意义上，这两个人，以及他们的语言

speaking was understandable to you even though you didn't know what it was."
说话对你来说是可以理解的，即使你不知道它是什么。

He nodded. "That's correct. And it sounded precisely like God and the Devil talking to each other."
他点了点头。“没错。这听起来就像上帝和魔鬼在互相交谈。

I nodded. "And when I left you in the jungles last year, you said I wasn't to worry, that you weren't going off on any religious quest to find God and the Devil in a Paris cafe. You said you'd spent your mortal life looking for such things in the Talamasca. And now you would take a different turn."
我点了点头。“去年我把你留在丛林里时，你说我不用担心，你不会去巴黎的一家咖啡馆里寻找上帝和魔鬼。你说你一生都在塔拉马斯卡寻找这样的东西。而现在你会采取不同的行动。

"Yes, that's what I said," he admitted agreeably. "The vision's dimmer now than it was when I told you. But I remember it. I still remember it, and I still believe I saw and heard something, and I'm as resigned as ever that I'll never know what it was."
“是的，我就是这么说的，”他同意地承认。“现在的景象比我告诉你的时候更暗淡了。但我记得。我仍然记得它，我仍然相信我看到和听到了一些东西，我一如既往地无奈，我永远不会知道它是什么。

"You're leaving God and the Devil to the Talamasca, then, as you promised."
“那么，你要把上帝和魔鬼留给塔拉马斯卡，就像你承诺的那样。”

"I'm leaving the Devil to the Talamasca," he said. "I don't think the Talamasca as a psychic order was ever that interested in God."
“我要把魔鬼留给塔拉马斯卡，”他说。“我不认为塔拉马斯卡作为一个通灵组织对上帝如此感兴趣。

All this was familiar verbal territory. I acknowledged it. We both kept our eye on the Talamasca, so to speak. But only one member of that devout order of scholars had ever known the true fate of David Talbot, the former Superior General, and now that human being was dead. His name had been Aaron Lightner. This had been a great
所有这些都是熟悉的语言领域。我承认了。可以这么说，我们俩都盯着塔拉马斯卡。但是，在这个虔诚的学者群体中，只有一个人知道大卫·塔尔博特（David Talbot）的真实命运，这位前高级将军，现在这个人已经死了。他的名字叫亚伦·莱特纳。这真是太棒了

sadness to David, the loss of the one human who knew what he was now,
大卫感到悲伤，失去了一个知道自己现在是什么的人，

the human who had been his knowing mortal friend, as David had been mine.
这个人曾经是他认识的凡人朋友，就像大卫是我的一样。

He wanted to pick up the thread.
他想捡起那根线。

"You've seen a vision?" he asked. "That's what's frightening you?"
“你看到异象了吗？”他问。“这就是让你害怕的地方？”

I shook my head. "Nothing as clear as that. But the Thing is
我摇了摇头。“没有比这更清楚的了。但事情是

stalking me, and now and then it lets me see something in the blink of an eye. I hear it mostly. I hear it sometimes talking in a normal
跟踪我，时不时地让我在眨眼间看到一些东西。我听到的最多。我有时会听到它正常说话

conversational voice to another, or I hear its steps behind me on the street, and I spin around. It's true. I'm terrified of it. And then when it shows itself, well, I usually end up so disoriented, I'm sprawled in the gutter like a common drunk. A week will pass. Nothing. Then I'll catch that fragment of conversation again. ..." "And what are the words?"
对另一个人的对话声音，或者我在街上听到它在我身后的脚步声，然后我转过身来。是真的。我很害怕。然后当它出现时，好吧，我通常会迷失方向，我像一个普通的醉汉一样蜷缩在阴沟里。一个星期过去了，什么都没有。然后我会再次捕捉到那个对话片段。..."“那是什么话？”

"Can't give the fragments to you in order. I'd been hearing them before I realized what they were. On some level, I knew I was hearing a voice from some other locale, so to speak, you knew it wasn't a mere mortal in the next room. But for all I knew, it could have had a
“不能按顺序给你碎片。在我意识到它们是什么之前，我一直在听它们。在某种程度上，我知道我听到了来自其他地方的声音，可以这么说，你知道它不仅仅是隔壁房间里的凡人。但据我所知，它本来可以有一个

natural explanation, an electronic explanation." "I understand."
自然的解释，电子的解释。“我明白。”

"But the fragments are things like two people talking, and one says-the one, that is梥ays, 'Oh, no, he's perfect, it has nothing to do with vengeance, how could you think I wanted mere vengeance?' " I broke off, shrugged. "It's, you know, the middle of a conversation."
“但这些片段就像两个人在说话，一个人说，'哦，不，他很完美，这与复仇无关，你怎么能认为我想要的只是复仇？'“我打断了，耸了耸肩。你知道，这是谈话的中间。

"Yes," he said, "and you feel this Thing is letting you hear a little of it... just the way I thought the vision in the cafe was meant for me."
“是的，”他说，“你觉得这东西让你听到了一点......就像我认为咖啡馆里的愿景是为我准备的那样。

"You've got it exactly right. It's tormenting me. Another time, this was only two days ago, I was in New Orleans; I was sort of spying on the Victim's daughter, Dora. She lives there in the convent build-
“你说得完全正确。这让我很痛苦。还有一次，就在两天前，我在新奥尔良;我有点在监视受害者的女儿朵拉。她住在修道院的建筑里——

I mentioned. It's an old 1880s convent, unoccupied for years, and gutted, so that it's like a brick castle, and this little sparrow of a girl,
我提到过。这是一座 1880 年代的古老修道院，多年无人居住，而且被毁坏了，所以它就像一座砖砌的城堡，还有一只女孩的小麻雀，

lovely little woman, lives there fearlessly, completely alone. She
可爱的小女人，无所畏惧地生活在那里，完全孤独。她

walks about the house as if she were invincible.
在房子里走来走去，仿佛她是无敌的。

Well, anyway, I was down there, and I had come into the courtyard
好吧，不管怎样，我就在下面，我来到了院子里

of this building梚t's, you know, a shape as old as architecture, main building, two long wings, inner courtyard."
这栋建筑的形状和建筑一样古老，主楼，两栋长翼，内院。

The rather typical late-nineteenth-century brick institution."
相当典型的 19 世纪后期砖砌机构。

Exactly, and I was watching through the windows, the progress
没错，我透过窗户看着进展

of that little girl walking by herself through the pitch-black corridor. She was carrying a flashlight. And she was singing to herself, one of her hymns. They're all sort of medieval and modern at the same time."
那个小女孩独自走过漆黑的走廊。她拿着一个手电筒。她自言自语地唱着一首赞美诗。它们既是中世纪的，又是现代的。

"I believe the phrase is 'New Age,' " David suggested.
“我相信这句话是'新时代'，”大卫建议道。

"Yes, it's somewhat like that, but this girl is on an ecumenical religious
“是的，有点像，但这个女孩是普世宗教

network. I told you. Her program is very conventional. Believe in Jesus, be saved. She's going to sing and dance people into Heaven, especially the women, apparently, or at least they'll lead the way."
网络。我告诉过你。她的节目非常传统。相信耶稣，得救。她要唱歌跳舞，把人们带到天堂，尤其是女人，显然，或者至少她们会带路。

"Go on with the story, you were watching her. . . ."
“继续讲故事吧，你在看着她......”

"Yes, and thinking how brave she was. She finally reached her own quarters; she lives in one of the four towers of the building; and I listened as she threw all the locks. And I thought, not many mortals would like to go prowling about this dark building, and the place wasn't entirely spiritually clean."
“是的，想想她有多勇敢。她终于到达了自己的住处;她住在大楼的四座塔楼之一;我听着她把所有的锁都扔掉了。我想，没有多少凡人愿意在这座黑暗的建筑里徘徊，而且这个地方在精神上并不完全干净。

"What do you mean?" “你什么意思？”

"Little spirits, elementals, whatever, what did you call them in the Talamasca?"
“小精灵，元素，随便什么，你在塔拉马斯卡怎么称呼他们？”

"Elementals," he said. “元素，”他说。

"Well, there are some gathered about this building, but they're no threat to this girl. She's simply too brave and strong.
“嗯，这栋楼周围聚集了一些人，但他们对这个女孩没有威胁。她实在是太勇敢了，太坚强了。

"But not the Vampire Lestat, who was spying her. He was out in the courtyard, and he heard the voice right next to his ear, as if Two Men were talking at his right shoulder and the other one, the one who is not following me, says quite plainly, 'No, I don't see him in the same light.' I turned round and round trying to find this Thing, close in on it mentally and spiritually, confront it, bait it, and then I realized I was shaking all over, and you know, the elementals, David, the little pesky spirits . . . the ones I could feel hanging about the convent... I don't think they even realized this person, or whoever he was, had been talking in my ear."
“但不是那个监视她的吸血鬼莱斯塔特。他在院子里，他听到耳边有个声音，好像有两个人在他的右肩上说话，而另一个人，那个没有跟着我的人，很直白地说：“不，我没有用同样的眼光看他。我转了一圈又一圈，试图找到这个东西，在精神上和精神上接近它，面对它，诱饵它，然后我意识到我浑身都在颤抖，你知道，元素，大卫，那些讨厌的小精灵......我能感觉到那些在修道院里闲逛的人......我不认为他们甚至没有意识到这个人，或者他是谁，一直在我耳边说话。

"Lestat, you do sound as if you've lost your immortal mind," he said. "No, no, don't get angry. I believe you. But let's backtrack. Why were you following the girl?"
“莱斯塔特，你听起来好像失去了不朽的头脑，”他说。“不，不，不要生气。我相信你。但是，让我们回溯一下。你为什么要跟着那个女孩？

"I just wanted to see her. My Victim, he's worried梐bout who he is, what's he done, what the officials know about him. He's afraid he'll blemish her when the final indictment comes and all the newpa- per stories. But the point is, he'll never be indicted. I'm going to kill him first."
“我只是想见见她。我的受害者，他很担心他是谁，他做了什么，官员们对他了解多少。他担心当最终的起诉书和所有新的故事到来时，他会玷污她。但关键是，他永远不会被起诉。我要先杀了他。

"You are. And then it actually might save her church, is that not right? Your killing him speedily, so to speak. Or am I mistaken?"
“你是。然后它实际上可能会拯救她的教会，这不对吗？可以这么说，你很快就杀了他。还是我弄错了？

"I wouldn't hurt her for anything on this earth. Nothing could persuade me to do that." I sat silent for a moment.
“我不会因为这个世界上的任何事情而伤害她。没有什么能说服我这样做。我沉默了一会儿。

"Are you sure you are not in love? You seem spellbound by her."
“你确定你没有恋爱吗？你似乎被她迷住了。

I was remembering. I had fallen in love only a short time ago with a mortal woman, a nun. Gretchen had been her name. And I had driven her mad. David knew the whole story. I'd written it; written all about David, too, and he and Gretchen had passed into the world in fictional form. He knew that.
我在回忆。不久前，我爱上了一个凡人女人，一个修女。格雷琴曾是她的名字。我把她逼疯了。大卫知道整个故事。是我写的;也写了关于大卫的一切，他和格雷琴以虚构的形式进入了这个世界。他知道这一点。

"I would never reveal myself to Dora as I did with Gretchen," I said. "No. I won't hurt Dora. I learnt my lesson. My only concern is to kill her father in such a way that she experiences the least suffering and the maximum benefit. She knows what her father is, but I'm not sure she's prepared for all the bad things that could happen on
“我永远不会像对待格雷琴那样向朵拉透露自己，”我说。“不。我不会伤害朵拉的。我吸取了教训。我唯一担心的是杀死她的父亲，让她经历最少的痛苦和最大的利益。她知道她的父亲是什么人，但我不确定她是否为可能发生的所有坏事做好了准备

account of him." 记他的账。

"My, but you are playing games."
“哎呀，可是你在玩游戏。”

"Well, I have to do something to keep my mind off this Thing that's following me or I'll go mad!"
“好吧，我必须做点什么，让我的注意力远离这个跟着我的东西，否则我会发疯的！”

"Shhhh . . . what's the matter with you? My God, but you're rattled."
“嘘......你怎么了？我的上帝，但你被吓坏了。

"Of course I am," I whispered.
“我当然是，”我低声说。

"Explain more about the Thing. Give me more fragments."
“解释更多关于这个东西的事情。给我更多的碎片。

"They're not worth repeating. It's an argument. It's about me, I tell you. David, it's like God and the Devil are arguing about me."
“他们不值得重复。这是一个论点。这是关于我的，我告诉你。大卫，这就像上帝和魔鬼在为我争论一样。

I caught my breath. My heart was hurting me, it was beating so fast, no mean feat for a vampiric heart. I rested back against the wall, let my eyes range over the bar梞iddle-aged mortals mostly, ladies in old-style fur coats, balding men just drunk enough to be loud and careless and almost young.
我屏住了呼吸。我的心很痛，它跳动得如此之快，对于吸血鬼的心脏来说绝非易事。我靠在墙上，目光扫过那些年纪大多是年纪大的凡人，有穿着老式皮大衣的女士，有秃顶的男人，他们喝得酩酊大醉，吵得漫不经心，几乎还很年轻。

The pianist had moved on into something popular, from the Broadway stage, I think. It was sad and sweet, and one of the old women in the bar was rocking slowly to the music, and mouthing the words with her rouged lips as she puffed on a cigarette. She was from that generation that had smoked so much that stopping now was out of the question. She had skin like a lizard. But she was a harmless and beautiful being. All of them were harmless and beautiful
我想，这位钢琴家已经从百老汇的舞台上进入了流行的东西。这是悲伤而甜蜜的，酒吧里的一位老妇人随着音乐慢慢摇摆，一边抽着烟，一边用她胭脂的嘴唇说出这些话。她来自那一代人，他们抽烟太多了，现在戒烟是不可能的。她的皮肤像蜥蜴一样。但她是一个无害而美丽的存在。所有这些都是无害和美丽的

beings. 生命。

My victim? I could hear him upstairs. He was still talking with his
我的受害者？我能听到他在楼上的声音。他还在和他说话

daughter. Would she not take just one more of his gifts? It was a picture, a painting perhaps.
女儿。难道她不会再接受他的礼物吗？那是一幅画，也许是一幅画。

He would move mountains for his daughter, this victim, but she didn't want his gift, and she wasn't going to save his soul.
他会为他的女儿移山，这个受害者，但她不想要他的礼物，她不会拯救他的灵魂。

I found myself wondering how late St. Patrick's stayed open. She wanted so badly to go there. She was, as always, refusing his money. It's "unclean," she said to him now. "Roge, I want your soul. I can't take the money for the church! It comes from crime. It's filthy."
我发现自己想知道圣帕特里克教堂开到多晚。她非常想去那里。她一如既往地拒绝他的钱。这是“不洁的”，她现在对他说。“罗格，我想要你的灵魂。我不能拿钱给教会！它来自犯罪。太肮脏了。

The snow fell outside. The piano music grew more rapid and urgent.
外面下起了雪。钢琴音乐变得更加迅速和紧迫。

Andrew Lloyd Webber at his best, I thought. Something from Phantom of the Opera.
安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯（Andrew Lloyd Webber）处于最佳状态，我想。《歌剧魅影》中的东西。

There was that noise again out in the lobby, and I turned abruptly in my chair and looked over my shoulder, and then back at David. I listened. I thought I heard it again, like a footstep, an echoing
大厅里又传来了嘈杂的声音，我突然从椅子上转过身来，回头看了看大卫。我听了。我以为我又听到了，像是脚步声，像是回声

footstep, a deliberately terrifying footstep. I did hear it. I knew I was trembling. But then it was gone, over. There came no voice in my ear.
脚步声，故意吓人的脚步声。我确实听到了。我知道我在颤抖。但后来它就消失了，结束了。我耳边没有声音。

I looked at David. 我看着大卫。

"Lestat, you're petrified, aren't you?" he asked, very sympathetically.
“莱斯塔特，你被吓坏了，不是吗？”他非常同情地问道。

"David, I think the Devil's come for me. I think I'm going to Hell."
“大卫，我想魔鬼来找我了。我想我要下地狱了。

He was speechless/After all, what could he say? What does a vampire
他无言以对/毕竟，他能说什么？吸血鬼是什么

say to another vampire on such subjects? What would I have said if Armand, three hundred years older than me, and far more wicked, had said the Devil was coming for him? I would have laughed at him. I would have made some cruel joke about his fully deserving it and how he'd meet so many of our kind down there, subject to a special sort of vampiric torment, far worse than mere damned mortals ever experienced. I shuddered.
在这样的问题上对另一个吸血鬼说？如果比我年长三百岁、更邪恶的阿尔芒说魔鬼要来找他，我会怎么说呢？我会嘲笑他。我本来会开个残酷的玩笑，说他完全活该，他怎么会在那里遇到这么多我们这样的人，遭受一种特殊的吸血鬼折磨，比该死的凡人所经历的要糟糕得多。我不寒而栗。

"Good God," I said under my breath.
“天哪，”我低声说。

"You said you've seen it?"
“你说你看过吗？”

"Not quite. I was ... somewhere, it's not important. I think New York again, yes, back here with him?
“不完全是。我曾经是。。。在某个地方，这并不重要。我又想起了纽约，是的，和他一起回到这里？

"The victim." “受害者。”

"Yes, following him. He had some transaction at an art gallery. Midtown. He's quite a smuggler. It's all part of his peculiar personality,
“是的，跟着他。他在一家艺术画廊做过一些交易。市中心。他是个走私犯。这都是他奇特性格的一部分，

that he loves beautiful and ancient objects, the sort of tilings you love, David. I mean, when I finally do make a meal of him, I might bring you one of his treasures."
他喜欢美丽而古老的物体，你喜欢的那种瓷砖，大卫。我的意思是，等我终于为他做了一顿饭，我可能会给你带来他的一件宝贝。

David said nothing, but I could see this was distasteful to him, the idea of purloining something precious from someone whom I had not yet killed but was surely to kill.
大卫什么也没说，但我看得出来，这对他来说很反感，想从我还没有杀但肯定会杀的人身上偷走一些珍贵的东西。

"Medieval books, crosses, jewelry, relics, that's the sort of thing he deals in. It's what got him into the dope, ransoming church art that had been lost during the Second World War in Europe, you know, priceless statues of angels and saints that had been pillaged. He's got his most valued treasures stashed in a flat on the Upper East Side. His big secret. I think the dope money started as a means to an end. Somebody had something he wanted. I don't know. I read his mind and then I tire of it. And he's evil, and all those relics have no magic, and I'm going to Hell."
“中世纪的书籍、十字架、珠宝、遗物，这些都是他经营的东西。这就是让他进入兴奋剂的原因，赎回了第二次世界大战期间在欧洲丢失的教堂艺术品，你知道，被掠夺的无价的天使和圣徒雕像。他把自己最珍贵的宝藏藏在上东区的一套公寓里。他的大秘密。我认为兴奋剂钱开始是为了达到目的的一种手段。有人有他想要的东西。我不知道。我读懂了他的心思，然后我厌倦了。而且他是邪恶的，所有这些遗物都没有魔法，我要下地狱了。

"Not so fast," he said. "The Stalker. You said you saw something. What did you see?"
“没那么快，”他说。“潜行者。你说你看到了什么。你看到了什么？

I fell silent. I had dreaded this moment. I had not tried to describe these experiences even to myself. But I had to continue. I had called David here for help. I had to explain.
我沉默了。我害怕这一刻。我甚至没有试图向自己描述这些经历。但我不得不继续。我打电话给大卫寻求帮助。我不得不解释。

"We were outside, out there on Fifth Avenue; he梩he Victim? was traveling in a car, uptown, and I knew the general direction, the secret flat where he keeps his treasures.
“我们在外面，在第五大道上;他受害者？我乘着汽车在上城区旅行，我知道大致的方向，他存放宝藏的秘密公寓。

"I was merely walking, human style. I stopped at a hotel. I went inside to see the flowers. You know, in these hotels you can always find flowers. When you think you're losing your mind on account of winter, you can go into these hotels and find lavish bouquets of the most overwhelming lilies."
“我只是走路，人类的风格。我在一家酒店停了下来。我进去看花。你知道，在这些酒店里，你总能找到鲜花。当你认为自己因为冬天而失去理智时，你可以走进这些酒店，找到最压倒性的百合花的奢华花束。

"Yes," he said with a little soft, halfhearted sigh. "I know."
“是的，”他有点轻柔，半心半意地叹了口气。“我知道。”

"I was in the lobby. I was looking at this huge bouquet. I wanted to ... to, ah ... leave some sort of offering, as if it were a church ... to those who'd made this bouquet, something like that, and I was thinking to myself, Maybe I should kill the Victim, and then ... I swear this is the way it was, David? "梩he ground was gone. The hotel was gone. I wasn't anywhere or anchored to anything, and yet I was surrounded by people, people howling and chattering and screaming and crying, and laughing, yes, actually laughing, and all this was happening simultaneously, and the light, David, the light was blinding. This wasn't darkness, this wasn't the cliched flames of the inferno, and I reached out. I didn't do this with my arms. I couldn't find my arms. I reached out with everything, every limb, every fiber, just trying to touch something, to regain equilibrium, and then I realized I was standing on terra firma, and
“我在大厅里。我看着这束巨大的花束。我想......到，啊......留下某种奉献，就好像它是一座教堂......对于那些制作这束花的人，类似的东西，我在想，也许我应该杀死受害者，然后......我发誓就是这样，大卫？“地面不见了。酒店不见了。我不在任何地方，也不在任何东西上，但我被人们包围着，人们嚎叫，喋喋不休，尖叫，哭泣，大笑，是的，真的在笑，所有这一切都在同时发生，光，大卫，光是刺眼的。这不是黑暗，这不是地狱的陈词滥调的火焰，我伸出手。我不是用胳膊做的。我找不到我的胳膊。我伸出手，伸出每一根肢体，每一根纤维，只是想触摸一些东西，恢复平衡，然后我意识到我站在陆地上，然后

this Being was in front of me, its shadow was falling over me. Look, I don't have any words for this. It was horrific. It was very certainly the worst thing I've ever seen! The light was shining behind it, and it stood between me and this light and it had a face, and the face was dark, extremely dark, and as I looked at it I lost all control. I must have roared. Yet I have no idea if in the real world I made a sound.
这个存在就在我面前，它的影子正落在我身上。看，我对此无话可说。太可怕了。这肯定是我见过的最糟糕的事情！那道光在它身后闪耀着，它挡在我和这道光之间，它有一张脸，那张脸是黑暗的，极其黑暗，当我看着它时，我失去了所有的控制。我一定是咆哮了。然而，我不知道在现实世界中我是否发出了声音。

"When I came to my senses, I was still there, in the lobby. Everything
“当我清醒过来时，我还在那里，在大厅里。万事

looked ordinary, and it was as if I'd been in that other place for years and years, and all sorts of fragments of memory were slipping away from me, flying away from me, so fast that I couldn't catch any one thought or finished proposition or suggestion.
看起来很普通，就好像我已经在那个地方呆了很多年，各种记忆碎片从我身边溜走，从我身边飞走，速度如此之快，以至于我无法捕捉到任何一个想法或完成的命题或建议。

"All I could remember with any certainty is what I just told you. I stood there. I looked at the flowers. Nobody in the lobby noticed me. I pretended everything was normal. But I kept trying to remember, kept chasing these fragments, beset by bits and pieces of talk, or threat or description, and I kept seeing very clearly this truly ugly dark Being before me, exactly the sort of demon you'd create if you wanted to drive someone right out of his reason. I kept seeing this face and...."
“我能肯定地记得的就是我刚才告诉你的。我站在那里。我看着花朵。大厅里没有人注意到我。我假装一切都很正常。但是我不停地努力去回忆，不停地追逐这些碎片，被零零碎碎的谈话、威胁或描述所困扰，我一直非常清楚地看到眼前这个真正丑陋的黑暗存在，正是你想把某人赶出理智时会创造的那种恶魔。我一直看到这张脸，然后......”

"Yes?" “是吗？”

". . . I've seen him twice again."
". . .我又见过他两次了。

, I realized I was mopping my forehead with the little napkin the waiter had given me. He'd come again. David placed an order. Then he leant close to me.
，我意识到我正在用服务员给我的小餐巾擦额头。他会再来的。大卫下了订单。然后他靠得很近。

"You think you've seen the Devil."
“你以为你见过魔鬼。”

"There's not much else that could frighten me, David," I said. "We both know that. There isn't a vampire in existence who could really frighten me. Not the very oldest, not the wisest, not the cruelist.
“没什么能吓到我的了，大卫，”我说。“我们都知道这一点。没有一个吸血鬼能真正吓到我。不是最老的，不是最聪明的，不是残忍的。

Not even Maharet. And what do I know of the supernatural other than us? The elementals, the poltergeists, the little addlebrained spirits, we all know and see ... the things you called up with Candomble
甚至马哈雷特也没有。除了我们之外，我对超自然现象了解多少？元素，恶作剧者，小脑袋精灵，我们都知道和看到......你用Candomble打电话的东西

witchcraft." 巫术。

"Yes," he said. “是的，”他说。

"This was The Man Himself, David."
“这就是那个人，大卫。”

He smiled, but it was by no means unkind or unsympathetic. "For you, Lestat," he teased softly, seductively, "for you, it would have to be the Devil Himself."
他笑了，但绝不是不友善或无情。“对你来说，莱斯塔特，”他轻声戏弄着，充满诱惑，“对你来说，那一定是魔鬼本人。

We both laughed. Though I think it was what writers call a mirthless
我们俩都笑了。虽然我认为这是作家所说的无趣

laugh. I went on. 笑。我继续说。

"The second time it was in New Orleans. I was near home, our flat in the Rue Royale. Just walking. And I started to hear those steps behind me, like something deliberately following me and letting me know it. Damn it, I've done this to mortals myself and it's so vicious. God! Why was I ever created! And then the third time, the Thing was even closer. Same scenario. Huge, towering over me. Wings, David. Either it has wings or I in my fear am endowing it with wings. It is a Winged Being, and it is hideous, and this last time, I kept hold of the image long enough to run from it, to flee, David, like a coward. And then I woke up, as I always do, in some familiar place, where I started actually, and everything's just the way it was. Nobody has a hair out of place."
“第二次是在新奥尔良。我离家很近，我们在皇家街的公寓。只是走路。我开始听到身后的脚步声，好像有什么东西故意跟着我，让我知道。该死的，我自己也对凡人做过这种事，太恶毒了。神！为什么我曾经被创造过！然后第三次，那东西更近了。相同的场景。巨大，耸立在我身上。翅膀，大卫。要么它有翅膀，要么我害怕赋予它翅膀。它是一个有翅膀的生物，它很丑陋，而这一次，我抓住了这个形象足够长的时间，从它那里逃跑，逃跑，大卫，像个懦夫一样。然后我像往常一样在某个熟悉的地方醒来，我实际上是从那里开始的，一切都是原来的样子。没有人的头发不合时宜。

"And it doesn't talk to you when it appears like this?"
“当它看起来像这样时，它不会和你说话吗？”

"No, not at all. It's trying to drive me crazy. It's trying to ... to make me do something, perhaps. Remember what you said, David, that you didn't know why God and the Devil had let you see them."
“不，一点也不。它试图让我发疯。它试图......也许是为了让我做点什么。大卫，记住你说过的话，你不知道为什么上帝和魔鬼让你看到他们。

"Hasn't it occurred to you that it is connected with this victim you're tracking? That perhaps something or someone does not want you to kill this man?"
“你有没有想过它与你正在追踪的这个受害者有关？也许有什么东西或某人不想让你杀了这个人？

"That's absurd, David. Think of the suffering in the world to- night. Think of those dying in Eastern Europe, think of the wars in the Holy Land, think of what's happening in this very city. You think God or the Devil gives a damn about one man? And our kind, our kind preying for centuries on the weak and the attractive and the
“这太荒谬了，大卫。想想今晚世界上的苦难。想想那些在东欧死去的人，想想圣地的战争，想想这个城市正在发生的事情。你认为上帝或魔鬼会在乎一个人吗？而我们的同类，几个世纪以来，我们的同类捕食弱者、有吸引力的人和

unlucky. When has the Devil ever interfered with Louis, or Armand, or Marius, or any of us? Oh, would that it were so easy to summon his august presence and know once and for all!"
不幸。魔鬼什么时候干涉过路易、阿尔芒、马吕斯或我们中的任何一个人？噢，要是召唤他庄严的临在，一劳永逸地知道，岂不是太容易了！

"Do you want to know?" he asked earnestly.
“你想知道吗？”他认真地问。

I waited, thought about it. Shook my head. "Could be something explainable. I detest being afraid of it! Maybe this is madness. Maybe that's what Hell is. You go mad. And all your demons come and get you just as fast as you can think them up."
我等了，想了想。摇了摇头。“可能是可以解释的。我讨厌害怕它！也许这是疯狂的。也许这就是地狱。你疯了。你所有的恶魔都来了，只要你能想到它们，就会把你抓起来。

"Lestat, it is evil, you are saying that?"
“莱斯塔特，这是邪恶的，你是这么说的？”

I started to answer and then stopped. Evil.
我开始回答，然后停了下来。邪。

"You said it was hideous; you described intolerable noise, and a light. Was it evil? Did you feel evil?"
“你说这很可怕;你描述了无法忍受的噪音和一盏灯。是邪恶的吗？你觉得邪恶吗？

"Well, actually, no. I didn't. I felt the same thing I feel when I hear those bits of conversation, some sort of sincerity, I suppose is the word for it, sincerity and purpose, and I'll tell you something,
“嗯，实际上，没有，我没有。当我听到那些谈话时，我也有同样的感觉，某种真诚，我想就是这个词，真诚和目的，我会告诉你一些事情，

David about this Being, this Being who's stalking me梙e has a sleepless mind in his heart and an insatiable personality."
大卫关于这个存在，这个跟踪我的存在，他的心里有一个不眠不休的头脑和贪得无厌的性格。

"What?" “什么？”

"A sleepless mind in his heart," I insisted, "and an insatiable
“他心里有一颗不眠不休的心，”我坚持说，“而且贪得无厌

personality," I had blurted out. But I knew it was a quote. I was quoting it from something, but what I had no idea, some bit of poetry?
个性，“我脱口而出。但我知道这是一句话。我引用了一些东西，但我不知道的是，一些诗歌？

"What do you mean?" he asked patiently.
“你什么意思？”他耐心地问。

"I don't know. I don't even know why I said it. I don't even know why those words came into my mind. But it's true. He does have a sleepless mind in His heart, and He has an insatiable personality. He's not mortal. He's not human!"
“我不知道。我什至不知道我为什么这么说。我什至不知道为什么这些话会出现在我的脑海中。但这是真的。他心里确实有一颗不眠不休的心，他有一种贪得无厌的个性。他不是凡人。他不是人类！

" 'A sleepless mind in his heart,' " David quoted the words.
“'他心里有一颗不眠不休的心，'”大卫引用了这句话。

" 'Insatiable personality.'"
“'贪得无厌的个性'。

"Yes. That's The Man, all right, the Being, the male Thing. No, wait, stop, I don't know if it's male; I mean . . . why, I don't know what gender it is ... it's not distinctly female, let's put it that way, and not being distinctly female, it seems therefore ... to be male."
“是的。这就是男人，好吧，存在，男性的东西。不，等等，停下来，我不知道是不是男的;我的意思是。。。为什么，我不知道是什么性别......它不是明显的女性，让我们这样说吧，而不是明显的女性，因此似乎......成为男性。

"I understand." “我明白。”

"You think I've gone mad, don't you? You hope so, don't you?"
“你以为我疯了，不是吗？你希望如此，不是吗？

"Of course I don't." “我当然不知道。”

"You ought to," I said. "Because if this being doesn't exist inside my head, if he exists outside, then he can get you too."
“你应该这样做，”我说。“因为如果这个存在不存在于我的脑海里，如果他存在于外面，那么他也可以得到你。”

This made him very obviously thoughtful and distant and then he said strange words to me I didn't expect.
这让他非常明显地深思熟虑和疏远，然后他对我说了奇怪的话，我没想到。

"But he doesn't want me, does he? And he doesn't want the
“但他不想要我，是吗？而且他不想要

others, either. He wants you."
其他人也一样。他想要你。

I was crestfallen. I am proud, I am an egomaniac of a being; I do love attention; I want glory; I want to be wanted by God and the Devil. I want, I want, I want, I want.
我被吓坏了。我很自豪，我是一个自负的人;我确实喜欢关注;我想要荣耀;我想被上帝和魔鬼通缉。我想要，我想要，我想要，我想要。

"I'm not upbraiding you," he said. "I'm merely suggesting that this thing has not threatened the others. That in all of these hundreds of years, none of the others ... none that we know has ever spoken of such a thing. Indeed, in your writing, in your books, you've been most explicit that no vampire had ever seen the Devil, have you not?"
“我不是在骂你，”他说。“我只是在暗示这件事并没有威胁到其他人。在这几百年里，其他人都没有......我们所知道的从来没有人说过这样的事情。事实上，在你的著作中，在你的书中，你最明确地表示，没有吸血鬼见过魔鬼，不是吗？

I admitted it with a shrug. Louis, my beloved pupil and fledgling, had once crossed the world to find the "eldest" of the vampires, and Armand had stepped forward with open arms to tell him that there was no God or Devil. And I, half a century before that, had made my own journey for the "eldest" and it had been Marius, made in the
我耸耸肩承认了。路易斯，我心爱的学生和初出茅庐的人，曾经穿越世界寻找吸血鬼中的“最年长的”，阿尔芒张开双臂走上前来告诉他没有上帝或魔鬼。而我，在那之前半个世纪，已经为“长子”踏上了自己的旅程，那就是马吕斯，在

days of Rome, who had said the very same thing to me. No God. No Devil.
罗马的日子，谁对我说过同样的话。没有上帝。没有魔鬼。

I sat still, conscious of stupid discomforts, that the place was stuffy, that the perfume was not really perfume, that there were no lilies in these rooms, that it was going to be very cold outside, and I couldn't think of rest until dawn forced me to it, and the night was long, and I was not making sense to David, and I might lose him ... and that Thing might come, that Thing might come again.
我静静地坐着，意识到愚蠢的不适，这个地方很闷，香水不是真正的香水，这些房间里没有百合花，外面会很冷，我想不出休息，直到黎明迫使我去休息，夜很长，我对大卫没有意义， 我可能会失去他......那东西可能会来，那东西可能会再来。

"Will you stay near me?" I hated my own words.
“你愿意留在我身边吗？”我讨厌我自己的话。

"I'll stand at your side, and I'll try to hold on to you if it tries to take you."
“我会站在你身边，如果它试图带走你，我会努力抓住你。”

"You will?" “你会吗？”

"Yes," he said. “是的，”他说。

"Why?" “为什么？”

"Don't be foolish," he said. "Look, I don't know what I saw in the cafe. Never again in my life did I ever see anything like that or hear it. You know, I told you my story once. I went to Brazil, I learned the Candomble secrets. The night you . . . you came after me, I tried to summon the spirits."
“别傻了，”他说。“听着，我不知道我在咖啡馆里看到了什么。在我的生命中，我再也没有看到或听到过这样的事情。你知道，我曾经告诉过你我的故事。我去了巴西，我了解了Candomble的秘密。那天晚上你......你跟着我来，我试图召唤灵魂。

"They came. They were too weak to help."
“他们来了。他们太虚弱了，帮不上忙。

"Right. But. . . what is my point? My point is simply that I love you, that we're linked in some way that none of the others is linked. Louis worships you. You're some sort of dark god to him, though he pretends to hate you for having made him. Armand envies you and spies on you far more than you might think."
“对。但。。。我的观点是什么？我的观点很简单，我爱你，我们以某种方式联系在一起，而其他人都没有联系在一起。路易斯崇拜你。对他来说，你是某种黑暗之神，尽管他假装讨厌你创造了他。阿尔芒嫉妒你，监视你的次数远远超过你想象的。

"I hear Armand and I see him and I ignore him," I said.
“我听到了阿尔芒的声音，我看到了他，但我忽略了他，”我说。

"Marius, he hasn't forgiven you for not becoming his pupil, I think you know that, for not becoming his acolyte, for not believing in history as some sort of redemptive coherence."
“马吕斯，他没有原谅你没有成为他的学生，我想你知道这一点，没有成为他的侍僧，没有相信历史是某种救赎的连贯性。

"Well put. That is what he believes. Oh, but he's angry with me for much greater things than that, you weren't one of us when I woke the Mother and the Father. You weren't there. But that's another tale."
“说得好。这就是他所相信的。噢，可是他生我的气远不止于此，当我叫醒母亲和父亲时，你还不是我们中的一员。你不在那里。但那是另一回事了。

"I know all of it. You forget your books. I read your work as soon as you write it, as soon as you let it loose into the mortal world."
“我都知道。你忘记了你的书。你一写，我就读你的作品，你一放到凡间。

I laughed bitterly. "Maybe the Devil's read my books too," I said. Again, I loathed being afraid. It made me furious.
我苦笑了一下。“也许魔鬼也读过我的书，”我说。再一次，我讨厌害怕。这让我很生气。

"But the point is," he said, "I'll stand with you." He looked down at the table, drifting, the way he so often had when he was mortal,
“但关键是，”他说，“我会和你站在一起。他低头看着桌子，飘飘然的样子，就像他凡人时经常做的那样，

when I could read his mind yet he could defeat me, consciously
当我能读懂他的心思时，他可以有意识地打败我

locking me out. Now it was simply a barrier. I would never again know what his thoughts felt like.
把我锁在外面。现在它只是一个障碍。我再也不知道他的想法是什么感觉了。

"I'm hungry," I whispered.
“我饿了，”我低声说。

"Hunt." “狩猎。”

I shook my head. "When I'm ready, I'll take the Victim. As soon as Dora leaves New York. Soon as she goes back to her old convent. She knows the bastard's doomed. That's what she will think after I've done it, that one of his many enemies got him, that his evil came back on him, very Biblical, when all the time it was just a species of killer roaming the Savage Garden of the Earth, a vampire, looking for a juicy mortal, and her father had caught my eye, and it's going to be over, just like that."
我摇了摇头。“当我准备好时，我会带走受害者。朵拉一离开纽约。很快，她就回到了她的旧修道院。她知道这个混蛋注定要失败。在我做完之后，她会这么想，他的众多敌人中的一个抓住了他，他的邪恶又回来了，非常符合圣经，而一直以来，它只是一个在地球野蛮花园中漫游的杀手，一个吸血鬼，寻找一个多汁的凡人，而她的父亲引起了我的注意， 一切都会结束的，就这样。

"Are you planning to torture this man?"
“你打算折磨这个人吗？”

"David. You shock me. What an impolite question."
“大卫。你让我震惊。多么不礼貌的问题。

"Will you?" he asked more timidly, more imploringly.
“你愿意吗？”他更胆怯地问，更恳求。

"I don't think so. I just want to...." I smiled. He knew now well enough. Nobody had to tell him anymore about drinking the blood, the soul, the memory, the spirit, the heart. I wouldn't know that wretched mortal creature until I took him, held him against my chest, opened up the only honest vein in his body, so to speak. Ah, too many thoughts, too many memories, too much anger.
“我不这么认为。我只想......”我笑了。他现在很清楚了。没有人再告诉他关于喝血、灵魂、记忆、精神、心灵的事情了。我不会认识那个可怜的凡人，直到我抓住他，把他靠在我的胸前，打开他身体里唯一诚实的静脉，可以这么说。啊，太多的想法，太多的回忆，太多的愤怒。

"I'm going to stay with you," he said. "Do you have rooms here?"
“我要和你在一起，”他说。“你这里有房间吗？”

"Nothing proper. Find something for us. Find it close to ... close to the cathedral."
“没什么不合适的。为我们找到一些东西。找到它靠近...离大教堂很近。

"Why?" “为什么？”

"Well, David, you should know why. If the Devil starts chasing me down Fifth Avenue, I'll just run into St. Patrick's and run to the High Altar and fall on my knees before the Blessed Sacrament and beg God to forgive me, not to sink me into the river of fire up to my eyes."
“好吧，大卫，你应该知道为什么。如果魔鬼开始在第五大道上追赶我，我就会跑到圣帕特里克教堂，跑到高坛，跪在圣体前，乞求上帝原谅我，不要让我沉入火河中。

"You are on the verge of being truly mad."
“你快要疯了。”

"No, not at all. Look at me. I can tie my shoelaces. See? And my tie. Takes some care, you know, to get it all around your neck and into your shirt and so forth, and not look like a lunatic with a big scarf around your neck. I'm together, as mortals so bluntly state it. Can you find us some rooms?"
“不，一点也不。看着我。我可以系鞋带。看？还有我的领带。要小心，你知道，把它全部戴在你的脖子上，塞进你的衬衫等等，不要看起来像一个脖子上围着大围巾的疯子。我在一起，正如凡人直言不讳地说的那样。你能给我们找一些房间吗？

He nodded. 他点了点头。

"There's a glass tower, right over there somewhere, beside the cathedral. Monstrous building."
“有一座玻璃塔，就在大教堂旁边的某个地方。可怕的建筑。

"The Olympic Tower." “奥林匹克塔。”

"Yes, could you get us some rooms there? Actually I have mortal agents who can do this sort of thing, I don't know why in the world I'm whining like a fool in this place, asking you to take care of
“是的，你能给我们一些房间吗？其实我有凡人的特工可以做这种事情，我不知道为什么我在这个世界上像个傻瓜一样抱怨，要求你照顾

humiliating particulars. . . ."
羞辱的细节......”

"I'll take care of it. It's probably too late tonight, but I can swing it tomorrow evening. It will be under the name David Talbot."
“我会处理的。今晚可能太晚了，但明天晚上我可以挥杆。它将以大卫·塔尔博特（David Talbot）的名义出现。

"My clothes. There's a stash of them here under the name Isaac Rummel. Just a suitcase or two, and some coats. It's really winter, isn't it?" I gave him the key to the room. This was humiliating. Rather like making a servant of him. Perhaps he'd change his mind and put our new lodgings under the name of Renfield.
“我的衣服。这里有一个以艾萨克·鲁梅尔（Isaac Rummel）的名字命名的藏匿处。只有一两个手提箱和一些外套。真的是冬天，不是吗？我把房间的钥匙给了他。这太丢人了。更像是让他成为仆人。也许他会改变主意，把我们的新住所放在伦菲尔德的名下。

"I'll take care of it all. We'll have a palatial base of operations by tomorrow. I'll see that keys are left for you at the desk. But what are you going to be doing?"
“我会处理好这一切。到明天，我们将拥有一个富丽堂皇的运营基地。我会看到钥匙在桌子上留给你。但是你要做什么？

I waited, I was listening for the Victim. Still talking to Dora. Dora was leaving in the morning.
我等待着，我在倾听受害者的声音。还在和朵拉说话。朵拉早上就要离开了。

I pointed upwards. "Killing that bastard. I think I'll do it tomorrow
我指了指上方。“杀了那个混蛋。我想我明天会这样做

right after sunset if I can zone in on him quickly enough. Dora will be gone. Oh, I am so hungry. I wish she'd take a midnight plane out of here. Dora, Dora."
日落之后，如果我能足够快地找到他的话。朵拉会走的。哦，我好饿。我希望她能坐午夜的飞机离开这里。朵拉，朵拉。

"You really like this little girl, don't you?"
“你真的很喜欢这个小女孩，不是吗？”

"Yes. Find her on television sometime, you'll see. Her talent's rather spectacular, and her teaching has that dangerous emotional grip to it."
“是的。有时间在电视上找到她，你会看到的。她的才华相当惊人，她的教学有一种危险的情感控制。

"Is she really gifted?" “她真的有天赋吗？”

"With everything. Very white skin, short black hair, bobbed, long thin yet shapely legs, and she dances with such abandon, arms flung out, rather makes one think of a whirling dervish or the Sufis in their perfection, and when she speaks it's not humble precisely, it's full of wonder and all very, very benign."
“应有尽有。她皮肤白皙，黑色短发，蓬松的，细长而匀称的腿，她跳起舞来，双臂张开，让人联想到一个旋转的苦行僧或完美的苏菲派，当她说话时，它并不谦虚，而是充满了惊奇，一切都非常非常善良。

"I should think so." “我应该这么认为。”

"Well, religion isn't always, you know. I mean she doesn't rant about the coming Apocalypse or the Devil coming to get you if you don't send her a check."
“嗯，宗教并不总是，你知道的。我的意思是，如果你不给她寄支票，她不会咆哮即将到来的启示录或魔鬼来抓你。

He reflected for a moment, then said meaningfully, "I see how it is."
他沉思了一会儿，然后意味深长地说：“我明白了。

"No, you don't. I love her, yes, but I'll soon forget her com- pletely. It's just that. . . well, there's a convincing version of some-
“不，你没有。我爱她，是的，但我很快就会完全忘记她。只是。。。好吧，有一些令人信服的版本——

thing there, and delicacy, and she really believes in it; she thinks Jesus walked on this earth. She thinks it happened."
那里有东西，美味佳肴，她真的相信它;她认为耶稣走在地上。她认为它发生了。

"And this thing that's following you, it's not connected in any way with this choice of victim, her father?"
“而这个跟着你的东西，它和这个选择的受害者，她的父亲没有任何关系？”

"Well, there is a way to find out," I said.
“嗯，有办法找出答案，”我说。

"How?" “怎么样？”

"Kill the son of a bitch tonight. Maybe I'll do it after he leaves
“今晚杀了那个婊子的儿子。也许我会在他离开后再做

her. My Victim won't stay here with her. He's too scared of bringing
她。我的受害者不会和她呆在一起。他太害怕带了

danger to her. He never stays in the same hotel with her. He has
对她有危险。他从不和她住在同一家酒店。他有

three different apartments here. I'm surprised he's stayed this long."
这里有三个不同的公寓。我很惊讶他呆了这么久。

"I'm staying with you." “我和你在一起。”

"No, go on, I have to finish this one. I need you, I really need you. I needed to tell you, and to have you with me, the age-old venerable human needs, but I don't need you at my side. I know you're thirsting.
“不，继续，我必须完成这个。我需要你，我真的需要你。我需要告诉你，让你和我在一起，古老可敬的人类需要，但我不需要你在我身边。我知道你渴了。

I don't have to read your mind to feel that much. You starved as you came here, so that you wouldn't disappoint me. Go prowl the city." I smiled. "You've never hunted New York, have you?"
我不需要读懂你的心思就能有那么多感觉。你来这里的时候饿了，这样你就不会让我失望了。去城里徘徊吧。我笑了。“你从来没去过纽约，是吗？”

He shook his head in the negative gesture. His eyes were changing.
他摇了摇头，做出了否定的姿态。他的眼神在变化。

It was the hunger. It was giving him that dull look, like a dog who had caught the scent of the bitch in heat. We all get that look, the bestial look, but we are nothing as good as bestial, are we? Any of us. I stood up. "The rooms in the Olympic Tower," I said. "You'll get them so that they look down on St. Patrick's, won't you? Not too high up, low if you can do it, so that the steeples are close." "You are out of your brilliant preternatural mind." "No. But I'm going out into the snow now. I hear him up there. He's planning to leave her, he's kissing her, chaste and loving kisses. His car is prowling around out front. He'll go way uptown to that secret place of his where the relics are kept. He thinks his enemies in crime and government know nothing of it, or believe it's just the junk shop of a friend. But I know of it. And what all those treasures mean to him. If he goes up there, I'll follow.... No more time, David." "I've never been so completely confused," he said. "I wanted to
那是饥饿。这让他看起来很沉闷，就像一只在发情时闻到了母狗气味的狗。我们都有那种样子，野兽的样子，但我们不如兽性好，不是吗？我们任何人。我站了起来。“奥林匹克塔的房间，”我说。“你会把他们弄到，这样他们就会看不起圣帕特里克，不是吗？不要太高，如果可以的话，不要太低，这样尖顶就很近了。“你已经失去了你聪明的超自然头脑。”“不。但我现在要去雪地里。我听到他在那儿。他打算离开她，他正在亲吻她，贞洁而充满爱意的吻。他的车在前面徘徊。他会去上城区，去他保存遗物的那个秘密地方。他认为他在犯罪和政府中的敌人对此一无所知，或者认为这只是一个朋友的废品店。但我知道这一点。所有这些宝藏对他来说意味着什么。如果他上去，我会跟着......没有时间了，大卫。“我从来没有这么彻底地困惑过，”他说。“我想

say God go with you."
说上帝与你同在。

I laughed. I leant to give him a quick kiss on the forehead, so swift others would not make anything of it if they saw it, and then
我笑了。我俯身在他额头上飞快地吻了一下，其他人要是看到了，也没动手，然后

swallowing the fear, the instantaneous fear, I left him.
吞下恐惧，瞬间的恐惧，我离开了他。

In the rooms high above, Dora cried. She sat by the window watching the snow and crying. She regretted refusing his new present
在高高的房间里，朵拉哭了。她坐在窗边看着雪哭。她后悔拒绝了他的新礼物

for her. If only. . . . She pushed her forehead against the cold glass and prayed for her father.
对她来说。苟。。。。她把额头抵在冰冷的玻璃上，为父亲祈祷。

I crossed the street. The snow felt rather good, but then I'm a
我过了马路。雪的感觉还不错，但后来我变成了一个

monster. 怪物。

I stood at the back of St. Patrick's, watching as my handsome
我站在圣帕特里克的后面，看着我英俊的

Victim came out, hurriedly through the snow, shoulders hunched, and plunged into the backseat of his expensive black car. I heard him give the address very near to that junk-shop flat where he kept his treasures.
受害者出来了，匆匆忙忙地穿过雪地，肩膀耷拉着，一头扎进了他昂贵的黑色汽车的后座。我听见他把地址说得离他存放宝藏的那间旧货店很近。

All right, he'd be alone up there for a while. Why not do it,
好吧，他会一个人在那里呆一会儿。为什么不这样做，

Lestat? 国家？

Why not let the Devil take you? Go ahead! Refuse to enter Hell in
为什么不让魔鬼带走你呢？继续！拒绝进入地狱

fear. Just go for it.
恐惧。去吧。

2

I REACHED his house on the Upper East Side before he did. I'd tracked him here numerous times. I knew the routine. Hirelings
我比他先到达他在上东区的房子。我在这里跟踪过他很多次。我知道例行公事。雇佣 兵

lived on the lower and upper floors, though I don't think they knew who he was. It wasn't unlike a vampire's usual
住在楼下和楼上，虽然我不认为他们知道他是谁。这与吸血鬼的平常没有什么不同

arrangement. And between those two flats was his long chain of rooms, the second story of the town house, barred like a prison, and accessible by him through a rear entrance.
安排。在这两套公寓之间是他一长串的房间，这是联排别墅的第二层，像监狱一样被封锁，他可以从后门进入。

He never had a car let him out in front of the place. He'd get out on Madison and cut deep into the block to his back door. Or
他从来没有一辆车让他在这个地方前面下车。他会从麦迪逊下车，深入街区到他的后门。或

sometimes he got out on Fifth. He had two routes, and some of the surrounding property was his. But nobody梟one of his pursuers? knew of this place.
有时他会在第五名出局。他有两条路线，周围的一些财产是他的。但是没有人梟他的追求者之一？知道这个地方。

I wasn't even sure that his daughter, Dora, knew the exact loca- tion. He'd never brought her there in all the months I'd been watch- ing him, savoring and licking my lips over his life. And I'd never
我甚至不确定他的女儿朵拉是否知道确切的位置。在我观察他的这几个月里，他从来没有把她带到那里，细细品味，舔舔我的嘴唇。我永远不会

caught from Dora's mind any distinct image of it. But Dora knew of his collection. In the past, she had accepted his relics. She had some of them scattered about the empty convent
从朵拉的脑海中捕捉到了它的任何清晰形象。但朵拉知道他的收藏。过去，她曾接受过他的遗物。她让其中一些人散落在空荡荡的修道院里

castle in New Orleans. I'd sensed a glimmer or two of these fine things the night when I'd pursued her there. And now my Victim was still
新奥尔良的城堡。在我追求她的那天晚上，我感觉到了一两点这些美好的事物。现在我的受害者还在

lamenting that she'd refused the latest gift. Something truly sacred, or so he thought.
感叹她拒绝了最新的礼物。某种真正神圣的东西，或者他是这么想的。

I got into the flat simply enough.
我进入公寓很简单。

One could hardly call it a flat, though it did include a small lavatory,
人们很难称它为公寓，尽管它确实包括一个小厕所，

dirty in the way barren, unused places become dirty, and then room after room was crammed with trunks, statues, bronze figures, heaps of seeming trash that no doubt concealed priceless discoveries.
贫瘠、未使用的地方变得肮脏，然后一个又一个房间挤满了树干、雕像、青铜雕像，成堆的看似垃圾，无疑隐藏着无价的发现。

It felt very strange to be inside, concealed in the small rear room, because I had never done more than look through the windows. The place was cold. When he came, he would create heat and light simply enough.
在里面，隐藏在狭小的后室里，感觉很奇怪，因为除了透过窗户看之外，我从来没有做过更多的事情。这个地方很冷。当他来的时候，他会简单地创造热量和光。

I sensed he was only halfway up Madison in a crush of traffic, and I began to explore.
我感觉到他只在麦迪逊的半山腰上，车水马龙，我开始探索。

At once, a great marble statue of an angel startled me. I came round out of the door and almost ran smack into it. It was one of those angels that used to stand inside church doors, offering holy water in half shells. I had seen them in Europe and in New Orleans.
一瞬间，一尊巨大的天使大理石雕像吓了我一跳。我出了门，差点撞到门里。它是曾经站在教堂门内的天使之一，用半壳提供圣水。我在欧洲和新奥尔良见过他们。

It was gigantic, and its cruel profile stared blindly into the shad- ows. Far down the hall, the light came up from the busy little street that ran into Fifth. The usual New York songs of traffic were coming through the walls.
它体型巨大，残忍的身躯盲目地盯着鲥鱼。在大厅的远处，光线从通往第五街的繁忙小街上射来。通常的纽约交通歌曲穿过墙壁传来。

This angel was poised as if he had just landed from the skies to offer his sacred basin. I slapped his bent knee gently and went around him. I didn't like him. I could smell parchment, papyrus, various kinds of metal. The room opposite appeared to be filled with Russian icons. The walls were veritably covered with them and the light was playing on the halos of the sad-eyed Virgins or glaring Christs.
这位天使镇定自若，仿佛他刚刚从天而降，献上他的圣盆。我轻轻地拍了拍他弯曲的膝盖，绕着他走了过去。我不喜欢他。我能闻到羊皮纸、纸莎草纸和各种金属的味道。对面的房间里似乎摆满了俄罗斯的图标。墙壁上确实布满了它们，光线打在悲伤的处女或瞪着眼睛的基督的光环上。

I went on to the next room. Crucifixes. I recognized the Spanish style, and what appeared to be Italian Baroque, and very early work which surely must have been very rare梩he Christ grotesque and poorly proportioned yet suffering with appropriate horror on the worm-eaten cross.
我去了隔壁房间。十字架。我认出了西班牙的风格，似乎是意大利的巴洛克风格，以及非常早期的作品，这肯定是非常罕见的，基督怪诞而比例不佳，但在被虫子啃食的十字架上遭受了适当的恐怖。

Only now did I realize the obvious. It was all religious art. There was nothing that wasn't religious. But then it's rather easy to say that about all art from the end of the last century backwards, if you think about it. I mean, the great majority of art is religious.
直到现在，我才意识到显而易见的事情。这都是宗教艺术。没有什么不是宗教的。但是，如果你仔细想想，从上个世纪末开始的所有艺术都很容易这么说。我的意思是，绝大多数艺术都是宗教性的。

The place was utterly devoid of life.
这个地方完全没有生命。

Indeed, it stank of insecticide. Of course, he had saturated it to save his old wooden statues, he would have had to do that. I could not
事实上，它散发着杀虫剂的臭味。当然，他已经饱和了它以保存他的旧木制雕像，他必须这样做。我不能

hear or smell rats, or detect any living thing at all. The lower flat was empty of its occupants, though a small radio chattered the news in a bathroom.
听到或闻到老鼠，或检测到任何生物。楼下的公寓里空无一人，尽管浴室里有一台小型收音机在播放新闻。

Easy to blot out that little sound. On the floors above, there were mortals, but they were old, and I caught a vision of a sedentary man, with earphones on his head, swaying to the rhythm of some esoteric German music, Wagner, doomed lovers deploring the "hated dawn" or some heavy, repetitive, and distinctly pagan foolishness. Leitmotiv be damned. There was another person up there, but she was too
很容易抹去那一点点声音。在上面的地板上，有凡人，但他们已经老了，我看到一个久坐不动的男人，头上戴着耳机，随着一些深奥的德国音乐瓦格纳的节奏摇摆，注定要失败的恋人哀叹“讨厌的黎明”或一些沉重的、重复的、明显的异教徒愚蠢。Leitmotiv 该死。上面还有另一个人，但她也是

feeble to be of any concern, and I could catch only one image of her and she appeared to be sewing or knitting.
我无力地关心任何事情，我只能捕捉到她的一张照片，她似乎在缝纫或编织。

I didn't care enough about any of this to bring it into loving focus. I was safe in the flat, and He'd be coming soon, filling all these rooms with the perfume of his blood, and I'd do my damnedest not to break his neck before I'd had every drop. Yes, this was the night.
我对此并不关心，无法将其带入爱的焦点。我在公寓里很安全，他很快就会来，用他的血的芬芳填满所有这些房间，我会尽我最大的努力，在我喝完每一滴之前不折断他的脖子。是的，这就是晚上。

Dora wouldn't find out until she got home tomorrow anyway. Who would know that I'd left his corpse here?
反正朵拉要等到明天回家才知道。谁会知道我把他的尸体留在这里？

I went on into the living room. This was tolerably clean; the room where he relaxed and read and studied and fondled his objects. There were his comfortable bulky couches, fitted with heaps of pillows, and halogen lamps of black iron so delicate and light and modern and easy to maneuver that they looked like insects poised on tables and on the floor itself, and sometimes on top of cardboard boxes.
我走进客厅。这是可以忍受的干净;他放松、阅读、学习和抚摸他的物品的房间。有他舒适笨重的沙发，上面装着成堆的枕头，还有黑铁卤素灯，精致、轻盈、现代、易于操作，它们看起来像昆虫一样，在桌子上和地板上，有时在纸板箱上。

The crystal ashtray was full of butts, which confirmed he pre- ferred safety to cleanliness, and I saw scattered glasses in which the liquor had long ago dried to a glaze that was now flaked like lacquer.
水晶烟灰缸里装满了烟头，这证实了他把安全放在清洁上，我看到散落的玻璃杯，里面的酒早已干燥成釉面，现在像漆一样剥落。

Thin, rather frowsy drapes hung over the windows, making the light soiled and tantalizing.
窗户上挂着薄薄的、相当昏昏欲睡的窗帘，使光线变得肮脏而诱人。

Even this room was jammed with statues of saints梐 very lurid and emotional St. Anthony holding a chubby Child Jesus in the crook of his arm; a very large and remote Virgin, obviously of Latin
甚至这个房间里也挤满了圣徒的雕像，非常耸人听闻和情绪化的圣安东尼在他的臂弯里抱着一个胖乎乎的孩子耶稣;一个非常大而遥远的处女，显然是拉丁语

American origin. And some monstrous angelic being of black granite, which even with my eyes I could not fully examine in the gloom, something resembling more a Mesopotamian demon than an angel.
美国血统。还有一些黑色花岗岩的可怕天使，即使用我的眼睛也无法在黑暗中完全检查它，它更像是美索不达米亚的恶魔而不是天使。

For one split second this granite monster sent the shivers through me. It resembled ... no, I should say its wings made me think of the creature I'd glimpsed, this Thing that I thought was following me.
有那么一瞬间，这个花岗岩怪物让我不寒而栗。它类似于......不，我应该说它的翅膀让我想起了我瞥见的那个生物，这个我以为在跟着我的东西。

But I didn't hear any footsteps here. There was no rip in the fabric of the world. It was a statue of granite, that's all, a hideous ornament
但是我没有听到这里有任何脚步声。世界的结构没有裂痕。那是一尊花岗岩雕像，仅此而已，一个丑陋的装饰品

perhaps from some gruesome church full of images of Hell and
也许来自某个充满地狱图像的可怕教堂和

Heaven. 天堂。

Lots of books lay on the tables. Ah, he did love books. I mean, there were the fine ones, made of vellum and very old and all that, but current books, too, titles in philosophy and religion, current affairs, memoirs of currently popular war correspondents, even a few volumes of poetry.
桌子上放着很多书。啊，他确实喜欢书。我的意思是，有精美的，用牛皮纸做的，很旧等等，但现在的书，哲学和宗教的书，时事，目前流行的战地记者的回忆录，甚至还有几卷诗。

Mircea Eliade, history of religions in various volumes, might have been Dora's gift, and there, a brand-new History of God, by a woman named Karen Armstrong. Something else on the meaning of life? Understanding the Present, by Bryan Appleyard. Hefty books. But fun, my kind, anyway. And the books had been handled. Yes, it was his scent on these books, heavily his scent, not Dora's. He had spent more time here than I ever realized. I scanned the shadows, the objects, I let the air fill my nostrils. Yes, he'd come here often and with someone else, and that person ... that person had died here! I hadn't realized any of this before, of course, and it was just more preparation for the meal. So the murderer
米尔恰·埃利亚德（Mircea Eliade）的《宗教史》（History of Religions in Various volumes）可能是朵拉的礼物，还有一本全新的《上帝史》（History of God），作者是一位名叫凯伦·阿姆斯特朗（Karen Armstrong）的女人。关于生命的意义还有什么其他的吗？了解现在，布莱恩·阿普尔亚德 （Bryan Appleyard） 着。厚重的书。但无论如何，我的同类很有趣。这些书已经处理好了。是的，这些书上是他的气味，主要是他的气味，而不是朵拉的气味。他在这里度过的时间比我意识到的要多。我扫视着阴影，物体，我让空气充满我的鼻孔。是的，他经常来这里，和别人一起来，那个人......那个人死在这里！当然，我以前没有意识到这一点，这只是为这顿饭做了更多的准备。所以凶手

drug dealer had loved a young man in these digs once, and it hadn't been all clutter. I was getting flashes of it in the worst way, more emotion than image, and I found myself fairly fragile under the onslaught. This death hadn't occurred all that long ago.
毒贩曾经在这些挖掘中爱过一个年轻人，而且并不全是杂乱无章的。我以最糟糕的方式闪现了它，更多的是情感而不是形象，我发现自己在冲击下相当脆弱。这种死亡在很久以前就没有发生过。

Had I passed this Victim in those times, when his friend was dying, I would never have settled on him, just let him go on. But then he was so flashy!
如果我在他的朋友快要死的时候经过了这个受害者，我永远不会选择他，只是让他继续下去。但后来他太浮华了！

He was coming up the back steps now, the inner secret stairway, cautiously taking each step, his hand on the handle of his gun inside his coat, very Hollywood style, though there wasn't much else about him that was predictable. Except, of course, that many who deal in cocaine are eccentric.
他现在正走上后面的台阶，里面的秘密楼梯，小心翼翼地走着每一步，他的手放在外套里的枪柄上，非常好莱坞的风格，尽管他没有太多其他可以预测的事情。当然，除了许多从事可卡因交易的人都是古怪的。

He reached the back door, saw that I'd opened it. Rage. I slipped over into the corner opposite that overbearing granite statue, and I stood back between two dusty saints. There wasn't enough light for him to see me right off. He'd have to turn on one of the little halogens,
他走到后门，看到我打开了门。愤怒。我溜到那尊霸道的花岗岩雕像对面的角落里，站在两个尘土飞扬的圣徒中间。没有足够的光线让他马上看到我。他必须打开一个小卤素灯，

and they were spots. 它们是斑点。

Right now, he listened, he sensed. He hated it that someone had broken open his door; he was murderous and had no intention of not investigating, alone; a little court case was held in his mind. No, no one could possibly know about this place, the judge decided. Had to
此刻，他听着，他感觉到了。他讨厌有人破门而入;他杀人不眨眼，无意不调查，独自一人;他的脑海中浮现出一个小小的法庭案件。不，没有人可能知道这个地方，法官决定。必须

be a petty thief, goddamn it, and those words were heaped in rage upon the accidental.
做个小偷，该死的，这些话在意外事件中被愤怒地堆积起来。

He slipped the gun out, and he started going through his rooms, through rooms I'd skipped. I heard the light switch, saw the flash in the hall. He went on to another and another.
他把枪溜了出来，开始穿过他的房间，穿过我跳过的房间。我听到了电灯开关的声音，看到了大厅里的闪光灯。他接着又说了一句。

How on earth could he tell this place was empty? I mean, anyone could be hiding in this place. I knew it was empty. But what made him so sure? But maybe that's how he'd stayed alive all this time, he had just the right mixture of creativity and carelessness.
他到底怎么知道这个地方是空的？我的意思是，任何人都可能躲在这个地方。我知道它是空的。但是什么让他如此肯定呢？但也许这就是他一直活着的原因，他将创造力和粗心大意完美地结合在一起。

At last came the absolutely delicious moment. He was satisfied he was alone.
终于到了绝对美味的时刻。他很满意自己是孤身一人。

He stepped into the living-room door, his back to the long hall, and slowly scanned the room, failing to see me, of course, and then he put his large nine-millimeter gun back in his shoulder holster, and he slipped off his gloves very slowly.
他走进客厅的门，背对着长长的走廊，慢慢地扫视着房间，当然没有看到我，然后他把他的九毫米大枪放回肩膀的枪套里，他非常缓慢地脱下了手套。

There was enough light for me to note everything I adored about him.
有足够的光线让我注意到我崇拜他的一切。

Soft black hair, the Asian face that you couldn't clearly identify as Indian or Japanese, or Gypsy; could even have been Italian or Greek; the cunning black eyes, and the remarkably perfect symmetry of the bones梠ne of the very few traits he'd passed on to his daughter, Dora. She was fair skinned, Dora. Her mother must have been milk white. He was my favorite shade, caramel.
柔软的黑发，你无法清楚地辨认出是印度人、日本人或吉普赛人的亚洲面孔;甚至可能是意大利人或希腊人;狡猾的黑眼睛，以及非常完美的骨骼对称性，这些都是他传给女儿朵拉的极少数特征。她皮肤白皙，朵拉。她的母亲一定是乳白色的。他是我最喜欢的色调，焦糖色。

Suddenly something made him very uneasy. He turned his back to me, eyes quite obviously locked to some object that had alarmed him. Nothing to do with me. I had touched nothing. But his alarm had thrown up a wall between my mind and his. He was on full alert, which meant he wasn't thinking sequentially.
突然间，有些事情让他感到非常不安。他背对着我，眼睛显然盯着某个让他惊慌失措的物体。与我无关。我什么也没碰。但他的警觉在我和他的思想之间竖起了一堵墙。他处于完全戒备状态，这意味着他没有按顺序思考。

He was tall, his back very straight, the coat long, his shoes those Savile Row handmade kind that takes the English shops forever. He took a step away from me, and I realized immediately from a jumble
他身材高大，背挺得笔直，外套很长，他的鞋子是萨维尔街手工制作的那种，永远占据了英国商店的光临。他从我身边走了一步，我立刻从混乱中意识到

of images that it was the black granite statue that had startled him.
的图像表明，是黑色花岗岩雕像吓了他一跳。

It was perfectly obvious. He didn't know what it was or how it had gotten here. He approached, very cautious, as though someone might be hiding in the vicinity of the thing, then pivoted, scanned the room, and slowly drew out his gun again.
这是非常明显的。他不知道那是什么，也不知道它是怎么来的。他小心翼翼地走近，好像有人可能躲在那东西附近，然后转过身来，扫视了一下房间，然后又慢慢地拔出了枪。

Possibilities were passing through his mind in rather orderly fashion.
各种可能性在他的脑海中以相当有序的方式闪过。

He knew one art dealer who was stupid enough to have delivered
他认识一个艺术品经销商，他很愚蠢，竟然交付了艺术品

the thing and left the door unlocked, but that dealer would have called him before ever coming.
那东西没有锁门，但那个经销商会在来之前打电话给他。

And this thing? Mesopotamian? Assyrian? Suddenly, impulsively, he forgot all practical matters and put his hand out and touched the granite. God, he loved it. He loved it and he was acting stupid.
而这东西呢？美 索不达米亚？亚 述？突然，冲动地，他忘记了所有实际的事情，伸出手去触摸花岗岩。上帝啊，他喜欢它。他喜欢它，他装傻。

I mean, there could have been one of his enemies here. But then why would a gangster or a federal investigator come bearing a gift such as that?
我的意思是，这里可能有一个他的敌人。但是，为什么一个黑帮或联邦调查员会带着这样的礼物来呢？

Whatever the case, he was enthralled by the piece. I still couldn't see it clearly. I would have slipped off the violet glasses, which would have helped enormously, but I didn't dare move. I wanted to see this, this adoration of his for the object that was new. I could feel his
无论如何，他都被这件作品迷住了。我还是看不清。我会从紫罗兰色眼镜上滑下来，这会有很大的帮助，但我不敢动。我想看到这个，看到他对这个新物体的崇拜。我能感觉到他的

uncompromising desire for this statue, to own it, to have it here ... the very sort of desire which had first attracted him to me.
对这座雕像的不妥协渴望，拥有它，拥有它在这里......正是这种欲望最初吸引了他。

He was thinking only about it, the fine carving, that it was recent, not ancient, for obvious stylistic reasons, seventeenth century
他只想着它，精美的雕刻，它是最近的，而不是古代的，出于明显的风格原因，十七世纪

perhaps, a fleshed-out rendering of a fallen angel.
也许，一个堕落天使的充实渲染。

Fallen angel. He did everything but step on tiptoe and kiss the thing. He put his left hand up and ran it all over the granite face and the granite hair. Damn, I couldn't see it! How could he put up with this darkness? But then he was smack up against it, and I was twenty feet away and stuffed between two saints, without a good perspective.
堕落天使。他什么都做了，只是踮起脚尖亲吻那东西。他举起左手，在花岗岩的脸上和花岗岩的头发上划过。该死的，我看不见！他怎么能忍受这种黑暗呢？但后来他被撞了，而我在二十英尺外，挤在两个圣徒之间，没有一个好的视角。

Finally, he turned and switched on one of the halogen lamps. Thing looked like a preying mantis. He moved the thin black iron limb so the beam shone up on the statue's face. Now I could see both profiles beautifully!
最后，他转身打开了一盏卤素灯。东西看起来像一只捕食的螳螂。他移动了那条细细的黑铁肢体，让光束照在雕像的脸上。现在我可以漂亮地看到两个配置文件了！

He made little noises of lust. This was unique! The dealer was of no importance, the back door forgiven, the supposed danger fled. He slipped the gun in the holster again, almost as if he wasn't even think ing about it, and he did go up on tiptoe, trying to get eye level with this appalling graven image. Feathered wings. I could see that now. Not reptilian, feathered. But the face, classical, robust, the long nose, the chin .. . yet there was a ferocity in the profile. And why was the statue black? Maybe it was only St. Michael pushing devils into hell, angry righteous. No, the hair was too rank and tangled for that.
他发出了一点欲望的声音。这是独一无二的！经销商不重要，后门被原谅，所谓的危险逃跑了。他又把枪塞进了枪套里，就好像他根本就没有想过一样，他确实踮起脚尖，试图与这个骇人听闻的雕刻图像平视。羽毛翅膀。我现在明白了。不是爬行动物，有羽毛。但是脸，古典的，健壮的，长鼻子，下巴.......然而，个人资料中却有一种凶猛。为什么雕像是黑色的？也许只是圣米迦勒将魔鬼推入地狱，愤怒的正义。不，头发太高级了，太纠结了。

Armour, breastplate, and then of course I saw the most telling details. That it had the legs and feet of a goat. Devil.
盔甲，胸甲，当然还有我看到了最有说服力的细节。它有山羊的腿和脚。魔鬼。

Again there came a shiver. Like the thing I'd seen. But that was
又是一阵颤抖。就像我看到的东西一样。但那是

stupid! And I had no sense of the Stalker being near me now. No disori-
笨！而且我现在没有感觉到潜行者就在我身边。没有disori-

entation. I wasn't even really afraid. It was just a frisson, nothing more.
entation。我甚至一点也不害怕。这只是一个弗里森，仅此而已。

I held very still. Now take your time, I thought. Figure this out. You've got your Victim and this statue is just a coincidental detail that further enriches the entire scenario. He turned another halogen beam on the thing. It was almost erotic the way he studied it. I smiled. Erotic the way I was studying him梩his forty-seven-year-old man with a youth's health and a criminal's poise. Fearlessly he stood back, having forgotten any threat of any kind, and looked at this new acquisition. Where had it come from? Whom? He didn't give a damn about the price. If only Dora. No, Dora wouldn't like this thing. Dora. Dora, who had cut him to the heart tonight refusing his gift.
我一动不动。现在慢慢来，我想。弄清楚这一点。你有你的受害者，这个雕像只是一个巧合的细节，进一步丰富了整个场景。他又把卤素光束对准了那东西。他研究它的方式几乎是色情的。我笑了。色情的方式，我研究他的方式，他四十七岁的男人，有着年轻人的健康和罪犯的镇定。他无所畏惧地退后一步，忘记了任何威胁，看着这个新收购。它是从哪里来的？谁？他根本不在乎价格。要是朵拉就好了。不，朵拉不喜欢这个东西。朵 拉。朵拉，今晚拒绝了他的礼物，把他的心脏割伤了。

His entire posture changed; he didn't want to think about Dora again, and all the things Dora had said梩hat he had to renounce what he did, that she'd never take another cent for the church, that she couldn't help but love him and suffer if he did go to court, that she didn't want the veil.
他的整个姿势都变了;他不想再想起朵拉，朵拉说过的所有话，他都不得不放弃他的所作所为，她再也不会为教会拿一分钱，她情不自禁地爱他，如果他真的上法庭，她会受苦，她不想要面纱。

What veil? Just a fake, he'd said, but one of the best he'd found so far. Veil? I suddenly connected his hot little memory with something hanging on the far wall, a framed bit of fabric, a painted Christface. Veil. Veronica's veil.
什么面纱？他说，这只是一个假货，但却是他迄今为止发现的最好的一个。面纱？我突然把他炽热的小记忆和远处墙上挂着的东西联系在一起，一块装裱好的布，一张彩绘的圣诞脸。面纱。维罗妮卡的面纱。

And just an hour ago he'd said to Dora, "Thirteenth century, and so beautiful, Dora, for the love of heaven. Take it. If I can't leave these things to you, Dora...."
就在一个小时前，他对朵拉说：“十三世纪，如此美丽，朵拉，为了天堂的爱。拿去吧。如果我不能把这些东西留给你，朵拉......”

So this Christface had been his precious gift?
所以这张基督脸是他的珍贵礼物吗？

"I won't take them anymore, Daddy, I told you. I won't."
“我不会再接受他们了，爸爸，我告诉过你了。我不会。

He had pressed her with the vague scheme that this new gift could be exhibited for the public. So could all his relics. They could raise ?money for the church.
他向她施压，说这个新礼物可以向公众展示。他所有的遗物也是如此。他们可以为教会筹集资金。

She had started to cry, and all this had been going on back at the hotel, whilst David and I had been in the bar only yards from them.
她开始哭泣，而这一切都在酒店里进行，而大卫和我一直在离他们只有几码远的酒吧里。

"And say these bastards do manage to pick me up, some warrant, something I haven't covered, you're telling me you won't take these things? You'll let strangers take them?"
“说这些混蛋真的设法把我抓走了，一些逮捕令，一些我没有掩盖的东西，你是说你不会拿走这些东西？你会让陌生人带走吗？

"Stolen, Daddy," she had cried. "They are not clean. They are tainted."
“被偷了，爸爸，”她喊道。“他们不干净。他们被玷污了。

He really could not understand his daughter. It seemed he'd been a thief ever since he was a child. New Orleans. The boardinghouse, the curious mixture of poverty and elegance and his mother drunk
他真的无法理解他的女儿。看来他从小就是个小偷。新奥尔良。寄宿公寓，贫穷与优雅的奇特混合体，他的母亲喝醉了

most of the time. The old captain who ran the antique shop. All this was going through his mind. Old Captain had had the front rooms of the house, and he, my Victim, had brought the breakfast tray each morning to Old Captain, before going on to school. Boardinghouse, service, elegant oldsters, St. Charles Avenue. The time when the men sat on the galleries in the evening and the old ladies did, too, with their hats. Daylight times I'd never know again.
大多数时候。经营古董店的老船长。这一切都在他的脑海中闪过。老上尉住在房子的前厅，他，我的受害者，每天早上在上学之前把早餐托盘带给老上尉。寄宿公寓，服务，优雅的老人，圣查尔斯大道。晚上男人们坐在画廊里，老太太们也戴着帽子。我再也不知道白天了。

Such reverie. No, Dora wouldn't like this. And he wasn't so sure he did either, suddenly. He had standards which were often difficult to explain to people. He began some defense as though talking to the dealer who'd brought this. "It's beautiful, yes, but it's too Baroque! It lacks that element of distortion that I treasure."
这样的遐想。不，朵拉不会喜欢这个。突然间，他也不太确定自己是否做到了。他的标准往往很难向人们解释。他开始一些辩解，好像在和带来这个的经销商说话。“它很漂亮，是的，但它太巴洛克了！它缺乏我所珍视的那种扭曲元素。

I smiled. I loved this guy's mind. And the smell of the blood, well. I took a deliberate breath of it, and let it turn me into a total predator. Go slowly, Lestat. You've waited for months. Don't rush it. And he's such a monster himself. He'd shot people in the head, killed them with knives. Once in a small grocery he had shot both his enemy and the proprietor's wife with utter indifference. Woman in the way. And he had coolly walked out. Those were early New York days, before Miami, before South America. But he remembered that murder, and that's why I knew about it.
我笑了。我喜欢这家伙的头脑。还有血腥味，嗯。我故意吸了一口气，让它把我变成一个彻头彻尾的掠食者。慢慢来，莱斯塔特。你已经等了好几个月了。不要急于求成。而他自己就是这样一个怪物。他朝人的头部开枪，用刀杀死他们。有一次，在一家小杂货店里，他完全漠不关心地射杀了他的敌人和店主的妻子。女人挡路。他冷静地走了出去。那是早期的纽约时代，在迈阿密之前，在南美洲之前。但他记得那起谋杀案，这就是我知道这件事的原因。

He thought a lot about those various deaths. That's why I thought about them.
他想了很多关于那些不同的死亡。这就是我想到他们的原因。

He was studying the hoofed feet of this thing, this angel, devil, demon. I realized its wings reached the ceiling. I could feel that shiver again if I let myself. But again, I was on firm ground, and there was nothing from any other realm in this place.
他正在研究这个东西的蹄脚，这个天使，魔鬼，恶魔。我意识到它的翅膀到达了天花板。如果我让自己，我能感觉到那种颤抖。但同样，我站稳了脚跟，这个地方没有来自任何其他领域的任何东西。

He slipped off his coat now, and stood in shirtsleeves. That was too much. I could see the flesh of his neck, of course, as he opened his collar. I could see that particularly beautiful place right below his ear, that special measure between the back of the neck of a human and the lobe of his ear, which has so much to do with male beauty.
他现在脱掉了外套，穿着衬衫袖子站着。这太过分了。当然，当他打开衣领时，我能看到他脖子上的肉。我能看到他耳朵下面那个特别美丽的地方，在人的脖子后面和耳垂之间的那个特殊的尺寸，这与男性的美有很大关系。

Hell, I had not invented the significance of necks. Everyone knew what those proportions meant. He was all over pleasing to me, but it was the mind, really. To hell with his Asian beauty and all that, even his vanity which made him glow for fifty feet in all directions. It was the mind, the mind that was locked onto the statue, and had for one merciful moment let thoughts of Dora go.
见鬼，我没有发明脖子的意义。每个人都知道这些比例意味着什么。他让我非常讨好，但那是心灵，真的。他的亚洲美貌和所有这一切见鬼去吧，甚至他的虚荣心也让他在各个方向上发光五十英尺。是心灵，被锁在雕像上的心灵，在一瞬间仁慈地放下了对朵拉的思念。

He reached for another one of the little halogen spots and
他伸手去抓另一个小卤素斑点，

clamped his hand over the hot metal and directed it hill on the demon's wing, the wing I could best see, and I too saw the perfection he was thinking about, the Baroque love of detail; no. He did not collect this sort of thing. His taste was for the grotesque, and this thing was only grotesque by accident. God, it was hideous. It had a ferocious mane of hair, and a scowl on its face that could have been designed by William Blake, and huge rounded eyes that fixed on him in seeming hatred.
他的手夹在铁水上，把它对准了恶魔的翅膀，我最能看到的翅膀，我也看到了他所想的完美，巴洛克式的对细节的热爱;不。他没有收集这种东西。他的品味是怪诞的，而这东西只是偶然的怪诞。天哪，这太可怕了。它有一头凶猛的鬃毛，脸上的皱眉可能是威廉·布莱克设计的，还有一双圆圆的大眼睛，似乎带着仇恨盯着他。

"Blake, yes!" he said suddenly. He turned around. "Blake. The damned thing looks like one of those drawings by Blake."
“布莱克，是的！”他突然说。他转过身来。“布莱克。这该死的东西看起来像布莱克的一幅画。

I realized he was staring at me. I had projected the thought,
我意识到他在盯着我看。我投射了这个想法，

carelessly, yes, obviously with purpose. I felt a shock of connection. He saw me. He saw the glasses perhaps, and the light, or maybe my hair.
粗心大意，是的，显然是有目的的。我感到一种联系的冲击。他看见了我。他也许看到了眼镜，看到了灯光，也许看到了我的头发。

Very slowly I stepped out, with my arms at my sides. I wanted nothing so vulgar as his reaching for his gun. But he hadn't reached for it. He merely looked at me, blinded perhaps by the bright little lights so near to him. The halogen beam threw the shadow of the angel's wing on the ceiling. I came closer.
我慢慢地走了出去，双臂放在身体两侧。我不想要比他伸手去拿枪更粗俗的东西了。但他没有伸手去拿。他只是看着我，也许是被离他如此之近的明亮的小灯光弄瞎了眼睛。卤素光束将天使翅膀的影子投射在天花板上。我走近了。

He said absolutely nothing. He was afraid. Or rather, let me say, he was alarmed. He was more than alarmed. He felt this might very well be his last confrontation. Someone had gotten by him totally! And it was too late to be reaching for guns, or doing anything so literal, and yet he wasn't actually in fear of me.
他什么也没说。他很害怕。或者更确切地说，让我说，他惊慌失措。他非常惊慌。他觉得这很可能是他最后一次对抗。有人完全被他抓住了！伸手去拿枪，或者做任何如此字面上的事情都为时已晚，但他实际上并不害怕我。

Damned if he didn't know I wasn't human.
如果他不知道我不是人类，那就该死了。

I came swiftly towards him, and took his face in both my hands. He went into a sweat and tremble, naturally, yet he reached up and pulled the glasses off my eyes and they fell on the floor.
我快步走到他面前，双手捧着他的脸。他自然而然地大汗淋漓，颤抖着，但他伸手把我眼睛上的眼镜摘下来，眼镜掉在了地上。

"Oh, it's gorgeous, finally," I whispered, "to be so very close to you!"
“噢，真是太棒了，终于，”我低声说，“离你这么近！

He couldn't form words. No mortal in my grip like this could have been expected to utter anything but prayers, and he had no prayers! He stared right into my eyes, and then very slowly took my measure, not daring to move, his face still fixed in both my cold, cold hands, and he knew. Not human.
他无法形成单词。在我手里，没有一个凡人能指望他能说出任何祈祷的话，而他也没有祈祷！他直勾勾地盯着我的眼睛，然后非常缓慢地接过我的量度，不敢动弹，他的脸仍然盯着我冰冷的手，他知道。不是人类。

It was the strangest reaction! Of course I'd confronted
这是最奇怪的反应！我当然遇到过

recognition before, in lands the world over; but prayer, madness, some
在世界范围内得到认可;但是祈祷，疯狂，一些

desperate atavistic response, something always accompanied it. Even in old Europe where they believed in the nosferatu, they'd scream out a prayer before I sank my teeth.
绝望的返祖反应，总有一些东西伴随着它。即使在他们相信诺斯费拉图的旧欧洲，他们也会在我咬牙切齿之前大声祈祷。

But this, what was this, his staring at me, this comical criminal courage!
但是这个，这是什么，他盯着我看，这滑稽的犯罪勇气！

"Going to die like you lived?" I whispered.
“会像你活着一样死去吗？”我低声说。

One thought galvanized him. Dora. He went into a violent struggle,
一个念头激励了他。朵 拉。他陷入了激烈的斗争，

grabbing at my hands, realizing they felt like stone, and then convulsing, as he tried to pull himself loose, held mercilessly by the face. He hissed at me.
抓住我的手，意识到它们感觉像石头一样，然后抽搐着，当他试图挣脱自己时，无情地抓住了我的脸。他对我嘶嘶作响。

Some inexplicable mercy came over me. Don't torture him like this. He knows too much. Understands too much. God, you've had months of watching him, you don't have to stretch this out. On the other hand, when will you find another kill like this one!
某种莫名其妙的怜悯笼罩着我。不要这样折磨他。他知道的太多了。了解太多了。上帝啊，你已经看了他好几个月了，你不必把这个拉长。另一方面，你什么时候才能找到另一个像这样的杀戮！

Well, hunger overcame judgment. I pressed my forehead against his neck first, shifting my hand to the back of his head, let him feel my hair, heard him draw in his breath, and then I drank.
好吧，饥饿战胜了判断。我先把额头贴在他的脖子上，把手移到他的后脑勺，让他摸我的头发，听他吸气，然后我喝了起来。

I had him. I had the gush, and him and Old Captain in the front room, the streetcar crashing past outside, and him saying to Old Captain, "You ever show it to me again or ask me to touch it and I won't ever come near you." And Old Captain swearing he never would. Old Captain taking him to the movies, and to dinner at the Monteleone, and on the plane to Atlanta, having vowed never to do it again, "Just let me be around you, son, just let me be near you, I'll never, I swear." His mother drunk in the doorway, brushing her hair. "I know your game, you and that old man, I know just what you're doing. He bought you those clothes? You think I don't know." And then Terry with the bullet hole in the middle of her face, a blond- haired girl turning to the side and crumpling to the floor, the fifth murder and it has to be you, Terry, you. He and Dora were in the truck. And Dora knew. Dora was only six and she knew. Knew he'd shot her mother, Terry. And they'd never, never spoken a word about it. Terry's body in a plastic sack. Ah, God, plastic. And him saying, "Mommy's gone." Dora hadn't even asked. Six years old, she knew. Terry screaming, "You think you can take my daughter from me, you son of a bitch, you think you can take my child, I'm leaving tonight with Jake and she's going with me." Bang, you're dead, honey. I couldn't stand you anyway. In a heap on the floor, the very flashy cute kind of common girl with very oval pale pink nails, and lipstick that always looks extraordinarily fresh, and hair from a bottle. Pink shorts, little thighs.
我有他。我滔滔不绝，他和老船长在前厅，有轨电车从外面驶过，他对老船长说：“你再给我看，或者让我摸摸它，我就再也不会靠近你了。老船长发誓他永远不会这样做。老船长带他去看电影，在蒙特莱昂酒店吃晚饭，在飞往亚特兰大的飞机上，发誓再也不会这样做了，“让我在你身边，儿子，让我在你身边，我永远不会，我发誓。他的母亲在门口喝醉了，梳理着她的头发。“我知道你的游戏，你和那个老人，我知道你在做什么。那些衣服是他给你买的？你以为我不知道。然后是特里，她的脸中间有弹孔，一个金发女孩转向一边，瘫倒在地上，第五起谋杀案，一定是你，特里，你。他和朵拉在卡车里。朵拉知道。朵拉只有六岁，她知道。知道他射杀了她的母亲特里。他们从来没有，从来没有说过一句话。特里的尸体装在一个塑料袋里。啊，上帝，塑料。他说，“妈妈走了。朵拉甚至没有问。六岁，她知道。泰瑞尖叫着说：“你以为你可以把我的女儿从我身边带走，你这个婊子，你以为你可以带走我的孩子，我今晚要和杰克一起离开，她要和我一起去。砰，你死了，亲爱的。反正我受不了你。在地板上的一堆，一个非常华丽可爱的普通女孩，有着非常椭圆形的淡粉色指甲，口红总是看起来格外清新，头发来自瓶子。粉红色的短裤，小大腿。

He and Dora driving in the night, and they never had spoken a word.
他和朵拉在夜里开车，他们从未说过一句话。

What are you doing to me! You are killing me! You are taking my blood, not my soul, you thief, you . . . what in the name of God?
你对我做了什么！你要杀了我！你取的是我的血，不是我的灵魂，你这个小偷，你......以上帝的名义做什么？

"You talking to me?" I drew back, blood dripping from my lips, Good God, he was talking to me! I bit down again, and this time I did break his neck, but he wouldn't stop.
“你在跟我说话？”我往后退了一步，鲜血从我的嘴唇上滴落，天哪，他在和我说话！我又咬了一口，这次我确实折断了他的脖子，但他不肯停下来。

Yes, you, what are you? Why, why this, the blood? Tell me, damn you into hell! Damn you!
是的，你，你是什么？为什么，为什么是这个，血？告诉我，该死的你下地狱！去你的！

I had crushed the bones of his arms, twisted his shoulder out of the socket, the last blood I could get was there on my tongue. I stuck my tongue into the wound, give me, give me, give me. . . .
我捏碎了他手臂的骨头，把他的肩膀从眼眶里扭了出来，我能得到的最后一滴血就在我的舌头上。我把舌头伸进伤口里，给我，给我，给我......

But what, what is your name, under God, who are you?
但是，在上帝之下，你叫什么名字，你是谁？

He was dead. I dropped him and stepped back. Talking to me! Talking to me during the kill? Asking me who / was? Piercing the swoon?
他死了。我丢下他，往后退了一步。跟我说话！在杀戮过程中和我说话？问我是谁/是？刺穿昏迷？

"Oh, you are so full of surprises," I whispered. I tried to clear my head. I was warmly full of blood. I let it stay in my mouth. I wanted to pick him up, tear open his wrist, drink anything that was left, but that was so ugly, and the truth was, I had no intention of touching him again! I swallowed and ran my tongue along my teeth, getting the last taste, he and Dora in the truck, she six years old, Mommy dead, shot in the head, with Daddy now forever.
“哦，你真是太惊喜了，”我低声说。我试着清醒一下头脑。我浑身是血。我让它留在我的嘴里。我想把他抱起来，扯开他的手腕，喝剩下的任何东西，但那太丑陋了，事实是，我无意再碰他！我咽了口唾沫，用舌头舔了舔牙齿，尝到了最后的味道，他和朵拉在卡车上，她六岁，妈妈死了，头部中弹，爸爸现在永远。

"That was the fifth killing!" he'd said aloud to me, I'd heard him. "Who are you?"
“那是第五次杀人！”他大声对我说，我听到了他的声音。“你是谁？”

"Talking to me, you bastard!" I looked down at him, ooh, the blood was just flooding my fingertips finally and moving down my legs; I closed my eyes, and I thought, Live for this, just for this, for this taste, this feeling, and his words came back to me, words to Dora in a fancy bar, "I sold my soul for places like this."
“跟我说话，你这个混蛋！”我低头看着他，噢，鲜血终于淹没了我的指尖，顺着我的腿流了下来;我闭上眼睛，我想，为这个而活，为这个而活，为这个味道而活，为这种感觉而活，他的话又回到了我的脑海中，在一个豪华的酒吧里对朵拉说，“我为了这样的地方出卖了我的灵魂。

"Oh, for Godsakes, die, damn it!" I said. I wanted the blood to keep burning, but enough of him, hell, six months was plenty for a love affair between vampire and human! I looked up.
“哦，看在上帝的份上，去死吧，该死的！”我说过。我想让血液继续燃烧，但够了他，的，六个月对于吸血鬼和人类之间的恋情来说已经足够了！我抬起头。

The black thing wasn't a statue at all. It was alive. And it was studying me. It was living and breathing and watching me under its furious shining black scowl, looking down at me.
那个黑色的东西根本不是雕像。它还活着。它正在研究我。它活生生地呼吸着，在它愤怒的闪亮的黑色皱眉下看着我，俯视着我。

"No, not true," I said aloud. I tried to fall into the deep calm that danger often produces in me. Not true.
“不，不是真的，”我大声说。我试着陷入危险经常在我身上产生的深深的平静。不对。

I nudged his dead body on the floor deliberately just to be sure I was still there, and not going mad, and in terror of the disorientation, but it didn't come, and then I screamed.
我故意把他的尸体推到地板上，只是为了确保我还在那里，而不是发疯，并且害怕迷失方向，但它没有来，然后我尖叫起来。

I screamed like any kid.
我像任何孩子一样尖叫。

And I ran out of there.
然后我跑了出去。

I tore out of there, down the hall, out of the back and into the wide night.
我离开了那里，穿过大厅，离开了后面，进入了广阔的夜色。

I went up over the rooftops, and then in sheer exhaustion slipped down in a narrow alley, and lay against the bricks. No, that couldn't have been true. That was some last image he projected, my Victim; he threw that image out in death, a sweet vengeance. Making that statue look alive, that big dark winged thing, that goat-legged. . . .
我爬上屋顶，然后精疲力竭地滑倒在一条狭窄的小巷里，靠在砖头上。不，这不可能是真的。那是他投射的最后一张照片，我的受害者;他在死亡中抛弃了那个形象，这是一种甜蜜的复仇。让那尊雕像看起来栩栩如生，那个长着黑色翅膀的大东西，那个山羊腿......

"Yeah," I said. I wiped my lips. I was lying in dirty snow. There were other mortals in this alley. Don't bother us. I won't. I wiped my lips again. "Yeah, vengeance; all his love," I whispered aloud, "for all the things in that place, and he threw that at me. He knew. He knew what I was. He knew how...."
“是的，”我说。我擦了擦嘴唇。我躺在肮脏的雪地里。这条巷子里还有其他凡人。不要打扰我们。我不会的。我又擦了擦嘴唇。“是的，复仇;他所有的爱，“我大声说，”为了那个地方的所有东西，他把它扔给我。他知道。他知道我是什么。他知道怎么做......”

And besides, the Thing that stalked me had never been so calm, so still, so reflective. It had always been swelling and rising like so much thick, stinking smoke and those voices . . . That had been a mere statue standing there.
此外，跟踪我的东西从未如此平静，如此静止，如此反思。它总是膨胀和上升，就像那么多浓稠的、发臭的烟雾和那些声音......那只是一尊雕像站在那里。

I got up, furious with myself, absolutely furious for having fled, for having passed up the last little trick involved in the whole kill. I was furious enough to go back there, and kick his dead body and kick that statue, which no doubt returned to granite the instant that
我站了起来，对自己很生气，因为逃跑了，因为错过了整个杀戮的最后一个小把戏。我气得回去，踢了他的尸体，踢了那尊雕像，毫无疑问，那座雕像在那一瞬间又回到了花岗岩上。

conscious life went completely out of the dying brain of its owner.
有意识的生命完全脱离了主人垂死的大脑。

Broken arms, shoulders. As if from the bloody heap I'd made of him, he'd called up that thing.
胳膊、肩膀骨折。就好像从我给他做的血堆里，他把那个东西叫了出来。

And Dora will hear about this. Broken arms, shoulders. Neck broken.
朵拉会听到这件事的。胳膊、肩膀骨折。脖子断了。

I went out onto Fifth Avenue. I walked into the wind.
我走到第五大道。我迎着风走了进来。

I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my wool blazer, which was far too light to look appropriate in this quiet blizzard, and I walked and walked. "All right, damn it, you knew what I was, and for a moment, you made that thing look alive."
我把手塞进羊毛西装外套的口袋里，这件西装外套太轻了，在这安静的暴风雪中显得不合适，我走了又走。“好吧，该死的，你知道我是什么，有那么一会儿，你让那东西看起来还活着。”

I stopped dead still, staring over the traffic at the dark snow- covered woods of Central Park.
我停下了脚步，盯着中央公园白雪皑皑的树林。

"If it 珪 all connected, come for me." I was talking not to him now, or the statue, but to the Stalker. I simply refused to be afraid. I was just completely out of my head.
“如果一切都连接起来了，就来找我。”我现在不是在和他说话，也不是在和雕像说话，而是在和潜行者说话。我只是拒绝害怕。我完全失去了理智。

And where was David? Hunting somewhere? Hunting ... as he had so loved to do as a mortal man in the Indian jungles, hunting, and I'd made him the hunter of his brothers forever.
大卫在哪里？在某个地方打猎？狩猎。。。就像他作为一个凡人一样喜欢在印度丛林里打猎，我让他永远成为他兄弟们的猎人。

I made a decision. 我做了一个决定。

I was going back at once to the flat. I'd look at the damned statue, and see for myself that it was utterly inanimate, and then I'd do what I ought to do for Dora梩hat is, get rid of her father's corpse.
我马上就要回公寓了。我会看着那该死的雕像，亲眼看看它完全没有生命，然后我会为朵拉做我应该做的事情，摆脱她父亲的尸体。

It took me only moments to get back, to be going up the narrow pitch-dark back stairs again, and into the flat. I was past all patience with my fear, simply furious, humiliated and shaken, and at the same time curiously excited梐s I always am by the unknown.
我只花了一会儿就回来了，又走上了狭窄而漆黑的后楼梯，进入了公寓。我对自己的恐惧已经失去了所有的耐心，只是愤怒、羞辱和动摇，同时又好奇地兴奋着我总是对未知的事物感到兴奋。

Stench of his freshly dead body. Stench of wasted blood.
他刚死去的尸体的恶臭。浪费血液的恶臭。

I could hear or sense nothing else. I went into a small room which had once been an active kitchen and still contained the remnants of housekeeping from the time of that dead mortal whom the Victim had loved. Yes, just what I wanted under the sink pipes where mortals always shove it, a box of green plastic garbage sacks, just perfect for his remains.
我什么也听不见，也感觉不到。我走进一个小房间，这个房间曾经是一个活跃的厨房，里面还保留着受害者所爱的那个死去的凡人时代的家务残余物。是的，正是我想要的，在凡人总是把它塞进去的水槽管道下，一盒绿色的塑料垃圾袋，正好适合他的遗体。

It suddenly hit me that he had chucked his murdered wife, Terry, into such a bag, I'd seen it, smelled it, when I was feasting on him. Oh, hell with it. So he'd given me the idea.
我突然意识到，他把他被谋杀的妻子特里塞进了这样一个袋子里，我见过它，闻到过它，当我在他面前大快朵颐时。哦，见鬼去吧。所以他给了我这个主意。

There were a few pieces of cutlery around, though nothing that would allow a surgical or artistic job. I took the largest of the knives, carbon-steel blade, and went into the living room, deliberately with out hesitation, and turned and looked at the mammoth statue.
周围有几件餐具，但没有任何东西可以做外科手术或艺术工作。我拿起最大的一把刀，碳钢刀片，走进客厅，故意毫不犹豫地转身看着那尊巨大的雕像。

The halogens were still shining; bright, deliberate beams in the shadowy clutter.
卤素灯仍然闪闪发光;明亮、刻意的光束在阴暗的杂物中。

Statue; goat-legged angel.
塑像;山羊腿天使。

You idiot, Lestat. 你这个白痴，莱斯塔特。

I went up to it and stood before it, looking coldly at the details. Probably not seventeenth-century. Probably contemporary, executed by hand, yes, but it had the utter perfection of something contempo rary, and the face did have the William Blake sublime expression梐n evil, scowling, goat-legged being with the eyes of Blake's saints and sinners, full of innocence as well as wrath.
我走到它面前，站在它面前，冷冷地看着细节。可能不是十七世纪。可能是当代的，手工制作的，是的，但它具有当代事物的完全完美，而且脸上确实有威廉·布莱克崇高的表情，邪恶，皱着眉头，山羊腿，布莱克的圣徒和罪人的眼睛，充满了纯真和愤怒。

I wanted it suddenly, would liked to have kept it, gotten it down some way to my rooms in New Orleans as a keepsake for practically falling down dead in fear at its feet. Cold and solemn it stood before me. And then I realized that all these relics might be lost if I didn't do something with them. As soon as his death was known, all this would be confiscated, that was his whole point with Dora, that this, his true wealth, would pass into indifferent hands.
我突然想要它，想保留它，把它带到我在新奥尔良的房间，作为纪念品，因为我几乎害怕地倒在它的脚下。它冷酷而庄严地站在我面前。然后我意识到，如果我不对它们做点什么，所有这些遗物都可能丢失。一旦知道他的死讯，这一切都将被没收，这就是他对朵拉的全部意义，他真正的财富将落入冷漠的人手中。

And Dora had turned her narrow little back to him and wept, a waif consumed with grief and horror and the worst frustration, the inability to comfort the one she most loved.
朵拉把她那狭小的小背对着他哭了起来，悲痛、恐惧和最严重的挫败感，无法安慰她最爱的人。

I looked down. I was standing over his mangled body. He still looked fresh, wrecked, murdered by a slob. Black hair very soft and mussed, eyes half open. His white shirtsleeves were stained an evil pinkish color from the little blood that oozed out of the wounds I'd accidentally inflicted, crushing him. His torso was at a hideous angle in relation to his legs. I'd snapped his neck, and snapped his spine.
我低下头。我站在他残缺不全的尸体上。他看起来仍然很新鲜，被一个懒汉谋杀了。黑色的头发非常柔软，半睁着眼睛。他的白色衬衫袖子被我不小心造成的伤口渗出的少量鲜血染成邪恶的粉红色，压垮了他。他的躯干与他的腿呈一个可怕的角度。我折断了他的脖子，折断了他的脊椎。

Well, I'd get him out of here. I'd get rid of him, and then for a long time no one would know. No one would know he was dead; and the investigators couldn't pester Dora, or make her miserable. Then I'd think about the relics, perhaps spiriting them away for her.
好吧，我会让他离开这里。我会摆脱他，然后很长一段时间没有人会知道。没有人会知道他已经死了;调查人员不能纠缠朵拉，也不能让她痛苦。然后我会想起那些遗物，也许会为她把它们带走。

From his pockets I took his identification. All bogus, nothing with his real name.
我从他的口袋里拿出了他的身份证。全是假的，没有他的真名。

His real name had been Roger.
他的真名是罗杰。

I knew that from the beginning, but only Dora had called him Roger. In all his dealings with others, he'd had exotic aliases, with odd medieval sounds. This passport said Frederick Wynken. Now that amused me. Frederick Wynken.
我从一开始就知道这一点，但只有朵拉叫他罗杰。在他与他人打交道的所有事情中，他都有异国情调的别名，带有奇怪的中世纪声音。这本护照上写着弗雷德里克·温肯（Frederick Wynken）。现在这让我很开心。弗雷德里克·温肯（Frederick Wynken）。

I gathered all identifying materials and put them in my pockets to be totally destroyed later.
我收集了所有识别材料，并把它们放在口袋里，以便以后完全销毁。

I went to work with the knife. I cut off both his hands, rather amazed at their delicacy and how well-manicured were his nails. He had loved himself so much, and with reason. And his head, I hacked that off, more through brute strength forcing the knife through ten- don and bone than any sort of real skill. I didn't bother to close his eyes. The stare of the dead holds so little fascination, really. It mimics nothing living. His mouth was soft without emotion, and cheeks smooth in death. The usual thing. These梩he head, and the hands桰 put into two separate green sacks, and then I folded up the body, more or less, and crammed it into the third sack.
我拿着刀去上班。我砍掉了他的双手，惊讶于他的精致和指甲的修剪。他非常爱自己，而且是有道理的。而他的头，我把它砍掉了，更多的是通过蛮力迫使刀穿过肌腱和骨头，而不是任何真正的技巧。我懒得闭上他的眼睛。死者的凝视真的没有什么魅力。它模仿任何生物。他的嘴巴柔软而没有感情，脸颊因死亡而光滑。平常的事情。把头和手分别放进两个绿色的袋子里，然后我把尸体折叠起来，或多或少，塞进第三个袋子里。

There was blood all over the carpet, which I realized was only one of many, many carpets layering this floor, junk-shop style, and that was too bad. But the point was, the body was on its way out. Its decay wouldn't bring mortals from above or below. And without the body, no one might ever know what had become of him .. . best for Dora, surely, than to have seen great glossy photographs of a scene such as I had made here.
地毯上到处都是血迹，我意识到这只是地板上铺着的很多地毯中的一块，垃圾店的风格，这太糟糕了。但关键是，尸体正在离开。它的腐朽不会带来来自上面或下面的凡人。如果没有这具尸体，可能没有人会知道他变成了什么样子。.当然，对朵拉来说，最好是看到像我在这里拍摄的场景那样的光鲜亮丽的照片。

I took one last look at the scowling countenance of the angel, devil, or whatever he was with his ferocious mane and beautiful lips and huge polished eyes. Then, hefting the three sacks like Santa Claus, I went out to get rid of Roger piece by piece.
我最后看了一眼天使、魔鬼或其他什么人皱着眉头的面容，他凶猛的鬃毛、美丽的嘴唇和一双抛光的大眼睛。然后，我像圣诞老人一样拎着三个麻袋，出去把罗杰一块一块地除掉。

This was not much of a problem.
这不是什么大问题。

It gave me merely an hour to think as I dragged myself along through the snowy, empty black streets, uptown, searching for bleak chaotic construction sights, and heaps of garbage, and places where rot and filth had accumulated and were not likely to be examined anytime soon, let alone cleared away.
我拖着疲惫的身躯，穿过白雪皑皑、空旷的黑色街道，寻找荒凉、混乱的建筑、成堆的垃圾，以及腐烂和污秽堆积的地方，这些地方不太可能很快被检查，更不用说清除了。

Beneath a freeway overpass, I left his hands buried in a huge pile of trash. The few mortals hovering there, with blankets and a little fire going in a tin can, took no notice of what I did at all. I shoved the plastic-wrapped hands so deep in the rubble no one could conceiv- ably try to retrieve them. Then I went up to the mortals, who didn't so much as look up at me, and I dropped a few bills down by the fire. The wind almost caught the money. Then a hand, a living hand, of course, the hand of one of these bums, flashed out in the firelight and caught the bills and drew them back into the breathing darkness.
在一座高速公路立交桥下，我把他的手埋在一大堆垃圾里。那几个凡人徘徊在那里，裹着毯子，锡罐里放着一点火，根本没有注意到我做了什么。我把那双用塑料包裹的手深深地塞进了瓦砾里，没有人能想象地试图把它们找回来。然后我走到凡人面前，他们并没有抬头看我一眼，我把几张钞票扔在火堆旁。风差点把钱吹到手。然后一只手，一只活生生的手，当然是其中一个流浪汉的手，在火光中闪现出来，抓住了钞票，把它们拉回了呼吸的黑暗中。

"Thanks, brother." “谢谢，哥哥。”

I said, "Amen." 我说：“阿们。

The head I deposited in a similar manner much farther away. Back door dumpster. Wet garbage of a restaurant. Stench. I took no last look at the head. It embarrassed me. It was no trophy. I would never save a man's head as a trophy. The idea seemed deplorable. I didn't like the hard feel of it through the plastic. If the hungry found it, they'd never report it. Besides, the hungry had been here for their share of the tomatoes and lettuce and spaghetti and crusts of French bread. The restaurant had closed hours ago. The garbage was frozen; it rattled and clattered when I shoved his head deep into the mess.
我以类似的方式存放的头颅更远。后门垃圾箱。餐厅的湿垃圾。恶臭。我没有最后看一眼脑袋。这让我很尴尬。这不是奖杯。我永远不会把一个人的头当作战利品。这个想法似乎很可悲。我不喜欢它透过塑料的坚硬感觉。如果饥饿的人发现了它，他们永远不会报告它。此外，饥饿的人来这里是为了分享西红柿、生菜、意大利面和法式面包皮。餐厅几小时前就关门了。垃圾被冻结了;当我把他的头深深地塞进烂摊子里时，它嘎嘎作响。

I went back downtown, still walking, still with this last sack over my shoulder, his miserable chest and arms and legs. I walked down Fifth, past the hotel of the sleeping Dora, past St. Patrick's, on and on, past the fancy stores. Mortals rushed through doorways beneath awnings; cabbies blew their horns in fury at hulking, slow limousines.
我回到市中心，仍然走着，肩膀上还扛着最后一个麻袋，他可怜的胸膛和胳膊和腿。我走下第五街，经过熟睡的朵拉旅馆，经过圣帕特里克，不停地走，经过高档商店。凡人冲进遮阳篷下的门口;出租车司机对着笨重、缓慢的豪华轿车愤怒地吹响了喇叭。

On and on I walked. I kicked at the sludge and I hated myself. I could smell him and hated this too. But in a way, the feast had been so divine that it was just to require this aftermath, this cleaning up.
我不停地走着。我踢了踢污泥，我恨自己。我能闻到他的味道，也讨厌这个。但从某种程度上说，这场盛宴是如此神圣，以至于它只需要这种善后，这种清理。

The others桝rmand, Marius, all my immortal cohorts, lovers,
其他人，马吕斯，我所有不朽的同伴，恋人，

friends, enemies梐lways cursed me for not "disposing of the remains."
朋友们，敌人诅咒我没有“处理遗体”。

All right, this time Lestat was being a good vampire. He was cleaning up after himself.
好吧，这一次莱斯塔特是个好吸血鬼。他正在自己打扫卫生。

I was almost to the Village when I found another perfect place, a huge warehouse, seemingly abandoned, its upper floors filled with the pretty sparkle of broken windows. And inside it, refuse of every description, in a massive heap. I could smell decayed flesh. Someone had died in there weeks ago. Only the cold kept the smell from reach ing human nostrils. Or maybe no one cared.
当我快要到达村庄时，我发现了另一个完美的地方，一个巨大的仓库，似乎被遗弃了，它的上层充满了破碎的窗户的漂亮闪光。在里面，各种描述的垃圾，在一大堆。我能闻到腐烂的肉味。几周前有人死在那里。只有寒冷才能使气味无法到达人类的鼻孔。或者也许没有人在乎。

I went farther into the cavernous room梥mell of gasoline, metal, red brick. One mountain of trash stood as big as a mortuary pyramid in the middle of the room. A truck was there, parked perilously close to it, the engine still warm. But no living beings were here.
我走得更远，走进了那个由汽油、金属、红砖组成的洞穴般的房间。房间中间有一座垃圾山，像太平间金字塔一样大。一辆卡车停在那里，危险地停在它附近，发动机仍然很热。但是这里没有生物。

And there was decayed flesh aplenty in the largest pile. I reckoned by scent at least three dead bodies, scattered through the rubble. Per haps there were more. The smell was utterly loathsome to me, so I didn't spend a great deal of time anatomizing the situation.
在最大的一堆里有很多腐烂的肉。我嗅着嗅觉估计，至少有三具尸体散落在废墟中。每个哈普斯还有更多。这种气味对我来说非常令人厌恶，所以我没有花很多时间去解剖这种情况。

"Okay, my friend, I give you over to a graveyard," I said. I shoved the sack deep, deep among the broken bottles, smashed cans, bits of stinking fruit, heaps and stacks of cardboard and wood and trash. I almost caused an avalanche. Indeed there was a small trash quake or two and then the clumsy pyramid re-formed itself quietly. The only sounds were the sounds of rats. A single beer bottle rolled on the floor, a few feet free of the monument, gleaming, silent, alone.
“好吧，我的朋友，我把你送到墓地，”我说。我把麻袋塞得很深，深深地埋在破碎的瓶子、砸碎的罐子、发臭的水果、一堆又一堆的纸板、木头和垃圾中。我差点引起雪崩。确实有一两次小的垃圾地震，然后笨拙的金字塔悄悄地重新形成。唯一的声音是老鼠的声音。一个啤酒瓶在地板上滚动，离纪念碑只有几英尺远，闪闪发光，沉默，孤独。

For a long moment, I studied the truck; battered, anonymous, warm engine, smell of recent human occupants. What did I care what they did here? The fact is they came and went through the big metal doors, ignoring or occasionally feeding this charnel heap. Most likely ignoring it. Who would park next to one's own murder victims?
很长一段时间，我研究了卡车;破烂不堪，匿名，温暖的引擎，最近人类乘员的气味。我在乎他们在这里做什么？事实是，他们来来去去地穿过巨大的金属门，无视或偶尔喂食这个炭堆。很可能忽略它。谁会把车停在自己的谋杀受害者旁边？

But in all these big dense modern cities, I mean the big-time cities,
但是在所有这些密集的大城市中，我指的是大城市，

the world-class dens of evil桸ew York, Tokyo, Hong Kong
世界级的邪恶巢穴，东京，香港

you can find the strangest configurations of mortal activity. Criminality had begun to fascinate me in its many facets. That's what had brought me to him.
你可以找到凡人活动最奇怪的配置。犯罪已经开始在许多方面使我着迷。这就是把我带到他身边的原因。

Roger. Good-bye, Roger. 知道了。再见，罗杰。

I went out again. The snow had stopped falling. It was desolate here, and sad. A bare mattress lay on the corner of the block, the snow covering it. The streetlamps were broken. I wasn't certain
我又出去了。雪已经停了。这里很荒凉，很悲伤。一张光秃秃的床垫躺在街区的角落里，积雪覆盖着它。路灯坏了。我不确定

precisely where I was. 正是我所在的地方。

I walked in the direction of the water, to the very end of the island, and then I saw one of those very ancient churches, churches that went back to the Dutch days of Manhattan, with a little fenced
我朝水的方向走去，走到岛的尽头，然后我看到了一座非常古老的教堂，教堂可以追溯到荷兰时代的曼哈顿，有一点围栏

graveyard attached to it with stones that would read awesome statistics such as 1704, or even 1692.
墓地上贴着石头，上面写着令人敬畏的统计数据，例如 1704 年，甚至 1692 年。

It was a Gothic treasure of a building, a tiny bit of the glory of St. Patrick's, and possibly even more intricate and mysterious, a
这是一座哥特式建筑的宝藏，是圣帕特里克教堂的一点点荣耀，甚至可能更复杂和神秘，一个

welcome sight for all its detail and organization and conviction amid the big-city blandness and wastes.
在大城市的平淡和荒芜中，它的所有细节、组织和信念都令人欣喜。

I sat on the church steps, rather liking the carved surfaces of the broken arches, rather liking to sink back in the darkness against
我坐在教堂的台阶上，宁愿喜欢破碎的拱门的雕刻表面，宁愿沉入黑暗中

sanctified stone. 圣洁的石头。

I realized very carefully that the Stalker was nowhere about, that tonight's deeds had brought me no visits from another realm, or
我非常小心翼翼地意识到，潜行者已经不在了，今晚的所作所为并没有给我带来来自另一个领域的访问，或者

horifying footsteps, that the great granite statue had been inanimate, and that I still had Roger's identification in my pocket, and this would give Dora weeks, perhaps even months, before her peace of mind was disturbed by her father's disappearance, and she would now never know the details.
可怕的脚步声，巨大的花岗岩雕像已经没有生命了，而我的口袋里还有罗杰的身份证明，这将使朵拉在父亲失踪之前，她的内心平静被打扰，她现在永远不会知道细节。

So much for that. The end of the adventure. I felt better, far better
就这么多。冒险的结束。我感觉好多了，好多了

than when I'd spoken with David. Going back, looking at that monstrous granite thing, it had been the perfect thing to do.
比我和大卫说话的时候还要多。回过头来，看着那个可怕的花岗岩，这是一件完美的事情。

Only problem was that Roger's stench clung to me. Roger. He'd been "the Victim" until when? Now I was calling him Roger. Was that emblematic of love? Dora called him Roger and Daddy and Roge and Dad. "Darling, this is Roge," he'd say to her from Istanbul. "Can you meet me in Florida, just for a few days. I have to talk to you...."
唯一的问题是罗杰的恶臭粘在我身上。知道了。他一直是“受害者”，直到什么时候？现在我叫他罗杰。那是爱的象征吗？朵拉叫他罗杰和爸爸，罗吉和爸爸。“亲爱的，这是罗姬，”他会从伊斯坦布尔对她说。“你能在佛罗里达见我吗，就几天。我得跟你谈谈......”

I pulled out the phony identification. The wind was harsh and cold, but no more snow, and the snow that was on the ground was hardening. No mortal would have sat here like this, in this shallow high broken arch of a church door, but I liked it.
我掏出了假身份证。寒风凛冽，冷凛冽，却没有雪了，地上的雪也越来越硬了。没有一个凡人会像这样坐在教堂门的这个浅高的破拱门里，但我喜欢它。

I looked at this fake passport. Actually it was a complete set of false papers, some of which I didn't understand. There was a visa for Egypt. Smuggling from there, no doubt! And the name Wynken made me smile again because it is one of those names that makes even children laugh when they hear it. Wynken, Blinken, and Nod. Wasn't that the poem?
我看了看这本假护照。其实这是一整套假文件，有些我看不懂。有埃及的签证。毫无疑问，从那里走私！Wynken 这个名字让我再次微笑，因为它是那些连孩子听到它时都会发笑的名字之一。Wynken、Blinken 和 Nod。那不是这首诗吗？

It was a simple matter to tear all this into tiny fragments, and let it
将这一切撕成微小的碎片，然后让它变得简单

blow away into the night, over the tiny upright stones of the small graveyard. What a gust. It went like ashes, as if his identity had been cremated and the final tribute was being paid.
吹到夜色中，吹过小墓地的直立小石头。真是一阵风。它像灰烬一样消失了，就好像他的身份已经被火化了，最后的贡品正在支付。

I felt weary, full of blood, satisfied, and foolish now for having been so afraid when I talked to David. David no doubt thought I was a fool. But what had I really ascertained? Only that the Thing
我感到疲惫，满身是血，满足，现在很愚蠢，因为我和大卫说话时是如此害怕。大卫无疑认为我是个傻瓜。但是我真正确定了什么？只有那个东西

stalking me wasn't particularly protective of Roger, the Victim, or had nothing to do with Roger. Hadn't I already known this? It didn't mean the Stalker was gone.
跟踪我并不是特别保护受害者罗杰，或者与罗杰无关。我不是早就知道了吗？这并不意味着潜行者已经消失了。

It just meant the Stalker chose his own moments and maybe they had nothing to do with what I did.
这只是意味着潜行者选择了他自己的时刻，也许它们与我所做的事情无关。

I admired the little church. How priceless and ornate and
我很羡慕这个小教堂。多么无价和华丽，

incongruous among the other buildings of lower Manhattan, except that nothing in this strange city is exactly incongruous anymore because the mix of Gothic and ancient and modern is so very thick. The nearby street sign said Wall Street.
在曼哈顿下城的其他建筑中，除了这个陌生的城市中没有什么是完全不协调的，因为哥特式、古代和现代的混合是如此浓厚。附近的路牌上写着华尔街。

Was I at the very foot of Wall Street? I rested back against the stones, closed my eyes. David and I would confer tomorrow night. And what of Dora? Did Dora sleep like an angel in her bed in the hotel opposite the cathedral? Would I forgive myself if I took one last secret, safe, forlorn peek at Dora in her bed before letting go of the whole adventure? Over.
我是在华尔街的脚下吗？我靠在石头上，闭上眼睛。大卫和我明天晚上会商量。那么朵拉呢？朵拉在大教堂对面酒店的床上睡得像天使一样吗？如果我在放下整个冒险之前，最后一次偷偷地、安全、凄凉地偷看了朵拉在床上，我会原谅自己吗？多。

Best to get the idea of the little girl out of my mind; forget the figure moving through the huge dark corridors of that empty New Orleans convent with the electric torch in hand, brave Dora. Not at all like the last mortal woman I'd loved. No, forget about it. Forget about it, Lestat, you hear me?
最好把小女孩的想法从我的脑海中抹去;忘记那个手里拿着电筒穿过空荡荡的新奥尔良修道院巨大黑暗走廊的身影，勇敢的朵拉。一点也不像我爱过的最后一个凡人女人。不，忘了它。算了吧，莱斯塔特，你听到了吗？

The world was full of potential victims, when you began to think in terms of an entire life pattern, an ambience to an existence, a
这个世界充满了潜在的受害者，当你开始从整个生活模式、一种存在的氛围、一种存在的氛围、一种

complete personality, so to speak. Maybe I'd go back down to Miami if I could get David to go with me. Tomorrow night David and I could talk.
可以这么说，完整的个性。如果我能让大卫和我一起去，也许我会回到迈阿密。明天晚上，大卫和我可以谈谈。

Of course he might be thoroughly annoyed that I'd sent him to seek refuge in the Olympic Tower and was now ready to move south. But then maybe we wouldn't move south.
当然，他可能会非常恼火，因为我派他去奥林匹克塔避难，现在准备向南移动。但也许我们不会向南移动。

I became acutely aware that if I heard those footsteps now, if I sensed the Stalker, I'd be trembling tomorrow night in David's arms. The Stalker didn't care where I went. And the Stalker was real.
我敏锐地意识到，如果我现在听到那些脚步声，如果我感觉到潜行者，明天晚上我会在大卫的怀里颤抖。潜行者不在乎我去了哪里。潜行者是真实的。

Black wings, the sense of something dark accumulating, thick
黑色的翅膀，黑暗的东西在积聚，厚厚的

smoke, and the light. Don't dwell on it. You have done enough
烟雾和光。不要纠结于此。你已经做得够多了

gruesome thinking for one night, haven't you?
可怕的想法一晚，不是吗？

When would I spot another mortal like Roger? When would I see another light shining that bright? And the son of a bitch talking to me through it all, talking through the swoon! Talking to me! And managing to make that statue look alive somehow with some feeble telepathic impulse, damn him. I shook my head. Had I brought that on? Had I done something different?
我什么时候才能发现另一个像罗杰这样的凡人？我什么时候才能看到另一盏灯闪耀得那么亮？还有一个婊子的儿子在和我说话，在昏迷中说话！跟我说话！并设法用某种微弱的心灵感应冲动以某种方式使那座雕像看起来还活着，该死的。我摇了摇头。是我带来的吗？我做了什么不同的事情吗？

By tracking Roger for months had I come to love him so much that I was talking to him as I killed him, in some soundless sonnet of devotion? No. I was just drinking and loving him, and taking him into myself. Roger in me.
通过跟踪罗杰几个月，我是否变得如此爱他，以至于我在杀死他时与他交谈，在某种无声的奉献十四行诗中？不。我只是喝酒，爱他，把他带入我自己。罗杰在我心里。

A car came slowly through the darkness, stopping beside me. Mortals who wanted to know if I needed shelter. I gave a wave of my head, turned, crossed the little graveyard, stepping on grave after grave as I made my way through the headstones, and was off towards the Village, moving so fast probably they could not have even seen me go.
一辆汽车缓缓驶过黑暗，停在我身边。凡人想知道我是否需要庇护。我摇了摇头，转过身，穿过小墓地，踩着一个又一个坟墓，穿过墓碑，向村庄走去，走得太快了，他们甚至可能都看不到我走了。

Imagine it. They see this blond young man in a double-breasted navy-blue blazer, with a flaming scarf around his neck, sitting in the cold on the steps of the quaint little church. And then the figure vanishes. I laughed out loud, loving the sound of it as it went up the brick walls. Now I was near music, people walking arm in arm, human voices, the smell of cooking. There were young people about, healthy enough to think that bitter winter could be fun.
想象一下。他们看到这个金发碧眼的年轻人穿着一件双排扣的海军蓝色西装外套，脖子上围着一条火红的围巾，坐在古色古香的小教堂的台阶上。然后这个人影消失了。我放声大笑，喜欢它爬上砖墙时发出的声音。现在我靠近音乐，人们手挽手走路，人声，烹饪的味道。周围有年轻人，足够健康，认为严冬可以很有趣。

The cold had begun to annoy me. To be almost humanly painful. I wanted to go inside.
寒冷已经开始让我烦恼了。几乎是人类的痛苦。我想进去。

3

I WALKED on only a few steps, saw revolving doors, pushed into the lobby of someplace or other, a restaurant I think, and found myself sitting at the bar. Just what I wanted, half empty, very dark, too warm, bottles glittering in the center of the circular
我只走了几步，看到旋转门，推门进入某个地方或其他地方的大厅，我想是一家餐厅，然后发现自己坐在吧台前。正是我想要的，半空的，很暗，太热了，瓶子在圆形的中心闪闪发光

counter. Some comforting noise from the diners beyond the open
计数器。外面的食客发出一些令人欣慰的声音

doors. 门。

I put my elbows on the bar, my heels hooked on the brass rail. I sat there on die stool shivering, listening to mortals talk, listening to nothing, listening to the inevitable sloth and stupidity of a bar, head down, sunglasses gone梔amn, I had lost my violet glasses!梱es, nice and dark here, very, very dark, a kind of late-night languor lying over everything, a club of some sort? I didn't know, didn't care. "Drink, sir?" Lazy, arrogant face.
我把胳膊肘放在栏杆上，脚后跟勾在黄铜栏杆上。我坐在凳子上瑟瑟发抖，听着凡人的谈话，什么也听不见，听着酒吧里不可避免的懒惰和愚蠢，低着头，墨镜不见了，我丢了紫罗兰色的眼镜！梱斯，这里很好，很暗，很很黑，一种深夜的慵懒笼罩着一切，某种俱乐部？我不知道，不在乎。“喝酒，先生？”慵懒、傲慢的脸。

I named a mineral water. And as soon as he set down the glass, I dipped my fingers into it and washed them. He was gone already. Wouldn't have cared if I had started baptizing babies with the water. Other customers were scattered at tables in the darkness ... a woman crying in some far-off corner and a man telling her harshly that she was attracting attention. She wasn't. Nobody gave a damn. I washed my mouth off with the napkin and water. "More water," I said. I pushed the polluted glass away from me. Sluggishly, he acknowledged my request, young blood, bland
我给它起了个名字叫矿泉水。他一放下杯子，我就把手指蘸了进去洗。他已经走了。如果我开始用水给婴儿施洗，我不会在乎。其他顾客在黑暗中分散在桌子旁......一个女人在遥远的角落里哭泣，一个男人严厉地告诉她，她正在引起人们的注意。她不是。没有人在乎。我用餐巾纸和水洗了漱口。“更多的水，”我说。我把被污染的玻璃从我身边推开。他迟钝地答应了我的请求，年轻的血液，平淡无奇

personality, ambitionless life, then drifted off.
个性，没有野心的生活，然后渐行渐远。

I heard a little laugh nearby . . . the man to my right, two stools away, perhaps, who'd been there when I came in, youngish, scentless. Utterly scentless, which was most strange. In annoyance I turned and looked at him. "Going to run again?" he whispered. It was the Victim. It was Roger, sitting there on the stool.
我听到附近传来一阵笑声。我右边的那个男人，离我只有两张凳子，也许，我进来的时候他就在那里，年轻，没有气味。完全没有气味，这是最奇怪的。我懊恼地转过身看着他。“又要跑了吗？”他低声说。是受害者。是罗杰，坐在凳子上。

He wasn't broken or battered or dead. He was complete with his head and his hands. He wasn't there. He only appeared to be there, very solid and very quiet, and he smiled at me, thrilled by my terror. "What's the matter, Lestat?" he asked in that voice I so loved after six months of listening to it. "No one in all these centuries has ever come back to haunt you?"
他没有被打碎，没有被殴打，也没有死去。他的头和手都是完整的。他不在那里。他似乎只是在那里，非常坚定，非常安静，他对我微笑，为我的恐惧而激动。“怎么了，莱斯塔特？”他用我听了六个月后非常喜欢的声音问道。“这几个世纪以来，从来没有人回来困扰过你？”

I said nothing. Not there. No, not there. Material, but not the same material as anything else. David's word. Different fabric. I
我什么也没说。不在那里。不，不在那里。材料，但与其他任何东西的材料都不一样。大卫的话。不同的面料。我

stiffened. That's a pathetic understatement. I was rigid with incredulity and rage.
加 筋。这是一个可悲的轻描淡写。我因怀疑和愤怒而僵硬。

He got up and moved over onto the stool close to me. He was getting more distinct and detailed by the second. Now I could catch something like a sound coming from him, a sound of something alive, or organized, but certainly no breathing human being.
他站起身来，走到离我很近的凳子上。到第二秒，他变得更加清晰和详细。现在我能听到他发出的声音，一种活着的声音，或者有组织的声音，但肯定没有呼吸的人。

"And in a few minutes more I'll be strong enough perhaps to ask for a cigarette or a glass of wine," he said.
“再过几分钟，我就会变得足够强壮，也许可以要一支烟或一杯酒，”他说。

He reached into his coat, a favorite coat, not the one in which I'd killed him, another coat made for him in Paris, that he liked, and he drew out his flashy little gold lighter and made the flame shoot up, very blue and dangerous, butane.
他把手伸进他的外套里，一件最喜欢的外套，不是我杀他的那件外套，另一件在巴黎为他做的外套，他喜欢，他掏出他那闪闪发光的小打火机，让火焰喷射起来，非常蓝，很危险，丁烷。

He looked at me. I could see that his black curly hair was combed, his eyes very clear. Handsome Roger. His voice sounded exactly the way it had when he was alive: international, originless, New Orleans- born and world-traveled. No British fastidiousness, and no Southern patience. His precise, quick voice.
他看着我。我可以看到他黑色的卷发梳理得井井有条，他的眼睛非常清澈。帅气的罗杰。他的声音听起来和他活着时一模一样：国际化的，没有血统的，出生在新奥尔良，环游世界。没有英国人的挑剔，也没有南方人的耐心。他准确、快速的声音。

"I'm quite serious," he said. "You mean in all these years, not one single victim has ever come back to haunt you?"
“我很认真，”他说。“你是说这些年来，没有一个受害者回来困扰你？”

"No," I said. “不，”我说。

"You're amazing. You really won't tolerate being afraid for a
“你太棒了。你真的不会容忍害怕

moment, will you?" 一会儿，你愿意吗？

"No." “没有。”

Now he appeared completely solid. I had no idea whether anyone else could see him. No idea, but I suspected they could. He looked like anyone might look. I could see the buttons on his white cuffs, and the soft white flash of his collar at the back of the neck, where the fine hair came down over it. I could see his eyelashes, which had
现在他看起来完全稳固。我不知道是否有人能看到他。不知道，但我怀疑他们可以。他看起来就像任何人的样子。我能看到他白色袖口上的纽扣，以及他脖子后面衣领上柔和的白色闪光，细密的头发垂落在上面。我能看到他的睫毛，那睫毛有

always been extraordinarily long.
总是特别长。

The bartender returned and set down the water glass for me, without looking at him. I still wasn't sure. The kid was too rude for that to be proof of anything except that I was in New York.
酒保回来了，为我放下水杯，没有看他。我仍然不确定。那孩子太粗鲁了，除了我在纽约之外，什么都做不了。

"How are you doing this?" I asked.
“你是怎么做到的？”我问。

"The same way any other ghost does it," he said. "I'm dead. I've been dead for over an hour and a half now, and I have to talk to you! I don't know how long I can stay here, I don't know when I'll start to ... God knows what, but you have to listen to me."
“就像其他鬼魂一样，”他说。“我死了。我已经死了一个半小时了，我必须和你谈谈！我不知道我能在这里呆多久，我不知道我什么时候会开始......天知道是什么，但你必须听我的。

"Why?" I demanded. “为什么？”我问道。

"Don't be so nasty," he whispered, appearing truly hurt. "You murdered me."
“别那么讨厌，”他低声说，似乎真的很受伤。“你杀了我。”

"And you? The people you've killed, Dora's mother? She ever come back to demand an audience with you?"
“那你呢？你杀了谁，朵拉的母亲？她有没有回来要求和你见面？

"Ooh, I knew it. I knew it!" he said. He was visibly shaken. "You know about Dora! God in Heaven, take my soul to Hell, but don't let him hurt Dora."
“哦，我知道。我就知道！“他说。他明显地动摇了。“你知道朵拉！天上的上帝，把我的灵魂带到地狱，但不要让他伤害朵拉。

"Stop being absurd. I wouldn't hurt Dora. It was you I was after. I've followed you around the world. If it hadn't been for a passing respect for Dora, I would have killed you long before now."
“别再荒谬了。我不会伤害朵拉的。我追求的是你。我跟着你走遍了世界各地。如果不是对朵拉的一丝敬意，我早就杀了你了。

The bartender had reappeared. This brought the most ecstatic smile to my companion's lips. He looked right at the kid.
酒保又出现了。这让我的同伴的嘴角露出了最欣喜若狂的笑容。他直视着那个孩子。

"Yes, my dear boy, let me see, the very last drink unless I'm very badly mistaken, make it bourbon. I grew up in the South. What do you have? No, I'll tell you what, son, just make it Southern
“是的，我亲爱的孩子，让我看看，最后一杯酒，除非我弄错了，否则把它变成波旁威士忌。我在南方长大。你有什么？不，我会告诉你什么，儿子，让它成为南方人

Comfort." His laugh was private and convivial and soft.
舒适。他的笑声是私密的、欢乐的、柔和的。

The bartender moved on, and Roger turned his furious eyes on me. "You have to listen to me, whatever the Hell you are, vampire, demon, devil, I don't care, you cannot hurt my daughter."
酒保继续往前走，罗杰用愤怒的眼神看着我。“你要听我的，不管你是什么鬼，吸血鬼，恶魔，魔鬼，我不在乎，你不能伤害我的女儿。”

"I don't intend to hurt her. I would never hurt her. Go on to hell, you'll feel better. Good night."
“我不打算伤害她。我永远不会伤害她。下地狱吧，你会感觉好些。晚安。

"You smug son of a bitch. How many years do you think I had?" Droplets of sweat were breaking out on his face. His hair was moving a little in the natural draft through the room.
“你这个自鸣得意的婊子。你觉得我有多少年了？汗珠在他的脸上冒了出来。他的头发在房间里自然地移动了一下。

"I couldn't give less of a damn!" I said. "You were a meal worth waiting for."
“我该死不了！”我说过。“你是一顿值得等待的饭菜。”

"You've got quite a swagger, don't you?" he said acidly. "But you're nothing as shallow as you pretend to be."
“你很招摇，不是吗？”他酸溜溜地说。“但你并不像你假装的那么肤浅。”

"Oh, you don't think so? Try me. You may find me 'as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.' "
“哦，你不这么认为吗？试试我。你可能会发现我“像响亮的铜管或叮叮当当的钹”。"

That gave him pause. 这让他停顿了一下。

It gave me pause too. Where did those words come from? Why did they roll off my tongue like that? I was not likely to use that sort of imagery!
这也让我停顿了一下。这些话从何而来？为什么它们会这样从我的舌头上滚下来？我不太可能使用这种图像！

He was absorbing all this, my preoccupation, my obvious self- doubt. How did it manifest itself, I wonder? Did I sag or fade slightly as some mortals do, or did I merely look confused?
他吸收了这一切，我的全神贯注，我明显的自我怀疑。我想知道它是如何表现出来的？我是像一些凡人一样略微下垂或褪色，还是只是看起来很困惑？

The bartender gave him the drink. Very tentatively now, he was trying to put his fingers around it and lift it. He managed and got it to his lips and took a taste. He was amazed, and thankful, and suddenly so full of fear that he almost disintegrated. The illusion was almost completely dispersed.
酒保把饮料递给他。现在，他试探性地试图用手指捂住它并抬起它。他设法把它送到嘴边，尝了一口。他感到惊讶，也很感激，突然间充满了恐惧，几乎崩溃了。幻觉几乎完全消失了。

But he held firm. This was so obviously the person I had just killed, hacked to pieces and buried all over Manhattan, that I felt physically sick staring at him. I realized only one thing was saving me from panic. He was talking to me. What had David said once, when
但他坚定不移。这显然是我刚刚杀死的那个人，被砍成碎片，埋在曼哈顿各处，我盯着他看都觉得身体不舒服。我意识到只有一件事能把我从恐慌中拯救出来。他在和我说话。大卫曾经说过什么，什么时候

he was alive, about talking to me? That he wouldn't kill a vampire because the vampire could talk to him? And this damned ghost was talking to me.
他还活着，要和我说话？他不会杀死吸血鬼，因为吸血鬼可以和他说话？这个该死的鬼在和我说话。

"I have to talk to you about Dora," he said.
“我得和你谈谈朵拉，”他说。

"I told you I will never hurt her, or anyone like her," I said. "Look, what are you doing here with me! When you appeared, you didn't even know that I knew about Dora! You wanted to tell me about Dora?"
“我告诉过你，我永远不会伤害她，或者像她这样的人，”我说。“看，你在这里跟我做什么！当你出现时，你甚至不知道我知道朵拉！你想告诉我关于朵拉的事吗？

"Depth, I've been murdered by a being with depth, how
“深度，我被一个有深度的存在谋杀了，怎么

fortunate, someone who actually keenly appreciated my death, no?" He drank more of the sweet-smelling Southern Comfort. "This was Janis Joplin's drink, you know," he said, referring to the dead singer whom I, too, had loved. "Look, listen to me out of curiosity, I don't give a damn. But listen. Let me talk to you about Dora and about me. I want you to know. I want you to really know who I was, not what you might think. I want you to look out for Dora. And then there's something back at the flat, something I want you.. .,"
幸运的是，有人真的非常欣赏我的死，不是吗？他喝了更多香甜的南方舒适酒。“这是贾尼斯·乔普林（Janis Joplin）的饮料，你知道的，”他说，指的是我也爱过的死去的歌手。“听着，出于好奇听我说，我不在乎。但听着。让我和你谈谈朵拉和我。我想让你知道。我想让你真正知道我是谁，而不是你怎么想。我要你注意朵拉。然后公寓里有东西，我想要你的东西.......,"

"Veronica's veil in the frame?"
“维罗妮卡的面纱在画面中？”

"No! That's trash. I mean, it's four centuries old, of course, but it's a common version of Veronica's veil, if you have enough money. You did look around my place, didn't you?"
“不！那是垃圾。我的意思是，当然，它有四个世纪的历史了，但如果你有足够的钱，它是维罗妮卡面纱的常见版本。你确实在我家看过，不是吗？

"Why did you want to give that veil to Dora?" I asked.
“你为什么要把那面纱送给朵拉？”我问。

This sobered him appropriately. "You heard us talking?"
这让他清醒了过来。“你听到我们在说话了吗？”

"Countless times." “无数次。”

He was conjecturing, weighing things. He looked entirely
他在猜想，权衡事情。他看起来完全

reasonable, his dark Asian face evincing nothing but sincerity and great care.
通情达理，他那张黝黑的亚洲面孔只表现出真诚和极大的关怀。

"Did you say 'look out for Dora'?" I asked. "Is that what you asked me to do? Look out for her? Now that's another proposition and why the hell do you want to tell me the story of your life! You're running through your personal afterdeath judgment with the wrong guy! I don't care how you got the way you were. The things at the flat, why would a ghost care about such things?"
“你说过'小心朵拉'吗？”我问。“这是你让我做的吗？注意她吗？现在这是另一个命题，你为什么要告诉我你的生活故事！你正在与错误的人一起经历你个人的死后审判！我不在乎你是怎么变成现在这个样子的。公寓里的东西，鬼怎么会在乎这些东西？

This was not wholly honest on my part. I was being far too
这对我来说并不完全诚实。我也太过分了

flippant and we both knew it. Of course he cared about his treasures. But it was Dora that had made him rise from the dead.
轻率，我们都知道。他当然关心他的宝藏。但正是朵拉使他从死里复活。

His hair was a deeper black now, and the coat had taken on more texture. I could see the weave of the silk and the cashmere in it. I could see his fingernails, professionally manicured, very neat and
他的头发现在更深了，外套也变得更有质感了。我可以看到丝绸和羊绒的编织。我可以看到他的指甲，经过专业修剪，非常整洁和

buffed. Same hands I threw in the garbage! I don't think all these details had been visible moments ago.
磨光。我扔进垃圾桶的手是一样的！我不认为所有这些细节在片刻前都已经可见。

"Jesus Christ," I whispered.
“耶稣基督，”我低声说。

He laughed. "You're more afraid than I am."
他笑了。“你比我更害怕。”

"Where are you?" “你在哪里？”

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I'm sitting next to you. We're in a Village bar. What do you mean, where am I? As for my body, you know where you dumped the pieces of it as well as I."
“你在说什么？”他问。“我坐在你旁边。我们在一家乡村酒吧。你什么意思，我在哪里？至于我的身体，你知道你和我一样把它的碎片扔在哪里。

"That's why you're haunting me."
“这就是你缠着我的原因。”

"Absolutely not. Couldn't give less of a damn about that body. Felt that way the moment I left it. You know all this!"
“绝对不是。对那具尸体毫不在乎。我离开的那一刻就有这种感觉。你知道这一切！

"No, no, I mean, what realm are you in now, what is it, where are you, what did you see when you went. .. what.. .."
“不，不，我的意思是，你现在在什么境界，是什么境界，你在哪里，你去的时候看到了什么......什么。。.."

He shook his head with the saddest smile.
他带着最悲伤的笑容摇了摇头。

"You know the answer to all that. I don't know where I am.
“你知道这一切的答案。我不知道我在哪里。

Something's waiting for me, however. I'm fairly certain of that.
然而，有些东西在等着我。我相当确定这一点。

Something's waiting. Perhaps it's merely dissolution. Darkness. But it seems personal. It's not going to wait forever. But I don't know how I
有什么东西在等着你。也许这只是解散。黑暗。但这似乎是个人的。它不会永远等待。但我不知道我怎么

know. 知道。

"And I don't know why I'm being allowed to get through to you, whether it's sheer will, my will, I mean, of which I have a great deal by the way, or whether it's some sort of grant of moments, I don't know! But I went after you-1 followed you from the flat and back to it and then out with the body and I came here and I have to talk to you. I'm not going to go without a struggle, until I've spoken with you."
“我不知道为什么我被允许与你联系，是纯粹的意志，我的意思是，顺便说一句，我有很多东西，或者是某种时刻的授予，我不知道！但是我追着你-1跟着你从公寓里回来，然后带着尸体出去，我来到这里，我必须和你谈谈。在我和你谈完之前，我不会不挣扎的。

"Something's waiting for you," I whispered. This was awe. Plain and simple. "And then, after we've had our chat, if you don't dissolve, where exactly are you going to go?"
“有东西在等着你，”我低声说。这真是令人敬畏。简单明了。“然后，在我们聊完之后，如果你不解散，你到底要去哪里？”

He shook his head and glared at the bottle on the center rack, flood of light, color, labels.
他摇了摇头，瞪了一眼中间架子上的瓶子，上面泛着光线、颜色和标签。

"Tiresome," he said crossly. "Shut up."
“令人厌烦，”他横着说。“闭嘴。”

It had a sting to it. Shut up. Telling me to shut up.
它有一种刺痛。闭嘴。叫我闭嘴。

"I can't go looking out for your daughter," I said.
“我不能去找你的女儿，”我说。

"What do you mean?" He threw an angry glance at me, and took another sip of his drink, then gestured to the bartender for another.
“你什么意思？”他生气地瞥了我一眼，又喝了一口酒，然后示意酒保再喝一口。

"Are you going to get drunk?" I asked.
“你要喝醉了吗？”我问。

"I don't think I can. You have to look out for her. It's all going to go public, don't you see? I have enemies who'll kill her, for no other reason than that she was my child. You don't know how careful I've
“我不认为我能做到。你必须照顾她。这一切都要公开了，你没看到吗？我有敌人会杀了她，原因无他，只是因为她是我的孩子。你不知道我有多小心

been, and you don't know how rash she is, how much she believes in Divine Providence. And then there's the government, the hounds of government, and my things, my relics, my books!"
你不知道她有多鲁莽，她有多相信上帝的旨意。然后是政府，政府的猎犬，还有我的东西，我的遗物，我的书！

I was fascinated. For about three seconds, I'd utterly forgotten that he was a ghost. Now my eyes gave me no evidence of it. None. But he was scentless, and the faint sound of life that emanated from him still had little to do with real lungs or a real heart.
我被迷住了。大约有三秒钟，我完全忘记了他是一个鬼魂。现在我的眼睛没有给我任何证据。没有。但他没有气味，从他身上散发出的微弱的生命之声仍然与真正的肺或真正的心脏无关。

"All right, let me be blunt," he said. "I'm afraid for her. She has to get through the notoriety; enough time has to pass that my enemies forget about her. Most of them don't know about her. But somebody might. Somebody's bound to know, if you knew."
“好吧，让我直言不讳，”他说。“我为她担心。她必须克服恶名;必须经过足够的时间，我的敌人才会忘记她。他们中的大多数人都不知道她。但有人可能会。如果你知道的话，一定会有人知道的。

"Not necessarily. I'm not a human being."
“不一定。我不是人。

"You have to guard her."
“你必须保护她。”

"I can't do such a thing. I won't"
“我不能做这样的事情。我不会”

"Lestat, will you listen to me?"
“莱斯塔特，你愿意听我说吗？”

"I don't want to listen. I want you to go."
“我不想听。我要你走。

"I know you do." “我知道你是这样想的。”

"Look, I never meant to kill you, I'm sorry, it was all a mistake, I should have picked someone. ..." My hands were shaking. Oh, how fascinating all this would sound later, and right now I begged God, of all people, please make this stop, all of it, stop.
“听着，我从来没想过要杀你，对不起，这都是一个错误，我应该选一个人。..."我的手在颤抖。噢，这一切在以后听起来是多么令人着迷，现在我恳求上帝，在所有的人中，请停下来，所有人，停下来。

"You know where I was born, don't you?" he asked. "You know that block of St. Charles near Jackson?"
“你知道我出生在哪里，不是吗？”他问。“你知道杰克逊附近的圣查尔斯街区吗？”

I nodded. "The boardinghouse," I said. "Don't tell me the story of your life. There's no reason. Besides, it's over. You had your chance to write it down when you were alive, just like anyone else. What do you expect me to do with it?"
我点了点头。“寄宿公寓，”我说。“不要告诉我你一生的故事。没有理由。此外，它已经结束了。当你活着的时候，你有机会把它写下来，就像其他人一样。你希望我用它做什么？

"I want to tell you the things that count. Look at me! Look at me, please, try to understand me and to love me and to love Dora for me! I'm begging you."
“我想告诉你重要的事情。看着我！看着我，请试着理解我，爱我，为我爱朵拉！我求求你了。

I didn't have to see his expression to understand this keen agony, this protective cry. Is there anything under God that can be done to us that will make us suffer as badly as seeing our child suffer? Our loved ones? Those closest to us? Dora, tiny Dora walking in the empty convent. Dora on a television screen, arms flung out, singing.
我不需要看到他的表情就能理解这种强烈的痛苦，这种保护性的呐喊。在神的底下，有没有什么事情可以对我们做，使我们像看到我们的孩子受苦一样痛苦？我们所爱的人？那些离我们最近的人？朵拉，小小的朵拉走在空荡荡的修道院里。朵拉在电视屏幕上，双臂张开，唱着歌。

I must have gasped. I don't know. Shivered. Something. I couldn't clear iny head for a moment, but it was nothing supernatural, only misery, and the realization that he was there, palpable, visible,
我一定倒吸了一口凉气。我不知道。颤抖。东西。我一时无法清醒头脑，但这并不是超自然的，只有痛苦，以及意识到他在那里，可触及，可见，

expecting something from me, that he had come across, that he had
期待从我这里得到一些东西，他已经遇到过，他已经

survived long enough in this ephemeral form to demand a promise
以这种短暂的形式存活了足够长的时间，以至于需要承诺

of me. 的我。

"You do love me," he whispered. He looked serene and intrigued.
“你确实爱我，”他低声说。他看起来很平静，很感兴趣。

Way beyond flattery, Way beyond me.
超越奉承，超越我。

"Passion," I whispered. "It was your passion."
“激情，”我低声说。“这是你的激情所在。”

"Yes, I know. I'm flattered. I wasn't run down by a truck in the street, or shot by a hit man. You killed me! You, arid you must be one of the best of them."
“是的，我知道。我受宠若惊。我没有在街上被卡车撞倒，也没有被杀手枪杀。你杀了我！你，你一定是他们中最好的一个。

"Best of what?" “最好的是什么？”

"Whatever you call yourself. You're not human. Yet you are. You sucked my blood out of my body, took it into your own. You're
“不管你怎么称呼自己。你不是人类。然而你是。你把我的血从我的身体里吸出来，把它变成你自己的。你是

thriving on it now. Surely you're not the only one." He looked away. "Vampires," he said. "I saw ghosts when I was a boy in our house in New Orleans."
现在茁壮成长。当然，你不是唯一一个。他把目光移开。“吸血鬼，”他说。“当我还是个孩子的时候，我在新奥尔良的房子里看到了鬼魂。

"Everybody in New Orleans sees ghosts."
“新奥尔良的每个人都看到鬼魂。

He laughed in spite of himself, a very short, quiet laugh. "I know," he said, "but really I did and I have, and I've seen them in other places. But I never believed in God or the Devil or Angels or Vampires or Werewolves, or things like that, things that could affect fate, or change the course of some chaotic-seeming rhythm that
他不顾自己地笑了起来，笑得很短，很安静。“我知道，”他说，“但我真的做到了，而且我在其他地方见过他们。但我从来不相信上帝、魔鬼、天使、吸血鬼或狼人，或者类似的东西，这些东西可能会影响命运，或者改变一些看似混乱的节奏。

governed the universe." 统治着宇宙。

"You believe in God now?"
“你现在相信上帝了吗？”

"No. I have the sneaking suspicion that I'll hold firm as long as I can in this form條ike all the ghosts I've ever glimpsed梩hen I'll start to fade. I'll die out. Rather like a light. That's what's waiting for me. Oblivion, And it isn't personal. It just feels that way because my mind, what's left of it, what's clinging to the earth here, can't
“不。我暗暗怀疑，我会以这种形式，只要我能坚持下去，我瞥见的所有鬼魂都会开始消失。我会死的。更像是一盏灯。这就是等待我的。遗忘，这不是个人的。只是有这种感觉，因为我的思想，剩下的东西，这里紧贴着地球的东西，不能

comprehend anything else. What do you think?"
理解其他任何事情。你怎么看？

"It terrifies me either way or any way." I was not going to tell him about the Stalker. I was not going to ask him about the statue. I knew now he had had nothing to do with the statue seeming animate. He had been dead, going up.
“不管怎样，不管怎样，它都吓坏了我。”我不打算告诉他关于潜行者的事。我不打算问他关于雕像的事情。我现在知道他和那座看起来有生命的雕像没有任何关系。他已经死了，正在上升。

"Terrifies you?" he asked respectfully. "Well, it's not happening to you. You make it happen to others. Let me explain about Dora." "She's beautiful. I'll. ,. I'll try to look out for her." "No, she needs something more from you. She needs a miracle." "A miracle?"
“吓到你了吗？”他恭敬地问。“嗯，这不会发生在你身上。你让它发生在别人身上。让我解释一下朵拉。“她很漂亮。我会的。,.我会尽力照顾她的。“不，她需要你更多的东西。她需要一个奇迹。“奇迹？”

"Look, you're alive, whatever you are, but you're not human. You can make a miracle, can't you? You could do this for Dora, it would be no problem for a creature of your abilities at all!"
“听着，你还活着，不管你是什么，但你不是人类。你可以创造奇迹，不是吗？你可以为朵拉做这件事，对你这种能力的生物来说，这完全没有问题！

"You mean some sort of fake religious miracle?"
“你是说某种假的宗教奇迹？”

"What else? She's never going to save the world without a miracle and she knows it. You could do it!"
“还有什么？如果没有奇迹，她永远不会拯救世界，她知道这一点。你可以做到的！

"You're remaining earthbound and haunting me in this place to make a sleazy proposition like this!" I said. "You're unsalvageable. You are dead. But you're still a racketeer and a criminal. Listen to yourself. You want me to fake some spectacle for Dora? You think Dora would want that?"
“你仍然在地球上，在这个地方缠着我，提出这样一个卑鄙的提议！”我说过。“你是无可救药的。你死了。但你仍然是一个敲诈勒索者和罪犯。倾听自己。你想让我为朵拉假装一些奇观吗？你认为朵拉会想要那个吗？

He was flabbergasted, clearly. Much too much so to be insulted.
显然，他大吃一惊。太过分了，不能被侮辱。

He put the glass down and sat there, composed and calm,
他放下酒杯，坐在那里，沉着而平静，

appearing to scan the bar. Looking dignified and about ten years younger than he had been when I killed him. I don't guess anyone wants to come back as a ghost except in beautiful form. It was only natural. And I felt a deepening of my inevitable and fatal fascination, this, my Victim. Monsieur, your blood is inside me!
似乎正在扫描条形图。看起来很有尊严，比我杀了他时他年轻十岁。我猜没有人想以幽灵的身份回来，除非以美丽的形式出现。这是很自然的。我感到我不可避免的和致命的迷恋越来越深，这个，我的受害者。先生，你的血在我体内！

He turned. 他转过身。

"You're right," he said in the most torn whisper. "You're absolutely
“你是对的，”他用最撕裂的低声说。“你绝对是

right. I can't make some deal with you to fake miracles for her. It's monstrous. She'd hate it."
右。我不能和你做交易，为她创造奇迹。这太可怕了。她会讨厌的。

"Now you're talking like the Grateful Dead," I said.
“现在你说话像感恩的死者，”我说。

He gave another litde contemptuous laugh. Then with a low sombre
他又轻蔑地笑了笑。然后带着低沉的阴沉

emotion, he said, "Lestat, you have to take care of her ... for a while,"
情绪，他说，“莱斯塔特，你必须照顾她......一会儿，”

When I didn't answer, he persisted gently:
当我没有回答时，他温柔地坚持：

"Just for a little while, until the reporters have stopped, and the horror of it is over; until her faith is restored, and she's whole and Dora after all, and back to her life. She has her life, yet, She can't be hurt because of me, Lestat, not because of me, it's not fair."
“只是一小会儿，直到记者们停下来，恐怖的气氛才结束;直到她的信仰恢复，她毕竟是完整的朵拉，回到了她的生活。她有她的生命，然而，她不能因为我而受到伤害，莱斯塔特，而不是因为我，这不公平。

"Fair?" “公平？”

"Call me by my name," he said. "Look at me."
“叫我的名字，”他说。“看着我。”

I looked at him. It was exquisitely painful. He was miserable. I didn't know whether human beings could express this same intensity of misery. I actually didn't know.
我看着他。这真是太痛苦了。他很痛苦。我不知道人类是否能表达出同样强烈的痛苦。我其实不知道。

"My name's Roger," he said. He seemed even younger now, as though he were traveling backwards in time, in his mind, or merely becoming innocent, as if the dead, if they are going to stick around, have a right to remember their innocence.
“我叫罗杰，”他说。他现在看起来更年轻了，仿佛他回到了过去，在他的思想中，或者只是变得无辜，仿佛死者，如果他们要留下来，就有权记住他们的清白。

"I know your name," I said. "I know everything about you, Roger. Roger, the Ghost. And you never let Old Captain touch you; you just let him adore you, and educate you, and take you places, and buy you
“我知道你的名字，”我说。“我知道你的一切，罗杰。罗杰，幽灵。你从不让老船长碰你;你只是让他崇拜你，教育你，带你去地方，买你

beautiful things, and you never even had the decency to go to bed with him."
美好的事物，你甚至没有体面地和他上床。

I said those things, about the images I'd drunk with his blood, but without malice. I was just talking in wonder of how bad we all are, the
我说了这些话，关于我喝了他血的画面，但没有恶意。我只是在惊奇地谈论我们所有人有多糟糕，

lies we tell. 我们说的谎言。

He said nothing for the moment.
他暂时什么也没说。

I was overwhelmed. It was grief veritably blinding me, and bitterness
我不知所措。悲伤使我蒙蔽了双眼，痛苦

and a deep ugly horror for what I had done to him, and to others, and that I had ever harmed any living creature. Horror.
以及我对他和其他人所做的一切，以及我曾经伤害过任何生物的深深丑陋的恐惧。恐怖。

What was Dora's message? How were we to be saved? Was it the same old canticle of adoration?
朵拉的信息是什么？我们该如何得救？是同样的崇拜的旧颂歌吗？

He watched me. He was young, committed, a magnificent semblance
他看着我。他年轻，坚定，华丽的外表

of life. Roger. 的生活。知道了。

"All right," he said, the voice soft and patient, "I didn't sleep with Old Captain, you're right, but he never really wanted that of me, you see, it wasn't like that, he was far too old. You don't know what it was really like. You might know the guilt I feel. But you don't know later how much I regretted not having done it. Not having known that with Old Captain. And that's not what made me go wrong. It wasn't that. It wasn't the big deception or heist that you imagine it to be. I loved the things he showed me. He loved me. He lived two, three more years, probably because of me. Wynken de Wilde, we loved Wynken de Wilde together. It should have turned out different. I was with Old Captain when he died, you know. I never left the room. I'm faithful that way when I am needed by those I loved."
“好吧，”他说，声音柔和而耐心，“我没有和老船长上床，你说得对，但他从来没有真正想要我，你看，不是那样的，他太老了。你不知道它到底是什么样子的。你可能知道我感到的内疚。但你后来不知道我有多后悔没有这样做。老船长不知道。这并不是让我出错的原因。事实并非如此。这不是你想象中的大骗局或抢劫。我喜欢他给我看的东西。他爱我。他又活了两三年，可能是因为我。温肯·德·王尔德，我们一起爱温肯·德·王尔德。结果应该有所不同。老船长死的时候我和他在一起，你知道的。我从未离开过房间。当我所爱的人需要我时，我就是这样忠心的。

"Yeah, you were with your wife, Terry, too, weren't you?" It was cruel of me to say this, but I'd spoken without thinking, seeing her face again as he shot her. "Scratch that, if you will," I said. "I'm sorry. Who in the name of God is Wynken de Wilde?"
“是的，你也和你的妻子特里在一起，不是吗？”我这么说很残忍，但我不假思索地说话了，在他开枪时又看到了她的脸。“如果你愿意的话，抓挠它，”我说。“对不起。以上帝的名义，温肯·德·王尔德是谁？

I felt so utterly miserable. "Dear God, you're haunting me," I said. "And I'm a coward in my soul! A coward. Why did you say that strange name? I don't want to know. No, don't tell me桾his is enough for me. I'm leaving. You can haunt this bar till doomsday if you want. Get some righteous individual to talk to you."
我感到非常痛苦。“亲爱的上帝，你困扰着我，”我说。“我的灵魂是个懦夫！一个懦夫。你为什么说那个奇怪的名字？我不想知道。不，别告诉我，他对我来说已经足够了。我要走了。如果你愿意，你可以在这个酒吧出没直到世界末日。找个正直的人来和你谈谈。

"Listen to me," he said. "You love me. You picked me. All I want to do is fill in the details."
“听我说，”他说。“你爱我。你选了我。我只想填写细节。

"I'll take care of Dora, somehow or other, I'll figure some way to help her, I'll do something. And I'll take care of all the relics, I'll get them out of there and into a safe place and hold on to them for Dora, until she feels she can accept them."
“我会照顾朵拉，不管怎样，我会想办法帮助她，我会做点什么。我会照顾好所有的遗物，我会把它们从那里弄到一个安全的地方，为朵拉保留它们，直到她觉得她可以接受它们。

"Yes!" “是！”

"Okay, let me go." “好，放开我。”

"I'm not holding you," he said.
“我没有抱你，”他说。

Yes, I did love him. I did want to look at him. I did want him to tell me everything, every last little detail! I reached out and touched his hand. Not alive. Not human flesh. Something with vitality, however. Something burning and exciting.
是的，我确实爱他。我确实想看看他。我确实希望他告诉我一切，每一个小细节！我伸出手，摸了摸他的手。没有活着。不是人肉。然而，有生命力的东西。一些燃烧和令人兴奋的东西。

He merely smiled. 他只是笑了笑。

He reached across with his right hand and clamped his fingers around my right wrist and drew near. I could feel his hair touching my forehead, teasing my skin, just a loose wisp of hair. Big dark eyes looking at me.
他伸出右手，用手指夹住我的右手腕，靠近我。我能感觉到他的头发碰到我的额头，挑逗着我的皮肤，只是一缕松散的头发。又大又黑的眼睛看着我。

"Listen to me," he said again. Scentless breath.
“听我说，”他又说了一遍。无味的气息。

"Yes... ." “是的......。”

He started talking to me in a low, rushed voice. He began to tell me the tale.
他开始用低沉而急促的声音和我说话。他开始给我讲这个故事。

4

THE POINT is, Old Captain was a smuggler, a collector. I spent years with him. My mother had sent me to Andover, then brought me home, couldn't live without me; I went to Jesuit, I didn't belong with anyone or anywhere, and maybe Old Captain was the perfect person. But Wynken de Wilde, that started with Old Captain and the antiques he sold through the Quarter,
关键是，老船长是一个走私者，一个收藏家。我和他在一起度过了好几年。我母亲把我送到安多弗，然后把我带回家，没有我就活不下去;我去了耶稣会，我不属于任何人或任何地方，也许老船长是完美的人。但是温肯·德·王尔德（Wynken de Wilde），从老船长和他在该区出售的古董开始，

usually small, portable things.
通常是小而便携的东西。

"And I'll tell you right now, Wynken de Wilde amounts to nothing,
“我现在告诉你，温肯·德·王尔德一无是处，

absolutely nothing, except a dream I had once, a very perverse plan. I mean my lifelong passion梐side from Dora梙as been Wynken de Wilde, but if you don't care about him after this
绝对没有，除了我曾经做过的一个梦，一个非常反常的计划。我是说我毕生的爱好是王尔德，但如果你在这之后不关心他

conversation, no one will. Dora does not."
对话，没有人会。朵拉没有。

"What was this Wynken de Wilde all about?"
“这个温肯·德·王尔德到底是怎么回事？”

"Art, of course. Beauty. But I got it mixed up in my head when I was seventeen that I was going to start a new religion, a cult梖ree love, give to the poor, raise one's hand against no one, you know, a sort of fornicating Amish community. This was of course 1964, the
“当然是艺术。美。但是在我十七岁的时候，我脑子里就搞错了，我要开创一种新的宗教，一种崇拜的爱，给穷人，举手反对任何人，你知道，一种淫乱的阿米什人社区。这当然是 1964 年，

time of the flower children, marijuana, Bob Dylan seeming to be singing all the time about ethics and charity, and I wanted a new Brethren of the Common Life, one in tune with modern sexual
花童的时代，大麻，鲍勃·迪伦似乎一直在歌唱道德和慈善，我想要一个新的共同生活弟兄，一个与现代性相一致的人

values. Do you know who the Brethren were?"
值。你知道弟兄们是谁吗？

"Yes, popular mysticism, late Middle Ages, that anyone could know God."
“是的，中世纪晚期流行的神秘主义，任何人都可以认识上帝。

"Yes! Ah, that you know such a thing."
“是的！啊，你知道这样的事情。

"You didn't have to be a priest or monk."
“你不必是牧师或僧侣。”

"Exactly. And so the monks were jealous, but my concept of this as a boy was all wound up with Wynken, whom I knew to have been influenced by German mysticism and all those popular movements, Meister Eckehart, et cetera, though he worked in a scriptorium and still did old-fashioned parchment prayer books of devotion by hand. Wynken's books were completely different from those of others. I thought if I could find all Wynken's books I'd have it made."
“没错。所以僧侣们很嫉妒，但我小时候对这件事的看法都与Wynken有关，我知道他受到了德国神秘主义和所有那些流行运动的影响，Meister Eckehart等，尽管他在抄写室工作，仍然手工制作老式的羊皮纸祈祷书。Wynken 的书与其他人的书完全不同。我想如果我能找到 Wynken 的所有书，我就会把它制作出来。

"Why Wynken, what made him different?"
“为什么是Wynken，是什么让他与众不同？”

"Let me tell it my way. See, this is how it happened, the boarding- house was shabby-elegant, you know the kind, my mother didn't get her own hands dirty, she had three maids and an old colored man who did everything; the old people, the boarders梩hey were on hefty private incomes, limousines garaged around the Garden
“让我用我的方式说吧。你看，事情是这样的，寄宿公寓简陋优雅，你知道的那种，我母亲没有弄脏自己的手，她有三个女仆和一个什么都做的老有色人种;老人，寄宿生，私人收入可观，豪华轿车停在花园周围

District, three meals a day, red carpets. You know the house. Henry Howard designed it. Late Victorian. My mother had inherited it from her mother."
区，一日三餐，红地毯。你知道这所房子。亨利·霍华德（Henry Howard）设计了它。维多利亚时代晚期。我母亲从她母亲那里继承了它。

"I know it, I've seen it, I've seen you stop in front of it. Who owns it now?"
“我知道，我见过，我看到你停在它前面。现在谁拥有它？

"I don't know. I let it slip away. I ruined so many things. But
“我不知道。我让它溜走了。我毁了很多东西。但

picture this: drowsy summer afternoon there, I'm fifteen and lonely, and Old Captain invites me in, and there on the table in the second
想象一下：昏昏欲睡的夏日午后，我十五岁，孤独，老船长邀请我进去，第二场在桌子上

parlour梙e rents the two front parlours梙e lives in a sort of
客厅租了两个前面的客厅，住在一种

wonderland of collectibles and brass and such?
收藏品和黄铜等的仙境？

"I see it." “我明白了。”

"梐nd there are these books on the table, medieval books! Tiny medieval prayer books. Of course, I know a prayer book when I see it; but a medieval codex, no; I was an altar boy when I was very little, went to Mass every day for years with my mother, knew liturgical Latin as was required. The point is, I recognize these books as
“桌子上有这些书，中世纪的书！小小的中世纪祈祷书。当然，当我看到一本祈祷书时，我就知道它;但是中世纪的手抄本，不;我很小的时候就是一个祭坛男孩，多年来每天都和母亲一起去参加弥撒，知道礼仪拉丁语。关键是，我认为这些书是

devotional and rare, and something that Old Captain is inevitably going to sell.
虔诚而稀有，也是老船长不可避免地要出售的东西。

" 'You can touch them, Roger, if you're careful,' he tells me. For two years, he had let me come and listen to his classical records, and we'd taken walks together. But I was just becoming sexually
“'你可以摸摸它们，罗杰，如果你小心的话，'他告诉我。两年来，他让我来听他的古典唱片，我们一起散步。但我只是在性方面变得

interesting to him, though I didn't know it, and it's got nothing to do with what I have to say until later on.
对他来说很有趣，虽然我不知道，而且直到后来我才知道这与我要说的话无关。

"He was on the phone talking to somebody about a ship in the harbour.
“他正在打电话和某人谈论港口的一艘船。

"Within a few minutes we were off to the ship. We used to go on these ships all the time. I never knew what we were doing. It had to be smuggling. All I remember is Old Captain sitting at a big round table with all the crew, they were Dutch, I think, and some nice offi- cer with a heavy accent giving me a tour of the engine room, the map room, and the radio room. I never tired of it. I loved the ships. The New Orleans wharves were active then, full of rats and hemp."
“几分钟后，我们就上船了。我们过去经常乘坐这些船。我从来不知道我们在做什么。那一定是走私。我只记得老船长和所有船员坐在一张大圆桌旁，我想他们是荷兰人，还有一些口音很重的好官员带我参观了机舱、地图室和无线电室。我从不厌倦它。我喜欢这些船。当时新奥尔良的码头很活跃，到处都是老鼠和大麻。

"I know." “我知道。”

"Do you remember those long ropes that ran from the ships to the dock, how they had the round steel rat shields on them梔isks of steel that the rats couldn't climb over?"
“你还记得那些从船上一直延伸到码头的长绳吗，他们身上的圆形钢制防鼠罩是老鼠爬不过去的钢制盾牌吗？”

"I remember." “我记得。”

"We get home that night and instead of going to bed as I would have done, I beg him to let me come in and see those books. I have to see them before he sells them. My mother wasn't in the hallway, so I supposed she'd gone to bed.
“那天晚上我们回到家，我没有像以前那样上床睡觉，而是恳求他让我进来看看那些书。在他卖掉它们之前，我必须看到它们。我母亲不在走廊里，所以我以为她已经上床睡觉了。

"Let me give you an image of my mother and this boardinghouse. I told you it was elegant, didn't I? You can imagine the furnishings, heavy Renaissance revival, machine-made pieces, the kind that junked up mansions from the i88os on."
“让我给你一张我母亲和这个寄宿公寓的照片。我告诉过你它很优雅，不是吗？你可以想象家具，文艺复兴时期的复兴，机器制造的作品，那种从i88os开始就把豪宅扔掉的东西。

"Yes." “是的。”

"The house has a glorious staircase, winding, set against a stained-glass window, and at the foot of the stairs, in the crook of it, this masterpiece of a stairs of which Henry Howard must have been profoundly proud梚n the stairwell梥tood my mother's enormous dressing table, imagine, and she'd sit there in the main hall, at the dressing table, brushing her hair! All I have to do is think of that and my head aches. Or it used to when I was alive. It was such a tragic image, and I knew it, even though I grew up seeing it every day; that a dressing table of marble and mirrors and sconces and
“这所房子有一个光荣的楼梯，蜿蜒曲折，靠着彩色玻璃窗，在楼梯脚下，在楼梯的拐弯处，亨利·霍华德一定为此深感自豪的楼梯杰作，在楼梯间里，我母亲巨大的梳妆台上，想象一下，她会坐在主厅的梳妆台旁， 梳理她的头发！我所要做的就是想到这一点，我的头就疼。或者我曾经在我活着的时候。这是一个如此悲惨的画面，我知道它，即使我每天都在看到它长大;大理石梳妆台、镜子和壁灯和

filigree, and an old woman with dark hair, does not belong in a formal hallway...."
花丝，还有一个黑头发的老妇人，不属于正式的走廊......”

"And the boarders just took it in?" I asked.
“寄宿生就收了？”我问。

"Yes, because the house was gobbled up for this one and that one, Old Mister Bridey, living in what had once been a servants' porch, and Blind Miss Stanton in the little fainting room upstairs! And four apartments carved out of the servants' quarters in back. I am keenly sensitive to disorder; you find around me either perfect order or the neglected clutter of the place in which you killed me."
“是的，因为这所房子被这个和那个房子吞噬了，老布莱迪先生住在曾经是仆人的门廊里，而盲人斯坦顿小姐住在楼上昏厥的小房间里！还有四间公寓，从后面的仆人宿舍中雕刻出来。我对无序非常敏感;你发现我周围要么是完美的秩序，要么是你杀死我的地方被忽视的混乱。

"I realize that." “我明白了。”

"But if I were to inhabit that place again.... Ah, this is not important.
“但是，如果我再次居住在那个地方......啊，这不重要。

The point I'm trying to make is that I believe in order and when I was young I used to dream about it. I wanted to be a saint, well, a sort of secular saint. Let me return to the books."
我想说的是，我相信秩序，当我年轻的时候，我曾经梦想过它。我想成为一个圣人，嗯，一种世俗的圣人。让我回到书本上来。

"Go on." “继续。”

"I hit the sacred books on the table. One of them I took from its own little sack. I was charmed by the tiny illustrations. I examined each and every book that night, planning to thereafter take my time. Of course the Latin was unreadable to me in that form."
“我敲了敲桌子上的圣书。其中一个我从它自己的小袋子里拿出来。我被这些小小的插图迷住了。那天晚上，我检查了每一本书，打算以后慢慢来。当然，拉丁文是我无法以这种形式阅读的。

"Too dense. Too many pen strokes."
“太密集了。笔触太多了。

"My, you do know things, don't you?"
“我的，你确实知道事情，不是吗？”

"Maybe we're surprising each other. Go on."
“也许我们互相惊讶。继续。

"I spent the week thoroughly examining all of them. I cut school all the time. It was so boring. I was way ahead of everybody, and wanted to do something exciting, you know, like commit a major crime."
“我花了一周时间彻底检查了所有这些。我一直在旷课。太无聊了。我远远领先于所有人，我想做一些令人兴奋的事情，你知道，比如犯下重大罪行。

"A saint or a criminal."
“是圣人还是罪犯。”

"Yes, I suppose that does seem a contradiction. Yet it's a perfect description."
“是的，我想这似乎是一个矛盾。然而，这是一个完美的描述。

"I thought it was." “我以为是这样。”

"Old Captain explained things about the books. The book in the sack was a girdle book. Men carried such books with them. And this particular one was a prayer book, and another of the illuminated books, the biggest and thickest, was a Book of the Hours, and then there was a Bible in Latin, of course. He was casual about all of it.
“老船长解释了关于这些书的事情。麻袋里的书是一本腰带书。男人随身携带这样的书。这本特别的书是一本祈祷书，另一本带插图的书，最大最厚的，是一本时辰书，当然还有一本拉丁文圣经。他对这一切很随意。

"I was incredibly drawn to these books, can't tell you why. I have always been covetous of things that are shining and bright and
“我被这些书深深吸引，无法告诉你为什么。我一直贪婪那些闪闪发光的东西，

seemingly valuable, and here was the most condensed and seemingly unique version of such I'd ever beheld."
看起来很有价值，这是我见过的最浓缩、最独特的版本。

I smiled. "Yes, I know exactly."
我笑了。“是的，我完全知道。”

"Pages full of gold, and red, and tiny beautiful little figures. I took
“书页上满是金色的、红色的，还有小小的、美丽的小人物。我拿了

out a magnifying glass and started to study the pictures in earnest. I went to the old library at Lee Circle梤emember it?梐nd I studied up on the entire question. Medieval books. How the Benedictines had done them. Do you know Dora owns a convent? It isn't based on the plan of St. Gall, but it's just about the nineteenth-century equivalent."
拿出放大镜，开始认真研究图片。我去了李圆馆的旧图书馆，仔细研究了整个问题。中世纪书籍。本笃会是如何做到的。你知道朵拉拥有一座修道院吗？它不是基于圣加仑的计划，但它只是十九世纪的等价物。

"Yes, I saw it, I saw her there. She's brave and doesn't care about the darkness or the aloneness."
“是的，我看到了，我在那里看到了她。她很勇敢，不在乎黑暗或孤独。

"She believes in Divine Providence to the point of idiocy and she can make something of herself only if she isn't destroyed. I want
“她相信上帝的旨意到了愚蠢的地步，只有当她不被摧毁时，她才能为自己做点什么。我想要

another drink. I know I'm talking fast. I have to."
再喝一杯。我知道我说得很快。我必须这样做。

I gestured for the drink. "Continue, what happened, who's Wynkende Wilde?"
我示意喝酒。“继续，发生了什么事，温肯德·王尔德是谁？”

"Wynken de Wilde was the author of two of these precious books that Old Captain had in his possession. I didn't figure that out for months. I was going over the little illustrations, and gradually I
“温肯·德·王尔德是老船长拥有的两本珍贵书籍的作者。我几个月都没弄清楚。我正在翻阅这些小插图，渐渐地，我

determined two of the books were done by the same artist, and then in spite of Old Captain insisting that there would be no signature, I found his name, in several places in both books. Now you know
确定其中两本书是同一位艺术家完成的，然后尽管老船长坚持不会有签名，但我还是在两本书的几个地方找到了他的名字。现在你知道了

Captain sold these types of things. I told you. He dealt in them through a shop on Royal Street."
船长卖掉了这些东西。我告诉过你。他通过皇家街的一家商店进行交易。

I nodded. 我点了点头。

"Well, I lived in terror of the day he was going to have to sell these two books! These books weren't like the other books. First off, the illustrations were exceedingly detailed. One page might contain the motif of a flowering vine, with blossoms from which birds drank, and in these blossoms there were human figures intertwined, as if in a bower. Also, these were books of psalms. When you first examined them you thought they were psalms of the Vulgate, you know, the Bible we accept as canonical."
“哎呀，我都惶恐地盼望着他要卖掉这两本书的那一天！这些书不像其他书。首先，插图非常详细。其中一页可能包含一棵开花的藤蔓的图案，花朵是鸟儿喝水的花朵，在这些花朵中，人物交织在一起，仿佛在低头。此外，这些是诗篇。当你第一次检查它们时，你认为它们是通俗圣经的诗篇，你知道，我们接受的圣经是正典。

"Yes...." “是的......”

"But they weren't. They were psalms that never appeared in any Bible. I figured that much out, simply by comparing them to other Latin reprints of the same period that I got out of the library. This was some sort of original work. Then the illustrations, the illustrations
“但事实并非如此。它们是从未出现在任何圣经中的诗篇。我只是想通了这么多，只是将它们与我从图书馆出来的同一时期的其他拉丁文重印本进行比较。这是某种原创作品。然后是插图，插图

contained not only tiny animals and trees and fruit but naked people, and the naked people were doing all sorts of things!"
里面不仅有小动物、树木和水果，还有赤身裸体的人，赤身裸体的人在做各种各样的事情！

"Bosch." “博世。”

"Exactly, like Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, that kind of lus-
“没错，就像博世的《人间喜悦花园》一样，那种卢斯——

cious sensuous paradise! Of course, I hadn't seen Bosch's painting yet in the Pradp. But it was here in miniature in these books. Little figures
性感的天堂！当然，我还没有在Pradp看到过Bosch的画。但它在这些书中是缩影。小人物

frolicking beneath the abundant trees. Old Captain said, 'Garden of
在茂密的树木下嬉戏。老船长说：“花园

Eden imagery,' that it was very common. But two books full of it? No. This was different. I had to crack these books, get an
伊甸园意象“，这很常见。但是两本书充满了它？不。这是不同的。我不得不破解这些书，得到一个

absolutely clear translation of every word.
每个单词的翻译都绝对清晰。

"And then Old Captain did the kindest thing for me he'd ever done, the thing that might have made a great religious leader out of me, and may still make one in Dora, though hers is wholly another creed."
“然后老船长为我做了他做过的最善良的事情，这件事可能会让我成为一个伟大的宗教领袖，并且可能仍然会在朵拉成为一个，尽管她的信条完全是另一种信条。

"He gave you the books."
“他把书给了你。”

"Yes! He gave me the books. And let me tell you more. That
“是的！他把书给了我。让我告诉你更多。那

summer, he took me all over the country to look at medieval manuscripts! We went to the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and the Newbury Library in Chicago. We went to New York. He would have taken me to England, but my mother said no.
夏天，他带我到全国各地看中世纪的手稿！我们去了帕萨迪纳的亨廷顿图书馆和芝加哥的纽伯里图书馆。我们去了纽约。他本来想带我去英国的，但我母亲拒绝了。

"I saw all types of medieval books! And I came to know that Wynken's were unlike any others. Wynken's were blasphemous and profane. And nobody, nobody at any of these libraries had a book by Wynken de Wilde, but the name was known!
“我看过各种类型的中世纪书籍！我开始知道 Wynken 与其他任何公司都不同。Wynken 是亵渎神明和亵渎神明的。没有人，这些图书馆里没有人有一本温肯·德·王尔德的书，但这个名字是众所周知的！

"Captain still let me keep the books! And I set to work on translating
“队长还是让我把书留着吧！于是我开始从事翻译工作

them right away. Old Captain died in the front room, the first week of my senior year. I didn?t even start school till after he was buried. I refused to leave him. I sat there with him. He slipped into a coma. By the third day of the coma, you could not have told who he was, his face had so changed. He didn't close his eyes anymore, and didn't know they were open, and his mouth was just a slack sort of oval, and his breath came in even gasps. I sat there. I told you."
他们马上。老船长死在了前厅，那是我大四的第一周。直到他下葬后，我才开始上学。我拒绝离开他。我和他一起坐在那里。他陷入了昏迷。到昏迷的第三天，你无法分辨出他是谁，他的脸已经变了。他没有再闭上眼睛，也不知道眼睛是睁开的，他的嘴巴只是松弛的椭圆形，他的呼吸甚至喘不过气来。我坐在那里。我告诉过你了。

"I believe you." “我相信你。”

"Yes, well, I was seventeen, my mother was very sick, there wasn't any money for college, which every other senior boy at Jesuit was talking about, and I was dreaming of flower children in the Haight Ashbury of California, listening to the songs of Joan Baez, and
“是的，好吧，我十七岁，我母亲病得很重，没有钱上大学，耶稣会的其他高年级男孩都在谈论这一点，我梦见加利福尼亚的海特阿什伯里（Haight Ashbury）的花童，听着琼·贝兹（Joan Baez）的歌曲，然后

thinking that I would go to San Francisco with the message of Wynken de Wilde, and found a cult.
以为我会带着 Wynken de Wilde 的信息去旧金山，并发现了一个邪教。

"This was what I knew then through translation. And in that regard
“这就是我当时通过翻译所知道的。在这方面

I had had the help of an old priest at Jesuit for quite some time, one of those genuinely brilliant Latin scholars who has to spend half the day making boys behave. He had done die translation for me
很长一段时间以来，我都曾得到耶稣会的一位老神父的帮助，他是一位真正才华横溢的拉丁学者，他必须花半天时间让男孩表现得更好。他为我做了模具翻译

gladly, and of course there was a little of the usual promise in it of my proximity and intimacy, he and I being alone and close for hours."
很高兴，当然，其中有一点通常的承诺，即我的亲近和亲密，他和我独自一人，亲密无间。

"So you were selling yourself again, even before Old Captain died?"
“所以你又在出卖自己了，甚至在老船长死之前？”

"No. Not really. Not the way you think. Well, sort of. Only this priest was a genuine celibate, Irish, almost impossible to understand now, this sort of priest. They never did anything to anyone. I doubt they even masturbated. It was all being near boys and occasionally breathing heavily or something. Nowadays religious life doesn't
“不。没有。不是你想的那样。嗯，有点。只有这位神父是真正的独身者，爱尔兰人，现在几乎不可能理解，这种神父。他们从未对任何人做过任何事情。我怀疑他们甚至手淫。这一切都是在男孩附近，偶尔呼吸沉重之类的。如今，宗教生活没有

attract that particular kind of robust and completely repressed
吸引那种特殊的健壮和完全压抑

individual. A man like that could no more molest a child than he could get up on the altar at Mass and start to shout."
个人。像这样的人不能猥亵一个孩子，就像他在弥撒时站在祭坛上开始大喊大叫一样。

"He didn't know he felt an attraction for you, that he was giving you special favors."
“他不知道他对你有吸引力，他给了你特别的恩惠。

"Precisely, and so he spent hours with me translating Wynken. He kept me from going crazy. He always stopped in to visit with Old Captain. If Old Captain had been Catholic, Father Kevin would have given him the Last Rites, Try to understand this, will you? You can't judge people like Old Captain and Father Kevin."
“没错，所以他花了几个小时和我一起翻译Wynken。他让我不至于发疯。他总是停下来拜访老船长。如果老船长是天主教徒，凯文神父会给他最后的仪式，试着理解这一点，对吗？你不能评判像老船长和凯文神父这样的人。

"No, and not boys like you."
“不，不是像你这样的男孩。”

"Also, my mother had a disastrous new boyfriend that last year, a sugar-coated mock gentleman, actually, one of those people who speaks surprisingly well, has overly bright eyes, and is obviously
“还有，我妈妈去年有一个灾难性的新男朋友，一个糖衣炮弹的嘲弄绅士，实际上，他是那种说话出奇的好，眼睛过于明亮的人之一，而且显然是

rotten inside, and from a totally unconvincing background. He had too many wrinkles in his youngish face; they looked like cracks. He smoked du Maurier cigarettes. I think he thought he was going to marry my mother for the house. You follow me?"
内心腐烂，背景完全没有说服力。他年轻的脸上有太多的皱纹;它们看起来像裂缝。他抽杜莫里埃香烟。我想他以为他会为了房子而娶我母亲。你跟着我？

"Yes, I do. So after Old Captain died, you had only the priest."
“是的，我愿意。所以老船长死后，你就只剩下牧师了。

"Right. Now you get it. Father Kevin and I worked a lot at the boardinghouse, he liked that. He'd drive up, park his car on Philip Street and come around and we'd go up to my room. Second floor, front bedroom. I had a great view of the parades on Mardi Gras. I grew up thinking that was normal, for an entire city to go mad two weeks out of every year. Anyway, we were up there during one of the night parades, ignoring it as natives can do, you know, once you've seen enough papier-mache floats and trinkets and flambeaux?
“对。现在你明白了。凯文神父和我在寄宿公寓工作了很多，他喜欢这样。他会开车上去，把车停在菲利普街上，然后转过身来，我们上我的房间。二楼，前卧室。我可以看到狂欢节的游行。我从小就认为这是正常的，因为整个城市每年都会有两周发疯。总之，我们在一次夜间游行中就在那里，像当地人一样忽略了它，你知道，一旦你看到了足够多的纸浆花车、小饰品和火花？

"Horrible, lurid flambeaux."
“可怕，令人毛骨悚然的火焰。”

"Yes, you said it." He stopped. The drink had come and he was gazing at it.
“是的，你说了。”他停了下来。饮料来了，他正凝视着它。

"What is it?" I asked him. I was alarmed because he was alarmed. "Look at me, Roger. Don't start fading, keep talking. What did the translation of the books reveal? Were they profane? Roger, talk to
“这是什么？”我问他。我惊慌失措，因为他惊慌失措。“看着我，罗杰。不要开始褪色，继续说话。这些书的翻译揭示了什么？他们是亵渎神明的吗？罗杰，和你谈谈

me!" 我！

He broke his frigid meditative stillness. He picked up the drink, tossed down half of it. "Disgusting and I adore it. Southern Comfort was the first thing I ever drank when I was a boy."
他打破了冰冷的冥想寂静。他拿起饮料，一饮而尽。“恶心，我很喜欢它。Southern Comfort是我小时候喝的第一杯酒。

He looked at me, directly.
他直视着我。

"I'm not fading," he assured me. "It's just I saw and smelled the house again. You know? The smell of old people's rooms, the rooms in which people die. But it was so lovely. What was I saying? All right, it was during Proteus, one of the night parades, that Father Kevin made the incredible breakthrough that both these books had been dedicated by Wynken de Wilde to Blanche De Wilde, his
“我不会褪色，”他向我保证。“只是我又看到并闻到了房子的味道。你知道的？老人房间的气味，人们死去的房间。但它太可爱了。我在说什么？好吧，正是在一次夜间游行的普罗透斯期间，凯文神父取得了令人难以置信的突破，这两本书都是由温肯·德·王尔德献给布兰奇·德·王尔德的，他的

patron, and that she was obviously the wife to his good brother, Damien; it was all embedded in the designs of the first few pages. And that threw an entirely different light on the psalms. The psalms were filled with lascivious invitations and suggestions and possibly even some sort of secret codes for clandestine meetings. Over and over again there appeared paintings of the same little garden? understand we're talking miniatures here?
赞助人，她显然是他的好兄弟戴缅恩的妻子;这一切都嵌入在前几页的设计中。这给诗篇带来了完全不同的启示。诗篇中充满了的邀请和建议，甚至可能是某种秘密聚会的密码。一遍又一遍地出现同一个小花园的画作？明白我们在这里谈论的是微缩模型吗？

"I've seen many examples."
“我见过很多例子。”

"And in these little tiny pictures of the garden there would always be one naked man and five women dancing around a fountain within the walls of a medieval castle, or so it seemed. Magnify it five times and it was just perfect. And Father Kevin began to laugh and laugh.
“在这些小小的花园照片中，总会有一个裸体男人和五个女人在中世纪城堡墙内的喷泉周围跳舞，或者看起来是这样。把它放大五倍，简直完美。凯文神父开始大笑。

" 'No wonder there isn't a single saint or biblical scene in any of this,' Father Kevin said, laughing. 'Your Wynken de Wilde was a
“难怪这里面没有一个圣人或圣经的场景，”凯文神父笑着说。你的温肯·德·王尔德（Wynken de Wilde）是一个

raving heretic! He was a witch or a diabolist. And he was in love with this woman, Blanche.' He wasn't shocked so much as amused.
狂热的异教徒！他是一个女巫或恶魔主义者。他爱上了这个女人，布兰奇。与其说他被逗乐了，不如说他被逗乐了。

" 'You know, Roger,' he said, 'if you did get in touch with one of the auction houses, very likely these books could put you through Loyola, or Tulane. Don't think of selling them down here. Think about New York; Butterfield and Butterfield, or Sotheby's.'
“你知道，罗杰，”他说，“如果你真的与其中一家拍卖行取得了联系，这些书很可能会让你通过洛约拉或杜兰。不要想在这里卖掉它们。想想纽约;巴特菲尔德和巴特菲尔德，或苏富比。

"He had in the last two years copied out by hand about thirty-five different poems for me in English, the best sqrt of translation? straight prose from the Latin梐nd now we went over them, tracing repetitions and imagery, and a story began to emerge.
“在过去的两年里，他用英语为我手抄了大约三十五首不同的诗歌，这是最好的翻译吗？拉丁文的直散文 现在我们回顾了它们，描摹了重复和意象，一个故事开始浮现。

"First thing we realized was that there had been many books
“我们意识到的第一件事是有很多书

originally, and what we possessed were the first and third. By the third,
最初，我们拥有的是第一个和第三个。到第三，

the psalms reflected not mere adoration for Blanche, who was again and again compared to the Virgin Mary in her purity and brightness, but also answers to some sort of correspondence about what the lady was suffering at the hands of her spouse.
这些诗篇不仅反映了对布兰奇的崇拜，布兰奇一次又一次地被拿来与圣母玛利亚的纯洁和光明相提并论，而且还回答了关于这位女士在配偶手中所遭受的痛苦的某种通信。

"It was clever. You have to read it. You have to go back to the flat where you killed me and get those books."
“这很聪明。你必须阅读它。你必须回到你杀了我的公寓，拿到那些书。

"Which means you didn't sell them to go to Loyola or Tulane?"
“这意味着你没有卖掉它们去洛约拉或杜兰？”

"Of course not. Wynken, having orgies with Blanche and her four friends! I was fascinated. Wynken was my saint by virtue of his talent, and sexuality was my religion because it had been Wynken's and in every philosophical word he wrote he encoded a love of the flesh! You have to realize I didn't believe any orthodox creed really, I never had. I thought the Catholic Church was dying. And that
“当然不是。Wynken，与布兰奇和她的四个朋友狂欢！我被迷住了。Wynken 凭借他的才华成为我的圣人，性是我的宗教，因为它是 Wynken 的宗教，在他写的每一个哲学单词中，他都编码了对肉体的热爱！你必须意识到我真的不相信任何正统的信条，我从来没有。我以为天主教会快要死了。而且

Protestantism was a joke. It was years before I understood that the Protestant approach is fundamentally mystic, that it is aiming for the very
新教是个笑话。多年后，我才明白新教的方法从根本上说是神秘主义的，它的目标是

oneness with God that Meister Eckehart would have praised or that Wynken wrote about."
与上帝的合一是埃克哈特大师（Meister Eckehart）所称赞的，或者是温肯（Wynken）所写的。

"You are being generous to the Protestant approach. And Wynken did write about oneness with God?"
“你对新教的做法很慷慨。Wynken 确实写过与上帝合一的事吗？

"Yes, through union with the women! It was cautious but clear; 'In thine arms I have known the Trinity more truly than men can teach,' like that. Oh, this was the new way, I was sure. But then I knew Protestantism only as materialism, sterility and Baptist tourists who got drunk on Bourbon Street because they could not dare do it in their hometowns."
“是的，通过与妇女的结合！这是谨慎的，但很清楚;“在你的怀抱里，我比人更能真正地认识三位一体，”就像这样。哦，这是新的方式，我敢肯定。但后来我只知道新教是唯物主义、不育和浸信会游客，他们在波旁街上喝醉了，因为他们不敢在家乡这样做。

"When did you change your opinion?" I asked.
“你什么时候改变看法的？”我问。

"I'm speaking in broad generalities. I mean, I saw no hope for religions in existence in the West at our time. Dora feels very much the same, but we'll come to Dora."
“我说的是广义的泛泛而谈。我的意思是，我看不到我们这个时代西方存在的宗教的希望。朵拉的感觉也差不多，但我们会来找朵拉的。

"Did you finish the entire translation?"
“你完成了整个翻译吗？”

"Yes; just before Father Kevin was transferred. I never saw him again. He did write to me later, but by that time I had run away from home.
“是的;就在凯文神父被调走之前。我再也没有见过他。他后来确实给我写信，但那时我已经离家出走了。

"I was in San Francisco. I'd left without my mother's blessing, and taken the Trailways Bus because it was a few cents cheaper than the Greyhound. I didn't have seventy-five dollars in my pocket. I'd squandered everything Captain ever gave me. And when he died, did those relatives of his from Jackson, Mississippi, ever clean out those rooms!
“我当时在旧金山。我没有得到母亲的祝福就离开了，我乘坐了Trailways巴士，因为它比灰狗便宜几美分。我口袋里没有七十五美元。我挥霍了船长给我的一切。当他去世时，他来自密西西比州杰克逊的那些亲戚有没有清理过那些房间！

"They took everything. I always thought Captain had left some-
“他们拿走了一切。我一直以为船长留下了一些——

thing for me, you know. But I didn't care. The books were his
对我来说，你知道的。但我不在乎。这些书是他的

greatest gift and all those luncheons at the Monteleone Hotel when we had had gumbo together, and he let me break up all my saltine
最好的礼物和蒙特莱昂酒店的所有午餐，当我们一起吃秋葵汤时，他让我把我所有的咸味都打碎了

crackers in the gumbo till it was porridge. I just loved it.
秋葵汤里的饼干，直到粥。我只是喜欢它。

"What was I saying? I bought the ticket to California and saved a small balance for pie and coffee at each stop. A funny thing
“我在说什么？我买了去加利福尼亚的票，并在每一站为馅饼和咖啡节省了一小笔余额。一件有趣的事情

happened. We carne to a point of no return. That is, when we passed through some town in Texas I realized I didn't have enough money to go back home, even if I wanted to. It was the middle of the night. I think it was El Paso! Anyway, then I knew there was no going back.
发生。我们走到了不归路。也就是说，当我们经过德克萨斯州的某个小镇时，我意识到我没有足够的钱回家，即使我想回家。当时是半夜。我认为是埃尔帕索！无论如何，那时我知道没有回头路了。

"But I was headed for San Francisco and the Haight Asbury, and I was going to found a cult based on the teachings of Wynken in praise of love and union and claiming that sexual union was godlike union and I would show his books to my followers. It was my dream, though to tell you the truth, I had no personal feeling about God at all.
“但我要去旧金山和海特阿斯伯里，我打算建立一个基于Wynken教义的邪教，赞美爱和结合，并声称性结合是神一样的结合，我会向我的追随者展示他的书。这是我的梦想，但说实话，我对上帝根本没有个人感觉。

"Within three months, I had discovered that my credo was by no means unique. The entire city was full of hippies who believed in free love, and panhandling, and though I gave regular lectures to large loose circles of friends on Wynken, holding up the books and
“在三个月内，我发现我的信条绝非独一无二。整个城市到处都是嬉皮士，他们相信自由恋爱和乞丐，尽管我经常在Wynken上给一大群松散的朋友讲课，但举着书和

reciting the psalms梩hese are very tame, of course?
背诵诗篇很温顺，当然？

"I can imagine." “我可以想象。”

"梞y principle job was that of business manager and boss of three rock musicians who wanted to become famous and were too stoned to remember their bookings, or collect the proceeds at the door. One of them, Blue, we called him, could really sing well. He had a high tenor, and quite a range. The band had a sound. Or at least we thought it did.
“主要工作是三位摇滚音乐家的业务经理和老板，他们想出名，但被石头砸死了，不记得他们的预订，或者在门口领取收益。其中一个，Blue，我们叫他，真的会唱得很好。他的男高音很高，音域也相当宽广。乐队有声音。或者至少我们认为确实如此。

"Father Kevin's letter found me when I was living up in the attic of the Spreckles Mansion on Buena Vista Park, do you know that house?"
“凯文神父的信是在我住在布埃纳维斯塔公园的斯普雷克尔斯大厦的阁楼上找到我的，你知道那所房子吗？”

"I do know it. It's a hotel."
“我确实知道。这是一家酒店。

"Exactly, and it was a private home in those days, and the top floor had a ballroom with bath and kitchenette. This was well before any restoration. Nobody had invented 'bed and breakfast,' and I just rented the ballroom and the musicians played there and we all used the filthy bath and kitchen, and in the day, when they were asleep all over the floor, I'd dream about Wynken and think about Wynken and wonder how I would ever find out more about this man and what these love poems were. I had all sorts of fantasies about him.
“没错，当时这是一个私人住宅，顶楼有一个带浴缸和小厨房的宴会厅。这早在任何修复之前。没有人发明过“床和早餐”，我只是租了舞厅，音乐家们在那里演奏，我们都使用肮脏的浴缸和厨房，白天，当他们睡在地板上时，我会梦见Wynken，想起Wynken，想知道我如何才能更多地了解这个人以及这些情诗是什么。我对他有各种各样的幻想。

"That attic, I wonder about it now. It had windows at three points of the compass, and deep window seats with tattered old velvet
“那个阁楼，我现在很纳闷。它在指南针的三个点上都有窗户，还有很深的靠窗座位，上面有破烂的旧天鹅绒

cushions. You could see San Francisco in every direction but east as
垫子。你可以看到旧金山的各个方向，但东部

I remember, but I don't have a good sense of direction. We loved to sit in those window alcoves and talk and talk. My friends loved to hear about Wynken. We were going to write some songs based on Wynken's poems. Well, that never happened."
我记得，但我没有很好的方向感。我们喜欢坐在那些窗户的壁龛里，聊天和聊天。我的朋友们喜欢听 Wynken 的故事。我们打算根据Wynken的诗歌写一些歌曲。好吧，这从未发生过。

"Obsessed." “痴迷。”

"Completely. Lestat, you must go back for those books, no matter what you believe of me when we're finished here. All of them are in the flat. Every single one that Wynken ever did. It was my life's work to get those books, I got into dope for those books. Even back in the Haight.
“完全。莱斯塔特，你必须回去拿那些书，不管你相信我什么，等我们写完了。他们都在公寓里。Wynken 做过的每一件事。得到这些书是我一生的工作，我为这些书而兴奋不已。甚至回到海特。

"I was telling you about Father Kevin. He wrote me a letter, said that he had looked up Wynken de Wilde in some manuscripts and found that Wynken had been the executed leader of a heretical cult. Wynken de Wilde had a religion of strictly female followers, and his works were officially condemned by the church. Father Kevin said all that was 'history,' and I ought to sell the books. He'd write more later. He never did. And two months later I committed multi-murder completely on the spur of the moment, and it changed the course of things."
“我跟你说的是凯文神父。他给我写了一封信，说他在一些手稿中查到了温肯·德·王尔德，发现温肯是一个被处决的异端邪教领袖。温肯·德·王尔德（Wynken de Wilde）的宗教信仰是严格的女性追随者，他的作品受到教会的正式谴责。凯文神父说，这一切都是“历史”，我应该把书卖掉。他以后会写更多。他从来没有这样做过。两个月后，我一时冲动犯下了多起谋杀案，这改变了事情的进程。

"The dope you were dealing?"
“你处理的毒品？”

"Sort of, only I wasn't the one who made the slipup. Blue dealt more than me. Blue carried around grass in suitcases. I was into little sacks of it, you know, it made just about as much as the band made for me. But Blue bought by the kilo and lost two kilos. Nobody knew what happened to them. He actually lost them in a taxi, we figured, but we never knew.
“算是吧，只是我不是那个犯错的人。蓝色比我处理的更多。蓝色在行李箱里随身携带草地。我把它装进了一小袋，你知道，它赚的钱和乐队为我赚的钱差不多。但是Blue按公斤买，减掉了两公斤。没有人知道他们发生了什么事。我们猜想，他实际上把它们丢在了出租车上，但我们从来不知道。

"There were a lot of stupid kids walking around then. They would get into fdealing' never realizing that the supply was originating with some vicious individual who thought nothing of shooting people in the head. Blue thought he could talk his way out of it, he'd make some explanation, he'd been ripped off by friends, that sort of thing. His connections trusted him, he said, they'd even given him a gun.
“当时有很多愚蠢的孩子走来走去。他们会陷入争吵，却没有意识到供应来自某个恶毒的人，他们根本不想向人们的头部开枪。Blue认为他可以用自己的方式摆脱它，他会做出一些解释，他被朋友敲诈了，诸如此类的事情。他说，他的人脉信任他，他们甚至给了他一把枪。

"The gun was in the kitchen drawer, and they'd told him they might need him to use it sometime, but of course he would never do that. I guess when you are that stoned, you think everybody else is stoned. These men, he said, they were just heads like us, nothing to
“枪在厨房的抽屉里，他们告诉他，他们可能需要他在某个时候使用它，但他当然永远不会这样做。我想当你被石头砸死时，你会认为其他人都被石头砸死了。他说，这些人只是像我们一样的脑袋，没什么

worry about, that had been just talk. We would all be as famous as Big Brother and the Holding Company and Janis Joplin very soon.
担心，那只是说说而已。我们很快就会像老大哥和控股公司以及贾尼斯·乔普林一样出名。

"They came for hjm during the day. I was the only one home, except for him.
“他们白天来找hjm。除了他，我是唯一一个家。

"He was in the big room, the ballroom, at the front door, giving these two nien the runaround. I was out of sight in the kitchen, hardly listening. I might have been studying Wynken, I'm not sure. Anyway, very gradually I realized what they were talking about out there in the ballroom.
“他在大房间里，宴会厅，在前门，给这两个人跑来跑去。我在厨房里看不见，几乎听不进去。我可能一直在研究 Wynken，我不确定。总之，渐渐地，我意识到他们在舞厅里谈论什么。

"These two men were going to kill Blue. They kept telling him in very flat voices that everything was okay, and please come with them, and come on, they had to go, and no, he had to come now, and no, he had to come along quickly. And then one of them said in a very low, vicious voice, 'Come on, man!' And for the first time Blue stopped jabbering in hippie platitudes, like it will all come around, man, and I have done no evil, man, and there was this silence, and I knew they were going to take Blue and shoot him and dump him. This had already
“这两个人要杀了布鲁。他们一直用非常平淡的声音告诉他，一切都很好，请和他们一起来，来吧，他们必须走，不，他现在必须来，不，他必须快点来。然后其中一个人用一种非常低沉、恶毒的声音说：“来吧，伙计！Blue第一次停止了嬉皮士的陈词滥调，好像一切都会好起来的，伙计，我没有做坏事，伙计，还有这种沉默，我知道他们会带走Blue，射杀他，甩掉他。这已经

happened to kids! It had been in the papers. I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck. I knew Blue didn't have a chance.
发生在孩子身上！它曾出现在报纸上。我感觉到脖子后面的头发竖了起来。我知道Blue没有机会。

"I didn't think about what I was doing. I completely forgot about the gun in the kitchen drawer. This surge of energy overtook me. I walked into the big room. Both these men were older, hard-looking guys, not hippies, nothing hippified about them. They weren't even Hell's Angels. They were just killers. And both sort of visibly sagged when they discovered there was an impediment to dragging my friend out of the room.
“我没有想过我在做什么。我完全忘记了厨房抽屉里的枪。这股能量涌动着我。我走进了大房间。这两个人都是年纪大了，看起来很硬朗的家伙，不是嬉皮士，没有什么嬉皮士。他们甚至不是地狱天使。他们只是杀手。当他们发现把我的朋友拖出房间时，两人都明显下垂了。

"Now, you know me, that I am as vam as you are probably, and then I was truly convinced of rny special nature and destiny, and I came glistening and flashing towards these two men, you know, throwing off sparks, making a dance out of the walk. If I had any idea in my head, it was this: If Blue could die, that would mean I could die. And I couldn't let something like that be proven to me then, you know?"
“现在，你知道我了，我和你一样，然后我真的相信了rny的特殊性质和命运，我闪闪发光地向这两个人走来，你知道，甩出火花，跳舞。如果我脑子里有什么想法，那就是：如果Blue能死，那就意味着我能死。我不能让这样的事情向我证明，你知道吗？

"I can see it." “我能看出来。”

"I started talking to these characters very fast, chattering in a kind of intense, pretentious manner, as if I were a psychedelic
“我开始非常快速地与这些角色交谈，以一种激烈、自命不凡的方式喋喋不休，就好像我是一个迷幻药

philosopher, throwing out four-syllable words and walking right towards them all the time, lecturing them on violence, and implying that they had disturbed me and 'all the others' in the kitchen. We were having a class out there, me and the others. '
哲学家，抛出四个音节的单词，一直向他们走来，向他们讲授暴力，并暗示他们打扰了我和厨房里的“所有其他人”。我们在那里上课，我和其他人。'

"And suddenly one of them reached into his coat and pulled out his gun. I think he thought it would be a slam dunk. I can remember this so distinctly. He simply pulled out the gun and pointed it at me. And by the time he had it aimed, I had both hands on it, and I yanked it away from him, kicked him as hard as I could, and shot and killed both men."
“突然，其中一个人把手伸进他的外套里，掏出他的枪。我想他以为这会是一次扣篮。我记得很清楚。他只是掏出枪指着我。当他瞄准它时，我双手握住它，我把它从他身上拉开，用尽我所能踢他，然后开枪打死了两个人。

Roger paused. Roger停顿了一下。

I didn't say anything. I was tempted to smile. I liked it. I only nodded. Of course it had begun that way with him, why hadn't I
我什么都没说。我很想笑。我喜欢它。我只是点了点头。当然，他就是这样开始的，我为什么不呢

realized it? He hadn't instinctively been a killer; he would never have been so interesting if that had been the case.
意识到了吗？他并不是本能地成为杀手;如果是这样的话，他永远不会这么有趣。

"That quick, I was a killer," he said. "That quick. And a smashing success at it, no less, imagine."
“这么快，我就是个杀手，”他说。“这么快。想象一下，它取得了巨大的成功。

He took another drink and looked off, deep into the memory of it. He seemed securely anchored in the ghost body now, revved up like an engine.
他又喝了一口，目光移开，深深地陷入了对它的记忆中。他现在似乎牢牢地固定在幽灵的身体里，像引擎一样加速。

"What did you dp then?" I asked.
“那你说了什么？”我问。

"Well, that's when the course of my life changed. First I was going to go to the police, going to call the priest, going to go to hell, phone my mother, my life was over, call Father Kevin, flush all the grass down the toilet, life finished, scream for the neighbors, all of that.
“嗯，那是我人生轨迹改变的时候。首先，我要去警察局，去打电话给神父，去地狱，给我母亲打电话，我的生命结束了，打电话给凯文神父，把所有的草都冲进马桶，生命结束了，为邻居尖叫，所有这一切。

"Then I just closed the door and Blue and I sat down and for about an hour I talked. Blue said nothing. I talked. I prayed,
“然后我就关上门，Blue和我坐下来，聊了大约一个小时。Blue什么也没说。我说了。我祷告说：

meanwhile, that nobody had been in a car outside waiting for those two, but if there came a knock I was ready because I had their gun now, and it had lots of bullets, and I was sitting directly opposite the door.
与此同时，没有人在外面的车里等着那两个人，但如果有敲门声，我就准备好了，因为我现在有他们的枪，枪里有很多子弹，我就坐在门对面。

"And as I talked and waited and watched and let the two bodies lie there, and Blue simply stared into space as if it had been a bad LSD trip, I talked myself into getting the hell out of there. Why should I go to jail for the rest of my life for those two? Took about an hour of expressed logic."
“当我说话、等待、观察并让两具尸体躺在那里时，Blue只是盯着太空，就好像这是一次糟糕的LSD之旅一样，我说服自己离开那里。我为什么要为这两个人坐一辈子的牢狱之灾？花了大约一个小时的表达逻辑。

"Right." “好。”

"We cleaned out that pad immediately, took everything that had belonged to us, called the other two musicians, got them to pick up their stuff at the bus station. Said it was a drug bust coming down. They never knew what happened. The place was so full of
“我们立即清理了那个垫子，拿走了所有属于我们的东西，打电话给另外两位音乐家，让他们在公共汽车站取东西。说这是一场毒品缉毒行动。他们从来不知道发生了什么。这个地方到处都是

fingerprints from all our parties and orgies and late-night jam sessions,
我们所有派对、狂欢和深夜即兴演奏的指纹，

nobody would ever find us. None of us had ever been printed. And besides, I kept the gun.
没有人会找到我们。我们都没有被印刷过。此外，我保留了枪。

"And I did something else, too, I took the money off the men. Blue didn't want any of it, but I needed bucks to get out of there.
“我还做了别的事情，我从男人身上拿走了钱。Blue什么都不想要，但我需要钱才能离开那里。

"We split up. I never saw Blue again. I never saw Ollie or Ted, the other two. I think they went to L.A. to make it big. I think Blue
“我们分手了。我再也没有见过蓝色。我从来没见过奥利或泰德，另外两个。我认为他们去洛杉矶是为了做大。我认为蓝色

probably became a drug crazy. I'm not sure. I went on. I was totally
大概成了吸毒狂。我不确定。我继续说。我完全是

different from the instant it happened. I was never the same again."
与它发生的那一刻不同。我再也不像以前一样了。

"What made you different?" I asked. "What was the source of the change in you, I mean, what in particular? That you'd enjoyed it?"
“是什么让你与众不同？”我问。“你变化的根源是什么，我的意思是，特别是什么？你喜欢它吗？

"No, not at all. It was no fun. It was a success. But it wasn't fun. I've never found it fun. It's work, killing people, it's messy. It's hard work. It's fun for you to kill people, but then you're not human. No, it wasn't that. It was the fact that it had been possible to do it, to just walk up to that son of a bitch and make the most unexpected gesture, to just take that gun from him like that, because it was the last thing he ever expected could happen, and then to kill them both without hesitation. They must have died with surprise."
“不，一点也不。这并不好玩。这是成功的。但这并不好玩。我从来不觉得它很有趣。这是工作，杀人，很乱。这是一项艰苦的工作。你杀人很有趣，但你不是人类。不，不是那样的。事实上，这是有可能做到的，只是走到那个婊子的儿子面前，做出最意想不到的姿态，就这样从他手中夺走那把枪，因为这是他最不希望发生的事情，然后毫不犹豫地杀了他们俩。他们一定是出人意料地死了。

"They thought you were kids."
“他们以为你是孩子。”

"They thought we were dreamers! And I was a dreamer, and all the way to New York I kept thinking, I do have a great destiny, I am going to be great, and this power, this power to simply shoot down two people had been the epiphany of my strength!"
“他们以为我们是梦想家！我是一个梦想家，一路到纽约，我一直在想，我确实有一个伟大的命运，我会成为伟大的人，而这种力量，这种简单地击落两个人的力量是我力量的顿悟！”

"From God, this epiphany."
“来自上帝，这个顿悟。”

"No, from fate, from destiny. I told you I never really had any feeling for God. You know they say in the Catholic Church that if you don't feel a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, well, they fear for your soul. I never had any devotion to her. I never had any
“不，来自命运，来自命运。我告诉过你，我从来没有真正对上帝有任何感觉。你知道他们在天主教会里说，如果你对圣母玛利亚没有奉献精神，那么，他们会担心你的灵魂。我从来没有对她有任何忠诚。我从来没有过

devotion to any real personal deity or saint. I never felt it. That's why Dora's development surprised me in that particular, that Dora is so absolutely sincere. But we'll get to that. By the time I got to New York, I knew my cult was to be of this world, you know, lots of
虔诚于任何真正的个人神灵或圣人。我从来没有感觉到。这就是为什么朵拉的发展让我特别惊讶，朵拉是如此绝对真诚。但我们会谈到这一点。当我到达纽约时，我知道我的崇拜是属于这个世界的，你知道，很多

followers and power and lavish comforts and the licentiousness of this world."
追随者、权力、奢侈的舒适和这个世界的放荡。

"Yes, I see." “是的，我明白了。”

"That had been Wynken's vision. Wynken had communicated tnis to his women followers, that there was no point in waiting until the next world. You had to do everything now, every kind of sin ... this was a common conception of heretics, wasn't it?"
“这是Wynken的愿景。Wynken 曾向他的女性追随者传达过 tnis，等到下一个世界是没有意义的。你现在必须做任何事情，各种罪恶......这是异教徒的普遍观念，不是吗？

"Yes, of some. Or so their enemies said."
“是的，有些。或者他们的敌人是这么说的。

'The next killing I did purely for money. It was a contract. I was
“我纯粹是为了钱而杀人。这是一份合同。我曾经是

the most ambitious boy in town. I was managing some other band again, a bunch of no-accounts, we weren't making it, though other rock stars were making it overnight. I was into dope again, and was being a hell of a lot smarter about it, and developing a personal distaste for it. This was the real early days, when people flew the grass across the border in little planes, and it was almost like cowboy adventures.
镇上最雄心勃勃的男孩。我又在管理其他乐队，一群没有账户的乐队，我们没有成功，尽管其他摇滚明星在一夜之间成功了。我又开始吸毒了，而且对它变得聪明多了，并且对它产生了个人的厌恶。这是真正的早期，人们乘坐小飞机飞越边境，这几乎就像牛仔冒险一样。

"And the word came down that this particular man was on the shit list of a local power broker who'd pay anyone thirty thousand dollars for the killing. The guy himself was particularly vicious. Everybody was scared of him. He knew they wanted to kill him. He was walking around in broad daylight and everyone was scared to make a move.
“有消息说，这个人在当地权力掮客的狗屎名单上，他会为杀人支付任何人三万美元。这家伙本人特别恶毒。每个人都害怕他。他知道他们想杀了他。他在光天化日之下走来走去，每个人都不敢动手。

"I guess everybody else figured that somebody else would do it. How connected these people were to what and to whom I had no idea. I just knew the guy was game, you know? I made sure.
“我想其他人都认为其他人会这样做。我不知道这些人与什么以及与谁有什么联系。我只知道那家伙在玩游戏，你知道吗？我确定。

"I figured a way to do it. I was nineteen by then-1 dressed up like a college boy in a crew-neck sweater, a blazer, flannel slacks, had my hair cut Princeton style, and carried a few books with me. I found out where the man lived on Long Island, and walked right up to him in his back driveway as he got out of his car one evening, and shot him dead five feet from where his wife and kids were eating dinner inside."
“我想出了一个办法。那时我十九岁，穿着圆领毛衣、西装外套、法兰绒休闲裤，打扮得像个大学生，剪了普林斯顿风格的头发，随身携带了几本书。我找到了这名男子在长岛的住处，一天晚上，当他下车时，我在他的后车道上走到他身边，在距离他的妻子和孩子在里面吃晚饭的地方五英尺处开枪打死了他。

He paused again, and then said with perfect gravity, "It takes a special kind of animal to do something so vicious. And not to feel any remorse."
他又停顿了一下，然后用非常严肃的语气说：“需要一种特殊的动物才能做出如此恶毒的事情。并且不要感到任何悔恨。

"You didn't torture him the way I tortured you," I said softly. "You know everything you've done, don't you? You really understand!
“你没有像我折磨你那样折磨他，”我轻声说。“你知道你所做的一切，不是吗？你真的明白！

I didn't get the whole picture when I was following you. I imagined you were more intimately perverse, wrapped up in your own romance. An arch self-deceiver."
当我跟着你的时候，我没有得到全貌。我以为你更亲密地，被自己的浪漫包裹着。一个自欺欺人的人。

"Was that torture, what you did to me?" he asked. "I don't remember
“那是折磨吗，你对我做了什么？”他问。“我不记得了

pain being involved in it, only fury that I was going to die. Whatever the case, I killed this man in Long Island for money. It meant nothing to me. I didn't even feel relief afterwards, only a kind of strength, you know, of accomplishment, and I wanted to test it again soon and I did."
痛苦卷入其中，只有愤怒，我将要死去。不管怎样，我在长岛杀了这个人是为了钱。这对我来说毫无意义。事后我甚至没有感到解脱，只有一种力量，你知道，成就感，我想尽快再次测试它，我做到了。

"And you were on your way."
“你正在路上。”

"Absolutely. And in my style too. The word was out. If the task seems impossible, get Roger. I could get into a hospital dressed like a
“当然可以。也是我的风格。消息传出。如果任务似乎不可能，那就去找罗杰。我可以穿得像个

young doctor, with a name tag on my coat and a clipboard in my hand, and shoot some marked guy dead in his bed before anyone was the wiser. I did that, in fact.
年轻的医生，我的外套上挂着名牌，手里拿着一个写字板，在任何人更聪明之前，把一个有标记的家伙射死了。事实上，我做到了。

"But understand, I didn't make myself rich as a hit man. It was heroin first, and then cocaine, and with the cocaine it was going back to some of the very same cowboys I'd known in the beginning, who flew the cocaine over the border same fashion, same routes, same planes! You know the history of it. Everyone does today. The early dope dealers were crude in their methods. It was 'cops and robbers' with the government guys. The planes would outrun the government planes, and when the planes landed, sometimes they were so stuffed with cocaine the driver couldn't wriggle out of the cockpit, and we'd run out and get the stuff, and load it up and get the hell out of there."
“但要明白，我并没有让自己成为杀手。首先是海洛因，然后是可卡因，随着可卡因的出现，它又回到了我一开始认识的一些牛仔身上，他们以同样的方式、相同的路线、相同的飞机将可卡因飞越边境！你知道它的历史。今天每个人都这样做。早期的毒品经销商在方法上很粗糙。这是政府人员的“警察和强盗”。飞机会跑得比政府飞机快，当飞机降落时，有时它们塞满了可卡因，司机无法从驾驶舱里爬出来，我们会跑出去拿东西，然后装上车，然后离开那里。

"So I've heard." “原来如此，我听说了。”

"Now there are geniuses in the business, people who know how to use cellular phones and computers and laundering techniques for money which no one can trace. But then? I was the genius of the dopers! Sometimes the whole thing was as cumbersome as moving furniture, I tell you. And I went in there, organizing, picking my con- fidants and my mules, you know, for crossing the borders, and even before cocaine ever hit the streets, so to speak, I was doing beautifully in New York and L.A. with the rich, you know, the kind of customers to whom you deliver personally. They never have to even leave their palatial homes. You get the call. You show up. Your stuff is pure. They like you. But I had to move out from there. I wasn't going to be dependent upon that.
“现在这个行业有天才，他们知道如何使用手机和电脑，以及洗钱技术，没有人能追踪到。但随后呢？我是兴奋剂的天才！我告诉你，有时整件事就像搬家具一样麻烦。我去那里，组织，挑选我的亲信和我的骡子，你知道，为了越过边界，甚至在可卡因上街之前，可以这么说，我在纽约和洛杉矶和富人一起做得很好，你知道，你亲自送货的那种顾客。他们甚至不必离开富丽堂皇的家。你接到电话了。你出现了。你的东西是纯粹的。他们喜欢你。但我不得不从那里搬出去。我不会依赖它。

"I was too clever. I made some real-estate deals that were pure brilliance on my part, and having the cash on hand, and you know those were the days of hellish inflation. I really cleaned up."
“我太聪明了。我做了一些房地产交易，这些交易对我来说是纯粹的才华，而且手头有现金，你知道那是地狱般的通货膨胀的日子。我真的清理干净了。

"But how did Terry get involved in it, and Dora?"
“可是泰瑞是怎么参与进来的，朵拉呢？”

"Pure fluke. Or destiny. Who knows? Went home to New Or- leans to see my mother, brushed up against Terry and got her preg- nant. Damned fool.
“纯属侥幸。或者命运。谁知道呢？回到新奥尔良看望母亲，与特里擦肩而过，让她怀孕了。该死的傻瓜。

"I was twenty-two, my mother was really dying this time. My mother said, 'Roger, please come home.' That stupid boyfriend with die cracked face had died. She was all alone. I'd been sending her plenty of money all along.
“我当时二十二岁，这次我妈妈真的快死了。我母亲说，'罗杰，请回家吧。那个脸上裂开的傻男朋友已经死了。她孤身一人。我一直在给她寄很多钱。

''The boardinghouse was now her private home, she had two maids and a driver to take her around town in a Cadillac whenever she felt the desire. She'd enjoyed it immensely, never asking any
“寄宿公寓现在是她的私人住宅，她有两个女佣和一个司机，只要她有愿望，就会开着凯迪拉克带她去城里转转。她非常享受，从不问任何问题

questions about the money, and of course I'd been collecting Wynken. I had two more books of Wynken by that time and my
关于钱的问题，当然我一直在收集 Wynken。那时我还有两本 Wynken 的书，我的

treasure storehouse in New York already, but we can get to that later on. Just keep Wynken in the back of your mind.
纽约的宝藏仓库已经存在了，但我们稍后可以谈到。只要把 Wynken 放在你的脑海里。

"My mother had never really asked me for anything. She had the big bedroom upstairs now to herself. She said she talked to all the others who had gone on ahead, her poor old sweet dead brother Mickey, and her dead sister, Alice, and her mother, the Irish maid? the founder of our family, you might say梩o whom the house had been willed by the crazy lady who lived there. My mother was also talking a lot to Little Richard. That was a brother that died when he was four. Lockjaw- Little Richard. She said Little Richard was
“我母亲从来没有真正向我提出过任何要求。她现在把楼上的大卧室留给了她自己。她说她和所有走在前面的人都谈过，她可怜的老可爱的死去的弟弟米奇，她死去的妹妹爱丽丝，还有她的母亲，爱尔兰女仆？我们家的创始人，你可能会说，这所房子是由住在那里的疯女人遗嘱的。我妈妈也和小理查德说了很多话。那是一个在他四岁时去世的兄弟。Lockjaw-小理查德。她说小理查德是

walking around with her, telling her it was time to come.
和她一起走来走去，告诉她是时候来了。

"But she wanted me to come home. She wanted me there in that room. I knew all this. I understood. She had sat with boarders that were dying. I had sat with others than Old Captain. So I went home.
“但她希望我回家。她要我在那个房间里。我知道这一切。我理解。她和那些快要死去的寄宿生坐在一起。除了老船长，我和其他人坐在一起。于是我回家了。

"Nobody knew where I was headed, or what my real name was, or where I came from. So it was easy to slip out of New York. I went to the house on St. Charles Avenue and sat in the sickroom with her, holding the little vomit cup to her chin, wiping her spittle, and trying to get her on the bedpan when the agency didn't have a nurse to send. We had help, yes, but she didn't want the help, you know. She didn't want the colored girl, as she called her. Or that horrible nurse. And I made the amazing discovery that these things didn't disgust me much. I washed so many sheets. Of course there was a machine to put them in, but I changed them over and over for her. I didn't mind. Maybe I was never normal. In any event, I simply did what had to be done. I rinsed out that bedpan a thousand times, wiped it off, sprin- kled powder on it, and set it by the bed. There is no foul smell which lasts forever after all."
“没有人知道我要去哪里，或者我的真名是什么，或者我来自哪里。所以很容易溜出纽约。我去了圣查尔斯大道的房子，和她一起坐在病房里，把小呕吐杯放在她的下巴上，擦拭她的唾沫，并试图在机构没有护士派来的时候让她躺在便盆上。我们得到了帮助，是的，但她不想要帮助，你知道的。她不想要那个有色人种的女孩，正如她所说的那样。或者那个可怕的护士。我有了一个惊人的发现，这些东西并没有让我感到厌恶。我洗了很多床单。当然有一台机器可以把它们放进去，但我为她一遍又一遍地换它们。我不介意。也许我从来都不正常。无论如何，我只是做了必须做的事情。我把便盆冲洗了一千遍，擦干净，在上面撒上粉末，然后把它放在床边。毕竟，没有永远持续的恶臭。

"Not on this earth at least," I murmured. But he didn't hear me, thank God.
“至少在这个地球上没有，”我喃喃自语。但他没有听到我的声音，感谢上帝。

"This went on for two weeks. She didn't want to go to Mercy Hospital. I hired nurses round the clock just for backup, you know, so they could take her vital signs when I got frightened. I played music for her. All the predictable things, said the rosary out loud with her. Usual deathbed scene. From two to four in the afternoon she toler- ?ated visitors. Old cousins came. 'Where is Roger?' I stayed out of sight."
“这种情况持续了两个星期。她不想去仁慈医院。我昼夜不停地雇护士作为后备，你知道的，这样他们就可以在我害怕的时候测量她的生命体征。我为她演奏音乐。所有可以预见的事情，念珠和她一起大声说。通常的临终场景。从下午两点到四点，她容忍来访者。老表兄弟来了。“罗杰在哪里？”我躲在视线之外。

"You weren't torn to pieces by her suffering."
“你没有被她的痛苦撕成碎片。”

"I wasn't crazy about it, I can tell you that. She had cancer all through her and no amount of money could save her. I wanted her to hurry, and I couldn't bear watching it, no, but there has always been a deep ruthless side to me that says, Do what you have to do. And I stayed in that room without sleep day in and day out and all night till she died.
“我并没有为此疯狂，我可以告诉你。她全身都患有癌症，再多的钱也救不了她。我想让她快点，我不忍心看着，不，但我一直有深深的无情的一面，说，做你必须做的事。复一日地呆在那个房间里，一夜不眠，直到她死去。

"She talked a lot to the ghosts, but I didn't see them or hear them. I just kept saying, 'Little Richard, come get her. Uncle Mickey, if she can't come back, come get her.'
“她和鬼魂说了很多话，但我没有看到他们，也没有听到他们。我只是不停地说，'小理查德，来接她。米奇叔叔，如果她不能回来，就来接她。

"But before the end came Terry, a practical nurse, as they called them then, who had to fill in when we could not get the registered nurse because they were in such demand. Terry, five foot seven, blonde, the cheapest and most alluring piece of goods I had ever laid eyes on. Understand. This is a question of everything fitting together precisely. The girl was a shining perfect piece of trash."
“但是在结束之前，特里来了，他是一名实用护士，当时他们这样称呼他们，当我们无法获得注册护士时，他不得不填补空缺，因为他们的需求量很大。特里，五英尺七英尺，金发碧眼，是我见过的最便宜、最诱人的商品。理解。这是一个一切都精确地结合在一起的问题。这个女孩是一个闪闪发光的完美垃圾。

I smiled. "Pink fingernails, and wet pink lipstick." I had seen her sparkle in his mind.
我笑了。“粉红色的指甲，湿漉漉的粉红色口红。”我看到她在他的脑海中闪闪发光。

"Every detail was on target with this kid. The chewing gum, the gold anklet, the painted toenails, the way she slipped.off her shoes right there in the sickroom to let me see the toenails, the way the cleavage showed, you know, under her white nylon uniform. And her Stupid, heavy-lidded eyes beautifully painted with Maybelline eye pencil and mascara. She'd file her nails in there in front of me! But I tell you, never have I seen something that was so completely realized, finished, ah, ah, what can I say! She was a masterpiece."
“这个孩子的每一个细节都达到了目标。口香糖，金脚链，涂漆的脚趾甲，她在病房里脱鞋让我看到脚趾甲的样子，在她白色尼龙制服下显示的方式。还有她那双愚蠢、沉重的眼睑，用美宝莲眼线笔和睫毛膏精美地涂上了。她会在我面前锉指甲！但我告诉你，我从来没有见过如此完全实现、完成的东西，啊，啊，我能说什么呢！她是一个杰作。

I laughed, and so did he, but he went on talking.
我笑了，他也笑了，但他继续说下去。

"I found her irresistible. She was a hairless little animal. I started doing it with her every chance I had. While Mother slept, we did it in the bathroom standing up. Once or twice we went down the hall to one of the empty bedrooms; we never took more than twenty
“我发现她无法抗拒。她是一只没有毛发的小动物。我开始一有机会就和她一起做。当妈妈睡觉时，我们在浴室里站着做。有一两次，我们沿着走廊走到一间空荡荡的卧室里;我们从来没有超过二十个

minutes! I timed us! She'd do it with her pink panties around her ankles! She smelled like Blue Waltz perfume."
纪要！我给我们定时了！她会在脚踝上穿粉红色的内裤！她闻起来像蓝色华尔兹香水。

I gave a soft laugh.
我轻轻地笑了笑。

"Do I ever know what you're saying," I mused. "And to think you knew it, you fell for her and you knew it."
“我知道你在说什么吗，”我沉思着。“以为你知道，你爱上了她，你知道的。”

"Well, I was two thousand miles away from my New York women and my boys and all, and all that trashy power that goes along with dealing, you know, the foolishness of bodyguards scurrying to open doors for you, and girls telling you they love you in the backseat of
“嗯，我离我的纽约女人、我的男孩和所有人有两千英里远，还有所有与打交道的垃圾权力，你知道，保镖匆匆忙忙地为你开门，女孩们在后座上告诉你他们爱你。

the limousine just because they heard you shot somebody the night before. And so much sex that sometimes right in the middle of it, the best oral job you've ever had, you can't keep your mind pn it anymore."
豪华轿车只是因为他们听说你前一天晚上开枪打人。如此多的性爱，有时就在它中间，这是你做过的最好的，你不能再把你的思想放在它上面了。

"We are more alike than I ever dreamed. IVe lived a lie with the gifts given me."
“我们比我想象的更相似。我用给我的礼物活在谎言中。

"What do you mean?" he asked.
“你什么意思？”他问。

"There isn't time. You don't need to know about me. What about Terry? How did Dora happen?"
“没有时间了。你不需要了解我。特里呢？朵拉是怎么发生的？

"I got Terry pregnant. She was supposed to be on the Pill. She thought I was rich! It didn't matter whether I loved her or she loved me. I mean this was one of the dumbest and most simpleminded
“我让特里怀孕了。她应该在避孕药上。她以为我很有钱！不管是我爱她还是她爱我。我的意思是这是最愚蠢和最简单的人之一

humans I have ever known, Terry. I wonder if you bother to feed upon people that ignorant and that dull."
我所认识的人类，特里。我想知道你是否愿意以那些无知和迟钝的人为食。

"Dora was the baby." “朵拉是孩子。”

"Yeah. Terry wanted to get rid of it if I didn't marry her. I made a bargain. One hundred grand when we marry (I used an alias, it was never legal except on paper and that was a blessing because Dora and I are in no way legally connected) and one hundred grand when the baby was born. After that I'd give her her divorce and all I wanted was my daughter."
“是啊。如果我不娶她，特里就想摆脱它。我做了一个讨价还价。我们结婚时一百个大（我用了一个化名，除了在纸上，它从来都不是合法的，这是一种祝福，因为朵拉和我没有任何法律联系）和孩子出生时一百大。在那之后，我会给她离婚，我想要的只是我的女儿。

" 'Our daughter,' she said.
“'我们的女儿，'她说。

" 'Sure, our daughter,' I said. What a fool I was. What I didn't figure on, the very obvious and simple thing, what I didn't figure on was that this woman, this little nail-filing, gum-chewing, mascara- wearing nurse in her rubber-soled shoes and diamond wedding ring, would naturally feel for her own child. She was stupid, but she was a mammal, and she had no intention of letting anybody take her baby. Like hell. I wound up with visitation rights.
“'当然，我们的女儿，'我说。我真是个傻瓜。我没有想到的是，非常明显和简单的事情，我没有想到的是，这个女人，这个穿着胶底鞋和钻石结婚戒指、锉指甲、嚼口香糖、涂睫毛膏的小护士，会自然而然地对自己的孩子有感觉。她很傻，但她是哺乳动物，她无意让任何人带走她的孩子。就像地狱一样。我最终获得了探视权。

"Six years I flew in and out of New Orleans every chance I had just to hold Dora in my arms, talk to her, go walking with her in the evenings. And understand, this child was mine! I mean she was flesh of my flesh from the start. She started running towards me when she saw me at the end of the block. She flew into my arms.
“六年来，我一有机会就飞进飞出新奥尔良，把朵拉抱在怀里，和她说话，晚上和她一起散步。明白，这个孩子是我的！我的意思是，她从一开始就是我的肉体。当她在街区尽头看到我时，她开始向我跑来。她飞进了我的怀里。

"We'd take a taxi to the Quarter and go through the Cabildo; she adored it; the cathedral, of course. Then we'd go for muffaletas at the Central Grocery. You know, or maybe you don't, the big sandwiches full of olives-"
“我们会打车去街区，穿过卡比尔多;她崇拜它;当然是大教堂。然后我们会去中央杂货店买马法莱塔。你知道，或者也许你不知道，装满橄榄的大三明治——”

"I know." “我知道。”

"桽he'd tell me everything that had happened in the week since I'd been there. I'd dance with her in the street. Sing to her. Oh, what a beautiful voice she had from the beginning. I don't have a good voice. My mother had a good voice, and so did Terry. And this child got the voice. And the mind she had. We'd ride the ferry together over the river and back, and sing, as we stood by the rail. I took her shopping at D. H. Holmes and bought her beautiful clothes. Her mother never minded that, the beautiful clothes, and of course I was smart enough to pick up something for Terry, you know, a brassiere dripping with lace or a kit of cosmetics from Paris or some perfume selling for one hundred dollars an ounce. Anything but Blue Waltz! But Dora and I had so much fun. Sometimes I thought, I can stand anything if I can just see Dora within a few days."
“他会告诉我自从我去那里以来一周发生的一切。我会在街上和她跳舞。唱歌给她听。哦，她从一开始就拥有多么美妙的声音。我嗓子不好。我母亲的嗓音很好，特里也很好。这个孩子得到了声音。还有她的思想。我们会一起乘坐渡轮过河，然后回来，站在铁轨旁唱歌。我带她去D.H.福尔摩斯购物，给她买了漂亮的衣服。她媽媽從不介意這些，漂亮的衣服，當然，我也很聰明，會為特里買一些東西，你知道的，一個滴著蕾丝的胸罩，或者一包巴黎的化妝品，或者一些每盎司一百美元的香水。除了蓝色华尔兹，什么都没有！但是朵拉和我玩得很开心。有时我想，如果我能在几天内见到朵拉，我就能忍受任何事情。

"She was verbal and imaginative, the way you were."
“她口齿伶俐，富有想象力，就像你一样。”

"Absolutely, full of dreams and visions. Dora is no naif, now, you have to understand. Dora's a theologian. That's the amazing part. The desire for something spectacular? That I engendered in her, but the faith in God, the faith in theology? I don't know where that came from."
“绝对，充满了梦想和愿景。朵拉不是天真的，现在，你必须明白。朵拉是一位神学家。这是令人惊奇的部分。渴望一些壮观的东西？我在她身上产生了，但是对上帝的信仰，对神学的信仰？我不知道这是从哪里来的。

Theology. The word gave me pause.
神学。这个词让我停顿了一下。

"Meantime, Terry and I began to hate each other. When school- time came, so did the fights. The fights were hell. I wanted Sacred Heart Academy for Dora, dancing lessons, music lessons, two weeks away with me in Europe. Terry hated me. I wasn't going to make her little girl into a snot. Terry had already moved out of the St. Charles Avenue house, calling it old and creepy, and settled for a shack of a ranch-style tract home on some naked street in the soggy suburbs! So my kid was already snatched from the Garden District and all those colors, and settled in a place where the nearest architectural curiosity was the local y-Eleven.
“与此同时，特里和我开始互相憎恨。上学时间到了，打架也来了。战斗是地狱。我想去朵拉的圣心学院，舞蹈课，音乐课，和我一起去欧洲两周。特里讨厌我。我不会让她的小女孩流鼻涕。特里已经搬出了圣查尔斯大道的房子，称它又旧又令人毛骨悚然，并在潮湿的郊区某条裸露的街道上安顿下来，住在一个牧场式的小房子里！所以我的孩子已经从花园区和所有这些颜色中被抢走了，并定居在一个最接近建筑好奇心的地方是当地的 y-Eleven。

"I was getting desperate and Dora was getting older, old enough perhaps to be stolen effectively from her mother, whom she did love in a very protective and kind way. There was something silent between
“我越来越绝望，朵拉也渐渐长大了，年纪大到可以有效地从她的母亲那里偷走，她确实以一种非常保护和善良的方式爱她。之间有些沉默

those two, you know, talking had nothing to do with it. And Terry was proud of Dora."
你知道，那两个人的谈话与它无关。特里为朵拉感到骄傲。

"And then this boyfriend came into the picture."
“然后这个男朋友就出现了。”

"Right. If I had come to town a day later, my daughter and my wife would have been gone. She was skipping out on me! To hell with my lavish checks. She was going with this bankrupt electrician
“对。如果我晚一天来镇上，我的女儿和妻子就会走了。她跳过了我！我的奢侈支票见鬼去吧。她要和这个破产的电工一起去

boyfriend of hers to Florida!
她的男朋友去佛罗里达！

"Dora knew from nothing and was outside playing down the block. They were all packed! I shot Terry and the boyfriend, right in that stupid little tract house in Metairie where Terry had chosen to bring up my daughter rather than on St. Charles Avenue. Shot them both. Got blood all over her polyester wall-to-wall carpet, and her Formica-top kitchen breakfast bar."
“朵拉从无到有，在外面玩。他们都挤满了人！我拍攝了特里和男朋友，就在梅泰里那個愚蠢的小房子裡，特里選擇在那裡帶養我的女兒，而不是在聖查爾斯大道上。射杀了他们俩。她的聚酯地毯上到处都是血，还有她的富美家顶级厨房早餐吧。

"I can imagine it." “我能想象。”

"I dumped both of them in the swamps. It had been a long time since I'd handled something like this directly, but no matter, it was easy enough. The electrician's truck was in the garage anyway, and I bagged them up, and I took them out that way, into the back of the truck. I took them way out somewhere, out Jefferson Highway, I don't even know where I dumped them. No, maybe it was out Chef Menteur. Yeah, it was Chef Menteur. Somewhere around one of the old forts on die Rigules River. They just disappeared in the muck."
“我把他们俩都扔进了沼泽里。我已经很久没有直接处理这样的事情了，但不管怎样，这很容易。反正电工的卡车在车库里，我把它们装起来，然后把它们拿出来，放到卡车的后面。我把它们带到了某个地方，杰斐逊高速公路，我什至不知道我把它们扔在哪里。不，也许是门特尔厨师。是的，是主厨门特尔。在迪里古勒斯河（die Rigules River）上的一座古老堡垒周围的某个地方。他们只是消失在淤泥中。

"I can see it. I've been dumped in the swamps myself."
“我能看到它。我自己也被扔进了沼泽地。

He was too excited to hear my mumblings. He continued.
他太兴奋了，听不见我的喃喃自语。他继续说道。

"Then I went back for Dora, who was by then sitting on the steps with her elbows on her knees wondering why nobody was home, and the door was locked so she couldn't get in, and she started screaming, "Daddy! I knew you'd come. I knew you would!" the minute she saw me. I didn't risk going inside to get her clothes. I didn't want her to see the blood. I put her with me in the boyfriend's pickup truck and out of New Orleans we drove, and we left the truck in Seattle,
“然后我回去找朵拉，她当时正坐在台阶上，胳膊肘放在膝盖上，想知道为什么没有人在家，门被锁着，所以她进不去，她开始尖叫，”爸爸！我就知道你会来的。我就知道你会的！“她一见到我。我没有冒险进去拿她的衣服。我不想让她看到血。我把她放在男朋友的皮卡车上，我们开着车离开了新奥尔良，我们把卡车留在了西雅图，

Washington. That was my cross-country odyssey with Dora.
华盛顿。那是我和朵拉的越野之旅。

"All those miles, insanity, just the two of us together talking and talking. I think I was trying to tell Dora everything that I had learned. Nothing evil and self-destructive, nothing that would ever bring the darkness near her, only the good things, what I had learned about virtue and honesty and what corrupts people, and what was worthwhile.
“所有这些英里，精神错乱，只有我们两个人在一起说话和说话。我想我是想把我学到的一切都告诉朵拉。没有什么邪恶和自我毁灭的，没有什么能把黑暗带到她身边，只有美好的事物，我所学到的关于美德和诚实的东西，什么使人败坏，什么是值得的。

" 'You can't just simply do nothing in this life, Dora,' I kept saying,
“'你不能这辈子什么都不做，朵拉，'我一直在说，

'you can't just leave this world the way you found it.' I even told her how when I was young I was going to be a religious leader, and what I did now was collect beautiful things, church art from all over Europe and the Orient. I dealt in it, to keep the few pieces I wanted. I led her to believe, of course, that is what had made me rich, and by then, oddly enough, it was partly true."
“你不能就这样离开这个世界，就像你发现它一样。”我甚至告诉她，当我年轻的时候，我将成为一名宗教领袖，而我现在所做的是收集来自欧洲和东方各地的美丽事物和教堂艺术。我处理了它，以保留我想要的几件作品。当然，我让她相信，这就是让我变得富有的原因，到那时，奇怪的是，这在一定程度上是正确的。

"And she knew you'd killed Terry."
“她知道你杀了特里。

"No. You got the wrong idea on that one. All those images were
“不。你的想法错了。所有这些图像都是

tumbling in my mind. I felt it when you were taking my blood. That wasn't it. She knew I'd gotten rid of Terry, or I'd freed her from Terry, and now she could be with Daddy forever, and fly away with Daddy when Daddy flew away. That's a different thing from
在我的脑海中翻滚。当你抽我的血时，我感觉到了。但事实并非如此。她知道我已经摆脱了特里，或者我把她从特里手中解救出来，现在她可以永远和爸爸在一起，当爸爸飞走时，她可以和爸爸一起飞走。这与

knowing Daddy murdered Terry. That she does not know. Once when she was twelve, she called, sobbing, and said, 'Daddy, will you please tell me where Mother is, where did she and that guy go when they went to Florida.' I played it off, that I hadn't wanted to tell her that Terry was dead. Thank God for the phone. I do very well on the phone. I like it. It's like being on the radio.
知道爸爸谋杀了特里。她不知道。有一次，在她十二岁的时候，她哭着打电话说：“爸爸，你能告诉我妈妈在哪里，她和那个家伙去佛罗里达时去了哪里。我装模作样，我不想告诉她特里已经死了。感谢上帝的电话。我在电话里做得很好。我喜欢。这就像在收音机里一样。

"But back to Dora of six years old. Daddy took Dora to New York and got a suite at the Plaza. After that, Dora had everything Daddy could buy."
“但回到六岁的朵拉。爸爸带朵拉去了纽约，在广场上买了一套套房。在那之后，朵拉拥有了爸爸能买到的一切。

"She cry for Terry even then?"
“即便如此，她还在为特里哭泣？”

"Yes. And she was probably the only one who ever did. Before the wedding, Terry's mother had told me Terry was a slut. They hated each other. Terry's father had been a policeman. He was an okay guy. But he didn't like his daughter either. Terry wasn't a nice person. Terry was mean by nature; Terry wasn't even a good person to bump into in the street, let alone to know or to need or to hold.
“是的。她可能是唯一一个这样做的人。婚礼前，特里的母亲告诉我特里是个荡妇。他们互相憎恨。特里的父亲曾是一名警察。他是个好人。但他也不喜欢他的女儿。特里不是一个好人。特里生性刻薄;特里甚至不是一个在街上碰到的好人，更不用说知道、需要或抱着了。

'-'Her family back there thought she'd run off to Florida and
“她的家人以为她会跑到佛罗里达去

abandoned Dora to me. That's all they ever knew till the day the old man and woman died, Terry's parents. There's some cousins. They still believe that. But they don't know who I am, really, it's all rather
把朵拉抛弃给了我。这就是他们所知道的，直到老头和女人去世的那一天，特里的父母。有一些表亲。他们仍然相信这一点。但他们不知道我是谁，真的，这一切都是相当的

difficult to explain. Of course by now maybe they've seen the articles in the papers and magazines. I don't know, that's not important. Dora cried for her mother, yes. But after that big lie I told her when she was twelve, she never asked about anything again.
很难解释。当然，到现在为止，也许他们已经在报纸和杂志上看到了这些文章。我不知道，这并不重要。朵拉为她的母亲哭泣，是的。但是在她十二岁时我告诉她那个弥天大谎之后，她再也没有问过任何事情。

"But Terry's devotion to Dora had been as perfect as that of any mammalian mother! Instinctive; nurselike; antiseptic. She'd feed Dora from the four food groups. She'd dress Dora up in beautiful clothes, take her to dancing school, and sit there and gossip with the other mothers. She was proud of Dora. But she rarely ever spoke to Dora. I think they could go for days without their eyes meeting. It was mammalian. And for Terry, probably everything was like that."
“但特里对朵拉的忠诚与任何哺乳动物母亲一样完美！本能的;护士般的;防腐。她会从四个食物组中喂朵拉。她会给朵拉穿上漂亮的衣服，带她去舞蹈学校，然后坐在那里和其他母亲八卦。她为朵拉感到骄傲。但她很少和朵拉说话。我想他们可以好几天不见面。它是哺乳动物。而对于特里来说，可能一切都是这样。

"This is rather funny, that you should get mixed up with a person like this, you know."
“这很有趣，你应该和这样的人混在一起，你知道的。

"No, not funny. Fate. We made Dora. She gave the voice to Dora, and the beauty. And there is something in Dora from Terry which is
“不，不好笑。命运。我们制作了朵拉。她把声音给了朵拉，给了美女。在特里的朵拉身上有一些东西是

like hardness, but that's too unkind a word. Dora is a mixture of us, really, an optimum mixture."
比如硬度，但这个词太不客气了。朵拉是我们的混合体，真的，最佳的混合体。

"Well, you gave her your own beauty top."
“嗯，你把自己的美容上衣给了她。”

"Yes, but something far more interesting and marketable hap^ pened when the genes collided. You've seen my daughter. My
“是的，但是当基因碰撞时，一些更有趣和更适销对路的hap^被写了出来。你见过我的女儿。我

daughter is photogenic, and beneath the flash and dash I gave her, there is the steadiness of Terry. She converts people over the airwaves. 'And what is the true message of Christ!' she declares, staring right into the camera. 'That Christ is in every stranger you meet, the poor, the hungry, the sick, the people next door!' And the audience believes it."
女儿很上镜，在我给她的闪光灯和冲刺下，有特里的稳重。她通过电波使人们皈依。“基督的真正信息是什么！”她直视着镜头说。“基督在你遇到的每一个陌生人里面，穷人、饥饿的人、病人、隔壁的人！”观众相信了。

"I've watched. I've seen her. She could just rise to the top."
“我看过了。我见过她。她可以登上顶峰。

He sighed. 他叹了口气。

"I sent Dora to school. By this time I was making big, big money. I had to put lots of miles between me and my daughter. I switched Dora among three schools overall before graduation, which was hard for her, but she didn't question me about these maneuvers, or the secrecy surrounding our meetings. I led her to believe I was always on the verge of having to rush to Florence to save a fresco from being destroyed by idiots, or to Rome to explore a catacomb that had just been found.
“我送朵拉去上学。到这个时候，我已经赚了大钱。我不得不在我和我女儿之间走很多英里。毕业前，我一共换了三所学校，这对她来说很难，但她没有问我这些动作，也没有质疑我们会面的保密性。我让她相信，我总是不得不赶到佛罗伦萨去拯救一幅被白痴摧毁的壁画，或者去罗马探索一个刚刚发现的地下墓穴。

"When Dora began to take a serious interest in religion, I thought it was spiritually elegant, you know. I thought my growing collection of statues and books had inspired her. And when she told me at
“当朵拉开始对宗教产生浓厚的兴趣时，我认为它在精神上是优雅的，你知道的。我以为我收藏的越来越多的雕像和书籍启发了她。当她告诉我

eighteen that she had been accepted to Harvard and that she meant to study comparative religion, I was amused. I made the usual sexist
十八岁时，她被哈佛大学录取了，而且她打算学习比较宗教，我感到很有趣。我做了通常的性别歧视

assumption: study what you want and marry a rich man. And let me show you my latest icon or statue.
假设：研究你想要什么，嫁给一个有钱人。让我向你展示我最新的偶像或雕像。

"But Dora's fervor and theological bent were developing far beyond anything I had ever experienced. Dora went to the Holy Land when she was nineteen. She went back twice before she
“但朵拉的热情和神学倾向的发展远远超出了我所经历过的任何事情。朵拉十九岁时去了圣地。她回去过两次，然后才回去

graduated. She spent the next two years studying religions all over the world. Then she proposed the entire idea of her television program: she wanted to talk to people. Cable had made possible all these
毕业。在接下来的两年里，她研究了世界各地的宗教。然后她提出了她的电视节目的整个想法：她想与人交谈。电缆使这一切成为可能

religion channels. You could tune in to this minister or that Catholic priest.
宗教渠道。你可以收听这位牧师或那位天主教神父。

" 'You serious about this?' I asked. I hadn't known she believed it all. But she was out to be true to ideals that I had never fully
“'你是认真的吗？'我问。我不知道她相信这一切。但她忠于我从未完全实现的理想

understood myself yet somehow passed on to her.
理解我自己，但不知何故传递给了她。

" 'Dad, you get me one hour on television three times a week, and the money to use it the way I want,' she said, 'and you'll see what happens.' She began to talk about all kinds of ethical questions, how we could save our souls in today's world. She envisioned short lec- tures or sermons, punctuated by ecstatic singing and dancing. The abortion issue梥he makes impassioned logical speeches that both sides are right! She explains how each life is sacrosanct yet a woman must have dominion over her own body."
“爸爸，你让我每周三次在电视上看一个小时，还有钱可以按照我想要的方式使用它，”她说，“你会看到会发生什么。她开始谈论各种伦理问题，我们如何在当今世界拯救我们的灵魂。她设想了简短的演讲或布道，中间穿插着欣喜若狂的歌舞。堕胎议题——他慷慨激昂地发表合乎逻辑的演讲，双方都是对的！她解释了每个生命都是神圣不可侵犯的，但女人必须对自己的身体拥有统治权。

"I've seen the program." “我看过这个节目。”

"You realize seventy-five different cable networks have picked up this program! You realize what news of my death may do to my daughter's church?"
“你意识到有 75 个不同的有线电视网络已经接受了这个节目！你知道我去世的消息会对我女儿的教会造成什么影响吗？

He paused, thinking, then resumed as rapid-fire as before.
他停顿了一下，想了想，然后又像以前一样快速地开火。

"You know, I don't think I ever had a religious aspiration, a spiri- tual goal, so to speak, that wasn't drenched in something materialistic and glamorous, do you know what I mean?"
“你知道，我不认为我曾经有过宗教抱负，一个螺旋式的目标，可以这么说，它没有浸透在物质主义和迷人的东西中，你知道我的意思吗？”

"Of course." “当然。”

"But with Dora, it's different. Dora really doesn't care about ma- terial things. The relics, the icons, what do they mean to Dora? Dora believes against impossible psychological and intellectual odds that God exists." He stopped again, shaking his head with regret.
“但对于朵拉来说，情况就不同了。朵拉真的不在乎马的事情。遗物，圣像，它们对朵拉意味着什么？朵拉在心理和智力上都相信上帝存在。他又停了下来，遗憾地摇了摇头。

You were right in what you said to me earlier. I am a racketeer. Even for my beloved Wynken I had an angle, what they call now an agenda. Dora is no racketeer."
你刚才对我说的话是对的。我是一个敲诈勒索者。即使对于我心爱的 Wynken，我也有一个角度，他们现在称之为议程。朵拉不是敲诈勒索者。

I remembered his remark in the barroom, "I think I sold my soul for places like this." I had known what he was talking about when he said it. I knew it now.
我记得他在酒吧里说过的话，“我想我为了这样的地方出卖了我的灵魂。当他说这句话时，我就知道他在说什么。我现在知道了。

"Let me get back to the story. Early on, as I told you, I gave up that idea of a secular religion. By the time Dora started in earnest, I hadn't thought about those ambitions in years. I had Dora. And I had Wynken as my obsession. I chased down more of Wynken's books, and managed through my various connections to purchase five differ- ent letters of the period which made clear mention of Wynken de Wilde and Blanche De Wilde and her husband, Darnien, as well. I had searchers digging for me in Europe and America. Rhineland mysticism, dig into it.
“让我回到这个故事。很早以前，正如我告诉过你们的，我放弃了世俗宗教的想法。当朵拉开始认真工作时，我已经好几年没有想过这些雄心壮志了。我有朵拉。我把 Wynken 作为我的痴迷。我追查了更多温肯的书，并通过我的各种关系设法购买了那个时期的五封不同的信件，其中明确提到了温肯·德·王尔德和布兰奇·德·王尔德以及她的丈夫达尼安。我在欧洲和美国都有搜索者在挖掘我。莱茵兰神秘主义，深入研究它。

"My researchers found a capsule version of Wynken's story in a couple of German texts. Something about women practicing the rites of Diana, witchcraft. Wynken dragged out of the monastery and pub- licly accused. The record of the trial, however, was lost.
“我的研究人员在几篇德语文本中发现了Wynken故事的胶囊版本。关于女性练习戴安娜仪式的事情，巫术。Wynken被拖出修道院，公开指责。然而，审判记录丢失了。

"It had not survived the Second World War. But in other places there were other documents, caches of letters. Once you had the code word Wynken梠nce you knew what to look for梱ou were on the way.
“它没有在第二次世界大战中幸存下来。但在其他地方还有其他文件，信件的缓存。一旦你有了代码字 Wynken梠nce，你就知道要寻找什么了。

"When I had a free hour I sat down and looked at Wynken's little naked people, and I memorized his poems of love. I knew his poems so that I could sing them. When I saw Dora for weekends梐nd we met somewhere whenever possible桰 would recite them to Dora and maybe even show her my latest find.
“当我有空闲时间时，我坐下来看着Wynken的小裸体人物，我背诵了他的爱情诗。我知道他的诗，所以我可以唱它们。周末见到朵拉时，我们见面时，只要有可能，我们就会把它们背诵给朵拉听，甚至会给她看我的最新发现。

"She tolerated my 'Burnt-put hippie version of free love and mysticism,'
“她容忍了我'烧焦的嬉皮士版的自由恋爱和神秘主义'。

as she called it. 'I love you, Roge,' she'd say. 'But you're so romantic to think this bad priest was some sort of saint. All he did was sleep with these women, didn't he? And the books were ways of
正如她所说的那样。“我爱你，罗姬，”她会说。“但你太浪漫了，认为这个坏牧师是某种圣人。他所做的只是和这些女人上床，不是吗？这些书是

communicating among the others . . . when to meet.'
与他人之间的交流......什么时候见面。

" 'Ah, but Dora,' I would say, 'there was not a vicious or ugly word in the work of Wynken de Wilde. You see for yourself.' Six books I had by then. It was all about love. My present translator, a professor at Columbia, had marveled at the mysticism of the poetry, how it was a blending of love of God and the flesh. Dora didn't buy it. But Dora was already obsessed with her own religious questions. Dora was reading Paul Tillich and William James and Erasmus and lots of books on the state of the world today. That's Dora's obsession, the State of the World Today."
“'啊，可是朵拉，'我会说，'在温肯·德·王尔德的作品中，没有一个恶毒或丑陋的词。你自己看吧。那时我有六本书。这一切都是关于爱的。我现在的译者是哥伦比亚大学的一位教授，他惊叹于诗歌的神秘主义，它融合了对上帝的爱和肉体的爱。朵拉不买账。但朵拉已经沉迷于自己的宗教问题。朵拉正在阅读保罗·蒂利希、威廉·詹姆斯和伊拉斯谟以及许多关于当今世界状况的书籍。这就是朵拉的执念，当今世界的现状。

"And Dora won't care about those books of Wynken's if I get them to her."
“如果我把那些怀肯的书拿给她，朵拉就不会在乎了。”

"No, she won't touch any of my collection, not now!" he said.
“不，她不会碰我的任何收藏品，现在不会！”他说。

"Yet you want me to protect all these things," I said.
“然而，你要我保护所有这些东西，”我说。

"Two years ago," he sighed. "A couple of news articles! No
“两年前，”他叹了口气。“几篇新闻文章！不

connection to her, you understand, but with her, my cover was blown forever. She'd been suspecting. It was inevitable, she said, that she'd figure out my money wasn't clean."
与她的联系，你懂的，但和她在一起，我的掩护永远被吹走了。她一直在怀疑。她说，她不可避免地会发现我的钱不干净。

He shook his head. "Not clean," he said again. He went on. "The last thing she let me do was buy the convent for her. One million for the building. And one million to gut it of all the modern desecrations and leave it the way it had been for the nuns in the 1880s, with chapel and refectory and dormitory rooms and wide corridors. .. .
他摇了摇头。“不干净，”他又说了一遍。他继续说。“她让我做的最后一件事就是为她买下修道院。100万用于建筑。还有一百万来消除所有现代亵渎，让它保持 1880 年代修女的样子，有教堂、食堂、宿舍和宽阔的走廊。...

"But even that, she took with reluctance. As for the artwork,
“但即便如此，她还是不情愿地接受了。至于艺术品，

forget it. She may never take from me the money she needs to educate her followers there, her order or whatever the hell a televangelist calls it. The cable TV connection is nothing compared to what I
没关系。她可能永远不会从我这里拿走她需要的钱来教育她的追随者，她的订单或电视布道者所说的任何东西。与我相比，有线电视连接算不了什么

could have made it, fixing up that convent as the base. And the
本来可以做到的，把那个修道院修好作为基地。和

collection梩he statues, icons梚magine it. 'I could make you as big as Billy Graham or Jerry Falwell, darling,' I said to her. 'You can't turn away from my money, not for Jesus' sake/ "
收藏梩他雕像，图标梚想象它。“我可以让你像比利·格雷厄姆（Billy Graham）或杰里·法尔威尔（Jerry Falwell）一样大，亲爱的，”我对她说。“你不能拒绝我的钱，不是为了耶稣的缘故/”

He shook his head despairingly. "She meets with me now out of compassion, and of that my beautiful daughter has an endless supply. Sometimes she'll take a little gift. Tonight, she would not. Once when the program almost went under, she accepted just enough to get it over the hump. But my saints and angels, she won't touch them. My books, my treasures, she won't look at them.
他绝望地摇了摇头。“她现在出于同情心与我会面，我美丽的女儿有无穷无尽的供应。有时她会带一点礼物。今晚，她不会。有一次，当这个项目差点失败时，她接受了，刚好让它越过了驼峰。但是我的圣徒和天使，她不会碰他们。我的书，我的宝贝，她不会看。

"Of course, we both knew the threat to her reputation. You've helped by eliminating me. But there'll be news of my disappearance soon, has to be. 'Televangist financed by cocaine king.' How long can her secrecy last? It has to survive my death and she has to survive my death. At all costs! Lestat, you hear what I'm saying."
“当然，我们都知道她的声誉受到威胁。你帮了我，消灭了我。但很快就会有我失踪的消息，必须如此。“由可卡因之王资助的Televangist。”她的秘密能持续多久？它必须在我的死亡中幸存下来，她必须在我的死亡中幸存下来。不惜一切代价！莱斯塔特，你听到我在说什么。

"I am listening to you, Roger, to every word you say. They aren't on to her yet, I can assiire you."
“我在听你，罗杰，你说的每一句话。他们还没有对她动手，我可以同化你。

"My enemies are a ruthless lot. And the government . . . who knows who the hell the government is or what the hell the
“我的敌人是一群无情的人。而政府......谁知道政府到底是谁，或者到底是什么

government does." 政府确实如此。

"She's afraid of this scandal?"
“她害怕这个丑闻？”

"No. Brokenhearted, yes, afraid of scandal, never. She'd take what would come. What she wanted was for me to give it all up! That
“不。心碎，是的，害怕丑闻，从不。她会接受即将到来的事情。她想要的是让我放弃一切！那

became her attack. She didn't care that the world might find out we were father and daughter. She wanted me to renounce everything. She was afraid for me, like a gangster's daughter would be, like a gangster's wife.
成为她的攻击。她不在乎世界会发现我们是父女。她要我放弃一切。她为我害怕，就像黑帮的女儿一样，就像黑帮的妻子一样。

" 'Just let me build the church,' I kept pleading. 'Take the money.' The television show has proved her mettle. But no more . . . things are in ruins around her. She's a little one-hour program three times a week. The ladder to heaven is hers alone to climb. I'm out of it. She's relying on her audience to bring the millions needed to her.
“'就让我建造教堂吧，'我不停地恳求。'拿着钱。这部电视剧证明了她的勇气。但仅此而已......她周围的一切都成了废墟。她每周三次参加一小时的小节目。通往天堂的阶梯是她一个人要攀登的。我不行了。她依靠她的观众为她带来所需的数百万美元。

"And the female mystics she quotes, you've heard her read from them, Hildegard of Bingen, and Julian of Norwich. Teresa of Avila. You've read any of those women?"
“她引用的女性神秘主义者，你听过她从她们那里读到的，宾根的希尔德加德和诺维奇的朱利安。阿维拉的特蕾莎。你读过那些女人吗？

"All of them," I said.
“所有的人，”我说。

"Smart females who want to hear smart females listen to her. But she's beginning to attract everyone. You cannot make it in this world if you speak to only one gender. That isn't possible. Even I know
“聪明的女性想听聪明的女性听她的话。但她开始吸引所有人。如果你只和一种性别说话，你就无法在这个世界上成功。那是不可能的。连我都知道

that, the marketeer in me knows that, the Wall Street genius, and I am that, too, have no doubt. She attracts everyone. Oh, if I only had those last two years to do over, if only I could have launched the church before she discovered?
我心中的营销人员知道这一点，华尔街的天才，我也是，毫无疑问。她吸引了所有人。噢，要是我只有最后两年的时间可以重来，要是我能在她发现之前创办教会就好了？

"You're looking at this all wrong. Stop regretting. If you'd made the church big, you would have precipitated your exposure and the scandal."
“你看错了。别再后悔了。如果你把教会搞大了，你就会加速你的曝光和丑闻。

"No, once the church was big enough, the scandal wouldn't have mattered. That's just the catch. She stayed small, and when you're small, a scandal can do you in!" He shook his head again, angrily. He was becoming too agitated, but the image of him only grew stronger. "I cannot be allowed to destroy Dora. . . ." His voice drifted off again. He shuddered. He looked at me:
“不，一旦教会足够大，丑闻就不重要了。这就是问题所在。她一直很小，当你很小的时候，丑闻可以把你弄进去！他又生气地摇了摇头。他变得太激动了，但他的形象只会越来越强烈。“我不能被允许摧毁朵拉......”他的声音又飘了出去。他不寒而栗。他看着我：

"What does it come to, Lestat?" he asked.
“这是怎么回事，莱斯塔特？”他问。

"Dora herself must survive," I said. "She has to hang on to her faith after your death is discovered!"
“朵拉自己必须活下来，”我说。“在你的死被发现后，她必须坚持自己的信仰！”

"Yes. I'm her biggest enemy, dead or alive. And her church, you know, she walks a thin line; she's no puritan, my daughter. She thinks Wynken's a heretic, but she doesn't know how much her own
“是的。我是她最大的敌人，不管是死是活。而她的教会，你知道，她走的是一条细线;她不是清教徒，我的女儿。她认为Wynken是异教徒，但她不知道自己有多少

modern compassion for the flesh is just what Wynken was talking about."
现代人对肉体的同情正是Wynken所说的。

"I get it. But what about Wynken, am I supposed to save Wynken too? What do I do with Wynken?"
“我明白了。但是Wynken呢，我也应该拯救Wynken吗？我该如何处理 Wynken？

"She is a genius in her own way, actually," he went on, ignoring me. "That's what I meant when I called her a theologian. She's done the near impossible thing of mastering Greek and Latin and Hebrew, even though she was not bilingual as a small child. You know how hard it is."
“事实上，她以自己的方式是个天才，”他继续说，不理我。“这就是我称她为神学家的意思。她完成了几乎不可能完成的事情，掌握了希腊语、拉丁语和希伯来语，尽管她小时候不会说双语。你知道这有多难。

"Yes, it's not that way for us, but. . , ." I stopped. A horrible thought had occurred to me with full force.
“是的，对我们来说不是那样的，但是......”我停了下来。一个可怕的念头突然出现在我脑海中。

The thought interrupted everything.
这个想法打断了一切。

It was too late to make Roger immortal. He was dead!
让罗杰不朽为时已晚。他死了！

I hadn't even realized that I was assuming all this time, all this time, as we talked and his story poured out, that I could, if I wanted to, actually bring him to me, and keep him here, and stop him from going on. But suddenly I remembered with a ferocious shock that Roger was a ghost! I was talking to a man who was already dead.
我甚至没有意识到，我一直在假设，一直以来，当我们交谈和他的故事倾泻而出时，如果我愿意，我真的可以把他带到我身边，把他留在这里，阻止他继续下去。但突然间，我猛地想起罗杰是个鬼！我正在和一个已经死去的人说话。

The situation was so hideously painful and frustrating and utterly abnormal that I was thunderstruck and might have begun to groan, if I hadn't had to cover it up so that he would go on.
这种情况是如此可怕的痛苦、令人沮丧和完全不正常，以至于我被雷击了，如果我不必掩盖它以便他继续下去，我可能会开始呻吟。

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.
“你怎么了？”他问。

"Nothing. Talk more about Dora to me. Tell me the sort of things Dora says."
“没什么。跟我多谈谈朵拉。告诉我朵拉说的那种话。

"She talks about the sterility of now, and how people need the ineffable. She points to rampant crime and goalless youth. She's going to make a religion where nobody hurts anybody else. It's the American dream. She knows Scripture inside and out, she's covered all the Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, the works of Augustine,
“她谈到了现在的不育，以及人们如何需要不可言喻的东西。她指出了猖獗的犯罪和没有目标的年轻人。她要建立一个没有人伤害别人的宗教。这就是美国梦。她对圣经了如指掌，她涵盖了所有的 Pseudepigrapha、伪经、奥古斯丁的作品、

Marcion, Moses Maimonides; she's convinced that the prohibition against sex destroyed Christianity, which is hardly original with her, of course, and certainly appeals to the women who listen to her, you know. . . ."
马西翁，摩西·迈蒙尼德;她深信，禁止性行为摧毁了基督教，当然，这对她来说并不是原创的，而且肯定会吸引那些听她说话的女人，你知道的。

"Yes, I understand all that, but she must have felt some sympathy
“是的，我理解这一切，但她一定感到有些同情

for Wynken." 为了 Wynken。

"Wynken's books weren't a series of visions to her as they are to
“Wynken 的书对她来说并不是一系列的愿景，就像它们对

me." 我。

"I see." “我明白了。”

"And by the way, Wynken's books are not merely perfect, they are unique in a number of ways. Wynken did his work in the last twenty-five years before the Gutenberg printing press. Yet Wynken did everything. He was scribe, rubicator, that is, the maker of the fancy letters, and also the miniaturist who added all the naked people frolicking in Eden and the ivy and vine crawling over every page. He had to do every step himself at a time when scriptoria divided up these functions.
“顺便说一句，Wynken 的书不仅完美，而且在许多方面都是独一无二的。Wynken 在古腾堡印刷机之前的最后 25 年里完成了他的工作。然而，Wynken 做了一切。他是抄写员，是红字手，也就是花哨字母的制造者，也是微型画家，他把所有在伊甸园里嬉戏的裸体人，以及爬过每一页的常春藤和藤蔓。他必须自己做每一步，当经文划分这些功能时。

"Let me finish Wynken. You have Dora now in your mind. Let me go to Wynken. Yeah, you have to get those books."
“让我完成Wynken。你现在脑子里有朵拉。让我去Wynken。是的，你必须得到那些书。

"Great," I said dismally.
“太好了，”我沮丧地说。

"Let me bring you right up to date. You're going to love those books, even if Dora never does. I have all twelve of his books, as I think I told you. He was Rhineland Catholic, forced into the
“让我给你介绍最新情况。你会喜欢这些书的，即使朵拉从来不喜欢。我有他所有的十二本书，我想我告诉过你。他是莱茵兰天主教徒，被迫进入

Benedictines as a young man, and was in love with Blanche de Wilde, his brother's wife. She ordered the books done in the scriptorium and that's how it all started, her secret link with her monk lover. I have letters between Blanche and her friend Eleanor. I have some
本笃会年轻时，爱上了他哥哥的妻子布兰奇·德·王尔德。她订购了在书房里完成的书，这就是一切的开始，她与僧侣情人的秘密联系。我有布兰奇和她的朋友埃莉诺之间的信件。我有一些

incidents decoded from the poems themselves.
从诗歌本身解码的事件。

"Most sad of all, I have the letters Blanche wrote to Eleanor after Wynken was put to death. She had the letters smuggled out to
“最可悲的是，我有布兰奇在温肯被处死后写给埃莉诺的信。她把信偷偷寄给了

Eleanor, and then Eleanor sent them on to Diane, and there was another woman in it, but there are very few extant fragments of anything in her hand.
埃莉诺，然后埃莉诺把它们送到黛安那里，里面有另一个女人，但她手里现存的任何东西碎片都很少。

"This is what went down. They used to meet in the garden of the De Wilde castle to perform their rites. It wasn't the monastery
“这就是下降的原因。他们曾经在王尔德城堡的花园里见面，举行仪式。那不是修道院

garden at all, as I'd once supposed. How Wynken got there I don't know, but there are a few mentions in some of the letters that
花园，就像我曾经想象的那样。我不知道 Wynken 是如何到达那里的，但在一些信件中提到了

indicate he simply slipped out of the monastery and followed a secret way into his brother's house.
表明他只是溜出了修道院，沿着一条秘密的道路进入了他哥哥的房子。

"And this made sense, of course. They'd wait till Damien de Wilde was off doing whatever such counts or dukes did, and then they'd meet, do their dance around the fountain, and make love. Wynken bedded each of the women in turn; or sometimes they
“这当然是有道理的。他们会等到达米安·德·王尔德（Damien de Wilde）去做这些伯爵或公爵所做的任何事情，然后他们就会见面，在喷泉周围跳舞，做爱。Wynken 轮流给每个女人上床;或者有时他们

celebrated various patterns. All this is recorded more or less in the books. Well, they got caught.
庆祝各种图案。这一切都或多或少地记录在书中。好吧，他们被抓住了。

"Damien castrated and stabbed Wynken in front of the women and put them to rout. He kept the remains! Then, after days of
“戴缅恩当着女人的面阉割并刺伤了温肯，让她们溃败。他保留了遗骸！然后，经过几天的

interrogation, the frightened women were bullied into confessing to their love for Wynken and how he had communicated through the books; and the brother took all those books, all twelve of the books of Wynken de Wilde, everything this artist had ever created, you understand? ? "His immortality," I whispered,
审讯中，受惊的妇女被欺负承认了她们对 Wynken 的爱以及他如何通过书本进行交流;哥哥拿走了所有的书，温肯·德·王尔德的十二本书，这位艺术家曾经创作过的一切，你明白吗？“他的不朽，”我低声说，

"Exactly, his progeny! His books! And Damien had them buried with Wynken's body in the castle garden by the fountain that appears in all the little pictures in the books! Blanche could look out on it every day from her window, the place in the ground where Wynken had been laid to rest. No trial, no heresy, no execution, nothing like that. He just murdered his brother, it was as simple as that. He
“没错，就是他的后代！他的书！戴缅恩把他们和温肯的尸体一起埋葬在城堡花园里，在书中所有小图画中都出现的喷泉旁！布兰奇每天都能从窗户望出去，那是温肯安息在地上的地方。没有审判，没有异端，没有处决，没有类似的东西。他刚刚谋杀了他的兄弟，就这么简单。他

probably paid the monastery huge amounts of money. Who knows if it was even necessary? Did the monastery love Wynken? The
可能向修道院支付了巨额资金。谁知道这是否有必要？修道院爱Wynken吗？这

monastery is a ruin now where tourists come to snap pictures. As for the castle, it was obliterated in the bombing of the First World War."
修道院现在是一片废墟，游客来这里拍照。至于城堡，它在第一次世界大战的轰炸中被摧毁了。

"Ah. But what happened after that, how did the books get out of the coffin? Do you have copies? Are you speaking of...."
“啊。但是在那之后发生了什么，这些书是如何从棺材里出来的？你有副本吗？你说的是......”

"No, I have the originals of every one. I have come across copies, crude copies, made at the behest of Eleanor, Blanche's cousin and confidante, but as far as I know they stopped this practice of copies. There were only twelve books. And I don't know how they surfaced. I can only guess."
“不，我有每个人的原件。我遇到过复制品，粗糙的复制品，是在布兰奇的表弟和红颜知己埃莉诺的要求下制作的，但据我所知，他们停止了这种复制的做法。只有十二本书。我不知道他们是如何浮出水面的。我只能猜测。

"And what is your guess?"
“那你的猜测是什么？”

"I think Blanche went out in the night with the other women, dug up the body, and took the books out of the coffin, or whatever poor
“我想布兰奇在夜里和其他女人一起出去，挖出尸体，把书从棺材里拿出来，或者其他什么可怜的

Wynken's remains had been placed in, and put everything back right the way it was."
Wynken的遗体已经被放进去，把一切都放回原样。

"You think they'd do that?"
“你认为他们会这样做吗？”

"Yes, I think they did it. I can see them doing it, by candlelight in the garden, see them digging, the five women together. Can't you?"
“是的，我认为他们做到了。我能看到她们在花园里用烛光，在花园里挖土，五个女人在一起。你不能吗？

"Yes." “是的。”

"I think they did it because they felt the way I do! They loved the beauty and the perfection of those books. Lestat, they knew they were treasures, and such is the power of obsession arid such is the power of love. And who knows, maybe they wanted the bones of Wynken. It's conceivable. Maybe one woman took a thigh bone and another the bones of his fingers and, ah, I don't know."
“我认为他们这样做是因为他们和我一样！他们喜欢这些书的美丽和完美。Lestat，他们知道自己是宝藏，这就是痴迷的力量，这就是爱的力量。谁知道呢，也许他们想要 Wynken 的骨头。这是可以想象的。也许一个女人拿走了大腿骨，另一个女人拿走了他的手指骨头，啊，我不知道。

It seemed a ghastly picture suddenly, arid it put me in mind, without
这似乎是一幅可怕的画面，突然，它让我想起了，没有

a second's hesitation, of Roger's hands, which I had chopped off sloppily with a kitchen knife and dumped, wrapped in a plastic sack. I stared at the image of these hands before me, busy, fretting with the edge of the glass, tapping the bar in anxiety.
罗杰的手犹豫了一秒钟，我用菜刀草率地砍掉了它，然后用塑料袋包裹着扔掉了。我盯着眼前这双手的形象，忙着，烦恼着玻璃的边缘，焦虑地敲打着吧台。

"How far back can you trace the journey of the books?" I asked.
“你能追溯到多远以前的书的旅程？”我问。

"Not very far at all. But that's often the case in my profession, I mean antiquities. The books have turned up one, maybe two at a time. Some from private collections, two from museums bombed during the wars. Once or twice I've paid almost nothing for them. I knew what they were the minute I laid eyes on them, but other
“一点也不远。但在我的职业中经常出现这种情况，我的意思是古董。这些书一次只能翻出一本，也许两本。一些来自私人收藏，两个来自战争期间被炸毁的博物馆。有一两次我几乎没有为他们付出任何代价。当我看到它们的那一刻，我就知道它们是什么，但其他的

people didn't. And understand, everywhere I went I put out the search for this sort of medieval codex. I am an expert in this field. I know the language of the medieval artist! You have to save my treasures, Lestat
人们没有。要知道，无论我走到哪里，我都会寻找这种中世纪的手抄本。我是这个领域的专家。我知道中世纪艺术家的语言！你必须拯救我的宝藏，莱斯塔特

. You can't let Wynken get lost again. I'm leaving you with my legacy."
.你不能让 Wynken 再次迷路。我要把我的遗产留给你。

"So it seems. But what can I do with these, and all the other relics, if Dora will have no part of it?"
“原来如此。但是，如果朵拉没有参与其中，我能用这些和所有其他遗物做什么呢？

"Dora's young. Dora will change. See, I still have this vision? that maybe somewhere in my collection梖orget about Wynken? that maybe somewhere among all the statues and relics is a central artifact that can help Dora with her new church. Can you gauge the value of what you saw in that flat? YOU have to make Dora touch those things again, examine them, catch the scent of them! You have to make her realize the potency of the statues and paintings, that they are expressions of the human quest for truth, the very quest that
“朵拉还年轻。朵拉会改变的。你看，我还有这个愿景吗？也许在我的收藏中，关于Wynken的某个地方？也许在所有的雕像和遗物中的某个地方有一个核心神器，可以帮助朵拉建立她的新教堂。你能衡量你在那套公寓里看到的东西的价值吗？你必须让朵拉再次触摸这些东西，检查它们，捕捉它们的气味！你必须让她意识到雕像和绘画的力量，它们是人类对真理的追求的表达，正是这种追求

obsesses her. She just doesn't know yet."
让她着迷。她只是还不知道而已。

"But you said Dora never cared for the paint and the plaster."
“但你说朵拉从来不关心油漆和石膏。

"Make her care." “让她关心。”

"Me? How! I can conserve all this, yes, but how am I to make Dora love a work of art? Why would you even suggest such a thing, I mean梞y having contact with your precious daughter?"
“我？如何！我可以保存这一切，是的，但我如何让朵拉爱上一件艺术品呢？你为什么要提出这样的事情，我是说和你的宝贝女儿有联系？

"You'll love my daughter," he said in a low murmur.
“你会爱我的女儿的，”他低声说。

"Come again?" “再来？”

"Find something miraculous in my collection for her."
“在我的收藏中为她找到一些神奇的东西。”

"The Shroud of Turin?" “都灵裹尸布？”

"Oh, I like you. I really do. Yes, find her something that's
“哦，我喜欢你。我真的喜欢。是的，给她找点东西

significant, something that will transform her, something that I, her father, bought and cherished, that will help her."
意义重大，是可以改变她的东西，是我，她的父亲，购买和珍惜的东西，可以帮助她。

"You're as insane dead as you were alive, you know it? Are you still racketeering, trying to buy your way into salvation with a hunk of marble or a pile of parchment? Or do you really believe in the
“你死得和活着一样疯狂，你知道吗？你是否还在敲诈勒索，试图用一大块大理石或一堆羊皮纸来买通你的救赎之路？或者你真的相信

sanctity of all you've collected?"
你所收集的一切都是神圣的吗？

"Of course I believe in the sanctity of it. It's all I believe in! That's my point, don't you see? It's all you believe in too . . . what glitters and what is gold."
“我当然相信它的神圣性。这就是我所相信的！这就是我的观点，你没看到吗？这也是你所相信的......什么闪闪发光，什么就是金子。

"Ah, but you do take my breath away."
“啊，但你确实让我屏住了呼吸。”

"That's why you murdered me there, among the treasures. Look, we have to hurry. We don't know how much time we have. Back to the mechanics. Now, with my daughter, your trump card is her ambition.
“这就是为什么你在那里谋杀了我，在宝藏中。看，我们必须快点。我们不知道我们有多少时间。回到机制。现在，和我的女儿在一起，你的王牌就是她的野心。

"She wanted the convent for her own female missionaries, her own Order, which was to teach love, of course, with the same unique fire as other missionaries have taught it; she would send her women into the poor neighborhoods and into the ghettoes and into the working districts, and they would hold forth pn the importance of starting a movement of love from the core of the people that would reach eventually to all governments in power, so that injustice would end."
“她希望修道院适合她自己的女传教士，她自己的修会，当然，这是为了教导爱，就像其他传教士所教导的那样，具有独特的火力;她会把她的妇女送到贫穷的社区、贫民窟和工作区，她们会坚持从人民的核心开始一场爱的运动的重要性，最终将影响到所有当权政府，这样不公正就会结束。

"What would distinguish these women from other such orders or missionaries, from Franciscans or any sort of preachers ... ?"
“这些妇女与其他此类修会或传教士、方济各会或任何形式的传教士有什么区别......？”

"Well, one that they would be women, and preaching women! Nuns have been nurses, teachers for little children, servants, or locked in the cloister to bray at God like so many boring sheep. Her women would be doctors of the church, you see! Preachers. They would work up the crowds with personal fervor; they would turn to
“嗯，她们会是女人，传讲女人！修女们曾经是护士、小孩的老师、仆人，或者被锁在回廊里，像许多无聊的绵羊一样向上帝咆哮。你看，她的女人会成为教会的医生！传教士。他们会以个人的热情在人群中工作;他们会转向

the women, the impoverished and the depotentiated women, and help them to reform the world."
妇女、贫困妇女和被奴役的妇女，并帮助她们改革世界。

"A feminist vision, but coupled with religion."
“女权主义的愿景，但与宗教相结合。”

"It had a chance. It had as much of a chance as any such
“它有机会。它的机会和任何这样的机会一样多

movement. Who knows why one monk in the 1300s became a crazy? And another one a saint? Dora has ways to show people how to think. I don't know! You have to figure this all out, you have to!"
运动。谁知道为什么 1300 年代的一位僧侣会变得疯狂？还有一个是圣人？朵拉有办法向人们展示如何思考。我不知道！你必须弄清楚这一切，你必须弄清楚！

"And meanwhile save the church decorations," I said.
“同时保存教堂的装饰，”我说。

"Yes, until she will accept them or until she can turn them to some good. That's how you get her. Talk about good."
“是的，直到她接受它们，或者直到她能把它们变成一些好东西。这就是你得到她的方式。说好。

"That's how you get anybody," I said sadly. "That's how you're getting me."
“你就是这样得到任何人的，”我伤心地说。“你就是这样得到我的。”

"Well, you'll do it, won't you? Dora thinks I was misguided. She said, 'Don't think you can save your soul after all you've done by passing on these church objects to me.' "
“嗯，你会做到的，不是吗？朵拉认为我被误导了。她说，“不要以为你把这些教会物品交给我，就能拯救你的灵魂。"

"She loves you," I affirmed. "I saw that every time I saw her with you."
“她爱你，”我肯定地说。“每次我看到她和你在一起时，我都看到了。”

"I know. I need no such assurances. There's no time now to go into all the arguments. But Dora's vision is immense, remember that. She's small-time now, but wants to change the entire world. I mean, she isn't satisfied to have a cult the way I wanted it, you know, to be a guru with a retreat full of pliant followers. She really wants to change the world. She thinks somebody has to change the world."
“我知道。我不需要这样的保证。现在没有时间讨论所有的论点。但朵拉的愿景是巨大的，请记住这一点。她现在还很小，但想改变整个世界。我的意思是，她不满足于像我想要的那样拥有一个邪教，你知道，成为一个拥有充满顺从追随者的闭关的大师。她真的很想改变世界。她认为必须有人改变世界。

"Doesn't every religious person believe that?"
“不是每个宗教人士都相信吗？”

"No. They don't dream of being Mohammed or Zoroaster."
“不。他们不梦想成为穆罕默德或琐罗亚斯德。

"And Dora does." “朵拉知道。”

f'Dora knows that that is what's required."
f'Dora知道这是必需的。

He shook his head, took another little bit of the drink, and looked off over the half-empty room. Then he made a little frown as if
他摇了摇头，又喝了一小口酒，然后望向半空的房间。然后他皱起了眉头，好像

pondering it still. 还在琢磨。

"She said, 'Dad, religion doesn't come from relics and texts. They are the expression of it.' She went on and on. After all her studying of Scripture, she said it was the inner miracle that counted. She put me to sleep. Don't make any cruel jokes!"
“她说，'爸爸，宗教不是来自遗物和文本。他们是它的表达。她继续说下去。在她学习了所有圣经之后，她说重要的是内在的奇迹。她哄我睡着了。不要开任何残酷的玩笑！

"Not for the world." “不是为了这个世界。”

"What's going to happen to my daughter!" he whispered
“我女儿会怎么样！”他低声说

desperately. He wasn't looking at me. "Look at her heritage. See it in her father. I'm fervent and extremist and gothic and mad. I can't tell you how many churches I've taken Dora to, how many priceless crucifixes
拼命地。他没有看着我。“看看她的遗产。在她父亲身上看到了这一点。我是狂热的、极端主义的、哥特式的、疯狂的。我无法告诉你我带朵拉去过多少座教堂，有多少无价的十字架

I've shown to her, before turning them around for a profit. The hours Dora and I have spent looking at the ceilings of Baroque churches in Germany alone! I have given Dora magnificent relics of the true cross embedded in silver and rubies. I have bought many veils of Veronica, magnificent works that would take your breath away. My God."
我已经给她看过了，然后把他们转过来牟利。朵拉和我花了几个小时看德国巴洛克式教堂的天花板！我送给朵拉用银和红宝石镶嵌的真正十字架的华丽遗物。我买了许多维罗妮卡的面纱，这些宏伟的作品会让你叹为观止。我的天啊。

"Was there ever--with Dora, I mean梐 concept of atonement in all of this, a guilt?"
“在朵拉身上，我是说，在这一切中，有没有赎罪的概念，一种内疚？”

"You mean, for letting Terry disappear without explanation, for never asking, until years later? I thought of that. If it was there in the beginning, Dora's passed it a long time ago. Dora thinks the world needs a new revelation. A new prophet. But you just don't become a prophet! She says her transformation must come with seeing and feeling; but it's no Revival Tent experience."
“你的意思是，让特里无缘无故地消失，直到多年后才问过？我想到了这一点。如果它一开始就在那里，朵拉很久以前就过去了。朵拉认为世界需要一个新的启示。一位新先知。但你就是没有成为先知！她说，她的转变必须来自视觉和感觉;但这不是复兴帐篷的体验。

"Mystics never think it's a Revival Tent experience."
“神秘主义者从来不认为这是复兴帐篷的体验。”

"Of course not." “当然不是。”

"Is Dora a mystic? Would you say that?"
“朵拉是神秘主义者吗？你会这么说吗？

"Don't you know? You followed her, you watched her. No, Dora hasn't seen the face of God or heard His voice and would never lie about it, if that's what you mean. But Dora's looking for it. She's looking for the moment, for the miracle, for the revelation!"
“你不知道吗？你跟着她，你看着她。不，朵拉没有见过上帝的脸，也没有听到他的声音，如果你是这个意思的话，她永远不会撒谎。但朵拉正在寻找它。她在寻找这一刻，寻找奇迹，寻找启示！

"For the arigel to come."
“为了阿里格尔的到来。”

"Yes, exactly." “是的，没错。”

We were both quiet suddenly. He was probably thinking of his initial proposition; so was I, that I fake a miracle, I, the evil angel that had once driven a Catholic nun to madness, to bleeding from her hands and feet in the Stigmata.
我们俩突然安静了下来。他可能在想他最初的提议;我也是，我假装了一个奇迹，我，那个邪恶的天使，曾经把一个天主教修女逼疯，在圣痕里手脚流血。

Suddenly he made the decision to continue, and I was relieved.
突然，他决定继续，我松了一口气。

f'I made my life rich enough," he said, "that I stopped caring about changing the world if ever I really thought of it; I made a life, you see, you know, a world unto itself. But she really has opened her soul in a sophisticated way to ... to something. My soul's dead."
“我让我的生活变得足够丰富，”他说，“如果我真的想过改变世界，我就不再关心它了;我创造了一个生命，你看，你知道，一个属于自己的世界。但她真的以一种复杂的方式打开了她的灵魂......到某事。我的灵魂死了。

"Apparently not," I said. The thought that he would vanish, had to, sooner or later, was becoming intolerable to me, and far more frightening than his initial presence had ever been.
“显然不是，”我说。一想到他迟早会消失，我就变得无法忍受，而且比他最初出现时要可怕得多。

''Let's get back to the basics. I'm getting anxious. . . ." he said.
“让我们回到基础。我越来越焦虑了......“他说。

"Why?" “为什么？”

"Don't freak on me, just listen. There is money put aside for Dora that has no connection to me. The government can't touch it, be-
“别吓唬我，听着就好。为朵拉留了一笔钱，与我无关。政府不能碰它，是——

sides, they never got an indictment against me let alone a conviction, you saw to that. The information's in the flat. Black leather folders. File cabinet. Mixed right in with sales slips for all sorts of paintings and statues. And you have to save all that somewhere for Dora. My life's work, my inheritance. It's in your hands for her. You can do it, can't you? Look, there's no hurry, you've done away with me in a rather clever way,"
双方，他们从来没有对我提出起诉，更不用说定罪了，你看到了。信息在公寓里。黑色皮革文件夹。档案柜。与各种绘画和雕像的销售单混合在一起。你必须把所有的东西都留给朵拉。我毕生的事业，我的遗产。它掌握在你手中。你可以做到，不是吗？你看，不着急，你用一种相当聪明的方式干掉了我，”

"I know. And you're asking me now to function as a guardian angel, to see that Dora receives this inheritance untainted. . . ."
“我知道。你现在要我充当守护天使，确保朵拉不受污染地接受这份遗产。

"Yes, my friend, that's precisely what I'm begging you to do. And you can do it! And don't forget about my Wynken! If she won't take those books, you keep those books!"
“是的，我的朋友，这正是我恳求你做的。你可以做到！别忘了我的 Wynken！如果她不拿那些书，你就留着那些书吧！

He touched my chest with his hand. I felt it, the little knock upon the door of the heart.
他用手摸了摸我的胸膛。我感觉到了，小小的敲门声敲响了心灵的大门。

He continued. "When my name drops put of the papers,
他继续说道。“当我的名字从报纸上掉下来时，

assuming it ever makes it from the FBI files to the wire service, ypu get the money to Dora. Money can still create Dora's church. Dora is
假设它能从联邦调查局的档案中传到电报服务，ypu 会把钱交给 Dora。金钱仍然可以创造朵拉的教会。朵拉是

magnetic, Dora can do it all by herself, if she has the money! You follow me? She can do it the way Francis did it or Paul or Jesus. If it wasn't for her theology, she would have become the charismatic celebrity long ago. She has all the assets. She thinks too much. Her theology is what sets her apart."
磁性，朵拉可以自己做这一切，如果她有钱的话！你跟着我？她可以像弗朗西斯、保罗或耶稣那样做。如果不是她的神学，她早就成为魅力四射的名人了。她拥有所有资产。她想多了。她的神学使她与众不同。

He took a breath. He was talking very rapidly, and I was
他深吸了一口气。他语速很快，而我

beginning to shiver. I could hear his fear like a low emanation from him. Fear of what?
开始发抖。我能听到他的恐惧，就像他低沉地散发出来一样。怕什么？

"Here," he said. "Let me quote something to you. She told me this last night. We've been reading a book by Bryan Appleyard, a columnist for the papers in England, you've heard of him? He wrote some tome called Understanding the Present. I have the copy she gave me. And in it he said things that Dora believed ... such as that we are 'spiritually impoverished.' "
“在这里，”他说。“让我引用一些东西给你听。她昨晚告诉我这件事。我们一直在读英国报纸专栏作家布莱恩·阿普尔亚德（Bryan Appleyard）的一本书，你听说过他吗？他写了一本名为《理解当下》的书。我有她给我的副本。他在其中说了朵拉相信的话......例如，我们是“属灵的贫困”。"

"Agreed." “同意。”

"But it was something else, something about our dilemma, that you can invent theologies, but for them to work they have to come from some deeper place inside a person... I know what she called it... Appleyard's words ... 'a totality of human experience.' " He stopped. He was distracted.
“但这是另一回事，关于我们的困境，你可以发明神学，但要使它们起作用，它们必须来自一个人内心深处的某个更深的地方......我知道她怎么称呼它......Appleyard的话......“人类经验的整体。”“他停了下来。他心不在焉。

I was desperate to reassure him that I understood this. "Yes, she's looking for this, courting it, she's opening herself for it."
我迫切地想向他保证，我明白这一点。“是的，她在寻找这个，追求它，她正在为它敞开心扉。”

I suddenly realized that I was holding on to him as tightly as he was holding on to me.
我突然意识到，我紧紧地抱着他，就像他紧紧地抓住我一样。

He was staring off. 他盯着看。

I was filled with a sadness so awful that I couldn't speak. I'd killed this man! Why had I done it? I mean, I knew he'd been interesting and evil, but Christ, how could I have . . . but then what if he stayed with me the way he was! What if he could become my friend exactly the way he was.
我充满了一种可怕的悲伤，以至于我说不出话来。我杀了这个人！我为什么要这样做？我的意思是，我知道他很有趣，也很邪恶，但天哪，我怎么可能......但是，如果他像现在这样和我在一起呢！如果他能像他一样成为我的朋友，那该多好啊。

Oh, this was too childish and selfish and avaricious! We were
哦，这太幼稚、自私和贪婪了！我们是

talking about Dora, about theology. Of course I understood Appleyard's point. Understanding the Present. I pictured the book. I'd go back for it. I filed it in my preternatural memory. Read at once,
谈论朵拉，谈论神学。我当然明白Appleyard的意思。了解当下。我给这本书画了照片。我会回去的。我把它归档在我的超自然记忆中。立即阅读，

He hadn't moved or spoken.
他没有动，也没有说话。

"Look, what are you scared of?" I asked. "Don't fade on me!" I clung to him, very raw, and small, and almost crying, thinking that I had killed him, taken his life, and now all I wanted to do was hold on to his spirit.
“看，你怕什么？”我问。“别在我身上褪色！”我紧紧抱住他，非常生硬，很小，几乎要哭了，以为我杀了他，夺走了他的生命，现在我只想抓住他的灵魂。

He gave no response. He looked afraid.
他没有回应。他看起来很害怕。

I wasn't the ossified monster I thought I was. I wasn't in danger of being inured to human suffering. I was a damned jibbering empath!
我不是我以为的那个僵化的怪物。我没有习惯于人类苦难的危险。我是一个该死的喋喋不休的同理心！

"Roger? Look at me. Go on talking."
“罗杰？看着我。继续说下去。

He only murmured something about maybe Dora would find what he had never found.
他只是喃喃自语着，也许朵拉会找到他从未找到的东西。

"What?" I demanded. “什么？”我问道。

"Theophany," he whispered.
“Theophany，”他低声说。

Oh, that lovely word. David's word. I'd only heard it myself a few hours ago. And now it slipped from his lips.
哦，那个可爱的词。大卫的话。我几个小时前才亲耳听到。现在它从他的嘴里滑落了。

"Look, I think they're coming for me," he said suddenly. His eyes grew wide. He didn't look afraid now so much as puzzled. He was listening to something. I could hear it too. "Remember my death," he said suddenly, as if he'd just thought of it most distinctly. "Tell her how I died. Convince her my death has cleansed the money! You understand. That's the angle! I paid with my death. The money is no longer unclean. The books of Wynken, all of it, it's no longer
“听着，我想他们是来找我的，”他突然说。他的眼睛睁得大大的。他现在看起来并不害怕，而是感到困惑。他在听什么。我也能听到。“记住我的死，”他突然说，好像他刚刚想得最清楚。“告诉她我是怎么死的。让她相信，我的死已经洗净了这笔钱！你明白。这就是角度！我付出了死亡的代价。钱不再是不洁的。Wynken 的书，所有这一切，都不再是了

unclean. Pretty it up. I ransomed it all with my blood. You know, Le- stat, use your clever tongue. Tell her!"
污。漂亮起来。我用我的鲜血赎回了这一切。你知道，Le-stat，用你聪明的舌头。告诉她！

Those footsteps. 那些脚步声。

The distinct rhythm of Something walking, slowly walking. . . .
有东西走路，慢慢走路的独特节奏......

and the low murmur of the voices, the singing, the talking, I was get- ting dizzy. I was going to fall. I held on to him and on to the bar.
低沉的嘀咕声，歌声，说话声，我都头晕目眩了。我快要摔倒了。我紧紧抓住他，紧紧抓住吧台。

"Roger!" I shouted aloud. Surely everybody in the bar heard it. He was looking at me in the most pacific manner, I don't even know if his face was animate anymore. He seemed puzzled, even amazed....
“罗杰！”我大声喊道。当然，酒吧里的每个人都听到了。他用最平和的方式看着我，我甚至不知道他的脸是否已经变得生动起来了。他似乎很困惑，甚至很惊讶。

I saw the wings rise up over me, over him. I saw the immense obliterating darkness shoot up as if from a volcanic rip in the very earth and the light rise behind it. Blinding, beautiful light.
我看到翅膀在我头顶升起，在他身上升起。我看到巨大的湮灭黑暗像是从大地的火山裂缝中射出的，光芒在它后面升起。令人眼花缭乱，美丽的光线。

I know I cried out. "Roger!"
我知道我哭了。“罗杰！”

The noise was deafening, the voices, the singing, the figure grow- ing larger and larger.
喧哗声震耳欲聋，人声，歌声，身影越来越大。

"Don't take him. It's my fault." I rose up against It in fury; I would tear It to pieces if I had to, to make It let him go! But I couldn't see him clearly. I didn't know where / was. And It came rolling, like smoke again, thick and powerful and absolutely unstoppable, and in the midst of all this, looming above him as he faded, and towards me, the face, the face of the granite statue for one second, the only thing visible, his eyes? "Let him go!"
“不要带走他。这是我的错。我愤怒地起来反对它;如果有必要的话，我会把它撕成碎片，让它放过他！但我看不清他。我不知道在哪里/在哪里。它又滚滚而来，像烟雾一样，浓密而有力，绝对不可阻挡，在这一切之中，在他消失时在他上方若隐若现，向我走来，花岗岩雕像的脸，一秒钟，唯一可见的东西，他的眼睛？“放开他！”

There was no bar, no Village, no city, no world. Only all of them!
没有酒吧，没有村庄，没有城市，没有世界。只有他们所有人！

And perhaps the singing was no more than the sound of a break- ing glass.
也许歌声只不过是玻璃破碎的声音。

Then blackness. Stillness.
然后是黑色。寂静。

Silence. 沉默。

Or so it seemed, that I had been unconscious in a quiet place for some time.
或者看起来，我在一个安静的地方昏迷了一段时间。

I woke up outside on the street.
我在外面的街上醒来。

The bartender was standing there, shivering, asking me in the most annoyed and nasal tone of voice, "Are you all right, man?" There was snow on his shoulders, on the black shoulders of his vest, and on his white sleeves.
酒保站在那里，浑身发抖，用最恼火和鼻音的语气问我：“你还好吗，伙计？他的肩膀上，背心的黑色肩膀上，白色的袖子上都有雪。

I nodded, and stood up, just so he'd go away. My tie was still in place. My coat was buttoned. My hands were clean. There was snow on my coat.
我点了点头，站了起来，正好让他走开。我的领带还在。我的外套扣上了扣子。我的手很干净。我的外套上有雪。

The snow was falling very lightly all around me. The most beauti- ful snow.
我周围的雪下得很轻。最美的雪。

I went back through the revolving door into the tiled hallway and stood in the door of the bar. I could see the place where we had
我穿过旋转门回到铺着瓷砖的走廊，站在酒吧的门口。我可以看到我们曾经有过的地方

talked, see his glass still there. Otherwise the atmosphere was un- changed. The bartender was talking in a bored way to someone. He hadn't seen anything, except me bolt, probably, and stumble out into the street.
说着，看到他的杯子还在。否则，气氛没有改变。酒保正在无聊地和某人交谈。他什么也没看见，除了我，大概，跌跌撞撞地走到街上。

Every fiber in me said, Run. But where will you run? Take to the air? Not a chance, it will get you in an instant. Keep your feet on the cold earth.
我体内的每一根纤维都在说，快跑。但是你会跑到哪里去呢？飞到空中？没有机会，它会在瞬间得到你。把脚踩在冰冷的土地上。

You took Roger! Is that what you followed me for? Who are you!
你带走了罗杰！这就是你跟着我的目的吗？你是谁！

The bartender looked up over the empty, dusty distance. I must have said something, done something. No, I was just blubbering. A man crying in a doorway, stupidly. And when it is this man, so to speak, that means blood tears. Make your exit quick.
酒保抬头看向空旷、尘土飞扬的远方。我一定说了些什么，做了什么。不，我只是在胡说八道。一个男人在门口哭泣，愚蠢。当是这个人时，可以这么说，这意味着血泪。快速退出。

I turned and walked out into the snow again. It was going to be morning soon, wasn't it? I didn't have to walk in the miserable
我转过身，又走到雪地里。马上就要到早上了，不是吗？我不必走在悲惨的路上

punishing cold until the sky brightened, did I? Why not find a grave now, and go to sleep?
我忍受着寒冷，直到天亮，是吗？为什么不现在找个坟墓，然后去睡觉呢？

"Roger!" I was crying, wiping my tears on my sleeve. "What are you, damn it!" I stood and shouted, voice rolling off the buildings. "Damn it!" It came back tp me suddenly in a flash. I heard all those mingled voices, and I fought it. The face. It has a face! A sleepless mind in its heart and an insatiable personality. Don't get dizzy, don't try to remember. Somebody in one of the buildings opened a window and shouted at me to move on. "Stop screaming out there." Don't try to reconstruct. You'll lose consciousness if you do.
“罗杰！”我哭了，用袖子擦眼泪。“你是什么人，该死的！”我站起来喊道，声音从建筑物中滚落。“该死的！”它突然回到了我身边。我听到了所有这些混杂的声音，我与之抗争。脸。它有一张脸！心中不眠不休的头脑和贪得无厌的个性。不要头晕，不要试图记住。其中一栋楼里有人打开窗户，对我大喊大叫，让我继续前进。“别在外面尖叫了。”不要试图重建。如果你这样做，你会失去知觉。

I suddenly envisioned Dora and thought I might collapse where I was, shuddering and helpless and jabbering nonsense to anyone who came to help me.
我突然想到了朵拉，觉得我可能会瘫倒在原地，颤抖、无助，对任何来帮助我的人胡说八道。

This was bad, this was the worst, this was simply cosrnically awful!
这很糟糕，这是最糟糕的，这简直太糟糕了！

And what in God's name had been the meaning of Roger's
以上帝的名义，罗杰的意义是什么

expression in that last moment? Was it even an expression? Was it peace or calm or understanding, or just a ghost losing his vitality, a ghost
在最后一刻的表情？甚至是一种表情吗？是和平、平静或理解，还是只是一个失去生命力的鬼魂，一个鬼魂

giving up the ghost!
放弃幽灵！

Ah! I had been screaming. I realized it. Lots of mortals around me, high up in the night, were telling me to be quiet.
啊！我一直在尖叫。我意识到了。我周围的许多凡人，在夜里，告诉我要安静。

I walked on and on.
我继续走着。

I was alone. I cried quietly. There was no one in die empty street to hear.
我独自一人。我悄悄地哭了。空荡荡的街道上没有人听到。

I crept on, bent nearly double, crying out loud. I never noticed anyone now who saw or heard or stopped or took note. I wanted to
我蹑手蹑脚地走了过去，弯了将近两倍的腰，大声喊道。我从来没注意到现在有人看到、听到、停下来或记下。我想要

reenact it in my mind, but I was terrified it would knock me flat on my back if I did it. And Roger, Roger . . . Oh, God, I wanted in my monstrous selfishness to go to Dora and go down on my knees. I did this, I killed, I....
在我的脑海中重演它，但我害怕如果我这样做，它会把我击倒在地。还有罗杰，罗杰......噢，上帝啊，我怀着可怕的自私，想去找朵拉，跪下。我这样做了，我杀了，我......

Midtown. I suppose. Mink coats in a window. The snow was touching my eyelids in the tenderest way. I took off the scarf tie, wiped my face thoroughly so there was no blood from the tears on it.
市中心。我想。橱窗里的貂皮大衣。雪以最温柔的方式抚摸着我的眼睑。我摘下围巾领带，彻底擦了擦脸，这样眼泪上就没有血迹了。

And then I blundered into a small bright hotel.
然后我误入了一家明亮的小旅馆。

I paid for the room in cash, extra tip, don't disturb me for twenty- four hours, went upstairs, bolted the door, pulled the curtains, shut off the bothersome stinking heat, and crawled under the bed and went to sleep,
我用现金支付了房间费用，额外小费，二十四小时不要打扰我，上楼，闩上门，拉上窗帘，关掉烦人的臭热，爬到床底下睡觉，

The last strange thought that passed through my mind before I went into mortal slumber梚t was hours before sunrise, and plenty of time for dreaming梬as that David was going to be angry about all this somehow, but that Dora, Dora might believe and understand ...
在我进入凡人沉睡之前，我脑海中闪过的最后一个奇怪的想法是在日出前几个小时，有足够的时间做梦，大卫会以某种方式对这一切生气，但朵拉，朵拉可能会相信和理解......

I must have slept a few hours at least. I could hear the night sounds outside.
我至少睡了几个小时。我能听到外面的夜晚的声音。

When I woke, the sky was lightening. The night was almost up. Now would come oblivion. I was glad. Too late to think. Go back into the deep vampire sleep. Dead with all the other Undead
当我醒来时，天空正在亮起。夜幕降临了。现在会被遗忘。我很高兴。想都来不及了。回到吸血鬼的深度睡眠中。与所有其他亡灵一起死去

wherever they were, covering themselves against the coming light.
无论他们身在何处，都遮挡着即将到来的光芒。

A voice startled me. It spoke to me very distinctly:
一个声音吓了我一跳。它非常清楚地对我说：

"It's not going to be that simple."
“事情不会那么简单。”

I rose up in one motion, overturning the bed, on my feet, staring in the direction from which the voice had come. The little hotel room was like a tawdry trap.
我一下子站了起来，掀翻了床，站了起来，盯着声音传来的方向。小小的酒店房间就像一个俗气的陷阱。

A man stood in the corner, a simple man. Not particularly tall, or small, or beautiful like Roger, or flashy like me, not even very young, not even very old, just a man. A rather nice-looking man, with arms folded and one foot crossed over the other.
一个男人站在角落里，一个普通的男人。不像罗杰那样特别高，或者特别小，或者像我那样美丽，或者像我那样华而不实，甚至不是很年轻，甚至不是很老，只是一个男人。一个相当漂亮的男人，双臂交叉，一只叉在另一只脚上。

The sun had just come up over the buildings. The fire hit the
太阳刚刚从建筑物上空升起。大火击中了

windows. I was blinded. I couldn't see anything.
窗户。我瞎了眼。我什么也看不见。

I went down towards the floor, just a little burnt and hurt, the bed falling down upon me to protect me.
我朝地板走去，只是有点烧伤和疼痛，床落在我身上以保护我。

Nothing else. Whoever or whatever it was, I was powerless once the sun had come into the sky, no matter how white and thick the veil of winter morning.
没有别的了。不管是谁，不管是什么，一旦太阳升上天空，我就无能为力了，无论冬日早晨的面纱多么洁白和厚重。

5

VERY well," said David. "Sit down. Stop pacing. And I want you to go over every detail again. If you need to feed before you do this, then we'll go out and?
很好，“大卫说。“坐下。停止踱步。我希望你再看一遍每一个细节。如果你在这样做之前需要喂食，那么我们会出去吗？

"I have told you! I am past that. I don't need to feed. I don't need blood. I crave it. I love it. And I don't want any now! I feasted on Roger last night like a gluttonous demon. Stop talking about blood."
“我已经告诉过你了！我已经过去了。我不需要喂食。我不需要血。我渴望它。我喜欢。而且我现在什么都不想要！昨晚我像个贪吃的恶魔一样大快朵颐罗杰。别再说血了。

"Would you take your place there at the table?"
“你愿意在桌子上坐下吗？”

Across from him, he meant.
在他对面，他的意思是。

I was standing at the glass wall, looking right down on the roof of St. Patrick's.
我站在玻璃墙前，俯视着圣帕特里克教堂的屋顶。

He'd gotten us perfect rooms in the Olympic Tower and we were only just above the spires. An immense apartment far in excess of our needs but a perfect domicile nevertheless. The intimacy with the
他在奥林匹克塔为我们准备了完美的房间，而我们只是在尖顶上方。一个巨大的公寓远远超出了我们的需求，但仍然是一个完美的住所。与

cathedral seemed essential. I could see the cruciform of the roof, the high piercing towers. They looked as if they could impale you, they seemed so sharply pointed at heaven. And heaven as it had been the night before was a soft soundless drift of snow.
大教堂似乎是必不可少的。我可以看到屋顶的十字形，高高的穿刺塔。他们看起来好像可以刺穿你，他们似乎如此尖锐地指向天堂。和前一天晚上一样，天堂是一片柔和的、无声的雪花。

I sighed. 在叹了口气。

"Look, I'm sorry. But I don't want to go all over it again. I can't. Either you accept it as I told you, or I... I... go out of my mind."
“听着，对不起。但我不想再重蹈覆辙。我不能。要么你按照我告诉你的接受，要么我......我。。。从我的脑海中消失。

He remained sitting calmly at the table. The place had come "turnkey," or furnished. It was the snazzy substantial style of the
他仍然平静地坐在桌子旁。这个地方已经“交钥匙”了，或者说是带家具的。这是时髦的实质性风格

corporate world條ots of mahogany and leather and shades of beige and tan and gold that could offend no one, conceivably. And flowers. He had seen to flowers. We had the perfume of flowers.
企业界桃花心木和皮革的色调，米色、棕褐色和金色的色调，可以想象，不会冒犯任何人。还有鲜花。他见过花。我们有鲜花的香味。

The table and chairs were harmoniously Oriental, the fashionable infusion of Chinese. I think there was a painted urn or two also.
桌椅和谐地融入了东方风情，融入了中国人的时尚气息。我想还有一两个彩绘的骨灰盒。

And below we had the Fifty-first Street side of St. Patrick's, and people down there on Fifth going and coming on the snowy steps, The quiet vision of the snow.
下面是圣帕特里克街的第五十一街，第五街的人们在白雪皑皑的台阶上来来往往，雪地的宁静景象。

"We don't have that much time," I said. "We have to get uptown, and I have to secure that place or move all of those precious objects. I'm not allowing some accident to happen to Dora's inheritance."
“我们没有那么多时间，”我说。“我们必须到达上城区，我必须保护那个地方或移动所有这些珍贵的物品。我不会允许朵拉的遗产发生意外。

"We can do that, but before we go, try this for me. Describe the man again . . . not Roger's ghost, or the living statue, or the winged
“我们可以这样做，但在我们走之前，请为我尝试一下。再描述一下这个人......不是罗杰的鬼魂，也不是活着的雕像，也不是有翅膀的人

one, but the man you saw standing in the corner of the hotel room, when the sun came up.v
一个，但是你看到的那个男人站在酒店房间的角落里，当太阳升起时。

"Ordinary, I told you, very ordinary. Anglo-Saxon? Yes, probably.
“普通，我告诉过你，很普通。盎格鲁撒克逊人？是的，可能。

Distinctly Irish or Nordic? No. Just a man. Not a Frenchman, I don't think. No, a routine flavor of American. A man of good height, my height, but not overwhelmingly tall like you. I couldn't have seen him for more than five seconds. It was sunrise. He had me trapped there. I couldn't flee, I went blank. The mattress covered me, and when I woke, no man. Gone, as if I'd imagined it. But I didn't
明显是爱尔兰人还是北欧人？不。只是一个男人。不是法国人，我不认为。不，是美式的常规风味。一个身高不错的人，我的身高，但不像你那样高大。我不可能看到他超过五秒钟。那是日出。他把我困在那里。我无法逃跑，我一片空白。床垫盖住了我，当我醒来时，没有人。消失了，好像我想象的那样。但我没有

imagine it!" 想象一下！

"Thank you. The hair?" “谢谢。头发？

"Ash blond, almost gray. You know how ash blond can fade to where it's really truly a ... a graying brown color, or colorless almost, just sort of deep gray."
“灰金色，几乎是灰色的。你知道灰金色是如何褪色到它真正真正......灰褐色，或者几乎无色，只是有点深灰色。

He gave a little gesture that he understood.
他做了一个他理解的小手势。

Cautiously I leant on the glass. With my strength it would have been a simple thing to have accidentally shattered the wall. The last thing I wanted was a blunder.
我小心翼翼地靠在玻璃上。以我的实力，不小心打碎了这堵墙，本来是一件简单的事情。我最不想看到的就是一个错误。

Obviously he wanted me to say more, and I was trying. I could recall the man fairly distinctly. "An agreeable face, very agreeable. He was the kind of man who doesn't impress one with size or physi- cality so much as a sort of alertness, a poise and intelligence, I
显然他想让我多说些什么，而我也在努力。我能清楚地记得那个人。“一张和蔼可亲的脸，非常和蔼可亲。我是那种不会用体型或体格给人留下深刻印象的人，而是一种警觉、沉着和智慧

suppose you'd call it. He looked like an interesting man."
假设你会称它为。他看起来是个有趣的人。

"Clothes." “衣服。”

"Not noticeable. Black I think, maybe even a bit dusty? I think I would remember jet black, or beautiful black, or fancy black."
“不明显。我想是黑色的，甚至可能有点尘土飞扬？我想我会记得乌黑，或者美丽的黑色，或者花哨的黑色。

"Eyes distinctive?" “眼睛与众不同？”

"Only for the intelligence. They weren't large or deeply colored. He looked normal, smart. Dark eyebrows but not terribly heavy or anything like that. Normal forehead, full hair, nice hair, combed, but nothing dandified like mine. Or yours."
“只是为了情报。它们不大也不深。他看起来很正常，很聪明。深色的眉毛，但不是很重或类似的东西。正常的额头，浓密的头发，漂亮的头发，梳理过，但没有像我那样花哨。或者你的。

"And you believe he spoke the words?"
“你相信他说了这些话吗？”

"I'm sure he did. I heard him. I jumped up. I was awake, you
“我敢肯定他做到了。我听到了他的声音。我跳了起来。我醒了，你

understand, fully awake. I saw the sun. Look at my hand."
理解，完全清醒。我看到了太阳。看看我的手。

I was not as pale as I had been before I went into the Gobi desert, before I had tempted the sun to kill me in the recent past. But we could both see the burn where the rays of the sun had struck my hand. And I could feel the burn on the right side of my face, though it wasn't visible there because I'd probably turned my head.
我不像我进入戈壁沙漠之前那样苍白，在我最近诱惑太阳杀死我之前。但我们俩都能看到太阳照射到我手上的灼伤。我能感觉到我右边脸的烧伤，虽然那里看不见，因为我可能转过头来了。

"And you woke and you were under the bed, and it was askew, and had been thrown over and had fallen back down."
“你醒了，你在床底下，床是歪斜的，被扔了过来，又掉了下来。”

"No question of it. A lamp was overturned. I had not dreamed it any more than I dreamed Roger or anything else. Look, I want you to come uptown with me. I want you to see this place. Roger's things."
“毫无疑问。一盏灯被打翻了。我没有做过这样的梦，就像我梦到罗杰或其他任何东西一样。听着，我要你和我一起上城。我想让你看看这个地方。罗杰的东西。

"Oh, I want to," he said. He stood up. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's just I wanted you to take your ease a little longer, to try
“哦，我想要，”他说。他站了起来。“我不会错过这个世界。我只是想让你再放松一会儿，尝试一下

to...." 到......”

"What? Get calm? After talking to the ghost of one of my victims? After seeing this man standing in my room! After seeing this thing take Roger, this thing which has been stalking me all over the world, this herald of madness, this?
“什么？冷静下来？在与我的一个受害者的鬼魂交谈后？看到这个男人站在我的房间里！在看到这个东西带走了罗杰之后，这个一直在全世界跟踪我的东西，这个疯狂的使者，这个？

"But you didn't really see it take Roger, did you?"
“但你并没有真正看到它带走了罗杰，是吗？”

I thought about it for a moment.
我想了一会儿。

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure Roger's image was animated anymore. He looked completely calm. He faded. Then the face of the creature or being or whatever it was梩he face was visible for an instant. By that time, I was completely lost梟o sense of balance or locality, nothing. I don't know whether Roger was just fading as it took him or whether he accepted it and went along."
“我不确定。我不确定罗杰的形象是否已经动画化了。他看起来非常平静。他褪色了。然后，那个生物或存在或任何东西的脸在一瞬间可见。到那时，我完全失去了平衡感或地方感，什么都没有。我不知道罗杰是像他一样逐渐消失，还是他接受了它并继续前进。

"Lestat, you don't know that either thing happened. You only know Roger's ghost disappeared and this thing appeared. That's all you know."
“莱斯塔特，你不知道这两件事都发生了。你只知道罗杰的鬼魂消失了，这东西出现了。这就是你所知道的。

"I suppose that's true." “我想这是真的。”

"Think about it this way- Your Stalker chose to make himself manifest. And he obliterated your ghostly companion."
“这样想吧——你的潜行者选择让自己显现出来。他消灭了你幽灵般的同伴。

"No. They were connected. Roger heard him coming! Roger knew he was coming even before I heard the footsteps. Thank God for one thing."
“不。他们是有联系的。罗杰听到他来了！罗杰甚至在我听到脚步声之前就知道他要来了。感谢上帝。

"Which is what?" “这是什么？”

"That I can't communicate the fear to you. That I can't make you feel how bad it was. You believe me, which is more than sufficient for the moment, but if you really knew, you wouldn't be calm and
“我无法向你传达恐惧。我不能让你觉得它有多糟糕。你相信我，这在目前已经绰绰有余了，但如果你真的知道，你就不会冷静和

collected and the perfect British gentleman."
收集了完美的英国绅士。

"I might be. Let's go. I want to see this treasure-house. I believe you're absolutely correct that you can't let all these objects slip out of the possession of the girl."
“我可能是。我们走吧。我想看看这个宝库。我相信你是绝对正确的，你不能让所有这些东西从女孩的手中溜走。

"Woman, young woman." “女人，年轻的女人。”

"And we should check on her whereabouts, immediately."
“我们应该立即检查她的下落。

"I did that on the way here."
“我是在来的路上做的。”

"In the state you were in?"
“在你所处的状态？”

"Well, I certainly snapped out of it long enough to go into the hotel and make certain she'd left. I had to do that much. A limousine had taken her to La Guardia at nine a.m. this morning. She reached New Orleans this afternoon. As for the convent, I have no idea how to reach her there. I don't even know if she has the wiring in it for a phone. For now, she's as safe as she ever was while Roger was living."
“嗯，我当然从里面跳出来足够长的时间，走进酒店，确定她已经离开了。我必须做这么多。今天上午九点，一辆豪华轿车把她带到了拉瓜迪亚。她今天下午抵达新奥尔良。至于修道院，我不知道如何联系到她。我什至不知道她里面有没有电话的接线。现在，她和罗杰活着的时候一样安全。

"Agreed. Let's go uptown."
“同意。我们去上城吧。

SOMETIMES fear is a warning. It's like someone putting a hand on your shoulder and saying Go No Farther.
有时恐惧是一种警告。这就像有人把手放在你的肩膀上，说不要再走了。

As we entered the flat, I felt that for a couple of seconds. Panic. Go No Farther.
当我们进入公寓时，我感觉到了几秒钟。恐慌。不要再走了。

But I was too proud to show it and David too curious, proceeding before me into the hallway, and noting, no doubt, as I did, that the place was without life. The recent death? He could smell it as well as I could. I wondered if it was less noxious to him since it had not been his kill.
但是我太骄傲了，不敢表现出来，大卫也太好奇了，在我面前走到走廊里，毫无疑问，和我一样，注意到这个地方没有生命。最近的死亡？他能像我一样闻到它的味道。我想知道这对他来说是否不那么有害，因为这不是他的杀戮。

Roger! The fusion of the mangled corpse and Roger the Ghost in memory was suddenly like a sharp kick in the chest.
知道了！残缺不全的尸体和记忆中的幽灵罗杰的融合，顿时就像是胸口被猛踢了一脚。

David went all the way to the living room while I lingered, looking
大卫一路走到客厅，而我则徘徊不前，看着

at the big white marble angel with its shell of holy water and thinking how like the granite statue it was. Blake. William Blake had known. He had seen angels and devils and he'd gotten their
看着巨大的白色大理石天使，它有圣水的外壳，想着它是多么像花岗岩雕像。布莱克。威廉·布莱克（William Blake）早就知道了。他见过天使和魔鬼，他得到了他们的

proportions right. Roger and I could have talked about Blake. ...
比例正确。罗杰和我本可以谈谈布莱克。...

But that was over. I was here, in the hallway.
但那已经结束了。我在这里，在走廊里。

The thought that I had to walk forward, put one foot before the other, reach the living room, and look at that granite statue was
一想到我必须向前走，把一只脚放在另一只脚之前，到达客厅，看看那座花岗岩雕像。

suddenly a little more than I could accept.
突然间，我承受不了。

"It's not here," David said. He hadn't read my mind. He was merely stating the obvious. He was standing in the living room some fifty feet away, looking at me, the halogens throwing just a little of their dedicated light on him and he said again, "There is no black granite statue in this room."
“它不在这里，”大卫说。他没有读懂我的心思。他只是在陈述显而易见的事情。他站在大约五十英尺外的客厅里，看着我，卤素灯只向他投下了一点专门的光，他又说：“这个房间里没有黑色花岗岩雕像。

I gave a sigh. "I'm going to hell," I whispered.
我叹了口气。“我要下地狱了，”我低声说。

I could see David very distinctly, but no mortal could have. His image was too shadowy. He looked tall and very strong, standing
我能非常清楚地看到大卫，但凡人不可能。他的形象太阴暗了。他看起来又高又强壮，站着

there, back to the dingy light of the windows, the halogens making sparkles on his brass buttons.
在那里，回到窗户昏暗的光线下，卤素灯在他的黄铜纽扣上闪闪发光。

"The blood?" “血？”

"Yes, the blood, and your glasses. Your violet glasses. A nice piece of evidence."
“是的，血，还有你的眼镜。你的紫罗兰色眼镜。一个很好的证据。

"Evidence of what!" “什么证据！”

It was too stupid of me to stand here at the back door talking to him over this distance. I walked down the hall as if going cheerfully to the guillotine, and I came into die room.
我太傻了，站在后门和他说话，隔着这么远的距离。我走下大厅，仿佛兴高采烈地走向断头台，然后我走进了死亡室。

There was only an empty space where the statue had stood, and I wasn't even sure it was big enough. Clutter. Plaster saints. Icons, some so old and fragile they were under glass. Last night I hadn't noticed so very many, sparkling all over the walls in the splinters of light that escaped the directed lamps.
雕像站立的地方只有一片空地，我甚至不确定它是否足够大。杂乱。石膏圣徒。圣像，有些是如此古老和脆弱，以至于它们在玻璃下。昨晚我没有注意到这么多，在从定向灯中逃脱的光碎片中闪闪发光。

"Incredible!" David whispered.
“难以置信！”大卫低声说。

"I knew you'd love it," I said dismally. I would have loved it, too, if I were not shaken to the bone.
“我知道你会喜欢的，”我沮丧地说。如果我没有被震撼到骨头，我也会喜欢它。

He was studying the objects, eyes moving back and forth over the icons and then the saints. "Absolutely magnificent objects. This is ... is an extraordinary collection. You don't know what any of this is, do you?"
他正在研究这些物体，眼睛在圣像上来回移动，然后是圣徒。“绝对宏伟的物体。这是。。。是一个非凡的收藏。你不知道这是什么，是吗？

"Well, more or less," I said. "I'm not an artistic illiterate."
“嗯，或多或少，”我说。“我不是艺术文盲。”

"The series of pictures on the wall," he said. He gestured to a long row of icons, the most fragile.
“墙上的一系列照片，”他说。他指了指一长排图标，这是最脆弱的。

"Those? Not really." “那些？其实不然。

"Veronica's veil," he said. "These are early copies of the famous mandilion梩he veil itself梬hich supposedly vanished from history centuries ago. Perhaps during the Fourth Crusade. This one's
“维罗妮卡的面纱，”他说。“这些是著名的曼迪利翁面纱本身的早期复制品，据说几个世纪前就从历史上消失了。也许在第四次十字军东征期间。这个是

Russian, flawless. This one? Italian. And look there, on the floor, in stacks, those are the Stations of the Cross."
俄语，完美无瑕。这个？意大利语。看那里，在地板上，成堆，那些是十字架的车站。

"He was obsessed with finding relics for Dora. Besides, he loved the stuff himself. That one, the Russian Veil of Veronica梙e had just brought that here to New York to Dora. Last night they
“他痴迷于为朵拉寻找遗物。此外，他自己也喜欢这些东西。那个，维罗妮卡的俄罗斯面纱刚刚把它带到了纽约的朵拉。昨晚他们

quarreled over it, but she wouldn't take it."
为此吵架，但她不肯接受。

It was quite fine. How he had tried to describe it to her. God, I felt as if I had known him from my youth and we had talked about all of these objects, and every surface for me was layered with his special appreciation and complex of thoughts.
这很好。他是如何试图向她描述的。上帝啊，我觉得我好像从年轻时就认识他，我们谈论过所有这些对象，对我来说，每一个表面都充满了他特别的欣赏和复杂的思想。

The Stations of the Cross. Of course I knew the devotion, what
十字架的车站。我当然知道奉献精神，什么

Catholic child did not? We would follow the fourteen different
天主教孩子没有？我们将遵循十四个不同的

stations of Christ's passion and journey to Calvary through the
基督受难的车站和前往髑髅地的旅程通过

darkened church, stopping at each on bended knee to say the appropriate prayers. Or the priest and his altar boys would make the procession, while the congregation would recite with them the meditation on Christ's suffering at each point. Hadn't Veronica come up at the sixth station to wipe the face of Jesus with her veil?
黑暗的教堂，在每个人的膝盖上停下来，说适当的祈祷。或者祭司和他的祭坛男孩会游行，而会众会和他们一起背诵基督在每个点上受苦的默想。维罗妮卡不是在第六站上来用面纱擦拭耶稣的脸吗？

David moved from object to object. "Now, this crucifix, this is really early, this could make a stir."
大卫从一个物体移动到另一个物体。“现在，这个十字架，这还为时过早，可能会引起轰动。”

"But couldn't you say that about all the others?"
“但是你不能对其他人这么说吗？”

"Oh, yes, but I'm not speaking of Dora and her religion, or
“哦，是的，但我不是在说朵拉和她的宗教，或者

whatever that's about, simply that these are fabulous works of art. No, you're right, we cannot leave all this to fate, not possible. Here, this little statue could be ninth century, Celtic, unbelievably valuable. And this, this probably came from the Kremlin."
不管这是怎么回事，只是这些都是神话般的艺术作品。不，你是对的，我们不能把这一切都交给命运，不可能。在这里，这座小雕像可能是九世纪的凯尔特人，价值连城。而这个，这可能来自克里姆林宫。

He paused, gripped by an icon of a Madonna and Child. Deeply stylized, of course, as are they all, and this one very familiar, for the Christ child was losing one of his sandals as He clung to his mother, and one could see angels tormenting Him with little symbols of his coming passion, and the Mother's head was tenderly inclined to the son. Halo overlapped halo. The child Jesus running from the future, into his Mother's protective arms.
他停顿了一下，被一幅圣母子的偶像抓住了。 当然，和他们所有人一样，风格化很深，而且这个非常熟悉，因为基督的孩子在紧紧抓住他的母亲时失去了他的一只凉鞋，人们可以看到天使用他即将到来的激情的小象征来折磨他，母亲的头温柔地向儿子倾斜。光环重叠光环。孩子耶稣从未来逃跑，进入他母亲的保护怀抱。

"You understand the fundamental principle of an icon, don't you?" David asked.
“你明白图标的基本原理，不是吗？”大卫问道。

"Inspired by God." “受上帝的启示。”

"Not made by hands," said David. "Supposedly directly
“不是手工制作的，”大卫说。“据说是直接的

imprinted upon the background material by God Himself."
由上帝亲自印在背景材料上。

"You mean like Jesus' face was imprinted on Veronica's veil?"
“你是说耶稣的脸印在维罗妮卡的面纱上？”

"Exactly. All icons fundamentally were the work of God. A
“没错。从根本上说，所有的圣像都是上帝的杰作。一个

revelation in material form. And sometimes a new icon could be made from another simply by pressing a new cloth to the original, and a magic transfer would occur."
物质形式的启示。有时，只需将一块新布压在原来的布上，就可以从另一个图标上制作出一个新图标，并且会发生神奇的转移。

"I see. Nobody was supposed to have painted it."
“我明白了。没有人应该画它。

"Precisely. Look, this is a jewel-framed relic of the True Cross, and this, this book here ... my God, these can't be the ... No, this is a famous Book of the Hours that was lost in Berlin in the Second World War."
“没错。看，这是真十字架的宝石镶嵌的遗物，而这，这本书在这里......我的上帝，这些不可能是......不，这是一本著名的时辰之书，在第二次世界大战中在柏林丢失了。

"David, we can make our loving inventory later. Okay? The point is, what do we do now?" I had stopped being so afraid, though I did keep looking at the empty place where the granite devil had stood.
“大卫，我们以后可以做我们的爱心清单。好？关键是，我们现在该怎么办？我不再那么害怕了，尽管我一直在看着花岗岩魔鬼站立的空旷的地方。

And he had been the Devil, I knew he was. I'd start trembling if we did not go into action.
他曾经是魔鬼，我知道他是。如果我们不采取行动，我会开始颤抖。

"How do we save all this for Dora, and where?" David said. MCome on, the cabinets and the notebooks, let's put things in order, find the Wynken de Wilde books, let's make a decision and a plan."
“我们该如何为朵拉保存这一切，又在哪里？”大卫说。打开橱柜和笔记本，让我们把东西整理好，找到温肯·德·王尔德的书，让我们做出决定和计划。

"Don't think about bringing your old mortal allies into this," I said suddenly, suspiciously, and unkindly, I have to admit.
“别想把你的老盟友带进来，”我不得不承认，我突然说，怀疑，不友善。

"You mean the Talamasca?" he asked. He looked at me. He was holding the precious Book of the Hours in his hand, its cover as
“你是说塔拉马斯卡？”他问。他看着我。他手里拿着那本珍贵的时辰之书，封面是

fragile as piecrust. 像馅饼皮一样脆弱。

"It all belongs to Dora," I said. "We have to save it for her. And Wynken's mine if she never wants Wynken."
“这一切都属于朵拉，”我说。“我们必须为她保存它。如果 Wynken 永远不想要 Wynken，那就是我的。

"Of course, I understand that," he said. "Good heavens, Lestat, do you think I still maintain contact with the Talamasca? They could be trusted in that regard, but I don't want any contact with my old mortal allies, as you call them. I never want any contact with them again. I don't want my file in their archive the way you wanted yours, remember. 'The Vampire Lestat.' I don't want to be remembered by them, except as their Superior General who died of old age. Now come on."
“当然，我理解这一点，”他说。“天哪，莱斯塔特，你以为我还和塔拉马斯卡保持联系吗？在这方面，他们是可以信任的，但我不想和我的老盟友有任何接触，正如你所说的那样。我再也不想和他们联系了。我不希望我的文件像你想要的那样在他们的档案中，记住。“吸血鬼莱斯塔特。”我不想被他们记住，除非是他们因年老而死的高级将军。现在来吧。

There was a bit of disgust in his voice, and grief, also. I recalled that the death of Aaron Lightner, his old friend, had been "the final straw" with him and his Talamasca. Some sort of controversy had surrounded Lightner's death, but I never knew what it was.
他的声音里有一点厌恶，还有悲伤。我记得他的老朋友亚伦·莱特纳（Aaron Lightner）的死是他和他的塔拉马斯卡的“最后一根稻草”。围绕着莱特纳的死，有某种争议，但我从来不知道那是什么。

The cabinet was in a room before the parlour, along with several other boxes of records. Immediately I found the financial papers, and went through them while David surveyed the rest.
柜子在客厅前面的一个房间里，还有其他几箱唱片。我立刻找到了财务文件，并仔细阅读了它们，而大卫则调查了其余的文件。

Having vast holdings of my own, I'm no stranger to legal documents
我拥有自己的大量资产，对法律文件并不陌生

and the tricks of international banks. Yes, Dora had a legacy from unimpeachable sources, I could see that, which could not be touched by those seeking retribution for Roger's crimes. It was all connected to her name, Theodora Flynn, which must have been her legal name, as the result of Roger's nuptial alias.
以及国际银行的伎俩。是的，朵拉有来自无可指责的遗产，我看得出来，那些为罗杰的罪行寻求报复的人无法触及。这一切都与她的名字西奥多拉·弗林（Theodora Flynn）有关，这一定是她的法定名字，因为罗杰的婚礼别名。

There were too many different documents for me to assess the full value, only that it had been accumulated over time. It seemed Dora might have started a new Crusade to take back Istanbul from the Turks had she wanted to. There were some letters ... I could
有太多不同的文件让我无法评估全部价值，只是它是随着时间的推移而积累的。如果朵拉愿意的话，她似乎已经开始了一场新的十字军东征，从土耳其人手中夺回伊斯坦布尔。有一些信......我可以

pinpoint the exact date two years ago when Dora had refused all further assistance from the two trusts of which she had knowledge. As for the rest, I wondered if she had any idea of the scope.
确切地说，两年前，朵拉拒绝了她所知道的两个信托机构的所有进一步援助。至于其余的，我想知道她是否知道范围。

Scope is everything when it comes to money. Imagination and scope. You lack either of these two things and you can't make moral decisions, or so I've always thought. It sounds contemptible, but think about it. It's not contemptible. Money is power to feed the hungry. To clothe the poor. But you have to know that. Dora had trusts and trusts, and trusts to pay taxes on all the trusts.
在金钱方面，范围就是一切。想象力和范围。你缺乏这两样东西，你就无法做出道德决定，或者我一直这么认为。这听起来很可鄙，但想想看。这不是可鄙的。金钱是养活饥饿者的力量。给穷人穿衣服。但你必须知道这一点。朵拉有信托和信托，还有信托为所有信托纳税。

I thought in a moment's sorrow of how I had meant to help my beloved Gretchen桽ister Marguerite梐nd how the mere sight of me had ruined everything, and I'd retreated from her life, with all my gold still in the coffers. Didn't it always turn out Hke that? I was no saint. I didn't feed the hungry.
我一时悲伤地想，我本来是想帮助我心爱的格蕾琴·玛格丽特的，光是看到我就毁了一切，我从她的生活中撤退了，我所有的金子都还在金库里。不是总是这样吗？我不是圣人。我没有喂饱饥饿的人。

But Dora! Quite suddenly it dawned on me梥he had become my daughter! She had become my saint just as she'd been Roger's. NOW she had another rich father. She had me!
但是朵拉！我恍然大悟，他成了我的女儿！她成了我的圣人，就像她是罗杰的圣人一样。现在她又有了另一个富有的父亲。她有我！

"What is it?" David asked with alarm. He was going through a carton of papers. "You've seen the ghost again?"
“这是什么？”大卫惊恐地问道。他正在翻阅一箱文件。“你又见过鬼了？”

For one moment, I almost went into one of my major tremours, but I got a grip. I didn't say anything, but I saw it ever more clearly.
有那么一瞬间，我差点陷入我的一次剧烈震颤，但我抓住了。我什么也没说，但我看得更清楚了。

Watch out for Dora! Of course I would watch out for Dora, and somehow I'd convince her to accept everything. Maybe Roger hadn't known the proper arguments. And Roger was now a martyr for all his treasures. Yes, his last angle had been the right angle. He'd ransomed his treasures. Maybe with Dora, if properly explained. ...
小心朵拉！我当然会提防朵拉，我会以某种方式说服她接受一切。也许罗杰不知道正确的论据。罗杰现在是他所有宝藏的殉道者。是的，他的最后一个角度是正确的角度。他赎回了他的宝藏。如果解释得当，也许和朵拉在一起。...

I was distracted. There they were, the twelve books. Each in a neat thin film of plastic, lined up on the top shelf of a small desk, right near the file cabinet. I knew what they were. I knew. And then there were Roger's labels on them, his fancy scribbling on a small white sticker, "W de W."
我分心了。他们在那里，十二本书。每张纸都装在整齐的塑料薄膜中，排列在一张小桌子的顶层架子上，就在文件柜附近。我知道它们是什么。我知道。然后上面有罗杰的标签，他在一张白色的小贴纸上涂鸦，“W de W”。

"Look," David said, rising from his knees and wiping the dust from his pants. "These are all simple legal papers on the purchases, everything here is clean, apparently, or has been laundered; there are dozens of receipts, certificates of authentication. I say we take all of this out of here now."
“看，”大卫说，从膝盖上站起来，擦去裤子上的灰尘。“这些都是关于购买的简单法律文件，这里的一切都很干净，显然，或者已经洗过;有几十张收据，认证证书。我说我们现在把这些都拿出来。

"Yes, but how, and to where?"
“是的，但是如何，在哪里？”

"Think, what's the safest place? Your rooms in New Orleans are certainly not safe. We can't trust these things to a warehouse in a city like New York."
“想想看，什么地方最安全？你在新奥尔良的房间肯定不安全。我们不能把这些东西托付给像纽约这样的城市的仓库。

"Exactly. I do have rooms here at a little hotel across from the park but that...."
“没错。我在公园对面的一家小酒店里有房间，但......”

"Yes, I remember, that's where the Body Thief followed you. You mean you didn't change that address?"
“是的，我记得，那是盗尸贼跟着你的地方。你是说你没有改变那个地址？

"Doesn't matter. It wouldn't hold all this."
“没关系。它无法容纳这一切。

"But you realize that our sizable quarters in the Olympic Tower would hold all this," he said.
“但你意识到，我们在奥林匹克塔的相当大的空间可以容纳这一切，”他说。

"You serious?" I asked. “你是认真的？”我问。

"Of course I am. What could be more secure? Now we've work to do. We can't have any mortal connections with this. We're going to do all this toiling ourselves."
“我当然是。还有什么比这更安全的呢？现在我们有工作要做。我们不能与此有任何凡人的联系。我们要自己辛苦地做这一切。

"Ah!" I gave a disgusted sigh. "You mean wrap all this and move it?"
“啊！”我厌恶地叹了口气。“你是说把这些东西都包起来，然后移动它？”

He laughed. "Yes! Hercules had to do such things, and so have angels. How do you think Michael felt when he had to go from door to door in Egypt slaying the First Born of every house? Come on. You don't realize how simple it is to cushion all these items with modern plastics. I say we move it ourselves. It will be a venture. Why not go over the roofs."
他笑了。“是的！赫拉克勒斯必须做这样的事情，天使也是如此。当米迦勒不得不在埃及挨家挨户地杀死每家的长子时，你觉得他有什么感觉？加油。你没有意识到用现代塑料缓冲所有这些物品是多么简单。我说我们自己动。这将是一次冒险。为什么不越过屋顶。

"Ah, there is nothing more irritating than the energy of a
“啊，没有什么比能量更令人恼火的了

fledgling vampire," I said wearily. But I knew he was right. And our strength was incalculably greater than that of any mortal helper. We could have all this cleared out perhaps within the night.
初出茅庐的吸血鬼，“我疲惫地说。但我知道他是对的。我们的力量比任何凡人的帮助者都要强大得多。我们也许可以在晚上把这一切弄清楚。

Some night! 某个晚上！

I will say in retrospect that labor is an antidote for angst and
回想起来，我会说，劳动是焦虑的解药和

general misery, and the fear that the Devil is going to grab you by the throat at any moment and bring you down into the fiery pit!
普遍的痛苦，以及害怕魔鬼随时会扼住你的喉咙，把你带入火坑！

We amassed a huge supply of an insulating material made with bubbles of air trapped in plastic, which could indeed bind the most fragile relic in a harmless embrace. I removed the financial papers and the books of Wynken, carefully examining each to make sure I was right about what I had, and then we proceeded to the heavy labor.
我们积累了大量的绝缘材料，这种材料由塑料中的气泡制成，它确实可以将最脆弱的遗物束缚在一个无害的怀抱中。我拿走了Wynken的财务文件和账簿，仔细检查了每一份文件，以确保我所拥有的是正确的，然后我们开始了繁重的工作。

Sack by sack we transported all the smaller objects, going over the rooftops as David had suggested, unnoticed by mortals, two stealthy black figures flying as witches might to the Sabbath.
我们一袋一袋地运送所有较小的物体，按照大卫的建议越过屋顶，在凡人没有注意到的情况下，两个隐蔽的黑色身影像女巫一样飞向安息日。

The larger objects we had to take more lovingly, each of us toting one at a time in our arms. I deliberately avoided the great white
我们不得不更亲切地拿起更大的物品，我们每个人一次抱一个。我刻意避开了大白

marble angel. But David loved it, talking to it all the way until we reached our destination. And all this was slipped into the secure rooms of the Olympic Tower in a rather proper way through the freight stairways, with the obligatory mortal pace.
大理石天使。但大卫喜欢它，一直和它说话，直到我们到达目的地。所有这一切都以一种相当适当的方式通过货运楼梯，以强制性的凡人步伐溜进了奥林匹克塔的安全房间。

Our little clocks would wind down as we touched the mortal world, and we would pass into it quickly, gentlemen furnishing their new digs with appropriately and securely wrapped treasures.
当我们触及凡间时，我们的小钟会逐渐变速，我们会很快进入尘世，绅士们用适当而安全包装的宝藏来装饰他们的新挖掘。

Soon the clean, carpeted rooms above St. Patrick's housed a
很快，圣帕特里克楼上干净、铺着地毯的房间里就住着一个

wilderness of ghostly plastic packages, some looking all too much like mummies, or less carefully embalmed dead bodies. The white marble angel with her seashell holy water basin was perhaps the largest. The books of Wynken, wrapped and bound, lay on the Oriental dining table. I hadn't really had a chance to look at them, but now was not the moment.
幽灵般的塑料包装的荒野，有些看起来太像木乃伊，或者没有经过仔细防腐处理的尸体。白色大理石天使和她的贝壳圣水盆也许是最大的。Wynken 的书，包装和装订，躺在东方餐桌上。我真的没有机会看他们，但现在不是时机。

I sank down in a chair in the front room, panting from sheer
我坐在前厅的椅子上，气喘吁吁

boredom and fury that I had had to do anything so utterly menial. David was jubilant.
无聊和愤怒，我不得不做任何如此卑鄙的事情。大卫兴高采烈。

"The security's perfect here," David said enthusiastically. His young male body seemed inflamed with his own personal spirit, When I looked at him, sometimes I saw both merged梩he elderly David, the young strapping Anglo-Indian male form. But most of the time, he was merely starkly perfect. And surely the strongest
“这里的安全很完美，”大卫热情地说。他年轻的男性身体似乎被他自己的个人精神所激怒，当我看着他时，有时我看到两个人融合在一起，年迈的大卫，年轻的英印男性形象。但大多数时候，他只是非常完美。而且肯定是最强的

fledgling I had ever produced.
我曾经生产过的初出茅庐。

That wasn't due only to the strength of my blood or my own trials and tribulations before I'd brought him over. I'd given hirn more blood than I'd ever given the others when I made him. I'd risked my own survival. But no matter? I sat there loving him, loving my own work. I was full of dust.
这不仅仅是因为我的血脉力量，也不是因为我把他带过来之前我自己的考验和磨难。我给他的血比我造他时给其他人的血还要多。我冒着自己的生存风险。但没关系？我坐在那里爱他，爱我自己的工作。我满身灰尘。

I realized that everything had been taken care of. We had even brought the rugs last, in rolls. Even the rug soaked with Roger's blood. Relic of the martyred Roger. Well, I would spare Dora that detail.
我意识到一切都得到了照顾。我们甚至把地毯最后带了过来，卷成一卷。就连地毯上都浸透了罗杰的鲜血。殉道的罗杰的遗物。好吧，我会饶恕朵拉这个细节。

"I have to hunt," David said in a whisper, waking me from my calculations.
“我必须打猎，”大卫低声说，把我从计算中惊醒。

I didn't reply. 我没有回复。

"You coming?" “你来了？”

"You want me to?" I asked.
“你要我吗？”我问。

He stood there regarding me with the strangest expression, dark youthful face without any palpable condemnation or even disgust.
他站在那里，用最奇怪的表情看着我，黝黑的年轻脸没有任何明显的谴责甚至厌恶。

"Why don't you? Don't you enjoy seeing it, even if you don't want it?"
“你为什么不呢？即使你不想要它，你也不喜欢看它吗？

I nodded. I'd never dreamed he would let me watch. Louis hated it when I watched. When we'd been together last year, the three of us,
我点了点头。我做梦也没想到他会让我看。当我看的时候，路易斯讨厌它。去年我们在一起的时候，我们三个人，

David had been far too reticent and suspicious to suggest such a thing.
大卫太沉默寡言了，怀疑太多了，不敢提出这样的事情。

We went down into the thick snowy darkness of Central Park. Everywhere one could hear the park's nighttime occupants, snoring, grumbling, tiny whiffs of conversation, smoke. These are strong
我们走进了中央公园厚厚的白雪皑皑的黑暗中。到处都能听到公园夜间居住者的声音，打鼾声，抱怨声，细小的谈话声，烟雾。这些都很强大

individuals, individuals who know how to live in the wild in the midst of a city that is itself notoriously fatal to its unlucky ones.
个人，知道如何在城市中野外生活的人，而这座城市本身对不幸的人来说是出了名的致命。

David found what he wanted quickly梐 young male with a
大卫很快就找到了他想要的东西梐年轻男性

skullcap, his bare toes showing through his broken shoes, a walker in the night, lone and drugged and insensible to the cold and talking aloud to people of long ago.
无边帽，他光秃秃的脚趾从破鞋里露出来，是黑夜中的行者，孤独而吸毒，对寒冷麻木不仁，大声地与很久以前的人交谈。

I stood back under the trees, wet with snow and uncaring. David reached out for the young man's shoulder, brought him gently around and embraced him. Classic. As David bent to drink, the young man began to laugh and talk simultaneously. And then went quiet, transfixed, until at last the body was gently laid to rest at the foot of a leafless tree.
我站在树下，被雪弄湿了，毫不在意。大卫伸手抓住年轻人的肩膀，轻轻地把他抱在怀里。经典。当大卫弯腰喝酒时，年轻人开始同时大笑和说话。然后安静下来，呆呆地呆着，直到最后尸体被轻轻地放在一棵没有叶子的树脚下。

The skyscrapers of New York glowed to the south of us, the warmer, smaller lights of the East and the West Side hemmed us in. David stood very still, thinking what, I wondered?
纽约的摩天大楼在我们南边闪闪发光，东区和西区温暖、较小的灯光将我们包围在其中。大卫一动不动地站着，心里想着什么，我想知道？

It seemed he'd lost the ability to move. I went towards him. He was no calm, diligent archivest at the moment. He looked to be suffering.
他似乎失去了移动的能力。我朝他走去。此刻，他不是一个冷静、勤奋的档案。他看起来很痛苦。

"What?" I asked. “什么？”我问。

"You know what," he whispered. "I won't survive that long." "You serious? With the gifts I gave you? "Shhhh, we're too much in the habit of saying things to each other which we know are unacceptable to each other. We should stop."
“你知道吗，”他低声说。“我活不了那么久。”“你是认真的？用我送给你的礼物？“嘘，我们太习惯于对对方说一些我们知道彼此无法接受的话。我们应该停下来。

"And speak only the truth? All right. This is the truth. Now, you feel as if you can't survive. Now. When his blood is hot and swirling through you. Of course. But you won't feel that way forever. That's the key. I don't want to talk anymore about survival. I took a good crack at ending my life; it didn't work, and besides, I have something else to think about梩his thing that's following me, and how I can help Dora before it closes in on me." That shut him up.
“而且只说真话？好吧。这是事实。现在，你觉得自己好像活不下去了。现在。当他的血液炽热地在你身上旋转时。答案是肯定的。但你不会永远有这种感觉。这是关键。我不想再谈论生存了。我很好地结束了我的生命;它没有用，而且，我还有别的事情要考虑，那就是跟踪我的事情，以及我该如何在朵拉靠近我之前帮助它。这让他闭嘴了。

We started walking, mortal fashion, through the dark park
我们开始走路，凡人时尚，穿过黑暗的公园

together, my feet crunching deep into the snow. We wandered in and
我的双脚在雪地深处嘎吱作响。我们徘徊在里面，

out of the leafless groves, pushing aside the wet black branches, the looming buildings of midtown never quite out of sight.
从没有叶子的小树林中走出来，推开湿漉漉的黑色树枝，中城若隐若现的建筑从未完全消失。

I was on edge for the sound of the footsteps. I was on edge and a dreary thought had come to me梩hat the monstrous thing that had been revealed, the Devil himself or whoever it was, had merely been after Roger. . . .
我为脚步声而紧张。我心里很紧张，一个沉闷的念头浮现在我的脑海里，那个被揭露的可怕的东西，魔鬼本人，不管是谁，只是在追捕罗杰。

But then what of the man, the anonymous and perfectly ordinary man? That is what he had become in my mind, the man I'd glimpsed before dawn.
但是那个人呢，那个匿名的、完全普通的人呢？这就是他在我心目中的样子，是我在黎明前瞥见的那个人。

We drew near to the lights of Central Park South, the buildings rising higher, with an arrogance that Babylon could not have thrown in the face of heaven. But there were the comforting sounds of the well-heeled, and the committed, coming and going, and the
我们走近中央公园南的灯光，建筑物拔地而起，带着巴比伦在天堂面前无法抛出的傲慢。但是有钱人的安慰声，有委身的人，来来去去，还有

neverending push and shove of taxis adding to the din.
无休止的推搡出租车增加了喧嚣。

David was brooding, stricken.
大卫陷入了沉思，心烦意乱。

Finally I said, "If you'd seen the thing that I saw, you wouldn't be so eager to jump to the next stage." I gave a sigh. I wasn't going to describe the winged thing to either one of us again.
最后我说：“如果你看到了我看到的东西，你就不会那么急于跳到下一个阶段了。我叹了口气。我不打算再向我们中的任何一个人描述那个有翅膀的东西了。

"I'm quite inspired by it," he confessed. "You can't imagine."
“我深受启发，”他承认。“你无法想象。”

"Going to Hell? With a Devil like that?"
“下地狱？有这样的魔鬼吗？

"Did you feel it was hellish? Did you sense evil? I asked you that before. Did you feel evil when the thing took Roger? Did Roger give any indication of pain?"
“你觉得这简直是地狱般的吗？你感觉到邪恶了吗？我之前问过你。当那东西带走罗杰时，你觉得邪恶吗？罗杰有没有表现出任何疼痛的迹象？

Those questions seemed to me a bit hairsplitting.
这些问题在我看来有点令人毛骨悚然。

"Don't get overly optimistic about death," I said. "I'm warning you. My views are changing. The atheism and nihilism of my earlier years now seems shallow, and even a bit cocky."
“不要对死亡过于乐观，”我说。“我警告你。我的观点正在改变。我早年的无神论和虚无主义现在看来是肤浅的，甚至有点自大。

He smiled, dismissively, as he used to do when he was mortal and visibly wore the laurels of venerable age.
他轻蔑地笑了笑，就像他曾经在凡人时所做的那样，显然戴着古老而古老的桂冠。

"Have you ever read the stories of Hawthorne?" he asked me softly. We had reached the street, crossed, and were slowly skirting the fountain before the Plaza.
“你读过霍桑的故事吗？”他轻声问我。我们走到街上，穿过马路，慢慢地绕过广场前的喷泉。

"Yes," I said. "At some time or other."
“是的，”我说。“在某个时候。”

"And you remember Ethan Brand's search for the unpardonable sin?"
“你还记得伊桑·布兰德寻找不可饶恕的罪吗？”

"I think so. He went off to search for it and left his fellow man behind."
“我想是的。他去寻找它，把他的同胞抛在了后面。

"Recall this paragraph," he said gently. We made our way down Fifth, a street that is never empty, or dark. He quoted the lines to me:
“回想一下这一段，”他温柔地说。我们沿着第五街走，这条街从不空旷，也不黑暗。他向我引用了这句话：

" 'He had lost his hold of the magnetic chain of humanity. He was no longer a brother-man, opening the chambers or the dungeons of our common nature by the key of holy sympathy, which gave him a right to share in all its secrets; he was now a cold observer, looking on mankind as the subject of his experiment, and, at length, converting man and woman to be his puppets, and pulling the wires that moved them to such degrees of crime as were demanded for his study.' "
“'他已经失去了对人类磁链的控制。他不再是一个兄弟，用神圣的同情的钥匙打开了我们共同本性的房间或地牢，这使他有权分享所有的秘密;他现在是一个冷酷的观察者，把人类看作是他实验的对象，最后，他把男人和女人变成他的傀儡，并拉动电线，使他们达到他研究所要求的犯罪程度。"

I said nothing. I wanted to protest, but it was not an honest thing to do. I wanted to say that I would never, never treat humans like puppets. All I had done was watch Roger, damn it all, and Gretchen in the jungles, I had pulled no strings. Honesty had undone her and me together. But then he wasn't speaking of me with these words. He was talking about himself, the distance he felt now from the human. He had only begun to be Ethan Brand.
我什么也没说。我想抗议，但这不是一件诚实的事情。我想说的是，我永远不会，永远不会把人类当成傀儡。我所做的只是看着罗杰，该死的，还有丛林中的格雷琴，我没有拉扯任何绳索。诚实让她和我一起崩溃了。但后来他并没有用这些话来谈论我。他在谈论他自己，他现在感觉到与人类的距离。他才刚刚开始成为伊桑·布兰德。

"Let me continue a little farther," he asked respectfully, then began to quote again. " 'Thus Ethan Brand became a fiend. He began to be so from the moment that his moral nature had ceased to keep the pace of improvement with his intellect? " He broke off.
“让我继续说得更远一点，”他恭敬地问道，然后又开始引用。“于是，伊桑·布兰德变成了一个恶魔。从那一刻起，他的道德本性就不再跟上他的智力进步的步伐了，他就开始这样了？“ 他断了。

I didn't reply. 我没有回复。

"That's our damnation," he whispered. "Our moral improvement has reached its finish, and our intellect grows by leaps and bounds."
“那是我们的诅咒，”他低声说。“我们的道德进步已经完成，我们的智力突飞猛进。”

Still I said nothing. What was I to say? Despair was so familiar to me; it could be banished by the sight of a beautiful mannikin in the window. It could be dispelled by the spectacle of lights surrounding a tower. It could be lifted by the great ghostly shape of St. Patrick's coming into view. And then despair would come again.
我仍然什么也没说。我要说什么？绝望对我来说是如此熟悉;它可能会被窗户里美丽的曼尼金人所驱散。它可能会被塔楼周围的灯光奇观所驱散。圣帕特里克教堂的巨大幽灵形状可能会升起。然后绝望会再次来临。

Meaningless, I almost said, aloud, but what came from my lips was completely different.
毫无意义，我几乎大声说，但从我嘴里说出来的话完全不同。

"I have Dora to think of," I said.
“我有朵拉要想，”我说。

Dora. 朵 拉。

"Yes, and thanks to you," he said, "I have Dora too, now don't I?"
“是的，多亏了你，”他说，“我也有朵拉，现在不是吗？

6

HOW AND when and what to tell Dora? That was the
如何、何时以及告诉朵拉什么？那是

question. The journey we made to New Orleans early the next night.
问题。第二天晚上我们一大早就去了新奥尔良。

There was no sign of Louis at the town house in the Rue Royale, but this was by no means unusual. Louis took to wandering more and more often, and he had been seen once by David in the company of Armand in Paris. The town house was spotless, a dream set out of time, full of my favorite Louis XV furnishings, luscious wallpaper, and the finest carpets to be found.
在皇家街的联排别墅里没有路易斯的迹象，但这绝不罕见。路易开始越来越频繁地流浪，大卫在巴黎的阿尔芒的陪伴下见过他一次。联排别墅一尘不染，是一个时间的梦幻，到处都是我最喜欢的路易十五家具、甜美的墙纸和最好的地毯。

David, of course, was familiar with the place, though he hadn't seen it in over a year. One of the many picture-perfect bedrooms, drenched in saffron silks and outrageous Turkish tables and screens, still held the coffin in which he had slept during his brief and first Stay here as one of the Undead.
大卫当然对这个地方很熟悉，尽管他已经一年多没有见过它了。在众多风景如画的卧室中，有一间被藏红花丝绸和令人发指的土耳其桌子和屏风浸透，仍然放着他作为亡灵之一短暂和第一次留在这里时睡过的棺材。

Of course, this coffin was heavily disguised. He had insisted that it be the real thing梐s fledglings almost invariably do, unless they are nomads by nature梑ut it was cleverly enough concealed within a heavy bronze chest, which Louis had chosen for it afterwards梐 great hulking rectangular object as defeating as a square piano, with no perceivable opening in it, though of course, if you knew the right places to touch, the lid rose at once.
当然，这口棺材是伪装得很重的。他坚持认为，这是雏鸟几乎总是会做的真品，除非他们天生就是游牧民族，否则它足够巧妙地隐藏在一个沉重的青铜箱子里，路易后来为它选择了一个巨大的笨重的长方形物体，就像一架方形钢琴一样，里面没有可察觉的开口，当然，如果你知道触摸的正确位置， 盖子一下子就掀了起来。

I had made my resting place as I had promised myself, when
我按照我向自己承诺的那样，做了我的安息之地，当

restoring this house in which Claudia and Louis and I had once lived. Not in my old bedroom, which now housed only the de rigueur heavy four-poster and dressing table, but in the attic, beneath the eave, I had made a cell of metal and marble.
修复克劳迪娅、路易斯和我曾经住过的房子。不是在我的旧卧室里，现在只有沉重的四柱床和梳妆台，而是在屋檐下的阁楼上，我用金属和大理石做了一个牢房。

In sum, we had a comfortable base immediately, and I was frankly relieved that Louis was not there to tell me he didn't believe me when I described the things that I'd seen. His rooms were in order; new books had been added. There was a vivid and arresting new painting by Matisse. Otherwise, things were the same.
总而言之，我们马上就有了一个舒适的基地，坦率地说，当我描述我所看到的事情时，路易斯没有告诉我他不相信我，这让我松了一口气。他的房间井井有条;增加了新书。马蒂斯有一幅生动而引人注目的新画。否则，事情是一样的。

As soon as we had settled in, checked all security, as immortals always do, with a breezy scan and a deep resistance to having to do anything mortals have to do, we decided that I should go uptown and try to catch a glimpse of Dora alone.
一旦我们安顿下来，像不朽者一样检查了所有的安全措施，轻快地扫视了一眼，并深深地抵制了凡人必须做的任何事情，我们决定我应该去上城，试着单独瞥一眼朵拉。

I had seen or heard nothing of the Stalker, though not much time had passed, of course, and I had seen nothing of The Ordinary Man.
我没有看到或听说过潜行者，当然，虽然时间不长，我也没有看到普通人。

We agreed that either might appear at any moment.
我们一致认为，任何一个都可能随时出现。

Nevertheless, I broke from the company of David, leaving him to explore the city as he wished.
尽管如此，我还是脱离了大卫的陪伴，让他随心所欲地探索这座城市。

Before leaving the Quarter for uptown, I called upon Mojo, my dog. If you are unacquainted with Mojo from The Tale of the Body Thief, let me tell you only what you need to know梩hat he is a giant German shepherd, is kept for me by a gracious mortal woman in a building of which I retain ownership, and that Mojo loves me, which I find irresistible. He is a dog, no more, or less, except that he is
在离开小区前往住宅区之前，我拜访了我的狗Mojo。如果你不熟悉《偷尸贼的故事》中的Mojo，让我只告诉你你需要知道的——他是一只巨大的德国牧羊犬，由一位亲切的凡人女人为我保留在我保留所有权的建筑物中，Mojo爱我，我觉得这是不可抗拒的。他是一条狗，不多也不少，只是他是

immense in size, with an extremely thick coat, and I cannot stay long away from him.
体型巨大，外套极厚，我不能离他太久。

I spent an hour or two with him, wrestling, rolling around with him on the ground in the back garden, and talking to him about
我花了一两个小时和他在一起，摔跤，和他一起在后花园的地上滚来滚去，和他谈论

everything that happened, then debated as to whether I should take him with me uptown. His dark, long face, wolflike and seemingly evil, was full of the usual gentleness and forbearance. God, why didn't you make us all dogs?
发生的一切，然后争论我是否应该带他去城里。他黝黑的长脸，狼一样，看似邪恶，充满了一贯的温柔和隐忍。上帝啊，你为什么不把我们都变成狗呢？

Actually, Mojo created a sense of safety in me. If the Devil came and I had Mojo. . . . But that was the most absurd idea! I'd fend off Hell on account of a flesh-and-Wood dog. Well, humans have
实际上，Mojo 在我身上创造了一种安全感。如果魔鬼来了，我有魔力......但这是最荒谬的想法！我会因为一只肉和木头的狗而抵御地狱。好吧，人类有

believed stranger things, I suppose.
我想相信更奇怪的事情。

Just before I'd left David, I'd asked, "What do you think is
就在我离开大卫之前，我问：“你怎么看

happening, I mean with this Stalker and this Ordinary Man?" And David had answered without hesitation, "You're imagining both of them, you punish yourself relentlessly; it's the only way you know how to go on having fun."
发生，我是说这个潜行者和这个普通人？大卫毫不犹豫地回答说：“你在想象他们俩，你无情地惩罚自己;这是你知道如何继续玩乐的唯一方法。

I should have been insulted. But I wasn't.
我应该受到侮辱。但我不是。

Dora was real. 朵拉是真实的。

Finally, I decided I had to take leave of Mojo. I was going to spy upon Dora. And had to be fleet of foot. I kissed Mojo and left him. Later we would walk in our favorite wastelands beneath the River Bridge, amid the grass and the garbage, and be together. That I would have for as long as nature let me have it. For the moment it could wait.
最后，我决定我必须离开Mojo。我本来是要监视朵拉的。而且必须是脚步。我吻了Mojo，然后离开了他。后来，我们会走在河桥下我们最喜欢的荒地上，在草地和垃圾中，在一起。只要大自然允许我拥有它，我就会拥有它。目前，它可以等待。

Back to Dora. 回到朵拉。

Of course Dora didn't know Roger was dead. There was no way that she could know, unless梡erhaps桼oger had appeared to her.
朵拉当然不知道罗杰已经死了。她不可能知道，除非她出现过。

But I hadn't gathered from Roger that such was even possible.
但我没有从罗杰那里得知这是可能的。

Appearing to me had apparently consumed all his energy. Indeed, I thought he had been far too protective of Dora to have haunted her in any practical or deliberate way.
在我看来，显然已经消耗了他所有的精力。事实上，我认为他对朵拉的保护太过分了，以至于没有以任何实际或故意的方式困扰她。

But what did I know about ghosts? Except for a few highly
但是我对鬼魂了解多少呢？除了少数高度

mechanical and indifferent apparitions, I'd never spoken to a ghost until I'd spoken to Roger.
机械而冷漠的幽灵，在我和罗杰说话之前，我从来没有和鬼魂说过话。

And now I would carry with me forever the indelible impression of his love for Dora, and his peculiar mixture of conscience and
现在，我将永远怀着他对朵拉的爱的不可磨灭的印象，以及他奇特的良心和

supreme self-confidence. In retrospect, even his visit seemed to me to exhibit extraordinary self-assurance. That he could haunt, that was not beyond probability since the world is filled with impressive and credible ghost stories. But that he could detain me in conversation? that he could make me his confidant梩hat had indeed involved an enormous and almost dazzling pride,
至高无上的自信。回想起来，在我看来，即使是他的访问也表现出了非凡的自信。他可以出没，这并非不可能，因为世界上充满了令人印象深刻且可信的鬼故事。但是他可以在谈话中拘留我吗？他能让我成为他的知己，这确实涉及到一种巨大的、几乎令人眼花缭乱的骄傲，

I walked uptown in human fashion, breathing the river air, and glad to be back with my black-barked oaks, and the sprawling, dimly lighted houses of New Orleans, the intrusions everywhere of grass and vine and flower; home.
我以人性化的方式走在城里，呼吸着河边的空气，很高兴能回到我的黑皮橡树，新奥尔良广阔的、昏暗的房屋，到处都是草、藤蔓和花朵的侵入;家。

Too soon, I reached the old brick convent building on Napoleon Avenue where Dora was lodged. Napoleon Avenue itself is a rather beautiful street even for New Orleans; it has an extraordinarily wide median where once streetcars used to run. Now there are generous shade trees planted on it, just as there were all around the convent that faced it.
很快，我到达了拿破仑大道上那座古老的砖砌修道院建筑，朵拉就住在那里。拿破仑大道本身是一条相当美丽的街道，即使对于新奥尔良来说也是如此。它有一个非常宽的中线，曾经是有轨电车运行的地方。现在，它上面种植了大量的遮荫树，就像面对它的修道院周围一样。

It was the leafy depth of Victorian uptown.
这是维多利亚时代住宅区绿树成荫的深处。

I drew close to the building slowly, eager to imprint its details on my mind. How I'd changed since last I'd spied on Dora.
我慢慢地靠近这座建筑，渴望将它的细节印在我的脑海中。自从上次我监视朵拉以来，我发生了怎样的变化。

Second Empire was the style of the convent, due to a mansard roof which covered the central portion of the building and its long wings. Old sjates had, here and there, fallen away from the sloping mansard, which was concave on the central part and quite unusual on account of that fact. The brickwork itself, die rounded arched
第二帝国是修道院的风格，因为斜坡屋顶覆盖了建筑物的中央部分及其长长的翅膀。老斯贾特在这里和那里从倾斜的斜坡上掉下来，斜坡的中央部分是凹陷的，因此非常不寻常。砖砌本身，模具圆形拱形

windows, the four corner towers of the building, the two-storey
窗户，建筑物的四个角楼，两层楼

plantation-house porch on the front of the central building梬ith its white columns and black iron railings梐ll of this was vaguely New Orleans Italianate, and gracefully proportioned. Old copper gutters clung to the base of the roofs. There were no shutters, but surely there had once been.
中央建筑前面的种植园门廊，白色的柱子和黑色的铁栏杆，隐约是新奥尔良的意大利风格，比例优美。旧的铜排水沟紧贴着屋顶的底部。没有百叶窗，但肯定曾经有过。

The windows were numerous, high, rounded at the tops on the second and third stories, trimmed in faded white.
窗户很多，很高，在二楼和三楼的顶部是圆形的，用褪色的白色装饰。

A great sparse garden covered the front of the building as it looked out over the avenue, and of course I knew of the immense courtyard inside. The entire city block was dominated by this little universe in which nuns and orphans, young girls of all ages, had once dwelt. Great oaks sprawled over the sidewalks. A row of truly ancient crape myrtles lined the side street to the south.
一个巨大的稀疏花园覆盖了建筑物的正面，因为它俯瞰着大道，我当然知道里面有巨大的庭院。整个城市街区都被这个小宇宙所支配，修女和孤儿，各个年龄段的年轻女孩，曾经居住过。大橡树在人行道上蔓延。南边的小街上排列着一排真正古老的紫薇树。

Walking round the building, I surveyed the high stained-glass windows of the two-storey chapel, noted the flickering of a light
在建筑物周围走来走去，我打量着两层楼小教堂的高高的彩色玻璃窗，注意到一盏灯在闪烁

inside, as though the Blessed Sacrament were present梐 fact that I doubted梐nd then coming to the rear I went over the wall.
在里面，好像圣体在场，我怀疑的事实，然后来到后面，我越过了墙。

The building did have some locked doors, but not very many. It was wrapped in silence, and in the mild but nevertheless real winter of New Orleans, it was chillier within than without.
这栋楼确实有一些锁着的门，但不是很多。它被寂静所包裹，在新奥尔良温和但仍然真实的冬天，它比外面更冷。

I entered the lower corridor cautiously, and at once found myself loving the proportions of the place, the loftiness and the breadth of the corridors, the intense smell of the recently bared brick walls, and the good wood scent of the bare yellow pine floors. It was rough, all this, the kind of rough which is fashionable among artists in big cities who live in old warehouses, or call their immense apartments lofts.
我小心翼翼地走进下层走廊，立刻发现自己爱上了这个地方的比例，走廊的高耸和宽阔，最近裸露的砖墙的浓烈气味，以及光秃秃的黄色松木地板上的良好木材气味。它很粗糙，所有这一切，那种粗糙在大城市的艺术家中很流行，他们住在旧仓库里，或者称他们巨大的公寓为阁楼。

But this was no warehouse. This had been a habitation and
但这不是仓库。这是一个居住地，

something of a hallowed one. I could feel it at once. I walked slowly down the long corridor towards the northeast stairs. Above to my right lived Dora in the northeast tower, so to speak, of the building, and her living quarters did not begin until the third floor.
某种神圣的东西。我一下子就能感觉到。我慢慢地沿着长长的走廊走向东北的楼梯。在我右边的上方，朵拉住在东北塔楼里，可以说是这栋楼的塔楼，她的生活区直到三楼才开始。

I sensed no one in the building. No scent nor sound of Dora. I heard the rats, the insects, something a little larger than a rat,
我感觉到大楼里没有人。没有朵拉的气味和声音。我听到了老鼠，昆虫，比老鼠大一点的东西，

possibly a raccoon feeding away somewhere up in an attic, and then I felt for die elementals, as David called them梩hose things which I prefer to call spirits, or poltergeists.
可能是一只浣熊在阁楼的某个地方觅食，然后我感觉到了死亡元素，正如大卫所说的那样，我更喜欢称之为精神或恶作剧者。

I stood still, eyes closed. I listened. It seemed the silence gave back dim emanations of personalities, but they were far too weak and too mingled to touch my heart or spark a thought in me. Yes, ghosts here, and here ... but I sensed no spiritual turbulence, no unresolved tragedy or hanging injustice. On the contrary, there seemed a spiritual
我站着不动，闭着眼睛。我听了。寂静似乎又散发出朦胧的个性，但它们太弱了，太混杂了，无法触动我的心，也无法激发我的想法。是的，这里有鬼魂，这里......但我没有感觉到精神上的动荡，没有未解决的悲剧或悬而未决的不公正。相反，似乎有一种精神

stillness and firmness. 静谧而坚定。

The building was whole and itself.
建筑是完整的，本身。

I think the building liked having been stripped to its nineteenth-
我认为这座建筑喜欢被剥离到第十九个——

century essentials; even the naked beamed ceilings, though never built for exposure, were nevertheless beautiful without plaster, their wood dark and heavy and level because all the carpentry of those years had been done with such care.
世纪必需品;即使是裸露的横梁天花板，虽然从来不是为了暴露而建造的，但没有石膏，它们的木材又黑又重又平整，因为那些年所有的木工都是如此小心翼翼地完成的。

The stairway was original. I had walked up a thousand such built in New Orleans. This building had at least five. I knew the gentle curve to each tread, worn down by the feet of children, the silky feel of the banister which had been waxed countless times for a century. I knew die landing which cut directly against an exterior window,
楼梯是原装的。我在新奥尔良走过一千座这样的建筑。这栋楼至少有五个。我知道每条脚踏的柔和曲线，被孩子们的脚磨破，一个世纪以来无数次打蜡的栏杆的丝滑感觉。我知道直接切到外窗的骰子着陆，

ignoring the shape or existence of the window, and simply bisecting the light which came from the street outside.
忽略窗户的形状或存在，只是将来自外面街道的光线一分为二。

When I reached the second floor, I realized I was at the doorway of the chapel. It had not seemed such a large space from outside.
当我到达二楼时，我意识到我在教堂的门口。从外面看，它似乎没有这么大的空间。

It was in fact as large as many a church I'd seen in my years. Some twenty or so pews were in neat rows on either side of its main aisle. The plastered ceiling was coved and crowned with fancy molding. Old medallions still held firmly in the plaster from which, no doubt, gasoliers had once hung. The stained-glass windows, thoiigh without human figures, were nevertheless very well executed, as the
事实上，它和我多年来见过的许多教堂一样大。大约二十张长椅整齐地排在主过道的两边。抹灰天花板是拱形的，上面有花哨的造型。古老的奖章仍然牢牢地固定在石膏中，毫无疑问，gasoliers曾经挂在石膏上。彩色玻璃窗，没有人形，但仍然执行得很好，因为

streetlamp showed to good advantage. And the names of the patrons were beautifully lettered on the lower panes of each window. There was no sanctuary light, only a bank of candles before a plaster Regina Maria, that is, a Virgin wearing an ornate crown.
路灯显示出良好的优势。顾客的名字在每个窗户的下部窗格上都写着漂亮的字母。没有圣所的灯光，只有一排蜡烛，在石膏里贾纳玛丽亚（Regina Maria）之前，即戴着华丽王冠的圣母。

The place must have been much as the Sisters had left it when the building was sold. Even the holy water fount was there, though it had no giant angel to hold it. It was only a simple marble basin on a stand.
这个地方一定和修女们在建筑物出售时离开时一样。甚至圣水泉也在那里，尽管它没有巨大的天使来控制它。它只是一个简单的大理石盆放在一个架子上。

I passed beneath a choir loft as I entered, somewhat amazed at the purity and symmetry of the entire design. What was it like, living in a building with your own chapel? Two hundred years ago I had knelt more than once in my father's chapel. But that had been no more than a tiny stone room in our castle, and this vast place, with its old oscillating electric fans for breeze in summer, seemed no less
当我进入时，我经过一个合唱团的阁楼，对整个设计的纯度和对称性感到有些惊讶。住在一栋有自己教堂的建筑里是什么感觉？两百年前，我不止一次跪在父亲的教堂里。但那只不过是我们城堡里的一间小石屋，而这个广阔的地方，有它那古老的摆动电风扇，在夏天吹着微风，似乎也同样如此

authentic than my father's little chapel had been.
比我父亲的小教堂还真实。

This was more the chapel of royalty, and the entire convent seemed suddenly a palazzo梤ather than an institutional building. I imagined myself living here, not as Dora would have approved, but in splendour, with miles of polished floors before me as I made my way each night into this great sanctuary to say my prayers.
这更像是皇室的小教堂，整个修道院突然之间似乎变成了一个宫殿，而不是一座机构建筑。我想象自己住在这里，不是朵拉所同意的，而是辉煌的，每天晚上我都会走进这个伟大的圣所祈祷时，在我面前有数英里的抛光地板。

I liked this place. It flamed into my mind. Buy a convent, make it
我喜欢这个地方。它在我的脑海中燃烧。买一个修道院，做它

your palace, live within its safety and grandeur in some forgotten spot of a modern city! I felt covetous, or rather, my respect for Dora deepened.
你的宫殿，住在现代城市的某个被遗忘的地方的安全和宏伟中！我感到贪婪，或者更确切地说，我对朵拉的尊重加深了。

Countless Europeans still lived in such buildings, multi-storeyed, wings facing each other over expensive private courts. Paris had its share of such mansions, surely. But in America, it presented a lovely picture, the idea of living here in such luxury.
无数欧洲人仍然住在这样的建筑中，多层建筑，在昂贵的私人庭院上相互对峙。当然，巴黎也有这样的豪宅。但在美国，它呈现了一幅可爱的画面，在这里过着如此奢侈的生活。

But that had not been Dora's dream. Dora wanted to train her women here, her female preachers who would declare the Word of God with the fire of St. Francis or Bonaventure.
但这并不是朵拉的梦想。朵拉想在这里训练她的女性，她的女性传教士，她们将用圣弗朗西斯或博纳文图尔的火焰宣讲上帝的话语。

Well, if her faith were suddenly swept away by Roger's death, she could live here in splendour.
好吧，如果她的信仰突然被罗杰的死冲走了，她可以在这里过上辉煌的生活。

And what power had I to affect Dora's dream? Whose wishes would be fulfilled if I somehow positioned her so that she accepted her enormous wealth and made herself a princess in this palace? One happy human being saved from the misery which religion can so
我有什么力量影响了朵拉的梦想？如果我以某种方式定位她，让她接受她的巨额财富并让自己成为这座宫殿的公主，谁的愿望会实现？一个幸福的人从宗教可以如此的痛苦中得救

effortlessly generate? 毫不费力地生成？

It wasn't an altogether worthless idea. Just typical of me. To think in terms of Heaven on Earth, freshly painted in pastel hues, floored in fine stone, and centrally heated.
这并不是一个完全没有价值的想法。只是我的典型。从人间天堂的角度来思考，新粉刷成柔和的色调，地板上铺着精美的石头，并集中供暖。

Awful, Lestat. 太可怕了，莱斯塔特。

Who was I to think such things? Why, we could live here like Beauty and the Beast, Dora and I. I laughed out loud. A shiver ran down my back, but I didn't hear the footsteps.
我是谁会这样想？为什么，我们可以像美女与野兽、朵拉和我一样住在这里。我笑出声来。一阵颤抖顺着我的后背流下来，但我没有听到脚步声。

I was suddenly quite alone. I listened. I bristled.
我突然变得很孤独。我听了。我生气了。

"Don't you dare come near me now," I whispered to the Stalker who was not there, for all I knew. "I'm in a chapel. I am safe! Safe as if I were in the cathedral."
“你现在不敢靠近我吗，”我低声对不在场的潜行者说，据我所知。“我在教堂里。我很安全！安全，就像我在大教堂里一样。

I wondered if the Stalker was laughing at me. Lestat, you imagined it all.
我想知道潜行者是在嘲笑我。莱斯塔特，你想象了这一切。

Never mind. Walk up the marble aisle towards the Communion Rail. Yes, there was still a Communion Rail. Look at what is before you, and don't think just now.
没关系。沿着大理石过道走向圣餐栏杆。是的，仍然有一条圣餐轨道。看看你面前的，不要现在想。

Roger's urgent voice was at the ear of my memory. But I loved Dora already, didn't I? I was here. I would do something. I was merely taking my time!
罗杰急切的声音在我的记忆中响起。但我已经爱过朵拉了，不是吗？我在这里。我会做点什么。我只是在慢慢来！

My footsteps echoed throughout the chapel. I let it happen. The Stations of the Cross, small, in deep relief in plaster, were still fixed between the stained-glass windows, making the usual circuit of the
我的脚步声在教堂里回荡。我让它发生。十字架的车站很小，用石膏深浮雕，仍然固定在彩色玻璃窗之间，形成了通常的电路

church, and the altar was gone from its deep arched niche梐nd there stood instead a giant Crucified Christ.
教堂，祭坛从深深的拱形壁龛中消失了，取而代之的是一个巨大的被钉在十字架上的基督。

Crucifixes always fascinate me. There are numerous ways in which various details can be rendered, and the art of the Crucified Christ alone fills much of the world's museums, and those cathedrals and basilicas that have become museums. But this, even for me, was a rather impressive one. It was huge, old, very realistic in the style of the late nineteenth century, Christ's scant loincloth coiling in the wind, his face hollow-cheeked and profoundly sorrowful.
十字架总是让我着迷。可以通过多种方式呈现各种细节，仅钉十字架的基督的艺术就填满了世界上大部分的博物馆，以及那些已成为博物馆的大教堂和大教堂。但即使对我来说，这也是一个相当令人印象深刻的过程。它很大，很古老，非常逼真的十九世纪后期的风格，基督的缠腰布在风中盘绕，他的脸凹陷，深深的悲伤。