The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer（二十八）

《汤姆·索亚历险记》是美国小说家马克·吐温创作的长篇小说，首次发表于1876年。小说中的故事发生在19世纪上半叶美国密西西比河畔的一个普通小镇上。主人公汤姆·索亚天真活泼、敢于冒险、追求自由，不堪忍受束缚个性、枯燥乏味的生活，总是幻想着干一番英雄事业。小说通过主人公的冒险经历，对美国当时虚伪庸俗的社会习俗、伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育制度进行了讽刺和批判。

CHAPTER ⅩⅩⅦ

The adventure of the day mightily tormented Tom’s dreams that night.Four times he had his hands on that rich treasure and four times it wasted to nothingness in his fingers as sleep forsook him and wakefulness brought back the hard reality of his misfortune.As he lay in the early morning recalling the incidents of his great adventure，he noticed that they seemed curiously subdued and far away—somewhat as if they had happened in another world，or in a time long gone by.Then it occurred to him that the great adventure itself must be a dream！There was one very strong argument in favor of this idea—namely，that the quantity of coin he had seen was too vast to be real.He had never seen as much as fifty dollars in one mass before，and he was like all boys of his age and station in life，in that he imagined that all references to“hundreds”and“thousands”were mere fanciful forms of speech，and that no such sums really existed in the world.He never had supposed for a moment that so large a sum as a hundred dollars was to be found in actual money in any one’s possession.If his notions of hidden treasure had been analyzed，they would have been found to consist of a handful of real dimes and a bushel of vague，splendid，ungraspable dollars.

But the incidents of his adventure grew sensibly sharper and clearer under the attrition of thinking them over，and so he presently found himself leaning to the impression that the thing might not have been a dream，after all.This uncertainty must be swept away.He would snatch a hurried breakfast and go and find Huck.

Huck was sitting on the gunwale of a flatboat，listlessly dangling his feet in the water and looking very melancholy.Tom concluded to let Huck lead up to the subject.If he did not do it，then the adventure would be proved to have been only a dream.

“Hello，Huck！”

“Hello，yourself.”

Silence，for a minute.

“Tom，if we’d’a’left the blame tools at the dead tree，we’d’a’got the money.Oh，ain’t it awful！”

“‘Tain’t a dream，then，’tain’t a dream！Somehow I most wish it was.Dog’d if I don’t，Huck.”

“What ain’t a dream？”

“Oh，that thing yesterday.I been half thinking it was.”

“Dream！If them stairs hadn’t broke down you’d‘a’seen how much dream it was！I’ve had dreams enough all night—with that patch-eyed Spanish devil going for me all through’em—rot him！”

“No，not rot him.Find him！Track the money！”

“Tom，we’ll never find him.A feller don’t have only one chance for such a pile—and that one’s lost.I’d feel mighty shaky if I was to see him，anyway.”

“Well，so’d I；but I’d like to see him，anyway—and track him out—to his Number Two.”

“Number Two—yes，that’s it.I been thinking’bout that.But I can’t make nothing out of it.What do you reckon it is？”

“I dono.It’s too deep.Say，Huck—maybe it’s the number of a house！”

“Goody！... No，Tom，that ain’t it.If it is，it ain’t in this one-horse town.They ain’t no numbers here.”

“Well，that’s so.Lemme think a minute.Here—it’s the number of a room—in a tavern，you know！”

“Oh，that’s the trick！They ain’t only two taverns.We can find out quick.”

“You stay here，Huck，till I come.”

Tom was off at once.He did not care to have Huck’s company in public places.He was gone half an hour.He found that in the best tavern，No.2 had long been occupied by a young lawyer，and was still so occupied.In the less ostentatious house，No.2 was a mystery.The tavern-keeper’s young son said it was kept locked all the time，and he never saw anybody go into it or come out of it except at night；he did not know any particular reason for this state of things；had had some little curiosity，but it was rather feeble；had made the most of the mystery by entertaining himself with the idea that that room was“ha’nted”；had noticed that there was a light in there the night before.

“That’s what I’ve found out，Huck.I reckon that’s the very No.2 we’re after.”

“I reckon it is，Tom.Now what you going to do？”

“Lemme think.”

Tom thought a long time.Then he said：

“I’ll tell you.The back door of that No.2 is the door that comes out into that little close alley between the tavern and the old rattletrap of a brick store.Now you get hold of all the doorkeys you can find，and I’ll nip all of Auntie’s，and the first dark night we’ll go there and try’em.And mind you，keep a lookout for Injun Joe，because he said he was going to drop into town and spy around once more for a chance to get his revenge.If you see him，you just follow him；and if he don’t go to that No.2，that ain’t the place.”

“Lordy，I don’t want to foller him by myself！”

“Why，it’ll be night，sure.He mightn’t ever see you—and if he did，maybe he’d never think anything.”

“Well，if it’s pretty dark I reckon I’ll track him.I dono—I dono.I’ll try.”

“You bet I’ll follow him，if it’s dark，Huck.Why，he might’a’found out he couldn’t get his revenge，and be going right after that money.”

“It’s so，Tom，it’s so.I’ll foller him；I will，by jingoes！”

“Now you’re talking！Don’t you ever weaken，Huck，and I won’t.”

CHAPTER ⅩⅩⅧ

That night Tom and Huck were ready for their adventure.They hung about the neighborhood of the tavern until after nine，one watching the alley at a distance and the other the tavern door.Nobody entered the alley or left it；nobody resembling the Spaniard entered or left the tavern door.The night promised to be a fair one；so Tom went home with the understanding that if a considerable degree of darkness came on，Huck was to come and“maow，”whereupon he would slip out and try the keys.But the night remained clear，and Huck closed his watch and retired to bed in an empty sugar hogshead about twelve.

Tuesday the boys had the same ill luck.Also Wednesday.But Thursday night promised better.Tom slipped out in good season with his aunt’s old tin lantern，and a large towel to blindfold it with.He hid the lantern in Huck’s sugar hogshead and the watch began.An hour before midnight the tavern closed up and its lights（the only ones thereabouts）were put out.No Spaniard had been seen.Nobody had entered or left the alley.Everything was auspicious.The blackness of darkness reigned，the perfect stillness was interrupted only by occasional mutterings of distant thunder.

Tom got his lantern，lit it in the hogshead，wrapped it closely in the towel，and the two adventurers crept in the gloom toward the tavern.Huck stood sentry and Tom felt his way into the alley.Then there was a season of waiting anxiety that weighed upon Huck’s spirits like a mountain.He began to wish he could see a flash from the lantern—it would frighten him，but it would at least tell him that Tom was alive yet.It seemed hours since Tom had disappeared.Surely he must have fainted；maybe he was dead；maybe his heart had burst under terror and excitement.In his uneasiness Huck found himself drawing closer and closer to the alley；fearing all sorts of dreadful things，and momentarily expecting some catastrophe to happen that would take away his breath.There was not much to take away，for he seemed only able to inhale it by thimblefuls，and his heart would soon wear itself out，the way it was beating.Suddenly there was a flash of light and Tom came tearing by him：

“Run！”said he；“run，for your life！”

He needn’t have repeated it；once was enough；Huck was making thirty or forty miles an hour before the repetition was uttered.The boys never stopped till they reached the shed of a deserted slaughterhouse at the lower end of the village.Just as they got within its shelter the storm burst and the rain poured down.As soon as Tom got his breath he said：

“Huck，it was awful！I tried two of the keys，just as soft as I could！but they seemed to make such a power of racket that I couldn’t hardly get my breath I was so scared.They wouldn’t turn in the lock，either.Well，without noticing what I was doing，I took hold of the knob，and open comes the door！It warn’t locked！I hopped in，and shook off the towel，and，great Caesar’s ghost！”

“What！—what’d you see，Tom？”

“Huck，I most stepped onto Injun Joe’s hand！”

“No！”

“Yes！He was lying there，sound asleep on the floor，with his old patch on his eye and his arms spread out.”

“Lordy，what did you do？Did he wake up？”

“No，never budged.Drunk，I reckon.I just grabbed that towel and started！”

“I’d never’a’thought of the towel，I bet！”

“Well，I would.My aunt would make me mighty sick if I lost it.”

“Say，Tom，did you see that box？”

“Huck，I didn’t wait to look around.I didn’t see the box，I didn’t see the cross.I didn’t see anything but a bottle and a tin cup on the floor by Injun Joe；yes，I saw two barrels and lots more bottles in the room.Don’t you see，now，what’s the matter with that ha’nted room？”

“How？”

“Why，it’s ha’nted with whiskey！Maybe all the Temperance Taverns have got a ha’nted room，hey，Huck？”

“Well，I reckon maybe that’s so.Who’d‘a’thought such a thing？But say，Tom，now’s a mighty good time to get that box，if Injun Joe’s drunk.”

“It is，that！You try it！”

Huck shuddered.

“Well，no—I reckon not.”

“And I reckon not，Huck.Only one bottle alongside of Injun Joe ain’t enough.If there’d been three，he’d be drunk enough and I’d do it.”

There was a long pause for reflection，and then Tom said：

“Looky-here，Huck，less not try that thing any more till we know Injun Joe’s not in there.It’s too scary.Now，if we watch every night，we’ll be dead sure to see him go out，some time or other，and then we’ll snatch that box quicker’n lightning.”

“Well，I’m agreed.I’ll watch the whole night long，and I’ll do it every night，too，if you’ll do the other part of the job.”

“All right，I will.All you got to do is to trot up Hooper Street a block and meow—and if I’m asleep，you throw some gravel at the window and that’ll fetch me.”

“Agreed，and good as wheat！”

“Now，Huck，the storm’s over，and I’ll go home.It’ll begin to be daylight in a couple of hours.You go back and watch that long，will you？”

“I said I would，Tom，and I will.I’ll ha’nt that tavern every night for a year！I’ll sleep all day and I’ll stand watch all night.”

“That’s all right.Now，where you going to sleep？”

“In Ben Rogers’hayloft.He lets me，and so does his pap’s nigger-man，Uncle Jake.I tote water for Uncle Jake whenever he wants me to，and any time I ask him he gives me a little something to eat if he can spare it.That’s a mighty good nigger，Tom.He likes me，becuz I don’t ever act as if I was above him.Sometime，I’ve set right down and eat with him.But you needn’t tell that.A body’s got to do things when he’s awful hungry he wouldn’t want to do as a steady thing.”

“Well，if I don’t want you in the daytime，I’ll let you sleep.I won’t come bothering around.Any time you see something’s up，in the night，just skip right around and meow.”

第二十七章

白天的历险搅得汤姆晚上噩梦连连。先后四次他都把那些大量的财宝搞到手，可四次醒过来，无不两手空空，害得他睡不了好觉，不得不回到不幸的残酷现实中。大清早醒来，他回忆起了这趟大历险中发生的种种事件，却奇怪地发现，那些事竟是如此模糊久远，仿佛发生在另一个世界，多年前发生的事。后来他觉得，这次大历险本身就是一场梦。他的这一想法自有其充分的理由，也就是说，他看见的钱币数量之多简直令人难以置信。过去他从未见过数目超过五十元的一堆钱。他也像所有他那样岁数、同样境况的孩子，认为“几百”“几千”元不过是想象中的钱数，现实世界中并不存在。他从来没有想过，哪怕是片刻也没想过，一个人真的会拥有一百元这样的巨款。若是分析一下他头脑中的藏宝概念，那些宝藏只不过是一把碎角子，外加一堆模糊不清、抓不住、摸不到的金光灿灿的钱币而已。

可是经他反复思考之后，历险中详情细节显得越来越清晰明朗，所以他很快便得到一个印象：反正那不是梦。不能再有怀疑了。他得赶紧吃完早饭，去找哈克。

哈克正坐在一艘平底船的舷边，两只脚无精打采地在水中晃来荡去，一副愁眉苦脸的样子。汤姆决定让哈克自己先提这话题，要是他不提，那这趟历险肯定是场梦了。

“你好，哈克！”

“你也好。”

片刻的沉默。

“汤姆，要是咱们把该死的工具留在那株枯树下，就捞到那些钱了。哦，糟透了！”

“就是说，那不是梦，不是梦！可我倒希望那是梦哩。骗你是小狗，哈克。”

“什么梦？”

“昨天那事儿。我总觉得像是梦。”

“梦！要是楼梯没断裂，你就知道那是什么样的梦了！我做了一夜的梦，老梦到那个戴眼罩的西班牙魔鬼追着我，该死的东西！”

“他不能死，要找到他！找到那些钱！”

“汤姆，永远找不到他了。一个人只有一次找到这么一大堆钱的机会，可这机会丢了。要是我再见到他，我准会吓破了胆。”

“可不是，我也一样。不过我反正想见到他，跟踪他——追到‘二号’。”

“二号，可不是。正是二号。我一直捉摸着这事儿。可就是摸不着头脑。你说那是什么意思？”

“我说不上，太玄乎了。哈克，兴许是房子号码！”

“好主意！——不，不是。要是的话，也不在这个偏僻的镇子上，这里的房子没门牌号码。”

“说对了。让我想想。对了——是房间的号码——知道吗，客栈里的客房号码！”

“哦，这下被你猜中了！这里只有两家客栈，咱们很快就能查清的。”

“你别走，在原处待着，哈克，等着我回来。”

汤姆很快就走了。他不想在大庭广众之下与哈克待在一起。他去了半小时就回来了。他在那家最好的客栈发现，二号房长期以来一直由一名年轻的律师住着，现在还占着。而那家不怎么起眼的客栈的二号房很有些神秘。据客栈老板年轻的儿子说，那房间一直锁着，他没见有人进出，夜里怎么样他说不好。为什么会出现这情况，他不清楚。他是有点好奇，不过并没怎么放在心上。他想，这房间说不定在“闹鬼”吧。前天晚上他发现，房间里亮起过灯光。

“我查到的就这些，哈克。我看咱们要找的二号房就是那间。”

“我看也是那间，汤姆。那么你认为该怎么办呢？”

“让我想想。”

汤姆想了一会儿，说：

“告诉你。那个二号房的后门就通向客栈和那座破旧的老砖房之间的小巷子里。你这就把能找到的门钥匙全拿来。我也把姨妈的钥匙偷偷拿来。一到没月亮的黑夜，咱们就过去试试。你得留神印第安人乔，他说过，要再来镇子摸情况，找机会复仇。你一见到他，就紧跟着他。要是他不去二号，那儿就不是咱们要找的地方。”

“说真的，我可不想跟着他！”

“我说，那可是在黑夜里。他发现不了你——就是看见你也不会起疑心的。”

“好吧，要是在很黑很黑的夜里，我会跟着他的。我说不准，说不准。我试试吧。”

“我跟你打个赌，哈克，只要是黑夜，你准能跟住他！不是吗，要是他发现没机会报仇，那他就直接去拿那笔钱了。”

“是这么回事，汤姆，是这么回事。我去跟住他。老天爷，我一定跟住他。”

“有你这句话我就放心了。到时候可别说话不算数，哈克。我是说到做到的。”

第二十八章

当天晚上，汤姆和哈克作好了去历险的准备。他俩在那家客栈东转转西逛逛，忙乎到九点钟才走。他俩一个远远地监视那小巷；另一个守在客栈大门口。巷子里不见有人进出，进出客栈大门的人中，没一个像那西班牙人。看来那将是个月明星稀的夜晚。汤姆只好回家，他知道，要是天够黑，哈克准会来找他，学猫喵喵叫几声，他就偷偷出来，去试钥匙。可夜色一直很亮，哈克也在十二点钟撤了岗，钻进一只空糖桶睡了。

到了星期二两个孩子的运气也是很糟糕。星期三也一个样，星期四的夜可能会好些。汤姆瞅准机会，带上姨妈那盏铁皮旧提灯，灯上裹了层大毛巾，溜了出来。他把灯藏在哈克睡觉的空桶里，开始了监视。午夜前一小时，客栈关门了。里面的灯也灭了——那是附近唯一亮着的灯。不见西班牙人出没。巷子里也没人出入。一切都显得顺顺当当，如人所愿。黑夜伸手不见五指，万籁无声，只有偶尔从远处传来沉闷的雷声才打破四周的寂静。

汤姆拿过提灯，在空桶里点上灯，用毛巾紧紧裹上，两位冒险家趁着黑暗直向客栈而去。哈克守在巷口望风，汤姆摸索着进了小巷。有一段时间，哈克等得好不焦急，他只觉得心头有座大山压着，煞是难熬。他巴望着但愿能一见那提灯的闪光——虽然灯光会让他吓一跳，但能告诉他，汤姆还好好儿活着。汤姆走了仿佛有好几小时了。他准晕过去了；也许是死了；也许他的心脏吓得、紧张得破了。哈克在惴惴不安中，渐渐离巷口越来越近，事事都叫他担惊受怕，时时都觉得大祸临头，让他几乎喘不过气来。实际上他也吸不进什么气了，他只有微微的气可喘，因为他的心脏跳得极快，眼看着就要完蛋了。突然灯光一闪，汤姆从他身旁奔了过去。

“快跑，”他说，“快逃命！”

只这一句足矣，没等汤姆说第二遍，哈克拔腿就跑起来，速度之快，每小时达三四十英里之多。两个孩子跑呀跑，直跑到村口附近低处那座废弃了的屠宰场小棚子才停住了脚步。他俩刚进了安全的地方，倾盆大雨便下了起来。汤姆刚缓过劲来，便说：

“哈克，太可怕了！我尽量轻手轻脚地试了两把钥匙，可那要命的咔嗒咔嗒声响个不停，吓得我喘不过气来，可就是打不开锁。得，我糊里糊涂便抓住了门把，不料门竟开了！原来门没锁。我摸了进去，掀掉灯上毛巾，哟，老天爷！”

“什么——你见到了什么，汤姆？”

“哈克，我居然踩到印第安人乔的手上了！”

“哪能呢？”

“真的。他躺在地板上，睡得正沉。眼睛上还蒙着那破眼罩，双手摊开。”

“老天爷，你怎么办？他醒过来没有？”

“没有。他一动不动，我看是喝醉了。我抓起毛巾，拔腿就跑！”

“我敢说，换了我是不会想到毛巾的。”

“可我想到了。要是丢了毛巾，我姨妈饶不了我。”

“我说，汤姆，你见到那个箱子了吗？”

“哈克，来不及了，我压根就没朝四周看一下，我没见到那箱子，也没见到十字架。除了地板上印第安人身旁一只瓶子、一只洋铁皮杯子，我什么也没见到。可不，我还在房间里看到两只酒桶，和许许多多酒瓶子。现在你明白了吧，那闹鬼的房子里到底怎么回事？”

“怎么回事？”

“我说，是酒在作祟！兴许所有禁酒的客栈里都有那么一间客房会闹鬼，你说是不是，哈克？”

“可不，我看是这么回事。过去谁会想到这上面？我说，汤姆，这会儿印第安人乔醉倒了，现在咱俩不是可以去拿那个箱子了吗？”

“是吗？你倒去试试！”

哈克打了个寒战。

“哦，不——我看不行。”

“我看也不行，哈克。印第安人乔身旁只一个瓶子，那点酒是醉不倒他的。要是他喝了三瓶，他就会醉得不行，那时我可以去试试。”

两个人都不言语，过了好一会儿，汤姆开口说：

“听我说，哈克，印第安人乔不走，这事就别想试。太危险了。只要咱们夜夜守着，准保他迟早要出门的。到时候咱们就以迅雷不及掩耳之势，把箱子拿过来。”

“得，我同意。我会整夜守着，夜夜守着，其他的事由你来办。”

“好，交给我得了。你要干的就是到胡珀街来喵喵叫几声——要是我睡着了，那就朝窗子扔几块小石子，就能唤醒我。”

“行，这是个好主意。”

“我说，哈克，雨停了，我这就回家了。几小时后天就开始亮了。这段时间你再过去看看，怎么样？”

“我说过，我会去的，汤姆，我准会去。我每夜都会盯上那客栈的，就盯上它一年。白天我睡觉，夜里去监视。”

“很好。你这上哪儿睡觉去？”

“本·罗杰斯家的干草棚里。他让我去的。他那黑人老爹杰克大叔也让我去。他要我给他提水，我就帮着他干。每次我跟他要吃的，只要省得下来，他都会给的。他可是个好心的黑人，汤姆。他喜欢我，因为我不会看不起他。有时候我干脆与他坐在一起吃饭，不过这事你可不能说出去。一个人饿极了，平常不愿干的事也会去干的。”

“好。要是白天我用不到你，你就睡觉去，我不会打搅你的。夜里要是发现什么事，立马来找我，喵喵叫几声。”