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I took a seat at the end of the hearthstone opposite that towards which my landlord advanced, and filled up an interval of silence by attempting to caress the canine mother, who had left her nursery, and was sneaking wolfishly to the back of my legs, her lip curled up, and her white teeth watering for a snatch. My caress provoked a long, guttural gnarl. “You’d better let the dog alone,” growled Mr. Heathcliff in unison, checking fiercer demonstrations with a punch of his foot. “She’s not accustomed to be spoiled—not kept for a pet.” Then, striding to a side door, he shouted again, “Joseph!” Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depths of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me vis-à-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship over all my movements. Not anxious to come in contact with their fangs, I sat still; but, imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio, and some turn of my physiognomy so irritated madam, that she suddenly broke into a fury and leapt on my knees. I flung her back, and hastened to interpose the table between us. This proceeding aroused the whole hive: half-a-dozen four-footed fiends, of various sizes and ages, issued from hidden dens to the common centre. I felt my heels and coat-laps peculiar subjects of assault; and parrying off the larger combatants as effectually as I could with the poker, I was constrained to demand, aloud, assistance from some of the household in re-establishing peace. Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexatious phlegm: I don’t think they moved one second faster than usual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping. Happily, an inhabitant of the kitchen made more dispatch; a lusty dame, with tucked-up gown, bare arms, and fire-flushed cheeks, rushed into the midst of us flourishing a frying-pan: and used that weapon, and her tongue, to such purpose, that the storm subsided magically, and she only remained, heaving like a sea after a high wind, when her master entered on the scene. “What the devil is the matter?” he asked, eyeing me in a manner that I could ill endure after this inhospitable treatment. “What the devil, indeed!” I muttered. “The herd of possessed swine could have had no worse spirits in them than those animals of yours, sir. You might as well leave a stranger with a brood of tigers!” “They won’t meddle with persons who touch nothing,” he remarked, putting the bottle before me, and restoring the displaced table. “The dogs do right to be vigilant. Take a glass of wine?” “No, thank you.” “Not bitten, are you?” “If I had been, I would have set my signet on the biter.” Heathcliff’s countenance relaxed into a grin. “Come, come,” he said, “you are flurried, Mr. Lockwood. Here, take a little wine. Guests are so exceedingly rare in this house that I and my dogs, I am willing to own, hardly know how to receive them. Your health, sir?” I bowed and returned the pledge; beginning to perceive that it would be foolish to sit sulking for the misbehaviour of a pack of curs; besides, I felt loth to yield the fellow further amusement at my expense; since his humour took that turn. He—probably swayed by prudential consideration of the folly of offending a good tenant—relaxed a little in the laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs, and introduced what he supposed would be a subject of interest to me,—a discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of my present place of retirement. I found him very intelligent on the topics we touched; and before I went home, I was encouraged so far as to volunteer another visit to-morrow. He evidently wished no repetition of my intrusion. I shall go, notwithstanding. It is astonishing how sociable I feel myself compared with him. |
我在炉台的一头找了个座位坐下，我的房东走到我对面的座位坐了下来，为了填补这段沉默的空白时间，我试着抚弄那位狗妈妈，她刚刚给狗崽子们喂完奶，像狼一样蹑足潜踪踅到我的双腿后面，她向上咧着嘴唇，龇着白牙，淌着涎水，随时准备要向前一扑。我的抚弄激起她喉咙里长长的一声嗥叫。 “你最好离她远一点，不要去招惹她，”黑思克里夫使劲跺了一下脚，制止狗的这种过激表现，同时他用同样高的声音大吼道，“她不习惯人抚弄——我们又不把她当宠物养。”接着他迈开大步走到角门，又再次高声叫道：“周思福！” 周思福正在地窖深处，嘴里含混不清地嘟囔着，丝毫没有要上来的迹象，他的主人于是就冲下地窖找他去了。留下我和这条凶悍的母狗以及一对面目狰狞、毛长发浓、邋里邋遢的牧羊犬面面相觑。这对牧羊犬和那条母狗一样随时监视着我的一举一动，目露猜忌之色。我并不急着要碰这些家伙的犬牙，所以就坐着纹丝不动；但是我想这几个家伙很少能够理解我对它们这种无声的羞辱，我对着它们仨挤眉弄眼、扮扮鬼脸，非常倒霉的是，我面部表情的某种变化一下子激怒了那条母狗，她突然暴跳起来，扑到我的双腿膝盖上。我使劲把她推开，并迅速拉了张桌子放在我和她中间。这下引起了公愤——六只四蹄魔兽，大小不同，年岁各异，纷纷从刚才隐蔽之处窜到屋子正中央。我感觉我的脚后跟和上衣边是重点攻击对象；于是我用拨火棍尽力地把大块头的那几个攻击者击退，随后迫于无奈，我只好大声呼救，希望有人出面来重建屋子里刚才的祥和气氛。 黑思克里夫和他的仆人心情烦躁，不紧不慢地爬上了地窖台阶——我认为他俩并不比平时走得哪怕就快一秒钟，尽管炉台周边此时已经是恐惧加狂叫，如同暴风骤雨一般。好在这时厨房里冲出来一位身材健硕的女人，裙子卷起，胳膊赤裸，面颊火红，在我和三条狗中间，她抡起了一个平底煎锅——她凭借这个武器并且嘴里呵斥着，终于奇迹般地平息了这场风暴。等她家主人上场时，她就像狂风刮过后的海面上下起伏一样，站在那里只喘着粗气。 “活见鬼，这儿到底发生了什么事？”黑思克里夫问道，在我受到如此不恭待遇之后，他瞅我的那种眼神真是让人受不了。 “是啊，这真是活见鬼！”我小声嘟囔了一句。“鬼附身的猪群1都比不上先生您养的这些畜生身上的恶灵。您倒不如让一个陌生访客和一窝老虎呆在一起好了！” “如果人不触碰这里的任何东西，我的这些狗是不会招惹人的，”他说道，将一瓶酒放在我跟前，重新把刚才搬开的桌子摆回到原来的位置。“狗天生就是要时刻保持警觉。来杯酒如何？” “不了，谢谢。” “刚才没被咬着吧。” “我要是真被咬着了，我会在咬我的那条狗身上打上我的图章。” 黑思克里夫咧嘴笑了起来。“请息怒，息怒”他说道，“你受惊了，劳克伍德先生。来，喝点酒。这个屋子难得来个客人，说了不怕你笑话，我和我的这几条狗确实不懂得待客之道。先生，来，咱们喝一口，祝你健康！” 我身子向前欠了一下，算是回敬他。我开始感觉到，因为一群*****狗的不轨行为，而闷闷不乐干坐着简直是有些犯傻；另外，我讨厌这家伙因我付出代价进而拿我寻开心；因为他就是要从我这里寻开心。对于刚才得罪了一个好房客的愚蠢行为，他可能经过了深思熟虑，主意变得摇摆不定，说话语气也变得和缓简洁了一些，把那些代名词和助动词都从他的谈话中剔除掉，然后向我介绍他觉得我会关注的话题——比如谈论我目前幽居此处的利弊。我发现他对我们所碰触的话题非常有见地；我向他告辞回到住处之前，信誓旦旦竟主动提出明天再来拜访他。他显然不愿意我再来打扰。但无论如何，我还是要来的。我发现我自己比他合群多了！这个发现把我都吓了一跳。 注1：鬼附体的猪群——见《圣经•新约•路加福音》第八章第三十一节到第三十三节：“众魔哀求耶稣，勿投诸不测之渊。适有豖群，放牧山坡，魔求入豖身，耶稣允之；群魔乃离其人入豖群。豖忽闯下山坡，投渊而溺。” |
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