Kaoru made the usual offerings of images and scriptures at the main Hiei monastery and the next day went to Yokawa. —
薰像往常一样在主要的比叡山寺院供奉图像和经文，第二天就去了横川。 —

The bishop received his unexpected visitor with much ceremony. —
主教非常隆重地接待了他意想不到的访客。 —

Although Kaoru had occasionally consulted him on liturgical matters, they had not been close. —
虽然薰偶尔会就礼仪问题向他请教，但他们并不亲密。 —

Kaoru had been much impressed at the effectiveness of the bishop’s recent ministrations to the First Princess, however. —
然而，薰对主教最近对第一公主的治疗效果印象深刻。 —

The new bond between them, thought the bishop, fluttering with excitement over the visit, had brought this eminent gentleman so far out of his way. —
主教想，他们之间的新纽带让这位杰出的绅士特意前来拜访。 —

They talked on and on, like the oldest and most intimate of friends. —
他们像最亲密的老朋友一样聊了个没完没了。 —

A light repast was brought.
被端上了一份轻盈的便餐。

“I believe you have a house in Ono?” remarked Kaoru when the excitement had subsided.
“我听说你在小野有一座房子？”薰兴奋之情稍减时说。

“Yes, a shabby little place. As a matter of fact, my mother is living there — she is a nun, and a very old woman. —
“是的，那是个破旧的地方。事实上，我妈妈住在那里——她是一位尼姑，年纪很大。 —

I had no place in the city that seemed right, and I decided that if I was to live up here away from the world I wanted her to be where I could look in on her at any odd hour.”
在城里我找不到合适的地方，所以我决定离开这个世界住在这里，我想让她住在我能随时探望她的地方。”

“I have heard that Ono used to be lively enough, but that years it has been neglected. —
“我听说小野过去很繁华，但这些年来一直被忽视。 —

Indeed, they say it is rather lonely.” He lowered his voice. “But tell me. —
事实上，他们说那里相当冷清。” 他压低声音。“告诉我。 —

I have hesitated to mention it because I have not been sure of the facts and I have been afraid you might think me forward and a little eccentric. —
我一直犹豫要不要提起，因为我不确定事实真相，也怕你觉得我太过主动和有点古怪。 —

I have heard that a person I once knew well is hiding there. —
我听说我曾经很熟悉的人就躲在那里。 —

I thought that when I had learned a few of the facts I might ask you exactly what had happened, and now I hear that you have taken her under your protection and made a nun of her. —
我想等我弄清楚几个事实后再问你到底发生了什么，现在我听说你已经保护她并让她出家。” —

Might I ask whether it is true? She is very young and her parents are living, and I feel somewhat responsible for her disappearance.”
我想问一下，这是真的吗？她还很年轻，父母还在世，我觉得对她的失踪有些责任。

The bishop was at a loss for an answer. He had guessed from her appearance that she was a girl of some standing, and Kaoru’s manner suggested very strongly that she was important to him. —
主教不知道该如何回答。他从她的外表推测她地位不低，而薰的态度非常表明她对他很重要。 —

The bishop must conclude that, although he had been faithful to his pious duties, he had acted recklessly. —
主教必须得出结论，尽管他一直忠于虔诚的职责，但他的行为却显得鲁莽。 —

It seemed likely that Kaoru knew the essential facts. —
似乎薰知道关键事实。 —

Attempts at evasion, now that so much had been found out, could only complicate matters.
尝试回避，现在已经发现这么多事情，只会让事情变得更加复杂。

“Ah, yes,” he said after a time. “The young lady who has so puzzled us all these months. —
“啊，是的，”过了一会，他说道。”这位年轻女士让我们所有人都感到困惑了这么多个月。 —

The nuns at Ono went to Hatsuse with some request or other, and on the way back my mother was suddenly taken ill. —
大野的修女们和初瀬去了初瀨，回来的路上我母亲突然生病了。 —

It was at the Uji villa. Her condition seemed critical and someone came for me. —
那是在宇治别墅。她的情况显得危急，有人来找我。 —

I arrived to find a very strange situation indeed. —
我赶到现场，发现了一个非常奇怪的情况。 —

” He lowered his voice as he told how they had come upon Ukifune. —
他描述了他们是如何发现浮船的。 —

“My sister seemed completely devoted to the girl. —
“我姐姐似乎完全专注于这个女孩。 —

She as good as left our mother to take care of herself. —
她几乎把我们的母亲撇下自生自灭。 —

The girl was still breathing, but that was the only sign of life. It was all very strange indeed. —
那女孩还在呼吸，但那是唯一的生命迹象。这一切确实非常奇怪。 —

I was reminded of stories I had heard of people who had come back to life at their own funerals. —
我想起了听说过的有人在自己的葬礼上复活的故事。 —

I called my disciples, the ones who had made names for themselves, and had them take turns at prayers and spells. —
我叫来了我的弟子，那些声名显赫的人，让他们轮流念经祈祷。 —

I was with our mother myself. She is so old that I shouldn’t have had any regrets for her, I know, but there she was away from home, and I wanted her at least to give herself up unconditionally to the holy name. —
我和我们的母亲单独在一起。她年纪已经很大了，我知道我不应该为她有任何遗憾，但她就在家里，我至少希望她能完全顺从圣名。 —

So I was not able to observe the girl in any detail. —
因此，我无法对那个女孩有任何详细的观察。 —

I would imagine from what the others told me that some goblin or wood spirit had led her astray. —
从其他人告诉我的内容，我能想象是某个妖精或树精引诱了她。 —

We brought her back to Ono with us, but for three months or so she might as well have been dead. —
我们带她回了小野，但有三个月时间她简直可以被视作死去了一样。 —

My sister is a nun too. You may possibly have heard of her, the widow of a guards captain. —
我的姐姐也是一名尼姑。你可能听说过她，她是一个卫队队长的寡妇。 —

She lost her only daughter and she went on grieving, and now she had found a pretty girl, a most elegant girl, indeed, of about the same age. —
她失去了独生女，一直在悲痛中，现在她找到了一个漂亮的女孩，一个非常优雅的女孩，大约是同一个年龄。 —

She saw it all as an answer to her prayers at Hatsuse. —
她将一切视为坠落到初濑的祈祷的答复。 —

I could not help being moved by her pleas, poor woman. She seemed desperate to save the girl. —
我无法不被她哀求所感动，可怜的女人。她似乎非常渴望拯救那个女孩。 —

And so I came down from the mountain and conducted services. —
于是我从山上下来并举行了仪式。 —

The girl began to emerge from her trance and after a few days seemed to make a complete recovery; —
女孩开始从她的恍惚状态中恢复，几天后似乎完全康复； —

but she was afraid that the evil spirit, whatever it might have been, was still after her, and she wept and begged me to let her take vows. —
但她害怕那个邪恶的精灵，无论是什么，仍在追逐她，她哭泣着恳求我让她立誓。 —

She had to escape, she said, and look to the next world for happiness. —
她必须逃离，她说，并且在来世寻找幸福。 —

I have taken vows myself and it was natural for me to encourage her, and I did as she asked. —
我自己已经立誓，鼓励她对我是很自然的，我就照她的要求做了。 —

How could I have dreamed, sir, that she was somehow of importance to you? —
我怎么会想到，先生，她对您来说有些重要呢？ —

It was all so strange, I suppose, that we should have made inquiries, but my mother and sister feared complications if word got out, and we kept our own counsel over the months.”
这一切似乎是如此奇怪，我想，我们应该进行调查，但我母亲和姐姐担心如果传出去会有麻烦，所以我们一直保持沉默数月。

Kaoru had come a great distance to confirm his suspicions, and now the knowledge that the dead girl was alive made him feel like a sleep-walker. —
薰为了确认自己的怀疑而远道而来，现在知道那个已故的女孩还活着让他感觉像是在做梦。 —

Since it would not do to have the sage see him in disarray, he struggled to control the tears that surged forward.
不能让智者看到他失控的样子，他努力控制涌出的眼泪。

The bishop was feeling guilty. He should not have taken it upon himself to help so important a lady leave the secular world. —
主教感到内疚。他不应该自作主张地帮助如此重要的女士离开世俗世界。 —

“It must have been something she brought from an earlier life,” he said, “that she should have been so vulnerable to the assaults of evil spirits. —
“这一定是她前世带来的某种东西，使她如此容易受到邪灵的侵袭。”他说。 —

I should imagine that she is from a good house. —
我得想象她应该是出自一个好家庭。 —

What could possibly have reduced her to such unhappy circumstances?”
是什么让她陷入如此不幸的境地呢？

“We shall say that she is an obscure cousin of the emperor himself. —
“我们可以说她是皇帝的一个不知名的表亲。 —

I happen to know her, though not at all intimately. —
我碰巧认识她，尽管不很亲密。 —

I would not have dreamed that anything so terrible could happen to her. —
我从未想过会发生如此可怕的事情。 —

But her disappearance was very strange indeed, and all sorts of theories were propounded. —
她的失踪确实非常奇怪，各种理论都被提出来。 —

Some even hinted that she had thrown herself into the river. Now I know the truth. —
甚至有人暗示她投河自尽。现在我知道了真相。 —

I am content with it, and must thank you. —
我对此感到满意，必须感谢你。 —

It is all for the good, I am sure, that she has taken vows and should be trying to lighten the burden of sin. —
我相信她发愿减轻罪孽的负担对于大家都是件好事。 —

But it would seem that her mother still grieves for her. —
但看来她的母亲仍为她悲伤。 —

I ought to inform her of what I know, I suppose; —
我想我应该告诉她我所知道的事情； —

but the shock might be too much for her, and then your good sister has seen fit to keep the secret all this time. —
但是这种震惊可能对她来说太过强烈，你的好姐妹已经决定保守这个秘密很久了。 —

It is not easy for a mother to give up a child. —
一个母亲放弃一个孩子并不容易。 —

I am sure the unfortunate woman would be quite unable to deny herself the comfort of a visit.
我相信这位不幸的女子根本无法拒绝参观的安慰。

“You will think me excessively demanding, I am sure,” he continued after a moment, “but might I ask you to go down to Ono with me? —
“你肯定会觉得我很过分要求，”他停顿片刻后继续说道，”不过，我能请你和我一起去大野吗？ —

I cannot ignore the girl, now that I know the truth. —
现在我已经知道了真相，我无法忽视这个女孩。 —

It all seems very unreal, but I would still like to have a talk with her.”
一切看起来都很不真实，但我仍然想和她谈谈。

The bishop was in a difficult position. He understood Kaoru’s wishes, and the girl could be said to have taken a step that was irreversible. —
主教处境艰难。他理解薰的愿望，而这个女孩似乎已经迈出了不可逆转的一步。 —

But the most ascetic of clean-shaven monks had strange urges occasionally, and nuns were still more susceptible. —
但是即使是最禁欲的光头和尚偶尔也会有奇怪的冲动，而尼姑更容易受到影响。 —

He would be putting the girl to a cruel and unnecessary test, as much as inviting transgression.
他会让这个女孩经受残酷而不必要的考验，就像在邀请犯罪一样。

“I fear that circumstances compel me to be here on the mountain for a few days more. —
“我担心情况迫使我必须在这座山上再呆几天。 —

I will get off a note early next month.”
我会在下个月早些时候寄出一封便条。

Kaoru was unhappy, but it would have been unseemly to press further. —
薰感到不高兴，但进一步追问是不得体的。 —

He had no choice but to wait, he concluded, making ready to start back for the city. —
他别无选择，只能等待，准备返回城市。 —

He called the girl’s brother, the handsomest of the governor’s sons.
他打电话给这个女孩的兄弟，那位最英俊的州长之子。

“This lad is a very close relative of the young lady’s. —
“这小伙子是这位年轻女士的近亲。” —

Perhaps I might ask you to give him a message for her, please, if you don’t mind. —
也许我可以请你替我转达一个消息给她，如果你不介意的话。 —

Even a short note will do. You might not want to mention me by name, but perhaps you could warn her that someone may shortly be inquiring after her.”
甚至一张简短的便条也行。你可能不想提到我的名字，但也许你可以警告她，有人可能很快会来询问她。

“It would, I fear, be wrong of me to do as you suggest. —
“我恐怕不能照你说的那样做。 —

I have told you the facts, and in some detail. —
我已经告诉了你事情的真相，而且说得很详细。 —

I doubt that anyone would reproach you for going in person and doing what seems necessary.”
我怀疑没有人会因你亲自去做必要的事情而责备你。”

Kaoru smiled. “Wrong, good sir? You quite fill me with shame. —
薰微笑着说道：“错了，先生？你的话让我感到羞愧。 —

Here I am looking as if I still belonged in the world, and even to me it all seems very strange. —
看着我这幅样子，感觉自己仍然属于这个世界，甚至对我来说，一切都显得很陌生。 —

I have longed to take vows since I was a mere boy. —
自从我还是个小男孩的时候，我就渴望出家为僧。 —

But there is my mother, and the bond, as you say, is not an easy one to break. —
但是有我的母亲在，这种羁绊，正如你所说，不容易解开。 —

She is lonely, and I am really all that she has, little though it may be. —
她孤独，而我确实是她唯一的依靠，尽管可能不多。 —

I have been caught up in affairs at court and I have moved ahead bit by bit, without doing much to deserve it. —
我陷身于朝廷事务中，一点一点地取得进展，但并没有做很多值得称道的事情。 —

I have worried a great deal, you may be sure, about leaving undone the one thing I have really wanted to do, and so the years have gone by. —
你可以相信，我一直为未能实现我真正想做的事情而担心，因此岁月逝去。 —

Duties pile up, there is no avoiding them; —
责任不断增加，无法避免； —

but I have tried not to let my affairs, which I keep to a minimum, bring me in conflict with the holy injunctions, or such small fragments of them as I am not in complete ignorance of. —
但我尽量不让我的事务，我尽量保持最少的事务，与圣洁的命令，或者说我还不完全无知的那些小部分命令相冲突。 —

I try to think of my life as little different from that of a recluse like yourself. —
我努力将我的生活看作与像你这样的隐士的生活没有太大不同。 —

Can you imagine that I would even dream of risking so grievous a sin for so small a cause? —
你能想象我会为如此微不足道的事冒如此严重的罪吗？ —

It is quite out of the question. On that score you need have not the smallest doubt. —
这是完全不可能的。在这方面，你不需要有丝毫的疑虑。 —

I am sad for her mother, that is all, and now that I have learned the truth I want her to know it too. —
我只是为她的母亲感到悲伤，而且现在我已经了解了真相，我希望她也知道。 —

Then and only then will I be at peace with myself.”
只有这样，我才能和自己和解。

The bishop nodded approvingly. “Most praiseworthy,” he said.
主教赞许地点点头说：“值得称赞。”

It was growing dark. Ono would be a convenient place to spend the night. —
天色渐暗。於野是一个方便过夜的地方。 —

But Kaoru might be embarrassed to learn that he had after all been mistaken. —
但是薰可能会感到尴尬，知道自己终究是弄错了。 —

After some hesitation he set out directly for the city.
經過一番犹豫，他直接动身前往城市。

The bishop’s eye had meanwhile fallen on the boy, in whom he was finding much to praise.
主教的目光与此同时落在了那个男孩身上，他在男孩身上找到了很多值得称赞的地方。

“Suppose you let him take a letter, then,” suggested Kaoru once more, “and give her a hint of what to expect.”
“那就让他带一封信吧，”薫再次建议，“并给她一个暗示。”

The bishop dashed off a note.” Let us have an occasional visit from you too,” he said to the boy. —
主教匆匆写了一封便条。“也让我们偶尔能见到你，”他对男孩说。 —

“Don’t for a moment think it would be to no purpose.”
“千万不要认为这是毫无意义的。”

Though puzzled by this attention, the boy took the note and started off with Kaoru.
虽然对这种关注感到困惑，男孩接过便条，和薫一起动身。

Kaoru deployed his guard as they reached the foot of the mountain. —
达到山脚时，薫调集他的侍卫。 —

“So as not to attract too much attention,” he said.
“为了不引起太多注意，”他说。

With little to relieve the monotony, Ukifune sat gazing into the heavily wooded hills. —
在没有什么能够缓解乏味的情况下，浮舟坐在那里凝视着那座郁郁葱葱的山丘。 —

Only the fireflies along the garden brook served to remind her of the Uji days. —
只有花园小溪边的萤火虫让她想起了宇治的日子。 —

From far beyond the eaves that looked out over the valley came voices of outrunners cautiously clearing the way, and soon torches, large numbers of them, were tossing among the trees. —
远在山谷外的层楼后，传来了小心翼翼地清理道路的先驱们的声音，很快，树林间投下了成群的火炬。 —

What might this commotion mean? the other nuns were asking as they came to the veranda.
这种骚动意味着什么呢？其他的尼姑们走到了阳台前，纷纷发问。

“Whoever it is, he certainly does have himself a big escort. —
“不管他是谁，他确实带了一大队护卫。 —

When we sent that seaweed to the bishop this morning, he said in his note that we couldn’t have picked a better time. —
早上我们送海藻给主教时，他在便条上说我们选的时机再好不过。 —

He all of a sudden had a general to entertain, he said. —
他说他突然有了一个将军来拜访。 —

Which general do you suppose it could have been? —
你猜那是哪位将军？ —

” It was the sort of talk one hears in remote, unfrequented places. —
” 这是在偏僻的地方听到的那种话语。 —

“The general that is married to the Second Princess?”
“那个嫁给第二公主的将军？”

The girl knew who it would be; and there among the voices of the outrunners, unmistakably, were some she had heard clearing the mountain path to Uji. What could be the profit, after all that had happened, in remembering? —
女孩明白会是谁；在先驱们的声音中，她清楚地听到了一些曾经在通往宇治的山路上清理道路的声音。在一切已经发生的情况下，记得有什么好处呢？ —

She tried to lose herself in meditation upon the holy name, and had even less to say than usual.
她试图沉浸在念诵圣名之中，但她比平常更沉默。

Travelers to Yokawa gave secluded Ono what precarious ties it had with the larger world.
前往横川的旅人给偏远的小野带来了它与更大世界的脆弱联系。

Kaoru would have liked to send the bishop’s letter in immediately, but he had attracted too large an audience. —
薰很想立刻把主教的信送去，但他吸引了太多的观众。 —

He dispatched the boy the next day, escorted by two or three trusted courtiers of low rank and a guardsman who had often taken messages to Uji.
第二天，他派了一个男孩去，还有两三个地位不高但值得信赖的朝臣，以及一个经常传递消息到宇治的卫士。

He was careful to let no one overhear his instructions to the boy. —
他小心翼翼地确保没有人会听到他对男孩的指示。 —

“You remember your dead sister well enough to recognize her, I suppose? —
“你应该还记得你已故的妹妹，是吧？ —

Well, I had resigned myself to the fact that she was no longer among us, but now it seems quite clear that I was wrong. —
嗯，我曾经认为她已经不在我们中间了，但现在似乎很明显我错了。 —

But it would not do to have people know, and especially the people closest to her. —
但让人知晓这件事情是不妥的，尤其是她最亲近的人。 —

See what you can find out. You are not to tell your mother, not for the moment, at least. —
看看你能找到什么。目前至少不要告诉你母亲。 —

The news might unsettle her, and we must prepare her gradually; —
这个消息可能会让她不安，我们必须逐渐为她做准备； —

and there is always the possibility that people who shouldn’t be in on the secret might hear. —
而且总有可能会有不应知晓的人听到这个秘密。 —

My main reason for wanting to find your sister is that I feel so sorry for your mother.”
我寻找你妹妹的主要原因是我为你母亲感到非常难过。”

Very young and impressionable, the boy had continued to grieve for his sister, much superior to his many other siblings. —
这个很年轻且易受影响的男孩一直在为他的姐姐悲伤，比他的许多其他兄弟姐妹都优秀。 —

Delight at this news brought him close to tears.
得知这个消息让他欣喜若狂。

“Yes, my lord,” he answered gruffly, trying not to weep.
“是的，大人，”他粗声回答，努力不流泪。

A letter from the bishop had been delivered at the nunnery earl y in the morning. —
早上一大早，修女院就收到了主教的信。 —

“Did a young page come yesterday with a message from the general? —
“昨天有个年轻的侍从来过传达将军的讯息吗？ —

Please tell the lady that, having been given a description of the actual circumstances surrounding her case, I am overcome by a rather surprising sense of remorse and guilt for what should have been an act of piety. —
请告诉这位女士，得知她案件的实际情况描述后，我为应为一件圣德之举而感到的懊悔和愧疚，感到颇为意外。 —

There are numbers of things we must talk about. —
我们必须谈论许多事情。 —

I shall visit you in the next few days.”
“在接下来的几天里，我会来拜访你。”

The bishop’s sister, astounded, took the letter in to Ukifune. The girl flushed crimson. —
主教的姐姐很惊讶，把信交给了憂辟谷。女孩涨红了脸。 —

The rumor was abroad, finally, it seemed. —
终于，传言四起。 —

The nun would be furious at her secretiveness. —
这位尼姑一定会因她的秘密而生气。 —

She could find no answer.
她找不到答案。

The nun was indeed reproachful. “You must tell me the truth. —
这位尼姑确实很责备。“你必须告诉我实情。 —

Your silence is cruel, that is the only word for it. —
你的沉默是残忍的，用这个词来形容再合适不过。 —

” Still apprised of only a part of the truth, she was in great agitation.
虽然只知晓了部分真相，但她心情极度不安。

“A message from the mountain,” came a voice at the gate. “A message from the bishop.”
“从山上来的消息。”门口传来一个声音。“主教的消息。”

Confused, the nun ordered that the new messenger be shown in. He would shed light on the mystery. —
感到困惑，尼姑吩咐让新信使进来。他将解开这个谜团。 —

A very handsome and well-groomed boy came forward. —
一个非常英俊和打理得很好的男孩走了进来。 —

Offered a cushion, he knelt deferentially beside the blind.
拿着一个垫子，他恭敬地跪在盲人旁边。

“I was ordered to deliver it personally.”
“我被命令亲自送信。”

The bishop’s sister took the note. “To the young lady who has recently become a nun,” and, with the bishop’s signature, “From the mountain. —
主教的姐姐接过了纸条。“给最近成为尼姑的年轻女士”，并带有主教的签名，“来自山上。 —

” This time the girl was not permitted the excuse that the message was for someone else. She slipped deeper into the room and sat with her face averted.
这一次女孩不能再找借口说这个消息是给别人的。她退到房间更深的地方，脸转向一旁。

“You are a quiet girl, and always have been,” said the nun; “but there is a limit.”
“你是一个安静的女孩，一直都是，”修女说道，“但是也有极限。”

She looked at the bishop’s letter. “The general came this morning and asked about you, and I told him everything. —
她看着主教的信。“将军今天早晨来过问你，我告诉了他一切。 —

You have turned your back upon human affections and have chosen to live among mountain people. —
你已经背弃了人类的情感，选择与山民一起生活。 —

This I know. Yet I was disturbed to learn the facts, and have come to fear that, contrary to our intentions, what we have done might call down the wrath of the holy powers. —
这点我是知道的。但是得知事实后我感到不安，担心我们的意图可能会招来神圣之力的愤怒。 —

We must be resigned to it; and now you must go back, surely and without hesitation, to the general, and dispel the clouds of sin brought on by tenacious affections. —
我们必须接受这一点；现在你必须毫不犹豫地前去找将军，排除固执情感带来的罪孽之云。 —

Draw comfort from the thought that a single day’s retreat brings untold blessings. —
要从这种想法中获得慰藉，一个短暂的回归带来无尽的祝福。 —

I shall myself go over the problem carefully with you. —
我将和你仔细商讨这个问题。 —

The lad who brings this can no doubt give you a general description of what has occurred.”
带信的男孩毫无疑问可以给你一个总体描述发生了什么。

There was no trace of ambiguity in the letter, and yet it was worded so discreetly that an outsider would not immediately have guessed the meaning.
信中没有含糊之处，但措辞谨慎以至外人不会立即猜出含义。

“Who is the boy?” asked the nun. “Must you go on keeping secrets from me even now?”
“那个男孩是谁？”修女问道。“你现在必须继续对我保守秘密吗？”

The girl looked out through the blind. It was the brother who had been especially on her mind that last terrible night at Uji. She had always thought him an impudent, arrogant, and generally unpleasant little urchin, but he had been a favorite of their mother’s whom she had occasionally brought with her to Uji. Yes, they had been fond of each other in their childish way; —
女孩透过百叶窗望去。那是在宇治的那个可怕的夜晚特别让她牵挂的弟弟。她一直认为他是一个傲慢、狂妄且总体令人讨厌的小顽童，但他却是母亲的宠儿，母亲偶尔会带他一起来宇治。是的，他们以他们孩提时期的方式互相关心; —

but the memory was like a dream. She longed for news of her mother. —
但记忆像是一场梦。她渴望听到母亲的消息。 —

She had in the course of events had word of others, but none at all of her mother. —
她在事件过程中收到了其他人的消息，但却一点也没有母亲的消息。 —

At the sight of the boy all the old sadness came back. —
看到男孩时，所有的旧悲伤又涌上心头。 —

Tears were streaming from her eyes.
泪水夺眶而出。

He was a very attractive boy indeed. The nun thought she detected a family resemblance. —
他确实是一个非常英俊的男孩。修女觉得她察觉到了些许家族相似之处。 —

“Your brother, I am sure of it. Suppose we ask him in. He will want to talk to you.”
“你的兄弟，我肯定是。假设我们邀请他进来。他会想和你谈谈的。”

But he would long ago have sent her off in his thoughts to another world, and she was ashamed to have him catch even a glimpse of her nun’s habit. —
但他早就将她在思想中送往另一个世界，并且她很羞耻让他看到她修女的衣服。 —

” I am sorry that you think me furtive,” she answered after some hesitation. —
“如果你认为我行事暗藏私意，我很抱歉。”她犹豫片刻后回答。 —

“I am very sorry indeed. But I have nothing to say. —
“我非常遗憾。但我无话可说。 —

You must have had any number of questions when you found me. —
当你发现我的时候，你一定有很多问题。 —

I was out of my mind then, of course, and even now I cannot remember a thing. —
那时候我已经神志不清，即便现在我也记不起任何事情。 —

Possibly I have given away my own soul, if that is what you wish to call it, and borrowed someone else’s. —
也许我已经放弃了我的灵魂，如果你愿意这样说的话，而借用了别人的。 —

The other day when I heard what your nephew the governor had to say, I had a vague feeling that it was about a place I once knew. —
前几天我听到你的外甥，州长说的话时，有一种模糊的感觉是关于我曾经认识的一个地方。 —

I have thought and thought, but nothing really comes back. —
我一直在想，但真的什么都回想不起来。 —

There was a lady who worried about me and wanted to make me happy, and that is all I know. —
有一个担心我的女士想让我快乐，这就是我知道的一切。 —

I keep wondering how she is, but somehow it makes me very sad to think of her. —
我一直在想她过得怎么样，但不知为何想到她让我很悲伤。 —

I may have known this boy when we were small — but please, I can’t make myself try to remember. —
也许我小时候认识这个男孩—但请，我不能强迫自己去回想。 —

If you don’t mind, I would rather let him go on thinking I am dead. —
如果你不介意，我宁愿让他继续认为我已经死了。 —

I do not know whether my mother is still alive. —
我不知道我的母亲是否还活着。 —

If she is I might want to see her — but no one else. The gentleman the bishop speaks of: —
如果她是的话，我可能想见她 — 但是其他人不行。主教所说的绅士： —

I would rather he too went on thinking I am dead. —
我宁愿他也继续认为我已经死了。 —

Please tell the boy that there has been a mistake.”
请告诉那个孩子，发生了错误。”

“That will not be easy. Even as people of saintly honesty go, my brother is not a man to hold things back. —
“这并不容易。即使作为圣洁诚实的人，我哥哥也不是一个会隐瞒事实的人。 —

He will have revealed every last detail. —
他会透露一切细节。 —

The truth will not consent, I fear, to go back into hiding again, and the fact that the general is a man who must be reckoned with does not make matters less complicated.”
我担心真相不会再同意隐藏起来，而且将军是一个必须考虑的人并没有减少事情的复杂程度。”

She was not prepared to accept evasions this time, and she had the support of the other nuns. —
她这次不愿接受推脱，并得到了其他修女们的支持。 —

“The most obstinate little creature,” they said, “the world ever saw.”
“这个小家伙是世上最顽固的。”她们说。

A curtain was hung near the veranda of the main hall and the boy invited inside the blinds. —
在主会堂的门廊附近挂了一幕帘子，邀请那个男孩走进幔帘。 —

Though he knew that he was in his sister’s presence, he was still a child, and shy about speaking without adequate preliminaries.
尽管他知道姐姐在场，但他仍然是个孩子，不好意思毫无准备地开口说话。

Eyes on the floor, he presently essayed: “There is another letter I’d like to give her. —
目光落在地板上，他随即试探地说：“还有一封信我想给她。 —

What the bishop said is true, I’m sure. —
主教所说的肯定是真的。 —

But she seems so unfriendly.”
但她似乎很不友好。”

“She is indeed. What a handsome lad you are. Yes, here she is, the person the letter is for. —
“她的确是。你是个英俊的小伙子。是的，这里就是她，这封信是给她的人。 —

We outsiders are somewhat puzzled by it all. Have a talk with her yourself. —
我们这些外人对这一切都有些困惑。跟她自己谈一谈吧。 —

You do seem terribly young, but he must have had good reasons for choosing you.”
你看起来确实太年轻了，但他肯定有选择你的好理由。

“What can I say when she won’t answer? She is treating me like a stranger. —
“她不回答，我该说什么呢？她对待我就像陌生人一样。” —

No, I have nothing more to say. But he told me I had to put the letter in her hands and no one else’s, and so I have to.”
不，我没有更多要说的了。但是他告诉我必须亲手把信交给她，别人不行，所以我必须照做。

“You do indeed.” The nun pushed the girl towards the curtain. —
“确实如此。”修女把女孩推向窗帘。 —

“Be civil to him, please do. You really are very stubborn.”
“请对他有礼貌，拜托了。你真的太固执了。”

The boy was certain, from the dumbness as of one in a trance, that the object of these remarks would be his sister. —
男孩确信，从那种如同出神的哑然沉默中，这些话语的对象一定是他的妹妹。 —

He edged closer and pushed the letter towards her.
他靠近并把信推向她。

“As soon as you can let me have your answer I will be off. —
“尽快告诉我你的回答，我就走了。” —

” Hurt by her aloofness, he had no wish to dawdle.
被她的冷淡所伤，他不想拖延。

The nun opened the letter and handed it to the girl.
修女打开了信并递给了女孩。

It was in the familiar hand. Sending forth the extraordinary fragrance, it quite dizzied the more forward of the nuns, who made sure that they had a glimpse of it.
那是那个熟悉的字迹。发散出非同寻常的香味，令更加直率的修女们感到眩晕，她们确保至少瞥见一眼。

“Out of deference to the bishop, I shall excuse the rash step you have taken. —
“出于对主教的尊重，我将原谅你采取的草率步骤。 —

Of that I shall speak no further. For my own part, I am seized with so intense a longing to speak to you of those nightmarish events that I can scarcely myself accept it as real. —
对此我不再多说。就我个人而言，我被如此强烈的渴望与你谈论那些令人恐怖的事件所抓住，以至于我几乎无法相信这是真的。 —

I cannot imagine how it might seem to others.”
我无法想象对其他人来说会是什么样子。”

As if unable to find adequate words, he continued with a poem:
仿佛无法找到足够的词语，他继续用一首诗说道：

“I lost my way in the hills, having taken a road
“在山丘中迷失了方向，走上了一条道路。

That would lead, I hope, to a teacher of the Law.
我希望这条路能带我找到一位法师。

“Have you forgotten this boy? I keep him here beside me in memory of one who disappeared.”
“你忘了这个孩子吗？我留着他在我身边，纪念那位消失的人。”

It was friendly, even ardent. She could not pretend, such was the clarity of the detail, that it was meant for someone else. —
这信很友善，甚至热情。她毫不犹豫地觉得这信是写给她的。 —

She dreaded a visit, perhaps unannounced. —
她害怕有人前来，也许是突然的。 —

She did not want him to see her drab robes and her cropped hair. —
她不想让他见到她那沉闷的袍子和剪短的头发。 —

The uncertainty too much for her, she collapsed in tears. —
不确定性使她难以承受，她泪如泉涌。 —

The nun gazed at her helplessly. What a silly child she was!
尼姑无助地看着她。她真是个愚蠢的孩子！

“And may I have your answer?”
“我能得到你的答复吗？”

“Let me collect myself just a little, please, if you don’t mind. I try to remember but I cannot. —
“请让我稍微冷静一下，如果你不介意的话。我尽力回惆怀，但我无法回忆。 —

It is all like a strange, frightening dream. —
这一切都像一场奇怪而可怕的梦。 —

I think possibly I may be able to understand when I have calmed myself a little. —
我想，也许我稍稍平静下来后可能能够理解。 —

Send it back, please, today at least. There may have been a mistake. —
至少今天把它寄回去吧。可能是发生了误会。 —

” Not even refolding the letter, she pushed it towards the nun.
” 她甚至没有重新折叠这封信，便把它推给了尼姑。

“You are being rude, my dear, nothing else, and if you persist in your rudeness we too will be held responsible.”
“亲爱的，你太无礼了，别无他意，如果你继续这种无礼的行为，我们也会被牵连进去。”

The girl was trembling violently and wished to hear no more. —
这位女孩剧烈地颤抖着，不想再听下去。 —

She lay with her face buried in her sleeves.
她脸埋在袖子里。

The nun came forward to converse briefly with the boy. “Some evil powers may be at her again. —
修女走过去和男孩简短交谈，“可能是某种邪恶力量又来烦她了。 —

She is seldom herself and she goes on feeling unwell, and so she has taken vows. —
她时常不像她自己，而且总是感觉不舒服，所以她立誓成为尼姑。 —

I have feared all along that if someone were to come looking for her we would be in trouble, and here we are. —
我一直担心着如果有人来找她，我们就麻烦了，果然如我所料。 —

It is all very sad and very disturbing. I must apologize for what has happened and admit that it is a great waste. —
这一切都太可悲也太扰人了。对于发生的事，我必须道歉并承认这是个巨大的浪费。 —

She has never been strong. Today she is less in control of herself than usual, and I fear we cannot expect even the sort of inadequate response we usually get.”
她一直很虚弱。今天她比平时更没有控制力，我担心我们甚至无法期待她通常会给予的那种不足的回应。

A most elegant lunch of mountain delicacies was brought in; —
上了一桌美味的山珍佳肴； —

but the boy’s young thoughts were elsewhere. —
但男孩的思绪却飘向了别处。 —

“My lord sent me all this way,” he said, “and what am I to take back? —
“我主人让我这么长途跋涉来，”他说，“我要带些什么回去呢？ —

Let me have a word from her, please, just a word.”
请让她给我一个字，只一个字。”

“What you say is entirely reasonable.” The nun relayed the appeal, but Ukifune was silent.
“你说的非常合情合理。” 修女传达了请求，但樗根却保持沉默。

“All I can suggest,” said the nun, coming forward again, “is that you remind him of our vulnerability. —
“我能建议的只有，”修女再次走过来说，“你提醒他我们的脆弱。 —

The mountain winds may blow, but we are not separated from the city by so fearfully many banks of clouds, and I am sure that you will find occasion to visit again.”
山风或许阵阵而过，但我们并没有被那么多的云层与城市隔开，我相信你会找到再次造访的机会。”

Nothing more was to be done, clearly, and the boy feared that he was beginning to look ridiculous. —
明显已无其他可做之事，男孩担心自己开始看起来可笑。 —

Saddened and chagrined at his failure to exchange even a word with his so grievously lamented sister, he started for the city.
他因未能与自己深感痛惜的姐妹交换一句话而感到悲伤和懊悔，便向城市出发。

Kaoru waited with much anticipation, which the boy’s report was quick to dispel. —
薰怀着很大的期待等待着，但男孩的报告迅速破灭了他的希望。 —

He might better have done nothing at all.
他或许本来不如干脆什么都不做。

It would seem that, as he examined the several possibilities, a suspicion crossed his mind: —
似乎在他考虑了几种可能性之后，一丝疑虑横穿他的脑海： —

the memory of how he himself had behaved in earlier days made him ask whether someone might be hiding her from the world.
他记得自己在早年曾经表现过的行为，让他开始怀疑是否有人把她藏起来不让世人知晓。

The End
结束。