他突然听见远处的叫喊声，便一跃而起，看见天空好像着了火。一片片火舌喷向空中，翻滚的浓烟朝他这边刮来。他听见了报警的铃声，还有更多的人喊叫着：“火！”他带着他的狗跑过了这片野地，也加入到了这群救火的男男女女中。在眼前的新危险中，他可以忘了自己的恐惧。整整一个晚上，他都和这群人一起叫喊着，跑着，一起奋力地灭火，以免大火毁坏更多的房屋。
In the morning the mad excitement was over，and the dreadful memory of his crime returned-more terrifying than ever．In desperation，he decided to go back to London．
天亮了，这种疯狂的激情消失了，他犯下的可怖罪行的回忆却回来了——比以前更加可怕。在绝望中，他决定还是回伦敦去。
‘At least the re’ll be somebody I can speak to，’he thought to himself． ‘And it’s a better hiding-place than out here in the country．I’ll hide the re for a week，get some money out of Fagin，the n escape to France．’
“起码，在那里我还有能说说话的人。”他心想。“那儿是个比乡间更好的藏身的地方。我要在那儿躲一个星期，想法从费金那儿弄点钱来，然后再逃到法国去。”
Suddenly he remembered the dog-people would be looking for his dog as well as himself．He decided to drown the animal．But the dog smelt the man’s fear，and turned and ran away from him faster than it had ever run in its life． ‘You have a choice，Mr Monks，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘You have been kidnapped and brought here to my house．You can either tell me what I want to know，or I’ll have you arrested，instantly，for fraud and robbery．It’s your choice．And you must decide now．At once．’
他突然想到了他的狗——人们现在不但在找他，而且可能在找他的狗。他决定把这畜生溺死。可这狗察觉出了主人的惧怕心理，转过身以它平生最快的速度跑开了。“蒙克斯先生，你面临着一个选择。”布朗洛先生说。“你是被劫持到我家里来的，你得告诉我我要知道的事，否则我会立刻让警方拘捕你，罪名是诈骗和盗窃。你可以作出选择，但必须马上决定，立刻。”
Monks hesitated and looked at the old man，but Mr Brown low ‘s expression was so serious and determined that The younger man realized it was pointless to protest． ‘I didn’t expect this treatment from my father’s oldest friend，’said Monks angrily，sitting down with a frown on his face．
蒙克斯犹豫了一下，看着这老人，但布朗洛先生的神色非常严肃和坚定，年轻人意识到争辩是没有用的。“我没料到我父亲交情最深的老朋友会这样对待我。”蒙克斯愤怒地说着，紧皱眉头坐了下来。
‘Yes，I was your father’s oldest friend，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘And I know all about you-how your father，while still a boy，was forced by his family into an unhappy marriage with an older woman，and how you were the result of that marriage．I also know that your parents separated，hating each other by the end．’
“不错，我曾是你父亲交情最深的老朋友。”布朗洛先生说，“你的什么事我都知道——当你的父亲还是个小伙子时，他是怎样在家庭的逼迫下与一个比他大的女人结了婚，造成了这桩不幸的婚姻；后来你又是怎样成了这一婚姻的产物。另外我也知道你父母亲后来又分居了，那时他们已到了互相憎恨的地步。”
‘Well-what’s so important about that？’
“那么——这有什么要紧的呢？”
‘When They’d been separated for ten years，’said Mr Brown low ， ‘your father met another family．The re were two daughters，one nineteen years old and the other only two or three．Your father became engaged to the older daughter．At this point one of his rich relations died and left him a lot of money in his will．Your father had to travel to Italy to receive his inheritance，and while the re，he became ill and died．Your mother，who was living with you in Paris，immediately rushed to Italy when she heard the news．As your father had made no will of his own，all the relation’s money came to you and her．’
“他们分居十年以后，”布朗洛先生说，“你的父亲又遇到了另一家人，这家有两个女儿，一个当时十九岁，而另一个只有两三岁。你父亲和这家的大女儿订了婚。就在这当口，他的一个有钱的亲戚死了，在遗嘱上给他留下了一大笔钱财。你父亲必须到意大利去接受这笔遗产。可他却在那儿患了病，死在了那个地方。你的母亲和你当时住在巴黎，她得知了你父亲的死讯，匆匆赶到了意大利。由于他没有立遗嘱，他亲戚留给他的那一份钱就都归你和你母亲所有了。”
Monks listened with close attention，biting his lip and staring at the floor．
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