‘Well， it's quite true， sir， believe it or not．I knew the man well，’said Mr Crick．
“哦，这是完全真实的，先生，信不信由你。我跟那个人相当熟。”克里克先生说。
‘Oh yes， I'm sure it's true，’said the man behind the brown cow．Tess could not see his face，and could not understand why the head－dairyman himself should call him sir．The man stayed under the cow long enough to milk three，at times saying something angrily to himself．Then he stood up， stretching his arms．Tess could now see him clearly． He wore the clothes of a dairyman but underneath he was quite different．He looked educated and gentlemanly．
“哦，是的，我相信它是真实的，”那头棕色奶牛后面的人说道。苔丝无法看见他的脸，也不明白为什么牛奶场场主本人还要称呼他为先生。这人待在一头奶牛下面的时间足够让别人挤三头牛了，他还不时生气地自言自语。然后他站了起来，伸展了一下胳膊。这时苔丝可以清楚地看到他的脸了。他穿着挤奶工的衣服，但他本人显得与众不同。他看起来受过教育，很有教养。
But now she realized that she had seen him before． He was one of the three walking brothers who had stopped their walk to admire the May－Day dance in Marlott a few years before． He had danced with some of the other girls but not with her． He had not noticed her and had gone on his way． For a moment she was worried that if he recognized her he might discover her story． But she soon saw he did not remember her at all． Since she had seen him in Marlott，his face had grown more thoughtful． He now had a young man's moustache and beard． From the time he had spent milking one cow，he was clearly a beginner at dairy work．
但是她现在想起来，她以前曾见过这张脸庞。几年以前，在马勒特村的五月节舞会上，有三个徒步旅行的兄弟曾驻足观看过，他就是三兄弟之一，那个和其他一些女孩跳过舞但没同她跳的人。他没注意到她，又继续上路了。她一时忐忑不安起来，怕他认出她来后会得知她的经历。但很快，她发现他根本想不起她来了。自从她在马勒特见过他之后，他显得更深沉了。他现在蓄起了青年人的唇髭和络腮胡。从他挤一头牛花费的时间来看，对牛奶场的活儿，他显然是一个新手。
Tess discovered that only two or three of the dairymaids slept in the house，besides herself．They all shared a big bedroom near the cheese room． That night one of the girls insisted on telling Tess about all the people at the dairy． To Tess，half asleep， the whispers seemed to be floating in the air．
苔丝发现除了她之外，还有两三个挤奶女工和她睡在一间房子里。她们共有的这间大卧室挨着奶酪室。那天晚上，她们中有个姑娘坚持要给苔丝讲牛奶场里所有人的情况。苔丝半睡半醒地听着，这些耳语就像漂浮在空中一样。
‘Mr Angel Clare—he's the one who's learning milking— he's a parson's son and thinks a lot and doesn't notice girls． His father is parson at Emminster，some way from here．His sons，except Mr Clare，are going to be parsons too．’
“安吉尔·克莱尔先生——就是那个学挤牛奶的人——是一位牧师的儿子，爱思考问题，但对女孩子从不留意。她父亲是爱敏斯特的牧师，离这儿有些距离。他的儿子们，除了克莱尔先生，也都打算当牧师。”
Tess gradually fell asleep．
苔丝渐渐地睡着了。

 4/4   首页 上一页 2 3 4