The day passed. We had cold porridge at noonand hot porridge at night. Porridge and weak beerwere my uncle’s regular food. He said little. WhenI asked again about my future，he spoke of otherthings.
Next to the kitchen I found a room full ofbooks . This pleased me，and I read during the afternoon.
Then I discovered a strange thing. There wasa child ’s picture book among the others. On thefront page，my father had written something. It wasthis“To my brothe r Eb e ne ze r，on his fifth birth da y.”
The words were firm and clear.
I did not understand. My father was，ofcourse，the younger brother. Yet he wrote very wellwhen he was only two or three or four years old.
I looked at many other interesting books，oldand new，history，poetry and story - books. But Icould not forget this birthday gift.
一天一天过去了。我们中午吃凉稀饭，晚上吃热稀饭。伯父每天只吃稀饭、喝淡啤酒。他很少讲话。
我再向他问起我的前程的问题时，他却转谈别的事。
我发现厨房隔壁的屋子里堆满了书。我真高兴，于是我就在下午看书。后来，我发现了一件怪事。
这一堆书里头有一本儿童画册。在画册的封面上，我父亲写了这样一句话：“埃比尼泽兄弟五岁生日留念。”字体老练、清晰。
我被弄得糊里糊涂。我父亲不用说是弟弟，可他在两三岁，顶大四岁时竟然能写出这么好的字。
我翻看了其他有意思的书，有新的，也有旧的； 有历史书，也有诗歌和故事书。可是，这本生日礼物书却深深地印在我的脑海里。
“Wa s my fa the r a quic k，cle ve r boy?”I asked myuncle in the evening.
“Ale xa nde r？No ！”he replied.“I wa s qu icke rtha n he . I wa s ve ry c le ve r whe n I wa s young . ”Thiswas strange.
“We re you a nd my fa the r born a t the s ametime ？”I asked.
He jumped up and dropped his spoon.
“Why do you a s k th a t？”he said. He seized thefront of my jacket，and looked this time straight inmy face. His eyes were little and bright andstrange.
“Wha t do you me a n？”I asked.“Ta ke your ha ndfrom my ja c ke t. You ought not to do tha t. ”He tookhis hand away. He was shaking.
“Da vid，”he said.“you oug ht n ot to s pe a k to meof your fa the r. He wa s my only brothe r.”
He picked up his spoon again，but he wastrembling still.
Why had he seized me by the jacket？Whydid he suddenly pretend he loved my father？Fearand hope filled my mind. If he was mad，I was indanger. But if he was not mad，was he hiding thetruth？I remembered a famous old ballad of a poorboy and a cruel uncle. This boy was the real heir to
我在傍晚时间伯父说：“我父亲小时候聪明伶俐吗?”
他回答说：“亚历山大？不，我比他聪颖得多。我小时候非常聪明。”
这就怪了。“你和我父亲是双生吗?”我问道。
他一下子跳了起来，手里的勺子也掉到地上。
“你干嘛要问这个？”他说着一把抓住我的上衣胸部，这次双眼却直盯着我。他的眼睛又小又亮又怪。
我问道：“你这是什么意思？松开手，别抓住我的上衣。你不应该这样做。”他把手松开了，浑身在颤抖。他说：
“大卫，你不该在我面前提起你父亲。我就那么一个兄弟啊。”
他拣起勺子，可还在发抖。
他为什么到抓住我的上衣？又为什么突然假装喜欢我父亲呢？我既害怕，又有了一线希望。他要是个疯子，我可就遭殃了。可如果他没有病，他是不是在隐瞒事情的真相呢？我想起一首脍炙人口的民
a great house，but his uncle cheated him of his inheritance.
谣，讲的是一个穷男孩和他的狠毒的叔叔的事。那个男孩是一家高贵门第的真正继承人，可是，他的叔叔骗取了他应该继承的家产。
Was not my uncle behaving strangely to me？
Was I like the boy in the ballad？Was I the heir tothe Shaws？
I sat and watched him. He sat and watchedme. He said nothing，but he was thinking. I knewhis thoughts were evil.
“Da vid ，”he said，after a time,“I ha ve a littlemone y fo r you . I p romis e d it to your fa the r. It is fortypoun ds . If you will go outs ide for a minute ，I will ge tit.”
I thought this story was a lie. I obeyed himand went outside. There was a sound of wind in thehills. The weather was changing.
My uncle called me in. Slowly he counted thirtyseven gold guineas into my hand. He had the restof the money in small coins. His greed was too greatfor him，and he put the coins into his own pocket.
Yet thirty - seven guineas was a generous gift，and it astonished me. Why did he do it？I thankedhim，but I watched him still.
我 伯父对我不也是怪里怪气吗？难道我跟民谣里那个男孩一样吗？难道我是肖府的继承人吗？
我坐下来，注视着他的一举一动。他也坐下来，望着我。他一句话也没有，但却在动脑子。我知道他在打着坏主意。
过了一会儿，他说：“大卫，我给你留了一点儿钱。我答应过你父亲把这笔钱给你。一共是四十镑。要是你同意出去一会儿，我就给你拿。”
我认为他是在说谎骗我。我按他的要求走了出去。山丘上响起了呼呼的风声。要变天了。
我伯父把我叫了进去。他把三十七个金几尼一个一个数着放在我的手里。其余的钱都是些辅币。他太贪心了，把那些辅币装进了自己的口袋。
不管怎么说，三十七个金儿尼总算是笔慷慨大方的馈赠。这件事大出我的意料。他为什么要送给我这么多钱呢？我谢了谢他，但仍然
“I wa nt no tha nks ，”he said.“I am doing my duty.”
After a time，he looked at me.
在观察他的一举一动。
他说：“我只不过是在尽我的责任罢了，并不想让你感谢我。”
过了一会儿，他看着我说：
“Now you mus t do s ome thing for me ，”he said.
“I am old，a nd not ve ry s trong . Will you he lp me withthe hous e ?”
“Of cours e ，s ir ，”I replied.
“We ll，”he said,“we will be gin now. ”He took akey from his pocket.“He re is the ke y of the s ta irtowe r. Yo u mus t go in from the outs ide ，be c a us e tha tpa rt of the hous e is not c omple te . Go up the s ta irs . Atthe top the re is a che s t which c onta ins pa pe rs . Bringit to me .”
“Ca n I ha ve a light，s ir？”I said.
“No，”he answered,“no lights in my hous e .”
“Are the s ta irs good ，”I asked.
“The y a re ve ry good ，”he said“Wa lk by thewa ll. The re is no ra il，bu t the s te ps a re good .”
I went outside into the dark.
“现在你得给我做件事。我上了年纪，身体又不好。你愿意帮我照管这座房子吗?”
“当然愿意。”我回答说。
他说：“那好，咱们现在就开始吧。”他从口袋里掏出一把钥匙。
“这是塔楼上的钥匙，你得从外面绕进去，因为房子的那一部分还没有完工。上楼去，楼顶上有一个装着文件的小箱子，你给我拿下来。”
“能给我个灯吗?”我问道。
“不行。我的房子里不准点灯。”他回答说。
“楼梯结实吗?”我问道。
“很结实。你顺着墙走。楼梯上没有扶手，但台阶很结实。”他说。
我走出屋子，外面一片漆黑。
