We came to the inn，and Ransome led us upthe stairs. In a small room，a tall，dark，serious manwas sitting by a great coal fire. He wore a thick sea- jacket，and a cap over his ears. This was CaptainHoseason.
The captain shook hands with Uncle Ebenezer.
“Your room is ve ry hot，”my uncle said.
“I ha ve c old blood，s ir，”the captain replied.“Iha ve s a ile d to hot countrie s for ma ny ye a rs .”
The two men sat down to examine some papers.
My uncle turned to me.
“Why don ’t you go out for a short time ？”hesaid.
The heat of the room was making me sick.
Outside there was the wouderful sea. I forgot that Iought to watch my uncle and his tricks. I was notvery wise. I went out.
我们来到那家旅店，兰塞姆把我们领到楼上。一间小屋子里，生着一堆熊熊的煤火，火边坐着一个皮肤黝黑、面色严肃的大汉。他身穿厚厚的水手上衣，帽子拉下来盖住了耳朵。这就是霍西森船长。
船长和叔父握了握手。
“你的屋子太热了。”叔父说。
“我的血是冷的，先生。多年来，我总在热带国家航行。”船长回答说。
他们俩坐下来看一些字据。叔父转身对我说：
“你为什么不出去转一会儿呢?”
屋子里热得我简直想呕吐，外面却是令人神往的大海。我忘掉了自己应该盯住叔父，注意他玩什么花招，就走出房间。这件事我干得有点蠢。
I walked down to the shore and looked at thewaves. The smell of the sea water was very salty.
The Covenant was spreading her sails. The scenemade me imagine far voyages and foreign places.
我走到海滩上去看海浪。海水发出一股浓烈的咸味。“契约”号正在张帆。这幅景象引起我许多浮想，我想到遥远的航行和异国他乡。
I looked，too，at the seamen with the skiff.
They were big brown fellows，some in shirts，somewith jackets. All had knives. I spoke to one ofthem，but be used many bad words. So I went backto the inn.
I gave Ransome some beer. We sat at a tablein the front room downstairs.
“Do you know Mr Ra nke illor？”I said to thelandlord of the inn.
“I know him we ll，”he replied.“He ’s a ve ryhone s t ma n. Did you come in with Eb e ne ze r？”
“Ye s ，”I said.
“Are you a re la tion？”the landlord asked.“Youlo ok like Mr Ale xa n de r.”
I did not answer this，but I said.“Ebe ne z e r isnot ve ry popula r ，is he ?”
“No，he is n’t. He ’s a ba d old ma n . A lo t of pe opleha te him，J e nne t Clous ton a nd othe rs . He drovethem out of the ir home s . Ye t he wa s once a fineyoung fe llow. But the re wa s a s tory a bout Mr Ale xa nder ，a nd tha t ha rme d him.”
我也瞅了瞅小艇上的那几个水手。他们都是些彪形大汉，皮肤是古铜色的，有的穿着衬衫，有的穿着上衣，身上都带着刀子。我跟其中一个聊了几句，可是他满口都是脏话，所以我又回旅店去了。
我给兰塞姆买了点啤酒，和他在楼下前厅的一张桌子旁边坐下。
我问旅店老板道：“你认识兰基勒先生吗?”
他回答说：“我跟他很熟，他为人很正派。你是跟埃比尼泽一起来的吗?”我说：“是的。”
老板问道；“是他的亲戚吗？你长得很象亚历山大。”
我没有正面回答他的问题，只是说：“埃比尼泽名声不好，是不是?”
“是的，名声不好。这个老头子很坏。好多人，比如琼特· 克劳斯顿等，都恨他，因为他把这些人弄得无家可归。不过他年轻的时候是个好小伙子。可是，关于亚历山大先生人们有过一个谣传，这个谣传使名誉扫地。”
“Wha t s tory?”
“Oh，jus t tha t he kille d him.”
“Kille d him？Why?”
“Why？Be ca us e he wa nte d the S haws .”
“Is th a t true ？Wa s my-wa s Ale xa nde r the e lde rs on？”
“Of cours e he wa s ，”the landlord replied. Hewas busy，and went away.
Of course I had guessed it ，but now I knew！
was like the boy in the ballad. I was the heir to theShaws. I was rich. I had a house and land. My headwas filled with pleasant thoughts.
“什么谣传?”
“哦，是说他害死了亚历山大。”
“害死？为什么?”
“为什么？因为他想得到肖府的家产。”
“是真的吗？我的--亚历山大是长子吗?”
“那还用问，”店老板说。他忙着店里的事，说完就走了。
当然，这件事我早就猜到了，不过现在才肯定了。我就象那首民谣中的男孩子。我是肖府的继承人。
我是个财主，既有房子又有地。我兴奋极了。
I looked out of the window and saw CaptainHoseason down by the skiff. He was giving orders tothe seamen. Then he came back towards the inn.
He was a fine，tall man，but his face was very serious.
I remembered Ransome’s stories about him.
Perhaps they were not true.
I heard my uncle calling me. I went outsideand found the two men together. The captain spoketo me.
“S ir，”he said,“I like you. Le t us be frie nd s .
Come on boa rd my brig for ha lf a n hour . You sha llha ve a drink with me .”
I told him my uncle and I were going to a lawyer.
我从窗口看到霍西森船长已经从楼上下来，站在小艇边，正在给水手们发号施令，后来他又向旅店走来。他身材魁梧，很英俊，可总是板着面孔。我想起兰塞姆讲的关于他的一些事情，也许他讲的不是事实。
我听见叔叔在喊我，便走了出去，看到他和船长在一起。船长对我说：
“先生，我喜欢你，咱们交个朋友吧，到我的双桅船上呆半个钟头吧。咱们一块喝上一杯。”
我对他说叔叔和我还要去见一
“Oh，ye s ，’he a nswe re d,“he told me tha t. Butmy s kiff will ta ke you to the town la te r a nd la nd youne a r ，Mr Ra nke illor’s ho us e .”
Suddenly he bent down and whispered in my ear.
“Wa tc h your uncle - he is a n old fox！Come onboa rd a nd I will te ll you a bout him.”
He took my arm and said：“Wha t gift sha ll Ibring you from Ame ric a ？A. roll of toba cc o？a s kin ofa wild a nima l？a s tone pipe ？a s tra nge bird withbrigh t re d fe a the rs ？”
By this time we had reached the skiff. Thecaptain had said my uncle was a fox. I thought Ihad found a good frieud. So I got into the boat withHoseason. Uncle Ebenezer and Ransome followed.
位律师。
他说：“噢，是呀，他对我说过。
不过，待一会儿我的小艇可以送你们到城里，在兰基勒家附近上岸。”
他突然一弯腰，悄悄对我说：
“留神你叔叔--他是个老狐狸！你到我船上来，我把他的事讲给你听。”
他抓住我的胳膊说：“我到美洲去给你带一件礼物回来好吗？一捆烟草？一张野兽皮？一个石头烟斗？还是带一只长着红艳艳的羽毛的怪鸟呢?”
这时我们已经走到小艇眼前。
船长说我叔叔是个老狐狸，我认为自己碰上了知心朋友，所以就同霍西森一起上了小艇。埃比尼泽叔叔和兰塞姆也跟着上来了。
The seamen pulled hard on the oars，and theskiff was soon moving over the water. It was apleasant little trip，and everything was new to me. Ilooked back at the shore，ahd up at the Covenant.
Every minute the ship seemed bigger and bigger.
We soon reached her side.
The captain said he and I must be the first onboard. Some men dropped a rope over the side andlifted me up to the deck. The captain was waiting
水手们使劲划着桨，小艇立即在水面上向前滑行。这次坐船我感到很愉快，很新鲜。我回头看了看海滩，又抬头瞅了瞅“契约”号。大船显得越来越大，我们很快就划到它的旁边。
船长说他和我必须先登船。几个水手从大船边上放下一条绳子，把我吊到甲板上。船长先上去了，
for me there and quickly slipped his arm undermine. I stood there for a short time. The ship rolledand made me dizzy. The captain pointed out theparts of the deck and told me their names and uses.
I was very glad to see all these things.
“But whe re is my unc le ?”I said suddenly.
“Ye s ，”said Hoseason. “Whe re is he ?”Hisvoice was not the voice of a friend now. I pulled awayfrom his arm and ran to the side. The skiff wasmoving towards the town and my uncle was in it . Ishouted.“He lp！He lp！”
When my uncle turned round，his face wascruel.
I saw no more because strong hands pulled meback. I felt a heavy blow on the back of my head. Isaw a great flash of fire，and then I lost my senses.
在那里等着我。他迅速用一只胳膊把我拦腰抱住。我在甲板上站了一会儿，船晃了一下，我感到头晕。船长指着甲板的各个部位，把它们的名称和用途一一讲给我听。我看着这些心里很高兴。
“我叔叔呢?”我突然问道。
“是呀，他在哪儿呢？”霍西森说。这时，他讲话的声音不象刚才那样友好了。我挣脱了他的胳膊，跑到船边。小艇正朝城里驶去，叔叔坐在上面。我大声喊叫：“救命！
救命！”
我叔叔回过头，露出一副狰狞的面孔。
一双有力的手把我拖了回去，我再也看不见小艇了。我感到有人在我的脑后猛击了一下。我眼里直冒金星，立刻便失去了知觉。
