在这期间，艾伦和克卢尼打着牌。我想艾伦刚开始是赢家，记得我坐起来过一次，看见桌子上有六十个或一百个金几尼。
The second day，he was not lucky. At noonthey woke me and gave me more medicine. The sunwas shining in the open door，and hurt my eyes. Alanbent over my bed and put his face close tomine.
他第二天可不那么走运了。中午时分，他们叫醒我，又给我吃了些药。阳光从敞开的房门那儿射了进来，很刺眼。艾伦在我床边弯下身子，把脸贴近我，说：
“Le nd me your mo ne y，Da vid ，”he said.
“大卫，把你的钱借给我。”
“Why?”I said,“I don’t u nde rs ta nd .”
“为什么？我不懂你干吗要借钱。”我说。
“Oh，Da vid ，”he said,“you will no t re fus e you rfrie nd ?”
“噢，大卫，你总不会拒绝你的朋友的要求吧?”他说。
I was sick and my fever was high. I could notthink. I felt I must get his face away from mine. SoI gave him my money.
我有病，烧得很厉害，不能多考虑，只是觉得必须让他把脸从我的面前移开，所以就把钱给了他。
On the third day，I was better. I was weak，butmy mind was clear. I was hungry，and ate for thefirst time. I went and sat at the door of the Cage.
第三天，我觉得好了一点，身子虽然很虚弱，脑子却是清醒了。我感到饿，从到来后，第一次吃了点东西。我走出去，坐在“笼子”的门口。
When I came inside again，Alan and Clunywere questioning a servant . Cluny turned to me andspoke in Gaelic.
我回到屋子里时，艾伦和克卢尼还在问一个仆人问题。克卢尼把脸转向我，用盖尔语对我讲话。
“I ca n ’un de rs ta nd Ga e lic ，s ir，”I said.
“先生，我不懂盖尔语。”我说。
Now because of the cards，everything about me
因为打牌的事，我无论说什么，
made Cluny angry.
干什么，克卢尼都不高兴。
“Yo ur name ha s more s e n s e tha n yours e lf，”hesaid in English.“It is good Ga e lic . My s e ntrie s re s -port tha t the wa y is c le a r. Are you s tron g e nough fo rtra ve l？”
他用英语说：“你的名字比你的人还通情达理一些，那是个很好的盖尔语名字。我的哨兵报告说，路上已经没有士兵巡逻了。你的身体能不能上路?”
I saw cards on the table，but no gold. Alan hada strange，guilty look.
我看见纸牌还在桌子上，可金几尼全不见了。艾伦显得很尴尬。
“I do not know a b out my s tre ngth ，”I said,“butour sma ll amount of mone y mus t ca rry us a longwa y.”
我说：“我说不上来我有没有力气上路，不过，我们那一点路费可能够我们花好长时间。”
Alan looked at the ground.
艾伦低头看着地面，终于开口说：
“Da vid ，”he said at last，”I’ve lost it. That’sthe truth.”
“大卫，我们钱输了，是真的。”
“My mon e y，too？”I asked.
“把我的钱也输了?”我问道。
“Your mone y，to o，”Alan said.“Why did yougive it to me ？I’m a fool whe n I pla y ca rds . ”“It wa sonly a game ，”Cluny said.“Of c ours e ，you ’ll ha veyour mone y ba c k，a nd a double amount，if you like . Ic ould not ma ke thing s diffic ult for a ge ntlema n in you rpos ition .”
“也输了。你干吗要把钱借给我呢？我一打起牌，就成了糊涂虫。”他说。“那只是打着玩的。当然啦，你可以把钱拿回去，甚至加一倍也行。我也不会叫处在你这种困境的人感到为难的。”克卢尼说。
He took gold from his pocket . His face wasred.
他满脸通红，从口袋里掏出一些金币。
Alan said nothing. 艾伦一句话也没有说。
“Will you s te p to th e door with me ，s ir？”I said.
Cluny did so.
“先生，您能跟我到门口去一下吗?”我说。克卢尼跟我走到门口。
“Sir，”I said,“you a re ve ry ge ne rous ，a nd Itha nk you.”
我说：“先生，您慷慨大方，我谢谢您。”
“Non s e ns e ！”Cluny said.“This is a ba d thing.
But wha t ca ll I do ？My life he re is dull. I a m a lone fo rda ys in this ca ge . Whe n my frie nds c ome ，I pla y ca rdswith them. If the y los e ，I don ’t e xpe ct-”
克卢尼说：“废话！打牌并不是一件好事。可我有什么办法呢？我在这儿生活很枯燥。有时一连几天孤零零地呆在这个笼子里。来了朋友，我就跟他们打牌。要是他们输了，我并不希望--”
Here he stopped. 他说到这里停住了。
“Ye s ，”I said,“if the y los e ，yo u give them ba ckthe ir mone y. If the y win，the y ca rry your mone y awa y.
You a re ge ne rous ，but it is a diffic ult pos ition for ague s t.”
我 说。“是的，要是他们输了，你把钱还给他们。要是他们赢了，就把你的钱带走，你慷慨大方，可客人却感到尴尬。”
There was a little silence. Cluny’s face wasredder.
我们沉默了片刻。克卢尼的脸越发红了。
“I am a you ng ma n，”I said,“a nd I a s k you ra dvice . Advis e me like a fa the r. My frie nd los t thismone y in a fa ir game . Ca n I a c ce pt it ba c k a ga in ？Istha t right for me ？You ca n s e e it is a ha rd thing fo rmy pride .”
我说：“我年纪轻，请您开导我，象一位父亲那样开导我。你正大光明地赢了我朋友，我能从您的手里再把钱拿过来吗？我这样做对吗？
我的自尊心很难允许我这样做，这您是可以看得出来的。”
“It is ha rd for me ，too，Mr Ba lfour ，”Chuny said.
“I do not invite poor pe ople to my hous e to tra pthem. I do not insult my frie nds ，a nd I will not a cce pta n insult！”
克卢尼说。“巴尔福先生，这对我也是个难题，我邀请不富裕的人来我这里，并不是要设圈套骗人家。
我不会侮辱我的朋友，可是，也不许他们侮辱我。”
He was angry now.
这时他生气了。
“You c a n s e e ，s ir，”I said,“I ha ve some re a son
我说：“先生，您现在可以明白，
on my s ide . P la ying ca rds is not a good ha bit for ge ntlemen. But I am wa iting for your a nswe r.”
我不打牌是有道理的。对绅士们来说，打牌赌博不是个好习惯。可是，我在等着您的回答。”
I think he hated me very much. But he remembered I was young. It was a difficult position forhim，and he haved well.
“Mr Ba lfour，”he said,“I think you a re too pa rticula r. You a re a Whig . But you ha ve the spirit of abra ve ge ntle ma n. On my ho ne s t word，you ma y ta kethe mone y. And I offe r you my ha nd.”
我 想他十分恨我。可是，他没忘了我还年轻。他的处境难堪，但他把这件事办得很体面。
他说：“巴尔福先生，我觉得你太认真了。你是个辉格派，不过你具有一位勇敢的绅士的气魄。我庄严发誓，你可以把钱拿回去。好吧，咱们握手。”
