【荆棘鸟】第一章 10

She picked up a small lamp from the table, then put it down again and walked across to where Frank was squatted 1 before the stove, packing wood into the big firebox and fiddling 2 with the damper. His white arm was roped with prominent veins 3, his finely made hands too stained ever to come clean. Her own hand went out timidly, and very lightly smoothed the straight black hair out of his eyes; it was as close as she could bring herself to a caress 4. "Good night, Frank, and thank you."
  The shadows wheeled and darted 5 before the advancing light as Fee moved silently through the door leading into the front part of the house. Frank and Bob shared the first bedroom; she pushed its door open noiselessly and held the lamp high, its light flooding the double bed in the corner. Bob was lying on his back with his mouth sagging 6 open, quivering and twitching 7 like a dog; she crossed to the bed and rolled him over onto his right side before he could pass into a full-fledged nightmare, then stayed looking down at him for a moment. How like Paddy he was! Jack 8 and Hughie were almost braided together in the next room. What dreadful scamps they were! Never out of mischief 9, but no malice 10 in them. She tried vainly to separate them and restore some sort of order to their bedclothes, but the two curly red heads refused to be parted. Softly sighing, she gave up. How they managed to be refreshed after the kind of night they passed was beyond her, but they seemed to thrive on it. The room where Meggie and Stuart slept was a dingy 11 and cheerless place for two small children; painted a stuffy 12 brown and floored in brown linoleum 13, no-pictures on the walls. Just like the other bedrooms. Stuart had turned himself upside down and was quite invisible except for his little night shirted bottom sticking out of the covers where his head ought to have been; Fee found his head touching 14 his knees, and as usual marveled that he had not suffocated 15. She slid her hand gingerly across the sheet and stiffened 16. Wet again!
 

她从桌上拿起一盏小灯，接着又放了下来，向弗兰克走去，他正蹲在炉子前，往那个大炉膛里添木柴，拨弄着风门。他那白白的胳膊上布满了凸起的脉络，那双好看的手脏得该洗一洗了。她胆怯地伸出一只手去，轻轻地把落到了他眼前的直挺的黑发理顺。
    她这样做已经是近于爱抚了。
    “晚安，弗兰克，谢谢你。”
    在菲蹑手蹑脚地穿过通往前屋的门的时候，影子转着向前伸去。
    弗兰克和鲍勃合用第一间卧室；她无声无息地把门推开，将灯举高，灯光浊在角落里的双人床上。鲍勃仰面朝天地躺在那里，嘴微微地张着；像拘一样颤着、抽动着。她走到床边，趁他的恶梦还没有完全做开的时候，把他的身子扳过来，侧着躺，然后她站在那里。低头看了他一会儿。他多像帕迪啊！
    在隔壁的房间里，杰克和休吉几乎抱到一起去了。这一对够人呛的小淘气！他们没有不调皮的时候，但是却没有恶意。她枉然地想把他们俩分开，多少整理一下他们的被褥，可是这两个红卷毛小子不愿分子。她轻轻地叹了口气，作罢了。她想不通他们俩像这样睡了一夜醒来以后，怎么能够恢复体力，可是，他们却似乎越来越壮实了。
    梅吉和斯图尔特住的房子时这两个小家伙来说是太邋遢，太缺乏生气了；屋里漆的是沉闷的棕色，地面上铺的是棕色的油毡，墙上没有画片，和其它卧室没什么两样。
    斯图尔特在倒着睡，他几乎全蒙进了被了里，只看得见穿着小睡衣的屁股撅在本来应该是脑袋所在的地方。菲发现他的头挨着膝盖，奇怪的是，他依然像平时一样，并不感到窒息。她小心地把手伸到被子里面，一下怔住了。又尿床了！