【荆棘鸟】第二章 27

In the kitchen the boys were sitting glumly 1 around the table, and Paddy's chair was empty. So was Frank's. Meggie slid into her place and sat there, teeth chattering 2 in fear. After breakfast Fee shooed them outside dourly 3, and behind the barn Bob broke the news to Meggie.
  "Frank's run away," he breathed.
  "Maybe he's just gone into Wahine," Meggie suggested. "No, silly! He's gone to join the army. Oh, I wish I was big enough to go with him! The lucky coot!"
  "Well, I wish he was still at home."
  Bob shrugged 4. "You're only a girl, and that's what I'd expect a girl to say."
  The normally incendiary remark was permitted to pass unchallenged; Meggie took herself inside to her mother to see what she could do. "Where's Daddy?" she asked Fee after her mother had set her to ironing handkerchiefs.
  "Gone in to Wahine."
  "Will he bring Frank back with him?"
  Fee snorted. "Trying to keep a secret in this family is impossible. No, he won't catch Frank in Wahine, he knows that. He's gone to send a telegram to the police and the army in Wanganui. They'll bring him back."
  "Oh, Mum, I hope they find him I don't want Frank to go away!" Fee slapped the contents of the butter churn onto . the table and attacked the watery 5 yellow mound 6 with two wooden pats. "None of us want Frank to go away. That's why Daddy's going to see he's brought back." Her mouth quivered for a moment; she whacked 7 the butter harder. "Poor Frank! Poor, poor Frank!" she sighed, not to Meggie but to herself. "I don't know why the children must pay for our sins. My poor Frank, so out of things . . ." Then she noticed that Meggie had stopped ironing, and shut her lips, and said no more. Three days later the police brought Frank back. He had put up a terrific struggle, the Wanganui sergeant 8 on escort duty told Paddy. "What a fighter you've got! When he saw the army lads were a wakeup he was off like a shot, down the steps and into the street with two soldiers after him. If he hadn't had the bad luck to run into a constable 9 on patrol, I reckon he'd a got away, too. He put up a real wacko fight; took five of them to get the manacles on."
 

在厨房里，男孩子们都闷闷不乐地围坐在餐桌旁，帕迪的椅子是空的。弗兰克的椅子也是空的。梅吉悄悄地溜进了自己的座位，坐在那儿，吓得牙齿打颤。早饭以后，菲声色俱厉地把他们全都赶到外面去了。在谷仓后面，鲍勃把这一新闻透露给了梅吉。
 
　　"弗兰克逃走了。"他吸了一口气。
　　"兴许，他只不过是到韦汉去了。"梅吉猜道。
　　"不会的，你这个笨蛋！他跑去参军了。啊，我希望我也长得够个儿，跟他一块去！这个走运的老傻瓜！"
　　"嗯，我希望他还留在家里。"
　　鲍勃耸了耸肩："你真是个丫头片子，我就知道黄毛丫头会这么说的。"
　　梅吉没有理会这句普普通通的挑衅话，她顾自走进家去找妈妈，想问问她能够做些什么。
　　"爸上哪去了？"在菲让她去熨手帕的时候，她问道。
　　"上韦汉镇去了。"
　　"他能把弗兰克带回来吗？"
　　菲哼了一下鼻子："要想在这个家里保守个秘密简直是办不到。不，他心里也明白，在韦汉是抓不到弗兰克的，他到那儿是给旺加努伊的警察局和军队拍电报去了。他们会把他送回来的。"
　　"哦，妈妈，我希望他们能找到他！我不愿意让弗兰克走！"
　　菲把搅乳器里盛的东西噗地倒在桌子上，用两块木拍板使劲地拍着那堆含水的、黄色的奶油。"咱们谁都不愿意让他走。就因为这个爸才去想法让他们把他带回来的。"她的嘴颤抖了一会儿，更加用力地拍着那堆奶油。"可怜的弗兰克！可怜哪，可怜的弗兰克！"她叹息着，这一声叹不是冲着梅吉的，而是冲自己的："我不知道为什么孩子们要替我们还孽债。可怜的弗兰克，事事不称心……"这时她发现梅吉停手不熨了，于是就闭了口，不再言语了。
　　三天以后，警察把弗兰克带了回来，送他回来的警士告诉帕迪说，他反抗得很厉害。
　　"你们倒真有个打架的好手！当他看到军队里的那些小伙子们发觉了他的时候，他撒腿就跑。他奔下台阶，跑到了大街上，后面有两个士兵在追他。要不是他运气坏，正碰上一个巡逻的警官的话，我估计又得叫他跑脱了。他还狠狠地干了一架呢；用了五个人才把手铐子给他铐上。"