【荆棘鸟】第六章 06

Fee and Meggie would strew 1 it with sawdust Stuart carefully collected from the woodheap, sprinkle the sawdust with precious particles of water and sweep the damp, pungent-fragrant mess away out of doors, down off the veranda 2 onto the vegetable garden, there to decompose 3 itself to humus.
But nothing kept the dust at bay for long, and after a while the creek 4 dried up to a string of waterholes, so that there was no water to be pumped up from it to kitchen or bathroom. Stuart took the tank truck out to the borehead and brought it back full, emptied it into one of the spare rain tanks, and the women had to get used to a different kind of horrible water on dishes and clothes and bodies, worse than muddy creek water. The rank, sulphur-smelling minerally stuff had to be wiped off dishes scrupulously 5, and made the hair dull and coarse, like straw. What little rain water they had was used strictly 6 for drinking and cooking.
Father Ralph watched Meggie tenderly. She was brushing Patsy's curly red head, Jims standing 7 obediently but a little rockily waiting for his turn, both pairs of bright blue eyes turned up to her adoringly. Just like a tiny mother, she was. It had to be a thing born in them, he mused 8, that peculiar 9 obsession 10 women had for infants, else at her age she would have regarded it as a duty rather than pure pleasure, and been off to do something more alluring 11 as fast as she could. Instead she was deliberately 12 prolonging the process, crimping Patsy's hair between her fingers to shape waves out of its unruliness. For a while the priest was charmed with her activity, then he whacked 13 the side of his dusty boot with his crop and stared moodily 14 off the veranda toward the big house, hidden by its ghost gums and vines, the profusion 15 of station buildings and pepper trees which lay between its isolation 16 and this hub of station life, the head stockman's residence. What plot was she weaving, that old spider up there at the center of her vast web? "Father, you're not watching!" Meggie accused him. "I'm sorry, Meggie. I was thinking." He turned back to her as she finished with Jims; the three of them stood watching him expectantly until he bent 17 and scooped 18 the twins up, one on either hip 19. "Let's go and see your Auntie Mary, shall we?Meggie followed him up the track carrying his crop and leading the chestnut 20 mare 21; he toted the infants with easy familiarity and seemed not to mind, though it was almost a mile from the creek to the big house."
 

菲和梅吉想在上面撒一层据末，于是斯图尔特便仔细地从木堆里收集来一些，将这些锯末掺上少许珍贵的水，撒在地上。然后将近些湿漉漉的、发着刺鼻香味的东西从门里扫出去，从后廊中撒到菜园里，任其在那里朽烂成为腐蚀质。
　　小河干涸成一连串的水洼之后，山凹里除了尘土什么也留不住，所以，从小河里已无水可汲，来供厨房和浴室使用了。斯图尔特开着水槽车到远处，装满了水运回来，将水再灌入一只备用的雨水箱里。女人们不得个习惯用这种可怕的水洗碟子、洗衣服、给婴儿洗澡；这种水还不如那浑浊的小河水呢。这种腥臭的、发着硫磺味儿的矿物性的水，得小心地从盘子上揩净；这种水使头发变得像稻草一样干燥、粗糙。他们存下来的少量雨水被严格地用于饮用和做饭。
　　拉尔夫神父温和地望着梅吉。她正在梳着帕西那红色的卷发；詹斯乖乖地站在一边，但是却颇有些坚定不移地等着轮到他；他那对蓝眼睛敬慕地望着梅吉。她真像个小妈妈。他在沉思着：这中间一定会产生一种使女人特别着迷于婴儿的东西。在她这个年龄，这种事与其说是一种纯粹的快乐，毋宁说是一种负担，人们本来会尽快干完以便去做更有意思的事的。而她却不慌不忙地从头做起，将帕西的头发在手指间卷着，把那些不听话的头发卷成波浪型。有那么一阵工夫，教士被她的动作陶醉了，随后，他用鞭柄敲了敲满是灰尘的靴子的侧面，郁郁不乐地退到了走廊上，向着大宅方向张望着、大宅掩隐在魔鬼桉和藤蔓之中，拥挤的牧场房屋和花椒树把牧场工头的住处与这个牧场生活的中心分隔开来。那个老蜘蛛，她让她那张巨网的中心又在搞什么鬼名堂呢？
　　"神父，你都不看我给他们梳头。"梅吉责备着他。
　　"对不起，梅吉。我正在想事情呢。"他转过身来；她已给詹斯梳完了。在他把那地双生子一边一个地抱起来之前，他们三个人一直站在那里期待地望着他。"咱们去瞧瞧玛丽姑妈吧，好吗？"
　　梅吉拿着他的马鞭，牵着那匹栗色的抡马，跟着他上了路；他随便而亲昵地抱着那两个孩子，尽管从小河到大它几乎有一英里的路，但他好像并不在乎。