第十一章（第3/17页）

Mr. Betts drove her in the trap to her house in the village, with the box. And she had to have a few friends in, to show it: the school-mistress, the chemist's wife, Mrs. Weedon the undercashier's wife. They thought it marvellous. And then started the whisper of Lady Chatterley's child.

贝茨先生驾着双轮马车，把博尔顿太太和箱子，送回特弗沙尔村的家里。她请来几位朋友，炫耀自己新得的宝贝，有学校女教员、药剂师夫人以及助理出纳威登先生的妻子。大家都赞不绝口。然后，她们就窃窃私语起来，议论查泰莱太太要生孩子的事。

"Wonders'll never cease!" said Mrs. Weedon.

“奇迹常在！”威登太太评价说。

But Mrs. Bolton was convinced, if it did come, it would be Sir Clifford's child. So there!

博尔顿太太深信不疑，如果真有孩子，父亲肯定是克利福德爵士。事情就是如此！

Not long after, the rector said gently to Clifford: "And may we really hope for an heir to Wragby? Ah, that would be the hand of God in mercy, indeed!" "Well! We may HOPE," said Clifford, with a faint irony, and at the same time, a certain conviction. He had begun to believe it really possible it might even be HIS child.

没过多久，教区牧师就语重心长地对克利福德说：“我们是不是真的可以期待，拉格比将会有个继承人呢？啊，若真如此，那真是要感谢慈悲的上帝！”“哦！希望是这样。”克利福德说，语气略带讥讽，可与此同时，连他自己也有些信以为真了。他开始相信，真的可能甚至有自己的孩子。

Then one afternoon came Leslie Winter, Squire Winter, as everybody called him: lean, immaculate, and seventy: and every inch a gentleman, as Mrs. Bolton said to Mrs. Betts. Every millimetre indeed! And with his old-fashioned, rather haw-haw! manner of speaking, he seemed more out of date than bag wigs.

某天下午，莱斯利·温特，人们口中的“乡绅”温特，前来拜访克利福德。他年过古稀，身材瘦削，气度非凡，从头到脚都透出贵族派头。当着贝茨太太，博尔顿太太对他做过如是评价。彻头彻尾的绅士做派！他说话的时候，总是伴着哈哈的笑声，听起来非常老派。他这种老套的谈话方式，简直比18世纪那些戴假发的家伙还要过时。

Time, in her flight, drops these fine old feathers.

飞逝的时光，将这些古雅的羽毛都吹散了。

They discussed the collieries. Clifford's idea was, that his coal, even the poor sort, could be made into hard concentrated fuel that would burn at great heat if fed with certain damp, acidulated air at a fairly strong pressure. It had long been observed that in a particularly strong, wet wind the pit-bank burned very vivid, gave off hardly any fumes, and left a fine powder of ash, instead of the slow pink gravel.

他们的话题围绕着煤矿。克利福德的想法是，即便自家的煤炭品质较差，也能够加工成高度浓缩的燃料，如果在强大的压力环境下，施以某种潮湿的酸性气体，便能燃烧产生巨大的热能。早有科学实验证明，置于极其强烈潮湿的气流中，煤炭能够充分燃烧，几乎不产生任何烟尘，残留物是精细的粉末，而非粉红色的渣滓。

"But where will you find the proper engines for burning your fuel?" asked Winter.

“可你到哪里去找适合的机器，来燃烧你的燃料呢？”温特问。

"I'll make them myself. And I'll use my fuel myself. And I'll sell electric power. I'm certain I could do it.” "If you can do it, then splendid, splendid, my dear boy. Haw! Splendid! If I can be of any help, I shall be delighted. I'm afraid I am a little out of date, and my collieries are like me. But who knows, when I'm gone, there may be men like you. Splendid! It will employ all the men again, and you won't have to sell your coal, or fail to sell it. A splendid idea, and I hope it will be a success. If I had sons of my own, no doubt they would have up-to-date ideas for Shipley: no doubt! By the way, dear boy, is there any foundation to the rumour that we may entertain hopes of an heir to Wragby?” "Is there a rumour?" asked Clifford.

“我自己研制。使用自己的燃料。然后出售产生的电力。我很有把握做到这一点。”“如果你能做到，那简直太棒了，棒极了，我亲爱的孩子。哈哈！棒极了！要是能帮上忙，我乐意效劳。恐怕我有些落伍，我的煤矿也跟我一样德行。可谁知道呢，我归天以后，或许也会有你这样的人接班。太棒了！所有工人都又会有饭吃，再也不用担心煤卖不出去。这真是个好主意，我希望它能够大获成功。要是我有儿子，他们肯定也能想出些新点子，推动希普利煤矿的发展，这毫无疑问！顺便问一句，亲爱的孩子，外面的传言究竟有否根据？我们是否可以期待拉格比后继有人呢？”“外面有谣传吗？”克利福德问。