'Come!
What
do
you
make
of
it?
'
said
Captain
Cuttle.
“听着,您看这些怎么样?”卡特尔船长问道。
'Why,
Lord
help
you!
'
returned
the
broker;
'you
don't
suppose
that
property's
of
any
use,
do
you?
'
“啊,上帝保佑您!”经纪人回答道;“难道您以为那些财产有什么用处吗?”
'Why
not?
'
inquired
the
Captain.
“为什么没有用处?”船长问道。
'Why?
The
amount's
three
hundred
and
seventy,
odd,
'
replied
the
broker.
“为什么?总共是三百七十多镑,”经纪人回答道。
'Never
mind,
'
returned
the
Captain,
though
he
was
evidently
dismayed
by
the
figures:
'all's
fish
that
comes
to
your
net,
I
suppose?
'
“不要紧,”船长回答道,虽然这个数字显然使他吃惊,“我想,跑进您网里来的都是鱼吧?”
'Certainly,
'
said
Mr
Brogley.
'But
sprats
ain't
whales,
you
know.
'
“当然,”布罗格利先生说道。“但是您知道,西鲱鱼并不是鲸鱼。”
The
philosophy
of
this
observation
seemed
to
strike
the
Captain.
He
ruminated
for
a
minute;
eyeing
the
broker,
meanwhile,
as
a
deep
genius;
and
then
called
the
Instrument-
maker
aside.
这句话的哲理似乎击中了船长。他沉思了一会儿;同时目不转睛地看着经纪人,像是在看一位思想深奥的天才似的。然后他把仪器制造商叫到一旁。
'Gills,
'
said
Captain
Cuttle,
'what's
the
bearings
of
this
business?
Who's
the
creditor?
'
“吉尔斯,”卡特尔船长说道,“这是什么样的一笔债务?债权人是谁?”
'Hush!
'
returned
the
old
man.
'Come
away.
Don't
speak
before
Wally.
It's
a
matter
of
security
for
Wally's
father
-
an
old
bond.
I've
paid
a
good
deal
of
it,
Ned,
but
the
times
are
so
bad
with
me
that
I
can't
do
more
just
now.
I've
foreseen
it,
but
I
couldn't
help
it.
Not
a
word
before
Wally,
for
all
the
world.
'
“说轻一些!”老人回答道。“我们走开一些,别当着沃利的面说。这是为了给沃利的父亲担保而发生的事情。——一笔老债务。我已经偿付了好多,内德,可是我的日子过得很艰难,目前我不能再做什么了。我预见到这件事,可是我无能为力。无论如何,在沃利面前一句话也别说。”
'You've
got
some
money,
haven't
you?
'
whispered
the
Captain.
“你有一些钱吧,是不是?”船长低声问道。
'Yes,
yes
-
oh
yes-
I've
got
some,
'
returned
old
Sol,
first
putting
his
hands
into
his
empty
pockets,
and
then
squeezing
his
Welsh
wig
between
them,
as
if
he
thought
he
might
wring
some
gold
out
of
it;
'but
I
-
the
little
I
have
got,
isn't
convertible,
Ned;
it
can't
be
got
at.
I
have
been
trying
to
do
something
with
it
for
Wally,
and
I'm
old
fashioned,
and
behind
the
time.
It's
here
and
there,
and
-
and,
in
short,
it's
as
good
as
nowhere,
'
said
the
old
man,
looking
in
bewilderment
about
him.
“是的,是的,——啊,是的。——我有一些,”老所尔回答道;他首先把手伸进两只空空的衣袋,然后用它们紧紧挤着他的威尔士假发,仿佛他以为他可以从那里挤出一些金子似的。“但是我,——我有一点钱是不能兑换成现钱的,内德;它是不能立刻拿来用的。我一直在想用它来给沃利做点什么事。可是我已过时了,落在时代后面了。这里那里都是钱,但同时——同时,总之,实际上等于什么地方都没有钱。”老人手足无措地看着四周,说道。
He
had
so
much
the
air
of
a
half-
witted
person
who
had
been
hiding
his
money
in
a
variety
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