A Vendetta

The widow of Paolo Saverini lived alone with her son in a poor little house on the outskirts of Bonifacio. The town, built on an outjutting part of the mountain, in places even overhanging the sea, looks across the straits, full of sandbanks, towards the southernmost coast of Sardinia. Beneath it, on the other side and almost surrounding it, is a cleft in the cliff like an immense corridor which serves as a harbor, and along it the little Italian and Sardinian fishing boats come by a circuitous route between precipitous cliffs as far as the first houses, and every two weeks the old, wheezy steamer which makes the trip to Ajaccio.

保罗·萨维里尼的遗孀与儿子相依为命，住在博尼法乔郊外一座简陋的小房子里。这座城镇建在山体向外突出的一部分上，有些地方甚至悬于海面之上，隔着满是沙洲的海峡，遥望撒丁岛最南端的海岸。城下的另一侧，几乎将小镇环抱其中，是一道悬崖间的裂缝，宛如一条巨大的走廊，充当着港湾的用途；沿着这条裂缝，意大利和撒丁岛的小渔船绕道穿行于峭壁之间，一直驶到最初的几栋房子跟前；每隔两周，还有那艘往返阿雅克肖、气喘吁吁的旧汽船也会由此驶入。

On the white mountain the houses, massed together, makes an even whiter spot. They look like the nests of wild birds, clinging to this peak, overlooking this terrible passage, where vessels rarely venture. The wind, which blows uninterruptedly, has swept bare the forbidding coast; it drives through the narrow straits and lays waste both sides. The pale streaks of foam, clinging to the black rocks, whose countless peaks rise up out of the water, look like bits of rag floating and drifting on the surface of the sea.

在这座白色的山上，一栋栋房屋紧紧簇拥在一起，形成一片更白的斑点。它们看起来就像野鸟的巢穴，紧紧攀附在这座山峰上，俯瞰着这条极少有船只敢于涉险通过的可怕水道。那不曾间断吹拂的风，把这片险恶的海岸刮得光秃秃的；它穿过狭窄的海峡，将两岸都摧残殆尽。那些苍白的浪花条纹，附着在黑色的礁石上，礁石那数不清的尖顶从水中耸立而出，看上去就像漂浮在海面上、随波逐流的碎布片。

The house of widow Saverini, clinging to the very edge of the precipice, looks out, through its three windows, over this wild and desolate picture.

萨维里尼寡妇的房子紧贴在悬崖的边缘上，透过三扇窗户，俯瞰着这幅荒凉而狂野的景象。

She lived there alone, with her son Antoine and their dog “Semillante,” a big, thin beast, with a long rough coat, of the sheep-dog breed. The young man took her with him when out hunting.

她独自住在那里，和儿子安托万以及他们那条名叫“塞米扬特”的狗相依为命。那是一条又高又瘦、毛发又长又粗的牧羊犬。年轻人出去打猎时总带着她。

One night, after some kind of a quarrel, Antoine Saverini was treacherously stabbed by Nicolas Ravolati, who escaped the same evening to Sardinia.

一天夜里，因为某种争执，安托万·萨维里尼被尼古拉·拉沃拉蒂用卑鄙的手段刺死，凶手当晚便逃往撒丁岛去了。

When the old mother received the body of her child, which the neighbors had brought back to her, she did not cry, but she stayed there for a long time motionless, watching him. Then, stretching her wrinkled hand over the body, she promised him a vendetta. She did not wish anybody near her, and she shut herself up beside the body with the dog, which howled continuously, standing at the foot of the bed, her head stretched towards her master and her tail between her legs. She did not move any more than did the mother, who, now leaning over the body with a blank stare, was weeping silently and watching it.

当这位老母亲接过邻居们抬回来的儿子的遗体时，她没有哭，只是久久地一动不动，凝视着他。随后，她伸出布满皱纹的手，抚过遗体，向他许下了复仇的誓言。她不愿任何人靠近，便把自己和遗体一同关在屋里，那条狗也一直在旁不停地哀嚎，站在床脚，脑袋朝着主人的方向伸去，尾巴夹在两腿之间。她和那位母亲一样一动不动，母亲此刻正俯身在遗体上方，目光空洞，默默地哭泣着，凝视着他。

The young man, lying on his back, dressed in his jacket of coarse cloth, torn at the chest, seemed to be asleep. But he had blood all over him; on his shirt, which had been torn off in order to administer the first aid; on his vest, on his trousers, on his face, on his hands. Clots of blood had hardened in his beard and in his hair.

年轻人仰面躺着，身上穿着粗布外套，胸口的地方被撕裂开来，看上去就像睡着了一样。可他浑身都是血：衬衫上有血——那衬衫是为了施行急救而被撕开的；背心上、裤子上、脸上、手上都是血。血块已经在他的胡须和头发里凝结变硬。

His old mother began to talk to him. At the sound of this voice the dog quieted down.

老母亲开始对他说起话来。听见这声音，那条狗安静了下来。

“Never fear, my boy, my little baby, you shall be avenged. Sleep, sleep; you shall be avenged. Do you hear? It's your mother's promise! And she always keeps her word, your mother does, you know she does.”

“别怕，我的孩子，我的小宝贝，你会得到报仇的。睡吧，睡吧；你会得到报仇的。你听见了吗？这是你母亲的承诺！她向来说到做到，你母亲是这样的人，你知道她一向如此。”

Slowly she leaned over him, pressing her cold lips to his dead ones.

她慢慢俯下身去，把冰冷的嘴唇贴在他已经死去的双唇上。

Then Semillante began to howl again with a long, monotonous, penetrating, horrible howl.

这时塞米扬特又开始哀嚎起来，那声音又长又单调，凄厉刺耳，令人毛骨悚然。

The two of them, the woman and the dog, remained there until morning.

她们两个，那位妇人和那条狗，就这样待在那里，直到天明。

Antoine Saverini was buried the next day and soon his name ceased to be mentioned in Bonifacio.

安托万·萨维里尼第二天下葬，不久之后，他的名字便在博尼法乔无人再提起了。

He had neither brothers nor cousins. No man was there to carry on the vendetta. His mother, the old woman, alone pondered over it.

他既没有兄弟，也没有堂表兄弟。没有男人出面来继续这场复仇。只有他的母亲，那位老妇人，独自一人苦苦思量着此事。

On the other side of the straits she saw, from morning until night, a little white speck on the coast. It was the little Sardinian village Longosardo, where Corsican criminals take refuge when they are too closely pursued. They compose almost the entire population of this hamlet, opposite their native island, awaiting the time to return, to go back to the “maquis.” She knew that Nicolas Ravolati had sought refuge in this village.

在海峡对岸，她从早到晚都能望见海岸上有一个小小的白点。那是撒丁岛上的一个小村庄，名叫隆戈萨尔多，凡是被追捕得太紧的科西嘉罪犯都会逃到那里避难。这些人几乎构成了这个小村庄的全部居民，他们面对着自己的故乡海岛，等待着有朝一日归去，重回那片“马基”灌木丛中。她知道尼古拉·拉沃拉蒂就是躲到了这个村子里。

All alone, all day long, seated at her window, she was looking over there and thinking of revenge. How could she do anything without help—she, an invalid and so near death? But she had promised, she had sworn on the body. She could not forget, she could not wait. What could she do? She no longer slept at night; she had neither rest nor peace of mind; she thought persistently. The dog, dozing at her feet, would sometimes lift her head and howl. Since her master's death she often howled thus, as though she were calling him, as though her beast's soul, inconsolable too, had also retained a recollection that nothing could wipe out.

她独自一人，整日整日地坐在窗前，望着那边，想着如何复仇。她一个又病又残、离死不远的人，没有帮手又能做什么呢？可是她已经许下了誓言，她曾对着遗体发过誓。她无法忘记，也无法再等。她能做什么呢？她夜里再也睡不着觉了；她既得不到休息，也得不到片刻安宁；她一刻不停地思索着。那条狗蜷在她脚边打盹，时不时会抬起头来哀嚎。自从主人死后，她常常这样哀嚎，仿佛在呼唤他，仿佛这畜生的灵魂也一样无法释怀，也保留着一份无论如何都抹不去的记忆。

One night, as Semillante began to howl, the mother suddenly got hold of an idea, a savage, vindictive, fierce idea. She thought it over until morning. Then, having arisen at daybreak she went to church. She prayed, prostrate on the floor, begging the Lord to help her, to support her, to give to her poor, broken-down body the strength which she needed in order to avenge her son.

一天夜里，塞米扬特又开始哀嚎起来，这位母亲脑中忽然冒出了一个念头——一个野蛮、狠毒、凶残的念头。她把这个念头反复琢磨到了天明。随后，她天一亮就起身去了教堂。她匍匐在地上祈祷，恳求主帮助她、支撑她，赐给她那衰弱残破的身躯以复仇所需要的力量。

She returned home. In her yard she had an old barrel, which acted as a cistern. She turned it over, emptied it, made it fast to the ground with sticks and stones. Then she chained Semillante to this improvised kennel and went into the house.

她回到家中。院子里有一只旧木桶，原本是用来蓄水的。她把它翻转过来，倒空了里面的水，用木棍和石头把它固定在地上。然后她把塞米扬特拴在了这个临时搭成的窝棚上，自己走进了屋里。

She walked ceaselessly now, her eyes always fixed on the distant coast of Sardinia. He was over there, the murderer.

如今她不停地走来走去，目光始终盯着远处撒丁岛的海岸。凶手就在那边。

All day and all night the dog howled. In the morning the old woman brought her some water in a bowl, but nothing more; no soup, no bread.

那条狗整日整夜地哀嚎着。早晨，老妇人给她端来一碗水，此外什么也没有：没有汤，没有面包。

Another day went by. Semillante, exhausted, was sleeping. The following day her eyes were shining, her hair on end and she was pulling wildly at her chain.

又过了一天。塞米扬特筋疲力尽，睡着了。到了第二天，她双眼发亮，毛发倒竖，拼命地拉扯着自己的锁链。

All this day the old woman gave her nothing to eat. The beast, furious, was barking hoarsely. Another night went by.

这一整天，老妇人什么也没有给她吃。这畜生怒不可遏，声音嘶哑地狂吠着。又一夜过去了。

Then, at daybreak, Mother Saverini asked a neighbor for some straw. She took the old rags which had formerly been worn by her husband and stuffed them so as to make them look like a human body.

天一亮，萨维里尼母亲便向一个邻居讨了些稻草。她拿出丈夫生前穿过的旧衣服，把稻草塞进去，做成一个看起来像人形的东西。

Having planted a stick in the ground, in front of Semillante's kennel, she tied to it this dummy, which seemed to be standing up. Then she made a head out of some old rags.

她在塞米扬特窝棚前的地上插了一根木棍，把这个稻草人绑在上面，让它看起来像是站立着一般。接着她又用一些旧布做了一个头。

The dog, surprised, was watching this straw man, and was quiet, although famished. Then the old woman went to the store and bought a piece of black sausage. When she got home she started a fire in the yard, near the kennel, and cooked the sausage. Semillante, frantic, was jumping about, frothing at the mouth, her eyes fixed on the food, the odor of which went right to her stomach.

那条狗惊诧地望着这个稻草人，虽然饿得发慌，却安静了下来。随后老妇人去了店里，买了一段黑香肠。她回到家中，便在窝棚旁的院子里生起了火，把香肠烤了起来。塞米扬特发疯似的又蹦又跳，嘴角冒着白沫，目光死死盯着那食物，那股香气一直钻进了她的肚子里。

Then the mother made of the smoking sausage a necktie for the dummy. She tied it very tight around the neck with string, and when she had finished she untied the dog.

接着，这位母亲把冒着热气的香肠系成一条领带，套在稻草人的脖子上。她用绳子把它紧紧扎在脖颈处，扎好之后，便解开了狗的锁链。

With one leap the beast jumped at the dummy's throat, and with her paws on its shoulders she began to tear at it. She would fall back with a piece of food in her mouth, then would jump again, sinking her fangs into the string, and snatching few pieces of meat she would fall back again and once more spring forward. She was tearing up the face with her teeth and the whole neck was in tatters.

那畜生一跃而起，直扑向稻草人的喉咙，前爪搭在它的肩膀上，开始撕扯起来。她会叼着一块食物退开几步，随即又扑上前去，把獠牙咬进那绳子里，抢下几块肉便又退开，接着再度扑上前去。她用牙齿撕烂了那张脸，整个脖子都被撕成了碎片。

The old woman, motionless and silent, was watching eagerly. Then she chained the beast up again, made her fast for two more days and began this strange performance again.

老妇人一动不动，默不作声，热切地注视着这一切。随后她又把这畜生拴了起来，让她饿了两天，接着又重新开始这场奇怪的演习。

For three months she accustomed her to this battle, to this meal conquered by a fight. She no longer chained her up, but just pointed to the dummy.

三个月来，她让狗一次次习惯了这场搏斗，习惯了这份要靠打斗才能赢得的食物。后来她不再拴住她，只需指一指那个稻草人便够了。

She had taught her to tear him up and to devour him without even leaving any traces in her throat.

她教会了这条狗把它撕碎、吞噬下去，连一丝痕迹都不留在喉咙里。

Then, as a reward, she would give her a piece of sausage.

然后，作为奖赏，她会给她一块香肠。

As soon as she saw the man, Semillante would begin to tremble. Then she would look up to her mistress, who, lifting her finger, would cry, “Go!” in a shrill tone.

塞米扬特只要一看见那个人，便会开始颤抖。接着她会抬头望向自己的主人，主人便会举起手指，尖声喝道：“上！”

When she thought that the proper time had come, the widow went to confession and, one Sunday morning she partook of communion with an ecstatic fervor. Then, putting on men's clothes and looking like an old tramp, she struck a bargain with a Sardinian fisherman who carried her and her dog to the other side of the straits.

当她认为时机已经成熟时，这位寡妇便去做了忏悔，一个星期天的早晨，她怀着近乎狂喜的虔诚领了圣餐。随后，她换上男人的衣服，装扮成一个年老的流浪汉模样，与一位撒丁岛渔夫谈妥了价钱，让他把她和她的狗一起载过海峡到对岸去。

In a bag she had a large piece of sausage. Semillante had had nothing to eat for two days. The old woman kept letting her smell the food and whetting her appetite.

她的袋子里装着一大块香肠。塞米扬特已经两天没有进食了。老妇人不时让她闻一闻这食物的气味，撩拨着她的胃口。

They got to Longosardo. The Corsican woman walked with a limp. She went to a baker's shop and asked for Nicolas Ravolati. He had taken up his old trade, that of carpenter. He was working alone at the back of his store.

她们到了隆戈萨尔多。这位科西嘉妇人走路一瘸一拐。她走到一家面包铺，打听尼古拉·拉沃拉蒂的下落。他重操了自己的旧业，做起了木匠。他正独自一人在店铺后面干活。

The old woman opened the door and called:

老妇人推开门，喊道：

“Hallo, Nicolas!”

“喂，尼古拉！”

He turned around. Then releasing her dog, she cried:

他转过身来。这时她松开了狗的锁链，喊道：

“Go, go! Eat him up! eat him up!”

“上，上！把他吃了！把他吃了！”

The maddened animal sprang for his throat. The man stretched out his arms, clasped the dog and rolled to the ground. For a few seconds he squirmed, beating the ground with his feet. Then he stopped moving, while Semillante dug her fangs into his throat and tore it to ribbons. Two neighbors, seated before their door, remembered perfectly having seen an old beggar come out with a thin, black dog which was eating something that its master was giving him.

那发了狂的畜生猛地扑向他的喉咙。那人伸出双臂，抱住那条狗，两人一起滚倒在地。有那么几秒钟，他扭动挣扎，双脚拍打着地面。随后他便不再动弹了，塞米扬特则把獠牙深深咬进他的喉咙，将其撕成了碎片。两个坐在自家门前的邻居清楚地记得，曾看见一个年老的乞丐带着一条又瘦又黑的狗走出来，那狗正在吃着主人喂给它的东西。

At nightfall the old woman was at home again. She slept well that night.

夜幕降临时，老妇人已经回到了家中。那天夜里，她睡得很好。