But she was interrupted by a visitor. It was the editor and proprietorproprietor n.所有者， 经营者 of the SAGAMORE. He had happened into Lakeside to pay a dutycall upon an obscure grandmother of his who was nearing the end of her pilgrimagepilgrimage n.朝圣 vi.朝拜， 朝圣， and with the idea of combining business with grief he had looked up the Fosters， who had been so absorbed in other things for the past four years that they neglected to pay up their subscriptionsubscription n.捐献， 订金， 订阅， 签署， 同意， [医］下标处方。 Six dollars due. No visitor could have been more welcome. He would know all about Uncle Tilbury and what his chances might be getting to be， cemeterywards. They could， of course， ask no questions， for that would squelch the bequest， but they could nibble around on the edge of the subject and hope for results. The scheme did not work. The obtuse editor did not know he was being nibbled at， but at last， chance accomplished what art had failed in. In illustration of something under discussion which required the help of metaphormetaphor n.[修辞］隐喻， 暗喻， 比喻说话， the editor said：“Land， its a tough as Tilbury Foster！—as we say.”
可是她的话被一位客人打断了。来人是《萨加摩尔周报》的编辑兼老板。他碰巧到湖滨镇来探望即将走完人生旅途的祖母。除了这桩伤心的使命，他还想顺便办一件事，因此来造访福斯特夫妇。这对夫妇过去几年专注于其他事务，忘了付报钱。欠款一共是六块钱。这客人来得正是时候。他一定熟悉提尔伯里，知道他可能什么时候进棺材。当然了，他们不能这样问，因为那会触犯遗嘱，不过他们可以绕着圈子打听，希望能有结果。可是，这个计谋没有奏效。那位木头编辑根本不懂得人家正在跟他套话。有心栽花花不发，无意插柳柳成阴。那位编辑说着说着，需要打个比方，就说：“老天爷，就像提尔伯里·福斯特那么难缠！——这是我们那儿的一句俗话。”
It was sudden， and it made the Fosters jump. The editor noticed， and said， apologetically：“No harm intended， I assure you. Its just a saying， just a joke， you know—nothing of it. Relation of yours？”
这句话突如其来，把福斯特夫妇吓了一跳。编辑看见了，抱歉地说：“我敢说，这句话并无恶意。就是随便说说；是一句玩笑话，你们知道——没什么意思。你们跟这个人沾亲吗？”
Sally crowded his burningburning adj.燃烧的， 强烈的， 极严重的 v.燃烧 eagerness down， and answered with all the indifference he could assume：“I—well， not that I know of， but weve heard of him.” The editor was thankful， and resumed his composurecomposure n.镇静， 沉着。 Sally added： “Is he—is he—well？”
萨利压下心头迫不及待的热望，极力不动声色地回答：“我们——这个，我们不认识他，只是听说过。”编辑松了口气，恢复了镇定。萨利又问了一句：“他——他——还好吧？”
“Is he well？ Why， bless you hes in Sheol these five years！”
“他好？嘿，不瞒您说，他五年前就进了鬼门关了。”
The Fosters were trembling with grief， though it felt like joy. Sally said， noncommittally and tentatively：“Ah， well， such is life， and none can escape—not even the rich are spared.”
福斯特夫妇伤心得浑身发抖，不过他们自己的感觉倒像是高兴。萨利用一种无关痛痒的口气试探着问：“喔，是吗，人一辈子就是这样，谁也免不了——富翁也难免一死。”
The editor laughed.“If you are including Tilbury，” said he， “it dont apply. HE hadnt a cent， the town had to bury him.”
编辑笑了。“这话要是包括提尔伯里，”他说，“他可担当不起。他身无分文，是全镇子人凑钱给他送的终。”
The Fosters sat petrified for two minutes， petrified and cold. Then， whitefaced and weakvoiced， Sally asked：“Is it true？ Do you KNOW it to be true？”
福斯特夫妇像霜打似的呆坐了两分钟，泥塑木雕一般，浑身直冒凉气。后来，萨利面色苍白、有气无力地问道：“是真的吗？您说的这是真事？”
“Well， I should say！ I was one of the executors. He hadnt anything to leave but a wheelbarrowwheelbarrow n.独轮手推车， 手推车 vt.用于推车运送， and he left that to me. It hadnt any wheel， and wasnt any good. Still， it was something， and so， to square up， I scribbled off a sort of a little obituarial sendoff for him， but it got crowded out.”
“嘿，那还用说！我是遗嘱执行者之一。他什么都没撇下，只有一架小推车留给我了。那车还没有轮子，没什么用处。不过总算是件东西吧，为了报答他，我给他凑了几句悼词，可又让别的稿子挤掉了。”
The Fosters were not listening—their cup was full， it could contain no more. They sat with bowed heads， dead to all things but the ache at their hearts.
福斯特夫妇没听进去，他们的心里堵得满满的，什么也装不下。他们低头坐着，除了心痛，全身没有别的感觉。
An hour later. Still they sat there， bowed， motionless， silent， the visitor long ago gone， they unaware.
过了一个钟头。他们还坐在那儿，低着头，一动不动，一声不响。客人早就走了，他们也没发觉。
Then they stirred， and lifted their heads wearily， and gazed at each other wistfully， dreamily， dazeddazed adj.头昏的， 眼花的， then presently began to twaddle to each other in a wandering and childish way. At intervals they lapsed into silences， leaving a sentence unfinished， seemingly either unaware of it or losing their way. Sometimes， when they woke out of these silences they had a dim and transient consciousness that something had happened to their minds； then with a dumb and yearning solicitudesolicitude 关怀， 热心 they would softly caress each others hands in mutual compassion and support， as if they would say： “I am near you， I will not forsake you， we will bear it together， somewhere there is release and forgetfulness， somewhere there is a grave and peace， be patient， it will not be long.”
后来他们摇晃了一下，精疲力尽地抬起头来，若有所思地相互盯着，如梦如痴，心神恍惚，接着又像小孩子似的颠三倒四说胡话。他们常常只说半句话，就不出声了，看来不是没意识到，就是想不起该说什么。有时候他们从沉默中苏醒过来，闪过一种模模糊糊的感觉：他们的脑袋里想过什么事；然后，他们带着无言的关怀，轻轻拉住彼此的手，表达相互的同情和支持，好像是说：“我就在你身旁，我不会撒下你，咱们一起承受；总会解脱出来，忘了这些，总有一块墓地可以安息；忍着吧，用不了多久了。”
They lived yet two years， in mental night， always brooding， steepedsteep adj.陡峭的， 险峻的， 急剧升降的， 不合理的 n.悬崖，峭壁， 浸渍， 浸渍液 v.浸， 泡， 沉浸 in vague regrets and melancholy dreams， never speaking； then release came to both on the same day.
他们又活了两年，夜间受尽心灵的折磨，总是冥思苦想，沉浸在悔恨与悲伤的含混梦境里，一言不发。后来，他们俩人在同一天得到了解脱。
Toward the end the darkness lifted from Sallys ruined mind for a moment， and he said：“Vast wealth， acquired by sudden and unwholesome means， is a snare. It did us no good， transienttransient adj.短暂的， 瞬时的 n.瞬时现象 were its feverish pleasures， yet for its sake we threw away our sweet and simple and happy life—let others take warning by us.”
临终之际，萨利万念俱灰的心头笼罩着的黑暗消散了一会儿，这时他说：“飞来的不义之财是圈套，对咱们没好处。火暴的日子没个长远的，为了这个，咱们把甜甜蜜蜜、和和美美的小日子都丢了——别人可别再跟我们学了。”
He lay silent awhile， with closed eyes， then as the chill of death crept upward toward his heart， and consciousnessconsciousness n.意识， 知觉， 自觉， 觉悟， 个人思想 was fading from his brain， he muttered：“Money had brought him misery， and he took his revenge upon us， who had done him no harm. He had his desire： with base and cunningcunnig adj.狡猾的；奸诈的； 奸滑的 calculation he left us but thirty thousand， knowing we would try to increase it， and ruin our life and break our hearts. Without added expense he could have left us far above desire of increase， far above the temptationtemptation n.诱惑， 诱惑物 to speculate， and a kinder soul would have done it； but in him was no generous spirit， no pity， no—”
他闭着眼静静地躺了一会儿；临终的寒意慢慢爬上了他的心头，意识渐渐从他的脑海里消失，他喃喃地说：“金钱带给他痛苦，他却拿我们来报复，我们跟他无冤无仇啊。他遂了心愿：他老奸巨猾，说给我们只留三万块钱，他知道我们会想办法多赚点儿，这样一来就毁了我们的日子，伤了我们的心。他本来可以再多留点儿，多得让我们不打赚钱的主意，他这样做也不用多破费。心眼儿好一点儿的就会这么做；可他小肚鸡肠，不懂得发善心，不懂——”