比绵塔薄饼
While we were rounding up a bunch of the Triangle cattle in the Frio bottoms a projecting branch of a dead mesquitemesquite n.（=mesquit）豆科灌木 caught my wooden stirrup and gave my ankle a wrench that laid me up in camp for a week.
当我们在弗里奥山麓，骑着马把一群烙有圆圈三角印记的牛赶拢在一起时，一株枯死的牧豆树的枝丫钩住了我的木马镜，害得我扭伤了脚踝，在营地里躺了一个星期。
On the third day of my compulsory idleness I crawled out near the grub wagon，and reclined helpless under the conversationalconversational adj.对话的，会话的，健谈的 fire of Judson Odom，the camp cook. Jud was a monologist by nature，whom Destiny，with customary blundering，had set in a professionprofession n.职业，专业，表白，宣布 wherein he was bereaved，for the greater portion of his time，of an audience.
被迫休息的第三天，我一拐一拐地挨到炊事车旁，在营地厨师贾德森·奥多姆的连珠炮似的谈话下一筹莫展地躺着。贾德天生爱说话，说起来没完没了，可是造化作弄人，让他当了厨师，害得他在大部分时间里找不到听他说话的人。
Therefore，I was manna in the desert of Juds obmutescence.
因此，在贾德一声不吭的沙漠里，我便成了他的灵食。
Betimes I was stirred by invalid longings for something to eat that did not come under the caption of “grub”。 I had visions of the maternalmaternal adj.母亲的，似母亲的，母性的 pantrypantry n.餐具室，食品室 “deep as first love，and wild with all regret”，and then I asked，“Jud，can you make pancakes？”
不多一会儿，我起了一阵病人的贪馋，想吃一些不在“伙食”项下的东西。我想起了母亲的食相，不由得“情深如初恋，惆怅复黯然”。于是我问道：“贾德，你会做薄饼吗？”
Jud laid down his sixshooter，with which he was preparing to pound an antelopeantelope n.羚羊 steak，and stood over me in what I felt to be a menacing attitude. He further endorsed my impression that his pose was resentful by fixing upon me with his light blue eyes a look of cold suspicionsuspicion n.猜疑，怀疑。
贾德放下刚准备用来捣羚羊肉排的六响手枪，带着我认为是威胁的态度，走到我面前。他那双浅蓝色的眼睛猜疑地瞪着我，更叫我感到了他的愤恨。
“Say，you，” he said，with candid，though not excessive，choler，“did you mean that straight，or was you trying to throw the gaff into me？ Some of the boys been telling you about me and that pancake racket？”
“喂，”他说，虽然怒形于色，但还没有出格，“你是真心问我，还是想挖苦我？是不是有人把我和薄饼的底细告诉了你？”
“No，Jud.” I said sincerely，“I meant it. It seems to me Id swap my pony and saddle for a stack of buttered brown pancakes with some first crop，open kettle，New Orleans sweetening. Was there a story about pancakes？”
“不，贾德。”我诚恳地说，“绝没有别的用意。我只不过很想吃一些用黄油烙得黄黄的薄饼，上面还浇着新上市的，大铁皮桶装的新奥尔良蜂蜜。我愿意拿我的小马和马鞍来换一叠这样的薄饼。说起薄饼，难道还有什么故事吗？”
Jud was mollified at once when he saw that I had not been dealing in allusionsallusion n.提及，暗示。 He brought some mysterious bags and tin boxes from the grub wagon and set them in the shade of the hackberryhackberry n.朴树的一种，朴树材，朴树果 where I lay reclined. I watched him as he began to arrange them leisurely and untie their many strings.
贾德明白了我不是含沙射影之后，神色马上和缓了。他从炊事车里取出一些神秘的口袋和铁皮盒子，放在我依靠的那株树下。我看他不慌不忙地张罗起来，解开挂口袋的绳子。
“No，not a story，” said Jud，as he worked，“but just the logical disclosuresdisclosure n.揭发，败露，败露的事情 in the case of me and that pinkeyed snoozer from Mired Mule Canada and Miss Willella Learight. I dont mind telling you.
“其实也算不上是什么故事，”贾德一面干活，一面说，“只是我同陷骡山谷来的那个粉红眼睛的牧羊人以及威莱拉·利赖特小组之间一桩事情的合乎逻辑的结局罢了。告诉你也不妨。”
“I was punching then for old Bill Toomey，on the San Miguel. One day I gets all ensnared up in aspirationsaspiration n.热望，渴望 for to eat some canned grub that hasnt ever mooed or baaed or grunted or been in peck measures. So，I gets on my bronc and pushes the wind for Uncle Emsley Telfairs store at the Pimienta Crossing on the Nueces.
“那时候，我在圣米格尔牧场替老比尔·图米赶牛。有一天，我一心想吃些罐头食品，只要不哞，不咩，不哼或者不啄的东西都行。于是我跨上我那匹还未调教好的小野马，飞快地直奔纽西斯河比绵塔渡口埃姆斯利·特尔费尔大叔的店铺。
“About three in the afternoon I throwed my bridle rein over a mesquite limb and walked the last twenty yards into Uncle Emsleys store. I got up on the counter and told Uncle Emsley that the signs pointed to the devastationdevastation n.毁坏 of the fruit crop of the world. In a minute I had a bag of crackers and a longhandled spoon，with an open can each of apricots and pineapplespineapple n.凤梨，菠萝 and cherries and greengages beside of me with Uncle Emsley busy chopping away with the hatchet at the yellow clings. I was feeling like Adam before the apple stampedestampede n.惊跑 v.惊跑，and was digging my spurs into the side of the counter and working with my twentyfourinch spoon when I happened to look out of the window into the yard of Uncle Emsleys house，which was next to the store.
“下午三点钟左右，我把缰绳往一根牧豆树枝上一套，下马走了二十码，来到埃姆斯利大叔的铺子。我登上柜台，对埃姆斯利大叔说，看情况全世界的水果收成都要受灾了。不出一分钟，我拿着一袋饼干和一把长匙，身边摆着一个个打开的杏子、菠萝、樱桃和青梅罐头，埃姆斯利还在手忙脚乱地用斧头砍开罐头的黄色铁皮箍。我快活得像是没闹苹果乱子以前的亚当。我把靴子上的踢马刺往柜台板壁里插，手里挥弄着那把二十四英寸的匙子，正当这时，我偶然抬头一望，从窗口里看到铺子隔壁埃姆斯利大叔家的后院。
“There was a girl standing there—an imported girl with fixings on—philandering with a croquetcroquet n.槌球戏，循环球戏 vi.击自己的球使其撞打对方的球 maul and amusing herself by watching my style of encouraging the fruit canning industry.
“有个姑娘站在那儿 一个打扮得漂漂亮亮的外路来的姑娘——一面玩弄着球，一面看着我那促进水果罐头工业的劲头，在那里暗自发笑。
“I slid off the counter and delivered up my shovel to Uncle Emsley.
“我从柜台上滑下来，把手里的匙子交给埃姆斯利大叔。
“‘Thats my niece，’ says he，‘Miss Willella Learight，down from Palestine on a visit. Do you want that I should make you acquainted？’
“‘那是我的外甥女儿，’他说，‘威莱拉·利赖特小姐，从巴勒斯坦来做客。要不要我替你们介绍介绍？’
“‘The Holy Land. ’ I says to myself，my thoughts milling some as I tried to run em into the corral.‘Why not？ There was sure angels in Pales—Why，yes，Uncle Emsley，’ I says out loud，‘Id be awful edified to meet Miss Learight.’
“‘圣地哪。’我暗忖道，我的思想像牛群一样，我要把它们赶进栅栏里去，它们却乱兜圈子。‘怎么不是呢？天使们当然在巴勒——当然啦，埃姆斯利大叔，’我高声说，‘我非常高兴见见利赖特小姐。’
“So Uncle Emsley took me out in the yard and gave us each others entitlements.
“于是，埃姆斯利大叔把我引到后院，替我们介绍了一下。