'Well, well,' said the lawyer, when I had finished, 'what an exciting adventure! You will have to write it down one day! I had heard of you, Mr David, from your friends in Essendean, who wrote to me when they had no word from you. Your uncle then told me that he had given you money to study in Europe, but I did not think that was true. I'm afraid we all know that Ebenezer Balfour is not a very good or honest man! Then Captain Hoseason appeared, saying that you were lost when his ship went down. But now I understand what really happened, and I know that you are David Balfour.' He put a hand on my shoulder in a fatherly way and continued. 'You'll want to know about the house of Shaws. It's a strange story. When they were young, your father Alexander and his younger brother Ebenezer loved the same girl. Your father was always a kind, loving brother, so when the girl decided to marry him, Alexander left Cramond and let Ebenezer have the house and farmland. Well, I think it was a bad mistake. What happened was that your parents were always very poor, and Ebenezer became more and more interested in money. He never married, of course.'
“唔，唔，”我讲完以后律师说道，“多惊险的经历啊！你真应该有朝一日把它写下来！我曾经从你在埃森丁的朋友那里听说过你，戴维先生，他们在没有你的消息时曾经写信给我。当时你的叔叔告诉我说他已经给你钱让你在欧洲学习，但我当时就想那不是真的。我想我们都知道埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗先生并不是一个好人或老实人！后来霍齐亚森船长出现了，说他的船下沉时你就不见了。但现在我知道真的发生了什么事。我知道你就是戴维·鲍尔弗。”他慈父般地把手放在我的肩上并继续说：“你可能想知道肖家大院的有关情况。是一个奇特的故事。你父亲亚历山大和他的弟弟埃比尼泽年轻时爱上了同一个女孩。你父亲一直是一个友善的、讨人喜欢的兄弟，所以那个女孩决定嫁给他时他便离开了克莱蒙德并把房子和农田留给了埃比尼泽。唔，我想这是一个大错。所发生的事情是，你的父母一直很穷，而埃比尼泽越来越对金钱感兴趣。他从未结婚，当然了。”
'Well, sir,' I said, 'and now, what will happen?'
“那么，先生，”我说，“现在又会怎么样呢？”
'Now that your father is dead,' replied the lawyer, 'you own the house of Shaws and the farms around it. But Ebenezer won't accept that, and it will be expensive if he wants us to prove it in court. In fact, we must stay out of court, if possible. The kidnapping will be difficult to prove, and we don't want people asking questions abut your friend Mr Thomson. No, I think that we should leave Ebenezer at Shaws, where he's been for twenty-five years, and ask him to pay you some money every year, instead of giving you the house. What do you think?'
“既然你的父亲去世了，”律师回答说，“你就拥有肖家大院和周围的农场。但埃比尼泽不会接受，如果他要我们在法庭上证明这一点那将花销很大。事实上我们必须尽可能不去法庭。这次诱拐很难证明，我们也不愿意让别人问一些关于你朋友汤姆森的问题。对，我想我们应该让埃比尼泽留在肖家大院，他在那儿已经待了25年了。而且我们可以要求他每年给你一些钱而不是要他把房子还你。你认为怎么样？”
'That sounds excellent to me, sir,' I replied. 'But I think that we could accuse my uncle of kidnapping me. It's easier to prove than you think. Listen,' and I described my plan to him.
“那样听起来很棒，先生。”我回答，“但我想我们可以控告我叔叔诱拐了我。证明起来比你想像得容易。听着，”我然后向他描述了我的计划。
He was very pleased with it. 'Yes, Mr David, very good! If we can catch Ebenezer like that, he can't refuse to give you some of the money that belongs to you!' He called to his secretary, Torrance. 'You must come with us tonight, Torrance. You'll have to listen to the conversation you hear，and write it all down. And bring the Balfour papers with you.' Then he turned to me. 'But if I accept your plan, Mr David, I'll have to meet your friend Mr Thomson, who may be,I only say may be, a criminal.' He was silent for a while, thinking deeply, then went on, 'Well, let's talk of something different. Do you know, the other day, I saw Torrance in the street? But because I wasn't wearing my glasses, I didn't recognize him! My own secretary! Ha-ha-ha!' and he laughed happily at himself.
他对此很高兴。“是，戴维先生，很好！如果我们能那样套住埃比尼泽的话，他不可能拒绝把本属于你的一些钱还给你！”他大叫他的秘书托伦斯：“你必须今晚和我们一起来，托伦斯。你必须认真听你听到的，并将其记录下来。并且带来与鲍尔弗家族有关的文件。”接着他转身对我说：“但是如果我接受了你的计划，戴维先生，我必须见一下你的朋友汤姆森先生。他可能是，我只是说可能是，一个罪犯。”他沉默了一会儿，沉思着，然后接着说；“好了，让我们聊一下别的什么事情。你知道吗？前几天我在街上看见了托伦斯，但因为当时我没带眼镜，我没有认出他来！我自己的秘书！哈哈哈！”他还自嘲地开怀大笑。
I smiled politely. 'Perhaps he's getting old,' I thought.
我礼貌地微微一笑。“可能他变老了，”我想。
But later that evening, when Mr Rankeillor, Torrance and I were walking out of Queensferry, the lawyer suddenly cried out, laughing, 'Well, how stupid of me! I've forgotten my glasses!' And I understood why he had told met he story about Torrance. Now he could meet Alan, a man wanted for murder, and if the soldiers asked him later for information he could say that he never saw Alan clearly and could not possibly recognize him.
但这之后那天晚上，我、兰基勒先生和托伦斯走出昆斯费里后，兰基勒这位律师突然笑着叫道：“唉，我多思蠢！我忘了我的眼镜！”于是我明白了他为什么给我讲托伦斯的故事。他现在可以见到正被人通缉捉拿的艾伦了，一旦士兵日后问他有关情况，他会讲他从未看清艾伦，也不可能认出他。
When we arrived near Alan's hiding-place, I whistled the little Highland song. When he appeared, we explained to him what we wanted him to do, and he readily agreed.
当我们靠近艾伦隐蔽的地方时，我用口哨吹起了那首高地小曲。艾伦出来以后，我们对他解释想让他做什么，他欣然同意了。
So the four of us continued walking until we reached the house of Shaws.
于是我们四个人继续前行，直到到了肖家大院。
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