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Sam was sorry;
山姆很遗憾，
sorry he hadn’t been braver, or stronger, or good with swords,
他遗憾自己既不勇敢，也不强壮；他遗憾自己不会用武器；
that he hadn’t been a better son to his father and a better brother to Dickon and the girls.
他遗憾自己不是父亲的好儿子，不是狄肯和姑娘们的好兄弟；
He was sorry to die too, but better men had died on the Fist, good men and true, not squeaking fat boys like him.
他也遗憾自己即将死去。那么多优秀的人在拳峰上死去，他们坚强可靠，不像我，是个只会尖叫的胖小子。
At least he would not have the Old Bear hunting him through hell, though.
至少熊老不会到七重地狱来追我。
I got the birds off. I did that right, at least.
我把鸟送了出去，尽到了职责。
He had written out the messages ahead of time, short messages and simple,
其实信息是他提前写就的，极简短，只有一句话：
telling of an attack on the Fist of the First Men, and then he had tucked them away safe in his parchment pouch,
我们在先民拳峰上遭到攻击。他一直将其安稳地塞在装羊皮纸的袋子里，
hoping he would never need to send them.
期望永远无需送出。
When the horns blew Sam had been sleeping.
号角吹响时，山姆在睡觉。
He thought he was dreaming them at first,
起初他以为自己梦到了号角声，
but when he opened his eyes snow was falling on the camp and the black brothers were all grabbing bows and spears and running toward the ringwall.
但睁开眼睛，雪正飘落在营地里，黑衣兄弟们都抓起弓箭和长矛，奔向环墙。
Chett was the only one nearby, Maester Aemon’s old steward with the face full of boils and the big wen on his neck.
附近只有齐特，他是伊蒙学士从前的事务官，脸颊长满疖子，脖子上还有一个大粉瘤。
Sam had never seen so much fear on a man’s face as he saw on Chett’s when that third blast came moaning through the trees.
当第三声号角自树丛中呻吟着传来，山姆从没见过一个人能如此恐惧。
“Help me get the birds off,” he pleaded, but the other steward had turned and run off, dagger in hand.
“帮我把鸟放出去，”他请求，但对方转身就跑，手里还拿着匕首。
He has the dogs to care for, Sam remembered.
他得去照顾猎狗，山姆想起来，
Probably the Lord Commander had given him some orders as well.
或许总司令也给他下了命令。
His fingers had been so stiff and clumsy in the gloves, and he was shaking from fear and cold,
手套里的指头异常僵硬笨拙，并因恐惧和寒冷而颤抖，
but he found the parchment pouch and dug out the messages he’d written.
他好歹找到装羊皮纸的口袋，拔出事先写的短信。
The ravens were shrieking furiously, and when he opened the Castle Black cage one of them flew right in his face.
乌鸦们狂乱地咶噪，当他打开来自黑城堡的笼子，其中一只鸟顿时直冲向他的脸，
Two more escaped before Sam could catch one, and when he did it pecked him through his glove, drawing blood.
在他抓到另一只之前又有两只逃走，而被他抓住的乌鸦，隔着手套将他的手啄出了血。
Yet somehow he held on long enough to attach the little roll of parchment.
他死命不放，得以将那一小卷羊皮纸捆上。
The warhorn had fallen silent by then, but the Fist rang with shouted commands and the clatter of steel.
此时号声已歇，先民拳峰上充斥着发号施令和钢铁碰撞声。
“Fly!” Sam called as he tossed the raven into the air.
“飞吧！”山姆大喊，将乌鸦抛向空中。
The birds in the Shadow Tower cage were screaming and fluttering about so madly that he was afraid to open the door, but he made himself do it anyway.
来自影子塔的笼子里的鸟尖叫扑腾得如此疯狂，以至于他害怕得不敢开门，只好强迫自己。
This time he caught the first raven that tried to escape.
这次他逮住了第一只试图逃走的乌鸦，
A moment later, it was clawing its way up through the falling snow, bearing word of the attack.
片刻之后，它载着消息在飞雪中上升离开。
His duty done, he finished dressing with clumsy, frightened fingers,
职责履行完毕，接下来他用吓得笨拙的手指戴上帽子，
donning his cap and surcoat and hooded cloak and buckling on his swordbelt, buckling it real tight so it wouldn’t fall down.
穿上外套和兜帽斗蓬，紧紧扣上剑带，使它不至于滑落，
Then he found his pack and stuffed all his things inside, spare smallclothes and dry socks,
然后找到包裹，将所有东西塞进去：备用内衣，干袜子，
the dragonglass arrowheads and spearhead Jon had given him and the old horn too,
琼恩给的龙晶箭头和矛尖，那只旧的战号，
his parchments, inks, and quills, the maps he’d been drawing, and a rock-hard garlic sausage he’d been saving since the Wall.
羊皮纸，墨水，鹅毛笔，先前画的地图，外加从长城带来、一直保存着的一段石头般硬的蒜肠。
He tied it all up and shouldered the pack onto his back.
他系好包裹，把它扛到背上。
The Lord Commander said I wasn’t to rush to the ringwall, he recalled, but he said I shouldn’t come running to him either.
总司令说我不用上环墙，他心想，也叫我不要跑去问他。
Sam took a deep breath and realized that he did not know what to do next.
山姆深深吸口气，意识到自己不知道下一步该怎么办。
He remembered turning in a circle, lost, the fear growing inside him as it always did.
他迷乱地转圈，恐惧一如既往在体内增长。
There were dogs barking and horses trumpeting, but the snow muffled the sounds and made them seem far away.
狗吠，马嘶，经由大雪的压制，听起来似乎都很遥远。
Sam could see nothing beyond three yards, not even the torches burning along the low stone wall that ringed the crown of the hill.
三码以外，什么都看不清，甚至环绕山顶的矮石墙上燃烧的火炬也不例外。
Could the torches have gone out?
难道火炬熄灭了？
That was too scary to think about.
这个想法太可怕。
The horn blew thrice long, three long blasts means Others.
三声长长的号角，三声代表异鬼来袭。
The white walkers of the wood, the cold shadows, the monsters of the tales that made him squeak and tremble as a boy,
它们是林间的白鬼，冰冷的阴影，小时侯，这些故事令他尖叫颤抖。
riding their giant ice-spiders, hungry for blood …
骑着巨大的冰蜘蛛，追逐热血……
Awkwardly he drew his sword, and plodded heavily through the snow holding it.
他笨手笨脚地拔剑出鞘，在雪地沉重跋涉。
A dog ran past barking, and he saw some of the men from the Shadow Tower, big bearded men with longaxes and eight-foot spears.
一条狗从面前吠叫着跑过。他看到一些影子塔来的人，留大胡子，拿着长柄斧和八尺长矛。
