My ignorance did not matter—of course, I did not really have to caddy—and I was not bored. All there was for me to do was to follow him around and watch him.
我对高尔夫的无知并没什么——当然,我也没真的去拿什么球袋——我没觉得乏味。我所有要做的事就是跟着他转转并看着他。
Walking, we hardly talked at all. At some point, Mike looked along the length of the course, to where the clouds had changed color, becoming dark blue instead of white, and he said without particular alarm or disappointment, "Here comes our weather." He began methodically to pack up and fasten his bag.
一直走着,我们几乎没说什么。有时候,迈克沿着球场望去,望到云彩由深蓝变白的地方,然后他无警示或失望地说:“那种天气来了。”他便开始有条不紊地收拾他的包。
We were then about as far away as we could be from the clubhouse. Birds were wheeling about overhead in an agitated, indecisive way. The tops of the trees were swaying and there was a sound—it seemed to be above us—like the sound of a wave full of stones, crashing on the beach. Mike said,"O.K., then. We better get in here," and took my hand and hurried us across the mown grass into bushes and the tall weeds that grew between the course and the river.
我们不久便尽可能地远离了俱乐部。鸟儿们在头上不安且犹豫地盘旋着。树冠开始摇晃起来,并发出声音——仿佛就在我们头顶——那声音就像是卷着石块的海浪冲击着海滩。迈克说,“那好吧,我们最好到这来。”他拉着我的手匆忙穿过干草堆冲进灌木丛和高高的野草里。
The bushes right at the edge of the grass looked impenetrable, but close up there were little openings, the narrow paths that animals or people looking for golf balls had made. The ground sloped slightly downward, and we could see a bit of the river. The water was steel gray, and looked to be rolling. Between it and us there was a meadow of weeds, all in bloom—goldenrod, jewelweed with his red-and-yellow bells, and what I thought were flowering nettles with pinkish-purple clusters, and wild asters. Even the most frail-stemmed, delicate-looking plants had grown up almost as high as, or higher than, our heads. When we stopped and looked up through them we could see something coming, from the direction of the midnight clouds. It was the I behind the splatter we were getting. It looked as if a large portion of the sky had detached itself and was bearing down, bustling and resolute, taking a not quite recognizable but animate shape. Curtains of rain—not veils but relly thick and wildly slapping curtains—were driven ahead of it. We could see them distinctly, when all we were feeling were light, lazy drops. It was almost as if we were looking through a window, and not quite believing that the window would shatter, until it did, and rain and wind hit us, all together, and my hair was lifted and fanned out above my head. I felt as if my skin might do that next.
紧挨着草地边上的灌木丛看上去似乎无法穿过,但是从近距离可以看到一些小缺口和窄窄的小径,这是被动物或者找高尔夫球的人们踩出来的。地面微微向下倾斜,我们能看见一点点河水。河水呈现出钢铁般的铅灰色,似乎正在翻滚着。我们与河水间是一片杂草地,生机盎然——秋麒麟,带着红黄铃铛般的凤仙花,我脑子里尽是略带粉红色及紫色的一蔟簇盛开的荨麻和野翠菊。甚至根茎最脆弱看起来很纤细的植物也长得和我们一样高或者高出我们的头顶。当我们停下脚步,抬头从这些植物中望出去时,我们发现犹如午夜的云彩里某样东西正在靠近。是真正的雨,紧随噼噼啪啪的雨点而来。看上去,一大片天空掉下来了,震耳欲聋地、势不可挡地压向地面,那形状虽然不能具体描述,但像是一个活物。瓢泼大雨——不是毛毛细雨,而是狂风暴雨——在那之前席卷而来。当我们俩都感觉到轻轻慵懒的雨点时,我们就能清楚地看到它们。就好像我们正在透过一扇窗子望过去,且直到窗子真的碎了,风雨开始侵袭我们时才相信这一切。我的头发被搅得一团糟,我觉得好像我的皮肤接下来也会变成那样。