11 Tom Faggus in danger

11
Tom Faggus in danger
We still lived in fear of another attack from the Doones, and now that the soldiers had gone we had no one to help us. The main reason for their first attack — Lorna — was gone, but I was sure that Carver now hated me with all his heart, and would destroy us all if he could.
However, Jeremy Stickles brought us some good news one day. The King had at last agreed that the robbers should be punished, and that Jeremy should do whatever was necessary to catch them. So perhaps the Doones were saving their strength, preparing for a much bigger fight than their argument with me.
Then something happened which made everyone afraid for the future. Suddenly, King Charles the Second died. There was terrible trouble in England, as everyone argued over who should be the new King, and soon fighting began.
I wondered if all this would bring any danger for Lorna. But the truth was, I knew very little about her now. She had not written to me since the day she had left, or even sent a message. I only knew what I had heard from travellers in the town. They said that young Lady Lorna Dugal was much talked about in London, as one of the most beautiful women in the city. I became more and more certain that she had forgotten all about John Ridd, among the brighter stars of London.
In June, the fighting became more serious. There was now a new King — James, the son of Charles the Second — but many people in Dorset and Somerset were against him, and had joined an army of rebels. There was no chance now that Jeremy Stickles and his soldiers would fight the Doones. King James needed all his men to fight the rebels. At first we were very worried. Surely the Doones would attack us now. But the Doones had seen a new hope for their future. They had joined the King's enemies, hoping to win back their old land in the fighting. So they had sent most of their men to join the rebels, and were too busy again to worry about the Ridds — at least for a while.
As for me, I had decided that this battle between the King and his enemies was not my fight. Most people in the towns and villages around Oare were on the King's side and we gave no help to his enemies, but sensible people stayed at home. Too many men would die in the fighting anyway, without our joining them.
However, I did get involved in the troubles, because one rainy day Annie came to see us, with some bad news. She ran into the kitchen, her face wet with tears.
Oh, John! ' she cried. You must help me!'
* Whatever is the matter, Annie dear?' I said.
'It's Tom, ' Annie cried. 'He's gone to join the rebels, and you must, oh, you must go after him and bring him back.'
We had been afraid of this. Tom could not forget the excitement of his old life and had become bored with farming. Mother was very unhappy and did not want me to go, but I had to help my unhappy sister. And although I knew it would be dangerous, I was quite glad of the chance of adventure. Perhaps — who knows? — I would learn some news of Lorna on my travels.
So I promised to fetch Annie's husband home, and early the next morning I rode away on our fastest horse. I went from town to town, asking for news of the fighting, but it was four days before I finally found the two armies at Bridgwater. There had been a great battle the night before, which the rebels had lost, and many of them now lay dead or dying on the battlefield. I shall never forget that terrible sight. I thought Tom must be dead, and I walked all over the battlefield, looking for his body. Several times I stopped in my search, to give some poor dying man a last drink from my water bottle.
After a time I found myself near an old farm building, and I suddenly saw that the riderless horse standing in the doorway was without doubt Tom Faggus's horse. I hurried into the building, and found Tom lying on the ground, badly wounded. He could still speak, but only in a whisper, because of the pain. 
'Put me on my horse, John, ' he said, “ and she'll take me home. No one can catch her — she's the fastest horse alive. It's my best chance of escaping.'
He was right. The King's soldiers were still riding around the battlefield, looking for rebels to kill. So I tied up Tom's wound as best I could, put him on his horse, and turned the horse's head for home.
‘ Thank you, John. I am safe now, ' he whispered. He lay along his horse's neck, to close the wound in his side. 'But look out for yourself, John Ridd.'
I watched Tom's horse disappear into the distance, and only a minute later I turned and saw soldiers coming towards me. ' Stop, , they said, , in the name of the King.'
'I'm not a rebel, , I said. 'I'm on the King's side and —'
But they would not listen to me. ' You are an enemy of the King, ' they said, ' and the punishment is death.'
I tried to argue with them, and as they laid their hands on me, I knocked one soldier to the ground. This made them even angrier, and the captain ordered his men to tie me to a tree and shoot me at once.
There was nothing I could do against twenty men, so I closed my eyes and tried to think about Lorna and my mother. The captain gave the order to fire, but at the same moment I heard a horse coming towards us, and another voice shouting, * Stop!' 
It was Jeremy Stickles! He rode his horse between me and the guns, and started to argue with the captain. His voice was the sweetest sound I had heard for a long time!
The argument was soon over. I heard Jeremy mention Judge Jeffreys once or twice, and before long he had persuaded the captain not to shoot me. * This man, John Ridd, is my prisoner, ' said Jeremy, 'and I shall take him to London for trial there.'
As we rode away together, I thanked Jeremy with all my heart for saving my life.
'You're not safe yet, John, ' he said. I know you're not an enemy of the King, but many people will not believe you. If you want to stay a free man and keep your farm and land, there's only one thing you can do — you must come to London with me and tell your story to Judge Jeffreys.'


11- 汤姆遇险
我们仍生活在担忧中，怕杜恩家族的 人会再一次发动袭击，因为士兵们已经走 了，我们没有帮手了。他们第一次发动袭 击的主要诱因一一洛娜——已经走了，但 我敢肯定卡弗现在对我满怀仇恨，如果可 能的话，他会将我们全都杀掉。
但有一天，杰里米•斯蒂克尔斯给我 们带来了一些好消息。国王最终同意惩罚 这些强盗，并让杰里米竭尽所能抓获他们。 因此，也许杜恩家族的人正养精蓄锐，准 备发动一次比上次跟我的争斗的规模要大 得多的战斗。
然而不久后，发生了一些事，使得每 个人都开始为将来担忧。国王査尔斯二世 突然去世了，英格兰陷入一片混乱，人人 都在争论着谁该继承王位，战争很快就打 响了。
我猜测着这一切会不会给洛娜带来危 险，但事实上，我现在已经很久没有她的 消息了。她从离开的那天起，便从未给我 写过信，甚至连个口信都没捎过。我只知 道从镇上的旅行者们那儿听来的一些消息。 他们说，年轻的洛娜•杜加尔女勋爵是伦 敦人津津乐道的话题，因为她是城里最美 丽的女人之一。我越来越肯定，在伦敦更加灿烂的群星之中，她已经忘记了关于约 翰•里德的一切。
六月，战争愈发激烈了。现在有了一 个新国王——詹姆斯，是査尔斯二世的儿 子——但在多塞特郡和萨摩塞特郡，有很 多人反对他，这些人还组建了一支叛军。 因此，杰里米-斯蒂克尔斯和他的士兵们 也没机会同杜恩家族作战了。詹姆斯国王 要派所有的手下同叛军作战。一开始，我 们很担心，杜恩家族的人现在肯定要来袭 击我们了。但杜恩家族看到了他们未来的 新希望。他们加入了国王的敌对军，盼着 能在战争中赢回自己以前的田产。因此， 他们将大部分人手都派去加入了叛军，忙 碌得根本无暇理会里德一家——至少暂时 如此。
至于我，我已决定决不参与国王和叛 军之间的这场战争。奥尔村附近村镇的大 部分居民都支持国王，没有给叛军提供任 何支援。但明智的人们都留在了家里。反 正即便我们不加入国王的军队，战争中牺 牲的人也已经够多的了。
然而，我还是被卷入了这场战乱。一 个雨天，安妮跑来见我们，并带来了一个 坏消息。她跑进厨房，满脸都是泪水。
“哦，约翰!”她哭喊道，“你得帮 帮我!”
“到底出什么事了，亲爱的安妮?”我问。 “是汤姆,”安妮哭诉道，“他跑去参加 
叛军了。你必须.哦，你必须赶紧追上他， 把他带回来。”
我们一直都担心这一点。汤姆忘不了 过去生活的刺激，已经厌倦了农庄生活。 母亲很不高兴，也不希望我去，但我必须 帮助我那伤心的妹妹。虽然明知很危险， 我还是很高兴能有机会去冒险。也许---谁知道呢？ ---也许我能在旅途中听到一 些关于洛娜的消息。
于是我答应去把安妮的丈夫带回家。 第二天一早，我骑上家里速度最快的马出 发了。我从一个城镇到另一个城镇.打听 着战争的消息，花了四天时间才最终在布 里奇沃特发现了那两支军队。头天晚上这 里刚进行了一场激战•叛军战败,战场上 躺着很多尸体和垂死的士兵。我永远也不 会忘记那可怕的一幕。我想汤姆肯定死了， 于是我走遍整个战场找寻他的尸体。有好 几次，我在搜索途中停下来，从自己的水 壶里给几个垂死的可怜人最后一口水喝。
过了一会儿.我发现自己来到了一座 旧农舍附近。我突然看见门口站着一匹没 人骑的马，那匹马毫无疑问是汤姆•费格 斯的。我赶紧走进农舍，发现汤姆受了重 伤躺在地上。由于疼痛，他不能大声说话， 只能轻声低语。
“把我放到马背上，约翰，'‘他说，“她 会带我回家的。没有人能抓住她---她是 这世界上跑得最快的马。这是我逃跑的最 好机会。”
他说得没错。国王的士兵们还骑着马 在战场周围搜寻并处死叛军。于是，我尽 我所能把汤姆的伤口包扎好，将他放到马 背上.把马头转向回家的方向。
“谢谢你，约翰。我现在安全了，”他 低声说着.伏在马脖子上，压住体侧的伤 口,但你自己也要小心，约翰•里德。”
我目送汤姆的马消失在远方。刚过了 一分钟.我转头看见一群士兵朝我走过来。 -我们以国王的名义命令你站住,”他们说
-我不是叛军我说道，“我是支持国 王的.而且——”
但他们根本不听我说。•'你是国王的敌 人。他们说.••而对你的惩罚就是将你 处死
我试图向他们辩解，当他们将手放到 我身上时.我将其中一名士兵打翻在地。 这让他们越发生气了，上尉命令手下将我 绑在树上立即枪毙。
我无力对抗二十个人，只能闭上眼睛 尽量去想洛娜和母亲。上尉下令开枪，但 与此同时，我听到一匹马朝我们奔过来， 另一个声音高喊道：“住手!" 
是杰里米•斯蒂克尔斯！他骑着马站 在我和枪支之间，开始同上尉争辩。他的 声音是长久以来我听到过的最动听的嗓音！
争辩很快就结束了。我听见杰里米有 一两次提到了杰弗里斯法官的名字，没多 久他便说服了上尉不枪毙我。“这个叫约 翰•里德的人是我的犯人,"杰里米说， “我会带他回伦敦接受审讯的。”
我们一同骑马离开，我真心地感谢杰 里米救了我的命。
“你还没有脱离危险，约翰，”他说道。 “理知道你不是国王的敌人，但很多人不会 相信你。如果你想继续做一个自由人，保 留自己的农庄和土地，就只能去做一件 事——你必须跟我去伦敦，把你的故事告 诉杰弗里斯法官