《远大前程》第2章 抓住一名罪犯(5)

‘And why do you want him？'said my sister crossly．
　　‘Madam，’replied the officer Politely，‘speaking for myself，I'd like the pleasure of meeting his fine wife．Speaking for the King，I'd like him to repair these handcuffs．’
　　‘Ah，very good，very good！’ said Mr Pumblechook，clap-ping．
　　The soldiers waited in the kitchen while Joe lit the forge fire and started work．I began to feel better now that everyone had forgotten the missing pie．
　　‘How far are we from the marshes？’asked the officer．
　　‘About a mile，’replied Mrs Joe．
　　‘ That's good．We'll catch them before it's dark．’
　　‘ Convicts，officer？’asked Mr Wopsle．
　　‘Yes，two escaped convicts out on the marshes．Has anyone here seen them？’
The others all shook their heads．Nobody asked me．When the handcuffs were ready，Joe suggested we should go with the soldiers，and as Mrs Joe was curious to know what happened，she agreed．So Joe，Mr wopsle and I walked behind the men through the village and out on to the marshes．
“夫人，”军官客气地说，“就我自己而言，我乐意见到他美丽的妻子，要是就国王而言，我乐意他修理加固这些手铐。”
　　“噢，很好，很好！”潘波趣先生拍着手说。
　　士兵们在厨房等候，而乔生上炉火，开始干活。我渐渐地不害怕了，大家都把丢肉饼的事抛到脑后去了。
　　“我们从这里到沼泽地有多远？”军官问。
　　“大约1英里，”乔夫人回答。
　　“那不太远，我们将在天黑前抓到他们。”
　　“逃犯，军官？”伍甫赛先生问。
　　“是的，有两个逃犯还躲在沼泽地里，有谁见过他们的踪迹吗？”
　　其他的人都摇摇头，幸亏没有人问我。当手铐准备就绪，乔提议我们跟着这些官兵一起去，乔夫人好奇地想知道发生了什么事情，所以她同意了。因此，乔、伍甫赛先生和我走在队伍的后面，穿过村庄向沼泽地开进。