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Chapter 14 What Melchisedec Heard and Saw
第十四章 梅基塞代克的所见所闻
On this very afternoon, while Sara was out, a strange thing happened in the attic.
就在这天下午，萨拉出去之时，阁楼里发生了桩怪事。
Only Melchisedec saw and heard it; and he was so much alarmed and mystified that he scuttled back to his hole and hid there,
只有梅基塞代克看到并听到，它十分惊慌和迷惑不解，急忙跑回洞中，藏了起来，偷偷摸摸地向外窥视，
and really quaked and trembled as he peeped out furtively and with great caution to watch what was going on.
万分谨慎地注视着正在发生的事，竟禁不住发起抖来。
The attic had been very still all the day after Sara had left it in the early morning.
萨拉一清早离开后，阁楼内一整天都静悄悄的。
The stillness had only been broken by the pattering of the rain upon the slates and the skylight.
只有雨点打在石板瓦和天窗上的声音来打破宁静。
Melchisedec had, in fact, found it rather dull; and when the rain ceased to patter and perfect silence reigned,
梅基塞代克实在觉得有点沉闷，于是等雨点停止敲打、阁楼完全沉浸在静谧中时，
he decided to come out and reconnoiter, though experience taught him that Sara would not return for some time.
它决定出来侦察一下，虽然经验告诉它萨拉一时还不会回来。
He had been rambling and sniffing about, and had just found a totally unexpected and unexplained crumb left from his last meal, when his attention was attracted by a sound on the roof.
它四处走走、嗅嗅，发现了它上一餐剩下的一块面包屑，这完全是出乎意料和无从解释的。就在此时，屋顶上传来一个声音引起了它的注意。
He stopped to listen with a palpitating heart. The sound suggested that something was moving on the roof.
它站住了倾听，心脏悸动着。这声音表明屋顶上有什么东西在走动。
It was approaching the skylight; it reached the skylight. The skylight was being mysteriously opened.
它向着天窗过来了，它到了天窗边了。这天窗神不知鬼不觉地被打开了。
A dark face peered into the attic; then another face appeared behind it, and both looked in with signs of caution and interest.
一张黑脸向阁楼里窥探，接着后面又出现一张脸，都谨慎、关注地向内望着。
Two men were outside on the roof, and were making silent preparations to enter through the skylight itself.
原来有两个男子在外面屋顶上，正不声不响地准备通过天窗钻进来。
One was Ram Dass and the other was a young man who was the Indian gentleman's secretary; but of course Melchisedec did not know this.
一个是拉姆·达斯，另一个是个青年，他是印度绅士的秘书，但梅基塞代克当然是不知道这些的。
He only knew that the men were invading the silence and privacy of the attic;
它只知道这两人正侵犯着阁楼的宁静与隐秘，
and as the one with the dark face let himself down through the aperture with such lightness and dexterity that he did not make the slightest sound,
只见黑脸的那个轻巧敏捷地穿过窗孔下来了，一点儿声响也没有，
Melchisedec turned tail and fled precipitately back to his hole. He was frightened to death.
它掉转尾巴急速逃回它的洞府。它吓得要死。
