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For years, villagers believed that Endley Farm was haunted.
多年来 村民们一直认为恩得利农场在闹鬼
The farm was owned by two brothers, Joe and Bob Cox.
恩得利农场属于乔.考科斯和鲍勃.考科斯兄弟俩所有
They employed a few farmhands,
他们雇了几个农工
but no one was willing to work there long.
但谁也不愿意在那儿长期工作下去
Every time a worker gave up his job, he told the same story.
每次雇工辞职后都叙述着同样的故事
Farm labourers said that they always woke up
雇工们说 常常一早起来
to find that work had been done overnight.
发现有人在夜里把活干了
Hay had been cut and cowsheds had been cleaned.
干草已切好 牛棚也打扫干净了
A farm worker, who stayed up all night
有一个彻夜未眠的雇工
claimed to have seen a figure cutting corn in the moonlight.
还声称他看见一个人影在月光下收割庄稼
In time, it became an accepted fact
随着时间的流逝
that the Cox brothers employed a conscientious ghost
考科斯兄弟雇了一个尽心尽责的鬼
that did most of their work for them.
他们家的活大部分都让鬼给干了 这件事成了公认的事实
No one suspected that there might be someone else on the farm
谁也没想到农场竟会有一个
who had never been seen.
从未露面的人
This was indeed the case.
但事实上确有此人
A short time ago, villagers were astonished to learn
不久之前 村民们惊悉
that the ghost of Endley had died.
恩得利农场的鬼死了
Everyone went to the funeral,
大家都去参加了葬礼
for the 'ghost' was none other than Eric Cox,
因为那鬼不是别人 正是农场主的兄弟埃里克.考科斯
a third brother who was supposed to have died as a young man.
人们以为埃里克年轻时就死了
After the funeral,
葬礼之后
Joe and Bob revealed a secret which they had kept for over 50 years.
乔和鲍勃透露了他们保守了长达50多年的秘密
Eric had been the eldest son of the family,
埃里克是这家长子
very much older than his two brothers.
年龄比他两个弟弟大很多
He had been obliged to join the army during the Second World War.
第二次世界大战期间被迫参军
As he hated army life, he decided to desert his regiment.
他讨厌军旅生活 决定逃离所在部队
When he learnt that he would be sent abroad,
当他了解自己将被派遣出国时
he returned to the farm
他逃回农场
and his father hid him until the end of the war.
父亲把他藏了起来 直到战争结束
Fearing the authorities,
由于害怕当局
Eric remained in hiding after the war as well.
埃里克战后继续深藏不露
His father told everybody that Eric had been killed in action.
他的父亲告诉大家 埃里克在战争中被打死了
The only other people who knew the secret were Joe and Bob.
除此之外 只有乔与鲍知道这个秘密
They did not even tell their wives.
但他俩连自己的妻子都没告诉
When their father died,
父亲死后
they thought it their duty to keep Eric in hiding.
他们兄弟俩认为有责任继续把埃里克藏起来
All these years, Eric had lived as a recluse.
这些年来 埃里克过着隐士生活
He used to sleep during the day and work at night,
白天睡觉 夜里出来干活
quite unaware of the fact that he had become the ghost of Endley.
一点不知道自己已成了恩得利家场的活鬼
When he died, however,
他死后
his brothers found it impossible to keep the secret any longer.
他的弟弟们才觉得无法再保守这个秘密了
