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Chapter Six Shasta Among the Tombs
第六章 沙斯塔在坟场
Shasta ran lightly along the roof on tiptoes. It felt hot to his bare feet.
沙斯塔踮起脚尖沿着屋顶轻轻地跑去，赤裸的双脚感觉发烫。
He was only a few seconds scrambling up the wall at the far end and when he got to the corner he found himself looking down into a narrow, smelly street, and there was a rubbish heap against the outside of the wall just as Corin had told him.
一会儿的工夫他就攀爬到了墙的另一端，拐进墙角，他发现了一条狭窄、发臭的小街，就像科林告诉他的一样，墙外有一堆垃圾。
Before jumping down he took a rapid glance round him to get his bearings. Apparently he had now come over the crown of the island-hill on which Tashbaan is built.
在跳下墙前，沙斯塔瞥了一眼四周以确认自己的方位，显然，他已经到了塔什班岛的顶端了。
Everything sloped away before him, flat roofs below flat roofs, down to the towers and battlements of the city' s Northern wall.
一切都在他面前铺展开来，屋顶层层叠叠，一直延伸到北城墙的塔和城垛。
Beyond that was the river and beyond the river a short slope covered with gardens.
城墙外是河流，河流外是一个遍布花园的短坡。
But beyond that again there was something he had never seen the like of—a great yellowish—grey thing, flat as a calm sea, and stretching for miles.
在更远的地方，有一些他从未见过的景象——一大片灰黄色的景物，平静如海，绵延数里。
On the far side of it were huge blue things, lumpy but with jagged edges, and some of them with white tops. "The desert! the mountains!" thought Shasta.
遥远的边缘处，有一些巨大的蓝色的物体，很粗糙但是棱角分明，其中一些的顶部是雪白的。“大沙漠！大山！”沙斯塔想到。
He jumped down on to the rubbish and began trotting along downhill as fast as he could in the narrow lane, which soon brought him into a wider street where there were more people.
他跳到了垃圾堆上，在路上飞速奔跑，很快就到了一条更宽的街上，行人也变多了。
No one bothered to look at a little ragged boy running along on bare feet. Still, he was anxious and uneasy till he turned a corner and there saw the city gate in front of him.
没有人去留意一个赤脚奔跑的衣衫褴褛的小孩。直到他穿过一个街角，看到了城门，紧张不安的心情才逐渐放松下来。
Here he was pressed and jostled a bit, for a good many other people were also going out; and on the bridge beyond the gate the crowd became quite a slow procession, more like a queue than a crowd.
城门处因为行人很多而拥挤不堪，城门外大桥上的人群缓慢地移动，与其说是人群倒不如说是一支队伍。
Out there, with clear running water on each side, it was deliciously fresh after the smell and heat and noise of Tashbaan.
经历了塔什班城的臭味、燥热和喧闹，沙斯塔愈加觉得桥两边的水流清澈无比，空气清新宜人。
When once Shasta had reached the far end of the bridge he found the crowd melting away; everyone seemed to be going either to the left or right along the river bank.
沙斯塔走到大桥另一端，发现人群疏散开来，每个人沿着河岸不是向左就是向右走去。
He went straight ahead up a road that did not appear to be much used, between gardens. In a few paces he was alone, and a few more brought him to the top of the slope.
他径直走上一条掩于花园之间的小路，这条小路看起来鲜有人经过。孤身一人走了几步之后，就到了坡顶。
There he stood and stared. It was like coming to the end of the world for all the grass stopped quite suddenly a few feet before him and the sand began: endless level sand like on a sea shore but a bit rougher because it was never wet.
他站在坡顶凝视远方，在他面前几英尺的地方，大片绵延的黄沙取代了草地，好像那儿是世界尽头一样。相比于沙滩，这儿的黄沙更加粗糙，因为这里永远也得不到水的浸润。
The mountains, which now looked further off than before, loomed ahead.
山峰在前面隐隐约约地浮现，似乎比之前更远了。
Greatly to his relief he saw, about five minutes' walk away on his left, what must certainly be the Tombs, just as Bree had described them; great masses of mouldering stone shaped like gigantic bee-hive, but a little narrower.
让他大为宽慰的是，沿着左边的路再走五分钟，就是布里曾经描述过的坟场。大量的碑石被风化成了巨大的蜂房形状，但是要略微狭窄些。
They looked very black and grim, for the sun was now setting right behind them. He turned his face West and trotted towards the Tombs.
太阳已经落下，碑石看起来黑暗阴森。沙斯塔朝着西面的坟场小步跑去。
He could not help looking out very hard for any sign of his friends, though the setting sun shone in his face so that he could see hardly anything.
虽然夕阳迎面照在脸上让他目眩，但是他还是禁不住努力地东张西望，想找到他的朋友的一些痕迹。
"And anyway," he thought, "of course they'll be round on the far side of the farthest Tomb, not this side where anyone might see them from the city."
“无论如何，”他想，“他们会在坟场的另一端等候，而不是人人都能看到的这一端。”
There were about twelve Tombs, each with a low arched doorway that opened into absolute blackness.
坟场共有十二个坟墓，墓前都有一个通向绝对黑暗的低矮拱廊。
They were dotted about in no kind of order, so that it took a long time, going round this one and going round that one, before you could be sure that you had looked round every side of every tomb. This was what Shasta had to do. There was nobody there.
坟墓分布杂乱无章，必须花很长时间在坟墓间转来转去，才能确信每个坟墓都进行了仔细的检查。这是沙塔斯要做的事。坟场了无人烟。
It was very quiet here out on the edge of the desert;and now the sun had really set.
这儿位于沙漠边缘，十分安静，太阳也的确落山了。
Suddenly from somewhere behind him there came a terrible sound. Shasta's heart gave a great jump and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from screaming.
突然从背后传来了一个可怕的声音。沙斯塔的心都跳到了嗓子眼，咬住舌头才勉强控制住不让自己发出尖叫。
Next moment he realized what it was: the horns of Tashbaan blowing for the closing of the gates.
很快他就明白了这是什么声音：塔什班城的闭城号角。
