2 Black Dog 
　  
　　One January morning ,the captain got up early and walked down to the beach. It was a cold winter's day with the sun still low in the sky. My mother was upstairs with my father, who was now very ill. That year the winter was long and hard ,and we knew my father would not see another spring. 
　　I was getting the table ready for the captain's breakfast. Suddenly, the door of the inn opened and a man stepped inside. I had never seen him before. He wore a sailor's short sword by his side ,and I noticed he had only three fingers on his left hand. 
　　I asked him what he wanted and he said,‘ I'll take a glass of rum.’But before I could fetch it ,he told me to come near him.‘Is this table for my old friend Bill?’the stranger asked, with a terrible smile. 
　　I told him I did not know his friend Bill and the breakfast was for a man who was staying at the inn.‘We call him the captain,’I said.  
　　‘Does he have a sword cut on his face?’he asked.  
　　‘Yes,’I said.  
　　‘That's Bill,’said the stranger.‘Is he here?’ 
　　I told him the captain was out walking, and the man waited ,like a cat waiting for a mouse. I did not like the look on his face and was sure the captain would not be pleased to see him. 
　　When the captain came back ,the man pulled me behind the door. The captain opened the door and walked across the room.  
　　‘Bill,’said the stranger. 
　　The captain turned quickly and saw us. The colour went from his face and be looked old and sick.‘Black Dog!’he said. He stared at the stranger.‘And what do you want?’ 
　　‘I'll have a glass of rum,’ said Black Dog, ‘then you and I'll sit and talk like old friends.’ 
　　I fetched the rum and they told me to go away. I went out of the room ,but the voices became louder.  
　　‘No, no, and that's an end of it!I heard the captain shout. ‘If one is caught ,we'll all be caught!’ 
　　There were more shouts, and then the sound of the table crashing over. Next, I heard the sound of swords, then out ran Black Dog with blood running down his shoulder .He ran out of the inn and along the road. In a few seconds ,he had disap－peared from sight. 
　　The captain watched him go ,then said,‘Jim, quick! Bring me rum. 
　　He turned and went back into the inn, but he could only just stand on his feet. I realized he was feeling ill and ran to fetch the rum. Then I heard him falling and hurried back to find him on the floor. 
　　My mother heard the noise and came downstairs .We lifted the captain's head. His eyes were closed and his face was a ter－ rible colour. 
　　At that moment Dr Livesey arrived to see my father .He looked at the captain and said to my mother:‘ His heart can't take much more of this .I told him drinking rum would kill him ,and it nearly has.’ 
　　The captain opened his eyes and tried to sit up.‘Where's Black Dog?’he asked.  
　　‘There's no Black Dog here,’ said the doctor, ‘Get on your feet and I'll help you to your bed.’  
　　　 
2 黑狗 
　  
　　1月的一个清晨，老船长很早就起来走到海边。那是一个严寒的冬日，太阳还没有升高。我母亲正在楼上照顾病重的父亲。那一年的冬天又漫长又寒冷，我们都知道父亲大概难以活到来年的春天了。 
　　我正在准备老船长的早餐。忽然，客店的门被推开，一个陌生人闯了进来。我以前从未见过他。他腰间佩着一把水手的短剑，我注意到他左手只有3个手指。 
　　我问他要点什么，他说：“我要一杯朗姆酒。”我正要去取酒，他把我叫过去。“桌上的早餐是不是为我的老朋友比尔准备的？”他狞笑着问道。 
　　我告诉他我不知道他的朋友比尔是谁，早餐是为住在店里的一位客人准备的。“我们都管他叫老船长，”我说。 
　　“他脸上有一道剑伤吗？”他问。 
　　“是的，”我说。 
　　“他就是比尔，”他说。“他在这儿吗？” 
　　我告诉他老船长出去散步了，然后他就等着，像猫在等老鼠一样。我不喜欢这个陌生人的表情，我相信老船长一定不喜欢他。 
　　老船长回来了，陌生人把我拉过去躲在门后。老船长推开门走进屋来。 
　　“比尔，”陌生人叫道。 
　　老船长转过身来看见了我们，脸上顿时变了颜色，一眨眼工夫变得衰老而虚弱。“黑狗！”老船长喊道。他盯着陌生人。“你要怎么样？” 
　　“我想要一杯朗姆酒，”黑狗说。“然后我们坐下来像老朋友那样聊聊天。” 
　　我把朗姆酒取来，他们让我离开。我离开房间，他们说话的嗓门越来越高。 
　　“不，不，不，事情到此为止！”我听见老船长嚷着。“如果一个人被抓住，我们就会全都被抓住！” 
　　喊声越来越大，还有桌子被掀翻的响声。接着，我听见刀剑的响声，旋即我看见黑狗肩上淌着血没命地往外跑。他跑出客店，上了那条小路，不一会儿就没了踪影。 
　　老船长看见他跑了，就对我说：“吉姆，快拿朗姆酒来！” 
　　他要转身回到客店，但无法挪动脚步。我意识到他病了，赶紧跑去拿酒。我听见响声马上跑回来，看见老船长躺在地上。 
　　我母亲被响声惊动，下楼来帮忙。我们把老船长扶起来，他紧闭着双眼，脸色十分可怕。 
　　正在这时李甫西大夫来看我父亲，他看了看老船长后对我母亲说：“他的心脏受不了这个。我早就警告过他不能喝这么多酒，现在正是酒害了他。” 
　　老船长睁开眼，试着坐起来。“黑狗在哪儿？”他问。 
　　“这里没有黑狗，”大夫说。“站起来吧，我扶你到床上去。” 
　　　    


 