他骑着这匹鲜蹦活跳的杂毛马，把忧虑和不安都抛到了脑后。他策马跑了五英里后，就像平原人那样款款而行，驰向东北方的纽西斯河床。他很熟悉这个地方——熟悉它那粗犷的荆棘丛林之间最艰苦、最难走的小路，熟悉人们可以在那里得到款待的营地和孤寂的牧场。他一直向东走去，因为他生平还没有见过海洋，很想抚摸一下那匹淘气的小马墨西哥湾的鬃毛。
So after three days he stood on the shore at Corpus Christi， and looked out across the gentle ripplesripple n.波纹 v.起波纹 of a quiet sea.
三天之后，他站在科琅斯克里斯蒂的岸上，眺望着宁静的海洋上的翻翻微波。
Captain Boone， of the schooner ‘Flyaway’， stood near his skiff， which one of his crew was guarding in the surf. When ready to sail he had discovered that one of the necessaries of life， in the parallelogrammatic shape of plug tobacco， had been forgotten. A sailor had been dispatcheddispatch vt.分派， 派遣 n.派遣， 急件 for the missing cargo. Meanwhile the captain paced the sands， chewing profanely at his pocket store. A slim， wiry youth in highheeled boots came down to the waters edge. His face was boyish， but with a premature severity that hinted at a mans experience. His complexioncomplexion n.面色， 肤色， 情况， 局面 was naturally dark， and the sun and wind of an outdoor life had burned it to a coffee brown. His hair was as black and straight as an Indians， his face had not yet upturned to the humiliationhumiliation n.羞辱， 蒙耻 of a razorrazor n.剃刀 vt.剃， his eyes were a cold and steady blue. He carried his left arm somewhat away from his body， for pearlhandled 45s are frowned upon by town marshals， and are a little bulky when placed in the left armholearmhole n.袖孔 of ones vest. He looked beyond Captain Boone at the gulf with the impersonal and expressionless dignitydignity n.尊严， 高贵 of a Chinese emperor.
纵帆船《逃亡者号》的布恩船长站在小快艇旁边，一个水手守着小艇。帆船刚要起航的时候，他发觉一件生活必需品——口嚼烟草块——给忘了。他派一个水手去来办那遗忘的货物。与此同时，船长在沙滩上来回踱步，一面滥骂，一面嚼着口袋里的存货。一个穿高跟马靴，瘦长结实的小伙子来到了海边。他脸上孩子气十足，不过夹杂着一种早熟的严厉神情，说明他阅历很深。他的皮肤本来就黑，加上户外生活的风吹日晒，竟成了深褐色。他的头发同印第安人一般又黑又直，他的脸还没有受过剃刀的翻掘，他那双蓝眼睛又冷酷，又坚定。他的左臂有点往外撇，因为警长们见到珍珠贝柄的四五口径手枪就头痛，他只得把手枪插在坎肩的左腋窝里，那未免大了些。他带着中国皇帝那种漠然无动于衷的尊严，眺望着布恩船长身后的海湾。
“Thinkin of buyin thatar gulf， buddy？” asked the captain， made sarcastic by his narrow escape from a tobaccolesstobaccoless 无烟草［叶， 丝］的 voyage.
“打算把海湾买下来吗，老弟？”船长问道。他差点要作一次没有烟草的航行，心里正没好气。
“Why， no.” said the Kid gently， “I reckon not. I never saw it before. I was just looking at it. Not thinking of selling it， are you？”
“呀，不，”小利亚诺和善地说，“我没有这个打算。我几乎没有见过海。只是看看而已。你也不打算把它出卖吧？”
“Not this trip.” said the captain. “Ill send it to you C.O.D. when I get back to Buenas Tierras. Here comes that capstanfooted lubber with the chewin. I ought to ve weighed anchor an hour ago.”
“这一次没有这个打算。”船长说，“等我回到布埃纳斯蒂埃拉斯之后。我把它给你运去，货到付款。那个傻瓜水手终于把烟草办来了，他跑得那么慢，不然我一小时前就可以后退了。”
“Is that your ship out there？” asked the Kid.
“那条大船是你的吗？”小利亚诺问道。
“Why， yes，” answered the captain， “if you want to call a schoonerschooner n.纵帆船， 大酒杯 a ship， and I dont mind lyin. But you better say Miller and Gonzales， owners， and ordinary plain， Billybedamned old Samuel K. Boone， skipper.”
“嗯，是的，”船长回答说，“如果你要把一条帆船叫做大船的话，我也不妨吹吹牛，不过说得正确些，船主是米勒和冈萨雷斯，在下只不过是老塞缨尔·凯·布恩，一个没什么了不起的船长。”
“Where are you going to？” asked the refugeerefugee n.难民， 流亡者.
“你们去哪儿？”逃亡者问道。
“Buenas Tierras， coast of South America—I forgot what they called the country the last time I was there. Cargolumber， corrugated ironcorrugated iron 波状钢， and machetesmachete n.弯刀.”
“布埃纳斯蒂埃拉斯，南美海岸——上次我去过那里，不过那个国家叫什么名字我可忘了。船上装的是木材、波纹铁皮和砍刀。”
“What kind of a country is it？” asked the Kid，“Hot or cold？”
“那个国家是什么样的？”小利亚诺问道——“是热还是冷？”
“Warmish， buddy.” said the captain. “But a regular Paradise Lost for elegance of scenery and beyooty of geography. Yere wakened every morning by the sweet singin of red birds with seven purple tails， and the sighin of breezes in the posies and roses. And the inhabitants never work， for they can reach out and pick steamer baskets of the choicest hothousehothouse n.温室， 生长于温室的， 温床， 干燥室 fruit without gettin out of bed. And theres no Sunday and no ice and no rent and no troubles and no use and no nothin. Its a great country for a man to go to sleep with， and wait for somethin to turn up. The bananys and oranges and hurricaneshurricane n.飓风， 狂风 and pineapplespineapple n.凤梨， 菠萝 that ye eat comes from there.”
“不冷不热，老弟。”船长说，“风景优美，山水秀丽，十足是个失乐园。你一早醒来就听到七条紫尾巴的红鸟在歌唱，微风在奇花异葩中叹息。当地居民从来不干活，他们不用下床，只消伸出手就可以摘到一大篮一大篮最好的温室水果。那里没有礼拜天，没有冰，没有要付的房租，没有烦恼，没有用处，什么都没有。对于那些只想躺在床上等运气找上门的人来说，那个国家是再好没有的了。你吃的香蕉、橘子、飓风和菠萝就是从那里来的。”
“That sounds to me！” said the Kid， at last betraying interest. “Whatll the expressage be to take me out there with you？”
“那倒正合我心意！”小利亚诺终于很感兴趣地说道，“我搭你的船去那里要多少船费？”
“Twentyfour dollars，” said Captain Boone， “grub and transportation. Second cabin. I havent got a first cabin.”
“二十四块钱，”布恩船长说，“包括伙食和船费。二等舱，我船上没有头等舱。”
“Youve got my company.” said the Kid， pulling out a buckskin bag.
“我去。”小利亚诺一面说，一面掏出了一个鹿皮袋子。
With three hundred dollars he had gone to Laredo for his regular “blowout”. The duel in Valdoss had cut short his season of hilarity， but it had left him with nearly 200 for aid in the flight that it had made necessary.
他去拉雷多的时候，带着三百块钱，准备像以前那样大玩一场。在伐尔多斯赌场里的决斗，中断了他的欢乐的季节，但是给他留下了将近两百元，如今由于决斗而不得不逃亡时，这笔钱倒帮了他的忙。
“All right， buddy.” said the captain. “I hope your ma wont blame me for this little childish escapadeescapade n.异常出轨的行为 of yours.” He beckoned to one of the boats crew. “Let Sanchez lift you out to the skiff so you wont get your feet wet.”
“好吧，老弟。”船长说，“你这次像小孩似的逃出来，我希望你妈不要怪我。”他招呼一个水手说，“让桑切斯背你到小艇上去，免得你踩湿靴子。”
Thacker， the United States consulconsul n.领事， (古罗马的)两执政官之一，［史］(1799年至1804年间，法兰西共和国的)三执政官之一 at Buenas Tierras， was not yet drunk. It was only eleven oclock， and he never arrived at his desired state of beatitudebeatitude n.至福， 祝福—a state wherein he sang ancient maudlinmaudlin adj.感情脆弱的 n.脆弱的感情 vaudevillevaudeville n.歌舞杂耍 songs and pelted his screaming parrot with banana peels—until the middle of the afternoon. So， when he looked up from his hammock at the sound of a slight cough， and saw the Kid standing in the door of the consulate， he was still in a condition to extend the hospitality and courtesy due from the representative of a great nation. “Dont disturb yourself.” said the Kid， easily. “I just dropped in. They told me it was customary to light at your camp before starting in to round up the town. I just came in on a ship from Texas.”