For some time Alan knocked without answer.
At last I heard the window on the first floor openingquietly. I knew my uncle was looking out. He couldsee Alan on the steps，but we three witnesses wereround the corner.
艾伦敲了好大一会儿也没有人应卢。后来，我听见二楼上的窗子轻轻地打开了。我知道我叔叔在向外张望。他可以看见站在台阶上的艾伦，可是我们三位见证人都藏在角落。
After a minute Ebenezer spoke.
过了一会儿，埃比尼泽开口了：
“Wha t’s this ?”he asked.“This is no time ofnight for h one s t p e ople . Why ha ve you c ome ？I ha vea gun.”
“这是干什么？夜深人静，正经人是不会现在出来的。你来干什么？我手里可有枪。”
“Is tha t you，Mr Ba lfour？”Alan said，He steppedback and looked up.“Ta ke ca re of tha t old blun de rbuss . It might burs t.”
“是你吗？巴尔福先生?”艾伦问道。他后退了几步，抬起头望着。
“当心你那杆破枪，它说不定会爆炸的。”
“Wh a t brings you he re ？Who a re you？”my unclecried angrily.
“你来这里干什么？你是谁？”
我叔叔愤怒地吼叫着。
“My name doe s not ma tte r ，”Alan said,“I ha vec ome on your bus ine s s ，not mine .”
“我的名字无关紧要。我是为你的事来的，不是为我的事。”艾伦说。
“And wha t is it？”my uncle asked.
“什么事?”我叔叔问道。
“Da vid ，”Alan said.
“大卫的事。”艾伦的答说。
“Wha t wa s tha t？”my uncle cried. His voice wasvery different now.
“什么？”我叔叔大声问道。这时他的口气大不一样了。
“S ha ll I give you the re s t of the name ，th e n？”Alansaid.
“你还要我连名带姓都告诉你?”艾伦说。
There was a pause. Then,“Pe rha ps I’ll le t youc ome in，”my uncle said.
一阵沉默过后，我叔叔说：“或许我可以让你进来。”
“Pe rha ps you will，”Alan replied. “But theque s tion is-will I come in ？The a nswe r is no . Wewill ta lk a bout this bus ine s s he re on this d oor-s te p . Itis he re or n owhe re . I am a s proud a s you，a nd a ge ntleman of be tte r family.”
艾伦回答说：“或许会是这样。
不过，问题是，我愿意进来吗？咱们就在门外台阶上谈这件事吧。要么在这儿谈，要么就不谈了。我的自尊心跟你的一样强，而且出身比你更高贵。”
Ebenezer thought for a minute. He did not likeit.
埃比尼泽想了一会儿。他并不愿意在门口谈话。末了，他说：
“We ll，”he said at last,“I’ll come down .”
“好吧，我下来。”
A short time passed. At last we heard him takingaway the chain from the door. He opened it andcame out. Alan stepped back a little，and Ebenezersat down on the top step. His blunderbuss was illhis hands.
过了一小会儿后，我们终于听见他取门上的锁链。他打开门，走了出来。艾伦稍微朝后退了一下，埃比尼泽坐在最上面的台阶上，手里端着大口径短枪，说：
“Now，”he said，remember I have my gun. Ifyou come nearer，you will be a dead man.”
“喂，记住，我手里有枪，你要再走近一步，我就打死你。”
“A ve ry polite we lc ome ，”Alan said.
“这例是非常有礼貌的欢迎。”
艾伦说。
“No ，”my uncle replied,“but I mus t prote ct myse lf. Aud now，e xpla in your bus ine s s .”
我叔叔回答说：“虽然不礼貌，可我得保护自己。好啦，你有何贵干，讲吧。”
“Why，”Alan said,“you ca n s e e I am a Highland ge ntlema n. My country is not fa r from the is la ndof Mull. A short time a go ，a s hip we nt down ne a r tha tpla ce ，The ne xt da y a ge ntlema n o f my family foun d ala d. He wa s ha lf - de a d on the shore . My re la tions a ve d the boy’s life . He a nd s ome of his frie nds tookthe la d a nd put him in a n old ca s tle . My frie nds a rera the r wild，a nd not pa rticula r a bou t the law. The y d is -c ove re d tha t the la d is your n e phew. Now the y a reke e ping him，a nd this cos ts mone y. Will yo u he lpthem？My frie nds a re not ric h. If you don ’t pa y，youwill ne ve r s e e your ne ph ew a ga in.”
艾伦说；“嗨，你能看得山来，我是一位高地绅士。我的家乡离马尔岛不远。不久以前，离那儿不远沉了一条船。第二天，我本家一位绅士在海滩上发现了一个淹得半死的小伙子，就把他救活了。他和他的几位朋友把那小伙子弄到一个破旧的城堡里住下。我的朋友们是些粗人，对法律蛮不在乎。他们发现这个小伙子是你的侄子。现在，小伙子由他们养着，这是要花钱的。你愿意帮助他们吗？我的朋友们并不富裕，你要是不肯掏腰包，就再见不到你的侄子了。”
My uncle spoke slowly.
我叔叔慢条斯理地说：
“I don ’t ca re ，”he said.“Hc wa sn ’t a goodla d.”
“我不在乎，这个孩子不听话。”
“Oh，I s e e ，”Alan，said,“you a re pre te n ding.
You think tha t will ma ke our pric e lowe r.”
艾伦说：“噢，我明白了，你说的是假话，想用这个办法压价。”
