《汤姆·索亚历险记》第十一章 波特有口难辩，汤姆良心受谴
CLOSE upon the hour of noon the whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly news. No need of the as yet undreamed-of telegraph; the tale flew from man to man, from group to group, from house to house, with little less than telegraphic speed. Of course the schoolmaster gave holiday for that afternoon; the town would have thought strangely of him if he had not.
A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man, and it had been recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff potter -- so the story ran. And it was said that a belated citizen had come upon potter washing himself in the "branch" about one or two o'clock in the morning, and that potter had at once sneaked off -- suspicious circumstances, especially the washing which was not a habit with potter. It was also said that the town had been ransacked for this "murderer" （the public are not slow in the matter of sifting evidence and arriving at a verdict）， but that he could not be found. Horsemen had departed down all the roads in every direction, and the Sheriff "was confident" that he would be captured before night.
All the town was drifting toward the graveyard. Tom's heartbreak vanished and he joined the procession, not because he would not a thousand times rather go anywhere else, but because an awful, unaccountable fascination drew him on. Arrived at the dreadful place, he wormed his small body through the crowd and saw the dismal spectacle. It seemed to him an age since he was there before. Somebody pinched his arm. He turned, and his eyes met Huckleberry's. Then both looked elsewhere at once, and wondered if anybody had noticed anything in their mutual glance. But everybody was talking, and intent upon the grisly spectacle before them.
"poor fellow！" "poor young fellow！" "This ought to be a lesson to grave robbers！" "Muff potter'll hang for this if they catch him！" This was the drift of remark; and the minister said, "It was a judgment; His hand is here."
Now Tom shivered from head to heel; for his eye fell upon the stolid face of Injun Joe. At this moment the crowd began to sway and struggle, and voices shouted, "It's him！ it's him！ he's coming himself！"
"Who? Who?" from twenty voices.
"Muff potter！"
"Hallo, he's stopped！ -- Look out, he's turning！ Don't let him get away！"
people in the branches of the trees over Tom's head said he wasn't trying to get away -- he only looked doubtful and perplexed.
"Infernal impudence！" said a bystander; "wanted to come and take a quiet look at his work, I reckon -- didn't expect any company."
The crowd fell apart, now, and the Sheriff came through, ostentatiously leading potter by the arm. The poor fellow's face was haggard, and his eyes showed the fear that was upon him. When he stood before the murdered man, he shook as with a palsy, and he put his face in his hands and burst into tears.
"I didn't do it, friends," he sobbed; "'pon my word and honor I never done it."
"Who's accused you?" shouted a voice.
This shot seemed to carry home. potter lifted his face and looked around him with a pathetic hopelessness in his eyes. He saw Injun Joe, and exclaimed:
"Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you'd never --"
"Is that your knife?" and it was thrust before him by the Sheriff.
potter would have fallen if they had not caught him and eased him to the ground. Then he said:
"Something told me 't if I didn't come back and get --" He shuddered; then waved his nerveless hand with a vanquished gesture and said, "Tell 'em, Joe, tell 'em -- it ain't any use any more."
Then Huckleberry and Tom stood dumb and staring, and heard the stony-hearted liar reel off his serene statement, they expecting every moment that the clear sky would deliver God's lightnings upon his head, and wondering to see how long the stroke was delayed. And when he had finished and still stood alive and whole, their wavering impulse to break their oath and save the poor betrayed prisoner's life faded and vanished away, for plainly this miscreant had sold himself to Satan and it would be fatal to meddle with the property of such a power as that.
"Why didn't you leave? What did you want to come here for?" somebody said.
"I couldn't help it -- I couldn't help it," potter moaned. "I wanted to run away, but I couldn't seem to come anywhere but here." And he fell to sobbing again.
Injun Joe repeated his statement, just as calmly, a few minutes afterward on the inquest, under oath; and the boys, seeing that the lightnings were still withheld, were confirmed in their belief that Joe had sold himself to the devil. He was now become, to them, the most balefully interesting object they had ever looked upon, and they could not take their fascinated eyes from his face.
They inwardly resolved to watch him nights, when opportunity should offer, in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master.
Injun Joe helped to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a wagon for removal; and it was whispered through the shuddering crowd that the wound bled a little！ The boys thought that this happy circumstance would turn suspicion in the right direction; but they were disappointed, for more than one villager remarked:
"It was within three feet of Muff potter when it done it."
Tom's fearful secret and gnawing conscience disturbed his sleep for as much as a week after this; and at breakfast one morning Sid said:
"Tom, you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake half the time."
Tom blanched and dropped his eyes.
"It's a bad sign," said Aunt polly, gravely. "What you got on your mind, Tom?"
"Nothing. Nothing 't I know of." But the boy's hand shook so that he spilled his coffee.
"And you do talk such stuff," Sid said. "Last night you said, 'It's blood, it's blood, that's what it is！' You said that over and over. And you said, 'Don't torment me so -- I'll tell！' Tell what? What is it you'll tell?"
Everything was swimming before Tom. There is no telling what might have happened, now, but luckily the concern passed out of Aunt polly's face and she came to Tom's relief without knowing it. She said:
"Sho！ It's that dreadful murder. I dream about it most every night myself. Sometimes I dream it's me that done it."
Mary said she had been affected much the same way. Sid seemed satisfied. Tom got out of the presence as quick as he plausibly could, and after that he complained of toothache for a week, and tied up his jaws every night. He never knew that Sid lay nightly watching, and frequently slipped the bandage free and then leaned on his elbow listening a good while at a time, and afterward slipped the bandage back to its place again. Tom's distress of mind wore off gradually and the toothache grew irksome and was discarded. If Sid really managed to make anything out of Tom's disjointed mutterings, he kept it to himself.
It seemed to Tom that his schoolmates never would get done holding inquests on dead cats, and thus keeping his trouble present to his mind. Sid noticed that Tom never was coroner at one of these inquiries, though it had been his habit to take the lead in all new enterprises; he noticed, too, that Tom never acted as a witness -- and that was strange; and Sid did not overlook the fact that Tom even showed a marked aversion to these inquests, and always avoided them when he could. Sid marvelled, but said nothing. However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased to torture Tom's conscience.
Every day or two, during this time of sorrow, Tom watched his opportunity and went to the little grated jail-window and smuggled such small comforts through to the "murderer" as he could get hold of. The jail was a trifling little brick den that stood in a marsh at the edge of the village, and no guards were afforded for it; indeed, it was seldom occupied. These offerings greatly helped to ease Tom's conscience.
The villagers had a strong desire to tar-and-feather Injun Joe and ride him on a rail, for body-snatching, but so formidable was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter, so it was dropped. He had been careful to begin both of his inquest-statements with the fight, without confessing the grave-robbery that preceded it; therefore it was deemed wisest not to try the case in the courts at present.
临近中午时分，那个可怕的消息使全村人一下子惊呆了。根本用不着什么电报（当时人们连做梦都想不到这玩意），这消息一传十，十传百，以电报的速度就传开了，弄得家喻户晓，人人皆知。因此校长决定当天下午放半天假，否则非遭镇上人白眼不可。
据传闻，人们在死人的附近发现了一把带血的刀，经人辨认说它是莫夫路波特的。另外，一个晚上赶路的人，在凌晨一两点钟左右碰巧看见波特在小河里冲洗自己，见有人来，他马上溜掉。这确实令人怀疑，尤其是冲洗这件事根本不符合波特的习惯。还有，他们说镇上的人已经开始搜寻这个鈥溕比朔糕�澚耍ㄔ谙覆橹ぞ莶⒁源硕ㄗ锓矫妫嗣谴硬坏÷墒侨疵挥姓业健Ｆ锫淼娜搜刈潘拿姘朔降穆啡プ凡端蛏系乃痉ü兮�溕钚赔�潱禾旌谥熬突岽剿�
全镇的人潮水般涌向坟地，汤姆突然不伤心了，也跟在后面。实际上，他很想到别的地方去，但是却被一种可怕的、不可言状的魔力吸引到这里。到了这个可怕的地方后，他矮小的身体在人群中拱来拱去挤到了前场，看见了悲凉的场面。他觉得头一天晚上到这里来过后，好像过了许多年似的。这时有人在他胳膊上拧了一下，他转过身来发现是哈克贝利。他俩目光刚一对视就立即转向别的地方，生怕旁人从中看出什么破绽来。可是大家都在谈话，一心关注的是眼前的这个惨状。
鈥溈闪娜搜剑♀�濃�湶恍业哪昵嗳搜剑♀�濃�溦舛缘聊拐呃此蹈檬歉鼋萄担♀�濃�溎�路波特要是给逮住了，一定会被绞死！鈥澣巳褐惺辈皇钡卮稣庋幕坝铩Ｄ潦θ此担衡�溦馐撬Φ玫某头！ｂ��
这时，汤姆的目光落到了印第安路乔的脸上，发现他无动于衷。汤姆从头到尾，吓得直打冷颤。人群开始骚动起来，有人大呼：鈥溇褪撬【褪撬∷约壕估戳耍♀��
鈥準撬渴撬库�澯幸欢宋实馈�
鈥準悄�路波特！鈥�
鈥湴⊙剑Ｏ铝耍∽⒁猓砹耍”鹑盟芰耍♀��
鈥溗皇且埽皇怯械愠僖珊突耪拧ｂ�澨滥诽鹜罚醇馐桥涝谑魃系娜嗽谒祷啊�
鈥湼盟赖模♀�澮桓雠怨壅咚担�湼闪嘶凳拢瓜胪低道纯慈饶郑娌灰场Ｃ幌氲交崂凑饷炊嗳税伞ｂ��
人群闪开，让出了一条路。司法官揪着波特的胳膊，炫耀似地走过来。这个可怜的家伙脸色憔悴，眼中流露出恐惧的神色。到了死人面前，他像中了风，手捂着脸，突然哭起来。
鈥溦獠皇俏腋傻模缜酌牵�澦檠首潘担�溛腋叶闹浞⑹模掖用挥猩比恕ｂ��
鈥溗馗婺闵比肆耍库�澯腥舜笊暗馈�
这一喊让波特有了转机。他抬起头，绝望而可怜地向周围环视了一下。他看到印第安路乔后大声呼道：
鈥溑叮〉诎�路乔，你保证过决不鈥︹�︹�澦盎姑凰低辏痉ü倬徒话训度拥剿媲八担�
鈥準悄愕牡堵穑库��
听到这话，波特要不是被人们扶着慢慢放到地上，他差点一头栽下去。
鈥湶恢趺矗疑聿挥杉阂茨米哜�︹�︹�澦叨哙锣碌厮底牛缓笙裥沽似那蛞谎蘖Φ鼗踊邮炙担�
鈥湼嫠叽蠡铮恰８撬担凑饕裁挥杏昧恕ｂ��
于是哈克贝利和汤姆目瞪口呆地站在那里，听着那个铁石心肠的家伙滔滔不绝对大家编了一通谎言。他俩希望老天有眼，立即当头一雷劈死这个骗子。可是恰恰相反，那个骗子却神气活现，安然无恙。他们原打算把誓言抛到一边，去救那个遭陷害的可怜人，见此情景，却更加犹豫不决了。再加上那个坏蛋一定卖身投靠了魔鬼撒旦，很显然同他们斗无异于螳臂当车，不自量力。
鈥溎阍趺床辉蹲吒叻桑沟秸饫锤墒裁矗库�澯腥宋实馈ｂ�溡悄苣茄秃昧恕ｂ�澆ㄌ厣胍髯潘担�溛姨庸刹恢趺锤愕模死凑饫铮鹞匏扇ァｂ�澦低晁治匮势鹄础�
几分钟后，在验尸的时候，印地安路乔先是发誓，然后又不慌不忙地把那套谎话重复了一遍。天空并没有雷电大作，两个孩子更加深信：乔已确实卖身给魔鬼。这个家伙虽然是个丧门神，可是这两个孩子却觉得十分有趣好奇，迷得他俩目不转睛地盯着他。
他们暗自决定，晚上若有机会的话就盯梢他，看看能否见识一下他那魔鬼主人的真面目。印第安路乔也帮着把尸体抬上马车运走。惊魂未定的人群叽叽咕咕说那死人的伤口出了点血。两个孩子想这一可喜现象将有助于人们作出正确判断，查出真正的凶手。但他们马上又泄了气，因为不只一个村民说道：
鈥湹笔保�路波特离死人不到三英尺远呢。鈥澨滥芳炔桓宜党隹膳碌氖率嫡嫦啵夹挠质艿郊灏荆虼私恋盟潞笠恢苣谒圆话病Ｒ惶欤栽绶故保５滤担�
鈥溙滥罚惴锤踩ィ顾得位埃腋愀愕靡灰怪凰税胍沟木酢ｂ��
汤姆听后脸色煞白，垂下了眼皮。
鈥溦饪刹皇呛谜淄罚�澆ɡ蛞搪枰踝帕乘担�溙滥贰Ｄ阌惺裁葱氖侣穑库��
鈥溍挥校沂裁炊疾恢馈ｂ�澘伤衷诜⒍叮芽Х雀读顺隼础�
鈥溩蛲砟愕娜匪盗耍�澫５滤担�溎闼担衡�樖茄茄褪茄♀�櫮惴锤此蹈霾煌！Ｄ慊顾担衡�槻灰僬庋勰ノ伊蒜�斺�斘腋纱嗨党隼矗♀�櫵党隼词裁矗渴鞘裁词虑檠剑库��
汤姆只觉得眼前一阵晕眩，后果很难预料。幸运的是，波莉姨妈注意力转移了，这下她无意中给汤姆解了围。
鈥溹耍皇裁词拢痪褪悄歉隹植赖哪鄙卑嘎稹Ｎ揖Ｍ砩厦渭瞧鹉鄙卑浮Ｓ惺被姑渭亲约焊傻哪亍ｂ��
玛丽说谋杀案这事，她也有同样的感觉。这下希德才不再问东问西了。汤姆的花言巧语使希德感到满意，随后他就溜之大吉。接下来的一周里，他说得了牙疼病，每天晚上睡觉都把嘴扎起来。可是希德夜里总是盯着他，时常解开他扎嘴的带子，然后侧着身子听上好一阵子，再把带子扎上。这一切，汤姆都被蒙在鼓里，渐渐地汤姆的心情平静了许多，对装牙疼也感到没劲，所以就恢复了常态。即使希德从汤姆夜里的支言片语中理出个头绪来，他自己知道就是了。
汤姆觉得，同学们玩起给猫验尸的游戏来，总是没完没了，这时常让他想起那天的验尸场面，感到非常不愉快。希德发现：汤姆以前干什么新鲜事情都喜欢打头阵，可现在验尸游戏时，他再也不扮验尸官了；还有，汤姆也不愿演证人鈥斺�斦馊肥盗钊瞬豢伤家椤Ｏ５禄骨宄丶堑迷谕嫜槭蜗肥保滥访飨缘乇硐殖鲅岫竦难樱粲锌赡艿幕埃苁蔷×勘苊獠渭诱庋耐娣āＯ５赂械狡婀郑醋魅魏瘟髀丁�
汤姆一直感到很难过，过一两天，他就把能弄到手的小慰问品送到那个鈥溕比朔糕�澞抢铮蚋龌岽有≌だ复盎Ц萁ァ＠畏亢苄。歉鲎┢龅男∥荩挥诖灞叩恼釉蟮厣希慌煽词兀导噬希饫锞？兆拧Ｌ滥肪醯谜庋觯牧樯系玫胶艽蟮目砦俊�
全村的人强烈要求把那个盗墓贼印第安路乔给赶走，让他身上涂着柏油，插上羽毛骑在杆上被抬走。但由于这个家伙不是轻易就能对付的，所以找不到一个人愿意领这个头，事情也就这样告吹了。印第安路乔在验尸时，两次作证都只谈了打架的事情，没有承认盗墓，所以人们觉得这桩公案目前最好不要对簿公堂。