6.Dracula must die 6．德拉库拉必须死

The next day Van Helsing, Jack Seward, Arthur, and I made our plans. Mina was there too. She was very pale, but she wanted to help us. We knew that we had to kill Dracula before Mina died.

第二天，我和范赫尔辛、杰克·苏厄德、阿瑟一起制定了计划。明娜也在。她非常苍白，但也想帮助我们。我们知道必须在明娜死去之前除掉德拉库拉。

'If we don't,' Van Helsing said, 'Mina will die and will be a vampire for ever. I have been back to the Count's house this morning, and the last coffin has gone. We must find it. Count Dracula will be in it during the day. If we can find him before dark, we can kill him.'

“如果我们不杀掉他，”范赫尔辛说，“明娜就会死，而且将永远成为一个吸血鬼。我今天早晨又去了伯爵的家，最后一副棺材不见了。我们必须找到它。白天德拉库拉伯爵一定会待在里面。如果能在天黑之前找到他，我们就能杀死他。”

'But where is it now?' I asked wildly.

“但现在它在哪呢？”我近乎疯狂地问道。

Of course, we did not know the answer. But then Mina spoke. 'I feel that I am half a vampire already, and sometimes strange thoughts come into my head. I think that these thoughts are Count Dracula's. Just now, when you were speaking, I thought that I could hear the sound of a ship moving through water.'

我们当然不知道答案。但这时明娜说话了。“我感觉自己已经是半个吸血鬼了，有时一些奇怪的想法会侵入我的脑子。我想这些想法是来自德拉库拉伯爵的。刚才，你们说话时，我好像听到了船在水里行进的声音。”

'Of course!' cried Van Helsing. 'Dracula has decided to leave England! He knows now that we are his enemies and that it is dangerous for him here. So he is going back to Transylvania—by ship! We must find out which ships left for the Black Sea last night.'

“当然了，”范赫尔辛叫道，“德拉库拉已决定离开英国！他知道我们现在都与他为敌，他在这儿很不安全。所以他现在正返回特兰西瓦尼亚——肯定是乘船！我们必须弄清楚昨天晚上是哪一艘船离开此地开往黑海的。”

At the London shipping office we learnt that one ship sailed for Varna in the Black Sea the night before. We also learnt of a passenger who arrived at the last minute—a tall thin man in black. He had a pale face, burning eyes, and a very red mouth. And he had with him a long box!

在伦敦海运事物所，我们得知前一天晚上有一艘船开往黑海的瓦尔纳。我们还听说有一位乘客在最后一刻才到——一个身穿黑色衣服，又高又瘦的男人。他脸色惨白，两眼通红，长着一张血红的嘴。他还带着一个很长的箱子！

'So,' said Van Helsing. 'The ship will take about three weeks to sail to Varna, but we will take the train across Europe and get there much faster. We leave tomorrow!'

“那么，”范赫尔辛说道，“这只船要用大约三个星期才能到瓦尔纳，但我们可以乘火车横跨欧洲大陆更快地到达那里。我们明天出发！”

We left London on a cold October day and four days later we were in Varna. We made our plans, and waited for the ship to arrive. Every day Mina told us that she could still hear the sound of water. But three weeks went by, and the ship did not arrive. Then, at last, we had news—the ship was not coming to Varna, and was already at Galatz!

在十月一个寒冷的日子，我们离开了伦敦，四天后到达了瓦尔纳。我们作了周密的安排，只等轮船到达。每天明娜都会告诉我们，她依然可以听到流水的声音。但三个星期过去了，船还是没到。最后，消息传来——船已到达加拉茨，不来瓦尔纳了！

We took the first train to Galatz, but we were too late. The box was no longer on the ship. 'Someone came and took it this morning,' one of the sailors told us.

我们坐第一班火车去了加拉茨，但还是太晚了。箱子已不在船上。“今天早晨有人来把它取走了。”一个水手告诉我们。

We hurried back to our hotel to tell my dear Mina the news, but we saw that she knew it already, and her face was white with fear. 'He has gone,' she said quietly, 'and he is taking me with him. Oh my dear friends! Before I change into a vampire, you must kill me! Then you must do what you did to poor Lucy, to give me rest. Tell me that you will do this for me!'

我们又匆忙赶回旅馆，把这个消息告诉了我亲爱的明娜，但显然她已经知道了。她的脸吓得发白。“他走了，”她平静地说，“也把我带走了。哦，我亲爱的朋友们！在我变成一个吸血鬼之前，你们一定要杀了我！你们一定要像对待可怜的露西那样来处置我，让我安息。答应我你们会为我那样做的！”

I held her hands, but I could not speak. If that day ever comes, I don't know how I shall live through it.

我握着她的手，一句话也说不出来。如果那一天真的来了，我不知道自己该怎样熬过去。

Later, while Mina slept, we tried to make new plans.

后来，明娜睡着了，我们又做了新的打算。

'She is right,' said Van Helsing unhappily. 'Our poor Mina is in great danger. She is already beginning to change—her teeth are getting longer and sharper, and when the Count reads her thoughts, her eyes are hard and cold. We must find him and kill him—before it is too late!'

“她说对了，”范赫尔辛忧郁地说，“我们可怜的明娜情况十分危急。她已经开始变了——她的牙齿越来越长，越来越尖，当伯爵侵入她的思想时，她的眼神就变得僵直而冷酷。我们必须找到并杀掉他——趁一切还不算太晚！”

I can remember little of the next few days. I was wild with fear and anger. We learnt that the Count's coffin was travelling by boat up the river, and Jack Seward, Arthur, and I began to follow in another boat. Van Helsing took my Mina with him in a carriage, and they began to drive across the mountains to Castle Dracula. When I said goodbye to her, my heart was breaking. Perhaps I shall never see her again.

以后几天的事情我几乎什么都记不得了。我既害怕又愤怒，几乎要发疯了。当得知伯爵的棺材已用船运往河的上游后，我和杰克·苏厄德还有阿瑟开始乘另一艘船追去。范赫尔辛则带着我的明娜乘坐马车，要翻过山去德拉库拉城堡。和她告别时，我的心都碎了。也许我永远也不会再见到她了。

We followed the Count's boat for five days, but we could not catch it. Then we learnt from some villagers that he was now travelling by road, so we bought horses and rode like the wind through the night.

我们跟着伯爵的船走了五天，但还是没有赶上。后来一些村民告诉我们，他们现在走陆路，于是我们就买了马，像风一样在黑夜里狂奔。

By late afternoon on the next day, we were getting near to Castle Dracula. 'We must ride faster!' I cried to the others. The sun was beginning to go down and then, suddenly, we saw on the road in front of us some men with a cart. And on the back of the cart was the coffin.

第二天黄昏时，我们已接近德托库拉城堡了。“我们必须加快速度！”我对他们两人喊到。太阳已开始西沉，突然我看见前面路上有一些人赶着马车，而马车后面装的就是那副棺材。

I had only one thought in my head—to kill the vampire, to finish him for ever. Arthur and Jack were right behind me when I got to the cart. I jumped from my horse onto the cart, and while Jack and Arthur fought the driver and the other men, I pushed the coffin to the ground. It fell and broke open. Count Dracula lay there, and the last light from the sun fell on his terrible face. His eyes burned red and they looked at me in hate. In a few seconds, when the sun went down, he would be free to move. I jumped down to the ground, held my knife high over his heart, and brought it down as hard as I could. It went straight through the vampire's heart. Count Dracula gave a horrible scream, and then lay quiet. In the same second the sun went down, and when we looked into the coffin again, it was empty...

我的脑子里只有一个念头——杀掉那个吸血鬼，让他永远消失。我追上马车时，杰克和阿瑟紧随着我。我从马上跳到了马车上，杰克和阿瑟则和车夫及其他人搏斗，我把棺材推到地上。棺材落下来，裂开了。德托库拉伯爵就躺在那儿，太阳的最后一束光线照在他可怕的脸上。他的眼睛里燃烧着仇恨的火焰，直直地盯着我。再过几秒钟，当太阳落山时，他就可以自由活动了。我跳到地上，高高地举起了手中的匕首，用尽全力刺向他的心脏。匕首直穿入那吸血鬼的心脏。德拉库拉伯爵发出一声凄厉的惨叫，然后就一动不动了。就在同时，太阳落了下去，我们再朝棺材里看时，里面已经空了……

Above us on the hill was Castle Dracula, and soon we saw Van Helsing. He hurried down the hill to us, and my dear Mina was with him. I ran to her and took her in my arms. Her lovely face was bright and happy again. 'It's all right, my love,' she said softly. 'We found the tombs of the three vampire women. They cannot hurt us now, and Dracula is dead at last! We can begin to live again.'

山上就是德拉库拉城堡，我们很快就见到了范赫尔辛。他正匆匆地下山来找我们，我的明娜也和他在一起。我跑过去把她抱在了怀里。她可爱的脸上又充满了快乐和幸福。“好了，我亲爱的，”她轻轻地说，“我们找到了那三个女吸血鬼的墓地，她们现在已无法伤害我们了，德拉库拉也终于被除掉了！我们又可以开始新的生活了。”

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dangerous adj. likely to cause danger or be a danger. 有危险的。

shipping office 海运事务所。

learn of become aware of through information or observation. 得知。

passenger n. person traveling in a car, bus, train, plane, ship, etc., other than the driver, the pilot or a member of the crew. 乘客。

go by pass. （指时间）过去。

sailor n. member of a ship's crew, esp. one below the rank of officer. 水手，海员。

live through experience sth. and survive. 经历某事而幸存。

follow v. (cause sth. to) come, go or take place after (sb./ sth. else) (in space, time or order). 跟着。

go down (of the sun and moon) disappear beneath the horizon; set. （指日、月）落下。

ride v. sit on a horse. etc. and be carried along. 骑马。

second n. short time, moment. 片刻，一会儿。

straight adv. by a direct route. 径直。