作者：H. P. Lovecraft?

譯者：九四白靈?

?本文僅是個人翻譯，與同行交流和制作我自己的有聲書為主，如果有什么不對的歡迎指出。

The tension came to a head later in September. Jones had casually dropped into the museum one afternoon, and was wandering through the dim corridors whose horrors were now so familiar, when he heard a very peculiar sound from the general direction of Rogers’ workroom. Others heard it, too, and started nervously as the echoes reverberated through the great vaulted basement. The three attendants exchanged odd glances; and one of them, a dark, taciturn, foreign-looking fellow who always served Rogers as a repairer and assistant designer, smiled in a way which seemed to puzzle his colleagues and which grated very harshly on some facet of Jones’s sensibilities. It was the yelp or scream of a dog, and was such a sound as could be made only under conditions of the utmost fright and agony combined. Its stark, anguished frenzy was appalling to hear, and in this setting of grotesque abnormality it held a double hideousness. Jones remembered that no dogs were allowed in the museum.

在9月下旬，這段緊張的關系達到了終點。一天下午，瓊斯偶然間來到了蠟像館，在昏暗的走廊里閑逛，這時他聽到從大致是羅杰斯工作室的方向傳來一種奇怪的聲音。其他人也聽到了，當回聲在拱形的地下室里回蕩時他們感到緊張。而三個侍者互換了一下古怪的眼色，其中有個膚色黝黑，沉默寡言，像個外國人的常給羅杰斯當修理工和設計師助理的侍者。他露出了似乎使他的同事們都感到困惑的微笑，而這同時也在某種程度上強烈地刺激瓊斯的情緒。那是狗的尖聲嗥叫，那是只有在極度恐懼和痛苦的情況下才能發(fā)出這樣的聲音。它那赤裸裸而痛苦狂亂的聲音聽來叫人不寒而栗，在這種荒誕畸怪的環(huán)境中，它更加使人感到恐懼悚然。瓊斯想起這（蠟像館）不允許犬類進入。

He was about to go to the door leading into the workroom, when the dark attendant stopped him with a word and a gesture. Mr. Rogers, the man said in a soft, somewhat accented voice at once apologetic and vaguely sardonic, was out, and there were standing orders to admit no one to the workroom during his absence. As for that yelp, it was undoubtedly something out in the courtyard behind the museum. This neighbourhood was full of stray mongrels, and their fights were sometimes shockingly noisy. There were no dogs in any part of the museum. But if Mr. Jones wished to see Mr. Rogers he might find him just before closing-time.

他正要走向通向工作室的門口，這時，黑皮膚的侍者用一個詞和一個手勢攔住了他?！傲_杰斯先生出去了，”那人用一種柔和的、帶點口音的聲音說道，那話語既帶著歉意，又帶著幾分譏諷，“他不在的時候禁止任何人進入他的工作室。至于那聲尖叫無疑是蠟像館后面院子里的什么東西。這一帶到處都是雜種的流浪狗，它們打架的聲音有時大得驚人。而蠟像館內(nèi)的任何地方都沒有狗。但是，如果瓊斯先生想見見羅杰斯先生的話，可以在閉館前找到他?！?/p>

After this Jones climbed the old stone steps to the street outside and examined the squalid neighbourhood curiously. The leaning, decrepit buildings—once dwellings but now largely shops and warehouses—were very ancient indeed. Some of them were of a gabled type seeming to go back to Tudor times, and a faint miasmatic stench hung subtly about the whole region. Beside the dingy house whose basement held the museum was a low archway pierced by a dark cobbled alley, and this Jones entered in a vague wish to find the courtyard behind the workroom and settle the affair of the dog more comfortably in his mind. The courtyard was dim in the late afternoon light, hemmed in by rear walls even uglier and more intangibly menacing than the crumbling street facades of the evil old houses. Not a dog was in sight, and Jones wondered how the aftermath of such a frantic turmoil could have completely vanished so soon.

此后，瓊斯爬上古老的石階，來到外面的街道上，好奇地打量著這片骯臟的居民區(qū)。那些傾斜的、破舊的建筑物非常古老，（它們）曾經(jīng)是住所·，而現(xiàn)在大部分是商店和倉庫。其中一些是似乎可以追溯到都鐸時代的山墻式住所，一股淡淡而微妙的惡臭在整個街上彌漫。在地下室開設蠟像館的屋子是一幢骯臟的房子，在它旁邊有一個低矮的拱門，一條黑暗的鵝卵石小路從拱門中間通過。瓊斯懷著一種模糊的心愿走了進去，希冀能夠找到工作室后面的院子，以便在心內(nèi)確定（那只）狗的事情。那庭院在傍晚的陽光下顯得暗淡無光，被后墻包裹著，比那些破舊的老房子的搖搖欲墜的街道外墻更加丑陋，且更充斥著無形的威脅意思（味）。（他）沒有看到一只狗，瓊斯想知道那場瘋狂的騷動怎么會這么快地消失的無影無蹤。

Despite the assistant’s statement that no dog had been in the museum, Jones glanced nervously at the three small windows of the basement workroom—narrow, horizontal rectangles close to the grass-grown pavement, with grimy panes that stared repulsively and incuriously like the eyes of dead fish. To their left a worn flight of steps led to an opaque and heavily bolted door. Some impulse urged him to crouch low on the damp, broken cobblestones and peer in, on the chance that the thick green shades, worked by long cords that hung down to a reachable level, might not be drawn. The outer surfaces were thick with dirt, but as he rubbed them with his handkerchief he saw there was no obscuring curtain in the way of his vision.

盡管那侍者說過沒有狗進入過蠟像館，瓊斯還是緊張地瞥了一眼地下工作室的三個小窗戶——狹窄的、水平的長方形窗戶貼靠著雜草叢生的人行道，臟兮兮的窗戶玻璃就像死魚的眼睛一樣惡心而怪異地盯著他。在它們的左邊，有一段破舊的臺階通向一扇閂得很嚴的不透明的大門。某種沖動促使他在潮濕的、破碎的鵝卵石地上蹲下身子，往里窺探，因為那被長繩放下到適合的高度的綠色窗簾可能并沒有被放下來。而外面的地面上鋪滿了厚厚的灰塵，但他用手帕擦拭了（灰塵）之后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)他的視線并沒有被任何窗簾遮蔽。

So shadowed was the cellar from the inside that not much could be made out, but the grotesque working paraphernalia now and then loomed up spectrally as Jones tried each of the windows in turn. It seemed evident at first that no one was within; yet when he peered through the extreme right-hand window—the one nearest the entrance alley—he saw a glow of light at the farther end of the apartment which made him pause in bewilderment. There was no reason why any light should be there. It was an inner side of the room, and he could not recall any gas or electric fixture near that point. Another look defined the glow as a large vertical rectangle, and a thought occurred to him. It was in that direction that he had always noticed the heavy plank door with the abnormally large padlock—the door which was never opened, and above which was crudely smeared that hideous cryptic symbol from the fragmentary records of forbidden elder magic. It must be open now—and there was a light inside. All his former speculations as to where that door led, and as to what lay behind it, were now renewed with trebly disquieting force.

往地窖里看進去，由于光線昏暗，幾乎看不出什么東西來，但瓊斯輪番嘗試著打開每扇窗戶時，那些奇形怪狀的工作用具就在光線中不時地映入他的眼簾。起初的窺視（看出）這里面顯然是沒有人的，??然而，當他從最右邊的一扇窗戶，（也就是）最靠近入口小巷的那扇窗戶往里看時，他看到房間的另一頭有一束亮光，這使他惶惑（bewilderment）地停了下來。沒有理由那個地方會有光亮。這是房間的內(nèi)側，他想不出附近有什么煤氣或電器裝置（發(fā)光）。那之后的觀察中他確定那光亮來自一個巨大的直角矩形光源，于是他想到了什么。他總是在那個方向看到那扇沉重的木板門，上面掛著一個大得出奇的掛鎖。那扇門從來都沒有被打開過，且上面涂著從零碎斷續(xù)的古老的魔法記載中找到的可怕的神秘符號。現(xiàn)在它一定被打開了，那里面有光亮。他先前對那扇門通向哪里，門后面有什么東西的種種猜測，現(xiàn)在又攜令人不安的力量重新出現(xiàn)了。

Jones wandered aimlessly around the dismal locality till close to six o’clock, when he returned to the museum to make the call on Rogers. He could hardly tell why he wished so especially to see the man just then, but there must have been some subconscious misgivings about that terribly unplaceable canine scream of the afternoon, and about the glow of light in that disturbing and usually unopened inner doorway with the heavy padlock. The attendants were leaving as he arrived, and he thought that Orabona—the dark foreign-looking assistant—eyed him with something like sly, repressed amusement. He did not relish that look—even though he had seen the fellow turn it on his employer many times.

瓊斯在這凄涼的地方漫無目的地徘徊到將近下午六點鐘時，他才回到蠟像館去拜訪羅杰斯。他自己也說不清自己為什么特別想在這個時候見到這個人，但是，出于下午那可怕的、不可名處的犬吠聲，也出于那通常沒有打開的、掛著沉重掛鎖的內(nèi)門里閃爍的燈光，他在某種潛意識下有些擔憂。當他到達的時候，侍者們正要離開，他覺得奧拉貝納（Orabona），那個黑皮膚的外國人模樣的助手帶著一種狡黠，壓抑而有趣的神情望著他。他不喜歡那種表情——盡管他曾見過這個家伙多次對他的老板發(fā)脾氣。

The vaulted exhibition room was ghoulish in its desertion, but he strode quickly through it and rapped at the door of the office and workroom. Response was slow in coming, though there were footsteps inside. Finally, in response to a second knock, the lock rattled, and the ancient six-panelled portal creaked reluctantly open to reveal the slouching, feverish-eyed form of George Rogers. From the first it was clear that the showman was in an unusual mood. There was a curious mixture of reluctance and actual gloating in his welcome, and his talk at once veered to extravagances of the most hideous and incredible sort.

拱形的展覽室在諸人離開的時候顯得驚悚恐怖，但他快步地走了進去，敲了敲辦公室和工作室的門?；貞獊淼煤苈?，盡管里面?zhèn)鱽砹四_步聲。最后，作為對第二次敲門聲響的回應，門鎖哐當?shù)仨懥似饋?，古老的六嵌板門扉吱吱嘎嘎地勉強打開了一點，露出了無精打采、紅著眼睛的喬治·羅杰斯（George Rogers）。從一開始之后，這位館主（原文表演者）明顯處于異常的情緒之中。在他的歡迎聲中伴隨著一種古怪的混合著不情愿和得意洋洋的情緒，而他的談話內(nèi)容也立刻轉向了最可怕和難以置信的那一類（故事或事件）之中。

Surviving elder gods—nameless sacrifices—the other than artificial nature of some of the alcove horrors—all the usual boasts, but uttered in a tone of peculiarly increasing confidence. Obviously, Jones reflected, the poor fellow’s madness was gaining on him. From time to time Rogers would send furtive glances toward the heavy, padlocked inner door at the end of the room, or toward a piece of coarse burlap on the floor not far from it, beneath which some small object appeared to be lying. Jones grew more nervous as the moments passed, and began to feel as hesitant about mentioning the afternoon’s oddities as he had formerly been anxious to do so.

幸存下來的古老神祇——無可言明的犧牲——壁龕里的某些恐怖的塑像上非人為的特質(zhì)——以及那些老舊的吹噓，只是（這次）說話的口氣越來越自信。很顯然，瓊斯意識到這個可憐的家伙已經(jīng)發(fā)瘋了。羅杰斯不時會偷偷地瞥向房間盡頭那扇被鎖上了鎖的沉重的內(nèi)門，或者朝不遠處地板上的一塊粗糙厚麻布瞟一眼，在那粗麻布的下面似乎躺著一個較小的東西。隨著時間的流逝，瓊斯變得越來越緊張，他開始覺得，跟以前一樣，他也不愿意提起下午發(fā)生的怪事。

Rogers’ sepulchrally resonant bass almost cracked under the excitement of his fevered rambling.

羅杰斯那陰森、厚重的低音幾乎被他漫談時的狂熱所刺激得沙啞起來了。

“Do you remember,” he shouted, “what I told you about that ruined city in Indo-China where the Tcho-Tchos lived? You had to admit I’d been there when you saw the photographs, even if you did think I made that oblong swimmer in darkness out of wax. If you’d seen it writhing in the underground pools as I did.?.?.?.

“你還記得，”他喊道，“我跟你說過的關于印度支那那里丘丘人（Tcho-Tchos）所住的廢墟城市的事嗎？當你看到照片的時候，你必須承認我在那里（拍照現(xiàn)場），即使你認為是我用蠟在黑暗中創(chuàng)造了那個長方形的游泳者。如果你像我一樣看到它在地下水池里翻滾……”

“Well, this is bigger still. I never told you about this, because I wanted to work out the later parts before making any claim. When you see the snapshots you’ll know the geography couldn’t have been faked, and I fancy I have another way of proving that It isn’t any waxed concoction of mine. You’ve never seen it, for the experiments wouldn’t let me keep It on exhibition.”

“嗯，這個更大。我從來沒有告訴過你這件事，因為我想在放出風聲（或做出聲明）之前把之后的部分弄清楚。當你看到那些照片的時候，你就會知道地理（特征）不會是偽造的，我想我有另一種方法來證明它不是我涂過的蠟的混合制品。而你從未見過它，因為實驗不允許我把它展出。”

The showman glanced queerly at the padlocked door.

蠟像館館主奇怪地瞥了一眼帶掛鎖的門。

“It all comes from that long ritual in the eighth Pnakotic fragment. When I got it figured out I saw it could have only one meaning. There were things in the north before the land of Lomar—before mankind existed—and this was one of them. It took us all the way to Alaska, and up the Noatak from Fort Morton, but the thing was there as we knew it would be. Great Cyclopean ruins, acres of them. There was less left than we had hoped for, but after three million years what could one expect? And weren’t the Esquimau legends all in the right direction? We couldn’t get one of the beggars to go with us, and had to sledge all the way back to Nome for Americans. Orabona was no good up in that climate—it made him sullen and hateful.

“這一切都來自于記在《納克特斷章群（Pnakotic fragments）【1】》第8章中的那個漫長的儀式。當我弄明白了（儀式）之后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)它只有一個意義。在洛馬大陸出現(xiàn)之前，在人類出現(xiàn)之前，北方就有了些東西，而這就是其中之一。它把我們一路帶到了阿拉斯加，從莫頓堡進入了諾阿塔克河，但正如我們所知道的那樣它就在那里。巨大的獨眼巨人（Cyclopean）的廢墟，有好幾英畝大小。（雖然）殘留的（事物）比我們希望的要少，但是在三百萬年后，我們還能期望什么呢？愛斯基摩人的傳說不是都說對了嗎？我們連一個同行的乞丐都沒有，只好一路乘著雪橇回諾姆去見美國人。奧拉貝納（Orabona）在那種氣候中一點也不好——它使他郁郁寡歡，充滿憎惡。

“I’ll tell you later how we found It. When we got the ice blasted out of the pylons of the central ruin the stairway was just as we knew it would be. Some carvings still there, and it was no trouble keeping the Yankees from following us in. Orabona shivered like a leaf—you’d never think it from the damned insolent way he struts around here. He knew enough of the Elder Lore to be properly afraid. The eternal light was gone, but our torches shewed enough. We saw the bones of others who had been before us—aeons ago, when the climate was warm. Some of these bones were of things you couldn’t even imagine. At the third level down we found the ivory throne the fragments said so much about—and I may as well tell you it wasn’t empty.

“我待會會告訴你我們是怎么找到它的。當冰從中央廢墟的塔橋上炸開的時候樓梯就在我們預料的位置。那兒還有一些雕刻，我們沒費什么勁就把美國佬留在了外面（原文是沒有和我們一起進去）。奧拉貝納（Orabona）像樹葉一樣顫抖著——你絕對想不到他所表現(xiàn)出的那神氣十足的樣子。他對古老知識的了解多到讓他感到害怕。永恒的光芒消失了，但我們的火把已經(jīng)足夠照亮了。我們看到了在我們之前來過的人的骨頭，那是很久之前的事了，那個（遺骨留存的）時代氣候溫暖。這些遺骨中有些你根本無法想象的東西。在第三層時我們找到了斷章群（fragments）中說了很多次的象牙王座——我可以告訴你那王座不是空的。

注釋：

【1】一本初始由偉大種族伊斯（Great Race of Yith）撰寫的書，這里只是斷章或譯為抄本