CLOSE upon the hour of noon the whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly news. No need of the as yet un-dreamed-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 holi-day for that afternoon; the town would have thought strangely of him if he had not.
臨近中午時分，那個可怕的消息使全村人一下子驚獃了。根本用不着什麼電報（當時人們連做夢都想不到這玩意），這消息一傳十，十傳百，以電報的速度就傳開了，弄得家喻戶曉，人人皆知。因此校長決定當天下午放半天假，否則非遭鎮上人白眼不可。
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.
據傳聞，人們在死人的附近發現了一把帶血的刀，經人辨認說它是莫夫·波特的。另外，一個晚上趕路的人，在凌晨一兩點鐘左右碰巧看見波特在小河裡沖洗自己，見有人來，他馬上溜掉。這確實令人懷疑，尤其是沖洗這件事根本不符合波特的習慣。還有，他們說鎮上的人已經開始搜尋這個“殺人犯”了（在細查證據並以此定罪方面，人們從不怠慢），可是卻沒有找到。騎馬的人沿著四面八方的路去追捕他，鎮上的司法官“深信”：天黑之前就會逮到他。
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.
全鎮的人潮水般湧向墳地，湯姆突然不傷心了，也跟在後面。實際上，他很想到別的地方去，但是卻被一種可怕的、不可言狀的魔力吸引到這裡。到了這個可怕的地方後，他矮小的身體在人群中拱來拱去擠到了前場，看見了悲涼的場面。他覺得頭一天晚上到這裡來過後，好像過了許多年似的。這時有人在他胳膊上擰了一下，他轉過身來發現是哈克貝利。他倆目光剛一對視就立即轉向別的地方，生怕旁人從中看出什麼破綻來。可是大家都在談話，一心關注的是眼前的這個慘狀。
"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."
“可憐的人呀！”“不幸的年青人呀！”“這對盜墓者來說該是個教訓！”“莫夫·波特要是給逮住了，一定會被絞死！”人群中時不時地傳出這樣的話語。牧師卻說：“這是他應得的懲罰。”
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!"
這時，湯姆的目光落到了印第安·喬的臉上，發現他無動于衷。湯姆從頭到尾，嚇得直打冷顫。人群開始騷動起來，有人大呼：“就是他！就是他！他自己竟來了！”
"Who? Who?" from twenty voices.
“是誰？是誰？”有一二十人問道。
"Muff Potter!"
“是莫夫·波特！”
"Hallo, he's stopped!--Look out, he's turning! Don't let him get away!"
“啊呀，他停下了！注意，他轉身了！別讓他給跑了！”
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.
“他不是要跑，只是有點遲疑和慌張。”湯姆抬起頭，看見這是爬在樹上的人在說話。
"Infernal impudence!" said a bystander; "wanted to come and take a quiet look at his work, I reckon--didn't expect any company."
“該死的！”一個旁觀者說，“幹了壞事，還想偷偷來看熱閙，真不要臉。沒想到會來這麼多人吧。”
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.
人群閃開，讓出了一條路。司法官揪着波特的胳膊，炫耀似地走過來。這個可憐的傢伙臉色憔悴，眼中流露出恐懼的神色。到了死人面前，他像中了風，手捂着臉，突然哭起來。
"I didn't do it, friends," he sobbed; "'pon my word and honor I never done it."
“這不是我干的，鄉親們，”他抽嚥著說，“我敢賭咒發誓，我從沒有殺人。”
"Who's accused you?" shouted a voice.
“誰控告你殺人了？”有人大聲喊道。
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:
這一喊讓波特有了轉機。他抬起頭，絶望而可憐地向周圍環視了一下。他看到印第安·喬後大聲呼道：
"Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you'd never--"
“哦，印第安·喬，你保證過決不……”
"Is that your knife?" and it was thrust before him by the Sheriff.
他話還沒說完，司法官就將一把刀扔到他面前說： “是你的刀嗎？”
Potter would have fallen if they had not caught him and eased him to the ground. Then he said:
聽到這話，波特要不是被人們扶着慢慢放到地上，他差點一頭栽下去。
"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."
“不知怎麼，我身不由己要來拿走……”他哆哆嗦嗦地說著，然後像泄了汽的球一樣，無力地揮揮手說： “告訴大夥，喬。跟他們說，反正瞞也沒有用了。”
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.
於是哈克貝利和湯姆目瞪口獃地站在那裡，聽著那個鐵石心腸的傢伙滔滔不絶對大家編了一通謊言。他倆希望老天有眼，立即當頭一雷劈死這個騙子。可是恰恰相反，那個騙子卻神氣活現，安然無恙。他們原打算把誓言拋到一邊，去救那個遭陷害的可憐人，見此情景，卻更加猶豫不決了。再加上那個壞蛋一定賣身投靠了魔鬼撒旦，很顯然同他們鬥無異於螳臂當車，不自量力。
"Why didn't you leave? What did you want to come here for?" somebody said.
“你怎麼不遠走高飛，還到這來幹什麼？”有人問道。“要是能那樣就好了。”波特呻吟着說，
"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.
“我逃過，可不知怎麼搞的，除了來這裡，別無它處可去。”說完他又嗚咽起來。
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.
幾分鐘後，在驗屍的時候，印地安·喬先是發誓，然後又不慌不忙地把那套謊話重複了一遍。天空並沒有雷電大作，兩個孩子更加深信：喬已確實賣身給魔鬼。這個傢伙雖然是個喪門神，可是這兩個孩子卻覺得十分有趣好奇，迷得他倆目不轉睛地盯着他。
They inwardly resolved to watch him nights, when opportunity should offer, in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master.
他們暗自決定，晚上若有機會的話就盯梢他，看看能否見識一下他那魔鬼主人的真面目。
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:
印第安·喬也幫着把屍體抬上馬車運走。驚魂未定的人群嘰嘰咕咕說那死人的傷口出了點血。兩個孩子想這一可喜現象將有助於人們作出正確判斷，查出真正的兇手。但他們馬上又泄了氣，因為不只一個村民說道：
"It was within three feet of Muff Potter when it done it."
“當時，莫夫·波特離死人不到三英呎遠呢。”
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:
湯姆既不敢說出可怕的事實真相，良心又受到煎熬，因此攪得他事後一周內睡臥不安。一天，吃早飯時，希德說：
"Tom, you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake half the time."
“湯姆，你翻來覆去，還說夢話，我給你搞得一夜只睡了半夜的覺。”
Tom blanched and dropped his eyes.
湯姆聽後臉色煞白，垂下了眼皮。
"It's a bad sign," said Aunt Polly, gravely. "What you got on your mind, Tom?"
“這可不是好兆頭，”波莉姨媽陰着臉說，“湯姆。你有什麼心事嗎？”
"Nothing. Nothing 't I know of." But the boy's hand shook so that he spilled his coffee.
“沒有，我什麼都不知道。”可他手在發抖，把咖啡給抖了出來。
"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?"
“昨晚你的確說了，”希德說，“你說：‘是血，是血，就是血！’你反覆說個不停。你還說：‘不要再這樣折磨我了——我乾脆說出來！’說出來什麼？是什麼事情呀？”
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:
湯姆只覺得眼前一陣暈眩，後果很難預料。幸運的是，波莉姨媽注意力轉移了，這下她無意中給湯姆解了圍。
"Sho! It's that dreadful murder. I dream about it most every night myself. Sometimes I dream it's me that done it."
“嗨，沒什麼事，不就是那個恐怖的謀殺案嗎。我經常晚上夢見那起謀殺案。有時還夢見是自己幹的呢。”
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.
瑪麗說謀殺案這事，她也有同樣的感覺。這下希德才不再問東問西了。湯姆的花言巧語使希德感到滿意，隨後他就溜之大吉。接下來的一周裡，他說得了牙疼病，每天晚上睡覺都把嘴紮起來。可是希德夜裡總是盯着他，時常解開他扎嘴的帶子，然後側着身子聽上好一陣子，再把帶子紮上。這一切，湯姆都被蒙在鼓裡，漸漸地湯姆的心情平靜了許多，對裝牙疼也感到沒勁，所以就恢復了常態。即使希德從湯姆夜裡的支言片語中理出個頭緒來，他自己知道就是了。
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.
湯姆覺得，同學們玩起給貓驗屍的遊戲來，總是沒完沒了，這時常讓他想起那天的驗屍場面，感到非常不愉快。希德發現：湯姆以前幹什麼新鮮事情都喜歡打頭陣，可現在驗屍遊戲時，他再也不扮驗屍官了；還有，湯姆也不願演證人——這確實令人不可思議。希德還清楚地記得在玩驗屍遊戲時，湯姆明顯地表現出厭惡的樣子，若有可能的話，總是儘量避免參加這樣的玩法。希德感到奇怪，但未作任何流露。
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.
湯姆一直感到很難過，過一兩天，他就把能弄到手的小慰問品送到那個“殺人犯”那裡，瞅個機會從小柵欄窗戶給遞進去。牢房很小，是個磚砌的小屋，位於村邊的沼澤地上，沒派看守，實際上，這裡經常空着。湯姆覺得這樣做，心靈上得到很大的寬慰。
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.
全村的人強烈要求把那個盜墓賊印第安·喬給趕走，讓他身上塗著柏油，插上羽毛騎在桿上被抬走。但由於這個傢伙不是輕易就能對付的，所以找不到一個人願意領這個頭，事情也就這樣告吹了。印第安·喬在驗屍時，兩次作證都只談了打架的事情，沒有承認盜墓，所以人們覺得這樁公案目前最好不要對簿公堂。