T
She was sent for at once, and came across the square to take Sara into her warm arms and make clear to her all that had happened.
她立刻被派去，穿过广场把萨拉抱进她温暖的怀里，向她解释发生的一切。
The excitement of the totally unexpected discovery had been temporarily almost overpowering to Mr. Carrisford in his weak condition.
这完全出乎意料的发现所带来的兴奋，在卡里斯福德先生虚弱的情况下，几乎暂时让他无法承受。
“Upon my word,” he said faintly to Mr. Carmichael, when it was suggested that the little girl should go into another room. “I feel as if I do not want to lose sight of her.”
“说实在的，”当有人建议小女孩应该去另一个房间时，他虚弱地对卡迈克尔先生说，“我觉得好像我不想看不到她。”
“I will take care of her,” Janet said, “and mamma will come in a few minutes.” And it was Janet who led her away.
“我会照顾她的，”珍妮特说，“妈妈几分钟后就会来。”是珍妮特带她走的。
“We’re so glad you are found,” she said. “You don’t know how glad we are that you are found.”
“我们很高兴你被找到了，”她说，“你不知道我们有多高兴你被找到了。”
Donald stood with his hands in his pockets, and gazed at Sara with reflecting and self-reproachful eyes.
唐纳德双手插在口袋里，站在那里，用反思和自责的眼神看着萨拉。
“If I’d just asked what your name was when I gave you my sixpence,” he said, “you would have told me it was Sara Crewe, and then you would have been found in a minute.” Then Mrs. Carmichael came in. She looked very much moved, and suddenly took Sara in her arms and kissed her.
“如果我在给你六便士的时候问一下你的名字，”他说，“你就会告诉我你是萨拉·克鲁，然后你马上就会被找到。”这时卡迈克尔夫人进来了。她看起来非常感动，突然把萨拉抱在怀里亲了她一下。
“You look bewildered, poor child,” she said. “And it is not to be wondered at.”
“你看起来很困惑，可怜的孩子，”她说，“这也难怪。”
“Was he,” she said, with a glance toward the closed door of the library—”was he the wicked friend? Oh, do tell me!”
“他是，”她说，瞥了一眼图书馆紧闭的门——“他是那个邪恶的朋友吗？哦，请告诉我！”
Mrs. Carmichael was crying as she kissed her again. She felt as if she ought to be kissed very often because she had not been kissed for so long.
卡迈克尔夫人吻她时又哭了。她觉得自己应该经常被亲吻，因为她已经很久没有被亲吻了。
He only thought he had lost it; and because he loved him so much his grief made him so ill that for a time he was not in his right mind.
他只是以为他失去了它；因为他非常爱他，他的悲伤使他病得很重，以至于有一段时间他神志不清。
He almost died of brain fever, and long before he began to recover your poor papa was dead.”
他差点死于脑热，在他开始恢复之前很久，你可怜的爸爸就去世了。”
“And he did not know where to find me,” murmured Sara. “And I was so near.” Somehow, she could not forget that she had been so near.
“他不知道在哪里能找到我，”萨拉喃喃地说。“而我就在这么近的地方。”不知何故，她无法忘记她就在这么近的地方。
When he saw you pass by, looking so sad and neglected, he did not dream that you were his friend’s poor child; but because you were a little girl, too, he was sorry for you, and wanted to make you happier.
当他看到你经过时，看起来如此悲伤和被忽视，他做梦也没想到你是他朋友的可怜孩子；但因为你也是一个小女孩，他为你感到难过，想让你更快乐。
And he told Ram Dass to climb into your attic window and try to make you comfortable.”
他告诉拉姆·达斯爬进你的阁楼窗户，尽力让你舒服些。”
“Did Ram Dass bring the things?” she cried out. “Did he tell Ram Dass to do it? Did he make the dream that came true?”
“拉姆达斯带来了那些东西吗？”她喊道。“他告诉拉姆达斯这么做了吗？他让梦想成真了吗？”
“Yes, my dear—yes! He is kind and good, and he was sorry for you, for little lost Sara Crewe’s sake.”
“是的，亲爱的——是的！他善良又好心，他为你感到难过，为可怜的萨拉·克鲁的缘故。”
The library door opened and Mr. Carmichael appeared, calling Sara to him with a gesture.
图书馆的门开了，卡迈克尔先生出现了，示意萨拉到他身边。
“Mr. Carrisford is better already,” he said. “He wants you to come to him.”
“卡里斯福德先生已经好多了，”他说。“他想让你来见他。”
Sara did not wait. When the Indian gentleman looked at her as she entered, he saw that her face was all alight.
萨拉没有等待。当这位印度绅士看着她走进来时，他看到她的脸上洋溢着喜悦。
She went and stood before his chair, with her hands clasped together against her breast.
她走过去站在他的椅子前，双手紧握在胸前。
“You sent the things to me,” she said, in a joyful emotional little voice, “the beautiful, beautiful things? You sent them!”
“你把东西送给我了，”她用一种快乐而激动的小声音说，“那些美丽、美丽的东西？你送的！”
He was weak and broken with long illness and trouble, but he looked at her with the look she remembered in her father’s eyes—that look of loving her and wanting to take her in his arms.
他因长期患病和烦恼而虚弱、崩溃，但他看着她的眼神，她记得她父亲的眼神——那种爱她并想把她抱在怀里的眼神。
It made her kneel down by him, just as she used to kneel by her father when they were the dearest friends and lovers in the world.
这使她跪在他身边，就像她过去常常跪在她父亲身边一样，那时他们是世界上最亲爱的朋友和恋人。
“Then it is you who are my friend,” she said; “it is you who are my friend!” And she dropped her face on his thin hand and kissed it again and again.
“那么你就是我的朋友，”她说，“你就是我的朋友！”她把脸贴在他瘦弱的手上，一遍又一遍地亲吻。
“The man will be himself again in three weeks,” Mr. Carmichael said aside to his wife. “Look at his face already.”
“这个人三周后就会恢复正常，”卡迈克尔先生在旁边对他的妻子说，“看看他的脸已经好了。”
In fact, he did look changed. Here was the “Little Missus,” and he had new things to think of and plan for already. In the first place, there was Miss Minchin. She must be interviewed and told of the change which had taken place in the fortunes of her pupil.
事实上，他看起来确实变了。这就是“小女主人”，他已经有了新的事情要思考和计划。首先，有明钦小姐。她必须接受采访，并被告知她的学生命运发生了变化。
Sara was not to return to the seminary at all. The Indian gentleman was very determined upon that point. She must remain where she was, and Mr. Carmichael should go and see Miss Minchin himself.
萨拉根本不应该回到神学院。印度绅士在这一点上非常坚定。她必须留在原地，卡迈克尔先生应该亲自去见明钦小姐。
“I am glad I need not go back,” said Sara. “She will be very angry. She does not like me; though perhaps it is my fault, because I do not like her.”
“我很高兴我不必回去，”萨拉说。“她会很生气的。她不喜欢我；虽然也许是我的错，因为我也不喜欢她。”
But, oddly enough, Miss Minchin made it unnecessary for Mr. Carmichael to go to her, by actually coming in search of her pupil herself.
但奇怪的是，明钦小姐自己来找她的学生，这使得卡迈克尔先生不必去见她了。
She had wanted Sara for something, and on inquiry had heard an astonishing thing.
她想要萨拉做什么事，一问之下，听到了一件令人惊讶的事情。
One of the housemaids had seen her steal out of the area with something hidden under her cloak, and had also seen her go up the steps of the next door and enter the house.
一个女仆看见她偷偷地从院子里出来，斗篷下藏着什么东西，还看见她走上隔壁的台阶，进了房子。
“I don’t know, I’m sure, sister,” answered Miss Amelia. “Unless she has made friends with him because he has lived in India.”
“我不知道，我肯定不知道，姐姐，”阿米莉亚小姐回答说。“除非她因为他住在印度而和他交朋友。”
“It would be just like her to thrust herself upon him and try to gain his sympathies in some such impertinent fashion,” said Miss Minchin. “She must have been in the house for two hours. I will not allow such presumption. I shall go and inquire into the matter, and apologize for her intrusion.”
“她就是这样，会贸然闯到他面前，试图以这种无礼的方式赢得他的同情，”明钦小姐说。“她一定在那房子里呆了两个小时了。我不允许这种放肆的行为。我要去调查这件事，为她的闯入道歉。”
Sara was sitting on a footstool close to Mr. Carrisford’s knee, and listening to some of the many things he felt it necessary to try to explain to her, when Ram Dass announced the visitor’s arrival.
萨拉正坐在靠近卡里斯福德先生膝盖的脚凳上，听着他觉得有必要向她解释的许多事情，这时拉姆·达斯宣布访客到了。
Sara rose involuntarily, and became rather pale; but Mr. Carrisford saw that she stood quietly, and showed none of the ordinary signs of child terror.
萨拉不由自主地站了起来，脸色变得相当苍白；但卡里斯福德先生看到她静静地站着，没有表现出孩子害怕的通常迹象。
Miss Minchin entered the room with a sternly dignified manner. She was correctly and well dressed, and rigidly polite.
明钦小姐走进房间，态度严肃而庄重。她穿着得体，举止得体，彬彬有礼。
“I am sorry to disturb Mr. Carrisford,” she said; “but I have explanations to make. I am Miss Minchin, the proprietress of the Young Ladies’ Seminary next door.”
“很抱歉打扰卡里斯福特先生，”她说；“但我必须解释一下。我是隔壁女子学院的校长明钦小姐。”
The Indian gentleman looked at her for a moment in silent scrutiny. He was a man who had naturally a rather hot temper, and he did not wish it to get too much the better of him.
印度绅士默默地审视了她一会儿。他是一个天生脾气相当暴躁的人，他不想让它太占上风。
“In that case,” the Indian gentleman replied, “you have arrived at the right time. My solicitor, Mr. Carmichael, was just on the point of going to see you.”
“在这种情况下，”印度绅士回答说，“你来得正是时候。我的律师卡迈克尔先生正要去见你。”
Mr. Carmichael bowed slightly, and Miiss Minchin looked from him to Mr. Carrisford in amazement.
卡迈克尔先生微微鞠了一躬，明钦小姐惊讶地看着他，又看了看卡里斯福特先生。
I have just discovered that you have been intruded upon through the forwardness of one of my pupils—a charity pupil.
我刚刚发现，你被我的一个学生——一个慈善学生的鲁莽行为打扰了。
“No,” said Mr. Carrisford. “She is not going home—if you give your house that name. Her home for the future will be with me.”
“不，”卡里斯福特先生说，“她不会回家——如果你把那地方称为家的话。她未来的家将和我在一起。”
“Kindly explain the matter, Carmichael,” said the Indian gentleman; “and get it over as quickly as possible.” And he made Sara sit down again, and held her hands in his—which was another trick of her papa’s.
“请解释一下，卡迈克尔，”印度绅士说，“尽快把事情解决。”然后他让萨拉再次坐下，握住她的手——这也是她爸爸的一个小习惯。
Then Mr. Carmichael explained—in the quiet, level-toned, steady manner of a man who knew his subject, and all its legal significance, which was a thing Miss Minchin understood as a business woman, and did not enjoy.
然后，卡迈克尔先生以一个了解自己的主题及其所有法律意义的人的平静、平稳、坚定的方式解释——这是敏钦小姐作为一个商人所理解的，但并不喜欢的事情。
“Mr. Carrisford, madam,” he said, “was an intimate friend of the late Captain Crewe. He was his partner in certain large investments. The fortune which Captain Crewe supposed he had lost has been recovered, and is now in Mr. Carrisford’s hands.”
“夫人，卡里斯福特先生，”他说，“是已故克鲁船长的密友。他是克鲁船长在某些大投资中的合伙人。克鲁船长以为自己失去的财富已经被找回，现在在卡里斯福特先生手中。”
“The fortune!” cried Miss Minchin; and she really lost color as she uttered the exclamation. “Sara’s fortune!”
“财富！”敏钦小姐喊道；她在发出感叹时，脸色真的变了。“萨拉的财富！”
“It will be Sara’s fortune,” replied Mr. Carmichael, rather coldly. “It is Sara’s fortune now, in fact. Certain events have increased it enormously. The diamond mines have retrieved themselves.”
“这将是萨拉的财富，”卡迈克尔先生相当冷淡地回答。“事实上，现在这就是萨拉的财富。某些事件使它大幅增加。钻石矿已经恢复了。”
“The diamond mines!” Miss Minchin gasped out. If this was true, nothing so horrible, she felt, had ever happened to her since she was born.
“钻石矿！”敏钦小姐喘不过气来。如果这是真的，她觉得自从她出生以来，没有发生过比这更可怕的事情了。
“The diamond mines,” Mr. Carmichael repeated, and he could not help adding, with a rather sly, unlawyer-like smile, “There are not many princesses, Miss Minchin, who are richer than your little charity pupil, Sara Crewe, will be.
“钻石矿，”卡迈克尔先生重复道，他忍不住带着一种相当狡猾、不像律师的微笑补充道，“敏钦小姐，没有多少公主比你的小慈善学生萨拉·克鲁将来会更富有。”
Mr. Carrisford has been searching for her for nearly two years; he has found her at last, and he will keep her.”
“卡里斯福德先生已经找了她将近两年了；他终于找到了她，他会留住她的。”
After which he asked Miss Minchin to sit down while he explained matters to her fully, and went into such detail as was necessary to make it quite clear to her that Sara’s future was an assured one, and that what had seemed to be lost was to be restored to her tenfold; also, that she had in Mr. Carrisford a guardian as well as a friend.
之后，他请明钦小姐坐下，同时他向她详细解释了事情的经过，并详细说明了必要的细节，让她清楚地知道萨拉的未来是有保障的，而且看起来失去的东西将十倍地归还给她；此外，她在卡里斯福德先生那里有一个监护人和朋友。
Miss Minchin was not a clever woman, and in her excitement she was silly enough to make one desperate effort to regain what she could not help seeing she had lost through her worldly folly.
明钦小姐不是一个聪明的女人，在她的兴奋中，她愚蠢地做出了一个绝望的努力，试图重新获得她不由自主地看到她因世俗的愚蠢而失去的东西。
“He found her under my care,” she protested. “I have done everything for her. But for me she should have starved in the streets.”
“他是在我的照顾下找到她的，”她抗议道。“我为她做了一切。要不是我，她应该在街上饿死了。”
“As to starving in the streets,” he said, “she might have starved more comfortably there than in your attic.”
“至于在街上饿死，”他说，“她在那里可能会比在你的阁楼里饿死得更舒服。”
“Captain Crewe left her in my charge,” Miss Minchin argued. “She must return to it until she is of age. She can be a parlor boarder again. She must finish her education. The law will interfere in my behalf”
“克鲁船长把她托付给我，”明钦小姐争辩道。“在她成年之前，她必须回到我这里。她可以再次成为客厅寄宿生。她必须完成她的教育。法律会为我干预的。”
“Come, come, Miss Minchin,” Mr. Carmichael interposed, “the law will do nothing of the sort. If Sara herself wishes to return to you, I dare say Mr. Carrisford might not refuse to allow it. But that rests with Sara.”
“得了，得了，明钦小姐，”卡迈克尔先生插话道，“法律不会做这种事的。如果萨拉本人愿意回到你身边，我敢说卡里斯福德先生可能不会拒绝。但这取决于萨拉。”
“Then,” said Miss Minchin, “I appeal to Sara. I have not spoiled you, perhaps,” she said awkwardly to the little girl; “but you know that your papa was pleased with your progress. And—ahem—I have always been fond of you.”
“那么，”明钦小姐说，“我向萨拉呼吁。也许我没有宠坏你，”她对小女孩尴尬地说；“但你知道你爸爸对你的进步很满意。而且——啊——我一直都很喜欢你。”
Sara’s green-gray eyes fixed themselves on her with the quiet, clear look Miss Minchin particularly disliked.
萨拉那双绿灰色的眼睛平静而清晰地盯着她，这是明钦小姐特别不喜欢的眼神。
“You ought to have known it,” said she; “but children, unfortunately, never know what is best for them. Amelia and I always said you were the cleverest child in the school. Will you not do your duty to your poor papa and come home with me?”
“你应该知道的，”她说，“但不幸的是，孩子们永远不知道什么对他们最好。我和阿米莉亚一直都说你是学校里最聪明的孩子。你难道不为你可怜的爸爸尽你的责任，跟我回家吗？”
She was thinking of the day when she had been told that she belonged to nobody, and was in danger of being turned into the street; she was thinking of the cold, hungry hours she had spent alone with Emily and Melchisedec in the attic.
她想起了那天她被告知她不属于任何人，还有可能被赶到街上的情景；她想起了她独自和艾米丽以及麦基洗德在阁楼上度过的寒冷饥饿的时光。
“You know why I will not go home with you, Miss Minchin,” she said; “you know quite well.”
“你知道我为什么不跟你回家，明钦小姐，”她说，“你很清楚。”
“You will never see your companions again,” she began. “I will see that Ermengarde and Lottie are kept away—”
“你再也见不到你的同伴了，”她开始说。“我会确保埃芒加德和洛蒂被隔开——”
“Excuse me,” he said; “she will see anyone she wishes to see. The parents of Miss Crewe’s fellow-pupils are not likely to refuse her invitations to visit her at her guardian’s house. Mr. Carrisford will attend to that.”
“对不起，”他说，“她想见谁就见谁。克鲁小姐的同学的父母不太可能拒绝她在监护人家里邀请他们去拜访她的邀请。卡里斯福德先生会处理这件事的。”
This was worse than the eccentric bachelor uncle who might have a peppery temper and be easily offended at the treatment of his niece.
这比那个古怪的单身叔叔更糟糕，他可能脾气暴躁，容易因为侄女受到的待遇而生气。
A woman of sordid mind could easily believe that most people would not refuse to allow their children to remain friends with a little heiress of diamond mines.
一个思想肮脏的女人很容易相信，大多数人不会拒绝让他们的孩子和一个拥有钻石矿的小女继承人保持朋友关系。
And if Mr. Carrisford chose to tell certain of her patrons how unhappy Sara Crewe had been made, many unpleasant things might happen.
如果卡里斯福特先生选择告诉她的一些赞助人萨拉·克鲁有多不开心，可能会发生很多不愉快的事情。
“You have not undertaken an easy charge,” she said to the Indian gentleman, as she turned to leave the room; “you will discover that very soon. The child is neither truthful nor grateful. I suppose”—to Sara—”that you feel now that you are a princess again.”
“你承担的不是一个容易的任务，”她对印度绅士说，转身离开房间；“你很快就会发现这一点。这孩子既不诚实也不感恩。我想——对萨拉说——”你现在觉得自己又成了公主了。”
Sara looked down and flushed a little, because she thought her pet fancy might not be easy for strangers—even nice ones—to understand at first.
萨拉低下头，脸微微泛红，因为她觉得自己的宠物幻想可能不容易让陌生人——即使是好人——一开始就理解。
“I—tried not to be anything else,” she answered in a low voice— “even when I was coldest and hungriest—I tried not to be.”
“我——尽量不做别的，”她低声回答——“即使在我最寒冷、最饥饿的时候——我也尽量不做。”
“Now it will not be necessary to try,” said Miss Minchin, acidly, as Ram Dass salaamed her out of the room.
“现在不必再尝试了，”明钦小姐酸溜溜地说，拉姆·达斯向她行了礼，退出了房间。
She returned home and, going to her sitting room, sent at once for Miss Amelia.
她回到家，走进客厅，立刻派人去找阿米莉亚小姐。
She sat closeted with her all the rest of the afternoon, and it must be admitted that poor Miss Amelia passed through more than one bad quarter of an hour.
她整个下午都和她闭门密谈，必须承认，可怜的阿米莉亚小姐度过了不止一个难熬的时刻。
One of her unfortunate remarks almost caused her sister to snap her head entirely off, but it resulted in an unusual manner.
她的一句不幸的话差点让她姐姐完全拧断她的头，但结果却以一种不同寻常的方式发生了。
“I’m not as clever as you, sister,” she said, “and I am always afraid to say things to you for fear of making you angry.
“我不像你那么聪明，姐姐，”她说，“我总是害怕对你说什么，怕惹你生气。”
Perhaps if I were not so timid it would be better for the school and for both of us.
也许如果我不是这么胆小，对学校和我们俩都会更好。
I must say I’ve often thought it would have been better if you had been less severe on Sara Crewe, and had seen that she was decently dressed and more comfortable.
我必须说，我常常想，如果你对萨拉·克鲁不那么严厉，注意到她穿着得体，更舒适一些，情况可能会更好。
I know she was worked too hard for a child of her age, and I know she was only half fed—”
我知道她对她这个年龄的孩子来说工作太辛苦了，我也知道她只吃了一半的饭——”
“I don’t know how I dare,” Miss Amelia answered, with a kind of reckless courage; “but now I’ve begun I may as well finish, whatever happens to me.
“我不知道我怎么敢，”阿米莉亚小姐回答，带着一种不顾一切的勇气；“但现在我已经开始了，不管发生什么事，我都要说完。
The child was a clever child and a good child—and she would have paid you for any kindness you had shown her.
这孩子是个聪明的孩子，也是个好孩子——她会为你对她的任何好意付出代价的。
The fact was, she was too clever for you, and you always disliked her for that reason.
事实上，她对你来说太聪明了，你总是因为这个原因不喜欢她。”
“Amelia!” gasped her infuriated elder, looking as if she would box her ears and knock her cap off, as she had often done to Becky.
“阿米莉亚！”她愤怒的姐姐喘着粗气，看起来好像要打她耳光，把她的帽子打掉，就像她经常对贝基做的那样。
But Miss Amelia’s disappointment had made her hysterical enough not to care what occurred next.
但阿米莉亚小姐的失望让她歇斯底里到不在乎接下来会发生什么。
She saw that you were a hard-hearted, worldly woman, and that I was a weak fool, and that we were both of us vulgar and mean enough to grovel on our knees for her money, and behave ill to her because it was taken from her—though she behaved herself like a little princess even when she was a beggar.
她看出你是个狠心、世俗的女人，而我是个软弱的傻瓜，我们俩都粗俗卑鄙到可以为了她的钱而卑躬屈膝，还因为她的钱被拿走了而对她不好——尽管她自己像个小公主，即使她是个乞丐。
And her hysterics got the better of the poor woman, and she began to laugh and cry both at once, and rock herself backward and forward.
她的歇斯底里让这个可怜的女人无法控制，她开始又哭又笑，同时前后摇晃着自己。
“And now you’ve lost her,” she cried wildly; “and some other school will get her and her money; and if she were like any other child she’d tell how she’s been treated, and all our pupils would be taken away and we should be ruined.
“现在你失去了她，”她疯狂地喊道；“其他学校会得到她和她的钱；如果她像其他孩子一样，她会告诉别人她是如何被对待的，我们所有的学生都会被带走，我们就会破产。
And it serves us right; but it serves you right more than it does me, for you are a hard woman, Maria Minchin, you’re a hard, selfish, worldly woman!”
这是我们应得的；但你比我更应得，因为你是个狠心的女人，玛丽亚·明钦，你是个狠心、自私、世俗的女人！”
And she was in danger of making so much noise with her hysterical chokes and gurgles that her sister was obliged to go to her and apply salts and sal volatile to quiet her, instead of pouring forth her indignation at her audacity.
她有危险，因为她歇斯底里的哽咽和咯咯声太大，她的姐姐不得不去她那里，给她用盐和挥发盐来让她安静下来，而不是对她的大胆行为倾泻她的愤怒。
And from that time forward, it may be mentioned, the elder Miss Minchin actually began to stand a little in awe of a sister who, while she looked so foolish, was evidently not quite so foolish as she looked, and might, consequently, break out and speak truths people did not want to hear.
从那时起，可以说，明钦小姐开始有点敬畏她的姐姐，她看起来很傻，但显然不像她看起来那么傻，因此可能会爆发并说出人们不想听到的真相。
That evening, when the pupils were gathered together before the fire in the schoolroom, as was their custom before going to bed, Ermengarde came in with a letter in her hand and a queer expression on her round face.
那天晚上，当学生们像往常一样在睡前聚集在教室里的炉火前时，埃芒加德手里拿着一封信进来，圆脸上带着一种奇怪的表情。
It was queer because, while it was an expression of delighted excitement, it was combined with such amazement as seemed to belong to a kind of shock just received.
这很奇怪，因为虽然这是一种欣喜若狂的表情，但它与一种似乎属于刚刚收到的震惊的惊讶相结合。
“Is it anything to do with the row that has been going on?” said Lavinia, eagerly. “There has been such a row in Miss Minchin’s room, Miss Amelia has had something like hysterics and has had to go to bed.”
“这和一直在发生的争吵有关吗？”拉维尼亚急切地说。“明钦小姐的房间里发生了一场争吵，阿米莉亚小姐有点歇斯底里，不得不上床睡觉。”
“I have just had this letter from Sara,” she said, holding it out to let them see what a long letter it was.
“我刚收到萨拉的这封信，”她说着，把信拿出来让她们看看这是一封多么长的信。
“Where? Where? Has she been sent away? Does Miss Minchin know? Was the row about that? Why did she write? Tell us! Tell us!”
“哪里？哪里？她被送走了吗？明钦小姐知道吗？争吵是因为这个吗？她为什么写信？告诉我们！告诉我们！”
Ermengarde answered them slowly as if she were half plunged out into what, at the moment, seemed the most important and self- explaining thing.
埃芒加德慢慢地回答他们，仿佛她自己也沉浸在当时似乎是最重要、最不言而喻的事情中。
“There were diamond mines,” she said stoutly; “there were!” Open mouths and open eyes confronted her.
“有钻石矿，”她坚定地说，“有！”一张张张大的嘴和一双双睁大的眼睛面对着她。
“They were real,” she hurried on. “It was all a mistake about them. Something happened for a time, and Mr. Carrisford thought they were ruined—”
“它们是真的，”她急忙说，“关于它们的一切都是误会。有一段时间发生了一些事情，卡里斯福特先生以为它们毁了——”
And Captain Crewe thought so, too—and he died; and Mr. Carrisford had brain fever and ran away, and he almost died.
“克鲁上尉也这么想，然后他就死了；卡里斯福特先生得了脑炎，跑了，他差点也死了。”
And it turned out that there were millions and millions of diamonds in the mines; and half of them belong to Sara; and they belonged to her when she was living in the attic with no one but Melchisedec for a friend, and the cook ordering her about.
结果发现矿里有数百万颗钻石；其中一半属于萨拉；当她住在阁楼里，只有梅尔基塞德克做朋友，厨师对她发号施令时，它们就属于她了。
And Mr. Carrisford found her this afternoon, and he has got her in his home—and she will never come back—and she will be more a princess than she ever was—a hundred and fifty thousand times more.
卡里斯福特先生今天下午找到了她，他把她带回了家——她再也不会回来了——她会比以前更像公主——一百五十万倍。
Even Miss Minchin herself could scarcely have controlled the uproar after this; and though she heard the noise, she did not try.
即使是明钦小姐自己，在这之后也几乎无法控制骚乱；尽管她听到了噪音，但她没有尝试。
She was not in the mood to face anything more than she was facing in her room, while Miss Amelia was weeping in bed.
她没有心情面对比她在房间里面对的更多的事情，而阿米莉亚小姐正在床上哭泣。
She knew that the news had penetrated the walls in some mysterious manner, and that every servant and every child would go to bed talking about it.
她知道这个消息以某种神秘的方式穿透了墙壁，每个仆人和每个孩子都会上床谈论这件事。
So until almost midnight the entire seminary, realizing somehow that all rules were laid aside, crowded round Ermengarde in the schoolroom and heard read and re-read the letter containing a story which was quite as wonderful as any Sara herself had ever invented, and which had the amazing charm of having happened to Sara herself and the mystic Indian gentleman in the very next house.
所以直到几乎午夜，整个神学院不知何故意识到所有规则都被搁置一边，在教室里围着埃芒加德，听她一遍又一遍地读那封信，信中包含的故事和萨拉自己编造的任何故事一样精彩，而且还有发生在萨拉自己和隔壁神秘的印度绅士身上的惊人魅力。
Becky, who had heard it also, managed to creep up stairs earlier than usual.
贝基也听到了这个消息，设法比平时更早地爬上楼梯。
She wanted to get away from people and go and look at the little magic room once more.
她想远离人群，再去看看那个小魔法房间。
Glad as she was for Sara’s sake, she went up the last flight of stairs with a lump in her throat and tears blurring her sight.
尽管她为萨拉感到高兴，但她走上最后一段楼梯时，喉咙哽咽，泪水模糊了视线。
There would be no fire tonight, and no rosy lamp; no supper, and no princess sitting in the glow reading or telling stories—no princess!
今晚不会有炉火，也不会有玫瑰色的灯；没有晚餐，也没有公主坐在火光中读书或讲故事——没有公主！
She choked down a sob as she pushed the attic door open, and then she broke into a low cry.
她推开阁楼门时，哽咽着抽泣起来，然后她发出了一声低低的哭声。
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