'Ah! True! More shame for him,' thought Walter. After a minute's pause, during which he had been looking down upon the gentle patient little face moving on at his side, he said, 'The strangest man, Mr. Carker the Junior is, Miss Florence, that ever you heard of. If you could understand what an extraordinary interest he takes in me, and yet how he shuns me and avoids me; and what a low place he holds in our office, and how he is never advanced, and never complains, though year after year he sees young men passed over his head, and though his brother (younger than he is), is our head Manager, you would be as much puzzled about him as I am.' As Florence could hardly be expected to understand much about it, Walter bestirred himself with his accustomed boyish animation and restlessness to change the subject; and one of the unfortunate shoes coming off again opportunely, proposed to carry Florence to his uncle's in his arms. Florence, though very tired, laughingly declined the proposal, lest he should let her fall; and as they were already near the wooden Midshipman, and as Walter went on to cite various precedents, from shipwrecks and other moving accidents, where younger boys than he had triumphantly rescued and carried off older girls than Florence, they were still in full conversation about it when they arrived at the Instrument-maker's door.
“啊!不错!这使他更丢脸,”沃尔特想道。他停了一分钟,向下看着在他身边行走的女孩子的那张温柔的、耐性的小脸,然后以他惯有的孩子的活泼与机灵,设法改变话题;碰巧这时那倒霉的鞋子又有一只掉下了,他就建议把弗洛伦斯抱到他舅舅家里去。弗洛伦斯虽然十分疲乏,但却仍大笑着谢绝了他的建议,因为唯恐他抱不住会使她掉下来。他们离开木制海军军官候补生已经不远,沃尔特又继续从船舶遇难及其他动人的事故中援引各种先例,说有些比他还小的男孩子曾经胜利地抢救和抱出比弗洛伦斯还大的女孩子;因此当他们到达仪器制造商的门口时,他们仍在兴高采烈地交谈着这些故事。
'Holloa,
Uncle
Sol!
'
cried
Walter,
bursting
into
the
shop,
and
speaking
incoherently
and
out
of
breath,
from
that
time
forth,
for
the
rest
of
the
evening.
'Here's
a
wonderful
adventure!
Here's
Mr.
Dombey's
daughter
lost
in
the
streets,
and
robbed
of
her
clothes
by
an
old
witch
of
a
woman
-
found
by
me
-
brought
home
to
our
parlour
to
rest
-
look
here!
'
“喂,所尔舅舅!”沃尔特冲进店铺,喊道,并且从这时起,整个晚上都是没有条理地、上气不接下气地说着。“这真是一件奇妙的遭遇!董贝先生的女儿在街上迷路了,一位老妖婆把她的衣服都抢去了——是我找到的——把她领到我们家里来,让她在我们家的客厅里休息休息——请看这里!”
'Good
Heaven!
'
said
Uncle
Sol,
starting
back
against
his
favorite
compass-
case.
'It
can't
be!
Well,
I
-
''No,
nor
anybody
else,
'
said
Walter,
anticipating
the
rest.
'Nobody
would,
nobody
could,
you
know.
Here!
just
help
me
lift
the
little
sofa
near
the
fire,
will
you,
Uncle
Sol
-
take
care
of
the
plates
-
cut
some
dinner
for
her,
will
you,
Uncle
-
throw
those
shoes
under
the
grate.
Miss
Florence
-
put
your
feet
on
the
fender
to
dry
-
how
damp
they
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