Part 5 Book 1 Chapter 15 Gavroche Outside

Courfeyrac suddenly caught sight of some one at the base of the barricade¹, outside in the street, amid the bullets.

Gavroche had taken a bottle basket from the wine-shop, had made his way out through the cut, and was quietly engaged in emptying the full cartridge-boxes of the National Guardsmen who had been killed on the slope of the redoubt, into his basket.

"What are you doing there?" asked Courfeyrac.

Gavroche raised his face:--

"I'm filling my basket, citizen."

"Don't you see the grape-shot?"

Gavroche replied:

"Well, it is raining. What then?"

Courfeyrac shouted:--"Come in!"

"Instanter," said Gavroche.

And with a single bound he plunged² into the street.

It will be remembered that Fannicot's company had left behind it a trail of bodies. Twenty corpses³ lay scattered⁴ here and there on the pavement, through the whole length of the street. Twenty cartouches for Gavroche meant a provision of cartridges⁵ for the barricade.

The smoke in the street was like a fog. Whoever has beheld⁶ a cloud which has fallen into a mountain gorge⁷ between two peaked escarpments can imagine this smoke rendered denser⁸ and thicker by two gloomy rows of lofty houses. It rose gradually and was incessantly⁹ renewed; hence a twilight¹⁰ which made even the broad daylight turn pale. The combatants could hardly see each other from one end of the street to the other, short as it was.

This obscurity, which had probably been desired and calculated on by the commanders who were to direct the assault on the barricade, was useful to Gavroche.

Beneath the folds of this veil of smoke, and thanks to his small size, he could advance tolerably far into the street without being seen. He rifled the first seven or eight cartridge-boxes without much danger.

He crawled flat on his belly¹¹, galloped¹² on all fours, took his basket in his teeth, twisted, glided¹³, undulated, wound from one dead body to another, and emptied the cartridge-box or cartouche as a monkey opens a nut.

They did not dare to shout to him to return from the barricade, which was quite near, for fear of attracting attention to him.

On one body, that of a corporal, he found a powder-flask.

"For thirst," said he, putting it in his pocket.

By dint¹⁴ of advancing, he reached a point where the fog of the fusillade became transparent¹⁵. So that the sharpshooters of the line ranged on the outlook behind their paving-stone dike¹⁷ and the sharpshooters of the banlieue massed at the corner of the street suddenly pointed¹⁸ out to each other something moving through the smoke.

At the moment when Gavroche was relieving a sergeant¹⁹, who was lying near a stone door-post, of his cartridges, a bullet struck the body.

"Fichtre!" ejaculated Gavroche. "They are killing²⁰ my dead men for me."

A second bullet struck a spark from the pavement beside him.-- A third overturned his basket.

Gavroche looked and saw that this came from the men of the banlieue.

He sprang to his feet, stood erect²¹, with his hair flying in the wind, his hands on his hips²², his eyes fixed²³ on the National Guardsmen who were firing, and sang:

"On est laid a Nanterre, "Men are ugly at Nanterre, C'est la faute a Voltaire; 'Tis the fault of Voltaire; Et bete a Palaiseau, And dull at Palaiseau, C'est la faute a Rousseau." 'Tis the fault of Rousseau."

Then he picked up his basket, replaced the cartridges which had fallen from it, without missing a single one, and, advancing towards the fusillade, set about plundering²⁴ another cartridge-box. There a fourth bullet missed him, again. Gavroche sang:

"Je ne suis pas notaire, "I am not a notary²⁵, C'est la faute a Voltaire; 'Tis the fault of Voltaire; Je suis un petit oiseau, I'm a little bird, C'est la faute a Rousseau." 'Tis the fault of Rousseau."

A fifth bullet only succeeded in drawing from him a third couplet.

"Joie est mon caractere, "Joy is my character, C'est la faute a Voltaire; 'Tis the fault of Voltaire; Misere est mon trousseau, Misery²⁶ is my trousseau, C'est la faute a Rousseau." 'Tis the fault of Rousseau."

Thus it went on for some time.

It was a charming and terrible sight. Gavroche, though shot at, was teasing the fusillade. He had the air of being greatly diverted. It was the sparrow pecking at the sportsmen. To each discharge he retorted with a couplet. They aimed at him constantly, and always missed him. The National Guardsmen and the soldiers laughed as they took aim at him. He lay down, sprang to his feet, hid in the corner of a doorway²⁷, then made a bound, disappeared, re-appeared, scampered²⁸ away, returned, replied to the grape-shot with his thumb at his nose, and, all the while, went on pillaging²⁹ the cartouches, emptying the cartridge-boxes, and filling his basket. The insurgents³⁰, panting with anxiety, followed him with their eyes. The barricade trembled; he sang. He was not a child, he was not a man; he was a strange gamin-fairy. He might have been called the invulnerable dwarf³¹ of the fray³². The bullets flew after him, he was more nimble than they. He played a fearful game of hide and seek with death; every time that the flat-nosed face of the spectre approached, the urchin³³ administered to it a fillip.

One bullet, however, better aimed or more treacherous³⁴ than the rest, finally struck the will-o'-the-wisp of a child. Gavroche was seen

to stagger, then he sank to the earth. The whole barricade gave vent³⁵ to a cry; but there was something of Antaeus in that pygmy; for the gamin to touch the pavement is the same as for the giant to touch the earth; Gavroche had fallen only to rise again; he remained in a sitting posture³⁶, a long thread of blood streaked³⁷ his face, he raised both arms in the air, glanced in the direction whence the shot had come, and began to sing:

"Je suis tombe par¹⁶ terre, "I have fallen to the earth, C'est la faute a Voltaire; 'Tis the fault of Voltaire; Le nez dans le ruisseau, With my nose in the gutter³⁸, C'est la faute a . . . " 'Tis the fault of . . . "

He did not finish. A second bullet from the same marksman stopped him short. This time he fell face downward on the pavement, and moved no more. This grand little soul had taken its flight.

古费拉克忽然发现有个人在街垒的下面，外边，街上，火线下。

伽弗洛什从小酒店里取了一个盛玻璃瓶的篮子，穿过缺口走出去，安闲自在地只顾把那些倒毙在街垒斜沿上的国民自卫军装满子弹的弹药包倒进篮子。

“你在干什么？”古费拉克说。

伽弗洛什翘起鼻子：

“公民，我在装篮子。”

“难道你没看见霰弹？”

伽弗洛什回答说：

“是啊，在下雨。又怎样呢？”

古费拉克吼了起来：

“进来！”

“回头就来。”伽弗洛什说。

于是，他一跃跳到街心。

我们记得法尼各连在退却时，留下了一大串尸体。

整条街的路面上，这儿那儿，躺着将近二十具尸体。对伽弗洛什来说，这是二十来个弹药包，对街垒来说，是大批的子弹。

街上的烟就象迷雾一样。凡是见过一朵云落在峡谷中两座峭壁之间的人都能想象这种被压缩在棗并且好象浓化了的棗阴森森的两列高房子中间的烟。它缓缓上升，还不断得到补充，以致光线越来越矇眬，甚至使白昼也变得阴暗起来。这条街，从一头到另一头，并不怎么长，可是交战的人，几乎彼此望不见。

这种矇眬的状态，也许是指挥攻打街垒的官长们所需要、所筹划的，却也给伽弗洛什带来了方便。

在这层烟幕的萦回下，由于伽弗洛什个子小，便能在这条街上走得相当远而不被人察觉。他倒空了最初七八个弹药包，冒的危险还不算大。

他紧贴地面往前爬，四肢快速行动着，用牙咬住篮子，身体扭着，溜着，波浪似的行动着，象蛇一样爬行，从一个死尸到另一个死尸，把一个个的弹药包或子弹盒都倒干净，就象一只剥核桃的猴子。

他离街垒还相当近，里面的人可不敢叫他回来，恐怕引起对方的注意。

在一具尸首---是个排长---的身上，他找到一个打猎用的火药瓶。

“以备不时之需。”他一面塞进口袋一面说。

他不断往前移动，终于到了烟雾稀薄的地方。

于是埋伏在石堆后面的一排前线狙击兵和聚集在街角上的郊区狙击兵，忽然不约而同地相互指点烟雾里有个东西在活动。

正当伽弗洛什在解一个倒在界石附近的中士身上的弹药包时，一颗子弹打中了那尸体。

“好家伙！”伽弗洛什说，“他们竟来杀我的这些死人了。”

第二颗子弹打在他身边，把路面上的石块打得直冒火星。

第三颗打翻了他的篮子。

伽弗洛什打量了一下，看见这是从郊区方面射过来的。他笔直地立起来，站着，头发随风飘扬，两手叉在腰上，眼睛盯着那些开枪射击的国民自卫军，唱道：

楠泰尔人丑八怪，

这只能怨伏尔泰；

帕莱索人大脓包，

这也只能怨卢梭。

随后他拾起他的篮子，把翻了出家的子弹全捡回去，一颗不剩，然后继续向开枪的地方前进，去解另一个弹药包；到了那里，第四颗子弹仍旧没有射中他。伽弗洛什唱道：

公证人我做不来，

这只能怨伏尔泰；

我只是只小雀儿，

这也只能怨卢梭。

第五颗子弹打出了他的第三段歌词：

欢乐是我的本态，

这只能怨伏尔泰；

贫穷是我的格调，

这也只能怨卢梭。

这样延续了一些时候。

这景象真骇人，也真动人。伽弗洛什被别人射击，他却和射击的人逗乐。他的神气好象觉得很好玩。这是小麻雀在追啄猎人。他用一段唱词回答一次射击。人们不断地瞄准他，却始终打他不着。那些国民自卫军和士兵一面对他瞄准一面笑。他伏下身去，又站起来，躲在一个门角里，继而又跳出来，藏起来不见了，随即又出现，跑了又回来，对着枪弹做鬼脸，同时还捞子弹，掏弹药包，充实他的篮子。那些起义者急得喘不过气来，眼睛盯住他不放，街垒在发抖。而他，在歌唱。他不是个孩子，也不是个大人，而是个小精灵似的顽童。可以说，他是混战中的一个无懈可击的侏儒。枪弹紧跟着他，但他比枪弹更灵活。他跟死亡玩着骇人的捉迷藏游戏。每一次当索命的鬼魂来到他跟前时，这顽皮的孩子总是“啪”的一下给它来个弹指。

可是有一颗子弹，比其余的都来得准些，或者说，比其余的都更为奸诈，终于射中了这磷火似的孩子。大家看见伽弗洛什东倒西歪地走了几步，便软下去了，街垒里的人发出一声叫喊，但在这小孩的体内，有安泰的神力；孩子一触及路面，就象那巨人接触大地一样。伽弗洛什倒下去，很快就又直起身子。他坐了起来，脸上流着一长条鲜血，举起他的两只手臂，望着打枪的方向，又开始唱起来：

我是倒了下来，

这只能怨伏尔泰；

鼻子栽进了小溪，

这也只能怨……

他没有唱完。第二颗子弹，由原先的那个枪手射出的，一下使他停了下来。这一次，他脸朝地倒下去，不再动弹了。这个伟大的小灵魂飞逝了。

1 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

2 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

3 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

6 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

7 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

8 denser   

adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• As Tito entered the neighbourhood of San Martino, he found the throng rather denser. 蒂托走近圣马丁教堂附近一带时，发现人群相当密集。

9 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

10 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

12 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

13 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 dint   

n.由于，靠；凹坑

参考例句：

• He succeeded by dint of hard work.他靠苦干获得成功。
• He reached the top by dint of great effort.他费了很大的劲终于爬到了顶。

15 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

16 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

17 dike   

n.堤，沟；v.开沟排水

参考例句：

• They dug a dike along walls of the school.他们沿校墙挖沟。
• Fortunately,the flood did not break the dike.还好，这场大水没有把堤坝冲坏。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

20 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

21 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

22 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

24 plundering   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The troops crossed the country, plundering and looting as they went. 部队经过乡村，一路抢劫掳掠。
• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。

25 notary   

n.公证人，公证员

参考例句：

• She is the town clerk and a certified public accountant and notary public.她身兼城镇文书、执业会计师和公证人数职。
• That notary is authorised to perform the certain legal functions.公证人被授权执行某些法律职能。

26 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

27 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

28 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

29 pillaging   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rebels went looting and pillaging. 叛乱者趁火打劫，掠夺财物。
• Soldiers went on a rampage, pillaging stores and shooting. 士兵们横冲直撞，洗劫商店并且开枪射击。 来自辞典例句

30 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

31 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

32 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

33 urchin   

n.顽童；海胆

参考例句：

• You should sheer off the urchin.你应该躲避这顽童。
• He is a most wicked urchin.他是个非常调皮的顽童。

34 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

35 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

36 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

37 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

38 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。