"Mornin', doctor. Think you can polish me off this time?" he began, very flippant in his manner; then flung himself down in the chair, half closed his eyes and said, "Well, go ahead." He was in a fury to be cured. The knowledge of this interview had helped him to bear up against the vam-pire. Once normal, he could settle him. He longed for the trance, wherein his personality would melt and be subtly reformed. At the least he gained five minutes' oblivion, while the will of the doctor strove to penetrate1 his own.
"I will go ahead in one moment, Mr Hall. First tell me how you have been?"
"Oh, as usual. Fresh air and exercise, as you told me. All serene2."
"Have you frequented female society with any pleasure?"
"Some ladies were at Penge. I only stayed one night there. The day after you saw me, Friday, I returned to London— that's to say home."
"You had intended to stop longer with your friends, I think."
"I think I did."
Lasker Jones then sat down on the side of his chair. "Let yourself go now," he said quietly.
"Rather."
He repeated the passes. Maurice looked at the fire irons as before.
"Mr Hall, are you going into a trance?"
There was a long silence, broken by Maurice saying gravely, "I'm not quite sure."
They tried again.
"Is the room at all dark, Mr Hall?"
Maurice said, "A bit," in the hope that it would become so. And it did darken a little.
"What do you see?"
"Well, if it's dark I can't be expected to see."
"What did you see last time?"
"A picture."
"Quite so, and what else?"
"What else?"
"What else? A cr— a cr—"
"Crack in the floor."
"And then?"
Maurice changed his position and said, "I stepped over it."
"And then?"
He was silent.
"And then?" the persuasive3 voice repeated.
"I hear you all right," said Maurice. "The bother is I've not gone off. I went just a little muzzy at the start, but now I'm as wide awake as you are. You might have another shot."
They tried again, with no success.
"What in Hell can have happened? You could bowl me out last week first ball. What's your explanation?"
"You should not resist me."
"Damn it all, I don't."
"You are less suggestible than you were."
"I don't know what that may mean, not being an expert in the jargon4, but I swear from the bottom of my heart I want to be healed. I want to be like other men, not this outcast whom no-body wants—"
They tried again.
"Then am I one of your twenty-five per cent failures?"
"Icould do a little with you last week, but we do have these sudden disappointments."
"Sudden disappointment, am I? Well, don't be beat, don't give up," he guffawed5, affectedly6 bluff7.
"I do not propose to give up, Mr Hall."
Again they failed.
"And what's to happen to me?" said Maurice, with a sudden drop in his voice. He spoke8 in despair, but Mr Lasker Jones had an answer to every question. "I'm afraid I can only advise you to live in some country that has adopted the Code Napoleon," he said.
"I don't understand."
"France or Italy, for instance. There homosexuality is no longer criminal."
"You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?"
"Share? Do you mean unite? If both are of age and avoid public indecency, certainly."
"Will the law ever be that in England?"
"I doubt it. England has always been disinclined to accept human nature."
Maurice understood. He was an Englishman himself, and only his troubles had kept him awake. He smiled sadly. "It comes to this then: there always have been people like me and always will be, and generally they have been persecuted9."
"That is so, Mr Hall; or, as psychiatry10 prefers to put it, there has been, is, and always will be every conceivable type of per-son. And you must remember that your type was once put to death in England."
"Was it really? On the other hand, they could get away. England wasn't all built over and policed. Men of my sort could take to the greenwood."
"Is that so? I was not aware."
"Oh, it's only my own notion," said Maurice, laying the fee down. "It strikes me there may have been more about the Greeks—Theban Band—and the rest of it. Well, this wasn't un-like. I don't see how they could have kept together otherwise— especially when they came from such different classes."
"An interesting theory."
Words flying out of him again, he said, "I've not been straight with you."
"Indeed, Mr Hall."
What a comfort the man was! Science is better than sympa-thy, if only it is science.
"Since I was last here I went wrong with a—he's nothing but a gamekeeper. I don't know what to do."
"I can scarcely advise you on such a point."
"I know you can't. But you might tell me whether he's pulling me away from sleep. I half wondered."
"No one can be pulled against his will, Mr Hall."
"I'd a notion he'd stopped me going into the trance, and I wished—that seems silly—that I hadn't happened to have a letter from him in my pocket—read it as I've told you so much. I feel simply walking on a volcano. He's an uneducated man; he's got me in his power. In court would he have a case?"
"I am no lawyer," came the unvarying voice, "but I do not think this letter can be construed11 as containing a menace. It's a matter on which you should consult your solicitor12, not me."
"I'm sorry, but it's been a relief. I wonder if you'd be awfully13 kind—hypnotize me once more. I feel I might go off now I've told you. I'd hoped to get cured without giving myself away. Are there such things as men getting anyone in their power through dreams?"
"I will try on condition your confession14 is this time exhaus-tive. Otherwise you waste both my time and your own."
It was exhaustive. He spared neither his lover nor himself. When all was detailed15, the perfection of the night appeared as a transient grossness, such as his father had indulged in thirty years before.
"Sit down once again."
Maurice heard a slight noise and swerved16.
"It is my children playing overhead."
"Iget half to believe in spooks."
"It is merely the children."
Silence returned. The afternoon sunshine fell yellow through the window upon the roll-top desk. This time Maurice fixed17 his attention on that. Before recommencing, the doctor took Alec's letter, and solemnly burnt it to ashes before his eyes.
Nothing happened.
“早安，大夫。这次你能特别快地把我治好吗？”莫瑞斯用非常轻佻的口吻说，接着就一屁股坐在椅子上，半闭上眼睛催促道：“喂，动手呀。”他想把病治好，急得像热锅上的蚂蚁似的。知道自己会来接受治疗一事，帮助他毫不气馁地对抗那个吸血鬼。身心一旦健全了，他就能和对方一了百了。他迫切希望陷入昏睡状态，那样一来他的人格就会融化，获得微妙的改进。最起码能让他失去记忆五分钟。这时，大夫的意志就竭力浸透到他的意志中去。
“马上就开始，霍尔先生。先告诉我近来你的情况怎么样？”
“啊，跟平常一样。新鲜空气和运动，正如你嘱咐我的那样，一切顺利。”
“你心情愉快地跟女人们经常往来吗？”
“彭杰有几个女人，我只在那儿逗留了一夜。你为我诊治过的第二天，星期五，我回伦敦去了——也就是说，回家了。”
．．我以为你是打算在朋友们那里再多住些日子的。”
“我原来是这么打算的。”
接着，拉斯克·琼斯在莫瑞斯的椅子旁边坐了下来。“现在’开始吧。”他安详地说。
“好的。”
他一遍遍地施催眠术。莫瑞斯就像上次似的看着火炉用具。
“霍尔先生，你快陷入昏睡状态了吗？”
莫瑞斯沉默良久，随后划破寂静，严肃地说：“我不大有把握。”
他们又试了一遍。
“屋子暗一点儿了吗，霍尔先生？”
莫瑞斯希望屋子能暗下来，就说：“一点点儿。”确实暗一点儿了。
“你看见了什么？”
“咦，既然暗了，就不能指望我看见什么了。”
“上一次你看见了什么？”
“一幅画。”
“完全对。还有什么？”
“还有什么？”
“还有什么？一道裂——一道裂——”
“地板上有一道裂缝。”
“然后呢？”
莫瑞斯换了个姿势说：“我迈过去了。”
“然后呢？”
他不吭声了。
“然后呢？”那个劝诱的声音重复了一遍。
“你的话我都听见了，”莫瑞斯说，“使我伤脑筋的是我并没有进入恍惚状态。起初我有一点儿迷迷糊糊，可现在我跟你一样清醒。你可以再尝试一次。”
他们又试了一遍，然而没成功。
“到底发生了什么事呀？上星期你对我施催眠术，一下就成功了。你能说明原因吗？”
“你不应该对抗我。”
“该死的，我没对抗啊。”
“你没有上次那样容易受影响了。”
“我不明白这是什么意思，因为我不是这些行话的专家。然而我衷心发誓，我希望恢复健康。我巴不得能变得像别的男人那样，不当这样一个被大家所唾弃的无赖——”
他们又试了一遍。
“那么，我属于你那百分之二十五的失败的病例喽？”
“上星期我还多少能对你起作用。然而，我们的确会像这样突然受挫折。”
“突然受挫折，我吗？喂，别气馁，别放弃。”他虚张声势，粗野地笑道。
“我不打算放弃，霍尔先生。”
他们又失败了一次。
“什么事会降临到我头上呢？”莫瑞斯忽然压低了嗓门说。他是悲观失望地说这话的，然而拉斯克.琼斯对每一个问题都能做出答复。“不瞒你说，我只能劝告你到采纳《拿破仑法典》（译注：《拿破仑法典》是1804年颁布的法国民法典。其间几经修改，至今仍然有效。按照法典，所有的公民一律平等。法典第一编是人法，其中包括人格的保护。）的国家去生活。”他说。
“我不明白。”
“比方说，法国或意大利。在那儿，同性爱已经不再是犯法的了。”
“你的意思是说，法国人即使和一个朋友共享，也不会被关进监狱吗？”
“共享？你指的是发生关系吗？如果双方都成年了，而且不在公共场所有猥亵行为，当然不会入狱。”
“这条法律迟早会在英国施行吗？”
“恐怕施行不了。英国一向不愿意承认人性。”
莫瑞斯领会了。他本人就是个英国人，只因为灾难重重，他才有所醒悟。他面带悲痛的笑容，“那么，是这么一回事喽：像我这样的人，过去一直有过，今后也还会有。通常他们会遭到迫害。”
“是这样的，霍尔先生。照精神病学的说法就是：过去一直有过，今后也还会有各式各样的人。你必须记住，在英国，像你这种类型的人曾经被处以死刑。”
“真的吗？另一方面，他们可以逃跑呀。从前英国并没有密密匝匝遍地盖起房子，布满警察。像我这种人可以逃到绿林里去。”
“是吗？我从来不知道还有这样的事。”
“哦，这仅仅是我本人突然产生的怪念头。”莫瑞斯边撂下诊治费边说。“我突然想到，希腊人可能还有咱们所不知道的一面一第邦神圣队——以及其他的。唷，这种情况不是不可能的。不然的话，很难想象他们怎么能拧成一股绳——尤其是他们来自形形色色的阶级。”
“有趣的说法。”
这时，他的话又脱口而出：“我对你并不坦率。”
“哦，霍尔先生。”
这个人给了他多大的慰藉呀！科学比同情强，只要它是科学就行。
“自从我上次到你这儿来过之后，我跟一个——他只不过是个看猎场的——发生了不正当的关系。我不知道该怎么办。”
“关于这一点，我无从向你提供建议。”
“我知道你提供不了。然而你可以告诉我，是不是由于他对我的影响，我才不能进入催眠状态。我觉得或许是这样。”
“谁都不可能违背自己意愿地被人影响，霍尔先生。”
“我相信是他阻拦我陷入昏睡状态的，我希望一这个愿望好像很可笑——要是不曾把他的一封来信揣在我的兜里就好了——你读吧，反正我已经告诉你这么多啦。我简直觉得仿佛是在一座火山上走着。他是个没受过教育的人，却把我控制住了。在法庭上，会做出对他有利的判决吗？”
“我不是个律师，”传来了一个没有变化的嗓音，“然而我不认为这封信能被解释为包含着这样的威胁。这个问题你应该跟你的律师去商量，而不是跟我。”
“真是抱歉。不过，这使我如释重负。我不知道你肯不肯大发善心——再对我施一次催眠术。现在我已经告诉了你，我感到可能会成功。我原本希望用不着露马脚就痊愈了。人们能不能通过叫控制别人？”
“在这次你把情况和盘托出的前提下，我愿意试一遍。否则你就是在浪费我和你自己的时间。”
他坦白得很彻底。不论是对情人还是他本人，都毫不留情。全部叙述之后，那个夜晚的圆满看上去就是一时的放荡了，犹如三十年前他父亲的纵欲行为。
“重新坐下吧。”
莫瑞斯听见了轻微的响声，突然掉过身去。
“我的孩子们在楼上玩呢。”
“我还只当是幽灵呢。”
“只不过是孩子们。”
恢复了寂静。午后的阳光黄灿灿地穿过窗子倾泻到卷盖式书桌上。这一次，莫瑞斯聚精会神地望着它。开始之前，大夫拿起阿列克那封信，在莫瑞斯眼前将它郑重其事地烧成灰烬。
什么事情也没发生。
收听单词发音 |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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guffawed
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| v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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affectedly
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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psychiatry
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| n.精神病学，精神病疗法 | |
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construed
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| v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析 | |
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solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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