But when the carriage came nearer, her flight was checked by her amazement. It was a new carriage, shiny with varnish, and “the harness was new too, with bits of polished brass here and there. Strangers, certainly. No one she knew had the money for such a grand new turn-out as this.
She stood in the doorway watching, the cold draft blowing her skirts about her damp ankles. Then the carriage stopped in front of the house and Jonas Wilkerson alighted. Scarlett was so surprised at the sight of their former overseer driving so fine a rig and in so splendid a greatcoat she could not for a moment believe her eyes. Will had told her he looked quite prosperous since he got his new job with the Freedmen’s Bureau. Made a lot of money, Will said, swindling the niggers or the government, one or tuther, or confiscating folks’ cotton and swearing it was Confederate government cotton. Certainly he never came by all that money honestly in these hard times.但是马车驶近时，她大为惊讶，便不再逃跑了。那是一辆新马车，擦得铮亮，鞍辔也是新的，还镶着许多闪光的铜片。这无疑是生客。凡是她认识的人当中没有一个能买得起这样显赫而簇新的装备。
她站在门道里看着。冷风吹动着她的衣裙，在她那双湿脚周围飕飕地刮着。这时马车在屋前停下，乔纳斯.威尔克森跳下车来。思嘉看见他们家这位监工居然坐上了这么漂亮的马车，穿上了这么精致的大衣，不觉大吃一惊，几乎不相信自己的眼睛。威尔告诉过她，自从他在"自由人局"谋到新的差使以来，他显得很阔绰，敲诈黑人或政府，或者没收人们的棉花，硬说那是联邦政府的。因此赚了许多钱，毫无疑问，这些钱决不是他在这样的艰难岁月里能正当挣来的。“Why, it’s Emmie Slattery!” she cried, so surprised she spoke the words aloud.
“Yes’m, it’s me,” said Emmie, tossing her head with an ingratiating smile and starting toward the steps.Emmie Slattery! The dirty tow-headed slut whose illegitimate baby Ellen had baptized, Emmie who had given typhoid to Ellen and killed her. This overdressed, common, nasty piece of poor white trash was coming up the steps of Tara, bridling and grinning as if she belonged here. Scarlett thought of Ellen and, in a rush, feeling came back into the emptiness of her mind, a murderous rage so strong it shook her like the ague.
“Get off those steps, you trashy wench!” she cried. “Get off this land! Get out!”“呀，原来是埃米.斯莱特里！"她嚷道，因为十分惊异，不觉提高了嗓门。
“是的，是我！"埃米说，含一丝傲慢的微笑扬起头来，开始走上台阶。埃米.斯莱特里！这个狡猾的荡妇，爱伦给她的婴儿施过洗礼，可她却把伤寒症传染给爱伦，送了她的命。这个浓妆艳抹、粗俗而肮脏的白人渣滓，如今正昂首阔步、得意洋洋地走上塔拉的台阶，仿佛她就是这里的人了。思嘉想起爱伦来，感觉又突如起来地回到她那空虚的心田，一股暴怒像疟疾似的震憾着她。
“滚下台阶，你这贱货！"她大声喝道。"从这里滚开！滚开！"“You must not speak that way to my wife,” he said.
“Wife?” said Scarlett and burst into a laugh that was cutting with contempt. “High time you made her your wife. Who baptized your other brats after you killed my mother?”Emmie said “Oh!” and retreated hastily down the steps but Jonas stopped her flight toward the carriage with a rough grip on her arm.
“We came out here to pay a call—a friendly call,” he snarled. “And talk a little business with old friends—”“不许你用这种态度对我妻子说话，"他说。
“妻子？"思嘉不禁轻蔑地笑起来，这大大刺伤了对方。“你早该讨她做老婆了。你害死我母亲以后，是谁替你后来的孩子们施洗礼的啊？"埃米"啊！"了一声便连忙转身下台阶，但乔纳斯一把拉住她的胳臂，不让她向马车那边逃跑。
“我们是来拜访的--友好的拜访嘛，"他竭力嚷道，"想同老朋友谈一桩小事情--”Under the words, Emmie broke her husband’s hold and fled for the carriage, scrambling in with a flash of patent-leather boots with bright-red tops and red tassels.
Now Jonas shook with a fury equal to Scarlett’s and his sallow face was as red as an angry turkey gobbler’s.“Still high and mighty, aren’t you? Well, I know all about you. I know you haven’t got shoes for your feet. I know your father’s turned idiot—”
“Get off this place!”听到这里，埃米便挣脱了丈夫的手向马车逃去，拖着那双带有雪亮的红鞋帮和红流苏的小靴爬上马车。
这时乔纳斯也跟思嘉一样气得浑身发抖，他那张松驰的胖脸涨得发紫，活像一只愤怒的土耳其火鸡。“你以为现在还是有权有势？可是，我对你一清二楚。我知道你连双鞋也没有，打赤脚了。我知道你父亲已经成了白痴--"
“从这里给我滚开！"So it was Jonas Wilkerson who wanted Tara—Jonas and Emmie, who in some twisted way thought to even past slights by living in the home where they had been slighted. All her nerves hummed with hate, as they had hummed that day when she shoved the pistol barrel into the Yankee’s bearded face and fired. She wished she had that pistol now.
“I’ll tear this house down, stone by stone, and burn it and sow every acre with salt before I see either of you put foot over this threshold,” she shouted. “Get out, I tell you! Get out!”原来，一心想要夺走塔拉的人就是乔纳斯.威尔克森—-乔纳斯和埃米，他们用迂回的手法极力要搬进曾经使他们蒙受侮辱的住所，以达到报复的目的。思嘉的全部神经充满了仇恨，就像那天她把枪筒对准那个长满络腮胡的北方佬面孔开火时似的。她恨不得此刻手里还握着那支枪呢。
“不等你们的脚迈进门槛，我就要把这所房子一块石头一块石头地拆掉，把它烧光，然后遍地撒上盐。"她高声喊道。“我叫你滚出去！给我滚开！”Those damned nigger lovers daring to come here and taunt her about her poverty! That hound never intended offering her a price for Tara. He just used that as an excuse to come and flaunt himself and Emmie in her face. The dirty Scalawags, the lousy trashy poor whites, boasting they would live at Tara!
Then, sudden terror struck her and her rage melted. God’s nightgown! They will come and live here! There was nothing she could do to keep them from buying Tara, nothing to keep them from levying on every mirror and table and bed, on Ellen’s shining mahogany and rosewood, and every bit of it precious to her, scarred though it was by the Yankee raiders. And the Robillard silver too. I won’t let them do it, thought Scarlett vehemently. No, not if I’ve got to burn the place down! Emmie Slattery will never set her foot on a single bit of flooring Mother ever walked on!那些该死的黑人同情者竟敢跑到这里来当面奚落她的贫穷！那个卑鄙的家伙根本就不想给塔拉出什么价钱。他只不过以此为借口到思嘉面前炫耀自己和埃米罢了。那些厚颜无耻的提包党人，浑身长满虱子的穷白人，还吹牛要住到塔拉来呢。
可是，她突然害怕起来，这时怒气全消了。该死的！他们想住到这里来呢！她竟毫无办法能阻止他们购买塔拉，毫无办法阻止他们扣押每一面镜子，每一张桌子和床，扣押爱伦的桃花心木家具，以及每一件尽管已经被北方佬暴徒弄坏但对她却仍然十分珍贵的东西。还有那些罗毕拉德家的银器。我决不让他们得逞，思嘉忿忿地想。不，即使我不得不把这地方烧毁！埃米.斯莱特里永远也休想踏上任何一小块母亲曾经走动过的地方！When she thought of the possibility of this final insult to Tara, her heart pounded so hard she could scarcely breathe. She was trying to get her mind on her problem, trying to figure some way out, but each time she collected her thoughts, fresh gusts of rage and fear shook her. There must be some way out, there must be someone somewhere who had money she could borrow. Money couldn’t just dry up and blow away. Somebody had to have money. Then the laughing words of Ashley came back to her:
“Only one person, Rhett Butler … who has money.”她一想到塔拉有可能遭到这样最后一次侮辱，心怦怦乱跳得几乎要透不过起来了。她竭力镇静下来考虑眼前的问题，设想一条出路，但她每次集中思考时，总有一股新的愤怒与恐惧的激情震撼她。出路一定会有的，有钱人总是有的。一定会有人能借钱给她。不可能恰好这时候钱都用光了，或者吹走了。于是艾希礼开玩笑的话又回到她的耳边：
“只有一个人，瑞德.巴特勒……他有钱。"“I’ll get the money from Rhett. I’ll sell him the diamond earbobs. Or I’ll borrow the money from him and let him keep the earbobs till I can pay him back.”
For a moment, relief was so great she felt weak. She would pay the taxes and laugh in Jonas Wilkerson’s face. But close on this happy thought came relentless knowledge.“我要从巴特勒那里弄到钱。我要把钻石耳环卖给他，要不就向他借钱，用耳环作抵押，将来有了钱再还给他。"
这时候，她觉得大大放松了，结果反而显得虚弱起来。她将交纳税金，并在乔纳斯.威尔克森面前放声大笑。可是紧跟着这个愉快的念头，出现了严酷的事实。“I’ll marry him,” she thought coolly. “And then I’ll never have to bother about money again.”
Oh, blessed thought, sweeter than hope of Heaven, never to worry about money again, to know that Tara was safe, that the family was fed and clothed, that she would never again have to bruise herself against stone walls!“我要跟他结婚，"她冷静地想道--。"到那时，我就再也用不着为钱操心了。"
多么美好的念头啊，比登天的希望还可爱呢，永远也不必再为钱操心，相信塔拉永远平安无事，而且全家不愁吃穿，她自己也无需再在石壁上碰得鼻青脸肿了！After she had married him. Memory rang a bell. A chill went down her spine. She remembered again that night on Aunt Pitty’s porch, remembered how she asked him if he was proposing to her, remembered how hatefully he had laughed and said: “My dear, I’m not a marrying man.”
Suppose he was still not a marrying man. Suppose despite all her charms and wiles, he refused to marry her. Suppose—oh, terrible thought!—suppose he had completely forgotten about her and was chasing after some other woman.“I want you more than I have ever wanted any woman. ...”
Scarlett’s nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists. “If he’s forgotten me, I’ll make him remember me. I’ll make him want me again.”等到同他结了婚以后，记忆摇动了警铃。一股冷冰冰的感觉从她的脊椎直往下流。她再一次记起在皮蒂姑妈家的走廊上那个夜晚，记起她怎样询问他是否在向她求婚，记起他又是怎样恶狠狠地笑起来，并且说：”亲爱的，我是不打算结婚的呀！"
也许他是不打算结婚。也许，尽管她那样迷人和狡黠，他还是拒绝娶她。也许--啊，多可怕的想法！--也许他完全把她忘了，并且正在追逐别的女人。“我想要你超过以前我想要的任何一个女人……"
思嘉紧紧地握着拳头，几乎把指甲插到手心肉里去了。“如果他把我忘掉了，我也要叫他记起来。我要叫他再一次想要我。"In the dim grayness of the parlor she fought a quick decisive battle with the three most binding ties of her soul—the memory of Ellen, the teachings of her religion and her love for Ashley. She knew that what she had in her mind must be hideous to her mother even in that warm far-off Heaven where she surely was. She knew that fornication was a mortal sin. And she knew that, loving Ashley as she did, her plan was doubly prostitution.
But all these things went down before the merciless coldness of her mind and the goad of desperation. Ellen was dead and perhaps death gave an understanding of all things. Religion forbade fornication on pain of hell fire but if the Church thought she was going to leave one stone unturned in saving Tara and saving the family from starving—well, let the Church bother about that. She wouldn’t. At least, not now. And Ashley—Ashley didn’t want her. Yes, he did want her. The memory of his warm mouth on hers told her that. But he would never take her away with him. Strange that going away with Ashley did not seem like a sin, but with Rhett—她在客厅暗淡的光线中竭力要同那三条最能束缚她灵魂的绳子进行一次迅速的决战--那就是对爱伦的思念、她的宗教信条，以及对艾希礼的爱，她知道自己心中的主意对于她那位即使远在温暖天国（她一定在那里）的母亲来说也必然是丑恶的。她知道私通是一种莫大的犯罪。她也知道，像她现在这样爱着艾希礼，她的计策更是双重的卖淫。
但所有这些在她心里头无情的冷酷和绝望的驱策面前都让步了。爱伦已经死了，而死亡或许会赋予人们理解一切的能力。宗教用地狱之火来胁迫，禁止私通，可是只要教会想想她是在不遗余力挽救塔拉，使它安然无恙，同时挽救她一家免于饥饿--那么，如果教会还要懊恼就让它懊恼去吧。她自己才不懊恼呢。至少现在还不。而且艾希礼--艾希礼并不要她呀。是的，他是要她的。她每回想起他吻她的嘴唇时那种温馨的感觉，便相信这一点。但是他永远了不会把她带走。真奇，怎么想跟艾希礼逃走就好像不是犯罪似的，而一跟瑞德—But until this very day, two hopes had been left to sustain her. She had hoped that the war being over, life would gradually resume its old face. She had hoped that Ashley’s return would bring back some meaning into life. Now both hopes were gone. The sight of Jonas Wilkerson in the front walk of Tara had made her realize that for her, for the whole South, the war would never end. The bitterest fighting, the most brutal retaliations, were just beginning. And Ashley was imprisoned forever by words which were stronger than any jail.
Peace had failed her and Ashley had failed her, both in the same day, and it was as if the last crevice in the shell had been sealed, the final layer hardened. She had become what Grandma Fontaine had counseled against, a woman who had seen the worst and so had nothing else to fear. Not life nor Mother nor loss of love nor public opinion. Only hunger and her nightmare dream of hunger could make her afraid.然而，直到今天为止，还两个希望在支撑着她。她一直希望战争结束后生活会逐渐恢复它的本来面目。她一直希望艾希礼的归来会给生活带回某种意义。如今这两个希望都已成了泡影。而乔纳斯.威尔克森在塔拉前面走道上的出现更使她明白了，原来对于她，对于整个南方来说，战争是永远不会结束的。最激烈的战斗，最残酷的报复，还刚刚开始呢。而且艾希礼已经被自己的话永远禁锢起来，这是比牢房还要坚固的呀。
和平令她失望了，艾希礼令她失望了，两者都在同一天发生，这仿佛那层硬壳上的最后一丝缝隙已被堵上。最后一层皮已经硬化了。她已经成为方丹老太太曾劝她不要做的那种人，即成为一个饱经艰险因而敢做敢为的妇女。无论是生活或者母亲，或者爱情的丧失，或者社会舆论，一概不在乎了。只有饥饿和饥饿的梦魇才是她觉得可怕。If she could only coax Rhett into marrying her, all would be perfect. But if she couldn’t—well, she’d get the money just the same. For a brief moment she wondered with impersonal curiosity what would be expected of a mistress. Would Rhett insist on keeping her in Atlanta as people said he kept the Watling woman? If he made her stay in Atlanta, he’d have to pay well—pay enough to balance what her absence from Tara would be worth. Scarlett was very ignorant of the hidden side of men’s lives and had no way of knowing just what the arrangement might involve. And she wondered if she would have a baby. That would be distinctly terrible.
“I won’t think of that now. I’ll think of it later,” and she pushed the unwelcome idea into the back of her mind lest it shake her resolution. She’d tell the family tonight she was going to Atlanta to borrow money, to try to mortgage the farm if necessary. That would be all they needed to know until such an evil day when they might find out differently.只要她能够诱惑瑞德跟她结婚，便一切称心如意了。可是万一--他办不到呢--那也没有什么，她同样会拿到那笔钱。她有那么一会儿竟--___怀着自然的好奇心想起当情妇会是什么样的滋味。瑞德会不会要她留在亚特兰大，就像人们说的他把沃特琳那个女人养在那里一样呢？如果他叫她留在亚特兰大那就得付钱--付出足够的钱来补偿因她离开塔拉而受到的损失。思嘉对于男人生活中的隐秘一面毫无所知，也无法去了解这种安排可能涉及到的问题。她还说不准要不要有个孩子。那可毫不含糊是活受罪呀。
“我现在不去想它，以后再去想吧，"就这样她把这个令人心烦的念头抛到脑后，免得动摇自己的决心。今晚她就告诉家人，她要到亚特兰大去借钱，必要时设法用农场作抵押。他们只需要知道这一点就行。等到以后他们发现根本不是那么回事时，那就活该了。“But I won’t go to him like a beggar. I’ll go like a queen granting favors. He’ll never know.”
She walked to the long pier glass and looked at herself, her head held high. And she saw framed in the cracking gilt molding a stranger. It was as if she were really seeing herself for the first time in a year. She had glanced in the mirror every morning to see that her face was clean and her hair tidy but she had always been too pressed by other things to really see herself. But this stranger! Surely this thin hollow-cheeked woman couldn’t be Scarlett O’Hara! Scarlett O’Hara had a pretty, coquettish, high-spirited face. This face at which she stared was not pretty at all and had none of the charm she remembered so well. It was white and strained and the black brows above slanting green eyes swooped up startlingly against the white skin like frightened bird’s wings. There was a hard and hunted look about this face.“可是我决不像乞丐去求他。我要像个施恩的王后那样到他那里去。他万万不会知道的。
她来到那块高高的壁前，昂起头端详自己。她看见带有裂纹的镀金镜框里站着一个陌生人。仿佛一年来她真是第一次看见自己。实际上她每天早晨都照镜子，看自己的脸是否干净，头发是否整齐，不过她每次因为有别的事情压在心上，很少真正端详自己，可是这个陌生人呀！这个脸颊瘦削的女人不可能就是思嘉呀，思嘉有着一个漂亮的迷人的、容光焕发的脸蛋呀！可是她看见的这张脸一点不漂亮，也丝毫没有她清楚记得的那种魅力了。这是张苍白憔粹的脸，而且那双向上斜挑着的绿眼睛上方的黑眉毛，在苍白皮肤的衬托下，也像受惊鸟儿的双翅那样突然扬起，给人以骇异的感觉。“I’m not pretty enough to get him!” she thought and desperation came back to her. “I’m thin—oh, I’m terribly thin!”
She patted her cheeks, felt frantically at her collar bones, feeling them stand out through her basque. And her breasts were so small, almost as small as Melanie’s. She’d have to put ruffles in her bosom to make them look larger and she had always had contempt for girls who resorted to such subterfuges. Ruffles! That brought up another thought. Her clothes. She looked down at her dress, spreading its mended folds wide between her hands. Rhett liked women who were well dressed, fashionably dressed. She remembered with longing the flounced green dress she had worn when she first came out of mourning, the dress she wore with the green plumed bonnet he had brought her and she recalled the approving compliments he had paid her. She remembered, too, with hate sharpened by envy the red plaid dress, the red-topped boots with tassels and the pancake hat of Emmie Slattery. They were gaudy but they were new and fashionable and certainly they caught the eye. And, oh, how she wanted to catch the eye! Especially the eye of Rhett Butler! If he should see her in her old clothes, he’d know everything was wrong at Tara. And he must not know.她脸上呈现出一种艰辛而窘迫的神态。她想：“我的容貌已引诱不了他。"于是又有了绝望的心情。"我消瘦了--消瘦得多么可怕啊！”
她拍拍自己的脸蛋，又急切地摸摸锁骨，觉得它们已经从紧身上衣里矗出来了，而她的乳房已那么干瘪，几乎跟媚兰的一样小了。看来她已不得不在胸部塞些棉絮什么的，使乳房显得丰满些才行，可她一贯瞧不起搞这种假名堂的女孩子的呀。假乳房嘛！这叫她想起另外一件事来。她的衣着。她低头看看自己的衣裙，把补过的衣褶摊在手里看着。瑞德喜欢女人穿着好，穿得时髦。她怀着期待的心情想起她服丧后第一次出门时穿的那件有荷叶边的绿衣裳和他带来的那顶羽毛装饰的绿色帽子，这些得到了他的连声赞赏。她还怀着羡慕甚至忌妒的心情想起埃米.斯莱特里那件红格衣服，那双带穗的红靴子和那顶煎饼式的宽边帽。这些东西都很俗气，但是又新又时髦，准能惹人注意。而现在，瞧，她多么需要惹人注意啊！尤其是瑞德.巴特勒的注意！要是他看见她穿着旧衣服，他便会明白在塔拉什么都不行了。可是万万不能让他明白呀.There wasn’t a nice dress in Tara or a dress which hadn’t been turned twice and mended.
“That’s that,” she thought, disconsolately looking down at the floor. She saw Ellen’s moss-green velvet carpet, now worn and scuffed and torn and spotted from the numberless men who had slept upon it, and the sight depressed her more, for it made her realize that Tara was just as ragged as she. The whole darkening room depressed her and, going to the window, she raised the sash, unlatched the shutters and let the last light of the wintry sunset into the room. She closed the window and leaned her head against the velvet curtains and looked out across the bleak pasture toward the dark cedars of the burying ground.在塔拉可没有什么漂亮衣服，甚至连一件没有翻改两次的衣服也没有。
“就这样吧，"她心里嘀咕着，失望地俯视着地板。她看见爱伦的苔绿色天鹅绒地毯，它已经很旧，有的地方磨坏了，撕破了，而且由于无数人在上面睡过而留下了许多污渍，何况思嘉看见便明白塔拉也像这地毯一样破旧不堪，更加觉得丧。整个那间愈来愈暗的房子都令她沮丧，这时她走到窗前，举起窗棂，打开百叶窗，将冬日傍晚最后的光线放进房里。她关好窗户，把头倚在天鹅绒窗帘上，两眼越过荒凉的田野向墓地上的苍苍柏树林望去。A minute later, she was dragging a heavy marble-topped table across the floor. Its rusty castors screeching in protest. She rolled the table under the window, gathered up her skirts, climbed on it and tiptoed to reach the heavy curtain pole. It was almost out of her reach and she jerked at it so impatiently the nails came out of the wood, and the curtains, pole and all, fell to the floor with a clatter.
As if by magic, the door of the parlor opened and the wide black face of Mammy appeared, ardent curiosity and deepest suspicion evident in every wrinkle. She looked disapprovingly at Scarlett, poised on the table top, her skirts above her knees, ready to leap to the floor. There was a look of excitement and triumph on her face which brought sudden distrust to Mammy.几分种后，她将那张沉重的大理石面桌上从对面拉过来。桌腿下面生锈的脚轮像抗议似的吱吱作响。她把桌子推到窗下，将裙子扎起来，爬到桌上，踮起脚尖去抓那笨重的窗帘杆。但是，那杆子挂得太高，她很难够得着，只得耐心地一次又一次跳起来去抓它，好不容易才把铁钉从木框上拉出来，窗帘和杆子一起掉下来，哗啦一声落在地板上。
仿佛施了魔法似的，那扇客厅的门忽地开了，嬷嬷那张宽大的黑脸随即出现在门口，几乎每道皱纹都流露出热切的好奇和深深的疑惑。她很不以为然地看着思嘉，后者正站在桌上，撩起裙子，露出膝盖，准备跳下地来。她脸上浮出激动和胜利的神色，嬷嬷马上怀疑起来。“What are you up to listening outside doors?” asked Scarlett, leaping nimbly to the floor and gathering up a length of the heavy dusty velvet.
“Dat ain’ needer hyah no dar,” countered Mammy, girding herself for combat “You ain’ got no bizness wid Miss Ellen’s po’teers, juckin’ de poles plum outer de wood, an’ drappin’ dem on de flo’ in de dust. Miss Ellen set gret sto’ by dem po’teers an’ Ah ain’ ‘tendin’ ter have you muss dem up dat way.”Scarlett turned green eyes on Mammy, eyes which were feverishly gay, eyes which looked like the bad little girl of the good old days Mammy sighed about.
“Scoot up to the attic and get my box of dress patterns, Mammy,” she cried, giving her a slight shove. “I’m going to have a new dress.”“你站在门外偷听？"思嘉反问道，一面轻捷地跳下地来，然后将这块因年久尘封而越发沉重的天鹅绒叠好。
“根本用不着在门外偷听，"嬷嬷反驳她，一面双手叉腰，准备干仗了。"爱伦小姐的窗帘碍你什么了，犯得着你把杆子也拔出来，一古脑儿拽下来。爱伦小姐生前那么爱惜这些帘子，我可不让你这样糟踏！"思嘉用忌妒的目光盯着嬷嬷，这双热切而愉快的眼睛使人想起从前幸福年月里那个顽劣的小姑娘，对于那些年月，嬷嬷如今只有惋叹了。
“嬷嬷，快到阁楼上去把我那只装衣服样子的箱子取下来。"她喊着，轻轻推了她一把。"我要做一件新衣裳。"“Not outer Miss Ellen’s po’teers is you gwine have a new dress, ef dat’s whut you figgerin’ on. Not wile Ah got breaf in mah body.”
For a moment the expression Mammy was won’t to describe to herself as “bullheaded” flitted over her young mistress’ face and then it passed into a smile, so difficult for Mammy to resist. But it did not fool the old woman. She knew Miss Scarlett was employing that smile merely to get around her and in this matter she was determined not to be gotten around.“你不能用爱伦小姐的窗帘来作新衣服，要是你居然打这个主意的话，只要我还有一口气，你就休想。"
一瞬间，嬷嬷惯于形容"牛脾气"的那种表情在她的小主妇脸上掠过，随间又变为微笑，这种嬷嬷不好反对了。但这并没有骗过这个黑老太太。她明白思嘉姑娘只不过用微笑争取她，而这件事她是决不放过的。“You doan need no new dress. Ain’ no other ladies got new dresses. Dey weahs dey ole ones an’ dey weahs dem proudfully. Ain’ no reason why Miss Ellen’s chile kain weah rags ef she wants ter, an’ eve’ybody respec’ her lak she wo’ silk.”
The bullheaded expression began to creep back. Lordy, ‘twus right funny how de older Miss Scarlett git de mo’ she look lak Mist’ Gerald and de less lak Miss Ellen!“Now, Mammy, you know Aunt Pitty wrote us that Miss Fanny Elsing is getting married this Saturday, and of course I’ll go to the wedding. And I’ll need a new dress to wear.”
“De dress you got on’ll be jes’ as nice as Miss Fanny’s weddin’ dress. Miss Pitty done wrote dat de Elsings mighty po’.”“你用不着穿什么新衣裳。其他的太太们也没有穿新衣裳的。她们都穿旧的，还显得很体面呢。爱伦小姐的孩子只要高兴也可以穿破衣裳，这没有什么好奇怪的，而且人家会尊敬她，就像她穿了绫罗绸缎一样。"
那种牛脾气的表情又出现了。"天哪，真有趣，怎么思嘉小姐越长越象杰拉尔德先生而不像爱伦小姐了呢！"“告诉你吧，嬷嬷，皮蒂姑妈写信来。说范妮.埃尔辛小姐星期六结婚，我当然要去参加婚礼。所以我得有件新衣裳埃"
“我看你身上穿的这件衣裳就和范妮小姐的结婚礼服一样漂亮了。皮蒂小姐不是来信说过，埃尔辛一家也穷得厉害嘛。"“Yas’m, Ah knows all ‘bout de taxes but—”
“You do?”“Well’m, Gawd give me ears, din’ he, an’ ter hear wid? Specially w’en Mist’ Will doan never tek trouble ter close de do’.”
Was there nothing Mammy did not overhear? Scarlett wondered how that ponderous body which shook the floors could move with such savage stealth when its owner wished to eavesdrop.“Well, if you heard all that, I suppose you heard Jonas Wilkerson and that Emmie—”
“Yas’m,” said Mammy with smoldering eyes."是的，我知道所有关于税金的事，不过--"
“你知道？"“是呀，上帝也给了我耳朵，不是吗？难道我就听不见？尤其是威尔先生，他从来就不关门。”
难道嬷嬷什么都知道了，全都听到吗？思嘉觉得奇怪，这个走动起来连地板都要摇晃的笨重身体，居然神不知鬼不觉地来偷听人家的谈话了。“好吧，要是你什么都听见了，我想你一定知道乔纳斯.威尔克森和埃米--"
“是的，"嬷嬷说，眼里流露出潜藏着的怒火。Mammy shifted from one foot to another like a restive elephant. She had a dim feeling that she was being got around.
“No’m, Ah ain’ wantin’ ter see trash in Miss Ellen’s house or us all in de road but—” She fixed Scarlett with a suddenly accusing eye: “Who is you fixin’ ter git money frum dat you needs a new dress?”嬷嬷像只不安分的大象似的，将笨重的身子的重心从一只脚挪到另一只脚上。她隐约地感觉自己快要让步了。
“不，我决不让那贱货到爱伦小姐的房里来，也决不让我们大家给撵到马路上去，不过--"她突然用责备的眼光死死盯住思嘉：“你准备换上新衣裳去向他借钱，那个人是谁呀？"Mammy looked at her piercingly, just as she had done when Scarlett was small and had tried unsuccessfully to palm off plausible excuses for misdeeds. She seemed to be reading her mind and Scarlett dropped her eyes unwillingly, the first feeling of guilt at her intended conduct creeping over her.
“So you needs a spang new pretty dress ter borry money wid. Dat doan lissen jes’ right ter me. An’ you ain’ sayin’ whar de money ter come frum.”“I’m not saying anything,” said Scarlett indignantly. “It’s my own business. Are you going to give me that curtain and help me make the dress?”
“Yas’m,” said Mammy softly, capitulating with a suddenness which aroused all the suspicion in Scarlett’s mind. “Ah gwine he’p you mek it an’ Ah specs we mout git a petticoat outer de satin linin’ of de po’teers an’ trim a pa’r pantalets wid de lace cuttins.”嬷嬷狠狠地瞪着她，就像思嘉小时候做了错事找借口来蒙她，被她看穿了那样。她仿佛看透了思嘉的心思，这时思嘉无可奈何地俯首低眉，对自己的蓄意行为感到羞愧。
“原来你需要穿一件簇新的漂亮衣裳去借钱。可这种事我觉得并怎么对头。你又不直说钱从哪儿来的。"“我什么也不想说，"思嘉不耐烦地说。"那是我自己的事。你到底给不给我那块帘子，帮我做件衣裳？"
“好吧，"嬷嬷轻声说，"我来帮你做。我说可以把那帘子的缎子衬里做条裙子，上面的花边可以拆下来镶短裤边。"她突如起来的妥协口吻反而引起思嘉满腹狐疑。“Miss Melly gwine ter ‘Lanta wid you, Miss Scarlett?”
“No,” said Scarlett sharply, beginning to realize what was coming. “I’m going by myself.”“Dat’s whut you thinks,” said Mammy firmly, “but Ah is gwine wid you an’ dat new dress. Yas, Ma’m, eve’y step of de way.”
For an instant Scarlett envisaged her trip to Atlanta and her conversation with Rhett with Mammy glowering chaperonage like a large black Cerberus in the background. She smiled again and put a hand on Mammy’s arm.“媚兰小姐和你一起到亚特兰大去吗，思嘉小姐？"
“不，"思嘉肯定地回答说，她开始明白快要发生的事了。“我一个人去--。”“这是你的想法喽，"嬷嬷断然说。"不过我要跟你一起去，还让你穿上那件新衣裳。是的，小姐，一路上我会寸步不离的。"
思嘉瞬息之间想像着她的亚特兰大之行和自己同瑞德谈话时，嬷嬷像只巨大的黑色看门狗那样横眉怒目地站在背后。于是她又摆出笑脸拍了拍嬷嬷的肩膀。“Huh!” said Mammy. “Doan do no good ter sweet talk me, Miss Scarlett. Ah been knowin’ you sence Ah put de fust pa’r of diapers on you. Ah’s said Ah’s gwine ter ‘Lanta wid you an’ gwine Ah is. Miss Ellen be tuhnin’ in her grabe at you gwine up dar by yo’seff wid dat town full up wid Yankees an’ free niggers an’ sech like.”
“But I’ll be at Aunt Pittypat’s,” Scarlett offered frantically.“Miss Pittypat a fine woman an’ she think she see eve’ything but she doan,” said Mammy, and turning with the majestic air of having closed the interview, she went into the hall. The boards trembled as she called:
“Prissy, child! Fly up de stairs an’ fotch Miss Scarlett’s pattun box frum de attic an’ try an’ fine de scissors without takin’ all night ‘bout it.”“哼，"嬷嬷说，"别给我灌米汤了，思嘉小姐，从我给你换第一块尿布，我就知道你。我说过我要跟你去亚特兰大，我就去定了。要是你一个人到遍地都是北方佬和自由黑人之类的城市去，爱伦小姐在坟墓里也要躺不住了。"
“但是我会到皮蒂姑妈家去住的，"思嘉拼命找借口为自己辩解。“皮蒂帕特小姐是个好人，她自以为什么都懂，可实际并不是那样，"嬷嬷说着，便转过身去，装出一副严肃的样子，好像宣告谈话到此结束。她走进大厅。这时地板又颤动起来，因为她在大声喊叫：
“百里茜，孩子，搭起楼梯到阁楼，把思嘉小姐的装衣服样子的箱子搬下来，想办法找一把好剪刀，可别闹个通宵还干不完哪。"“This is a fine mess,” thought Scarlett dejectedly. “I’d as soon have a bloodhound after me.”
After supper had been cleared away, Scarlett and Mammy spread patterns on the dining-room table while Suellen and Carreen busily ripped satin linings from curtains and Melanie brushed the velvet with a clean hairbrush to remove the dust. Gerald, Will and Ashley sat about the room smoking, smiling at the feminine tumult. A feeling of pleasurable excitement which seemed to emanate from Scarlett was on them all, an excitement they could not understand. There was color in Scarlett’s face and a bright hard glitter in her eyes and she laughed a good deal. Her laughter pleased them all, for it had been months since they had heard her really laugh. Especially did it please Gerald. His eyes were less vague than-usual as they followed her swishing figure about the room and he patted her approvingly whenever she was within reach. The girls were as excited as if preparing for a ball and they ripped and cut and basted as if making a ball dress of their own.晚餐后，收拾完餐具，思嘉和嬷嬷把衣服样子放在饭桌上，这时苏伦和卡琳忙着拆窗帘的缎子衬里，媚兰用干净刷子刷天鹅绒窗帘上的尘土。杰拉尔德、威尔和艾希礼坐在房间里抽烟，一面嘻嘻哈哈地看着妇女们在忙合。思嘉身上似乎有一股愉快的兴奋之情感染了大家，但他们并不理解这种兴奋的意义。思嘉脸上泛着红晕，眼睛里闪耀着光辉，老是笑个不停。她的笑声让大家都开心，因为他们已经好几个月没听过她真正笑过了。这使杰拉尔德尤其高兴。他的眼睛跟着她轻盈的体态转，往常那呆滞的眼神大大减少了，而且每当她从身边经过时都要赞赏地拍拍她的臂膀。女孩子们都激动得像在准备一次跳舞晚会，她们拆呀，剪呀，缝呀，仿佛在给自己做一件衣服似的。
“It must be Captain Rhett Butler,” said Melanie slyly and they exploded with mirth at this absurdity, knowing how Scarlett hated him and never failed to refer to him as “that skunk, Rhett Butler.”
But Scarlett did not laugh at this and Ashley, who had laughed, stopped abruptly as he saw Mammy shoot a quick, guarded glance at Scarlett.“一定是瑞德.巴特勒船长，"媚兰略带揶揄的口气说，这个看来荒谬的设想又引起大家一阵哄笑，因为他们知道思嘉最恨巴特勒，每回谈到他没有不骂他是“下流坯"的。
但是思嘉对媚兰的揶揄并没有反唇相讥，而同样在开玩笑的艾希礼一看到嬷嬷匆匆对思嘉丢了个防范的眼色，便突然不敢笑了。“They haven’t an idea what is really happening to me or to themselves or to the South. They still think, in spite of everything, that nothing really dreadful can happen to any of them because they are who they are, O’Haras, Wilkeses, Hamiltons. Even the darkies feel that way. Oh, they’re all fools! They’ll never realize! They’ll go right on thinking and living as they always have, and nothing will change them. Melly can dress in rags and pick cotton and even help me murder a man but it doesn’t change her. She’s still the shy well-bred Mrs. Wilkes, the perfect lady! And Ashley can see death and war and be wounded and lie in jail and come home to less than nothing and still be the same gentleman he was when he had all Twelve Oaks behind him. Will is different. He knows how things really are but then Will never had anything much to lose. And as for Suellen and Carreen—they think all this is just a temporary matter. They don’t change to meet changed conditions because they think it’ll all be over soon. They think God is going to work a miracle especially for their benefit. But He won’t. The only miracle that’s going to be worked around here is the one I’m going to work on Rhett Butler. ... They won’t change. Maybe they can’t change. I’m the only one who’s changed—and I wouldn’t have changed if I could have helped it.”
思嘉看着那些飞针走线的手指，听着那些笑声，心里暗暗感到悲痛和耻辱。
“他们根本没有想到对于我或者对于他们自己的整个南方正在发生什么样的事情。他们还以为，不管周围的一切，他们谁也不会遇到真正可怕的事，因为他们还是他们，奥哈拉家的，威尔克斯家的，汉密尔顿家的，没有什么不同。甚至那些黑人也这样想。多么愚蠢的人们啊！他们永远也不会明白！他们还会这样想下去，生活下去，习以为常，一切都不会改变。媚兰可以穿得破旧不堪，可以摘棉花，甚至帮我杀人，但怎样也不会使她改变。她还是那个羞怯而高贵的威尔克斯太太，那个十全十美的贵妇人！艾希礼能够面对死亡和战争，能够忍受受伤，蹲监狱，然后回家过这种比一无所有还要坏的生活，可他同那个拥有'十二橡树'村农场全部产业的绅士仍然一模一样。威尔有点不一样了。他看到了事物的真实情形，不过他从来就是个没有多少东西可丧失的人。至于苏伦和卡琳--她们还以为这一切都是暂时的呢。她们以不变应万变，因为她们觉得这局面很快就会过去的。她们心想上帝会创造一个尤其对她们有利的奇迹。然后上帝不会这样。在这附近唯一会出现的就是我正要到瑞德.巴特勒身上去创造的那个奇迹……他们是不想改变的。也许他们不能变，我才是唯一改变了的人--可是如果我还有办法，我也不会去改变的。"“This goin’ to Atlanta,” he said at last in a slow voice, “I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
Ashley looked at Will quickly and then looked away, saying nothing but wondering if Will had the same awful suspicion which was haunting him. But that was impossible. Will didn’t know what had taken place in the orchard that afternoon and how it had driven Scarlett to desperation. Will couldn’t have noticed Mammy’s face when Rhett Butler’s name was mentioned and, besides, Will didn’t know about Rhett’s money or his foul reputation. At least, Ashley did not think he could know these things, but since coming back to Tara he had realized that Will, like Mammy, seemed to know things without being told, to sense them before they happened. There was something ominous in the air, exactly what Ashley did not know, but he was powerless to save Scarlett from it. She had not met his eyes once that evening and the hard bright gaiety with which she had treated him was frightening. The suspicions which tore at him were too terrible to be put into words. He did not have the right to insult her by asking her if they were true. He clenched his fists. He had no rights at all where she was concerned; this afternoon he had forfeited them all, forever. He could not help her. No one could help her. But when he thought of Mammy and the look of grim determination she wore as she cut into the velvet curtains, he was cheered a little. Mammy would take care of Scarlett whether Scarlett wished it or not.“这次到亚特兰大去，"他终于慢吞吞地说，"我可不赞成。一点也不赞成。”
艾希礼很快地看了眼威尔，然后将眼光移往别处。他什么也没说，只暗自纳闷是否威尔也有他心中那种可怕的疑虑。但那是不可能的。威尔并不知道那天下午在果园里发生的事情，以及它是怎样逼得思嘉走投无路的。威尔不可能注意到嬷嬷听见说起瑞德.巴特勒的名字时脸上的那种表情；而且，威尔也不了解瑞德有钱和名声很坏的情形。至少，艾希礼不认为他可能知道这些事，不过他自从回到塔拉以后已经明白，威尔像嬷嬷一样似乎不用说便知道所有的事情，甚至在事情发生之前便有预感。周围空气中有某种艾希礼说不清楚的不祥之兆，可是他没有能力挽救思嘉，使她不致陷于这不祥的境地。那天夜里她没有正眼看过艾希礼一眼，她对艾希礼的那种威严而活泼的兴奋神气简直吓人。他感到揪心的疑虑太可怕了，无法用言语形容。他没有权利问她那是否属实而使她感到侮辱。他紧握双拳。凡是有关她的事情，他都无权过问，当天下午他已经把这种权利彻底丧失了，永远丧失了。他已不能帮助她。谁都无法帮助她。不过，他想起嬷嬷和她剪裁天鹅绒窗帘时表现的那种冷峻的态度，便稍微感到欣慰了。嬷嬷会照顾思嘉的，无论思嘉愿意与否，她都会这样。He remembered the way she had squared her shoulders when she turned away from him that afternoon, remembered the stubborn lift of her head. His heart went out to her, torn with his own helplessness, wrenched with admiration. He knew she had no such word in her vocabulary as gallantry, knew she would have stared blankly if he had told her she was the most gallant soul he had ever known. He knew she would not understand how many truly fine things he ascribed to her when he thought of her as gallant He knew that she took life as it came, opposed her tough-fibered mind to whatever obstacles there might be, fought on with a determination that would not recognize defeat, and kept on fighting even when she saw defeat was inevitable.
But, for four years, he had seen others who had refused to recognize defeat, men who rode gaily into sure disaster because they were gallant And they had been defeated, just the same.“这些都是我引起的，"他懊恼地想。"是我把她逼到了这个地步。"
他想起那天下午她是怎样挺着胸脯从他身边走开的，记得她倔强地昂起头来的样子。他的那颗由于自己的无能而破碎、由于对方的仰慕而被误解了的心在向她靠近。他知道在她的词汇里没有"仗义"这样的字眼，如果你说她是你平生所见最勇敢的女人，她会瞠目而视，莫名其妙。他知道，她不会了解，当他觉得她勇敢时曾将多少真正高尚的事情都归于她。他知道，她在任何情况下都能勇敢地面对生活，用她自己坚韧的精神去抵抗可能遇到的任何困难，以不承认任何失败的决心勇往直前，即使发现失败已不可避免，也继续战斗下去。但是，过去四年他也看到了另一些不肯承认失败的人，一些明知处境十分危险，但凭自己的勇气而慷慨以赴的人，结果他们还是失败了。