狄更斯雙語小說:《董貝父子》第26章Part 12
'Carker plays at all games, I believe,' said Mr Dombey, laying himself on a sofa like a man of wood, without a hinge or a joint in him; 'and plays them well.'
In sooth, he played the two in question, to such perfection, that the Major was astonished, and asked him, at random, if he played chess.
'Yes, I play chess a little,' answered Carker. 'I have sometimes played, and won a game - it's a mere trick - without seeing the board.'
'By Gad, Sir!' said the Major, staring, 'you are a contrast to Dombey, who plays nothing.'
'Oh! He!' returned the Manager. 'He has never had occasion to acquire such little arts. To men like me, they are sometimes useful. As at present, Major Bagstock, when they enable me to take a hand with you.'
It might be only the false mouth, so smooth and wide; and yet there seemed to lurk beneath the humility and subserviency of this short speech, a something like a snarl; and, for a moment, one might have thought that the white teeth were prone to bite the hand they fawned upon. But the Major thought nothing about it; and Mr Dombey lay meditating with his eyes half shut, during the whole of the play, which lasted until bed-time.
By that time, Mr Carker, though the winner, had mounted high into the Major's good opinion, insomuch that when he left the Major at his own room before going to bed, the Major as a special attention, sent the Native - who always rested on a mattress spread upon the ground at his master's door - along the gallery, to light him to his room in state.
There was a faint blur on the surface of the mirror in Mr Carker's chamber, and its reflection was, perhaps, a false one. But it showed, that night, the image of a man, who saw, in his fancy, a crowd of people slumbering on the ground at his feet, like the poor Native at his master's door: who picked his way among them: looking down, maliciously enough: but trod upon no upturned face - as yet.
“我相信，卡克什麼遊戲都能玩，”董貝先生說，他躺在沙發上，就像一個沒有鉸鏈、沒有關節的木頭人一樣，“而且玩得都很好。”
這兩種遊戲他確實玩得非常精明，少校感到大爲驚奇，就隨便地問他是不是能下棋。
“能，能下一點兒，”卡克回答道，“我有時不看棋盤就下贏——這不過耍點巧技罷了。”
“天哪，先生！”少校眼睛睜得大大地說道，“您和董貝真是截然不同！他什麼也不會玩。”
“哦，他呀！”經理回答說，“他沒有任何必要掌握這些微不足道的雕蟲小技。對於像我這樣的人，它們有時倒是有用的。比方說現在，白格斯托克少校，它們就能使我跟您較量一番。”
也許人們所看到的，僅僅是這張很圓滑，張得很開的虛僞的嘴巴罷了，但是在這卑躬屈節、曲意奉承的簡短話語背後，人們似乎還可以聽到好像是狗的嗥叫聲，人們在一剎那間可能以爲那白白的牙齒就要去咬它們所諂媚的那隻手呢。但是少校根本沒有想到這一點；董貝先生在遊戲進行過程中一直躺在那裏，半閉着眼睛沉思，直到睡覺的時間來臨。
那時候，卡克先生儘管是個贏家，少校對他卻有着極大的好感；當他就寢之前在少校房間裏跟他告別的時候，少校還特別客氣地派了本地人——他經常在他主人門口的地上鋪一張席子睡覺的——拿着蠟燭，沿着走廊，鄭重其事地把他送回房間。
卡克先生臥室中的鏡面上有一個模糊的污點，它的反映也許是不真實的。但是那天夜裏它映照出一個人的形象，這個人在幻想中看到一羣人正睡在他腳邊的地上，就像可憐的本地人睡在他主人的門口一樣；這個人在他們中間選擇着道路，非常惡意地看着下面，但是暫時還沒有踐踏那些向上朝着他的臉孔。
