经典科幻文学:《宇宙尽头的餐馆》第30章1

Chapter 30
The stars came out that night, dazzling in their brilliance and clarity. Ford and Arthur had walked more miles than they had any means of judging and finally stopped to rest. The night was cool and balmy, the air pure, the Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic totally silent. A wonderful stillness hung over the world, a magical calm which combined with the soft fragrances of the woods, the quiet chatter of insects and the brilliant light of the stars to soothe their jangled spirits. Even Ford Prefect, who had seen more worlds than he could count on a long afternoon, was moved to wonder if this was the most beautiful he had ever seen. All that day they had passed through rolling green hills and valleys, richly covered with grasses, wild scented flowers and tall thickly leaved trees, the sun had warmed them, light breezes had kept them cool, and Ford Prefect had checked his Sub-Etha Sens-O-Matic at less and less frequent intervals, and had exhibited less and less annoyance at its continued silence. He was beginning to think he liked it here.
Cool though the night air was they slept soundly and comfortably in the open and awoke a few hours later with the light dewfall feeling refreshed but hungry. Ford had stuffed some small rolls into his satchel at Milliways and they breakfasted off those before moving on.
So far they had wandered purely at random, but now they struck out firmly eastwards, feeling that if they were going to explore this world they should have some clear idea of where they had come from and where they were going.
Shortly before noon they had their first indication that the world they had landed on was not an uninhabited one: a half glimpsed face amongst the trees, watching them. It vanished at the moment they both saw it, but the image they were both left with was of a humanoid creature, curious to see them but not alarmed. Half an hour later they glimpsed another such face, and ten minutes after that another.
A minute later they stumbled into a wide clearing and stopped short.
Before them in the middle of the clearing stood a group of about two dozen men and women. They stood still and quiet facing Ford and Arthur. Around some of the women huddled some small children and behind the group was a ramshackle array of small dwellings made of mud and branches.
Ford and Arthur held their breath.

第三十章
那天晚上，星星出来了，耀眼而明净。福特和阿瑟已经走了很长的路，连他们自己都无法判断自己走了多长的路了，最后他们终于停下来休息。夜晚凉爽，空气纯净芬芳，亚以太感应器始终沉默着。这个世界，神奇的静谧混合着树林散发出的柔和的芳香，昆虫的低吟浅唱和星星的明亮光芒抚慰着他们饱受刺激的精冲。甚至像福特长官这种曾经仅在一个漫长的下午就见识了万千世界的人，此刻也深受感动，心想，这足不是他所见过的最美丽的世界。这一整天，他们走过了荡漾着绿色的山峦和峡谷，地面覆盖着青草、芬芳的野花和枝繁叶茂的高树；太阳照得他们暖洋洋的，轻拂的微风叉使他们感到凉爽一幅特长官每次榆矗他的亚以太感应器的间隔时间越来越长，对这玩意儿持续的沉默所表现出来的恼火也越来越少。他开始觉得自己喜欢这个地方了。
夜晚凉爽的空气使他们在野外睡得很香、很舒适，好几个小时以后才因为稍微有些降露而醒过来。他们感到神清气爽，但是却饿了。福特在“天尽头”时曾经往他的背包里塞了一些面包卷，于是他们吃过了早饭，继续上路。
在此之前，他们只是随意闲逛，但从现在起却开始坚定地朝着东方前进。他们感到，如果要探索这个世界，他们必须对自己的前进方向有个清晰的概念。
临近中午的时候，他们发现了第一个迹象，表明俐门降落于斯的这个世界并非一个无人居住的世界。树丛中露出半张脸，窥视着他们。就在他们俩同时看见它的时候，那半张脸消失了。两人的印象中，这是一种具有人类特征的生物，看见他们很好奇，但并不害怕。半小时后，他们又瞥见了另一张这样的脸；十分钟后，又一张……
过了一分钟，他们跌跌撞撞地来到一片宽阔的空地，停了下来。
他们面前，在空地的中央，站着大约二十多个男人女人，安静地站在原地，望着福特和阿瑟。几个女人周围挤着一些小孩子，人群身后，是一排用泥巴和树枝建起来的摇摇欲坠的小房子。
福特和阿瑟屏住了呼吸。