友情提示：如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整，请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页！
hemingway, ernest - islands in the stream-第50部分
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！
¨No； I didnˇt。 I said to tell me a happy story about the happiest time you remember。 That wasnˇt a story。 You just woke up and were happy。 Tell me a real story。〃
¨What about？〃
¨Put some love in it。〃
¨What kind of love？ Sacred or profane？〃
¨No。 Just good love with fun。〃
¨I know a good story about that。〃
¨Tell it to me then。 Do you want another drink？〃
¨Not till I finish this one。 All right。 At this time I was in Hong Kong which is a very wonderful city where I was very happy and had a crazy life。 There is a beautiful bay and on the mainland side of the bay is the city of Kowloon。 Hong Kong itself is on a hilly island that is beautifully wooded and there are winding roads up to the top of the hills and houses built high up in the hills and the city is at the base of the hills facing Kowloon。 You go back and forth by fast； modern ferryboats。 This Kowloon is a fine city and you would like it very much。 It is clean and well laid…out and the forest comes to the edge of the city and there is very fine wood pigeon shooting just outside of the compound of the Womenˇs Prison。 We used to shoot the pigeons； which were large and handsome with lovely purple shading feathers on their necks； and a strong swift way of flying； when they would come in to roost just at twilight in a huge laurel tree that grew just outside the white…washed wall of the prison compound。 Sometimes I would take a high incomer； coming very fast with the wind behind him； directly overhead and the pigeon would fall inside the compound of the prison and you would hear the women shouting and squealing with delight as they fought over the bird and then squealing and shrieking as the Sikh guard drove them off and retrieved the bird which he then brought dutifully out to us through the sentryˇs gate of the prison。
¨The mainland around Kowloon was called the New Territories and it was hilly and forested and there were many wood pigeons； and in the evening you could hear them calling to each other。 There were often women and children digging the earth from the side of the roads and putting it into baskets。 When they saw you with a shotgun； they ran and hid in the woods。 I found out that they dug the earth because it had wolfram； the ore of tungsten； in it。 This was very saleable then。〃
¨Es un poco pesada esta historia。〃
¨No； Honest Lil。 It isnˇt really a dull story。 Wait and see。 Wolfram itself is pesado。 But it is a very strange business。 Where it exists it is the easiest thing there is to mine。 You simply dig up the dirt and haul it away。 Or you pick up the stones and carry them off。 There are whole villages in Extremadura in Spain that are built of rock that has very high grade wolfram ore and the stone fences of the peasantˇs field are all made of this ore。 Yet the peasants are very poor。 At this time it was so valuable that we were using DC…2ˇs； transport planes such as fly from here to Miami； to fly it over from a field at Nam Yung in Free China to Kai Tak airport at Kowloon。 From there it was shipped to the States。 It was considered very scarce and of vital importance in our preparations for war since it was needed for hardening steel； yet anyone could go out and dig up as much of it in the hills of the New Territories as he or she could carry on a flat basket balanced on the head to the big shed where it was bought clandestinely。 I found this out when I was hunting wood pigeons and I brought it to the attention of people purchasing wolfram in the interior。 No one was very interested and I kept bringing it to the attention of people of higher rank until one day a very high officer who was not at all interested that wolfram was there free to be dug up in the New Territories said to me； ˉBut after all； old boy； the Nam Yung set…up is functioning you know。ˇ But when we shot in the evenings outside the womenˇs prison and would see an old Douglas twin…motor plane come in over the hills and slide down toward the airfield； and you knew it was loaded with sacked wolfram and had just flown over the Jap lines； it was strange to know that many of the women in the womenˇs prison were there for having been caught digging wolfram illicitly。〃
¨S？； es raro；〃 Honest Lil said。 ¨But when does the love come in？〃
¨Any time you want it；〃 Thomas Hudson said。 ¨But youˇll like it better if you know the sort of place it happened in。
¨There are many islands and bays around Hong Kong and the water is clear and beautiful。 The New Territories was really a wooded and hilly peninsula that extended out from the mainland and the island Hong Kong was built on is in the great； blue； deep bay that runs from the South China Sea all the way up to Canton。 In the winter the climate was much as it is today when there is a norther blowing； with rain and blustery weather and it was cool for sleeping。
¨I would wake in the mornings and even if it were raining I would walk to the fish market。 Their fish are almost the same as ours and the basic food fish is the red grouper。 But they had very fat and shining pompano and huge prawns； the biggest I have ever seen。 The fish market was wonderful in the early morning when the fish were brought in shining and fresh caught and there were quite a few fish I did not know； but not many and there were also wild ducks for sale that had been trapped。 You could see pintails； teal； widgeon； both males and females in winter plumage； and there were wild ducks that I had never seen with plumage as delicate and complicated as our wood ducks。 I would look at them and their unbelievable plumage and their beautiful eyes and see the shining； fat； new…caught fish and the beautiful vegetables all manured in the truck gardens by human excrement； they called it ˉnight…soilˇ there； and the vegetables were as beautiful as snakes。 I went to the market every morning； and every morning it was a delight。
¨Then in the mornings there were always people being carried through the streets to be buried； with the mourners dressed in white and a band playing gay tunes。 The tune they played oftenest for funeral processions that year was ˉHappy Days Are Here Again。ˇ During a day you were almost never out of sound of it； for people were dying in great numbers and there were said to be four hundred millionaires living on the Island besides whatever millionaires were living in Kowloon。〃
¨？Millonarios chinos？〃
¨Mostly Chinese millionaires。 But millionaires of all sorts。 I knew many millionaires myself and we used to have lunch together at the great Chinese restaurants。 They had several restaurants that are as great as any in the world and the Cantonese cooking is superb。 My best friends that year were ten millionaires； all of whom I knew only by their first two initials； H。M。； M。Y。； T。V。； H。J。； and so on。 All important Chinese were known in this way。 Also three Chinese generals； one of whom came from Whitechapel in London and was a truly splendid man； an inspector of police； about six pilots for the Chinese National Aviation Company； who were making fabulous money and earning all of it and more； a policeman； a partially insane Australian； a number of British officers and But I will not bore you with the rest of them。 I had more friends； close and intimate friends； in Hong Kong than I ever had before or since。〃
¨？Cu？ndo viene el amor？〃
¨I am trying to think what amor to put in first。 All right。 Here comes some amor。〃
¨Make it good because Iˇm already a little tired by China。〃
¨You wouldnˇt have been。 You would have been in love with it as I was。〃
¨Why didnˇt you stay there； then？〃
¨You couldnˇt stay there because the Japs were going to come in and take it at any time。〃
¨Todo est？ jodido por la guerra。〃
¨Yes；〃 said Thomas Hudson。 ¨I agree。〃 He had never heard Honest Lil use such a strong word and he was surprised。
¨Me cansan con la guerra。〃
¨Me； too；〃 said Thomas Hudson。 ¨Iˇm very tired of it。 But Iˇm never tired of thinking about Hong Kong。〃
¨Tell me about it then。 It is bastante interestante。 I just wanted to hear about love。〃
¨Actually everything was so interesting that there was not much time for love。〃
¨Who did you make love to first？〃
¨I made love to a very tall and beautiful Chinese girl who was very European and emancipated but would not go to the hotel to sleep with me because she said everybody would know about it and who would not let me sleep at her house because she said the servants would know about it。 Her police dog already knew about it。 He used to make it very difficult。〃
¨So where did you make love？〃
¨The way you do when you are children； in any place I could persuade her to and especially in vehicles and conveyances。〃
¨It must have been very bad for our friend； Mister X。〃
¨It was。〃
¨Was that all the love you made？ Didnˇt you ever sleep a night together？〃
¨Never。〃
¨Poor Tom。 Was she worth all that trouble？〃
¨I donˇt know。 I think so。 I should have rented a house instead of staying on at the hotel。〃
¨You should have rented a Sin House the way everyone does here。〃
¨I donˇt like a Sin House。〃
¨I know。 But after all if you wanted the girl。〃
¨The problem was solved another way。 Youˇre not bored？〃
¨No； Tom； please。 Not now。 How was the problem solved？〃
¨One night I had dinner with the girl and then we rode in a boat for a long time and that was wonderful but uncomfortable。 She had skin that was wonderful to touch and all the preliminaries of making love made her very excited and her lips were thin but they were very heavy with love。 Then we went from the boat to her house and the police dog was there and there was the problem of not waking anyone and finally I went to the hotel alone and I didnˇt feel good about any of it and I was tired of arguing and I knew she was right but I thought what the hell is the use of being so damned emancipated if you canˇt go to bed。 I thought if we are going to be emancipated； letˇs free the sheets。 Anyway I was feeling gloomy and frustrado〃
¨Iˇve never seen you frustrado。 You must be funny frustrado。〃
¨Iˇm not。 Iˇm just mean and that night I felt mean and disgusted。〃
¨Go on with the story。〃
¨Well； I got my
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示： 温看小说的同时发表评论，说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦！发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励，认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦！