第七章 又见希礼
（骑士们从他们失败的战场上返回，向着曾经是温雅丰足的荒芜家园跑步而行。而与他们一起回来的另一入侵者……比从前遇过的更残忍恶毒，……投机者。）
男佣：思嘉，停战了！停战了！战争彻底结束了! 我们投降了！
考琳：不可能……
苏·爱伦：我们为什么打仗呢？
媚兰：希礼就要回家了。
思嘉：是的，希礼要回家了。我们要种更多的棉花。明年，那些棉花会长得天一样高。
媚兰：思嘉，肯尼迪先生象是遇到什么麻烦了。
思嘉：比他想得更麻烦。他终于向苏·爱伦求婚了。
媚兰：噢，我真高兴。
思嘉：真遗憾，他不能马上娶她，至少我们可以少养一个人。（思嘉、媚兰和奶妈站在门前。远方出现一个人影。）
思嘉：噢，又来了一个，希望这个不饿。
奶妈：噢，他一定很饿。
思嘉：我告诉碧西多拿一个盘子。（是希礼！媚兰张开双臂奔向希礼。） 媚兰：希礼！希礼！
奶妈：思嘉小姐，别打扰他们，思嘉小姐。
思嘉：放开我，你这傻瓜，放开我！那是希礼。
奶妈：那是她丈夫，小祖宗。（几天过去，一日，佣人向思嘉说……）
男佣：思嘉小姐，我……
思嘉：你来得正好，买到马蹄铁了吗？
男佣：买到了，很合适，思嘉小姐……
思嘉：马有鞋穿了，人却没有，真可笑。你来搅汤。
男佣：思嘉小姐，我想知道您还剩有多少钱？金币。
思嘉：十块，问这干嘛？
男佣：那可不够。
思嘉：你到底想说什么？
男佣：是这么回事，思嘉小姐。我遇见了那个不守信用的白人废物威尔金森了。他以前在这儿给杰里先生当监工，不过现在是正式的北佬了。他吹牛说他那些打着政客旗号的朋友要征收德园的重税。
思嘉：我们要多交多少税？
男佣：我听税官说是300美元。
思嘉：300……噢，天，简直象300万。不管怎么样，我们要筹到这笔款。
男佣：是的，夫人，怎么筹？ 思嘉：去问一下希礼先生。
男佣：但他也不会有三百块的，思嘉小姐。
思：我想问他就可以去问，是吧？
男佣：问吧，一定没有。（农场。希礼在劈柴。）
思嘉：希礼……
希礼：听说亚伯拉罕·林肯要建分叉铁路。想一下，如果我懂的话，我会得到怎样的职位呀。
思嘉：希礼，北佬要我们多缴＊00美元的税。我们该怎么办？希礼，我们会怎么样啊？
希礼：一个文明毁灭了，它的人民又会怎么样呢？那些有勇气、有才智的入会平安渡过，而没有的人将会被淘汰掉。思嘉：看在上天的份上，希礼·威尔克斯别光站着讲没有用的话了，现在是我们被排挤。
希礼：你是对的，思嘉。你的德园大难临头，我却还在讲什么关于文明的废话。你来求助于我，我却什么也帮不上。思嘉，我是个懦夫。
思嘉：你，希礼，是个懦夫？你怕什么呢？
希：噢．我想大概是怕面对现实。我并不是怕什么铁路，我只 是怕失去我所爱的过去的生活的美丽。如果战争没来，我本可以快乐地在十二橡树度过一生。但战争来了，我亲眼看到我儿时的伙伴们被炸成碎片。我看见被我击中的人们在痛苦中挣扎。现在我活在一个比死还要痛苦的世界里。一个无我容身之处的世界。哦，我怎么也没办法让你明白，因为你不懂得恐惧的含义。你不在乎面对现实，而且永远不会象我一样想逃避开。
思嘉：逃避？希礼，你错了，我也想过逃避。我厌倦透了这一切。我天天为粮食，为钱挣扎。除草、锄地、摘棉花直到无法多忍受一分钟。我跟你说，希礼，南方已经死了，死了。北伦和那些政客、投机者的掠夺把什么都拿走了。噢，希礼，让我们逃离这儿吧，去墨西哥。墨西哥军队需要军官。在那儿我们会很快乐。希礼，我会为你干活，我会为你做一切。你知道你不爱媚兰。那天在十二橡树你告诉我你爱我。而且不管怎么样，媚兰不能……朱德医生告诉我她不能再生孩子了，而我可以为你……
希礼：难道我们不能忘了那天在十二橡树的事吗？
思嘉：即使我可以忘记？你忘了吗？你可以诚实地说你不爱我吗？
希礼：是，我……我不爱你。
思嘉：你撒谎。 希礼：就算是谎话，难道你以为我会抛下媚兰和孩子走掉吗？伤透媚兰的心？思嘉，你疯了吗？你也不会离开你的父亲和妹妹们的。
思嘉：我可以，我讨厌他们，厌倦他们……
希礼：是的，你太累，太倦了，所以你这样说。我们大家的担子都是你一人承担着。但从现在起我会帮你，我保证。思嘉：你只有一个办法帮我。带我走，这儿没有什么值得我们留下。
希礼：是没有……除了荣誉。别哭了，思嘉，亲爱的，别哭了，我勇敢的思嘉，不要哭……
思嘉：你是爱我的，你是爱我的。
希礼：不，别这样，别这样。
思嘉：你爱我！
希礼：我们不能这样，我说，我们不能这样，这种事不会再发生了。我会带媚兰和孩子走的。
思嘉：说你爱我！
希礼：好，我说。我爱你的勇气，你的固执。刚才，我太爱它们，让我几乎忘掉我有一个世上最好的妻子。但是思嘉，我是不会忘记她的。
思嘉：那么，我什么也没有了。没有什么让我为它奋斗，为它生存了。
希礼：有，你有。你可能不知道．有样东西你爱它胜过爱我， 德园。 （希礼把一把泥土放在思嘉手里。）思嘉：对，我，我……还有它。你不必走，我不会因为这种事就让你们全饿死。这事再也不会发生了
Chapter 7 Ashley Back Home
(Home from their lost adventure came the lattered
Cavaliers. Grimly they came hobbling back to the
desolation that had once been a land of grace and plenty.
And with them came another invader, more cruel and
vicious than any they had fought, the Carpetbagger.)
SERVANT: Katie Scarlett! It's over! It's over! It's all over,the war! We surrendered!
CORRINE: It's not possible.
SUE ELLEN: Why did we ever fight?
MELANIE: Ashely will be coming home.
SCARLETT: Yes, Ashely will be coming home. We'll plantmore cotton. Cotton ought to go sky-high next year.
MELANIE: Scarlett, what seems to be the trouble withMr. Kennedy?
SCARLETT: More trouble than he guesses. He's finallyasked for Sue Ellen's hand.
MELANIE: Oh, I'm so glad.
SCARLETT: It's a pity he can't marry her now. At leastbe one less mouth to feed.
(Scarlett, Melanie and Mammie stand in front of the door.A figure appears in the distance.)
SCARLETT: Oh another one. I hope this one isn't hungry.
MAMMIE: Oh, he'll be hungry
SCARLETT: I'll tell Prissy to get an extra plate.
(It's Ashley! Melanie opens her arms, running to him.)
MELANIE: Ashley! Ashley!
MAMMIE: Miss Scarlett! Don't spoil it. Miss Scarlett.
SCARLETT: Turn me loose, you fool, turn me loose! It'sAshley.
MAMMIE: He's her husband, Auntie.
(Several days passed. One day, a servant comes toScarlett.)
SERVANT: Miss Scarlett Ma'am...
SCARLETT: High time you got back. Did you get the horseshod?
SERVANT: Yes'm, he shod all right. Miss Scarlett Ma'am.
SCARLETT: Fine thing when a horse can get shoes andhumans can't. Here stir the soup.
SERVANT: Miss Scarlett Ma'am, I've got to know howmuch money have you got left? In gold.
SCARLETT: Ten dollars. Why?
SERVANT: That won't be enough.
SCARLETT: What in Heaven's name are you talkingabout?
SERVANT: Well, Miss Scarlett, I see that old no-accountwhite trash, Wilkenson, that used to be Mister Jerry'soverseer here. He's a regular Yankee now, and he wasmaking a brag, that his carpetbagger friends done runthe taxes way up sky-high on Tara.
SCARLETT: How much more do we gotta pay?
SERVANT: I heard the tax man say three hundred dollars.
SCARLETT: Three hundred... Oh, my, just as well be threemillion. Well, we gotta raise it, that's all.
SERVANT: Yes'm. How?
SCARLETT: I'll go ask Mr. Ashley.
SERVANT: Oh, he ain't got no three hundred dollars. MissScarlett.
SCARLETT: Well, I can ask him if I want to, can't I?
SERVANT: Asking ain't getting.
(The Farm. Ashley is chopping wood.)
SCARLETT: Ashely...
ASHLEY: They say Abe Lincoln got his start splitting rails.Just think what heights I may climb to once I get the"knack.
SCARLETT: Ashely. The Yankees want three hundreddollars more in taxes. What shall we do? Ashley, what's tobecome of us?
ASHLEY: What do you think becomes of people whentheir civilization breaks up? Those who have brains andcourage come through all right. Those who haven't arewinnowed out.
SCARLETT: For Heaven's sake Ashley Wilkes. Don't standthere talking nonsense at me when it's us who are beingwinnowed out.
ASHLEY: You're right, Scarlett. Here I am talkingtummy-rot about civilization, when your Tara's in danger.You come to me for help and I have no help to give you.Oh, Scarlett, I'm a coward.
SCARLETT: You, Ashley, a coward? What are you afraidof?
ASHLEY: Oh, mostly of life becoming too real for me, Isuppose. Not that I mind splitting rails. But I do mind very much losing the beauty of that, that life I loved. If the war hadn't come, I'd have spent my life happily buried at Twelve Oaks. But the war did come. I saw my boyhood friends blown to bits. I saw men crumple3 up in agony when I shot them. And now I find myself in a world which for me is worse than death. A world in which there is no place for me. Oh, I can never make you understand, because you don't know the meaning of fear. You never mind facing realities. And you never want to escape from them as I do.
SCARLETT: Escape? Oh, Ashley you're wrong. I do want to escape, too. I'm so very tired of it all. I've struggled for food and for money and I've weeded and hoed and picked cotton until I can't stand it another minute. I tell you, Ashley, the South is dead, it's dead. The Yankees and the carpetbaggers have got it and there's nothing left for us. Oh, Ashley, let's run away. We'd go to Mexico. They want officers in the Mexican army, we could be so happy there. Ashley I'd work for you, I'd do anything for you. You know you don't love Melanie, you told me you loved me that day at Twelve Oaks, and anyway, Melanie can't...Dr. Meade told me she couldn't ever have any more children. And I could give you...
ASHLEY: Can't we ever forget that day at Twelve Oaks?
SCARLETT: Just think I could ever forget it, have you forgotten it? Can you honestly say you don't love me?
ASHLEY: No, I ...I don't love you.
SCARLETT: It's a lie.
ASHLEY: Even if it is a lie, do you think that I could go off and leave Melanie and the baby? Break Melanie's heart? Scarlett,are you mad? You couldn't leave your father and the girls.
SCARLETT: I could leave them, I'm sick of them, I'm tired of them...
ASHLEY: Yes, you sick and tired, that's why you're talking this way. You've carried the load for all of us. But from now on, I'm going to be more help to you, I promise.
SCARLETT: There's only one way you can help me. Take me away. There's nothing to keep us here.
ASHLEY: Nothing...nothing except honor. Please Scarlett, please dear, you mustn't cry. Please, my brave dear, you mustn't...
SCARLETT: You do love me, you do love me...
ASHLEY: No don't, don't!
SCARLETT: You love me!
ASHLEY: We won't do this, I tell you, we won't do it. It won't happen again, I'm going to take Melanie and the baby and go.
SCARLETT: Just say that you love me.
ASHLEY: All right, I'll say it. I love your courage and your stubbornness. I love them so much that a moment ago I could have forgotten the best wife a man ever had. But Scarlett, I'm not going to forget her.
SCARLETT: Then there's nothing left for me. Nothing to fight for. Nothing to live for. ASHLEY: Yes, there is something. Something you love better than me, though you may not know it, Tara.
(Ashley puts into Scarlett's hands some soil.)
SCARLETT: Yes, I...I still have this. You needn't go. I won't have you
all starve simply because I threw myself at your head. It won't happen again. |
