The Signal-Man

I

一

“HALLOA! Below there!”

“喂！下面的人！”

When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked down the Line. There was something remarkable in his manner of doing so, though I could not have said for my life what. But I know it was remarkable enough to attract my notice, even though his figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench, and mine was high above him, so steeped in the glow of an angry sunset, that I had shaded my eyes with my hand before I saw him at all.

听见有人这样朝他喊话时，他正站在信号房门口，手里拿着一面旗，旗子卷在短短的旗杆上。按地形来看，人们会以为他不可能弄不清声音是从哪个方向传来的；可他并没有抬头望向我所站的位置，也就是几乎在他头顶上方的陡峭深堑顶端，而是转过身去，朝铁路线的下方望去。他这样做的样子有些异乎寻常，但我怎么也说不出究竟异在何处。我只知道，它足以引起我的注意，尽管他身处深深的堑沟里，身影被压得很短，又笼在阴影中，而我在他上方很高的地方，整个人沉浸在怒红的落日余晖里，我得用手遮住眼睛，才看得见他。