05-03-呼啸山庄 [10]
cough．Now that Hindley was the master of the house，he ordered Joseph and me to spend our evenings in the small back-kitchen，as we were only servants，while he，his wife and Catherine sat in the main room．Catherine and Heathcliff were treated very differently．Catherine received presents，and could continue her lessons，but Heathcliff was made to work on the farm with the men，and，as a farm worker，was only allowed to eat with us in the backkitchen．They grew up like two wild animals．Hindley did not care what they did，as long as they kept out of his way，and they did not care even if he punished them．They often ran away on to the moors in the morning and stayed out all day，just to make Hindley angry．I was the only one who cared what happened to the two poor creatures，and I was afraid for them．
One Sunday evening they were missing at bedtime，and Hindley ordered me angrily to lock the front door．But I did not want them to stay out in the cold all night，so I kept my window open to look out for them．In a while I saw Heathcliff walking through the gate．I was shocked to see him alone．
‘Where's Catherine？’I cried sharply．
‘At Thrushcross Grange，with our neighbours the Lintons，’he replied．‘Let me in，Ellen，and I'll explain what happened．’I went down to unlock the door，and we came upstairs very quietly．
‘Don't wake the master up！’I whispered．‘Now tell me！’
‘Well，Catherine and I thought we’d just walk to the Lintons’house．We wanted to see if Isabella and Edgar Linton are punished all the time by their parents，as we are．’
‘Probably not，’I answered．‘I expect they are good children and don't need to be punished．’
‘Nonsense，Ellen！Guess what we saw when we looked in at their sittingroom window？A very pretty room，with soft carpets and white walls．Catherine and I would love to have a room like that！But in the middle of this beautiful room，Isabella and Edgar Linton were screaming and fighting over a little dog！How stupid they are，Ellen！If Catherine wanted something，I would give it to her，and she would do the same for me．I would rather be here at Wuthering Heights with her，even if I'm punished by Joseph and that wicked Hindley，that at Thrushcross Grange with those two fools！’
‘Not so loud，Heathcliff！But you still haven't told me why Catherine isn't with you？’
‘Well，as we were looking in，we started laughing at them so loudly that they heard us，and sent the dogs after us．We were about to run away，when a great fierce dog caught Catherine's leg in its teeth．I attacked it，and made it let go of her leg，but the Lintons' servants appeared and caught hold of me. They must have thought we were robbers．Catherine was carried unconscious into the house，and they pulled me inside too．All the time I was shouting and swearing at them．
‘“What a wicked pair of thieves！”said old Mr Linton．“The boy must be a gipsy，he's as dark as the devil！”Mrs Linton raised her hands in horror at the sight of me．Catherine opened her eyes，and Edgar looked closely at her．
‘“Mother，”he whispered，“the young lady is Miss Earn-shaw，of Wuthering Heights. I've seen her in church occasionally．And look what our dog has done to her leg！It's bleeding badly！”
‘“Miss Earnshaw with a gipsy！”cried Mrs Linton．“Surely not！But I think you must be right，Edgar．This girl is wearing black，and Mr Earnshaw died recently．It must be her．I’d better put a bandage on her leg at once.”
‘“Why does her brother Hindley let her run around with such a companion？”wondered Mr Linton．“I remember now，he's the gipsy child Mr Earnshaw brought home from Liverpool a few years ago.”
‘“He's a wicked boy，you can see that，”said Mrs Linton．“And did you hear the bad language he used just now？I'm shocked that my children heard it.”’
One Sunday evening they were missing at bedtime，and Hindley ordered me angrily to lock the front door．But I did not want them to stay out in the cold all night，so I kept my window open to look out for them．In a while I saw Heathcliff walking through the gate．I was shocked to see him alone．
‘Where's Catherine？’I cried sharply．
‘At Thrushcross Grange，with our neighbours the Lintons，’he replied．‘Let me in，Ellen，and I'll explain what happened．’I went down to unlock the door，and we came upstairs very quietly．
‘Don't wake the master up！’I whispered．‘Now tell me！’
‘Well，Catherine and I thought we’d just walk to the Lintons’house．We wanted to see if Isabella and Edgar Linton are punished all the time by their parents，as we are．’
‘Probably not，’I answered．‘I expect they are good children and don't need to be punished．’
‘Nonsense，Ellen！Guess what we saw when we looked in at their sittingroom window？A very pretty room，with soft carpets and white walls．Catherine and I would love to have a room like that！But in the middle of this beautiful room，Isabella and Edgar Linton were screaming and fighting over a little dog！How stupid they are，Ellen！If Catherine wanted something，I would give it to her，and she would do the same for me．I would rather be here at Wuthering Heights with her，even if I'm punished by Joseph and that wicked Hindley，that at Thrushcross Grange with those two fools！’
‘Not so loud，Heathcliff！But you still haven't told me why Catherine isn't with you？’
‘Well，as we were looking in，we started laughing at them so loudly that they heard us，and sent the dogs after us．We were about to run away，when a great fierce dog caught Catherine's leg in its teeth．I attacked it，and made it let go of her leg，but the Lintons' servants appeared and caught hold of me. They must have thought we were robbers．Catherine was carried unconscious into the house，and they pulled me inside too．All the time I was shouting and swearing at them．
‘“What a wicked pair of thieves！”said old Mr Linton．“The boy must be a gipsy，he's as dark as the devil！”Mrs Linton raised her hands in horror at the sight of me．Catherine opened her eyes，and Edgar looked closely at her．
‘“Mother，”he whispered，“the young lady is Miss Earn-shaw，of Wuthering Heights. I've seen her in church occasionally．And look what our dog has done to her leg！It's bleeding badly！”
‘“Miss Earnshaw with a gipsy！”cried Mrs Linton．“Surely not！But I think you must be right，Edgar．This girl is wearing black，and Mr Earnshaw died recently．It must be her．I’d better put a bandage on her leg at once.”
‘“Why does her brother Hindley let her run around with such a companion？”wondered Mr Linton．“I remember now，he's the gipsy child Mr Earnshaw brought home from Liverpool a few years ago.”
‘“He's a wicked boy，you can see that，”said Mrs Linton．“And did you hear the bad language he used just now？I'm shocked that my children heard it.”’