05-03-呼啸山庄 [49]
些了，我接着讲我的故事。
■ 15 A trap
1800 A few days after the master had forbidden Cathy to visit Linton，he asked my opinion of the boy．
‘Tell me honestly，Ellen，what do you think of his character？’
‘Well，sir，I don't think he's wicked，like his father．But you'll have plenty of time to get to know him，sir．He's too young to marry yet．’
Mr Edgar walked to the window and looked out．It was a misty February evening，but the churchyard was just visible．
‘I've often prayed for death，Ellen．I've been very happy with my little Cathy．But I've been just as happy lying，through the long June evenings，on her mother's grave，and looking forward to the moment when I can join Catherine there！I haven't got much time left，Ellen．What can I do for Cathy before I die？Should she marry Linton？I wouldn't mind him being Heathcliff's son，if only he loved her and could be a good husband to her．’
‘God will show us what to do，sir，’I replied．
In the spring Mr Edgar was still ill，and he continued to worry about Cathy's future．One day he wrote to Linton inviting him to visit the Grange．Linton wrote a long letter back，explaining that his father would not allow him to do that．He begged his uncle to let him meet Cathy for a walk or a ride on the moors between the Grange and Wuthering Heights，as they could not meet in either house．Mr Edgar refused at first，and Linton sent him several more letters．I am sure they had all been carefully checked by Heathcliff before they were posted．
Finally Mr Edgar agreed．He hoped that，if Cathy married Linton，who would inherit the Linton fortune，she would at least be able to remain in her family home．He had no idea that Linton was seriously ill．Neither did I．I never imagined that a father could treat a dying child as cruelly and wickedly as we later discovered Heathcliff had done．
It was a hot，sunny day in summer when Cathy and I rode out to meet her cousin．We were both shocked to discover that he could neither ride nor walk，and was lying on the grass，waiting for us．He looked even paler and weaker than the last time I had seen him．During our meeting he did not seem interested in Cathy or her news．Cathy noticed this immediately．
‘Well，Linton，'she said after a while，‘you don't want to talk to me，so I think I'll go home．’
‘No，no！’he cried，getting quite excited．‘Not yet！Stay—at least another half-hour！My father will be angry with me if you leave early！’
‘I suppose we can stay a few minutes longer，'said Cathy．
We waited，talking to each other quietly while Linton slept a little．Sometimes he cried out in pain． ‘Do you think his health is better now than before？’whispered Cathy．
‘I'm sorry，Miss Cathy，I think it's much worse，’I answered．
Cathy called her pony，and the sound woke Linton up．
‘If you see my father，’he said，hesitating，‘could you tell him I've been cheerful？He'll be here soon！’And he looked round in terror．
‘I'll be here next Thursday！’cried Cathy，as she jumped on her pony．‘Come on，Ellen！’
In the week that followed，Mr Edgar's illness grew worse every day．Cathy could not avoid realizing how serious it was，and sat by his bedside day and night，looking sad and pale．Her father's room had become her whole world．On Thursday I thought a ride in the fresh air would be good for her，and Mr Edgar gladly gave her permission to see Linton．He was hoping that she would not be left alone after his death．I did not want to worry him in his last moments，so I did not tell him that Linton was also dying．
We rode on to the moors and found Linton lying in the same place as before．He was looking very frightened．
‘I thought you weren't going to come！’he said．
‘Why won't you be honest？’cried Cathy at once．‘Why have
■ 15 A trap
1800 A few days after the master had forbidden Cathy to visit Linton，he asked my opinion of the boy．
‘Tell me honestly，Ellen，what do you think of his character？’
‘Well，sir，I don't think he's wicked，like his father．But you'll have plenty of time to get to know him，sir．He's too young to marry yet．’
Mr Edgar walked to the window and looked out．It was a misty February evening，but the churchyard was just visible．
‘I've often prayed for death，Ellen．I've been very happy with my little Cathy．But I've been just as happy lying，through the long June evenings，on her mother's grave，and looking forward to the moment when I can join Catherine there！I haven't got much time left，Ellen．What can I do for Cathy before I die？Should she marry Linton？I wouldn't mind him being Heathcliff's son，if only he loved her and could be a good husband to her．’
‘God will show us what to do，sir，’I replied．
In the spring Mr Edgar was still ill，and he continued to worry about Cathy's future．One day he wrote to Linton inviting him to visit the Grange．Linton wrote a long letter back，explaining that his father would not allow him to do that．He begged his uncle to let him meet Cathy for a walk or a ride on the moors between the Grange and Wuthering Heights，as they could not meet in either house．Mr Edgar refused at first，and Linton sent him several more letters．I am sure they had all been carefully checked by Heathcliff before they were posted．
Finally Mr Edgar agreed．He hoped that，if Cathy married Linton，who would inherit the Linton fortune，she would at least be able to remain in her family home．He had no idea that Linton was seriously ill．Neither did I．I never imagined that a father could treat a dying child as cruelly and wickedly as we later discovered Heathcliff had done．
It was a hot，sunny day in summer when Cathy and I rode out to meet her cousin．We were both shocked to discover that he could neither ride nor walk，and was lying on the grass，waiting for us．He looked even paler and weaker than the last time I had seen him．During our meeting he did not seem interested in Cathy or her news．Cathy noticed this immediately．
‘Well，Linton，'she said after a while，‘you don't want to talk to me，so I think I'll go home．’
‘No，no！’he cried，getting quite excited．‘Not yet！Stay—at least another half-hour！My father will be angry with me if you leave early！’
‘I suppose we can stay a few minutes longer，'said Cathy．
We waited，talking to each other quietly while Linton slept a little．Sometimes he cried out in pain． ‘Do you think his health is better now than before？’whispered Cathy．
‘I'm sorry，Miss Cathy，I think it's much worse，’I answered．
Cathy called her pony，and the sound woke Linton up．
‘If you see my father，’he said，hesitating，‘could you tell him I've been cheerful？He'll be here soon！’And he looked round in terror．
‘I'll be here next Thursday！’cried Cathy，as she jumped on her pony．‘Come on，Ellen！’
In the week that followed，Mr Edgar's illness grew worse every day．Cathy could not avoid realizing how serious it was，and sat by his bedside day and night，looking sad and pale．Her father's room had become her whole world．On Thursday I thought a ride in the fresh air would be good for her，and Mr Edgar gladly gave her permission to see Linton．He was hoping that she would not be left alone after his death．I did not want to worry him in his last moments，so I did not tell him that Linton was also dying．
We rode on to the moors and found Linton lying in the same place as before．He was looking very frightened．
‘I thought you weren't going to come！’he said．
‘Why won't you be honest？’cried Cathy at once．‘Why have