Chapter 21 Scene on Exiled Island

"This is a strange machine," the officer said to the scientific expedition traveler, looking at the machine he was very familiar with with somewhat appreciative eyes.It appears that the traveler accepted the camp commander's invitation only out of courtesy to watch the execution of a soldier sentenced to death for disobeying and insulting his superiors.There seemed to be little interest in the execution in the entire penal colony.Anyway, apart from the traveler and the officer, the prisoner and one soldier were the only ones left in this deep, sandy valley, cut off on all sides by bare hills.The prisoner had a wide mouth, disheveled hair, unclean face, and numb expression.The soldier held a heavy iron chain in his hand, and several thinner chains branched out from it, which were tied to the prisoner's ankles, wrists, and necks. These small iron chains were connected by iron chains.The prisoner looked like a servile dog, as if he could be let loose to run freely on the surrounding hills, and he would turn back if he whistled before execution.

The traveler took little interest in the machine, and paced up and down behind the prisoner with some indifference while the officer was busy making final checks; Go up the ladder to check the upper parts.These are all jobs that can be done by a mechanic, but this officer, whether he is a loyal admirer of this machine or because no one can do this kind of work for other reasons, he does it very hard. . "It's all set now!" he cried at last, climbing down the ladder.He was exhausted, breathing heavily, and stuffed two women's handkerchiefs into the collar of his military uniform. "The uniform is too thick for the equator," said the traveler, without asking the machine as the officer expected. "That is," said the officer, washing his greasy hands in a bucket prepared, "but it represents the motherland, and we do not want to forget the motherland.—But now, please, look at the machine," He went on right away, pointing to the machine while wiping his hands with a towel. "So far, the front can't be done without people, and the machine will do it all by itself." The traveler nodded and followed behind him.In order to make room for it, the officer said: "Of course, there will still be malfunctions; although I don't expect any malfunctions today, after all, I have to estimate them. If the machine runs continuously for twelve hours, there will be some malfunctions. It’s just a small problem, and it can be ruled out right away.” Then, he took out a wicker chair from a pile of rattan chairs, handed it to the traveler, and asked, “Would you like to sit down?” The man couldn’t refuse, so he sat down.The place where he was sitting was the edge of a pit, and he glanced into the pit inadvertently.The pit is not too deep.The excavated soil was piled up to form a wall on one side, and the machine on the other. "I don't know," said the officer, "whether the commander has explained the machine to you." The traveler made a noncommittal gesture, which was in the officer's favor, since he could now explain it himself. "This machine," said the officer, holding the connecting rod he was leaning on, "was invented by our former commander. I followed him from the beginning of the experiment, and participated in every detail until the machine was completed. Of course, the credit for this invention goes entirely to him alone. Have you ever heard of our former commander? No? Well, it would not be too much of a stretch to say that the establishment of the entire penal colony was his masterpiece. We , these friends of his believed that the whole penal colony was perfect while he was still alive, and his successors had a thousand new ideas in their minds, which they would not change for at least many years after his death. We His prophecy came true: the new commander had to admit it. It's a pity you didn't meet the previous commander!—But," the officer paused, "I forgot to mention that he You see it has three parts. Over time, the parts have been given colloquial names. The lower part is called the 'bed', the upper part is called the 'drafter', and the suspended part in the middle is It's called a 'rake.'" "A rake?" asked the traveler, who was not listening very attentively.The sun was shining hotly on the bare valley, and it was difficult for people to concentrate.He found officers more admirable.Although he was wearing a military jacket that could participate in the military parade, with heavy epaulettes on his shoulders, and tapes all over his body, he was explaining in high spirits.And while talking, he took a screwdriver and screwed it here, and it was tight there.The soldier, however, seemed as absent-minded as the traveler.He wrapped the prisoner's iron chain around his wrist, held the gun barrel in one hand, hung his head, and did nothing.This did not surprise the traveler, for the officer spoke French, which of course was incomprehensible to soldiers and prisoners alike.However, what is strange is that the prisoner tried his best to listen to the officer's explanation.His eyes were sleepy, but his eyes were fixed on the officer, following the movement of his fingers. Now, the traveler interrupted the officer's explanation, and he looked at the traveler like an officer.

"Yes, it's called a 'rake'," the officer replied. "The name is very appropriate. The needles on it are like the teeth of a rake. Although it moves only in one place, it is very clever, but the overall movement is similar to that of a 'rake'." Same. But, you will understand this right away, the prisoner is placed here on this 'bed'.-I want to explain the machine first, and then turn on the machine to make it work automatically. Then you can do better I understand the whole process clearly. Moreover, there is a gear in the "drafter" that is very worn out. When the machine turns, it makes a "creaking" and "creaking" sound, and you can't even hear yourself clearly; unfortunately Spares are hard to come by here. - Well, I said it, it's the 'bed'. There's a layer of batting on it, you'll see what it's for in a moment. The prisoner is placed face down on the batting, naked of course It's on the top; this is the belt for the prisoner's hands, this is for the feet, here is for the neck, so that the prisoner can be tied tightly. As I said just now, the prisoner is lying on the 'bed', So there is this small piece of felt here at the head of the bed, which is easy to adjust so that it fits right into the prisoner's mouth. This will allow the prisoner to scream and prevent him from biting his tongue. Of course the prisoner has to put this piece of felt Bite, or your neck will be snapped by the belt." "Is this cotton wool?" asked the traveler, leaning over to look. "Yes, that's right." The officer replied with a smile, "Feel it yourself." He took the traveler's hand and groped along the "bed". "This is a special kind of cotton wool, so it looks unfamiliar. I will talk about its function later." This machine has somewhat aroused the interest of travelers.He shaded his eyes with one hand and looked up the machine.It was a giant, the "bed" was about the same size as the "drafter", like two big dark boxes. The "drafter" is installed at a height of about two meters above the "bed"; four copper pillars are supported on the four corners between the two, folded and glowing in the sunlight. The "rake" is attached to a steel belt and floats up and down between two large boxes.

The officer, barely aware of the traveler's indifference just now, seemed to notice the interest he was beginning to show, so he paused to give the traveler time to observe.The prisoner followed the example of the traveler, and since he could not put his hands over his eyes, he had to squint his naked eyes and look up. "The prisoner is lying on it, then," said the traveler, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. "Yes," said the officer, pushing back his hat and running his hand over his hot face, "now please pay attention! Both the 'bed' and the 'drafter' are equipped with batteries, and the 'bed' itself requires The battery, the one on the 'drafter' is for the 'rake'. As soon as the people on it are tied up, the 'rake' starts to move. Although the range is small, it vibrates up, down, left, and right at the same time with extremely fast movements. You are I must have seen similar machines in the hospital, but all the movements of our 'bed' are accurately calculated, because they must cooperate with the movements of the 'rake', and the actual execution is left to this man. 'The rake'."

"How was this man judged?" asked the traveler. "You don't know this either?" The officer asked back in amazement, biting his lips again: "I'm sorry, maybe my explanations are not coherent, please don't take offense. Because in the past, commanders used to make explanations by themselves, but the current The Commander evades this honorable duty. But to such a noble guest as you,"—the traveler shook his hands in defiance of the honor, but the officer persisted—"to such a noble The guest didn’t even mention the form of our judgment, which is a new thing, this—” A foul word came to his lips, but he endured it back, and just said: “I didn’t inform me about this matter, so I can’t blame me. Anyway , only I can explain our various forms of sentencing, because I have here"--he patted his breast pocket--"the relevant sketches drawn by the old commander himself."

"The sketch drawn by the commander himself?" asked the traveler. "Is he an all-rounder? He is a soldier and a judge, but also a designer, a chemist and a draftsman?" He nodded thoughtfully.Then he looked at his hands carefully, and felt that they were not clean enough to just pick up the drawings; so he went to the bucket and washed them again.Only then did he take out a small wallet and said, "Our sentence is not too heavy. We just use this 'rake' to write on him the commandments that the prisoner violated. For example, to this prisoner," the officer said with his finger Looking at the man, "Written on the body is: Respect your commander!"

The traveler glanced at the prisoner; when the officer pointed at him, he bowed his head, as if concentrating all his nerves on his ears, trying to hear something.But his mouth, puffed out by the tightness of the lips, kept moving, clearly revealing that he couldn't understand anything.The traveler had many questions to ask, but when he saw him like this, he just asked, "Does he know his sentence?" "He doesn't know the sentence against him?" "No," replied the officer again, then paused, as if waiting for further clarification from the traveler, and then said: "Tell him There is no need, he will experience it himself." The traveler didn't want to say anything more, but felt that the prisoner was looking at him, as if asking him if he could agree with the described judicial process.So he raised his already reclined body, leaned forward, and asked again: "After all, he was sentenced. He should know that, right?" The traveler smiled, as if he now expected the traveler to ask some more of the outlandish questions he had kept in his stomach. "I don't know?" said the traveler, wiping his forehead. "That means this man still doesn't know how worthless his defense is?" "He never had a chance to defend himself," said the officer. As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the side, as if he was talking to himself, and didn't want to embarrass the other party by talking about things that he thought were logical. "He must have had a chance to defend himself," said the traveler, rising from his chair.

The officer saw that he was in danger of being delayed in explaining the machinery; so he went up to the traveler, took his arm, and pointed his hand at the prisoner, who, feeling that all eyes were on him, stretched himself upright. --The soldier also tightened his chains--The officer said: "The thing is this: I have been appointed judge in this penal colony. Although I am still young. For I have been serving as a judge to the previous commander in any previous punitive affairs. Assistant, I am also most familiar with this machine. My principle in dealing with affairs is: there is no doubt about the guilt. It is impossible for other courts to follow this principle, because there are many people with mixed opinions, and there are higher-level officials Court. Ours is different here, or it was not like this when the previous commander was alive. Although the new commander once showed his intention to interfere with my law enforcement, I have successfully resisted him to this day, and in the future I will It's still doable.—You probably want to hear me explain the case; it's as simple as the others. A captain reported this morning that this man who was assigned to him as an orderly and who slept by his door fell asleep on duty. Because it was his duty to stand up and salute the captain at the captain's door every hour the clock struck. It was certainly not a onerous task, but it was necessary because he was both a guard and a servant, and never In that respect, one has to be awake at all times. Last night the Captain wanted to see if his orderly was doing his duty. When the clock struck two he opened the door and found the man curled up in a sleep. Captain He took the whip and whipped it in the face. Instead of standing up and begging the captain for mercy, the fellow hugged his master's legs and shook him, shouting: "Drop the whip, or I will bite you to death." This is what happened. A The captain came to me an hour ago, and I took his statement of the case, and filled in the verdict. Then I ordered the man to be chained. It was all very simple. If I had sent this man for questioning Well, that's going to be a mess. He'll tell a lie. If I expose his lie, he'll invent a new one to cover it up, and so on and on. Now I've got him so he can't get away. — —Is it all explained now? But time is running out, it’s time to start the execution, but I haven’t finished explaining the machine yet.” He pushed the traveler to the chair again and sat down, returning to the machine I started talking again: "As you can see, the 'rake' matches the shape of the human body. This 'rake' is facing the body of the person, and these two are facing the legs. This small sharp knife is reserved for the head. Do you understand?" he asked kindly, leaning over the traveler, as if ready to give the most detailed explanation.

The traveler frowned and looked at the rake.The explanation of the judicial process failed to satisfy him.But he had to admit that this was a place of exile after all, and it was necessary to take extraordinary measures here, and everything here had to be done according to the army.Still, he pinned a glimmer of hope on the new commander.The commander, though moving slowly, clearly intended to introduce a new procedure which the officer's limited mind could not comprehend.With this in mind, the traveler asked: "Will the commander come to the execution?" "Not necessarily," replied the officer.This sudden question touched his sore spot, and the friendly expression on his face lost its shape, "Because of this, we have to hurry up. Although it is against our wishes, I am very sorry, but I have to explain it briefly. But, wait Tomorrow after the machine has been scrubbed and cleaned - it gets dirty, that's its only flaw - I can fill you in with an explanation of the details. So, for now, let's just pick the most important things. The prisoner is on the 'bed' When the "bed" starts to vibrate, the "rake" will fall towards the prisoner's body. It will automatically adjust so that the needle point on the "target" just touches the skin; once the adjustment process is completed, the steel rope will be straightened immediately , like a steel rod. The next is officially started. Those who have not experienced it will not be able to see the difference between the various punishments from the outside. The 'rake' works as if they are all the same in appearance. When it vibrates, it pierces and then Vibrating human skin. In order for everyone to check the execution of the sentence, the 'rake' was made of glass. At that time, there were some technical difficulties in installing the needles on the 'rake'. However, After many trials, it was done. We did not let the difficulty intimidate. Now anyone can see through the glass how the words are written on the human body. Would you like to go over and look at the 'rake' Needle?" The traveler stood up slowly, walked over and bent down to look at the 'rake'. "You see," said the officer, "there are two kinds of needles arranged in various forms. Each long needle has a short one next to it. That is to say, the long needle writes, and the short needle sprays water to wash away the blood. Make the handwriting clearly visible. The bloody water from here enters the main tank through the small groove here, and then flows into the pit through the drain pipe." The officer pointed carefully along the route of the bloody water with his fingers.In order to appear as realistic as possible, he stretched his hands to the outlet of the water pipe and made a gesture to catch the water. At this time, the traveler raised his head and groped his hands back, trying to retreat to the chair.Much to his surprise, he saw the prisoner follow him, following the officer's invitation, to take a closer look at the Rake's deployment.The prisoner dragged the drowsy soldier clutching the iron chain forward a little, and leaned over the glass as well.I saw that he was looking for what the two adults were observing just now with his suspicious eyes, but he was still puzzled because he couldn't understand the explanation.He bowed his waist and looked here and there for a while, and his eyes kept sliding back and forth on the glass.The traveler wanted to drive him away, because his behavior was likely to be punished.But the officer blocked him tightly with one hand, and with the other hand grabbed a clod from the mound and threw it at the soldier.The soldier was shaken all over, opened his eyes and saw that the prisoner was acting so boldly, so he dropped the gun, stepped on the heels of his feet firmly into the soil, and pulled the prisoner back, causing the prisoner to fall to the ground.Then the soldier lowered his head to see how the prisoner struggled to turn over with the iron chain "dang lang, ding lang". "Pull him up," growled the officer, for he noticed that the traveler's attention was drawn to the prisoner.Involuntarily the traveler leaned over the Rake, just to find out what had become of the prisoner. "Serve him well!" The officer yelled again.He ran around the machine, grabbed the prisoner under the armpits himself, and with the help of soldiers—the prisoner's feet were slippery from time to time—dragged him up.

"Now I understand it all," said the traveler, as the officer turned and came towards him again. "I haven't mentioned the most important point yet," the officer said, grabbing the opponent's arm and pointing upwards: "There is a gear set in the 'drafter', which controls the movement of the 'rake', but its arrangement is in accordance with the judgment. Patterns vary. I still use the pattern of the old Commander. Here it is"--said, drawing some papers from his wallet--"but I'm sorry I can't put it into your hands, this It is the most precious thing I have. Please sit down, I will hold it so that you can see it up close, and you will be able to see everything clearly." He held up the first one to show.The traveler wanted to say a few words of approval, but he saw that the paper was full of intertwined lines in a maze, and it was not easy to find a blank spot.

"Look here," said the officer. "Unintelligible," replied the traveler. "It's clearly written!" said the officer. "It's very cleverly written," said the traveler complacently, "but I can't read it." "By the way," said the officer, smiling and putting the wallet back in his pocket. "This is not a parody book for elementary school children. It takes a lot of work to read, and someone like you is sure to understand it eventually. Of course, this cannot be simply written; killing, and usually lasts twelve hours; the sixth hour is calculated to be the turning point. Therefore, it is necessary to embellish the real writing with many patterns around; the writing itself is only like a narrow belt around the around the body; the rest of the body is reserved for ornamental patterns. Do you now understand the operation of the 'rake' and the whole machine?—Look!" He hopped up the ladder and turned one of the wheels Suddenly, he shouted down: "Attention, let's make way to the side!" As he said, the whole machine started to move.If it weren't for the rattling of the wheel, it would be quite complete.The sound of the wheels surprised the officer, and he shook his fist at the wheels in a hurry, then spread his hands to the traveler in regret, and quickly climbed down from the ladder to observe the operation of the machine from below.There is also something wrong, which only he can perceive.He climbed up again, put his hands inside the draftsman, and then, in order to get down as quickly as possible, he clung to a copper post and slid back to the ground, instead of using a ladder.In order for the other party to hear his words clearly amidst the rumbling of the machine, he shouted into the traveler's ear: "Do you understand the whole process? 'Rake' has started writing; when the prisoner finishes writing the first round of writing on his back, The batting layer starts to rotate, slowly turning the prisoner to the other side, so that the 'rake' can write in the new place. At this time, the part punctured by writing is placed on the cotton batting, because the cotton batting is specially made , can stop the bleeding immediately, and prepare for the 'rake' to deepen the writing. The sharp corners on the side of the 'rake' can tear off the cotton wool stuck to the wound and throw it into the pit when the prisoner's body continues to turn. 'Target' was able to continue working again. In this way, 'Rake' wrote deeper and deeper for twelve hours. For the first six hours, the prisoner lived almost as usual, only suffering from pain. Two An hour later, the felt ball was removed because the prisoner had no strength to shout anymore. There was hot rice porridge in the electrically heated bowl at the head of the bed, and as long as the prisoner had the mood, he could lick it with his tongue. No one ever put I have seen enough of those who have passed this opportunity. It was only at the sixth hour that the prisoner lost his interest in eating. Then I knelt here and watched the scene. I vomited into the pit. I had to shrink back quickly, or the mouthful of filth would be spit in my face. How quiet the prisoner was during the sixth hour! The most stupid guy is also awake at this time. This process starts around the eyes and spreads from there. Looking at this scene, one can't help but want to lie down under the 'rake'. There is not much after that Looks good, the prisoner just started to decipher the written words, with his mouth pouted forward, as if he was listening attentively. "As you can see, it is not so easy to decipher the words with the eyes; but our prisoner on the 'rake' has to decipher it with his own wounds, and it is naturally more difficult; it takes him six hours to finally understand. At this time, the 'rake' pierced him completely, forked him up and threw him into the pit, where he fell into the blood, water and cotton wool with a 'thud'. At this point, the execution by the court was over, and then we, me and the soldiers, covered him with loess It's over." The traveler kept his ears to the officer, his hands in his pockets, and watched the movement of the machine.The prisoner is also watching, but knows nothing.He bent down slightly, staring closely at the swinging needle.At this time, the officer made a gesture to the soldier. The soldier cut open his shirt and trousers behind the prisoner, and the clothes fell off immediately; He lifted him up and shook off the broken clothes on his body.The officer switches off the machine, and in this sudden silence the prisoner is placed under the rake.The chains were undone, but the straps fastened; at first the prisoner felt almost a moment of relief.But then the 'rake' fell down, because the prisoner was a thin man.When the needle tip touched him, the skin all over his body trembled; when the soldier was busy binding his right hand, he stretched out his left hand blindly, but the direction in which the hand stretched was exactly where the traveler was standing.The officer kept looking at the traveler from the side, as if to read the impression on his face of the execution, for he gave at least a rough explanation of it. The wrist straps were broken; probably the soldiers had tied them too tightly.The officer had to do something, and the soldier showed him the broken belt.The officer also walked towards him, turned around and said to the traveler: "This machine has a lot of parts, and it is inevitable that it is broken here and there; but it does not affect the overall view of it. Besides, a new belt can be replaced immediately; This time I will use an iron chain; of course, the flexibility of the vibration on the right arm will be affected a little bit." While placing the iron chain, he said: "Nowadays, the funds for maintaining the machine have been greatly reduced. The former commander When I was in charge, there was a special fund for the maintenance of machines, which I could use at any time. At that time, there was a warehouse here, which contained all kinds of spare parts. I admit that when using these things, as the new commander declared, I It's a bit extravagant, I mean then, not now; but the new commander is using every pretext to discredit the old one. Now he's in charge of the money for the machines, and if I send To get a new belt, you have to bring a broken belt as evidence, and the new belt will not be delivered until ten days later, but the ones you get are all inferior goods, and it won't take long. How can the machine move without a belt during this period of time? Well, no one cares about it." The traveler thinks to himself: it is never advisable to meddle openly in other people's affairs.He was neither a member of the exile nor a citizen of the country that governed the place.If he dictated or even obstructed the execution, he would be told: You are a foreigner, go quietly.Then he was speechless, and could only quickly explain that he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, because the purpose of his trip was just to investigate, not to change the judicial procedures of other countries and so on.But things here are too much to let go.The injustice of the judicial process and the inhumanity of the judgment are obvious.No one could say what personal interests the traveler had at stake here, since the prisoner was a complete stranger to him, was neither his countryman nor begged for his mercy.The traveler has a recommendation letter from the government above, and is received here with all manners.As for the fact that he was invited to watch the court execution, it seemed to be a clear hint that he was asked to share his views on the court process.This could not have been more obvious, especially since he could hear clearly that the commander did not support this judicial process and harbored, so to speak, a kind of hostility towards the officer. Suddenly, he heard the officer roar.The officer managed to stuff the felt ball into the prisoner's mouth, and the prisoner couldn't help feeling sick, closed his eyes, and vomited.The officer hastily lifted the prisoner's head from the felt, trying to press it into the pit; but it was too late, and the dirt was spit out on the machine and flowed downward. "It's all the commander's fault!" shouted the officer, angrily grabbing the copper pillar and shaking it, "dirty my machine like a pigsty." He raised his trembling hands and pointed to the messy scene in front of the traveler. . "Whenever I didn't explain to the commander for several hours, hoping that he would understand that the prisoner can no longer be fed the day before the execution, but the generous officer just refused to listen. Before the prisoner was brought, the ladies around the commander They always stuffed him with sweets. He lived his whole life on rotten fish, and now he has to eat sweets! There's nothing wrong with that, I don't want to gossip, but three months ago I I just made a report, why haven’t I issued a new felt ball yet? Hundreds of people held this felt ball in their mouths before they died, but there was nothing on it? How could the prisoner bite it without feeling sick?” The prisoner lowered his head, looking very calm, and the soldier was busy wiping the machine with the prisoner's shirt.The officer walked towards the traveler, who seemed to have a premonition and took a step back, but the officer grabbed his hand and pulled him aside: "I want to say something heartfelt to you," he said, " Is it possible?" "Of course," replied the traveler, listening with lowered eyes. "The court proceedings and executions you are now privileged to watch are no longer openly supported in our penal colony. I am the only supporter and the only heir to the legacy of the old commander. Put this set To expand it any further is something I dare not hope for. Maintaining the status quo has exhausted all my energy. When the old commander was alive, the entire camp was full of his followers; I have also learned the old commander's ability to convince people A little; but I don't have any power in his hands; because of this, those followers don't show their faces. There are quite a few of them, but no one dares to admit it. If you go to the teahouse on today's execution day , listen around, you may hear only ambiguity. These people are all followers of the old commander, but under the jurisdiction of the present commander, with his current views, These people are of no use to me. Now I ask you, just because of this commander and the ladies who influenced him, such a life masterpiece," he pointed to the machine, "is it over? Can such a Is it happening? Even a foreigner, who only stays on our island for a few days, can stand by and watch? There is no time to waste any time now, people are preparing to challenge my judicial power; there is a meeting in the commander's mansion, but I was not called to attend; even your visit today proves the whole situation; they were cowardly, so they sent you, a foreigner, first. - What a grand scene of executions in the past! The day before the execution, the whole valley was crowded with people It was full to see the fun; early in the morning, the commander and his ladies arrived; the bugle sounded through the camp; I reported to the commander that everything was ready; those present-- The officers had to be present--lined around the machine; this pile of wicker chairs was a poor relic of that time. The machine was polished; I got new spare parts for almost every execution. Among hundreds of pairs of eyes Watching—the spectators crowded all the way to the hill, all on tiptoe watching—the prisoner was placed under the 'rake' by the commander himself. What an ordinary soldier is asked to do today, it was my big man at that time The work of the judges, that honors me. Now the executions begin! Not a single noise interferes with the work of the machines. Some no longer watch, but lie on the sand with closed eyes; everyone knows: justice has been done. A In the silence, only the moaning of the prisoner came through the felt. Now the machine can no longer make the prisoner moan loudly. The felt in the mouth is blocked, and nothing can be heard outside. At that time, the writing needle dripped a corrosive Liquids are no longer allowed. Well, it’s finally the sixth hour! It’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s requirement to watch closely. The commander wisely instructed that children should be taken special care of; Standing in front of the machine; often squatting there with a child in each arm. How we all are fascinated by the happy expression on the faces of the prisoners, and how we put our faces up to accept the light of justice that has finally come and is fading. What a bath! What year is that, my fellow!" The officer evidently forgot whom he was speaking to; he embraced the brigadeExperts, put their heads on other people's shoulders.The traveler, bewildered, looked impatiently over the officer's head.The soldiers finished the cleanup and are now pouring rice porridge from the iron box into the electric heating bowl.As soon as the prisoner saw the porridge, he stuck out his tongue and licked it. He seemed to have fully recovered.The soldier pushed his mouth away again and again, maybe it was not time to eat.But the soldier put his dirty hands into the bowl, picked up the hot porridge, and ate it in front of the greedy eyes of the prisoner, which was really disrespectful. The officer quickly got himself under control. "I don't want you to sympathize with me," he said. "Today it is impossible to convince others of that time. Besides, the machine is still working and doing its own thing. Although standing alone in the In this depression, it still shows its role. Finally, the corpses fall slowly into the pit with an incredible softness, although it is not like hundreds of people swarming around the earth pit like flies in those days. At that time, we had to A solid railing was installed around the pit, which has been dismantled long ago.” The traveler, wishing to avoid meeting the officer, looked aimlessly about, and the officer thought he was looking at the desolation in the valley; so the officer took him by the hands, moved his body, tried to catch his eye, and asked : "Do you understand the dishonor of the matter?" But the traveler made no reply.For a moment the officer didn't bother him either; the officer stood there with his legs apart, his hands on his hips, and his eyes fixed on the ground.Then, he smiled encouragingly to the traveler and said: "When the commander extended the invitation to you yesterday, I was by the side and heard him inviting you. I know the commander well, and I immediately understood his intention to invite you .Although he has the power to take measures to stop me, he dare not yet, but he must want me to learn your judgment, a popular foreigner. His small calculations are very good Fine; you've only been on our island for the second day, and you don't know the former commander and his way of thinking. You're all European in your thinking, and maybe you're against the death penalty in general, and against this use in particular.机器行刑的方式。再说，您也看见这次处决没有公众参加，用的又是一架有些破损的机器，显得多苍凉啊！——总之，（司令官这样设想）在这种情况下您不是很容易地就得出这一套程序是不可行的结论了吗？对这一切（我仍然按司令官的思路说）您是不会保持沉默的，因为您笃信你们那多次考验过的信念。当然啦，许多民族的奇风异俗您都见过，也懂得尊重它们，因之很可能不会像在你们国家那样为反对这种法律程序而大声疾呼。其实司令官也根本不需要这样，不经意地、只不过随随便便地丢上一句话就够了。只要表面上迎和了他的本意，符不符合您的信念根本无所谓。我敢肯定，他会十分巧妙地来套您的话。而且那些女士们会坐成一圈，竖着耳朵听；您大概会这么说：'我们国家的法庭程序是另外一个样子'，或者'我们那儿在判决前先要对被告进行审问'，或者'我们国家除了死刑还有其他刑罚'，或者'我们那儿只是在中世纪时有过刑讯逼供'等等。这些话都是对的，在您看来很自然，都是既不触及我们的法庭程序，又不得罪人的话。可是司令官对这些话会做何反应呢？我想象得出：他，我们好心的司令官，立刻把椅子一推，大步步向阳台，我可以看见他的那些女士们一窝蜂跟着他涌出来，我都能听得见他的声音——女士们称之为雷鸣之声——好，现在他说话了：'一位受命审查世界各国法庭程序的伟大的欧洲学者刚才说我们这套沿用古老传统的执法程序是不人道的。遵照如此重要的人士的意见，我自然再也不能容忍这种程序的存在了。我命令，从今天起……'等等，等等。您想挡住他，说他说的这些话不是您讲的，您没说我的程序不人道，相反，以您睿智的眼力看来，这套程序是最为人道的、最符合人类尊严的，而且，您非常赏识这架机器——但是太晚了；您到不了阳台上，上面让女士们挤满了；您想引起人们的注意，您想大喊；可是，一只女人的手会掩住您的嘴——于是，我和司令官的杰作就完蛋了。” 旅行家不得不忍住自己的笑意；原来他认为很难做答的题，竟是这么简单。他闪烁其词地说：“您过高地估计了我的影响；司令官看过我的介绍信，知道我并非法庭程序方面的行家。要是我要谈自己的看法，那也只是一己之见，并不比其他任何人的意见重要，比起司令官的高见来更是一文不值了；据我所知，司令官在这块流放地上握有至高无上的权力。如果他对这套程序的看法诚如所言，那恐怕无需我尽微薄之力，这套程序的末日也就到了。” 是不是军官听明白了呢？没有，他还没有听明白。他不停地摇着头，回头朝士兵和犯人匆匆扫了一眼，那两个吓了一跳，赶快停住不敢再吃，军官走到旅行家跟前，不看他的脸，而是瞅着他上衣上的什么地方说，声音比刚才低了些：“您不了解司令官；一定程序上可以说，您是他和我们大家——对不起，请原谅我这么说——都可以接受的人；您的影响，请相信我，怎么估计都不为过。听到让您一个人出席这次处决时，我确实是满心欢喜。司令官这种安排是想给我一个打击，但我却要使之对我有利。您不听别人的嘀嘀咕咕，不避鄙视的目光——这在参观的人多时总是难免的——，在毫无干扰的情况下听完了我的解说，参观了机器，现在就要观看处决过程了。您肯定已经做出了判断；假若还有什么地方不清楚，一看处决就全部一目了然了。现在我对您有个请求： 帮我来对付司令官吧！ " 旅行家不让他说下去。“这我怎么可能呢？”他脱口喊道，“这根本不行。我帮不了您，也不会妨碍您。” “您能够的，”军官更加急切地重复说。“我有个计划，这个计划一定会成功。您以为您的影响有限，可我知道已经够了。我承认您的话不错，但为了能保留下这一套程序，即使您的影响真的有限，难道没有必要试一试吗？那就请听听我的计划。为了实现这个计划，最重要的是您今天在流放地上尽量不谈自己对这套程序的看法。如果没人直接问到您，千万不要说话；即使说，也要短，要含混；让人觉得您不喜欢谈这个问题，您心里烦，如果一定要让您公开讲的话，您会大发雷霆、骂起人来的。我不是要您撒谎，绝不是；只是要您应付两句，比如：'是的，我观看了处决的过程'，或是'我听了全部解说'。就这些，不用多说。要流露出您的厌倦不满情绪，尽管司令官不高兴，理由也多的是。当然，司令官对这些会做出完全不同的理解并按自己的意思去解释。这正是我的计划的目的。明天司令官官邸里召开一次大型会议，由司令官主持，全体高级官员都参加。司令官当然已经学会了把这类会议搞得引人注目。盖了一座楼厅，上面总是坐满了观看的人。我不得不出席会议，但心里十分反感。不管怎么样，您肯定会接到邀请的；要是您今天照我的计划行事，那就会急切地请求您参加的。不过，假如您由于某种无法解释的原因而未接到邀请，您就得要求他们请您；这么一来，保准您参加定了。到明天您和那些女士们坐在司令官的包厢里。他不时地抬头向上望望，确信您的确坐在那里。开始讨论的都是各种各样无关紧要、可笑的事情，不过是给听众做做样子而已——多是有关码头修建的事，除了码头还有啥事！——下来就提到了法庭程序的事。假如司令官不提，或不马上就提，那我就想办法把这个问题提出来。我站起来，报告说今天的处决已经执行。话不多，就报告这一句。虽然在这种场合报告这件事不合时宜，但我要这样做。司令官像往常一样，亲切地微笑着说声'谢谢'，现在他已经按捺不住，立刻抓住了这个大好时机。'刚才，'就这样或是跟这也差不多地开始说话了，'报告了处决的事。对此我只想补充一句，就是有位伟大的学者正好也亲临了这次处决，对他这次使我们整个流放地感到无尚光荣的访问诸位均已知悉。连今天这次会议也因为他的出席而更加富有意义。我们现在是不是要听听这位伟大的学者的意见，看看他对这种传统的处决方式以及处决前的法庭程序有什么看法呢？'此言一出，自然是掌声四起，众口称颂，嗓门最高的是我。司令官向您鞠了一躬，说道：'那我就代表大家请您宣示高见。'于是您走到包厢护栏跟前。请把双手放在大家看得见的地方，不然那些女士们会抓起您的手，用手指摩摩挲挲。现在终于到了您说话的时候了。不知道这一时刻到来之前我怎么耐得住。您演说时根本不必限制自己，实话实说，大肆喧嚷；身子俯在护栏上边。大声嚷，对着司令官大声嚷着说出您的看法。说出您的坚不可摧的看法。可是，或许您不愿意这么干，这不符合您的品性；你们国家里碰到这种情况人们的举止完全两样，也行，就这已经足够了，您根本用不着站起来，只说这么几句话，轻轻地说，只让您下面的官员刚好听见，这就够了；您根本不用自己去提什么参观处决的人不多啦，齿轮'嘎、嘎'地响啦，皮带崩断啦，毡困令人作呕啦等等，不用，其它一切都夸我。请相信，要是我的发言没有把他赶出大厅，也会迫使他跪下承认：老司令官啊，我服了您啦。——这就是我的计划；您愿意帮我实现这个计划吗？您当然愿意啦，还不至此，您非帮我不可。”于是军官抓住旅行家的两只胳膊，吐着粗气，盯住他的面孔。最后几句话他简直是在嚷，连士兵和犯人都回过头来看；虽然他们什么也听不懂，却停住不再吃粥，嚼着嘴里的东西，把目光投向旅行家。 对旅行家来说，他的答复一开始就是明摆着的；他一生经历的够多了，在这里根本不会犹豫不决，他基本上是个诚实人，也无所畏惧。 尽管如此，现在面对士兵和犯人，他却一时间犹豫了。终于他开口了，它不能不说话： “不行。”军官两眼眨了几眨，目光一直未离开他。“您愿意听我解释吗？”旅行家问道。军官一声不吭地点点头。“我不赞成这种程序，”旅行家这么说，“还在您向我说心里话之前——这种信赖当然我在任何情况下都不会滥用——我已经考虑过我是不是有权干预这种程序，我的干预会不会有一丝成功的希望。我清楚办这种事得先向谁说：当然是找司令官啦。您使我对这一点更清楚了，却没有加强我的决心，相反，您的真诚信念虽不能动摇我的看法，却也使我感动。” 军官仍是一言不发，转身朝着机器，握住一根铜柱，身子稍稍后仰，向上看着“绘图员”，好像在查看是否一切正常。士兵和犯人看起来相互间像是已经熟了；犯人给士兵发了一个信号，尽管他全身捆得紧紧的，很难动作；士兵向他弯下身去；犯人悄悄对他说了几句话，他点头听着。 旅行家走到军官跟前说：“您还不知道我打算怎么办。虽然我要向司令官谈我对这套程序的看法，但不是在会议上谈，而是俩人私下谈；我也不会在这儿久呆，让人家把我拉去参加什么会议；明天一早我就离开，或者至少要上船。”看起来军官并没有仔细听。“这么说，这套程序并没有使您信服，”他自言自语地说，微微一笑，好像老人在笑孩子的无知，而在微笑的背后才是他自己实实在在的深思。 “那就该是时候啦，”他终于说道，突然看着旅行家，两眼明亮，蕴涵着某种恳求、某种希望参与的召唤。 “该是什么时候啦？”旅行家不安地问道，但却未得到回答。 “你自由啦，”军官操着犯人使用的语言对他说。犯人一开始不敢相信他的话。 “现在，你自由啦，”军官说。犯人的脸上第一次出现了生气。is this real?会不会是军官的一时高兴呢？会不会是这位外国游客使他慈心发现呢？what is the problem?所以他满脸狐疑，不过也时间不长。管它呢，只要允许，他希望真的获得自由，他开始在“耙子”容许的范围内使劲地摇动起来。 “你给我把皮带挣断啦，”军官喊着说。“别动！我们把皮带给你解开。”他给士兵打了个手势，两个人就动手解皮带。犯人不作声，却暗自在笑；一会儿把脸向左朝着军官，一会向右朝着士兵，也没在忘记朝旅行家看上一眼。 “把他拖出来！”军官命令士兵说。因为上方有“耙子”，这就得多加几分小心。犯人急不可待，结果背上给擦破了几处。可从这时起，军官就不大理睬犯人的事了。他走到旅行家跟前又掏出那个小皮夹子，在里面翻来翻去，终于找到了要找的那张纸，拿给旅行家看。 “您看看吧，”他说。“我看不懂纸上的这些东西。”“您把这张纸仔细看看，”军官说着走到旅行家身旁，想和他一起读，看到这样不行，就把小手指抬得高高的，仿佛这张纸不能触动似的，顺着纸面一划，好让旅行家顺着手指划的方向往下读。旅行家也尽力去读，想从中看出点东西，至少可以让军官高兴高兴；可他也是无能为力。于是军官开始一个字母一个字母地读标题，接着又连起来读。“写着'要公正！'”他说。“现在您可以读啦。”旅行家向纸面凑得很近，军官怕他碰着纸面，赶快把纸往远处挪了挪；虽然现在旅行家什么话也没有说，但非常清楚，他仍然是一点也看不懂。“写的是'要公正！'”军官再说了一遍。 “也许是吧，”旅行家说，“我相信上边是这么写的。”“那好，”军官说，至少一定程度上是满意了，然后拿着那张纸爬上梯子；他小心翼翼地在“绘图员”里把纸放好，然后显然是在对齿轮箱进行彻底调整；这是件很麻烦的事，要动的齿轮肯定很小；有时军官把整个脑袋都伸进“绘图员”里面，他得非常仔细地把齿轮箱检查一遍。 旅行家站在下面，一直目不转睛地看着他干，脖子都僵了，眼睛给满天的太阳光刺得发痛。士兵与犯人一起忙乎着。犯人的衬衫和裤子刚才扔在坑里，士兵用刺刀给挑了上来，衬衫脏得不得了，犯人拿到水桶里洗着。一会儿，他把衬衫和裤子穿到身上，结果士兵和他俩人忍不住大声笑起来，因为衣服后边刚才都让刀子划成了两半。也许是犯人觉得自己有义务让士兵开开心，所以穿着他那破烂不堪的衣服在士兵面前转着圈，而士兵蹲在地上，乐得双手在膝盖上拍打着。但是，碍于面前有两位上等人，他们还是克制克制自己。 军官在上边终于搞完了，他微笑着把各个部分扫视一番，这回把“绘图员”上一直开着的盖子也给扣上，走下梯子，先朝坑里一看，再看看犯人，满意地看到犯人已经把衣服拿了上来，然后走到水桶跟前去洗手。这才发现水脏得令人作呕，心里很不是滋味，因为他现在洗不成手了。最后，他把手插进了沙土里——这样做虽不能让他满意，但也只好凑合了— —，随即站了起来，开始解军服钮扣。解着解着，原来插在衣领后面的两块女人用的手绢掉到了手里。“这是你的手绢，拿去吧，”他说着把手绢扔给了犯人。然后他又向旅行家解释说：“女士们的赠品。” 尽管他在脱去军上装、随后一件件脱光身上衣服的时候明显地匆匆忙忙，但对每件衣服却非常珍惜，甚至特地用手指抚摸军装上的银色丝绦，抖了抖一条穗子，把它摆正。与这种一丝不苟的做法不大相称的是，他刚把一件衣服整好，虽然有些勉强，却是猛地一下扔进了土坑。剩下的最后一件东西就是短剑和短剑挂带。他从鞘中抽出短剑，把它弄断，然后抓起断片、剑鞘和皮带，统统扔进了坑里，他扔得很猛，坑底里发出了这些东西碰撞的声音。 现在他一丝不挂地站在那里。旅行家咬住嘴唇一声不吭。虽然他知道要发生什么事情，但他无权阻止军官的任何行动。如果说军官所眷恋的这套法庭程序确实已经到了该废除的时候——或许这是旅行家干预的结果，旅行家本人也觉得有义务这样做——那么，军官现在做的就没有一点不对；处在他的地位，旅行家也会这么做。起先士兵和犯人没弄清出了什么事，开始时连看都没有看。犯人非常高兴地收回了手绢，但也没能高兴多久，因为士兵一个突然而迅速的动作把手帕抢到了自己手里，塞在身后的皮带上；反过来犯人又想从士兵那儿再抢回来，但士兵却非常机警。所以，俩人半真半假地吵起来。直到军官一丝不挂地站在那儿时，才引起了他俩的注意。特别是犯人，他好像已经预感到要发生什么重大变故。刚才发生在他身上的事，现在要降临到军官身上了。也许会一发而不可收，很可能是这位外国旅行家下的命令，这真是报应。自己虽然只受了半截子刑，仇却要彻底地报。他裂开嘴巴无声地笑着，笑容挂在脸上，不肯退去。 军官呢，已经转身走向机器。虽说大家都知道他很熟悉机器，可现在看见他怎么摆弄机器、机器又怎么服服帖帖，仍然叫人感到吃惊。他只是把手凑近“耙子”动了一下，“耙子”就上下起落了几下，直到把位置调得刚好容下他自己才停下来；他只在“床”边上抓了一下，“床”就抖动起来；毡团对着他的嘴，只见他实在是不想咬进嘴里，可也没有犹豫多久就认了，张口咬住了毡团。一切就绪，只有皮带吊在两边，显然没有使用的必要，军官根本不需要上绑。这时犯人发现皮带松着，以他看，不捆皮带处决手续就不够完善，于是向士兵使劲挥挥手，俩人跑过去给军官捆皮带。军官本来已经伸出一只脚去蹬启动“绘图员”的手柄；看到这两个跑过来，就把脚抽回来，让他俩给自己把皮带捆上。可是现在他够不着手柄了；不管是士兵还是犯人，谁都不知道手柄在什么地方，旅行家又是铁了心站着不动。其实也没有这个必要；皮带刚一捆好，机器自己就动起来了；“床”颤抖着，针在皮肤上跳动，“耙子”一上一下地起落。旅行家已经盯着看了一会儿，却想起“绘图员”里有个齿轮是要响的；然而一切正常，连一点嗡嗡声都听不到。 机器静静地工作着，静得叫人几乎忘记了它的存在。旅行家朝士兵和犯人看了看。犯人显得比士兵更活跃，一切都让他感兴趣，一会儿弯下腰，一会儿直起身子，一直伸着食指给士兵指这指那。旅行家觉得很不舒服。他本来决心呆到这儿看到底，可看到这俩人的样子却受不了了。“你们回家去吧，”他说。士兵可能早就准备走了，可犯人觉得这一声命令简直是对他的惩罚。他合起双手哀求让他留在这儿，后来看到旅行家摇着头不肯让步，干脆就跪倒在地上。见命令这会儿不起作用，旅行家就要走过去把他俩赶走。突然他听到上面“绘图员”里面有响声，抬起头来向上望去。是不是那个齿轮又出故障了？但是，根本不是那回事。“绘图员”的盖子缓缓向上升起，最后完全打开。一个齿轮的齿露出来，渐渐升高，很快，整个齿轮暴露出来，仿佛是有一股巨大的神力把“绘图员”往一起挤压，弄得整个齿轮在里面连个容身的地方都没有了；齿轮自己转动着跑到“绘图员”边上，往下掉去，直直地落到沙地上，停住不动了。可是上边又冒出来一个齿轮，后边跟着出现了许许多多、大大小小和大小难分的齿轮，一个个都跟第一个一样，滚动着掉到了沙土地上。他总以为这下“绘图员”这给掏空了吧，突然间又冒出来一堆，数量特多，跌落下去，在沙地上滚动几下就宁息了。这个场面使犯人完全忘记了旅行家的命令，齿轮使他狂喜不已，他总想接住一个，推推士兵，要他帮忙，可是他立刻吓得缩回了手，因为后边紧接着又是一个，反正刚开始时把他给吓退了。 相反的是旅行家却心神不安；显然机器会变成一堆废铁；它那平静安宁的运转只是一种假象。他觉得这会儿应当照顾军官，因为他再也顾不了自己了。可是滚动着的齿轮完全吸引了他的注意力，他根本就忘了顾及机器的其余部分。然而现在，当最后一个齿轮从“绘图员”上滚落地下、他弯腰去看“耙子”时，他却看到一幕新的、更让人窝火的意外事。 “耙子”不是在写，而只是向下戳；“床”不再翻动人体，而是抖动着把人体向上往针尖上推。旅行家想插手，可能的话，就把整个机器停下来，这毕竟不是军官所希望进行的那种动刑场面，这简直是形同凶杀！他刚伸出双手，却见“耙子”叉着军官那已经刺穿的躯体向上升起，往一边转去，而这种情况通常只有到了第十二个钟头才会出现。鲜血，纯纯的血在向外淌，流成了几百条小河，连水管也失去了作用。现在连最后一个动作也卡住了，军官的身体没有从长长的针上脱开，鲜血直流，悬在土坑上方而不落下。“耙子”要回复原位，却好像没有摆脱本身的负荷，就老是停在土坑上方。“过来帮帮！”旅行家向士兵和犯人喊道，自己先抓住军官的双脚。他想自己在这头把脚向下压，那两个应该在另一头抱住军官的头，想这样缓缓地把军官从针刺上卸下来。可那两位犹豫着不肯过来；犯人干脆背过身去；旅行家只得走过来强迫他俩到军官头部那儿去。这时候，他却极不愿意地看见了死者的脸。军官的面孔一如生前，看不到一丝死后应得的解脱；别人在机器里得到的，军官却没有得到；他双唇紧闭，眼睛圆睁，仍具生命的气息，目光平静而充满了信念，一根粗粗的铁刺穿透了他的额头。 当旅行家后边跟着士兵和犯人走到流放地最早的房子跟前时，士兵指着其中一所说： “这就是茶馆。” 这所房子底层是一间又低又深的窑洞式屋子，四壁和顶棚让烟熏得漆黑。整个门面朝着街道敞开着，流放地上除了司令官的宫殿式建筑以外，其他房子全都破烂不堪，这家茶馆也不例外，但它却给旅行家一种回顾历史的印象，他感到了历史的威力。他向前走了几步，在两位陪伴者的跟随下，穿过门前街上的空桌子，吸着屋子里面流出来的阴凉、潮湿而带有霉味的空气。“老头子就埋在这儿，”士兵说道，“牧师拒绝在公墓里给他一块地方。一段时间里定不下来，该把他埋在什么地方，最后才把他埋在了这儿。这事军官肯定没有向您透露过一个字，当然啦，因为他觉得这事让他丢尽了脸面。有几次他想在晚上把老头子从这儿挖出来，可每次都给人赶跑了。”“墓在什么地方？”旅行家问，因为他不能相信士兵的话。士兵和犯人，俩人立刻一齐跑到他面前，胳膊一伸，指向墓地的所在。他们领着旅行家一直走到背墙跟前，那里的几张桌子旁都有人坐着。看来都是些码头工人，身强力壮，留着短短的大胡子。没有一个人穿外套，衬衣也是破破烂烂的，这是一群贫苦而倍受屈辱的人。旅行家走过时，有几个人站起身来。靠墙挤了挤，迎着他看。“是个外国人，”他们在旅行家四周互相低声说，“他要看坟墓。”他们把一张桌子推到一边，桌子底下确实有一块墓碑，一块普普通通的碑石，很矮，正好可以藏在桌子底下。上边的碑文字母很小，旅行家只好跪到地下才能看清。碑文是这样写的：“此处安息着老司令官。他的那些现在已不能附名的追随者为他修墓立碑。有预言道：若干年后，老司令官将会复活并从这所房子出发带领他的追随者收复这块流放地。保持信念，耐心等待！”读完碑文，旅行家站起来，发现汉子们围了他一圈微笑着，仿佛他们与旅行家一起读完了碑文，觉得碑文荒唐可笑，正期待着他亦有同感。旅行家装得视而不见，散给他们一些零钱，等桌子放回原地，就离开茶馆向码头走去。 士兵与犯人在茶馆里碰到几个熟人，就给留了下来。但他们肯定是立刻摆脱了这些人，因为旅行家才走到通往小船那长长的石阶的半道上，他们就赶来了，大概他们想在最后一刻强求旅行家带走自己。旅行家正在和一位船主就送他上轮船的事讨价还价，这两个沿石阶直奔而下，一声不吭，因为他们不敢声张。等他们跑到底下时，旅行家已经上了小船，船家正好撑船离岸。他们本来可以跳上小船，可是旅行家从船板上拾起一根沉沉的、打着结的缆绳威赫着，使他们不敢尝试一跳。