夏輝

Excerpts1）

September 1， 1823

They were abandoning him. The wounded man2） knew it when he looked at the boy3）， who looked down， then away， unwilling to hold his gaze.

For days， the boy had argued with the man in the wolf-skin hat4）. Has it really been days？ The wounded man had battled his fever and pain， never certain whether conversations he heard were real， or merely by-products of the delirious5） wanderings in his mind.

He looked up at the soaring rock formation above the clearing. A lone， twisted pine had managed somehow to grow from the sheer face of the stone. He had stared at it many times， yet it had never appeared to him as it did at that moment， when its perpendicular6） lines seemed clearly to form a cross. He accepted for the first time that he would die there in that clearing by the spring.

The wounded man felt an odd detachment from the scene in which he played the central role. He wondered briefly what he would do in their position. If they stayed and the war party7） came up the creek， all of them would die. Would I die for them ... if they were certain to die anyway？

“You sure theyre coming up the creek？” The boys voice cracked as he said it. He could affect a tenor8） most of the time， but his tone still broke at moments he could not control.

The man in the wolf skin stooped hurriedly by the small meat rack near the fire， stuffing strips of partially dried venison9） into his parfleche10）. “You want to stay and find out？”

The wounded man tried to speak. He felt again the piercing pain in his throat. Sound came forth， but he could not shape it into the one word he sought to articulate.

The man in the wolf skin ignored the sound as he continued to gather his few belongings， but the boy turned. “Hes trying to say something.”

The boy dropped on one knee next to the wounded man. Unable to speak， the man raised his working arm and pointed.

“He wants his rifle，” said the boy. “He wants us to set him up with his rifle.”

The man in the wolf skin covered the ground between them in quick， measured steps. He kicked the boy hard， square in the back. “Move， goddamn you！”

He strode quickly from the boy to the wounded man， who lay next to the meager pile of his possessions： a possibles11） bag， a knife in a beaded scabbard12）， a hatchet13）， a rifle， and a powder horn. As the wounded man watched helplessly， the man in the wolf skin stooped to pick up the possibles bag. He dug inside for the flint14） and steel， dropping them into the pocket on the front of his leather tunic15）. He grabbed the powder horn and slung it over his shoulder. The hatchet he tucked under his broad leather belt.

“Whatre you doing？” asked the boy.

The man stooped again， picked up the knife， and tossed it to the boy.

“Take that.” The boy caught it， staring in horror at the scabbard in his hand. Only the rifle remained. The man in the wolf skin picked it up， checking quickly to ensure it was charged. “Sorry， old Glass. You aint got much more use for any of this.”

The boy appeared stunned. “We cant leave him without his kit16）.” The man in the wolf skin looked up briefly， then disappeared into the woods.

The wounded man stared up at the boy， who stood there for a long moment with the knife—his knife. Finally， the boy raised his eyes. At first it appeared that he might say something. Instead， he spun around and fled into the pines.

The wounded man stared at the gap in the trees where they had disappeared. His rage was complete， consuming him as fire envelops the needles of a pine. He wanted nothing in the world except to place his hands around their necks and choke the life from them.

Instinctively he started to yell out， forgetting again that his throat produced no words， only pain. He raised himself on his left elbow. He could bend his right arm slightly， but it would support no weight. The movement sent agonizing bolts through his neck and back. He felt the strain of his skin against the crude sutures17）. He looked down at his leg， where the bloody remnants18） of an old shirt were tightly wrapped. He could not flex his thigh to make the leg work.

Marshaling19） his strength， he rolled heavily to his stomach. He felt the snap of a suture breaking and the warm wetness of new blood on his back. The pain diluted20） to nothing against the tide of his rage.

Hugh Glass began to crawl.

作品賞析

邁克爾·龐克發(fā)表于2002年的小說《荒野獵人》的英文書名為“The Revenant： A Novel of Revenge”。書名中的revenant一詞源自法語，本意是久不相見的歸來的故人，又特指重現(xiàn)人間的已死之人。由此，這本書的全名直譯的話，可譯為“還魂者：復仇記”，這在一定程度上點出了故事的中心人物和發(fā)展脈絡。小說中的故事發(fā)生在1823年美國的密蘇里領地。故事開端，一支受雇于落基山毛皮公司的打獵隊伍正穿行在隆冬將至的北美大平原上。休·格拉斯是隊伍中經(jīng)驗老到的一員，探路時，他遭遇護幼心切的母灰熊襲擊，在與灰熊搏斗中身受重傷，奄奄一息。鑒于路途艱險，時間緊迫，狩獵隊隊長用70美元作為額外獎金，懸賞兩名隊員留下看護似乎將不久于人世的格拉斯，并負責處理其后事。隊員約翰·菲茨杰拉德和吉姆·布里杰選擇了留守，但對他們而言，每耽擱一日，滯留后方的危險就多一分。最終，他們還是選擇棄格拉斯而去，并帶走了這個將死之人的護身刀和火槍。兩人成功抵達營地后謊稱已將格拉斯妥善安葬。殊不知，這個從死亡線上掙扎著歸來的故人正艱難地為著復仇而來。

與前半段的故事鋪墊形成鮮明對比的是，作為一部以“復仇”為主題的小說，理應是故事高潮的復仇部分卻顯得有些令人“失望”。當格拉斯克服千難萬險抵達營地時，菲茨杰拉德已棄營逃走，只剩下滿心愧疚的布里杰。兩人之間的恩怨最終以格拉斯將布里杰痛打一頓作罷。格拉斯隨后找到了菲茨杰拉德，控告其偷了自己的火槍，但最后案子以菲茨杰拉德歸還火槍，并被處罰兩個月薪水不了了之。

這個有著“復仇”標題的故事之所以沒能以更戲劇化的復仇場面結尾，大概是因為與其他純虛構的作品不同，遭遇灰熊襲擊的獵人格拉斯的故事在歷史上確有其事，書中所涉及人物的最終命運也各有定論，容不得作者發(fā)揮得過于天馬行空。自從1824年一位費城律師將格拉斯的故事記述發(fā)表至今，這個傳奇故事不僅沒有隨著歲月流逝被人們遺忘，反而不斷演化出更多豐富細膩的情節(jié)。對于所有試圖重述這個故事的人而言，最大的挑戰(zhàn)既不是格拉斯與灰熊搏斗的駭人場景，也不是他在重傷之下向營地前進的驚心路途，而是如何回答這段歷史傳奇的終極疑問：為什么格拉斯如此大費周章地找到了拋棄他的隊友，最后卻沒有以“大快人心”的以命相抵收場？這也許是龐克這本小說最有野心和最耐人尋味的地方：作者不僅沒有回避這個“復仇邏輯”與“歷史真實”的錯位，反而將“復仇”醒目地放在標題里，又帶領讀者一路去到一個沒有以命相償?shù)膹统瓞F(xiàn)場。

對年輕獵人布里杰的復仇可以說最終以慈悲和寬恕收場。作者對于布里杰的細節(jié)刻畫最后使得這樣的復仇結果順理成章。與菲茨杰拉德表面自愿留下看護格拉斯，實為覬覦其火槍的動機不同，布里杰自愿留下的初衷被刻畫為想要對格拉斯平日的照拂之誼有所報償。在看護期間，布里杰為格拉斯燉湯敷藥，關懷備至。而他的在場似乎也使菲茨杰拉德有所顧忌，沒有對毫無抵抗能力的格拉斯痛下殺手。凡此種種，才使得命懸一線的格拉斯雖被搶奪了武器，陷身于茫?；囊埃瑓s最終度過了鬼門關，并開始了漫長的復仇之路。當格拉斯與布里杰在營地重逢時，年輕人誠懇的愧疚也使得格拉斯沒有下狠手。當格拉斯把布里杰打倒在地，并拔槍瞄準這個仇家時，格拉斯在心里想：“還手啊，混蛋！”因為對方的任何反抗都使他有足夠的理由射出復仇的子彈。然而這個復仇者在布里杰的眼中看到他“沒有惡意，只有畏懼；沒有反抗還手，只有任打任殺”。這顆復仇的子彈因此終究沒能射出。這對布里杰自然是一種寬恕，但對此前恨意蒙心的格拉斯而言，也未嘗不是一種解脫。

至于復仇的另一半，對貪財且利欲熏心的菲茨杰拉德的報復，最終以格拉斯憤而拔槍射傷菲茨杰拉德和庭審人員將格拉斯擊昏而暴力收場。當格拉斯來到營地時，菲茨杰拉德已棄營而逃，后來格拉斯發(fā)現(xiàn)菲茨杰拉德因打架斗毆，被強征入伍。他向菲茨杰拉德的總指揮官控告菲茨杰拉德是個賊，偷了自己的槍。但格拉斯和菲茨杰拉德對簿公堂的結果是，菲茨杰拉德謊稱自己受了布里杰的蒙騙，以為格拉斯已死，自己又受土著人追趕，這才慌忙逃走，并聲稱槍和刀都是布里杰拿的。眼見菲茨杰拉德的說辭似乎贏得了法官的認同，氣憤的格拉斯當庭拔槍，射中了菲茨杰拉德的肩膀。雖然沒有將菲茨杰拉德打死，但最終格拉斯要回了自己的火槍，且菲茨杰拉德被扣薪水，菲茨杰拉德也算是得到了報應。在這部分，作者神來一筆，虛構了庭審橋段，使這場無疾而終的復仇凸顯出彌漫于整本書的蠻荒之感。在庭審之前，小說的蠻荒感源自格拉斯的“失語”：他那被灰熊劃開的喉嚨喪失了部分發(fā)聲功能，導致他很長時間無法說話，而整日與他相伴的則是同樣口不能言的野獸、語言不通的印第安人和歐洲拓荒者。作為全書復仇結局的重頭戲，這場庭審鬧劇是書中對話非常密集的一部分，雖然看似充滿了“言說”，少了些許蠻荒感，但卻以形式上的“言說”和實質上的“失語”傳遞出了作者對于蠻荒的理解：它似乎既是言說的缺失，又是言說的濫用，而實際上是信任和溝通的缺席。

在真實歷史中，復仇者格拉斯幾年后死于印第安人的伏擊，亡命徒菲茨杰拉德在歷史的記述中銷聲匿跡，青年獵人布里杰后來習得了法語、西班牙語和多種印第安部落語言，活到將近80歲，以受人尊敬的一代山人形象為后人所銘記。若我們以龐克對三個人物的刻畫來解讀這段不了了之的復仇故事，它之后的真實歷史仿佛在表明，復仇的執(zhí)念雖然可以支撐一個身負重傷之人爬完數(shù)百英里的蠻荒之路，慈悲與寬恕所帶來的影響卻更加深遠。寬恕讓一個負疚之人得以改過自新，將成長印刻在人類緩慢前行的文明之路上。