By Richard Edward Connell Jr.

Rainsford heard a sound. It came out of the darkness， a high screaming sound， the sound of an animal in an extremity（極端狀態(tài)）of anguish and terror. He did not recognize the animal that made the sound； he did not try to； with fresh vitality（生命力）he swam toward the sound. He heard it again； then it was cut short by another noise， crisp， staccato（斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的）.

“Pistol（手槍）shot，” muttered Rainsford， swimming on.

Ten minutes of determined effort brought another sound to his ears—the most welcome he had ever heard—the muttering and growling（隆隆響）of the sea breaking on a rocky shore. He was almost on the rocks before he saw them； on a night less calm he would have been shattered against them. With his remaining strength he dragged himself from the swirling waters. Jagged（鋸齒狀的）crags（險崖）appeared to jut up into the opaqueness（不透明）； he forced himself upward， hand over hand. Gasping， his hands raw（刺痛的）， he reached a flat place at the top. Dense（稠密的）jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. What perils（危險）that tangle of trees and underbrush（矮樹叢）might hold for him did not concern Rainsford just then. All he knew was that he was safe from his enemy， the sea， and that utter weariness was on him. He flung himself down at the jungle edge and tumbled headlong into the deepest sleep of his life.

When he opened his eyes he knew from the position of the sun that it was late in the afternoon. Sleep had given him new vigor（活力）； a sharp hunger was picking at him. He looked about him， almost cheerfully.

“Where there are pistol shots， there are men. Where there are men， there is food，” he thought. But what kind of men， he wondered， in so forbidding a place？ An unbroken front of snarled（纏結(jié)的）and jagged jungle fringed（是？？的邊緣）the shore.

He saw no sign of a trail through the closely knit web of weeds and trees； it was easier to go along the shore， and Rainsford floundered（掙扎，踉蹌）along by the water. Not far from where he had landed， he stopped.

Some wounded thing—by the evidence（跡象）， a large animal—had thrashed about（劇烈扭動） in the underbrush； the jungle weeds were crushed down and the moss was lacerated（撕裂的）； one patch of weeds was stained crimson（深紅色）. A small， glittering object not far away caught Rainsfords eye and he picked it up. It was an empty cartridge（彈藥筒）.

《最危險的游戲》（The Most Dangerous Game，又譯《最危險的獵物》）是美國著名短篇小說家兼記者理查德·愛德華·康奈爾（Richard Edward Connell Jr.， 1893—1949）最有名的小說。《最危險的游戲》講述了扎洛夫（Zaroff）將軍因狩獵技術高超而無法再從獵取動物中獲得滿足和快樂。對動物的厭倦使他把目標轉(zhuǎn)向人類，開始把狩獵人類作為游戲享受。某天，在海上航行的雷恩斯福德（Rainsford）遇到風暴，落海后被困在扎洛夫為狩獵而買下的島嶼，并被迫成為了將軍的獵物。在意識到自己極度危險的處境后，雷恩斯福德使出渾身解數(shù)，不得不與扎洛夫玩了一場貓捉老鼠的游戲。小說中雷恩斯福德提到了人類與動物的差別和人類生命的價值，并且告訴扎洛夫狩獵人類是一件可怕的、喪失倫理的事情。但是扎洛夫卻一笑而過，因為在他看來狩獵人類與殘忍的戰(zhàn)爭相比根本不值一提。讀者朋友們，您是如何看待“獵物”和“獵人”的呢？

“A twenty-two，” he remarked. “Thats odd. It must have been a fairly large animal too. The hunter had his nerve（有膽量）with him to tackle（對付）it with a light gun. Its clear that the brute put up a fight. I suppose the first three shots I heard was when the hunter flushed（把？？從隱蔽處趕出）his quarry（獵物）and wounded it. The last shot was when he trailed it here and finished it.” He examined the ground closely and found what he had hoped to find—the print of hunting boots. They pointed along the cliff in the direction he had been going. Eagerly he hurried along， now slipping on a rotten log or a loose stone， but making headway； night was beginning to settle down on the island.

Bleak darkness was blacking out the sea and jungle when Rainsford sighted the lights. He came upon them as he turned a crook（彎處）in the coastline； and his first thought was that he had come upon a village， for there were many lights. But as he forged（前進）along he saw to his great astonishment that all the lights were in one enormous building—a lofty（高聳的）structure with pointed towers plunging upward into the gloom. His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial（宮殿似的）chateau（城堡）； it was set on a high bluff， and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows.

“Mirage（幻景），” thought Rainsford. But it was no mirage， he found， when he opened the tall spiked（尖的）iron gate. The stone steps were real enough； the massive door with a leering（斜睨的）gargoyle（怪獸飾）for a knocker（門環(huán)）was real enough； yet above it all hung an air of unreality.

He lifted the knocker， and it creaked up stiffly， as if it had never before been used. He let it fall， and it startled him with its booming loudness. He thought he heard steps within； the door remained closed. Again Rainsford lifted the heavy knocker， and let it fall. The door opened then—opened as suddenly as if it were on a spring—and Rainsford stood blinking in the river of glaring gold light that poured out. The first thing Rainsfords eyes discerned was the largest man Rainsford had ever seen—a gigantic creature， solidly made and black bearded to the waist. In his hand the man held a long-barreled revolver（左輪手槍）， and he was pointing it straight at Rainsfords heart.

Out of the snarl of beard two small eyes regarded Rainsford.

“Dont be alarmed，” said Rainsford， with a smile which he hoped was disarming. “Im no robber. I fell off a yacht. My name is Sanger Rainsford of New York City.”

The menacing look in the eyes did not change. The revolver pointing as rigidly（牢牢地）as if the giant were a statue. He gave no sign that he understood Rainsfords words， or that he had even heard them. He was dressed in uniform—a black uniform trimmed with gray astrakhan（俄國羊羔皮）.

“Im Sanger Rainsford of New York，” Rainsford began again. “I fell off a yacht. I am hungry.”

The mans only answer was to raise with his thumb the hammer（擊鐵）of his revolver. Then Rainsford saw the mans free hand go to his forehead in a military salute（敬禮）， and he saw him click his heels together and stand at attention. Another man was coming down the broad marble steps， an erect（筆直的）， slender（苗條的）man in evening clothes. He advanced to Rainsford and held out his hand.

In a cultivated voice marked by a slight accent that gave it added precision and deliberateness（深思熟慮）， he said， “It is a very great pleasure and honor to welcome Mr. Sanger Rainsford， the celebrated hunter， to my home.”

Automatically Rainsford shook the mans hand.

“Ive read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet， you see，” explained the man. “I am General Zaroff.”

Rainsfords first impression was that the man was singularly handsome； his second was that there was an original， almost bizarre（奇異的）quality about the generals face. He was a tall man past middle age， for his hair was a vivid white； but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which Rainsford had come. His eyes， too， were black and very bright. He had high cheekbones， a sharpcut nose， a spare， dark face—the face of a man used to giving orders， the face of an aristocrat（貴族）. Turning to the giant in uniform， the general made a sign. The giant put away his pistol， saluted， withdrew.

……

“No animal had a chance with me anymore. That is no boast； it is a mathematical certainty. The animal had nothing but his legs and his instinct. Instinct is no match for reason. When I thought of this it was a tragic moment for me， I can tell you.”

Rainsford leaned across the table， absorbed in what his host was saying.

“It came to me as an inspiration what I must do，” the general went on.

“And that was？”

The general smiled the quiet smile of one who has faced an obstacle and surmounted（跨越）it with success.“I had to invent a new animal to hunt，” he said.

“A new animal？ Youre joking.” “Not at all，” said the general. “I never joke about hunting. I needed a new animal. I found one. So I bought this island， built this house， and here I do my hunting. The island is perfect for my purposes—there are jungles with a maze of traits in them， hills， swamps—”

“But the animal， General Zaroff？”

“Oh，” said the general， “it supplies me with the most exciting hunting in the world. No other hunting compares with it for an instant. Every day I hunt， and I never grow bored now， for I have a quarry with which I can match my wits.”

Rainsfords bewilderment showed in his face.

“I wanted the ideal animal to hunt，” explained the general. “So I said， ‘What are the attributes（特征）of an ideal quarry？ And the answer was， of course， ‘It must have courage， cunning（狡猾的）， and， above all， it must be able to reason（討論，講道理）.”

“But no animal can reason，” objected Rainsford.

“My dear fellow，” said the general， “there is one that can.”

“But you cant mean—” gasped Rainsford.

“And why not？”

“I cant believe you are serious， General Zaroff. This is a grisly（可怕的）joke.”

“Why should I not be serious？ I am speaking of hunting.”

“Hunting？ Great Guns， General Zaroff， what you speak of is murder.”

The general laughed with entire good nature. He regarded Rainsford quizzically（嘲弄地）. “I refuse to believe that so modern and civilized a young man as you seem to be harbors of romantic ideas about the value of human life. Surely your experiences in the war—”

“Did not make me condone cold-blooded murder，”finished Rainsford stiffly.

Laughter shook the general. “How extraordinarily droll（滑稽的）you are！” he said. “One does not expect nowadays to find a young man of the educated class， even in America， with such a naive（天真的）， and， if I may say so， mid-Victorian point of view. Its like finding a snuffbox（鼻煙盒）in a limousine（豪華轎車）. Ah， well， doubtless you had Puritan（清教徒）ancestors. So many Americans appear to have had. Ill wager（打賭）youll forget your notions（觀念）when you go hunting with me. Youve a genuine new thrill in store for you， Mr. Rainsford.”