CAN any man—a gentleman, I mean—call a woman a pig?" The little man flung this challenge forth to the whole group, then leaned back in his deckchair, sipping lemonade with an air commingled of certitude and watchful belligerence. Nobody made an answer. They were used to the little man and his sudden passions and high elevations.
      "I repeat, it was in my presence that he said a certain lady, whom none of you knows, was a pig. He did not say swine. He grossly said that she was a pig. And I hold that no man who is a man could possibly make such a remark about any woman."
      Doctor Dawson puffed stolidly at his black pipe. Matthews, with knees hunched up and clasped by his arms, was absorbed in the flight of a guny. Sweet, finishing his Scotch and soda, was questing about with his eyes for a deck-steward.
      "I ask you, Mr. Treloar, can any man call any woman a pig?"
      Treloar, who happened to be sitting next to him, was startled by the abruptness of the attack, and wondered what grounds he had ever given the little man to believe that he could call a woman a pig.
      "I should say," he began his hesitant answer, "That it—er—depends on the—er—the lady."
      The little man was aghast.
      "You mean ——" he quavered.
      "That I have seen female humans who were as bad as pigs—and worse."
      There was a long, painful silence. The little man seemed withered by the coarse brutality of the reply. In his face was unutterable hurt and woe.
      "You have told of a man who made a not nice remark, and you have classified him," Treloar said in cold, even tones. "I shall now tell you about a woman—I beg your pardon—a lady—and when I have finished I shall ask you to classify her. Miss Caruthers I shall call her, principally for the reason that it is not her name. It was on a P. & O. boat, and it occurred several years ago.
      "Miss Caruthers was charming. No; that is not the word. She was amazing. She was a young woman and a lady. Her father was a certain high official whose name, if I mentioned it, would be immediately recognized by all of you. She was with her mother and two maids at the time, going out to join the old gentleman wherever you like to wish in the East.
      "She—and pardon me for repeating—was amazing. It is the one adequate word. Even the most minor adjectives applicable to her are bound to be sheer superlatives. There was nothing she could not do better than any woman and than most men. Sing, play—bah!—as some rhetorician once said of old Nap, competition fled from her. Swim! She could have made a fortune and a name as a public performer. She was one of those rare women who can strip off all the frills of dress and in a simple swimming suit be more satisfyingly beautiful. Dress! She was an artist. Her taste was unerring.


      "And don't fail to mark, in the light of what is to come, that she was a prideful woman: pride of race, pride of caste, pride of sex, pride of power—she had it all, a pride strange and willful and terrible.
      "She ran the ship, she ran the voyage, she ran everything—and she ran Dennitson. That he had outdistanced the pack even the least wise of us admitted. That she liked him, and that this feeling was growing, there was not a doubt. I am certain that she looked on him with kinder eyes than she had ever looked with on man before. We still worshiped and were always hanging about waiting to be whistled up, though we knew that Dennitson was laps and laps ahead of us. What might have happened we shall never know, for we came to Colombo and something else happened.
      "You know Colombo, and how the native boys dive for coins in the shark-infested bay? Of course it is only among the ground sharks and fish sharks that they venture. It is almost uncanny the way they know sharks and can sense the presence of a real killer—a tiger shark, for instance, or a gray nurse strayed up from Australian waters. But let such a shark appear and, long before the passengers can guess, every mother's son of them is out of the water in a wild scramble for safety.
      "It was just after tiffin and Miss Caruthers was holding her usual court under the deck-awnings. Old Captain Bentley had just been whistled up and had granted her what he had never granted before—or since—permission for the boys to come up on the promenade deck. You see, Miss Caruthers was a swimmer and she was interested. She took up a collection of all our small change and herself tossed it overside, singly and in handfuls, arranging the terms of the contests, chiding a miss, giving extra rewards to clever wins; in short, managing the whole exhibition.
      "She was especially keen on their jumping. You know, jumping feet-first from a height, it is very difficult to hold the body perpendicularly while in the air. The center of gravity of the human body is high, and the tendency is to overtopple, but the little beggars employed a method new to her, which she desired to learn. Leaping from the davits of the boat deck above, they plunged downward, their faces and shoulders bowed forward, looking at the water; and only at the last moment did they abruptly straighten up and enter the water erect and true.
      "It was a pretty sight. Their diving was not so good, though there was one of them who was excellent at it, as he was at all the other stunts. Some white man must have taught him, for he made the proper swan dive and did it as beautifully as I have ever seen it done. You know, it is head-first into the water; and from a great height the problem is to enter the water at the perfect angle. Miss the angle and it means at the least a twisted back and injury for life. Also, it has meant death for many a bungler. This boy could do it—seventy feet I know he cleared in one dive from the rigging—clenched hands on chest, head thrown back, sailing more like a bird, upward and out, and out and down, body flat on the air, so that if it struck the surface in that position it would be spit in half like a herring. But the moment before the water is reached the head drops forward, the hands go out and lock the arms in an arch in advance of the head, and the body curves gracefully downward and enters the water just right.


      "This boy did this again and again to the delight of all of us, but particularly Miss Caruthers. He could not have been a moment over twelve or thirteen, yet he was by far the cleverest of the gang. He was the favorite of the crowd and its leader. Though there were many older than he, they acknowledged his chieftaincy. He was a beautiful boy, a lithe young god in breathing bronze, eyes wide apart, intelligent and daring—a bubble, a mote, a beautiful flash and sparkle of life. You have seen wonderfully glorious creatures—animals, anything, a leopard, a horse—restless, eager, too much alive ever to be still, silken of muscle, each slightest movement a benediction of grace, every action wild, untrammeled, and over all spilling out that intense vitality, that sheen and luster of living light. The boy had it. Life poured out of him almost in an effulgence. His skin glowed with it. It burned in his eyes. I swear I could almost hear it crackle from him. Looking at him, it was as if a whiff of ozone came to one's nostrils—so fresh and young was he, so resplendent with health, so wildly wild.
      "This was the boy, and it was he who gave the alarm in the midst of the sport. The boys made a dash of it for the gangway platform, swimming the fastest strokes they knew, pell-mell, floundering and splashing, fright in their faces, clambering out with jumps and surges, any way to get out, lending one another a hand to safety, till all were strung along the gangway and peering down into the water.
      "'What is the matter?' asked Miss Caruthers.
      "'A shark, I fancy,' Captain Bentley answered. 'Lucky little beggers that he didn't get one of them.'
      "'Are they afraid of sharks?' she asked.
      "'Aren't you?' he asked back.
      She shuddered, looked over at the water and made a moue.
      "'Not for the world would I venture where a shark might be,' she said, and shuddered again. 'They are horrible! Horrible!'
      "The boys came up on the promenade deck, clustering close to the rail and worshiping Miss Caruthers, who had flung them such a wealth of bakshish. The performance being over, Captain Bentley motioned to them to clear out; but she stopped him.
      "'One moment, please, Captain. I have always understood that the natives are not afraid of sharks.'
      "She beckoned the boy of the swan dive nearer to her and signed to him to dive over again. He shook his head and, along with all his crew behind him, laughed as if it were a good joke.
      "'Shark,' he volunteered, pointing to the water.
      "'No!' she said. 'There is no shark.'
      "But he nodded his head positively and the boys behind him nodded with equal positiveness.
      "'No, no, no!' she cried. And then to us: 'Who'll lend me a half-crown and a sovereign?'
      "Immediately the half-dozen of us were presenting her with half-crowns and sovereigns, and she accepted the two coins from young Ardmore.
      "She held up the half-crown for the boys to seen, but there was no eager rush to the rail preparatory to leaping. They stood there grinning sheepishly. She offered the coin to each one individually, and each, as his turn came, rubbed his foot against his calf, shook his head and grinned. Then she tossed the half-crown overboard. With wistful, regretful faces they watched its silver flight through the air, but not one moved to follow it.       


"'Don't do it with the sovereign,' Dennitson said to her in a low voice.
      "She took no notice, but held up the gold coin before the eyes of the boy of the swan dive.
      "'Don't!' said Captain Bentley. 'I wouldn't throw a sick cat overside with a shark around.'
      "But she laughed, bent on her purpose, and continued to dazzle the boy.
      "'Don't tempt him,' Dennitson urged. 'It is a fortune to him and he might go over after it.'
      "'Wouldn't you?' she flared at him. 'If I threw it?' This last more softly.
      "Dennitson shook his head.
      "'Your price his high,' she said. 'For how many sovereigns would you go?'
      "'There are not enough coined to get me overside,' was his answer.
      "She debated a moment, the boy forgotten in her tilt with Dennitson.
      "'For me?' she said very softly.
      "'To save your life—yes; but not otherwise.'
      "She turned back to the boy. Again she held the coin before his eyes, dazzling him with the vastness of its value. Then she made as if to toss it out, and involuntarily he made a half movement toward the rail, but was checked by sharp cries of reproof from his companions. There was anger in their voices as well.
      "'I know it is only fooling,' Dennitson said. 'Carry it as far as you like, but for Heaven's sake don't throw it.'
      "Whether it was that strange willfulness of hers, or whether she doubted the boy could be persuaded, there is no telling. It was unexpected to all of us. Out from the shade of the awning the coin flashed golden in the blaze of sunshine and fell toward the sea in a glittering arch. Before a hand could stay him the boy was over the rail and curving beautifully downward after the coin. Both were in the air at the same time. It was a pretty sight. The sovereign cut the water sharply, and at the very spot, almost at the same instant with scarcely a splash, the boy entered.
      "From the quicker-eyed black boys watching came an exclamation. We were all at the rail. Don't tell me it is necessary for a shark to turn on its back. That one didn't. In the clear water, from the height we were above it, we saw everything. The shark was a big brute and with one drive he cut the boy squarely in half.
      "There was a murmur or something from among us—who made it I did not know; it might have been I. And then there was silence. Miss Caruthers was the first to speak. Her face was deathly white.
      "'I—I never dreamed!' she said, and laughed a short, hysterical laugh.
      "All her pride was at work to give her control. She turned weakly toward Dennitson, and then on from one to another of us. In her eyes was a terrible sickness and her lips were trembling. We were brutes—oh, I know it, now that I look back upon it; but we did nothing!
      "'Mr. Dennitson,' she said—'Tom, won't you take me below?'
      "He never changed the direction of his gaze, which was the bleakest I have ever seen in a man's face; nor did he move an eyelid. He took a cigarette from his case and lighted it. Captain Bentley made a nasty sound in his throat and spat overboard. That was all—that and the silence.
      "She turned away and started to walk firmly down the deck. Twenty feet away she swayed and thrust a hand against the wall to save herself; and so she went on, supporting herself against the cabins and walking very slowly."
      Treloar ceased. He turned his head and favored the little man with a look of cold inquiry. "Well?" he said finally. "Classify her."
      The little man gulped and swallowed.
      "I have nothing to say," he said. "Nothing whatever to say."


译文来了，可是还没译完，太多了、
不过译了一大半了。。。。

“卡鲁赛尔斯小姐很漂亮。不对，这样说话还不恰当。她简直是惊人。她很年轻，而且是一位小姐。她父亲是一位高级官员，他的名字，如果我说出来，你们立刻全都知道。当时，她正跟他母亲和两个女佣人一起到东方去找那位老先生，至于究竟到哪里，那就随你们猜好了。
“她呀，恕我重复，简直是惊人。只有这个字眼才合适。要形容她，哪怕是最普通的形容词，都得加上一个“顶”字。她无论做什么事，都比任何女人，以至大多数男人，更胜一筹。唱歌，游戏---嘿!----那就像从前哪一位修辞学假说老拿破仑一样：所向无敌。游泳！她要是公开表演，准能名利双收。有一种很难得的女人，如果脱下各种衣服，不加打扮，换上简单的游泳衣，反而会显得更美，她就是这样的女人。讲到服装，她简直就是一位艺术家
“就说她的游泳吧。论体格，她称得上十全十美------你们也懂得我的意思。我不是指像杂技演员一样，肌肉粗壮，而是线条优美，身材苗条，肌肤柔软。此外，还得加上强壮有力。至于她怎么能具备这些条件，那可真是不可思议。你们都知道一个女人的胳膊有多么神妙----我的意思是说前臂，那样圆圆的，肌肉丰满，经过小小的肘子到柔软结实的手腕，很美妙的一路细下去，腕子很小，然而是那样不可思议的又小又圆又有力。这就是她的胳膊。可是，如果你瞧见她游泳，瞧见那种飞快的英国的自由式，唔----好吧，尽管我也懂得解剖学，运动和这一类的事情，要问她怎么能游得这个样子，对我来讲，仍然是一个谜。
“她能够在水下呆两分钟。我用表计算过。船上的人，除了邓尼森，谁也不能像她那样，一个猛子扎下去拾起那么多铜板。船头的主甲板上有个大帆布水池，装着六英尺深的海水。我们常常朝里面扔小钱。我曾经看到她从舰桥上跳下去---单是这样也不容易---她能钻到六英尺深的水里，把零零落落分布在水池底上的小钱，一下子捞上四十七个。邓尼森这个不大爱说话的英国青年，在这一方面也只能和她比成平手，从来没有胜过她。
“说她是海洋里的能手，这当然不成问题，不过，她也是一个陆地上的能手，一个马上的能手---一个---她简直是一个无所不能的女人。你如果瞧见她换上优雅的衣服首饰，露出无限温柔，在五六个热烈追求她的男人包围之中，懒洋洋的全不把他们放在心上，或者运用她的机智来驯服他们，作弄他们，以至刺痛他们，你就会认为，她生来就是为了来摆布他们的。遇到这种时候，我总是不禁要回忆到她从游泳池底捞上四十七个小钱的情形。她就是这样一个神奇的女人，无论干什么都很出色。


先请不要插楼，
还有最关键的没译完，
估计要等两天。。。

翻译工作已完成。。
发文

“这个小孩一次又一次的这样做，我们都很喜欢看，特别是卡鲁赛尔斯小姐。他至多不过十二三岁，可是在那群人里面，就数他最聪明。他那一伙儿人都喜欢他，同时，他还是他们的头儿。虽然其中有很多都比他大，他们都承认他是首领。他是一个美丽的孩子，好像一个身体柔软的少年神仙的青铜塑像，一双眼睛分得很开，又聪明，又大胆-----好像生活中的一个水泡，一粒微尘，一道美丽的闪光或者火花。你们都见过那种神妙光彩的小生命----我是说动物，任何一种动物，一只豹或者一匹马---他们都是那样动个不停，那样急切，那样活泼的一刻儿也不能安静，肌肉就像丝网，每一个极微小的动作都很优美，每一个举动都是那么奔放，那么不可拘束，处处都迸发着充沛的生命力，灿烂夺目的生命光辉。这个小孩就是这样。他几乎全身都射出了生命的光辉。他的皮肤闪烁着生命。他的眼睛里充满了炙热的生命。我敢说我几乎听到了生命从他身体里爆裂的声音。一瞧见他，就像鼻孔里闻到一股臭氧的气味---他就是这样的新鲜，这样身体健康，精神焕发，这样粗野奔放。
“他就是这样一个孩子，在比赛中发出警号的也是他。这些小孩子立刻拼命奔向舷门，用他们所会的最快的姿势游水，乱糟糟地、手脚不停的打得水花四溅，脸上充满了恐怖，一窜一跳地爬出水面，或者用任何其他方法上来，一个拉着一个的手跑到安全的地方，直到他们完全鱼贯地爬到了舷门上，从那儿瞧这下面的海水。
“‘怎么回事？’卡鲁赛尔斯小姐问道。
“‘照我看，大概是一条鲨鱼，’船长本利特回答道，‘这些小讨饭的真运气，一个也没有给它咬住。’
“‘他们怕鲨鱼吗？’她问道。
“‘难道你不怕吗？’他反问道。
她耸耸肩膀，向外瞧着水面，噘了一下嘴。
“‘无论给我什么，我也不感到可能有鲨鱼的地方去冒险。’她说完了，又耸了一下肩膀，‘它们真可怕！太可怕了！’
“这时候，那些孩子全走上了第一层甲板，聚在栏杆旁边，非常羡慕的望着给了他这么多赏钱的卡鲁赛尔斯小姐。表演已经结束了，于是，船长本特利就叫他们下船。可是，她拦住了他。
“‘等一会儿，对不起，船长。我一向听说这儿的土人不怕鲨鱼。’”
“她把那个会天鹅入水式的小孩喊到身边，对他做做手势，要他再跳水。他摇摇头，跟在他后面的那群小孩子笑了起来，觉得好像是在开玩笑。
“‘有鲨鱼。’他指着水面，主动地说。
“‘不，’她说，‘没有鲨鱼。’
“可是，不但他肯定的点着头，站在他后面的那些小孩子也同样肯定的点着头。
“‘没有，没有，没有！’她叫道。接着，她就对我们说：‘谁愿意借给我半个克朗和一个金镑？’


“我们六个人立刻掏出了许多克朗和金镑，但是他只从年轻的阿德莫尔手里接过了那两个硬币。
“她举起那个半朗克给小孩子们瞧。可是谁也没有急忙奔到栏杆旁边准备跳下去。他们都站在那儿，咧着嘴怯生生的笑着。她把这歌钱举到他们每一个人面前，，可是无论轮到了谁，他都使用脚心磨着自己的小腿，一面摇头，一面咧着嘴笑。后来，她把这个半朗克扔下了海。他们望着这个银币在半空中飞下去，脸上都带着惋惜渴望的神气，不过谁也没有跟着一块儿下去。
“‘千万别用那个金镑来引诱他们。’”邓尼森低声对她说。
“她一点儿也不理睬，反而用这个金币对那个会天鹅入水式的小孩子眼前晃来晃去。
“‘不能这样，’船长本利特说道，‘有鲨鱼的时候，我连一只生病的猫也不会扔下去。’
“可是她却笑了起来，一心要达到目的，她仍然引诱那个孩子。
“‘别引诱他，’邓尼森坚决地劝她，‘这对于他来说是一笔大钱，他可能跳下去的。’
“‘难道你不愿意跳下去吗？’她对他发作了起来，接着换成比较温和的口气说，‘如果我把它扔下去呢？’
“邓尼森摇了摇头。
“‘你的要价高了，’她说，‘要多少钱你才肯下去呢？’
“‘世界上还没有这么多钱可以引我下去。’这就是他的答复。
她争论了一会儿，因为在跟邓尼森争执，暂时把那个小孩子忘了。
“‘假如是为了我呢？’她非常小声地说。
“‘为了救你性命---我会下去的。别的就不成’
“她转过身来对着那个孩子，又把那枚硬币举到他眼前，利用他的巨大价值来引诱他。接着，她就做了一个要把它扔出去的样子，这时候，那个孩子好像不由自主似的向栏杆跑去，可是他的伙伴们的大声责备又把他拦住了。他们的声音还带着愤怒。
“‘我知道你不过只在逗着玩，’邓尼森说道，‘你愿意怎么逗他就怎么逗他好了，不过，看在老天面上，千万别扔出去。’
“当时，究竟这是出于她的古怪的任性，还是她觉得这个孩子不会上钩，谁也说不出所以然。总之，这完全出于我们的意料之外。那个金币一下就从天蓬的影子下面飞到了耀眼的太阳光里，在半空中划了一道亮晶晶的弧形奔向海面。大家还没来得及把那个孩子抓住，他就翻过了栏杆，非常美妙的弯着身体随着那个钱下去了。两个同时都在半空里。瞧起来很好看。金镑笔直地破水而入，那个孩子也在同一个地方，而且几乎是在同一刹那，几乎连声音都没有的钻到了水里。


“那些眼快的黑孩子叫着叫着就大叫了起来。当时我们都在栏杆旁边，别说什么鲨鱼吃人非翻身不可的话吧。这一条就没有翻身。那时候，水很清，我们从上面望下去，什么都清清楚楚。那条鲨鱼很大，他一下子就把那个孩子咬成了两半。
“也许就在这时候，我们之中有人咕噜了两句----至于是谁，我可不知道；也许那就是我。后来谁也不响了。第一个开口的就是卡鲁赛尔斯小姐。她的脸色白得跟死人一样。
“‘我•••••我做梦也没有想到。’她一面说，一面发出一种很短促的、神经质的笑声。
“她的全部骄傲都在勉力使她能克制自己。她有气无力地瞧着邓尼森，后来又一个一个的瞧着我们。她的眼睛里流露出一种可怕的难过神色，她的嘴唇一直在哆嗦着。我们都是畜生---唉，现在回头一想，我才真正明白了。可是，当时我们一点举动也没有。
“‘邓尼森先生，’她说道，‘汤姆，你愿意扶我下去吗？’
“他一点儿也没有改变他凝神注视的方向，那种冷淡的眼神，我从来没有在谁的脸上见过，他连眼皮也没有动一动。后来他就从他的烟盒里拿出一根烟卷，点了个火。船长本特利从喉咙里呼噜了一声，向船外吐了一口痰。这就是一切，除这几声，就是一片沉默。
“她转过身，打算镇定地走下甲板。走了不过二十英尺，她就摇晃起来，用手扶着墙以免栽倒。后来，她就这样走下去，用手扶着舱板，慢腾腾的走开了。”
特列洛尔停了一下。他回过头，用一种冷淡的质问眼光瞧着那个矮子。
“好吧，”他终于说道，“请你对她表示一下意见。”
那个矮子只是一口一口地咽下口里的唾沫。
“我没有什么可说，”他说道，“我什么话也没有。”


我有一本《国外儿童文学小说精选集》，上面就有这篇小说，中文版的

多谢楼主的翻译与分享，顶楼主

支持下LZ，谢谢