よみうち英語Read the classics by typingNotes Scene 14: The Way Back
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Notes on this scene
James says he left when his father's anger became uncontrollable, then rushed back after hearing a dreadful cry. He found his father dying with a head wound and held him as he died. After kneeling beside him, James sought help from the gatekeeper. He saw nobody nearby and knew of no active enemies of his father.
Japanese in this scene
- 行かないうちに
- 〜ないうちに means ‘before doing.’ With 百五十ヤードも, the negative emphasizes that James had not even gone that distance before hearing the cry behind him.
- 息を引き取ろうとしていました
- 息を引き取る is an idiom meaning ‘to die’ or ‘breathe one's last.’ The volitional form followed by としていました describes death as imminent, rather than a deliberate intention.
- 私の知る限り
- ‘As far as I know.’ A plain verb can directly modify 限り. This phrase limits the claim to the speaker's knowledge: James does not assert that no unknown enemy could exist.
Full text: original English and Japanese translation
Seeing that his passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than 150 yards, however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me to run back again. I found my father expiring upon the ground, with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and held him in my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner's lodge-keeper, his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.'
父の怒りが抑えられなくなってきたのを見て、私は父と別れ、ハザリー農場のほうへ引き返しました。ところが、百五十ヤードも行かないうちに背後で恐ろしい叫び声が聞こえ、私はまた走って戻りました。父は頭にひどい傷を負い、地面に倒れて息を引き取ろうとしていました。私は銃を落として父を抱きかかえましたが、父はほとんどすぐに息を引き取りました。数分間そばにひざまずいたあと、いちばん近い家に住むターナーさんの門番のところへ、助けを求めに行きました。戻ったとき父のそばには誰も見えず、どうしてあのような傷を負ったのか、私にはまったく分かりません。父はいくらか冷淡で近寄りがたい物腰の人で、人に好かれてはいませんでしたが、私の知る限り、積極的に敵対する人間はいませんでした。この件について、これ以上のことは何も知りません』