Though he was hot from walking, he shivered. 虽然走路走得浑身燥热，却不由得打了个寒战。

There was something hostile in the air which made him hesitate, and he felt that invisible forces barred his way. 空气中似乎有什么敌视他的东西，叫他望而却步；他觉得有一种看不见的势力阻拦着他，

Unseen hands seemed to draw him back. 许多只看不见的手往后拉他。

No one would go near now to gather the cocoa-nuts, and they lay rotting on the ground. 没有人再到这里来采摘椰子，椰果全都腐烂在地上，

Everywhere was desolation. 到处是一片荒凉破败的景象。

The bush was encroaching, 低矮的树丛从四面八方侵入这个种植园，

and it looked as though very soon the primeval forest would regain possession of that strip of land which had been snatched from it at the cost of so much labour. 看来人们花费了无数血汗开发出的这块土地不久就又要被原始森林重新夺回去了。

He had the sensation that here was the abode of pain. 库特拉斯医生有一种感觉，仿佛这是痛苦的居留地。

As he approached the house he was struck by the unearthly silence, and at first he thought it was deserted. Then he saw Ata. 他越走近这所房子，越感到这里寂静得令人心神不安。开始他还以为房子里没有人了呢，但是后来他看见了爱塔。

She was sitting on her haunches in the lean-to that served her as kitchen, watching some mess cooking in a pot. 她正蹲在一间当厨房用的小棚子里，用锅子煮东西，

Near her a small boy was playing silently in the dirt. 身旁有一个小男孩，一声不出地在泥土地上玩儿。

She did not smile when she saw him. 爱塔看见医生的时候，脸上并没有笑容。

"I have come to see Strickland," he said. “我是来看思特里克兰德的。”他说。

"I will go and tell him." “我去告诉他。”