23 Fahrquhar dived—dived as deeply as he could。The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara，yet he heard the dull thunder of the volley and，rising again toward the surface，met shining bits of metal，singularly flattened，oscillating slowly downward。Some of them touched him on the face and hands，then fell away，continuing their descent。One lodged between his collar and neckit was unfortably warm and he snatched it out。
24 As he rose to the surface，gasping for breath，he saw that he hadbeen a long time under waterhe was perceptibly farther downstream—closer to safety。The soldiers had almost finished reloadingthe metal ramrods flashed all at once inthe sunshine as they were drawn from the barrels，turned in the air，and thrustinto their sockets。The two sentinels fired again，independently and ineffectually。
25 The hunted man saw all this over his shoulderhe was now swimming vigorously with the current。His brain was as energetic as his arms and legshe thoughtwith the rapidity of lightning：“The officer，”he reasoned，“will not make that martinet’s error a second time。It is as easy to dodge a volley as a single shot。He has probably already given the mand to fire at will。God help me，I cannot dodge them all！”
subdue：v。壓倒，征服
drawling：adj。慢吞吞的，慢條斯理的
aspirated：adj。送氣音的，文中指中尉在發出口號和命令時故意把詞發成送氣音。
chant：n。單調地說（或喊）
tranquility：n。安靜
martinet：n。訓練嚴格的軍人
dodge：v。躲
volley：n。子彈一齊發射
26 An appalling plash within two yards of him was followed by a loud，rushing sound，diminuendo，which seemed to travel back through the air to the fort and died in an explosion which stirred the very river to its deeps！A rising sheet ofwater，which curved over him，fell down upon him，blinded him，strangled him！The cannon had taken a hand in the game。As he shook his head free from the motion of the smitten water，he heard the deflected shot humming through the air ahead，and in an instant it was cracking and smashing the branches in the forest beyond。
27 “They will not do that again，”he thought，“the next time they will use a charge of grape。I must keep my eyes upon the gunthe smoke will apprise me—the report arrives too lateit lags behind the missile。That is a good gun。”
28 Suddenly he felt himself whirled round and round—spinning likea top。The water，the banks，the forests，the now distant bridge，fort，and men—all were mingled and blurred。Objects were represented by their colors onlycircular horizontal streaks of color—that was all he saw。He had been caught in a vortex and was being whirled on with a velocity of advance and gyration that made himgiddy and sick。In few moments he was flung upon the gravel at the foot of theleft bank of the stream—the southern bank—and behind a projecting point which concealed him from his enemies。The sudden arrest of his motion，the abrasionof one of his hands on the gravel，restored him，and he wept with delight。He dug his fingers into the sand，threw it over himself in handfuls，and audibly blessed it。It looked like diamonds，rubies，emeraldshe could think of nothing beautiful which it did not resemble。The trees upon the bank were giant garden plantshe noted a definite order in their arrangement，inhaled the fragrance of their blooms。A strange，roseate light shone through the spaces among their trunks and the wind made in their branches the music of Aeolian harps。He had no wish to perfect his escape—he was content to remain in that enchanting spot until retaken。
29 A whiz and a rattle of grapeshot among the branches high above his head roused him from his dream。The baffled cannoneer had fired him a random farewell。He sprang to his feet，rushed up the sloping bank，and plunged into the forest。
30 All that day he traveled，laying his course by the rounding sun。The forestseemed interminablenowhere did he discover a break in it，noteven a woodman’s road。He had not known that he lived in so wild a region。There was something uncanny in the revelation。
評注：種種細節在暗示我們，佩頓在這一章節所經曆的故事並非真實的，而是一種亦幻亦真的心理活動。
31 By nightfall he was fatigued，footsore，famished。The thought ofhis wife and children urged him on。At last he found a road which led him in what he knewto be the right direction。It was as wide and straight as a city street，yet it seemed untraveled。No fields bordered it，no dwelling anywhere。Not so much as the barking of a dog suggested human habitation。The black bodies of the trees formed a straight wall on both sides，terminating on the horizon in a point，like a diagram in a lesson in perspective。Overhead，as he looked up through this rift in the wood，shone great golden stars looking unfamiliar and grouped in strange constellations。He was sure they were arranged in some order which had a secret and malign significance。The wood on either side was full of singular noises，among which—once，twice，and again—he distinctly heard whispers in an unknown tongue。
diminuendo：n。漸弱的聲音
strangle：v。扼死
motion：n。混亂，騷動
mingle：v。混合
vortex：n。漩渦
velocity：n。速度
gyration：n。旋轉
giddy：adj。眼花繚亂的
abrasion：n。磨損
inhale：v。吸入
roseate：adj。紅潤的
baffled：adj。困惑的
interminable：adj。無盡頭的
uncanny：adj。神秘的
habitation：n。居住，住所
constellation：n。星群，星座
malign：adj。惡毒的
singular：adj。異常的
32 His neck was in pain and lifting his hand to it he found it horriblyswollen。He knew that it had a circle of black where the rope had bruised it。His eyes felt congestedhe could no longer close them。His tongue was swollen with thirsthe relieved its fever by thrusting it forward from between his teeth into thecold air。How softly the turf had carpeted the untraveled avenue—he could no longer feel the roadway beneath his feet！
33 Doubtless，despite his suffering，he had fallen asleep while walking，for now he sees another scene—perhaps he has merely recovered from a delirium。He stands at the gate of his own home。All is as he left it，and all bright and beautiful in the morning sunshine。He must have traveled the entire night。As he pushes open the gate and passes up the wide white walk，he sees a flutter of female garmentshis wife，looking fresh and cool and sweet，steps down from the veranda to meet him。At the bottom of the steps she stands waiting，with asmile of ineffable joy，an attitude of matchless grace and dignity。Ah，how beautiful she is！He springs forwards with extended arms。As he is about to clasp her，he feels a stunning blow upon the back of the necka blinding white light blazes all about him with a sound like the shock of a cannon—then all is darkness and silence！
turf：n。草皮
delirium：n。精神混亂
veranda：n。走廊
ineffable：adj。不可言喻的，難以表達的
34 Peyton Fahrquhar was deadhis body，with a broken neck，swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek bridge。
評注：作者在用大量的細節敘述佩頓的逃亡幻想後，突然將讀者從恍惚中拉回現實中來。原來那需要幾十分鍾才能讀完的以佩頓為視角的冗長敘事，不過是死刑執行前幾秒鍾這個死囚腦海裏的閃現。畢爾斯這種極為先鋒的寫作技巧後來給博爾赫斯等南美的魔幻現實主義作家留下了深刻的影響。
Comprehension Exercises：
1.Why does the author keep the reader in dark when what we read is no more than Peyton’s fantasy？
2.How does the blending of fantasy and reality help the plot’s development？
3.The story’s ending is rather ironic。What is the implication of such an irony？
安布魯斯·畢爾斯（1842—1914）：美國記者，社論作家，短篇小說家，以短篇小說《鷹溪橋上》和《魔鬼詞典》而聞名。畢爾斯出生於俄亥俄州，家中共有13個小孩。內戰初期他即加入北方軍隊，負責繪製戰場地圖。內戰結束後，他在舊金山定居，開始從事新聞寫作，並在那裏住了很多年，成為著名的專欄作者。1913年，他和朋友們一起重訪當年內戰時的戰場，結果在美國和墨西哥邊境處突然失蹤，從此下落不明。