"They arenot going to take thee away?" she cried.At that timethere was no rigid sequestration on the islands, and lepers, if they chose,were allowed to go free."I shallgo up into the mountain, " said Strickland.Then Ata stoodup and faced him."Let theothers go if they choose, but I will not leave thee. Thou art my man and I am thywoman. If thou leavest me I shall hang myself on the tree that is behind thehouse. I swear it by God. "There wassomething immensely forcible in the way she spoke. She was no longer the meek,soft native girl, but a determined woman. She was extraordinarily transformed."Whyshouldst thou stay with me? Thou canst go back to Papeete, and thou wilt soonfind another white man. The old woman can take care of thy children, and Tiarewill be glad to have thee back. ""Thou artmy man and I am thy woman. Whither thou goest I will go, too. "For a momentStrickland's fortitude was shaken, and a tear filled each of his eyes andtrickled slowly down his cheeks. Then he gave the sardonic smile which wasusual with him."Women arestrange little beasts, " he said to Dr. Coutras. "You can treat themlike dogs, you can beat them till your arm aches, and still they love you." He shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, it is one of the most absurdillusions of Christianity that they have souls. "“他们不会把你弄走吧？”她哭着说。当时在这些岛上还没有实行严格的隔离制度。害麻风病的人如果自己愿意，是可以留在家里的。“我要到山里去。”思特里克兰德说。这时候爱塔站起身，看着他的脸说：“别人谁愿意走谁就走吧。我不离开你。你是我的男人，我是你的女人。要是你离开了我，我就在房子后面这棵树上上吊。我在上帝面前发誓。”她说这番话时，神情非常坚决。她不再是一个温柔、驯顺的土人女孩子，而是一个意志坚定的妇人。她一下子变得谁也认不出来了。“你为什么要同我在一起呢？你可以回到帕皮提去，而且很快地你还会找到另一个白人。这个老婆子可以给你看孩子，蒂阿瑞会很高兴地再让你重新给她干活儿的。”“你是我的男人，我是你的女人。你到哪儿去我也到哪儿去。”有那么一瞬间，思特里克兰德的铁石心肠似乎被打动了，泪水涌上他的眼睛，一边一滴，慢慢地从脸颊上流下来。但是他的脸马上又重新浮现出平日惯有的那种讥嘲的笑容。“女人真是奇怪的动物，”他对库特拉斯医生说，“你可以象狗一样地对待她们，你可以揍她们揍得你两臂酸痛，可是到头来她们还是爱你。”他耸了耸肩膀。“当然了，基督教认为女人也有灵魂，这实在是个最荒谬的幻觉。”