Will could see the tightness around Gared's mouth, 威尔看见盖瑞紧抿的嘴唇，

the barely suppressed anger in his eyes under the thick black hood¹ of his cloak. 以及他厚重黑斗篷下强自遏抑的怒火。

Gared had spent forty years in the Night's Watch, man and boy, 盖瑞当了四十年的守夜人，

and he was not accustomed to being made light of. Yet it was more than that. 这种资历可不是随便让人寻开心的。但盖瑞不仅是愤怒，

Under the wounded pride, Will could sense something else in the older man. 在他受伤的自尊底下，威尔隐约察觉到某种潜藏的不安，

You could taste it; a nervous tension that came perilous² close to fear. 一种近似于畏惧的紧张情绪。

Will shared his unease. He had been four years on the Wall. 威尔深有同感。他戍守长城不过四年，

The first time he had been sent beyond, all the old stories had come rushing back, and his bowels³ had turned to water. 当初首次越墙北进，所有的传说故事突然都涌上心头，把他吓得四肢发软，

He had laughed about it afterward⁴. He was a veteran of a hundred rangings by now, 事后想起难免莞尔。如今他已是拥有百余次巡逻经验的老手，

and the endless dark wilderness⁵ that the southron called the haunted forest had no more terrors for him. 眼前这片南方人称作鬼影森林的广袤黑荒，他早已无所畏惧。

Until tonight. Something was different tonight. There was an edge to this darkness that made his hackles rise. 然而今晚是个例外，迥异往昔，四方暗幕中有种莫可名状、让他汗毛竖立的惊悚。

Nine days they had been riding, north and northwest and then north again, farther and farther from the Wall, 他们轻骑北出长城，中途转向西北，随即又向北，九天来昼夜加急、不断推进，

hard on the track of a band of wildling raiders. Each day had been worse than the day that had come before it. 紧咬一队土匪的足迹。环境日益恶化，

Today was the worst of all. A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle⁶ like living things. 今天已降到谷底。阴森北风吹得树影幢幢，宛如狰狞活物，

All day, Will had felt as though something were watching him, something cold and implacable that loved him not. 威尔整天都觉得自己受到一种冰冷且对他毫无好感的莫名之物监视，

Gared had felt it too. Will wanted nothing so much as to ride hellbent for the safety of the Wall, 盖瑞也感觉出了。此刻威尔心中只想掉转马头，没命似地逃回长城。

but that was not a feeling to share with your commander. 但这却是万万不能在长官面前说出的念头。