Two or three weeks passed. One morning, having come to a pause in my work, I thought I would give myself a holiday, and I went to the Louvre.I wandered about looking at the pictures I knew so well, and let my fancy play idly with the emotions they suggested.I sauntered into the long gallery, and there suddenly saw Stroeve.I smiled, for his appearance, so rotund and yet so startled, could never fail to excite a smile, and then as I came nearer I noticed that he seemed singularly disconsolate.He looked woebegone and yet ridiculous, like a man who has fallen into the water with all his clothes on, and, being rescued from death, frightened still, feels that he only looks a fool.Turning round, he stared at me, but I perceived that he did not see me.His round blue eyes looked harrassed behind his glasses.
“Stroeve,”I said.
He gave a little start, and then smiled, but his smile was rueful.
“Why are you idling in this disgraceful fashion?”I asked gaily.
“It's a long time since I was at the Louvre. I thought I'd come and see if they had anything new.”
“But you told me you had to get a picture fnished this week.”
“Strickland's painting in my studio.”
“Well?”
“I suggested it myself. He's not strong enough to go back to his own place yet.I thought we could both paint there.Lots of fellows in the Quarter share a studio.I thought it would be fun.I've always thought it would be jolly to have someone to talk to when one was tired of work.”
He said all this slowly, detaching statement from statement with a little awkward silence, and he kept his kind, foolish eyes fxed on mine. They were full of tears.
“I don't think I understand,”I said.
“Strickland can't work with anyone else in the studio.”
“Damn it all, it's your studio. That's his look-out.”
He looked at me pitifully. His lips were trembling.
“What happened?”I asked, rather sharply.
He hesitated and flushed. He glanced unhappily at one of the pictures on the wall.
“He wouldn't let me go on painting. He told me to get out.”
“But why didn't you tell him to go to hell?”
“He turned me out. I couldn't very well struggle with him.He threw my hat after me, and locked the door.”
I was furious with Strickland, and was indignant with myself, because Dirk Stroeve cut such an absurd figure that I felt inclined to laugh.
“But what did your wife say?”
“She'd gone out to do some marketing.”
“Is he going to let her in?”
“I don't know.”
I gazed at Stroeve with perplexity. He stood like a schoolboy with whom a master is fnding fault.
“Shall I get rid of Strickland for you?”I asked.
He gave a little start, and his shining face grew very red.
“No. You'd better not do anything.”
He nodded to me and walked away. It was clear that for some reason he did not want to discuss the matter.I did not understand.
兩三周過去了,有天上午,我的寫作已經(jīng)暫時(shí)告一段落,我想應(yīng)該給自己放個(gè)假了,于是我去了羅浮宮。我在羅浮宮里閑逛,瀏覽我已經(jīng)很熟悉的那些畫作,任由我的想象和畫作中所蘊(yùn)含的感情隨意嬉戲,我漫步在長長的畫廊中,突然看到了斯特羅伊夫的身影。我禁不住微笑了,他的外表,矮矮胖胖,帶著隨時(shí)都會(huì)受到驚嚇的神色,不能不讓人暗自發(fā)笑。當(dāng)我離他更近一些的時(shí)候,我發(fā)現(xiàn)他似乎十分沮喪,看上去愁眉苦臉的,但還是給人很滑稽的感覺,就像一個(gè)人穿著衣服掉進(jìn)了水里,被人從死亡的邊緣救了回來,驚魂未定,讓人覺得他看上去就像個(gè)傻瓜。他轉(zhuǎn)過身子,兩眼盯著我,但我感覺他根本沒在看我。在他眼鏡后面,一雙湛藍(lán)的圓眼睛里露出受盡折磨的神色。
“斯特羅伊夫?!蔽医械馈?/p>
他嚇了一跳,隨后又笑了一下,可笑容是那么凄慘。
“你干嗎失神落魄地在這兒閑逛?”我高興地問道。
“我好長時(shí)間沒來羅浮宮了,我想應(yīng)該來看看他們是否在展覽一些新的東西?!?/p>
“但是你告訴過我,你在這周必須要畫完一幅畫的呀?!?/p>
“斯特里克蘭正在我的畫室里畫畫呢?!?/p>
“嗯?”
“是我自己建議他那樣做的。他的身體還不夠強(qiáng)壯到能回自己的畫室里作畫。我原來想我們兩個(gè)人可以一起在那兒作畫,在拉丁區(qū)很多畫家都是共用一間畫室的,我覺得這會(huì)很有意思。我總是想,如果一個(gè)人畫累了,有人能一起說說話,一定會(huì)是件很快樂的事。”
他說這些話時(shí),說得很慢,每說一個(gè)句子就面露尷尬之色地停頓半晌,他用善良的、蠢乎乎的眼睛注視著我,眼里充滿了淚水。
“我想我沒聽懂?!蔽艺f道。
“斯特里克蘭不能跟別的人一起在畫室作畫?!?/p>
“他媽的,那是你的畫室,他應(yīng)該自己想辦法?!?/p>
他可憐巴巴地看著我,嘴唇顫抖著。
“到底發(fā)生了什么事?”我問道,語氣很不客氣。
他遲疑了起來,臉也紅了,他難過地瞟了一眼墻上的畫。
“他不讓我繼續(xù)畫畫,叫我滾出去?!?/p>
“可是你為什么不叫他滾蛋呢?”
“他把我趕出來了,我總不能跟他打架呀,他把我的帽子從我身后扔了出來,然后鎖上了門?!?/p>
我對斯特里克蘭的行為怒火沖天,對迪爾柯也是哀其不幸,怒其不爭。因?yàn)榈蠣柨隆に固亓_伊夫扮演了這樣一個(gè)荒誕的角色,讓我忍不住想大笑一通。
“你的太太說了什么嗎?”
“她出門去市場買東西去了。”
“他會(huì)讓她進(jìn)門嗎?”
“我不知道。”
我困惑地瞪著斯特羅伊夫,他站在那兒活脫脫就像一個(gè)小學(xué)生,因?yàn)槔蠋煱l(fā)現(xiàn)了他的錯(cuò)誤,正在挨訓(xùn)。
“用我替你把他給趕走嗎?”我問道。
他嚇了一跳,淚光閃閃的臉變得通紅。
“可別,你最好什么也別做?!?/p>
他沖我點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭,然后走開了。很明顯,出于某種原因,他不想繼續(xù)討論這件事了,我感到有些莫名其妙。
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