雙語·《刀鋒》 第五章 二

CHAPTER FIVE 2
第五章 二

Isabel had conceived the desire to make a tour of the tough joints, and because I had some acquaintance with them she asked me to be their guide. I did not much like the notion, because in places of that sort in Paris they are apt to make their disapproval of sightseers from another world unpleasantly obvious.But Isabel insisted.I warned her that it would be very boring and begged her to dress plainly.We dined late, went to the Folies-Bergère for an hour, and then set out.I took them first to a cellar near Notre Dame frequented by gangsters and their molls where I knew the proprietor, and he made room for us at a long table at which were sitting some very disreputable people, but I ordered wine for all of them and we drank one another’s healths.It was hot, smoky, and dirty.Then I took them to the Sphynx where women, naked under their smart, tawdry evening dresses, their breasts, nipples and all, exposed, sit in a row on two benches opposite one another and when the band strikes up dance together listlessly with their eyes on the lookout for the men who sit round the dance hall at marble-topped tables.We ordered a bottle of warm champagne.Some of the women gave Isabel the eye as they passed us and I wondered if she knew what it meant.
伊莎貝爾突發(fā)奇想，想到那些野去處瞧一瞧，鑒于我在那兒有熟人，便請(qǐng)我當(dāng)向?qū)?。我老大不愿意，因?yàn)榘屠璧倪@種地方不喜歡叫外人進(jìn)去參觀，他們對(duì)此毫不掩飾，十分叫人掃興?？墒?，伊莎貝爾非去不行。我提前告訴她，說那種地方非常叫人倒胃口，吩咐她穿著一定要樸素。我們很遲才吃晚飯，飯后去女神影院看了一個(gè)小時(shí)的短片。接下來，我先帶他們到圣母院附近的一處地下室，那兒是流氓惡棍和他們的姘頭常來常往之地。我認(rèn)識(shí)此處的老板，他為我們安排位子，讓我們坐到一張長條桌旁，同桌的顧客是幾個(gè)不三不四的人。我為所有的人都要了杯酒，大家相互敬酒。屋子里悶熱、骯臟，烏煙瘴氣的。后來，我又帶他們?nèi)チ怂狗铱怂刮鑿d，舞廳里的女人們穿著華麗卻俗氣，袒胸露懷，面對(duì)面坐在兩張長凳子上，樂隊(duì)奏舞曲時(shí)，她們便到舞池里無精打采地跳舞，一邊用眼睛搜索中意的男人——那些男客散坐在舞廳各處的大理石面桌子旁。我們叫了一瓶未冰鎮(zhèn)的香檳酒。有些女人經(jīng)過我們面前時(shí)，會(huì)給伊莎貝爾拋個(gè)眼色，我不知道伊莎貝爾是否明白其中的含意。

Then we went on to the Rue de Lappe. It is a dingy, narrow street, and even as you enter it you get the impression of sordid lust.We went into a café.There was the usual young man, pale and dissipated, playing the piano, while another man, old and tired, scraped away on a fiddle, and a third made discordant noises on a saxophone.The place was packed and it looked as though there wasn’t a vacant table, but the patron, seeing that we were customers with money to spend, unceremoniously turned a couple out, making them take seats at a table already occupied, and settled us down.The two persons who were hustled away did not take it well, and they made remarks about us that were far from complimentary.A lot of people were dancing, sailors with the red pompon on their hats, men mostly with their caps on and handkerchiefs round their necks, women of mature age, and young girls, painted to the eyes, bareheaded, in short skirts and coloured blouses.Men danced with podgy boys with made-up eyes；gaunt, hard-featured women danced with fat women with dyed hair；men danced with women.There was a frowst of smoke and liquor and of sweating bodies.The music went on interminably and that unsavoury mob proceeded round the room, the sweat shining on their faces, with a solemn intensity in which there was something horrible.There were a few big men of brutal aspect, but for the most part they were puny and ill-nourished.I watched the three who were playing.They might have been robots, so mechanical was their performance, and I asked myself if it was possible that at one time, when they were setting out, they had thought they might be musicians whom people would come from far to hear and to applaud.Even to play the violin badly you must take lessons and practise：did that fiddler go to all that trouble just to play fox-trots till the small hours of the morning in that stinking squalor?The music stopped and the pianist wiped his face with a dirty handkerchief.The dancers slouched or sidled or squirmed back to their tables.Suddenly we heard an American voice：
隨后，我們又去了拉佩街。那是一條臟兮兮、路面狹窄的小街。一到這兒，你就會(huì)油然產(chǎn)生污穢下流的印象。走進(jìn)一家咖啡館，只見一個(gè)面色蒼白、沉迷于酒色的年輕人在彈鋼琴，另有一個(gè)倦容滿面的老頭在刺刺拉拉地?fù)崆?，還有一個(gè)吹薩克斯管的，吹出來的調(diào)子雜亂無章。咖啡館里人滿為患，好像一張空桌子都沒有了。不過，老板看出我們是肯花錢的主顧，便毫不客氣地把一對(duì)男女趕到另外一張已經(jīng)坐了人的桌子去，請(qǐng)我們?cè)诳障聛淼淖琅宰隆１悔s走的那兩個(gè)人很不服氣，說了一些讓我們難以入耳的話。舞池里有許多人——有帽子上綴著紅絨球的水手，還有雜七雜八的男子（他們大多數(shù)都頭戴帽子，脖子上圍著帕巾）；有半老徐娘，也有青春女子，一個(gè)個(gè)描眉涂唇（她們都沒有戴帽子），下穿短裙，上穿五顏六色的罩衣。舞伴的搭配亂七八糟——有大男子和矮胖的小男孩跳（小男孩的眼睛化了妝），有身子干瘦、橫眉立目的女人和染了頭發(fā)的胖女人跳，也有男和女搭配跳。屋里彌漫著煙氣、酒味和汗臭味。舞曲沒完沒了地奏著，人群散發(fā)著難聞的氣味，在舞池里舞個(gè)不停，臉上的汗水閃著亮光，氣氛嚴(yán)肅、緊張，有一些可怕的成分在里邊。男客里有幾個(gè)大塊頭，面相兇狠，但大多數(shù)男客都是矮個(gè)，顯得營養(yǎng)不良。我看了看那三個(gè)樂手，覺得他們跟機(jī)器人一樣，演奏起來死板板的。我懷疑他們是否在起步時(shí)懷揣過夢(mèng)想，夢(mèng)想著自己有朝一日會(huì)成為大音樂家，引得人們從大老遠(yuǎn)趕來聽他們演奏，為他們喝彩。即便提琴拉得不好，也得請(qǐng)人教，也得練習(xí)呀！這位提琴手十年磨一劍，末了難道就是為了屈身于這么一個(gè)骯臟豬圈里，為人家拉狐步舞曲，一直拉到次日凌晨嗎？后來，音樂停止了，鋼琴手掏出一塊臟手絹揩揩臉。跳舞的人紛紛返回自己的座位，或無精打采，或腳步踉蹌，或身子歪斜。突然，我們耳邊傳來了一聲美國口音的叫喊：

“For Christ's sake.”
“我的老天呀！”

A woman got up from one of the tables across the room. The man she was with tried to stop her, but she pushed him aside and staggered across the floor.She was very drunk.She came up to our table and stood in front of us, swaying a little and grinning stupidly.She seemed to find the sight of us vastly amusing.I glanced at my companions.Isabel was staring at her blankly, Gray had a sullen frown on his face, and Larry gazed as though he couldn't believe hiseyes.
只見屋子另一頭有個(gè)女子從一張桌子旁站了起來。和她在一起的那個(gè)男子想攔她，卻被她一把推開，然后她就搖搖晃晃走了過來。她已經(jīng)有八九分醉了，來到我們的桌前，站在那兒，腳下有點(diǎn)立不穩(wěn)，傻里傻氣咧嘴笑著。她似乎覺得我們這幾個(gè)人很好笑似的。我偏頭望了望我的同伴們。伊莎貝爾木然瞅著她；格雷一臉慍色；拉里目瞪口呆，仿佛無法相信自己的眼睛一般。

“Hello，”she said.
“你們好呀！”那女子說道。

“Sophie，”said Isabel.
“原來是索菲！”

“Who the hell did you think it was?”she gurgled. She grabbed the waiter who was passing.“Vincent, fetch me a chair.”
“那你把我當(dāng)成了哪一個(gè)了？”索菲咯咯一笑。她一把扯住了一個(gè)從身邊走過的侍者，對(duì)他說道：“文森特，去給我拿把椅子來。”

“Fetch one yourself，”he said, snatching himself away.
“你自己拿去?！笔陶邟觊_她的手說道。

“Salaud，”she cried, spitting at him.
“你個(gè)壞東西?！彼R道，朝他啐了一口。

“T'en fais pas, Sophie，”said a big fat fellow with a great head of greasy hair, who was sitting next to us in his shirt-sleeves.“Here's a chair.”
“別擔(dān)心，索菲，這兒有椅子。”一個(gè)油頭粉面的大胖子喊了一聲。那家伙坐在我們的鄰桌，身上只穿了一件襯衣。

“Fancy meeting you all like this，”she said, still swaying.“Hello, Larry. Hello, Gray.”She sank into the chair which the man who had spoken placed behind her.“Let's all have a drink.Patron，”she screamed.
“想不到竟在此處碰上了你們諸位。”她說道，腳下仍站立不穩(wěn)，“你好，拉里！你好，格雷！”她打著招呼，一屁股坐在了那個(gè)胖子放在她身后的一把椅子上，“來，咱們一起干一杯。老板！”她扯著喉嚨叫了一聲。

I had noticed that the proprietor had his eye on us and now he came up.
我留意到那個(gè)老板一直在盯著我們，此時(shí)聞聲走了過來。

“You know these people, Sophie?”he asked, addressing her in the familiar second person singular.
“你認(rèn)識(shí)這幾個(gè)人，索菲？”他問道。他對(duì)索菲說話，用的是親昵的單數(shù)第二人稱。

“Ta gueule，”she laughed drunkenly.“They're my childhood friends. I'm buying a bottle of champagne for them.And don't you bring us any urine de cheval.Bring us something one can swallow without vomiting.”
“當(dāng)然認(rèn)識(shí)，”她醉醺醺地大笑著說，“他們是我小時(shí)候的朋友。我要請(qǐng)他們喝一瓶香檳酒。你可不要給我們把馬尿拿來。拿酒來，別喝了叫我們嘔吐?！?/p>

“You're drunk, my poor Sophie，”he said.
“你醉了，可憐的索菲。”老板說。

“To hell with you.”
“咸吃蘿卜淡操心?！?/p>

He went off, glad enough to sell a bottle of champagne-we for safety's sake had been drinking brandy and soda-and Sophie stared at me dully for a moment.
老板抽身走掉了，心里樂得賣掉了一瓶香檳酒。我們?yōu)榱税踩鹨?，只喝白蘭地?fù)教K打水。索菲用呆滯的目光盯著我，把我打量了一會(huì)兒。

“Who's your friend, Isabel?”
“伊莎貝爾，怎么不把你的這位朋友介紹一下？”

Isabel told her my name.
伊莎貝爾把我的名字告訴了她。

“Oh?I remember, you came to Chicago once. Bit of a stuffed shirt, aren't you?”
“啊，想起來了。你到芝加哥去過?？茨愕臉幼樱苡信深^呢，是不是？”

“Maybe，”I smiled.
“也許吧?！蔽倚α诵φf。

I had no recollection of her, but that was not surprising, since I had not been to Chicago for more than ten years and had met a great many people then and a great many since.
對(duì)于她，我卻是一點(diǎn)也想不起來了，其實(shí)這也并不奇怪，因?yàn)槿ブゼ痈缡鞘嗄昵暗氖虑榱耍?dāng)時(shí)及以后我又接觸到了許許多多的人。

She was quite tall and, when standing, looked taller still, for she was very thin. She wore a bright green silk blouse, but it was crumpled and spotted, and a short black skirt.Her hair, cut short and loosely curled, but tousled, was brightly hennaed.She was outrageously made up, her cheeks rouged to the eyes, and her eyelids, upper and lower, heavily blued；her eyebrows and eyelashes were thick with mascara and her mouth scarlet with lipstick.Her hands, with their painted nails, were dirty.She looked more of a slut than any woman there and I had a suspicion that she was not only drunk but doped.But one couldn't deny that there was a certain vicious attractiveness about her；she held her head with an arrogant tilt and her make-up accentuated the startling greenness of her eyes.Sodden with drink as she was, she had a bold-faced shamelessness that I could well imagine appealed to all that was base in men.She embraced us in a sardonic smile.
她的個(gè)子很高，站在那兒，由于瘦，就顯得更高了。她上穿一件鮮綠的絲綢衣衫，皺巴巴的，上面滿是污痕，下穿一條黑短裙，頭發(fā)染成了亮亮的紅褐色，剪得很短，馬馬虎虎盤了一下，亂得像雞窩。她把自己打扮得妖里妖氣，滿臉都搽了胭脂，上下眼皮涂成了深藍(lán)色，眉毛和睫毛上抹了濃濃的睫毛油，嘴唇用口紅染成了血紅色。她的手臟兮兮的，指甲蓋上涂著指甲油。她一看就是個(gè)蕩婦，比跟前的任何一個(gè)女人都顯得下流。我懷疑她不僅喝醉了酒，還吸了毒。不過，無可否認(rèn)的是，她身上有一股狐媚勁；她喜歡風(fēng)情萬種地把頭揚(yáng)得高高的，臉上的脂粉將綠眼珠子襯托得綠得驚人，盡管醉得厲害，卻有一種厚顏無恥的蕩勁，想象得來是頗受下流男人喜愛的。此時(shí)，只聽她沖著我們冷笑了一聲。

“I can't say you seem so terribly pleased to see me，”she said.
“看來，你們都不太高興見到我?！彼f道。

“I heard you were in Paris，”said Isabel lamely, a chilly smile on her face.
“聽說你來巴黎了?！币辽悹栍袣鉄o力地說道，臉上浮出的笑容冷冰冰的。

“You might have called me. I'm in the phone-book.”
“那你為什么不給我打電話。電話簿上有我的名字?！?/p>

“We haven't been here very long.”
“我們來的時(shí)間不長。”

Gray came to the rescue.
格雷趕忙解圍問道：

“Are you having a good time over here, Sophie?”
“你來這兒過得好嗎，索菲？”

“Fine. You went bust, Gray, didn't you?”
“還好。你破產(chǎn)了，格雷，是不是？”

His face flushed a deeper red.
格雷一聽，臉紅得跟豬肝一樣。

“Yes.”
“是的。”

“Tough on you. I guess it's pretty grim in Chicago right now.Lucky for me I got out when I did.For Christ's sake why doesn't that bastard bring us something to drink?”
“夠你嗆的。芝加哥那邊恐怕日子都不好過。幸虧我逃了出來。上帝呀，那個(gè)天殺的怎么還沒有把酒送來？”

“He's just coming，”I said, seeing the waiter threading his way through the tables with glasses and wine on a tray.
“正朝這邊走呢。”我瞧見一個(gè)侍者手舉托盤，上面放著酒杯和一瓶酒，正順著桌子間的甬道走過來，于是便這樣說道。

My remark drew her attention to me.
我的話把她的注意力吸引到了我身上。

“My loving in-laws kicked me out of Chicago. Said I was gumming up their f-reputations.”She giggled savagely.“I'm a remittance man.”
“我那慈愛的婆家人把我踢出了芝加哥，說我敗壞了他們家的名聲?！彼f完咯咯一笑，笑得野里野氣，“現(xiàn)在我是靠匯款過日子。”

The champagne came and was poured out. With a shaking hand she raised a glass to her lips.
香檳酒送來后，倒進(jìn)了杯子里。她哆嗦著手端起酒杯，把酒杯舉至唇邊。

“To hell with stuffed shirts，”she said. She emptied the glass and glanced at Larry.“You don't seem to have much to say for yourself, Larry.”
“那些勢(shì)利小人，去他們的吧?！彼f完一仰脖子喝光了杯中的酒，然后望了拉里一眼?！澳愫孟穸亲永餂]有多少話要說的，拉里。”

He had been looking at her with an impassive face. He had not taken his eyes off her since she had appeared.He smiled amiably.
拉里一直在觀察著她，臉上一點(diǎn)表情也沒有。自從她露面，他的眼睛一刻也沒離開過她。此時(shí)聽了她的話，他便沖她莞爾一笑。

“I'm not a very talkative guy.”
“我本來話就不多么。”他說。

The music struck up again and a man came over to us. He was a tallish fellow and well built, with a great hooked nose, a mat of shining black hair, and great sensual lips.He looked like an evil Savonarola.Like most of the men there he wore no collar and his tight-fitting coat was closely buttoned to give him a waist.
樂手們又奏起了音樂。一個(gè)家伙朝我們這邊走了過來，他個(gè)子比較高，長得虎背熊腰，大鷹鉤鼻，頭發(fā)油黑發(fā)亮，嘴唇厚墩墩的，面容有點(diǎn)像“惡人”薩伏那羅拉。跟屋里的大多數(shù)男人一樣，他沒有戴衣領(lǐng)，上衣的扣子扣得緊緊的，顯出他的腰身來。

“Come on, Sophie. We're going to dance.”
“來呀，索菲，咱們跳舞去。”

“Go away. I'm busy.Can't you see I'm with friends?”
“走開。我忙著呢。你沒看見我和朋友在說話嗎？”

“J'm'en fous de tes amis. To hell with your friends.You're dancing.”
“我才不管你的什么朋友不朋友呢。叫你的朋友見鬼去吧。你跟我跳舞去?！?/p>

He took hold of her arm but she snatched it away.
他說著一把抓住了索菲的胳膊，卻被索菲甩開了。

“Fous-moi la paix, espèce de con，”she cried, with sudden violence.
“松開我，你這個(gè)渾蛋！”她勃然大怒，吼了起來。

“Merde.”
“媽的?！?/p>

“Mange.”
“王八蛋?！?/p>

Gray did not understand what they were saying, but I saw that Isabel, with that strange knowledge of obscenity that the most virtuous woman seems to possess, understood perfectly, and her face went hard with a frown of disgust. The man raised his arm with his hand open, the horny hand of a workman, and was about to slap her, when Gray half raised himself from his chair.
格雷聽不懂他們的話，但我看出伊莎貝爾卻完全能理解他們的意思——奇怪的是，大多數(shù)講究道德修養(yǎng)的女子對(duì)污言穢語很敏感，一聽就懂。這時(shí)，只見她沉下臉來，蛾眉緊蹙，顯出一副厭惡的表情。那人舉起胳臂，張開他那只長滿老繭的工人的手，眼看就要扇在索菲的臉上。就在這時(shí)，格雷從椅子上半抬起身子，惡聲惡氣地大吼一聲：

“Allaiz vous ong，”he shouted, with his execrable accent.
“還不快滾！”

The man stopped and threw Gray a furious glance.
那人住了手，氣哼哼地瞥了格雷一眼。

“Take care, Coco，”said Sophie, with a bitter laugh.“He'll lay you out cold.”
“小心點(diǎn)，可可，”索菲奸笑了一聲說，“他會(huì)要你的命的?！?/p>

The man took in Gray's great height and weight and strength. He shrugged his shoulders sullenly and, throwing a filthy word at us, slunk off.Sophie giggled drunkenly.The rest of us were silent.I refilled her glass.
那人看了看格雷的個(gè)頭和體重，看得出他力大無窮，悻悻地聳聳肩膀，沖我們罵了一句臟話，灰溜溜地跑了。索菲醉醺醺地咯咯笑個(gè)不停。大家誰都沒有說話。我又給她的杯子斟滿了酒。

“You living in Paris, Larry?”she asked after she had drained it.
“你住在巴黎嗎，拉里？”她喝干杯中的酒，問道。

“For the present.”
“只是暫時(shí)的?！?/p>

It's always difficult to make conversation with a drunk, and there's no denying it, the sober are at a disadvantage with him. We went on talking for a few minutes in a dreary, embarrassed way.Then Sophie pushed back her chair.
跟一個(gè)喝醉酒的人說話一般是很吃力的。毫無疑問，沒喝酒的與喝醉酒的交談，總是談不攏。我們跟索菲說了一會(huì)兒話，氣氛別別扭扭，很是尷尬。后來，索菲把椅子向后一推，說道：

“If I don't go back to my boy friend he'll be as mad as hell. He's a sulky brute, but Christ, he's a good screw.”She staggered to her feet.“So long, folks.Come again.I'm here every night.”
“我再不回到我的男朋友那兒去，他會(huì)氣瘋的。那是個(gè)愛生氣的混球。不過，感謝上帝，他床上的功夫很棒。”她說著，搖搖晃晃站了起來，“再見，老鄉(xiāng)們。歡迎再來。我每天晚上都在這兒呢?！?/p>

She pushed her way through the dancers and we lost sight of her in the crowd. I almost laughed at the icy scorn on Isabel's classic features.None of us said a word.
她擠進(jìn)跳舞的人群，然后就消失了。伊莎貝爾那典雅的臉上冷若冰霜，掛著蔑視的表情，我看了差點(diǎn)沒笑出聲來。有半晌兒，大家誰都沒有說話。

“This is a foul place，”said Isabel suddenly.“Let's go.”
“這是個(gè)藏污納垢的地方，”伊莎貝爾突然蹦出了這么一句，“咱們走吧?！?/p>

I paid for our drinks and for Sophie's champagne and we trooped out. The crowd was on the dance floor and we got out without remark.It was after two, and to my mind time to go to bed, but Gray said he was hungry, so I suggested that we should go to Graf's in Montmartre and get something to eat.We were silent as we drove up.I sat beside Gray to direct him.We reached the garish restaurant.There were still people sitting on the terrace.We went in and ordered bacon and eggs and beer.Isabel, outwardly at least, had regained her composure.She congratulated me, somewhat ironically perhaps, on my acquaintance with the more disreputable parts of Paris.
我付了酒水錢，也為索菲的那瓶香檳酒埋了單。隨后，我們魚貫走出咖啡館。人們?nèi)栽谖璩乩锾鴤€(gè)不停，我們卻看也不看便離開了。時(shí)間已過兩點(diǎn)，我覺得應(yīng)當(dāng)睡覺了，可格雷說他肚子餓，于是，我建議到蒙馬特高地的格拉芙餐館去吃點(diǎn)東西。汽車啟動(dòng)時(shí)，大家都默默無語的。我坐在格雷身旁為他指路，一直把車開到了那家富麗堂皇的餐館。餐館的露臺(tái)上還坐有顧客。我們進(jìn)了門，要了雞蛋、火腿和啤酒。至少從表面看，伊莎貝爾已經(jīng)恢復(fù)了平靜。她用一種夾槍帶棒的口氣對(duì)我表示祝賀，祝賀我竟然和巴黎那些烏七八糟的地方有來往。

“You asked for it，”I said.
“是你自己提出來要去的?！蔽覔尠椎馈?/p>

“I've thoroughly enjoyed myself. I've had a grand evening.”
“反正我玩得倒是十分開心的，度過了一個(gè)美妙的夜晚。”

“Hell，”said Gray.“It stank. And Sophie.”
“糟透了，”格雷說，“想起來就叫人惡心。索菲也真夠可憐的?！?/p>

Isabel shrugged an indifferent shoulder.
伊莎貝爾不置可否地聳了聳肩。

“D'you remember her at all?”she asked me.“She sat next to you the first night you came to dinner with us. She hadn't got that awful red hair then.Its natural colour is dingy beige.”
“你能想起來她嗎？”她問我，“你第一次到我們家吃晚飯時(shí)，她就坐在你身旁。那個(gè)時(shí)候，她的頭發(fā)是原色，即淺棕色，沒有染成現(xiàn)在這種可怕的紅顏色。”

I threw my mind back. I had a recollection of a very young girl with blue eyes that were almost green and an attractive tilt to her head.Not pretty, but fresh and ingenuous with a mixture of shyness and pertness that I found amusing.
我回想了一下當(dāng)時(shí)的情景，記起了一個(gè)年齡不大的小女孩，一雙藍(lán)眼睛帶點(diǎn)綠色，說話時(shí)把腦袋一偏，挺招人喜歡的。她并不漂亮，但活潑、坦率，同時(shí)帶幾分靦腆和唐突，讓人覺得很有意思。

“Of course I remember. I liked her name.I had an aunt called Sophie.”
“當(dāng)然能想起來。我當(dāng)時(shí)就喜歡她的名字，因?yàn)槲矣袀€(gè)姑媽也叫索菲。”

“She married a boy called Bob Macdonald.”
“她嫁了一個(gè)叫鮑勃·麥克唐納的小伙子?！?/p>

“Nice fellow，”said Gray.
“那小伙子挺不錯(cuò)的。”格雷說道。

“He was one of the best-looking boys I ever saw. I never understood what he saw in her.She married just after I did.Her parents were divorced and her mother married a Standard Oil man in China.She lived with her father's people at Marvin and we used to see a lot of her then, but after she married she dropped out of our crowd somehow.Bob Macdonald was a lawyer, but he wasn't making much money, and they had a walk-up apartment on the North Side.But it wasn't that.They didn't want to see anybody.I never saw two people so crazy about one another.Even after they'd been married two or three years and had a baby they’d go to the pictures and he’d sit with his arm round her waist and she with her head on his shoulder just like lovers.They were quite a joke in Chicago.”
“在我見過的極為英俊的小伙子里面，他算其中的一個(gè)。我簡(jiǎn)直不明白他看上了索菲的哪一點(diǎn)。我剛結(jié)婚，她也結(jié)了婚。她的父母離異，母親改嫁給了一個(gè)在中國工作的美孚石油公司的人。她隨父親一家住在馬文，我們經(jīng)常見面。不過，她結(jié)婚之后，便淡出了我們的朋友圈。鮑勃·麥克唐納是個(gè)律師，掙錢卻不多。他們住在北區(qū)的一座沒有電梯的公寓樓里。不過，這也沒什么。他們相親相愛，那種熱乎勁真是少見。即便結(jié)婚已經(jīng)有兩三年而且生了一個(gè)孩子之后，他們上電影院時(shí)，還是像一對(duì)情侶——他摟著她的腰，而她把頭靠在他的肩上。他們一時(shí)成了芝加哥談笑的話題。”

Larry listened to what Isabel said, but made no comment. His face was inscrutable.
拉里聽伊莎貝爾說話，中間未置一詞，臉上帶著一種叫人捉摸不透的表情。

“What happened then?”I asked.
“后來怎么啦？”我問。

“One night they were driving back to Chicago in a little open car of theirs, and they had the baby with them. They always had to take the baby along because they hadn't any help.Sophie did everything herself, and, any-way, they worshipped it.And a bunch of drunks in a great sedan driving at eighty miles an hour crashed into them head on.Bob and the baby were killed outright, but Sophie only had concussion and a rib or two broken.They kept it from her as long as they could that Bob and the baby were dead, but at last they had to tell her.They say it was awful.She nearly went crazy.She shrieked the place down.They had to watch her night and day and once she nearly succeeded in jumping out of the window.Of course we did all we could, but she seemed to hate us.After she came out of the hospital they put her in a sanatorium and she was there for months.'
“一天晚間，他們開著自家的敞篷汽車返回芝加哥，孩子也和他們?cè)谝黄?。他們出去總把孩子帶上，因?yàn)榧依餂]人幫他們照料。反正索菲干什么事都自己來。再說他們也片刻離不開孩子。有幾個(gè)醉鬼開著一輛大轎車，以每小時(shí)八十英里的速度和他們的車迎頭相撞。鮑勃和孩子當(dāng)場(chǎng)死于非命。索菲被撞成了腦震蕩，還斷了一兩根肋骨。大家千方百計(jì)瞞著她，不讓她知道鮑勃和孩子已經(jīng)死了。瞞到最后，也只好將實(shí)情告訴了她。據(jù)說，當(dāng)時(shí)的情景可怕極了。她差點(diǎn)沒發(fā)瘋，哭天喊地，聲音能把房子都震塌。不分白天和黑夜，都有人看著她——有一次，她差點(diǎn)跳樓自殺。我們能做的全都做了，但她好像恨上了我們。出了醫(yī)院之后，又把她送進(jìn)了療養(yǎng)院，在那兒療養(yǎng)了幾個(gè)月?！?/p>

“Poor thing.”
“是個(gè)可憐的人呀?！?/p>

“When they let her go she started to drink, and when she was drunk she'd go to bed with anyone who asked her. It was terrible for her in-laws.They're very nice quiet people and they hated the scandal.At first we all tried to help her, but it was impossible；if you asked her to dine she'd arrive plastered and she was quite likely to pass out before the evening was over.Then she got in with a rotten crowd and we had to drop her.She was arrested once for driving a car when she was drunk.She was with a dago she'd picked up in a speak-easy and it turned out that he was wanted by the cops.”
“一旦放松了監(jiān)管，她就開始酗酒，喝醉了，誰要她，她就跟誰睡覺。她夫家的人身陷窘境。他們都是些老老實(shí)實(shí)的本分人，十分痛恨她的丑聞陋行。起初，我們還想幫她一把，但無濟(jì)于事。你請(qǐng)她吃飯，她來時(shí)就已經(jīng)喝得醉醺醺的了，不等散席便不省人事了。后來，她跟一些不三不四的人交往，我們只好和她一刀兩斷了。一次，她因醉駕而被捕。車上還有一個(gè)人，是她隨便勾搭上的一個(gè)混混，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)此人是警方通緝的逃犯?！?/p>

“But had she money?”I asked.
“她靠什么生活呀？”我問。

“There was Bob's insurance；the people who owned the car that smashed into them were insured and she got something from them. But it didn't last long.She spent it like a drunken sailor and in two years she was broke.Her grandmother wouldn't have her back at Marvin.Then her in-laws said they'd make her an allowance if she'd go and live abroad.I suppose that’s what she’s living on now.”
“有鮑勃的人壽保險(xiǎn)呢。和他們撞車的那輛車的車主上了保險(xiǎn)，她獲得了一些賠償。但那點(diǎn)錢沒多久便花光了。她揮霍無度，花錢如流水，不出兩年就一貧如洗了。她的祖母不肯讓她回馬文去。她夫家的人說，如果她到國外定居，就給她寄生活費(fèi)。我想，她現(xiàn)在就是靠這筆錢過日子呢?！?/p>

“The wheel comes full circle，”I remarked.“There was a time when the black sheep of the family was sent from my country to America；now apparently he's sent from your country to Europe.”
“這可真是命運(yùn)的大輪回呀。”我說道，“想當(dāng)初，我們國家把害群之馬流放到美國去，而今你們美國則將害群之馬送到歐洲來了?！?/p>

“I can't help feeling sorry for her，”said Gray.
“我真是為索菲感到惋惜呀?！备窭渍f。

“Can't you?”said Isabel coolly.“I can. Of course it was a shock and no one could have sympathized with Sophie more than I did.We'd known one another always.But a normal person recovers from a thing like that.If she went topieces it's because there was a rotten streak in her.She was naturally unbalanced；even her love for Bob was exaggerated.If she'd had character she'd have been able to make something of life.”
“是嗎？”伊莎貝爾冷靜地說，“我卻不這么想。當(dāng)然，那是一次沉重的打擊。按說，我比任何人都同情索菲。我們倆可是知根知底的。不過，一個(gè)正常人總是能夠恢復(fù)過來的。她一蹶不振，只是因?yàn)樗羞@方面的劣根性。她在本性上是不健全的。就連她對(duì)鮑勃的愛情都超過了正常的范圍。假如她性格堅(jiān)強(qiáng)，便可以重新爬起來，繼續(xù)生活下去?！?/p>

“If pots and pans……Aren't you very hard, Isabel?”I murmured.
“人和人是不同的……你是不是太嚴(yán)苛了些，伊莎貝爾？”我咕噥了一句。

“I don't think so. I have common sense and I see no reason to be sentimental about Sophie.God knows, no one could be more devoted to Gray and the babes than I am, and if they were killed in a motor accident I should go out of my mind, but sooner or later I'd pull myself together.Isn't that what you'd wish me to do, Gray, or would you prefer me to get blind every night and go to bed with every apache in Paris?”
“恐怕并非如此。我覺得應(yīng)該保持理智，在看待索菲這件事上實(shí)在不應(yīng)該感情用事。上帝知道，誰也沒有我對(duì)格雷及兩個(gè)孩子的感情深，如果他們死于車禍，我會(huì)發(fā)瘋的，但遲早會(huì)重新振作起來。格雷，你是愿意讓我重新振作起來，還是愿意叫我夜夜喝個(gè)大醉，然后隨便跟巴黎的哪個(gè)混混上床睡覺？”

Gray then came as near to making a humorous remark as I ever heard him.
格雷的回答很妙，可以說是我聽到他所說的最幽默的一段話：

“Of course I'd prefer you to hurl yourself on my funeral pyre in a new Molyneux dress, but as that's not done any more, I guess the best thing you could do would be to take the bridge. And I'd like you to remember not to go an original no-trump on less than three and a half to four quick tricks.”
“當(dāng)然，我倒愿意讓你穿一件莫利紐克斯服裝店的衣服跳進(jìn)我的火葬堆陪葬，只是現(xiàn)在不準(zhǔn)這樣做了。所以，我想你最好的出路就是打橋牌了。請(qǐng)你一定要記住：不要急于求成，不要一開始就出王牌，而應(yīng)該等到手中有三疊半到四疊牌再說?！?/p>

It was not the occasion for me to point out to Isabel that her love for her husband and her children, though sincere enough, was scarcely passionate. Perhaps she read the thought that was passing through my mind, for she addressed me somewhat truculently.
此時(shí)不是時(shí)候，我不便向伊莎貝爾指出她對(duì)丈夫和孩子們的愛是誠摯的，但并不怎么熱烈。也許，她看出了我心里在想什么，于是略帶挑戰(zhàn)意味地問我：

“What have you got to say?”
“你是怎么看的？”

“I'm like Gray, I'm sorry for the girl.”
“和格雷一樣，我為那女孩子感到惋惜?！?/p>

“She's not a girl. She's thirty.”
“她不是女孩子了，都三十歲的人了?！?/p>

“I suppose it was the end of the world for her when her husband and her baby were killed. I suppose she didn't care what became of her and flung herself into the horrible degradation of drink and promiscuous copulation to get even with life that had treated her so cruelly.She'd lived in heaven and when she lost it she couldn't put up with the common earth of common men, but in despair plunged headlong into hell.I can imagine that if she couldn't drink the nectar of the gods any more she thought she might as well drink bathroom gin.”
“我想她的丈夫和孩子一死，就等于是世界末日的來臨。至于她自己會(huì)有什么樣的結(jié)果，她已完全不在乎了，于是便陷入墮落的泥潭，酗酒和淫亂。她認(rèn)為命運(yùn)之神對(duì)她過于殘酷，于是便借此進(jìn)行報(bào)復(fù)。她本來住在天堂，現(xiàn)在天堂失去了，卻又住不慣平凡人的平凡世界，因此，絕望之余，一頭鉆進(jìn)了地獄?？梢韵胂蟮脕恚热辉僖埠炔簧咸旖绲沫倽{玉液，那她情愿喝廁所里的小便?！?/p>

“That's the sort of thing you say in novels. It's nonsense and you know it's nonsense.Sophie wallows in the gutter because she likes it.Other women have lost their husbands and children.It wasn't that that made her evil.Evil doesn't spring from good.The evil was there always.When that motor accident broke her defences it set her free to be herself.Don’t waste your pity on her；she’s now what at heart she always was.”
“這是你們作家在小說里講的一套大道理。完全是無稽之談，是瞎胡扯。索菲陷入泥潭，那是因?yàn)樗矚g那兒。喪夫喪子的大有人在，誰也不像她。并非一次事故就會(huì)叫人變壞；壞并不是由好變過來的，而是本身就存在。車禍沖破了她的防線，于是她就露出了本性。你可不要憐香惜玉，浪費(fèi)你的感情，她現(xiàn)在這個(gè)樣子，其實(shí)就是她的本來面目?！?/p>

All this time Larry had remained silent. He seemed to be in a brown study and I thought he hardly heard what we were saying.Isabel's words were followed by a brief silence.He began to speak, but in a strange, toneless voice, as though not to us, but to himself；his eyes seemed to look into the dim distance of past time.
在這段時(shí)間里，拉里一句話也沒說。他似乎在思考著什么，我們的話恐怕并沒有聽進(jìn)耳朵里去。伊莎貝爾說完話，一時(shí)誰都沒有再吭聲。后來，拉里開了口，聲音古怪、單調(diào)，不像是對(duì)我們說話，而像自言自語，目光仿佛飄向了如煙似霧般過去的歲月。

“I remember her when she was fourteen with her long hair brushed back off her forehead and a black bow at the back, with her freckled, serious face. She was a modest, high-minded, idealistic child.She read everything she could get hold of and we used to talk about books.”
“記得她十四歲的時(shí)候留著長發(fā)，頭發(fā)從額頭朝后梳，在后面打一個(gè)黑蝴蝶結(jié)，臉上有雀斑，表情沉穩(wěn)。那時(shí)，她是個(gè)謙虛、高尚、充滿理想的孩子，什么書都喜歡看。我們經(jīng)常在一起談詩論文。”

“When?”asked Isabel, with a slight frown.
“什么時(shí)候呀？”伊莎貝爾把眉頭微微一皺，問道。

“Oh, when you were out being social with your mother. I used to go up to her grandfather's and we'd sit under a great elm they had there and read to one another.She loved poetry and wrote quite a lot herself.”
“哦，就是你和你的母親出外從事社交活動(dòng)的時(shí)候。我常到她祖父家，我們就坐在他們家的大榆樹下讀書，有時(shí)我給她念，有時(shí)她給我念。她喜歡詩歌，寫了許多詩呢?！?/p>

“Plenty of girls do that at that age. It's pretty poor stuff.”
“那個(gè)年齡的女孩子都喜歡寫寫詩，都是些蹩腳的歪詩?！?/p>

“Of course it's a long time ago and I dare say I wasn't a very good judge.”
“當(dāng)然，那是許久以前的事了。那時(shí)候，我不太懂詩，看不出來優(yōu)劣?！?/p>

“You couldn't have been more than sixteen yourself.”
“那時(shí)候，你頂多也只有十六歲。”

“Of course it was imitative. There was a lot of Robert Frost in it.But I have a notion it was rather remarkable for so young a girl.She had a delicate ear and a sense of rhythm.She had a feeling for the sounds and scents of the country, the first softness of spring in the air and the smell of the parched earth after rain.”
“當(dāng)然嘍，她的詩都是模擬之作，許多地方學(xué)的是羅勃特·弗羅斯特。不過，我覺得那么小的孩子能把詩寫成那樣，相當(dāng)了不起。她心思細(xì)密，寫出的詩很有節(jié)奏感。鄉(xiāng)間的聲音和氣息——早春柔和的芳香以及干旱土地在雨后散發(fā)出的氣味，都能引起她的共鳴?！?/p>

“I never knew she wrote poetry，”said Isabel.
“我從來不知道她在寫詩?！币辽悹栒f。

“She kept it a secret, she was afraid you'd all laugh at her. She was very shy.”
“她守口如瓶，生怕你們會(huì)取笑她。她比較害羞?！?/p>

“She's not that now.”
“她現(xiàn)在可不害臊了?！?/p>

“When I came back from the war she was almost grown-up. She'd read a lot about the condition of the workingclasses and she'd seen something of it for herself in Chicago.She'd got on to Carl Sandburg and was writing savagely in free verse about the misery of the poor and the exploitation of the working classes.I dare say it was rather commonplace, but it was sincere and it had pity in it and aspiration.At that time she wanted to become a social worker.It was moving, her desire for sacrifice.I think she was capable of a great deal.She wasn't silly or mawkish, but she gave one the impression of a lovely purity and a strange loftiness of soul.We saw a lot of one another that year.”
“我從戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上歸來時(shí)，她幾乎已長成個(gè)大人了。關(guān)于工人階級(jí)的生存狀況，她讀了許多這方面的書，在芝加哥也有所耳聞目睹。她癡迷于卡爾·桑德堡的詩，自己也拼命寫自由體的詩，反映窮苦人水深火熱的生活以及工人階級(jí)受剝削的情況。依我看，她的詩平淡無奇，然而卻感情真摯，滿懷同情之心，充滿了熱忱。那時(shí)，她想當(dāng)一個(gè)社會(huì)工作者。她那種對(duì)公益事業(yè)的獻(xiàn)身精神讓人感動(dòng)。我覺得她很有能力，頭腦一點(diǎn)不糊涂，遇到問題不是感情用事，而給人一種純潔可愛、心靈高尚的印象。那一年里，我們經(jīng)常見面?！?/p>

I could see that Isabel listened to him with growing exasperation. Larry had no notion that he was driving a dagger in her heart and with his every detached word twisting it in the wound.But when she spoke it was with a smile on her lips.
可以看得出，伊莎貝爾越聽越惱怒。拉里全然不知自己在拿刀子捅她的心窩，每說一句話，就像是用刀子在她的傷口上攪動(dòng)了一下。不過，輪到伊莎貝爾說話的時(shí)候，她的嘴角卻掛著笑容。

“How did she come to choose you for her confidant?”
“她怎么會(huì)選中你，對(duì)你推心置腹呢？”

Larry looked at her with his trustful eyes.
拉里用坦蕩的目光望了望她。

“I don't know. She was a poor girl among all of you who had plenty of dough, and I didn't belong.I was there just because Uncle Bob practised at Marvin.I suppose she felt that gave us something in common.”
“我也不清楚。你們都是有錢人，而她家很窮，我和她都不屬于你們那個(gè)階層。我到馬文去，只是因?yàn)榧{爾遜叔叔在那兒行醫(yī)。也許，她覺得我們倆在這方面有共同之處吧?！?/p>

Larry had no relations. Most of us have at least cousins whom we may hardly know, but who at least give us a sense that we are part of the human family.Larry's father had been an only son, his mother an only daughter；his grandfather on one side, the Quaker, had been lost at sea when a young man and his grandfather on the other side had neither brother nor sister.No one could be more alone in the world than Larry.
拉里舉目無親。一般人都有些堂兄堂妹什么的，雖然并不熟悉，卻至少有一種感覺，覺得自己是一個(gè)家族的成員。拉里的父親是獨(dú)生子，母親是獨(dú)生女；他的祖父是教友派教徒，年紀(jì)很輕時(shí)就在海上遇難，他的外祖父沒有兄弟，也沒有姐妹。在這個(gè)世界上，恐怕數(shù)拉里最為孤單了。

“Did it ever occur to you that Sophie was in love with you?”asked Isabel.
“索菲愛你，這些你可曾想到過嗎？”伊莎貝爾問。

“Never，”he smiled.
“從沒想到過?！崩镄α诵φf。

“Well, she was.”
“哦，她是愛你的。”

“When he came back from the war as a wounded hero, half the girls in Chicago had a crush on Larry，”said Gray in his bluff way.
“拉里是戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上負(fù)了傷的英雄，當(dāng)年返回故鄉(xiāng)時(shí)，半個(gè)芝加哥的女孩子都迷上了他?！备窭滓运欠N坦率的語氣說。

“This was more than a crush. She worshipped you, my poor Larry.D'you mean to say you didn't know it?”
“索菲不僅僅是迷戀，還崇拜你?？蓱z的拉里，她的感情你難道一無所知嗎？”

“I certainly didn't and I don't believe it.”
“我當(dāng)然不知道。我也不相信?！?/p>

“I suppose you thought she was too high-minded.”
“也許，你把她想得太高尚了?！?/p>

“I can still see that skinny little girl with the bow in her hair and her serious face whose voice trembled with tears when she read that ode of Keats's because it was so beautiful. I wonder where she is now.”
“我仿佛仍能看見那個(gè)瘦瘦的小女孩，頭發(fā)上扎了個(gè)蝴蝶結(jié)，表情嚴(yán)肅，讀起濟(jì)慈的頌歌來，聲音有點(diǎn)發(fā)抖，眼里涌出淚水來，因?yàn)闈?jì)慈的詩寫得太美了。真不知那個(gè)小女孩今在何方?！?/p>

Isabel gave a very slight start and threw him a suspicious inquiring glance.
伊莎貝爾微微吃了一驚，帶著迷惑不解的神情把拉里看了一眼。

“It's getting frightfully late and I'm so tired I don't know what to do. Let's go.”
“時(shí)間太晚了。我累得都不知道怎么樣才好了。咱們走吧?！?/p>