雙語·《刀鋒》 第六章 五

CHAPTER SIX 5
第六章 五

It was getting late. The crowd had thinned out and only a few tables were occupied.The people who had been sitting there because they had nothing else to do had gone home.Those who had been to a play or a picture and had come to have a drink or a bite to eat had left.Now and then latecomers straggled in.I saw a tall man, evidently an Englishman, come in with a young rough.He had the long, washed-out face with thinning wavy hair of the British intellectual and evidently suffered from the delusion common to many that when you are abroad no one you know at home can possibly recognize you.The young rough greedily ate a great plate of sandwiches while his companion watched him with amused benevolence.What an appetite.I saw one man whom I knew by sight because he went to the same barber's at Nice.He was stout, elderly, and grey-haired, with a puffy red face and heavy pouches under his eyes.He was a Middle Western banker who had left his native city after the crash rather than face an investigation.I do not know whether he had committed any crime；if he had, he was perhaps too small fry to put the authorities to the trouble of getting him extradited.He had a pompous manner and the false heartiness of a cheap politician, but his eyes were frightened and unhappy.He was never quite drunk and never quite sober.He was always with some harlot who was obviously getting all she could out of him, and he was now with two painted middle-aged women who treated him with a mockery they didn't trouble to conceal while he, only half understanding what they said, giggled fatuously.The gay life！I wondered if he wouldn't have done better to stay at home and take his medicine.One day his women would have squeezed him dry and then there would be nothing left for him but the river or an overdose of veronal.
時間已經(jīng)很晚了。客人們紛紛離去。只有幾張桌子旁還坐著人。那些沒有事做來消磨時間的人都回家去了。那些看完戲劇或電影跑來小酌或墊補(bǔ)肚子的人，也已經(jīng)離去。時不時會有幾個夜貓子晃晃悠悠走進(jìn)來。這時，只見一個高個子（一看就知道是個英國人）和一個小混混走了進(jìn)來。此人像是個英國的知識分子，有一張馬臉，面色蒼白，一頭鬈發(fā)，已開始謝頂。他跟許多人一樣有一種幻想癥，總以為一到了國外，以前的熟人就認(rèn)不出他來了。小混混在狼吞虎咽地吃一大盤三明治，而他在一旁觀看，臉上帶著喜悅和慈祥的神情。真是好胃口呀！在食客中，我看見了一張熟悉的面孔，認(rèn)出那人在尼斯時和我去同一家理發(fā)店理過發(fā)。那是個大胖子，上了點(diǎn)年紀(jì)，頭發(fā)花白，有一張?zhí)撃[的紅臉，眼睛下是兩個大眼袋。他是美國中西部的一個銀行家，經(jīng)濟(jì)大崩潰之后離開了故鄉(xiāng)，不愿面對政府部門的調(diào)查。不知道他是否犯了罪，即便犯了罪，在法國當(dāng)局眼里也是小魚小蝦，犯不著引渡他。他擺出一副高傲的架勢，像低級政客那樣裝出君子相，然而眼睛里卻含著驚恐和憂郁。他總是渾渾噩噩，一副半醉半醒的樣子。他經(jīng)常跟妓女鬼混，而那些人恨不得榨光他的油水。此刻，有兩個涂脂抹粉的中年女子跟他在一起，對他冷嘲熱諷，毫不掩飾心里的蔑視。對于她們的話，他也僅僅能聽懂一半，只顧嘿嘿嘿地傻笑。這就是風(fēng)月場上的世態(tài)炎涼！他還真不如留在國內(nèi)，咽下自己釀的苦酒。那些女人總有一天會把他榨干的。到那時候，他將無路可走，只好投河或者服安眠藥自殺了。

Between two and three there was a slight increase of custom and I supposed that the night clubs were closing their doors. A bunch of young Americans strolled in, very drunk and noisy, but they didn't stay long.Not far from us two fat, sombre women, tightly fitted into mannish clothes, sat side by side, drinking whiskies and sodas in gloomy silence.A party in evening dress put in an appearance, what they call in French gens du monde, who had evidently been doing the rounds and now wanted a spot of supper to finish up with.They came and went.My curiosity had been excited by a little man, quietly dressed, who had been sitting there for an hour or more with a glass of beer in front of him reading the paper.He had a neat black beard and wore pince-nez.At last a woman came in and joined him.He gave her a nod devoid of friendliness and I conjectured that he was annoyed because she had kept him waiting.She was young, rather shabby, but heavily painted, and looked very tired.Presently I noticed her take something out of her bag and hand it to him.Money.He looked at it and his face darkened.He addressed her in words I could not hear, but from her manner I guessed they were abusive, and she seemed to be making excuses.Suddenly he leant over and gave her a resounding smack on the cheek.She gave a cry and began to sob.The manager, drawn by the disturbance, came up to see what was the matter.It looked as if he were telling them to get out if they couldn't behave.The girl turned on him and shrilly, so that one heard every word, told him in foul language to mind his own business.
在深夜兩點(diǎn)和三點(diǎn)之間，客人有所增加，大概是因為那些夜總會打烊的緣故。一伙美國小青年大搖大擺走了進(jìn)來，一個個喝得醉醺醺，又喊又叫，不過，他們坐了一會兒就滾蛋了。離我們不遠(yuǎn)處有兩個胖女人，并排坐在一起，身上緊繃繃地穿著男式衣服，陰沉著臉，一聲不吭地在喝悶酒。來了一群穿晚禮服的人——這類人在法語里叫作世界公民。他們顯然東游西逛了一天，此刻跑來吃夜宵，給自己的一天畫個句號。他們來了，后來又走了。有個小個子男人，穿著樸素，面前放了一杯啤酒，坐在那兒看報有一個多小時了，我見了不由起了好奇之心。他留了一撮整齊的黑胡子，戴著夾鼻眼鏡。最后，終于有個女子走了進(jìn)來，和他坐在了一起。他沖女子點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，冷冷淡淡的，八成是因為女子叫他久等，惹他生氣了。女子年輕，穿著寒磣，濃妝艷抹，倦容滿面。過不久，我看見女子從手提包里取出一樣?xùn)|西遞給了他，那是一些錢。男子看了看那錢，臉上布滿了陰云，隨即說了一通話。我聽不見他說的是什么，但從女子的表情看，猜想一定是罵她的。而她說了幾句話，像是在為自己開脫。冷不丁，男子欠過身去，給了她一記響亮的耳光。她先是驚叫一聲，隨后抽抽搭搭哭起來。老板聽見哭聲，急忙跑上前查看情況。他好像在警告他們，叫他們注意自己的言行，否則就趕他們出去。女子沖著這位老板發(fā)作起來，嘴里不干不凈地罵他，叫他少管閑事，由于嗓門高，每句話都可以聽得清清楚楚。

“If he slapped my face it's because I deserved it，”she cried.
“他扇我耳光，那是我罪有應(yīng)得！”她高聲嚷嚷道。

Women！I had always thought that to live on a woman's immoral earnings you must be a strapping flashy fellow with sex appeal, ready with your knife or your gun；it was astonishing that such a puny creature, who might have been a lawyer's clerk from his appearance, could get a footing in such an overcrowded profession.
女人啊，女人！過去我一直認(rèn)為，要靠女人賣淫吃飯，你必須膀大腰圓，像惡煞神一般，還得討異性的喜歡，動刀動槍是家常便飯。而眼前的這個家伙又低又矮，看樣子像是律師事務(wù)所的一個小職員，竟然能在這人滿為患的行業(yè)里占有一席之地，不能不叫人感到意外。