雙語(yǔ)·《刀鋒》 第七章 三

CHAPTER SEVEN 3
第七章 三

A few days later I started for England. My intention had been to go straight through, but after what had happened I particularly wanted to see Isabel, so I decided to stop in Paris for twenty-four hours.I wired to her to ask if I could come in late in the afternoon and stay to dinner；when I reached my hotel I found a note from her to say that she and Gray were dining out, but that she would be very glad to see me if I would come not before half past five as she had afitting.
幾天之后，我啟程前往英國(guó)。起初我打算直達(dá)彼地，但經(jīng)過(guò)了這一通變故之后，特別想見(jiàn)見(jiàn)伊莎貝爾，于是決定在巴黎停留二十四小時(shí)。我給她發(fā)了封電報(bào)，希望能在下午晚一些時(shí)候去她家坐坐，并留下來(lái)吃晚飯。到了旅館，我看見(jiàn)她留的一張便條，說(shuō)她和格雷晚上有飯局，提出歡迎我在下午五點(diǎn)半之前去，因?yàn)樗ジ把缜靶枰鼡Q衣服。

It was chilly and raining off and on quite heavily, so that I presumed Gray would not have gone to Mortefontaine to play golf. This did not suit me very well, since I wanted to see Isabel alone, but when I arrived at the apartment the first thing she said was that Gray was at the Travellers playing bridge.
天氣寒冷，下著大雨，下一陣停一陣。這樣的天氣，格雷不大可能去莫特芳丹打高爾夫了。這對(duì)我不是件好事，因?yàn)槲蚁雴为?dú)見(jiàn)見(jiàn)伊莎貝爾。不過(guò)，到了他們家的公寓，伊莎貝爾一見(jiàn)我就說(shuō)格雷到旅行者俱樂(lè)部打橋牌去了。

“I told him not to be too late if he wanted to see you, but we're not dining till nine, which means we needn't get there before nine-thirty, so we've got plenty of time for a good talk. I've got all sorts of things to tell you.”
“我對(duì)他說(shuō)，如果想見(jiàn)你，就不要回家太晚。不過(guò)，我們的那個(gè)晚宴推遲到了晚上九點(diǎn)鐘，九點(diǎn)半趕去就行。所以，咱們有的是時(shí)間好好聊一聊，我有許多事情要告訴你呢?！?/p>

They had sublet the apartment, and the sale of Elliott's collection was to take place in a fortnight. They wanted to attend it and were moving into the Ritz.Then they were sailing.Isabel was selling everything except the modern pictures that Elliott had had in his house at Antibes.Though she didn't care much for them she thought quite rightly that they would be a prestige item in their future home.
他們已經(jīng)把公寓轉(zhuǎn)租出去。艾略特的藏畫(huà)將在兩星期內(nèi)拍賣(mài)。拍賣(mài)時(shí)他們要到場(chǎng)，所以正準(zhǔn)備搬到里茨飯店去住。此事一完，他們就乘船回美國(guó)。伊莎貝爾打算把能賣(mài)的都賣(mài)掉，只留下艾略特在安提比斯家中掛的那些近代畫(huà)。她雖然并不是十分喜歡這些畫(huà)，但明智地判斷，將來(lái)搬到新家，這些畫(huà)可以起到提高品味的作用。

“It's a pity poor Uncle Elliott wasn't more advanced. Picasso, Matisse, and Rouault, you know.I suppose his pictures are good in their way, but I'm afraid they'll seem rather old-fashioned.”
“遺憾的是，可憐的艾略特舅舅不是很前衛(wèi)。你知道，畢加索、馬蒂斯以及魯奧的畫(huà)是很時(shí)尚的。艾略特舅舅的畫(huà)自有其精彩之處，不過(guò)怕是過(guò)時(shí)了些?！?/p>

“I wouldn't bother about that if I were you. Other painters will come along in a few years and Picasso and Matisse won't seem any more up to date than your Impressionists.”
“我要是你，就不操這份心。用不了幾年，又會(huì)出現(xiàn)一些新的畫(huà)家。到那時(shí)，畢加索和馬蒂斯的作品與你的這些印象派畫(huà)作相比較，也就不見(jiàn)得前衛(wèi)了?！?/p>

Gray was in process of concluding his negotiations and with the capital provided by Isabel was to enter a flourishing business as vice-president. It was connected with oil and they were to live at Dallas.
格雷和一家生意興隆的企業(yè)在談判，目前已接近尾聲。有伊莎貝爾的錢(qián)作為資本，他將會(huì)榮任副總裁。這家企業(yè)的業(yè)務(wù)與石油有關(guān)，所以他們準(zhǔn)備舉家遷居達(dá)拉斯。

“The first thing we shall have to do is to find a suitable house. I want a nice garden so that Gray can have somewhere to potter about when he comes home from work and I must have a really large living-room so that I can entertain.”
“我們要做的第一件事情就是找一座合適的住房，有漂亮的花園，好讓格雷下班回家后有個(gè)地方務(wù)花弄草，還必須有一個(gè)大大的客廳招待客人?！?/p>

“I wonder yon don't take Elliott's furniture over with you.”
“真不知你為何不把艾略特的家具也帶走?！?/p>

“I don't think it would be very suitable. I shall make it all modern, with perhaps just a little touch of Mexican here and there to give it a note.As soon as I get to New York I'll find out who is the decorator everyone's going to now.”
“我覺(jué)得這套家具很不合適。我想要的是摩登家具，也許帶一點(diǎn)墨西哥情調(diào)加以點(diǎn)綴。一到紐約我就去打聽(tīng)，看哪一家裝飾公司當(dāng)下最吃香?！?/p>

Antoine, the manservant, brought in a tray with an array of bottles, and Isabel, always tactful, knowing that nine men out of ten are convinced they can mix a better cocktail than any woman（and they're right），asked me to shake a couple. I poured out the gin and the Noilly-Prat and added the dash of absinthe that transforms a dry Martini from a nondescript drink to one for which the gods of Olympus would undoubtedly have abandoned their home-brewed nectar, a beverage that I have always thought must have been rather like Coca-Cola.I noticed a book on the table as I handed Isabel her glass.
此時(shí)，男仆安托萬(wàn)端著個(gè)托盤(pán)走了過(guò)來(lái)，上面放著幾個(gè)酒瓶。伊莎貝爾歷來(lái)善于察言觀(guān)色，知道男人十個(gè)有九個(gè)都覺(jué)得自己調(diào)雞尾酒比女人技高一籌（情況的確如此），故而請(qǐng)我調(diào)兩杯。我把杜松子酒和一種法國(guó)酒倒出來(lái)一些，摻上少量的苦艾酒。這種苦艾酒可以將干馬丁尼從沒(méi)名堂的酒化為仙露，就連奧林匹斯山上的神仙也肯定愿意舍棄山上自釀的酒，跑來(lái)一品為快。我自己倒是一直覺(jué)得這種酒的口感更像是可口可樂(lè)。我把調(diào)好的酒遞給伊莎貝爾時(shí)，注意到桌上有一本書(shū)。

“Hello！”I said.“Here's Larry's book.”
“哈！這是拉里寫(xiě)的書(shū)！”我說(shuō)道。

“Yes, it came this morning, but I've been so busy, I had a thousand things to do before lunch and I was lunching out and I was at Molyneux's this afternoon. I don't know when I shall have a moment to get down to it.”
“是的，今天上午寄來(lái)的。我忙得焦頭爛額，手頭亂事如麻。中午有飯局，下午又去了一趟莫利紐克斯服裝店。真不知何時(shí)才有閑空看這書(shū)呢?！?/p>

I thought with melancholy how an author spends months writing a book, and may be puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do. It was a volume of three hundred pages nicely printed and neatly bound.
一個(gè)作家成年累月地寫(xiě)一本書(shū)，也許嘔心瀝血才寫(xiě)成，卻被人隨手放在一旁，等到實(shí)在無(wú)事可做時(shí)才看上兩眼，想起來(lái)便叫人心寒。拉里的這本書(shū)共三百頁(yè)，印刷質(zhì)量好，裝幀精美。

“I suppose you know Larry has been in Sanary all the winter. Did you see him by any chance?”
“你可能也知道拉里一冬天都住在薩納里。你見(jiàn)過(guò)他的面嗎？”

“Yes, we were at Toulon together only the other day.”
“見(jiàn)過(guò)。前兩天我們倆還去了趟土倫呢?！?/p>

“Were you?What were you doing there?”
“是嗎？去土倫干什么？”

“Burying Sophie.”
“為索菲辦喪事。”

“She's not dead?”cried Isabel.
“難道她死了不成？”伊莎貝爾驚叫了一聲。

“If she hadn't been we'd have had no plausible reason to bury her.”
“如果她沒(méi)死，我們又有什么理由為她辦喪事呢？”

“That's not funny.”She paused for a second.“I'm not going to pretend I'm sorry. A combination of drink and dope, I suppose.”
“這種事可開(kāi)不得玩笑。”她打住話(huà)頭，停了一下才又說(shuō)道，“不過(guò)，也沒(méi)有什么傷心的。她一定是酗酒和吸毒過(guò)量導(dǎo)致的死亡。”

“No, she had her throat cut and was thrown into the sea stark naked.”
“不是的。她是被人割了脖子，赤身裸體拋到了海里?！?/p>

Like the brigadier at St. Jean I found myself impelled a trifle to exaggerate her undress.
我的感覺(jué)大概和圣讓的那位“將軍”警察一樣，認(rèn)為有必要稍加渲染索菲赤身裸體的狀況。

“How horrible！Poor thing. Of course leading the life she did she was bound to come to a bad end.”
“太可怕了！可憐的人兒。她那樣放浪形骸，必然會(huì)有這種悲慘的結(jié)局?！?/p>

“That's what the commissaire de police at Toulon said.”
“土倫的警察總長(zhǎng)也是這么說(shuō)的?！?/p>

“Do they know who did it?”
“他們知道兇手是誰(shuí)嗎？”

“No, but I do. I think you killed her.”
“不知道，但是我知道。我認(rèn)為是你殺了她?！?/p>

She gave me a stare of amazement.
她一聽(tīng)，驚愕萬(wàn)狀地望著我發(fā)呆。

“What are you talking about?”Then with the ghost of a chuckle：“Guess again；I have a cast-iron alibi.”
“你在胡說(shuō)什么呀？”她說(shuō)完，陰陽(yáng)怪氣地?fù)溥暌恍?，“隨你胡扯去吧。我可是能證實(shí)自身清白的，證實(shí)我沒(méi)有去過(guò)犯罪現(xiàn)場(chǎng)?！?/p>

“I ran across her at Toulon last summer. I had a long talk with her.”
“去年夏天，我在土倫碰見(jiàn)了她，和她進(jìn)行了一次長(zhǎng)談?！?/p>

“Was she sober?”
“她沒(méi)有喝醉吧？”

“Sufficiently. She told me how it happened that she'd disappeared so unaccountably just a few days before she was going to be married to Larry.”
“沒(méi)有，腦子很清楚。想當(dāng)初她準(zhǔn)備嫁給拉里，可就在舉行婚禮的前幾天，她卻莫名其妙地不見(jiàn)了蹤影。她把前因后果都告訴了我?！?/p>

I noticed Isabel's face stiffen. I proceeded to tell her exactly what Sophie had told me.She listened warily.
我注意到伊莎貝爾臉上的肌肉變得僵硬。接下來(lái)，我便將索菲的話(huà)一五一十復(fù)述了一遍。她側(cè)耳傾聽(tīng)著，神情專(zhuān)注。

“I've thought of her story a good deal since then and the more I've thought about it the more convinced I am that there's something fishy about it. I've lunched here twenty times and you never have liqueurs for luncheon.You'd been lunching alone.Why should there have been a bottle of zubrovka on the tray with the coffee-cup?”
“后來(lái)，我把她的遭遇想了許久，越想越覺(jué)得蹊蹺。我來(lái)你家吃午飯足有二十次了，從未見(jiàn)你午飯喝過(guò)酒。那天你一個(gè)人吃午飯，為什么放咖啡杯子的盤(pán)里有一瓶齊白露加酒呢？”

“Uncle Elliott had just sent it to me. I wanted to see if I liked it as much as when I'd had it at the Ritz.”
“那是艾略特舅舅叫人剛送來(lái)的。我想嘗幾口，看是不是和我在里茨飯店喝的那樣合口味?！?/p>

“Yes, I remember how you raved about it then. I was surprised, as you never drink liqueurs anyway；you're much too careful of your figure for that.I had at the time an impression that you were trying to tantalize Sophie.I thought it was just malice.”
“不錯(cuò)，記得你曾交口稱(chēng)贊那酒。我當(dāng)時(shí)有點(diǎn)奇怪，因?yàn)槟闶菑牟缓饶欠N甜酒的——你非常注意自己的身材，怕喝甜酒會(huì)壞了身段。那時(shí)候我有個(gè)印象，覺(jué)得你不懷好意，是在引誘索菲上鉤?！?/p>

“Thank you.”
“承蒙夸獎(jiǎng)?！?/p>

“On the whole you're very good at keeping appointments. Why should you have gone out when you were expecting Sophie for something so important to her and interesting to you as a fitting of her wedding dress?”
“一般來(lái)說(shuō)，你和人約會(huì)是很守時(shí)的。你既然約索菲去試衣服——這對(duì)她很重要，對(duì)你則很有趣，那你為什么不在家等她呢？”

“She told you that herself. I wasn't happy about Joan's teeth.Our dentist is very busy and I just had to take the time he could give me.”
“這是她跟你說(shuō)的嗎？瓊的牙齒叫我很擔(dān)心。牙醫(yī)忙得不得了，只能按他約的時(shí)間去?！?/p>

“When one goes to a dentist one makes the next appointment before leaving.”
“看牙醫(yī)，一般都是在看病時(shí)就約好下一次去的時(shí)間。”

“I know. But he called me up in the morning and said he had to break it, but could give me three o'clock that afternoon instead, so of course I jumped at it.”
“我知道?？墒牵缟洗螂娫?huà)給我，說(shuō)不能按以前約好的時(shí)間看病，建議改為下午三點(diǎn)鐘，我當(dāng)然接受了他的建議。”

“Couldn't the governess have taken Joan?”
“難道就不能叫保姆帶瓊?cè)?？?/p>

“She was scared, poor darling, I felt she'd be happier if I went with her.”
“那可憐的孩子嚇得要命，我覺(jué)得親自陪她去，她心里會(huì)踏實(shí)些?！?/p>

“And when you came back and found the bottle of zubrovka three parts empty and Sophie gone, weren't you rather surprised?”
“你回來(lái)的時(shí)候，看見(jiàn)那瓶齊白露加酒有四分之三都被人喝掉了，索菲也不見(jiàn)了，你難道不感到奇怪嗎？”

“I thought she'd got tired of waiting and gone on to Molyneux's by herself. I couldn't make it out when I went there and they told me she hadn't been.”
“我以為她等得不耐煩，自己去莫利紐克斯服裝店了。我趕到那兒一問(wèn)，才知道她并沒(méi)有去，一時(shí)覺(jué)得莫名其妙?！?/p>

“And the zubrovka?”
“那瓶齊白露加酒怎么解釋?zhuān)俊?/p>

“Well, I did notice that a good deal had been drunk. I thought Antoine had drunk it and I very nearly spoke to him about it, but Uncle Elliott was paying for him and he was a friend of Joseph's, so I thought I'd better ignore it.He's a very good servant and if he takes a little nip now and then who am I to blame him?”
“哦，我的確看出酒被喝掉許多，還以為是安托萬(wàn)偷喝的呢，差一點(diǎn)責(zé)問(wèn)他。后來(lái)覺(jué)得他的工資是艾略特舅舅付的，他又是約瑟夫的朋友，所以沒(méi)有加以追究。他是個(gè)很盡職的仆人，即使偶爾偷點(diǎn)嘴，我也犯不著責(zé)備他?！?/p>

“What a liar you are, Isabel.”
“你可真會(huì)撒謊，伊莎貝爾?！?/p>

“Don't you believe me?”
“你不相信嗎？”

“Not for a moment.”
“根本不相信。”

Isabel got up and walked over to the chimney-piece. There was a wood fire and it was pleasant on that dreary day.She stood with one elbow on the mantel-shelf in a graceful attitude which it was one of her most charming gifts to be able to assume without any appearance of intention.Like most French women of distinction she dressed in black in the daytime, which peculiarly suited her rich colouring, and on this occasion she wore a dress the expensive simplicity of which displayed her slender figure to advantage.She puffed at her cigarette for a minute.
伊莎貝爾起身，走到了壁爐架跟前。壁爐里爐火熊熊，在這陰冷天叫人感到愜意。她把一個(gè)胳膊肘支在壁爐板上，姿態(tài)優(yōu)雅——這是她最為迷人的一種天賦，既儀態(tài)萬(wàn)方，又不露任何做作的痕跡。多數(shù)有身份的法國(guó)女子白日喜歡穿一身黑色的素裝，她也一樣。這樣的裝束和她那凝脂一般的膚色相得益彰。這次她穿的衣服款式簡(jiǎn)單，質(zhì)料貴重，充分凸顯了她那窈窕婀娜的身段。她不停地抽煙，抽了好一會(huì)兒。

“There's no reason why I shouldn't be perfectly frank with you. It was most unfortunate that I had to go out and of course Antoine should never have left the liqueur and the coffee-things in the room.They ought to have been takenaway when I went out.When I came back and saw the bottle was nearly empty of course I knew what had happened, and when Sophie disappeared I guessed she'd gone off on a bat.I didn't say anything about it because I thought it would only distress Larry, and he was worried enough as it was.”
“無(wú)論怎么說(shuō)，我都應(yīng)該對(duì)你無(wú)所隱瞞。那天我有事外出，實(shí)屬不幸。安托萬(wàn)實(shí)在不應(yīng)當(dāng)把齊白露加酒和咖啡飲具留在房間里。我出門(mén)后，就應(yīng)該將那些東西撤掉。我回到家，見(jiàn)那瓶酒幾成空瓶，當(dāng)然知道是怎么回事。后來(lái)索菲失蹤，我猜想她一定故態(tài)復(fù)萌，縱酒狂歡去了。我之所以只字未提此事，是怕雪上加霜，徒增拉里的煩惱。拉里為此事?tīng)磕c掛肚，已經(jīng)夠心煩意亂的了?！?/p>

“Are you sure the bottle wasn't left there on your explicit instructions?”
“你敢說(shuō)那瓶酒不是你故意放在那兒的嗎？”

“Quite.”
“我敢說(shuō)?！?/p>

“I don't believe you.”
“我不相信?！?/p>

“Don't then.”She flung the cigarette viciously into the fire. Her eyes were dark with anger.“All right, if you want the truth you can have it and to hell with you.I did it and I'd do it again.I told you I'd stick at nothing to prevent her from marrying Larry.You wouldn't do a thing, either you or Gray.You just shrugged your shoulders and said it was a terrible mistake.You didn't care a damn.I did.”
“不相信就不相信唄?！彼凰κ郑瑦汉莺莸匕鸭垷熑舆M(jìn)了爐火里，一雙美目怒火燃燒，“那好吧，既然你想了解真相，那我就告訴你吧，然后你就給我滾蛋。是我著意那樣做的，而且絕不后悔。我告訴過(guò)你，說(shuō)我會(huì)不惜一切代價(jià)阻止她嫁給拉里。你和格雷只會(huì)袖手旁觀(guān)，不關(guān)心拉里的痛癢。你們只會(huì)聳聳肩膀，事后會(huì)說(shuō)他們的婚姻是個(gè)彌天大錯(cuò)。你們不關(guān)心，可我關(guān)心?！?/p>

“If you'd left her alone she'd be alive now.”
“如果你不加以阻撓，她現(xiàn)在還活著呢。”

“Married to Larry and he'd be utterly miserable. He thought he'd make a new woman of her.What fools men are！I knew that sooner or later she'd break down.It stuck out a mile.You saw yourself when we were all lunching together at the Ritz how jittery she was.I noticed you looking at her when she was drinking her coffee；her hand was shaking so, she was afraid to take the cup with one hand, she had to put both her hands to it to get it up to her mouth.I noticed her watching the wine when the waiter filled our glasses；she followed the bottle with those horrible washed-out eyes of hers like a snake following the fluttering of a new-fledged chick and I knew she'd give her soul for a drink.”
“她嫁給拉里，會(huì)將拉里拋入痛苦的深淵。拉里想入非非，以為如此可以叫她脫胎換骨、重新做人。男人全都是些傻瓜！我知道她遲早都會(huì)再次墮落——這是明擺著的。那次在里茨飯店聚餐，你也看到了她是多么焦躁不安。她喝咖啡時(shí)，我留意到你在看她——她的手抖得厲害，一只手不敢拿杯子，只好用兩只手捧到嘴邊喝。我看到侍者給咱們倒酒時(shí)，她的眼睛貪婪地跟著瓶子轉(zhuǎn)，就像一條蛇盯著一只羽毛方滿(mǎn)的小雞拍翅似的。我知道她哪怕出賣(mài)靈魂，也會(huì)弄一杯喝的?！?/p>

Isabel faced me now, her eyes flashing with passion, and her voice was harsh. She couldn't get the words out quickly enough.
伊莎貝爾把臉直對(duì)著我，眼里射出兩道光來(lái)，聲色俱厲，加快語(yǔ)速說(shuō)了下去。

“The idea came to me when Uncle Elliott made all that fuss about that damned Polish liqueur. I thought it beastly, but I pretended it was the most wonderful stuff I'd ever tasted.I was certain that if she got a chance she'd never have the strength to resist.That's why I took her to the dress show.That's why I offered to make her a present of her wedding dress.That day, when she was going to have the last fitting, I told Antoine I'd have the zubrovka after lunch and then I told him I was expecting a lady and to ask her to wait and offer her some coffee and to leave the liqueur in case she fancied a glass.I did take Joan to the dentist’s, but of course we hadn’t an appointment and he couldn’t see us, so I took her to a newsreel.I’d made up my mind that if I found Sophie hadn’t touched the stuff I’d make the best of things and try to be friends with her.That’s true, I swear it.But when I got home and saw the bottle I knew I’d been right.She’d gone and I’d have bet any money in the world she’d gone for good.”
“當(dāng)艾略特舅舅把那難喝的波蘭酒大吹特吹的時(shí)候，我心里就有了一計(jì)。我覺(jué)得那酒味道像馬尿，然而我卻對(duì)其大加贊揚(yáng)，說(shuō)我從未喝過(guò)這樣味道棒到了極點(diǎn)的美酒。我當(dāng)時(shí)就斷定，索菲一旦接觸到這酒，便難以抵擋住誘惑。于是我就依計(jì)行事，又是帶她去看時(shí)裝展覽，又是提出要送她一套結(jié)婚禮服。約她最后試樣的那天，我告訴安托萬(wàn)，說(shuō)我午飯后要喝齊白露加酒，后又說(shuō)我約了一位女士來(lái)，女士來(lái)后讓她等一等，喝上一杯咖啡，把酒也留下，她想喝就讓她喝。我的確把瓊帶到了牙醫(yī)那里，但沒(méi)有預(yù)先約好，醫(yī)生不能為瓊看病。離開(kāi)診所，我?guī)Л側(cè)ル娪霸嚎戳藞?chǎng)紀(jì)錄片。我打定主意，如果索菲沒(méi)有碰那波蘭酒，我便真心實(shí)意和她交朋友。這是真的，我發(fā)誓?？墒?，我回家一看那酒瓶，便知道自己的判斷是正確的。她不見(jiàn)了蹤影，我敢拿生命打賭，她這一去將永不回頭?！?/p>

Isabel was actually panting when she finished.
伊莎貝爾說(shuō)完，已嬌喘吁吁。

“That's more or less what I imagined had happened，”I said.“You see, I was right；you cut her throat as surely as if you'd drawn the knife across it with your own hands.”
“我早就猜想到是這么回事?！蔽艺f(shuō)道，“瞧，我剛才所言不虛。你這樣做就跟親手用刀抹她的脖子沒(méi)什么兩樣。”

“She was bad, bad, bad. I'm glad she's dead.”She threw herself into a chair.“Give me a cocktail, damn you.”
“她是個(gè)可惡、邪惡的壞女人，她死了大快人心。”她說(shuō)著，猛地一屁股坐在了一把椅子上，“給我一杯雞尾酒，你這渾蛋?！?/p>

I went over and mixed another.
我走過(guò)去，又調(diào)制了一杯。

“You are a mean devil，”she said as she took it from me. Then she allowed herself to smile.Her smile was like a child's that knows it's been naughty, but thinks it can wheedle you by its ingenuous charm not to be cross.“You won't tell Larry, will you?”
“你是個(gè)卑鄙的壞蛋。”她從我手里接過(guò)雞尾酒時(shí)說(shuō)。隨后，她擠出了一個(gè)笑容，就像是一個(gè)做了錯(cuò)事的孩子一樣，裝出一副天真無(wú)邪的樣子蒙騙你，想叫你不要生氣?！澳悴粫?huì)告訴拉里吧？”

“I wouldn't dream of it.”
“我想都不會(huì)往這方面想。”

“Cross your heart?Men are so untrustworthy.”
“你能對(duì)天發(fā)誓嗎？男人說(shuō)話(huà)是靠不住的?！?/p>

“I promise you I won't. But even if I wanted to, I shouldn't have an opportunity as I don't suppose I shall ever see him again in my life.”
“我發(fā)誓絕不告訴他。即便我想告訴他，也不會(huì)有這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)的，恐怕我今生今世再也見(jiàn)不上他了?！?/p>

She sat bolt upright.
她一聽(tīng)，立刻坐直了身子。

“What do you mean?”
“這話(huà)是什么意思？”

“At this moment, he's on a freighter, either as a deck hand or a stoker, on his way to New York.”
“此時(shí)此刻，他已登上了一艘貨輪，或者當(dāng)船員或者當(dāng)司爐，正在向紐約進(jìn)發(fā)。”

“You don't mean that?What a strange creature he is！He was up here a few weeks ago for something to do with his book that he had to look up at the public library, but he never said a word about going to America. I'm glad；that meanswe shall see him.”
“此話(huà)當(dāng)真？他真是個(gè)怪人！幾個(gè)星期前，他還來(lái)了一趟這里，為他那本書(shū)上公共圖書(shū)館查資料，卻沒(méi)聽(tīng)他說(shuō)一句要到美國(guó)去的話(huà)。這樣倒好，我們可以在美國(guó)相見(jiàn)了?！?/p>

“I doubt it. His America will be as remote from your America as the Gobi desert.”
“對(duì)此我表示懷疑。他的美國(guó)跟你們的美國(guó)相去甚遠(yuǎn)，要隔上十萬(wàn)八千里呢?！?/p>

Then I told her what he had done and what he intended to do. She listened to me open-mouthed.Consternation was written on her face.She interrupted me now and then with an interjection“He's crazy.He's crazy.”When I had finished she hung her head and I saw two tears trickle down her cheeks.
接下來(lái)，我就把拉里的所作所為以及他的抱負(fù)敘述了一番，聽(tīng)得她目瞪口呆，一臉的驚愕，時(shí)不時(shí)打斷我的話(huà)，連聲說(shuō)“他瘋了，他瘋了”。我說(shuō)完之后，只見(jiàn)她垂頭喪氣，兩行熱淚滾滾而下。

“Now I really have lost him.”
“這下子，我真的失去了他?！?/p>

She turned away from me and wept, leaning her face against the back of the chair. Her lovely face was twisted with the grief she did not care to hide.There was nothing I could do.I didn't know what vain, conflicting hopes she had cherished that my tidings had finally shattered.I had a vague notion that to see him occasionally, at least to know that he was part of her world, had been a bond of union, however tenuous, that his action had finally severed so that she knew herself for ever bereft.I wondered what unavailing regret afflicted her.I thought it would do her good to cry.I picked up Larry's book and looked at the table of contents.My copy had not arrived when I left the Riviera and I could not now hope to get it for several days.It was not in the least the sort of thing I expected.It was a collection of essays of about the same length as those in Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians, upon a number of famous persons.The choice he had made puzzled me.There was one on Sulla, the Roman dictator who, having achieved absolute power, resigned it to return to private life；there was one on Akbar, the Mogul conqueror who won an empire；there was one on Rubens, there was one on Goethe, and there was one on the Lord Chesterfield of the Letters.It was obvious that each of the essays had needed a tremendous amount of reading and I was no longer surprised that it had taken Larry so long to produce this book, but I could not see why he had thought it worth while to give it so much time or why he had chosen those particular men to study.Then it occurred to me that every one of them in his own way had made a supreme success of life and I guessed that this was what had interested Larry.He was curious to see what in the end it amounted to.
她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身去，臉抵著椅背嚶嚶哭了起來(lái)。她毫不掩飾內(nèi)心的悲傷，一場(chǎng)痛哭讓美麗的臉都變了形。我一時(shí)束手無(wú)策。她究竟懷著怎樣縹緲、矛盾的希望（而在我的敘述之后那些希望全都化為了泡影），便不得而知了。我朦朧覺(jué)得，她原以為只要能偶爾見(jiàn)見(jiàn)拉里，最起碼知道他仍是她生活的一個(gè)組成部分，這便可以將他們聯(lián)系在一起，不管這種聯(lián)系是多么薄弱，而今拉里斬?cái)嗔诉@一聯(lián)系，使她覺(jué)得自己永遠(yuǎn)失去了他。我感到納悶，不知她是否覺(jué)得自己白費(fèi)了一番心機(jī)，留下的只是滿(mǎn)肚子的懊悔。就讓她哭吧，哭出來(lái)也許心里會(huì)好受一些。我拿起拉里的書(shū)，將目錄瀏覽了一眼。我離開(kāi)里維埃拉時(shí)，他寄給我的書(shū)還沒(méi)有收到，估計(jì)幾天內(nèi)是拿不到手的。書(shū)寫(xiě)得完全出乎我的意料，是一本論文集，篇幅和里頓·斯特拉奇的《維多利亞女王時(shí)代名人傳》相仿，論述了若干名人。書(shū)中所選的內(nèi)容叫我百思不得其解。有一篇是寫(xiě)古羅馬獨(dú)裁者蘇拉的——蘇拉在獨(dú)攬大權(quán)之后，退位歸隱；還有一篇寫(xiě)蒙古征服者阿克巴爾——此人締造了一個(gè)大帝國(guó)；一篇寫(xiě)魯本斯，一篇寫(xiě)歌德，一篇寫(xiě)查斯特菲爾德勛爵。顯而易見(jiàn)，每寫(xiě)一篇論文都必須閱讀大量的資料，難怪拉里用了那么長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間才把書(shū)寫(xiě)完。我真不明白他為什么舍得花大把的時(shí)間寫(xiě)這本書(shū)，也不明白他為何要選這些人物作為研究對(duì)象。我突然產(chǎn)生了一種想法，覺(jué)得拉里可能認(rèn)為這些人在自己不同的領(lǐng)域取得了輝煌的成就，于是便有了研究的興趣。他有心弄個(gè)水落石出，研究一下他們的成就究竟產(chǎn)生了什么樣的影響。

I skimmed a page to see how he wrote. His style was scholarly, but lucid and easy.There was nothing in it of the pretentiousness or the pedantry that too often characterizes the writing of the amateur.One could tell that he had frequented the best authors as assiduously as Elliott Templeton frequented the nobility and gentry.I was interrupted by a sigh from Isabel.She sat up and finished with a grimace the cocktail which was now luke-warm.
我粗粗瀏覽了一頁(yè)，想看看他的文筆如何，發(fā)現(xiàn)他用的是學(xué)術(shù)文章的那種風(fēng)格，但措辭簡(jiǎn)潔、語(yǔ)氣明快，全然沒(méi)有剛?cè)腴T(mén)新手的那種咬文嚼字、賣(mài)弄辭藻的生澀氣。看得出，他非常熟悉那些優(yōu)秀作家，就跟艾略特·鄧普頓熟悉達(dá)官貴人一樣。我的思緒被伊莎貝爾的一聲嘆息打斷了。只見(jiàn)她苦著臉將杯中由熱變溫的雞尾酒一飲而盡。

“If I don't stop crying my eyes'll be terrible and we're going out to dinner tonight.”She took a mirror out of her bag and looked at herself anxiously.“Yes, half an hour with an ice bag over my eyes, that's what I want.”She powdered her face and reddened her lips. Then she looked at me reflectively.“Do you think any the worse of me for what I did?”
“我不能再哭了，會(huì)把眼睛哭腫的，晚上還有個(gè)飯局呢?！彼龔陌锶〕鲆粋€(gè)小鏡子，擔(dān)心地左照右照，“隨他去吧。我只想有個(gè)冰袋敷在眼上，敷個(gè)半小時(shí)?！苯酉聛?lái)，她在臉上撲了粉，涂了口紅。之后，她若有所思地望著我問(wèn)道：“我做了那種事情，你不會(huì)因此對(duì)我有不好的看法吧？”

“Would you care?”
“你在乎我的看法嗎？”

“Strange as it may seem to you, I would. I want you to think well of me.”
“你也許會(huì)奇怪，我在乎。我希望你對(duì)我有好的看法?！?/p>

I grinned.
我笑了笑，說(shuō)道：

“My dear, I'm a very immoral person，”I answered.“When I'm really fond of anyone, though I deplore his wrongdoing it doesn't make me less fond of him. You're not a bad woman in your way and you have every grace and every charm.I don't enjoy your beauty any the less because I know how much it owes to the happy combination of perfect taste and ruthless determination.You only lack one thing to make you completely enchanting.”
“親愛(ài)的，我是一個(gè)極沒(méi)有道德觀(guān)念的人。我一旦喜歡上一個(gè)人，即便不贊成他干下傷天害理的事情，也還會(huì)照樣喜歡他。你是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的女人，自有你的風(fēng)采——儀態(tài)萬(wàn)方、魅力四射。我不會(huì)因?yàn)槟愕男袨樯陨钥吹湍愕拿利?，因?yàn)槲沂智宄愕拿利愅昝赖鼐C合了高雅的品味以及殘酷無(wú)情的意志。你只需要一樣?xùn)|西，就可以使你的魅力趨于完善?！?/p>

She smiled and waited.
她嫣然一笑，等待著我說(shuō)下去。

“Tenderness.”
“那就是溫柔?！?/p>

The smile died on her lips and she gave me a glance that was totally lacking in amenity, but before she could collect herself to reply Gray lumbered into the room. In the three years he had been in Paris Gray had put on a good many pounds, his face had grown redder, and his hair was thinning rapidly, but he was in rude health and in high spirits.He was unaffectedly pleased to see me.Gray's conversation was composed of clichés.However shop-worn, he uttered them with an obvious conviction that he was the first person to think of them.He never went to bed, but hit the hay, where he slept the sleep of the just；if it rained, it rained to beat the band and to the very end Paris to him was Gay Paree.But he was so kindly, so unselfish, so upright, so reliable, so unassuming that it was impossible not to like him.I had areal affection for him.He was excited now over their approaching departure.
她唇邊的笑意倏然不見(jiàn)了蹤影，橫掃了我一眼，目光里沒(méi)有一絲一毫的善意。她定了定神，正要回話(huà)，卻見(jiàn)格雷搖搖晃晃走了進(jìn)來(lái)。在巴黎住的這三年，他增加了好多磅的體重，臉色比以前更紅了，頭發(fā)禿得厲害，但健康狀況良好，情緒高漲?？匆?jiàn)我，他簡(jiǎn)直掩飾不住內(nèi)心的高興。他說(shuō)話(huà)時(shí)夾帶著許多口頭禪，明明是用濫了的詞語(yǔ)，他卻深信不疑自己是第一個(gè)使用者。什么“不做虧心事不怕鬼敲門(mén)”啦，“屋漏偏逢連陰雨”啦，以及“路遙知馬力，日久見(jiàn)人心”什么的。不過(guò)，他心地善良，為人無(wú)私、正直、可靠，沒(méi)一點(diǎn)架子，叫你不可能不喜歡他。我對(duì)他有一種發(fā)自于內(nèi)心的真情實(shí)感。談到即將回到祖國(guó)，他又興奮又激動(dòng)。

“Gosh, it'll be great to get into harness again，”he said.“I'm feeling my oats already.”
“萬(wàn)事俱備，只欠東風(fēng)了。”他說(shuō)道，“我已整裝待發(fā)?！?/p>

“Is it all settled then?”
“是否已萬(wàn)事俱備了呢？”

“I haven't signed on the dotted line yet, but it's on ice. The fella I'm going in with was a room-mate of mine at college, and he's a good scout, and I'm dead sure he wouldn’t hand me a lemon.But as soon as we get to New York I’ll fly down to Texas to give the outfit the once-over, and you bet I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a nigger in the woodpile before I cough up any of Isabel’s dough.”
“已是板上釘釘?shù)氖铝?，只剩下在合同上簽字了。我未?lái)的合伙人是我大學(xué)時(shí)的一個(gè)舍友，一個(gè)挺不錯(cuò)的人，絕對(duì)不會(huì)叫我吃虧的。不過(guò)，一抵達(dá)紐約，我還是要即刻飛往得克薩斯落實(shí)細(xì)節(jié)，拿著伊莎貝爾的錢(qián)，我可要不見(jiàn)兔子不撒鷹。”

“Gray's a very good businessman, you know，”she said.
“誰(shuí)都知道，格雷做生意是有一套的?！币辽悹栒f(shuō)。

“I wasn't raised in a barn，”he smiled.
“我可不是個(gè)只知道種田的鄉(xiāng)巴佬?！备窭仔α诵φf(shuō)。

He went on to tell me at somewhat excessive length about the business he was entering, but I understood little of such matters and the only concrete fact I gathered was that he stood a good chance of making a lot of money. He grew so interested in what he was saying that presently he turned to Isabel and said：
接下來(lái)，他就滔滔不絕地講起了他將要涉足的生意，一講就收不住口了?？墒?，我對(duì)這種事情一竅不通，只聽(tīng)明白了一點(diǎn)——他將時(shí)來(lái)運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)、財(cái)源滾滾。他越說(shuō)興致越高。過(guò)了一會(huì)兒，他扭過(guò)頭對(duì)伊莎貝爾說(shuō)：

“Look here, why shouldn't we cut this lousy party and us three go and have a slap-up dinner at the Tour d'Argent by ourselves?”
“依我看，咱們把今晚那討厭的飯局推掉算啦，咱們?nèi)齻€(gè)到銀塔餐廳消消停停地吃飯豈不痛快。你覺(jué)得呢？”

“Oh, darling, we can't do that. They're giving the party for us.”
“這可不行，親愛(ài)的，不能這樣做事。這個(gè)飯局是他們專(zhuān)門(mén)為你我而設(shè)的?！?/p>

“Anyhow, I couldn't come now，”I interrupted.“When I heard you were fixed up this evening I called up Suzanne Rouvier and arranged to take her out.”
“你們?nèi)グ?，反正我也是抽不出身的?！蔽也遄煺f(shuō)，“一聽(tīng)說(shuō)你們有飯局，我就打電話(huà)約了蘇姍娜·魯維埃，和她一起出去吃飯?！?/p>

“Who's Suzanne Rouvier?”asked Isabel.
“蘇姍娜·魯維埃是誰(shuí)？”伊莎貝爾問(wèn)。

“Oh, one of Larry's gals，”I said to tease her.
“哦，是拉里的一個(gè)女朋友。”我故意逗她說(shuō)道。

“I always suspected Larry had a little floozie tucked away somewhere，”said Gray, with a fat chuckle.
“我早就懷疑拉里金屋藏嬌，瞞著咱們呢?！备窭渍f(shuō)完，咯咯咯地笑個(gè)不停。

“Nonsense，”snapped Isabel.“I know all about Larry's sex life. There isn't any.”
“沒(méi)影兒的事?！币辽悹柎虮Р黄降卣f(shuō)，“拉里的性生活我是很清楚的。他身邊壓根就沒(méi)有女人！”

“Well, let's have one more drink before we part，”said Gray.
“好的，大家再干一杯，然后各自準(zhǔn)備去吃飯?！备窭渍f(shuō)。

We had it and then I said good-bye to them. They came into the hall with me and while I was putting on my coat Isabel slipped her arm through Gray's and, nestling up to him, looked into his eyes with an expression that imitated very well the tenderness I had accused her of lacking.
我們舉杯喝了酒，我向他們說(shuō)了再見(jiàn)。小兩口送我進(jìn)門(mén)廳。我穿外套時(shí)，見(jiàn)伊莎貝爾挽起了格雷的胳膊，偎在他身上，望著他的眼睛，臉上露出我曾經(jīng)指責(zé)她所缺乏的溫柔表情。

“Tell me, Gray-frankly-do you think I'm hard-boiled?”
“格雷，請(qǐng)你坦率地告訴我，你是不是覺(jué)得我是個(gè)鐵石心腸的人？”

“No, darling, far from it. Why, has anybody been saying you were?”
“不是，親愛(ài)的，不沾邊的話(huà)。怎么，難道有人這么說(shuō)你嗎？”

“No.”
“沒(méi)有。”

She turned her head away so that he shouldn't see, and in a manner that Elliott would certainly have thought very unladylike put out her tongue at me.
她把頭掉過(guò)去，使格雷看不見(jiàn)她的臉，朝我吐了吐舌頭。這種樣子，要是讓艾略特看見(jiàn)，肯定會(huì)說(shuō)她不像個(gè)有身份的人。

“It's not the same thing，”I murmured as I stepped out of the door and closed it behind me.
“那是兩碼事。”我胡亂支吾了一句，然后出了門(mén)，隨手把門(mén)帶上。