牛津書蟲系列 三十九級臺階 2 The milkman starts his travels

2 The milkman starts his travels

2 送奶員開始旅行

I sat down in an armchair and felt very sick. After about five minutes I started shaking. The poor white face with its staring eyes was too much for me，so I got a tablecloth and covered it. Then I took the whisky bottle and drank several mouthfuls. I had seen men die violently before. I had killed a few myself in the Matabele war;but this was different. After a few more minutes I managed to calm myself down a little. I looked at my watch and saw that it was halfpast ten. I searched the flat carefully，but there was nobody there. Then I locked the doors and windows.

我坐在扶手椅上，感到很惡心。五分鐘后開始顫栗。我受不了那張可憐的、慘白的臉和直瞪蹬的眼睛，因此，拿了一塊桌布把它蓋起來。然后抄起威士忌酒瓶喝了幾口。以前我見過暴死的，在麥特比爾戰(zhàn)爭中也親手殺過幾個人;但這回卻有所不同。又過了幾分鐘我才使自己稍微平靜一點?？戳丝幢?，是十點半。我仔細(xì)地把寓所搜查了一遍，沒發(fā)現(xiàn)什么人。然后就把門窗都鎖起來。

By this time I was beginning to think more clearly. It looked bad for me-that was clear. It was now certain that Scudder's story was true-the proof was lying under the tablecloth. His enemies had found him and made sure of his silence. But he had been in my flat for four days，and they must think he had told his story to me. So I would be the next to die. It might be that night，or the next day，or the day after，but it was sure to happen.

直到此刻我才開始比較冷靜地思考。情況對我不利——這很顯然。斯卡德爾所言肯定不虛——證據(jù)就在桌布下面躺著。他的敵人找到了他，使他徹底沉默了。然而他在我寓所呆了四天，他們肯定認(rèn)為他把事情告訴了我。所以下一個大概就輪到我死了。可能在今天晚上，可能在明天，也可能在后天，但我是死定了。

Then I thought of another problem. I could call the police now，or go to bed and wait for Paddock to discover the body and call them in the morning. But what would the police think?What story would I tell them about Scudder?I had lied to Paddock about him，and my story would be hard to believe. They would arrest me for murder，and I had no real friends in England to help me. Perhaps that was part of the plan. An English prison would be a safe place for me until the 15th of June.

接著我考慮了另一個問題。我可以現(xiàn)在就報警，或者上床睡覺，等帕多克早晨來發(fā)現(xiàn)了尸體再報警?？墒蔷鞎趺聪肽?我該如何向警察講斯卡德爾的事呢?關(guān)于斯卡德爾的事我已經(jīng)對帕多克撒了謊，因此我的話很難令人相信。他們會以謀殺的罪名逮捕我，在英格蘭我又沒有好朋友幫忙。也許這正是他們計劃的一部分。在英國監(jiān)獄呆到六月十五日對我來說倒是最安全。

Even if the police did believe my story，I would still be helping Scudder's enemies. Karolides would stay at home，which was what they wanted. Scudder's death had made me certain that his story was true;now I felt responsible for continuing his work. I hate to see a good man beaten，and if I carried on in Scudder's place，the murderers might not win.

即使警察相信我的話，我仍然是幫了斯卡德爾敵人的忙?？_里德斯就會留在國內(nèi)，這正中他們的下懷。斯卡德爾的死使我確信他的話不假;我覺得現(xiàn)在有責(zé)任把他的事做下去。看到好人被打敗我心有不甘，而如果我代替斯卡德爾干下去，那些兇手也許就不能得手。

I decided I must disappear，and remain hidden until just before the 15th of June. Then I must contact some government people and tell them Scudder's story. I wished he had told me more，and that I had listened more carefully to what he had told me. There was a risk that the government would not believe me，but it was my best chance. Perhaps more evidence would appear which would help me to make my story believable.

我決定必須躲起來，一直藏到六月十五日前。然后我得找政府的人，把斯卡德爾的事告訴他們。我真希望當(dāng)初他多說點，或者我對他的話聽仔細(xì)點。如果政府的人不相信我就要冒險了，但我只有這個最佳機會。也許將來證據(jù)會多一些，使我的話叫人相信。

It was now the 24th of May，so I had twenty days of hiding. Two groups of people would be looking for meScudder's enemies，who would want to kill me，and the police，who would want me for Scudder's murder. There was going to be a chase，and，surprisingly，I was almost happy about this. I did not want to sit in one place and wait. If I could move，the situation did not seem so bad.

現(xiàn)在是五月二十四日，所以我要躲二十天。有兩撥人要找我——一撥是斯卡德爾的敵人，他們找我想要殺我;另一撥是警察，他們找我是為斯卡德爾的謀殺案。追蹤馬上就要開始，不知怎么的，我反倒為此有點樂滋滋的。我不想坐等別人來抓。如果我有所行動，情況未必那么糟糕。

I wondered if Scudder had any papers which would give me more information about his business. I lifted off the table-cloth and searched him. There were only a few coins in his trouser pockets. There was no sign of the little black notebook. I supposed his murderer had taken that.

我想斯卡德爾有沒有留下什么文件，使我能多了解一些他干的事。我揭開桌布把他搜查了一遍。他褲兜里只有幾個硬幣。那個小黑筆記本不見了。我猜是那些兇手拿走了。

When I turned from the body，I noticed that all the cupboards were open. Scudder had been a very careful man，and always kept the place tidy. Someone had been searching for something，and perhaps for the notebook. I went round the flat and found that everything had been searched-the insides of books，cupboards，boxes，even the pockets of my clothes. There was no sign of the notebook，so Scudder's enemies had probably found it in the end.

我扭過頭去，發(fā)現(xiàn)所有的櫥柜都打開了。斯卡德爾向來十分細(xì)心，總是把屋子保持得很整潔。肯定有人找過什么東西，多半是找那個小黑筆記本。我在各屋轉(zhuǎn)了一圈，發(fā)現(xiàn)什么都被搜查了一遍——書本、櫥柜、盒子、甚至我的衣服口袋。仍然不見那個小黑筆記本，可見斯卡德爾的敵人最后很可能找到了它。

Then I got out a map of Britain. My plan was to find some wild country. I was used to Africa，and I would feel trapped in the city. I thought Scotland would probably be best，because my family came from Scotland and I could pretend to be a Scotsman easily. The other possibility was to be a German tourist;my father had worked with Germans and I had spoken German often as a boy. But it would probably be better to be a Scotsman in Scotland. I decided to go to Galloway，which，from the map，seemed to be the nearest wild part of Scotland.

然后我拿出英國地圖。我打算找一個人煙稀少的地方。我已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了非洲的生活，在城市會覺得不自由。我想蘇格蘭也許最理想，因為我老家是蘇格蘭，我可以不費吹灰之力地冒充蘇格蘭人。另外一種可能是扮成德國旅游者;我父親曾和德國人共過事，我還是個孩子的時候就經(jīng)常講德語。但在蘇格蘭裝蘇格蘭人很可能要好一點。我決定去加洛韋，從地圖上看那里是最近的蘇格蘭荒原。

In the railway timetable I found a train from London at seven-ten in the morning，which would get me to Galloway in the late afternoon. The problem was getting to the station，as I was certain that Scudder's enemies were watching the building. I thought about this problem，had a good idea，went to bed，and slept for two hours.

火車時刻表上，有一輛從倫敦來的火車早晨七點十分到站，坐上火車傍晚就可以到加洛韋。問題是如何到車站去，因為我肯定斯卡德爾的敵人在監(jiān)視這座大樓。我把這件事斟酌了一番，想出個好辦法，于是上床睡了兩個小時。

I got up at four o'clock. The first light of a summer morning was in the sky and the birds were starting to sing. I put on some old clothes which I used for country walking and some strong walking boots. I pushed another shirt and a toothbrush into my pockets. I had taken a lot of money out of the bank in case Scudder needed it，so I took that as well. Then I cut my long moustache as short as possible.

我四點鐘起床。夏日凌晨的第一縷晨光在天空閃爍，鳥兒也開始鳴囀。我穿上鄉(xiāng)間散步時穿的舊衣服而且?guī)е鴰纂p走路穿的結(jié)實靴子。在口袋里又塞進(jìn)一件襯衣和一柄牙刷。當(dāng)初，我從銀行取出一大筆錢，以備斯卡德爾不時之需，也一塊兒帶上。然后我把自己的長胡子盡可能剪短。

Paddock arrived every morning at seven-thirty. But at about twenty to seven I knew the milkman would come;the noise of the milk bottles usually woke me up. He was a young man with a very short moustache，and he wore a white coat. He was my only chance.

帕多克每天早晨七點半到。我知道大約六點四十送奶員就會來;奶瓶的碰撞聲常常把我吵醒。他是個年輕人，留著小胡子，穿一件白外套。他是我逃脫的唯一機會。

I had a breakfast of biscuits and whisky and by the time I had finished it was about six o'clock. I got my pipe and started to fill it from my tobacco jar. As I put my fingers into the tobacco，I touched something hard，and pulled out Scudder's little black book.

早飯我吃了點餅干，喝了點威士忌，吃完飯大約六點鐘。我掏出煙斗，從煙罐里取出煙裝滿煙斗。我的手指剛摸到煙，感覺碰到什么硬東西，一拉拉出斯卡德爾的小黑筆記本。

This seemed a good sign. I lifted the cloth and looked at Scudder's peaceful face. 'Goodbye，my friend，'I said;'I'm going to do my best for you. Wish me good luck. '

看來這是個好征兆。我把桌布掀開，望著斯卡德爾安詳?shù)哪槨?ldquo;朋友，再見了，”我說，“為你的事我會盡最大努力。祝我好運吧。”

Six-thirty passed，then six-forty，but still the milkman did not come. Why，oh why，was this the morning he had to be late?

六點半過去了，六點四十又過去了，可是送奶員還沒來。這是怎么回事，為什么他非得今天早晨遲到不可?

At fourteen minutes to seven I heard him. I opened the door quickly，and he jumped a bit when he saw me.

到六點四十六分他來了。我急忙把門打開，他看到我嚇了一跳。

'Come in a moment，'I said，and we went back into the hall. 'I can see you're a man who likes a bit of fun. Can you help me?Lend me your hat and coat for a minute and you can have this. '

“請進(jìn)來一下，”我說，我們回到大廳。“我看得出來您是個喜歡開點玩笑的人。您能幫我個忙嗎?請把您的帽子和外衣借我一下，您可以穿我的。”

He looked at the money in my hand and smiled. 'What do you want my clothes for?'he asked.

他看著我手里的錢，笑了。“您借我的衣服干什么?”他問道。

'It's a game，'I said. 'I haven't time to explain now，but to win I've got to be a milkman for ten minutes. You'll be a bit late，but you'll get the money for your time. '

“玩?zhèn)€游戲，”我回答，“現(xiàn)在沒時間解釋，要贏我就非扮十分鐘的送奶員不可。您會誤點時間，這點錢給您作補償吧。”

'All right!'he said. 'I like a game myself. Here you are. '

“好吧，”他說，“我自己也喜歡玩游戲。給您衣服。”

I put on his blue hat and white coat，picked up the empty milk bottles，shut my door and went downstairs，whistling.

我戴上他的藍(lán)帽子，穿上他的白外衣，提起空奶瓶，關(guān)上門，吹著口哨走下樓去。

At first I thought the street was empty. Then I saw a man walking slowly towards me. As he passed，he looked up at a window in the house opposite，and I saw a face look back at him.

我原以為街上空無一人。后來看到有個人慢慢向我走來。他過去時，抬頭望著對面房子的窗戶，我看到窗口有一張臉也望著他。

I crossed the street，still whistling，and then turned down a little side street. As I dropped the hat，coat and milk bottles behind a wall，I heard a church clock;it was seven o'clock.

我仍然吹著口哨穿過那條街，然后拐進(jìn)一條小道。把帽子，外衣和牛奶瓶扔在墻后，這時我聽到教堂的鐘聲;正好七點。

I ran to the station as fast as I could. It was just ten past seven when I reached the platform. I had no time to buy a ticket;the train was already moving. I jumped into the last carriage.

我盡快奔到車站。趕到站臺，恰好七點十分?；疖囈呀?jīng)開動;沒有時間買票了。我一蹦跳上最后一節(jié)車廂。