A favourite dodge to get your story read by the public is to assert that it is true, and then add that Truth is stranger than Fiction. —
一个使你的故事受众愿意阅读的常用伎俩就是声称它是真实的，然后加上”真实比小说更奇怪”这种说法。 —

I do not know if the yarn I am anxious for you to read is true; —
我不知道我急于让你阅读的那个故事是不是真的。 —

but the Spanish purser of the fruit steamer El Carrero swore to me by the shrine of Santa Guadalupe that he had the facts from the U. S. vice-consul at La Paz - a person who could not possibly have been cognizant of half of them.
然而，来自水果汽船”El Carrero”的西班牙务长向我发誓，他是从拉巴斯的美国副领事那里得到这些事实的，而副领事不可能掌握其中一半的情况。

As for the adage quoted above, I take pleasure in punc- turing it by affirming that I read in a purely fictional story the other day the line: —
至于上面引述的谚语，我很高兴通过在一篇纯虚构的故事中读到这句台词来予以驳斥：”警察说道，’就这样吧。’” 真实中还没有发生过如此奇怪的事情。 —

”‘Be it so,’ said the police- man.” Nothing so strange has yet cropped out in Truth.
“就这样吧，”警察说道。在真实中还没有出现过这么奇怪的事情。

When H. Ferguson Hedges, millionaire promoter, investor and man-about-New-York, turned his thoughts upon matters convivial, and word of it went “down the line,” bouncers took a precautionary turn at the Indian clubs, waiters put ironstone china on his favourite tables, cab drivers crowded close to the curbstone in front of all-night cafés, and careful cashiers in his regular haunts charged up a few bottles to his account by way of preface and introduction.
当亿万富翁推销员、投资者和纽约名人H. Ferguson Hedges的思绪转向娱乐时，消息很快传出，保安们在印度俱乐部里开始谨慎起来，服务员给他最喜欢的餐桌上摆上了铁石瓷器，出租车司机们挤在通宵咖啡馆前的路边，而他经常光顾的地方谨慎的出纳员则在他账户上记了几瓶酒作为前言和介绍。

As a money power a one-millionaire is of small account in a city where the man who cuts your slice of beef behind the free-lunch counter rides to work in his own automobile. —
在那个一个在自助餐柜台后给你切牛肉片的人乘坐自己的汽车上班的城市里，一个百万富翁作为财富的力量微不足道。 —

But Hedges spent his money as lavishly, loudly and showily as though he were only a clerk squandering a week’s wages. —
但是Hedges挥霍金钱的方式如此奢华、喧闹和招摇，就好像他只是一个挥霍一个星期工资的职员。 —

And, after all, the bartender takes no interest in your reserve fund. —
毕竟，调酒师对你的储备基金不感兴趣。 —

He would rather look you up on his cash register than in Bradstreet.
他宁愿在他的收银机上找到你，也不愿在Bradstreet上找到你。

On the evening that the material allegation of facts begins, Hedges was bidding dull care begone in the com- pany of five or six good fellows – acquaintances and friends who had gathered in his wake.
在事实的实质性指控开始的那个晚上，赫奇斯与五六个朋友在一起，试图摆脱困扰。

Among them were two younger men – Ralph Merriam, a broker, and Wade, his friend.
他们中有两个年轻人，一个是经纪人拉尔夫·梅里姆，另一个是他的朋友韦德。

Two deep-sea cabmen were chartered. At Columbus Circle they hove to long enough to revile the statue of the great navigator, unpatriotically rebuking him for having voyaged in search of land instead of liquids. —
他们租了两辆深海马车。在哥伦布圆环，他们停下来侮辱伟大的航海家纪念像，不爱国地责备他寻找陆地而不是寻找液体。 —

Midnight overtook the party marooned in the rear of a cheap café far uptown.
午夜时分，这一群人被困在上城的一家廉价咖啡馆后面。

Hedges was arrogant, overriding and quarrelsome. —
赫奇斯傲慢、跋扈且好斗。 —

He was burly and tough, iron-gray but vigorous, “good” for the rest of the night. —
他个头魁梧而强壮，头发灰白但充满活力，有足够的体力熬过这个夜晚。 —

There was a dispute – about nothing that matters – and the five-fingered words were passed – the words that represent the glove cast into the lists. —
发生了争论，关于无关紧要的事情，他们互相辱骂，争论的言辞象征着抛出的挑战。 —

Merriam played the r?le of the verbal Hotspur.
梅里姆扮演着口舌之战的热血角色。

Hedges rose quickly, seized his chair, swung it once and smashed wildly dowp at Merriam’s head. —
海奇德斯迅速起身，抓住椅子，挥舞了一下后猛砸向梅里阿姆的头部。 —

Merriam dodged, drew a small revolver and shot Hedges in the chest. —
梅里阿姆闪避开来，拿出一把小手枪朝海奇德斯的胸部射击。 —

The leading roysterer stumbled, fell in a wry heap, and lay still.
领头的喧哗者摔倒在一堆扭曲中，不再动弹。

Wade, a commuter, had formed that habit of prompt- ness. —
通勤者韦德已经养成及时的习惯。 —

He juggled Merriam out a side door, walked him to the corner, ran him a block and caught a hansom. —
他将梅里阿姆拽出一扇侧门，走到街角，拉住了一辆马车。 —

They rode five minutes and then got out on a dark corner and dismissed the cab. —
他们坐了五分钟，然后在一个黑暗的街角下车，解散了马车。 —

Across the street the lights of a small saloon betrayed its hectic hospitality.
街对面一个小酒吧的灯光暴露了它繁忙的热情好客。

“Go in the back room of that saloon,” said Wade, “and wait. —
韦德说道：“进那个酒吧的后房等着吧，我去看看情况然后告诉你。 —

I’ll go find out what’s doing and let you know. —
我会给你来信的，待我回来时你可以喝两杯，不要超过。” —

You may take two drinks while I am gone - no more.”
一点到一点，韦德回来了。“振作起来，老兄。”他说道。

At ten minutes to one o’clock Wade returned. “Brace up, old chap,” he said. —
“救护车和我一同到达。医生说他已经死了。你可以再喝一杯。” —

“The ambulance got there just as I did. The doctor says he’s dead. You may have one more drink. —
“让我替你处理这件事吧。你必须逃走。” —

You let me run this thing for you. You’ve got to skip. —
请保持原样，我会帮你处理的。 —

I don’t believe a chair is legally a deadly weapon. —
我不认为一把椅子在法律上属于致命武器。 —

You’ve got to make tracks, that’s all there is to it.”
你必须走了，别无选择。

Merriam complained of the cold querulously, and asked for another drink. —
梅里厄姆抱怨着寒冷，不满地要求再来一杯饮料。 —

“Did you notice what big veins he had on the back of his hands?” he said. “I never could stand – I never could – “
“你有没有注意到他手背上的血管有多粗？” 他说：“我一直都受不了-我一直都受不了-”

“Take one more,” said Wade, “and then come on. I’ll see you through.”
“再来一杯，”韦德说，“然后走吧。我会帮你度过难关。”

Wade kept his promise so well that at eleven o’clock the next morning Merriam, with a new suit case full of new clothes and hair-brushes, stepped quietly on board a little 500-ton fruit steamer at an East River pier. —
韦德信守承诺，以至于第二天上午十一点，梅里厄姆悄悄地踏上一艘载重500吨的小果菜轮在东河码头。 —

The vessel had brought the season’s first cargo of limes from Port Limon, and was homeward bound. —
这艘船已经从林蒙港带来了当季的第一批酸橙，正在返回港口。 —

Merriam had his bank balance of $2,800 in his pocket in large bills, and brief instructions to pile up as much water as he could between himself and New York. There was no time for anything more.
梅里厄姆随身携带着2800美元的银行存款，都是大面额的票子，并简单地叮嘱要在自己和纽约之间尽量拉开距离。没有时间做得更多了。

From Port Limon Merriam worked down the coast by schooner and sloop to Colon, thence across the isthmus to Panama, where he caught a tramp bound for Callao and such intermediate ports as might tempt the discursive skipper from his course.
梅里亚姆从利蒙港乘坐大型帆船和小型帆船沿着海岸线向下前进，到达科隆，然后穿越地峡到达巴拿马，在那里他搭上一艘往卡亚俄和其他可能吸引这位偏离航线的船长的中途港口的流氓船。

It was at La Paz that Merriam decided to land – La Paz the Beautiful, a little harbourless town smothered in a living green ribbon that banded the foot of a cloud- piercing mountain. —
就在拉巴斯，梅里亚姆决定下船——拉巴斯美丽的小港口镇，被环绕在云端高耸的山脚下的一条林木葱茏的生命之带所淹没。 —

Here the little steamer stopped to tread water while the captain’s dory took him ashore that he might feel the pulse of the cocoanut market. —
这里，小蒸汽船停下来打转，船长的小艇把他送上岸，他要去感受椰子市场的脉搏。 —

Merriam went too, with his suit case, and remained.
梅里亚姆也去了，带着他的手提箱，然后留了下来。

Kalb, the vice-consul, a Gr?co-Armenian citizen of the United States, born in Hessen-Darmstadt, and edu- cated in Cincinnati ward primaries, considered all Ameri- cans his brothers and bankers. —
副领事卡尔布是个希腊亚美尼亚裔美国公民，出生在黑森-达姆施塔特，接受过辛辛那提小学选区的教育，他把所有的美国人都视为自己的兄弟和银行家。 —

He attached himself to Merriam’s elbow, introduced him to every one in La Paz who wore shoes, borrowed ten dollars and went back to his hammock.
他紧跟在梅里亚姆身边，把他介绍给拉巴斯每个穿鞋子的人，借了10美元就回去躺在吊床上了。

There was a little wooden hotel in the edge of a banana grove, facing the sea, that catered to the tastes of the few foreigners that had dropped out of the world into the t, ri,qte Peruvian town. —
在秘鲁小镇的边缘有一家小木制酒店，面朝大海，为那些已经离开世界的少数外国人提供服务，他们喜欢这里的味道。 —

At Kalb’s introductory: “Shake hands with – ,” he had obediently exchanged manual salutations with a German doctor, one French and two Italian merchants, and three or four Americans who were spoken of as gold men, rubber men, mahogany men – anything but men of living tissue.
在卡尔布的介绍中：“与. ..握手”，他顺从地与一位德国医生、一位法国商人和两位意大利商人还有几个被称为金融界人士、橡胶商人、红木商人等等的美国人进行了手动致意。

After dinner Merriam sat in a corner of the broad front galeria with Bibb, a Vermonter interested in hydraulic mining, and smoked and drank Scotch “smoke.” The moonlit sea, spreading infinitely before him, seemed to separate him beyond all apprehension from his old life. —
晚餐后，梅里亚姆坐在宽敞的前廊角落里，与一位对水力矿业感兴趣的来自佛蒙特州的人Bibb一起吸烟并且喝苏格兰”烟”酒。月光照耀下的大海，在他面前无限延伸，似乎将他与他的旧生活分隔开来，超出了所有的理解。 —

The horrid tragedy in which he had played such a disas- trous part now began, for the first time since he stole on board the fruiter, a wretched fugitive, to lose its sharper outlines. —
这可怕的悲剧，他在其中扮演了如此灾难性的角色，如今开始模糊不清起来，自从他偷偷登上水果船成为一个可悲的逃亡者以来，这是第一次。 —

Distance lent assuagement to his view. Bibb had opened the flood-gates of a stream of long-dammed discourse, overjoyed to have captured an audience that had not suffered under a hundred repetitions of his views and theories.
距离让他的观点得到了安慰。Bibb打开了一个长久被堵塞的言辞洪流的闸门，对能够吸引到一个没有听过他观点和理论一百遍的听众感到欣喜若狂。

“One year more,” said Bibb, “and I’ll go back to God’s country. —
“再过一年，”Bibb说，“我就会回到上帝的国土。” —

Oh, I know it’s pretty here, and you get dolce far niente banded to you in chunks, but this country wasn’t made for a white man to live in. —
“哦，我知道这里很漂亮，你可以享受到甜蜜的无所事事，但这个国家不是让白人生活的。” —

You’ve got to have to plug through snow now and then, and see a game of baseball and wear a stiff collar and have a policeman cuss you. —
“你必须不时地跋山涉水，看一场棒球比赛，戴上硬领扣衫，让警察骂你。” —

Still, La Paz is a good sort of a pipe-dreamy old hole. And Mrs. Conant is here. —
“不过，La Paz是个很好的梦幻老洞。而且Conant夫人也在这里。” —

When any of us feels particularly like jumping into the sea we rush around to her house and propose. —
“当我们中的任何人特别想跳进大海时，我们就疯狂地冲到她家去求婚。 —

It’s nicer to be rejected by Mrs. Conant than it is to be drowned. —
被Conant女士拒绝比淹死要好很多。” —

And they say drowning is a delightful sensation.”
“而且他们说淹死是一种愉快的感觉。”

“Many like her here?” asked Merriam.
“这里有很多像她一样的人吗？”Merriam问道。

“Not anywhere,” said Bibb, with a comfortable sigh.
“哪里都没有，”Bibb舒服地叹了口气说。

She’s the only white woman in La Paz. The rest range from a dappled dun to the colour of a b-flat piano key. —
她是拉巴斯唯一的白人女性。其他人的肤色从斑驳的黄褐色到一把B调钢琴键的颜色不等。 —

She’s been here a year. Comes from – well, you know how a woman can talk – ask ‘em to say ‘string’ and they’ll say ‘crow’s foot’ or ‘cat’s cradle.’ Some- times you’d think she was from Oshkosh, and again from Jacksonville, Florida, and the next day from Cape Cod.”
她在这里已经一年了。她来自——嗯，你知道女人有时会说些什么——让她们说“绳子”，她们会说“乌鸦的脚”或“猫捉迷藏”。有时你会觉得她来自奥什科什，然后又来自佛罗里达州的杰克逊维尔，第二天又来自科德角。

“Mystery?” ventured Merriam.
“神秘？”梅里安冒险提出。

“M – well, she looks it; but her talk’s translucent enough. But that’s a woman. —
“她看起来像个神秘人；但她说话的透明度足够高。但那是一个女人。 —

I suppose if the Sphinx were to begin talking she’d merely say: ‘Goodness me! —
我想如果狮身人面像开始说话，她可能只会说：“天哪！ —

more visitors coming for dinner, and nothing to eat but the sand which is here.’ But you won’t think about that when you meet her, Merriam. —
还有更多的客人要来吃晚餐，但这里只有沙子。”当你遇到她时，你不会考虑这个问题，梅里亚姆。 —

You’ll propose to her too.”
你也会向她求婚。

To make a hard story soft, Merriam did meet her and propose to her. —
为了让一个难以启齿的故事变得柔和，梅里亚姆确实遇到了她并向她求婚。 —

He found her to be a woman in black with hair the colour of a bronze turkey’s wings, and mysterious, remembering eyes that - well, that looked as if she might have been a trained nurse looking on when Eve was created. —
他发现她是一个穿着黑衣服的女人，头发颜色像一只青铜火鸡的翅膀，神秘的、难以忘怀的眼睛好像在上帝创造夏娃的时候就在场的一个训练有素的护士。 —

Her words and manner, though, were translucent, as Bibb had said. —
但是她说话和举止都很清晰，正如比布所说的那样。 —

She spoke, vaguely, of friends in California and some of the lower parishes in Louisiana. —
她含糊地提到了加利福尼亚州和路易斯安那州的一些低级郡的朋友。 —

The tropical climate and indolent life suited her; —
热带气候和悠闲的生活适合她； —

she had thought of buying an orange grove later on; —
她想过以后买一个橙园； —

La Paz. all in all, charmed her.
总的来说，拉巴斯令她心生喜爱。

Merriam’s courtship of the Sphinx lasted three months, although be did not know that he was courting her. —
梅里亚姆与狮身人面像的求爱持续了三个月，尽管他不知道自己是在追求她。 —

He was using her as an antidote for remorse, until he found, too late, that he had acquired the habit. —
他把她当作一种对抗内疚的解药，直到太迟才发现他养成了这个习惯。 —

During that time he had received no news from home. Wade did not know where he was; —
在那段时间里，他没有收到来自家乡的消息。韦德不知道他在哪里； —

and he was not sure of Wade’s exact address, and was afraid to write. —
他不确定韦德的确切地址，也不敢写信。 —

He thought he had better let matters rest as they were for a while.
他觉得还是让事情暂时保持现状比较好。

One afternoon he and Mrs. Conant hired two ponies and rode out along the mountain trail as far as the little cold river that came tumbling down the foothills. —
一个下午，他和康纳特夫人租了两匹小马，沿着山间小道一直骑到那条从山脚下蜿蜒而下的冷溪。 —

There they stopped for a drink, and Merriam spoke his piece – he proposed, as Bibb had prophesied.
在那里，他们停下来喝水，梅里安说出了他的心里话 - 他求婚了，正如比布所预言的那样。

Mrs. Conant gave him one glance of brilliant tenderness, and then her face took on such a strange, haggard look that Merriam was shaken out of his intoxication and back to his senses.
康纳特夫人投给他充满柔情的一瞥，然后脸上露出一种奇怪而憔悴的表情，梅里安被从喜悦中惊醒，回到了现实中。

“I beg your pardon, Florence,” he said, releasing her hand; —
“抱歉，弗洛伦斯，”他松开她的手说道； —

“but I’ll have to hedge on part of what I said. I can’t ask you to marry me, of course. —
“但我不得不收回我说的一部分。当然，我不能要求你嫁给我。 —

I killed a man in New York – a man who was my friend - shot him down – in quite a cowardly manner, I understand. —
我在纽约杀了一个人 - 一个曾经是我的朋友 - 我以相当懦弱的方式将他射杀了。 —

Of course, the drinking didn’t excuse it. Well, I couldn’t resist having my say; —
当然，喝酒不能成为借口。好吧，我忍不住要说出我的过去； —

and I’ll always mean it. I’m here as a fugitive from justice, and – I suppose that ends our acquaintance.”
我会一直保持这个意思。我作为一个逃亡者在这里，我想这就结束了我们的熟识。

Mrs. Conant plucked little leaves assiduously from the low-hanging branch of a lime tree.
康纳特夫人努力从一棵低垂的酸橙树枝上拔下小叶子。

“I suppose so,” she said, in low and oddly uneven tones; “but that depends upon you. —
“我想是的，”她用低而不平稳的声音说道； “但这取决于你。 —

I’ll be as honest as you were. I poisoned my husband. I am a self-made widow. —
我会像你那样诚实。我毒死了我丈夫。我是一个自我造就的寡妇。 —

A man cannot love a murderess. So I suppose that ends our acquaintance.”
男人不能爱上一个杀人犯。所以我想这就结束了我们的熟识。

She looked up at him slowly. His face turned a little pale, and he stared at her blankly, like a deaf-and-dumb man who was wondering what it was all about.
她缓缓地抬起头看着他。他的脸色微微发白，茫然地盯着她，就像一个聋哑人在想这一切是怎么回事。

She took a swift step toward him, with stiffened arms and eyes blazing.
她迈开急速的步子朝他走去，胳膊笔直，眼睛炯炯有神。

“Don’t look at me like that!” she cried, as though she were in acute pain. —
“别这样看着我！”她喊道，好像她正在极度痛苦中。 —

“Curse me, or turn your back on me, but don’t look that way. Am I a woman to be beaten? —
“诅咒我，或者背叛我，但请不要这样看着我。我是一个可以被打败的女人吗？ —

If I could show you – here on my arms, and on my back are scars – and it has been more than a year – scars that he made in his brutal rages. —
如果我可以向你展示——在我的手臂和背上有伤疤——已经过去一年了——是他在他残酷的暴怒中造成的伤疤。 —

A holy nun would have risen and struck the fiend down. Yes, I killed him. —
一位圣洁的修女会起身击倒邪魔。是的，我杀了他。 —

The foul and horrible words that he hurled at me that last day are repeated in my ears every night when I sleep. —
他在最后一天对我喊出的肮脏恶劣的言辞每晚都在我耳边回荡。 —

And then came his blows, and the end of my endurance. I got the poison that afternoon. —
然后他开始动手，我再也无法忍受。那天下午，我取得了毒药。 —

It was his custom to drink every night in the library before going to bed a hot punch made of rum and wine. —
每天晚上他都习惯在去睡觉前在图书馆喝一杯由兰姆酒和红酒调制的热酒。 —

Only from my fair hands would he receive it – because he knew the fumes of spirits always sickened me. —
只有从我美丽的双手中他才会接过它——因为他知道酒精的味道总是让我感到恶心。 —

That night when the maid brought it to me I sent her downstairs on an errand. —
那天晚上，当女仆给我送来酒的时候，我让她下楼办事。 —

Before taking him his drink I went to my little private cabinet and poured into it more than a tea- spoonful of tincture of aconite – enough to kill three men, so I had learned. —
在给他端酒之前，我去了我的小私人柜子，往里面倒了超过一个茶匙的乌头酊——足以杀死三个人，这是我得知的。 —

I had drawn $6,000 that I had in bank, and with that and a few things in a satchel I left the house without any one seeing me. —
我把存款中的6000美元提走了，然后用一个手提包装了几样东西，离开了家，没有被任何人看见。 —

As I passed the library I heard him stagger up and fall heavily on a couch. —
当我经过图书馆时，我听到他踉跄而起，重重地倒在一张长椅上。 —

I took a night train for New Orleans, and from there I sailed to the Bermudas. —
我乘坐夜车去了新奥尔良，然后从那里乘船去了百慕大。 —

I finally cast anchor in La Paz. And now what have you to say? —
我最终扎锚在拉巴斯。你现在有什么话要说？ —

Can you open your mouth?”
你能张开你的嘴吗？

Merriam came back to life.
梅里亚姆复活了。

“Florence,” he said earnestly, “I want you. I don’t care what you’ve done. If the world – “
“弗洛伦斯，”他郑重地说道，“我想要你。我不在乎你做了什么。如果世界–”

“Ralph,” she interrupted, almost with a scream, “be my world!”
她打断道，几乎尖叫着说道，“拉尔夫，成为我的整个世界吧！”

Her eyes melted; she relaxed magnificentlv and swayed toward Merriam so suddenly that he had to jump to catch her.
她的眼神融化了，她松弛地向梅里亚姆靠近，他不得不跳起来才能接住她。

Dear me! in such scenes how the talk runs into artificial prose. But it can’t be helped. —
天哪！在这种场景中，谈话变得不真实了。但是没办法。 —

It’s the subconscious smell of the footlights’ smoke that’s in all of us. —
是舞台灯光的烟味潜意识地存在于我们每个人身上。 —

Stir the depths of your cook’s soul sufficiently and she will discourse in Bulwer-Lyttonese.
只要充分激发你家厨师的灵魂，她就会用布卢尔-莱顿风格的语言来畅谈。

Merriam and Mrs. Conant were very happy. He announced their engagement at the Hotel Orilla del Mar. Eight foreigners and four native Astors pounded his back and shouted insincere congratulations at him. —
梅里亚姆和康南太太非常幸福。他在海滨旅馆宣布了他们的订婚。八个外国人和四个本地的阿斯特尔（Astor）猛拍他的背，对他进行虚伪的祝贺。 —

Pedrito, the Castilian-mannered barkeep, was goaded to extra duty until his agility would have turned a Boston cherry- phosphate clerk a pale lilac with envy.
西班牙式的酒保Pedrito被迫加班，直到他的敏捷度让波士顿的樱桃柠檬磷酸雇员都羡慕得发白。

They were both very happy. According to the strange mathematics of the god of mutual affinity, the shadows that clouded their pasts when united became only half as dense instead of darker. —
他们俩都非常快乐。根据相互吸引的神奇数学，当他们在一起时，遮蔽他们过去的阴影只有原先的一半浓密，反而变得更浅。 —

They shut the world out and bolted the doors. —
他们把世界关在外面，紧锁房门。 —

Each was the other’s world. Mrs. Conant lived again. —
彼此就是彼此的整个世界。康纳特女士又活过来了。 —

The remembering look left her eyes Merriam was with her every moment that was possible. —
她的眼中再也看不到那种记忆的眼神，梅里厄姆尽可能地陪伴着她的每一刻。 —

On a little plateau under a grove of palms and calabash trees they were going to build a fairy bungalow. —
在棕榈和葫芦树的一个小高地上，他们将建造一个童话般的小屋。 —

They were to be married in two months. Many hours of the day they had their heads together over the house plans. —
两个月后他们将结婚。每天的大部分时间里，他们在一起商讨房屋的计划。 —

Their joint capital would set up a business in fruit or woods that would yield a comfortable support. —
他们的共同资本将投资于水果或木材业务，以确保舒适的生活支持。 —

“Good night, my world,” would say Mrs. Conant every evening when Merriam left her for his hotel. —
“晚安，我的世界，”每天晚上梅里厄姆离开她回到酒店时，康纳特女士都会这样说。 —

They were very happy. Their love had, circumstantially, that element of melancholy in it that it seems to require to attain its supremest elevation. —
他们非常幸福。他们的爱情中带有一种若有所思的忧伤元素，似乎需要这种元素才能达到最高境界。 —

And it seemed that their mutual great misfortune or sin was a bond that nothing could sever.
而且似乎他们共同的不幸或罪过成为了一种无法破坏的纽带。

One day a steamer hove in the offing. Bare-legged and bare-shouldered La Paz scampered down to the beach, for the arrival of a steamer was their loop-the-loop, circus, Emancipation Day and four-o’clock tea.
有一天，一艘轮船出现在远处。光着腿和肩膀的La Paz跑到海滩上，因为轮船的到来是他们的过山车、马戏团、解放日和四点钟的茶时间。

When the steamer was near enough, wise ones pro- claimed that she was the Pajaro, bound up-coast from Callao to Panama.
当轮船靠近时，明智之人宣布它是从卡奥到巴拿马的“Pajaro”号。

The Paiaro put on brakes a mile off shore. Soon a boat came bobbing shoreward. —
Pajaro号在离岸一英里的地方刹车。很快，一艘小船浮现出来向海滩驶来。 —

Merriam strolled down on the beach to look on. —
Merriam漫步走到海滩上观看。 —

In the shallow water the Carib sailors sprang out and dragged the boat with a mighty rush to the firm shingle. —
在浅水中，加勒比海的水手们跳下船，用强大的冲力把小船拖到坚硬的石滩上。 —

Out climbed the purser, the captain and two passengers, ploughing their way through the deep sand toward the hotel. —
船员爬上岸，其中包括会计、船长和两名乘客，他们穿过深沙朝着酒店走去。 —

Merriam glanced toward them with the mild interest due to strangers. —
Merriam对待陌生人眼神中带着温和的兴趣。 —

There was something familiar to him in the walk of one of the pas- sengers. —
有一个乘客的走路方式让他感到熟悉。 —

He looked again, and his blood seemed to turn to strawberry ice cream in his veins. —
他再次看了一眼，他的血液好像在血管中冻结成草莓雪糕。 —

Burly, arrogant, debonair as ever, H. Ferguson Hedges, the man he had killed, was coming toward him ten feet away.
壮硕、傲慢、风度翩翩的H·费格森·海吉斯，他所杀死的那个人，正在离他十英尺的地方走来。

When Hedges saw Merriam his face flushed a dark red. Then he shouted in his old, bluff way: —
当海吉斯看到Merriam时，他的脸涨得通红。然后他用他以前那种直率的方式大喊道： —

“Hello, Merriam. Glad to see you. Didn’t expect to find you out here. —
“嗨，Merriam。很高兴见到你。没想到在这里遇到你。 —

Quinby, this is my old friend Merriam, of New York – Merriam, Mr. Quinby.”
Quinby，这是我的老朋友Merriam，来自纽约——Merriam，这位是Quinby先生。

Merriam gave Hedges and then Quinby an ice-cold hand. “Br-r-r-r!” said Hedges. —
Merriam冷漠地握了握Hedges，然后又握住了Quinby的手。“嗬嗬嗬嗬！”Hedges说。 —

“But you’ve got a frappéd flipper! Man, you’re not well. You’re as yellow as a Chinaman. —
“但你的手像被冰冻了一样！伙计，你不舒服。你的脸色黄得像中国人。 —

Malarial here? Steer us to a bar if there is such a thing, and let’s take a prophylactic.”
这里有疟疾吗？如果有的话，就带我们去一个酒吧，让我们预防一下。

Merriam, still half comatose, led them toward the Hotel Orilla del Mar.
半昏迷的Merriam把他们带到了Orilla del Mar酒店。

“Quinby and I” explained Hedges, puffing through the slippery sand, “are looking out along the coast for some investments. —
“Quinby和我” Hedges在滑腻的沙滩上喘着气说道，” 正在沿海岸寻找一些投资。 —

We’ve just come up from Concepción and Valparaiso and Lima. The captain of this sub- sidized ferry boat told us there was some good picking around here in silver mines. —
我们刚从康塞普西翁、巴尔帕拉伊索和利马回来。这艘接受补贴的渡船的船长告诉我们这附近有一些不错的银矿。 —

So we got off. Now, where is that café, Merriam? —
所以我们下了船。现在，这个咖啡馆在哪里，Merriam？ —

Oh, in this portable soda water pavilion?”
哦，在这个便携式苏打水亭里吗？

Leaving Quinby at the bar, Hedges drew Merriam side.
Hedges把Merriam拉到一边，把Quinby留在酒吧。

“Now, what does this mean?” he said, with gruff kindness. —
“现在，这是什么意思?“他粗声和善地说。 —

“Are you sulking about that fool row we had?”
“你是因为我们那场愚蠢的争吵而生气吗？”

“I thought,” stammered Merriam – “I heard – they told me you were – that I had “
“我以为,“Merriam结结巴巴地说道-“我听说-他们告诉我你是-我已经-”

“Well, you didn’t, and I’m not,” said Hedges. —
“嗯，你没有，而且我也不是，”Hedges说。 —

“That fool young ambulance surgeon told Wade I was a can- didate for a coffin just because I’d got tired and quit breathing. —
“那个愚蠢的年轻救护车外科医生告诉Wade我是一具上棺材供应的候选人，只因为我累了，不想再呼吸了。 —

I laid up in a private hospital for a month; but here I am, kicking as hard as ever. —
我住在一家私立医院里一个月；但是我还在这里，像以前一样奋力抗争。 —

Wade and I tried to find you, but couldn’t. Now, Merriam, shake hands and forget it all. —
Wade和我试图找到你，但找不到。现在，Merriam，握握手，把这些都忘了吧。 —

I was as much to blame as you were; and the shot really did me good – I came out of the hospital as healthy and fit as a cab horse. —
我和你一样有责任；而且那一针真的对我有好处–我从医院出来，身体健康得像一匹出租车马一样。 —

Come on; that drink’s waiting.”
来吧，那杯酒正在等着。

“Old man,” said Merriam, brokenly, “I don’t know how to thank you – I – well, you know – “
“老兄，”梅里安哽咽地说道，”我不知道该怎么感谢你—呃，你知道的—”

“Oh, forget it,” boomed Hedges. “Quinby’ll die of thirst if we don’t join him.”
“噢，别客气了，”海奇斯低沉地说道，”如果我们不去加入奎比，他可是会渴死的。”

Bibb was sitting on the shady side of the gallery waiting for the eleven-o’clock breakfast. —
毕普正坐在长廊的阴凉处等待着早上十一点的早餐。 —

Presently Merriam came out and joined him. —
梅里安出来后，他走过去和他一起坐下。 —

His eye was strangely bright.
他的眼睛闪着奇怪的光芒。

“Bibb, my boy,” said he, slowly waving his hand, “do you see those mountains and that sea and sky and sun- shine? —
“毕普，我的孩子，”他缓慢地挥动着手说道，” 你看见那些山、大海、天空和阳光了吗？ —

– they’re mine, Bibbsy – all mine.”
–它们都是我的，毕普西–全都是我的。”

“You go in,” said Bibb, “and take eight grains of quinine, right away. —
“你进去吧，”毕普说道，”马上吃八粒奎宁。 —

It won’t do in this climate for a man to get to thinking he’s Rockefeller, or James O’Neill either.
在这种气候下，一个人可不能以为自己是洛克菲勒，也不能是詹姆斯·奥尼尔。

Inside, the purser was untying a great roll of newspapers, many of them weeks old, gathered in the lower ports by the Pajaro to be distributed at casual stopping-places. —
船长正在解开一卷卷报纸，其中有很多是几周前在帕哈罗下游港口收集到的，将要在一些停留地点进行分发。 —

Thus do the beneficent voyagers scatter news and enter- tainment among the prisoners of sea and mountains. —
这样，慈善的航海者将新闻和娱乐散播给那些被大海和山脉囚禁的人们。 —

Tio Pancho, the hotel proprietor, set his great silver- rimmed aiteojos upon his nose and divided the papers into a number of smaller rolls. —
酒店老板帕乔，戴上他的银框眼镜，把报纸分成几卷小卷。 —

A barefooted muchacho dashed in, desiring the post of messenger.
一个光着脚的孩子跑进来，想要当信差。

“Bien venido,” said Tio Pancho. “This to Se?ora Conant; that to el Doctor S-S-Schlegel – Dios! —
“Bien venido”，帕乔说。“这个给康纳特女士；那个给S-S-Schlegel博士 — 天哪！ —

what a name to say! - that to Se?or Davis – one for Don Alberto. —
写这名字！- 这个给戴维斯先生 — 还有一个给阿尔贝托先生。 —

These two for the Casa de Huespedes, Numero 6, en la calle de las Buenas Gracias. —
这两个给六号招待所，在布埃纳斯格拉西亚大街。 —

And say to them all, muchacho, that the Pajaro sails for Panama at three this afternoon. —
并告诉他们所有人，Pajaro 游轮下午三点驶往巴拿马。 —

If any have letters to send by the post, let them come quickly, that they may first pass through the correo.”
如果有人有要寄给邮局的信件，让他们快点过来，这样他们先经过邮政局。

Mrs. Conant received her roll of newspapers at four o’clock. —
康纳特太太在四点收到她的报纸。 —

The boy was late in delivering them, because he had been deflected from his duty by an iguana that crossed his path and to which he immediately gave chase. —
这个男孩送报迟到了，因为他被一只过马路的鬣蜥吸引了，他立即追赶了它。 —

But it made no hardship, for she had no letters to send.
但这并不困扰她，因为她没有要寄的信件。

She was idling in a hammock in the patio of the house that she occupied, half awake, half happily dreaming of the paradise that she and Merriam had created out of the wrecks of their pasts. —
她正躺在占据她的房子的庭院里的吊床上，半睡半醒，半开心地梦想着她和梅里阿姆用过去的废墟创造出的天堂。 —

She was content now for the horizon of that shimmering sea to be the horizon of her life. —
对于那闪烁的大海成为她生活的地平线，她感到满足。 —

They had shut out the world and closed the door.
他们把世界关在了外面，关闭了大门。

Merriam was coming to her house at seven, after his dinner at the hotel. —
梅里阿姆在晚上七点，饭后来她家。 —

She would put on a white dress and an apricot-coloured lace mantilla, and they would walk an hour under the cocoanut palms by the lagoon. —
她会穿上一件白色连衣裙和一顶杏色的蕾丝披肩，然后他们将在椰树林旁的泻湖下漫步一个小时。 —

She smiled contentedly, and chose a paper at random from the roll the boy had brought.
她心满意足地微笑着，随机从男孩带来的纸卷中选了一张。

At first the words of a certain headline of a Sunday newspaper meant nothing to her; —
起初，她毫无头绪地阅读着某个星期日报纸的一个标题； —

they conveyed only a visualized sense of familiarity. The largest type ran thus: —
它们只是带给她一种熟悉的视觉感受。最大的字体如下所示： —

“Lloyd B. Conant secures divorce.” And then the subheadings: —
“劳埃德·B·科南成功离婚。”然后是副标题： —

“Well-known Saint Louis paint manufac- turer wins suit, pleading one year’s absence of wife.” “Her mysterious disappearance recalled.” “Nothing has been heard of her since.”
“著名圣路易斯油漆制造商获胜，辩称妻子离家一年。” “她神秘失踪的事情被回忆起来了。” “自那以后再也没有她的消息。”

Twisting herself quickly out of the hammock, Mrs. Conant’s eye soon traversed the half-column of the “Recall.” It ended thus: “It will be remembered that Mrs. Conant disappeared one evening in March of last year. —
迅速从吊床上扭身起来，科南夫人的眼睛很快扫过了这篇”回忆”的半栏内容。结尾如下：”大家可能还记得，去年三月的一个晚上，科南夫人突然失踪了。 —

It was freely rumoured that her marriage with Lloyd B. Conant resulted in much unhappiness. —
有传言说她与劳埃德·B·科南的婚姻导致了很多不幸。 —

Stories were not wanting to the effect that his cruelty toward his wife had more than once taken the form of physical abuse. —
有不少关于他对妻子的残忍行为的传闻，多次涉及肢体虐待。 —

After her departure a full bottle of tincture of aconite, a deadly poison, was found in a small medicine cabinet in her bedroom. —
在她离开后，在她卧室的一个小药柜里发现了一瓶满满的狼毒酊剂，一种致命的毒药。 —

This might have been an indication that she meditated suicide. —
这可能是她有自杀倾向的迹象之一。 —

It is supposed abandoned such an intention if she possessed it, and left her home instead.”
如果她真的打算自杀，那么她可能已经放弃了这个打算，并选择离开家。

Mrs. Conant slowly dropped the paper, and sat on a chair, clasping her hands tightly.
康娜特太太缓缓放下报纸，坐在椅子上，双手紧紧地握在一起。

“Let me think – O God! – let me think,” she whis- pered. “I took the bottle with me … —
让我思考一下——天啊！——让我想一想，她低声说道。“我把那瓶药带着我走了…… —

I threw it out of the window of the train … I – … —
我把它从火车窗户扔出去了……我——。 —

there was another bottle in the cabinet … —
药柜里还有另一瓶…… —

there were two, side by side – the aconite – and the valerian that I took when I could not sleep . . —
它们是并排放置的——狼毒酊剂——还有我失眠时服用的缬草。 —

. If they found the aconite bottle full, why – but, he is alive, of course – I gave him only a harmless dose of valerian . —
如果他们发现了狼毒酊剂瓶子是满的，那么——但是，他还活着，当然——我只给了他一剂无害的缬草。 —

. . I am not a murderess in fact … Ralph, I – 0 God, don’t let this be a dream!”
我并不是一个杀人凶手, 其实的话… 哦，天啊，不要让这变成一个梦！

She went into the part of the house that she rented from the old Peruvian man and his wife, shut the door, and walked up and down her room swiftly and feverishly for half an hour. —
她进入了她从那对老秘鲁夫妇租的房子的一部分，关上门，不停地在房间里来回走动了半个小时。 —

Merriam’s photograph stood in a frame on a table. —
马里厄姆的照片放在一张桌子上的相框里。 —

She picked it up, looked at it with a smile of exquisite tenderness, and – dropped four tears on it. —
她拿起它，面带极致温柔的微笑，然后——在照片上洒下了四滴眼泪。 —

And Merriam only twenty rods away! Then she stood still for ten minutes, looking into space. —
玛丽厄姆只有二十码远！然后她静止了十分钟，凝望着虚空。 —

She looked into space through a slowly opening door. —
她透过一扇缓缓打开的门凝视着虚空。 —

On her side of the door was the building material for a castle of Romance – love, an Arcady of waving palms, a lullaby of waves on the shore of a haven of rest, respite, peace, a lotus land of dreamy ease and security – a life of poetry and heart’s ease and refuge. —
在她的那一边是建造浪漫城堡的材料——爱情，栉比鳞次的棕榈树，岸边波澜起伏的摇篮曲，舒适宁静的休憩之地，安全的避风港。一个梦幻般轻松和安全的莲花之地——一种诗意和心灵舒适的生活。 —

Romanticist, will you tell me what Mrs. Conant saw on the other side of the door? You cannot? —
浪漫主义者，你能告诉我康纳特夫人在门的另一边看到了什么吗？你不能吗？ —

– that is, you will not? Very well; then listen. —
—— 也就是说，你不愿意？好吧，那就听着吧。 —

She saw herself go into a department store and buy five spools of silk thread and three yards of gingham to make an apron for the cook. —
她看见自己进了一家百货商店，买了五卷丝线和三码格子布，准备给厨师做一件围裙。 —

“Shall I charge it, ma’am?” asked the clerk. —
“我帮您记账吗，夫人？”店员问道。 —

As she walked out a lady whom she met greeted her cordially. —
当她走出商店时，一位她遇到的女士热情地和她打招呼。 —

“Oh, where did you get the pattern for those sleeves, dear Mrs. Conant?” she said. —
“哦，亲爱的康纳特夫人，你是在哪里找到那副袖子的图案的？”她说道。 —

At the corner a policeman helped her across the street and touched his helmet. “Any callers?” she asked the maid when she reached home. —
在转角处一名警察帮助她过马路，并碰了碰他的帽子。“有人来找你吗？” 当她回到家时，她问女仆：“有什么客人吗？” —

“Mrs. Waldron,” answered the maid, and the tqvo Misses Jenkinson.” “Very well,” she said. You may bring me a cup of tea, Maggie.”
“沃尔德伦夫人，还有两位詹金森小姐，”女佣回答道。 “很好，”她说道。“你给我端一杯茶，玛吉。”

Mrs. Conant went to the door and called Angela, the old Peruvian woman. —
康纳特夫人走到门口喊道：“安吉拉，这位老秘鲁妇女。” —

“If Mateo is there send him to me.” Mateo, a half-breed, shuffling and old but efficient, came. —
“如果马特奥在的话，就让他来找我。”马特奥，一个相貌憔悴但工作高效的半血种族人来了。 —

“Is there a steamer or a vessel of any kind leaving this coast to-night or to-morrow that I can get passage on?” she asked.
“这个海岸上有没有今晚或明天离开的轮船或船只，我能乘上去？”她问道。

Mateo considered.
马特奥考虑了一下。

“At Punta Reina, thirty miles down the coast, se? —
“在科斯坦港，沿海岸线向下约三十英里处。” —

ora,” he answered, “there is a small steamer loading with cinchona and dyewoods. —
“他回答说：“有一艘小轮船正在装载秦楝和染料木。” —

She sails for San Francisco to-morrow at sunrise. —
“她明天日出时驶往旧金山。” —

So says my brother, who arrived in his sloop to-day, passing by Punta Reina.”
“这是我哥哥说的，他今天乘着他的单桅帆船路过Punta Reina。”

“You must take me in that sloop to that steamer to-night. Will you do that?”
“你必须今晚用那艘单桅帆船将我送到那艘轮船上。你能做到吗？”

“Perhaps – ” Mateo shrugged a suggestive shoul- der. —
“也许吧。”Mateo耸了耸肩示意一下。 —

Mrs. Conant took a handful of money from a drawer and gave it to him.
Conant太太从抽屉里拿出一把钱递给他。

“Get the sloop ready behind the little point of land below the town,” she ordered. —
“在城下小点的海角后面准备好单桅帆船，”她吩咐说。 —

“Get sailors, and be ready to sail at six o’clock. —
“找些水手，准备在六点钟启航。 —

In half an hour bring a cart partly filled with straw into the patio here, and take my trunk to the sloop. —
三十分钟后，把一辆装满稻草的马车开到这个庭院里，把我的箱子送到单桅帆船上。 —

There is more money yet. Now, hurry.”
还有更多的钱。现在，快点。”

For one time Mateo walked away without shuffling his feet.
这一次，Mateo没有拖着脚步走开。

“Angela,” cried Mrs. Conant, almost fiercely, “come and help me pack. I am going away. —
“Angela，”Conant太太几乎愤怒地喊道，“过来帮我收拾。我要离开了。 —

Out with this trunk. My clothes first. Stir yourself. —
把这个箱子搬出来。我首先要收拾我的衣服。動作快点。 —

Those dark dresses first. Hurry.”
先收拾那些深色的连衣裙。快点。”

From the first she did not waver from her decision. Her view was clear and final. —
从最初的一刻起，她对自己的决定毫不动摇。她的观点清晰而坚定。 —

Her door had opened and let the world in. Her love for Merriam was not lessened; —
她的心门已经敞开，让世界进入。她对梅里亚姆的爱没有减少； —

but it now appeared a hopeless and unrealizable thing. —
但是现在看来，这已经成为了一种无望和无法实现的东西。 —

The visions of their future that had seemed so blissful and complete had vanished. —
曾经看起来如此美好和完整的未来展望已经消失了。 —

She tried to assure herself that her renunciation was rather for his sake than for her own. —
她试图让自己相信，她的舍弃更多是为了他的利益而不是自己的利益。 —

Now that she was cleared of her burden – at least, technically – would not his own weigh too heavily upon him? —
现在她已经摆脱了她的负担 - 至少在技术上 - 难道他自己的负担不会变得过重吗？ —

If she should cling to him, would not the difference forever silently mar and corrode their happiness? —
如果她紧紧地依附着他，难道这种差异不会永远地默默破坏和侵蚀他们的幸福吗？ —

Thus she reasoned; but there were a thousand little voices calling to her that she could feel rather than hear, like the hum of distant, powerful machinery – the little voices of the world, that, when raised in unison, can send their insistent call through the thickest door.
她这样推理；但是有千万个微小的声音在呼唤着她，她能感觉到而不是听到，就像远处强大机器的嗡嗡声一样 - 世界上那些小声音，当它们一起高呼时，能够把自己的坚持呼声传递到最厚的大门之中。

Once while packing, a brief shadow of the lotus dream came back to her. —
有一次在收拾行李时，阿尔苏拉曾短暂地回到了莲花的梦境。 —

She held Merriam’s picture to her heart with one hand, while she threw a pair of shoes into the trunk with her other.
她一手抱着梅辛的照片紧贴在心口，一手将一双鞋扔进后备箱里。

At six o’clock Mateo returned and reported the sloop ready. —
六点钟时，马特奥回来报告说船已经准备好了。 —

He and his brother lifted the trunk into the cart, covered it with straw and conveyed it to the point of embarkation. —
他和他弟弟将行李箱抬上马车，用稻草盖上，然后运送到登船点。 —

From there they transferred it on board in the sloop’s dory. —
然后他们把它转移到船上的小艇上。 —

Then Mateo returned for additional orders.
然后马特奥回去等待进一步的命令。

Mrs. Conant was ready. She had settled all business matters with Angela, and was impatiently waiting. She wore a long, loose black-silk duster that she often walked about in when the evenino’s were chilly. —
康纳特夫人已经准备好了。她已经和安杰拉处理好了所有的事务，正不耐烦地等着。她穿着一件长款宽松黑色丝绒外套，这是她在寒冷的晚上常常穿来散步的衣服。 —

On her head was a small round hat, and over it the apricot-coloured lace mantilla.
她头上戴着一顶小圆帽，上面罩着杏色的蕾丝披肩。

Dusk had quickly followed the short twilight. —
黄昏很快跟随短暂的黄昏。 —

Mateo led her by dark and grass-grown streets toward the point behind which the sloop was anchored. —
马特奥带着她穿过阴暗而长满草的街道，前往停泊在背后的小船。 —

On turning a corner they beheld the Hotel Orilla del Mar three streets away, nebulously aglow with its array of kerosene lamps.
转过一个街角，他们看到了三条街外的海滨酒店，一片模糊的煤油灯光闪亮。

Mrs. Conant paused, with streamin eyes. “I must, I must see him once before I go,” she murmured in anguish. —
康纳特夫人停下来，眼泪汹涌而出。“我必须，我必须在离开之前见他一次。”她痛苦地喃喃道。 —

But even then she did not falter in her decision. —
即使如此，她的决定也没有动摇。 —

Quickly she invented a plan by which she might speak to him, and yet make her departure without his knowing. —
她迅速构想了一个计划，通过这个计划，她可以与他谈话，却又在他毫不知情的情况下离开。 —

She would walk past the hotel, ask some one to call him out and talk a few moments on some trivial excuse, leaving him expecting to see her at her home at seven.
她会走过旅馆，在旁边找个人叫他出来，然后找一个无关紧要的借口和他聊几分钟，留下他期待着晚上七点在她家见面。

She unpinned her hat and gave it to Mateo. “Keep this, and wait here till I come,” she ordered. —
她取下帽子，递给马特奥。“帮我保管这个，等我回来。”她吩咐道。 —

Then she draped the mantilla over her head as she usually did when walking after sunset, and went straight to the Orilla del Mar.
然后，她像往常一样在夜幕降临后用薄披肩盖住头部，径直走向海滨。

She was glad to see the bulky, white-clad figure of Tio Pancho standing alone on the gallery.
她很高兴看到高大的、衣着洁白的蒂奥·潘乔独自站在走廊上。

“Tio Pancho,” she said, with a charming smile, “may I trouble you to ask Mr. Merriam to come out for just a few moments that I may speak with him?”
“蒂奥·潘乔，”她带着迷人的微笑说，“可以麻烦你请梅里亚姆先生出来一下吗？我需要和他说几分钟。”

Tio Pancho bowed as an elephant bows.
蒂奥·潘乔像大象一样鞠了一躬。

“Buenas tardes, Se?ora Conant,” he said, as a cavalier talks. And then he went on, less at his ease:
“下午好，康娜夫人，”他仿佛对骑士说。然后他继续说道，显得不那么自在：

“But does not the se?ora know that Se?or Merriam sailed on the Pajaro for Panama at three o’clock of this afternoon?”
“但是康娜夫人难道不知道梅里亚姆先生今天下午三点钟乘帕哈罗号船前往巴拿马吗？”