马龙探案卷四 之 正确的凶案 十一
“…… 据着名律师约翰?J?马龙称，悲剧发生时他恰好在那所房子里。人们认为图伊兹是入室盗窃的受害者。丹尼尔?冯?弗拉纳根队长承诺会尽早将凶手捉拿归案……”
“… according to John J. malone, prominent attorney, who happened to be in the house at the time of the tragedy. It is believed that tuesday was the victim of a burglar. captain daniel von Flanagan promises an early arrest.…”
杰克?贾斯特斯把报纸揉成一团扔在地上。“这么多年了，他们还总是轻信那个老掉牙的入室盗窃的借口，真是令人难以置信。”
Jake Justus crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor. “It’s unbelievable how they go on falling for that old burglary gag after all these years.”
马龙往自己杯子里倒了一英寸黑麦威士忌。“见鬼，冯?弗拉纳根总得跟报纸说点什么。他总不能说，‘这个叫图伊兹的家伙被杀的时候房子里有一群人，但我不知道该抓哪一个。’”
malone poured an inch of rye into his glass. “hell, von Flanagan had to tell the papers something. he could hardly say, ‘there were a bunch of people in the house when this tuesday guy got knocked off, but I’m damned if I know which one to pick.’”
他抿了一口黑麦威士忌，在脑海中回顾麦克莱恩大厦的平面图。有一个大楼梯从中央大厅向上延伸。杰拉尔德?图伊兹的房间在楼梯顶端的一个小角落里，门朝着楼梯。海伦?布兰德?贾斯特的房间在走廊往右侧。罗特斯?艾伦的房间在它对面，卢埃拉?怀特的房间紧挨着。罗斯?麦克劳林的房间在走廊尽头，就在那个通向侧门的小楼梯旁边。彭德利?泰德韦尔的暗房在走廊的最末端。当杰拉尔德?图伊兹被杀的时候，这五个人在楼上。
he sipped his rye and reviewed in his mind the floor plans of the mcclane mansion. there was the big staircase that went up from the central hall. Gerald tuesday’s room had been at the head of it, in a little ell, with its door toward the stairs. helene’s room was down the hall to the right. Lotus Allen’s room was across from it, and Louella white’s next door. Ross mcLaurin’s was down at the end of the hall, just past the little staircase that ended near the side door. pendley tidewell’s darkroom was at the very end of the hall, toward the rear. those five had been upstairs when Gerald tuesday was killed.
楼下 —— 他叹了口气，又把杯子倒满。还有时间因素要考虑。海伦在他们到达后不久看到图伊兹还活着，坐在他的书桌前。那是四点过五分的时候。她刚下楼，女仆就被派去图伊兹的房间，发现他死了。那是四点二十五分的时候。在图伊兹被杀的这二十分钟里，莫娜?麦克莱恩在楼下，他和她在同一个房间，海伦、罗特斯?艾伦、年轻的麦克劳林、泰德韦尔和卢埃拉?怀特在楼上。迈克尔?文宁和伊迪丝?文宁夫妇在那段时间的大部分时间里都在外面的大道上散步。他们进来的时候，他自己也听到了，他们直接走进了客厅，没有上楼。
downstairs—he sighed, and refilled his glass. there was the time element to consider, too. helene had seen tuesday alive, sitting at his desk, just after their arrival. that had been at five minutes after four. She had just e downstairs when the maid was sent to tuesday’s room and found him dead. that had been at twenty-five minutes after four. during those twenty minutes in which tuesday had been killed, mona mcclane had been downstairs—he had been in the same room with her—helene, Lotus Allen, young mcLaurin, tidewell, and Louella white had been upstairs. the Vennings had been out walking on the drive during most of that time. when they came in—he had heard them himself—they had e straight into the living room, without going upstairs.
杰克打断了他的沉思，非常随意地问道：“你没有收到海伦的任何消息吧？”
Jake interrupted his reverie, asking very casually, “You haven’t heard anything from helene, have you?”
“你觉得我会收到海伦的消息吗？”
“would you expect me to hear from helene?”
杰克的脸微微泛红，说：“嗯，我以为她可能会从哈瓦那寄张明信片给你。”
Jake turned faintly pink and said. “well, I thought she might have sent you a postcard from havana.”
“她可能还没时间，” 马龙告诉他，“你知道那些古巴人是什么样的。”
“She probably hasn’t had time,” malone told him. “You know what those cubans are.”
把海伦的名字排除在报纸对这起谋杀案的报道中费了点周折，但马龙还是做到了。他认为这些努力是值得的。
Keeping helene’s name out of the newspaper accounts of the murder had taken a little doing, but malone had managed it. he considered it well worth the effort.
这位小律师对目前的情况有了非常明确的看法。一直阻碍杰克和海伦进展的绊脚石是骄傲，骄傲不仅是一种罪恶，而且是一种非常愚蠢的行为。然而，事实就是如此。他推断，如果能让他们避免过早地相遇，一切都会好起来的。与此同时，让他们分开将是一件棘手的任务，而这正是他喜欢的那种事情。
the little lawyer had e to a very positive conviction about the situation. the rock in Jake and helene’s progress had been pride, which was not only a sin, but a lot of damned foolishness. however, there it was. If, he reasoned, they could be kept from running into each other too soon, everything would be all right. In the meantime, keeping them apart was going to be a tricky business, which was just the kind of business he liked.
杰克对着报纸皱起了眉头。“这些人都是谁？”
Jake scowled at the newspaper. “who are all these people?”
马龙深吸了一口气。“你应该知道文宁家族。迈克尔?文宁就是文宁家族的代表。除了签收支票，他从未为家族做过任何事情。他刚刚回国，这是他二十年来的第一次回国访问。他一直住在东方，印度、新加坡、上海，因为他喜欢那里。他是个高大魁梧的家伙，看起来脾气可能很坏，而且没什么脑子。他的妻子是个身材高挑优雅的女人，体态像一匹非常漂亮的马，看起来就像宿醉未醒的麦克白夫人。不知道她带着这个面无表情的护士，是为了有人陪伴还是因为她有点傻，她时来自森林湖和夏洛瓦的普特南家族。”
malone drew a long breath. “Even you ought to be familiar with the Venning estate. michael Venning is the Venning estate. he’s never done anything for it except cash the checks. Just returned to this country for his first visit in twenty years. been living in the orient—India, Singapore, Shanghai—because he liked it there. big, beefy guy, looks as though he might have an ugly temper and no brains worth mentioning. his wife is a tall, graceful dame with a figure like a very beautiful horse. Looks like Lady macbeth with a bad hang-over. can’t figure if she has this granite-puss nurse just to keep her pany or because she’s a dopey. She’s of the putnams, of Lake Forest and charlevoix.”
杰克用牙齿发出一声轻蔑的啧啧声，说：“我们可以把你宣传成吉纳维耶芙?马龙，给你找份写社交专栏的工作。把瓶子递给我，接着讲你的故事。”
Jake made an insulting, clucking noise with his teeth and said, “we could bill you as Genevieve malone and get you a job writing society columns. hand me the bottle and go on with your story.”
“我离开的时候，麦克劳林那小子还醉得不省人事。即使醉眼惺忪，他也很帅气，有一种迷人的堕落感。他是那种买了六双英国制造的鞋子、在地中海找到一个漂亮小岛，然后在在那里度过余生的那种女人的独子。他在那里的高档私立学校长大。母亲大约一年前去世了，断奶对他来说是个不小的打击。莫娜?麦克莱恩是他母亲的好友，所以她把他带在身边照顾。”
“the mcLaurin boy was still passed out when I left. Good-looking even when cockeyed, in an appealingly revolting sort of 方式。he was the only child of the sort of dame who buys six pairs of british-made shoes, finds a nice island in the mediterranean, and lives there the rest of her life. he was brought up there and in swanky private schools. mamma kicked the bucket about a year ago, and the cutting of the apron strings was a nasty sock. mona mcclane was a close pal of his old lady, so she’s taken him under her wing.”
杰克嘟囔着说，任何在莫娜?麦克莱恩庇护下的人最好都带着降落伞，并说道：“别让我打断你。这个罗特斯?艾伦是谁？”
Jake muttered something to the effect that anyone under mona mcclane’s wing had better have a parachute along, and said, “don’t let me interrupt you. how about this Lotus Allen?”
“她是那种昂贵的马萨诸塞州女孩，在任何场合都本能地穿着得体。长得漂亮，但含蓄内敛。穿着进口花呢、手工编织的毛衣、运动围巾和黑色雪纺内衣。是那种即使不喝酒也不会显得古板的女孩，但她确实喝酒，而且她可能还会随地吐痰和骂人。”
“She’s the sort of expensive massachusetts girl who instinctively wears the right clothes on every occasion. damned good-looking, in a restrained sort of way. Imported tweeds, hand-knit sweaters, sport scarves, and black chiffon underwear. the sort of girl who wouldn’t seem like a prig if she didn’t drink, but she does, and she probably spits and swears, too.”
“你和她约会了吗？” 杰克问。
“did you make a date with her?” Jake asked.
马龙说：“她看上了麦克劳林。我怀疑这就是她拜访莫娜?麦克莱恩的原因。”
malone said, “She has her eye on mcLaurin. I suspected that’s why she’s visiting mona mcclane.”
“这就把嫌疑人都列出来了，” 杰克说。“那么这个尸体是谁？除了杰拉尔德?图伊兹先生的名字之外。”
“that does up the suspects,” Jake said. “Now who was the corpse? outside of being a mr. Gerald tuesday.”
“似乎没人知道，” 马龙说，“包括莫娜?麦克莱恩。几年前她在欧洲的某个地方，猜是巴黎，见过他。在那儿认识的。某个共同的朋友写信告诉莫娜他要来芝加哥，她就和他取得了联系并邀请他到她家做客。这就是大家所知道的一切。毕竟，他刚到这个城市，除了莫娜?麦克莱恩，房子里没人见过他。冯?弗拉纳根现在为了了解他的情况都快急疯了。”
“Nobody seems to know,” malone said, “including mona mcclane. She’d met him somewhere in Europe a few years ago—paris, I guess. Got acquainted with him there. Some mutual friend wrote mona that he was ing to chicago, and she got in contact with her him and invited him to stay with her. that’s about all anyone knows. After all, he’d just arrived in town, and nobody in the house had met him except mona mcclane. Von Flanagan’s losing his mind trying to find out about him now”
杰克皱起眉头。“他的被杀不符合莫娜的赌注条件。但肯定有某种联系。他是在她家里被谋杀的。他临死前还试图给你打电话。显然他知道那个赌约。” 杰克深吸一口气说，“我想和莫娜谈谈。我想我现在就去那儿。”
Jake scowled. “his murder doesn’t fulfill the terms of mona’s bet. but there must be some connection. he was murdered in her house. his dying act was to try to telephone you. Evidently he knew about the bet.” Jake drew a long breath and said, “I want to talk to mona. I think I’ll go over there right now.”
马龙不由自主地叫道：“哦，不，你不能那么做。” 然后突然停了下来。
Involuntarily malone exclaimed, “oh no, you can 不能那么做，然后突然停了下来。
“为什么我不能去见莫娜?麦克莱恩？”
“why can’t I go to see mona mcclane?”
“她受到了惊吓。” 马龙赶紧说。
“She’s suffering from shock,” malone said quickly.
“你净说瞎话。那个女人就算经历一场大爆炸也不会受到惊吓。”
“You’re full of little bananas. that woman wouldn’t suffer from shock after a mass dynamiting.”
“她家里刚发生了一起凶杀案。这肯定会让人有点心烦意乱。”
“She’s just had a murder in her house. that’s bound to be a little upsetting.”
“好吧，就算她心烦意乱。你自己也常说，人们心烦意乱的时候和他们交谈能了解到更多信息。”
“All right, so she’s upset. You always said yourself you could get more out of people by talking with them when they were upset.”
“很晚了，我也累了。”
“It’s late and I’m tired.”
“现在才九点，如果您那么累，我自己去。”
“It’s nine o’clock, and if you’re that tired, I’ll go alone.”
“不，不，不，” 马龙说。“如果你坚持要去，我和你一起去。” 他快速地思考着。这场游戏在这么早的时候就让杰克在莫娜?麦克莱恩家碰到海伦，可能会危及他们将来和解的机会。而且如果杰克发现海伦在这个城市而他却被蒙在鼓里，那麻烦可就大了，而马龙就是将为此付出代价的那个人。
“No, no, no,” malone said. “If you insist on going, I’ll go with you.” he was thinking fast. For Jake to run into helene at mona mcclane’s so early in the game might imperil the chances of a future reconciliation. And if Jake discovered that helene’s presence in the city had been kept from him, there would be hell to pay, with malone on the paying end.
他在乘电梯下楼的整个过程中，一直在快速思考。他没有办法把海伦从麦克莱恩家弄走。即使他能在路上设法打个电话，他也很难向莫娜?麦克莱恩解释这种情况。
he went on thinking fast all the way down in the elevator. there was no way he could get helene out of the mcclane house. he could hardly explain the situation to mona mcclane, even if he could manage a private telephone call on the way.
他们在公寓酒店前叫了一辆出租车，杰克说出了莫娜?麦克莱恩在湖滨大道的地址。马龙向前探身说：“但是首先，司机，去里基特酒吧。”
they hailed a taxi in front of the apartment hotel and Jake gave the Lake Shore drive address of mona mcclane. malone leaned forward and said, “but first, driver, go to Rickett’s.”
杰克说：“这是要干什么？”
Jake said, “what’s the idea?”
“我还没吃晚饭呢。空腹喝莫娜的苏格兰威士忌，我会一头栽倒的。我们先去吃点食物，然后再去和她好好谈谈。”
“I haven’t had any dinner yet. mona’s Scotch on top of an empty stomach, and I’d fall flat on my face. we’ll get some food first, and then go and have a long talk with her.”
杰克重重地叹了口气，靠在坐垫上。能够离开这间他为他和海伦回到这个城市而租的公寓，感觉真好。并不是说这间公寓不好，而是它太容易让人想起过去。总之，这是沉闷的一天。
Jake sighed heavily, and leaned back against the cushions. It seemed good to be out of the apartment he had taken for his and helene’s return to the city. Not that it wasn’t a nice apartment, but it was too damned reminiscent. All in all, it had been a dreary day.
“你想听听我了解到的过去三周芝加哥的凶杀案吗？”
“do you want to hear what I found out about the chicago homicides of the past three weeks?”
“以后再说。” 马龙说。
“Later,” malone said.
出租车在里基特酒吧前停下。在通往酒吧的门口，马龙停了下来，一只手放在门把手上。他在酒吧里的人群中看到了一缕特定的金发。当然，这个城市可能还有其他女人有那种淡金色的头发，但他不想冒险。突然，他转过身，抓住杰克的胳膊，沿着芝加哥大道向西走去。
the cab dropped them in front of Rickett’s. At the door leading to the bar malone paused, one hand resting on the knob. he had seen a certain shade of blonde hair among the heads at the bar. of course there might be other women in the city with hair that particular pale gold, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Suddenly he wheeled around, took Jake by the arm, and started west on chicago Avenue.
“你到底要干嘛？”
“where the hell are you going?”
“刚想起来。我得打个电话。”
“Just remembered. Gotta make a phone call.”
“你不能从里基特酒吧打吗？”
“couldn’t you make it from Rickett’s?”
“这个电话不行。”
“Not this call.”
在街角的药店，他走进去买了一枚硬币，然后走回电话亭。杰克对这一切看起来非常怀疑，在电话亭的门口徘徊。经过片刻的思考，马龙灵机一动，拨通了气象局的电话。他想知道那天下午有没有下过雪。
At the corner drugstore he went in, bought a slug, and walked back to the phone booth. Jake, looking very dubious about the whole thing, hovered by the door to the booth. After a moment of thought, malone had a flash of inspiration and called the weather bureau. he wanted to know if it had been snowing that afternoon.
没有，没有下雪。气温一直在四十五度（华氏度）左右徘徊。
No, it had not been snowing. the thermometer had hovered around forty-five degrees.
那有下雨吗？
then had there been any rain?
有，下午下了一场短暂的大雨。
Yes, there had been one short, heavy rainfall during the afternoon.
“有了。” 马龙高兴地说。“就是那场雨。它具体是什么时候下的？”
“there.” malone said happily. “that’s the one I mean. Exactly what time did it occur?”
气象局过了一会儿才报告说雨是四点十分开始下的，下了十五分钟的大雨，大约在四点三十五分停了。
It was a little while before the weather bureau reported that the rain had started falling at four-ten, rained hard for fifteen minutes, and stopped falling at about four-thirty-five.
马龙对气象局千恩万谢，然后挂了电话。他努力想再找个人打电话，但就是想不出可以打给谁。
malone thanked the weather bureau profusely and hung up. he tried to think of someone else he might call, but inspiration refused to deliver.
杰克恼怒又痛苦地说：“行了，快点去吃你那该死的晚餐，然后我们去莫娜家。这对你来说可能不重要，但对我很重要。”
Jake said in anguished exasperation, “e on and get your damned dinner and let’s get up to mona’s. this may not seem important to you, but it is to me.”
这位小个子律师任由杰克把他带到人行道上。他正祈求上天给他下一步提示时，看到街对面有一小群人正上一辆车。他的目光捕捉到淡金色头发在电灯下的反光。
the little lawyer allowed himself to be led out to the sidewalk. he was just asking providence to suggest the next move, when he saw a little group of people getting into a car halfway down the street. his eye caught the gleam of electric light on pale-gold hair.
“好吧，但让我安静地吃顿饭。别烦我。”
“All right, but let me eat in peace. don’t heckle me.”
里基特酒吧可能会很拥挤，等待服务的时间可能会很长。但实际上并不拥挤。他们刚坐下，一个女服务员就出现了。
there was a chance that Rickett’s would be crowded, and it would take a long time to be waited on. It was not. they had barely reached the table before a waitress appeared.
“三份双份黑麦威士忌。我的意思是两杯三倍的黑麦威士忌。不管怎样，快点。”
“three double ryes,” malone said. “I mean two triple ryes. Anyway, hurry.”
女孩向吧台的方向匆匆跑去。
the girl fled toward the bar.
杰克生气地说：“我以为你要吃的呢。”
Jake said crossly, “I thought you wanted food.”
“我要，” 马龙向他保证。“酒精也是一种食物。你知道一个人完全靠酒精能维持多久吗？”
“I do,” malone assured him. “Alcohol is a food. do you know how long it’s possible for a human being to exist entirely on alcohol?”
“不知道，” 杰克说。“总有人在我有机会弄清楚之前就把我弄清醒了。但你说你还没吃晚饭。你说过……”
“No,” Jake said. “Someone always sobered me up before I had a chance to find out. but you said you hadn’t had any dinner. You said—”
“没错，” 马龙赶紧说，想起来了。他看了看菜单，发现一种特制牛排要三十分钟才能做好，女孩回来的时候他就点了这个。“等一下。” 他一口气喝下那杯黑麦威士忌，把杯子递给她，说：“先把这个倒满。这是紧急情况。”
“that’s right,” malone said hastily, remembering. he looked over the menu, found a special steak that took thirty minutes to prepare, and ordered it when the girl returned. “wait a minute.” he downed the rye in one shuddering gulp, handed her the glass and said, “Fill this up first. It’s an emergency.”
现在的问题是要怎么消磨时间。
It was just a matter of using up time, now.
杰克静静地坐着，焦虑地看着这位小律师。他的行为有点不太正常。
Jake sat silent, watching the little lawyer anxiously. there was something about his behavior that didn’t seem quite normal.
最后牛排送来了。马龙厌恶地看着它。“我说要全熟的。”
Eventually the steak arrived. malone glared at it. “I said well done.”
“你非常明确地说要三分熟的。” 女孩告诉他。
“You very positively said rare,” the girl told him.
马龙皱着眉头看着她，用叉子戳了刺牛排，把它举起来，露出一条宽宽的鲜红的条纹。“这叫三分熟？这甚至能叫熟了吗？” 他厌恶地把牛排扔下去。“该死，我见过伤得比这还重的牛都能康复。”
malone scowled at her, poked a fork into the steak and lifted it up so that a broad stripe of scarlet showed. “call this rare? call this even cooked?” he flopped it down disgustedly. “damn it, the steers hurt worse than this, and get well.”
女服务员深吸了一口气。“您要我把它拿回去吗，先生？”
the waitress drew a long breath. “do you wish me to take it back, sir?”
“给我拿一份全熟的来，” 律师坚定地说。“我说全熟，是要煎得脆脆的。”
“bring it to me well done,” the lawyer said firmly. “And when I say well done, it means crisp.”
她盯着他，拿起牛排。
She stared at him and picked up the steak.
“我等的时候再给我拿一杯黑麦威士忌。”
“And bring another rye while I’m waiting.”
杰克倾过身子，满脸焦虑的表情。“马龙，你最近感觉怎么样？”
Jake leaned across the table, his face wrinkled with anxiety. “malone, how have you been feeling lately?”
“我这辈子从没感觉这么好过。” 马龙向他保证。
“Never felt better in my life,” malone assured him.
杰克张了张嘴又闭上了。
Jake opened his mouth and closed it again.
牛排终于又送回来了。马龙厌恶地看着它。显然，里基特酒吧不想让任何人饿着肚子离开。他惋惜地想起晚上早些时候他和冯?弗拉纳根一起吃的咸牛肉、炸土豆和苹果派，然后遗憾地叹了口气。
the steak returned at last. malone eyed it distastefully. Rickett’s evidently didn’t want anyone to go away hungry. he thought regretfully of the corned beef he had shared earlier in the evening with von Flanagan, the corned beef and fried potatoes and apple pie, and sighed regretfully.
“你刚才说什么了吗？” 杰克问。
“did you say something?” Jake asked.
“我说如果我们饿死了，那也不是因为没食物。”
“I said if we starve to death, it won’t + 断句不一致，已修正为 “I said if we starve to death, it won’t be for lack of food.”
三十分钟后，他只吃了正好三平方英寸的牛排。然后他把盘子推开，摇了摇头。真爱的事业是伟大的，值得巨大的自我牺牲，但他实在吃不下一口了。
thirty minutes later he had consumed exactly three square inches of the steak. then he pushed the plate away from him and shook his head. the cause of true love was a good one, and deserved great self-sacrifice, but he was damned if he could manage another mouthful.
杰克说：“你不再吃点了吗？”
Jake said. “don’t you want any more?”
律师摇了摇头。“我不知道我怎么了。我最近胃口不好。也许我们再喝一杯，然后就走。”
the lawyer shook his head. “don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’ve been off my feed lately. maybe we’d deetter have one more drink, and then go.”
当他们走到门口的时候，刚好差二十分钟到十一点。
by the time they were at the door, it was just twenty minutes to eleven.
“很晚了，” 杰克遗憾地说，“但莫娜?麦克莱恩不会介意的。我们现在最好直接去她家。”
“It’s late,” Jake said regretfully, “but mona mcclane won’t mind. we’d better go right up there now.”
马龙摇了摇头。“你到了那儿都不知道要说什么。在你能提问之前你需要信息。如果你让我再给你一条信息作为依据，你就可以问她任何你想问的问题了。”
malone shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re going to say when you do get there. You need information before you can ask questions. If you’ll just let me get you one more piece of information to go on, you can ask her all the questions you want.”
“好吧，” 杰克说，“但要快点。”
“All right,” Jake said, “but make it snappy.”
律师蹦蹦跳跳地穿过人行道，上了一辆出租车。杰克跟着他上了车，砰地关上了门。
the lawyer bounded across the sidewalk and into a cab. Jake followed him and slammed the door.
“去罗斯福路高架车站，” 马龙对司机说，“开快点！”
“the Roosevelt Road elevated station,” malone told the driver, “and drive like mad!”
出租车开到密歇根大道桥一半的时候，杰克才喘过气来问道：“但到底为什么……”
the cab was halfway to the michigan Avenue bridge before Jake recovered enough breath to ask, “but why the hell—”
马龙说：“嘘！” 把手指放在嘴唇上，摇了摇头，然后指了指出租车司机。
malone said, “Sssh!” put his fingers to his lips, shook his head, and pointed to the cab driver.
在麦迪逊街，杰克倾过身子小声说：“但为什么……”
At madison Street Jake leaned over and whispered, “but why—”
马龙小声回答：“因为那个钟。” 然后又摇了摇头。“别问我这么多问题。我知道我在做什么。”
malone whispered back, “because of the clock,” and shook his head again. “don’t ask me so many questions. I know what I’m doing.”
“你喝醉了。” 杰克气愤地说。
“You’re drunk,” Jake said indignantly.
“我还是知道我在做什么。”
“I still know what I’m doing.”
在高架车站的入口处又有一个尴尬的时刻，马龙又一次默默地向上天求助。就在这时，他的目光落在了车站的钟上。
there was another difficult moment just inside the doors of the elevated station, and malone had another quiet conference with providence. In the midst of it, his eye fell on the station clock.
他示意杰克不要打扰他，拿出手表，仔细地检查着，仿佛怀疑它是一个危险的装置，然后站在那里，手里拿着手表，一会儿看看手表，一会儿看看车站的钟。他就这样一动不动地站了整整十五分钟。时间一到，他合上手表，放回口袋里。
he motioned to Jake not to disturb him, took out his watch, examined it as carefully as if he suspected it of being an infernal machine, and then stood, holding it in his hand, looking first at it and then at the station clock. he stood perfectly still, doing this, for exactly fifteen minutes. At the end of that time he closed his watch and put it back in his pocket.
杰克完全忘记了莫娜?麦克莱恩。
Jake had pletely forgotten mona mcclane.
“听着，马龙。你确定你感觉还好吗？你不想躺一会儿吗？”
“Look here, malone. Are you sure you feel all right? wouldn’t you like to lie down for a little while?”
马龙觉得上天终于了解了自己的想法。
malone decided providence had had an idea of its own.
“也许我想躺一会儿，” 他感激地、有点虚弱地说。“就几分钟。肯定是我吃了什么东西不对劲。”
“maybe I would like to lie down,” he said gratefully and a little weakly. “Just for a few minutes. It must have been something I ate.”
他任由杰克带他上了一辆出租车。杰克告诉司机马龙下榻的酒店地址，又补充道：“开慢点。”
he allowed Jake to lead him to a taxi. Jake gave the driver the address of malone’s hotel, and added, “drive rather slowly.”
“开非常慢，” 马龙坐得笔直，拍了拍司机的肩膀说。“请开得非常慢、非常小心。我妻子要生孩子了。”
“drive very slowly,” malone said, sitting bolt upright and tapping the driver on the shoulder. “please drive very slowly and carefully. my wife’s going to have a baby.”
他靠在座位上，闭上了眼睛。
he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.
司机拐上密歇根大道，从后视镜里看了杰克一眼，用手指指了指自己的额头，示意询问。杰克摇了摇头，做了一个拿着瓶子对着嘴喝的手势。
the driver, turning onto michigan Avenue, caught Jake’s eye in the rear-view mirror and tapped his forehead questioningly. Jake shook his head and made the gesture of a man holding a bottle to his lips.
“我没有，” 马龙愤慨地说，眼睛都没睁开。司机同情地向杰克点了点头，继续开车。
“I am not,” malone said indignantly, without opening his eyes. the driver nodded sympathetically to Jake, and drove on.
在酒店房间里，马龙任由杰克帮他脱衣服，扶他上床。等被子盖到他下巴的时候，时间已经是差一刻十二点了。他松了一口气。杰克不会在这个时候去拜访莫娜?麦克莱恩了。
In his hotel room, malone allowed Jake to help undress him and get him into bed. by the time the covers were tucked under his chin, the time was quarter to twelve. he sighed with relief. Jake wouldn’t call on mona mcclane at this hour of the night.
“睡一晚你就会好的，” 杰克向他保证。“你能保证呆在床上，不乱跑吗？”
“You’ll be all right after a night’s sleep,” Jake assured him. “will you promise to stay in bed and not go roaming around?”
“保证，” 马龙说着，闭上了眼睛。从一只眼睛的余光里，他看到杰克小心翼翼地把所有的裤子藏起来，最后环顾了一下房间，然后轻轻地走了出去，随手关上了门。
“promise,” malone said, shutting his eyes. out of the corner of one of them he could see Jake carefully hiding all the pants, taking a last look around the room, and going out quietly, closing the door behind him.
这位小律师深吸了一口气。这是个忙碌的晚上，但他避免了杰克和海伦可能发生的灾难性的碰面。明天又是新的一天，但他会兵来将挡，水来土掩。
the little lawyer drew a long breath. It had been a busy evening, but he’d warded off a possibly disastrous meeting between Jake and helene. tomorrow would be another day, but he’d meet it as it came.
半小时后，他正要入睡，电话铃响了。海伦的声音从听筒里传来，气喘吁吁又兴奋不已。
he was just dropping off to sleep half an hour later when the telephone rang. helene’s voice, breathless and excited, came from the receiver.
“马龙，我在大厅。马上下来。我让一个报童正替我开着车在街区周围转。”
“malone, I’m down in the lobby. e down right away. I’ve got a newsboy driving the car around the block.”
他想不出比 “嗯？” 更好的回答了。
he couldn’t think of anything better than, “huh?”
“你醒着吗？听着，你这个笨蛋。我绑架了谋杀杰拉尔德?图伊兹的人。”
“Are you awake? then listen, you blockhead. I’ve kidnaped the man who murdered Gerald tuesday.”
马龙慢慢地数到十，然后平静地说：“有赏金吗？”
malone counted to ten slowly and then said calmly, “Is there a reward?”
他听到电话那头传来愤怒又含混不清的嘟囔声。
he heard an indignant and unintelligible sputtering noise at the other end of the wire.
“他现在在哪儿？”
“where is he now?”
“在车后座，盖着一些毯子下面。我把他打晕了。”
“In the back of the car, under some blankets. I knocked him out.”
马龙叹了口气。“也许我最好马上下去。”
malone sighed. “maybe I’d better e right down.”
“也许你该下来，” 海伦告诉他，“而且也许你最好快点。因为我开的是一辆偷来的车。” 她挂了电话。
“maybe you had,” helene told him, “and maybe you’d better hurry. because I’m driving a stolen car.” She hung up.