16

Chapter 2

It was nine o’clock—almost immediately afterward I looked at my watch and found it was ten. 已经九点钟了——一转眼我再看表时发觉已经十点了。Mr.McKee was asleep on a chair with his fists(拳头)clenched(紧握的) in his lap(膝盖), like a photograph of a man of action. 麦基先生倒在椅子上睡着了，两手握拳放在大腿上，好像一张活动家的相片。Taking out my handkerchief I wiped from his cheek the remains of the spot of dried lather that had worried me all the afternoon. 我掏出手帕， 把他脸上那一小片叫我一下午都看了难受的干肥皂沫擦掉。

The little dog was sitting on the table looking with blind eyes through the smoke and from time to time groaning faintly. 小狗坐在桌子上，两眼在烟雾中盲目地张望，不时轻轻地哼着。People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away.

 屋子里的人一会儿不见了，一会儿又重新出现，商量到什么地方去，然后又找不着对方，找来找去，发现彼此就在几尺之内。 Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned(充满激情的)voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. 快到半夜的时候，汤姆·布坎农和威尔逊太太面对面站着争吵，声音很激动，争的是威尔逊夫人有没有权 利提黛西的名字。

‘Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!’shouted Mrs. Wilson. ‘I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai——‘“ 黛西！黛西！黛西！”威尔逊太太大喊大叫，“我什么时候想叫就叫！ 黛西！黛……”

Making a short deft(熟练，灵巧) movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. 汤姆·布坎农动作敏捷，伸出手一巴掌打破了威尔逊太太的鼻子。

Then there were bloody towels upon the bathroom floor, and women’s voices scolding, and high over the confusion a long broken wail of pain. 接着，浴室满地都是血淋淋的毛巾，只听见女人骂骂咧咧的声音，同 时在一片混乱之中，还夹有断断续续痛楚的哀号。Mr. McKee awoke from his doze and started in a daze toward the door. 麦基先生打盹醒了，懵懵懂懂地朝门口走。

When he had gone half way he turned around and stared at the scene—his wife and Catherine scolding and consoling as they stumbled here and there among the crowded furniture with articles of aid, and the despairing figure on the couch bleeding fluently and trying to spread a copy of ‘Town Tattle’ over the tapestry scenes of Versailles. 他走了一半路，又转过身来看着屋子里的景象发呆——他 老婆和凯瑟琳一面骂一面哄，同时手里拿着急救用的东西跌跌撞撞地在拥挤的家具中间来回跑，还有躺在沙发上的那个凄楚的人形，一面血流不止，一 面还想把一份《纽约闲话》报铺在织锦椅套上的凡尔赛风景上面。

Then Mr. McKee turned and continued on out the door. Taking my hat from the chandelier I followed. 然后麦基 光生又掉转身子，继续走出门去。我从灯架上取下我的帽子，也跟着走了出去。

‘Come to lunch some day,’he suggested, as we groaned down in the elevator. “ 改天过来一道吃午饭吧。”我们在电梯里哼哼卿卿地往下走的时候，他提议说

‘Where?’

‘Anywhere.’

‘Keep your hands off the lever,’ snapped the elevator boy. “别碰电梯开关。”开电梯的工人不客气地说。

‘I beg your pardon,’ said Mr. McKee with dignity, ‘I didn’t know I was touching it.’ “ 对不起，”麦基先生神气十足地说，“我还不知道我碰了。”

‘All right,’ I agreed,‘I’ll be glad to.’

… I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands. ……我正站在麦基床边，而他 坐在两层床单中间，身上只穿着内衣，手里捧着一本大相片簿。

‘Beauty and the Beast …Loneliness … Old Grocery Horse … Brook’n Bridge ….’ “ 《美人与野兽》……《寂寞》……《小店老马》……《布鲁克林大桥》……”

Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning‘Tribune’ and waiting for the four o’clock train. 后来我半睡半醒躺在宾夕法尼亚车站下层很冷的候车室里，一面盯着 刚出的《论坛报》，一面等候清早四点钟的那班火车。