美国众神7 文本已添加

7

“Please, sit down.” Shadow sat down. Wilsonstood behind him.

“请坐。” 影子坐下来，威尔森站在他背后。

The warden openeda desk drawer and took out a file, placed it on his desk.

典狱长打开抽屉，取出一本档案，在他的办公桌上摊开。

“Says here you were sentenced to six yearsfor aggravated assault and battery. You’ve served three years. You were due tobe released on Friday.”

“档案说你因为恶性攻击和殴打他人被判刑6年。你已经服刑3年，星期五就将获得假释出狱。”

Were? Shadow felthis stomach lurch inside him. He wondered how much longer he was going to haveto serve—another year? Two years? All three? All he said was “Yes, sir.”

真的吗？影子感到自己的肠胃缠成一团。他想知道他们给他增加了多长刑期——一年？两年？还是三年？但开口回答时却变成了：“是的，先生。”

The warden lickedhis lips. “What did you say?”“I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ “

　典狱长舔舔嘴唇。“你说什么？”  “我说：‘是的，先生。’”

“Shadow, we’re going to be releasing youlater this afternoon. You’ll be getting out a couple of days early.”

　“影子，今天下午，我们会提前释放你，比原定日期提前几天。”

 Shadow nodded, and he waited for the othershoe to drop. The warden looked down at the paper on his desk.

影子点点头，他等着典狱长的下一击。典狱长低头看看他桌上的文件。

“This came fromthe Johnson Memorial Hospital in Eagle Point ... Your wife. She died in theearly hours of this morning. It was an automobile accident. I’m sorry.”

“这是从鹰角镇约翰纪念医院传来的……你妻子，她今天凌晨去世了，死于车祸。我很遗憾地告诉你这个不幸的消息。”

Shadow nodded oncemore.

影子再次麻木地点点头。

Wilson walked himback to his cell, not saying anything. He unlocked the cell door and let Shadowin. Then he said,

威尔森押送他回牢房，一路上什么都没有说。他打开牢房的锁，让影子进去，这才说：

 “It’s like one of them good news, bad newsjokes, isn’t it? Good news, we’re letting you out early, bad news, your wife isdead.” He laughed, as if it were genuinely funny.

“这就像那个‘好消息坏消息”的玩笑，是不是？好消息是，我们提前释放你了；坏消息是，你老婆死了。”他哈哈大笑起来，好像真的很好笑似的。

Shadow saidnothing at all.

　　影子依然沉默不语。

Numbly, he packedup his possessions, gave most of them away.

　他麻木地收拾自己的东西，留下了大部分私人物品。

He left behind LowKey’s Herodotus and the book of coin tricks, and, with a momentary pang, heabandoned the blank metal disks be had smuggled out of the workshop, which hadserved him for coins.

他留下了洛基的希罗多德和那本教人玩硬币魔术的书。留下从监狱工厂里偷带出来的空白金属片时，他心里有一瞬的伤感。那是他用来代替硬币练习戏法用的。

There would becoins, real coins, on the outside. He shaved. He dressed in civilian clothes.

　但外面有的是硬币，真正的硬币。他刮干净胡须，穿上普通人的衣服，

He walked throughdoor after door, knowing that he would never walk back through them again,feeling empty inside.

然后他穿过一道又一道监狱牢门。意识到自己再也不会回到这里时，他居然感到一股莫名的空虚。

The rain hadstarted to gust from the gray sky, a freezing rain.

天空阴沉沉的，开始下雨，寒冷刺骨的雨。

 Pellets of ice stung Shadow’s face, while therain soaked the thin overcoat and they walked toward the yellow ex-school busthat would take them to the nearest city.

小冰雹打在影子脸上，雨水淋湿了他单薄的外套。他们一群获释的囚犯走向一辆曾经是校车的黄色巴士，坐车前往附近的城市。