美国众神15 文本已添加

15

He held his glassof Jack Daniel’s as they took off, and did not spill a drop.“Aren’t you going to ask me what kind ofjob?” he asked.

起飞的时候，他手中稳稳地拿着那杯杰克·丹尼尔威士忌，没有溅出一滴。“不打算问问我向你提供的是什么工作吗？”他问。

“How do you know who I am?”

“你是怎么知道我的名字的？”

The man chuckled.“Oh, it’s the easiest thing in the world to know what people call themselves. Alittle thought, a little luck, a little memory. Ask me what kind of job.”

那人吃吃地笑起来。“哦，一个人怎么称呼自己，这个世界上，再没有什么比打听这个更简单的了。只要动一点脑筋，加上一点运气，还有一点好记性，就行。问我向你提供是什么工作吧。”

“No,” said Shadow. The attendant brought himanother glass of beer, and he sipped at it.

　“不必了。”影子回答说。这时空姐又为他送上一杯啤酒，他慢慢啜饮着。

“Why not?”

“为什么？”

“I’m going home. I’ve got a job waiting forme there. I don’t want any other job.”

　　“我要回家，老家有一份工作正等着我。我不需要其他工作。”

The man’s craggysmile did not change, outwardly, but now he seemed, actually, amused. “Youdon’t have a job waiting for you at home,” he said.

从表面上看，那人堆满皱纹的笑容一点儿没变，但影子感到他笑得更愉快了。“你老家没有工作等着你。”他

“You have nothingwaiting for you there. Meanwhile, I am offering you a perfectly legal job—goodmoney, limited security, remarkable fringe benefits. Hell, if you live thatlong, I could throw in a pension plan. You think maybe you’d like one of them?”

说，“那里没有任何等着你的东西了。而且，我提供给你的是一份相当不错的合法工作，薪水高，风险不大，还有相当多的额外收益。嘿，如果你活得够长的话，我还可以给你提供养老金。你觉得怎么样？”

Shadow said, “Youmust have seen my name on the side of my bag.”The man said nothing.

影子说：“你一定是看见我背包上面的名字了。” 那人没有回答。

“Whoever you are,” said Shadow, “youcouldn’t have known I was going to be on this plane.

“不管你是谁，”影子说，“你不可能知道我会搭乘这架飞机。

 I didn’t know I was going to be on this plane,and if my plane hadn’t been diverted to St. Louis, I wouldn’t have been.

如果我原来乘坐的飞机没有转飞圣·路易斯，我自己都不会知道我会搭乘这架飞机。

 My guess is you’re a practical joker. Maybeyou’re hustling something. But I think maybe we’ll have a better time if we endthis conversation here.”The man shrugged.

我猜你一定是在开玩笑，或许想玩什么坑蒙拐骗的花招。不过我觉得，如果我们之间的谈话到此为止，我们俩都会过得更愉快。” 　那人耸耸肩膀。

Shadow picked upthe in-flight magazine. The little plane jerked and bumped through the sky,making it harder to concentrate.

影子拿起飞机上的飞行杂志翻看。小飞机在空中颠簸着飞行，让人很难集中精神看东西。

The words floatedthrough his mind like soap bubbles, there as he read them, gone completely amoment later.

　他看到的字像肥皂泡一样在眼前飘来飘去，眼睛在看，但字句转眼间就不知上哪儿去了。

The man satquietly in the seat beside him, sipping his Jack Daniel’s. His eyes wereclosed.

那人安静地坐在旁边的位子上，小口啜饮他的杰克·丹尼尔威士忌，眼睛安详地闭着。

Shadow read thelist of in-flight music channels available on transatlantic flights, and thenhe was looking at the map of the world with red lines on it that showed wherethe airline flew.

影子读了一会儿杂志上的国内航班上播放的音乐节目单，又看了一会儿世界地图，上面用红线标出飞机的航线。

Then he hadfinished reading the magazine, and, reluctantly, he closed the cover andslipped it into the pocket.

　最后，他结束了阅读，不太情愿地合上杂志，把它塞回到椅背的袋子里。