Montague Silver, the finest street man and art grafter in the West, says to me once in Little Rock: —
蒙塔奎·西尔弗，西部最出色的街头艺术骗子，有一次在小石城对我说： —

“If you ever lose your mind, Billy, and get too old to do honest swindling among grown men, go to New York. In the West a sucker is born every minute; —
“比利，如果有一天你失去了理智，年纪老去无法再与成年人进行诚实的骗局，就去纽约吧。在西部，每分钟都有一个傻瓜降生； —

but in New York they appear in chunks of roe - you can’t count ‘em!”
但在纽约，他们就像集群般涌现- 你数都数不过来！”

Two years afterward I found that I couldn’t remember the names of the Russian admirals, and I noticed some gray hairs over my left ear; —
两年后，我发现我记不住俄国海军上将们的名字了，并且注意到我左耳上有几根灰白的头发； —

so I knew the time had arrived for me to take Silver’s advice.
所以我知道是时候采纳西尔弗的建议了。

I struck New York about noon one day, and took a walk up Broadway. —
一天中午我来到纽约，并沿着百老汇散步。 —

And I run against Silver himself, all encompassed up in a spacious kind of haberdashery, leaning against a hotel and rubbing the half-moons on his nails with a silk handkerchief.
然后我碰到了蒙塔奎·西尔弗本人，整个人被一套宽敞的帽商装束所包裹，靠在一家酒店旁边，用丝质手帕擦拭着他指甲上的半月形。

“Paresis or superannuated?” I asks him.
“患偏瘫还是年老多病？”我问他。

“Hello, Billy,” says Silver; “I’m glad to see you. Yes, it seemed to me that the West was accumulating a little too much wiseness. —
“嗨，比利，”西尔弗说，“很高兴见到你。是的，我觉得西部聚集了太多的聪明才智。” —

I’ve been saving New York for dessert. —
我一直为了享受纽约的美食而存钱。 —

I know it’s a low-down trick to take things from these people. —
我知道从这些人那里拿走东西是一种卑鄙的手段。 —

They only know this and that and pass to and fro and think ever and anon. —
他们只知道这个那个，来来去去，总是这样思考。 —

I’d hate for my mother to know I was skinning these weak-minded ones. —
我可不希望我妈妈知道我在欺骗这些软弱的人。 —

She raised me better.”
她教育我更好。

“Is there a crush already in the waiting rooms of the old doctor that does skin grafting?” I asks.
“等待室里的老医生做皮肤移植手术已经拥挤了吗？”我问。

“Well, no,” says Silver; “you needn’t back Epidermis to win today. —
“嗯，不是的”，Silver说，“你今天不必支持Epidermis了。我才来一个月。但我已经准备好开始了；而且威利·曼哈顿的主日学校班上的成员们， —

I’ve only been here a month. —
每个人都自愿捐献一部分皮肤用于康复， —

But I’m ready to begin; —
他们也可以把他们的照片寄给《黄昏日报》。” —

and the members of Willie Manhattan’s Sunday School class, each of whom has volunteered to contribute a portion of cuticle toward this rehabilitation, may as well send their photos to the Evening Daily.
“我一直在研究这个城市”，Silver说，“每天读报纸，所以我对这个地方了如指掌，就像市政厅里的那只猫对奥沙利文了如指掌。”

“I’ve been studying the town,” says Silver, “and reading the papers every day, and I know it as well as the cat in the City Hall knows an O’Sullivan. —
这里的人们一旦你稍微慢了一点拿钱，就会躺在地上尖叫和踢闹。 —

People here lie down on the floor and scream and kick when you are the least bit slow about taking money from them. —
请把布击项提供给上级银行科。 —

Come up in my room and I’ll tell you. —
进来我房间，我会告诉你。 —

We’ll work the town together, Billy, for the sake of old times.”
为了过去的时光，我们一起在城里走动，比利。

Silver takes me up in a hotel. —
Silver带我去了一家酒店。 —

He has a quantity of irrelevant objects lying about.
他四处放着一些无关紧要的物品。

“There’s more ways of getting money from these metropolitan hayseeds,” says Silver, “than there is of cooking rice in Charleston, S. C. They’ll bite at anything. —
Silver说：“从这些大都市的乡巴佬那里赚钱的方法多得比查尔斯顿的煮饭方法还多。他们什么都会上当。” —

The brains of most of ‘em commute. —
大多数人的思维是通勤的。 —

The wiser they are in intelligence the less perception of cognizance they have. —
他们在智力上越聪明，对自己的认知就越少。 —

Why, didin’t a man the other day sell J. P. Morgan an oil portrait of Rockefeller, Jr., for Andrea del Sarto’s celebrated painting of the young Saint John!
为什么呢？不久前，有个人以安德烈亚·德尔·萨尔托名作《年轻的圣约翰》的价格，把洛克菲勒二世的油画卖给了J·P·摩根！

“You see that bundle of printed stuff in the corner, Billy? —
“你看那个角落里的一堆印刷材料，比利？ —

That’s gold mining stock. —
那是金矿股票。 —

I started out one day to sell that, but I quit it in two hours. —
有一天我出去卖它，但两个小时后我就放弃了。” —

Why? Got arrested for blocking the street. —
为什么呢？因为阻塞了街道被逮捕了。 —

People fought to buy it. —
人们争着买它。 —

I sold the policeman a block of it on the way to the station-house, and then I took it off the market. —
我在去警察局的路上把一块卖给了警察，然后我把它从市场上撤了。 —

I don’t want people to give me their money. —
我不想让人们把钱给我。 —

I want some little consideration connected with the transaction to keep my pride from being hurt. —
我希望在交易中得到一些小的考虑，以免伤害我的自尊心。 —

I want ‘em to guess the missing letter in Chic-go, or draw to a pair of nines before they pay me a cent of money.
我希望他们能猜到“Chic-go”中缺失的字母，或者在付钱之前拿到一对九点牌。

“Now there’s another little scheme that worked so easy I had to quit it. —
“现在还有另一个很容易成功的小计划，但我不得不放弃它。 —

You see that bottle of blue ink on the table? —
你看到桌子上那瓶蓝色墨水了吗？ —

I tattooed an anchor on the back of my hand and went to a bank and told ‘em I was Admiral Dewey’s nephew. —
我在手背上纹了一个锚，并去了一家银行，告诉他们我是杜威上将的侄子。 —

They offered to cash my draft on him for a thousand, but I didn’t know my uncle’s first name. It shows, though, what an easy town it is. —
他们愿意兑现我向他开具的一张支票，金额为一千美元，但我不知道我叔叔的名字。不过这说明，这个城市是多么容易被骗。 —

As for burglars, they won’t go in a house now unless there’s a hot supper ready and a few college students to wait on ‘em. —
至于盗贼，除非有热腾腾的晚餐和几个大学生为他们服务，否则他们不会去进入房子。 —

They’re slugging citizens all over the upper part of the city and I guess, taking the town from end to end, it’s a plain case of assault and Battery.”
他们在城市的上部殴打市民，我猜，在整个城市里，这是一起普通的蓄意伤害案件。

“Monty,” says I, when Silver had slacked, up, “you may have Manhattan correctly discriminated in your perorative, but I doubt it. —
“蒙蒂，”我说，当银人停下来时，“你也许对曼哈顿有正确的理解，但我对此表示怀疑。 —

I’ve only been in town two hours, but it don’t dawn upon me that it’s ours with a cherry in it. —
我刚到这个城镇两个小时，但我还没有意识到它是我们的，就好像它里面有颗樱桃一样。 —

There ain’t enough rus in urbe about it to suit me. —
这里没有足够的城里气息来让我满意。 —

I’d be a good deal much better satisfied if the citizens had a straw or more in their hair, and run more to velveteen vests and buckeye watch charms. —
如果市民们头上插着稻草，更多的人穿着天鹅绒背心和橡树表链，我将会更加满意。 —

They don’t look easy to me.”
他们对我来说并不舒服。

“You’ve got it, Billy,” says Silver. “All emigrants have it. —
“你明白了，比利，”Silver说道。“所有移民都会有这样的感觉。 —

New York’s bigger than Little Rock or Europe, and it frightens a foreigner. —
纽约比小岩城或者欧洲都大，这让外国人感到恐惧。 —

You’ll be all right. I tell you I feel like slapping the people here because they don’t send me all their money in laundry baskets, with germicide sprinkled over it. —
你会没事的。我告诉你，我感觉想要打那些不把所有钱用洗衣篮寄给我的人，上面还撒上杀菌剂。 —

I hate to go down on the street to get it. —
我讨厌下去街上取它。 —

Who wears the diamonds in this town? —
在这个城里谁戴着钻石？ —

Why, Winnie, the Wiretapper’s wife, and Bella, the Buncosteerer’s bride. —
哦，温妮，窃听器的妻子，还有贝拉，保安员的新娘。 —

New Yorkers can be worked easier than a blue rose on a tidy. —
纽约人比蓝色的玫瑰还容易被利用。 —

The only thing that bothers me is I know I’ll break the cigars in my vest pocket when I get my clothes all full of twenties.”
唯一让我困扰的是当我把衣服装满纸币时，我知道会压断背心口袋里的雪茄。

“I hope you are right, Monty,” says I; —
“我希望你是对的，蒙蒂， —

“but I wish all the same I had been satisfied with a small business in Little Rock. The crop of farmers is never so short out there but what you can get a few of ‘em to sign a petition for a new post office that you can discount for $200 at the county bank. —
”我说，“但我仍然希望我满足于在小石城经营一个小生意。那里农民的数量从来都不少，总能找到一些愿意签署新邮局请愿书的人，你可以以200美元的折价在县银行贴现。” —

The people hear appear to possess instincts of self-preservation and illiberality. —
这里的人似乎具有自我保护和狭隘的本能。 —

I fear me that we are not cultured enough to tackle this game.”
恐怕我们的文化水平还不够高，无法应付这个游戏。”

“Don’t worry,” says Silver. —
“别担心，”西尔弗说。 —

“I’ve got this Jayville-near-Tarrytown correctly estimated as sure as North River is the Hudson and East River ain’t a river. —
“我已经准确地估计了在塔里镇附近的杰维尔，就像北河是哈德逊河，东河并不是一条河流一样确定。” —

Why, there are people living in four blocks of Broadway who never saw any kind of a building except a skyscraper in their lives! —
你知道吗，在百老汇四个街区范围内居住的人们，他们一辈子从未见过除了摩天大楼以外的任何建筑物！ —

A good, live hustling Western man ought to get conspicuous enough here inside of three months to incur either Jerome’s clemency or Lawson’s displeasure.”
一个好的、活跃的西部男人应该在这里三个月内变得足够引人注目，从而引起杰罗姆的宽容或劳森的不满。

“Hyperbole aside,” says I, “do you know of any immediate system of buncoing the community out of a dollar or two except by applying to the Salvation Army or having a fit on Miss Helen Gould’s doorsteps?”
“撇开夸张的话不说，”我说，“你知道有没有除了向救世军求助或者在海伦・古尔德小姐门前发作之外，让社区失去一两美元的即时骗局系统?”

“Dozens of ‘em,” says Silver. —
“有很多，”Silver说， —

“How much capital have you got, Billy?”
“你有多少资本，比利?”

“A thousand,” I told him.
“一千，”我告诉他。

“I’ve got $1,200,” says he. —
“我有1200美元，”他说， —

“We’ll pool and do a big piece of business. —
“我们会集到一起，从事一笔大生意。 —

There’s so many ways we can make a million that I don’t know how to begin.”
有很多方法可以让我们赚到百万，我不知道该从哪里开始。”

The next morning Silver meets me at the hotel and he is all sonorous and stirred with a kind of silent joy.
第二天早上，Silver在酒店里见到我，他充满雄辩和激动的心情。

“We’re to meet J. P. Morgan this afternoon,” says he. —
“下午我们要见到J.P.摩根，”他说。 —

“A man I know in the hotel wants to introduce us. —
“酒店里的一个我认识的人想要介绍我们。 —

He’s a friend of his. He says he likes to meet people from the West.”
他是摩根的朋友。他说他喜欢结识来自西部的人。”

“That sounds nice and plausible,” says I. “I’d like to know Mr. Morgan.”
“听起来很好也很合理，”我说，“我很想认识摩根先生。”

“It won’t hurt us a bit,” says Silver, “to get acquainted with a few finance kings. —
“这对我们来说一点儿也不会有坏处，”Silver说，“结识一些金融巨子对我们来说挺好的。 —

I kind of like the social way New York has with strangers.”
我有点喜欢纽约对待陌生人的社交方式。”

The man Silver knew was named Klein. At three o’clock Klein brought his Wall Street friend to see us in Silver’s room. —
银行家Silver认识的人叫Klein。三点钟的时候，Klein把他在华尔街的朋友带来见我们，在Silver的房间里。 —

“Mr. Morgan” looked some like his pictures, and he had a Turkish towel wrapped around his left foot, and he walked with a cane.
“摩根先生”长得有点像他的照片，他左脚上缠着一条土耳其毛巾，靠着一根拐杖走路。

“Mr. Silver and Mr. Pescud,” says Klein. “It sounds superfluous,” says he, “to mention the name of the greatest financial -”
“Silver先生和Pescud先生”，Klein说，“提到这位最伟大的金融-”他说，“多余了”。

“Cut it out, Klein,” says Mr. Morgan. —
“闭嘴，Klein，”摩根先生说。 —

“I’m glad to know you gents; —
“很高兴认识你们； —

I take great interest in the West. Klein tells me you’re from Little Rock. I think I’ve a railroad or two out there somewhere. —
我对西部很感兴趣。Klein告诉我你们来自小石城。我想我在那边有一两条铁路。 —

If either of you guys would like to deal a hand or two of stud poker I -”
如果你们两个人想打几局斯塔德扑克，我-”

“Now, Pierpont,” cuts in Klein, “you forget!”
“Pierpont，” Klein插话说，“你忘了！”

“Excuse me, gents!” says Morgan; —
“对不起，各位先生！”摩根说， —

“since I’ve had the gout so bad I sometimes play a social game of cards at my house. —
“因为我的痛风非常严重，所以有时我会在家里玩一场社交牌局。” —

Neither of you never knew One-eyed Peters, did you, while you was around Little Rock? —
你们在小石城的时候，你们从来没听说过单眼彼得斯吧？ —

He lived in Seattle, New Mexico.”
他住在新墨西哥的西雅图。

Before we could answer, Mr. Morgan hammers on the floor with his can and begins to walk up and down, swearing in a loud tone of voice.
在我们回答之前，摩根先生用他的手杖敲打地板，开始在房间里走来走去，大声咒骂。

“They have been pounding your stocks to-day on the Street, Pierpont?” asks Klein, smiling.
“今天他们在华尔街把你的股票打压了吗，皮尔庞特？”克莱因微笑着问。

“Stocks! No!” roars Mr. Morgan. —
“股票！不是！”摩根先生咆哮道。 —

“It’s that picture I sent an agent to Europe to buy. —
“是我派一个代理人去欧洲买的那幅画。 —

I just thought about it. —
我刚刚想起来。 —

He cabled me to-day that it ain’t to be found in all Italy. I’d pay $50, 000 to-morrow for that picture - yes, $75,000. —
他今天给我发电报说，在整个意大利找不到那幅画。明天我愿意支付5万美元，是的，7.5万美元。 —

I give the agent a la carte in purchasing it. —
我在购买它时给了代理人完全的自由裁量权。 —

I cannot understand why the art galleries will allow a De Vinchy to -”
我无法理解为什么艺术馆会容许一幅达·芬奇的作品——”

“Why, Mr. Morgan,” says klein; —
“摩根先生，”克莱因说， —

“I thought you owned all of the De Vinchy paintings.”
“我以为您拥有所有的达·芬奇绘画作品。”

“What is the picture like, Mr. Morgan?” asks Silver. —
“摩根先生，这幅画是什么样子的？” Silver 问道。 —

“It must be as big as the side of the Flatiron Building.”
“这一定和 Flatiron 大楼的一边一样大。”

“I’m afraid your art education is on the bum, Mr. Silver,” says Morgan. “The picture is 27 inches by 42; —
“恐怕你的艺术教育有些问题，Silver 先生，”摩根说。“这幅画是 27 英寸 × 42 英寸的； —

and it is called ‘Love’s Idle Hour.’ It represents a number of cloak models doing the two-step on the bank of a purple river. —
它叫做‘爱的闲暇时光’。它描绘了一些披风模特在紫色河岸上跳着两步舞。 —

The cablegram said it might have been brought to this country. —
电报说它可能被带到了这个国家。 —

My collection will never be complete without that picture. —
如果没有那幅画，我的收藏就永远不完整了。好了， —

Well, so long, gents; —
先生们再见； —

us financiers must keep early hours.”
我们这些金融家必须早睡早起。”

Mr. Morgan and Klein went away together in a cab. —
摩根先生和 Klein 一起坐上了一辆出租车离开了。 —

Me and Silver talked about how simple and unsuspecting great people was; —
我和 Silver 谈论了伟大人物是多么简单和易受欺骗； —

and Silver said what a shame it would be to try to rob a man like Mr. Morgan; —
Silver 说要去抢劫像摩根先生这样的人真是可惜； —

and I said I thought it would be rather imprudent, myself. —
我说我也认为这样做相当不明智。 —

Klein proposes a stroll after dinner; —
晚饭后 Klein 提议散步； —

and me and him and Silver walks down toward Seventh Avenue to see the sights. —
我和他还有 Silver 一起走向第七大道看看风景。 —

Klein sees a pair of cuff links that instigate his admiration in a pawnshop window, and we all go in while he buys ‘em.
克莱恩在当铺橱窗看到一对袖扣，引起了他的崇敬，我们都进去了，他买了下来。

After we got back to the hotel and Klein had gone, Silver jumps at me and waves his hands.
当我们回到酒店，克莱恩走了后，希尔弗冲过来挥舞着手。

“Did you see it?” says he. “Did you see it, Billy?”
“你看到了吗？”他说。 “你看到了吗，比利？”

“What?” I asks.
“什么？”我问。

“Why, that picture that Morgan wants. —
“哎呀，摩根想要的那张照片。 —

It’s hanging in that pawnshop, behind the desk. —
挂在那个当铺里，柜台后面。” —

I didn’t say anything because Klein was there. —
我没说什么，因为克莱恩在那里。 —

It’s the article sure as you live.
这肯定是那篇文章。

The girls are as natural as paint can make them, all measuring 36 and 25 and 42 skirts, if they had any skirts, and they’re doing a buck-and-wing on the bank of a river with the blues. —
女孩们跳舞跳得天然，粉底涂得浓厚，都是36尺寸的腰围和25尺寸的腰尺、42尺寸裙子，如果她们穿了裙子的话。她们在河岸边跳着爵士舞。 —

What did Mr. Morgan say he’d give for it? —
摩根先生说他要为它付多少钱？哦， —

Oh, don’t make me tell you. —
别逼我告诉你。 —

They can’t know what it is in that pawnshop.”
他们不可能知道那个当铺里的东西是什么。

When the pawnshop opened the next morning me and Silver was standing there as anxious as if we wanted to soak our Sunday suit to buy a drink. —
第二天早上当铺开门时，我和希尔弗站在那里，焦急地想着要用我们的星期天西装来买一杯酒。 —

We sauntered inside, and began to look at watch-chains.
我们漫步进去，开始看手表链子。

“That’s a violent specimen of a chromo you’ve got up there,” remarked Silver, casual, to the pawnbroker. —
“你拿到的那幅画真是一个暴力的品种，” Silver漫不经心地对当铺老板说道。 —

“But I kind of enthuse over the girl with the shoulderblades and red bunting. —
“但我真的对这个有肩胛骨和红色橙带的女孩非常着迷。 —

Would an offer of $2.25 for it cause you to knock over any fragile articles of your stock in hurrying it off the nail?”
如果我给2.25美元，你会不会因着急把货架上的易碎物品打翻?”

The pawnbroker smiles and goes on showing us plate watch-chains.
当铺老板微笑着继续给我们展示银饰表链。

“That picture,” says he, “was pledged a year ago by an Italian gentleman. —
“这幅画,“他说道，”是一年前由一位意大利绅士抵押的。 —

I loaned him $500 on it. —
我借给他500美元。 —

It is called ‘Love’s Idle Hour,’ and it is by Leonardo de Vinchy. —
它的名字叫做’爱的闲暇时光’，是由达·芬奇创作的。 —

Two days ago the legal time expired, and it became an unredeemed pledge. —
两天前，法定的赎回期限到期了，它成为了一笔未兑现的抵押品。 —

Here is a style of chain that is worn a great deal now.”
这是一种现在很流行的链式款式。

At the end of half an hour me and Silver paid the pawnbroker $2, 000 and walked out with the picture. —
过了半小时，我和Silver向当铺老板支付了2000美元，并带着那幅画走了出来。 —

Silver got into a cab with it and started for Morgan’s office. I
Silver拿着画上了出租车，去了摩根的办公室。我则去了酒店等他。两个小时后，Silver回来了。

goes to the hotel and waits for him. —
“你见到摩根先生了吗?“我问道。” —

In two hours Silver comes back.
他给了你多少钱?”

“Did you see Mr. Morgan?” I asks. —

“How much did he pay you for it?”

Silver sits down and fools with a tassel on the table cover.
西尔弗坐下来，拿玩桌布上的流苏。

“I never exactly saw Mr. Morgan,” he says, “because Mr. Morgan’s been in Europe for a month. —
“我从未真正见过摩根先生，”他说，“因为摩根先生在欧洲待了一个月。 —

But what’s worrying me, Billy, is this: —
但是，让我担心的是这个： —

The department stores have all got that same picture on sale, framed, for $3.48. And they charge $3.50 for the frame alone - that’s what I can’t understand.”
百货商店都卖同样的画，配有镶框，售价3.48美元。而他们独自出售镶框却要收取3.50美元 - 这就是我不能理解的地方。”