Usually it is a cold day in July when you can stroll up Broadway in that month and get a story out of the drama. —
通常七月是一个寒冷的日子，当你在那个月去百老汇散步时，可以从戏剧中得到一个故事。 —

I found one a few breathless, parboiling days ago, and it seems to decide a serious question in art.
几天前，我发现了一个透不过气来的炎热的日子，它似乎决定了一个关于艺术的重要问题。

There was not a soul left in the city except Hollis and me–and two or three million sunworshippers who remained at desks and counters. —
除了霍利斯和我以及两三百万喜欢晒太阳的人留在办公桌和柜台上，城市里已经没有一个人了。 —

The elect had fled to seashore, lake, and mountain, and had already begun to draw for additional funds. —
选民们都逃到了海滨、湖泊和山区，并且已经开始摇号筹集额外的资金。 —

Every evening Hollis and I prowled about the deserted town searching for coolness in empty cafes, dining-rooms, and roofgardens. —
每天晚上，霍利斯和我在空荡荡的咖啡馆、餐厅和屋顶花园里寻找凉快。 —

We knew to the tenth part of a revolution the speed of every electric fan in Gotham, and we followed the swiftest as they varied. —
我们准确地知道哥谭市每个电风扇的速度，我们尽可能地追随着最快的风扇。霍利斯的未婚妻，洛瑞斯·谢尔曼小姐，已经在阿迪朗达克湖的下萨拉纳克湖住了一个月。再过一个星期， —

Hollis’s fiancee. —
他就要加入她的旅行团了。 —

Miss Loris Sherman, had been in the Adirondacks, at Lower Saranac Lake, for a month. —
请保持原文不变。 —

In another week he would join her party there. —
—

In the meantime, he cursed the city cheerfully and optimistically, and sought my society because I suffered him to show me her photograph during the black coffee every time we dined together.
与此同时，他愉快而乐观地咒骂着这座城市，渴望与我为伴，因为我允许他每次我们一起用餐时给我展示她的照片。

My revenge was to read to him my one-act play.
我的报复是给他读我的一出戏剧。

It was one insufferable evening when the overplus of the day’s heat was being hurled quiveringly back to the heavens by every surcharged brick and stone and inch of iron in the panting town. —
那是一个难以忍受的夜晚，当天的酷热过剩通过每一块充满能量的砖石、石头和铁件颤抖地返回天空。 —

But with the cunning of the two-legged beasts we had found an oasis where the hoofs of Apollo’s steed had not been allowed to strike. —
但凭借人类的狡猾，我们找到了一片绿洲，那里没有阿波罗之马的蹄子踏过。 —

Our seats were on an ocean of cool, polished oak; —
我们坐在一片凉爽的、抛光的橡木海洋上； —

the white linen of fifty deserted tables flapped like seagulls in the artificial breeze; —
五十张被遗弃的桌子上的白色亚麻布像海鸥一样在人工微风中拍动着。 —

a mile away a waiter lingered for a heliographic signal–we might have roared songs there or fought a duel without molestation.
一里远的地方，一名服务员等待光信号——我们在那里可以高声歌唱，或者进行决斗而不会受到干扰。

Out came Miss Loris’s photo with the coffee, and I once more praised the elegant poise of the neck, the extremely low-coiled mass of heavy hair, and the eyes that followed one, like those in an oil painting.
米丽丝斯的照片随着咖啡一起出现，我再次赞美着那优雅的颈部姿态，那饱满的重重盘发，以及像油画中那样追随我的眼神。

“She’s the greatest ever,” said Hollis, with enthusiasm. —
“她是最棒的，”霍利斯热情地说道， —

“Good as Great Northern Preferred, and a disposition built like a watch. —
“像大北优先股一样好，性格又像表一样可靠。 —

One week more and I’ll be happy Jonny-on-the-spot. —
再过一个星期，我就会像约翰尼一样快乐了。 —

Old Tom Tolliver, my best college chum, went up there two weeks ago. —
两个星期前，我最好的大学朋友汤姆·托利弗去了那儿。 —

He writes me that Loris doesn’t talk about anything but me. —
他写信告诉我，罗瑞斯除了我什么都不谈。哦， —

Oh, I guess Rip Van Winkle didn’t have all the good luck!”
我猜瑞普·范·沃兰可没有那么好的运气！

“Yes, yes,” said I, hurriedly, pulling out my typewritten play. —
“是的，是的，”我匆匆说道，从口袋里拿出我的打字剧本。 —

“She’s no doubt a charming girl. —
“她无疑是个迷人的女孩。 —

Now, here’s that little curtain- raiser you promised to listen to.”
现在，这就是你答应要听的那个小幕间插曲。

“Ever been tried on the stage?” asked Hollis.
“你有上过舞台吗？”霍利斯问道。

“Not exactly,” I answered. —
“不完全是，”我回答道。 —

“I read half of it the other day to a fellow whose brother knows Robert Edeson; —
“我前几天给一个人读了一半，他的兄弟认识罗伯特·伊迪森； —

but he had to catch a train before I finished.”
但他得在我念完之前赶火车。”

“Go on,” said Hollis, sliding back in his chair like a good fellow. —
“继续说吧，”霍利斯说道，像个好伙计一样往椅子上滑回去。 —

“I’m no stage carpenter, but I’ll tell you what I think of it from a first-row balcony standpoint. —
“我不是舞台工，但从位于前排包厢的角度，我会告诉你我对它的看法。 —

I’m a theatre bug during the season, and I can size up a fake play almost as quick as the gallery can. —
“赛季期间，我是个戏剧迷，我可以几乎和上面座位的人一样迅速分辨出一出假戏。 —

Flag the waiter once more, and then go ahead as hard as you like with it. —
“再招待过一次，然后尽管尽情发挥。我会扮演那条狗。 —

I’ll be the dog.”
”

I read my little play lovingly, and, I fear, not without some elocution. —
我全心全意地阅读我的小剧本，我害怕，也不免有些演说声调。 —

There was one scene in it that I believed in greatly. —
其中有一个场景是我极为相信的。 —

The comedy swiftly rises into thrilling and unexpectedly developed drama. —
喜剧迅速升华为扣人心弦且意想不到发展的戏剧。 —

Capt. Marchmont suddenly becomes cognizant that his wife is an unscrupulous adventuress, who has deceived him from the day of their first meeting. —
马奇蒙特船长突然意识到自己的妻子是一个无道德的冒险家，从他们第一次见面的那天起就欺骗他。 —

The rapid and mortal duel between them from that moment–she with her magnificent lies and siren charm, winding about him like a serpent, trying to recover her lost ground; —
从那一刻起，他们之间的快速而致命的决斗——她用她华丽的谎言和诱人的魅力，像蛇一样缠绕着他，试图挽回她失去的地位。 —

he with his man’s agony and scorn and lost faith, trying to tear her from his heart. —
他和他的男人们一起承受着痛苦、嘲笑和失去的信仰，试图将她从他的心中撕开。 —

That scene I always thought was a crackerjack. —
我一直认为那个场景棒极了。 —

When Capt. Marchmont discovers her duplicity by reading on a blotter in a mirror the impression of a note that she has written to the Count, he raises his hand to heaven and exclaims: —
当马奇蒙特船长通过镜子上脏板纸上的印痕发现她的欺骗时，他举起双手向天呼唤：“哦，上帝啊，是你在亚当沉睡时创造了女人，并把她赐给他做伴侣，现在请你收回这份礼物，换回永远的沉睡吧！” —

“O God, who created woman while Adam slept, and gave her to him for a companion, take back Thy gift and return instead the sleep, though it last forever!”
“胡说八道！”霍利斯粗鲁地说道，当我适当地强调了那几句台词。

“Rot,” said Hollis, rudely, when I had given those lines with proper emphasis.
“请你原谅！”我尽量甜美地说道。

“I beg your pardon!” I said, as sweetly as I could.
“拜托，你别傻了。你应该知道现在没人会说出那种胡说八道了。”霍利斯继续说道。

“Come now,” went on Hollis, “don’t be an idiot. —
“直到你露出烟火之前， —

You know very well that nobody spouts any stuff like that these days. —
那篇文稿一切都还好。” —

That sketch went along all right until you rang in the skyrockets. —
That sketch went along all right until you rang in the skyrockets. (保持原文不变) —

Cut out that right-arm exercise and the Adam and Eve stunt, and make your captain talk as you or I or Bill Jones would.”
放弃那个右臂的练习和亚当和夏娃的特技，让你的队长说话就像你、我或者比尔·琼斯会说的那样。

“I’ll admit,” said I, earnestly (for my theory was being touched upon), “that on all ordinary occasions all of us use commonplace language to convey our thoughts. —
“我承认，”我认真地说道（因为我的理论被提及了），” 在所有普通的场合，我们都使用平凡的语言来表达我们的思想。 —

You will rememberthat up to the moment when the captain makes his terrible discovery all the characters on the stage talk pretty much as they would, in real life. —
你会记得，在船长发现他可怕的发现之前，舞台上的所有人物的对话几乎就像他们在现实生活中说话一样。 —

But I believe that I am right in allowing him lines suitable to the strong and tragic situation into which he falls.”
但我相信，我在船长陷入的强烈而悲剧的情境中，给予他适合的台词是正确的。

“Tragic, my eye!” said my friend, irreverently. —
“悲剧，才怪！”我的朋友不敬地说道。” —

“In Shakespeare’s day he might have sputtered out some high-cockalorum nonsense of that sort, because in those days they ordered ham and eggs in blank verse and discharged the cook with an epic. —
在莎士比亚时代，他可能会喷出一些高高在上的胡言乱语，因为在那些日子里，他们用白韵诗点菜和炒饭，并用史诗辞退厨子。 —

But not for B’way in the summer of 1905!”
但是在1905年夏天的百老汇可不行!”

“It is my opinion,” said I, “that great human emotions shake up our vocabulary and leave the words best suited to express them on top. —
“我认为，”我说，” 伟大的人类情感会动摇我们的词汇，留下最适合表达它们的词语在上面。 —

A sudden violent grief or loss or disappointment will bring expressions out of an ordinary man as strong and solemn and dramatic as those used in fiction or on the stage to portray those emotions.”
一个突然而激烈的悲伤、失落或失望会使一个普通人表现出与小说或舞台上描绘这些情绪一样强烈、庄重和戏剧性的表情。

“That’s where you fellows are wrong,” said Hollis. —
“就在这一点上，你们这些家伙是错的。”霍利斯说。 —

“Plain, every-day talk is what goes. —
“平常的谈话才管用。” —

Your captain would very likely have kicked the cat, lit a cigar, stirred up a highball, and telephoned for a lawyer, instead of getting off those Robert Mantell pyrotechnics.”
“你的队长很可能会踢踢猫，点根雪茄，调一个高球，然后给律师打个电话，而不是表演出那些罗伯特·曼特尔式的花哨动作。”

“Possibly, a little later,” I continued. —
“也许稍后再说吧，”我接着说。 —

“But just at the time–just as the blow is delivered, if something Scriptural or theatrical and deep-tongued isn’t wrung from a man in spite of his modern and practical way of speaking, then I’m wrong.”
“但就在那个时候——就在打击降临时，如果不从一个人口中挤出一些经文或戏剧性而深沉的语言，尽管他现代而务实的说话方式，那么我就错了。”

“Of course,” said Hollis, kindly, “you’ve got to whoop her up some degrees for the stage. —
“当然，”霍利斯友好地说，“你必须对舞台上的表演加些夸张。 —

The audience expects it. —
观众期待着。” —

When the villain kidnaps little Effie you have to make her mother claw some chunks out of the atmosphere, and scream: “Me chee-ild, me chee-ild!” What she would actually do would be to call up the police by ‘phone, ring for some strong tea, and get the little darling’s photo out, ready for the reporters. —
当坏蛋绑架小埃菲时，你必须让她的妈妈在空气中挠掉一些肉块，然后尖叫着说：“我的孩子，我的孩子！”她实际上会打电话给警察，点一些浓茶，将可爱的小宝贝的照片准备好给记者。 —

When you get your villain in a corner–a stage corner –it’s all right for him to clap his hand to his forehead and hiss: —
当你把你的恶棍逼到一个困境中——一个舞台上的困境——他可以拍拍额头，嘶嘶地说：“一切都完了！”他在舞台外会说：“这是对我的阴谋——请向我的律师求证。” —

“All is lost!” Off the stage he would remark: —
“我觉得你的强调舞台处理并不能给我任何安慰，”我郁闷地说，“在我的剧中， —

“This is a conspiracy against me– I refer you to my lawyers.’”
我本来希望我是在追随生活。如果现实生活中的人以一种平凡的方式应对重大危机，他们在舞台上也应该如此。”

“I get no consolation,” said I, gloomily, “from your concession of an accentuated stage treatment. —
然后我们像两条鳟鱼一样漂流着，从宾馆的凉水池里慵懒地吃着繁忙的苍蝇，穿越着百老汇的洪流。 —

In my play I fondly hoped that I was following life. —
我们吃着苍蝇，避开了钩子， —

If people in real life meet great crises in a commonplace way, they should do the same on the stage.”
像聪明的鳟鱼一样；但很快，曼哈顿夏天的疲乏感袭来，让我们无法坚持。

And then we drifted, like two trout, out of our cool pool in the great hotel and began to nibble languidly at the gay flies in the swift current of Broadway. —
我们吃着苍蝇，避开了钩子，像聪明的鳟鱼一样；但很快，曼哈顿夏天的疲乏感袭来，让我们无法坚持。 —

And our question of dramatic art was unsettled.
而我们关于戏剧艺术的问题，还没有解决。

We nibbled at the flies, and avoided the hooks, as wise trout do; but soon the weariness of Manhattan in summer overcame us. —
我们吃着苍蝇，避开了钩子，像聪明的鳟鱼一样；但很快，曼哈顿夏天的疲乏感袭来，让我们无法坚持。 —

Nine stories up, facing the south, was Hollis’s apartment, and we soon stepped into an elevator bound for that cooler haven.
九层楼高，面朝南方，是霍利斯的公寓，我们很快就进入了一部开往这个更凉爽的避难所的电梯。

I was familiar in those quarters, and quickly my play was forgotten, and I stood at a sideboard mixing things, with cracked ice and glasses all about me. —
我对那个地方非常熟悉，很快就忘记了我的戏剧，站在边柜前调制着各种东西，周围都是破裂的冰和玻璃杯。 —

A breeze from the bay came in the windows not altogether blighted by the asphalt furnace over which it had passed. —
一阵来自海湾的微风通过窗户吹进来，它并没有完全被它经过的柏油熔炉破坏。 —

Hollis, whistling softly, turned over a late-arrived letter or two on his table, and drew around the coolest wicker armchairs.
霍利斯轻轻地吹着口哨，在桌子上翻动着一两封刚到的信，推动着最凉爽的藤制扶手椅。

I was just measuring the Vermouth carefully when I heard a sound. —
当我正仔细地量出苦艾酒时，我听到了一个声音。 —

Some man’s voice groaned hoarsely: —
一个男人的声音嘶哑地呻吟着： —

“False, oh, God!–false, and Love is a lie and friendship but the byword of devils!”
“虚假，哦，上帝！——虚假，爱情是谎言，友谊只是恶魔的暗语！”

I looked around quickly. Hollis lay across the table with his head down upon his outstretched arms. —
我快速地环顾四周。霍利斯趴在桌子上，头低垂在伸展的手臂上。 —

And then he looked up at me and laughed in his ordinary manner.
然后他抬起头，用他正常的方式笑了起来。

I knew him–he was poking fun at me about my theory. —
我认识他——他嘲笑我关于我的理论。 —

And it did seem so unnatural, those swelling words during our quiet gossip, that I half began to believe I had been mistaken–that my theory was wrong.
在我们安静地闲聊时，那些夸大的言辞似乎是如此不自然，以至于我半信半疑，开始相信我可能是错的——我的理论是错误的。

Hollis raised himself slowly from the table.
霍利斯缓慢地从桌子上站起来。

“You were right about that theatrical business, old man,” he said, quietly, as he tossed a note to me.
“关于那个戏剧性的事情，老兄，你是对的，” 他平静地说着，一边抛给我一张纸条。

I read it.
我阅读了它。

Loris had run away with Tom Tolliver.
洛里斯和汤姆·托利弗私奔了。