To avoid having this book hurled into corner of the room by the suspicious reader, I will assert in time that this is not a newspaper story. —
为了避免让这本书被怀疑的读者扔到角落里，我将及时表明这不是一篇报纸报道。 —

You will encounter no shirt-sleeved, omniscient city editor, no prodigy “cub” reporter just off the farm, no scoop, no story–no anything.
你不会遇到穿着衬衫袖子的全知的城市编辑，也不会有刚从农场来的神童“菜鸟”记者，没有独家新闻，没有故事——什么都没有。

But if you will concede me the setting of the first scene in the reporters’ room of the Morning Beacon, I will repay the favor by keeping strictly my promises set forth above.
但是如果你能允许我将第一场景设定在《晨间信标报》记者室，我将会严守我上面列出的承诺。

I was doing space-work on the Beacon, hoping to be put on a salary. —
我在《信标报》做天地工作，希望能拿到薪水。 —

Some one had cleared with a rake or a shovel a small space for me at the end of a long table piled high with exchanges, Congressional Records, and old files. —
有人用耙子或铲子为我在一张堆满交换、国会记录和旧文件的长桌子末端清理出一个小空间。 —

There I did my work. I wrote whatever the city whispered or roared or chuckled to me on my diligent wanderings about its streets. —
在那里，我做着我的工作。我写下城市在我勤奋地在街上游荡时对我低声喃喃、大声咆哮或轻声笑谈的一切。 —

My income was not regular.
我的收入并不稳定。

One day Tripp came in and leaned on my table. —
有一天，特里普走进来， —

Tripp was something in the mechanical department–I think he had something to do with the pictures, for he smelled of photographers’ supplies, and his hands were always stained and cut up with acids. —
倚靠在我的桌子上。特里普是机械部门的人，我想他与摄影有关，因为他身上有摄影师用品的气味，他的手常常被酸液弄得又脏又破。 —

He was about twenty-five and looked forty. —
他大约二十五岁，看上去像四十岁。他的一半脸上长满了短卷红胡子， —

Half of his face was covered with short, curly red
看起来像一块门垫上剩下的“欢迎”字样。

whiskers that looked like a door-mat with the “welcome” left off. —
他苍白、不健康、郁闷，拍马屁，经常向人借25美分到1美元的不等数额。 —

He was pale and unhealthy and miserable and fawning, and an assiduous borrower of sums ranging from twenty-five cents to a dollar. —
一美元是他的限额。他对自己的信用额度了如指掌，就像化学国家银行知道抵押物的H20成分含量一样。 —

One dollar was his limit. —
当他坐在我的桌子上时， —

He knew the extent of his credit as well as the Chemical National Bank knows the amount of H20 that collateral will show on analysis. —
他把一只手握在另一只手中，以防止它们一起颤抖。威士忌。 —

When he sat on my table he held one hand with the other to keep both from shaking. —
他给人一种假装轻松和勇气的假象，没有欺骗任何人，但在借钱时很有用，因为它如此可怜和明显地假装出来。 —

Whiskey. —
—

He had a spurious air of lightness and bravado about him that deceived no one, but was useful in his borrowing because it was so pitifully and perceptibly assumed.
他喜欢装得轻浮和傲慢，虽然没有人被他骗到，但在借钱时却非常可怜和明显地装出这种样子。

This day I had coaxed from the cashier five shining silver dollars as a grumbling advance on a story that the Sunday editor had reluctantly accepted. —
这一天，我从收银员那里好言相求得到了五个闪亮的银币，作为编辑犹豫不决地接受了的一篇报道的预付款。 —

So if I was not feeling at peace with the world, at least an armistice had been declared; —
所以，即使我并没有对世界感到平静，至少已经达成了停战协议； —

and I was beginning with ardor to write a description of the Brooklyn Bridge by moonlight.
我正在满腔热情地写一篇关于月夜下布鲁克林大桥的描述。

“Well, Tripp,” said I, looking up at him rather impatiently, “how goes it?” He was looking to-day more miserable, more cringing and haggard and downtrodden than I had ever seen him. —
“嗨，特里普，”我有点不耐烦地抬头看着他说道，“进展如何？”他今天看起来比我以往见过的任何时候都更悲惨、痛苦、被蹂躏。 —

He was at that stage of misery where he drew your pity so fully that you longed to kick him.
他正处于那种痛苦的阶段，使你完全同情他，以至于渴望踢他一脚。

“Have you got a dollar?” asked Tripp, with his most fawning look and his dog-like eyes that blinked in the narrow space between his high- growing matted beard and his low-growing matted hair.
“你有一块钱吗？”特里普用他最恭顺的表情和狗一样的眼睛问道，这双眼睛在他日渐蓬乱的胡须和低垂的头发之间眨巴着。

“I have,” said I; and again I said, “I have,” more loudly and inhospitably, “and four besides. —
“我有，”我说道，然后再次大声而不友善地说，“我有，还有另外四个。 —

And I had hard work corkscrewing them out of old Atkinson, I can tell you. —
我告诉你，从老阿特金森那里慢慢得到这些钱可费了好大劲。” —

And I drew them,” I continued, “to meet a want–a hiatus–a demand–a need–an exigency–a requirement of exactly five dollars.”
我接着说, “我为了满足一个需要，一个间断，一个需求，一个紧急情况，一个要求，准确地说，需要五美元。”

I was driven to emphasis by the premonition that I was to lose one of the dollars on the spot.
我被一种预感驱使着，预感我将立即失去其中的一美元。

“I don’t want to borrow any,” said Tripp, and I breathed again. “I thought you’d like to get put onto a good story,” he went on. —
“我不想借钱，”Tripp说道，我松了口气。“我以为你会喜欢听一个好故事的。”他接着说道。 —

“I’ve got a rattling fine one for you. —
“我给你一个棒极了的故事。 —

You ought to make it run a column at least. —
你应该把它写成至少一栏。如果你好好写， —

It’ll make a dandy if you work it up right. —
它将是一个很棒的作品。 —

It’ll probably cost you a dollar or two to get the stuff. I don’t want anything out of it myself.”
对于收集资料可能需要你花费一两美元。我不想从中得到任何好处。”

I became placated. The proposition showed that Tripp appreciated past favors, although he did not return them. —
我感到了安抚。这个提议表明Tripp欣赏过去的恩惠，尽管他没有回报。 —

If he had been wise enough to strike me for a quarter then he would have got it.
如果他聪明点向我要一个四分之一，那他就会得到。

“What is the story ?” I asked, poising my pencil with a finely calculated editorial air.
“这个故事是关于什么的？”我问道，用一种经过精确计算的编辑风格摆弄着我的铅笔。

“I’ll tell you,” said Tripp. “It’s a girl. A beauty. —
“我告诉你，”Tripp说道。“是关于一个女孩。 —

One of the howlingest Amsden’s Junes you ever saw. —
一个美丽的女孩。她是最响亮的Amsden的女孩，你见过。” —

Rosebuds covered with dew- violets in their mossy bed–and truck like that. —
露珠覆盖着玫瑰花蕾-紫罗兰在苔藓床上-和像那样的卡车。 —

She’s lived on Long Island twenty years and never saw New York City before. —
她在长岛住了二十年，从未见过纽约市。 —

I ran against her on Thirty-fourth Street. —
我在第三十四街上遇到她。 —

She’d just got in on the East River ferry. I tell you, she’s a beauty that would take the hydrogen out of all the peroxides in the world. —
她刚刚坐上了东江渡轮。我告诉你，她是个美人，能使世界上所有过氧化物都黯然失色。 —

She stopped me on the street and asked me where she could find George Brown. Asked me where she could find George Brown in New York City! —
她在街上拦住我，问我她能在纽约市哪里找到乔治·布朗。 —

What do you think of that?
你知道这意味着什么吗？

“I talked to her, and found that she was going to marry a young farmer named Dodd–Hiram Dodd–next week. —
“我和她聊了一会儿，得知她要下周嫁给一个叫多德的年轻农民，希拉姆·多德。 —

But it seems that George Brown still holds the championship in her youthful fancy. —
但是看起来在她年轻的心中，乔治·布朗仍然占据冠军地位。 —

George had greased his cowhide boots some years ago, and came to the city to make his fortune. —
几年前，乔治涂抹了皮靴用的油脂来到城市，以谋求他的财富。 —

But he forgot to remember to show up again at Greenburg, and Hiram got in as second-best choice. —
但他忘了回到格林堡，希拉姆成了次选。 —

But when it comes to the scratch Ada–her name’s Ada Lowery–saddles a nag and rides eight miles to the railroad station and catches the 6.45 A.M. train for the city. —
但是当谈到Ada时，她的名字叫Ada Lowery，她骑着一匹瘦马，骑了八英里到火车站，赶上了早上6点45分的火车去城里。 —

Looking for George, you know–you understand about women– George wasn’t there, so she wanted him.
寻找乔治，你懂的，你明白女人的事情，乔治不在那里，所以她想见他。

“Well, you know, I couldn’t leave her loose in Wolftown-on-the-Hudson. —
“嗯，你知道，我不能把她一个人留在哈德逊河边的狼镇上。 —

I suppose she thought the first person she inquired of would say: —
我想她可能认为她问的第一个人会说： —

‘George Brown ?–why, yes–lemme see–he’s a short man with light-blue eyes, ain’t he? —
‘乔治·布朗？嗯，对，让我想想，他是个个子矮，有浅蓝色眼睛的人吧？ —

Oh yes–you’ll find George on One Hundred and Twenty- fifth Street, right next to the grocery. —
哦，是的，你会在一百二十五街上找到乔治，就在杂货店旁边。 —

He’s bill-clerk in a saddle- and-harness store.’ That’s about how innocent and beautiful she is. —
他是一个马具店的帐单员。’她就是如此天真美丽。 —

You know those little Long Island water-front villages like Greenburg- -a couple of duck-farms for sport, and clams and about nine summer visitors for industries. —
你知道长岛水边的那些小村庄，像格林堡，有一些养鸭场供娱乐，有蛤蜊和大约九个夏季游客作为产业。 —

That’s the kind of a place she comes from. —
她就是来自这样一个地方。但是，说实话， —

But, say–you ought to see her!
你应该见识一下她！

“What could I do? I don’t know what money looks like in the morning. —
“我能做什么？我不知道早上钱是什么样子的。” —

And she’d paid her last cent of pocket-money for her railroad ticket except a quarter, which she had squandered on gum-drops. —
她已经把她所有的零花钱都用在火车票上了，只剩下一个25美分的硬币，她把它浪费在了口香糖上。 —

She was eating them out of a paper bag. —
她正在用纸袋吃着口香糖。 —

I took her to a boarding-house on Thirty-second Street where I used to live, and hocked her. —
我带她去了我以前住过的一家位于32街的寄宿家庭，然后拿她当了抵押品。 —

She’s in soak for a dollar. —
她欠了1美元。 —

That’s old Mother McGinnis’ price per day. —
那是老麦金尼斯每天的收费。 —

I’ll show you the house.”
我会带你去看那栋房子的。”

“What words are these, Tripp?” said I. “I thought you said you had a story. —
“这些是什么话，特里普？”我说。“我以为你说你有个故事。 —

Every ferryboat that crosses the East River brings or takes away girls from Long Island.”
每艘穿越东河的渡轮都会带来或带走来自长岛的女孩。”

The premature lines on Tripp’s face grew deeper. —
特里普脸上那些过早出现的皱纹变得更深了。 —

He frowned seriously from his tangle of hair. —
他从一头乱发中严肃地皱起了眉头。 —

He separated his hands and emphasized his answer with one shaking forefinger.
他松开了双手，用颤抖的食指强调了他的回答。

“Can’t you see,” he said, “what a rattling fine story it would make? —
“你不明白吗，”他说，” 这会是一个很棒的故事吗？ —

You could do it fine. —
你可以写得很好。” —

All about the romance, you know, and describe the girl, and put a lot of stuff in it about true love, and sling in a few stickfuls of funny business–joshing the Long Islanders about being green, and, well–you know how to do it. —
关于浪漫的一切，你知道的，描述这个女孩，并在其中加入许多关于真爱的东西，再加入一些调侃长岛人对于环保的幽默成分-你知道怎么做。 —

You ought to get fifteen dollars out of it, anyhow. And it’ll. —
总之，你至少能赚到15美元。而且这只需要花费你大约4美元，你将清清楚楚地赚到11美元的利润。 —

cost you only about four dollars. —
“那4美元是怎么算出来的？ —

You’ll make a clear profit of eleven.”
”我怀着怀疑的心情问道。

“How will it cost me four dollars?” I asked, suspiciously.
Tripp毫不犹豫地回答：“给McGinnis太太1美元，再花2美元给女孩付车费回家。”

“One dollar to Mrs. McGinnis,” Tripp answered, promptly, “and two dollars to pay the girl’s fare back home.”
我飞快地心算了一下，“那第四个费用呢？”

“And the fourth dimension?” I inquired, making a rapid mental calculation.
Tripp说：“给我1美元，买威士忌。你懂了吗？”

“One dollar to me,” said Tripp. “For whiskey. Are you on?”
我神秘地微笑着，伸开肘部好像要重新开始写作。

I smiled enigmatically and spread my elbows as if to begin writing again. —
然而，这个憔悴、卑贱、狡猾、低声下气、像刺一样顽固的废物却不肯离开。 —

But this grim, abject, specious, subservient, burr-like wreck of a man would not be shaken off. —
他的额头突然变得光滑而潮湿。 —

His forehead suddenly became shiningly moist.

“Don’t you see,” he said, with a sort of desperate calmness, “that this girl has got to be sent home to-day–not to-night nor to-morrow, but to-day? —
“难道你看不出来吗，”他以一种绝望的平静说道，“这个女孩必须在今天送回家，不是今晚也不是明天，而是今天？” —

I can’t do anything for her. You know, I’m the janitor and corresponding secretary of the Down-and-Out Club.. I thought you could make a newspaper story out of it and win out a piece of money on general results. —
“我对她无能为力。你知道，我是那个穷困俱乐部的看门人兼通讯秘书.. 我觉得你可以把这个事情写成报纸报道，然后从整体结果中赢得一些钱。” —

But, anyhow, don’t you see that she’s got to get back home before night?”
“但无论如何，难道你看不出来她必须在天黑前回家吗？”

And then I began to feel that dull, leaden, soul-depressing sensation known as the sense of duty. —
然后我开始感到那种沉闷、沉重、使人灵魂沮丧的感觉，那就是责任感。 —

Why should that sense fall upon one as a weight and a burden? —
为什么这种感觉会如此沉重压在人身上呢？ —

I knew that I was doomed that day to give up the bulk of my store of hard-wrung coin to the relief of this Ada Lowery. —
我知道那天我注定要拿出我辛辛苦苦攒下的大部分财富来帮助这个艾达·洛厄里。 —

But I swore to myself that Tripp’s whiskey dollar would not be forthcoming. —
但是我发誓不会拿出特里普斯的威士忌一美元。 —

He might play knight-errant at my expense, but he would indulge in no wassail afterward, commemorating my weakness and gullibility. —
他可以以我的代价扮演骑士，但他不会在此后的狂欢中庆祝我的软弱和易受骗。 —

In a kind of chilly anger I put on my coat and hat.
带着一种冰冷的愤怒，我穿上了外套和帽子。

Tripp, submissive, cringing, vainly endeavoring to please, conducted me via the street-cars to the human pawn-shop of Mother McGinnis. —
Tripp，一个顺从、畏缩、徒劳地试图讨好他人的人，通过电车带我来到了麦金尼斯夫人的人类当铺。 —

I paid the fares. It seemed that the collodion-scented Don Quixote and the smallest minted coin were strangers.
我支付了车费。明显得，尘胶和最小面额的硬币是陌生的。

Tripp pulled the bell at the door of the mouldly red-brick boarding- house. —
Tripp按响了那所泥土红砖寄宿房的门铃。 —

At its faint tinkle he paled, and crouched as a rabbit makes ready to spring away at the sound of a hunting-dog. —
门铃微微一响, 他苍白了，像一只兔子听到猎狗声音准备一跳。 —

I guessed what a life he had led, terror-haunted by the coming footsteps of landladies.
我猜到他曾经过着什么样的生活，恐惧着房东的脚步声。

“Give me one of the dollars–quick!” he said.
“给我一美元–快！”他说。

The door opened six inches. —
门打开了六英寸。 —

Mother McGinnis stood there with white eyes–they were white, I say–and a yellow face, holding together at her throat with one hand a dingy pink flannel dressing-sack. —
麦金尼斯夫人站在那儿，她的眼睛是白色的–没错，我说的是白色，还有黄色的脸，她用一只手扣着一件脏兮兮的粉红绒绒的睡袍。 —

Tripp thrust the dollar through the space without a word, and it bought us entry.
Tripp没有说话，只将一美元递过来，这个钱买通了我们进门。

“She’s in the parlor,” said the McGinnis, turning the back of her sack upon us.
“她在客厅里，”麦金尼斯说道，同时把睡袍的后背转向了我们。

In the dim parlor a girl sat at the cracked marble centre-table weeping comfortably and eating gum-drops. —
在昏暗的客厅里，一个女孩坐在破裂的大理石中央桌旁，舒舒服服地哭着吃着橡皮糖。 —

She was a flawless beauty. —
她是一位完美无瑕的美人。 —

Crying had only made her brilliant eyes brighter. —
哭泣只让她明亮的眼睛更加耀眼。 —

When she crunched a gum-drop you thought only of the poetry of motion and envied the senseless confection. —
当她咬碎一颗橡皮糖时，你只会想到动作的诗意，并嫉妒这无意义的糖果。 —

Eve at the age of five minutes must have been a ringer for Miss Ada Lowery at nineteen or twenty. —
五分钟大的伊芙肯定和19或20岁的艾达·洛厄里非常相似。 —

I was introduced, and a gum-drop suffered neglect while she conveyed to me a naive interest, such as a puppy dog (a prize winner) might bestow upon a crawling beetle or a frog.
我被介绍了，一颗橡皮糖被忽略了，而她对我表现出一种天真的兴趣，就像一只小狗（一只获奖者）对待爬行的甲虫或青蛙一样。

Tripp took his stand by the table, with the fingers of one hand spread upon it, as an attorney or a master of ceremonies might have stood. —
特里普站在桌子旁，一只手的手指伸展在上面，就像一个律师或仪式主持人那样站着。 —

But he looked the master of nothing. —
但他看起来什么都不是主人。 —

His faded coat was buttoned high, as if it sought to be charitable to deficiencies of tie and linen.
他破旧的外套系得很高，好像要对领带和衬衫的不足表示宽容。

I thought of a Scotch terrier at the sight of his shifty eyes in the glade between his tangled hair and beard. —
我看到他混乱的头发和胡子之间那双瞬移般的眼睛时，就会想起一个苏格兰梗犬。 —

For one ignoble moment I felt ashamed of having been introduced as his friend in the presence of so much beauty in distress. —
在这样美丽的困境中，我为自己被介绍为他的朋友而感到羞愧。 —

But evidently Tripp meant to conduct the ceremonies, whatever they might be. —
但特里普显然打算继续举行这些仪式，无论它们是什么。 —

I thought I detected in his actions and pose an intention of foisting the situation upon me as material for a newspaper story, in a lingering hope of extracting from me his whiskey dollar.
我觉得他的行为和姿态中有一种将这个情况强加给我作为一则报纸报道的意图，深深希望从我这里得到一美元的劣质威士忌。

“My friend” (I shuddered), “Mr. Chalmers,” said Tripp, “will tell you, Miss Lowery, the same that I did. —
“我的朋友”（我感到一阵恶心），“查尔默斯先生”特里普说，“他会告诉你，洛厄里小姐，我所说的都一样。 —

He’s a reporter, and he can hand out the talk better than I can. —
他是一名记者，他比我更擅长说话。 —

That’s why I brought him with me.” (0 Tripp, wasn’t it the silver-tongued orator you wanted? —
这就是为什么我带他一起来的原因。“嘿，特里普，你难道不是想要一个能言善辩的演讲家吗？ —

) “He’s wise to a lot of things, and he’ll tell you now what’s best to do.”
”“他对很多事情都很了解，他会告诉你现在应该怎么办。

I stood on one foot, as it were, as I sat in my rickety chair.
当我坐在摇摇欲坠的椅子上时，我仿佛站在了单脚上。

“Why–er–Miss Lowery,” I began, secretly enraged at Tripp’s awkward opening, “I am at your service, of course, but–er–as I haven’t been apprized of the circumstances of the case, I–er–”
“为什么——嗯——洛厄里小姐，”我开始说，对特里普尴尬的开场感到暗暗恼火，“当然，我当然愿意为您效劳，但是——嗯——由于我不知道具体情况，我——”

“Oh,” said Miss Lowery, beaming for a moment, “it ain’t as bad as that–there ain’t any circumstances. —
“哦，”洛厄里小姐说着，一时光芒四射，“并没有那么糟糕 - 没有什么特殊情况。” —

It’s the first time I’ve ever been in New York except once when I was five years old, and I had no idea it was such a big town. —
这是我第一次来纽约，除了五岁时一次，我完全不知道这个城市这么大。 —

And I met Mr.–Mr. Snip on the street and asked him about a friend of mine, and he brought me here and asked me to wait.”
我在街上遇见了斯尼普先生，并问了他一个朋友的事情，他就带我来这里并让我等着。”

“I advise you, Miss Lowery,” said Tripp, “to tell Mr. Chalmers all. —
“我建议你，洛厄里小姐，告诉查尔默斯先生一切。 —

He’s a friend of mine” (I was getting used to it by this time), “and he’ll give you the right tip.”
他是我的朋友（我现在已经习惯了这个说法），他会给你正确的建议。”

“Why, certainly,” said Miss Ada, chewing a gum-drop toward me. —
“嗯，当然了，”亚达小姐咀嚼着一颗口香糖对着我说。 —

“There ain’t anything to tell except that–well, everything’s fixed for me to marry Hiram Dodd next Thursday evening. —
“没什么好说的，除了…嗯，一切都准备好了，我下周四晚上要和海勒姆·多德结婚。 —

Hi has got two hundred acres of land with a lot of shore-front, and one of the best truck-farms on the Island. —
豪尔有两百英亩的土地，还有海滨区，以及整个岛上最好的蔬菜种植园。 —

But this morning I had my horse saddled up–he’s a white horse named Dancer–and I rode over to the station. —
但是今天早上，我骑着我的马 - 一匹名叫舞者的白马 - 骑到车站去了。 —

I told ‘em at home I was going to spend the day with Susie Adams. It was a story, I guess, but I don’t care. —
我告诉家里我要和苏茜·亚当斯一起度过一天。这可能是个谎言，但我不在乎。 —

And I came to New York on the train, and I met Mr.–Mr. Flip on the street and asked him if he knew where I could find G–G–”
我乘火车来到纽约，然后在街上遇到了弗利普先生，问他是否知道我可以找到G……G……

“Now, Miss Lowery,” broke in Tripp, loudly, and with much bad taste, I thought, as she hesitated with her word, “you like this young man, Hiram Dodd, don’t you? —
“现在，洛厄里小姐，” 特里普大声打断道，他的举动令我心生不悦，” 你喜欢这个年轻人海伦·多德，是吧？ —

He’s all right, and good to you, ain’t he?”
他挺好的，对你也很好，是吗？

“Of course I like him,” said Miss Lowery emphatically. —
“当然我喜欢他，”洛厄里小姐强调说道，” —

“Hi’s all right. And of course he’s good to me. —
海是个好人。当然他对我也很好。 —

So is everybody.”
每个人对我都很好。”

I could have sworn it myself. —
我亲眼所见。 —

Throughout Miss Ada Lowery’s life all men would be to good to her. —
在洛佛瑞小姐的一生中，所有的男人都会对她好。 —

They would strive, contrive, struggle, and compete to hold umbrellas over her hat, check her trunk, pick up her handkerchief, buy for her soda at the fountain.
他们会竭尽全力、计划周密、奋力争斗、竞争，为她撑起伞，帮她托运行李，捡起她的手帕，在喷泉处给她买苏打水。

“But,” went on Miss Lowery, “last night got to thinking about G– George, and I–”
“但是，”洛厄里小姐继续说道，” 昨晚我开始思考G……乔治，然后我……”

Down went the bright gold head upon dimpled, clasped hands on the table. —
金色明亮的头颅沉落在握着的小手上，她在桌子上痛痛哭泣。 —

Such a beautiful April storm! —
多么美丽的四月风暴啊！ —

Unrestrainedly sobbed. —
哭得毫无保留。 —

I wished I could have comforted her. But I was not George. —
我希望我能安慰她。但我不是乔治。 —

And I was glad I was not Hiram–and yet I was sorry, too.
而我很高兴我不是海勒姆——然而我也为此感到遗憾。

By-and-by the shower passed. —
不久，阵雨过去了。 —

She straightened up, brave and half-way smiling. —
她挺直了身子，勇敢地微笑起来。 —

She would have made a splendid wife, for crying only made her eyes more bright and tender. —
她会成为个十分出色的妻子，因为哭泣只会让她的眼睛更加明亮、更加温柔。 —

She took a gum-drop and began her story.
她拿起一颗口香糖，然后开始她的故事。

“I guess I’m a terrible hayseed,” she said between her little gulps and sighs, “but I can’t help it. —
“我想我是个可怕的乡巴佬，”她在小小的哭泣和叹息间说道，“但我无法控制。” —

G–George Brown and I were sweet- hearts since he was eight and I was five. —
G——乔治布朗和我从他八岁、我五岁开始就是恋人。 —

When he was nineteen–that was four years ago–he left Greenburg and went to the city. —
当他十九岁——那是四年前——他离开了格林堡，去了城市。 —

He said he was going to be a policeman or a railroad president or something. —
他说他要成为一名警察或者铁路总裁之类的。然后他会回来找我。但我再也没有他的消息了。而我——我——喜欢他。 —

And then he was coming back for me. —
“He said he was going to be a policeman or a railroad president or something.” —

But I never heard from him any more. And I–I–liked him.”
-“他说他要成为一名警察或者铁路总裁之类的。”

Another flow of tears seemed imminent, but Tripp hurled himself into the crevasse and dammed it. —
另一股眼泪的流动似乎不可避免，但Tripp将自己扔进了裂缝里并堵住了它。 —

Confound him, I could see his game. —
他他妈的，我看透了他的把戏。 —

He was trying to make a story of it for his sordid ends and profit.
他试图为他肮脏的目的和利益编造一个故事。

“Go on, Mr. Chalmers,” said he, “and tell the lady what’s the proper caper. —
“继续说，查尔默斯先生，” 他说，”告诉那位女士怎么处理。 —

That’s what I told her–you’d hand it to her straight. Spiel up.”
我就是这么告诉她 - 你会坦诚相告的。说吧。”

I coughed, and tried to feel less wrathful toward Tripp. I saw my duty. —
我咳嗽了一声，试图对Tripp少一些愤怒。我认清了我的责任。 —

Cunningly I had been inveigled, but I was securely trapped. —
我被狡猾地引诱了，但我被牢牢地困住了。 —

Tripp’s first dictum to me had been just and correct. —
Tripp给我的第一个命令是正确和准确的。 —

The young lady must be sent back to Greenburg that day. —
那个年轻女士必须在那天被送回格林堡。 —

She must be argued with, convinced, assured, instructed, ticketed, and returned without delay. —
必须与她辩论、说服、保证、指导、办理票并立即送回。我讨厌海勒姆， —

I hated Hiram and despised George; —
鄙视乔治； —

but duty must be done.
但责任必须履行。

Noblesse oblige and only five silver dollars are not strictly romantic compatibles, but sometimes they can be made to jibe. —
贵族的责任和仅有的五个银币并不严格地符合浪漫，但有时它们可以协调一致。 —

It was mine to be Sir Oracle, and then pay the freight. —
这是我的事情，先生，然后我支付运费。 —

So I assumed an air that mingled Solomon’s with that of the general passenger agent of the Long Island Railroad.
所以我假装自己身份是所罗门和长岛铁路的总客运代理的融合。

“Miss Lowery,” said I, as impressively as I could, “life is rather a queer proposition, after all.” There was a familiar sound to these words after I had spoken them, and I hoped Miss Lowery had never heard Mr. Cohan’s song. —
“洛厄里小姐，”我尽可能令人印象深刻地说道，” 生活毕竟是个奇怪的命题。” 在我说出这些话后，这些词听起来很熟悉，我希望洛厄里小姐从未听过科汉先生的歌。 —

“Those whom we first love we seldom wed. —
“我们最初爱的人我们很少和之后结婚。 —

Our earlier romances, tinged with the magic radiance of youth, often fail to materialize.” The last three words sounded somewhat trite when they struck the air. —
我们早期的浪漫经历，被青春的魔力浸染，通常无法实现。” 这最后三个词在传达出来时听起来有些陈词滥调。 —

“But those fondly cherished dreams,” I went on, “may cast a pleasant afterglow on our future lives, however impracticable and vague they may have been. —
“但是那些深爱的梦想，”我继续说道，” 可能会给我们未来的生活带来愉快的余晖，即使它们可能是不切实际和模糊的。 —

But life is full of realities as well as visions and dreams. —
但生活充满了现实与梦想。 —

One cannot live on memories. —
人不能只靠回忆生活。 —

May I ask, Miss Lowery, if you think you could pass a happy–that is, a contented and harmonious life with Mr.-er–Dodd–if in other ways than romantic recollections he seems to–er–fill the bill, as I might say?”
我可以问一下，洛厄里小姐，您是否认为您能与多德先生过上幸福（即满意和和谐）的生活，即使在浪漫的回忆以外的方面，他似乎也能够胜任，我可以这么说吗？

“Oh, Hi’s all right,” answered Miss Lowery. “Yes, I could get along with him fine. —
“哦，嗨很好的”，洛厄里小姐回答道。”是的，我可以和他相处得很好。 —

He’s promised me an automobile and a motor-boat. —
他答应给我一辆汽车和一艘摩托艇。 —

But somehow, when it got so close to the time I was to marry him, I couldn’t help wishing–well, just thinking about George. —
但是，当与我嫁给他的时间越来越近时，我情不自禁地希望-嗯，只是想着乔治。 —

Something must have happened to him or he’d have written. —
他一定发生了什么事，否则他就会写信给我了。 —

On the day he left, he and me got a hammer and a chisel and cut a dime into two pieces. —
在他离开的那一天，他和我拿了一把锤子和一把凿子把一枚十分硬币剖成两半。 —

I took one piece and he took the other, and we promised to be true to each other and always keep the pieces till we saw each other again. —
我拿了一半，他拿了另一半，我们承诺彼此忠诚，并且一直保存这些硬币，直到再次见面。 —

I’ve got mine at home now in a ring-box in the top drawer of my dresser. —
现在我在家里把我的那一半放在一个戒指盒子里，放在梳妆台的上抽屉里。 —

I guess I was silly to come up here looking for him. —
我想我傻了，来这里找他。 —

I never realized what a big place it is.”
我从来没有意识到这个世界有多么大。

And then Tripp joined in with a little grating laugh that he had, still trying to drag in a little story or drama to earn the miserable dollar that he craved.
于是Tripp加入进来，发出了他那令人不悦的尖笑声，他仍然试图编造一些故事或戏剧来换取他渴望的可怜的一美元。

“Oh, the boys from the country forget a lot when they come to the city and learn something. —
“哦，那些来自乡下的男孩们来到城市后会遗忘很多，也会学到很多东西。 —

I guess George, maybe, is on the bum, or got roped in by some other girl, or maybe gone to the dogs on account of whiskey or the races. —
我猜George可能是散步了，或者被其他女孩拴住了，或者可能是因为威士忌或赛马而走向了失败。 —

You listen to Mr. Chalmers and go back home, and you’ll be all right.”
你听听Chalmers先生的话回家吧，你就会没事的。”

But now the time was come for action, for the hands of the clock were moving close to noon. —
但是现在是行动的时候了，因为时钟的指针已经快到中午了。 —

Frowning upon Tripp, I argued gently and philosophically with Miss Lowery, delicately convincing her of the importance of returning home at once. —
我皱着眉头对Tripp争论，温柔而哲学地与Lowery小姐争辩，委婉地使她相信立即返回家中的重要性。 —

And I impressed upon her the truth that it would not be absolutely necessary to her future happiness that she mention to Hi the wonders or the fact of her visit to the city that had swallowed up the unlucky George.
我向她强调了这样一个事实，即她将来的幸福并不一定需要向Hi提及这座吞噬了不幸的George的城市的奇迹或事实。

She said she had left her horse (unfortunate Rosinante) tied to a tree near the railroad station. —
她说她把她那不幸的罗奇纳特（Rosinante）拴在火车站附近的一棵树上。 —

Tripp and I gave her instructions to mount the patient steed as soon as she arrived and ride home as fast as possible. —
特里普和我告诉她一到就骑上这匹敏捷的坐骑尽快回家。 —

There she was to recount the exciting adventure of a day spent with Susie Adams. She could “fix” Susie–I was sure of that– and all would be well.
她要在那里讲述她与苏茜·亚当斯度过的激动人心的一天冒险故事。我确定她能“解决”苏茜-对此我深信不疑-一切都会好起来的。

And then, being susceptible to the barbed arrows of beauty, I warmed to the adventure. —
由于对美的吸引力易受伤害，我对这次冒险感到兴奋。 —

The three of us hurried to the ferry, and there I found the price of a ticket to Greenburg to be but a dollar and eighty cents. —
我们三个人赶往渡船，我发现去格林堡的票价只有一美元八十美分。 —

I bought one, and a red, red rose with the twenty cents for Miss Lowery. —
我买了一张票，用剩下的二十美分买了一朵朱红色的玫瑰送给洛伊尔小姐。 —

We saw her aboard her ferryboat, and stood watching her wave her handkerchief at us until it was the tiniest white patch imaginable. —
我们看到她上了渡船，然后站着看她向我们挥手，直到她的手绢变成最小的一块白色。 —

And then Tripp and I faced each other, brought back to earth, left dry and desolate in the shade of the sombre verities of life.
然后特里普和我面对面，回到现实，被遗弃在生活的严肃阴影下。

The spell wrought by beauty and romance was dwindling. —
美丽和浪漫所带来的魔力正在减弱。 —

I looked at Tripp and almost sneered. —
我看着特里普，几乎嗤之以鼻。 —

He looked more careworn, contemptible, and disreputable than ever. —
他看起来比以往更疲惫、可鄙、不体面。 —

I fingered the two silver dollars remaining in my pocket and looked at him with the half-closed eyelids of contempt. —
我摸着口袋里剩下的两枚银币，半闭着蔑视的眼睛看着他。 —

He mustered up an imitation of resistance.
他费力地试图装出抵抗的样子。

“Can’t you get a story out of it?” he asked, huskily. —
“你就不能写篇文章吗？”他沙哑地问道，” —

“Some sort of a story, even if you have to fake part of it?”
哪怕是部分虚构出来的？”

“Not a line,” said I. “I can fancy the look on Grimes’ face if I should try to put over any slush like this. —
“一行也不写，”我说道，“我可以想象葛莱姆兹如果我写了这样的废话会是什么表情。 —

But we’ve helped the little lady out, and that’ll have to be our only reward.”
但是我们帮助了这位小姐，这就当做我们唯一的回报吧。”

“I’m sorry,” said Tripp, almost inaudibly. —
“很抱歉，”特里普几乎听不见地说道，” —

“I’m sorry you’re out your money. —
很遗憾你赔了钱。” —

Now, it seemed to me like a find of a big story, you know– that is, a sort of thing that would write up pretty well.”
现在，对我来说就像是找到了一个大新闻的样子，你懂的，一种能写得出色的东西。

“Let’s try to forget it,” said I, with a praiseworthy attempt at gayety, “and take the next car ‘cross town.”
“让我们试着忘记它吧，” 我努力地装出愉快的样子说道，” 坐上下一辆横穿城市的车吧。”

I steeled myself against his unexpressed but palpable desire. —
我对他未表达但能明显感受到的渴望保持警惕。 —

He should not coax, cajole, or wring from me the dollar he craved. —
他不应该用哄骗，哀求或强求我渴望的那一美元。 —

I had had enough of that wild-goose chase.
我已经厌倦了那场毫无结果的追逐。

Tripp feebly unbuttoned his coat of the faded pattern and glossy seams to reach for something that had once been a handkerchief deep down in some obscure and cavernous pocket. —
Tripp虚弱地解开他那件褪色图案和光亮缝线的外套，伸手去拿一样曾经隐藏在某个不知名而深邃的口袋里的手帕。 —

As he did so I caught the shine of a cheap silver-plated watch-chain across his vest, and something dangling from it caused me to stretch forth my hand and seize it curiously. —
就在他这么做的时候，我注意到了他西装胸前那条廉价镀银表链的闪亮，以及从中悬挂着的东西，让我伸手好奇地去抓住它。 —

It was the half of a silver dime that had been cut in halves with a chisel.
那是一枚被凿子切成两半的银一角币的一半。

“What!” I said, looking at him keenly.
“什么！”我敏锐地看着他说。

“Oh yes,” he responded, dully. —
“哦，是的，”他迟钝地回应道。 —

“George Brown, alias Tripp. what’s the use?”
“乔治·布朗，化名Tripp。有什么用呢？”

Barring the W. C. T. U., I’d like to know if anybody disapproves of my having produced promptly from my pocket Tripp’s whiskey dollar and unhesitatingly laying it in his hand.
除了妇女基督教禁酒联盟，我想知道是否有人反对我及时地从口袋里拿出Tripp渴望的那枚酒钱一美元，并毫不犹豫地放在他手中。