Spring winked a vitreous optic at Editor Westbrook of the Minerva Magazine, and deflected him from his course. —
春天对“米内尔瓦”杂志的编辑韦斯特布鲁克挤眉弄眼，使他偏离了原来的路线。 —

He had lunched in his favorite corner of a Broadway hotel, and was returning to his office when his feet became entangled in the lure of the vernal coquette. —
他在百老汇的一家酒店最喜欢的角落吃完午餐后，返回办公室时，脚被这个春天的薄纱诱惑纠缠住了。 —

Which is by way of saying that he turned eastward in Twenty-sixth Street, safely forded the spring freshet of vehicles in Fifth Avenue, and meandered along the walks of budding Madison Square.
也就是说，他转向东边的26街，顺利穿过第五大道上春天新涨的车流，漫步在新芽嫩绿的麦迪逊广场上。

The lenient air and the settings of the little park almost formed a pastoral; —
温和的空气和小公园的环境几乎形成了乡村风情； —

the color motif was green - the presiding shade at the creation of man and vegetation.
色彩主题是绿色——人类和植物诞生时的主导色调。

The callow grass between the walks was the color of verdigris, a poisonous green, reminiscent of the horde of derelict humans that had breathed upon the soil during the summer and autumn. —
步道间的嫩草像青矾一样的绿色，毒光绿，让人想起夏秋之间饿了那群失魂落魄的人类。 —

The bursting tree buds looked strangely familiar to those who had botanized among the garnishings of the fish course of a forty-cent dinner. —
迸发的树芽异样地熟悉，对于那些曾在四十美分餐中品味过鱼菜装饰的人来说。 —

The sky above was of that pale aquamarine tint that ballroom poets rhyme with “true” and “Sue” and “coo.” The one natural and frank color visible was the ostensible green of the newly painted benches - a shade between the color of a pickled cucumber and that of a last year’s fast-black cravenette raincoat. —
上方的天空呈现出一种淡淡的碧绿色，舞会的诗人常以“真实”、“Sue”和“coo”来押韵。唯一自然和真实的颜色是新漆油绿色的长凳，颜色介于酸黄瓜和去年的深黑色提花雨衣之间。 —

But, to the city-bred eye of Editor Westbrook, the landscape appeared a masterpiece.
而对于城市居民的西布鲁克编辑来说，这片景色就是一件杰作。

And now, whether you are of those who rush in, or of the gentle concourse that fears to tread, you must follow in a brief invasion of the editor’s mind.
现在，无论你属于冲入其中的人群，还是属于畏惧踏入其中的温和人群，你都必须跟随编辑的心灵进入一次简短的入侵。

Editor Westbrook’s spirit was contented and serene. —
编辑韦斯特布鲁克的精神是满足而宁静的。 —

The April number of the Minerva had sold its entire edition before the tenth day of the month - a newsdealer in Keokuk had written that he could have sold fifty copies more if he had ‘em. —
《米涅尔瓦》杂志的四月份整个版面在本月的第十天之前全部售罄 - 一位来自基奥库克的新闻邮购商写信说，如果多一些就能卖出来五十份。 —

The owners of the magazine had raised his (the editor’s) salary; —
杂志的所有者提高了他(编辑)的薪资； —

he had just installed in his home a jewel of a recently imported cook who was afraid of policemen; —
他刚刚在家里请了一位宝石般的最近进口的厨师，她害怕警察。 —

and the morning papers had published in full a speech he had made at a publishers’ banquet. —
早报全文刊登了他在一个出版商宴会上的演讲。 —

Also there were echoing in his mind the jubilant notes of a splendid song that his charming young wife had sung to him before he left his up-town apartment that morning. —
他脑海中还回荡着他可爱年轻妻子那天早上在他离开公寓前为他唱的一首美妙歌曲的欢快音符。 —

She was taking enthusiastic interest in her music of late, practising early and diligently. —
她最近对音乐非常感兴趣，每天早早地刻苦练习。 —

When he had complimented her on the improvement in her voice she had fairly hugged him for joy at his praise. —
当他为她的嗓音进步而夸奖她时，她高兴得几乎要拥抱他了。 —

He felt, too, the benign, tonic medicament of the trained nurse, Spring, tripping softly adown the wards of the convalescent city.
他也感受到了春天这位受过训练的护士的良药般的仁慈，她轻快地走过这个康复中的城市。

While Editor Westbrook was sauntering between the rows of park benches (already filling with vagrants and the guardians of lawless childhood) he felt his sleeve grasped and held. —
当 Westbrook 编辑漫步在公园长椅之间（已经开始聚满了流浪者和无法无天的孩童看守者）时，他感到有人抓住了他的袖子并抓住不放。 —

Suspecting that he was about to be panhandled, he turned a cold and unprofitable face, and saw that his captor was - Dawe - Shackleford Dawe, dingy, almost ragged, the genteel scracely visible in him through the deeper lines of the shabby.
怀疑他即将遭遇乞讨，他冷漠无情地转过头去，发现他的绑架者是-道威-夏克尔福德道威，他憔悴不堪，几乎褴褛不堪，通过衰败的深纹，他隐约可见一丝绅士气质。

While the editor is pulling himself out of his surprise, a flashlight biography of Dawe is offered.
在编辑摆脱了惊奇后，对夏克尔福德的生平进行了一番简要介绍。

He was a fiction writer, and one of Westbrook’s old acquaintances. —
他是一位小说家，与韦斯特布鲁克是老熟人。 —

At one time they might have called each other old friends. —
曾经有一段时间，他们可能互称为老朋友。 —

Dawe had some money in those days, and lived in a decent apartment house near Westbrook’s. —
当时道威还有一些钱，住在离韦斯特布鲁克不远的一幢体面公寓里。 —

The two families often went to theatres and dinners together. Mrs. Dawe and Mrs. Westbrook became “dearest” friends. —
这两个家庭经常一起去剧院和晚餐。道威太太和韦斯特布鲁克太太成为了“最亲密的”朋友。 —

Then one day a little tentacle of the octopus, just to amuse itself, ingurgitated Dawe’s capital, and he moved to the Gramercy Park neighborhood where one, for a few groats per week, may sit upon one’s trunk under eight-branched chandeliers and opposite Carrara marble mantels and watch the mice play upon the floor. —
然后有一天，章鱼的一个小触角仅仅为了自娱娱乐，吞并了道尔的资本，于是他搬到了格拉默西公园附近的街区，那里只需几枚小费一周，你可以坐在自己的旅行箱上，对着八支分叉的吊灯和卡拉拉大理石壁炉，看着老鼠在地板上玩耍。 —

Dawe thought to live by writing fiction. —
道尔计划通过写小说来生活。 —

Now and then he sold a story. —
他偶尔会卖出一两个故事。 —

He submitted many to Westbrook. —
他把很多故事都给韦斯特布鲁克。 —

The Minerva printed one or two of them; —
《米涅瓦》印刷了其中的一两个； —

the rest were returned. Westbrook sent a careful and conscientious personal letter with each rejected manuscript, pointing out in detail his reasons for considering it unavailable. —
—

Editor Westbrook had his own clear conception of what constituted good fiction. —
在韦斯特布鲁克的要求下，其他的都被退回了。韦斯特布鲁克在每份被拒绝的稿件上都写了一封仔细而认真的个人信函，详细指出他认为它们不可用的原因。 —

So had Dawe. Mrs. Dawe was mainly concerned about the constituents of the scanty dishes of food that she managed to scrape together. —
编辑韦斯特布鲁克对好的小说有自己清晰的概念。 —

One day Dawe had been spouting to her about the excellencies of certain French writers. —
道尔也有自己的看法。道尔夫人主要关心的是她勉强凑合出的食物盘里的组成部分。 —

At dinner they sat down to a dish that a hungry schoolboy could have encompassed at a gulp. —
晚餐时，他们坐下来享用了一道让饥饿的学童一口便能吞下的菜肴。 —

Dawe commented.
道夫评论道。

“It’s Maupassant hash,” said Mrs. Dawe. “It may not be art, but I do wish you would do a five-course Marion Crawford serial with an Ella Wheeler Wilcox sonnet for dessert. —
“这是莫泊桑的剩菜拼盘，”道太太说。“也许不算艺术，但我真希望你能做一部五集的马里恩·克劳福德连载小说，配上一首艾拉·惠勒·威尔科克斯的十四行诗作为甜点。 —

I’m hungry.”
我饿了。”

As far as this from success was Shackleford Dawe when he plucked Editor Westbrook’s sleeve in Madison Square. —
当舍克尔福德·道夫在麦迪逊广场拉着编辑威斯布鲁克的袖子时，他距离成功很远。 —

That was the first time the editor had seen Dawe in several months.
这是编辑几个月来第一次见到道夫。

“Why, Shack, is this you?” said Westbrook, somewhat awkwardly, for the form of his phrase seemed to touch upon the other’s changed appearance.
“哎呀，舍克，是你啊？”威斯布鲁克有些局促地说道，因为他的措辞似乎触及了道夫的变化外貌。

“Sit down for a minute,” said Dawe, tugging at his sleeve. —
“坐一会儿吧，”道夫拽着他的袖子说。 —

“This is my office. I can’t come to yours, looking as I do. —
“这是我的办公室。我不能去你那里，看起来像我这样。 —

Oh, sit down - you won’t be disgraced. —
“哦，坐下吧，你不会丢脸的。 —

Those half-plucked birds on the other benches will take you for a swell porch-climber. —
那些在其他长凳上的那些只剩半个羽毛的鸟儿会把你当成一个顶级的窗户爬行者。 —

They won’t know you are only an editor.”
“他们不会知道你只是一名编辑。”

“Smoke, Shack?” said Editor Westbrook, sinking cautiously upon the virulent green bench. —
“‘吸烟小屋’，”编辑韦斯特布鲁克说道，小心翼翼地坐在那张毒辣的绿色长椅上。 —

He always yielded gracefully when he did yield.
他总是在屈服时表现得很优雅。

Dawe snapped at the cigar as a kingfisher darts at a sunperch, or a girl pecks at a chocolate cream.
道尔咬着雪茄，如同翠鸟扑向太阳鱼一样，或者女孩啄食巧克力蛋糕一样。

“I have just -” began the editor.
“我刚刚——”编辑开始说。

“Oh, I know; don’t finish,” said Dawe. “Give me a match. —
“哦，我知道了，别说了，”道尔说道，“给我个火柴。 —

You have just ten minutes to spare. —
你只有十分钟可以浪费。 —

How did you manage to get past my office-boy and invade my sanctum? —
你是怎么绕过我的办公室男孩闯入我的圣所的呢？ —

There he goes now, throwing his club at a dog that couldn’t read the ‘Keep off the Grass’ signs.”
他现在就去了，朝着一只看不懂‘请勿践踏草地’标志的狗扔他的球棒。”

“How goes the writing?” asked the editor.
“写作进展如何？”编辑问道。

“Look at me,” said Dawe, “for your answer. —
“看看我，”道尔说， —

Now don’t put on that embarrassed, friendly-but-honest look and ask me why I don’t get a job as a wine agent or a cab driver. —
“你就有答案了。现在不要摆出那种尴尬友好但诚实的样子来问我为什么不去当葡萄酒销售员或出租车司机。 —

I’m in the fight to a finish. —
我会战斗到底。 —

I know I can write good fiction and I’ll force you fellows to admit it yet. —
我知道我能写优秀的小说，我会迫使你们承认的。 —

I’ll make you change the spelling of ‘regrets’ to ‘c-h-e-q-u-e’ before I’m done with you.”
在我与你们斗争到底之前，我会让你们把‘regrets’的拼写改成‘c-h-e-q-u-e’。”

Editor Westbrook gazed through his nose-glasses with a sweetly sorrowful, omniscient, sympathetic, skeptical expression - the copyrighted expression of the editor beleagured by the unavailable contributor.
编辑韦斯特布鲁克用一种甜蜜的、忧郁的、全知的、同情的、怀疑的表情透过他的鼻子眼镜凝视着，这是编辑为不可用的投稿者所饱受折磨的人的著作权表达。

“Have you read the last story I sent you - ‘The Alarum of the Soul’?” asked Dawe.
“你读了我最后发给你的故事《灵魂的召唤》了吗？” 道克问道。

“Carefully. I hesitated over that story, Shack, really I did. It had some good points. —
“仔细地。我在那个故事上犹豫了，沙克，真的犹豫了。它有一些亮点。 —

I was writing you a letter to send with it when it goes back to you. —
当它退还给你的时候，我正在给你写一封信。 —

I regret -”
我为此感到遗憾 -”

“Never mind the regrets,” said Dawe, grimly. —
“别再提遗憾了，”道克严肃地说道。” —

“There’s neither salve nor sting in ‘em any more. —
它们再也没有安慰或刺痛了。 —

What I want to know is why. Come now; —
我想知道的是为什么。来吧， —

out with the good points first.”
先告诉我亮点吧。”

“The story,” said Westbrook, deliberately, after a suppressed sigh, “is written around an almost original plot. —
“这个故事，”韦斯特布鲁克在压抑住的叹息之后，郑重地说：” 是围绕一个几乎原创的情节展开的。 —

Characterization - the best you have done. —
人物刻画 - 你做得最好的。 —

Construction - almost as good, except for a few weak joints which might be strengthened by a few changes and touches. —
构思 - 几乎一样好，除了一些薄弱的连接部分可以通过一些改动和润色来加强。 —

It was a good story, except -”
它是一个好故事，除了 -”

“I can write English, can’t I?” interrupted Dawe.
“我会写英语的，对吗？”道克打断道。

“I have always told you,” said the editor, “that you had a style.”
“我一直告诉你，”编辑说，“你有一种风格。”

“Then the trouble is -”
“那么问题是——”

“Same old thing,” said Editor Westbrook. —
“老一套，”编辑韦斯特布鲁克说道， —

“You work up to your climax like an artist. —
“你像一个艺术家那样来构建高潮。 —

And then you turn yourself into a photographer. —
然后你把自己变成了一位摄影师。” —

I don’t know what form of obstinate madness possesses you, but that is what you do with everything that you write. —
“我不知道你为什么有这种固执的疯狂，但你确实对你所写的一切都这么做。” —

No, I will retract the comparison with the photographer. —
“不，我撤回与摄影师的比较。 —

Now and then photography, in spite of its impossible perspective, manages to record a fleeting glimpse of truth. —
尽管它的透视是不可能的，但有时摄影可以记录到真相的瞬间。 —

But you spoil every denouement by those flat, drab, obliterating strokes of your brush that I have so often complained of. —
“但你用你那些平淡、无聊、毁灭性的画笔一次又一次地破坏了每一个结局，我已经经常抱怨过了。” —

If you would rise to the literary pinnacle of your dramatic senses, and paint them in the high colors that art requires, the postman would leave fewer bulky, self-addressed envelopes at your door.”
“如果你能以艺术所需要的高色彩来展现你的戏剧感官，那么邮递员会少在你门前留下厚厚的自寄信封。”

“Oh, fiddles and footlights!” cried Dawe, derisively. —
“哦，胡扯和舞台灯光！”道尔嘲笑地说道。 —

“You’ve got that old sawmill drama kink in your brain yet. —
“你脑袋里还是有那种老剧坊的戏剧迷痴迷。” —

When the man with the black mustache kidnaps golden-haired Bessie you are bound to have the mother kneel and raise her hands in the spotlight and say: —
当拥有黑色胡子的男子绑架了金发的贝西时，母亲不禁跪在聚光灯下，举起双手说： —

‘May high heaven witness that I will rest neither night nor day till the heartless villain that has stolen me child feels the weight of another’s vengeance!’”
“天高地远，我将日夜不休，直到那心狠手辣的恶徒感受到其他人的复仇之力！”

Editor Westbrook conceded a smile of impervious complacency.
西布鲁克编辑自鸣得意地露出了一个不受伤害的自满的微笑。

“I think,” said he, “that in real life the woman would express herself in those words or in very similar ones.”
他说：“我认为，在现实生活中，这个女人会用这些话或非常类似的话来表达自己。”

“Not in a six hundred nights’ run anywhere but on the stage,” said Dawe hotly. “I’ll tell you what she’d say in real life. —
道瓦愤怒地说：“除了舞台上，不可能有一个六百个晚上的演出中，任何地方能演出这种话。我告诉你，她在现实生活中会说什么。她会说：‘什么！贝西被一个陌生人带走了？天哪！一个麻烦接着一个麻烦！给我拿我的另一个帽子， —

She’d say: ‘What! —
我必须马上去警察局。” —

Bessie led away by a strange man? Good Lord! —
为什么没有人看顾她， —

It’s one trouble after another! Get my other hat, I must hurry around to the police-station. —
我想知道？天哪，让开，否则我永远无法准备好。 —

Why wasn’t somebody looking after her, I’d like to know? —
不是那顶帽子 - 带有天鹅绒蝴蝶结的那顶棕色的。 —

For God’s sake, get out of my way or I’ll never get ready. —
贝西一定是疯了； —

Not that hat - the brown one with the velvet bows. —
拜托，把我的路给开一开， —

Bessie must have been crazy; —
否则我永远无法准备好。 —

she’s usually shy of strangers. —
她通常对陌生人很害羞。 —

Is that too much powder? —
这是不是太多的粉末？哎呀！ —

Lordy! How I’m upset!’
我有多么的难过！

“That’s the way she’d talk,” continued Dawe. “People in real life don’t fly into heroics and blank verse at emotional crises. —
“她就是这样说话的，”道长继续说道。“现实生活中的人在情感危机时并不会变得英勇起来，也不会用韵文来表达。 —

They simply can’t do it. —
他们根本做不到。 —

If they talk at all on such occasions they draw from the same vocabulary that they use every day, and muddle up their words and ideas a little more, that’s all.”
在这种场合下如果他们谈话，他们会使用和平时一样的词汇，只是会更加混淆他们的言辞和想法而已。”

“Shack,” said Editor Westbrook impressively, “did you ever pick up the mangled and lifeless form of a child from under the fender of a street car, and carry it in your arms and lay it down before the distracted mother? —
“Shack，”编辑韦斯布鲁克庄重地说道，“你曾经拾起一个孩子在有轨电车的挡泥板下被撞残生命的身躯，然后抱着它放在绝望的母亲面前吗？ —

Did you ever do that and listen to the words of grief and despair as they flowed spontaneously from her lips?”
你曾经这样做过，听她的悲痛和绝望之词滔滔不绝地从她的嘴唇中流出吗？”

“I never did,” said Dawe. “Did you?”
“我从未这么做过，”道长说。“你呢？”

“Well, no,” said Editor Westbrook, with a slight frown. —
“唔，不，”编辑韦斯布鲁克皱了皱眉头。 —

“But I can well imagine what she would say.”
“但我可以想象出她会说些什么。”

“So can I,” said Dawe.
“我也可以，”道长说。

And now the fitting time had come for Editor Westbrook to play the oracle and silence his opinionated contributor. —
现在是时候让编辑威斯特布鲁克担当起先知的角色，让他沉默那位固执己见的撰稿人了。 —

It was not for an unarrived fictionist to dictate words to be uttered by the heroes and heroines of the Minerva Magazine, contrary to the theories of the editor thereof.
对于一位不成熟的小说家来说，不应该要他来决定《米涅瓦杂志》的英雄和女主角们该说些什么，这与该杂志编辑的理论不符。

“My dear Shack,” said he, “if I know anything of life I know that every sudden, deep and tragic emotion in the human heart calls forth an apposite, concordant, conformable and proportionate expression of feeling. —
“亲爱的沙克，”他说，” 如果我对生命中的任何事情有所了解的话，我知道人类心灵中的每次突然、深刻和悲惨的情感都会引发相应、和谐、相称和一致的感情表达。 —

How much of this inevitable accord between expression and feeling should be attributed to nature, and how much to the influence of art, it would be difficult to say. —
在这种情感表达与情感之间的必然一致中，有多少归功于自然，有多少归功于艺术，这很难说。 —

The sublimely terrible roar of the lioness that has been deprived of her cubs is dramatically as far above her customary whine and purr as the kingly and transcendent utterances of Lear are above the level of his senile vaporings. —
那种被剥夺了幼崽的母狮所发出的威猛可怕的咆哮，在戏剧效果上要远远超过它平时的呜咽和咕噜，就像李尔王所说的崇高而可怖的言辞要高于他老年时的胡言乱语一样。 —

But it is also true that all men and women have what may be called a sub-conscious dramatic sense that is awakened by a sufficiently deep and powerful emotion - a sense unconsciously acquired from literature and the stage that prompts them to express those emotions in language befitting their importance and histrionic value.”
但也确实存在这样一种潜意识的戏剧感，被足够深沉而强烈的情感所唤醒 - 这种感觉是人们在文学和舞台中无意识地习得，它促使他们用适合其重要性和戏剧效果的语言来表达这些情感。

“And in the name of the seven sacred saddle-blankets of Sagittarius, where did the stage and literature get the stunt?” asked Dawe.
“然而从马蹄座的七块神圣鞍毯的名义上来说，舞台和文学是从哪里学到这招的？” 道尔问道。

“From life,” answered the editor, triumphantly.
“从生活中获得的，”编辑得意扬扬地回答道。

The story writer rose from the bench and gesticulated eloquently but dumbly. —
故事作家从长椅上站了起来， —

He was beggared for words with which to formulate adequately his dissent.
手势表达着他无力用言语充分表达出自己的不同意见。

On a bench nearby a frowzy loafer opened his red eyes and perceived that his moral support was due a downtrodden brother.
附近的一个邋遢汉睁开了红色的眼睛，意识到他的道义支持是为了同情一个被压迫的兄弟。

“Punch him one, Jack,” he called hoarsely to Dawe. “W’at’s he come makin’ a noise like a penny arcade for amongst gen’lemen that comes in the square to set and think?”
“打他一拳，杰克，”他沙哑地对道尔喊道。”他为什么在广场上喧嚣如同一个便宜游乐场，我们这些坐在这里静静思考的绅士们？”

Editor Westbrook looked at his watch with an affected show of leisure.
编辑韦斯特布鲁克一副虚假的悠闲样子看着手表。

“Tell me,” asked Dawe, with truculent anxiety, “what especial faults in ‘The Alarum of the Soul’ caused you to throw it down?”
“告诉我，”道尔焦虑而又好斗地问道，“《灵魂的警报》中有什么特别的错误让你把它放下？”

“When Gabriel Murray,” said Westbrook, “goes to his telephone and is told that his fiancee has been shot by a burglar, he says - I do not recall the exact words, but -”
“当加布里埃尔·默里去打电话，被告知他的未婚妻被小偷击中时，他说——我记不清确切的词了，但是——”

“I do,” said Dawe. “He says: ‘Damn Central; —
“我记得，”道尔说，“他说：‘见鬼的电信局总是断我线。 —

she always cuts me off.’ (And then to his friend) ‘Say, Tommy, does a thirty-two bullet make a big hole? —
’（然后对他的朋友说）‘喂，汤米，32口径的子弹会留下个大洞吗？这还真不走运。能给我从侧边柜上拿杯酒吗？干净点，什么都不加。’” —

It’s kind of hard luck, ain’t it? —
“而且，”编辑继续说道，没有停下来争论， —

Could you get me a drink from the sideboard, Tommy? —
“当贝伦尼丝打开她丈夫的信，知道他和修指甲女孩私奔时，她说——让我想想——” —

No; straight; nothing on the side.’”
“她说，”作者插话说：“‘哦，你觉得怎么样！’”

“And again,” continued the editor, without pausing for argument, “when Berenice opens the letter from her husband informing her that he has fled with the manicure girl, her words are - let me see -”
“”No，you mustn’t strangle yourself！For Heaven’s sake. 》”

“She says,” interposed the author: “‘Well, what do you think of that!’”
“”No, let me do it! 》

“Absurdly inappropriate words,” said Westbrook, “presenting an anti-climax - plunging the story into hopeless bathos. —
“可笑而不恰当的词语，”韦斯特布鲁克说道，“将故事带入绝望的平庸中，更糟糕的是； —

Worse yet; —
—

they mirror life falsely. —
它们虚假地反映了生活状态。 —

No human being ever uttered banal colloquialisms when confronted by sudden tragedy.”
当面临突如其来的悲剧时，没有任何人会说出平庸的俗语。”

“Wrong,” said Dawe, closing his unshaven jaws doggedly. —
“错了，”道恩固执地闭上了他那未剃过的下巴。 —

“I say no man or woman ever spouts ‘high-falutin’ talk when they go up against a real climax. —
“我说没有哪个人在面临真正的高潮时会说出‘高语’。 —

They talk naturally and a little worse.”
他们会自然地说话，而且稍微更差一点。”

The editor rose from the bench with his air of indulgence and inside information.
编辑站起身，带着宽容和内部信息的神态。

“Say, Westbrook,” said Dawe, pinning him by the lapel, “would you have accepted ‘The Alarum of the Soul’ if you had believed that the actions and words of the characters were true to life in the parts of the story that we discussed?”
“听着，韦斯特布鲁克，”道恩拉住他的翻领说，“如果在我们讨论的这部分故事中，你相信角色的行动和言语是符合生活实际的，你会接受《灵魂的警报》吗？”

“It is very likely that I would, if I believed that way,” said the editor. “But I have explained to you that I do not.”
“如果我确信那样的话，很有可能我会接受，”编辑说道。“但是我已经向你解释过了，我不相信。”

“If I could prove to you that I am right?”
“如果我能证明自己是对的呢？”

“I’m sorry, Shack, but I’m afraid I haven’t time to argue any further just now.”
“很抱歉，沙克，但我恐怕现在没有时间再进一步争论了。”

“I don’t want to argue,” said Dave. “I want to demonstrate to you from life itself that my view is the correct one.”
“我不想争论，”戴夫说道。“我想从生活本身向你证明我的观点是正确的。”

“How could you do that?” asked Westbrook, in a surprised tone.
“你怎么做到呢？”韦斯特布鲁克惊讶地问道。

“Listen,” said the writer, seriously. —
“听我说，”作家认真地说道。 —

“I have thought of a way. —
“我有一个办法。” —

It is important to me that my theory of true-to-life fiction be recognized as correct by the magazines. —
对于我来说，让杂志承认我关于真实生活小说的理论是正确的非常重要。 —

I’ve fought for it for three years, and I’m down to my last dollar, with two months’ rent due.”
我已经为此奋斗了三年，现在我只剩下最后一个美元，还欠两个月的房租。

“I have applied the opposite of your theory,” said the editor, “in selecting the fiction for the Minerva Magazine. —
“我在选取Minerva杂志的小说时，反其道而行之采用了你的理论，”编辑说道。 —

The circulation has gone up from ninety thousand to -”
发行量从九万人次上升到了-

“Four hundred thousand,” said Dawe. “Whereas it should have been boosted to a million.”
“四十万人次，”道维说道。“而应该提升到一百万。”

“You said something to me just now about demonstrating your pet theory.”
“你刚才跟我说了有关证明你的个人理论的事情。”

“I will. If you’ll give me about half an hour of your time I’ll prove to you that I am right. —
“我会的。如果你能给我半个小时的时间，我会用露易丝向你证明我是对的。 —

I’ll prove it by Louise.”
我会用她来证明我的观点。”

“Your wife!” exclaimed Westbrook. “How?”
“你的妻子！”韦斯特布鲁克惊讶地说道。“怎么做到？”

“Well, not exactly by her, but with her,” said Dawe. “Now, you know how devoted and loving Louse has always been. —
“嗯，不完全是和她，而是靠着她，”道维说。“你知道Louse一直都是忠诚和热爱的。 —

She thinks I’m the only genuine preparation on the market that bears the old doctor’s signature. —
她认为我是市场上唯一一个带有那位老医生签名的真正的产品。 —

She’s been fonder and more faithful than ever, since I’ve been cast for the neglected genius part.”
自从我获得那个被遗忘的天才角色后，她比以往更加喜欢我、更加忠诚。

“Indeed, she is a charming and admirable life companion,” agreed the editor. “I remember what inseparable friends she and Mrs. Westbrook once were. —
“确实，她是一个迷人而令人钦佩的生活伴侣，”编辑赞同地说。“我记得她和韦斯特布鲁克夫人曾经是形影不离的好朋友。 —

We are both lucky chaps, Shack, to have such wives. —
我们都是幸运的家伙，沙克，拥有这样的妻子。 —

You must bring Mrs. Dawe up some evening soon, and we’ll have one of those informal chafing-dish suppers that we used to enjoy so much.”
你必须带上道维夫人过来的一个晚上，我们会享受那种我们曾经如此喜欢的非正式的加热盐锅晚餐。

“Later,” said Dawe. “When I get another shirt. —
“等一下，”道维说。“等我换件衬衫再说。 —

And now I’ll tell you my scheme. —
现在，我告诉你我的计划。 —

When I was about to leave home after breakfast - if you can call tea and oatmeal breakfast - Louise told me she was going to visit her aunt in Eighty-ninth Street. —
早餐后，当我准备离家时 - 如果你能称茶和燕麦片为早餐的话 - 路易丝告诉我她要去八十九街看望她的姑姑。 —

She said she would return at three o’clock. —
她说她会在三点钟返回。 —

She is always on time to a minute. —
她总是准时不差一分钟。 —

It is now -”
现在是 - ”

Dawe glanced toward the editor’s watch pocket.
道恩瞥了瞥编辑的怀表口袋。

“Twenty-seven minutes to three,” said Westbrook, scanning his time-piece.
“离三点还有二十七分钟。” 韦斯布鲁克看了看手表，说道。

“We have just enough time,” said Dawe. “We will go to my flat at once. —
“我们有足够的时间了，” 道恩说道，”我们立刻去我的公寓吧。 —

I will write a note, address it to her and leave it on the table where she will see it as she enters the door. —
我会写一张纸条，把她的名字写在上面，然后放在她进门时能看到的桌子上。 —

You and I will be in the dining-room concealed by the portieres. —
你和我会藏在餐厅里，遮住窗帘。 —

In that note I’ll say that I have fled from her forever with an affinity who understands the need of my artistic soul as she never did. —
在那张纸条里，我会写上我已经永远地和她分了手，和一个比她更了解我艺术灵魂的亲近人一起逃离。 —

When she reads it we will observe her actions and hear her words. —
当她看到时，我们会观察她的动作和听到她的话。 —

Then we will know which theory is the correct one - yours or mine.”
然后我们就会知道哪个理论是正确的-你的还是我的。”

“Oh, never!” exclaimed the editor, shaking his head. —
“哦，绝对不行！”编辑摇头说道，” —

“That would be inexcusably cruel. —
那样太残忍了。 —

I could not consent to have Mrs. Dawe’s feelings played upon in such a manner.”
我不能同意以这样的方式玩弄道恩夫人的感情。

“Brace up,” said the writer. —
“振作起来，”作家说道，” —

“I guess I think as much of her as you do. —
我想我对她的感情跟你一样多。 —

It’s for her benefit as well as mine. —
这对她也是有益的，也对我有益。” —

I’ve got to get a market for my stories in some way. —
我必须以某种方式为我的故事找到市场。 —

It won’t hurt Louise. She’s healthy and sound. —
这不会伤害到路易丝。她健康而稳健。 —

Her heart goes as strong as a ninety-eight-cent watch. —
她的心脏像一只价值98美分的手表一样强劲。 —

It’ll last for only a minute, and then I’ll step out and explain to her. —
它只能持续一分钟，然后我会走出去向她解释。 —

You really owe it to me to give me the chance, Westbrook.”
你真的欠我一个机会，韦斯特布鲁克。

Editor Westbrook at length yielded, though but half willingly. —
编辑韦斯特布鲁克最终勉强同意了。而且在他同意的那一部分中隐藏着我们所有人都具备的解剖者的特质。 —

And in the half of him that consented lurked the vivisectionist that is in all of us. —
—

Let him who has not used the scalpel rise and stand in his place. —
谁从未使用过解剖刀的，请站起来并站在自己的位置上。 —

Pity ‘tis that there are not enough rabbits and guinea-pigs to go around.
可惜的是，兔子和豚鼠的数量不足。

The two experimenters in Art left the Square and hurried eastward and then to that south until they arrived in the Gramercy neighborhood. —
这两位艺术实验者离开了广场，匆匆向东，然后向南，直到他们到达克拉默西区。 —

Within its high iron railings the little park had put on its smart coat of vernal green, and was admiring itself in its fountain mirror. —
在高高的铁栅栏内，这个小公园穿上了春天的炫目绿装，并在它的喷泉镜子里自我欣赏。 —

Outside the railings the hollow square of crumbling houses, shells of a bygone gentry, leaned as if in ghostly gossip over the forgotten doings of the vanished quality. —
铁栏杆之外，是一排摇摇欲坠的房屋，曾经是过去的贵族住宅，在那里沉思的幽灵一样，交谈着已经被遗忘的贵族的事迹。 —

Sic transit gloria urbis.
这就是城市的荣耀逝去了。

A block or two north of the Park, Dawe steered the editor again eastward, then, after covering a short distance, into a lofty but narrow flathouse burdened with a floridly over-decorated fa,cade. —
在公园的北面走了一两个街区后，道尔再次将编辑带向东边，然后，行驶了一小段距离，进入了一栋外观过于华丽装饰，却十分狭窄的公寓楼。 —

To the fifth story they toiled, and Dawe, panting, pushed his latch-key into the door of one of the front flats.
他们艰难地爬上了五层楼，道尔气喘吁吁地将钥匙插进了前面某个公寓的门锁中。

When the door opened Editor Westbrook saw, with feelings of pity, how meanly and meagerly the rooms were furnished.
当门打开时，西布鲁克编辑心生怜悯，看到屋子里的陈设是如此简陋和贫乏。

“Get a chair, if you can find one,” said Dawe, “while I hunt up pen and ink. —
“如果你能找到椅子的话，拿一个来，”道尔说道，” 与此同时我去找一下钢笔和墨水。 —

Hello, what’s this? —
嗨，这是什么？ —

Here’s a note from Louise. —
他拿起桌子上的一个信封撕开了它， —

She must have left it there when she went out this morning.”
他开始阅读从里面拿出来的信;

He picked up an envelope that lay on the centre-table and tore it open. —
他拿起桌子上的一个信封撕开了它， —

He began to read the letter that he drew out of it; —
他开始阅读从里面拿出来的信。 —

and once having begun it aloud he so read it through to the end. —
一开始念出来的时候，他就一直读到了最后。 —

These are the words that Editor Westbrook heard:
这就是编辑威斯布鲁克听到的话：

“Dear Shackleford:
“亲爱的沙克尔福德：

“By the time you get this I will be about a hundred miles away and still a-going. —
“等你收到这封信的时候，我已经前进了大约一百英里，而且还在继续前行。 —

I’ve got a place in the chorus of the Occidental Opera Co., and we start on the road to-day at twelve o’clock. —
我在西方歌剧公司合唱队找到了一份工作，我们今天中午十二点开始上路。 —

I didn’t want to starve to death, and so I decided to make my own living. —
我不想饿死，所以我决定自食其力。我不会回来的。 —

I’m not coming back. Mrs. Westbrook is going with me. —
威斯布鲁克夫人也跟我一起走。 —

She said she was tired of living with a combination phonograph, iceberg and dictionary, and she’s not coming back, either. —
她说她受够了和一个组合音响、冰山和字典生活在一起，她也不会回来的。 —

We’ve been practising the songs and dances for two months on the quiet. —
我们在暗地里练习歌曲和舞蹈已经两个月了。 —

I hope you will be successful, and get along all right! Good-bye.
我希望你能成功并能过得好！再见。

“Louise.”
“路易丝。”

Dawe dropped the letter, covered his face with his trembling hands, and cried out in a deep, vibrating voice:
道恩把信放下，用颤抖的手掩住脸，深沉而震 Vibrating 的声音大声呼喊出来：

“My God, why hast thou given me this cup to drink? —
“我的上帝啊，你为什么让我喝这杯苦酒？ —

Since she is false, then let Thy Heaven’s fairest gifts, faith and love, become the jesting by-words of traitors and fiends!”
既然她是虚伪的，那愿你天堂最美好的礼物，信仰和爱情，成为叛徒和恶魔们调侃的笑柄！”

Editor Westbrook’s glasses fell to the floor. —
编辑威斯特布鲁克的眼镜落在地上。 —

The fingers of one hand fumbled with a button on his coat as he blurted between his pale lips:
他一手摸索着大衣上的一个纽扣，同时在苍白的嘴唇间嘟囔道：

“Say, Shack, ain’t that a hell of a note? —
“说啊，沙克，这不是个该死的消息吗？ —

Wouldn’t that knock you off your perch, Shack? —
这不会让你从你的高位上掉下来吗，沙克？ —

Ain’t it hell, now, Shack - ain’t it?”
这是个地狱，现在吧，沙克，是吗？”