Half a dozen people supping at a table in one of the upper-Broadway all-night restaurants were making too much noise. —
在上百老汇的一家通宵餐厅的一张桌子上，有半打人在吃饭，他们发出太大的噪音。 —

Three times the manager walked past them with a politely warning glance; —
这些人争论的声音越来越激烈，经理三次走过他们身旁， —

but their argument had waxed too warm to be quelled by a manager’s gaze. —
带着礼貌的警告目光，但无法平息他们。 —

It was midnight, and the restaurant was filled with patrons from the theatres of that district. —
现在是午夜时分，餐厅里挤满了来自该地区的剧院的顾客。 —

Some among the dispersed audiences must have recognized among the quarrelsome sextet the faces of the players belonging to the Carroll Comedy Company.
在散场观众中，一些人一定认出了争吵的六个人中的几个，他们是卡罗尔喜剧公司的演员。

Four of the six made up the company. —
六个人中有四个是该公司的成员， —

Another was the author of the comedietta, “A Gay Coquette,” which the quartette of layers had been presenting with fair success at several vaudeville houses in the city. —
另一个是喜剧小品《快乐娇娃》的作者，这个四重奏在城市的几个杂剧院演出得相当成功。 —

The sixth at the table was a person inconsequent in the realm of art, but one at whose bidding many lobsters had perished.
在桌子上的第六个人在艺术王国中不重要，但是他的一声令下，很多龙虾命丧黄泉。

Loudly the six maintained their clamorous debate. —
六个人大声辩论着， —

No one of the Party was silent except when answers were stormed from him by the excited ones. —
只有在被激动的人们逼问时才没有说话。 —

That was the comedian of “A Gay Coquette.” He was a young man with a face even too melancholy for his profession.
那个喜剧演员是《一位快活的同性恋的》的表演者。他是一个年轻人，面容忧郁得连他自己的职业都不太合适。

The oral warfare of four immoderate tongues was directed at Miss Clarice Carroll, the twinkling star of the small aggregation. —
口若悬河的四个人把口头战争的矛头指向了光芒四射的小团队明星克拉丽丝·卡罗尔小姐。 —

Excepting the downcast comedian, all members of the party united in casting upon her with vehemence the blame of some momentous misfortune. —
除了那个沮丧的喜剧演员，小组中的其他成员都强烈地将某个重大不幸的过错归咎于她。 —

Fifty times they told her: “It is your fault, Clarice- it is you alone who spoilt the scene. —
他们告诉她五十次：“克拉丽丝，这是你的错，只有你一个人毁了这个场景。 —

It is only of late that you have acted this way. —
最近你才开始这样做的。按这样的进展， —

At this rate the sketch will have to be taken off.”
这个小品将要下架了。”

Miss Carroll was a match for any four. —
卡罗尔小姐能与任何四个人相抗衡。 —

Gallic ancestry gave her a vivacity that could easily mount to fury. —
法国血统使她的活力能轻而易举地升至狂怒。 —

Her large eyes flashed a scorching denial at her accusers. —
她那双大眼睛发出灼热的否认。 —

Her slender, eloquent arms constantly menaced the tableware. —
她修长而富有表情的双臂一直威胁着餐具。 —

Her high, clear soprano voice rose to what would have been a scream had it not possessed so pure a musical quality. —
她高亢而清澈的女高音声音升至接近尖叫的程度，如果不是因为它的音质如此纯净的话。 —

She hurled back at the attacking four their denunciations in tones sweet, but of too great carrying power for a Broadway restaurant.
她对那四个攻击者的谴责以甜美而带有过大的传播力量的语气进行了反击，这种语气对于百老汇餐厅来说非常适合。

Finally they exhausted her patience both as a woman and an artist. —
最后，她无论是作为一个女性还是一个艺术家，都忍无可忍了。 —

She sprang up like a panther, managed to smash half a dozen plates and glasses with one royal sweep of her arm, and defied her critics. —
她像一只猎豹一样跳了起来，一下子摔碎了一打盘子和玻璃杯，对她的批评者表示不屑一顾。 —

They rose and wrangled more loudly. —
他们站起身开始争吵得更大声了。 —

The comedian sighed and looked a trifle sadder and disinterested. —
喜剧演员叹了口气，看上去有点悲伤和不感兴趣。 —

The manager came tripping and suggested peace. —
经理走过来劝和。 —

He was told to go to the popular synonym for war so promptly that the affair might have happened at The Hague.
他被告知去参加和战争相关的流行同义词，以至于这场事务可能发生在海牙。

Thus was the manager angered. —
这样经理就生气了。 —

He made a sign with his hand and a waiter slipped out of the door. —
他用手示意，一个服务员从门外悄悄溜走。 —

In twenty minutes the party of six was in a police station facing a grizzled and philosophical desk sergeant.
二十分钟后，这六个人被带到了一个面对一位老练而有见地的服务台警官的警察局。

“Disorderly conduct in a restaurant,” said the police- man who had brought the party in.
“在一家餐厅里制造混乱行为，”带进来这群人的警察说道。

The author of “A Gay Coquette” stepped to the front. —
《一个同性恋风流女郎》的作者站到了前面。 —

He wore nose-glasses and evening clothes, even if his shoes had been tans before they met the patent-leather-polish bottle.
他戴着鼻眼镜和晚礼服，即使他的鞋子早在遇见亮光剂之前已经是棕褐色的。

“Mr. Sergeant,” said he, out of his throat, like Actor Irving, “I would like to protest against this arrest. —
“Sergeant先生，”他像Irving演员一样从喉咙里说道，“我要对这次逮捕进行抗议。” —

The company of actors who are performing in a little play that I have written, in company with a friend and myself were having a little supper. —
我和一个朋友以及一群正在演一出由我写的小剧的演员公司正在聚餐。 —

We became deeply interested in the discussion as to which one of the cast is responsible for a scene in the sketch that lately has fallen so flat that the piece is about to become a failure. —
我们对于这个讨论非常感兴趣，讨论的内容是谁在这个小品中负责的一幕最近表现得如此糟糕，以至于整个剧作差点要失败了。 —

We may have been rather noisy and intolerant of interruption by the restaurant people; —
我们可能有点吵闹，对餐厅人员的打断也不太容忍， —

but the matter was of considerable importance to all of us. —
但这对我们所有人来说是相当重要的事情。 —

You see that we are sober and are not the kind of people who desire to raise disturbances. —
你看，我们都冷静并且不是那种希望制造骚乱的人。 —

I hope that the case will not be pressed and that we may be allowed to go.”
我希望这个案子不会被坚持下去，我们可以被允许离开。

“Who makes the charge?” asked the sergeant.
“是谁提出了指控？”警官问道。

“Me,” said a white-aproned voice in the rear. —
“我，”一个白围裙的声音在后面说道。 —

“De restaurant sent me to. —
“是餐厅派我来的。 —

De gang was raisin’ a rough- house and breakin’ dishes.”
那伙人在闹得很凶，弄碎了碟子。”

“The dishes were paid for,” said the playwright. —
“那些碟子是付了钱的，”剧作家说。 —

“They were not broken purposely. —
“不是故意弄碎的。” —

In her anger, because we remonstrated with her for spoiling the scene, Miss – “
在愤怒中，因为我们责备她破坏了场景，卡瑞斯小姐——”

“It’s not true, sergeant,” cried the clear voice of Miss. Clarice Carroll. —
“警官，这不是真的，”克拉里斯·卡罗尔小姐清脆的声音喊道。 —

In a long coat of tan silk and a red- plumed hat, she bounded before the desk.
她穿着一件棕色丝绸外套，头戴一顶红羽毛帽，蹦蹦跳跳地站在柜台前。

“It’s not my fault,” she cried indignantly. —
“这不是我的错，”她愤然喊道。“他们怎敢这么说！自从它上演以来， —

“How- dare they say such a thing! —
我就一直演这个主角，如果你想知道谁使它成功了， —

I’ve played the title r? —
就问问观众吧，就这样。” —

le ever since it was staged, and if you want to know who made it a success, ask the public – that’s all.”
“卡罗尔小姐所说的在某种程度上是真的，”作者说。“五个月来，这个小喜剧在最好的剧院一直很受欢迎。

“What Miss Carroll says is true in part,” said the author. —
“但在过去两个星期里，它失去了支持。 —

“For five months the comedietta was a drawing- card in the best houses. —
其中一个场景中，卡罗尔小姐大获成功。 —

But during the last two weeks it has lost favour. —
但是在最后两个星期里，它已经失去了支持。 —

There is one scene in it in which Miss Carroll made a big hit. —
其中有一个场景，卡罗尔小姐大获成功。” —

Now she hardly gets a hand out of it. —
现在她几乎不再靠它了。 —

She spoils it by acting it entirely different from her old way.”
她通过完全改变自己的方式来糟蹋它。

“It is not my fault,” reiterated the actress.
“这不是我的错,“演员重申道。

“There are only two of you on in the scene,” argued the playwright hotly, “you and Delmars, here – “
“场景里只有你们两个,” 剧作家激动地辩驳道，”你和Delmars，就是这里的——”

“Then it’s his fault,” declared Miss Carroll, with a lightning glance of scorn from her dark eyes. —
“那就是他的错,” 卡罗尔小姐用她深邃的眼神傲然宣称道。 —

The comedian caught it, and gazed with increased melancholy at the panels of the sergeant’s desk.
喜剧演员明白了这一点，愈发忧郁地盯着警长办公桌上的面板看。

The night was a dull one in that particular police station.
那个特定警察局的夜晚是沉闷的。

The sergeant’s long-blunted curiosity awoke a little.
长时间麻木的警长好奇心稍微觉醒了一点。

“I’ve heard you,” he said to the author. —
“我听到你了,“他对作者说。 —

And then he addressed the thin-faced and ascetic-looking lady of the company who played “Aunt Turnip-top” in the little comedy.
然后他转向公司里扮演”萝卜顶姨妈”的那位面容苍白、苦行的女士。

“Who do you think spoils the scene you are fussing about?” he asked.
“你认为谁糟蹋了你在纠结的那个场景?“他问道。

“I’m no knocker,” said that lady, “and everybody knows it. —
“我不是一个唠叨者,“那位女士说，”每个人都知道。所以， —

So, when I say that Clarice falls down every time in that scene I’m judging her art and not herself. —
当我说克拉丽丝每次都在那个场景里失败时，我是在评判她的艺术而不是她自己。” —

She was great in it once. —
她曾经在其中表现得非常出色。 —

She does it something fierce now. —
现在她做得更加出色， —

It’ll dope the show if she keeps it up.”
如果她能继续保持这种状态，那就太棒了。

The sergeant looked at the comedian.
中士看着那位喜剧演员。

“You and the lady have this scene together, I under- stand. —
“我明白你和那位女士有个场景要一起演出。 —

I suppose there’s no use asking you which one of you queers it?”
我猜也没必要问你们俩谁让这场戏变得不尽人意吧？”

The comedian avoided the direct rays from the two fixed stars of Miss Carroll’s eyes.
喜剧演员避开了卡洛尔女士那两颗炽热的目光。

“I don’t know,” he said, looking down at his patent- leather toes.
“我不知道，”他低头看着他那锃亮的漆皮鞋尖。

“Are you one of the actors?” asked the sergeant of a dwarfish youth with a middle-aged face.
中士问着一位脸庞看起来中年的矮个子年轻人，“你是其中一位演员吗？”

“Why, say!” replied the last Thespian witness, “you don’t notice any tin spear in my hands, do you? You haven’t heard me shout: —
最后一位受审的剧院演员回答道，“哎呀，你是不是没注意到我手里没有一支锡制的长矛？你有没有听到我在这儿大喊：‘瞧，皇帝来了！’自从进来后我就没有这样做过。” —

‘See, the Emperor comes!’ since I’ve been in here, have you? —
“看，皇帝来了！” 自从我进来，你在这里吗？ —

I guess I’m on the stage long enough for ‘em not to start a panic by mistaking me for a thin curl of smoke rising above the footlights.”
中士问道，“你是这些演员中的一员吗？”

“In your opinion, if you’ve got one,” said the sergeant, “is the frost that gathers on the scene in question the work of the lady or the gentleman who takes part in it?”
“在你的意见中，如果你有的话，“警长说，“站在画面前结冰是女士还是先生的作品？”

The middle-aged youth looked pained.
中年青年显得痛苦不堪。

“I regret to say,” he answered, “that Miss Carroll seems to have lost her grip on that scene. —
“很遗憾，”他回答道，“卡罗尔小姐似乎对那个场景失去了掌控力。 —

She’s all right in the rest of the play, but – but I tell you, sergeant, she can do it – she has done it equal to any of ‘em – and she can do it again.”
她在剩下的剧中都很好，但是–但是我告诉你，警长，她可以做到–她曾经和其他人一样做到过–她可以再做到。”

Miss Carroll ran forward, glowing and palpitating.
卡罗尔小姐激动地跑了过去。

“Thank you, Jimmy, for the first good word I’ve had in many a day,” she cried. And then she turned her eager face toward the desk.
“谢谢你，吉米，这是我很多天以来第一次听到的好话，”她喊道。然后她把充满期待的脸转向办公桌。

“I’ll show you, sergeant, whether I am to blame. —
“我会向你们展示，警长，我是否有错。 —

I’ll show them whether I can do that same. —
我会向他们展示我是否能做到同样的事。 —

Come, Mr. Delmars; let us begin. —
来吧，德尔马斯先生；我们开始吧。 —

You will let us, won’t you, sergeant?”
你会让我们开始吗，警长？”

“How long will it take?” asked the sergeant, dubiously.
警长犹豫地问：“需要多长时间？”

“Eight minutes,” said the playwright. —
剧作家说：“8分钟。 —

“The entire play consumes but thirty.”
整个剧只需30分钟。”

“You may go ahead,” said the sergeant. —
“你可以继续，”警长说。 —

“Most of you seem to side against the little lady. —
“你们大多数似乎都站在那个小女人一边。” —

Maybe she had a right to crack up a saucer or two in that restaurant. —
也许她有权利在那家餐厅砸碎一两个茶碟。 —

We’ll see how she does the turn before we take that up.”
在我们讨论这个问题之前，我们先看看她的表演怎么样。”

The matron of the police station had been standing near, listening to the singular argument. —
警察局长一直站在附近，听着这场奇怪的争论。 —

She came nigher and stood near the sergeant’s chair. —
她走近一点，站在警长的椅子旁边。 —

Two or three of the reserves strolled in, big and yawning.
两三个后备队员进来，又大又打哈欠。

“Before beginning the scene,” said the playwright, “and assuming that you have not seen a production of ‘A Gay Coquette,’ I will make a brief but necessary explanation. —
“在开始这场戏之前，”剧作家说，“假设你们没有见过《风流游女》的演出，我会做一次简短但必要的解释。 —

It is a musical-farce-comedy – burlesque-comedietta. —
这是一部音乐-闹剧-喜剧-滑稽喜剧片。正如标题所示， —

As the title implies, Miss Carroll’s r? —
卡罗尔小姐的角色是一个风流快活、顽皮无情的风骚女子。 —

le is that of a gay, rollicking, mischievous, heartless coquette. —
她在整个喜剧部分中都保持这个角色。 —

She sustains that character throughout the entire comedy part of the production. —
她将在特技场景中保持并展现同样的风骚思想。 —

And I have designed the extravaganza features so that she may preserve and present the same coquettish idea.
我设计的大型表演特色是为了她能保持和展现同样的风骚意念。

“Now, the scene in which we take exception to Miss Carroll’s acting is called the ‘gorilla dance.’ She is costumed to represent a wood nymph, and there is a great song-and-dance scene with a gorilla – played by Mr. Delmars, the comedian. —
“现在，我们对Carroll小姐的表演有异议的场景被称为’大猩猩之舞’。” “她扮演一个木灵的角色，与喜剧演员Delmars扮演的一只大猩猩一起有一场很棒的歌舞场景。” —

A tropical-forest stage is set.
“一个热带雨林的舞台被布置好了。”

“That used to get four and five recalls. —
“那个场景曾经引起四五次回忆。 —

The main thing was the acting and the dance – it was the funniest thing in New York for five months. —
主要是因为演技和舞蹈——在纽约持续了五个月，是最搞笑的事情。” —

Delmars’s song, ‘I’ll Woo Thee to My Sylvan Home,’ while he and Miss Carroll were cutting hide-and-seek capers among the tropical plants, was a winner.”
“Delmars唱着’我将你吸引到我的森林之家’的歌，当他和Carroll小姐在热带植物中玩捉迷藏时，具备了很大的吸引力。”

“What’s the trouble with the scene now?” asked the sergeant.
“现在场景有什么问题吗？” 警长问道。

“Miss Carroll spoils it right in the middle of it,” said the playwright wrathfully.
“Carroll小姐在其中间毁了它，” 剧作家愤怒地说道。

With a wide gesture of her ever-moving arms the actress waved back the little group of spectators, leaving a space in front of the desk for the scene of her vindication or fall. —
演员用她不断摆动的手臂做了一个宽大的手势，将一群小观众挥散开来，在台前留出一个位置，为她的辩解或失败做准备。 —

Then she whipped off her long tan cloak and tossed it across the arm of the policeman who still stood officially among them.
她脱掉了她的长长的棕色斗篷，随意地抛在还站在他们中间的警察的手臂上。

Miss Carroll had gone to supper well cloaked, but in the costume of the tropic wood nymph. —
卡洛尔小姐穿着热带木灵的服装去吃晚餐。 —

A skirt of fern leaves touched her knee; —
一条蕨叶裙触及她的膝盖； —

she was like a humming- bird – green and golden and purple.
她就像一只蜂鸟- 绿色的，金色的和紫色的。

And then she danced a fluttering, fantastic dance, so agile and light and mazy in her steps that the other three members of the Carroll Comedy Company broke into applause at the art of it.
然后她跳起了扑朔迷离的舞蹈，舞步灵活轻盈，并且巧妙之处让卡洛尔喜剧团的其他三个成员都为之鼓掌。

And at the proper time Delmars leaped out at her side, mimicking the uncouth, hideous bounds of the gorilla so funnily that the grizzled sergeant himself gave a short laugh like the closing of a padlock. —
然后德尔马斯在她身边跳了出来，模仿着大猩猩粗俗丑陋的跳跃方式，搞笑地让头发花白的警长发出了像闭锁的插销一样的笑声。 —

They danced together the gorilla dance, and won a hand from all.
他们一起跳起了大猩猩舞蹈，并赢得了大家的掌声。

Then began the most fantastic part of the scene – the wooing of the nymph by the gorilla. —
然后开始了场景中最奇幻的部分- 大猩猩对木灵的求爱。 —

It was a kind of dance itself – eccentric and prankish, with the nymph coquettish and seductive retreat, followed by the gorilla as he sang “I’ll Woo Thee to My Sylvan Home.”
那是一种特殊的舞蹈本身-古怪而恶作剧，小仙女媚眼而妩媚地后退，紧随其后的猩猩唱着“我要把你带到我的森林之家”。

The song was a lyric of merit. The words were non- sense, as befitted the play, but the music was worthy of something better. —
这首歌词真有价值。虽然歌词无意义，符合剧情要求，但音乐却值得更加优秀。 —

Delmars struck into it in a rich tenor that owned a quality that shamed the flippant words.
Delmars用富有气质的男高音演唱着，这种质感让轻率的词汇黯然失色。

During one verse of the song the wood nymph per- formed the grotesque evolutions designed for the scene. —
在歌曲的其中一个段落，木精灵展示出了设计为这一场景的怪诞动作。 —

At the middle of the second verse she stood still, with a strange look on her face, seeming to gaze dreamily into the depths of the scenic forest. —
在第二段落的中间，她站在那里，脸上带着奇怪的表情，似乎在梦幻般地凝视着景色中的深处。 —

The gorilla’s last leap had brought him to her feet, and there he knelt, holding her hand, until he had finished the haunting-lyric that was set in the absurd comedy like a diamond in a piece of putty.
猩猩最后一次跳跃使他跪在她的脚边，握着她的手，直到他完成了这首在荒谬喜剧中如同钻石般耀眼的歌词。

When Delmars ceased Miss Carroll started, and covered a sudden flow of tears with both hands.
当Delmars停止唱歌时，Carroll小姐惊起，双手捂住突然涌来的眼泪。

“There!” cried the playwright, gesticulating with violence; —
“看！”剧作家大声叫道，用激烈的手势示意。“看， —

“there you have it, sergeant. —
中士，你明白了吧。” —

For two weeks she has spoiled that scene in just that manner at every performance. —
两个星期以来，她每次演出都以同样的方式毁掉那个场景。 —

I have begged her to consider that it is not Ophelia or Juliet that she is playing. —
我已经请求她考虑一下，她演的不是奥菲利娅或朱丽叶。 —

Do you wonder now at our impatience? —
你现在是否对我们的无耐感到奇怪？ —

Tears for the gorilla song! —
还为猩猩的歌而流泪！ —

The play is lost!”
剧已经完蛋了！”

Out of her bewitchment, whatever it was, the wood nymph flared suddenly, and pointed a desperate finger at Delmars.
从她的迷魂状态中恢复过来，不管是怎么回事，木精灵突然爆发出来，绝望地指着德尔马斯。

“It is you – you who have done this,” she cried wildly. —
“是你——是你做的这一切，”她疯狂地喊道。 —

“You never sang that song that way until lately. —
“直到最近你从来没有那样唱过那首歌。 —

It is your doing.”
这都是你的功劳。”

“I give it up,” said the sergeant.
“我放弃了，”中士说道。

And then the gray-haired matron of the police station came forward from behind the sergeant’s chair.
然后警察局里的一位头发花白的妇人从中士的椅子后面走了出来。

“Must an old woman teach you all?” she said. —
“难道要一个老妇人来教你们吗？”她说。 —

She went up to Miss Carroll and took her hand.
她走到卡罗尔小姐身边，握住了她的手。

“The man’s wearing his heart out for you, my dear. —
“这个男人为你而痛苦不堪，亲爱的。 —

Couldn’t you tell it the first note you heard him sing? —
难道你在第一个音符听到他唱的时候就没有感觉到吗？” —

All of his monkey flip-flops wouldn’t have kept it from me. —
他那些花哨的翻跟头对我来说毫无用处。难道你不仅是个瞎子， —

Must you be deaf as well as blind? —
还是个聋子吗？ —

That’s why you couldn’t act your part, child. —
这就是为什么你无法演好角色，孩子。 —

Do you love him or must he be a gorilla for the rest of his days?”
你爱他吗，还是他必须一辈子成为一只大猩猩？

Miss Carroll whirled around and caught Delmars with a lightning glance of her eye. —
卡罗尔小姐转身，用炯炯有神的眼神盯着德尔马斯。 —

He came toward her, melancholy.
他朝她走来，愁容满面。

“Did you hear, Mr. Delmars?” she asked, with a catching breath.
“你听说了吗，德尔马斯先生？” 她问道，声音带着憋闷。

“I did,” said the comedian. “It is true. —
“我听说了，”喜剧演员说道。” —

I didn’t think there was any use. —
这是真的。我觉得没用。 —

I tried to let you know with the song.”
我试着用歌曲告诉你。”

“Silly!” said the matron; “why didn’t you speak?”
“傻瓜！”主妇说道，”你为什么不说话？”

“No, no,” cried the wood nymph, “his way was the best. —
“不，不，”木精灵喊道，”他这样做是最好的。 —

I didn’t know, but – it was just what I wanted, Bobby.”
我不知道，但是——这正是我想要的，鲍比。”

She sprang like a green grasshopper; —
她像一只绿色的蚱蜢一样跳了起来； —

and the comedian opened his arms, and – smiled.
喜剧演员张开双臂，微笑着。

“Get out of this,” roared the desk sergeant to the waiting waiter from the restaurant. —
“滚出去，”值班警察对着餐厅的候餐员怒吼道。” —

“There’s nothing doing here for you.”
对你来说这里没事可做。”