AT TEN o’clock P. M. Felicia, the maid, left by the basement door with the policeman to get a raspberry phosphate around the corner. —
晚上十点，女仆费利西娅和警察从地下室门出发，去拐角处买了一杯覆盆子磷酸饮料。 —

She detested the police- man and objected earnestly to the arrangement. —
她厌恶警察，并坚决反对这个安排。 —

She pointed out, not unreasonably, that she might have been allowed to fall asleep over one of St. George Rathbone’s novels on the third floor, but she was overruled. —
她不无道理地指出，她本可以在三楼上的圣乔治·拉思本的小说上睡着，但她的意见被驳回。 —

Rasp- berries and cops were not created for nothing.
覆盆子和警察不是无缘无故地存在的。

The burglar got into the house without much difficulty; —
盗贼轻松地进入了房子。 —

because we must have action and not too much descrip- tion in a 2,000-word story.
因为我们需要行动，而不是太多的描述，这是一篇2000字的故事。

In the dining room he opened the slide of his dark lantern. —
他在餐厅里打开了黑暗灯笼的滑板。 —

With a brace and centrebit he began to bore into the lock of the silver-closet.
他用电钻开始钻银碗橱的锁。

Suddenly a click was heard. The room was flooded with electric light. —
突然听到一声咔哒声。房间里亮起了电灯。 —

The dark velvet portières parted to admit a fair-haired boy of eight in pink pajamas, bearing a bottle of olive oil in his hand.
深色天鹅绒窗帘分开，一个戴着粉色睡衣的八岁金发男孩手里拿着一瓶橄榄油走了进来。

“Are you a burglar?” he asked, in a sweet, childish voice.
“你是个窃贼吗？”他用甜美的童声问道。

“Listen to that,” exclaimed the man, in a hoarse voice. “Am I a burglar? —
“听听那个,“男人用沙哑的声音喊道，”难道我是个窃贼吗？” —

Wot do you suppose I have a three- days’ growth of bristly bread on my face for, and a cap with flaps? —
“你认为我为什么脸上有三天的刺痛胡须，还戴着一顶有耳瓣的帽子？” —

Give me the oil, quick, and let me grease the bit, so I won’t wake up your mamma, who is lying down with a headache, and left you in charge of Felicia. —
“快给我油，让我润滑一下嘴铁，这样就不会把你妈妈吵醒了，她头疼躺下休息，留你照看菲利希亚了。” —

who has been faithless to her trust.”
“她对她的职责不忠诚。”

“Oh, dear,” said Tommy, with a sigh. “I thought you would be more up-to-date. —
“哦，亲爱的,“汤米叹了口气说道，”我以为你会更时尚些。” —

This oil is for the salad when I bring lunch from the pantry for you. —
“这油是用来拌沙拉的，等我从食品储藏室给你带午饭的时候。” —

And mamma and papa have gone to the Metropolitan to hear De Reszke. But that isn’t my fault. —
“妈妈和爸爸去大都会听德雷斯克演唱会了。但那不是我的错。” —

It only shows how long the story has been knocking around among the editors. —
“这只是显示这个故事在编辑们之间流传了多久。” —

If the author had been wise he’d have changed it to Caruso in the proofs.”
“如果作者聪明的话，他在校样上会把它改成卡鲁索。”

“Be quiet,” hissed the burglar, under his breath. —
“安静点,“窃贼压低声音嘶声说道。 —

“If you raise an alarm I’ll wring your neck like a rabbit’s.”
“如果你发出警报，我会像扭断兔子脖子一样扭断你的脖子。”

“Like a chicken’s,” corrected Tommy. “You had that wrong. You don’t wring rabbits’ necks.”
“像扭断鸡脖子一样,“汤米纠正道，”你记错了。你不能扭断兔子的脖子。”

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” asked the burglar.
“你不怕我吗？”盗贼问道。

“You know I’m not,” answered Tommy. “Don’t you suppose I know fact from fiction. —
“你知道我不怕。”汤米回答道。“难道你不知道我能分辨事实和虚构吗？” —

If this wasn’t a story I’d yell like an Indian when I saw you; —
“如果这不是故事的话，我见到你时会像印第安人一样大喊一声； —

and you’d probably tumble downstairs and get pinched on the sidewalk.”
然后你可能会跌下楼梯，在人行道上被抓住。”

“I see,” said the burglar, “that you’re on to your job. Go on with the performance.”
“我明白了，”盗贼说道，“你知道你的工作。继续表演吧。”

Tommy seated himself in an armchair and drew his toes up under him.
汤米坐在一把扶手椅上，双脚蜷缩在身下。

“Why do you go around robbing strangers, Mr. Burg- lar? Have you no friends?”
“Mr. Burglar，为什么你会到处抢劫陌生人呢？你没有朋友吗？”

“I see what you’re driving at,” said the burglar, with a dark frown. “It’s the same old story. —
“我知道你的用意，”盗贼生气地说道。“这是老一套了。 —

Your innocence and childish insouciance is going to lead me back into an honest life. —
你的天真和孩子般的漫不经心将把我带回到正直的生活中。 —

Every time I crack a crib where there’s a kid around, it happens.”
每次我闯入一个有孩子的小屋时，就会发生这种事。”

“Would you mind gazing with wolfish eyes at the plate of cold beef that the butler has left on the dining table?” said Tommy. “I’m afraid it’s growing late.”
“你介意用狼一样的眼神看着管家放在餐桌上的冷牛肉吗？” 汤米说道。“我怕已经很晚了。”

The burglar accommodated.
盗贼照办了。

“Poor man,” said Tommy. “You must be hungry. —
“可怜人，”汤米说道。“你一定很饿。” —

If you will please stand in a listless attitude I will get you something to eat.”
如果你能保持一副无精打采的姿态，我会给你拿些吃的来。

The boy brought a roast chicken, a jar of marmalade and a bottle of wine from the pantry. —
男孩从食品储藏室拿来了一只烤鸡，一罐果酱和一瓶葡萄酒。 —

The burglar seized a knife and fork sullenly.
窃贼阴沉地拿起了一把刀子和一双叉子。

“It’s only been an hour,” he grumbled, “since I had a lobster and a pint of musty ale up on Broadway. I wish these story writers would let a fellow have a pepsin tablet, anyhow, between feeds.”
“距离我在百老汇上吃龙虾和一品脱酒才过去一个小时，”他抱怨道，“这些作家们就不能让人在两餐之间吃个消化片吗? ”

“My papa writes books,” remarked Tommy.
“我爸爸写书，”汤米说道。

The burglar jumped to his feet quickly.
窃贼迅速跳了起来。

“You said he had gone to the opera,” he hissed, hoarsely and with immediate suspicion.
“你说他去听歌剧了，”他嘶声力竭地说道，立即产生怀疑。

“I ought to have explained,” said Tommy. “He didn’t buy the tickets.” The burglar sat again and toyed with the wishbone.
“我应该解释一下，”汤米说道，“他没买票。”窃贼再次坐下，玩弄着鸡胸骨。

“Why do you burgle houses?” asked the boy, wonderingly.
“你为什么去入室行窃呢?”男孩惊奇地问道。

“Because,” replied the burglar, with a sudden flow of tears. —
“因为，”窃贼含泪回答道。 —

“God bless my little brown-baired boy Bessie at home.”
“上帝保佑我在家的那个小棕发男孩贝西。”

“Ah,” said Tommy, wrinkling his nose, “you got that answer in the wrong place. —
“啊，”汤米皱着鼻子说道，“你把回答放错位置了。” —

You want to tell your hard- luck story before you pull out the child stop.”
“你想在你拉出这个孩子之前，先把你的苦命故事讲一讲。”

“Oh, yes,” said the burglar, “I forgot. Well, once I lived in Milwaukee, and – “
“哦，是的，”盗贼说道，“我忘了。嗯，我曾经住在密尔沃基，然后……”

“Take the silver,” said Tommy, rising from his chair.
“拿走银器吧，”汤米站起来说。

“Hold on,” said the burglar. “But I moved away.” I could find no other employment. —
“等等，”盗贼说，“但是我搬走了，找不到其他工作。” —

For a while I man- aged to support my wife and child by passing confederate money; but, alas! —
“一段时间里，我靠假冒的联邦货币养活我妻子和孩子；但是，唉！” —

I was forced to give that up because it did not belong to the union. —
“我不得不放弃那个，因为它不属于联邦政府。” —

I became desperate and a burglar.”
“我绝望了，成了一个盗贼。”

“Have you ever fallen into the hands of the police?” asked Tommy.
“你曾经被警察抓过吗？”汤米问道。

“I said ‘burglar,’ not ‘beggar,’” answered the cracksman.
“我说的是’盗贼’，不是’乞丐’，”窃贼回答道。

“After you finish your lunch,” said Tommy, “and experience the usual change Of heart, how shall we wind up the story?”
“在你吃完午餐之后，”汤米说道，“并且经历了通常的心情转变后，我们该如何结束这个故事？”

“Suppose,” said the burglar, thoughtfully, “that Tony Pastor turns out earlier than usual to-night, and your father gets in from ‘Parsifal’ at 10.30. I am thoroughly repentant because you have made me think of my own little boy Bessie, and – “
“假设，”盗贼考虑着说道，“今晚托尼·帕斯托比平常早走，你父亲在晚上10点30分看完’帕尔西法尔’。因为你让我想起了我的小男孩贝西，我非常懊悔，那样…”

“Say,” said Tommy, “haven’t you got that wrong?”
“你说得错了吧？”汤米说道。

“Not on your coloured crayon drawings by B. Cory Kilvert,” said the burglar. —
“不，我确定没错，这是B·科里·基尔弗特的彩色蜡笔画作品。”贼回答道。 —

“It’s always a Bessie that I have at home, artlessly prattling to the pale-checked burglar’s bride. —
“我家总是有一个名叫贝西的女孩，毫不掩饰地与贼新娘嘻嘻哈哈地聊天。” —

As I was saying, your father opens the front door just as I am departing with admonitions and sandwiches that you have wrapped up for me. —
“正如我所说的，就在我带着你为我做的劝告和三明治离开时，你父亲正好开门。” —

Upon recognizing me as an old Harvard classmate he starts back in – “
“一认出我是哈佛大学的老同学，他就往后退了一步。”

“Not in surprise?” interrupted Tommy, with wide, open eyes.
“不会吧？”汤米插嘴问道，眼睛睁得大大的。

“He starts back in the doorway,” continued the burglar. —
“他退回到门口，继续说道。” 贼继续讲述。 —

And then he rose to his feet and began to shout “Rah, rah, rah! —
然后他站起身来，开始大喊“啦啦啦！啦啦啦！啦啦啦！” —

rah, rah, rah! rah, rah, rah!”
“好吧，”汤米惊讶地说道，“这是我第一次知道一个贼在闯入别人家里时会喊大学的口号，即使只是在故事里。”

“Well,” said Tommy, wonderingly, “that’s, the first time I ever knew a burglar to give a college yell when he was burglarizing a house, even in a story.”
“你被骗了，”贼笑着说道，“我在练习剧本表演。”

“That’s one on you,” said the burglar, with a laugh. “I was practising the dramatization. —
“如果要上演这个故事，只有加入这种大学元素才会有看头。” —

If this is put on the stage that college touch is about the only thing that will make it go.”
“这一招真是对你起作用。”

Tommy looked his admiration.
汤米看着他的仰慕之情。

“You’re on, all right,” he said.
“没错，你赢了，”他说。

“And there’s another mistalze you’ve made,” said the burglar. —
“而且你还犯了另一个错误，”小偷说道。 —

“You should have gone some time ago and brought me the $9 gold piece your mother gave you on your birthday to take to Bessie.”
“你早点去，把你妈妈在你生日时给你的9美元的金币拿来给贝西。”

“But she didn’t give it to me to take to Bessie,” said Tommy, pouting.
“但她不是给我拿去给贝西的，”汤米生气地说。

“Come, come!” said the burglar, sternly. “It’s not nice of you to take advantage because the story contains an ambiguous sentence. —
“来吧，来吧!“小偷严厉地说道。”你这样利用故事中模棱两可的句子是不好的。” —

You know what I mean. It’s mighty little I get out of these fictional jobs, anyhow. —
“你明白我的意思。无论如何，我从这些虚构的工作中得到的太少了。” —

I lose all the loot, and I have to reform every time; —
我失去了所有的战利品，每次都不得不重新开始； —

and all the swag I’m allowed is the blamed little fol-de-rols and luck-pieces that you kids hand over. —
而我被允许拥有的东西只是那些你们孩子们交出的可恶的小装饰品和幸运物品。 —

Why, in one story, all I got was a kiss from a little girl who came in on me when I was opening a safe. —
为什么，在一个故事中，我只得到了一个小女孩给我的一个吻，她在我打开保险箱的时候进来了。 —

And it tasted of molasses candy, too. I’ve a good notion to tie this table cover over your head and keep on into the silver-closet.”
而且它还有糖果的味道。我有个主意，把桌布捆在你的头上，继续往银质衣柜里走。”

“Oh, no, you haven’t,” said Tommy, wrapping his arms around his knees. —
“哦，不，你没有，”汤米说着，双臂搂住双膝。 —

“Because if you did no editor would buy the story. —
“因为如果你这样做，没有编辑会买这个故事。 —

You know you’ve got to preserve the unities.”
你知道你必须保持统一性。”

“So’ve you,” said the burglar, rather glumly. —
“你也必须，”窃贼有些沮丧地说道。 —

“Instead of sitting here talking impudence and taking the bread out of a poor man’s mouth, what you’d like to be doing is hiding under the bed and screeching at the top of your voice.”
“与其坐在这里说无礼话，却从一个穷人口中夺走口粮，你更愿意的是躲在床底下大声喊叫。”

“You’re right, old man,” said Tommy, heartily. “I wonder what they make us do it for? —
“你说得对，老兄，”汤米热情地说道。“我想知道他们为什么要让我们这样做？ —

I think the S. P. C. C. ought to interfere. —
我认为动物保护协会应该干涉一下。 —

I’m sure it’s neither agreeable nor usual for a kid of my age to butt in when a full-grown burglar is at work and offer him a red sled and a pair of skates not to awaken his sick mother. —
我确信对于一个和我同龄的孩子来说，在一个成年人正在偷窃的时候插嘴并给他一个红雪橇和一双滑冰鞋以免惊醒他生病的母亲，既不合适也不常见。 —

And look how they make the burglars act! —
看看他们是怎么让那些窃贼表现的！ —

You’d think editors would know – but what’s the use?”
你会以为编辑们知道这些，但是有什么用呢？

The burglar wiped his hands on the tablecloth and arose with a yawn.
那个窃贼用桌布擦了擦手，伸了个懒腰站了起来。

“Well, let’s get through with it,” he said. “God bless you, my little boy! —
“好吧，让我们结束吧，”他说。“上帝保佑你，我的小朋友！ —

you have saved a man from committing a crime this night. —
你今晚救了一个人不犯罪。 —

Bessie shall pray for you as soon as I get home and give her her orders. —
当我回家给贝西下指示时，她会为你祈祷的。 —

I shall never burglarize another house – at least not until the June magazines are out. —
我再也不会闯入别人家了，至少在六月的杂志出来之前不会。 —

It’ll be your little sister’s turn then to run in on me while I am abstracting the U. S. 4 per cent. —
到时候轮到你的小妹妹冲进来，当我从茶壶里拿走美国4%的钱时， —

from the tea urn and buy me off with her coral necklace and a falsetto kiss.”
用她的珊瑚项链和虚假的亲吻贿赂我。

“You haven’t got all the kicks coming to you,” sighed Tommy, crawling out of his chair. —
“你还没尝到所有的苦头，”汤米叹了口气，从椅子上爬了起来。 —

“Think of the sleep I’m losing. But it’s tough on both of us, old man. —
“想想我失眠的夜晚。老伙计，这对我们两个来说都很艰难。 —

I wish you could get out of the story and really rob somebody. —
“我希望你能从故事中走出来，真正去抢劫某人。 —

Maybe you’ll have the chance if they dramatize us.”
“也许如果他们将我们搬上荧幕，你就有机会了。”

“Never!” said the burglar, gloomily. “Between the box office and my better impulses that your leading juven- iles are supposed to awaken and the magazines that pay on publication, I guess I’ll always be broke.”
“绝不可能！”盗贼沮丧地说道。”无论是靠票房还是你主角们应该唤起的那些更好的冲动，还是那些一出版就能支付的杂志，我想我总是破产的。”

“I’m sorry,” said Tommy, sympathetically. “But I can’t help myself any more than you can. —
“对不起，”汤米同情地说道。”但我无法像你一样控制自己。” —

It’s one of the canons of household fiction that no burglar shall be suc- cessful. —
“这是家庭小说的铁律之一，就是任何盗贼都不能成功的。”, —

The burglar must be foiled by a kid like me, or- by a young lady heroine, or at the last moment by his old pal, Red Mike, who recognizes the house as one in which he used to be the coachman. —
“盗贼必须被像我这样的小孩挫败，或者被年轻女主角挫败，或者在最后一刻被他的老伙计红迈克识破，因为他认出了这个房子曾经是他当过马车夫的地方。” —

You have got the worst end of it in any kind of a story.”
“在任何类型的故事中，你总是处于最糟糕的位置。”

“Well, I suppose I must be clearing out now,” said the burglar, taking up his lantern and bracebit.
“好了，我想现在我该离开了，”盗贼说着，拿起了他的灯笼和螺丝刀。

“You have to take the rest of this chicken and the bottle of wine with you for Bessie and her mother,” said Tommy, calmly.
“你必须把剩下的鸡和一瓶酒带给贝茜和她的母亲，”汤米平静地说道。

“But confound it,” exclaimed the burglar, in an annoyed tone, “they don’t want it. —
“可恶，”盗贼愤怒地叫道，“他们不想要。” —

I’ve got five cases of Chateau de Beychsvelle at home that was bottled in 1853. —
“我家有五箱1853年出瓶的贝谢维尔城堡红酒。” —

That claret of yours is corked. And you couldn’t get either of them to look at a chicken unless it was stewed in champagne. —
“你那瓶红酒有塞子味道。而且你让他们看到鸡，除非是用香槟炖的，他们才会理会。” —

You know, after I get out of the story I don’t have so many limitations. —
“你知道，故事结束后，我就没有那么多限制了。” —

I make a turn now and then.”
“我偶尔有些变化。”

“Yes, but you must take them,” said Tommy, loading his arms with the bundles.
“是的，但你必须带走它们。”汤米一边说着，一边用手臂搬起了捆绑物。

“Bless you, young master!” recited the burglar, obedient. —
“小主人，上帝保佑你！”盗贼忠实地背诵着，恭敬地执行。 —

“Second-Story Saul will never forget you. —
“二楼的索尔永远不会忘记你。 —

And now hurry and let me out, kid. Our 2,000 words must be nearly up.”
“现在快让我出去，小子。我们的2000字快要写完了。”

Tommy led the way through the hall toward the front door. —
汤米带路穿过大厅走向前门。 —

Suddenly the burglar stopped and called to him softly: —
突然，盗贼停下来，轻声喊道： —

“Ain’t there a cop out there in front somewhere sparking the girl?”
“外面不是有个警察在追求那个女孩吗？”

“Yes,” said Tommy, “but what – “
“是的，”汤米说，“但是为什么 - ”

“I’m afraid he’ll catch me,” said the burglar. “You mustn’t forget that this is fiction.”
“我担心他会抓住我，”说了小偷。”你不能忘记这是虚构的。”

“Great head!” said Tommy, turning. “Come out by the back door.”
“太棒了，聪明啊！”托米转身说道。”从后门出去吧。”