NOT many days ago my old friend from the tropics, J. P. Bridger, United States consul on the island of Ratona, was in the city. —
不久前，来自热带地区的老朋友J. P. Bridger，美国在拉托纳岛的领事，来到了这座城市。 —

We had wassail and jubilee and saw the Flatiron building, and missed seeing the Bronxless menagerie by about a couple of nights. —
我们喝了热酒，欢庆了节日，看到了铁夹子大楼，可惜错过了布朗克斯动物园只差几个晚上。 —

And then, at the ebb tide, we were walking up a street that parallels and parodies Broadway.
然后，在退潮时分，我们沿着一条与百老汇并行且嘲笑百老汇的街道散步。

A woman with a comely and mundane countenance passed us, holding in leash a wheezing, vicious, waddling, brute of a yellow pug. —
一位长相俊美但平凡的女人从我们身边走过，牵着一只喘着气、凶恶、蹒跚行走的黄色哈巴狗。 —

The dog entangled himself with Bridger’s legs and mumbled his ankles in a snarling, peevish, sulky bite. —
那只狗纠缠在Bridger的腿上，以哼哼声、怨怼的咬嚼他的脚踝。 —

Bridger, with a happy smile, kicked the breath out of the brute; —
Bridger满心欢喜地踢飞了那只畜生的气息; —

the woman showered us with a quick rain of well-conceived adjectives that left us in no doubt as to our place in her opinion, and we passed on. —
那位女人用一连串犀利的形容词狂轰滥炸着我们，在她的观念中毫无疑问地体现出我们的位置，之后我们走过去了。 —

Ten yards farther an old woman with dis- ordered white hair and her bankbook tucked well hidden beneath her tattered shawl begged. —
再走十码，一位白发凌乱、揣着藏在破旧披肩下的存折的老妇人恳求着。 —

Bridger stopped and disinterred for her a quarter from his holiday waist- coat.
布里杰停下来，从他的假日西装里拿出一个四分之一的硬币给她。

On the next corner a quarter of a ton of well-clothed man with a rice-powdered, fat, white jowl, stood holding the chain of a devil-born bulldog whose forelegs were strangers by the length of a dachshund. —
在下一个街角，有一位身穿光鲜衣服的壮汉，脸上涂着稻米粉，白胖胖的下巴，他牵着一只由魔鬼生的斗牛犬，前腿跟一个达克斯猎犬一样短。 —

A little woman in a last-season’s hat confronted him and wept, which was plainly all she could do, while he cursed her in low sweet, practised tones.
一个戴着上季帽子的小女人站在他面前哭泣，这显然是她能做的全部，而他则用低沉而悦耳的咒骂声嘲笑她。

Bridger smiled again – strictly to himself – and this time he took out a little memorandum book and made a note of it. —
布里杰再次微笑（只是在心里），这次他拿出一个小备忘录，并记下了这件事。 —

This he had no right to do without due explanation, and I said so.
这是他没有合理解释的情况下做的，我是这样说的。

“It’s a new theory,” said Bridger, “that I picked up down in Ratona. —
“这是一个我在拉托纳听说的新理论，”布里杰说，“我一直在四处寻找对它的支持。” —

I’ve been gathering support for it as I knock about. —
“It’s a new theory,” said Bridger, “that I picked up down in Ratona.” (“这是一个我在拉托纳听说的新理论，”布里杰说) —

The world isn’t ripe for it yet, but – well I’ll tell you; —
这个世界还没有准备好，但是——嗯，我告诉你； —

and then you run your mind back along the people you’ve known and see what you make of it.”
然后你回顾你所认识的人，看看你能得出什么结论。

And so I cornered Bridger in a place where they have artificial palms and wine; —
所以我在一个有人造棕榈树和葡萄酒的地方堵住了布里奇尔； —

and he told me the story which is here in my words and on his responsibility.
他告诉我这个故事，故事的责任在于他。

One afternoon at three o’clock, on the island of Ratona, a boy raced alongthe beach screaming, “Pajaro, ahoy!”
一个下午三点，在拉托纳岛上，一个男孩沿着海滩奔跑着尖叫着：“鸟，啊航！”

Thus he made known the keenness of his hearing and the justice of his discrimination in pitch.
通过这样做，他表明了自己敏锐的听力和公正的音调区分能力。

He who first heard and made oral proclamation con- cerning the toot of an approaching steamer’s whistle, and correctly named the steamer, was a small hero in Ratona -until the’ next steamer came. —
在拉托纳，第一个听到并口头传诵关于一艘逐渐靠近的轮船哨声的人，而且准确地给出轮船的名字，是一个小英雄——直到下一艘轮船来到。 —

Wherefore, there was rivalry among the barefoot youth of Ratona, and many fell victims to the softly blown conch shells of sloops which, as they enter harbour, sound surprisingly like a distant steamer’s signal. —
因此，在拉托纳的赤脚青年中存在着竞争，在他们中间，很多人成为进港时咔嚓声惊人地像远处轮船信号的帆船的祭品。 —

And some could name you the vessel when its call, in your duller ears, sounded no louder than the sigh of the wind through the branches of the cocoa- nut palms.
有些人可能会告诉你，当船只的号召在你迟钝的耳朵中变得不再比风吹过椰子树枝的呼啸声更响时，它曾是怎样的一个船只。

But to-day he who proclaimed the Pajaro gained his honours. Ratona bent its ear to listen; —
但今天，宣布帕哈卢号的人获得了他的荣誉。拉托纳屈耳倾听。 —

and soon the deep-tongued blast grew louder and nearer, and at length Ratona saw above the line of palms on the low “joint” the two black funnels of the fruiter slowly creeping toward the mouth of the harbour.
很快，深沉的轰鸣声变得越来越响、越来越近，最后拉托纳看到了出现在低洼地的棕榈树线上的那艘水果船上的两个黑色烟囱缓缓向港口口移动。

You must know that Ratona is an island twenty miles off the south of a South American republic. —
你必须知道，拉托纳是南美洲某共和国南部二十英里外的一个岛屿。 —

It is a port of that republic; and it sleeps sweetly in a smiling sea, toiling not nor spinning; —
它是该共和国的一个港口，它安静地沉睡在一个温暖的海洋中，辛勤工作也不纺纱。 —

fed by the abundant tropics where all things “ripen, cease and fall toward the grave.”
充足的热带气候滋养着这个地方，在那里一切事物都”成熟、停止，并走向墓地”。

Eight hundred people dream life away in a green- embowered village that follows the horseshoe curve of its bijou harbour. —
八百个人在一个绿树掩映的村庄中平静地度过他们的梦想生活，这个村庄沿着它的小型港口呈马蹄形延伸。 —

They are mostly Spanish and Indian mestizos, with a shading of San Domingo Negroes, a lightening of pure-blood Spanish officials and a slight leavening of the froth of three or four pioneering white races. —
他们大多是西班牙和印度混血儿，还有一些圣多明哥黑人，纯血统西班牙官员的后裔稍微增加了一些白种人的投入。 —

No steamers touch at Ratona save the fruit steamers which take on their banana inspectors there on their way to the coast. —
除了装载香蕉检查员的水果轮外，没有其他轮船停靠拉托纳港。 —

They leave Sunday newspapers, ice, quinine, bacon, watermelons and vaccine matter at the island and that is about all the touch Ratona gets with the world.
他们在岛上提供星期日的报纸、冰、奎宁、熏肉、西瓜和疫苗，这就是拉托纳与世界接触的全部。

The Pajaro paused at the mouth of the harbour, roll ing heavily in the swell that sent the whitecaps racing beyond the smooth water inside. —
帕哈罗号在港口口停下来，沉重地在涌起的波涛中摇摆，而平静水域内白浪在那里翻滚。 —

Already two dories from the village – one conveying fruit inspectors, the other going for what it could get – were halfway out to the steamer.
村里已经有两艘小木船——一艘装载着水果检查员，另一艘则去获取它能得到的东西——都已经到达轮船中间。

The inspectors’ dory was taken on board with them, and the Pajaro steamed away for the mainland for its load of fruit.
检查员的小木船与他们一起被带上船，帕哈罗号启程前往大陆装载水果。

The other boat returned to Ratona bearing a contri- bution from the Pajaro’s store of ice, the usual roll of newspapers and one passenger – Taylor Plunkett, sheriff of Chatham County, Kentucky.
另一艘船返回拉托纳，携带了帕哈罗店的冰块供应、一卷报纸和一位乘客——肯塔基州查塔姆县的警长泰勒·普朗克特。

Bridger, the United States consul at Ratona, was clean- ing his rifle in the official shanty under a bread-fruit tree twenty yards from the water of the harbour. —
美国驻拉托纳领事布里杰正在距离海港水域二十码远的面包果树下的官方小屋里清洗他的步枪。 —

The consul occupied a place somewhat near the tail of his political party’s procession. —
领事占据着他所在的政党大游行队伍的末尾位置。 —

The music of the band wagon sounded very faintly to him in the distance. —
乐队面包车的音乐在远处对他来说听起来非常微弱。 —

The plums of office went to others. Bridger’s share of the spoils – the consulship at Ratona – was little more than a prune – a dried prune from the boarding-house department of the public crib. —
官员的好处都给了别人。布里杰的份额——在拉托纳的领事职位——只不过是一颗脱水的李子——来自公共食槽的脱水李子。 —

But $900 yearly was opulence in Ratona. Besides, Bridger had contracted a passion for shooting alligators in the lagoons near his consulate, and was not unhappy.
但是在拉托纳，每年900美元就是富裕。此外，布里杰已经对在他领事馆附近的泻湖里打猎鳄鱼产生了强烈的热情，他并不不快乐。

He looked up from a careful inspection of his rifle lock a broad man filling his doorway. —
他抬起头，发现一个身材魁梧的人正站在他的门口。 —

A broad, noiseless, slow-moving man, sunburned almost to the Vandyke. —
一个胖胖的、不发出噪音的、缓慢移动的男人，晒得几乎到小山羊胡那样。 —

A man of forty-five, neatly clothed in homespun, with scanty light hair, a close-clipped brown- and-gray beard and pale-blue eyes expressing mildness implicity.
一个四十五岁的男人，衣着整洁，穿着粗布，头发稀疏的浅色，一脸修剪整齐的棕灰色胡子，淡蓝色的眼睛流露出温和的宽容。

“You are Mr. Bridger, the consul,” said the broad man. “They directed me here. —
“你是布里奇先生，领事，”那个胖子说，”他们告诉我来这儿找你。 —

Can you tell me what those big bunches of things like gourds are in those trees that look like feather dusters along the edge of the water?”
你能告诉我那些像葫芦一样的东西是什么，在那些看起来像扫把的树边上的水中边缘吗?”

“Take that chair,” said the consul, reoiling his clean- ing rag. —
“坐那把椅子，”领事说着，擦拭着他的清洁布。 —

“No, the other one – that bamboo thing won’t hold you. —
“不，那个椅子——那个竹子的不适合你。 —

Why, they’re cocoanuts – green cocoanuts. —
噢，那是椰子——青椰子。 —

The shell of ‘em is always a light green before they’re ripe.”
没熟之前，它们的外壳总是浅绿色的。

“Much obliged,” said the other man, sitting down carefully. —
“非常感谢，”另一个男人小心地坐下。 —

“I didn’t quite like to tell the folks at home they were olives unless I was sure about it. —
“我不太想告诉家里人那是橄榄，除非我确定。 —

My name is Plunkett. I’m sheriff of Chatham County, Kentucky. —
我叫普朗克特。我是肯塔基州查塔姆县的警长。 —

I’ve got extradition papers in my pocket authorizing the arrest of a man on this island. —
我口袋里有一份引渡文件，授权逮捕这个岛上的一个男人。 —

They’ve been signed by the President of this country, and they’re in correct shape. —
这些文件是由这个国家的总统签署的，他们的形式是正确的。 —

The man’s name is Wade Williams. He’s in the cocoa- nut raising business. —
这个人叫做韦德·威廉姆斯，他从事椰子种植业务。 —

What he’s wanted for is the murder of his wife two years ago. —
他被通缉的罪名是两年前杀害妻子。 —

Where can I find him?”
我在哪里能找到他？

The consul squinted an eye and looked through his rifle barrel.
领事斜着眼睛望着他的步枪枪管。

“There’s nobody on the island who calls himself ‘Wil- liams,’” he remarked.
“岛上没有人自称’威廉姆斯’“，他说。

“Didn’t suppose there was,” said Plunkett mildly. “He’ll do by any other name.”
“我并没有期望有”，普兰克特温和地说。”他会用其他任何名字的。”

“Besides myself,” said Bridger, “there are only two Americans on Ratona – Bob Reeves and Henry Morgan.”
“除了我自己”，布里奇尔说，”拉托纳上只有两个美国人 - 鲍勃·里夫斯和亨利·摩根。”

“The man I want sells cocoanuts,” suggested Plunkett.
“我要找的那个人卖椰子”，普兰克特提议道。

“You see that cocoanut walk extending up to the point?” said the consul, waving his hand toward the open door. “That belongs to Bob Reeves. —
“你看到延伸到岬角的椰子行吗？”，领事挥手指向敞开的门外说。”那属于鲍勃·里夫斯。亨利·摩根拥有岛上一半的树。” —

Henry Morgan owns half the trees to loo’ard on the island.”
他补充说。

“One, month ago,” said the sheriff, “Wade Williams wrote a confidential letter to a man in Chatham county, telling him where he was and how he was getting along. —
“一个月前，”警长说道，“韦德·威廉姆斯给查塔姆县的一个人写了一封保密信，告诉他他在哪里以及他的状况如何。 —

The letter was lost; and the person that found it gave it away. —
这封信丢失了；找到它的人把它给了别人。 —

They sent me after him, and I’ve got the papers. —
他们派我去找他，我已经拿到文件了。 —

I reckon he’s one of your cocoanut men for certain.”
我猜他肯定是你们的椰子人之一。”

“You’ve got his picture, of course,” said Bridger. —
“你肯定有他的照片，对吧？”布里奇尔说道。 —

“It might be Reeves or Morgan, but I’d hate to think it. —
“他可能是里夫斯或摩根，但我宁愿不去相信。 —

They’re both as fine fellows as you’d meet in an all-day auto ride.”
他们都是一天的汽车旅行中你可以遇到的好人。”

“No,” doubtfully answered Plunkett; “there wasn’t any picture of Williams to be had. —
“不，”普朗凯特犹豫地回答道，“没有威廉姆斯的照片能找到。 —

And I never saw him myself. I’ve been sheriff only a year. —
而且我自己也没见过他。我做警长才一年。 —

But I’ve got a pretty accurate description of him. About 5 feet 11; dark-hair and eyes; —
但我有一个相当精确的描述。大约5英尺11英寸；黑发和黑眼睛； —

nose inclined to be Roman; heavy about the shoulders; strong, white teeth, with none miss- ing; —
鼻子有点塌陷；肩膀宽阔；牙齿齐齿，没有遗失； —

laughs a good deal, talkative; drinks considerably but never to intoxication; —
经常笑，健谈；喝的比较多，但从不喝醉。” —

looks you square in the eye when talking; age thirty-five. —
与你对视时直直地看着你的眼睛；年龄三十五岁。 —

Which one of your men does that description fit?”
这个描述与你手下的哪一个人相符？

The consul grinned broadly.
总领事开心地笑了起来。

“I’ll tell you what you do,” he said, laying down his rifle and slipping on his dingy black alpaca coat. —
“我告诉你怎么办，”他放下步枪，穿上褪色的黑色细棉布外套说道。 —

“You come along, Mr. Plunkett, – and I’ll take you up to see the boys. —
“你跟着我来，普兰克特先生，我带你去看看那些家伙。 —

If you can tell which one of ‘em your descrip- tion fits better than it does the other you have the advan- tage of me.”
如果你能判断出你的描述比那些人中的任何一个都更接近，那你就比我占了优势。”

Bridger conducted the sheriff out and along the hard beach close to which the tiny houses of the village were distributed. —
布里奇尔把警长带出去，顺着村庄附近的硬沙滩走着。 —

Immediately back of the town rose sudden, small, thickly wooded hills. —
紧接着城镇之后，是突然崛起的小丘陵，茂密地生长着树木。 —

Up one of these, by means of steps cut in the hard clay, the consul led Plunkett. —
领事带领普兰克特沿着一个小道上了其中一座丘陵。 —

the very verge of an eminence was perched, a two- room wooden cottage with a thatched roof. —
在一个危崖边上，坐落着一座两居室的木屋，房顶上盖着茅草。 —

A Carib woman was washing clothes outside. —
一个加勒比妇女正在屋外洗衣服。 —

The consul ushered the sheriff to the door of the room that over- looked the harbour.
领事引普兰克特走到了俯瞰港口的那个房间的门前。

Two men were in the room, about to sit down, in their shirt sleeves, to a table spread for dinner. —
两个男人站在房间里，打算坐下来，他们穿着衬衫，餐桌上已经摆好了晚餐。 —

They bore little resemblance one to the other in detail; —
他们在细节上几乎没有相似之处； —

but the general description given by Plunkett could have been justly applied to either. —
但普朗克特给出的一般描述可以准确地适用于任何一个人。 —

In height, colour of hair, shape of nose, build and manners each of them tallied with it. —
无论是身高、头发颜色、鼻子形状、体型还是举止，他们都与之相符。 —

They were fair types of jovial, ready-witted, broad- gauged Americans who had gravitated together for com- panionship in an alien land.
他们是开朗、机智、胸怀宽广的美国人的典型代表，他们在异国他乡凑在一起成为伴侣。

“Hello, Bridger” they called in unison at sight Of the consul. “Come and have dinner with us!” And then they noticed Plunkett at his heels, and came forward with hospitable curiosity.
“嗨，布里杰！”他们一起喊道。 “来和我们一起吃饭吧！”然后他们注意到普朗克特跟在领事后面，并带着好奇的热情走上前。

“Gentlemen,” said the consul, his voice taking on unaccustomed formality, “this is Mr. Plunkett. —
“先生们，”领事说着，他的声音变得不太正式，“这位是普朗克特先生。 —

Mr. Plunkett – Mr. Reeves and Mr. Morgan.”
普朗克特先生-里夫斯先生和摩根先生。”

The cocoanut barons greeted the newcomer joyously. —
椰子巴伦热情地迎接新来的客人。 —

Reeves seemed about an inch taller than Morgan, but his laugh was not quite as loud. —
里夫斯似乎比摩根高大了一英寸，但他的笑声没有那么响亮。 —

Morgan’s eyes were- deep brown; Reeves’s were black. —
摩根的眼睛是深棕色，里夫斯的眼睛是黑色的。 —

Reeves was the host and busied himself with fetching other chairs and calling to the Carib woman for supplemental table ware. —
里夫斯是主人，忙着找其他的椅子，并向加勒比女人要求额外的餐具。 —

It was explained that Morgan lived in a bamboo shack to. —
解释说摩根也住在竹制的小屋里。 —

loo’ard, but that every day the two friends dined together. —
整天两位朋友都在一起用餐。 —

Plunkett stood still during the preparations, looking about mildly with his pale-blue eyes. —
普兰克特在准备期间站在那里，用他苍白的蓝眼睛温和地四处看着。 —

Bridger looked apologetic and uneasy.
布里奇看起来道歉和不安。

At length two other covers were laid and the company- was assigned to places. —
最后又摆了两个餐位，并安排了座位。 —

Reeves and Morgan stood side by side across the table from the visitors. —
里夫斯和摩根站在来访者对面的桌子旁。 —

Reeves nodded genially as a signal for all to seat themselves. —
里夫斯友好地点点头，示意大家坐下。 —

And then suddenly Plunkett raised his hand with a gesture of authority. —
突然，普兰克特举起手，用一种权威的姿态。 —

He was looking straight between Reeves and Morgan.
他直视着里夫斯和摩根。

“Wade Williams,” he said quietly, “you are under arrest for murder.”
“韦德·威廉姆斯，”他平静地说，“你被逮捕了，因为谋杀。”

Reeves and Morgan instantly exchanged a quick, bright glance, the quality of which was interrogation, with a seasoning of surprise. —
里夫斯和摩根立刻交换了一个快速而明亮的目光，其中蕴含着询问和惊讶。 —

Then, simultaneously they turned to the speaker with a puzzled and frank depre- cation in their gaze.
然后，他们同时带着困惑和坦率的不悦目光转向说话者。

“Can’t say that we understand you, Mr. Plunkett,” said Morgan, cheerfully. “Did you say ‘Williams’?”
“普朗克特先生，我们不明白您说什么，”摩根愉快地说道。”您刚才说的是’威廉斯’吗？”

“What’s the joke, Bridgy?” asked Reeves, turning, to the consul with a smile.
“这是什么笑话，布里奇？”里夫斯微笑着转向领事询问。

Before Bridger could answer Plunkett spoke again.
在布里奇回答之前，普朗克特再次开口。

“I’ll explain,” he said, quietly. “One of you don’t need any explanation, but this is for the other one. —
“我来解释吧，”他平静地说道。”你们中的一个不需要解释，但这是给另一个人听的。 —

One of you is Wade Williams of Chatham County, Kentucky. —
你们中的一个是肯塔基州查塔姆县的韦德·威廉斯。 —

You murdered your wife on May 5, two years ago, after ill-treating and abusing her continually for five years. —
你在两年前的5月5日谋杀了你的妻子，在此之前你不断虐待和虐待她长达五年之久。 —

I have the proper papers in my pocket for taking you back with me, and you are going. —
我在口袋里带着合适的文件准备带你回去，而且你会回去的。 —

We will return on the fruit steamer that comes back by this island to-morrow to leave its inspectors. —
我们将乘坐明天回到这个岛上的水果船，那时候会有检查员。 —

I acknowledge, gentlemen, that I’m not quite sure which one of you is Williams. —
先生们，我承认我不太确定你们中的哪一个是威廉斯。 —

But Wade Williams goes back to Chatham County to-morrow. I want you to understand that.”
但是韦德·威廉斯明天将回到查塔姆县。我希望你们明白这一点。

A great sound of merry laughter from Morgan and Reeves went out over the still harbour. —
摩根和里夫斯的欢乐笑声在静谧的港口上空回荡。 —

Two or three fishermen in the fleet of sloops anchored there looked up at the house of the diablos Americanos on the hill and wondered.
停在那里的一两位渔夫看向山上的“恶魔美国人”的房子，心生疑惑。

“My dear Mr. Plunkett,” cried Morgan, conquering his mirth, “the dinner is getting, cold. —
“亲爱的普朗克特先生，”摩根克制住笑声说道，”晚餐都凉了。 —

Let us sit down and eat. I am anxious to get my spoon into that shark- fin soup. —
让我们坐下来吃吧，我迫不及待想吃一口那鱼翅汤。 —

Business afterward.”
之后再说正事。

“Sit down, gentlemen, if you please,” added Reeves, pleasantly. —
“请坐，先生们，”里夫斯友善地补充道。 —

“I am sure Mr. Plunkett will not object. —
“我相信普朗克特先生不会介意。 —

Perhaps a little time may be of advantage to him in identi- fying – the gentlemen he wishes to arrest.”
也许给他一点时间可能有助于他识别出他想要逮捕的那些绅士。

“No objections, I’m sure,” said Plunkett, dropping into his chair heavily. “I’m hungry myself. —
“我相信你没有异议，”普朗克特沉重地坐下来说道。”我也饿了。 —

I didn’t want to accept the hospitality of you folks without giving you notice; that’s all.”
我没有想在没有提前通知你们的情况下接受你们的款待，就这样。

Reeves set bottles and glasses on the table.
里夫斯把瓶子和玻璃放在桌子上。

“There’s cognac,” he said, “and anisada, and Scotch ‘smoke,’ and rye. Take your choice.”
“有干邑，”他说，”还有茴香酒，苏格兰威士忌和美国威士忌。你自己选吧。

Bridger chose rye, Reeves poured three fingers of Scotch for himself, Morgan took the same. —
布里奇选择了美国威士忌，里夫斯为自己倒了三指厚的苏格兰威士忌，摩根也选了同样的。 —

The sheriff, against much protestation, filled his glass from the water bottle.
尽管受到强烈反对，警长还是从水瓶中倒了一杯。

“Here’s to the appetite,” said Reeves, raising his glass, “of Mr. Williams!” Morgan’s laugh and his drink encountering sent him into a choking splutter. —
“为威廉先生的胃口干杯，”里夫斯举起杯子说道。摩根的笑声加上他喝酒时的状况让他噎住了。 —

All began to pay attention to the dinner, which was well cooked and palatable.
所有人开始注意起晚餐来，这顿饭做得很好，味道也不错。

“Williams!” called Plunkett, suddenly and sharply.
“威廉斯！”普兰克特突然而尖锐地喊道。

All looked up wonderingly. Reeves found the sheriff’s mild eye resting upon him. —
所有人都疑惑地抬起头。里夫斯发现警长温和的眼睛盯着他。 —

He flushed a little.
他微微红了脸。

“See here,” he said, with some asperity, “my name’s Reeves, and I don’t want you too – ” But the comedy of the thing came to his rescue, and he ended with a laugh.
“你听着，”他有些不悦地说道，“我的名字叫里夫斯，我不希望你——”但这件事情的滑稽性给了他解脱，他笑了起来。

“I suppose, Mr. Plunkett,” said Morgan, carefully seasoning an alligator pear, “that you are aware of the fact that you will import a good deal of trouble for your- self into Kentucky if you take back the wrong man – that is, of course, if you take anybody back?”
“我想，普朗克特先生，”摩根慎重地给一颗鳄梨加了些调味料，“你是知道的，如果你带错人回肯塔基州，那将给你自己带来很多麻烦 — 当然，如果你带了任何人回去的话？”

“Thank you for the salt,” said the sheriff. “Oh, I’ll take somebody back. —
“谢谢你递盐，”警长说道，“哦，我会带人回去的。 —

It’ll be one of you two gentlemen. Yes, I know I’d get stuck for damages if I make a mis- take. —
将是你们两个绅士之一。是的，我知道如果搞错了，我会被要求赔偿。 —

But I’m going to try to get the right man.”
但我会努力找到正确的人。”

“I’ll tell you what you do,” said Morgan, leaning for- ward with a jolly twinkle in his eyes. —
“我告诉你该怎么办，”摩根眯起眼睛，透露出喜悦的光芒。 —

“You take me. I’ll go without any trouble. —
“你带上我吧。我会一点麻烦都不带来。 —

The cocoanut business hasn’t panned out well this year, and I’d like to make some extra money out of your bondsmen.”
椰子生意今年没做好，我想从你的保证人身上赚点额外的钱。”

“That’s not fair,” chimed in Reeves. “I got only $16 a thousand for my last shipment. —
“这不公平，”里夫斯插话道。“我上次运货只赚了16美元一千个。 —

Take me, Mr. Plunkett.”
“带我走，普朗克特先生。”

“I’ll take Wade Williams,” said the sheriff, patiently, “or I’ll come pretty close to it.”
“我会带上韦德·威廉姆斯，”警长耐心地说道，“或者非常接近他。”

“It’s like dining with a ghost,” remarked Morgan, with a pretended shiver. —
“这就像和幽灵一起用餐一样，”摩根说着假装打了个寒战。 —

“The ghost of a murderer, too! Will somebody pass the toothpicks to the shade of the naughty Mr. Williams?”
“而且是一个杀人犯的幽灵！有人能把牙签递给顽皮的威廉姆斯先生吗？”

Plunkett seemed as unconcerned as if he were dining at his own table in Chatham County. —
普朗克特似乎毫不在意，就像他在查塔姆县自己的餐桌上用餐一样。 —

He was a gallant trencherman, and the strange tropic viands tickled his palate. —
他是个勇敢的美食家，这些奇特的热带美食勾起了他的味蕾。 —

Heavy, commonplace, almost slothful in his movements, he appeared to be devoid of all the cunning and watchfulness of the sleuth. —
他行动缓慢、平庸，几乎懒散，看上去毫无侦探的狡猾和警觉。 —

He even ceased to observe, with any sharpness or attempted discrimination, the two men, one of whom he had undertaken with sur- prising self-confidence, to drag away upon the serious charge of wife-murder. —
他甚至停止了对两个人的观察，其中一个他以令人惊讶的自信准备将其带走，以严重的妻子谋杀指控。 —

Here, indeed, was a problem set before him that if wrongly solved would have amounted to his serious discomfiture, yet there he sat puzzling his soul (to all appearances) over the novel flavour of a broiled iguana cutlet.
他坐在那里，整个人都被那种烤龙肉的新奇味道迷住了，但如果他解决问题的方法错了，那将会使他陷入严重的尴尬。

The consul felt a decided discomfort. Reeves and Morgan were his friends and pals; —
领事感到明显的不适。里夫斯和摩根是他的朋友和好朋友； —

yet the sheriff from Kentucky had a certain right to his official aid and moral support. —
然而，肯塔基州的警长在某种程度上有权获得他的官方协助和道义支持。 —

So Bridger sat the silentest around the board and tried to estimate the peculiar situation. —
因此，布里杰尔在桌前默默无声地坐着，试图估计这个特殊的情况。 —

His con- clusion was that both Reeves and Morgan, quickwitted, as he knew them to be, had conceived at the moment of Plunkett’s disclosure of his mission – and in the brief space of a lightning flash – the idea that the other might be the guilty Williams; —
他的结论是，里夫斯和摩根都很聪明，他知道他们在普朗克特透露他的任务的那一刻，同时在闪电般的瞬间，他们想到了另一个人可能是有罪的威廉斯的想法。 —

and that each of them had decided in that moment loyally to protect his comrade against the doom that threatened him. —
他们每个人都在那一刻决定忠诚地保护自己的同伴，以免他们遭受威胁他们的命运。 —

This was the consul’s theory. and if he had been a bookmaker at a race of wits for life and liberty he would have offered heavy odds against the plodding sheriff from Chatham County, Kentucky.
这是领事的理论。如果他曾经是一位以生命和自由做赌注的智力竞赛书商，他就会对来自肯塔基查塔姆县的笨拙警长开出高赔率。

When the meal was concluded the Carib woman came and removed the dishes and cloth. —
当饭菜结束时，加勒比妇女过来收走了盘子和桌布。 —

Reeves strewed them table with excellent cigars, and Plunkett, with the others, lighted one of these with evident gratification.
里夫斯在桌子上撒满了上好的雪茄，普兰克特和其他人都点燃了一支，显然很满意。

“I may be dull,” said Morgan, with a grin and a wink at Bridger; “but I want to know if I am. —
“我可能有点迟钝，”摩根笑着对布里杰眨了眨眼，”但我想知道自己到底是怎样的一个人。” —

Now, I say this is all a joke of Mr. Plunkett’s, concocted to frighten. —
现在，我说这一切都是普兰克特先生捏造的一个恶作剧，目的是吓唬人。 —

two babes-in-the-woods. Is this Williamson to be taken seriously or not?”
两个迷失的孩子。这个威廉姆森是要认真对待还是不要认真对待？

”‘Williams,’” corrected Plunkett gravely. “I never got off any jokes in my life. —
“威廉姆森,“普兰克特严肃地纠正道，”我一生都没有玩过什么恶作剧。” —

I know I wouldn’t travel 2,000 miles to get off a poor one as this would be if I didn’t take Wade Williams back with me. —
我知道如果不把韦德·威廉姆斯带回去，我不会为了开出这么差的玩笑旅行2000英里。 —

Gentlemen!” continued the sheriff, now letting his mild eyes travel impartially from one of the company to another, “see if you can find any joke in this case. —
“先生们！”警长继续说道，他的温和目光现在公正地从一个人转向另一个人，“看看你们能不能从这个案子中找到笑话。 —

Wade Williams is listening to the words I utter now; —
韦德·威廉斯正在听着我现在说的话； —

but out of politeness, I will speak of him as a third person. —
但出于礼貌，我会称呼他为第三人。 —

For five years he made his wife lead the life of a dog – No; I’ll take that back. —
五年来，他让他的妻子过着狗一样的生活 - 不对，我要收回这句话。 —

No dog in Kentucky was ever treated as she was. —
肯塔基州没有一只狗被对待得像她一样。 —

He spent the money that she brought him – spent it at races, at the card table and on horses and hunting. —
他用她带给他的钱 - 在赛马场、纸牌桌上、马匹和狩猎上挥霍。 —

He was a good fellow to his friends, but a cold, sullen demon at home. —
他对朋友们非常好，但在家里却是一个冷漠、阴沉的魔鬼。 —

He wound up the five years of neglect by strik- ing her with his closed hand – a hand as hard as a stone – when she was ill and weak from suffering. —
他以握拳的方式把她打了一下 - 那只手像石头一样硬 - 就在她身体虚弱、饱受痛苦时。 —

She died the next day; and he skipped. That’s all there is to it. It’s enough. —
她在第二天去世了；他逃走了。事情就是这样。已经足够了。 —

I never saw Williams; but I knew his wife. I’m not a man to tell half. —
我从来没有见过威廉斯；但我认识他的妻子。我不是半途而废的人。 —

She and I were keep- ing company when she met him. —
当她遇到他的时候，她和我正在交往。 —

She went to Louisville on a visit and saw him there. —
她去洛杉矶探望他，并在那里见到了他。 —

I’ll admit that he spoilt my chances in no time. —
我承认他很快破坏了我的机会。 —

I lived then on the edge of the Cumberland mountains. —
那时我住在坎伯兰山的边缘。 —

I was elected sheriff of Chatham County a year after Wade Williams killed his wife. —
韦德·威廉姆斯杀妻一年后，我被选为查塔姆县的警长。 —

My official duty sends me out here after him; but I’ll admit that there’s personal feeling, too. —
我的官方职责要我追捕他，但我承认也有个人情感在里面。 —

And he’s going back with me. Mr. – er – Reeves, will you pass me a match?
而他要和我一同回去。里夫斯先生，请给我一根火柴。

“Awfully imprudent of Williams,” said Morgan, putting his feet up against the wall, “to strike a Kentucky lady. —
“威廉姆斯太鲁莽了，”摩根说，撑着脚抵着墙，”打一个肯塔基的女士，真是太不明智了。 —

Seems to me I’ve heard they were scrappers.”
我好像听说过他们是斗士呢。”

“Bad, bad Williams,” said Reeves, pouring out more Scotch.”
“坏蛋，坏蛋的威廉姆斯，”里夫斯倒出更多的苏格兰威士忌说。

The two men spoke lightly, but the consul saw and felt the tension and the carefulness in their actions and words. —
这两个人说话时轻松愉快，但领事察觉到并感受到他们行动和言辞中的紧张和谨慎。 —

“Good old fellows,” he said to himself; “they’re both all right. —
“好心人，”他自言自语道，”他们都挺好的。 —

Each of ‘em is standing by the other like a little brick church.”
他们两个人像小教堂一样互相支持。”

And then a dog walked into the room where they sat – a black-and-tan hound, long-eared, lazy, confident of welcome.
然后一只狗走进了他们所坐的房间——一只黑褐色的猎犬，长耳朵，懒洋洋的，自信地期待着欢迎。

Plunkett turned his head and looked at the animal, which halted, confidently, within a few feet of his chair.
普朗克特转过头看着那只动物，它自信地停在他椅子几英尺的地方。

Suddenly the sheriff, with a deep-mouthed oath, left his seat and, bestowed upon the dog a vicious and heavy kick, with his ponderous shoe.
突然，警长咒骂着，离开了座位，用他那沉重的鞋子狠狠踢了一脚狗。

The hound, heartbroken, astonished, with flapping ears and incurved tail, uttered a piercing yelp of pain and surprise.
那只猎犬伤心欲绝，惊讶万分，长耳朵耷拉着，卷曲的尾巴，发出一声刺耳的疼痛和惊讶的哀嚎。

Reeves and the consul remained in their chairs, say- ing nothing, but astonished at the unexpected show of intolerance from the easy-going-man from Chatham county.
里夫斯和领事坐在椅子上，无言地看着，惊讶于这位来自查塔姆县的随和人所展现出的意外的不宽容。

But Morgan, with a suddenly purpling face, leaped, to his feet and raised a threatening arm above the guest.
但是莫尔根脸色突然发紫，站了起来，抬起威胁性的手臂对着客人。

“You – brute!” he shouted, passionately; “why did you do that?”
“你这个禽兽！”他激动地喊道，“你为什么这样做？”

Quickly the amenities returned, Plunkett muttered some indistinct apology and regained his seat. —
快速地面子回来了，普朗克特嘟哝了一些含糊不清的道歉，并重新坐回了座位。 —

Morgan with a decided effort controlled his indignation and also returned to his chair.
摩根下定决心控制住自己的愤怒，回到了他的椅子上。

And then Plunkett with the spring of a tiger, leaped around the corner of the table and snapped handcuffs on the paralyzed Morgan’s wrists.
接着，普朗克特像老虎一样猛地跳过桌子的拐角，将手铐扣在麻痹的摩根腕上。

“Hound-lover and woman-killer!” he cried; “get ready to meet your God.”
“猎犬爱好者和妇女杀手！”他大喊道，“准备见上帝吧。”

When Bridger had finished I asked him:
当布里杰完成时，我问他：“他抓到了正确的人吗？”

“Did he get the right man?”
“的确如此，”领事说。

“He did,” said the Consul.
“他是怎么知道的？”我迷惑地问道。

“And how did he know?” I inquired, being in a kind of bewilderment.
“当他把摩根放进小艇，第二天准备带他上帕哈罗号时，这个普朗克特停下来和我握手，我问了他同样的问题。”

“When he put Morgan in the dory,” answered Bridger, “the next day to take him aboard the Pajaro, this man Plunkett stopped to shake hands with me and I asked him the same question.”
“’布里杰先生，’他说，’我是个肯塔基人，见过很多人和动物。我从来没见过一个对马和狗过分喜爱的人，不对女人苛刻的。’”

”‘Mr. Bridger,’ said he, ‘I’m a Kentuckian, and I’ve seen a great deal of both men and animals. —
“他是怎么做到的？”我问。 —

And I never yet saw a man that was overfond of horses and dogs but what was cruel to women.’”
“他只是观察了摩根对待马和狗的态度，就推测出他对待女人的方式了。”