The explanation came a week later. It was about ten o’ clock at night; —
解释在一周后才到。当时已经是晚上十点了； —

I had been dining by myself at a restaurant, and having returned to my small apartment, was sitting in my parlour, reading I heard the cracked tinkling of the bell, and, going into the corridor, opened the door. —
我一个人在餐厅吃完晚饭，回到自己的小公寓，坐在客厅里读书。我听到了门铃叮当一声脆响，走进走廊，打开了门。 —

Stroeve stood before me.
斯特罗夫站在我面前。

“Can I come in?” he asked.
“我可以进来吗？”他问道。

In the dimness of the landing I could not see him very well, but there was something in his voice that surprised me. —
在昏暗的楼梯上，我看不太清楚他，但他的声音里有些让我感到惊讶的东西。 —

I knew he was of abstemious habit or I should have thought he had been drinking. —
我知道他通常有节制的习惯，否则我会以为他喝醉了。 —

I led the way into my sitting room and asked him to sit down.
我带他走进客厅，请他坐下。

“Thank God I’ve found you, ” he said.
“谢天谢地我找到你了，”他说。

“What’s the matter?” I asked in astonishment at his vehemence.
“怎么了？”我惊讶地问道，因为他的言辞强烈。

I was able now to see him well. As a rule he was neat in his person, but now his clothes were in disorder. —
我现在能清晰地看到他。他通常打扮得整洁，但现在衣服凌乱不堪。 —

He looked suddenly bedraggled. I was convinced he had been drinking, and I smiled. —
他看起来突然变得不洁净。我相信他已经喝醉了，我笑了。 —

I was on the point of chaffing him on his state.
我本来想开玩笑调侃他的状态。

“I didn’t know where to go, ” he burst out. “I came here earlier, but you weren’t in. “
“我不知道该去哪，”他爆发出来，”我刚才来过这里，但你不在。”

“I dined late, ” I said.
“我晚饭吃得晚，”我说。

I changed my mind: it was not liquor that had driven him to this obvious desperation. —
我改变了主意：并不是酒精让他陷入这种明显的绝望。 —

His face, usually so rosy, was now strangely mottled. —
他的脸,通常泛着红润,现在却变得奇怪地斑驳。 —

His hands trembled.
他的手颤抖着。

“Has anything happened?” I asked.
“发生什么事了吗？”我问道。

“My wife has left me. “
“我的妻子离开我了。”

He could hardly get the words out. He gave a little gasp, and the tears began to trickle down his round cheeks. —
他几乎说不出话来。他喘了口气，眼泪开始顺着他圆滚滚的脸颊流淌。 —

I did not know what to say. My first thought was that she had come to the end of her forbearance with his infatuation for Strickland, and, goaded by the latter’s cynical behaviour, had insisted that he should be turned out. —
我不知道该说什么。我第一个想法是她对他对斯特里克兰的迷恋感到厌烦，被后者的愤世嫉俗所激怒，坚持要把他赶出去。 —

I knew her capable of temper, for all the calmness of her manner; —
我知道她虽然平静，但也有脾气； —

and if Stroeve still refused, she might easily have flung out of the studio with vows never to return. —
如果斯特罗夫还是拒绝，她很容易对画室大发脾气，并发誓永不回来。 —

But the little man was so distressed that I could not smile.
但这个小个子男人如此痛苦，我无法不担心。

“My dear fellow, don’t be unhappy. She’ll come back. —
“亲爱的朋友，不要伤心。她会回来的。 —

You mustn’t take very seriously what women say when they’re in a passion. “
你不要太认真对待女人在愤怒时说的话。”

“You don’t understand. She’s in love with Strickland. “
“你不明白。她爱上了斯特里克兰。”

“What!” I was startled at this, but the idea had no sooner taken possession of me than I saw it was absurd. —
“什么！”我对此感到惊讶，但这个想法一旦占据了我，我就意识到这是荒谬的。 —

“How can you be so silly? You don’t mean to say you’re jealous of Strickland?” —
“你怎么会这么傻？你不是想说你嫉妒斯特里克兰吧？” —

I almost laughed. “You know very well that she can’t bear the sight of him. “
我几乎笑了出来。”你很清楚她根本不能忍受他的存在。”

“You don’t understand, ” he moaned.
“你不明白，”他抱怨道。

“You’re an hysterical ass, ” I said a little impatiently. —
“你真是一个歇斯底里的蠢货，”我有点不耐烦地说。 —

“Let me give you a whisky-and-soda, and you’ll feel better. “
“让我给你来一杯威士忌苏打水，你会感觉好点的。”

I supposed that for some reason or other – and Heaven knows what ingenuity men exercise to torment themselves – Dirk had got it into his head that his wife cared for Strickland, and with his genius for blundering he might quite well have offended her so that, to anger him, perhaps, she had taken pains to foster his suspicion.
我想，或许由于某种原因 – 天知道人们会用什么样的机智来折磨自己 – 迪尔克脑子里想到了他的妻子对斯特里克兰感兴趣，而且他那种愚蠢的天赋也很可能有使得他得罪她，以至于她为了刺激他，或许，特意去培养他的猜疑。

“Look here, ” I said, “let’s go back to your studio. —
“听着，”我说，“我们回你的工作室去吧。 —

If you’ve made a fool of yourself you must eat humble pie. —
如果你真的搞糟了，你就得承认错误。 —

Your wife doesn’t strike me as the sort of woman to bear malice. “
你妻子给我的感觉，不是那种会耿耿于怀的女人。”

“How can I go back to the studio?” he said wearily. “They’re there. I’ve left it to them. “
“我怎么能回去工作室呢？”他厌倦地说道，“他们在那儿。我已经把它交给了他们。”

“Then it’s not your wife who’s left you; it’s you who’ve left your wife. “
“那不是你妻子离开了你，是你离开了你的妻子。”

“For God’s sake don’t talk to me like that. “
“求你了，别那样和我说话。”

Still I could not take him seriously. I did not for a moment believe what he had told me. —
但我无法认真对待他。我根本不相信他告诉我的事情。 —

But he was in very real distress.
但他确实陷入了真实的苦恼之中。

“Well, you’ve come here to talk to me about it. You’d better tell me the whole story. “
“好吧，你来找我谈这件事。你最好告诉我整个故事。”

“This afternoon I couldn’t stand it any more. —
“今天下午我再也忍受不了了。 —

I went to Strickland and told him I thought he was quite well enough to go back to his own place. —
我去找斯特里克兰，告诉他我觉得他已经完全可以回到自己的地方去了。” —

I wanted the studio myself. “
我想独自使用工作室。

“No one but Strickland would have needed telling, ” I said. “What did he say?”
“只有斯特里克兰需要被告知，”我说。“他说了什么？”

“He laughed a little; you know how he laughs, not as though he were amused, but as though you were a damned fool, and said he’d go at once. —
“他笑了一笑；你知道他笑的样子，不像是感到好笑，而像是觉得你是个该死的傻瓜，然后说他会马上去。 —

He began to put his things together. You remember I fetched from his room what I thought he needed, and he asked Blanche for a piece of paper and some string to make a parcel. “
他开始收拾东西。你记得我从他房间拿了我认为他需要的东西，他向布兰奇要了一张纸和一些绳子包起来。

Stroeve stopped, gasping, and I thought he was going to faint. —
斯特罗夫停了下来，喘着气，我以为他要晕倒了。 —

This was not at all the story I had expected him to tell me.
这并不是我原本预料他要告诉我的故事。

“She was very pale, but she brought the paper and the string. He didn’t say anything. —
“她脸色很苍白，但她拿来了纸和绳子。他什么也没有说。 —

He made the parcel and he whistled a tune. He took no notice of either of us. —
他包起来，吹起了一曲调子。他对我们都毫不理会。 —

His eyes had an ironic smile in them. My heart was like lead. —
他的眼睛里带着一种讽刺的微笑。我的心沉入了谷底。 —

I was afraid something was going to happen, and I wished I hadn’t spoken. —
我害怕会有什么事情发生，我希望自己当时没有说话。 —

He looked round for his hat. Then she spoke:
他找起了他的帽子。然后她开口了：

”I'm going with Strickland, Dirk, ' she said.I can’t live with you any more. ‘
“‘我要跟着斯特里克兰走，德克，’她说。‘我不能再和你生活在一起了。’

“I tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Strickland didn’t say anything. —
“我想说话，但话却说不出来。斯特里克兰什么也没有说。 —

He went on whistling as though it had nothing to do with him. “
他继续吹着口哨，好像这一切和他无关。

Stroeve stopped again and mopped his face. I kept quite still. —
斯特罗夫又停了下来，擦了擦脸。我静静地坐着。 —

I believed him now, and I was astounded. —
我现在相信了他，我很震惊。 —

But all the same I could not understand.
但是我仍然无法理解。

Then he told me, in a trembling voice, with the tears pouring down his cheeks, how he had gone up to her, trying to take her in his arms, but she had drawn away and begged him not to touch her. —
然后他颤抖着的声音告诉我，眼泪顺着他的脸颊淌下来，他是怎样走向她，试图拥抱她，但她却躲开，并请求他不要碰她。 —

He implored her not to leave him. He told her how passionately he loved her, and reminded her of all the devotion he had lavished upon her. —
他请求她不要离开他。他告诉她他是如此热烈地爱着她，并提醒她他曾经对她的奉献。 —

He spoke to her of the happiness of their life. —
他对她说起他们生活的幸福。 —

He was not angry with her. He did not reproach her.
他没有生她的气。他没有责备她。

“Please let me go quietly, Dirk, ” she said at last. —
“请让我安静地离开，迪克，” 最后她说。 —

“Don’t you understand that I love Strickland? —
“你难道不明白我爱斯特里克兰吗？ —

Where he goes I shall go. “
无论他去哪里我都会跟着。

“But you must know that he’ll never make you happy. —
“但你必须知道他永远不会让你幸福。 —

For your own sake don’t go. You don’t know what you’ve got to look forward to. “
为了你自己的好，请不要去。你不知道你会面临什么。

“It’s your fault. You insisted on his coming here. “
“这是你的错。你坚持让他来这里。

He turned to Strickland.
他转向斯特里克兰。

“Have mercy on her, ” he implored him. “You can’t let her do anything so mad. “
“对她怜悯一下，” 他恳求他。”你不能让她做出如此疯狂的事情。

“She can do as she chooses, ” said Strickland. “She’s not forced to come. “
“她可以任意选择，” 斯特里克兰说。”她并没有被迫来。”

“My choice is made, ” she said, in a dull voice.
“我已经做出了选择，”她用沉闷的声音说。

Strickland’s injurious calm robbed Stroeve of the rest of his self-control. —
Strickland那种伤人的冷静剥夺了Stroeve剩余的自制力。 —

Blind rage seized him, and without knowing what he was doing he flung himself on Strickland. —
盲目的愤怒袭击了他，他不知道自己在做什么，就扑向了Strickland。 —

Strickland was taken by surprise and he staggered, but he was very strong, even after his illness, and in a moment, he did not exactly know how, Stroeve found himself on the floor.
Strickland感到吃惊，他摇摇晃晃，但他非常强壮，即使经历了疾病，片刻间，不太清楚是怎么回事，Stroeve发现自己倒在地板上。

“You funny little man, ” said Strickland.
“你这可笑的小人儿，”Strickland说。

Stroeve picked himself up. He noticed that his wife had remained perfectly still, and to be made ridiculous before her increased his humiliation. —
Stroeve爬起来。他注意到他的妻子仍然一动不动，被她看笑话增加了他的羞辱。 —

His spectacles had tumbled off in the struggle, and he could not immediately see them. —
他的眼镜在搏斗中掉了下来，他一时间找不到。 —

She picked them up and silently handed them to him. —
她捡起来，默默地递给他。 —

He seemed suddenly to realise his unhappiness, and though he knew he was making himself still more absurd, he began to cry. —
他似乎突然意识到自己的不幸，尽管他知道自己更愚蠢了，却开始哭泣。 —

He hid his face in his hands. The others watched him without a word. —
他用手掩面。其他人默不作声地看着他。 —

They did not move from where they stood.
他们没有从原地移动。

“Oh, my dear, ” he groaned at last, “how can you be so cruel?”
“哦，亲爱的，”他最后悲叹道，”你怎么能如此残酷？”

“I can’t help myself, Dirk, ” she answered.
“我控制不了自己，迪克，”她回答道。

“I’ve worshipped you as no woman was ever worshipped before. —
“我像没有其他女人那样崇拜你。 —

If in anything I did I displeased you, why didn’t you tell me, and I’d have changed. —
如果我做的任何事让你不高兴，你为什么不告诉我，我会改变的。” —

I’ve done everything I could for you. “
我已经尽力帮过你了。

She did not answer. Her face was set, and he saw that he was only boring her. —
她没有回答。她一脸不悦，他看到他只是在打扰她。 —

She put on a coat and her hat. She moved towards the door, and he saw that in a moment she would be gone. —
她穿上外套戴上帽子。她向门口走去，他看到她马上就要离开。 —

He went up to her quickly and fell on his knees before her, seizing her hands: —
他迅速走向她，跪在她面前，抓住她的手： —

he abandoned all self-respect.
他放弃了所有的自尊。

“Oh, don’t go, my darling. I can’t live without you; I shall kill myself. —
“哦，亲爱的，别走。没有了你，我活不下去；我会自寻短见。 —

If I’ve done anything to offend you I beg you to forgive me. —
如果我有什么得罪你的地方，请原谅我。 —

Give me another chance. I’ll try harder still to make you happy. “
再给我一个机会。我会更加努力让你幸福。”

“Get up, Dirk. You’re making yourself a perfect fool. “
“站起来，Dirk。你现在让自己成了一个巨大的傻瓜。”

He staggered to his feet, but still he would not let her go.
他蹒跚地站起来，但仍然不肯放手。

“Where are you going?” he said hastily. “You don’t know what Strickland’s place is like. —
“你要去哪里？”他匆忙说道。“你不知道Strickland的地方是什么样子。 —

You can’t live there. It would be awful. “
你无法在那里生活。那会很可怕。”

“If I don’t care, I don’t see why you should. “
“我不在乎，我不明白你为什么在意。”

“Stay a minute longer. I must speak. After all, you can’t grudge me that. “
“再待一会儿。我一定要说。毕竟，你不能怪我这样。”

“What is the good? I’ve made up my mind. Nothing that you can say will make me alter it. “
“有什么用呢？我已经下定决心了。你无法说服我改变主意。”

He gulped, and put his hand to his heart to ease its painful beating.
他吞了一口口水，把手放在心口上，缓解那疼痛的跳动。

“I’m not going to ask you to change your mind, but I want you to listen to me for a minute. It’s the last thing I shall ever ask you. —
“我不会要求你改变主意，但我希望你能听我说一分钟。这是我最后一次向你提出的请求。 —

Don’t refuse me that. “
不要拒绝我。”

She paused, looking at him with those reflective eyes of hers, which now were so different to him. —
她停顿了一下，用那双反思的眼睛看着他，这双眼睛现在对他来说格外地不同。 —

She came back into the studio and leaned against the table.
她走回工作室，倚着桌子。

“Well?”
“嗯？”

Stroeve made a great effort to collect himself.
斯特罗夫努力让自己冷静下来。

“You must be a little reasonable. You can’t live on air, you know. Strickland hasn’t got a penny. “
“你必须有点理智。你知道不能靠空气活下去。斯特里克兰一分钱都没有。”

“I know. “
“我知道。”

“You’ll suffer the most awful privations. —
“你会受到最可怕的苦难。 —

You know why he took so long to get well. —
你知道他康复这么慢是为什么。 —

He was half starved. “
他半饿半饱。”

“I can earn money for him. “
“我可以为他赚钱。”

“How?”
“怎么赚？”

“I don’t know. I shall find a way. “
“我不知道。我会找到办法。”

A horrible thought passed through the Dutchman’s mind, and he shuddered.
荷兰人脑海中闪过一个可怕的念头，他不禁打了个寒颤。

“I think you must be mad. I don’t know what has come over you. “
“我觉得你一定是疯了。我不知道你怎么了。”

She shrugged her shoulders.
她耸了耸肩。

“Now may I go?”
“那么，我可以走了吗？”

“Wait one second longer. “
“再等一秒钟。”

He looked round his studio wearily; he had loved it because her presence had made it gay and homelike; —
他厌倦地环顾了一下自己的工作室；他之前喜欢这里，因为她的存在使得这里变得欢乐和有家的感觉； —

he shut his eyes for an instant; then he gave her a long look as though to impress on his mind the picture of her. —
他瞥了她一眼，闭上眼睛，似乎要把她的模样深刻地印在心里。 —

He got up and took his hat.
他站起来拿起了帽子。

“No; I’ll go. “
“不，我会走的。”

“You?”
“你？”

She was startled. She did not know what he meant.
她吃了一惊。她不知道他是什么意思。

“I can’t bear to think of you living in that horrible, filthy attic. —
“我无法忍受想到你居住在那个可怕、肮脏的阁楼上。 —

After all, this is your home just as much as mine. —
毕竟，这里也是你的家，跟我的一样。 —

You’ll be comfortable here. You’ll be spared at least the worst privations. “
你在这里会很舒适。至少可以免于最坏的困苦。”

He went to the drawer in which he kept his money and took out several bank-notes.
他走到放钱的抽屉前，拿出几张钞票。

“I would like to give you half what I’ve got here. “
“我想给你一半我这里的钱。”

He put them on the table. Neither Strickland nor his wife spoke.
他把它们放在桌子上。 Strickland和他的妻子都没有说话。

Then he recollected something else.
然后他想起了另一件事。

“Will you pack up my clothes and leave them with the concierge? I’ll come and fetch them to-morrow. —
“你能把我的衣服收拾好，留给门房吗？明天我来取。” —

” He tried to smile. “ Good-bye, my dear. —
他试着微笑。“再见，亲爱的。” —

I’m grateful for all the happiness you gave me in the past. “
“我感激你过去给我的所有幸福。”

He walked out and closed the door behind him. —
他走出去，关上了门。 —

With my mind’s eye I saw Strickland throw his hat on a table, and, sitting down, begin to smoke a cigarette.
用我的心灵之眼，我看见Strickland把帽子扔在桌子上，然后坐下来，开始抽烟。