Two or three days later Dirk Stroeve called on me.
两三天后，迪克·斯特罗夫来找我了。

“I hear you’ve seen Blanche, ” he said.
“我听说你见过布兰奇了，”他说。

“How on earth did you find out?”
“你怎么知道的？”

“I was told by someone who saw you sitting with them. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“我是被一个看到你和他们坐在一起的人告诉的。为什么你不告诉我呢？”

“I thought it would only pain you. “
“我以为这只会让你痛苦。”

“What do I care if it does? You must know that I want to hear the smallest thing about her. “
“我才不在乎呢。你必须知道我想知道关于她的任何小事。”

I waited for him to ask me questions.
我等着他问我问题。

“What does she look like?” he said.
“她看起来怎么样？”他说。

“Absolutely unchanged. “
“完全没有变化。”

“Does she seem happy?”
“她看起来开心吗？”

I shrugged my shoulders.
我耸了耸肩。

“How can I tell? We were in a cafe; we were playing chess; I had no opportunity to speak to her. “
“我怎么能知道呢？我们在咖啡馆，我们在下棋，我没有机会和她说话。”

“Oh, but couldn’t you tell by her face?”
“哦，但你不能从她的脸上看出来吗？”

I shook my head. I could only repeat that by no word, by no hinted gesture, had she given an indication of her feelings. —
我摇了摇头。我只能重复，她没有通过任何言辞，任何暗示的手势表现出她的感受。 —

He must know better than I how great were her powers of self-control. —
他一定比我更清楚她那种自我控制的力量有多大。 —

He clasped his hands emotionally.
他情绪激动地握住双手。

“Oh, I’m so frightened. I know something is going to happen, something terrible, and I can do nothing to stop it. “
“哦，我好害怕。我知道会发生什么事, 一些可怕的事情，而我却无力阻止。”

“What sort of thing?” I asked.
“什么样的事情？”我问道。

“Oh, I don’t know, ” he moaned, seizing his head with his hands. —
“哦，我不知道，”他抱着头呻吟着。 —

“I foresee some terrible catastrophe. “
“我预见到一场可怕的灾难。”

Stroeve had always been excitable, but now he was beside himself; there was no reasoning with him. —
斯特罗夫一直情绪激动，但现在完全失控；无法与他讲理。 —

I thought it probable enough that Blanche Stroeve would not continue to find life with Strickland tolerable, but one of the falsest of proverbs is that you must lie on the bed that you have made. —
我认为布兰奇·斯特罗夫和史特里克兰在一起的生活可能会变得无法忍受，但做出床就要躺在上面的说法是假的到极处。 —

The experience of life shows that people are constantly doing things which must lead to disaster, and yet by some chance manage to evade the result of their folly. —
生活的经验表明，人们经常做一些必然导致灾难的事情，却总能侥幸逃脱他们愚蠢行为的后果。 —

When Blanche quarrelled with Strickland she had only to leave him, and her husband was waiting humbly to forgive and forget. —
当布兰奇和史特里克兰吵架时，她只需离开他，而她的丈夫却在等待着谦卑地原谅和忘记。 —

I was not prepared to feel any great sympathy for her.
我并不准备对她表现出太多同情。

“You see, you don’t love her, ” said Stroeve.
“你看，你不爱她，”斯特罗夫说。

“After all, there’s nothing to prove that she is unhappy. —
“毕竟，没有证据证明她不快乐。 —

For all we know they may have settled down into a most domestic couple. “
我们完全可以不知道他们是否已经成为一个非常家常的夫妇。”

Stroeve gave me a look with his woeful eyes.
斯特罗夫用他悲伤的眼睛看着我。

“Of course it doesn’t much matter to you, but to me it’s so serious, so intensely serious. “
“当然，这对你影响不大，但对我，这是如此严肃，如此强烈的严肃。”

I was sorry if I had seemed impatient or flippant.
如果我显得不耐烦或漫不经心，我很抱歉。

“Will you do something for me?” asked Stroeve.
“你能帮我一个忙吗？” Stroeve 问道。

“Willingly. “
“当然可以。”

“Will you write to Blanche for me?”
“你能帮我写封信给 Blanche 吗？”

“Why can’t you write yourself?”
“为什么你不亲自写呢？”

“I’ve written over and over again. I didn’t expect her to answer. I don’t think she reads the letters. “
“我已经写了很多次了。我没指望她会回信。我觉得她根本不看这些信。”

“You make no account of feminine curiosity. Do you think she could resist?”
“你没有考虑到女人的好奇心。你认为她能抵御得了吗？”

“She could – mine. “
“她可能会——对我的信。”

I looked at him quickly. He lowered his eyes. That answer of his seemed to me strangely humiliating. —
我急忙看着他。他低下了头。我觉得他那样回答很羞辱。 —

He was conscious that she regarded him with an indifference so profound that the sight of his handwriting would have not the slightest effect on her.
他意识到她对他的冷漠是如此深刻，以至于他的字迹对她根本没有丝毫影响。

“Do you really believe that she’ll ever come back to you?” I asked.
“你真的相信她会回到你身边吗？”我问道。

“I want her to know that if the worst comes to the worst she can count on me. —
“我希望她知道，即使最坏的情况发生，她也可以依靠我。” —

That’s what I want you to tell her. “
“这就是你要我告诉她的。”

I took a sheet of paper.
我拿起一张纸。

“What is it exactly you wish me to say?”
“你具体想让我说什么？”

This is what I wrote:
这就是我写的：

DEAR MRS. STROEVE, Dirk wishes me to tell you that if at any time you want him he will be grateful for the opportunity of being of service to you. —
亲爱的斯特罗夫夫人，Dirk希望我告诉您，如果您需要他的话，他将感激有机会为您提供服务。 —

He has no ill-feeling towards you on account of anything that has happened. —
他并不因为发生的事情而对您怀有恶意。 —

His love for you is unaltered. You will always find him at the following address:
他对您的爱不变。您随时可以在以下地址找到他：