After Twenty Years

The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely 10 o’clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh de-peopled the streets.

巡警沿着大街煞有介事地踱步向前。这份煞有介事是他一贯的习惯， 并非做给谁看的，因为路上几乎没有什么行人。此时还不到晚上十点， 可带着雨意的阵阵寒风，早已把街道吹得几乎空无一人。

Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.

他一路走去，一边试着各家的门锁，一边灵巧地转着警棍，做出各种 繁复而娴熟的花样，不时转身，用警惕的目光扫视这条静谧的大道； 这位警官身材魁梧，步态间带着几分神气，俨然是一幅治安守护者的 生动画像。这一带向来早早便安静下来。你偶尔能看见雪茄铺或是通 宵营业的快餐柜台透出的灯光，可大多数门面都属于早已打烊的商行。

When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.

走到某个街区中段时，警官忽然放慢了脚步。一家已经打烊的五金店 门口，站着一个男人，嘴里叼着一支没点燃的雪茄。警官走上前去时， 那人立刻开口说话了。

“It’s all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly. “I’m just waiting for a friend. It’s an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn’t it? Well, I’ll explain if you’d like to make certain it’s all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands—‘Big Joe’ Brady’s restaurant.”

“没事的，警官，”他安慰似地说道，“我只是在等一个朋友。这是 二十年前定下的约会。听起来是有点好笑，是吧？好吧，要是你想 弄清楚这没什么问题，我就解释给你听。大约二十年前，这家店的 地方原本是一家餐馆——‘大乔’布雷迪的餐馆。”

“Until five years ago,” said the policeman. “It was torn down then.”

“直到五年前才拆掉，”警官说道，“那时候才被拆了。”

The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set.

门口那人划着一根火柴，点燃了雪茄。火光照出一张苍白、方下巴的 脸，一双锐利的眼睛，右眉附近有一道小小的白色伤疤。他领带上的 别针镶着一颗硕大的钻石，样式颇为古怪。

“Twenty years ago to-night,” said the man, “I dined here at ‘Big Joe’ Brady’s with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn’t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth.”

“就在二十年前的今晚，”那人说道，“我和吉米·威尔斯一起在这 儿的‘大乔’布雷迪餐馆吃过饭，他是我最要好的朋友，也是世上 最出色的小伙子。他和我都是在纽约这儿长大的，就像亲兄弟一样。 那时我十八岁，吉米二十岁。第二天早上，我就要动身去西部闯天下 了。你怎么也拉不走吉米离开纽约，他觉得那儿就是天底下唯一的 地方。”

“Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.”

“好吧，我们那天晚上约定，往后不管我们境况如何，不管要从多远 的地方赶来，都要在整整二十年后的这一天、这个时刻，回到这里 重逢。我们估摸着，二十年之后，我们俩应该都各自闯出了自己的 命运，不管好坏，也该都发达了。”

“It sounds pretty interesting,” said the policeman. “Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven’t you heard from your friend since you left?”

“听起来倒挺有意思，”警官说道，“不过这两次见面之间，隔得也 未免太久了些，依我看。你离开以后，就没听过你朋友的消息吗？”

“Well, yes, for a time we corresponded,” said the other. “But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive, for he always was the truest, stanchest old chap in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door to-night, and it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.”

“唔，有过，起初我们通过一阵子信，”那人说道，“可过了一两年， 我们就断了联系。你知道，西部这地方大得很，我一直在那儿马不停 蹄地闯荡。不过我知道，只要吉米还活着，他一定会来这儿见我的， 他向来是天底下最靠得住、最忠实的老伙计，他绝不会忘了这事。 我今晚特地赶了一千英里的路，就为了站在这道门口，只要我这位 老搭档能出现，这一趟就值了。”

The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.

等候的那人掏出一块漂亮的怀表，表盖上镶着几颗小钻石。

“Three minutes to ten,” he announced. “It was exactly ten o’clock when we parted here at the restaurant door.”

“还差三分钟就十点了，”他宣布道，“我们当年就是在这餐馆门口， 整整十点钟分的手。”

“Did pretty well out West, didn’t you?” asked the policeman.

“在西部混得不错吧，是不是？”警官问道。

“You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was. I’ve had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. A man gets in a groove in New York. It takes the West to put a razor-edge on him.”

“那还用说！我只盼着吉米能有我一半的出息就好了。不过他这人 一向老实巴交，虽说是个好人。我可是跟一些脑子最灵活的家伙较 量过，才挣下这份家业的。人在纽约待久了，难免会走进一个死胡 同，得靠西部才能把人磨出锋芒来。”

The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.

警官转了转警棍，往前迈了一两步。

“I’ll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?”

“我该继续巡逻了。但愿你朋友能顺顺当当地赶来。你打算准时到点 就不等他了吗？”

“I should say not!” said the other. “I’ll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he’ll be here by that time. So long, officer.”

“那可不会！”那人说道，“我至少要等他半个钟头。要是吉米还 活在这世上，那时候他肯定就到了。回见了，警官。”

“Good-night, sir,” said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying doors as he went.

“晚安，先生，”警官说道，继续沿着自己的巡逻路线走去，一路 仍试着各家的门锁。

There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had risen from its uncertain puffs into a steady blow. The few foot passengers astir in that quarter hurried dismally and silently along with coat collars turned high and pocketed hands. And in the door of the hardware store the man who had come a thousand miles to fill an appointment, uncertain almost to absurdity, with the friend of his youth, smoked his cigar and waited.

这时下起了细密而寒冷的毛毛雨，风也从时断时续的阵风变成了持续 不停的劲吹。这一带街上仅有的几个行人，都竖起衣领，把手插进 口袋，闷闷不乐、默不作声地匆匆赶路。而在那五金店门口，那个 赶了一千英里路来赴约的人，尽管这份把握荒唐得近乎可笑，还是 叼着雪茄，静静地等着他年少时的朋友。

About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears, hurried across from the opposite side of the street. He went directly to the waiting man.

他等了约莫二十分钟，随后一个穿着长大衣、领子竖到耳边的高个子 男人，从街对面匆匆赶了过来，径直走向等候的那人。

“Is that you, Bob?” he asked, doubtfully.

“是你吗，鲍勃？”他半信半疑地问道。

“Is that you, Jimmy Wells?” cried the man in the door.

“是你吗，吉米·威尔斯？”门口那人喊道。

“Bless my heart!” exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other’s hands with his own. “It’s Bob, sure as fate. I was certain I’d find you here if you were still in existence. Well, well, well!—twenty years is a long time. The old restaurant’s gone, Bob; I wish it had lasted, so we could have had another dinner there. How has the West treated you, old man?”

“我的老天！”新来的这人喊道，一把攥住对方的双手，“真是鲍勃， 一点没错。我就知道，只要你还活着，我准能在这儿找到你。哎呀， 哎呀，哎呀！——二十年可真是好长一段日子啊。老餐馆没了，鲍勃， 真希望它能留到现在，咱们还能在那儿再吃一顿饭。西部这些年待你 怎么样，老伙计？”

“Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. You’ve changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall by two or three inches.”

“棒极了，我想要的，它全都给了我。你变了不少啊，吉米。我可 从没想到你会长得比从前高出两三英寸。”

“Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty.”

“哦，我二十岁以后又长了点个子。”

“Doing well in New York, Jimmy?”

“在纽约混得怎么样，吉米？”

“Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we’ll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times.”

“还算过得去。我在市里的一个部门谋了个差事。走吧，鲍勃，我们 去我知道的一个地方，好好聊聊往日的旧事。”

The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West, his egotism enlarged by success, was beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest.

两人便挽着胳膊，沿街走去。这位从西部归来的人，因功成名就而 愈发自负，开始滔滔不绝地讲起自己这些年的经历。另一位裹在大 衣里，听得津津有味。

At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other’s face.

街角有一家药店，灯火通明，光亮夺目。两人走进这片强光之中时， 不约而同地转过头，端详起对方的脸。

The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.

那位从西部来的人忽然停住脚步，抽回了自己的胳膊。

“You’re not Jimmy Wells,” he snapped. “Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug.”

“你不是吉米·威尔斯，”他厉声说道，“二十年是很长，可再长， 也不至于把一个人的罗马鼻子变成塌鼻子。”

“It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one,” said the tall man. “You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, ‘Silky’ Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That’s sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here’s a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It’s from Patrolman Wells.”

“有时候，二十年也足够把一个好人变成坏人了，”那高个子男人 说道。“你已经被捕十分钟了，‘丝滑’鲍勃。芝加哥方面猜你可能 溜到我们这边来了，打了电报来，说想跟你聊聊。老老实实跟我们 走一趟，好吗？这样才明智。好了，在我们去局子之前，这儿有张 字条，是有人托我转交给你的。你可以就在窗边这儿看看，这是 巡警威尔斯写的。”

The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short.

这位从西部来的人展开递给他的那张小纸条。他刚开始读的时候， 手还很稳，可读到末尾时，手已经有些发抖了。字条写得相当简短：

_Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.

鲍勃：我准时到了约定的地方。你划火柴点雪茄的时候，我看清了 那正是芝加哥通缉的那张脸。也不知怎么的，我下不了手亲自动手 抓你，于是我便绕开去，找了个便衣警察来干这件事。

JIMMY._

吉米。