双语对照 | 书虫二级《神秘女人——阿加莎·克里斯蒂》：6.阿加莎失踪了

6.Agatha disappears

6．阿加莎失踪了

On the morning of Friday, the 3rd of December, 1926, Archie left Styles and went to stay with some friends for the weekend. Nancy Neele was also staying at this house for the weekend. Perhaps Agatha knew this, perhaps she didn't—we can't be sure.

1926年12月3日，星期五，阿奇在上午离开了斯泰尔斯，去和一些朋友过周末。南希·内莱也在那里。阿加莎或许知道这些，或许不知道——我们不得而知。

Nobody knows what Agatha was thinking, late that dark winter evening. Rosalind, now seven years old, was in bed. The Christies' two housemaids were in the kitchen. But we know this. At about eleven o'clock that evening, Agatha went out and drove away in her car.

没人知道在那个漆黑的冬夜阿加莎在想些什么。七岁的罗莎琳德已经睡了。克里斯蒂家的两个女佣在厨房里。但我们所知道的是，那天晚上大概11点钟，阿加莎走出房门，驾车离去。

She did not return home that night.

那晚她没有回家。

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On Saturday morning, a woman arrived by taxi at the Hydro Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire. The Hydro was one of Harrogate's biggest and best hotels, near the centre of the town.

星期六早晨，一个女人乘坐出租车来到位于约克郡哈罗盖特的海卓旅馆。海卓是哈罗盖特最大、最好的旅馆，在镇中心附近。

'Can I have a room, please?' the woman asked. She was carrying a small suitcase, and she looked very tired.

“请给我开个房间好吗？”那个女人说。她带着一个小小的衣箱，看上去非常疲惫。

'Yes, of course,' said the man behind the hotel desk. 'There's a nice room on the first floor—room number five. It has hot and cold water, and the cost is seven pounds for a week.'

“好，当然可以，”宾馆前台后面的服务员说，“二楼有一个很好的房间——五号房。冷热水都有，每星期七英镑。”

'Thank you, that will be all right,' said the woman.

“谢谢你，这就可以了。”那女人说。

'What name, please?' asked the man.

“请问您的名字？”服务员问。

'Mrs Teresa Neele,' said the woman with the suitcase.

“特里萨·内莱夫人。”带着衣箱的女人答道。

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Also on that cold Saturday morning in December, a fifteen-year-old boy was walking beside a lake called the Silent Pool. This was at a place called Newlands Corner, about fourteen miles from Sunningdale. The boy's name was George Best.

同样是在那个12月寒气袭人的星期六早晨，一个15岁的男孩儿正沿着一个叫静塘的湖走着。这个地方名叫纽兰兹·科纳，离森尼达尔14英里。男孩儿名叫乔治·贝斯特。

Suddenly, George saw a car. It was off the road, down by the lake, but the lights were on.

突然，乔治看见了一辆汽车。它停在路边，车头倾向湖边，但车灯依然亮着。

'That's strange,' he thought. 'Why is that car down there, and why are the lights on?' And he went to have a better look.

“真奇怪，”他想，“这辆车为什么停在那儿，车灯怎么还亮着呢？”他走过去想看个仔细。

The car was empty, but the driver's door was open. George looked inside. He saw a coat, and an open suitcase. Half-out of the suitcase were three dresses, some shoes—and some papers with the name 'Mrs Agatha Christie' on them.

车里没人，驾驶员那边的车门敞开着。乔治向里瞧了瞧，看见一件大衣和一个打开了的衣箱。箱子内外散落着三件连衣裙，几只鞋——还有几张写着“阿加莎·克里斯蒂夫人”的纸。

George quickly went to find a policeman.

乔治飞快地跑去叫警察。

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The newspapers were soon full of the story, and Agatha's picture was on the front pages. Where was the detective-story writer? Was she dead? Was she murdered? Did she kill herself?

很快报纸上满篇都是这件事的报道，头版上还有阿加莎的照片。这个侦探小说家在哪里？她死了吗？被谋杀了吗？还是自杀了？

The Daily News wanted answers to these questions, and said, on December the 7th, that it would give ￡100 to the first person with the answers. By the next weekend, hundreds of policemen and thousands of people were looking for her.

《每日新闻》想找到这些问题的答案，12月7日，它声称谁先找到答案谁就可以赢得100英镑。到了下一个周末的时候，成百上千的警察和成千上万的人都在寻找她。

'Did your wife ever talk about disappearing?' a Daily Mail reporter asked Archie.

“你的妻子有没有提起过失踪？”《每日邮报》的记者问阿奇。

'Yes,' said Archie. 'She once told her sister, "I could disappear any time I wanted to. I would plan it carefully, and nobody would find me." Perhaps this happened. Or perhaps she's ill and can't remember who she is.'

“提起过，”阿奇说，“她曾经对她姐姐说：'我什么时候想失踪就会失踪。我会有很周密的计划，没人找得到我。'可能这真的发生了。或者她可能是病了，记不得自己是谁了。”

The police asked Archie lots of questions, watched his house, and followed him to his office.

警方问了阿奇很多问题，监视他的房子，并跟踪他到办公室。

'They think I've murdered Agatha,' he told a friend.

“他们认为是我谋杀了阿加莎。”他对一个朋友说。

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The woman at the Hydro Hotel had breakfast in her room each morning, and sat quietly reading in the hotel sitting-room in the afternoons. She said 'Good morning' and 'Good afternoon' to other people in the hotel, and seemed worried because there were no letters for her.

住在海卓旅馆的那个女人每天在她的房间里用早餐，下午坐在旅馆大厅里静静地看书。她对旅馆里的其他人都说“早上好”和“下午好”，因为没有收到来信而显得有些焦虑。

But one of the chambermaids went to see Mrs Taylor, the wife of the hotel manager.

旅馆的一个女服务员找到旅馆经理的妻子泰勒夫人。

'Mrs Neele looks like the woman in the Daily Mail picture,' said the chambermaid. 'You know the one—Agatha Christie!'

“内莱夫人看起来很像是《每日邮报》照片上的那个女人，”这个女服务员说，“您知道的——阿加莎·克里斯蒂！”

Mrs Taylor spoke to her husband about it, but they decided to say nothing. They did not want any trouble at the hotel.

泰勒夫人和丈夫说了这件事，为了不给旅馆带来麻烦，他们决定暂不声张。

But two more people at the Hydro Hotel were also looking carefully at 'Mrs Teresa Neele'.

但是在海卓旅馆里还有两个人在仔细打量着这位“特里萨·内莱夫人”。

Bob Tappin and Bob Leeming played music in the hotel each evening, and both of them watched the quiet woman in the corner of the room—and began to think.

鲍勃·塔平和鲍勃·利明每晚都在旅馆里演奏音乐，他们都看见了那个安安静静坐在屋子角落里的女人——并开始琢磨。

'I'm sure that Neele woman is Agatha Christie,' Bob Tappin said to his friend one evening.

“我肯定那个叫内莱的女人是阿加莎·克里斯蒂，”一天晚上鲍勃·塔平对他的伙伴说。

'I think you're right,' Bob Leeming agreed. 'What shall we do about it?'

“我想你是对的，”鲍勃·利明表示赞同，“我们该怎么办呢？”

And the next day they went to the police.

第二天他们去了警察局。

The police immediately told Agatha's husband, and Archie Christie arrived at the Hydro Hotel at 6.45pm on Tuesday, the 14th of December. When his wife walked out of the sitting-room, Archie saw her and went up to her.

警方立即通知了阿加莎的丈夫，阿奇·克里斯蒂在12月14日星期二的下午6:45赶到了海卓旅馆。当他的妻子走出大厅时，阿奇看到了她并迎上前去。

'Hello, Agatha,' he said.

“你好，阿加莎。”他说。

She looked at him carefully, but did not seem sure who he was. 'Hello,' she said.

她认真地打量着他，却不敢肯定这是谁。“你好。”她说。

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The hotel was soon full of newspaper reporters.

旅馆里很快就挤满了报社记者。

Archie told them later, 'I don't think that my wife knows who she is. She doesn't know me, and she doesn't know where she is.'

后来阿奇对他们说：“我想我妻子不知道自己是谁。她不认得我，也不知道自己身在何处。”

He and Agatha left the hotel the next day. There were reporters everywhere. They followed the Christies to the railway station, trying to get pictures of the frightened Agatha, who was hiding her face behind her hands. She looked thin and her face was white.

第二天他和阿加莎离开了旅馆。到处都是记者，他们跟随克里斯蒂夫妇到了火车站，想拍下阿加莎受惊吓的照片，阿加莎只好用手捂住自己的脸。她看上去很消瘦，脸色苍白。

And in London, hundreds of people were waiting at King's Cross Station for the train from Harrogate. Everyone wanted to see the 'woman of mystery' and her husband. Their lives now seemed to be like something out of one of her detective stories.

在伦敦，有成百上千个人在金斯克罗斯火车站等待从哈罗盖特开来的火车。大家都想目睹一下这位“神秘女人”和她丈夫的风采。他们的生活现在看起来就像她的侦探小说里的某些情节。

Archie helped the silent, frightened Agatha through the crowd. Reporters shouted questions at them and took pictures, but neither Archie nor Agatha said a word.

阿奇保护着沉默惊恐的阿加莎穿过人群。记者们边冲他们大声地提问边拍摄照片，阿奇和阿加莎均保持缄默。

And for the rest of her life, Agatha never again spoke about Harrogate, the Hydro Hotel, or 'Teresa Neele'. But what really happened that night after she left Styles? Why did she leave her car? How did she get to Harrogate? It was always a mystery.

阿加莎有生之年再也没有谈起过哈罗盖特、海卓旅馆或是特里萨·内莱。在她离开斯泰尔斯的那天晚上究竟发生了什么事？她为什么丢下了汽车？她又是如何到的哈罗盖特？这些都将永远成为不解之谜。

It still is.

至今如此。

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housemaid n. woman servant in a house, esp. one who cleans rooms, etc. （尤指清扫房间等的）女仆，女佣人。

suitcase n. case with flat sides, used for carrying clothes, etc. when travelling. 手提衣箱；小提箱。

be full of be filled with. 满的，充满……的。

look for search for or try to find sb./sth. 寻找或寻求某人（某物）。

reporter n. person who reports news for the media. 记者；新闻通讯员。

chambermaid n. woman whose job is cleaning and tidying bedrooms, usu. in a hotel. 以打扫和整理卧室为工作的妇女（通常指旅馆中的）；女服务员；女侍。

in the corner of the room 在屋角。

crowd n. huge number of people gathered together in the open. 人群。