牛津书虫系列 公正 4 Phone Call

4 Phone Call

4 电话

The phone rang again in Alan Cole's room.

阿兰.科尔房间里的电话又响了。

‘Hello?’he said.

“喂?”他说。

"Alan?".

“阿兰?”

He recognized her voice at once .‘Anna!’he said，’his heart beating fast.

他立即听出她的声音。“安娜!”他说，他的心跳得很快。

`Yes. Now listen carefully.，Alan--’

是我。仔细听着，阿兰—”

‘Oh Anna! I've been waiting for your;.call.Have ,yov heard about -- about my leg,Anna?’

“哦，安娜!我一直都在等你的电话。你听说—我的腿的事了吗，安娜?”

‘Never mind your leg. Listen to me、III say this:,once; t#nd once only."

“你的腿没关系。听着。我只说一遍，就一遍。”

‘what?Anna，what are you --’

“什么?安娜，你什么—”

‘We've got your daughter，Alan.Jane.That's her name，isn't it? Speak to your father，Jane.Now!’

“我们抓住了你女儿，阿兰。就是简。她叫那名字，不对吗?跟你爸爸讲话，简。就现在!”

Over the phone，Alan heard the high，frightened voice of his daughter.‘Dad? I'm sorry，Dad.They say.if you tell the police anything about Anna，they'll kill me，but I don't care ,I…oh!"

通过电话，阿兰听到女儿高高的而又惊恐的声音。“爸爸吗?对不起.爸爸。他们说要是你跟警察说起安娜，他们就杀了我，但我不在乎，我……噢!”

Alan heard a scream ,which was suddenly cut off.Then Anna's voice again:‘She won't die if you keep.quiet,lover boy.But if you say a word，a single word shout me to the police,you'll find her body in the river Thames.Do you under-stand?"

阿兰听见一声尖叫，它又嘎然而止。接着，他又听见安娜的声音：“要是你保持沉默，她就不会死，我的情郎。可要是你跟警察说起我一个字，哪怕就一个字，你就到泰晤士河给她收尸吧。你明白了吗?”

Alan tried to speak，but there～something wrong with his voice. `-Yes，" 'tie said.‘But，please…’

阿兰想说话，可他的声音不知是怎么了。“好的，”他说，“可是，请......”

‘No buts, 'If -ybu want to see your daughter ,again，keep your riath shut."

“没有可是。如果你还想见你女儿，就让你的嘴闭上。”

The phone Went dead. Alan Cole sat very still. There was a ble pain: In his' chest，his mouth was dry and he -couldn't move .He sat like a stone.

电话挂断了。阿兰?科尔一动不动地坐在那儿。他的脚部剧烈地疼痛，他口干舌燥，也挪动不了身体。他就像石头一样呆坐着。

It's like a dream，he thought.Surely it didn't happen.But that voice on the phone，it was Jane all right .And Anna，too.Anna…saying that she had kidnapped Jane.

就像梦一样，他想。肯定什么也没发生。可那电话里的声音分明是简。还有安娜。安娜!……说她绑架了简。

But why? What was going on?

可是为什么呢?发生了什么事?

Slowly，he tried to understand.He hadn't told .the police about Anna，because of her husband.But why was that so im-portant?

慢慢地，他想搞懂这是怎么回事。他还没有跟警察谈起安娜，那是因为她丈夫。但那为何这么重要?

Why has Anna kidnapped Jane

为什么安娜绑架了简?

Because Anna has a secret .Something very important that I，Alan，know about、but mustn’t tell the police.Anna will kill Jane if I tell anyone about it：

因为安娜有隐私。有什么重要的事情是我阿兰知道但又不该告诉警察的。要是我对任何人讲了，安娜就会杀了简。

But what is this secret? What am I supposed to know?

但秘密是什么呢?她以为我知道什么?

There was a knock on the door.A nurse came in.

有人敲门。一个护士走了进来。

‘Hello , Mr Cole .A policeman to see you.Are you OK?’

“你好，科尔先生。一个警察来看你。你还好吗?”

‘Yes…yes，fine，thanks.’

“是……是，挺好的，谢谢。”

‘You don，t look OK.’The nurse put her hand on his head，and felt his wrist.‘Well，you're not too hot; and your heart's OK.’She smiled at the policeman.‘just half an hour，now.Remember，he's had a very serious accident.’

“你脸色不好。”护士把手放在他的额头上，又摸了摸他的脉搏。“唔，不太热，心脏也还可以。”她朝警察笑笑。“就半个小时。记住，他刚出了严重的事故。”

‘I know that.’The policeman came in and sat down，and the nurse went out，pushing the telephone table in front of her:‘I'm Detective Hall，Mr Cole.We met before.’

“我知道。”警察走进来，坐下，护士推着电话桌走了出去。“我是荷尔警探，科尔先生。我们以前见过。”

‘Yes，’Alan said .The policeman had a kind，friendly face.The kind of～you could trust.He'll help me，Alan thought. He's probably a father himself.

“是的，”阿兰说。这个警察有一张和蔼而友善的脸，是那种你可以信赖的人。他会帮助我的，阿兰想，他自己可能也是个父亲。

No! Fear burned Alan like a fire.1 mustn't tell him about Anna.If ldo，Jane will die…

不!恐惧就像火一样折磨着阿兰。我不能跟他谈起安娜。否则简会死的……

‘You've probably read in the newspapers，Mr Cole，that we've arrested two men.’The policeman told Alan the story about the two Irishmen in the coach factory.‘So we know they bombed the coach，and how they did it.`I suppose you're pleased about that.’

“你可能已经从报纸上知道了，科尔先生，我们抓了两个人。”警察告诉阿兰那两个在马车工厂工作的爱尔兰人的事。“所以我们知道是他们炸的马车，而且知道是怎么炸的。我想你对此很高兴吧。“

‘Er…yes，’Alan said quietly.‘That's good.But why have you come to see me?’

“哦…是啊，”阿兰低声说，“很好，可是……你为什么来看我?"

‘I iusLneed to ask you s few questions about the day before the bowXg .You see，we think these～put the bomb in the coach three days before the bombing，while the coach was at the factory.So the bomb was already in the coach when it came back to the Mews.’

“我只是想间几个有关爆炸前一天的问题。你知道，我们认为这两个人在爆炸发生三天前就把炸弹放进了马车，当时马车在工厂。因此马车回到马厩时，炸弹已经在里边了。”

‘Was it?’Alan said.He didn't really understand what the policeman was talking about.

“是吗?"阿兰说。他不太懂警察在说什么。

‘We think so，yes.And in your job，you look after the coach，don't you?’

“是的，我们是这么认为。你的工作是照看马车，对吗?"

‘The coach，yes.And the horses.Mostly the horses.’

“马车，是的。还有马。大部分是马。.

‘Well，did you notice anything unusual — anything at all?’

“那么，你没发现什么异常吗—任何异常?”

‘No，I don't think so.’

“没有，我想没有。”

‘Let's take this slowly，the policeman said.‘The day before the bombing，when did you leave work?’

“让我们慢慢来，”警察说，“爆炸前一天，你几点下的班?"

‘At…about six o'clock.Half past，perhaps，’

“大约……在六点。也许是六点半。”

‘And you didn't go back?，

“你没再回去吗?"

‘No，’Alan said quietly.

“没有，”阿兰低声说。

Then he looked away，quickly，out of the window.He felt cold，frightened，lonely.

接着，他迅速地朝窗外望去。他感到又冷又怕又孤独。

‘Are you sure about that，Mr Cole?You see，a guard told me you came back later，at about ten，’

“你肯定吗，科尔先生?你知道，一个门卫告诉我你后来回去了，在大约十点钟时。”

‘He did? Oh，yes，of course .I went back to see a horse，Sandman .He had a bad leg.’

“他说的?噢，是啊，当然。我回去看一匹马，山德曼。它一条腿坏了。”

‘I see.’The policeman wrote in his book.‘Alone?’

“我知道了，”警察在本上记录着，“一个人吗?"

‘I'm sorry?’

“什么?”

‘Were you alone，Mr Cole? When you saw the horse?’

“你是一个人吗，科尔先生?你去看马的时候?”

For a moment Alan didn't answer.A new，very, unwelcome idea came to him，and he began to feel sick with fear. It wasn't those two Irishmen，he thought，it was Anna!She put the bomb in the coach when I 'was with Sandman.I was alone with the horse for at least ten minutes;she had plenty of time.

片刻之时阿兰没有回答。他的脑子里又出现一个讨厌的念头，他开始因恐俱而感到难受。不是那两个爱尔兰人干的，他想，是安娜!我和山德曼在一起时，她把炸弹放在了马车里。我和马单独在一起至少有10分钟，她有足够的时间。

And that means she didn't love me at all，she just used me.I thought I was so lucky，an old man with a young pretty woman in my bed — and all the time she was laughing at me.Worse than that — she's a murderer!She killed George and Bernard and John，and she took my leg，and now she's going to kill Jane as well!

那也就是说她根本不爱我，她只是利用我。我还以为我这么一个老头能和一个年轻漂亮的姑娘上床真走运—而她一直都在笑话我。更糟的是—她竟是个凶手!她杀了乔治、伯纳德和约翰，她还夺走了我的一条腿，现在她还要杀简!

And I can't say anything about it.

而且我什么也不能说。’

That's why she phoned me.To make sure that I never tell the police.

难怪她给我打电话。那是想确认我不会跟警察说什么。

If I tell this policeman，Jane will die.

要是我对警察说，简就会死的。

In a strange，shaky voice，Alan said，‘I was alone when I was with the horse，yes.’

阿兰用一种奇怪而颤抖的声音说：“我和马在一起的时候就我一个人，是这样。”

The'policeman said nothing.Alan felt his hands shaking and put them under the sheet.Why is he looking at me like that?he thought.What does he know?

警察什么也没说。阿兰觉得自己的手在颤抖，就把它们放在被单底下。他干嘛那样看着我?他想。他都知道些什么?

‘Are you sure，Mr Cole? The guard says you have a lady friend，and sometimes she visits the horses with you.Was she with you that night?’

“你肯定吗，科尔先生?门卫说你有一个女朋友，她有时和你一起去看马。她那天晚上和你在一起吗?.

‘No.’

“不。”

‘You're sure about that，Mr Cole?’

“你肯定呀，科尔先生?”

‘Yes，I am.And she's not my friend any more now --we've ended it.’

“是的，我肯定。而且她也不再是我女朋友了—我们关系结束了。”

‘I see.’ The policeman sighed，wrote in his notebook，and stood up，‘That's all then，Mr Cole.The guard wasn't sure.Probably it was a different night.’

“我明白了。”警察叹了口气，在笔记本上写着，站了起来。“那么就这样吧，科尔先生。门卫也不肯定。那也许是另一个晚上。”

‘Yes .I'm sure it was .’

“是啊，我想是。.

‘Right then.Thank you for your help.Good night，Mr Cole.’He walked to the door，and went out.

“那好吧。谢谢你的帮助。晚安，科尔先生。”他走到门口，出去了。

Alan watched him go，unable to say another word.He had ～felt so helpless，so frightened.I have to speak，he thought，I have to do something.But I can't .

阿兰眼看着他走了，却再也说不出一个字。他从没感到过如此无助，如此害怕。我必须说，他想，我必须做些什么，可找不能。

If I 'speak，Jane will die.

如果我说了，简就会死的。

But if I say nothing，will they ever let her go?

但我要是什么都不说，他们就会放了她吗?

As the door closed，he opened his mouth and said，`Detec-tive Hall.’

门关上的时候，他张开口，说：“荷尔侦探。”

But the policeman walked away.He didn't hear，

但是警察已经走远了，没有听见。

Oh God，Alan thought.What do I do now ?

噢，上帝啊，阿兰想，我现在该怎么办?

After the phone call. Kev and Anna tied the cloth round Jane's mouth again，and went back into .her kitchen‘Anna had the bag over Jane’s head too，’but Jane could hear most of what they were saying. They were angry，arguing.

打完电话，凯夫和安娜又把布绑在简的嘴上，回到厨房。安娜也把袋子罩在了简脸上，可他们说的大部分话她都能听见。他们正生气，争吵着什么。

‘You've made too many mistakes with this plan，Anna，’ Kev said.‘The Queen of England is still walking around Buckingham Palace because of you.，

“在这个计划上你出了太多的错，安娜。”凯夫说，“就因为你，英格兰女王还在白金汉宫周围散步。”

Anna's voice was high and angry.‘Because of me?What about ynu?You were supposed, to understand bombs and radio transmitters, and what happened? The transmitter in that camera didn't work when I pressed the button!’

安娜的声音又高又生气。“因为我?那么你呢?本以为你懂得炸弹和无线电传感器，可发生了什么?我按下照相机快门时，相机里边的那个传感器却没奏效!”

‘You probably didn't press it hard enough，’Kev said coldly.‘It worked in the end，didn't it?’

“也许你按得不够狠劲，”凯夫冷冷地说，“最后奏效了，不是吗?"

‘Yes，too late!’Anna said.‘That was your mistake，not mine.So now we've got Cole to worry about，and this girl. We've got to get her away from here fast.’

“是啊，太晚了!”安娜说，“那是你的错，不是我的。所以我们现在要为科尔和这女孩的事担心。我们得尽快把她从这儿弄走。”

‘Wait until midnight，when the house is quiet.’

“等到半夜这儿静下来时再说。”

There was an icy fear in Jane's stomach.They know I can hear them，and they don't care，she thought.I'm sure Dad will keep quiet，but they can never let me go now .They'll have to kill me，because I know too much.

简感到恐惧像冰一般袭上心头。他们知道我能听见他们说话，他们还不在乎，她想。我相信爸爸会保持沉默的，但他们现在不会让我走的。他们肯定得杀了我，因为我知道得太多。

If I don't get away from them soon，f m going to die.

如果我不赶快离开他们，我就会死的。

Alan lay in the dark and listened to the voices in his head，arguing this way，and that way，until he thought he would go crazy.

阿兰在黑暗中躺着，倾听着自己脑海中的两个自我这样、那样地争拼着，直到他觉得自己都要疯了。

Keep your mouth shut，If you speak，she'll die.

闭上你的嘴!你若讲出来她就得死!

But they'll still kill her，if she's seen their faces.

但是如果她看见了他们的脸，他们仍会杀了她。

They won't，Anna won't .She's a woman，she couldn't do that，She was your lover，

他们不会的，安娜不会的。她是个女人，她不能那样做!她曾是你的情人!

Woman!She killed five people!She blew my leg off!

女人!她杀了五个人!她炸掉了我的腿!

Those two men the police have arrested are innocent. They'll go to prison for thirty years if 1 don't speak !

警察抓的那两个人是无辜的。要是我不说话，他们就要坐30年牢!

I don't know them，I don't care about them.Jane is the only person who matters to me!

我不认识他们，我不在乎他们。简是我唯一在乎的人!

The police will think that I helped Anna put the bomb‘.the coach ! I'll go to prison.

警察会以为我帮安娜在马车里放了炸弹!我会坐牢的。

That woman is laughing at me.She was laughing at me when we made love .I hate her!I hope she dies!

那个女人在笑话我。我们做爱的时候她在笑我。我恨她!我希望她死!

She won't die，Jane will .1 must keep quiet !

她死不了，简会死。我必须保持沉默!

What can I do? If I speak，they'll kill her.But if I don't speak，they'll kill her later. So I've got to tell the police now, it's Jane's only chance.

我该怎么办?如果我说了，他们会杀了简。可我不说，他们过后也会杀了她。所以 我现在就得跟警察说，这是简唯一的机会。

I can't，it's too dangerous.1 can't! I want to see my daughter !

我不能!这太危险了。我不能!我想见到我女儿!

For two hours he lay in his room and,listened to the voices in his head and.thought he was going crazy.His lei ached，his chest felt very hot .Twice he dedided `to get tip and tell some -one，but his body wouldn't move.

‘他就这样在房间里躺着并听着自己脑子里的声音达两个小时之久，觉得自己快疯了。他的腿在疼，胸部热极了。他有两次都决定起来跟别人说，可他的身体却没动。

Then，the third time, he, got into his wheelchair and went out into the corridor.It was midnight.

于是，第三次时，他坐到轮椅上并出去到了走廊里。这时是半夜了。

Nurse!’he said，‘Nurse，I need a telephone,now!"

“护士!”他说，“护士，我要用电话，就现在!”

Oh God，he thought.Where is Jane now ?

噢，上帝啊，他想，简现在在哪儿?

Jane was in the boot of a 'car.Her hands and feet were tied，the piece of cloth was round her mouth，and the bag was over her. head，but she knew she was in a car boot because she could hear the engine, and when she tried to sit up she hit her head.

简被关在一辆汽车的后备箱里。她的手脚被捆着，嘴上塞着布，头上还罩着袋子，但她知道她在一辆汽车的后备箱里，因为她能听见发动机在响，而且当她想坐起来的时候她的头被撞了一下。

She didn't know how long she had been there.There wasn't much air，but she couldn，t do anything about it.She just lay there and thought：it can't be much longer.We must get there soon and then they'll let me. out.

她不知道她还要在那儿呆多久。里边的空气不太多了，可她毫无办法。她只能躺在那儿，想：不会太长的;我们很快就会到，然后他们就会把我放出去。

And then what? How long before they kill me?

然后呢?距他们杀我还有多久?