双语·《刀锋》 第六章 五

CHAPTER SIX 5
第六章 五

It was getting late. The crowd had thinned out and only a few tables were occupied.The people who had been sitting there because they had nothing else to do had gone home.Those who had been to a play or a picture and had come to have a drink or a bite to eat had left.Now and then latecomers straggled in.I saw a tall man, evidently an Englishman, come in with a young rough.He had the long, washed-out face with thinning wavy hair of the British intellectual and evidently suffered from the delusion common to many that when you are abroad no one you know at home can possibly recognize you.The young rough greedily ate a great plate of sandwiches while his companion watched him with amused benevolence.What an appetite.I saw one man whom I knew by sight because he went to the same barber's at Nice.He was stout, elderly, and grey-haired, with a puffy red face and heavy pouches under his eyes.He was a Middle Western banker who had left his native city after the crash rather than face an investigation.I do not know whether he had committed any crime；if he had, he was perhaps too small fry to put the authorities to the trouble of getting him extradited.He had a pompous manner and the false heartiness of a cheap politician, but his eyes were frightened and unhappy.He was never quite drunk and never quite sober.He was always with some harlot who was obviously getting all she could out of him, and he was now with two painted middle-aged women who treated him with a mockery they didn't trouble to conceal while he, only half understanding what they said, giggled fatuously.The gay life！I wondered if he wouldn't have done better to stay at home and take his medicine.One day his women would have squeezed him dry and then there would be nothing left for him but the river or an overdose of veronal.
时间已经很晚了。客人们纷纷离去。只有几张桌子旁还坐着人。那些没有事做来消磨时间的人都回家去了。那些看完戏剧或电影跑来小酌或垫补肚子的人，也已经离去。时不时会有几个夜猫子晃晃悠悠走进来。这时，只见一个高个子（一看就知道是个英国人）和一个小混混走了进来。此人像是个英国的知识分子，有一张马脸，面色苍白，一头鬈发，已开始谢顶。他跟许多人一样有一种幻想症，总以为一到了国外，以前的熟人就认不出他来了。小混混在狼吞虎咽地吃一大盘三明治，而他在一旁观看，脸上带着喜悦和慈祥的神情。真是好胃口呀！在食客中，我看见了一张熟悉的面孔，认出那人在尼斯时和我去同一家理发店理过发。那是个大胖子，上了点年纪，头发花白，有一张虚肿的红脸，眼睛下是两个大眼袋。他是美国中西部的一个银行家，经济大崩溃之后离开了故乡，不愿面对政府部门的调查。不知道他是否犯了罪，即便犯了罪，在法国当局眼里也是小鱼小虾，犯不着引渡他。他摆出一副高傲的架势，像低级政客那样装出君子相，然而眼睛里却含着惊恐和忧郁。他总是浑浑噩噩，一副半醉半醒的样子。他经常跟妓女鬼混，而那些人恨不得榨光他的油水。此刻，有两个涂脂抹粉的中年女子跟他在一起，对他冷嘲热讽，毫不掩饰心里的蔑视。对于她们的话，他也仅仅能听懂一半，只顾嘿嘿嘿地傻笑。这就是风月场上的世态炎凉！他还真不如留在国内，咽下自己酿的苦酒。那些女人总有一天会把他榨干的。到那时候，他将无路可走，只好投河或者服安眠药自杀了。

Between two and three there was a slight increase of custom and I supposed that the night clubs were closing their doors. A bunch of young Americans strolled in, very drunk and noisy, but they didn't stay long.Not far from us two fat, sombre women, tightly fitted into mannish clothes, sat side by side, drinking whiskies and sodas in gloomy silence.A party in evening dress put in an appearance, what they call in French gens du monde, who had evidently been doing the rounds and now wanted a spot of supper to finish up with.They came and went.My curiosity had been excited by a little man, quietly dressed, who had been sitting there for an hour or more with a glass of beer in front of him reading the paper.He had a neat black beard and wore pince-nez.At last a woman came in and joined him.He gave her a nod devoid of friendliness and I conjectured that he was annoyed because she had kept him waiting.She was young, rather shabby, but heavily painted, and looked very tired.Presently I noticed her take something out of her bag and hand it to him.Money.He looked at it and his face darkened.He addressed her in words I could not hear, but from her manner I guessed they were abusive, and she seemed to be making excuses.Suddenly he leant over and gave her a resounding smack on the cheek.She gave a cry and began to sob.The manager, drawn by the disturbance, came up to see what was the matter.It looked as if he were telling them to get out if they couldn't behave.The girl turned on him and shrilly, so that one heard every word, told him in foul language to mind his own business.
在深夜两点和三点之间，客人有所增加，大概是因为那些夜总会打烊的缘故。一伙美国小青年大摇大摆走了进来，一个个喝得醉醺醺，又喊又叫，不过，他们坐了一会儿就滚蛋了。离我们不远处有两个胖女人，并排坐在一起，身上紧绷绷地穿着男式衣服，阴沉着脸，一声不吭地在喝闷酒。来了一群穿晚礼服的人——这类人在法语里叫作世界公民。他们显然东游西逛了一天，此刻跑来吃夜宵，给自己的一天画个句号。他们来了，后来又走了。有个小个子男人，穿着朴素，面前放了一杯啤酒，坐在那儿看报有一个多小时了，我见了不由起了好奇之心。他留了一撮整齐的黑胡子，戴着夹鼻眼镜。最后，终于有个女子走了进来，和他坐在了一起。他冲女子点点头，冷冷淡淡的，八成是因为女子叫他久等，惹他生气了。女子年轻，穿着寒碜，浓妆艳抹，倦容满面。过不久，我看见女子从手提包里取出一样东西递给了他，那是一些钱。男子看了看那钱，脸上布满了阴云，随即说了一通话。我听不见他说的是什么，但从女子的表情看，猜想一定是骂她的。而她说了几句话，像是在为自己开脱。冷不丁，男子欠过身去，给了她一记响亮的耳光。她先是惊叫一声，随后抽抽搭搭哭起来。老板听见哭声，急忙跑上前查看情况。他好像在警告他们，叫他们注意自己的言行，否则就赶他们出去。女子冲着这位老板发作起来，嘴里不干不净地骂他，叫他少管闲事，由于嗓门高，每句话都可以听得清清楚楚。

“If he slapped my face it's because I deserved it，”she cried.
“他扇我耳光，那是我罪有应得！”她高声嚷嚷道。

Women！I had always thought that to live on a woman's immoral earnings you must be a strapping flashy fellow with sex appeal, ready with your knife or your gun；it was astonishing that such a puny creature, who might have been a lawyer's clerk from his appearance, could get a footing in such an overcrowded profession.
女人啊，女人！过去我一直认为，要靠女人卖淫吃饭，你必须膀大腰圆，像恶煞神一般，还得讨异性的喜欢，动刀动枪是家常便饭。而眼前的这个家伙又低又矮，看样子像是律师事务所的一个小职员，竟然能在这人满为患的行业里占有一席之地，不能不叫人感到意外。