月亮和六便士 第十一章(2)

 　　I'm sure that's not it, I said. “绝对不是这一家。”我说。

　　The concierge¹ shrugged² his shoulders. There was no other hotel of that name in Paris.  看门人耸了耸肩膀。巴黎再没有另一家叫这个名字的旅馆了。

　　It occurred to me that Strickland had concealed³ his address, after all.  我想起来，思特里克兰德本来是不想叫别人知道他行踪的。

　　In giving his partner the one I knew he was perhaps playing a trick on him.  他给他的合股人这个地址也许是在同他开玩笑。

　　I do not know why I had an inkling that it would appeal to Strickland's sense of humour to bring a furious stockbroker⁴ over to Paris on a fool's errand to an ill-famed house in a mean street.  不知道为什么，我暗想这很合思特里克兰德的幽默感，把一个怒气冲冲的证券交易人骗到巴黎一条下流街道上的很不名誉的房子里去，出尽洋相。

　　Still, I thought I had better go and see.  虽然如此，我觉得我还是得去看一看。

　　Next day about six o'clock I took a cab to the Rue⁵ des Moines, but dismissed it at the corner, since I preferred to walk to the hotel and look at it before I went in.  第二天六点钟左右我叫了一辆马车，到了摩纳街。我在街角上把车打发掉，我想我还是步行到旅馆，先在外面看看再进去。

　　It was a street of small shops subservient⁶ to the needs of poor people, and about the middle of it, on the left as I walked down, was the Hotel des Belges.  这一条街两旁都是为穷人开设的小店铺，路走了一半，在我拐进来的左面，就是比利时旅馆。

　　My own hotel was modest enough, but it was magnificent in comparison with this.  我自己住的是一家普普通通的旅馆，可是同这家旅馆比起来简直宏伟极了。

　　It was a tall, shabby building, that cannot have been painted for years, and it had so bedraggled an air that the houses on each side of it looked neat and clean.  这是一座破烂的小楼，多年没有粉刷过，龌龌龊龊，相形之下，两边的房子倒显得又干净又整齐。

　　The dirty windows were all shut.  肮脏的窗子全部关着。

　　It was not here that Charles Strickland lived in guilty splendour with the unknown charmer for whose sake he had abandoned honour and duty.  查理斯·思特里克兰德同那位勾引他丢弃了名誉和职责的美女显然不会在这样一个地方寻欢作乐，享受他们罪恶而豪华的生活。

　　I was vexed⁷, for I felt that I had been made a fool of, and I nearly turned away without making an enquiry.  我非常恼火，觉得自己分明是被耍弄了。我差一点连问都不问就扭头而去。

　　I went in only to be able to tell Mrs. Strickland that I had done my best. 我走进去只是为了事后好向思特里克兰德太太交待，告诉她我已经尽了最大的努力。

　　The door was at the side of a shop.  旅馆的入口在一家店铺的旁边，

　　It stood open, and just within was a sign: Bureau au premier⁸.  门开着，一进门便有一块牌子：账房在二楼。

　　I walked up narrow stairs, and on the landing found a sort of box, glassed in, within which were a desk and a couple of chairs.  我沿着狭窄的楼梯走上去，在楼梯平台上看到一间用玻璃门窗隔起来的小阁子，里面摆着一张办公桌和两三把椅子。

　　There was a bench outside, on which it might be presumed the night porter passed uneasy nights.  阁子外面有一条长凳，晚上守门人多半就在这里过夜。

　　There was no one about, but under an electric bell was written Garcon.  附近没有一个人影，但是我在一个电铃按钮下面看到有侍者 字样。

　　I rang, and presently a waiter appeared.  我按了一下，马上从什么地方钻出一个人来。

　　He was a young man with furtive⁹ eyes and a sullen¹⁰ look. He was in shirt-sleeves and carpet slippers¹¹. 这人很年轻，贼眉鼠眼，满脸丧气，身上只穿一件衬衫，趿拉着一双毡子拖鞋。

　　I do not know why I made my enquiry as casual as possible. 我自己不知道为什么我向他打听思特里克兰德时要装出一副漫不经心的样子。

　　Does Mr. Strickland live here by any chance? I asked. “这里住没住着一位思特里克兰德先生？”我问。

　　Number thirty-two. On the sixth floor. “三十二号，六楼。”

　　I was so surprised that for a moment I did not answer. 我大吃一惊，一时没有答出话来。

　　Is he in? “他在家吗？”

　　The waiter looked at a board in the bureau. 侍者看了看账房里的一块木板。

　　He hasn't left his key. Go up and you'll see. “他的钥匙不在这里。自己上去看看吧。”

　　I thought it as well to put one more question. 我想不妨再问他一个问题。

　　Madame est la? “太太也在这里吗？”

　　Monsieur est seul. “只有先生一个人。”

1 concierge   

n.管理员；门房

参考例句：

• This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
• As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。

2 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

4 stockbroker   

n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构）

参考例句：

• The main business of stockbroker is to help clients buy and sell shares.股票经纪人的主要业务是帮客户买卖股票。
• My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me.我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。

5 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

6 subservient   

adj.卑屈的，阿谀的

参考例句：

• He was subservient and servile.他低声下气、卑躬屈膝。
• It was horrible to have to be affable and subservient.不得不强作欢颜卖弄风骚，真是太可怕了。

7 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

9 furtive   

adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• The teacher was suspicious of the student's furtive behaviour during the exam.老师怀疑这个学生在考试时有偷偷摸摸的行为。
• His furtive behaviour aroused our suspicion.他鬼鬼祟祟的行为引起了我们的怀疑。

10 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

11 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。