The handsome, gray-haired Miss MacGowan cleared her throat. “Jerry, call the sheriff.”

每个人都放松下来。地方检察官微微脸红，嘟囔了一句听起来像 “当然” 的话，然后匆匆走进一间办公室。人群开始分成小群体，这里两个人，那里三个人。一阵低沉的交谈声开始了。

Everyone relaxed. The district attorney blushed faintly, muttered something that sounded like “Of course,” and hurried into one of the offices. The group began breaking up into subgroups, two people here, three people there. A subdued murmur of voices began.

“在治安官来之前我们不能移动尸体。” 一个女孩说。

“We mustn’t move the body until the sheriff gets here,” a girl said.

杰克突然想到这是第一次有人提到触碰尸体。

It occurred to Jake that was the first time anyone had mentioned touching the body.

突然，走廊里的每个人都盯着海伦。杰克首先感觉到她放在他胳膊上的手指先是变成了钢铁钳子，然后是沉重的负担，接着完全松开了。在下一瞬间，他还没来得及有所行动，她就已经成了地板上一小堆皱巴巴的东西。

Suddenly everyone in the corridor was staring at Helene. Jake felt the fingers on his arm first bee steel pincers, then a deadly weight, then slip away entirely. In the next instant, before he had time to make a move, she was a little crumpled heap on the floor.

这就像敲响了一口钟。每个人同时行动起来。法院地板上的一具被谋杀的尸体是没人知道如何处理的事情，而一个晕倒的女人又是另一回事。立刻有十几个人的声音同时响起，说着 “水”“氨水”“法院书记员办公室的沙发”“医生”。

It was as though a bell had been rung. Every person sprang into action at the same time. A murdered man on the courthouse floor was something nobody knew how to cope with, a fainting woman was something else again. There were a dozen voices at once, saying “water,” “ammonia,” “the couch in the clerk of the court’s office,” “a doctor.”

有人说了些关于急救以及曾是童子军辅导员的事情。

Someone said something about first aid and having been a Boy Scout counselor.

另一个人告诉他们有一个海伦阿姨过去在葬礼上经常晕倒。

Another person informed them of an Aunt Helen who used to faint at funerals.

人们挤在杰克和海伦之间。在他能做任何事之前，一个矮壮的灰发男人已经把她抱起来，带进了法院书记员的办公室。杰克和走廊里的大多数旁观者都落后两步。

People crowded between Jake and Helene. Before he could do anything, a stocky, gray-haired man had picked her up and carried her into the office of the clerk of court. Jake, and most of the spectators in the corridor, were two steps behind.

小主，

在破旧的皮沙发上，她看起来非常小而且非常苍白，一缕银色的头发落在她毫无血色的脸颊上。一阵突如其来的恐惧攫住了杰克。他以前从未见过海伦晕倒。他扑倒在沙发旁边，握住她冰冷的手。

On the worn leather couch, she looked very small and very pale, one strand of her silvery hair fallen across her colorless cheek. A sudden pang of terror seized Jake. He had never seen Helene faint before. He flung himself down beside the couch and took her cold hand in his.

“一定是热的。” 那个曾是童子军辅导员的男人说。

“It must have been the heat,” the man who’d been a Boy Scout counselor said.

“她看起来很虚弱。” 县委员会主席评论道。

“She looks puny,” the chairman of the county board mented.

杰克感觉到冰冷的手指紧紧握了一下他的手。他仔细地看着她。她苍白的脸一动不动，眼皮紧闭。手指再次迅速地紧紧握住。他轻轻地回握了一下，然后站了起来。

Jake felt the ice-cold fingers tighten on his hand. He looked at her closely. Her white face was motionless, her eyelids closed. Again the fingers tightened, ever so quickly. He gave a faint pressure in return and rose to his feet.

“她会没事的。” 杰克坚定地说。“只是有点中暑。” 他拿出一块已经潮湿的手帕擦了擦额头。“就让她在这里休息一会儿，她就会好的。她时不时会有这样的情况。”

“She’ll be all right,” Jake said firmly. “Just a touch of the sun.” He took out an already damp handkerchief and mopped his brow. “Just let her rest here a minute, and she’ll be all right. She has these spells now and then.”

让他大大松了一口气的是，旁观者退回到了大厅里，留下他和海伦单独在一起。他坐到她旁边的一把椅子上。

To his great relief, the spectators retreated into the hall, leaving him with alone with Helene. He dropped into a chair beside her.

“到底怎么回事？” 他低声愤怒地问道。

“What the hell’s the idea?” he whispered fiercely.

“杰克，我必须离开那群人。” 她低声回答，眼睛仍然闭着。“我必须和你谈谈。”

“Jake, I had to get out of that crowd,” she whispered back, without opening her eyes. “I had to talk to you.”

“好吧，说吧。用一个短语来说，我们终于单独在一起了。”

“Well, go ahead. We are, to coin a phrase, alone at last.”

她睁大眼睛盯着他。“一个人被谋杀了，而每个人只是站在周围，看起来很傻。”

She opened her eyes wide and stared at him. “A man’s been murdered, and everybody just stands around and looks silly.”

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“他们只是很震惊，所以表现得很自然。”

“They’re just shocked, so they act natural.”

“杰克，我们离开这里吧。我们快点离开，上车，在任何人能说‘哇’之前就赶到去下一个城镇的半路上。”

“Jake, let’s get out of here. Let’s get out quick and get in the car and be halfway to the next town before anyone can say ‘Boo.’ ”

“然后让杰克逊县的每一辆警车都来追捕我们，就因为我们逃跑了？此外，我们不可能不被拦住就穿过那条走廊出去。这里有几个家伙看起来能很快说‘哇’。”

“And have every police car in Jackson County looking for us because we beat it? Besides, we never could get out through that corridor without being stopped. A couple of these boys look as if they could say ‘Boo’ fast.”

“我不喜欢这里。” 她固执地说。

“I don’t like it here,” she said stubbornly.

“你的观点有道理。然而，过一会儿他们就会想起前参议员佩维利与我们毫无关系。我们只是碰巧在大楼里，这时有人杀了他。那个治安官一到，我们就可以告诉他我们所看到的，然后离开。” 这是个精彩的给自己壮胆的表演。

“Your point is well taken. However, in a little while they’ll remember that ex-Senator Peveley was nothing to us. We just happened to be in the building when somebody bumped him off. As soon as that sheriff gets here, we can tell him what we saw, and then go.” It was a magnificent performance of whistling in the dark.

她叹了口气，沉默了。

She sighed and was silent.

杰克站起来，走到窗前，向外看去。有一大片明亮的绿色草坪，在草坪的那边，他猜是监狱。那是一座丑陋的黄色砖砌成的有棱角的建筑，窗户有栏杆且是凹进去的。附近，一门小型内战大炮立在一个愤怒且看起来不友好的铸铁士兵前面。杰克想知道它是不是放在那里以吓跑那些靠近监狱的人。

Jake rose, walked to the window, and looked out. There was a broad expanse of bright-green lawn and, beyond it, what he guessed to be the jail. It was an ugly angular building of yellow brick, with barred and recessed windows. Near by a small Civil War cannon stood in front of an indignant and unpleasant-looking cast-iron soldier. Jake wondered if it had been put there to scare people away from the jail.

“雨下得像倾盆而下的干草叉和锤子柄。” 他评论道。就在他说话的时候，一根大树枝从一棵巨大的老榆树上折断，从窗前吹过。

“It’s raining pitchforks and hammer handles,” he mented. Just as he spoke, a great branch broke away from one of the immense old elm trees and blew past the window.

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“我希望那只是风。” 海伦虚弱地说。

“I hope that was only the wind,” Helene said faintly.

杰克看到草坪对面监狱大楼的门打开了，一个矮壮、红脸的男人走了出来。他在那里站了一会儿，看着雨，然后开始沿着通向法院的小路奔跑。跑到一半，他的帽子被吹掉了，他短暂地停下来捡起帽子，然后继续跑。

Across the lawn Jake saw the door to the jail building open, and a stocky, red-faced man e out. He stood there for a moment, looking at the rain, then began running the length of the path that led to the courthouse. Halfway there his hat blew off, he stopped briefly to retrieve it, and went on running.

“治安官来了。” 杰克说。“假装你好得足以回到那里去。” 他又说，“感谢上帝，现在有人在这里，他知道该怎么做 —— 我希望如此！”

“Here es the sheriff,” Jake said. “Pretend you’re well enough to go back out there.” He added, “Thank God somebody’s here now who knows what to do-I hope!”

他用一只胳膊搂着海伦，好像在扶着她，然后带她回到走廊。前参议员佩维利的尸体仍然躺在它倒下的地方。旁观者们站在周围，敬畏地小声议论着，分成几个小群体。每个人都好奇地转过头看着海伦。

He put an arm around Helene as though supporting her, and led her back into the corridor. The body of ex-Senator Peveley still lay where it had fallen. The spectators were standing around, whispering, in awed little groups. Everyone turned to look curiously at Helene.

就在杰克和海伦到达大厅的时候，大厅东端的大门突然打开，一阵狂风和雨水以及那个矮壮、红脸的男人走了进来。小个子清洁工巴顿急忙上前帮忙关门，遗憾地看着瓷砖地板上的一滩泥水。

Just as Jake and Helene reached the hall, the great door at its east end opened suddenly, letting in a gust of wind and rain and the stocky, red-faced man. The little janitor, Buttonholes, rushed forward to help close the door and looked regretfully at the pool of muddy water on the tile floor.

治安官的到来迎来了一阵新的紧张期待。他们以在这种情况下对权威应有的尊重看着他。

A new wave of tense expectancy greeted the sheriff’s arrival. They watched him with the respect due authority in the situation.

治安官踮着脚尖沿着走廊走过去，手里拿着帽子。没有人跟他说话。他在尸体旁弯下腰片刻，看着白色亚麻外套上的污渍。当他再次直起身时，脸色变得苍白。

The sheriff walked the length of the corridor on tiptoe, his hat in his hand. No one spoke to him. He bent down for a moment next to the body, looking at the stain on the white linen coat. When he straightened up again, the color was draining from his face.

“他被谋杀了！” 治安官惊讶地说。他沉默了一会儿。“没错，他被谋杀了。我们得叫警察！”

“He’s been murdered!” the sheriff said in a startled voice. He was silent a moment. “That’s right, he’s been murdered. We’ve gotta call the police!”