Chapter 21
第12章
Dirk Stroeve agreed to fetch me on the following evening and take me to the cafe at which Strickland was most likely to be found. I was interested to learn that it was the same as that at which Strickland and I had drunk absinthe when I had gone over to Paris to see him. The fact that he had never changed suggested a sluggishness of habit which seemed to me characteristic.
戴爾克·施特略夫答應第二天晚上來找我,帶我到一家多半會找到思特里克蘭德的咖啡館去。我覺得非常有趣,因為我發現這正是上次我來巴黎看思特里克蘭德時我們一起在那里飲苦艾酒的地方。這么多年,他連晚上消閑的地方也沒有更換,這說明他習性不易改變,據我看來,這也正是他的一種個性。
There he is, said Stroeve, as we reached the cafe.
“他就在那里,”當我們走到這家咖啡館的時候,施特略夫說。
Though it was October, the evening was warm, and the tables on the pavement were crowded. I ran my eyes over them, but did not see Strickland.
雖然季節已是十月,晚飯后還很暖和,擺在人行道上的咖啡臺子坐滿了人。我在人群里張望了一會兒,并沒有看到思特里克蘭德。
Look. Over there, in the corner. He's playing chess.
“看哪,他就坐在那邊,在一個角落里。他在同人下棋呢。”
I noticed a man bending over a chess-board, but could see only a large felt hat and a red beard. We threaded our way among the tables till we came to him.
我看見一個人俯身在棋盤上,我只能看到一頂大氈帽和一捧紅胡須。我們從桌子中間穿過去,走到他跟前。
Strickland.
“思特里克蘭德。”
He looked up.
他抬頭看了看。
Hulloa, fatty. What do you want?
“哈啰,胖子。你有什么事?”
I've brought an old friend to see you.
“我給你帶來一位老朋友,他想見你。”
Strickland gave me a glance, and evidently did not recognise me. He resumed his scrutiny of the chess-board.
思特里克蘭德看了我一個眼,顯然沒有認出我是誰來。他的眼睛又回到棋盤上。
Sit down, and don't make a noise, he said.
“坐下,別出聲音,”他說。
He moved a piece and straightway became absorbed in the game. Poor Stroeve gave me a troubled look, but I was not disconcerted by so little. I ordered something to drink, and waited quietly till Strickland had finished. I welcomed the opportunity to examine him at my ease. I certainly should never have known him. In the first place his red beard, ragged and untrimmed, hid much of his face, and his hair was long; but the most surprising change in him was his extreme thinness. It made his great nose protrude more arrogantly; it emphasized his cheekbones; it made his eyes seem larger. There were deep hollows at his temples. His body was cadaverous. He wore the same suit that I had seen him in five years before; it was torn and stained, threadbare, and it hung upon him loosely, as though it had been made for someone else. I noticed his hands, dirty, with long nails; they were merely bone and sinew, large and strong; but I had forgotten that they were so shapely. He gave me an extraordinary impression as he sat there, his attention riveted on his game—an impression of great strength; and I could not understand why it was that his emaciation somehow made it more striking.
他走了一步棋,馬上就全神貫注到面前的一局棋上。可憐的施特略夫心懷焦慮地望了我一眼,但是我卻沒有覺得有任何不自在。我要了一點喝的東西,靜靜地坐在那里等著思特里克蘭德下完棋。對于這樣一個可以從容地觀察他的機會,我毋寧說是歡迎的。如果是我一個人來,我肯定認不出他了。首先,我發覺他的大半張臉都遮在亂蓬蓬的胡須底下,他的頭發也非常長;但是最令人吃驚的變化還是他的極度削瘦,這就使得他的大鼻子更加傲慢地翹起來,顴骨也更加突出,眼睛顯得比從前更大了。在他的太陽穴下面出現了兩個深坑。他的身體瘦得只剩了皮包骨頭,穿的仍然是五年前我見到的那身衣服,只不過已經破破爛爛,油跡斑斑,而且穿在身上晃晃蕩蕩,仿佛原來是給別人做的似的。我注意到他的兩只手不很干凈,指甲很長,除了筋就是骨頭,顯得大而有力,但是我卻不記得過去他的手形曾經這么完美過。他坐在那里專心致志地下棋,給我一種很奇特的印像——仿佛他身體里蘊藏著一股無比的力量。我不知道為什么,他的削瘦使這一點更加突出了。