1. The long June twilight faded into night. In the distance, heavy guns roared. Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. It was war, civil war. On a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge, a sniper lay watching. His eyes were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.
六月漫長的暮色漸漸消失在黑夜里。遠處傳來重炮的轟鳴聲。在這座城市的每個角落里，機槍聲、步槍聲斷斷續續地打破著夜晚的寂靜，就如同孤獨的農場中犬的吠叫。這是戰爭，是內戰。在奧康奈爾橋附近的一個屋頂上，一名狙擊手正俯臥在那里伺機而動。他的目光深邃，是那種習慣于窺探死亡的深邃。
2. He was considering whether he should risk a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash might be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk. Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match, inhaled the smoke hurriedly and put out the light. Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof. The sniper took another whiff and put out the cigarette.
他正在考慮是否應該冒險抽根煙。這很危險。黑暗中的火光可能引起敵人的注意，而且對面的敵人正在監視著這邊的一舉一動。他決定冒這個險。他把一根香煙放在嘴唇間，劃著了一根火柴，匆匆地吸了一口，然后熄滅了火柴。就在那一剎那，一顆子彈砸在了屋頂的護墻上。他又吸了一口，然后把香煙熄滅了。
3. Cautiously he raised himself and peered over the parapet. There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head. He had seen the flash. It came from the opposite side of the street. There was nothing to be seen--just the dim outline of the opposite housetop against the blue sky. His enemy was under cover.
他小心翼翼地抬高身體，從護墻上方窺視著對面。一道閃光伴隨著一顆子彈從他頭上嗖的一聲掠過。他看到了這道閃光是從街道對面來的。但他并沒有看到街道對面的敵人——只能看到藍色的天際邊映襯著昏暗的屋頂輪廓。敵人隱藏了起來。
4. Just then, an armoured car came across the bridge and advanced slowly up the street. It was an enemy car. He wanted to fire, but he knew it was useless. His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the gray monster. Then round the corner of a side street came an old woman. She began to talk to the man in the turret of the car. She was pointing to the roof where the sniper lay. An informer. The turret opened. A man's head and shoulders appeared, looking toward the sniper. The sniper raised his rifle and fired. The head fell heavily on the turret wall. The woman darted toward the side street. The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a shriek into the gutter.
就在這時，一輛裝甲車從橋上駛過 ，慢慢地朝街道方向駛去。這是一輛敵人的裝甲車。他想開槍，但他知道這沒用。他的子彈絕對不可能打穿這灰色怪物的鋼甲。此時，從街道旁一條小巷的拐角處走出了一位老婦人。她開始跟裝甲車炮塔里的男子說話。她指向狙擊手所在的屋頂——她是敵人的眼線。炮塔的艙口打開了，露出了一名男子的頭和肩膀。然后，這名男子朝狙擊手的方向望去。狙擊手舉起步槍開槍射擊——那名男子的頭重重地砸在炮塔壁上。那位婦人沖向小巷。狙擊手再次開槍。那個婦人一個轉身，尖叫著跌入水溝。
5. Suddenly from the opposite roof a shot rang out and the sniper dropped his rifle with a curse. The rifle clattered to the roof. He stooped to pick the rifle up. He couldn't lift it. His forearm was dead. "I'm hit," he muttered. With his left hand he felt the injured right forearm. The blood was oozing through the sleeve of his coat. There was no pain--just a deadened sensation, as if the arm had been cut off. He lay still against the parapet, and, closing his eyes, he made an effort of will to overcome the pain.
突然從對面的屋頂上傳來一聲槍響，伴隨著狙擊手的咒罵聲，步槍從他的手中脫落。步槍咔塔一聲落到屋頂上。他彎腰去撿步槍，卻發現根本做不到。他的這只前臂完全失去了知覺。“我中彈了，”他喃喃道。他用左手摸了摸受傷的右前臂，血液正從他外套的袖子里滲出。他沒有感到疼痛——只是一種麻木的感覺，就好像手臂被砍掉了。他一動不動地靠在護墻上，閉上眼睛，努力克服痛苦。

6. The sniper lay still for a long time nursing his wounded arm and planning escape. Morning must not find him wounded on the roof. The enemy on the opposite roof covered his escape. He must kill that enemy and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan. Taking off his cap, he placed it over the muzzle of his rifle. Then he pushed the rifle slowly upward over the parapet, until the cap was visible from the opposite side of the street. Almost immediately a bullet pierced the cap.
狙擊手靜靜地臥在那里，為自己受傷的手臂包扎，同時計劃著如何逃離這里。敵人不可能知道他受傷了；對面屋頂上的敵人封鎖了他的逃跑路線；他必須擊斃那個敵人，但是他用不了他的步槍；現在他能用的只有自己的那把左輪手槍——他終于想到了一個計劃。他脫下帽子，把它放在步槍的槍口上。然后，他把步槍慢慢地向上舉過護墻，直到他確認敵人可以從街道的對面看到這頂帽子。就在那一剎那，一顆子彈穿透了帽子。
7. His ruse had succeeded. The other sniper, seeing the cap and rifle fall, thought that he had killed his man. He was now standing before a row of chimney pots, looking across, with his head clearly silhouetted against the western sky. The sniper smiled and lifted his revolver above the edge of the parapet. The distance was about fifty yards--a hard shot in the dim light, and his right arm was paining him like a thousand devils. He took a steady aim. His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired. Then when the smoke cleared, he peered across and uttered a cry of joy. His enemy had been hit.
他的計劃成功了。對面的狙擊手看到帽子和步槍一起落下，認為自己已經擊斃了他的“獵物”。此時，他正站在一排煙囪頂帽前，望著對面的屋頂，他的頭在西側的天空下映襯出清晰的輪廓。而他對面的那位狙擊手正微笑著從護墻邊緣舉起了左輪手槍。距離大約五十碼——在昏暗的光線下，這無疑是一個極大的挑戰，而且他還忍受著右臂的劇烈疼痛，這感覺猶如一千個惡魔正在折磨著他。他瞄準目標。他的手急速地顫抖著。他用力抿住嘴唇，用鼻孔深深地吸了一口氣，然后開了一槍。槍口的煙霧消散后，他凝視著對面，發出了一聲歡呼。他的敵人被擊中了。
8. The dying man on the roof crumpled up and fell forward. The body turned over and over in space and hit the ground with a dull thud. Then it lay still. The sniper looked at his enemy falling and he shuddered. The lust of battle died in him. He became bitten by remorse. Weakened by his wound and the long summer day of fasting and watching on the roof, he revolted from the sight of the shattered mass of his dead enemy.
對面屋頂上那個垂死的人向前癱倒，摔了下來。他的身體向下翻滾著，最后伴隨著一個低沉的轟響砸到地上，一動不動了。看到他的敵人跌落的場景，狙擊手渾身顫抖著。他完全沒有了戰斗的欲望。他的內心中充滿了懊悔。他的傷口，以及在這漫長的夏日里，長時間隱藏在這屋頂上，餓著肚子窺視著對面的敵情，讓他的身體非常虛弱。這令他看到敵人死后殘缺的尸體時，感到非常惡心。
9. Taking a whiskey flask from his pocket, he emptied it a drought. He felt reckless under the influence of the spirit. He decided to leave the roof now and look for his company commander, to report. Everywhere around was quiet. There was not much danger in going through the streets. He picked up his revolver and put it in his pocket. Then he crawled down through the skylight to the house underneath.
他從衣袋里掏出一瓶威士忌，然后一飲而盡。在酒精的刺激下，他開始變得魯莽。他決定現在就離開屋頂，去尋找他的連長，匯報敵情。四周一片寂靜。穿過街道的危險不算太大。他拿起那把左輪手槍，放入衣袋。然后，他穿過天窗向下面的房子爬去。
10. When the sniper reached the laneway on the street level, he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He decided that he was a good shot, whoever he was. He wondered did he know him. Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army. He decided to risk going over to have a look at him. The sniper darted across the street. A machine gun tore up the ground around him with a hail of bullets, but he escaped. He threw himself face downward beside the corpse. The machine gun stopped. Then the sniper turned over the dead body and looked into his brother's face.
當到達街道旁的小巷時，他突然對自己剛剛擊斃的敵方狙擊手的身份感到好奇。無論他是誰，他都覺得他是一位優秀的射手。他想知道自己是否認識他。也許在他所在的部隊分裂之前，他們曾在一個連隊里服役。他決定冒險過去看他一眼。他飛奔地穿過街道。與此同時，機槍子彈像冰雹一樣砸落下來，掀起他身邊的地面，但他都幸運地躲開了。他臉朝下撲倒在尸體旁邊。機槍停了下來。他把尸體翻轉過來，看到了哥哥的臉。