1.The policeman walked up the avenue impressively. The time was barely 10 o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind had almost emptied the streets. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of places was closed.

一名警察赫然走在大街上。剛剛晚上10點(diǎn)，但陣陣寒風(fēng)已讓街道變得幾乎空無(wú)一人。雪茄店或通宵營(yíng)業(yè)的便餐館的燈光若隱若現(xiàn)，但大多數(shù)地方都已經(jīng)打烊了。

The policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly. "It's all right, officer," he said, reassuringly. "I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands--'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."

2.警察突然放慢腳步。在一個(gè)漆黑的店門口，一名男子斜過(guò)身子，嘴里叼著一支未點(diǎn)燃的雪茄。當(dāng)警察走過(guò)來(lái)時(shí)，那名男子立即開口了?！拔疫@邊挺好的，警官，”他說(shuō)道，打算讓面前的警察放寬心，“我只是在等一位朋友。我們二十年前約好的。對(duì)您來(lái)說(shuō)，聽起來(lái)有點(diǎn)可笑，是吧？那好，我來(lái)解釋一下，如果您想把它弄清楚的話。事情要從很久以前曾開在這家店位置的一家名叫“大喬布雷迪”的餐廳說(shuō)起。

3."Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then." The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond; looking very expensive.

“直到五年前那家餐廳還在，”警察說(shuō)，“后來(lái)拆了?！遍T口的那名男子劃著一根火柴，點(diǎn)燃了雪茄。燈光下顯現(xiàn)出一張蒼白的臉，下巴有些方，眼睛炯炯有神，右眉附近有一條白色的疤痕。他的領(lǐng)帶針上鑲著一顆大鉆石，看起來(lái)很是昂貴。

4."Twenty years ago tonight," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to go to the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us oughtto have our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be."

“二十年前的今晚，”那名男子說(shuō)，“我和我最好的朋友，世界上最好的家伙吉米·威爾斯，在這家大喬布雷迪餐廳吃飯。我們倆都是在紐約長(zhǎng)大的，就像親兄弟一樣，當(dāng)時(shí)我18歲，吉米20歲。第二天早上我就要去西部闖蕩發(fā)財(cái)了。你拖也不可能把吉米拖出紐約。在他看來(lái)，整個(gè)地球就紐約這一畝三分地兒大。那天晚上，我們約定二十年后的今天晚上在這里再相聚，無(wú)論我們的狀況變成什么樣，無(wú)論我們相距多么遙遠(yuǎn)。我們當(dāng)時(shí)認(rèn)為，經(jīng)過(guò)這二十年時(shí)間，我們倆都應(yīng)該會(huì)創(chuàng)造了屬于自己的財(cái)富，無(wú)論這財(cái)富究竟是什么。”

5."It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?" "Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is pretty big, and I kept hustling around. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the truest old chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it's worth it."

“聽起來(lái)很有趣，”警察說(shuō)，“但，這兩次相聚之間的時(shí)間夠長(zhǎng)的，在我看來(lái)。自從你離開后，你有沒(méi)有聽到過(guò)你朋友的消息？”“嗯，有的，我們通信了一段時(shí)間?！蹦凶诱f(shuō)。“但是一兩年后，我們彼此失去了聯(lián)系。您知道，西部大得很，而且我一直忙忙碌碌的。但是我知道，如果吉米還活著 ，就會(huì)來(lái)這里見我，因?yàn)榧滓恢笔沁@個(gè)世界上最實(shí)誠(chéng)的老兄。他絕對(duì)不會(huì)忘記我們的約定。今晚我千里迢迢來(lái)到在這扇門前，是值得的?！?/p>

6."Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman. "You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was." The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two. "I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. "If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by that time. So long, officer." "Goodnight, sir," said the policeman.

“你在西部過(guò)得很不錯(cuò)吧？”警察問(wèn)道?！爱?dāng)然啦！我希望吉米也能混得有我一半好。那個(gè)時(shí)候，他工作勤勤懇懇，而且人很好?！本燹D(zhuǎn)動(dòng)著手里的警棍走動(dòng)了一兩步?！拔乙吡?。希望你的朋友能夠過(guò)來(lái)，并且一切都好?！薄叭绻走€活在世上 ，會(huì)按時(shí)來(lái)的。再見，警官。”“晚安，先生，”警察說(shuō)。

7.There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had become a stronger blow. About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears, hurried towards him across from the opposite side of the street. "Is that you, Bob?" he asked, doubtfully. "Is that you, Jimmy Wells?" cried the man in the door.

此時(shí)天上飄下了冷冰冰的毛毛細(xì)雨 ，風(fēng)也越刮越大。他等了大約二十分鐘后，一個(gè)身穿長(zhǎng)款大衣，衣領(lǐng)豎到耳邊的高個(gè)子男子，從馬路對(duì)面匆匆向他走來(lái)。“是你嗎，鮑勃？”他有些遲疑地問(wèn)道。“是你嗎，吉米·威爾斯？”站在門口的男子喊道。

8."Bless my heart!" exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other's hands with his own. "It's Bob, sure as fate. How has the West treated you, old man?" "Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall!" "Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty." "Doing well in New York, Jimmy?" "Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we'll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times."

“我的天哪！”新來(lái)的那名男子驚呼道，同時(shí)用自己的雙手抓住了另一名男子的雙手。“是鮑勃啊，果真是你。在西部混得怎么樣，老伙計(jì)？”“好極了，在那里我得到了我想要的一切。你變化很大，吉米。我從來(lái)沒(méi)有想過(guò)你有這么高！”“哦，我二十歲以后又長(zhǎng)高了一些?！?“在紐約過(guò)得好嗎，吉米？”“不好不壞。我在一個(gè)市政府部門供職。跟我來(lái)，鮑勃。我們?nèi)€(gè)我知道的地方，然后好好敘敘舊。

9.The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West was beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest. At the corner of the street stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights, making each of them turn simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.

兩個(gè)人手拉著手走上大街。來(lái)自西部的男子開始講述他這些年的職業(yè)生涯。另一名男子則把頭埋在大衣里，饒有興趣地傾聽著。這條街的拐角處有一家藥店，燈火通明，燈光使他們倆同時(shí)轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)目光，互相凝視著對(duì)方的臉。

10.The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm. "You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped. "Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man's nose from a Roman to a pug." "It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one, said the tall man. "You've been under arrest for ten minutes, 'Silky' Bob; you’re a gangster from Chicago! Now, before we go on to the station here's a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It's from Patrolman Wells."

來(lái)自西部的男子突然停下了腳步，松開了手臂?！澳悴皇羌住ね査?，”他厲聲說(shuō)，“二十年是很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間，但還沒(méi)長(zhǎng)到足以使一個(gè)人的鼻子從高鼻梁變成翹鼻。”“有時(shí)候，時(shí)間可以把一個(gè)好人變成一個(gè)壞人，”高個(gè)子男人說(shuō)，“十分鐘前，你就已經(jīng)被捕了，‘狡猾的’鮑勃。你是一個(gè)從芝加哥流竄至此的歹徒！在我?guī)闳ゾ炀种?，有人托我把這張紙條轉(zhuǎn)交給你。你可以在窗戶旁讀讀它，是巡警威爾斯讓我交給你的。”

11.The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short. "Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. JIMMY."

來(lái)自西部的男子展開遞給他的那張小紙條。讀完時(shí)，他剛剛還很穩(wěn)定的手已經(jīng)開始有些顫抖。紙條的內(nèi)容很短：“鮑勃：我準(zhǔn)時(shí)到了我們約定的地方。當(dāng)你劃著火柴點(diǎn)燃雪茄時(shí)，我看到了那張芝加哥通緝犯的臉。不知怎的，我沒(méi)辦法親自動(dòng)手，于是我走開了，找了一名便衣警察完成了逮捕任務(wù)。——吉米。”