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And she didn't. Not for three and a half years."
她沒有寫。三年半沒有給我寫信。”
And you're going home now, not knowing?
“你現在什么也不知道就這樣回家？”
Yeah, he said shyly. "Well, last week, when I was sure the parole was coming through, I wrote her again. We used to live in Brunswick, just before Jacksonville, and there's a big oak tree just as you come into town. I told her that if she didn't have a new guy and if she'd take me back, she should put a yellow handkerchief on the tree, and I'd get off and come home. If she didn't want me, forget it — no handkerchief, and I'd go on through."
“嗯，”他羞答答地說。“噢，上個禮拜，當我得知我的假釋即將獲準時，我又給她寫了封信。我們過去一直住在杰克遜維爾不遠的布倫斯威克，就在鎮口有一棵大橡樹。我告訴她，要是她沒有別的男人，要是她還想讓我回去，就在樹上系一條黃手絹，我就會下車回家。要是她不要我，就當沒這回事好了——不要系手絹，我就跟著汽車一直到底。”
Wow, the girl exclaimed. "Wow."
“哇，”女孩子叫了起來。“哇。”
She told the others, and soon all of them were in it, caught up in the approach of Brunswick, looking at the pictures Vingo showed them of his wife and three children — the woman handsome in a plain way, the children still unformed in the much-handled snapshots.
她告訴了別的人，很快大家全知道了，大家全都關注著布倫斯威克的到來。他們看著文戈拿給他們的幾張照片，是他妻子和三個孩子的照片——從那幾張觸摸過多的快照上看，那女人自有一種樸實的美，孩子們還沒有發育成熟。
Now they were 20 miles from Brunswick, and the young people took over window seats on the right side, waiting for the approach of the great oak tree. Vingo stopped looking, tightening his face, as if fortifying himself against still another disappointment.
他們離布倫斯威克只有二十英里了，年輕人都坐到了車右邊靠窗的座位上，等待著那棵大橡樹的出現。文戈不再張望，他繃緊臉，仿佛正在鼓足勇氣準備迎接另一次失望似的。
Then Brunswick was 10 miles, and then five. Then, suddenly, all of the young people were up out of their seats, screaming and shouting and crying, doing small dances of joy. All except Vingo.
離布倫斯威克只有十英里了，只有五英里了。突然，所有年輕人都從座位上站了起來，尖叫著，呼喊著，大聲嚷嚷著，跳起了歡樂的舞蹈。只有文戈除外。
Vingo sat there stunned, looking at the oak tree. It was covered with yellow handkerchiefs — 20 of them, 30 of them, maybe hundreds, a tree that stood like a banner of welcome billowing in the wind. As the young people shouted, the old con slowly rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the bus to go home.
文戈坐在那兒望著橡樹驚呆了。樹上掛滿了黃手絹——二十條，三十條，或許有幾百條，一棵樹立在那兒就像歡迎的旗幟在迎風招展。在年輕人的歡呼聲中，這位前犯人慢吞吞地從座位上站起來，向車子前部走去，準備回家。
