Mr.Thompson now thought of another force. "Stand back", he said to his wife and son. "I’llfix this thing's clock for it."He raised the spade above his head, took careful aim, and then swung down at the cube with all his strength. He was rewarded with a terrific clang. The spade bounced into the air again, almost wrenching itself out of his hands, but the cube continued serenely to occupy the precise sections of time and space as before.
湯普森先生現在想到了另一種力量。“往后站,”他對妻兒說。“我要收拾一下這個鬼玩意兒。“他把鐵鍬舉過頭,仔細瞄準,然后用盡全身力氣,向立方體砸了下去。他得到的是當的一聲巨響。鐵鍬彈回空中,幾乎從他手中掙脫,但立方體仍然平靜地一點不差地占據著它原來的時空。
Five minutes later, when the city editor of the largest daily heard an excited account of these events from Mr.Thompson, he was understandably skeptical. Nevertheless, he sent a reporter out to have a look. The reporter, who was a cynical and degraded person, cynical without conviction and degraded without villainy, because his station in life required it of him, also was skeptical. He stopped along the way for two or three quick ones and when he finally arrived, looking bored and smelling of strong liquor, he found not only the Thompsons but most of their near neighbors impatiently awaiting him.
五分鐘后,那家最大的日報的當地新聞編輯聽到了湯普森先生對這些事件的激動的敘述,他表示懷疑,這當然是可以理解的。盡管如此,他還是派了個記者去看看。這個記者是個憤世嫉俗的落魄的人,憤世嫉俗而無信念,落魄而無惡行。由于他的身份使然,他對這件事也持懷疑態度。他沿途停下來喝了兩三杯酒,當他終于抵達現場時已是滿臉倦容,一身酒氣。他發現不光是托馬斯一家還有他們的大多數近鄰都已經等他等得不耐煩了。
The hole had been enlarged by succeeding workers, who had the same idea as John Thomas's father, to a diameter of four feet and a depth of two. The reporter surveyed the hole, the block of metal suspended above it, and a branch of the apple tree directly above the cube. Then he said knowingly, "Which is the kid who found it?"
跟約翰·托馬斯的父親想法相同的人們接著挖,已經把坑擴到了直徑有四英尺,深達兩英尺那么大。記者瞧了瞧那個坑,那懸在坑上的金屬和那根伸在金屬正上方的蘋果樹樹枝,然后便會意地問道:“是哪個孩子發現它的?”
"I am," John Thomas said.
“是我,”約翰·托馬斯說。