was barely 10 o?clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had almost emptied the streets.
①有一位警察正在辖区的街道上巡逻，非常引人瞩目。②这只是例行公事，
不是做秀，因为街上的“观众”很少。③还不到晚上十点，但是凄厉的寒风，夹杂着一丝小雨，街上几乎空无一人。
①Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful
movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye down the peaceful thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. ②The vicinity was one that kept early hours. ③Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch
counter; but the majority of the doors belonged to business places that had long since been closed.
①这位警察边走边推推各家各户的门，检查有没有上锁。②手里的警棍不停
地旋转，动作复杂娴熟，还时不时转过身来，非常警惕地巡视这条安静的大街。
③他体格健壮，威风凛凛，完全体现了警察作为安宁生活守护者的形象。④附近
的居民和商铺早睡早起，所以只是偶尔可以看见雪茄香烟店或全天营业的小吃店还亮着灯光。
①When about midway of a certain block, the policeman suddenly slowed his
walk. ②In the doorway of a darkened hardware store, a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. ③As the policeman walked up to him, the man spoke up quickly.
①走到一个街区的中段时，这个警察突然放慢了脚步。②原来在一家五家店
漆黑的门口有一个人靠在墙上，嘴里叼着一根没有点燃的雪茄。③警察走上前去，这个人马上说。
①“㈠It?s all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly. “㈡I?m just waiting for a
friend. ㈢It?s an appointment made twenty years ago. ㈣Sounds a little funny to you, doesn?t it? ㈤Well, I?ll explain if you?d like to make certain it?s all straight. ㈥About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands —?Big Joe? Brady?s restaurant.”
①“㈠没事，警官，”他说，这样说是为了安慰警察，让他放心，“㈡我只是
在等一个朋友，这是我们二十年前的约定，听起来有点可笑，是吧？㈢哦，如果
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不放心，我可以解释一下。㈣二十年前，就在现在这家店所在的位臵曾经有一个餐馆，叫Big Joe? Brady?s餐厅。”
①“Until five years ago,” said the policeman. “It was torn down then.”
“但是，在五年前，”警察说，“这家餐馆拆掉了。”
①The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. ②The light showed a
pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow.
③His scarfpin was a large diamond, oddly set.
①站在门口处的这个人划了一根火柴，点燃了雪茄。②借着火柴的亮光，可
以看见他脸色发白，方下巴，眼睛很有神，右眉旁有一小块儿伤疤。③围巾上的饰针是一颗大钻石，镶嵌得非常别致。
①“㈠Twenty 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. ㈡He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. ㈢I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. ㈣The next morning I was to start for the West to make my fortune. ㈤Your couldn?t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. ㈥Well, 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. ㈦We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.”
①“㈠二十年前的今天晚上，”他说，“我和我最好的哥们儿，也是最好的朋友在这里吃饭。㈡我们都是在纽约长大的，就像亲兄弟一样。㈢那年我十八岁，他二十岁。㈣第二天上午我就要往西部挣钱了。㈤谁也没有办法让Jimmy离开纽约，他觉得纽约是唯一适合他的地方。㈥那晚我们约定，不管我们各自是什么状况，也不管距离有多远，二十年后的今天我们还在这里见面。㈦我们当时认为用二十年的时间我们应该可以知道自己的命运，看出自己的人生了。”
① “㈠It sounds pretty interesting,” said the policeman. “Rather a long time
between meets, though, it seems to me. ㈡Haven?t you heard from your friend since you left?”
①“㈠听起来很有趣，”警察说，“但是你们这么久没有见面了。㈡自从你离开后，你和你的朋友联系过吗？”
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①“㈠Well, yes, for a time we corresponded,” said the other. “㈡But after a year or two we lost track of each other. ㈢You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. ㈣But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he?s alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest old chap in the world. ㈤He?ll never forget. ㈥I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it?s worth it if my old partner turns up.”
①“㈠有啊！有一段时间，我们的确联系过”这个人说。“㈡但是一、两年之后，我们彼此就失去了联系。㈢你也知道，西部是一个发财的好地方，我经常在各地跑来跑去。㈣但是，我知道，只要Jimmy还活着，他就一定会来这里见我，他一直是我最忠诚、最可信赖的朋友。㈤他绝对不会忘记。㈥我跑了一千英里，今晚来到这里，就是为了和Jimmy见面，只要我这个老朋友能出现，所有辛苦都值得。”
①The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small
diamonds.
① 这个人掏出一块表，很精致，表盘上镶嵌着数颗小钻石。
① “Three minutes to ten,” he announced. “It was exactly ten o?clock when we
parted here at the restaurant door.”
①“还差三分钟就十点了，”他说，“我们当时在餐馆门口分手时，是十点整。”
①“Did pretty well out West, didn?t you?” asked the policeman.
“你在西部混得不错吧？”警察问道。
①“㈠You bet! ㈡I hoped Jimmy has done half as well. ㈢He was a kind of
plodder, though, good fellow as he was. ㈣I?ve had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. ㈤A man gets in a groove in New York. ㈥It takes the West to put a razor-edge on him.”
①“㈠当然！㈡我想Jimmy能做到我的一半那么好。㈢他不爱说话，只知道
埋头苦干，但的确是一个好人。㈣在西部，为了挣钱，我一直和那些最狡猾的家伙们较量。㈤Jimmy就是这么一个人，在纽约循规蹈矩，让他到西部去，就像抹他的脖子。
①The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.
警察手里的木棍旋转着，又向前迈了一步。
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①“㈠I?ll be on my way. ㈡Hope your friend comes around all right. ㈢Going to
call time on him sharp?”
①“㈠我要继续巡逻了。㈡希望你的朋友能来，你会要求他必须整点到吗？” ①“㈠I should say not!” said the other. “㈡I?ll give him half an hour at least. ㈢
If Jimmy is alive on earth, he?ll be here by that time. ㈣So long, officer.”
①“㈠我应该说不会！”这个人说。“㈡我至少给他半个小时。㈢如果Jimmy
还活着，他就一定会按时到这里。㈣再见，警官。”
① “Good-night, sir,” said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying
doors as he went.
①“晚安，先生，”警察说，他继续沿着辖区巡逻，同时检查居民和商户的门
锁。
①There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had risen from its
uncertain puffs into a steady blow. ②The few passers-by [bustling about in that quarter] hurried dismally and silently along with coat collars turned high and pocketed hands. ③And in the door of the hardware store the man [who had come a thousand miles to fill an appointment, uncertain almost to absurdity, with the friend of his youth], smoked his cigar and waited.
①这时，天下起了小雨，很冷；风也越来越大。②为数不多的行人也是衣
领高耸，双手插进口袋，匆匆走过。③而就在这家五金店的门口，这个人一边抽烟，一边等人；他不远千里赴约，和自己年轻时的朋友见面，而这个约定本身又是很不确定，近乎荒唐。
①About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with
collar turned up to his ears, hurried across from the opposite side of the street. ②He went directly to the waiting man.
①等了大约二十分钟以后，一个高个男人，穿着一件长大衣，衣领高竖，
从马路对面急匆匆走来。②这个人直接走向这个正在等候的人。 ① “Is that you, Bob?” he asked, doubtfully.
“是你吗，Bob？”他问，语气很不肯定。
① “Is that you. Jimmy Wells?” cried the man in the door. “是你吗，Jimmy Wells？”站在门廊下的这个人大声喊道。
①“?Bless my heart!” exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other?s
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hands with hiss own. “?It?s Bob, sure as fate. ?I was certain I'd find you here if you were still in existence. ?Well, well! — twenty years is a long time. ?The old restaurant?s gone, Bob; I wish it had lasted, so we could have had another dinner there. ?How has the West treated you, old man?”
①“?天啊！”新到的这个人惊呼，然后立即握住了对方的手。“?就是Bob，一点没错。?我早就相信，只要你还活着，我就能在这里等到你。?是啊，是啊！二十年的时间不算短。?Bob，原来的那家餐馆不在了；我倒是希望它还在，那样我们就可以再去那里吃饭。?在西部，混得怎么样，老伙计？”
①“㈠Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. ㈡You?ve changed lots, Jimmy. ㈢I never thought you were so tall by two or three inches.”
①“㈠当然啦！西部给了我想要的一切。㈡Jimmy，你也变了很多，我根本没
有想到你又长高了两三英寸。”
①“Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty.”
“哦，我二十岁以后又长高了一些。”
①“Doing well in New York, Jimmy?”
“在纽约混得不错吧，Jimmy?”
①“㈠Moderately. ㈡I have a position in one of the city departments. ㈢Come
on, Bob; we?ll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times.”
①“㈠还行吧 (马马虎虎吧)。㈡我在市政府一个部门工作。㈢这样吧，Bob，
我们去一个我熟悉的地方，这样我们可以好好地叙叙旧。”
①The two men started up the street, arm in arm. ②The man from the West, his
egotism enlarged by success, was beginning to outline the history of his career. ③The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest.
①两个人互相挽着手臂，沿着街道往前走。②从西部来的这个人事业成功，
非常自负，一边走一边给自己的朋友大讲自己的奋斗史，而另一个人则紧裹着大衣，饶有兴致地听着。
①At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. ②When they
came into this glare, each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other?s face.
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