After twenty years
二十年后
1 The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few. The time was barely ten o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind with a taste of rain in them had well nigh de-peopled the streets.
正在巡逻的警察沿街而行，神态威严。威严的神态是习惯性的而不是给别人看的，因为也没几个人在看。时间将近夜里十点钟，但是，夹带着一丝雨意的阵阵寒风已使街道近乎空无一人了。
2 Trying doors as he went, twirling his club with many intricate and artful movements, turning now and then to cast his watchful eye adown the pacific thoroughfare, the officer, with his stalwart form and slight swagger, made a fine picture of a guardian of the peace. The vicinity was one that kept early hours. Now 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.
警官边走边推门，看看沿街的店门关好了没有。他以错综复杂的精妙动作熟练地摆弄着警棍，时不时转身把警觉的目光投向安静的街道，他健壮的身形和微微大摇大摆的样子形成一幅和平守护者的美妙图像。这一带街区的人是习惯早睡早起的。时不时能看到一家雪茄店或一间通宵营业的便餐馆还亮着灯；但大多数商铺都早已关门了。
3 When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.
走到某一街区的中段时，警察突然放慢了脚步。在一家黑了灯的五金店门口倚着一个男人，嘴里叼着一根没点着的雪茄。警察一走上前去，那人急忙开了腔。
4 "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 expl
ain 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."
二十年后“没事儿，警官，”他说这话好叫警官放心。“我只是在等朋友。这是二十年前定的约会。听起来您觉得有点儿滑稽，对吧？呃，如果您想弄清楚这是不是实话，我可以解释。大约二十年前，这家店所在之处原是个餐馆——‘大乔’布拉迪餐馆。”
5 "Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then."
“直到五年前，”警察说。“五年前被拆了。
6 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, oddly set.
门口那人划了一根火柴点燃雪茄。火光照出一张苍白、方下巴、长着一双锐利眼睛的脸，右眉边上有一处微小的白疤痕。他的别针是一块大钻石，镶嵌的方式很奇特。
7 "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 start for 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 ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be."
“二十年前的今晚，”那人说，“我在‘大乔’布拉迪这里和我最好的哥们儿、世上最棒的伙计吉米·威尔斯一起吃饭。我和他在纽约这块儿一起长大，就像哥儿俩。我当时十八岁，吉米二十岁。第二天早上我就要动身去西部发财了。你没法儿把吉米拽出纽约；他以为这是地球上唯一的一块地儿。呃，那天晚上我们约定，我们将在二十年后的同一天、同一时间在这里再见面，无论我们混成什么样子，或者得从多远的地方来。我们估计二十年后，我们应该都已经知道了自己的命运，发了财。至于是好是坏都无所谓了。”
8 "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?"
“听起来很有趣，”警察说。“不过在我看来，两次会面之间隔了相当长一段时间。自从离开后，你没有听到过你朋友的消息吗？”
9 "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 a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest 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 if my old partner turns up."
“呃，有的，我们通过一段时间的信，”那人说。“可是一两年后，我们彼此就失去了联系。你知道，西部的生意相当大，我一直忙得团团转。但我知道如果吉米还活着，他一定会到这儿来见我的，因为他始终是这世界上最忠实、最可靠的老伙计。他绝不会忘的。今晚我从千里之外赶到这个地方，如果我的老伙伴露面的话，一切都值得了。”
10 The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
那个等候的人掏出一只漂亮的怀表，表盖上镶嵌着小钻石。
11 "Three minutes to ten," he announced. "It was exactly ten o'clock when we parted here at the restaurant door."
“差三分钟十点，”他宣布。“我们是十点整在这餐馆门口分手的。”
12 "Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman.
“你在西部混得相当不错，对吧？”警察问道。
13 "You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was. I've had to compete with some of the sharpest wits going to get my pile. A man gets in a groove in New York. It takes the West to put a razoredge on him."
“当然啦！我希望吉米混得有我一半儿好。他是那种闷头苦干的人，不过是个好人。我可得跟一帮打我钱财主意的最精明的人竞争。一个人在纽约容易墨守成规。西部则会让他身处险境。”