歪唇男人 13圣克莱尔的故事(2)

Last Monday Mr. Neville St. Clair went into town rather earlier than usual,

上星期一，圣克莱尔先生进城比平时早得多。

remarking before he started that he had two important commissions to perform,

出发前他说过有两件重要事情要办，

and that he would bring his little boy home a box of bricks.

还说要给小儿子带回一盒积木。

Now, by the merest chance, his wife received a telegram upon this same Monday,

说来也巧，在那同一个星期一，他的太太收到一封电报，

very shortly after his departure, to the effect that a small parcel of considerable value

他出门后不久，说有个贵重的小包裹，

which she had been expecting was waiting for her at the offices of the Aberdeen Shipping¹ Company.

她一直等着这包裹--已经寄到亚伯丁运输公司办事处等她去取。

Now, if you are well up in your London, you will know that the office of the company is in Fresno Street,

好了，如果你熟悉伦敦的街道，你会知道公司的办事处是在弗雷斯诺街。

which branches out of Upper Swandam Lane, where you found me to-night.

那条街有一条岔道通向天鹅闸巷，就是今晚你见到我的地方。

Mrs. St. Clair had her lunch, started for the City, did some shopping, proceeded to the company's office, got her packet,

圣克莱尔太太吃过午饭就进城了，在商店买了些东西就到公司办事处去，取出包裹，

and found herself at exactly 4:35 walking through Swandam Lane on her way back to the station. Have you followed me so far?"

在回车站走过天鹅闸巷时，正好是下午四点三十五分。你明白了吗？"

"It is very clear."

"听得很清楚。"

"If you remember, Monday was an exceedingly hot day, and Mrs. St. Clair walked slowly,

"如果你还记得的话，星期一那天天气十分炎热，圣克莱尔太太步伐缓慢，

glancing about in the hope of seeing a cab, as she did not like the neighbourhood in which she found herself.

四下张望，希望能雇到一辆小马车，因为她发觉她不喜欢周围的那些街道。

While she was walking in this way down Swandam Lane, she suddenly heard an ejaculation or cry,

正当她一路走过天鹅闸巷时，突然听见一声喊叫或哭号，

and was struck cold to see her husband looking down at her and, as it seemed to her, beckoning² to her from a second-floor window.

看到她的丈夫从三层楼的窗口朝下望着她，好象在向她招手，她吓得浑身冰凉。

The window was open, and she distinctly saw his face, which she describes as being terribly agitated³.

那窗户是开着的，他的脸她看得很清楚，据她说他那激动的样子非常可怕。

He waved his hands frantically⁴ to her,

他拼命地向她挥手，

and then vanished from the window so suddenly that it seemed to her that he had been plucked back by some irresistible⁵ force from behind.

但忽然消失于刹那之间，好象他身后有一种不可抗拒的力量一把将他猛拉回去一样。

One singular point which struck her quick feminine eye was that although he wore some dark coat,

她那双女人所具有的敏锐的眼睛猛地看到的一个异常的地方是，他穿的虽然是他进城时的那件黑色上衣，

such as he had started to town in, he had on neither collar nor necktie.

可是他的脖子上没有硬领，胸前也没有领带。

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 beckoning   

adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
• He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

3 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

4 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

5 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。