"Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.

 

“问路吗，军人？”她轻轻地说。他又走近一步，接着，他看到了霍丽丝梅内尔。

She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.

霍丽丝梅内尔就站在这姑娘身后，一个40多岁的女人，灰白的头发塞在破旧的帽子下面，很胖，厚实的双脚穿着低跟鞋。

But she wore a red rose in the rumpled lapel of her brown coat.The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

可是她那皱巴巴的外衣上别着一朵红玫瑰。绿衣女孩匆匆离去。

 

Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.

 

布兰福德心碎了，他多想跟着那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望见这个女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激励他。她就站在那里，苍白丰满的面庞，温柔而理性，灰色的眼睛里闪着温和的光芒。

Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn, blue leather copy of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love-a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful...

布兰福德没有犹豫，他紧抓着那本破旧的《人性的枷锁》，它是向她证明身份的依据。尽管这不会是爱情，但是一种珍贵的东西，是他曾经拥有并要感激的友情…

He squared his broad shoulders, saluted and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt shocked by the bitterness of his disappointment."I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you-you are Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May...may I take you to dinner?"

尽管因深深的失望而感到痛苦，布兰福德仍摆正双肩，敬了个礼，然后把书递给那个女人：“我是约翰布兰福德，您—您是梅内尔女士吧，我可以—可以请您吃饭吗？”

The woman smiled. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit - the one who just went by - begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test."

女人微笑着。“孩子，我不明白这是怎么回事，”她说道，“那位穿绿衣服的年轻小姐请求我戴上这朵玫瑰，她说如果你请我一块出去，就告诉你，她在对面的餐厅等你。她说这是一种考验。”