首先，帕克夫人会带你参观双客厅。你不敢打断她对这些房间优势的描述，也不敢打断她对曾在这里住了八年的绅士的赞美。然后，你会结结巴巴地承认自己既不是医生也不是牙医。帕克夫人听到这个回答的神情让你再也无法对自己的父母心存感激，因为他们没有把你培养成可以住进帕克夫人家那种客厅的职业人士。

FIRST MRS. PARKER would show you the double parlours. You would not dare to interrupt her description of their advantages and of the merits of the gentleman who had occupied them for eight years. Then you would manage to stammer forth the confes­ sion that you were neither a doctor nor a dentist. Mrs. Parker's manner of receiving the admission was such that you could never afterward entertain the same feeling toward your parents, who had neglected to train you up in one of the professions that fitted Mrs. Parker's parlours. 

接下来，你会上楼去看二楼的后面那个8美元的房间。她通过第二楼的表现让你相信那个房间其实值得12美元，毕竟托森伯里先生曾一直支付这个价格，直到他离开去佛罗里达的棕榈滩经营兄弟的橙园。而麦金泰尔夫人冬天总是住在有私人浴室的双前面房间，你小心翼翼地嘟囔着你其实想要一个更便宜的房间。

Next you ascended one flight of stairs and looked at the second floor back at $8. Convinced by her second-floor manner that it was worth the $12 that Mr. Toosenberry always paid for it until he left to take charge of his brother's orange plantation in Florida near Palm Beach, where Mrs. McIntyre always spent the winters that had the double front room with private bath, you managed to babble that you wanted something still cheaper. 

如果你能忍受帕克夫人的鄙视，她会带你去看史基德尔先生的大厅房间。史基德尔的房间并不空着，他整天写剧本，抽香烟。每个来找房子的人都得进去欣赏他的窗帘。每次参观过后，史基德尔先生总会因为害怕被赶出去而支付一点房租。

If you survived Mrs. Parker's scorn, you were taken to look at Mr. Skidder's large hall-room on the third floor. Mr. Skidder's room was not vacant. He wrote plays and smoked cigarettes in it all day long. But every room-hunter was made to visit his room to admire the lambrequins. After each visit, Mr. Skidder, from the fright caused by possible eviction, would pay something on his rent. 

然后——哦，如果你还站着，一只脚提着，手里握着那三张潮湿的美元，声音嘶哑地宣告你极度贫困，帕克夫人再也不会做你的导游了。她会大声喊“克拉拉”，然后转身下楼。接着，克拉拉——那位黑人女佣会把你带上那条布满地毯的楼梯，带你去看天窗房。天窗房的面积是7英尺×8英尺，位于走廊中段。房间两边是阴暗的储物间或杂物间。

房间里有一张铁床，一个洗手台和一把椅子，架子就是梳妆台。四面光秃秃的墙壁似乎像硬币的两面一样把你压缩。你的手忍不住摸向喉咙，喘不过气来，抬头一看——就像从井底望上去一般，呼吸终于恢复。通过小天窗的玻璃，你看到一片蓝色的无边无际。

Then - oh, then - if you still stood on one foot with your hot hand clutching the three moist dollars in your pocket, and hoarsely proclaimed your hideous and culpable poverty, never­ more would Mrs. Parker be cicerone of yours. She would honk loudly the word 'Clara,' she would show you her back, and march downstairs. Then Clara, the coloured maid, would escort you up the carpeted ladder that served for the fourth flight, and show you the Skylight Room. It occupied 7 by 8 feet of floorspace at the middle of the hall. On each side of it was a dark lumber closet or store-room. 

In it was an iron cot, a washstand and a chair. A shelf was the dresser. Its four bare walls seemed to close in upon you like the sides of a coin. Your hand crept to your throat, you gasped, you looked up as from a well - and breathed once more. Through the glass of the little skylight you saw a square of blue infinity. 

“两美元，先生，”克拉拉用带有些许鄙视、又带着点友好的语气说道。

有一天，李森小姐来找房子。她背着一台比她大得多的打字机。她是个小个子女孩，眼睛和头发总是长得比她停下来的速度还快，看起来好像在说：“天哪，为什么你们不赶得上我们？”

'Two dollars, suh,' Clara would say in her half-contemptuous, half-Tuskegeenial tones. 

One day Miss Leeson came hunting for a room. She carried a typewriter made to be lugged around by a much larger lady. She was a very little girl, with eyes and hair that kept on growing after she had stopped and that always looked as if they were saying: 'Goodness me. W h y didn't you keep up with us?' 

帕克夫人带她去看双客厅。“这个储藏室，”她说，“可以放骨架、麻醉药或者煤——”

“但我既不是医生也不是牙医，”李森小姐颤抖着说。

帕克夫人投给她一个难以置信、充满同情、嘲讽又冷漠的目光，那是她专门留给那些不够资格成为医生或牙医的人，然后带她去看二楼的后面房间。

Mrs. Parker showed her the double parlours. 'In this closet,' she said, 'one could keep a skeleton or anaesthetic or coal - ' 

'But I am neither a doctor nor a dentist,' said Miss Leeson with a shiver. 

Mrs. Parker gave her the incredulous, pitying, sneering, icy stare that she kept for those who failed to qualify as doctors or dentists, and led the way to the second floor back. 

“八美元？”李森小姐说：“天哪！我可不是赫蒂，尽管我看起来很狼狈。我只是个穷苦的小打工妹。给我看看便宜点的和贵点的吧。”

史基德尔先生听到敲门声跳了起来，把地上散乱的烟蒂扫得满地都是。

“抱歉，史基德尔先生，”帕克夫人带着恶魔般的笑容说，看到他苍白的脸色，“我不知道你在。我让这位女士看看你的窗帘。”

“它们漂亮得不得了，”李森小姐笑着说，笑容就像天使一样。

'Eight dollars?' said Miss Leeson. 'Dear me! I'm not Hetty if I do look green. I'm just a poor little working girl. Show me some­ thing higher and lower.' 

Mr. Skidder jumped and strewed the floor with cigarette stubs at the rap on his door. 

'Excuse me, Mr. Skidder,' said Mrs. Parker, with her demon's smile at his pale looks. 'I didn't know you were in. I asked the lady to have a look at your lambrequins.' 

'They're too lovely for anything,' said Miss Leeson, smiling in exactly the way the angels do. 

他们走后，史基德尔先生忙着把他最新剧本中的高挑黑发女主角删掉，换成一个小巧、调皮的女角，头发浓密、五官生动。

“安娜·赫尔德一定会抢着接这个角色，”史基德尔对自己说，把脚翘起来靠在窗帘上，烟雾缭绕，像飞行中的墨鱼一样消失。

不久，“克拉拉！”的号召响彻整个世界，宣告了李森小姐的经济状况。一个黑影抓住她，带她走上黑暗的楼梯，把她塞进了一个顶部有一丝光亮的地下室，低声说出威胁般的神秘话语：“两美元！”

“我就要这个！”李森小姐叹气，瘫坐在吱吱作响的铁床上。

After they had gone M r . Skidder got very busy erasing the tall, black-haired heroine from his latest (unproduced) play and inserting a small, roguish one with heavy, bright hair and vivacious features. 

'Anna Held'll jump at it,' said Mr. Skidder to himself, putting his feet up against the lambrequins and disappearing in a cloud of smoke like an aerial cuttlefish. 

Presently the tocsin call of 'Clara!' sounded to the world the state of Miss Leeson's purse. A dark goblin seized her, mounted a Stygian stairway, thrust her into a vault with a glimmer of light in its top and muttered the menacing and cabalistic words 'Two dollars!' 

'I'll take it!' sighed Miss Leeson, sinking down upon the squeaky iron bed. 

每天，李森小姐都出去工作。晚上，她带回写满字的纸张，拿着打字机做复印。有时候晚上没有工作，她会和其他房客一起坐在高楼梯的台阶上。李森小姐并不是为了天窗房而生，她天性开朗，心地温柔，总是充满了些许异想天开的幻想。有一次，她让史基德尔读给她听他那部伟大的（未出版的）喜剧《这不是孩子的事；或者，地铁继承人》的三幕。

每当李森小姐有时间在台阶上坐一两个小时时，男房客们都会为此欢欣鼓舞。但朗尼克小姐——那位身高很高的金发女教师，总是对你说“嗯，真是的！”——坐在最上面的台阶上，嗤之以鼻。而多恩小姐——那个每周日都去打动感鸭，平时在百货商店工作的女孩——则坐在最下层台阶上，也嗤之以鼻。李森小姐坐在中间的台阶上，男房客们立刻围上来。

Every day Miss Leeson went out to work. At night she brought home papers with handwriting on them and made copies with her typewriter. Sometimes she had no work at night, and then she would sit on the steps of the high stoop with the other roomers. Miss Leeson was not intended for a skylight room when the plans were drawn for her creation. She was gay-hearted and full of tender, whimsical fancies. Once she let Mr. Skidder read to her three acts of his great (unpublished) comedy, 'It's No Kid; or, The Heir of the Subway.' 

There was rejoicing among the gentlemen roomers whenever Miss Leeson had time to sit on the steps for an hour or two. But Miss Longnecker, the tall blonde who taught in a public school and said 'Well, really!' to everything you said, sat on the top step and sniffed. And Miss Dorn, who shot at the moving ducks at Coney every Sunday and worked in a department store, sat on the bottom step and sniffed. Miss Leeson sat on the middle step, and the men would quickly group around her. 

尤其是史基德尔先生，他已经在脑海里为她安排了一个私密浪漫（未曾提及）现实生活中的女主角角色。尤其是胡佛先生，四十五岁，胖乎乎的，脸色红润又傻乎乎的。尤其是那个非常年轻的埃文斯先生，他故意咳嗽，想让李森小姐请他别再抽烟。男人们都投票选她为“最有趣最开朗的人”，但最上和最下台阶的嗤之以鼻，依旧坚不可摧。

Especially Mr. Skidder, who had cast her in his mind for the star part in a private, romantic (unspoken) drama in real life. And especially Mr. Hoover, who was forty-five, fat, flushed and foolish. And especially very young Mr. Evans, who set up a hollow cough to induce her to ask him to leave off cigarettes. The men voted her 'the funniest and jolliest ever,' but the sniffs on the top step and the lower step were implacable. 

•••••

我请求你暂停这场戏剧，而合唱团走到聚光灯下，垂下一滴悲悼的泪水，落在胡佛先生的肥胖身上。调试管乐器，奏响肥油的悲剧，那是庞大的祸害，是肥胖的灾难。如果是法尔斯塔夫，他或许能为吨数带来更多浪漫，而不是罗密欧那瘦骨嶙峋的肋骨为每盎司带来的情感。恋人可以叹息，但他不能喘气。胖子们终究是归于莫莫斯的队列。信心再坚固的心，也无法战胜一条52寸的腰带。胡佛，滚开！四十五岁的胡佛，脸红傻乎乎的，也许能带走海伦；但四十五岁，脸红、傻乎乎且肥胖的胡佛，注定是下地狱的料。你从未有过机会，胡佛。

就在帕克夫人的房客们这样坐着的一个夏日傍晚，李森小姐抬头望向天空，带着她那欢快的小笑声说道：“哦，那里是比利·杰克逊！我从这里也能看到他。”

大家都抬头看了看——有的看向摩天大楼的窗户，有的在寻找飞行器，杰克逊引导的那种。

“是那颗星，”李森小姐解释道，指着那颗星星，用纤细的手指指向它。“不是那个闪烁的大的星星——是它旁边那颗稳定的蓝色星星。我每晚都能通过我的天窗看到它。我把它叫做比利·杰克逊。”

“哦，真是的！”朗尼克小姐说。“我不知道你是天文学家，李森小姐。”

“哦，是的，”那个小小的星星观察者回答，“我知道得跟他们一样多，知道火星下个秋天要穿什么款式的袖子。”

“哦，真是的！”朗尼克小姐又说。“你说的那颗星是卡西欧佩亚座的伽马星，几乎是二等星，它的子午线通过时间是——”

“哦，”非常年轻的埃文斯先生说道，“我觉得比利·杰克逊这个名字更适合它。”

“我也是这么想的，”胡佛先生大声说，向朗尼克小姐挑衅。“我觉得李森小姐给星星命名，和那些古老的占星家没什么两样，她有同样的权利。”

“哦，真是的！”朗尼克小姐说。

“我在想，是否那是颗流星，”多恩小姐说道。“上周日在科尼岛的画廊，我打中了九只鸭子和一只兔子。”

“从这里看不太清楚，”李森小姐说，“你得从我的房间看才行。你知道，即使在白天，你也能从井底看到星星。晚上我的房间就像是煤矿的竖井，它让比利·杰克逊看起来像夜晚用来系上睡袍的那颗大钻石胸针。”

接下来有一段时间，李森小姐没有带回什么复杂的文件来复印。当她早上出去时，她不再工作，而是从一个办公室跑到另一个办公室，任由冷漠的拒绝和傲慢的办公室男孩通过冰冷的言辞把她的心融化。这样的日子一直持续着。

有一天晚上，她疲惫地爬上了帕克夫人的台阶，就在她通常从餐馆吃完晚餐回来的时候。但那天她没有晚餐。

当她走进大厅时，胡佛先生遇到了她，抓住了机会。他向她求婚，他的肥胖像雪崩一样笼罩在她身上。她躲开了，抓住了栏杆。他试图拉住她的手，她抬起手，软弱地打了他一巴掌。她一步步走上去，拉着栏杆爬升。她经过斯基德尔先生的门时，他正在为《玛特尔·德洛尔梅》（李森小姐）的舞台指导加红线——在他那部（未被接受的）喜剧中，写着“从舞台左侧旋转跳跃，走到伯爵身边”。她最终爬上了那条铺着地毯的阶梯，打开了天窗房的门。

她太虚弱了，无法点燃灯，也没有力气脱衣服。她倒在铁床上，脆弱的身体几乎没有在破旧的床弹簧上留下任何凹陷。在这间像冥府般的房间里，她慢慢抬起沉重的眼皮，露出微笑。

因为比利·杰克逊从天窗中照耀着她，冷静、明亮、稳定。周围没有世界。她仿佛陷入了黑暗的深渊，只有那小小的苍白光框住了她所胡乱、却又无力地命名的那颗星星。朗尼克小姐一定是对的；那是卡西欧佩亚座的伽马星，而不是比利·杰克逊。但她无法接受那是伽马星。

她仰躺着，试了两次举起手臂。第三次，她用两根瘦弱的手指轻触唇边，向着黑暗的深渊吹了一个吻给比利·杰克逊。她的手臂无力地垂了下来。

“再见，比利，”她轻声喃喃道。“你在百万光年之外，甚至不会眨一下眼。但你一直在我能看到的地方，大部分时间都在那儿，虽然周围只剩下黑暗，是不是？……百万光年……再见，比利·杰克逊。”

第二天早上十点，克拉拉，那个有色人种女仆，发现门被锁了，他们把门强行打开。用醋，拍打手腕，甚至燃烧羽毛，都没能奏效，最后有人跑去打电话叫救护车。

救护车终于赶到了，随着大铃声的响起，年轻的医生穿着白色的亚麻外套，神采奕奕，动作迅速，自信满满，半带风度、半带严肃的平静面孔，跳上了台阶。

“救护车，49号，”他简短地说。“出什么事了？”

“哦，是的，医生，”帕克夫人抽泣着，好像她最担心的不是家里发生了什么事，而是有事发生。“我想不出她怎么了。我们做什么都没能让她恢复意识。她是个年轻姑娘，叫艾尔西——是的，艾尔西·李森小姐。以前从没在我家里——”

“哪个房间？”医生用一种令帕克夫人从未听过的恐怖语气问道。

“天窗房。它——”

显然，救护车的医生对天窗房的地点很熟悉。他四步一跃上了楼梯，帕克夫人则慢慢跟上，维持着她的尊严。

在第一个楼梯平台上，她遇见他抱着那位天文学家的身体走下来。医生停下来，放开了他那利索的舌头，没有高声说话。渐渐地，帕克夫人如同一件僵硬的衣服从钉子上滑落。此后，她的心灵和身体里总留下了褶皱。有时她那些好奇的房客会问她医生对她说了什么。

“别提了，”她会回答。“如果我能得到原谅，因为听了那些话，我就心满意足了。”

救护车的医生抱着病人，穿过了那群追逐好奇心的猎犬，连他们也因他的面容而退后，低声不语，因为他的脸上有着背负自己死者的神情。

他们注意到，医生并没有把他抱着的身体放到救护车里准备好的床上，他只对司机说道：“赶紧开，威尔逊。”

就这样。难道这算是个故事吗？第二天早报上有一则小新闻，其中最后一句话也许能帮你（就像它帮助了我）把这些事件联系起来。新闻里提到，一名年轻女子被送进贝尔维尤医院，她是从东街49号被救出的，因饥饿导致的虚弱。新闻最后写道：

“救护车医生威廉·杰克逊博士表示，病人会恢复。”

上一篇：《两回合之间》-来自专业的书籍翻译公司
下一篇：《爱的服务》-来自专业的翻译公司