1、The Midnight Visitor 深夜访客Ausable did not fit the description of any secret agent Fowler had ever read about . Following him down the corridor of the gloomy French hotel where Ausable had a room , Fowler felt disappointed . It was a small room on the sixth floor ,and hardly a setting for a romantic f
2、igure .奥斯鲍根本不像书中见过的任何特工。跟着他走在这个法国小旅馆昏暗的走廊上，方罗感到很失望。奥斯鲍的房间在六楼，很狭小，一个浪漫的角色不应该是这样的背景。Ausable was , for one thing , fat . Very fat . And then there was his accent . Though he spoke French and German passably , he had never altogether lost the New England accent he had brought to Paris from Boston twenty
3、 years ago .首先，奥斯鲍很肥，非常肥，讲话还带有浓重的口音。他的法语和德语还说的过去，但二十年前从波斯顿带到巴黎的新英格兰口音还没舍得丢。“You are disappointed ,“ Ausable said wheezily over his shoulder . “You were told that I was a secret agent , a spy , dealing in espionage and danger . You wished yo meet me because you are a writer , young and romantic . You
4、 thought you would have mysterious figures in the night , the crack of pistols , drugs in the wine .“你很失望吧， ”奥斯鲍边走边气喘吁吁的说。 “有人告诉你我是特工，间谍，经常身处险境。而你是作家，年轻，浪漫。你想着今晚会发掘出一个神秘的角色，感受刺激的午夜枪声和葡萄酒里的毒药。 ”“Instead , you have spent a dull evening in a French music hall with a sloppy fat man who , instead of havi
5、ng messages slipped into his hand by dark-eyed beauties , gets only an ordinary telephone call making an appointment in his room . You have been bored !“ The fat man chuckled to himself as he unlocked the door of his room and stood aside to let his frustrated guest enter .“可是，相反，你只是与一个行动迟缓的胖子在法国音乐厅里
6、度过一个乏味的晚上，这个胖子只是通过普通的电话定了个约会，而不是由一个大眼睛的美女把纸条秘密递到他手里。你感到烦了吧！”胖子边笑边打开房门，然后站到一边把他沮丧的客人让了进去。“You are disillusioned,“ Ausable told him . “But take cheer , my young friend . Before long you will see a paper , a quite important paper for which several men and women have risked their lives , come to me in t
7、he next-to-last step of its journey into official hands . Some day soon that paper may well affect the course of history . There is drama in that thought , dont you think ?“ As he spoke , Ausable closed the door behind him. Then he switched on the light .“你的幻想破灭了， ”奥斯鲍说道， “但我年轻的朋友，高兴起来吧。马上你就会看到一份文件，
8、一份非常重要的文件，许多人已经为此付出了生命，到我这儿是最后一站了，然后就会交到上级手里。不久，那份文件也许会改写历史。这样想是不是很有戏剧性？”他边说边走了进来，关上门，打开了灯。And as the light came on ,Fowler had his first real thrill of the day . For halfway across the room , a small automatic pistol in his hand , stood a man .Ausable blinked a few times.灯亮起的一刹那，方罗终于第一次感受到了这一天中真正的刺
9、激。房间的中间站着一个人，手持一把小巧的自动手枪，正对准他们。奥斯鲍眨了几下眼。“Max,“ he wheezed , “ you gave me quite a start . I thought you were in Berlin . What are you doing in my room ?“Max was slender ,not tall , and with a face that suggested the look of a fox . Except for the gun , he did not look very dangerous .“ The report ,“
10、 he murmured . “The report that is being brought you tonight concerning some new missiles.I thought I would take it from you . It will be safer in my hands than in yours .“啊？麦克斯 ， ”他喘着粗气说， “你真是给了我一个惊喜。我还以为你在柏林呢。你在我房间里做什么？”麦克斯长着一张狐狸脸，个不高，看起来很瘦弱。除了那把枪，他看起来并不十分危险。“那份报告呢？” 他低声说道。 “那份有关新型导弹的报告今晚将会传到你手中。我
11、想我能从你这里得到它。放在我这儿安全多了。 ”Ausable moved to an armchair and sat down heavily. “Im going to raise the devil with the management this time ; I am angry ,“he said grimly. “ This is the second time in a month that somebody has gotten into my room off that confounded balcony !“ Fowlers eyes went to the singl
12、e window of the room . It was an ordinary window , against which now the night was pressing blackly.奥斯鲍挪到一把扶手椅跟前，重重地坐下。 “我这次一定要跟物业公司大闹一场；我生气了， ”他阴沉着脸抱怨到。 “这个月已经是第二次有人从那该死的阳台潜进我的房间了！”方罗的视线落在了房间里唯一的窗户上。这是一个普通的窗户，窗外夜色更浓了。“Balcony?“ Max asked curiously. “ No , I had a passkey . I did not know about the
13、balcony . It might have saved me some trouble had I known about it .“Its not my balcony ,“ explained Ausable angrily . “ It belongs to the next apartment .“ He glanced explanatorily at Fowler .“ You see,“ he said , “this room used to be part of a large unit , and the next room through that door ther
14、e used to be the living room. It had the balcony , which extends under my window now . You can get onto it from the empty room next door , and somebody did , last month . The management promised to block it off . But they havent.“阳台？”麦克斯惊讶地问到。 “我不是从那儿进来的，我有万能钥匙。我不知道那个阳台。如果知道的话，会省去我许多麻烦。 ”“这不是我房间的阳台
15、， ” 奥斯鲍生气地解释。 “它属于另外一个房间。 ” 他看着方罗，好象是在解释什么。 “你看，这间房以前是一套房子的一间，从这个门穿过去是起居室。起居室带有阳台，现在阳台已经延伸到我窗户下面了。你可以从隔壁那间空房爬到阳台上，上个月就有人这么干过。物业公司答应把它堵上，但是他们还没实施。 ”Max glanced at Fowler , who was standing stiffly a few feet from Ausable , and waved the gun with a commanding gesture . “ Please sit down ,“ he said . “
16、We have a wait of half an hour , I think .“ Thirty-one minutes ,“ Ausable said moodily . “The appointment was for twelve-thirty . I wish I knew how you learned about the report , Max .“麦克斯看了看方罗，他正站在奥斯鲍身后不远的地方，浑身僵直。麦克斯挥了挥拿枪的那只手，命令他坐下。 “坐下来等吧， ”他说， “我想我们大概还得等半个小时。 ”“三十一分， ”奥斯鲍沉重地说。 “我们约好十二点半见。我真想知道你是怎
17、么知道有关报告的消息的，麦克斯。 ”The little spy smiled evilly . “ And we wish we knew how your people got the report . But , no harm has been done . I will get it back tonight . What is that ? Who is at the door ?“Fowler jumped at the sudden knocking at the door . Ausable just smiled , “ That will be the police ,“
18、 he said . “ I thought that such an important paper should have a little extra protection . I told them to check on me to make sure everything was all right .“那个精瘦的间谍邪恶地笑了。 “可是我们想知道你的手下是怎么得到那份报告的。庆幸，到目前为止我们没有任何伤亡。今晚我就把它弄到手。那边怎么了？谁在敲门？”突然听到敲门声，方罗吓得跳了起来。奥斯鲍轻松地笑了笑， “可能是警察吧，我想这么重要的文件应该加强戒备。我让他们过来看一下，以确保
19、万无一失。 ”Max bit his lip nervously . The knocking was repeated.“ What will you do now , Max ?“ Ausable asked .“If I do not answer the door , they will enter anyway . The door is unlocked . And they will not hesitate to shoot .“Max s face was black with anger as he backed swiftly toward the window ; wi
20、th his hand behind him , he opened the window and put his leg out into the night. “ Send them away !“ he warned . “ I will wait on the balcony . Send them away or Ill shoot and take my chances!“麦克斯咬紧了嘴唇，神色有些慌张。敲门声还在继续。“你现在准备怎么办，麦克斯？”奥斯鲍问到。 “如果我不开门的话，他们会闯进来的。门没锁。他们一看到你，会毫不犹豫地开枪的。 ”麦克斯气得脸色铁青，他迅速退到窗户旁边
21、，反手推开窗户，把一只腿伸出去。 “打发他们走！”他警告到。 “我在阳台上等。你马上打发他们走，否则我就开枪。我不会放过任何机会！”The knocking at the door became louder and a voice was raised .“Mr. Ausable ! Mr.Ausable !“Keeping his body twisted so that his gun still covered the fat man and his guest , the man at the window swung his other leg up and over the wi
22、ndow sill. The doorknob turned . Swiftly Max pushed with his left hand to free himself and drop to the balcony . And then as he dropped , he screamed once , shrilly.敲门声越来越大，一个声音喊到：“奥斯鲍先生！奥斯鲍先生！”麦克斯的枪口一直对准他们，然后把另外一只腿伸出去。门把动了动。麦克斯放开手，跳到了阳台上。当他跳下时，发出了一声凄厉的惨叫。The door opened and a waiter stood there wit
23、h a tray , a bottle and two glasses .“Here is the drink you ordered , sir .“ He set the tray on the table , unlocked the bottle , and left the room.White -faced and shaking , Fowler stared after him.“But .but.what about .the police ?“ he stammered.“There never were any police .“ Ausable sighed . “On
24、ly Henry , whom I was expecting.“But what about the man on the balcony ?“ Fowler began.“ No ,“ said Ausable ,“ he wont return.“门开了，一个服务生手托盘子，站在门口，盘中放着一瓶酒，两个杯子。 “先生，这是您要的饮料。 ”他把盘子放在桌上，打开酒瓶，然后退了出去。方罗早已是脸色苍白，浑身发抖，他看着服务生的背影，结结巴巴地问到， “可是.可是.警察在哪呢？”“没有警察。 ”奥斯鲍叹了一口气。 “我只是在等亨利。 ”“但是阳台上的那人怎么对付？”“没必要了， ”奥斯鲍说道， “他不会再回来了。 ”
