愛的力量
A guard came to the prison shoe shop where Jimmy Valentine was working and took him to the prison office. There the warden handed Jimmy his pardon, which had been signed that morning by the governor. He took it quietly; he was too tired to show excitement. He had been in prison nearly ten months and he had been sentenced to four years. True, he had expected to stay only about three months, at the longest. He had a lot of friends and he had been sure they would help him.
看守來到基米?范林丁正在干活的監獄制鞋間，將他帶到監獄辦公室。到了那里，監獄長將一張赦免書遞給基米，這是今天早上州長簽署的。基米默默地接過去，對此他沒有流露出任何的激動。他早已膩煩，他在獄中呆了將近10個月，而判他的是4年徒刑。說真的，他本來打算最多呆3個月的。他有好多朋友，他相信他們一定會為他想辦法的。
“Now, Valentine,” said the warden, “You'll go out in the morning. Make a man of yourself. You’re not a bad fellow really. Stop breaking open safes and be honest.”
“范林丁，”監獄長說，“明天早上你就可以出獄了，要活出個人樣來。其實你這人并不壞。再不要撬保險柜了。做一個誠實的人。”
“Me?” said Jimmy, in surprise. “Why, I've never broken open a safe in my life.”
“我？”基米吃驚地說，“你說什么？我可從來沒有撬過保險柜呀。”
“Oh, no,” laughed the warden. “Of course not. And what about that Springfield job? Do you mean to say you didn't take part in it?”
“啊，沒有，”監獄長笑道，“當然沒有。可是，春田事件該怎么說呢？你是說你沒有參與那件事嗎？”
“Me?” said Jimmy still more surprised. “Why, warden, I've never been to Springfield in my life!”
“我？”基米更吃驚了。“怎么，監獄長，我可從來沒有去過春田呀！”
“Take him back,” the warden said to the guard smiling, “and give him some clothes. Unlock him at seven in the morning and let him come to me. Better think over my advice, Valentine.”
“把他帶回去，”監獄長對看守笑道，“給他一些衣服，明天早上7點給他開鎖后讓他到我這里來。最好還是把我的勸告想一下，范林丁。”
At a quarter past seven the next morning Jimmy stood in the warden's office. He wore a badly-fitting ready-made suit and the cheap shoes that the state gives to prisoners, when they are set free. The clerk handed him a railroad ticket and the five-dollar bill with which he was supposed to start a new, honest life. The warden gave him a cigar, and they shook hands. Valentine, 9762, was registered on the books “Pardoned by Governor,” and Mr. James Valentine walked out into the sunshine.
第二天早上7點15分，基米站在了監獄長的辦公室。他穿著一套很不合身的現成衣服和一雙廉價的鞋子。這些是在釋放犯人時發給他們的。一名職員遞給他一張火車票和5美元。拿著這些錢，從此就可以開始誠實的新的人生了。監獄長遞給他一支雪茄。他們握了握手。范林丁，9762號，已經登記在“州長赦免冊”中。于是，詹姆斯?范林了便走到了陽光下。
Disregarding the song of the birds, the green trees, and the smell of the flowers, Jimmy went straight to a restaurant. There he ordered a roast chicken and a bottle of white wine and a better cigar than the one the warden had given him. Then he walked slowly to the railroad station. He put a quarter into the hat of a blind man sitting by the door, and took a train. Three hours later he arrived at his native town, went directly to the cafe of his old friend Mike Dolan and shook hands with Mike, who was alone behind the counter. “Sorry we couldn't make it sooner, Jimmy, my boy,” said Mike. “It wasn’t so easy this time and we had a lot of trouble. Are you all right?”
基米沒有理會鳥鳴、綠樹和花香，徑直向飯店走去。到了那里，他要了一份燒雞、一瓶葡萄酒和一支比監獄長給他的要好的雪茄，隨后慢慢地踱向了火車站。他向坐在門邊的盲人的帽中丟了2角5分錢。3個小時之后，他來到了自己的家鄉，直奔他的好友邁克?杜蘭開的咖啡館而去，跟獨自站在柜臺后面的邁克握了握手。“很抱歉我們沒有早些辦成，基米，我的孩子，”邁克說，“這次可真不容易，我們費了不少周折。你一切都好吧？”
“Fine,” said Jimmy. “Have you got my key?”
“很好，”基米說，“你沒拿我的鑰匙吧？”
He took his key and went upstairs, unlocking the door of his room. Everything was just as he had left it. There on the floor was still the collar-button that had been torn from the shirt of Ben Price―the well known detective―when Price had come to arrest him. Jimmy removed a panel in the wall and dragged out a dust-covered suitcase. He opened it and looked fondly at the finest set of burglar's tools in the East. It was a complete set, made of special steel. The set consisted of various tools of the latest design. He had invented two or three of them himself, and was very proud of them. Over nine hundred dollars they had cost him! They had been made at X., a place where they make such things for the profession.
他拿了鑰匙就上了樓，打開他房間的門。一切都和他離開時一樣。地板上那顆領扣還在，這是那個著名偵探本?普萊斯逮捕他時，從他的襯衫上撤掉的。基米移開墻壁上的一塊嵌板，取出一只積滿灰塵的手提箱。他將它打開之后，愛惜地瞧著那套在東部最出色的盜竊工具。這是完整的一套，是用特種鋼制成的，包括各種最新式的工具，其中兩三件還是他自己發明的，對此他感到非常自豪。他為這套工具花費了900多美元。這是在某地制作的，那個地方以制造這種東西而聞名。
In half an hour Jimmy went downstairs and walked through the cafe. He was now dressed in an elegant new suit, and carried his cleaned suitcase in his hand. “What are you going to do next? To break another safe?” asked Mike Dolan smiling cheerfully.
半小時后，基米下了樓，穿過咖啡館，現在他穿上一套新穎雅致的衣服，手里提著擦拭一新的手提箱。“下一步準備做什么呢？撬開另一個保險柜吧？”邁克?杜蘭笑道。
“I don't understand. I’m representing the New York Amalgamated Biscuit Company.”
“我不懂你的意思，我是紐約聯合陶器公司的代表。”
This statement delighted Mike to such an extent that he gave Jimmy a seltzer-and-milk on the spot. Jimmy never touched “hard” drinks.
這一番話把邁克逗樂了，他為此馬上遞給基米一杯礦泉牛奶。基米是從來不碰烈性飲料的。
A week after the release of Valentine, 9762, there was a new safe-burglary in Richmond, Indiana. Only eight hundred dollars were stolen. Two weeks after that another safe was opened and fifteen hundred dollars disappeared; securities and silver were untouched. That began to interest the detectives. A few days later the Jefferson City Bank was robbed and banknotes amounting to five thousand dollars were taken. The losses were now so high that it was time for so well known a detective as Ben Price to begin investigation. When all the cases were compared, a striking similarity in the methods of burglaries was noticed. Ben Price investigated the scenes of the robberies and was heard to say.
在9762號范林丁釋放一周之后，印第安那州的里土滿又發生了一起保險柜被盜事件。只有區區800美元。兩星期后，一家保險柜再次被盜，1500美元不翼而飛，證券和銀器紋絲未動。這開始引起了偵探的注意。又過了幾天，杰弗遜市銀行被盜，被竊走了5000美元。現在損失的數目越來越大，因此該由本?普萊斯這樣大名鼎鼎的偵探來著手偵查。在比較了所有的案件之后，普萊斯偵探發現盜竊手法如出一轍。本?普萊斯調查了這些盜竊案的現場。爾后，人們聽他說道：
“That's all Jimmy Valentine’s work. He's resumed business. He’s got the only tools that can open any safe without leaving the slightest trace. Yes, it is Mr. Valentine.”
“這都是基米?范林丁干的。他又重操舊業了。他有非常出色的工具，可以打開任何保險柜而又不留下任何蛛絲馬跡。是的，這是范林丁干的。”
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