After-Twenty-Years--二十年以后

AfterTwentyYears二十年以后O.Henry•Thepolicemanonthebeatmoveduptheavenueimpressively.Theimpressivenesswasnormalandnotforshow,forspectatorswerefew.Thetimewasbarelyteno'clockatnight,butchillygustsofwindwithatasteofraininthemhadalmostemptiedthestreets.•一位执勤的警察气势轩昂地走向大街，这种形象很正常，不是为走秀，因为街上的行人寥寥无几了，带有水汽的冷风已把大街上的人都赶回家去了。•Whenaboutmidwayofacertainblock,thepolicemansuddenlyslowedhiswalk.Inthedoorwayofadarkenedhardwarestoreamanleaned,withanunlightedcigarinhismouth.Asthepolicemanwalkeduptohim,themanspokeupquickly.大约走到一个街区的中间时，警察放慢了脚步。一家黑暗的五金店门口有一个男子依靠在那里，他嘴上叼着一只未点燃的雪茄。看见警察向自己走来，那个男子很快地说：•“It‘sallright,officer,”hesaid,confidently.“I’mjustwaitingforafriend.It‘sanappointmentmadetwentyyearsago.“这儿没有出什么事，警官先生。”他自信地说，“我只是在这儿等一位朋友罢了。这是20年前定下的一个约会。•Themaninthedoorwaystruckamatchandlithiscigar.Thelightshowedapale,square-jawedfacewithkeeneyes,andalittlewhitescarnearhisrighteyebrow.Histiepinwasalargediamond,oddlyset.男子划了根火柴，点燃了叼在嘴上的雪茄。借着火柴的亮光，警察发现这个男子脸色苍白，右眼角附近有一块小小的白色的伤疤..•I'llbeonmyway.Hopeyourfriendcomesaroundallright.Goingtocalltimeonhimsharp?Ishouldsaynot!saidtheother.I'llgivehimhalfanhouratleast.IfJimmyisaliveonearthhe'llbeherebythattime.Solong,officer.Good-night,sir,saidthepoliceman“我得走了，”他对那个男子说，“我希望你的朋友很快就会到来。假如他不准时赶来，你会离开这儿吗？”•“不会的。我起码要再等他半个小时。如果吉米他还活在人间，他到时候一定会来到这儿的。就说这些吧，再见，警官先生。”•“再见，先生。”警察说••Abouttwentyminuteshewaited,andthenatallmaninalongovercoat,withcollarturneduptohisears,hurriedacrossfromtheoppositesideofthestreet.Hewentdirectlytothewaitingman.男子又在这店铺的门前等了大约二十分钟的光景，这时候，一个身材高大的人急匆匆地径直走来。他穿着一件黑色的大衣，衣领向上翻着，盖住了耳朵。•Isthatyou,Bob?heasked,doubtfully.Isthatyou,JimmyWells?criedthemaninthedoor••.You'renotJimmyWells,hesnapped.Twentyyearsisalongtime,butnotlongenoughtochangeaman'snosefromaRomantoapug.Itsometimeschangesagoodmanintoabadone,saidthetallman.•You'vebeenunderarrestfortenminutes,'Silky'Bob.Chicagothinksyoumayhavedroppedoverourwayandwiresusshewantstohaveachatwithyou.Goingquietly,areyou?That'ssensible.Now,beforewegoontothestationhere'sanoteIwasaskedtohandyou.Youmayreadithereatthewindow.It'sfromPatrolmanWells.•ThemanfromtheWestunfoldedthelittlepieceofpaperhandedhim.Hishandwassteadywhenhebegantoread,butittrembledalittlebythetimehehadfinished.Thenotewasrathershort.•Bob:Iwasattheappointedplaceontime.WhenyoustruckthematchtolightyourcigarIsawitwasthefaceofthemanwantedinChicago.SomehowIcouldn'tdoitmyself,soIwentaroundandgotaplainclothesmantodothejob.JIMMY.•鲍勃接过便条。读着读着，他微微地颤抖起来。便条上写着：•鲍勃：刚才我准时赶到了我们的约会地点。当你划着火柴点烟时，我发现你正是那个芝加哥警方所通缉的人。不知怎么的，我不忍自己亲自逮捕你，只得找了个便衣警察来做这件事。