牛津书虫系列《三十九级台阶》Chapter8 附中英双语文本

8 The coming of the black stone
8 黑石来了
Ⅰ came down to breakfast the next morning and found Sir Walter reading a coded message. He seemed less re－laxed than yesterday.
第二天早晨我下楼吃早饭，看到瓦尔特爵士正在看密码信。看来他没有昨天那么怡然自得。
I was very busy for an hour after you went to bed，'he said. 'I've arranged for the Frenchman， Royer，to come a day early. He will be in London at five o'clock. I don't think the change of day will help very much. If our enemies already knew he was coming，they will probably find out that the plans have changed. I would love to know how the news of his visit escaped. '
“您上床之后我又忙了一个小时。”他说。“我安排一个叫罗耶的法国人早一天来。他五点钟就到伦敦。但我觉得只变变日期没什么大用。如果敌人已知道他要来的话，他们就可能发现计划已经变了。要是知道他要来的消息是如何泄露出去的就好了。”
While I ate，he continued to talk. I was surprised that he was telling me all these important secrets.
我一边吃，他一边说。他把这么多重要的秘密都告诉我，出人意料。
'Can't the Navy's war plans be changed？'I asked.
“海军的作战计划难道不能变一变吗？”我问道。
'They could，'he said. 'But we want to avoid that. It would be very difficult，and some changes would be impossible. But the big problem is that they're not going to steal the plans in the street. They'll try to get the details without anybody knowing，and Royer will return to Paris thinking that every-thing is still secret. '
“可以的，”他说。“但是我们尽量不变。变起来相当困难，而且有些变化是做不到的。而最大的问题是他们不会在大街上偷这个计划。他们会设法神不知鬼不觉地搞到计划的细节，那样罗耶返回巴黎时还觉得一切仍然密不透风。”
'Then we must stay at Royer's side until he is home again，'I said.
“那么我们就必须帮助他直到他回去，”我说。
'Royer will meet us after dinner at my house in London：there'll be Whittaker from the Navy， myself，Sir Arthur Drew， and General Winstanley. The First Sea Lord，the head of the Navy，has been ill， and may not be able to come. Whittaker will give Royer the important papers， and then Royer will be driven to Portsmouth where a Navy ship will take him to France. He will be watched until he is back there. Whittaker will be watched while he has the papers before he meets Royer. It's the best we can do， and I don't see what can go wrong. But I'm very nervous because of the murder of Karolides. '
“饭后他会到我伦敦的家来见我们：还有海军的惠特克、我本人、亚瑟·德鲁爵士、温斯坦利将军。海军第一大臣，也就是海军的首脑，生病了，可能来不了。惠特克要把一些重要文件交给罗耶，然后用车把罗耶送到朴次茅斯，在那儿海军的船把他送回法国。一路上都会有人监护他。惠特克拿着文件在会见罗耶之前也有人监护。我们能做的就这么多，我看不出能出什么纰漏。但是因为卡罗里德斯被杀，我觉得很没底。”
After breakfast he asked me to be his driver for the day.
早饭后他叫我今天替他开车。
'You know what these people are like， and I don't want to take risks. '
“您了解这是些什么人，所以我不想冒险。”
In London we went first to Scotland Yard where we met an important-looking policeman.
到伦敦我们首先去苏格兰场，在那儿见到一个相貌威严的警察。
'I've brought you the Langham Place murderer，'said Sir Walter.
“我给您带来了兰厄姆谋杀案的凶手。”瓦尔特爵士说。
The policeman smiled. 'I wish you had. I imagine you are Mr Hannay. We were very interested in you for a few days. '
那个警察笑了。“您要真带来就好了。我猜您是哈内先生。有那么几天我们对您很感兴趣。”
'Mr Hannay will interest you again， MacGillivray， but his story must wait twenty-four hours. But I would like you to tell Mr Hannay that you don't want to arrest him any more. '
“哈内先生会让您重新感兴趣的，麦吉利夫雷。但他的故事要等二十四个小时再说。而我想让您告诉哈内先生说您不会逮捕他了。”
'Of course we don't. 'The policeman turned to me. 'Your flat and your servant are waiting for you， although you may not want to return there. '
“当然不会逮捕了。”警察转身对我说：“您的寓所和仆人都在等着您，可大概您不想回那去了。”
As Sir Walter and I left， he said I was free for the rest of the day. 'Come and see me tomorrow， Hannay. I don't need to tell you to keep everything secret. You had better stay out of sight. If your Black Stone friends see you， there might be trouble. '