牛津书虫系列《三十九级台阶》Chapter9 附中英双语文本

9 The thirty-nine steps
9 三十九级台阶
Sir Walter got up and left the room. He came back after ten minutes. 'I've spoken to Alloa. I got him out of bed-he was very angry. He hasn't left his house all day. '
瓦尔特爵士站起身走出房间。十分钟后又回来了。“我和阿罗通过话了。我把他叫下床——他火了。一整天他没离开过房间。”
'It's impossible，' said Winstanley. ' I sat next to him for nearly half an hour. '
“那不可能，”温斯坦利说。“我在他旁边坐了差不多半个小时。”
'That's what's so clever，' I said. 'You were too interested in other things to look at him closely. You knew that he might be well enough to come tonight and，as First Sea Lord，it was natural for him to be here. Why should you suspect that it wasn't him？'
“这就是所谓聪明，”我说。“你们的兴趣太专注在其它事情上了，而没有仔细看他。你们知道他的身体也许允许他今晚来开会，而且作为第一海军大臣来这里也是合情合理的。你们有什么理由怀疑不是他呢？”
Then the Frenchman spoke，very slowly，and in good English.
后来那个法国人开口了，他说得很慢但英语讲得很好。
'This young man is right. He understands our enemies. People only see what they expect to see. This man came late，spoke little，and left early but he behaved exactly as we would expect Lord Alloa to behave. '
“这个年轻人说得对。他了解敌人。人们只能看到他们期待看到的东西。这个人来得晚、说得少、走得早——他的言行举止和我们想像的阿罗勋爵一模一样。”
'But I don't understand，'said Winstanley. 'Our enemies don't want us to know what they have learnt about our war plans. But if one us talked to Alloa abut tonight's meeting，we would discover immediately that he hadn't been here. '
“可我不明白，”温斯坦利说。“敌人不想让我们知道他们已经获悉我们的作战计划。但要是我们有谁向阿罗谈起今晚会议的事，我们立刻就会发现他没来这里。”
Sir Walter laughed angrily. 'That shows their cleverness again， in choosing Alloa. They took a risk， but everybody knows that Alloa is a sick man and is often too ill to go to meetings. And even when he is well，he is impatient，difficult，and a man of very few words. Which of us was likely to speak to him about tonight？'
瓦尔特爵士冷笑着。“这再次说明他们选中阿罗是他们的聪明之处。他们确实在铤而走险，可人们都知道阿罗有病，而且常常病得不能出席会议。即便他好的时候，他也没有耐心、难打交道、很少说话。我们谁会向他提今天晚上的事呢？”
'But the spy hasn't taken the plans，'said Winstanley. ' He saw them， but could he carry away pages of information in his head？'
“可是间谍还没有拿到计划呀，”温斯坦利说。“他见到了计划，可是他能把一页页的情报放在脑袋里装走吗？”
'It's not difficult，'said the Frenchman. 'A good spy can remember things photographically. '
“那并不难，”法国人说。“好间谍记东西和照相一样。”
'Well，I suppose we'll have to change our plans，'said Sir Walter unhappily.
“我想我们必须改变计划，”瓦尔特爵士悻悻地说。
'There's another problem，'said Royer. 'I said a lot about the plans of the French army. That information will be very valuable to our enemies. That man， and his friends，must be stopped immediately. '
“还有一个问题，”罗耶说。“关于法军的计划我谈了很多。这些情报对敌人非常有用。得马上制止这个人和他同伙的行动。”
'They could simply send their information in a letter，'said Whittaker. 'It may already be in the post. '
“他们仅仅写封信就可以把情报送出去，”惠特克说。“说不定现在已经在邮局了。”
'No，' said Rower. 'A spy brings home his information personally and he collects his pay personally. These men must cross the sea， so we still have a chance. You must watch the coast and search ships. It is desperately important for both France and Britain. '
“不会的，”罗耶说。“间谍都是亲自带着情报，也亲自领取报酬。这伙人一定会从海上走，我们还有一次机会。你们要监视海岸，搜查船只。这件事对法国和英国都至关重要。”
Royer was right. We could do something. But none of us felt very hopeful. How， among the forty million people in Britain， could we find the three cleverest criminals in Europe？
罗耶说得很对。我们还有所作为。但都觉得希望不大。英国有四千万人口，怎么才能找到那三个欧洲最机智过人的罪犯呢？”
Then，suddenly， I had an idea.
后来，我突然想出个主意来。