《蓝色列车之谜》开篇：英文原著带中文翻译

It was close on midnight when a man crossed the Place de la Concorde. In spite of the handsome fur coat which garbed his meagre form, there was something essentially weak and paltry about him.

将近午夜时分，一个男人穿过协和广场。尽管他身上裹着一件华丽的皮大衣，那瘦削的身形却透着一股本质上的软弱与猥琐。

A little man with a face like a rat. A man, one would say, who could never play a conspicuous part, or rise to prominence in any sphere. And yet, in leaping to such a conclusion, an onlooker would have been wrong. For this man, negligible and inconspicuous as he seemed, played a prominent part in the destiny of the world. In an Empire where rats ruled, he was the king of the rats.

一个小个子男人，长着一张老鼠般的脸。人们会说，这种人永远不可能扮演引人注目的角色，也不可能在任何领域出人头地。然而，若有人贸然下此结论，那就错了。因为这个看似微不足道、毫不起眼的男人，却在世界命运的进程中扮演着重要角色。在一个由老鼠统治的帝国里，他就是鼠王。

Even now, an Embassy awaited his return. But he had business to do first—business of which the Embassy was not officially cognizant. His face gleamed white and sharp in the moonlight. There was the least hint of a curve in the thin nose. His father had been a Polish Jew, a journeyman tailor. It was business such as his father would have loved that took him abroad to-night.

此刻，就有一座大使馆在等候他回去。但他还有事要办，一件大使馆官方并不知情的事。月光下，他的脸显得苍白而尖削。那细长的鼻子上，隐约有一丝弧度。他的父亲是个波兰犹太裔的裁缝帮工。今晚让他出门的，正是他父亲会喜欢的那种差事。

He came to the Seine, crossed it, and entered one of the less reputable quarters of Paris. Here he stopped before a tall, dilapidated house and made his way up to an apartment on the fourth floor. He had barely time to knock before the door was opened by a woman who had evidently been awaiting his arrival. She gave him no greeting, but helped him off with his overcoat and then led the way into the tawdrily furnished sitting-room. The electric light was shaded with dirty pink festoons and it softened, but could not disguise, the girl's face with its mask of crude paint. Could not disguise, either, the broad Mongolian cast of her countenance. There was no doubt of Olga Demiroff's profession, nor of her nationality.

他来到塞纳河畔，过了河，走进巴黎一个不太体面的街区。在这里，他停在一栋高大破旧的房子前，上了四楼的一套公寓。他刚敲门，门就开了，开门的是一个显然一直在等他到来的女人。她没有跟他打招呼，只是帮他脱下大衣，然后领他走进一间装饰俗气的起居室。电灯罩着肮脏的粉色流苏灯罩，灯光柔和了些，却掩盖不住那姑娘浓妆艳抹的脸，也掩盖不住她那宽阔的蒙古人种面容。奥尔加·德米罗夫的职业和国籍，都毫无疑问。

"All is well, little one?"

「一切都好吧，小宝贝？」

"All is well, Boris Ivanovitch."

「一切都好，鲍里斯·伊万诺维奇。」

He nodded murmuring: "I do not think I have been followed."

他点点头，低声说：「我想我没被人跟踪。」

But there was anxiety in his tone. He went to the window, drawing the curtains aside slightly, and peering carefully out. He started away violently.

但他的语气里透着不安。他走到窗前，轻轻拉开窗帘，仔细向外张望。他猛地往后一退。

"There are two men—on the opposite pavement. It looks to me—" He broke off and began gnawing at his nails—a habit he had when anxious.

「有两个人，在对面的便道上。我看他们像是……」他打住话头，开始啃指甲，这是他焦虑时的习惯。

The Russian girl was shaking her head with a slow, reassuring action.

那俄罗斯姑娘缓缓摇了摇头，动作令人安心。

"They were here before you came."

「你来之前他们就在了。」

"All the same, it looks to me as though they were watching this house."

「话虽如此，我看他们像是在监视这栋房子。」

"Possibly," she admitted indifferently.

「也许吧。」她无所谓地承认。

"But then—"

「可是，那么……」

"What of it? Even if they know—it will not be you they will follow from here."

「那又怎样？就算他们知道，从这里跟出去的也不会是你。」

A thin, cruel smile came to his lips.

他嘴角浮起一丝冷酷的微笑。

"No," he admitted, "that is true."

「不会，」他承认道，「这话不假。」

He mused for a minute or two and then observed:

他沉思了一两分钟，然后说：

"This damned American—he can look after himself as well as anybody."

「这个该死的美国人，他自保的本事不比任何人差。」

"I suppose so."

「我想是吧。」

He went again to the window.

他又走到窗前。

"Tough customers," he muttered, with a chuckle. "Known to the police, I fear. Well, well, I wish Brother Apache good hunting."

「难对付的家伙，」他低声咕哝着，轻笑了一声。「恐怕是警察局挂了号的。好吧，好吧，祝阿帕奇兄弟打猎顺利。」

Olga Demiroff shook her head.

奥尔加·德米罗夫摇了摇头。

"If the American is the kind of man they say he is, it will take more than a couple of cowardly apaches to get the better of him." She paused. "I wonder—"

「如果那美国人真像他们说的那样，光靠两个懦弱的阿帕奇，是斗不过他的。」她顿了顿。「我在想……」

"Well?"

「想什么？」

"Nothing. Only twice this evening a man has passed along this street—a man with white hair."

「没什么。只是今晚有个男人在这条街上走了两趟，一个白头发的男人。」

"What of it?"

「那又怎样？」

"This. As he passed those two men, he dropped his glove. One of them picked it up and returned it to him. A thread-bare device."

「这样。他经过那两个人身边时，掉了一只手套。其中一人捡起来还给了他。老掉牙的把戏。」

"You mean—that the white-haired man is—their employer?"

「你是说，那个白头发的人是他们的雇主？」

"Something of the kind."

「差不多吧。」

The Russian looked alarmed and uneasy.

那俄罗斯人露出惊慌不安的神色。

"You are sure—the parcel is safe? It has not been tampered with? There has been too much talk ... much too much talk."

「你确定，那包裹安全吗？没被人动过手脚？闲话太多了，实在太多了。」

He gnawed his nails again.

他又啃起了指甲。

"Judge for yourself."

「你自己看吧。」