He paused to light a cigarette. “Well, starting out with Jerry Luckstone. His father is old Judge Luckstone, of Luckstone and Applebury. Was county judge about fifteen years ago. Jerry’s grandfather was a Judge Luckstone here, too. Jerry’s a bright, likable young man only recently out of law school.”
“他怎么当上地方检察官的？” 海伦问。“还是说你们在这里是从帽子里抽签选出来的？”
“How did he get to be district attorney?” Helene asked. “Or do you draw names out of a hat up here?”
“嗯，他被任命为助理是因为地方检察官是他家的朋友。然后老勒克斯通法官在县里有些权势，杰瑞是个聪明的年轻人，大家都喜欢他，所以几年后老地方检察官退出后他参加竞选并当选了。”
“Well, he was appointed assistant because the D. A. was a friend of the family. Then old Judge Luckstone is something of a power in county affairs, and Jerry’s a smart young boy and everybody likes him, so a couple of years later he ran for the office after the old D. O. dropped out, and got elected.”
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“就这么简单！” 马龙钦佩地小声说。
“It’s as simple as that!” Malone murmured admiringly.
“杰瑞和弗洛伦斯?佩维利大约一个月前宣布订婚。” 汤姆接着说。“我听说参议员不太高兴，但他没有直接反对。在那之前杰瑞常和阿琳在一起，我想他偶尔也会和科拉?贝尔出去，但县里大多数男性都这样。”
“Jerry and Florence Peveley announced their engagement about a month ago,” Tom went on. “I understood the Senator wasn’t too pleased, but he didn’t e right out and object. Before that Jerry used to run around with Arlene, and I guess he used to go out with Cora Belle once in a while, but so did most of the male population of the county.”
“这有点《红字》的味道吗？” 海伦想知道。
“Is this a slight shade of the ‘scarlet letter’?” Helene wanted to know.
“哦，不，完全不是那样。科拉?贝尔 —— 她是弗洛姆夫人 —— 有点让人皱眉，但大家还是跟她说话。我听说她还在高中的时候就有点活泼。她在毕业前两个月退学跑去了密尔沃基，至少表面上是为了找份工作，当时引起了一点议论。后来有消息说她嫁给了一个叫弗洛姆的人。几年前她和他离了婚回到了这里，靠赡养费过得相当奢华。科拉?贝尔非常有趣。” 他最后那句话带着一丝怀念的语气。
“Oh no, nothing like that. Cora Belle - she’s Mrs. Fromm - is frowned on a little, but everybody is still speaking to her. I understand she was something of a lively girl when she was still in high school. There was a little talk when she quit two months before she was to graduate and ran off to Milwaukee, ostensibly, at least, to take some kind of job. Then sometime later news came that she had married a guy named Fromm. A few years ago she divorced him and came back here, and she’s living fairly lavishly on her alimony. Cora Belle’s a heluva lot of fun.” He said the last in a faintly reminiscent tone.
“我想我要和她谈谈这个案子。” 马龙热情地说。他又说，“除了可能在某个黑暗的乡村小路上有点暧昧之外，她和参议员有什么联系吗？”
“I think I’d like to discuss the case with her,” Malone said enthusiastically. He added, “Any link between her and the Senator, except possibly a little hanky-panky on some dark country lane?”
“据我所知没有。但她经常和埃伦?麦高恩的弟弟在一起，我听说那个老妇人一点也不喜欢。”
“Nothing I know about. But she runs around a lot with Ellen MacGowan’s younger brother, and I’ve heard that the old dame doesn’t like it a little bit.”
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律师叹了口气。“我明白你说的暗流涌动是什么意思了。” 他疲倦地说。“这个麦高恩小姐怎么样？”
The lawyer sighed. “I see what you meant about currents and crosscurrents,” he said wearily. “How about this Miss MacGowan?”
“埃伦?麦高恩，” 新闻记者说，“就是大家所说的那种了不起的女人。她是银行的出纳员，学校董事会成员，图书馆委员会主席，还参加了几个妇女俱乐部。一个非常受尊敬的公民，而且很能干。”
“Ellen MacGowan,” the newspaperman said, “is what’s popularly known as a remarkable woman. She’s cashier of the bank, member of the school board, head of the library mittee, and belongs to a couple of women’s clubs. A highly respected citizen, and very capable.”
“我更喜欢我的女人有点无助，不要那么了不起。” 马龙说。
“I prefer my women a little more helpless,” Malone said, “and not quite so remarkable.”
“二十年前，她肯定很漂亮，属于那种高挑纤细的类型。” 海伦说。“她怎么会想当女银行家呢？”
“She must have been very good-looking, in a tall, thin sort of way, about twenty years ago,” Helene said. “What ever possessed her to bee a lady banker?”
“她算是继承了这份工作。” 汤姆?伯罗斯解释道。“她父亲是银行出纳员，她从学校毕业后就想当他的助手。据我所知，她很崇拜他。他也是个杰出的公民，担任过很多县里的职务。他当了很多年县财政官。如果我听到的都是真的，他是个很会享受生活的老顽童。过去常在杰克逊县集市上支持赛马，还拿闲钱去炒股。”
“She sort of inherited it,” Tom Burrows explained. “Her father was cashier of the bank, and she wanted to be his assistant when she came out of school. From all I hear, she worshiped him. He was another prominent citizen and held a bunch of county offices. He was county treasurer for years. Something of a gay old boy, if all I hear is correct. Used to back the trotting races at the Jackson County Fair and play the market with his spare change.”
马龙不以为然地咂咂嘴。“我猜他结局很惨。”
Malone clicked his teeth disapprovingly. “He came to a bad end, I presume.”
“不久前他病倒退休了。” 汤姆?伯罗斯说。“她把他送到加利福尼亚去养病，自己在这期间接管了他的工作。但他在那儿去世了，她就继续留在银行工作。”
“Some time ago he took sick and retired,” Tom Burrows said. “She shipped him off to California to get well and took over his job in the meantime. But he died out there, and she stayed on at the bank.”
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“一种沉闷而有目标的生活。” 杰克说。“我希望她弟弟没那么出色。”
“A dreary sort of purposeful life,” Jake said. “I hope her brother didn’t turn out so well.”
“他没有。哦，我想他是个不错的农民。他比她小十五岁，他出生的时候他们的母亲就去世了，所以是她把他养大的。他一直没结婚，她很担心他会娶科拉?贝尔，都快急疯了。”
“He didn’t. Oh, I guess he’s a pretty good farmer. He’s fifteen years younger than she is, and their mother died when he was born, so she brought him up. He’s never married, and she’s half out of her wits that he’ll marry Cora Belle.”
“就我在威斯康星州杰克逊看到的情况，” 杰克说，“他的选择可能会更糟。”
“From what I’ve seen of Jackson, Wisconsin,” Jake said, “he could do a lot worse.”
“她受人尊敬，但不太受欢迎。” 汤姆?伯罗斯说。“阿琳叫她脾气坏的老猫。”
“She’s admired, but not too popular,” Tom Burrows said. “Arlene calls her a cross old cat.”
“一种厌世的女人。” 海伦提议道。
“A kind of misanthropussy,” Helene suggested.
“这一切似乎和已故的参议员佩维利没什么关系。” 杰克打着哈欠说。“那个高奇女孩怎么样？” 他突然想起在县书记员办公室的那个电话，不知道自己是否应该说出来。
“None of this seems to have much to do with the late Senator Peveley,” Jake said, yawning. “What about this Goudge girl?” He suddenly remembered the phone call in the county clerk’s office and wondered if he should have spoken.
“阿琳人不错。” 汤姆?伯罗斯突然有力地说，好像他被要求为她辩护一样。“她只是个十足的大傻瓜。” 他停顿了一下才继续说。“她在亨利?佩维利的房地产办公室工作。她父亲是县财政官，也是教会人士兄弟会的会长。他一有机会就发表公开演讲。”
“Arlene’s all right,” Tom Burrows said, with a sudden forcefulness, as though he’d been called on to defend her. “She’s just a plain damn fool.” He paused a moment before he went on. “She works for Henry Peveley in his real-estate office. Her father’s the county treasurer, also head of the Brotherhood of Churchmen. He makes a public speech on every possible occasion.”
“一个非常该受责备的公民类型。” 杰克说着放下一个啤酒瓶。“但我看不出阿琳和已故参议员有什么联系。”