The Great Gatsby — Page 178

彼は、黄色い車が誰のものかを突き止める方法があると言い、それから数ヶ月前に妻が顔に傷を負い、鼻を腫らして街からやって来たとつい口を滑らせた。

He announced that he had a way of finding out whom the yellow car belonged to, and then he blurted out that a couple of months ago his wife had come from the city with her face bruised and her nose swollen.

しかし自分でそれを口にしたとき、彼はひるんで、またうめくような声で「ああ、神様！」と叫び始めた。ミカエリスはぎこちなく彼の気をそらそうとした。

But when he heard himself say this, he flinched and began to cry "Oh, my God!" again in his groaning voice. Michaelis made a clumsy attempt to distract him.

「結婚してどのくらいになる、ジョージ？ほら、少しじっとして、私の質問に答えてくれ。結婚してどのくらいになる？」

"How long have you been married, George? Come on there, try and sit still a minute, and answer my question. How long have you been married?"

「十二年です。」

"Twelve years."

「子供はいたことがあるか？ほら、ジョージ、じっとして——質問したんだ。子供はいたことがあるか？」

"Ever had any children? Come on, George, sit still—I asked you a question. Did you ever have any children?"

硬い茶色の甲虫たちは薄暗い電灯にぶつかり続け、ミカエリスは外の道路を車が猛スピードで走り去る音を聞くたびに、数時間前に止まらなかったあの車の音のように思えた。

The hard brown beetles kept thudding against the dull light, and whenever Michaelis heard a car go tearing along the road outside it sounded to him like the car that hadn't stopped a few hours before.

彼は車庫に入りたくなかった。遺体が横たわっていた作業台に染みが残っていたからだ。そこで彼は事務所の中を落ち着きなく歩き回り——夜明けまでにその中のあらゆるものを覚えてしまった——ときどきウィルソンの傍らに座って、彼をなるべく落ち着かせようとした。

He didn't like to go into the garage, because the work bench was stained where the body had been lying, so he moved uncomfortably around the office—he knew every object in it before morning—and from time to time sat down beside Wilson trying to keep him more quiet.

「ジョージ、たまに行く教会はあるか？長い間行っていなくてもいい。教会に電話して、神父さんに来てもらって話を聞いてもらうこともできるが、どうだ？」

"Have you got a church you go to sometimes, George? Maybe even if you haven't been there for a long time? Maybe I could call up the church and get a priest to come over and he could talk to you, see?