The Great Gatsby — Page 176

「假设我不去南安普顿，今天下午进城来呢？」

"Suppose I don't go to Southampton, and come into town this afternoon?"

「不——我觉得今天下午不行。」

"No—I don't think this afternoon."

「好吧。」

"Very well."

「今天下午不可能。各种原因——」

"It's impossible this afternoon. Various—"

我们就这样谈了一会儿，然后突然间我们就不再说话了。

We talked like that for a while, and then abruptly we weren't talking any longer.

我不知道是我们哪一个人砰地一声挂断了电话，但我知道我并不在乎。

I don't know which of us hung up with a sharp click, but I know I didn't care.

即使此生再也无缘与她交谈，那天我也无法在茶桌对面与她开口说话。

I couldn't have talked to her across a tea-table that day if I never talked to her again in this world.

几分钟后我拨打了盖茨比家的电话，但线路忙碌。

I called Gatsby's house a few minutes later, but the line was busy.

我打了四次；最后一个不耐烦的接线员告诉我这条线路正被底特律的长途电话占用着。

I tried four times; finally an exasperated central told me the wire was being kept open for long distance from Detroit.

我掏出时刻表，在三点五十分那班车上画了一个小圆圈。

Taking out my timetable, I drew a small circle around the three-fifty train.

然后我靠在椅背上，试图整理思绪。那时正好是正午。

Then I leaned back in my chair and tried to think. It was just noon.

那天早上火车经过灰堆时，我特意走到了车厢的另一侧。

When I passed the ash-heaps on the train that morning I had crossed deliberately to the other side of the car.

我料想整天都会有一群好奇的人聚在那里，小男孩们在尘土中寻找黑色的斑迹，某个饶舌的男人一遍又一遍地讲述事情的经过，直到连他自己都觉得越来越不真实，再也说不下去，而默特尔·威尔逊的悲剧性死亡也就被人们遗忘了。

I supposed there'd be a curious crowd around there all day with little boys searching for dark spots in the dust, and some garrulous man telling over and over what had happened, until it became less and less real even to him and he could tell it no longer, and Myrtle Wilson's tragic achievement was forgotten.

现在我想回溯一下，讲述前一天晚上我们离开后那个修车行里发生的事。

Now I want to go back a little and tell what happened at the garage after we left there the night before.