第四单元 Double Cross（课文翻译 现代大学英语精读1 第二版）
2016-03-20 22:18阅读：
Unit 4 Text B
Double
Cross
By Roy
Ray
Janet pulled the page from her typewriter
and
looked
nervously
at
her
wrist－
watch．It wasalmost
time．From the inner－office came sounds of her boss preparing to leave．The sounds ofdoors
opening
and
closing．These sounds were well－known to her after eight years as hissecretary．
“Good－night，Janet．I‘ll
see you
Monday morning
as usual．”He
was quick
and friendly．
“Good－night，Mr．Mason，”she
said with
a weak
smile．
Perhaps she
only imagined
the look
of concern
in his
eyes as
he walked
out．Janet
covered
hertypewriter．She
pulled a
lipstick1）and
a mirror
from her
purse．Her
hands were
cold andshaky
when she
began to
redden her
lips and
run a
comb through
her hair．There
would be
notime to
stop at
the women’s
restroom this
evening to
do this．She
felt a
terror slowly
rising
upinside
herself．How
could she
ever go
through with
it？But she
knew she
must．It was
too late
toretreat．She
reached into
a drawer
and pulled
out a
knitting basket
and a
ball of
wool
withneedles
sticking
out．At the
bottom of
the basket
lay three
microfilms2)，each
in a
metalcase．She
stared at
them，feeling
guilty．She
felt a
nervous shock
as the
whistle
blew．Shestuffed
the wool
back into
the basket．She
seized her
purse and
took a
last look
a round
theoffice．Then
she walked
into the
hall，filled
with secretaries
and clerks
hurrying
home．Click
ofhigh－heels
made the
pounding of
Janet’ s
heart seem
louder，as she
moved along
with
thecrowd．It
was like
every
Friday．There
was a
noisy excitement
in the
air．
Janet held her
purse in
one hand
with the
knitting basket
hooked over
her wrist．As
she
lookedahead
down the
long ramp
leading to
the guard’s
gate，her heart
sank．Beside
the regular
guardScotty
there was
a guard
she never
saw before．He
was helping
Scotty inspect
the
peoplemoving
through the
gate．He looked
at their
passes and
badges．He
peered into
their purses3)and
lunch－pails．More
carefully than
Scotty，it
seemed．Janet
retreated to
the doorway
of
thebuilding．As
a rule，she
did not
leave so
early and
had forgotten
that an
extra guard
wasstationed
at the
gate at
this hour．“Be
calm，”she said
to herself．“Be
natural。Everythingdepends
on getting
through that
gate．”Getting
the microfilm
had been
easy enough
with
hersecurity
clearance．But
getting them
past the
guard would
be the
test．
She remembered
how she
and her
husband Charles
had gone
over，step by
step，what she
wasto
do．They had
prepared for
months．He had
worked it
all out
even before
he to
ld her
what hewanted
her to
do．It was
well known
that Janet
was still
a young
bride．It
seemednatural，therefore，to
use a
knitting basket
to smuggle4)
the films
out of
the plant．They
chosethe night
when her
old friend
Scotty，a
senior guard
on the
force，took his
turn at
thegate．She
had spent
the whole
past month
working on
him．She often
left the
plant late
andstopped at
the gate
to chat
with him．She
talked a
bout his
boy who
was in
the navy．And
shespoke about
the little
things she
was knitting．A
few times，she
tested him
by
beingchatty，saying
nothing about
the
knitting，and
then passing
the knitting
through
withoutinspection．
The crowd at
the gate
got thin，and
the extra
guard waved
to Scotty
as he
moved off
in theopposite
direction．Janet
closed her
eyes a
second and
took a
deep
breath．Now。As
naturally
aspossible，she
moved down
the ramp．She
hoped the
smile on
her face
did not
appear as
stiff asit
felt．She
swallowed twice
before she
greeted her
friend，“Hello，Scooty，how
are
you？”Shefelt
a rush
of guilt
as a
smile broke
across his
face browned
by the
sun．
“Good
evening，Mrs．Heath．You
are early
tonight．”
“Yes，my husband
is meeting
me，Scotty．”She
held out
her pass
with her
picture on
it andpulled
back her
coat so
he could
see her
badge pinned
to her
dress．
Scotty
nodded，“How’s
the knitting？”
This was
it．She removed
a baby‘s
woolen bootee5)
and held
it out
for his
inspection．“I’vefinished
this one
but haven’
t done
much on
the other．”A
horn
honked．“Oh，there’
s
myhusband，I
have to
run．Good－night，Scotty。”She
wondered if
her voice
sounded as
shaky tohim
as it
did to
her own
ears．She
crushed the
bootee back
into the
basket and
squeezed
pastthe guard
house．She half
ran along
the
sidewalk．She
forced herself
to remain
calm andslowed
down．She
walked toward
the green
car parked
at the
curb．She was
shaking so
muchthat she
could not
turn the
handle of
the
door．Charles
reached over
to open
it for
her and
sheslid into
the seat
beside him．
He looked at
her．“Did you
get them？”His
voice was
tense．He
showed pressure
he must
havebeen
feeling while
sitting there
waiting for
her to
come through
the gate．
“Yes，”she nodded
with a
dead feeling．
“Good girl，I
knew you
could do
it．”The car
moved off
into the
traffic．“Did
you have
anytrouble
getting the
stuff？”Charles
was pleasant
again and
gave her
a
cigarette．“Just
try
torelax，”he
said．“Everything
is all
right．”
At last the
car turned
into a
quiet
street．Charles
reached into
the knitting
basket and
took thethree
shiny discs．He
put them
inside his
coat
pocket，then
handed her
the bask
et．He
kissedher．“See
you later．”
She entered
her apartment
like a
person in
a fog．She
crossed to
the wide
window and
lookedout．Her
husband’s
green car
was pulling
away from
the stop－light
at the
end of
the
street．Shelooked
up and
down the
street then
saw what
she was
looking for．A
black car
moved out
fromthe
driveway beyond
the apartment
house and
followed her
husband．Behind
the black
car wasanother
one．Inside the
car was
her
boss．“Well，”she
said to
the empty
room，“That’
sthat．”But
she continued
standing，looking
out into
the
street，long
after the
three cars
haddisappeared
from sigh．
She still felt
numb6)，dead．She
wondered when
she would
begin to
feel
something，the
painand guilt
of a
wife who
had betrayed
her
husband．She
thought back
over every
thing that
ledup to
that
betrayal――the
night less
than six
weeks after
their
marriage．She
lay with
her headon
his arm
and his
hand gently
stroked her
hair．He
confessed to
her his
connections and
toldher what
he expected
her to
do．She
remembered the
horror she
felt over
this
terriblerequest，the
shock and
disbelief．Her
instinct had
been to
cry out，to
rebel．But some
innervoice had
warned her
to be
careful．This
was something
bigger than
just herself
and
hermarriage，a
marriage now
broken into
little
pieces．And it
had been
something bigger
thanherself
which made
her tell
her boss
the facts．His
calmness quieted
her．She was
able later
tolisten to
a plan
he developed
together with
the FBI
for her
to go
along with
her husband’s
plans．
It was almost
dark outside
when she
turned from
the window
and reached
for a
table－lamp．Shecrossed
the room
and opened
a door
to the
clothes－closet．She
reached for
a
clotheshanger．Suddenly
she
stopped．One
side of
the closet
was empty．All
his clothes
weregone．She
looked around
the room．All
his things
were gone，as
if there
never had
been such
aperson as
Charles
Heath．She was
sharply hit
by the
whole meaning
of the
situation．Charleshad
never meant
to return．She
had just
been his
tool ――he
married her
for his
purpose．Shewondered
how many
other tools
there had
been before
her．She
started to
laugh．Then
herlaughter
turned into
sobs，great
heaving
sobs．And she
threw herself
across the
bed．As
shegave in
to her
misery7)，there
was a
fleeting
thought：“I’ll
cry
tonight．Tomorrow，I‘ll
call
mylawyer．”
圈套
简尼特从她的打字机里抽出纸，紧张地看了看手表。差不多到时间了。从里面的办公室传来她的老板准备离开的声音。门一开一关的声音。给他做了８年的秘书，她很熟悉这些声音。
“再见，简尼特。星期一早上见。”他说话又快又友好。
“再见，梅森先生。”她回答说，脸上带着无力的笑容。
他走出去时眼中带着关切---这也许只是她的想像。简尼特盖好打字机，从钱夹里拿出口红和镜子。当她开始涂口红和梳理头发时，她的双手冰冷发抖。今晚没时间上洗手间去做这些了。她感到一种恐惧正慢慢地在心里升起。她怎么能够闯过这些？但她知道她必须这样做。要退缩已经来不及了。她把手伸进抽屉，拉出一个编织筐和一团带着针的毛线。在筐子底下藏着三卷微缩胶卷，都用铁盒子装着。她凝视着胶卷，深感愧疚。听到哨子声，她紧张地抖了一下，把毛线塞进筐子。紧抓着钱夹子，她最后环视了一下办公室。之后她走进大厅，厅里满是匆忙回家的秘书和职员。随着人群往外走，高跟鞋的嗒嗒声似乎使她的心跳声显得更大了。与每个星期五一样，空气中弥漫着喧闹和兴奋。
简尼特手里握着钱夹子，手腕上套着编织筐。低头看着前面通往安检门的坡道，她的心沉了下去。除了平常的保安员司各迪之外，还有一个她从没见过的保安员。他在帮着司各迪检查通过门口的人们。他看着人们的通行证和徽章，仔细看人们的钱夹子和午餐盒。看起来他比司各迪更仔细。简尼特退到房子的门边。她一般不会走这么早，忘了这个时候门口会另外布置一个保安员。“镇静点，”她对自己说。“自然点。一切都靠通过这扇门了。”凭着她的安全卡，微缩胶卷很容易就到手了。但把它们带过这扇门将是一个考验。
她想起她和丈夫如何一步一步练习她要做的事。他们准备了好几个月。在开口告诉她之前，他已经把一切都计划好了。大家都知道简尼特刚做新娘，所以用编织筐把胶卷从工厂里偷带出来显得是很自然的事。他们选择了她的老朋友司各迪，一个老资格的保安员当班的晚上。过去的一整个月她都为此在他身上费心思。她经常很晚离开工厂，并在门口停下来和他聊天。她和他谈他那当海军的儿子，谈她在编织的小东西。有几次，她试着和他闲聊，不提编织的事，然后未经检查就把编织的东西带了出来。
门口的人越来越少了，另外那个保安员朝司各迪挥了挥手往相反的方向走了。简尼特把眼闭了一秒钟，深呼了一口气。好了。尽量装出一副自然的样子，她朝坡道走下去。她希望自己脸上的笑容看起来不像她感到的那样的僵硬。她咽了两口唾沫，然后才向她的老朋友打招呼。“你好，司各迪，你好吗？”看着他那被太阳晒成了棕色的脸上绽开的笑容，她感到一股强烈的愧疚之情。
“晚上好，西斯夫人。你今晚比平常早。”
“是的，我丈夫在等着我，司各迪。”她拿出贴着她照片的通行证，把大衣往后拉了拉让他看别在身上的徽章。
司各迪点了点头。“东西织得怎么样啦？”
考验的时候到了。她拿出一个婴儿的毛线靴，递过去让他检查。“这个织完了，另一个还没织多少。”车喇叭响了。“噢，那是我丈夫。我得赶紧走了。再见，司各迪。”她听到自己的声音在发抖，不知道司各迪听出来没有。她把毛线靴塞进筐子，从安检所挤了出去。她半跑着走过人行道。她强迫自己保持镇定，放慢步伐。她走向停在路边的绿色小车。她全身抖得太厉害了，连车门的把手都打不开。查尔斯侧过身来给她打开门，她在他旁边的座位上坐了下来。
他看着她。“拿到了吗？”他的声音很紧张，显露出他坐在这里等她通过安检门时所感到的压力。
“对。”她点了点头，带着怕得要死的神情。
“好，我知道你行的。”车驶入正道。“拿东西时碰到什么麻烦了吗？”查尔斯又变得高兴起来，递给她一支香烟。“尽量放松一点，一切正常。”
最后车开到一条僻静的街上。查尔斯把手伸进编织筐拿出三个闪亮的碟。他把碟放进大衣口袋，然后把编织筐递给她。他吻了吻她，说“再见”。
她回到公寓，像置身云雾之中。她穿过房间走到大窗子前朝外看。她丈夫的绿色小车正从街道尽头的停车灯处往外开。上下巡视街头，她看到了自己在寻找的东西。一辆黑色的小车从公寓楼外的车道开了出来，尾随着她丈夫。黑色的车后还有一辆车，里面坐着她的老板。“好了，”她对着空空的房间说，“就这样了。”但她继续站着，凝视着街头，那三辆车早已消失不见了。
她还是觉得死一般的麻木。她不知道自己什么时候才会恢复感觉，感觉到一个妻子背叛她丈夫的痛苦和愧疚。她回忆着那些导致这个背叛的点点滴滴。结婚不到６个星期的一个晚上，她躺着，头枕在他的手臂上，他的手温柔地抚弄着她的头发。他向她讲述了他的身份，并告诉她自己对她的期望。还记得听到那个可怕的请求时她感到的恐惧、震惊和难以置信。她本能地想大哭、抗议，但某个内在的声音警告她要谨慎从事。这件事比她本人、比她的婚姻要重要得多，而她的婚姻现在已支离破碎。正是因为这事要比她本人更重要她才告诉了她的老板。老板的镇静使她也平静了下来。她还听取了她老板和联邦调查局共同策划的来对付她丈夫的计划。
外面天几乎黑了，她从窗口转回来，去找台灯。她走过房间打开衣柜的一扇门，想取一个衣架。突然她停了下来。衣柜有一边是空的。他所有的衣服都不见了。她环视着房间，他所有的东西都不见了，好像查尔斯•西斯这个人从来就未存在过。眼前的一切使她恍然大悟。查尔斯根本没打算再回来。她只是他的工具---他是出于他的需要才和她结婚的。她不知道在她之前还有多少别的工具，她开始大笑起来。随后这笑变成了呜咽，一阵一阵痛苦的呜咽。她趴在床上，悲痛不已的她脑子里闪过一个想法：“我今晚要痛哭一场。明天，我要找我的律师。”
