福尔摩斯探案经典:《恐怖谷》第9章Part2

"You must find time for him if you have none for anything else. Good Lord, man! you're a fool not to have been down to the Union House and registered your name the first morning after you came here! If you run against him--well, you mustn't, that's all!"
McMurdo showed mild surprise. "I've been a member of the lodge for over two years, Scanlan, but I never heard that duties were so pressing as all that."
"Maybe not in Chicago."
"Well, it's the same society here."
"Is it?"
Scanlan looked at him long and fixedly. There was something sinister in his eyes.
"Isn't it?"
"You'll tell me that in a month's time. I hear you had a talk with the patrolmen after I left the train."
"How did you know that?"
"Oh, it got about--things do get about for good and for bad in this district."
"Well, yes. I told the hounds what I thought of them."
"By the Lord, you'll be a man after McGinty's heart!"
"What, does he hate the police too?"
Scanlan burst out laughing. "You go and see him, my lad," said he as he took his leave. "It's not the police but you that he'll hate if you don't! Now, take a friend's advice and go at once!"
It chanced that on the same evening McMurdo had another more pressing interview which urged him in the same direction. It may have been that his attentions to Ettie had been more evident than before, or that they had gradually obtruded themselves into the slow mind of his good German host; but, whatever the cause, the boarding-house keeper beckoned the young man into his private room and started on the subject without any circumlocution.
"It seems to me, mister," said he, "that you are gettin' set on my Ettie. Ain't that so, or am I wrong?"
"Yes, that is so," the young man answered.

“如果你没有别的事，你一定要找时间去看看他。天啊，伙计，你到这里以后，第一天早晨竟没有到工会去登记姓名 ，简直是疯了！要是你得罪了他，唉，你决不要……就说到这吧！”
麦克默多有点惊奇，说道：“斯坎伦，我入会已经两年多了，可是我从来没听到过象这样紧急的义务呢。”
“在芝加哥或许不是这样！”
“嗯，那里也是同样的社团啊。”
“是吗？"

斯坎伦久久地凝视着他，眼里闪出凶光。
“不是吗？”
“这些事你以后可以在一个月的时间内给我讲清楚。我听说我下车后你和警察争吵过。”
“你怎么知道这些事的呢？”
“啊，在这地方，好事坏事都传得很快。”
“嗯，不错。我把我对这帮家伙的看法告诉了他们。”
“天哪，你一定会变成为麦金蒂的心腹人的！”
“什么？他也恨这些警察吗？”
斯坎伦迸发出一阵笑声。“你去看他吧，我的伙计，"斯坎伦在告辞起身时对麦克默多说道，“如果你不去看他，那他就不是恨警察，而要恨你了。现在，请你接受一个朋友的规劝，马上去看他吧！”
碰巧就在这天晚上，麦克默多遇到一个更紧急的情况，使他不得不这样去做。也许因为他对伊蒂的关心比以前更明显，也许这种关心被好心的德国房东逐渐觉察出来。但不管什么原因，反正房东把这个年轻人招呼到自己房中，毫不掩饰地谈到正题上来。
“先生，据我看来，"他说道，“你渐渐地爱上我的伊蒂了，是这样吗？还是我误会了？”
“是的，正是这样，"年轻人答道。