58 · 一点儿小麻烦
A Spot of Bother
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The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home. In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open. She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks. She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out. Looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk. It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence. Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from his basement. By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police. Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.
They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints. The chaos was inconceivable. She had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over. At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her. Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat. The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony. There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers. So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed. The inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights. The old lady thought he was a fussy creature, but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.
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The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived. Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home. In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest; but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open. She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence, when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks. She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open, yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out. Looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk. It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence. Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves, but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her, so she went to fetch the porter from his basement. By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police. Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.
They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing, as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints. The chaos was inconceivable. She had lived in the flat for thirty years and was a veritable magpie at hoarding; and it seemed as though everything she possessed had been tossed out and turned over and over. At least sorting out the things she should have discarded years ago was now being made easier for her. Then a police inspector arrived with a constable and she told them of her discovery of the ransacked flat. The inspector began to look for fingerprints, while the constable checked that the front door locks had not been forced, thereby proving that the burglars had either used skeleton keys or entered over the balcony. There was no trace of fingerprints, but the inspector found a dirty red bundle that contained jewellery which the old lady said was not hers. So their entry into this flat was apparently not the burglars' first job that day and they must have been disturbed. The inspector then asked the old lady to try to check what was missing by the next day and advised her not to stay alone in the flat for a few nights. The old lady thought he was a fussy creature, but since the porter agreed with him, she rang up her daughter and asked for her help in what she described as a little spot of bother.
老太太终于回到自己住的公寓楼，心里很高兴。买东西累坏了她，回家的路上，每走一步，篮子仿佛就更重一点。在电梯里，她只想着吃午饭、好好休息，可到了自己的楼层，一看见家门敞着，这些念头顿时全没了。她正想着，明早一定要好好责备钟点工，这么疏忽实在不像话，忽然又记起，自己是在钟点工离开后才出去购物的，而且很清楚，两道锁都锁好了。她慢慢走进门厅，立刻发现各房间的门也全开着，可出门前，她明明按老习惯一一关好了。往客厅一看，书桌周围乱作一团。这下再明白不过了：自己不在家时，有窃贼闯了进来。她的第一反应，是逐个房间寻找小偷；转念一想，自己这把年纪，还是有人陪着更稳妥，便去地下室找门房。此时，她的双腿已开始发抖，于是坐下喝了杯浓茶，让门房打电话报警。等恢复镇定，她便准备在门房陪同下，回去搜查那些可能仍藏在屋里的闯入者。
他们把房间逐一查看，小心不碰任何东西，以免妨碍警方提取指纹。屋里的混乱简直难以想象。老太太在这里住了三十年，像喜鹊一样爱攒东西；如今她的所有家当，仿佛全被扔出来、翻了个遍。至少，这倒让她更容易清理那些多年前就该丢掉的旧物了。随后，一名警督带着一名警员赶到，她便讲了自己发现家中遭劫的经过。警督开始寻找指纹，警员则查明门锁没有被撬过，说明窃贼不是用了万能钥匙，就是从阳台进来的。指纹一无所获，警督却找到一个肮脏的红色包袱，里面装着珠宝，老太太说并不是自己的。看来，这里并非窃贼当天作案的第一处，而且他们一定是受到惊扰，才仓促离开的。警督请她尽量在第二天之前查清丢了什么，又劝她接下来几晚不要独自住在家里。老太太觉得他未免小题大做，可既然门房也赞同，她只好打电话给女儿，请她帮忙处理这件在她口中不过是“一点儿小麻烦”的事。
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译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时、何景霖整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第209—212页，2022年2月第3版。