马龙探案卷三 之 错误的凶案 三十三
杰克和海伦焦急地看着小个子律师把那个珍贵的盒子放在他的桌子上，仔细检查了锁，然后开始在一个书桌抽屉里翻找。他从里面拿出两块脏兮兮的手帕、一小堆废纸、一个标有 “待回复信件” 的硬纸板文件夹、一个空瓶子和一张丰满年轻女子的照片，上面写着 “你的亲爱的路易丝” 之后，他找到了他要找的东西：一个小皮制工具包，有点像修甲工具包。
JAKE ANd hELENE wAtchEd anxiously as the little lawyer laid the precious box on his desk, examined the lock closely, and began pawing through a desk drawer. After taking out two soiled handkerchiefs, a small pile of wastepaper, a cardboard file marked letters to answer, an empty bottle, and a photograph of a plumpish young woman inscribed “Your darling Louise,” he found what he was looking for: a little leather kit, not unlike a manicure kit.
他从里面拿出一把小而闪亮的工具，一个一个地检查。他把六七个放在盒子旁边的桌子上，其余的小心地放回皮制工具包里。然后，他先用一个工具，然后又换另一个，开始小心翼翼地、极其谨慎地探测金属盒子的锁。
From it he took a handful of small, shining tools and examined them one by one. A half dozen or so he laid on the desk beside the box, the rest he put carefully back in the leather kit. then, first with one tool and then another, he began probing the lock of the metal box, delicately and with exquisite care.
房间里死一般寂静。看着马龙，杰克感到兴奋得头皮发麻。在那个深绿色的金属盒子里曾经有莫娜?麦克莱恩谋杀约书亚?冈布里尔和他妹妹的动机。也许它还在那里。枪已经到了他们手中，而此时冯?弗拉纳根正在对枪进行测试并追查其所有权。随时冯?弗拉纳根都会打电话告知他的发现。随时马龙都会把那个盒子打开。到那时这个案子就完整了。那个看起来无害的盒子几乎就像是持有赌场契约一样。
the room was deathly still. watching malone, Jake felt his scalp crinkling with excitement. Inside that dark-green metal box had been mona mcclane’s motive for murdering Joshua Gumbril and his sister. maybe it was still there. the gun had already e to their hands and right at this moment Von Flanagan was having it tested and its ownership traced. Any minute now Von Flanagan would telephone his findings. Any minute now malone would get that box open. then the case would be plete. It was almost as though that innocent-looking box held the deed to the casino.
他试图让自己做好面对失望的准备。很可能这个盒子里除了一张旧洗衣单和几个捕鼠器之外什么都没有。或者是约书亚?冈布里尔的另一条领带，如果他还有另一条领带的话。它甚至可能是空的。事实上，它很可能是空的。杰克确信它是空的。当马龙摆弄着那些工具时，他觉得自己心跳的声音大得能盖过陆军和海军乐队的合奏。
he tried to steel himself against disappointment. It would probably turn out that the box held nothing except an old laundry bill and a couple of mousetraps. or Joshua Gumbril’s other necktie, if he had another necktie. It might even be empty. In fact, it probably was empty. Jake was positive that it was empty. he felt that the sound of his heart beating as malone struggled with the tools would drown out the bined Army and Navy bands.
马龙停止摆弄工具，愤怒地盯着盒子。
malone had stopped fiddling with the tools and stared indignantly at the box.
杰克说：“你们这些暴徒应该多练练。你就打不开它吗？”
Jake said, “You thugs ought to keep in practice. can’t you get it open?”
马龙低声咆哮着回答。他把工具包里剩下的工具都拿出来试验，直到把所有的都试过了。突然，他把它们都扫进了书桌抽屉，也没心思把它们放回皮制工具包，砰地一声关上抽屉，然后带着又困惑又愤怒又无奈的复杂神情怒视着这个顽固的盒子。
malone answered with a low growl. he took the rest of the tools out of the kit and experimented with them until he had tried them all. Suddenly he swept them into the desk drawer without bothering to put them in their leather kit, slammed the drawer shut, and glared at the obstinate box with a mixture of baffled rage and helplessness.
海伦优雅地清了清嗓子。“试试回形针。”
helene cleared her throat delicately. “try a paper clip.”
回形针不管用。发夹也不行。
the paper clip didn’t work. Neither did a hairpin.
马龙说：“该死，如果我得下楼去向看门人借把斧子把这该死的东西劈成两半……” 他的声音在一阵含混不清的愤怒嘟囔中中断了。
malone said, “by God, if I have to go down and borrow an ax from the janitor and split the infernal thing in two-” his voice broke off in an incoherent and enraged gurgle.
海伦叹了口气，拿起盒子检查。无意中她按了一下钥匙孔上方的小旋钮。盒子立刻弹开了，从她手中滑落，砰地一声可怕地掉在桌面上。海伦尖叫起来。杰克和马龙都吓了一跳。
helene sighed, picked up the box, and examined it. Accidentally she pressed the tiny knob just above the keyhole. the box immediately sprang open, jolted out of her hands, and fell to the desk top with a horrific clatter. helene screamed. Jake and malone both jumped.
“你从哪儿学来的这招？” 马龙缓过气来后喘着气问。
“where did you learn that trick?” malone gasped when he recovered his breath.
“这没什么。” 海伦满不在乎地说，“而且当盒子根本没锁的时候就特别容易。”
“It was nothing,” helene said airily. “And it’s particularly easy when the box simply isn’t locked.”
有那么一会儿没人敢说话。马龙专注又怀疑地看着盒子，仿佛它随时可能跳起来咬他一口。
For a moment no one dared speak. malone looked intently and suspiciously at the box, as though at any moment it might leap up and bite him.
最后杰克用非常微弱的声音说：“在冈布里尔房间的第一天晚上，我用我所有的钥匙和我的小刀试过打开它，因为我当然以为它是锁着的。我从没想过不解锁就试着打开它。因为你自然会认为那样的一个盒子会是锁着的。”
At last Jake said in a very weak voice, “I tried all my keys and my penknife on it that first night in Gumbril’s room, because I supposed of course it was locked. I never thought of just trying to open it without unlocking it. because you’d naturally think a box like that would be locked.”
“如果我们当中有谁有点脑子的话，” 马龙暴躁地说，“我们马上就会知道它没锁。”
“If any of us had had any sense,” malone said peevishly, “we’d have known right away that it wasn’t.”
“为什么？” 海伦问。
“why?” helene asked.
“钥匙在哪儿？”
“where was the key?”
“什么钥匙？”
“what key?”
“盒子的钥匙，” 马龙吼道，“冈布里尔的钥匙。在他身上或者在他的其他物品中有没有找到任何钥匙？”
“the key to the box,” malone roared, “Gumbril’s key. were there any keys found on his person or anywhere else among his possessions?”
杰克说：“没有。我想没有。”
Jake said, “No. I guess there weren’t.”
“你说得太对了，没有钥匙。” 马龙说，“如果他把盒子锁上了，那他肯定得在某个地方有把钥匙。显然，他非常不喜欢携带任何东西或者拥有任何东西。你看到了他房间里的情况，杰克。你也听到了在他口袋里找到的东西。这个人除了钱什么都不想要。甚至连一把打开金属公文箱的小钥匙都没有。他可能意识到，一般人看到这个盒子都会认为它是锁着的，就像我们一样。甚至有可能这个盒子里没有什么贵重到需要锁起来的东西。”
“You’re damned right there weren’t,” malone said. “If he’d kept the box locked he’d have had to have a key somewhere. Evidently he had an intense dislike of carrying anything or having anything. You saw what was in his room, Jake. You heard what was found in his pockets. the man simply didn’t want possessions, except money. Not even a small key to open a metal dispatch box. he probably realized that the average person, looking at the box, would assume it to be locked, just as we did. It’s even possible that the box doesn’t contain anything sufficiently valuable to be locked up.”
杰克呻吟了一声。
Jake groaned.
海伦说：“看在老天的份上，别光坐在那儿说，看看里面。”
helene said, “For the love of heaven, don’t sit there talking about it, look inside it.”
“别催我。” 马龙生气地说。他把盒子拉到他桌子的这一边。突然，他像被盒子蛰了一下似的把它扔了下去。他的目光望向他办公室的墙壁之外的某个遥远的地方。“那都是胡说八道。” 他慢慢地说。
“Stop rushing me,” malone said crossly. he drew the box over to his side of the desk. Suddenly he dropped it as though it had stung him. he looked somewhere far beyond the walls of his office. “that was all poppycock,” he said slowly.
杰克和海伦都不敢打断他。
Neither Jake nor helene dared to interrupt him.
“盒子是锁着的。” 他说，似乎在斟酌着每个字，“有一把钥匙。钥匙在冈布里尔的房间里 —— 不在他身上，否则警察会找到的。一定是打开盒子的人把钥匙拿走了。”
“the box was locked,” he said, seeming to weigh each word against the next. “there was a key. the key was in Gumbril’s room-not on his person, or the police would have found it. It must have been carried away by the person who opened the box.”
“什么人？” 这句话到了杰克嘴边又咽了回去。马龙坐在那儿凝视着前方，脸色突然变得苍白。
the words, “what person?” rose to Jake’s lips and died there. malone sat staring into space, his face suddenly gray.
“如果你不打开那个该死的盒子，我来。” 海伦沙哑地说。
“If you don’t open that damned box, I will,” helene said hoarsely.
马龙看着她，仿佛从未见过她似的。“为什么？” 他说，话语沉重。
malone looked at her as though he had never seen her before. “what for?” he said, the words dragging.
他盯着盒子看了好一会儿，最后猛地掀开盖子，朝里面窥视。他极其慎重地拿出一张折叠起来的纸，看起来像是某种官方文件。
he stared at the box for a long moment, finally threw open the lid and peered inside. with madden-deliberation he drew out a folded piece of paper that appeared to be an official document of some kind.
小个子律师把它展开，坐在那儿茫然地盯着它看了好长时间。然后他靠在椅子上，显然忘记了杰克和海伦的存在，一遍又一遍地读着那份文件，仿佛要把它背下来似的。
the little lawyer unfolded it and sat staring blankly at it for a long time. then he leaned back in his chair, apparently oblivious of Jake and helene’s presence, reading the document over and over as though he were trying to memorize it.
“马龙！”
“malone!”
他没有回答。他们仿佛在千里之外。他拿起电话，要求接 “长途电话”，然后说：“我要和威斯康星州埃尔克霍恩的沃尔沃思县的县书记员通话。谢谢。”
he didn't answer. they might have been a thousand miles away. he picked up the telephone, asked for, “Long distance,” and said, “I want to speak to the county clerk of walworth county, at Elkhorn, wisconsin. thank you.”
就在这时，海伦失去了耐心，从马龙手中夺过文件，看了看，一言不发地递给了杰克。
At that moment helene, her patience exhausted, snatched the document from malone’s hands, looked at it, and handed it, without a word, to Jake.
那是一张结婚证书，日期是 1914 年 5 月 21 日，在威斯康星州埃尔克霍恩，结婚双方是莫娜?麦克莱恩和约书亚?冈布里尔。
It was a certificate of marriage, dated may 21, 1914, at Elkhorn, wisconsin, between one mona mcclane and one Joshua Gumbril.
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