“把你一个人留在这里？别这样……”
“And leave you here alone? Don’t be-”
“我会没事的，别担心。你就躲在二楼的那个角落里，等服务员和大堂里的其他人都走了再走。”
“I’ll be all right, don’t worry. Park yourself around that little corner out of sight of the stairs, and wait there until the clerk, and everyone else in the lobby, is out of the way.”
“你打算怎么把他们弄出大堂呢？”
“How are you going to get them, out of the lobby?”
“那是我的事。你管好你自己的事。不管发生什么事，都不要在意我可能会做什么，不管那是什么。明白吗？”
“That’s my business. You tend to your own knitting. Whatever happens, don’t pay any attention to what I may do, no matter what it is. Understand?”
他点了点头，希望一切顺利，但他知道自己不会如愿的。
He nodded, hoping for the best, but knowing he wouldn’t get it.
“等没人了，你就朝街上走，尽快赶到我们要和马龙见面的那个角落。我五分钟后就到那里找你。”
“As soon as the coast is clear, head for the street and start as fast as you can for that corner where we’re to meet Malone. I’ll join you there in five minutes.”
“海伦，你打算怎么办？”
“Helene, what are you going to do?”
“你很快就会知道的，” 她不祥地说。
“You’ll find out,” she said ominously.
“我就怕我会知道。” 他说。他把盒子夹在胳膊下，继续下楼，站在二楼角落的阴影里。他刚躲到角落里，就听到一个声音，让他的血液都凝固了。海伦在楼上几层正尖叫着。他的冲动是扔掉盒子，跑去帮她。但他没有这么做。在最初的可怕时刻之后，他发现尖叫声中有一丝虚假。
“I’m afraid I will,” he said. He tucked the box under his arm, went on down the stairs, and stood in the shadows of the corner. He had barely reached its shelter when a sound froze the blood in his veins. A few floors above Helene was screaming at the top of her voice. His impulse was to drop the box and run to her aid. He didn’t obey it. After the first terrible moment, he detected something just a trifle phony in the scream.
然而，大堂里的居民们并没有听出任何虚假的成分。躲在阴影里的杰克听到电梯嗖地一声升了上去。楼梯上响起了奔跑的脚步声。当声音消失时，他看了看拐角处，没看到任何人，于是小心翼翼地走下楼梯，来到大堂。没有人看得见。他快步穿过大堂，走上人行道，朝范布伦街走去。
The inhabitants of the lobby, however, heard no phony note. Standing in the shadows, Jake heard the elevator shoot upward. Running footsteps sounded on the stairs. As they died away he looked around the corner, saw no one, went cautiously down the stairs to the lobby. No one was in sight. He walked quickly across the lobby and onto the sidewalk and started toward Van Buren Street.
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