The only person who looked entirely calm was Mona McClane. She wore the same dark, clinging dress she had worn the night before, with the glittering pendant on its long, slender chain. Her small, pointed face was pale but, Jake thought, no more pale than it had always been. She showed no sign of agitation, only an intense interest in whatever might be going to happen next.
在她对面坐着约翰?J?马龙，他深蓝色的西装皱巴巴的，有点脏，黑色的头发乱糟糟的，还有点潮湿。他的鼻子边上有一小块污迹。
Opposite her sat John J. Malone, his dark-blue suit wrinkled and a little dusty, his black hair mussed and damp. There was a small smudge on the side of his nose.
杰克感受着海伦纤细的手带来的令人安心的压力，强烈地告诉自己，拥有赌场将会让这一切都值得。
Jake felt for the forting pressure of Helene’s slender hand, and told himself fiercely that owning the Casino was going to be worth all this.
马龙清了清嗓子，说：“凶杀科的冯?弗拉纳根队长随时都会到。我先来这里是因为我想在他来之前解释一些事情。”
Malone cleared his throat and said, “Captain Von Flanagan of the Homicide Bureau will arrive any minute now. I came here first because I wanted to explain a few things before he arrived.”
房间里非常安静。有人划了一根火柴。那声音听起来像爆炸一样响。
The room was very still. Someone struck a match. It sounded as loud as an explosion.
“几天前，” 马龙又开始说，“你们听到了莫娜?麦克莱恩和这里的杰克?贾斯特打的一个赌。也许你们大多数人都把它当作一个相当荒唐的玩笑。也许有些人当真了。我不知道。不管怎样……” 他停顿了一下，深吸一口气，“第二天下午，一个叫约书亚?冈布里尔的人在州街和麦迪逊街的拐角处被枪杀，情况与打赌的条件相符。
“A few days ago,” Malone began again, “you heard a bet made between Mona McClane and Jake Justus here. Perhaps most of you put it down as a rather absurd joke. Perhaps some of you took it seriously. I don’t know. At any rate-” he paused for a long breath, “the following afternoon one Joshua Gumbril was shot at the corner of State and Madison Streets under circumstances corresponding to the terms of the bet.
“这不是我的赌注，” 他说，“我也没打算卷入随后的事情。然而，情况就是这样，我确实被卷了进去，这就是为什么我现在代表贾斯特先生发言。”
“It was not my bet,” he said, “and I had no intention of being involved in subsequent events. However, circumstances were such that I did bee so involved, and that is why I am acting as spokesman for Mr. Justus now.”
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