91 Cautiously and casually he asked：“And Aunt Marion and Uncle Lincoln—which do you like best？”
92 “Oh，Uncle Lincoln，I guess。”
93 He was increasingly aware of her presence。As they came in，a murmur of“adorable”followed them，and now the people at the next table bent all their silences upon her，staring as if she were something no more conscious than a flower。
94 “Why don’t I live with you？”she asked suddenly。“Because mamma’s dead？”
95 “You must stay here and learn more French。It would have been hard for daddy to take care of you so well。”
96 “I don’t really need much taking care of any more。I do everything for myself。”
97 Going out of the restaurant，a man and a woman unexpectedly hailed him。
98 “Well，the old Wales！”
99 “Hello there，Lorraine。Dunc。”
100 Sudden ghosts out of the past：Duncan Schaeffer，a friend from college。Lorraine Quarrles，a lovely，pale blonde of thirtyone of a crowd who had helpedthem make months into days in the lavish times of three years ago。
101 “My husband couldn’t come this year，”she said，in answer to hisquestion。“We’re poor as hell。So he gave me two hundred a month and told me I could domy worst on that。This your little girl？”
102 “What about coming back and sitting down？”Duncan asked。
103 “Can’t do it。”He was glad for an excuse。As always，he felt Lorraine’s passionate，provocative attraction，but his own rhythm was different now。
104 “Well，how about dinner？”she asked。
105 “I’m not free。Give me your address and let me call you。”
106 “Charlie，I believe you’re sober，”she said judicially。“I honestly believe he’s sober，Dunc。Pinch him and see if he’s sober。”
107 Charlie indicated Honoria with his head。They both laughed。
108 “What’s your address？”said Duncan skeptically。
109 He hesitated，unwilling to give the name of his hotel。
110 “I’m not settled yet。I’d better call you。We’re going to see the vaudeville at the Empire。”
111 “There！That’s what I want to do，”Lorraine said。“I want to see some clowns and acrobats and jugglers。That’s just what we’ll do，Dunc。”
112 “We’ve got to do an errand first，”said Charlie。“Perhaps we’ll see you there。”
113 “All right，you snob。Good-by，beautiful little girl。”
114 “Good-by。”Honoria bobbed politely。
115 Somehow，an unwelcome encounter。They liked him because he was functioning，because he was seriousthey wanted to see him，because he was stronger than they were now，because they wanted to draw a certain sustenance from his strength。
adorable：adj。可愛的
provocative：adj。煽動的
judicially：adv。公平地
skeptically：adv。懷疑地
acrobat：n。雜技演員
juggler：n。變戲法者
snob：n。勢利小人
bob：v。鞠躬行禮
sustenance：n。食物，營養物116 At the Empire，Honoria proudly refused to sit upon her father’s foldedcoat。She was already an individual with a code of her own，and Charlie was more and more absorbed by the desire of putting a little of himself into her before she crystallized utterly。It was hopeless to try to know her in soshort a time。
117 Between the acts they came upon Duncan and Lorraine in the lobby wherethe band was playing。
118 “Have a drink？”
119 “All right，but not up at the bar。We’ll take a table。”
120 “The perfect father。”
121 Listening abstractedly to Lorraine，Charlie watchedHonoria’s eyes leave their table，and he followed them wistfully about the room，wondering what they saw。He met her glance and she smiled。
crystallize：v。明確，定型
abstracted：adj。心不在焉的，出神的
wistfully：adv。渴望地122“I liked that lemonade，”she said。
123 What had she said？What had he expected？Going home in a taxi afterward，he pulled her over until her head rested against his chest。
124 “Darling，do you ever think about your mother？”
125 “Yes，sometimes，”she answered vaguely。
126 “I don’t want you to forget her。Have you got a picture of her？”
127 “Yes，I think so。Anyhow，Aunt Marion has。Why don’t you want me to forget her？”
128 “She loved you very much。”
129 “I loved her too。”
130 They were silent for a moment。
131 “Daddy，I want to come and live with you，”she said suddenly。
132 His heart leapedhe had wanted it to come like this。
133 “Aren’t you perfectly happy？”
134 “Yes，but I love you better than anybody。And you love me better than anybody，don’t you，now that mummy’s dead？”
135 “Of course I do。But you won’t always like me best，honey。You’ll growupand meet somebody your own age and go marry him and forget you ever had a daddy。”
136 “Yes，that’s true，”she agreed tranquilly。
137 He didn’t go in。He was coming back at nine o’clock and he wantedto keep himself fresh and new for the thing he must say then。
138 “When you’re safe inside，just show yourself in that window。”
139 “All right。Good-by，dads，dads，dads，dads。”
140 He waited in the dark street until she appeared，all warm and glowing，in the window above and kissed her fingers out into the night。
Ⅲ
141 They were waiting。Marion sat behind the coffee service in a dignifiedblack dinner dress that just faintly suggested mourning。Lincoln was walking up and down with the animation of one who had already been talking。They were as anxious as he was to get into the question。He opened it almost immediately。
142 “I suppose you know what I want to see you about—why I really came toParis。”
143 Marion played with the black stars on her necklace and frowned。
144 “I’m awfully anxious to have a home，”he continued。“And I’m awfully anxious to have Honoria in it。I appreciate your taking in Honoria for her mother’ssake，but things have changed now”—he hesitated and then continued more forcibly—“changed radically with me，and I want to ask you to reconsider the matter。It would be silly for me to deny that about three years ago I was acting badly—”
145 Marion looked up at him with hard eyes。
146 “—but all that’s over。As I told you，I haven’t had more than adrinka day for over a year，and I take that drink deliberately，so that the idea of alcohol won’t get too big in my imagination。You see the idea？”
147 “No，”said Marion succinctly。
148 “It’s a sort of stint I set myself。It keeps the matter in proportion。”
149 “I get you，”said Lincoln。“You don’t want to admit it’s got any attraction for you。”
150 “Something like that。Sometimes I forget and don’t take it。But Itry to take it。Anyhow，I couldn’t afford to drink in my position。The people I represent are more than satisfied with what I’ve done，and I’m bringing my sister over from Burlington to keep house for me，and I want awfully to have Honoria too。You know that even when her mother and I weren’t getting along well we never let anything that happened touch Honoria。I know she’s fond of me and I know I’m able to take care of her and—well，there you are。How do you feel about it？”
151 He knew that now he would have to take a beating。It would last an hour or two hours，and it would be difficult，but if he modulated his inevitable resentment to the chastened attitude of the reformed sinner，he might win his point in the end。
152 Keep your temper，he told himself。You don’t want to be justified。Youwant Honoria。
153 Lincoln spoke first：“We’ve been talking it over ever since we got your letter last month。We’re happy to have Honoria here。She’s a dear little thing，and we’re glad to be able to help her，but of course that isn’t the question—”
154 Marion interrupted suddenly。“How long are you going to stay sober，Charlie？”she asked。
155 “Permanently，I hope。”
156 “How can anybody count on that？”
157 “You know I never did drink heavily until I gave up business and came over here with nothing to do。Then Helen and I began to run around with—”
158 “Please leave Helen out of it。I can’t bear to hear you talk about herlike that。”
159 He stared at her grimlyhe had never been certain how fond of each other the sisters were in life。
dignified：adj。有威嚴的
forcibly：adv。用力地
succinctly：adv。簡潔地，簡便地
stint：n。限製，約束
in proportion：恰如其分地，理智地
modulate：v。調整
count on：指望，信賴
grimly：adv。冷酷地160“My drinking only lasted about a year and a half—from the time wecame over until I—collapsed。”
161 “It was time enough。”
162 “It was time enough，”he agreed。
163 “My duty is entirely to Helen，”she said。“I try to think what she would have wanted me to do。Frankly，from the night you did that terrible thing you haven’t really existed for me。I can’t help that。She was my sister。”
164 “Yes。”
165 “When she was dying she asked me to look out for Honoria。If you hadn’t been in a sanitarium then，it might have helped matters。”
166 He had no answer。
167 “I’ll never in my life be able to forget the morning when Helen knocked at my door，soaked to the skin and shivering，and said you’d locked her out。”
168 Charlie gripped the sides of the chair。This was more difficult than he expectedhe wanted to launch out into a long expostulation and explanation，but he only said：“The night I locked her out—”and she interrupted，“I don’tfeel up to going over that again。”
169 After a moment’s silence Lincoln said：“We’re getting off the subject。You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria。I think the main point for her is whether she has confidence in you or not。”
評注：讀者終於漸漸了解了事情的來龍去脈，知道查理此行的目的原來是為了爭取對女兒的監護權。但是他曾經犯下的大錯值得原諒嗎？
170 “I don’t blame Marion，”Charlie said slowly，“but I think she can haveentire confidence in me。I had a good record up to three years ago。Of course，it’s within human possibilities I might go wrong any time。But if we wait much longer I’ll lose Honoria’s childhood and my chance for a home。”He shook his head，“I’ll simply lose her，don’t you see？”
171 “Yes，I see，”said Lincoln。
172 “Why didn’t you think of all this before？”Marion asked。
173 “I suppose I did，from time to time，but Helen and I were getting along badly。When I consented to the guardianship，I was flat on my back in a sanitarium and the market had cleaned me out。I knew I’d acted badly，and I thought if itwould bring any peace to Helen，I’d agree to anything。But now it’s different。I’m functioning，I’m behaving damn well，so far as—”
174 “Please don’t swear at me，”Marion said。
評注：我們在查理的身上清晰地看到了菲茲傑拉德的影子。他們都曾生活得驕奢無度、酒醉神迷。他們的妻子都年輕漂亮、耽於享樂。他們夫妻間都試圖用金錢和美酒去排解心靈的空虛，然而他們卻無可回避地走上了更加空虛的不歸路，而等待他們的隻能是對以往的懺悔和痛心疾首。
175 He looked at her，startled。With each remark the force of her dislike became more and more apparent。She had built up all her fear of life into one wall and faced it toward him。This trivial reproof was possibly the result of some trouble with the cook several hours before。Charlie became increasingly alarmed atleaving Honoria in this atmosphere of hostility against himselfsooner or later it would come out，in a word here，a shake of the head there，and some of thatdistrust would be irrevocably implanted in Honoria。But he pulled his temper down out of his face and shut it up inside himhe had won a point，for Lincoln realized the absurdity of Marion’s remark and asked her lightly since when she had objected to the word“damn”。
176 “Another thing，”Charlie said：“I’m able to give her certain advantages now。I’m going to take a French governess to Prague with me。I’ve got a lease on a new apartment—”
177 He stopped，realizing that he was blundering。They couldn’t be expected to accept with equanimity the fact that his income was again twice as large as their own。
178 “I suppose you can give her more luxuries than we can，”said Marion。“When you were throwing away money we were living along watching every ten francs。I suppose you’ll start doing it again。”
sanitarium：n。療養院
expostulation：n。勸告，諫言
set aside：取消，駁回
reproof：n。譴責，非難
absurdity：n。荒謬，謬論
equanimity：n。鎮定
luxury：n。奢侈，華貴179“Oh，no，”he said。“I’ve learned。I worked hard for ten years，you know—until I got lucky in the market，like so many people。Terribly lucky。It didn’tseem any use working any more，so I quit。It won’t happen again。”
180 There was a long silence。All of them felt their nerves straining，andfor the first time in a year Charlie wanted a drink。He was sure now that Lincoln Peters wanted him to have his child。
181 Marion shuddered suddenlypart of her saw that Charlie’s feet were planted on the earth now，and her own maternal feeling recognized thenaturalness of his desirebut she had lived for a long time with a prejudice—a prejudice founded on a curious disbelief in her sister’s happiness，and which，in the shock ofone terrible night，had turned to hatred for him。It had all happened at a point in her life where the discouragement of ill health and adverse circumstances made it necessary for her to believe in tangible villainy and a tangible villain。
182 “I can’t help what I think！”she cried out suddenly。“How much you were responsible for Helen’s death，I don’t know。It’s something you’ll have to square with your own conscience。”
183 An electric current of agony surged through himfor a moment he was almost on his feet，an unuttered sound echoing in his throat。He hung on to himself for a moment，another moment。
shudder：vi。戰栗，發抖
maternal：adj。似母親的
adverse circumstances：逆境
villainy：n。惡行，罪惡
square with：（使）與……相符，一致
surge：vi。洶湧，澎湃
184 “Hold on there，”said Lincoln uncomfortably。“I never thought you wereresponsible for that。”
185 “Helen died of heart trouble，”Charlie said dully。
186 “Yes，heart trouble。”Marion spoke as if the phrase had another meaning for her。
187 Then，in the flatness that followed her outburst，she saw him plainly andshe knew he had somehow arrived at control over the situation。Glancing at her husband，she found no help from him，and as abruptly as if it were a matter of no importance，she threw up the sponge。
188 “Do what you like！”she cried，springing up from her chair。“She’s your child。I’m not the person to stand in your way。I think if it were my child I’drather see her—”She managed to check herself。“You two decide it。I can’t stand this。I’m sick。I’m going to bed。”
189 She hurried from the roomafter a moment Lincoln said：
190 “This has been a hard day for her。You know how strongly she feels—”His voice was almost apologetic：“When a woman gets an idea inher head。”
191 “Of course。”
192 “It’s going to be all right。I think she sees now that you—can provide for the child，and so we can’t very well stand in your way or Honoria’s way。”
193 “Thank you，Lincoln。”
194 “I’d better go along and see how she is。”
195 “I’m going。”
196 He was still trembling when he reached the street，but a walk down theRue Bonaparte to the quais set him up，and as he crossed the Seine，fresh and new by the quai lamps，he felt exultant。But back in his room he couldn’t sleep。Theimage of Helen haunted him。Helen whom he had loved so until they had senselessly begun to abuse each other’s love，tear it into shreds。On that terrible February night that Marion remembered so vividly，a slow quarrel had gone on for hours。There was a scene at the Florida，and then he attempted to take her home，andthen she kissed young Webb at a tableafter that there was what she had hysterically said。When he arrived home alone he turned the key in the lock in wild anger。How could he know she would arrive an hour later alone，that there would bea snowstorm in which she wandered about in slippers，too confused to find a taxi？Then the aftermath，her escaping pneumonia by a miracle，and all the attendant horror。They were“reconciled”，but that was the beginning of the end，and Marion，who had seen with her own eyes and who imagined it to be one of many scenesfrom her sister’s martyrdom，never forgot。
outburst：n。（感情等）爆發
throw up the sponge：認輸
apologetic：adj。道歉的，認錯的
quais：<法>n。quay 碼頭
exultant：adj。歡躍的