Part One1

第一部

Chapter I

第一章

Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure. The telegram from the Home says: YOUR MOTHER PASSED AWAY. FUNERAL TOMORROW. DEEP SYMPATHY. Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday.

今天，母亲死了。或者是昨天，我也不是很清楚。我收到养老院的电报，上面写着：母亡。明日下葬。节哀。电报没把事情说清楚，母亲也可能是昨天去世的。

The Home for Aged Persons is at Marengo, some fifty miles from Algiers. With the two o'clock bus I should get there well before nightfall. Then I can spend the night there, keeping the usual vigil beside the body, and be back here by tomorrow evening. I have fixed up with my employer for two days' leave; obviously, under the circumstances, he couldn't refuse. Still, I had an idea he looked annoyed, and I said, without thinking: "Sorry, sir, but it's not my fault, you know. "

养老院位于马伦戈，距离阿尔及尔约五十英里。我坐两点钟的公共汽车，天黑之前应该能赶到那里。这样我就可以在那里过夜，按规矩在母亲遗体旁守灵，明晚之前再赶回来。我跟老板请了两天的假，显然，这种情况下，他不得不批假。不过，我知道他不大高兴，便不加思索地说： “很抱歉，但老板你知道，这可不是我的错啊。”

Afterwards it struck me I needn't have said that. I had no reason to excuse myself; it was up to him to express his sympathy and so forth. Probably he will do so the day after tomorrow, when he sees me in black. For the present, it's almost as if Mother weren't really dead. The funeral will bring it home to me, put an official seal on it, so to speak....

后来，我突然意识到我没必要这么说。我没有必要表示抱歉，倒是他应该对我说些表示哀悼之类的话。等后天他看见我穿黑色丧服，可能就会这样说了。现在，我感觉母亲好像还没有死。而葬礼会让我深刻意识到母亲已离世，像盖了公章一样确凿无疑了，可以说……

I took the two-o'clock bus. It was a blazing hot afternoon. I'd lunched, as usual, at Celeste's restaurant. Everyone was most kind, and Celeste said to me, "There's no one like a mother. " When I left they came with me to the door. It was something of a rush, getting away, as at the last moment I had to call in at Emmanuel's place to borrow his black tie and mourning band. He lost his uncle a few months ago.

我赶上了两点钟的公共汽车。那是个极其炎热的下午。像往常一样，我在塞莱斯特的饭馆吃了午饭。人人都来安慰我。塞莱斯特还对我说： “没有谁能替代母亲的位置。” 我要走的时候，他们一直把我送到门口。我走得有些匆忙，因为临出发前我还得去埃马纽埃尔那里借黑领结和黑纱。他叔叔几个月前刚刚去世。

I had to run to catch the bus. I suppose it was my hurrying like that, what with the glare off the road and from the sky, the reek of gasoline, and the jolts, that made me feel so drowsy. Anyhow, I slept most of the way. When I woke I was leaning against a soldier; he grinned and asked me if I'd come from a long way off, and I just nodded, to cut things short. I wasn't in a mood for talking.

我不得不跑着去赶公共汽车。我猜想可能是因为我急着赶路，再加上一路上灼热耀眼的阳光、难闻的汽油味儿和汽车的颠簸，把我搞得昏昏欲睡。反正我几乎睡了一路。醒来时，我靠在一个士兵身上。他朝我笑了笑，问我是不是从很远的地方来。我不想多说什么，只是点了点头。我没心情聊天。

The Home is a little over a mile from the village. I went there on foot. I asked to be allowed to see Mother at once, but the doorkeeper told me I must see the warden first. He wasn't free, and I had to wait a bit. The doorkeeper chatted with me while I waited; then he led me to the office. The warden was a very small man, with gray hair, and a Legion of Honor rosette in his buttonhole. He gave me a long look with his watery blue eyes. Then we shook hands, and he held mine so long that I began to feel embarrassed. After that he consulted a register on his table, and said:

养老院距离村子还有一英里多的路程。我是走着去的。我请求立刻见到母亲，但门卫告诉我，我得先去见见院长。院长正忙着，我得等一会儿。等候的时候，门卫跟我聊了会儿天，然后把我带到院长办公室。院长身材非常矮小，头发灰白，扣眼上别了一枚荣誉军团的玫瑰勋章。他用那双淡蓝色的眼睛打量了我许久。接着我们握了手，他握我手的时间长得让我有些尴尬。之后，他查阅了桌上的登记薄，说：

"Madame Meursault entered the Home three years ago. She had no private means and depended entirely on you. "

“默尔索夫人是三年前来到这里的。她没有私人收入，完全靠你抚养。”

I had a feeling he was blaming me for something, and started to explain. But he cut me short.

我感觉他有点儿责备我的意思，就赶紧开始解释。但他打断了我，说道：

"There's no need to excuse yourself, my boy. I've looked up the record and obviously you weren't in a position to see that she was properly cared for. She needed someone to be with her all the time, and young men in jobs like yours don't get too much pay. In any case, she was much happier in the Home. "

“你不需要解释，孩子。我已经看过档案了，显然，你无力好好地照顾她。她需要有人一直陪在身边，而做你这一行的年轻人薪水又不高。无论如何，她在养老院过得要开心得多。”

I said, "Yes, sir; I 'm sure of that. "

我说： “是的，院长，这点我确定。”

Then he added: "She had good friends here, you know, old folks like herself, and one gets on better with people of one's own generation. You're much too young; you couldn't have been much of a companion to her. "

接着他又说： “你知道，她在这儿有许多好友，和她一样的老年人；人跟同龄人在一起总会相处得更好些。你太年轻了，没法好好给她做伴儿。”

That was so. When we lived together, Mother was always watching me, but we hardly ever talked. During her first few weeks at the Home she used to cry a good deal. But that was only because she hadn't settled down. After a month or two she'd have cried if she'd been told to leave the Home. Because this, too, would have been a wrench. That was why, during the last year, I seldom went to see her. Also, it would have meant losing my Sunday-not to mention the trouble of going to the bus, getting my ticket, and spending two hours on the journey each way.

的确如此。以前我们住在一起的时候，母亲总是看着我，但我们几乎从不说话。刚进养老院的几个星期，她经常哭。但这仅仅是因为她还不适应。一两个月后，要是让她离开养老院，她也会哭的。因为离开养老院也会让她很痛苦。为此，这一年来我很少去看她。当然，去看她意味着我得牺牲我的星期天--更别提赶汽车，买车票，在路上来回颠簸四个小时了。

The warden went on talking, but I didn't pay much attention. Finally he said:

院长还在说个不停，但我没太注意他说什么。最后，他说：

"Now, I suppose you'd like to see your mother? "

“我想现在你希望再看看你母亲吧？”

I rose without replying, and he led the way to the door. As we were going down the stairs he explained:

我站起身来，没有答话，跟着他走出门去。下楼的时候，他解释道：

"I've had the body moved to our little mortuary-so as not to upset the other old people, you understand. Every time there's a death here, they're in a nervous state for two or three days. Which means, of course, extra work and worry for our staff. "

“我让人把她的遗体移到小太平间了--免得其他老人担心害怕，你理解吧。每次这儿有人死了，他们都会紧张两三天。当然，这就会给我们的工作人员带来额外的工作和麻烦。”

We crossed a courtyard where there were a number of old men, talking amongst themselves in little groups. They fell silent as we came up with them. Then, behind our backs, the chattering began again. Their voices reminded me of parakeets in a cage, only the sound wasn't quite so shrill. The warden stopped outside the entrance of a small, low building.

我们穿过一个院子，里面有一些老人，三两成群，正在谈论着什么。我们一来，他们就不说话了。我们一走，他们又开始议论了。他们的声音让我想到了笼子里的鹦鹉，只不过没那么吵。院长在一幢小小的矮房子门前停了下来：

"So here I leave you, Monsieur Meursault. If you want me for anything, you'll find me in my office. We propose to have the funeral tomorrow morning. That will enable you to spend the night beside your mother's coffin, as no doubt you would wish to do. Just one more thing; I gathered from your mother's friends that she wished to be buried with the rites of the Church. I've made arrangements for this; but I thought I should let you know. "

“就是这儿，默尔索先生。如果你需要我，请随时到办公室找我。我们准备明天早上举行葬礼。这样晚上你就能为你母亲守灵了，你肯定希望这样做。还有一件事：我从你母亲的朋友们那儿得知，她希望葬礼能按教会仪式举行。我已经安排好了，但我觉得还是应该告诉你这件事。”

I thanked him. So far as I knew, my mother, though not a professed atheist, had never given a thought to religion in her life.

我向他道了谢。据我所知，尽管母亲生前并未说过自己是个无神论者，但她也从来没信仰过什么宗教。

I entered the mortuary. It was a bright, spotlessly clean room, with whitewashed walls and a big skylight. The furniture consisted of some chairs and trestles. Two of the latter stood open in the center of the room and the coffin rested on them. The lid was in place, but the screws had been given only a few turns and their nickeled heads stuck out above the wood, which was stained dark walnut. An Arab woman-a nurse, I supposed-was sitting beside the bier; she was wearing a blue smock and had a rather gaudy scarf wound round her hair.

我进了太平间。里面很亮，一尘不染，墙壁刷成白色，房顶开了扇大天窗。房间里有几把椅子和一些支架。房屋中间的两个支架上放着母亲的棺材。棺材盖着盖子，但螺丝钉只浅浅地拧进去几圈，它们镍制的头从木头里翘了出来，周围的木头被染成了深胡桃色。棺材旁边站一个阿拉伯女人，我想她应该是护士。她穿着蓝大褂，头上包着一块很俗丽的围巾。

Just then the keeper came up behind me. He'd evidently been running, as he was a little out of breath.

这时，门卫来到了我身后。他有些气喘吁吁，显然是跑着来的。

"We put the lid on, but I was told to unscrew it when you came, so that you could see her. "

“我们把棺材给盖上了，但你来了，他们就让我打开，好让你看看。”

While he was going up to the coffin I told him not to trouble.

他正要走向棺材，我告诉他不必了。

"Eh? What's that? " he exclaimed. "You don't want me to...? "

“嗯？怎么了？” 他叫道， “你不想让我……”

"No, " I said.

“不想。” 我说。

He put back the screwdriver in his pocket and stared at me. I realized then that I shouldn't have said, "No, " and it made me rather embarrassed. After eying me for some moments he asked:

他把螺丝刀放回口袋，目不转睛地看着我。这时我意识到不应该说 “不想” ，这让我很尴尬。盯着我看了一会儿后，他问道：

"Why not? " But he didn't sound reproachful; he simply wanted to know.

“为什么？” 但他没有责备的意思，只是想知道为什么。

"Well, really I couldn't say, " I answered.

“唔，说真的，我也不知道。” 我说。

He began twiddling his white mustache; then, without looking at me, said gently:

他开始抚弄他白色的小胡子，然后，他避开我的目光，柔声说道：

"I understand. "

“我理解。”

He was a pleasant-looking man, with blue eyes and ruddy cheeks. He drew up a chair for me near the coffin, and seated himself just behind. The nurse got up and moved toward the door. As she was going by, the keeper whispered in my ear:

他相貌不错，蓝眼睛，面色红润。他给我搬来一把椅子，放在棺材附近，他自己则坐在我身后。护士起身朝门口走去。她经过时，门卫向我耳语道：

"It's a tumor she has, poor thing. "

“她长了肿瘤，可怜的人啊。”

I looked at her more carefully and I noticed that she had a bandage round her head, just below her eyes. It lay quite flat across the bridge of her nose, and one saw hardly anything of her face except that strip of whiteness.

我更仔细地看了看她，注意到她眼睛下面饶头缠了条绷带。绷带就在鼻梁上面，除了这条白色的绷带几乎看不到她的脸。

As soon as she had gone, the keeper rose.

她一走，门卫就起身了，说道：

"Now I'll leave you to yourself. "

“我走了，不打扰你了。”

I don't know whether I made some gesture, but instead of going he halted behind my chair. The sensation of someone posted at my back made me uncomfortable. The sun was getting low and the whole room was flooded with a pleasant, mellow light. Two hornets were buzzing overhead, against the skylight. I was so sleepy I could hardly keep my eyes open. Without looking round, I asked the keeper how long he'd been at the Home. "Five years. " The answer came so pat that one could have thought he'd been expecting my question.

我不知道是不是我打了什么手势，总之他没有走，而是在我椅子后面停住了。有人站在我背后，我很不自在。太阳快下山了，整个房间沐浴在一种柔和、舒适的光线中。两只大黄蜂在头顶天窗上嗡嗡地飞。我很困，眼睛几乎都睁不开了。我问门卫在养老院呆多久了，但没有回头看他。 “五年了。” 他流利地答道，仿佛是在等我问似的。

That started him off, and he became quite chatty. If anyone had told him ten years ago that he'd end his days as doorkeeper at a home at Marengo, he'd never have believed it. He was sixty-four, he said, and hailed from Paris.

然后他就打开了话匣子，滔滔不绝地说了起来。十年前要是有人告诉他，他最终会在马伦戈的一家养老院当门卫，终老一生，他绝不会相信。他说他今年六十四岁，来自巴黎。

When he said that, I broke in. "Ah, you don't come from here? "

说到这里，我打断了他，问道： “哦，那你不是本地人？”

I remembered then that, before taking me to the warden, he'd told me something about Mother. He had said she'd have to be buried mighty quickly because of the heat in these parts, especially down in the plain. "At Paris they keep the body for three days, sometimes four. " After that he had mentioned that he'd spent the best part of his life in Paris, and could never manage to forget it. "Here, " he had said, "things have to go with a rush, like. You've hardly time to get used to the idea that someone's dead, before you're hauled off to the funeral. " "That's enough, " his wife had put in. "You didn't ought to say such things to the poor young gentleman. " The old fellow had blushed and begun to apologize. I told him it was quite all right. As a matter of fact, I found it rather interesting, what he'd been telling me; I hadn't thought of that before.

我这才想起来，带我去见院长之前他跟我说起过母亲的一些事。他说母亲得尽快下葬，因为这一带天气太热，特别是平原地区。 “在巴黎，尸体还能停放三天，有时四天。” 之后，他又说他在巴黎度过了人生中最美妙的一段时光，怎么也忘不了。 “在这儿啊，” 他说， “什么都是匆匆忙忙的。你还没来得及接受某人已过世的事实，就被拖去参加他的葬礼了。” “别说了，” 他老婆插话道， “你不应该跟这位可怜的年轻人说这些。” 老头脸红了，开始跟我道歉。我告诉他没有关系。实际上，我觉得他说的很有意思，我以前从来没有想过这些。

Now he went on to say that he'd entered the Home as an ordinary inmate. But he was still quite hale and hearty, and when the keeper's job fell vacant, he offered to take it on.

此时，他接着告诉我，他本来也是被养老院收容的。但他觉得自己身体还硬朗，门卫的职位一空缺，他就自荐当了门卫。

I pointed out that, even so, he was really an inmate like the others, but he wouldn't hear of it. He was "an official, like. " I'd been struck before by his habit of saying "they" or, less often, "them old folks, " when referring to inmates no older than himself. Still, I could see his point of view. As doorkeeper he had a certain standing, and some authority over the rest of them.

我指出，即便如此，他还和其他人一样是养老院收容的人，但他不承认。他觉得自己 “像个领导” 。之前我还觉得惊讶，他说起那些年纪并不比他大的被养老院收容的人，总是说 “他们” ，偶尔也会说 “那些老人” 。不过，我明白他的意思。他是门卫，是有些地位的，从某种程度上说，他还管着其他人呢。

Just then the nurse returned. Night had fallen very quickly; all of a sudden, it seemed, the sky went black above the skylight. The keeper switched on the lamps, and I was almost blinded by the blaze of light.

这时，护士又进来了。天黑得特别快，好像一眨眼的工夫，天窗上面的天就黑了。门卫打开灯，明亮的灯光让我头晕目眩。

He suggested I should go to the refectory for dinner, but I wasn't hungry. Then he proposed bringing me a mug of cafe au lait. As I am very partial to cafe au lait I said, "Thanks, " and a few minutes later he came back with a tray. I drank the coffee, and then I wanted a cigarette. But I wasn't sure if I should smoke, under the circumstances-in Mother's presence. I thought it over; really, it didn't seem to matter, so I offered the keeper a cigarette, and we both smoked.

他建议我去食堂吃饭，但我不饿。他又说给我带杯牛奶咖啡。我很喜欢牛奶咖啡，就说： “好的，谢谢。” 一会儿工夫，他端了个托盘回来。我喝了咖啡，还想抽根烟。但我不知道这时在母亲面前能不能抽烟。我仔细想了想，觉得这真没有关系，就给了门卫一根烟，我们抽了起来。

After a while he started talking again.

过了一会儿，他又说：

"You know, your mother's friends will be coming soon, to keep vigil with you beside the body. We always have a 'vigil' here, when anyone dies. I'd better go and get some chairs and a pot of black coffee. "

“你知道，你母亲的朋友们很快也会来和你一起守灵。只要有人去世，我们都会守灵的。我去搬几把椅子，再拿壶黑咖啡来。”

The glare off the white walls was making my eyes smart, and I asked him if he couldn't turn off one of the lamps. "Nothing doing, " he said. They'd arranged the lights like that; either one had them all on or none at all. After that I didn't pay much more attention to him. He went out, brought some chairs, and set them out round the coffin. On one he placed a coffeepot and ten or a dozen cups. Then he sat down facing me, on the far side of Mother. The nurse was at the other end of the room, with her back to me. I couldn't see what she was doing, but by the way her arms moved I guessed that she was knitting. I was feeling very comfortable; the coffee had warmed me up, and through the open door came scents of flowers and breaths of cool night air. I think I dozed off for a while.

灯光照在白墙上，让我的眼睛很痛，我问他能不能关掉一个灯。 “没用。” 他说。灯就是这样装的，要么都打开，要么都关上。我之后就没再怎么注意他。他出去了，进来时带了几把椅子，围着棺材摆好。他在一把椅子上放了咖啡壶，还有十多个杯子。然后，他隔着棺材在我对面坐下。护士在屋子的另一头坐下，背对着我。我看不清她在做什么，但看她胳膊的动作我猜她是在织毛衣。我感觉很舒服，咖啡温暖了我的身体，门开着，飘进来一股花香，还有微凉的夜风。我想我打了一会儿盹儿。

I was wakened by an odd rustling in my ears. After having had my eyes closed, I had a feeling that the light had grown even stronger than before. There wasn't a trace of shadow anywhere, and every object, each curve or angle, seemed to score its outline on one's eyes. The old people, Mother's friends, were coming in. I counted ten in all, gliding almost soundlessly through the bleak white glare. None of the chairs creaked when they sat down. Never in my life had I seen anyone so clearly as I saw these people; not a detail of their clothes or features escaped me. And yet I couldn't hear them, and it was hard to believe they really existed.

我被耳边一阵奇怪的蟋洬声吵醒了。闭上眼睛后，我觉得屋里的灯光更刺眼了。一点儿阴影都没有，每样东西、每条曲线、每个角度，似乎都清晰地出现在我眼前。母亲的那些朋友，那些老人们进来了。我数了一下，一共有十个人，在这阴惨惨的耀眼灯光下，他们几乎无声无息地走过。他们坐下来，椅子没有一点儿响声。他们的衣服，他们的面容，任何一个细节都没有逃过我的眼睛，以前我从来没有这样看清过其他人。但我听不到他们说什么，甚至难以相信他们真的存在。

Nearly all the women wore aprons, and the strings drawn tight round their waists made their big stomachs bulge still more. I'd never yet noticed what big paunches old women usually have. Most of the men, however, were as thin as rakes, and they all carried sticks. What struck me most about their faces was that one couldn't see their eyes, only a dull glow in a sort of nest of wrinkles.

几乎所有的老太太都系着围裙，腰间的带子束得很紧，大肚子鼓得更高了。我从来没有注意过老太太会有这么大的肚子。然而大部分的老头都瘦骨嶙峋，拄着拐杖。最让我惊讶的是我几乎看不到他们的眼睛，只能在满脸的皱纹中捕捉到一丝呆滞的目光。

On sitting down, they looked at me, and wagged their heads awkwardly, their lips sucked in between their toothless gums. I couldn't decide if they were greeting me and trying to say something, or if it was due to some infirmity of age. I inclined to think that they were greeting me, after their fashion, but it had a queer effect, seeing all those old fellows grouped round the keeper, solemnly eying me and dandling their heads from side to side. For a moment I had an absurd impression that they had come to sit in judgment on me.

他们坐下来，看着我，不自然地摇摇头，他们的牙都掉光了，嘴唇陷了进去。我不知道他们是在跟我打招呼，想说些什么，还是因为年纪大了身体虚弱。我猜他们是在以他们的方式跟我打招呼，但看到这些老人坐在门卫周围，摇晃着脑袋认真地看着我，还是有一种奇怪的效果。一时间我有一种可笑的错觉，觉得他们像是来审判我的。

A few minutes later one of the women started weeping. She was in the second row and I couldn't see her face because of another woman in front. At regular intervals she emitted a little choking sob; one had a feeling she would never stop. The others didn't seem to notice. They sat in silence, slumped in their chairs, staring at the coffin or at their walking sticks or any object just in front of them, and never took their eyes off it. And still the woman sobbed. I was rather surprised, as I didn't know who she was. I wanted her to stop crying, but dared not speak to her. After a while the keeper bent toward her and whispered in her ear; but she merely shook her head, mumbled something I couldn't catch, and went on sobbing as steadily as before.

没过多久，有个老太太哭了起来。她坐在第二排，前面还坐了一个老太太，所以我看不清她的脸。她抽抽嗒嗒地哭着，我感觉她会哭个不停。其他人好像都没听到似的。他们一声不吭，瘫坐在椅子里，目不转睛地盯着棺材，或是拐杖，或是眼前的随便什么东西。那个老太太还在哭。我很惊奇，因为我不知道她是谁。我想让她别再哭了，可我不敢对她说。过了一会儿，门卫弯下腰在她耳边说了句话，可她只是摇了摇头，咕哝几句我听不懂的话，接着便像之前那样有规律地抽泣起来。

The keeper got up and moved his chair beside mine. At first he kept silent; then, without looking at me, he explained.

门卫起身把椅子搬到我身边坐了下来。起初他没有说话，一会儿，他避开我的目光，解释道：

"She was devoted to your mother. She says your mother was her only friend in the world, and now she's all alone. "

“她跟你母亲关系很好。她说在这世上你母亲是她唯一的朋友，现在她孤身一人了。”

I had nothing to say, and the silence lasted quite a while. Presently the woman's sighs and sobs became less frequent, and, after blowing her nose and snuffling for some minutes, she, too, fell silent.

我不知道说什么，沉默了很久。过了一会儿，老太太的叹气声和哭泣声不那么频繁了，她擤了擤鼻子，又抽泣了几分钟，然后也安静了下来。

I'd ceased feeling sleepy, but I was very tired and my legs were aching badly. And now I realized that the silence of these people was telling on my nerves. The only sound was a rather queer one; it came only now and then, and at first I was puzzled by it. However, after listening attentively, I guessed what it was; the old men were sucking at the insides of their cheeks, and this caused the odd, wheezing noises that had mystified me. They were so much absorbed in their thoughts that they didn't know what they were up to. I even had an impression that the dead body in their midst meant nothing at all to them. But now I suspect that I was mistaken about this.

我感觉不困了，但很疲惫，腿疼得厉害。现在我发觉这些人的沉默不语让我很难受。只能偶尔听到一种奇怪的声响，起初我不知道那是什么声音。但仔细一听，我猜到了那是什么：几个老头吸着腮帮子，发出了那种奇怪的、让我摸不着头脑的呼哧声。他们陷入了沉思，对那声音浑然不觉。我曾以为他们中间躺着的死者对他们来说不算什么。但现在，我想我错了。

We all drank the coffee, which the keeper handed round. After that, I can't remember much; somehow the night went by. I can recall only one moment; I had opened my eyes and I saw the old men sleeping hunched up on their chairs, with one exception. Resting his chin on his hands clasped round his stick, he was staring hard at me, as if he had been waiting for me to wake. Then I fell asleep again. I woke up after a bit, because the ache in my legs had developed into a sort of cramp.

我们都喝了咖啡，是门卫端来的。之后的事我记不清了，不知怎的，一夜就这样过去了。我只记得期间我睁开眼，看见老头们一个个缩成一团在椅子上睡着了，只有一个老头例外。他双手紧握着拐杖，下巴支在手上，盯着我看，好像在等我醒来似的。随后，我又睡着了。因为腿疼已经发展成了一种绞痛，没多久我又醒了。

There was a glimmer of dawn above the skylight. A minute or two later one of the old men woke up and coughed repeatedly. He spat into a big check handkerchief, and each time he spat it sounded as if he were retching. This woke the others, and the keeper told them it was time to make a move. They all got up at once. Their faces were ashen gray after the long, uneasy vigil. To my surprise each of them shook hands with me, as though this night together, in which we hadn't exchanged a word, had created a kind of intimacy between us.

天窗上已经露出黎明的曙光。一两分钟后，一个老头醒了，不停咳嗽着。他把痰吐在一块大方格手帕上，每次吐痰好像都在干呕。其他人都被他吵醒了，门卫说他们也该走了。他们立马都站了起来。这漫长的、不自在的一夜弄得他们个个面色苍白。我很惊讶的是，他们都跟我握了手，好像经过一夜共同守灵，彼此之间更加亲切了，尽管整夜我们都没有说过一句话。