他叹了口气。“好吧。那我们反过来。你提问，我来想答案。”
He sighed. “All right. Let’s reverse. You ask the questions and I’ll think of the answers.”
她把她那双警惕的小眼睛转向他，说了她有生以来最长的一段话。“你为什么要问问题？”
She turned her small, guarded eyes on him and made the longest speech of her career. “What do you want to ask questions for?”
“我在写一本书。”马龙说，然后决定去看舞池。
“I’m writing a book,” Malone said, and decided to watch the dance floor.
五分钟后，经理来了，为彭德利·泰德韦尔和保镖之间的一点小麻烦道歉。在歌舞女郎的更衣室里拍照似乎是违反规定的。
Five minutes later the manager arrived, apologizing for a little trouble Pendley Tidewell had had with the bouncer. It seemed to be against the rules to try to take photographs in the chorus girls’ dressing room.
小主，
“非常抱歉。”彭德利·泰德韦尔说着，把他六英尺一英寸的身躯滑回到椅子里。“我从来没有机会给一个……”
“I’m terribly sorry,” Pendley Tidewell said, sliding his six-feet-one back into his chair. “I never had a chance to photograph a—”
马龙若有所思地看着这个金发青年，想知道他是否真的不在乎钱，是否真的有人能这么头脑简单，以及迈克尔·文宁五十岁对他来说会有什么不同。
Malone looked thoughtfully at the blond youth and wondered if he really didn’t care about money, whether anybody could be so simple-minded, and what difference Michael Venning’s being fifty years old was going to make to him.
这群人开始四处走动。海伦和迈克尔·文宁上楼去了赌博室。彭德利·泰德韦尔给正在和一位当前在市中心热门剧里出演的头发光滑的年轻演员跳舞的莫娜·麦克莱恩拍照。伊迪莎·文宁不知去哪儿了，警惕的卢埃拉跟在后面。马龙和杰克溜达进了酒吧。
The party began to wander. Helene and Michael Venning went upstairs to the gambling rooms. Pendley Tidewell took pictures of Mona McClane dancing with a sleek-haired young actor from a current Loop hit. Editha Venning vanished somewhere, followed by the watchful Louella. Malone and Jake drifted into the bar.
卡西诺赌场的酒吧很小，很温馨，也很随意。有两三张小桌子，都有人坐了。一个快活的年轻人坐在一架半品脱大小的钢琴前，为一群非常欣赏他的听众唱着他自己创作的无礼而生动的民谣。马龙挤到吧台前，和一位正统戏剧明星握了握手，拍了拍市长左膀右臂的后背，说道：“你好啊，老兄。”要了两杯黑麦威士忌，然后对杰克说：“这是个很不错的地方。等你拥有它的时候，你会度过一段美好的时光。”
The Casino bar was small, intimate, and informal. There were two or three tiny tables, all occupied. A cheerful young man sat at a half-pint piano, singing impudent and picturesque ballads of his own position to a highly appreciative group of listeners. Malone pushed his way to the bar, shook hands with a star of the legitimate stage, slapped the back of the mayor’s left-hand man, and said, “Hello, chum,” ordered two ryes, and said to Jake, “This is a very nice joint. You’re going to have a wonderful time when you own it.”
杰克哼了一声，向六七个熟人点了点头打招呼，喝光了他的黑麦威士忌，然后说：“我们上楼去。”
Jake grunted, nodded a greeting to half a dozen acquaintances, downed his rye, and said, “Let’s go upstairs.”
卡西诺赌场的楼梯是原来那座大厦的一部分，很宽，很结实，栏杆和楼梯扶手柱都雕刻得非常精美。马龙挑剔地看着楼梯，说道：“不过，我确实认为，如果我是你，我会把那淡紫色的地毯换成更接近桑葚色的。”
小主，
The staircase of the Casino had been part of the original mansion, a wide, massive affair, with magnificently carved balustrades and newel posts. Malone looked at it critically and said, “I do think, though, if I were you, I’d have that mauve carpeting changed to something nearer mulberry.”
杰克的回答更接近“呸”。
Jake’s answer was something nearer raspberry.
卡西诺赌场的赌博室里挤满了人。马龙劝杰克不要去玩掷骰子游戏，并且抑制住了想用他剩下的钱去赌一把的冲动。
The gambling rooms of the Casino were crowded. Malone argued Jake out of a crap game and resisted an impulse to see what he could do with the rest of his bankroll.
莫娜·麦克莱恩出现在他旁边。他赞赏地看着她。她的身材正适合穿中国红。
Mona McClane appeared beside him. He looked at her admiringly. She was just the right size to wear Chinese red.
“明天对很多人来说都是很重要的一天。”她神秘兮兮地笑着对他说。
“Tomorrow’s such an important day for so many people,” she said confidingly, smiling at him.
他还没来得及回答，她就走到轮盘赌桌前了。有一会儿他看着她，试图记住她赢了多少钱。他有一种不安的预感，明天对他自己来说可能也是重要的一天。
Before he could answer, she had moved up to the roulette table. For a while he watched and tried to keep track of her winnings. He had an unfortable premonition that tomorrow might be an important day for himself.
伊迪莎·文宁上了楼，看起来憔悴却又很迷人，而且完全清醒。卢埃拉·怀特似乎不见了。
Editha Venning came upstairs, looking interestingly haggard, and entirely sober. Louella White seemed to have disappeared.
一个穿蓝色连衣裙的瘦女孩向马龙借了一美元当打车回家的车费，马龙在“26 点游戏”桌赢了十美元。彭德利·泰德韦尔因为试图给掷骰子游戏拍照而被礼貌地请出了房间。迈克尔·文宁对一个服务员发了脾气。马龙正考虑在轮盘赌上试一把，这时海伦轻轻拍了拍他的胳膊，把他带到一个安静的角落。
A thin girl in a blue dress borrowed a dollar from Malone for taxi fare home, and Malone won ten dollars at the 26-Game table. Pendley Tidewell was politely put out of the room for trying to photograph a crap game. Michael Venning lost his temper with a waiter. Malone was considering trying just one fling at the wheel, when Helene tapped him on the arm and led him off to a quiet corner.
小主，
“我觉得我们有点小麻烦。”
“I think we have a little trouble.”
“我觉得我们麻烦大了，不过现在又怎么了？”
“I think we have a lot, but what now?”
“卢埃拉·怀特。我刚进女洗手间。她躺在沙发上。女仆以为她昏过去了。但我知道她喝的酒不超过两杯，所以我快速又不引人注意地看了一眼。”
“Louella White. I just went into the ladies’ room. She was lying down on the couch. The maid thought that she’d passed out. But I knew she hadn’t had more than two drinks, so I managed a quick and inconspicuous look.”
“然后呢”
“Well?”
“她死了，马龙”
“She’s dead, Malone.”
这个小律师脸上的肌肉一动不动。过了一会儿他说：“别大惊小怪。悄悄告诉莫娜，让杰克也知道。别让其他人知道。我去和经理谈谈。”
Not a muscle moved in the little lawyer’s face. After a moment he said. “Don’t make a fuss. Tell Mona quietly, and let Jake know. No one else. I’ll go talk to the manager.”
五分钟后，当海伦带着莫娜·麦克莱恩和杰克下楼时，那个受惊的黑人女仆正站在标有“女士”的门前，非常不可信地告诉每个人里面有个水管工在做一点小修理，门马上就会打开。
Five minutes later, when Helene brought Mona McClane and Jake downstairs, the frightened colored maid was standing in front of the door marked LADIES, informing everyone very unconvincingly that the plumber was inside making a minor repair, and the door would be opened in just a minute.
过了一会儿，经理走了出来，脸色苍白。“麦克莱恩夫人，我不知道这是……”
A moment later the manager came out, his face pale. “Mrs. McClane, I don't know what—”
“没关系。”莫娜·麦克莱恩说。杰克突然想起她拥有这家卡西诺赌场。
“That's all right,” Mona McClane said. Jake was reminded suddenly that she owned the Casino.
“马龙先生认为她会没事的……”
“Mr. Malone thinks she'll be all right—”