“那她没死？”海伦倒吸一口凉气。

“Then she's not dead?” Helene gasped.

经理盯着她。“死了？没有。昏迷了。马龙先生认为是迷药。等一下……”他又冲进了女洗手间。

The manager stared at her. “Dead? No. Unconscious. Mr. Malone thinks it was knockout drops. Just a minute—” He dived back into the ladies' room.

杰克伸手握住海伦的手，紧紧地握着。

Jake reached for Helene's hand and held it tightly.

又过了一会儿，马龙出现了，擦着额头的汗。

Another moment and Malone appeared, mopping his brow.

“一切都好。没必要大惊小怪。”他看着莫娜·麦克莱恩。“让人把你的车开过来，把你的人都召集起来，我们悄悄地把她抬到车上。十二个小时后她就会完好如初。”

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“Everything's O. K. No need for any fuss.” He looked at Mona McClane. “Just have your car brought around, get your party together, and we'll have her quietly carried out to the car. In twelve hours she'll be as good as new.”

莫娜·麦克莱恩点点头，迅速走开了。她似乎不想听任何解释。海伦跟着她。

Mona McClane nodded and walked away quickly. She didn't seem to want any explanations. Helene followed her.

经理仍然脸色苍白，说：“我不知道该怎么感谢……”

The manager, still pale, said, “I don't know how to thank—”

“没关系。”马龙说。“给我来一杯免费的。”他带着杰克朝酒吧走去。

“That's all right,” Malone said. “I'll have one on the house.” He led Jake toward the bar.

“她真的没事吗？”杰克问道，“还是你在帮卡西诺赌场摆脱一个棘手的困境？”

“Is she really O. K.,” Jake demanded, “or are you saving the Casino from a nasty jam?”

“她真的没事。有人在她的酒里下了迷药。等我们出去了再告诉你其他的。”

“She’s really O. K. Somebody slipped her a Mickey Finn. Wait for the rest till we get outside.”

他们在出去的路上在酒吧停了一下。马龙似乎很需要那杯酒。当他们走到人行道上时，麦克莱恩一行人已经走了，但一辆出租车停在门口，车门开着。两个男人上了车才发现海伦坐在阴影里。

They paused at the bar on the way out. Malone seemed to need that drink. The McClane party had gone when they reached the sidewalk, but a taxi, its door open, was waiting in front of the door. The two men were inside it before they discovered Helene sitting back in the shadows.

“我溜出来了。”她解释道。“发生了什么事，马龙？”

“I ducked away,” she explained. “What happened, Malone?”

他把跟杰克说的解释又说了一遍。“但这还不是全部。卢埃拉·怀特是个男的。”

He gave her the explanation he had given Jake. “But that’s not all. Louella White is a he.”

“你再说一遍？”杰克说。

“How’s that again?” Jake said.

“我在里面的时候翻了她——他——的手提包。他是来自纽约一家不怎么靠谱的侦探社的路易·怀特。”

“I looked through her—his—handbag while I was in there. He’s Lou White, from a shady New York detective agency.”

出租车开了半条街后杰克才说：“嗯，我一直觉得没有哪个女人能像她那么不爱说话。但他在为谁工作呢？”

The taxi had gone half a block before Jake said, “Well, I always thought no woman could be as untalkative as that. But who was he working for?”

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“你猜的和我猜的一样好。”律师说。“我只知道他在监视伊迪莎·文宁，天知道为什么。”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” the lawyer said. “All I know is that he was watching Editha Venning, God knows why.”

海伦向前探着身子，眼睛发亮。“那就是她给他下了药。我是说，因为某种原因她今晚想摆脱他。”她沉默了一会儿。“现在我们肯定要去枫树公园。”

Helene leaned forward, her eyes blazing. “Then she doped her—him, I mean. Because for some reason she wanted to be free tonight.” She was silent for a moment. “Now we sure as hell are going out to Maple Park.”

“不。”两个男人同时说道。

“No,” both men said simultaneously.

“哦，我们一定要去。那里有什么东西——我不知道是什么——但昨天她第一次摆脱了她的监视者后就直接去了那里。她今晚还会去，我们要去那里找出原因。”

“Oh yes we are. There’s something out there—I don’t know what it is—but the first time she was able to slip away from her watchdog—yesterday—she headed straight out there. She’ll do it again tonight, and we’ll be out there to find out why.”

“我可不想再被当成兔子了。”杰克闷闷不乐地说。

“I’d hate to be mistaken for a rabbit again,” Jake said gloomily.

“好吧，你们两个大男人回家睡觉去。我要去枫树公园。”她向前探着身子对出租车司机说，“亚当斯街北岸车站，快点。”

“All right, you two big strong men go home to bed. I’m going out to Maple Park.” She leaned forward and said to the cab driver, “The Adams Street North Shore station, and hurry.”

“你期望在那儿找到什么？”马龙咆哮道。

“What do you expect to find out there?” Malone growled.

“我不知道。但我希望是莫娜被谋杀了。”

“I don’t know. But I hope it’s Mona’s murder.”

杰克叹了口气。“好吧，我们一起去。但我有一种不安的预感，知道我们会找到什么。”

“Jake sighed. “All right, we’ll go along. But I have an unfortable premonition of what we’ll find.”

“好吧。”马龙嘟囔着，“你告诉我们，这样我们就不用去了。”

“All right,” Malone grunted, “you tell us, and we won’t have to go.”

“我们会找到彭德利·泰德韦尔，”杰克说，“带着他的相机。他以前从来没有机会给坟墓拍照。”

“We’ll find Pendley Tidewell,” Jake said, “with his camera. He’s never had a chance to photograph a grave before.”