“Where do you suppose the gun is? Do you think we should let the sheriff in on the fact that there must have been a gun?”
巴顿出现在门口。“你们最好到大厅来。治安官克林正在列出法院里的每个人的名单。”
Buttonholes appeared in the doorway. “You’d better e out in the hall. Sheriff Kling’s making a list of everybody who was in the courthouse.”
小主，
走廊的西门敞开着，透过它他们可以看到一辆华丽闪亮的灵车停在雨中。
The west door of the corridor stood open, and through it they could see an ornate and shining hearse standing in the rain.
“查理?豪森从艾伯特夫人的葬礼上开着它过来的。” 巴顿说。
“Charlie Hausen drove it here from Mrs. Albert’s funeral,” Buttonholes said.
他说话的时候，两个穿着深色西装的年轻人从灵车里抬出一副担架，在一个穿着黑色衣服、矮小焦急、戴着圆顶礼帽的男人的监督下开始搬运参议员的尸体。每个人都转过身去观看。担架被抬出去后，门突然砰地关上了，每个人都吓了一跳。
As he spoke, two young men in dark suits carried a stretcher in from the hearse and began moving the Senator’s body, under the supervision of a short, black-clad, anxious little man with a derby hat. Everybody turned to watch. The door suddenly banged shut after the stretcher had been carried out, and everybody jumped.
一张小桌子被搬到了走廊里，治安官马文?克林坐在那里，列着名单。他怒视着杰克，张开嘴要说话。
A small table had been moved into the corridor, and Sheriff Marvin Kling sat at it, making a list. He glared up at Jake and opened his mouth to speak.
杰克决定先发制人。“你觉得你还能非法拘留我们多久？” 他义愤填膺地说。“你知道我们是谁吗？”
Jake decided to beat him to the draw. “How much longer do you think you can detain us illegally?” he said with virtuous indignation. “Do you know who we are?”
“见鬼，” 治安官说，“我甚至不知道你叫什么名字。”
“Hell,” the sheriff said, “I don’t even know what your name is.”
“我是杰克?贾斯特，这是贾斯特夫人。” 杰克说。治安官把名字写下来的时候，他又补充道，“我很乐意提供我所能提供的任何信息，但让我们快点。我不想在这里度过整个夏天。”
“I’m Jake Justus, and this is Mrs. Justus,” Jake said. As the sheriff wrote it down he added, “I’ll be glad to give you any information I can, but let’s make it snappy. I don’t want to spend the rest of the summer here.”
治安官冷冷地抬起头。“开枪的时候你在哪里？”
Sheriff Kling looked up coldly. “Where were you when the shot was fired?”
“我没听到枪声。我们刚在那个大楼梯底部，这时我们听到他从另一个楼梯上摔下来。”
“I didn’t hear the shot. We were just at the foot of that big staircase when we heard him fall down the other stairs.”
“那是你说的。” 治安官克林说。
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“That’s what you say,” Sheriff Kling said.
“我们有一个证人。” 杰克说。他的声音危险地低沉。他指着巴顿。“他当时和我们在一起。”
“We’ve got a witness,” Jake said. His voice was dangerously low. He pointed to Buttonholes. “He was right there with us.”
“是的我在。” 巴顿热心地说。
“Sure I was,” Buttonholes said helpfully.
治安官的眼睛眯了起来。“那不算什么。每个人都知道巴顿是杰克逊县最会说谎的人。” 他写下了些什么，杰克看不见是什么。“别试图逃跑。你就待在我能看到你的地方，直到我列完名单。”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t mean a thing. Everybody knows Buttonholes is the worst liar in Jackson County.” He wrote something down, Jake couldn’t see what it was. “Don’t you try to make a break for it. You stay right where I can see you until I get through making my list.”
一个副治安官把他从桌子边推开，海伦及时抓住杰克的胳膊，才让副治安官保住了他的门牙。
A deputy shoved him away from the table, and Helene caught Jake’s arm just in time to save the deputy’s front teeth.
“我们现在最不需要的，” 她压低声音说，“就是你卷入一场争斗。”
“All we need now,” she said, under her breath, “is for you to get into a fight.”
她把他带到走廊里其他人听不到的地方，而他则嘟囔着一些关于治安官马文?克林的性格、智力、出身以及他整个家族不光彩的习惯的话。最后他问道：“他以为他是谁啊？”
She led him out of earshot of everyone in the corridor, while he muttered words that had to do with Sheriff Marvin Kling’s character, intelligence, origin, and the disgraceful habits of his entire family tree. He wound up by demanding, “who does he think he is, anyway?”
“我不确定，” 海伦说，“但他表现得好像他认为自己是杰克逊县的治安官。” 她皱起眉头。“杰克，这到底是怎么回事？他们不可能真的认为我们和这件事有任何关系。为什么每个人都对我们这么怀疑？”
“I don’t know for sure,” Helene said, “but he acts as if he thought he was sheriff of Jackson County.” She frowned. “Jake, what’s it all about? They can’t seriously think we had anything to do with it. Why is everybody so damned suspicious of us?”
杰克深吸一口气。“这对像你这样的城市女孩来说有点难解释。我们是陌生人。其他人都不是。这里的人可能并不都喜欢彼此，但他们都互相认识。”
Jake drew a long breath. “It’s a little hard to explain to a city girl like you. We’re strangers. No one else is. The people here may not all like each other, but they all know each other.”
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“但他们不能因为我们是陌生人就对我们做什么。”
“But they can’t do anything to us for being strangers.”
“他们还没发现这一点，” 杰克严峻地说，“但我希望能教教他们。”
“They haven’t found that out yet,” Jake said grimly, “but I hope to teach them.”
治安官克林写完笔记，站起来，环顾四周。
Sheriff Kling finished his note-making, rose, and looked around.
“所有不常来法院的人都到这里这个办公室来。” 他大声吼道。
“Everybody who doesn’t regularly belong in the courthouse e into this office here,” he roared.
杰克咬紧牙关，大步沿着走廊走去。
Jake set his jaw hard and strode down the length of the corridor.
“听着，” 他说。“我和我妻子在钓鱼旅行。我们不是来这里来杰克逊县法院度过我们的假期的，我们不会再在这里闲逛了。”
“Now look here,” he said. “My wife and I are on a fishing trip. We didn’t e up here to spend our vacation in the Jackson County courthouse, and we’re not going to hang around any longer.”
“你这么想，是吗？” 治安官说。
“You think so, do you?” the sheriff said.
“想问什么就问，但快点问，” 杰克说。“然后我们就离开这里。”
“Ask any questions you want, but ask ‘em quick,” Jake said. “And then we’re getting out of here.”
治安官克林怒视着他。他的脸变得更紫了两个色度。
Sheriff Kling glared at him. His face turned two shades nearer purple.
“哦，不，你们不能走，” 他大声吼道。“你们要一直待在这里，直到我找出是谁谋杀了佩维利参议员。” 他愤怒地补充道，“我不在乎这是否要花整个夏天！”
“Oh no you’re not,” he roared. “You’re going to stay right here till I find out who murdered Senator Peveley.” He added furiously, “And I don’t care if it takes all summer!”
海伦戳了戳杰克的肋骨。“他是在扮唐老鸭还是格兰特将军？”
Helene poked Jake in the ribs. “Is he being Donald Duck or General Grant?”
这个转移注意力的方法奏效了。杰克的肩膀放松下来，他笑了。“那我们就留下来看看吧。” 他说。
The diversion worked. Jake’s shoulders relaxed, he laughed. “Let’s hang around and find out,” he said.