10
0短促的良夜
作者： F. 斯科特 · 费兹杰拉德 编译：嘉炜
这就是艾莉——马上出现在眼前的，这个典型而纯粹的美国南方女孩。即使我没有听过露丝·德雷柏的独白表演，或是读过马斯·陈关于南方庄园往事的描写，我也能认出艾莉·卡尔霍恩来。她看起来灵逸动人，纯真外面还裹着一层甜甜的能言善辩；她被父亲、兄弟宠爱，被无数追求者簇拥，这种背景可以追溯到南方的英雄时代；她有这样的天赋，能游刃有余在与热烈无休止的斗争中，并总能获得不败的遗世独立。她的声音里有号令奴隶们四处走动的自如的调子，也有使北方佬军官们心灰意冷的冷漠语气；还有柔和的、哄人的语调，在夜色中混杂着陌生的可爱。
在黑暗中我几乎看不到她，此刻我也无意逗留，但当我起身要走时，她站在了门口橙黄色的灯光下。她身材娇小，金发碧眼；她脸上的胭脂太过炽热醒目，鼻子上抹着小丑般的亮白色，这更加突出了胭脂的热烈，但她看上去却像一颗星星一样闪闪发光。
“比尔走了以后，我会每晚都独自坐在这儿。也许你会带我去乡村俱乐部跳舞吧？”这个可怜的预言让比尔笑了起来。“等一下，”艾莉喃喃地说。“你的衣领都歪了。”（原话是枪杆歪了，有打趣的意思，意思是上战场的士兵枪杆都曲了）
她靠近我，用手挺直了我的衣领别针，还抬头看了我一会儿。不只是好奇，那是一种寻求的眼神，仿佛在问：“会是你吗?”
到最后，那晚我也像坎比中尉一样，不情愿地走进了，突然变得短促的良夜。
There she was--the Southern type in all its purity. I would have recognized Ailie Calhoun if I'd never heard Ruth Draper or read Marse Chan. She had the adroitness sugar-coated with sweet, voluble simplicity, the suggested background of devoted fathers, brothers and admirers stretching back into the South's heroic age, the unfailing coolness acquired in the endless struggle with the heat. There were notes in her voice that order slaves around, that withered up Yankee captains, and then soft, wheedling notes that mingled in unfamiliar loveliness with the night.
I could scarcely see her in the darkness, but when I rose to go--it was plain that I was not to linger--she stood in the orange light from the doorway. She was small and very blond; there was too much fever-colored rouge on her face, accentuated by a nose dabbed clownish white, but she shone through that like a star.
"After Bill goes I'll be sitting here all alone night after night. Maybe you'll take me to the country-club dances." The pathetic prophecy brought a laugh from Bill. "Wait a minute," Ailie murmured. "Your guns are all crooked."
She straightened my collar pin, looking up at me for a second with something more than curiosity. It was a seeking look, as if she asked, "Could it be you?" Like Lieutenant Canby, I marched off unwillingly into the suddenly insufficient night.
