“You must get the tomahawk. You must produce the Indian and the tomahawk. If Mackenzies death can be proven by these， you can then go before the commission appointed to auditaudit n.审计， 稽核， 查账 vt.稽核， 旁听 vi.查账 claims with some show of getting your bill under such headway that your children may possibly live to receive the money and enjoy it. But that mans death must be proven. However， I may as well tell you that the government will never pay that transportation and those traveling expenses of the lamentedlamented adj.被哀悼的， 令人遗憾的 Mackenzie. It may possibly pay for the barrel of beef that Shermans soldiers captured， if you can get a relief bill through Congress making an appropriationappropriation n.据为己有， 占有， 挪用（只指定用途的一笔）， 拨款 for that purpose， but it will not pay for the twentynine barrels the Indians ate.”
“您必须找到那把战斧。您必须交出那个印第安人和那把战斧。如果麦肯齐的死能由这一切提供证明，那么您就可以到一个特别委任的委员会那儿去对证，让他们审核您所要求的赔偿；按照这样的速度处理您的账单，看来您的子女或者还有希望活到那一天，可以领到那笔钱去享受一下。但是，那个人的死必须得到证明。好吧，我不妨告诉您，政府决不会偿付已故麦肯齐的那些运费和旅费。如果您能让国会通过一项救济法案，为此拨出一笔款额，也许政府可能偿付谢尔曼的士兵截下来的那一桶牛肉的货款；但是，政府不会赔偿印第安人吃掉的那二十九桶牛肉。”
“Then there is only a hundred dollars due me， and that isnt certain！ After all Mackenzies travels in Europe， Asia， and America with that beef， after all his trials and tribulationstribulation n.苦难， 忧患， 磨难 and transportation， after the slaughterslaughter n.屠宰， 残杀， 屠杀 v.屠宰， 残杀， 屠杀 of all those innocents that tried to collect that bill！ Young man， why didnt the First comptroller of the CornBeef Division tell me this？ ”
“这样说来，政府只能偿还我一百元，甚至连这笔钱也不是一定可靠的呀！麦肯齐带着那些牛肉，跑遍了欧洲、亚洲和美洲，他经受了那么多的折磨和苦难，搬运了那么多的地方；有那么多试图收回账款的无辜者作了牺牲；最后就这样了事呀！年轻人，为什么成牛肉组的第一查账员不早告诉我呢？”
“He didnt know anything about the genuineness of your claim.”
“对您提出的要求是否属实，他一无所知呀？”
“Why didnt the Second tell me？ why didnt the Third？ why didnt all those divisions and departments tell me？ ”
“为什么第二查账员不早告诉我？为什么第三查账员不早告诉我？为什么所有各组各部都不早告诉我？”
“None of them knew. We do things by routine here. You have followed the routine and found out what you wanted to know. It is the best way. It is the only way. It is very regular， and very slow， but it is very certain.”
“他们都不知道呀。我们这儿是按规章手续办事。您一步步地履行了那些手续，就会探听到您所要知道的事情。这是最好的办法。这是惟一的办法。这样办事非常正规，虽然非常缓慢，但是稳妥可靠。”
“Yes， certain death. It has been， to the most of our tribe. I begin to feel that I， too， am called.Young man， you love the bright creature yonder with the gentle blue eyes and the steel pens behind her ears—I see it in your soft glances， you wish to marry her—but you are poor. Here， hold out your hand—here is the beef contract， go， take her and be happy Heaven bless you， my children！ ”
“是呀，是稳死无疑，对我们家族中多数的人来说就是这样。我开始感觉到，主也要召我去了。年轻人，我打你温柔的眼光里可以看出，你爱那个鲜艳的人物，瞧她蓝晶晶的眼睛脉脉含情，耳朵后面插着几枝钢笔；你想要娶她——可是你又没钱。喏，把手伸出来——这是那份牛肉合同；你拿去吧，娶了她去快活吧！愿老天爷保佑你们俩，我的孩子！”
This is all I know about the great beef contract that has created so much talk in the community. The clerk to whom I bequeathed it died. I know nothing further about the contract， or any one connected with it. I only know that if a man lives long enough he can trace a thing through the Circumlocution Office of Washington and find out， after much labor and trouble and delay， that which he could have found out on the first day if the business of the Circumlocution Office were as ingeniously systematizedsystematize v.系统化 as it would be if it were a great private mercantilemercantile adj.商人的， 商业的， 经商的， 重商主义的，以金钱为目的的 institution.
有关大宗牛肉合同引起社会纷纷议论一事，我所知道的都在上面交代了。我留下合同给他的那个办事员现在也死了。有关合同此后的下落，以及任何与它有关的人的事情我都不知道了。我只知道：如果一个人的寿命特别长，那么他不妨到华盛顿的扯皮办事处里去追查一件事，在那里花费很大的气力，经过无数的转折和拖延，最后找到他实际上头一天里就可以在那里（如果扯皮办事处也能像一家大的私人商业机构将工作安排得那么灵活的话）找到的东西。