One of those street blockades had occurred that sometimes tie up commercecommerce n.商业 and movement quite suddenly in the big city.
交通阻塞在大城市并不稀罕，有时突然发生断绝往来。
“Why dont you drive on？” said Miss Lantry， impatiently. “Well be late.”
“为什么不赶路啊？”兰特里小姐不耐烦地问。“我们要赶不上啦。”
Richard stood up in the cab and looked around. He saw a congestedcongested adj.拥挤的 flood of wagons， trucks， cabs， vans and street cars filling the vast space where Broadway， Sixth Avenue and Thirlyfourth street cross one another as a twentysix inch maiden fills her twentytwo inch girdle. And still from all the cross streets they were hurrying and rattling toward the converging point at full speed， and hurling thcmselves into the struggling mass， locking wheels and adding their drivers imprecationsimprecation n.祈求， 诅咒 to the clamour. The entire traffic of Manhattan seemed to have jammed itself around them. The oldest New Yorker among the thousands of spectatorsspectator n.观众(指比赛或表演) that lined the sidewalks had not witnessed a street blockade of the proportionsproportion n.比例， 均衡， 面积， 部分 vt.使成比例， 使均衡， 分摊 of this one.
理查德起身站在马车里，望了望四周，看见百老汇街、第六大街和第三十四街的交叉口那大片地段给各式各样的货车、卡车、马车、搬运车和街车挤得水泄不通，有如一个二十六英寸腰围的姑娘硬要扎一根二十二英寸的腰带一样。而且在这几条街上还有车辆正飞速驶来，投入这一难分难解的车阵、马阵之中，在原有的喧嚣之中，又加进了新的咒骂声和吼叫声。曼哈顿的全部车辆似乎都挤压在这儿了。人行道上挤满了看热闹的纽约人，成千上万，其中资格最老的人也记不清哪次的阻塞规模能与之媲美。
“Im very sorry，” said Richard， as he resumed his seat， “but it looks as if we are stuck. They wont get this jumblejumble v.混杂， 搞乱 n.混乱 loosened up in an hour. It was my fault. If I hadnt dropped the ring we...”Let me see the ring， said Miss Lantry. “Now that it cant be helped， I dont care. I think theatres are stupid， anyway.”
“实在对不起，”理查德重新坐下时说，“看样子我们给堵死了。一小时之内，这场混乱不可能松动，都是我的错。如果没有掉戒指的话，我们……” “让我瞧瞧戒指吧。”兰特里小姐说。“既然无法可想，我也不在乎了。其实，我觉得看戏也无聊。”
At 11 oclock that night somebody tapped lightly on Anthony Rockwalls door.
那天晚上十一点钟，有人轻轻地敲响安东尼·罗克韦尔的房门。
“Come in.” shouted Anthony， who was in a red dressinggown， reading a book of piraticalpiratical adj.剽窃的， 海盗的， 盗版的 adventures.
“进来。”安东尼叫道，他穿着一件红睡衣，正在读海盗惊险小说。
Somebody was Aunt Ellen， looking like a greyhaired angel that had been left on earth by mistake.
走进来的是埃伦姑妈，她的样子好像一位头发灰白的天使错误地留在了人间。
“Theyre engaged， Anthony.” she said， softly. “She has promised to marry our Richard. On their way to the theatre there was a street blockadeblockade n.阻塞 vt.封锁， and it was two hours before their cab could get out of it.”
“他们订婚了，安东尼。”她平静地说。“她答应嫁给我们的理查德。他们去剧院的路上堵了车，两小时之后，他们的马车才脱了困。”
“And oh， brother Anthony， dont ever boast of the power of money again. A little emblememblem n.象征， 徽章， 符号， <古>寓意画 vt.用象征表示 of true love a little ring that symbolised unending and unmercenaryunmercenary adj.不是仅仅为金钱的，非雇佣的 affection—was the cause of our Richard finding his happiness. He dropped it in the street， and got out to recover it. And before they could continue the blockade occurred. He spoke to his love and won her there while the cab was hemmed in. Money is dross compared with true love， Anthony.”
“哦，安东尼弟弟，别再吹金钱万能了。一件表示真诚爱情的信物——一只小戒指象征着海枯石烂心不变、金钱买不到的一往情深，这才是我们的理查德获得幸福的根由。他在街上把戒指弄丢了，便下车去找。他们重新上路之前，街道给堵住了。就在堵车的时间，他向她表白了爱情，最后赢得了她。比起真正的爱情来，金钱成了粪土，安东尼。”
“All right.” said old Anthony. “Im glad the boy has got what he wanted. I told him I wouldnt spare any expense in the matter if...”
“好啊。”老安东尼说。“我真高兴，孩子得到了他想要的人。我对他说过，在这件事上，我不惜付出任何代价，只要……”
“But， brother Anthony， what good could your money have done？”
“可是，安东尼弟弟，在这件事上，你的金钱起了什么作用呢？”
“Sister.” said Anthony Rockwall. “Ive got my pirate in a devil of a scrape. His ship has just been scuttled， and hes too good a judge of the value of money to let drown. I wish you would let me go on with this chapterchapter n.(书籍)章.”
“姐姐，”安东尼·罗克韦尔说，“我的海盗正处于万分危急的关头，他的船刚被凿沉，他太重视金钱的价值而决不会被淹死的。我希望你让我继续把这章读完。”
The story should end here. I wish it would as heartily as you who read it wish it did. But we must go to the bottom of the well for truth.
故事本该在这儿打住了。我跟你们一样，也热切地希望如此。不过，为了明白究竟，我们还得刨根问底。
The next day a person with red hands and a blue polkadot necktie， who called himself Kelly， called at Anthony Rockwalls house， and was at once received in the library.
第二天，有个两手通红、系着蓝点子领带、自称凯利的人来找安东尼 ·罗克韦尔，立刻在书房受到接见。
“Well，” said Anthony， reaching for his chequebookchequebook n.支票簿， “it was a good bilining of soap. Lets see—you had 5，000 in cash.”
“唔，”安东尼说，伸手去拿支票簿，“这一锅肥皂熬得不坏。瞧瞧，你已经支了五千美元现款。”
“I paid out 300 more of my own.” said Kelly. “I had to go a little above the estimateestimate v.估计， 估价， 评估 n.估计， 估价， 评估. I got the express wagons and cabs mostly for 5， but the trucks and twohorse teams mostly raised me to 10. The motormen wanted 10， and some of the loaded teams 20. But didnt it work beautiful， Mr. Rockwall？ Im glad William A. Brady wasnt onto that little outdoor vehicle mob scenemob scene n.群众场面. I wouldnt want William to break his heart with jealousyjealousy n.嫉妒. And never a rehearsal， either！ The boys was on time to the fraction of a second. It was two hours before a snake could get below Greeleys statue.”
“我自己还垫了三百块哩。”凯利说。“预算不得不超出一点，邮车和马车大多付五美元，但卡车和双马马车提高到十美元。汽车司机要十美元，载满货的二十美元。可表演得真精彩啊，罗克韦尔先生？真幸运，威廉·阿·布雷迪没有光临那场户外的车辆场景，我不希望威廉忌妒得心碎。根本没有排练过呀！伙计们准时赶到现场，一秒钟也不差。整整两个小时堵得水泄不通，连一条蛇也无法从格里利塑像下钻过去。”
“Thirteen hundred—here you are， Kelly.” said Anthony， tearing off a check. “Your thousand， and the 300 you were out. You dont despisedespise vt.轻视 money， do you， Kelly？”
“给你一千三百美元，凯利。”安东尼说着，撕下一张支票。“一千美元是你的报酬，还你三百美元。你不至于看不起金钱吧，是吗？凯利。”
“Me？” said Kelly. “I can lick the man that invented poverty.”
“我吗？”凯利说。“我能揍那发明贫困的家伙。”
Anthony called Kelly when he was at the door.
凯利走到门口时，安东尼叫住了他。
“You didnt notice，” said he， “anywhere in the tieup， a kind of a fat boy without any clothes on shooting arrows around with a bow， did you？”
“你注意到没有，”他说，“在交通阻塞那儿有个赤身露体的胖娃娃(指爱神Cupid)手拿弓箭在乱射吗？”
“Why， no.” said Kelly， mystified. “I didnt. If he was like you say， maybe the cops pinchedpinch n.捏， 撮， 收缩， 紧急关头， 匮乏， 压力 vt.掐，夹痛， 修剪， 勒索， 使感缺乏， 使萎缩， 偷 vi.收缩， 节省 him before I got there.”
“怎么，没有呀，”凯利莫名其妙地说，“我没注意到。如果真的像你说的那样，也许我还没有赶到那儿，警察早已把他收拾了。”
“I thought the little rascalrascal n.流氓， 无赖， 坏蛋， 淘气鬼 adj.不诚实的，卑鄙的， 下贱的 wouldnt be on hand.” chuckled Anthony. “Goodby， Kelly.”
“我想，这个小流氓是不会到场的。”安东尼咯咯笑道。“再见，凯利。”