I’d spent the spring in London, and all in all, even if I hadn’t achieved everything I’d set out to, it had been an exciting interlude. But with the weeks slipping by and summer getting closer, the old restlessness had started to return. For one thing, I was getting vaguely paranoid about running into any more of my former university friends. Wandering around Camden Town, or going through CDs I couldn’t afford in West End megastores, I’d already had too many of them come up to me, asking how I was getting on since leaving the course to “seek fame and fortune.” It’s not that I was embarrassed to tell them what I’d been up to. It was just that — with a very few exceptions — none of them was capable of grasping what was or wasn’t, for me at this particular point, a “successful” few months.
春天，我在伦敦度过。总的来说，虽然我没有完成所有的预定任务，但这段日子还是相当激动人心的。然而，随着日子一天天过去，夏天临近，以往的烦躁不安又回来了。比方说，我隐隐地害怕再遇见以前的大学同学。当我在卡姆登区闲逛时，当我搜寻着我在西区大商场买不起的CD时，总能遇见以前的同学，问我自从离开学校出来“追求功名利禄”以后，混得怎么样。我不是不好意思告诉他们我的现状，而是他们没人——除了极少数的几个例外——能理解对现在的我来说，什么才叫“成功的”数个月。
As I’ve said, I hadn’t achieved every goal I’d set my sights on, but then those goals had always been more like long-term targets. And all those auditions, even the really dreary ones, had been an invaluable experience. In almost every case, I’d taken something away with me, something I’d learned about the scene in London, or else about the music business in general.
我说了，我没有完成所有的预定任务，但这些任务更像是长期的奋斗目标。所有的这些试音，就算是最无聊的，也是很宝贵的经验。几乎每一次我都不会空手而归，我都能了解到一些伦敦，甚至全世界乐坛的事情。
Some of these auditions had been pretty professional affairs. You’d find yourself in a warehouse, or a converted garage block, and there’d be a manager, or maybe the girlfriend of a band member, taking your name, asking you to wait, offering you tea, while the sounds of the band, stopping and starting, thundered out from the adjoining space. But the majority of auditions happened at a much more shambolic level. In fact, when you saw the way most bands went about things, it was no mystery why the whole scene in London was dying on its feet. Time and again, I’d walk past rows of anonymous suburban terraces on the city outskirts, carry my acoustic guitar up a staircase, and enter a stale-smelling flat with mattresses and sleeping bags all over the floor, and band members who mumbled and barely looked you in the eye. I’d sing and play while they stared emptily at me, till one of them might bring it to an end by saying something like: “Yeah, well. Thanks anyway, but it’s not quite our genre.”
有的试音挺正式的。你到一个仓库或改装的车库里去，有经理或者乐队成员的女朋友记下你的名字，端茶给你，叫你等一会儿，这时隔壁传来很大声的、乐队时断时续的演奏。但是大部分试音则很随便。事实上，看了大多数乐队行为处事的方式之后，你就会明白为什么伦敦乐坛每况愈下。我一次次穿梭于伦敦郊区不知名的街道间，带着我的原声吉他走上楼梯，走进散发着霉味的公寓。屋子里的地板上垫子和睡袋扔得到处都是。乐队的人嘴里一直嘀咕着，几乎不看你的眼睛。我弹唱的时候他们只是两眼空洞地看着你，直到其中一个人叫我停下来，说：“噢，可以了。谢谢你来试音，但这跟我们的风格不太一样。”
I soon worked out that most of these guys were shy or plain awkward about the audition process, and that if I chatted to them about other things, they’d become a lot more relaxed. That’s when I’d pick up all kinds of useful info: where the interesting clubs were, or the names of other bands in need of a guitarist. Or sometimes it was just a tip about a new act to check out. As I say, I never came away empty-handed.
我很快就发现这些人其实很多都很害羞，对试音这事儿很不自在。若我和他们聊些别的，他们就放松多了。我就是这样收集到各种有用的信息的：哪儿有有意思的夜总会，哪个乐队需要吉他手。或者只是推荐你听听哪里的乐队。我说了，我从来不会空手而归。
Much harder to accept was the other main obstacle — and I have to say, I was completely surprised by this one. There was actually a problem about me writing my own songs. I couldn’t believe it. There I’d be, in some dingy apartment, playing to a circle of blank faces, then at the end, after a silence that could go on for fifteen, thirty seconds, one of them would ask suspiciously: “So whose number was that?” And when I said it was one of my own, you’d see the shutters coming down. There’d be little shrugs, shakes of the head, sly smiles exchanged, then they’d be giving me their rejection patter.
另一主要障碍才让人难以接受——而且我得说，这一点是我完全没有预料到的。我自己写歌竟然成了问题。真不敢相信。我在某个乱糟糟的公寓里，对着一群面无表情的脸孔演奏，弹完了以后，经过十五、甚至三十秒钟的停顿，会有一个人疑惑地问道：“这是谁的歌？”我说是我自己的歌，刷的一声，窗子关上了。耸肩的耸肩，摇头的摇头，还诡异地互相笑一笑，然后送上他们打发人的那套说辞。
On the whole, people really liked my guitar-playing, and a lot of them said my vocals would come in handy for harmonies. But it quickly emerged there were two factors going against me. The first was that I didn’t have equipment. A lot of bands were wanting someone with electric guitar, amps, speakers, preferably transport, ready to slot right into their gigging schedule. I was on foot with a fairly crappy acoustic. So no matter how much they liked my rhythm work or my voice, they’d no choice but to turn me away. This was fair enough.
基本上大家都觉得我吉他弹得不错，很多人还说我的声音很适合和声。但我很快就发现有两个因素对我不利。一是我没有装备。很多乐队都希望找到一个自带电吉他、扩音器、喇叭，最好还有交通工具的人，能够马上开始和他们一起表演。我只有两条腿和一把破破烂烂的原声吉他。所以不管他们多喜欢我的演奏或声音，都不得不叫我走人。公平得很。
The stupidity of this position, which seemed to extend right across the London scene, was key to persuading me there was something if not utterly rotten, then at least extremely shallow and inauthentic about what was going down here, right at the grass-roots level, and that this was undoubtedly a reflection of what was happening in the music industry all the way up the ladder.
似乎整个伦敦乐坛都是这种傻瓜论调。正是这一点使我相信：在这里，就在最根部，有一种就算不是完全腐烂，但至少也是极其肤浅、极其虚伪的东西在蔓延；这种现象无疑直达最上层，反映了整个音乐界的现状。
The umpteenth time this happened, I got so exasperated, I said: “Look, I don’t get this. Are you wanting to be a covers band for ever? And even if that’s what you want to be, where do you think those songs come from in the first place? Yeah, that’s right. Someone writes them!”
在这种情况发生到第无数次的时候，我实在生气了。我说：“我不明白。难道你们想永远做一支翻唱乐队？就算是这样，你们以为那些歌打哪儿来的？当然是有人写的！”
But the guy I was talking to stared at me vacantly, then said: “No offence, mate. It’s just that there are so many wankers going around writing songs.”
可是听我说话的那个人一脸茫然地看着我，说：“没有冒犯之意，伙计。只是写歌的浑球儿太多了。”
It was this realisation, and the fact that as the summer came closer I was running out of floors to sleep on, that made me feel for all the fascination of London — my university days looked grey by comparison — it would be good to take a break from the city. So I called up my sister, Maggie, who runs a cafe with her husband up in the Malvern Hills, and that’s how it came to be decided I’d spend the summer with them.
这一发现，加上夏天临近，使得我再没有地方可以寄居，我决定：虽然伦敦魅力四射——我的大学生活跟它一比，真是暗淡无光——我还是离开一阵子的好。于是我打电话给家姐玛吉。她和丈夫在莫尔文山经营一家小餐厅。就这样，我决定这个夏天和他们一起住。
Maggie said she and Geoff couldn’t afford to pay me, which suited me just fine because it meant I couldn’t be expected to work too hard for them. All the same, since I was getting bed and board, the understanding seemed to be that I’d be a third member of staff. It was all a bit unclear, and at the start, Geoff, in particular, seemed torn between giving me a kick up the arse for not doing enough, and apologising for asking me to do anything at all, like I was a guest. But things soon settled down to a pattern. The work was easy enough — I was especially good at making sandwiches — and I sometimes had to keep reminding myself of my main objective in coming out to the country in the first place: that’s to say, I was going to write a brand-new batch of songs ready for my return to London in the autumn.
玛吉说她和杰夫没钱付我工资，这正合我意，因为这样我就不用做得很辛苦。但是既然我在这里吃、在这里住，大家自然把我当作第三名店员。一开始的时候事情有点乱，特别是杰夫，有时很想揍我一顿，因为我干得太少，有时又不好意思叫我做事情，好像我是客人。但情况很快就步入了正轨。工作很简单——我特别会做三明治——但我得时不时提醒自己不要忘了最初决定来乡下的主要目的，是为了写一批新歌，秋天回伦敦的时候用。
Maggie’s four years older and is always worrying about me, so I knew she’d be all for my coming up. In fact, I could tell she was glad to be getting the extra help. When I say her cafe is in the Malvern Hills, I don’t mean it’s in Great Malvern or down on the A road, but literally up there in the hills. It’s an old Victorian house standing by itself facing the west side, so when the weather’s nice, you can have your tea and cake out on the cafe terrace with a sweeping view over Herefordshire. Maggie and Geoff have to close the place in the winter, but in the summer it’s always busy, mainly with the locals — who park their cars in the West of England car park a hundred yards below and come panting up the path in sandals and floral dresses — or else the walking brigade with their maps and serious gear.
玛吉比我大四岁，而且老是为我担心，所以我知道她一定赞成我到她那里去。其实，我还知道她很高兴有人帮她。我说她在莫尔文山开小餐厅，并不是指在大莫尔文镇或一级公路上，而是确确实实在山上。餐厅是一栋维多利亚时期的老房子，面朝西独自屹立在山上，因此天气晴朗时，可以把茶和蛋糕拿到店外的露台上去，俯瞰整个赫里福郡的景色。冬天的时候只得关门大吉，但夏天则总是忙得不可开交。客人主要是本地人——他们把车停在山下一百米的“西英格兰”停车场，穿着凉鞋和花花绿绿的衣服，气喘吁吁地沿着小路爬上来——有时也有手拿地图、穿戴整齐、徒步登山的游客。
I wasn’t a stranger to this area. Maggie and I had grown up only a few miles away in Pershore and our parents had often brought us for walks on the hills. But I’d never been much up for it in those days, and as soon as I was old enough, I’d refused to go with them. That summer though, I felt this was the most beautiful place in the world; that in many ways I’d come from and belonged to the hills. Maybe it was something to do with our parents having split up, the fact that for some time now, that little grey house opposite the hairdresser was no longer “our” house. Whatever it was, this time round, instead of the claustrophobia I remembered from my childhood, I felt affection, even nostalgia, about the area.
我对这个地方并不陌生。玛吉和我就在离这里只有几英里的珀肖尔长大，父母经常带我们到山上来散步。可是那时候我不喜欢这里，等我长大一点，我就不跟他们一起来了。但是那年夏天，我感到这里是世界上最美的地方；感到从许多方面说来，我来自并且属于这片山丘。这种感觉也许跟我们的父母已经离异有关，多年来，理发店对面的那间灰色小屋不再是“我们的”家了。不管是什么原因，现在我对这里的感觉不再是童年印象中的幽闭、可怕，而是亲切，甚至是怀念。
I’m naturally an early riser, but I quickly discovered that breakfast at the cafe was a nightmare, with customers wanting eggs done this way, toast like that, everything getting overcooked. So I made a point of never appearing until around eleven. While all the clatter was going on downstairs, I’d open the big bay window in my room, sit on the broad window sill and play my guitar looking out over miles and miles of countryside. There was a run of really clear mornings just after I arrived, and it was a glorious feeling, like I could see forever, and when I strummed my chords, they were ringing out across the whole nation. Only when I turned and stuck my head right out of the window would I get an aerial view of the cafe terrace below, and become aware of the people coming and going with their dogs and pushchairs.
我天生就是个早起的人，但是我很快就发现店里的早餐时间真是噩梦：客人要的蛋要做成这样、面包要烤成那样，东西常常煮过头。于是我决定十一点之前不出现。当楼下吵吵嚷嚷的时候，我打开房里的凸窗，坐在宽大的窗台上，面向绵延数英里的山丘弹奏吉他。我刚来的时候，一连几个早上都是大晴天，感觉好极了，景色一望无际。我随意拨弄琴弦，琴声好像能传遍整个英国。只有当我把脑袋伸出窗外，才会看见底下餐厅的露台，看见人们牵着狗、推着婴儿车进进出出。
I found myself wandering in the hills practically every day, sometimes with my guitar if I was sure it wouldn’t rain. I liked in particular Table Hill and End Hill, at the north end of the range, which tend to get neglected by day-trippers. There I’d sometimes be lost in my thoughts for hours at a time without seeing a soul. It was like I was discovering the hills for the first time, and I could almost taste the ideas for new songs welling up in my mind.
我几乎每天都到山上去走一走，要是确定不会下雨的话，还会把吉他带上。我特别喜欢位于山脉北端的桌山和尾山，当天来、当天回的人一般不会到这里来。有时候，我在这里坐上好几个小时，独自思考，一个人影也见不到。感觉就好像我是第一次发现这里，有无数的新旋律在我脑子里冒出来。
Working at the cafe, though, was another matter. I’d catch a voice, or see a face coming up to the counter while I was preparing a salad, that would jerk me back to an earlier part of my life. Old friends of my parents would come up and grill me about what I was up to, and I’d have to bluff until they decided to leave me in peace. Usually they’d sign off with something like: “Well at least you’re keeping busy,” nodding towards the sliced bread and tomatoes, before waddling back to their table with their cup and saucer. Or someone I’d known at school would come in and start talking to me in their new “university” voice, maybe dissecting the latest Batman film in clever-clever language, or else starting on about the real causes of world poverty.
然而在店里帮忙就是另一回事了。做三明治的时候，总有一个熟悉的声音或面孔，朝柜台这边过来，把我猛地拉回到过去。父母的老朋友会过来盘问我的近况，我只好瞎扯一通，直到他们不再烦我。离开之前他们常常会一边看我切面包、切西红柿，一边点点头，说“啊，至少你现在有事可做”之类的话，才拿着杯子、碟子蹒跚地回到座位上去。有时是遇见我的老同学，操着一副新学来的“大学”腔跟我搭话，对最新的蝙蝠侠电影评头论足一番，或者侃侃而谈世界贫困的根本原因。
I didn’t really mind any of this. In fact, some of these people I was genuinely quite glad to see. But there was one person who came into the cafe that summer, the instant I saw her, I felt myself freezing up, and by the time it occurred to me to escape into the kitchen, she’d already seen me.
我不是真的介意这些事，有些人我很高兴见到他们。可是那年夏天，当这个人走进店里时，我一看见她浑身就僵掉了。等我想到我应该躲到厨房里去时，她已经看见我了。
This was Mrs. Fraser — or Hag Fraser, as we used to call her. I recognised her as soon as she came in with a muddy little bulldog. I felt like telling her she couldn’t bring the dog inside, though people always did that when they came to get things. Hag Fraser had been one of my teachers at school in Pershore. Thankfully she retired before I went into the sixth form, but in my memory her shadow falls over my entire school career. Her aside, school hadn’t been that bad, but she’d had it in for me from the start, and when you’re just eleven years old, there’s nothing you can do to defend yourself from someone like her. Her tricks were the usual ones twisted teachers have, like asking me in lessons exactly the questions she sensed I wouldn’t be able to answer, then making me stand up and getting the class to laugh at me. Later, it got more subtle. I remember once, when I was fourteen, a new teacher, a Mr. Travis, had exchanged jokes with me in class. Not jokes against me, but like we were equals, and the class had laughed, and I’d felt good about it. But a couple of days later, I was going down the corridor and Mr. Travis was coming the other way, talking with her, and as I came by she stopped me and gave me a complete bollocking about late homework or something. The point is she’d done this just to let Mr. Travis know I was a “troublemaker;” that if he’d thought for one moment I was one of the boys worthy of his respect, he was making a big mistake. Maybe it was because she was old, I don’t know, but the other teachers never seemed to see through her. They all took whatever she said as gospel.
这个人就是弗雷泽太太——或者按照以前我们的叫法：哈格·弗雷泽。当她牵着一只脏兮兮的小斗牛犬进来时我一眼就认出了她。我真想告诉她不可以带狗进来，虽说很多人进来点餐时都会把狗带进来。哈格·弗雷泽是我在珀肖尔读书时的一个老师。谢天谢地，她在我上中学六年级以前就退休了，可是她的阴影却留在了我整个读书阶段。除她之外，学校里的日子并不坏，可是她从一开始就讨厌我、处处为难我，面对她这种人，一个十一岁的小孩子只能逆来顺受。她所用的伎俩是变态老师常用的那种，比如上课时专挑我不会的问题叫我起来回答，让全班同学笑话我。后来就更高明了。记得有一次，我十四岁那年，一个新来的老师，特拉维斯先生，在课堂上跟我互相开玩笑，不是挖苦我的笑话，而是好像我们是朋友，同学们都笑了，我感觉挺好。可是两天后，我下楼梯时，碰巧特拉维斯先生和她一起说着话，迎面走来。我走过去时，哈格·弗雷泽把我叫住，说我迟交作业还是什么的，把我臭骂一顿。她这么做的目的是让特拉维斯先生知道我是个“捣蛋学生”；要是特拉维斯先生以为我是个值得他尊敬的孩子，就大错特错了。或许是因为她年纪大，我说不准，但是其他老师好像从来都不怀疑她，都把她的话当真。
All my hatred for the old dragon came back, and by the time Maggie came down a few minutes later, I was completely fuming. She saw it straight away and asked what was wrong. There were a few customers out on the terrace, but no one inside, so I started shouting, calling Hag Fraser every filthy name she deserved. Maggie got me to calm down, then said:
我对这个老妖婆的仇恨一下子又回来了。几分钟后玛吉下来时，我已经是怒不可遏。她一眼就看出来，问我怎么了。那时只有几个客人在露台上，屋里没人，我就大喊大叫起来，把哈格·弗雷泽骂得狗血淋头。玛吉要我冷静下来，然后说：
“But you have to feel a bit sorry for her. Just when she thought she could enjoy her retirement, she’s left for a younger woman. And now she has to run that bed-and-breakfast by herself and people say the place is falling apart.”
“可你应该稍微同情她一下。正当她准备享受退休生活时，她的丈夫却为了一个比她年轻的女人而抛弃了她。如今她只得自己一个人经营旅馆，人们都说那个地方一天不如一天了。”
When Hag Fraser came in that day, it was obvious she remembered me, but she didn’t smile or call me by name. She bought a cup of tea and a packet of Custard Creams, then took them outside to the terrace. I thought that was that. But then a while later, she came in again, put her empty cup and saucer down on the counter and said: “Since you won’t clear the table, I’ve brought these in myself.” She gave me a look that went on a second or two longer than was normal — her old if-only-I-could-swat-you look — then left.
那天哈格·弗雷泽进来时显然认出了我，但她既没有笑一笑也没有叫我的名字。她要了一杯茶和一包奶油夹心饼干以后就到露台去了。我以为事情就这样了，没想到过了一会儿，她又进来，把空茶杯和空碟子放到柜台上，说：“我想你不会去收拾桌子，就自己拿进来了。”她还是用以前那副“真想揍你”的眼神看我，目光在我身上多停留了两三秒钟才离开。
“Well, she’s not anybody’s teacher any more. She’s just a sad old lady whose husband’s gone and left her.”
“她不再是谁的老师了，只是一个丈夫离她而去的可怜的老妇人。”
“Not surprised.”
“活该。”
This all cheered me up no end. I forgot about Hag Fraser soon after that, because a group came in and I had to make a lot of tuna salads. But a few days later when I was chatting to Geoff in the kitchen, I got a few more details from him; like how her husband of forty-odd years had gone off with his secretary; and how their hotel had got off to a reasonable start, but now all the gossip was of guests demanding their money back, or checking out within hours of arrival. I saw the place myself once when I was helping Maggie with the cash-and-carry and we drove past. Hag Fraser’s hotel was right there on the Elgar Route, a fairly substantial granite house with an outsize sign saying “Malvern Lodge.”
玛吉的话让我高兴了不少。我很快就把哈格·弗雷泽抛到了脑后，因为来了一群人，要很多金枪鱼沙拉。几天以后，我在厨房里和杰夫闲聊时，知道了更多的细节：比如说她四十岁出头的丈夫怎么跟他的秘书跑了；又比如他们的旅馆最初经营得还可以，可是后来谣传客人们都要求退钱，或者刚住进去没几个小时就退房。我亲眼见过那地方一次，一天我帮玛吉去采购东西时开车路过。哈格·弗雷泽的旅馆就在埃尔加路[1]上，是一栋挺大的花岗岩房子，特大的牌子上写着“莫尔文旅馆”。【注：[1] 伍斯特郡为纪念当地名人、英国著名作曲家爱德华·威廉·埃尔加爵士（1857—1934）而将与其生平有关的四十多个地方连在一起，组成一条约四十英里的环形公路。】
But I don’t want to go on about Hag Fraser too much. I’m not obsessed with her or with her hotel. I’m only putting this all here now because of what happened later, once Tilo and Sonja came in.
可是我并不想多说哈格·弗雷泽的事。我对她或她的旅馆不感兴趣。我在这里说到她是为以后的事——蒂洛和索尼娅的出现——做交待。
Geoff had gone into Great Malvern that day, so it was just me and Maggie holding the fort. The main lunch rush was over, but at the point when the Krauts came in, we still had plenty going on. I’d clocked them in my mind as “the Krauts” the moment I heard their accents. I wasn’t being racist. If you have to stand behind a counter and remember who didn’t want beetroot, who wanted extra bread, who gets what put on which bill, you’ve no choice but to turn all the customers into characters, give them names, pick out physical peculiarities. Donkey Face had a ploughman’s and two coffees. Tuna mayo baguettes for Winston Churchill and his wife. That’s how I was doing it. So Tilo and Sonja were “the Krauts.”
那天杰夫到大莫尔文镇上去了，只有我和玛吉坚守岗位。午饭的客流高峰已经差不多过去了，但是“德国佬”进来时，我们还挺忙的。一听到他们的口音我脑子里马上就想到“德国佬”。不是种族歧视，而是当你站在柜台后面，要记住谁不要甜菜、谁多要一份面包、谁又多点了什么时，就不得不把客人都区别开来，给他们取外号、记住他们的外貌特征。那个驴子脸要一份面包、腌菜配奶酪和两杯咖啡。温斯顿·丘吉尔和他老婆要金枪鱼配蛋黄酱的法式长棍三明治。我就是这么记的。因此，蒂洛和索尼娅就成了“德国佬”。
It was very hot that afternoon, but most of the customers — being English — still wanted to sit outside on the terrace, some of them even avoiding the parasols so they could go bright red in the sun. But the Krauts decided to sit indoors in the shade. They had on loose, camel-coloured trousers, trainers and T-shirts, but somehow looked smart, the way people from the continent often do. I supposed they were in their forties, maybe early fifties — I didn’t pay too much attention at that stage. They ate their lunch talking quietly to each other, and they seemed like any pleasant, middle-aged couple from Europe. Then after a while, the guy got up and started wandering about the room, pausing to study an old faded photo Maggie has on the wall, of the house as it was in 1915. Then he stretched out his arms and said:
那天下午很热，可是大多数客人——都是英国人——还是想坐在外面的露台上，有些还不用遮阳伞，想把皮肤晒得通红。那两个“德国佬”却决定坐在里面乘凉。他们穿着普通的宽松驼色裤子、运动鞋和T恤衫，但看上去挺聪明，欧洲大陆来的人常给人这种感觉。我猜他们四十多岁，或者五十出头——那时我没太在意。他们一边吃饭一边轻声交谈，跟大多数欧洲来的和蔼的中年夫妇没什么两样。过了一会儿，那个男的站起来，在店里头溜达，走到玛吉挂在墙上的一张褪色老照片前时停下来欣赏，那是这所房子1915年时的照片。然后他伸展了一下胳膊，说道：
“Your countryside here is so wonderful! We have many fine mountains in Switzerland. But what you have here is different. They are hills. You call them hills. They have a charm all their own because they are gentle and friendly.”
“你们这儿的景色真漂亮！瑞士也有很多漂亮的山，可你们这儿的不一样。瑞士是高山，你们这儿是小山，但平缓、亲切，有自己独特的魅力。”
“Oh, you’re from Switzerland,” Maggie said in her polite voice. “I’ve always wanted to go there. It sounds so fantastic, the Alps, the cable-cars.”
“哦，您是从瑞士来的，”玛吉礼貌地说。“我一直想去瑞士。阿尔卑斯啊、缆车啊，听上去很棒。”
“Of course, our country has many beautiful features. But here, in this spot, you have a special charm. We have wanted to visit this part of England for so long. We always talked of it, and now finally we are here!” He gave a hearty laugh. “So happy to be here!”
“是啊，我们国家有很多美景。但是这里，这个地方，有一种特殊的魅力。我们很早以前就想到这里来了。说了那么久，现在终于来了！”说着他开怀大笑。“真高兴啊！”
“We have another three days before we must return to our work. We have looked forward to coming here ever since we observed a wonderful documentary film many years ago, concerning Elgar. Evidently Elgar loved these hills and explored them thoroughly on his bicycle. And now we are finally here!”
“我们还可以再待三天，然后就得回去工作。很多年前我们看了一部关于埃尔加的纪录片，从那以后就一直想来这里。显然埃尔加热爱这些山，骑着自行车把这些山都走遍了。如今我们终于来了！”
Maggie chatted with him for a few minutes about places they’d already visited in England, what they should see in the local area, the usual stuff you were supposed to say to tourists. I’d heard it loads of times before, and I could do it myself more or less on automatic, so I started to tune out. I just took in that the Krauts were actually Swiss and that they were travelling around by hired car. He kept saying what a great place England was and how kind everyone had been, and made big laughing noises whenever Maggie said anything halfway jokey. But as I say, I’d tuned out, thinking they were just this fairly boring couple. I only started paying attention again a few moments later, when I noticed the way the guy kept trying to bring his wife into the conversation, and how she kept silent, her eyes fixed on her guidebook and behaving like she wasn’t aware of any conversation at all. That’s when I took a closer look at them.
接下来的几分钟，玛吉和他聊起了他们到过的英国景点，在这里哪些地方值得一看，就是你常跟游客聊的那一套。这些话我听了无数遍了，自己也能不假思索地说一遍，所以渐渐把注意力移开。我只听见这两个德国佬其实是瑞士人，正在租车旅游。那男的反复赞美英国是个很棒的地方，英国人都很友好，有时玛吉插几句玩笑话，他都会哈哈大笑。可是我说了，我把注意力移开了，觉得他们只是一对挺无趣的普通夫妇。过了一会儿我又开始注意他们，因为我发现那男的一直想把他妻子带到谈话里来，可他妻子就是不说话，眼睛直盯着旅游指南，好像根本不知道有人在跟她说话。这让我留意他们。
“That’s splendid,” Maggie said. “I do hope you enjoy it. Are you here for long?”
“太好了，”玛吉说道。“祝愿你们玩得开心。你们会在这里待很久吗？”
“Of course, my wife enjoys Elgar greatly and so would be most curious to visit the house in which he was born.”
“当然了，我妻子很喜欢埃尔加，很想去看看他出生的房子。”
Silence.
沉默。
They both had even, natural suntans, quite unlike the sweaty lobster looks of the locals outside, and despite their age, they were both slim and fit-looking. His hair was grey, but luxuriant, and he’d had it carefully groomed, though in a vaguely seventies style, a bit like the guys in ABBA. Her hair was blonde, almost snowy white, and her face was stern-looking, with little lines etched around the mouth that spoilt what would otherwise have been the beautiful older woman look. So there he was, as I say, trying to bring her into the conversation.
他们两个的皮肤都被晒黑了，肤色自然、均匀，不像外面那群满头大汗、皮肤红得活像龙虾的当地人。尽管上了年纪，两人身材还都很好，身体健康的样子。男的头发灰白，但是浓密，梳得很整齐，虽说有点阿巴乐队[2]的感觉。女的是金黄头发，差不多褪成白色的了，表情严肃，嘴角有几道小皱纹，要不然这会是一张美丽的中年女人的脸。而那个男的就像我刚说的那样，一直想把他妻子带到谈话里来。【注：[2] 瑞典流行乐队名（1973—1982）。】
Each time he said something like this, he’d turn towards his wife in the corner, and Maggie would be obliged to look over to her, but the wife still wouldn’t glance up from her book. The man didn’t seem especially perturbed by this and went on talking cheerfully. Then he stretched out his arms again and said: “If you will excuse me, I think I may for a moment go and admire your splendid scenery!”
每次他说这些话时，都要转头看看坐在角落的妻子，玛吉只好也朝她那里看一看。可他妻子只顾看书，头也不抬一下。那男的似乎不觉得有什么不对，仍旧兴高采烈地说个不停。然后他又一次伸展了一下胳膊，说：“请原谅，我想我要出去欣赏一下你们这里的美丽景色！”
Or: “I am not a great fan of Paris, I must confess. I much prefer London. But Sonja here, she loves Paris.”
或者：“我得承认我不太喜欢巴黎。我更喜欢伦敦。可是索尼娅她喜欢巴黎。”
Nothing.
没有回答。
He went outside, and we could see him walking around the terrace. Then he disappeared out of our view. The wife was still there in the corner, reading her guidebook, and after a while Maggie went over to her table and began clearing up. The woman ignored her completely until my sister picked up a plate with a tiny bit of roll still left on it. Then suddenly she slammed down her book and said, far more loudly than necessary: “I have not finished yet!”
他走了出去。起先我们看见他在露台上溜达，后来就不见了。他妻子仍旧坐在角落里读旅游指南。一会儿，玛吉过去擦桌子。那女的完全没有理睬玛吉，直到我姐姐要把还剩一小块面包卷的盘子收拾走时，她突然啪地放下书，挺大声地说：“我还没吃完呢！”
Maggie apologised and left her with her piece of roll — which I noticed the woman made no move to touch. Maggie looked at me as she came past and I gave her a shrug. Then a few moments later, my sister asked the woman, very nicely, if there was anything else she’d like.
玛吉向她道歉，放下盘子，走开了——而我看她根本没有去动那盘子。玛吉从我身边走过去时看了我一眼，我耸耸肩。过了一会儿，我姐姐很客气地问那女的还要不要别的。
“No. I want nothing else.”
“不，不要了。”
I could tell from her tone she should be left alone, but with Maggie it was a kind of reflex. She asked, like she really wanted to know: “Was everything all right?”
我能听出来那女的不想别人去吵她，可是对于玛吉来说，她条件反射地问道（好像她真的想知道）：“食物什么的都还好吗？”
For at least five or six seconds, the woman went on reading, like she hadn’t heard. Then she put down her book again and glared at my sister.
那女的只是看书，好像没有听见。过了五六秒钟，她才放下书，看着我姐姐，说：
“Surely you get it every day, no? Is that not so? Every day, in the summer, when the weather is fine, there is just such a big rush? Well? So why can’t you be ready? Something that happens every day and it surprises you. Is that what you are telling me?”
“肯定每天都这样咯？不是吗？不是这样？到了夏天，天气好的时候，才会有这么多客人？是吗？那你们为什么不能提前准备好呢？每天都有这么多客人超出你们的预料了，你是想这么说吗？”
“Since you ask,” she said, “I shall tell you. The food was perfectly okay. Better than in many of the awful places you have around here. However, we waited thirty-five minutes simply to be served a sandwich and a salad. Thirty-five minutes.”
“既然你问了，我就告诉你。食物很好，比附近其他鬼地方的好多了。可是，我们只不过要了三明治和沙拉，却等了三十五分钟。三十五分钟。”
I now realised this woman was livid with anger. Not the sort that suddenly hits you, then drains away. No, this woman, I could tell, had been in a kind of white heat for some time. It’s the sort of anger that arrives and stays put, at a constant level, like a bad headache, never quite peaking and refusing to find a proper outlet. Maggie’s always so even-tempered she couldn’t recognise the symptoms, and probably thought the woman was complaining in a more or less rational way. Because she apologised and started to say: “But you see, when there’s a big rush like we had earlier…”
突然间我意识到这个女人满腔怒火。不是突然间来了气，等下就会没了。不是，我看得出这个女人已经憋了一肚子火了。她是那种一旦生气就不会轻易消气的人，怒气会维持在一个固定的水平，类似严重的头痛，不会达到顶点，但也不想发泄出来。玛吉一向脾气好，不会察觉到这些征兆，大概以为对方只是在合情合理地抱怨。玛吉向她道歉，然后说：“可是您看，刚才客人太多了……”
The woman had been glaring at my sister, but as I came out from behind the counter to stand beside Maggie, she transferred her gaze to me. And maybe it was to do with the expression I had on my face, I could see her anger go up a couple more notches. Maggie turned and looked at me, and began gently to push me away, but I resisted, and kept gazing at the woman. I wanted her to know it wasn’t just her and Maggie in this. God knows where this would have got us, but at that moment the husband came back in.
那女人本来看着我姐姐，我从柜台后面走出来站在玛吉旁边，她就把目光转移到我身上。可能是因为我脸上的表情，我感觉她的怒气又增加了两度。玛吉转头看我，轻轻把我推开，可我没动，一直看着那个女人。我要她明白这不单单是她和玛吉之间的事。谁知道事情可能变成什么样，可就在这时，她丈夫回来了。
I waited for him to sense what he’d walked into, but if he noticed, he showed no sign of taking it into account. He smiled at his wife and said, presumably for our benefit in English: “Sonja, you really must go and have a look. Just walk to the end of the little path out there!”
我等着他明白这会儿的情况，可就算他注意到了，也没太在意的样子。他微笑着对他妻子说（或许是因为我们的缘故他说英语）：“索尼娅，你真该去看看。就沿着那边那条小路一直走到头！”
“Such a marvellous view! A marvellous view, a marvellous lunch, a marvellous country!”
“这儿的风景太棒了！很棒的风景，很棒的午餐，很棒的国家！”
She said something in German, then went back to her book. He came further into the room and said to us:
他妻子则用德语回答他，然后又埋头看书。他往里走了些，对我们说：
“We had considered driving on to Wales this afternoon. But your Malvern Hills are so wonderful, I really think we might stay here in this district for the remaining three days of our vacation. If Sonja agrees, I will be overjoyed!”
“本来我们今天下午要继续开车到威尔士去的。可是你们这儿的莫尔文山太漂亮了，我真想剩下这三天就都待在这里得了。要是索尼娅同意，那就太好了！”
“Good! She agrees! So it is settled. We will no longer drive to Wales. We will hang out here in your district for the next three days!”
“太好了！她同意！那就这么定了。不去威尔士了。接下来这三天我们就都待在你们这里！”
He beamed at us, and Maggie said something encouraging. I was relieved to see the wife putting her book away and getting ready to leave. The man, too, went to the table, picked up a small rucksack and put it on his shoulder. Then he said to Maggie:
说完朝我们笑了笑，玛吉应了几句客套话。看见他妻子把书收起来准备离开，我松了口气。那男的也走回餐桌，提起一个小背包，搭在肩上。这时他问玛吉：
Maggie turned away disapprovingly and pretended to be clearing away more things while I gave them all the details on how to find Hag Fraser’s hotel. Then the couple left, the guy thanking us with big smiles, the woman not giving a backward glance.
玛吉不以为然地转过头去假装继续擦桌子，我则把旅馆的位置详细地告诉他们。然后这对夫妇就离开了，那男的满面笑容感谢我们，那女的没有回头看一眼。
He looked at his wife, who shrugged and said something else in German, to which he laughed his loud, open laugh.
他看看他妻子，对方耸耸肩，又说了几句德语。说完，男的开怀大笑。
“I wonder. Is there by any chance a small hotel you can recommend for us nearby? Nothing too expensive, but comfortable and pleasant. And if possible, with something of the English flavour!”
“我在想不知你能不能介绍一家附近的小旅馆给我们？不用太贵的，但要舒适、整洁。带点英国味儿的就更好了！”
“The best place around here is Mrs. Fraser’s. It’s just down along the road to Worcester. It’s called Malvern Lodge.”
“这附近最好的旅馆是弗雷泽太太的。就在去伍斯特郡的路上。叫莫尔文旅馆。”
“The Malvern Lodge! That sounds just the ticket!”
“莫尔文旅馆！好像正是我们需要的！”
Maggie was a bit stumped by this and delayed her answer by saying something meaningless like: “What sort of place did you want?” But I said quickly:
玛吉一时不知怎么回答，净问些没有用的问题，比如：“你们想要什么样的旅馆？”而我马上说道：
“It’s all very well for you to amuse yourself like that,” Maggie said, pushing past me to the kitchen. “I have to live here.”
“你倒好，给自己找乐子，”玛吉推开我，走到厨房里去。“我可得住在这里。”
My sister gave me a weary look and shook her head. I just laughed and said:
我姐姐疲惫地看了我一眼，摇摇头。我却笑了笑，说：
“So what? Look, you’ll never see those Krauts again. And if Hag Fraser finds out we’ve been recommending her place to passing tourists, she’s hardly going to complain, is she?”
“那又怎么样？听着，你再也不会见到那两个德国佬了。而要是哈格·弗雷泽知道我们把她的旅馆介绍给过路的游客，她还有什么好抱怨的？”
“You’ve got to admit, that woman and Hag Fraser really deserve one another. It was just too good an opportunity to miss.”
“你得承认，那女的和哈格·弗雷泽真是天生一对。机不可失。”
Maggie shook her head, but there was more of a smile about it this time.
玛吉摇摇头，可是这次不再板着一张脸了。
The cafe got quieter after that, then Geoff came back, so I went off upstairs, feeling I’d done more than my share for the time being. Up in my room, I sat at the bay window with my guitar and for a while got engrossed in a song I was halfway through writing. But then — and it seemed like no time — I could hear the afternoon tea rush starting downstairs. If it got really mad, like it usually did, Maggie was bound to ask me to come down — which really wouldn’t be fair, given how much I’d done already. So I decided the best thing would be for me to slip out to the hills and continue my work there.
德国夫妇走了以后店里安静了许多，后来杰夫回来了，我觉得自己已经做了超出我应做的份儿，就上楼去了。我回到房间，拿出吉他坐在窗台上，开始全神贯注地继续想一首写到一半的歌。可后来——好像才没过多久——我就听见楼下来喝下午茶的客人渐渐多起来了。若又像平时一样客人太多，玛吉肯定会叫我下去的。我决定我最好偷偷溜出去，到山上继续写歌。
I was heading for a particular spot I’d discovered the previous week. To get there you climbed a steep path behind the house, then walked a few minutes along a more gradual incline till you came to this bench. It’s one I’d chosen carefully, not just because of the fantastic view, but because it wasn’t at one of those junctions in the paths where people with exhausted children come staggering up and sit next to you. On the other hand it wasn’t completely isolated, and every now and then, a walker would pass by, saying “Hi!” in the way they do, maybe adding some quip about my guitar, all without breaking stride. I didn’t mind this at all. It was kind of like having an audience and not having one, and it gave my imagination just that little edge it needed.
我朝上周发现的一处地方走去。这个地方在餐厅后面，要先爬一段陡峭的小路，再走一段较平缓的斜坡，走几分钟，就来到了这条长椅跟前。我精心挑选了这个地方，不单单因为这里风景好，还因为这里不在山路的交界处，没有大人带着筋疲力尽的小孩气喘吁吁地走过来坐在你旁边。但另一方面，这里也不是完全看不见人，偶尔会有散步的人经过，随意地跟你打声招呼，有时还会拿我的吉他开个玩笑，但都不会停下脚步。对此我并不介意。这样好像有听众，又好像没有，给了我所需的想象空间。
I left the back way without encountering anyone, and immediately felt glad to be out in the open. It was pretty warm though, especially carrying a guitar case, and I was glad of the breeze.
我从后门出去，没有遇到一个人，一出来就感到到外面来太好了。天还很热，特别是我背着吉他箱，但是微风习习、沁人心脾。
I’d been there on my bench for maybe half an hour when I became aware that some walkers, who’d just gone past with the usual short greeting, had now stopped several yards away and were watching me. This did rather annoy me, and I said, a little sarcastically:
我在长椅上待了大约半个小时，突然感觉到刚刚有人像平常一样打了声招呼走过去，但现在站在几码远的地方不动了，看着我。我恼了，略带讥讽地说：
“It’s okay. You don’t have to toss me any money.”
“好了，你们不用给我钱。”
The possibility flashed through my mind that they’d gone to Hag Fraser’s, realised I’d pulled a fast one on them, and were now coming to get even with me. But then I saw that not only the guy, but the woman too, was smiling cheerfully. They retraced their steps till they were standing in front of me, and since by this time the sun was falling, they appeared for a moment as two silhouettes, the big afternoon sky behind them. Then they came closer and I could see they were both gazing at my guitar — which I’d continued to play — with a look of happy amazement, the way people gaze at a baby. Even more astonishing, the woman was tapping her foot to my beat. I got self-conscious and stopped.
我马上想到可能他们去了哈格·弗雷泽的旅馆，发现我骗了他们，现在回来找我算账。可我又看见不仅是那个男的，连那女的也笑嘻嘻的。他们走回到我面前，那时太阳快落山了，所以有一会儿我只能看见他们的轮廓，身后是一轮巨大的落日。他们又走近了些，我看见两个人都惊喜地看着我的吉他——我还在弹着——像在看着一个婴孩。更令人吃惊的是，那女的跟着我的节拍点着脚。我突然觉得不好意思，便把手停下。
This was answered by a big hearty laugh which I recognised, and I looked up to see the Krauts coming back towards the bench.
只听一阵熟悉的开怀大笑，我抬起头来，看见那对德国夫妇朝长椅这折回来。
“Yes,” the husband said, “wonderful! We heard it from a distance.” He pointed. “We were right up there, on that ridge, and I said to Sonja, I can hear music.”
“是啊，”男的说，“太好听了！我们远远地听到了。”他指了指。“刚才我们在那里，在那个山脊上。我对索尼娅说我听见弹琴的声音。”
“Hey, carry on!” the woman said. “It’s really good what you play there.”
“嘿，接着弹！”那女的说。“你弹得真好听。”
“I believe you are the gentleman who served us lunch in the delightful restaurant.”
“我想你是中午给我们做了好吃的那家餐厅里的那位先生？”
I couldn’t quite accept that this smiling woman was the same one who’d given us such a hard time at lunch, and I looked at them again carefully, in case this was a different couple altogether. But they were in the same clothes, and though the man’s ABBA-style hair had come undone a bit in the wind, there was no mistaking it. In any case, the next moment, he said:
我一时无法接受面前这个面带微笑的女人就是中午刁难我们的那一个。我把他俩又仔细地打量了一番，生怕认错了人。可是错不了，他们还穿着刚才那身衣服，虽然那男的阿巴头型被风吹得有点乱。不管怎样，只听那男的说道：
“Singing too,” the woman said. “I said to Tilo, listen, there is singing somewhere. And I was right, yes? You were singing also a moment ago.”
“还有唱歌的声音，”女的说。“我对蒂洛说，听，有人在唱歌。我说对了，不是？刚刚你还唱了一小段。”
I agreed I was. Then the woman said:
我说是。那女的又说：
“That melody you were singing a moment ago. We heard it up there, just in the wind at first. I loved the way it fell at the end of each line.”
“你刚刚唱的那首曲子。我们隐隐约约远远地听到了。我特别喜欢每一小节结束时的调子。”
“Thanks,” I said. “It’s something I’m working on. Not finished yet.”
“谢谢，”我说。“这是我的新歌，还没写完。”
“Your own composition? Then you must be very gifted! Please do sing your melody again, as you were before.”
“你自己写的歌？真是个天才！请把你的歌再唱一遍，像刚刚那个样子。”
“You know,” the guy said, “when you come to record your song, you must tell the producer this is how you want it to sound. Like this!” He gestured behind him at Herefordshire stretched out before us. “You must tell him this is the sound, the aural environment you require. Then the listener will hear your song as we heard it today, caught in the wind as we descend the slope of the hill…”
“知道吗？”男的说，“你录这首歌的时候，一定要告诉制作人你要这首歌听起来是这种感觉。像这样！”他转身指了指我们面前一望无际的赫里福郡。“你一定要告诉他你要像这样的音响环境。你要听众像我们今天这个样子听到这首歌，下山的时候，在风中隐约听见……”
They seemed on the verge of getting carried away, like they’d just come across another Elgar in the hills. Despite my initial suspicions, I couldn’t help but warm to them.
两个人越说越激动，仿佛在山上遇到了又一个埃尔加似的。虽然我刚刚怀疑他们是来找我麻烦的，但现在禁不住热情以待。
“Yes, yes,” they both said together, nodding. Then the woman said: “You must not be shy. Please share your music with us. It sounded wonderful.”
“没错，”两人一齐点点头说道。那女的又说：“别不好意思。把你的歌拿出来跟我们分享。很好听。”
“But a little more clearly, of course,” the woman said. “Or else the listener will not catch the words. But Tilo is correct. There must be a suggestion of outdoors. Of air, of echo.”
“不过当然要清楚些才行，”女的说。“不然听众就听不清歌词了。但蒂洛说得对。一定要让人联想到户外、空气、回声。”
“Well,” I said, “since I wrote most of the song up here, it’s no wonder there’s something of this place in it.”
“这个嘛，”我说，“既然我这首歌大部分时间是在这里写的，歌里有些这里的感觉也不奇怪。”
“All right,” I said, playing a little doodle. “All right, I’ll sing you a song, if you really want me to. Not the one I haven’t finished. Another one. But look, I can’t do it with you two standing right over me like this.”
“好吧，”我随意拨弄着琴弦，说。“好吧，你们真想听的话，我就给你们唱一首。不唱这首还没写完的。唱另外一首。但是，你们这样子站在我面前我没法唱。”
“Of course,” Tilo said. “We are being so inconsiderate. Sonja and I have had to perform in so many strange and difficult conditions, we become insensitive to the needs of another musician.”
“当然了，”蒂洛说。“是我们失礼了。我和索尼娅经常要在很多奇奇怪怪的场合表演，都忘了要替别的乐手着想了。”
“Okay, here goes,” I said, and went into the song I usually open with at auditions. I aimed my voice at the horizon but kept glancing at Tilo and Sonja. Though I couldn’t see their faces, the whole way they remained snuggled up to each other with no hint of restlessness told me they were enjoying what they were hearing. When I finished, they turned to me with big smiles and applauded, sending echoes around the hills.
“那好，我唱了，”说完，我弹起了试音时经常唱的那首歌。我对着远处的地平线唱歌，但眼睛不停地去瞅他们两个。虽然我看不见他们的脸，但看到他们一直紧紧地靠在一起，没有丝毫不自在，我知道他们很享受我的音乐。唱完以后，他们转过来，笑容灿烂，还鼓起了掌，掌声在群山间回荡。
He looked around and sat down on a patch of stubbly grass near the path, his back to me and facing the view. Sonja gave me an encouraging smile, then sat down beside him. Immediately, he put an arm around her shoulders, she leaned towards him, then it was almost like I wasn’t there any more, and they were having an intimate lovey-dovey moment gazing over the late-afternoon countryside.
他在小路旁找了块矮草地坐下，背对着我，面朝风景。索尼娅给了我一个鼓励的微笑，在他身旁坐下。她一坐下，蒂洛就把手搭在她的肩膀上，两人偎依在一起，好像当我不存在了，只是一对情意绵绵的夫妇在一起欣赏乡村的黄昏。
“Splendid, splendid,” Tilo was saying.
“太棒了，太棒了，”蒂洛说。
“Fantastic!” Sonja said. “So talented!”
“太好听了！”索尼娅说。“真是天才！”
I felt a little embarrassed by this and pretended to be absorbed in some guitar work. When I eventually looked up again, they were still sitting on the ground, but had now shifted their positions so they could see me.
我有点不好意思，假装忙着摆弄吉他。当我再次抬起头来时，他们还坐在那里，但把身子转了过来，好跟我说话。
“Yes,” said Tilo, “I suppose you could call us professionals. Sonja and I, we perform as a duo. In hotels, restaurants. At weddings, at parties. All over Europe, though we like best to work in Switzerland and Austria. We make our living this way, so yes, we are professionals.”
“对，”蒂洛说，“我想你可以说我们是职业的。索尼娅和我表演二重奏。在旅馆啦、酒店啦、婚礼上啦、宴会上表演。满欧洲跑，但还是最喜欢在瑞士和奥地利演出。我们以此为生，所以，对，可以说我们是职业的。”
“But first and foremost,” Sonja said, “we play because we believe in the music. I can see it is the same for you.”
“但是首先在于，”索尼娅说，“我们干这行是因为我们相信音乐。我看得出你也一样。”
“So you’re musicians?” I asked. “I mean, professional musicians?”
“那么说你们是乐手咯？”我问。“我是指职业乐手？”
“Oh yes, it’s a good life,” said Tilo. “We’re very lucky we are able to do what we do.”
“是啊，是很棒，”蒂洛说。“我们很庆幸自己能干这一行。”
“How very rude of us!” Tilo exclaimed. “We were so taken by your music, we forgot completely to thank you. Yes, we went there and it is just the ticket. Fortunately there were still vacancies.”
“我们真是太失礼了！”蒂洛惊呼道。“我们被你的音乐吸引住了，压根儿忘了要谢谢你。是，我们去了，正是我们想要的旅馆。幸好还有空房间。”
“It’s just what we wanted,” said Sonja. “Thank you.”
“那旅馆正合我们的意，”索尼娅说。“谢谢你。”
“If I stopped believing in my music,” I said, “I’d stop, just like that.” Then I added: “I’d really like to do it professionally. It must be a good life.”
我答道：“若有一天我不再相信音乐，我就撒手不干了，就这样。”说完我补充道：“我也想成为职业乐手。那种生活一定很棒。”
“Look,” I said, maybe a little suddenly. “Did you go to that hotel I told you about?”
“对了，”我有点唐突地说道，“你们去了我说的那家旅馆了吗？”
“Oh, but we’re quite settled now,” said Tilo. “We have unpacked our things, and besides, it’s just what we need.”
“哦，可是我们已经安顿下来了，”蒂洛说。“我们已经把行李都拿出来了，而且，那旅馆正是我们想要的旅馆。”
“No, no, we’re not bankers. Though there have been many times we wished we were!”
“不，不，我们不是银行职员。虽说我们常常希望自己是银行职员！”
They both burst out laughing, like I’d made a fantastic joke. Then Tilo said:
两个人都大笑起来，好像我说了一个很好笑的笑话。接着，蒂洛说道：
I pretended again to become absorbed in my chords. Then I said as casually as I could: “Come to think of it, there’s this other hotel I know. I think it’s better than Malvern Lodge. I think you should change.”
我又假装忙着摆弄琴弦。然后尽量装出很随意的样子，说道：“我突然想到我还知道一家旅馆，比莫尔文旅馆好些。我想你们不妨换一下。”
“Yeah, but… Well, the thing is, earlier on, when you asked me about a hotel, I didn’t know you were musicians. I thought you were bankers or something.”
“是啊，但是……但是，之前，你们问我有没有旅馆的时候，我不知道你们是乐手。我还以为你们是银行职员什么的。”
“What I’m saying,” I said, “is there are other hotels much more geared, you know, to artistic types. It’s hard when strangers ask you to recommend a hotel, before you know what sort of people they are.”
“我意思是，”我说，“有其他的旅馆更适合，嗯，搞艺术的人。很难跟一个你完全不了解的陌生人推荐合适的旅馆。”
“It’s kind of you to worry,” said Tilo. “But please, don’t do so any longer. What we have is perfect. Besides, people are not so different. Bankers, musicians, we all in the end want the same things from life.”
“多谢你费心，”蒂洛说。“可是请别再为我们操心了。我们现在这样很好。再说了，人与人的差别没那么大。银行家也好，音乐家也罢，我们对生活的基本需求是一样的。”
I leant over the strings and practised another little phrase to myself, and for a few seconds nobody spoke. Then I asked: “So what sort of music do you guys play?”
我低头随意弹了几个小节，一时间没有人说话。过了一会儿，我问：“那你们演奏什么类型的音乐呢？”
Tilo shrugged. “Sonja and I play a number of instruments between us. We both play keyboards. I am fond of the clarinet. Sonja is a very fine violinist, and also a splendid singer. I suppose what we like to do best is to perform our traditional Swiss folk music, but in a contemporary manner. Sometimes even what you might call a radical manner. We take inspiration from great composers who took a similar path. Janáček, for instance. Your own Vaughan Williams.”
蒂洛耸耸肩。“索尼娅和我都会几种乐器。我们都会弹键盘。我喜欢单簧管。索尼娅善于拉小提琴，还很会唱歌。我想我们最喜欢演奏的是传统的瑞士民歌，但是是用现代的方式来演绎。有时都称得上是激进的了。我们从类似这样做的大作曲家那里吸取灵感。比方说扬纳切克。你们英国的沃恩·威廉斯[3]。”【注：[3] 列奥西·扬纳切克（1854—1928），捷克作曲家。沃恩·威廉斯（1872—1958），英国作曲家。两人都热衷于收集本国的民歌，并将人民的音乐语言融入自己的创作，形成独树一帜的风格。】
“But that kind of music,” Sonja said, “we don’t play so much now.”
“但是我们现在不常表演这些了，”索尼娅说。
“You know, I’m not sure that is so true,” Sonja said. “Our young friend here, you see he doesn’t look for a job in a bank. His dreams are different.”
“我想你说的不全对，”索尼娅说道。“我们这位年轻朋友，你瞧他没有到银行里去谋职。他的梦想很不一样呢。”
They exchanged glances with what I thought was just a hint of tension. Then Tilo’s usual smile was back on his face.
他们递了一下眼色，我想这是紧张的暗示。但转眼蒂洛一贯的笑容又回到了脸上。
“Perhaps you are right, Sonja. All the same, the present hotel is fine for us.”
“也许你说得对，索尼娅。总之，我们觉得现在这个旅馆很好。”
“I went to Switzerland once,” I said eventually. “A couple of summers ago. Interlaken. I stayed at the youth hostel there.”
“我去过瑞士一次，”我打破沉默。“两年前的夏天。我去了因特拉肯，住在当地的青年旅社。”
“Yes, as Sonja points out, in this real world, much of the time, we must play what our audience is most likely to appreciate. So we perform many hits. Beatles, the Carpenters. Some more recent songs. This is perfectly satisfying.”
“是啊，就像索尼娅说的，在这个现实的世界，大部分时候，我们得演观众想听的东西。所以我们多演一些热门歌曲。披头士啦，卡彭特啦。也有新一点的歌。观众们很喜欢。”
“What about ABBA?” I asked on an impulse, then immediately regretted it. But Tilo didn’t seem to sense any mockery.
“那阿巴乐队呢？”我脱口而出，马上就后悔了。但蒂洛好像并没有听出我话里的调侃。
He did his big laugh, and Sonja laughed too, though not so loudly. A power-cyclist, kitted out in what looked like a black wetsuit, went speeding by us, and for the next few moments, we all watched his frantic, receding shape.
说完他哈哈大笑起来，索尼娅也笑了，但没有他笑得厉害。这时，一个穿着像是黑色潜水衣、职业打扮的自行车手从我们旁边飞驰而过，我们默默地看着他剧烈运动的背影渐渐远去。
“Yes, indeed, we do some ABBA. ‘Dancing Queen.’ That one always goes down well. In fact, it is on ‘Dancing Queen’ I actually do a little singing myself, a little harmony part. Sonja will tell you I have the most terrible voice. So we must make sure to perform this song only when our customers are right in the middle of their meal, when there is for them no chance of escape!”
“啊，我们也唱阿巴的。《舞会皇后》，这歌永远受欢迎。其实，在《舞会皇后》里我还自己唱上一段，和声的部分。索尼娅会告诉你我的嗓音有多难听。所以我们一定得在听众吃饭吃到一半的时候唱这首歌，这样他们才不会跑掉。”
“Ah yes, Interlaken. A beautiful place. Some Swiss people scoff at it. They say it is just for the tourists. But Sonja and I always love to perform there. In fact, to play in Interlaken on a summer evening, to happy people from all over the world, it is something very wonderful. I hope you enjoyed your visit there.”
“啊是，因特拉肯，漂亮的地方。一些瑞士人瞧不起那儿，觉得那里只是给游客观光用的。可索尼娅和我都很喜欢在那里表演。其实，夏天的夜晚，在因特拉肯给来自全世界的欢欢喜喜的人们演出，是一件非常棒的事。你在那里玩得开心吗？”
“Yeah, it was great.”
“是，很开心。”
“There is a restaurant in Interlaken where we play a few nights every summer. For our performance, we position ourselves under the restaurant’s canopy, so we are facing the dining tables, which of course are outdoors on such an evening. And as we perform, we are able to see all the tourists, eating and talking together under the stars. And behind the tourists, we see the big field, where during the day the paragliders are landing, but which at night is lit up by the lamps along the Höheweg. And if your eye may travel further, there are the Alps overlooking the field. The outlines of the Eiger, the Mönch, the Jungfrau. And the air is pleasantly warm and filled with the music we are making. I always feel when we are there, this is a privilege. I think, yes, it is good to be doing this.”
“我们每年夏天都要去因特拉肯的一个餐厅表演几个晚上。我们坐在帐篷里表演，面对餐桌，这种晚上餐桌当然是在外面啦。我们表演时能看见所有的游客在星空下一边吃着一边有说有笑。游客的身后是一大片空地，白天用来给滑翔伞降落，到了晚上就被何维克街的灯火照亮了。如果你还能看得更远，可以看见远处耸立的阿尔卑斯山。艾格尔峰、门希峰、少女峰。而且空气温暖宜人，还洋溢着我们演奏的音乐。每次在那里演出我都觉得是特别的荣幸。我心想，啊，干这行真是太好了。”
“That restaurant,” Sonja said. “Last year, the manager made us wear full costumes while we performed, even though it was so hot. It was very uncomfortable, and we said, what difference does it make, why must we have our bulky waistcoats and scarves and hats? In just our blouses, we look neat and still very Swiss. But the restaurant manager tells us, we put on the full costumes or we don’t play. Our choice, he says, and walks away, just like that.”
“去年，那家餐厅的经理叫我们演出时穿上全套的传统服装，”索尼娅说。“可天热得不得了，很不舒服。我们说有什么差别呢？为什么一定要穿上大大的马甲、围围巾、戴帽子？我们就算只是穿衬衫也一样很像瑞士人，又整洁。可是餐厅经理说我们要么穿上全套衣服，要么走人，自己选，说完就走了，就这样。”
“But Sonja, that is the same in any job. There is always a uniform, something the employer insists you must wear. It is the same for bankers! And in our case, at least it is something we believe in. Swiss culture. Swiss tradition.”
“可是索尼娅，哪个工作都一样，都有制服，老板都要求你一定要穿。在银行工作也一样！而人家要我们穿的至少是我们所相信的。瑞士的文化。瑞士的传统。”
Once again something vaguely awkward hovered between them, but it was just for a second or two, and then they both smiled as they fixed their gazes back on my guitar. I thought I should say something, so I said:
这时我又一次隐隐感觉到他们之间有什么不愉快，可这种感觉只持续了一两秒钟，他们看着我的吉他，就又都露出了微笑。我觉得自己该说点什么，就讲道：
“I think I’d enjoy that. Being able to play in different countries. It must keep you sharp, really aware of your audiences.”
“我想到不同的国家去表演一定很有趣。你得保持敏感，了解你的听众。”
“Yes,” Tilo said, “it is good that we perform to all kinds of people. And not only in Europe. All in all, we have got to know so many cities so well.”
“是，”蒂洛说，“我很高兴我们能给各种各样的人表演。不单单在欧洲。总而言之，我们因此得去了解很多的城市。”
‘Düsseldorf is where our son is now living. He is your age. Perhaps a little older.”
“我们的儿子现在就住在杜塞尔多夫。他跟你差不多大，可能比你大一些。”
‘Düsseldorf, for instance,” said Sonja. There was something different about her voice now — something harder — and I could see again the person I’d encountered back at the cafe. Tilo, though, didn’t seem to notice anything and said to me, in a carefree sort of way:
“比如说杜塞尔多夫，”索尼娅说。她的口气变了——变的有些硬——我仿佛又见到了中午餐厅里的那个人。可蒂洛似乎并没有察觉出什么异常，愉快地说道：
“Earlier this year,” Sonja said, “we went to Düsseldorf. We have an engagement to play there. Not the usual thing, this is a chance to play our real music. So we call him, our son, our only child, we call to say we are coming to his city. He does not answer his phone, so we leave a message. We leave many messages. No reply. We arrive in Düsseldorf, we leave more messages. We say, here we are, we are in your city. Still nothing. Tilo says don’t worry, perhaps he will come on the night, to our concert. But he does not come. We play, then we go to another city, to our next engagement.”
“今年初，”索尼娅说，“我们去了杜塞尔多夫。有人邀请我们去表演。不是常有的事，是表演我们自己真正的音乐的机会。所以我们给儿子打了电话，我们的独子，告诉他我们要去他的城市。他没有接电话，我们就留了言。我们留了好几次留言。没有回音。我们到了杜塞尔多夫又给他留言，说我们到了，到你这里了。还是没有回音。蒂洛说别担心，也许他那天晚上会来，来看我们表演。可是他没有来。我们表演完了又去了别的城市，进行下一场演出。”
“I suppose it can be a bit tricky,” I said. “Having children and being musicians.”
“我想又要带孩子又要搞音乐挺难的。”我说。
Tilo made a chuckling noise. “I think perhaps Peter heard enough of our music while he was growing up! The poor boy, you see, he had to listen to us rehearsing, day after day.”
蒂洛咯咯地笑了。“我想彼得大概是受够了我们的音乐，从小听到大！可怜的孩子，不得不听我们排练，日复一日。”
“We only had the one child,” Tilo said, “so it was not so bad. Of course we were fortunate. When we had to travel, and we couldn’t take him with us, his grandparents were always delighted to help. And when Peter was older, we were able to send him to a good boarding school. Again, his grandparents came to the rescue. We could not afford such school fees otherwise. So we were very fortunate.”
“我们只有一个孩子，”蒂洛说，“所以还不算太难。当然我们是幸运的。我们外出表演不能带着他，他的祖父母总是很乐意帮忙。等他长大一点，我们就把他送到一家很好的寄宿学校。他的祖父母又帮了我们大忙，不然我们付不起那么高的学费。所以说我们是幸运的。”
“Yes, we were fortunate,” Sonja said. “Except Peter hated his school.”
“是，我们很幸运，”索尼娅说。“除了彼得讨厌那所学校。”
“Oh yes, we enjoy our work,” said Tilo. “It’s everything to us. Even so, we very much appreciate a vacation. Do you know, this is our first proper vacation in three years.”
“哦，没错，我们很喜欢这个工作，”蒂洛说。“工作就是我们的一切。但即便如此，我们也很想放个假。知道吗？这是我们这三年来头一次像样的假期。”
The earlier good atmosphere was definitely slipping away. In an effort to cheer things up, I said quickly: “Well, anyway, it looks like you both really enjoy your work.”
很显然之前的愉快气氛正在流逝。为了活跃气氛，我赶忙说：“不管怎么说，看样子你们很喜欢你们的工作。”
This made me feel really bad all over again, and I thought about having another go at persuading them to change hotels, but I could see how ridiculous this would look. I just had to hope Hag Fraser pulled her finger out. Instead, I said:
蒂洛的话又一次让我觉得特别不好受，我想再次劝他们换旅馆，但我知道这么做很可笑。我只能希望哈格·弗雷泽对他们好一点。我心里想着这个，嘴上却说：
“Look, if you like, I’ll play you that song I was working on earlier. I haven’t finished it, and I wouldn’t usually do this. But since you heard some of it anyway, I don’t mind playing you what I’ve got so far.”
“瞧，要是你们喜欢的话，我可以把刚刚那首歌再唱一遍给你们听。那歌还没写完，我不常演唱还没完成的作品。可既然你们已经听到了一些，我不妨把已经写出来的部分唱给你们听。”
As I got ready to play, they shifted again, so they were facing the view like before, their backs to me. But this time, instead of cuddling, they sat there on the grass with surprisingly upright postures, each with a hand up to the brow to shield away the sun. They stayed like that all the time I played, peculiarly still, and what with the way each of them cast a long afternoon shadow, they looked like matching art exhibits. I brought my incomplete song to a meandering halt, and for a moment they didn’t move. Then their postures relaxed, and they applauded, though perhaps not quite as enthusiastically as the last time. Tilo got to his feet, muttering compliments, then helped Sonja up. It was only when you saw how they did this that you remembered they were really quite middle-aged. Maybe they were just tired. For all I know, they might have done a fair bit of walking before they’d come across me. All the same, it seemed to me they found it quite a struggle to get up.
我准备演唱的时候，他们把身子转回去，像刚刚那样面对着赫里福郡，背对着我。但是这次他们没有拥抱在一起，而是坐得异常的笔直，一只手放在眉毛上挡太阳。我弹的时候他们一直是这个姿势，一动不动，在草地上留下两道长长的夕照的影子，像两尊塑像。我慢慢地结束这首还没写完的歌。歌唱完了，他们仍旧一动不动，过了一会儿才放松身子，鼓了鼓掌，虽然没有前一次那么热烈。蒂洛一面称赞着一面站起来，然后扶索尼娅起来。看着他们站起来的样子我才意识到他们的年纪确实不小了。也有可能他们只是累了。就我所知，遇到我之前他们已经走了不少的路。总之就是我觉得他们起身的时候挺吃力的。
The smile returned to Sonja’s face. “Yes,” she said, “please do let us hear. It sounded so beautiful.”
索尼娅的脸上又露出了笑容，说：“好啊，快唱来听。那歌儿太好听了。”
“Yes,” Tilo said, “and then Sonja and I will play our cover version to our customers!” His big laugh rang through the air. Then he did a polite little bow and said: “So today we are in your debt three times over. A splendid lunch. A splendid choice of hotel. And a splendid concert here in the hills!”
“是啊，”蒂洛说，“到时索尼娅和我就可以翻唱给客人们听！”他洪亮的笑声在空气中回荡。接着他礼貌地微微鞠了一躬，说：“今天我们总共欠了你三次人情。可口的午餐，舒适的旅馆，还有美妙的山上音乐会！”
“You’ve entertained us so marvellously,” Tilo was saying. “Now we are the tourists, and someone else plays for us! It makes a pleasant change.”
“你的演出太精彩了，”蒂洛说。“今天我们是游客，别人唱歌给我们听！调了过来，多有意思啊！”
“I would love to hear that song when it is finished,” Sonja said, and she seemed really to mean it. “Maybe one day I will hear it on the radio. Who knows?”
“歌写完了以后要唱给我听，”索尼娅说，很认真的样子。“说不定有一天我会在电台里听到呢。”
The cafe had closed by the time I came down from the hills. Maggie and Geoff looked exhausted. Maggie said it had been their busiest day yet and seemed pleased about it. But when Geoff made the same point over supper — which we ate in the cafe from various left-overs — he put it like it was a negative thing, like it was awful they’d been made to work so hard and where had I been to help? Maggie asked how my afternoon had gone, and I didn’t mention Tilo and Sonja — that seemed too complicated — but told her I’d gone up to the Sugarloaf to work on my song. And when she asked if I’d made any progress, and I said yes, I was making real headway now, Geoff got up and marched out moodily, even though there was still food on his plate. Maggie pretended not to notice, and fair enough, he came back a few minutes later with a can of beer, and sat there reading his newspaper and not saying much. I didn’t want to be the cause of a rift between my sister and brother-in-law, so I excused myself soon after that and went upstairs to work some more on the song.
我从山上下来时餐厅已经关门了。玛吉和杰夫看上去都累坏了。玛吉说这是他们最忙的一天，挺高兴的样子。可是晚餐上——我们的晚饭是店里各种各样的剩菜——杰夫说到同一件事时却是一脸的不高兴，像是在责怪我：他们累得半死的时候，我不帮忙跑哪儿去了？玛吉问我下午干什么去了，我没有提起蒂洛和索尼娅——说起来太复杂了——只是告诉她我到山上写歌去了。她又问我可有进展，我说有，大有进展。这时杰夫闷闷不乐地走了出去，盘子里的东西还没吃完。玛吉假装没看见，也对，几分钟后杰夫拿着一罐啤酒回来，坐下看报纸，一声不吭。我不希望他们俩为了我吵架，便很快离开了餐桌，回到楼上继续写歌。
As we said our goodbyes, I had an urge to tell them the truth. To confess that I’d deliberately sent them to the worst hotel in the area, and warn them to move out while there was still time. But the affectionate way they shook my hand made it all the harder to come out with this. And then they were going down the hill and I was alone on the bench again.
分别的时候，我很想告诉他们真相。告诉他们我故意给他们推荐了这里最烂的旅馆，希望他们趁还来得及赶紧搬出来。可是看着他们欢欢喜喜地跟我握手道别，我真是说不出口。就这样，他们下山了，又剩我一个人坐在长椅上。
I’d been there like that for about an hour, playing through various ideas for the bridge passage, when there was a knock and Maggie stuck her head round the door. Of course everything was in darkness, but outside down on the terrace there was a security light, so I could just about make out her face. She had on this awkward smile, and I thought she was about to ask me to come and help with yet another chore. She came right in, closed the door behind her and said:
我就这样坐了大约一个小时，试验着各种桥段，突然听见敲门声，玛吉的头探了进来。房里漆黑一片，但是楼下露台的安全灯亮着，所以我能依稀辨认出她的脸。她的脸上挂着不自然的微笑，我心想她又要叫我下去帮忙干活了。她走到房间里，关上身后的门，说：
My room, which was such an inspiration in the daytime, wasn’t nearly so appealing after dark. For a start, the curtains didn’t pull all the way across, which meant if I opened a window in the stifling heat, insects from miles around would see my light and come charging in. And the light I had was just this one bare bulb hanging down from the ceiling rose, which cast gloomy shadows all round the room, making it look all the more obviously the spare room it was. That evening, I was wanting light to work by, to jot down lyrics as they occurred to me. But it got far too stuffy, and in the end I switched off the bulb, pulled back the curtains, and opened the windows wide. Then I sat in the bay with my guitar, just the way I did in the day.
白天我的房间很可以给人灵感，但到了晚上就不那么吸引人了。首先，窗帘不能把整个窗子遮住。大热天的时候，我把窗户一打开，数英里以内的蚊虫看到灯光，就会蜂拥而入。其次，房里只有一只赤裸裸的灯泡从天花板的灯线盒垂下来，投下昏暗的灯光，原本简陋的房间看起来更加不堪。那天晚上，我本想开灯把脑子里想到的歌词写下来。可是天实在太热了，最后我关掉灯，拉开窗帘，把窗子开得大大的，像白天那样抱着吉他坐在窗台上。
She said it like that, like it was a question, and it took me a moment to realise she was asking me to stop playing my music.
她的语气像是在发问。我过了一会儿才反应过来她是要我别再弹琴了。
“I’m sorry, love. But Geoff’s really tired tonight, he’s been working so hard. And now he says he wants to watch his movie in peace?”
“对不起，亲爱的。今天实在把杰夫累坏了。他说他现在想安安静静地看电影？”
“But I’m working on something important here,” I said.
“可我正写到关键的地方呢，”我答道。
My sister seemed to think about this. Then she did a big sigh. “I don’t think I ought to report that back to Geoff.”
玛吉像是在掂量我的话，过了一会儿重重地叹了一口气。“我想我不该把这话告诉杰夫。”
“Why not? Because I don’t think he’d be very pleased, that’s why not. And I don’t really think he’d accept that his work and your work are quite on the same level.”
“为什么？因为他会不高兴，这就是为什么。而且我想他会认为你的工作跟他的工作根本不是同一个档次。”
“I know. But he’s really tired tonight, and he says he can’t relax because of your guitar.”
“我知道。可是杰夫今天真的累坏了。他说你的吉他让他没办法休息。”
“What Geoff needs to realise,” I said, “is that just as he’s got his work to do, I’ve got mine.”
“杰夫应该知道：他有他的工作，我也有我的。”我说。
I stared at Maggie, for a moment quite speechless. Then I said: “You’re talking such rubbish. Why are you talking such rubbish?”
一时间我看着玛吉，说不出话来。“你胡说八道什么啊。你说什么蠢话呢？”
“Why not? Why don’t you? It’s time he got the message.”
“为什么？为什么不该告诉他？他应该知道。”
She shook her head wearily, but didn’t say anything.
玛吉疲惫地摇摇头，没有说什么。
Rigid with rage, I stared at the door that had closed behind her. I became aware of muffled sounds from the television downstairs, and even in the state I was in, some detached part of my brain was telling me my fury should be directed not at Maggie, but at Geoff, who’d been systematically trying to undermine me ever since I’d got here. Even so, it was my sister I was livid at. In all the time I’d been in her house, she hadn’t once asked to hear a song, the way Tilo and Sonja had done. Surely it wasn’t too much to ask of your own sister, and one who’d been, I happened to remember, a big music fan in her teens? And now here she was, interrupting me when I was trying to work and talking all this rubbish. Every time I thought of the way she’d said: “All right, I won’t argue with you,” I felt fresh fury coursing through me.
我看着在她身后关上的门，气得整个人都僵掉了。楼下隐隐约约传来电视的声音。即便是正在气头上，大脑深处仍旧有一个声音告诉我：我不应该朝玛吉发火，我应该气的人是杰夫，是他从我一到这里就有计划一步步地想要搞我。但我还是生我姐姐的气。我在她家待了这么久，她从来没有像蒂洛和索尼娅那样要我唱首歌给她听。这个要求对自己的姐姐来说不过分，而且我突然想到，她十几岁的时候也热衷于音乐。可现在，她在我想专心写歌的时候打断我，说些愚不可及的话。我一想到她说“好了，我不跟你吵”的样子，气又上来了。
“I don’t understand why you’re talking such rubbish,” I said. “And just when things are going so well for me.”
“我不明白你为什么说这种蠢话，”我说。“而且是正当我进展得很顺利的时候。”
“Things are going well for you, are they, love?” She kept looking at me in the half-light. “Well, all right,” she said in the end. “I won’t argue with you.” She turned away to open the door. “Come down and join us, if you like,” she said as she left.
“你进展得很顺利，是吗，亲爱的？”昏暗中她一直看着我，过了好一会儿，她说道，“好了，我不跟你吵。”她转身打开门。“你愿意的话就下来跟我们一起看电影吧，”离开前她说道。
I didn’t speak much to either of them when I came down as usual just after the breakfast rush. I made some toast and coffee, helped myself to some left-over scrambled eggs, and settled down in the corner of the cafe. All through my breakfast the thought kept occurring to me I might run into Tilo and Sonja again up in the hills. And though this might mean having to face the music about Hag Fraser’s place, even so, I realised I was hoping it would happen. Besides, even if Hag Fraser’s was truly awful, they’d never suppose I’d recommended it out of malice. There’d be any number of ways for me to get out of it.
第二天早上，我像往常一样在早餐的高峰过后下楼去，没有怎么跟玛吉和杰夫说话。我烤了几片面包，泡了咖啡，还吃了些剩下的炒鸡蛋，然后在店内的角落坐下。吃早饭的时候，我脑子里一直在想今天会不会在山上再次遇到蒂洛和索尼娅。虽说见到他们我可能得面对旅馆的事情，但我发现我还是想再遇到他们。再说，就算哈格·弗雷泽的旅馆真的很糟糕，他们也不会想到我是故意耍他们的。我有好些理由替自己开脱。
I came down off the window sill, put away the guitar, and threw myself down on my mattress. Then for the next little while I stared at the patterns on the ceiling. It seemed clear I’d been invited here on false pretences, that this had all been about getting cheap help for the busy season, a mug they didn’t even have to pay. And my sister didn’t understand what I was trying to achieve any better than did her moron of a husband. It would serve them both right if I left them here in the lurch and went back to London. I kept going round and round with this stuff, until maybe an hour or so later, I calmed down a bit and decided I’d just turn in for the night.
我从窗台上下来，收起吉他，躺倒在床上，盯着天花板。如今我总算明白了他们叫我来是有目的的，是在旺季找一个廉价的，甚至不用付工资的帮手。而玛吉不懂得我现在奋斗的目标比她那个笨蛋老公大得多。我真应该明天就离开这里回伦敦去，让他们自己收拾烂摊子。我就这么胡思乱想了大约一个小时以后，冷静了一些，决定脱衣服睡觉。
It was really hot again and the sweat was running down my cheek as I climbed the path leading up to my bench. Even though I’d been thinking about Tilo and Sonja at breakfast, I’d forgotten them by this point, and so got a surprise when, coming up the final slope, I looked towards the bench and saw Sonja sitting there by herself. She spotted me immediately and waved.
又是一个大热天，我爬上通往长椅的小路，汗不停地从脸上流下来。虽说早饭的时候我一直在想着蒂洛和索尼娅，但这会儿早把他们抛在了脑后，所以当我爬上最后一段斜坡，看见索尼娅独自一人坐在梯田上时，不禁吓了一跳。索尼娅一眼就看见了我，朝我挥手。
We said our hellos, then for a time we just sat there side by side, not speaking. This didn’t seem so odd at first, partly because I was still getting my breath back, and partly because of the view. There was more haze and cloud than the previous day, but if you concentrated, you could still see beyond the Welsh borders to the Black Mountains. The breeze was quite strong, but not uncomfortable.
我们互相打了招呼，并排坐在一起，彼此都不说话。一开始这样并不奇怪，一方面是因为我还气喘吁吁，一方面是因为眼前的景色。今天的天气没有昨天晴朗，云也比较多，但是你注意看的话，还是可以看见威尔士境内的布莱克群山。风挺大的，但不会感觉不舒服。
Maggie and Geoff were probably expecting me to help again with the lunch rush, but I decided they needed a lesson about taking people for granted. So after breakfast, I went upstairs, got my guitar and slipped out the back way.
玛吉和杰夫可能想要我在午餐的时候帮忙，但我决定应该给他们一个教训，他们不应该不把别人当一回事。于是吃完早饭，我回到楼上，拿上吉他，从后门溜走了。
I was still a bit wary of her, and especially without Tilo around, I wasn’t so keen to sit down with her. But she gave me a big smile and did a shifting movement, like she was making room for me, so I didn’t have much choice.
我对她仍旧有点提防，特别是蒂洛不在这里，我不是很想跟她坐在一起。可是她给了我一个灿烂的微笑，还往旁边挪了挪，像是给我让位，我别无选择。
Some way in the distance, I could see a figure, in what might have been a green T-shirt and a white sun cap, moving along the rising path towards Worcestershire Beacon.
远远的我看见一个人影，隐约穿着绿色T恤衫、戴着白色太阳帽，朝着伍斯特郡的比肯山往上爬。
“So where’s Tilo?” I asked in the end.
“蒂洛呢？”我终于开口问道。
“Tilo wished to go for a walk,” she said.
“蒂洛说他想去散步，”索尼娅说。
She gave this consideration, then said: “If you do not mind, perhaps not just at this minute. You see, Tilo and I have just had a talk. You might call it a disagreement.”
她想了想，说：“你要是不介意，恐怕现在不太合适。蒂洛和我刚刚发生了口角，或者可以叫做争吵。”
“By the way,” I said, “I’ve been working a bit more on that song. You can hear it if you like.”
“对了，”我说，“昨天那首歌我又写了一点。想不想听听看？”
“Oh okay. Sorry to hear that.”
“哦，好吧。很抱歉听你这么说。”
While she wasn’t by any means the irate customer from the cafe, neither was she quite the same person who’d been so warm and encouraging to me the day before. There was definitely something up, and I started preparing my defence about Hag Fraser’s.
虽说她现在不是那个在店里发标的顾客，但也不是昨天那个对我那么热情和鼓励的人。肯定出了什么事，我心里准备着对哈格·弗雷泽旅馆的说辞。
“No. I decided to stay here.”
“不。我想留在这里。”
“You didn’t want to go with him?”
“你不和他一起？”
“And now he has gone off for his walk.”
“所以他散他的步去了。”
“Tilo? Oh…” She put her hand up to shield her eyes. Then she pointed. “There. You see? Over there. That is Tilo.”
“蒂洛？哦……”她把手罩在眼睛上。然后她指着远处说：“在那。看见了吗？那里。那个就是蒂洛。”
She turned to look at me. “Your fault? Why do you say that?”
索尼娅转过来看着我。“因为你？为什么？”
She seemed to think this over, then nodded. “It is true, I noticed the weak points. Tilo, however, did not. Tilo, of course, thought the hotel was splendid. We are so lucky, he kept saying. So lucky to find such a hotel. Then this morning we have our breakfast. For Tilo, this is a fine breakfast, the best breakfast ever. I say, Tilo, don’t be stupid. This is not a good breakfast. This is not a good hotel. He says, no, no, we are so very lucky. So I become angry. I tell the proprietress everything that is wrong. Tilo leads me away. Let’s go for a walk, he says. You will feel better then. So we come out here. And he says, Sonja, look at these hills, aren’t they so beautiful? Aren’t we fortunate to come to such a place as this for our vacation? These hills, he says, are even more wonderful than he imagined them when we listen to Elgar. He asks me, isn’t this so? Perhaps I become angry again. I tell him, these hills are not so wonderful. It is not how I imagine them when I hear Elgar’s music. Elgar’s hills are majestic and mysterious. Here, this is just like a park. This is what I say to him, and then it is his turn to be cross. He says in that case, he will walk by himself. He says we are finished, we never agree on anything now. Yes, he says, Sonja, you and me, we are finished. And off he goes! So there you are. That is why he is up there and I am down here.” She shielded her eyes again and watched Tilo’s progress.
她像是想了想我的话，才点点头，说：“没错，我注意到了旅馆的毛病。可蒂洛没有。他当然是觉得旅馆很好。他老说我们运气很好。很幸运能找到一家那样的旅馆。然后，今天早上吃早饭的时候，蒂洛说早饭真不错，是他吃过的最好的早餐。我说蒂洛，别傻了，这早饭不怎么样，这旅馆也不怎么样。他说不，不，我们很幸运。我生气了，向女主人投诉所有的问题。蒂洛把我拉开，说，我们去散步吧。走一走你就会感觉好些了。于是我们就到这儿来了。他说，索尼娅，看看这些山，不漂亮吗？我们能到这种地方来度假不是很幸运吗？他说，这些山比他听埃尔加的时候想象的还要美丽。他问我，不是吗？我可能是又生气了，说，这些山不怎么样，不是我听埃尔加的时候想象的那个样子。埃尔加的山雄伟、神秘，这儿只不过像个公园。我这么跟他说的，这回轮到他生气了。他说既然这样，他要自个儿去散步。他说我们完了，如今我们什么都说不到一块儿去了。他说，没有错，索尼娅，你和我，我们完了。说完他就走了！事情就是这样。这就是为什么他在那里，我在这里。”说完她又把手罩在眼睛上，追随着蒂洛的身影。
“The reason you’ve quarrelled, the reason your holiday’s all messed up now. It’s my fault. It’s that hotel, isn’t it? It wasn’t very good, right?”
“你们吵架，你们的假期搞砸了，都是因为我，因为那旅馆，不是吗？那旅馆不是很好，对吧？”
Again, we sat there not talking. Then I sighed and said: “I think maybe this is all my fault.”
我们又不说话了。过了一会儿，我叹了口气，说道：“我想都是因为我。”
“The hotel?” She seemed puzzled. “That hotel. Well, it has some weak points. But it is a hotel, like many others.”
“旅馆？”她一脸困惑。“这个嘛，那旅馆是有些毛病。可它就是个旅馆，跟其他的旅馆一样。”
“But you noticed, right? You noticed all the weak points. You must have done.”
“可你注意到了是吧？你注意到所有的毛病了。一定注意到了。”
“That was beautiful. And what will you do then, once you have finished writing your songs here? You have a plan?”
“那首歌很美。你在这里写完这些歌以后要做什么呢？有什么计划吗？”
“Please. The hotel is not important.” She leaned forward to get a better view of Tilo. Then she turned to me and smiled, and I thought maybe there were little tears in her eyes. “Tell me,” she said. “Today, you mean to write more songs?”
“别这么说。旅馆不重要。”她往前探了探身子，好把蒂洛看得清楚些。然后转过来对我微微一笑，我想她的眼睛里噙着些许泪水。她说：“说说你今天是不是打算再写几首歌？”
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “If only I hadn’t sent you to that hotel in the first place…”
“真的很抱歉，”我说。“当初我要是没有推荐你们到那里去……”
“How exciting. I do wish you luck.”
“多令人兴奋啊。我衷心地祝你好运。”
“I’ll go back to London and form a band. These songs need just the right band or they won’t work.”
“我要回伦敦去组建一支乐队。这些歌需要一支合适的乐队，不然就没有用了。”
“That’s the plan. Or at least, I want to finish the one I’ve been working on. The one you heard yesterday.”
“我是这么打算的。或者至少把还没写完的那首写完。昨天你们听的那首。”
After a moment, I said, quite quietly: “Then again, I may not bother. It’s not so easy, you know.”
过了一会儿，我轻声说：“也有可能我不会去费这个劲。你知道组建一支乐队不是那么容易的。”
She didn’t reply, and it occurred to me she hadn’t heard, because she’d turned away again, to look towards Tilo.
她没有回答，我想她可能没听见，因为她又转过头去看蒂洛了。
“You know,” she said eventually, “when I was younger, nothing could make me angry. But now I get angry at many things. I don’t know how I have become this way. It is not good. Well, I do not think Tilo is coming back here. I will return to the hotel and wait for him.” She got to her feet, her gaze still fixed on his distant figure.
“知道吗？”过了好一会儿她说道，“以前没有什么事情会让我生气。可现在我老是生气。我不知道我为什么会变成这个样子。这样不好。咳，我想蒂洛不会回这边来了。我回旅馆等他吧。”她站起来，视线没有离开远处的身影。
“Yes, that was a good moment. Thank you for that.” Suddenly, she held out her hand to me, smiling warmly. “It has been so nice to meet you.”
“是啊，多美好的时刻。谢谢你的歌。”她突然伸过手来，亲切地笑着。“认识你真好。”
“If Tilo were here,” she said, “he would say to you, never be discouraged. He would say, of course, you must go to London and try and form your band. Of course you will be successful. That is what Tilo would say to you. Because that is his way.”
“如果蒂洛在这，”她说，“他会对你说，永远别灰心。他会说你一定要回到伦敦试着组建自己的乐队。你一定会成功的。蒂洛会这么说的。因为他就是这么一个人。”
“It’s a shame,” I said, also getting up, “you having a row on your holiday. And yesterday, when I was playing to you, you seemed so happy together.”
我也站了起来，说道：“真遗憾你们在度假的时候吵架。昨天我弹琴给你们听的时候，你们看上去是那么幸福的一对。”
We shook hands, in the slightly limp way you do with women. She started to walk away, then stopped and looked at me.
我和她轻轻地握了握手。她转身准备离开，突然又停下来，看着我。
“And what would you say?”
“那你会说什么呢？”
“I would like to say the same. Because you are young and talented. But I am not so certain. As it is, life will bring enough disappointments. If on top, you have such dreams as this…” She smiled again and shrugged. “But I should not say these things. I am not a good example to you. Besides, I can see you are much more like Tilo. If disappointments do come, you will carry on still. You will say, just as he does, I am so lucky.” For a few seconds, she went on gazing at me, like she was memorising the way I looked. The breeze was blowing her hair about, making her seem older than she usually did. “I wish you much luck,” she said finally.
“我也会这么说。因为你既年轻又有才华。可是我不那么肯定。生活总是有很多不尽如人意的地方。但如果那是你的梦想……”她又笑了笑，耸耸肩。“可我不应该说这些。我不是你的好榜样。而且，我看得出来你跟蒂洛比较像。假设真的遇上困难，你也不会放弃。你会跟他一样，说我太幸运了。”她盯着我看了几秒钟，像是要记住我的模样。微风吹动了她的头发，使得她看上去比平时老。“我衷心地祝你好运，”她最后说道。
“Good luck yourself,” I said. “And I hope you two make it up okay.”
“也祝你好运，”我说。“希望你们能重归于好。”
I took the guitar from its case and sat back on the bench. I didn’t play anything for a while though, because I was looking into the distance, towards Worcestershire Beacon, and Tilo’s tiny figure up on the incline. Maybe it was to do with the way the sun was hitting that part of the hill, but I could see him much more clearly now than before, even though he’d got further away. He’d paused for a moment on the path, and seemed to be looking about him at the surrounding hills, almost like he was trying to reappraise them. Then his figure started to move again.
我从盒子里拿出吉他，坐回到长椅上，并没有马上弹起来，而是看着远方，看着伍斯特郡的比肯山和斜坡上蒂洛细小的身影。也许是太阳照射在山上的角度的问题，现在蒂洛的身影比刚才清楚多了，虽然他离得更远了。他在小路上驻足了片刻，似乎在环顾四周的山峰，就好像是想重新评价它们。然后他的身影又开始移动。
She waved a last time, then went off down the path out of my view.
她最后一次挥了挥手，走下坡去，不见了。
I worked on my song for a few minutes, but kept losing concentration, mainly because I was thinking about the way Hag Fraser’s face must have looked as Sonja laid into her that morning. Then I gazed at the clouds, and at the sweep of land below me, and I made myself think again about my song, and the bridge passage I still hadn’t got right.
我继续写歌，可老是开小差，老是在想早上索尼娅去找哈格·弗雷泽理论时，哈格·弗雷泽会是什么表情。我看了看天上的白云，又看了看脚下广袤的大地，然后把思绪重新拉回到我的歌上，拉回到还没写好的桥段上。
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