There were about a hundred of them, all in sober black suits, but the suits were all they had in common. They had white hair or dark hair or fair hair or red hair or no hair at all. They had friendly faces or unfriendly, helpful or sullen, open or secretive, brutish or sensitive. The majority of them were pink-skinned, but there were black-skinned men and brown-skinned. They were European, African, Indian, Chinese, South American, Filipino, American. They all spoke English when they talked to each other, or to the waiters, but the accents were as diverse as the gentlemen. They came from all across Europe and from all over the world.
大厅里有百来个人，全部身着庄重的黑西装，但这就是他们唯一的共同之处了。他们中有白发的，有黑发的，有浅发的，有红发的，也有没头发的。他们的表情和性情各不相同，友好和善或冷漠刻薄，乐善好施或郁郁寡欢，开朗外向或沉默寡言，粗野蛮狠或敏感细腻。大多数人的肤色是粉色的，但也有黑色和棕色。他们之中有欧洲人、非洲人、印第安人、中国人、南美人、菲律宾人和美国人。他们用英语交流，也用英语来使唤侍者，可他们的口音与他们的人种一样五花八门。他们来自欧洲各地，世界各方。
A small sign in the hotel lobby announced that the Washington Room was taken that night by a private function, although there was no information as to what kind of function this might be. Truthfully, if you were to look at the inhabitants of the Washington Room that night, you would have no clearer idea of what was happening, although a rapid glance would tell you that there were no women in there. They were all men, that much was clear, and they sat at round dinner tables, and they were finishing their dessert.
宾馆大堂里挂着一块小告示牌，告知众人今晚华盛顿厅被包场了，但并没有写明是什么活动。事实上，就算你当晚亲眼看到了华盛顿厅里的那些人，你也不会明白他们在干什么。不过扫一眼倒能让你看清楚，在场者没有女性，全是男的。他们围坐在几张圆桌边，正在吃甜点。
The man Jack sat at the front center table, beside a dapper man with silver-white hair. They were waiting for coffee.
杰克之一坐在大厅前中部的桌子边，身旁是一位衣冠楚楚、白发苍苍的男人。他们在等咖啡。
The man Jack said, “I’ve been thinking. That business in San Francisco four years ago –“
杰克之一说：“我在想，四年前发生在旧金山的那件事——”
The men in black suits sat around their tables while up on a platform one of their number, a wide, cheery man dressed in a morning suit, as if he had just come from a wedding, was announcing Good Deeds Done. Children from poor places had been taken on exotic holidays. A bus had been bought to take people who needed it on excursions.
穿着黑西装的一位位男士围坐在圆桌边，台上站着他们的一员。此人膀大腰圆，兴高采烈，身穿晨礼服，像是在来之前刚参加完一场婚礼。他正在就大家行过的善事发表演说，比如带穷苦地方的孩子来一场异域风情之旅，比如带想出远门的人乘坐巴士来一次远行。
“Time’s a-ticking,” said the silver-haired man, “and we’re none of us getting any younger.”
“时间在嘀嗒逝去。”头发花白的男人说，“我们都越来越老了。”
“Was unfortunate, but like the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la, absolutely nothing to do with the case. You failed, Jack. You were meant to take care of them all. That included the baby. Especially the baby. Nearly only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades.”
“很不走运，但那件事就像春天绽放的花朵，和你负责的事毫无干系。杰克，你搞砸了，你应该把所有人都处理掉，包括那个小男孩，特别是那个小男孩。没能杀掉他，你前功尽弃。”
“You had time. Now, you just have a deadline. Now, you’ve got to get smart. We can’t cut you any slack, not any more. Sick of waiting, we are, every man Jack of us.”
“你原本有时间，而现在，你只有时限。机灵点。我们不能再任由你拖泥带水。我们已经等烦了，每个杰克都耐不住了。”
“Ten years,” he said. “Time and tide wait for no man. The babe will soon be grown. And then what?”
“十年啊。”他说，“岁月不待人，那个孩子很快就会长大，然后呢？”
A waiter in a white jacket poured coffee for each of the men at the table: a small man with a pencil-thin black mustache, a tall blond man good-looking enough to be a film star or a model, and a dark-skinned man with a huge head who glared out at the world like an angry bull. These men were making a point of not listening to Jack’s conversation, and instead were paying attention to the speaker, even clapping from time to time. The silver-haired man added several heaped spoonfuls of sugar to his coffee, stirred it briskly.
一名身穿白色夹克的侍者为众人倒上咖啡。他们之中有个小个子，留着窄窄的一绺黑色小胡子；有个高个子，一头金发，相貌英俊得堪比影星和模特；还有个深肤色的男子，脑袋很大，对周遭怒目而视，样子活像一头愤怒的公牛。他们刻意不去听杰克之一和白发男人的谈话，而是留神听着台上那个人的演说，还不时鼓掌。头发花白的男人往自己的咖啡里加了几大勺糖，快速搅动。
“I still have time, Mister Dandy,” the man Jack began, but the silver-haired man cut him off, stabbing a large pink finger in his direction.
“我还有时间，丹迪先生。”杰克之一还想说下去，可白发男人冲他伸出一根粗大的粉色手指，打断了他。
The silver-haired man slurped his black coffee. “Really?”
头发花白的男人咂嘴饮下黑咖啡：“真的？”
The man Jack nodded, curtly. “I have leads to follow,” he said.
杰克之一点点头，唐突地说：“我有线索了。”
The man Jack nodded. “I’ve mentioned it.”
杰克点了点头。“我已经提过了。”
“You’ve discussed this with the secretary?” Mr. Dandy indicated the man at the podium, who was, at that moment, telling them about hospital equipment bought in the previous year from their generosity. (“Not one, not two, but three kidney machines,” he was saying. The men in the room applauded themselves and their generosity politely.)
“你和秘书谈过这事了？”丹迪先生指着讲台上那个男人说。此人正在高谈阔论他们前年慷慨解囊而进购的医疗设备。（“不是一台，不是两台，而是三台肾脏透析机。”他这么说。在场者客气地鼓掌，为自己，也为自己的慷慨。）
“He’s not interested. He just wants results. He wants me to finish the business I started.”
“他没有兴趣。他只想要干脆利落的结果。他希望我快点把自己留下的烂摊子收拾好。”
“Really. And I repeat, I think it’s connected with the trouble we had in San Francisco.”
“真的。我再说一次，我认为我负责的这件事和我们在旧金山撞上的麻烦有关系。”
“And?”
“然后呢？”
“We all do, sunshine,” said the silver-haired man. “The boy’s still alive. And time is no longer our friend.”
“我们都这么想。”头发花白的男人说，“那个男孩还活着，而时间已不再是我们的朋友。”
“Like I say,” Mr. Dandy said, without emotion. “Time’s a-ticking.”
“就像我说过的那样，”丹迪先生的声音毫无感情波动，“时间在嘀嗒逝去。”
The other men at the table, who had pretended not to be listening, grunted and nodded their agreement.
桌边其他几个装作没在听的人也念念有词，点头以示赞同。
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