“‘Therell be some hiatuses in your program.’ says Paisley， chewing up a piece of a railroad tie. ‘Id give in to you，’ says he， ‘in most any respect if it was secular affairs， but this is not so. The smiles of woman，’ goes on Paisley， ‘is the whirlpool of Squills and Chalybeates， into which vortex the good ship Friendship is often drawn and dismembereddismember v.肢解. Id assault a bear that was annoying you，’ says Paisley， ‘or Id endorseendorse v.在(票据)背面签名， 签注(文件)， 认可， 签署 your note， or rub the place between your shoulderblades with opodeldoc the same as ever， but there my sense of etiquetteetiquette n.礼节 ceases. In this fracas with Mrs. Jessup we play it alone. Ive notified you fair.’
“‘你的如意算盘打错了。’佩斯利嚼着一片铁路枕木屑说。 ‘遇到世俗的事情，’他说，‘我几乎什么都可以让步，这件事可不行。女人的笑靥，’佩斯利继续说，‘是海葱和含铁矿泉的漩涡，友谊之船虽然结实，碰上它也往往要撞碎沉没。我像以前一样，’佩斯利说，‘愿意同一头招惹你的狗熊拼命，替你的借据担保，用肥皂樟脑搽剂替你擦脊梁；但是在这件事情上，我可不能讲客气。在同杰塞普太太打交道这件事上，我们只能各干各的了。我丑话说在前头，先跟你讲清楚。’
“And then I collaborates with myself， and offers the following resolutionsresolution n.坚定， 决心， 决定， 决议 and bylaws：
“于是，我暗自寻思一番，提出了下面的结论和附则：
“‘Friendship between man and man，’ says I， ‘is an ancient historical virtue enacted in the days when men had to protect each other against lizards with eightyfoot tails and flying turtles. And theyve kept up the habit to this day， and stand by each other till the bellboybellboy n.侍者 comes up and tells them the animals are not really there. Ive often heard，’ I says， ‘about ladies stepping in and breaking up a friendship between men. Why should that be？ Ill tell you， Paisley， the first sight and hot biscuit of Mrs. Jessup appears to have inserted a oscillationoscillation n.摆动， 振动 into each of our bosoms. Let the best man of us have her. Ill play you a square game. and wont do any underhandedunderhanded adj.秘密的 work. Ill do all of my courting of her in your presence， so you will have an equal opportunity. With that arrangement I dont see why our steamboat of friendship should fall overboard in the medicinal whirlpools you speak of， whichever of us wins out.’
“‘男人与男人的友谊，’我说，‘是一种古老的，具有历史意义的美德。当男人们互相保护，共同对抗尾巴有八十英尺长的蝴蝶和会飞的海鳖时，这种美德就已经制定了。他们把这种习惯一直保留到今天，一直在互相支持，直到旅馆侍者跑来告诉他们说，这种动物实际上并不存在。我常听人说，’我说，‘女人牵涉进来之后，男人之间的交情就破裂了。为什么要这样呢？我告诉你吧，佩斯利，杰塞普太太的出现和她的热面包，仿佛使我们两人的心都怦然跳动了。让我们中间更棒的一个赢得她吧。我要跟你公平交易，绝不搞不光明正大的小动作。我追求她的时候，一举一动都要当着你的面，那你的机会也就均等了。这样安排，无论哪一个得手，我想我们的友谊大轮船绝不至于翻在你所说的药水气味十足的漩涡里了。’
“‘Good old hoss！’ says Paisley， shaking my hand. ‘And Ill do the same.’ says he. ‘Well court the lady synonymously， and without any of the prudery and bloodshed usual to such occasions. And well be friends still， win or lose.’
“‘这才够朋友！’佩斯利握握我的手说。‘我一定照样行事。”他说。‘我们齐头并进，同时追求那位太太，不让通常那种虚假和流血的事情发生。无论成败，我们仍是朋友。’
“At one side of Mrs. Jessups eatinghouse was a bench under some trees where she used to sit in the breeze after the southbound had been fed and gone. And there me and Paisley used to congregatecongregate v.聚集 after supper and make partial payments on our respects to the lady of our choice. And we was so honorablehonorable adj.可敬的， 荣誉的， 光荣的 and circuitous in our calls that if one of us got there first we waited for the other before beginning any gallivantery.
“杰塞普太太客栈旁的几株树下有一条长凳，等南行火车上的乘客打过尖，离开之后，她就坐在那里乘凉。晚饭后，我和佩斯利在那里集合，分头向我们的意中人献殷勤。我们追求的方式很光明正大，瞻前顾后，如果一个先到，非得等另一个也来了之后才开始调情。
“The first evening that Mrs. Jessup knew about our arrangement I got to the bench before Paisley did. Supper was just over， and Mrs. Jessup was out there with a fresh pink dress on， and almost cool enough to handle.
“杰塞普太太知道我们的安排后的第一晚，我比佩斯利先到了长凳那儿。晚饭刚开过，杰塞普太太换了一套干净的粉红色的衣服在那儿乘凉，并且凉得几乎可以对付了。
“I sat down by her and made a few specifications about the moral surface of nature as set forth by the landscape and the contiguous perspectiveperspective n.透视画法， 透视图， 远景， 前途， 观点，看法， 观点， 观察. That evening was surely a case in point. The moon was attending to business in the section of sky where it belonged， and the trees was making shadows on the ground according to science and nature， and there was a kind of conspicuous hullabaloohullabaloo n.喧嚣， 喧哗， 吵闹（声）， （混乱， 骚动）声 going on in the bushes between the bullbats and the orioles and the jackrabbits and other feathered insects of the forest. And the wind out of the mountains was singing like a Jewsharp in the pile of old tomatocans by the railroad track.
“我在她身边坐下，稍稍发表了一些意见，谈到自然界通过近景和远景所表现出来的精神面貌。那晚确实是一个典型的环境。月亮升到空中应有的地方来应景凑趣，树木根据科学原理和自然规律把影子洒在地上，灌木丛中的蚊母鸟、金管、长耳兔和别的有羽毛的昆虫此起彼伏地发出一片喧噪声。山间吹来的微风，掠过铁轨旁边一堆旧番茄酱罐头，发出了小口琴似的声音。
“I felt a kind of sensation in my left side—something like dough rising in a crockcrock n.坛子， 瓦罐渣 by the fire. Mrs. Jessup had moved up closer.
“我觉得左边有什么东西在蠢蠢欲动——正如火炉旁瓦罐里的面团在发酵。原来是杰塞普太太挨近了一些。
“‘Oh， Mr. Hicks，’ says she， ‘when one is alone in the world， dont they feel it more aggravatedaggravate vt.使恶化， 加重 on a beautiful night like this？’
“‘哦，希克斯先生，’她说，‘一个举目无亲、孤独寂寞的人，在这样一个美丽的夜晚，是不是更会感到凄凉？’
“I rose up off the bench at once.
“我赶紧从长凳上站起来。
“‘Excuse me， madame，’ says I， ‘but Ill have to wait till Paisley comes before I can give a audible hearing to leading questions like that.’
“‘对不起，夫人，’我说，‘对于这样一个富于诱导性的问题，我得等佩斯利来了以后，才能公开答复。’
“And then I explained to her how we was friends cinctured by years of embarrassmentembarrassment n.困窘， 阻碍 and travel and complicity， and how we had agreed to take no advantage of each other in any of the more mushy walks of life， such as might be fomented by sentiment and proximityproximity n.接近， 亲近. Mrs. Jessup appears to think serious about the matter for a minute， and then she breaks into a species of laughter that makes the wildwood resound.
“接着，我向她解释，我和佩斯利·菲什是老朋友，多年的甘苦与共浪迹江湖和同谋关系，已经使我们的友谊牢不可破；如今我们正处在生活的缠绵阶段，我们商妥绝不趁一时感情冲动和近水楼台的机会互相钻空子。杰塞普太太仿佛郑重其事地把这件事考虑了一会儿，忽然哈哈大笑，周围的林子都响起了回声。
“In a few minutes Paisley drops around， with oil of bergamot on his hair， and sits on the other side of Mrs. Jessup， and inaugurates a sad tale of adventure in which him and Pieface Lumley has a skinningmatch of dead cows in 1895 for a silvermounted saddle in the Santa Rita valley during the nine months drought.
“没几分钟，佩斯利也来了。他头上抹了香柠檬油，在杰塞普太太的另一边坐下，开始讲一段悲惨协冒险事迹：一八九五年圣丽塔山谷早了九个月，牛群一批批地死去，他同拉姆利比赛剥牛皮，赌一只镶银的马鞍。
