“‘Lordy！’ says Bill， ‘had you forgot you was in the desert？ Didnt you see Colonel Manna drop down right before your eyes？ Dont you hear the rustling of General Ravens wings？ Im surprised at you， Elijah.’
“‘天哪！’比尔说，‘难道你忘了你自己待在荒野里吗？马那上校就掉在你面前，难道你没有看到？难道你没有听见乌鸦将军的鼓嚣声？你真笨得叫我吃惊，以利亚。’
“We overtook the stranger in the edge of some woods， and， as it was after sundown and in a quiet place， nobody saw us stop him. Bill takes the silk hat off the mans head and brushesbrush n.刷子， 毛刷， 画笔 vt.刷， 掸， 拂 it with his sleeve and puts it back.
“我们在树林子旁边赶上了那个人，那时候太阳已经落山，那地点又很偏僻，没有人看见我们截住他。比尔把那个人头上的帽子摘下来，用袖管拂拭一下，又替他戴上。
“‘What does this mean， sir？’ says the man.
“‘这是什么意思，先生？’那人问道。
“‘When I wore one of these，’ says Bill， ‘and felt embarrassed， I always done that. Not having one now I had to use yours. I hardly know how to begin， sir， in explaining our business with you， but I guess well try your pockets first.’
“‘我自己戴这种帽子觉得不自在的时候，’比尔说，‘总是这样做的。目前我没有大礼帽，只好用用你的。我真不知该怎么开个头同你打打交道，先生，不过我想我们不妨先摸摸你的口袋。’
“Bill Bassett felt in all of them， and looked disgusteddisgusted adj.厌恶的， 厌烦的.
“比尔·巴西特摸遍了他所有的口袋，露出一副鄙夷的神情。
“‘Not even a watch.’ he says. ‘Aint you ashamed of yourself， you whited sculpture？ Going about dressed like a headwaiter， and financed like a Count！ You havent even got carfare. What did you do with your transfer？’
“‘连表都没有一个。’他说。‘你这个空心石膏像，难道不觉得害臊？穿戴得倒像侍者领班，口袋里却像伯爵一样空。连车钱都没有，你打算怎么乘火车呀？’
“The man speaks up and says he has no assets or valuables of any sort. But Bassett takes his handsatchel and opens it. Out comes some collars and socks and a half a page of a newspaper clipped out. Bill reads the clipping careful， and holds out his hand to the heldup party.
“那人开口声明身边毫无金银财物。巴西特拿过他的手提包，打了开来。里面是一些替换用的领口和袜子，还有半张剪下来的报纸。比尔仔细看了剪报，向那位被拦劫的人伸出手去。
“‘Brother，’ says he， ‘greetings！ Accept the apologies of friends. I am Bill Bassett， the burglar. Mr. Peters， you must make the acquaintanceacquaintance n.相识， 熟人 of Mr. Alfred E. Ricks. Shake hands. Mr. Peters，’ says Bill， ‘stands about halfway between me and you， Mr. Ricks， in the line of havoc and corruptioncorruption n.腐败， 贪污， 堕落. He always gives something for the money he gets. Im glad to meet you， Mr. Ricks—you and Mr. Peters. This is the first time I ever attended a full gathering of the National Synod of Sharks—housebreaking， swindling， and financieringfinancier n.财政家， 金融家 vi.欺骗性地从事金融活动，欺骗， 骗取 all represented. Please examine Mr. Ricks credentials， Mr. Peters.’
“‘老哥，’他说，‘你好！请接受朋友的道歉。我是窃贼比尔·巴西特。彼得斯先生，你得认识认识文尔弗雷德·伊·里克斯先生。握握手吧。里克斯先生，在捣乱和犯法方面来说，彼得斯先生的地位介乎你我之间。他拿人钱财，总是给人家一些代价。我很高兴见到你们，里克斯先生——见到你和彼得斯先生。这是我生平第一次参加的全国贪心汉大会——溜门撬锁，坑蒙拐骗，投机倒把，全都到齐了。请看看里克斯先生的证件，彼得斯先生。’
“The piece of newspaper that Bill Bassett handed me had a good picture of this Ricks on it. It was a Chicago paper， and it had obloquiesobloquy n.漫骂， 毁谤 of Ricks in every paragraph. By reading it over I harvested the intelligence that said alleged Ricks had laid off all that portion of the State of Florida that lies under water into town lots and sold ’em to alleged innocent investors from his magnificently furnished offices in Chicago. After he had taken in a hundred thousand or so dollars one of these fussy purchaserspurchaser n.买方， 购买者 that are always making trouble (Ive had em actually try gold watches Ive sold em with acid) took a cheap excursionexcursion n.远足， 游览， 短程旅行， 远足队， 离题，［物］偏移， 漂移 down to the land where it is always just before supper to look at his lot and see if it didnt need a new paling or two on the fence， and market a few lemons in time for the Christmas present trade. He hires a surveyor to find his lot for him. They run the line out and find the flourishing town of Paradise Hollow， so advertised， to be about 40 rods and 16 poles S.， 27 degrees E. of the middle of Lake Okeechobee. This mans lot was under thirtysix feet of water， and， besides， had been preempted so long by the alligatorsalligator n.产于美洲的鳄鱼 and gars that his title looked fishyfishy adj.鱼似的， 多鱼的， 腥臭的， (目光等)呆滞的，(在味道等方面)像鱼的.
“巴西特递给我的剪报上刊登着这位里克斯先生的一张照片。那是芝加哥发行的报纸，文章中的每一段都把里克斯骂得狗血喷头。我看完那篇文章后，才知道上述里克斯其人，坐在芝加哥的装修豪华的办公室里，把佛罗里达州全部淹在水底的地方划成一块块的，卖给一些一无所知的投资者。他收入将近十万元时，那些老是大惊小怪，没事找事的主顾（我本人卖金表时也碰到过这种主顾，居然用硝镪水来试验）之中有一个，精打细算地去佛罗里达旅游了一次，看看他买的地皮，检查检查周围的篱笆是不是需要打一两根桩子加固，顺便再贩一些柠檬，准备供应圣诞节的市场。他雇了一个测量员替他找这块地皮。他们费了九牛二虎之力，才发现广告上所说的乐园谷那个兴旺的小镇是在奥基乔比湖中心四十杆十六竿以南，二十度以东。那人买的地皮在三十六英尺深的水底下，并且已被鳄鱼和长嘴鱼占据了那么长时间，使他的主权颇有争议。
“Naturally， the man goes back to Chicago and makes it as hot for Alfred E. Ricks as the morning after a predictionprediction n.预言， 预报 of snow by the weather bureau. Ricks defied the allegation， but he couldnt deny the alligators. One morning the papers came out with a column about it， and Ricks come out by the fireescape. It seems the alleged authorities had beat him to the safedeposit box where he kept his winnings， and Ricks has to westward ho！ with only feetwear and a dozen 15andahalf English pokes in his shopping bag. He happened to have some mileagemileage n.英里数， 英里里程 left in his book， and that took him as far as the town in the wilderness where he was spilled out on me and Bill Bassett as Elijah III. with not a raven in sight for any of us.
“那人回到芝加哥，自然闹得艾尔弗雷德·伊·里克斯火烧火燎的，热得像是气象台预报有降雪时的天气。里克斯驳斥了他的陈述，却无法否认鳄鱼的存在。有一天，报上用整整一栏的篇幅来揭发这件事，里克斯走投无路，只得从防火梯上逃出来。当局查到了他存钱的保管库，里克斯只得在手提包里放上几双袜子和十来条十五英寸半的领口，直奔西部。他的皮夹里恰好有几张火车代价券，勉强来到我和比尔·巴西特所在的那个偏僻小镇，下了火车，辞了以利亚第三。可是却看不到叼粮食来的乌鸦。
“Then this Alfred E. Ricks lets out a squeaksqueak n.尖叫声， 吱吱声， 机会 v.发出尖叫声 that he is hungry， too， and denies the hypothesis that he is good for the value， let alone the price， of a meal. And so， there was the three of us， representing， if we had a mind to draw syllogismssyllogism n.［逻］三段论法， 推论法， 演绎 and parabolasparabola n.［数］抛物线， labor and trade and capital. Now， when trade has no capital there isnt a dicker to be made. And when capital has no money theres a stagnationstagnation n.停滞 in steak and onions. That put it up to the man with the jimmy.
“接着，这位艾尔弗雷德·伊·里克斯嚷嚷起来，说他也饿了，并且声明说他没有能力支付一餐饭的价值，更不用说价格了。因此我们三个人凑在一起，如果还有雅兴作些演绎推理和绘画说明的话，就可以代表劳动力、贸易和资本。但是贸易没有资本的时候，什么买卖都做不成。而资本没有金钱的时候，洋葱肉排的销路就不景气了。现在只能仰仗那个带钢撬的劳动力。
“‘Brother bushrangersbushranger n.丛林居民，(澳大利亚的)以丛林为藏身之地的逃犯，’ says Bill Bassett， ‘never yet， in trouble， did I desert a pal. Hard by， in yon wood， I seem to see unfurnished lodgings. Let us go there and wait till dark.’