他打开一扇门，里面是一段又长又窄且极其陡峭的楼梯，然后他在前面带路。楼梯顶部附近有一个急剧而危险的弯道。

He opened a door disclosing a long, narrow, and extremely steep staircase, and led the way up. Near the top of it was a Sharp and perilous curve.

“这些只是后楼梯，” 他解释说。

“These are only the back stairs,” he 解释说。

“两组楼梯，” 金发女孩说。“真够炫耀的。”

“Two sets of stairs,” the blonde girl said. “Sheer swank.”

楼梯顶部有两个大而沉闷的房间和一个小走廊。纽扣先生解释说，一个是陪审团室，另一个是用于商议的房间。走廊尽头的门通向一个扫帚柜。他们继续走进法庭。

At the top of the stairs were two large, dreary rooms and a tiny hall. One was the jury room and the other was for consultations, Buttonholes explained. The door off the hall led into a broom closet. They went on into the courtroom.

这是一个巨大的、天花板很高的房间，灰泥墙被漆成很像大理石的样子。法官席上方一幅昏暗的壁画似乎与正义有关。它部分被一面旗帜覆盖着。

It was an immense, high-ceilinged room, the plaster walls painted in a fair approximation of marble. A dingy mural above the judge’s bench appeared to have something to do with justice. It was partly covered with a flag.

“漂亮的房间，” 纽扣先生自豪地说。“我很高兴你喜欢它，” 海伦说。杰克好奇地看着围栏内的一群人。有纽扣先生见过的那两个人，麦高恩小姐和前参议员佩维利，后者脸红得厉害，汗流浃背，显然很生气。有一个结实的中年男子，沙色头发；纽扣先生指出他是县委员会主席埃德?斯金丁斯鲁德。那个高大英俊、白发卷曲的男人是县书记员菲尔?史密斯。

“Beautiful room,” Buttonholes said proudly. “I’m glad you like it,” Helene said. Jake looked curiously at the group of people inside the enclosure. There were the two that Buttonholes had seen, Miss MacGowan, and ex-Senator Peveley, the latter very red-faced, very perspiring, and apparently very cross. There was a sturdy, middle-aged man with sandy hair; Buttonholes pointed him out as Ed Skindingsrude, chairman of the county board. The tall, handsome man with curly white hair is Phil Smith, the county clerk.

小主，

“如果正在进行一场审判，你会觉得更有趣，” 清洁工抱歉地说。“法庭要到十月份才开庭。”

“You’d find it more interesting if a trial was going on,” the janitor said apologetically. “Court ain’t in session till October.”

“我相信如果你知道我们要来，你会做出不同的安排，” 杰克说。“也许甚至是一个精彩的谋杀案。”

“I’m sure if you’d known we were ing you’d have made different arrangements,” Jake said. “Maybe even a nice juicy murder case.”

纽扣先生咧嘴笑了。“三十二年来杰克逊县没有发生过谋杀案。三十二年前，杰伊溪的一个人因为一笔马匹交易开枪打死了他的岳父。杰伊溪的人非常强悍。”

Buttonholes grinned. “Ain’t been a murder in Jackson County in thirty-two years. Fella up in Jay Creek shot his father-in-law over a horse deal, thirty-two years ago. Awful tough bunch of people up in Jay Creek.”

“脾气暴躁，” 海伦严肃地说。“也许事情比报纸上报道的要复杂得多。也许他也有一个不为人知的悲伤故事。”

“Quick-tempered,” Helene said gravely. “Maybe there was more to it than ever got into the papers. Maybe he had a secret sorrow too.”

纽扣先生摇摇头。“他声称老家伙偷了他的马，” 他严肃地说。他们慢慢地穿过法庭。来到另一边的一个宽阔的楼梯，这个楼梯令人印象深刻，它有一个厚厚的、近乎红木的栏杆，通向下面的楼层。

Buttonholes shook his head. “He claimed the old guy stole his horse,” he said solemnly. They trailed slowly across the courtroom. On the other side, a wide, impressive stairway with a thick, near-mahogany rail led down to the floor below.

“这是主楼梯，” 清洁工说。“那个小楼梯是以防万一有紧急情况才建的，但它太方便了，所以一直都有人用。”

“This here’s the main stairway,” the janitor said. “The little one was put up there just in case of emergencies, but it’s so handy it gets used all the time.”

“别灰心，” 海伦说。“也许某一天这里会有紧急情况，然后所有人都会走主楼梯。”

“Don’t be discouraged,” Helene said. “Maybe you’ll have an emergency here sometime, and then everybody’ll use the main stairway.”

杰克在楼梯平台上停了下来，一只手仍然抓着栏杆。透过楼梯平台上方的拱形窗户，他可以看到外面不祥的黑暗加深了，空气令人窒息的静止既能看到也能感觉到。天空的边缘出现了一道微弱、丑陋、略带绿色的光。

Jake had paused on the landing, one hand still clinging to the rail. Through the arched window above the landing he could see that the ominous darkness outside had deepened, the breathless stillness of the air could be seen as much as felt. A faint, ugly, greenish light showed at the very edge of the sky.

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“她会是一场狂风暴雨，” 纽扣先生钦佩地望着窗户，轻声说道。

“She’s going to be a ring-tailed dandy,” Buttonhole breathed admiringly, looking up at the window.

“这让我感到恐惧，” 杰克尖锐地说，伸手去拿香烟。“我通常不介意暴风雨，但这次有些事情让我感到非常、非常恐惧。”

“It gives me the horrors,” Jake said sharply, reaching for a cigarette. “I usually don't mind storms, but something about this gives me just plain, old-fashioned horrors.”

海伦看着他，张开嘴想说什么，又闭上了。

Helene looked at him, opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again.

纽扣先生若有所思地看着他。“你也这样吗？”

Buttonholes regarded him thoughtfully. “Are you like that too?”

“像什么？” 杰克怀疑地问。他的声音有点尖锐。

“Like what?” Jake asked suspiciously. There was a little edge to his voice.

“预知能力。我自己也有点这种倾向。”

“Second sight. I tend a little that way myself.”

“那一定非常有用，” 海伦说。“你对赛马有什么研究么？”

“It must be wonderfully useful,” Helene said. “How are you on horse races?”

纽扣先生没有理会她。“我的祖母是威尔士人。她有这种天赋。” 他深吸了一口气。“永远忘不了她见到阿特?托尼的时候，他当时在和我继妹的大女儿交往。她直视着他，然后说，‘年轻人，你身上有死亡的印记。’” 他停顿了一下，然后利落地往一个沙桶里吐了口痰。“这就是她原话。”

Buttonholes ignored her. “My grandmother was a Welshwoman. She had the gift.” He drew a long breath. “Never forget when she met Art Tonny, he was going with my stepsister’s oldest girl. She looked right at him and she said, ‘Young man, there’s the mark of death on you.’ ” He paused and spat neatly into a sand bucket. “Those are the very words she used.”

“我能想出更好的表述，” 杰克钦佩地说。

“I can think of better ones,” Jake said admiringly.

“五年后，” 纽扣先生说，“他喝醉了，把车开进了河里。” 他又补充道，“幸好我继妹的大女儿没有嫁给他。”

“Five years later,” Buttonholes said, “he got drunk and drove his car into the river.” He added, “Good thing my stepsister’s oldest girl hadn’t married him.”

“也许她也有同样的天赋，” 海伦评论道。

“Maybe she had the same gift,” Helene mented.

他们来到了从杰克逊县法院前部延伸到后部的巨大的下层大厅。不知从哪里突然吹来一阵微风，像一把冰冷的刀穿过潮湿的温暖空气，然后又突然平息了。

They had reached the vast lower hall that stretched from the front of the Jackson County Courthouse to its rear. A sudden breeze arose from nowhere, cutting across the humid warmth like a cold knife, and, as suddenly, died down again.

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“不管有没有暴风雨，” 杰克?贾斯特坚定地说，抓住海伦的胳膊，“我们要离开这里，而且 ——”

“Storm or no storm,” Jake Justus began firmly, taking Helene by the arm, “we’re getting out of here, and -”

就在这时，他们听到了一声尖叫。

That was when they heard the scream.

叫声来自他们头顶上方的某个地方，是一种奇怪的、半窒息的呼喊。接着是另一个声音，一个沉重的身体在那狭窄、扭曲的后楼梯上翻滚和碰撞的声音。

It came from somewhere over their heads, a strange, half-choked cry. It was followed by another sound, that of a heavy body rolling and bumping down that narrow twisting, back staircase.

红头发的男人在楼梯底部，就在前参议员佩维利的身体滚到走廊地板上的时候。杰克弯下腰快速看了一眼。

The red-haired man reached the bottom of the stairs just as the body of ex-Senator Peveley rolled out onto the corridor floor. Jake bent down for a quick look.

“嗯，” 他严峻地说，“这是三十二年来的第二起谋杀案。”

“Well,” he said grimly, “there’s your second murder in thirty-two years.”