56. I've Thumbed My Last Ride(我的最后一次蹭车)
　　1.I stood in the cold rain near Oklahoma City, trying to thumb a ride home for the weekend. Cars kept speeding by. Without knowing it, I was playing a dangerous game. And the car that finally stopped was just the same as a loaded gun.
　　1、我站在俄克拉荷马城附近的冷雨里，试着竖起大拇指蹭车回家过周末。(美国风俗，站在路边竖起大拇指，意思是搭便车。)路上的车一辆辆飞速闪过。我不知道，我正在玩一场危险的游戏。终于一辆车猛停下来，如同上了膛的枪。
　　2.The guy in the Buick opened the door.” Crawl in-you'll get wet out there."
　　2、别克车里的人打开门。“爬进来，你在那儿会湿透。”
　　3.He had a two or three days' growth of beard. I guess that was the first thing I saw. He was driving a nice car. I expected him to look better. He glanced at me as he pulled back on the road.
　　3、他大概两三天没刮胡子。我想这是我看见的第一件事。他开着一辆漂亮的车。我觉得他应该看上去更入眼些。他在重新上路前瞄了我一眼。
　　4."Where you headed?"
　　4、“你向哪儿去?”
　　5."Frederick."
　　5、“费德瑞克。”
　　6.He drove on without saying anything for a while, a slight frown on his face as if he were thinking.
　　6、他有一阵子没再说话继续开车，当他思考的时候轻微地皱着眉头。
　　7."How far is that from Clinton?"
　　7、“它离克林顿镇有多远?”
　　8.I didn't know, I told him. It was quite a ways, since Clinton is west of Oklahoma City and Frederick is about 150 miles southwest. He mentioned Clinton another time or two as we drove along. It didn't make too much sense to me. If he was interested in going to Clinton, he was certainly taking an odd way.But it was none of my business. As long as he was headed in the direction I wanted to go, I was willing to ride.
　　8、我告诉他我不知道，实际上两地相距一大段路，因为克林顿镇在俄克拉荷马城的西边，而费德瑞克在西南150英里。当我们继续前进的时候，他又一两次提到克林顿镇。这些对我来说没多大意义。如果他有意去克林顿镇，他走的是一条奇怪的路线。但是这不关我的事。只要他朝我要去的方向开，我就愿意继续蹭车。
　　9.When we came to the next highway, though, he turned west, onto 37. That wasn't the way I usually went. I didn't say anything. There were several routes. Then we passed through Tuttle, and still he kept heading west.
　　9、当我们到达下一条高速公路时，他转向西方，走上37号高速路。这不是我常走的一条路，但是我没有说任何话。这一带有好几条路。然后我们穿过陶镇，继续向西开。
　　10.The route was getting a little too roundabout for me. I wanted to make time on the trip home. I made plans to stop at the next town. He was going somewhere at a pretty good clip. Something about his manner made me hesitate to ask where. He hadn't said anything for a while. Suddenly he glanced my way.
　　10、对我来说，路有些太绕弯了。我想尽快回家。我计划在下一个小镇下车。一个非常漂亮的回型圈上他转向一个什么方向。由于他身上什么东西令我犹豫片刻，然后问他我们在哪里。有一阵子他什么也没说。突然他瞥了我一眼。
　　11."You know the back roads into Clinton?" my stomach felt funny. I found myself staring at that beard again. "No," I said. "I'm not going in that direction. I've got to go south, through Chickasha."
　　11、“你知道进克林顿镇的后路吗?”我的肚子里一下子要笑崩了。我发现自己又开始凝视他的胡子。“不，”我回答。“我不是去那个方向。我必须向南走，穿过切克沙镇。”
　　12.He didn't answer, and I made a note of where the door handle was. At the next town I thought I might make a hurried departure.
　　12、他没有回答，同时我开始注意门把手在什么地方。在下个镇，我想我应该快速离开。
　　13.Instead of going on to next town, though, he turned south on the first road we came to leading to Chickasha. That was the way I wanted to go. It was the way I had to go to get home. But somehow that didn't help much. His turning south toward Chickasha, right after I'd said that was the way I wanted to go, struck me as more than a little odd. I moved closer to the door on my side.
　　13、他没有开往下一个镇，而是在第一个路口向南转，我们的方向开始指向切克沙镇。那才是我想要去的路。这条路是我回家必须走的路。但是这一切，不知怎么地并没有给我什么帮助。我刚刚告诉他这条路是我想要走的路，他就突然南转开向切克沙镇，这狠狠噎了我一口。我移得靠紧我这边的门。
　　14.I guess he sensed that, because he started to talk. I was beginning to think maybe he had a screw loose, but he sounded all right now, and I began to relax. You don't have to know a guy's life history just to thumb a ride with him. We talked about one thing and another, and then he asked me what kind of work I did.
　　14、我认为他觉察出来，因为他开始讲话。我开始觉得也许他精神太紧张，现在听上去他挺好，于是我又放松下来。当你仅仅为打个便车，你没有必要了解开车人的生活历史。我们东拉西扯地聊起来，之后他问我做过什么样的工作。
　　15."I'm studying bookkeeping," I told him.
　　15、“我正在学习记帐员”，我告诉他。
　　16."That's an awfully¹ boring life, isn't it?"
　　16、“那是个痛苦无聊的工作，是不是?”
　　17.That burned me plenty. I'd just finished a four year hitch² in the Navy, and now I was studying hard. But I'd asked for the ride, and there was no point in getting hot under the collar because I didn't think the way he did. I made some answer or other and let it go, but the stopped after that.
　　17、这句话伤害了我。我在海军刚刚完成四年兵役，现在正努力读书。但是我仍然是个得乞求搭便车的人，不过，也不存在使我在领子下面浑身发热的理由，因为我不认可他的方式。于是我想漫不经心地回答他的话，或者干脆让话从耳边刮过。但是其后谈话停止了。
　　18.The next time he spoke³ we were going toward Chickasha. The rain was coming down good and strong now and he was trying to see over the steering⁴ wheel. "I guess you'll have to stay in Chickasha tonight."
　　18、他再次讲话的时候，我们正在开往切克沙镇。刚才的雨就不小，现在越来越大，他探身越过方向盘试着看得更清楚些。“我看今天晚上你必须呆在切克沙镇了。”
　　19.That wasn't the first thing he'd said that didn't make full sense to me. Maybe he meant he was turning in another direction now. "I'll make it on in" I told him.
　　19、这句话不是他说的第一句对我来说没有多大意义的话。也许他的意思是现在他要转往其它方向。我告诉他，“我有办法到达目的地的。”
　　20.Suddenly I heard a siren behind us. He glanced in the rear mirror and gave the Buick the gas. The traffic light at the next corner turned red, but he whipped right at the corner without slowing. I grabbed the dashboard to brace⁵ myself and I watched the speedometer climb. He hit sixty coming out of the business district with that siren coming closer behind us. With a sudden turn we left the pavement and roared up a rain-soaked gravel⁶ street. The Buick took it somehow, flying over the wet gravel like a drunken rocket.
　　20、突然我听到警笛在后面响起来。他扫了一眼后视镜，同时给别克猛加油。下一个路角的交通信号灯转成了红色，但是他毫不减速在路角猛力右转。我撑住仪表板去稳住自己，同时我看到速度表在窜升。从商业区冲出来的时候他的车速达到了60英里，尾后的警笛仍然步步逼近。一个急转之后，我们离开了人行道，轰叫着开上了浸透雨水的碎石路。别克在湿漉漉的碎石路上，怎么说呢，简直是在飞，像个喝醉了的火箭。
　　21.We hit a low stretch at top speed, and water swept over the car as he blasted through. The car skidded⁷ as he came out and I heard him cursing and saying something about the windshield wipers. They weren't working any more. It was still pouring down rain. He fought for control of the car. I hoped he would stop now. I figured the cops were after him for speeding, and I thought he was stupid to try to outrun them.
　　21、我们以最高速冲入一个低洼，他不要命地强行穿过，水劈头盖脸砸向汽车。他不得不探出身去看，汽车车轮在打滑，我听到他的咒骂，说着雨刷怎么了，它们停止工作了。天上下着瓢泼大雨。他奋力控制着汽车。我希望现在他能停下来。我想后面的警察是因为他超速追他。我觉得他尝试逃脱他们十分愚蠢。
　　22."No sense in you getting us both killed!" I yelled at him.
　　22、“你就是把我们两个都撞死也没有任何意思。”
　　23.I heard the siren again, closer. About the same time, I heard a pistol. I whirled around, and he jerked a gun from his coat, driving with one land.
　　23、我再次听到警笛在接近。几乎在同时，我听到一声枪响。我急转身，看到他也从他的外衣里拔出手枪，用一只手开着车。
　　24."Shut up and sit tight!"
　　24、“闭嘴，坐稳了!”
　　25.A cold knot came to my middle, right where that gun was pointed⁸. I knew now he wasn't running from any speeding ticket. From the sound of that siren, the police car was right on our tail. The guns started barking again, and I heard slugs slamming into the Buick body. My throat felt like brass⁹. I ducked down as low as I could, knowing one of those slugs could connect at any minute. The guy had his head half out of the window, trying to see where he was going. I had a white handkerchief in my pocket, and I jerked it out and started waving it out the window on my side. Then my breath choked off. I saw the sharp, hairpin¹⁰ turn, and I knew he was going too fast to make it.
　　25、一个冷硬疙瘩捅到我身体的中间，我想那儿顶着的是手枪。我现在知道他不是为一张超速罚单逃跑。从警笛的声音判断，警车已经紧跟我们后面。枪声再度响起，我听到子弹击中别克的车身。我的喉咙好像卡了块铜。我尽可能的缩低身子，知道子弹可能在任何时刻射过来。他把半个头伸出窗外，想知道他在往哪开。我的裤袋里有一块白手帕，我抽出它从我这边的窗户伸出去手开始摇晃它。突然我的呼吸憋住了。我看到前面是一个突然的急转弯，我知道他开得太快转不过去了。
　　26.The car went into an awful turn and then we crashed into a deep ditch with a bone-twisting smash. The Buick slammed to a stop against some railroad tracks, and this guy kicked the door open and started running.
　　26、汽车做了一个可怕的急转之后掉入深沟，接着就是拧骨头似的猛摔。别克砰的一声撞上铁轨停住了，这家伙踢开车门撒腿就跑。
　　27."Stop!" I heard somebody yell. "Drop your gun!"
　　27、“站住!”我听到什么人大叫。“扔掉你的枪!”
　　28.I sat right where I was, weak, half-sick with relief that he'd wrecked¹¹ the car before we'd stopped some of those bullets. I didn't hear any more shots. I guessed he'd decided¹² against running. I felt a hand dig into my shoulder and then I was jerked from the car. My arms were yanked forward. Handcuffs were snapped around my wrists.
　　28、我坐在原处没动，浑身发软，但是他在我们被子弹打坏前撞坏了车治好了我一半的不舒服。再也没有听到枪声，我猜想他已经停止逃跑了。我感觉到一只手抓进我肩膀上的肉里，之后我被从车里猛拽出来。我的胳臂被拉向前去，手铐铐住了我的手腕。
　　29.We were taken to the Chickasha jail, over my repeated protests that I was just a hitchhiker. About dark four detectives from Oklahoma City arrived, and they took us to the Oklahoma City jail. Finger-printing, lineups, then back to the cell. Next morning my door opened.
　　29、我们被带到切克沙镇监狱。我一遍遍抗议说我仅仅是个搭便车的旅行者。大约天黑时从俄克拉荷马城来了四个侦探。他们把我们带回俄克拉荷马城监狱。按手印、列队检查、之后回到牢房。直到第二天早晨门才打开。
　　30."We want to get you out of here, fella," one of the cops said, and I told him I was ready.
　　30、“我们想让你这个家伙从这儿出去，”一个警察说。我告诉他我已经准备好离开。
　　31.I learned that the Buick driver, one Kenneth Paul "Lucky" Aycock, a former convict, had been released from the Oklahoma county jail in Oklahoma City only a week before on $5,000 bond on a narcotics¹³ charge. In the line-up, he'd admitted robbing Dick Colbert at a used car lot in Oklahoma City. He had taken the car. That was about fifteen minutes before he picked me up. Joe Sisson, Chickasha police chief, and Officer Harold Kuku had heard the statewide alarm for the Buick and were waiting for it.
　　31、我知道了别克的司机是个外号叫“好运气”的前罪犯，住在卡耐思保儿镇的额寇卡。一周前他刚刚被从俄克拉荷马城监狱保释出来，原因是非法麻醉品交易罪，抵押保释金5000美元。在排队检查时，他已经承认他在俄克拉荷马城二手车市场的停车场上抢劫了迪克·考伯特先生，开走了他的车。这件事仅仅发生在他让我搭车前15分钟。切克沙镇警长乔·西森，警察哈罗德·库库，他们听到对别克车的全州警报，正等着拦截它。
　　32.Aycock later said that he'd never have been caught if he hadn't thought that my waving that handkerchief out the window during the shooting was funny. I've taken some kidding about that, but it's fine with me. It was the only thing I knew to do try to show the cops shooting at us that I wasn't part of the deal. And if Aycock is right, maybe it kept me or both of us from getting killed.
　　32、额寇卡后来说，如果他不是认为双方互相射击时我在窗外摇手帕实在可笑，他绝不会被抓住。我受了一点嘲弄，但是对我来说没关系。这是我所知道唯一在警察向我们开枪时能表明我不是你们事件中一分子的方法。同时，如果额寇卡说得对，也许它使我或者使我们都幸存下来。
　　33.That night I left again for home. This time I went by bus. I don't hitchhike anymore.
　　33、那天晚上我离开后再次回家。这次我乘公共汽车，我再也不搭便车了。

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