1.The policeman walked up the avenue impressively. The time was barely 10 o'clock at night, but chilly gusts of wind had almost emptied the streets. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but the majority of places was closed.

一名警察赫然走在大街上。刚刚晚上10点，但阵阵寒风已让街道变得几乎空无一人。雪茄店或通宵营业的便餐馆的灯光若隐若现，但大多数地方都已经打烊了。

The policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly. "It's all right, officer," he said, reassuringly. "I'm just waiting for a friend. It's an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn't it? Well, I'll explain if you'd like to make certain it's all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands--'Big Joe' Brady's restaurant."

2.警察突然放慢脚步。在一个漆黑的店门口，一名男子斜过身子，嘴里叼着一支未点燃的雪茄。当警察走过来时，那名男子立即开口了。“我这边挺好的，警官，”他说道，打算让面前的警察放宽心，“我只是在等一位朋友。我们二十年前约好的。对您来说，听起来有点可笑，是吧？那好，我来解释一下，如果您想把它弄清楚的话。事情要从很久以前曾开在这家店位置的一家名叫“大乔布雷迪”的餐厅说起。

3."Until five years ago," said the policeman. "It was torn down then." The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarfpin was a large diamond; looking very expensive.

“直到五年前那家餐厅还在，”警察说，“后来拆了。”门口的那名男子划着一根火柴，点燃了雪茄。灯光下显现出一张苍白的脸，下巴有些方，眼睛炯炯有神，右眉附近有一条白色的疤痕。他的领带针上镶着一颗大钻石，看起来很是昂贵。

4."Twenty years ago tonight," said the man, "I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I was to go to the West to make my fortune. You couldn't have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come. We figured that in twenty years each of us oughtto have our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be."

“二十年前的今晚，”那名男子说，“我和我最好的朋友，世界上最好的家伙吉米·威尔斯，在这家大乔布雷迪餐厅吃饭。我们俩都是在纽约长大的，就像亲兄弟一样，当时我18岁，吉米20岁。第二天早上我就要去西部闯荡发财了。你拖也不可能把吉米拖出纽约。在他看来，整个地球就纽约这一亩三分地儿大。那天晚上，我们约定二十年后的今天晚上在这里再相聚，无论我们的状况变成什么样，无论我们相距多么遥远。我们当时认为，经过这二十年时间，我们俩都应该会创造了属于自己的财富，无论这财富究竟是什么。”

5."It sounds pretty interesting," said the policeman. "Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven't you heard from your friend since you left?" "Well, yes, for a time we corresponded," said the other. "But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is pretty big, and I kept hustling around. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he's alive, for he always was the truest old chap in the world. He'll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it's worth it."

“听起来很有趣，”警察说，“但，这两次相聚之间的时间够长的，在我看来。自从你离开后，你有没有听到过你朋友的消息？”“嗯，有的，我们通信了一段时间。”男子说。“但是一两年后，我们彼此失去了联系。您知道，西部大得很，而且我一直忙忙碌碌的。但是我知道，如果吉米还活着 ，就会来这里见我，因为吉米一直是这个世界上最实诚的老兄。他绝对不会忘记我们的约定。今晚我千里迢迢来到在这扇门前，是值得的。”

6."Did pretty well out West, didn't you?" asked the policeman. "You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was." The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two. "I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. "If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by that time. So long, officer." "Goodnight, sir," said the policeman.

“你在西部过得很不错吧？”警察问道。“当然啦！我希望吉米也能混得有我一半好。那个时候，他工作勤勤恳恳，而且人很好。”警察转动着手里的警棍走动了一两步。“我要走了。希望你的朋友能够过来，并且一切都好。”“如果吉米还活在世上 ，会按时来的。再见，警官。”“晚安，先生，”警察说。

7.There was now a fine, cold drizzle falling, and the wind had become a stronger blow. About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears, hurried towards him across from the opposite side of the street. "Is that you, Bob?" he asked, doubtfully. "Is that you, Jimmy Wells?" cried the man in the door.

此时天上飘下了冷冰冰的毛毛细雨 ，风也越刮越大。他等了大约二十分钟后，一个身穿长款大衣，衣领竖到耳边的高个子男子，从马路对面匆匆向他走来。“是你吗，鲍勃？”他有些迟疑地问道。“是你吗，吉米·威尔斯？”站在门口的男子喊道。

8."Bless my heart!" exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other's hands with his own. "It's Bob, sure as fate. How has the West treated you, old man?" "Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for. You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall!" "Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty." "Doing well in New York, Jimmy?" "Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we'll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times."

“我的天哪！”新来的那名男子惊呼道，同时用自己的双手抓住了另一名男子的双手。“是鲍勃啊，果真是你。在西部混得怎么样，老伙计？”“好极了，在那里我得到了我想要的一切。你变化很大，吉米。我从来没有想过你有这么高！”“哦，我二十岁以后又长高了一些。” “在纽约过得好吗，吉米？”“不好不坏。我在一个市政府部门供职。跟我来，鲍勃。我们去个我知道的地方，然后好好叙叙旧。

9.The two men started up the street, arm in arm. The man from the West was beginning to outline the history of his career. The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest. At the corner of the street stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights, making each of them turn simultaneously to gaze upon the other's face.

两个人手拉着手走上大街。来自西部的男子开始讲述他这些年的职业生涯。另一名男子则把头埋在大衣里，饶有兴趣地倾听着。这条街的拐角处有一家药店，灯火通明，灯光使他们俩同时转动目光，互相凝视着对方的脸。

10.The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm. "You're not Jimmy Wells," he snapped. "Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man's nose from a Roman to a pug." "It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one, said the tall man. "You've been under arrest for ten minutes, 'Silky' Bob; you’re a gangster from Chicago! Now, before we go on to the station here's a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It's from Patrolman Wells."

来自西部的男子突然停下了脚步，松开了手臂。“你不是吉米·威尔斯，”他厉声说，“二十年是很长的时间，但还没长到足以使一个人的鼻子从高鼻梁变成翘鼻。”“有时候，时间可以把一个好人变成一个坏人，”高个子男人说，“十分钟前，你就已经被捕了，‘狡猾的’鲍勃。你是一个从芝加哥流窜至此的歹徒！在我带你去警察局之前，有人托我把这张纸条转交给你。你可以在窗户旁读读它，是巡警威尔斯让我交给你的。”

11.The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short. "Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. JIMMY."

来自西部的男子展开递给他的那张小纸条。读完时，他刚刚还很稳定的手已经开始有些颤抖。纸条的内容很短：“鲍勃：我准时到了我们约定的地方。当你划着火柴点燃雪茄时，我看到了那张芝加哥通缉犯的脸。不知怎的，我没办法亲自动手，于是我走开了，找了一名便衣警察完成了逮捕任务。——吉米。”