They arrived at twilight and as we strolled out among the sparkling hundreds Daisy's voice was playing murmurous tricks in her throat.

他們在黃昏時刻到達，然後當我們幾人漫步在幾百名珠光寶氣的客人當中時，黛西的聲音在她喉嚨裡玩著呢呢喃喃的花樣。

"These things excite me so ,"she whispered ."If you want to kiss me any time during the evening ,Nick ,just let me know and I'll be glad to arrange it for you .Just mention my name .Or present a green card .I'm giving out green --"

這些東西真叫我興奮，她低聲說，如果你今晚上任何時候想吻我，尼克，你讓我知道好了，我一定高興為你安排。只要提我的名字就行，或者出示一張綠色的請帖。我正在散發綠色的…

"Look around ,"suggested Gatsby .

四面看看。蓋茨比敦促她。

"I'm looking around .I'm having a marvelous --"

我正在四面看啊。我真開心極…

"You must see the faces of many people you've heard about ."

你一定看到許多你聽見過的人物的面孔。

Tom's arrogant eyes roamed the crowd .

湯姆傲慢的眼神掃過人群。

"We don't go around very much ,"he said .In fact I was just thinking I don't know a soul here ."

我們平時不大外了，他說，實際上，我剛才正在想我這裡一個人都不認識。

"Perhaps you know that lady ."Gatsby indicated a gorgeous ,scarcely human orchid of a woman who sat in state under a white plum tree .Tom and Daisy stared ,with that peculoarly unreal feeling that accompanies the recognition of a hitherto ghostly celebrity of the movies.

也許你認得那位小姐。蓋茨比對著一位如花似玉的美人，端莊地坐在一棵白梅樹下。湯姆和黛西目不轉睛地看著，認出來這是一位一向只在銀幕上見到的大明星，幾乎不敢相信是真的。

"She's lovely ,"said Daisy .

她真美啊，黛西說。

"The man bending over her is her director ."

站在她身邊彎著腰的是她的導演。

He took them ceremoniously from group to group :

蓋茨比禮貌周全地領著他們向一群又一群的客人介紹。

"Mrs.Buchanan - - -and Mr.Buchanan--"After an instant's hesitation he added :"the polo player ."

布坎農夫人…布坎農先生，躊躇片刻之後，他又補充說，馬球健將。

"Oh no,"objected Tom quickly ,"Not me ,"

不是的，湯姆連忙否認，我可不是。

But evidently the sound of it pleased Gatsby for Tom remained "the polo player" for the rest of the evening .

但是蓋茨比顯然喜歡這個名稱的含意，因為接下來整個晚上湯姆就一直是“馬球健將”。

"I've never met so many celebrities !"Daisy exclaimed ."I liked that man --what was his name?--with the sort of blue nose ."

我從來沒見過之麼多名人，黛西興奮地說，我喜歡那個人…他叫什麼名字來著？就是鼻子有點發青的那個。

Gatsby indentified him ,adding that he was a small producer .

蓋茨比報了那人的姓名，並說他是一個小製片商。

"Well ,I liked him anyhow ."

哦，我反正喜歡他。

"I'd a little rather not be the polo player ,"said Tom pleasantly ,"I'd rather look at all these famous people in --in oblivion ."

我寧願不做馬球健將，湯姆愉快地說，我倒寧願以…以一個默默無聞的人物的身份看看這麼多有名的人。

Daisy and Gatsby danced .I remember being surprised by his graceful ,conservative fox-trot -- I had never seen him dance before .Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden:"In case there's a fire or a flood ,"she explained ,"or any act of God ."

黛西和蓋茨比跳了舞。我記得我當時看到他跳著優雅的老式狐步舞時感到很詫異－－我以前從未見過他跳舞。後來他倆溜到我家，在我的臺階上坐了半個小時，她讓我待在園子裡把風。萬一著火或發大水，她解釋道，或是什麼天災啦。

Tom appeared from his oblivion as we were sitting down to supper together ."Do you mind if I eat with some people over here ?"he said ."A fellow's getting off some funny stuff ."

我們坐下來吃晚飯時，湯姆又從默默無聞中出現了。我跟那邊幾個人一起吃飯，行嗎？他說，有一個傢伙正在大講笑話。

"Go ahead ,"answered Daisy genially ,"And if you want to take down any addresses here's my little gold pencil ....."She looked aruond after a moment and told me the girl was "common but pretty ,"and I knew that except for the half hour she'd been alone with Gatsby she wasn't having a good time .

去吧，黛西和顏悅色地回答，如果你要留幾個住址下來，這裡是我的小金鉛筆。…過了一會她四面張望了一下，對我說那個女孩“俗氣可是漂亮”，於是我明白除了她單獨跟蓋茨比待在一起的半小明之外，她玩得並不開心。

We were at a particularly tipsy table .That was my fault --Gatsby had been called to the phone and I'd enjoyed these same people only two weeks before .But what had amused me then turned septic on the air now .

我們這一桌的人喝得特別醉。這得怪我不好－－蓋茨比被叫去聽電話，又碰巧兩星期前我還覺得這些人挺有意思，但是當時我覺得好玩的晚上卻變得索然無味了。

"How do you feel ,Miss Baedeler ?"

你感覺怎麼樣，貝達克小姐？

The girl addressed was trying ,unsuccessfully ,to slump against my shoulder .At this inquiry she sat up and opened her eyes .

我同她說話的這個姑娘正在想慢慢倒在我的肩上，可是並沒成功。聽到這個問題，她坐起身來，睜開了眼睛。

"What ?"

什麼？

A massive and lethargic woman ,who had been urging Daisy to play golf with her at the local club tomorrow ,spoke in Miss Baedeker's defence :

一個大塊頭、懶洋洋的女人，本來一直在慫恿黛西明天到本地俱樂部去和她一起打高爾夫球的，現在來為貝達克小姐辯白了：

"Oh ,she's all right now .When she's had five or six cocktails she always starts screaming like that .I tell her she ought to leave it alone ."

噢，她現在什麼事也沒有了。她每次五六杯雞尾酒下肚，總是這樣大喊大叫。我跟她說她不應當喝酒。

"I do leave it alone ,"affirmed the accused hollowly .

我是不喝酒。受到指責的那個人隨口說道。

"We heard you yelling ,so I said to Doc Civet here :"There's somebody that needs your help ,Doc"

我們聽到你嚷嚷，於是我跟位希維特大夫說：那裡有人需要您幫忙，大夫。

"She's much obliged ,I'm sure ,"said another friend ,without gratitude ."But you got her dress all wet when you stuck her head in the pool ."

她非常感激，我相信，另一位朋友用並不感激的口氣說，可是你把她的頭按到游泳池裡去，把她的衣服全搞溼了。

"Anything I hate is to get my head stuck in a pool ,"mumbled Miss Baedeker ."They almost drowned me once over in New Jersey."

我最恨的就是我的頭按到游泳池裡，貝達克小姐咕噥著說，有一回在新澤西州他們差一點沒把我淹死。

"Then you ought to leave it alone ,"countered Doctor Civet .

那胸就不就當喝酒嘛。希維特大夫堵她的嘴的說。

"Speak for yourself !"cried Miss Baedeker violently ."Your hand shakes . I wouldn't let you operate on me !"

說說你自己吧！貝達克小姐激烈地大喊道，你的手發抖。我才不會讓你給我開刀哩！

I was like that .Almost the last thing I remember was standing with Daisy and watching the moving picture director and his Star .They were still under the white plum tree and their faces were touching except for a pale thin ray of moonlight between .It occurred to me that he had been very slowly bending toward her all evening to attain this proximity ,and even while I watched I saw him stoop one ultimate degree and kiss at her cheek .

情況就是這樣。我記得的差不多是最後一件事是我和黛西站在一起望著那位電影導演和他的“大明星”。他們仍然在那棵白梅樹下，他們的臉快要貼到一起了，中間只隔著一線淡淡的月光。我忽然想到他整個晚上大概一直在非常非常慢地彎下腰來，才終於和她靠得這麼近。然後正在我望著的這一刻，我看見他彎下最後一點距離，親吻了她的面頰。

"I like her ,"said Daisy ," I think she's lovely ."

我喜歡她，黛西說，我覺得她美極了。

But the rest offended her --and inarguably ,because it wasn't a gesture but an emotion .She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented "place "that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village --appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short cut from nothing to nothing .She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand .

但是其他的一切她都討厭－－而且是不容置辯的，因為這並不是一種姿態，而是一種感情。她十分厭惡西卵，這個由百老匯強加在一個長島漁村上的沒有先例的“勝地”－－厭惡它那不安於陳舊和委婉辭令的粗獷活力，厭惡那種駁使它的居民沿著一條捷徑從零跑到零的過分突兀的命運。她正是在這種她所不瞭解的單純之中看到了什麼可怕的東西。

I sat on the front steps with them while they waited for their car .It was dark here in front :only the bright door sent ten square feet of light volleying out into the soft black morning .Sometimes a shadow moved against a dressing-room blind above ,gave way to another shadow ,an indefinite procession of shadows ,who rouged and poedered in an invisble glass .

他們在等車子開過來的時候，我和他們一同坐在大門前的臺階上。這裡很暗，只有敞開的門幽暗的黎明投下十平方英尺的亮光。有時樓上化妝室的遮簾上有一個人影掠過，然後又出現一個人影，絡繹不絕的女客對著一面看不見的鏡子塗脂抹粉。

"Who is this Gatsby anyhow ?"demanded Tom suddenly ."Some big bootlegger ?"

這個姓蓋茨比的究竟是誰？湯姆突然質問我，一個大私酒販子？

"Where'd you hear that ?"I inquired .

你從哪兒聽來的？我問他。

"I didn't hear it .I imagined it .A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers ,you know ."

我不是聽來的。我猜的。有很多這樣的暴發戶都是大私酒販子，你知道。

"Not Gatsby ,"I said shortly .

蓋茨比可不是。我簡慢地說。

He was silent for a moment .The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet .

他沉默了一會。汽車道上的小石子在他腳底下咔嚓作響。

"Well ,he certainly must have strained himself to get this menagerie together."

我說，他一定花了很大氣力才蒐羅到這麼一大幫牛頭馬面。

A breeze stirred the grey haze of Daisy's fur collar .

一陣微風吹動了黛西毛茸茸的灰皮領子。

"At least they're more interesting than the people we know ,"she said with an effort .

至少他們比我們認得的人有趣。她有點勉強地說。

"You didn't look so interested .

看上去你並不怎麼感興趣嘛。

"Well ,I was ."

噢，我很感興趣。

Tom laughed and turned to me .

湯姆哈哈一笑，把臉轉向我。

"Did you notice Daisy's face when that girl asked her to put her under a cold shower ?"

當那個女孩讓黛西給她來個冷水淋浴的時候，你有沒有注意到黛西的臉？

Daisy began to sing with the music in a husky ,rhythmic whisper ,bringing out a meaning in each word that it had never had before and would never have again .When the melody rose ,her voice broke up sweetly ,following it ,in a way contralto voices have ,and each change tipped out a little of her warm human magic upon the air .

黛西跟著音樂沙啞而有節奏地低聲唱了起來，把每個字都唱出一種以前從未有過、以後也決不會再有的意義。當曲調升高的時候 ，她的嗓音也跟著改變，悠揚婉轉，正是女低音的本色，而且每一點變化都在空氣中散發出一點她那溫暖的人情味很濃的魔力。

"Lots of people come who haven't been invited ,"she said suddely ."That girl hadn't been invited .They simply force their way in and he's too polite to object ."

來的人有好多並不是邀請來的，她忽然說，那個女孩子就沒有接到邀請。他們乾脆闖上門來，而他又太客氣，不好意思謝絕。

"I'd like to know who he is and what he does ,"insisted Tom ."And I think I'll make a point of finding out ."

我很想知道他是什麼人，又是幹什麼的，湯姆固執地說，並且我一定要去打聽清楚。

"I call tell you right now ,"she answered ."He owned some drug stores ,a lot of drug stores .He built them up himself ."

我馬上就可以告訴你，她答道，他是開藥房的，好多家藥房。是他一手創辦起來的。

The dilatory limousine came rolling up the drive .

那輛姍姍來遲的大型轎車沿著汽車道開了上來。

"Good night ,Nick ,said Daisy .

晚安，尼克。黛西說。

Her glance left me and sought the lighted top of the steps where "Three o'Clock in the Morning ,a neat ,sad little waltz of that year ,was drifting out the open door .After all ,in the very casualness of Gatsby's party there were romantic possibilties totally absent from her world .What was it up there in the song that seemed to be calling her back inside ?What would happen now in the dim incalculable hours ?Perhaps some unbelievable guest would arrive ,a person infinitely rare and to be marvelled at ,some authentically radiant young girl who with one fresh glance at Gatsby ,one moment of magical encounter ,would blot out those five years of unwavering devotion .

她的目光離開了我，朝著燈光照亮的最上一層臺階看去，在那裡一支當年流行的哀婉動人的小華爾茲舞曲《凌晨三點鐘》正從敞開的大門傳出來。話說回來，正是在蓋茨比晚會上那隨隨便便的氣氛之中，就有她自已的世界中完全沒有的種種浪漫的可能性。那支歌曲裡面有什麼東西彷彿在呼喚她回到裡面去呢？現在在這幽暗的、難以預測的時辰裡會發生什麼事情呢？也許會光臨一位令人難以置信的客人，一位世上少有的令人驚異不已的佳人，一位真正豔麗奪目的少女，只要對蓋茨比的看上一眼，只要一剎那魔術般的相逢，她就可以把五年來堅貞不移的愛情一筆勾銷。

I stayed late that night .Gatsby asked me to wait until he was free and I lingered in the garden until the inevitable swimming party had run up ,chilled and exalted ,from the black beach ,until the lights were extinguished in the guest rooms overhead .When he came down the steps at last the tanned skin was drawn unusually tight on his face ,and his eyes were bright and tired .

那夜我待到很晚，蓋茨比要我待到他可以脫身，於是我就在花園裡徘徊，一直待到最後一群游泳的客人，又寒冷又興奮地從黑黝黝的海灘跑上來，一直等到樓上各間客房裡有燈者滅了。等到他最後走下臺階時，那曬得黝黑的面板比往常更緊地繃在他臉上，他的眼睛明亮而有倦意。

"She didn't like it ,"he said immediately .

她不喜歡這個晚會。他馬上就說。

"Of course she did ."

她當然喜歡啦。

"She didn't like it ,"he insisted ."She didn't have a good time ."

她不喜歡，他固執地說，她玩得不開心。

He was silent and I guessed at his unutterable depression .

他不講話了，但我猜他有滿腔說不出的鬱悶。

"I feel far away from her ,"he said ."It's hard to make her understand ."

我覺得離她很遠，他說，很難使她理解。

"You mean about the dance ?"

你是說舞會的事嗎？

"The dance ?"He dismissed all the dances he had given with a snap of his fingers ."Old sport ,the dance is unimportant ."

舞會？他一彈指就把他所有跳過的舞都勾銷了，老兄，舞會是無關緊要的。

He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say:"I never loved you ."After she had obliterated three years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken .One of them was that ,after she was free ,they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house --just as if it were five years ago .

他所要求黛西的不過是要她跑去跟湯姆說：我從來沒有愛過你。等她用那句話把四年婚姻一筆勾銷之後，他倆就可以研究決定那些需要採取的更加實際的措施。其中之一就是，等她恢復了自由，他倆就回路易斯維爾去，從她家裡出發到教堂去舉行婚禮－－就彷彿是五年以前一樣。

"And she doesn't understand ,"he said ."She used to be able to understand .We'd sit for hours--"

可是她不理解，他說，她過去是能夠理解的。我們往往在一起坐上幾個鐘點…

He broke off and began to walk up and down a desolate path of fruit rinds and discarded favors and crushed flowers .

他忽然停住不說了，沿著一條佈滿了果皮、丟棄的小禮物和踩爛的殘花的小道走來走去。

"I wouldn't ask too much of her ,"I ventured ."You can't repeat the past ."

我看對她不宜要求過高，我冒昧地說，你不能重溫舊夢的。

"Can't repeat the past ?"he cried incredulously ."Why of course you can !"

我不能重溫舊夢？他大不以為然地喊道，哪兒的話，我當然能夠！

He looked around him wildly ,as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house ,just out of reach of his hand .

他發狂地東張西望，彷彿他的舊夢就隱藏在這裡，他的房子的陰影裡，幾乎一伸手就可以抓到的。

"I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before ,"he said nodding determinedly ."She'll see."

我要把一切都安排得跟過去一模一樣，他說，一面堅決地點點頭，她會看到的。、

He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something ,some idea of himself perhaps ,that had gone into loving Daisy .His life had been confused and disordered since then ,but if he could once reture to a certain stariting place and go ove it all slowly ,he could find out what that thing was ----One autumn night ,five years before ,they had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling ,and they came to a place where there were no trees and the sidewalk was white with moonlight .They stopped here and turned toward each other .Now it was a cool night with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year .The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars .Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees --he could climb to it ,if he climbed alone ,and once there he could suck on the pap of life ,gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder .

他滔滔不絕地大談往事，我揣測他想要重新獲得一點什麼東西，也許是那進入他對黛西的熱戀之中的關於他自己的某種理念。從那時以來，他的生活一直是凌亂不堪的，但是假如他一旦能回到某個出發點，慢慢地重新再走一遍，他可以發現那東西是什麼…五年以前，一個秋天的夜晚，落葉紛紛的時候，他倆走在街上，走到一處沒有樹的地方，人行道被月光照得發白。…五年以前，一個秋天的夜晚，落葉紛紛的時候，他倆走在街上，走到一處沒有樹的地方，人行道被月光照得發白。他們停了下來，面對面站著。那是一個涼爽的夜晚，那是一年兩度季節變換的時刻，空氣中洋溢著那種神秘的興奮。家家戶戶寧靜的燈火彷彿在向外面的黑暗吟唱，天上的星星中間彷彿也有繁忙的活動。蓋茨比從他的眼角里看到，一段段的人行道其實構成一架梯子，通向樹頂上空一個秘密的地方－－他可以攀登上去，如果他獨自攀登的話，一登上去他就可以吮吸生命的漿液，大口吞嚥那無與倫比的神奇的奶汁。

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own .He knew that when he kissed this girl ,and forever wed his unutterable visons to her perishable breath ,his mind would never romp again like the mind of God .So he waited ,listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her .At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete .

當黛西潔白的臉貼近他的臉時，他的心越跳越快。他知道他一跟這個姑娘親吻，並把他那些無法形容的憧憬和她短暫的呼吸永遠結合在一起，他的心靈就再也不會像上帝的心靈一樣自由馳騁了。因此他等著，再傾聽一會那已經在一顆星上敲響的音叉。然後，他吻了她。經他的嘴唇一碰，她就像一朵鮮花一樣為他綻放，於是這個理想的化身就完成了。

Throgh all he said ,even through his appalling sentimentality ,I was reminded of something --an elusive rhythm ,a fragment of lost words ,that I had heard somewhere a long time ago .For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man's ,as though there was more struggling upon them than a wisp of startled air .But they made no sound and what I had almost remembered was uncommunicable forever .

他的這番話，甚至他難堪的感傷，使我回想起一點什麼…我很久以前在什麼地方聽過的一段迷離恍惚的節奏，幾句零落的歌詞。一會兒的工夫，有一句話快到了嘴邊，我的兩片嘴唇像啞巴一樣張開，彷彿除了一絲受驚的空氣之外還有別的什麼在上面掙扎著要出來。他的嘴唇發不出聲音，因此我幾乎想起的東西就永遠無法表達了。