03-02-08-化学秘密 [11]
们聊了很多。
“你很幸运，邓肯先生，”西蒙的父亲说，“你有一座漂亮的房子，花园尽头是可爱的河。”
“我不总是幸运，”约翰回答道。“人们曾经说我是一个很不幸的人。”他站在那儿不动，思考着。他记得他曾多么不幸福，住在小镇中部的一所小公寓里。然后他失业了，没钱给他的孩子们买好东西。但是他总能够跟他们交谈。现在他是一个富人、一个成功者，可他的孩子不愿跟他交谈。
他冲着麦克唐纳夫妇笑着说：“是的，我是一个非常幸运的人，我有西蒙做我的女婿。我为我女儿感到非常高兴。”
麦克唐纳太太很满意。“能有克里斯汀做我们的儿媳，我们也非常高兴，”她说。“我相信西蒙会帮助你解决河的问题，邓肯先生。我知道河里有病菌使海豹得病。西蒙告诉我他将努力去查找原因，清理河流。我相信你会对此满意的，邓肯先生。”
“这当然。”约翰昨晚已经看到报纸上西蒙写的关于疾病来自污水处理厂的文章。是大卫·威尔逊拿给他看的。约翰不想说什么。
他看到他女儿与酉蒙、安德鲁和一些朋友在一起欢笑。他从没看到过她有这么高兴。他想起了自己的婚礼，以及他和雷切尔曾有过的愿望。
“我再给你斟一杯，麦克唐纳太太，”他说。“我们要为我们孩子的将来干杯，祝他们好运。”
在屋中的酒吧前他遇见了玛丽。她有时回到镇上，他也曾两次去苏格兰拜访她。
“这一天很成功，约翰，”她说。“你一定是个幸福的人。”
他深思地摸着她的胳臂。“我很想成为一个幸福的人，玛丽，”他说，“我努力过，你知道，我尽力了。但现在是他们的世界，他们应该为之努力。”
■ 9 I don't believe you
'It's not true，Christine．Simon's information is wrong．'
'I don't believe you，Father．'
John and Christine stared at each other angrily．It was a miserable，frightening moment for them both．It was a night three months after the wedding，and Christine had come with some happy news．She had come to tell her father that she was going to have a baby—his first grandchild！For a while they had talked about that，but then Christine had begun to talk about Simon's new job．Simon had found some information about the waste products from the paint factory．His informa-tion was dangerous for the company．Simon had written an ar-ticle in the newspaper，saying that waste products from the paint factory could be killing the baby seals．David Wilson had written to the newspaper immediately，saying that Simon's article was completely untrue．
And so instead of talking happily about the baby，Christine and her father had argued all evening．John had known for a long time that they would have this argument．And next week in the town there would be a Public Enquiry，when govern-ment officials would try to discover the truth．Scientists and lawyers would speak on both sides of the argument．Everyone in the town was talking about the Enquiry—and about Simon's newspaper article．
'Why did David Wilson write to the paper，Father？'Chris-tine asked．'He's not a scientist，he's just a businessman．Why didn't you write to the paper？'
'I have written to the paper，'said John，sadly．'You'll probably read my letter tomorrow．'
'Oh．What did you say？'Christine asked．
John felt sad．He hadn't wanted to write the letter．He and David Wilson had had a big argument about it．But in the end he had agreed．He had agreed to hide many bad things before，so one more didn't make any difference．
'I said that our waste products don't make the river water dangerous．We've tested them very carefully for many years，and if they are diluted in water，they are not dangerous at all．There are usually only one and a half parts per million in the river water，that's all．And the seals aren't in the river．They're out at sea．I wrote that in my letter，and I'll say the same thing at the Enquiry next week．'
Christine was watching him carefully as he spoke．She saw how tired and sad his face was．He was looking at his hands most of the time，not at her．
'Father，I want to believe you．But I can't，'she said soft-ly．
He looked up．'Don't then！'he said angrily．'You believe Simon，if you want to！He's a journalist，after all—I'm only a biologist，and your father．Why should you believe me？'He stood up angrily，walked to the door，and opened it．'I'm sor-ry，Christine．I've had a hard day，I'm tired，and I don't want to sit here listening to my daughter telling me I'm a liar．Go home to Simon．I'm going to bed！'
She got up slowly．'It's important，Father，'she said slowly．'It's important for everyone．'
'I know it is，Christine．But the paint factory's important too．It's given a lot to you，and me，and to the people of this town．Try to remember that，and forget about the seals for a while，can't you？'
'There are more important things than money，Father．'
'Are there？You tell that to all the people who work in the company，and live in this town．What are they going to live on，when the factory's closed because of Simon's stupid arti-cles？Can they give their children photographs of baby seals to eat？'
Christine looked at him for a long moment before she went out of the door
“你很幸运，邓肯先生，”西蒙的父亲说，“你有一座漂亮的房子，花园尽头是可爱的河。”
“我不总是幸运，”约翰回答道。“人们曾经说我是一个很不幸的人。”他站在那儿不动，思考着。他记得他曾多么不幸福，住在小镇中部的一所小公寓里。然后他失业了，没钱给他的孩子们买好东西。但是他总能够跟他们交谈。现在他是一个富人、一个成功者，可他的孩子不愿跟他交谈。
他冲着麦克唐纳夫妇笑着说：“是的，我是一个非常幸运的人，我有西蒙做我的女婿。我为我女儿感到非常高兴。”
麦克唐纳太太很满意。“能有克里斯汀做我们的儿媳，我们也非常高兴，”她说。“我相信西蒙会帮助你解决河的问题，邓肯先生。我知道河里有病菌使海豹得病。西蒙告诉我他将努力去查找原因，清理河流。我相信你会对此满意的，邓肯先生。”
“这当然。”约翰昨晚已经看到报纸上西蒙写的关于疾病来自污水处理厂的文章。是大卫·威尔逊拿给他看的。约翰不想说什么。
他看到他女儿与酉蒙、安德鲁和一些朋友在一起欢笑。他从没看到过她有这么高兴。他想起了自己的婚礼，以及他和雷切尔曾有过的愿望。
“我再给你斟一杯，麦克唐纳太太，”他说。“我们要为我们孩子的将来干杯，祝他们好运。”
在屋中的酒吧前他遇见了玛丽。她有时回到镇上，他也曾两次去苏格兰拜访她。
“这一天很成功，约翰，”她说。“你一定是个幸福的人。”
他深思地摸着她的胳臂。“我很想成为一个幸福的人，玛丽，”他说，“我努力过，你知道，我尽力了。但现在是他们的世界，他们应该为之努力。”
■ 9 I don't believe you
'It's not true，Christine．Simon's information is wrong．'
'I don't believe you，Father．'
John and Christine stared at each other angrily．It was a miserable，frightening moment for them both．It was a night three months after the wedding，and Christine had come with some happy news．She had come to tell her father that she was going to have a baby—his first grandchild！For a while they had talked about that，but then Christine had begun to talk about Simon's new job．Simon had found some information about the waste products from the paint factory．His informa-tion was dangerous for the company．Simon had written an ar-ticle in the newspaper，saying that waste products from the paint factory could be killing the baby seals．David Wilson had written to the newspaper immediately，saying that Simon's article was completely untrue．
And so instead of talking happily about the baby，Christine and her father had argued all evening．John had known for a long time that they would have this argument．And next week in the town there would be a Public Enquiry，when govern-ment officials would try to discover the truth．Scientists and lawyers would speak on both sides of the argument．Everyone in the town was talking about the Enquiry—and about Simon's newspaper article．
'Why did David Wilson write to the paper，Father？'Chris-tine asked．'He's not a scientist，he's just a businessman．Why didn't you write to the paper？'
'I have written to the paper，'said John，sadly．'You'll probably read my letter tomorrow．'
'Oh．What did you say？'Christine asked．
John felt sad．He hadn't wanted to write the letter．He and David Wilson had had a big argument about it．But in the end he had agreed．He had agreed to hide many bad things before，so one more didn't make any difference．
'I said that our waste products don't make the river water dangerous．We've tested them very carefully for many years，and if they are diluted in water，they are not dangerous at all．There are usually only one and a half parts per million in the river water，that's all．And the seals aren't in the river．They're out at sea．I wrote that in my letter，and I'll say the same thing at the Enquiry next week．'
Christine was watching him carefully as he spoke．She saw how tired and sad his face was．He was looking at his hands most of the time，not at her．
'Father，I want to believe you．But I can't，'she said soft-ly．
He looked up．'Don't then！'he said angrily．'You believe Simon，if you want to！He's a journalist，after all—I'm only a biologist，and your father．Why should you believe me？'He stood up angrily，walked to the door，and opened it．'I'm sor-ry，Christine．I've had a hard day，I'm tired，and I don't want to sit here listening to my daughter telling me I'm a liar．Go home to Simon．I'm going to bed！'
She got up slowly．'It's important，Father，'she said slowly．'It's important for everyone．'
'I know it is，Christine．But the paint factory's important too．It's given a lot to you，and me，and to the people of this town．Try to remember that，and forget about the seals for a while，can't you？'
'There are more important things than money，Father．'
'Are there？You tell that to all the people who work in the company，and live in this town．What are they going to live on，when the factory's closed because of Simon's stupid arti-cles？Can they give their children photographs of baby seals to eat？'
Christine looked at him for a long moment before she went out of the door