04-01-04-三十九级台阶 [5]
会。也许将来证据会多一些，使我的话叫人相信。
现在是五月二十四日，所以我要躲二十天。有两拨人要找我——一拨是斯卡德尔的敌人，他们找我想要杀我；另一拨是警察，他们找我是为斯卡德尔的谋杀案。追踪马上就要开始，不知怎么的，我反倒为此有点乐滋滋的。我不想坐等别人来抓。如果我有所行动，情况未必那么糟糕。
我想斯卡德尔有没有留下什么文件，使我能多了解一些他干的事。我揭开桌布把他搜查了一遍。他裤兜里只有几个硬币。那个小黑笔记本不见了。我猜是那些凶手拿走了。
我扭过头去，发现所有的橱柜都打开了。斯卡德尔向来十分细心，总是把屋子保持得很整洁。肯定有人找过什么东西，多半是找那个小黑笔记本。我在各屋转了一圈，发现什么都被搜查了一遍——书本、橱柜、盒子、甚至我的衣服口袋。仍然不见那个小黑笔记本，可见斯卡德尔的敌人最后很可能找到了它。
然后我拿出英国地图。我打算找一个人烟稀少的地方。我已经习惯了非洲的生活，在城市会觉得不自由。我想苏格兰也许最理想，因为我老家是苏格兰，我可以不费吹灰之力地冒充苏格兰人。另外一种可能是扮成德国旅游者；我父亲曾和德国人共过事，我还是个孩子的时候就经常讲德语。但在苏格兰装苏格兰人很可能要好一点。我决定去加洛韦，从地图上看那里是最近的苏格兰荒原。
火车时刻表上，有一辆从伦敦来的火车早晨七点十分到站，坐上火车傍晚就可以到加洛韦。问题是如何到车站去，因为我肯定斯卡德尔的敌人在监视这座大楼。我把这件事斟酌了一番，想出个好办法，于是上床睡了两个小时。
我四点钟起床。夏日凌晨的第一缕晨光在天空闪烁，鸟儿也开始鸣啭。我穿上乡间散步时穿的旧衣服而且带着几双走路穿的结实靴子。在口袋里又塞进一件衬衣和一柄牙刷。当初，我从银行取出一大笔钱，以备斯卡德尔不时之需，也一块儿带上。然后我把自己的长胡子尽可能剪短。
帕多克每天早晨七点半到。我知道大约六点四十送奶员就会来；奶瓶的碰撞声常常把我吵醒。他是个年轻人，留着小胡子，穿一件白外套。他是我逃脱的唯一机会。
早饭我吃了点饼干，喝了点威士忌，吃完饭大约六点钟。我掏出烟斗，从烟罐里取出烟装满烟斗。我的手指刚摸到烟，感觉碰到什么硬东西，一拉拉出斯卡德尔的小黑笔记本。
看来这是个好征兆。我把桌布掀开，望着斯卡德尔安详的脸。“朋友，再见了，”我说，“为你的事我会尽最大努力。祝我好运吧。”
六点半过去了，六点四十又过去了，可是送奶员还没来。这是怎么回事，为什么他非得今天早晨迟到不可？
到六点四十六分他来了。我急忙把门打开，他看到我吓了一跳。
“请进来一下，”我说，我们回到大厅。“我看得出来您是个喜欢开点玩笑的人。您能帮我个忙吗？请把您的帽子和外衣借我一下，您可以穿我的。”
他看着我手里的钱，笑了。“您借我的衣服干什么？”他问道。
“玩个游戏，”我回答，“现在没时间解释，要赢我就非扮十分钟的送奶员不可。您会误点时间，这点钱给您作补偿吧。”
“好吧，”他说，“我自己也喜欢玩游戏。给您衣服。”
我戴上他的蓝帽子，穿上他的白外衣，提起空奶瓶，关上门，吹着口哨走下楼去。
我原以为街上空无一人。后来看到有个人慢慢向我走来。他过去时，抬头望着对面房子的窗户，我看到窗口有一张脸也望着他。
我仍然吹着口哨穿过那条街，然后拐进一条小道。把帽子，外衣和牛奶瓶扔在墙后，这时我听到教堂的钟声；正好七点。
我尽快奔到车站。赶到站台，恰好七点十分。火车已经开动；没有时间买票了。我一蹦跳上最后一节车厢。
■ 3 The hotel-owner
It was fine May weather as I travelled north that day，and as I watched the fields and the trees and the flowers，I wondered why，when I had been a free man，I had stayed in London. I bought some sandwiches at lunch time. I also bought the morning newspaper and read a little about south-east Europe.
When I had finished，I got out Scudder's black book and studied it. It was almost full of writing，mostly numbers，although sometimes there was a name. For example，I found the words'Hofgaard'，'Luneville'，and'Avocado'quite often. The word I saw the most was'Pavia'.
I was certain that Scudder was using a code. I have always been interested in codes；I enjoy games and numbers and things like that. It seemed to be a number code，where groups of numbers replace letters. I worked on the words，because you can use a word as a key in a number code.
I tried for hours，but none of the words helped. Then I fell asleep，and woke up at Dumfries just in time to take the local train into Galloway. There was a man on the platform who worried me a little；he was watching the crowd more closely than I liked. But he didn't look at me，and when I saw myself in a mirror，I understood why；with my brown face and my old clothes I looked just like all the other hill farmers who were getting into the local train.
I travelled with a group of these farmers. The train travelled slowly through narrow valleys and then up onto an open moor. There were lakes，and in the distance I could see high mountains.
At five o'clock the carriage was empty and I was alone. I got out at the next station，a tiny place in the middle of the moor. An old man was digging in the station garden. He stopped，walked to the train，collected a packet，and went back to his potatoes. A ten-year-old child took my ticket，and I came out of the station onto a white road across the moor.
It was a beautiful，clear spring evening. I felt like a boy on a walking holiday，instead of a man of thirty-seven very much wanted by the police. I walked along the road whistling，feeling happier every minute.
After some time I left the road and followed a path along a little stream. I was getting tired when I came to a small house. The woman who lived there was friendly，and said I could sleep there. She also gave me an excellent meal.
Her husband came home from the hills later in the evening. We talked about cows and sheep and markets，and I tried to remember some of the information I heard，because it might be useful. By ten o'clock I was asleep，and I slept until five o'clock in the morning.
The couple refused any money，and by six o'clock I had eaten breakfast and was moving again. I wanted to get back to the railway at a different station. Then I would go back to the east
现在是五月二十四日，所以我要躲二十天。有两拨人要找我——一拨是斯卡德尔的敌人，他们找我想要杀我；另一拨是警察，他们找我是为斯卡德尔的谋杀案。追踪马上就要开始，不知怎么的，我反倒为此有点乐滋滋的。我不想坐等别人来抓。如果我有所行动，情况未必那么糟糕。
我想斯卡德尔有没有留下什么文件，使我能多了解一些他干的事。我揭开桌布把他搜查了一遍。他裤兜里只有几个硬币。那个小黑笔记本不见了。我猜是那些凶手拿走了。
我扭过头去，发现所有的橱柜都打开了。斯卡德尔向来十分细心，总是把屋子保持得很整洁。肯定有人找过什么东西，多半是找那个小黑笔记本。我在各屋转了一圈，发现什么都被搜查了一遍——书本、橱柜、盒子、甚至我的衣服口袋。仍然不见那个小黑笔记本，可见斯卡德尔的敌人最后很可能找到了它。
然后我拿出英国地图。我打算找一个人烟稀少的地方。我已经习惯了非洲的生活，在城市会觉得不自由。我想苏格兰也许最理想，因为我老家是苏格兰，我可以不费吹灰之力地冒充苏格兰人。另外一种可能是扮成德国旅游者；我父亲曾和德国人共过事，我还是个孩子的时候就经常讲德语。但在苏格兰装苏格兰人很可能要好一点。我决定去加洛韦，从地图上看那里是最近的苏格兰荒原。
火车时刻表上，有一辆从伦敦来的火车早晨七点十分到站，坐上火车傍晚就可以到加洛韦。问题是如何到车站去，因为我肯定斯卡德尔的敌人在监视这座大楼。我把这件事斟酌了一番，想出个好办法，于是上床睡了两个小时。
我四点钟起床。夏日凌晨的第一缕晨光在天空闪烁，鸟儿也开始鸣啭。我穿上乡间散步时穿的旧衣服而且带着几双走路穿的结实靴子。在口袋里又塞进一件衬衣和一柄牙刷。当初，我从银行取出一大笔钱，以备斯卡德尔不时之需，也一块儿带上。然后我把自己的长胡子尽可能剪短。
帕多克每天早晨七点半到。我知道大约六点四十送奶员就会来；奶瓶的碰撞声常常把我吵醒。他是个年轻人，留着小胡子，穿一件白外套。他是我逃脱的唯一机会。
早饭我吃了点饼干，喝了点威士忌，吃完饭大约六点钟。我掏出烟斗，从烟罐里取出烟装满烟斗。我的手指刚摸到烟，感觉碰到什么硬东西，一拉拉出斯卡德尔的小黑笔记本。
看来这是个好征兆。我把桌布掀开，望着斯卡德尔安详的脸。“朋友，再见了，”我说，“为你的事我会尽最大努力。祝我好运吧。”
六点半过去了，六点四十又过去了，可是送奶员还没来。这是怎么回事，为什么他非得今天早晨迟到不可？
到六点四十六分他来了。我急忙把门打开，他看到我吓了一跳。
“请进来一下，”我说，我们回到大厅。“我看得出来您是个喜欢开点玩笑的人。您能帮我个忙吗？请把您的帽子和外衣借我一下，您可以穿我的。”
他看着我手里的钱，笑了。“您借我的衣服干什么？”他问道。
“玩个游戏，”我回答，“现在没时间解释，要赢我就非扮十分钟的送奶员不可。您会误点时间，这点钱给您作补偿吧。”
“好吧，”他说，“我自己也喜欢玩游戏。给您衣服。”
我戴上他的蓝帽子，穿上他的白外衣，提起空奶瓶，关上门，吹着口哨走下楼去。
我原以为街上空无一人。后来看到有个人慢慢向我走来。他过去时，抬头望着对面房子的窗户，我看到窗口有一张脸也望着他。
我仍然吹着口哨穿过那条街，然后拐进一条小道。把帽子，外衣和牛奶瓶扔在墙后，这时我听到教堂的钟声；正好七点。
我尽快奔到车站。赶到站台，恰好七点十分。火车已经开动；没有时间买票了。我一蹦跳上最后一节车厢。
■ 3 The hotel-owner
It was fine May weather as I travelled north that day，and as I watched the fields and the trees and the flowers，I wondered why，when I had been a free man，I had stayed in London. I bought some sandwiches at lunch time. I also bought the morning newspaper and read a little about south-east Europe.
When I had finished，I got out Scudder's black book and studied it. It was almost full of writing，mostly numbers，although sometimes there was a name. For example，I found the words'Hofgaard'，'Luneville'，and'Avocado'quite often. The word I saw the most was'Pavia'.
I was certain that Scudder was using a code. I have always been interested in codes；I enjoy games and numbers and things like that. It seemed to be a number code，where groups of numbers replace letters. I worked on the words，because you can use a word as a key in a number code.
I tried for hours，but none of the words helped. Then I fell asleep，and woke up at Dumfries just in time to take the local train into Galloway. There was a man on the platform who worried me a little；he was watching the crowd more closely than I liked. But he didn't look at me，and when I saw myself in a mirror，I understood why；with my brown face and my old clothes I looked just like all the other hill farmers who were getting into the local train.
I travelled with a group of these farmers. The train travelled slowly through narrow valleys and then up onto an open moor. There were lakes，and in the distance I could see high mountains.
At five o'clock the carriage was empty and I was alone. I got out at the next station，a tiny place in the middle of the moor. An old man was digging in the station garden. He stopped，walked to the train，collected a packet，and went back to his potatoes. A ten-year-old child took my ticket，and I came out of the station onto a white road across the moor.
It was a beautiful，clear spring evening. I felt like a boy on a walking holiday，instead of a man of thirty-seven very much wanted by the police. I walked along the road whistling，feeling happier every minute.
After some time I left the road and followed a path along a little stream. I was getting tired when I came to a small house. The woman who lived there was friendly，and said I could sleep there. She also gave me an excellent meal.
Her husband came home from the hills later in the evening. We talked about cows and sheep and markets，and I tried to remember some of the information I heard，because it might be useful. By ten o'clock I was asleep，and I slept until five o'clock in the morning.
The couple refused any money，and by six o'clock I had eaten breakfast and was moving again. I wanted to get back to the railway at a different station. Then I would go back to the east