《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter III》第7节
“I don’t think it’s so much that,” argued Lucille sceptically; “It’s more that he was a German spy during the war.” One of the men nodded in confirmation. “I heard that from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in Germany,” he assured us positively. “Oh, no,” said the first girl, “it couldn’t be that, because he was in the American army during the war.” As our credulity switched back to her she leaned forward with enthusiasm. “You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody’s looking at him. I’ll bet he killed a man.” She narrowed her eyes and shivered. Lucille shivered. We all turned and looked around for Gatsby. It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world. The first supper—there would be another one after midnight—was now being served, and Jordan invited me to join her own party, who were spread around a table on the other side of the garden. There were three married couples and Jordan’s escort, a persistent undergraduate given to violent innuendo, and obviously under the impression that sooner or later Jordan was going to yield him up her person to a greater or lesser degree. Instead of rambling, this party had preserved a dignified homogeneity, and assumed to itself the function of representing the staid nobility of the countryside—East Egg condescending to West Egg and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic gaiety.
注释摘要
露西尔用怀疑的语气反驳了前一个流言，她认为盖茨比的问题不在于杀过人，而是“大战期间当过德国间谍”。这个指控在当时是极重的——一战结束不过四五年，美国社会对德国的敌意远未消退，把一个人指认为德国间谍，等同于说他不仅是罪犯，而且是叛国者。这时同桌的一个男人立刻点头附和，声称自己“听一个了解他全部底细的人说的，那人在德国跟他一起长大”。他用了一个极具说服力的说法…