《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter III》第17节
As I waited for my hat in the hall the door of the library opened and Jordan Baker and Gatsby came out together. He was saying some last word to her, but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as several people approached him to say goodbye. Jordan’s party were calling impatiently to her from the porch, but she lingered for a moment to shake hands. “I’ve just heard the most amazing thing,” she whispered. “How long were we in there?” “Why, about an hour.” “It was … simply amazing,” she repeated abstractedly. “But I swore I wouldn’t tell it and here I am tantalizing you.” She yawned gracefully in my face. “Please come and see me … Phone book … Under the name of Mrs. Sigourney Howard … My aunt …” She was hurrying off as she talked—her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door. Rather ashamed that on my first appearance I had stayed so late, I joined the last of Gatsby’s guests, who were clustered around him. I wanted to explain that I’d hunted for him early in the evening and to apologize for not having known him in the garden.
注释摘要
这一段发生在派对彻底散场的边缘，尼克正在门厅等自己的帽子，无意中撞见了乔丹和盖茨比之间的一个私密时刻。 字面上看，这是一个精确的退场调度。书房门一开，两个人走出来，盖茨比还在对乔丹说最后几句话——菲茨杰拉德用了一个很讲究的动词短语“was saying some last word”，未完成时态暗示话没说完，情绪还悬在半空。紧接着，“the eagerne…