《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter VIII》第17节
------------------------------------------------------------------------ By six o’clock Michaelis was worn out, and grateful for the sound of a car stopping outside. It was one of the watchers of the night before who had promised to come back, so he cooked breakfast for three, which he and the other man ate together. Wilson was quieter now, and Michaelis went home to sleep; when he awoke four hours later and hurried back to the garage, Wilson was gone. His movements—he was on foot all the time—were afterward traced to Port Roosevelt and then to Gad’s Hill, where he bought a sandwich that he didn’t eat, and a cup of coffee. He must have been tired and walking slowly, for he didn’t reach Gad’s Hill until noon. Thus far there was no difficulty in accounting for his time—there were boys who had seen a man “acting sort of crazy,” and motorists at whom he stared oddly from the side of the road. Then for three hours he disappeared from view. The police, on the strength of what he said to Michaelis, that he “had a way of finding out,” supposed that he spent that time going from garage to garage thereabout, inquiring for a yellow car. On the other hand, no garage man who had seen him ever came forward, and perhaps he had an easier, surer way of finding out what he wanted to know. By half-past two he was in West Egg, where he asked someone the way to Gatsby’s house. So by that time he knew Gatsby’s name.
注释摘要
这段文字是叙述者尼克·卡拉威站在事后重构威尔逊行动轨迹的一节，读来很像一份冷静的追查报告，但笔法里藏着菲茨杰拉德精心布置的悬疑与反讽。 字面上，麦克里斯在凌晨六点已经精疲力尽，一辆汽车停在门外，来的是前一晚的某个目击者，他答应过会回来。麦克里斯做了三人份的早餐，和那人与威尔逊一起吃。威尔逊此时安静了些，麦克里斯趁机回家补觉。四小时后（也就是上午十点左右）他…