1. Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in New York's Grand Central Station. The tall young Army officer lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat that choked him. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 18 months, the woman he had never seen yet whose words had sustained him unfailingly.
纽约中央车站咨询处上方的时钟指向了5点54分。这位年轻高大的陆军军官抬起黝黑的面庞，眯着眼睛注视着时钟上的时间。他的心已跳到了嗓子眼。6分钟后，他就要见到那位在过去的18个月里在他心中一直占据着特殊地位的女士了。虽然他们至今素未谋面，但她信中的文字却成了他这段岁月里的精神支柱。
2. He was going to hear her voice now. Four minutes to six. A girl passed closer to him, and Lt. Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only about 18, and Hollis Meynell had told him she was 30. "What of it?" he had answered, "I'm 32." He was 29.
他马上就能听到她的声音了。还有4分钟就6点了。一个女孩从他身边擦肩而过，布兰福德中尉吓了一跳。她身上别着一朵花，但并不是他们约定好的小红玫瑰。而且，这女孩只有18岁左右，而霍丽丝·梅内尔告诉过他，她已30岁了。“这又有什么关系呢？”他曾经在信中这样回复道，“我32岁。”他其实只有29岁。
3. His mind went back to that book - the book the Lord Himself must have put into his hands out of the hundreds of Army library books sent to the Florida training camp. Throughout the book were notes in a woman's writing. He had always hated that writing-in-habit, but these remarks were different. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the bookplate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold of a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written, she had answered. Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
他又回想起了在佛罗里达训练营时看过的那本书——那本肯定是上帝亲自从军队图书馆成百上千本图书中精心挑选出来并送到他手里的书。书中到处都是一个女士手写的批注。他曾经非常讨厌在书页上写东西的习惯，但这些批注文字却给了他不同的感觉。在此之前，他很难相信，一个女人能如此温和、如此透彻地读懂男人的内心。藏书票上写着她的名字——霍丽丝·梅内尔。于是，他找来一本纽约市电话簿，查到了她的地址。他给她写了信，并收到了回信。第二天，他便坐船前往海外执行任务了，但他们的通信并没有因此中断。

4. For thirteen months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed he loved her, and she loved him. But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained: "If your feeling for me had no reality, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I am beautiful. I'd always be haunted that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose that I'm plain, (and you must admit that this is more likely), then I'd always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your own decision."
在这13个月里，她一直诚心诚意地给他回信。即便他的信还没到，她也会给他写信。于是，他相信他们彼此相爱。但，每次他在信中向她要她的照片时，她都会拒绝，并解释说:“如果你对我是真心实意，我的外貌就没那么重要。假如我长得很漂亮，我就会始终认为，你只不过是喜欢我的外貌，这种想法会始终困扰着我，并且这样的爱也会令我反感；假如我长相平平（你必须承认这种可能性更大)，我就会始终担心你和我通信仅仅是因为内心孤独，无人倾诉。所以，别向我要照片。你来纽约时就会见到我了，到时候你再做出决定。”
5. One minute to six - Lieutenant Blandford's heart leaped higher than his plane had ever done. A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale green suit, she was like springtime come alive. He started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. Uncontrollably, he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
还有1分钟就6点了……布兰福德中尉心跳的速度从来没有这么快过。一位年轻女士向他走来。她身材修长，金色的卷发从她小巧玲珑的双耳后散落到肩背。她蓝色的双眸像花朵般美丽动人，双唇和下巴的轮廓柔和且清晰。她身着淡绿色的外衣，像春天般生气勃勃。他开始向她走去，完全忘记了去注意到她的外套上并没有别着玫瑰花。他迎着她走去，她嘴角上扬，露出了带有挑衅意味的微笑。 “跟我同路吗，士兵？”她低声说。他没控制住自己，又向她的方向走了一步。然后，他看到了霍丽丝·梅内尔。
6. She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump. Her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes. But she wore a red rose on her crumpled coat. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.
她40多岁，几乎就站在那个女孩身后，灰白的头发盘在破旧的帽子下面，身体非常丰满，两脚厚实的踝关节塞在一双低跟鞋里。但她那皱巴巴的外衣上别着一朵红玫瑰。与此同时，绿衣女孩匆匆离去了。
7. Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.
布兰福德感到自己仿佛被分割成了两半——他那么想跟随那女孩，但他又深深地渴望去见这个真真切切地与他心灵相伴，并且已经成为他精神支柱的女人。而且，她就站在他面前。她苍白、圆润的面庞显得温柔且通情达理，灰色的眼睛里闪烁着温和、亲切的光芒。
8. Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn, blue leather copy of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love - a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful.
布兰福德没有犹豫。他紧握着那本薄薄的、破旧的蓝色皮革封面的《人性的枷锁》——这本书可以证明他的身份。尽管这不会是爱情，却依旧会很珍贵，或许比爱情更加弥足珍惜——一段他曾经拥有，且必须永远心存感激的友情。
9. He squared his broad shoulders, saluted and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt shocked by the bitterness of his disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you - you are Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May...may I take you to dinner?"
他挺直了宽阔的肩膀，敬了个礼，然后把那本书递给那位女士，开口说：“我是约翰·布兰福德中尉，您……您是梅内尔女士吧。很高兴您能来见我。我可以……可以请您共进晚餐吗？”尽管，他在说这些话时，内心因失望的痛苦而受到了很大的冲击。
10. The woman's face broadened in a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit - the one who just went by - begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test. I've got two boys with Uncle Sam myself, so I didn't mind to oblige you."
那位女士露出了宽容的微笑。“孩子，我不明白这是怎么回事，”她回应道，“是那位刚刚经过的穿绿色外衣的女孩，请求我把这朵玫瑰别在我的外套上。她还说，如果你约我出去，我就告诉你，她正在街对面的那家大餐厅等你。她说这是某种考验。我自己已经跟“山姆大叔”有两个男孩了，所以我不介意帮帮你。”