Mrs. Parker showed her the double parlours.

帕克太太带她看了双开间的客厅。

"In this closet," she said, "one could keep a skeleton or anaesthetic or coal "

“这个壁橱里，”她说，“可以放一副骨架，或者是麻醉药，或者是煤——”

"But I am neither a doctor nor a dentist," said Miss Leeson, with a shiver.

“可我不是医生，也不是牙医。”莉森小姐说着忍不住打了个寒战。

Mrs. Parker gave her the incredulous, pitying, sneering, icy stare that she kept for those who failed to qualify as doctors or dentists,

帕克太太使出了对付那些够不上医生或是牙医资格的人惯用的一套，用怀疑、怜悯、嘲笑和冷冰冰的眼光盯着她，

and led the way to the second floor back.

然后带她去看二楼后间。

"Eight dollars?" said Miss Leeson.

“要八美元吗？”莉森小姐说，

"Dear me! I'm not Hetty if I do look green. I'm just a poor little working girl.

“哎呀！就算我看上去年轻，我可不是像海蒂那样的富家小姐。我只不过是个靠做工谋生的穷姑娘。

Show me something higher and lower."

带我去看看楼层高些，租金少些的房间吧。”

Mr. Skidder jumped and strewed the floor with cigarette stubs at the rap on his door.

听到敲门声，斯基德先生一下子跳了起来，烟蒂撒了一地。

"Excuse me, Mr. Skidder," said Mrs. Parker, with her demon's smile at his pale looks.

“对不起，斯基德先生，”望着他惊慌的样子，帕克太太不怀好意地笑着说，

"I didn't know you were in. I asked the lady to have a look at your lambrequins."

“我不知道你在里面。我是请这位小姐来看看你的门窗垂饰的。”

"They're too lovely for anything," said Miss Leeson, smiling in exactly the way the angels do.

“它们真太可爱了。”莉森小姐说，脸上的笑容简直就跟天使一样。

After they had gone Mr. Skidder got very busy erasing the tall, black-haired heroine from his latest unproduced play

她们离开后，斯基德先生忙乎了起来，他赶快去掉了他最近还没上演的剧本当中那个高个儿的黑发女主角，

and inserting a small, roguish one with heavy, bright hair and vivacious features.

换上了一个头发浓密闪亮，身材娇小，活泼可爱的姑娘。

"Anna Held'll jump at it," said Mr. Skidder to himself,

“安娜·海尔德也会争着演这个角色的。”斯基德先生自言自语地说。

putting his feet up against the lambrequins and disappearing in a cloud of smoke like an aerial cuttlefish.

他把脚搁在窗子的垂饰上，像墨鱼一样消失在一片烟雾中。

Presently the tocsin call of "Clara!" sounded to the world the state of Miss Leeson's purse.

没过多久就响起了拉警钟似的叫声“克拉拉！”，于是全世界都知道了莉森小姐钱包里的状况。

A dark goblin seized her, mounted a Stygian stairway,

一个黑皮肤的小鬼抓住了她，带她爬上黑幽幽的梯子，

thrust her into a vault with a glimmer of light in its top and muttered the menacing and cabalistic words "Two dollars!"

把她推进一个只有顶上才能透出一丝光亮的拱顶屋子，嘟哝出了几个神秘而又险恶的字眼“两美元！”

"I'll take it!" sighed Miss Leeson, sinking down upon the squeaky iron bed.

“我租了！”莉森小姐叹了口气，在吱吱响的铁床上沉沉地坐了下来。