Laila ran the skewer cart at the north end of the bus terminal. She sold chicken, onions and green peppers on sticks, and she sold them hot. Her cart had a squeaky wheel, a small gas grill, and a glass tip dish by the till. Every night at closing time, she emptied that dish onto a folded cloth and counted what she found.
莱拉在长途汽车总站北头经营一辆烤串车。她卖鸡肉、洋葱和青椒串，趁热卖。她的车有一只吱吱响的轮子，一个小燃气烤炉，收银机旁还有一只玻璃小费碟。每天晚上收摊的时候，她把碟子里的钱倒在一块叠好的布上，数一数有多少。
For two weeks, the same strange thing happened. Each night, at the bottom of the dish, lay one coin that did not belong to this country. It was small and heavy. It had a bird on one side and tiny letters on the other. The letters were not ours. Laila could not read them, and neither could anybody else.
两个星期以来，同一件怪事一直在发生。每天夜里，碟子的底部总躺着一枚不属于这个国家的硬币。它又小又沉，一面有一只鸟，另一面刻着细小的字母。那些字母不是我们的文字。莱拉看不懂，别人也看不懂。
"It's a different coin every night," said Lazlo, her helper. He was twenty-two, tall, and always hungry. "Look. This one is thicker. Yesterday's was thinner."
“每天晚上都是不同的硬币，”她的帮工拉兹洛说。他二十二岁，个子高，总是很饿。“你看，这枚更厚。昨天那枚更薄。”
"It is the same bird," Laila said. She turned the coin under the lamp. "The same bird, the same letters. Only the edge is different. Somebody is playing a game with us."
“是同一只鸟，”莱拉说。她把硬币放在灯下转动。“同一只鸟，同样的字母。只是边不一样。有人在跟我们玩游戏。”
"Maybe it's a gift from a rich traveller," said Lazlo.
“也许是哪位有钱的旅客送的礼物，”拉兹洛说。
"A rich traveller would leave a note," said Laila. "And this is worth nothing in any shop. I tried to spend one at the kiosk. The man laughed at me."
“有钱的旅客会留张字条，”莱拉说，“而且这东西在哪家店都不值钱。我试过在小卖部花掉一枚。那个人还笑话我。”
She put the coin on the counter next to the others. There were fourteen of them now, in a neat line, like tiny soldiers. Lazlo looked at them for a long time.
她把这枚硬币放到柜台上，和其他几枚摆在一起。现在已经有十四枚，排成整齐的一行，像小小的士兵。拉兹洛看了很久。
"We have a puzzle," he said at last. "A mystery. We could solve it."
“我们有个谜，”他终于说，“一个悬案。我们可以把它解开。”
"We have a cart and a hundred hungry people and a bus at ten past nine," said Laila. "But yes. I want to know. A coin is a small thing, but a bird that follows me every night is not."
“我们有一辆车，有上百个饿着肚子的人，还有九点十分的一班车，”莱拉说，“不过没错。我想弄清楚。一枚硬币是件小事，可是每天晚上跟着我的一只鸟，就不是小事了。”
That evening, they made a plan. Lazlo would watch the tip dish from behind the grill. Laila would serve the customers and keep her ears open. They would write down everything they noticed on the back of a paper menu. Whoever solved the puzzle first would not wash the grill for a week.
那天傍晚，他们定了个计划。拉兹洛在烤炉后面盯着小费碟。莱拉招呼顾客，同时竖起耳朵。他们把注意到的一切都写在一张纸菜单的背面。谁先解开这个谜，谁就一个星期不用洗烤炉。
The first clue came early. At nine o'clock, the coin was not yet in the dish. At half past nine, the big bus from the coast arrived. Then there were three coins in the dish. Two were from this country, and one had the bird.
第一条线索来得很早。九点钟，硬币还没出现在碟子里。九点半，从海滨开来的大巴到了。这时碟子里有了三枚硬币。两枚是本国的，一枚有那只鸟。
"It came after the coast bus," Lazlo said, writing quickly. "Clue number one. Not before. Only after."
“是在海滨大巴之后出现的，”拉兹洛一边快速地写一边说，“线索一。不是之前，只在之后。”
"Maybe a passenger from the coast puts it there," said Laila.
“也许是海滨来的某个乘客放进去的，”莱拉说。
"But every night? Always from the coast?" Lazlo shook his head. "That's too tidy. Tourists would pay with all kinds of coins, not one kind."
“可是每天晚上？每次都来自海滨？”拉兹洛摇摇头。“这也太整齐了。游客会用各种各样的硬币付钱，不会只有一种。”
The second clue came the next night. Laila started to look closely at the people who paid in cash. Most paid with paper money, and they took their change without looking. Some left a coin in the dish, and some did not. She noticed that one type of customer always left coins: the people whose hands were wet.
第二条线索在第二天晚上到来。莱拉开始仔细观察那些付现金的人。大多数人用纸币付款，拿了找零就走，看都不看。有些人会在碟子里放一枚硬币，有些人不会。她注意到有一类顾客总会留下硬币：手是湿的人。
"Wet hands," she said, and she tapped the menu with her pen. "Clue number two. Look at that man. He has just washed his hands. He drops the coin in the dish with the water still on his fingers."
“湿手，”她说着，用笔点了点菜单，“线索二。看那个人。他刚洗过手。手指上的水还没干，他就把硬币投进了碟子。”
"The washroom is behind the ticket hall," said Lazlo. He frowned. "Maybe someone in the washroom is giving out coins. A cleaner? A guard?"
“洗手间在售票大厅后面，”拉兹洛皱起眉头，“也许洗手间里有人在发硬币。清洁工？保安？”
"Why would a guard give out foreign coins?"
“保安干吗要发外国硬币？”
"For luck?" he suggested. "For a joke? Or maybe the guard is a spy."
“为了求个好运？”他提议，“为了开玩笑？又或者那个保安是个间谍。”
Laila looked at him for a moment. "Lazlo. A spy would choose a better place than a skewer cart."
莱拉看了他片刻。“拉兹洛。间谍会挑个比烤串车更好的地方。”
On the third night, the clue came from a very small customer. A girl of about six stood at the edge of the cart, holding her father's hand. The father paid for two skewers with a large note. Laila gave him his change, and the girl looked at the coins in her father's palm.
第三天夜里，线索来自一位非常小的顾客。一个大约六岁的女孩站在车边，牵着爸爸的手。爸爸用一张大额钞票付了两串烤串的钱。莱拉把找零给他，女孩看着爸爸手心里的硬币。
"Daddy," the girl said loudly, "you got a bird again."
“爸爸，”女孩大声说，“你又得到鸟了。”
"I know, sweetheart," said the father. He looked slightly embarrassed. "It came out of the machine. It always does."
“我知道，宝贝，”爸爸说。他显得有点难为情。“是从机器里出来的。每次都这样。”
"Which machine?" Laila asked, as casually as she could.
“哪台机器？”莱拉尽可能随意地问。
"The turnstile," the father said. "At the washroom. It costs a coin to go in. I never have the exact amount, so I put in a note. The machine gives me change."
“旋转闸机，”爸爸说，“洗手间那里的。进去要投一枚硬币。我从来没有刚好的零钱，所以我放进一张纸币。机器会找零给我。”
He held up the bird coin, a little sadly.
他举起那枚鸟硬币，有点无奈。
"It's always this one. Nobody here can spend it. So I drop it in your tip dish. I hope that's all right. It's the nearest place."
“总是这一种。这里谁也用不了。所以我就把它丢进你的小费碟。希望没关系。那是离得最近的地方。”
Laila stared at him. Behind her, Lazlo made a small noise, like a kettle.
莱拉瞪着他。她身后，拉兹洛发出一声小小的声音，像烧开的水壶。
"The machine gives you change," Laila said slowly.
“机器给你找零，”莱拉缓缓地说。
"Yes. It's been broken for months. It only gives back this coin."
“对。它已经坏了好几个月了。它只会退这种硬币。”
"Thank you," said Laila. "You have been very helpful."
“谢谢你，”莱拉说，“你帮了大忙。”
When the father and the girl walked away, Lazlo put down his pen. "Clue number three," he said. "The turnstile. It gives out the foreign coins. And everybody with a note gets one. Everybody with wet hands, because they are all coming from the washroom."
等爸爸和女孩走远，拉兹洛放下笔。“线索三，”他说，“旋转闸机。它吐出外国硬币。而且每个付纸币的人都会得到一枚。每个手湿的人，因为他们都是从洗手间出来的。”
"And then everybody drops it in my dish," said Laila, "because it is the nearest place."
“然后每个人都把它丢进我的碟子，”莱拉说，“因为那是最近的地方。”
She started to laugh. She laughed until she had to hold the edge of the cart.
她笑了起来，笑得不得不扶住车沿。
"For two weeks, we looked for a spy and a rich traveller. And it was the toilet."
“两个星期，我们又是找间谍，又是找有钱的旅客。结果是厕所。”
"It's the most ordinary answer in the world," Lazlo said, wiping his eyes. "It is almost too ordinary to be true."
“这是世上最普通的答案了，”拉兹洛一边擦眼睛一边说，“普通得几乎不像是真的。”
"Who loads the machine with change?" Laila asked, once she could speak again.
“是谁往机器里装的零钱？”等她能说话了，莱拉问。
"Somebody who made a mistake a long time ago," said Lazlo. "And nobody has ever checked."
“很久以前有人弄错了，”拉兹洛说，“后来再也没人检查过。”
They went and looked at the machine after the last bus. It stood at the back of the ticket hall, grey and square. It had a slot for coins and a slot for notes. A sign above it said "Exact coins preferred." A small drawer at the bottom held the change. Lazlo pressed a button, and a bird coin rolled out into his hand.
末班车开走以后，他们去看了那台机器。它立在售票大厅的后面，灰色，方方正正。有一个投硬币的口，一个投纸币的口。上面有一块牌子写着“请尽量使用零钱”。底部的一个小抽屉里放着找零。拉兹洛按了一下按钮，一枚鸟硬币滚到了他的手里。
"It's fifteen now," he said. "We have fifteen."
“现在有十五枚了，”他说，“我们有十五枚。”
"I know the manager of the terminal," said Laila. "He buys a skewer every evening. I will tell him tomorrow."
“我认识总站的经理，”莱拉说，“他每天傍晚都来买一串。我明天告诉他。”
"Tell him tonight," said Lazlo. "Look at the queue."
“今晚就告诉他吧，”拉兹洛说，“你看排队的人。”
A line of five tired people had formed behind them. A woman at the front held a coin in her hand and glared at the slot. Her face said that she had waited long enough.
他们身后排起了一列五个疲惫的人。排在最前面的一位女士手里拿着一枚硬币，瞪着投币口。她的神情仿佛在说，她已经等得够久了。
Laila looked at the bird in her palm. It had been in her tip dish for two weeks, and it had never done anything useful. She smiled at the woman. Then she stepped forward, pushed the coin into the slot, and heard a small, satisfying click. The turnstile swung open.
莱拉低头看着手心里的那只鸟。它在她的小费碟里躺了两个星期，从没干过什么有用的事。她朝那位女士笑了笑。然后她走上前，把硬币推进投币口，听到一声小小的、令人满意的咔嗒。闸机转开了。
"Please go ahead," Laila said, and she held the gate for the woman until she was through.
“请进吧，”莱拉说，她一直替那位女士扶着闸门，直到她走了过去。
