Samir liked the harbour fish auction because nothing about it ever changed. Every morning at five, the boats tied up at the quay. The crates slid down the ramp, and the big clock above the hall began to fall.
萨米尔喜欢海港的鱼市拍卖，因为它从来没有任何变化。每天早晨五点，渔船在码头靠岸。鱼箱顺着斜坡滑下来，大厅上方那座大钟开始往下走。
It was a price clock. A number started high and dropped one cent at a time. The first buyer to press a button stopped the clock and won the fish. Samir sat at a small desk in the auctioneer's office, which had a window onto the hall. He wrote every sale in a thick ledger. He was sixteen, and it was his Saturday job.
那是一座价格钟。数字从很高的地方开始，每次降一分。第一个按下按钮的买家会让钟停下，并赢得这批鱼。萨米尔坐在拍卖师办公室里一张小桌前，办公室有一扇窗朝着大厅。他把每一笔交易都记在一本厚厚的账簿里。他十六岁，这是他的周六兼职。
His friend Darius worked in the hall too. He was seventeen, and he was a runner. He pushed carts of ice and fish across the wet floor and carried sample boxes to the buyers. He never walked when he could run.
他的朋友达留斯也在大厅里干活。他十七岁，是个跑腿的。他推着装满冰和鱼的小车穿过湿漉漉的地面，还给买家送样品箱。能跑的时候，他从不走路。
The auctioneer's desk had one strange thing on it. In the middle of the left side there was a small drawer with a brass lock. She wore the key on a string round her neck. She had never opened the drawer in front of anyone.
拍卖师的桌子上有一样奇怪的东西。左侧中间有一只带黄铜锁的小抽屉。她把钥匙用绳子挂在脖子上。她从没当着任何人的面打开过这只抽屉。
"What is in it?" Darius had asked once.
“里面是什么？”达留斯曾经问过。
"Probably money," Samir had said. "Or old letters."
“大概是钱，”萨米尔说，“或者旧信。”
"Or a very small fish," Darius had said, and they had laughed.
“或者一条很小很小的鱼，”达留斯说，两人都笑了。
On this Saturday, everything began as usual. The boats arrived, and the cold air smelled of salt and diesel. The hall slowly filled with buyers in rubber boots. At half past six the auctioneer stood up and fixed her silver whistle to her collar.
这个星期六，一切照常开始。船到了，寒冷的空气里有海盐和柴油的味道。大厅里渐渐坐满了穿胶靴的买家。六点半，拍卖师站起身，把她的银哨子别在领口上。
"I must sign the fuel papers at the harbour office," she said. "Ten minutes. Samir, keep the ledger. Darius, keep the carts moving. The clock runs by itself, so nobody touch anything."
“我得去港务办公室签燃油文件，”她说，“十分钟。萨米尔，管好账簿。达留斯，让小车一直动起来。钟自己会走，所以谁也别碰任何东西。”
She went out through the side door. The door closed with a bang.
她从侧门走了出去。门砰地一声关上。
The biggest lot of the day was waiting by the ramp. It was forty crates of mackerel from a boat that had stayed out for two nights. Its captain stood beside the clock with his arms crossed. He looked like a man who had slept for five hours in three days.
今天最大的一批货正等在斜坡旁。四十箱鲭鱼，来自一条在海上待了两夜的船。船长站在钟旁，双臂交叉。他看上去像三天里只睡了五个小时的人。
The captain had told Samir the problem the week before. The big buyers often waited together. They let the price fall to the very bottom, and then they all pressed at the same moment. Last month the captain had sold his catch for less than the fuel had cost.
船长上周就把这个难题告诉了萨米尔。大买家们常常结伙等待。他们让价格一路落到底，然后同一时刻一起按下按钮。上个月，船长卖掉了他的渔获，价钱还不够付燃油。
"Three fifty," he had said. "That is the least I can accept. After that, I lose money."
“三块五，”他说，“这是我能接受的最低价。再低我就亏本了。”
At twenty to seven, Samir heard a noise. It was a small, dull buzz, and it came from the auctioneer's desk. He looked down. The brass drawer was shaking a little, like a sleeping animal.
六点四十分，萨米尔听到一阵声响。那是一阵细小而沉闷的嗡嗡声，从拍卖师的桌子那边传来。他低头一看。黄铜锁的抽屉在微微发抖，像一只睡着的动物。
Then it began to ring.
接着它响了起来。
It was an ordinary phone ring, with a silly tune that sounded very loud in the quiet office. It rang six times and stopped. Darius came running in with an empty cart and froze.
那是普通的手机铃声，带着一段傻乎乎的曲子，在安静的办公室里显得特别响。它响了六声，停了。达留斯推着空小车跑进来，愣在原地。
"Your desk is calling you," he said.
“你的桌子在叫你，”他说。
"It's not my desk. It is hers," Samir said. "And I am not allowed to touch it."
“这不是我的桌子。是她的，”萨米尔说，“而且我不许碰它。”
The drawer rang again. This time Samir felt a cold feeling in his stomach. He put his hand in his jacket pocket and found a small yellow note. He read it, and his face went pale.
抽屉又响了。这一次萨米尔觉得胃里一阵发凉。他把手伸进夹克口袋，摸出一张黄色的小便条。他读着，脸色发白。
The note said, in his own handwriting: Phone buyer from the city market. Calls 6:45. Bidding on the mackerel. Tell the clock to stop at the price he says.
便条上是他自己的笔迹：城市市场的电话买家。六点四十五来电。竞买鲭鱼。让钟停在他说的价格。
"I forgot," he said quietly. "She told me yesterday. I wrote it down, and I forgot to give it to her."
“我忘了，”他轻声说，“她昨天告诉我的。我写了下来，却忘了交给她。”
"What is it?" Darius asked.
“怎么回事？”达留斯问。
"A buyer from the city market. He wants the mackerel, and he will pay a good price. But he cannot be here, so he calls her second phone." Samir looked at the drawer. "She locked the phone inside."
“城市市场的一个买家。他想要这批鲭鱼，而且愿意出个好价钱。但他人来不了，所以打她的第二部手机。”萨米尔看着抽屉。“她把手机锁在里面了。”
Through the window they could see the hall. The lot was about to start. A man in a green apron was already walking towards the clock.
透过窗户，他们能看到大厅。这一批货马上就要开始了。一个穿绿围裙的男人已经朝着钟走去。
"How long do we have?" Darius asked.
“我们还有多久？”达留斯问。
"Four minutes."
“四分钟。”
He knelt in front of the desk and tried a paper clip in the lock. The clip bent in half. He tried a pen. The pen cracked. Samir ran his hands along the back of the desk. He found four small screws holding a wooden panel.
他跪在桌子前，用回形针去捅锁眼。回形针弯成了两截。他又试了一支钢笔。笔裂了。萨米尔用手沿着桌子背面摸过去。他摸到四颗小螺丝，固定着一块木板。
"A coin," he said. "Quickly."
“一枚硬币，”他说，“快！”
Darius found a coin in his pocket. They took turns to turn the screws, and their fingers were slippery from the ice. Outside, a bell rang once. The green button was pressed, and the great clock started to fall.
达留斯从口袋里摸出一枚硬币。两人轮流拧螺丝，手指被冰弄得滑溜溜的。外面铃响了一声。绿色按钮被按下，那座大钟开始往下落。
The panel came loose at the last screw. Darius reached inside with one long arm. He pushed past the dust and a lost pencil and pulled out the phone. It was still ringing.
最后一颗螺丝松开，木板掉了下来。达留斯伸长手臂探进去。他拨开灰尘和一支丢失的铅笔，把手机拽了出来。它还在响。
Samir took it and pressed the green circle. "Harbour auction," he said. His voice shook.
萨米尔接过来，按下绿色圆键。“海港拍卖，”他说，声音发着抖。
"At last," a calm voice said. "I have been calling for ten minutes. Where is the clock?"
“终于接通了，”一个平静的声音说，“我打了十分钟了。钟在哪儿？”
"Four twenty," Samir said, because he had looked through the window. "And it is falling."
“四点二零，”萨米尔说，因为他透过窗户看过。“而且还在往下掉。”
"I will take the whole lot at four exactly," the voice said. "No lower. You must stop it at four. Can you do that?"
“整批我都按四点整要了，”那个声音说，“不能再低。你得在四点把它停住。你能做到吗？”
Samir looked at the window. The clock showed 4.18. Three cents later it showed 4.15. The only button for a phone bidder was on the auctioneer's console in the middle of the hall. The hall was full of buyers in heavy boots.
萨米尔看向窗外。钟显示4.18。三分之后，显示4.15。电话买家专用的按钮，只在大厅中央拍卖师的操作台上。大厅里挤满了穿着厚重靴子的买家。
"I can try," he said.
“我可以试试，”他说。
"Then run," Darius said, and he picked up an empty fish crate and put it on his shoulder.
“那就跑，”达留斯说着，拎起一只空鱼箱扛在肩上。
They ran out together. Darius went first, shouting loudly in the narrow space between the buyers. "Wet floor! Heavy fish! Coming through!" People jumped away from him. Samir followed with the phone against his ear. The calm voice counted down like a second clock.
他们一起冲了出去。达留斯跑在前面，在买家之间的狭窄空隙里大声喊着。“地上有水！重货！让一让！”人们纷纷跳开。萨米尔拿着手机贴在耳边，跟在后面。那个平静的声音像第二座钟一样倒数着。
"Four ten," the voice said. "Are you there?"
“四点一零，”那个声音说，“你在吗？”
"Yes. I am near."
“在。我快到了。”
The console stood on a platform at the end of the hall. A big buyer in a leather coat was leaning on it, watching the numbers fall. He looked like a man who waited for the price to reach the bottom. He did not move when Samir came.
操作台立在大厅尽头的一个平台上。一个穿皮大衣的大买家正倚在上面，看着数字下落。他像一个等价格落到底的人。萨米尔走过来时，他一动不动。
"Excuse me," Samir said.
“劳驾，”萨米尔说。
The man did not look at him. Darius put the crate down very close to the man's boot. The man stepped back with a surprised noise.
那人没有看他。达留斯把箱子放下，离那人的靴子很近。那人吃了一惊，叫了一声，往后退了一步。
The clock showed 4.03.
钟显示4.03。
"Now?" Samir asked into the phone.
“现在吗？”萨米尔对着手机问。
"Wait," said the voice. "Wait. Now."
“等等，”那个声音说，“等等。就是现在。”
Samir pressed the blue phone button with his thumb. A loud, short beep filled the whole hall, and the clock stopped at 4.00.
萨米尔用拇指按下蓝色的电话按钮。一声响亮而短促的哔声充满了整个大厅，钟停在了4.00。
For a moment nobody spoke. The buyers looked hard at the frozen number. The man in the leather coat said a word that young people were not supposed to hear. Beside the ramp, the captain slowly uncrossed his arms and smiled.
一时间谁也没有说话。买家们死死盯着凝固的数字。穿皮大衣的男人说了一个年轻人不该听到的词。斜坡旁，船长慢慢放下交叉的双臂，笑了。
The side door opened. The auctioneer stood in the doorway with a bundle of papers in her hand. She looked at the clock. She looked at the broken back of her desk. Then she looked at Samir, who was holding her second phone in one shaking hand.
侧门开了。拍卖师站在门口，手里拿着一叠文件。她看了看钟。她看了看桌子被拆坏的背面。然后她看向萨米尔，他正用一只发抖的手握着她的第二部手机。
She walked across the hall without a word and took the phone from him. She put it to her ear and listened for a long time. A small smile showed at the corner of her mouth.
她一言不发地穿过大厅，从他手里接过手机。她把手机贴到耳边，听了很久。嘴角露出一丝浅浅的笑意。
"Four exactly," she said to the voice on the phone. "Do we have a deal?"
“四点整，”她对电话里的声音说，“成交吗？”
Then she gave her own answer with a single word.
然后她用一个字给出了自己的回答。
"Sold."
“成交。”
