Tariq arrived at the scrapyard at nine on Saturday morning with a wooden box under his arm.
星期六上午九点，塔里克腋下夹着一只木盒来到了废品场。
The gate was open, and a dog was waiting just inside. He was big and shaggy and yellow-brown, with one ear that stood up and one that did not. He looked at Tariq, looked at the box, and walked in a happy circle around his legs.
大门开着，一条狗正等在里面。它个头很大，毛蓬蓬的，黄褐色，一只耳朵竖着，另一只耷拉着。它看了看塔里克，又看了看木盒，高高兴兴地绕着他的腿转了一圈。
"He likes you," a voice said from above.
“它喜欢你，”上方传来一个声音。
Tariq looked up. A woman was sitting on top of a washing machine with a mug in one hand. She wore thick gloves and a pair of safety glasses pushed up into her hair. "That's the dog's job," she said. "He decides who gets in. You passed."
塔里克抬起头。一个女人坐在一台洗衣机顶上，一只手端着马克杯。她戴着厚手套，一副护目镜推到头发里。“这是狗的活儿，”她说，“谁能进来由它说了算。你过关了。”
"I'm looking for Thandi," Tariq said.
“我找坦迪，”塔里克说。
"That's me." She climbed down. "You're the chess teacher who phoned yesterday."
“我就是。”她爬了下来。“你是昨天打电话来的那位国际象棋老师吧。”
"That's right." He opened the box and showed her the board. It was an old wooden set, worn smooth at the edges. Thirty-one pieces sat in neat rows on soft green felt. The place for the white queen was empty. "I bought this set from your yard last year. It came in a box with other things. I teach chess to children at the community centre. We have a small tournament tomorrow, and the white queen is missing."
“没错。”他打开盒子，把棋盘给她看。那是一副旧的木制棋子，边缘被磨得光滑。三十一枚棋子整整齐齐地排在柔软的绿色毡布上。白后的位置是空的。“这副棋是我去年在你们场里买的。它和其他东西一起装在一个箱子里。我在社区活动中心教孩子们下棋。我们明天有个小比赛，可白后不见了。”
Thandi frowned. "Is the queen an important piece?"
坦迪皱起眉头。“后是很重要的棋子吗？”
"She's the strongest piece on the board. Without her, I'd have to use a button. The children would laugh, and then they would play badly."
“她是棋盘上最强的棋子。没有她，我就得拿个纽扣顶替。孩子们会笑，然后就会下得很糟。”
Thandi pulled off one glove and scratched her chin. "We don't keep a list of what was in each box. But I remember where that lot came from. A flat clearance. Those boxes went into the shed by the crane."
坦迪摘下一只手套，挠了挠下巴。“我们不记每个箱子里装了什么。不过我记得那批货是从哪儿来的。一户人家清仓。那些箱子放进了起重机旁边的棚子里。”
"Then maybe the queen is still in the shed."
“那也许后还在棚子里。”
"Maybe. It's worth an hour. Come on."
“也许吧。值得花一个小时找找。走吧。”
The shed was a long tin building at the back of the yard. Inside, it smelled of oil and old paper. Shelves ran from the floor to the roof, and every shelf was full. Tariq saw broken lamps, jars of screws and a row of old radios.
棚子是废品场后面一栋长长的铁皮房子。里面一股机油和旧纸的味道。架子从地面一直顶到房顶，每一层都满满当当。塔里克看到了坏灯、一罐罐螺丝，还有一排旧收音机。
"The flat boxes are in the corner," Thandi said. "Start at the top. I'll take the bottom."
“扁箱子在角落里，”坦迪说，“你从上面开始。我找下面。”
They searched for forty minutes. Tariq opened every box and shook out every sock and every coil of wire. He found two forks, a very small violin and a plastic pawn that belonged to no set. The dog lay in the doorway and watched. He had the patient face of an animal who knew how long people usually take.
他们找了四十分钟。塔里克打开每一个箱子，抖开每一只袜子，抖开每一圈电线。他找到了两把叉子、一把非常小的小提琴，还有一枚不属于任何一副棋的塑料兵。那条狗躺在门口看着。它脸上是一副耐心的神情，仿佛深知人们通常要花多久。
At ten o'clock, Thandi sat back on her heels. "I'm sorry," she said. "It isn't here. I looked in every box."
十点钟，坦迪蹲坐在脚跟上。“抱歉，”她说，“不在这儿。每个箱子我都找过了。”
Tariq sat down on an upturned bucket. His shoulders dropped. "The tournament is tomorrow at two. I can't buy a new set in a day. The shop in town only sells plastic ones."
塔里克坐到一只倒扣的桶上。他的肩膀垮了下来。“比赛明天两点。我一天之内买不到新的。城里的店只卖塑料的。”
"What size is the queen?"
“那个后有多大？”
"About nine centimetres tall. She has a wide round base and a narrow neck. On top, there's a little crown with five points."
“大约九厘米高。底座宽而圆，脖子细。顶上有一顶小皇冠，五个尖。”
Thandi stared at him for a moment. Then she stood up, brushed the dust from her knees and said, "Wait here."
坦迪盯着他看了一会儿。然后她站起身，拍掉膝盖上的灰，说：“在这儿等着。”
She walked out of the shed. Tariq heard her moving things around outside. A few minutes later, she came back with her hands full. She had a brass curtain finial, a heavy washer, a short rod and a tin of cream paint.
她走出了棚子。塔里克听见她在外面搬动东西。几分钟后，她回来了，两手满满的。她拿着一个黄铜窗帘杆顶饰、一个厚垫圈、一根短杆，还有一罐奶油色油漆。
"What are those for?" he asked.
“这些是干什么用的？”他问。
"For a queen." She placed everything on a workbench. "I can't find the old one, so I'll make you a new one. It won't be perfect, but it will be a queen."
“做后用的。”她把所有东西放在工作台上。“旧的找不到了，我就给你做个新的。不会完美，但会是个后。”
Tariq blinked. "You can do that?"
塔里克眨了眨眼。“你能做这个？”
"I've welded a bicycle into a chair. I've made a clock from a bicycle wheel. A chess queen is not harder than a clock." She put on her safety glasses and took a small file from a drawer. "Hold the base steady, please."
“我把一辆自行车焊成过一把椅子。我用自行车轮子做过一座钟。国际象棋的后不比钟难。”她戴上护目镜，从抽屉里拿出一把小锉刀。“请把底座扶稳。”
They worked together. Thandi cut the rod to the right height and filed the end until it fit inside the finial. She rubbed the washer on a stone until it was smooth. Then she cut five tiny points around its edge. Tariq held each part while she worked.
他们一起动手。坦迪把杆子切到合适的高度，把一端锉到能嵌进顶饰里。她把垫圈在石头上磨光滑。然后在它的边缘上刻出五个小尖。她干活的时候，塔里克就扶着每一个零件。
"This is your crown," Thandi said. She fixed the washer on top with a drop of strong glue. "She looks like a queen who has seen a few things."
“这是你的皇冠，”坦迪说。她用一滴强力胶把垫圈固定在顶上。“她看起来像一位见过些世面的后。”
"She looks perfect," Tariq said, and he meant it. "But she is metal. All my other white pieces are wood. The children will notice at once."
“她看起来完美极了，”塔里克说，他是真心的。“可她是金属的。我其他的白棋都是木头的。孩子们一眼就会看出来。”
"Then we make her look the same." She picked up the paint. "The tin says cream. Your pieces look cream too, only more tired."
“那我们就让她看起来一样。”她拿起油漆。“罐子上写的是奶油色。你的棋子看上去也是奶油色，只是更疲倦些。”
She mixed a little brown paint into the cream, one drop at a time. After each drop, she tried it on a scrap of wood. Tariq held the scrap next to his white king. The colours were almost the same. Thandi added one last drop, and now the two shades matched.
她往奶油色里调进一点棕色油漆，一次一滴。每加一滴，她就在一小块木头上试一试。塔里克把木块拿到白王旁边比。颜色几乎一样了。坦迪又加了最后一滴，现在两种色调对上了。
She painted the queen in thin, careful layers. Between layers, she carried the piece into the sun to dry. Tariq stood beside her and told her stories about the children in his club. There was a girl who had never lost a game. There was a very small boy who hid his captured pieces in his pockets.
她给后一层一层地、细细地上漆。每刷完一层，她就把棋子拿到太阳下晾干。塔里克站在她身边，给她讲他棋社里孩子们的故事。有个女孩从来没输过一盘棋。有个特别小的男孩，会把吃掉的棋子藏在口袋里。
"Do they ever give them back?" Thandi asked.
“他们会还回来吗？”坦迪问。
"Always. Eventually."
“总会还的。最后。”
The last layer dried at noon. Thandi turned the queen in the light and checked every side. She smoothed a small bubble of paint with her thumbnail. Then she handed the piece to Tariq.
最后一层漆在中午干了。坦迪在光线下转动着后，检查每一面。她用指甲把一个小小的漆泡抚平。然后她把棋子递给了塔里克。
He set it on the empty square. It stood a little taller than the other pieces, and its neck was thicker. But the cream colour matched, and the crown caught the light. Beside the white king, it looked as if it had always been there.
他把它放在那个空格上。它比别的棋子略高一点，脖子也粗一些。但奶油色一致，皇冠在光里闪着亮。在白王旁边，它看起来像是一直就在那里。
"Well?" Thandi said.
“怎么样？”坦迪说。
Tariq weighed the piece in his hand. It was heavier than the others. "She will knock over the board if a child grabs her too fast," he said.
塔里克在手里掂了掂这枚棋子。它比别的重。“要是哪个孩子抓得太快，她会把棋盘撞翻的，”他说。
"Good. A queen should be dangerous."
“好。后就该有点危险。”
He laughed, and the sound surprised him. He had not laughed since Friday night. "How much do I owe you?"
他笑了，那笑声连他自己也吃惊。从星期五晚上起他就没有笑过了。“我该付你多少钱？”
"Nothing. The parts were all scrap." She wiped her hands on a rag. "But I have one condition. I want to see her in a real game."
“不用。零件都是废品。”她在一块抹布上擦着手。“不过我有一个条件。我想看她下一盘真正的棋。”
"You could come tomorrow. The tournament starts at two."
“你可以明天来。比赛两点开始。”
"I can't. The yard is open on Sundays, and the dog gets lonely." She looked down. The dog lifted his head and gave her a look of great innocence. "But you could teach me a little now. I only know how the horse moves."
“我去不了。场子星期天也开门，而且狗会寂寞。”她低下头。那条狗抬起头，回给她一个无辜至极的眼神。“不过你现在可以教我一点。我只知道马怎么走。”
"The knight," Tariq said.
“是骑士，”塔里克说。
"The horse," Thandi repeated firmly.
“是马，”坦迪坚定地重复道。
They carried a flat crate out into the sun and set the board on top. Tariq arranged the pieces and put the new queen on her square. He showed Thandi how the pawns advance one step at a time. He showed her how the rooks guard the corners. She listened with her chin in her hand and asked sharp questions.
他们把一只扁木箱抬到太阳下，把棋盘摆在上面。塔里克摆好棋子，把新的后放在她的格子上。他给坦迪演示兵怎样一次前进一步。他给她演示车怎样守住角落。她托着下巴听，问的问题很犀利。
After twenty minutes, they played a short game. Thandi lost her queen on the ninth move, and she did not seem to mind. The dog walked once around the crate. Then he lay down again with his chin on her boot.
二十分钟后，他们下了一盘短棋。坦迪在第九步丢了后，却似乎毫不在意。狗绕着木箱走了一圈。然后它又躺下了，下巴搁在她的靴子上。
Tariq looked at the board for a long moment. Then he looked at the new queen, standing proud and slightly too tall among the white pieces.
塔里克盯着棋盘看了很久。然后他看向那枚新的后，她骄傲地、略微高出一截地立在白棋之间。
"Thandi," he said, "when the children ask where she came from, should I tell them the truth?"
“坦迪，”他说，“孩子们问她是从哪儿来的，我该告诉他们实话吗？”
