The taxi rank in Ostwick has room for four cars, one wooden hut and a single bench that nobody trusts. On a hot afternoon in July, three of the cars are empty. The fourth, Lorenzo's, is making a noise like a kettle with a grudge. White steam leaks from under the bonnet in thin, determined lines.
奥斯特威克的出租车候客点只容得下四辆车、一间木头小屋和一条没人敢信的长凳。七月里一个炎热的下午，三辆车是空的。第四辆是洛伦佐的，正发出一种像记仇的水壶一样的声音。白色的蒸汽从引擎盖下面渗出来，细细的，带着一股倔劲。
Gunnar comes out of the hut with a sandwich in his hand. He has worked at this rank for twenty years, and he can diagnose most problems by sound alone.
古纳尔手里拿着一块三明治，从小屋里走出来。他在这个候客点干了二十年，光听声音就能判断出大多数毛病。
"That is not a good noise," he says.
“这声音可不妙，”他说。
"It is a very good noise," says Lorenzo. "It tells me the engine is still alive. I just don't know how long it will stay that way."
“这是个很好的声音，”洛伦佐说，“它告诉我发动机还活着。我只是不知道它还能活多久。”
Lorenzo is new. He bought the cab in spring from a man who promised that it was "full of character". So far, the character has included a broken radio, a door that opens only from outside and now this.
洛伦佐是新来的。春天时，他从一个人手里买下了这辆出租车，那人保证它“很有个性”。到目前为止，这份个性包括一台坏掉的收音机、一扇只能从外面打开的车门，如今又加上了这个。
A customer is also waiting. She stands by the hut with a suitcase, looking at her watch. She needs to reach the junction station before the half-past-four train, and Lorenzo's cab is next in line. The next train after that, she mentions, is on Sunday.
还有一位乘客在等。她拎着一只手提箱站在小屋旁，不停地看手表。她得在四点半的火车开走之前赶到枢纽站，而洛伦佐的车正好排在最前面。她提到，在那之后的下一班火车，要到星期天才有。
"Twenty minutes," she says. "I can wait twenty minutes. After that I have to find a horse."
“二十分钟，”她说，“我可以等二十分钟。再晚我就得去找匹马了。”
"There is no horse," says Gunnar. "Only me."
“这儿没有马，”古纳尔说，“只有我。”
"Then take me," she says. "Please."
“那你送我吧，”她说，“拜托了。”
"I can't," he says, with real regret. "My cab is at the garage. Today I am only the man who answers the phone."
“我不行，”他说，真心实意地感到遗憾，“我的车在修理厂。今天我只是个接电话的人。”
Lorenzo switches off the engine and lifts the bonnet. A cloud of steam rolls out and fogs his glasses. Under it, the radiator cap sits on its little metal neck, far too hot to touch. The manual says never to open it while the engine is warm, and for once the manual is right.
洛伦佐熄了火，掀起引擎盖。一团蒸汽滚了出来，把他的眼镜蒙上了雾。蒸汽下面，散热器盖立在它那小小的金属脖子上，烫得根本没法碰。说明书上写着引擎热的时候绝不能打开它，这一回，说明书说得对。
"We need to cool it down," Lorenzo says. "Fast. Does anyone have a cold cloth?"
“我们得让它降温，”洛伦佐说，“要快。谁有凉的布吗？”
Gunnar thinks. Then he disappears into the hut and returns with a pair of oven gloves shaped like crocodiles. They are bright green, with white felt teeth and round yellow eyes.
古纳尔想了想。然后他钻进小屋，拿着一副鳄鱼形状的烤箱手套回来了。手套是亮绿色的，有白色毡子做的牙齿和圆圆的黄眼睛。
"My wife made them," he says, a little defensive. "She sells pasties from the hut in summer. They were meant to be a joke, but they are surprisingly thick."
“我老婆做的，”他说，语气有点辩解，“夏天她在小屋里卖馅饼。本来是闹着玩的，可它们出奇地厚实。”
"They are very thick," Lorenzo agrees. "They are also staring at me."
“它们确实很厚实，”洛伦佐同意道，“它们还一直盯着我看。”
Gunnar is a man of action, and he does not wait to be told. He puts both hands into the crocodiles and reaches for the cap with a look of great confidence. The cap lets out a sharp hiss, like a snake that has been woken up. Gunnar yelps, jumps back and drops one crocodile in the gutter.
古纳尔是个行动派，不等别人吩咐就动手了。他把两只手分别伸进两条鳄鱼里，满怀信心地伸向盖子。盖子发出一声尖厉的嘶响，像一条被惊醒的蛇。古纳尔大叫一声，往后一跳，把一只鳄鱼掉进了排水沟里。
"Well," says Lorenzo, "that was brave."
“嗯，”洛伦佐说，“真勇敢。”
"That was stupid," says Gunnar, shaking out his fingers. "I was in too much of a hurry. I nearly opened it like a jar of jam."
“是真蠢，”古纳尔甩着手指说，“我太着急了。我差点像开果酱罐一样把它拧开。”
The customer checks her watch again. "Seventeen minutes."
乘客又看了看表。“还剩十七分钟。”
Lorenzo stares at the engine, and then at the crocodile in the gutter. It lies on its back with its yellow eyes fixed on the sky. Something about the way it is lying makes him think of the water barrel behind the hut. The drivers keep it there for washing their cars.
洛伦佐盯着发动机，又看着排水沟里的那只鳄鱼。它仰面躺着，黄眼睛直直望向天空。它躺着的样子让他想到了小屋后面的那只水桶。司机们把水存在那里，用来洗车。
"We don't touch the cap yet," he says slowly. "First we let the engine cool. Gunnar, soak both gloves in the barrel. Make them as wet as you can."
“盖子先别碰，”他慢慢地说，“先让发动机凉下来。古纳尔，把两只手套都放进桶里浸透。越湿越好。”
"Wet gloves on a hot engine?" says Gunnar. "I thought the whole point of gloves was to keep hands dry."
“湿手套放在烫的发动机上？”古纳尔说，“我还以为手套的全部意义就是让手保持干燥呢。”
"The point is to keep my hands safe," Lorenzo answers. "Water takes the heat out of the metal. If we cool the hose and the cap, there is less pressure inside when we finally turn it."
“意义是保证我的手安全，”洛伦佐回答，“水能把金属里的热量带走。如果我们让水管和盖子凉下来，等我们最后拧开的时候，里面的压力就会小一些。”
Gunnar looks at him for a moment, then nods and runs. He comes back with the crocodiles dripping, one of them still wearing a leaf of lettuce on its nose. Lorenzo drapes the first glove over the top hose and the second over the cap, without touching either with his bare skin. They hiss at once and give off a thin smell of hot cotton. They wait one minute, and then another, while the customer watches in silence. Twice they dip the gloves again.
古纳尔看了他片刻，点点头，跑了出去。他回来时两条鳄鱼正滴着水，其中一条的鼻子上还挂着一片生菜叶。洛伦佐把第一只手套搭在上面的水管上，把第二只盖在盖子上，两只手都不碰到裸露的皮肤。它们立刻嘶嘶作响，散发出一股淡淡的热棉布味。他们等了一分钟，又等了一分钟，乘客在一旁默默看着。他们又把手套蘸了两次水。
"Nine minutes," she says at last.
“九分钟，”她终于说道。
"I know," says Lorenzo. "Please don't say it again."
“我知道，”洛伦佐说，“请别再说了。”
The steam has faded into a faint tick. Lorenzo puts his hand near the hose, and it is warm now, not scalding. He tells Gunnar to stand well back. Then he takes the cap through a layer of wet felt, turns his face away and turns it only a quarter of a turn. A short breath of steam escapes. He waits until it stops. He turns it a little more, and the cap lifts away in his hand like a coin.
蒸汽已经减弱成微微的嘶嘶声。洛伦佐把手凑近水管，现在是温的，不再烫手了。他让古纳尔站远些。然后他隔着一层湿毡子握住盖子，把脸转开，只拧了四分之一圈。一小股蒸汽泄了出来。他等到它停下。又多拧了一点，盖子像一枚硬币一样在他手里被取了下来。
Inside, the radiator is almost empty. The water level has dropped far below the line.
里面，散热器几乎是空的。水位低得远远掉到了刻度线以下。
"That is the whole problem," says Gunnar. "It was dry. Nothing is wrong with the engine, it is simply thirsty."
“这就是全部的问题，”古纳尔说，“它干了。发动机没毛病，只是渴了。”
"Then let's give it a drink," says Lorenzo. "Slowly. Is there anything in the hut?"
“那就给它喝点水，”洛伦佐说，“慢慢来。小屋里有什么吗？”
The only liquid in the hut is a case of bottled spring water that Gunnar's wife delivered on Monday. Together they pour six bottles into the radiator, a little at a time. The customer holds the bonnet up with both hands, her suitcase balanced on one knee. The water gurgles down. The steam thins out, shrinks to a wisp and disappears.
小屋里唯一的液体，是古纳尔的妻子星期一送来的一箱瓶装泉水。他们一起把六瓶水倒进散热器，一点一点地倒。乘客双手撑着引擎盖，手提箱靠在一边膝盖上。水咕嘟咕嘟地流下去。蒸汽渐渐变稀，缩成一缕烟，消失了。
Lorenzo screws the cap back on, closes the bonnet, climbs in and turns the key. The engine coughs once, sighs, and begins to purr.
洛伦佐把盖子拧回去，合上引擎盖，坐进车里，转动钥匙。发动机咳了一声，叹了口气，然后发出了低低的呼噜声。
"Five minutes," announces the customer, already in the back seat. "Is it going to make it?"
“五分钟，”乘客宣布，她已经坐在了后座上。“它能撑住吗？”
"It has to," says Lorenzo. "I have a reputation to build."
“必须撑住，”洛伦佐说，“我还要建立我的名声呢。”
He drives away from the rank slowly at first, to be safe, and then faster, down the long hill toward the junction. In his mirror he sees Gunnar standing in the road with a dripping crocodile on each hand. He waves them above his head like a man who has just won a small, strange war.
他一开始慢慢地驶离候客点，求个稳妥，随后越开越快，沿着长长的下坡朝枢纽站驶去。后视镜里，他看见古纳尔站在路中间，每只手上套着一条滴水的鳄鱼。他把它们举过头顶挥舞，像个刚刚打赢了一场奇怪小战争的人。
They reach the station with a minute to spare. The customer pays, runs across the car park with her suitcase bouncing behind her, and boards the train just as its doors begin to close.
他们提前一分钟赶到了车站。乘客付了钱，拖着手提箱在身后一路蹦跳着跑过停车场，在车门刚要关上的时候上了火车。
When Lorenzo comes back to the rank, Gunnar is sitting on the untrustworthy bench with the gloves spread out to dry beside him. One of them is missing half a tooth.
洛伦佐回到候客点时，古纳尔正坐在那条不可信任的长凳上，手套摊开在身旁晾着。其中一只缺了半颗牙。
"Good news," says Lorenzo. "She caught the train."
“好消息，”洛伦佐说，“她赶上火车了。”
"Excellent," says Gunnar. He picks up the damaged crocodile and turns it over with a worried frown. "But tell me one thing. Who is going to explain to my wife that her best work has retired from the pasty business?"
“太好了，”古纳尔说。他拿起那只受损的鳄鱼，翻过来，皱着眉头面露忧色。“不过，告诉我一件事。谁来向我老婆解释，她最好的作品已经从馅饼生意里退役了？”
