lesson6

　　一個好機會

　　Lesson Six A Good Chance

　　我到鴨溪時，喜鵲沒在家，我和他的妻子阿米莉亞談了談。

　　When I got to Crow Creek， Magpie was not home. I talked to his wife Amelia.

　　“我要找喜鵲，”我說，“我給他帶來了好消息。”我指指提著的箱子，“我帶來了他的詩歌和一封加利福尼亞大學的錄取通知書，他們想讓他來參加為印第安人舉辦的藝術課。”

　　“I need to find Magpie，” I said. “I've really got some good news for him.” I pointed to the briefcase I was carrying. “I have his poems and a letter of acceptance from a University in California where they want him to come and participate in the Fine Arts Program they have started for Indians.”

　　“你知道他還在假釋期間嗎？”

　　“Do you know that he was on parole？”

　　“這個，不，不大清楚。”我猶豫著說，“我一直沒有和他聯系，但我聽說他遇到了些麻煩。”

　　“Well， no， not exactly，” I said hesitantly， “I haven't kept in touch with him but I heard that he was in some kind of trouble.

　　她對我笑笑說：“他已經離開很久了。你知道，他在這兒不安全。他的假釋官隨時都在監視他，所以他還是不到這兒來為好，而且我們已經分開一段時間了，我聽說他在城里的什么地方。”

　　She smiled to me and said， “He's gone a lot. It's not safe around here for him， you know. His parole officer really watches him all the time and so sometimes it is just better for him not to come here. Besides， we haven't been together for a while. I hear he's in town somewhere.”

　　“你是指他在錢柏林？”

　　“Do you mean in Chamberlain？”

　　“對。我和他姐姐住在這兒，她說前一段時間她在那兒見過他。不過喜鵲不會去加利福尼亞的。即使你見到他并和他談此事，他現在也決不會離開這兒。”

　　“Yes， I live here with his sister and she said that she saw him there， quite a while ago. But Magpie would not go to California. He would never leave here now even if you saw him and talked to him about it.”

　　“可他以前去過，”我說，“他去過西雅圖大學。”

　　“But he did before，” I said， “He went to the University of Seattle.”

　　“是的，但……但是，那是以前，”她說，似乎不想再談這個話題。

　　“Yeah， but…well， that was before，” she said， as though to finish the matter.

　　“你難道不希望他去嗎？”我問道。

　　“Don't you want him to go？” I asked.

　　“哦，這不是我說了算的