by Dinah Post

I was six at the time， heading home before Christmas with my sister and parents after a long， snowy car journey. Our house was unusually cold when we arrived： the back door was swinging on its 1）hinges， and drawers and cupboards had been turned out. Wed been burgled. Soon the house 2）was swarming with police. To my sister and me， it was incredibly exciting， but not so for our parents： theyd lost heirlooms as well as everyday， replaceable objects. Some of the things taken were a little odd， such as Mums collection of perfumes. Over the next few days， Dad turned detective. He was into motor racing and found tyre tracks in a nearby lane： by measuring the distance between them， he worked out the make of the “getaway”vehicle—a sports car. A husband and wife were arrested. It turned out they had burgled nearly 70 homes in our area， storing the 3）loot in their 4）cellar： furniture， silverware， jewellery and 5）antiques. The case made national news， and the couple got five years each in prison. Mum and Dad， along with other victims， were invited to reclaim 6）items from the couples home， including a gold locket given to me by my grandmother. On the wall was a photograph of a genial-looking man leaning over the open 7）bonnet of a sports car， covered in oil； it was hard to believe he was a criminal.

我六歲那年，父母、妹妹還有我，在結束了一段漫長而又寒冷的汽車旅行之后于圣誕節(jié)前回到家?？傻郊液?，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)家里竟是“出奇”的清冷：后門在門合頁上晃動，抽屜和衣櫥都被翻了個遍。我家被盜了！很快，家里聚集了很多警察。對于我和妹妹來說，這太刺激了；但對于父母來說，卻苦不堪言：他們不僅丟失了可置換的日常用品，更是失去了祖?zhèn)鲗氊?。在那些丟失的寶貝中，有的是非常稀罕的，例如母親收集的香水。幾天之后，父親充當起偵探來。喜歡賽車的他在附近的巷子里發(fā)現(xiàn)了輪胎印跡，通過測量印跡間距，他推斷出“逃跑”的是一輛跑車。后來一對夫婦落網了。原來這對夫婦已經在我們這區(qū)行竊了近七十戶人家。他們將盜來的贓物藏在他家的地下室。地下室里有家具、銀器、珠寶以及古董。這成為了一起轟動全國的案件。最終，這對夫婦各被判五年監(jiān)禁。我的父母和其他受害者，被邀請至這對夫婦家中，認領被竊物品，其中包括一個外婆送我的小金盒。在他們家的墻上，掛著一張男人的照片，他面孔慈祥，倚靠在一輛車蓋開啟的跑車上，臉上蹭了點油污。真的難以想象他竟然是一個罪犯。

Fast-forward 30 years. Mum invited me on holiday with her and Dad—two weeks on a friends boat cruising in the south of France—and I thought， “Why not？” I sunbathed and read on deck， ate well and often stayed on board to hang out with the crew， a nice English couple called George and Sylvie， rather than go ashore. A little younger than my parents， well-dressed and chatty， they made me feel really welcome. He was bright and friendly， and they made a handsome pair. I felt we were on the same wavelength.

One day， the boat wouldnt start. Dad， his friend and George were all competent engineers and set to work. Mum and I went for a wander and it was as we were returning that she stopped in her tracks： George was peering into the boat engine， covered in oil. It was him， our burglar， just as he was in the photograph shed seen of him years ago. It was a 8）hunch， but her hunches were usually correct. Mum， Dad and I were determined to see if she was right. Dad got George talking about his love of cars and discovered he had indeed owned that particular make of sports car. Mum found out that Sylvie was unusually knowledgable about perfume. I just chatted with them， trying to gather bits of information.

It was bizarre and exciting—a proper adventure. I remember sleepless nights on the boat， thinking about it all. Mum and Dad werent bitter： after all， the burglary had been 30 years ago. They always had a good sense of humour and definitely saw the amusing side of it.

時光快進到三十年之后。母親邀請我與她以及父親一起度假——就是在法國南部一個朋友的船上游玩兩個星期——我想“干嘛不去呢？”度假時，我寧愿在甲板上沐浴陽光，徜徉書海，品味美食，或者在船上跟船務人員——一對英國夫婦消遣時光，也不愿上岸活動。這對英國夫婦分別叫喬治和西爾維婭，他們比我父母略微年輕些，穿著體面，又很健談，很是熱情有禮。喬治性格開朗、待人友善，他和他的妻子是很般配的一對兒。我感覺我們很投契。

一天，船無法啟動了。父親、他的朋友，還有喬治，都是很能干的工程師，他們就開始修理起來了。母親和我就出去走了走，可當我們快回到船邊時，她突然停住了腳步：此時，喬治正凝視著船的發(fā)動機，臉上有些油污。就是他！我們的竊賊！喬治的這一形象和母親當年在照片中看到的十分相似。然而這只不過是母親的一個直覺罷了，不過母親的直覺一向都很準。我和父母決定檢驗一下母親的猜測是否正確。父親找來喬治并跟他聊起自己對車的喜愛，接著他發(fā)現(xiàn)喬治確實擁有那款特制的跑車。母親發(fā)現(xiàn)西爾維婭對香水的了解也很不一般。而我只是跟他們隨便聊聊，試著獲取一些信息。

這真是離奇又令人興奮，簡直堪稱一場探險。我記得在船上我多夜未眠，整晚都在想著這件事。父母并無怨恨，畢竟那場盜竊已是三十年前的事了。況且他們生性幽默，絕對是看到了事情的有趣一面。

We didnt 9）let on to our friends—we wanted to get home and dig out the cuttings from the case， which my parents had kept， to check we had remembered their names correctly. We had： there they were， George and Sylvie， younger but the same couple. We told Mum and Dads friends a few weeks later， when they got home from their boat， and they were incredulous. “How are you going to face them again now？” we asked. “We may not have to，” they replied—apparently， the day we left， George and Sylvie left， too， saying they had to care for a sick relative. They were never heard from again.

Looking back， I think that， in our excitement， Mum， Dad and I overdid it， asking one question too many. They started to withdraw and spend less time with us all. Wed rumbled them and they knew it. Its a mystery to this day why they did it. They seemed completely the wrong type： educated， middle-class， well-off. They picked on large houses and 10）ransacked them—why？ Did they just do it for kicks？ The story， of course， entered family folklore. “Mr W”， as we christened George， became a running joke. Every time we returned home， wed say， “I wonder if Mr W has paid us a visit？”

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had confronted them on the boat. I expect they would have laughed it off. I also wonder if they were 11）biding their time， waiting for us all to go ashore so they could do a runner with the boat.

我們并未向朋友們透露這件事，而是打算回到家，從花瓶中取出那些當年父母保留的剪報，來查看是否記對了他們的名字。我們記對了：就是他們，喬治和西爾維婭，只不過是年輕時的他們！幾個星期后，父母的朋友們從船上回到家，我們把這件事告訴了他們。他們都無法相信。我們問：“如果再見到他們，你們打算怎么辦？”他們說：“我們可能再不會見到他們了。”很顯然，在我們走的那天，喬治和西爾維婭也離開了，說是得去照顧一個患病的親戚。從此，我們再也沒有他們的消息了！

現(xiàn)在回想起來，我覺得，由于太興奮，當時我們仨的行為有些過頭——總是抓住一個問題，問個沒完沒了。喬治和西爾維婭開始回避我們，盡量少和我們待在一起。他們肯定知道我們認出了他們。至今，我也沒弄明白他們當年為何會成為竊賊。他們的樣子看起來完全不像是賊：受過教育，中產階級，生活富裕?？伤麄?yōu)楹螌Ｌ舸髴舨⑵湎唇僖豢漳?？難道他們這么做只是覺得好玩嗎？這個故事自然而然成為了我們的家族傳說。“W君”，我們給喬治起的新名，成了我們家流傳的一個笑話。每次我們回到家，都會打趣地說：“不知道W君有沒有到此一訪？”

我有時在想：如果當初在船上就揭穿他們，那將會發(fā)生什么事情呢？我期望他們會一笑而過。我有時還會想：他們倆會不會在靜候我們全部上岸，然后好把船偷走呢？