杰克把香烟扔在雪地上，再次绕着文宁家的老房子走，然后穿过草坪向树林走去。一阵冷风从湖面吹来，开始下起几滴雨来。有那么一会儿，他考虑放弃然后回去。哦，好吧，要弄清楚这些脚印通向哪里也花不了多长时间。
Jake dropped his cigarette in the snow, again walked around the old Venning house, and crossed the lawn leading to the woods. A cold wind had e up from the lake, and a few drops of rain were beginning to fall. For a moment he considered giving it up and turning back. Oh well, it wouldn’t take long to find out where those footprints led.
他沿着小路走到脚印第一次出现的地方。从这里开始，脚印通向隐藏在灌木丛中的那个敞开的坟墓。这些脚印是在雪后留下的，但至少已经有好几天了，而且经历了几场断断续续的雨。
He followed the path to the point where the footprints first appeared. From this point on, they led to the open grave that was hidden in the bushes. They had been made since the snowfall, but they had been there several days at least, and through several of the intermittent rains.
他弯下腰仔细查看那些脚印。是男人的脚印，很大，是某种厚重的鞋子留下的，可能是运动鞋。杰克想，一条猎犬能从这些脚印中看出更多东西，但他还是仔细地观察着。这些脚印很深，显然是个很重的人留下的。如果从脚的大小来判断，这个人也很高。
He bent down and examined them. They were a man’s prints, large ones, made by some kind of heavy shoe, probably a sports shoe. A bloodhound could make a lot more out of them than he could, Jake thought, but he looked at them closely. They were deep prints, evidently a heavy man. Tall, too, if the size of his feet were any indication.
现在，要找出它们通向哪里。他站起来，拍掉膝盖上的雪，环顾四周。在这时候在树林里迷路可就糟了。有条小路通向草坪，还有那些脚印，加上伊迪莎?文宁和他自己的脚印，通向那个敞开的坟墓。从这里开始，那些神秘的脚印沿着另一条小路走，这条小路沿着把这里和麦克莱恩庄园隔开的墙延伸。
Now, to find out where they led. He stood up, brushing the snow from his knees, anl looked around him. This would be a hell of a time to get lost in the woods. There was the path, leading back toward the lawn, and there were the footprints, plus Editha Venning’s and his own, leading toward the open grave. From this point on the mysterious footprints had traveled on another path, leading along the wall that separated this from the McClane estate.
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