海伦还没来得及发表任何评论，杰克就到了，热得气喘吁吁。
Before Helene could make any ments, Jake arrived, hot and breathless.
埃德?斯金丁斯鲁德，他解释说，拒绝进一步解释他那令人吃惊的声明。“很可能，” 海伦说，“是他自己干的。”
Ed Skindingsrude, he explained, had refused to enlarge on his startled and startling statement. “Probably,” Helene said, “he did it himself.”
“我把赌注压在菲尔?史密斯身上。” 杰克说。“任何一个有全镇最温柔的人这样名声的人，内心深处肯定隐藏着谋杀的种子。再说，失去教授希腊语、拉丁语和古典历史的工作是个很好的杀人动机。”
“My money’s on Phil Smith,” Jake said. “Anybody who has the reputation of being the gentlest soul in town must have the seeds of murder in him somewhere. Besides, losing a job teaching Greek, Latin, and classical history is a swell motive.”
马龙皱起眉头。“随着我们开始挖掘这个小镇上人们的私人生活，动机肯定会越来越多，可能足以构成半打谋杀案。” 他开始说道。
Malone frowned. “Motives are bound to pile up, probably suitable for half a dozen murders, as we begin to dig into the private lives of this town,” he began.
“我们？” 杰克问道。
“We?” Jake demanded.
“口误。” 小律师红着脸说。“别再想了。现在这位可敬的治安官已经把某人关进了监狱，尤其是像地方检察官这样重要的人物，他不会再想和你们有任何瓜葛。明天早上我们就会离开杰克逊县，把这里的尘土从我们的脚后跟甩掉，然后继续我们的旅程。”
“A slip of the tongue,” the little lawyer said, blushing. “Don’t give it another thought. Now that the worthy sheriff has clamped somebody in jail, especially somebody as important as the D. A. himself, he won’t want any further truck with you. Tomorrow morning we’ll kiss the dust of Jackson County good-by off our heels, and be on our way.”
“你是说另一个人完蛋了。” 海伦说。
“You mean another heel bites the dust,” Helene said.
突然，《企业报》办公室的门开了，一个红发女孩大步走了进来，后面跟着一个矮胖的小老头，脸红红的，头发卷曲花白。
Suddenly the door of the Enterprise office opened, and a red-haired girl strode in, followed by a short, plump little man with a rosy face and curly white hair.
“我就知道能在这儿找到你们。” 女孩说。
“I thought I’d find you here,” the girl said.
杰克盯着她。她不是个漂亮的女孩，事实上，她苍白的脸绝对很普通，但她肯定很引人注目。她很高，甚至比海伦还高，她的头发像草原上的火。她穿着有点脏的牛仔工装裤。
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