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“But what for?”I asked.
“为什么要抓我？”我问道。
“Wandering with intent to commit an arrestable offence,” he said.
“到处游荡，企图作案，”他说。
“What offence?” I asked.
“作什么案？”我又问。
“Theft,” he said.
“偷窃，”他说。
“Theft of what?” I asked.
“偷什么？”我追问。
“Milk bottles,” he said, and with a perfectly straight face too!
“牛奶瓶，”他板着面孔说道。
“Oh,” I said.
“噢，”我说。
It turned out there had been a lot of petty thefts in the area, particularly that of stealing milk bottles from doorsteps.
事情原来是这样的，在这一地区多次发生小的扒窃案，特别是从门前台阶上偷走牛奶瓶。
Then I made my big mistake. At the time I was nineteen, had long untidy hair, and regarded myself as part of the sixties' “youth counterculture”. As a result, I wanted to appear cool and unconcerned with the incident, so I said, “How long have you been following me?” in the most casual and conversational tone I could manage. I thus appeared to them to be quite familiar with this sort of situation, and it confirmed them in their belief that I was a thoroughly disreputable character.
接着，我犯了一个大错误。其时我年方19，留一头蓬乱的长发，自认为是60年代“青年反主流文化”的一员。所以我想装出一副冷漠的、对这一事件满不在乎的样子。于是我尽量用一种漫不经心的极其随便的腔调说，“你们跟踪我多久啦？”这样一来，在他们眼里，我就像是非常熟悉这一套的了，也使他们更加确信我是一个地地道道的坏蛋。
A few minutes later a police car arrived.
几分钟后，开来了一辆警车。
“Get in the back,” they said. “Put your hands on the back of the front seat and don't move them.”
“坐到后面去，”他们说。“把手放到前排座位的靠背上，不准挪动。”
They got in on either side of me. It wasn't funny any more.
他们分别坐在我的两边。这可再也不是闹着玩的了。
At the police station they questioned me for several hours. I continued to try to look worldly and familiar with the situation. When they asked me what I had been doing, I told them I'd been looking for a job. “Aha,” I could see them thinking, “unemployed”.
在警察局，他们审讯了我好几个小时。我继续装成老于世故、对这种事习以为常。当他们问我在干什么时，我告诉他们在找工作。“啊，”我可以想象他们在想，“果然是个失业的家伙。”
Eventually, I was officially charged and told to report to Richmond Magistrates' Court the following Monday. Then they let me go.
最后，我被正式起诉，并通知我下周一到里士满地方法庭受审。随后他们让我离开。
