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There remained only one man whose attitude did not fit into an anti-Negro category, for I had heard the white men refer to him as a "Pope lover". He was an Irish Catholic and washated by the white Southerners. I knew that he read books, because I had got him volumes from the library several times. Since he, too, was an object of hatred, I felt that he might refuse me but would hardly betray me. I hesitated, weighing and balancing the imponderable realities.
只剩下一个人，他的态度不属于歧视黑人的一类，因为我曾听到白人称他为"拍教皇马屁的人"。他是个爱尔兰天主教徒，受到南方白人的憎恨。我知道他看书，因为我曾好几次为他到图书馆去借书。既然他也是个被仇恨的对象，我感到他虽有可能拒绝帮助我，但不太可能出卖我。我犹豫不决，反复掂量着，权衡着这无法估量的现实。
One morning I paused before the Catholic fellow's desk.
一天上午，我在这位天主教徒的办公桌前停下来。
"I want to ask you a favor," I whispered to him.
"我想求你帮个忙，"我低声对他讲。
"What is it?"
"帮什么忙?"
"I want to read. I can't get books from the library. I wonder if you'd let me use your card?"
"我想看书，却无法从图书馆借到。我在想，你肯不肯把借书证借给我用?"
He looked at me suspiciously.
他怀疑地看着我。
"My card is full most of the time," he said.
"我的借书证大部分时间都是满的，"他说。
"I see," I said and waited, posing my question silently.
"哦，"我说后便等待着，无声地提出我的问题。
"You're not trying to get me into trouble, are you, boy?" he asked, staring at me.
"你不是想给我找麻烦吧，伙计?"他两眼直盯着我，问道。
"Oh, no, sir."
"喔，不会的，先生。"
"What book do you want?"
"你想要什么书?"
"A book by H. L. Mencken."
"一本H·L·门肯写的书。"
"Which one?"
"哪一本?"
"I don't know. Has he written more than one?"
"我不知道。他写了不止一本书吧?"
"He has written several."
"他写过好几本书。"
"I didn't know that."
"我原本不知道。"
"What makes you want to read Mencken?"
"你怎么会想到要看门肯的书?"
"Oh, I just saw his name in the newspaper," I said.
"哦，我只是在报纸上看见他的名字，"我说。
"It's good of you to want to read," he said. "But you ought to read the right things."
"你想看书是好的，"他说，"但你该看那些正当的书。"
I said nothing. Would he want to supervise my reading?
我没有回答。他是不是要监督我看哪些书？
"Let me think," he said. "I'll figure out something."
"让我想想，"他说。"我想想办法。"
I turned from him and he called me back. He stared at me quizzically.
我转身离开，但他把我叫了回来。他疑惑地盯着我看。
