TOOR’S BAD LUCK. Hadn’t I overheard that in a snippet of conversation back at Mahipar? 图尔的霉运。在玛希帕那边，我不是从短暂的交谈中听到过这句话吗?

We rolled into Jalalabad about an hour before sunrise. Karim ushered¹ us quickly from the truck into a one-story house at the intersection² of two dirt roads lined with flat one-story homes, acacia trees, and closed shops. I pulled the collar of my coat against the chill as we hurried into the house, dragging our belongings³. For some reason, I remember smelling radishes. 大约在太阳上山之前一个钟头，我们驶进了贾拉拉巴特。卡林匆匆将我们从卡车领进一座房子。那是单层的平房，位于两条土路的交叉处，路的两边是平房，还有没开门的商店，种着合欢树。我们拖着行李走进屋子里头，我拉起衣领，以抵御严寒。不知道为什么，我记得有萝卜的味道。

Once he had us inside the dimly lit, bare living room, Karim locked the front door, pulled the tattered⁴ sheets that passed for curtains. Then he took a deep breath and gave us the bad news: His brother Toor couldn’t take us to Peshawar. It seemed his truck’s engine had blown the week before and Toor was still waiting for parts. 我们刚进入那间昏暗且一无所有的房间，卡林就把前门锁上，拉上那代替窗帘的破布。跟着他深深吸了一口气，告诉我们坏消息。他的兄弟图尔没法送我们去白沙瓦。上个星期，他那卡车的发动机坏了，图尔还在等零件。

“Last week?” someone exclaimed. “If you knew this, why did you bring us here?” “上星期?”有人叫道，“要是你知道这事情，为什么还把我们带到这里来?”

I caught a flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye. Then a blur⁵ of something zipping across the room, and the next thing I saw was Karim slammed against the wall, his sandaled feet dangling⁶ two feet above the floor. Wrapped around his neck were Baba’s hands. 我用眼角的余光瞥见一阵急遽的动作。随后有个模糊的身影穿过房间，接下来我看到的事情是，卡林猛然撞在墙上，爸爸的双手掐住他的脖子。

“I’ll tell you why,” Baba snapped. “Because he got paid for his leg of the trip. That’s all he cared about.” Karim was making guttural choking sounds. Spittle dripped from the corner of his mouth. “我来告诉你们为什么，”爸爸愤怒地说，“因为他要赚这一程的车费，他只在乎这个。”卡林发出哽咽的声音，唾液从嘴角流出来。

“Put him down, Agha, you’re killing⁷ him,” one of the passengers said. “把他放下来，老爷，你会杀了他的。”有个乘客说。

“It’s what I intend to do,” Baba said. What none of the others in the room knew was that Baba wasn’t joking. Karim was turning red and kicking his legs. Baba kept choking him until the young mother, the one the Russian officer had fancied, begged him to stop. “我正要这么做。”爸爸说。这个屋子里面其他人所不知道的是，爸爸并非在开玩笑。卡林脸色涨红，双脚乱踢。爸爸仍掐着他，直到那个年轻的妈妈，被俄国兵看中那个，求他放手。

Karim collapsed⁸ on the floor and rolled around fighting for air when Baba finally let go. The room fell silent. Less than two hours ago, Baba had volunteered to take a bullet for the honor of a woman he didn’t even know. Now he’d almost choked a man to death, would have done it cheerfully if not for the pleas of that same woman. 爸爸终于放手，卡林瘫倒在地板上，翻滚喘气，房间安静下来。不到两个钟头之前，为了一个素昧平生的女子的清白，爸爸甘愿吃一颗子弹。而如今，若非同一个女人的求情，他会毫不犹豫地将一个汉子掐死。

Something thumped⁹ next door. No, not next door, below. 隔壁传来一阵敲打的声音。不，不是隔壁，是地下。

“What’s that?” someone asked. “那是什么?”有人问。

“The others,” Karim panted between labored¹⁰ breaths. “In the basement.” “其他人，”卡林呼吸艰难地喘息着，“在地下室。”

“How long have they been waiting?” Baba said, standing¹¹ over Karim. “他们等多久了?”爸爸说，眼睛盯着卡林。

“Two weeks.” “两个星期。”