The policeman on the beat1 moved up the avenue impressively. The streets were empty because of the nasty2 weather and the time was late, his impressiveness came from habit not showing off.
Walking down the street twirling3 his club and checking doors to make sure they were locked, the officer, made a fine example of a policeman. Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter; but most doors belonged to business places that had been closed hours before.
When about midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.
“It’s all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly4. “I’m just waiting for a friend here. It’s an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn’t it? Well, I can explain. There used to be a restaurant where this store now stands—‘Big Joe’ Brady’s restaurant.”
“Until five years ago,” said the policeman. “It was torn down then.”
The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarf pin was a large diamond, oddly set.
“Twenty years ago to-night,” said the man, “I had dined here at ‘Big Joe’ Brady’s with Jimmy Wells, my best chum5, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I went to the West to make my fortune. You couldn’t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. We thought after twenty years each of us would have made our fortunes and know what we were going to be. Well, we agreed that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come.
“It sounds pretty interesting,” said the policeman. “Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven’t you heard from your friend since you left?”
“Well, yes, for a time we corresponded,” said the other. “But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see the West is a big place and you have to move around a lot. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s still alive, because he never missed an appointment and was the most faithful friend in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.”
The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lids of it set with small diamonds.
“Three minutes to ten,” he announced. “It was exactly ten o’clock when we parted here at the restaurant door.”
“Did pretty well out West, didn’t you?” asked the policeman.
“You bet! I hope Jimmy has done half as well. He was a kind of plodder6, though, good fellow as he was. I’ve had to compete with some of the smartest men to make my money.”
The policeman twirled his club and took a step or two.
“I’ll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Will you leave at ten o’clock?”
“I should say not!” said the other. “I’ll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he’ll be here by that time. So long, officer.”
“Good-night, sir,” said the policeman, passing on along his beat, trying doors as he went.
There was now a fine, cold drizzle7 falling, and the wind blew steadily. The man who had come a thousand miles to fulfill a promise made twenty years ago with a friend of his youth, smoked his cigar and waited.
　　About twenty minutes he waited, and then a tall man in a long overcoat, with collar turned up to his ears, hurried across from the opposite side of the street. He went directly to the waiting man.
“Is that you, Bob?” He asked.
“Is that you, Jimmy Wells?” Cried the man in the door.
“Bless my heart!” exclaimed the new arrival, grasping both the other’s hands with his own.“It’s Bob, sure as fate. I was certain I’d find you here if you were still in existence. Well, well, well！Twenty years is a long time. The old gone, Bob; I wish it had lasted, so we could have another dinner there. How has the West treated you, old man?”
“It’s treated me very well indeed. You’ve changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall by two or three inches.”
“Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty.”
“Doing well in New York, Jimmy?”
“Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; We’ll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old times.”
“Moderately. I have a position in one of the city departments. Come on, Bob; we’ll go around to a place I know of, and have a good long talk about old time.”
The two men started up the street, arm in arm. At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other’s face.
The man from the West stopped suddenly and released his arm.
“You’re not Jimmy Wells,” he snapped8. “Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug.”
“It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one.” said the tall man. “You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, ‘Silky’ Bob. The Chicago police thought you would come to New York and asked us to take you. Going quietly, are you? That’s sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here’s a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window.  It’s from Patrolman9  Wells.”
The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed to him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short.
“Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job. JIMMY”

---

一位警察在大街上巡逻。由于天气非常恶劣，时间已经很晚，街上空无一人。他动作合拍，并非刻意在做给别人看，而是习惯使然。
　　  他一边往前走，一边推推每扇门，看看上锁了没有，同时迅速灵巧地转动他的警棍，俨然是一位模范警官。偶尔可以看到一家雪茄店或者日夜快餐部亮着灯光，但是大部分商铺的大门早已关闭了。
　　  在某一个街区走了快一半的时候，警察突然放慢了脚步。一家黑暗的五金店门口靠着一个人，嘴里叼着一支没有点燃的雪茄。当警察走向他时，那人马上搭腔：
“没什么，警官。”他说，神态自然。“我只不过在等位朋友。这是20年前的约定了。听起来有点意思，是吧？那么，我可以解释给你听。现在这个商店的所在地曾经是家餐厅，叫做‘大乔’布雷迪餐厅。”
　　  “五年前才拆的。”警察说。
　　  靠在门口的那个人擦了根火柴，点燃雪茄。火光下映出一张苍白的四方脸，敏锐的眼睛，右边眉毛附近有一道白色的伤疤。他领带夹上镶着颗大钻石，式样有点怪怪的。
“20年前的今晚，”那人接着说。“我和吉米·韦尔斯在当时的‘大乔’布雷迪餐厅共进晚餐。他是我最亲密的朋友，是世界上最棒的小伙子。我们俩一同在纽约长大，像亲兄弟一样。那时我18岁，吉米20岁。第二天早晨我要动身去西部淘金。你不可能强拉吉米同去，因为他觉得纽约是地球上惟一的地方。我们相信20年后，无论如何，都会有自己的命运和财富。哦，那天晚上我们约定，无论以后情况如何，无论住在多远的地方，20年后的此时此刻在这儿相聚。”
　　  “听起来很有趣。”警察说。“我觉得中间间隔的时间好像太久了。你离开后难道没有收到朋友的来信？”
　　  “哦，收到过，我们（曾经）一度联系过。”那人说。“但一两年后，我们就失去了联系。你知道西部是个很大的地方。我在西部到处奔波。但我知道，如果吉米还活着，他会来这里见我的，因为他永远是世界上最忠实的朋友，他从不爽约。他肯定不会忘记。我千里迢迢赶来，今晚在这个门口等着，如果我的老伙计出现的话，再怎么着也值得。”
　　 那人拿出一块很有气派的手表，表壳上嵌着几颗钻石。
　　  “10点差3分。”他宣布说。“10点钟正是20年前我们在这家餐厅门口分手的时间。”
“在西部混得不错，是吧？”警察问。
　　  “当然！我希望吉米干得有我一半好。他属于那种孜孜不倦的人，是个好人。为了赚大钱，我必须与那些最精明的人周旋。”
　　  警察转动着他的警棍，向前走了一两步。
　　  “我要走了。希望你的朋友按时到。如果他不按时到，你会走吗？”
　　  “不会！”那人说。“我至少会等他半小时。如果吉米还在世上，他会按时来。再见，警察先生。”
　　  “晚安，先生。”警察说着，继续沿着巡逻路线往前走，边走边查看家家户户的门是否锁上。
　　  毛毛细雨飘下来，寒风时不时吹来。那人抽着雪茄，静静地等待着。他不远千里赶来与年轻时代的朋友相聚，是为了信守20年以前的那份诺言。
　　  他等了约20分钟，一个身穿大衣的高个男人，大衣领子翻起来遮住了耳朵，从大街对面赶过来，径直走向等候已久的人。
　　  “你是鲍勃吗？”他问道。
“你是吉米·韦尔斯吗？”等在门口的人大声说。
　　  “哎呀！”来者大叫起来，紧紧抓住对方的双手。“是鲍勃，肯定是。我确信如果你还活着，我会在这里找到你。好啦！好啦！20年了，时间真长啊。餐厅没有了，鲍勃。我真希望它还在，我们就可以再吃一顿晚餐。老朋友，你在西部混得怎么样啊？”
　　  “好极了！吉米，你变化好大啊。没想到你长高了两三英寸呢。”
　　  “啊，20岁后又长高了一点。”
　　  “在纽约干得不错吧，吉米？”
　　  “一般。在一个市政部门里工作。来，鲍勃，我们去一个我知道的地方，好好聊聊陈年往事。”
　　  两个男人臂挽着臂，兴奋地跳起来朝大街走去。街角有家药房，灯光耀眼。当两人走进药店，他们同时凝视对方的脸。
　　  西部来的人突然站住，挣脱他的胳膊。
“你不是吉米·韦尔斯。”他急促地说。“20年是一段长时间，但不至于把人从高鼻梁变成塌鼻子。”
“有时却能把一个好人变成一个坏人。”高个男人说。“‘滑头’鲍勃，你已经被捕10分钟了。芝加哥警方估计你溜到我们这儿来了，打电话要我们逮捕你。不要声张，听到没有？这样才是明智的。现在，在我们去警察局之前，有人托我交给你一张便条。你凑近窗户看看吧。是巡警韦尔斯写给你的。”
　　  西部来者打开纸条。当他开始读时，手握得稳稳的，但读完后，手开始颤抖起来。便条非常短。
　　  鲍勃：
　　  我按时到了约会地点。当你划火柴点燃雪茄时，我看清这是一张在芝加哥被通缉的脸。不管怎样，我自己不能逮捕你，所以我走了，派了一位便衣警察来完成使命。
　　              吉米

8. snap  v. 厉声说，急促地说
9. patrolman  n. 巡警；警察