by Dinah Post

I was six at the time， heading home before Christmas with my sister and parents after a long， snowy car journey. Our house was unusually cold when we arrived： the back door was swinging on its 1）hinges， and drawers and cupboards had been turned out. Wed been burgled. Soon the house 2）was swarming with police. To my sister and me， it was incredibly exciting， but not so for our parents： theyd lost heirlooms as well as everyday， replaceable objects. Some of the things taken were a little odd， such as Mums collection of perfumes. Over the next few days， Dad turned detective. He was into motor racing and found tyre tracks in a nearby lane： by measuring the distance between them， he worked out the make of the “getaway”vehicle—a sports car. A husband and wife were arrested. It turned out they had burgled nearly 70 homes in our area， storing the 3）loot in their 4）cellar： furniture， silverware， jewellery and 5）antiques. The case made national news， and the couple got five years each in prison. Mum and Dad， along with other victims， were invited to reclaim 6）items from the couples home， including a gold locket given to me by my grandmother. On the wall was a photograph of a genial-looking man leaning over the open 7）bonnet of a sports car， covered in oil； it was hard to believe he was a criminal.

我六岁那年，父母、妹妹还有我，在结束了一段漫长而又寒冷的汽车旅行之后于圣诞节前回到家。可到家后，我们发现家里竟是“出奇”的清冷：后门在门合页上晃动，抽屉和衣橱都被翻了个遍。我家被盗了！很快，家里聚集了很多警察。对于我和妹妹来说，这太刺激了；但对于父母来说，却苦不堪言：他们不仅丢失了可置换的日常用品，更是失去了祖传宝贝。在那些丢失的宝贝中，有的是非常稀罕的，例如母亲收集的香水。几天之后，父亲充当起侦探来。喜欢赛车的他在附近的巷子里发现了轮胎印迹，通过测量印迹间距，他推断出“逃跑”的是一辆跑车。后来一对夫妇落网了。原来这对夫妇已经在我们这区行窃了近七十户人家。他们将盗来的赃物藏在他家的地下室。地下室里有家具、银器、珠宝以及古董。这成为了一起轰动全国的案件。最终，这对夫妇各被判五年监禁。我的父母和其他受害者，被邀请至这对夫妇家中，认领被窃物品，其中包括一个外婆送我的小金盒。在他们家的墙上，挂着一张男人的照片，他面孔慈祥，倚靠在一辆车盖开启的跑车上，脸上蹭了点油污。真的难以想象他竟然是一个罪犯。

Fast-forward 30 years. Mum invited me on holiday with her and Dad—two weeks on a friends boat cruising in the south of France—and I thought， “Why not？” I sunbathed and read on deck， ate well and often stayed on board to hang out with the crew， a nice English couple called George and Sylvie， rather than go ashore. A little younger than my parents， well-dressed and chatty， they made me feel really welcome. He was bright and friendly， and they made a handsome pair. I felt we were on the same wavelength.

One day， the boat wouldnt start. Dad， his friend and George were all competent engineers and set to work. Mum and I went for a wander and it was as we were returning that she stopped in her tracks： George was peering into the boat engine， covered in oil. It was him， our burglar， just as he was in the photograph shed seen of him years ago. It was a 8）hunch， but her hunches were usually correct. Mum， Dad and I were determined to see if she was right. Dad got George talking about his love of cars and discovered he had indeed owned that particular make of sports car. Mum found out that Sylvie was unusually knowledgable about perfume. I just chatted with them， trying to gather bits of information.

It was bizarre and exciting—a proper adventure. I remember sleepless nights on the boat， thinking about it all. Mum and Dad werent bitter： after all， the burglary had been 30 years ago. They always had a good sense of humour and definitely saw the amusing side of it.

时光快进到三十年之后。母亲邀请我与她以及父亲一起度假——就是在法国南部一个朋友的船上游玩两个星期——我想“干嘛不去呢？”度假时，我宁愿在甲板上沐浴阳光，徜徉书海，品味美食，或者在船上跟船务人员——一对英国夫妇消遣时光，也不愿上岸活动。这对英国夫妇分别叫乔治和西尔维娅，他们比我父母略微年轻些，穿着体面，又很健谈，很是热情有礼。乔治性格开朗、待人友善，他和他的妻子是很般配的一对儿。我感觉我们很投契。

一天，船无法启动了。父亲、他的朋友，还有乔治，都是很能干的工程师，他们就开始修理起来了。母亲和我就出去走了走，可当我们快回到船边时，她突然停住了脚步：此时，乔治正凝视着船的发动机，脸上有些油污。就是他！我们的窃贼！乔治的这一形象和母亲当年在照片中看到的十分相似。然而这只不过是母亲的一个直觉罢了，不过母亲的直觉一向都很准。我和父母决定检验一下母亲的猜测是否正确。父亲找来乔治并跟他聊起自己对车的喜爱，接着他发现乔治确实拥有那款特制的跑车。母亲发现西尔维娅对香水的了解也很不一般。而我只是跟他们随便聊聊，试着获取一些信息。

这真是离奇又令人兴奋，简直堪称一场探险。我记得在船上我多夜未眠，整晚都在想着这件事。父母并无怨恨，毕竟那场盗窃已是三十年前的事了。况且他们生性幽默，绝对是看到了事情的有趣一面。

We didnt 9）let on to our friends—we wanted to get home and dig out the cuttings from the case， which my parents had kept， to check we had remembered their names correctly. We had： there they were， George and Sylvie， younger but the same couple. We told Mum and Dads friends a few weeks later， when they got home from their boat， and they were incredulous. “How are you going to face them again now？” we asked. “We may not have to，” they replied—apparently， the day we left， George and Sylvie left， too， saying they had to care for a sick relative. They were never heard from again.

Looking back， I think that， in our excitement， Mum， Dad and I overdid it， asking one question too many. They started to withdraw and spend less time with us all. Wed rumbled them and they knew it. Its a mystery to this day why they did it. They seemed completely the wrong type： educated， middle-class， well-off. They picked on large houses and 10）ransacked them—why？ Did they just do it for kicks？ The story， of course， entered family folklore. “Mr W”， as we christened George， became a running joke. Every time we returned home， wed say， “I wonder if Mr W has paid us a visit？”

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had confronted them on the boat. I expect they would have laughed it off. I also wonder if they were 11）biding their time， waiting for us all to go ashore so they could do a runner with the boat.

我们并未向朋友们透露这件事，而是打算回到家，从花瓶中取出那些当年父母保留的剪报，来查看是否记对了他们的名字。我们记对了：就是他们，乔治和西尔维娅，只不过是年轻时的他们！几个星期后，父母的朋友们从船上回到家，我们把这件事告诉了他们。他们都无法相信。我们问：“如果再见到他们，你们打算怎么办？”他们说：“我们可能再不会见到他们了。”很显然，在我们走的那天，乔治和西尔维娅也离开了，说是得去照顾一个患病的亲戚。从此，我们再也没有他们的消息了！

现在回想起来，我觉得，由于太兴奋，当时我们仨的行为有些过头——总是抓住一个问题，问个没完没了。乔治和西尔维娅开始回避我们，尽量少和我们待在一起。他们肯定知道我们认出了他们。至今，我也没弄明白他们当年为何会成为窃贼。他们的样子看起来完全不像是贼：受过教育，中产阶级，生活富裕。可他们为何专挑大户并将其洗劫一空呢？难道他们这么做只是觉得好玩吗？这个故事自然而然成为了我们的家族传说。“W君”，我们给乔治起的新名，成了我们家流传的一个笑话。每次我们回到家，都会打趣地说：“不知道W君有没有到此一访？”

我有时在想：如果当初在船上就揭穿他们，那将会发生什么事情呢？我期望他们会一笑而过。我有时还会想：他们俩会不会在静候我们全部上岸，然后好把船偷走呢？