A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Ernest Hemingway
It was very late and everyone had left the café except an old man who sat in
the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time
the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked
to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the
difference. The two waiters inside the café knew that the old man was a little
drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too drunk he
would leave without paying, so they kept watch on him.
"Last week he tried to commit suicide," one waiter said.
"Why?"
"He was in despair."
"What about?"
"Nothing."
"How do you know it was nothing?"
"He has plenty of money."
They sat together at a table that was close against the wall near the door of
the café and looked at the terrace where the tables were all empty except where
the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the
wind. A girl and a soldier went by in the street. The street light shone on the
brass number on his collar. The girl wore no head covering and hurried beside
him.
"The guard will pick him up," one waiter said.
"What does it matter if he gets what he's after?"
"He had better get off the street now. The guard will get him. They went by five minutes ago."
The old man sitting in the shadow rapped on his saucer with his glass. The younger waiter went over to him.
"What do you want?"
The old man looked at him. "Another brandy," he said.
"You'll be drunk," the waiter said. The old man looked at him. The waiter went away.
"He'll stay all night," he said to his colleague. "I'm sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o'clock. He should have killed himself last week."
The waiter took the brandy bottle and another saucer from the counter inside the café and marched out to the old man's table. He put down the saucer and poured the glass full of brandy.
"You should have killed yourself last week," he said to the deaf man. The old man motioned with his finger. "A little more," he said. The waiter poured on into the glass so that the brandy slopped over and ran down the stem into the top saucer of the pile. "Thank you," the old man said. The waiter took the bottle back inside the café. He sat down at the table with his colleague again. 本章未完，请点击下一页继续阅读！ 第1页/共3页
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