解説　場面 22「ランプの女」

"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the lamp in his hand.

「屋敷の中は真っ暗で、大佐は小声でぶつぶつ言いながら、手探りでマッチを探しました。突然、廊下の反対側で扉が開き、長い金色の光がこちらへ伸びました。光は広がり、ランプを頭上に掲げ、顔を突き出してこちらをのぞく女性が現れました。美しい女性で、光が暗い服に艶を与えていたので、高価な生地だと分かりました。彼女が質問するような調子で外国語を数語話すと、連れがぶっきらぼうに一言答えました。女性は驚き、ランプを落としかけました。スターク大佐は彼女に近づいて耳元で何かささやき、元の部屋へ押し戻すと、ランプを持って私のところへ戻りました。

"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door. 'I shall not keep you waiting an instant,' said he, and vanished into the darkness.

「『この部屋で数分お待ちいただけますか』と、彼は別の扉を開けて言いました。静かで小さく、簡素な部屋で、中央の丸卓にはドイツ語の本が数冊散らばっていました。スターク大佐は扉脇の足踏みオルガンの上にランプを置きました。『すぐ戻ります』と言い、暗闇へ消えました。