Traveller_Levin's Blog

Yesterday’s Garbage

by Jon Hassler

Jon Hassler (1933.3.30~2008.3.20) 生於美國明尼蘇達州Minneapolis市，1955年於聖約翰大學取得英文學士學位，先後在明尼蘇達州三所中學教書。1960年於北達科他州立大學取得英文碩士學位，繼續於中學教書直到1965年，才轉任教於Bemidji州立大學、Brainerd社區大學，最後成為聖約翰大學駐校作家及客座教授。Jon Hassler總計出版過12本長篇小說及2本短篇小說集，其短篇小說創作甚早，但成名若干年之後才得以出版。

The best grade of garbage in this city comes from the Hillcrest neighborhood, and on Thursdays when I make my run1 through the alleys of Hillcrest, my wife, Caledonia, rides beside me in the truck, admiring all those fancy2 backyards. Caledonia seldom climbs down out of the cab. She trusts me to inspect the garbage.

I know her taste. It’s jewelry and reading matter3. Now by jewelry I don’t mean diamonds and rubies. You won’t find precious stones in people’s garbage. I’m talking about the bigger, cheaper pieces—the kind a woman can pin on her coat. Last Thursday I came across two4. One was a big-eyed owl sitting on a silver moon crescent. One of the owl’s rhinestone eyes was missing, but we have scads5 of rhinestones in a box at home. We found one about the right size and glued it in the socket, and Caledonia wore it to bingo, where four people said how nice it looked. The other piece I found was a fancy letter of the alphabet, all complicated with curlicues6. Caledonia thought it might be a capital C, but at the wrestling matches Saturday night somebody told her it looked more like an E, so now she wears it upside-down and it looks great. It doesn’t look like anything.

There’s a certain brick house in Hillcrest where the garbage has always been worth a close look. Our tablecloth comes from that place, along with no end of7 ornamental whiskey bottles and the .22 revolver I shoot rats with at the dump. It was at that house one Thursday that a letter addressed to Mrs. George Nichols turned up8 in the trash I was dumping into the truck. I snatched it up and wiped off the grease (most people being in the habit of throwing out their mail with their table leavings9) and I handed it up to Caledonia in the cab. She read it while I worked the compactor. 10

1.   run：一段排定或經常性的路線或行程

2.   fancy：裝飾華麗的

3.   reading matter：報章雜誌的讀物或報導（主要在與廣告區別）

4.   came across：偶然發現；偶然遇見。 two 是指主角撿到兩件飾品：第一件是半月形銀飾品，上面有一隻大眼貓頭鷹，其中一隻眼睛中的人造鑽石rhinestone掉了。第二件是花體字母的華麗飾品，Caledonia認為可能是C，週末夜摔角比賽中有人告訴她那更像是E，於是Caledonia將它倒過來戴著，而且還滿好看的。但主角認為它看起來什麼都不像。

5.   scads of：大量的

6.   curlicue：(圖案或書法等中的) 旋曲;花體

7.   no end of ornamental whiskey bottles 無窮盡的裝飾用威士忌空瓶。no end 誇大數量之多。

8.   turn up出現。他在要倒入卡車的垃圾堆中看到一封寄給Nichols太太的信。

9.   table leavings 廚餘。

10. compactor在此指trash compactor壓縮垃圾的機器，目前台灣的垃圾車大都有這樣的裝置。

Not all your garbologists11 have compactors, you know. My compactor is two years old, and now I don’t see how I ever got along without it12. I press a button near the tailgate and the compactor moves like a paddle wheel, pushing the garbage forward to the front of the truck. It keeps the trash from all piling up at the back end, and it squeezes it together so I only make about half as many trips to the dump as I used to13. It isn’t as slick as the compactors you see in junkyards that can press a car down to the size of a bicycle, but it’s a real work saver14. And it’s fun to monkey with15. If you work it right, you can get a good-sized catto fit in your pocket.

When I climbed back into the cab that day, Caledonia said, “This letter is from a hospital out in California.” I coasted downhill16 to my next stop as she read it to me.

“Dear Mrs. Nichols: Polly Jean’s condition remains stable. Nearly a year has passed since her last serious withdrawal from reality. She remembers absolutely nothing about the Centennial parade17 nor what she did while it was in progress. Chemical treatment, as I insisted from the start, has proved the most efficacious means in cases like hers. I would not hesitate to release her today; however, my colleagues suggest we wait one more month in order to be absolutely certain. Therefore, if she has suffered no setback by November 1, you may come for her. I assume by this time you have explained everything to Mr. Nichols. I suggest that both of you come out to California to take her home.” 18

11. garbology 廢棄物社會學，即透過廢棄物分析進行社會研究。garbologist即進行該項研究分析的工作者。主角只是一個收垃圾的，卻用這麼個學術名詞來自稱。

12. 他那台垃圾壓縮機器用兩年了，太好用或太習慣了，以至於無法想像沒這台機器該怎麼工作。

13. 過去他運載垃圾到垃圾場要好幾趟，現在有了垃圾壓縮機器減少過去一半的趟數。

14. slick: 高品質且外表炫麗 work saver 指這台垃圾壓縮機器真的能減少工作量與節省工作時間

15. to monkey with: to play, fiddle, trifle with something 玩弄

16. coast downhill 順著下坡滑行 (靠地心引力而非踩油門行駛)

17. Centennial parade 指這個城市的百周年慶典遊行

18. 這段是醫院的醫師(M.D. Medical Doctor)寫給Mrs. Nichols信的內容：Polly Jean 病情穩定，已完全不記得百周年慶典遊行發生的事，11月1日可出院，建議她可向Mr. Nichol說明一切。

The signature was a scribble with “M.D.” written after it.

We had often seen Mrs. Nichols puttering19 around the yard. She always wore a sunhat and a little polka-dot scarf that took Caledonia’s eye20. But we had never seen anything of Mr. Nichols21. Caledonia said he was probably a salesman on the road. Caledonia said it was clear that Polly Jean was their daughter and had been sent to an insane asylum, and now she was cured and about ready to come home. Caledonia said she expected Polly Jean to be a skinny blonde. I said redhead and bet her a quarter. Polly sounds like a redhead to me.

Later, while we were having coffee and rolls at the truck stop, Caledonia asked me, “Why do you suppose George is being kept in the dark?” 22

“George who?”

“George Nichols. Don’t be stupid.” Caledonia took the letter from her purse and read, “‘I assume by this time you have explained everything to Mr. Nichols.’” Then she gave me a foxy look23 and said, “Wouldn’t you think a man would know about his own daughter being in a nuthouse?”

“You’d think so,” I said. “We know it, and we’re not even related.” 24

That evening at supper Caledonia put down her spoon and said, “Polly Jean is the daughter of Mrs. George Nichols, but not the daughter of Mr. George Nichols.” 25

19. putter: To work or move idly or ineffectually懶散；磨蹭。

20.took Caledonia’s eye: 吸引 Caledonia的目光

21. we had never seen anything of Mr. Nichols 我們從來沒看過Mr. Nichols

22. Caledonia問：“你認為George為什麼會被蒙在鼓裡？”此處她稱呼George這麼自然，主角不禁問道：“George誰呀？” Caledonia回道：“George Nichols，別蠢了。”

23. a foxy look 狡獪的眼神。

24.Caledonia說：“難道你不認為自己的女兒在精神病院，當父親的應當會知道？”主角回答：“理當如此，我們甚至沒親戚關係都知道了啊。” 主角神經大條的個性，他隨口附和Caledonia，絲毫不覺得這其中有什麼蹊蹺。

25. 其實Caledonia在問話的同時，已經推理出一些結論。

“How do you know?”

“It has to be. George Nichols is that woman’s new husband, and she hasn’t told him about Polly Jean yet. She hasn’t wanted to tell him her daughter is crazy. You do the dishes, and I’ll find the proof.”

The proof, of course, was in the china closet, where Caledonia files away the mail. While I threw out the sardine tins and paper plates and washed the spoons, Caledonia searched for envelopes with that Hillcrest address, and she came up with a handful of old Christmas cards. Up until three years ago, all the cards were addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Howard Gronseth, and the notes on the back began “Dear Howie and Blanche,” and some began “Dear Howie, Blanche, and Polly Jean.” Then for a year or two they were addressed to Mrs. Gronseth all by herself, and the notes began “Dear Blanche,” or “Dear Blanche and Polly Jean.” And the cards from last Christmas were addressed to Mr. and Mrs. George Nichols, and very few had notes on the back, but those that had notes began, “Dear George and Blanche and Polly Jean.” Sure enough, George was Blanche’s new husband.

That night Caledonia tossed and turned26 till I thought I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep27. Finally, about the time the squirrels started their racket in the walls (that’s three-thirty, or earlier on stormy nights), she said, “There’s a deep-down reason why Blanche is keeping George in the dark. And it’s a dirty shame, what with it being October already, and Polly Jean coming home on the first of November. Family secrets are a bad policy.” 28

“I need my sleep,” I said.

“Polly Jean must have done something unmentionable before she got sent away.”

I put my head under the pillow and dozed off, but it wasn’t long before Caledonia poked me and said, “When was the city centennial?”

“Two summers ago.”

26. tossed and turned 心有所思，轉側難眠。

27. wink：眨眼瞬間。這裡指連眨個眼休息一下都不可得，根本沒得睡。  

28. Family secrets are a bad policy乃根據Honesty is the best policy這諺語做更動，意指家人應坦誠相對，隱藏秘密不是好的處理方法。

“The letter says Polly Jean doesn’t remember the centennial parade. Well, I remember the centennial parade, and it was on the Fourth of July. Go up and get me all the papers from the first week in July, two summers ago.”

“I need my sleep, Caledonia.”

“All the Stars and Tribunes for that week.”

For the rest of the night, Caledonia rustled paper. She snipped out articles about the shooting, and I made three more trips upstairs, tracking down news about the investigation. While Howard Gronseth and his wife Blanche and his daughter Polly Jean, who was fourteen, were standing in a crowd watching the parade, somebody stuck a handgun into Howard’s back and shot him with a .22 bullet. It’s an unsolved murder to this day, because the police never came up with a suspect, and they never found the weapon. But, as Caledonia pointed out, the bullet that killed him must have been fired from my rat gun, the .22 revolver I found two years ago in the Nichols (or Gronseth) garbage. Put two and two together29, and you get Polly Jean killing her father and nobody knowing it except Polly Jean and her mother, and maybe a couple of shrinks30. And now me and Caledonia.

By the time we got it all figured out it was dawn, and I had to get up. Caledonia rolled over and snored. 31

Some people, if they knew what we knew, would have gone to the police. Take Bud Long, for instance. He’s caretaker at the dump. He’s in charge of covering up the garbage. Bud Long would have called the police first thing32. Not that Bud’s a troublemaker33. It’s just his way. He’ll call the fire department every time there’s a grass fire34, and he’ll call the power company every time he sees a busted insulator on a power pole, and he’ll call the police every time he sees something the least bit out of the way35. Caledonia says once you tell things to the police, they start dropping in on you all of the time36, and maybe they’ll even drag you into a courtroom. So we decided to keep the whole Polly Jean affair under our hats37.

29. Put two and two together: to figure something out from the information available 根據現有的資訊來推斷。

30. shrink: a psychiatrist <俚>精神病學家

31. 折騰一整晚，Caledonia完成推理後心滿意足倒頭呼呼大睡，但天已亮，主角卻必須起床工作。

32. first thing副詞片語，相當於firstly。Bud Long 首先會去報警。

33. troublemaker 喜歡惹是生非的人；好事之徒。

34. grass fire 星星之火足以燎原，這裡指的是草地上的小火災，當然也可能蔓延成wildfire。

35. something the least bit out of the way 某事稍微有點不對勁

36. dropping in on 不期然的拜訪。一旦向警方舉告此事，警察便會不斷地來偵訪，甚至還會拉你上法庭。

37. under (one's) hat: As a secret or in confidence. 他們決定將Polly Jean這整件事當作秘密，隱而不宣。

But I couldn’t put it out of my mind. I felt sorry for Mrs. Nichols. The next Thursday, after a hard frost, we saw her pulling up the stems of dead flowers by the back door, and I told Caledonia she ought to get out of the truck and strike up a friendship38 with her. I said Mrs. Nichols would be glad to know somebody she could talk to about the murder, rather than keeping it all to herself. But Caledonia said Mrs. Nichols wasn’t her type39, and furthermore she had lost interest in the case now that she had it solved.

“But Caledonia,” I said, “just think of what the poor lady is going through. She has a lot on her mind, keeping that secret all this time. Maybe if she talked it over with you, then it would be easier for her to tell George. Family secrets are a bad policy. You said it yourself.”

“As far as I’m concerned, what’s done is done, and it’s her problem. I want one good look at Polly Jean when she gets home, and that’s about it. I’ve got two bits40 on blonde.”

And I’m sure that would have been Caledonia’s last word on the subject—if I hadn’t brought Mrs. Nichols home with me. 41

It was the last Thursday in October, the week before Polly Jean was supposed to be released from the hospital in California. Caledonia had the flu, and I went to Hillcrest alone. Mrs. Nichols was out by her back door again, this time sweeping the patio. I stopped the truck in the alley, same as always, and she paid no attention. A word to the wise saves nine42, they always say, and I decided to tell her what I thought about keeping George in the dark. Sometimes it takes an outside party to point you in the right direction.

So standing by her garbage can, I said, not very loud, “Blanche.”

38  strike up: to initiate or begin. 主角告訴Caledonia應當去和Mrs. Nichols結識。

39. Mrs. Nichols wasn’t her type 意謂Mrs. Nichols 與她氣味不相投。

40  (美國、加拿大非正式用語) bit 為1/8元，以two bits (=quarter兩角五分) 做為單位使用。前頭提到他們打賭Polly Jean是金髮或紅髮，賭注兩角五分錢。

41. Caledonia推理得出結論，對此事已無興趣，撒手不理，心意已決沒得談。注意此句型—與過去事實相反的假設，如果他沒將Mrs. Nichols帶回家，Caledonia就不會再理此事。事實上他後來將Mrs. Nichols帶回家，而Caledonia也只好再參與此事。此句為後續情節發展的伏筆。

42. A word to the wise saves nine乃結合A word to the wise is enough. 與A stitch in time saves nine. 這兩句諺語，意思是說跟聰明的人說一句話，省得你跟其他人講一大堆。但這諺語在這邊適用嗎？主角教育水平不高，卻喜好用些學術術語或諺語。

She looked up with her mouth kind of hanging open, surprised. She wasn’t a bad-looking woman for her time in life. We stared at each other across the back yard for maybe two seconds, and I knew what was going through her mind. She was wondering how her garbologist happened to know her name. Then she went back to sweeping.

After I emptied her trash into the truck, I took a few steps across the grass. “Blanche!” I said, louder than before—louder than I needed to, for she gave a little jump43 and dropped her broom. She came down off the steps and walked toward me very slow. She had her head cocked to one side, like a pup, and she seemed to be smiling, but when she got close I saw she wasn’t. She had the wrinkles in her forehead all twisted up—that look people get when they’re surprised and scared at the same time. She said she didn’t believe we had met.

“How is George?” I said.

“George is fine,” she said. “Do you know George?”

“I never see him around here.”

Mrs. Nichols started walking backward, then she turned and trotted over to her back step. I was afraid she’d go inside before I got it off my chest44, so I hollered at her as she was picking up her broom and opening the door. What I said was, “Tell George what Polly Jean did, or you’ll be sorry.”

They were words with a strong effect. She turned wild. She came off her back step at a run, shouting, “Who told you what Polly Jean did? Nobody knows but me! Polly Jean is ready to come home!” And she rammed45 her broomstick into me and broke one or two of my ribs. She reared back to jab me again, shouting, “Polly Jean is coming home!” but I got her by the wrists and sat her down on the grass. Then I let her have it in the forehead with my fist. 46

43. jump: an involuntary nervous movement 不自覺的緊張動作。

44. get (something) off (one's) chest: to vent one's pent-up feelings. 將心中塊壘一吐為快。

45. ram: to strike or drive against with a heavy impact 以沉重衝擊力道去打擊或衝撞。

46. 主角抓住Mrs. Nichols的手脕，將她摔倒跌坐於草地上。 I let her have it in the forehead with my fist 我用拳頭朝她的前額猛擊。

Then she died. I knew she was dead by the way she laid there, limp as a chloroformed cat. I don’t know if I could have been arrested for that or not. She hit first.

Bud Long would have called the police to explain what happened. Not me. I stood there for a little while, turning my head very slow, an inch at a time, looking to see how things stood. The back yard was pretty well hidden by high bushes. The only neighbors who could have seen us lived next door on the east side, and they weren’t home. They hadn’t set out garbage for two weeks. I decided to put Mrs. Nichols in the truck and take the afternoon off.

When I got home, Caledonia said it was the wrong thing to do. She said I should have left her in her own back yard. I said I could take her back, and she said that would be worse yet. Caledonia said the police can tell if a body has been moved. She said no end of trouble comes from moving bodies. 47

“What’s done is done,” I said. “Here she is. What shall we do with her?”

We were standing at the tailgate of the truck looking in at Mrs. Nichols. She was lying on top of all the stuff she had thrown out. Her forehead was black. Caledonia didn’t look so hot herself 48, crawling out of a sickbed and standing in the driveway, barefoot. She stood there thinking for a long time. I said, “Look here49. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. I don’t want to worry about this problem overnight.”

Caledonia said, “Scrunch her up so she fits in a leaf bag.”

So that’s what I did. It only took three squeezes by the compactor. The hard part was crawling in there between squeezes and turning her lengthwise. It was hard to do because my ribs were hurting. Then wouldn’t you know50, we couldn’t find a leaf bag. Here it was October and I had been hauling plastic bags full of leaves every day, and now I didn’t have a bag when I needed one. Leaf bags were one thing I never thought to save. I had to run over to the hardware store and buy a package of five. Seventy-nine cents, plus tax.

47. Caledonia說：不該將屍體帶回來。主角說：那我把屍體搬回去。Caledonia說：那更糟，警察查得出屍體被移動過，麻煩將沒完沒了。

48. Caledonia didn’t look so hot herself這一句中的hot怎麼解釋？

解釋成熱心、熱衷，意思或許通，但遍查字典無此定義。字典上某條定義Slang Sexually excited or exciting，太牽強不貼切。最後終於找到not so hot/not very hot informal (=not very good)，這就通了。他們兩人站在車後門看著Mrs. Nichols的屍體，她的前額發黑。接著寫到Caledonia 自身狀態看起也不大好，因為她從病床爬下，赤腳站在車道，傷腦筋在想怎麼幫她先生處理善後這件麻煩事。

49. Look here 英語的慣用口語，意思等於：聽著。使用上通常表示說話者有點生氣或惱怒。

50. 慣用口語有時會是閱讀外語的一項困擾，經常在字典上查不到。wouldn’t you know，要傳達的意思是：你可猜著我接下來要說些什麼，感覺說話者對於接下來要說的話有點懊惱失望，同時期待聽者對他的觀點有同感，而且話說得有點反諷意味。

好不容易，Caledonia裁示將屍體壓碎裝在裝樹葉的大袋子裡，裝樹葉的袋子可是每天都在用的東西，在這節骨眼卻一個也沒有。或許wouldn’t you know可翻譯成：您這可不就猜著了！

Slipping Mrs. Nichols into the first bag was tricky. 51

Besides my ribs hurting, she had a couple of splintered bones that kept tearing the plastic. But with Caledonia’s help, we got her bundled up good. We tied one bag shut and then slipped her into the next, until she was inside all five bags. 52

“What if the bags burst when I dump her?” I said.

“We’ll be in trouble.”

“You can’t take her to the dump with only that little bit of garbage, “ said Caledonia. “Look at all the blood. You need a full load. If you dump out a full load, she won’t be so noticeable.”

I looked at my watch. “I can’t get a full load before five. It would take me that long to get to Hillcrest and back.”

“For this, anybody’s garbage will do,” she said. “Get going.” 53

I tore through a neighborhood54 on the way to the dump. It wasn’t my territory. Most of the cans were only half full, so I had to make twice as many stops to fill the truck. Wherever it looked like nobody was watching, I left the cans helter-skelter in the alleys. And every time I lifted one, the pain in my right side took my breath away. It felt like Mrs. Nichols was still jabbing me with that broomstick.

51. tricky 需要小心有技巧的處理

52. 屍體有些碎裂的骨頭不斷戳破塑膠袋，靠著Caledonia的幫忙，終於將屍體完全裝入袋中綁起來，然後再一層一層套了五個袋子。

53. 主角什麼都倚賴Caledonia幫他出主意。主角問：“倒垃圾時如果袋子破掉怎麼辦？”Caledonia說那麻煩可大了，而且他車上的垃圾太少了，袋子太明顯，必須要有整卡車的垃圾來掩護。主角著急了五點前哪收得到滿車的垃圾？Caledonia明快地說，為了收滿垃圾，哪裡的垃圾都行，別再去管什麼區域劃分。Caledonia足智多謀、剛斷果決。

54. I tore through a neighborhood 我急速、莽撞地穿過一個附近社區

I got to the dump before the gates closed all right, but I had to wait my turn to unload. There’s always a line-up of trucks if you get there around closing time. Some garbologists will keep their loads at home overnight and go to the dump first thing in the morning when it’s not crowded, but I’ve never been one to do that. I don’t believe in carrying around yesterday’s garbage.

When it came my turn, I backed up to the edge of the pit and raised the box and dumped. Then I got out of the cab and looked down into the pit. Blanche was the biggest item in my load, so she was easy to spot. There was a sharp leg bone sticking out through all five layers of plastic, but otherwise the package held together. Bud Long was down there chugging along55 on his front-end loader. It’s the new yellow machine Caterpillar makes, and you can see by the way Bud drives it that he enjoys his work. He covered my load with two scoops of dirt, then he drove over it a few times to tamp it down. He looked up and waved at me and I waved back, in spite of the catch56 in my side.

It feels like my ribs never healed right. Now, more than a year later, I still favor my right side and I can’t lift my right arm as high as my left. Caledonia says it’s a reminder not to get personal with57 my customers.

At first there was quite a flare-up58 in the newspapers about how Mrs. Nichols disappeared without a trace, but now things have settled back to normal. George Nichols has a new wife. That makes a complete turnover in that house since Howard and Blanche used to live there. Sometimes on Thursdays we see the new Mrs. Nichols out on the patio reading a book. From the alley, I’d say she’s a real peach59.

As far as we know, Polly Jean never came home. The new Mrs. Nichols was sunning herself last Thursday, and I had all I could do to keep from speaking to her. I wanted to ask her what she knew about Polly Jean. I wanted to know if Polly Jean was going to spend the rest of her life in California. I wanted to know what color Polly Jean’s hair was.

But the catch in my side told me to keep my mouth shut. And so did Caledonia. ♦

55. chug 原先是模擬火車行駛發出的聲音，後來用以表示火車行駛，進而指以穩定速度向前行駛。

56. catch 指一口氣吸不上來或卡住，即所謂內傷氣淤。Mrs. Nichols用掃帚猛戳主角，打斷他一兩根肋骨所留下的後遺症。

57. not to get personal with my customers 別對客戶產生私人情感。

58. flare-up 原先指悶燒的火苗突然熊熊燃燒起來，這裡指關於Mrs. Nichols如何無故失蹤，新聞炒得沸沸揚揚的。

59. peach 指像桃子一般甜美的人，或可譯作“可人兒”。

【淺嚐賞味】

一個神經大條的垃圾收集業者和他那連垃圾車都懶得下來卻愛刨根究底的老婆，無意間於垃圾堆中發現一封醫院來信，經過抽絲剝繭，發現一樁不為人知的家庭謀殺秘密。故事若到此結束，不過是一篇輕鬆有趣的日常推理小說。然而於此處，情節突生曲折，善意的關懷竟然演變成醜陋的殺人事件。接著敘述毀屍滅跡的經過，Polly Jean終不見歸來，Mrs. Nichols無故失蹤的新聞趨於平靜，又來了另一位迷人的新的Mrs. Nichols。

這篇故事最初吸引人的地方在於敘述者輕快的語調。他們如何於垃圾堆中尋寶，自得其樂。Caledonia對於讀物的特別癖好，竟然將社區各住戶數年來的郵件包括聖誕卡完整保存歸檔，還有星報(the Star)及論壇報(the Tribune)，工程之浩大不禁令人驚訝其癖好之深，或者說驚訝於他們多麼窮極無聊。Caledonia尋思Polly Jean一事，輾轉反側睡不著，將主角挖起來進行對答推理，使喚他上下樓梯尋找資料，將事情弄個水落石出後，天已亮，Caledonia倒頭呼呼大睡，可憐的主角折騰一整晚，又得下床工作。輕鬆、機智、俏皮、幽默，增添讀者之閱讀樂趣。

然而在故事的後半段，同樣的輕快語調讓讀者卻有截然不同的感受。殺了人之後絲毫不見良心不安，並非冷血凶殘而是毫不當一回事，最後竟然還好奇地想問新的Mrs. Nichols是否知道Polly Jean，還想知道Polly Jean餘生如何度過，還想知道Polly Jean是金髮還是紅髮。這些敘述讓人讀來，對於這樣的人性不寒而慄。故事後半段的顛覆力量，讓整篇故事跳脫出一般的推理小說，而提昇到優秀文學作品的層次。

作者塑造主角和他老婆Caledonia為性格反差很大的兩個人物；主角勞力卻不用腦，Caledonia懶得活動卻酷好思考；主角熱心而Caledonia冷漠；主角扮演行動者角色而Caledonia寧願當個旁觀者。於故事前半段，當主角經由Caledonia推理得知該家庭祕密後，同情Mrs. Nichols獨自承擔這樣個秘密心裡一定很苦。建議Caledonia跟她交個朋友，寬慰其煩憂，但Caledonia推理得到滿足後，已不再感到興趣，至於他人憂苦不干己事。這時候，讀者多半會認為主角熱心腸較有人性，認為Caledonia冷酷沒有同情心。真實生活中，社會對於所謂的熱心人都有較佳評價，而冷靜思考的人常會被冠上冷血無情的貶語。徒有善意欠缺思考，魯莽行事終鑄大錯。語云：「地獄往往是善意造成的。」此之謂也。對照下，Caledonia當初撒手不管的決定反而是明智的。但那時若是由Caledonia來與Mrs. Nichols打交道，事情應當不至於演變成這樣。另外，觀察主角殺了人之後，絲毫不覺得不安、悔咎。其所謂善意、熱心、同情，究其實根本是膚淺的，是虛假的。

Traveler-Levin