Fred Crane was a great talker. He liked talking more than anything else in life. It was like food and drink to him. When he went to stay in a hotel, it did not take him long to meet and talk to everyone there. Sometimes when he got on a train, no one was talking, but Fred soon made the people talk. He could not sit with people who were not talking.
But Fred has changed. In a way, he is not the same man at all now. He does not talk much these days. He never talks to people if he does not know them. Something happened to make Fred change. This story is about that.
One day last year Fred had to go on a journey to a big town in another part of England. I do not remember the name of the place but that does not matter. At the time he was buying and selling old cars. He was making a lot of money. He often carried two or three hundred pounds with him in his bag because many people like to have ready money when they sell something.
Fred went by train because there was always someone to talk to. That day he found a place with three other people, two men and a woman. One of the men, who was sitting next to the window, put a newspaper over his face as soon as the train left the station and tried to go to sleep. Fred was sitting next to him. The other man and the woman were ready to talk.
For the first part of the journey they talked about many things. Only the man next to the window did not take part. He slept with the newspaper over his face. After a time the three began to talk about money.
“Money isn’t everything,” said the man, who was a doctor. “I work to save people’s lives, not to make money. I don’t want a lot of money.”
“But a man must have money,” said Fred. “If he hasn’t money, he may do something bad because of this.”
“Rich people are often bad too,” said the woman.
“That’s very true,” said Fred, “but a poor man may become bad just because he hasn’t any money. He may steal. Money changes people’s lives.”
The doctor laughed.
“Have you ever stolen anything?” he asked Fred.
“Yes, I have. Everyone’s stolen something,” said Fred.
“What did you steal?” asked the doctor. “Did you steal something from a shop when you were a small boy?”
Fred thought, “Now I can make them talk! I’ll tell them a good story.” “No,” he answered. “It wasn’t like that. I’ll tell you about it. I was a young man at the time. I was in love with a very pretty girl. I wanted her to fall in love with me. I wanted to give her nice things but I had very little money. Then one day I saw a ring in a shop window. It was a beautiful ring, the kind of ring, that all girls like. But where could I get the money for it? I hadn’t got any money. There was only one answer. I had to steal the ring.”
“I went into the shop and asked to see a lot of things there. The ring was one of them. When the shopkeeper turned his back, I stole the ring. It wasn’t hard at all.”
“But did you give the ring to the girl?” asked the woman.
“No, I wasn’t able to give it to her,” said Fred. When I got home that night, I found a note from her. She didn’t want to see me again because she’s going to marry another man. So I stole the ring for nothing! But after that I began to work hard. I didn’t steal again. In five years I was rich. I could buy a hundred rings like the one that I stole. My life changed because I stole a ring. Was that a bad thing?”
“No, you’re right,” said the doctor, who wanted to tell a story too. “It was a bad thing to do but that doesn’t matter. Something like that happed1 to me too. But I wasn’t in love at the time. I was very poor and I wanted to be a doctor. Nothing mattered except this. Sometimes I didn’t have money to buy food. I didn’t care. But I had to have books. Without books I couldn’t become a doctor. My friends, who had more money than me, often give me their books to read. But I couldn’t keep them for a long time.”
“There was one big book that I had to have. All doctors have to know this book well. How did I get it? Yes, I stole it from a bookseller’s. I put it in my bag and walked out of the shop with it. I was afraid but no one saw me. Because of that book, I was able to become a doctor and so I’ve been able to save the lives of many people.”
“Life is just like that,” said Fred. He was very pleased with himself. It made him happy to hear the doctor’s story. Then he turned to the woman.
“Now what about you?” he asked. “Have you ever stolen anything?”
The woman did not answer at once.
“Yes,” she said at last, “like you I have stolen. But I stole more than once. I didn’t have to steal. My father was rich. When I asked for something, he gave it to me. I had everything. But this didn’t please me. I wanted to get things for myself. So I stole them.”
“I did this for a long time and no one caught me. Then once I went to stay with some friends of my father’s at their big country house. A lot of people were staying in the house too. That night, when they were having dinner, I went into one of the bedrooms and took some money from a man’s coat. I took about ten pounds.
“The next morning the man began to look for his money. There was a lot of trouble because he couldn’t find it. Everyone thought, ‘It’s the young girl who cleans the rooms.’ She went into the bedroom when we had dinner. No one thought of me. The owner of the house wanted to send the young girl away. I was sorry now. I had to stop him so I said, ‘Don’t send her away. I’m the thief.’ At first everyone laughed. They didn’t believe me. But they had to believe me when I showed them the money. I gave the money back to the man and left the house at once.
“After that I didn’t steal again but it was too late. No one wanted to see me. People didn’t ask me to come to their houses again. Then one day I got a letter. It was from the man whose money I stole. He asked me to see me. We met many times and last we fell in love. We married and lived happily for many years until he was killed in the war. So you see, something good came into my life because I stole.”
The man who was sitting next to the window now took the newspaper off his face. Fred wanted to make him tell a story too.
“Did you hear our stories, sir?” he said to the man. “Or were you asleep?”
The man looked at all three of them in turn. He did not have a nice face.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ve heard every word. But what must I think? I’ll tell you. I’m sitting on a train with three thieves!”
“We are not thieves,” said Fred. “We’ve all stolen something in our lives. That’s true. But we’re not thieves now.” “Once a thief, always a thief,” said the man. “No, I haven’t a story to tell you. But I have something to say. I’m a policeman. My work is to catch thieves. I’ll remember your faces. One day we may meet again.”
Fred did not like this at all. But what could he say? He did not want to make trouble because the man was a policeman. His two friends did not want to talk any more. They took out their newspapers and began to read. Fred took out his newspaper too. He did not look at the policeman again.
Not long after, the train stopped at a station. The policeman got up and went out. He did not come back. Fred was glad. He put down his newspaper and said to the other two,
“I’m sorry about that. That man wasn’t at all nice. But there’s something that I must tell you. My story about the ring wasn’t true. I told it to you because I wanted to make you talk.”
“And my story wasn’t true,” said the doctor. “I only wanted to tell a better story than you!” The woman laughed at this.
“I wanted to tell a better story than you two men,” she said. “My story wasn’t true!”
All three of them laughed. After that they talked for the last part of the journey. Then the train came to Fred’s station. He stood up and put out his hand for his bag. But the bag was not there.
“Has anyone seen my bag?” he asked. “I had it with me when I got on the train. It has the letters F.C. in gold on it.”
“The bag that was up there?” asked the woman. “But that man took it when he got off the train.”
“No, you can’t be right,” said Fred. “That was my bag.”
“But I saw him,” said the woman. “I remember the letters F. C.”
“But he was a policeman,” said Fred. “Policeman didn’t steal.”
The doctor laughed.
“No, policemen don’t steal,” he said, “but thieves do. That man wasn’t a policeman. He was a thief!”
“The only true thief here,” said the woman. “He made us all afraid. Then he stole your bag.”
“Three hundred pounds,” said Fred. “I was going to buy a car with that money. I’ve lost three hundred pounds. And all because of those stories.”
Fred never saw his bag or the three hundred pounds again. And because of this, you understand, Fred does not tell stories any more. He takes more care. When he goes into a hotel or gets on a train, he remembers all the money that he lost because of talking.
And he keeps his mouth shut!
弗雷德·克兰是一个健谈的人。他一辈子喜欢说话胜过做其他任何事情。说话对他而言，就像吃饭和喝水，少了可不行。他住旅馆时，用不了多久，他就会认识那里的每一个人，并和他们交谈起来。有时乘火车，没有人说话，但弗雷德很快就让人家侃起来。他不会和沉默寡言的人坐在一起。
然而，弗雷德变了。从某一点上看，与从前的弗雷德判若两人。这些天来，他的话变少了。如果不认识你，他绝不会和你搭腔。这是因为有件事情改变了弗雷德。事情是这样的：
去年的一天，弗雷德有事要去一趟英格兰的某个大城市。我记不得那个地方的名字了，不过，这没关系。当时，他在做倒买、倒卖旧轿车的生意，赚了一大笔钱。他的包里，总是装着二三百英镑，因为人们买东西时，喜欢现金交易。
弗雷德是坐火车去的，因为坐火车时一直有人可以说说话。那天，他找到了一个座位，坐在一起的还有两男一女三个人。其中坐在窗边的那个男的，火车一开动，就拿了张报纸盖在脸上，想睡一会儿。弗雷德就坐在他的旁边。而剩下的一男一女准备一起谈天。
旅途的第一段，他们谈了许多话题。只有靠窗的那个人没有参与，他用报纸盖着脸，睡着了。过了一会儿，三个人开始谈钱。
“钱不是一切，”男士说，他是个医生，“我救活了许多人，可不是为了赚钱。我不想赚许多钱。”
“但一个人得有钱才行，”弗雷德说，“没钱的话，他就会为了钱去做坏事。”
“富人有时也做坏事，”那个妇女说。
“你说得很对，”弗雷德说，“但是穷人变坏，仅仅是由于他没钱。他可能去偷。钱改变人的命运。”
医生笑了。
“你偷过东西吗？”他问弗雷德。
“是的，我偷过。人人都偷过东西。”弗雷德说。
“你偷什么来着？”医生问道，“你小时候在商店里偷过东西吗？”
弗雷德想道：“嘿，我可以让他们侃起来了！我要编一个精彩的故事讲给他们听。”他回答道：“不，不是这回事。让我告诉你们吧。那时候，我是一个小伙子。我爱上了一个非常漂亮的姑娘。我想让她也同样爱上我。我想送她漂亮的礼物，但我身无分文。有一天，我在商店的橱窗里看见了一枚戒指。这戒指很漂亮，那种款式，是任何姑娘们都会喜爱的。但我到哪里弄钞票买呢？我一个子儿也没有。那么只有一种选择：偷戒指。”
“我走进商店，要店主挑了许多东西，那枚戒指也混在里面。当店主一转身，我就把戒指偷走了。做这事，一点儿也不难。”
“后来你把戒指给那姑娘了吗?”妇女问道。
“没有。我没能把戒指给她，”弗雷德说，“那天晚上回到家，我收到她的一张便条。她不想和我再见面了，因为她要嫁给另一个人。所以说，我白偷了一枚戒指！不过，打那以后，我开始拚命工作。我再也不偷东西了。五年之后，我成了一个富人。像那枚偷来的戒指，我可以买它一百个。因为我偷了戒指，我的生活发生了变化。偷东西是一件坏事吗?”
“是的，你说得对，”医生说，他也想讲一个故事。“做坏事也无所谓。我曾经碰到过和你一样的事情。不过，当时我还没谈恋爱。我穷得一塌糊涂，可我还想当一名医生。除此之外，别无所求。有时我连买饭的钱都没有，我一点也不在乎。但我要买书。没有书，我无法成为一名医生。我的朋友们比我有钱，经常借书我看，但我不能把书长时间放在身边。”
“有一本厚书，是我必备的。所有医生都必须熟读这本书。我怎样弄到它？对，我从书店里偷来了这本书。我把书塞进包里，溜出了书店。我有点儿害怕，但没人发现。就是由于有了这本书，我成了一名医生，而且挽救了许多人的生命。”
“生活就是这样的，”弗雷德说。他对自己非常满意。听了医生的故事，他感到十分开心。接着，他把头转向那个妇女。
“现在你说说吧，”他问道，“你偷过东西吗？”
她没有马上回答。 “是的，”她终于开口了，“和你一样，我偷过。而且，我偷过不止一回。我偷东西并不是迫不得已。我父亲很有钱。我要什么，他就给什么。我简直无所不有。但我并不就此心满意足，我要自己获得东西。于是我就开始偷窃。
“好长时间过去了，我没被人捉住。后来有一次，我和父亲的几个朋友到乡下，住在一幢宽敞的房子里。房子里还有其他人。晚上，趁他们去吃饭，我溜进一间卧室，从一个男士的上衣里，偷了一点钱。大约有十英镑吧。
“第二天早晨，那个男士开始找钱。因为他没有找到，便生出了许多麻烦。大家都以为：‘一定是那个打扫房间的小女孩干的。我们吃饭去了，她就溜进卧室。’没有人怀疑我。房主决定把那小女孩撵走。我当时后悔莫及。我不想让房主那样做，便说：‘不要撵她走，钱是我偷的。’一开始大家笑了，他们都不相信。不过，当我把偷来的钱给他们看后，他们才相信我说的话。我把钱还给那个男的，马上离开了那里。
“从此，我再也不偷东西了，但为时已晚。人们都不想见到我。他们不再邀请我去他们家了。后来有一天，我收到一封信，写信的正是那个被偷的男士。他要求见见我。一来二去的，我们就成了一对恋人。后来我们结婚了，幸福地生活了许多年，一直到他在战争中牺牲。哎，你们看，就因为偷，我的生活中发生了一些美好的事情。”
这时，靠近窗户的那个人，掀开脸上的报纸。弗雷德让他也讲一个故事。
“先生，你听了我们讲的故事吗?”弗雷德对他说，“你有没有睡着?”
那人把他们三人依次看了个遍，脸色变得很难看。
他说：“是的，你们说的每一个字，我都听得很清楚。我在想什么吗？不妨告诉你们，我在想，我在火车上和三个贼待在一起！”
“我们并不是贼，”弗雷德说，“我们生活中都偷过东西，这是事实，但我们现在不是小偷了。”
“一次行窃，终生是贼。”那人说，“我没有什么故事讲给你们听。不过我有件事要说，我是个警察，是专逮小偷的。我记得你们的面孔。总有一天，我们会再见的。”
弗雷德哪里想到这样的结果。但他怎样解释呢？他不想惹麻烦，因为那人是个警察。两个旅途朋友，不想再侃下去了。他们抓过报纸，自顾自地读了起来。弗雷德也拿了一张报纸。他再也不看那警察一眼。
没过多久，火车在一个车站停了下来。那警察起身走了出去，再没有回来。弗雷德心里高兴，他放下报纸，对那两位说：“刚才很抱歉。那人不是个好货。不过有件事我必须告诉你们：戒指的故事不是真的。我说这个故事，是想和大伙侃一侃。”
“我的故事也不是真的，”医生说，“我只是想说一个比你更精彩的故事！”
妇女听到此，笑了。
她说：“我想编个故事，比你们俩都强。我那故事呀，也是假的。”
三人都笑起来。接着，他们在剩下的旅途中又聊了起来。不久弗雷德到站了。他站起身，伸手取包，但包不见了。
“你们看见我的包没有？”他问道，“我上车时就带在身边。包上的字母F.C. 是烫金的。”
“是上面那个包吗？”妇女问道，“警察下车时取走了。”
“不对，你说得不对，” 弗雷德辩驳说，“那是我的包。”
“我看到他拿走了，”妇女说道，“我记得字母是F.C.”
“他是个警察呀，” 弗雷德说，“警察不会偷东西的。”
医生笑了。
“的确，警察不会偷东西，”他说，“不过，贼会偷的。那人不是警察，是个贼！”
“在这里他才是真正的贼，”妇女说，“他先把我们唬住，然后就偷了你的包。”
“包里有三百英镑哩，” 弗雷德喊道，“那钱是我打算买车子的。我丢了三百英镑了。这全都怪那些故事。”
弗雷德再也没见到他的包，也没见到三百英镑了。你知道，有此变故，弗雷德再也不侃大山了。他变得更谨慎了。他一住旅馆，或坐火车，就想起因胡侃而丢钱的教训。
于是，他把嘴封得牢牢的！