English Original
Three old men sat on the wall of Kilmilik Pier, their backs to the sea and faces to the village and sun. Suddenly, the sound of a flapping sail broke the quiet. A small white yacht swung around the corner of the pier and came alongside them.
"Where's the nearest public house?" asked a red-faced man in white cotton shirt and trousers. The three old men answered in unison. "Let's go and have a drink, Totty," said the red-faced man. "Right-o," replied his friend.
As the red-faced man climbed the iron ladder fixed to the pier, a shilling slipped silently from his back pocket. It landed on a coil of rope on the yacht's deck below. Unaware of his loss, the man walked on, chatting with his friend.
The three old men saw the coin fall. None spoke of it, not to the stranger nor to each other. The moment the shilling landed and lay shining, they became painfully aware of it, a shared secret that stole their speech.
Each knew the others had seen it. Each remained silent, hoping to keep the discovery to himself. Each also knew it was impossible to retrieve the coin unseen. A man in a white cap moved about in the yacht's cabin, his head appearing in the doorway every few moments to the sound of clattering plates. The shilling lay within two feet of that doorway. Besides, they were too old—except perhaps Patsy Conroy—to manage the climb down and back up the ladder.
Furthermore, each understood that even if the cabin were empty and he could descend, the others would prevent him. Each preferred that no one have the shilling if he could not have it himself.
Yet, the attraction of that shining coin was so powerful that they stared, hearts pounding and minds racing, at the spot where it lay. They stared in a silence so tense it was as loud as a violent quarrel.
The sun shone warmly. The thought of the excellent cool beer at Kelly's, stirred by the salt sea air, awakened a fierce thirst. Not one of them considered that the shilling belonged to another. In fact, each was so incensed by the shameless greed of the other two that he felt a murderous rage. Three minutes passed this way.
The yacht owners had disappeared from view. Brian Manion and Mick Feeney trembled, mouths watering at the thought of the beer they now craved. Then Patsy Conroy bent down, picked up a small stone from the pier, and dropped it onto the yacht's deck. The other two made a slight, foolish, unconscious movement with their sticks, as if to intercept the pebble.
What happened next was so unexpected their jaws dropped: Patsy Conroy spoke.
"Hey there!" he shouted through cupped hands.
A pale, sad-looking man stepped out of the cabin. "What do you want?"
"Beg your pardon, sir," said Patsy Conroy, "but would you hand me up that shilling that just dropped out of my hand?"
The man nodded, picked up the shilling, said "Catch," and tossed it onto the pier. Patsy touched his cap and dived for it.
The other two were so stunned they didn't even try to stop him. They simply watched him pocket the coin. Then they watched him walk up the pier, his long, thin, grey-backed figure with a yellow scarf moving as straight and solemn as a policeman.
They looked at each other, faces twisted with anger. Each raised his stick and snarled at the other: "Why didn't you stop him, you fool?"
中文翻译
三位老人背朝大海，面朝村庄和太阳，坐在基尔米利克码头（Kilmilik Pier）的矮墙上。突然，一阵船帆在风中拍打的声音打破了宁静。一艘白色小游艇绕过码头一角，停在了他们旁边。
“最近的酒馆在哪儿？”一个穿着白色棉布衬衫和裤子的红脸男人问道。三位老人齐声回答了他。“我们去喝一杯吧，托蒂，”红脸男人说。“好啊，”他的朋友答道。
当红脸男人攀爬固定在码头上的铁梯时，一枚先令悄无声息地从他的后裤袋滑落。它掉在了下方游艇甲板的一卷绳子上。男人并未察觉自己的损失，继续沿着码头走着，和朋友聊着天。
三位老人看到了硬币掉落。谁也没有提起，既没告诉那个陌生人，彼此之间也缄口不言。先令落下、静静躺在那里闪闪发光的瞬间，他们就痛苦地意识到了它的存在，这个共同的秘密让他们哑口无言。
每个人都知道另外两人看见了它。每个人都保持沉默，希望将这个发现据为自己的秘密。每个人也都知道，不可能在不被看见的情况下取回那枚硬币。一个戴着白帽子的男人在游艇的船舱里走动，每隔一会儿他的头就会出现在门口，伴随着盘子碰撞的声响。那枚先令就在离门口不到两英尺的地方。此外，他们年纪太大了——也许帕齐·康罗伊（Patsy Conroy）除外——根本爬不下梯子再爬上来。
而且，每个人都明白，即使船舱里没人，即使他能爬下去，另外两人也会阻止他。每个人都宁愿自己得不到这枚先令，也不愿让别人得到。
然而，那枚闪亮硬币的吸引力是如此强大，他们死死盯着它所在的位置，心跳加速，脑子飞快地转着。他们在一片痛苦的沉默中凝视着，这沉默紧张得如同激烈的争吵般震耳欲聋。
阳光温暖地照耀着。想到凯利酒馆里冰凉可口的啤酒，再加上咸咸的海风，激起了他们强烈的口渴感。他们中没有一个人想到这枚先令属于别人。事实上，每个人都对另外两人无耻的贪婪感到如此愤怒，以至于心生杀意。三分钟就这样过去了。
游艇的主人已经从视线中消失了。布莱恩·马尼恩（Brian Manion）和米克·菲尼（Mick Feeney）颤抖着，一想到现在渴望的啤酒就直流口水。这时，帕齐·康罗伊弯下腰，从码头上捡起一块小石头，扔到了游艇的甲板上。另外两人用他们的手杖做了一个轻微、愚蠢、无意识的动作，仿佛要拦截那块卵石。
接下来发生的事情出乎意料，让他们惊掉了下巴：帕齐·康罗伊开口说话了。
“喂，那边！”他双手拢在嘴边喊道。
一个面色苍白、神情忧郁的男人从船舱里走了出来。“你想要什么？”
“打扰一下，先生，”帕齐·康罗伊说，“您能把刚才从我手里掉下去的那枚先令递给我吗？”
男人点点头，捡起先令，说了声“接住”，就把它扔到了码头上。帕齐碰了碰帽子，扑过去抓住了它。
另外两人惊得目瞪口呆，甚至没想去阻止他。他们只是看着他硬币放进口袋。然后，他们看着他走上码头，他那瘦长、微驼、围着黄围巾的身影，走得笔直而严肃，像个警察。
他们面面相觑，脸上因愤怒而扭曲。每个人都举起了手杖，冲着对方咆哮：“你为什么不拦住他，你这个傻瓜？”