介绍:
The conversation was interrupted by the warehouse boss.
"You're in luck, you two," the fat Arab said. "There's a caravan leaving today for Al- Fayoum."
"But I'm going to Egypt," the boy said.
"Al-Fayoum is in Egypt," said the Arab. "What kind of Arab are you?"
"That's a good luck omen," the Englishman said, after the fat Arab had gone out. "If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It's with those words that the universal language is written.''
He told the boy it was no coincidence that he had met him with Urim and Thummim in his hand. And he asked the boy if he, too, were in search of the alchemist.
"I'm looking for a treasure," said the boy, and he immediately regretted having said it. But the Englishman appeared not to attach any importance to it.
"In a way, so am I," he said.
"I don't even know what alchemy is," the boy was saying, when the warehouse boss called to them to come outside.
"I'm the leader of the caravan," said a dark-eyed, bearded man. "I hold the power of life and death for every person I take with me. The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy."
There were almost two hundred people gathered there, and four hundred animals— camels, horses, mules, and fowl. In the crowd were women, children, and a number of men with swords at their belts and rifles slung on their shoulders. The Englishman had several suitcases filled with books. There was a babble of noise, and the leader had to repeat himself several times for everyone to understand what he was saying.
我的译文：
对话被仓库老板打断了。
“你们俩很走运，”这个胖胖的阿拉伯人说。“有个大蓬车队今天启程去尤姆绿洲。”
“可我要去埃及，”男孩说到。
“尤姆就在埃及，”阿拉伯人说，“你是阿拉伯人吗？
“这是个好运预兆，”阿拉伯胖子走后，英国人说到。“如果可以，我要写一巨部百科全书，就写关于“运气”和“巧合”，我将用世界通用的语言来写。”
他告诉男孩他们以手中乌陵和土明的方式相遇绝不是巧合。他问男孩是不是也去寻找炼金术士。
“我在寻找宝藏，”男孩说，但马上他就后悔说出的话了。不过英国人显得对此并没在意。
“某种程度上说，我也是在寻宝。”他说。
“我甚至不知道什么是点金术，”男孩说话的时候，仓库老板叫他们俩出来。
“我是大蓬车队的领队，”一个黑眼睛、留着胡须的男人说到。“我掌握着所有与我同行的人们的生死。沙漠就像个反复无常的女人，有时候它会迫使男人发疯。
差不多有两百多人聚集在那里，四百多动物----骆驼啊，马匹啊，骡子什么的，还有很多家禽。人群中有妇女，孩童，还有很多腰间别着宝剑，以及肩扛来福枪的男人们。英国人的几个手提箱里装满了书。人群嘈杂的声音此起彼伏，那个领队不得不反复重复他说过的话以便于每个人都能听明白。
