羊毛战记 Part 2 Proper Gauge 13

　　13,　　Marnes and Jahns were guided to the mess hall by Marck, a mechanic just getting off second shift.,　　Marnes seemed to take umbrage ¹ at needing a tour guide. The deputy possessed ² that distinctly malequality of pretending to know where he was, even when he didn’t. Walking slightly ahead in anattempt to prove this, he would pause at some intersection ³, point questioningly in one direction, onlyto have Marck laugh and correct him.,　　“But it all looks the same,
” he grumbled ⁴ as he continued to forge ahead.,　　Jahns laughed at the manly ⁵ display and hung back to bend the young mechanic’s ear, recognizingthat he worked on Juliette’s shift. He smelled of the down deep, that odor that wafted ⁶ in whenever amechanic came up to repair something in her offices. It was the blend born of their work, a mix ofperspiration, grease, and vague chemicals. But Jahns was learning to ignore that. She saw that Marckwas a kind and gentle man, a man who took her by the arm when a trolley ⁷ of rattling ⁸ parts washurried past, a man who acknowledged every single person they passed in those dim corridors ofjutting pipes and drooping ⁹ wires. He lived and breathed well above his lot in life, Jahns thought. Heradiated confidence. Even in the darkness, his smile threw shadows.,　　“How well do you know Juliette?” she asked him, once the noisy cart rattled ¹⁰ out of earshot.,　　He said this as though he assumed the rest of the silo operated differently. Ahead of them, Marnesscratched his head at the next intersection before guessing correctly. A pair of mechanics crowdedaround the corner from the other direction, laughing. They and Marck exchanged a snippet ofconversation that sounded to Jahns like a foreign language. She suspected Marck was right, thatperhaps things did work differently in the deepest depths of the silo. People down there seemed towear their thoughts and feelings on the outside, seemed to say exactly what they meant, much as thepipes and wires of the place lay exposed and bare.,　　“Through here, ” Marck said, pointing across a wide hall toward the sound of overlappingconversations and the tinking of knives and forks on metal plates.,　　“So, is there anything you can tell us about Jules?
” Jahns asked. She smiled at Marck as he heldthe door for her. “Anything you think we should know?” The two of them followed Marnes to ahandful of empty seats. The kitchen staff bustled ¹¹ among the tables, actually serving the food ratherthan having the mechanics line up for it. Before they’d even situated ¹² themselves on the dentedaluminum benches, bowls of soup and glasses of water with lime slices bobbing on top were beingset out, and hunks of bread torn from loaves and placed directly on the beaten-up surface of the table.,　　“Are you asking me to vouch ¹³ for her? ” Marck sat down and thanked the large man who portionedout their food and spoons. Jahns looked around for a napkin and saw most of the men and womenusing the greasy ¹⁴ rags that dangled ¹⁵ from their back or breast pockets.,　　“Just anything we should know,
” she said.,She took umbrage at my remarks about her hair.我对她头发的评论使她很不高兴
。,He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。