The Brake at San Rafael

The Letter in the Drawer

抽屉里的信

The funicular of San Rafael was a hundred and twelve years old, thirty-one metres high, and the shortest link between the harbour of Valparaíso and the neighbourhood on the hill. Two wooden cabins hung from a single cable; one went up while the other slid down, and halfway along the track, at the passing place, they greeted each other with a squeak that every child in the neighbourhood could imitate.

圣拉斐尔的地面缆车已有了一百一十二年的历史，高三十一米，是瓦尔帕莱索港口与山丘上街区之间最短的通道。两节木质车厢悬挂在同一根钢缆上，一节向上升起，另一节则向下滑行，在轨道中央的会让处，它们总会以一声刺耳的摩擦声互相致意，街区里的每个孩子都能模仿那声音。

It had been built by a Swiss engineer who had never been to Chile and had sent his plans on paper with the remark that Valparaíso was “a city for goats and optimists”. Since then the railway had survived two earthquakes, a fire and, as people in the neighbourhood said, seven mayors, which had been far more difficult.

它是由一位从未去过智利的瑞士工程师建造的，那位工程师将图纸寄了过来，并附言称瓦尔帕莱索是“一座属于山羊和乐观主义者的城市”。从那以后，这趟缆车经受住了两次地震、一场大火，而且正如街区里的人们所说，还熬过了七任市长——这可要困难得多。