Not Guilty

Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days. They are paid to turn a blind eye to things. Only a few, like Sergeant Custard, earn their pay by being eagle - eyed. One such officer was Tim Smith, who controlled the southern frontier of the city. He had a reputation for being tough on smugglers. Every day he would see a lorry load of goods pass through his area and he was always suspicious. He often had a hunch that something was wrong, even when there was no evidence to support his feeling. One day, he noticed a small van which was parked outside a large store. It was early in the morning and the van was unoccupied. Smith decided to keep an eye on it. As the day progressed, he saw people coming and going from the store, but no one went near the van. By lunchtime, Smith was really beginning to wonder what was going on. Then, just after lunch, a man came out of the store, walked over to the van and opened the back door. Smith immediately rushed over. 'What are you doing?' he demanded. 'I'm just making a delivery,' the man replied. 'Oh, really?' said Smith. 'Then why has this van been sitting here all morning with no one near it?' 'I don't know,' said the man. 'I'm just following my orders.' Smith was not convinced. He decided to search the van. He found nothing suspicious inside. Just as he was about to give up, he noticed a small compartment under the floor. He opened it and found a large quantity of cigarettes. 'What's this?' he asked the man. 'I - I don't know,' stammered the man. 'It's not mine.' 'Well, it's in your van,' said Smith. 'You're under arrest for smuggling.' 'But I'm not guilty,' protested the man. 'I didn't put those cigarettes there.' 'Then who did?' asked Smith. 'I don't know,' said the man. 'I'm just a delivery man.' Smith took the man to the police station. There, he was questioned further. But he still maintained his innocence. In the end, the police had to let him go. They had no evidence to prove that he was guilty. Smith was disappointed. He had been so sure that the man was a smuggler. But he had to admit that he had been wrong. He learned a valuable lesson that day: not to jump to conclusions.

现在的海关官员往往相当宽容。他们受雇对某些事视而不见。只有少数像卡斯塔德警官那样的人，通过目光敏锐地查禁走私而挣得薪水。蒂姆·史密斯就是这样一位官员，他负责控制城市的南部边境。他有着严厉打击走私者的名声。每天他都会看到一辆载满货物的卡车通过他的辖区，他总是心存疑虑。他常常有一种预感，觉得事情有些不对劲，即便没有证据支持他的这种感觉。一天，他注意到一辆小货车停在一家大商店外面。当时是清晨，车上没有人。史密斯决定监视这辆车。随着时间的推移，他看到人们在商店里进进出出，但没有人靠近那辆货车。到午饭时间了，史密斯真的开始纳闷到底是怎么回事。然后，刚过午饭，一个男人从商店里出来，走到货车旁并打开了后门。史密斯立刻冲了过去。“你在做什么？”他质问道。“我只是在送货。”那人回答道。“哦，真的吗？”史密斯说。“那为什么这辆货车一上午都停在这儿，而且周围没有人呢？”“我不知道，”那人说，“我只是在按命令行事。”史密斯并不相信。他决定搜查这辆货车。他在车里没有发现可疑的东西。就在他打算放弃的时候，他注意到车地板下有一个小隔间。他打开隔间，发现了大量的香烟。“这是什么？”他问那人。“我——我不知道，”那人结结巴巴地说，“这不是我的。”“嗯，可它在你的货车里，”史密斯说，“你因走私被捕了。”“但我是无罪的，”那人抗议道，“我没有把那些香烟放在那儿。”“那是谁放的呢？”史密斯问。“我不知道，”那人说，“我只是个送货员。”史密斯把那个人带到了警察局。在那里，他受到了进一步的审问。但他仍然坚称自己是无辜的。最后，警察不得不放了他。他们没有证据证明他有罪。史密斯很失望。他一直非常确信那个人是个走私者。但他不得不承认自己错了。那天他学到了宝贵的一课：不要仓促下结论。