失踪的中卫

    We were fairly accustomed to receive weird telegrams at Baker Street, but I have a particular recollection of one which reached us on a gloomy February morning some seven or eight years ago and gave Mr. Sherlock Holmes a puzzled quarter of an hour.It was addressed to him, and ran thus:

    在贝克街上收到一些奇奇怪怪的电报是司空见惯的事，但我却对七八年前的一封电报记忆犹新：那是在2月的一个阴暗早晨收到的，而它足足让舍洛克·福尔摩斯迷惑了一刻钟。电报是寄给他的，内容如下：

    "Please await me. Terrible misfortune. Right wing threequarter missing, indispensable to-morrow. OVERTON."

    “请等我。非常不幸。右中卫失踪。明日急需。奥弗顿。”

    "Strand post-mark and dispatched ten thirty-six," said Holmes, reading it over and over. "Mr. Overton was evidently considerably excited when he sent it, and somewhat incoherent in consequence. Well, well, he will be here, I dare say, by the time I have looked through the Times, and then we shall know all about it. Even the most insignificant problem would be welcome in these stagnant days."

    福尔摩斯反复地读着，说道：“河滨的邮戳，10点36分发的。奥弗顿先生拍电报时显然相当激动，结果说得有些语无伦次。唉，我敢说，等我读完《泰晤士报》，他就会到这里了，那时我们就能知道一切。在这种无聊的日子里，即使是鸡毛蒜皮的小事也是求之不得的。”

    Things had indeed been very slow with us, and I had learned to dread such periods of inaction, for I knew by experience that my companion's brain was so abnormally active that it was dangerous to leave it without material upon which to work. For years I had gradually weaned him from that drug mania which had threatened once to check his remarkable career. Now I knew that under ordinary conditions he no longer craved for this artificial stimulus, but I was well aware that the fiend was not dead, but sleeping; and I have known that the sleep was a light one and the waking near when in periods of idleness I have seen the drawn look upon Holmes's ascetic face, and the brooding of his deep-set and inscrutable eyes. Therefore I blessed this Mr. Overton, whoever he might be, since he had come with his enigmatic message to break that dangerous calm which brought more peril to my friend than all the storms of his tempestuous life.

    最近我们的确很清闲，而我也开始惧怕这种无所事事的日子；因为经验告诉我，福尔摩斯的思维太过活跃，如果不给他什么案子，那会很危险。这些年，我渐渐使他戒掉了麻醉药品，那东西曾一度威胁到他非凡的事业。现在我知道，一般情况下福尔摩斯并不渴望这种人造的刺激素，但我很清楚他的瘾并没有完全戒除，只是暂时休眠了，但休眠得并不沉。只要一闲下来，他憔悴的脸上就会露出痛苦的样子，一双高深莫测的眼睛深陷下去。所以，无论奥弗顿是什么人，我都要感谢他，因为他带来了谜一般的电报，打破了那可怕的风平浪静——这可比他狂风暴雨般的生活更加危险。

    As we had expected, the telegram was soon followed by its sender, and the card of Mr. Cyril Overton, of Trinity College, Cambridge, announced the arrival of an enormous young man, sixteen stone of solid bone and muscle, who spanned the doorway with his broad shoulders and looked from one of us to the other with a comely face which was haggard with anxiety.

    正如我们所料，发报人立即跟着电报来了。他的名片上写着：剑桥，三一学院，西里尔·奥弗顿。他是一个魁梧的年轻人，足有16石（约224磅）重，宽阔的肩膀都把门口堵住了，充满焦虑的双眼上下打量着我们，英俊的面容满是憔悴不安。

    "Mr. Sherlock Holmes?"

    “舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生吗？”

    My companion bowed.

    我的搭档点了点头。

    "I've been down to Scotland Yard, Mr. Holmes. I saw Inspector Stanley Hopkins. He advised me to come to you. He said the case, so far as he could see, was more in your line than in that of the regular police."

    “福尔摩斯先生，我已去过苏格兰场了。我见过了斯坦利·霍普金斯侦探。他建议我来找您。他说这个案子，依他看来，这件事交给您会比警方介入更可靠些。”

    "Pray sit down and tell me what is the matter."

    “请坐，告诉我们是怎么一回事吧！”

    "It's awful, Mr. Holmes-simply awful! I wonder my hair isn't grey. Godfrey Staunton—you've heard of him, of course? He's simply the hinge that the whole team turns on. I'd rather spare two from the pack and have Godfrey for my three-quarter line. Whether it's passing, or tackling, or dribbling, there's no one to touch him; and then, he's got the head and can hold us all together. What am I to do? That's what I ask you, Mr. Holmes. There's Moorhouse, first reserve, but he is trained as a half, and he always edges right in on to the scrum instead of keeping out on the touch-line. He's a fine place-kick, it's true, but, then, he has no judgment, and he can't sprint for nuts. Why, Morton or Johnson, the Oxford fliers, could romp round him. Stevenson is fast enough, but he couldn't drop from the twenty-five line, and a three-quarter who can't either punt or drop isn't worth a place for pace alone. No, Mr. Holmes, we are done unless you can help me to find Godfrey Staunton."

    “太可怕了，福尔摩斯先生，真是可怕！我急得头发都快白了。戈弗雷·斯汤顿——您一定听说过这个名字吧？他简直是全队的灵魂人物。我宁愿不要两个前锋队员，也要在中位线上保住斯汤顿。不论是传球、运球，还是抢球，他都无人能及，而且他很有头脑，可以把我们全队凝聚在一起。我该怎么办呢？这就是我要请教您的问题，福尔摩斯先生。当然有第一候补穆尔豪斯，但他是踢前卫的，而且总是喜欢挤进去争球，而不是守在边线上。他很会踢定位球，没错，但是他没有判断力，而且不善于拼抢。怎么说呢，牛津的两个飞人——莫顿或约翰逊，都可以轻易越过他。史蒂文森跑得够快，但是他不会在25码远的地方踢落地球。而一个中卫既不会踢落地球，又不能踢悬空球，根本就不配参加比赛。不，福尔摩斯先生，您若是不帮我们找到戈弗雷·斯汤顿，我们就完了。”

    My friend had listened with amused surprise to this long speech, which was poured forth with extraordinary vigour and earnestness, every point being driven home by the slapping of a brawny hand upon the speaker's knee. When our visitor was silent Holmes stretched out his hand and took down letter "S" of his commonplace book. For once he dug in vain into that mine of varied information.

    我的朋友饶有兴致地听着这位客人滔滔不绝的讲话，他强壮的手臂不时拍着自己的膝盖，每句话都说得有理有据、气势逼人。等我们的客人终于停下来后，福尔摩斯伸手去拿字母"S"的备忘录。他头一次从自己丰富的资料宝库中一无所获。

    "There is Arthur H. Staunton, the rising young forger," said he, "and there was Henry Staunton, whom I helped to hang, but Godfrey Staunton is a new name to me."

    “这儿有一个叫阿瑟·H·斯汤顿的，一个刚崭露头角的伪造纸币的年轻人。还有一个亨利·斯汤顿，我协助警察把他绞死了。可是戈弗雷·斯汤顿这个名字，我从来没听说过。”

    It was our visitor's turn to look surprised.

    这回轮到我们的客人大吃一惊了。

    "Why, Mr. Holmes, I thought you knew things," said he. "I suppose, then, if you have never heard of Godfrey Staunton you don't know Cyril Overton either?"

    他说：“怎么可能，福尔摩斯先生，我还以为您什么都知道呢。我猜，您没听说过戈弗雷·斯汤顿，那么，您也不知道谁是西里尔·奥弗顿了吧？”

    Holmes shook his head good-humouredly.

    福尔摩斯微笑着摇摇头。

    "Great Scot!" cried the athlete. "Why, I was first reserve for England against Wales, and I've skippered the 'Varsity all this year. But that's nothing! I didn't think there was a soul in England who didn't know Godfrey Staunton, the crack three-quarter, Cambridge, Blackheath, and five Internationals. Good Lord! Mr. Holmes, where have you lived?"

    “天哪！”这位运动员叫道。“我是英格兰与威尔士比赛中的第一候补队员，而且我一整年都是大学生队的领队。不过，这不算什么！我还以为没有哪个英国人会不知道戈弗雷·斯汤顿呢，他是最棒的中卫。剑桥队，布莱克希斯队还有五个国家队都邀请过他。天哪！福尔摩斯先生，您一直住在哪儿啊？”

    Holmes laughed at the young giant's naive astonishment.

    福尔摩斯对这位天真的，满脸惊异的大个子笑了笑。

    "You live in a different world to me, Mr. Overton—a sweeter and healthier one. My ramifications stretch out into many sections of society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England. However, your unexpected visit this morning shows me that even in that world of fresh air and fair play there may be work for me to do; so now, my good sir, I beg you to sit down and to tell me slowly and quietly exactly what it is that has occurred, and how you desire that I should help you."

    “你和我住在不同的世界，奥弗顿先生，你的世界更加美好、更加健康。我深入并接触社会的各个阶层，但是，我很庆幸，我从来没有和体育行业打过交道，而那是全英国最好、最健康的行业。不过，你的意外来访告诉我，即使在这样一个充满清风正气的公平运动中，可能也有用得上我的地方。那么，亲爱的先生，我请你坐下来，心平气和地给我们讲讲到底发生了什么事，说说你要我怎么帮你。”

    Young Overton's face assumed the bothered look of the man who is more accustomed to using his muscles than his wits; but by degrees, with many repetitions and obscurities which I may omit from his narrative, he laid his strange story before us.

    年轻的奥弗顿脸上露出那种“头脑简单，四肢发达”的人常有的不耐烦表情。不过，他开始一点儿一点儿地将那个奇怪的故事呈现在我们面前，那些叙述中的重复和模糊之处，我已删去了。

    "It's this way, Mr. Holmes. As I have said, I am the skipper of the Rugger team of Cambridge 'Varsity, and Godfrey Staunton is my best man. To-morrow we play Oxford. Yesterday we all came up and we settled at Bentley's private hotel. At ten o'clock I went round and saw that all the fellows had gone to roost, for I believe in strict training and plenty of sleep to keep a team fit. I had a word or two with Godfrey before he turned in. He seemed to me to be pale and bothered. I asked him what was the matter. He said he was all right—just a touch of headache. I bade him good-night and left him. Half an hour later the porter tells me that a rough-looking man with a beard called with a note for Godfrey. He had not gone to bed and the note was taken to his room. Godfrey read it and fell back in a chair as if he had been poleaxed. The porter was so scared that he was going to fetch me, but Godfrey stopped him, had a drink of water, and pulled himself together. Then he went downstairs, said a few words to the man who was waiting in the hall, and the two of them went off together. The last that the porter saw of them, they were almost running down the street in the direction of the Strand. This morning Godfrey's room was empty, his bed had never been slept in, and his things were all just as I had seen them the night before. He had gone off at a moment's notice with this stranger, and no word has come from him since. I don't believe he will ever come back. He was a sportsman, was Godfrey, down to his marrow, and he wouldn't have stopped his training and let in his skipper if it were not for some cause that was too strong for him. No; I feel as if he were gone for good and we should never see him again."

    “事情是这样的，福尔摩斯先生。就像我刚才所说的，我是剑桥大学橄榄球队的领队，戈弗雷·斯汤顿是最好的队员。明天我们要和牛津大学比赛。昨天我们都到了，并决定住在班特莱私人旅馆。晚上10点，我四处看了看，确保所有的队员都已经休息了，因为我相信严格的训练和充足的睡眠可以保持球队的良好状态。在斯汤顿临睡前，我和他闲聊了两句。他看起来十分苍白，很不安。我问他怎么了。他说他没事，就是有些头疼。我向他道了晚安便走了。半小时后，旅馆服务生告诉我说有一个满脸胡须、相貌粗野的人拿着一封信要找戈弗雷。戈弗雷还没有睡，服务生把信送到他屋子里。他读了信，一下子就瘫倒在椅子上，就像是被打昏了一样。服务生吓了一跳，要去找我，但戈弗雷阻止了他，喝了一点儿水又振作起来了。然后他走下楼，和等在大厅的那人说了几句话，两个人便一起走掉了。服务生最后看到他们时，他们二人正从大街往河滩的方向去，几乎是一路小跑。今天早上戈弗雷的房间是空的，床没有被睡过，他的物品仍像我昨天晚上看到的那样。那个陌生人一出现，他就走掉了，到现在也杳无音信。我想他不会回来了。他骨子里就是个好球员，他是戈弗雷啊，要不是受到什么沉重的打击，他绝不会退出比赛，也决不会让他的领队为难的。不，我感觉他永远离开了，我们再也见不到他了。”

    Sherlock Holmes listened with the deepest attention to this singular narrative.

    福尔摩斯全神贯注地听着这件奇怪的事。

    "What did you do?" he asked.

    他问：“你都做了什么？”

    "I wired to Cambridge to learn if anything had been heard of him there. I have had an answer. No one has seen him."

    “我打电报给剑桥，问他们是否知道他的消息。我得到了答案，没人见过他。”

    "Could he have got back to Cambridge?"

    “他可能已经回到剑桥了？”

    "Yes, there is a late train-quarter-past eleven."

    “有可能，11点一刻有一班夜车。”

    "But so far as you can ascertain he did not take it?"

    “但是，照你看，他并没有搭那趟车？”

    "No, he has not been seen."

    “是的，没人见过他。”

    "What did you do next?"

    “你接下来都做了什么？”

    "I wired to Lord Mount-James."

    “我又打电报给芒特·詹姆斯爵士。”

    "Why to Lord Mount-James?"

    “为什么给他呢？”

    "Godfrey is an orphan, and Lord Mount-James is his nearest relative—his uncle, I believe."

    “因为戈弗雷是个孤儿，芒特·詹姆斯是他最近的亲属——他的叔父，我想。”

    "Indeed. This throws new light upon the matter. Lord Mount-James is one of the richest men in England."

    “原来如此。这给案子提供了新的线索。芒特·詹姆斯爵士是英国最富有的人之一。”

    "So I've heard Godfrey say."

    “我也听戈弗雷这么说过。”

    "And your friend was closely related?"

    “戈弗雷是他的近亲？”

    "Yes, he was his heir, and the old boy is nearly eighty—cram full of gout, too. They say he could chalk his billiard-cue with his knuckles. He never allowed Godfrey a shilling in his life, for he is an absolute miser, but it will all come to him right enough."

    “是的，他是爵士的继承人，老爵士已经快八十岁了，而且得了很严重的风湿病。有人说他可能快要死了。他从不给戈弗雷一个先令，绝对是个吝啬鬼，但那些钱迟早会归戈弗雷所有。”

    "Have you heard from Lord Mount-James?"

    “芒特·詹姆斯爵士那儿有什么消息过来吗？”

    "No."

    “没有。”

    "What motive could your friend have in going to Lord Mount-James?" "Well, something was worrying him the night before, and if it was to do with money it is possible that he would make for his nearest relative who had so much of it, though from all I have heard he would not have much chance of getting it. Godfrey was not fond of the old man. He would not go if he could help it."

    “如果戈弗雷去芒特·詹姆斯爵士那，又是为了什么呢？”“头一天晚上一定有什么事让他很不安，如果是与钱有关的话，那很可能是他要得到爵士的大笔遗产，虽然我听说，他获得遗产的可能性不大。戈弗雷一点儿也不喜欢这个老人。他能不去就不去。”

    "Well, we can soon determine that. If your friend was going to his relative, Lord Mount-James, you have then to explain the visit of this rough-looking fellow at so late an hour, and the agitation that was caused by his coming."

    “那么，我们马上就可以作出这样的结论。如果你的朋友是去他的亲戚芒特·詹姆斯爵士那里，那你怎么解释那个粗野家伙的夜间来访，以及他怎么会给你朋友带来了那么大的震动和不安呢？”

    Cyril Overton pressed his hands to his head. "I can make nothing of it," said he.

    西里尔·奥弗顿挠挠头。他说：“我解释不了。”

    "Well, well, I have a clear day, and I shall be happy to look into the matter," said Holmes. "I should strongly recommend you to make your preparations for your match without reference to this young gentleman. It must, as you say, have been an overpowering necessity which tore him away in such a fashion, and the same necessity is likely to hold him away. Let us step round together to this hotel, and see if the porter can throw any fresh light upon the matter."

    福尔摩斯说：“好吧，好吧，我今天很清闲，我很乐意去调查这件事。我强烈建议你好好准备比赛，别管这个年轻人参不参加。正如你所说，一定是什么无法左右的事情让他那么仓促地离开，而且也正是这件事情使他至今不能回来。我们一起步行去旅馆，看看服务生能不能提供些新的线索。”

    Sherlock Holmes was a past-master in the art of putting a humble witness at his ease, and very soon, in the privacy of Godfrey Staunton's abandoned room, he had extracted all that the porter had to tell. The visitor of the night before was not a gentleman, neither was he a working man. He was simply what the porter described as a "medium-looking chap"; a man of fifty, beard grizzled, pale face, quietly dressed. He seemed himself to be agitated. The porter had observed his hand trembling when he had held out the note. Godfrey Staunton had crammed the note into his pocket. Staunton had not shaken hands with the man in the hall. They had exchanged a few sentences, of which the porter had only distinguished the one word "time." Then they had hurried off in the manner described. It was just half-past ten by the hall clock.

    舍洛克·福尔摩斯很擅长用他的循循善诱的方式使目击者感到很自在。没多久，在斯汤顿住过的单人房间里，他已从服务生的嘴里得到了一切能够得到的信息。那天晚上来的客人既不是一位绅士，也不是一个仆人。据服务生描述，他是个“相貌平平的家伙”，五十多岁，胡须斑白，脸色苍白，衣着不张扬，看起来有点儿焦虑。服务生看到，他从口袋里拿出信时，手在不停地颤抖。戈弗雷·斯汤顿把那封信塞到口袋里。他在大厅里没有和这个人握手。他们交谈了几句，服务生只听到“时间”一词。然后他们便像之前描述的那样，急匆匆地离开了。那时大厅里的挂钟刚好显示10点半。

    "Let me see," said Holmes, seating himself on Staunton's bed.

    “让我想想，”福尔摩斯说着，坐在斯汤顿的床上，

    "You are the day porter, are you not?"

    “你是白天值班，对吧？”

    "Yes, sir; I go off duty at eleven."

    “是的，先生。我11点下班。”

    "The night porter saw nothing, I suppose?"

    “我猜值夜班的服务员什么也没看见吧？”

    "No, sir; one theatre party came in late. No one else."

    “对啊，先生，只有看戏的才那么晚回来。没别人了。”

    "Were you on duty all day yesterday?"

    “你昨天一整天都当班吗？”

    "Yes, sir."

    “是的，先生。”

    "Did you take any messages to Mr. Staunton?"

    “有没有邮件一类的东西交给斯汤顿先生呢？”

    "Yes, sir; one telegram."

    “有的，先生，有一封电报。”

    "Ah! that's interesting. What o'clock was this?"

    “唔！那很有趣。几点的时候？”

    "About six."

    “大概6点。”

    "Where was Mr. Staunton when he received it?"

    “收到电报的时候，斯汤顿先生在哪儿？”

    "Here in his room."

    “就在这间房子里。”

    "Were you present when he opened it?"

    “他拆电报的时候，你在场吗？”

    "Yes, sir; I waited to see if there was an answer."

    “是的，先生，我等着看看他是否要回电。”

    "Well, was there?"

    “那么，要回电吗？”

    "Yes, sir. He wrote an answer."

    “是的，先生，他写了回复。”

    "Did you take it?"

    “是你拍的回电吗？”

    "No; he took it himself."

    “不，他自己拍的。”

    "But he wrote it in your presence?"

    “但是，他是当着你的面写的吗？”

    "Yes, sir. I was standing by the door, and he with his back turned at that table. When he had written it he said,'All right, porter, I will take this myself.' "

    “是的，先生。我站在门边，他转过身去，在桌子上写的。他写完后对我说：‘好了，服务生。我自己去拍吧。’”

    "What did he write it with?"

    “他用什么笔写的？”

    "A pen, sir."

    “钢笔，先生。”

    "Was the telegraphic form one of these on the table?"

    “是不是用了这张桌子上的电报纸？”

    "Yes, sir; it was the top one."

    “是的，先生，就是原来最上面的那一张。”

    Holmes rose. Taking the forms he carried them over to the window and carefully examined that which was uppermost.

    福尔摩斯站了起来。他拿起电报纸走到窗前，仔细查看了上面的痕迹。

    "It is a pity he did not write in pencil," said he, throwing them down again with a shrug of disappointment. "As you have no doubt frequently observed, Watson, the impression usually goes through—a fact which has dissolved many a happy marriage. However, I can find no trace here. I rejoice, however, to perceive that he wrote with a broad-pointed quill pen, and I can hardly doubt that we will find some impression upon this blottingpad. Ah, yes, surely this is the very thing!"

    “真是遗憾，他没有用铅笔写。”他说着，丢下那张电报纸，失望地耸了耸肩。“你一定也经常观察到过这一点，沃森，字迹通常会透过纸张的——事实上，这曾使多少美满的婚姻破灭。不过，这张纸上我看不到痕迹。不过，我庆幸地发现他是用粗羽毛笔写的，我敢肯定我们可以在吸墨纸上找到一些痕迹。啊，你们瞧，一点儿不错！”

    He tore off a strip of the blotting-paper and turned towards us the following hieroglyphic: Cyril Overton was much excited. "Hold it to the glass!" he cried.

    他撕下一条吸油纸，让我们看那些字迹，奥弗顿非常激动。他大喊道：“用放大镜看！”

    "That is unnecessary," said Holmes. "The paper is thin, and the reverse will give the message. Here it is." He turned it over and we read:（插图一）

    “那倒不必，”福尔摩斯说。“纸很薄，反面就可以看出写得是什么。这样。”他反转过来，我们辨认了一番。

    "So that is the tail end of the telegram which Godfrey Staunton dispatched within a few hours of his disappearance. There are at least six words of the message which have escaped us; but what remains— Stand by us for God's sake!'—proves that this young man saw a formidable danger which approached him, and from which someone else could protect him. Us,' mark you! Another person was involved. Who should it be but the pale-faced, bearded man, who seemed himself in so nervous a state? What, then, is the connection between Godfrey Staunton and the bearded man? And what is the third source from which each of them sought for help against pressing danger? Our inquiry has already narrowed down to that."

    “那么这就是戈弗雷·斯汤顿在失踪前几小时所拍电报的最后一句。至少有六个单词找不到了，但剩下的是——‘看在上帝的面子上支持我们！’——说明这个年轻人知道有危险临近，并且说明另外有人可以保护他。请注意，是‘我们’！涉及到另外一个人。除去那个面色苍白、满脸胡须、自己也显得十分紧张的人以外，还能是谁呢？那么，戈弗雷和这个大胡子又有什么关系呢？还有，面对逼近的危险，他们求援的第三方是什么人呢？我们心中的疑问已经缩小到这个问题。”

    "We have only to find to whom that telegram is addressed," I suggested.

    我建议说：“我们只要弄清电报是给谁拍的就好办了。”

    "Exactly, my dear Watson. Your reflection, though profound, had already crossed my mind. But I dare say it may have come to your notice that if you walk into a post-office and demand to see the counterfoil of another man's message there may be some disinclination on the part of the officials to oblige you. There is so much red tape in these matters! However, I have no doubt that with a little delicacy and finesse the end may be attained. Meanwhile, I should like in your presence, Mr. Overton, to go through these papers which have been left upon the table."

    “就是这样，亲爱的沃森。你的办法很有用，我也这么想过。可是我敢说，你也应该知道，如果去邮局要求看别人的电报底稿，他们大概不会乐意帮这个忙吧。繁琐的手续太多了。不过我相信，通过一些巧妙的手段可以办到。同时，奥弗顿先生，趁着你在现场，我想看看留在桌子上的那些文件。”

    There were a number of letters, bills, and note-books, which Holmes turned over and examined with quick, nervous fingers and darting, penetrating eyes. "Nothing here," he said, at last. "By the way, I suppose your friend was a healthy young fellow—nothing amiss with him?"

    桌子上有一些信件、账单和笔记本等，福尔摩斯用他那灵巧的手指、敏锐的眼睛利索地翻阅检查着。最后，他说：“没什么线索。另外，我看你的朋友斯汤顿是个头脑清醒的人，没什么毛病吧？”

    "Sound as a bell."

    “他身体好得很。”

    "Have you ever known him ill?"

    “你见过他生病吗？”

    "Not a day. He has been laid up with a hack, and once he slipped his knee-cap, but that was nothing."

    “一天都没生病过。他因为胫骨被踢伤而卧过床，还因为滑倒而伤了膝盖，不过那不算什么。”

    "Perhaps he was not so strong as you suppose. I should think he may have had some secret trouble. With your assent I will put one or two of these papers in my pocket, in case they should bear upon our future inquiry."

    “也许他不像你想得那样健壮。我想他可能有一些难以启齿的麻烦。如果你同意的话，我就拿走这桌子上的一两份材料，以备以后调查的时候要用。”

    "One moment—one moment!" cried a querulous voice, and we looked up to find a queer little old man, jerking and twitching in the doorway. He was dressed in rusty black, with a very broad brimmed top-hat and a loose white necktie—the whole effect being that of a very rustic parson or of an undertaker's mute. Yet, in spite of his shabby and even absurd appearance, his voice had a sharp crackle, and his manner a quick intensity which commanded attention.

    “等等，等等！” 忽然我们听到一个不满的声音，我们抬起头来，看见一个古怪的小老头，颤颤巍巍地站在门口。他穿着一件褪了色的黑色衣服，戴着宽边礼帽，系着白色宽领带——看上去土里土气，就像是殡仪馆的工人。尽管他衣衫褴褛，样子滑稽，但他说话的声音却很尖利，看起来像是有急事。这引起了我们的注意。

    "Who are you, sir, and by what right do you touch this gentleman's papers?" he asked.

    他问：“先生，你是谁？你有什么权力动这位先生的东西呢？”

    "I am a private detective, and I am endeavouring to explain his disappearance."

    “我是个私人侦探，我正试图弄清他为什么会失踪。”

    "Oh, you are, are you? And who instructed you, eh?"

    “哦，你是侦探？谁请你来的，嗯？”

    "This gentleman, Mr. Staunton's friend, was referred to me by Scotland Yard."

    “这位先生，斯汤顿的朋友。他是苏格兰场介绍给我的。”

    "Who are you, sir?"

    “先生，你是谁呢？”

    "I am Cyril Overton."

    “我是西里尔·奥弗顿。”

    "Then it is you who sent me a telegram. My name is Lord Mount-James. I came round as quickly as the Bayswater bus would bring me. So you have instructed a detective?"

    “那么，是你给我拍了一封电报吧？我是芒特·詹姆斯爵士，乘倍斯瓦特公共汽车以最快的速度赶了过来。你已经把事情委托给一位侦探来办了吗？”

    "Yes, sir."

    “是的，先生。”

    "And are you prepared to meet the cost?"

    “你准备付钱吗？”

    "I have no doubt, sir, that my friend Godfrey, when we find him, will be prepared to do that."

    “那是一定的，先生，要是我们能够找到我的朋友戈弗雷，他无疑是会付钱的。”

    "But if he is never found, eh? Answer me that!"

    “如果你永远也找不到他呢，嗯？回答我！”

    "In that case no doubt his family—"

    “那样的话，他的家人准会——”

    "Nothing of the sort, sir!" screamed the little man. "Don't look to me for a penny—not a penny! You understand that, Mr. Detective! I am all the family that this young man has got, and I tell you that I am not responsible. If he has any expectations it is due to the fact that I have never wasted money, and I do not propose to begin to do so now. As to those papers with which you are making so free, I may tell you that in case there should be anything of any value among them you will be held strictly to account for what you do with them."

    “没有这么回事，先生！”小老头尖声地喊，“别指望我付一个便士，一个子儿都没有！你明白吗？侦探先生！我是这个年轻人唯一的亲人。但是，我告诉你，我不负任何责任。如果他有什么期待的话，那是因为我从来不浪费一分钱，而且我现在也不打算这么做。至于你随意动的那些文件，我可以告诉你，万一里面有什么有价值东西，你可一定要对你的行为负责。”

    "Very good, sir," said Sherlock Holmes. "May I ask in the meanwhile whether you have yourself any theory to account for this young man's disappearance?"

    福尔摩斯说：“很好，先生。同时我能问您，对于这个青年的失踪，您有什么想法吗？”

    "No, sir, I have not. He is big enough and old enough to look after himself, and if he is so foolish as to lose himself I entirely refuse to accept the responsibility of hunting for him."

    “没有，先生。他已经长大了，年纪也不笑了，有能力照顾好自己，如果他愚蠢到连自己都弄丢了，我坚决拒绝负责找他。”

    "I quite understand your position," said Holmes, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Perhaps you don't quite understand mine. Godfrey Staunton appears to have been a poor man. If he has been kidnapped it could not have been for anything which he himself possesses. The fame of your wealth has gone abroad, Lord Mount-James, and it is entirely possible that a gang of thieves have secured your nephew in order to gain from him some information as to your house, your habits, and your treasure."

    “我十分了解您的处境。”福尔摩斯顽皮地眨眨眼，“也许，您不太了解我的意图吧。戈弗雷·斯汤顿看起来是个穷人。如果他被劫持，劫匪看上的可不是他的财产。芒特·詹姆斯爵士，您富有的名声在外，很有可能这伙劫匪抓住了您的侄子，就是为了从他那里了解您的住宅情况，日常起居，还有财富情况。”

    The face of our unpleasant little visitor turned as white as his neckcloth.

    这位令人不快的客人脸色突然煞白，和他的白色领带差不多。

    "Heavens, sir, what an idea! I never thought of such villainy! What inhuman rogues there are in the world! But Godfrey is a fine lad—a staunch lad. Nothing would induce him to give his old uncle away. I'll have the plate moved over to the bank this evening. In the meantime spare no pains, Mr. Detective! I beg you to leave no stone unturned to bring him safely back. As to money, well, so far as a fiver, or even a tenner, goes, you can always look to me."

    “天哪，先生，这太可怕了！我没想到有人会这样！这个世界怎么会有这么没人性的人呢？但是戈弗雷是个好孩子——顽强的孩子。他才不会出卖自己年迈的叔叔呢。我今天晚上就把我的财物送到银行去。同时，我求您，侦探先生，要千方百计，竭尽全力把他安全地找回来。至于钱嘛，五镑，甚至十镑，您尽管找我要。”

    Even in his chastened frame of mind the noble miser could give us no information which could help us, for he knew little of the private life of his nephew. Our only clue lay in the truncated telegram, and with a copy of this in his hand Holmes set forth to find a second link for his chain. We had shaken off Lord Mount-James, and Overton had gone to consult with the other members of his team over the misfortune which had befallen them.

    这位高贵的守财奴，即便他收敛他那怪癖，也不会对我们有半点儿用处，因为他根本不了解他侄子的个人生活。我们唯一的线索就只有那份残缺的电报了，福尔摩斯拿着抄录的电文，开始寻找另外的线索。我们把爵士打发走，而奥弗顿也去和其他队员商量怎么应对这个不幸的打击。

    There was a telegraph-office at a short distance from the hotel. We halted outside it.

    离旅馆不远有个邮电局。我们在邮局门口停下来，

    "It's worth trying, Watson," said Holmes. "Of course, with a warrant we could demand to see the counterfoils, but we have not reached that stage yet. I don't suppose they remember faces in so busy a place. Let us venture it."

    福尔摩斯说：“很值得一试，沃森。当然，有正当的理由，我们可以要去查看底稿，不过我们还没走到那一步。邮局这么忙，他们肯定不会记得我们的。让我们冒个险吧。”

    "I am sorry to trouble you," said he, in his blandest manner, to the young woman behind the grating; "there is some small mistake about a telegram I sent yesterday. I have had no answer, and I very much fear that I must have omitted to put my name at the end. Could you tell me if this was so?"

    他若无其事地对隔板对面的年轻女雇员说：“很抱歉打扰您，我昨天拍的电报有个小错误。我没收到回电，恐怕是没有在后面署上我的名字。您能帮我查查吗？”

    The young woman turned over a sheaf of counterfoils.

    年轻雇员翻看了一叠电报的底稿。

    "What o'clock was it?" she asked.

    她问：“几点拍的？”

    "A little after six."

    “6点过一点儿。”

    "Whom was it to?"

    “拍给谁呢？”

    Holmes put his finger to his lips and glanced at me. "The last words in it were 'for God's sake,' " he whispered, confidentially; "I am very anxious at getting no answer."

    福尔摩斯把手放在嘴唇上做出“嘘”的手势，看了我一眼。“最后几个字是‘看在上帝的份上'，"他自信地小声说道，“我急着等回电。”

    The young woman separated one of the forms.

    年轻的女雇员抽出一张底稿。

    "This is it. There is no name," said she, smoothing it out upon the counter.

    “就是这个。没有名字。”她说着，将底稿平铺在柜台上。

    "Then that, of course, accounts for my getting no answer," said Holmes. "Dear me, how very stupid of me, to be sure! Good morning, miss, and many thanks for having relieved my mind." He chuckled and rubbed his hands when we found ourselves in the street once more.

    福尔摩斯说：“怪不得我没有收到回电。哎呀，我太笨了，真是的！早安，女士，谢谢您让我弄清楚了。”当我们走回到了街上，福尔摩斯搓着手哈哈地笑了。

    "Well?" I asked.

    “怎么样？”我问。

    "We progress, my dear Watson, we progress. I had seven different schemes for getting a glimpse of that telegram, but I could hardly hope to succeed the very first time."

    “有进展了，沃森，有进展了。我想了七种不同的方法来看那个电报的底稿，可是我没想到一次便成功了。”

    "And what have you gained?"

    “那你得到什么线索？”

    "A starting-point for our investigation." He hailed a cab. "King's Cross Station," said he.

    “我们调查的出发点。”他叫了一辆马车。“去国王十字路车站，”他说。

    "We have a journey, then?"

    “我们要去很远的地方吗？”

    "Yes, I think we must run down to Cambridge together. All the indications seem to me to point in that direction."

    “是的，我想我们必须去趟剑桥。所有迹象表明，我们要去那里。”

    "Tell me," I asked, as we rattled up Gray's Inn Road, "have you any suspicion yet as to the cause of the disappearance? I don't think that among all our cases I have known one where the motives are more obscure. Surely you don't really imagine that he may be kidnapped in order to give information against his wealthy uncle?"

    “告诉我，”车驶过格雷饭店大路时，我问道，“对于斯汤顿失踪的原因，你有什么猜测吗？我们办的所有案子里还没有一个像这个案子这样动机不明的。你肯定不会真的认为劫持斯汤顿是为了获得对他叔叔不利的情报吧？”

    "I confess, my dear Watson, that that does not appeal to me as a very probable explanation. It struck me, however, as being the one which was most likely to interest that exceedingly unpleasant old person."

    “我承认，亲爱的沃森，那不是我的真实想法。不过，当时我突然想到这一点，那最能引起那可恶老头子的兴趣。”

    "It certainly did that. But what are your alternatives?"

    “那的确奏效了。但你还怎么想呢？”

    "I could mention several. You must admit that it is curious and suggestive that this incident should occur on the eve of this important match, and should involve the only man whose presence seems essential to the success of the side. It may, of course, be coincidence, but it is interesting. Amateur sport is free from betting, but a good deal of outside betting goes on among the public, and it is possible that it might be worth someone's while to get at a player as the ruffians of the turf get at a race-horse. There is one explanation. A second very obvious one is that this young man really is the heir of a great property, however modest his means may at present be, and it is not impossible that a plot to hold him for ransom might be concocted."

    “我可以提几点。你得承认，案子发生在重大比赛的前夕，这是很奇怪而且很有暗示性的，并且案子牵连到一个可以决定比赛胜负的队员。当然这也许只是巧合，不过这很有趣。业余比赛并不允许公开下注，但社会中会有人私下里打赌，很有可能像是那种赛马场的流氓，为了打赌获利而劫持了他。这是一种解释。另一解释是明摆着的，这个青年虽然现在没有钱，但他将来确实是大笔钱的继承者，很有可能是为了赎金，才扣留他。”

    "These theories take no account of the telegram."

    “这些理论都不能解释电报的内容。”

    "Quite true, Watson. The telegram still remains the only solid thing with which we have to deal, and we must not permit our attention to wander away from it. It is to gain light upon the purpose of this telegram that we are now upon our way to Cambridge. The path of our investigation is at present obscure, but I shall be very much surprised if before evening we have not cleared it up or made a considerable advance along it."

    “很对，沃森。电报的内容仍然是我们唯一要解决的难题，我们可不能想得太远。就是为了弄清这封电报的目的，我们才去剑桥的。我们调查的途径现在还没想好，但天黑前我们一定能搞清楚，并会大有进展的。

    It was already dark when we reached the old university city. Holmes took a cab at the station, and ordered the man to drive to the house of Dr. Leslie Armstrong. A few minutes later we had stopped at a large mansion in the busiest thoroughfare. We were shown in, and after a long wait were at last admitted into the consulting-room, where we found the doctor seated behind his table.

    当我们来到古老的大学城时，天已经黑了。福尔摩斯在火车站叫了一辆马车，叫车夫开到莱斯利·阿姆斯特朗大夫的家。几分钟后，我们的马车驶进一条繁华的街道，在一栋豪华的大房子前面停了下来。我们被领了进去，等了很久我们才被引到诊疗室，这位大夫坐在桌子后面。

    It argues the degree in which I had lost touch with my profession that the name of Leslie Armstrong was unknown to me. Now I am aware that he is not only one of the heads of the medical school of the university, but a thinker of European reputation in more than one branch of science. Yet even without knowing his brilliant record one could not fail to be impressed by a mere glance at the man, the square, massive face, the brooding eyes under the thatched brows, and the granite moulding of the inflexible jaw. A man of deep character, a man with an alert mind, grim, ascetic, self-contained, formidable—so I read Dr. Leslie Armstrong. He held my friend's card in his hand, and he looked up with no very pleased expression upon his dour features.

    莱斯利·阿姆斯特朗这个名字对我来说很陌生，这足以说明我与医学界失去了联系的程度之深。现在我才知道，他不仅是剑桥大学医学院的领军人物之一，而且在不少学科上都有很深的造诣，是个名扬欧洲的学者。甚至就算不知道他的巨大成就，单看他的外貌也一定会印象深刻的：饱满的国字脸，浓眉下一双思索的眼睛，倔强的下巴像是用大理石雕刻出来的。一个性格内敛，头脑机敏，严于律己，寡言少语，让人敬畏的人——这是我对阿姆斯特朗医生的印象。他拿着我朋友的名片，抬起头，阴郁的脸上没有一点儿欢喜的表情。

    "I have heard your name, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and I am aware of your profession-one of which I by no means approve."

    “舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生，我听说过你的名字，我也知道你的职业——这种职业我是绝对不赞成的。”

    "In that, Doctor, you will find yourself in agreement with every criminal in the country," said my friend, quietly.

    我的朋友平静地说：“你这样是对全国每一个罪犯的默许。”

    "So far as your efforts are directed towards the suppression of crime, sir, they must have the support of every reasonable member of the community, though I cannot doubt that the official machinery is amply sufficient for the purpose. Where your calling is more open to criticism is when you pry into the secrets of private individuals, when you rake up family matters which are better hidden, and when you incidentally waste the time of men who are more busy than yourself. At the present moment, for example, I should be writing a treatise instead of conversing with you."

    “至于你致力于制止犯罪的工作，先生，这会得到社会各界每个通情达理的人的支持，虽然我深信官方机构本身已经足以管好这些事。你刺探别人的私事，揭露本该隐藏的家族秘密，并且还时不时地浪费那些比你忙得多的人的时间，这正是您招致非议的地方。比如，此时，我应该在写一篇论文而不是和你谈话。”

    "No doubt, Doctor; and yet the conversation may prove more important than the treatise. Incidentally I may tell you that we are doing the reverse of what you very justly blame, and that we are endeavouring to prevent anything like public exposure of private matters which must necessarily follow when once the case is fairly in the hands of the official police. You may look upon me simply as an irregular pioneer who goes in front of the regular forces of the country. I have come to ask you about Mr. Godfrey Staunton."

    “正是如此，医生，不过事实证明这次谈话要比论文更重要。我可以顺便告诉你，我们正在做和你那看似公正的指责完全相反的事情，我们正在尽量防止私人事件公之于众——如果事情落到警察手中，这是必然会发生的结果。你可以把我当作一支走在正规军前面的非正规先遣队。我来是向您了解戈弗雷·斯汤顿先生的情况。”

    "What about him?"

    “他怎么了？”

    "You know him, do you not?"

    “您认识他，对吧？”

    "He is an intimate friend of mine."

    “他是我的密友。”

    "You are aware that he has disappeared?"

    “您知道他失踪了吗？”

    "Ah, indeed!" There was no change of expression in the rugged features of the doctor.

    “啊，真的吗？”医生凹凸不平的脸上没有任何表情的变化。

    "He left his hotel last night—he has not been heard of."

    “他昨天夜里离开了旅馆，就再也没有消息了。”

    "No doubt he will return."

    “他准会回来的。”

    "To-morrow is the 'Varsity football match."

    “明天就要举行大学橄榄球比赛了。”

    "I have no sympathy with these childish games. The young man's fate interests me deeply, since I know him and like him. The football match does not come within my horizon at all."

    “我可不喜欢这些孩子们的比赛。我认识他，也很喜欢他。这个年轻人的命运让我很感兴趣。举不举行球赛我可一点儿也不关心。”

    "I claim your sympathy, then, in my investigation of Mr. Staunton's fate. Do you know where he is?"

    “我请您协助我调查斯汤顿先生的情况。您知道他在哪吗？”

    "Certainly not."

    “当然不知道。”

    "You have not seen him since yesterday?"

    “昨天以来您没有见到他吗？”

    "No, I have not."

    “没有。”

    "Was Mr. Staunton a healthy man?"

    “斯汤顿先生身体很健康吗？”

    "Absolutely."

    “当然。”

    "Did you ever know him ill?"

    “您见过他生病吗？”

    "Never."

    “从来没有过。”

    Holmes popped a sheet of paper before the doctor's eyes. "Then perhaps you will explain this receipted bill for thirteen guineas, paid by Mr. Godfrey Staunton last month to Dr. Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge. I picked it out from among the papers upon his desk."

    福尔摩斯突然抽出一张单据摆在大夫眼前。那么，请您解释一下这张13几尼的单据，这是斯汤顿上月付给剑桥的阿姆斯特朗大夫的。我从他桌子上的文件中看到了这张单据。”

    The doctor flushed with anger.

    大夫气得脸都红了。

    "I do not feel that there is any reason why I should render an explanation to you, Mr. Holmes."

    “福尔摩斯先生，我觉得你没有理由要我提供解释。”

    Holmes replaced the bill in his note-book. "If you prefer a public explanation it must come sooner or later," said he. "I have already told you that I can hush up that which others will be bound to publish, and you would really be wiser to take me into your complete confidence."

    福尔摩斯把单据夹回他的笔记本里，说：“如果您愿意被曝光的话，这一天迟早会来的。我已经告诉过您，我可以把事情隐瞒下来，但别的侦探肯定会宣扬出去的。如果您足够聪明的话，就交代全部事情。”

    "I know nothing about it."

    “我什么也不知道。”

    "Did you hear from Mr. Staunton in London?"

    “斯汤顿在伦敦给您写过信吗？”

    "Certainly not."

    “没这回事。”

    "Dear me, dear me—the post-office again!" Holmes sighed, wearily. "A most urgent telegram was dispatched to you from London by Godfrey Staunton at six-fifteen yesterday evening—a telegram which is undoubtedly associated with his disappearance—and yet you have not had it. It is most culpable. I shall certainly go down to the office here and register a complaint."

    福尔摩斯不耐烦地叹了口气说：“天哪，天哪，又得拿出邮局的事来！昨天晚上6点15分，斯汤顿从伦敦给您发来紧急电报，毫无疑问，这封电报和他的失踪有关，可是，您没有收到。邮局难辞其咎。我一定要去邮局告上一状。”

    Dr. Leslie Armstrong sprang up from behind his desk, and his dark face was crimson with fury.

    阿姆斯特朗医生突然从桌子后面站起来，他黝黑的脸由于暴怒而变成了深红色。

    "I'll trouble you to walk out of my house, sir," said he. "You can tell your employer, Lord Mount ? James, that I do not wish to have anything to do either with him or with his agents. No, sir—not another word!" He rang the bell furiously. "John, show these gentlemen out!" A pompous butler ushered us severely to the door, and we found ourselves in the street. Holmes burst out laughing.

    他说：“先生，麻烦你请离开我的房间。你可以告诉你的雇主芒特·詹姆斯爵士，我不愿意和他本人以及他的代理人扯上关系。先生，一句话也别说了。”他愤怒地摇了摇铃。“约翰，把这两位先生送出去。”一个装模作样的管家神情严肃地把我们领出大门，我们来到了街上。福尔摩斯哈哈大笑起来。

    "Dr. Leslie Armstrong is certainly a man of energy and character," said he. "I have not seen a man who, if he turned his talents that way, was more calculated to fill the gap left by the illustrious Moriarty. And now, my poor Watson, here we are, stranded and friendless in this inhospitable town, which we cannot leave without abandoning our case. This little inn just opposite Armstrong's house is singularly adapted to our needs. If you would engage a front room and purchase the necessaries for the night, I may have time to make a few inquiries."

    他说：“阿姆斯特朗医生真是位精力充沛、个性强硬的人。我还没见过什么人，比他更适合解决著名的莫里亚蒂医生留下的问题呢，只要他把天赋用对地方。现在，沃森，我们就这么流落在了这个举目无亲的城镇里，可是不调查完这个案件我们是不能离开的。正对着阿姆斯特朗家的那个小旅馆很适合我们住。如果你去订一间临街的房间，并且买一些晚上需要的东西，我可以利用这些时间做几个调查。”

    These few inquiries proved, however, to be a more lengthy proceeding than Holmes had imagined, for he did not return to the inn until nearly nine o'clock. He was pale and dejected, stained with dust, and exhausted with hunger and fatigue. A cold supper was ready upon the table, and when his needs were satisfied and his pipe alight he was ready to take that half comic and wholly philosophic view which was natural to him when his affairs were going awry. The sound of carriage wheels caused him to rise and glance out of the window. A brougham and pair of greys under the glare of a gas-lamp stood before the doctor's door.

    然而，这些调查所花费的时间，比福尔摩斯预想的要长得多，将近晚上9点钟的时候，他才回到旅馆。他脸色苍白，神情沮丧，满身尘土，而且又饿又累。桌子上的晚餐已经凉了。他吃过饭，点上烟斗，准备开始大谈自己略带调侃而又富有哲学意味的观点——事情不顺的时候，他经常这样。这时传来一阵马车车轮的声音，他站了起来，向窗外望去。只见煤气灯的灯光下，一辆四轮马车由两匹灰马拉着，停在了医生的门前。

    "It's been out three hours," said Holmes; "started at halfpast six, and here it is back again. That gives a radius of ten or twelve miles, and he does it once, or sometimes twice, a day."

    福尔摩斯说：“出去了三个小时，6点半出门，现在回来了。那么可以走十到十二里，他每天出去一次，有时是两次。”

    "No unusual thing for a doctor in practice."

    “医生出诊并不是什么新奇的事。”

    "But Armstrong is not really a doctor in practice. He is a lecturer and a consultant, but he does not care for general practice, which distracts him from his literary work. Why, then, does he make these long journeys, which must be exceedingly irksome to him, and who is it that he visits?"

    “可是阿姆斯特朗并不是个一般的出诊医生。他是个讲师和会诊医生，他不看一般的病症，那会妨碍他的研究工作。那么他为什么要去那么远的地方——他一定很讨厌远行，但他是去看谁呢？”

    "His coachman—"

    “他的马车夫——”

    "My dear Watson, can you doubt that it was to him that I first applied? I do not know whether it came from his own innate depravity or from the promptings of his master, but he was rude enough to set a dog at me. Neither dog nor man liked the look of my stick, however, and the matter fell through. Relations were strained after that, and further inquiries out of the question. All that I have learned I got from a friendly native in the yard of our own inn. It was he who told me of the doctor's habits and of his daily journey. At that instant, to give point to his words, the carriage came round to the door."

    “亲爱的沃森，我最初是要找这个马车夫了解情况，你想不到吧？也不知道是由于他本身是个下流无耻的人，还是因为他主人的唆使，他竟然无礼到放出狗来追我。不管是人还是狗都不喜欢我这个样子，不管怎么说，事情没成功。之后关系就僵了，也就无法继续调查了。我得到的情况都来自一个友好的当地人，他就在这个旅馆工作。是他告诉了我关于医生的生活习惯和他日常出门的情况。我们正说着，马车就到了门前，刚好证实了他说的话。”

    "Could you not follow it?"

    “你没有跟踪马车吗？”

    "Excellent, Watson! You are scintillating this evening. The idea did cross my mind. There is, as you may have observed, a bicycle shop next to our inn. Into this I rushed, engaged a bicycle, and was able to get started before the carriage was quite out of sight. I rapidly overtook it, and then, keeping at a discreet distance of a hundred yards or so, I followed its lights until we were clear of the town. We had got well out on the country road when a somewhat mortifying incident occurred. The carriage stopped, the doctor alighted, walked swiftly back to where I had also halted, and told me in an excellent sardonic fashion that he feared the road was narrow, and that he hoped his carriage did not impede the passage of my bicycle. Nothing could have been more admirable than his way of putting it. I at once rode past the carriage, and, keeping to the main road, I went on for a few miles, and then halted in a convenient place to see if the carriage passed. There was no sign of it, however, and so it became evident that it had turned down one of several side roads which I had observed. I rode back, but again saw nothing of the carriage, and now, as you perceive, it has returned after me. Of course, I had at the outset no particular reason to connect these journeys with the disappearance of Godfrey Staunton, and was only inclined to investigate them on the general grounds that everything which concerns Dr. Armstrong is at present of interest to us; but, now that I find he keeps so keen a look-out upon anyone who may follow him on these excursions, the affair appears more important, and I shall not be satisfied until I have made the matter clear."

    “好极了，沃森！你今晚真是思维敏捷，想法与我不谋而合。你可能已经注意到了，紧挨着这家旅店的是一家自行车店。我冲进了自行车店，租了一辆自行车，在马车还没跑出视线前开始追赶。我拼命赶上了马车，并始终和它保持着约100码的距离。我跟着马车的灯光，直到出了城。在野外的大路上又走了好长一段，这时发生了一件让我很尴尬的事。马车停住了，医生下来了，他很快地往后走到我停下的地方，用十分嘲讽的口吻对我说，道路太窄，他担心马车会挡了我的路。他的话真是无比的巧妙啊。我只好超过马车，在大路上又骑了几英里，然后在一个方便停车的地方停了下来，看看马车是否还在。果然马车已经不见无踪，显然已经拐到我刚才看见的岔路上去了。我往回骑，但还是没有看见马车。正如你所见，它在我之后回来的。当然，我起初并没有刻意将他的出门和斯汤顿的失踪联系起来，至于为什么要跟踪阿姆斯特朗，只是因为我倾向于认为只要是和他有关的事，现在都值得我们关注。但是，现在我发现他很警惕，害怕别人跟踪他，那么他的外出就更重要了，我不把它搞清楚是不会罢休的。”

    "We can follow him to-morrow."

    “我们明天继续跟踪他。”

    "Can we? It is not so easy as you seem to think. You are not familiar with Cambridgeshire scenery, are you? It does not lend itself to concealment. All this country that I passed over to-night is as flat and clean as the palm of your hand, and the man we are following is no fool, as he very clearly showed to-night. I have wired to Overton to let us know any fresh London developments at this address, and in the meantime we can only concentrate our attention upon Dr. Armstrong, whose name the obliging young lady at the office allowed me to read upon the counterfoil of Staunton's urgent message. He knows where the young man is—to that I'll swear, and if he knows, then it must be our own fault if we cannot manage to know also. At present it must be admitted that the odd trick is in his possession, and, as you are aware, Watson, it is not my habit to leave the game in that condition."

    “我们行吗？那可不是像你想的那样容易。你不熟悉剑桥郡的地理情况吧？这里可没有什么可以躲藏的地方。我今晚走过的地方都像你的手掌般平坦，一目了然，而且我们所跟踪的人又不是一个傻子，他今天晚上已经表现得很充分了。我给奥弗顿拍了电报，要他往这里回电，告知我们伦敦那边任何的新进展。同时，我们只能集中精力关注阿姆斯特朗，我从邮局那位好心女士的电报底稿上看到了这个名字。他一定知道汤道顿在哪儿，这一点我敢发誓，如果他知道，而我们不设法弄明白，那就是我们自己的错了。目前，我们必须承认，决定胜负的关键牌还在他的手中。沃森，你是知道的，我不习惯半途而废。”

    And yet the next day brought us no nearer to the solution of the mystery. A note was handed in after breakfast, which Holmes passed across to me with a smile.

    但是第二天，我们仍然没有取得进展。早饭后有人送来一封信，福尔摩斯看过以后，笑了笑，递给了我。

    Sir [it ran]: I can assure you that you are wasting your time in dogging my movements. I have, as you discovered last night, a window at the back of my brougham, and if you desire a twenty-mile ride which will lead you to the spot from which you started, you have only to follow me. Meanwhile, I can inform you that no spying upon me can in any way help Mr. Godfrey Staunton, and I am convinced that the best service you can do to that gentleman is to return at once to London and to report to your employer that you are unable to trace him. Your time in Cambridge will certainly be wasted. Yours faithfully, LESLIE ARMSTRONG.

    信是这么写的：先生，我可以肯定地说，你们跟踪我是在浪费时间。正如你昨天晚上已经发现的那样，我的四轮马车后面有个窗户，如果你乐意来回折腾20里地，那就请便吧。同时我可以告诉你，你这样窥探我对戈弗雷·斯汤顿先生不会有什么好处。我可以告诉你，帮助他的最好方法是立刻回到伦敦去，向你的雇主说，你找不到他。你在剑桥只会白白浪费时间。你忠实的，莱斯利·阿姆斯特朗。

    "An outspoken, honest antagonist is the doctor," said Holmes. "Well, well, he excites my curiosity, and I must really know more before I leave him."

    福尔摩斯说：“这个医生是个坦诚而且直言不讳的对手。哎呀，他激起了我的好奇心，我一定要把事情弄清楚再走。”

    "His carriage is at his door now," said I. "There he is stepping into it. I saw him glance up at our window as he did so. Suppose I try my luck upon the bicycle?"

    我说：“马车就在他门前，他正要上车。我看见他又一次朝我们的窗户瞟了一眼。我骑车试试运气怎么样？”

    "No, no, my dear Watson! With all respect for your natural acumen I do not think that you are quite a match for the worthy doctor. I think that possibly I can attain our end by some independent explorations of my own. I am afraid that I must leave you to your own devices, as the appearance of two inquiring strangers upon a sleepy countryside might excite more gossip than I care for. No doubt you will find some sights to amuse you in this venerable city, and I hope to bring back a more favourable report to you before evening."

    “不不，亲爱的沃森。尽管你很聪明机智，但恐怕你不是这个医生的对手。我想我单独去试探试探或许能够达到我们的目的。恐怕你得留在这了，你想想，如果在这冷冷清清的乡村里突然冒出两个打听事的陌生人，一定会惹人说闲话的。你一定能在这座古老的城市发现一些名胜古迹去游玩，我希望傍晚之前能够给你带来好消息。”

    Once more, however, my friend was destined to be disappointed. He came back at night weary and unsuccessful.

    然而我的朋友又一次失望而归。他深夜才回到旅馆，非常疲倦且毫无成果。

    "I have had a blank day, Watson. Having got the doctor's general direction, I spent the day in visiting all the villages upon that side of Cambridge, and comparing notes with publicans and other local news agencies. I have covered some ground: Chesterton, Histon, Waterbeach, and Oakington have each been explored and have each proved disappointing. The daily appearance of a brougham and pair could hardly have been overlooked in such Sleepy Hollows. The doctor has scored once more. Is there a telegram for me?"

    “沃森，我今天又一无所获。弄清了医生去的大致方向，我花了一天时间走访了剑桥那一带的村庄，与当地的客栈老板和报社攀谈。我去了好几个地方，切斯特顿、希斯顿、沃特比奇和欧金顿都去了，可是都令我很失望。在这样僻静的地方天天出现两匹马拉的四轮马车，很难被人忽视啊。这一次医生又赢了。有我的电报吗？”

    "Yes; I opened it. Here it is: 'Ask for Pompey from Jeremy Dixon, Trinity College.' I don't understand it."

    “有，我拆开了。这样写的：‘向三一学院的杰里米·狄克逊要庞贝。’我不明白这份电报的意思。”

    "Oh, it is clear enough. It is from our friend Overton, and is in answer to a question from me. I'll just send round a note to Mr. Jeremy Dixon, and then I have no doubt that our luck will turn. By the way, is there any news of the match?"

    “哦，已经很清楚了。是我们的朋友奥弗顿拍来的，这是我的问题的答案。我只要给狄克逊先生写封信，我们的运气就不会这么背了。顺便问一下，比赛的事有消息吗？”

    "Yes, the local evening paper has an excellent account in its last edition. Oxford won by a goal and two ties. The last sentences of the description say: 'The defeat of the Light Blues may be entirely attributed to the unfortunate absence of the crack International, Godfrey Staunton, whose want was felt at every instant of the game. The lack of combination in the three-quarter line and their weakness both in attack and defence more than neutralized the efforts of a heavy and hard-working pack.'

    “本地晚报的最后一版上有详细报道。牛津以一分优势赢了一场，平了两场。报道的最后一句这么说的：‘穿淡蓝色球衣的剑桥队之所以输掉比赛，完全由于世界一流队员戈弗雷·斯汤顿的不幸缺席，这在比赛的每分每秒都有体现。中卫线上缺乏配合，进攻和防守都很薄弱，前锋再积极奋战也于事无补。’

    "Then our friend Overton's forebodings have been justified," said Holmes. "Personally I am in agreement with Dr. Armstrong, and football does not come within my horizon. Early to bed to-night, Watson, for I foresee that to-morrow may be an eventful day."

    福尔摩斯说：“那么，奥弗斯的预言被证实了。就我个人来说，我很同意阿姆斯特朗医生的看法，球赛可不关我的事。今晚早点儿睡吧，沃森。我敢断定，明天一定会发生很多事情。”

    I was horrified by my first glimpse of Holmes next morning, for he sat by the fire holding his tiny hypodermic syringe. I associated that instrument with the single weakness of his nature, and I feared the worst when I saw it glittering in his hand. He laughed at my expression of dismay, and laid it upon the table.

    第二天早晨我一眼就看到福尔摩斯坐在火炉旁，手里拿着小型的皮下注射的针管，不禁大吃一惊。那个注射器使我联想到他那脆弱的体质，我很怕他会出事。他看到我惊恐的样子，笑了笑，把针管放到了桌子上。

    "No, no, my dear fellow, there is no cause for alarm. It is not upon this occasion the instrument of evil, but it will rather prove to be the key which will unlock our mystery. On this syringe I base all my hopes. I have just returned from a small scouting expedition and everything is favourable. Eat a good breakfast, Watson, for I propose to get upon Dr. Armstrong's trail to-day, and once on it I will not stop for rest or food until I run him to his burrow."

    “不不，亲爱的朋友，不用担心。这回，这个注射器可不是什么罪恶了，反倒是解开谜底的关键了。我把希望完全寄托在这个针管上了。我刚刚去侦查了一下回来，一切都很顺利。沃森，好好吃顿早饭，我们今天要追踪阿姆斯特朗医生。只要一开始，不追到他的老窝，我是不会停下来吃饭休息的。”

    "In that case," said I, "we had best carry our breakfast with us, for he is making an early start. His carriage is at the door."

    “那样的话，我们最好把早餐带走吃吧，他总是走得很早。他的马车已经等在楼下了。”

    "Never mind. Let him go. He will be clever if he can drive where I cannot follow him. When you have finished come downstairs with me, and I will introduce you to a detective who is a very eminent specialist in the work that lies before us."

    “别着急。让他先走。他要是跑到我跟不到的地方，就算他聪明。吃完早饭下楼找我，我要向你介绍一位出色的侦探，他是我们手头这类案子的专家。”

    When we descended I followed Holmes into the stable yard, where he opened the door of a loose-box and led out a squat, lop-eared, white-and-tan dog, something between a beagle and a foxhound.

    我下楼后，跟着福尔摩斯来到有马厩的院子里，他打开马房门，放出一条猎狗。这条狗矮墩墩的，耳朵下垂，黄白相间，样子介于小猎兔犬和猎狐犬之间。

    "Let me introduce you to Pompey," said he. "Pompey is the pride of the local draghounds-no very great flier, as his build will show, but a staunch hound on a scent. Well, Pompey, you may not be fast, but I expect you will be too fast for a couple of middle-aged London gentlemen, so I will take the liberty of fastening this leather leash to your collar. Now, boy, come along, and show what you can do." He led him across to the doctor's door. The dog sniffed round for an instant, and then with a shrill whine of excitement started off down the street, tugging at his leash in his efforts to go faster. In half an hour, we were clear of the town and hastening down a country road.

    他说：“让我把庞贝介绍给你。庞贝是当地追踪猎犬的骄傲，虽然从它的体型看得出来它不是最快的，但却是最棒的追踪犬。庞贝，也许你并不快，但你可比两个伦敦来的中年绅士快多了，所以只好给你的脖子套上皮带。好，庞贝，去吧，今天就看你的了。”福尔摩斯把狗领到对面大夫家门前。狗到处嗅了一会儿，然后兴奋地尖叫了一声，便向大街跑去，我们拉着皮带尽力追着它。半小时后，我们已经完全出了城，飞跑在乡村的大路上。

    "What have you done, Holmes?" I asked.

    我问：“福尔摩斯，你做了什么？”

    "A threadbare and venerable device, but useful upon occasion. I walked into the doctor's yard this morning and shot my syringe full of aniseed over the hind wheel. A draghound will follow aniseed from here to John o' Groat's, and our friend Armstrong would have to drive through the Cam before he would shake Pompey off his trail. Oh, the cunning rascal! This is how he gave me the slip the other night."

    “这是个老套又经典的办法，不过有时很有用。我今天清早到医生的院子里，在马车后轮上洒了满满一针管的茴香子油。一头猎犬闻到茴香子气味会从源头一直追到天涯海角，我们的朋友阿姆斯特朗只有穿过整个剑桥才有可能甩掉庞贝！这个狡猾的家伙！那天晚上他就是这样甩开了我。”

    The dog had suddenly turned out of the main road into a grass-grown lane. Half a mile farther this opened into another broad road, and the trail turned hard to the right in the direction of the town, which we had just quitted. The road took a sweep to the south of the town and continued in the opposite direction to that in which we started.

    狗突然从大路转到一条长满野草的小路上。又向前走了半英里，上了一条大路，然后向右拐去，朝着城镇的方向返回，这正是我们刚离开的地方。大路继续向南转，与我们刚才出发的方向正好相反。

    "This d?tour has been entirely for our benefit, then?" said Holmes. "No wonder that my inquiries among those villages led to nothing. The doctor has certainly played the game for all it is worth, and one would like to know the reason for such elaborate deception. This should be the village of Trumpington to the right of us. And, by Jove! here is the brougham coming round the corner. Quick, Watson—quick, or we are done!"

    福尔摩斯说：“这个迂回完全对我们有利！怪不得我在村子里怎么也调查不出个所以然。医生这个游戏玩得真好，我很想知道他为什么要精心设计这样一个骗局。右边一定是川平顿村了。啊，马车要拐过来了！快点儿，沃森，快，要不我们就完了！”

    He sprang through a gate into a field, dragging the reluctant Pompey after him. We had hardly got under the shelter of the hedge when the carriage rattled past. I caught a glimpse of Dr. Armstrong within, his shoulders bowed, his head sunk on his hands, the very image of distress. I could tell by my companion's graver face that he also had seen.

    福尔摩斯跳进田里的篱笆门，一把将不听话的庞贝也拉里进去。我们刚刚躲好，马车就咕噜咕噜地驶了过去。我看见车里的阿姆斯特朗医生了，他驼着背，双手抱头，非常悲伤的样子。我从福尔摩斯那严肃的神情看出他也注意到了这一点。

    "I fear there is some dark ending to our quest," said he. "It cannot be long before we know it. Come, Pompey! Ah, it is the cottage in the field!"

    他说：“恐怕我们的调查要以悲剧收尾了。不久答案就会揭晓。来吧，庞贝。啊，就是田间的那间茅舍！”

    There could be no doubt that we had reached the end of our journey. Pompey ran about and whined eagerly outside the gate where the marks of the brougham's wheels were still to be seen. A footpath led across to the lonely cottage. Holmes tied the dog to the hedge, and we hastened onwards. My friend knocked at the little rustic door, and knocked again without response. And yet the cottage was not deserted, for a low sound came to our ears—a kind of drone of misery and despair, which was indescribably melancholy. Holmes paused irresolute, and then he glanced back at the road which we had just traversed. A brougham was coming down it, and there could be no mistaking those grey horses.

    毫无疑问，我们来到了旅行的终点。庞贝在门外到处乱跑，使劲地叫，在那儿，四轮马车车轮的痕迹还依稀可见。一条小道通向这个孤零零的农舍。福尔摩斯把狗拴在篱笆上，我们急忙向前走去。福尔摩斯敲了敲简陋的小门，许久没人答应。可是屋子里并不是空无一人，因为我们听到有低沉的声音从里面传来，是一种痛苦绝望的悲泣，内含无法描述的悲伤。福尔摩斯迟疑了一下，然后回头看了看我们刚才穿过的大路。一辆四轮马车正在大路上行驶着，有一对灰色的马，就是大夫的马车，错不了。

    "By Jove, the doctor is coming back!" cried Holmes. "That settles it. We are bound to see what it means before he comes."

    福尔摩斯喊道：“天那，医生又回来了！这回问题解决了。我们一定要在他来之前搞清楚怎么回事。

    He opened the door and we stepped into the hall. The droning sound swelled louder upon our ears until it became one long, deep wail of distress. It came from upstairs. Holmes darted up and I followed him. He pushed open a half-closed door and we both stood appalled at the sight before us.

    他推开门，我们走进门厅。低沉的声音渐渐大了起来，直到变成如泣如诉的呜咽。声音从楼上传来。福尔摩斯急忙走上去，我跟在他身后。他推开半掩的房门，眼前出现的景象使我们都惊呆了。

    A woman, young and beautiful, was lying dead upon the bed. Her calm, pale face, with dim, wide-opened blue eyes, looked upward from amid a great tangle of golden hair. At the foot of the bed, half sitting, half kneeling, his face buried in the clothes, was a young man, whose frame was racked by his sobs. So absorbed was he by his bitter grief that he never looked up until Holmes's hand was on his shoulder.

    一位年轻而又美丽的女子躺在床上，死了。她苍白而又宁静的脸庞黯淡没有生气，一双空洞无神的蓝眼睛透过乱蓬蓬的金发向上翻。床边，一个年轻人半跪着，用衣服蒙着头，哭得浑身颤抖。他沉浸在巨大悲伤之中，直到福尔摩斯的手搭在他的肩膀上，他才抬起头来。

    "Are you Mr. Godfrey Staunton?"

    “你是戈弗雷·斯汤顿先生吗？”

    "Yes, yes; I am—but you are too late. She is dead."

    “是的，是我，我是——但是您太晚了。她已经死了。”

    The man was so dazed that he could not be made to understand that we were anything but doctors who had been sent to his assistance. Holmes was endeavouring to utter a few words of consolation, and to explain the alarm which had been caused to his friends by his sudden disappearance, when there was a step upon the stairs, and there was the heavy, stern, questioning face of Dr. Armstrong at the door.

    这位青年被悲伤冲昏了头脑，他没搞明白我们根本不是派来看病的医生。福尔摩斯正试着说几句安慰的话，告诉他，他的突然失踪让朋友们多么担心。这时，楼梯上传来了脚步声，阿姆斯特朗医生出现在门口，他脸上交织着沉痛、严峻和质问的神情。

    "So, gentlemen," said he, "you have attained your end, and have certainly chosen a particularly delicate moment for your intrusion. I would not brawl in the presence of death, but I can assure you that if I were a younger man your monstrous conduct would not pass with impunity."

    他说：“先生们，你们终于达到了目的，并且在这样危急的时刻来打搅我们。我不能在死者面前大吵大嚷，但是我可以告诉你们，如果我再年轻一点儿，绝不会饶恕你们这种恶劣的行径。”

    "Excuse me, Dr. Armstrong, I think we are a little at cross-purposes," said my friend, with dignity. "If you could step downstairs with us we may each be able to give some light to the other upon this miserable affair."

    我的朋友十分庄重地说：“阿姆斯特朗医生，请原谅。我想我们彼此有些误会。如果您能随我们下楼来，我们可以互相解释一下，谈谈这件不幸的事。”

    A minute later the grim doctor and ourselves were in the sitting-room below.

    不一会儿，这位严厉的医生随我们来到楼下的客厅。

    "Well, sir?" said he.

    他说：“先生，请说！”

    "I wish you to understand, in the first place, that I am not employed by Lord Mount-James, and that my sympathies in this matter are entirely against that nobleman. When a man is lost it is my duty to ascertain his fate, but having done so the matter ends so far as I am concerned; and so long as there is nothing criminal, I am much more anxious to hush up private scandals than to give them publicity. If, as I imagine, there is no breach of the law in this matter, you can absolutely depend upon my discretion and my co-operation in keeping the facts out of the papers."

    “首先，我希望您能理解我并不是芒特·詹姆斯爵士的代理人，并且在这件事上，我绝对不同意爵士的意见。一个人失踪了，我有责任弄清他的下落。既然我的工作进展到现在并没有什么犯罪出现，我更希望能息事宁人而不是把事情闹大。我想如果没有什么违法的地方，您可以完全相信我会守口如瓶，不会将此事公之于众。”

    Dr. Armstrong took a quick step forward and wrung Holmes by the hand.

    阿姆斯特朗医生迅速向前走了一步，握住福尔摩斯的手。

    "You are a good fellow," said he. "I had misjudged you. I thank Heaven that my compunction at leaving poor Staunton all alone in this plight caused me to turn my carriage back, and so to make your acquaintance. Knowing as much as you do, the situation is very easily explained. A year ago Godfrey Staunton lodged in London for a time, and became passionately attached to his landlady's daughter, whom he married. She was as good as she was beautiful, and as intelligent as she was good. No man need be ashamed of such a wife. But Godfrey was the heir to this crabbed old nobleman, and it was quite certain that the news of his marriage would have been the end of his inheritance. I knew the lad well, and I loved him for his many excellent qualities. I did all I could to help him to keep things straight. We did our very best to keep the thing from everyone, for when once such a whisper gets about it is not long before everyone has heard it. Thanks to this lonely cottage and his own discretion, Godfrey has up to now succeeded. Their secret was known to no one save to me and to one excellent servant who has at present gone for assistance to Trumpington. But at last there came a terrible blow in the shape of dangerous illness to his wife. It was consumption of the most virulent kind. The poor boy was half crazed with grief, and yet he had to go to London to play this match, for he could not get out of it without explanations which would expose his secret. I tried to cheer him up by a wire, and he sent me one in reply imploring me to do all I could. This was the telegram which you appear in some inexplicable way to have seen. I did not tell him how urgent the danger was, for I knew that he could do no good here, but I sent the truth to the girl's father, and he very injudiciously communicated it to Godfrey. The result was that he came straight away in a state bordering on frenzy, and has remained in the same state, kneeling at the end of her bed, until this morning death put an end to her sufferings. That is all, Mr. Holmes, and I am sure that I can rely upon your discretion and that of your friend."

    “你是一个好人。”他说，“我错怪你了。谢天谢地，我不放心可怜的斯道顿独自一人，所以又折了回来，这样才认识了你。既然你已经知道了这些情况，问题便好解释了。一年以前斯汤顿在伦敦住了一段时间，疯狂地爱上了房东的女儿，并娶她为妻。她是那么善良、美丽，而且冰雪聪明，没有哪个男人会不羡慕他有这样的妻子。但是戈弗雷是那个脾气乖戾的贵族的继承人，如果结婚的消息传到他那儿，戈弗雷一定会失去财产继承权。我十分了解这个青年人，也很喜欢他，他身上有许多优秀品质。我尽量帮他摆平这件事。我们尽力不让外人知道这件事，因为只要走漏一点儿风声，没多久就会人尽皆知。由于这所农舍很偏僻，而且斯汤顿很谨慎，所以他成功地瞒住了这事。他们的秘密只有我和一个忠实的仆人知道，现在这个仆人去川平顿了。但是悲剧最终还是降临了，他的妻子得了重病，是一种很严重的肺病。可怜的孩子愁得快疯了，但他还得去伦敦完成比赛，请假需要说明理由，但这样的话，秘密就会暴露了。我发电报安慰他，他回电请求我尽力帮助他。那就是你不知怎么搞到的电报。我没告诉他病情有多么危急，因为他在这儿也帮不上忙。但是我把真实情况告诉了女孩的父亲，而她父亲办事很不周到，把这事告诉了斯汤顿。结果，他发疯似的直接赶了回来，一直跪在床前，直到今天早上，死亡结束了她的痛苦。事情就是这样，福尔摩斯先生，我相信您和您朋友的慎重。”

    Holmes grasped the doctor's hand.

    福尔摩斯紧握了一下医生的手。

    "Come, Watson," said he, and we passed from that house of grief into the pale sunlight of the winter day.

    “走吧，沃森。”福尔摩斯对我说。我们离开了那个充满悲伤的房间，走进冬季苍白无力的阳光之下。

    The Adventure of the Abbey Grange

    格兰其庄园

    It was on a bitterly cold and frosty morning during the winter of '97 that I was awakened by a tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes. The candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face and told me at a glance that something was amiss.

    那是1897年的冬天，一个严寒霜冻的黎明，有人推我的肩膀，把我叫醒。是福尔摩斯。他手中的蜡烛照正照在他俯着的脸上，我一看他那急切的表情就知道一定出事了。

    "Come, Watson, come!" he cried. "The game is afoot. Not a word! Into your clothes and come!"

    “快，沃森，快！”他喊道，“情况紧急。什么都不要问！穿上衣服就走！”

    Ten minutes later we were both in a cab and rattling through the silent streets on our way to Charing Cross Station. The first faint winter's dawn was beginning to appear, and we could dimly see the occasional figure of an early workman as he passed us, blurred and indistinct in the opalescent London reek. Holmes nestled in silence into his heavy coat, and I was glad to do the same, for the air was most bitter and neither of us had broken our fast. It was not until we had consumed some hot tea at the station, and taken our places in the Kentish train, that we were sufficiently thawed, he to speak and I to listen. Holmes drew a note from his pocket and read it aloud: "Abbey Grange, Marsham, Kent, "3:30 A.M.

    十分钟后，我们坐在马车上，马车在寂静的街道上隆隆地行进，直奔查林十字街火车站。冬日一抹熹微的晨光渐渐显现，我们只能时不时地依稀看到一两个早班工人的轮廓，消逝在伦敦鱼白色的晨雾中。福尔摩斯裹在他那厚厚的大衣里一言不发，我也一样，因为周围的空气实在太冷，而且我们谁也没有吃早饭。我们在车站喝了点儿热茶，走进开往肯特郡的列车车厢，找到座位坐了下来，直到这时我们才暖和过来。福尔摩斯开始讲，我静静地听着。他从口袋里拿出一封信，大声读道：“肯特郡，玛尔舍姆，格兰其庄园，凌晨3点30分。

    "My dear Mr. Holmes: I should be very glad of your immediate assistance in what promises to be a most remarkable case. It is something quite in your line. Except for releasing the lady I will see that everything is kept exactly as I have found it, but I beg you not to lose an instant, as it is difficult to leave Sir Eustace there. "Yours faithfully, "STANLEY HOPKINS.

    “亲爱的福尔摩斯先生：我希望您能立即前来协助我解决这个极其特殊的案子。这是您拿手的那一类案子。除了放出那位夫人之外，我保证一切都保持原样，我请求您火速赶来，因为将尤斯塔斯爵士留在那儿很不合适。“您忠实的，“斯坦利·霍普金斯。

    "Hopkins has called me in seven times, and on each occasion his summons has been entirely justified," said Holmes. "I fancy that every one of his cases has found its way into your collection, and I must admit, Watson, that you have some power of selection which atones for much which I deplore in your narratives. Your fatal habit of looking at everything from the point of view of a story instead of as a scientific exercise has ruined what might have been an instructive and even classical series of demonstrations. You slur over work of the utmost finesse and delicacy in order to dwell upon sensational details which may excite, but cannot possibly instruct, the reader."

    “霍普金斯找过我七次了，事实证明，他的确每次都需要我的帮助。”福尔摩斯说，“我猜你已经把他找我办的每一件案子都收录在你的集子里了吧，沃森，我必须承认，你很会选材，这在很大程度上弥补了你在叙述方面的不足。你致命的缺点是，总是从讲故事的角度来看问题，而不是去分析破案的科学性，这样就毁掉了那些典型案例的示范作用。你把破案所用到的微妙技巧都一笔带过，以便尽情地描写扣人心弦的情节，这样也许十分引人入胜，但并不能使读者得到指导。”

    "Why do you not write them yourself?" I said, with some bitterness.

    “那你干嘛不自己写呢？”我酸溜溜地说。

    "I will, my dear Watson, I will. At present I am, as you know, fairly busy, but I propose to devote my declining years to the composition of a text-book which shall focus the whole art of detection into one volume. Our present research appears to be a case of murder."

    “我会的，亲爱的沃森，我会的。你也知道，目前我很忙，但我准备在晚年写一本教材，将所有的探案艺术都囊括在内。我们现在面临的案子是一起谋杀案。”

    "You think this Sir Eustace is dead, then?"

    “这么说你认为尤斯塔斯爵士已经死了？”

    "I should say so. Hopkins's writing shows considerable agitation, and he is not an emotional man. Yes, I gather there has been violence, and that the body is left for our inspection. A mere suicide would not have caused him to send for me. As to the release of the lady, it would appear that she has been locked in her room during the tragedy. We are moving in high life, Watson; crackling paper, 'E. B.'monogram, coat-of-arms, picturesque address. I think that friend Hopkins will live up to his reputation and that we shall have an interesting morning. The crime was committed before twelve last night."

    “我想是的。从霍普金斯的信看出他十分焦虑，他可不是一个容易情绪激动的人。是的，我想一定是有人被害了，等着我们去检查尸体。如果只是自杀，他是不会找上我的。信中说到放出那位女士，似乎案发时她被锁在屋里。沃森，这个案件是发生在一个上等家族，他们使用的信纸很光滑，十分高档，上面有'E. B.'字母交织的家徽，做的很别致。我想我们的朋友霍普金斯可不是等闲之辈，我们今天上午有得忙了。谋杀是昨晚12点之前发生的。”

    "How can you possibly tell?"

    “你怎么知道的？”

    "By an inspection of the trains and by reckoning the time. The local police had to be called in, they had to communicate with Scotland Yard, Hopkins had to go out, and he in turn had to send for me. All that makes a fair night's work. Well, here we are at Chislehurst Station, and we shall soon set our doubts at rest."

    “算一下火车往来以及办事的时间就可以知道。出事后要找当地的警察，警察再报告苏格兰场，然后霍普金斯去现场，还要发信找我。这一切需要一整夜的功夫。好，到齐塞尔贺斯特火车站了，我们的疑问马上就能解决。”

    A drive of a couple of miles through narrow country lanes brought us to a park gate, which was opened for us by an old lodge-keeper, whose haggard face bore the reflection of some great disaster. The avenue ran through a noble park, between lines of ancient elms, and ended in a low, widespread house, pillared in front after the fashion of Palladio. The central part was evidently of a great age and shrouded in ivy, but the large windows showed that modern changes had been carried out, and one wing of the house appeared to be entirely new. The youthful figure and alert, eager face of Inspector Stanley Hopkins confronted us in the open doorway.

    我们在狭窄的乡村小道上匆忙地赶了几英里的路，来到一座庄园的门前。一个看门的老人给我们打开了大门，他憔悴的面容证实这里确实发生了惨案。一条林荫大道穿过整座豪华的庄园，穿过两侧成排的老榆树，尽头是一座不高但面积庞大的宅子，正面立着帕拉弟奥风格的柱子。宅子的主体部分看起来很古老，掩映在常春藤之中，但是新式的巨大窗户显然是后来改建的，宅子的其中一侧则看起来完全是新的。霍普金斯侦探正站在门廊里，年轻机智的脸上满是急切。

    "I'm very glad you have come, Mr. Holmes. And you too, Dr. Watson! But, indeed, if I had my time over again I should not have troubled you, for since the lady has come to herself she has given so clear an account of the affair that there is not much left for us to do. You remember that Lewisham gang of burglars?"

    “我很高兴你能来，福尔摩斯先生。还有你，沃森医生！不过，确实情况紧急，要不我不会麻烦你们的。夫人已经恢复意识，而且她的描述足够明确，所以我们要做的并不多。您还记得路易山姆那伙强盗吗？”

    "What, the three Randalls?"

    “怎么，那三个姓兰德尔的家伙吗？”

    "Exactly; the father and two sons. It's their work. I have not a doubt of it. They did a job at Sydenham a fortnight ago, and were seen and described. Rather cool to do another so soon and so near, but it is they, beyond all doubt. It's a hanging matter this time."

    “是的，父亲和两个儿子。是他们干的，毫无疑问。两个星期前，有目击者称他们在西顿汉姆做了案。这么快就又犯案了，真是些亡命之徒，一定是他们干的没错。这回一定要把他们绞死。”

    "Sir Eustace is dead, then?"

    “那么尤斯塔斯爵士死了。”

    "Yes; his head was knocked in with his own poker."

    “尤斯塔斯爵士头部被拨火棒击中了。”

    "Sir Eustace Brackenstall, the driver tells me."

    “车夫在路上告诉我，爵士的姓名是尤斯塔斯·布莱肯斯特尔。”

    "Exactly—one of the richest men in Kent—Lady Brackenstall is in the morning-room. Poor lady, she has had a most dreadful experience. She seemed half dead when I saw her first. I think you had best see her and hear her account of the facts. Then we will examine the dining-room together."

    “不错，他是肯特郡最有钱的人之一。布莱肯斯特尔夫人正在起居室。可怜的女人，她遭遇了这件十分可怕的事情。我第一眼看到她时，她简直奄奄一息了。我想您最好见见她，听听她对案子的描述。然后我们一起检查餐厅。”

    Lady Brackenstall was no ordinary person. Seldom have I seen so graceful a figure, so womanly a presence, and so beautiful a face. She was a blonde, golden-haired, blue-eyed, and would, no doubt, have had the perfect complexion which goes with such colouring had not her recent experience left her drawn and haggard. Her sufferings were physical as well as mental, for over one eye rose a hideous, plum-coloured swelling, which her maid, a tall, austere woman, was bathing assiduously with vinegar and water. The lady lay back exhausted upon a couch, but her quick, observant gaze as we entered the room, and the alert expression of her beautiful features, showed that neither her wits nor her courage had been shaken by her terrible experience. She was enveloped in a loose dressing-gown of blue and silver, but a black sequin-covered dinner-dress was hung upon the couch beside her.

    布莱肯斯特尔夫人是个不平凡的女人。我很少见过像她这样气质高雅，性情温婉，仪态万方的女人。她皮肤白皙，金发碧眼，刚刚发生的悲剧并没有给她姣好的面容留下黯淡、憔悴的痕迹，仍是那么动人。但她忍受着肉体上和精神上的双重折磨，一只眼睛红肿，她的女仆——一个不苟言笑的高个女人，正用稀释了的醋给她冲洗着眼睛。夫人疲惫地躺在睡椅上，她灵动、敏锐的目光紧盯着我们走进房间，美丽的脸庞上机警的神情表明，不幸并没有夺走她的勇气和智慧。她穿着一件宽松的蓝白晨衣，睡椅上还搭着一件亮片镶边的黑色餐服。

    "I have told you all that happened, Mr. Hopkins," she said, wearily; "could you not repeat it for me? Well, if you think it necessary, I will tell these gentlemen what occurred. Have they been in the dining-room yet?"

    “我已经告诉您发生的一切了，霍普金斯先生，”她厌倦地说，“您就不能替我重复一遍吗？唉，如果您认为必要的话，我就再讲一遍吧。他们去过餐厅了吗？”

    "I thought they had better hear your ladyship's story first."

    “我认为他们最好先听夫人您的讲述再去。”

    "I shall be glad when you can arrange matters. It is horrible to me to think of him still lying there." She shuddered and buried her face in her hands. As she did so the loose gown fell back from her forearms. Holmes uttered an exclamation.

    “这样安排也好。一想到他还躺在那里，我就感到毛骨悚然。”她浑身颤抖，以手掩面。当她抬起手时，宽松的晨衣滑下，露出她的前臂。福尔摩斯惊叫一声：

    "You have other injuries, madam! What is this?" Two vivid red spots stood out on one of the white, round limbs. She hastily covered it.

    “您还有伤口，夫人！这怎么回事？”她白皙浑圆的手臂上清晰地露出两个红肿伤痕。她急忙把伤口掩盖了。

    "It is nothing. It has no connection with the hideous business of last night. If you and your friend will sit down I will tell you all I can.

    “这没什么。这和昨晚的悲剧没什么关系。您和您的朋友都请坐，我把事情全部告诉你们。

    "I am the wife of Sir Eustace Brackenstall. I have been married about a year. I suppose that it is no use my attempting to conceal that our marriage has not been a happy one. I fear that all our neighbours would tell you that, even if I were to attempt to deny it. Perhaps the fault may be partly mine. I was brought up in the freer, less conventional atmosphere of South Australia, and this English life, with its proprieties and its primness, is not congenial to me. But the main reason lies in the one fact which is notorious to everyone, and that is that Sir Eustace was a confirmed drunkard. To be with such a man for an hour is unpleasant. Can you imagine what it means for a sensitive and high-spirited woman to be tied to him for day and night? It is a sacrilege, a crime, a villainy to hold that such a marriage is binding. I say that these monstrous laws of yours will bring a curse upon the land-God will not let such wickedness endure." For an instant she sat up, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes blazing from under the terrible mark upon her brow. Then the strong, soothing hand of the austere maid drew her head down on to the cushion, and the wild anger died away into passionate sobbing. At last she continued: "I will tell you about last night. You are aware, perhaps, that in this house all servants sleep in the modern wing. This central block is made up of the dwelling-rooms, with the kitchen behind and our bedroom above. My maid Theresa sleeps above my room. There is no one else, and no sound could alarm those who are in the farther wing. This must have been well known to the robbers, or they would not have acted as they did.

    “我是尤斯塔斯·布莱肯斯特尔爵士的妻子。我们结婚约一年了。我们的婚姻并不幸福，我想我没必要掩盖这个事实。即使我否认，邻居们也会告诉您的。也许，我有一定的责任。我是在澳大利亚南部自由而开明的环境中长大的，这种古板且苛求礼仪的英国生活并不合我意。不过主要原因在于一件众所周知的事情——布莱肯斯特尔爵士酗酒成性。和这种人在一起，哪怕是一小时，也会使人感到很不愉快。一个敏感、活泼的女人整日整夜拴在他身边，您能想象出意味着什么吗？要是谁认为这样的婚姻必须维持下去，那简直就是亵渎神明，是犯罪，是罪恶。我敢说你们这些荒谬的法律会带来诅咒的，上帝绝不会让这些邪恶继续下去。”她突然坐直身子，两颊绯红，青紫的眼眶里冒着愤怒的凶光。那个神情严厉的女仆用温和而有力的手将夫人的头枕在靠垫上，她那强烈的愤恨渐渐变成了激动的呜咽。终于她继续道：“我给你们讲讲昨晚吧。你们也许注意到，这里所有的仆人都睡在新建的侧厅里。这栋主楼包括起居室、后面的厨房和楼上我们的卧室。我的女仆特里萨睡在我楼上。没有别人了，无论什么响声都不会惊醒远住在侧厅的仆人们。强盗们应该对这个情况了如指掌，否则他们不会轻举妄动。

    "Sir Eustace retired about half-past ten. The servants had already gone to their quarters. Only my maid was up, and she had remained in her room at the top of the house until I needed her services. I sat until after eleven in this room, absorbed in a book. Then I walked round to see that all was right before I went upstairs. It was my custom to do this myself, for, as I have explained, Sir Eustace was not always to be trusted. I went into the kitchen, the butler's pantry, the gun-room, the billiard-room, the drawing-room, and finally the dining-room. As I approached the window, which is covered with thick curtains, I suddenly felt the wind blow upon my face and realized that it was open. I flung the curtain aside and found myself face to face with a broad-shouldered, elderly man who had just stepped into the room. The window is a long French one, which really forms a door leading to the lawn. I held my bedroom candle lit in my hand, and, by its light, behind the first man I saw two others, who were in the act of entering. I stepped back, but the fellow was on me in an instant. He caught me first by the wrist and then by the throat. I opened my mouth to scream, but he struck me a savage blow with his fist over the eye, and felled me to the ground. I must have been unconscious for a few minutes, for when I came to myself I found that they had torn down the bell-rope and had secured me tightly to the oaken chair which stands at the head of the dining-room table. I was so firmly bound that I could not move, and a handkerchief round my mouth prevented me from uttering any sound. It was at this instant that my unfortunate husband entered the room. He had evidently heard some suspicious sounds, and he came prepared for such a scene as he found. He was dressed in his shirt and trousers, with his favourite blackthorn cudgel in his hand. He rushed at one of the burglars, but another—it was the elderly man—stooped, picked the poker out of the grate, and struck him a horrible blow as he passed. He fell without a groan, and never moved again. I fainted once more, but again it could only have been a very few minutes during which I was insensible. When I opened my eyes I found that they had collected the silver from the sideboard, and they had drawn a bottle of wine which stood there. Each of them had a glass in his hand. I have already told you, have I not, that one was elderly, with a beard, and the others young, hairless lads. They might have been a father with his two sons. They talked together in whispers. Then they came over and made sure that I was still securely bound. Finally they withdrew, closing the window after them. It was quite a quarter of an hour before I got my mouth free. When I did so my screams brought the maid to my assistance. The other servants were soon alarmed, and we sent for the local police, who instantly communicated with London. That is really all that I can tell you, gentlemen, and I trust that it will not be necessary for me to go over so painful a story again."

    “尤斯塔斯爵士大约10点半休息。那时仆人们都已经回到他们自己的屋子了。只有我的女仆还没有睡，她在楼顶自己的房间里听候吩咐。我坐着看书，完全沉浸在书中，一直到11点以后。然后我在上楼前，四处查看了一下，看一切是否都正常。这是我的习惯，就像我之前解释的那样，尤斯塔斯是靠不住的。我总是先到厨房、备膳室、猎枪室、台球室、客厅，最后到餐厅。当我走近那个挂着厚窗帘的窗户时，突然感到有阵风吹在脸上，我这才意识到窗户是开着的。我把窗帘拉到一边，发现面前竟站着一个肩膀宽阔的中年男子，他刚刚进屋。窗户是高大的法式窗户，也可以当作通到草坪的门。我当时手里端着卧室里的烛台，凭借它的微光，我看到这个人身后还站着两个人，正要进来。我向后退了几步，而那人立刻向我扑来。他先是抓住我的手腕，然后又掐住我的脖子。我正要张嘴喊救命，但他的拳头狠狠打在我的眼睛上，把我打倒在地。我一定失去了知觉，因为几分钟后我醒了过来，发现他们把使唤佣人的铃绳弄断了，把我紧紧地绑在餐桌一头的一把橡木椅子上。我被绑得太紧了以至于动都动不了，嘴里塞着手绢，发不出一点儿声音。正是这时，我倒霉的丈夫走进了这间屋子。他显然听到了一些可疑的响声，所以他看见眼前这一幕时是有心理准备的。他穿着睡衣和睡裤，手里拿着他最喜欢的黑刺李木棍。他冲向其中一个强盗，但是那个年纪较大的蹲下身，抓了壁炉旁的一根拨火棒，冲着爵士猛地一击。他一声不吭就倒下了，再也没动一下。我又一次晕过去了，不过我失去知觉的时间只有几分钟。当我睁开双眼，我发现他们从餐具柜中搜刮走了银制器皿，还拿出了一瓶葡萄酒。每人都手里都拿着一个玻璃杯。我已经告诉您，也不知道到底说没，就是其中一个年纪稍大的留着胡子，其他都是些毛头小子。他们可能是父亲和两个儿子。他们小声说了一会儿话，然后走过来看看我是不是仍然绑的紧紧的。最后他们离开了，关上了窗户。过了足足一刻钟我才把手绢从嘴里弄出来，然后我喊女仆来救我。这很快惊动了其他仆人，他们找来警察，迅速联系了伦敦警方。这就是我能告诉您的一切了，先生们，我相信我没必要再重复一遍这痛苦的经历了吧。”

    "Any questions, Mr. Holmes?" asked Hopkins.

    霍普金斯问：“福尔摩斯先生，有什么问题吗？”

    "I will not impose any further tax upon Lady Brackenstall's patience and time," said Holmes. "Before I go into the dining-room I should like to hear your experience." He looked at the maid.

    福尔摩斯说：“我不会给布莱肯斯特尔夫人添加更多负担，也不会耽误她的时间了。”他转向女仆：“在我去餐厅之前，我想听听你的经历。”他看着这位女仆。

    "I saw the men before ever they came into the house," said she. "As I sat by my bedroom window I saw three men in the moonlight down by the lodge gate yonder, but I thought nothing of it at the time. It was more than an hour after that I heard my mistress scream, and down I ran, to find her, poor lamb, just as she says, and him on the floor with his blood and brains over the room. It was enough to drive a woman out of her wits, tied there, and her very dress spotted with him; but she never wanted courage, did Miss Mary Fraser of Adelaide, and Lady Brackenstall of Abbey Grange hasn't learned new ways. You've questioned her long enough, you gentlemen, and now she is coming to her own room, just with her old Theresa, to get the rest that she badly needs."

    她回答道：“那三人还没进屋时，我就已经看到他们了。当时我坐在卧室的窗前，我看到月光下三个人站在大门前，但当时我根本没当回事。但一个多小时以后，我听见女主人的惊叫后跑下楼去，发现了这个可怜的人。正像她所说的那样，爵士倒在地板上，鲜血四溅、脑浆四溢。她被绑在那儿，衣服上溅上了许多血，这足以将一个女人吓得魂不附体。但是这位来自澳大利亚阿德莱德的玛丽·弗雷泽小姐从来就不缺乏勇气，即便做了格兰其庄园的布莱肯斯特尔夫人，这一点也从未改变。先生们，你们已经盘问她够久了，现在她该跟我回自己房里，好好地休息一会儿。”

    With a motherly tenderness the gaunt woman put her arm round her mistress and led her from the room.

    这个瘦削的女仆像母亲般温柔地搀扶着她的女主人，将她带出房间。

    "She has been with her all her life," said Hopkins. "Nursed her as a baby, and came with her to England when they first left Australia eighteen months ago. Theresa Wright is her name, and the kind of maid you don't pick up nowadays. This way, Mr. Holmes, if you please!"

    霍普金说：“她一直都服侍着她的女主人。这位夫人是由她从小带大的，18个月前夫人离开澳大利亚，她也随主人来到了英国。她的名字叫特里萨·赖特，这种女仆现在没处找了。福尔摩斯先生，请从这边走。”

    The keen interest had passed out of Holmes's expressive face, and I knew that with the mystery all the charm of the case had departed. There still remained an arrest to be effected, but what were these commonplace rogues that he should soil his hands with them? An abstruse and learned specialist who finds that he has been called in for a case of measles would experience something of the annoyance which I read in my friend's eyes. Yet the scene in the dining-room of the Abbey Grange was sufficiently strange to arrest his attention and to recall his waning interest.

    福尔摩斯表情丰富的脸上没有了原来兴趣盎然的样子，我明白案子谜一般的魔力已经丧失了。看来事情只剩下逮捕罪犯，然而这种普通罪犯，何必要他来动手呢？此刻从我的朋友眼中流露出的烦恼，正像一个医术高明的专家被请去看病，却发现患者只得了一般小病的那种失落感。不过格兰其庄园餐厅的案发现场倒是很奇怪，足以引起福尔摩斯的注意，并且能够再度激起他那逐渐消失的兴趣。

    It was a very large and high chamber, with carved oak ceiling, oaken panelling, and a fine array of deer's heads and ancient weapons around the walls. At the farther end from the door was the high French window of which we had heard. Three smaller windows on the right-hand side filled the apartment with cold winter sunshine. On the left was a large, deep fireplace, with a massive, overhanging oak mantelpiece. Beside the fireplace was a heavy oaken chair with arms and cross-bars at the bottom. In and out through the open woodwork was woven a crimson cord, which was secured at each side to the crosspiece below. In releasing the lady the cord had been slipped off her, but the knots with which it had been secured still remained. These details only struck our attention afterwards, for our thoughts were entirely absorbed by the terrible object which lay upon the tigerskin hearthrug in front of the fire.

    这是一间非常高大的餐厅，屋顶橡木天花板雕着花，四周的墙壁上挂着一排排的鹿首和古代兵器，墙壁下端有橡木镶板。餐厅另一头是刚才谈到的高大法式窗户。冬日的阳光通过右边三扇小窗洒进来，溢满了整个房间。左侧有个很大很深的壁炉，上面悬着厚重的壁炉架。壁炉旁有把很沉的橡木椅子，两边镶着扶手，下面嵌着横木。椅子的花棱上系着一根深红色的绳子，绳子拴牢在椅子的两边且一直连到下面的横杆上。在解救夫人的时候，绳子已被解开了，但是打的结仍然留在绳子上。这些细节我们也是后来才注意到的，因为我们的注意力完全被躺在壁炉前地毯上的尸体吸引住了。

    It was the body of a tall, well-made man, about forty years of age. He lay upon his back, his face upturned, with his white teeth grinning through his short black beard. His two clenched hands were raised above his head, and a heavy blackthorn stick lay across them. His dark, handsome, aquiline features were convulsed into a spasm of vindictive hatred, which had set his dead face in a terribly fiendish expression. He had evidently been in his bed when the alarm had broken out, for he wore a foppish embroidered night-shirt, and his bare feet projected from his trousers. His head was horribly injured, and the whole room bore witness to the savage ferocity of the blow which had struck him down. Beside him lay the heavy poker, bent into a curve by the concussion. Holmes examined both it and the indescribable wreck which it had wrought.

    死者身材匀称，个头高大，大约40岁。他仰面躺着，洁白的牙齿从又短又黑的胡须中露出来。他两手握拳举过头顶，手中紧握着一根短粗的黑刺李木棍。他皮肤黝黑，鹰钩鼻，相貌英俊，但扭曲的脸上写满了仇恨，让他的表情狰狞可怖。他显然是在床上听到了的声音，因为他穿着华丽的绣花睡衣，裤腿下露出一双光着的脚。他的头部伤得很重，整个屋子的血迹都可以为那致命的一击作证。他身旁放着那根沉重的拨火棒，猛烈的打击已经使它弯曲。福尔摩斯检查了拨火棒和尸体。

    "He must be a powerful man, this elder Randall," he remarked.

    他说道：“这个老兰德尔一定是个有力气的人。”

    "Yes," said Hopkins.

    霍普金斯说：“是的。

    "I have some record of the fellow, and he is a rough customer."

    我有一些关于他的记录，他是个野蛮的家伙。”

    "You should have no difficulty in getting him."

    “你抓住他应该没问题吧。”

    "Not the slightest. We have been on the look-out for him, and there was some idea that he had got away to America. Now that we know the gang are here I don't see how they can escape. We have the news at every seaport already, and a reward will be offered before evening. What beats me is how they could have done so mad a thing, knowing that the lady could describe them, and that we could not fail to recognise the description."

    “一点儿也不困难。我们一直在监视他，有风声说他已经去了美国。既然我们知道这伙人还在这里，看他们往哪儿跑。我们已经通知了每一个港口，傍晚以前会悬赏通缉他们。不过使我感到奇怪的是，既然他们知道夫人能够描述出他们的外貌，而且我们会根据描述认出他们，为什么还会做出这种疯狂的事？”

    "Exactly. One would have expected that they would have silenced Lady Brackenstall as well."

    “的确。一般说来，这伙强盗应该会把布莱肯斯特尔夫人灭口才对。”

    "They may not have realized," I suggested, "that she had recovered from her faint." "That is likely enough. If she seemed to be senseless they would not take her life. What about this poor fellow, Hopkins? I seem to have heard some queer stories about him."

    “他们也许没料到夫人昏过去很快就苏醒了。”我提醒他。“那倒很有可能。如果她看起来失去了知觉，那伙人也许就不会要她的命了。霍普金斯，有关这位可怜的爵士有什么情况？我似乎听说过他的一些怪事。”

    "He was a good-hearted man when he was sober, but a perfect fiend when he was drunk, or rather when he was half drunk, for he seldom really went the whole way. The devil seemed to be in him at such times, and he was capable of anything. From what I hear, in spite of all his wealth and his title, he very nearly came our way once or twice. There was a scandal about his drenching a dog with petroleum and setting it on fire—her ladyship's dog, to make the matter worse-and that was only hushed up with difficulty. Then he threw a decanter at that maid, Theresa Wright—there was trouble about that. On the whole, and between ourselves, it will be a brighter house without him. What are you looking at now?"

    “清醒时，他是个心地善良的好人，但他醉了或是半醉的时候就成了个地道的恶魔，说他半醉，是因为他烂醉如泥的时候其实不多。他一但喝醉就像着了魔似的，什么事都干得出来。我听说，尽管他有钱有势，但很少参加社交活动。有流言说，他把狗浸在煤油里，然后点着火，因为那狗是夫人的，所以事情就更糟了。这件事费了很多周折才平息下来。后来他又拿水瓶扔女仆特里萨·赖特，这也惹了一场风波。总之，我们就私下里说说，这个家没有他倒是清静。您现在在看什么呢？”

    Holmes was down on his knees examining with great attention the knots upon the red cord with which the lady had been secured. Then he carefully scrutinized the broken and frayed end where it had snapped off when the burglar had dragged it down.

    福尔摩斯跪在地上，全神贯注地观察绑过夫人的那根红绳子上系的结。然后又细心地检查强盗拉断了的那一头。

    "When this was pulled down the bell in the kitchen must have rung loudly," he remarked.

    他说：“绳子往下一拉，厨房的铃声应该是很响的。”

    "No one could hear it. The kitchen stands right at the back of the house."

    “没人能听到。厨房就在房子的后面。”

    "How did the burglar know no one would hear it? How dared he pull at a bell-rope in that reckless fashion?"

    “强盗怎么会知道没人能听见呢？他怎么敢不顾后果地拉这根铃绳呢？”

    "Exactly, Mr. Holmes, exactly. You put the very question which I have asked myself again and again. There can be no doubt that this fellow must have known the house and its habits. He must have perfectly understood that the servants would all be in bed at that comparatively early hour, and that no one could possibly hear a bell ring in the kitchen. Therefore he must have been in close league with one of the servants. Surely that is evident. But there are eight servants, and all of good character."

    “的确，福尔摩斯先生，的确如此。您提出的问题，我也在不断地问我自己。这个强盗无疑很了解这栋房子，以及这里的习惯。他一定很清楚仆人睡得比较早，而没人能听到厨房的铃声。所以他一定与其中的某个仆人是关系密切的同伙。那是显而易见的。但是这里有八个仆人，而且都品行端正。”

    "Other things being equal," said Holmes, "one would suspect the one at whose head the master threw a decanter. And yet that would involve treachery towards the mistress to whom this woman seems devoted. Well, well, the point is a minor one, and when you have Randall you will probably find no difficulty in securing his accomplice. The lady's story certainly seems to be corroborated, if it needed corroboration, by every detail which we see before us." He walked to the French window and threw it open. "There are no signs here, but the ground is iron hard, and one would not expect them. I see that these candles on the mantelpiece have been lighted."

    福尔摩斯说：“如果每个仆人的情况都基本一样，那就要怀疑被主人扔过来水瓶砸到头的那个。可是这样就会怀疑到那个女仆所尽心服侍的女主人身上。哎呀，这一点是小问题，等你抓到兰德尔，找出他的同伙就一点都不难了。夫人所讲的情况需要验证，我们可以通过现场的细节来验证。”他走到法式窗户前，打开它。“这里没有什么线索，因为地面太坚硬了，不指望会留下什么痕迹。我看到壁炉架上的蜡烛被点过。”

    "Yes; it was by their light and that of the lady's bedroom candle that the burglars saw their way about."

    “是的，强盗们就是借着这些蜡烛和夫人卧室蜡烛的火光离开这里的。”

    "And what did they take?"

    “他们都拿走了什么？”

    "Well, they did not take much—only half-a-dozen articles of plate off the sideboard. Lady Brackenstall thinks that they were themselves so disturbed by the death of Sir Eustace that they did not ransack the house as they would otherwise have done."

    “嗯，没拿走多少东西，只从橱柜里拿走了六个盘子。布莱肯斯特尔夫人认为尤斯塔斯爵士的死使强盗们不知所措，否则他们一定会把这栋房子洗劫一空的。”

    "No doubt that is true. And yet they drank some wine, I understand."

    “这个解释很有说服力。我想他们还喝了一些酒。”

    "To steady their own nerves."

    “用来镇定他们紧绷的神经。”

    "Exactly. These three glasses upon the sideboard have been untouched, I suppose?"

    “正是如此。我想橱柜上的三个玻璃杯没被动过吧？”

    "Yes; and the bottle stands as they left it."

    “没被动过，酒瓶也是案发时的位置。”

    "Let us look at it. Halloa! halloa! what is this?"

    “让我们看看。喂，喂，这是什么？”

    The three glasses were grouped together, all of them tinged with wine, and one of them containing some dregs of bees-wing. The bottle stood near them, two-thirds full, and beside it lay a long, deeply-stained cork. Its appearance and the dust upon the bottle showed that it was no common vintage which the murderers had enjoyed.

    三个杯子放在一起，每只杯子都乘过酒，其中一个杯子里还有葡萄酒的渣滓。酒瓶就放在附近，还剩三分之二，旁边放着一个长长的，颜色发黑的瓶塞。瓶塞的式样和瓶上的尘土说明杀人犯喝的不是普通的酒。

    A change had come over Holmes's manner. He had lost his listless expression, and again I saw an alert light of interest in his keen, deep-set eyes. He raised the cork and examined it minutely.

    福尔摩斯的态度突然有了转变。漠然的表情不见了，取而代之的是锐利深邃的双眼里的兴奋目光。他拿起瓶塞，认真地察看着。

    "How did they draw it?" he asked.

    他问：“他们怎样拔出这瓶塞的？”

    Hopkins pointed to a half-opened drawer. In it lay some table linen and a large cork-screw.

    霍普金斯指了指半开的抽屉，抽屉里放着几条餐巾和一把大的瓶塞钻。

    "Did Lady Brackenstall say that screw was used?"

    “布莱肯斯特尔夫人有没有提到他们用了瓶塞钻？”

    "No; you remember that she was senseless at the moment when the bottle was opened."

    “没有，想必他们开酒瓶的时候，她已经失去了知觉。”

    "Quite so. As a matter of fact that screw was not used. This bottle was opened by a pocket-screw, probably contained in a knife, and not more than an inch and a half long. If you examine the top of the cork you will observe that the screw was driven in three times before the cork was extracted. It has never been transfixed. This long screw would have transfixed it and drawn it with a single pull. When you catch this fellow you will find that he has one of these multiplex knives in his possession."

    “的确。实际上他们根本没有用瓶塞钻。这个酒瓶很可能是用小刀上带的便携螺旋打开的，那个螺旋不会超过一英寸半长。如果你仔细观察瓶塞的顶部，你会发现螺旋插了三次才拔出软木塞。瓶塞根本没被刺穿。要是用长的瓶塞钻，轻轻一拔就出来了。当你抓住这个家伙时，你会找到他的多功能小刀的。”

    "Excellent!" said Hopkins.

    “太妙了！”霍普金斯说。

    "But these glasses do puzzle me, I confess. Lady Brackenstall actually saw the three men drinking, did she not?"

    “但是我得承认，这些杯子让我很不解。布莱肯斯特尔夫人确实看见这三个人喝酒了，不是吗？”

    "Yes; she was clear about that."

    “是的，这一点她记得很清楚。”

    "Then there is an end of it. What more is to be said? And yet you must admit that the three glasses are very remarkable, Hopkins. What, you see nothing remarkable! Well, well, let it pass. Perhaps when a man has special knowledge and special powers like my own it rather encourages him to seek a complex explanation when a simpler one is at hand. Of course, it must be a mere chance about the glasses. Well, good morning, Hopkins. I don't see that I can be of any use to you, and you appear to have your case very clear. You will let me know when Randall is arrested, and any further developments which may occur. I trust that I shall soon have to congratulate you upon a successful conclusion. Come, Watson, I fancy that we may employ ourselves more profitably at home."

    “那么，这就是了。还有什么可说的？但是你得承认这三个杯子很奇特，霍普金斯。什么，你看不出来有什么奇特的地方！哎呀，算了吧。也许当一个人像我一样有了专门的知识和特殊的能力，就会不由自主地寻找更加复杂的解释，而不愿采纳手头上简单的答案。当然，玻璃杯的事也可能是偶然的。好吧，霍普金斯，那就再见吧！看来我帮不了你的忙了，对你来说，好像案子已经很清楚了。抓到兰德尔或是有其他什么新进展，请你告诉我。我想你很快就会顺利解决这个案子，祝贺你啊。走吧，沃森，我想我们到家可以做点儿更有益的事。”

    During our return journey I could see by Holmes's face that he was much puzzled by something which he had observed. Every now and then, by an effort, he would throw off the impression and talk as if the matter were clear, but then his doubts would settle down upon him again, and his knitted brows and abstracted eyes would show that his thoughts had gone back once more to the great dining-room of the Abbey Grange in which this midnight tragedy had been enacted. At last, by a sudden impulse, just as our train was crawling out of a suburban station, he sprang on to the platform and pulled me out after him.

    回家的路上，我看到福尔摩斯脸上带着困惑的神情，好像对刚刚观察到的什么事情感到不解。他时而努力驱散愁云，轻松地说着话，好像一切都已经明了了；时而又陷入疑虑和沉思中，愁眉不展，目光茫然；看得出来，他的思绪又回到发生了悲剧的格兰其庄园那豪华的餐厅里了。最后，正当我们的火车从一个郊区小站缓缓地开动的时候，他却突然跳到站台上，顺手把我也拉下了火车。

    "Excuse me, my dear fellow," said he, as we watched the rear carriages of our train disappearing round a curve; "I am sorry to make you the victim of what may seem a mere whim, but on my life, Watson, I simply can't leave that case in this condition. Every instinct that I possess cries out against it. It's wrong—it's all wrong—I'll swear that it's wrong. And yet the lady's story was complete, the maid's corroboration was sufficient, the detail was fairly exact. What have I to put against that? Three wine-glasses, that is all. But if I had not taken things for granted, if I had examined everything with care which I would have shown had we approached the case de novo and had no cut-and-dried story to warp my mind, would I not then have found something more definite to go upon? Of course I should. Sit down on this bench, Watson, until a train for Chislehurst arrives, and allow me to lay the evidence before you, imploring you in the first instance to dismiss from your mind the idea that anything which the maid or her mistress may have said must necessarily be true. The lady's charming personality must not be permitted to warp our judgment.

    “请原谅我，亲爱的朋友。”他说，这时火车已转了个弯，渐渐消逝在眼前，“很抱歉让你成为我突发奇想的‘牺牲品’，但是沃森，我不能坐视不管。我身体的每根神经都在反对我这么做。全错了，全错了，我发誓全错了。但是夫人说的话无懈可击，女仆的证明又很充分，就连细节也相当准确。我能用什么来反驳呢？那三个酒杯，就是那三个酒杯。但是如果我没把事情看做理所当然，也没被那些事先编好的故事蒙蔽思路，而是当时就仔细检查了一切，重新考虑这个案子的话，我是不是会得到更多肯定的答案呢？我相信一定会的。沃森，我们坐在这个长椅上等去齐塞尔贺斯特的火车吧。现在让我告诉你我的证据，不过首先我请你从心里排除一种想法，就是不要认为女仆和女主人所说的一切都必然是真实的。可别让夫人迷人的性格干扰你的判断力。

    "Surely there are details in her story which, if we looked at it in cold blood, would excite our suspicion. These burglars made a considerable haul at Sydenham a fortnight ago. Some account of them and of their appearance was in the papers, and would naturally occur to anyone who wished to invent a story in which imaginary robbers should play a part. As a matter of fact, burglars who have done a good stroke of business are, as a rule, only too glad to enjoy the proceeds in peace and quiet without embarking on another perilous undertaking. Again, it is unusual for burglars to operate at so early an hour; it is unusual for burglars to strike a lady to prevent her screaming, since one would imagine that was the sure way to make her scream; it is unusual for them to commit murder when their numbers are sufficient to overpower one man; it is unusual for them to be content with a limited plunder when there is much more within their reach; and finally I should say that it was very unusual for such men to leave a bottle half empty. How do all these unusuals strike you, Watson?"

    “当然，如果我们冷静思考一下，夫人所讲的一些细节是值得我们怀疑的。那些强盗两周以前已经在西顿汉姆抢了不少了。他们的活动和外貌的描述已经登在报纸上，所以谁想要编造一个有强盗的事，自然就会想到他们。事实上，已经大干了一场的强盗通常更乐意去享受一下清静，不会轻易再去冒险。另外，强盗那么早就犯案很不正常；他们也不会打伤一个女人来阻止她大声呼救，因为那样，她当然会喊得更响；还有一点很不正常，当强盗的人数足以对付一个人时，他们一般不会杀人的；另外，当他们眼前有大量的财物可以掠夺时，怎么会只偷了那么点儿东西就满足了呢；最后我要说，这些人留下半瓶酒也很不可思议。沃森，你怎么看这么多不同寻常的细节？”

    "Their cumulative effect is certainly considerable, and yet each of them is quite possible in itself. The most unusual thing of all, as it seems to me, is that the lady should be tied to the chair."

    “这些小细节加起来的效果当然是惊人的，但是每一件看起来却都很合理。在我看来，最奇怪的事莫过于夫人竟会被绑在椅子上。”

    "Well, I am not so clear about that, Watson; for it is evident that they must either kill her or else secure her in such a way that she could not give immediate notice of their escape. But at any rate I have shown, have I not, that there is a certain element of improbability about the lady's story? And now on the top of this comes the incident of the wine-glasses."

    “嗯，我还没弄清楚这一点，沃森，很显然，他们要不就杀了她，要不就不让她注意到他们逃离的方向。不过，至少我说过这位夫人所讲的故事有不真实的成分。除此之外，最可疑的是酒杯的问题。”

    "What about the wine-glasses?"

    “酒杯怎么了？”

    "Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

    “你能自己看出问题之所在吗？”

    "I see them clearly."

    “我看得挺清楚的。”

    "We are told that three men drank from them. Does that strike you as likely?"

    “说是有三个人用杯子喝过酒。这你觉得可能吗？”

    "Why not? There was wine in each glass."

    “为什么不可能？三个杯子都沾了酒。”

    "Exactly; but there was bees-wing only in one glass. You must have noticed that fact. What does that suggest to your mind?"

    “没错，但是只有一个杯子沾了酒渣。你一定注意到了吧。你怎么看呢？”

    "The last glass filled would be most likely to contain beeswing.

    “倒酒时的最后一杯最有可能粘上酒渣。”

    "Not at all. The bottle was full of it, and it is inconceivable that the first two glasses were clear and the third heavily charged with it. There are two possible explanations, and only two. One is that after the second glass was filled the bottle was violently agitated, and so the third glass received the bees-wing. That does not appear probable. No, no; I am sure that I am right."

    “才不是。酒瓶是满的，前两杯很清透，而第三杯却很浑浊，这难以置信。有两种解释，而且只有两种。一种是：倒满了第二个杯子以后，酒瓶被猛烈地摇晃，所以第三杯有渣滓，但是这好像不太可能。对，对，我是不会出错的。”

    "What, then, do you suppose?"

    “那你怎么解释呢？”

    "That only two glasses were used, and that the dregs of both were poured into a third glass, so as to give the false impression that three people had been here. In that way all the bees-wing would be in the last glass, would it not? Yes, I am convinced that this is so. But if I have hit upon the true explanation of this one small phenomenon, then in an instant the case rises from the commonplace to the exceedingly remarkable, for it can only mean that Lady Brackenstall and her maid have deliberately lied to us, that not one word of their story is to be believed, that they have some very strong reason for covering the real criminal, and that we must construct our case for ourselves without any help from them. That is the mission which now lies before us, and here, Watson, is the Chislehurst train."

    “只有两个杯子被用过，而两个杯子的残渣都倒到了第三个杯子里，从而产生了好像有三个人在那儿喝酒的假象。这样，所有的酒渣不就都在第三个杯子里了吗？对，我想一定是这样的。但是如果我对这个微不足道的细节恰好做出了正确的解释，那么，这个案子就立刻变得非常与众不同了。这就意味着，夫人和她的女仆故意对我们说谎，那她们说的话一个字也不能相信。同时她们也很有理由去掩护真正的罪犯，我们不能相信她们了，只有靠自己的力量来解决这个案子。这就是现在是摆在我们面前的任务。来，沃森，去齐塞尔贺斯特的火车来了。”

    The household of the Abbey Grange were much surprised at our return, but Sherlock Holmes, finding that Stanley Hopkins had gone off to report to head-quarters, took possession of the dining-room, locked the door upon the inside, and devoted himself for two hours to one of those minute and laborious investigations which formed the solid basis on which his brilliant edifices of deduction were reared. Seated in a corner like an interested student who observes the demonstration of his professor, I followed every step of that remarkable research. The window, the curtains, the carpet, the chair, the rope—each in turn was minutely examined and duly pondered. The body of the unfortunate baronet had been removed, but all else remained as we had seen it in the morning. Then, to my astonishment, Holmes climbed up on to the massive mantelpiece. Far above his head hung the few inches of red cord which were still attached to the wire. For a long time he gazed upward at it, and then in an attempt to get nearer to it he rested his knee upon a wooden bracket on the wall. This brought his hand within a few inches of the broken end of the rope, but it was not this so much as the bracket itself which seemed to engage his attention. Finally he sprang down with an ejaculation of satisfaction.

    格兰其庄园的人们对我们的返回感到非常诧异。福尔摩斯在发现斯坦利·霍普金斯已经回总部汇报情况后，进入了餐厅，反锁了门，埋头细致入微地检查了两个小时，由此为他精彩推理的形成提供了坚实的依据。我坐在角落里，像一个学生聚精会神地观察教授的示范动作一般，模仿着福尔摩斯，也一步步进行细致入微的检查。窗户、窗帘、地毯、椅子、绳子，逐个地仔细查看，反复思考。这位可怜爵士的尸体已经被移走，其余的一切仍是我们早上见到的那样。福尔摩斯竟然爬到坚固的壁炉架上，着实吓了我一跳。他的头顶上方，那根断了的仅剩下几英寸的红绳正高高地悬着，顶端仍然连在一根铁丝上。他仰着头朝绳头看了好一会儿，后来为了离绳头更近，他跪在了墙上的一个木制支架上。这样，他的手离那根断了的绳子只有几英寸远，可是引起他注意的好像不是绳子而是支架本身。终于，他“嗨”地一声一跃而下，心满意足的样子。

    "It's all right, Watson," said he. "We have got our case—one of the most remarkable in our collection. But, dear me, how slow-witted I have been, and how nearly I have committed the blunder of my lifetime! Now, I think that with a few missing links my chain is almost complete."

    他说：“好了，沃森。这个案子解决了——我们最不平常的案子之一。但是，天哪，我是多么愚蠢啊，我几乎犯了我人生最严重的错误！现在，我想我的推理思路只差几个环节就完整了。”

    "You have got your men?"

    “你弄清楚哪些人是罪犯了？”

    "Man, Watson, man. Only one, but a very formidable person. Strong as a lion—witness the blow that bent that poker. Six foot three in height, active as a squirrel, dexterous with his fingers; finally, remarkably quick-witted, for this whole ingenious story is of his concoction. Yes, Watson, we have come upon the handiwork of a very remarkable individual. And yet in that bell-rope he has given us a clue which should not have left us a doubt."

    “一个人，沃森，一个人。只有一个人，但是一个非常难对付的人。他壮得像头狮子，一下子能把拨火棒打弯。他身高六英尺三英寸，灵活得像只松鼠，手指很灵巧；他还有非常灵活缜密的思维，因为这整个巧妙的故事就是他编造的。是的，沃森，我们遇到的是个不凡人物的精心杰作。可是他在铃绳上却露出了破绽，这本来不应该显出破绽的。”

    "Where was the clue?"

    “破绽在哪里？”

    "Well, if you were to pull down a bell-rope, Watson, where would you expect it to break? Surely at the spot where it is attached to the wire. Why should it break three inches from the top as this one has done?"

    “嗯，沃森，如果你要把铃绳拉下来，你认为绳子应当从哪儿断呢？当然是在和铁丝相接的地方。为什么这根绳子在离顶部铁丝三英寸的地方断了呢？”

    "Because it is frayed there?"

    “因为那里磨损了？”

    "Exactly.This end, which we can examine, is frayed. He was cunning enough to do that with his knife. But the other end is not frayed. You could not observe that from here, but if you were on the mantelpiece you would see that it is cut clean off without any mark of fraying whatever. You can reconstruct what occurred. The man needed the rope. He would not tear it down for fear of giving the alarm by ringing the bell. What did he do? He sprang up on the mantelpiece, could not quite reach it, put his knee on the bracket—you will see the impression in the dust-and so got his knife to bear upon the cord. I could not reach the place by at least three inches, from which I infer that he is at least three inches a bigger man than I. Look at that mark upon the seat of the oaken chair! What is it?"

    “正是如此。这一头，我们能仔细看出来，已经磨损了。他很狡猾，用故意刀子磨损绳子的一头。但是另一头却没有磨损。你从这里看不清楚，但是从壁炉架上看，你可以看到那一头切得很平，没有任何磨损的痕迹。你可以再现当时的情景。这个人需要绳子，他害怕拉铃发出的响声，所以没有扯下绳子。他怎么办呢？他跳上壁炉架，但够不到绳子，于是他跪在支架上——你可以看见支架上的尘土痕迹——然后拿出小刀割断了绳子。我够不到那个位置，至少还差三英寸，由此我推测他比我高三英寸。你看橡木椅子座上的痕迹！那是什么？”

    "Blood."

    “是血。”

    "Undoubtedly it is blood. This alone puts the lady's story out of court. If she were seated on the chair when the crime was done, how comes that mark? No, no; she was placed in the chair after the death of her husband. I'll wager that the black dress shows a corresponding mark to this. We have not yet met our Waterloo, Watson, but this is our Marengo, for it begins in defeat and ends in victory. I should like now to have a few words with the nurse Theresa. We must be wary for awhile, if we are to get the information which we want."

    “肯定是血。单这一点能驳回夫人的谎言。如果强盗行凶时，她坐在椅子上，那血迹又是从哪儿来的呢？不，不，她一定是在她丈夫死后才坐到椅子上的。我敢说，那件黑色的裙子上一定也有相应的痕迹。沃森，我们没有遭遇滑铁卢，相反，这是我们的马伦戈之战，因为我们同样反败为胜。我现在要和特里萨保姆谈谈。要想得到我们所需的情况，此刻说话就得小心点儿。”

    She was an interesting person, this stern Australian nurse-taciturn, suspicious, ungracious, it took some time before Holmes's pleasant manner and frank acceptance of all that she said thawed her into a corresponding amiability. She did not attempt to conceal her hatred for her late employer.

    这个严厉的澳大利亚保姆可是个有趣的人，不苟言笑，生性多疑，而且缺乏教养。福尔摩斯用他友善的态度坦诚地倾听了她说的一切，好一会儿她才变得和善起来。她没打算掩饰她对已死主人的痛恨。

    "Yes, sir, it is true that he threw the decanter at me. I heard him call my mistress a name, and I told him that he would not dare to speak so if her brother had been there. Then it was that he threw it at me. He might have thrown a dozen if he had but left my bonny bird alone. He was forever ill-treating her, and she too proud to complain. She will not even tell me all that he has done to her. She never told me of those marks on her arm that you saw this morning, but I know very well that they come from a stab with a hat-pin. The sly fiend—God forgive me that I should speak of him so, now that he is dead, but a fiend he was if ever one walked the earth. He was all honey when first we met him-only eighteen months ago, and we both feel as if it were eighteen years. She had only just arrived in London. Yes, it was her first voyage—she had never been from home before. He won her with his title and his money and his false London ways. If she made a mistake she has paid for it, if ever a woman did. What month did we meet him? Well, I tell you it was just after we arrived. We arrived in June, and it was July. They were married in January of last year. Yes, she is down in the morning-room again, and I have no doubt she will see you, but you must not ask too much of her, for she has gone through all that flesh and blood will stand."

    “是的，先生，他是向我扔过水瓶。那时我听见他骂夫人，我跟他说要是夫人的兄弟在这的话，他保准不敢骂了。所以他就拿起水瓶向我扔过来。他要是有一打水瓶的话就只管扔吧，只要别惹我那可爱的夫人就行。他总是虐待夫人，而夫人却顾全面子不愿去抱怨。她甚至不愿告诉我她怎样受到虐待。她不肯告诉我她手臂上的那些伤痕是怎么弄的——就是您今天早晨看到的那些，但我很清楚那是别针扎的。这个可恶的魔鬼！上帝宽恕我，这个人都已经死了，我还是这样说他，但他是这个世上几乎绝世在的恶魔。我们第一次见到他的时候，他非常和蔼可亲，那是18个月以前的事，但我们两人都感到像是过了18年。那时夫人刚到伦敦。是的，这是她第一次远行，她从来就没离开过家。爵士用他的封号、金钱和虚伪的伦敦做派赢得了夫人的欢心。如果是她的错，那她也已经受够了苦了，没有哪个女人能和她比。我们几月份遇见他的？嗯，我们刚到伦敦就遇见他了。我们6月到的，7月时遇见了他。他们去年1月份结的婚。是的，她又下楼到起居室来了，她准会见你的，但是你千万不要提过多的问题，因为她已经承受了一个血肉之躯所能经受的最大痛苦。”

    Lady Brackenstall was reclining on the same couch, but looked brighter than before. The maid had entered with us, and began once more to foment the bruise upon her mistress's brow.

    布莱肯斯特尔夫人仍然靠在那张睡椅上，精神比之前好些了。女仆和我们一起走进起居室，又开始给女主人热敷青肿的眼睛。

    "I hope," said the lady, "that you have not come to crossexamine me again?"

    夫人说：“我希望您不是又要来盘问我吧。”

    "No," Holmes answered, in his gentlest voice, "I will not cause you any unnecessary trouble, Lady Brackenstall, and my whole desire is to make things easy for you, for I am convinced that you are a much-tried woman. If you will treat me as a friend and trust me you may find that I will justify your trust."

    福尔摩斯用他最温柔的语调说：“不是，布莱肯斯特尔夫人，我不会给您添更多不必要的麻烦，我想做的一切就是使您安心，因为我知道您遭受了太多不幸。如果您愿意把我当做朋友，并且愿意信任我，您会发现我是不会辜负您的信任的。”

    "What do you want me to do?"

    “您要我做什么呢？”

    "To tell me the truth."

    “告诉我真相。”

    "Mr. Holmes!"

    “福尔摩斯先生！”

    "No, no, Lady Brackenstall—it is no use. You may have heard of any little reputation which I possess. I will stake it all on the fact that your story is an absolute fabrication."

    “不要这样，布莱肯斯特尔夫人，这是没用的。您也许听说过我有点儿小名气。我用我的名誉担保，你所讲的完全是胡编乱造。”

    Mistress and maid were both staring at Holmes with pale faces and frightened eyes.

    布莱肯斯特尔夫人和女仆一起盯着福尔摩斯，脸色苍白，眼中流露出恐惧的目光。

    "You are an impudent fellow!" cried Theresa. "Do you mean to say that my mistress has told a lie?"

    特里萨喊道：“你这个无耻的家伙！你的意思是说我的女主人说谎了？”

    Holmes rose from his chair.

    福尔摩斯从椅子上站了起来。

    "Have you nothing to tell me?"

    “你没有什么要和我说的了吗？”

    "I have told you everything."

    “我已经都说了。”

    "Think once more, Lady Brackenstall. Would it not be better to be frank?"

    “布莱肯斯特尔夫人，请再想一想。诚实一些不是更好吗？”

    For an instant there was hesitation in her beautiful face. Then some new strong thought caused it to set like a mask.

    片刻之间，夫人美丽的脸庞露出踌躇的神色。继而她又重新换上坚决的表情，似乎给自己戴上了一个面具。

    "I have told you all I know."

    “我知道的全说了。”

    Holmes took his hat and shrugged his shoulders. "I am sorry," he said, and without another word we left the room and the house. There was a pond in the park, and to this my friend led the way. It was frozen over, but a single hole was left for the convenience of a solitary swan. Holmes gazed at it and then passed on to the lodge gate. There he scribbled a short note for Stanley Hopkins and left it with the lodge-keeper.

    福尔摩斯拿起他的帽子，耸了耸肩膀。“很遗憾。”他说，然后没再说什么就走出房间，离开了房子。庄园里有一个水池，我的朋友向水池走去。水池已经完全冻住了，但是为了养活一只天鹅，冰面上打了一个洞。福尔摩斯凝视了一下水池，便继续往前走到大门口。他在门房里匆忙地给霍普金斯写了一封短信，交给了看门人。

    "It may be a hit or it may be a miss, but we are bound to do something for friend Hopkins, just to justify this second visit," said he. "I will not quite take him into my confidence yet. I think our next scene of operations must be the shipping office of the Adelaide-Southampton line, which stands at the end of Pall Mall, if I remember right. There is a second line of steamers which connect South Australia with England, but we will draw the larger cover first."

    他说：“事情可能成功，也可能失败。但是我们一定要为朋友霍普金斯做点儿事情，证明我们第二次不是白来。我还不打算把我的推断完全告诉他。我看现在我们应该到阿德莱德—南安普敦航线的海运公司的办公室去，如果我没记错的话，这个公司大概在波尔莫尔街的尽头。英国通往南澳大利亚还有另一条航线，不过，我们还是先去这家较大的公司。”

    Holmes's card sent in to the manager ensured instant attention, and he was not long in acquiring all the information which he needed. In June of '95 only one of their line had reached a home port. It was the Rock of Gibraltar, their largest and best boat. A reference to the passenger list showed that Miss Fraser of Adelaide, with her maid, had made the voyage in her. The boat was now on her way to Australia, somewhere to the south of the Suez Canal. Her officers were the same as in '95, with one exception. The first officer, Mr. Jack Croker, had been made a captain and was to take charge of their new ship, the Bass Rock, sailing in two days' time from Southampton. He lived at Sydenham, but he was likely to be in that morning for instructions, if we cared to wait for him.

    经理看到福尔摩斯的名片后立即会见了我们，福尔摩斯很快得到了他想知道的所有信息。1895年6月只有一条航船到了英国港口。那就是“直布罗陀磐石”号航船，是这家公司最大最好的船只。查阅了旅客名单，发现了阿德莱德的弗雷泽女士和女仆的名字在其中。现在这艘船正开往南澳大利亚，现在在苏伊士运河以南的某个地方。现在的船员和1895年的基本一样，除了一个大副杰克·克罗克先生已经被任命为新建的“巴斯磐石”号的船长外。这艘船两天后要从南安普敦起航。船长住在西顿汉姆，他可能过一会儿要来公司接受指示，如果我们愿意等，可以见到他。

    No, Mr. Holmes had no desire to see him, but would be glad to know more about his record and character.

    不过福尔摩斯并不想见他，他更想了解他的过去的操行记录和性格。

    His record was magnificent. There was not an officer in the fleet to touch him. As to his character, he was reliable on duty, but a wild, desperate fellow off the deck of his ship, hot-headed, excitable, but loyal, honest, and kind-hearted. That was the pith of the information with which Holmes left the office of the Adelaide- Southampton company. Thence he drove to Scotland Yard, but instead of entering he sat in his cab with his brows drawn down, lost in profound thought. Finally he drove round to the Charing Cross telegraph office, sent off a message, and then, at last, we made for Baker Street once more.

    经理认为他的表现是完美的，船上没有一个船员能比得上他。至于他的性格，他工作时很可靠，但下船以后，却是一个粗野、冒失的家伙，他性情急躁、容易激动，但忠实、诚恳、热心。这就是福尔摩斯从阿德莱德—南安普敦海运公司了解到的主要情况。然后我们去了苏格兰场，但是他并没有进去，而是坐在马车里，眉头紧锁，陷入了沉思。终于，他叫马车夫驾车到查林十字街的电报局，拍了一份电报，然后我们又回到了贝克街。

    "No, I couldn't do it, Watson," said he, as we re-entered our room. "Once that warrant was made out nothing on earth would save him. Once or twice in my career I feel that I have done more real harm by my discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime. I have learned caution now, and I had rather play tricks with the law of England than with my own conscience. Let us know a little more before we act."

    我们回到房间时，福尔摩斯说：“不，沃森，我不能这样做。“逮捕令一旦发出去，世上就没人能救得了他了。在我的侦探生涯中，曾经有一两次，我感到，自己查出罪犯所造成的实际伤害可能比犯罪本身所造成的伤害还要大。现在我已经知道要谨慎，我宁愿玩弄英国的法律，也不愿违背良心。让我们了解更多的情况后再行动吧。”

    Before evening we had a visit from Inspector Stanley Hopkins. Things were not going very well with him.

    快到傍晚的时候，侦探斯坦利·霍普金斯来了。他的事情进行得不够顺利。

    "I believe that you are a wizard, Mr. Holmes. I really do sometimes think that you have powers that are not human. Now, how on earth could you know that the stolen silver was at the bottom of that pond?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，我看您真是个巫师。有时我真的认为您有人类没有的神力。现在告诉我，您怎么知道偷走的银器藏在水池的底下呢？”

    "I didn't know it."

    “我并不知道。”

    "But you told me to examine it."

    “但是您让我检查水池。”

    "You got it, then?"

    “你找到了？”

    "Yes, I got it."

    “是的，我找到了。”

    "I am very glad if I have helped you."

    “很高兴我能帮助你。”

    "But you haven't helped me. You have made the affair far more difficult. What sort of burglars are they who steal silver and then throw it into the nearest pond?"

    “可是，您并没有帮助我。您使这个案子变得更加复杂了。偷了银器又丢到附近的水池里，这算什么强盗啊？”

    "It was certainly rather eccentric behaviour. I was merely going on the idea that if the silver had been taken by persons who did not want it—who merely took it for a blind as it were—then they would naturally be anxious to get rid of it."

    “这种行为当然十分古怪。我只是在想，如果偷银器的人根本不需要这些银器，而只是为了制造某种假象，那他一定急于丢掉那些银器。”

    "But why should such an idea cross your mind?"

    “但是您为什么会有这样的想法呢？”

    "Well, I thought it was possible. When they came out through the French window there was the pond, with one tempting little hole in the ice, right in front of their noses. Could there be a better hiding-place?"

    “嗯，我觉得有可能。当强盗们从法式窗户里出来后，看到眼前有个水池，水池的冰面上还有一个洞，就在他们眼皮底下。藏在这里不是最好吗？”

    "Ah, a hiding-place—that is better!" cried Stanley Hopkins. "Yes, yes, I see it all now! It was early, there were folk upon the roads, they were afraid of being seen with the silver, so they sank it in the pond, intending to return for it when the coast was clear. Excellent, Mr. Holmes—that is better than your idea of a blind."

    斯坦利·霍普金斯高声说：“啊，藏东西的绝好地方！是的，是的，我全都明白了！那时不算很晚，街上还有行人，他们拿着银器怕被人看见，所以他们把银器沉到水池里，打算没有人的时候回来再拿。太精彩了，福尔摩斯先生，那比您有关骗局的说法好多了。”

    "Quite so; you have got an admirable theory. I have no doubt that my own ideas were quite wild, but you must admit that they have ended in discovering the silver."

    “不错，你想得很好。我的想法的确不着边际，但是你必须承认，他们再也找不到这些银器了。”

    "Yes, sir—yes. It was all your doing. But I have had a bad set-back."

    “是的，先生，是的。这都是您的功劳。可是，我却受到很大挫折。”

    "A set-back?"

    “挫折？”

    "Yes, Mr. Holmes. The Randall gang were arrested in New York this morning."

    “是的，福尔摩斯先生。兰德尔一伙强盗今天上午在纽约被捕。”

    "Dear me, Hopkins! That is certainly rather against your theory that they committed a murder in Kent last night."

    “天哪，霍普金斯！这当然和你的说法，也就是他们昨夜在肯特郡杀人的猜测不一致了。”

    "It is fatal, Mr. Holmes—absolutely fatal. Still, there are other gangs of three besides the Randalls, or it may be some new gang of which the police have never heard."

    “这是致命的，福尔摩斯先生，完全致命。不过，除去兰德尔他们，还有别的三个一伙的强盗，或许是警察还未听说过的新团伙。”

    "Quite so; it is perfectly possible. What, are you off ?"

    “不错，这倒完全有可能。怎么，你要走了？”

    "Yes, Mr. Holmes; there is no rest for me until I have got to the bottom of the business. I suppose you have no hint to give me?"

    “是的，福尔摩斯先生，要是不查个水落石出，我没法安心。我猜您没有什么提示给我吧？”

    "I have given you one."

    “我已经给你了。”

    "Which?"

    “哪一个？”

    "Well, I suggested a blind."

    “嗯，我提出的那个骗局。”

    "But why, Mr. Holmes, why?"

    “但是，福尔摩斯先生，为什么呢？”

    "Ah, that's the question, of course. But I commend the idea to your mind. You might possibly find that there was something in it. You won't stop for dinner? Well, good-bye, and let us know how you get on."

    “啊，这确实是个问题。但我已经给你提出了一个想法。你也许会觉得有些道理。你不留下来吃饭了？那好吧，再见了，让我们知道你的进展状况。”

    Dinner was over and the table cleared before Holmes alluded to the matter again. He had lit his pipe and held his slippered feet to the cheerful blaze of the fire. Suddenly he looked at his watch.

    吃过晚饭，收拾完桌子，福尔摩斯又谈到了这个案子。他点上烟斗，把穿着拖鞋的双脚放到烧得很旺的壁炉前。突然，他看了下手表。

    "I expect developments, Watson."

    “沃森，我想事态有新的进展了。”

    "When?"

    “什么时候？”

    "Now—within a few minutes. I dare say you thought I acted rather badly to Stanley Hopkins just now?"

    “现在，就这么几分钟内。我敢说，你认为我刚才对斯坦利·霍普金斯态度很差吧。”

    "I trust your judgment."

    “我相信你的判断。”

    "A very sensible reply, Watson. You must look at it this way: what I know is unofficial; what he knows is official. I have the right to private judgment, but he has none. He must disclose all, or he is a traitor to his service. In a doubtful case I would not put him in so painful a position, and so I reserve my information until my own mind is clear upon the matter."

    “非常明智的回答，沃森。你要这么看问题：我知道的只是非官方的看法，他了解到的才是官方的情况。我有权利不发表个人见解，但他不可以 。他必须公开所有的情况，否则就是玩忽职守。对于这个有争议的案子，我不想让他为难，所以我保留了我所了解的情况，直到我清楚了事情的来龙去脉。”

    "But when will that be?"

    “但那要到什么时候呢？”

    "The time has come. You will now be present at the last scene of a remarkable little drama."

    “时机已经成熟了。现在请你看这非凡戏剧的最后一幕。”

    There was a sound upon the stairs, and our door was opened to admit as fine a specimen of manhood as ever passed through it. He was a very tall young man, golden-moustached, blue-eyed, with a skin which had been burned by tropical suns, and a springy step which showed that the huge frame was as active as it was strong. He closed the door behind him, and then he stood with clenched hands and heaving breast, choking down some overmastering emotion.

    这时楼下传来了脚步声，我们的门打开了，进来了一位具有典型男子汉气概的人。这个年轻人个头很高，有着金黄色的胡须和深蓝色的眼睛，他有被热带阳光炙烤出的健康肤色，还有那矫健的步伐，这些都展示着他那健壮的体格和灵活的身躯。他随手关上房门，站在那里两手握拳，胸膛一起一伏的，似乎在极力压抑着心中强烈的感情。

    "Sit down, Captain Croker. You got my telegram?"

    “请坐，克罗克船长。你收到我的电报了吧？”

    Our visitor sank into an arm-chair and looked from one to the other of us with questioning eyes.

    我们的客人坐在一把扶手椅上，用疑问的目光来回看着我们。

    "I got your telegram, and I came at the hour you said. I heard that you had been down to the office. There was no getting away from you. Let's hear the worst. What are you going to do with me? Arrest me? Speak out, man! You can't sit there and play with me like a cat with a mouse."

    “我收到了你的电报，并且按你说的时间来了。我听说你去过办公室，我是逃不掉了。让我听听最坏的消息吧。你要把我怎么样呢？逮捕我？你说啊！你不能坐在那儿和我玩猫捉老鼠的游戏啊！”

    "Give him a cigar," said Holmes. "Bite on that, Captain Croker, and don't let your nerves run away with you. I should not sit here smoking with you if I thought that you were a common criminal, you may be sure of that. Be frank with me, and we may do some good. Play tricks with me, and I'll crush you."

    福尔摩斯说：“给他一支雪茄。抽一支，克罗克船长，不要让你的情绪失控。你要知道，要是我把你当成一般的罪犯，我就不会坐在这儿和你一起抽烟了。和你说实话吧，我们可以想想办法。要是你要和我耍花招，我就毁了你。”

    "What do you wish me to do?"

    “你要我怎么做？”

    "To give me a true account of all that happened at the Abbey Grange last night—a true account, mind you, with nothing added and nothing taken off. I know so much already that if you go one inch off the straight I'll blow this police whistle from my window and the affair goes out of my hands forever."

    “给我如实地讲述昨晚发生在格兰其庄园的事——我告诉你，老老实实地讲，别添点儿什么也别缺点儿什么。我已经了解到很多了，如果你的描述有半点儿偏差，我直接到窗口吹警哨，那这事我就再也管不了了。”

    The sailor thought for a little. Then he struck his leg with his great, sun-burned hand.

    这位水手想了一会儿。他用他晒黑的大手猛拍了一下大腿。

    "I'll chance it," he cried. "I believe you are a man of your word, and a white man, and I'll tell you the whole story. But one thing I will say first. So far as I am concerned I regret nothing and I fear nothing, and I would do it all again and be proud of the job. Curse the beast, if he had as many lives as a cat he would owe them all to me! But it's the lady, Mary-Mary Fraser—for never will I call her by that accursed name. When I think of getting her into trouble, I who would give my life just to bring one smile to her dear face, it's that that turns my soul into water. And yet—and yet—what less could I do? I'll tell you my story, gentlemen, and then I'll ask you as man to man what less could I do.

    喊道：“我碰碰运气吧。我相信你言出必行，是一个靠得住的人，我会把整件事都告诉你。不过事前我要说清楚。至今我仍认为，我无怨无悔，也无所畏惧，这件事我还可以再做一遍，并以此为荣。我诅咒这个混蛋，就算他像猫一样有九条命，我也要把他弄死九次！但是，说到这位女士，玛丽——玛丽·弗雷泽，我永远不用她丈夫的姓来称呼她，只为博得她的笑容，我愿意献出我的生命。一想到我给她惹出的麻烦，我的灵魂就陷入一片冰冷。但是——但是——我还能做什么呢？我告诉你我的故事，先生们，然后你们设身处地为我想一想，我有什么别的办法呢？

    "I must go back a bit. You seem to know everything, so I expect that you know that I met her when she was a passenger and I was first officer of the Rock of Gibraltar. From the first day I met her she was the only woman to me. Every day of that voyage I loved her more, and many a time since have I kneeled down in the darkness of the night watch and kissed the deck of that ship because I knew her dear feet had trod it. She was never engaged to me. She treated me as fairly as ever a woman treated a man. I have no complaint to make. It was all love on my side, and all good comradeship and friendship on hers. When we parted she was a free woman, but I could never again be a free man.

    “我得从头说起。你好像什么都知道了，所以我估计你也知道我们是在‘直布罗陀磐石'号上相遇的，她是旅客，我是大副。从我遇见她的第一天起，她就成了我心中唯一的女人。在航行途中，随着日子的流逝，我越来越爱她。我多少次在值夜班的时候跪在黑暗的甲板上，凝视并俯吻着甲板，只因为我知道她从那里走过。她从来没和我正式地交往过。她像一般女人对待男人一般对待我。但我没有怨言。我只是单相思，她对我只是朋友、同伴。我们分别的时候她仍是无牵无挂，而我却心中充满牵挂。

    "Next time I came back from sea I heard of her marriage. Well, why shouldn't she marry whom she liked? Title and money—who could carry them better than she? She was born for all that is beautiful and dainty. I didn't grieve over her marriage. I was not such a selfish hound as that. I just rejoiced that good luck had come her way, and that she had not thrown herself away on a penniless sailor. That's how I loved Mary Fraser.

    “我第二次航海回来后，听说她结婚了。她当然可以嫁给她喜欢的人。爵位，金钱——谁比她更值得拥有这些呢？她生来就应该拥有一切美好和高贵的东西。我并不为她的结婚而伤心，我可不是一个自私的家伙。我庆幸她交了好运，没落到一个一文不名的水手手里。我就是这样爱着玛丽·弗雷泽。

    "Well, I never thought to see her again; but last voyage I was promoted, and the new boat was not yet launched, so I had to wait for a couple of months with my people at Sydenham. One day out in a country lane I met Theresa Wright, her old maid. She told me about her, about him, about everything. I tell you, gentlemen, it nearly drove me mad. This drunken hound, that he should dare to raise his hand to her whose boots he was not worthy to lick! I met Theresa again. Then I met Mary herself—and met her again. Then she would meet me no more. But the other day I had a notice that I was to start on my voyage within a week, and I determined that I would see her once before I left. Theresa was always my friend, for she loved Mary and hated this villain almost as much as I did. From her I learned the ways of the house. Mary used to sit up reading in her own little room downstairs. I crept round there last night and scratched at the window. At first she would not open to me, but in her heart I know that now she loves me, and she could not leave me in the frosty night. She whispered to me to come round to the big front window, and I found it open before me so as to let me into the dining-room. Again I heard from her own lips things that made my blood boil, and again I cursed this brute who mishandled the woman that I loved. Well, gentlemen, I was standing with her just inside the window, in all innocence, as God is my judge, when he rushed like a madman into the room, called her the vilest name that a man could use to a woman, and welted her across the face with the stick he had in his hand. I had sprung for the poker, and it was a fair fight between us. See here on my arm where his first blow fell. Then it was my turn, and I went through him as if he had been a rotten pumpkin. Do you think I was sorry? Not I! It was his life or mine, but far more than that it was his life or hers, for how could I leave her in the power of this madman? That was how I killed him. Was I wrong? Well, then, what would either of you gentlemen have done if you had been in my position?"

    “嗯，我没想到会再遇到她。上次航行以后我被提升，而新船还没下海，所以我要和我的水手们在西顿汉姆停留两个月。一天，我在乡村的一条小道上遇见了她的老女仆，特里萨·赖特。她告诉我她的情况，还有她丈夫的情况，一切的一切。我告诉你们，先生们，这简直要把我气疯了。那个醉鬼，连舔她的鞋跟都不配，竟敢动手打她。后来我又见到了特里萨。然后我见到了玛丽本人，之后又看见她一次。此后她不愿再见我了。但是几天后，我得到通知要在一周内出海，于是我决定出发以前见她一面。特里萨总是肯帮助我，因为她爱玛丽，并像我一样痛恨那个混蛋。我从她那里得知了房子的情况。玛丽习惯在楼下她自己的小屋里读书到深夜。昨天晚上我悄悄地爬到那里轻轻敲她的窗户。起初她不肯给我开窗，但是现在我知道，她内心其实是爱我的，她不忍心让我夜里在外面挨冻。她悄声对我说，要我拐到正面的大窗前，我发现它是开着的，就走进餐厅。我又一次从她嘴里听到那些事，我的血液都快沸腾了，又一次，我咒骂那个虐待我心爱女人的混蛋。先生们，我和她只是站在窗内，完全是清白的，上天可以作证。这时那个人像个疯子似的冲进屋来，用最难听的话骂她，还用他手里的棍子朝她脸上抡去。我冲过去抓起拨火条，接着我们就开始拼死搏斗。你看我的手臂，他先打中了我。之后轮到我了，我像打一个烂南瓜似的，狠狠把他打死了。你认为我后悔吗？不！不是他死便是我亡，更严重的是，他不死玛丽的生命就有危险了，我怎么能够把玛丽留在一个疯子的手中呢？这就是我杀死他的过程。我错了吗?先生们，要是你们二位中有一人处在我的位置上，会怎么做呢？”

    "She had screamed when he struck her, and that brought old Theresa down from the room above. There was a bottle of wine on the sideboard, and I opened it and poured a little between Mary's lips, for she was half dead with the shock. Then I took a drop myself. Theresa was as cool as ice, and it was her plot as much as mine. We must make it appear that burglars had done the thing. Theresa kept on repeating our story to her mistress, while I swarmed up and cut the rope of the bell. Then I lashed her in her chair, and frayed out the end of the rope to make it look natural, else they would wonder how in the world a burglar could have got up there to cut it. Then I gathered up a few plates and pots of silver, to carry out the idea of a robbery, and there I left them with orders to give the alarm when I had a quarter of an hour's start. I dropped the silver into the pond and made off for Sydenham, feeling that for once in my life I had done a real good night's work. And that's the truth and the whole truth, Mr. Holmes, if it costs me my neck."

    “他打玛丽的时候，玛丽大叫了一声，那叫声唤来了特里萨，她从楼上跑下来。橱柜上有一瓶葡萄酒，我打开往玛丽的嘴里倒了一点儿，因为她吓得半死。然后我自己也喝了一口。特里萨非常冷静，故事是我们俩编的。我们必须造成有强盗杀人的假象。特里萨一再给她的女主人重复我们编造的故事，而我爬上去切断铃绳。然后我把玛丽绑在椅子上，又磨损绳子的末端使它看起来更自然，否则，人们会怀疑强盗怎么会上去割绳子。然后我拿走一些银制器皿，装成庄园遭劫的样子。接着我就离开了，并且让她们一刻钟后报警。我把银器丢进水池里，就到西顿汉姆去了，我感到我干了人生中一晚上真正有正义的事。这就是事实，全部事实，福尔摩斯先生，是不是打算要我偿命呢？”

    Holmes smoked for some time in silence. Then he crossed the room and shook our visitor by the hand.

    福尔摩斯默默地抽着烟，沉默了半晌。然后他穿过屋子，走过去握住客人的手。

    "That's what I think," said he. "I know that every word is true, for you have hardly said a word which I did not know. No one but an acrobat or a sailor could have got up to that bell-rope from the bracket, and no one but a sailor could have made the knots with which the cord was fastened to the chair. Only once had this lady been brought into contact with sailors, and that was on her voyage, and it was someone of her own class of life, since she was trying hard to shield him and so showing that she loved him. You see how easy it was for me to lay my hands upon you when once I had started upon the right trail."

    他说：“这正是我所想的。我知道你说的每句话都是真的，因为你说的我全猜到了。除了杂技演员外，只有水手才能从墙上的支架上够到铃绳，只有水手才会打那把椅子上的那种绳结。这位夫人只有在那一次航海旅行时和水手有过接触，并且那水手和她社会地位相同，因为她尽力掩护这个水手，这就说明她爱上了这个水手。你看我一旦步入正确的轨道，抓住你是多么容易啊。”

    "I thought the police never could have seen through our dodge."

    “我原以为警察永远不会识破我们的计谋。”

    "And the police haven't; nor will they, to the best of my belief. Now, look here, Captain Croker, this is a very serious matter, though I am willing to admit that you acted under the most extreme provocation to which any man could be subjected. I am not sure that in defence of your own life your action will not be pronounced legitimate. However, that is for a British jury to decide. Meanwhile I have so much sympathy for you that if you choose to disappear in the next twenty-four hours I will promise you that no one will hinder you."

    “相信我，那些警察不会，也永远不会。现在的情况是这样，克罗克船长，虽然我乐意承认你是在受到极大的挑衅之后才行动的，任何男人都会像你这样做，但是事态很严重。我不能确定你的自卫是否可以算作合法。不过，这要大英帝国的陪审团来决定。同时，我非常同情你，因此你如果可以在二十四小时内逃走，我保证没有人会阻拦你。”

    "And then it will all come out?"

    “那这就没事了？”

    "Certainly it will come out."

    “当然没事了。”

    The sailor flushed with anger.

    水手的脸都气红了。

    "What sort of proposal is that to make a man? I know enough of law to understand that Mary would be had as accomplice. Do you think I would leave her alone to face the music while I slunk away? No, sir; let them do their worst upon me, but for heaven's sake, Mr. Holmes, find some way of keeping my poor Mary out of the courts."

    “一个大男人怎么能接受这样的提议呢？以我对法律的了解，玛丽会因同谋罪而遭到拘禁。你认为我会丢下她一个人承担后果，而自己逃跑吗？不，先生，让他们严厉地惩罚我吧。看在上帝的份上，福尔摩斯先生，请您想办法让玛丽不受审判。”

    Holmes for a second time held out his hand to the sailor.

    福尔摩斯第二次向这位水手伸过手去。

    "I was only testing you, and you ring true every time. Well, it is a great responsibility that I take upon myself, but I have given Hopkins an excellent hint, and if he can't avail himself of it I can do no more. See here, Captain Croker, we'll do this in due form of law. You are the prisoner. Watson, you are a British jury, and I never met a man who was more eminently fitted to represent one. I am the judge. Now, gentleman of the jury, you have heard the evidence. Do you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty?"

    “我只在试探你，而你每次都经受住了考验。我自己要承担很大的责任，但我已经给霍普金斯很多提示了，如果他不善于思考，我也管不了了。克罗克船长，是这样，我们将按照法律的适当形式予以解决。你是犯人。沃森，你是英国陪审员，我没见过比你更适合做陪审员的人了。我是法官。现在，陪审员先生，你们已经听取了证词。你们认为犯人有罪还是无罪？”

    "Not guilty, my lord," said I.

    “无罪，法官大人。”我回答道。

    "Vox populi, vox Dei. You are acquitted, Captain Croker. So long as the law does not find some other victim you are safe from me. Come back to this lady in a year, and may her future and yours justify us in the judgment which we have pronounced this night."

    “人民的呼声便是上帝的呼声。克罗克船长，你无罪释放。只要法律找不到其他受害者，你就是清白的。一年以后再回到这位夫人身边，希望你们的未来能证明我们今夜的判决是正确的。”

    The Adventure of the Second Stain

    第二块血迹

    I had intended "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange" to be the last of those exploits of my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, which I should ever communicate to the public. This resolution of mine was not due to any lack of material, since I have notes of many hundreds of cases to which I have never alluded, nor was it caused by any waning interest on the part of my readers in the singular personality and unique methods of this remarkable man. The real reason lay in the reluctance which Mr. Holmes has shown to the continued publication of his experiences. So long as he was in actual professional practice the records of his successes were of some practical value to him; but since he has definitely retired from London and betaken himself to study and bee-farming on the Sussex Downs, notoriety has become hateful to him, and he has peremptorily requested that his wishes in this matter should be strictly observed. It was only upon my representing to him that I had given a promise that "The Adventure of the Second Stain" should be published when the times were ripe, and pointing out to him that it is only appropriate that this long series of episodes should culminate in the most important international case which he has ever been called upon to handle, that I at last succeeded in obtaining his consent that a carefully-guarded account of the incident should at last be laid before the public. If in telling the story I seem to be somewhat vague in certain details the public will readily understand that there is an excellent reason for my reticence.

    我原本打算让《格兰其庄园》作为有关我的朋友舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生辉煌战绩的收尾之作，以后我就不再公开发表关于他的事迹了。作出这个决定并不是因为我缺乏素材，我这儿还有数百个案子未曾提及；也不是因为读者对这个奇人与众不同的个性和独特的行为方式丧失了兴趣。真正的原因是，福尔摩斯先生不愿意继续公开他的经历了。只要他在进行实际的探案工作，那些成功的案例对他来说是很有实践价值的。但既然他决意要隐退伦敦，到萨塞克斯丘陵地带去做研究并且养蜂，那些恼人的名气让他心生厌恶，所以他再三叮嘱我一定要严格尊重他的意愿。我向他讲明，我已承诺读者，等时机成熟了，就发表《第二块血迹》。我还指出，只有把这个最重要的国际大案作为整部探案集的收尾才合适，这才终于获得了他的同意，让这篇写得极为小心的案子最后得以与大众见面。讲这个故事的时候，如果我在某些细节上写得有些含糊的话，请公众理解我不得不有所保留的苦衷吧。

    It was, then, in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be nameless, that upon one Tuesday morning in autumn we found two visitors of European fame within the walls of our humble room in Baker Street. The one, austere, highnosed, eagle-eyed, and dominant, was none other than the illustrious Lord Bellinger, twice Premier of Britain. The other, dark, clear-cut, and elegant, hardly yet of middle age, and endowed with every beauty of body and of mind, was the Right Honourable Trelawney Hope, Secretary for European Affairs, and the most rising statesman in the country. They sat side by side upon our paper-littered settee, and it was easy to see from their worn and anxious faces that it was business of the most pressing importance which had brought them. The Premier's thin, blue-veined hands were clasped tightly over the ivory head of his umbrella, and his gaunt, ascetic face looked gloomily from Holmes to me. The European Secretary pulled nervously at his moustache and fidgeted with the seals of his watch-chain.

    那是某一年秋天（即使年代也不能提及）一个星期二的上午，两名驰名欧洲的访客光临了我们贝克街的陋室。其中一位，鼻梁挺拔，目光犀利，相貌威严，他不是别人，正是著名的贝林杰，他曾两度担任英国的首相。另一位肤色黝黑，轮廓清晰，举止文雅，虽还不到中年，但文武双全。他就是特里劳尼·霍普——负责欧洲事务的大臣，英国最有前途的政治家。他们二人并肩坐在扔满文件的长沙发上，从他们疲惫而焦虑的神情可以看出，一定有要事相求，他们才到这里来。首相那青筋凸起的双手紧紧握着一把雨伞的象牙柄，他面容憔悴而漠然，那阴郁的眼神在我和福尔摩斯之间游走。那位欧洲事务大臣时而捻捻胡须，时而摸摸表链坠，心神不宁的样子。

    "When I discovered my loss, Mr. Holmes, which was at eight o'clock this morning, I at once informed the Prime Minister. It was at his suggestion that we have both come to you."

    “福尔摩斯先生，当我今天上午8点发现有重要文件遗失后，就立刻上报给了首相。遵从首相的建议，我们过来找你了。”

    "Have you informed the police?"

    “您通知警方了吗？”

    "No, sir," said the Prime Minister, with the quick, decisive manner for which he was famous. "We have not done so, nor is it possible that we should do so. To inform the police must, in the long run, mean to inform the public. This is what we particularly desire to avoid."

    “没有，先生，”首相用自己那众所周知的迅速而又果断的方式回答说，“我们还没有这么做，也不可能这么做。告知警方就意味着把文件公之于众。这正是我们极力避免的事。”

    "And why, sir?"

    “这是为什么呢，先生？”

    "Because the document in question is of such immense importance that its publication might very easily—I might almost say probably—lead to European complications of the utmost moment. It is not too much to say that peace or war may hang upon the issue. Unless its recovery can be attended with the utmost secrecy, then it may as well not be recovered at all, for all that is aimed at by those who have taken it is that its contents should be generally known."

    “因为这个文件非常重要，一旦公之于众就会很容易、或者说很可能会引起欧洲形势的复杂化。毫不过分地说，和平和战争就取决于此了。除非秘密地追回文件，否则也就无法挽回了，因为盗窃文件的目的正是为了公布它的内容。”

    "I understand. Now, Mr. Trelawney Hope, I should be much obliged if you would tell me exactly the circumstances under which this document disappeared."

    “我明白。好，特里劳尼·霍普先生，如果能请您准确地叙述一下文件是在什么情况下丢失的，我将会非常感激”

    "That can be done in a very few words, Mr. Holmes. The letter—for it was a letter from a foreign potentate—was received six days ago. It was of such importance that I have never left it in my safe, but I have taken it across each evening to my house in Whitehall Terrace, and kept it in my bedroom in a locked despatch-box. It was there last night. Of that I am certain. I actually opened the box while I was dressing for dinner, and saw the document inside. This morning it was gone. The despatch-box had stood beside the glass upon my dressing-table all night. I am a light sleeper, and so is my wife. We are both prepared to swear that no one could have entered the room during the night. And yet I repeat that the paper is gone."

    “几句话就可以说清楚了，福尔摩斯先生。我们六天前收到一封信，是一位异国的君王寄来的。这封信十分重要，我都不敢把它放在保险柜里，而是每天晚上带回我位于白厅住宅街的家中，锁在卧室的文件箱里。昨天晚上还在那儿，我十分肯定。我换衣服准备吃晚饭时，还看见文件在里面。今天上午它就不见了。文件箱一整夜都放在我卧室梳妆台的镜子旁边。我和我的妻子睡觉都睡得都不沉。我们二人都敢发誓夜里没有人进屋。但是文件确实不见了。”

    "What time did you dine?"

    “您几点吃的晚饭？”

    "Half-past seven."

    “7点半。”

    "How long was it before you went to bed?"

    “您睡觉前做了哪些事？”

    "My wife had gone to the theatre. I waited up for her. It was half-past eleven before we went to our room."

    “我的妻子出去看戏了，我一直在等她。直到11点半我们才进卧室睡觉。”

    "Then for four hours the despatch-box had lain unguarded?"

    “那么，文件箱放在那儿四小时没人看守？”

    "No one is ever permitted to enter that room save the housemaid in the morning, and my valet, or my wife's maid, during the rest of the day. They are both trusty servants who have been with us for some time. Besides, neither of them could possibly have known that there was anything more valuable than the ordinary departmental papers in my despatch-box."

    “除了我自己的仆人和我妻子的女仆早晨可以进屋以外，其他任何时间绝不允许任何人走进屋内。他们都是可信的仆人，跟着我们有段日子了。另外，他们俩谁也不可能知道我的文件箱里放着比一般公文更重要的东西。”

    "Who did know of the existence of that letter?"

    “谁知道有这封信呢？”

    "No one in the house."

    “家里没有一个人知道。”

    "Surely your wife knew?"

    “您的妻子一定知道吧？”

    "No, sir; I had said nothing to my wife until I missed the paper this morning."

    “她不知道，先生，今天上午这封信丢了后我才告诉她。”

    The Premier nodded approvingly.

    首相赞许地点点头，

    "I have long known, sir, how high is your sense of public duty," said he. "I am convinced that in the case of a secret of this importance it would rise superior to the most intimate domestic ties."

    他说：“先生，我早就知道您的社会责任感很强。我深信这样一封重要信件的保密问题要高于最亲密的家庭情感。”

    The European Secretary bowed.

    这位欧洲事务大臣点了点头。

    "You do me no more than justice, sir. Until this morning I have never breathed one word to my wife upon this matter."

    “您过奖了，先生。今天早晨以前，关于这封信，我没向妻子透露半个字。”

    "Could she have guessed?"

    “她能猜到吗？”

    "No, Mr. Holmes, she could not have guessed—nor could anyone have guessed."

    “不，她不可能猜到，谁也不会猜到的。”

    "Have you lost any documents before?"

    “您以前丢过文件吗？”

    "No, sir."

    “没有，先生。”

    "Who is there in England who did know of the existence of this letter?"

    “英国还有谁知道有这样一封信存在呢？”

    "Each member of the Cabinet was informed of it yesterday; but the pledge of secrecy which attends every Cabinet meeting was increased by the solemn warning which was given by the Prime Minister. Good heavens, to think that within a few hours I should myself have lost it!" His handsome face was distorted with a spasm of despair, and his hands tore at his hair. For a moment we caught a glimpse of the natural man, impulsive, ardent, keenly sensitive. The next the aristocratic mask was replaced, and the gentle voice had returned. "Besides the members of the Cabinet there are two, or possibly three, departmental officials who know of the letter. No one else in England, Mr. Holmes, I assure you."

    “昨天通知了各位内阁大臣有这样一封信存在，但每次内阁会议都强调保密，在昨天的会上首相又特别郑重地提醒了大家。天啊，没想到才过了几个小时，我自己就把这封信丢了！”他用手揪着自己的头发，英俊的面容因为绝望而扭曲变形。我们一时感受到一个普通人感情的自然流露，感受到他的冲动、热切和敏感。随后他的脸上又戴上那张贵族的面具，语气重新温和起来了。“除了内阁大臣之外，还有两名，可能三名官员知道这封信。福尔摩斯先生，我保证英国再没有别人知道了。”

    "But abroad?"

    “可是国外呢？”

    "I believe that no one abroad has seen it save the man who wrote it. I am well convinced that his Ministers—that the usual official channels have not been employed."

    “我相信除了写信人以外，国外不会有人看见过这封信的。我深信写信人没有通过他的大臣们，也就是说这件事并非通过惯常的官方渠道办理的。”

    Holmes considered for some little time.

    福尔摩斯考虑了一小会儿。

    "Now, sir, I must ask you more particularly what this document is, and why its disappearance should have such momentous consequences?"

    “先生，我不得不细问这封信里写的是什么，为什么它的失踪会造成这样重大的后果？”

    The two statesmen exchanged a quick glance and the Premier's shaggy eyebrows gathered in a frown.

    这两位政治家迅速交换了一下眼色，首相浓眉紧锁。

    "Mr. Holmes, the envelope is a long, thin one of pale blue colour. There is a seal of red wax stamped with a crouching lion. It is addressed in large, bold handwriting to—"

    他回答道：“福尔摩斯先生，信封又窄又长，是淡蓝色的。信封上面有红色的封口蜡印，印着一个蹲伏的狮子。收信人的姓名写得大而醒目——”

    "I fear, sir," said Holmes, "that, interesting and indeed essential as these details are, my inquiries must go more to the root of things. What was the letter?"

    “先生，我想，”福尔摩斯打断他说，“这些有趣的细节的确十分重要，但我的调查总要追本溯源吧。信的内容到底是什么？”

    "That is a State secret of the utmost importance, and I fear that I cannot tell you, nor do I see that it is necessary. If by the aid of the powers which you are said to possess you can find such an envelope as I describe with its enclosure, you will have deserved well of your country, and earned any reward which it lies in our power to bestow."

    “那是最重要的国家机密，恐怕我不便告诉你，并且我看你也没必要知道。如果你能施展你那所谓的才能，找到我所说的信封和信的话，你会受到国家的奖赏，获得我们权限所允许给予的最大报酬。”

    Sherlock Holmes rose with a smile.

    舍洛克·福尔摩斯笑了笑，站起来。

    "You are two of the most busy men in the country," said he, "and in my own small way I have also a good many calls upon me. I regret exceedingly that I cannot help you in this matter, and any continuation of this interview would be a waste of time."

    他说：“你们二位是英国最忙的人，我虽是个小侦探，来访的人也很多。我非常遗憾，这件事情我帮不上忙，继续谈下去只是在浪费时间。”

    The Premier sprang to his feet with that quick, fierce gleam of his deep-set eyes before which a Cabinet has cowered. "I am not accustomed, sir," he began, but mastered his anger and resumed his seat. For a minute or more we all sat in silence. Then the old statesman shrugged his shoulders.

    首相一跃而起，深陷的双眼里猛地射出凶光，那是一种使全体内阁大臣都望而生畏的目光。“先生，我不能接受……”他开始说，但又压制住自己的怒火，重新坐了下来。有一两分钟，我们都静静地坐着。最后老政治家耸了耸肩。

    "We must accept your terms, Mr. Holmes. No doubt you are right, and it is unreasonable for us to expect you to act unless we give you our entire confidence."

    “我们接受你的条件，福尔摩斯先生。你确实是对的，如果我们不给你完全的信任，那指望你来帮忙也是不合情理的。”

    "I agree with you, sir," said the younger statesman.

    那位年轻的政治家说：“我同意您的意见。”

    "Then I will tell you, relying entirely upon your honour and that of your colleague, Dr. Watson. I may appeal to your patriotism also, for I could not imagine a greater misfortune for the country than that this affair should come out."

    “那么，我告诉你，因为我完全信任你和你的同事沃森医生。我也呼吁你们的爱国精神，因为事情一旦暴露出去，我无法想象这会给国家带来多大的灾难。”

    "You may safely trust us."

    “您可以放心地相信我。”

    "The letter, then, is from a certain foreign potentate who has been ruffled by some recent Colonial developments of this country. It has been written hurriedly and upon his own responsibility entirely. Inquiries have shown that his Ministers know nothing of the matter. At the same time it is couched in so unfortunate a manner, and certain phrases in it are of so provocative a character, that its publication would undoubtedly lead to a most dangerous state of feeling in this country. There would be such a ferment, sir, that I do not hesitate to say that within a week of the publication of that letter this country would be involved in a great war."

    “这封信是一位外国君王写的，他对于我国殖民地的发展十分不满。信是匆忙之中写的，并且完全出于他个人的看法。调查表明，他的大臣们对这件事并不知情。同时，这封信措辞太不合体统，其中有些语句还带有挑衅的意味，公开这封信无疑将会激怒所有英国人。这会引起轩然大波的，先生，我敢说这封信如果发表，一星期之后将会引发一场大规模战争。”

    Holmes wrote a name upon a slip of paper and handed it to the Premier. "Exactly. It was he. And it is this letter—this letter which may well mean the expenditure of a thousand millions and the lives of a hundred thousand men—which has become lost in this unaccountable fashion."

    福尔摩斯在一张纸条上写了一个名字，交给了首相。“是的。就是他。正是这封信，它有可能引起几亿英镑的损耗和几十万人的牺牲，但它却莫名其妙地丢了。”

    "Have you informed the sender?"

    “您通知写这封信的人了吗？”

    "Yes, sir, a cipher telegram has been despatched."

    “通知了，先生，刚才发了密码电报。”

    "Perhaps he desires the publication of the letter."

    “或许写信的人希望发表这封信。”

    "No, sir, we have strong reason to believe that he already understands that he has acted in an indiscreet and hotheaded manner. It would be a greater blow to him and to his country than to us if this letter were to come out."

    “不，我们有足够的理由相信他已经意识到了自己的轻率和不稳重。如果把这封信公之于众，对他自己国家的打击要比对英国的打击更为沉重。”

    "If this is so, whose interest is it that the letter should come out? Why should anyone desire to steal it or to publish it?"

    “如果是这样的话，公布这封信会使哪些人获利呢？　为什么有人要盗窃并且公开这封信呢？”

    "There, Mr. Holmes, you take me into regions of high international politics. But if you consider the European situation you will have no difficulty in perceiving the motive. The whole of Europe is an armed camp. There is a double league which makes a fair balance of military power. Great Britain holds the scales. If Britain were driven into war with one confederacy, it would assure the supremacy of the other confederacy, whether they joined in the war or not. Do you follow?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，这就牵涉到紧张的国际政局了。如果你考虑一下目前欧洲的局势，就不难看出偷这封信的动机了。整个欧洲就是一个武装阵营，有两个势均力敌的军事联盟。大英帝国是天平的决定性砝码。如果英国被迫和某个联盟交战，必然会使另一联盟的那些国家占优势，不管它们参战与否。你明白了吗？”

    "Very clearly. It is then the interest of the enemies of this potentate to secure and publish this letter, so as to make a breach between his country and ours?"

    “非常明白。也就是说，是这位君王的敌人想要得到并且公开这封信，以便使发信人的国家和我们国家关系破裂。”

    "Yes, sir."

    “是的。”

    "And to whom would this document be sent if it fell into the hands of an enemy?" "To any of the great Chancelleries of Europe. It is probably speeding on its way thither at the present instant as fast as steam can take it."

    “如果这封信落到某个敌人的手中，他要把这封信交给谁呢？”“交给欧洲任何一个国家的大臣。也许持信的人现在正乘火车急速前往目的地呢。”

    Mr. Trelawney Hope dropped his head on his chest and groaned aloud. The Premier placed his hand kindly upon his shoulder.

    特里劳尼·霍普先生垂下了头，大声地叹起气来。首相亲切地把手放在他肩上安慰他说：

    "It is your misfortune, my dear fellow. No one can blame you. There is no precaution which you have neglected. Now, Mr. Holmes, you are in full possession of the facts. What course do you recommend?"

    “这是你的不幸，亲爱的朋友。没人能责怪你，你没有疏忽大意。好了，福尔摩斯先生，你完全了解事实了。你认为该怎么办？”

    Holmes shook his head mournfully.

    福尔摩斯无可奈何地摇了摇头。

    "You think, sir, that unless this document is recovered there will be war?"

    “先生，您认为如果找不到文件，就会发生战争吗？”

    "I think it is very probable."

    “我想很有可能。”

    "Then, sir, prepare for war."

    “那么，先生，准备打仗吧。”

    "That is a hard saying, Mr. Holmes."

    “这很难说，福尔摩斯先生。”

    "Consider the facts, sir. It is inconceivable that it was taken after eleven-thirty at night, since I understand that Mr. Hope and his wife were both in the room from that hour until the loss was found out. It was taken, then, yesterday evening between seven-thirty and eleven-thirty, probably near the earlier hour, since whoever took it evidently knew that it was there and would naturally secure it as early as possible. Now, sir, if a document of this importance were taken at that hour, where can it be now? No one has any reason to retain it. It has been passed rapidly on to those who need it. What chance have we now to overtake or even to trace it? It is beyond our reach."

    “想想现实吧，先生。既然霍普先生和他的妻子从11点半到发现信件丢失为止，一直留在屋内，所以信是11点半以前丢的。那么信件是昨晚7点半到11点半之间被盗走的，很可能是7点半后不久，因为偷信的人如果知道信在文件箱内，一定想尽早纳到手。这样的话，这么重要的文件如果那时就被偷走了，现在会在哪呢？谁也没有理由扣留这封信，信很快便会转到需要这封信的人手中。别说追回信了，就是要弄清它去向，我们的胜算又能有多少？这我们做不到。”

    The Prime Minister rose from the settee.

    首相从长沙发上站了起来。

    "What you say is perfectly logical, Mr. Holmes. I feel that the matter is indeed out of our hands."

    “福尔摩斯先生，你说的完全合乎逻辑。我感到这件事我们确实是无法控制 了。”

    "Let us presume, for argument's sake, that the document was taken by the maid or by the valet—"

    “为了便于讨论，我们先假设信是女仆或是男仆拿走的——”

    "They are both old and tried servants."

    “他们都是经受过考验的老佣人。”

    "I understand you to say that your room is on the second floor, that there is no entrance from without, and that from within no one could go up unobserved. It must, then, be somebody in the house who has taken it. To whom would the thief take it? To one of several international spies and secret agents, whose names are tolerably familiar to me. There are three who may be said to be the heads of their profession. I will begin my research by going round and finding if each of them is at his post. If one is missing—especially if he has disappeared since last night—we will have some indication as to where the document has gone."

    “我记得您说过，您的卧室是在三楼，并且没有直接通往楼外的出口，没人能从楼外爬上去而不被发现。所以，一定是你家里的什么人拿走的。这个小偷会把信交给谁呢?交给了一个国际间谍，或是国际特务，这些人名字我还是熟悉的。有三个人可以说是他们的头儿。我决定先一个个调查，看他们是否还在他们原来的位子上呆着。如果有一个失踪了，尤其是从昨天晚上就不见了的，那我们便可以得到一点儿启发，知道文件的去向了。”

    "Why should he be missing?" asked the European Secretary. "He would take the letter to an Embassy in London, as likely as not."

    欧洲事务大臣问：“他为什么一定要失踪呢？他完全可以把信送到各国驻伦敦的大使馆。”

    "I fancy not. These agents work independently, and their relations with the Embassies are often strained."

    “我想不会的。这些特务一般独立行动，他们和大使馆的关系经常很紧张。”

    The Prime Minister nodded his acquiescence.

    首相点头表示默许。

    "I believe you are right, Mr. Holmes. He would take so valuable a prize to head-quarters with his own hands. I think that your course of action is an excellent one. Meanwhile, Hope, we cannot neglect all our other duties on account of this one misfortune. Should there be any fresh developments during the day we shall communicate with you, and you will no doubt let us know the results of your own inquiries."

    “福尔摩斯先生，我相信你说得有道理。他一定会把这样宝贵的东西亲手送交总部的。我认为你采取的步骤是相当可行的。同时，霍普，我们不要因为这件不幸的事情而忽略了其他事务。如果有新的情况，我们会告诉你，并且请你一定告诉我们关于你调查的结果。”

    The two statesmen bowed and walked gravely from the room.

    两位政治家向我们告别后，神色凝重地离开了。

    When our illustrious visitors had departed Holmes lit his pipe in silence, and sat for some time lost in the deepest thought. I had opened the morning paper and was immersed in a sensational crime which had occurred in London the night before, when my friend gave an exclamation, sprang to his feet, and laid his pipe down upon the mantelpiece.

    两位贵客走了以后，福尔摩斯默默地点上烟斗，坐下来，沉思了好一会儿。我打开了早报，沉浸在昨夜发生的一桩骇人听闻的谋杀案中，这时我的朋友长叹一声，站起身来，把烟斗搁在壁炉架上。

    "Yes," said he, "there is no better way of approaching it. The situation is desperate, but not hopeless. Even now, if we could be sure which of them has taken it, it is just possible that it has not yet passed out of his hands. After all, it is a question of money with these fellows, and I have the British Treasury behind me. If it's on the market I'll buy it—if it means another penny on the incometax. It is conceivable that the fellow might hold it back to see what bids come from this side before he tries his luck on the other. There are only those three capable of playing so bold a game—there are Oberstein, La Rothiere, and Eduardo Lucas. I will see each of them."

    他说：“是的，没有更好的解决办法了，情况很危急，但还不是彻底没有希望。现在我们应该搞确定谁拿走了那封信，可能他还没有把信交出去呢。毕竟，对于这些人无非就是钱的问题，我们有英国财政部撑腰。只要他肯卖，我们就要买，就算花的是财政税收的钱。可以想象这个偷信人藏着这封信，试探一下这一家能付多少，再试探一下另一家。只有三个人敢冒这样大的险，奥勃尔斯坦，拉若泽和艾秋阿多·卢卡斯。我要分别去找他们。”

    I glanced at my morning paper.

    我瞟了一眼手中的早报。

    "Is that Eduardo Lucas of Godolphin Street?"

    “是高道尔芬街的艾秋阿多·卢卡斯吗？”

    "Yes."

    “是的。”

    "You will not see him."

    “你见不到他了。”

    "Why not?"

    “为什么？”

    "He was murdered in his house last night."

    “他昨晚在家中被谋杀了。”

    My friend has so often astonished me in the course of our adventures that it was with a sense of exultation that I realized how completely I had astonished him. He stared in amazement, and then snatched the paper from my hands.

    在破案过程中，我的朋友总是时不时让我大吃一惊；而我头一次让他这么大吃一惊，心中不免十分得意。他惊讶地盯着报纸，然后从我手中夺过去。

    This was the paragraph which I had been engaged in reading when he rose from his chair: MURDER IN WESTMINSTER A crime of mysterious character was committed last night at 16, Godolphin Street, one of the old-fashioned and secluded rows of eighteenth-century houses which lie between the river and the Abbey, almost in the shadow of the great Tower of the Houses of Parliament. This small but select mansion has been inhabited for some years by Mr. Eduardo Lucas, well known in society circles both on account of his charming personality and because he has the well-deserved reputation of being one of the best amateur tenors in the country. Mr. Lucas is an unmarried man, thirty-four years of age, and his establishment consists of Mrs. Pringle, an elderly housekeeper, and of Mitton, his valet. The former retires early and sleeps at the top of the house. The valet was out for the evening, visiting a friend at Hammersmith. From ten o'clock onwards Mr. Lucas had the house to himself. What occurred during that time has not yet transpired, but at a quarter to twelve Policeconstable Barrett, passing along Godolphin Street, observed that the door of No. 16 was ajar. He knocked, but received no answer. Perceiving a light in the front room he advanced into the passage and again knocked, but without reply. He then pushed open the door and entered. The room was in a state of wild disorder, the furniture being all swept to one side, and one chair lying on its back in the centre. Beside this chair, and still grasping one of its legs, lay the unfortunate tenant of the house. He had been stabbed to the heart and must have died instantly. The knife with which the crime had been committed was a curved Indian dagger, plucked down from a trophy of Oriental arms which adorned one of the walls. Robbery does not appear to have been the motive of the crime, for there had been no attempt to remove the valuable contents of the room. Mr. Eduardo Lucas was so well known and popular that his violent and mysterious fate will arouse painful interest and intense sympathy in a wide-spread circle of friends.

    下面就是他从椅子上站起来的时候，我正读的那段。《威斯敏斯特教堂谋杀案》：昨晚在高道尔芬街16号发生了一起针对一位神秘人物的谋杀案。这条街位于泰晤士河与威斯敏斯特教堂之间，几乎隐蔽在国会大厦塔楼的阴影中，幽静的街道两旁全是18世纪的旧式住宅。伦敦社交界有名的艾秋阿多·卢卡斯先生在这栋小巧精致的楼房已经居住多年，他平易近人，曾享有英国最佳业余男高音的美名。卢卡斯先生至今未婚，现年34岁，家中有一名女管家普林格尔太太和一名男仆米顿。女管家住在阁楼上，很早便睡了。男仆当晚不在家，外出探望住在哈默史密斯的一位朋友。晚上10点以后，家中只有卢卡斯先生一人。那时发生了什么事情尚待查清，11点45分时，巴雷特警察巡逻经过高道尔芬街，发现16号的大门半开着。他敲了敲门，但没有人答应。看见前面的屋子里有灯光，便走进过道又敲了一下门，但仍然没有人回应。于是他推门走了进去。屋子里十分凌乱，家具几乎全都翻倒在一边，一把椅子倒在屋子中央。椅子旁边，躺着不幸的房主，一只手还紧抓着椅子腿。他被刀子刺穿了心脏，当场死亡。凶手杀人的凶器是一把弯曲的印度匕首，原本是挂在墙上作为装饰的东方武器。杀人动机似乎不是抢劫，因为屋内的贵重物品并没有丢失。艾秋阿多·卢卡斯先生这么有名、这么受欢迎，他神秘的暴死一定会引起他众多朋友的深切关心和同情。

    "Well, Watson, what do you make of this?" asked Holmes, after a long pause.

    福尔摩斯停了一会儿，说：“沃森，你怎么看？”

    "It is an amazing coincidence."

    “这是惊人的巧合。”

    "A coincidence! Here is one of the three men whom we had named as possible actors in this drama, and he meets a violent death during the very hours when we know that that drama was being enacted. The odds are enormous against its being coincidence. No figures could express them. No, my dear Watson, the two events are connected—must be connected. It is for us to find the connection."

    “巧合！他就是我们刚才说的最有可能登台表演的演员之一，他在这场戏正在上演的时候竟突然惨死。十有八九不是巧合，当然还不能证明。亲爱的沃森，这两件事是有联系的，一定有联系。我们要找出它们之间的联系。”

    "But now the official police must know all."

    “但现在警方一定全知道了。”

    "Not at all. They know all they see at Godolphin Street. They know—and shall know-nothing of Whitehall Terrace. Only we know of both events, and can trace the relation between them. There is one obvious point which would, in any case, have turned my suspicions against Lucas. Godolphin Street, Westminster, is only a few minutes' walk from Whitehall Terrace. The other secret agents whom I have named live in the extreme West End. It was easier, therefore, for Lucas than for the others to establish a connection or receive a message from the European Secretary's household—a small thing, and yet where events are compressed into a few hours it may prove essential. Halloa! what have we here?"

    “不会。他们只知道他们在高道尔芬街所看到的。他们不知道，将来也不会知道在白厅住宅街发生的事。只有我们知道两件事，而且可以追溯两者的联系。不论怎么说，有一点显然使我怀疑到了卢卡斯。从威斯敏斯特教堂区的高道尔芬街到白厅住宅街步行只需要几分钟。我说的其他两个间谍都住在伦敦西区的尽头。所以，卢卡斯要比其他两个人更容易和欧洲事务大臣的家人建立联系或是探听到消息，考虑到作案时间只发生在几小时之内，那么这一点也许非常重要。啊，看看谁来了？”

    Mrs. Hudson had appeared with a lady's card upon her salver. Holmes glanced at it, raised his eyebrows, and handed it over to me.

    赫德森太太拿着托盘走进来，盘内有一张女人的名片。福尔摩斯瞟了一眼名片，扬了扬眉毛，随手把名片递给了我。

    "Ask Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope if she will be kind enough to step up," said he.

    他说：“请希尔达·特里劳尼·霍普夫人上楼来。”

    A moment later our modest apartment, already so distinguished that morning, was further honoured by the entrance of the most lovely woman in London. I had often heard of the beauty of the youngest daughter of the Duke of Belminster, but no description of it, and no contemplation of colourless photographs, had prepared me for the subtle, delicate charm and the beautiful colouring of that exquisite head. And yet as we saw it that autumn morning, it was not its beauty which would be the first thing to impress the observer. The cheek was lovely, but it was paled with emotion; the eyes were bright, but it was the brightness of fever; the sensitive mouth was tight and drawn in an effort after self-command. Terror-not beauty—was what sprang first to the eye as our fair visitor stood framed for an instant in the open door.

    不久，我们这间陋室，在早晨接待了两位贵客后，又荣幸地接待了一位伦敦最可爱的女人。我经常听说贝尔敏斯特公爵小女儿的美貌，但无论别人对她的描述还是她本人的黑白照片，都不曾使我料到她那纤柔婀娜的身姿，和那闭月羞花的容颜。然而在那个秋天的上午，她给我们印象最深的并不是她的美貌。她的脸蛋的确很可爱，但却由于情绪激动而苍白黯淡；她双眼明亮，但却是那种焦灼的光；为了尽力控制自己，她那敏感的嘴唇紧紧地闭着。当她笔直地站在门边时，最先跃入我们眼帘的不是她的美貌而是她的恐惧。

    "Has my husband been here, Mr. Holmes?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，我丈夫来过这里吗？”

    "Yes, madam, he has been here."

    “不错，太太，他来过了。”

    "Mr. Holmes, I implore you not to tell him that I came here." Holmes bowed coldly, and motioned the lady to a chair.

    “福尔摩斯先生，我请求您不要告诉他我来过。”福尔摩斯冷冷地点点头，并且指着椅子请她坐下。

    "Your ladyship places me in a very delicate position. I beg that you will sit down and tell me what you desire; but I fear that I cannot make any unconditional promise."

    “夫人，您让我处于很为难的境地。我请您坐下讲讲您的要求，不过我恐怕不能无条件地答应一切。”

    She swept across the room and seated herself with her back to the window. It was a queenly presence—tall, graceful, and intensely womanly.

    她走到屋子另一边，背对着窗户坐下来。她真有女王的风度，高挑、优雅，极富女性的魅力。

    "Mr. Holmes," she said—and her white-gloved hands clasped and unclasped as she spoke- "I will speak frankly to you in the hope that it may induce you to speak frankly in return. There is complete confidence between my husband and me on all matters save one. That one is politics. On this his lips are sealed. He tells me nothing. Now, I am aware that there was a most deplorable occurrence in our house last night. I know that a paper has disappeared. But because the matter is political my husband refuses to take me into his complete confidence. Now it is essential—essential, I say—that I should thoroughly understand it. You are the only other person, save only these politicians, who knows the true facts. I beg you, then, Mr. Holmes, to tell me exactly what has happened and what it will lead to. Tell me all, Mr. Holmes. Let no regard for your client's interests keep you silent, for I assure you that his interests, if he would only see it, would be best served by taking me into his complete confidence. What was this paper which was stolen?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，”她说着，两只戴着白手套的手时而握在一起，时而松开，“我愿意对您开诚布公，同时希望您对我也能坦诚相待。我和我丈夫几乎在所有的事情上都完全互相信任，只有一件事例外，那就是政治问题。在这方面他总是守口如瓶，对我什么也不说。现在我才知道昨夜家里发生了极其不幸的事。我知道丢失了一个文件。但是因为这是个政治问题，我丈夫并没有完全让我知道。事情很重要，很重要，我觉得我应该彻底了解这件事。除了那几位政治家之外，您是唯一了解真实情况的人，福尔摩斯先生。我求您，告诉我到底出了什么事，可能导致什么后果。告诉我一切，福尔摩斯先生。您不要因为怕损害我丈夫的利益而不肯对我说，因为只有完全相信我，他的利益才能得到最佳保证，这一点他早晚是会明白的。请您告诉我究竟丢什么文件被盗了？”

    "Madam, what you ask me is really impossible."

    “夫人，您问的我实在不能说。”

    She groaned and sank her face in her hands.

    她叹了一口气，以手掩面。

    "You must see that this is so, madam. If your husband thinks fit to keep you in the dark over this matter, is it for me, who has only learned the true facts under the pledge of professional secrecy, to tell what he has withheld? It is not fair to ask it. It is him whom you must ask."

    “夫人，您要知道，我只能这么做。如果在此事上，您的丈夫认为对您保密是合适的，那么我，由于职业的缘故，并且在发誓保密之后，知道了全部事实，难道我能随便说出他不允许讲的话吗？这不公平。您还是应该去问他本人。”

    "I have asked him. I come to you as a last resource. But without your telling me anything definite, Mr. Holmes, you may do a great service if you would enlighten me on one point."

    “我问过他。我来找您也是万不得已的。福尔摩斯先生，既然您不能明确告诉我真相，那么给我一点儿提示行吗，那样就是帮了我大忙了。”

    "What is it, madam?"

    “夫人，什么提示呢？”

    "Is my husband's political career likely to suffer through this incident?"

    “我丈夫的政治生涯是否会因为这个意外事件而受到严重的影响呢？”

    "Well, madam, unless it is set right it may certainly have a very unfortunate effect."

    “这个，夫人，除非事情及时得到补救，否则肯定是会产生严重后果的。”

    "Ah!" She drew in her breath sharply as one whose doubts are resolved.

    “啊！”她倒抽一口气，好像疑问终于解决了似的。

    "One more question, Mr. Holmes. From an expression which my husband dropped in the first shock of this disaster I understood that terrible public consequences might arise from the loss of this document."

    “福尔摩斯先生，我还有一个问题。从我丈夫刚得知此事时的震惊程度看来，丢失这个文件将会在全国引起可怕的后果。”

    "If he said so, I certainly cannot deny it."

    “如果他这么说，那我当然不能否认。”

    "Of what nature are they?"

    “后果是什么性质的呢？”

    "Nay, madam, there again you ask me more than I can possibly answer."

    “不，夫人，这又不是我能回答的问题。”

    "Then I will take up no more of your time. I cannot blame you, Mr. Holmes, for having refused to speak more freely, and you on your side will not, I am sure, think the worse of me because I desire, even against his will, to share my husband's anxieties. Once more I beg that you will say nothing of my visit." She looked back at us from the door, and I had a last impression of that beautiful haunted face, the startled eyes, and the drawn mouth. Then she was gone.

    “那么我就不再耽误您的时间了。福尔摩斯先生，我不能怪您，您拒绝告诉我一切，而我相信您仍然会尊重我的，因为我是想为我丈夫分忧，即使他并不愿意。我再一次请求您不要对他说我来过。”她走到门口，回头看了我们一下，我又一次为她那美丽而又焦虑的面容深深打动，还有她那受惊的目光和紧闭着的嘴唇。于是她离开了。

    "Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department," said Holmes, with a smile, when the dwindling frou—frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door. "What was the fair lady's game? What did she really want?"

    裙子摩擦地板的窸窣声随着前门的砰然一响而消失，这时，福尔摩斯面带笑容地说：“好了，沃森，女性属于你的研究范围。这位窈窕的夫人玩的到底是什么把戏？她的真正意图到底是什么呢？”

    "Surely her own statement is clear and her anxiety very natural."

    “当然，意图她讲得很明白，而她的焦虑也是很正常的。”

    "Hum! Think of her appearance, Watson—her manner, her suppressed excitement, her restlessness, her tenacity in asking questions. Remember that she comes of a caste who do not lightly show emotion."

    “哼！沃森，要想想她的表情、她的态度，她压抑着的激动不安和她多次提出的问题。你知道她出身于一个不会轻易流露感情的社会阶层。”

    "She was certainly much moved."

    “她一定是受了很大的刺激。”

    "Remember also the curious earnestness with which she assured us that it was best for her husband that she should know all. What did she mean by that? And you must have observed, Watson, how she manaeuvred to have the light at her back. She did not wish us to read her expression."

    “你要记得，她那恳切之情很奇怪，她还一再地说，只有她了解一切，才对她丈夫最有利。她这么说是什么意思？而且你一定注意到了，沃森，她坐在那儿，阳光只能照在她的后背，她不想让我们看清她的面部表情。”

    "Yes; she chose the one chair in the room."

    “是的，她特意挑了那把背光的椅子。”

    "And yet the motives of women are so inscrutable. You remember the woman at Margate whom I suspected for the same reason. No powder on her nose—that proved to be the correct solution. How can you build on such a quicksand? Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling-tongs. Good morning, Watson."

    “不过，女人的心理是很不可思议的。你还记得那个叫玛尔盖特的女人吗，我出于同样原因，怀疑过她。她鼻子上没有擦粉——后来证明那是解决问题的正确途径。你怎么能轻易掉进她们的陷阱里呢？有时她们一个极小的举动都包含着深厚的意义，一个发卡或一把卷发钳就可以显露她们的反常。沃森，早安。”

    "You are off ?"

    “你要出去？”

    "Yes; I will while away the morning at Godolphin Street with our friends of the regular establishment. With Eduardo Lucas lies the solution of our problem, though I must admit that I have not an inkling as to what form it may take. It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts. Do you stay on guard, my good Watson, and receive any fresh visitors. I'll join you at lunch if I am able."

    “是的，我要去高道尔芬街和我们苏格兰场的朋友们一起度过整个上午。艾秋阿多·卢卡斯是我们解决问题的关键，不过究竟采取什么解决方法，我还没有想好。还没弄清事情的真实情况就妄下结论，这是严重的错误。我的好沃森，请你留在家里接待新的客人。如果我能的话，就会回来和你一起吃午饭。”

    All that day and the next and the next Holmes was in a mood which his friends would call taciturn, and others morose. He ran out and ran in, smoked incessantly, played snatches on his violin, sank into reveries, devoured sandwiches at irregular hours, and hardly answered the casual questions which I put to him. It was evident to me that things were not going well with him or his quest. He would say nothing of the case, and it was from the papers that I learned the particulars of the inquest, and the arrest with the subsequent release of John Mitton, the valet of the deceased. The coroner's jury brought in the obvious Wilful Murder, but the parties remained as unknown as ever. No motive was suggested. The room was full of articles of value, but none had been taken. The dead man's papers had not been tampered with. They were carefully examined, and showed that he was a keen student of international politics, an indefatigable gossip, a remarkable linguist, and an untiring letter-writer. He had been on intimate terms with the leading politicians of several countries. But nothing sensational was discovered among the documents which filled his drawers. As to his relations with women, they appeared to have been promiscuous but superficial. He had many acquaintances among them, but few friends, and no one whom he loved. His habits were regular, his conduct inoffensive. His death was an absolute mystery, and likely to remain so.

    那一天以及接下来的两天时间里，福尔摩斯一直处于一种状态——朋友们称之为沉默寡言的状态，而在外人看来，他沮丧忧郁。他进进出出，吸烟吸得猛，抓起小提琴拉了两下就丢开，时常陷入幻想，他吃饭不规律，饿了就大口吞点儿三明治，也不回答我随时提出的问题。在我看来，他的调查显然进行得很不顺利。关于这个案件，他什么也不说，我只是从报纸上知道一些案子的进展，死者的仆人约翰·米顿被逮捕了，但是随后又释放了。验尸官提出申诉说这是一件蓄意谋杀案，但有关嫌疑人仍不明确。没有查出杀人动机。屋内有很多贵重物品，但都丝毫未动，死者的文件也没有被翻动。他们详细地检查了死者的文稿书信等，得知他热衷于国际政治，喜欢评论社会问题，是个出色的语言学家，往来信件很多。他和几个国家的领导人都交往甚密。但是他的抽屉中的文件中并未发现什么不寻常之处。至于他和女人的关系，很复杂，但都没有深交。他认识许多女人，但是朋友很少，也没有一个他爱的女人。他生活习惯很常规，行为也循规蹈矩。他的死亡无疑很神秘，也可能永远成为不解之谜。

    As to the arrest of John Mitton, the valet, it was a counsel of despair as an alternative to absolute inaction. But no case could be sustained against him. He had visited friends in Hammersmith that night. The alibi was complete. It is true that he started home at an hour which should have brought him to Westminster before the time when the crime was discovered, but his own explanation that he had walked part of the way seemed probable enough in view of the fineness of the night. He had actually arrived at twelve o'clock, and appeared to be overwhelmed by the unexpected tragedy. He had always been on good terms with his master. Several of the dead man's possessions-notably a small case of razors—had been found in the valet's boxes, but he explained that they had been presents from the deceased, and the housekeeper was able to corroborate the story. Mitton had been in Lucas's employment for three years. It was noticeable that Lucas did not take Mitton on the Continent with him. Sometimes he visited Paris for three months on end, but Mitton was left in charge of the Godolphin Street house. As to the housekeeper, she had heard nothing on the night of the crime. If her master had a visitor he had himself admitted him.

    至于逮捕仆人约翰·米顿，那只不过是沮丧失望中的盲目行动。但他不会遭到起诉。这个仆人那天夜里到哈默史密斯去看望朋友了。不在场证明是充分的。从他动身回家的时间推算，他到达威斯敏斯特教堂的时候，应该还没有人发现这件凶杀案。但他自己解释说当晚夜色很好，于是他就步行了一段路程。他实际上是夜里12点到的家，到家后就被这件意外的惨案吓得惊慌失措。他和主人的关系一直很好。在这个仆人的箱子里发现了一些死者的物品，引人注意的是一盒剃须刀，但他解释说这是主人送他的礼物，而且女管家也证实了此事。卢卡斯雇用米顿已有三年。值得注意的是，卢卡斯没有带米顿去过欧洲大陆。有时卢卡斯在巴黎一住便是三个月，而米顿只是留在高道尔芬街看家。至于女管家，出事的夜里，她什么也没听到。如果她的主人有访客的话，他只会亲自去迎接。

    So for three mornings the mystery remained, so far as I could follow it in the papers. If Holmes knew more he kept his own counsel, but, as he told me that Inspector Lestrade had taken him into his confidence in the case, I knew that he was in close touch with every development. Upon the fourth day there appeared a long telegram from Paris which seemed to solve the whole question.

    我一连三个上午都关注报纸上有关这个案子的情况，但此案一直未能破解。如果福尔摩斯知道更多情况，他保密一定有他的道理。但他告诉我，侦探莱斯特雷德把所掌握的情况都告诉了他，我知道他能密切关注到案子的每一步进展。直到第四天上午，报上登载了从巴黎拍来的一封很长的电报，似乎解决了全部问题。

    A discovery has just been made by the Parisian police [said the Daily Telegraph] which raises the veil which hung round the tragic fate of Mr. Eduardo Lucas, who met his death by violence last Monday night at Godolphin Street, Westminster. Our readers will remember that the deceased gentleman was found stabbed in his room, and that some suspicion attached to his valet, but that the case broke down on an alibi. Yesterday a lady, who has been known as Mme. Henri Fournaye, occupying a small villa in the Rue Austerlitz, was reported to the authorities by her servants as being insane. An examination showed that she had indeed developed mania of a dangerous and permanent form. On inquiry the police have discovered that Mme. Henri Fournaye only returned from a journey to London on Tuesday last, and there is evidence to connect her with the crime at Westminster. A comparison of photographs has proved conclusively that M. Henri Fournaye and Eduardo Lucas were really one and the same person, and that the deceased had for some reason lived a double life in London and Paris. Mme. Fournaye, who is of Creole origin, is of an extremely excitable nature, and has suffered in the past from attacks of jealousy which have amounted to frenzy. It is conjectured that it was in one of these that she committed the terrible crime which has caused such a sensation in London. Her movements upon the Monday night have not yet been traced, but it is undoubted that a woman answering to her description attracted much attention at Charing Cross Station on Tuesday morning by the wildness of her appearance and the violence of her gestures. It is probable, therefore, that the crime was either committed when insane, or that its immediate effect was to drive the unhappy woman out of her mind. At present she is unable to give any coherent account of the past, and the doctors hold out no hopes of the re-establishment of her reason. There is evidence that a woman, who might have been Mme. Fournaye, was seen for some hours on Monday night watching the house in Godolphin Street.

    电文如下：巴黎的警方已经有所发现〔据《每日电讯报》报道〕，这就揭开了本周一发生在威斯敏斯特教堂区高道尔芬街的艾秋阿多·卢卡斯先生惨死之谜。读者或许还记得，卢卡斯先生是夜间在自己的住室内被人用匕首行刺致死的。他的男仆曾受到怀疑，后经查证因他不在犯罪现场而释放。昨日，一位女士，也就是住在奥地利街某栋小房子里的亨利·弗那依太太，她的几名仆人向巴黎警察当局报告他们的女主人精神失常。经过检查，证实弗那依太太长期以来患有危险的狂躁症。警方的调查表明，弗那依太太本周二自伦敦归来，有证据表明她与威斯敏斯特教堂凶杀案有关。经核对照片，证明亨利·弗那依先生与艾秋阿多·卢卡斯，事实上是一个人，由于某种原因，死者在巴黎和伦敦轮维持着双重身份。弗那依太太是克里奥尔人，她性情极易激动，过去经受忌妒之情的煎熬，而现在已转为癫狂。据推测，病人可能由于狂躁症发作而犯下可怕的罪行，以致轰动整个伦敦。目前，她星期一晚间的活动尚未全部查清。但星期二清晨，在查林十字街火车站，有一名容貌酷似她的女人由于奇异的外貌和狂暴的举止引起了很多人的注意。因此，有人认为很可能是病人因处于癫狂状态而杀了人，或者是由于行凶杀人，致使病人的癫狂症复发。目前，她尚不能连贯地叙述她的过去，并且医生们对她恢复理智并不抱希望。有目击者称，有一个女人，很有可能就是弗那依太太，星期一晚上在高道尔芬街一连几个小时地紧盯着那栋房子。

    "What do you think of that, Holmes?" I had read the account aloud to him, while he finished his breakfast.

    “福尔摩斯，对于这段报道你怎样看？”我趁福尔摩斯吃早饭的时候给他读完了这篇报道。

    "My dear Watson," said he, as he rose from the table and paced up and down the room, "you are most longsuffering, but if I have told you nothing in the last three days it is because there is nothing to tell. Even now this report from Paris does not help us much."

    他站起来，在屋里来回踱步，说：“亲爱的沃森，你可真能忍得住，什么都不问。过去三天里我没给你讲什么，因为没有什么可讲的。就算这来自巴黎的消息，对我们也无济于事。”

    "Surely it is final as regards the man's death."

    “这和卢卡斯之死总还是有决定性关联的吧？”

    "The man's death is a mere incident—a trivial episode—in comparison with our real task, which is to trace this document and save a European catastrophe. Only one important thing has happened in the last three days, and that is that nothing has happened. I get reports almost hourly from the Government, and it is certain that nowhere in Europe is there any sign of trouble. Now, if this letter were loose—no, it can't be loose—but if it isn't loose, where can it be? Who has it? Why is it held back? That's the question that beats in my brain like a hammer. Was it, indeed, a coincidence that Lucas should meet his death on the night when the letter disappeared? Did the letter ever reach him? If so, why is it not among his papers? Did this mad wife of his carry it off with her? If so, is it in her house in Paris? How could I search for it without the French police having their suspicions aroused? It is a case, my dear Watson, where the law is as dangerous to us as the criminals are. Every man's hand is against us, and yet the interests at stake are colossal. Should I bring it to a successful conclusion it will certainly represent the crowning glory of my career. Ah, here is my latest from the front!" He glanced hurriedly at the note which had been handed in. "Halloa! Lestrade seems to have observed something of interest. Put on your hat, Watson, and we will stroll down together to Westminster."

    “卢卡斯的死只是个意外的事件，它和我们真正的任务——找到文件以使欧洲避免一场灾难相比，实在是小事。过去三天里发生的唯一重要事情，就是什么事也没发生。这两天我几乎每小时都收到一次政府方面的报告，可以肯定的是，整个欧洲目前都没有不安的迹象。如果这封信丢失了，不，它不会丢的，但是没丢又去哪儿了呢？谁拿着它？为什么要扣留这封信呢？这个问题就像一把锤子，日夜砸着我的脑袋。卢卡斯的死刚好发生在信件丢失的当晚，这真是只是巧合吗？这封信到过他的手中吗？如果收到了，为什么他的文件里却没有呢？是不是他的疯老婆把信拿走了呢？如果是的话，信是不是在她巴黎的家中呢？我怎样才能找到这封信而又不引起巴黎警方的怀疑呢？亲爱的沃森，在这个案子上，不但罪犯和我们作对，连法律也让我们为难啊。每个人都插手妨碍我们，可是这事关重大啊。如果我能顺利地解决这个案子，那必将是我这辈子事业的最高峰。啊，又有前方的最新情况！他匆匆瞟了一眼交到他手中的来信。“哈！看来莱斯特雷德查出些特别的情况了。沃森，带上帽子，我们一同走到威斯敏斯特教堂区去。”

    It was my first visit to the scene of the crime—a high, dingy, narrow—chested house, prim, formal, and solid, like the century which gave it birth. Lestrade's bulldog features gazed out at us from the front window, and he greeted us warmly when a big constable had opened the door and let us in. The room into which we were shown was that in which the crime had been committed, but no trace of it now remained, save an ugly, irregular stain upon the carpet. This carpet was a small square drugget in the centre of the room, surrounded by a broad expanse of beautiful, old-fashioned wood-flooring in square blocks highly polished. Over the fireplace was a magnificent trophy of weapons, one of which had been used on that tragic night. In the window was a sumptuous writing-desk, and every detail of the apartment, the pictures, the rugs, and the hangings, all pointed to a taste which was luxurious to the verge of effeminacy.

    这是我第一次到现场。这栋房子高大狭长，外表显得陈旧不堪，但是布局严谨，庄严大方，结构坚固，带着那个年代的建筑风格。窗口露出莱斯特雷德刚毅的脸庞，他正向外张望，一个高个子警察打开门请我们进去，莱斯特雷德走上前来热情地欢迎我们。我们被领进去的房间就是案发现场，但是现在除了一块难看的、形状不规则的血迹以外，什么痕迹都没有了。屋子正中央是一小块方形粗毛地毯，四周是由小方木块拼成的美丽的旧式地板，地板擦得很亮。壁炉上方的墙上挂满了武器作为装饰，凶器正是墙上挂着的一把匕首。靠窗户的是一张名贵的写字台，屋子里的每一件摆设，无论油画、小地毯、装饰品，无不显示出主人奢华而阴柔的品味。

    "Seen the Paris news?" asked Lestrade.

    莱斯特雷德问：“看到巴黎的消息了吗？”

    Holmes nodded.

    福尔摩斯点了点头。

    "Our French friends seem to have touched the spot this time. No doubt it's just as they say. She knocked at the door—surprise visit, I guess, for he kept his life in watertight compartments. He let her in—couldn't keep her in the street. She told him how she had traced him, reproached him, one thing led to another, and then with that dagger so handy the end soon came. It wasn't all done in an instant, though, for these chairs were all swept over yonder, and he had one in his hand as if he had tried to hold her off with it. We've got it all clear as if we had seen it."

    “我们的法国朋友这次似乎正中要害，正像他们所说的那样。当时她来敲门——我猜她是个不速之客，因为卢卡斯很少与外界接触。卢卡斯不能让她待在街上，就让她进屋。她告诉卢卡斯她是怎么找到他的，并责备了他，一件事总能引起另一件，挂在墙上的匕首唾手可得，悲剧就来了。但她并没有一下就刺死他，你看椅子都撞翻了，而且卢卡斯手里还拿着一把椅子，他想用椅子挡开他的太太。我看事情已经很清楚了，就像发生在眼前一样。”

    Holmes raised his eyebrows.

    福尔摩斯扬了扬眉毛。

    "And yet you have sent for me?"

    “但你为什么找我呢？”

    "Ah, yes, that's another matter—a mere trifle, but the sort of thing you take an interest in—queer, you know, and what you might call freakish. It has nothing to do with the main fact—can't have, on the face of it."

    “啊，是啊，那是另一件事，一件小事，但是你会感兴趣的，因为它很奇怪，正如你所说是反常的。它和主要的事实真相无关，至少从表面看是无关的。”

    "What is it, then?"

    “那么，是什么呢？”

    "Well, you know, after a crime of this sort we are very careful to keep things in their position. Nothing has been moved. Officer in charge here day and night. This morning, as the man was buried and the investigation over—so far as this room is concerned—we thought we could tidy up a bit. This carpet. You see, it is not fastened down; only just laid there. We had occasion to raise it. We found—"

    “你知道，这种谋杀案发生后，我们都会小心保护现场。什么都不准动。警方有人日夜把守。今天上午，我们把这个人埋葬了，调查也结束了，所以我们想把屋子打扫一下。这块地毯。你看，它没有固定在地板上，只是摆在那里。我们碰巧掀了一下地毯。我们发现——”

    "Yes? You found—"

    “什么？你们发现——”

    Holmes's face grew tense with anxiety.

    福尔摩斯的脸因焦急而紧绷起来。

    "Well, I'm sure you would never guess in a hundred years what we did find. You see that stain on the carpet? Well, a great deal must have soaked through, must it not?"

    “我敢说再给你一百年时间，你也猜不出我们发现了什么。你看见地毯上的那块血迹了吗？大部分血迹肯定已经浸透过地毯了，是吧？”

    "Undoubtedly it must."

    “的确如此。”

    "Well, you will be surprised to hear that there is no stain on the white woodwork to correspond."

    “可是白色的地板上却没有相应的血迹，对这一点你不感到很奇怪吗？”

    "No stain! But there must—"

    “没有血迹！但一定——”

    "Yes; so you would say. But the fact remains that there isn't."

    “就是嘛。但是事实上就是没有。”

    He took the corner of the carpet in his hand and, turning it over, he showed that it was indeed as he said.

    他握住地毯的一角，一下子翻了过来，来证实他刚才所说的。

    "But the underside is as stained as the upper. It must have left a mark."

    “但是，地毯背面和正面的血迹是一样的。一定会留有痕迹。”

    Lestrade chuckled with delight at having puzzled the famous expert.

    莱斯特雷德看到这位著名的侦探被弄得大惑不解，高兴得咯咯笑了起来。

    "Now I'll show you the explanation. There is a second stain, but it does not correspond with the other. See for yourself." As he spoke he turned over another portion of the carpet, and there, sure enough, was a great crimson spill upon the square white facing of the old-fashioned floor. "What do you make of that, Mr. Holmes?"

    “现在我来给你看谜底。有第二块血迹，但是和第一块位置不一样。你自己看看。”他一面说着一面把地毯的另一角掀开，很明显，一块洁白的地板上露出一片深红色的血迹。”“福尔摩斯先生，你看这是怎么一回事呢？”

    "Why, it is simple enough. The two stains did correspond, but the carpet has been turned round. As it was square and unfastened it was easily done."

    “这很简单。两块血迹是对应的，但是地毯被转动了。由于地毯是方形的，并且没有固定，所以这么做很容易。”

    "The official police don't need you, Mr. Holmes, to tell them that the carpet must have been turned round. That's clear enough, for the stains lie above each other—if you lay it over this way. But what I want to know is, who shifted the carpet, and why?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，警方不需要你告诉我们地毯一定移动过。这已经很明显了，如果地毯放在那儿，血迹正好重叠。我想知道的是，谁移动了地毯，为什么？”

    I could see from Holmes's rigid face that he was vibrating with inward excitement.

    我看得出，福尔摩斯不动声色的表情掩盖之下，内心正在强烈波动。

    "Look here, Lestrade," said he, "has that constable in the passage been in charge of the place all the time?"

    他说：“雷斯垂德，门口的那个警察是不是一直看守着这个现场呢？

    "Yes, he has."

    “是的。”

    "Well, take my advice. Examine him carefully. Don't do it before us. We'll wait here. You take him into the back room. You'll be more likely to get a confession out of him alone. Ask him how he dared to admit people and leave them alone in this room. Don't ask him if he has done it. Take it for granted. Tell him you know someone has been here. Press him. Tell him that a full confession is his only chance of forgiveness. Do exactly what I tell you!"

    “按照我的意见办。仔细盘问他，不要当着我们的面。我们在这里等着。你把他带到后面的屋子。你要更像是让他做检讨的样子。问他怎么敢让别人进来，并且把他们单独留在屋里。不要问他是不是这么做了。你认为是理所当然。你就说你知道有人来过。逼问他。告诉他只有彻底坦白才有可能得到谅解。一定要按照我说的去做！”

    "By George, if he knows I'll have it out of him!" cried Lestrade. He darted into the hall, and a few moments later his bullying voice sounded from the back room.

    莱斯特雷德喊道：“天那，如果他知道，我早就从他那儿问出来了。”他奔进大厅，几分钟后他那威吓的声音从屋后传来。

    "Now, Watson, now!" cried Holmes, with frenzied eagerness. All the demoniacal force of the man masked behind that listless manner burst out in a paroxysm of energy. He tore the drugget from the floor, and in an instant was down on his hands and knees clawing at each of the squares of wood beneath it. One turned sideways as he dug his nails into the edge of it. It hinged back like the lid of a box. A small black cavity opened beneath it. Holmes plunged his eager hand into it, and drew it out with a bitter snarl of anger and disappointment. It was empty.

    福尔摩斯欣喜若狂地对我说：“好了，沃森！好了。”一反刚才百无聊赖的态度，他突然着魔了一般，迸发出极大的能量。他迅速拉开地毯，立即趴在地板上，并且试图挖开地板的每块方木板。他用指甲不断地掀着木板，忽然，有一块木板活动了。它像箱子盖一样，从转轴处向上翻开。下面有一个小黑洞。福尔摩斯急切地把手伸进去，但拿出手时，他生气而失望地叹了一声。洞是空的。

    "Quick, Watson, quick! Get it back again!" The wooden lid was replaced, and the drugget had only just been drawn straight when Lestrade's voice was heard in the passage. He found Holmes leaning languidly against the mantelpiece, resigned and patient, endeavouring to conceal his irrepressible yawns.

    “快，沃森，快，把地毯放好！”我们扣上木板，地毯刚刚放好，便听见了莱斯特雷德在过道里说话的声音。他看见福尔摩斯懒散地靠着壁炉架，无所谓的样子，显得很有耐心，还用手捂着他那忍不住的呵欠。

    "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Holmes. I can see that you are bored to death with the whole affair. Well, he has confessed, all right. Come in here, MacPherson. Let these gentlemen hear of your most inexcusable conduct."

    “福尔摩斯先生，对不起，让你久等了。我知道您一定无聊得不行了吧。好了，他已经承认了。进来，麦克弗森。让这两位先生听听你办的好事。”

    The big constable, very hot and penitent, sidled into the room.

    这位高个子警察羞得满脸通红，一脸后悔的样子，忸怩地走进屋来。

    "I meant no harm, sir, I'm sure. The young woman came to the door last evening-mistook the house, she did. And then we got talking. It's lonesome, when you're on duty here all day."

    “先生，我没有恶意，我肯定。昨晚有个年轻女子走到大门前，她说她弄错了门牌号码。我们就聊了起来。一个人整天在这儿守着，实在很寂寞。”

    "Well, what happened then?"

    “那么，后来怎样呢？”

    "She wanted to see where the crime was done—had read about it in the papers, she said. She was a very respectable, well-spoken young woman, sir, and I saw no harm in letting her have a peep. When she saw that mark on the carpet, down she dropped on the floor, and lay as if she were dead. I ran to the back and got some water, but I could not bring her to. Then I went round the corner to the Ivy Plant for some brandy, and by the time I had brought it back the young woman had recovered and was off—ashamed of herself, I dare say, and dared not face me."

    “她想看看发生的凶案的地方。她说她在报上看到了。她是个很体面又很会说话的年轻女人，我想让她看一眼也没什么关系。她一看见地毯上的血迹后，就立刻晕倒在地上，那么躺着像死了一样。我跑到后面弄了点儿水来，但还是没能让她醒过来。于是我就到拐角的‘常春藤商店'买了一点儿白兰地，可是等我买回白兰地时，这位妇女已经醒过来，并且走掉了。我想她可能是不好意思，不敢再面对我了。”

    "How about moving that drugget?"

    “那块地毯怎么会移动了呢？”

    "Well, sir, it was a bit rumpled, certainly, when I came back. You see, she fell on it, and it lies on a polished floor with nothing to keep it in place. I straightened it out afterwards."

    “嗯，我回来的时候，地毯是弄得有些不平了。你想，她倒在地毯上，而地毯贴着光滑的地板，又没有被固定住。后来我就把地毯摆好。”

    "It's a lesson to you that you can't deceive me, Constable MacPherson," said Lestrade, with dignity. "No doubt you thought that your breach of duty could never be discovered, and yet a mere glance at that drugget was enough to convince me that someone had been admitted to the room. It's lucky for you, my man, that nothing is missing, or you would find yourself in Queer Street. I'm sorry to have called you down over such a petty business, Mr. Holmes, but I thought the point of the second stain not corresponding with the first would interest you."

    莱斯特雷德严肃地说：“麦克弗森，这是个教训，你骗不了我。你一定认为你玩忽职守不会被发现，可是我一看到地毯就马上知道有人到屋里来过了。没丢什么东西，这是你的运气，不然的话，你麻烦就大了。福尔摩斯先生，为了这样一件小事而把你请来，真是对不起。不过，我觉得两块对不上的血迹或许会使你感兴趣。”

    "Certainly, it was most interesting. Has this woman only been here once, constable?"

    “不错，我很感兴趣。警察先生，这位妇女只来过一次吗？”

    "Yes, sir, only once."

    “是的，只来过一次。”

    "Who was she?"

    “她是谁？”

    "Don't know the name, sir. Was answering an advertisement about type-writing, and came to the wrong number —very pleasant, genteel young woman, sir."

    “我不知道她的名字，先生。她看了广告要去应聘打字员但走错了门，那是一位很温柔很有教养的年轻女子，先生。”

    "Tall? Handsome?"

    “个子高吗？漂亮吗？”

    "Yes, sir; she was a well-grown young woman. I suppose you might say she was handsome. Perhaps some would say she was very handsome. Oh, officer, do let me have a peep!'says she. She had pretty, coaxing ways, as you might say, and I thought there was no harm in letting her just put her head through the door."

    “是的，先生，她长得很好看。我想可以说是漂亮的。也许有人要说她非常漂亮。她说：‘哦，警官，请让我看一眼吧！'你们也许会说她哄人很有办法。我本来想让只让她从窗户探头看看也无妨的。”

    "How was she dressed?"

    “她打扮得怎么样？”

    "Quiet, sir—a long mantle down to her feet."

    “很素雅，穿着一件拖到脚面的披风。”

    "What time was it?"

    “在什么时间来的？”

    "It was just growing dusk at the time. They were lighting the lamps as I came back with the brandy."

    “天刚刚黑。我买白兰地回来的时候，人们正好在点灯。”

    "Very good," said Holmes. "Come, Watson, I think that we have more important work elsewhere."

    福尔摩斯说：“很好。走吧，沃森，我们在别处还有更重要的工作。”

    As we left the house Lestrade remained in the front room, while the repentant constable opened the door to let us out. Holmes turned on the step and held up something in his hand. The constable stared intently.

    我们离开这栋房子的时候，莱斯特雷德仍然留在前面的屋子里，那位悔过的警察给我们开了门。福尔摩斯走下台阶，手里握着一件东西。这位警察目不转睛地盯着。

    "Good Lord, sir!" he cried, with amazement on his face. Holmes put his finger on his lips, replaced his hand in his breast-pocket, and burst out laughing as we turned down the street. "Excellent!" said he. "Come, friend Watson, the curtain rings up for the last act. You will be relieved to hear that there will be no war, that the Right Honourable Trelawney Hope will suffer no set-back in his brilliant career, that the indiscreet Sovereign will receive no punishment for his indiscretion, that the Prime Minister will have no European complication to deal with, and that with a little tact and management upon our part nobody will be a penny the worse for what might have been a very ugly incident."

    脸上露出吃惊的表情，喊道：“天哪，先生！”福尔摩斯把食指贴在嘴唇上，嘘了一声，然后把这件东西放进胸前的口袋里，等地走到街上，放声大笑起来。他说：“太好了！来吧，我的朋友，最后一场戏的幕布已经拉开了。你放心吧，不会有战争，尊敬的特里劳尼·霍普先生的政治前程也不会被断送了。那位欠考虑的君王不会因此受到惩罚，首相也不必处理欧洲局势复杂化的问题。只要我们耍点儿手腕，谁也不会因为这件麻烦的大事而吃半点儿亏。”

    My mind filled with admiration for this extraordinary man.

    对于他这位非凡的人物，我的心中充满了敬仰。

    "You have solved it!" I cried.

    “你解决了？”我喊道。

    "Hardly that, Watson. There are some points which are as dark as ever. But we have so much that it will be our own fault if we cannot get the rest. We will go straight to Whitehall Terrace and bring the matter to a head."

    “沃森，还不能这样说。还有几点疑问仍像以前一样让人迷惑。但是我们了解的情况已经够多了，如果还是弄不清其他的问题，那是我们自己的错。现在我们直接去白厅住宅街，把事情做个了结。”

    When we arrived at the residence of the European Secretary it was for Lady Hilda Trelawney Hope that Sherlock Holmes inquired. We were shown into the morning-room.

    我们来到欧洲事务大臣官邸时，舍洛克·福尔摩斯要找的却是希尔达·特里劳尼·霍普夫人。我们被引入了起居室。

    "Mr. Holmes!" said the lady, and her face was pink with her indignation, "this is surely most unfair and ungenerous upon your part. I desired, as I have explained, to keep my visit to you a secret, lest my husband should think that I was intruding into his affairs. And yet you compromise me by coming here and so showing that there are business relations between us."

    夫人的脸气得通红，她说：“福尔摩斯先生！你实在太不公道，也太不厚道了。我已经解释过，我希望我到你那儿去的事要保密，免得我丈夫说我干涉他的事情。可是你却有意损害我的名声，你到这里来，就说明你我之间有关系。”

    "Unfortunately, madam, I had no possible alternative. I have been commissioned to recover this immensely important paper. I must therefore ask you, madam, to be kind enough to place it in my hands."

    “夫人，不幸的是我没有别的可能的选择。我受托找回这封非常重要的信件。所以我只好请求您好心地把信交到我手里。”

    The lady sprang to her feet, with the colour all dashed in an instant from her beautiful face. Her eyes glazed—she tottered—I thought that she would faint. Then with a grand effort she rallied from the shock, and a supreme astonishment and indignation chased every other expression from her features.

    这位夫人突然站了起来，她美丽的脸颊骤然变色。她的眼睛凝视着前方，身体摇晃起来，我以为她要晕倒。她强打精神，从慌乱中恢复了镇定，她脸上各种其他复杂的表情一时间完全被强烈的愤懑和惊异所驱走了。

    "You—you insult me, Mr. Holmes."

    “福尔摩斯先生，你——你侮辱我。”

    "Come, come, madam, it is useless. Give up the letter."

    “好了，夫人，这些都没用的。把信还给我吧。”

    She darted to the bell.

    她急忙想去拉铃。

    "The butler shall show you out."

    “管家会请你出去的。”

    "Do not ring, Lady Hilda. If you do, then all my earnest efforts to avoid a scandal will be frustrated. Give up the letter and all will be set right. If you will work with me I can arrange everything. If you work against me I must expose you."

    “希尔达夫人，不要拉铃。如果您拉铃，我为了避免这个丑闻所做的一切诚恳的努力将会前功尽弃。交出那封信，一切都会好的。如果您肯合作，我可以把一切都安排好。如果您和我作对，那么我就要揭发您。”

    She stood grandly defiant, a queenly figure, her eyes fixed upon his as if she would read his very soul. Her hand was on the bell, but she had forborne to ring it.

    她无所畏惧地站在那儿，像女王般威严。她的眼睛紧盯着福尔摩斯的眼睛，好像可以看穿福尔摩斯的灵魂。她的手放在铃绳上，但是她克制住自己没有拉。

    "You are trying to frighten me. It is not a very manly thing, Mr. Holmes, to come here and browbeat a woman. You say that you know something. What is it that you know?"

    “你是想吓唬我。到这里来威胁一个女人，福尔摩斯先生，这可不是大丈夫应该做的事。你说你了解一些情况。你了解的是什么呢？”

    "Pray sit down, madam. You will hurt yourself there if you fall. I will not speak until you sit down. Thank you."

    “夫人，请您先坐下。您如果昏倒会伤到自己的，您不坐下，我就不讲话。谢谢您。”

    "I give you five minutes, Mr. Holmes."

    “福尔摩斯先生，我给你五分钟。”

    "One is enough, Lady Hilda. I know of your visit to Eduardo Lucas, of your giving him this document, of your ingenious return to the room last night, and of the manner in which you took the letter from the hiding-place under the carpet."

    “希尔达夫人，一分钟就够了。我知道您去过艾秋阿多·卢卡斯那儿，您给了他一封信；我也知道昨天晚上您又巧妙地回到过那间屋子；我还知道您怎样从地毯下面隐蔽的地方取出这封信。”

    She stared at him with an ashen face and gulped twice before she could speak.

    她盯着福尔摩斯，脸色灰白，有两次喘着粗气，欲言又止。

    "You are mad, Mr. Holmes—you are mad!" she cried, at last.

    终于，她大声说：“你疯了，福尔摩斯先生，你疯了。”

    He drew a small piece of cardboard from his pocket. It was the face of a woman cut out of a portrait.

    福尔摩斯从口袋中取出一小块硬纸片，是从画像上剪下的头像。

    "I have carried this because I thought it might be useful," said he. "The policeman has recognised it."

    福尔摩斯说：“我一直带着这个，因为我想也许有用。那个警察已经认出这张照片了。”

    She gave a gasp and her head dropped back in the chair.

    她喘了一口粗气，回身把头靠在椅子上。

    "Come, Lady Hilda. You have the letter. The matter may still be adjusted. I have no desire to bring trouble to you. My duty ends when I have returned the lost letter to your husband. Take my advice and be frank with me; it is your only chance."

    “希尔达夫人。信在您的手中。事情现在还来得及。我不想给您添麻烦。等我把丢失的这封信还给您的丈夫，我的任务就完成了。接受我的意见，和我坦白。这是您最后的机会了。”

    Her courage was admirable. Even now she would not own defeat.

    她的勇气实在令人赞叹。即使到了这个地步，她还不想认输。

    "I tell you again, Mr. Holmes, that you are under some absurd illusion." Holmes rose from his chair.

    “福尔摩斯先生，我再和你说一遍，你简直是荒谬至极。”福尔摩斯从椅子上站起身。

    "I am sorry for you, Lady Hilda. I have done my best for you; I can see that it is all in vain."

    “希尔达夫人，我为您感到遗憾。我为您尽了最大的努力。但这一切全白费了。”

    He rang the bell. The butler entered.

    福尔摩斯拉了一下铃。管家走了进来。

    "Is Mr. Trelawney Hope at home?"

    “特里劳尼·霍普先生在家吗？”

    "He will be home, sir, at a quarter to one."

    “先生，他12点45分会回来。”

    Holmes glanced at his watch.

    福尔摩斯看了看他的表。

    "Still a quarter of an hour," said he. "Very good, I shall wait."

    “还有一刻钟。很好，我要等他。”

    The butler had hardly closed the door behind him when Lady Hilda was down on her knees at Holmes's feet, her hands out-stretched, her beautiful face upturned and wet with her tears.

    管家刚刚关上屋门，希尔达夫人便跪倒在福尔摩斯脚下，她摊开两手，仰着她那张淌满泪水的美丽的脸，看着福尔摩斯。

    "Oh, spare me, Mr. Holmes! Spare me!" she pleaded, in a frenzy of supplication. "For heaven's sake, don't tell him! I love him so! I would not bring one shadow on his life, and this I know would break his noble heart."

    她苦苦地哀求道：“饶了我吧，福尔摩斯先生，饶了我吧！看在上帝的面上，不要告诉我的丈夫！我多么爱他啊！我不愿给他的人生留下任何阴影，可是我知道这件事会伤透他高尚的心。”

    Holmes raised the lady. "I am thankful, madam, that you have come to your senses even at this last moment! There is not an instant to lose. Where is the letter?"

    福尔摩斯扶起这位夫人。他说：“太好了，夫人，您终于在最后一刻醒悟了。时间已经很紧迫了。信在哪儿？”

    She darted across to a writing-desk, unlocked it, and drew out a long blue envelope.

    她急忙走到一张写字台旁，拿出钥匙打开抽屉，取出一个长长的蓝色信封。

    "Here it is, Mr. Holmes. Would to heaven I had never seen it!"

    “就是这个，福尔摩斯先生。我发誓没有拆开过。”

    "How can we return it?" Holmes muttered. "Quick, quick, we must think of some way! Where is the despatch-box? "

    福尔摩斯嘀咕着说：“怎样把信还回去呢？快，快，我们一定要想个办法。文件箱在哪儿？”

    "Still in his bedroom."

    “还在他的卧室里。”

    "What a stroke of luck! Quick, madam, bring it here!"

    “多么幸运啊！快，夫人，把箱子拿过来！”

    A moment later she had appeared with a red flat box in her hand.

    过了一会儿，她手里拿着一个红色的扁箱子走来。

    "How did you open it before? You have a duplicate key? Yes, of course you have. Open it!"

    “您以前是怎么打开它的？您有一把复制的钥匙吧？是的，您当然有。打开它。”

    From out of her bosom Lady Hilda had drawn a small key. The box flew open. It was stuffed with papers. Holmes thrust the blue envelope deep down into the heart of them, between the leaves of some other document. The box was shut, locked, and returned to the bedroom.

    希尔达夫人从怀里拿出一把小钥匙。箱子开了。里面塞满了文件。福尔摩斯把这封信塞到一大堆文件的最里面，夹在某个文件的页面之间。关上箱子锁好之后，夫人又把它送回卧室。

    "Now we are ready for him," said Holmes; "we have still ten minutes. I am going far to screen you, Lady Hilda. In return you will spend the time in telling me frankly the real meaning of this extraordinary affair."

    福尔摩斯说：“现在我们准备好见您的丈夫了。我们还有十分钟。希尔达夫人，我费了很大的劲来保护您。作为回报，您应该用这十分钟坦率地告诉我，您干这种不寻常的事的真正目的是什么？”

    "Mr. Holmes, I will tell you everything," cried the lady. "Oh, Mr. Holmes, I would cut off my right hand before I gave him a moment of sorrow! There is no woman in all London who loves her husband as I do, and yet if he knew how I have acted—how I have been compelled to act—he would never forgive me. For his own honour stands so high that he could not forget or pardon a lapse in another. Help me, Mr. Holmes! My happiness, his happiness, our very lives are at stake!"

    夫人大声地说：“福尔摩斯先生，我把一切全告诉您。哦，福尔摩斯先生，我宁愿切断我的右手，也不愿意让我丈夫有片刻的烦恼！整个伦敦再不会有一个女人像我这样爱自己的丈夫了，可是如果他知道了我所做的一切，尽管我是被迫的，他也决不会原谅我的。因为他非常重视他的名声，所以他不会忘记或是原谅别人的过失。福尔摩斯先生，您要救我！我的幸福，他的幸福，以及我们的生命全都处于极大的危险中！”

    "Quick, madam, the time grows short!"

    “夫人，快讲，快没时间了！”

    "It was a letter of mine, Mr. Holmes, an indiscreet letter written before my marriage—a foolish letter, a letter of an impulsive, loving girl. I meant no harm, and yet he would have thought it criminal. Had he read that letter his confidence would have been forever destroyed. It is years since I wrote it. I had thought that the whole matter was forgotten. Then at last I heard from this man, Lucas, that it had passed into his hands, and that he would lay it before my husband. I implored his mercy. He said that he would return my letter if I would bring him a certain document which he described in my husband's despatch-box. He had some spy in the office who had told him of its existence. He assured me that no harm could come to my husband. Put yourself in my position, Mr. Holmes! What was I to do?"

    “先生，问题出在我的一封信上，我结婚前写的一封很不慎重的信，十分愚蠢的信，这是处于爱情中的女孩一时冲动下写的。我的信并无恶意，可是我丈夫会认为这是犯罪。他如果读了这封信，他便再也不会信任我了。已经过了好多年了，我还以为这件事已经被淡忘。可是后来卢卡斯这个家伙写信告诉我说我的信在他的手中，并且要交给我的丈夫。我请求他可怜我。他说只要我从文件箱里把他要的文件拿给他，他便可以把信还给我。我丈夫的办公室里有他的间谍，告诉了卢卡斯这封信的存在。他向我保证我丈夫不会因此受到牵连。您设身处地地想一想，福尔摩斯先生！我应该怎么办呢？”

    "Take your husband into your confidence."

    “把一切都告诉您丈夫。”

    "I could not, Mr. Holmes, I could not! On the one side seemed certain ruin; on the other, terrible as it seemed to take my husband's paper, still in a matter of politics I could not understand the consequences, while in a matter of love and trust they were only too clear to me. I did it, Mr. Holmes! I took an impression of his key; this man Lucas furnished a duplicate. I opened his despatch-box, took the paper, and conveyed it to Godolphin Street."

    “不行，福尔摩斯先生，不行！一方面会导致幸福的毁灭，另一方面拿我丈夫的文件，在社会政治上会有我无法理解的后果，但是有关爱情和信任的重要性，我太了解了。福尔摩斯先生，是我拿了文件！我取了钥匙的模型。卢卡斯给了我一把复制的钥匙。我打开文件箱，取出文件并且送到高道尔芬街。”

    "What happened there, madam?"

    “到那儿又发生了什么？”

    "I tapped at the door as agreed. Lucas opened it. I followed him into his room, leaving the hall door ajar behind me, for I feared to be alone with the man. I remember that there was a woman outside as I entered. Our business was soon done. He had my letter on his desk; I handed him the document. He gave me the letter. At this instant there was a sound at the door. There were steps in the passage. Lucas quickly turned back the drugget, thrust the document into some hiding-place there, and covered it over.

    “我按照约定的方式敲门。卢卡斯开了门。我随他走进屋中，没有把大厅的门关严，因为和这个人单独在一起我感到害怕。我记得我进去的时候，外面有一个女人。我们的事情很快就办完了。他把我的那封信摆在桌子上。我把文件交给了他，他把我那封信还给了我。正在这时候，房门那里有声音，过道中传来了脚步声。卢卡斯赶忙掀开地毯，把文件塞到一个藏东西的地方，然后又盖上地毯。

    "What happened after that is like some fearful dream. I have a vision of a dark, frantic face, of a woman's voice, which screamed in French, 'My waiting is not in vain. At last, at last I have found you with her!' There was a savage struggle. I saw him with a chair in his hand, a knife gleamed in hers. I rushed from the horrible scene, ran from the house, and only next morning in the paper did I learn the dreadful result. That night I was happy, for I had my letter, and I had not seen yet what the future would bring.

    “那以后发生的事简直是最可怕的恶梦。我看到一个女人，面色黝黑，神色癫狂，她用法语尖叫着：‘我没有白等。终于，终于让我发现你和她在一起了！’他们二人凶狠地搏斗起来。我看见卢卡斯手里拿着一把椅子，那女人手里却有把闪亮的刀子。我立刻冲出了那可怕的地方，离开了那栋房子。直到第二天早上我才在报纸上看到了卢卡斯被杀死的消息。那天晚上我很高兴，因为我拿回了我的信。可是我没料到这会带来什么后果。

    "It was the next morning that I realized that I had only exchanged one trouble for another. My husband's anguish at the loss of his paper went to my heart. I could hardly prevent myself from there and then kneeling down at his feet and telling him what I had done. But that again would mean a confession of the past. I came to you that morning in order to understand the full enormity of my offence. From the instant that I grasped it my whole mind was turned to the one thought of getting back my husband's paper. It must still be where Lucas had placed it, for it was concealed before this dreadful woman entered the room. If it had not been for her coming, I should not have known where his hiding-place was. How was I to get into the room? For two days I watched the place, but the door was never left open. Last night I made a last attempt. What I did and how I succeeded, you have already learned. I brought the paper back with me, and thought of destroying it since I could see no way of returning it, without confessing my guilt to my husband. Heavens, I hear his step upon the stair!"

    “直到第二天早上我才明白，我不过用新的苦恼替代了原来的。我丈夫失去文件后十分焦虑，这使我心神不宁。我当时忍不住想要跪倒在他脚下，向他坦白是我拿了文件。可是这意味着我要说出那过去的事。我那天早上到您那儿去，是想弄清我犯的错误的严重性。从我拿走文件那一刻起，我就一直在想怎样把文件弄回来。它一定还在卢卡斯放的那个地方，因为在可怕的女人进屋前就藏在那儿了。要不是她当时闯进来，我还不可能知道信藏在什么地方呢。我怎样走进屋子的呢？我接连两天观察那栋房子，可是门总是关着。昨天晚上我做了最后一次尝试。我怎么拿到的，你已经知道了。我把文件带回来，想到过销毁，因为我想不出有什么方法能把文件还给我丈夫而又不用坦白我的过去。天啊，我听到他上楼的脚步声了！”

    The European Secretary burst excitedly into the room.

    这位欧洲事务大臣激动地冲进屋内。

    "Any news, Mr. Holmes, any news?" he cried.

    他喊道：“有什么消息吗，福尔摩斯先生，有什么消息？”

    "I have some hopes."

    “有点儿希望。”

    "Ah, thank heaven!" His face became radiant.

    “啊，感谢上帝！”他面露喜色。

    "The Prime Minister is lunching with me. May he share your hopes? He has nerves of steel, and yet I know that he has hardly slept since this terrible event. Jacobs, will you ask the Prime Minister to come up? As to you, dear, I fear that this is a matter of politics. We will join you in a few minutes in the dining-room."

    “首相正准备和我一起吃午饭。让他也来听听吧？他有铁一般的意志，可是据我了解，自从出了这件可怕的事后，他几乎没合过眼。雅各布斯，你把首相请到楼上来。至于你，亲爱的，恐怕这是政治上的事情，我们过几分钟后就和你一起吃午饭。”

    The Prime Minister's manner was subdued, but I could see by the gleam of his eyes and the twitchings of his bony hands that he shared the excitement of his young colleague.

    首相的态度很镇定，但是从他闪烁的目光和不停颤动的大手上，我知道他也像他的年轻同事一样十分激动。

    "I understand that you have something to report, Mr. Holmes?"

    “福尔摩斯先生，我听说你有好消息？”

    "Purely negative as yet," my friend answered. "I have inquired at every point where it might be, and I am sure that there is no danger to be apprehended."

    我的朋友回答：“到目前为止，还是没有弄清。我已经找遍了所有有可能失落的地方，并且确定不会有危险发生。”

    "But that is not enough, Mr. Holmes. We cannot live forever on such a volcano. We must have something definite."

    “这样是不够的，福尔摩斯先生。我们不可能永远生活在火山口上。我们一定要把事情弄个水落石出才行。”

    "I am in hopes of getting it. That is why I am here. The more I think of the matter the more convinced I am that the letter has never left this house."

    “有希望找到文件。所以我才来这里。我越想越觉得文件不会离开您的家。”

    "Mr. Holmes!"

    “福尔摩斯先生！”

    "If it had it would certainly have been public by now."

    “如果文件拿出去了，现在一定已经公布了。”

    "But why should anyone take it in order to keep it in his house?"

    但是为什么会有人拿走文件，但只是为了藏在家里呢？”

    "I am not convinced that anyone did take it."

    “我不相信有人把信拿走了。”

    "Then how could it leave the despatch-box?"

    “那么信怎么会不在文件箱里呢？”

    "I am not convinced that it ever did leave the despatch-box.

    “我不相信它曾经离开过那个文件箱。”

    "Mr. Holmes, this joking is very ill-timed. You have my assurance that it left the box."

    “福尔摩斯先生，这个笑话很不合时宜。我保证箱子里没有那封信件。”

    "Have you examined the box since Tuesday morning?"

    “自从星期二早晨后到现在，你又查看了吗？”

    "No; it was not necessary."

    “没有，这没必要。”

    "You may conceivably have overlooked it."

    “你或许忽略了这点。”

    "Impossible, I say."

    “我说这不可能。”

    "But I am not convinced of it; I have known such things to happen. I presume there are other papers there. Well, it may have got mixed with them."

    “不过我不相信，我见过这种事发生。我猜文件箱里还有很多其他文件吧。嗯，也许是和其他文件混在一起了。”

    "It was on the top."

    “它在最上面。”

    "Someone may have shaken the box and displaced it."

    “也许有人摇晃了箱子，让文件都乱了。”

    "No, no; I had everything out."

    “不不，我全拿出来看过。”

    "Surely it is easily decided, Hope," said the Premier. "Let us have the despatch-box brought in."

    首相说：“霍普，这很容易判断。让我们把箱子拿过来看看。”

    The Secretary rang the bell.

    这位事务大臣拉了铃。

    "Jacobs, bring down my despatch-box. This is a farcical waste of time, but still, if nothing else will satisfy you, it shall be done. Thank you, Jacobs; put it here. I have always had the key on my watch-chain. Here are the papers, you see. Letter from Lord Merrow, report from Sir Charles Hardy, memorandum from Belgrade, note on the Russo-German grain taxes, letter from Madrid, note from Lord Flower—Good heavens! what is this? Lord Bellinger! Lord Bellinger!"

    “雅各布斯，把我的文件箱拿过来。这简直就是浪费时间，太荒唐了。如果其他路都走不通，那就试试这个吧。谢谢你，雅各布斯，放这儿吧。我的钥匙总是穿在我的表链上。你看，这就是那些文件。梅罗勋爵的来信，查尔斯·哈迪爵士的报告，来自贝尔格莱德的外交备忘录，俄德农业税，马德里的来信，弗劳尔勋爵的便条——天哪！这是什么？贝林杰勋爵!贝林杰勋爵！”

    The Premier snatched the blue envelope from his hand.

    首相从他手里抓过这个蓝色信封。

    "Yes, it is it—and the letter is intact. Hope, I congratulate you."

    “是的，就是它，信还没动过。霍普，祝贺你。”

    "Thank you! Thank you! What a weight from my heart. But this is inconceivable—impossible. Mr. Holmes, you are a wizard, a sorcerer! How did you know it was there?"

    “谢谢你！谢谢你！你把我心上的大石头终于搬走了。但这太不可思议了，不可能。福尔摩斯先生，你是个巫师，是个魔术师！你怎么知道信在那里呢？”

    "Because I knew it was nowhere else."

    “因为我知道它不可能在别的地方。”

    "I cannot believe my eyes!" He ran wildly to the door. "Where is my wife? I must tell her that all is well. Hilda! Hilda!" we heard his voice on the stairs.

    “我简直不能相信我的双眼！”他急忙向门口跑去。“我妻子在哪儿？我一定要告诉她没事了。希尔达！希尔达！”我们听到楼梯上传来他的声音。

    The Premier looked at Holmes with twinkling eyes.

    首相望着福尔摩斯，眼睛闪烁着。

    "Come, sir," said he. "There is more in this than meets the eye. How came the letter back in the box?"

    他说：“得了，先生。不只是我们眼前所见的吧，背后一定大有文章。文件怎么回到箱子里的？”

    Holmes turned away smiling from the keen scrutiny of those wonderful eyes.

    福尔摩斯微笑着避开了那一双好奇的眼睛。

    "We also have our diplomatic secrets," said he, and picking up his hat he turned to the door.

    “我们也有自己的外交秘密。”他说着，拿起帽子，转身向屋门走去。