书虫二级：五个桔核 - 伊莱亚斯叔叔的故事
1.The Story of Uncle Elias
1．伊莱亚斯叔叔的故事
In September 1887 my wife was visiting some of her family, so I was staying with my old friend Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street. It was a windy, stormy evening, and the rain was falling heavily outside. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
1887年9月，我妻子去拜访亲戚，所以我到贝克街和我的老朋友夏洛克·福尔摩斯住在一起。那是一个暴风雨之夜，外面雨下得很大。突然传来敲门声。
I looked at my friend in surprise. 'Who can this be?' I asked.
我吃惊地看了看我的朋友。“这会是谁呢？”我问。
If he comes on business in this weather, it's important,' said Sherlock Holmes. 'Come in!' he called.
“如果他在这种天气出来办事，那肯定是有很重要的事儿，”福尔摩斯说，“请进！”他大声说。
A young man came in. He looked wet, tired and worried. 'I've come to ask for help,' he said. 'I've heard of you, Mr Holmes. People say you know everything. I don't know what to do.'
一个年轻人走了进来。他看起来浑身都湿了，疲惫不堪，而且愁容满面。“我是来寻求帮助的，”他说，“我听说过你，福尔摩斯先生。人们说你无所不知。我不知道该怎么办。”
Well, sit down,' said Holmes, 'and tell me about yourself.'
“好了，坐下吧，”福尔摩斯说，“跟我说说你的情况。”
The young man sat down, and put his wet feet near the fire. 'My name is John Openshaw. My father, Joseph, had a brother, my uncle Elias, who went to live in America when he was young. He made a lot of money there. He didn't like the black Americans, so during the Civil War he fought against the men from the North, and with those from the South. But when the South lost the war, and there was equality for black people, Uncle Elias left America. So in 1890 he came back to England and went to live in a large house in the country. He was a strange, unhappy man.
年轻人坐下，把他湿湿的双脚放到火旁。“我叫约翰·奥彭肖。我父亲约瑟夫有一个弟弟，我叔叔伊莱亚斯，他年轻时就去了美国。他在那里赚了很多钱。他不喜欢美国黑人，所以内战期间他和南方人一起跟北方人打仗。但是南方打败了，黑人获得了平等权利，伊莱亚斯叔叔就离开了美国。1890年，他回到英国，住在乡下的一所大房子里。他是一个奇怪的人，总是不开心。
He did not want any friends,' John Openshaw went on, 'and he often drank a lot. But he liked me, and when I was twelve, I moved to Uncle Elias's house. He was very kind to me. I could go anywhere in the house. But there was one small room at the top of the house which was always locked. Nobody could go into this room.
“他不想要任何朋友，”约翰·奥彭肖继续说，“他还经常酗酒。但是他很喜欢我，我12岁的时候搬到了伊莱亚斯叔叔家里。他对我非常好。我可以到房子的任何地方去。但是房子顶部有一个小房间总是锁着，谁都不可以进去。
One day Uncle Elias got a letter from Pondicherry in India. "I don't know anyone in Pondicherry!" he said, but when he opened the envelope, five little orange pips fell on to his plate. I began to laugh but stopped when I saw my uncle's white face.
“一天，伊莱亚斯叔叔收到一封来自印度本地治里的信。‘我在本地治里没有认识的人！’他说。但是当他打开信封，五个桔核掉到他的盘子上。我笑起来，但是看到叔叔苍白的脸色就笑不出来了。
"K. K. K. !" he cried. "Oh my God, my God, they've found me!"
“‘K. K. K. ！’他叫道，‘噢，我的上帝啊，我的上帝，他们找到我了！’
"What do you mean, uncle?" I asked.
“‘你是什么意思，叔叔？’”我问。
"Death!" he cried, and ran upstairs.
“‘死亡！’他大叫，然后跑上了楼。
I looked at the envelope, which had three Ks on the back. There was no letter. Who sent it? And why was my uncle so afraid?
“我看了看信封，信封背面有三个K，里面却没有信。谁寄来的呢？我叔叔为什么这么害怕呢？
Uncle Elias went immediately to the secret room and took out a box which also had three Ks on it. He burnt all the papers in the box, and said to me, "John, I know that I'm going to die soon. My brother, your father, will have all my money and my house after my death, and you will have it all when he dies. I hope you can enjoy it, but if not, give it to your worst enemy. I'm afraid that my money brings death with it."
“伊莱亚斯叔叔立刻到那个秘密房间里拿出一个盒子，上面也有三个K。他烧掉了盒子里的所有文件，对我说：‘约翰，我知道我就要死了。我的哥哥，你的父亲，会在我死后得到我所有的钱财和房子，他死后你将得到这所有的一切。我希望你能够享用它，但是如果不能，就把它送给你最坏的敌人。我担心我的钱会带来死亡。’
I didn't understand what he meant, and nothing happened for a few weeks, so I did not feel so worried. But my uncle was very afraid. He stayed in his room most of the time, and drank more than before. He always locked all the doors carefully. Then one night he drank very heavily and ran wildly out of the house, and in the morning we found him dead in a river. The police said he killed himself, but I knew he was afraid to die, so I didn't think that was true.'
“我不懂他的意思，后来的几个星期什么也没发生，所以我也不那么担心了。但是我叔叔非常害怕。他大部分时间都待在他的房间里，喝酒比以前更凶了。他总是仔细锁好所有的门。后来，有一天晚上他喝得烂醉，疯狂地跑出房子，到早上，我们发现他死在河里。警察说他是自杀，但我知道他害怕死，所以我觉得那不是真的。”
Holmes stopped the young man for a minute. 'Tell me,' he said. 'When did your uncle get the letter from India, and when did he die?'
福尔摩斯打断了年轻人。“告诉我，”他说，“你叔叔什么时候收到印度的来信的？他又是什么时候死的？”
The letter arrived on 10th March 1883, and he died seven weeks later,' answered John Openshaw.
“信是1883年3月10日到的，他是七个星期之后死的。”约翰·奥彭肖回答。
Thank you. Please go on,' said Holmes.
“谢谢。请继续说吧。”福尔摩斯说。
After my uncle's death, my father moved into the house. Of course I asked him to look carefully at the locked room, but we didn't find anything important.'
“我叔叔死后，我父亲搬到了这库房子里。当然，我让他仔细查看了锁着的房间，但是我们没找到任何重要的东西。”
