福尔摩斯探案集·血字的研究 第25期:广告引来了不速之客(1)

Chapter 5

第五章

OUR ADVERTISEMENT BRINGS A VISITOR

广告引来了不速之客

OUR morning's exertions had been too much for my weak health, and I was tired out in the afternoon.

上午忙碌了一阵，我的身体实在有点吃不消，因此，下午就感到疲倦已极。

After Holmes's departure for the concert, I lay down upon the sofa and endeavoured to get a couple of hours' sleep.

在福尔摩斯出去听音乐会以后，我就躺在沙发上，尽量想睡它两小时，

It was a useless attempt.

可是怎么也办不到。

My mind had been too much excited by all that had occurred,

由于所发生的种种情况使我的心情过分激动，

and the strangest fancies and surmises crowded into it.

脑子里充满了许许多多稀奇古怪的想法和猜测。

Every time that I closed my eyes I saw before me the distorted, baboon-like countenance of the murdered man.

只要我一合眼，那个被害者的歪扭得象猴子似的面貌就出现在我的眼前。

So sinister was the impression which that face had produced upon me

它给我的印象是万分丑恶，

that I found it difficult to feel anything but gratitude for him who had removed its owner from the world.

对于把这样一个长相的人从世上除掉的那个凶手，我除了对他感激之外，很难有其他的感觉。

If ever human features bespoke vice of the most malignant type,

如果相貌真的可以说明一个人的罪恶的话，

they were certainly those of Enoch J. Drebber, of Cleveland.

那一定就是象这位克利夫兰城的伊瑙克·锥伯的尊容了。

Still I recognized that justice must be done,

虽然如此，我认为问题还是应当公平处理，

and that the depravity of the victim was no condonement in the eyes of the law.

在法律上，被害人的罪行并不能抵消凶手的罪。

The more I thought of it the more extraordinary did my companion's hypothesis, that the man had been poisoned, appear.

我的伙伴推测说，这个人是中毒而死的，我越想越觉得这个推测很不平常。

I remembered how he had sniffed his lips,

我记得福尔摩斯嗅过死者的嘴唇，

and had no doubt that he had detected something which had given rise to the idea.

我确信他一定已经侦查出某种事物，才会使他有这样的想法。

Then, again, if not poison, what had caused this man's death, since there was neither wound nor marks of strangulation?

况且，尸体上既没有伤痕，又没有勒死的迹象，如果说不是中毒而死，那么致死的原因又是什么呢？

But, on the other hand, whose blood was that which lay so thickly upon the floor?

但是，从另一方面来看，地板上大摊的血迹又是谁的？

There were no signs of a struggle, nor had the victim any weapon with which he might have wounded an antagonist.

屋里既没有发现扭打的痕迹，也没有找到死者用来击伤对方的凶器。

As long as all these questions were unsolved,

只要这一类的问题得不到解答，

I felt that sleep would be no easy matter, either for Holmes or myself.

我觉得，不管是福尔摩斯还是我，要想安睡可不是件容易的事。

His quiet, self-confident manner convinced me that he had already formed a theory which explained all the facts,

他的那种镇静而又充满自信的神态，使我深信他对于全部情节，早有见解；

though what it was I could not for an instant conjecture.

虽然他的内容究竟如何，我一时还不能猜测出来。

He was very late in returning–so late that I knew that the concert could not have detained him all the time.

福尔摩斯回来得非常晚。我相信，他绝不可能听音乐会一直到这么晚。

Dinner was on the table before he appeared.

他回来的时候，晚饭早已经摆在桌上了。

"It was magnificent," he said, as he took his seat.

"今天的音乐太好了。"福尔摩斯说着就坐了下来，

"Do you remember what Darwin says about music?

"你记得达尔文对于音乐的见解吗？

He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at.

他认为，远在人类有了说话的能力以前，人类就有了创造音乐和欣赏音乐的能力了。

Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it.

也许这就是咱们所以不可思议地易于受到音乐感染的原故。

There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood."

在咱们心灵的深处，对于世界混沌初期的那些朦胧岁月，还遗留着一些模糊不清的记忆。"

"That's rather a broad idea," I remarked.

我说："这种见解似乎过于广泛。"

"One's ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature, "he answered.

福尔摩斯说："一个人如果要想说明大自然，那么，他的想象领域就必须象大自然一样的广阔。

"What's the matter? You're not looking quite yourself.

怎么回事？你今天和平常不大一样呀。

This Brixton Road affair has upset you."

布瑞克斯顿路的案子把你弄得心神不宁了吧。"

"To tell the truth, it has," I said.

我说："说实在的，这个案子确实使我心神不宁。

"I ought to be more case-hardened after my Afghan experiences.

通过阿富汗那番经历之后，我原应该锻炼得坚强些的。

I saw my own comrades hacked to pieces at Maiwand without losing my nerve."

在迈旺德战役中，我也曾亲眼看到自己的伙伴们血肉横飞的情景，但是我并没有感到害怕。"