福尔摩斯探案集·四签名 第21期:秃头人的故事(4)

"If we are to go to Norwood, it would perhaps be as well to start at once," I ventured to remark.

我大胆地说道："如果咱们还须去诺伍德，好不好咱们马上就动身。"

He laughed until his ears were quite red. "That would hardly do," he cried.

他笑到耳根发红后，说道："那样不太合适，

"I don't know what he would say if I brought you in that sudden way.

如果突然陪你们去，我不知道他要说些什么呢。

No, I must prepare you by showing you how we all stand to each other.

不，我必须事先作好准备，把咱们彼此的处境先谈一谈。

In the first place, I must tell you that there are several points in the story of which I am myself ignorant.

头一件我要告诉你们的就是，在这段故事里还有几点连我自己都没有搞清楚呢。

I can only lay the facts before you as far as I know them myself.

我只能把我所知道的事实说给你们听。

"My father was, as you may have guessed, Major John Sholto, once of the Indian Army.

"我的父亲，你们会猜想到，就是过去在印度驻军里的约翰·舒尔托少校。

He retired some eleven years ago and came to live at Pondicherry Lodge in Upper Norwood.

他大约是在十一年前退休后，才到上诺伍德的樱沼别墅来住的。

He had prospered in India and brought back with him a considerable sum of money,

他在印度很发了些财，带来一大笔钱

a large collection of valuable curiosities, and a staff of native servants.

和一批贵重的古玩，还有几个印度仆人。

With these advantages he bought himself a house, and lived in great luxury.

有了这些好条件，他就买了一所房子，过着非常优裕的生活。

My twin-brother Bartholomew and I were the only children.

我和巴索洛谬是孪生兄弟，我父亲只有我们这两个孩子。

"I very well remember the sensation which was caused by the disappearance of Captain Morstan.

"我还很清楚地记得摩斯坦上尉的失踪在社会上所引起的轰动，

We read the details in the papers,

详情还是我们从报纸上读到的呢。

and knowing that he had been a friend of our father's we discussed the case freely in his presence.

因为我们知道他是父亲的朋友，所以常常无拘无束地在他面前讨论这件事。

He used to join in our speculations as to what could have happened.

他有时也和我们揣测这件事是怎么发生的，

Never for an instant did we suspect that he had the whole secret hidden in his own breast,

我们丝毫也没有疑心到这整个的秘密却藏在他一个人的心里

that of all men he alone knew the fate of Arthur Morstan.

只有他一个人知道阿瑟·摩斯坦的结局。

"We did know, however, that some mystery, some positive danger, overhung our father.

"可是我们确也知道有些秘密，有些恐怖的事存在我父亲心里。

He was very fearful of going out alone,

他平常不敢一人独自出门，

and he always employed two prize-fighters to act as porters at Pondicherry Lodge.

他还雇了两个拳击手为樱沼别墅看门。

Williams, who drove you to-night, was one of them.

今天为你们赶车的威廉就是其中的一个，

He was once lightweight champion of England.

他过去是英国轻量级拳赛的冠军。

Our father would never tell us what it was he feared, but he had a most marked aversion to men with wooden legs.

我父亲从来不告诉我们他所怕的是什么，他对装有木腿的人尤其加意地戒备。

On one occasion he actually fired his revolver at a wooden-legged man,

有一次他用枪打伤了一个装木腿的人，

who proved to be a harmless tradesman canvassing for orders.

后来证明了这人是个来兜揽生意的平常商贩，

We had to pay a large sum to hush the matter up.

我们赔了一大笔养伤费才算了结。

My brother and I used to think this a mere whim of my father's, but events have since led us to change our opinion.

我哥哥和我先以为这不过是我父亲的一时冲动罢了，后来经过一桩一桩的事情，才使我们改变了看法。

"Early in 1882 my father received a letter from India which was a great shock to him.

"一八八二年春间，我父亲接到了一封从印度来的信，这封信对他是一个很大的打击。

He nearly fainted at the breakfast-table when he opened it, and from that day he sickened to his death.

他在早餐桌上读完这封信后几乎晕倒，从那天气他就病倒了，一直到他死去。

What was in the letter we could never discover,

信的内容是什么，我们从来也未发现，

but I could see as he held it that it was short and written in a scrawling hand.

可是在他拿着这封信的时候，我从旁边看见信很短，而且字迹潦草。

He had suffered for years from an enlarged spleen, but he now became rapidly worse,

他多年患着脾脏肿大的病，这一下，病情很快就进一步地严重化了。

and towards the end of April we were informed that he was beyond all hope, and that he wished to make a last communication to us.

到了四月底，医生断定他已没有希望了，叫我们到他面前听他最后的遗嘱。