福尔摩斯探案集·四签名 第33期:福尔摩斯作出判断(2)

"This is all very well," said I; "but the thing becomes more unintelligible than ever.

我道："这都不错，可是事情愈搞愈奥妙了。

How about this mysterious ally? How came he into the room?"

谁是他的同谋呢？他又是怎么进来的呢？"

"Yes, the ally!" repeated Holmes pensively. "There are features of interest about this ally.

福尔摩斯沉思着重复说道："不错，还有那个同谋！这个人确有些有趣的情形。

He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace.

他把这案子搞得很不平凡。

I fancy that this ally breaks fresh ground in the annals of crime in this country

我想这个同谋给我国的犯罪方式又开辟了一条新路子，

though parallel cases suggest themselves from India and, if my memory serves me, from Senegambia."

可是在印度有过先例，如果我没有记错，在森尼干比亚曾发生过同样的情形。"

"How came he, then?" I reiterated.

我反复地问道："那么究竟他是怎么进来的呢？

"The door is locked; the window is inaccessible. Was it through the chimney?"

门是锁着的，窗户又够不着，难道是从烟囱进来的？"

"The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already considered that possibility."

他答道："我也想到了这个可能性，但是烟囱太窄，不能通过。"

"How, then?" I persisted.

我追问道："到底是怎么样呢？"

"You will not apply my precept," he said, shaking his head.

他摇头说道："你总是不按着我的理论研究。

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible,

我不是曾经和你说过多少次吗？当你把绝不可能的因素都除去以后，

whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

不管剩下的是什么--不管多么难以相信的事--那就是实情吗？

We know that he did not come through the door, the window, or the chimney.

咱们知道，他不是从门进来的，不是从窗进来的，也不是从烟囱进来的。

We also know that he could not have been concealed in the room,

咱们也知道他不会预先藏在屋里边，

as there is no concealment possible. When, then, did he come?"

因为屋里没有藏身的地方，那么他是从哪里进来的呢？"

"He came through the hole in the roof!" I cried.

我嚷道："他从屋顶那个洞进来的。"

"Of course he did. He must have done so.

"当然是从那个洞进来的了，这是毫无疑义的。

If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me, we shall now extend our researches to the room above

你给我提着灯，咱们到上边的屋子里去察看一下

the secret room in which the treasure was found."

就是到发现藏着宝物的那间屋子去。"

He mounted the steps, and, seizing a rafter with either hand, he swung himself up into the garret.

他登上梯子，两手按住了椽木，翻身上了屋顶室。

Then, lying on his face, he reached down for the lamp and held it while I followed him.

他俯身朝下接过灯去，我也随着上去了。

The chamber in which we found ourselves was about ten feet one way and six the other.

这间屋顶室大约有十英尺长，六英尺宽。

The floor was formed by the rafters, with thin lath and plaster between,

椽木架成的地板中间铺了些薄板条，敷了一层灰泥。

so that in walking one had to step from beam to beam.

我们走路时必须踩在一根一根的椽子上。

The roof ran up to an apex and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house.

屋顶呈尖形，也就是这所房子的真正屋顶了。

There was no furniture of any sort, and the accumulated dust of years lay thick upon the floor.

屋里没有陈设，多年的尘土，积得很厚。

"Here you are, you see," said Sherlock Holmes, putting his hand against the sloping wall.

歇洛克·福尔摩斯把手扶在斜坡的墙上说道："你看，

"This is a trapdoor which leads out on to the roof.

这就是一个通屋顶外面的暗门，

I can press it back, and here is the roof itself, sloping at a gentle angle.

我把这个暗门拉开，外面就是坡度不大的屋顶，

This, then, is the way by which Number One entered.

这就是第一个人的来路，

Let us see if we can find some other traces of his individuality?"

咱们找一找，看他有没有留下什么能说明他个人特征的痕迹。"

He held down the lamp to the floor,

他把灯往地板上照着，

and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled, surprised look come over his face.

今晚我又第二次看到在他脸上出现的惊奇表情。

For myself, as I followed his gaze, my skin was cold under my clothes.

我随着往他所注视的地方看去，也被吓得全身发起冷来。

The floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot–clear, well-defined, perfectly formed,

地上满都是没有穿鞋的赤足脚印，很清楚，很完整，

but scarce half the size of those of an ordinary man.

可是不及平常人脚的一半大。

"Holmes," I said in a whisper, "a child has done this horrid thing."

我轻轻地说道："福尔摩斯，一个小孩子做了这样怕人的勾当！"

He had recovered his self-possession in an instant. "I was staggered for the moment," he said, "but the thing is quite natural.

他神色略定以后说道："起初我也是吃了一惊，其实这件事是很平常的。

My memory failed me, or I should have been able to foretell it.

我一时忘记了，我本当预料到的。

There is nothing more to be learned here. Let us go down."

这里没有什么可搜查的了，咱们下去吧。"