Chapter5 三条被断的线索-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《福尔摩斯探案经典之巴斯克维尔的猎犬The Hound of the Baskervilles》

Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads Sherlock Holmes had,in a very remarkable degree,the power of detaching his mind at will.For two hours the strange business in which we had been involved appeared to be forgotten,and he was entirely absorbed in the pictures of the modern Belgian masters.He would talk of nothing but art,of which he had the crudest ideas,from our leaving the gallery until we found ourselves at the Northumberland Hotel. "Sir Henry Baskerville is upstairs expecting you,"said the clerk."He asked me to show you up at once when you came." "Have you any objection to my looking at your register?"said Holmes. Not in the least..” The book showed that two names had been added after that of Baskerville. One was Theophilus Johnson and family,of Newcastle;the other Mrs.Oldmore and maid,of High Lodge,Alton. "Surely that must be the same Johnson whom I used to know,"said Holmes to the porter."A lawyer,is he not,gray-headed,and walks with a limp?" "No,sir,this is Mr.Johnson,the coal-owner,a very active gentleman,not older than yourself.” "Surely you are mistaken about his trade?" "No,sir!he has used this hotel for many years,and he is very well known tous.” "Ah,that settles it.Mrs.Oldmore,too;I seem to remember the name. Excuse my curiosity,but often in calling upon one friend one finds another." ·076· 第五章三条被格断的线家 夏洛克·福尔摩斯在转移自己的注意力方面具有非 ①detach【di'taeg(使) 凡的能力，可以做到随心所欲。两个小时时间里，他似 分离，（使）分开 乎把我们已经牵扯其中的那桩离奇案件忘记得一干二净 了，完全沉浸在现代比利时艺术大师们的作品中，乃至 ②crude [kru:da.肤浅的， 在离开画廊前往诺森伯兰旅馆的路上，他也只谈艺术， 幼稚的 不涉及别的任何内容。实际上，他对艺术的见解还是很 肤浅的。 “亨利·巴斯克维尔爵土正在楼上等候你们呢，”旅 馆雇员说，“他吩附我说，你们一到就领你们上去。” “我想看看你们旅馆的登记簿，您不会反对吧？” 福尔摩斯说。 “当然不会。” 登记簿上显示，巴斯克维尔名字后面增加了两位住 客的名字，一位是来自纽克斯尔的西奥菲勒斯·约翰逊 及其家人，另一位是奥尔顿海洛奇宅邸的奥尔德摩尔夫 人及其女仆。 “毫无疑问，这一定是我过去认识的那位约翰逊先 生，”福尔摩斯对门卫说，“是个律师，头发灰白，走起 路来有点跛，对吧？” “不对，先生，这位约翰逊先生是个煤矿老板，是 位行动利索的绅士，年龄不会比您大。” “关于他的职业，您一定是弄错了吧？” “没有弄错，先生！他许多年来都是住在这家旅馆 里，我跟他很熟悉。” ·077· Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads "She is an invalid lady,sir.Her husband was once mayor of Gloucester. She always comes to us when she is in town." "Thank you;I am afraid I cannot claim her acquaintance.We have established a most important fact by these questions,Watson,"he continued in a low voice as we went upstairs together."We know now that the people who are so interested in our friend have not settled down in his own hotel.That means that while they are,as we have seen,very anxious to watch him,they are equally anxious that he should not see them.Now,this is a most suggestive fact.” "What does it suggest?" "It suggests-halloa,my dear fellow,what on earth is the matter?" As we came round the top of the stairs we had run up against Sir Henry Baskerville himself.His face was flushed with anger,and he held an old and dusty boot in one of his hands.So furious was he that he was hardly articulate,and when he did speak it was in a much broader and more Western dialect than any which we had heard from him in the morning. “Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker⑤in this hotel,”he cried. "They'll find they've started in to monkey with the wrong man unless they are careful.By thunder,if that chap can't find my missing boot there will be trouble.I can take a joke with the best,Mr.Holmes,but they've got a bit over the mark⑦this time..” "Still looking for your boot?" “Yes,sir,and mean to find it..” "But,surely,you said that it was a new brown boot?" “So it was,sir.And now it's an old black one.” "What!you don't mean to say--?" "That's just what I do mean to say.I only had three pairs in the world-the new brown,the old black,and the patent leathers,which I am wearing.Last night they took one of my brown ones,and to-day they have sneaked one of the black.Well,have you got it?Speak out,man,and don't stand staring!" An agitated German waiter had appeared upon the scene. "No,sir;I have made inquiry all over the hotel,but I can hear no word of it” ·078· 第五葷三条皲格断的线索 ①invalid【involi:da.有病 “啊，那就不会有什么问题了。奥尔德摩尔夫人也 是，我似乎记得这个名字的。请原谅我的好奇，但是， 2acquaintance [a'kweintans] 人们在拜访一个朋友时往往会遇上另外一个。” m.(对某人的)相识， “她是位行动不便的夫人，先生，丈夫曾经是格洛 认识 斯特市的市长。她来了伦敦就会住在我们这儿。” “谢谢您，我恐怕跟她不熟。通过刚才提出的问题， 我们弄清楚了一个非常重要的事实，华生，”我们一起 上楼时，他低声对我说，“我们现在知道了，那些对我 3suggestive [s'd3estivl a. 们的朋友感兴趣的人没有下榻在同一家旅馆，也就是 耐人寻味的 说，一方面，他们心急火燎，想要监视他，这一点我们 已经看到了。另一方面，他们同样心急火燎，生怕他发 现他们。对啊，这是个很耐人寻味的事实。” “说明了什么呢？” “这说明了黑，亲爱的朋友，这到底是怎么了？” 我们刚走到楼梯的顶端，便迎面碰上了亨利·巴 斯克维尔爵士本人。他气得满脸通红，一只手上拿着一 ④articulate【a:'tikjulat]a. 能说话的 只满是灰尘的旧皮靴，简直怒不可遏，连话都说不出来 了。当他终于开口说话时，他声音高亢，美国西部口音 ③sucker['sk】笨蛋 ⑥monkey['mAgki]v.胡 很重，程度远胜过我们上午听到过的。 闹：捣蛋 “我感觉，这家旅馆的人把我当傻瓜笨蛋了，”他大声 嚷嚷者，“他们可得给我当心点，否则，很快就会发现自己 ⑦over the mark过分，超 找错了戏弄的对像了。丑话说在前头，那个门卫若是不把 过限度 我的靴子找回来，那就有他好受的！我这个人平时很开得 起玩笑的，但这一次，他们玩笑也未免开得太大了点吧。” “您还在寻找靴子吗？” “对啊，先生，一定要找到。” “但是，可以肯定，您说那是一只棕褐色的新靴子啊。” “是这么回事，先生，而现在是一只黑色的旧靴子。” “什么啊！您不是要说一？” “我正想告诉您呢，我总共就只有三双一一双新 的棕褐色，一双旧的黑色，还有现在脚上穿着的黑漆皮 的。昨天夜间，他们拿走了我棕褐色那双中的一只，而 今天，又拿走了一只黑色的。对啦，你找到了吗，伙 计，说话啊，不要站在那儿干瞪眼啊！” 一位情绪不安的德国侍者走了过来。 “没有呢，先生，我把旅馆里的人都问遍了，但没 ·079· Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads "Well,either that boot comes back before sundown or I'll see the manager and tell him that I go right straight out of this hotel." "It shall be found,sir-I promise you that if you will have a little patience it will be found.” "Mind it is,for it's the last thing of mine that I'll lose in this den of thieves.Well,well,Mr.Holmes,you'll excuse my troubling you about such a trifle--” “I think it's well worth troubling about.” “Why,you look very serious over it.” "How do you explain it?" "I just don't attempt to explain it.It seems the very maddest,queerest thing that ever happened to me." "The queerest perhaps-"said Holmes thoughtfully. "What do you make of it yourself?" "Well,I don't profess to understand it yet.This case of yours is very complex,Sir Henry.When taken in conjunction with your uncle's death I am not sure that of all the five hundred cases of capital importance which I have handled there is one which cuts so deep.But we hold several threads in our hands,and the odds are that one or other of them guides us to the truth.We may waste time in following the wrong one,but sooner or later we must come upon the right.” We had a pleasant luncheon in which little was said of the business which had brought us together.It was in the private sitting-room to which we afterwards repaired that Holmes asked Baskerville what were his intentions. “To go to Baskerville Hall..” “And when? “At the end of the week.” “On the whole,.”said Holmes,“I think that your decision is a wise one.I have ample evidence that you are being dogged in London,and amid the millions of this great city it is difficult to discover who these people are or what their object can be.If their intentions are evil they might do you a mischief,and we should be powerless to prevent it.You did not know,Dr.Mortimer,that you were followed this morning from my house?" ·080· 第五肇 三条皲掐断的线家 听到一点儿消息。” “啊，你们可得给我在天黑前把靴子找回来，否则， 我就要去找经理了，告诉他我这就直接走人，离开旅馆。” “会找到的，先生一我向您保证，您只要再耐心 ①den[dcnn贼窝 等一等，靴子会找到的。” “但愿如此啊，我可不想在这样一个贼窝里再丢失 什么东西了。对啦，对啦，福尔摩斯先生，为这样的一 件小事情让您费心劳神的，请您谅解- “我认为，这事值得费心劳神。” “啊，您看起来很看重这一点啊。” “您如何解释这个情况呢？” “我压根儿没想过要解释，这是我遇到过的最荒诞 可笑和最离奇古怪的事情。” “或许是最离奇古怪的—”福尔摩斯说，一副若 有所思的样子。 “您自己怎么看呢？” ②profess [prau'fesl伪 称；假装 “是啊，我得承认，我自己也还没完全弄明白。您 ③in conjunction with连 的这桩案件十分复杂，亨利爵士。如果同您伯父的去世 同，共同 ④capital【kapitol]a.第- 联系起来看，恐怕比我经手过的那五百桩大案要案中的 流的 任何一桩都更加扑朔迷离啊。不过，我们现在手上掌握 了几条线索，其中应该有一两条可以引导我们找出真 相。我们或许关注错误的线索，浪费一点儿时间，但迟 早会找到那条正确的线索的。” ⑥luncheon ['lantfan]n.午 餐 我们享受了一顿愉快的午餐，席间很少再提把我 们集聚到一块儿的那桩案件。午餐后，我们一同到了 一间私密的起居室，福尔摩斯在此询问了巴斯克维尔的 打算。 “到巴斯克维尔庄园去。” “什么时候？” “这个礼拜结束时。” ⑥ample['empll a,足够的 “总的说起来，”福尔摩斯说，“我认为，您的决定 ⑦dog [dogl追踪，跟随 是明智的。我有充分的证据证明，您在伦敦被人注意上 了。在这座城市的几百万人口当中，很难弄清楚跟踪您 的是什么人，为了什么目的。倘若他们居心不良，恐怕 会加害于您。到时，我们就是有心防范也恐怕无能为 力。您不知道啊，莫蒂默医生，你们一出我的家门就 ·081· Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads Dr.Mortimer started violently. "Followed!By whom?" "That,unfortunately,is what I cannot tell you.Have you among your neighbours or acquaintances on Daftmoor any man with a black,full beard?" "No-or,let me see-why,yes.Barrymore,Sir Charles's butler,is a man with a full,black beard." "Ha!Where is Barrymore?" "He is in charge of the Hall." "We had best ascertain if he is really there,or if by any possibility he might be in London.” “How can you do that? "Give me a telegraph form.'Is all ready for Sir Henry?'That will do. Address to Mr.Barrymore,Baskerville Hall.What is the nearest telegraph- office?Grimpen.Very good,we will send a second wire to the postmaster, Grimpen:'Telegram to Mr.Barrymore to be delivered into his own hand.If absent,please return wire to Sir Henry Baskerville,Northumberland Hotel.' That should let us know before evening whether Barrymore is at his post in Devonshire or not.” “That'sso,”said Baskerville.“By the way,Dr.Mortimer,.who is this Barrymore,anyhow?" "He is the son of the old caretaker,who is dead.They have looked after the Hall for four generations now.So far as I know,he and his wife are as respectable②a couple as any in the county.” "At the same time,"said Baskerville,"it's clear enough that so long as there are none of the family at the Hall these people have a mighty fine home and nothing to do.” That is true.” "Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charles's will?"asked Holmes. "He and his wife had five hundred pounds each." "Ha!Did they know that they would receive this?" "Yes;Sir Charles was very fond of talking about the provisions of his wll.” "That is very interesting." ·082· 第五章 三条皲格断的线索 被人跟踪了。” 莫蒂默医生大吃一惊。 “跟踪！什么人？” “非常遗憾，我也无法告诉您是谁。您在达特穆尔 荒原那边的邻居，或者熟人当中，有没有一个留着大黑 胡子的人？” “没有—不，让我想想 —啊，有的，巴里摩尔， 查尔斯爵士的管家，他就留着一大把黑胡子。” “哈！巴里摩尔在哪里？” “他管理着庄园呢。” “我们最好还是证实一下，看他是不是真的在那里， 说不定有可能在伦敦呢。” “您如何才能证实呢？” “给我一张电报单。‘准备好了迎接亨利爵士吗？’ 这样写就可以了。电报发给巴斯克维尔庄园的巴里摩尔 先生。离庄园最近的电报局在哪里？格林彭，很好啊。 此外，我们再发一封电报给格林彭邮政所的所长，‘发 给巴里摩尔的电报请务必让其亲自签收为盼，如若本人 不在，请把电报退回诺森伯兰旅馆，享利·巴斯克维尔 爵士收。’这样一来，我们天黑之前就可以弄清巴里摩 尔是否在德文郡坚守职责呢。” “这样行，”巴斯克维尔说，“顺便问一声，莫蒂默 ①caretaker[kea,teika]n.看 医生，巴里摩尔到底是怎么样的一个人啊？” 门人 “他是已故老管家的儿子。他们一直负责管理着庄 respectable [ri'spektobll a. 园，至今已是第四代了。据我所知，他们夫妻两人在当 品行端正的：正派的 地是很受人尊敬的。” ③mighty['maiti]ad..很， “同时，”巴斯克维尔说，“事情很明了了，如果我 非常 家族的人都不去庄园住的话，那他们就住着豪宅，一点 儿事情都不用做了。” “确实如此。” “查尔斯爵士的遗嘱里提到了巴里摩尔的份额吗？” 福尔摩斯问。 “他和妻子各得五百英傍。” ④provision【prou'vi3onln “哈！他们知道，自己可以得到这笔遗产吗？” 条款 “知道。查尔斯爵土很喜欢讲在他的遗嘱中每个人 可以得到的份额。” ·083· Chapter 5 Three Broken Threads “I hope,”said Dr.Mortimer,“that you do not look with suspicious eyes upon everyone who received a legacy from Sir Charles,for I also had a thousand pounds left to me." "Indeed!And anyone else?" "There were many insignificant sums to individuals,and a large number of public charities.The residueall went to Sir Henry." "And how much was the residue?" “Seven hundred and forty thousand pounds.” Holmes raised his eyebrows in surprise."I had no idea that so gigantic a sum was involved,"said he. "Sir Charles had the reputation of being rich,but we did not know how very rich he was until we came to examine his securities.The total value of the estate was close on to a million." "Dear me!It is a stake for which a man might well play a desperate game.And one more question,Dr.Mortimer.Supposing that anything happened to our young friend here-you will forgive the unpleasant hypothesis!-who would inherit the estate?" "Since Rodger Baskerville,Sir Charles's younger brother died unmarried, the estate would descend to the Desmonds,who are distant cousins.James Desmond is an elderly clergyman in Westmoreland." "Thank you.These details are all of great interest.Have you met Mr.James Desmond?" "Yes;he once came down to visit Sir Charles.He is a man of venerable appearance and of saintly life.I remember that he refused to accept any settlement from Sir Charles,though he pressed it upon him." "And this man of simple tastes would be the heir to Sir Charles's thousands." "He would be the heir to the estate because that is entailed.He would also be the heir to the money unless it were willed otherwise by the present owner,who can,of course,do what he likes with it." "And have you made your will,Sir Henry?" "No,Mr.Holmes,I have not.I've had no time,for it was only yesterday that I learned how matters stood.But in any case I feel that the money should go with the title and estate.That was my poor uncle's idea.How is the owner ·084· 第五肇 三条皲格断的线家 “这很有意思。” “但愿，”莫蒂默医生说，“您不会怀疑每一个得到 过查尔斯爵士遗赠的人吧，因为我本人也得到了一千英 镑呢。” “是吗！还有别的什么人吗？” ①residue['rezidjul n.剩余 “很多笔数目不大的金额遗赠给了个人，还有一大笔 物 赠给了公共慈善机构，余下的财产则全归亨利爵士所有。” “余下的有多少？” “七十四万英镑。” 福尔摩斯感到很惊讶，眉头竖了起来。“我没想到 有这么大的一笔钱。”他说。 “查尔斯爵士是个远近闻名的富翁，但我们直到他 securities [si'kjuoritis]n. 去世后查验他的证券时才知道他如此富有，他的资产总 证券 值将近一百万英镑。” ③stake【steik)m赌金，赌 “天哪！这么大的赌注，肯定有人拼死也要博它一 注 回。莫蒂默医生，再问您一个问题。假设我们这位年轻 的朋友在伦敦惨遭不测—请您谅解我用这个不详的假 设—那会由谁来继承那笔遗产呢？” “因为罗杰·巴斯克维尔—查尔斯爵士的弟弟还 未结婚就亡故了，所以遗产就将由德斯蒙德家族继承， 他们之间是远表亲关系。詹姆斯·德斯蒙德是威斯特摩 兰的一位上了年纪的牧师。” “谢谢您。这些细节全都大有用途。您见过詹姆 斯·德斯蒙德先生吗？” ④venerable['venarabll a.德 “见过，他有一次来拜访过查尔斯爵士。从外表看， 高望重的 他为人庄重可敬，过着圣洁的生活。我记得，他拒绝从 ⑤settlement['setlmant】n. 查尔斯爵士那里接受任何产业，尽管查尔斯爵士力劝他 赠予（或转让）的财产 接受。” “这个没什么欲望的人会成为查尔斯爵士巨额财产 ⑥entail[in'teil]y.把.-按固 定的顺序传给（或遗传 的继承人吗？” 给) “他是法定的继承人，除非现在的所有人按照自己 的喜好来处理财产，另立遗嘱，按律他将继承遗产。” “那亨利爵士，您立过遗嘱了吗？” “没有，福尔摩斯先生，还没有呢。我还没有时间 这样做，因为我昨天才知道整件事情。不过，我觉得， 无论在什么情况下，钱财都不该与爵位和产业分开。我 ·085·