PART2 Chapter7 The Conclusion尾声-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《福尔摩斯探案经典之血字的研究A Study in Scarlet》

Chapter 7 The Conclusion We had all been warned to appear before the magistrates upon the Thursday;but when the Thursday came there was no occasion for our testimony.A higher Judge had taken the matter in hand,and Jefferson Hope had been summoned before a tribunal where strict justice would be meted out to him.On the very night after his capture the aneurism burst,and he was found in the morning stretched upon the floor of the cell,with a placid smile upon his face,as though he had been able in his dying moments to look back upon a useful life,and on work well done. "Gregson and Lestrade will be wild about his death,"Holmes remarked, as we chatted it over next evening."Where will their grand advertisement be now?" "I don't see that they had very much to do with his capture,"I answered. "What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence,"returned my companion,bitterly."The question is,what can you make people believe that you have done?Never mind,"he continued,more brightly,after a pause. "I would not have missed the investigation for anything.There has been no better case within my recollection.Simple as it was,there were several most instructive④points about it.,.” “Simple！”I ejaculated. "Well,really,it can hardly be described as otherwise,"said Sherlock ·252· 第七章尾声 我们都接到通知，星期四必须到庭。但是，到了星 期四，我们没有必要出庭作证。一位级别更高的法官接 手了案件，杰弗逊·霍普被传唤到另一个法庭受审，说 ①mcte【mi:t)g给予（处 要给他最公正的审判。就在他被捕的当天晚上，他的动 罚) 脉血管瘤破裂了，翌日早晨，人们发现他倒在监舍的地 @placid[plaesid]a.平静的 板上，四肢张开，脸上带着平静安详的笑容，看起来， 他在弥留之际回首了自己充满了意义的人生，报仇大业 已经如愿以偿了。 “格雷格森和莱斯特雷德会因他的死而疯狂的，”翌 ③grand[graend]a.炫耀的 日晚上，我们聊起这件事情时，福尔摩斯说，“他们现 在到哪儿去四处炫耀啊？” “我看吧，他们与他被捕的事情并没有多少关系 啊。”我回答说。 “在这个世界上，你做了什么并不重要，”福尔摩斯 回答说，语气显得尖刻，“问题是，你如何才能让人们 相信你做过的事情？没有关系，”他停顿了一下，接着 又语气轻松地说，“我不会因为任何情况而错过这次调 查的。在我的记忆中，本案是最有意思的一桩。案情虽 instructive [in'strAktiv]a. 教育性的 说简单，但其中有几处极具启发性的地方。” “简单！”我脱口而出。 “是啊，确实简单，很难用别的什么词来形容它，” ·253· Chapter 7 The Conclusion Holmes,smiling at my surprise."The proof of its intrinsic simplicity is,that without any help save a few very ordinary deductions I was able to lay my hand upon the criminal within three days." s“That is true,,”said I. "I have already explained to you that what is out of the common is usually a guide rather than a hindrance.In solving a problem of this sort,the grand thing is to be able to reason backwards.That is a very useful accomplishment, and a very easy one,but people do not practise it much.In the everyday affairs of life it is more useful to reason forwards,and so the other comes to be neglected.There are fifty who can reason synthetically for one who can reason analytically④.” "I confess,,”said,I“that I do not quite follow you.” "I hardly expected that you would.Let me see if I can make it clearer. Most people,if you describe a train of events to them,will tell you what the result would be.They can put those events together in their minds,and argue from them that something will come to pass.There are few people, however,who,if you told them a result,would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result.This power is what I mean when I talk of reasoning backwards,or analytically.” “I understand,”said I. "Now this was a case in which you were given the result and had to find everything else for yourself.Now let me endeavour to show you the different steps in my reasoning.To begin at the beginning.I approached the house,as you know,on foot,and with my mind entirely free from all impressions.I naturally began by examining the roadway,and there,as I have already explained to you, I saw clearly the marks of a cab,which,I ascertained by inquiry,must have been there during the night.I satisfied myself that it was a cab and not a private carriage by the narrow gauge of the wheels.The ordinary London growler is considerably less wide than a gentleman's brougham ·254· 第七章尾声 intrinsic [in'trinsik]a. 夏洛克·福尔摩斯说，见我一脸惊讶，露出了微笑， 质的 “我之所以说本案本质上很简单，是因为我只不过用了 几次一般的推理，没用其他手段，三天不到就把案犯捉 住了。” “这倒也是。”我说。 “我已经向你解释过了，那些不同寻常的情况其实 ②hindrance[hindrans]n,障 得 是破案的引指，而非障碍。要解决这类问题，最重要的 是能够逆向推理。这个方法很管用，也很简单，可惜人 们不大用。在日常生活中，顺向推理用得很普遍，而逆 向推理往往被忽略。五十个能够进行综合推理的人中 ③synthetically【sin'0etikoli] ad.综合地 间，只有一个人能做逆向分析推理。” analytically [.ano'litikali] ad.分析地 “我承认，”我说，“我不大明白你说的意思。” “我也没有指望你明白。让我看看能不能把事情解 释得更加清晰一些。对于大多数人来说，如果你向他们 描述一系列事件，他们都会指出事件的结果如何。他们 可以在头脑中把那些事件糅合到一块儿，而且由此认 定，会出现某种情况。然而，如果你告诉他们一个结 果，却很少有人能通过内在的思维推理出导致这一结果 Gconsciousness ['konfa 的步骤是什么。这种能力就是我所讲的逆向推理，也可 snis]n.意识 称之为分析推理。” “我明白了。”我说。 “对啦，本案就是一个例证。你已经知道了结果， 而其他情况则需要你自己去探寻。我现在就设法给你 展示一下我推理过程中的各个不同步骤吧。从最开始讲 起，我到达那幢住宅附近后一你知道，我是步行过去 的一头脑里完全没有一点印象。自然而然，我首先查 看的是路面。我已经向你解释过了，路上马车留下的车 ⑥ascertain【,aesa'tein]v.确 辙印清晰可见。通过询问，我确认，车辙印一定是夜间 认 ⑦gauge [geid3]n.尺寸 留下的。我断定，那是一辆出租马车，而非私人专用马 ©growler'graula]n.四轮 出租马车 车，因为其轮距比较狭窄。同绅士们的私家马车比起 @brougham'bu:3mn.布 鲁厄姆式马车 来，伦敦城里的那些日常用的出租马车轮子要窄很多。 ·255· Chapter 7 The Conclusion "This was the first point gained.I then walked slowly down the garden path,which happened to be composed of a clay soil,peculiarly suitable for taking impressions.No doubt it appeared to you to be a mere trampled line of slush,but to my trained eyes every mark upon its surface had a meaning. There is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected as the art of tracing footsteps.Happily,I have always laid great stress upon it,and much practice has made it second nature to me.I saw the heavy footmarks of the constables,but I saw also the track of the two men who had first passed through the garden.It was easy to tell that they had been before the others,because in places their marks had been entirely obliterated by the others coming upon the top of them.In this way my second link was formed,which told me that the nocturnal visitors were two in number,one remarkable for his height (as I calculated from the length of his stride),and the other fashionably dressed,to judge from the small and elegant impression left by his boots. "On entering the house this last inference was confirmed.My well- booted man lay before me.The tall one,then,had done the murder,if murder there was.There was no wound upon the dead man's person,but the agitated expression upon his face assured me that he had foreseen his fate before it came upon him.Men who die from heart disease,or any sudden natural cause, never by any chance exhibit agitation upon their features.Having sniffed the dead man's lips I detected a slightly sour smell,and I came to the conclusion that he hadhad poison forced upon him.Again,I argued that it had been forced upon him from the hatred and fear expressed upon his face.By the method of exclusion,I had arrived at this result,for no other hypothesis would meet the facts.Do not imagine that it was a very unheard-of idea. The forcible administration of poison is by no means a new thing in criminal annals.The cases of Dolsky in Odessa,and of Leturier in Montpellier,will occur at once to any toxicologist "And now came the great question as to the reason why.Robbery had ·256· 第七章尾声 “这是得出的第一个结论。我随后沿着花园的小径 peculiarly [pi'kju:liali]ad. 缓慢地朝前走，小径正好又是粘土路面，特别容易留下 尤其地 ②trample ['traempl]v.践踏 印迹。毫无疑问，小径在你看来只是一段被人践踏得一 ③slush [sIAf]m.烂泥 塌糊涂的烂泥，但是，在我受过训练的人的眼中，它上 面的每个脚印都是有意义的。在刑侦科学中，没有任何 一个分支比辨认脚印艺术更加重要，也没有任何一个分 支比它更加容易被人忽略。幸运的是，我一直很重视这 门艺术，而且有过大量的实践，使之成了我的第二天 性。我不仅看出了警察留下的深陷的脚印，而且看出了 先前两个人横过花园时留下的脚印。很容易看出，他们 的脚印先于其他人的，因为他们的脚印已经被其他人的 nocturnal [nok'to:nol]a. 掩盖掉了。这样一来，就有了我推理当中的第二个环 夜间的 节，它告诉了我，夜间进人那儿的一共有两个人，其中 一个人显然个头很高（这一点我是根据其步伐的长度推 算出来的)，另外一个衣着讲究，判断的依据是，其靴 子留下的印迹小巧精致。 “进人室内之后，刚才的推论就得到证实。我所说 的那位脚穿精致靴子的人就躺在我的面前。如果此人死 于谋杀的话，那便是那位高个子所为。死者的身上没有 任何伤痕，但他脸上那种焦虑狂躁的表情令我确信，死 亡的命运向他降临之前，他就已经预见到了。死于心脏 疾病的人，或者死于其他突发原因的人，其脸部不可能 出现焦虑狂躁的表情。我闻了闻死者的嘴唇，结果闻到 了一股淡淡的酸味。于是，我得出了结论，他死前被迫 服过毒。还有，我坚持认为他是被迫服毒的，那是因为 6 exclusion [ik'sklu:3on]n. 排除 他的脸上充满着仇恨和惊惧。通过使用排除法，我得出 hypothesis [haipo0asis]n. 假说 了这样一个结论，因为没有任何别的假设与这些事实相 吻合。千万不要认为，这是个什么闻所未闻的看法。强 迫他人服毒绝不会是犯罪史上的什么新鲜事。敖德萨的 toxicologist [toksi'kola 多尔斯基案和蒙彼利埃的勒蒂里埃案都是毒物学家立刻 d3istn.毒物学家 能联想起的案件。 ·257· Chapter 7 The Conclusion not been the object of the murder,for nothing was taken.Was it politics, then,or was it a woman?That was the question which confronted me.I was inclined from the first to the latter supposition.Political assassins are only too glad to do their work and to fly.This murder had,on the contrary,been done most deliberately,and the perpetrator had left his tracks all over the room,showing that he had been there all the time.It must have been a private wrong,and not a political one,which called for such a methodical revenge. When the inscription was discovered upon the wall I was more inclined than ever to my opinion.The thing was too evidently a blind.When the ring was found,however,it settled the question.Clearly the murderer had used it to remind his victim of some dead or absent woman.It was at this point that I asked Gregson whether he had inquired in his telegram to Cleveland as to any particular point in Mr.Drebber's former career.He answered,you remember, in the negative. "I then proceeded to make a careful examination of the room,which confirmed me in my opinion as to the murderer's height,and furnished me with the additional details as to the Trichinopoly cigar and the length of his nails. I had already come to the conclusion,since there were no signs of a struggle, that the blood which covered the floor had burst from the murderer's nose in his excitement.I could perceive that the track of blood coincided with the track of his feet.It is seldom that any man,unless he is very full-blooded,breaks out in this way through emotion,so I hazarded the opinion that the criminal was probably a robust and ruddy-faced man.Events proved that I had judged correctly. "Having left the house,I proceeded to do what Gregson had neglected.I telegraphed to the head of the police at Cleveland,limiting my inquiry to the circumstances connected with the marriage of Enoch Drebber.The answer was conclusive.It told me that Drebber had already applied for the protection of the law against an old rival in love,named Jefferson Hope,and that this same Hope was at present in Europe.I knew now that I held the clue to the mystery ·258· 第七章尾声 “现在我们来说说作案动机这个重大问题吧。抢劫 ①incline [in'klain]v.倾向于 财物不是谋杀的目的，因为没有任何东西被抢了。那 2 supposition [sApa'zifon]n 么，是政治谋杀呢，还是情杀？这便是我们面临的问 假定 题。面对两种假设，我倾向于后者。政治谋杀案中，刺 perpetrator ['pa:pitreita]n. 客得手后大多不会在现场逗留。但这桩谋杀案恰恰相 犯罪者 反，很多痕迹都是刻意而为。凶手在房间里到处都留下 了痕迹。种种迹象都表明，他一直在案发现场逗留。一 定是出于私怨，而非出于政治目的，才会有如此处心积 虑的报复行为。发现了墙上的字迹之后，我便对自己的 看法更加有把握了。显而易见，这是个障眼法。不过， 等到发现戒指之后，动机问题就完全落实了。很显然， 凶手使用戒指提醒被害人，让他想起某个死了的，或者 不在场的女人。关于这一点，我问过格雷格森，在发往 克利夫兰的电报中，他是否询问了德雷伯生前某个特定 时期的生活。你记得，他的回答是否定的。 “随后，我又对室内进行了仔细查看。查看的结果 证实了我对凶手身高的判断，同时还给我提供另外一些 ④Trichinopoly cigar特里奇 雪茄烟（一种两端开口 细节，如特里其雪茄烟和凶手指甲的长度。既然没有发 的印度雪茄烟) 现搏斗的痕迹，证实了我先前就已经得出的结论，地板 上的血是凶手因激动而流出的鼻血。我发现，血迹与足 迹在方向上是一致的。一般人是不会这样的，只有血气 过旺的人才会因情绪波动而出鼻血，因此我大胆推断： 罪犯很可能是个身体健壮、脸色泛红的人。事实证明， ⑤hazard[haezad]v.冒险作 出 我的判断是正确的。 “离开那幢住房之后，我接着做格雷格森忽略不做 的事情，给克利夫兰的警察局长发了封电报，仅仅询问 了一下伊诺克·德雷伯的婚姻状况。回电说得非常明 确，德雷伯曾因昔日的情敌意图谋害他而请求法律保 护。那个情敌的名字就叫杰弗逊·霍普，也就是眼下在 conclusive [kan'klu:siv]a. 欧洲的霍普。我这时已经明确了，自己手上已经掌握了 确凿的 谜案的线索，接下来要做的就是缉拿凶手了。 ·259· Chapter 7 The Conclusion in my hand,and all that remained was to secure the murderer. "I had already determined in my own mind that the man who had walked into the house with Drebber was none other than the man who had driven the cab.The marks in the road showed me that the horse had wandered on in a way which would have been impossible had there been anyone in charge of it.Where,then,could the driver be,unless he were inside the house?Again, it is absurd to suppose that any sane man would carry out a deliberate crime under the very eyes,as it were,of a third person,who was sure to betray him. Lastly,supposing one man wished to dog another through London,what better means could he adopt than to turn cabdriver?All these considerations led me to the irresistible conclusion that Jefferson Hope was to be found among the jarveys of the Metropolis. "If he had been one there was no reason to believe that he had ceased to be.On the contrary,from his point of view,any sudden chance would be likely to draw attention to himself.He would probably,for a time at least,continue to perform his duties.There was no reason to suppose that he was going under an assumed name.Why should he change his name in a country where no one knew his original one?I therefore organized my Street Arab detective corps, and sent them systematically to every cab proprietor in London until they ferreted out the man that I wanted.How well they succeeded,and how quickly I took advantage of it,are still fresh in your recollection.The murder of Stangerson was an incident which was entirely unexpected,but which could hardly in any case have been prevented.Through it,as you know,I came into possession of the pills, the existence of which I had already surmised.You see the whole thing is a chain of logical sequences④without a break or flaw.” "It is wonderful!"I cried."Your merits should be publicly recognized.You should publish an account of the case.If you won't,I will for you." “You may do what you like,.Doctor,.”he answered.“See here!”he continued,handing a paper over to me,"look at this!" It was the Echo for the day,and the paragraph to which he pointed was ·260· 第七章尾声 “我心里面已经认定，随同德雷伯进入住宅的人不 是别人，正是驾驶那辆马车的人。路上的车辙印表明， 有匹马曾在四处走动过，如果有人照看，马就不会这样 乱走。那么，驾车的人如果没有进入住宅，他能到哪儿 去了呢？再则，如果认为精神正常的人会在第三者的眼 皮底下明目张胆地实施犯罪，让他告发自己，那是很荒 唐的。最后，假如有人想要在伦敦跟踪另外一个人的 话，还有什么比扮演车夫更加方便的吗？凡此种种，我 便得出了确凿无疑的结论：杰弗逊·霍普就隐藏在这座 大都市的出租马车的车夫当中。 ①irresistible【,ii'zistobl]a. “如果他充当了车夫的话，那就没有理由认为，他 不可抗拒的 会改行不干了。恰恰相反，站在他的角度来看问题，突 ②jarvey['d3a:viln.二轮 出租马车夫 然变换工作反倒会引起人们的注意。因此，至少暂时， 他会继续干他的营生。我们也没理由认为，他会改名换 姓。他身处异国他乡，本来就没有任何人知道他原先的 名字，他有何必要改名换姓呢？于是，我把那些流浪汉 组织成街头侦察队，派他们全面调查伦敦的每家马车出 租公司，直到找到了要找的人为止。他们干得有多么漂 亮，我多么快捷地利用上了掌握到的信息，想必你记忆 ③ferret ['ferit]v.搜索 犹新吧。斯坦格森遇害的事情完全是个意外，出乎我的 意料，但事情无法阻止。正如你知道的，通过这件事， 我找到了那些药丸，其存在我早就已经预见到了。你看 吧，整个事件就是一串逻辑因果的链条，环环相扣，中 间没有任何断痕。” ④sequence【'si:kwans]n.顺 “真是绝妙啊！”我大声说，“你的功劳应当得到 序 公众的认可，你应当把案情叙述发表出来。如果你不发 ⑤awb】n裂缝 表，我来替你发表好啦。” “你想要发表就发表吧，医生，”他回答说。“看这 儿！”他接着说，递给我一张报纸，“看看这段文字。” 这是一份当天的《回声报》，他指给我看的那段正 paragraph ['paeragra:f]n 段落 是有关本案的报道。其内容如下： ·261·