血字的研究 #2 - 遺失的戒指

格雷格森警探：福爾摩斯先生，您能來真是太好了。我已命令手下現(xiàn)場保持原狀，哪兒也別動。

Gregson：Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It is indeed kind of you to come.I have had everything left untouched.

夏洛克：一群野牛踩過去，也不會像現(xiàn)在這樣稀巴爛。格雷格森警探，想必你對案子有了定論，才會準許手下人這么做的吧？

Sherlock：Except that. If a herd of buffaloes had passed along there could not be a greater mess. No doubt, however, you had drawn your own conclusions, Detective Gregson, before you permitted this.

格雷格森警探：我一直在屋里忙活，萊斯特雷德警探也在現(xiàn)場，外邊的事交由他負責。

Gregson：Well. I have had so much to do inside the house. Detective Lestrade, is here. I had relied upon him to look after this.

夏洛克：你是坐馬車過來的？

Sherlock：You did not come here in a cab?

格雷格森警探：不是。

Gregson：No, sir.

夏洛克：好的，我們進屋看看。

Sherlock：Alright then. Then let us go and look at the room.

萊斯特雷德警探：晚上好，福爾摩斯先生。這位是您的助手嗎？

Lestrade：Good evening, Mr. Sherlock Holmes.?

夏洛克：晚上好，萊斯特雷德警探，這位是我的朋友，約翰華生。

Sherlock：Good evening, Detective Lestrade. This is my friend, John Watson.

萊斯特雷德警探：這樁案子我還沒有頭緒，比之前遇到的所有案子都離奇。今晚我們的一個警員發(fā)現(xiàn)了死者尸體，我們趕到后仔細檢查了現(xiàn)場。如你所見，現(xiàn)場有血跡，但經(jīng)過鑒定死者沒有受傷，目前我們沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)任何線索。

Lestrade：This case beats anything I have seen, and I am no chicken.One constable found the body tonight.We arrived and carefully examined the scene.As you can see, there was blood at the scene.But the deceased was identified as uninjured.We have no clues at this time.

夏洛克：沒人動過尸體吧。

Sherlock：The body has not been moved at all?

萊斯特雷德警探：只在做必要檢查時稍微動了一下。

Lestrade：No more than was necessary for the purposes of our examination

夏洛克：可以送去停尸房了，沒什么可查了。

Sherlock：You can take him to the mortuary now. There is nothing more to be learned.

萊斯特雷德警探：是枚女人的婚戒，一定有個女人來過這里。

Lestrade：It’s a woman’s wedding-ring. There’s been a woman here.

萊斯特雷德警探：更復雜了，天哪，這案子本來就夠復雜的。

Lestrade：This complicates matters. Heaven knows, they were complicated enough before.

夏洛克：說不定案子會因此明朗起來？光盯著戒指發(fā)呆是沒用的。你們還有什么發(fā)現(xiàn)？

Sherlock：You’re sure it doesn’t simplify them? There’s nothing to be learned by staring at it. What else did you find?

萊斯特雷德警探：對了，差點忘記了，看這面墻！

Lestrade：Right.I almost forgot.Look at this wall!

萊斯特雷德警探：我在死者房間的墻上發(fā)現(xiàn)的，你們看，還有血順著墻壁流下來的痕跡，一定是兇手用自己的血寫成的。

Lestrade：I found it on the wall of the victim's room, and look, there are traces of blood running down the wall. The murderer must have written it in his own blood

萊斯特雷德警探：兇手打算寫一個女人的名字：瑞秋（Rachel）。一定是中間又發(fā)生了什么事，所以兇手沒來得及寫下最后一個字母。各位，請記住，待到此案真相大白之時，你們會發(fā)現(xiàn)有個名叫瑞秋的女人牽連其中。

Lestrade：The murderer was going to put the female name Rachel, but was disturbed before he or she had time to finish. You mark my words, when this case comes to be cleared up you will find that a woman named Rachel has something to do with it.

夏洛克：真是天衣無縫的推理，萊斯特雷德警探。

Sherlock：What a seamless deduction, Detective Lestrade

夏洛克：先生們，我還沒機會檢查這間屋子，我需要開始工作了。你們可以在隔壁房間等我，我不喜歡被打擾。

Sherlock：Gentlemen. I have not had time to examine this room yet, I shall do so now.You can wait for me in the next room, I don't like to be disturbed.

福爾摩斯：先生們。我已經(jīng)檢查完了。人們常說，天才就是一種不懈努力、吃盡苦頭的本領。這個定義不太恰當，不過用來形容偵探工作倒挺合適。

Sherlock：Gentlemen, I've finished my inspection. They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains. It’s a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work.

萊斯特雷德警探：福爾摩斯先生，你怎么看？

Lestrade：What do you think of it, sir

福爾摩斯：要是我貿(mào)然出手相助，豈不是搶了二位的功勞？你們的偵查已經(jīng)進展得非常順利，完全不需要外人插手。如果能及時將調查到的新情況告知我，我愿意全力協(xié)助你們。

Sherlock：It would be robbing you of the credit of the case if I was to presume to help you.You are doing so well now that it would be a pity for anyone to interfere.If you will let me know how your investigations go.I shall be happy to give you any help I can.?

福爾摩斯：華生和我還要去觀看一場音樂會。但是我可以告訴你們一件事，或許有助于破案。這的確是謀殺案，兇手是個男人，身高六英尺多，正當壯年；個子雖高，腳卻略偏小，穿著粗皮方頭靴；抽印度特里其城出產(chǎn)的雪茄。兇手和受害者同乘一輛四輪馬車來這里；拉車的馬只有一匹，馬右前蹄的蹄鐵新?lián)Q不久，其余三塊蹄鐵都是舊的。兇手很可能面色紅潤，右手指甲留得特別長。以上僅是我的一點點推測，但這些線索應該對你們有所幫助。

Sherlock：Now Watson and I have a concert to go to.before we go. I’ll tell you one thing which may help you in the case. There has been murder done, and the murderer was a man. He was more than six feet high, was in the prime of life, had small feet for his height, wore coarse, square-toed boots and smoked a Trichinopoly cigar. He came here with his victim in a four-wheeled cab, which was drawn by a horse with three old shoes and one new one on his off fore leg. In all probability the murderer had a florid face, and the finger-nails of his right hand were remarkably long. These are only a few indications, but they may assist you.

萊斯特雷德警探：假設受害者是被人謀殺，那他是怎么死的呢？

Lestrade：If this man was murdered, how was it done?

夏洛克：毒死的。還有件事，萊斯特雷德，RACHE是個德文單詞，意思為復仇。別浪費時間找什么瑞秋小姐了。

Sherlock：Poison. One other thing, Lestrade. ‘Rache,’ is the German for ‘revenge;’ so don’t lose your time looking for Miss Rachel.

夏洛克：走吧，華生先生，我們要錯過音樂會了。

Sherlock：Come on, Dr. Watson, we're going to miss the concert.

音樂廳到了，我們走吧。

Sherlock：the concert hall is here, let's go!

夏洛克：真是一場精彩的演奏會。知道達爾文對音樂的見解嗎？他認為，人類早在獲得語言能力之前，就具備了創(chuàng)造音樂和欣賞音樂的能力。也許正是這個原因，我們對音樂的感受才會如此敏銳細膩。對于人類世界混沌初期的朦朧歲月，每個人的靈魂深處都保留著依稀回憶。

Sherlock：What a great show. Do you remember what Darwin says about music? He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood.

夏洛克：華生，你看上去不大對勁?？磥聿祭怂诡D路的案子讓你心神不寧。懸而未決的謎案容易刺激想象，而沒有根據(jù)的想象最容易引起恐懼?？戳送韴髥?？我這有，看一下

Sherlock：Watson. You’re not looking quite yourself. The Brixton Road affair has upset you.There is a mystery about this which stimulates the imagination; where there is no imagination there is no horror. Have you seen the evening paper? here. take a look.

夏洛克：看到這則失物招領啟事了嗎？剛檢查完案發(fā)現(xiàn)場，我立刻給各家報紙發(fā)了啟事。我將用一枚假戒指讓他現(xiàn)身，此人寧愿冒任何風險，也不愿失去這枚戒指?，F(xiàn)在我們要做的，就是等待魚兒上鉤

Sherlock：Look at this advertisement. I had one sent to every paper this evening immediately after the affair. I will use a fake wedding-ring to make him appear.He would rather take any risk than lose the ring.Now all we have to do is wait for the fish to take the bait

老婦人：對不起先生，請問是在報紙上刊登失物招領的華生先生嗎

Old lady：Excuse me sir, is this the gentleman who put the lost and found in the newspaper?

夏洛克：是的，我是

Sherlock：Yes.I am.

老婦人：我是按照報紙上刊登留下的地址找來的，布利克斯頓路的那枚純金婚戒是我女兒薩莉的。去年，差不多也是這個時候，她嫁給了一個跑船的。要是他出?；貋戆l(fā)現(xiàn)結婚戒指不見了，我的天，真不敢想象他會發(fā)多大的脾氣。他這個人，平常就是個急性子，沾點酒后更是不敢惹。

Old lady：I found it by following the address left in the newspaper.a gold wedding ring in the Brixton Road. It belongs to my girl Sally, as was married only this time twelvemonth, which her husband is steward aboard a Union boat, and what he’d say if he comes ’ome and found her without her ring is more than I can think, he being short enough at the best o’ times, but more especially when he has the drink.

夏洛克：是這枚戒指嗎？

Sherlock：Is that her ring?

老婦人：謝天謝地！就是這枚！薩莉今晚可要高興死了。

Old lady：The Lord be thanked! Sally will be a glad woman this night. That’s the ring.

夏洛克：您的戒指，請拿好。戒指顯然是您女兒的，物歸原主了，我非常高興。

Sherlock：Here is your ring .it clearly belongs to your daughter, and I am glad to be able to restore it to the rightful owner

老婦人：非常感謝，我要第一時間趕回去還給我女兒。

Old lady：Thank you so much. I need to get back to my daughter as soon as possible.

夏洛克：我去跟著她，她肯定是同謀，跟著她能找到兇手的下落。你先回去，等我回來。

Sherlock：I’ll follow her.She must be an accomplice, and will lead me to him. Watson, Go back home and wait up for me.

夏洛克：華生，我跟丟了，那個老東西沒走多遠，一瘸一拐裝出腳疼的樣子，后來干脆停下來不走了，叫住一輛路過的四輪馬車。我親眼見她鉆進車廂，于是縱身一跳，站到車廂背后的邊沿上。每個偵探都必須熟練掌握跳車這門技術活。馬車飛馳，一路沒停，直到鄧肯街才稍稍放慢速度?？斓介T口我提前跳下車。

Sherlock：Watson. Can’t believe I lost her. That creature had gone a little way when she began to limp and show every sign of being foot-sore. Presently she came to a halt, and hailed a fourwheeler which was passing.

having seen her safely inside, I perched myself behind. That’s an art which every detective should be an expert at. Well, away we rattled, and never drew rein until we reached the street in question. I hopped off before we came to the door

夏洛克：那人肯定是個年輕男人，身手敏捷，演技一流，還特別擅長喬裝打扮，扮演的老太婆真是無懈可擊。很明顯，他早就察覺到有人跟蹤，所以使了金蟬脫殼這一招?？磥恚覀冏凡榈膬词植⒉皇俏蚁氲哪菢庸律碜鲬?zhàn)，他有眾多幫手，個個都甘愿為他鋌而走險。

Sherlock：It must have been a young man, and an active one, too, besides being an incomparable actor. The get-up was inimitable. He saw that he was followed, no doubt, and used this means of giving me the slip. It shows that the man we are after is not as lonely as I imagined he was, but has friends who are ready to risk something for him.?

夏洛克：華生，看樣子你是累壞了。聽我的，睡覺去吧。

Sherlock：Watson, you are looking done-up. Take my advice and turn in.

未完待續(xù)。。。