第十章: 岛民之死 The End of the Islander
When the cloth was cleared Holmes glanced at his watch and filled up three glasses with port.
饭后，福尔摩斯看了看表，斟满了三杯红葡萄酒。
“One bumper,” said he, “to the success of our little expedition. And now it is high time we were off. Have you a pistol, Watson?”
“再干一杯，”他说，“预祝今晚马到成功。时候到了，应该动身了。沃森，你有手枪吗？”
Our meal was a merry one. Holmes could talk exceedingly well when he chose, and that night he did choose. He appeared to be in a state of nervous exaltation. I have never known him so brilliant. He spoke on a quick succession of subjects — on miracle plays, on mediaeval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the warships of the future — handling each as though he had made a special study of it. His bright humour marked the reaction from his black depression of the preceding days. Athelney Jones proved to be a sociable soul in his hours of relaxation and faced his dinner with the air of a bon vivant. For myself, I felt elated at the thought that we were nearing the end of our task, and I caught something of Holmes’s gaiety. None of us alluded during dinner to the cause which had brought us together.
我们这顿饭吃得很高兴。福尔摩斯想要聊天的时候，能够聊得很畅快，而这天晚上，他很愿意聊。他看上去精神异常兴奋。我还从不知道他这样健谈。他天南地北地聊个不停——奇迹剧、中世纪的陶器、意大利的斯特拉迪瓦里提琴、锡兰的佛学和未来的战舰——不论谈到哪一个，都是顺手拈来，似乎他全都作过专门的研究。他愉快的兴致颠覆了前几天的阴郁情绪。在休息的时候，阿塞尔纳·琼斯也是一个友善的人，他十分讲究地享受着这顿晚餐。而我自己，一想到我们就快结束这件案子了，我也感到很兴奋，于是受到了福尔摩斯的欢乐的感到。晚餐期间，没有人提到使我们相聚在一起的那件事。
“We ought to be able to catch anything on the river,” he said.
“我们应该可以追得上河里的任何船只了。”他说。
“Well, hardly that. But there are not many launches to beat us.”
“那倒不见得。不过，没多少汽船能赢得过我们。”
“Then take it off.”
“那么，摘下它。”
“Is there anything to mark it as a police-boat?”
“这船上有什么标志能说明它是一艘警船吗？”
“Yes, that green lamp at the side.”
“有，那船边上的绿灯。”
“Where to?” asked Jones.
“船开到哪里去？”琼斯问道。
“You had best take it, then. It is well to be prepared. I see that the cab is at the door. I ordered it for half-past six.”
“你最好带上它。有备无患。我看到车子已等在门外了。我预约的是六点半。”
The small change was made, we stepped on board, and the ropes were cast off. Jones, Holmes, and I sat in the steam. There was one man at the rudder, one to tend the engines, and two burly police-inspectors forward.
这一点儿小改装完成后，我们踏上了船，船缆解开了。琼斯、福尔摩斯和我都坐在缭绕的蒸汽之中。有一个人在掌舵，另一人掌管发动机，两个壮实的警官坐在前面。
“To the Tower. Tell them to stop opposite to Jacobson’s Yard.”
“到伦敦塔，叫他们把船停在雅各布森船坞的对面。”
“I have my old service-revolver in my desk.”
“我有一把旧的佩枪，在抽屉里。”
It was a little past seven before we reached the Westminster wharf and found our launch awaiting us. Holmes eyed it critically.
七点稍过，我们到达了威斯敏斯特码头，发现汽船早已在那里等候了。福尔摩斯仔细地审视了一番。
Our craft was evidently a very fast one. We shot past the long lines of loaded barges as though they were stationary. Holmes smiled with satisfaction as we overhauled a river steamer and left her behind us.
我们的船速度确实很快。我们从一列列载着货物的平底船旁边飞驰而过，那些船简直就像是静止不动的一样。当我们赶上一只小汽船，又迅速把它抛在后面时，福尔摩斯满意地微笑起来。
“We shall have to catch the Aurora, and she has a name for being a clipper. I will tell you how the land lies, Watson. You recollect how annoyed I was at being baulked by so small a thing?”
“我们必须赶上‘曙光’号，那是一只有名的快艇。沃森，现在我可以把情况和你讲讲。你记不记得，我被一个微不足道的障碍难住，烦恼不已？”
“Well, I gave my mind a thorough rest by plunging into a chemical analysis. One of our greatest statesmen has said that a change of work is the best rest. So it is. When I had succeeded in dissolving the hydrocarbon which I was at work at, I came back to our problem of the Sholtos, and thought the whole matter out again. My boys had been up the river and down the river without result. The launch was not at any landing-stage or wharf, nor had it returned. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces, though that always remained as a possible hypothesis if all else failed. I knew that this man Small had a certain degree of low cunning, but I did not think him capable of anything in the nature of delicate finesse. That is usually a product of higher education. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time — as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge — he could hardly leave at a moment’s notice, but would need some little time, if it were only a day, to arrange his affairs. That was the balance of probability, at any rate.”
“我投身到化学分析实验中，使我的头脑得到了彻底的休息。我们有一位伟大的政治家曾经说过，转换一下工作是最好的休息。这句话一点儿也不错。当我成功地溶解了我研究的那种碳氢化合物以后，我就回过头来，思考肖尔托的问题，把这问题重新考虑了一遍。我所派遣的孩子们在上下游都搜遍了，也没有结果。这只汽船既没有停泊在任何码头上，又没有回去。也不太可能为了灭迹而自沉，但是，如果实在找不着，这当然还算是一个可能的假设。我知道斯莫尔多少有些狡猾，可是我认为，他还使不出什么老谋深算的手段。通常，受过良好教育的人才会有那样的本事。后来我想到，他既然在伦敦居住过一段时间——因为我们有证据证明，他对本地治里别墅进行过长期监视——既然如此，他不可能说走就走，好歹需要一点儿时间来安排自己的事务，哪怕只有一天。无论如何，这是一个可能性。”
“Yes.”
“是啊。”
“It seems to me to be a little weak,” said I; “it is more probable that he had arranged his affairs before ever he set out upon his expedition.”
“我看这个可能性不大，”我说，“他更有可能在行动以前早已做了安排。”
“No, I hardly think so. This lair of his would be too valuable a retreat in case of need for him to give it up until he was sure that he could do without it. But a second consideration struck me. Jonathan Small must have felt that the peculiar appearance of his companion, however much he may have top-coated him, would give rise to gossip, and possibly be associated with this Norwood tragedy. He was quite sharp enough to see that. They had started from their headquarters under cover of darkness, and he would wish to get back before it was broad light. Now, it was past three o’clock, according to Mrs. Smith, when they got the boat. It would be quite bright, and people would be about in an hour or so. Therefore, I argued, they did not go very far. They paid Smith well to hold his tongue, reserved his launch for the final escape, and hurried to their lodgings with the treasure-box. In a couple of nights, when they had time to see what view the papers took, and whether there was any suspicion, they would make their way under cover of darkness to some ship at Gravesend or in the Downs, where no doubt they had already arranged for passages to America or the Colonies.”
“不，我不这么认为。对他来说，万一有什么需要，他这个巢穴是一个重要的隐蔽处，他绝不会轻易放弃，除非他确知这个巢穴对他已经毫无用处。然后，我又想到了一点。乔纳森·斯莫尔一定会料想到，他同谋的那副怪相，不管怎么装扮，都会引起别人说长道短，并且可能会令人联系到诺伍德惨案上去。他这么聪明，能够想到这一点。他们趁着天黑才从老巢出发，他肯定希望在天明以前赶回去。根据史密斯太太所说，他们在史密斯码头上船的时候是三点钟。再过一个多钟头，天就要大亮，行人也多了。所以我认为，他们不会走得太远。他们给了史密斯不少钱，叫他不要声张，预订下他的船，以备最后逃跑，然后携带宝物，赶回住处。在一两天内，他们还有时间看看报纸上的说法，看是否有什么疑窦，然后，趁着某一个黑夜，他们前往格雷夫森德或唐斯锚地，在那里，他们肯定早已订好了船位，逃往美洲或其他殖民地去。”
“It is just these very simple things which are extremely liable to be overlooked. However, I determined to act on the idea. I started at once in this harmless seaman’s rig and inquired at all the yards down the river. I drew blank at fifteen, but at the sixteenth — Jacobson’s — I learned that the Aurora had been handed over to them two days ago by a wooden legged man, with some trivial directions as to her rudder. ‘There ain’t naught amiss with her rudder,’ said the foreman. ‘There she lies, with the red streaks.’ At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith, the missing owner. He was rather the worse for liquor. I should not, of course, have known him, but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. ‘I want her to-night at eight o’clock,’ said he –‘eight o’clock sharp, mind, for I have two gentlemen who won’t be kept waiting.’ They had evidently paid him well, for he was very flush of money, chucking shillings about to the men. I followed him some distance, but he subsided into an alehouse; so I went back to the yard, and, happening to pick up one of my boys on the way, I stationed him as a sentry over the launch. He is to stand at the water’s edge and wave his handkerchief to us when they start. We shall be lying off in the stream, and it will be a strange thing if we do not take men, treasure, and all.”
“正是这些非常简单的事，才更容易被忽略。无论如何，我决定照着这个想法去进行侦查。我立刻穿了这身普通的水手服，到下游的每一个船坞里去询问。问了十五个船坞，全失败了，可是问到第十六个——雅各布森船坞时，我得知，在两天前，曾有一个装木腿的人把‘曙光’号送进船坞，让他们修理一下船舵。‘那船舵一点儿毛病也没有，’工头跟我说，‘就是那艘船，画着红线的。’正在那时，来了一个人，不是别人，正是失踪的船主莫迪凯·史密斯。他喝了不少酒。我自然不认识他，是他喊出了自己的名字和船的名字。‘我今晚八点要船，’他说道，‘准八点，记住了，我有两位客人，耽误不得。’匪徒们一定给了他不少的钱，因为他身上装满了钱，还对着工人们，把银币拍得叮当作响。我跟踪了他一段距离，但他跑进了一家酒馆，于是，我又回到船坞，在途中碰巧遇到了我的一个小帮手，就把他安置在那里，盯住汽船。我让他站在船坞的出口处，看到船出坞，就向我们挥动手巾，作为暗号。我们就在河上歇一下吧，这次要是没有人赃俱获，那才是怪事呢。”
“Quite so. I argued that the launch must be no great way off, in spite of its invisibility. I then put myself in the place of Small and looked at it as a man of his capacity would. He would probably consider that to send back the launch or to keep it at a wharf would make pursuit easy if the police did happen to get on his track. How, then, could he conceal the launch and yet have her at hand when wanted? I wondered what I should do myself if I were in his shoes. I could only think of one way of doing it. I might hand the launch over to some boatbuilder or repairer, with directions to make a trifling change in her. She would then be removed to his shed or yard, and so be effectually concealed, while at the same time I could have her at a few hours’ notice.”
“当然。我认为，这只船虽然没有被我们发现，可也不会离我们太远。我站在斯莫尔的角度上，根据他这个人的智商来设想。他可能会想，如果警察碰巧追踪他的话，那么，把船遣回，或是让它停在码头，都会使他容易被追踪到。那怎样才能把船隐藏起来，同时，要用它的时候，又能召之即来呢？我思考着，如果我站在他的立场上，我会怎么办。我只想得到一个办法。我可能会把汽船交给某个造船工或修船工，指示他对它做一些小修整。然后，船就会被停放在他的船棚或船坞，如此就可有效地隐蔽起来，同时，只要提前几个小时通知，我就能够使用它了。”
“But the launch? They could not have taken that to their lodgings.”
“但汽船呢？“他们不可能把汽船也带到住处去呀。”
“That seems simple enough.”
“这似乎很简单。”
“You have planned it all very neatly, whether they are the right men or not,” said Jones; “but if the affair were in my hands I should have had a body of police in Jacobson’s Yard and arrested them when they came down.”
“不管这几个人是不是真的凶手，你的计划都是很周密的，”琼斯说，“不过，要是让我来处理，我一定派几个能干的警察到雅各布森船坞去，等他们一来，就当场逮捕他们。”
“But you might have stuck to Mordecai Smith, and so been led to their hiding place,” said I.
“可是，你若盯紧了莫迪凯·史密斯，也可以跟着他，找到他们的藏身之处啊。”我说。
“Which would have been never. This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow. He would send a scout on ahead, and if anything made him suspicious he would lie snug for another week.”
“这样就永远抓不到了。斯莫尔这个人是一个很狡猾的家伙。他出行之前，一定会先派人查看动静，如有可疑的情况，他就会再隐匿一段时间。”
“In that case I should have wasted my day. I think that it is a hundred to one against Smith knowing where they live. As long as he has liquor and good pay, why should he ask questions? They send him messages what to do. No, I thought over every possible course, and this is the best.”
“那样，我的时光就全浪费了。我认为，匪徒们的住处，史密斯九成九是不知道的。他只要有酒喝、有钱花就行，问那么多干吗？匪徒们派人通知他该干什么就行啦。我各方面都考虑到了，认为这是最好的办法。”
While this conversation had been proceeding, we had been shooting the long series of bridges which span the Thames. As we passed the City the last rays of the sun were gilding the cross upon the summit of St. Paul’s. It was twilight before we reached the Tower.
谈话间，我们已经飞驰过了泰晤士河上的好几座桥。当我们出了市区的时候，落日余晖已将圣保罗教堂顶上的十字架照得金光闪闪。我们到达伦敦塔时，已是黄昏时分了。
“We have no right to take anything for granted,” Holmes answered. “It is certainly ten to one that they go downstream, but we cannot be certain. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard, and they can hardly see us. It will be a clear night and plenty of light. We must stay where we are. See how the folk swarm over yonder in the gaslight.”
“任何事情我们都不能看成是理所当然的，”福尔摩斯答道，“虽然十之有九，他们会往下游去，可是，我们不能肯定。从这个地方，我们能够看见船坞的出口，可是他们却很难看见我们。今晚没有云雾，月光很亮。咱们就在这儿吧。你看那边有煤气灯灯光的地方，人流多么密集。”
“That is Jacobson’s Yard,” said Holmes, pointing to a bristle of masts and rigging on the Surrey side. “Cruise gently up and down here under cover of this string of lighters.” He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. “I see my sentry at his post,” he remarked, “but no sign of a handkerchief.”
“那就是雅各布森船坞，”福尔摩斯指着萨利区那一边樯缆密集的地方说道，“让我们的船借着这一排驳船的掩护，慢慢地来回游弋吧。”他从口袋拿出一副夜用望远镜，向岸上看了一会儿。“我已经找到了我的哨兵，”他说，“可是他还没有挥动手巾。”
“They are coming from work in the yard.”
“那都是从船坞下工的工人们。”
“Suppose we go downstream a short way and lie in wait for them,” said Jones eagerly.
“咱们还是停泊到下游，等着他们吧。”琼斯很性急地说。
We were all eager by this time, even the policemen and stokers, who had a very vague idea of what was going forward.
这时，我们都很焦急，就连那几个警官和火夫也是如此，尽管他们并不太清楚将要发生什么事情。
“Dirty-looking rascals, but I suppose every one has some little immortal spark concealed about him. You would not think it, to look at them. There is no a priori probability about it. A strange enigma is man!”
“这些人的外表虽然肮脏、粗俗，可是，我想每个人的内心都有一些不灭的生气。只看他们的外表，你是想不到的。这其中没有概率可以推算。人就是一个谜。”
“Someone calls him a soul concealed in an animal,” I suggested.
“有人说，人是有灵魂的动物。”我说。
“Yes, it is your boy,” I cried. “I can see him plainly.”
“不错，那就是你派的小帮手，”我喊道，“我看得很清楚。”
“Winwood Reade is good upon the subject,” said Holmes. “He remarks that, while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example, never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain constant. So says the statistician. But do I see a handkerchief? Surely there is a white flutter over yonder.”
“温伍德·里德对这个问题有很好的解释，”福尔摩斯说，“他说，虽然每个人都是一个难解的谜，可是，把人类聚合起来，就有一定的数学定性了。譬如说，你不能预知一个人将会做什么，可是你能够精确地说，平均有多少人会做什么。人各不相同，但概率却是一定的。统计家们也是这么说的。你们看见那条手巾了吗？那边确实有一个白色的东西在摆动着。”
“And there is the Aurora,” exclaimed Holmes, “and going like the devil! Full speed ahead, engineer. Make after that launch with the yellow light. By heaven, I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!”
“那就是‘曙光’号，”福尔摩斯喊道，“你看，它的速度真快。机师，咱们全速前进。紧追那只挂黄灯的汽船。天啊，如果我们追不上它，那我永远都不能原谅自己。”
She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed between two or three small craft, so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. Now she was flying down the stream, near in to the shore, going at a tremendous rate. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head.
‘曙光’号已经从船坞开了出去，被两三条小船遮得看不见了，等到我们再看见它的时候，它已经驶得相当快了。它现在正沿着河岸向下游急速行进。琼斯严肃地看着它，摇了摇头。
“She is very fast,” he said. “I doubt if we shall catch her.”
“这只船太快了，”他说，咱们恐怕追不上它。”
We were fairly after her now. The furnaces roared, and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked like a great metallic heart. Her sharp, steep prow cut through the still river-water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. With every throb of the engines we sprang and quivered like a living thing. One great yellow lantern in our bows threw a long, flickering funnel of light in front of us. Right ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay, and the swirl of white foam behind her spoke of the pace at which she was going. We flashed past barges, steamers, merchant-vessels, in and out, behind this one and round the other. Voices hailed us out of the darkness, but still the Aurora thundered on, and still we followed close upon her track.
我们紧追在后面。锅炉火势凶猛，马力强大的发动机铿锵作响，好似一个钢铁心脏。尖锐锋利的船头划破平静的河水，在左右两侧激起滚滚浪花。随着发动机的每一次震动，我们的船也一跃一震，就像有生命一般。我们船舷上的一盏大黄灯向前方射出一道长长的、闪烁的光束。正前方，水面上有一团黑影，就是‘曙光’号，它后边激起的白色浪花说明了它航行的速度。我们横穿侧绕着，飞掠过一只只平底船、汽船和商船。黑暗之中，不断传来阵阵喝彩声，可是，‘曙光’号还在飞速前进，我们仍紧紧跟在它后面。
“Pile it on, men, pile it on!” cried Holmes, looking down into the engine-room, while the fierce glow from below beat upon his eager, aquiline face. “Get every pound of steam you can.”
“伙计们，快加煤，多加煤！”福尔摩斯朝下冲着发动机室喊道，下面的熊熊烈火照着他那焦急的鹰鹫似的面孔，“使尽全力，多烧蒸汽，往前赶！”
“We must catch her!” cried Holmes between his teeth. “Heap it on, stokers! Make her do all she can! If we burn the boat we must have them!”
“咱们必须追上它！”福尔摩斯低声叫道，“火夫，快快加煤！尽全力赶上去！就是把咱们的船烧了，也要赶上它！”
“I am sure of it,” said I. “We shall be up with her in a very few minutes.”
“咱们的确赶上不少了，”我说，“再有几分钟，就可以追上了。”
“I think we gain a little,” said Jones with his eyes on the Aurora.
“我想咱们已经赶上一点儿了。”琼斯望着‘曙光’号说道。
At that moment, however, as our evil fate would have it, a tug with three barges in tow blundered in between us. It was only by putting our helm hard down that we avoided a collision, and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good two hundred yards. She was still, however, well in view, and the murky, uncertain twilight was settling into a clear, starlit night. Our boilers were strained to their utmost, and the frail shell vibrated and creaked with the fierce energy which was driving us along. We had shot through the pool, past the West India Docks, down the long Deptford Reach, and up again after rounding the Isle of Dogs. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly into the dainty Aurora. Jones turned our searchlight upon her, so that we could plainly see the figures upon her deck. One man sat by the stern, with something black between his knees, over which he stooped. Beside him lay a dark mass, which looked like a Newfound land dog. The boy held the tiller, while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith, stripped to the waist and shovelling coals for dear life. They may have had some doubt at first as to whether we were really pursuing them, but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it. At Greenwich we were about three hundred paces behind them. At Blackwall we could not have been more than two hundred and fifty. I have coursed many creatures in many countries during my checkered career, but never did sport give me such a wild thrill as this mad, flying man-hunt down the Thames. Steadily we drew in upon them, yard by yard. In the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking of their machinery. The man in the stern still crouched upon the deck, and his arms were moving as though he were busy, while every now and then he would look up and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. Nearer we came and nearer. Jones yelled to them to stop. We were not more than four boats-lengths behind them, both boats flying at a tremendous pace. It was a clear reach of the river, with Barking Level upon one side and the melancholy Plumstead Marshes upon the other. At our hail the man in the stern sprang up from the deck and shook his two clenched fists at us, cursing the while in a high, cracked voice. He was a good-sized, powerful man, and as he stood poising himself with legs astride I could see that from the thigh downward there was but a wooden stump upon the right side. At the sound of his strident, angry cries, there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. It straightened itself into a little black man — the smallest I have ever seen — with a great, misshapen head and a shock of tangled, dishevelled hair. Holmes had already drawn his revolver, and I whipped out mine at the sight of this savage, distorted creature. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket, which left only his face exposed, but that face was enough to give a man a sleepless night. Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. His small eyes glowed and burned with a sombre light, and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth, which grinned and chattered at us with half animal fury.
然而，正在这时，不幸的事发生了，一只拖船拖了三只平底船，横在我们面前。幸而我们急转船舵，才避免了和它相撞，可是，等到我们绕过它们，继续前进的时候，‘曙光’号已经又走远了足有两百多码。不过还能看得到它，当时，阴暗、朦胧的暮色已经变成了星斗满天的晴朗夜空。我们的锅炉已烧到了极限，驱船前进的力量异常强大，脆弱的船壳咯吱作响，颤动不已。我们已经穿过了伦敦桥，经过了西印度码头和长长的戴普弗德河区，绕过了恶犬岛，又继续前进。我们眼前的黑影现在已清晰地呈现为精巧的‘曙光’号。琼斯用我们的探照灯直射向它，我们能清楚地看见甲板上的人影。一个人坐在船尾，两腿之间有一个黑的东西，他正伏在上面。旁边还躺着一个黑影，看上去像一只纽芬兰狗。一个男孩把舵，借着锅炉的红光，我能看见老史密斯光着上身，正在拼命地加煤。起初，他们或许还不能肯定我们是否在追赶他们，可是现在，他们每一次转角绕弯，我们都紧紧地跟着，他们也就明确地知道，我们是在追他们了。到格林尼治的时候，两船的距离约有三百步。到布莱克沃尔时，两船相隔已不过二百五十步了。我奔波了一生，在不少国家里追赶过不少野兽，然而都没有像今晚在泰晤士河上那般惊险刺激——这场疯狂的追人游戏快得更像是飞一般。我们和他们在一步步地接近。在寂静的夜里，我们可以很清楚地听到他们船上机器的轰隆作响。坐在船尾的那个人还是蹲在甲板上，两手挥舞着，似乎很忙，还时不时地抬起头来，估量两船的距离。我们相距更近了。琼斯喝令他们停下。我们距离他们只有四支船那么长了，两船仍在急速飞驰。这时已近河口，一边岸上是巴金平地，另一侧岸上则是寂寥的普拉姆斯梯德沼泽。船尾那个人听见我们的喊叫声，从甲板上站起来，朝我们挥动双拳，高声怒骂。他的身体健壮，个子高大，两腿叉开站在那里，我看见他的右边大腿下面只有一根木柱支撑着。听到他尖声怒骂，他旁边蜷伏着的一团东西动了起来。它慢慢地站了起来，原来是一个矮小的黑人——我从没见过这么小的人——他有一颗畸形的大脑袋，上面长着一堆蓬乱的头发。福尔摩斯已经掏出了手枪，我一看见这个野蛮、畸形的家伙，就也把手枪掏了出来。他围着一件黑色的好似毯子的东西，只露着脸，可就是这张脸，也足以令人彻夜无眠。我从没有看见过这样狰狞、凶恶的面相。他那对小眼睛凶光闪闪，厚厚的嘴唇从牙根向上翻撅着，他带着野兽般的狂怒，向我们龇牙咧嘴，狂喊乱叫。
We were within a boat’s strength by this time, and almost within touch of our quarry. I can see the two of them now as they stood, the white man with his legs far apart, shrieking out curses, and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face, and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern.
这时，我们彼此之间只有一船之隔了，我们的猎物唾手可得。我看到那两个人站着，那个白人叉着两腿，不断地咒骂，那个邪恶的矮人仰着丑陋的脸，在我们船的灯光下，朝我们咬着发黄的牙齿。
“Fire if he raises his hand,” said Holmes quietly.
“只要他一抬手，咱们就开枪。”福尔摩斯轻轻地对我说。
It was well that we had so clear a view of him. Even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short, round piece of wood, like a school-ruler, and clapped it to his lips. Our pistols rang out together. He whirled round, threw up his arms, and, with a kind of choking cough, fell sideways into the stream. I caught one glimpse of his venomous, menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. At the same moment the wooden-legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down, so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank, while we shot past her stern, only clearing her by a few feet. We were round after her in an instant, but she was already nearly at the bank. It was a wild and desolate place, where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh-land, with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. The launch, with a dull thud, ran up upon the mud-bank, with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. The fugitive sprang out, but his stump instantly sank its whole length into the sodden soil. In vain he struggled and writhed. Not one step could he possibly take either forward or backward. He yelled in impotent rage and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot, but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank. When we brought our launch alongside he was so firmly anchored that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that we were able to haul him out and to drag him, like some evil fish, over our side. The two Smiths, father and son, sat sullenly in their launch but came aboard meekly enough when commanded. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stem. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck. This, there could be no question, was the same that had contained the ill-omened treasure of the Sholtos. There was no key, but it was of considerable weight, so we transferred it carefully to our own little cabin. As we steamed slowly upstream again, we flashed our searchlight in every direction, but there was no sign of the Islander. Somewhere in the dark ooze at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores.
幸而我们能清楚地看到他。就在我们看着他时，他从毯子里掏出了一段好似戒尺的短圆木棒，搁在唇边。我们的手枪同时发射了。他转了一圈，两手一挥，发出一声干咳般的声音，便向一侧倒去，跌入河中。刹那之间，我就看到，他那一双狠毒的眼睛在白色的漩涡之中消失了。这时，那个装木腿的人冲向船舵，用尽全身力量扳那舵柄，使船突然向南岸冲去，我们以相差几英尺的距离躲开了它的船尾，总算没有撞上。我们随即转弯追上前去，但它已经接近南岸了。岸上是一片荒凉的旷野，月光照着空旷的沼地，地面上聚着一片片死水和一堆堆腐烂了的植物。随着一声沉重的撞击，那只汽船冲上了泥泞的河岸，船头耸向空中，船尾没在水里。那匪徒跳上岸，可是，他那只木腿立即整个陷入了泥淖中。他用力挣扎，但徒劳无功。他连一步也进退不得。他狂喊乱叫，用另一条腿拼命踢着泥土，可是那木腿却在泥里愈陷愈深。等我们把船靠了岸，他已经死死地钉在那里了，我们只得从船上扔一条绳子过去，套住他的肩膀，才像拉鱼一般把他拉出来，并拖上了船。史密斯父子二人愁眉苦脸地坐在自己的船上，但一听到我们的命令，他们就乖乖地到这边的船上来了。我们把‘曙光’号拉出来，与我们的船头紧紧拴在一起。一只印度工艺的结实铁箱就摆在甲板上。不用问就知道，这就是装着肖尔托家的不祥宝物的箱子。箱子上没有钥匙，非常沉重，我们小心地把它搬到我们的舱里。我们慢慢地向上游回驶，一路上不断地用探照灯向四面照射，可是那岛民早已不见踪影。我们国度的这位奇异访客已葬身在泰晤士河底的黑泥之中了。
“See here,” said Holmes, pointing to the wooden hatchway. “We were hardly quick enough with our pistols.” There, sure enough, just behind where we had been standing, stuck one of those murderous darts which we knew so well. It must have whizzed between us at the instant we fired. Holmes smiled at it and shrugged his shoulders in his easy fashion, but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night.
“看这里，”福尔摩斯指着木制的舱口说道，“我们的枪几乎打晚了。”果然，就在我们先前站的地方的后面，插着一支我们熟悉的毒刺。它肯定是在我们放枪时从我们之间射过去的。福尔摩斯对着毒刺轻松地耸耸肩，微微地一笑，可是我必须承认，一想到那天晚上，可怕的死亡与我们擦肩而过时，我仍不免十分惊悸。
0 条评论