第九章: 线索的中断 A Break in the Chain
“I heard nothing,” I answered. “Have you had fresh news, then?”
“我什么也没有听到，”我答道，“得到什么新的消息没有？”
It was late in the afternoon before I woke, strengthened and refreshed. Sherlock Holmes still sat exactly as I had left him, save that he had laid aside his violin and was deep in a book. He looked across at me as I stirred, and I noticed that his face was dark and troubled.
下午我醒来的时候，时间已经不早了，我的精神也已完全恢复了。福尔摩斯还跟我丢下他进入梦乡时的坐姿一模一样，只是已把提琴放在了一旁，坐在那里，拿着一本书，用心细读着。他看到我醒来，望了我一眼，我发现他脸色阴沉，充满烦恼。
“You have slept soundly,” he said. “I feared that our talk would wake you.”
“你睡得很香，”他说，“我还怕我们说话的声音会吵醒你呢。”
“Can I do anything? I am perfectly fresh now, and quite ready for another night’s outing.”
“我能帮忙吗？我的精神已恢复了，再出去一夜也没有问题。”
“No; we can do nothing. We can only wait. If we go ourselves the message might come in our absence and delay be caused. You can do what you will, but I must remain on guard.”
“不，现在咱们什么也不能做，咱们只能等候消息。咱们现在出去，要是有消息来了，反而会误事。你想做什么就做什么吧，我必须在这里守候着。”
“Unfortunately, no. I confess that I am surprised and disappointed. I expected something definite by this time. Wiggins has just been up to report. He says that no trace can be found of the launch. It is a provoking check, for every hour is of importance.”
“不幸得很，还是没有。坦白说，我真没有想到，也很失望。我预计到这时候，总该有确切的消息来了。威金斯刚刚来报告过。他说一点儿汽船的踪迹也没有。真是叫人着急，因为每一个钟头都很紧要。”
“Then I shall run over to Camberwell and call upon Mrs. Cecil Forrester. She asked me to, yesterday.”
“那么，我想到坎伯威尔去拜访塞西尔·福里斯特夫人。昨天她已约了我。”
“On Mrs. Cecil Forrester?” asked Holmes with the twinkle of a smile in his eyes.
“是去拜访塞西尔·福里斯特夫人吗？”福尔摩斯问道，眼里闪动着笑意。
I did not pause to argue over this atrocious sentiment.
对于他这种不讲理的话，我并没有和他争辩。
“Well, of course on Miss Morstan, too. They were anxious to hear what happened.”
“当然还有摩斯坦小姐，她们都急于知道这个案子的消息。”
I took our mongrel accordingly and left him, together with a half-sovereign, at the old naturalist’s in Pinchin Lane. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night’s adventures but very eager to hear the news. Mrs. Forrester, too, was full of curiosity. I told them all that we had done, suppressing, however, the more dreadful parts of the tragedy. Thus, although I spoke of Mr. Sholto’s death, I said nothing of the exact manner and method of it. With all my omissions, however, there was enough to startle and amaze them.
于是，我带走了我们这只混血狗，归还给宾奇小街的老自然学者，并给了他半个英镑。到了坎伯威尔，我发现，经历了昨夜的冒险后，摩斯坦小姐有些疲倦，但还是渴望听到新消息。福里斯特夫人也充满了好奇。我向她们述说了我们做的所有事情，但保留了一些凶险的地方没有说。虽然说到了肖尔托先生的被害，可是我并没有提起详细的情况和手段。尽管我省略了不少情节，但还是够让她们一惊又一叹的。
“I would not tell them too much,” said Holmes. “Women are never to be entirely trusted — not the best of them.”
“不要告诉她们太多，”福尔摩斯说，“即使是最好的女人，也决不能完全信赖她们。”
“All right! Good luck! But, I say, if you are crossing the river you may as well return Toby, for I don’t think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now.”
“好吧！祝你一切顺利！对了，我说，如果你过河去的话，不妨把托比送回去，因为我想咱们现在不会再用到它了。”
“I shall be back in an hour or two,” I remarked.
“我在一两个钟头内就可以回来。”我说。
“It is a romance!” cried Mrs. Forrester. “An injured lady, half a million in treasure, a black cannibal, and a wooden legged ruffian. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl.”
“这简直是一个传奇故事！”福里斯特夫人嚷道，“一个受委屈的女士、五十万英镑的宝物、一个黑食人生番，还有一个装木腿的匪徒。这能让传统的恶龙或邪恶伯爵故事黯然失色呢。”
“And two knight-errants to the rescue,” added Miss Morstan with a bright glance at me.
“还有两位侠士的拯救呢。”摩斯坦小姐愉快地望着我，补充说道。
“Why, Mary, your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. I don’t think that you are nearly excited enough. Just imagine what it must be to be so rich and to have the world at your feet!”
“可是玛丽，你的财富全靠这次的搜寻了。我看你并不觉得怎样兴奋。请想一想，若是能变得腰缠万贯，前途一片辉煌，那该多美好啊！”
It was evening before I left Camberwell, and quite dark by the time I reached home. My companion’s book and pipe lay by his chair, but he had disappeared. I looked about in the hope of seeing a note, but there was none.
我离开坎伯威尔时已是傍晚，回到家中的时候，已经很晚了。我伙伴的书和烟斗还放在他的椅子旁边，可是，他本人却不见了。我四周看了一遍，希望能看到一张留言条，可是没有找到片纸只字。
It sent a little thrill of joy to my heart to notice that she showed no sign of elation at the prospect. On the contrary, she gave a toss of her proud head, as though the matter were one in which she took small interest.
看到她对于即将致富这件事并没有表现得特别高兴，我的心里感到一丝欢愉。相反，她摇了摇头，似乎对于这件事并不怎么关心。
“It is for Mr. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious,” she said. “Nothing else is of any consequence; but I think that he has behaved most kindly and honourably throughout. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge.”
“我最关心的是塞迪厄斯·肖尔托先生的安全，”她说，“其余的都不足挂齿，他在整件事中都表现得非常厚道和可敬。我们有责任帮他洗刷这可耻且毫无根据的冤屈。”
No, sir. He has gone to his room, sir. Do you know, sir,” sinking her voice into an impressive whisper, “I am afraid for his health.”
“不，先生，他没有出去。他在自己的房间里。”“先生，您知道吗，”她放低了声音，悄悄地说道，“我真担心他的健康状况！”
“I suppose that Mr. Sherlock Holmes has gone out,” I said to Mrs. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds.
赫德森太太进屋来放窗帘时，我问道：“舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生出去了吗？”
“Why so, Mrs. Hudson?”
“怎么啦，赫德森太太？”
“I don’t think that you have any cause to be uneasy, Mrs. Hudson,” I answered. “I have seen him like this before. He has some small matter upon his mind which makes him restless.”
“我想您可以不必着急，赫德森太太，”我答道，“我以前也看见过他这个样子。他心里有事，所以才会心神不安。”
“Well, he’s that strange, sir. After you was gone he walked and he walked, up and down, and up and down, until I was weary of the sound of his footstep. Then I heard him talking to himself and muttering, and every time the bell rang out he came on the stairhead, with ‘What is that, Mrs. Hudson?’ And now he has slammed off to his room, but I can hear him walking away the same as ever. I hope he’s not going to be ill, sir. I ventured to say something to him about cool medicine, but he turned on me, sir, with such a look that I don’t know how ever I got out of the room.”
“唉，先生，他也太古怪了。您走了以后，他在屋里走来走去，走个不停，他的脚步声我都听烦了。后来又听见他自言自语，每次有人叫门，他就跑到楼梯口喊：‘赫德森太太，是谁呀？’现在，他把自己关在屋里，可是我依然可以听见他在屋里走来走去的声音。先生，我希望他没有病。方才我试探着想劝他吃一些感冒药，可是，先生，他转过头来，瞪了我一眼，吓得我都不知道自己是怎么从那间屋子跑出来的。”
“Or that Mrs. Smith has put us on a wrong scent.”
“咱们可能受了史密斯太太的愚弄。”
At breakfast-time he looked worn and haggard, with a little fleck of feverish colour upon either cheek.
第二天吃早餐时，他的面容疲倦而憔悴，两颊微微发红。
“You are knocking yourself up, old man,” I remarked. “I heard you marching about in the night.”
“老伙计，你把自己累垮了。”我说道，“我听见你夜里在屋子里踱来踱去。”
I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady, but I was myself somewhat uneasy when through the long night I still from time to time heard the dull sound of his tread, and knew how his keen spirit was chafing against this involuntary inaction.
我努力装出一副轻松的样子，和我们的好房东谈着，但是，整个长夜里，我都能隐约听见他的脚步声，我自己也感到有些担心，我知道，由于不能采取行动，他那迫切的心情正变得越来越焦躁。
“No, I could not sleep,” he answered. “This infernal problem is consuming me. It is too much to be balked by so petty an obstacle, when all else had been overcome. I know the men, the launch, everything; and yet I can get no news. I have set other agencies at work and used every means at my disposal. The whole river has been searched on either side, but there is no news, nor has Mrs. Smith heard of her husband. I shall come to the conclusion soon that they have scuttled the craft. But there are objections to that.”
“我睡不着，”他答道，“这个讨厌的问题把我急坏了。所有的大障碍都已经克服了，现在反而叫一个微不足道的障碍给难住了，这未免也太叫人不甘心了。现在咱们已经知道匪徒是谁，并且知道船的名字和其他一切了，可就是得不到船的消息。我已经让其他搜查人员也行动起来了，我已用尽了一切能用的手段。整条河的两岸已经都搜遍了，但还是没有消息，史密斯太太那里也没有她丈夫的音讯。我差不多认为，他们已经把船沉到河底了。可是这个结论也有一定的漏洞。”
“No, I think that may be dismissed. I had inquiries made, and there is a launch of that description.”
“不，我想这方面可以不用担心。我调查过了，的确有一只这样的汽船。”
“Could it have gone up the river?”
“它会不会到上游去了？”
We did not, however. Not a word came to us either from Wiggins or from the other agencies. There were articles in most of the papers upon the Norwood tragedy. They all appeared to be rather hostile to the unfortunate Thaddeus Sholto. No fresh details were to be found, however, in any of them, save that an inquest was to be held upon the following day. I walked over to Camberwell in the evening to report our ill-success to the ladies, and on my return I found Holmes dejected and somewhat morose. He would hardly reply to my questions and busied himself all evening in an obtruse chemical analysis which involved much heating of retorts and distilling of vapours, ending at last in a smell which fairly drove me out of the apartment. Up to the small hours of the morning I could hear the clinking of his test-tubes which told me that he was still engaged in his malodorous experiment.
然而，我们没有。一天过去了，威金斯和其他搜查人员都没有消息。大多数报纸都登着对诺伍德惨案的报道。他们对不幸的塞迪厄斯·肖尔托攻击得很厉害。但是，除了说官方将在第二天验尸之外，各报纸也没有什么新的消息了。我傍晚步行到坎伯威尔，把我们的失败情况向两位女士作了报告。我回来的时候，看见福尔摩斯依然垂头丧气，很不高兴。他甚至对我的问话也爱理不理，整个晚上忙着做一个玄妙的化学实验，蒸馏器不断加热，蒸汽不断蒸馏，直到最后产生出阵阵恶臭，使我不得不离开屋子。一直到快天亮时，我还听见试管的叮当响声，知道他还在那里进行着这恶臭的实验。
“I have considered that possibility, too and there is a search-party who will work up as far as Richmond. If no news comes to-day I shall start off myself tomorrow and go for the men rather than the boat. But surely, surely, we shall hear something.”
“我也想到了这个可能性，并且已经派出一批搜查的人上溯到里士满一带去了。如果今天再没有消息，我明天就亲自出马去找匪徒，不管那艘汽船了。不过，我很肯定，我肯定我们会得到一些消息的。”
“I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me, for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself. If I am in luck, however, I may not be gone so very long. I shall have news of some sort or other before I get back.”
“我的行踪不定，恐怕你也无法给我发电报。不过，假若运气好的话，我也许不会出去很久。回来之前，我肯定会搞到一些这样那样的消息。”
“Surely I can come with you, then?” said I.
“那我和你一起去，好不好？”我说。
“No; you can be much more useful if you will remain here as my representative. I am loath to go, for it is quite on the cards that some message may come during the day, though Wiggins was despondent about it last night. I want you to open all notes and telegrams, and to act on your own judgment if any news should come. Can I rely upon you?”
“不，你留在这里当我的代表会更有用。我自己也不愿意去，因为今天白天肯定会有一些消息过来的，虽然昨晚威金斯很泄气。所有的来信、来电都请你代为接收，按照你的判断便宜行事。能不能拜托你呢？”
In the early dawn I woke with a start and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside, clad in a rude sailor dress with a pea-jacket and a coarse red scarf round his neck.
第二天清晨，我惊醒过来，看见福尔摩斯已经站在我的床前。他穿着一身水手服装，外面罩着一件短大衣，颈上围着一条劣质的红围巾。
“Most certainly.”
“当然可以。”
“I am off down the river, Watson,” said he. “I have been turning it over in my mind, and I can see only one way out of it. It is worth trying, at all events.”
“我到要下游去了，沃森。”他说，“经过再三考虑，我觉得只剩这一招了。无论如何都是值得一试的。”
I had heard nothing of him by breakfast time. On opening the Standard, however, I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business.
吃早餐的时候，我还没有收到他的消息。可是，一打开《旗帜报》，我就看见上面登载着关于这个案子的新消息。
“That is satisfactory so far as it goes,” thought I. “Friend Sholto is safe, at any rate. I wonder what the fresh clue may be, though it seems to be a stereotyped form whenever the police have made a blunder.”
“这还算令人满意，”我想，“我们的朋友肖尔托总算恢复自由了。我想知道，新的线索究竟是什么，虽然这看起来像是警方掩饰错误的一贯方法。
With reference to the Upper Norwood tragedy [it remarked] we have reason to believe that the matter promises to be even more complex and mysterious than was originally supposed. Fresh evidence has shown that it is quite impossible that Mr. Thaddeus Sholto could have been in anyway concerned in the matter. He and the housekeeper, Mrs. Bernstone, were both released yesterday evening. It is believed, however, that the police have a clue as to the real culprits, and that it is being prosecuted by Mr. Athelney Jones, of Scotland Yard, with all his well-known energy and sagacity. Further arrests may be expected at any moment.
它报导道：关于上诺伍德的惨案，我们有理由相信，此案比原本预料得更为复杂离奇。新的发现证明：塞迪厄斯·肖尔托先生不可能与此案有任何干系。昨晚，肖尔托先生和女管家伯恩斯通太太已被释放。然而，据悉，关于真正的凶犯，警方已有新的线索，此案现由伦敦警察厅的阿塞尔纳·琼斯先生负责侦查，】远近闻名。逮捕罪犯指日可待。
I tossed the paper down upon the table, but at that moment my eye caught an advertisement in the agony column. It ran in this way: LOST — Whereas Mordecai Smith, boatman, and his son Jim, left Smith’s Wharf at or about three o’clock last Tuesday morning in the steam launch Aurora, black with two red stripes, funnel black with a white band, the sum of five pounds will be paid to anyone who can give information to Mrs. Smith, at Smith’s Wharf, or at 221B, Baker Street, as to the where abouts of the said Mordecai Smith and the launch Aurora.
我把报纸扔到桌上，目光忽然又被报上寻人栏里面的一段小广告吸引住了。广告文写道：寻人——船主莫迪凯·史密斯及其长子吉姆，在星期二清晨三时左右乘汽船‘曙光’号离开史密斯码头，至今未归。‘曙光’号船身为黑色，有红线两条，烟囱为黑色，有白线一道。如有知莫迪凯·史密斯及其船‘曙光’号下落者，请向史密斯码头史密斯太太，或贝克街221B号报信，酬谢五英镑。”
It was a long day. Every time that a knock came to the door or a sharp step passed in the street, I imagined that it was either Holmes returning or an answer to his advertisement. I tried to read, but my thoughts would wander off to our strange quest and to the ill-assorted and villainous pair whom we were pursuing. Could there be, I wondered, some radical flaw in my companion’s reasoning? Might he not be suffering from some huge self-deception? Was it not possible that his nimble and speculative mind had built up this wild theory upon faulty premises? I had never known him to be wrong, and yet the keenest reasoner may occasionally be deceived. He was likely, I thought, to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic — his preference for a subtle and bizarre explanation when a plainer and more commonplace one lay ready to his hand. Yet, on the other hand, I had myself seen the evidence, and I had heard the reasons for his deductions. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances, many of them trivial in themselves but all tending in the same direction, I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes’s explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outré and startling.
这一天过得真慢。每次听到敲门的声音，或是街上沉重的脚步声，我都以为是福尔摩斯，或者是看见广告来报信的人。我试着看书，但是思想总是溜到我们这次奇怪的搜索，以及我们所追踪的那对很难凑合到一起的邪恶罪犯上。有时我还这样想：会不会是福尔摩斯的理论有什么基本的错误？他是不是犯了严重的自欺病？有没有可能是他那喜好臆想的敏锐头脑从错误的前提出发，得出了这些疯狂的推理？我从没见过他的工作发生错误，可是，智者千虑，必有一失。我想，有可能因为他的逻辑太过精巧，而他太喜欢给手头上平淡、普通的问题弄出一个极为精妙、奇异的解释，所以才更可能犯下错误。可是，回过头来一想，我亲眼见过那些证据，也亲耳听过他作推断的理由。再看一看这一连串的奇怪事件，其中有许多都无关重要，可是全部都指向了同一方向。我不得不承认，就算福尔摩斯的理解真的错了，那套正确的推理也必定同样异乎寻常、令人惊讶。
This was clearly Holmes’s doing. The Baker Street address was enough to prove that. It struck me as rather ingenious because it might beread by the fugitives without their seeing in it more than the natural anxiety of a wife for her missing husband.
这个小广告显然是福尔摩斯登的。贝克街的住址就足以证明这一点了。我认为这个广告非常巧妙，因为，即使匪徒们看到了，也看不出什么奥秘，只会认为那是一个妻子担心失踪丈夫的普通广告。
Very different was he, however, from the brusque and masterful professor of commonsense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. His expression was downcast, and his bearing meek and even apologetic.
可是，他的态度和以前大不相同了，完全不像在上诺伍德自信满满地接手案子时那个粗暴、傲慢的常识专家了。他神情沮丧，态度谦虚，甚至还有些自惭。
At three o’clock on the afternoon there was a loud peal at the bell, an authoritative voice in the hall, and, to my surprise, no less a person than Mr. Athelney Jones was shown up to me.
下午三点钟时，铃声大作，楼下有命令语气的说话声，没有想到，上来的不是别人，竟是阿塞尔纳·琼斯先生。
“Good-day, sir, good-day,” said he. “Mr. Sherlock Holmes is out, I understand.”
“您好，先生，您好！”他说，“福尔摩斯先生出去了？我知道了。”
“Well, half a glass. It is very hot for the time of year, and I have had a good deal to worry and try me. You know my theory about this Norwood case?”
“好的，半杯就够了。到这时候，天气还是非常热，我心里又有不少事情烦扰、折磨我。您还记得我关于这桩诺伍德案的推理吗？”
“Yes, and I cannot be sure when he will be back. But perhaps you would care to wait. Take that chair and try one of these cigars.”
“是的，我不知道他什么时候可以回来。或许您愿意等一等？请坐，尝尝这种雪茄烟吧。”
“Thank you; I don’t mind if I do,” said he, mopping his face with a red bandanna handkerchief.
“谢谢，我可以吸一支。”他一边说，一边用红绸巾轻轻地擦脸。
“I remember that you expressed one.”
“我记得您说过一次。”
“And a whisky and soda?”
“来一杯苏打威士忌好吗？”
“Well, I have been obliged to reconsider it. I had my net drawn tightly round Mr. Sholto, sir, when pop he went through a hole in the middle of it. He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken. From the time that he left his brothers room he was never out of sight of someone or other. So it could not be he who climbed over roofs and through trapdoors. It’s a very dark case, and my professional credit is at stake. I should be very glad of a little assistance.”
“咳，我现在又不得不对这个案子重新加以考虑了。我本已紧紧地把肖尔托先生兜在网里了，可是，唉，先生，半道里他又从网眼里溜了出去。他提供了一个无法推翻的不在场证明。自从离开他哥哥以后，一直都有这个人或那个人看到他。所以，他不会是从暗门进入屋内的人。这个案子实在难破，我的职业名誉也正处于危险之中。我很希望得到一些帮助。”
“We all need help sometimes,” said I.
“我们谁都有需要别人帮助的时候啊。”我说。
Go to Baker Street at once [it said]. If I have not returned, wait for me. I am close on the track of the Sholto gang. You can come with us to-night if you want to be in at the finish.
电文说：请立刻去贝克街。若我还未归，请等候。我已寻到肖尔托案匪徒的踪迹。若你愿意看到本案结案，今晚可与我们同去。
“Your friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, is a wonderful man, sir,” said he in a husky and confidential voice. “He’s a man who is not to be beat. I have known that young man go into a good many cases, but I never saw the case yet that he could not throw a light upon. He is irregular in his methods and a little quick perhaps in jumping at theories, but, on the whole, I think he would have made a most promising officer, and I don’t care who knows it. I have had a wire from him this morning, by which I understand that he has got some clue to this Sholto business. Here is his message.”
“先生，您的朋友舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生真是一位非凡的人。”他用沙哑的声音神秘地说，“他是常人所不能及的。我知道他经历过许多桩案子，我从没见过哪一桩他没弄清楚。他使用的方法异于常规，当然有时也会操之过急，草率得出结论，可是，总的来说，我想他可以成为一个很有前途的警官，我不怕让任何人知道。今早我接到了他的一封电报，并从中得知，对于肖尔托这个案子，他已经掌握了一些线索。就是这封电报。”
He took the telegram out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was dated from Poplar at twelve o’clock.
他从衣袋里把电报拿出来，递给了我。这封电报是十二点钟从波普勒区发出的。
“This sounds well. He has evidently picked up the scent again,” said I.
“听起来不错。他显然再次找到线索了。”我说。
“Ah, then he has been at fault too,” exclaimed Jones with evident satisfaction. “Even the best of us are thrown off sometimes. Of course this may prove to be a false alarm but it is my duty as an officer of the law to allow no chance to slip. But there is someone at the door. Perhaps this is he.”
“啊，这么说来，他有时也会搞错呢。”琼斯很得意地说道，“我们之中最能干的，也有走错路的时候呢。这次也可能是空欢喜一场，可是，我作为执法警察，有责任不让任何机会错过。有人在叫门。也许是他回来了。”
A heavy step was heard ascending the stair, with a great wheezing and rattling as from a man who was sorely put to it for breath. Once or twice he stopped, as though the climb were too much for him, but at last he made his way to our door and entered. His appearance corresponded to the sounds which we had heard. He was an aged man, clad in seafaring garb, with an old pea-jacket buttoned up to his throat. His back was bowed, his knees were shaky, and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. As he leaned upon a thick oaken cudgel his shoulders heaved in the effort to draw the air into his lungs. He had a coloured scarf round his chin, and I could see little of his face save a pair of keen dark eyes, overhung by bushy white brows and long gray side-whiskers. Altogether he gave me the impression of a respectable master mariner who had fallen into years and poverty.
传来一阵沉重的上楼的脚步声，还有费劲的喘息声，似乎是一个呼吸困难的人发出来的。他中间稍停了一两次，好像爬楼梯对他来说太费力气了，最后，他终于上来了，走进屋里来。他的容貌和我们所听见的声音正相符。他是一个老人，穿着一身航海服，一件旧粗呢大衣一直扣到颈间。他弯着腰，两腿颤抖，气喘得很痛苦。他手拄一根粗橡木棍，两肩不断耸动着，好像呼吸很吃力。一条彩色围巾围在他的下巴上，在他脸上，我只看得见一双犀利的黑眼睛、上方浓密的白眉毛，以及长长的灰髭须。整体来看，我对他的印象是，他似乎是一个年事已高、贫困潦倒，但仍令人尊敬的航海家。
“No; but I am acting for him. You can tell me any message you have for him.”
“不在，可是，我可以代表他。您有什么话，可以全都告诉我。”
“What is it, my man?” I asked.
“朋友，有什么事吗？”我问道。
“Is Mr. Sherlock Holmes here?” said he.
“舍洛克·福尔摩斯先生在家吗？”他问道。
He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age.
他用老年人特有的方式，慢条斯理地向四周看了看。
“Yes. I knows well where it is. An’ I knows where the men he is after are. An’ I knows where the treasure is. I knows all about it.”
“是的，我知道这只船在哪里。也知道他所追踪的人在哪里。还知道宝物在哪里。这一切，我全都知道。”
“It was to him himself I was to tell it,” said he.
“我只能向他本人说。”他说。
“It was to him I was to tell it,” he repeated with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man.
“我只能告诉他本人。”他重复道，十足表现出老人的易怒和顽固。
“Then tell me, and I shall let him know.”
“您告诉我好了，我会转告他的。”
“But I tell you that I am acting for him. Was it about Mordecai Smith’s boat?”
“可是，我告诉您，我可以代表他。是不是关于莫迪凯·史密斯汽船的事？”
“Well, you must wait for him.”
“那您只好等一等了。”
“No, no; I ain’t goin’ to lose a whole day to please no one. If Mr. Holmes ain’t here, then Mr. Holmes must find it all out for himself. I don’t care about the look of either of you, and I won’t tell a word.”
“不行，不行，我不能为了这件事而浪费一天的光阴。如果福尔摩斯先生不在家，那只好让他自己想法子去打听这些消息了。你们两人的尊容我都不喜欢，我一个字也不告诉你们。”
He shuffled towards the door, but Athelney Jones got in front of him.
他站起来就要出门，可是阿塞尔纳·琼斯跑到他前面，拦住了他。
“Wait a bit, my friend,” said he. “You have important information, and you must not walk off. We shall keep you, whether you like or not, until our friend returns.”
“朋友，请等一等，”琼斯说，您有要紧的消息报告，不能就这样走掉。不管您愿不愿意，我们都要把您留住，直到我们的朋友回来。”
The old man made a little run towards the door, but, as Athelney Jones put his broad back up against it, he recognized the uselessness of resistance.
那个老人想要夺门而出，可是，阿塞尔纳·琼斯早已用宽阔的后背抵在门上，老人明白，反抗也没用了。
“Holmes!” I exclaimed. “You here! But where is the old man?”
“福尔摩斯！”我惊讶地喊道，“是你！但那老头哪儿去了？”
“You will be none the worse,” I said. “We shall recompense you for the loss of your time. Sit over here on the sofa, and you will not have long to wait.”
“我们不会对你怎么样的，”我说，“我们会补偿您所耗费的时间的。请坐在那边沙发上，您不会等很长时间的。”
He came across sullenly enough and seated himself with his face resting on his hands. Jones and I resumed our cigars and our talk. Suddenly, however, Holmes’s voice broke in upon us.
他很不高兴地走过去坐下，把脸埋在两手中。琼斯和我继续一边吸着雪茄烟，一边谈话。然而，福尔摩斯的声音突然在我们之间响起。
“Pretty sort o’ treatment this!” he cried, stamping his stick. “I come here to see a gentleman, and you two, who I never saw in my life, seize me and treat me in this fashion!”
“真是岂有此理！”他用手杖敲打着地板，喝道，“我到这里来拜访一位朋友，你们二人和我素不相识，却抓住我不放，这样对待我！”
“I think that you might offer me a cigar too,” he said.
“我想，你们也应该给我一支雪茄烟吧。”他说。
“Here is the old man,” said he, holding out a heap of white hair. “Here he is — wig, whiskers, eyebrows, and all. I thought my disguise was pretty good, but I hardly expected that it would stand that test.”
“老头就在这儿，”他拿出一把白发，说道，“这儿——假发、胡须、眉毛，全在这里。我认为我的化装还不错，可是没有想到把你们也骗住了。”
We both started in our chairs. There was Holmes sitting close to us with an air of quiet amusement.
我们二人从椅子上吃惊地跳了起来。福尔摩斯就坐在我们旁边，笑容可掬。
“Ah, you rogue!” cried Jones, highly delighted. “You would have made an actor and a rare one. You had the proper workhouse cough, and those weak legs of yours are worth ten pound a week. I thought I knew the glint of your eye, though. You didn’t get away from us so easily, you see.”
“啊，你这个坏蛋！”琼斯高兴地喊道，“你真可以成为一个戏剧演员——一个出色的演员。你那老人的咳嗽学得真像，还有你那双孱弱的腿，每星期足可挣十镑的工资。可是，我想我看出你的眼神来了。你看，你没那么容易骗过我们。”
“How has your case prospered?”
“你这案子进展得如何了？”
“I have been working in that get-up all day,” said he, lighting his cigar. “You see, a good many of the criminal classes begin to know me — especially since our friend here took to publishing some of my cases: so I can only go on the war-path under some simple disguise like this. You got my wire?”
“今天一整天工作，我都是打扮成这个样子的，”他点燃了雪茄烟，说道，“你知道，很多匪徒已渐渐地认识了我——特别是在咱们这位朋友把我的侦探事迹写成了书之后，所以我只好在工作时简单地化个装。你接到我的电报了吗？”
“Never mind. We shall give you two others in the place of them. But you must put yourself under my orders. You are welcome to all the official credit, but you must act on the lines that I point out. Is that agreed?”
“那不要紧，一会儿我给你另外两个人，来补他们的缺。可是，你必须完全听我的指挥。一切功绩可以归你，可是，一切行动必须听从我。这一点，你同意吗？”
“Yes; that was what brought me here.”
“接到了，所以才会来的。”
“Entirely, if you will help me to the men.”
“只要你协助我把匪徒捉到，我全都同意。”
“It has all come to nothing. I have had to release two of my prisoners, and there is no evidence against the other two.”
“一点儿头绪也没有。我不得已释放了那两个人，对于其余的两个人，也没有什么证据。”
“Then I shall want two staunch men in case of resistance.”
“另外，我还要两名健壮的男士，以防匪徒拒捕。”
“Well, then, in the first place I shall want a fast policeboat — a steam launch — to be at the Westminster Stairs at seven o’clock.”
“好的，首先，我需要一只快速的警船——一只汽船——今晚七点在威斯敏斯特码头待命。”
“That is easily managed. There is always one about there, but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure.”
“这个好办。那儿经常停着一只，但我还是到马路对面打个电话确认一下吧。”
“Well, you are master of the situation. I have had no proof yet of the existence of this Jonathan Small. However, if you can catch him, I don’t see how I can refuse you an interview with him.”
“你是掌握着全案情况的人。虽然我还没有证据证明，确实有这么一个叫乔纳森·斯莫尔的人，可是，如果你能捉到他，我没有理由阻止你先讯问他。”
“When we secure the men we shall get the treasure. I think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it rightfully belongs. Let her be the first to open it. Eh, Watson?”
“等捉住匪徒，我们就能得到宝物了。我想我这位朋友一定乐意把宝物箱送到那位年轻女士的手上，她合法拥有其中的一半。让她成为第一个打开宝箱的人。喂，沃森，好不好？”
“There will be two or three in the boat. What else?”
“船上会有两三个人。还有别的吗？”
“Rather an irregular proceeding,” said Jones, shaking his head. “However, the whole thing is irregular, and I suppose we must wink at it. The treasure must afterwards be handed over to the authorities until after the official investigation.”
“这一行动很不合规定，”琼斯摇头道，“不过，反正这一整件事都不合常规，所以，我想我们可以睁一只眼，闭一只眼。但是，看完之后，宝物必须递交给政府，直到正式调查完成。”
“Certainly. That is easily managed. One other point. I should much like to have a few details about this matter from the lips of Jonathan Small himself. You know I like to work the details of my cases out. There is no objection to my having an unofficial interview with him, either here in my rooms or elsewhere, as long as he is efficiently guarded?”
“那当然。这个好办。还有一点。我很希望听到乔纳森·斯莫尔亲口说出有关这一案件的一些详情。你知道，我素来就喜欢弄清案子的始末细节。如果我想在我的房间或其他地方，先对他做一次非正式的讯问，前提是他被严密看守，这样，你不会有什么意见吧？”
“It would be a great pleasure to me.”
“这是我无上的光荣。”
“Perfectly. Is there anything else?”
“完全同意，还有什么要求吗？”
“Only that I insist upon your dining with us. It will be ready in half an hour. I have oysters and a brace of grouse, with something a little choice in white wines. — Watson, you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper.”
“只有一个了，我要留你同我们一起吃晚饭。半个小时即可备好。我准备了生蚝和一对松鸡，还有一些特选的白酒。沃森，你还不知道，我可是一个治家的能手呢。”
“That is understood, then?”
“那么，这也同意了？”
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