“Do any of you gentlemen chance to know where the lad Fetlock Jones was at the time of the explosion?”
“诸位当中有谁知道，爆炸发生的时候这个叫菲特洛克·琼斯的小伙子在什么地方吗？”
A thunderous response followed:
跟著就是一片雷鸣般的应答声：
The Extraordinary Man raised his hand to command additional silence; held it in the air a few moments; then, in brief, crisp terms he put forward question after question, and noted the answers with “Um-ums”, nods of the head, and so on. By this process he learned all about Flint Buckner, his character, conduct, and habits, that the people were able to tell him. It thus transpired that the Extraordinary Mans nephew was the only person in the camp who had a killing-grudge against Flint Buckner. Mr. Holmes smiled compassionately upon the witness, and asked, languidly:
那位奇人抬起胳膊，示意众人再安静一些。他的胳膊在空中停了一会儿，然后，开始简明扼要地提问，一个问题接著一个问题，对回答的问题报以“嗯嗯”、点头或者诸如此类的反应。通过这些问答，他彻底查清了弗林特·布克纳的情况，包括他的性格、行为、习惯，和人们能说出来的其他情况。显而易见，这位奇人的侄子是屯子里惟一有杀害弗林特怖克纳动机的人。福尔摩斯对证人报以慈悲的微笑，不紧不慢地问道：
The tavern dining-room had been cleared of all its furniture save one six-foot pine table and a chair. This table was against one end of the room; the chair was on it; Sherlock Holmes, stately, imposing, impressive, sat in the chair. The public stood. The room was full. The tobacco smoke was dense, the stillness profound.
酒店的餐厅搬走了所有的家具，只留下一张六英尺长的松木桌子和一把椅子。这张桌子靠牆摆著；椅子放在桌子前面；夏洛克·福尔摩斯端端正正坐在那把椅子上，气度不凡，引人瞩目。众人都站著。整个餐厅挤得满满当当。屋子里烟雾腾腾，人们大气不出。
“Ah. And had he just come in?”
“啊。那么他当时是刚到吗？”
“All of a mile!”
“足有一英里！”
“Been there all of an hour!”
“在那儿足有一个钟头了。”
“In the billiard-room of this house!”
“在这家酒店的台球室里！”
“Ah. It is about — about — well, about how far might it be to the scene of the explosion?”
“啊。到爆炸现场大约——大约——这个，大约有多远呢？”
“Ah. It isn’t much of an alibi, this true, but –“
“啊。说真的，这还不足以证明不在现场，可是——”
“The lad Jones’s somewhat distant connection with the case (laughter) having been disposed of, let us now call the eye-witnesses of the tragedy, and listen to what they have to say.”
“无论如何，这个小伙子琼斯和本案的些许关联（众人笑）已经暴露无遗。现在让我们召唤这场悲剧的目击者，听听他们说些什么。”
A storm-burst of laughter, mingled with shouts of “By jiminy, but hes chain-lightning!” and “Ain’t you sorry you spoke, Sandy?” shut off the rest of the sentence, and the crushed witness drooped his blushing face in pathetic shame. The inquisitor resumed:
人群中爆发出一阵大笑。还夹杂著诸如此类的叫声：“天哪，他可真是糊涂蛋！”以及：“桑迪，你说这话也不脸红吗？”这笑声和喊声淹没了证词。作证的桑迪低著头，羞得满脸通红。福尔摩斯继续问道：
“We have the longitude and the latitude, corrected for magnetic variation, and this gives us the exact location of the tragedy. We have the altitude, the temperature, and the degree of humidity prevailing — inestimably valuable, since they enable us to estimate with precision the degree of influence which they would exercise upon the mood and disposition of the assassin at that time of the night.”
“我们已经测得经度和纬度，并根据磁偏角作了校正，这些给出了发生悲剧的精确方位。我们还测得了海拔高度，气温和基本湿度——这些都有不可估量的价值，能使我们精确地估价，在当夜的这段时间内，这些因素在何种程度上作用于凶手的情绪和意向。”
He got out his fragmentary clews and arranged them on a sheet of cardboard on his knee. The house held its breath and watched.
他取出在现场搜集的那些零七八碎的物证，摆放在他膝头的一张硬纸板上。众人鸦雀无声，静静地看著。
(Buzz of admiration — muttered remark, “By George, but hes deep!”)
（响起了一阵嗡嗡的低语声：“老天爷，他的学问真深哪！”）
“Here we have an empty linen shot-bag. What is its message? This: that robbery was the motive, not revenge. What is its further message? This: that the assassin was of inferior intelligence — shall we say light-witted, or perhaps approaching that? How do we know this? Because a person of sound intelligence would not have proposed to rob the man Buckner, who never had much money with him. But the assassin might have been a stranger? Let the bag speak again. I take from it this article. It is a bit of silver-bearing quartz. It is peculiar. Examine it, please — you — and you — and you. Now pass it back, please. There is but one lode on this coast which produces just that character and color of quartz — and that is a lode which crops out for nearly two miles on a stretch, and in my opinion is destined, at no distant day, to confer upon its locality a globe-girdling celebrity, and upon its two hundred owners riches beyond the dreams of avarice. Name that lode, please.”
“这儿有一条亚麻布空子弹袋。它说明什么呢？说明：害人的动机是抢劫，而不是复仇。它还说明什么？说明凶手智力低下——是否可以说头脑迟钝，或者差不多如此呢？因为一个头脑健全的人是不会想到抢劫弗林特·布克纳的，这个人身上从来没有多少钱。不过，也许凶手是不明底细的外地人呢？我们再来听听子弹袋怎么说。这件东西是我从子弹袋里面取出来的。这是一小片银色的石英，非同寻常。请你仔细看看——再请你——还有你。现在请传回来。在这一带沿岸地区，只有一处矿脉出产这种类型、这种色泽的石英；那矿脉绵延近两英里长，根据我的看法，在不久的将来，这条矿脉将会使当地闻名于世，使它的两百位主人获得他们梦寐以求的财富。清说出那条矿脉的名称。”
He fingered his clews. “And now let us ask these mute witnesses to speak to us.”
福尔摩斯指著他的那些物证。“现在让我们请这些沉默的证人讲给我们听吧。
A wild crash of hurrahs followed, and every man reached for his neighbors hand and wrung it, with tears in his eyes — and Wells-Fargo Ferguson shouted, “The Straight Flush is on the lode, and up she goes to a hundred and fifty a foot — you hear me!”
一阵狂热的欢呼声随之而来，大家都就近抓住别人的手，使劲攥著，眼含泪花。威尔斯·法戈·弗格森吼道：“我的‘一条龙”就在那条矿脉上，这下子它要涨到一英尺一百五十块钱了——这话你记住了！”
When quiet fell, Mr. Holmes resumed:
等到喧闹声平息下来，福尔摩斯先生接著说：
“The Consolidated Christian Science and Mary Ann!” was the prompt response.
“基督教科学和玛丽·安联合矿！”众人异口同声地说。
“We perceive, then, that three facts are established, to wit: the assassin was approximately light-witted; he was not a stranger; his motive was robbery, not revenge. Let us proceed. I hold in my hand a small fragment of fuse, with the recent smell of fire upon it. What is its testimony? Taken with the corroborative evidence of the quartz, it reveals to us that the assassin was a miner. What does it tell us further? This, gentlemen: that the assassination was consummated by means of an explosive. What else does it say? This: that the explosive was located against the side of the cabin nearest the road — the front side — for within six feet of that spot I found it.”
“由此我们可知有三件事确定无疑：凶手可能智力低下；他不是个外地人；他的作案动机是抢劫，而不是复仇。让我们接著分析下去。我手里拿著的是一小截导火索，上面有最近燃烧过的气味。这截导火索能告诉我们什么呢？结合已经确定无疑的证据石英，它向我们透露凶手是一名矿工。先生们，这导火索还进一步告诉我们：凶杀的手段是爆炸。还有什么呢？还有：爆炸物是放置在木屋靠近大路的一侧——也就是木屋的前面——因为这截导火索是我在距爆炸地点六英尺以内发现的。
“By Jackson, that’s so!” said Ham Sandwich, bringing his great hand down with a resounding slap upon his thigh — “blamed if I ever thought of it before.”
“老天爷，是这么回事！”汉姆·桑德韦奇把大腿一拍，“以前我怎么就没想到呢。”
“I hold in my fingers a burnt Swedish match — the kind one rubs on a safety-box. I found it in the road, 622 feet from the abolished cabin. What does it say? This: that the train was fired from that point. What further does it tell us? This: that the assassin was left-handed. How do I know this? I should not be able to explain to you, gentlemen, how I know it, the signs being so subtle that only long experience and deep study can enable one to detect them. But the signs are here, and they are reinforced by a fact which you must have often noticed in the great detective narratives — that all assassins are left-handed.”
“现在我手里捏著的是一根瑞典产的火柴——是那种在盒上擦燃的安全火柴。我是在路上找到这根火柴的，那里距被炸毁的木屋有六百二十二英尺。这说明什么呢？说明：导火索是从那儿燃起的。这根火柴还说明什么？说明：那凶手是个左撇子。我是怎么知道的呢？先生们，我很难向你们解释我是怎样知道的，如此细微的蛛丝马迹只有靠丰富的经验和深入的研究才能察觉。不过确有蛛丝马迹，而且有一个事实也支持这种判断，诸位一定在那些出色的侦探小说中常常留意这个事实，即：所有的凶手都是左撇子。”
“Nor I! Nor I!” cried several. “Oh, there cant anything escape him — look at his eye!”
“我也没想到！”好几个人都嚷嚷起来。“嘿，他的眼里可真是不揉沙子——好眼力！”
“Gentlemen, distant as the murderer was from his doomed victim, he did not wholly escape injury. This fragment of wood which I now exhibit to you struck him. It drew blood. Wherever he is, he bears the telltale mark. I picked it up where he stood when he fired the fatal train.” He looked out over the house from his high perch, and his countenance began to darken.” he slowly raised his hand, and pointed:
“先生们，尽管凶手远离受害者，他仍然不能完全避免被伤害。我现在向你们展示的这块木片击中了他。把他打出了血。无论现在他在什么地方，他身上挂的彩都会暴露无遗。我是在他点燃那根致命的导火索对所立之处拣起这块木片的。”他居高临下地扫视全场，脸拉了下来。他慢慢抬起手，指道：
“Don’t, oh, don’t! I never did it, I give my word I never did it. The way I got this hurt on my forehead was –“
“噢，别，别！我从来没干过，我发誓从来没干过。脑门上这处伤是我——”
“Sammy Hillyer? Oh, hell, no! Him? It’s pure foolishness!”
“萨姆·希里尔？啊，老天爷，不会！哪会是他？纯粹是瞎说八道！”
Stillman worked his way to the front, and said:
斯蒂尔曼挤到人群前面来说：
For a moment the house was paralyzed with amazement; then twenty voices burst out with:
刹那间，全场惊愕得鸦雀无声；紧接著，几十条嗓子齐声喊道：
Hillyer broke out with another appeal. “Oh, Archy, don’t let them do it; it would kill mother! You know how I got the hurt. Tell them, and save me, Archy; save me!”
希里尔又开始求救。“噢，阿其，别让他们抓我。我妈非气死不可！你是知道我怎么受的伤。跟他们说，阿其，救救我！救救我！”
“Arrest him, constable!” cried Holmes. “I will swear out the warrant.”
“警官，逮捕他！”福尔摩斯喊道，“我绝不妄言。”
“Yes, I’ll save you. Don’t be afraid.” Then he said to the house, “Never mind how he got the hurt; it hasn’t anything to do with this case, and isn’t of any consequence.”
“好，我会救你。别害怕。”他面对全场说，“不管他是怎么受的伤，都和这个案子无关，不会影响断案。”
“The constable moved reluctantly forward; hesitated; stopped.”
“警察极不情愿的向前移动”
Hillyer turned white with fright. He was near to crying. He turned this way and that, appealing to every face for help and sympathy; and held out his supplicating hands toward Holmes and began to plead:
希里尔吓得脸色刷白，快要哭出来了。他看看这个，看看那个，向每个人求助，期望得到他们的同情。他朝福尔摩斯伸出双手，恳求道：
“There stands the assassin!”
“凶手就站在那儿！”
“Take care, gentlemen — be not hasty. Observe — he has the blood-mark on his brow.”
“注意了，先生们——别著急。观察一下——他的额头上有血迹。”
“Said and done. Go on, old man!”
“说办就办。接著说吧，老手。”
“I will ask Tom Jeffries to stand by that door yonder, and Constable Harris to stand by the other one here, and not let anybody leave the room.”
“我请汤姆·杰弗里斯把住这道门，请哈里斯警官把住那道门，别让任何人离开。”
“Hurrah for Archy! Go in, boy, and play em a knock-down flush to their two pair n a jack!” shouted the house, pride in their home talent and a patriotic sentiment of loyalty to it rising suddenly in the public heart and changing the whole attitude of the situation.
“阿其，好样儿的！来吧，小伙子，把他们那套花拳绣腿打个落花流水！”众人欢声雷动。对本地精英的自豪感和爱乡之情在众人心中油然而生，他们对福尔摩斯的态度发生了逆转。
“God bless you, Archy, for a true friend!”
“上帝保佑你，阿其，够朋友！”
“The criminal is present, I believe. I will show him to you before long, in case I am right in my guess. Now I will tell you all about the tragedy, from start to finish. The motive wasn’t robbery; it was revenge. The murderer wasn’t light-witted. He didn’t stand 622 feet away. He didn’t get hit with a piece of wood. He didn’t place the explosive against the cabin. He didn’t bring a shot-bag with him, and he wasn’t left-handed. With the exception of these errors, the distinguished guests statement of the case is substantially correct.”
“我确信罪犯就在这里。如果我的判断没错的话，一会儿我就指给你们看。现在我先把这出悲剧从头到尾讲清楚。杀人的动机不是抢劫，而是复仇。那凶手的智力并不低下，他也没有站在六百二十二英尺之外。他没有被木片击中。他没有在木屋跟前放置炸药。他既没有带著一个子弹袋，也不是左撇子。除了这些出错的地方，这位杰出的客人对本案的分析大体正确。”
Young Stillman waited for the noise to cease; then he said,
年轻的斯蒂尔曼等欢呼声平息下来，说道：
The guests serenity was not disturbed. Stillman resumed:
客人依然从容大度，不为所动。斯蒂尔曼接著说：
A comfortable laugh rippled over the house; friend nodded to friend, as much as to say, “That’s the word, with the bark on it. Good lad, good boy. He aint lowering his flag any!”
大厅里荡起一阵舒心的笑声。熟识的人相互点头，好像是说：“这话在理，有根有据。好小伙子，好小伙子。他可真是寸步不让啊！”
He paused a moment, for effect; to allow silence and suspense to intensify and concentrate the houses interest; then he went on:
为加深印象，他停顿了一下——让场子里静下来，让悬念更强烈，让众人的兴趣点更加集中；然后他说：
“I also have some witnesses; and I will presently tell you where you can find some more.” He held up a piece of coarse wire; “the crowd craned their necks to see. It has a smooth coating of melted tallow on it. And here is a candle which is burned half-way down. The remaining half of it has marks cut upon it an inch apart. Soon I will tell you where I found these things. I will now put aside reasonings, guesses, the impressive hitchings of odds and ends of clews together, and the other showy theatricals of the detective trade, and tell you in a plain, straight-forward way just how this dismal thing happened.”
“我手中也有一些物证，而且我马上就告诉大家，在什么地方能找到更多的证据。”他拿出一根普通的铁丝，众人伸长脖子盯著看。“这上面均匀地涂了一层熔化的蜡油。这儿还有燃得只剩半截的蜡烛。在这剩下的一半蜡烛上，每隔一英寸刻著一条标记。我马上就告诉大家我在哪儿发现这些东西的。现在，我不推理，不猜测，不把杂七杂八的线索生拉硬拽凑在一堆，也不拿侦探行当的噱头卖关子；我就用平舖直叙、开门见山的方式告诉你们这件伤心事是怎么发生的。”
“The assassin studied out his plan with a good deal of pains. It was a good plan, very ingenious, and showed an intelligent mind, not a feeble one. It was a plan which was well calculated to ward off all suspicion from its inventor. In the first place, he marked a candle into spaces an inch apart, and lit it and timed it. He found it took three hours to burn four inches of it. I tried it myself for half an hour, awhile ago, upstairs here, while the inquiry into Flint Buckner’s character and ways was being conducted in this room, and I arrived in that way at the rate of a candles consumption when sheltered from the wind. Having proved his trial-candles rate, he blew it out — I have already shown it to you — and put his inch-marks on a fresh one.”
“凶手为了制定方案煞费苦心。这个方案不错，非常巧妙，看得出凶手是个有头脑的人，并不迟钝。这个方案算度精确，为的是让策划者彻底摆脱嫌疑。在第一个地点，他在一根蜡烛上每隔一英寸刻上一道标记，点燃后计算时间。他发现，蜡烛燃去四英寸需要三个小时。当福尔摩斯先生在这间房子里询问弗林特·布克纳的个性和行为方式的时候，我在楼上做了半个小时的试验，通过实验得出了蜡烛在背风的情况下燃烧的速度。他当时证实了蜡烛的燃烧速度后，就吹灭了它——就是我给大家看的那根——然后又在一根新蜡烛上做了标记。”
“With labor — very hard labor, I should say — he struggled up through the stiff chaparral that clothes the steep hillside back of Flint Buckner’s place, tugging an empty flour-barrel with him. He placed it in that absolutely secure hiding-place, and in the bottom of it he set the candlestick. Then he measured off about thirty-five feet of fuse — the barrels distance from the back of the cabin. He bored a hole in the side of the barrel — here is the large gimlet he did it with. He went on and finished his work — and when it was done, one end of the fuse was in Buckner’s cabin, and the other end, with a notch chipped in it to expose the powder, was in the hole in the candle; timed to blow the place up at one o’clock this morning, provided the candle was lit about eight o’clock yesterday evening — which I am betting it was — and provided there was an explosive in the cabin and connected with that end of the fuse — which I am also betting there was, though I cant prove it. Boys, the barrel is there in the chaparral, the candles remains are in it in the tin stick — the burnt-out fuse is in the gimlet-hole, the other end is down the hill where the late cabin stood. I saw them all an hour or two ago, when the Professor here was measuring off unimplicated vacancies and collecting relics that hadn’t anything to do with the case.”
“他吃力地——应该说吃尽苦头——穿过弗林特·布克纳屋后山脚下的那片树丛，还拖著一个空面粉桶。他把面粉桶安置在万无一失的地方，在桶底放上了烛台。然后，他量出了大约三十五英尺长的导火索——由面粉桶到弗林特·布克纳木屋背后的长度。他在桶身上钻了一个孔——这就是他当时钻孔用的螺丝刀。他一鼓作气钻好了孔；完工以后，导火索的一头通到弗林特·布克纳的木屋，另一头削开露出火药，插进了蜡烛的孔里——因为设定今天凌晨一点起爆，那么点火的时间约在昨天晚上八点钟——这一点我可以打赌——而且弗林特·布克纳的木屋里有和导火索一头相连的炸药——这一点我虽然证明不了，但我照样可以打赌。一两个小时以前我找到这些证据的时候，福尔摩斯大师正在丈量那些没用的空地，搜集那些与本案无关的小零碎呢。”
“He put the fresh one into a tin candlestick. Then at the five-hour mark he bored a hole through the candle with a red-hot wire. I have already shown you the wire, with a smooth coat of tallow on it — tallow that had been melted and had cooled.”
“他把这根新蜡烛固定在一个锡做的烛台上。在五个小时标记处用烧红的铁丝烫了一个透芯孔。我已经给大家看了那根铁丝，上面有一层均匀的蜡油——这是熔化的蜡油冷却后留下的。”
But Stillman was resuming:
他们的话被阿其·斯蒂尔曼打断了。
He paused. The house drew a long, deep breath, shook its strained cords and muscles free and burst into cheers. “Dang him!” said Ham Sandwich, “that’s why he was snooping around in the chaparral, instead of picking up points out of the Professor’s game. Looky here — he ain’t no fool, boys.”
他停了下来。众人都舒了一口长气，活动活动僵住的筋骨，欢呼雀跃。“真他妈的棒！”汉姆·桑德韦奇说，“难怪他在树丛里钻来钻去，不跟那位大师在一起凑热闹呢。瞧瞧吧，伙计们——他可不傻呀。”
“While we were out yonder an hour or two ago, the owner of the gimlet and the trial-candle took them from a place where he had concealed them — it was not a good place — and carried them to what he probably thought was a better one, two hundred yards up in the pine woods, and hid them there, covering them over with pine needles. It was there that I found them. The gimlet exactly fits the hole in the barrel. And now –“
“一两个小时以前，我们在现场的时候，那把螺丝刀和试验用蜡烛的主人把这些东西从一个地方取走——这个地方选得不好——拿到了另外一个他认为更好的地方，这个地方在二百码远的松树林里。他藏起这些东西，还用松针盖了走来。我就是在那里找到它们的。螺丝刀和面粉桶上的孔正好相符。现在——”
The Extraordinary Man interrupted him. He said, sarcastically:
那位奇人打断了阿其·斯蒂尔曼，讥讽地说：
“No, sir! Why, great Scott –“
“可不是吗！嘿，真棒——”
“We have had a very pretty fairy-tale, gentlemen — very pretty indeed. Now I would like to ask this young man a question or two.”
“先生们，我们聆听了一个非常美妙的童话——实在是太妙了。现在，我想向这位年轻人请教一二。”
Some of the boys winced, and Ferguson said,
有的人慌神了，弗格森说：
“I’m afraid Archys going to catch it now.”
“这下子，我怕阿其要给问住了。”
The others lost their smiles and sobered down. Mr. Holmes said:
其他人也没了笑脸，不做声了。福尔摩斯先生说：
“Yes, sir — about eight.”
“是，先生——大约八点钟。”
“Could you say exactly eight?”
“您能说是八点整吗？”
“Well, no, I couldn’t be that exact.”
“啊，不，我说不了那么淮。”
“Um. If a person had been passing along there just about that time, he would have been almost sure to encounter that assassin, do you think?”
“唔。如果有人正好在那个时候经过现场，他几乎可以肯定会遇到凶手，对吗？”
“Yes, I should think so.”
“对，我是这么想的。”
“Thank you, that is all. For the present. I say, all for the present.”
“谢谢您，目前要问的问题完了。我是说，目前要问的。”
“Let us proceed to examine into this fairy-tale in a consecutive and orderly way — by geometrical progression, so to speak — linking detail to detail in a steadily advancing and remorselessly consistent and unassailable march upon this tinsel toy-fortress of error, the dream-fabric of a callow imagination. To begin with, young sir, I desire to ask you but three questions at present — at present. Did I understand you to say it was your opinion that the supposititious candle was lighted at about eight o’clock yesterday evening?”
“让我们来把这个童话按照先后顺序考察一遍——或称按照数列的法则，也就是说——把一个个细节连贯起来考查，循序渐进、一往无前，令人心服口服地攻陷这座华而不实的玩偶堡垒，戳穿这个幼稚幻觉的梦想世界。年轻的先生，第一步，我目前只想请教三个问颗——是目前，您的意思是说那支假想的蜡烛是昨天晚上约八点钟的时候点燃的，我理解的对吗？”
“Dern him! hes laying for Archy, said Ferguson.”
“妈的！他是给阿其下套呢，”弗格森说。
“It’s so,” said Ham Sandwich. “I don’t like the look of it.”
“是啊，”汉姆·桑德韦奇说，“我讨厌看那副样子。”
“In-deed? This is interesting — this is very interesting. Perhaps you encountered the assassin?”
“真的吗？这可有点儿意思——很有意思。你也许碰到凶手了？”
“I was along there myself at half past eight — no, about nine.”
“我自己是八点半钟的时候路过那儿的——不，大约九点钟。”
Stillman said, glancing at the guest,
斯蒂尔曼扫了客人一眼说，
“It has none. At present. I say it has none — at present.”
“没有关联。目前没有。我是说目前——还没有。”
“Ah. Then — if you will excuse the remark — I do not quite see the relevancy of the information.”
“啊。那么——如果您不介意的话——我可看不出这件事和本案有什么关联。”
“No, I encountered no one.”
“没有，我没碰上人。”
A buzz of excitement swept the place, and the march began, the guest looking on with an iron attempt at gravity which was not an unqualified success. Stillman stooped, shaded his eyes with his hand, and gazed down intently at each pair of feet as it passed. Fifty men tramped monotonously by — with no result. Sixty. Seventy. The thing was beginning to look absurd. The guest remarked, with suave irony,
一阵兴奋的低语声传遍了大厅，大家列队走过阿其·斯蒂尔曼面前，福尔摩斯带著一副不屑一顾的神态，冷眼旁观。阿其·斯蒂尔曼弯下腰，手搭凉篷，凝神注视著经过眼前的每一双脚。五十双千篇一律的脚走过去了——没有结果。六十。七十。场面开始显得有点滑稽。那客人温文尔雅地讥讽道：
He paused. Presently he resumed: “I did not encounter the assassin, but I am on his track, I am sure, for I believe he is in this room. I will ask you all to pass one by one in front of me — here, where there is a good light — so that I can see your feet.”
他停了一下，又接著说：“我没有碰到凶手，不过我敢肯定找到了他的踪迹。所以我确信他就在这个房间里。我想请你们依次从我面前走过——到这里来，这里亮堂——这样我就能看清各位的脚了。”
“This is serious. It strikes at an innocent life. Innocent beyond suspicion! Innocent beyond per-adventure! Hear me prove it; observe how simple a fact can brush out of existence this witless lie. Listen. My friends, that lad was never out of my sight yesterday evening at any time!”
“这一指控非同小可。它是对一个无辜者的人身攻击。这个人的清白毫无疑问，无可置疑！请听我来证明这一点；只要看一看一个再简单不过的事实，就能揭穿这个毫无根据的谎言。听著，朋友们，那小伙子昨天晚上从来也没有离开过我的视线！”
At the height of the turmoil the guest stretched out his hand, commanding peace. The authority of a great name and a great personality laid its mysterious compulsion upon the house, and it obeyed. Out of the panting calm which succeeded, the guest spoke, saying, with dignity and feeling:
在骚动声中，福尔摩斯伸出手来，示意大家安静。这位大人物的英名对在场的人有一种神秘的压力，众人都遵命静了下来。在一片无言的喘息声中，福尔摩斯威严而充满感情地发言了：
The house saw the humor of it, and refreshed itself with a cordial laugh. Ten or twelve more candidates tramped by — no, danced by, with airy and ridiculous capers which convulsed the spectators — then suddenly Stillman put out his hand and said,
众人听出了话中的幽默，精神振作起来，发出了一阵开心的笑声。又有十到十二个受审查的人从阿其·斯蒂尔曼面前走了过去——与其说走，不如说是扭著轻浮而滑稽的舞步蹦了过去，引得观众哄堂大笑——这时，阿其·斯蒂尔曼突然伸手指著一个人说：
“Assassins appear to be scarce this evening.”
“今天晚上凶手好像缺货呀。”
“Fetlock Jones, by the great Sanhedrim!” roared the crowd, and at once let fly a pyrotechnic explosion and dazzle and confusion of stirring remarks inspired by the situation.
“老天爷，是菲特洛克·琼斯！”人群中掀起了轩然大波，这个结果就像一声震天动地的爆炸，让人头晕目眩，人声鼎沸，全场像开了锅一样。
“This is the assassin!”
“这就是凶手！”
Plainly the guest seemed hit; it looked so to the public. He opened his mouth to speak; the words did not come freely.
在众人眼里，福尔摩斯显然是被击中了要害。他再开口讲话时，已经有点儿结结巴巴了。
“I knew there was another one!” He stepped briskly to the table and glanced at the guests feet, then up at his face, and said: “You were with him! You were not fifty steps from him when he lit the candle that by and by fired the powder!” (Sensation.) “And what is more, you furnished the matches yourself!”
“我知道当时还有一个人在场！”他步履轻盈地走到桌子跟前，朝福尔摩斯的双脚扫了一眼，抬起头来说：“是你和他在一起！在他点燃那支后来引爆炸药的蜡烛的时候，你和他的距离还不到五十步！”（群情激动）“而且，那些火柴就是你给他的！”
“This — er — this is insanity — this –“
“这个——唉——这是痴人说梦——这个——”
Stillman pressed his evident advantage home. He held up a charred match.
斯蒂尔曼紧追不舍。他拿出一根燃过的火柴。
It made a deep impression. Men turned their eyes upon Stillman with grave inquiry in them. His face brightened, and he said:
这句话是一记重锤。大家满腹狐疑地把目光移到阿其·斯蒂尔曼身上。斯蒂尔曼却更加容光焕发，他说：
“Here is one of them. I found it in the barrel — and there’s another one there.”
“这就是其中的一根。我是在面粉桶里找到的——桶里还有一根火柴。”
The guest found his voice at once.
福尔摩斯的话马上流利起来。
“It is wax — a breed unknown to this camp. I am ready to be searched for the box. Are you?”
“这是涂蜡火柴——这种火柴屯子里没有过。可以授我的身看有没有火柴盒，你呢？”
“Yes — and put them there yourself!” It was recognized a good shot. Stillman retorted.
“对——不过是你自己放进去的！”这是一记漂亮的回马枪。斯蒂尔曼还以颜色。
The guest was staggered this time; the dullest eye could see it. He fumbled with his hands; once or twice his lips moved, but the words did not come. The house waited and watched, in tense suspense, the stillness adding effect to the situation. Presently Stillman said, gently,
连最拙的眼睛也能看得出，这一次福尔摩斯打退堂鼓了。他的两只手摸索著，嘴唇动了一两次，却没有出声。大家盯住福尔摩斯等著，巨大的悬念压在众人心头，沉寂更加重了这种气氛。稍停，斯蒂尔曼温和地说：
“We are waiting for your decision.”
“我们等你拿主意呢。”
There was silence again during several moments; then the guest answered, in a low voice,
鸦雀无声的场面又持续了片刻；这时，福尔摩斯用低沉的声音说：
“I refuse to be searched.”
“我拒绝搜身。”
“That settles it! Hes Archys meat.”
“完了！他是阿其盛到盘子里的菜了。”
There was no noisy demonstration, but all about the house one voice after another muttered:
屋内没有喧哗的声浪，但几乎所有的人都低声说：
What to do now? Nobody seemed to know. It was an embarrassing situation for the moment — merely, of course, because matters had taken such a sudden and unexpected turn that these unpracticed minds were not prepared for it, and had come to a standstill, like a stopped clock, under the shock. But after a little the machinery began to work again, tentatively, and by twos and threes the men put their heads together and privately buzzed over this and that and the other proposition. One of these propositions met with much favor; it was, to confer upon the assassin a vote of thanks for removing Flint Buckner, and let him go. But the cooler heads opposed it, pointing out that addled brains in the Eastern States would pronounce it a scandal, and make no end of foolish noise about it. Finally the cool heads got the upper hand, and obtained general consent to a proposition of their own; their leader then called the house to order and stated it; to this effect: that Fetlock Jones be jailed and put upon trial.
似乎没有人知道如今该怎么办。这一刻的局面十分尴尬——自然是因为形势急转直下，这些未经世面的人受到震撼，没有足够的思想淮备，脑子一下子卡了壳，就像钟表停了摆似的。只消一小会儿，就又滴滴塔塔地走了起来；人们三三两两地把脑袋凑在一起，戚戚喳喳地出主意，想办法。其中一个主意得到了很多人的赞同；鉴于凶手为屯子除了一害，应该谢谢他，让他走就是了。但是头脑冷静的人表示反对，他们指出，东部各州那些不知底细的人会把这视作一桩丑闻，没完没了地说三道四。最后，头脑冷静的人占了上风，他们的主张得到一致赞同；于是，冷静派领导人要求大家安静，并宣布：把菲特洛克·琼斯收监，交付审判。
The motion was carried. Apparently there was nothing further to do now, and the people were glad, for, privately, they were impatient to get out and rush to the scene of the tragedy, and see whether that barrel and the other things were really there or not.
这动议获得通过。显然，这里已经没有其他事情可干，人们心中暗喜，他们迫不及待地要奔出屋门，涌向悲剧现场，去看面粉桶以及其他一些东西是不是真在那儿。
But no — the break-up got a check. The surprises were not over yet. For a while Fetlock Jones had been silently sobbing, unnoticed in the absorbing excitements which had been following one another so persistently for some time; but when his arrest and trial were decreed, he broke out despairingly, and said:
可是，这出戏没有散场。层出不穷的意外还没有完结。菲特洛克·琼斯一直在无声地啜泣，一波三折的形势让众人激动不已，所以好长一段时间没有人注意他。可就在宣布逮捕和审判他之后，菲特洛克·琼斯在绝望中爆发了，他说：
“No! it’s no use. I don’t want any jail, I don’t want any trial; I’ve had all the hard luck I want, and all the miseries. Hang me now, and let me out! It would all come out, anyway; there couldn’t anything save me. He has told it all, just as if he’d been with me and seen it; I don’t know how he found out; and you’ll find the barrel and things, and then I wouldn’t have any chance any more. I killed him; and you’d have done it too, if he’d treated you like a dog, and you only a boy, and weak and poor, and not a friend to help you.”
“不！不行。我不想蹲监牢，我不想接受审判；我倒够霉了，吃尽了苦头。现在就绞死我吧，让我出去！总会真相大白的，不过——什么也救不了我了。他说得点滴不漏，就好像他跟我在一起，看著我干一样——我不明白他是怎么发现的；你们会找到桶和别的东西，那时我就什么机会都没有了。他是我杀的；可是换了你们，如果他拿一个无依无靠。弱不禁风的穷孩子当狗一样对待，你们也会杀了他。”
“And served him damned well right! broke in Ham Sandwich. Looky here, boys –“
“那家伙是恶有恶报！”汉姆·桑德韦奇插话了，“伙计们，依我看——”
A voice: “Did your uncle know what you was up to?”
一个人问菲特洛克·琼斯：“你叔叔知道你干的事吗？”
“Did he give you the matches, sure enough?”
“你敢肯定是他给你火柴的吗？”
From the constable: “Order! Order, gentlemen!”
警察喊著：“先生们，静一静！静一静！”
“No, he didn’t.”
“不，他不知道。”
“Yes, he did, but he didn’t know what I wanted them for.”
“是的，他给的，不过他不知道我拿火柴去干什么。”
“When you was out on such a business as that, how did you venture to risk having him along — and him a detective? Hows that?”
“你做这种事的时候，怎么敢冒险和他——和一个侦探——在一起呢？这是怎么回事？”
The cyclone of laughter which greeted this narve discharge of wisdom did not modify the poor little waifs embarrassment in any large degree.
全场爆发了一阵大笑，称许菲特洛克·琼斯天真烂漫的智慧表白，然而，这种称许却没有为这个可怜的小流浪汉减轻多少尴尬。
The boy hesitated, fumbled with his buttons in an embarrassed way, then said, shyly,
那年轻人迟疑不决，尴尬地摸著自己的衣扣，他不好意思地说：
“I know about detectives, on account of having them in the family; and if you don’t want them to find out about a thing, it’s best to have them around when you do it.”
“因为家里有人做侦探，我了解侦探；要是你不想让侦探看出底细，最好是在他们旁边下手。”
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