血字的研究 39一线光明(3)

"And there was nothing else?" Holmes asked.

福尔摩斯问道："再也没有别的东西了？"

"Nothing of any importance. The man's novel, with which he had read himself to sleep, was lying upon the bed, and his pipe was on a chair beside him.

"没有什么重要的东西了。床上还有一本小说，是死者临睡时阅读的。他的烟斗放在床边的一把椅子上。

There was a glass of water on the table, and on the window- sill a small chip ointment¹ box containing a couple of pills."

桌上还有一杯水。窗台上有个盛药膏的木匣，里边有两粒药丸。"

Sherlock Holmes sprang from his chair with an exclamation² of delight. "The last link," he cried, exultantly³. "My case is complete."

福尔摩斯从椅子上猛地站了起来，高兴得喊了起来。他眉飞色舞地大声说道："这是最后的一环了，我的论断现在算是完整了。"

The two detectives stared at him in amazement⁴.

两位侦探惊异地瞧着他。

"I have now in my hands," my companion said, confidently, "all the threads which have formed such a tangle⁵.

我的朋友充满信心地说："我已经把构成这个结子的每条线索都掌握在手中了。

There are, of course, details to be filled in, but I am as certain of all the main facts,

当然，细节还有待补充。但是，从锥伯在火车站和斯坦节逊分手起，

from the time that Drebber parted from Stangerson at the station, up to the discovery of the body of the latter, as if I had seen them with my own eyes.

到斯坦节逊的尸体被发现为止，这中间所有主要的情节，我都已一清二楚，就好象我亲眼看见一般。

I will give you a proof of my knowledge. Could you lay your hand upon those pills?"

我要把我的见解给你们提出一个证明来看看。你把那两粒药丸带来了吗？"

"I have them," said Lestrade, producing a small white box;

"在我这里，"雷斯垂德说着，就拿出一只小小的白匣子来，

"I took them and the purse and the telegram, intending to have them put in a place of safety at the police station.

"药丸、钱袋、电报都拿来了，我本想把这些东西放在警察分局里比较稳当点的地方。

It was the merest chance my taking these pills, for I am bound to say that I do not attach any importance to them."

我把药丸拿来，只是出于偶然。我必须声明，我认为这不是一件什么重要的东西。"

"Give them here," said Holmes. "Now, Doctor," turning to me, "are those ordinary pills?"

"请拿给我吧，"福尔摩斯说，"喂，大夫，"他又转向我说，"这是平常的药丸吗？"

They certainly were not. They were of a pearly gray colour, small, round, and almost transparent⁶ against the light.

这些药丸的确不平常。珍珠似的灰色，小而圆，迎着亮光看简直是透明的。

"From their lightness and transparency, I should imagine that they are soluble⁷ in water," I remarked.

我说："从份量轻和透明这两个特点看来，我想药丸在水中能够溶解。"

"Precisely⁸ so," answered Holmes.

"正是这样，"福尔摩斯回答说，

"Now would you mind going down and fetching that poor little devil of a terrier which has been bad so long,and which the landlady⁹ wanted you to put out of its pain yesterday?"

"请你下楼把那条可怜的狗抱上来好吗？这个狗一直病着，房东太太昨天不是还请你把它弄死，免得让它活受罪吗？"

I went downstairs and carried the dog upstairs in my arms.

我下楼把狗抱了上来。

Its laboured breathing and glazing¹⁰ eye showed that it was not far from its end.

这只狗呼吸困难，眼光呆滞，说明它活不多久了。

Indeed, its snow-white muzzle¹¹ proclaimed that it had already exceeded the usual term of canine¹² existence.

的确，它那雪白的嘴唇就能说明，它早就远远地超过一般狗类的寿命了。

I placed it upon a cushion on the rug.

我在地毯上放了一块垫子，然后把它放在上面。

"I will now cut one of these pills in two," said Holmes, and drawing his penknife he suited the action to the word.

"我现在把其中的一粒切成两半，"福尔摩斯说着，就拿出小刀把药丸切开，

"One half we return into the box for future purposes.

"半粒放回盒里留着将来用，

The other half I will place in this wineglass, in which is a teaspoonful¹³ of water.

这半粒我把它放在酒杯里，杯子里有一匙水。

You perceive that our friend, the doctor, is right, and that it readily dissolves."

大家请看，咱们这位大夫朋友的话是对的，它马上溶解在水里了。"

"This may be very interesting," said Lestrade, in the injured tone of one who suspects that he is being laughed at;

"这可有意思，"雷斯垂德带着生气的声调说，他以为福尔摩斯在捉弄他，

"I cannot see, however, what it has to do with the death of Mr. Joseph Stangerson."

"但是，我看不出来这和斯坦节逊的死又有什么关系？"

"Patience, my friend, patience! You will find in time that it has everything to do with it.

"耐心些，我的朋友，耐心些！到时候你就明白它是大有关系的了。

I shall now add a little milk to make the mixture palatable¹⁴, and on presenting it to the dog we find that he laps it up readily enough."

现在我给它加上些牛奶就好吃了，然后把它摆在狗的面前，它会立刻舔光的。"

As he spoke¹⁵ he turned the contents of the wineglass into a saucer and placed it in front of the terrier, who speedily licked it dry.

他说着就把酒杯里的液体倒到盘子里，放在狗的面前，它很快地就把它舔了个干净。

1 ointment   

n.药膏，油膏，软膏

参考例句：

• Your foot will feel better after the application of this ointment.敷用这药膏后，你的脚会感到舒服些。
• This herbal ointment will help to close up your wound quickly.这种中草药膏会帮助你的伤口很快愈合。

2 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

3 exultantly   

adv.狂欢地，欢欣鼓舞地

参考例句：

• They listened exultantly to the sounds from outside. 她们欢欣鼓舞地倾听着外面的声音。 来自辞典例句
• He rose exultantly from their profane surprise. 他得意非凡地站起身来，也不管众人怎样惊奇诅咒。 来自辞典例句

4 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

5 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 soluble   

adj.可溶的；可以解决的

参考例句：

• These tablets are soluble in water.这些药片可在水中溶解。
• Camphor is soluble in alcohol.樟脑在酒精中可以溶化。

8 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

9 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

10 glazing   

n.玻璃装配业；玻璃窗；上釉；上光v.装玻璃( glaze的现在分词 )；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• You should ensure against loss of heat by having double glazing. 你应装双层玻璃以免散热。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You should ensure yourself against loss of heat by having double glazing. 你应该装双层玻璃防止热量散失。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

12 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

13 teaspoonful   

n.一茶匙的量；一茶匙容量

参考例句：

• Add a teaspoonful of mixed herbs. 加入一茶匙混合药草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder. 加一茶匙咖喱粉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。