四签名 24秃头人的故事（7）

The little man stopped to relight his hookah and puffed¹ thoughtfully for a few moments.

这矮小的人重新点着了他的水烟壶，深思地连吸了几口。

We had all sat absorbed, listening to his extraordinary narrative².

我们坐在那里，全神贯注地听他述说这个离奇的故事。

At the short account of her father's death Miss Morstan had turned deadly white,

摩斯坦小姐在听到他叙述到关于她父亲死亡的那一段话时，面色变得惨白。

and for a moment I feared that she was about to faint.

为了怕她会晕倒，

She rallied, however, on drinking a glass of water which I quietly poured out for her from a Venetian carafe³ upon the side-table.

我轻轻地从放在旁边桌上的一个威尼斯式的水瓶里倒了一杯水给她喝，她方才恢复过来。

Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his chair with an abstracted expression and the lids drawn⁴ low over his glittering eyes.

歇洛克·福尔摩斯靠在椅上闭目深思。

As I glanced at him I could not but think how on that very day he had complained bitterly of the commonplaceness of life.

当我看到他的时候，我不禁想到：就在今天他还说人生枯燥无聊呢。

Here at least was a problem which would tax his sagacity to the utmost.

在这里至少有一个问题将要对他的智慧做一次最大的考验。

Mr. Thaddeus Sholto looked from one to the other of us with an obvious pride at the effect

塞笛厄斯·舒尔托先生对我们这个看看，那个看看，

which his story had produced and then continued between the puffs⁵ of his overgrown pipe.

由于他叙述的故事所给我们的影响，他显然觉得自豪，他继续吸着水烟壶又说了下去。

"My brother and I," said he, "were, as you may imagine, much excited as to the treasure which my father had spoken of.

他道："你们可以想象得到，我哥哥和我由于听到我父亲所说的宝物，全都感到十分兴奋。

For weeks and for months we dug and delved⁶ in every part of the garden without discovering its whereabouts.

经过好几个礼拜，甚至好几个月的工夫，我们把花园的各个角落全都挖掘遍了，也没有寻到。

It was maddening to think that the hiding- place was on his very lips at the moment that he died.

想到这些宝物收藏的地方竟留在他临终的口中，未免使人发狂。

We could judge the splendour of the missing riches by the chaplet which he had taken out.

我们从那个拿出来的项圈就可以推想到这批遗失的宝物是多么贵重了。

Over this chaplet my brother Bartholomew and I had some little discussion.

关于这串项圈，我的哥哥巴索洛谬和我也曾经讨论过。

The pearls were evidently of great value, and he was averse⁷ to part with them,

这些珠子无疑地是很值钱的，他也有点难以割舍。

for, between friends, my brother was himself a little inclined to my father's fault.

当然，在对待朋友方面，他也有点象我父亲一样的缺点。

He thought, too, that if we parted with the chaplet it might give rise to gossip and finally bring us into trouble.

他又想到，如果把项圈送人，可能会引起些无谓的闲话，最后还可能给我们找来麻烦。

It was all that I could do to persuade him to let me find out Miss Morstan's address

我所能够做到的只有劝我哥哥由我先把摩斯坦小姐的住址找到，

and send her a detached pearl at fixed⁸ intervals⁹ so that at least she might never feel destitute¹⁰."

然后每隔一定时间给她寄一颗拆下来的珠子，这样至少也可以使她的生活不致发生困难。"

"It was a kindly¹¹ thought," said our companion earnestly; "it was extremely good of you."

我的同伴诚恳地说道："真是好心眼啊，您这样做是太感人了。"

The little man waved his hand deprecatingly. "We were your trustees," he said;

这矮小的人不以为然地挥手道："我们只是你们的财产的保管者，

"that was the view which I took of it, though Brother Bartholomew could not altogether see it in that light.

这是我的看法！可是我哥哥的见解和我不同。

We had plenty of money ourselves. I desired no more.

我们自己有很多财产，我也不希望再多。

Besides, it would have been such bad taste to have treated a young lady in so scurvy¹² a fashion.

再说对于这位年轻小姐做出卑鄙的事也是情理难容的。

'Le mauvais go?t mène au crime.' The French have a very neat way of putting these things.

'鄙俗为罪恶之源' 这句法国谚语是很有道理的。

Our difference of opinion on this subject went so far that I thought it best to set up rooms for myself;

由于弟兄双方对于这个问题的意见不同，最后只好和他分居，

so I left Pondicherry Lodge¹³, taking the old khitmutgar and Williams with me.

我带着一个印度仆人和威廉离开了樱沼别墅。

Yesterday, however, I learned that an event of extreme importance has occurred. The treasure has been discovered.

昨天我发觉了一件最重要的事情：宝物已经找到了。

I instantly communicated with Miss Morstan, and it only remains¹⁴ for us to drive out to Norwood and demand our share.

我才立刻和摩斯坦小姐取得了联系，现在只剩了咱们一起到诺伍德去向他追索咱们应得的一份宝物了，

I explained my views last night to Brother Bartholomew, so we shall be expected, if not welcome, visitors."

昨晚我已经把我的意见向我哥哥巴索洛谬说过了。也许咱们不是他所欢迎的客人，可是他同意在那里等着咱们。"

1 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 carafe   

n.玻璃水瓶

参考例句：

• She lifted the stopper from the carafe.她拔出玻璃酒瓶上的瓶塞。
• He ordered a carafe of wine.他要了一瓶葡萄酒。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 puffs   

n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• We sat exchanging puffs from that wild pipe of his. 我们坐在那里，轮番抽着他那支野里野气的烟斗。 来自辞典例句
• Puffs of steam and smoke came from the engine. 一股股蒸汽和烟雾从那火车头里冒出来。 来自辞典例句

6 delved   

v.深入探究，钻研( delve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She delved in her handbag for a pen. 她在手提包里翻找钢笔。
• He delved into the family archives looking for the facts. 他深入查考这个家族的家谱以寻找事实根据。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

10 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

11 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

12 scurvy   

adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病

参考例句：

• Vitamin C deficiency can ultimately lead to scurvy.缺乏维生素C最终能道致坏血病。
• That was a scurvy trick to play on an old lady.用那样的花招欺负一个老太太可真卑鄙。

13 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。