四签名 27樱沼别墅的惨案（2）

Inside, a gravel¹ path wound through desolate² grounds to a huge clump³ of a house, square and prosaic⁴,

进门就是一条铺石子的小路，曲折穿过一块荒凉的空地，直通到隐在丛树里的一所外形方整而构造平常的大房子

all plunged⁵ in shadow save where a moonbeam struck one corner and glimmered⁶ in a garret window.

。枝叶遮蔽得异常阴森，只有一缕月光照到房子的一角，照在顶楼上面的窗上。

The vast size of the building, with its gloom and its deathly silence, struck a chill to the heart.

这样大的房子，阴惨沉寂到使人不寒而栗，

Even Thaddeus Sholto seemed ill at ease, and the lantern quivered and rattled⁷ in his hand.

就连塞笛厄斯·舒尔托也有些局促不安起来，所提的灯在他手里颤动得发出了响声。

"I cannot understand it," he said. "There must be some mistake.

他道："我实在不明白，这里一定出了事。

I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here, and yet there is no light in his window.

我明明告诉过巴索洛谬，咱们今天晚上来，可是他的窗户连灯亮都没有。

I do not know what to make of it."

我真不懂这是怎么一回事！"

"Does he always guard the premises⁸ in this way?" asked Holmes.

福尔摩斯问道："他平日就这样地戒备吗？"

"Yes; he has followed my father's custom.

"是的，他沿袭了我父亲的习惯。

He was the favourite son you know, and I sometimes think that my father may have told him more than he ever told me.

您知道，他是我父亲的爱子，我有时还想，我父亲告诉他的话比告诉我的多。

That is Bartholomew's window up there where the moonshine strikes.

那被月光照着的就是巴索洛谬的窗户。

It is quite bright, but there is no light from within, I think."

窗户被月光照得很亮，可是我想里边没有灯光。"

"None," said Holmes. "But I see the glint of a light in that little window beside the door."

福尔摩斯道："里边是没有灯光，可是在门旁那个小窗里有闪亮的灯光。"

"Ah, that is the housekeeper's room. That is where old Mrs. Bernstone sits. She can tell us all about it.

"啊，那是女管家的房间。那就是博恩斯通老太太屋的灯光。她会把一切情况告诉咱们。

But perhaps you would not mind waiting here for a minute or two,

请你们在此稍候一下，

for if we all go in together, and she has had no word of our coming, she may be alarmed.

因为她事先不知道，如果咱们一同进去，也许她会觉得奇怪。

But, hush⁹! what is that?"

可是，嘘！那是什么？"

He held up the lantern, and his hand shook until the circles of light flickered¹⁰ and wavered all round us.

他把灯高高举起，手抖得使灯光摇摇不定。

Miss Morstan seized my wrist, and we all stood, with thumping¹¹ hearts, straining our ears.

摩斯坦小姐紧握着我的手腕，我们极其紧张地站在那里，心跳得普通普通地侧耳倾听着。

From the great black house there sounded through the silent night

深夜里，从这所巨大漆黑的房子里

the saddest and most pitiful of sounds--the shrill¹², broken whimpering of a frightened woman.

不断地发出一阵阵凄惨恐怖的女人喊叫的声音。

"It is Mrs. Bernstone," said Sholto. "She is the only woman in the house.

塞笛厄斯说道："这是博恩斯通太太的声音，这所房子里只有她一个女人。

Wait here. I shall be back in a moment."

请等在这里，我马上就回来。"

He hurried for the door and knocked in his peculiar¹³ way.

他赶紧跑到门前，用他习惯的方法敲了两下。

We could see a tall old woman admit him and sway with pleasure at the very sight of him.

我们看见有一个身材高高的妇人，好象见了亲人一般地请他进去了。

"Oh, Mr. Thaddeus, sir, I am so glad you have come!

"哦，塞笛厄斯先生，您来得太好啦！

I am so glad you have come, Mr. Thaddeus, sir!"

您来得太巧啦！哦，塞笛厄斯先生！"

We heard her reiterated¹⁴ rejoicings until the door was closed and her voice died away into a muffled¹⁵ monotone.

这些喜出望外的话，一直等到门关上以后，还能隐约听到。

1 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

2 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

3 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

4 prosaic   

adj.单调的，无趣的

参考例句：

• The truth is more prosaic.真相更加乏味。
• It was a prosaic description of the scene.这是对场景没有想象力的一个描述。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 glimmered   

v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray." 她胸前绣着的字母闪着的非凡的光辉，将温暖舒适带给他人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The moon glimmered faintly through the mists. 月亮透过薄雾洒下微光。 来自辞典例句

7 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

8 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

9 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

10 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

11 thumping   

adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持

参考例句：

• Her heart was thumping with emotion. 她激动得心怦怦直跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was thumping the keys of the piano. 他用力弹钢琴。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

13 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

14 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

15 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》