四签名 45木桶的插曲（7）

"But this is mere¹ speculation," said I.

我道："这个不过是揣测罢了。"

"It is more than that. It is the only hypothesis which covers the facts.

"并不尽然。这不仅仅是揣测，而是唯一合乎实情的假设。

Let us see how it fits in with the sequel.

咱们且看一看这些假设和后来的事实如何地吻合吧。

Major Sholto remains² at peace for some years, happy in the possession of his treasure.

舒尔托少校携带宝物回国后，曾安居了几年，

Then he receives a letter from India which gives him a great fright. What was that?"

可是有一天接到了印度寄来的一封信，就使他惊骇失措，这又是为了什么呢？"

"A letter to say that the men whom he had wronged had been set free."

"信上说：被他欺骗的囚犯们已经刑满出狱了。""

"Or had escaped. That is much more likely, for he would have known what their term of imprisonment³ was.

与其说是刑满出狱，不如说是越狱逃出比较合理，因为舒尔托少校知道他们的刑期。

It would not have been a surprise to him. What does he do then?

如果是刑满出狱，他就不会惊慌失措了。他那时采取了什么措施呢？

He guards himself against a wooden-legged man–a white man, mark you,

他对装木腿的人格外戒备。装木腿的是一个白种人，

for he mistakes a white tradesman for him and actually fires a pistol at him.

因为他曾开枪误伤了一个装木腿的英国商人。

Now, only one white man's name is on the chart.

在图上只有一个白种人的名字，

The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans. There is no other white man.

其余的全是印度人或回教徒的姓名，

Therefore we may say with confidence that the wooden-legged man is identical with Jonathan Small.

所以咱们就可以知道这个装木腿的人就是琼诺赞·斯茂了。

Does the reasoning strike you as being faulty?"

你看这些理论是否有些主观？"

"No: it is clear and concise⁴."

"不然，很清楚，而且扼要。"

"Well, now, let us put ourselves in the place of Jonathan Small. Let us look at it from his point of view.

"好吧，现在咱们设身处地地站在琼诺赞·斯茂的立场上来分析一下事实吧。

He comes to England with the double idea of regaining⁵

他回到英国有两个目的：

what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him.

一个是为了获得他应得的一份宝物，一个是向欺骗了他的人报仇。

He found out where Sholto lived, and very possibly he established communications with someone inside the house.

他找到了舒尔托的住处，还极有可能买通了他家里的一个人。

There is this butler, Lal Rao, whom we have not seen.

有一个叫拉尔·拉奥的仆人，咱们没有见过，

Mrs. Bernstone gives him far from a good character.

博恩斯通太太说他的言行恶劣。

Small could not find out, however, where the treasure was hid,

斯茂没有找到藏宝物的地方，

for no one ever knew save the major and one faithful servant who had died.

因为除了少校自己和一个已死的忠实仆人以外，别人都不知道。

Suddenly Small learns that the major is on his deathbed.

这一天，斯茂忽然听说少校病危，

In a frenzy⁶ lest the secret of the treasure die with him,

他恐怕藏宝的秘密将要和少校的尸体一同埋入黄土，

he runs the gauntlet of the guards, makes his way to the dying man's window,

所以盛怒之下，他冒着被守卫抓住的危险，跑到垂死的人的窗前。

and is only deterred⁷ from entering by the presence of his two sons.

又因为少校的两个儿子正在床前，所以没有能够进入屋里。

Mad with hate, however, against the dead man, he enters the room that night,

他对死者怀恨在心，当天晚上又重新进入屋里，

searches his private papers in the hope of discovering some memorandum⁸ relating to the treasure,

翻动文件，希望得到藏宝的线索。

and finally leaves a memento⁹ of his visit in the short inscription¹⁰ upon the card.

在失望之下，留了一张写着四个签名的纸条作为表记。

He had doubtless planned beforehand that, should he slay¹¹ the major,

在他预作计划的时候，

he would leave some such record upon the body as a sign that it was not a common murder but,

无疑是准备把少校杀死后在尸旁留一个同样的表记，表示这并不是一件普通的谋杀，

from the point of view of the four associates, something in the nature of an act of justice.

而是为了正义替同伴们报仇。

Whimsical and bizarre conceits¹² of this kind are common enough in the annals of crime

象这样稀奇古怪的办法是常见的，

and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. Do you follow all this?"

有时还可以指明凶犯的一些情况。这些你全都领会了吗？"

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 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。

3 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

4 concise   

adj.简洁的，简明的

参考例句：

• The explanation in this dictionary is concise and to the point.这部词典里的释义简明扼要。
• I gave a concise answer about this.我对于此事给了一个简要的答复。

5 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

6 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

7 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

8 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

9 memento   

n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西

参考例句：

• The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
• My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

10 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

11 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

12 conceits   

高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻

参考例句：

• He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours. 他记下了闲暇时想到的一些看法。
• The most grotesque fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. 夜晚躺在床上的时候，各种离奇怪诞的幻想纷至沓来。