四签名 81凶手的末日（14）

The fugitive¹ sprang out, but his stump² instantly sank its whole length into the sodden³ soil.

那匪徒跳到了岸上，可是他那只木腿整个陷入泥中。

In vain he struggled and writhed⁴. Not one step could he possibly take either forward or backward.

他用力挣扎，可是连一步也进退不得。

He yelled in impotent rage and kicked frantically⁵ into the mud with his other foot,

他狂喊乱叫地跳动着左脚，

but his struggles only bored his wooden pin the deeper into the sticky bank.

可是那木腿却在泥里愈陷愈深。

When we brought our launch alongside he was so firmly anchored

等我们把船靠了岸，他已经被钉在那里寸步难行了。

that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders

我们从船上扔一条绳子过去套住了他的肩膀，

that we were able to haul him out and to drag him, like some evil fish, over our side.

才把他好似拉鱼似地拖上了船。

The two Smiths, father and son, sat sullenly⁶ in their launch but came aboard meekly⁷ enough when commanded.

斯密司父子二人愁眉苦脸地坐在船上，听了我们的命令，方才无可奈何地走到这边船上来。

The Aurora⁸ herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern.

曙光号被我们拖住，很快就来到了我们的船尾。

A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood upon the deck.

一只印度精制的铁箱，摆在那只船甲板上边，

This, there could be no question, was the same that had contained the ill-omened treasure of the Sholtos.

不用问就知道是使舒尔托遭祸的宝箱。

There was no key, but it was of considerable weight, so we transferred it carefully to our own little cabin.

箱上没有钥匙，非常沉重，我们小心地把它搬到我们的舱里。

As we steamed slowly upstream again, we flashed our searchlight in every direction, but there was no sign of the Islander.

当我们慢慢地向上游回驶时，我们不断地用探照灯向河水四面映照，可是那黑人早已踪影不见，

Somewhere in the dark ooze⁹ at the bottom of the Thames lie the bones of that strange visitor to our shores.

想必这位奇怪的访客已葬身在泰晤士河底黑暗中的某处了。

"See here," said Holmes, pointing to the wooden hatchway. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols."

福尔摩斯指着舱口说道："看这里，我们的枪几乎打晚了。"

There, sure enough, just behind where we had been standing¹⁰, stuck one of those murderous darts¹¹ which we knew so well.

确实，靠着我们先前站的地方的后面插着一支毒刺，

It must have whizzed between us at the instant we fired.

大约就是在我们放枪的时候射来的。

Holmes smiled at it and shrugged¹² his shoulders in his easy fashion,

福尔摩斯对着毒刺仍象平时那样地耸耸肩微微地一笑，

but I confess that it turned me sick to think of the horrible death which had passed so close to us that night.

可是我每回想到那天晚上危在须臾的情况，仍不免十分惊悸。

1 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

2 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

3 sodden   

adj.浑身湿透的；v.使浸透；使呆头呆脑

参考例句：

• We stripped off our sodden clothes.我们扒下了湿透的衣服。
• The cardboard was sodden and fell apart in his hands.纸板潮得都发酥了，手一捏就碎。

4 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

5 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

6 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。

7 meekly   

adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地

参考例句：

• He stood aside meekly when the new policy was proposed. 当有人提出新政策时，他唯唯诺诺地站 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He meekly accepted the rebuke. 他顺从地接受了批评。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

9 ooze   

n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露

参考例句：

• Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
• Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 darts   

n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• His darts trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece. 他将掷镖奖杯放在壁炉顶上最显著的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I never saw so many darts in a bodice! 我从没见过紧身胸衣上纳了这么多的缝褶！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》