波希米亚丑闻 17乔装打扮(3)

"And what of Irene Adler?" I asked.

"艾琳·艾德勒的情况如何？"我问道。

"Oh, she has turned all the men's heads down in that part.

"噢，她使那一带所有的男人都拜倒在她的石榴裙下。

She is the daintiest thing under a bonnet¹ on this planet.

她是世界上最俏丽的佳人了。

So say the Serpentine-mews, to a man.

在塞彭泰恩大街马房，人人都是这么说的。

She lives quietly, sings at concerts, drives out at five every day, and returns at seven sharp for dinner.

她过着宁静的生活，在音乐会上演唱。每天五点钟出去，七点钟回家吃晚餐。

Seldom goes out at other times, except when she sings. Has only one male visitor, but a good deal of him.

她除了演唱外，其余时间则深居简出。她只与一个男人交往，而且过从甚密。

He is dark, handsome, and dashing, never calls less than once a day, and often twice.

他肤色黝黑，体态英俊，很有朝气。他每天至少来看她一回，经常是两回。

He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. See the advantages of a cabman as a confidant.

他是住在坦普尔的戈弗雷·诺顿先生。你懂一个作为心腹车夫的好处吗？

They had driven him home a dozen times from Serpentine-mews, and knew all about him.

这些马车夫为他赶车不下十几次，从塞彭泰恩大街马房送他回家，对他的事无不知晓。

When I had listened to all they had to tell,

我听完了他们所谈的一切之后，

I began to walk up and down near Briony Lodge² once more, and to think over my plan of campaign.

便开始再一次在布里翁尼府第附近漫步徘徊，思考我的行动方案。

This Godfrey Norton was evidently an important factor in the matter. He was a lawyer. That sounded ominous³.

这个戈弗雷·诺顿显然是这件事的关键性人物。他是一位律师。这听起来不大妙。

What was the relation between them, and what the object of his repeated visits?

他们两人之间是什么关系呢？他不断地来看她有什么目的？

Was she his client, his friend, or his mistress?

她是他的委托人，他的朋友，或者是他的情妇？

If the former, she had probably transferred the photograph to his keeping.

如果是他的委托人，她大概已经把照片交给他保存了。

If the latter, it was less likely.

如果是他的情妇，那就不大会那么做。

On the issue of this question depended whether I should continue my work at Briony Lodge,

这个问题的答案将决定我应当继续对布里翁尼府第的调查工作呢，

or turn my attention to the gentleman's chambers⁴ in the Temple.

还是把我的注意力转到那位先生在坦普尔的住宅方面。

It was a delicate point, and it widened the field of my inquiry⁵.

这是必须加以小心从事的要点所在，这就扩大了我调查的范围。

I fear that I bore you with these details, but I have to let you see my little difficulties, if you are to understand the situation."

我担心这些琐琐碎碎的细节会使你感觉厌烦，但是我必须让你看到我的一点困难，如果你要想了解情况的话。"

1 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

2 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。

3 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。