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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
“‘I must see that paper, Musgrave,’ said I, ‘which this butler of your thought it worth his while to consult, even at the risk of the loss of his place.’“‘It is rather an absurd business, this ritual of ours,’ he answered. ‘But it has at least the saving grace of antiquity1 to excuse it. I have a copy of the questions and answers here if you care to run your eye over them.’
“He handed me the very paper which I have here, Watson, and this is the strange catechism to which each Musgrave had to submit when he came to man's estate. I will read you the questions and answers as they stand.
“‘Whose was it?’
“‘His who is gone.’
“‘Who shall have it?’
“‘He who will come.’
“‘What was the month?’
“‘The sixth from the first.’
“‘Where was the sun?’
“‘Over the oak.’
“‘Where was the shadow?’
“‘Under the elm.’
“‘How was it stepped?’
“‘North by ten and by ten, east by five and by five, south by two and by two, west by one and by one, and so under.’
“‘What shall we give for it?’
“‘All that is ours.’
“‘Why should we give it?’
“‘For the sake of the trust.’
“‘The original has no date, but is in the spelling of the middle of the seventeenth century,’ remarked Musgrave. ‘I am afraid, however, that it can be of little help to you in solving this mystery.’
“‘At least,’ said I, ‘it gives us another mystery, and one which is even more interesting than the first. It may be that the solution of the one may prove to be the solution of the other. You will excuse me, Musgrave, if I say that your butler appears to me to have been a very clever man, and to have had a clearer insight that ten generations of his masters.’
“‘I hardly follow you,’ said Musgrave. ‘The paper seems to me to be of no practical importance.’
“‘But to me it seems immensely practical, and I fancy that Brunton took the same view. He had probably seen it before that night on which you caught him.’
“‘It is very possible. We took no pains to hide it.’
“‘He simply wished, I should imagine, to refresh his memory upon that last occasion. He had, as I understand, some sort of map or chart which he was comparing with the manuscript, and which he thrust into his pocket when you appeared.’
“‘That is true. But what could he have to do with this old family custom of ours, and what does this rigmarole mean?’
“‘I don't think that we should have much difficulty in determining that,’ said I; ‘with your permission we will take the first train down to Sussex, and go a little more deeply into the matter upon the spot.’
“我说道：‘我必须看看那份文件，马斯格雷夫，你的管家认为值得冒丢掉职业的危险一读 的那一份。’
“‘我们家族的礼典是件非常荒唐的东西。’马斯格雷夫回答道，‘不过由于它是古人留下 的，至少还有些可取之处。如果你愿意过目的话，我有这份礼典问答词的抄件。’
“华生，马斯格雷夫就把我现在拿着的这份文件递给了我，这就是马斯格雷夫家族中每个成 年人都必须服从的奇怪的教义问答手册。请听问答词的原文。
“‘它是谁的？’
“‘是那个走了的人的。’
“‘谁应该得到它？’
“‘那个即将来到的人。’
“‘太一陽一在哪里？’
“‘在橡树上面。’
“‘一陰一影在哪里？’
“‘在榆树下面。’
“‘怎样测到它？’
“‘向北十步又十步，向东五步又五步，向南两步又两步，向西一步又一步，就在下面。’
“‘我们该拿什么去换取它？’
“‘我们所有的一切。’
“‘为什么我们该拿出去呢？’
“‘因为要守信。’
“‘原件没有署日期，但是，文字用的是十七纪纪中叶的拼写法。’马斯格雷夫说道，‘不 过，我怕这对你解决疑案没有多大帮助。’
“‘至少，’我说道，‘它给了我们另外一个不可解的谜，而且比原来的谜更有趣味。很可 能是解了这个谜，也就解了那个谜。请原谅，马斯格雷夫，据我看来，你的管家似乎是一个 非常聪明的人，并且比他主人家十代人都头脑清楚。’
“‘我很难领会你的意思，’马斯格雷夫说道，‘我好象觉得这份文件没有什么实际重要意 义。’
“‘不过我觉得这份文件大有实际重要意义，我想布伦顿和我的见解一致，他可能在那天夜 里你抓住他以前早已看过这份文件了。’
“‘这是很可能的。我们从来也没费神珍藏它。’
“‘据我推测，他最后这一次不过是想记住它的内容罢了。我知道，他正用各种地图和草图 和原稿对照，你一进来，他就慌忙把那些图塞一进衣袋。’
“‘的确是这样。不过他和我们家族的这种旧一习一俗有什么关系呢？而这个无聊的家礼又 有什么意义呢？’
“‘我不认为查明这个问题会有很大困难，’我说道，‘如果你同意，我们可以乘首班火车 去苏塞克斯，在现场把这事深入调查一下。’
收听单词发音 |
1
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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