住院的病人18

“Well, it ended by their taking Blessington and hanging him. The matter was so  prearranged that it is my belief that they brought with them some sort of block  or pulley which might serve as a gallows¹. That screw-driver and those screws  were, as I conceive, for fixing it up. Seeing the hook, however they naturally  saved themselves the trouble. Having finished their work they made off, and the  door was barred behind them by their confederate.”

We had all listened with the deepest interest to this sketch² of the night's  doings, which Holmes had deduced from signs so subtle and minute that, even when  he had pointed³ them out to us, we could scarcely follow him in his reasoning.  The inspector⁴ hurried away on the instant to make inquiries⁵ about the page,  while Holmes and I returned to Baker⁶ Street for breakfast.

“I'll be back by three,” said he, when we had finished our meal. “Both the  inspector and the doctor will meet me here at that hour, and I hope by that time  to have cleared up any little obscurity which the case may still present.”

Our visitors arrived at the appointed time, but it was a quarter to four before  my friend put in an appearance. From his expression as he entered, however, I  could see that all had gone well with him.

“Any news, Inspector?”

“We have got the boy, sir.”

“Excellent, and I have got the men.”

“You have got them!” we cried, all three.

“Well, at least I have got their identity. This so-called Blessington is, as I  expected, well known at headquarters, and so are his assailants. Their names are  Biddle, Hayward, and Moffat.”

“The Worthingdon bank gang,” cried the inspector.

“Precisely,” said Holmes.

“Then Blessington must have been Sutton.”

“Exactly,” said Holmes.

“Why, that makes it as clear as crystal,” said the inspector.

But Trevelyan and I looked at each other in bewilderment.

“好，最后，他们就去抓布莱星顿，把他吊起来。这是他们早就安排好了的，因为我相信他 们随身带来了某种滑轮用作绞刑架。我想，那把螺丝起子和那些螺丝钉就是为了安装绞架滑 轮用的。然而，他们看到了吊钩，自然省了他们许多麻烦。他们干完以后，就逃跑了。他们 的同伙跟着就把门锁上了。”

我们全都以极大的兴趣倾听福尔摩斯讲述昨晚案件的概况，这都是他凭借细微的迹象推导出 来的，甚至当他给我们一一点明当时的情况时，我们还几乎跟不上他的思路。之后，警长急 忙跑去查找小听差，我和福尔摩斯则返回贝克街用早餐。

“我在三点钟回来，”福尔摩斯在我们吃过饭以后说道，“警长和医生要在那时到这里来见 我，我希望利用现在这段时间把这个案子里一些还不清楚的小问题查清楚。”

我们的客人在约定的时间来到了，可是我的朋友在三点三刻才露面。然而，他一进门，我从 他的表情上就能看出，一切进行得非常顺利。

“有什么消息吗？警长。”

“我们已经把那个仆人捉住了，先生。”

“太好了，我也找到那几个人了。”

“你找到他们了！”我们三个人一同喊道。

“对，至少我已经搞清了他们的底细。果不出我所料，那个所谓的布莱星顿和他的仇人，在 警察总署是出了名的。那三个人的名字是比德尔、海沃德和莫法特。”

“是抢劫沃辛顿银行的那一伙，”警长大声说道。

“正是他们，”福尔摩斯说道。

“那么，布莱星顿一定是萨顿了。”

“一点不错，”福尔摩斯说道。

“嗳，这就一清二楚了。”警长说道。

可是我和特里维廉却面面相觑，感到迷惑不解了。

1 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

5 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。