希腊翻译（6）

“The billiard-marker and the other?”

“Precisely. What do you make of the other?”

The two men had stopped opposite the window. Some chalk marks over the waistcoat pocket were the only signs of billiards¹ which I could see in one of them. The other was a very small, dark fellow, with his hat pushed back and several packages under his arm.

“An old soldier, I perceive,” said Sherlock.

“And very recently discharged,” remarked the brother.

“Served in India, I see.”

“And a non-commissioned officer.”

“Royal Artillery², I fancy,” said Sherlock.

“And a widower³.”

“But with a child.”

“Children, my dear boy, children.”

“Come,” said I, laughing, “this is a little too much.”

“Surely,” answered Holmes, “it is not hard to say that a man with that bearing, expression of authority, and sunbaked skin, is a soldier, is more than a private, and is not long from India.”

“That he has not left the service long is shown by his still wearing his ‘ammunition boots’, as they are called,” observed Mycroft.

“He had not the cavalry⁴ stride, yet he wore his hat on one side, as is shown by the lighter⁵ skin of that side of his brow. His weight is against his being a sapper. He is in the artillery.”

“你是说那弹子记分员和他身旁那个人吗？”

“不错，你怎样看那个人呢？”

这时那两个人在窗对面停下了。我可以看出，其中一个人的背心上有粉笔痕迹，那就是弹子戏的标志了。另一个瘦小黝一黑，帽子戴在后脑门上，腋下夹一着好几个小包。

“我看他是一个老兵，”歇洛克说道。

“并且是新近退伍的，”他哥哥说道。

“我看，他是在印度服役的。”

“是一个军士。”

“我猜，是皇家炮后队的。”歇洛克说道。

“是一个鳏夫。”

“不过有一个孩子。”

“有不止一个孩子，我亲一爱一的弟弟，有不止一个孩子呢。”

“得啦，”我笑着说道，“对我来说，这有点儿太玄乎了。”

“可以肯定，”歇洛克答道，“他有那么一种威武的神情，风吹日晒的皮肤，一望而知他是一个军人，而且不是一个普通的士兵；他最近刚从印度返回不久。”

“他刚退役不久还表现在他仍旧穿着那双他们所谓的炮兵靴子，”迈克罗夫特说道。

“他走路的姿态不象骑兵，但是他歪戴着帽子，这一点可以从他一侧眼眉上边皮肤较浅看出来。他的体重又不符合作一个工兵的要求。所以说他是炮兵。”

1 billiards   

n.台球

参考例句：

• John used to divert himself with billiards.约翰过去总打台球自娱。
• Billiards isn't popular in here.这里不流行台球。

2 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

3 widower   

n.鳏夫

参考例句：

• George was a widower with six young children.乔治是个带著六个小孩子的鳏夫。
• Having been a widower for many years,he finally decided to marry again.丧偶多年后，他终于决定二婚了。

4 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

5 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。