海军协定（11）

“It is of the utmost importance that you should notice this point. I went down the stairs and into the hall, where I found the commissionaire fast asleep in his box, with the kettle boiling furiously upon the spirit-lamp. I took off the kettle and blew out the lamp, for the water was spurting¹ over the floor. Then I put out my hand and was about to shake the man, who was still sleeping soundly, when a bell over his head rang loudly, and he woke with a start.

“‘Mr. Phelps, sir!’ said he, looking at me in bewilderment.

“‘I came down to see if my coffee was ready.’

“‘I was boiling the kettle when I fell asleep, sir.’ He looked at me and then up at the still quivering bell with an ever-growing astonishment² upon his face.

“‘If you was here, sir, then who rang the bell?’ he asked.

“‘The bell!’ I cried. ‘What bell is it?’

“‘It's the bell of the room you were working in.’

“A cold hand seemed to close round my heart. Some one, then, was in that room where my precious treaty lay upon the table. I ran frantically³ up the stair and along the passage. There was no one in the corridors, Mr. Holmes. There was no one in the room. All was exactly as I left it, save only that the papers which had been committed to my care had been taken from the desk on which they lay. The copy was there, and the original was gone.”

Holmes sat up in his chair and rubbed his hands. I could see that the problem was entirely⁴ to his heart. “Pray, what did you do then?” he murmured.

“请您注意，说到最重要的地方了。我走下楼梯，进入大厅，发现看门人正在门房里酣睡，咖啡壶在酒一精一灯上滚滚沸腾，咖啡都溢到地板上了，我拿下壶，灭掉酒一精一灯，伸手正要去摇醒那个仍在酣睡的人，突然间他头顶上铃声大振，他一下子就惊醒过来。

“‘费尔普斯先生！’他困惑不解地望着我说道。

“‘我来看看咖啡是不是煮好了。’

“‘我正在煮着，不觉就睡着了。先生，’他望着我，又抬头望着仍在颤一动着的电铃，脸上露出更加惊奇的神色。

“‘既然你在这里，先生，那么谁在按铃呢？’他问道。

“‘按铃！’我叫道，‘按什么铃？’

“‘这是在你办公房间按的电铃。’“我的心顿时象被一只冰冷的手揪住一样，这么说，是有人在我的办公室里了，而我那份千金难买的协定就放在桌子上。我发疯似地跑上楼梯奔向走廊，走廊里空无一人，福尔摩斯先生。屋内也没有人。一切都和我离开时一模一样，只是一交一我保管的那份文件原本，被人从我的桌上拿走了，只剩下抄本。”

福尔摩斯笔直地坐在椅上，一揉一搓一着双手。我看得出这件案子引起了他的兴趣。“请原谅，那时你怎么办了呢？”他低语道。

1 spurting   

（液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的现在分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺； 溅射

参考例句：

• Blood was spurting from her nose. 血从她鼻子里汩汩流出来。
• The volcano was spurting out rivers of molten lava. 火山喷涌着熔岩。

2 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

3 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。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。