海军协定（23）

“Oh, if you find your own cases more interesting than mine—” said Holmes, with some asperity¹.

“I was going to say that my practice could get along very well for a day or two, since it is the slackest time in the year.”

“Excellent,” said he, recovering his good-humor. “Then we'll look into this matter together. I think that we should begin by seeing Forbes. He can probably tell us all the details we want until we know from what side the case is to be approached.”

“You said you had a clue?”

“Well, we have several, but we can only test their value by further inquiry². The most difficult crime to track is the one which is purposeless. Now this is not purposeless. Who is it who profits by it? There is the French ambassador, there is the Russian, there is who-ever might sell it to either of these, and there is Lord Holdhurst.”

“Lord Holdhurst!”

“Well, it is just conceivable that a statesman might find himself in a position where he was not sorry to have such a document accidentally destroyed.”

“Not a statesman with the honorable record of Lord Holdhurst?”

“It is a possibility and we cannot afford to disregard it. We shall see the noble lord to-day and find out if he can tell us anything. Meanwhile I have already set inquiries³ on foot.”

“Already?”

“Yes, I sent wires from Woking station to every evening paper in London. This advertisement will appear in each of them.”

He handed over a sheet torn from a note-book. On it was scribbled⁴ in pencil:

“￡10 reward. The number of the cab which dropped a fare at or about the door of the Foreign Office in Charles Street at quarter to ten in the evening of May 23d. Apply 221b, Baker⁵ Street.”

“啊，若是你觉得你的那些业务比我这案件更重要……”

福尔摩斯有些尖刻地说道。

“我是想说我的医务不妨耽搁一两天，因为这是一年里最清淡的时候。”

“太好了，”福尔摩斯说道，他又恢复了高兴的心情，“那我们就一起来研究这件案子吧。我想应该从访问福布斯入手。

他大概能讲出我们所要的一切细节，然后我们就知道，从哪一方面来破案。”

“你是说，你已经有线索了？”

“对，我们已经有几个线索了，不过只有经过进一步调查，才能检验它的价值。没有犯罪动机的案件是最难查办的。但这件案子并非没有犯罪动机。什么人能从中得到好处呢？法国大使、俄国大使、那位可以把该协定出卖给其中一个大使的人、还有霍尔德赫斯特勋爵。”

“霍尔德赫斯特勋爵！”

“对，可以想象一个政治家出于需要，可以毫不后悔地借机销毁这样一份文件。”

“霍尔德赫斯特勋爵不是一个有光荣履历的内阁大臣吗？”

“这是可能的，我们也不能忽视这一点。我们今天就去拜访这位高贵的勋爵，看看他能不能告诉我们一些情况，同时，我已经在进行调查了。”

“已经进行了？”

“对，我从沃金车站给伦敦各家晚报都发了一份电报。每家晚报都将刊登这样一份广告。”

福尔摩斯一交一给我一张纸，这纸是从日记本上撕下来的，上面用铅笔写着：

五月二十三日晚九点三刻，在查尔斯街外一交一部门口或附近，从一辆马车上下来一位乘客，知者请将马车号码告知贝克街２２！”号乙，赏金十镑。

1 asperity   

n.粗鲁，艰苦

参考例句：

• He spoke to the boy with asperity.他严厉地对那男孩讲话。
• The asperity of the winter had everybody yearning for spring.严冬之苦让每个人都渴望春天。

2 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。

3 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》

4 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

5 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。