海军协定（27）

“Where are we going to now?” I asked, as we left the office.

“We are now going to interview Lord Holdhurst, the cabinet minister and future premier¹ of England.”

We were fortunate in finding that Lord Holdhurst was still in his chambers² in Downing Street, and on Holmes sending in his card we were instantly shown up. The statesman received us with that old-fashioned courtesy for which he is remarkable³, and seated us on the two luxuriant lounges on either side of the fireplace. Standing⁴ on the rug between us, with his slight, tall figure, his sharp features, thoughtful face, and curling hair prematurely⁵ tinged⁶ with gray, he seemed to represent that not too common type, a nobleman who is in truth noble.

“Your name is very familiar to me, Mr. Holmes,” said he, smiling. “And, of course, I cannot pretend to be ignorant of the object of your visit. There has only been one occurrence in these offices which could call for your attention. In whose interest are you acting⁷, may I ask?”

“In that of Mr. Percy Phelps,” answered Holmes.

“Ah, my unfortunate nephew! You can understand that our kinship makes it the more impossible for me to screen him in any way. I fear that the incident must have a very prejudicial effect upon his career.”

“But if the document is found?”

“Ah, that, of course, would be different.”

“I had one or two questions which I wished to ask you, Lord Holdhurst.”

“I shall be happy to give you any information in my power.”

“Was it in this room that you gave your instructions as to the copying of the document?”

“It was.”

“Then you could hardly have been overheard?”

“It is out of the question.”

“Did you ever mention to any one that it was your intention to give any one the treaty to be copied?”

“Never.”

“You are certain of that?”

“Absolutely.”

“我们现在到哪里去呢？”我们离开警厅时，我问他。

“去走访霍尔德赫斯特勋爵，这位内阁大臣和未来的英国总理。”

很幸运，我们赶到唐宁街时，霍尔德赫斯特勋爵还在办公室。福尔摩斯递进名片，我们立即被召见了。这位内阁大臣按旧式礼节接待了我们，把我们让到放在壁炉两旁豪华的安乐椅上，他站在我们中间的地毯上。此人身材修长、削瘦，轮廓分明，面容亲切，卷曲的头发过早地变成灰白色，显得异常气宇不凡，果然是一位显贵的贵族。

“久闻你的大名，福尔摩斯先生，”他满面笑容地说道，“当然，我不能对你们的来意装做不知。因为本部仅有一件事能引起你的关注。可否问问你是受谁委托前来办理这件案子的？”

“受珀西-费尔普斯先生之托，”福尔摩斯答道。

“啊，我那不幸的外甥！你当然明白，由于我们有亲属关系，我不能对他有丝毫包庇。我担心这件意外事故对他的前途非常不利。”

“可是如果找到这份文件呢？”

“啊，那当然就是另一回事了。”

“我有一两个问题想问问你，霍尔德赫斯特勋爵。”

“我很高兴尽我所知奉告。”

“你就是在这间办公室里吩咐抄写文件的吗？”

“是这样。”

“就是说你们的谈话很难被偷一听吧？”

“毫无偷一听的可能。”

“你是否对任何人提到过，你打算叫人抄写这份协定？”

“从来没有。”

“你肯定这点吗？”

“绝对肯定。”

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

6 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。