证券经纪人的书记员13（在线收听）

“It is no use our being at all before our time,” said our client. “He only comes there to see me, apparently, for the place is deserted up to the very hour he names.”

“That is suggestive,” remarked Holmes.

“By Jove, I told you so!” cried the clerk. “That’s he walking ahead of us there.”

He pointed to a smallish, dark, well-dressed man who was bustling along the other side of the road. As we watched him he looked across at a boy who was bawling out the latest edition of the evening paper, and, running over among the cabs and busses, he bought one from him. Then, clutching it in his hand, he vanished through a doorway.

“There he goes!” cried Hall Pycroft. “These are the company’s offices into which he has gone. Come with me, and I’ll fix it up as easily as possible.”

Following his lead, we ascended five stories, until we found ourselves outside a half-opened door, at which our client tapped. A voice within bade us enter, and we entered a bare, unfurnished room such as Hall Pycroft had described. At the single table sat the man whom we had seen in the street, with his evening paper spread out in front of him, and as he looked up at us it seemed to me that I had never looked upon a face which bore such marks of grief, and of something beyond grief — of a horror such as comes to few men in a lifetime. His brow glistened with perspiration, his cheeks were of the dull, dead white of a fish’s belly, and his eyes were wild and staring. He looked at his clerk as though he failed to recognize him, and I could see by the astonishment depicted upon our conductor’s face that this was by no means the usual appearance of his employer.

“You look ill, Mr. Pinner!” he exclaimed.

“我们早来一点也没有用，”我们的委托人说道，“显而易见的是，他只是到这里来会我，因为除了他指定的那个时间以外，这个房间是空无一人的。”

“这倒是引人深思的，”福尔摩斯说。

“啊，听我说！”这位书记叫喊道，”在我们前面走的就是他啊。”

他指向一个矮小身材、黑黑的、衣服整洁的人，这个人正在街那边慌忙奔走着。我们见到他时，他看到街对过一个叫卖晚报的小孩，就在马车和公共汽车之间穿街而过，向那个孩子买了一份晚报，然后，拿在手中，走进门去。

“他到那里去了！”霍尔-派克罗夫特喊道，”他进去的就是那家公司的办公室。随我来，我尽可能把事情安排得容易些。”

我们跟在他后面爬上五层楼，来到一间门半开半掩的房间前，我们的委托人轻轻敲了敲门，里面有一个声音叫我们进去。我们走进一个空荡荡的没有摆设的屋子，正象霍尔-派克罗夫特介绍过的一样。我们在街上见到的那个人正坐在仅有的一张桌子旁边，面前放着那张晚报。在他抬头看我们时，我好象觉得，我还从来没见过一张面孔其表情是那样的悲痛，岂止是悲痛，简直是象在生死关头那种极端恐怖的样子。他的额角上冒着汗珠，面颊象鱼肚子一样的死白，双眼瞪得大大的，死死地盯着他的书记员，好象不认识他一样，我从我们向导脸上惊异的表情可以看出，这决不是他东家平时的表情。

“你脸色不好！平纳先生，”霍尔说道。