马斯格雷夫礼典19（在线收听）

“‘Ah, that is a question that will take some time to answer.’ And with that I  sketched out to him the whole long chain of surmise and of proof which I had  constructed. The twilight had closed in and the moon was shining brightly in the  sky before my narrative was finished.

“‘And how was it then that Charles did not get his crown when he returned?’  asked Musgrave, pushing back the relic into its linen bag.

“‘Ah, there you lay your finger upon the one point which we shall probably  never be able to clear up. It is likely that the Musgrave who held the secret  died in the interval, and by some oversight left this guide to his descendant  without explaining the meaning of it. From that day to this it has been handed  down from father to son, until at last it came within reach of a man who tore  its secret out of it and lost his life in the venture.’

“And that's the story of the Musgrave Ritual, Watson. They have the crown down  at Hurlstone—though they had some legal bother and a considerable sum to pay  before they were allowed to retain it. I am sure that if you mentioned my name  they would be happy to show it to you. Of the woman nothing was ever heard, and  the probability is that she got away out of England and carried herself and the  memory of her crime to some land beyond the seas.”

“‘啊，这个问题就需要花费一些时间来回答了。’说着，我把我所作的推测和论证从头到 尾地对他说了一遍，直到夜色朦胧，皓月当空，我才把那故事讲完。

“‘那为什么查理二世回国后，不来取王冠呢？’马斯格雷夫把遗物放回亚麻布袋，问道。

“‘啊，你准确地指示了我们也许永远也不能解决的一个问题。可能是掌握这个秘密的马斯 格雷夫在此时去世，而出于疏忽，他把这个做指南用的礼典传给后人而没有说明其含义。从 那时到今天，这个礼典世代相传，直到终于出了一个人，他揭开了秘密，并在冒险中丧生。 ’

“这就是马斯格雷夫礼典的故事，华生。那王冠就留在赫尔斯通——不过，他们在法律上经 过一番周折，又付了一大笔钱才把王冠留下来。我相信，只要你一提我的名字，他们就会把 王冠拿给你看。而那个女人，一直是音讯全无，很可能她离开英国，带着犯罪的记忆逃亡国 外去了。”