海军协定（21）（在线收听）

“Do you see any clue?”

“You have furnished me with seven, but, of course, I must test them before I can pronounce upon their value.”

“You suspect some one?”

“I suspect myself.”

“What!”

“Of coming to conclusions too rapidly.”

“Then go to London and test your conclusions.”

“Your advice is very excellent, Miss Harrison,” said Holmes, rising. “I think, Watson, we cannot do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes, Mr. Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one.”

“I shall be in a fever until I see you again,” cried the diplomatist.

“Well, I'll come out by the same train to-morrow, though it's more than likely that my report will be a negative one.”

“God bless you for promising to come,” cried our client. “It gives me fresh life to know that something is being done. By the way, I have had a letter from Lord Holdhurst.”

“Ha! What did he say?”

“He was cold, but not harsh. I dare say my severe illness prevented him from being that. He repeated that the matter was of the utmost importance, and added that no steps would be taken about my future—by which he means, of course, my dismissal—until my health was restored and I had an opportunity of repairing my misfortune.”

“Well, that was reasonable and considerate,” said Holmes. “Come, Watson, for we have a good day's work before us in town.”

“你看出什么线索了吗？”

“你已经给我提供了七个线索，不过我当然必须先检验一番，才能断定它们的价值。”

“你怀疑哪一个人吗？”

“我怀疑我自己。”

“什么？！”

“怀疑我的结论做得太快。”

“那就回伦敦去检验你的结论吧。”

“你的建议非常妙，哈里森小一姐，”福尔摩斯站起身来说道，“我想，华生，我们不能再有更好的办法了。费尔普斯先生，你不要抱过高的奢望。这件事是非常扑朔迷一离的。”

“我焦急万分地等着再和你见面。”这位外一交一人员大声说道。

“好，虽然未必能带给你什么好消息，明天我还是乘这班车来看你。”

“愿上帝保佑你成功，”我们的委托人高声叫道，“我知道正在采取措施，这就给了我新生的力量。顺便说一下，我接到霍尔德赫斯特勋爵的一封信。”

“啊！他说了些什么？”

“他表示冷淡，但并不严厉。我断定是因为我重病在身他才没有苛责我。他反复说事关绝密，又说除非我恢复了健康，有机会补救我的过失，我的前程——当然他是指我被革职——是无法挽回的。”

“啊，这是合情合理而又考虑周到的，”福尔摩斯说道，“走啊，华生，我们在城里还有一整天的工作要做呢。”