孤身骑车人（9）（在线收听）

Next morning we had a note from Miss Smith, recounting  shortly and accurately the very incidents which I had  seen, but the pith of the letter lay in the postscript:

“I am sure that you will respect my confidence, Mr.  Holmes, when I tell you that my place here has become  difficult owing to the fact that my employer has  proposed marriage to me. I am convinced that his  feelings are most deep and most honourable. At the same  time my promise is, of course, given. He took my  refusal very seriously, but also very gently. You can  understand, however, that the situation is a little  strained.”

“Our young friend seems to be getting into deep  waters,” said Holmes, thoughtfully, as he finished the  letter. “The case certainly presents more features of  interest and more possibility of development than I had  originally thought. I should be none the worse for a  quiet, peaceful day in the country, and I am inclined  to run down this afternoon and test one or two theories  which I have formed.”

Holmes's quiet day in the country had a singular  termination, for he arrived at Baker Street late in the  evening with a cut lip and a discoloured lump upon his  forehead, besides a general air of dissipation which  would have made his own person the fitting object of a  Scotland Yard investigation. He was immensely tickled  by his own adventures, and laughed heartily as he  recounted them.

“I get so little active exercise that it is always a  treat,” said he. “You are aware that I have some  proficiency in the good old British sport of boxing.  Occasionally it is of service. To-day, for example, I  should have come to very ignominious grief without it. ”

I begged him to tell me what had occurred.

“I found that country pub which I had already  recommended to your notice, and there I made my  discreet inquiries. I was in the bar, and a garrulous  landlord was giving me all that I wanted. Williamson is  a white-bearded man, and he lives alone with a small  staff of servants at the Hall. There is some rumour  that he is or has been a clergyman; but one or two  incidents of his short residence at the Hall struck me  as peculiarly unecclesiastical. I have already made  some inquiries at a clerical agency, and they tell me  that there was a man of that name in orders whose  career has been a singularly dark one. The landlord  further informed me that there are usually week-end  visitors—‘a warm lot, sir’—at the Hall, and  especially one gentleman with a red moustache, Mr.  Woodley by name, who was always there. We had got as  far as this when who should walk in but the gentleman  himself, who had been drinking his beer in the tap-room  and had heard the whole conversation. Who was I? What  did I want? What did I mean by asking questions? He had  a fine flow of language, and his adjectives were very  vigorous. He ended a string of abuse by a vicious  back-hander which I failed to entirely avoid. The next  few minutes were delicious. It was a straight left  against a slogging ruffian. I emerged as you see me.  Mr. Woodley went home in a cart. So ended my country  trip, and it must be confessed that, however enjoyable,  my day on the Surrey border has not been much more  profitable than your own.”

第二天早晨，我们接到史密斯小一姐一封短信，简要而又准确地重述了我亲眼看到的那件事，可是信的主旨却留在附言中。

当我告诉你我在这里的处境已经变得很困难时，我相信你会考虑我所吐露的秘密，这是由于我的雇主已经向我求婚这样一个事实。我相信他的感情是十分深厚而且高尚的。这时，我当然把我已经订婚的事告诉了他。他把我的拒绝看得非常严重，但又十分和气。然而，你可以理解，我的处境是有些尴尬了。

“我们的年轻朋友看起来陷入了困境，"福尔摩斯看完信后，若有所思地说道，"这件案子肯定比我原来设想的有趣得多，发展的可能一性一也多得多。我还是应当到乡下去过一天安静太平日子，我打算今天下午就去，并且把我所形成的一两点想法检验一下。”

福尔摩斯在乡下度过的安静日子，结局是很奇特的，因为他晚间很晚才回到贝克街，嘴唇划破了，额头上还青肿了一大块，还有那种狼狈样子，好象是一个苏格兰场调查的对象。他对自己的历险感到非常高兴，一边讲述，一边出自内心地哈哈大笑。

“积极的锻炼总是有用的，可惜我锻炼的不多。"福尔摩斯说道，"你知道，我一精一通一些优秀的英国旧式拳击运动，并且偶尔用得上它，比如说，今天，要是没有这一手，那我就要遭到非常可耻的惨败了。”

我请他告诉我发生了什么事。

“我到了请你注意过的那个乡村酒店，在那里小心谨慎地进行调查。在酒吧间里，饶舌的店主把我所要知道的一切都告诉了我。威廉森是一个白一胡一子老头，他和少数几个仆人住在庄园里。传说他现在是或过去当过牧师，可是在庄园这段短时间，有一两件小事使我觉得他很不象牧师。我查询过一个牧师机构，他们告诉我，曾经有一个叫这名字的牧师，但他过去的行径极不光彩。那店主接着告诉我，庄园里每到周末总有一些来客——'是一伙下流坯，先生'——特别是一个蓄红一胡一子的人，名叫伍德利的，总少不了他。我们正谈到这里，那位伍德利先生竟然走了过来，他一直在酒吧间喝啤酒，把我们的话全都听去了。他问我是什么人？我要干什么？我问这些问题是什么意思？他口若悬河，修饰语满口都是。他最后谩骂了一通，凶恶地反手一击，我没有来得及躲避。后来的几分钟就很有趣了。我给那凶恶的暴徒一连串的打击。我就成了你看到的这种样子。伍德利先生乘车回去了。我这场乡村旅行也就这样告终了。必须承认，不管多么有趣，我这一天萨里边界之行并不比你的收获大。”