巴斯克威尔的猎犬 三条断了的线索（14）

 

Never have I seen my friend more completely taken aback than by the cabman's reply. For aninstant he sat in silent amazement¹. Then he burst into a hearty² laugh.

我从来没有看到过我的朋友象听到马车夫的话时那样地大吃一惊。刹时间他惊愕得坐在那里一言不发。 然后， 他又纵声大笑起来。

"A touch, Watson -- an undeniable touch!" said he. "I feel a foil as quick and supple³ as myown. He got home upon me very prettily⁴ that time. So his name was Sherlock Holmes, was it?"“妙啊， 华生， 真是妙极了，” 他说，“我觉得他真是个和我一样迅速、 机敏的人。 上次他可把我搞得真够瞧的——他的姓名就是歇洛克· 福尔摩斯， 是吗？ ”

"Yes, sir, that was the gentleman's name."

“是的， 先生， 这就是那位绅士的姓名。”

"Excellent! Tell me where you picked him up and all that occurred."“太好了！ 告诉我他在什么地方搭上了你的车和那以后的事吧。”

"He hailed me at half-past nine in Trafalgar Square. He said that he was a detective, and heoffered me two guineas if I would do exactly what he wanted all day and ask no questions. I wasglad enough to agree. First we drove down to the Northumberland Hotel and waited there untiltwo gentlemen came out and took a cab from the rank. We followed their cab until it pulled upsomewhere near here."

“九点半的时候， 他在特莱弗嘎广场叫了我的车， 他说他是个侦探， 并说如果我能整天绝对地服从他的指示而不提出任何问题的话， 他就给我两个金镑。 我很高兴地同意了。 我们首先赶到诺桑勃兰旅馆， 在那里一直等到两位绅士出来并雇上了马车。 我们尾随着他们的马车， 直到停在这里附近为止。”

"This very door," said Holmes.

“就是这个大门。” 福尔摩斯说道。

"Well, I couldn't be sure of that, but I dare say my fare knew all about it. We pulled uphalfway down the street and waited an hour and a half. Then the two gentlemen passed us,walking, and we followed down Baker⁵ Street and along --"“啊， 这一点我不能肯定。 可是， 我敢说我的乘客什么都知道。 我们停在街上等了一小时半。 后来有两位绅士由我们旁边步行过去， 我们就顺着贝克街跟踪下去， 并沿着……”

"I know," said Holmes.

福尔摩斯插言道： “这我知道了。”

1 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

2 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

3 supple   

adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺

参考例句：

• She gets along well with people because of her supple nature.她与大家相处很好，因为她的天性柔和。
• He admired the graceful and supple movements of the dancers.他赞扬了舞蹈演员优雅灵巧的舞姿。

4 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

5 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。