福爾摩斯探案集·血字的研究 第87期:案情回顧(9)

"'It was not I who killed her father,' he cried.

他叫道：'殺死她父親的并不是我。'

"'But it was you who broke her innocent heart,' I shrieked, thrusting the box before him.

"'但是，是你粉碎了她那顆純潔的心！'我厲聲喝道，一面把毒藥盒子送到他的面前，

'Let the high God judge between us. Choose and eat.

'讓上帝給咱們裁決吧。揀一粒吃下去。

There is death in one and life in the other.

一?？梢灾滤?，一?？梢垣@生。

I shall take what you leave.

你揀剩下的一粒我吃。

Let us see if there is justice upon the earth, or if we are ruled by chance.'

讓咱們瞧瞧，世界上到底還有沒有公道，或者咱們都是在碰運(yùn)氣。'

"He cowered away with wild cries and prayers for mercy,

"他嚇得躲到一邊，大喊大叫起來，哀求饒命。

but I drew my knife and held it to his throat until he had obeyed me.

但是，我拔出刀來頂著他的咽喉，一直到地乖乖地吞下了一粒，我也吞下了剩下的一粒。

Then I swallowed the other, and we stood facing one another in silence for a minute or more,

我們面對面，一聲不響地站在那里有一兩分鐘之久，

waiting to see which was to live and which was to die.

等著瞧究竟誰死誰活。

Shall I ever forget the look which came over his face when the first warning pangs told him that the poison was in his system?

當(dāng)他的臉上顯出痛苦表情的時候，他就知道了他已吞下了毒藥。他當(dāng)時的那副嘴臉我怎么能夠忘記呢？

I laughed as I saw it, and held Lucy's marriage ring in front of his eyes.

我看見他那副形狀，不覺大笑起來，并且把露茜的結(jié)婚指環(huán)舉到他的眼前。

It was but for a moment, for the action of the alkaloid is rapid.

可是這一切只是一會兒功夫，因為那種生物鹼的作用發(fā)揮得很快。

A spasm of pain contorted his features; he threw his hands out in front of him, staggered,

一陣痛苦的痙攣使他的面目都扭曲變形了，他兩手向前伸著，搖晃著；

and then, with a hoarse cry, fell heavily upon the floor.

接著就慘叫一聲，一頭倒在地板上了。

I turned him over with my foot, and placed my hand upon his heart.

我用腳把他翻轉(zhuǎn)過來，用手摸摸他的心口，

There was no movement. He was dead!

心不跳了，他死了！

"The blood had been streaming from my nose, but I had taken no notice of it.

"這時，血一直從我的鼻孔中往外流個不停，但是我并沒有在意。

I don't know what it was that put it into my head to write upon the wall with it.

不知怎的，我靈機(jī)一動，便用血在墻上寫下了一個字。

Perhaps it was some mischievous idea of setting the police upon a wrong track,

這也許是由于一種惡作劇的想法，打算把警察引入歧途；

for I felt light-hearted and cheerful.

因為當(dāng)時我的心情確實是非常輕松愉快。

I remember a German being found in New York with RACHE written up above him,

我想起了，紐約曾發(fā)現(xiàn)過一個德國人被人謀殺的事件，在死者的身上寫著拉契這個字。

and it was argued at the time in the newspapers that the secret societies must have done it.

當(dāng)時報紙上曾經(jīng)爭論過，認(rèn)為這是秘密黨干的。

I guessed that what puzzled the New Yorkers would puzzle the Londoners,

我當(dāng)時想，這個使紐約人感到撲朔迷離的字，可能也會使倫敦人困惑不解。

so I dipped my finger in my own blood and printed it on a convenient place on the wall.

于是，我就用手指蘸著我自己的血，在墻上找個合適地方寫下了這個字。

Then I walked down to my cab and found that there was nobody about,

后來，我就回到我的馬車那里去了。我發(fā)覺周圍一個人也沒有，

and that the night was still very wild.

夜依然是風(fēng)狂雨驟。

I had driven some distance,

我趕著馬車走了一段路以后，

when I put my hand into the pocket in which I usually kept Lucy's ring, and found that it was not there.

把手伸進(jìn)經(jīng)常放著露茜指環(huán)的衣袋里一摸，忽然發(fā)覺指環(huán)不見了。

I was thunderstruck at this, for it was the only memento that I had of her.

我大吃一驚，因為這個東西是她留下的惟一的紀(jì)念物了。

Thinking that I might have dropped it when I stooped over Drebber's body,

我想，可能是在我彎身察看錐伯尸體時，把它掉下去的。

I drove back, and leaving my cab in a side street, I went boldly up to the house

于是，我又趕著馬車往回走。我把馬車停在附近的一條橫街上，大著膽子向那間屋子走去；

for I was ready to dare anything rather than lose the ring.

因為我寧可冒著任何危險，也不愿失去這只指環(huán)。

When I arrived there, I walked right into the arms of a police-officer who was coming out,

我一走到那所房子，就和一個剛從那座房子里出來的警察撞了個滿懷。

and only managed to disarm his suspicions by pretending to be hopelessly drunk.

我只好裝著酪酊大醉的樣子，以免引其他的疑心。

That was how Enoch Drebber came to his end.

這就是伊瑙克·錐伯死時的情形。