福爾摩斯探案集·四簽名 第4期:演繹法的研究(4)

"My practice has extended recently to the Continent," said Holmes after a while, filling up his old brier-root pipe.

停了一會(huì)，福爾摩斯裝滿了煙斗，慢慢說(shuō)道："最近我的業(yè)務(wù)已經(jīng)發(fā)展到歐洲大陸了。

"I was consulted last week by Francois le Villard, who, as you probably know,

上星期就有一個(gè)叫做福朗斯瓦·勒·維亞爾的人來(lái)向我請(qǐng)教，你也許知道，

has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service.

這個(gè)人在法國(guó)偵探界里最近已嶄露頭角。

He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition,

他具有凱爾特民族的敏感性，

but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art.

可是缺乏提高他的技術(shù)所必需的廣泛學(xué)識(shí)。

The case was concerned with a will and possessed some features of interest.

他所請(qǐng)教的是有關(guān)一件遺囑的案子，很有趣味。

I was able to refer him to two parallel cases,

我介紹了兩個(gè)相似的案情給他作參考：

the one at Riga in 1857, and the other at St. Louis in 1871, which have suggested to him the true solution.

一件是一八五七年里加城的案件，另一件是一八七一年圣路易城的那個(gè)案子。這兩個(gè)案情給他指明了破案的途徑。

Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance."

這就是今天早晨接到的他的致謝信。"

He tossed over, as he spoke, a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper.

說(shuō)著他就把一張弄皺的外國(guó)信紙遞給了我。

I glanced my eyes down it, catching a profusion of notes of admiration,

我看了看，信里夾雜著許多恭維話，

with stray magnifiques, coup-de-matres and tours-de-force, all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman.

充滿了"偉大"，"高超的手段"，"有力的行動(dòng)"等等表示這位法國(guó)人的熱情、景仰和稱贊的話。

"He speaks as a pupil to his master," said I.

我道："他象是個(gè)在和老師講話的小學(xué)生。"

"Oh, he rates my assistance too highly," said Sherlock Holmes lightly.

歇洛克·福爾摩斯輕輕地說(shuō)道："啊，他把我所給他的幫助估價(jià)過(guò)高了，

"He has considerable gifts himself.

他自己也有相當(dāng)?shù)牟拍苣亍?/p>

He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective.

一個(gè)理想的偵探家所必備的條件，他大半都有。

He has the power of observation and that of deduction.

他有觀察和推斷的能力，只是缺乏學(xué)識(shí)，

He is only wanting in knowledge, and that may come in time.

這個(gè)，他將來(lái)還是可以得到的。

He is now translating my small works into French."

他現(xiàn)在正在把我的幾篇短作譯成法文。"

"Your works?"

"你的作品？"

"Oh, didn't you know?" he cried, laughing.

他笑道："你不知道嗎？

"Yes, I have been guilty of several monographs. They are all upon technical subjects.

很慚愧，我寫過(guò)幾篇專論，全是技術(shù)方面的。

Here, for example, is one 'Upon the Distinction between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccos.'

你記得不記得那一篇：'論各種煙灰的辨認(rèn)' 。

In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar, cigarette, and pipe tobacco,

在那里面，我舉出了一百四十種雪茄煙、紙煙、煙斗絲的煙灰，

with coloured plates illustrating the difference in the ash.

還用彩色的插圖說(shuō)明各種煙灰的區(qū)別。

It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials,

這是在刑事案件審判中常常出現(xiàn)的證據(jù)，

and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue.

有時(shí)甚至是全案最重要的線索。

If you can say definitely, for example, that some murder had been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah,

譬如說(shuō)你能確定在一個(gè)謀殺案里的兇手是吸印度雪茄煙的，

it obviously narrows your field of search.

這樣，顯然就把你的偵查范圍縮小了。

To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a Trichinopoly and the white fluff of bird's-eye

印度雪茄煙的黑灰和'鳥(niǎo)眼'煙的白灰的不同，在訓(xùn)練有素的人看來(lái)，

as there is between a cabbage and a potato."

就如同白菜和馬鈴薯的區(qū)別一樣的分明。"

"You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae," I remarked.

我道："你對(duì)審查細(xì)微的事物確實(shí)具有特殊的才能。"

"I appreciate their importance.

"我感覺(jué)到了它們的重要性。

Here is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps,

這就是我寫的關(guān)于跟蹤腳印的專論，

with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses.

里邊還提到使用熟石膏保存腳印的方法。

Here, too, is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand,

這里還有一篇新奇的小論文，說(shuō)明一個(gè)人的職業(yè)可以影響到他的手形，

with lithotypes of the hands of slaters, sailors, cork-cutters, compositors, weavers, and diamond-polishers.

附有石工、水手、木刻工人、排字工人、織布工人和磨鉆石工人的手形插圖。

That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective

這些對(duì)于科學(xué)的偵探術(shù)是有很大的實(shí)際意義的。

especially in cases of unclaimed bodies, or in discovering the antecedents of criminals.

特別是在遇有無(wú)名尸體的案件和探索罪犯身分等時(shí)都有用處。

But I weary you with my hobby."

噢，我只顧談我的嗜好，使你心煩了吧？"