福爾摩斯探案集·四簽名 第44期:木桶的插曲(6)

On reaching the boundary wall Toby ran along, whining eagerly, underneath its shadow,

透比跟著我們一路跑來，在墻的陰影里焦急得哦哦地叫著，

and stopped finally in a corner screened by a young beech.

最后，我們來到了長著一棵小山毛櫸樹的墻角。

Where the two walls joined, several bricks had been loosened,

較低的地方，磚縫已被磨損，

and the crevices left were worn down and rounded upon the lower side,

磚的棱角被磨圓了，

as though they had frequently been used as a ladder.

似乎是常被用作爬墻的下腳之處。

Holmes clambered up, and taking the dog from me he dropped it over upon the other side.

福爾摩斯爬上去，從我手里把狗接過去，又由另一面把它放了下去。

"There's the print of Wooden-leg's hand," he remarked as I mounted up beside him.

在我也爬上了墻頭的時候，他說道："墻上還留有木腿人的一個手印，

"You see the slight smudge of blood upon the white plaster.

你看那留在白灰上的血跡。

What a lucky thing it is that we have had no very heavy rain since yesterday!

昨晚幸而沒有大雨，

The scent will lie upon the road in spite of their eight-and- twenty hours' start."

雖然隔了二十八小時，氣味還可以留在路上。"

I confess that I had my doubts myself when I reflected upon the great traffic

當(dāng)我們走過車馬絡(luò)繹不絕的倫敦馬路的時候，我心中未免懷疑，

which had passed along the London road in the interval.

透比究竟能不能夠循著氣味追到兇手。

My fears were soon appeased, however.

可是不久我也就放心了。

Toby never hesitated or swerved but waddled on in his peculiar rolling fashion.

透比毫不猶豫地嗅著地，搖搖擺擺向前奔去，

Clearly the pungent smell of the creosote rose high above all other contending scents.

顯然這強烈的木餾油味比路上的其他氣味更為強烈。

"Do not imagine," said Holmes,

福爾摩斯道："你不要認(rèn)為

"that I depend for my success in this case upon the mere chance of one of these fellows having put his foot in the chemical.

我只是依靠著在這個案子里有一個人把腳踩進(jìn)了化學(xué)藥品，才能夠破獲這個案子。

I have knowledge now which would enable me to trace them in many different ways.

我已經(jīng)知道幾個另外的方法可以捕獲兇犯了。

This, however, is the readiest, and, since fortune has put it into our hands,

不過既然幸運之神把這個最方便的方法送到咱們的手里，

I should be culpable if I neglected it.

而咱們竟忽視了的話，那就是我的過失了。

It has, however, prevented the case from becoming the pretty little intellectual problem which it at one time promised to be.

不過把一個需要有深奧的學(xué)問才能解決的問題簡單化了。

There might have been some credit to be gained out of it but for this too palpable clue."

從一個簡單的線索來破案，未免難于顯得出來我們的功績了。"

"There is credit, and to spare," said I. "I assure you, Holmes,

我道："還是有不少功績呢。福爾摩斯，

that I marvel at the means by which you obtain your results in this case even more than I did in the Jefferson Hope murder.

我覺得你在這個案子里所使用的方法比在杰弗遜·侯波謀殺案里所用的手法

The thing seems to me to be deeper and more inexplicable.

更是玄妙驚人，更是深奧而費解。

How, for example, could you describe with such confidence the wooden-legged man?"

舉例來說吧，你怎么能毫無懷疑地形容那個裝木腿的人呢？"

"Pshaw, my dear boy! it was simplicity itself.

"咳，老兄！這事本身就很簡單，

I don't wish to be theatrical. It is all patent and above-board.

我并不想夸張，整個情況是明明白白的。

Two officers who are in command of a convict-guard learn an important secret as to buried treasure.

兩個負(fù)責(zé)指揮看守囚犯的部隊的軍官聽得了一件藏寶的秘密。

A map is drawn for them by an Englishman named Jonathan Small.

一個叫做瓊諾贊·斯茂的英國人給他們畫了一張圖。

You remember that we saw the name upon the chart in Captain Morstan's possession.

你記得吧，這個名字就寫在摩斯坦上尉的圖上。

He had signed it in behalf of himself and his associates

他自己簽了名，還代他的同伙簽了名，

the sign of the four, as he somewhat dramatically called it.

這就是他們所謂的'四個簽名' 。

Aided by this chart, the officers–-or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England,

這兩個軍官按照這個圖--或者是他們中間的一個人--覓得了寶物，帶回英國。

leaving, we will suppose, some condition under which he received it unfulfilled.

我想象可能這個帶回寶物的人，對于當(dāng)初約定的條件，有的沒有履行。

Now, then, why did not Jonathan Small get the treasure himself?

那么，為什么瓊諾贊·斯茂自己沒有拿到寶物呢？

The answer is obvious.

這個答案是顯而易見的。

The chart is dated at a time when Morstan was brought into close association with convicts.

畫那張圖的日期，是摩斯坦和囚犯們接近的時候。

Jonathan Small did not get the treasure

瓊諾贊·斯茂所以沒有得到那寶物，

because he and his associates were themselves convicts and could not get away."

是因為他和他的同伙全都是囚犯，行動上不得自由。"