四签名 25秃头人的故事（8）

Mr.Thaddeus Sholto ceased and sat twitching¹ on his luxurious² settee.

塞笛厄斯·舒尔托先生的话说完了，坐在矮椅子上手指不住地抽动。

We all remained silent, with our thoughts upon the new development which the mysterious business had taken.

我们全都默无一言，我们的思想全都集中在这个奇异事件的发展上面。

Holmes was the first to spring to his feet. "You have done well, sir, from first to last," said he.

福尔摩斯第一个站了起来。他说："先生，您从头到尾做的全都很圆满，

"It is possible that we may be able to make you some small return by throwing some light upon that which is still dark to you.

也许我们还可以告诉您一些您还不知道的事情作为报答呢。

But, as Miss Morstan remarked just now, it is late, and we had best put the matter through without delay."

可是正如摩斯坦小姐方才所说的，天色已晚了，咱们还是赶办正事要紧，不要再迟了。"

Our new acquaintance very deliberately³ coiled up the tube of his hookah

我们的新朋友盘起水烟壶的烟管，

and produced from behind a curtain a very long befrogged topcoat with astrakhan collar and cuffs⁴.

从幔帐后面拿出一件羔皮领袖的又长又厚的大衣。

This he buttoned tightly up in spite of the extreme closeness of the night

虽然晚上还很闷热，他却从上到下紧紧地扣上了钮扣，

and finished his attire⁵ by putting on a rabbit-skin cap with hanging lappets which covered the ears,

最后戴上一顶兔皮帽子，把帽沿扣过耳朵，

so that no part of him was visible save his mobile and peaky face.

除了他那清瘦的面孔以外，他的身体任何部分都已遮盖起来。

"My health is somewhat fragile," he remarked as he led the way down the passage. "I am compelled to be a valetudinarian⁶."

当他引导我们走出甬道的时候，他道："我的身体太弱，我只好算一个病人了。"

Our cab was awaiting us outside, and our programme was evidently prearranged, for the driver started off at once at a rapid pace.

我们的车在外面等候着，对我们的出行显然早已作了准备，因为马夫立即赶车急行起来。

Thaddeus Sholto talked incessantly⁷ in a voice which rose high above the rattle⁸ of the wheels.

塞笛厄斯不断地谈话，声音高过了辚辚的车轮声。

"Bartholomew is a clever fellow," said he.

他道："巴索洛谬是个聪明人，

"How do you think he found out where the treasure was?

你们猜猜他怎样找到宝物的？

He had come to the conclusion that it was somewhere indoors,

他最后的结论断定宝物是藏在室内。

so he worked out all the cubic space of the house and made measurements everywhere so that not one inch should be unaccounted for.

他把整所房子的容积都计算出来，每个角落也小心量过了，没有一英寸之地被他漏算的。

Among other things, he found that the height of the building was seventy-four feet,

他最后发现了这所楼房高度是七十四英尺，

but on adding together the heights of all the separate rooms and making every allowance for the space between,

可是他把所有的各个房间的高度都分别衡量了。用钻探方法，确定了楼板的厚度，

which he ascertained⁹ by borings, he could not bring the total to more than seventy feet.

再加上室内的高度，总共也不过是七十英尺。

There were four feet unaccounted for.

一共差了四英尺。

These could only be at the top of the building.

这个差别只有在房顶上去找。

He knocked a hole, therefore, in the lath and plaster ceiling of the highest room,

他在最高一层房屋的用板条和灰泥修成的天花板上打穿了一个洞。

and there, sure enough, he came upon another little garret above it, which had been sealed up and was known to no one.

在那儿，一点也不错，就在上面找到了一个封闭着的、任何人也不知道的屋顶室。

In the centre stood the treasure-chest resting upon two rafters.

那个宝物箱就摆在天花板中央的两条椽木上。

He lowered it through the hole, and there it lies.

他把宝物箱从洞口取了下来，发现了里边的珠宝。

He computes¹⁰ the value of the jewels at not less than half a million sterling¹¹."

他估计这批珠宝的总值不下五十万英镑。"

At the mention of this gigantic sum we all stared at one another open- eyed.

听到了这个庞大的数字，我们睁大了眼睛互相望着。

Miss Morstan, could we secure her rights, would change from a needy¹² governess to the richest heiress in England.

如果我们能够代摩斯坦小姐争取到她应得的那一份，她将立刻由一个贫穷的家庭教师变成英国最富的继承人了。

Surely it was the place of a loyal friend to rejoice at such news,

当然，她的忠实的朋友们全都应当替她欢喜，

yet I am ashamed to say that selfishness took me by the soul and that my heart turned as heavy as lead within me.

可是我，惭愧的很，我的良心被我的自私心遮住了，我心上象有一块重石压着。

I stammered¹³ out some few halting words of congratulation and then sat downcast, with my head drooped¹⁴,

我含含糊糊地说了几句道贺的话，然后垂头丧平地坐在那里，俯首无言，

deaf to the babble¹⁵ of our new acquaintance.

后来甚至连我们新朋友所说的话也充耳不闻了。

He was clearly a confirmed hypochondriac,

他显然是一个忧郁症的患者，

and I was dreamily conscious that he was pouring forth¹⁶ interminable trains of symptoms,

我渺茫地记得好象他说出了一连串的症状，

and imploring¹⁷ information as to the composition and action of innumerable quack¹⁸ nostrums¹⁹,

并从他的皮夹里拿出了无数的秘方，

some of which he bore about in a leather case in his pocket.

希望我对他这些秘方的内容和作用作一些解释，

I trust that he may not remember any of the answers which I gave him that night.

我真希望他把我那天晚上对他的回答全都忘掉。

Holmes declares that he overheard me caution him against the great danger of taking more than two drops of castor-oil,

福尔摩斯还记得听到我叮嘱他不要服用两滴以上的蓖麻油

while I recommended strychnine in large doses as a sedative²⁰.

建议他服用大剂量的番木鳖硷作为镇定剂。

However that may be, I was certainly relieved when our cab pulled up with a jerk and the coachman sprang down to open the door.

不管怎么样吧，直到车骤然停住，马车夫跳下车来把车门打开的时候，我才算松了一口气。

"This, Miss Morstan, is Pondicherry Lodge," said Mr. Thaddeus Sholto as he handed her out.

当塞笛厄斯·舒尔托先生扶她下车的时候，他说道："摩斯坦小姐，这就是樱沼别墅。"

1 twitching   

n.颤搐

参考例句：

• The child in a spasm kept twitching his arms and legs. 那个害痉挛的孩子四肢不断地抽搐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My eyelids keep twitching all the time. 我眼皮老是跳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

3 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

4 cuffs   

n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• a collar and cuffs of white lace 带白色蕾丝花边的衣领和袖口
• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。

5 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

6 valetudinarian   

n.病人；健康不佳者

参考例句：

• She affected to be spunky about her ailments and afflictions,but she was in fact an utterly self-centered valetudinarian.她装做对自己的失调和苦恼若无其事, 但是实际上她是为自己的健康状况非常发愁的人。
• The valetudinarian alternated two hours of work with one hour of rest.那个体弱多病的人每工作两小时就要歇一小时。

7 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

8 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

9 ascertained   

v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 computes   

v.计算，估算( compute的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This article also computes STL model volume and research simply model complexity. 文章还评估了STL实体体积，对模型的复杂度进行了研究。 来自互联网
• This macro computes the length of the day, from sunrise to sunset. 把根据要求确定出来的日出日没间隔作为我们通常直觉上的一个白天。 来自互联网

11 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

12 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

13 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

14 drooped   

弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
• The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。

15 babble   

v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语

参考例句：

• No one could understand the little baby's babble. 没人能听懂这个小婴孩的话。
• The babble of voices in the next compartment annoyed all of us.隔壁的车厢隔间里不间歇的嘈杂谈话声让我们都很气恼。

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 imploring   

恳求的，哀求的

参考例句：

• Those calm, strange eyes could see her imploring face. 那平静的，没有表情的眼睛还能看得到她的乞怜求情的面容。
• She gave him an imploring look. 她以哀求的眼神看着他。

18 quack   

n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子

参考例句：

• He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生，可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
• The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。

19 nostrums   

n.骗人的疗法，有专利权的药品( nostrum的名词复数 )；妙策

参考例句：

• It is likely that these \"enlightened\" nostrums would have speeded up the catastrophe. 这些“开明的”药方本身就可能加快灾难的到来。 来自辞典例句

20 sedative   

adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西

参考例句：

• After taking a sedative she was able to get to sleep.服用了镇静剂后，她能够入睡了。
• Amber bath oil has a sedative effect.琥珀沐浴油有镇静安神效用。