波希米亚丑闻 16乔装打扮(2)

Putting his hands into his pockets, he stretched out his legs in front of the fire and laughed heartily¹ for some minutes.

他把手插在衣袋里，在壁炉前舒展开双腿，尽情地笑了一阵子。

"Well, really!" he cried, and then he choked and laughed again until he was obliged to lie back, limp and helpless, in the chair.

"噢，真的吗？"他喊道，忽然呛住了喉咙，接着又笑了起来，直到笑得软弱无力地躺在椅子上。

"What is it?" "It's quite too funny. I am sure you could never guess how I employed my morning, or what I ended by doing."

"这是怎么回事？""简直太有趣了。我敢说你怎么也猜不出我上午在忙什么，或者忙的结果是什么。"

"I can't imagine. I suppose that you have been watching the habits, and perhaps the house, of Miss Irene Adler."

"我想象不出来。也许你一直在注意观察艾琳·艾德勒小姐的生活习惯，也许还观察了她的房子。"

"Quite so; but the sequel was rather unusual. I will tell you, however.

"一点不错，但是结局却相当不平常。不过我愿意把情况告诉你。

I left the house a little after eight o'clock this morning in the character of a groom² out of work.

我今天早晨八点稍过一点离开这里，扮成一个失业的马夫。

There is a wonderful sympathy and freemasonry among horsy men.

在那些马夫中间存在着一种美好的互相同情、意气相投的感情。

Be one of them, and you will know all that there is to know. I soon found Briony Lodge³.

如果你成为他们之中的一员，你就可以知道你要想知道的一切。我很快就找到了布里翁尼府第。

It is a bijou villa⁴, with a garden at the back, but built out in front right up to the road, two stories.

那是一幢小巧雅致的别墅，后面有个花园。这是一幢两层楼房，面对着马路建造的。

Chubb lock to the door. Large sitting-room⁵ on the right side, well furnished,

门上挂着洽伯锁。右边是宽敞的起居室，内部装饰华丽，

with long windows almost to the floor, and those preposterous⁶ English window fasteners which a child could open.

窗户之长几乎到达地面，然而那些可笑的英国窗闩连小孩都能打开。

Behind there was nothing remarkable⁷, save that the passage window could be reached from the top of the coach-house.

除了从马车房的房顶可以够得着过道的窗户以外，就没有什么值得注意的了。

I walked round it and examined it closely from every point of view, but without noting anything else of interest.

我围绕别墅巡行了一遍，从各个角度仔细侦察，但并未发现任何令人感兴趣之处。

I then lounged down the street and found, as I expected, that there was a mews in a lane which runs down by one wall of the garden.

接着我顺着街道漫步，果然不出所料，我发现在靠着花园墙的小巷里，有一排马房。

I lent the ostlers a hand in rubbing down their horses,

我帮助那些马夫梳洗马匹。

and received in exchange twopence, a glass of half and half, two fills of shag tobacco,

他们酬劳我两个便士、一杯混合酒、两烟斗装得满满的板烟丝，

and as much information as I could desire about Miss Adler,

并且提供了许多我想知道的有关艾德勒小姐的情况。

to say nothing of half a dozen other people in the neighbourhood in whom I was not in the least interested,

除她之外，他们还告诉我住在附近的其他六、七个人的情况，我对这些人丝毫不感兴趣，

but whose biographies I was compelled to listen to."

但是又不得不听下去。"

1 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

2 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

3 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

4 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

5 sitting-room   

n.（BrE）客厅，起居室

参考例句：

• The sitting-room is clean.起居室很清洁。
• Each villa has a separate sitting-room.每栋别墅都有一间独立的起居室。

6 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。