身份案 19进行初步推理(5)

"I cannot say that I do unless it were that he wished to be able to deny his signature if an action for breach¹ of promise were instituted."

"我不敢说我已看出来了，也许他想在一旦有人对他的毁约行为提出起诉时借以否认是自己的签名。"

"No, that was not the point. However, I shall write two letters, which should settle the matter.

"不，这不是问题所在。不过，我要写两封信，这样就能解决问题。

One is to a firm in the City, the other is to the young lady's stepfather, Mr. Windibank,

一封给伦敦的一个商行；另一封给那位年轻小姐的继父温迪班克先生，

asking him whether he could meet us here at six o'clock to-morrow evening.

问他明晚六点钟能否跟我们在此见面。

It is just as well that we should do business with the male relatives.

我们不妨跟男亲属打打交道。

And now, Doctor, we can do nothing until the answers to those letters come, so we may put our little problem upon the shelf for the interim²."

好吧，医生，在未收到这两封信的回音之前，我们没有什么事情可做了，我们可以把这小小的问题暂时放一放。"

I had had so many reasons to believe in my friend's subtle powers of reasoning and extraordinary energy in action

我有很充分的理由相信我的朋友在行动中是推理细致、精力过人的，

that I felt that he must have some solid grounds for the assured and easy demeanour

所以他对于人家请他侦察这个奇特的疑案的那种胸有成竹、从容不迫的态度，

with which he treated the singular mystery which he had been called upon to fathom³.

我想必定是很有根据的。

Once only had I known him to fail, in the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler photograph;

我知道他只失败过一次，就是波希米亚国王和艾琳·艾德勒照片案；

but when I looked back to the weird⁴ business of 'The Sign of Four', and the extraordinary circumstances connected with 'A Study in Scarlet⁵',

但是当我回顾'四签名'那种怪事以及与'血字的研究'联系在一起很不寻常的情况时，

I felt that it would be a strange tangle⁶ indeed which he could not unravel⁷.

我觉得如果连他都解决不了的话，那真是十分奥秘的疑案了。

I left him then, still puffing⁸ at his black clay pipe,

我离开他时，他还仍然在抽着那只黑色的陶制烟斗，

with the conviction that when I came again on the next evening I would find that

我相信明晚再来时就能发现，

he held in his hands all the clues which would lead up to the identity of the disappearing bridegroom of Miss Mary Sutherland.

他已掌握了最终确证玛丽·萨瑟兰小姐的失踪新郎到底是何许人的所有线索。

1 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

2 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

3 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

6 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

7 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

8 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》