博斯科姆比溪谷秘案 20来到目的地(6)

Then there was the peculiar¹ dying reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be delirium².

此外，那个人死的时候特别喊了一声"拉特"。这可能意味着什么呢？这不可能是神志昏迷时说的呓语。

A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become delirious³.

一般来说，被突然一击而濒临死亡的人是不会说呓语的。

No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how he met his fate.

不会的，这似乎更象是想说明他是怎么遇害的。

But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my brains to find some possible explanation.

可是，那它又能说明什么呢？为了找到言之成理的解释，我绞尽了脑汁。

And then the incident of the gray cloth seen by young McCarthy.

还有小麦卡锡看见灰色衣服的事件。

If that were true the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his overcoat, in his flight,

如果这一情况属实，那么凶手一定是在逃跑时掉下了身上穿的衣服，也许是他的大衣，

and must have had the hardihood to return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off.

而且他居然胆敢在正当小麦卡锡跪下来的一瞬间，也就是在他背后不过十几步的地方把掉下的衣服取走。

What a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was!

这整个案情是多么错综复杂，不可思议啊！

I did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion,

对于雷斯垂德的一些意见，我并不觉得奇怪。

and yet I had so much faith in Sherlock Holmes's insight

但是，由于我对歇洛克·福尔摩斯的洞察力有很大信心，

that I could not lose hope as long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young McCarthy's innocence⁴.

所以，只要不断地有新的事实来加强他认为小麦卡锡是无辜的这一信念，那么我认为不是没有希望的。

1 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

2 delirium   

n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋

参考例句：

• In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
• For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月，约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。

3 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

4 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。