歪唇男人 19圣克莱尔的故事(8)

"And it did, though they hardly found upon the mud-bank what they had feared to find.

"居然找到了，虽然在那泥滩上他们没找到他们生怕找到的东西。

It was Neville St. Clair's coat, and not Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded¹.

因为找到的不是内维尔·圣克莱尔本人，而是他的上衣。这件上衣无遮盖地遗留在退潮后的泥滩上。

And what do you think they found in the pockets?" "I cannot imagine."

你猜想他们在衣袋里发现了些什么？""我想象不出。"

"No, I don't think you would guess.

"是的，我想你是猜不到的。

Every pocket stuffed with pennies and half-pennies -- 421 pennies and 270 half-pennies.

每个口袋里都装满了便士和半便士--四百二十一个便士和二百七十个半便士。

It was no wonder that it had not been swept away by the tide.

无怪乎这上衣不曾被潮水卷走。

But a human body is a different matter.

可是人的躯体就是另外一回事了。

There is a fierce eddy² between the wharf³ and the house.

在那房子和码头之间的退潮，水势汹涌。

It seemed likely enough that the weighted coat had remained when the stripped body had been sucked away into the river."

看来很可能是这沉甸甸的上衣留了下来，而被剥光了的躯体却进河里去了。"

"But I understand that all the other clothes were found in the room.

"不过，据我所知，他们发现所有别的衣服都在屋子里。

Would the body be dressed in a coat alone?"

难道他身上只穿着一件上衣不成？"

1 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

2 eddy   

n.漩涡，涡流

参考例句：

• The motor car disappeared in eddy of dust.汽车在一片扬尘的涡流中不见了。
• In Taylor's picture,the eddy is the basic element of turbulence.在泰勒的描述里，旋涡是湍流的基本要素。

3 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。