蓝宝石案 37赖德先生(7)

"Well, I did what she said, Mr. Holmes, and I carried the bird all the way to Kilburn.

"就这样，我照我姐姐说的做了，福尔摩斯先生，于是我带着这只鹅一路跑到基尔伯恩。

I told my pal¹ what I had done, for he was a man that it was easy to tell a thing like that to.

我把我所做的一切都告诉了我的伙伴，因为他是一个可以将此类事情推心置腹地相告的人。

He laughed until he choked², and we got a knife and opened the goose.

他乐得喘不上气来。我们持刀将鹅开了膛。

My heart turned to water, for there was no sign of the stone, and I knew that some terrible mistake had occurred³.

我的心一下子凉了半截，因为嗉囊里根本没有蓝宝石的踪影，我知道一定发生了什么很糟糕的差错。

I left the bird, rushed back to my sister's, and hurried into the back yard.

我置鹅于不顾，急步奔向我姐姐家里，匆匆走进了后院。

There was not a bird to be seen there.

但是那里已经一只鹅也不见了。"

"'Where are they all, Maggie?' I cried.

我喊道：'麦琪，那些鹅都到哪里去了？'

"'Gone to the dealer's, Jem.'

"'已经送到经销店去了，杰姆。'

"'Which dealer's?' "'Breckinridge, of Covent Garden.'

"'哪家经销店？'"'考文特园的布莱肯里奇。'

"'But was there another with a barred tail?' I asked, 'the same as the one I chose?'

"'其中是否有一只尾巴带有黑道的鹅？和我挑选的那只一样的？'我问道。

"'Yes, Jem; there were two barred-tailed ones, and I could never tell them apart.'

"'有的，杰姆，一共有两只尾巴带黑道的鹅，连我都分不清它们。'

1 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

2 Choked   

v.填塞( choke的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）窒息；（尤指感情激动）而哽咽；因紧张而失灵

参考例句：

• They'd ruthlessly choked off all opposition to their plans. 他们无情地把反对他们的方案都压制下去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a thankless job, so we choked him off before long. 那是一件吃力不讨好的事情，所以我们很快就不让他做了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 occurred   

v.发生(occur 的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The prosecution stated that intercourse had occurred on several occasions. 控诉方称发生过数次性交。
• These changes have occurred over a long time span. 这些变化经过了很长一段时间才形成。