绿玉皇冠案 18宝石不见了(5)

He put a hand on either side of his head and rocked himself to and fro,

他两手抱着脑袋，全身晃来晃去，

droning to himself like a child whose grief has got beyond words.

自言自语地嘟哝着象是一个有说不出的痛苦的小孩子。

Sherlock Holmes sat silent for some few minutes, with his brows knitted and his eyes fixed¹ upon the fire.

歇洛克·福尔摩斯静静地坐了有几分钟，皱着眉头，两眼凝视着炉火。

"Do you receive much company?" he asked.

"你平时接待很多客人吗？"他问。

"None save my partner with his family and an occasional friend of Arthur's.

"不外是我的合伙人和他的家眷，以及偶尔还有阿瑟的朋友。

Sir George Burnwell has been several times lately. No one else, I think."

乔治·伯恩韦尔最近曾来过几次。我想没有别的什么人了。"

"Do you go out much in society?"

"你常出去参加社交活动吗？"

"Arthur does. Mary and I stay at home. We neither of us care for it."

"阿瑟常去。玛丽和我呆在家里。我们俩都不想去。"

"That is unusual in a young girl."

"对于一个年轻姑娘来说，这是很不寻常的啊！"

"She is of a quiet nature. Besides, she is not so very young. She is four- and-twenty."

"她生性恬静。此外，她已经不很年轻，已经二十四岁了。"

"This matter, from what you say, seems to have been a shock to her also."

"这件事情，照你所说，好象也使她受到很大震惊。"

"Terrible! She is even more affected² than I."

"非常震惊！她可能比我更为震惊。"

"You have neither of you any doubt as to your son's guilt³?"

"你们俩人都肯定认为你儿子有罪吗？"

"How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in his hands."

"这还有什么可怀疑的呢，因为我亲眼看见皇冠在他手里拿着。"

"I hardly consider that a conclusive⁴ proof. Was the remainder of the coronet at all injured?" "Yes, it was twisted."

"我不认为这是确凿的证据。皇冠的其余部分损坏了没有？" "嗯，它被扭歪了。"

"Do you not think, then, that he might have been trying to straighten it?"

"那么你是否这样想过，他或许是要将它弄直？"

"God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and for me. But it is too heavy a task.

"上帝保佑你！你是在为他和我做你所能做的一切，但是这个任务过于艰巨了。

What was he doing there at all? If his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?"

他究竟在那里干些什么？如果他是清白无辜的，他为什么不说话呢？"

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

4 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。