绿玉皇冠案 20来到费尔班寓所(1)

My friend insisted upon my accompanying them in their expedition,

我的朋友坚持要我陪同他们一起去调查，

which I was eager enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened.

正好我也相当热切地希望一同去，因为我们刚刚听到的陈述深深地激起了我的好奇心和同情心。

I confess that the guilt¹ of the banker's son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his unhappy father,

我承认，对这银行家的儿子是不是罪犯这点，我当时和这位不幸的父亲看法一样，都认为是很明显的；

but still I had such faith in Holmes's judgment²

但是我仍然对福尔摩斯的判断力抱有十足的信心，

that I felt that there must be some grounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation.

因而觉得既然他对已为大家所接受的解释不满意，那么一定有某种理由表明这事情还有希望。

He hardly spoke³ a word the whole way out to the southern suburb,

在去南郊的全部路程中，他一言不发地坐着，

but sat with his chin upon his breast and his hat drawn⁴ over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought.

把下巴贴到胸口上，把帽子拉下来遮住了眼睛，沉浸于深深的思考之中。

Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him,

我们的委托人，由于有一线希望呈现在眼前，显得有了新的勇气和信心，

and he even broke into a desultory⁵ chat with me over his business affairs.

他甚至杂乱无章地和我聊其他业务上的一些事情。

A short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the modest residence of the great financier.

乘坐了一会儿火车，再步行短短的一段路程，我们就到了这位大银行家住的不太豪华的费尔班寓所。

Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing⁶ back a little from the road.

费尔班是一所相当大的用白石砌成的房子，离马路有点远。

A double carriage-sweep, with a snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the entrance.

一条双行的车道沿着一块积雪的草坪一直通到紧闭着的两扇大铁门前面。

On the right side was a small wooden thicket⁷,

右面有一小丛灌木，

which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges stretching from the road to the kitchen door, and forming the tradesmen's entrance.

连绵于一条狭窄的、两旁有小树篱的小径，这条小径从马路口一直通到厨房门前，成为零售商人的进出小道。

On the left ran a lane which led to the stables,

在左边有一条小道通到马厩，

and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a public, though little used, thoroughfare.

这条小道不在庭院之内，是一条并不常用的公共马路。

Holmes left us standing at the door and walked slowly all round the house,

福尔摩斯让我们站在门口，他自己慢慢地绕房步行一周，

across the front, down the tradesmen's path, and so round by the garden behind into the stable lane.

经过屋前沿着那小贩走的小道，再绕到花园后面进入通往马厩的小道。

So long was he that Mr. Holder⁸ and I went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should return.

他来回走了好长一段时间，霍尔德先生和我索性进屋，在餐室的壁炉边等候他。

1 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。

2 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 desultory   

adj.散漫的，无方法的

参考例句：

• Do not let the discussion fragment into a desultory conversation with no clear direction.不要让讨论变得支离破碎，成为没有明确方向的漫谈。
• The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn.警察漫不经心地拦着不让他们靠近谷仓。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

8 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。