铜山毛榉案 12预言应验(1)

It was not very long before my friend's prediction was fulfilled.

过了不久，我朋友的预言果然应验了。

A fortnight went by, during which I frequently found my thoughts turning in her direction

两个星期过去了，在这期间我时常发现我的心思一直朝着她那个方向转，

and wondering what strange side-alley of human experience this lonely woman had strayed into.

疑虑着这个孤单的女孩子误入了什么样的不可思议的人间歧途。

The unusual salary, the curious conditions, the light duties, all pointed¹ to something abnormal,

不平常的薪水、奇怪的条件、轻松的职务，这一切都说明有点异乎寻常，

though whether a fad² or a plot, or whether the man were a philanthropist or a villain³, it was quite beyond my powers to determine.

尽管我无法确定这件事是一时的癖好还是一项阴谋，这个人是个慈善家还是个恶棍。

As to Holmes, I observed that he sat frequently for half an hour on end, with knitted brows and an abstracted air,

至于福尔摩斯，我看到他时常一坐就是半个小时，紧蹙着眉头，独自在那里出神，

but he swept the matter away with a wave of his hand when I mentioned it.

可是我一提到这件事时，他就把大手一挥表示算了。

"Data! data! data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."

"材料！材料！材料！"他不耐烦地嚷着，"没有粘土，我做不出砖头！"

And yet he would always wind up by muttering that no sister of his should ever have accepted such a situation.

可是最后他又经常咕哝着说，他决不会让自己的姐妹接受这样的职位。

The telegram which we eventually received came late one night

一封电报终于在一天深夜送到我们手里，

just as I was thinking of turning in and Holmes was settling down to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently indulged in,

这时我正打算上床睡觉，而福尔摩斯正要安顿下来搞他着了迷的经常通宵达旦进行的化学研究，

when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came down to breakfast in the morning.

通常在这种情况下，我晚上离开他时，他总是弯着腰在试管或曲颈瓶上搞化验，次日早上我下楼吃早餐时发现他还在那里。

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

3 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。