巴斯克威尔的猎犬 亨利· 巴斯克维尔爵士（7）

 

"With gum on to the paper. But I want to know why the word 'moor¹' should have beenwritten?"

“是用胶水贴在纸上的。 可是我想知道， 为什么‘沼地’ 这个词竟是写的呢？ ”

"Because he could not find it in print. The other words were all simple and might be found inany issue, but 'moor' would be less common."

“因为他在报纸上找不到这个词。 其他字都是在任何一份报纸里都能找得到的常用字，可是‘沼地’ 这个词就不怎么常用了。”

"Why, of course, that would explain it. Have you read anything else in this message, Mr.

Holmes?"

“啊， 当然了， 这样就能解释清楚了。 您从这封短信里还看出些什么别的东西吗， 福尔摩斯先生？ ”

"There are one or two indications, and yet the utmost pains have been taken to remove allclues. The address, you observe is printed in rough characters. But the Times is a paper which isseldom found in any hands but those of the highly educated. We may take it, therefore, that theletter was composed by an educated man who wished to pose as an uneducated one, and his effortto conceal² his own writing suggests that that writing might be known, or come to be known, byyou. Again, you will observe that the words are not gummed on in an accurate line, but that someare much higher than others. 'Life,' for example is quite out of its proper place. That may point tocarelessness or it may point to agitation³ and hurry upon the part of the cutter. On the whole Iincline to the latter view, since the matter was evidently important, and it is unlikely that thecomposer of such a letter would be careless. If he were in a hurry it opens up the interestingquestion why he should be in a hurry, since any letter posted up to early morning would reach SirHenry before he would leave his hotel. Did the composer fear an interruption -- and from whom?"“还有一二迹象是可供研究的。 他为了 消灭所有的线索， 确曾费了极大的苦心呢。 这住址， 您看得出来， 是写得很潦草的。 可是《泰晤士报》 这份报纸除了受过很高教育的人之外，是很少有人看它的。 因此， 我们可以假定， 这封信是个受过相当教育的人写的， 可是他装成一个没有受过教育的人。 而从他尽力掩饰自己的笔迹这一点看来， 似乎他这笔迹可能会被您认出或查出来。 还有， 您可以看得出来， 那些字不是贴成一条直线的， 有些贴得比其他字要高得多。 例如说‘生命’ 这个词吧， 贴得就很不是地方。 这一点可能说明剪贴的人的粗心、激动或是慌张。 总起来讲， 我是比较倾向于后一种想法的， 因为这件事显然是重要的， 这样一封信的编纂者， 看来也不象是个会粗心大意的人。 如果他是慌张的话， 这就引出了一个值得注意的新问题： 为什么他要慌张呢？ 因为清早寄出的任何信件， 在他离开旅馆以前都会送到亨利爵士的手里的。 写信的人是怕被人撞见吗——可是怕谁呢？ ”

1 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

2 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

3 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。