诺伍德的建筑师（4）

I looked with interest upon this man, who was accused of being the perpetrator of a crime of violence. He was flaxen-haired and handsome in a washed-out negative fashion, with frightened blue eyes and a clean-shaven face, with a weak, sensitive mouth. His age may have been about twenty-seven; his dress and bearing that of a gentleman. From the pocket of his light summer overcoat protruded¹ the bundle of endorsed² papers which proclaimed his profession.

“We must use what time we have,” said Holmes. “Watson, would you have the kindness to take the paper and to read me the paragraph in question?”

Underneath³ the vigorous head-lines which our client had quoted I read the following suggestive narrative:—

“Late last night, or early this morning, an incident occurred at Lower Norwood which points, it is feared, to a serious crime. Mr. Jonas Oldacre is a well-known resident of that suburb, where he has carried on his business as a builder for many years. Mr. Oldacre is a bachelor, fifty-two years of age, and lives in Deep Dene House, at the Sydenham end of the road of that name. He has had the reputation of being a man of eccentric habits, secretive and retiring. For some years he has practically withdrawn⁴ from the business, in which he is said to have amassed⁵ considerable wealth. A small timber-yard still exists, however, at the back of the house, and last night, about twelve o'clock, an alarm was given that one of the stacks was on fire. The engines were soon upon the spot, but the dry wood burned with great fury, and it was impossible to arrest the conflagration⁶ until the stack had been entirely⁷ consumed. Up to this point the incident bore the appearance of an ordinary accident, but fresh indications seem to point to serious crime. Surprise was expressed at the absence of the master of the establishment from the scene of the fire, and an inquiry⁸ followed, which showed that he had disappeared from the house. An examination of his room revealed that the bed had not been slept in, that a safe which stood in it was open, that a number of important papers were scattered⁹ about the room, and, finally, that there were signs of a murderous struggle, slight traces of blood being found within the room, and an oaken walking-stick, which also showed stains of blood upon the handle. It is known that Mr. Jonas Oldacre had received a late visitor in his bedroom upon that night, and the stick found has been identified as the property of this person, who is a young London solicitor¹⁰ named John Hector McFarlane, junior partner of Graham and McFarlane, of 426, Gresham Buildings, E.C. The police believe that they have evidence in their possession which supplies a very convincing motive¹¹ for the crime, and altogether it cannot be doubted that sensational¹² developments will follow.

我注意看了看这个被控行凶的男子：他长着淡黄色的头发，面貌清秀，但显得十分疲乏，两只蓝色的眼睛带着惊恐的神色，脸刮得净光，神经质的嘴唇显得优柔寡断。他的年龄大约在二十岁左右，衣着和举止都象个绅士。从他的浅色夏季外衣的口袋里露出一卷签注过的证书，说明了他的职业。

“咱们得利用现在这段时间，”福尔摩斯说，“华生，请你把报拿起来念一念刚才谈到的那一段，好吗？”

就在我们的委托人引述过的大标题下面，有这样一段带暗示的叙述，我照着念道：

“昨晚深夜或今日凌晨时，下诺伍德发生了一起意外事件，恐系严重犯罪行为。约纳斯·奥德克先生为该郊区颇有名气之居民，经营建筑业多年，因而致富。奥德克先生系独身，五十二岁，住锡登罕路尽头之幽谷山庄，以一习一性一怪僻出名，朴素沉默寡言，不一爱一交一际，近几年实已退出建筑业，然宅后之贮木场仍在。昨夜十二点左右，贮木场发出火警，消防车不久即赶至现场，但因木燥火猛，无法扑救，直至整堆木料烧尽始熄。至此，起火原因似属偶然，但另有迹象显示或系严重犯罪行为。火灾现场未见户主，殊令人诧异。经查询，始知户主已失踪。检查卧室，一床一无人睡过，而保险柜门已开，若干重要文件散落满地。最后发现室内曾发生激烈格斗之迹象，并找到少量血迹及橡木手杖一根，一柄一上亦沾有血迹。现已查明，是夜奥德克先生曾在卧室接待来客，该手杖即来客之物。此深夜来客为年轻律师约翰·赫克托·麦克法兰先生，即中东区格莱沙姆大楼４２６号格雷姆——麦克法兰事务所之合伙人。警方相信已掌握能说明犯罪动机之有力证据。总之，此事件有惊人发展，则毋庸置疑。

1 protruded   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The child protruded his tongue. 那小孩伸出舌头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The creature's face seemed to be protruded, because of its bent carriage. 那人的脑袋似乎向前突出，那是因为身子佝偻的缘故。 来自英汉文学

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

5 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 conflagration   

n.建筑物或森林大火

参考例句：

• A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。
• The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

9 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

10 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

11 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

12 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。