海军协定（24）（在线收听）

“You are confident that the thief came in a cab?”

“If not, there is no harm done. But if Mr. Phelps is correct in stating that there is no hiding-place either in the room or the corridors, then the person must have come from outside. If he came from outside on so wet a night, and yet left no trace of damp upon the linoleum, which was examined within a few minutes of his passing, then it is exceeding probably that he came in a cab. Yes, I think that we may safely deduce a cab.”

“It sounds plausible.”

“That is one of the clues of which I spoke. It may lead us to something. And then, of course, there is the bell—which is the most distinctive feature of the case. Why should the bell ring? Was it the thief who did it out of bravado? Or was it some one who was with the thief who did it in order to prevent the crime? Or was it an accident? Or was it—?” He sank back into the state of intense and silent thought from which he had emerged; but it seemed to me, accustomed as I was to his every mood, that some new possibility had dawned suddenly upon him.

It was twenty past three when we reached our terminus, and after a hasty luncheon at the buffet we pushed on at once to Scotland Yard. Holmes had already wired to Forbes, and we found him waiting to receive us—a small, foxy man with a sharp but by no means amiable expression. He was decidedly frigid in his manner to us, especially when he heard the errand upon which we had come.

“你确信那个盗贼是乘马车来的吗？”

“即使不是也无妨。假使费尔普斯说得不错，无论办公室或走廊都没有藏身之地，那么，那个人一定是从外面进来的。

而如果他在这样一陰一雨的夜晚从外面进来，走后几分钟就进行检查，也没有发现漆布上留有湿一漉一漉的脚印，那么，他非常可能是乘车来的。对，我想我们可以十分肯定地推断，他是乘马车来的。”

“这听起来似乎有道理。”

“这是我说的一个线索。它可以使我们得出某种结论。当然，还有那铃声，这是本案最特殊的一点。为什么要按铃呢？是不是那个盗贼出于虚张声势？要不就是有人和盗贼一起进来，故意按铃以防止盗贼行窃。或者是出于无意的？或者是……”他重新陷入方才那种紧张的思索之中，我对他的心情是颇为了解的，他一定是突然又想到了一些新的可能一性一。

我们到达终点站时，已经三点二十分了，在小饭馆匆忙吃过午餐，立即赶往苏格兰场。因为福尔摩斯已经给福布斯打过电报，所以他正迎候我们。这人五短身材，獐头鼠目，态度尖酸刻薄，毫不友好。特别是他听说了我们的来意以后，对我们更加冷淡。