《巴斯克威尔猎犬》 07疑难问题(1)

The Problem

疑难问题

I felt a moment of fear as Mortimer spoke¹ these words．Holmes sat forward in his excitement，and his eyes showed he was very interested indeed．

摩梯末说出这些话时我感到一阵恐惧。福尔摩斯惊异地向前探着身子坐着，他的两眼也表明他对这件事真的很感兴趣。

'Why did nobody else see these footprints？'he asked．

“为什么没有别人看到这些爪印呢？”他问道。

'The footprints were about twenty metres from the body，and nobody thought of looking so far away，'Mortimer replied．

“这些爪印距尸体约二十米之远，也没有人想到要查看这么远的地方，”摩梯末回答道。

'Are there many sheep dogs on the moor²？'asked Holmes．

“沼地里有许多牧羊犬吗？”福尔摩斯问道。

'Yes，but this was no sheep dog．The footprints were very large indeed—enormous，'Mortimer answered．

“有，但是这绝不是牧羊犬。爪印的确很大——极大。”摩梯末回答道。

'But it had not gone near the body？'

“但是它并没有接近过尸体吧？”

'No.'

“没有。”

'What kind of night was it？'Holmes asked．

“那是个什么样的夜晚？”福尔摩斯问道。

'It was wet and cold，though it wasn't actually raining．'

“又潮又冷，尽管并没真正下雨。”

'Describe the Alley³ to me．'

“把那个小道描述给我听听。”

'The Alley is a path between two long yew⁴ hedges．The hedges are small trees that were planted very close together．They are about four metres high．The distance between the two yew hedges is about seven metres．Down the middle is a path of small stones．The path is about three metres wide，with grass on each side of it．'

“那个小道是位于两排长长的水松树篱之间的一条小路。树篱是种得很密的矮小的树种。它们大约有四米高。两排水松树篱之间的距离大约为七米。在树篱中间是一条由小石子铺就的小道。这条小道大约为三米宽，两旁都种着草。”

'I understand there is a gate through the hedge in one place，'said Holmes．

“我想树篱的某处有一个栅门通道吧，”福尔摩斯说道。

'Yes，there is a small gate，which leads to the moor．'

“是的，有一个小门，它通向沼地。”

'Is there any other opening through the hedge？'

“树篱之中还有其他的通道吗？”

'No.'

“没有。”

'So you can enter or leave the Yew Alley only from the Hall，or through the moor gate？'asked Holmes．

“因此，要想从水松小道里进出就只能经由庄园或是由开向沼地的栅门啰？”福尔摩斯问道。

'There is a way out through a summer house at the far end．'

“穿过远处另一头的凉亭还有一个出口。”

'Had Sir Charles reached the summer house？'

“查尔斯爵士走到那里了吗？”

'No．He lay about fifty metres from it，'said Mortimer．

“没有。他倒下的地方距那里约五十米，”摩梯末说道。

'Now，Dr Mortimer，this is important．You say that the footprints you saw were on the path and not on the grass？'

“我说，摩梯末医生，这点是很重要的。您说您所看到爪印是在小道上而不是在草地上吧？”

1 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。

2 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。

3 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

4 yew   

n.紫杉属树木

参考例句：

• The leaves of yew trees are poisonous to cattle.紫杉树叶会令牛中毒。
• All parts of the yew tree are poisonous,including the berries.紫杉的各个部分都有毒，包括浆果。