《巴斯克威尔猎犬》 41太晚了(3)

"The lady called Miss Stapleton, who pretends² to be his sister, is really his wife, "said Holmes.

“那位被称做斯台普顿小姐、装作是他妹妹的女士其实是他的妻子，”福尔摩斯讲道。

"Good heavens³, Holmes!Are you sure?If she is his wife, why did Stapleton allow Sir Henry to fall in love with her?"

“天哪，福尔摩斯！你敢肯定吗？如果她是他的妻子的话，他为何让亨利爵士爱上了她呢？”

"Sir Henry hurt nobody except himself when he fell in love with her. Stapleton took care that Sir Henry did not make love to her. I repeat⁴ that the lady is his wife, and not his sister. They came here only two years ago, and before that he had owned a school in the north of England. He told you that, and you told me in your letter. I checked on the school, and found that the man who had owned it went away with his wife when the school closed. They changed their name, but the couple who were described to me were without doubt⁵ the Stapletons."

“亨利爵士坠入情网之时，他除了对本人之外对谁都不会构成伤害。斯台普顿曾特别留意避免亨利爵士对她调情。我再说一遍，那位女士就是他的妻子，而不是他的妹妹。他们在两年之前才来到这儿，但是在那之前他曾在英格兰北部办过一所学校。他告诉你那些事，你又在信中讲给了我。我将那个学校调查了一下，还发现办学校的那个男子在学校跨台之后就和他的妻子一道远走高飞了。他们更改了姓名，但是被描述给我的那对夫妇无疑就是斯台普顿一家。”

"But why do they pretend¹ to be brother and sister?" I asked.

“但是，他们为何要装扮成兄妹呢？”我问道。

"Because Stapleton thought that she would be very much more useful to him if she appeared to be a free woman."

“因为斯台普顿早就想到了，如果她看似一个单身的自由女子就会对他要有用得多。”

Suddenly I saw behind Stapleton's smiling face a heart with murder in it. "So he is our enemy! He is the man who followed us in London! And the warning⁶ note to Sir Henry came form Miss Stapleton."

我突然从斯台普顿的笑脸之后看到了他那暗藏杀机的狠毒心肠。“那么说他就是我们的敌人啰！他就是在伦敦尾随咱们的那个人！还有，送给亨利爵士的那个警告性的纸条是由斯台普顿小姐发出的。”

"Exactly, "said Holmes.

“正是，”福尔摩斯讲道。

"But if Miss Stapleton is really his wife, why is he a close friend of Mrs Laura Lyons?"

“但是，如果斯台普顿小姐真是他的妻子的话，他为何会是劳拉·莱昂丝太太的亲密的朋友呢？”

1 pretend   

vt.假装，假托，装扮；vi.假装，装作

参考例句：

• So you don't need to pretend,do you?所以你不必装假了，对吧？
• Many people pretend that they understand modern art.许多人装着自己懂得现代艺术。

2 pretends   

v.假装( pretend的第三人称单数 )；伪装；（尤指儿童）（在游戏中）装扮；自诩

参考例句：

• She pretends to various abilities she doesn't, in fact, possess. 她自称有种种她事实上并不具有的才能。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He pretends to admire me,though privately he hates me. 他假装敬佩我，虽然他私下仇恨我。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 heavens   

n.天( heaven的名词复数 )；天堂；上帝；极乐

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our sun is only one of many suns in the heavens. 我们的太阳只是天际中许多恒星之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 repeat   

n.重复，反复；vt.重复，复述；vi.重复；adj.重复的，反复的

参考例句：

• There will be a repeat of this talk next week.下星期将重播这次讲话。
• History will not repeat itself.历史不会重演。

5 doubt   

n.怀疑，疑惑；v.怀疑，不信

参考例句：

• I never doubt his ability.我从不怀疑他的能力。
• There was little doubt in my mind.我心里几乎没有疑问。

6 warning   

n.警告，告诫，训诫，警戒，警报

参考例句：

• The other side paid no attention to our warning.对方不重视我方的警告。
• He realized that his doctor was warning him off drink.他意识到医生在告诫他戒酒。