四签名 48贝克街的侦探小队（1）

Chapter 8 The Baker¹ Street Irregulars

第八章 贝克街的侦探小队

"What now?" I asked. "Toby has lost his character for infallibility."

我问道：“现在怎么办呢？透比也失去了它百发百中的能力了。”

"He acted according to his lights," said Holmes,

福尔摩斯说道：“透比是根据它自己的见解行动的，

lifting him down from the barrel and walking him out of the timber-yard.

他把透比从桶上抱下来，牵着它出了木场，

"If you consider how much creosote is carted about London in one day,

如果你计算一下每天在伦敦市内木馏油的运输量，

it is no great wonder that our trail should have been crossed.

那你就可以明白为什么咱们走错了路。

It is much used now, especially for the seasoning² of wood. Poor Toby is not to blame."

现在使用木馏油的地方很多，特别是用在木料的防腐上面，不应当怪罪透比。”

"We must get on the main scent³ again, I suppose."

我建议道：“咱们还是顺原路回到油味被混杂了的地方去吧。”

"Yes. And, fortunately, we have no distance to go.

"是啊，幸亏路途不远。

Evidently what puzzled the dog at the corner of Knight's Place

透比在骑士街左边曾经犹豫不定，

was that there were two different trails running in opposite directions.

显然是油味的方向在那儿分歧了。

We took the wrong one. It only remains⁴ to follow the other."

咱们走上了错路，现在只有顺着另外一条路去找。”

There was no difficulty about this.

一点儿也没有费事，

On leading Toby to the place where he had committed his fault,

我们牵着透比回到了原来发生错误的地点。

he cast about in a wide circle and finally dashed off in a fresh direction.

透比转了一个大圈，就向一个新的方向奔去了。

"We must take care that he does not now bring us to the place where the creosote-barrel came from," I observed.

我说道：“要当心透比，不要让它把咱们引到原来运出木馏油桶的地方去。”

"I had thought of that.

"这点我也想到啦。

But you notice that he keeps on the pavement, whereas the barrel passed down the roadway.

可是你看它在人行道上跑，运木桶的车应当在马路上走，

No, we are on the true scent now."

所以这次咱们没有走错路。”

It tended down towards the riverside, running through Belmont Place and Prince's Street.

经过贝尔芒特路和太子街，它奔向河滨，

At the end of Broad Street it ran right down to the water's edge, where there was a small wooden wharf⁵.

一直到了宽街河边的一个小的用木材修成的码头上。

Toby led us to the very edge of this and there stood whining⁶, looking out on the dark current beyond.

透比把我们引到紧靠水边的地方，站在那里看着河水，从鼻子里发出哼声。

"We are out of luck," said Holmes. "They have taken to a boat here."

福尔摩斯道：“咱们的运气不好，他们从这里上了船啦。”

Several small punts and skiffs were lying about in the water and on the edge of the wharf.

码头上系着几只小平底船和小艇。

We took Toby round to each in turn, but though he sniffed⁷ earnestly he made no sign.

我们把透比引到各小船上，虽然它都很认真地闻了闻，可是没做出任何表示。

Close to the rude landing-stage was a small brick house,

靠近登船的地方，有一所小砖房，

with a wooden placard slung⁸ out through the second window.

在第二个窗口上挂着一个木牌子，

"Mordecai Smith" was printed across it in large letters,

上面有几个大字写道：“茂迪凯·斯密司”。

and, underneath⁹, "Boats to hire by the hour or day."

下面有小字写着：“船只出租：按时按日计价均可。”

A second inscription¹⁰ above the door informed us that a steam launch was kept

在门上另外有一块牌子，上面说这里另备有小汽船。

a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty.

码头上堆积着许多焦炭，可以知道就是这个汽船的燃料。

Sherlock Holmes looked slowly round, and his face assumed an ominous¹¹ expression.

福尔摩斯慢慢地把四周看了一遍，脸上很不高兴。

"This looks bad," said he. "These fellows are sharper than I expected.

他道：“这件事看来有些麻烦。他们的精明是出乎我意料的

They seem to have covered their tracks. There has, I fear, been preconcerted management here."

他们事先就准备把行踪隐蔽起来。”

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 seasoning   

n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物

参考例句：

• Salt is the most common seasoning.盐是最常用的调味品。
• This sauce uses mushroom as its seasoning.这酱油用蘑菇作调料。

3 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

6 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

7 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

9 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。

10 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

11 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。