3 The Adventure of the Speckled Band

The Adventure of the Speckled Band I'm sorry to wake you, Watson," whispered Holmes as he stood over me, "but we have a visitor. There is a young woman in the sitting room who wants to see us. I'm sure it's important if she's come at this hour. Would you care to join me?" "My dear Holmes," I replied sleepily, "I wouldn't miss it for the world." With my wife out of town, I was staying with Holmes for the evening. I always

我很抱歉把你吵醒了，华生，“福尔摩斯站在我身旁低声说道，”我们来了一位客人。 客厅里有一位年轻女士想见我们。 我相信她这个时候来一定很重要。 你愿意和我一起去吗？”“我亲爱的福尔摩斯，”我困倦地回答说，“无论如何我也不会错过的。” 由于我的妻子出城了，我晚上就和福尔摩斯呆在一起。 我总是

enjoyed helping my colleague in his investigations. It was fascinating to watch him gather clues and use them to solve crimes. So I dressed quickly and joined him in the sitting room. We beheld a woman dressed in black, wearing a veil over her face. "Good morning, madam," began my companion. "My name is Sherlock Holmes. This is my friend and partner, Dr. Watson. How can we be of service to you?" The woman lifted the veil from her face. We could see that she was pale and upset. "I am very frightened, Mr. Holmes," she began. "We will try our best to help you," Holmes said, trying to calm her. "I see that you traveled to London by train this morning. And that you rode to the train station in a horse-drawn wagon." "How do you know that?" she asked with a look of surprise on her face.

很高兴帮助我的同事进行调查。 看着他收集线索并利用这些线索来破案真是太有意思了。 于是我迅速穿好衣服，和他一起来到客厅。 我们看见一个女人身穿黑衣，脸上蒙着面纱。 “早上好，夫人，”我的同伴开始说。 “我叫夏洛克·福尔摩斯。 这是我的朋友兼搭档。 沃森。我们能为您做些什么？”那女人把面纱从脸上揭下来。 我们可以看出她脸色苍白，心烦意乱。 “我非常害怕，福尔摩斯先生，”她开始说。 “我们会尽力帮助你的，”福尔摩斯说，试图使她平静下来。 “我知道你今天上午乘火车去伦敦了。 你是坐马车去火车站的。” “你怎么知道的？”她问，脸上带着惊讶的表情。

"The return ticket is tucked into your glove," Holmes explained. "And the left arm of your jacket is splashed with fresh mud. You could only have gotten splashed that way by sitting on the left-hand side of an open wagon." "You're correct," she replied. "I have traveled all this way because I am going mad, Mr. Holmes. I have no one to turn to. You must help me." "Please, madam. Tell us your problem." Holmes sat back in his chair, closed his eyes, and listened. "My name is Helen Stoner. I live with my stepfather, Dr. Grimes by Roylott. He is the last member of an old family. They were wealthy once. But over the years, the Roylotts lost their fortune. All that remains is the family home, Stoke Moran. "Years ago, my stepfather lived in India

“回程机票就藏在你的手套里，”福尔摩斯解释说。 “你外套的左臂上溅满了新泥。 你只有坐在敞篷马车的左边，才可能被溅成那样。” “你说得对，”她回答。 “我跑了这么远的路，是因为我快要疯了，福尔摩斯先生。 我没有人可以求助。你必须帮助我。” “请夫人。告诉我们你的问题。” 福尔摩斯靠在椅子上，闭上眼睛，静听着。 “我叫海伦·斯通纳。我和我的继父住在一起。 罗伊洛特的格兰姆斯。他是一个古老家族的最后一位成员。 他们曾经很富有。但随着时间的推移，罗伊洛特一家失去了他们的财产。 只剩下他们的家，斯托克莫兰。 “多年前，我的继父住在印度

and had a successful medical practice. That is where he met and married my mother. My twin sister Julia and I were only two at the time. "It was in India that my stepfather's troubles began," she said. "In a fit of anger, he got into a fight, killed someone, and spent

并且有成功的医疗实践 他就是在那里遇见并娶了我母亲。 我和我的双胞胎妹妹朱莉娅当时只有两岁。 “我继父的麻烦就是在印度开始的，”她说。 “一气之下，他跟人打架，杀了人，然后死了

many years in prison. When my stepfather was released, we moved back to England, where he returned to being a doctor. But he was a changed man by then. "Shortly after our return, my mother passed away, leaving all her money to my stepfather. My sister and I would receive some money of our own, but only when we got married. With my mother gone, we left London and went to live in Stoke Moran." Miss Stoner grew more upset as she continued her story. "My stepfather became even more troubled after that. His temper grew, and later he was arrested by the police for fighting. People became afraid of him. His only friends were a group of poor travelers who roamed the countryside and sometimes visited Stoke Moran. He would often let them camp in the woods near the house.

在监狱里呆了很多年。当我的继父被释放后，我们搬回了英国，在那里他重新成为了一名医生。 但那时他已经判若两人了。 “我们回来后不久，母亲就去世了，把她所有的钱都留给了继父。 我妹妹和我将得到一些我们自己的钱，但只有在我们结婚的时候。 母亲去世后，我们离开了伦敦，去斯托克莫兰居住。” 斯通纳小姐继续讲她的故事，心里越来越难过。 “从那以后，我的继父变得更麻烦了。 他的脾气越来越大，后来因为打架被警察逮捕了。 人们开始害怕他。 他唯一的朋友是一群贫穷的旅行者，他们在乡下游荡，有时去斯托克莫兰。 他经常让他们在房子附近的树林里扎营。

"His behavior grew stranger with every passing day," she continued. "He loves wild animals. So he brought a wild cheetah and a baboon from India, letting them run wild in the woods around our home. "My sister Julia and I became very unhappy. No servants would stay with us. So my sister and I took care of that big house by ourselves. It was very hard for us. Julia was thirty when she died, but she looked much older." "Your sister is dead?" asked Holmes. "Yes," our visitor replied. "She died two years ago. And it is her death that I wish to speak to you about. Just before that sad event, Julia became engaged. My stepfather did not object. But just before the wedding, a terrible thing happened." When Holmes heard this, he opened his eyes and looked at our visitor. "Do not leave

“他的行为一天比一天奇怪，”她继续说。 “他喜欢野生动物。所以他从印度带来了一只野生猎豹和一只狒狒，让它们在我家附近的树林里乱跑。 “我姐姐茱莉亚和我变得非常不开心。 没有仆人愿意和我们呆在一起。 所以我姐姐和我自己照顾那所大房子。 这对我们来说非常困难。茱莉亚死的时候三十岁，但她看起来老多了。” “你妹妹死了吗？”福尔摩斯问道。 “是的，”我们的客人回答。 “她两年前去世了。我想跟你说的是她的死。 就在那次悲伤的事件发生之前，茱莉亚订婚了。 我的继父没有反对。 但就在婚礼前，一件可怕的事情发生了。” 当福尔摩斯听到这些，他睁开眼睛看着我们的客人。 “不要离开