4 The Mysterious Pills

Chapter 4 The Mysterious Pills "Are you—are you sure about this?" stammered Gregson. "It was I who discovered the body," said Lestrade. "I suspected Stangerson was involved in the death of Drebber and wanted to know where he was between 8:30, when he was spotted at Euston Station, and the time of the crime. I was searching hotels around Euston when I discovered he'd checked into Halliday's. They said he'd been waiting for a gentleman in his room for two days. We broke down the door to find him dead with a deep stab wound in his chest. Above his body..." "The word RACHE had been written in blood," said Holmes. "Exactly," said Lestrade in an awestruck voice. "A passing milk boy said he saw a man escaping from Stangerson's second-floor room on a ladder. He described him as tall, with a reddish face, and dressed in a long brown coat."

“你——你对这事有把握吗？”葛莱森结结巴巴地说。 “是我发现了那具尸体，”雷斯垂德说。 “我怀疑斯坦节逊与锥伯的死有关，所以我想知道，从8点30分有人看见他在尤斯顿车站到案发时间，他在什么地方。 我在尤斯顿附近找酒店时发现他住进了哈利戴酒店。 他们说他在房间里等了一位先生两天了。 我们破门而入，发现他死了，胸口有一处很深的刺伤。 在他的身体之上……”“‘瑞秋’这个字是用血写的，”福尔摩斯说道。 “一点不错，”雷斯垂德用一种敬畏的口气说。 "一个路过的送奶男孩说，他看见一个人爬着梯子从斯坦节逊的二楼房间里逃了出来。 他说他个子很高，红着脸，穿着一件棕色的长外套。”

"And that was when the truth came out. Drebber, it seems, was a coarse and brutish fellow. The reason he and his secretary left the house that morning was because Madame Charpentier had thrown them out after Drebber kissed and embraced Alice against her will. "Later that day, Drebber returned, clearly drunk, and urged Alice to elope with him. She tried to get away, but he caught her wrist and began dragging her out. She screamed, and then her brother Arthur arrived. There was a scuffle, and Drebber bolted from the house. Arthur said, 'I don't think that fellow will trouble us again.' Then he started off after him down the street, swinging a heavy walking stick and saying, 'I'll just go and see what he does with himself.'"

就在那时，真相大白了。 锥伯看来是个粗野的家伙。 那天早晨他和他的秘书离开家的原因，是因为锥伯违背爱丽丝的意愿，吻了她又拥抱她之后，夏彭蒂埃太太把他们赶了出去。 那天晚些时候，锥伯回来了，显然是喝醉了，他要爱丽丝跟他私奔。 她想逃走，但他抓住她的手腕，开始把她拖出去。 她尖叫起来，然后她的哥哥亚瑟来了。 一场扭打，锥伯就从房子里跑了出去。 阿瑟说：“我想那家伙不会再来找我们麻烦了。”然后他跟着他走到街上，摇晃着一根沉重的手杖，说：‘我要去看看他自己是怎么回事。’”

"Did you find any clues in the room?" asked Holmes. "Nothing of importance," said Lestrade. "A novel he'd been reading, a glass of water on the table, and a small box containing a couple of pills." Holmes sprang up from his chair with an exclamation of delight. "The last link!" he cried excitedly. "My case is complete." The two detectives stared at him in confusion. "Could you lay your hands on these pills?" asked Holmes. "I have them right here," said Lestrade, producing a small white box.

“你在房间里找到什么线索了吗？”福尔摩斯问道。 “没什么要紧的事，”雷斯垂德说。 “一本他一直在读的小说，桌上放着一杯水，还有一个小盒子，里面装着几粒药片。” 福尔摩斯高兴地叫了一声，从椅子上跳了起来。 “最后一环！”他兴奋地叫道。 “我的案子已经办完了。”两个侦探困惑地盯着他。 “你能找到这些药片吗？”福尔摩斯问道。 “我这儿就有，”雷斯垂德一面说，一面拿出一个白色的小盒子。

Holmes turned to me. "Watson, would you mind going down and fetching Mrs. Hudson's poor sickly terrier? I remember her asking you to put it out of its misery yesterday." I went downstairs and returned with the dog in my arms. From the sound of its breathing and its glazed eyes, it was clearly close to death. Holmes dissolved one of the pills in some water and milk. The dog lapped it up and then lay down, showing no ill effect. This puzzled Holmes. He frowned, thinking for a moment, and then clicked his fingers. "I have it!" He took the other pill and dissolved it in more water and milk. This time, when the poor creature tasted the mixture, it gave a convulsive shiver and died. At first I was shocked—but the animal had been in pain, and its death was a mercy.

福尔摩斯转向我。“华生，你能不能下楼去把赫德森太太那只可怜的、病得很重的小猎狗牵来？ 我记得她昨天求你让它结束痛苦。” 我下了楼，抱着狗回来了。 从它的呼吸声和呆滞的眼睛来看，它显然离死亡不远了。 福尔摩斯把其中一颗药丸溶解在一些水和牛奶里。 狗舔了舔它，然后躺下，没有任何不良反应。 这使福尔摩斯迷惑不解。他皱起眉头，想了一会儿，然后敲了敲手指。 “我拿到了!”他把另一颗药丸溶解在更多的水和牛奶里。 这一次，当这个可怜的家伙尝到了混合物的味道时，它抽搐地打了个寒颤，死了。 起初我很震惊——但这只动物一直很痛苦，它的死是一种仁慈。

Holmes nodded gravely. "Now I understand. Of the two pills in the box, one was deadly poison, while the other was harmless. I should have known that all along." All this mystery had become too much for Gregson. "Look here, Mr. Holmes, we deserve some answers. It seems I was wrong about Charpentier, and Lestrade was wrong to suspect Stangerson, so tell us who killed Enoch Drebber." "I could name the murderer," said Holmes, "but catching him is more important, and I hope to do that shortly— though it will require delicate handling. If he has the slightest suspicion we're after him, he'll disappear."

福尔摩斯严肃地点了点头。“现在我明白了。 盒子里的两颗药丸，一颗是致命的毒药，而另一颗是无害的。 我早就应该知道的。” 葛莱森对这一切的神秘感感到难以忍受。 “听着，福尔摩斯先生，我们应该得到一些答案。 看来我错怪了夏彭蒂，雷斯垂德也错怪了斯坦节逊，所以告诉我们是谁杀了以诺锥伯吧。” “我能说出凶手的名字，”福尔摩斯说道，“但是抓住他更为重要，我希望能尽快做到这一点——尽管这需要周密的处理。 如果他有一点点怀疑我们在追捕他，他就会消失。”

As Holmes spoke, there came a tap at the door, and Wiggins, leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, entered. "Please sir," he said, "I have the cab downstairs." "Good lad," said Holmes, taking a pair of handcuffs from a drawer. "Ask the cabman to come up and help me with my luggage, would you?" I was surprised to see Holmes pull out a large suitcase. He hadn't told me he was going on a journey. The cabman entered. "Ah, can you give me a hand with this buckle, cabman," said Holmes. The fellow stepped forward. As he laid his hands on the suitcase, there was a sharp click, and the handcuffs closed on his wrists. "Gentlemen," cried Holmes, "may I introduce you to Mr. Jefferson Hope, murderer of Enoch Drebber and Joseph Stangerson."

福尔摩斯说话的时候，有人在敲门，贝克街非正规军的首领威金斯走了进来。 “先生，”他说，“我在楼下叫了出租车。” “好孩子，”福尔摩斯说着，从抽屉里拿出一副手铐。 “请叫车夫上来帮我拿行李，好吗？”我惊讶地看到福尔摩斯拿出一个大手提箱。 他没有告诉我他要去旅行。 马车夫走了进来。“啊，马车夫，你能帮我拉一下这个钮扣吗？”福尔摩斯说道。 那家伙走上前去。 当他把手放在手提箱上时，只听到一声尖锐的咔哒声，手铐合上了他的手腕。 “先生们，”福尔摩斯喊道，“请允许我把你们介绍给杰弗逊·侯波先生，他就是杀害以诺·锥伯和约瑟夫·斯坦节逊的凶手。”