2 The Search

Chapter 2 The Search Percy Phelps shifted uncomfortably on his sofa as he recalled the terror he felt at that moment. "In a panic, I ran back up the stairs. I didn't pass anyone on the way and there was no one in the room. All was exactly as I'd left it, except the treaty had been taken from my desk. The copy was there, but the original was gone. "I knew immediately that the thief must have come in through the side door on the floor below. If he'd come from the ground floor, I'd have met him coming the other way."

珀西·菲尔普斯回忆起那一刻的恐惧，在沙发上不安地动了动身子。 我惊慌失措地跑回楼梯。 我在路上没有经过任何人，房间里也没有人。 一切都和我离开时一模一样，只是条约从我桌上被拿走了。 副本还在，但原件不见了。 “我立刻意识到小偷一定是从楼下的侧门进来的。 如果他是从一楼来的，我就会从另一个方向遇到他。”

"You're sure he wasn't hidden in the room the whole time, or in the corridor outside?" asked Holmes. "Impossible," said Phelps. "A rat couldn't conceal itself in either place—there's nowhere to hide." "Thank you. Please continue." "Tanner saw from my face that something was wrong, and followed me as I rushed down to the side door. It was closed but unlocked. I remember, as we threw it open and dashed out,

“你敢肯定他没有一直藏在房间里，也没有藏在外面的走廊里吗？”福尔摩斯问道。 “不可能，”菲尔普斯说。 “老鼠在这两个地方都躲不起来——没有地方可躲。” “谢谢。请继续。” 坦纳从我的脸上看出有些不对劲，就跟着我跑到侧门。 门是关着的，但没有上锁。 我记得，当我们打开门冲出去的时候，

hearing three chimes from a nearby clock. It was quarter to ten." "That's very helpful," said Holmes, making a note on his shirt cuff. "The night was dark," continued Phelps, "and a thin rain was falling. There was no one in Charles Street. At the junction with Whitehall, we found a policeman. 'A robbery has been committed,' I gasped. 'A document of immense importance has been stolen from the Foreign Office. Has anyone passed this way?' "'The only person who's come by in the fifteen minutes I've been here was a large, elderly lady,' said the policeman.

听到附近的钟敲了三声。 当时是差一刻十点。”“这很有帮助，”福尔摩斯边说边在衬衫袖口上记了个记号。 “夜很黑，”费尔普斯接着说，“下着细雨。 查尔斯街上一个人也没有。 在与白厅的交界处，我们发现了一名警察。 “发生了一起抢劫案，”我喘着气说。 一份极其重要的文件从外交部被盗了。 有人从这里经过吗？’”‘在我到这儿的十五分钟里，唯一来过的人是一位身材高大的老太太，’警察说。

"'That was my wife,' said Tanner. 'The thief must have gone the other way. Come on, sir.' The caretaker tugged at my sleeve, but I wasn't satisfied. In fact, I was growing quite suspicious of the Tanners. I questioned the policeman further about the woman. He couldn't say where she'd gone, but said she'd passed by in the last five minutes. "'You're wasting time, sir,' said Tanner. 'The thief is getting away.' "'Where do you live, Mr. Tanner?' I asked him. "'16 Ivy Lane, Brixton,' he answered, 'but that's not important. Let's go and search at the other end of the street.' "We did so and found it full of rushing traffic and pedestrians eager to get home on such a wet night. There were no loiterers to tell us who had passed.

“‘那是我的妻子，’坦纳说。 “小偷一定是走了另一条路。 来吧，先生。”管理员拽了拽我的袖子，但我不满意。 事实上，我开始怀疑坦纳夫妇了。 我进一步询问了警察关于那个女人的情况。 他说不出她去了哪里，但说她在过去的五分钟里经过了。 “‘你在浪费时间，先生，’坦纳说。 “小偷跑了。“ ”你住在哪里，坦纳先生？ "我问他。 “布里克斯顿，艾薇巷16号，”他回答，“但那并不重要。 咱们到街的另一头去找吧。’”我们照做了，发现在这样一个潮湿的夜晚，路上挤满了车流和渴望回家的行人。 没有闲荡的人告诉我们谁经过了。

"We returned to the office and searched the stairs and corridors, but found no footmarks or any other trace of the thief. We examined the room—the walls, ceiling, and floor—and saw no sign of a secret entrance. The windows were some thirty feet from the ground and both were fastened on the inside. I would swear on my life that whoever stole the treaty could only have come through the door." "What about the fireplace?" asked Holmes. "There is none—the room is heated by a stove." Holmes's quick eyes were moving about almost as if he was in the room himself,

“我们回到办公室，搜查了楼梯和走廊，但没有发现脚印或任何其他小偷的痕迹。 我们检查了房间的墙壁、天花板和地板，没有发现有秘密入口的迹象。 两扇窗户离地面大约三十英尺，都是从里面锁上的。 我可以用我的生命发誓，偷条约的人一定是从这扇门进来的。” “那壁炉呢？”福尔摩斯问道。 “没有——房间是用炉子取暖的。” 福尔摩斯那双敏捷的眼睛扫视着，仿佛他本人就在房间里似的，

examining it for clues. "You say the thief left no trace. What about smell?" "We never thought of that—but I don't remember any." "How was the bell rung?" "The bell rope hangs from a wire just to the right of my desk. Whoever rang it must have come right up to the desk to do it. But why would a thief wish to ring the bell? It doesn't make any sense." "I agree; it's very strange," said Holmes. "What did you do next?" "By that time, the alarm had been raised and Mr. Forbes of the Metropolitan Police had arrived on the scene. He shared my suspicion of Mrs. Tanner. Why had she hurried out of the building? Mr. Tanner couldn't explain it, except

检查它寻找线索。“你说小偷没有留下任何痕迹。 那气味呢？”“我们从来没有想过——但我不记得有什么。” “铃是怎么响的？”“铃绳挂在我桌子右边的一根电线上。 不管是谁按的铃，一定是直接走到桌子前按的。 但是为什么一个小偷想要摇铃呢？ 这没有任何意义。” “我同意;这很奇怪，”福尔摩斯说道。 “接下来你做了什么？”那时，警报已经拉响，伦敦警察厅的福布斯先生也赶到了现场。 他和我一样怀疑坦纳太太。 她为什么匆匆忙忙地走出大楼？ 坦纳先生无法解释，除了