6 A Double Life

Chapter 6 A Double Life The bell rang for the next race, which Holmes had placed a bet on, so Colonel Ross and I had to wait a little longer to hear exactly how Silver Blaze had killed John Straker. The colonel had an appointment in London that evening, and it was on the train journey back to town that we heard the rest of the story. "The horse," said Sherlock Holmes, "acted to defend itself. I'm afraid, Colonel, that John Straker was not the man you thought him to be. In fact, he was a scoundrel who led a double life." "I don't believe it!" cried the colonel. "I'm afraid it's true. I went down to Dartmoor last Thursday convinced that Fitzroy Simpson was our culprit, but as we arrived at Straker's house, I was struck by an idea that changed everything. Do you remember when I remained

福尔摩斯已经下了赌注，下一场比赛的铃声响了，所以罗斯上校和我不得不再等一会儿，才能确切地听到银光是如何杀死约翰·斯特雷克的。 那天晚上上校在伦敦有个约会，我们是在回城里的火车上听到故事的其余部分的。 “那匹马，”歇洛克·福尔摩斯说，“采取了自卫的行动。 上校，恐怕约翰·斯特拉克不是你想象中的那种人。 事实上，他是一个过着双重生活的恶棍。” “我不相信！”上校喊道。 “恐怕这是真的。上星期四我去达特穆尔时，确信菲茨罗伊·辛普森就是凶手，但是当我们到达斯特拉克家时，我突然想到一个主意，改变了一切。 你还记得我留下的时候吗

seated in the carriage after you had all got out? I was thinking about the curried mutton." "I confess, I cannot see the significance," said the colonel. "Curried mutton," said Holmes, "is spicy enough to disguise the taste of powdered opium. If it had been any other dish, the eater would have noticed the presence of the drug. "There's no way that Fitzroy Simpson could have arranged for curried mutton to be served at the Straker house that night. That's how I knew Simpson was innocent. Someone living in the house must have added the opium to Ned Hunter's dish.

你们都下车后还坐在马车里吗？ 我在想咖喱羊肉。” “老实说，我看不出这有什么意义，”上校说。 “咖喱羊肉，”福尔摩斯说道，"辣得足以掩盖鸦片粉的味道。 如果是别的菜，吃的人就会注意到药物的存在。 “菲茨罗伊·辛普森不可能安排那天晚上在斯特雷克家供应咖喱羊肉。 所以我才知道辛普森是无辜的。 一定是住在房子里的人把鸦片加到了内德·亨特的菜里。

"The other curious fact about that night was the silence of the dog. The dog guarded the stables, yet someone had gone in and stolen Silver Blaze and the dog didn't bark. That told me that this late-night visitor was someone the dog knew well. "Putting the curried mutton and the silent dog together, I was fairly sure that John Straker was our horse thief. The question was: why? The answer was provided by that strange knife found in Straker's hand—a delicate, surgical knife that was completely unsuitable for use as a weapon. But Straker hadn't intended on using it as a weapon; he was planning to perform surgery on Silver Blaze.

那天晚上另一件奇怪的事是狗没有说话。 狗守着马厩，但有人闯进马厩偷走了银光，狗却没有吠叫。 这告诉我，这个深夜来访的人是狗很熟悉的人。 “把咖喱羊肉和沉默的狗放在一起，我相当肯定约翰·斯特雷克就是我们的偷马贼。 问题是：为什么？在斯特拉克手中发现的那把奇怪的刀提供了答案——一把精致的外科刀，完全不适合作为武器使用。 但斯特拉克并没有打算把它当作武器；他打算给银光号做手术。

"There have been cases in the past where trainers have made lots of money by hurting their own horses to stop them winning and then betting on other horses. You must have heard of such practices, Colonel?" "Yes, but I never imagined Straker would be capable of such villainy." "He planned to make a slight cut in the tendon of the horse's leg. With such a knife, he could do so and leave barely a trace on the skin. People would think the horse had become lame due to over-exercise or rheumatism, but no one would suspect foul play. Straker experimented on the sheep in the field next to his house, which is why three of them are now lame.

“过去有过这样的案例，驯马师通过伤害自己的马来阻止它们获胜，然后押注其他马，从而赚了很多钱。 上校，你一定听说过这种做法吧？”“是的，但是我从来没有想到斯特拉克会干出这样的坏事来。" 他打算在马腿的肌腱上做一个小切口。 有了这样一把刀，他可以这样做，几乎不会在皮肤上留下痕迹。 人们会认为这匹马是由于过度运动或风湿病而跛了腿，但没有人会怀疑这是一场谋杀。 斯特雷克在他家旁边的田地里用羊做实验，这就是为什么现在有三只羊跛了脚。

"Of course, such a lively animal would have roused the soundest of sleepers when it felt the prick of the knife, which is why Straker decided to take the horse out on the moor." "That's why he had the candle in his pocket," said the colonel, "and it explains that burnt match you found. But why would he do this? I paid the man well." "A clue might be found among the papers we found in his pockets. You remember the bills we found for a hat and dress bought by a certain Mr. Derbyshire? I thought it odd that a man should carry around another man's bills, so when I got back to London, I paid a visit to the shop where the hat was purchased.

“当然，这样一只活泼的动物，一感觉到刀子的刺痛，就会把睡得最香的人都惊醒，所以斯特拉克决定把马牵到沼地上去。” “这就是为什么他口袋里有蜡烛，”上校说，“这就解释了你找到的那根烧过的火柴。 但他为什么要这么做？我给了他很多钱。” “从我们在他口袋里找到的文件中也许可以找到线索。 你还记得我们找到的德比郡先生买帽子和衣服的账单吗？ 我觉得一个人带着别人的账单很奇怪，所以当我回到伦敦后，我去了那家买帽子的商店。

"I showed the shop assistant a photograph of Straker and she said it was the man she knew as Mr. Derbyshire. When she described the woman who was with him, it didn't sound anything like Mrs. Straker. He'd clearly been leading a double life. His mistress in London had expensive taste in hats and dresses, which was why he felt the need to make some extra money by injuring Silver Blaze." "So how did Silver Blaze end up killing Straker?" I asked.

“我给店员看了一张斯特拉克的照片，她说那就是她所认识的德比郡先生。 当她描述和他在一起的女人时，听起来一点也不像斯特拉克太太。 他显然过着双重生活。 他在伦敦的情妇对帽子和衣服的品味都很昂贵，这就是为什么他觉得有必要通过伤害银光来赚些额外的钱。” “那银光是怎么杀死斯特雷克的呢？”我问。